Bluebird of happiness

Another challenge and another use of a photo of my in-laws taken at Jones Beach, Long Island, NY back in 1934.  Today's tag was created for the CCC3 #12 challenge...Distress Photo Tinting which can be found on p. 41 of the book.  Sponsoring this challenge is FunkieJunkie and a $25 gift certificate is at stake.  The Curiosity Crew will also be choosing a winner for a special prize from Tim & Mario.  There are some easy and basic rules to follow, so go check them out and play along!

Here's my finished tag.  I really hated to cover up the base tag but it was actually the inspiration so what are you going to do????

I did curl the waves to create motion.  Once die cut from watercolor paper, the sand dollar and greenery were sprayed with distress inks in yellow, light brown and a green then heavily misted. 

Ingredients:  #8 tag of unknown background origin; Sizzix Holiday Greens (brand new..doesn't that look super for seaweed???), Mini Sand Dollar, Wave (old yellow die); Stampers Anonymous Purely Random CSS27843 (love text); paper scrap for wave from old Stampington magazine insert; distress inks, distress markers; Botanical Remnant Rubons; unknown turquoise gem (came in a goody bag received with a previous order from The Funkie Junkie Boutique); Idea-ology bird covered in distress paint; watercolor paper; glossy paper


And here's the tag base unadorned...love the turquoise and gold splashed on it.  Sure reminded me of water which made me want to use this photo again!

Altered Playing Card challenge - week 5

This week Claudine's focus is on muted backgrounds; specifically, acrylic paints and collage.

 Muted acrylics
Claudine Helmuth Studio Paint (Altered Orange, Yellow Pastel, Dab of Yellow); Rays Layering Stencil; Jet Black Archival Ink; distress inks; clear embossing powder; American Art Stamp EM7107G 'Sunshine'; Sakura white gelly roll pen; Black Micron pen; Sizzix Ticket Strip die; snippet of paper tape

Collage
scraps of decorative cardstock; Potting Soil, Jet Black Archival Inks; Glue 'n Seal; Rubber Stamp Tapestry 'Sand Dollar & Starfish Border AQU00003'; distress paints; vintage photo*; Sizzix Primitive Hearts die; Marvy heart thumb punch; Hero Arts alphabets; Stampers Anonymous 'Playful Journey' text stamp

*  This is a photo of my in-laws taken in 1934 at Jones Beach, Long Island, New York.

Fall...my favorite time of year! (2nd post of the day)

It's the first full day of fall...gorgeous blue skies, gentle breezes, warm sunshine.  Perfect weather for decorating for my favorite season!

The old window frame came from my neighbor's childhood home that was recently razed.  It's sitting atop an old rusty milk crate.  The wreath is rusty barbed wire; my sister cross-stitched the bow.  The floral decoration on the side is pre-made (last year's purchase) and was just what I wanted.  The old shovel is bent and quite old; it's been painted on and has a floral garland wrapped around the handle.  An old pair of work gloves adorns the handle; they, too, have been painted to fit the season.  I wired the small crow to the top of the window frame so it wouldn't blow away.  Added some faux pumpkins, gourds and leafy garlands and I'm ready to say....Happy fall, y'all!

Altered Playing Card challenge - week 4

Oh boy.  Claudine chose to use items completely out of my comfort zone.  But isn't that what a challenge is all about...stretching and reaching?  This week she chose to work with bright colors, some doodling and gelli plate prints.  I am definitely not a 'brights' person, am the worst doodler and don't have a gelli plate.  I opted to use some background tags I'd made although I could have used patterned paper but felt what I had wasn't what she had in mind.

I love how the word 'draw' appears just under the word 'artist'.  Certainly not planned!

Pink:  gesso; Studio 490 'Residential Artist' SCS044; Black Sharpie; miscellaneous background tags; distress paint (Picked Raspberry and Worn Lipstick)

Yellow:  gesso; Studio 112 paper tape; Hero Arts alphabet; distress paint (Mustard Seed, Mowed Lawn); watercolor paper; Jet Black Archival Ink; distress markers; Sakura Black Marker; Art Impressions woman (mini size)

I found the sentiment on the Anne Taintor website.  She's a hoot and I'd love to have some of her pieces.

To learn more about this challenge you can click on the link on my sidebar or go to Claudine's blog.

Let's celebrate the autumnal equinox!

Fall, my favorite time of year!  I love the colors, sights, smells and sounds...golden yellows, harvest oranges, brick reds, olive greens...picturesque trees, the crackling of leaves as you shuffle through them, shouts from the football game...I think you get the idea.

Here's a card I created using some stamps that haven't seen light of day for a long, long time...Stamp Zia.  I believe she's no longer in business but I have taken some classes from her...she certainly loves big, bold and color!

I stamped the text block using Watermark Resist ink (Ranger) on Bazzill's 'Gold Coins' card stock.  On watercolor paper I stamped the leaf chop with embossing ink.  Tarnished Gold Embossing Powder was sprinkled over it; heat set.  I love this...not gold, not bronze...just pretty!

Personally I like to wet my paper before picking up some smeared distress inks with a brush and dotting it where I want.  I like to let the water do the work for me.  Before each layer gets too dry I add a 2nd and 3rd color...one is never enough!  I  used 18 distress inks...3 for each leaf and the background!  That's probably a record for me!  A band of satin ribbon completes the card.

Using the same leaf chop I stamped the envelope corner in Tree Branch archival ink and then again on scrap paper.  From the scrap paper I cut out the leaf shown to create a mask.  Using the same colors as leaf on the card I colored my leaf.  Heat set.  I love using MicroGlaze on my envelopes to protect my art.  This way I can use waterbased ink if I choose.

I'm off to the local apple orchard...I'm ready to make the first apple pie of the season!  Can you smell cinnamon in the air?

Altered Playing Cards - week 3

I really let my mojo take over today.  I had jotted down all the items Claudine used but really didn't remember looking at her samples.  I prefer to do that after I've created my own.  This week you'll see I've reversed hers!  Happy accident!

Gesso; alcohol inks (Rust, Butterscotch, Meadow, Latte), distress inks (Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, Vintage Photo), Potting Soil/Jet Black Archival Ink; Measured Layering Stencil; core'dinations card stock scraps; Hero Arts sentiment (L); Botanical Remnant Rubs; Elmers Copper Leafing Pen; miscellaneous Sizzix letters; Lasting Impressions with Panache sentiment (R); Sakura White Jelly Roll pen; Black Sharpie

So, wanna play along?

Altered Playing Cards - weeks 1 and 2

Claudine recently started an Altered Playing Cards challenge.  She's taking a deck of cards and creating 2 cards per week so this challenge will take a while.  You'll have to check out her blog to see all the rules and regulations. 

The first week she prepped the deck of cards.  Weeks 2 and 3 have been posted so please check her blog for all those details and her samples.  I loosely followed her tutorials.

Gesso; Dylusions sprays (Fresh Lime, Campso Teal); Sizzix Townscape OTE die; Hero Arts JS153 sentiment; Martha Stewart Coneflower punch (sun); Stampers Anonymous Purely Random (text on sun); Jet Black Archival Ink, Glossy Accents, distress inks; Sakura Jelly Roll White Pen; black, yellow cardstock scraps

Gesso; Dylusions sprays (Bubblegum Pink, After Midnight); Hero Arts stars and sentiment; Poppy Stamps (little girl 217C); Jet Black Archival Ink, distress markers; watercolor paper; silver & black cardstock scraps; ekSuccess star punch; silver & black Sharpies; Tsukineko Encore Silver Metallic ink



I think this will be a fun challenge and so simple...at least thus far.  Surely I can find my mojo for 2 small canvases each week!

Effect Powders

The creative time is halfway through for the CCC3 #11 challenge.  Thankfully there is a 2-week window to get your mojo on!  The Curiosity Crew has shared plenty of ideas using Tim's Effect Powders (see pg 52 of Book 3).  There are some rules to follow but they are easy and this will allow you a chance to win a prize package from Tim & Mario (winner specially chosen  by the Curiosity Crew) and one random artist will get a $50 gift certificate from the sponsor, Inspiration Emporium. 

Here are some of the items I used to create my #8 tag.

#8 tag; Clockwork Layering Stencil, Playful Journey CSS27812 clear stamp set, Calendar 2 CMS035; pocketwatch & pointing finger mini mover & shaper dies, Layered Wings Bigz die; distress inks, Clear Crackle Accents, distress embossing powders, distress embossing ink, Superfine Detail Black Embossing Powder, distress paint, Glossy Accents; game spinners, Lost & Found Paper Stash,Elements  Remnant Rubs (crown, stars), jute

Hope you have the book and are playing along!

Have you heard the news?

Have you seen the gorgeous new Wendy Vecchi Embossing Powders that match her archival inks?  Frillie and Funkie* is celebrating Wendy’s new release by giving away a bundle of all six colors.  Contest ends midnight Eastern Time on Monday, September 22^nd.  Results announced on Tuesday.  I hope I've followed all the rules so I get the maximum number of chances to win.  

I also hope that in time Wendy will release embossing powders to match all her archival inks.  She's done a fabulous faux graniteware technique; looks amazing!

* this link will take you to the info you'll need to be entered to win a set of your own...and see the dynamic colors

Free to fly

Guess this title is quite appropriate today as we learned this morning that my husband is still in remission (one year and counting) so we are feeling pretty free right now.  Here's my version of Tim Holtz' September tag.  I chose the arrows layering stencil and aqua alcohol ink; my arrows are barely discernible although you can see the dotted one between the word 'travel' and the arrow in the lower right hand corner.  I did try it using Lake Mist alcohol ink and you could see more arrows but I wanted a blue sky for happiness.

Stampers Anonymous:  Arrows Layering Stencil THS025, Stamps (Steampunk CMS107, Remnants CMS130)

Idea-ology:  Rubons (Life Quotes, Words, Elements), silk ribbon

Sizzix:  Birds in Flight 659425

Ranger:  Glossy Paper, Glossy Accents, Jet Black Archival Ink, alcohol inks, blending solution, #8 black tag


I will be trying this technique with more light colors of alcohol ink as well as using other stencils to see what other combinations work well.

Halloween sights

Halloween is just 8 weeks away!  And it falls smack dab in the middle of my favorite time of year...FALL!  Love the colors, sights and sounds...reds, oranges, yellows all touched by a bit of brown....mounds of leaves recently raked, mums and pumpkins by the front door...the crackling leaves as you scuffle through them, nuts falling from the trees, the cheers from the football fans....ah, I love FALL!!!

I've created this Halloween piece to fulfill the requirements by 2 month-long fall-themed challenges.  The first is by Die-namites Dies and the second is for eclectic Paperie.  Both are offering $25 gift certificates to their stores.  DD requires that you use at least one of their dies in your piece, use their sketch; there's an additional challenge to incorporate the dare.

Without further ado....

Overall size:  8.5" x 8.5"

Die-namites dies:  Leafy Branch DN-1046, Knobby Branch DN-1048, Summer Branch DN-1056
Canvas Corp.: Black & Ivory Ribbon Strip cardstock, Spooky Word on Ivory cardstock
Martha Stewart: fence, dripping blood border punches
Ranger: Glossy Accents, Black Soot Distress Glitter, Spiced Marmalade Distress Crackle Paint, Spiced Marmalade Distress Stickles, distress inks & stains, Biscotti Perfect Pearls Mist, Jet Black Archival Ink
Sizzix:  mini movers & shapers spider, arch frame, Pattern & Stitches border embossing folder
Stampers Anonymous:  Apothecary stamp set CMS138, layering stencils (Halloween, shatter)
Core'dinations: Black Magic color core cardstock
Misc.: buttons, silk ribbon,

I love the look of layering the three Die-namites into very dimensional fall trees.  With the middle layer using core'dinations color core (orange with black surface) there's an added layer of color when the edges have been sanded.

Pewter Distress stain coated the back of the shatter layering stencil then placed it around the edges of the black base.  The image left behind is a bit shimmery but not shiny had I used silver distress paint.

Hope you get your fall colors on soon!