Just Playing

I have so many ideas in my head, I finally stepped into the craft room Sunday to see what I could actually create. If you're like me, you watch a bazillion crafty videos and how-tos, and you read blogs and add things to your "Must Try" list. Then, when you finally sit down to play, it all runs together in your brain and you implode a little.

That's my excuse for this card:

This is likely a combination of:

1. Channeling Laura Bassen with the rainbow thing
2. Channeling Laura Bassen with the "using dye inks to distress" thing
3. Remembering this card from Jennifer McGuire, but choosing a different option

and probably a few other influences.

In Jennifer's post, she stamped the background image with white pigment ink and let it dry, then inked over it. When I first saw her sneak peek of the card on Instagram, I thought it was embossed. And embossing was an option she mentions in her video, so I was all set there. I ain't waitin' for no ink to dry.

So I stamped the Hero Arts background stamp in Versamark and clear-embossed it. This made it not so white-white as if I'd used white embossing powder.

Then I took a piece of painters tape and put it diagonally over the background. Starting from the tape, I used a blender tool to apply the colors of dye ink. I did it heavier at the edge of the tape and lighter as I got close to the previous color. This mostly worked, until I got done with the purple and started in again with the red. I didn't clean off the tape, so some purple got mixed in with the red. Oh, wait, I meant to do that! (I was NOT starting over.)

I die-cut the sentiment from a remnant of black and added it to the card front.

It's pretty busy, but it's done, and out of my head, so maybe I'll sleep better tonight.

Thanks for stopping by!

Stuff I used: vat of clear embossing powder, Hero Arts Branch background stamp, Elizabeth Craft double-sided adhesive (for the sentiment), SU black card stock, Impression Obsession Strip Words die, and the following:

InLinkz.com

Minty Happy Birthday

I actually slipped into the crafty room and stamped! I did! Here is one of the cards I made:

The colors are Mint and Gold, for the current Little Tangles challenge:

Also, the current Less is More challenge is to use Green & Gold.

I have very few Neat & Tangled stamps, but I do like this diamond  stamp. I stamped it in Delicata Gold, then half-heartedly (I thought) added clear embossing powder. I then dumped some WOW Green Shimmer Embossing Glitter over the piece, hoping to get it to stick to the areas I missed with the clear. Nope. Didn't happen. So I heat-embossed the gold. There are a few flecks of the green glitter here and there, but you really need to look for them.

Not to be defeated, I took out my Versamarker and colored in three of the shapes, then added the green glitter powder to those three spots. It stuck, even though it's not complete coverage. But it's minty green, so I'm okay with it.

To finish it off, I added a birthday sentiment stamped in Delicata Gold (love that stuff) onto a strip of Simon Says Stamp Mint card stock, and put it over the diamonds with foam tape.

I'm itching to add a third color, but I was good and I stopped. It's a challenge, right? :)

Oh, and I very loosely followed the current CAS(E) This Sketch! sketch:

Thanks for stopping by!

Stuff I used:  Vat of clear embossing powder (it's a pint, which is a vat compared to the 1/2 oz jars most of them come in), Simon Says Stamp/Kelly Purkey Happy Birthday stamp set, WOW green shimmer embossing glitter, and the following:

InLinkz.com

CSSC #8

It's the first of the month, so it's time for a new Crooked Stamper Sketch Challenge. Here is the sketch for September:

It's really A2 size; I just can't draw worth beans.

I based the sketch on this card:

 

Please feel free to flip the sketch, change the shapes, add layers, patterned paper, or whatever floats your boat. As long as I can recognize the basic sketch in your creation, it's all good!

The winner will receive something from my basket of give-away goodies.

The link-up will be open until Monday, September 21st, at 11:55 pm EDT.

Enter soon! Enter often up to three times! And remember to have fun!

An InLinkz Link-up

SOS #217: Put A Bird On It

It's Tuesday, and time for a new challenge at Shopping Our Stash. This week's theme is Put A Bird On It, and we'd like to see a bird on your project.

I will admit the phrase "put a bird on it" came to me via somewhere on the interwebz. You see, it turns out it's from something called Portlandia, which is/was a tv show, probably during the 8 years I didn't own or watch tv. Just consider me out of touch with anything older than 1979, and you'll get the picture.

So somewhere along the line I saw this video:




and it stuck in my brain. It's silly, but you know what? Sometimes putting a bird on a project actually does work, so here we are. :)

Here's my card for this week's challenge:

I used my neglected Alley Way Birds of a Feather stamp set for da bird. I actually had three or four false starts with my Tim Holtz Bird Crazy birds, but one at a time they hit the trash, so I went digging in my Birds section for something, and rediscovered this set. I like that three or four of the birds in this set look dumbfounded enough to use with snarky sentiments. :)

I had this dream of blending the bird from green to blue, but that didn't happen. I think my colors were too close together. I used the fabulous Hex Color chart designed by Sandy Allnok. It's a Copic color chart in order by color, not by number, so you can get a really good idea of which markers go together (even from different color groups). If you aren't familiar with this chart, please do go watch the video later.

So anyway, I was going for green-to-blue but ended up with a nice blend of blue-green. I'm not unhappy with it. I added some silver embossed dots to the background (it was so white), and added some black glaze pen to his eyes. And of course a piece of washi tape to anchor the little fellow.

The sentiment was in a box of unlabeled foam-backed stamps, so I have no idea who made it, sorry! I've had it a really long time.

So, got some bird stamps that haven't seen the light of day for a while? Why not dig some out, use them, then link up over at Shopping Our Stash!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stuff I used: sentiment from unknown source, washi tape from Teresa Collins Far & Away collection, vat of clear embossing powder, and the following:

InLinkz.com