Dare To Get Dirty - another sample card!

I shared this sample for Jeanne's challenge post - this is a shaker card, with some Diamond Dust, snowflake diecuts, and dew drops in the Shaker Pouch. I used my embossing technique on Santa's beard (image is called Santa Head), cutting around a few curls and embossing from behind. The image is colored with Touch Twin Markers. All stamps are from Impression Obsession. The sentiment is here.

If you're a Fan Club member at SCS, I hope you'll come join in the fun! There's a new batch of challenge posts coming soon!

in the Limelight at Flourishes

Today is my last post in the Limelight over at the Flourishes blog! I've shared a tip for watercoloring backgrounds around very detailed images like the one above - I hope you'll take a look!

Dare to Get Dirty!!

Over the next week (July 30 - August 5), the Dirty Dozen design team and alumni will be hosting a week packed with fun challenges for Splitcoaststampers fan club members! This is my first time participating, and *I* even get to host a challenge - but - more about that on Tuesday! Today we're kicking the party off with 5 challenges, and you can expect 4-6 challenges each day! The challenges will be posted at around 8:00 CST. You can find all the details over at SCS - if you're not a Fan Club member, now's a great time to join - come Dare to Get Dirty with us!!

I've provided samples for two of the challenges today - I'll share one card today and one tomorrow. This card is for Lydia's challenge. For this sample I used the Poppies set from Sheena Douglass' line of Paint Fusion stamps, stamping the images first, then painting over them. I used acrylic paints on the image - actually this is several images, as the set is made of individual 'parts' that you stamp together to create your own floral scene. I LOVE these sets, and will be ordering more soon. They are so versatile, and the artwork is just perfect for any coloring medium. By the way, this designer cardstock held up really well under the acrylic paint - I wasn't sure if it would warp or not.

Hope you'll come play with us!!

P.S. The sentiment I used is from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps - I love this one!

Pink Pansies

It just occurred to me that I can share some of my Dirty Dozen cards on my blog now from my first month's gallery! In this gallery we were to use die cut shapes and punches on our cards, and this was one of my favorites. I'm not sure if there are pink pansies in the world... but I have painted them purple and red already, so... I had to do something different! :)
The image was watercoloring using Derwent watercolor pencils and a Niji water brush. I added some shading after it was dry with a Sepia pencil. I trimmed along some petals and leaves with a craft knife, and embossed from the back of the panel to create some dimension. Those raised areas are 'propped' up with foam tape for dimension. Someone had asked via email how I decide where to cut my images for this technique, and I sent her a diagram of the petals and leaves I cut around for this card. Here it is:
I posted a tutorial for this technique on the Flourishes blog...I'll post it here in the near future, when my guest spot is over.

The pansies are from I Brake For Stamps' Embossing Arts line, and the sentiment comes from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps. Love this gorgeous image and that little ladybug!

Country Village

I never really got to play with these toppers, and needed a thank you card to send, so I chose this scene from the Country Village Cottages set. I cut out the foreground piece, then used temporary adhesive to hold the two pieces of the scene together while I die cut them. I added some dimension to the foreground piece using an embossing stylus from the back side, then adding Marigold and Meadow Flower Soft to the rose bush on the right. I used a glaze pen on the windows to give them a little shine, then used Meadow and Polar White Flower Soft on the vines against the house. The foreground pieced is popped up with foam tape. The topper is set down into a diecut frame which gives it a little negative border. The taglet is also part of the topper set. What a fun way to create a quick and beautiful card!

Just for fun - here's a great link to get to know the artist behind Flower Soft's beautiful toppers and Moments in Time stamps! So inspiring.

new post on the Flourishes blog

I have a new post on the Flourishes blog - here's a little peek... this is a new-to-me idea, using a stamped outline as a guide for painting with acrylic paints! I don't have a tutorial yet - I still need lots of practice... but here are some links that are helpful if you're interested in trying this yourself.

Sheena Douglass has come out with a line of stamps that are designed specifically for this type of technique, called Paint Fusion. There is a laminated practice guide included in each stamp set that you can paint on, then wipe off and practice again. Here is a link to a trailer for her video, and you can view the whole line of products on her site. I purchased 3 of the sets from Joanna Sheen (daisies, poppies, and berries). Verrrrry fun to work with, and they actually can be colored with pencils or markers instead of acrylic paints if those are more your thing. I'll post some samples here soon.

This a lightning fast demonstration, but the techniques used in this video by Donna Dewberry are the basic ones I have learned in the past and used for loading my brush to paint the base layers of the flowers and leaves. I did go back and add more shading and details after the initial strokes were dry.

I think the key is really practicing... so I hope to try this more soon! Hope you'll leave some love on my post at Flourishes!

Impression Obsession CHA sneak peek

The Impression Obsession team is showcasing some new images being introduced this week at CHA! You can visit the I.O. Blog each day this week for links to the previews. Be sure to leave a comment on each designer's posts throughout the week for a chance to win a gift certificate to I.O! Today is the final day!!

I saved one of my favorites for last... this is one of Gary Robertson's designs called Coffee Scene - I love coffee stamps, and this one has so much going on! I colored the background with Touch Twin markers, then masked some spots and highlights with a Sakura glaze pen and used reinkers and Inktense pencils to color in the images. I stamped the card base with Cover-a-Card Scratches using Brilliance Pearlescent Ice Blue ink, then scored it 'lattice' style with my Scor-pal. Not sure what inspired the bold color combo!

That's it for our blog hop posting - if you've left comments on all the designers' blog posts throughout the last week, and reported in daily at the I.O. blog, you're qualified for our gift certificate prize - good luck!

Impression Obsession CHA sneak peek

The Impression Obsession team is showcasing some new images being introduced this week at CHA! You can visit the I.O. Blog each day this week for links to the previews. Be sure to leave a comment on each designer's posts throughout the week for a chance to win a gift certificate to I.O!

This is another design by new artist Claudia Pearl - the image is colored with Touch Twin markers, then masked with a glaze pen. Something different, just for fun! The background was added "direct-to-paper" using chalk inks.

I stamped the background panel with two Cover-a-Card stamps, Thick & Thin and Damask.

Just a few more days... do you like what you see?

New Stamps used: Little Witch, Hang Your Broom

Impression Obsession CHA sneak peek

The Impression Obsession team is showcasing some new images being introduced this week at CHA! You can visit the I.O. Blog each day this week for links to the previews. Be sure to leave a comment on each designer's posts throughout the week for a chance to win a gift certificate to I.O!

Here's another of Alesa Baker's sweet snowmen - it's colored with Touch Twin markers, then masked with a glaze pen (I added some snowflakes with the glaze pen too). The background was added "direct-to-paper" using chalk inks. See that text background? That's a new stamp too! The sentiment is from a clear set called Snow Happy.

Tomorrow, a Halloween card just for fun!

New stamps used: Snow Many Presents, Holiday Word Border

Impression Obsession CHA sneak peek

The Impression Obsession team is showcasing some new images being introduced this week at CHA! You can visit the I.O. Blog each day this week for links to the previews. Be sure to leave a comment on each designer's posts throughout the week for a chance to win a gift certificate to I.O!

This new release is a debut release for several new artists - there really is something for everyone. Here is one of my favorites from artist Hannah Davies!

Hannah is one of our new artists, who is based in the UK. Her designs are whimsical and unique, and really fun to work with. This angel is colored with Touch Twin Markers and a gold paint pen, cut out with Spellbinders dies using the 'out of the box' technique then masked and stamped with Cover-a-Card Music.

Isn't it funny to see Christmas designs in July? LOL!

New stamps used: Angel

Impression Obsession CHA sneak peek

The Impression Obsession team is showcasing some new images being introduced this week at CHA! You can visit the I.O. Blog each day this week for links to the previews. Be sure to leave a comment on each designer's posts throughout the week for a chance to win a gift certificate to I.O!

Gail Green's artwork usually features cute pets, but this time she's brought some fun Christmas artwork, with everything from sweet goodies to snowmen and even a kissing chef! This is one of the snowmen, colored with Touch Twin markers.

Cute, huh?!

New stamps used: Snowman with Ornament, Enjoy the Magic

Impression Obsession CHA sneak peek

The Impression Obsession team is showcasing some new images being introduced this week at CHA! You can visit the I.O. Blog each day this week for links to the previews. Be sure to leave a comment on each designer's posts throughout the week for a chance to win a gift certificate to I.O!

Here's a favorite from Alesa Baker's new artwork - I love her style! This image is colored with Prismacolor pencils. The bucket was stamped a second time and shaped. It's popped up with foam tape, and I tucked some Autumn Mix Flower Soft in the top. I used inkpads to color my background panel using a direct-to-paper technique, and the card base is textured cardstock stamped with Cover-a-Card Flourishes. The sentiment is from last year's Fall release and can be found here.

More previews tomorrow - stay tuned!

New stamps used: Decorate the Season Fence

Impression Obsession CHA sneak peek

The Impression Obsession team is showcasing some new images being introduced this week at CHA! You can visit the I.O. Blog each day this week for links to the previews. Be sure to leave a comment on each designer's posts throughout the week for a chance to win a gift certificate to I.O!

This new release is a debut release for several new artists - there really is something for everyone. Here's a fun new image from Claudia Pearl! I colored it up with Touch Twin markers and added some dimension with Polar White Flower Soft.The card is cut with Spellbinders Labels 8, and the smaller label is a Quickutz die (a Christmas set with a variety of tag shapes).

Thanks for stopping by - hope you enjoy the peeks today!

New stamps used: Snow Angels, I'm Falling

Limelight post on Flourishes blog

Here is a sneak peek at my post over on the Flourishes blog... today I've shared one way that I color seam binding to match my stamped projects - Hope you'll take a look!

Impression Obsession news.....

Just wanted to let you know that Impression Obsession's new catalog supplement is online!! This is a super fun release with several new artists debuting to boot! My card samples have a grey/black background, if you're curious to see what I've been up to behind the scenes here. Here's a link to the catalog:

Impression Obsession Fall/Winter 2011 supplement

Also, from July 18-24, the DT members will be posting samples of the new stamps, which will also be released at CHA during that time. Visit the IO blog each day during that week to see which DT members will be posting on their blogs that day. Anyone who leaves a comment on every DT post for the week will have a chance to win a $25 gift certificate, to be used in the online store.

In addition, on July 21, there will be a customer challenge posted on the IO blog - you can make a card of any theme but you must use all IO stamps. You will have until July 27 to enter and the winner will be posted on July 28. That winner will also receive a $25 gift certificate.

I think that's it! Fun stuff!

Dirty Dozen Gallery

If you're a Fan Club member over at Splitcoaststampers, you can now view the new Dirty Dozen gallery! This month's theme was about mixing and matching classic patterns - stars, stripes, and polka dots! Here's a teeny peek at one of my cards.

If you're not a Fan Club member, you can find out about it here! This is my 4th gallery, so just 2 more to go.... sigh.... it has kept me busy, but it has been so much fun! Fan Club members will be participating soon in a series of just-for-fun challenges called Dare to Get Dirty, hosted by the Dirty Dozen team and alumni... if you're up to the challenge, we hope you'll come join us! I'll be hosting one of the challenges, too! Excited about that.

Flower Soft - Christmas in July?!

Just wanted to show you the new Christmas Pyramid cards - these are easy to assemble, and so fun to work with! These are part of Flower Soft's CHA release. I decided to distress mine, so I took a piece of sandpaper and sanded out from the center of the star, turning the card each time. Afterwards, I added some clear glitter to the star. The verse I used is from Our Daily Bread designs, stamped on a Spellbinders tag (JustRite Stampers exclusive).
You can see the dimension and sparkle a little better at an angle - I sanded the edges of the sand dunes as well.
The kit comes with an insert for the inside of the card, too.
You just might see previews of other new products on the Flower Soft blog or other designer's blogs - links are in the left column if you want to peek around!

Birdhouses

Just digging through the files for inspiration to share today... I have been sooo busy working on things I can't share with you yet! CHA is coming, and I've been working on booth/catalog samples, plus my cards for the Dirty Dozen gallery this month, guest blog posts at Flourishes, and a few other upcoming challenges at Splitcoast, working on new stamp designs..... plus I've also had to reshuffle my priorities this week, as we started school Tuesday!
Here's a card made a little while back with Art Impressions' watercolor stamps - this is WC Birdhouses with some botanical stamps from the clear WC Arbor set- I stamped the images with Versamagic chalk inks, and blended the colors with a water brush, then added shading with other chalk inks and Inktense pencils. The sentiment is from Heart and Soul Rubber Stamp Co.
Hope you're having a great week so far!

Flourishes guest blogger!

Here is a sneak peek at my post over on the Flourishes blog... I'll be their guest each Sunday this month. Today, I've shared a tutorial there for adding dimension to your stamped images! Hope you'll take a look!