Tag-a-licious Tuesday

Here is the second set of Tag-a-licious Tuesday projects.  The designs are from Tim Holtz' 12 Tags of Christmas.  They are tons of fun and incorporate lots of techniques.  I have looked for supplies everywhere, so the retail merchants are really cashing in on these tag materials!  I didn't have the Stamper's Anonymous stamps Tim used on the red tag, so I substituted Hero Arts stamps.  Also, I don't have multiples of the number sets, so I cut numbers from light weight metal and then treated them to the steps Tim lists in his project.  Last Tag-a-licious Tuesday was so fun we are repeating it at Stamp Antonio this Saturday.  I love making these!  Oh, the seam binding ribbons are called Hug Snug and it's from Lawrence Schiff ribbon company.  Seam binding is hard to find these days has become a luxury item!  These are a perfect substitute for the "trimmings" used by Tim Holtz.

Tag, You're It!

We made these cute little tags at our November Hero Arts Club at Stamp Antonio!  Come join us in December.  Hero Arts Club meets Thursday, Dec. 16, 1-3 p.m; Friday, Dec. 17, 6-8 p.m.  For those unable to come to the full event, Saturday Dec. 18 we will host make and takes featuring the new 201l Hero Arts stamps.  Come and have fun!

Autumn Wreath

I have been admiring all the wreaths created by the talented Hero Arts Artists using this wreath stamp--Lisa Spangler did a luscious pink and white confection, the I saw Shari Carroll did a very fun Halloween wreath.  I really wanted to make that Halloween wreath, bought all the supplies, but that never happened.  So I decided to make an autumn wreath using this leaf ribbon and some striped autumn colored ribbon.  The leaves (from a Hero Arts set) are colored with pencil and the acorn has a glitter "helmet".  This is of course the year of the acorn here in San Antonio.  While we have many oak trees in my yard and neighborhood, never have we seen so many acorns, of all shapes and sizes.  The squirrels are regularly scheduling parties on my roof to celebrate their abundance!  So of course, an acorn on my wreath is de rigeur, even though I do not have a current acorn stamp!  This one is from Stamp in the Hand, and inks up nicely, even with dye inks. I tried out my new Stampendous clear bark embossing powder, and was amazed to find out it really is "clear brown".  I used it with Versamark for the card, but found when a brown pigment is used underneath the powder, the image is much darker--more the color of the ink than the powder. 

Southwest cards from Outlines stamps

Here are the pictures of the cards I am presenting at a class at Stamp Antonio on Tuesday, Nov. 9 from 10:30 -12:30.  We will be using two Outlines stamps:  I1060 and H1061.  They are both Southwest Collage stamps, and I used only a portion of each collage.  Each stamp has innumerable possibilities of combinations for collage orientation.  Here is the link to the stamps:   http://www.outlinesrubberstamp.com/ecom/products.cfm?catID=162&maincatID
You can see where I got my ideas from!  Stamp Antonio will have the stamps available the day of the class.  Of course, while the Basic Grey paper is fabulous, I had to change papers for my cards.  I also used fibers I got from Stitches from the Heart.  These cards are really fun to make, and I hope I can make some additional cards from the stamps to show on the day of the class.

Note Card Set

I just finished this beautiful notecard set as a sample for our October Hero Arts club meeting at Stamp Antonio.  I got the idea from an out of print book featuring PSX stamps.  Each card features a stamped vellum overlay and the card holder is folded corrugated cardstock held together with ribbon.  These stamps are all from Hero Arts--wood -mount "Real Blossom" K5414 and the clear stamp set "Just Find Me" CL 434.  I love the beautiful script of the sentiments on that set.  I used Pink Pizazz and Lavender Ancient Page inks on the vellum.  You can see the lavender ribbon on the original notecard I made, but I ran out of lavender ribbon and had to use a silver one on the remaining cards.  This set would make a lovely gift and could be adapted to any occasion.  Our monthly theme for October is "Botanical" and I made several examples using other flower/plant stamps from Hero Arts using not only Ancient Page dye ink but also chalk inks and Tombow markers.  I hope you will be able to come to the event this coming Thursday or Friday, where you, too, can create this lovely set.  See you there!

Retro Witch

Check out this cool tag I made at Totally Tim Tags today!  This is Carrie's design, but my witch!  (Well, with a little help from Tim Holtz!)  We did a Studio Canvas transfer--I used the stripe paper.  I stamped some spiral circles around the edge of the tag before laying down the striped transferred canvas.  I spread some gesso onto the central part of another piece of studio canvas, let it dry, inked the edges with green Shabby Shutters and Peeled Paint, then stamped the witch from the Tim Holtz Retro Halloween stamp set.  You can't really see it in the picture, but I painted the witch's face with pigment inks and added definition to her hair with a black fabric pen.  What a way to start thinking about Halloween!

Dancing Skeletons

This fun little card is the "take home" card from my Card Factory class this morning.  The little dancing skeletons (Deadbeat Designs) are heat embossed with white ink and white powder on BoBunny dot paper.  The little pumpkins they are juggling are from an Inkadinkado stamp, stamped in orange on black paper and heat embossed with Judikins orange sparkle powder.  The top of the card is a 2" strip of BoBunny orange dot paper, stamped with a Hero Arts circle border stamp in black and decorated with dots of Stickles and the new Ranger Enamel accents in both black and white.  I love how the new Enamel accents come out slick as glass, and easy to apply, just like Glossy Accents.  I added a strip of Bazzill black pom pom ribbon at the top.  Stamp Antonio promises to get pom pom ribbon in green and white as well.  I hope the participants in Card Factory enjoyed putting this card together as much as I enjoyed designing it!  It's that time of the year when we all find ourselves "dancing as fast as we can" as fall marches toward Halloween, then Thanksgiving, and before we know it, Christmas is almost upon us!  I hope more treats than tricks come your way as you fill your autumn days with family and fellowship.

It finally feels like fall!

Autumn is my favorite time of the year!  I love the crispness of the cooler air, the feel of wearing sweaters, the colors of the changing season.  This morning on my walk, I could definitely feel the change in the air as I quickened my pace due to the cooler temperature.  The card pictured above displays those wonderful fall colors, and is just one of the cards I will be presenting at Card Factory at Stamp Antonio this Saturday.  A little bit of marker color, a little bit of heat embossing with various leaf colored powders, and a little bit of colorful paper all tied together with a smooth overlay of vellum--this card whispers "fall!"

My Tiny Space

What you are seeing in the picture above is the tiny little space in which I usually do my stamping in my craft room.  I cleared the space off today so I could actually work on some cards.  It had been filled with a Cuttlebug (see the embossed kraft paper) and littered with tons of stuff I needed to put somewhere.  Actually my space, when cleared off, is very use-able and cozy.  I sit in a large overstuffed easy chair pulled up to the desk.  My large cutter is in another area of the room, so I have to get up for that, but I'm a jack rabbit by nature.  (My dog gets very mad at this--she wants me to stay put so she can nap!)  Close by, as you can see in the photo, I have most of the things I need handy--colored pencils and jewels are in the green topped bins, pens, glitter markers, and Stickles are in some of the open containers, as well as glues and small tools.  I keep my very large wood block Hero stamps at the ready for backgrounds.  Not shown in the photo are tons of papers on a rack, a turntable of supplies, and a tiered basket of stuff, just above my workspace. Also, not shown, is a tray of three small metal flowerpots to the right of my workspace which house scissors and other tools.  Very handy.  The card I am working on at present is another of the Asian Art cards from our Hero Club meeting at Stamp Antonio.  I had a few leftover supplies so I am making "copy cats" of the original card that I will be able to use later.  I stamped the circle image in Versafine black and heat set it so the Copics I am going to use will not smear.  Where are the Copic markers you might ask?  They are handy in a bin just under my workspace..I just reach down and pick it up!  Always at hand!  And what makes this space extra special?  My Ott light!  I can't work without it!  There are some things that are present that I hardly ever use..my original Sizzix die cutter and the pasta machine, but they have been there so long and are so heavy I am not going to move them!  They often just get draped with clutter until it's time to pick up again!

Asian Art Fun

Last week we had our Hero Arts Club meeting at Stamp Antonio--Asian Art Fun Night!  This cute little card was very fun (although it has some intricate cutting!)  I stamped the lanterns from Hero Arts CL373 Good Fortune set onto various colors of vellum.  When you stamp on vellum you have to use a dye ink that will dry on vellum, and give it time to dry.  Stamping off once onto scratch paper before stamping on the vellum will reduce drying time.  Lanterns must be dry before cutting out, or the images will smear.  After cutting out the lanterns, I cut small holes with a 1/16" hole punch in the top of each and strung them along a line of mizuhiki paper cord.  If you put a glue dot at the top of each lantern after arranging them along the cord, they will stick nicely to the card.  The glue dots do not show very much behind the colored vellum.  I also used a glue dot at the bottom of each lantern to hold a bit of floss.  I folded the six strand DMC floss a few times, attached it to the lantern, fluffed it out with a pin or the tip of my scissors, and then snipped it off to the length I wanted.  I really like using a piece of ribbon, cord, or floss that is big enough to hold onto, and then cut it to the size I want after I arrange it.  The card above has a strip of Hero Arts washi paper at the top, and I added a sentiment and the "lucky cat" at the bottom.  The cat is colored with Tombow markers (yes, I still use them!) so the colors won't show through to the inside of the card.  I really like how this card turned out.  The only thing I would change is I wanted to use dimensional adhesive so the lanterns would "pop" from the back of the card.  I just didn't know how to do this without the adhesive showing through the transparency of the vellum.  I thought about dimensional pop dots, but they are so large.  Any ideas?

Post - It Note holder

This is the cute project we did in Hero Arts Club at Stamp Antonio Arts this past week.  The idea came from a book I had by Marie Browning on bookmaking (a book I love, by the way!).  Here is what you need to make the booklet:

2        4 1/2" pieces of lightweight cardstock or
                       paper for covers
1        3" paper or cardstock for inside front cover
2        3 1/8" pieces of lightweight chipboard
                        (You can use the chipboard from cereal boxes!)
1        3 1/2" x 1 3/4" ultrasuede or suede paper for spine
1        3" square post it note package

            And you need a gluestick and some white glue.   Here's what to do: 
                       1. Decorate your 4 1/2" pieces of paper for your covers, remembering that only the center 3"
                                         will show. 
                       2. Decorate your paper for the inside cover as well.
                       3. Center your chipboard squares onto the backs of your decorated covers, glue down with
                                          gluestick.  Miter the corners and fold in the sides. Glue down securely. 
                       4. Attach the suede strip to the edges of each covered piece with a white glue, not a
                                          gluestick.  I used Tombow Mono Multi but any white glue with a fine line
                                          applicator will work. 
                                          Use only a tiny bead of glue.  Hold or press the glued area for a few minutes
                                          until  it sets.  After the spine edges are completely dry, cut off the excess spine
                                          ends so it is flush with the covers.
                       5. Cover the inside front cover with your decorated paper.  Lay (or glue, if you prefer) the
                                           post it notes to the back inside cover.
                       6.  Add whatever decorations you want.  I used a piece of ribbon and an extra stamped
                                           piece on the sample shown.  The stamp used for the sample is Hero Arts
                                           Delicate Blossoms CL449.  I colored it with Copic markers.

Hero Arts at Stamp Antonio

Here is the Hero Arts stamp wall at Stamp Antonio.  No samples up yet!  They're still all in my car--hope to get some up this week.  The new location looks fabulous!  Thank you, all who came to see us this past Saturday at our Amuseapalooza.  Geeta was great, as usual!  Thank you, Geeta, for this picture!  I hope many of you will come to our Hero Arts club meeting this Thursday and Friday.  We are playing with incorporating office supplies in our stamping!  Stamp Antonio's new phone number:   210-764-7900.  New address:  5139 North Loop 1604 West, #108. 

Glitter and shine

This card was done with one Hero Arts stamp. I placed a piece of patterned paper from Creative Imaginations onto a coral colored card, then overlayed an acetate card. I stamped the Hero Arts Floral scallop with black Stazon on the acetate over the printed paper, then colored the backside with gel pens and Ranger Fruit Punch stickles. I also stamped the edges of the acetate with random images from the stamp, masking as necessary to get just the flowers, not any of the border edges, and again colored with gel pens and stickles. I imagine the little bird (cut out from the paper) would like to get into this juicy, sparkly looking bramble!

Acetate Window cards

I have really enjoyed playing with acetate/transparencies lately. Here are two cards I worked up to show what can be done with acetate. The designs are not mine, however, They come from a book called Clear and Classy Cards from Design Originals featuring work by Sally Traidman and others. The card on the left uses confetti inside the window to create a see-through birthday candle. I used a Sharpie to color the designs on the acetate window--a copic was not strong enough to do this. The card on the right features a window "pocket" as the lower part of the card. I added tiny punched flowers as the confetti as well as some larger punched flowers. The larger flowers you can see through the window pocket are not in the pocket at all. They are attached to the back inside of the card. You are looking at them through the see-through window. Thank you, Design Originals, for these fun ideas! All stamps by Hero Arts.

Sunday scrappin'

No, not scrapbooking--scrappin! I determined that at least once a week I need to play with my "leftover" stash, which is now quite considerable in quantity! The first picture above shows some inchies I made with a stamped, embossed Kokopelli image I found. I made a background for the Kokopelli with some printed vellum and painted the edges with gold Lumiere paint. The second is a card I made entirely from leftovers I found from past projects, jazzing it up a bit with some gold hole-less beads and some pressed real flowers. The stamped flowers were the first piece I picked up from my stash--a repeatedly stamped Hero Arts flower showing how chalk ink gets lighter as you stamp it without re-inking. The bottom striped pieced is Magenta scrabook paper, stamped with a Hero Arts greeting. I rough cut the zig-zag edging. The side scrap is stamped with Hero Arts grid in Ranger Adirondack cranberry ink, zig-zagged the edges, and added tiny little flowers I cut from another scrapbook paper piece. I then added the gold beads with diamond glaze to the centers.

Plaid Background

I loved making this plaid background! I used Hero Arts Box Plaid S5369 and inked it first all over with Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Mustard. I then colored about every third stripe with the edge of a Rusty Hinge pad. Then I turned the stamp a quarter way around and inked every third stripe with Barn Door. I then misted the colors and stamped on a white card. After it dried I cut the squares out and edged them with the Barn Door pad, streaking a little extra red on some parts of the squares. I then set the squares into a tile background using some dimensional adhesive of varying heights. Big dog, saying, and potholders also from Hero Arts. Chef's hat from Cat's Pajamas. Oh, I used the following Copics to color the dog: E15, E33, E57, and E55. I started with the darkest color around the edges of the dog, put the lightest color, which is a little pinkish, around the front part of his face, and then blended away. He is stamped in Rich Cocoa Memento, which adds to the brown color.

Take it Easy!

It's June! Summertime is here, and the livin' is easy! I hope you will be enjoying some time stamping and scrapbooking your summer adventures--camping, swimming, vacationing--live in the moment, like the card at left says! This card will be featured in Card Factory this Saturday at Stamp Antonio Arts. I used an Amuse notecard, pre-printed transparency from Teresa Collins, stamps from Hero Arts.

Speaking of Stamp Antonio, you need to know it will be moving to a shopping center near the intesection of Lockhill Selma and Loop1604. The move is scheduled for the end of this month, and we are hoping it will be easy for you to join us there! I am way excited about the move--two classrooms and an innovative store layout. We will be beefing up our class schedules, allowing space and time for fabric arts, papermaking, and children's classes, as well as our usual lineup of events. We will of course continue Artist Night Out, with some new features, like a full size refrigerator stocked with drinks and snacks for sale. (No Sonic or Starbucks yet nearby.) And of course our Hero Club will be in full swing. Our first event will be the Amuseapalooza with Geeta Suggs. Great things on the horizon!

Hero Hues Display finally finished!

Here is a picture of the lovely display board showing all the Hero Hues we worked on at the Hero Arts workshops led by Shari Carroll and Jennifer McGuire. I finally got ours together and up at Stamp Antonio today. It looks great! Come by and see it! It shows all the lovely colors Hero Arts offers in notecards, envelopes, layering papers, flowers, and gemstones. My favorite is the large blue flower we colored using pearlized Ranger Distress Inks. Each image on the display represents a different stamping technique, and guess what??! Some of the techniques were new to me!! It's really fun to learn so many different ways to use stamping products.

Look at this sample board! All new Hero Arts stamps are now in at Stamp Antonio. I have my eye on the cling pots and pans and the mattress ticking background. And don't you love the way they colored the fruit? I could use the Hero Arts dots or BoBunny dot papers! And the little garden girl is perfect for coloring with Copic markers. I find I am using my Copics more and more--move over Tombow! Can't wait to go shopping this afternoon!

New Hero Arts stamps!

Look at this sample of the new images from Hero Arts! Can you guess which one(s) are my favorites? Hint: I love peacocks! All of the new stamps are available this week at Stamp Antonio. I am going shopping--how about you? Amy and I are just recovering from our fabulous trip to Hero Arts last weekend. That's Amy in the other picture waiting to get started with projects. We took classes from Shari Carroll and Jennifer McGuire. How great is that! And we got a tour of the Hero Arts facility in Richmond. I can't say enough good things about this company--Hero Arts rocks! Stay tuned--I will be posting more pix and stories.

Proud as a Peacock!

Look what came today! I got all of the items to make this peacock card featured on the Stampendous blog! I have been wanting to make this peacock card ever since I saw it! It's made using Fran's sticker technique on double sided tape with flocking and glitter. The glitter kit is even called "Peacock"! These colors make me happy, and the technique is not hard. I've always liked Peel Off style stickers and here is the perfect technique to use them with. Fran's video is on the Stampendous blog--you have to click on YouTube video link to find it. I am also going to do the same type of technique with the Koi fish stickers and I am hunting other stickers I have that would work. Here is the Stampendous link: http://www.stampendous.com

Flowers for Mother's Day!

Aren't these flowers delicious! I got two wonderful bouquets from the two wonderful guys in my life for Mother's Day. The flowers are absolutely breathtaking. And the color--beautiful lilac, yellow, pink! Did I mention I love color?!!!

Keys!

Today my sister and I went on another trek to estate sales in the area. We found a great sale that had a lot of interesting bits and pieces (the kind of thing I like to pick up for mixed media art). One of the finds was a cache of skeleton keys--literally hundreds of them! Most were about three inches long and very rusty, but I found some that I would like to use. Another bonus was a ring of larger skeleton keys, each about 5 or 6 inches long. I don't know for what these keys might have originally been used, but my imagination conjures up hidden ornate garden gates that open to lush green orchards and flowering beds, or possibly dark dungeon doors guarding some deposed royal personage, or maybe they have guarded the proverbial fountain of youth. But the thing about keys is the fact that their purpose is always to lock and we are always seeking to unlock. And of course the key makes that possible!

Copic Coloring Class this Saturday

Do you like coloring with Copics? I have become addicted! This Saturday, May 8, join us at Stamp Antonio as we play with these cute little Hero Arts stamps as we color them in varying skin and hair tones. Bring your Copics! Oh, the class is really only until 11:30, but we'll color until noon.

Mother's Day and Flowers

Calling all cardcrafters! Here are three of the four cards we will be making in our Card Factory class at Stamp Antonio this weekend. Yes, of course they are all Hero Arts stamps this month. What else am I buying?!!! And I have to say, I love the peacock! I have been wanting to use this Webster's Pages vellum for a long time, and I finally have a stamp to do it justice! I think each of these cards would make a great Mother's Day card.
Stamps used: CL380, Truly Appreciated
CG184, Peacock
CL403, Have a Donut
CL333, What's Cooking
CG142, Engraved Daisy

Wildflowers!

Today we took a little road trip into the country to look at wildflowers. The bluebonnets are pretty much gone this time of April in South Texas but we saw beautiful Indian Paintbrush and millions (actually zillions) of little yellow flowers all over the median along IH10 from Kerrville to San Antonio. I wish I had a picture of all the luscious yellow and red. However, not wanting to get rear-ended stopping along the interstate, we stopped at a little rest stop and took this shot along the access road. Pinks, blues, yellows--gorgeous color. We actually headed out Texas 16 toward Bandera but saw little in the way of flowers. At Bandera we headed north on a road toward Kerrville. Super road--smooth (at least until Kerr county), and green pastures everywhere dotted with ponds and little glades of trees. Some wildflowers, but mostly just gorgeous green rolling hills. The landscape had an old-world look about it--set off from the highway and urban sprawl--the kind of place Heidi or Snow White would have lived! Definitely different from the streets packed with traffic where I usually drive. A magical day.

Fiesta colors

This card is a re-do of a card I made a couple of years ago. It was originally done in pinks, but I wanted a fiesta theme, so I chose hot orange and bright yellow. I needed some fiesta cards for a class I did last Wednesday, and I really like how this turned out. The stamping is done with a discontinued Hero Arts blossoms set, coupled with a couple of colors of embossing powder (the orange powder really adds a punch to the card!). The center circle is a punch from Fiskars, and the edging reminds me of the colorful Mexican cutwork paper banners put out for fiesta. The Colorbox Sunflower pigment ink is very bright and cheery for the background. A few fun Prima flowers add the perfect touch. I hope everyone in San Antonio had a fun fiesta week with memories that will keep a touch of fiesta in your lives throughout the coming year.

Cherries, Asian Art Style

I so much want to learn how to paint these cherries! I don't know if the cherries are actually on the class program, but Stamp Antonio Arts is having an Asian Arts weekend starting tomorrow. Norene Spencer, one of Amy and Carol's friends, is coming from out of town to give lessons in Chinese water brush painting, an art I would really like to learn, especially if it comes to painting cherries in ethereal glass bowls! I know Norene and Amy are painting all kinds of oriental flowers, in addition to other fun activities, like origami and oriental cards. If you would like to join us this weekend, call Stamp Antonio at 210-342-6217 or check out the website at www.stampantonio.com. I think spaces might still be available. That's where I am hanging out this weekend. How about you?

Watercolor Resist

In the photo above, the flower image (Hero Arts), and also the flower image in yesterday's post (Hero Arts), you can see examples of a watercolor embossing resist. This is really a fun technique, but involves several steps:

1. Make a light watercolor wash on watercolor paper. I used the little watercolor wheels available from Hero Arts. You can blend several colors. This will be your background. Let the watercolor wash dry thoroughly.

2. Stamp your image (this must be a reverse or shadowed stamp, with a lot of rubber surface surrounding a depressed central image) with Versamark, Top Boss, or another clear ink, like the Ranger Watermark/Resist pad. Heat emboss with clear powder.

3. Once your image is embossed, use a darker coordinating watercolor to color the depressed image. The watercolor will seep into the unembossed area of the stamped image. Wipe off any excess watercolor from the embossed area.

4. Using newsprint to soak up the excess embossing powder, iron off the embossing with a craft iron. Be sure to turn the embossed side face down onto the newsprint and iron the backside. Use a piece of newsprint to protect your iron. Iron several times until no more embossing remains. Be careful not to burn your artwork!

5. See your darker watercolored central image pop from the watercolored background!

I finished the card pictured above with a bit of paper from Prima, a May Arts ribbon, and a stamped word from Art Impressions.

More Resist Techniques: Crayon Resist

In the card above, I used the crayon resist technique to enhance the flourish background. I first stamped the flourish background (Hero Arts) with coal black Ancient Page dye ink (Clearsnap) on glossy cardstock. Be sure and let the background dry thoroughly before proceeding with the next step, which is to use a white crayon to follow the edges of several of the flourishes.The crayon resists the inks I then used to ink the background: Tim Holtz' new Spun Sugar and Tumbled Glass (Ranger), which I sponged on with my blending tool. I like the drama of the black ink against the pastel blue and pink. The white crayon resist softens the look of the black just enough and gives it a slightly ethereal look. So, have you experimented with crayon resist? I would like to challenge you to play with this technique and share your stamping. Just leave a comment on this post, giving the url where your sample is located. Remember: glossy cardstock, dark dye ink background, crayon, softer dye inks sponged on top.

Simple Little Card

This simple little card is an example I did for our local Hero Arts Club at Stamp Antonio this past week. We looked at various resist techniques, and this one is an example of the chalk ink resist. I stamped the duck (Hero Arts) with alabaster chalk ink from Clearsnap onto glossy card. I then covered the stamping with burnt sienna chalk ink (patting, not rubbing, and you have to have a juicy pad). Since the duck is a reverse stamp, the burnt sienna really shows up the duck. I then cut the duck square out and mounted it onto a cantaloupe colored cardstock and then mounted that onto an orange folded card. (Before I cut out the cantaloupe piece I ran it through the computer and added a sentiment. ) I then just drew in squiggles with a black pigment pen around the cantaloupe piece for a small border. Simple card! Simple technique! Just remember: glossy cardstock, alabaster chalk ink, another chalk ink color on top. I would love to see your examples using this technique! Just add a comment to this post listing the URL where you have posted your sample. I can't wait to see what you have done!

Fragments

Here are the two tags I made yesterday in the Totally Tim Tag class hosted by Jennie and Carrie. We worked with Tim Holtz Fragments and Stazon ink. I love blending the Tim Holtz inks on these tags--they glide like butter! Since I used a lot of Rock Candy Stickles and Distress Crackle Paint there might be a touch of glare on the photo of the tags above. I made mine way different from Jennie's and Carrie's originals because I used Hero Arts stamps. Because my Stazon pad was rather dry I made good use of my Sharpie black pens. The tag on the left could be a product of a tattoo parlor! I added little red felt hearts to complete the tag. In one of the fragments on the tag on the right I added a little Sakura gel pen before I adhered it to the tag. I really liked the sparkle and shine it added. Thank you, Jennie, for showing us how to use the seam binding to make a little center for the flower. Very classy! Carrie, I really like the "interference" look of blending the Distress Stickles with the Distress Crackle Paint. And my favorite part of the tag class is getting together with friends who love to play with ink and stamp in color! A good time was had by all!

Feelin' just ducky!

I love the yellow and green on this card! The yellow color, especially, coupled with the white embroidered paper, remind me of the first garment I ever sewed. I was about ten years old, and always watching my mother at her Singer sewing machine made me want to sew, too. She led me through putting together a simple dress for my little sister, who must have been no older than three or four. The bodice was an embroidered white cotton, and I remember sewing it to a yellow skirt. Sewing was not really a hobby then--it was how we got our clothes! Everything about this card reminds me of fabric and sewing--the embroidered paper, the gingham paper, the yellow rick-rack. And of course I made this card at Easter time, even though it is not really an Easter card. And what did we always get for Easter? New clothes! Hand-sewn, of course! In the card above, the duck stamp is by Hero Arts, stamped with Sunflower pigment ink from Clearsnap. I think it is really striking against the green of the cardstock. Oh dear, I wish I could "wear" this card!

A little bling

Here is my take on a card I saw in a recent issue of CARDS magazine. Instead of using crossword scrapbook paper, I stamped the Hero Arts crossword in cyan ink. I used a Quickutz nested flower die to create the layered flower from yellow dot Bo Bunny and turquoise cardstock. Before adhering the center circle of the flower, I added bunch of bling and embellies--brads, rhinestones, pearls I colored with Copic marker, etc...Since I did intend on using this card as a thank you I stamped "Thanks" with the swirl alphabet stamp from Hero. It just fit right where I wanted! Thanks for looking!

Texas Pride

If you look closely at the picture above, you can see the fruit of my labor (no pun intended) amidst all the clutter on my work desk. I participate in the ATC swaps at Stamp Antonio and one of the April themes was "Texas". I decided to do "Texas farmer". I stamped a background on blue cardstock of gingham using the new Stormy Sky Tim Holtz ink. I then overstamped an old farmhouse (Wildlife Enterprises) and a windmill (Stamp Goods). These are both stamps I have had for years and years. Do those companies even still exist??? I then added a transparency of my son at his grandpa's farm in West Texas. It's hard to see in such a small size, but he is leaning over a cow fence gate. I then added "cotton" snow--yes, when they are ginning cotton out there the ground is covered with white like snow. I cut the selvedge from a yard of cloth that says "100% cotton and printed in the U.S.A." and added a piece of red cotton cloth with a button. The final touch was to add a doctored up metal tag that says "Texas farmers--Texas pride". My son always loved to be on the farm--a place where he felt free despite all the hard work. He lost both his grandparents who worked the farm this past year, but I hope he never loses the memories of being out there in the open fields and skies.

Lovely in Lavender

I love color! But especially shades of purple and lavender. This card I made today makes me happy. I used an Outlines parasol stamp, colored it with Spica glitter pen and dressed it up with some of the same paper I used for the background--the American Crafts lavender texture paper. I am still imagining this paper done up in purses, but right now I am using it for the umbrella. The technique with the eyelets and ribbon is one I have used before, but really like. And Suze Weinberg's grape glitter glue makes the image pop. I had a lot of trouble figuring out what to do for a sentiment on the front of this card--I have several vertical sayings, each of which would have fit perfectly, but none went with the image of the umbrella. Looking through my clear stamp collection I found these little flowers with text from MSE. I hadn't used them in some time, but I think they fit perfectly! Now if I only had a punch rather than having to scissor each of them out (sigh!) And April is just about here!

Wood Paper!

I made this card using the new wood paper from Creative Imaginations. Yes, it is actually thin sheets of wood with a paper backing. I stamped the border piece with light brown Ancient Page and a Hero Arts wood grain stamp. The label is a Hero Arts stamp image colored with Spica glitter pens. I tried coloring the flowers with copic markers, but they feathered. The pigment pens did not feather on the wood. The wood is so thin it can be cut with sharp detail scissors, but very intricate cuts are tricky. The sentiment is from Penny Black stamps. I did not get a good picture of the Teresa Collins tree transparency--too much reflection from my flash. I like the natural tone of this card, from the twine to the kraft card to the wood paper to the subject matter.

Here is a sneak peek of my March challenge entry for our Stamp Antonio Hero Arts club. I used three Hero Arts stamps: Engraved Daisy (CG142) , "Friend" from CL284, and "A friend is forever from CL046. I stamped the daisy in Memento black, and colored it with Copic markers R24, YR16, Y17, and YG25. I then cut it out with an oval scalloped nesting die from Spellbinders. I also cut the same size scallop from green gingham Amuse paper and a smaller oval scallop from green Hero Arts layering paper. I stamped the sentiments on the green ovals, curving the clear stamps to fit the shape of the die (I love that about clear stamps!) I used green chalk ink for stamping and went over the stamping with an olive Spica glitter pen. I stamped the three dot elements from CL284 in opposite corners with green chalk ink. I needed a design element in the small scallop above the curved sentiment, but didn't want to cut apart my dot stamp (LOL--if you know me you know I love to do this, too--clear stamps are so fun to alter!) So I used the eraser on the end of a new pencil! The exact size I needed, and it stamped beautifully! I just added a bit of lime glitter glue on the dots to get the final touch I needed for this project. You can't see it in the picture, but I raised the engraved daisy image with pop dots, and it looks great popped up above the other two ovals. I don't know what kind of color scheme this orange and green thing is, but I think the colors really make each other jump!

Isn't this picture fantastic? This is Mahala's take on the donut challenge we did last month for Hero Arts club at Stamp Antonio. She has taken the donut images, stamped and colored on watercolor paper, and made them part of the collage as facial features. How creative is this? I loved all the challenge entries, but this one caught my eye because it is so unusual. Yes, that is Mahala "hiding" behind her donuts! I can't wait to see what the group has come up with for this month's challenge!

Billie the Bird

Say hello to Billie the Bird! Yes, she is behind bars, but the alternative is to be eaten by my dog Gracie--really very sweet, but she already has one parakeet to her credit! I couldn't resist taking a picture of Billie with my new camera--just a pocket EasyShare, but I can't learn anything complicated, and I like the pictures it takes. My camera was state of the art, 5 years ago--now it's passe. Not to mention it sometimes doesn't work. Like my internet--cable guy coming tomorrow. Just like Billie is behind the bars in her world, I often feel like I am behind bars in mine, especially when it comes to technology. I know there's a whole world of creative technology out there, and I sometimes feel hampered and limited by what little I know about it, not to mention what happens when the gadgets go haywire. Words and phrases like "3Gnetworks", blueteeth, SDHCs, turbo boosts, micro cars, mega long--and unending alphabetic phonemes and nonsense syllables give me a headache. Ignorance is bliss, they say, so I'll just stay behind bars in my nice little world of limited technology, and make some handmade cards! I'll bet my world, like Billie's, is a lot more colorful and fun!

Seeing Green, Again!

Here is what I have been up to the last couple of days--St. Patrick's Day tags! I have been collecting green elements for some time, and I am having loads of fun putting them together. I started with an idea I came up with last year--the "top of the morning" tag with the ribbon on it in the picture above. I never can copy anything exactly (I think that's a good thing!) so I made numerous variations and then went different directions as I worked with new materials. I love the little stickers of the Anne Geddes little boy with the green hat. I added chipboard elements, colored with chalk inks, altered scrapbook papers with inks and resist techniques, added ribbons and trims--anything green. And I am not nearly finished--too many green things! BTW, the paper in the background is Reminisce--too pretty to cut up! Now--back to work...uh, play...!

Here is a picture of one of the cards I designed for my Card Factory this past Saturday. I used one of the new Hero Arts background stamps colored with Tombow marker (green!) and overstamped with some of the Hero Arts stems and embellished with glistening rhinestones. I added a little fairy (Harlee Quinz) dancing from the flower background. I like everything about this card--the peek of pink color reminds me of the flowers blooming amidst spring foliage, and who knows--maybe little fairies do hop from flower to flower, perhaps adding touches of color with their wands! Who among us is not ready for spring?

Material Girl

The above sign was posted in a kit I happened upon at a discount store. The company is Cosmo Cricket, one of my favorites, and when I saw this originally exorbitantly priced kit marked down to just a few dollars I knew it was for me. Well, who wouldn't be an artist with 9,000 different items to work with! I mean, a couple of monkeys at a typewriter for few hundred years. . . Anyway, I was fascinated at all the items included, and can't wait to "monkey" around with them. If 9,000 pieces are just waiting to be stacked, organized, altered, and wrenched into a work of art, lookout, world--a masterpiece is about to happen!

Getting Ready

This Saturday will be one of my favorite days--the first Saturday of every month, that is. That is the day I teach Card Factory at Stamp Antonio. In the picture above, you can see the papers laid out for each card I will present. This month I promised to make two St. Patrick's Day cards and two spring/flower/Easter cards. You can see they almost all turned out green in color! I have gone "green" crazy for some reason--really noticing things green and choosing papers and embellishments in shades of green. I think it's the season--the weather here is warming up, trees are budding out, and the green grass is starting to peek out at the sky. Green is always such a restful, peaceful color. It shouts--we're ok--good to go! When the grass is green, we have enough water and the weather is cooperating. Green is the color of emerging life--algae on the rocks, the new sprigs on the tree, the verdant green of the fields. I think I made a good choice--green for my cards!

Above is another alcohol ink card I did. I made a polished stone background of some vibrant alcohol ink colors, punched them into "inchies" and made a mosaic against a copper metallic card. Then I stamped the brand new large flower medallion stamp from Hero Arts, S5356 onto pink cardstock then onto an alcohol ink polished stone background. I cut them out, using part of the polished stone image for the center. I then thought some white would offset all the color. I used my new i-top brad maker from Imaginisce to make a brad from Claudine Hellmuth's Studio Canvas. Thank you Tim Holtz for showing how to make the brad from the canvas! I stamped a greeting (an older Hero stamp) onto the canvas first, and luckily it remained pretty centered as I finished the brad. Pop dot adhesives helped the brad adhere to the center of the flower, and no brad parts show through to the interior of the card! To finish the card, I continued the white onto the greeting at the bottom (Hero Arts) and couldn't resist adding a little bit of the new scrapbook tape I just got--it adds a perfect touch. I love how the black and white give a "base" for all the color on this card.