Gotta love COLOR!!

Hi y'all!

While today may be the first day of school for my kiddos, I won't start until the week after Labor Day....yay for me!!!....  I do however have to re-build my entire classroom due to a flood from all the rain we had in May.  They are 90% done with the construction and I can't wait to make it pretty again.

Since I'm in the 'back to school' mode today, I decided to head over to Paper Smooches for this month's challenge.  Kim offered us up 2 challenges in one - Back to School or Words (sentiments).  I decided to combine them both for my creation!

You might ask, what does painting have to do with back to school?  Well, I'm an art teacher so when I hear 'back to school', I think paint, brushes, paper, crayons, clay, glue, scraps, rocks, baby wipes, markers, pencils, ribbon, glitter......and so on.....  I used PS Word Salad for my sentiment and I Heart Art for my images.   I adore both of these sets, and my littlest artist....she's not so little anymore....loves to make book marks with them for school! 

I stamped the background sentiment with 4 shades of Altenew Gentleman's Grey inks so it would have a subtle ombre....thank goodness for MISTI!.....  I then stamped, colored and fussy cut the pallet and the brush.  Finally, I stamped and embossed the sentiment again on black paper, then added color to 'color' with Copic markers. 

I'm still working on my photography skills, so excuse the fuzzy edges!  Any suggestions or help would be GREATLY appreciated!!!

Have a colorful day!!!

Red all over

Good morning!

The kiddos are off for their first day of school today, so I'm enjoying a quiet morning in my art studio.  It's a sad and happy day for me, hard to see them grow up another year,....5th and 10th grade - YIKES!.... but I am excited to have some free time to myself without any mama guilt.

I created a bunch of mixed media papers a while back and have been holding onto this gorgeous red paper for just the right project. I was playing around with a stencil, rubbing alcohol and re-inkers, and I absolutely loved how it came out!  The flower is from Altenew's Peony Bouquet.  It's embossed with white powder on black paper and the shading was done using a white charcoal pencil....that's a bit of an oxymoron don't you think?....  I think this is one of my most favorite cards I've made in a while!

I've decided to include this card for The Paper Players challenge this week; black, white and a color of your choice as well as the CAS on Friday challenge blogs.

Have a colorful day!!

What a busy August!

Hi ya'll!

What a busy month so far!  I moved my sister from California to Hendersonville TN, had my oldest friend and sister in law visit from Copenhagen and Salem OH, then had our old neighbors visit from Columbus OH.  WHEW!!!  I have been crafting occasionally....late at night obviously....and will be sharing those with you this week!

First up I have this sparkly little number!  This is for this weeks Color Throwdown.  I kept the colors a bit more pastel....at least the green....and loved how it came out.  Soft and subtle.  The stamps are Hexagon Play from Altenew and Ellen Hudson's Squeeze the Day.  Love them both!

Super quick...

Hi ya'll!

I've been CrAZY busy these last 2 weeks!  I made some cards for a magazine call, finished up our fire pit, and am leaving in 7 short hours for California!  Before I left, I had to get this creation in for the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge. 

The challenge is to create your own background.  Well...I've been having TONS of fun creating papers using stencils, rubbing alcohol and re-inkers.  I made these 2 cards by spraying rubbing alcohol on Bristol paper, placing a stencil on top, then using re-inkers to add colors!  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the effect it created!

I think the pink and purple one is my favorite!!! 

Have a great 10 days!

Here for you

Hi ya'll!

Super quick card here today.  Decided to try the CAS(E) sketch this week.  I need a more complete collection of the pink Copics , the flowers came out a bit neon-esc.  But it's a sweet card for a friend that recently lost a family member.

 

Big wish

Hi ya'll!


So...ever stamp on top of embossing?  Of course you have.  I did it with this card, and even though I wiped down all the embossed leaves after I stamped over them, it still was getting ink everywhere!  UGH!!....so please disregard the smudges.....

I do love the Verdigris embossing powder from Ranger!  It's perfect for the Tropical Leaves stamp set from Simon Says Stamp.  I've used it for several cards including this one.  I have another one that I'll post later.

I used the Color Throwdown color story for this week and the photo theme from the Addicted to Ink challenge this week.  Both had similar colors, and I made it a birthday card....ATI is celebrating their 7th anniversay!....  I really adore the tropical leaf trend happening right now.  I could use them all the time!

 

Taxi

Hi y'all!

Super quick on here for you today.  I was inspired by this weeks Just Add Ink photo challenge....yellow and grey are one of my favorite combos!....and thought I'd pull back out the MFT stamp set London Mouse for the taxi cab and use the color story.

Inspired by the Shopping our Stash challenge, I also tried out a new technique for me, stenciling with texture paste.  I know it's been around a LONG time  and I've had the supplies around for EVER, so thought I should finally give it a try.  It's a lot like gesso for acrylic painting, at least the clear stuff is. The white was thick like cream cheese.

I really like how the background came out, but should have used Bristol paper.....lesson learned....  I used yellow watercolor paint and put a few layers of it on.  I then sprayed and splattered my metallic grey glimmer mist to give it that grungy inner city vibe.   I have to say, I love the possibilities with this stuff!  I think I'll be making some mixed media papers to play with...

We are a pair!

Hi y'all!

4 years ago today, I married my beloved!  We met in 1998 and dated for a hot minute, and because his cousin is one of my oldest friends, we stayed in touch over the years.  We re-connected 5.5 years ago and here we are!  I'm lucky to be married to my best friend.  He makes me smile, makes be feel loved EVERY second of every day, and he's an AMAZING dad to the girls.  We are all truly blessed in life!

 

My beloved has a crazy sense of humor, so I had to make this card for him.  We aren't the florally, romantic type of couple....humor is the way to go for us!  It's an old set from Taylored Expressions called Hangin' Out.  I tried to find it on their site, but alas, it must be retired.  I am able to include this card on the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge this week, Anniversary is the theme.  I'm also adding it to the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge (Any Occasion) and another one for the Global Design Project color challenge.

To the moon, Alice!

Good morning peeps!

Just getting in a little bit of creating today.  I've had the supplies to participate in the Global Design Project sitting on my desk for a few days now and am just able to get it finished now!  I really loved creating the watercolor background.  I made several of them at the time and have been using them one by one.  Unfortunately the green color looks weird in the photos, it is more lime colored than what it shows here...

 

I originally wanted to use a floral set for this background, but came across this old PTI set in my stash that hasn't seen the light of day in about 5 years.  I had to use it since the background looks like a black hole!  I used some washi tape, which I have really had a hard time getting behind.  I don't like that it's see-thru so I backed it with some white paper....which I know defeats the purpose of the the tape, may as well use patterned paper....  I added glitter to the flames and the rocket.  I have to figure out how to photograph things with glitter, they never look as shimmery on camera.

Have a great day y'all!

Trying something new...

Good morning peeps!
I'm trying something new here.   A bit more 'grunge'....if that's the word for it....  I don't have ANY father's day stamps or any masculine stamps.  I have kid athletic ball stamps, but that seemed inappropriate.

I wanted to make something for my dad for Father's Day.  He's the BEST!!  He makes us laugh....a lot!....encouraged me to ditch business law and go into art, helped me buy the car of my dreams at 19, he's a great dancer, loved and encouraged me through my divorce and celebrates the new life I have with my beloved.  He totally rocks!....he's cute too eh?....  This is even a little outside his comfort zone in style, but I know he'll appreciate that its created by his little girl....even though I'm 47....

 

Inspired by the color challenge at TGIF Challenges I set to work.  I'm also adding this to the Cards for Guyz challenge for Father's Day, they are having a DT call there, check out if its for you! I stared with some watercolor paper, dropped some water on it and then added a drop of Night of Navy ink.  I let the dye run around naturally and dried it with my heat gun.  I did it again and added a bit more ink this time.  I then added a spray of green shimmer mist....or 2 or 3, it kind of got away from me.... then I added the houndstooth stamp in the soft teal color....I don't have the Pool Party color so I used Baha Breeze....  I obviously didn't want to use flowers, so I pulled out the PTI Spruce and Stems set for the focus.  Added the sentiment and that's it!

 

It's not my normal style, but I can appreciate it.

Grateful for it all!

Hi ya'll!

What are you grateful or thankful for?  I have so many things on my list, we'd be here for days!  I am thankful for each and everyone of you that visit my little ole' site here.  I truly enjoy creating and sharing what I do, asking for advise, and lovin' on each of you as well!

I decided to participate in the Addicted to Stamps challenge this week, Clean and Simple.  I CASED a design by Charlet Mallett for the layout of this card. I liked the simplicity of her layout, but the colors were a challenge for me!....I don't know why....  I think I'll create another one with these colors and see if I can come up with something else for this.  I like pushing myself so hopefully I can break that mind barrier I have going on today.

I used some of my old trusty PTI sets, Gran's Garden and Half & Half and their wood grain embossing plate. It's been so long since I've used the latter stamps, I forgot what a great set it was.  I just used some of my old supplies, love using those up so I can get fresh new ones!

I did get a new photo box for my photos, but the whites are still not coming out as I would like...any suggestions??  What do you use?

Hello London

Hi y'all!

Up for another challenge!  I decided to follow the CAS(E) This Sketch #325 for this week.  My oldest is obsessed with all things London.....Harry Potter, Dr. Who, Sherlock Holmes.....  She still talks about the trip we made there when she was 13.  I got this set from MFT years ago after our trip and have only just now been able to use it....have I mentioned I LOVE my new art studio?....

The London Mouse set definitely takes some effort, lots of Copic coloring involved, but it is quite adorable!  I like that the little mice could be bears too.  I added the 'hello' from the Paper Smooches Word Salad set.  I didn't really have much room for anything else!  If I were to do it again, I would have embossed the sentiment in white, but I still haven't located my static bag for embossing yet...

Supplies:
Stamps: MFT London Mouse; Paper Smooches Houndstooth and Word Salad
Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black; SU! Real Red
Markers: Copics
Dies: MFT London Mouse

NYC toast

Hi ya'll!

I spent this last week in NYC with my oldest on a school theatre trip!  It was amazing!  My cutie patootie is quite the theatre buff....like her mama....and is involved with the productions at school.  My BFF and her daughter also went so we had an fun filled time.  During the trip, cutie got to meet her MOST favorite Broadway actor, George Salazar, and she broke into happy tears! It was too cute, I got the whole thing on video, but here's a little sneek of her reaction.  You can see the whole video here....its too cute!....



Now that I'm home, I can get back to creating!  I made this card for 2 challenges.  First, the Paper Smooches photo inspiration challenge for June is this photo.  I love the pink and the yellow together.  I didn't have anything pineapple, but I do love pineapple in my drinks!  I am also using the Just Add Ink challenge, Embossing Resist.  With those 2 things for  inspiration, I got my craftin' party on!

 I used PS Free Spirits and Wine Sampler stamp sets, along with their Drink Glasses die set.  For the background, I stamped the cocktail stamps with Versamark on glossy paper then embossed them with white embossing powder.  I sponged over it with SU! Melon Mambo and Daffodil Delight, then spritzed it with rubbing alcohol.  I added the sentiment and diecut cocktail, added some garish with a little sparkle and its good enough to drink!