Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Using 140# watercolor cardstock I created my own plaid with flat paint brushes and distress inks and stains (Forest Moss, Shabby Shutters, Mustard Seed, Hickory Smoke).  I didn't always dry each color thoroughly before moving on to the next but I think that added to the look.  When I had the page completely covered in plaid, I misted it lightly and let it dry overnight.

I squished Black Soot distress stain on my non-stick craft sheet and added plenty of water.  Using my splatter brush I picked up enough color to randomly flick across the page.

I cut the cardstock to size and used a corner punch for the four corners.  The next layer is green and both rest upon a white A-2 card base.  More of the green cardstock was die cut using an old Sizzix shamrock die (38-0702) then misted with Perfect Pearls Mist in Heirloom Gold.

The sentiment (My Sentiments Exactly O295) was stamped slightly left of center in Jet Black archival ink. 

May your troubles be less,

and your blessings be more,

and nothing but happiness

come through your door.

A bouquet of pretty posies

Friends recently sent me a beautiful bouquet of spring flowers.  This was the card I sent each of them to acknowledge their lovely gesture of support*. 

watercolor cardstock, green, blue-green cardstock

distress inks (Spiced Marmalade, Iced Spruce, Abandoned Coral, Twisted Citron, Peacock Feathers, Mowed Lawn)

enamel accents (Leaf Green, Sunflower, Potting Soil)

Rubber Stamp Tapestry: Creekside Garden FAB 3608

Sizzix: Celebration Words: Script 660223

*On the home front, we're facing new challenges.  A few days ago my husband decided to stop all cancer treatments and accept palliative (supportive health) care to make his remaining time here on earth as best he could.  While we've discussed it over the years almost to ad nauseum, saying it out loud and publicly made it real.  Kind of like getting hit in the face with a 2x4.  Wham!

Be original

LOVE the new Hipsters stamps from Stampers Anonymous!!! And can't wait for the dies to come out in May...yay!

Green cardstock, watercolor cardstock, plaid background (will be featured on 3/17 blog post)

Stampers Anonymous Hipster CMS288, CMS 236 Crazy Talk

Studio 490 mini brick stencil (new from Creativation 2017)

Ranger: distress inks (Iced Spruce, Rusty Hinge); distress markers (Mustard Seed, Wild Honey, Twisted Citron, Peeled Paint, Spiced Marmalade, Carved Pumpkin); Jet Black archival ink

Sizzix:  Ornate Frame #2

Sakura Black Micron pen, size #01


This birthday card is headed to northern Illinois.  The recipient looks quite similar to the bird so it's a perfect choice for the birthday boy.

Distress oxide inks on different mediums

So I've been playing around a tiny bit with Tim Holtz's new Distress Oxide inks by Ranger.  I only have these colors - Fossilized Amber, Fired Brick, Spiced Marmalade, Peeled Paint, Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain - because I was pretty sure from Creativation demos that I wanted them more for the organic look they could/would create.  Love the look of stone, moss, rust, etc. and these are perfect for masculine cards or creating embellishments.

I tried them on Ranger's black tags.  YUK!  And double YUK!  The tags completely bleached out and despite numerous layers of color I still got nothing.  Perhaps if I had the other colors they would make a difference.  I do have them on order so that retrial will be upcoming.

So I brought out 3 surfaces I haven't used in quite some time, one was a 'never used this before' product (Sizzix leather sheets).  First up is glassine.  Remember it? 

I used Spiced Marmalade, Fossilized Amber, Peeled Paint distress oxides for this glassine sample.

Because this surface isn't very porous it took a bit more to heat set the colors before I could mist it.  I reached the point I was happy with the result then crumpled it up and gently rubbed Walnut Stain over the top, heat set, then hit it with water.  Love the mossy look of the Peeled Paint droplets!



Next up are Sizzix leather sheets.  I figured they would be great for the distress inks but not so sure how the oxides would appear.  The distress inks are on the left, the oxides on the right.  I used Fired Brick, Fossilized Amber, Spiced Marmalade and Walnut Stain. A subtle difference and am happy with both.

I will definitely be using these to make flowers, leaves, etc. as the sheets are super pliable, soft but sturdy.

These are scraps of Ranger's woodgrain cardstock.  Again, the left features distress ink, the right is the oxide.  I only used Vintage Photo.  I am in love with the one on the right...so much more depth of color!






I hope you've enjoyed seeing my trials and hearing about my tribulations on this new ink.  They really 'shine' on Ranger's heavy duty cardstock so I made sure to get plenty of that on hand for future efforts.

I see you're another year older!

Happy birthday to a very good friend and our former attorney back in New Jersey!  This character looks a bit like him..not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing!  lol

Gray, orange, watercolor cardstocks

Marvy wet looks embossing marker (black)

Ranger:  clear embossing powder; Jet Black archival ink; distress crayons (Antique Linen, Rusty Hinge); distress ink (Frayed Burlap, Ground Espresso); Distress Oxide inks (Vintage Photo, Spiced Marmalade, Fossilized Amber, Walnut Stain); distress embossing powder (Antique Linen, Rusty Hinge); black embossing paste

Stampers Anonymous CMS288 Hipster; mini stencils (010, 072, 074)

Sakura Black Micron pen, size #01

Sentiment (Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers now belongs to Stamp Francisco - I think)

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This was my second attempt using the new Distress Oxide inks.  I haven't found them to be the most friendly for me...yet.  I did buy just a few colors as I liked the organic look (mossy, rusty, stony) that they could lend to my art.  They are okay on decent watercolor cardstock, terrible on Ranger's black tags, and pitiful on cheap watercolor paper.

Love

My first attempt playing with Tim Holtz' new Distress Oxide inks. Hmmmm...we'll see.

Here is the result on mixed media cardstock using Peeled Paint, Fired Brick, Vintage Photo and Fossilized Amber Dox inks.  So far, so good.

In this photo I've used the same colors but in distress inks and applied them through the new #077 Stampers Anonymous stencil.  I drew around the images using a Sakura black Micron pen, size #01 to accentuate them.  Using scraps of the same green cardstock as the base I cut out the word 'love' (Sizzix Handwritten Love 660218) and a lace strip (Sizzix 661499).

Happy 18th anniversary to my mom and step-dad!

Thank you, doc!

My brother-in-law is my husband's primary care physician.  Getting Walt to the doctor is quite the effort these days so I was beyond thrilled when he said he would see him on a Saturday morning to take care of some minor issues.  He also makes house calls (either here or there) so he's super special!

Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers (now offered by Stamp Francisco I believe) is the creator of all the images.  I stamped them on cheap watercolor paper (won't do that again...way too much bleedability) with Hickory Smoke archival ink.  The doctors were stamped on a separate sheet and cut out then had Hickory Smoke distress ink run around the edges to create more dimension than just using foam tape underneath them.

The images were colored using distress ink (Tattered Rose, Candied Apple, Fired Brick, Blueprint Sketch, Faded Jeans, Cracked Pistachio, and Lucky Clover).  'Thank you' was stamped in Hickory Smoke archival ink as well.  It's from Stampers Anonymous CMS236 'Crazy Talk'.

The top layer was also edged with Hickory Smoke distress ink before adhering it to a neutral card base.  Here I didn't care so much about the bleed factor (kind of appropriate given the nature of the card).

If you have a professional whatever in your family you know how handy they can be in your time of need.  Having that 'in' with them can be useful and we try very hard not to abuse that privilege.