Heartfelt Creations DT Alumni Hop

It's time again for the Heartfelt Creations Design Team Alumni monthly blog hop... We've chosen the last Tuesday of each month to share a project featuring Heartfelt Creations' stamps, just for fun. If you'd like to view the entire hop, you can just start here! I'm at the top of the hop list today. Be sure to leave a comment on every blog along the hop - today there is a $25 gift certificate up for grabs!!

For my project I made an acrylic ornament - I've had these acrylic pieces stashed away for some time, and with our upcoming trip to the States in mind, I am in "use it up" mode! I colored the image (Chickadee Surprise) with Touch Twin markers, adding some lines with a glaze pen to resist the ink in some places. I used the markers to color the seam binding, too, spritzing the colored ribbon with alcohol to make the colors blend.

These are the Touch Twin markers that I used:

After you leave a comment here, you'll be hopping on to Selma's blog. Thanks for stopping by!

(***I do have my comment moderation turned on because I'm over here on the other side of the world, and I'll be sleeping while you hop... don't panic if your comment doesn't show up right away!!)

Here's a full list of the ladies hopping today:

Dina @ Mama Dini's Stamperia
Selma @ Selma's Stamping Corner
Karen @ Creative Yearnings
Olga @ Craftie Odamae
Tesa @ Tesa's Scrap
Marsha @ Stamping Down South
Carla @ Carla's Stamping Spot
Debbie @ Debbieseyer.com
Linda @ Payne Holler Cards

TTC06 - Color Challenge

There's a new challenge up at the Touch Twin Markers & More Challenge blog - this time we're using our markers to create projects with a specific color combination. We hope you'll join the fun!

This time I stayed very close to the colors suggested, only adding a couple of greys to the mix. It's hard for me to use primary colors, so this was a real challenge for me! But I really enjoyed working with this set, designed by my friend Nina! Huge thanks to Gina K Designs for sponsoring our challenges this month.

The quilt rack and quilt images are cut out and popped up on foam tape. I added some dimension to both pieces using a ball stylus. The white panel on the card is scored vertically every 1/2 inch to imitate a paneled wall.

These are the Touch Twin markers that I used:

You can visit the Touch Twin Markers & More Challenge blog for all the details if you'd like to play! Don't have a blog? That's OK. Just post to any online gallery with the keywords TTC06 and touchtwin. Don't have Touch markers? That's OK too for now. Starting in January we will require using our markers, but for now you can use any coloring medium. Have fun!

Flower Soft Pyramid cards, and a change...

Another "Winter Blues" card using the Christmas Tree Pyramids kit from Flower Soft.... This is the outdoor tree, and there's also an indoor tree, full of decorations with tons of fun toys underneath! I love the simplicity of this one, and the card is so fun to put together! I used Polar White Flower Soft and glitter to decorate.
I've shared some stepped out photos in a tutorial on the Flower Soft blog if you'd like to see more of the process of assembling these fun cards. Thanks for visiting!

I also want to let you know that I've made the difficult decision to step down from the Flower Soft design team... with our trip to the States in December, and being transient and homeless (LOL!) until July when we return to Indonesia, I need to ease my blogging 'requirements' and focus my energies elsewhere for a while. I was going to try to hang on until the end of the year, but I'm going to have to move up my 'end date' to the end of November as far as challenges and hops.

You can still catch my posts over on the Flower Soft blog on Tuesdays until Christmas, and you'll definitely still be seeing Flower Soft here on my blog in the future. I already packed a pinch of each color to take with me. Thanks so much for your loving comments on all my Flower Soft creations over the last year, and for your encouragement to me always. :)

Winner winner, turkey dinner!

The winner of the Impression Obsession stamp is: Brenda Evans!!

Brenda Evans said...

What a cute stamp and lovely scene. I would love to have this stamp. Thanks for the op!

Brenda, send me an email with your mailing address, so I can have your stamp all ready to mail when we get to the States! Congratulations!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing a Happy Thanksgiving to our friends and family in the States! Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday... this year we decided to celebrate a little early to share our traditions with our Indonesian and Australian co-workers, who are our family here.In celebration of Thanksgiving, a Fall card! The main image on this card is called Decorate the Season Fence... 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'll have to try this image later with Polar White snow in the bucket for winter, and flowers in the bucket for Spring! (Spring Mix? Sweet Pea? Heather? Lavender?!) I used chalk inks to color my background panel using a direct-to-paper technique, and the image was colored with Prismacolor pencils.The sentiment is HERE and I also used Cover-a-Card Flourishes on the textured background.

Remember, Impression Obsession's annual sale starts today!! Hope you've been making your list! Happy Thanksgiving!

Up for grabs!

Just cleaning off my desk and realized that I have an unclaimed prize up for grabs! If you'd like to win this Impression Obsession cling stamp, leave a comment on this post, and I'll draw a winner on Friday (11/25) at midnight EST.Good luck!

Pixellated

I took some time Saturday in between making crescent rolls and pork tenderloin to make a card for Lydia's "Pixellated" challenge over at Splitcoaststampers - the challenge was to make a card using at least 3 colored squares. I've had this idea in my head for almost a month now and wanted to use it on a card for Hope You Can Cling To but didn't have time before the deadline. The squares I used are Inchie Plus Squares (1-1/2" squares) from Inchie Arts - these high quality matboard squares are a DREAM to color on with alcohol markers - no bleeding at all! I stamped Cover-a-Card Roses from Impression Obsession on the squares, then colored them up using Touch Twin Markers. Inchie Arts makes matboard squares in 3 sizes - the Inchies (1"), Inchie Plus Squares (1-1/2"), and Twinchies (2") - and a variety of colors (black, dark gray, light gray, wheat, dark cream, ivory and white).

The sentiment is from one of my sets from Our Daily Bread designs - I don't usually mix companies when I blog, but I wanted this to be a special 'thank you' card, and I just really needed to use that sentiment! These are the Touch Twin markers that I used...
Wow... we are within 3 weeks of our trip... I've been thinking ahead (not always calmly) to our adjustment back into American culture... it's been 3-1/2 years since we were in the States last and soooo much has changed... not only that, but we have changed as well. I'm still holding on to my word for the year, "TODAY"... trusting the Lord and just taking one day at a time. Appreciate your prayers as we barrel through these next few weeks! I still have some big projects to finish up.

Hope you have a great week!

Necklaces

NOT that I need another hobby... but I have been having fun lately making glass tile pendants. My friend Jeanne shared her source with me for necklace making supplies after I won one of her beautiful creations, so I placed an order at Sun and Moon Craft Kits! They were super accommodating of my international order, and very friendly to work with.

I found some square and rectangle glass tiles on clearance at an Etsy store going out of business, so this is my first project using those tiles, with the organza necklace and bail from Sun and Moon. This is a stamped image from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps - you know I love my poppies... I stamped the image in a light ink and colored it in with Touch Markers.

At some point I'll make more of these square and rectangle necklaces to sell - one of a kind, handcolored pieces - but for now this is it, and this one's mine. :)

The other necklaces I have been making are made using batik paper - batik is a traditional art form of Indonesia, so I thought it would be fun to make necklaces that are uniquely Indonesian to bring with us when we come to the States. For these I'm using flat-backed rounded marbles... I'm sure there's a proper name for them, but I can't remember any more! I'm making some for gifts, and some to sell. If you happen to be interested in buying one, let me know soon so I can tuck one away for you! These will sell for $6.00 apiece, and each one is unique.

Thanks for stopping by!

Heads Up!!!

Just passing this on from Impression Obsession's Facebook page:

SALE ANNOUNCEMENT: It's that time of year! Our annual warehouse sale is happening in Williamsburg, VA this Friday from 9-4 and Saturday from 10-2. Our warehouse is located at 108 Ingram Road, Suite 11, Williamsburg, VA. If you are in the area stop by for awesome deals on all kinds of rubber, cling, and clear stamps! (And who knows what else we'll dig up)!

And for you non-local folk, our annual internet sale starts on Thanksgiving Day and runs through Monday, 11/28. Stay tuned for more details on that coming next week.

Impression Obsession DT Challenge: Stamps only!

The Impression Obsession team's challenge today is to create a card using stamps only - no patterned paper allowed!!I started by stamping the Poinsettia stamp on watercolor paper, masking it, then stamping the Rose Music Background over top. Keeping the mask on, I spritzed some water/reinker over the panel, dried it with my heat gun, then sponged inks around the poinsettia from the bottom up. I left the top of the panel unsponged (is that a word?) so the spritzing would show.The poinsettia was colored first with Touch Twin Markers, then watercolored with reinkers. I stamped a second flower and trimmed around some of the petals, then embossed them from the back with the wooden end of my stylus for more dimension.
The tabbed label is a stamp from the Journaling 1 clear set - I stamped it in Brilliance gold ink. The sentiment is from the Winter View set, and I also stamped French Postal and Paris Registre on the label. I used Peel-Off stickers from Flower Soft around the edges of the focal panel. It doesn't show well in the picture, but I also stamped Cover-a-Card Kaleidoscope on the card base.

Be sure to check out these other designers' blogs for inspiration -

Daniela @ For the First Time
Deborah @ Cards and Things
Jeanne @ Inky Paws
Jenny @ One Krafty Kat
Julie @ Out to Impress
Laura @ Laura's Stamp Art Journal
Vicki @ Summerthyme Studio

Remember you can enter these challenges too, using your Impression Obsession stamps! See the I.O. blog for all the details - you might even win a $25 gift certificate!! We'd love to have you join us.

Flower Soft Sprinkle Challenge: Winter Blues

This week's Sprinkle challenge (FSC40) is to use Flower Soft on your cards with a blue/winter theme. Here's a fun little die-cut card featuring the Christmas Snow Globe toppers - these toppers are made to be used with the dimensional Display Globes, but they can be used alone or in a frame like I've created here with Spellbinders dies.A couple of angled shots to show the dimension you can create with these decoupage kits - I used glitter and Polar White Flower Soft to add snow to the scene.
If you'd like to join in on the Sprinkle challenge, pull out the Flower Soft! Post your project in the Splitcoast Gallery using the keywords flowersoft (one word) and FSC40. We'd love to have you join us!

TTC05 - In the Garden

There's a new challenge up at the Touch Twin Markers & More Challenge blog - this time we're using our markers to create projects with a garden theme. We hope you'll join the fun!

Gina K Designs is our sponsor for this month's challenge - these are the first Gina K stamps I have used, and I am so impressed with their quality! Each set is diecut on cling foam, and comes with a stiff laminated binder page for easy storage. We are using the Gnome One Like You set for our samples this week, designed by our own Tami Mayberry!

Here's my card - the marker colors I used are below. I masked the gnome image and stamped the mushroom so it would appear behind him - while I had the mask on I also stamped the bushes in Adirondack Willow ink. Here's what that looked like with the mask on...

I wanted to share a couple of pictures here to show how I made the clouds. I colored the sky area first using PB185. The clouds are made using with the Colorless Blender marker. You can see in the pictures below how the Colorless Blender pushes the color aside when it is held in one place.

To create the clouds, I just slowly moved my Blender marker to fill in cloud shapes - bumpy tops and flatter bottoms. The longer you hold the Blender in one place, or the more times you go over an area, the lighter it will get. Hope that explanation helps!

Here are the marker colors I used on my card:

You can visit the Touch Twin Markers & More Challenge blog for all the details if you'd like to play! Don't have a blog? That's OK. Just post to any online gallery with the keywords TTC05 and touchtwin. Don't have Touch markers? That's OK too for now. Starting in January we will require using our markers, but for now you can use any coloring medium. Have fun!