Sunflower Love

 Hello Friends....I hope you are all doing well out where ever you are. Today I want to share a couple stamped cards I made using lots of fun peg stamps from Rubber Stamp Tapestry.  Before I get to the cards I wanted to be sure and let you know that they are having an amazing sale right now...

GET 20% OFF ALL RST STAMPS WITH PURCHASE OF $25+ 
+ orders over $55 get FREE domestic shipping

at checkout use coupon code: summerstamping

You must type in the coupon code: summerstamping at checkout (the box under list of products that ask for "coupon code"). Expires Monday, August 31, 2020, at midnight Eastern Standard Time. Cannot be combined with other coupons or applied to a previous order. Does not apply to Lawn Fawn stamps.

NOW... to get to my cards. You know I always have great intentions of showing step by step pics of the cards but I get so wrapped up the in process I totally forget to take pics. I guess that means I really have lots of fun when I create.

I simply love the Sunflower Peg Stamps - they are just so pretty and versatile. Of course I used several other stamps - the branch, wheat, bees and even the sentiment. They all work so well together.

So this is how I started off...I love to use dies to create stamping guides. The variety of sizes and shapes open up a whole realm of possibilities.  And that's where I left it as far as pics go - LOL!!  I can tell you what I did from there. I start off by stamping the largest flower - I do this by using dye markers to color directly onto the peg stamp, huff warm breath onto the ink to ensure that it is moist then stamp. This technique produces great images as you can see.

After the flowers were stamped I made a tiny mask of each size flower - I then begin adding the "extras" tucked in and around the sunflowers. When I finished with the extra bits I realized I had a black smudge by the lower set of flowers...hence the introduction of the bees!  I couldn't just add one to cover the smudge so I stamped 3 little bees.

Next I stamped the sentiment in the center and finally I brought the die back and used a brown marker to fill in the area of the oval that hadn't been filled with flowers.

An old milk can was the inspiration for my next card.  We have several around here and I just love them. They all have their own personalities. Well this particular milk can screamed a fall scene so that's what I created.  You all know how much I love fall.

I played with markers again for the sunflowers and pumpkins, the rest of the images were stamped with ink pads and I did some watercoloring - mostly on the milk can and ground. 

This was the only "in process" shot I took - It was showing how I color the stamp with the markers. From there...well, I just went on playing.

All of the images are stamps from Rubber Stamp Tapestry - from the pumpkins, milk can, grass and more. Such an amazing variety of images to mix and match to create your very own little Autumn vignette.

Art Crayons, Watercolor Pastels, Gelatos...Slimline Card with Unity

 Hello Friends...

Unity's August challenge is centered around slimline cards...I love them! Finally more room to play :) It's been a while since I played with my watercolor crayons so I thought I'd pull them out and play. I know some artists are purists and only use one specific brand of medium but not me - I like to really mix it up. I pulled out a few Marabu Art Crayons, my Gelatos, some Watercolor Soluble Oil Pastels and more just to see what I could come up with.  This is the card I created! 

It doesn't look like I used many colors but there are loads on there, they just blend together so well you don't even realize it until you look closely. I'll show you what I did...

I started off by just scribbling two colors over the entire background panel.

I blended then added more colors - greys, greens, light browns and a hint of purple here and there.

When the background was done I scribbled color onto the stamp, misted and stamped. I added layers of color a little bit at a time to create depth and dimension with each stamping.

Tip: Once you mist your colored stamp it's a good idea to let the water dissolve the pastels a bit and when you stamp it you want to leave the stamp sit on the paper a while so the pastels have a chance to be absorbed by the paper and get a nice transfer of color.  It takes patience but it's worth it in the end.

Here's what the flowers looked like after 3 layers of color.

I then went in with a bit of yellow and a watercolor brush to fill in the centers. I also added a bit of Fairy Hugs glitter to each flower as well just for a bit of sparkle (not shown in this photo).

So there you go...dig out those art crayons and have a little fun today!  You won't regret you did.

Supplies:

Unity Stamp Co - Hollyhocks

Marabu - Art Crayons

Gelatos

Prima Art Philosophy Oil Pastels

Fairy Hugs - Sunshine Glitter Powder 

Gina Marie - Scallop Stitched Slimline Die

Cardstock, Gold Thread, Button, Adhesive

All Hearts Anniversary Card

 Recently it was Bob and Morgan's 4th wedding anniversary. I decided I would make their card using Rinea foiled papers and my heart dies. This is a great way to use up left-over bits from other projects. By using numerous sizes of heart dies I was able to clean up lots of scrap.

This card really makes a statement as the colors are so bold and bright n shiny! It was very simple to create. I covered a white card base with Ruby/Gold Glossy foiled paper. I die cut a piece of Arctic/Gold Glossy foiled paper using the Loopy Rectangle from Gina Marie. 

I then used a variety of heart dies to cut a multitude of hearts from various colors of foiled papers - all left-overs found in my scrap box. Such a good feeling to clean some of that up.  The hearts were then layered on the card.

Finally I cut the Mr & Mrs (also from Gina Marie) from Ebony/Gold Glossy foiled paper and affixed it over the hearts.   I stamped a pair of cats on the inside (because they both love cats) and wrote out the sentiment.  It was lots of fun to make and they both liked the card :)

Supplies:

Rinea - Ruby/Gold Glossy, Arctic/Gold Glossy, Fuchsia/Gold Glossy, Violet/Gold Glossy, Violet/Violet Starstruck, Blush/Blush Starstruck, Ebony/Gold Glossy

Gina Marie - Loopy Rectangle, Mr&Mrs

MFT - Hearts

DoCrafts XCut - Hearts

Dreaming of Castles...

 Today I have a beautiful card to share that was so much fun to make which I made specifically for the Lavinia Challenge - #33 - Anything Goes.  I hope you enjoy....

 I started off by making the background. For some reason I was feeling green so I got out my Marabu Alcohol Inks and their fun new glitter inks and had a go at them. Further down there is a photo of the glitter inks and what they look like reflecting in the light when tilted to and fro.  The shine is amazing IRL.

After the background had dried I started stamping... It was all stamped using VersaFine Clair Nocturne ink...my all-time favorite black ink. So I began with the Luna Lights, Far World Castle and Pink Orbs (the little circles on the bottom and side).   I used paint pens to extend the landscape around the castle and stamped a couple of the trees from the Tree Scene set. I then stamped the Dragon Mini and finished off with the Stars 1 Mini stamp filling in the open spaces.  I used both a black and white paint pen to add little details here and there.

Before the inks had a chance to dry I dusted the surface with the Sea Foam Fairy Hugs Powder which you can see in the above photo. The blob looking areas are the Glitter AI from Marabu - looks strange here but IRL it adds a lovely shimmer to the finished card.  

And there you have it....I hope you enjoy this card.

Supplies:

Lavinia Stamps - Stars 1 Mini, Dragon Mini, Pink Orbs, Far World Castle, Luna Lights, Tree Scene

Fairy Hugs Powder - Sea Foam

Marabu Alcohol Inks

Black Paint Pen, White Paint Pen, Glossy Cardstock, Black Card Base

Anything Goes...New Challenge at Lost Coast Designs!

 Stamping for the fun of it...don't ya just love it.  Today is the start of a new challenge at Lost Coast Designs - #105 - Anything Goes!  So I decided to have some fun and just play.

I started off by creating the background with plain old cardstock and a variety of pigment powders...Color Burst, Lindy's and some Nuance thrown in for good measure.

After it was good and dry I stamped and embossed the main images from the Victoriana set of stamps which were embossed with black ep.

I then used a stamp from the new set Pieces of Calligraphy (which I absolutely LOVE) using Morning Mist VersaFine Clair ink.

After that I added all sorts of ink with stencils. Splats and scribbles, scrolls and mesh - just anything. Once this panel was mounted on a slim-line card base I sprinkled on a selection of sequins from Sparkle Blends to finish it off.

I hope you join in on the fun...you never know - you might just be the lucky winner!!

You have until the end of the month to play - hope to see you there!

Doodles Paper Playground August Sparkle Blends Blog Hop!!!

 Together with the Doodles Paper Playground design team, I am participating in the August Sparkle Blends Release Inspiration Blog Hop! There were 12 amazing new Sparkle Blends in this release & I am so excited to share some of them with you! Make sure you head over to the Sparkle Blends Shop & check out Pizza Party, Kiss A Lot Of Frogs, Pineapple Garden, Watermelon, Use Your Emoji-nation, Wonderland, Flutter By Butterfly, Grown Up Grape Juice, Bee Creative, Baby Shark, Citrus Tornado, & Ladybird. If you act quickly, there even a few discounted Release Bundles left for order that include 2 free gifts & you will receive a pack of Glow In The Dark Bubbles with every order of $10 or more (while supplies last)!

My first card was made using Pizza Party!

I had some fun brick washi tape that I thought would compliment this theme very well - the colors matched perfectly.

Can you see the little Fimo pieces - there are slices of pizza, pepperoni, tiny mushrooms, tomato slices and even tiny little garlic in among all of the fun sequins.

The pizza die and sentiment are from MFT.  

My next card was made using Emoji-nation. This was so much fun to make.  I wanted you to "SEE" all of the fun emoji's and I thought these nifty glasses would be perfect shakers.  What do you think?

This card was made a bit differently as I die-cut the frames from the pink paper, added the window acetate to the back of the panel then die-cut and glued the black frames to the windows created from the negative space left behind on the pink.

This set is filled with so many fun emoji's - both in the shaker part and glued to the front of the panel....

Just too much fun!!! I hope you have enjoyed my cards - be sure to check out all of the fun and inspiring cards on the rest of the hop!

Want a chance to win one of 6 awesome prize packs? Make sure you leave comments on all blog hop posts! Comments must be posted no later than 11:59pm Eastern on Sunday, August 16th 2020. See the Doodles Paper Playground Hop Post for additional prize info, giveaway rules and entry details!

Use Coupon Code: AUG15OFF to take 15% off your total order. (Excludes August Release Bundle. Can not be combined with other coupons or offers. Can not be applied to previous Purchases. Offer ends August 22nd, 2020.)

Alison, Phoenix & Rhiannon Alison Heikkila

Fawn

Annie

EK

Judy

Roni

Gina

Amber

Doodles Paper Playground

Let It Snow!!!

 I know, I'm crazy but it's fairly hot and the latest challenge at Christmas Kickstart Challenge Blog is... #35 - Snow is Falling.  I love snowflakes so I decided to join in on the fun and pull  out my snowflake stencil and dies and have a bit of fun. 

I started off by stenciling the snowflakes on the sky blue cardstock using VersaFine Clair Paradise and Blue Belle. 

I then cut loads of snowflakes using Rinea Foiled Paper Frosted Variety Pack and letters from Ebony/Gold Glossy foiled papers.  These were layered onto the panel which was trimmed and matted on a scallop stitch slim line card die from Gina Marie.  This panel was then mounted on a blue card base.

So, are you ready for snow? I'm thinking the close to snow time the closer we can put 2020 to bed which I think we're all ready for in some degree.  

Entering this card into the Christmas Kickstart Challenge 

#35 - Snow is Falling!

Supplies:

Rinea - Frosted Variety Pack, Ebony/Gold Glossy

MFT - Stitched Alphabet Die, Snowflakes

Sizzix - Snowflakes

Gina Marie - Scallop Slim Line Die, Snowflake Stencil

Imagine - VersaFine Clair - Blue Belle, Paradise

Cardstock, Adhesive

Kiss Me Merlot - A 3D Kiss Wall Art

Hi Everyone! Hope you all are doing well this fine day.

Did you know that Rinea recently came out with a new color of foiled paper....Merlot!!!  I knew when I saw this paper I had to do something spectacular with it and 2 things came to mind...lipstick and wine.  What better than a kiss?  I made them using a polygonal folding pattern from Paperfreak on Etsy.  If you've never made one of these types of paper art before it is so much fun. You simply print the pattern* out, fold, glue and Bob's your uncle you have an amazing creation!  

Since I used Rinea foiled papers for this set I printed the pattern on regular white copy paper, glued it to the back of the Merlot foiled paper, cut it out and assembled it from there.

This is approximately 15" wide, 10" tall and about 4-5" deep. It really is a fun piece.

And don't you just love how the foiled paper makes them shine?

I used Arctic/Arctic Starstruck for the teeth and Ebony/Ebony Starstruck for the interior.

Morgan came over for a photo shoot just to show you how darling they are.... I think she was having fun don't you?

Hope this inspires you to give one of these pieces a try...they really are so much fun and oh my the foiled papers take them over the top!!

Supplies:

Rinea - Merlot/Gold Glossy, Arctic/Arctic Starstruck, Ebony/Ebony Starstruck

PaperFreak - Lips - Mouth With Teeth Low Poly Pattern

Scissors, Glue, Stylus

Coffee Counts as a Veggie Right?

 You know I make cards and all sorts of projects in a variety of different themes - have for years as I think most of us do. Well recently I was given a theme that totally stumped me...Vegetarian!  Being a life long meat eater and farm wife my brain went into a crafty freeze. Now I must say that this challenge wasn't nearly as difficult as I was making it because the challenge is actually - #104 - Let's Go Vegetarian on the Lost Coast Designs blog.  The description is "Think trees, flowers, leaves, fruit, vegetables" - well I was missing the trees, flowers, leaves, fruit and just focusing on the vegetables!  Silly I know but that's how my mind works sometimes.  

After a couple weeks of fretting I finally asked for some advice from my LCD/CV teamies and the trees, flowers part was pointed out and - WHEW - I can manage that - LOL!!  I did stick a bit to the veggie side of things....what do you think???

LOL....I just love him and couldn't resist the sentiment.  The background and gnome friend were both colored using Prima watercolor paints.  Both images were stamped using VersaFine Clair ink in Nocturne then painted using Prima watercolor Confections paints. 

Be sure to join in on the fun....flowers, trees, leaves, fruits and veggies!

Supplies:

Lost Coast Designs - Side Sign Gnome, Trees Background

Imagine - VersaFine Clair - Nocturne

Prima Marketing - Watercolor Confections

Not Your Ordinary Mermaid!

Hello Friends 

Today I wanted to share a mixed media canvas with a mermaid theme as you might have gathered from the title of the post.  This canvas came about from two August challenges I saw which inspired me. The first is from Zuri which offers some amazing, intricate and elaborate silicone moulds. They are so very pretty and when I saw their Mermaid Whispers mould I knew I had to have it.  Their challenge this month is "Unconventional Colors".   

The second challenge was from Creative Embellishments August Challenge which is to be inspired by at least one element of this image.... o.k. mermaids - I ask you how can you not be inspired by mermaids - which fit perfectly with the Zuri challenge!

And this is what I created.....

As you can see I went with pink, orange and yellow for my unconventional color scheme. I carried it out not only on the mermaid but on the shells and the background ocean as well.

I wish you could see the shine and shimmer from the paints I used. It is so much prettier IRL - something you just can't capture in photos.

You can see a bit of the shine from the watercolor paints I used...

Well what do you think? I had such fun with this!  Here's a bit about the process....

I started off by moulding the mermaid using the Zuri mould and Prima's modeling clay.

While the mermaid was drying I set about working on the canvas.  I applied my unconventional colors of pink, orange and yellow with just a touch of green using my Paul Ruben Glitter Watercolor Paints.  They don't really have glitter in them - they are more of an iridescent set of paints but I LOVE them because they do shimmer so beautifully.  

Once those paints were dry I used the Gina Marie Water Ripples stencil and VersaFine Clair ink to add a bit more color here and there.

I decided that I wanted texture on the sea floor so I mixed up some 3in1 glue and sand then spread it on the lower portion of the canvas board.

From there I painted the octopus arms, the pussy willow and the mermaid all with the same watercolor paints.

After they were dry I just started layering things one after another.  I finished it off with the Distressed Grid Pieces which were left plain to bring it all together.

Hope you've enjoyed my creation friends...have a lovely day!

Supplies:

Zuri - Mermaid Whispers

Creative Embellishments - Octopus Set, Pussy Willow, Distressed Grid Pieces

Gina Marie - Water Ripples Stencil
Imagine - VersaFine Clair Inks, Sponge Dauber

Beacon - 3in1 Glue

Paul Ruben Glitter Watercolor Paints

Retro Cafe Art - Shell Mould

Prima - Modeling Air Dry Clay

Dew Drops

Real Shells, Sand, Ribbon, Faux Pearl, Sea Glass