TCM Anything Goes with a Technique Blog Hop

Hello and Welcome to The Craft's Meow September blog hop!!!

If you came from my sweet friend Nina Brackett's blog, then you're right where you're supposed to be. If not, please head on over to The Craft's Meow blog to start from the beginning.  This month we have a great theme and I guarantee that you are going to want to see all the what the designers are sharing today:)
Our theme this month is...Anything Goes and Share A Technique! Sound like fun?  

I been wanting to try a couple of techniques so this hop was a perfect time to give them a go!

I honestly do not know what the name of the one is that I used on my first card. If I find out, I will share it here with you.

I started out with a scrap piece of paper that was the same size as the kraft panel on the card. I cut an oval in the center of the scrap paper using an SB Oval die. Using re-positional tape, I adhered the negative piece to the kraft panel and then I used a brayer to evenly apply white craft ink for the oval. 

After the craft ink dried and leaving the scrap paper in place, I stamped the flowers , leaves, and swirls. I used darker colors to make the images stand out better. All the images are from the newly released Folk Art Blooms set. 

The sentiment is from Timeless Tags. 

Here is a close up of the flowers.

I stamped the leave sprigs on the kraft panel using versamark ink to give them a watermark effect. I finished off the card with ribbon and rhinestones. 

The technique I used on my next card is called Faux Patina. I want to play around with this technique more using different colors!

To start with you will need to pick out an embossing folder and 4 different colored ink pads (one lighter shade, 2 medium shades and 1 darker shade). 

I used Sizzix Brocade Embossing folder and since Patina is typically shades of browns, greens and blues, I chose SU's Crumb Cake for the light shade, Mellow Moss and Baja Breeze for medium and Early Expresso for the dark. 

The first step is to ink up one side of the embossing folder with the light colored ink. This would be the side that has the lettering on it. I used my brayer to apply the ink to the folder. Lay the paper (I used a ivory colored paper) in top of the inked side of the folder, close and run through your embossing machine. 

Now you take the embossed paper and randomly sponge the two medium shades of ink over the lighter shade of ink. You do not want to completely cover each shade. You want be able to see the colors. After you are happy with the medium inks, randomly sponge the darkest ink over the other. Again, you do not want to completely cover the other shades. Let the inks dry completely. If you are impatient like I am, you can use your heat tool :0)

The last step is to add the metal look. Rub an embossing buddy or dryer sheet over the entire embossed panel. Using a versamark ink pad randomly tap the pad on the embossed panel. Like with sponging the inks, you do not want to cover the entire panel with versamark. 

Sprinkle gold embossing powder over the versamark ink and heat emboss. If you feel you have to much gold, you can brush some off before you emboss. If you feel you need more, tap more versamark ink to the panel, sprinkle the embossing powder and heat emboss. 

This technique was a lot easier than I thought it was!

Here is a close-up of the Faux Patina.

I wanted to keep the Faux Patina the focal of the card so I chose to use an image from the Beautiful Rose set.  The only embellishment is the ribbon. 

Like last month we are having another contest for a chance to win a $15 Gift Certificate to spend in the TCM store! All you have to do is create a project(s) with the theme "Anything Goes" and add it to the link on the TCM Blog by Sunday, September 15th at 8:00 pm Pacific to be eligible for the prize. 

I am your last stop on the hop today. I can't wait to see your creations for our contest! 

Thank you so much for hopping with us!

It's my favorite...

Happy Thursday!!
It's that time of the week for the Twisted Thursday Challenge at The Outlawz! This week we want to see your favorite technique. You can check out the challenge here and also see the other DT samples for the challenge.
I have several techniques that I love but I think my favorite is "Polished Stone". SCS has a great tutorial on the polished stone technique here. You can also use alcohol ink refills for this technique instead of the regular reinkers and rubbing alcohol. You would follow the exact same step in the tutorial except the step of adding the rubbing alcohol to the cotton ball.
I used the alcohol ink refills for my polished stone background. I let the inks dry completely then stamped the silhouette image with versamark and heat embossed it with Zinger Brown Sugar embossing powder.
The silhouette is from the Butterfly Kisses stamp set by The Crafts Meow and the sentiment is from the same set. The frame around the sentiment is from their Timeless Tags stamp set.

What is your favorite technique?
I hope you will play along with us this week and share your favorite technique with us!!
Thanks so much for stopping by and enjoy your day!!

Card Supplies:

Stamps: The Craft Meow

Ink: Alcohol Inks, Versamark, SU

Paper: SU, MME - Lost and Found

Other: Sizzix Beautiful Wings die, Spellbinders Grommet Tags, Gold Pearls, Corner Punch

Botanicals Card Kit hop

Hello!!

Tonight I am joining a few other Gina K designer for a special blog hop. We are featuring the new Botanicals stamp set with a special technique themed blog hop event!
The Botanicals Stamp set is part of this months card Kit Designed by Jessica Fick.
The card kit contains the Botanicals stamp set, Pure Luxury Cardstock (1 sheet of each of Red Hot, Fresh Asparagus, Sweet Corn, Chocolate Brown and Heavy Base White), Gold Brads, and the printed instruction sheet with photo, measurements and additional supplies list.

The technique I chose to use tonight is 'Cracked Glass'. I love the look of this technique and have to say it is one of my favorites.
I have two cards to share tonight.
My first card has a lot of distressing going on. I used Gina's Soft Sand, Cranberry Tart, Tan Leather and White Pure Luxury papers along with pattern papers from DCWV's Craft Stack.
Here is a closer look at the cracked glass. I used Versamark Dazzle to do the cracked glass and it added a gold shimmer to the cracked glass. Can you see some of the gold on the flower?
I finished off the inside of the card with more Crafty pattern paper and one of the sentiments from the Botanicals stamp set.
Let check out my next card...

I used Gina's Chocolate Brown, Turquoise See and Ivory Pure Luxury papers. The pattern papers are DCWV Linen Closet.

Here is a closer look at the cracked glass. I used the regular versmark for the cracked glass on this card. I again finished the inside of the card with more of the linen closet pattern paper and another sentiment from the Botanicals stamp set.

Please visit these designer's blogs for their project using a variety of techniques all made with the Botanicals stamp set:

• Jessica Fick


• Suzanne Dean


• Colleen Schaan


• Bev Gerard


• Jennie Harper


• Sharri Seffens


• Donna Baker


• Lee Murphy


• Nina Brackett


• Erika Martin


• Brenda Turner


• Giovana Smith


• Tina Gilliland


• Carla Suto


• Linda Payne


• Kay Simmons


• Vicki Dutcher


• Karen Knegten

Then, for even more samples with the Botanicals stamp set, visit the StampTV gallery here: botanicals. To view more information about the free card kit that is included with the purchase of the Botanicals stamp set, click here.

Thanks you for stoppin' by and I hope you enjoy the rest of the hop!

Distressed Card Supplies:

Stamps: Botanicals

Ink: Mellow Moss, Sage Shadow, Sahara Sand, Rubarb Stalk, Versamark Dazzle

Paper: Soft Sand, Cranberry Tart, Tan Leather, White PL

Other: Thick Embossing Powder, Primas, Buttons, Janome Sew Mini for the stitching, Edge Distresser

So Very Sorry Card Supplies:

Stamps: Botanicals

Ink: Vidid's Tuscan Tan, Memento's Desert Sand, Versamark

Paper: Turquoise Sea, Chocolate Brown, Ivory Pure Luxury Papers, DCWV - Linen Closet

Other: Ribbon, Pearls, MS Border Punch, Thick Embossing Powder

Paper piecing Challenge

Hello!
Tonight's card is for my Friday Blast from the Past Challenge over at Stamp TV. This week I am asking everyone to create a project that has paper piecing on it. This is a fun technique and one of my favorites. Gina has a tutorial video on paper piecing, which you can find here.
For my card I used Basic Grey's Origin papers along with Gina's Green Apple, Chocolate Brown, Tan Leather and White pl papers.
The sunflowers are from Gina K's A Year of Flowers and the butterfly is from her Picture It stamp set. Both the flowers and the butterfly were paper pieced. I used copics Y02 and E31 to add some shading to them.
The sentiment is from Lovely Labels and is cut out and matted with oval nesties.

I adding stitching around the pattern paper and kept the embellishments simple with just a ribbon bow.
Here is the inside. The sentiment is from Elegant Post.

I would love it if you would play along with me this week! If you do, please be sure to upload your project to the stamp TV Gallery using the tag STVBPSLS12 so you are entered in the drawing for a free stamp set of your choice and good luck.

Thank you for stopping by! I really appreciate it!



Card Supplies:
Stamps: Picture It, A Year of Flowers, Lovely Labels.
Ink: Rich Cocoa, Copics (e31, y02)
Paper: Green Apple, Chocolate Brown, Tan Leather, white PL papers, Basic Grey - Origins
Other: Ribbon, Janome Sew Mini

Quite a Catch blog hop

10Hello!

Tonight I am joining several other Gina K Designers and CSS Alumni in a blog hop for the Quite the Catch stamp set. This stamp set come with a free card kit designed by Jessica Fick.

There are lots of blogs to visit tonight so let get right to the cards. All my cards tonight are made with some of the current challenges in mind going on over at Stamp TV this week.

My first card is for the color challenge which is Turquoise Sea and Innocent Pink. I used Bubblegum Pink instead of Innocent Pink. I really like this color combo!

Don't you just love the goldfish and starfish in this set? The goldfish looks like a princess and I love the big happy smile on the starfish! Both are colored with copics and I added some stickles for a bit of sparkle. The pattern paper is October Afternoon's Ducks in a Row.

Here is the finished inside.

My second card is for the Anything by a Card Challenge. The challenge is to create a matchbook. I used some of the fun pattern paper included in the card kit. The base of the matchbook is Gina's Green Apple and the red is her Red Hot. Behind the fish I used a Cuttlebug Mess embossing folder then sponged versamark ink over it then pearlescent chalk over the versamark. The circle sentiment is from Gina's Holiday Greetings stamp set.

This is what the inside of the matchbook looks like. The sentiment is included in the Quite a Catch stamp set.

And finally the last one...

This card is for this weeks Blast from the Past challenge. I am challenging everyone to create a project using the Cracked Glass technique.

I actually wanted the fish bowl to look like it was cracking under the weight of the kitten sitting on top of it so I used a piece of acrylic to do the cracked Glass on. As you know acrylic can melt and curl when heated to it was rather tricky to do but I really like how it turned out. I framed the 'cracked glass' with big scalloped circles, attached the seaweed along the inside bottom of the glass and popped it up over the fish to look like he was in a fish bowl. I used the kitten from Purr-fectly Delightful to perch on top of the fishbowl. The papers are Gina K's Smokey Slate and White PL. The pattern paper is Basic Grey's new Basic White.

Here is a closeup of the cracked fishbowl. Doesn't the look on that fish face say it all? Hee Hee!

Here is the inside. I used a sentiment from the Friends stamp set. I hope you will join me for this weeks Blast from the Past challenge. If you do be sure to upload your project to the stamp TV gallery using the tag STVBPSLS10.

Visit these designer's blogs tonight for even more samples with the Quite a Catch stamp set

• Jessica Fick


• Bev Gerard


• Colleen Schaan


• Suzanne Dean


• Valerie Stangle


• Cathy Tidwell


• Lee Murphy


• Theresa Momber


• Geri Utterback


• Tina Gilliland


• Sharri Seffens


• Vicki Dutcher


• Jennie Harper


• Melissa Shultz


• Brenda Turner


• Joy Hadden


• Linda Payne


• Jen Charboneau

Cheri Weston

To see the adorable samples in the StampTV gallery, check out this link: quiteacatch

Thank you for stopping by and enjoy the rest of the hop!!

Color Challenge Card:

Stamps: Quite a Catch

Ink: Tuxedo Black, Copics (R81, R83, R85, R32, R43, Y35, Y38, Y23, Y20, B93, BG10, BG11, BG13, BG49, YG63, YG67

Paper: Gina's Turquoise Sea, Ivory and Bubblegum Pink PL. October Afternoons Ducks in a Row.

Other: Circle Nestibilities, Spellbinders Labels 10, Ribbon, Pearls, Stickles, EK Border Punch

Matchbook Supplies:

Stamps: Quite a Catch, Holiday Greetings

Ink: Tuxedo Black, Vivid's Red, versmark, Copics (Y00, Y02, Y04, Y06, B02, B04, B05, B06)

Paper: Green Apple, Red Hot, White PL, DP - Card Kit

Other: Ribbon, Brads, Circle and Square Nestibilities, Pearlescent Chalks. EK Border Punch, Cuttlebug Embossing Folder.

Blast From the Past Challenge Card:

Stamps: Purr-fectly Delightful, Friends, Quite a Catch

Ink: Versamark, Tuxedo Black, Copics (T2, T4, T6, W2, W3, W5, YR12, YR14, YR15, YR16, Y32, Y35, Y38, YG63, YG67, B93, R20)

Paper: Smokey Slate, White PL, Basic Grey - Basic White Paper Pad

Other: Thick Embossing Powder, Black Pearls, Acrylic, Circle and Square Nestibilities

Polishing up on this weeks Blast from the Past

Hi !

I know I have been a bad blogger again this week. The weather has been just gorgeous here (Woo Hoo it's finally spring!), and I been outdoors enjoying it with my family. Is it just me or do you also think that everyone is much happier when the weather finally warms up after a long winter?

Anywho, I wanted to share with you my Blast from the Past Challenge for this week. We are going to do some polishing by revisiting Gina's "Polished Stoned" video, which can be found here.
This is one of my favorite techniques. You can leave the polished stone as just a background for a card, you can stamp an image on it and color the image (I usually use reinkers to color the image), add a pattern to it by embossing it once it dries with an embossing folder or emboss an image on it like I did for my sample this week.
I used Ranger Alcohol reinkers to create my polished stone for my card but I also have used regular reinkers and rubbing alcohol from my medicine cabinet for this technique too.

The rose image is from Gina K's Friendship's Garden stamp set and the sentiment is from her Inside and Out stamp set. I stamped the image and the sentiment with versamark and heat embossed with Fine Detail Gold Embossing Powder.

The papers I used are Gina K's Pure Luxury Lemon Drop, Passionate Pink and Innocent Pink.

I hope you will join me this week for the Blast from the Past Challenge. Remember if you do, your will be entered in the drawing for a chance to to win a free stamp set of your choice.

Make sure you upload your projects to the Stamp TV gallery with the tag of STVBPSLS05 so you are entered in the drawing for the free stamp set.

You can find all the information about the Blast from the Past Challenge and all the other challenges here on StampTV.

I appreciate and thank you for stopping by today!

Card Supplies:

Stamps: Friendship's Garden, Inside and Out

Ink: Ranger Alcohol Inks, Versmark

Paper: Gina's Lemon Drop, Passionate Pink, Innocent Pink

Other: Gold EP, Ribbon, Rectangle Nestibilities, Fancy Tags, MS Border Punch

How about a little thumping with markers?

Hello!
Well my time in Florida is drawing to an end. We fly home today but it is Friday and you know what that means...yup another Stamp TV Blast from the Past Challenge!!

This week we are going to do some "Thumping with Markers". If you are not familiar with Thumping with Markers, Gina has a tutorial video you can watch here.
Here is my card for the challenge.
The flowers are from Gina's Elegant Flowers stamp set. The markers used are Memento's Rhubarb Stalk, Bamboo Leaves, Potters Clay, Cantaloupe, and Rich Cocoa. Each flower was stamped with a different combination of those colors. The sentiment is also from the Elegant Flowers set and was stamped with Rich Cocoa ink.

Here is a closer view of the flowers.

And this is how I finished the inside of the card. The sentiment is from Gina's Inside and Out stamp set.

It's your turn to create! Be sure to add your creations to the Stamp TV gallery with the tag of STVBPSLS02.

Have a fabulous Friday!!

Card Supplies:

Stamps: Elegant Flowers, Inside and Out

Ink: Rich Cocoa, Memento's Markers

Paper: White Pl, Chocolate Kiss, Green Apple, Basic Greys Origins

Other Supplies: Oval and Circle Nestibilities, Pearls

Join me for a Blast from the Past!

Happy Friday my stamping friends!

Today is the day I kick off my term as the Hostess for StampTV's Blast from the Past Challenges. I would love for you to join me and if you do, there is a prize drawing for a free stamp set. You can read all about the challenge in the challenge discussion on Stamp TV.

My first challenge is to make a project that used the shaving cream technique as a background. Check out the Shaving Cream episode here on Stamp TV and then go grab your shaving cream, and create a project with me.

This is my card for the challenge.The flower image is from Gina's Eclectic Summer stamp set. I stamped it on white pl and colored it with copics. The reinkers I used with the shaving cream for my background are Certainly Celery, Mauve Mist and Perfect Plum. After the background paper was dry, I covered with versamark using the direct to paper method and heat embossed it using iridescent ice embossing powder. This gave is a lot of sparkle and made the ink colors pop. Love that look!

I can't wait to see all of your projects! Be sure to upload your project to the Stamp TV gallery using the tag STVBPSLS01 so you are entered in the prize drawing!

Have a fantastic Friday!!!

Card Supplies: Stamps - Eclectic Summer. Ink- Certainly Celery, Mauve Mist, Perfect Plum, Tuxedo Black, Versamark, Copics. Paper - Creme De Menthe, Lovely Lavender, Elegant Eggplant, White PL. Other Supplies - Spellbinder Blossom dies, Gina's Buttons, Silver Cord, Cuttlebug Swiss Dots EF, SU Border Punch, Iridescent Ice EP.

Polished Embossing

Hello!


I was playing around with the polish stone technique and my Quickutz embossing folder again. I do like the look of the embossing folders with the polished stone technique but I am not sure I like this color combo as much as I did for the card I shares a week or so ago, which you can see here for comparison.

The cs is Gina K's Sweet Corn, Ivory PL and SU's Soft Suede. The sentiment is from Gina's Guiding Light and is cut out using Spellbinders Labels 5.

Thank you for visiting and I hope you have a wonderful rest of you day!





Card Supplies:
Stamps: Guiding Light
Ink: Ranger Alcohol Inks, Vivid ink - Straw
Paper: Glossy cs, SU - Soft Suede, Gina K - Sweet Corn
Other: Spellbinders - Labels 5, SU - Soft Suede polka dot ribbon

Pattern Embossing

Hello,

This is another card that I made a while ago for a challenge on Stamp TV but have not yet shared on my blog. The challenge was to do pattern embossing, which used the emboss resist technique.

All the stamps are from Gina K's Bold Flowers Stamp set.
I started with a piece of white cs. I stamped the crackle background all over the cs with Melon Mambo ink. I stamped the center of the flower with Melon Mambo ink then stamped the actual flower, stems and leaves in versamark and heat embossed with clear embossing powder.

If I am doing the emboss resist technique, I will put on two coats of clear embossing powder because sometime the embossing powder does not completely cover the image and leaves small areas not embossed. When that happens and you sponge or brayer ink over the embossed area, the ink will stick to those un-embossed areas.

My next step was to used a rectangle nestibility to cut the image to the size that I wanted. Before I removed the image from the diecut, I sponged Night of Navy and Chocolate Chip ink to completely cover the cs on the inside of the diecut...still with me? I wiped the ink off the diecut before removing the cs...if I do not do this I tend to leave smudges all over my project. Next wipe the ink off the flower images that were embossed to reveal the flowers and used my heat tool over the embossed flowers to bright them back up.


The flowers in the upper corner were stamped on Melon Mambo with Versamark ink, heat embossed with clear embossing powder and punched out with the matching Marvy flower punch. I finished off the card with a ribbon bow and added pearls to the center of each flower.

Enjoy the rest of your day!




Card Supplies:
Stamps: Bold Flowers
Papers: White PL, Chocolate Kiss, SU - Melon Mambo
Ink: Versamark, Melon Mambo, Night of Navy, Chocolate Chip, Basic Grey - Indian Summer
Other: Ribbon, Pearls, Rectangle Nestibilities, Marvy Flower Punch

Polished Durango

Happy Tuesday my Friends!

A few weeks ago there was a challenge on StampTV to create a project based on a photo of Italian tile.
This was my take on the challenge.
For the background I used the polish stone technique and after the ink was dried, I embossed the cardstock with a cuttlebug embossing folder.
The sentiment is from Gina K's Sweetest Memories and is cut out using Nestibilities Labels 6.
The cs is Dusty Durango, Gina's Good as Gold and Ivory pl.

Thank you for checking in with me tonight! Tomorrow I have a scrapbook page to share with you.


Card Supplies:
Stamps: Sweetest Memories
Ink: Ranger Alcohol Inks, Dusty Durango
Paper: Ivory PL, Good As Gold, Dusty Durango, Glossy Paper
Other: Nestibilities Labels 6, Ribbon

If you can dream it...

Happy Monday evening!

I stopped by Gina K's store Friday to spend my Christmas money on the newly release stamps, paper, ribbons and buttons. When my daughter saw the new Wishes and Dreams stamp set she fell in love and has been stamping and coloring all the adorable fairies in this set.
Mom even got a chance to use one of the stamps. lol!
I used my brayer to create the background. The sky is brayered with Blush Blossom, Apricot Appeal and More Mustard. The ground is brayered with Mementos New Sprout, Bamboo Leaves and Cottage Ivy. Cottage Ivy is also sponges around the bottom edges. The cluster of flowers is from one of the stamp sets in the new Stamp TV kit called Picture It. They were colored with mementos markers before stamping on the paper them I colored some of the flowers with Spica Glitter Pens.
The Fairy was stamped with Mementos Tuxedo Black ink on White PL paper and colored with copics. The copic colors I used are - Hair: yr23, e33, e99 Skin: e50, e51, rv10 Wings: r0000, r000, r00 Mushroom: e42, e43, e44, r20, r22 Clothing: r02, r05, r14. I added glitter to the wings and dots on the mushroom and used the clear glitter pen and niji waterbrush to add shimmer to her hair and clothes.
The papers are all Gina K's Pure Luxury papers - Passionate Pink, Creme de Menthe and White PL.
I usually finish the insides of my cards but hardly ever remember to take a picture...I am going to work on that this year!

I want to apologize for the sporadic or lack of postings this past month. I have pinched nerves in my neck which is affecting the use of my right arm and wouldn't you know I am right handed. It is getting better but I am still having some problems trying to do certain things...two that bother me the most is working on the computer and pushing a shopping cart...I can't surf or shop...two of my favorite things! Hee hee!

Thanks for visiting my blog and have a wonderful rest of your evening!



Card Supplies:
Stamps: Wishes and Dreams, Picture It
Ink: SU - Blush Blossom, Apricot Appeal, More Mustard, Mementos - Tuxedo Black, New Sprout, Bamboo Leaves, Cottage Ivy, Copics, Mementos Markers
Paper: Gina K - White PL, Creme De Menth, Passionate Pink, SU - DSP
Other: Spellbinders - Tags, Fancy Tags, MS Border Punch, Ribbon, Brads, Glitter, Glitter Pen, Niji Waterbrush, Quickie Glue Pen

A matching set

Good evening!

Anybody else crazy busy getting ready for the holidays? I am having a hard time believing next week is Christmas!!! Yikes!!! I am not ready!!!
There have been many times when I am making a card it will end up being bigger than any envelope that I own...every have that problem?
Tonight I am sharing a card with a matching envelope that I made. There are a couple of great tutorials on how to make an envelope using your scor-pal. One is on the scor-pal site under the techniques section and the other is on Stamp TV.
All the papers used to make the card and envelope are from my scraps. The DP is scraps from my Basic Grey's Bittersweet pack.
The cold weather that we are experiencing here was inspiration for the matching card. In cold weather I love to curl up on the couch with a good book and a nice cup of hot tea.

I used a few different stamps to create my living room scene. The couch is an Alota stamp that I purchase from Magnolia-licious. The table is from the SU set called Scene in a Garden and the Teapot, cup and cloth is from Gina k's Lovely Shelf stamp set.

The couch, teapot, cup and cloth are paper pieced using the Bittersweet dp. I wanted to create a wood floor for the couch to sit on so ran a piece of the brown bittersweet dp through the distressed lines cuttlebug folder. I added another piece of bittersweet dp above the "floor" for the wall and separated them with a dark brown piece of ribbon to look like the baseboard of the floor.

I store my couch stamp with my Magnolia stamps and when I was digging it out for this card, I realized that I have sorely neglected my magnolia stamps! Can you imagine?! My more little Tilda's! They are now sitting on my table waiting to be inked up. Now I just need life to settle down so I can give them some love!

Thank you for visiting me tonight!
Hugs,

Card Supplies:

Stamps: Couch - Alota, Table - SU's Scene in a Garden, Lovely Shelf

Ink: Rich Cocoa, Versamark, Copics

Paper: Basic Grey - Bittersweet, White PL

Other Materials: Ribbon, Clear Embossing Powder, Cuttlebug EF

Technique: Paper Piecing

A wintery scene

Happy Wednesday!

Sorry I have been MIA the past few days. I finally have my Internet back but am not sure for how long since the winds are picking up and the temperatures are starting to plummet so I will try to keep this short in case I lose the connection.

I am sure you have all heard that we had a blizzard here in WI. We got 18+ inches of snow at my house and it was the wet heavy stuff so it took a toll on our trees and shrubs. We have several that are down and probably won't be able to save. My poor dh spent most of the day cleaning out the driveway and Abbi had so much fun playing in it. There were some areas where she stepped and went in up to her hips!

My card tonight was inspired by the snow storm.
I used Theresa's new set Life is Good. There are no layers on this card. I simply used a piece of White Base Weight PL paper. The card size is 5x7.

I started the scene by stamping the cabin with Rich Cocoa ink, coloring it with copics, recoloring it with a versamarker and heat embossing with clear ep. The trees were added next by first inking the stamp with versamark then with rick cocoa and heat embossing with clear embossing powder. The ground was masked off and I added the sky using the direct to paper technique with the ink pads. The first color I used for the sky was is Going Gray, next was Almost Amethyst and lastly Night of Navy. The pond was added next by masking off the sky and ground around the cabin and brayering Going Gray, Bordering Blue and Night of Navy. I sponged in some snow shadows on the ground around the cabin with Going Gray.
I used my reverse image stamp to add the reflection of the trees in the water. I wanted a snowbank look around pond so I squirted a bit of Craft White Ink, from the reinker, on a acetate sheet and used my stipple brush to add the snowbank. Using the ink from the reinker instead of just the ink pad gave it a bit more dimension, don't you think? While the craft ink was still wet, I sprinkled iridescent ice ep powder over it and heat embossed it. I also used the stipple brush and the Craft Whisper White ink pad to add a bit of snow over the ground by the cabin and on the roof and again sprinkled it with iridescent ice ep and heat embossed. The picture does now show the sparkle on the card very well but irl, it is very sparkly!

Have a wonderful rest of your evening and stay warm!!



Card Supplies:
Stamps: Life is Good
Ink: Going Gray, Almost Amethyst, Night of Navy, Bordering Blue, Rich Cocoa, Versamark, Craft Whisper White Ink Pad and Reinker.
Paper: White Base Weight pl
Other Materials Use: Iridescent Ice ep, Clear ep, Versamarker, Copics (E25, E27, E29, E08, Y11, Y13, T0, T3, T5, YG63), Signo White Gel Pen

Festive Frame

Hi!

Today I have a card to share that uses Melanie's new Festive Frames stamp set. This is the first card I made with this set. I remember when I first saw this set I fell in love with it but was not sure what to do with it. Have you ever had that happen? So whats the best way to get started? By inking it up and going with the flow. Exactly what I did. I inked it up with rich cocoa ink and stamped it on White pl paper, and this is what evolved.
I colored everything with copics. The poinsettia's were stamped and colored again, then cut out and popped up. I water colored with my handy Sakura glitter pen to give them sparkle and added pearls the the centers. I also added glitter to the berries. I wish I would have just used my glitter pen because I think that is too much glitter for the little guys and completely covers them.

I decided I wanted to stamp my linen background stamp over the frame but did not want the linen in the center of the frame so I stamped the image on a separate piece of paper and cut out the center to use for my mask. The linen was stamped with Blush Blossom. I stamped the sentiment in the center and decided to add some shading so I used the frame part from the paper I cut the center out of to mask everything but the center...are you following me?

I sponged blush blossom and pretty in pink in the center.

I matted the frame on Chocolate Kiss and for the base I used Fresh Asparagus and stamped my linen background on that using Bamboo leaves ink.
Whew! I think that's it!

Have a terrific rest of your evening!

Card Supplies:

Stamps: Festive Frames, SU Linen Background stamp

Ink: Versamark, Blush Blossom, Rich Cocoa, Bamboo Leaves, Pretty in Pink

Paper: Fresh Asparagus, Chocolate Kiss, White pl

Accessories: Glitter, Copics, Pearls, Glitter Pen, Quickie Glue Pen

Techniques: Masking