Unity Friends With Flair Friday

I made this card using a Unity stamp set called Halloween Greetings. To make the background I rubbed some Distress inks on a craft mat, sprayed with water and placed the paper on it. I cut out the witch and colored her with colored pencils and blended with Gamsol. I stamped the witch on the panel and then adhered her on top of the stamp. Then I stamped the sentiment stamp beside her. I also inked the edges and mounted the card front to a black card base. I'm linking my card up today to the Unity FWF Friday Challenge. Thanks for stopping by!

Denami Designs Halloween Blog Hop

Welcome to my blog. I'm participating in the Denami Halloween Blog Hop this month. I'm so excited to be able to participate again. I've been quite busy building a new house, but things are moving along and I've had some time to create again lately!! 

I love Denami Stamps and I thought this Happy Halloween stamp with the spider web and spiders was just too cute. For this card I used a technique I haven't done in years on this card. First, I stamped the stamp using White Craft Ink onto black paper. Then, I colored over the stamped image with colored pencils. It's a really easy and fun technique to use and it works really well on black paper. I kept the rest of the card relatively simple to showcase the cute stamp. The papers are all from Pebbles Tricks and treats. The circle dies are Sizzix Framelits. 

Be sure to check out the rest of the participants on the hop and leave comments because 2 lucky commenters will receive a $20 gift certificate to the Denami Store. 

If you're following the hop you should've come here from the blog of the super talented Barb Murphy at http://kinsalecreations.blogspot.com/ and your next stop will be the blog of the very gifted Lisa Elton at http://mypapertales.blogspot.com/ If you just found out about the hop and want to start at the beginning go to the Denami Blog.

Thanks for stopping by!!

Squeeze-A-Palooza #3

I made this card for the current challenge at Fresh Squeezed Stamps. I used a stamp set called The Sweet Life. The challenge is based their inspiration photos. I took inspiration for all the white in the photos so I left a lot of white space and there were bird houses and birds so I wanted to use the cute bird. I colored the images with Prismacolor pencils and blended with Gamsol.  Thanks for stopping by!

Materials
1. Card stock - Select White - Paptertrey Ink
2. Stamps - The Sweet Life - Fresh Squeezed Stamps
3. Ink - Tuxedo Black - Memento, Sepia Brown - Ranger Archival
4. Pencils - Prismacolor Pencils

CAS Christmas Tags

I got my first order of stamps from The Alley Way Stamps yesterday and I decided to enter into their current challenge - Be Inspired #18. I used a stamp set called No Peeking to make this set of CAS gift tags. The tag is a Stampin' Up die and the ribbon is also from Stampin' Up. I stamped the images and did a little masking on some using Tuxedo Black Memento Ink. Then I colored them in with Prismacolor pencils and blended with Gamsol to get more vibrant colors. I was mainly inspired by the reds and greens in the photo. Thanks for taking a look and Happy Holidays!

Inspiration Photo:

My tags: 

Dear Santa...

Dyan Reaveley posted a challenge on her Facebook Art Journal page last week and I finally had time to make my page today. The rules are you had to use the snowflake stencil, the spray in color London Blue and the Beard stamp. Luckily I had all those items.

For the background I sprayed London Blue in the Middle, Turquoise around the blue and then Purple on the edges. When it was wet I sprayed water over the snowflake stencil. When it dried I put the stencil back down and spray Mr. Hueys white on the stencil. For the images I colored them with Prismacolor markers and blended with Gamsol. The star I cut out of another background page that didn't work out. Thanks for stopping by!

12 Days of Holiday Projects - Day 9

Welcome to Day 9 of The 12 Days of Holiday Projects Blog Event. Several crafty blog friends and I decided to post one holiday project a day for 12 days - just for fun.  The projects will be anything crafty like cards, ornaments, wreaths, advent calendars, etc… We’re posting projects we made using products we like and hope they will give you some inspiration for your own holiday craft projects. You will find links to all the other participating bloggers below. Hopefully you can find time to look at the other blogs and leave comments on any that inspire you. If we inspire you to make, something please let us know - we would love to see. Happy Holiday Crafting!!

For my Day 9 Project I'm sharing a Christmas art journal page. I made the background with Dylusion pink & red ink sprays. I cut the trees and stars using Dylusions stencils on tags and backgrounds that I had in my stash ready to use. I also used Dylusions stamps for the border, reindeer, ornaments and sentiment. I colored the stamped images with Prismacolor pencils and blended with Gamsol. I added Distress Stickles in Scattered Straw to the stars on the trees and a rhinestone to the reindeer's hat. I also used an American Crafts white gel pen on the border berries. I haven't worked in my journal in ages and this page took a really long time to make, but I had a great time creating it. I hope you can stop by tomorrow to see my Day 10 project. 

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you can make it to the blogs of the other ladies to see the awesome holiday projects they are sharing with you today.

Barb Murphy

Ceal Pritchett

Donna Bowman 

Jen Cuthbertson

Lalo Ik

Libby Hickson

Rachel Izakowicz

Rachel Kleinman

Regina Hardy

Veronica Zalis

Wishing You Bountiful Blessings

I made this card for the current CAS-ual Fridays Challenge - Fall Fun. I made this card using the Autumn Hills Stamp Set from Papertrey, Ink. I colored the little scene with Prismacolor Pencils and blended with Gamsol. The paper is Whisper White and River Rock from Stampin Up. The patterned paper is by Sassafras for Studio Calico. I adhere the little panel with pop dots. Thanks for taking a look!

Here's my card.

Gingerbread Merry Christmas Tag

I made this tag for the current A Blog Named Hero Challenge #12 - Tag You're It. I haven't been able to play there in a long time and I was so excited to see their new post last night and I actually had time to make something. I used two new Hero Arts Stamps - Gingerbread Man and Holiday Conversation. The papers are Echo Park Holly Jolly Christmas and the ribbon is from Crate Paper. I also used the Tim Holtz Tag die. I colored the Gingerbread man with Prismacolor Pencils and blended with Gamsol. Thanks for taking a look!

Here's my tag.

The Play Date Cafe #148

Happy Thursday! The colors at The Play Date Cafe this week are Navy Blue, Peach and Stone. Our awesome sponsor this week is Tami Mayberry Stamps. She is offering her super new stamp set called Lighthearted Wishes to this weeks winner. 

I hope you will join us this week. I can't wait to see what you will make with these fun colors. 

Gnome One Like You

Vintage Notes

Sprinkle Love

I made this tag for the Tim Holtz Compendium of Curiosities 2 - Challenge 3 - Marbled Stains at Studio L3. The sponsor for the challenge this week is Eclectic Paperie - a super online store that I buy from frequently and highly recommend! This technique is described on p.46 and it's very easy and fun to do. To get my marbled stain background I used Spun Sugar, Milled Lavender, Tumbled Glass, Faded Denim and Dusty Concord Distress Stains. I also used Dyan Reaveley Dylusions stamps - Bags of Bunting, Birds on a Wire, and Ruby Rainbow.

I thought the background of blues & purples looked like a rainy day sky so I decided to use a "rain" theme. I stamped the raindrops in Memento ink in London Fog. The raindrop is from a Paper Smooches stamp set. The twine is Wisteria Wonder from Stampin' Up. The words are from Tim Holtz Chit Chat. I colored the images with PrismaColor pencils and blended with Gamsol. Thanks for taking a look!

Ruby Rainbow's Page

Yes, I'm getting a little addicted to art journaling. It's just so fun and relaxing! I've started spraying the backgrounds before I go to work and then they're dry and ready when I get home and I don't have to use the heat gun which can warp the pages. I've also started doing only one page instead of the two page spreads because I can do them faster and fill the space easier.

The background on the this one is made from Dylusions Ink Sprays - London Blue, Vibrant Turquoise and Fresh Lime. To blend them use lots of water. The stamp sets I used are Bag of Bunting, Ruby Rainbow, Birds on a Wire, Right Up Your Street and The Right Words. I colored the images with colored pencils and blended with Gamsol. I've been asked what Gamsol is. It's odorless mineral spirits and when you put it on areas you colored with pencils it blends the color and makes it a little more vibrant. It's one of my favorite ways to color images now. Thanks for stopping by!

She Decided to Leap - Art Journal Page

I wanted to use my other SheArt stamp - She Decided to Leap - and I colored her in colors I don't use much. Then I looked at her for a week or two. I finally made the background before I went to work yesterday using Dylusions sprays in Cut Grass, Fresh Lime, Lemon Zest and Pure Sunshine. Today I stamped on the background using stamps from the Dylusions sets Background Love and Further Around the Edge. Then I added some accents to the borders with Tim Holtz Distress Markers in Mustard Seed and Rusty Hinge. I colored in the SheArt stamp with Prismacolor markers and blended with Gamsol which is now one of my favorite ways to color - it's so fun. I had a few other images to add, but I decided this was enough for now.

So, here's a page outside of my usual colors and I really like it. If you haven't started art journaling yet I suggest diving right in. You can do whatever you want and you don't have to worry about deadlines or contests or anything. No rules, just what you feel like when you have the time and energy for it. I find it very relaxing and gratifying. Thanks for stopping by!

Another Art Journal Page

I finally got a chance to work on this page today. I've had the background for awhile. I just got this fun SheArt stamp and thought I would use it. The other stamps, stencils, and sprays are all Dyan Reaveley's Dylusions.

I colored all the images with PrismaColor Colored Pencils and blended with Gamsol. I doodled a little on the leaves and I used a white paint pen on the flowers on the bottom. I think the birds might be a little too big for the page, but it's just a journal page - I'll work it out better next time. Thanks for taking a look!

More Fun With Dylusions!!

I made these two card with my Dyan Reaveley Dylusions stamps. I will be teaching a class where we make both of the cards May 19 at 10:30 am at The Stamping Place in West Columbia. The one with the purple background uses Distress Inks on the background and the one with the polka dots uses Distress Stains for the background.

I colored all the images with my PrismaColor Pencils and blended them with Gamsol. It's so much fun using these bright colors with these fun and funky images. The stamp sets I used were Doolally Dorris, Lovestruck Lucy, Quintessential Quotes, The Right Words. Thanks for taking a look and check The Stamping Place web site for this class and my other upcoming classes!

Getting Dylusional - A Life Without Dreams...

Today, I'm showing something a little different. At the Stamp & Scrap Art Show last week I picked up a few of Dyan Reaveley's Art From the Heart Dylusionals Stamp sets at the Stamper's Anonymous Booth. This is the first card I made with my stamp sets called Doolally Dorris and the sentiment set called Quintessential Quotes. I also got a set called Birds on a Wire that I can't wait to work with this weekend!

I can't get over how much I enjoyed making this card! All the elements in the set were fun to color and so easy to cut out. I made the background by blending Tumbled Glass and Shabby Shutters Distress Inks. Then I colored in the different elements with my Prismacolor Markers and blended with Gamsol. I love the result and I can't wait to make more. And of course, I've already got more sets on order, because I have that little shopping problem I may have mentioned on this blog before :) Thanks for stopping by!!

Swirls & Flowers

I made this card for the Hero Arts May Challenge. It uses flowers and colored pencils. I'm better with watercolor pencils, but I gave this a try! I stamped the image with VersaMark and embossed with clear embossing powder. Thanks for taking a look!

Materials
Card stock - Crumb Cake, Rich Razzleberry (Stampin' Up)
Stamp - Flowers & Swirls (Hero Arts)
Ink - Water mark ink (Versamark)
Embossing Powder - Clear (Martha Stewart)
Color Pencils (Crayola)
Pearls (Hero Arts)


Instructions
1. Create card from card stock - finished size is 5 x 5
2. Cut Crumb Cake panel to 4.25 x 4.25
3. Stamp image with VersaMark and emboss with clear embossing powder
4. Color with colored pencils
5. Add pearls
6. Adhere panel to card