It's All About Stripes at StampNation

Hello!

It's time once again for the weekly challenge over at StampNation!  This week's theme is "Stripes," and I had the perfect paper for it, the striped paper that I received from Tattered Angels for last week's co-sponsored challenge which you can read about here.  While the prizes aspect of the challenge is over, challenges at StampNation are NEVER over and you can join whenever you want.

 

I had such a good time making this card.  I was still in the mood for more whimsy as the TA line of papers themselves are steeped in it, including the sheet of quotes and cute sayings.  (To see more ways of how I used these papers and embellishments, go here and here.)

I used a greenish turquoise as the base of my card and layered red card stock, then a layer of black and white striped TA paper, then a layer of their wonderful see-through vellum-like (but not vellum) paper on top of that to tone all that black and white down.  I had first sprayed this vellum-y sheet with the alcohol sprays I'd made with the TA Glimmer Glazes which imparted a wonderful rainbow of colors.  I then stamped the paper with distress ink and learned that this paper needs Staz-On or archival inks because I wound up with ink all over my hand as I worked on it.  How I didn't smear it I'll never know.  

Here's the TA sentiment, also sprayed with the inks and finished with a single rhinestone.

The flourish is cardstock that I painted red, inked the edges with black ink, then coated the whole thing with crackle glaze.  I like how it mirrors the flourishes on the vellum-y layer.

The pixie, popped up for dimension, is from the Gecko Galz Pixie Dust collection and I've added a bit of glitter glue to her wings and tutu.

The black feathers are from my dear StampNation friend Elaine Johnson who sent me a bag FULL of all kinds of feathers a while ago.  Thank you, Elaine!

The inside is finished simply with a red mat under the white sentiment layer, which I've left blank as I will be putting this card into my Etsy shop.

Thank you for joining me and I do hope you pop on over to StampNation to play along and see what the rest of the designers have created for you!


1) For details on the challenge, go here.

2) To learn more about StampNation, go here.

3)  Become a member right now, go here. 

Happy crafting!

THIS CARD IS FOR SALE IN MY ETSY SHOP. 

Challenges:

Crafty Boots - Feathers
The Shabby Tea Room - Anything Goes

More Tattered Goodness

Hello!

As you know if you've read my blog the last couple of days, I've been privileged to be guest designing for Catherine Pooler over at StampNation, and this week's challenge is "Doodling."  She's had a big name co-sponsor, Tattered Angels, who sent the designers all sorts of fabulous goodies with which to play, and we posted our projects on StampNation a couple of days ago with sneak peeks on our respective blogs (here's my post).  There are all sorts of cool prizes to go along with this challenge (go here for full details).  Well, I couldn't stop with just making a card, oh no, I had to go much further.  I've been in a wood block kind of mood lately, so...I made another one and pulled out all the stops with Tattered Angels products!  They've developed a new line of papers called "Tattered Tangles" which are mistable and paintable, plus they also sent some of their Glimmer Glazes, some rope yarn and even some darling mini clothespins.  And here is what I came up with.

Of course my husband asked "What is it?"  Umm...it's pretty, said I.  And it has little inspirational, fun quotes.  And, and...uuhhh...what indeed.  It's JUST BECAUSE, that's what it is.

I took a 4x4," 10' cedar fence post and had the home improvement store cut it down into many 4" blocks and sanded this one until it was silky smooth.  OK, the fun part of this project is that it is the reason I went to Home Depot last week THREE TIMES to buy tools.  A vise for my workshop that I'd been wanting for years but had never gotten around to getting.  A new drill (that I didn't use here.)  More tools.  Spray paints.  Fun stuff!  I also paid a visit to some other stores for some of the findings.

Each side of this block uses TA papers, including this flower, the pieces of which I misted with the alcohol ink sprays I made from their Glimmer Glazes.  They're such a deep, rich color that I knew they'd be fabulous in sprays, and they are!  I mixed the Sangria and Desert Sun and came up with this fun orange blend then attached some organza shapes (melted in a candle flame first) and some jewelry findings (flattened bead caps, flower bead, pearl).

The cute sayings were cut from the sheet that was chock full of them, so many from which to choose!  I sprayed them all with ink sprays because the new TA papers take sprays so beautifully.  The drips and dribbles add lots of character.

Another of the sayings, another flower, this time using the Sangria and Blue Oasis sprays.  All of the sayings have been edged with corresponding colors of glitter glue.

This is my favorite side.  I LOVE the saying, and I had the perfect charm to  hang from the little clothespin...

...which I dry brushed with gesso and also glittered the top.  The bird charm even matches the whole color scheme quite by accident!

You can see the distressed edges and corners.  After sanding the block with my handy dandy orbital sander (hence the need for the vise) I sprayed it with black paint and then white, then I sanded the edges and corners down to reveal the layers.  Then I decoupaged the papers on with Mod Podge.

This block will decorate my craft room nicely and I'll turn it to view whichever sentiment makes me happy for that day.  This is a good one.

The finial makes my daughter laugh every time she sees it.  She was expecting something small and dainty, but this block, with all of its bold, graphic papers called for something with a little more oomph, hence the finial that normally would go on the end of a curtain rod.  It's metal and quite heavy, and I attached it to a wooden round piece for added height and painted the whole thing black.  Since the theme of the challenge is doodling, I doodled on the finial with silver shimmer paint and sprayed it with clear sealant.

I dry brushed the bright orange rope/yarn with gesso before wrapping it around the base and topped the whole thing off with a couple of vintage earrings.  Actually, they're mine so I guess we can't call them vintage, can we. CAN WE.  Right.  One of them was missing the largest pearl but I had one in my stash, so...problem solved!  Some rhinestones on tops and sequins sprinkled on the sides finish this...thing off.  Oh, and some tiny wooden craft store finials spray painted black for the feet.  This thing deserves to be lifted up a bit.

Thank you SO much for joining me today, and do hop on over to Catherine's blog to check out the challenge which is still going on.  There are prizes from Tattered Angels as well as from Catherine, so you won't want to miss it!

Happy crafting!

Challenges:


Craft Hoarders Anonymous #4 - Show Sparkle, Glitz or Glam (sequins, rhinestones and vintage jewelry)
The Shabby Tea Room #210 - Anything Goes
Altered Eclectics - Anything Goes
As You Like It - Favorite Coloring medium and why - (I love alcohol ink sprays and frequently make my own with various color mediums.  I've used three sprays here that I made with alcohol and glimmer glazes, a red, yellow and blue, to mix and mingle into other colors, both on the flowers and all the sentiment pieces).
Frilly and Funky - Neglected Dies (Tim Holtz Tattered Flowers and Spellbinders Rose dies - I haven't used them in ages!)

On the Third Day of Christmas...

Hello!

It's time for the mid-month challenge at Heather Hudson's challenge blog My Artistic Adventures, and the mid-month challenges are geared towards Christmas with the theme being "The 12 Days of Christmas."  Well this being, March, that means it's "3 French Hens," and the requirement, besides using at least one image from Heather's shop is to use three of something on your project. WELL.  I became so involved with my fun project that I FORGOT to use three things!  Yikes!  So... I am lamely going to claim that my sentiment "JOY" on the front satisfies the requirement of three.

Well it does... 

Heather's such a darling girl that she let me slide, but you can bet I'll be all over "Four Calling Birds" next month.

In the meantime, I had a fabulous time making my block!  It started out as a piece of a 4x4 cedar post that I had the home improvement store cut down into 4" square pieces, and I sanded this one until it was silky smooth, rounding the edges and corners for that well-loved vintage look.  Then I painted it red, applied a layer of crackle glaze, painted it with two coats of white (with just a touch of burnt umber mixed in), then sanded that down until parts of the red and cracquelure showed through.  Then I wiped on a thinned burnt umber and immediately wiped it off to give the block the final well-worn look.  I knew I'd succeeded when my husband walked into my craft room and said, "Wow, that looks really old."  YES!

Then I started decoupaging images, all from Heathers store, to the sides.  Well all but the words, those were computer-generated and cut from card stock.

This is the holly cluster from the Vintage Candy Cane collage sheet.  Actually, the cluster is found on the candy canes and I did a bit of fussy cutting to remove the holly cluster.  I also enlarged it a bit using Photoshop so it would fill more space.

Here are two of the candy canes from the same set.  I did a bit of creative cutting so there was only one layer of holly for a cleaner look.  (All collage sheets will be shown below.)

Isn't she just adorable?  She's from the Vintage Christmas Angels collage sheet...

...as is she.  These retro images just warm me to my toes.

While the candy canes and holly were cut out, I tore these angel images around the edges and aged them with distress inks before decoupaging them to the surface of the block.

BTW, all images were printed on plain computer paper which is so much easier to decoupage than heavier card stock is.  Just remember they're also more fragile.

And here are my "threebies."  I spent nearly an entire day trying to discover how to convert true type fonts into stencils so I could cut my own stencils and apply the letters that way, to no avail.  So these are decoupaged on.  

If anyone knows how to convert fonts to stencils or knows of a program which can do it, PLEASE contact me.  I'm nearly ready to pull my hair out.

 Of course I had to elevate the block.  What better way than on jingle bells!  Now it tinkles whenever it's moved.  

And last but not least, I glittered all of the edges and corners with white glitter, the really super cheap kind that looks more like snow than glitter and that I kept planning to discard but never quite did.  I KNEW it would come in handy someday!

Thank you so much for joining me and I urge you to go visit Heather's blog to see what she and the rest of the super talented Design Team have created.  And don't forget to join the challenge! 

Happy crafting!

This item is for sale in my Etsy shop.

Challenges:

Altered Eclectics - Anything Goes
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge - March
 
Heather's Collage Sheets:



 

Details, details at StampNation

Hello!

Today I'm teaching a tutorial over at StampNation and hope you'll join us!  We'll be talking about certain details that finish a card regardless of how many embellishments there are, if there are any at all.

I had a good time making this card.  I used the wonderful papers, glazes and embellishments sent by the folks over at Tattered Angels for the current challenge going on at StampNation which has been co-sponsored by Tattered Angels (see here for details).  Now for a few close ups...

I sprayed one of the cute sentiments with alcohol ink sprays which I made with two of their Glimmer Glazes, Desert Sun and Sangria.  They made a nice orange and I liked the drips so much that I let them dry that way.  The Tattered Angels mistable and paintable papers take the sprays beautifully, much better than regular card stock or designer paper.

I stamped and colored the pumpkin, then cut it out and coated it with Glossy Accents for shine.  Underneath the black triple bow is some of the orange rope yarn from Tattered Angels which I pulled apart to give a broom-like texture.

Here's the cute little orange clothespin from TA that I dry brushed with a little gesso and then topped with some orange glitter.  Boo!

A little stitching and my card is finished.  

I've left the inside blank for someone's personal note as I will be putting this up for sale in my Etsy shop.  

Thank you for joining me and I do hope you'll pop on over to StampNation to join the fun and check out what the other designers have created for you!

1) To learn more about StampNation, go here.

2)  Become a member right now, go here.  And don't forget, to check out the details of the challenge, go to Catherine's blog here.

Happy crafting!

This card is for sale in my Etsy shop!

StampNation Tangles with Tattered Angels!

HA!

You thought there was going to be a juicy story here, didn't ya?  Well there IS.  Today is the first day of a challenge going on over at StampNation who is being co-sponsored by Tattered Angels.  You know who they are, they make those wonderful Glimmer Mists.  Well, they make other things too, Glimmer Glazes for one (I did something to them for this card) and the most beautiful papers EVAH from their new line, "Tattered Tangles."  They're not only lovely in their own right, they're mistable and paintable too!  They don't deteriorate when water comes in contact with them the way ordinary card stocks do, and I can't even describe how much fun it is to spray on them.

Here are the sneak peeks from the StampNation designers (mine is the lower left).  

Oh, and did I mention StampNation and Tattered Angels are both giving away prizes?  Well of course they are!  The challenge runs until March 18, and for full details pop on over to Catherine's blog here.  She outlines the challenge (the theme is "Doodles," how fun is THAT?), gives details as to which prizes are on offer and how to qualify, and she even offers a bonus video of a second card that she made.  

SO...

1) For details on the challenge and prizes, go here.

2) To learn more about StampNation, go here.

3)  Become a member right now, go here.  

Have fun and happy crafting!

Easter Greetings with Gecko Galz

Hello!

Today's project is one that I'm entering over at the Gecko Galz blog, something that I've long planned to enter but somehow never did.  WELL.  That's all changed now.  Why?  Because just a few days ago I returned from the FANTABULOUS, mind-boggling, craft-laden, prize-heavy, idea-filled, rootin' tootin' Cowgirl Diva retreat!  (That's us, some with cowgirl hats for the contest, some without.  Next year's theme is completely different.)

I'm pretty new to the whole retreat business having only attended one before this and was pretty much the wet-behind-the-ears newbie in awe of all the talent the seasoned veterans who attended displayed.  WOW.  And...WOW again.  In between all the wonderful classes, demonstrations, contests and fun, everyone worked on their own projects.  Well, everyone but me.  I'm so used to crafting by myself that I didn't think I'd be able to work in a room full of women.  HA!  That'll learn me.  My mind drew a complete and total blank even though I toted a cart full of supplies, but I vowed that next year would be different.  I'm taking TWO carts full and will be more prepared to craft with the best of them!  Not that taking tons of supplies is a guarantee of artistic creation, because my good cyber friend Heather Hudson, the uber talented creator of My Artistic Adventures for whom I've been guest designing lately and who I finally got to meet in person (!!) didn't take ANYTHING and created the most wonderful little album using borrowed supplies and the gift pack given to us on the first day.  And she won a prize!  Now THAT'S talent to make a prize-winning piece of art out of just a few things.

At any rate, all that to say I've been newly inspired to create with the wonderfully vintage and retro images that Leanne Seed sells at Gecko Galz.  I've been purchasing her collage sheets and digital stamps and papers for well over a year and was using them in my projects but hadn't entered any of her challenges.  So this is the first but by no means the last for me.  The theme is Easter, and I have used several of her images.  (I will show them below.)

 It is a mixed media collage on canvas board and was one of those projects that took on a life of its own.  I started out by coloring the canvas with various soft Neocolors and decoupaged it with tissue that I stamped with music.  Then I stamped swirls using black archival ink.  And now most of it is hidden, but you can see little bits here and there.  The paper layer is from the Moments in Time paper pack (a retreat gift) and I've distressed it (a LOT) and folded a corner over to reveal the postcard from the Wild About Flowers set.  The real image is much, much brighter but I desaturated it so that it wouldn't detract from the focal point of the project.

I used one of the images from the Easter Bonnets collage sheets - isn't she lovely?  I adhered the image to a piece of grungeboard and then brushed clear crackle paint on top to give her the look of an old oil painting.  The frame is from the Frames set.  I used Photoshop to adjust the size to fit the "painting," then cut out the center, embellished the inner edges with bronze glitter glue and popped the frame up on the image to give it more dimension, then I popped the whole thing up on the base for even MORE dimension.

BTW, the lace up the side was white but I used Neocolors to help it coordinate with the piece.  Pearls were added as well.

 Here's a better view of the crackled layer.

I LOVED putting this floral arrangement together with a big black paper flourish underneath.  The blue rose is my last from the bag of goodies we were given at the retreat and the rest of the flowers are from my stash, some of which I painted with shimmer paints.  I included two bows using custom dyed ribbon and some die cut leaves which I also enhanced with shimmer paints.

And what's an Easter project without bunnikins?  He's from the newly-released Hip Hop Easter collection and I fussy cut him and then enhanced him with various tints of glitter glue and some Glossy Accents on his eye before popping him up for dimension. 

 A close up of the enhanced leaves...

...and the greeting, which was printed on tissue paper and then decoupaged onto the postcard.

I will also be entering this challenge over at Craft Hoarder's Anonymous Challenge #3, the theme of which is Retro/Vintage. 

And that's it!  Thanks so much for joining me and I urge you to RUN over to Gecko Galz and check out the many delightful offerings.  I noticed just today that there are many new collage sheets, so I'll be running there too!  And don't forget to enter the challenge.  You only need to use ONE GG product, and they can be any of the freebies that Leanne so generously offers every month.  Just check the home page at the lower left and you'll find them.  See you there, and happy crafting!

P.S.  This piece is for sale in my Etsy shop!

And now for a couple more pictures...

Heather Hudson and me with our gift packs

Heather of My Artistic Adventures, and Leanne, the genius behind Gecko Galz!

Gecko Galz materials used:

 

Challenge Day at StampNation

Hello!

Today is a fun challenge, my favorite kind, and it's happening over at StampNation!  (Go here if you're not a member but would like to check it out.)  I've been invited to be a guest designer for the month of March, and the challenges happen each Thursday.  Today's theme is "Embellish It" (yes, I told you it was my favorite kind), and you simply need to add three (or more) embellishments to your project.  Are you kidding?  My motto is "embellish the embellishment," so this one was right up my alley.  

I've embellished a pillar candle to the nth degree, starting with melting tissue thin pieces of, well...tissue paper (a decorated paper guest towel) into the wax.  It's a two-handed yet very easy process, and the tissue actually becomes part of the candle's surface.

Here's a look at the back.  The surface is actually smooth (rolling the candle while hot is part of the process), but the tissue paper itself sometimes takes on a textured look.  

The center wrap is comprised of vellum, torn and inked, a strip of net ribbon, a strip of cream lace and a strip of vintage velvet ribbon.

My favorite part is the "flower" that I made from bits of vintage lace, new lace, a vintage applique, string pearls, a rusty metal piece from Mexico, a button and some bronze glitter glue.  I love making these unique "flowers" out of scraps of lace that might otherwise be discarded.

Here's a close up of the metal piece.  I have no idea what it is, but my mother brought it from her annual artist's trip to Puero Vallarta and it was perfect for this project.

As if all those embellishments weren't enough (they weren't), I also rubbed on a bit of gold Rub 'N' Buff over the surface.  It was the perfect finishing touch.

The nice thing about this project is that a pillar candle burns down inside and doesn't drip, therefore there's minimal risk of burning the outer surface and thus the embellishments (though you might feel more comfortable using this as a decorative candle only).  Once it's burned deep enough, you can even put a tea light (real or battery-operated) inside. 

Being a scented candle (spicy cinnamon), the scent was heavenly while I was working on it.

Thank you for joining me, and I hope you'll head on over to see what the rest of the Design Team at StampNation has created for you!  Then join the fun and create something with three (or more!) embellishments too!

Happy crafting!!

Challenges:

Craft Hoarder's Anonymous #3 - Vintage or Retro (I hoard vintage lace and pretty paper napkins and guest towels!)

This candle is for sale in my Etsy shop!