Crazy Dogs Wishing a Happy Birthday

Good day!  I couldn't resist the urge to share this lovely creation which Brandy has so generously provided.  She used her Tim Holtz Crazy Dogs stamp set and a couple of birthday themed sets to create this panoramic scene.  There is a crazy amount of masking going on here along with some fantastic coloring (I believe this was Zig Clean Color markers).  Any of us dog lovers can probably name these creatures - I see Buster on the left there!  This stamp set works on so many levels - simple design, yet details to catch the eye and create interest.

Adding the balloons, bones and balls just makes this look like a celebration of Buster's big day, don't you think?

I've linked this up to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Stamp It Up.  Come join the fun.

Our Beautiful World - Bloom

I woke up this morning and spent a good deal of time browsing through the photos being shared over at Our Beautiful World.  The word prompt this week is Bloom.  Oh the floral bounty they have shared.  I recommend a stroll through those blog posts - it is sure to brighten your day.

I simply could not let the opportunity to join the fun pass me by.  I recently changed jobs and was blessed by a few of the ladies there with a gift of two orchid plants.  This first was gifted a few weeks ago and I must admit - the health of the plant is due to my friend's loving care.  The colors are gorgeous and vibrant and brighten my day each day!

This second, more delicate plant was gifted to me on my last day.  I have asked my husband to care for these lovelies at least initially as he's the one with the green thumb.  The petals are so soft and delicate and I feel the care of these ladies every day I look at my blooms.

Why don't you snap a few photos of the blooms in your part of Our Beautiful World and join the fun?

Happy Birthday Shaker Card

So, this is a little story about a free gift at the CK Scrapbook convention.  It is no secret that they give away a prize to all or nearly all attendees to their crop nights.  This year, one of the gifts that Brandy won was a set of Queen and Co. Foam Front Shaker Kits.  She kept one of the three and I took the other two.

I decided to use up this stuff in the stash.  This card was made from the Window Foam Front Shaker Kit.  We've been pretty honest on this blog - plugging the products that we love because we use them over and over.  In the case of this shaker card kit - I can say I was decidedly underwhelmed!  Everything comes precut - the foam pieces , a die cut cardstock window to use on top of the foam, everything.  My beef with it all is the fact that the kit isn't precise.  I will own my own kind of control freak when it comes to crafting - things need to be symmetrical and neat.  This was neither.  You can see if you look close the imperfection in how the cardstock die cut (here I colored blue to match the theme of my card) matches to the white foam that creates the shaker window.  You might say that this is because the die cut is upside down or rotated 180 degrees.  You'd be wrong as I tried my level best to get that sucker on there straight.  Also - the outside rectangles - the foam piece, the die cut cardstock front and the acetate to cover the shaker windows - all were different sizes.  This required a trimming of all to match - but I didn't discover this until the shaker was together so I couldn't simply use my paper trimmer.  You can see the slight "roughness" on the upper right edge of the card where my trimming wasn't so exacting.

The price point is pretty great - running around $2.99 retail.  Not terribly expensive and for the novice or someone who doesn't own dies to use to make these kinds of shaker windows - maybe worth it.  However, I have made many shaker cards in the past.  Though my fronts are limited to the dies I own, the end result when I die cut myself is that everything fits together as I make it.  This was unnecessarily complicated (for me) by the necessary trim/adjustments that were required.

Still, a cute card was made and I intend to use this to great effect on a masculine birthday card need that I have.  So, all in all worth it from a giveaway standpoint, but I don't think I'd even spend $2.99 to buy the kit if I saw it on the shelf.  I have one more kit to use and will try to make that work soon just so I use both up without having the second and last one sitting in the stash for too long.

Hope your week is going well and that you are finding a reason to use that stuff in your stash.

Distress Paint Resist

I am working through my Creative Chemistry 103 homework.  Today I'm sharing a Distress Paint Resist technique.  This is a take on a well known and used distress technique - stamping a resist image and coloring with an Ink Blending Tool.  In this case, I used Picket Fence Distress Pain and a brayer to load up the background stamp, Heartfelt Creations Birds and Blooms Collage stamp.  I stamped on white cardstock and allowed the paint to dry.  It is amazing the amount of detail that can be achieved with this technique.  After stamping, I colored the image using the Ink Blending tool and some Mermaid Lagoon and Shabby Shutters Distress ink.  I love the colors that this created.  I die cut the image out using my W-Plus9 Sunshine Layers die.

I created the flowers using some pool colored SSS inks that I had on hand, stamping with my Botanical Rose stamps and die cutting the flowers with the matching dies.  Some of the inking was very dark and others I made light.  I think I prefer the darker flowers, though the light colors look better in person than in the picture.  I paired the flowers with a Spellbinders D-Lites Dragonfly die cut made using white cardstock.

Since I was doing homework, I made an entire set of these cards, leaving the inside blank for a note or to be stamped with a timely sentiment (Birthday, Thinking of You, whatever) should the need arise.  I may give these as gifts or simply use them up.

I'm still sifting through more lessons.  I've a couple of projects to complete and so may have to place my homework on hold.  Hope your week is going well.

I've entered these cards into the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp's Work It Wednesday Challenge - Stamping

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

Word Art Wednesday's Challenge 246/247 Anything Goes

Distress Offset Stamping - A Set of Cards

I'm sharing another card set made when completing some of my Creative Chemistry 103 Online Card Class homework.  The class is long over, but I'm just now getting to my homework and this is the second lesson completed.  Tim Holtz, our teacher, shared this technique which starts with using a no-line watercolor technique by stamping in a light Distress Ink such as Antique Linen.  Then a waterbrush and Distress Inks on a pallette (or stamp block) is used to color the image in.  The Antique Linen fades into the background or fully blends into the colors so that you don't see it in the final image.  Finally, after the coloring is compeltely dry, the image is stamped a second time in Archival Ink.  In my case, I used brown in order to get this antique frame to look vintage.

I then used some MicroGlaze to cover the colored area and prevent the Distress Ink (Walnut Stain, Scattered Straw and Vintage Photo) from changing the coloring on my image.  This allowed an even more vintage look as I blended the edges.

To finish, I die cut some Lacy Ovals to create a frame and matched them up to some patterned paper from the stash.  I'm committed to using up some of these lovely patterns and in this case, I'm pleased.

I've enjoyed doing my homework and intend to keep up my *slow*, but consistent pace in order to maybe get through the entire set of lessons.  They remind me how fun it is to use my Distress line of products.  If you have not taken an Online Card Class, I would highly recommend the Creative Chemistry series.  Tim is a fantastic teacher and you wouldn't miss much with the class not being live.

I've entered these cards into the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp's Work It Wednesday Challenge - Stamping

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

Word Art Wednesday's Challenge 246/247 Anything Goes