Charms, charms, charms!
09 Oct 2011 Leave a Comment
Fun swap at All Things Tim Yahoo Group. I used Tim’s Fragments & Paper, added some beaded danglies & tada! Can’t wait to see the returns.
Innovative Stamp Creations New Release!
02 Sep 2011 Leave a Comment
I’m a little late in uploading the new releases for Betsy at Innovative Stamp Creations. August was all about nature & friends. I love all the nature stamps from ISC and this month might just be my favorite!
“Best Wishes” uses the butterflies and words from Friendship II sheet. The butterflies were stamped with Colorbox black pigment ink & embossed with JudiKins EP. I cut them out and pop mounted them on scrapbook paper from BoBunny. The strip of butterflies on the right was punched (using a Martha Stewart punch) from the same paper and distressed with Ranger Distress Ink in Barn Door. The little “Best Wishes” was stamped on a distressed paper tag. Tim Holtz leaves added the right touch!
This beautiful image is also from the same Friendship II sheet. I stamped the image with Colorbox black pigment ink, embossed with clear EP. Lots of painting and embossing using Radiant Pearls & clear EP. “Moments of Friendship” is also from this sheet. I used a small tag, distressed with Ranger Distress Ink. The window is a die cut from Sizzix (Tim Holtz).
I was really inspired by Friendship Flowers II and the beautiful life-like images. First, the flower was stamped with Versamark on white Neenah bond and embossed with JukiKins pearl EP. Then, I used three colors of Ranger Alcohol Inks. After wiping with a damp paper towel, the flower really popped! The “Thanks” was mounted on a solid stamp from the Friendship II sheet on deep cranberry paper, inked with Versamark & embossed with clear EP. “Friend” is from the Friendship Flowers II sheet. I cut a tag using a Sizzix folder and did the same treatment as the Thanks panel. The words are stamped with Stazon on a heavy sage green paper and torn. Background paper almost has the look of suede but is scrapbook paper from DCVW. This sheet also has an Iris flower used on another card.
Nature’s Beauty sheet has two of the same image, one larger than the other. This card shows the large image. I stamped the image on Neenah white bond with Adirondak Brown and used 4 colors of Distress Ink. Stamped the image a second time using 3 different colors of Distress Ink and spritzed with water. I love using the faux watercolor technique. I cut out the two leaves and pop dotted them on the large stamped panel. Two tags (cut from a Sizzix folder) were distressed and I added a piece of the leaf from the Iris stamp – all in Stazon. The ribbon ws also colored with Distress Inks.
This card is from the same sheet as the previous one, using the smaller image. The background paper is from BoBunny Jungle sheet, I used Vintage Photo Distress Ink on the edges. The main image was stamped with Adirondak Brown Archival Ink and colored using watercolor crayons. I then added Glossy Accents to the two main leaves. I cut a piece of heavy-weight copper paper with a Martha Steward punch and mounted both on a dark green panel. The little copper leaf was once a brad. I cut off the brad thingies (whatever they are called!) and glued on with Glossy Accents.
This tag was SO much fun to make. It is a large, standard “Tim Holtz” tag. I stamped Background Series “This and That” with Versamark & embossed with clear EP. Distressed the entire tag with Blue China Distress Ink and then distressed the edges with Vintage Photo. The flowers are from Ganzia – African Daisy Sheet. There are 4 different sized Daisys along with some great sentiments. I used my Distress Stains directly on the stamp and stamped on Neenah white paper. No spritzing needed! The watercolor effect is so cool. I cut out each flower and then lightly cut down each petal, curling the edges. I pop-dotted the flowers for a more dimentional effect. A little pearl in the center also. At the bottom of the tag, I used a Tim Holtz Trimming Ruffle, edged with Worn Lipstick Distress Stain. “Thankful for all you do” was stamped on heavy mulberry paper with Worn Lipstick and torn out. I used a Tim Holtz “Pin”, Bird & brad at the edge. The top of the tag has multiple paper flowers from Hero Arts, with little pearls added.
A beauty in blue. I love this Iris stamp from the Friendship Flowers II sheet. I guess I was into soft colors for this release because the blue for the Iris really called to me. I used a medium blue cardstock for the background, run through a Sizzix folder, lightly inked with Versamark and embossed with clear EP.
I stamped the flower on white CS with Versamark and embossed with a light blue embossing powder. Have no idea where the powder came from – one of those “Oh, I’ve had that forever” moments. I did this twice. I cut out 3 petals and popped them on top of the main image. The solid carstock behind the flower is the cutout from the window used on a previous card. Re-use, recycle! “Just for you” is from the Friendship II sheet, stamped with Stazon. I used Claudine Helmuth light blue acrylic paint on the back of the Tim Holtz Fragment and dusted on some Perfect Pearls. A little blue ribbon added. This was a nice, quick and I think a beautiful card!
Check out Betsy’s website for a real diversity in stamps! She also carries all of Ranger’s products, plus a lot more!
Stay tuned….I have an ATC class coming up next week at Stamp Antonio – I’ll post those sometime over the weekend. Also will post pics of our newest furbabies. 2 little kittens and an adorable chow/doberman mix puppy. Feels good to rescue!
Stamp Antonio Card Class August 28!
23 Aug 2011 Leave a Comment
Sentiments from the Heart
New Release Sneak Peek…
09 Jun 2011 2 Comments
If you love whimsy and doodles, the June release from Innovative Stamp Creations should more than satisfy your craving for new stamps! From Whimsical Sunflowers to Bird Houses, there are infinite possibilities to let your muse run wild.
I’m just sharing one of designs for Whimsical Sunflowers, below. I used some “doodle” 12×12 paper to stamp the sunflower and die cut flowers. Adding crumpled paper bag & Distress Ink makes this look playful. Of course I had to add a little bling to the flowers.
Stay tuned for more designs!
June ATC Class at Stamp Antonio Arts
27 May 2011 4 Comments
I’m teaching my first class at Stamp Antonio Arts! I love this store and am very excited to begin this new chapter with all the great gals I’ve come to know. Previously, I taught at a stamp store & Michael’s in Iowa and then in Austin, TX. Getting back into the groove will be so much fun. This store offers so many awesome classes and I’m humbled to be chosen as an addition to their excellent repertoire of instructors.
If you’re in the area, please join me on June 11, 1-3 p.m. Learn a new technique, share some ideas & come help me celebrate another step in my “journey.”
The samples below are the 3 ATC’s we’ll be making. Distressing, alcohol inks & resist are three of the techniques.
Dragonfly Love – Innovative Stamp Creations
07 May 2011 5 Comments
Another goodie from the May challenge to use our old images from Betsy @Innovative Stamp Creations. Both the dragonfly & phrase are from the Artsy Swirls sheet. I’ve had this sheet since 2006!
I adore this dragonfly! So stylized and perfectly shows the ecto-skeleton dragonflies are famous for.
Again, I used the “dancing rubber fish” technique from Fred B. Mullett. Stamped on cream cardstock with black & cream pigment ink and used 4 different embossing powders. I softly shaded the wings with watercolors and added bright red eyes. A little gold trim around the edges using gold Prismacolor pen.
The background piece is embossed on deep sage green cardstock using a Cuttlebug folder. I swiped (very gently) the raised areas with Peeled Paint Distress Ink from Ranger, embossed with clear EP then used gold Brilliance on a sponge to “burnish” the paper. I really liked the metallic look this gave the background.
A little ribbon and phrase added just the right touch!
Dig out the old stamps! Challenge from Innovative Stamp Creations
07 May 2011 1 Comment
Betsy challenged the Design Architects to use some of our older butterfly and dragonfly images. I went immediately to the Artsy Swirls – one of my fave stamps sheets from Innovative Stamp Creations! These images are incredibly detailed and stylized, and lend themselves to so many different techniques.
I recently took a class from Fred B. Mullett and was inspired to use his “dancing rubber fish” technique on Betsy’s images.
The butterfly was stamped on cream cardstock with black & cream pigment ink. I used three different embossing powders and then colored with watercolors. The background is rice paper, stamped and embossed with clear EP (using another image from the Artsy Swirls sheet) and colored with concord distress stains from Ranger.
Tiny tag was embossed with a Cuttlebug folder, painted with white acrylic & distressed with concord distress ink from Ranger. The little flower and leaf is an Ideaology piece from Tim Holtz.
