I'm Resisting - Back to Basics and Beyond

Hello, blogging friends!
Wishing you all the happiest of seasonal preparations throughout the month!

It's time for a brand new Back to Basics and Beyond Challenge!

For the next two weeks, join us by uploading an "Anything-Goes" project as long as you use any resist technique on it. The team has all kinds of inspiration and a variety of styles to view, so take a look! Hope to see yours there.

My card is a magical night time dance of snowflakes using two rubber stamp sets from Sparkle N Sprinkle:

Hanging head in shame... because my planning was not satisfactory for this card. The watercolor paper should have been trimmed before stamping the images. The snowflakes were stamped with VersaMark and heat set with White Detail EP. The paper was then spritzed with water and Color Burst watercolor powders" were puffed" onto the wet paper. Both colors were very intense and made a magical night time party of snowflakes.

The edges of the watercolor paper are distressed with VersaFine Clair inks in Purple Delight and Warm Breeze Turquoise, then heat embossed with sparkling Sangria Star EP and Cerulean Star EP.

Embossed the Happy Holidays sentiment on vellum with Sangria EP (no glitter compared to Sangria Star EP)

Products Used:

Products:

• Images: SNS Rubber Stamp Sets ($9.99 each) Dancing Penguin, Crystal Snowflakes, Happy Holidays sentiment
• Embossing Powder (for resist) White Detail EP298, Sangria Star EP and Cerulean Star EP, sentiment in Sangria EP
• Coloring Medium: Color Burst in Pthalo Green and Violet
• Paper: Watercolor, Vellum, Razzelberry, White
• Inks: VersaMark, VersaFine Clair inks in Purple Delight and Warm Breeze Turquoise

Challenges I'd like to support:

1. City Craft Challenge #442 "Snowflakes" 12/18

Happiness Hugs,

Christmas Cardinal - 2 Crafty Critter Crazies Challenge

Happy November First to all my critter-loving friends!
Today begins a new Challenge at Two Crafty Critter Crazies where we love to see any project with a critter on it! Critters include "real life" everything alive (except humans and flora), to mythical creatures as well. Our sponsor is Sparkle N Sprinkle, so join us with your crafty creations this month for a chance to win and be recognized.


Yikes! I waited to the last minute to do my Christmas Cards! Thank goodness for the digital artists who provide marvelously pre-colored images for negligent folks such as myself.

My cards feature the beautiful Cardinal and Holly Digital Set 895 (also available in rubber). I printed two to a page and used that lovely SW holly die - it's so ornate with the piercings and details. Each card is a little different, but all use the same image and dies.

 First, here's a close-up of the cardinal, colored by Tracey-Lynn Miller of Fred She Said designs. Tracey is a dream artist to work with, and I dearly love the images she makes for SNS.



My cards are 5.5" square, and flat for mailing.
While these cards use two frame style dies, they would be pretty using a single die cut for smaller cards, or for making name-place plaques on a holiday table.

Check out this bright white on red card! The "shadow" behind the Merry Christmas is a separate die. The Tonic set is a 2-die set where you can cut them out together, and make a great "negative" image in addition to the Merry Christmas, or they can be used individually, to achieve color variations like I have done on these cards. The Red Card has a green-red print "slab" behind the white Merry Christmas:

Next is a White on Green variation with a red center and red slab:

Solid green outside, solid red around the cardinal, and red/green designer paper in between:

Finally, I used some designer paper with a red center panel.
I think it is my favorite, but I like them all! It was a great way of using up some of my odds and ends Christmas cardstock.

For quick interiors, I used my own SNS digital set Happy Holidays Digital Stamp Set 897 (also available in rubber). The digital set has some black-and-white and colored holly corners, and also a border with it. So I quickly arranged the following and copy-and-pasted it 3 more times. It would be pretty all by itself!

Thanks for stopping by today. Hoping you enjoyed seeing how we can still experience the joy of card making, while using some quick tools!

Products Used:

• Images: Cardinal and Holly Digital Set 895 (also available in rubber), Happy Holidays Digital Stamp Set 897 (also available in rubber)
• Dies: Tonic Slab Merry Christmas, Sue Wilson Ornate Holly Framed Noel, SB Decorative Labels One

I'd like to play in ScrapyLand's 100th Challenge pretty-please- AG with SL dies - Tonic, Sue Wilson, Spellbinders 11/7

stamping hugs,

Fairy Hugs and Sprinkles of Watercolor

Hello, Blogging Friends! Hoping this finds you doing well. Please know that if you are experiencing hardship of any kind, I am thinking fondly of you, sending love and prayers toward your dear home.

and now...

It's time for a brand new Back to Basics and Beyond Challenge!

For the next two weeks, join us by uploading an "Anything-Goes" project as long as a watercolor technique is used. The team has all kinds of inspiration and a variety of styles to view, so take a look! Hope to see yours there.

I am so enjoying this team - the themes help me play with lots of products in my stash and motivate me out of the usual styles I gravitate toward.

To see close ups, just click on any of the photos please.

I have used three types of watercolor techniques in this project.

1. I started with watercolor paper and sprayed it with water, lightly saturating the paper. Then I softly "seasoned" the moist paper with Atlantis Burst Watercolor Shimmer Powder. Wish you could see this in person. If you enjoy playing with mediums, this is a must have for your stash! It's truly shimmery! After applying the powder, I spritzed a bit more, moving some of the color with my heat tool, and allowing the rest to dry on its own. 
2. Then I inked up Stampendous 6x6 Blossom Scroll rubber stamp with Versafine Clair Pinecone ink and dredged with Gold Tinsel opaque embossing powder. I love the glittery sparkle! While you cannot see the defined outline of the stamp itself, I knew it would make a lovely mosaic of "uneven", sparkly color in the background:

Watercoloring the image:

1. The darling fairies were stamped with VersaMark and heat set NOT with white embossing powder, but with Sparkle Semi Transparent embossing powder. Instead of being a plain white medium, the outline now has sparkle to it! 
2. The watercolor resist technique was employed using Peacock Feathers and Mermaid Lagoon Distress inks applied as watercolor. 
3. With Tombow Markers I scribbled a little pink and flesh colors onto an acrylic block and applied to the fairies with a water brush.  
4. They were then die cut. I also used the silhouette as a halo on the left side (but isn't the silhouette adorable all on its own?):

This close-up shows the difference the Sparkle Semi Transparent embossing powder makes (check out the Starfire semi transparent ultrafine glitter on their little wings and skirt ruffle). 

And that Gold Tinsel opaque EP is amazing! 


Wish you could see it in real life. 


The Turquoise vellum was torn down one side and distressed with VersaMark ink before being heat set with the Gold Tinsel EP.

The brads were heat set with Melon Twist Semi Transparent. While still hot, I dipped the brads into more Starfire glitter. The glitter melted into the hot EP.

Even the sentiment is sparkly. It was stamped with Warm Breeze VersaFine Clair, dredged with Mediterranean Star opaque EP, and heat set. The Tuscany Star line's formulation is great for fine detail images, distressing, or bold image coverage. They are my favorite EPs in my stash:

I had fun using the vellum and punchinella in overlapping layers (is that a redundant statement?) giggle.

Finished card is 6x6 at flat for mailing:

thanks for stopping by today!

Some SNS Products used on this project:

Products Used:

• Sentiment: Happy Flowers 840 rubber stamp set (also available digitally with matching digital papers)
• Background Stamp: Stampendous 6x6 Blossom Scroll 
• Tonic Fairy Reflections May & Fay single stamp and the cutest 2-part silhouette die set
• See all the Tonic Fairy Reflection characters here
• Glitter: Starfire semi transparent ultrafine glitter
• Embossing Powders: Melon Twist Semi Transparent (brads), Gold Tinsel opaque, Sparkle Semi Transparent (fairies watercolor resist), Mediterranean Star opaque (sentiment)
• Watercolors: Atlantis Burst Watercolor Shimmer Powder, Color Burst Watercolor Powder, Peacock Feathers and Mermaid Lagoon Distress inks applied as watercolor on the fairy image
• Cardstock: Punchinella strip, Turquoise vellum, Aqua Coordinations, Watercolor, Neenah Solar White
• Other Dies: Cheery Lynn Fanciful Flourish

Challenges I'd like to play in pretty please:

1. Scrapy Land Challenge #98 "AG Dies SL Sells" (Tonic, Cheery Lynn)
2. Always Fun Challenges #78 "Dies and Punches" 10/8
3. Pammie's Inky Pinkies #1839 AG 10/8
4. International Art and Soul #43 NOT CAS, layer it up! 10/15 (sep post)
5. Do-A1(1) Kreatives #22 Design Your Own Background (used paints, inks, shimmer paints, embossing tinsel) 11/1

stamping hugs,

Graph it! Butterflies and Flowers

Hi, Blogging Friends!
Today I'm sharing something a bit different - creating a "graph" as a background for cards or scrapbook pages. It's fun and produces an interesting depth, and can be used with most images AND gets even BETTER with a little doodling.

Below are simple samples, and some more time-consuming illustrations as well, so this technique is suitable for any style of crafting.



For the Simiple Cards (one 5x7 and one business size), I stamped the images in Staz-On Jet Black Ink and colored with a water brush from my dye base ink pads and reinkers. The second butterfly was "colored" with a VersaMarker and coated with Clear Detail EP:

Steps for creating the graph:

for opaque mediums, use a stamp positioner or platform:
Stamp, color, and stamp again for a clear, crisp outline.


Masking is not absolutely necessary with this technique, but it helps for dimension:

Once the images are all stamped, line up the grids on opposite edges, and draw neat lines. Doodle if desired.

A few products used on some of these cards:

The 5x7 card was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black and colored with Copic Markers. The overlapping areas were masked:

The butterfly is embellished with Galaxy Night Ultrafine Glitter:



The sentiment was heat set with Black Detail EP:



Making a Scallop Border:

To make the glittery scallop border, I die cut the scallop and then placed the die on top of the scallops, and cut again through my die cut machine again. Painting on Brushable Glue, glitters were applied. Even in humid Florida, the glue dries within 15-20 minutes:




The Watercolor Card was created using Zig Real Brush markers and Nuvo Shimmer Powder in Solar Flare. The Shimmer Powders are intensely pigmented, pearlescent colors that create a marvelous shimmer without muting the ink from the stamped image. I found applying a watered-down amount of color on top of other colors (such as brown, orange, red), that the original color remained strong, with a pearlescent covering. It's really pretty, and I want all the colors.

My Watercolor Graph-it sample with Shimmer Powder:

Lastly, the card using Embellishment Mousse in Peony Pink and Pink Flambé. Water was spritzed directly into the Mousse containers, and a water brush was used to apply the color to the images:



The leaves and butterfly were colored with Zig Brush Markers.
Lemonade Ultrafine  and Galaxy Night Ultrafine Glitters were added to the butterfly and flower for extra drama.

Sentiment is heat embossed:

Products Used:

• SNS stamp sets for sentiments: Swallowtail Butterflies 856 (also available in bonus digital set), SNS Aster Garden 893 (also available digitally), SNS Ornate Greetings 880 (also available digitally), 
• Stampendous Laurel Burch Cling LB Flora Stamp
• Stampendous Fresh Bloom Flower Stamp
• Adhesives: Zig 2-way Glue Pen, Nuvo Deluxe Glue, Brushable Glue, Dimensionals
• Crystal Drops: Raspberry Pink
• Dies: Spellbinders Edgeabilities Classic Scallop Edge Die Set E8-001, Sue Wilson Double Edged Pierced Rectangles, 2 unknown names for sentiments
• Embellishment Mousse in Peony Pink and Pink Flambé
• Embossing Powders: Clear Detail EP 280 (covering purple butterfly), Black Detail EP171
• Glitters: (#1 Mixture of Carnation Ultrafine G1028 and Mystical Mauve Ultrafine G1072) for the border, Ocean G1126 Ultrafine Glitter for border, Lemonade Ultrafine G1091, Galaxy Night Ultrafine Glitter G1131
• Inks: VersaMark Watermark, VersaMarker Pen, Distress Oxide Worn Lipstick, Distress Black Soot, Distress Mowed Lawn, Stream-Turquoise dye base ink, Staz-On Jet Black Ink, Memento Tuxedo Black
• Shimmer Powder in Solar Flare
• Tim Holtz Tonic Stamp Platform - this not only helped with all the stamps, but enabled me to use the Mousse and other opaque mediums as paints. I stamped, painted, let it dry, and then stamped again, using masks for overlapping after each flower was completed.
• For the watercolor cards: Watercolor Paper with Staz-On Jet Black Ink and/or Black EP171
• For the alcohol marker cards: Express-it Paper (for Alcohol Markers) with Memento Tuxedo Black

Challenges:

1. Color Crazy Challenge #32 AG with coloring (all my images are hand colored with assorted mediums) 8/26
2. Creative Fingers Challenge Blog #151 (hand stamped and colored images with graphs drawn) 9/5 (check #153 for win)
3. Craft Rocket Challenges #51 AG 8/27 (sep post 9/1)
4. Crafting With An Attitude #42 AG 9/1(sep post)
5. A Perfect Time to Craft #8  SNS DT 9/1 (sep post)
6. Morgan's Artworld Open Challenge #8 AG (all images are hand colored) 9/1 (sep post)
7. Love to Craft Challenges #25 AG 9/1 (sep post 9/5)
8. Crafty Gals Corner Challenges #171 Tropical Colors 8/16
9. Creative Moments Challenge #150 AG 8/20
10. Not Just Cards (Aug) AG 9/11
11. Pile It On! #145 - New Technique (graph it style) 9/1 sep post

Thanks for visiting today. Hope you enjoyed the Graph-It technique!
hugs,

Wild Animals and Friends Like You (giggle) - Digi Tutorial

YAAAAYYYYYYY! You're here!
I have lots of tips today ANNNNNNNND....

It's time to share a sweet friendship card using WILD ANIMALS for the new Moving Along With The Times Challenge!
How's that for a combination -- sweet AND wild?

We hope you can play along. Challenge #76's theme is WILD ANIMALS - just make sure your card's focal image has at least one wild animal and share your card!

My cards are made entirely from white card stock. If you are new to digital images, several tips are included below:

TIP:
Don't have a special app for your digitals? Use your word processor:

Most word processors have options for creating scenes. Play with yours to see what it can do. They may have a STYLE or FORMATTING option for things like OPACITY, SHADOWS, COLORS for you to create dimension, shadows, and color intensities:

TIP: 

CREATE CUSTOM PAPER FROM  YOUR IMAGE:

I saved a duplicate of the elephant image, and cropped off the head, tail and legs.
Then I put it on the word processor sheet, and sized it.
For the larger images, I simply increased the size of the image in the word processor:



to make the images smaller, I copy and pasted the image 3 times on my sheet and cut to size:


Both these options were used on my cards. Can you identify which card used the smaller print, and which used the larger?

1. Spellbinders Detailed Scallops (frame) card 5.5" x 7.5":
The card looks beautiful before adhering the layers:



After distressing with Black Soot dye ink, I applied Nuvo Glue Pen in the Large size around the distressing, waited a few moments for the glue to set, and then applied Gilding Flakes in Silver Bullion. They are so brilliantly silver, that it was difficult to capture on camera:



Using VersaMark ink, I further distressed, and heat set with Shimmer Semi Transparent EP. The edge is now dimensionally distressed with ink, shimmering EP and gilding flakes:



Midnight Madness Detail Opaque EP #252 has lots of sparkle, and was used on the sentiment from Happy Flowers Rubber Stamp Set. Because it is a detail embossing powder, it features sentiments well:



When embossing black, I prefer using a black pigment ink. But I don't have colored pigment inks these days, so....

TIP: 

"making COLORED embossable ink"

I did not have a black pigment ink on hand, and I wanted the black background for the sentiment before heat setting with Midnight Madness Detail Opaque EP. Here's how: Ink your stamp with VersaMark (or other clear embossing fluid). Then tap on the dye base ink in the color of your choice on top of the VersaMark inked stamp. Stamp on your paper.  Apply your embossing powder. Because the VersaMark was applied on the stamp first, when the image was stamped, the VersaMark ends up being on the "top layer" of your paper. Dredge with EP and heat set. Works for me every time.

The cute flower is from Tonic Woodland Aster Die Set #1285E.

Finished Card:

2. Sue Wilson die framed card 6" x 7.5":

Layered panel was distressed with Black Soot dye ink and VersaMark. 
Super Thick Silver EP467 (ultra glossy) was place on the inky areas and heat FROM UNDER THE PAPER. More VersaMark was applied and Midnight Madness Detail Opaque EP was heat set, creating a shiny, dimensional, sparkling panel:

With scraps of sticker paper and the Tonic Autumnal Oak Die Set #1431E, the large leafy branch was partially cut out twice. After pulling off the protective layer, exposing the sticky substance, Aqua Marine Semi-transparent Ultrafine G1062 glitter was applied and burnished in. I did the same thing with Tonic Beautiful Brambles Die Set #586E using Pistachio Ultrafine Opaque G1053 (one of my all time favorite colors). 

TIP: color your glitter

Because I wanted to shade the leaves a little, Prismacolor Alcohol Markers were lightly used on top of the glitter.

Before and After:

Finished Card:

TIP: To make this card with the rubber stamp set:

1. Make an elephant mask from text weight paper.
2. Stamp the front elephant in your inky-color of choice.
3. Place the mask on top of the stamped elephant (adhere lightly if desired).
4. Stamp the back elephant in your inky-color of choice.
5. Remove mask and color your images.

Products Used:

• Amazing You Paisley Elephant Digital Stamp Set (with 13 color options plus sentiments) (also available in rubber)
• Happy Flowers Rubber Stamp Set (huge digital bundle also available)
• Tonic Woodland Aster Die Set #1285E
• Tonic Beautiful Brambles Die Set #586E 
• Tonic Autumnal Oak Die Set #1431E
• Embossing Powders: Midnight Madness Detail Opaque EP252(has lots of sparkle), Super Thick Silver EP467 (ultra glossy), Shimmer Semi Transparent EP (lots of sparkle), Anti-Static Bag (covers area quickly)
• Glitters: Aqua Marine Semi-transparent Ultrafine G1062, Pistachio Ultrafine Opaque G1053
• Inks: VersaMark, Memento Tuxedo Black, Mowed Lawn Distress, Black Soot Distress Oxide
• Gilding Flakes in Silver Bullion
• Paper Blooms in Coconut color by Kaiser Craft
• Adhesives: Sticker Paper Sheets (for leaves), Deluxe Adhesive with fine tip, Dimensional Foam Pads Sticky, Nuvo Glue Pen Large
• Die: Spellbinders Detailed Scallops (frame)
• Die: Sue Wilson Ornate Pierced shaped frame
• Cardstock: White
• Prismacolor Alcohol Markers, Decorative Brad

Challenges these cards are gratefully submitted to:

1. 613 Avenue Create #211 Create your own Designer Paper (see tutorial above) 8/1
2. Classic Design Team Challenge Blog #27 AG DT 8/1
3. Crafting with Dragonflies #108 Animals 7/20
4. Crafty Animals #16 AG with Animals 8/1 (sep post)
5. Creative Craft Cottage Digi Challenge #94 Monochrome 8/3 
6. Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #86 Anything Goes 8/1 (sep 8/4)
7. Scrapy Land Challenges #94 AG w/SL dies (Spellbinders, Sue Wilson, Tonic)
8. Sunny Day Crafting (7/15-8/15) Add an Animal 8/15
9. World Wide Open DT #7  AG for DT 8/15

Thanks for stopping by!
Crafty hugs,