NBUS Challenge #7

Hi everyone.  Today I'm playing along with Darnell's NBUS  (never-before-used-schtuff) Challenge.  Can't believe this is already the 7th one!

I have a HUGE stash of NBUS ... and the pile seems to grow bigger each passing day.  I think maybe I need to stop buying for a while, but what is the fun in that??!! :)

This stencil is new-to-me ... just got it a couple of weeks ago and this is it's first time out of the package.  I do love stencils! :)

I sponged over top of this stencil in three colours.  The colour in the center (Abandoned Coral) has not been used before, even though I've had it for a while. :)

And I think this is the first time I've used black foam behind a die-cut (sentiment), even though I bought the foam a few months ago. :)

Thanks to Darnell, I was inspired to pull out some new (and old) items that have never been used.  Come play along and join in the fun!  We ALL have NBUS items just waiting for some love.  Click HERE to get to the NBUS Challenge #7.

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Just letting you know that I will be MIA for a little while.  I'm taking a medical break to deal with some issues.  Have been super busy the past few months getting everything organized and cards made ahead for the CAS Mix Up design team.  Also managed to get several meals in the freezer, which will make life a little easier for hubby as he'll be on nurse duty for the next little while. :)  I expect with his wonderful care, I will be back on-line soon! :)

In the meantime, I have a few scheduled posts that will be going up so you'll be seeing those starting on Sept. 1st with the launch of the next CAS Mix Up challenge.

Hope to be back soon!

Stamps:  Sentiment - Bloom Sketches (STAMPlorations)
Paper:  White (Neenah 110 lb. card stock); Black (SU!)
Ink:  Distress Inks:  Abandoned Coral, Worn Lipstick, Spiced Marmalade (Tim Holtz); Black (Memento)
Accessories & Tools:  Large Flower Stencil - Hero Arts, sponges, shimmer mist, Small hello die (Simon Says), Rectangle Nestabilities (Spellbinders)

Challenges:
NBUS Challenge #7

Stamp Connection Guest Designer

Hi everyone.  Today I'm honoured to be a Guest Designer for Stamp Connection #16 - Brushos.

Tanja (Little Art Cottage) and Cornelia (Fun Stamping) started Stamp Connection just over a year ago.  They meet up on-line monthly, alternating who picks the challenge.  This time it's Tanja's turn and she picked Brushos.  She asked if I'd like to join them as Guest Designer for this challenge and I jumped at the chance.  I do love to get inky with Brushos! :)

The card above has been heat embossed in white with a grid stamp on mixed media paper.  I then sprinkled turquoise, leaf green and lime green Brushos over top and spritzed with lots of water.  I tilted my card front so the colours flowed into each other.

Once dry, I simply added a white die-cut leafy sprig, white embossed black sentiment banner, and a few sequins for sparkle.

Thanks to Tanja and Cornelia for inviting me to join them for this fun challenge.

Now onto their cards.

Please click HERE to see Tanja's Brushos card.

And click HERE to see Cornelia's Brushos card.

Both of these card makers are so talented and innovative with their creations.  Make sure to drop by to check out their designs and leave them some love.

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Also, this is reminder about the CAS Mix Up August Challenge - Sprays.  I used water spray, along with my Brushos to colour the background.  The challenge is still open for a few more days, closing Aug. 24th at midnight (PDT).  Hope you'll come play along.

Stamps:  Grid (Simon Says); Sentiment - Painted Butterflies (Altenew)
Paper:  Mixed Media (Strathmore 140 lb.); Black (SU!)
Ink:  Versamark:  Brushos:  Turquoise, Leaf Green, Lime Green
Accessories & Tools:  White embossing powder, heat tool, Fresh Foliage die (Memory Box), stylus and mat for shaping leaves, sequins

Challenges:
Stamp Connection #16 - Brushos - Tanja / Cornelia
CAS Mix Up August Challenge - Sprays

Watercolour Sprays

Hi everyone.  This is a reminder that the CAS Mix Up Challenge for August is Sprays.

I used watercolour sprays for my background of my card.  My favourite colours (yellow, orange and magenta) were sprayed, blotted with a paper towel, and sprayed again until I got the depth of colour I wanted.

I make my own watercolour sprays using Liquid Watercolor Concentrate from Dick Blick.  Check out this video by the Frugal Crafter.

I love the liquid concentrate ... works for making sprays, also for watercolouring (just dilute with a little water).  And if you want really vibrant, saturated colours, you can use them straight out of the bottle.

On top of my sprayed background, I sponged over a beautiful stencil I got as a gift from my dear friend, Bonnie.  Isn't it pretty??!!  I added just a little detailing with my white gel pen, and matched that with a white, heat embossed sentiment.

Click HERE to see the rest of the Design Team's reminder cards, along with a wonderful card made by our Guest Designer, Joanna.  You'll be glad you did.

And then come play along.  We'd love to see you in the gallery!  The challenge closes on August 24th at midnight (PDT).

Stamps:  Be Happy Sentiments (Amy R)
Paper:  White card base (Neenah 110 lb.); Mixed Media (Strathmore 140 lb.)
Ink:  Distress Inks:  Picked Raspberry, Peeled Paint (Tim Holtz); Versamark
Accessories & Tools:  Watercolour sprays made from Liquid Concentrate in yellow, orange and magenta (Dick Blick); Lovely Large Flower stencil (Studio 490 - Wendy Vecchi), sponges, white gel pen, white embossing powder, heat tool

Challenges:
CAS Mix Up August Challenge - Sprays

Playing with Watercolours

Today I have the whole day free to just play in my studio.  I follow both Bobby and Vicki's blogs and they are Design Team Members for Just Us Girls.  I saw that this week's challenge is watercolouring, so thought I'd play along. :)

I placed the stamp in my Misti and used my distress markers to ink up the leaves (using two shades of green).  Spritzed with water and stamped onto Hot Press watercolour paper.  Then I inked the stamp again, this time with two shades of purple on the flowers only, spritzed and stamped.  I removed the card front from the Misti and used a small brush and clean water to add to the inked images.  I love the softness of using this technique.

To finish, I splattered with more of the two shades of green, and then stamped the sentiment (pressing and re-inking three times to get good coverage). What did I ever do before the Misti??!!

Come join the fun.  Make sure to check out the Design Team cards and the amazing Guest Designer card from my friend Colleen.  Lots of wonderful inspiration!

This also fits the Penny Black Saturday Challenge for August - Your Favourite Technique.  Watercolouring is one of my favourites. :)  So I'm heading over to join in the fun.

Have a great day!

Stamps:  Full Bloom (Penny Black); Sentiment - Painted Petals (SU!)
Paper:  Watercolour Paper (Arches 140 lb. hot press)
Ink:  Distress ink markers:  Shabby Shutters, Peeled Paint, Seedless Preserves, Dusty Concord (Tim Holtz)
Accessories & Tools:  Paint brushes

Challenges:
Just Us Girls #356 - Watercoloring
Penny Black Saturday for August - Your Favourite Technique

Part Two of Brushos and Ferns

Hi everyone.  Today I'm sharing the second part of a play with Brushos.  Click HERE to see Christine's Birthday card from yesterday.  I sprinkled brushos on top of my fern leaf stencil, spritzed with water, and once dry fussy-cut and placed it in a frame ... that's the card I posted yesterday.

After taking a print of my fern, the stencil still had lots of colour on it (from errant Brusho crystals and water) ... so I flipped it over and placed it onto a piece of clean mixed media paper to take a Stencil Monoprint.  I pressed it down onto the card, blotting with a paper towel to absorb any colour that strayed into the open parts. This leaves me with a coloured background, and my stencil image is white.  After it was dry, I place the fern stencil back over top, matching up the design and then spread a layer of Crackle Paste over top.  A black with white heat embossed sentiment banner was added to finish the card.  Easy peasy and I got two cards for the price of one. :)

Adding this to the Take It Make It August Challenge at Craft Stamper Magazine where this time they are wanting us to Take a Technique - Stencils and Masks.

Going to add this to the CAS Mix Up August Challenge - Sprays gallery.    My CAS Mix Up card has stamping, Brushos, stenciling, stencil monoprint, embossing paste and heat embossing.  Come play along!!

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A couple of days ago, I had a play day with my friends Susan and Christine.  We experimented with more stenciling techniques and products.  Lots of fun!  Susan brought her puppy, Tessa ... and my son Jeremy came over with Violeta.  The pups had so much fun playing with each other.  :)

Jer quickly snapped some pictures with his phone.  Susan is holding her Tessa, and Christine is holding Violeta.   Aren't the pups adorable??!!

Thanks to Susan, Christine and Tessa for coming over to play!!

Stamps:  Sentiment - Painted Butterflies (Altenew)
Paper:  Mixed Media (Strathmore 400 Series)
Ink:  Brushos:  Lime Green, Leaf Green; Versamark
Accessories & Tools:  Fern stencil (cut with my Silhouette Cameo), water mister, White Crackle Texture Paste (Finnabair), palette knife, corner rounder, white embossing powder, heat tool

Challenges:
Take It Make It August Challenge - Stencils and Masks
CAS Mix Up August Challenge - Sprays

Happy Birthday Christine!

Today is my dear friend Christine's birthday!  Hope you are having a wonderful day Christine!!

This card is another experiment with stencils that I haven't tried before.  I used Brushos through a fern leaf stencil onto mixed media paper. See my video tutorial on how I stencil using Brushos.

After it was dry, I fussy-cut the leaf.  Basically my stencil became a stamped image, fussy-cutting to create the focal point for my card.  It worked well and now I will be looking at my stencils in a whole new way. :)

I thought the fern was so pretty, I didn't want to add anything to take away from it, so just used a simple white frame to add some dimension and interest.

My CAS Mix Up card has stamping, spraying (brushos and water mister), and die-cut frame, to I'm adding it to the CAS Mix Up August Challenge - Sprays.

Thanks for coming by for a visit.

Stamps:  Sunny Sentiments (Amy R)
Paper:  Mixed Media (Strathmore 140 lb.)
Ink:  Brushos:  Turquoise. Leaf Green, Lime Green; Smoky Slate (SU!)
Accessories & Tools:  Fern stencil cut with my Silhouette Cameo, water mister, Rectangle Nestabilities (Spellbinders)

Challenges:
CAS Mix Up August Challenge - Sprays

Christmas Snowflake

Hi everyone.  Today I'm sharing a Christmas card made with Brushos.  I love these little pots of goodness ... just sprinkle a little, spray with water and wait for the magic to happen. :)

I used just two colours ... Turquoise and Ultra Marine, but there are lots of pigments within each colour, so lots of pretty tones from soft blue to deep blue to purple. :)

After it was dry, I place a large snowflake stencil over top, pressed with versamark, and then heat embossed in white.  So simple and fun to make! :)

I'm entering this over at Time Out #63 - Holiday and I've followed the twist of no stamping (except for sentiment). :)

I'm adding this to the gallery over at CAS Mix Up August Challenge - Sprays.  Hope to see you in the gallery!

Stamps: Sentiment - Swanky Dudes (Paper Smooches)
Paper:  Mixed Media (Strathmore 140 lb.)
Ink:  Brushos:  Turquoise, Ultra Marine; Versamark
Accessories & Tools:  water mister, Snowflake Stencil cut with my Silhouette Cameo, white embossing powder, heat tool

Challenges:
CAS Mix Up August Challenge - Sprays
Time Out #63 - Holiday

Thank You and Have a Great Day!

Hi everyone.  Sharing a card I made as a sample for a challenge being run by my good friend Nancy (scandinancy creates).  Splitcoaststampers has a big yearly event (Dare to Get Dirty), with a week of challenges (5+ per day) run by past and present design team members, called "Dirty Girls".  Lots of fun for the Fan Club Members who support Splitcoaststampers with their membership fees.  Nancy is hosting one of the challenges, so I'm helping out with a sample card ... well, two actually --- I was having so much fun! :)

I started by sponging randomly over a stencil in soft green.  I stamped my hibiscus and leaves onto mixed media paper in black archival ink, and watercoloured them with distress markers in soft colours (spun sugar and worn lipstick for the flower, shabby shutters for the leaves).  I fussy-cut them out and mounted then over the stenciling, along with a few black die-cuts I received as a gift from my good friend Hazel (My Card Attic).  Love how dramatic the black is again the soft green and pinks.

I splattered diluted black acrylic paint for the background and added a white heat embossed black sentiment banner.  Had lots of fun making this card.

Here's my second card ...

This time I used two stencils for my card.  The background is a stencil monoprint of honeycombs done with watercolour sprays.  The design is subtle, but makes a great background for my bold sunflower.  The sunflower was sponged over top of the honeycomb monoprint, then I spread Glass Bead Gel over the sunflower.  It's so pretty and sparkly as the glass beads catch the light.  I added a simple stamped sentiment to finish.

Another fun product to use with stencils.  There's just nothing like glass bead gel ... it's so unique and beautiful.

Since the background of this card is sprayed, I'm adding this to the CAS Mix Up August Challenge - Sprays. :)  Hope you'll come join us!

Thanks for coming by for a visit!

Thank You Card:
Stamps:  Wild Hibiscus (Altenew); Sentiment - Painted Butterflies (Altenew)
Paper:  White card base (Neenah 110 lb.); Mixed Media for flower and leaves (Strathmore 140 lb.)
Ink:  Distress ink:  Shabby Shutters and Distress Markers:  Shabby Shutters, Spun Sugar, Worn Lipstick (Tim Holtz); Versamark
Accessories & Tools:  Quadrefoil stencil cut with my Silhouette Cameo, sponge, paintbrush, black acrylic paint, black die-cuts (gifted)

Have A Great Day Card:
Stamps:  A Little Sentimental (Clearly Besotted)
Paper:  White card base (Neenah 110 lb.); Mixed Media card front (Strathmore 140 lb.)
Ink:  Distress ink:  Squeezed Lemonade, Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, Ripe Persimmon, Picked Raspberry, Vintage Photo (Tim Holtz)
Accessories & Tools:  Watercolour sprays made from Liquid Concentrate in Yellow, Orange and Magenta (Dick Blick), Honeycomb stencil cut with my Silhouette Cameo, Mini Joyful Sunflower stencil (The Crafter's Workshop), sponges, glass bead gel

Challenges:
CAS Mix Up August Challenge - Sprays

CAS Mix Up August Challenge

Hi everyone.  Welcome to the start of the CAS Mix Up August Challenge!  This month we are all about using sprays.  Any type of spray you want ... pre-mixed colour sprays, shimmer sprays, watercolour sprays ... or even just plain water spray.
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I love working with water misters to do a lot of different techniques.  Today's card is smooshing with Inka Gold.  I love the shimmer and shine from this amazing product ... mist with water, and you can easily create beautiful backgrounds or pieces for die-cutting. I'm including a link to my video tutorial on Smooshing with Inka Gold.

In my video, I used gold Inka Gold, mixed with Peacock Feathers re-inker ... works great.  Today's card I used both gold and turquoise Inka Gold.  The look is very similar.  I added a little bit of stenciling (white heat embossed chevrons), then added a die-cut corner flourish and punched some little flowers from a deep turquoise and gold sprayed piece that I received from my friend Mary.  Thanks Mary!

This card has a lot going on, and it's still Clean and Simple.  On mixed media paper, I have smooshing with Inka Gold (spray), stamping, stenciling, heat embossing, die-cutting, and punches which have been shaped with my stylus.  :)

We are so happy to have Joanna (Jo-Jo's Spot) as our Guest Designer for August. Joanna won the June Die-cutting challenge with THIS AMAZING card.  Welcome Joanna!

Pop by the challenge blog to see Joanna's gorgeous Guest Designer card, along with the beautiful creations from the rest of the Design Team members.

Since I used snippets for the corner die-cut, flowers and sentiment, I'm popping in for a little bit of play time at the Snippets Playground. :)

Stamps:  A Little Sentimental (Clearly Besotted)
Paper:  White card base (Neenah 110 lb.); Mixed Media (Strathmore 140 lb.), Turquoise and Gold sprayed card (gift from Mary)
Ink:  Gold (Delicata)
Accessories & Tools:  Gold and Turquoise Inka Gold (Viva Decor), water mister, Chevron stencil cut with my Silhouette Cameo, white embossing powder, heat tool, Madera Corner die (Memory Box), Hydrangea punch (Martha Stewart), Gold Pearl Paint, Stylus (McGill)

Challenges:
CAS Mix Up August Challenge - Sprays
Snippets Playground - Week 240