Technique by Design

In the current Technique Junkies newsletter we were challenged to create a piece of artwork using a given sketch. We had to use at least two techniques on the piece. Above is my creation.

The background is done using the aged metal technique from the Feb '08 newsletter. The first and sixth squares use a combination of double bugging from Jun/Jul '09 and metallic pop from Dec '09/Jan '10. The second and fourth squares use the starch smoosh technique from Aug/Sep '09. The third and fifth squares use the faux handmade paper technique from Jun/Jul '08. The center flower uses the decorated pretties technique from Oct/Nov '09. I did add some rock candy stickles to the petals per Tim Holtz and I added expresso distress stickles to the flower center. I enjoy trying out and using the techniques from Technique Junkies, so this was a great challenge.

KSS Crew Challenge 22 Designer Paper 5

I am so tired of winter weather, so I decided to look at it from a positive angle. Of course, this cardinal with the pine background brings a smile to my face. It's from one of my favorite Kitchen Sink Stamp sets, "Winter Cardinals". I also used the branch from "Owl and Autumn Moon". The saying is an old stamp from Great Impressions, which I don't think exists any more.

The inks used were all Adirondack. For the cardinal I used peach bellini, cranberry, rust, and black. For the pine branches I used juniper, meadow, raisin, and black. For the branch I used hazelnut, raisin, and black.

I really think the pine branches with the pine cones make a great background designer paper.

Critter Sketch Blog Challenge 2

My inspiration comes in many different ways. This week it came from a piece of ribbon I had received in a ribbon grab bag. The ribbon was a narrow piece of twill with sea shells printed on it. With the thought of sea and sea shells in my mind, this card was born.

The background paper is from an older Club Scrap kit, actually before my time with Club Scrap. The paper has seaweed and fish and shells faintly printed on it. I added shells, fish, and a sentiment to the background. On the sketch we were given, there was a star. I used the sun which I felt went better with the theme. I think I've had too much winter and I'm ready for the summer.

ARTchix Twinchie Art Project Challenge

I rediscovered ARTchix Studio this week. I love their products and what I especially love is that they now offer many of their products as digital downloads. I love this idea and had to order a number of things. I also checked out their blog, My ARTistic Life, for their weekly art challenge. This week the challenge is to create a project using a twinchie (two inch square piece of art). Using a portion one of my downloads, "Royal ATC Birds", I created this small wall hanging.

The image is a bit hazy, since it is a dimensional object scanned on a flatbed scanner. In real life, it is much deeper and more colorful. To create this wall hanging, I used a two inch square image of the bluebird with his crown. I added a rub-on flourish, glitter pen to the crown, and the stamped word "treasure". I mounted it in a 2 inch square Ranger Memory frame with a piece of glass in the back and a glued memory capsule on the front. Inside the capsule are small beads which move as you move the frame. It was a fun project to create. I can't wait to hang it in my room.

KSS Crew Challenge 22 - Design Paper 4

I've had the Adornments set of Kitchen Sink Stamps for some time now. The designer paper crew challenge was a great excuse to play with the set. This card was the result of my playtime. I just love the detail in the images.

Now for the details. Again, I used all Adirondack inks. For the rope and tassel I used watermelon, cranberry, and wild plum, in that order. For the locks and keys I used pebble, slate, and archival black. Using the step 1 stamps I stamped over each of the objects using Versamark and clear embossed them. I stippled butterscotch over the card and then removed the embossing with my craft iron. I layered the designer paper over a red cardstock base. The "wish" ticket and clear fragment charm are from the Tim Holtz Idea-ology line.

Double Embossed Metal Technique

I used a technique from the recent TJ newsletter to create this card. A piece of metal, two embossing folders, and a few Sharpie markers were all I needed. I use the Spellbinder's Wizard with the Cuttlebug embossing folders. First I embossed the leaves and sanded the raised areas. Then with the Wizard, I flattened the metal again. Once flattened, I embossed the metal sheet again with the owl folder. Sharpie markers were used to color the image. The embossed metal was mounted on a black layer and then onto the card. The sentiment is from Club Scrap. The technique couldn't have been easier, but the result looks complicated.

Critter Sketch Challenge #1

This week is the premier week for the Critter Sketch Blog Challenge . This week a sketch was given and we were to make a card, scrapbook page, or art piece using the sketch. For my card I used the Artistic Outpost set Vintage Circus. The image was colored with Copic markers. I used Club Scrap hybrid inks for the embellishments on the card. On the bottom left corner we were to use a flower or sentiment. I used one of Tim Holtz's Ideology philosophy tags, "Imagine". The card was also supposed to include the color red somewhere. Here is my card.

KSS Crew Challenge # 22 - Designer Paper - 3

This card actually fills the requirements for two challenges. For RangerInkLink the challenge was "Sticky Fingers". It was a product challenge where we were to use some of the Ranger decorative glues such as Stickles. This went along beautifully with the Kitchen Sink Stamps decorative paper challenge. Ranger product and KSS stamps work well together.

The flowers are the medium sized daisy from the Daisy set and the "Happy Birthday" is from the Aloha set. All inks are Adirondack. The daisies levels were stamped in order using sunshine yellow, sunset orange, and raisin. I patted  rock candy distress stickles on each of the flowerw which gives them a crystalline-type shine. The large center flower is made of three layers of petals. They were stamped using a Tim Holtz  script stamp. The petals were enhanced with scattered straw distress stickles. The brad center was made using the I-Topper and then painted with tarnished brass crackle paint. It was a fun card to make.      

KSS Crew Challenge # 22 - Designer Paper - 2

For this designer paper card I used images from the Kitchen Sink Stamp sets Hummingbirds and Hydrangea, and the sentiment from Berries. Hummingbirds was the first special edition set from KSS. I love hummingbirds and thought that they would work well on a designer paper.

All inks used were adirondack except Versafine black for the sentiment and Club Scrap orchid and sapphire which were sponged on the background. To make this card, I first stamped the hummingbirds. They are actually six-step images which were stamped slightly out of order. The colors used were layer 2 lake mist, layer 1 sandal, layer 3 cloudy blue, layer 4 cool peri, layer 5 sail boat blue, and layer 6 purple twilight. For the hydrangea, I omitted the first layer so they would not get too dark. I used willow for layer 2, lettuce for layer 3, and meadow for layer 4. For the leaves I used willow, clover, and meadow, in that order. In the corner of the designer paper I stamped 3 hydrangea--a medium, a large, and a medium. To keep the images from being inked by the sponging, I took the layer one stamp and stamped versamark over each of the imagesand then embossed them with clear embossing powder. When the sponging was complete, I ironed the paper between two sheets of plain newsprint paper to remove the embossing. On a separate piece of cardstock I stamped the large hydrangea with 2 leaves. This was cut out and popped over the corner hydrandgea. The sentiment was stamped. Three brads were added to the bottom. The finished designer paper with embellishments was mounted to the card base to create this card.

Club Stamp Project--January Jubilee Kit

I finished the January kit project in record time, for me. It was a fun project to do. The project included making the box and creating a stamped and woven decor for the box. Inside the box are four individual small books. I'm looking forward to the next stamp kit project.