Papertrey Ink "Paint" by Number Sketch Challenge

I've been having fun pushing myself by entering some online challenges lately. This morning there was a new challenge issued on the Papertrey Ink Blog. Go check it out. I have to admit that I found this one tricky because the color palette part of the challenge is based on Papertey Inks' exclusive line of colors, which I don't have any of. I did my best to match up with their colors using things that I already had.

I don't even know what all of the papers are that I used, but the paper base and the diecut "hello" are made from the same cream cardstock (although they really don't look like it in this picture do they?). I masked off the edges of the kraft cardstock then laid down a Tattered Angels screen before painting with a Lemonade Paint Dabber by Ranger Industries. The blue and green cardstock pieces have been embossed with Cuttlebug Embossing Folders (Moroccan Screen and Swiss Dots). And last but not least, I embellished the "hello" with a metal leaf from Tim Holtz' Idea-ology line.

Impression Obsession Challenge

The Impression Obsession Blog hosts ongoing challenges, and since the current challenge (Shades of Green) spoke to me I decided to participate. This card uses the Small Leaf Wreath and Accent Border stamps from Impression Obsessions' Alesa Baker Designs. I also added that super cute butterfly sticker from the Fabulous line by Chatter Box as well as some other stickers that I have had in my stash for quite some time. I used Bamboo Leaves Memento Ink for all of my stamping and to brayer over the piece that I used to mat the leaf wreath image.

Glittery Fun

Another project to share from my weekend away. You had to know that the glitter would make it into my weekend bag...everyone was thrilled to see it of course...
This is my favorite glitter of all, Microfine Art Glitter. This stuff is so fine and delicate that it ends up everywhere, which is not a problem for me, but not everyone likes to walk around shiny. Ok, seriously, if you have never worked with this glitter you really need to get your hands on some. I rarely use my regular ultrafine glitters anymore because every time I look through the different colors, the microfines are the ones that jump out at me...the ones that I LOVE. The colors I used on this project were: Elfin, Iris, Winter White, and Fawn. The stamp is Garden Dragonfly by Holly Berry House. I wish that all of you could see it in person, because pictures just don't do justice to the beauty of these glitters.

First projects of the year!

Here it is...my very first project of the year! This one was dreamed up while I was driving from here to there one day, and I was just waiting for the right opportunity to give it a try. My opportunity came last weekend when I was privileged to go spend the weekend at the coast with some wonderfully talented friends. I can't even tell you how wonderful it was to have time to focus on creating some of those things that have been in my mind begging to be made...un-interrupted time...well...interrupted only by the occasional meal, snack or nap.

Anyway, for this project I stamped this Holly Berry House Medallion onto Ten Seconds Studios metal, then hand embossed portions of the design before cutting, layering it together, and sanding it to give it it's well-worn look. The background was created using a Fiskars Texture Plate and a Ten Seconds Studios mold. I have to say, I love Ten Seconds Studios more every time I use their products (and I used them a lot this weekend).

And now...my most anticipated project of the weekend. I have been planning to make a copper framed mirror for my sister for her birthday (hope she doesn't read this). So this was my chance. I antiqued the copper using Liver of Sulfer, then buffed, embossed, sanded, assembled...you get the idea. Three of the panels were embossed using Ten Seconds Studios molds, and the rest were embossed with Cuttlebug Embossing Folders. I love copper, and my sister loves it even more, so I am so excited to give this to her.

I have much more to share, but I have to re-photograph some of the items when the sun decides to shine again here in the Willamette Valley.

Giveaway!

Hi there everyone!

Did you start to wonder if I have fallen off the face of the planet? I had really good intentions, but I just hit one of those phases where every time I would log on to post on the blog I would sit and stare at the screen with absolutely zero inspiration. Nothing seemed important enough that anyone would care to hear it, and I just didn't have it in me to try to come up with something.
The funny thing is, it's not that I don't have wonderful, exciting things going on in my life, I just couldn't drum up any enthusiasm to write about them.

Sorry to say, this still hasn't changed much, although I have made some really fun projects lately that I'd love to share with you, I just need to take the time to photograph, edit, etc. and get them ready to share with you. Don't worry, I haven't completely abandoned the blog, just needed a break I guess.

Ok, the reasons for this break in silence...1) the guilt has been building as I know many of you have been checking in regularly only to find nothing has changed...sorry...2) I wanted to update you on my niece who we raised money to help with her therapy...3) I have an awesome giveaway to tell you about.

First, let me tell you about my niece Dominic. My mom just returned from a month long trip to visit my sister, and she was very encouraged by Dominic's progress. My sister had been getting discouraged (and the birth of her third child was getting closer and closer) and so she stopped keeping such close track of what Dominic was eating. Sometimes when you are so close to the situation it is hard to see the progress, but my mom was very impressed with the amount of food that Dominic was able to eat. She still receives food through her g-tube, but is continuing to progress in the amount of food she is able to take in orally...the journey continues.

Now for item #3: A Giveaway (not a giveaway from me...a link to a giveaway...keep reading)

Check out this fabulous item!
What is it you ask? A letterpress!!! Isn't that cool! An affordable, fabulous letterpress! Let me just tell you, as soon as I saw this my head was swimming with ideas...still is...will be until I have one in my hot little hands...oh, who am I kidding it still will be even after I get one.

Anyway, I just saw that Lifestyle Crafts (the maker of this little wonderful tool) is giving a whole set of this stuff away. You have to check it out! Seriously!

I have nothing more to say...what are you waiting for??? Go check it out...

Just a teaser

Alright everyone. Huge thanks to those of you who signed up for this class sight unseen. The sample is now complete and will be in the store later today.

This Ten Seconds Studios Framed Mirror Class is based on a class created by Linda Brown for Craft Stamper Magazine. It's going to be a fun one! If you are signing up for this one be prepared for the class to go longer than the usual 2 hours.

better late than never

Here is a fun picture from when my sister and her family were here with us. Four kids painting very intently...so cute. They were so very serious about their art.

Now here's a fun before/after comparison. This first one is a picture I took of Hannah at mom's wedding. Now...
here's one I took a couple of days ago. Notice anything different???

Catching you up

It's official...my mom is now Mrs. Westover. That will take a little getting used to. The wedding was a beautiful celebration. Look at the happiness on their faces...it's a beautiful thing.

And here is a picture with all of us together...a new family.

The back row is: Crystal (my sister who just moved here from Mexico), Bob, David (my new brother), Mervin (my little brother).

The front row is: Brenda and Carol (my new sisters), Mom, Birdie (my sister from Mexico City), and me

The wedding came right on the heels of our week at Drift Creek Camp. My sister Birdie and her family, my kids and I, and my friend Courtney went out to Drift Creek Camp to provide art projects for the Middle School Camp. We had an awesome time. And of course I used some of my free time to create some fun sample cards using some of the products that we took out for the kids to use.

This card features a fun background made by embossing with white embossing powder, then adding Alcohol Ink. I loved how it turned out.

The background of this one was made with Color Wash sprays, then stamped in sort of a collage style.

Last, but not least, this simple little card has a cuttlebug embossed background, and the focal point is a piece of paper that I stamped with a script background then with an image from an awesome stamp set by Amy Butler for K&Company called Lotus Floral.

And all of that is why I have not been posting much lately. Well, ok, lets face it, life is just full of better things to do than sit in front of my computer all day, and that's not likely to change anytime soon. Meanwhile, I'll share with you as often as is realistically possible.

Stamp outside the...paper

This was an experiment for sure, but I can't wait to get back to our local store, All Fired Up, and practice some more. All Fired Up is a place where you go to paint your own ceramic pieces. They provide all of the paint, brushes, clean-up, and then fire the piece for you. When the piece had been fired I brought it home and added some soft felt "feet", and I now have a great coaster to set my drinks on.

Now the great thing is, this is another fun way to make use of my stamps. I used one of my favorite images from the Kamon clear stamp set by Kodomo Inc. It was actually pretty easy once I got the hang of it. I started by painting 3 coats of a very light yellow base, then chose a dark grey to do my stamping with. To stamp, I simply poured some of the dark grey paint into a piece of Ranger Inkssentials Cut-n-Dry Foam. The key, I discovered, is not to have to much paint in the foam, if it is too wet it won't work very well. To finish it up, I simply painted a border around the tile. The shop did the rest, and in a few days I got to go pick it up. Fun huh!

It's Officially Summer Vacation!

In celebration of Matt (my husband) and Hannah (my daughter) finishing their last days of school, here is a refreshing, summery card for you.

This card was created by stamping all the oranges, masking them, then stamping the background. I love this background stamp by Kodomo Inc. The stamp is only 1 5/8" square, but it is so well designed that it is easy to line up the edges and create a seamless background.

Supplies used:
Kodomo Inc. - Oranges (Suiboku: Sumie-E 002),
Backgrounds (Asian Background I and Asian Background II)
Impression Obsession - Relax and Enjoy stamp
Tsukineko - Tuxedo Black Momento Ink
Judikins - Eclipse Masking Tape
Kraft Card (4 1/4" x 5 1/2")
Pink Cardstock
Button Brads (unknown)

New at Kodomo Inc.

Kodomo Inc. has posted a couple of new project ideas designed by yours truly. Head over to Kodomo's website to check it out.

Night Pier Card

I received this beautiful stamp from Impression Obsession at a class I took in San Francisco. I finally made some time to play with it.

If you have any interest in learning how this card was made, continue reading this paragraph...if not, just skip down to the next one. I stamped the image 4 different times, once each on regular matte cardstock, acetate, brown cardstock, and glossy white cardstock. The sky and sand were colored using Distress Ink and the Blending Tool. The shiny water was cut out of the acetate, and was colored using Aqua and Pearl Mixative Alcohol Inks. The pearlized quality didn't really show much in the photo, but is really neat in real life. The pier itself was embossed with Distress Embossing Powder before being cut out and layered over the other pieces. Lastly, the moon and the shell were painted using various new Light and Bright colors of Ranger Alcohol Ink. I used Matte Accents over the outside of the shell to make it more like a real shell...just the "inside" remains shiny.

We have been enjoying life around here lately. Up until a couple days ago, weather was sunny and beautiful. We were getting some important jobs done around here, like replanting our lawn. Now the storms and rain we are getting are giving the new grass some important time to establish itself, and it's starting to actually look like a lawn again. As I sit here, the birds are greeting each other very noisily as they feast on worms.

School is winding down, end of the year parties and field trips are in full swing, and Hannah is loving all of the extra excitement. We'll see how she handles summer at home this year. I have a feeling she'll be good and ready when school starts again in the fall.

Noah...well he is spending all of his time and energy growing. Seriously, like a weed! One day none of his pants fit (luckily he had some shorts, and it was warm weather), then shortly after that most of his shoes didn't fit anymore. When I went to measure his feet, he had skipped a size and I had to buy him size 10's. Hannah had times where she suddenly grew too, but not the extreme growth spurts that Noah has. A couple days ago I went and bought him size 4 jeans, and when he wore them yesterday, they really didn't look big on him at all. How can watching your kids grow up make you so proud and so sad at the same time?