This is one of my favorite stamps

This stamp, by Club Scrap, is one of my favorite stamps in my collection. I had seen it for the first time in a Stampers Sampler; but I wasn't a member of Club Scrap. By then, the stamp was no longer available (even to non-members). So, imagine how thrilled I was when one of my friends announced she was selling this stamp because she hardly used it! This card was created for Fluffy Fatbottom's Twisted Tuesday's weekly challenge: Sweets for the sweet . Thanks for stopping by!

Pocket Box

Here is my entry for this week's "Gold Challenge" on Mixed Media Monday. This is a "pocket box." I should've known better than to use cardstock. It was quite a challenge to fold. But, it in the end, it looked OK, I suppose. I gold embossed black cardstock and also gold embossed a fleur de lis. The second picture is of the pocket 'opened up.' You could slip a note in the pocket. You could attach this to a gift, or slip a gift inside the pocket (like cash, or something like earrings or a chain necklace.) I think the next time I attempt this, I will use regular paper. It's so much easier to fold.

A Multi-Tasking Project

This week's challange on Saturday Stampers is to incorporate projects from Gothic Arches (Friends challenge); Mixed Media Monday's button challenge ;Fluffy Fatbottom's Twisted Tuesday's Button Wisdom challenge ; Wednesday Stamper's Diamond challenge; and Theme Thursday's Chalk challenge. To create the "diamond" background, I first inked up a harlequin stamp with white chalk ink and stamped it on glossy cardstock (it's really important that you use glossy cardstock. You want the ink to sit on the surface of the paper a little longer. If you used regular cardstock, it will absorb into the paper too quickly.) Then, I quickly ran a very wet burnet sienna chalk ink pad over the stamped area. Afterwards, I quickly wiped off the burnt sienna ink. The white chalk ink acts as a resist. Isn't it neat? I'm not sure if the sentiment is very clear. My button wisdom is "We remain fond friends because we know when to button it up." Thanks for stopping by!

Entry for Skinny Saturday

This is my entry for this week's Skinny Saturday challenge, which is to use Tim Holtz's Distress Inks. I used manila cardstock for my based, and swiped (DTP) Tattered Rose and Lavender Distress ink on it. Then, I stamped with Burgundy and Blue Distress Inks. On a separate manila cardstock, I swiped Scattered Straw ink and stamped over it with Brushed Courdoroy. TFL!

How Eliza explained to Theodore why it's alright to be addicted to chocolate

This is my entry to this week's Gothic Arch Challenge. The theme for this week is chocolate. I hope you find it funny. (I was trying to come up with something funny for this challenge). Thank you for stopping by!

Moo Cards

These are the first moo cards I've made. It was fun a challenge. The cards are one inch wide by three inches tall. Essentially, they're half the size of a business card. I stamped the background with a script stamp (Stamp Francisco) and a flourish stamp (Rhonna Farrer).

Garden Collage

This is a project I'm submitting for a magazine. The image of the little girl and the birds' eggs are from Nancy Doreen (Vintagestamper.....look on the right sidebar for a link to her blog). I attached lace to the bottom of this 6 x 6 piece, and a vintage wire-hanger on the top. The paper is stamped with various images from Stampin Up and Stampinton & Co.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Yes. I know. I know. It's not even Thanksgiving yet, but these cards are the latest ones I've made. I created them for a sketch design I came up with for the Stamp Shack. To give it some 'umph,' I ran a couple of the cirlces through my Cuttlebug Machine.

Card for the day

I'm trying to find my mojo. I think he's taking a nap. Someone once said the best thing to do, when you don't feel any inspiration, is to just start creating. Even if it turns into a mess, at least you're "processing" and getting a feel for what is not working. I'm happy with how this card came out. It's just simple stamping, stippling and coloring. Now, back to the studio.....

Happy Halloween!

OK. I don't typically get dressed up for Halloween. But, today, there was an all-day Halloween party for our clients, so I obliged them. I went to work "not" dressed up at all. But, since I was the only person not in costume, I had to think of something....quick! Fortunately, I was wearing a black top and black pants. After a trip to Nobbies.....voila! I was a kitty cat. Happy Halloween, everyone! (The handsome young man in the second picture is my son....and yes, he is wearing his dad's uniform. My son is not in the military. LOL!) Then, there's my husband, Sean, aka Cat in the Hat. Or, as he put it, the Cat in the Hat that fell into the Gap.

Halloween is everyday

The song "Halloween is Everyday" by Ministry is one of my all-time favorite songs. This song popped in my head immediately when I spotted these stamps by Teesha Moore of Zettiology. I couldn't resist playing with them today, the eve of Halloween. Other stamps used: Swirly hearts by Stampin Up; flourish by justjohanna. I "lifted" the sentiment on the pink card from a stamp also sold by Zettiology. I own the stamp, but it wouldn't have been a good balance for the card.

Fairy Tag

I read in a book recently that you should try to create first thing in the morning. That's when your mind is "fresh" and uncluttered. That is true for me. I think I produce my most creative pieces when I work on them first thing in the morning. My mind doesn't feel it needs to force the process. I just let it wander. This morning, I knew I had to work on Ellie W.'s CJ page. Her theme is "Fairies." I knew that I wanted to use this stamepd image (Stampers Anonymous) and I wanted to color in the wings with markers. All the rest just happened along the way. I tore strips of scrap paper and glued them down on the chipboard tag. Then, I decided it needed some fibers. After I glued down the fairy with pop dots, it stil looked plain, so I added the glitter to her wings and hat, and dimensional glaze to her cute Mary Jane shoes and pom-pom on her hat.

Once upon a midnight dreary.....

It's that time of year again, when we embrace all that is spooky. When it's OK to fright and be frightened. I took the opportunity to work on my pages for the Circle Journal Swap I'm participating in. These are for Mary C.'s book. She asked that we create a "haunted house" and include a photograph of ourselves somewhere on the house. She also asked that we decorate both sides of the page. I used some stamps on this one, stickers, rub ons, and of course, computer generated images and text. Happy Halloween!!

No crafting this evening

Sean and I went for a walk this evening. It's a gorgeous Fall evening. The moon is almost full. The sky was clear. We finished up with supper and decided to go for a walk down to the Starbucks. It's only a mile from our house. Our neighborhood is full of hills and valleys, so it was nice to have a variety of inclines. Lots of houses have decorated for Halloween. This is something I don't get into. While I appreciate all of the effort people go through to decorate their homes and to get dressed up, I just don't decorate for Halloween. I may hang up a fall wreath, but I tend to find all Halloween decor to be tacky. Well, OK, I make an exception. We do like to carve pumpkins. That's about it, though.

After we bought a few drinks, we strolled back to the house. It was nice to have the hot drinks to hold onto because the temps were dropping. Right around this time of year, the evening temps drop into the 40's. It's still bearable, but when the sun goes down, the temps drop quickly. Now, the show "Private Practice" is on. I like this show. Gotta run....Maybe I'll have time to create something tomorrow evening.

Collage Challenge: Day Two

Are you ready for the next step?

OK.....now that you've got your paper images picked out, it's time to glue them onto your background. I use gel medium to adhere my image to the background paper. After you've glued down your images, let it completely dry before moving onto the next step.

Now, it's time to add crayons to your collage. Draw around the border and around your images. Use a variety of colors. If you use the water soluble crayons, you'll be able to smudge the colors and blend them in nicely. You should try to blend the colors between your collage papers and the background so that your images don't appear to "just sit" on the background paper.

OK....now for the last step.....journaling. Use your fine point sharpie pen to write on your page. You can also use your Sharpie to draw and doodle. A word of caution....don't draw over the crayon. You'll end up "clogging" the tip of your sharpie. Let the black ink dry. Then, go back with your white Pen-Touch pen and fill in the open space of your letters. This will give your leters added interest and contast.

Collage Challenge: ala Teesha style! First Day of the Challenge

I LOVE Teesha Moore's artist pages. That's why I bought the book Mixed Media Collage, yesterday. So, I'm challenging fellow artists/bloggers to try their hand at Teesha's style of collage. I'll try to take you step-by-step on my take of Teesha's style... and let's see where end up with, OK? First you will need the following:

-Cold-press watercolor paper. The heavier the weight, the better it will withstand several layers of paper and glue. (I personally felt comfortable with 140 lb to 300 lb weight paper. I bought the paper at Dick Blick's art supply store.)
-Watercolors. I have several tubes of watercolor. I'm sure you can get away with using kid's watercolors, but the type I have results in a bright finish.
-Watercolor brush.
-Water (duh!)
-Water soluble crayons or pastels. I LOVE these. Teesha Moore recommends these, in the book. You'll understand why, when you try them. They move like but-tah! Easy to apply, easy to blend. Just delish!
- Gel Medium or Mod Podge for gluing down your pieces to the page.
-A really good fashion magazine, or access to royalty-free photo, clip art or paper ephemera.
- Some freezer paper. I like to apply glue to the underside of my pieces while working on freezer paper. This way, my stuff doesn't stick to the table, or leaves a residue on my work surface.
-Sharpie pen. I used extra-fine black, fine-point black and a white fine-point pen by Pen-Touch.

Are you ready to roll? OK.....I took the sheet of cold press watercolor paper and had them cut it down to 8 x 10 sheets:

Wet down the surface of your paper really well, but not soaking wet. Add your watercolor and color your sheet, or give it a "wash." Let the surface dry completely before going to the next step. This will take a couple of hours to dry (at least):

While it's drying, gather up your paper ephemera. All of the images and paper I used on my collage page came from one magazine. You'll want to find strips of paper that range in width from 1/2 inch to 1 inch wide, and in various lengths. You will use these strips for the border of your collage. Don't overthink this step. Just go through your papers or magazine pages and pull out whatever appeals to you:



Let's give everyone a few days to get started. I'll post the next step mid-week. Thanks for taking the challenge with me!

Victorian-theme pages

These are pages I created for Debbie C.'s Circle Journal (Victorianrose on Stamp Shack). Her theme is "Quotes", so I combined the theme with a vintage flavor (another request of Debbie's.) It makes so much easier for me, since I, too, LOVE everything vintage or from the Victorian-era.