The animal inside

Continuing with the card theme of the weekend, I created this

Birthday card for my friend to give to her

mother in law.

She asked for the card to include leopard print....

I got to use some foam stamps that have been sitting in my stash for quite a while!

All the papers were made using the stamps, and then embossing with clear emboss, and then inked up

using my distress inks (tea dye and vintage photo)

I added the gold gear cut from Tim Holtz big dies "gears"

Made a little banner of animal print ribbon tape, and added embelishments of rhinestones

and pearls! 

The Happy Birthday was made using my dymo label maker, and the sentiment

is a stamp!  I love how it turned out sort of girlie, but still primative!

Hope you enjoy this little post! 

Tim holtz June tag

How have I missed these fun challenges all year??? 

The challenge is to make a tag and tim (as in TIM HOLTZ) shows you how to 

color an "antique" photo using nibs and your distress inks! 

This photo was perfect for the challenge!

No, it's not anyone I know... I found it at an estate sale a few weeks back.

 The background of the tag is distress inks, mottled with water, and then a stamp of flourishes in black distress.  Once that was done I went to work on the photo, which was originally black and white 

mounted on a piece of blue cardboard. 

I colored her top with barn door red, and her hankie around her neck I did a combo of Crushed olive and Peeled Paint.  

For the "2" I used a "bone button" that I had in my stash from way back, I embossed the 2 using vintage photo distress ink, and clear embossing powder.

The 5 came from a pack of vinyl letters I got on clearance last month.

Some more stamping, and I went to work on the placard. 

I used some paint dabbers, and some black acrylic to distress what used to be a shiny silver.  

I got to use my "new" typewriter to make the sentiment.  I added a little fabric flower underneath, held together with a sparkly brad. 

I really struggled to "fill the empty space" on the bottom of the tag, but I finally ended up adding a sixpence

left over from some of the wedding projects, and tied up with 

some twine from the twinery 

Finally what is a tag without a ribbon?? I colored some white ribbon using my distress inks, and added another piece of twine, added a pin and a rusted washer. 

 

I can't say how much fun I had doing this project!  It really was a labor of love to make all of this tag 

without running to the store to get this or that!  I've stood strong all month.... So far two weeks of not buying any new product!  I hope you enjoy this! 

Entering into:

Tim Holtz tag: http://timholtz.com/12-tags-of-2012-june/

 Shopping our stash, double the ribbon:  http://shoppingourstash.blogspot.com/2012/06/sos-challenge-55-double-ribbon.html

Card swap part deux

I couldn't leave well enough alone...

I had to do a second card for the swap

This wonderful saturated canary image is called Dorothy... Duh!!

She was so much fun to color... All 6 times I did!!

I added a little bit of polka dots to her socks, and some glitter glue to her shoes.

After all don't her shoes make her??

The background I added some quilting and sewing.

I'm entering this card in the q is for quilt challenge over at abc challenge. 

I used my copics, prismacolor and a bic marker to color her..

And finally hubby used my new typewriter to "print" the sentiment on the side.

Isn't she a lovely card???

Card Swap

After working 9 hours of overtime.... I hit a wall

I knew I needed to come home and create 5 fabulous handmade cards

for a swap with the girls....

I also have made a resolution to not buy any new product in the month of June

I sat in the studio trying to put together different patterns for the card....

Frustrated I grabbed my purse and headed to Joann's

After wandering the aisles for a while 

I Walked out!!!

That's right, I left without buying anything!

I came home and made this wonderful card

The ice cream cone digi stamp I got from wings and willows (a super blog... check it out...)

I colored it with my copic's and prismacolor markers,

The red paper I made using some fun stamps I embossed onto plain white 

and then I used my "barn door" distress ink to make it the pretty red...

Both the polka dot and red paper is sewn on the edges using... that's right, my sewing machine! 

Then I had to add some pretties to the envelopes

And the flap side

On the inside of the card I stamped "thinking of you" from the stamp set I won from denami 

Voila!  I'm excited to give them away, and to get some fun cards in return.

Thanks for stopping by!  It's great to see you today!!

Prompt: Wacky

This past weekend at our smashing Smash* crop

Holly gave us a prompt for the evening... it was Wacky...

I had literally smashed the background of this page prior, using my new 

Acrylic Dabbers using this technique and had added the Starburst wrappers 

thinking I would do a candy page!

But the colors just screamed WACKY

and so I went to work... Hoping that my toils would win me a small smash* book prize

The pics I happened to have taken with my Ipad on our recent Grand Canyon

trip with mom and dad... they are in "infrared"

I had stamped and painted the kites earlier in the day

using of course my ranger distress inks after stamping and embossing the outline I 

used my paintbrush with a little water and the ink I filled 

in the kites... it gives a cool water color effect

Next I added some of my smash* pad top 10 notecards

I added the washi, made some "Wacky" "Color" tags

Voila! While I don't think it won me a new smash* book (I left before the drawing,) 

it was very satisfying to finish a page

and to use the funky pictures that I thought would never make it into any

book! 

Do you have that funky picture that you don't think will fit anywhere??  Are you bold enough

to just go for it??

Smash* Challenge #1

This weekend I am participating in the Three 24 hour smash* aholics challenge.  It's 3 challenges for 

each of the three days of the weekend.

The first challenge was to make a page about someone or something special..

So I flipped thru my pictures and this one stood out t me...

It's of my parents from their last visit.  And in honor of my mom finally starting to follow this blog I thought 

I'd include her!!

Some close ups of the details... The pretty butterfly with Ranger acrylic paints, and home made 

glitter spray (I used an old container of eyeshadow)

The little glassine envelope was left over from my wedding, and I added a little bit of twine

At the top of the pic is the xoxo glittery ribbon, some coups I got at a raffle a while back..

The king and queen are from the cover of a book of stamps, and I made the mom and 

dad sign from scratch...

It's a cute little page, and much more smash* like than I usually do!  I hope you enjoy!

A Summer Bookmark

I Love Bingo!!!

Hubby thinks I should actually be about 65 years old....

But I Love Bingo!!!!

So when I saw the Bingo 2 Week challenge over at shoppingourstash I KNEW I was going to participate!

Of course I also love saturated canary's challenge, so for my first combo challenge, I did this little beauty

For SC the challenge this week is bookmark, 

it's perfect for that summer book I'll be picking up soon!

For the Bingo challenge I had to incorporate glitter, pearls, distressing, blue, and flower...

I love the glitter in her hair... feels like she got some sand stuck in her locks

I also got a chance to use my new denami stamps that you may remember I won in a blog hop last weekend.. That's the little butterfly, embossed and painted with pearl watercolors!
I also incorporated some of the twine I got in that same win from the twinery to the ribbon's at the top of the bookmark..

The pearls and flower I tied together in my handmade flower which is also blue

There is some distressing on the edges of the bookmark, and I also used ranger distress inks and a little punchinella on the side of the bookmark. 

I hope you love my summer bookmark!  

What is your favorite book??  How would you make a bookmark for it? 

Altered Composition Book

This week I have been hard at work altering a composition book 

for a swap with the sensational scrappers of the west valley.  If you're in the Phoenix area look us up!!

It's a great bunch of crafters!

If you remember I had questioned what vintage was here.  Well, this is my answer.

So on to the eye candy...

Altered Composition book

The directions said to add at least 3 things to the cover... I think I did that and more just on the "vintage" section....

Scrabble letter embellishments

Love the twine!!  Can't wait for my box of goodies coming soon.. filled with twine for sure from the twinery.

Handmade "burn" flower

This beauty I made all from hand... Hopefully a tutorial will be coming soon! 

A super easy project you can do while watching tv even!

Handmade Envelope

The inside cover had a handmade "pocket" 

The directions also said that inside at least 25 pages should have some kind of "embellishment"

This sweet page has a simple sentiment.

I hope you love this book!  Feel free to email me if you have any questions about how I did any of the work...

What would you do

Another Birthday Card

As promised I have some eye candy for today!!! 

This little beauty was a little bit of some left overs that I found in my studio.

The picture is from saturated canary's talented artist Krista Smith.  I colored it with copic and prismacolor markers.

The card I got on clearance in Hobby lobby, and the papers I've had for literally years!!!  

The little 3 and 5 are stamped with embossing ink, and then clear embossed, and then I distressed the paper with Ranger inks. and attached a brad.

It was a pretty quick card since I had already colored the digi stamp! 

I made this pretty little girl for my sister Tanya... so if your reading, sorry to spoil your card... but it's obviously MUCH better in person!!!  Enjoy!!

What is your favorite card making technique??  Are you like me, helter skelter??  Or do you plan everything out to the last detail??

Please feel free to follow my blog, I can't wait to meet all of you out there in blogland!! 

Happy Wednesday!

10 tips to get past the blank art journal page

10 Tips

to get past the blank art journal page!

1. Put down a wash of color... Use watercolors, or acrylics.

2. Tear out a page of a magazine and modge podge or glue it down on the page.   Any magazine page will do... after all, you're probably going to cover it up again!

3. Distress just the edges and corners of the page.

4. Stamp your page directly from the ink pad and then quickly spritz with water.

or my favorite.......

This seems to work very best with the ranger distress inks as they stay wet longer.

5. Glue or modge podge a ripped up dress pattern to the page.

6. Haphazardly stamp with any of the rubber stamps you have not yet used, or haven't used in a long time!

7. Glue or paste that old calendar right onto your page!

8. Use something unexpected... try rubbing with charcoal, or how about some of those retread tires we see on the side of the highway? (Please be careful!!!  Don't get hit!!!)

9. Stick all your drink wrappers on a page... think the green tea bottle you just threw away, or the cup of joe you drank this morning.


10. Use that punchinella!  Abuse it!  Use all the ink pads you have!

After I put down a background on a page I usually shut my journal and leave it... Then when I'm ready to do a page I already have a bunch of backgrounds ready to choose from.

Translating a hobby!

#5 Hobby

My list of journal prompts from Mary

includes this beauty...
When I was at a recent meet up one of lovely ladies triggered an idea for this page. 

You see art journaling was not my first love... In fact, I had a whole life as a sewer and quilter prior to this adventure.  I even tried to sew a pair of pants once... that was a MAJOR fail!  

I am a lover of all things sewing though...
 I would love to have a dress form just for the inspiration it might lend to me!

I was super excited to use a leftover apron pattern in my art journal. 

I modge podge'd up the page and slapped that bad boy down!

Then it tore... and it didn't fit quite right... 

So I added some more pieces, and I stamped it up some using my Ranger distress inks!

It was starting to look better.... Then it hit me... since I was already going for a little sewing theme, why not actually sew on the pages??? 

So I pulled out my embroidery threads that mom had given me last time she was here.. and I went to work on the edges! 

Then I added a little sewing in the middle of the page with a piece out of my scrap dictionary about a "pattern." 

On the opposite side I used some glitter glue to write "Sewing Machine" 

and some ribbon that looks like a tape measure.  

Finally I added a quick sewn paper flower that I adapted from this tutorial.

I hope you enjoy!
What is a hobby that you would journal about?? 

Orange

Create an orange page!

It's such a bright and happy color... but how do you make a whole page of orange???

This page is similar to one that I saw online, and while I should have written down the site, I didn't, and then of course I couldn't find the site... Luckily for me I did however write down some of the things on the page... This is my version of that page.  

I journaled exactly what I was doing at the time I was doing it.... 

The background is orange watercolors mixed with wild honey Ranger ink, and orange glitter watercolors.  The lettering is stamped using black soot Ranger ink.  And the white writing is a jelly roll.  

This page was super easy to make, and I love that it went together so quickly!