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.

Matthew 11:28

I love this verse, what a great word of encouragement. The design of todays card was formed by the words of the verse itself. When I think of calming, relaxing, and restful colors and designs, for me the delicate simplicity of Asian design is what comes to mind. So I chose a muted blue for the cardstock color, embossed the one end with a simple twig design, then stamped the Asian floral image with VersaMark ink before adding the verse.

Supplies:
Stamps - Scripture Essentials 1 set (Cornish Heritage Farms) , Kamon clear stamp set (Kodomo Inc.)
Ink - VersaMark
Cardstock - Black Linen, Gulf (Bazzill)
Other - Forest Branches Cuttlebug Embossing Folder (ProvoCraft), Black Distress Embossing Powder (Ranger Industries), Black Ribbon, Black Brad

Another Mini

I'm loving the mini valentine cards right now. This card has many of my favorite companies represented.

Stamps:

Cherish sentiment - Faith Collection - Kodomo Inc.

Polka Dot background - Tiny Textures set - Tim Holtz Collection - Stampers Anonymous

Flourish (stamped on background and on the butterfly) - Reindeer Flight set - Tim Holtz Collection - Stampers Anonymous

Ink:
Alabaster Fluid Chalk Ink - ColorBox
Pearlescent Poppy Brilliance Ink - Tsukineko
Jet Black Archival Ink - Ranger Industries

Die:
small butterfly - Nested Butterfly set - Spellbinders

Embellishments:
Clear Jewel Trinket Pin and White Velvet Blossom - Maya Road
Rhinestones - Hero Arts

I might have to photograph this again tomorrow when there is light though. The colors are not true in this picture. I'll try to fix it, because you really need to see how beautiful that Pearlescent Poppy Brilliance ink is.

Congratulations to the Sheridan Spartans!

I have to brag a little bit today. My husband coaches the Sheridan Highschool volleyball team and last night was a great night for the Spartans. The girls won the league championship game last night against a very tough team from Valley Catholic in Portland.

It was a really great game! I am so proud of my husband. I know that I am just a little bit biased, but I think he is a really great coach, and am so happy for the teams' success.

In addition to winning the league title, all 6 of the starting players received all league awards with 3 making the first team, 2 making the second team, and another receiving honorable mention. Matt also received Coach of the Year.

We have now had two nights in a row of little sleep, the first being anxious lack of sleep, the second being excited lack of sleep. It's going to be fun to watch them play in the state tournament!

Now, on to other things...the following picture is from the Autumn Deer Framed Art class. If you need a great gift idea for someone special, this just could be the class you are looking for. This is a very detailed project, and the results are amazing.

Kodomo Inc.

Yeah, it has finally appeared. I am so excited to be able to share this with you. Do you remember this post: http://asteiosart.blogspot.com/2008/05/kodomo-fun.html
Well, I can finally show you the rest of the project. This is just one picture of this project. It is a beautiful set of cards stored in a wooden box. These are not just any cards...you have to check them out in more detail. Pictures and detailed instructions are now posted on the Kodomo Inc. website. You can find the details here: http://kodomoinc.com/ideas.html
I love this industry!!!

Quick and Easy Card + Technique

I absolutely LOVE the Asian Background stamp sets by Kodomo Inc. This card was created using the Asian Backgrounds 1 set and scraps of paper from my scrap bin. I just picked out some scraps that I thought went well together. Stamped backgrounds on them using VersaMark Ink. Lined them up and matted them on the green cardstock, and my focal design was ready to go. The Congratulations stamp is from Kodomo Inc. also, as is the white string I wrapped around the left side. I created the fun dimensional flowers using the supplies below.
To create beautiful dimensional flowers, simply punch out a flower, lay it on top of a foam mat (this is a stamping mat, you could also use a soft mousepad or even just a tea towel folded over into several layers), then use a dry embossing tool to rub the back side of the flower petals, creating a "cupped" look. You can see that I have done two of the petals on the flower in this picture. When you turn it back over and press something in the center (in this case I used tiny adhesive pearls by K&Company) the petals just pop up beautifully. Try this with all kinds of paper, it is fun to experiment and see how different textures and weights of paper respond.
Moving on to other topics:
Stay tuned for a giveaway coming up!!! In fact, you may want to get your commenting fingers ready by saying hello! I know you are there, and would love to hear from you. But whether you comment or not, thank you for coming to visit my blog, it is an honor to share my life adventures with you.

Kodomo fun

This is all I can show you for now of what I've been working on lately, but I am having tons of fun playing with products by Kodomo Inc. These are cards made on a base of wood. If you want to see the kind of wood products that Kodomo Inc. sells, you can check out their website here: http://kodomoinc.com/woodbox.html
Let me just say, I was amazed at how wonderfully these wood products can be stamped on. Perfect image every single time. If you are very familiar with Ranger products, you might recognize the various colors above as belonging to the Distress line. I love my Distress Inks.

Ir-resist-able Art Backgrounds

The Paper Inspired Retreat is coming up quickly. One of the classes that I will be teaching at that retreat is Ir-resist-able Art Backgrounds. In that class we will be using Ranger Color Wash along with lots of other great stuff including(but not limited to) Leafing Pens, Heidi Swapp Masks, the Palette Gluepad, and Perfect Pearls. So today I got out my Ranger Color Wash dyes to play around with. As soon as I got this background piece finished I knew exactly which stamp set I wanted to use with it. Stampin' Cat Studio loaned me a new stamp set from Kodomo Inc. to try out, and the designs are just beautiful. After cutting up my background piece to make this card, I still have lots of beautiful paper left to make more projects. I love how the stamp that I decided to use matches their beautiful ribbon that I just happened to have. Clearly I love that particular design.

Finally, some new photos

I am so excited that Ranger Memory Glass and Memory Glass Frames are available again. I made this neat little necklace using the 1" Frames and Clear Glass. I so wish you could see this in person. The depth created by embossing on different layers of glass is so beautiful. The background stamp is a new one from Kodomo Inc. It was the perfect addition to this piece.
I finally got around to creating another Hexagon book. This one is actually quite similar to the first one, except that I fixed my previous problems of the hinges being to loose. This one can actually be hung up, tossed around, opened and closed without falling apart. I used silk ribbon for the hinges this time, and used three interlocking "hinges" for more stability.
I painted the silk ribbon with the metallic paint dabbers, making them a perfect match for the painted backgrounds. It also ended up being a great match for the nails. I will definately try this again. The ribbon is still flexible when dry and will hold it's shape a little bit. It definately changes the texture of the silk, but I was pleased with the result. It was exactly what I needed in this case. Oh, and isn't that a cute little flower image? It's from my new favorite stamp set, Nottinghill, by 7 Gypsies. Every single image in the set is a winner. I LOVE it.