Upcoming Classes

Hi everyone.  I have a couple of upcoming classes I thought I would share.  The first one in s the Memory Box Bunny "Bunnanza" that I will be teaching tomorrow night (Friday, March 18).  I will be showing the class how to use the MISTI stamp positioning tool to align stamps and coordinating dies and then we will be coloring with Copic markers, Prismacolor pencils, and watercolor pencils.

The second is a 10 in 10 Spring/Easter class where we will be making ten quick and easy cards celebrating the change in seasons.   I will be teaching this class on Sunday, March 20.  If you would like information on either class, you can find it here:
http://ahappystamper.com/classes.htm

Ken Oliver Crafts / Impression Obsession Blog Hop- Day 1

Welcome to the Ken Oliver Crafts/Impression Obsession Blog Hop!

We have some beautiful projects to share AND PRIZES to give away!

The hop will run for 2 days (3/4/16 - 3/5/16) with a list of participants on the Ken Oliver Crafts and Impression Obsession Blogs each day at 8am EST. Visit the fabulous designers from both team’s blogs (only one comment per blog please) for a chance to win 4 great prizes!

The more blogs you visit … the better chance you will have to win!!!

Ken Oliver Crafts will be giving away a set of Color Burst to two lucky winners!

Impression Obsession will be giving away a $25 Gift Certificates to two lucky winners!

Comment entries will be open until 9pm EST on Sunday March 6th and all winners will be announced Monday March 7^th on the Ken Oliver Crafts and Impression Obsession Blogs.

Good luck!

Greetings everyone!  I am so happy to be participating in the Ken Oliver / Impression Obsession Blog Hop.  Today I wanted to do things a bit differently and show you the paper I created using some 140lb watercolor paper and Ken Oliver Color Burst Powders.  The origional paper was 9" x 11" and then I cut it up to create 5 different cards.

To make my large sheet of watercolor paper, I spritzed it with water, sprinkled it with some Orchid, Violet, and Ultramarine Blue Color Burst powders and then spritzed the colors a second time to let the colors blend.  As you can see from the picture, I added most of the color to the top of the paper for a vibrant effect and then added less paint and more water at the bottom for a softer effect.

Here are the 5 cards I made from that one sheet of Color Burst watercolor paper:

Card 1- I used the lighter part of my watercolor paper and added a stenciled effect with the powders.  To do this, I took a stencil, pressed it down onto a craft sheet that had left over powder and water on it and then placed it onto my light blue watercolor background.  I spritzed the stencili once again to help the colors blend.

IO stamps used- Birds on a Branch, Have Faith

Card 2- One of the things I like about the powders is that you can create backgrounds that really show off your larger sayings.

IO stamp used-  Be Yourself

Card 3- Don't forget to save your Color Burst paper scraps!  I die cut these dragonflies from that same sheet of paper that I started with so that my dragonflies would coordinate with my background paper.
IO stamp used-  Have Faith
IO die used-  Dragonfly Set

Card 4- This card is from the same piece of watercolor paper as the others.  It just looks a bit different because when the backround was completely dry, I splattered it with some extra water to give the background a bit more of a splotchy look.  The butterfly was die cut from more of my scraps.
IO stamp used - Find Your Happy
IO die used-  Medium Butterflies

Card 5- For this card, I added some Platinum Liquid Metals to my paper for extra shine.  This is a brand new productf from Ken Oliver that really adds some shine to your card.  here is a close up of the circle and word I die cut that helps let you see the metallic look a bit better:

IO stamp set used- Smile
IO dies used- Smile,  Medium Butterflies, Butterfly Set

So there you have it!  As you can see, if you take the time to color a large sheet of watercolor paper, you can have lots of pieces and scraps to create cards as you need them.

I would also like to mention that I enjoyed the powders so much that I will be teaching an Intro to Color Burst Powders Class at Angela's Happy Stamper in Herndon, VA on Sunday, April 3rd.  I hope you can come!  Angela's has all the new Ken Oliver products as well as the new IO stamp sets and dies, so be sure to visit if you are in the area.

I hope you enjoyed your visit to my blog, it is now time for you to "hop" on over to the next on the list.

Friday- March 4^th

Jeanne Streiff

Diana Hetherington

Anna Wight

Kimberly Jones

Vicki Garrett

Jessica Frost-Ballas

Karen Amidon

Tracy Pounds

Laura Fulcher (you are here)

Nikki Davis

IO Challenge- Splashes of Color

Greetings everyone!  Today's challenge is all about "splashes of color."  How do you interpret splashes of color?  For me, it meant watercolor.  What is the watercolor I have been using a lot lately?  The Ken Oliver Color Burst Powders.  I have been playing around with them a lot lately, so I thought I would share something I had made with them.  Heads up...tomorrow I will be participating in a blog hop between IO and Ken Oliver, so I will have more to show you then.

For this card, I started with a 140lb watercolor paper, spritzed it with water, and then sprinkled it with Ultramarine Blue and Pthalo Green powders.  Hint- a little goes a LONG way.  You need so much less powder than you think.  I spritzed the paper again to let the colors blend and then let the paper dry.  Once the paper was dry, I splattered some water onto the paper here and there to get a splattered effect on my background.  I let the background dry completely (this takes a long time) and then embossed the Cosmo Silhouette (H16156) and saying from the Everyday Words (CL636) clear set in white embossing powder. 

I hope you will visit the other designers to see their interpredation of "splashes of color."

Anna Wight
Daniela Dobson
Dina Kowal
Jeanne Streiff
Jenny Gropp
Karen Amidon
Kittie Caracciolo
Laura Fulcher
Vicki Garrett

IO Challenge- Happy Birthday to You

I love birthday challenges.  After all, who doesn't need lots of birthday card ideas?  I think I make birthday cards more than anything else.

For my card, I made a shaker card using one of the balloons from the Balloon die set (DIE359-R) and added my sentiment from the Greetings Top Edgers die set (DIE234-M).

I thought the white backround was a little too plain, so I stamped the Swirls and Stars Cover a Card background (CC054) onto the white paper with Versamark ink and embossed it with an irridescent embossing powder.  Here is a close up:

Need more birthday inspiration?  Be sure to visit the other designers:

Anna Wight
Daniela Dobson
Dina Kowal
Jeanne Streiff
Jenny Gropp
Karen Amidon
Kittie Caracciolo
Laura Fulcher
Vicki Garrett

IO Challenge- Friends Forever

Aren't cards for friends wonderful?  You can never thank friends enough for the role they play in our lives.

For my card today, most of the work is in creating the background.  You could customize it to be your favorite colors or to personalize it for the friend who is receiving the card.  I decided to use colors that reminded me of a sunset.

I started with white glossy paper and then brayered it with some of my favorite Distress Inks.  I let it dry completely and then embossed the brand new Grunge Cross Cover a Card Background (CC230) with black embossing powder.  You can't tell it from the picture, but the embossing gave the background a nice glossy, raised sheen.  One of the things I like about making your own background papers with embossing powder is that you can customize the look and it is much cheaper than buying patterned papers with glossy elements.

To finish the card, I added and the Holding Hands image (D13399) and So Glad (A13411) saying.

Need more "Friends Forever" inspiration?  Be sure to visit the other designers:

Anna Wight
Daniela Dobson
Dina Kowal
Jeanne Streiff
Jenny Gropp
Karen Amidon
Laura Fulcher
Vicki Garrett