School Picture Dilemma

We have a relatively small family and there were usually lots of leftover photographs especially the wallet size photographs. The quandary is always what to do with the leftover photographs. Three down! : D.

 Another dilemma was the alphabet sticker. I really wanted to use this retired (?) Pink Paislee Old School Glitter set, only I was missing a lower case m and an o. So I used an upper case m, and the inner circle from two o's (with extra sticking power from Tim Holtz' Collage Medium).

  Originally I had used this stamped die cut from Papertrey Ink's Be Mine, Valentine. But I felt it was out of scale.

 So I restamped it on some Shrinky Dink and shrunk it down : D.

It also serves as the slide indicator for the pull out journaling. (I LOVE pocket journaling).

One of the most ingrained lessons of my childhood is that photographs must be handled carefully, held at the edges. So I challenge myself to alter photographs. If I have many, I'll alter an original, otherwise I alter copies. In this case I used a poker to scratch a halo and "smile" and then added a rub-on from a Three Birds kit purchased in 2010ish.

Supplies:
My Mind's Eye Fine & Dandy papers
Pink Paislee Old School Glitter Sticker Alphabet
Tim Holtz Tape Postal (grid and ruler tape)
Tape Works - polka dot
Rub Ons from a very old kit by Three Birds
Shrinky Dink 
Papertrey Ink stamp and die: Be Mine, Valentine
Wendy Vecchi Inks: Orange Blossom, Coffee, and Rose Mader

Snowfolk, Birthday Flower Wearing Style

A shaped birthday card for someone who loves snow folk. And because I'm so ready for spring. I cut two snow folk with Papertrey Ink's Shape Up: Snowman die.

The face is stamped with the matching stamp set. The wreath is die cut from the Make It Market kit: Garden Gate, The tulips are cut from the MIM kit: Market Street. The cake is made with the Tremendous Treats: Birthday set. The cake is colored with Vintage Photo and Scattered Straw Distress Markers and the candles and plate are colored with Cracked Pistachio. The candles have a tiny dot of Xmas Stickles and Mustard Seed flame and glow. The arms are colored with Gathered Twigs spritzed with water.

I added a bit of dimension by shaping the flowers of the wreath before gluing them (Tombow Multi Glue). The cake has 2 layers of foam tape. The hands are glued to the cake and the arms to the body.

 The second die cut is just large enough for this sentiment from Offbeat Birthday.

 And I included a Wallet Size Magnifier : D.

I have the most success die cutting stamped images with a closed die by saving the remainder of a diecut and lining up the stamped image on a cutting plate, and then fitting the die into the template. I am a HUGE fan of Tim Holtz' Sizzix Sidekick for cutting all the little things right at my desk.

Abstract Time Line

I'm taking a book art class online. Perhaps burnishing the heck out of the pages will keep the papers adhered. I have not had a lot of luck with gluesticks. I used Distress Paint (Squeezed Lemonade, Tumbled Glass and Antiqued Bronze) on typing (okay I'm old, the package says printer paper). A 10 year old Gold Uniball gel pen.

I'm also doing the Daily Marker 30 day Challenge. 

Papertrey Ink February 2017 Blog Hop

Today is Papertrey Ink's February 2017 Blog Hop. The laurel and sentiment are from the Make It Market: Lovely Laurels mini kit heat embossed with gold embossing powder. I also sprinkled embossing powder across the background and on the edges. And two edges of the card base are inked with Raspberry Fizz.

 I started with Vintage Cream cardstock as the card base and blended Saffron Spice ink across it (spritzed with water). I wound up covering most of it with the focal image, but I love the effect.

What is barely visible (just enough to break the starkness of the solid cardstock) is the bow from Lovely Laurels stamped randomly with Fine Linen.

And because Simon Says Anything Goes, it's there as well : D.

Celebrating Papertrey Ink: 2009

Papertrey Ink is celebrating 2009. I used two sets released that year Wishing You and Vintage Picnic. I stamped the foliage with Prairie Grass and the flowers with Pure Poppy (and washed over them with an aqua brush). The picnic basket and the tea towel are die cut and stamped (and painted) with Pure Poppy. The food is stamped with Fine Linen and then colored with Scattered Straw, Seedless Preserves, Dusty Concord, Peeled Paint, Spun Sugar and Candied Apple Distress Markers. The background is made with a large flat aqua brush picking up Tumbled Glass Distress Ink.

Simon Says use your favorite tool, so I did (BigKick) : ). Simon also Says Fantastic Florals, so I did that too

Papretrey Ink: Celebrating 2008

This card features Bitty Baby Blessings released in 2008. The onesie was stamped in Spun Sugar Distress Ink, then colored with Spun Sugar Distress Marker applied directly and with a water brush. The "Ahoy Little Sailor" and the sail boat are stamped with Black Onyx Versa Fine and the sailboat is colored in with Wild Honey and Ground Espresso Distress Markers.

The background is heat embossed with the Compass Rose from Out to Sea and then brushed with washes of Wild Honey and Abandoned Coral. Wild Honey Distress Marker was also applied with the Distress Marker Spritzer.

Simon Says Use Your Favorite Tool, so I did : D.

Garden Gate Birthday Card

A gate fold birthday card, featuring a gate on the front made almost entirely from elements in Papertrey Ink's Make It Market kit: Garden Gate. The only bit of stamping in the entire card is the paper before the gate was cut. Stamped with Fine Linen and blended with Frayed Burlap Distress Ink. The front of the gate fold before the lattice and gate were attached is stenciled with leafy Garden Gate stencil and Mowed Lawn Distress Ink. The sign and flowers are cut from printed sheets included in the kit.

The stenciled non-embellished side of the gate fold.

The inside shows the printed card base with the mailbox and removeable letter (which contains a birthday message) from the Make It Market kit: Post & Parcel with more floral embellishments from Garden Gate.

Simon Says Use Your Favorite Tool (BigKick),  so I did : ).

Stationery Wedding Gift

Another hand-stamped and stenciled stationery set. The inspiration comes from the wedding invitation (behind the stationery sheet).

Because I'm only using one stamp, I just used my Tim Holtz Grid Block aligning it at the top of the sheet and the lines made it easy to center the stamp. The stamp is from Papertrey Ink's Damask Designs set. It took me a few months to find the right greens (Limeade Ice and Prairie Grass inks from Papertrey Ink and Pine Needles Distress Ink for the stenciling). I got the variegated effect by inking the stamp with Limeade Ice and then dabbing the edge of Prairie Grass over the top of the first ink.  I also stamped 2 1/4 inch adhesive paper circles for a decorative envelope seal.

Papertrey Ink has a Deluxe Stationery kit with paper, envelopes, adhesive sheets and a small container (I put the envelope seals in this). So easy to decorate. And then the paper and the envelopes fit so nicely into one of the Basic White Stationery Boxes. I attach patterned paper and a piece of cardstock decorated like the stationery to the box top.

I wanted to make a customized stencil that was at least translucent to ensure proper placement of the initials and found Papertrey Ink's Vellum to be sturdy enough for the job. I was really surprised to find that the Distress Ink was smudge proof after a few hours. That definitely needs more experimenting. The vellum is white, the picture was taken after I had used a blending tool over it a few times : D.

This is the second Monogrammed Stationery set I've given a young newlywed couple.  I told them they could either write letters to each other or write other people. I don't know if I'm #analog or #Luddite lol.

Stitched Ornament (a small study in contrast)

I love experimenting in contrasts. In this case, glassine from my late father's stamp collection (postage) cut with Papertrey Ink's Stitched Ornaments: Topped dies and stitched together with Rustic Twine. I also love that the twine is the support for the structure, and how the very opaque and sturdy rustic twine contrasts against the translucent, and fragile glassine.

It does take a bit of concentration to make sure the stitching is done slowly and deliberately. It helps to use a rounded tip needle too. Projects like this one which require and slow and deliberate pace create a meditative space for me. And the crinkle of the glassine reminds me of my father turning the pages in his many stamp albums (a sheet of glassine between each page of stamps). In many ways, one of my first introductions to paper crafting.

Reflecting on Mirror Board

CASology's cue card this week is Frame (I also have another post where I'm the guest designer). The frame is made by stamping the two frame elements from Papertrey Ink's Make It Market kit: You are a Masterpiece with Distress Embossing Ink and Ranger Super Fine Detail Gold Embossing Powder. Then being careful to leave a clean line at the frame edge, I used Wild Honey Distress Marker to color in the frame with just a bit over the outside line which was then drawn out with a Water Brush. This image shows the reflection of the embossing powder.

This image shows the reflection of the Mirror Board and the watercolor effect of the Distress Marker and Water Brush.

Simon Says Clean and Simple, so I'm entering it there as well.

Hand Decorated Stationery Set

 Stationery gift set using Papertrey Ink's Make It Market kit: Don't Forget to Write. The basic white stationery box is decorated with some pattern paper and the square die cut frame, stamped and stenciled. I used the Deluxe Stationery kit's paper and envelopes.

 Close up of the stationery monogram. The leaves were stamped with Spring Moss. The flowers were stamped with Tattered Rose Distress Ink and the N was stenciled with Enchanted Evening. Details and lines were added with a water brush and Frayed Burlap smooshed on the craft sheet spritzed with water.

 The envelope fronts were stamped using the same leaves, flowers and details.

Vitamin Sea

I long to go to the ocean, but since I can't at the moment, I made a couple of cards.  Both made on Papertrey Ink's Vintage Cream cardstock. This one is all one layer. First I blended a little Tumbled Glass Distress Ink on the card front. Then I stamped the scallop shell with Fine Linen and Canyon Clay, painted a little Iced Spruce around the shell and then wrote "vitamin sea" in pencil. I was very careful about the amount of water (very little) and then used a heat tool to dry it quickly, so no wrinkles.

The scene is masked and then Tumbled Glass was blended on in layers. Before removing the mask, I "drew" a shore line with Embossing Ink (Distress Ink) and used Antique Linen Distress Embossing Powder.  The wave line is made by painting it with a finger and Grit Paste. Not a single stamp was used lol.

This week's CASology Cue card is Beach.

Stamp-a-Faire 2016 Remix

I chose Kay Miller's Watercolor Like a Master technique using Through the Trees and a sentiment from Year of Flowers: Lily of the Valley. The foliage is inked with Summer Sunset, Orange Zest and Berry Sorbet. After watering coloring the image there was a little puddle of water. On impulse, I restamped the image and got a little more definition from the 2nd stamping.

Papertrey Ink's Stamp-a-faire 2016

The day started off with a color recipe challenge. I used SAF 2014 1940's mini kit with the Monet recipe. I love the New Leaf, inked again with Pinefeather around the edges.

Then we hustled off to Night Skies. Apparently the secret to night skies are some pale colors. And instead of painting a ground scene I inked the edges with more Enchanted Evening. The Sparkle is some light blue shimmer cardstock from Club Scrap. A bit of handspun linen for the thread nest, some silver star sequins, pale pink sequins, and Stickles (diamond, icicle and lavender). The sparkle is cut with the Sparkle die (from the Sparkle & Shine word dies) made with two layers glued together. The sentiment is from the Sparkle & Shine stamp set.

Gilded in Gold was about gilding, but I didn't have Liquid Leaf, so I drew inspiration from the Klimt video, especially his Tree of Life painting. The tree is from Through the Trees stamped with Versaark and heat embossed with Ranger Fine Detail Gold. The little bird is from the same stamp, stamped in Onyx Black Versafine. The print is from Woodblock Prints stamped with Chalk Box gold pigment ink (just have to remember to heat set it lol).

This was a totally different sort of card based on impressionism and Melissa's technique. The stamp sets for the flowers are Pretty Peonies, Vintage Linens, and Make It Market kit: Nostalgic Notions. The leaves are from Cutting Garden and inked with Spring Moss, spritzed and then stamped and fussy cut. Background Basics: Newsprint was stamped across the Friendship Jar and Background Basics: Gingham was stamped across the bottom. The vellum tag is cut with Fillable Frames #9 and stamped with Merci from Think Big Favorites #3. The scalloped border is from Be Happy set.  Melissa's flower technique is simply brilliant : D. I stamped the jar with Aqua Mist and then painted over it with Aqua Mist and Mint Julep. I need to remember to expand my "outline" stamp color palette.  I've started just gluing down the middle of the flowers with a little bit of Ranger's Matte Multi Medium.

I really loved how this card turned out, inspired by Lizzie Jones' take on a painting by Berthe Morisot. It's difficult to see in the picture, but there is a bit of subtle dry brushing. I discovered a new paint recipe. Pour a small bit (dime sized) of regular acrylic paint on the craft sheet over a smudge from an inkpad (ths was white paint over Stormy Sea) and the spritz the dickens out of it until it is very very watery. Then I distressed the edges with Iced Spruce and Bundled Sage. The sentiment is from Embroidered Blooms stamped with one of Wendy Vecchi's Archival Inks. The flowers are stamped with Yellow Tart, Pale Peony, Berry Sorbet and Pure Poppy (totally copied Lizzie's ink choices). Again the flowers are only attached in the middle, the larger one with Ranger's Matte Multi Medium and the smaller ones with a piece of foam tape.

The challenge for this card was learning different ways to make drips and splatters (on purpose lol). I used tinted white acrylic paint (this time with Forest Moss Distress Ink), Royal Velvet and Ocean Tides. I loved the whole background so much, I decided not to use a tag and just stamped the sentiment (the happy from Be Happy and the Everything from Everyday Happiness). The card front is Stamper's Select White and the base is Stormy Sea.

This card was made using pointillism. Even though the deadline was drawing near, it was nice to have a bit of reflective time and listen to the latest Paperclipping Round Table while I stamped (Sweet Blush, Pale Peony, and Berry Sorbet) and then fussy cut. The techniques are not so absorbing that I forget to listen, but just the right amount of doing something to not drift off and think about other things (I actually was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 50, but sadly the medications are contraindicated with other conditions I have). The flower is from Year of Flowers: Carnation, the sentiment is from Garden Variety, the card base is Stormy Sea, the string is Rustic Twine thorugh the largest String Frames die, and the buttons are from a bag of Sweet Blush Buttons. Flat little glue dots keep the buttons in place.

It was really late at this point, so by the time I realized my mistake with the watercoloring challenge, it was too late to start over. The problem was I started with Stamper's Select cardstock instead of Watercolor Paper. (I don't know the face palm emoticon lol). But it still turned out nicely, just not as watery as I had hoped. I used one of my all time favorite stamp sets, Willow, and the backgrounds are both sizes of Background Basics: Gingham. The large is stamped over the willow tree die cuts with Ocean Tides, and the bottom is stamped with Spring Moss. The sentiment is from Think Big Favorites #3 stamped with Pinefeather.

The color blocking is all done on one layer! Wilted Violet soup can with a Picked Raspberry background. Abandoned Coral soup can with a Twisted Citron background. Salty Ocean soup can with a Cracked Pistachio background. Peacock Feathers soup can with a Squeezed Lemonade background. The stamp is from Comfort Food. I'm so glad I was finally able to get this set.

Papertrey Ink July 2016 Blog Hop

It's time for Papertrey Ink's Monthly Blog Hop. I started with piece of a Spring Rain cardstock and stenciled the Modern Basics Diamond with Picket Fence Distress Ink. And then did a very modified version of Kay Miller's Watercolor Technique. The sentiment is stamped with Onyx Black Versafine to make sure it stamped over all the different surfaces.

Tag!

 The leftovers from Distress Paint Marbling (Creative Chemistry 102) are wonderful for coloring ribbon.

I love my hole punch : D.

Papertrey Ink April 2016 Create Along With Us Challenge

I finally tackled the Movers & Shakers: Sliders die, and once I actually had them in my hands (after watching Nichole's video), it was Easy Peasy.  Stamping the card front and THEN diecutting the top part of the slider works much better than cutting and trying to stamp (just saying lol). I used Spring Rain cardstock for the front stamped with Rainy Day Sentiments with Enchanted Evening for the large drops and Aqua Mist for the smaller. The cloud and Sun are only attached in the middle for extra dimension.

When the ribbon is pulled it pops up the top of the focal point and exposes the slider which is stamped with the solid block from Building Blocks with "We'll be friends until we're old and senile. Then we'll be new friends." written on it.

The focal point base is Stamper's Select White and the Scene It: Skyscapes (cloud and sun) are cut out of  Fresh Snow Linen cardstock. The clouds are painted with Stormy Sky Distress ink and the Sun is painted with Bright Buttercup and Orange Zest. I scored it right at the point that the sun meets the horizon and attached it to the slider at the bottom fold. I stamped the ribbon pull with a pull here sentiment from Movers & Shakers: Sentiments set and is attached to the slider tab with two tiny attachers colored with Ranger Gold Pigment Alcohol Ink. The sentiment is stamped on vellum Fillable Frames #5 stamped with Stazon. It is attached with a line of Tombow Multi behind the "behind".

For this month's Create Along With Us Challenge, I  was inspired by this card made by Heather Nichols cards for the Papertrey Ink April 2016 release

The Mixed Media Monthly Challenge is Dimension, and Simon Says Let's Do the Polka, so I'm including it there as well.