Back to School Time

This week Blogger's Challenge is back to school, as is the Wednesday challenge at Simon Says Stamp and Gecko Galz. I used the challenge sketch from Mojo Monday as the basis of my card layout. My main image is from Gecko Galz. The sentiment and alphabet stamps are from Club Scrap. Tuesday Throwdown challenged us to use our scraps. Except for the card base and the focal image, all of the paper used on this card was cut from partially used papers and other scrap paper.

Carnival Clown

For this card I got to use a stamp I borrowed from my sister, a long time ago. I just love this clown, an old stamp from Stampers Anonymous. I guess I should give him back sometime, but in the meantime I'm taking good care of him. I stamped the clown in archival crimson and  highlighted the image with wild honey distress ink. The background panel was double dry embossed -- first with dots (wild honey) and then with the post card folder (faded jeans), both Tim Holtz folders. The pennant was cut using the Tim Holtz on the edge pennant die, inked with wild honey, and then highlighted with Rangers Rock Candy dry glitter.
I am entering this card into several challenges. Simon Says Stamp Monday has the theme of carnival. I thought that the clown and the glittery pennant went well with that challenge. Take a Word wants to see warm colours. Artistic Stamper has a challenge of post card, travel, holidays. And, Creative Belli is challenging us to use glitter.

12 Tags of 2013 -- August

For those of you who know me well, don't panic. It's not the end of the month already. No, I actually finished my August tag from Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of 2013 very early. First of all, I love the stamps Tim used and I have to admit, I was still on a high from being a winner for the July tag. Although I do have the car stamps Tim featured, I went with the train tag -- my grandson loves trains. So, this one's for you Joshua!
I am also entering my tag into the Artistic Stamper challenge which is postcards, travel, holidays. In addition, this tag fits the theme at Tag Tuesday which is travel.

Lighthearted

I love to challenge myself by combining challenges. This card represents how I spent my afternoon trying to complete these three challenges.. At Cornish Heritage Farms, the challenge was a sketch challenge. The monthly challenge at Great Impressions is to make a square card. The SweetStamps monthly challenge is to use the dryer sheet technique.

I started with designer paper from My Mind's Eye to make the border. I added a sweet little stamp from SweetStamps to enhance the border. The clown fish image is a Cornish Heritage Farms stamp. The second fish is from Great Impressions. The bubbles bling has been in my stash for a long time. The slightly hazy look to the image is from the dryer sheet technique.

Simple Things

This week the challenge at Our Daily Bread Designs is fluttering or flying. The challenge at Fashionable Stamping is script, books, pages, print.
To make my card I started with  a page from an old German dictionary. I used the peeled paint (with vaseline) technique for the background. I had a few questions on how to do this technique, so I'll give a quick explanation. I adhered the dictionary page to a piece of plain cardstock using gel medium. I added a layer of gel medium over the top to seal the paper. After the gel medium dried, I added swipes of vaseline with my finger. Immediately I painted over the whole sheet with acrylic paint to which I had added a spray of water. After the paint dried I used a paper towel to wipe off the paint from the vaseline areas and to wipe off the remaining vaseline. The result is a grungy, distressed background.
The image and sentiment stamps are from Our Daily Bread Designs. The image label matched and was die cut using a Spellbinders die. The humming bird with flourish was cut using a Cheery Lynn die.

From Matchboxes to Art

What do you get when you take two small matchbooks, some pretty paper and diecuts, and add a little bling? You get a lovely little gift box with drawers. This week the challenge at Bloggers Challenge is to alter something.

To make this box, I started with two small match boxes and glued them together along one side. To make the top and bottom, I cut chipboard pieces the size of atc cards. (2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches) I applied gesso to both sides of both pieces for strength and to the striking area on the outer sides of the glued boxes. Using paint and design paper I covered the top and bottom cardstock and the sides of the boxes as well as the front, back, and inside of the drawers. Brads were added as drawer pulls. For the top of the box, I decorated it as I would an atc. The heart is die cut using the plain heart from Spellbinders and the ornate heart from Cheery Lynn. The silhouette heads are cut using a Tim Holtz die. I cut them several times from black cardstock and glued the cuts together for dimension. I inked the edges, added some bling and some paper roses to finish off the box.

I am also entering my box into the Take a Word Challenge which is pink.

You Are My Sunshine

This week there are several challenges relating to the sun and summertime. Summer brings to mind bright sunshine. I just added a fantasy balloon flight and the sea to conjure up a picture of summer fun. My sunny background was made using a texture fade from Tim Holtz on a yellow cardstock panel. The balloon, ocean waves, and sentiment oval/frame were die cut using Cheery Lynn dies. The sentiment was stamped using a Club Scrap stamp.
I am entering this card into these challenges: Cheery Lynn Designs -- hot time in the summer, Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge -- Ode to Sunshine, City Crafter --summer time, and Creative Belli -- summer.