Hope you're feline better soon!

I just couldn't wait for my Mini Bird Crazy and Crazy Cats stamps to arrive because I just HAD to get them inked up A.S.A.P.!  I already had this idea in my head. 

I stamped the images using Jet Black Archival ink onto 140# watercolor paper.  Nearly 2 dozen distress markers were used to color the bird and cat.  Using the edge of an acrylic block I ran the Pumice Stone mini distress ink pad to create a straight line to ground my subjects.  With a flat waterbrush I pulled the color down towards the bottom of the page, allowing the color to fade out.  Around the images I smudged Hickory Smoke distress ink for shading and dimension.

L-o-v-e the new mini stencils!  This plus sign reminded me of a Red Cross so it's perfect for a get well card.  With the stencil in place I lightly drew around part of a few plus signs then took a regular waterbrush and lightly filled in the space with water, again allowing natural wicking/shading to take place.

On a watercolor cardstock scrap I stamped the 3 sentiments (2 from Brett Wedele's 'Mister Meow Meow and Tweets McGee' and the other from Repeat Impressions) in Jet Black Archival ink.  I traced around a Claudine Hellmuth 'Chit Chat' stencil with a black Micron pen.  After the sentiments were cut out I smudged brown and gray distress inks on the lower left corner for dimension and shading.  A bit of dimensional tape was applied to them before adhering them to the card front. The card was placed on black cardstock then a bright pink card.

These two new sets, along with the larger version of Bird Crazy, are definitely going to get a lot of use!  I have so many ideas...I don't know where to start!

Puzzled...

Here's my entry for the 7th week of the altered puzzle piece challenge.  If you remember, my theme is 'These are a few of my favorite things' and travel is one of things I love to do.

The die I chose to use as my stencil was large enough so I could use it on both pieces; the first as a stencil and the 2nd as is.  The Globe (Sizzix) thinlits die was cut from Tim Holtz distressables collection (correspondence) cardstock.

For my 11th and 12th pieces I used:  Claudine Hellmuth Studio Paint (Charcoal Black, Blank Canvas); Jet Black Archival Ink; Cloudy Blue Sea Shells ink; brown distress ink; stamps (Catslife Press for the sentiment, JD Impressions for the car and vintage Hero Arts stamp for the plane).

Traveling around the U.S.A. is on my bucket list (only a few states I haven't seen) as is an African safari.  One day.....

It's puzzling...

Week 6 of the altered puzzle challenge.

Ingredients:  Spellbinders Harvest 1 die (S3-003); Claudine Hellmuth Studio Paint (Yellow Pastel, Altered Orange, Blank Canvas, Charcoal Black); Tim Holtz Distress Paint (Barn Door, Twisted Citron); Tim Holtz stencil (Harlequin); A Stamp In The Hand pear text (N-1766); My Sentiments Exactly (B352 word); Jet Black Archival Ink

Ingredients: Sizzix Tattered Florals Die; Clearly For Art (white); Ranger Archival Inks (Buttercup, Dandelion, Tiger Lily, Orange Blossom, Monarch Orange); Tim Holtz Distress Paint (Evergreen Bough, Mowed Lawn); Tim Holtz Distressables decorative paper; decorative paper clip; Ranger Orange Blossom Embossing Powder; brad; Idea-ology foliage; gold metallic marker

Altered puzzle pieces - week 3

You can check out Claudine's blog to see the inspiration pieces.  I use her work as a guideline; I don't intend to copy her idea.

Ingredients:  Tim Holtz distress paints (Antique Linen, Brushed Corduroy); Claudine Hellmuth Blank Canvas paint; Antique Linen Distress Glitter; colored pencils; Another Stamp Company "Timeless" sentiments; Just For Fun "Color"; Tim Holtz Star stencil; Ranger archival inks (Jet Black, Potting Soil, Tree Branch); Tim Holtz Alterations Labels die; Tim Holtz idea-ology star colored yellow with Sharpie; Tim Holtz tissue wrap; white card stock scraps

Let's play with Elmer's Glue

That's what Claudine chose for this week's Altered Playing Cards.

Gesso, playing cards, all stamps by Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers (no longer in business), Claudine Hellmuth Studio Paints (Modern Red, Altered Orange, Yellow Pastel), Sakura pens (white gelly roll, black micron, red glaze), distress markers, filmstrip ribbon, Sizzix (Typeset and Brick wall decorative strip dies), washi tape, embroidery brocade, watercolor paper, Jet Black Archival Ink, Glossy Accents, book page scrap, Harlequin stencil

I didn't have to draw around the brick wall (card on right)...the acrylic paint over the glued surface dried like that.  Isn't that neat?

Sadly, Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers rubber stamp company is no longer in business.  They always had images that pushed the limits...for some people.

 

More altered playing cards...for the men

Oh boy...I think I'm on a roll with coming out of my box!  It must be an age thing!  lol  Check out Claudine's newest challenge!

Dreamweaver's Translucent embossing paste; Studio 490 stencils (Yikes..Stripes, Basically Bricks); Art Impressions: Melvin J1620 and Floyd I1931; River City Rubber Works: Sag...1820-D and If it..4012-D; Claudine Hellmuth Studio Paint (Modern Red, Dab of Yellow, Classic Teal); Ranger: Distress Paint (Mustard Seed, Ripe Persimmon, Peacock Feathers, Mowed Lawn), black soot distress ink, distress markers, Black Fude Ball Pen; watercolor paper; cancelled postage stamp; red marker; white card stock scraps; punchinella scrap

I've been wanting to use the 2 sentiments for a l-o-n-g time and just haven't found the right occasion.  Today is perfect!  lol

 
 





Mixed media calendar page

Check out Roni's new calendar page for March!  It features a cool mixed media technique.  Mine looks more like verdigris...which I think is really cool!

Sizzix:  arch bigz die, shamrock (old green die); Plaid Espresso Acrylic Craft Paint; Claudine Hellmuth studio paint (Landscape Green & Smidge of Blue); Folk Art Metallic Pan Gold Acrylic Paint, white acrylic paint; Ranger: Adirondack Gold Paint Dabber, Multi-Medium; Studio 490 metallic embossing pastes (silver, gold), Vintage Quilt stencil; black, white card stock scraps; chipboard; Tim Holtz tissue wrap

Can't wait to see what she has in store for April!

To swirl or not to swirl

Claudine's testing us...swirl one, don't swirl one.  Which do you like best?  This 18th APC challenge was fun!  I generally write down the basic instructions then get right to creating my own or put them away for a few days while life takes over.  Such was the case this week so I'm quite surprised at how similar mine are to hers. 

Claudine Hellmuth's Studio Paint (Smidge of Blue, Purple Palette, Blank Canvas); Jet Black Archival Ink; watercolor paper; watercolors; Studio 490 'She Created Art' LCS036; Black Fude Ball pen

Claudine Hellmuth's Studio Paint (Charcoal Black, Dash of Red, Dab of Yellow); Jet Black Archival Ink; white card stock; Studio 490 'Make Mine Mini Art' LCS021; Black Fude Ball pen













So, are you playing along?  Do you prefer to swirl or not?  I'm torn.

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.

Bye, bye birdie!

No, not that bye, bye birdie!  I don't even sing in the shower so get that thought right out of your head.  This is a bird I created for the Frilly & Funkie challenge 'Anything Goes' that ends 9/17.  I'd been waiting for my new Studio 490 stencils to arrive and they did, just in the nick of time.  I also wanted to follow along with Wendy's tutorial she shared on Sept. 5 featuring painted pastes and parts.

I started pulling out the ingredients and deciding what stamp sets and art parts to use when I spotted the idea page on the 'From Nature' art parts package.  Love it!  So my tag is a combo of Wendy's tut tag and the art parts package photo.

I also knew I wanted to incorporate some of the findings that The Funkie Junkie sends along with your order.  The leaves and twine were in with the Studio 490 stencils.  Gorgeous bits to play with!

Ingredients:  #8 tag; Studio 490 ('From Nature' art parts, translucent embossing paste, Dots & Stripes Border Stencil, stamps from 'Sunshine & Art', 'Art From The Heart', 'Art Colors Life', 'All About Art', 'Art Gone Postal'; new archival inks of Potting Soil, Cornflower Blue, Watering Can, Orange Blossom); Ranger distress paints (Weathered Wood, Vintage Photo, Wild Honey, Peeled Paint, Fired Brick), Black Enamel Accents, Sepia and Jet Black Archival Inks, Walnut Stain Distress Ink; Claudine Hellmuth's Multi-Medium); Idea-ology black plastic sticky-backed letters

Tip:  Use enough embossing paste to stand up to your stamp.  I didn't and you can barely see the plaid background I chose.  Also, don't completely cover the tag.  I covered the tag more than I thought.  

I splotched Weathered Wood Distress Paint over the letters before applying them.  Love that look and how they stand out but don't take over.  How did that flower get stamped where the bird's eye should be?  Fortuitous!

So what are you waiting for?  Pull out a few stamps, stencils, embossing pastes, archival inks, and distress paints and get busy making art!

Falling for embossing paste

Lame, lame, lame.  Oh well.  There you have it. 

The September challenge on the EverythingWendyVecchi Yahoo group is to use embossing paste.  Now that Wendy has out white, translucent, black, gold and silver there's not much you can't do to colorize them even further.  You can add or cover with paint, re-inkers, Perfect Pearls, glitter, and archival inks.  I opted to use white and translucent on my #8 black tag.

I used Wendy's new Layered Tree stencil and white embossing paste for the leaves, let air dry, then did the trunk and branches, again letting it air dry.  I used distress inks and markers to color them.  The leaves start out yellow at the top and gradually go to red at the bottom but it doesn't show up very well in the photo.  Sorry because IRL it really is lovely.  I did texturize the paste by tapping my knife lightly on the paste before it dried.  Note: In hindsight I should have done the trunk and branches first so the leaves would pop out instead of the trunk.  Such is life.

The 2 Fancy Flowers stencil was strategically placed in the upper right hand corner for the sun.  Who'da thunk?  I used translucent paste so I could smudge Claudine Hellmuth's Yellow Pastel, Dab of Yellow and Modern Red on the 'rays' to mimic the heat of the sun.

From a piece of cut 'n dry foam I created a cloud and stamped it 4 times using Snow Cap Pigment Ink.  Once dry I  used the Broken China Distress Marker to outline it and make the clouds look puffier, more rounded.

I stamped the sentiment (*I love a day with a happy ending) from Sentimental Art in Snow Cap Pigment Ink on black card stock then framed with brown card stock that had a distress brown ink smudged around the edges.  Glued that to a flat pick and instant yard sign.

Using an o-l-d Sizzix die I cut grass from scraps of kraft core'dination and sanded them and curled them so I could add them in layers to the front of the tag.  A snippet of ribbon to the top and I'm outa here!

*This sentiment is perfect for this week.  We had 2 days with happy endings.  Monday I learned I will have my cataracts removed and special lenses implanted so that I may not have to wear glasses any more except possibly to read.  After 50 years I am more than ready!  Wednesday we learned that my husband's lung cancer is in remission!!!! 

Die-namite dies

A few weeks ago I was a lucky winner of a $10 gift certificate to Die-namite Dies.  I chose several and they've arrived.  Oh my gosh...the details in these are just awesome!  And then I saw on Lynne Forsythe's blog that there was a challenge using a sketch and a dare (ribbon).  I thought, why not?  And so I did.  A random winner will be chosen to win a $25 gift certificate at Die-namite Dies.  I still have some dies on my wish list...hint hint! 

Die-namite dies:  Leafy Branch, Knobby Branch, Leafy Flourish (thank you, Lynne, for encouraging me to see the forest beyond the trees and tell me to cut these dies apart for more versatility!)

I started out with a piece of corrugated cardboard and slapped some Liquitex Ceramic Stucco on it.  Once dry I smeared Claudine Hellmuth studio paints until I was happy with the result.  I cut a piece of burlap to fit on the board and glued it down with Multi Medium. 

The patterned card stock is from My Mind's Eye (Mischievous) and the blue cardstock is from a core-dinations pack.  It was run through Tim's Halloween background embossing folder, sanded and smudged with brown inks.  The edges were tattered with the distress tool.

From more core-dinations kraft core I die cut the pumpkin and tattered leaves (Tim's movers & shapers).  I cut the mini bottle (new movers & shapers die) from cardboard and smeared Antique Linen Distress Crackle Paint over it.  Let it dry then smudged brown inks into the cracks.  I created a faux label by blocking the area off and smearing more brown ink off the edges.  On the label is a small skull & crossbones remnant rub.  The pumpkin has a bit of raffia tied around the stem and a small leaf added from the leafy branch die.  The bottle also has a bit of raffia tied around the neck.  It's supposed to look as if the branch is holding the bottle.

The leaves and branches were sanded and scrunched for dimension. 

Idea-ology time piece, game spinner, long fastener and ornate corners finish off the piece.  I did treat the corners to black soot distress paint, a bit of sanding and Caramel alcohol ink.  You'll see Tim's on-the-edge die (Iron Gate) cut from black kraft core-dinations and used at the top.  A few strands of burlap and a ribbon were added to the upper right hand corner.

The finished piece is about 7" x 8" and has an easel on the back.

I wonder what other dies can I cut apart for more versatility??????

June is busting out all over

The month is half over - how did that happen?????  I was waiting for inspiration to use Tim's technique for his June tag.  It finally happened...here's the result.

This is the first time I've been pleased with the outcome of using the distress markers on watercolor paper.  I discovered that I needed a lighter touch of the marker to the paper.  I'ved used them plenty of times just to use as regular watercolors by scribbling on my craft sheet.  They always turn out good that way...at least for me.

#8 tag, Stampers Anonymous pear stamp (M3-638), watercolor paper, distress inks, distress markers, archival ink, grungeboard, sticky-back canvas, Sizzix die, stamps from Warehouse District and Mixed Media

Feelin' blue

Over on the EverythingWendyVecchi Yahoo group we've switched the challenge schedule to monthly for the summer.  Everyone is busy with travel plans, summer activities, etc.

The June theme is to use the color blue, some metal, and of course, at least one Studio 490 stamp on your art.  I've used 6 stamps, plenty of Ranger coloring mediums and some Ten Seconds Studio metal, plus faux metal (sheet metal tape) on the label.

Reworded:  I stamped the phone on the front side of the periwinkle metal sheet and then took a roller ball tool over the lines I wanted to indent.  I then turned the phone over and put pressure on the spots between those lines so the opposite parts would be poofy*.  A bit of thread wound around a paint brush is the telephone cord.

The bottle was stamped in Manganese Blue Archival Ink on recycled plastic from a Sizzix die. I added some silver punched circles for the pills then pounced the white distress paint over the bottle and silver distress paint over the cap.  The number was stamped on the front of the bottle using Jet Black Archival Ink.

The Sizzix arrow was cut from grungeboard covered with Sticky Back canvas and watercolored with blue distress ink.

The tag was colored with lots of distress inks and stains; heat set; covered with clear crackle paint; then brown and black distress inks were smushed into the cracks.  Black Enamel Accents were painted along the edge of the tag.

I used stamps from Label It Art, Art Inspiration, Call It Art and She Spoke of Art.

* Betcha didn't know a phone could be poofy, didja?  lol 

Tweet

How about a nice and simple stamped card that uses Ranger distress inks and Stamp Camp stamps (Make A Tree and Hanging Stuff)?  I haven't pulled these out in a l-o-n-g time and thought it was high time they met an ink pad again.

As luck would have it, my base card and the ribbon just happened to coordinate with my stamped image.  Serendipity!  Victorian Velvet distress paint covered the white bridal flowers perfectly and also worked with my color scheme.  The flower center is a yellow dot out of Claudine Hellmuth's pastel yellow paint.

I don't remember who makes the corner punch that I used on the white layer, sorry.

Allerton Park in April

Allerton Park is one of Illinois's amazing parks and is a National Natural Landmark.  If you've never been there, what are you waiting for?  You don't need an invitation to witness all the beauty you'll find within the grounds.  Flora, fauna, special gardens, etc. await you.  Deer are frequent visitors, especially at dawn and dusk.  Butterflies adore all the floral displays, seasonal and wild.  This is definitely a place to put your life on pause and soak up what nature has to offer.

I've tried to encompass the beauty that can be found there on my art piece that I'll be submitting to Ranger Ink for their Seasonal Color Palette challenge.  Yes, I was one of the lucky winners in the March color palette challenge...maybe I'll be lucky two months in a row!

#8 tag; Ranger:  archival ink, distress stains, distress paints, distress markers, Claudine Hellmuth Studio Paints, rock candy glitter; Spellbinders die; Sizzix: TH Tattered Flower Garland, mini butterfly, mini deer, Pennants dies; Studio 490: stencils, embossing paste; The Crafters Workshop: Mini Leaf Frame Stencil; Stampers Anonymous: TH Artful Things stamp set; chipboard; card stock

Special find:  I discovered that Rock Candy Distress Dry Glitter will adhere to the distress paint in the wet stage.  Once dry, the glitter does not flake off!  Pretty cool, huh?

Di(e)orama

Recently I had to stop in at our local Sprint store and saw a tabletop display* that caught my eye.  I told my husband I could make that using Tim's Sizzix dies and embossing folders.  He asked why I wanted to recreate the display.  Huh?  "Because I can!"

The internal display is roughly 3.5" h x 5" w; the external frame and embellishments bring the dimensions to approximately 6"h x 7" wide x 1.5" d.  In between the 6 layers within the shadowbox are spacers ranging from 1/16" deep to 3/8" deep.

Ingredients:  core'dinations (kraft core, distress); Sizzix (on-the-edge dies: On The Fence, Townscape, Tree Line - negative & positive pieces, mini pinking for the grass), (decorative strip dies: Alphabetical, Tattered Banners),  (dies: Reindeer Flight, Bird Branch), (embossing folder: Rays); Ranger: Claudine Helmuth sticky back canvas, distress inks, distress stains, Stickles, Multi-Medium; Idea-ology (corners); Martha Stewart hydrangea punch

I'll be entering this piece into the Simon Says Stamp & Show challenge where 'Absolutely Anything Goes!'


Just so you know, I wasn't sure this piece would actually come to life so the back is less than attractive!  lol

I don't throw anything away...here I recycled a cracker box and a manilla folder.

*The display was roughly 2' square and 4" high, made of corrugated paper, and had a similar layout as my diorama (shining sun, trees, buildings) - something to do with them being eco-friendly.  Wish I'd taken a picture.  Sigh.

Vintage shadow box

Along the lines of Karen's shadow box tag that I shared previously, the EverythingWendyVecchi Yahoo group chose this same theme for their latest challenge.  Using Studio 490 stamps was the only other requirement.  Now a shadow box can be made from most anything.  Here I've created one using Wendy's Large Square Art Parts.  I needed more depth than just the frame would allow so I built up a frame using chipboard strips.  This and the back were wrapped with a sheet of Tim's card stock from the Vintage tablet.  It was perfect because it had a sewing theme on it - what luck!

I also glued on the scalloped borders from the Scallop Trim Art parts.  Matte Medium worked very well for this but I also added a strip of cardstock as reinforcement.

From Claudine Hellmuth (CH) I wrinkled and colored a piece of sticky back canvas using distress inks and Claudine's acrylic paints.

The Women's Measuring Ticket (Just Sew Artsy) was stamped in Jet Black Archival on cream colored bond paper.  The notebook edge was created using Tim's new on the edge die - love this!  The edges were distressed using brown and black distress inks.  One of Tim's mini paper clips was added to the top.  His snap and tiny hanger are also at the top of the shadowbox.

On grunge paper I painted CH Modern Red acrylic paint.  Over this I stamped Wendy's new background stamp (Heirloom Art) using the white acrylic paint dabber.  This was heat set before I colored the flower centers using more CH bright yellow paint.  Heat set again image before stamping the garments (Fashion Style and Art) in JBAI to avoid any bleeding.  To tone down the birghtness of the colors I smeared brown distress stain over them - yes!  The images were cut out and layered with foam tape for dimension.

On a scrap of muslin I stamped the label (Art By Hand) using Vermillion Archival Ink.  Once cut out I pulled threads on all four sides to instantly age it.  Further aging was done by misting the label then running brown distress stains along the edges.  Crumple, let dry.

The thimble and scissors art parts (Tools for Art) were covered using the silver paint dabber then overstamped in JBAI.  One of Tim's tiny fasteners replaces the screw on the stamped image - adds a bit of realism to the scissors, I think.  A bit of brown distress ink was added to both pieces for more age.

The frame and scallop trim were covered (not carefully) in Brushed Corduroy Distress Crackle Paint; dried,  then smeared with a bit of CH acrylic paint, brown and black distress stains.  Love, love, love this look!  The button holes (Just Sew Artsy) were stamped in JBAI...rather a perfect fit, don't you think?

The frame looked kind of bare so the thimble was added to the lower corner using Matte Medium (love that stuff!).  Across the top I threaded some old buttons.  Normally I wouldn't use an even number but with the thimble the odd number is created visually.

The last touch was adding the word 'vintage' from Wendy's new Classic Words stencil using her new black embossing paste.

I'm delighted to add this piece to the wall above my sewing machine. 

I did photo this piece before I added the acrylic window (cut from leftover packaging) to cut down on the camera and light glare and to avoid having my reflection show within the frame.

Tag Shadow Box

Recently Karen Cheetham taught a class at Absolutely Everything featuring her Chunky Tag Shadow Boxes.  Sure wish I could have been there...they looked smashing!  And you're not limited to a tag, either, as she's used Tim's large pumpkin and gingerbread man.  I did see photos of a wintry box, Halloween, and stacked flower pots as well as butterflies and another with a chocolate bunny for Easter.  I'm thinking that Tim's large rabbit die would be super cute with a hole in his tummy showing carrots or jelly beans.

Karen has just shared her instructions with the AllThingsTim Yahoo group so I just couldn't wait to try this myself.  After making a mock up I decided to make my tag shadow box without using the foam strips but created a box to fit behind the front tag.  I cut a 2nd tag with the same opening so it fits around the shadow box giving it a completely finished look from the back.  I also used Tim's small easel die to create a stand for displaying it on a shelf.

Several ideas are forming in my head for the other seasons...and sounds like our weather forecast will give me plenty of time to work on them.

Here are some of the items I used to create my version.

Martha Stewart:  ribbon, mini hydrangea, rabbit, fern leaf, butterfly punches

Tim Holtz:  Lost & Found stamp set (birds), rabbit die, Tattered Banners die, Auturmn Gatherings die, Tag & Bookplate die, small easel die and the cobblestone die (made my own stencil)

Ranger:  distress inks, Rock Candy Distress Stickles, Jet Black Archival Ink

Claudine Hellmuth:  acrylic paint

core'dinations:  kraft core and color core

Studio 490: embossing paste

Miscellaneous:  moss, oval hand punch, square toothpick


Quite a few people (my good friend, Candy, included) have been using Wendy's brick wall stencil as partial fades and I love that look.  This got me to thinking about it's use here but it really was too big for this piece as the sides and bottom are only 1/2" wide/deep.  I bought the cobblestone die not realizing how many little cobbles there were and that they don't stay put without help.  Argh.  So I wondered if I could turn it into a stencil.  The strip dies don't really cut anything beyond lightweight paper but I had a backing sheet from labels and cut it....like buttah!  Because the one side is a non-stick surface this was just perfect for a stencil.

If you have any questions, please ask.

Once my neighbor sees this I have a feeling I'll be making another one very soon.  lol

Happy Valentine's Day!

Here's a card I sent out to a few people.

Exterior

Interior

'Love' was stamped in red archival ink using an old Memory Makers foam stamp set (Jersey UC font).  The inside features Tim's mini globe, ticket and mini heart.  The sentiment was created with a Dymo Caption Maker (the pink one with 3 font wheels included). 

The globe was cut from green and blue paper and put back together using the appropriate global colors.  I colored the stand's metal pieces using silver and gold paint dabbers.

Here's a paint brush project that I'll give my sweetie later today along with the 2 cards I made him (shared in earlier posts).

The paintbrush was painted with Claudine Hellmuth's Traditional Tan paint, sanded then distressed with brown archival inks.

The mini lock and key were cut from grunge board and I used Tim's Rusted Grunge technique on them  (Compendium Book 1, Page 45).  The mini cupid was cut from heavy chipboard and run through one of Tim's embossing folders.  Cupid was painted with the black paint dabber before adding gold paint onto the raised areas.  He's holding 2 mini red kraft core'dinations hearts that were sanded and edged in brown distress ink.

Maya Road chipboard flourishes were layered behind the crinoline flower (mini poinsettia and tattered florals and leaves dies that were colored with distress stains and edged with gold paint).  The flourishes were also painted black and highlighted with gold. 

'Love' was spray-painted black through an older Sizzix embossing brass stencil (removed from the plastic folder).

Generic ribbons were distressed and placed at the top and around the metal band on the paint brush.

Just another way to let my sweetie know he swept me off my feet 30 years ago!