Sol

This atc uses a TJ technique from the past, October 2006 to be exact. The technique is called Powder Keg enameling. I think the heat wave we are undergoing and the challenge, create a little sunshine, at Inspiration Emporium inspired this atc. The technique basically involves layers of embossing powder which melt into each other to give a fairly smooth and beautifully colored result. I can't remember who made the sun stamp. I think the atc is now inspiring me to go and find a cold glass of iced tea.

Happy Birthday Dahling

I seem to be singing the same song the past few posts. Today is June 30 and which means the June monthly challenges are ending. I had to get up early today to finish my Stampsmith challenge card with the theme humorous birthday. I made it with a few hours to go. To make my card I used the sketch challenge from Mojo Monday, although I did turn it on its side. My card features Mae West from Stampsmith's Fame 1. The birthday greeting is also a Stampsmith stamp. The "Age" sentiment is from Club Scrap. All of the die cuts are from Spellbinders. The background paper is My Mind's Eye. The lace is from Classy Cards 'n Such. I did try an experiment on my card. Since I had just tried photo tinting on my Tim Holtz tag yesterday, I wondered if I could use the same technique with a photo stamp. Yes, you can. The only warning is that you must use waterproof ink to stamp the image or it will smudge when you add the distress ink color. Guess how I know that. I used archival ink to stamp the image. If you want to see a demo of photo tinting, check out the June tag on Tim's blog; Tim has a video demo.

12 Tags of 2012 -- June

Well, it's still June for  20 some hours. What happened to this month. I finished my June tag for the 12 Tags of 2012 just in time. I really love how the photo tinting with distress in turned out. The image Tim gave us was too cute not to use. I can't wait to see what July brings.

Celebrate the 4th of July

The 4th of July holiday is upon us and here is a card to celebrate. This week the Bloggers Challenge wants us to celebrate the 4th. Sweet Stamps is looking for a patriotic or summer card. The Artistic Stamper's June challenge is red, white, and blue. To make my card I stamped the July 4th background stamp on a piece of white cardstock using white acrylic paint. The panel was then colored using barn red distress stain. Using a wet cloth, I wiped the distress ink off the letters. I used the letterpress technique by dry embossing the words with the matching texture fade. I die cut the flag and colored it using distress markers. The book panel was cut using a spellbinders die. The pretty corner flowers are from SweetStamps. They are colored using distress markers with the red flowers made with a Viva Decor red paint pen. The sentiment is from Tim Holtz's ChitChat. The rhinestone stars are from my stash.
Hope everyone has a safe and fun 4th of July.
By the way, I'm sorry about missing last week's challenge. I haven't missed many Bloggers Challenges since I started. I was in Washington DC for a wedding and a little rest and relaxation.

Easel Gift Box

Well, the temperature in Chicago hit 101 today. What better place for me to spend the day than in my cool, basement studio. Today I created an easel gift box.  It actually meets several challenges. At Our Daily Bread Designs the challenge was to use three stamps. I used two sentiments and the bicycle image from the Bicycle stamp set. City Crafters  wants us to create a gift, rather than a card. Put some chocolates in the box and you have a wonderful gift. Creative Belli challenged us to create anything but a card. And I Brake for Challenges wants to see summer fun.
The easel box technique and the watercolor reinker are both techniques from Technique Junkies.

Best Wishes

The challenge at Cheery Lynn this week was right on time with my life. One reason for my trip to Washington DC this past weekend was to attend the wedding of my friend's daughter. I used the beautiful wedding die from Cheery Lynn to make my card for the couple. The card was in shades of silver. I added the rhinestone/pearl heart at the top, a few rhinestones on the lacy part, and the sentiment sticker at the bottom. This die is awesome.

Simplify

I've been missing in action pretty much all last week. I missed all of my usual challenges and more. I was trying to get over pneumonia and then I spent a few days in and around Washington DC. I couldn't even get to my email because the Wifi in the hotel was really weak. However, now I'm back! I've got a lot to catch up on, so here goes.
I'm back to my challenges. This card was done with a few challenges in mind. The challenge for Compendium of Curiosities II was tissue wrap flowers from p. 38 of Tim Holtz's book. This week's challenge is sponsored by The Funkie Junkie Boutique.  Kraft Journal had an anything goes challenge. Simon Says Stamp and Show wants depth of distress.
To create my card I started with a panel of Core'dinations paper. I dry embossed it with a numbers folder from Cuttlebug and then sanded the raised numbers. I used my Distrezz-it-all to distress the edges. I used walnut stain distress ink along the edges. The flower was made from Tim Holtz's tissue paper according to his technique directions. I added ripe persimmon distress ink to the edges and a Webster's Pages embellishment to the center. The clock was die cut from black cardstock. The butterfly (top and base) are from Webster's Pages. The simple sentiment is from Tim's Chit Chat stickers.