Never Inked Stamp

On a private facebook group, we had a challenge to use a stamp that had never seen ink before.  This stamp was sitting there along with my new pad of distress ink - the February color of the month.

The stamp set is from Hero Arts.  It has an outline stamp and then a stamp of the full image.  I first stamped the outline.  I colored the bloom with the distress ink.  I then inked up the full image of the bloom and stamped it over the top of the colored bloom.  This is how I got the depth of color.  I had first practiced on a piece of paper so kinda knew what I wanted to do.  I colored around the flower with a very light wash of a watercolor.

For the sentiment I inked up a piece of watercolor paper and let it dry.  I then stamped the sentiment.  The little dots are punched out of the remaining colored watercolor paper.  I put glossy accents on top and have my homemade enamel dots.

I colored the thread with distress ink also so it matches perfectly.

I am entering this in the monthly Our Daily Bread Designs challenge on Stars and Stamps - Operation Write Home's card blog.  The challenge is to have the focus on the sentiment.

I am also entering it in House of Cards monthly challenge to use enamel dots.  Well mine are fake enamel dots - hopefully that counts.

Enjoy your evening - I am cleaning - ugh.

Oldie Moldie Monday

I bet you thought I was going to miss posting Oldie Moldie Monday.  No - I just did not get the picture taken until tonight.

I found this paper - it is double sided - dots on one side and green on the other side.  I just dug through my solid scraps and found the brown and blue.  The truck is a favorite old stamp.  It is one I go to for masculine cards.  Actually my daughters had a brown pick up they drove.  The sentiment had never seen ink before.

I have made a couple of these cards.  I am donating them to some cause but I have to find it.

Remember to show some love for your old supplies.

Prima Tag

Today I am sharing a tag I made for a swap.  It traveled all the way to Australia.  Do you know it go to its new home in Australia before a package of ATC's made it to the state of Oregon.  I think there may be something shameful about that.

I used one of my Prima Doll stamps.  The tag is also from Prima.  The paper used is y My Mind's Eye.  A 6 x 6 pad I got on clearance at Michael's.  Love clearance.  Plus I have a thing for 6 x 6 pads.  A girl can never have too many in her collection.

The girls outfit is paper pieced along with the background of the tag.  Multiple flowers were added to complete the tag.  The yellow flower is one I made with coffee filters.  I brushed some glitter on the flower to bring some bling into the tag.

Thanks for stopping by.

Art Journal Page

The first page in a journal. Somewhat daunting - very scary.

I have had this blank journal for awhile.  It is a mixed media journal.  It is laying in the area where I do my mixed media so when I had gesso left over I would smear it on the page.  I have two pages that are prepped like this. 

Tonight I started my first page.  When I read the monthly Take the Challenge with Mou on the Faber Castell blog - to create a project related to Time.  

I scribbled some different colors of Gelatos on the page and then smoothed them out with a wipe.  

Currently I am not too happy with the look but I know it can be changed very easily.  I deepened the color with more Gelatos and spread the color with my fingers so more of the pigment stayed on the page.

I found this great image of an antique alarm clock at The Graphic Fairy and printed it on copy paper.  I cut it out and added it to the page with gel medium. 

I then took different stencils and distress paint and added some texture around the page.  My favorite turned out to be the orange paint with the square stencils.  I liked it so well I put it on in several different areas of the page.  I also painted in the edge of the paper where the spiral was. 

I am always afraid to write or stamp directly on a page because of the chance to ruin something.  I decided to write my quote on tissue paper.  I love how tissue paper just melts into your background with gel medium.  (sorry my picture of the handwriting on the tissue paper did not turn out).  I wish now I had written it larger and it was darker.  

I took a Tim Holtz stencil that had numbers on it (a page about time needs numbers on it).  I laid the stencil on the page and used the Big Brush through the stencil to add the numbers in 4 different spots.  I also stamped some circles (I love this little circle stamp from Judith).  I painted the inside of the circle with a Dina Wakely acrylic paint (my only tube).  

I keep feeling the urge to add more to the page but I like the page the way it is.  

Some things that make my soul happy are my daughters, my mother, the rest of my family, my neighbors, playing with my paper, and the thought that in about 15 months I hope to retire.  On that note thanks for stopping by.

House of Cards Monthly Challenge

The monthly challenge at House of Cards is enamel dots.  I love these things but the hard part is the scatter thing.  I can sweat over the correct placement of 3 or 5 or 7 enamel dots, pearls, gems, etc.

I needed to make a good bye card for a co worker.  This card is from the office.

I had made the background on which the flower is stamped.  I made it awhile ago but I believe it was made with distress inks on watercolor paper.  I like to make some of these up and have them waiting to be used. I hate the wait till it is dry.  I also save all my scraps of background papers I have made.  I know someday I will need them.

As you can see there are black enamel dots on the card.  I also wanted to bring in the colors of the background paper but of course, you never have enamel dots in the correct colors.  I have started using the old fashioned hole punch for circles.  Place the dots on my card with a glue dot and then I add glossy accents on top.  It is a "kinda faux" enamel dot that exactly matches.  The flower was colored with distress paints.

Hope you liked my enamel dot card.  Thanks for stopping by.

Oldie Moldie Monday

This is my Oldie Moldie Monday card.  I love the little moose from Hero Arts.  I added googly eyes to him this time.  He is going to a young man battling cancer.  His grandmother is a fellow card maker.

Remember to dig out your old supplies and show them some love.

Mixed Media Mojo March Challenge

Yes I know I have been missing but I have been doing some creating.  Winter continues to drag on and zap many of us of any desire to do much.  I go to work, I come home, I hope to sleep and then it starts all over.

On the creative side, I have been having lots of fun with the Monthly challenge for Mixed Media Mojo.  

There is something so fun about creating those little pieces of art.  ATC cards - 2.5 inches by 3.5. You can do so much in that little space.  The Twist is Set of 2.  It could mean two ATC's; it could be two of the same element on one card; what will your interpretation of the twist be.

My first interpretation (and I will share more during the month) is a set of 2.  I am redoing my living room and have some beautiful fabric that I picked out the some of the colors from.  I also have this idea to have a wall of "B" art.  Stay tuned to the blog for more fun with that.  Are you ready, here are my ATC's.  A set of 2; each ATC has 2 sets of B's, each card has a B an a b; two butterflies.

Once again I used my Dina Wakely scribbly bird stamp.  Do you know I have discovered entire boards on Pinterest of beautiful creations with this stamp set.  The Butterflies is a stamp I have had for years.

Come back later in the month and I will share a how to on these ATC's and also be sharing my other ATC's.

Get your creativity on and join us at Mixed Media Mojo.  Oh, did you hear we have a Design Team call - come play with us.