Moving Along With The Times Challenge - Anything With Wings

Good Morning, and welcome to my blog!

My project today features all "old stuff" from my stash
and even some LIVE butterfly action below!

It's time to share a Project for the new Moving Along With The Times Challenge!

Challenge #105's theme is ANYTHING WITH WINGS - for the next 2 weeks upload your creations featuring any "winged" theme! 

Today's card was made with a Florida friend in mind. She is always upbeat and lives WAY DOWN SOUTH where the sun always shines, hence the bright yellows and golds, perfectly describing her personality.

HOW TO: The background started with white glossy-coated cardstock and dribbles of red, green, white and yellow pearlescent acrylic paints. Then another white glossy was placed on top, and I smooshed. Oh so carefully, start at the corner and quickly peel apart the two pieces of glossy card stock. This fun background is the result. If you don't like the way the paint moved around, put the glossy pieces together again, and smoosh them a bit more. Depending how thick your paint is, you may not be able to do it a third time.


The small "inchies" are from the same paper as the background scallop frame.
The design itself is inspired by ALL THINGS "OLD" -
Old-fashioned "Inchie" shapes were made with an old Stampin' Up! scallop punch. The Spellbinders butterfly dies are so old that they are long retired. It was fun using an old Great Impressions background stamp and old gold tinsel embossing powder.

Here's a look at the dimension and chipboard:



wishing you a lovely week
and
looking forward to seeing your winged creations!

Products Used:

• Pearlescent Acrylic Paints, Createx Acrylic Paints,
• Image: Great Impressions Vicki Shrimer Background 2008
• Embossing Powders: Gold Tinsel, Clear Glittery EP, Black
• Glitter: Black
• Papers: White Glossy, Gold Vellum, White Neenah, Green
• Spellbinders Grand Shapeabilities Butterflies LF006, SB Grand Scallop Squares
• An old SU scallop punch
• Ribbon, "Friend Chipboard"

On a Personal Note

for those of you viewing via email, you may need to come to the blog to see the movie. First come the caterpillars - I believe these are the Zebra Swallowtails stripping the plant of parsley leaves - do you see all 9 of them? There are actually more than 20 on the plant. Then a one-minute movie of some butterflies in my front yard after the rain gave us some respite:

I was only able to capture one of the Cloudless Sulphur butterflies:

Challenges I'd like to play in PLEASE:

1. Crafty Creations #397 Anything Goes ?
2. Crafty Gals Corner #198 Emboss It! (I have used both wet and dry embossing) 9/10

Stamping Hugs,

Snowflakes - Christmas at Sweet Stampin'

Waving hello to all my blogging friends, and wishing you all the best!

We had a tornado hop-scotch across the county. Fortunately, we only have a downed tree, but our experimental tomatoes were also tossed around.

Not sure if they will survive, or if the trauma was too much for them.

I'll let you know!

In the meantime...

I've got a CAS Christmas card today.

Today begins a new challenge at 

Christmas at Sweet Stampin'!

My brilliant teammates have fantastic samples to share! We hope to see your imaginative artwork each month in our "Anything Goes Christmas" Challenges. The challenge is for ANY Christmas theme craft project. May's Challenge is open until June 8 and has an optional challenge is snowflakes.

Today's card uses a background from my stash - it's a magenta colored piece of mirror cardstock that had some imperfections in it. Pearlescent acrylic paints were smooshed on it to create interesting "crystals".

When distressing the dry embossed panel, I dropped the finger dauber twice onto the stamped sentiment, so I tried distressing the entire sentiment to cover up my blunder. That made it worse, of course, so I used a glue pen and covered with glitter. Ahhh, glitter is a girl's best friend. Or shall I say, "Glitter is a Fumble Finger's BFF." (giggle)

Finished card:

Products Used: Beccy Muir sentiment "Milton Chasing Snowflakes", Tutti Snowflake Corner, Spellbinders Curved Borders One, Monarch Purple VersaFine Clair ink, Craftwell Delicate Dots EF.

Challenges I'd like to play in please:

1. Merry Little Christmas Challenge #10 Anything Christmas Goes 6/1 (sep post)
2. Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge #49 Anything Christmas Goes 5/18 (sep post)
3. World Wide Open DT Challenge #4 AG DT 5/15 
4. Corrosive Challenges #5 Anything Goes 6/3
5. Beccy's Challenges (May) AG with Beccy Muir image (sentiment is from "Milton Chasing Snowflakes" set) 6/1
6. Crafty Creations #390 Anything Goes 5/21
7. Creative Moments #168 Anything Goes 5/22
8. Scrapy Land #113 AG SL die (Tutti, SB) 5/15

Stamping hugs,

Tonic Ocean Fairy Stepping Out In Faith

Hi, Blogging Friends.

Today's Sparkle N Sprinkle card share is a scheduled post, as I am still not able to blog.
Thanks for bearing with me.

I have a sweet fairy for you today on a flat card! I'm also cheating by sharing the inspirational sentiment off a lovely new rubber stamp set that has not been released yet, but is specially available for you in the web store.

Tonic's Ocean Fairy is part of the Tonic Fairy Reflections (now on clearance).

Using wet watercolor paper, I dropped dye reinkers onto the water, and used my heat tool to spread the color around. Once dried, the shape was die cut with Tonic Ribbon and Bow layering die set. The edges have been "distressed" with VersaMark ink, dredged with Gold Tinsel EP385 and heat set.

The background was spattered with Decor Art Paint Glamour Dust Gold Glitz and Ice Crystal to create a sparkling universe beyond the frame:

Embossed with Gold Detail EP168, my darling fairy is colored with Tombow markers for the watercolor look. Any water base marker or inks will work well with the fairies - they truly are easy to color!

The white pearlescent frame is 4 dies from the Tonic Ribbon and Bow layering die set. The outside of the frame has been lined with 1/2" Tear-ific Tape and new color Marine Blue Microfine Glitter GM2049. Microfine glitter has an advantage in that it does not fly all over the place from static in the air.

After burnishing the Marine Blue Microfine Glitter, dimensional adhesive was used to give the frame a little lift.

Deluxe NUVO Adhesive with the fine tip was used to adhere both the image and sentiment. It seems to work very well with the coated pearlescent cardstock.

That gorgeously "out of this world" deep-space color embossing powder is Satin Velvet Opaque EP209. It's the first time I've used it. The color is so deceiving in the jar. I had no idea it was so lustrously creamy and dreamy!

Do you love the new sentiment? So versatile. It's from a lovely new rubber stamp set that has not been released yet, but is specially available for you in the web store NOW.
Both versions of the calla lily are here.
I loved making this card!

Sparkle N Sprinkle Products Used:

• Tonic Ocean Fairy from the Tonic Fairy Reflections Release (now on clearance)
• Additional Stamp: Calla Lilies Rubber Stamp Set, both versions, BEAUTIFUL digital only.
• Additional Dies: Tonic Ribbon and Bow layering die set (frame and shape)
• Embossing Powders: Gold Detail EP168,  Gold Tinsel EP385 (has lots of sparkle!), Satin Velvet Opaque EP209
• Glitter: Marine Blue Microfine Glitter GM2049 around frame
• Inks: VersaMark, Dye-waterbase reinkers for background
• Adhesives: 1/2" Tear-ific Tape (glittered frame), Deluxe NUVO Adhesive with the fine tip
• Tombow Markers
• Decor Art Paint - Glamour Dust Gold Glitz and Ice Crystal
• Papers: Watercolor (for image and background), Ivory and Gold Pearlescent, Neenah Solar White, 

Challenges I'd like to play in please:

1. Card Mania #102 Embossing (3 different embossing powders) 4/1
2. Get Creative Challenges #67 Fantasy - Mythological (fairy walking into the unknown) 4/2 (later sep post)
3. International Art and Soul #28 Emboss and Use a Die (3 embossing powders, 2 die sets - one fairy, and the other using 5 separate nesting dies from the same set) 3/18
4. Stempelgarten Challenges #71 Fantasy 4/1  (fairy)
5. World Wide Open Design Team Challenge #2 - AG for DT - 3/12

Stamping Hugs,

Asian Cards with Embossing and Mica Powders

One of my great loves in creating cards is using embossing powders. I recently created a few cards in honor of Kim's 7th wedding anniversary, each one slightly different, using an assortment of stamps, EPs, mica powders - but all the same colors. The first one uses open rice sheaths in clear detail embossing powder found at Sparkle N Sprinkle. Next the Asian Characters were stamped and embossed with SNS gold detail powder. The edge was torn and embellished with more gold EP.

This card was cut with decorative cutters (another oldie but goodie in my stamping closet) The teal green leaves are stamped with VersaMark ink and then rubbed gently with the mica powders. This step is done after all the embossing is complete.

It's always a pleasure celebrating someone's special day, isn't it? I'll be making more backgrounds with the EPs, and listening to those "old" tools crying out in my stamping closet.

Thanks for stopping by,