Monday, May 31, 2010

Less Tequila

The challenge at Art Impressions for May was dancing. When I saw this stamp, I knew I had to use it. Of course, I entered the contest with 2 1/2hrs to spare. Nothing like waiting till the last minute!

To make the card, I use Nestabilities Labels 8 for the shape, stamped my image (the dancers are one image) with Memento ink, and colored everything with Copic markers. To give a hint of ground under the dancers, I brushed on some brown chalk. I don't think I normally would have added the strip with the saying, but I messed up and had to cover the mistake. :)

Couple of Challenges

I hope everyone is having a nice holiday weekend. I was able to do some crafting yesterday with friends and we spent the day doing challenges for Splitcoast's Virtual Stamp Night. It is always a lot of fun. My friends and I have come a long way since our first VSN. I think for our first challenge ever, we (literally) ran around the craft room for 40 of our allotted 45 minutes of the challenge. Now we know to just pick something and go with it. Sometimes it looks good, and sometimes it doesn't. Our one main mistake for the day was adding margaritas to the crafting mix. We all wanted naps as part of our crafting day.


For this card, I combined a Splitcoast VSN challenge (use watercolor and the color brown) with the layout challenge from Clean and Simple. Here is a picture of the sketch:


The images are some of the newer Impression Obsession clear stamps and I colored in the dog with watercolor crayons and a waterbrush. Definitely easy enough to do within the 45 minute time frame!

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Clean and Simple 91

The problem with stamping an ice cream sundae is that I am now in the mood for some ice cream. I guess that was my own fault. Maybe next time I will stamp some broccoli to see if that helps me get in the mood for something a little better for me.

I decided yet again that I wanted to play along with the latest Clean and Simple challenge. Here is the latest sketch:

For my card, I used Impression Obsession stamps, Memory Box pearls, dotted paper from Bazzill, and a scalloped border from Doodlebug. To color the sundae, I used an assortment of watercolor pencils and a Dove Blender pen. I should have taken a close-up of the sundae because the photo doesn't show that I used a clear gel pen on the cherry, some Distress Stickles on the top of the ice cream, and Glossy Accents on the bowl to make it look ceramic.


Thursday, May 20, 2010

IO Friendship Card Challenge

It is time for another Impression Obsession challenge, and this time the theme is Friendship. There was also the added stipulation to the challenge that the card actually get mailed after it was made. :)

For my card, I layered three of the latest Cover a Card stamps to create my background. Here is a breakdown of the steps:

First, I started with a pale blue notecard


Next, I added Cover a Card Distressed Denim (CC051) with Colorbox Chalk Ice Blue ink. This background is great to add subtle variations to your card.


Next, I added Cover a Card Distressed Corduroy (CC047) in Colorbox Chalk Creamy Brown ink.

To finish the background, I inked up Cover a Card Distressed Dots (CC046) with Colorbox Chalk Prussian Blue ink and stamped it onto a scrap piece of paper before stamping it onto my card (to get a lighter shade of the blue ink).


To add my flowers, I stamped the Silhouette 14 flower (E5564) onto my card with the Prussian Blue ink at full strength so that you could see it over the blue dots of the same color.


Finally, I added the friend saying (Ordinary Things D7519) with Prussian blue ink and edged it with a little more of the same ink.
Need more friendship inspiration? Check out the cards Deborah, Dina, Jeanne, Jenny, Julie, Kathy, and Rosemary created.

Want to play along with the challenge? All the information can be found here. You could win a $25 Impression Obsession gift certificate!

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Clean and Simple Challenge #90

Hello! I know I haven't posted in a while, but life has been keeping me busy. I am sure you all know how that goes. :)

I decided to get into the blogging game by participating in the latest challenge from the Clean and Simple blog. Here is a copy of the sketch:



For my card, I grabbed some of my Versafine inks and stamped some large and small flowers/designs by Impression Obsession and added a saying by Hero Arts. In place of the ribbon on the sketch, I added some kraft colored twine.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!


Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Upcoming Class

One of the upcoming classes I have is a 3-D card featuring images by the Layers of Color company. I took a class with them in March, and fell in love with their stamps and the project. Here is a side view of the card, so that you can see that it has a front, middle, and back layer:

The best thing about the card is that it folds flat to fit inside an envelope. On the class supply list, I told people to bring whatever markers they want. If you are taking the class, I encourage you to think about the recipient of the card to help you pick colors for the flowers. You don't have to use yellow and purple like I did!