Burlap Tag

Svitlana's Tag

I've been wanting to use some burlap again--it's been ages.  When I saw Svitlana's tag for Day 17 of Tracey's 25 Days of Christmas Tags, I was inspired & here's what I came up with.  

I attached burlap to cardstock using a double sided adhesive sheet. Then I die cut it with Spellbinders Reverse Wonky Rectangles.  I painted the edges with Distress Paint picket fence & Distress Ink gathered twigs.  I tried to stamp a little snowflake with Liquid Applique colored with Liquid Pearls Ocean Blue.  That didn't work so I pressed a cardstock scrap into the Liquid Applique (which I had mixed on a piece of foil), heated it & die cut the little Impression Obsession snowflake several times. They were a bit too light, so I spritzed them with Tattered Angels Turquoise mist & attached them to the tag. 

I layered 3 IO snowflakes cut from cardstock, covered with Rock Candy Distress Glitter & spritzed with Cork Tattered Angels.  The Penny Black sentiment was stamped in gathered twigs & cut into a flag.  I lightly sponged it with the same ink & mounted the layered snowflake at one end with foam tape.  Finished off with pearls & the brown/cream ribbon.  I'm also entering these challenges:  Loll's 12 Tags of Christmas, Verve Rustic Winter, Happy Little Stampers Nov Christmas & Mixed Media Tag & The Playground.  Hope you're staying dry & warm. Dreary, wet & cold here, but we're expecting sunshine tomorrow which means another day of raking leaves--not my favorite thing--haha! Thanks for your visit--I know everyone is super busy. 

Newspaper Poinsettia

I've wanted to make a poinsettia with writing on the petals for a couple years & I've been saving newspaper for crafting, so was determined to make a card for Merry Monday.  I began by gluing torn pieces of newspaper to cardstock. Then I brushed on watered down Gesso since using it full strength hid the writing. Next I dabbed & brushed on Distress Stains Victorian Velvet for the petals & Sage Green for the leaves.  It took a couple coats to get it dark enough.  Then I die cut the MFT poinsettia, sponged the same colors of ink on the edges & added a bit of Distress Stain Brushed Pewter. I molded the leaves & petals with my fingers.  The center die cut was covered with Stickles & embellished with an irridescent gem.

Shimmer cardstock was cut with Lil' Inkers Stitched rectangles & the small one was mounted with foam tape.  Before adding the poinsettia I glued on some metallic floss & clear sequins.  The Penny Black "joy" die was cut 3 times & clear embossed. Last night I was afraid the colors were too light, but seeing it this morning I actually love how it turned out. Now I have to ask my neighbor for some more newspaper!  I'm also entering SSS Wednesday Anything Goes, Pixies Snippets Playground (only the black was a scrap), Addicted to Stamps Anything Goes & The Mixed Media Monthly Challenge, flowers. Also finally getting an entry done in time for Rudolph Days! I'm way behind in reading blogs, but I haven't forgotten you & will be there soon. 

Birthday Butterflies

Today is my last post on the a2z Blog as I'm stepping down from the DT at the end of April.  I want to thank everyone at a2z for giving me this great opportunity.  Today's card started with making a stenciled background using the wonderful Numbers Background stencil--a GREAT deal in the Sales/Retired section.  I inked the stencil with 4 Hero Arts colors, spritzed with water & laid it on a watercolor panel.  The look wasn't what I wanted, so I laid the stencil back in place & used daubers with the same ink colors.  That worked well, but the colors didn't flow from one to the other.  A light coating of Gesso totally changed the look & saved my panel from the trash can! I dry embossed it & sponged on a couple shades of brown adding to the artistic look & bringing out the embossed design.

Each HA butterfly was stamped & embossed twice--once on kraft cardstock & once on watercolor paper. After watercoloring with the same inks, I added a very light covering of Gesso & sponged with brown ink. Clear Wink of Stella & Hero Arts gems give them shimmer & shine while hemp cord is wrapped around the bodies with the ends used for antennae.  The HA sentiment was heat embossed on the kraft card front & then the background panel was trimmed to fit.  I attached the colored butterflies to the kraft ones only in the middle & bent the wings slightly up before attaching them.

Hope I've inspired you to join the current challenge to use a stencil on your project.  Links to my supplies are in the a2z Blog Post.  Feel free to use my code, GRETA15, to get 15% off a minimum $25 purchase.  I'm entering the Things with Wings challenge at Uniko, Layers & Dimension at Virginia's View, In the Garden at Die Cut Divas, & Pixies Snippets Playground.  Thanks so much for all your support & taking time to visit my blog.

From the Heart

Time for a new challenge at Words 2 Scrap By. We have a great theme--The Earth Has Music--in honor of Earth Day & Arbor Day. I used images & a sentiment from Penny Black's "every happiness." I began the background by adding some Gesso to kraft cardstock before partially stamping PB's music background in VersaMagic Gingerbread.  I added Distress Stains tarnished brass & antiqued bronze to the PB leaves I had die cut from green cardstock scraps. They were glued to the panel with Perfect Paper Adhesive, which I highly recommend.  After it dried I embossed it with a Cuttlebug folder & swiped on the same Distress Stains.  The image panels were stamped in PTI New Leaf on Kraft, trimmed out & swiped with the stains.  I colored some hemp with the stains & thread it through the sentiment block (stamped in Versafine Vintage Sepia) which I mounted with 2 layers of foam tape. 1 layer of foam tape was used for the image blocks & the panel was attached to a kraft card.  I'd love to see you join in the challenge which ends April 21.  For more inspiration & details about our great prize, go to the W2SB Blog. You won't be disappointed--my teamies made wonderful cards. Since I used some scraps I'm entering at Pixies Snippets Playground. Thanks so much for taking time to visit my blog.

Mixed Media Valentine

I have no illusions--the artistic genes skipped me--LOL!  Never a doubt that nursing was the place for me.  I was so excited to discover stamping because I could use other people's images for creative projects.  I love seeing the variety of styles & techniques by my fellow paper crafters even when it's outside my realm of possibility. Turns out lots of nurses also got those artistic genes. Two of them are Sue & Mona. At first I was just awe-inspired by their work. Eventually I realized I can make use of some of their techniques without trying to do what they do. The red glitter Memory Box heart has been sitting on my table for days.  I began coloring a piece of watercolor paper with Distress Paint spun sugar, adding some water with a brush.  
Then I used a Heidi Swapp mini stencil from Alexandra's Blog Candy in the corner with worn lipstick (swiped with a bit of Gesso to soften) & stamped the Art Impressions sentiment. Next the piece was dry embossed with Anna Griffin Rosa folder & spritzed with Tattered Angels Snow Angel.  I used the mister of TA Scarlet to add drops of mist I encouraged to run. My friend, Maria, gave me the beautiful lace which I attached across the bottom along with a row of white sequins that came strung together. The PTI tiny tag was lightly sponged with spun sugar, stamped & attached to the heart.  I made sort of a "junk bow" (Melissa Phillips) with white seam binding, tulle & pink grosgrain embellished with pink paper flowers I dry embossed & a pink glittered rose.  The flowers were in the pink box I won from Mrs. A long ago. The heart is mounted with foam tape & a couple red gems cover dots that are part of the sentiment. The piece is matted with black cardstock & attached to the card front. I'm entering several challenges: 
Country View Challenges--Drips & Drops
SSS Monday--H is for...Hearts
Inkspirational--Rose Shades of Red &/or Pink
Loves Rubberstamps--Anything Goes
Dies R Us--Hearts
The Mixed Media Monthly Challenge--Think Pink
The Mixed Media Card Challenge--Love
Thanks for making it through this long post & leaving me a comment.

Anniversary

Thursday we celebrated our 35th anniversary by going to the opening Seattle Seahawks football game.  Don't feel sorry for me--it was my idea! My dad was a radio sports announcer & I grew up going to games practically from the time I could walk.  Here we are heading out in a rental car--one time coming back to our car broken into is enough! The weather was perfect--didn't even need my sweatshirt walking the 5 miles back to the car--OK, maybe it wasn't quite 5 miles--LOL!  The lady sitting behind me took a picture just before the game started & we were still smiling at the end as the Seahawks won! Thought it'd be fun to have a memento of our day sitting on the coffee table along with the cards we gave each other.  I backed the brown cardstock with recycled cardboard & glued on a simple cardboard support stand.  I began with the sketch at MFT & will enter the challenge, although I'm not sure if I stretched it too much or if you have to make a card.  Anyway, I made a stencil using MFT leaves dies & added Zing embossing powders to the paste.  The panel was spritzed with Heidi Swapp Bronzer & Tattered Angels Cork mist which provide a lovely shimmer in real life.  All the stamps are MFT & I used stickers for the numbers.  The kraft panel was also spritzed with the TA after stamping the hearts & the photo mat was spritzed with the bronzer.  

Darnell has another NBUS (new stuff) challenge & the mist & I Love You stamp hadn't been used until now. Scraps were used, so I'm also entering at Pixies Snippets Playground--not playing for the prize.  It's not a card, so I'll enter the new mixed media challenge at The Mirror Crack'd where my good friend, Sue, is on the DT. I'll also enter the Curtain Call Lovely Leaves challenge. Thanks for visiting my blog.