MHS Sages...go, fight, WIN!!!

Last week was a bye (sports term...should be a clue!) for those participating in the Altered Playing Card challenge hosted by Claudine.  This week she chose to feature digistamps...of which I've never used nor had I thought I would ever use them.  But I went searching for some free images and found quite a few cutesy people but not really what I had in mind.  Then I found them.  Owls!  The light bulb came on.  Perfect!

Our high school's mascot is Sammy Sage. The football team won the first round of state playoffs so we'll be hosting the #1 team in our bracket this afternoon.  So I followed along with Claudine's tutorial but using our school colors and the 2 digistamps I found via Pinterest.

The first card was bright and bold and featured some lines that had been etched into the gesso before it dried.  Mine made me think of a scoreboard while Claudine's were circular and became flowers.

gesso'd playing card; Tsukineko Fireworks sprays in Dandelion and Grape Jelly; Black Fude Ball pen; Hero Art stamps; Prismacolor pencils










The second card was covered with distress paint, stenciled and spritzed.  It also has some snippets of tissue paper.

gesso'd playing card; distress paint and ink; Woodgrain stencil; TH tissue paper; rickrack, Prismacolor pencils; Hero Art stamps; Jet Black archival ink; Sizzix branch die

It will be a tough game but the team says its up for the challenge.

GO SAGES!!!!!!!!!!!!

Archaeology dig

I'm a member of a bulletin board where the recent topic of discussion has been about all the ancient stuff we never use any more.  One of the members challenged the group to use a tool, stamp, technique or ingredient that has NOT been used or done for at least 5 years.  So, I'm going 'old school' with this 10.75" square scrapbook layout.

Once upon a time (late 1990's) I road-tripped with 2 friends from NJ to numerous stamp conventions in the northeast.  On one such trip I found these really cool packages of EcoAfrica scrapbooking kits by ProvoCraft.  Each kit contains handmade papers, fibers, beads, metal embellishments, etc.  At the time I was very much into items from other countries as my husband traveled the globe for his job.  Into my shopping basket they went.  Only to be buried under mountains of other things I just had to have.  You know how that goes.

***Qualifying items for this challenge:  EcoAfrica scrapbooking kit, Color Box stamping guide, Rollagraph, Stampin'Up Heart of Africa wheel, Prismacolor pencils, animal stamps (U-2280, U-2284) from Art Impressions, and a Repeat Impressions map stamp (5419)

Other items used:  Ranger distress and archival inks, Sizzix mini mover & shapers globe, numerous card stocks

Let's try tracing a stencil

Honestly, this technique never occurred to me.  But I know I'll use it again.  A word of caution:  pencils tend to leave shavings behind and can smear (ugh!).  I found that a large, fluffy brush was just the thing to keep this from happening.

Ingredients:  Tim Holtz Stars stencil, Prismacolor pencils, white & black card stock, Studio 490 'Art Comforts' stamp set, Jet Black Archival Ink, Tim Holtz/Sizzix mini pinking on-the-edge die, black Micron marker

Rock Candy Distress Stickles

just doesn't photograph well!  Time for another challenge out of Tim's Compendium of Curiosities book.  We're at week 24 now and are allowing ourselves 2 weeks to finish our projects during this busy month.

I got my idea after watching a video on Tim's blog today (Day 6 of his 12 days of Christmas tags).  This is such a cool, cool, COOL idea!  First I used a white paint dabber to create a resist on the tag with the snowflakes.  I overstamped  his tall pines on the snowman texture fade.  Prismacolor pencils were used on Frosty to accent some of his features.  Stamped 'Merry Christmas' in Fired Brick DI but really should have used an archival ink.  Rock Candy Distress Stickles was smeared over the entire tag.  Once it was dry I added Frosty's scarf.

Here's another photo of the tag, hopefully you can see the RCDS better.

'Twas a very productive day.  I finished gluing my pile of styrofoam snowballs.  Covered a hall door with wrapping paper and stapled strips of ribbon horizontally to hold the holiday cards that have been arriving.  Got a cool thank you tag made based on Linda Cain's idea the other day.  Also got my version of Tim's Day 6 Christmas tag completed.  Now to work on the Wendy style tag.  And I even finished my project for the Simon Says Stamp and Show blog but need something from the store which I'll pick up tomorrow.  Whew!  Can't wait to show you all the finished pieces but you'll have to wait for a new one each day this week.

As I look out the window I see more snowflakes are falling.  Makes this tag fit right in with the mood of the day.  Hope you're having fun following the various holiday challenges!

It's about time

My neighbor retired Friday afternoon. I hadn't given his retirement card or gift much thought. Didn't take long and the idea was formulated and executed. The brown cardstock base was run through the new Cuttlebug Clockworks embossing folder. Distress ink pads were rubbed over the embossed areas. The stamped image is by Art Impression (P-1557); colored with Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol. Again, Distress inks were rubbed along the edges. I adhered the image to black cardstock then tore it for another layer of distress. In a bag of old watch faces I found one from a Rolex watch. Doesn't everyone deserve a Rolex when they retire???? LOL

I couldn't do a traditional type gift for the guy. Thanks to Vippies, I still have some matchbooks with plain paper inside. I stamped tiny lines inside for a 'to do' pad. The outside was stamped with Wendy's houndstooth stamp in clear resist - oops, the stamp was still dirty from a previous use. Oh well, too late now. Smudged green distress inks all over...more distress. The title uses several Hero Arts alphabet stamps. I made the tiny pencil from a round toothpick broken in half. Colored it with Sharpies, even added his name in a very fine Sharpie (yes, I wrote extremely small!!!). Punched 2 holes and tied the pencil to the pad with a bit of black embroidery floss. If someone can write with that pencil on the tiny lines then I think he really should perform the task requested. LOL

A time to remember

those who have served our nation and given their lives so that we may enjoy the freedoms we have. I cannot thank these men and women enough for all that they have done. I applaud those who have served and have returned home to family, friends and loved ones. I can only imagine what it must feel like having a loved one serve in today's military. God bless you all!

Many of my relatives have served in the armed forces over the generations. With pride I fly my flag high not only on this special day of recognition but each and every day.

The poppies (PSX) were colored using Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol (magic pencil technique learned at the hands of Debbie Gimbel at my very 1st convention) and placed on a black background. The poppies are elevated with foam tape. In the flower centers is Black Diamond Stickles. The old calendar page was distressed with distress ink and the corners curled. The flag (Rubber Monger) was stamped on vellum and colored on the reverse side with regular colored pencils. Note to self: start with the lightest color (white, in this case) first! The darker colors smeared a bit so I mixed up some Heavenly White Twinkling H2Os and painted over the white colored pencil. The moisture caused the paper to warp so close up it actually looks as if the flag is unfurling, not just the way the image was created.