Unity Friends with Flair Friday

I made this little journal page using Unity Stamps and Tim Holtz Distress Marker watercoloring.  I used the Faber Castell Mini Mixed Media Journal. I colored on the stamps with Distress Markers, spritzed with water and stamped them onto the page. For the border I used a watercolor brush and added distress ink to an acrylic block and picked the color up with the brush and made small brush strokes all around the edges using 6 different colors. The stamps are from the Unity November 2013 KOM. Thanks for stopping by!!

Christmas Card Challenges #6

It's time for this week's challenge over at Christmas Card Challenges. This week is a really fun Challenge. We were supposed to CASE a card made previously by one of the other Design Team Members. I decided to use a card by Alanna Moses for my inspiration. I loved how she created this flawless background by blending Tim Holtz Distress Inks.

Here is the card from Alanna. You can see the original post HERE.

I created my background using Scattered Straw, Dried Marigold and Barn Door Distress Inks. The deer head is a die from Ellen Hutson and the words are dies by Papertrey Ink. I also inked the edges using a Prima Ink Edger in Black Coal. It's a different kind of Christmas Card, but I love how it turned out. I'm excited to see what you come up with this week for this fun challenge. Just pick any previous card by one our DT Members and be inspired. Thanks for stopping by!

Here's my card.

12 Tags of 2015 - January

I'm hoping to participate in the 12 Tags of 2015 each month this year. I had a great time making the January tag. I followed Tim's tag fairly closely, but the Distress paints I used on the background were Seedless Preserves, Broken China and Pewter. I also chose to use silver glitter and pewter paint instead of the Gold colors that Tim used. I'm a silver person. Also, instead of using Glue & Seal over the whole tag to seal it I used Sparkle Mod Podge to add some more shine. The letters and the number I used are from Tim's old Grunge Board die cuts. Thanks for stopping by!!

Christmas Card Challenges #5

It's time for this week's challenge over at Christmas Card Challenges. This week we have a Color Challenge. I created this card using Cosmo Cricket patterned papers and stamps. I outlined my panels with a dark gray Copic marker to get some of that gray color on the card. I also stamped the JOY banner in Ranger Archival Ink - Watering Can.  I'm excited to see what you come up with this week for this fun color challenge. Thanks for stopping by!

Mixed Media Monthly Challenge #8

Happy New Year!! It's time for another challenge at the Mixed Media Monthly Challenge Blog. Our theme for this month is "Something New for the New Year." Just do something new in your project - use a new product, try a new technique, make a new kind of project etc...Just think outside of your normal box and go have fun making something!!

Be sure to check out the blog to see all the inspirational projects created by the rest of the design team. Also, check out our new designer we are welcoming this month, Karen Crossen. You are going to love her work!!!

Our sponsor this month is the new and awesome crafty online store Butterfly Reflections Ink. They have great prices and lots of fun mixed media items like the entire line of Dina Wakely Paints, Gesso,  and Gel Medium. Also, check out their blog where you can see some gorgeous projects created with the products they sell made by some very talented designers. They are generously offering a $25 gift card for our lucky random winner.

For my project I made a 6x6 canvas. I created the background using my new Pan Pastels. I ordered them over Thanksgiving and finally got a chance to use them. I tried to emboss on the canvas before adding the Pan Pastels, but I'm not a great embosser and all I have is the Ranger Heat Tool which is not good for heat embossing. Basically, most of the embossing ink didn't heat up even though I held the heat tool over for what seemed like forever. So, in the end, I just put on the Pan Pastels and they smeared some of the embossing ink that wasn't dry and it kind of made for an interesting background.

I placed the clouds on the canvas a couple times to make sure the shape was good and the clouds fit within the tree branches. I adhered the burlap clouds with hot glue.

I die cut the tree which is a Karen Burniston die from grunge paper. Then I put modeling pasted on the trunk and limbs to add some texture, painted it and highlighted it with a Stampers Big Brush pen. You can really see all the details in the picture. The die comes with some clouds so I die cut the clouds with burlap and colored the burlap with Pine Needles and Antique Linen and Bundled Sage Distress Stains. I used hot glue to adhere some Prima Marketing and My Minds Eye buttons to the tree. I also outlined and colored some of the buttons using different Stampers Big Brush Pens. To make the sun stand out more I colored it with some Stampers Big Brush Pens and I inked the edges of the canvas Ranger Archival Ink in Watering Can.

Finally, I got a set of little letter stamps at Hobby Lobby. They're so cute. I love how the words are not perfect when you stamp with the individual letters. I stamped lots of inspirational words on the bottom of the canvas with Black Staz On  Ink.

And here's the final product. I love using the Pan Pastels, they were really fun and easy to work with. And the Karen Burniston All Seasons Tree die was great and has TONS of possibilities. It also comes with leaf, snowflake, and flower dies so you can create a tree for any season.