A 10-minute greeting card ala Tim

Jeepers, I haven't even posted my Halloween card that I sent out this year and here I'm blogging about the Thanksgiving card I'll be sending.  This is warped but that's just the way it is.  The newest Grungy Monday challenge was to make a greeting card, a la Tim, in 10 minutes or less.  Thankfully my idea came very quickly and was just as easy to do.

This is an A2 (quarter-size sheet) card that is very simple and works up so quickly.  My base card is off-white, the next layer a grayish green and the top layer is off-white with the wheat staff from Tim's Thankful Silhouettes stamped in Pebble Adirondack ink.  Using the large background stamp from the same set I clear embossed the whole stamp.  Numerous orange and brown distress inks were used to highlight the words.

I ran Tim's distressing tool around the edges of the grayish green layer and darkened the edges with Gathered Twigs distress ink.  I had some light green ribbon by Martha Stewart that I aged with one of the lighter brown distress stains. 

From shrink plastic I cut a Tattered Leaf  and colored it with Pesto, Butterscotch and Caramel alcohol inks.  Once it was shrunk and cool, I slipped it into the knot of the bow.

Thank you, Tim, for such a wonderful set of stamps to convey the message of the season.

Take flight

Wow, my 300th post!  I've been busier sharing my art than I thought I would be on Blogger.

How about some flight time?  I did a two-fer this week...thanks to the Lovely Linda bringing back the Grungy Monday challenges.  While it was nice to have a short break I sure did miss her!  The 22nd GM challenge was 'A Holtzian Halloween' and the Simon Says Stamp & Show challenge was 'things with wings'.  Hmmm...I saw several butterfly projects from the design team so I steered to a different thing with wings...BATS!  

This looks so cool IRL (imho)!  It's a 5x7 canvas board that has been inked up with Jet Black, Coffee, Sienna, Saffron, Monarch Orange and Venetian Orange archival inks.  All stamps are Tim's (Halloween Silhouettes, Mini Halloween and Trick-or-Treat).

The spider webs, bats and sentiment were stamped in Jet Black archival.  Using Scattered Straw, Wild Honey, Rusty Hinge and Frayed Burlap distress inks I stamped the Halloween words background on white cardstock, tore off the edges, distressed the edges for a burnt look.  I cut out a square to fit around a piece of plastic packaging to make a shaker box (my first time doing this!!!).  Inside the shaker box are bats (confetti by Nicole).

The bird was stamped in Jet Black archival ink, smooshed some Rusty Hinge distress ink around it then cut it out.  Glossy Accents are on top of him for a bit of shine, a pop dot is behind him so it looks like he's standing on the shaker box.

Tim's grungeboard letters were covered with Pitch Black paint dabber, dried then coated with Black Soot distress stickles.  The bat was stamped on black Clearly For Art and cut out.  Once I heated & formed him (wings bent forward) I added a pop dot for elevation.  The skeleton was stamped with Snow Cap pigment ink on black Clearly For Art, cut out, heated & formed (arms bent out and forward as if to scare off the bats and bird).  He, too, has pop dots behind him for elevation.  A bit of black ribbon on the corners frames and finishes the piece.  I cut Tim's small easel out of black presentation board so it would stand up. 

Hope your mojo doesn't take flight and you're able to participate in either or both challenges this week!

The best thread is...

Time for another MakingArt challenge on the EWV Yahoo group.  The inspiration piece can be found in Book Two, Page 39.  It's a hanging piece and features some sewing on it.  I haven't looked at it yet - I don't like to be influenced but use my own ideas from the info given.

This is a #11 tag (7 1/2"x 3 3/4").  I used stamps from Just Sew Artsy and Art By Hand.  Used the scissors from Tools for Art Art Parts - so fun to apply it (colored in silver) onto the coordinating stamp.  Great idea, Wendy!

I happened to have a wood disk that just fit the spool label (center of tag) so it looks like the top of the spool.  How cool is that!?!?!  The thimble was stamped on silver paper.  Buttons, thread, ribbon and a mini brad complete the project.

Ranger:  Jet Black archival ink; Shabby Shutters, Pine Needles, and Gathered Twigs distress inks; Gold and Silver paint dabbers

The table as a dumping place

Hey, I recognize that stance...time to clean off the table!  I bet you have at a place that looks like this...everyone comes in and drops off homework, keys, messages, mail, etc. and it just keeps piling up.  Ah, but does your table top show signs of being a lover of Wendy Vecchi's style? Mine does...check it out!


She (who must be obeyed! lol) was cut from Black Clearly For Art and heated to slightly bend over the table.  This super neat product is one of Wendy's greatest ideas.  The table is one of the Art Parts spool sets.  I did have to cut the 'leg' down to make it more to scale.  Wendy's lace border was stamped in Plum archival ink and stamped onto muslin.  The table leg and base were covered with Tea Dye distress stain.

I've been using shrink plastic a lot lately and this project is no exception.  I've used clear, transparent, white and black sheets from Lucky Squirrel.  You'll see that I have kids' toys underneath the table and plenty of items strewn across the top...paintbrush, 2 bottles, opera ticket, wooden nickel, shopping list, pencil, scissors (what a pain those were!), a flower out of a corsage, and a wrist watch.  Once the items were placed and braced, good old Glossy Accents was used to secure everything.


BTW, this piece is being entered in the challenge on the Simon Says Stamp & Show blog...show your Wendy Vecchi style.



Studio 490 stamp sets:  Rose Art Part 2, Well Worn Art, Art Inspiration, Sketch Art, Destination Art, A Form Of Art, Gentleman's Art, Tools For Art, Label It For Art, Regal Art, Speaking Of Art, Art By Hand, and In Love With Art (wow...13 sets and this piece isn't even 4"x4"!)

Misc: Lucky Squirrel shrink plastic, Gold Brilliance, Ultramarine & Blazing Red StazOn, Jet Black, Coffee & Plum archival inks, Martha Stewart flower punch, gold braid, gold wire, gold gem

3x3 chipboard swap

Finally got my idea for the covers and inside base pages of a 3x3 chipboard swap I hosted last month on the EWV Yahoo group.  The covers are actually store bought coasters (from the $1 bin at Michaels) and are super sturdy.  I won't go into details on how I made everything because there's a lot I did that doesn't matter now that it's been covered up numerous times because it didn't work for whatever reason.

Thank you to the artists whose work I got to keep...Lori, Wanda and Tange . 

Studio 490 stamps:  Be Inspired...Make Art (plaid background, be inspired), Art Parts (flourishes), Art-fully Said (alphabet), All About Art (polka dot background, Let Your Art Have Wings (stitched background), Just Word Art (create art), Artfully Noted (hand print, important stuff inside, page), Nature's Art (gingham background, (this does not include what the artists used on their pieces)

Ranger:  pigment ink (Espresso, snow Cap, Butterscotch, Terra Cotta; distress stain (Peeled Paint); distress ink (Gathered Twigs; archival ink (Coffee, Olive, Sepia, Jet Black, Aquamarine, Saffron, Monarch Orange); Crackle Accents

Tim Holtz/Sizzix:  Damask embossing folder

Sizzix:  number dies

Martha Stewart:  border punch, butterfly punch

7 Gypsies: pocket

Ten Seconds Studio: periwinkle metal sheet

Oktoberfest

So, this weekend culminates the end of Oktoberfest.  We'll be celebrating by having a big party at a neighbor's home with all the trimmings.  I can't wait!  Love the food and even more, the German beer!!!

My maternal family line is German; my great-grandparents often spoke it in front of us if they didn't want us to know what they were saying.  My grandparents wouldn't teach it to my mom and her brother because they were afraid of what their peers would say or do.  To honor my German heritage and participate in the latest MakingArt! challenge on the EverythingWendyVecchi Yahoo group I've created a tag using the required vintage text paper.  Mine is actually a page torn from a German book.

I really enjoy creating #8 tags.  They're a super size to try out a technique, small enough so you're not overwhelmed yet large enough to have plenty of room to stamp and embellish.

First off I clear embossed Bertha of Savoy, a German queen. The German flag is represented on the tag in equal bands of black, red, and yellow (distress inks).  The text was stamped with the gold paint dabber and Jet Black archival ink.  All the stamps are from Regal Art.  The crown is from Maya Road and has more gold paint on it.  (I'm a gold kinda girl...no silver for me.)

On the computer I generated the text to fit in one of the smaller Spellbinders Labels 4 dies.  Bertha* was born 21 September 1051 and died 27 December 1087.   Lastly I edged the tag with the gold paint dabber.

*My great-grandmother was named Bertha so it was only fitting I chose Bertha of Savoy to reign on my tag. 

Auf wiedersehen!

He needed retail therapy

Oh boy...what an interesting theme Simon Says Stamp & Show chose this week...'Men Only'.  Now I know many of you will be thinking of Tim Holtz' stamps and stuff.  However, I looked at my collection of Studio 490 stamps and had an 'aha!' moment.  The removal of one letter (s) can make such a difference...lol!

I had all my distress re-inkers in a cardbox that fit them just perfectly.  But it needed something other than the label from the dentist's office (where I got the box).  How about a fella?  Got the shirt on top, the pants on the bottom, nice pocket watch, but in obvious need of a pocket protector!  Oh well.

Yes, the button placket and pocket have been stitched on my trusty Kenmore sewing machine.  The buttons are vintage - got to use them sometime, why not now?  The ink stain is courtesy of a blop from the Frayed Burlap distress stain bottle.  'Oops' is a Studio 490 stamp in Coffee archival ink.  A bit of chipboard was colored with Silver paint dabber so I could stamp the pen nib in Jet Black archival ink.  I curled it a bit to look real then glued it on using Claudine Hellmuth's Multi-Medium.  All around the shirt, placket, pocket have been edged with Frayed Burlap distress ink.

Nice belt, dude!  Some Bazzill cardstock was cut and shaped and punched, edged with Frayed Burlap distress ink.  The belt loops were faux stitched with a black Sharpie.  The Rubber Stampede pocket watch was stamped using Jet Black archival ink on more chipboard painted silver.  The watch face has a coating of Glossy Accents on it.  The chain is from a multi-strand necklace I picked up along the way.

Inside the pocket is a Studio 490 chipboard pencil, stamped in Jet Black archival ink.  It was colored with yellow, red and green distress inks.  A #5 tag with the sentiment stamped in Jet Black archival ink, the ink bottle in Olive archival ink and the blank lines in Coffee archival ink (Hero Arts) are for the list of reinkers to get on my next shopping trip!  The tag was edged with Frayed Burlap distress ink.

Studio 490 stamp sets:  Destination Art (ink bottle, oops), Art Is Theraputic (text with 's' blocked out), Speaking Of Art (pencil, pen nib)

No more boring cardboard box for my distress re-inkers!