Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Coloring with Distressed inks

Every Wednesday I get the newsletter from Splitcoaststampers. A new technique is shown every week. I have tried some but never have entered a card to SCS before. Todays technique is Coloring with Distressed inks. A technique I have used quite a lot especially when I first started stamping. However I always used regular card stock. This is done on Water color paper. It has a real soft look. I combined the technique with SCS Wednesdays Sketch 348. The background is sponged with the same colors I used to color my image.



Tuesday, August 30, 2011

SCS Tuesday Color Challenge

I planned to have this card finished this morning but I was called to work early. But its finished now. I used the Mojo Monday Sketch for this week as my guide.
The colors to use are Cherry Cobbler, More Mustard and Calypso Coral.  This is my first color challenge at SCS. Besides the colors they have what they call the "dessert". The dessert this week was to make your own designer paper. I gathered the 3 colors. I did not have the Coral so I used Groovy Guava. I decided to try the Double Embossing technique. You run your card stock through your Cuttlebug in a folder. Then after removing it from the folder rub Versa Mark over the raised area. Embossed with Clear EP. That was my bottom layer. Then I used the smaller poppy from my set of stamps from Marks Finest Papers to pretty up a couple pieces of the Cherry Cobbler for more paper with a designer look. I would never have picked these colors to use together but they worked. I especially like the Double Embossed paper.  The main image is colored with pencils and Gamsol.


Monday, August 29, 2011

A new day with new challenges

I had some exciting news this week and I will let you in on it real soon. All I can say right now is that DT is part of it. SO excited. So because of this I needed to join in at Splitcoaststampers instead of just being a lurker there and boy am I glad I did. I've made a gallery and already completed 2 challenges today. Why did I wait so long. I was always there why oh why didn't I participate.  I hope to be posting daily now as I try to participate in what I can. A new reason to create and I am looking forward to my new duties starting in October with the DT.
This card is for the Splitcoast TLC 340 challenge. This is a technique challenge and this technique is called Embossed Kissed.


The next card is for the Splitcoast CAS 133 challenge. This is Clean and Simple and you are to use Kraft card stock and Primary or bright colors.


The Flower on my last card I saw on another blog and tried to make it.  I am so intrigued by all these hand made flowers and usually can't figure them out but this one is so cute and so easy. It uses a leaf die from Spellbinders.  The background is sponged with Distressed Inks.


Stamps are all from Marks Finest Papers.

Saturday, August 27, 2011

A touch of lace

That's the challenge at The Friends of Speedy the Cat Blog. I cleaned out the box on my work desk today and found these lace snowflakes. I put 2 together to form a flower. Added a button to the center of it. The sentiment and the butterfly are both from Marks Finest Papers.

Shabby Chic

The one thing I can't bring myself to do is rough up the edges of my paper or you know rip or lightly shred them so this challenges is not really for me. But I did wrinkle up my paper and smear ink on it. Hope that shabbied it up a little. I'm too much of a neat freak to mess my work up too much. Distressing with ink is about as far as I go and that took a long time to get me to use brown. That was like dirtying my image up.  I like it now and do it often but I don't think the shredded edge thing will ever be seen on a card of mine.  Just can't do it.  The challenge is at I Brake for Challenges. Go on over and check it out. The image is a new stamp I just received from I Brake for Stamps. I followed the directions of a Technique Junkie technique called Polished Wrinkles from a 2008 Issue.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Black Eyed Susans

This week I am using a new stamp set from Marks Finest Papers called Black Eyed Susans for Encouragement. I colored them with Prisma pencils and Gamsol and then distressed with Vintage Photo Ink. I am using this card for The Friends of Speedy the Cat Blog Challenge "Embossing". I used a Cuttlebug folder to emboss my background and sponged a little ink over it. I'm also using it for the Stampin Bs Blog Challenge " Distressing".
The sentiment is from the same set. My house is very quiet now. My daughter has gone back to college. This year she will not be home on the weekends because she is getting a job there. So we are going through a little noise withdrawal. Last night we were asleep by 8:30. Going to have to turn that Wii on and start bowling in the evening so we don't sleep our lives away. She will be 20 in a week. Why can't she still be 8?  I've had a child in my house for 40 years. It's hard when the last one goes. A little depressing. Now we need to start living for ourselves. We'll get there and she is only an hour away if I need a little Robin fix.

Monday, August 15, 2011

Forest Gifts

This is a new set from Marks Finest Papers. Bakers twine and ribbon are also from there. I am entering it into 2 challenges. At the Friends of Speedy the Cat Blog we were to Distress in someway. I used Vintage Photo Distressed Ink to antique all my edges. Over at The Stampin Bs we were to add Clouds. I have this plastic template I bought somewhere years ago but didn't like it for big skies so it doesn't get used. It worked well for a small space.


Monday, August 8, 2011

A Quick and easy background

This week at The Friends of Speedy the Cat blog the challenge was to make anything but the regular 4 1/4x 5 1/2 card. I had a Center Stair Step card base on my desk. That's where I began. I wanted to use my new Lilacs in the Summer stamp set from Marks Finest Papers. Now I needed a background that would stand out so out came the webbing and if you scroll down I will show you how I did it along with a sample of a background I have had for sometime but wasn't happy with it until I sprayed it this morning with Webbing. Can't find webbing. You can find it here


Here is a sample I had stomped with a sponge and metallic paints. Never really cared for it but I keep everything. Never know when you might be able to use it.





 And here it is with Black Webbing. What a difference. So if you ever have a background you are not happy with bring out the webbing. You might be creatively surprised.



Now here is how I made my background for todays challenge card. I started out with white card stock and my small Memento pads. This size of ink pad is great for this.





Start with your 2 lightest colors and just swirl ink around. There is no right or wrong way.



Then add a medium color and then a darker color if you like. Next is the webbing.

My favorite is the black but do use the gold and white a lot. It also comes in silver. I don't find myself reaching for that one though very often. Here is my background after being sprayed with gold and then black.
The secret is to keep your arm moving. If you spray dead on you will get blobs and not a webbing look.


Thursday, August 4, 2011

Stampin Bs challenge

This week we were to make a square card with piercing. The tiger image is from Marks Finest Papers. I stamped him on water color paper with  Archival Black ink and water colored with pencils. I stamped the fern around the bottom in 3 different shades of green.

Monday, August 1, 2011

Lilacs in the Summer

These are one of my most favorite of flowers and one you don't see in Florida. I have planted the closest thing to it here, the Crepe Myrtle. It blooms all summer and is so pretty. We add a couple every year to the yard. It truly brightens my day to look out the window and see such beauty blooming in my yard. This stamp set from Marks Finest Papers is so easy to color. I used Copics and just dotted the flowers with several colors of purple. The first card is for the Challenge at The Friends of Speedy the Cat Blog. The Challenge was to use anything but Ribbon. I used some waxed cording. The background was made by inking the raised part of my embossing folder with black. Adding my white card stock and running it through my Cuttlebug and then I sponged ink on the flat surfaces.


The next card started out as my card for the Speedy the Cat challenge but I didn't like cording on it so I'm using it for the Stampin Bs challenge to use Ribbon. I used a Spellbinders border die in 2 shades of purple. Only punched out the lighter color one and layered them. I stamped the edge of a tiny lilac along the edges in 2 shades of Memento Ink.