FAVORITE Mixed Media Projects of 2015

It is the end of 2015 and I always try to look back at my projects I created in the year and find my favorites and why they may be my favorites.

Today I will pick my favorite Mixed Media projects.

I love the Dina Wakely Scribbly birds and had so much fun making the bright background.  The inside says - "So Damn It - Be Happy."

This was a birthday card for a very special friend.  All kinds of different layers on this card.  I used one of my first loves - fabric on the card.  I know that Mary always appreciates all the work I put into my cards.

This card is a favorite because I hand drew the cupcake.  I am trying to learn to draw so this made me so happy that it turned out so well.  It went to a special young lady who has made me appreciate the color orange and everything it has to offer.  It is not a color that should only be associated with Halloween and fall.

These ATC's are a favorite because I used up some supplies on them.  I have bottles of little Prima flowers and this ATC exchange used up many of that one bottle of different colored flowers.

This canvas helped me win a contest and $400 worth of prizes.  Once again I used fabric and all kinds of different things on the canvas.

I love this particular project because it is a favorite color of mine.  I also made the majority of the flowers on this project.

IO

This is a retirement card.  I love the stamp - it is very versatile and know that I will be using it lots more this year.

This is my snarky card.  I sent it to a very close friend who is a card maker also.  I love all the layers on it plus that sentiment.  Makes me smile every time I look at it.

I love this card.  It has so many beautiful layers on it.  Once again there is fabric on the card.  I also recycled some tissue paper from a bridal shoewr.  The sentiment made me think of an incident I had with a friend when we traveled this last year so had to make her this card.  She said it was the most beautiful card she had ever received.

This is a Christmas card I made and send to my friend Mary.  It turned out so beautiful and she loved it.  I love making my own backgrounds and love that silver embossing paste.

I had to share a journal page because I had the privilege and joy of taking 4 classes from Dyan Reaveley.  I do hope she returns to the scrapbook store this upcoming year.
 

I must end the year with this Christmas ornament I made for my grandson Isaiah.  It was his first Christmas ornament.  Thank you so much to my son in law who lost his battle with cancer for sharing his children with me and giving me the opportunity to be a grandmother and I guess a great grandmother.

Come back in a couple days to see my favorite cards - the cards will not be mixed media cards - well they may have a touch - who knows.

Happy Holidays - Merry Christmas

I will be taking a short break from my blog to celebrate the holidays.  See you for sure on January 1 with my post for Mixed Media Mojo January challenge.

Merry Christmas Tree How To

This is a Christmas card made using a stencil and ink to create the tree.  I hope that the step out below will inspire you to try some new ways of making your Christmas cards.

Directions:

Step 1:  Cut cream colored cardstock to 4 inches by 5 inches.  (Finished size will be trimmed when assembling the card.)  Take your tree stencil and mask off the trees on the stencil you will not be using. 

Step 2:  Tape down your stencil onto your work surface.  Center the tree stencil you will be using over your cardstock and tape it down also.  (This is a good way to use all that washi tape you have been hoarding.)

Use a sponge dauber and start applying ink through the holes in your stencil.  In the Kaleidacolor Fruitcake Inkpad there are three shades of green.  Use all three shades of green, the different colors will give your tree more depth. 

When I was happy with the color, I removed the stencil. 

Step 3:  Stamp the sentiment on a piece of vellum using VersaMark Ink, add gold embossing powder, and heat emboss.  (Before stamping the sentiment, use an anti static brush on your vellum.  This will help stop the embossing powder from sticking in places you do not want it to stick.)

Step 4:  Take a scrap piece of your cream cardstock, rub VersaMark on it, add gold embossing powder and heat emboss it.  This paper will be used to punch an embellishment for the tree.

Step 5:  Trim your tree image to the size you want for your card front (3 3/8 inches by 4 ¾ inches). 

Step 6:  Cut a mat from the cream cardstock (3.625 x 5).  Add Tear It! Tape to all four edges.  Pour gold embossing powder over the tape and heat emboss.  The gold mat perfectly matches the gold in your sentiment.

Step 7:  Add a piece of Tear It! Tape to the very edge of cardstock.  Repeat the above steps.  Cut the gold strip with your paper trimmer.  This trim strip will be used at the top of the vellum sentiment. 

Step 8:  Wrap the vellum strip around the bottom of the stenciled image.  Take a bottle of Sheer Shimmer Spritz (gold), shake it to mix the color.  Lay your image in a box.  Hold your bottle above the image and just spray.  Do this several times.  The gold mist falls onto your card front and adds a beautiful shimmer.  To get more defined splats of color, shake your bottle, remove the lid and gently bounce your finger against the stem.  Let your image dry.

Step 9:  Cut a green mat just slightly larger than the gold mat.  Adhere the gold strip to the top of the vellum with the Tear It! Tape.  Add your gold mat and green mat to the image.  Attach to your card base (3.875 x 5.25).  Punch a gold star for the top of the tree and attach it with glue.  A gold enamel dot was centered on top of the star.  Three red embellishments were added to the gold strip. 

Difficulty

Intermediate

Time

45 min + dry time

Materials Needed

Imagine Crafts

·         VersaMark ink

·         Gold Embossing Powder

·         Kaleidacolor Fruitcake Inkpad

·         Tear It! Tape

·         Sheer Shimmer Spritz (gold),

Other:

• Hero Arts Sentiment Stamp
• The Crafters Workshop stencil – Mini Evergreens
• Miscellaneous:  Cream and green cardstocks, Vellum, Heat gun, Favorite adhesive, Enamel Dots

Mixed Media Happy Retirement Card

I will be attending a retirement party for a person I worked on campus with for many years.  I wanted to make her a special card to cheer her on her way.  She won't have to make that long drive of hers this winter.  Smart girl to retire at the end of December.

The image was stamped on book pages that had a layer of gesso.  It was stamped with Versafine Ink and then embossed with clear embossing powder.  The bird and flower were colored with InkIntense pencils.  The background of the stamped area was done with gelatos.  I did not have any paper that matched the pink of the flowers so colored another panel to I had an accent piece.  Some embossing paste was added through a stencil around the card image.  I sprayed grey paint in the air and it floated over the front of the card.  You never know what you will get when you do this but it does add another layer of depth to the card.  The sentiment was stamped on vellum.

I am entering the card in the monthly challenge at Mixed Media Card Challenge where the challenge is Celebration with the added element to use vellum.  I think I nailed both of them.

I am also entering it into the Stamplorations Stencil Hop.  You just need to use a stencil on your project.  I added the embossing paste dots to my project with a stencil.  They have a great blog hop going on - you should pop over there and take a look at the great creations.

Potluck today to start out the festivities.  Next will be the retirement party and then head into my daughters for the evening.  Have a wonderful day.

Oldie Moldie Monday

It is Monday - time to show some love to your oldier supplies.  Today I  am using an older piece of patterned paper (Pink); old book pages and a sentiment stamp I have had for awhile.

I drew the little bird on some book pages.  He is colored with InkIntense colors and then cut out.  My inspiration for the bird was from Pinterest.  I find that I like drawing birds.

The background piece (yellow) is two layers of book pages which have gesso added to them and then a light color wash of yellow.  It picks up the yellow in the bird.  The bird was glued to the background.  I stenciled some embossing paste dots around the bird.  I stamped little black stars (it needed something more so that is why I added the stars.)  I assembled the card and added the sentiment.  I  then put the entire card in a box lid and misted over the top with a grey spray.  The mist falls gently onto the card front.  I love the little extra the mist adds to the card.

I am entering the card in three challenges.

The first challenge is the Monday challenge blog for Simon Says where the challenge is "holly jolly stamping."  The sentiment and stars are stamped.

The second challenge is the mixed media challenge at Happy Little Stampers.  The challenge is "Anything Goes."

The third challenge is the Christmas challenge at Happy Little Stampers.   The challenge is to use a star on your Christmas card.

Thanks for stopping by and remember to show some love for your oldier supplies.

Merry Christmas Holly Card How To

Please enjoy the "how to" instructions for making this card with a stencil.

Directions:

1.  Gather supplies.  VersaFine Black ink; Holly stamp and stencil; Kaleidacolor Inkpad (Fruitcake); sponge daubers; and paper.

2.  Cut paper to fit size of stamp.  Stamp image with VersaFine Ink.  Lay stencil over top of stamped image.  Add red ink with daubers to berries.  Use all three colors of green in your inkpad to color your leaves with daubers.

Carefully move down the stencil covering areas you have already colored.  You need to adjust the stencil as you move down the stamped design so the stencil and stamped image align.

3.  Trim stamped/colored image for card front (4 x 4 ¾).

4.  Stamp sentiment; cut out with die cut.

5.  Cut kraft mat (4 5/8 x 5 5/8) and make green card base (5 x 6).  Cut red strip for bottom of card (5/8 x 4 5/8). 

6.  Distress edge of all papers with distressing tool.

7.  Adhere all layers together.  Tie twine around red strip.  Pop dot sentiment to front of card.

8.  Lay completed card in box.  Mist gold spray over card front several times.  Take wand out of bottle of gold and tap the wand gently to make larger splats on card front.  Let dry.  Add bow. 

Finished Card Size:  5 x 6

 Difficulty

Intermediate

Time

1 hour + dry time

Materials Needed

Imagine Crafts:

·         Kaleidacolor Raised Rainbow Dye Inkpad (Fruitcake)

·         VersaFine Pigment Ink (Onyx Black)

·         Sheer Shimmer Spritz (Gold)

·         Sponge Daubers

Other:

·         Cardstock:  Kraft, Cream, Red and Green

·         Holly Stencil and Stamp (Penny Black)

·         Twine

·         Distress Tool

·         Foam Tape

·         Enamel Dot

Friendships

I love the sentiment that came with this snowman from My Favorite Things - I am hopefully going to make a couple more cards for my two neighbors that I am very close to.  Without them I would not be able to stay in my house.  They help with the moving and snow removal.  Thank goodness.

The snowman is stamped on book pages which have a light coating of gesso on them.  I colored around the snowman with distress inks.  The paper is from Bo Bunny.

I am entering this into the weekly Wednesday challenge on Simon Says Stamp where the challenge is Let It Snow.  We are having balmy weather in Wisconsin so I am not going to complain about lack of snow.  We have had rain so we are getting moisture.

Happy Saturday everyone.  I am going to visit my Mom and Aunt today.

Wiener Dog Christmas

I have a couple of friends who have or had wiener dogs so I try to make a wiener dog Christmas card each year.

This is my card for this year.

The stamp is from Michael's and the paper is from Basic Grey.  The sentiment is from Paper Smooches.

I am going to enter it into the last challenge on Jingle Belles.

Have a wonderful day.

Napkin Cards

There are so many beautiful napkins out in the world.  I actually found myself taking pictures of some when I was in a grocery store as I giggled away and, of course, I had to send the images to people so they could giggle also.

I am sure you realize that you can make beautiful cards out of the napkins.  You need to take the napkin apart.  I then modpodge the image to a piece of card stock and let it dry.  After it is dry I trim the image to my card front.

I made seven of this card for my daughter to give her assistant managers.  She manages a large retail store in the Milwaukee area and the holidays are so stressful.  She works such long hours.  In my retirement, in really bad stretches, I go stay at her house and take care of the dogs and cook her something to eat and have someone to talk to.

The card is a little large but they will all be hand delivered so it doesn't matter on the size.

This is the inside of the card.

I am entering this card into the weekly challenge at Addicted to Stamps where the challenge is holiday.

I hope the holidays are full of joy for you and no stress.  Enjoy your Thursday.

Random Act of Kindness

A little boy in my home town is fighting cancer and through the last year or two I send a card off to him.  Recently an update says that his immune system is low so he can not attend school.  I thought now was a good time to send him another card to cheer him. up.  I usually send a card with a monkey on them.  I have a collection of monkey stamps from when my friend Shari was battling breast cancer.  I sent her a card every week - I wanted her to smile - thus the monkeys.  Shari lost her battle with breast cancer but I am glad my monkey stamps can continue to bring a smile to someone.

If you wish to send this young man a card, please leave me a comment with your e mail address and I will send it to you.

The Wednesday challenge at Simon Says Stamp is Let It Snow.  I have added some snowflake stickers to this card.  The stamp is by Stampendous.  The tag is by Paper Smooches.  The paper is from Bo Bunny and the hello is from Hero Arts.  Wow - I knew all my products.  Many times I use loose things so I never know who made what I used to create a card.

Reach out and touch someone's life.  Bring a smile to their face.

Have a good day - currently I am on the search on my design tables for an image I had already colored.  One table kinda cleaned off - and it is not there.  Off to the next one.

Mixed Media Mojo December Challenge

Wow - how did it become December already.  Time sure flies when you are retired.  I don't have time to do everything I want to do.  I do still find time to play with my paper, inks and embossing paste.

The monthly challenge at Mixed Media Mojo is Sentiment and the twist is no red and green.

Lucky for me I love to make blue colored cards for Christmas and I chose blue with black and silver as the accent colors.  I have had this stamp for many years.  It was a very inexpensive stamp I bought at Michael's.  It was stamped with Versafine Ink on gessoed book pages and clear embossed.  The background was colored with distress inks.  The color was squished on with an acetate sheet.

I used a silver embossing paste for the chevron strip on the back panel and the dots on the front of th sentiment.  The small star stamp is by Stamps by Judith.  Black splatters were added.  I may change up the bow.  I think I want a fluffier bow,

Please take the time for some creative fun and join us at the Mixed Media Challenge Blog.

Oldie Moldie Monday

Whew - can you hear the tires burning as I slide in under the self imposed deadline to post my Oldie Moldie Monday card.  I was gone all week end at my daughters to help out over the week end.  Got home this afternoon and trying to get some things done.  Unfortunately I did not get as much done as I wanted to but I did at least get my Oldie Moldie Monday card done.

This is a birthday card for my son in law.  He will probably faint when he gets it.  I am not too good at December birthdays.

Hopefully the crazy bird brings a smile to his face.

Have a wonderful remainder of Monday.

Another Revisit to Ideas for Christmas

This week end while I am away from home I am sharing some projects for the Christmas holiday that I have made in the past to inspire you.

This is a favorite project from last year.  A small canvas.  I only made two and I must report that one was eaten by my daughter's dog.  Axl loves to eat anything I have made.  Dang dog - I may have to stop bringing him treats.

Another Christmas Idea

Today I am sharing a little canvas I was making for a special group of friends last year.  Well I only got one done last year so I need to finish the other three this year.  The stamp is from Unity.

Keep enjoying your week end.

Black Friday - Where Are You

It tis Black Friday - are you out there shopping or are you safely hid in your home?

I am safely hid in my daughter's home while she works Black Friday.  I hold down the home front for her, feed her a good meal, pour a glass of wine and watch her head off to bed to start all over again the next day.

Today I am sharing a project from last year - something you still have time to make for the holidays.

I put package filler inside the ornament to give it a sparkly look.

The snowman is a Paper Smooches stamp.

Happy Thanksgiving

I am sharing a project from last year.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and if you are brave enough to do Black Friday - good luck.

Let's Be Merry

Today I am sharing a card made from the tag I posted yesterday.  I hope this little bird I drew with inspiration from Pinterest and his little bitty Santa Hat.  It makes me want to giggle and be merry.

I am entering the card in the following challenges.

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge where the challenge this week is anything goes.  

I am also entering the card in the Christmas card challenge on Happy Little Stampers where their monthly challenge is to use a tag.  I am getting double duty out of this tag.  Yesterday I entered it into their mixed media challenge - today it is a card.

I cut a mat just a little bit larger than the original tag.  I then made a card base and trimmed the top edges by hand to give the card a tag shape.  I added a small twine bow to finish the tag off.

Here is a close up of my little birdie and his tiny Santa hat.  Doesn't he make you smile?

Happy day before Thanksgiving.

Mixed Media Christmas Tag

I have been trying to learn how to draw and I attended Bella Crafts weekend in the Twin Cities and one of my instructors Cindy Shepard had us drawing some funky little birds.  Therefore, I have been drawing lots of funky little birds.  There are not original ideas - Pinterest is full of inspiration and I am just trying to gain confidence in my ability to draw a little for my own fun and creativity.  Needless to say I have pages of little birds and big birds that are drawn and colored.  I decided to use one of these on my tag.

Happy Little Stampers has a Mixed Media challenge each month and the challenge was to make a tag.  This I have done.

The Mixed Media Monthly Challenge for the month is to use texture.

I had the leftover tag shape from a day of creating with one of my neighbor kids.  Kristin has been making Christmas tags.  I covered the tag shape with a piece of patterned paper with a music background.  I added a light layer of gesso.  I cut out one of my funky birds.  The ultimate goal is I wanted to use one of the Santa hat stickers I had bought.  Well you know all those stickers go in different directions and the small hat sticker is the one that went on this bird.  This is why I chose that sentiment because it looks like he is attempting to be merry with his tiny little Santa hat.  (I may give it to my daughter who manages a large retail store and the holidays are crazy for her.)

There is silver embossing paste.  The swirl in the upper right hand corner is actually a reindeer's antlers.  The snowflakes are embossed in a Ranger embossing powder that I am loving.  The sticker is by Jolee.  I used glass and glitter gel medium for the snow.  It is from Faber Castell.

I did not add any trim to the hole of the tag.  This tag may be made into a card so unsure what I am going to do to finish the tag.

Everyone enjoy your day and "Let's Be Merry".  Remember to be kind to all the retail workers.