Ocean's Lamp

Life is good...today was another day that I had the opportunity to spend time in the studio and to play the challenges on SCS. Today was the Featured Stamper's Challenge and Dawn L. was the special stamper this week. I have followed Dawn's work since I became a stamper- she is quite the talented artist. I chose her Never Give Up card to case.

The image was colored a while ago and was never used. It was in that 'to be completed' basket. Don't you have one of those? Anyway it was colored with SU! markers, inks and an aqua painter. Then sponging for the sky and sea. Today a little more Baja Breeze sponging was added so that the image would blend with the papers.

Two retired DSP papers were used- Walk in the Park (technically not retired until 7/1) and Prestwick. The sentiment is from the new SU! stamp set called Teeny Tiny Wishes, which I used yesterday too. Going Gray was used as the neutral.

We have quite a few men in our family with birthdays between now and August so I am busily making cards for the guys.

Don't forget about the Design Team call over at The Digi Shack. {See my sidebar}

Have a great week, friends!

Recipe:
Stamps: Winds of Grace, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Baja Breeze, Basic Gray, WW, DSP- Prestwick, Walk in the Park
Ink: Going Gray, Baja Breeze, SU! markers
Accessories: SU!Square punches 1 1/4, 1 3/8; Baja Breeze 5/8 striped grosgrain ribbon
Techniques: Aqua Painting, Sponging

Today is Inspiration Challenge day at Splitcoast Stampers. Stephanie always picks the best websites or other items for an inspiration. Today she presented this fun website, called Charm School Dropout. I picked this art print as my inspiration.

The stitching was done with linen thread from SU!. I used the mat pack to space the holes equally and then made the loop stitch with a needle with the linen thread. The sentiment is from the new stamp set called Teeny Tiny Wishes. A very versatile set with twenty-four different sentiments and each is small enough to be able to tuck it on the front of any card.

Have a great weekend!

Stamps: Winds of Grace, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Pacific Point, Bashful Blue, Wild Wasabi, DSP- Cutie Pie (retired)
Ink: Bashful Blue, Black
Accessories: Linen Thread, Silver Hodgepodge Hardware, Round Tab punch

Aged Birthday

I participated in the SCS Limited supply challenge today. The challenge, Chinese take out, was to pick one item from each of three menues.

I chose1. planes, traines and automobiles; 2. Greens and browns; 3. Natural fibers and hardware. And to top it off it had to be a masculine or boy card. I always have a little trouble with following directions. I read them, of course, but then go along my merry way. So I realized that I missed one of the instructions and left off fiber. Oh well, I'll add some twine to the hardware.

This vintage is not my typical style but I do love it. It reminds me of antiques, my grandparents and the old farms in the area where I grew up.

The main image was stamped using Tim Holtz's distress ink in the shade called vintage photo. I crumpled the corner areas, distressed the edges using my SU! cutter kit and then ink the edges plus a few swipes in the image area. The stamped background was done with the Aged to Perfection retired SU! set. I used the vintage photo ink and added another shade called 'Peeled Paint'`a green. I stamped directly, stamped off, and stamped off twice to get an aged effect. The green panel is Kiwi Kiss textured paper. I took the Peeled Paint ink pad and ran it over the paper several times. Added some hardware and the sentiment to finish it off.

Happy Friday night & have a great weekend, friends!

Recipe:

Stamps: Aged to Perfection (SU!), The Journey (Tim Holtz), HB stamp ((stamping Sensations)
Paper: Soft Suede, Chocolate Chip, Kraft, textured Kiwi Kiss
Ink: Vintage Photo and Peeled Paint Distress Ink (Tim Holtz)
Accessories: Antique Brass Hodgepodge Hardware- retired SU!

Mermaid Wishes TDSC11

This time of year in St. Louis the temperatures have been near 100; and with our humidity the heat index is well over 100. It is days like this that make me wish I was a mermaid, swimming in the cold ocean water all day long! This beauty is another one from The Digi Shack and for the sketch challenge happening over there today.

This also qualifies for the WT224 challenge or the Ways to use it challenge over at SCS. The challenge was to use bold, bright colors.

I had a lot of fun sponging with Baja Breeze after I colored the mermaid, Lani. Her tail fins are one of the new SU! colors called Bermada Bay. I love that SU! is offering the new in colors in markers this year.


Recipe:
Image: Mermaid- The Digi Shack
Paper: Bermada Bay, Baja Breeze, Gable Green, DSP- Basic Grey-Euphoria pack
Ink: Bermada Bay, Baja Breeze, Green Gable, Green Galore, Creamy Caramel, Soft Suede, Pretty in Pink, Blush Blossom
Accessories: SU! Texturz plate- backgrounds 1, primas from stash

The Digi Shack Challenge 11

Thanks Mandy for another great challenge. Hop over to The Digi Shack for more deets.

Challenge Day

I stayed home from work today because I wasn't feeling well. I slept late and an hour or so ago just started to turn the corner with this stinky 24 hour bug. I think all the travel and busyness finally caught up with me. So I was able to play the Splitcoast challenges during the day today which is a super big treat for me. I combined today's sketch challenge 234 with yesterday's color challenge 224. When I first started cardmaking and scrapbooking, the SCS were the only ones around, so they hold a special place in my heart & although I love all the challenges, the SCS are my favorite. One great place to find more challenges is The Daily Dare blog. {see sidepanel for link}

This card is fairly simple and Stampin' Up only. There is an added layer on top of the Pacific Point Base to give the sketch a little more dimension and color. The summer sun layer has 5/8" Pacific Point striped grossgrain ribbon along the vertical edge. There is quite a bit of Pacific Point and Tangerine Tango as well as the retired Designer Series Paper (DSP) Frosty Days from the holiday mini catalog in my studio. {not tomention all the wild wasabi from last year!} Several sets of personalized cards as presents are in the making. However, it is always hard for me to use up my older things when I have new toys to play with...what about you? What do you do with your retired supplies?

The overstamped leaf image was made by inking up the stamp, stamping it once and holding the bottom of the stamp in place while rotating the top to the right and stamping and then rotating to the left and stamping. This gives the shaddowed image but the stem is not duplicated.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for The Digi Shack Challenge. {another one of my favorite challenges} Mandy, my design team sister, always has the most fun challenges. Oh yea...least I forget...Toni has a new design team call out. Be sure to check it out. I have absolutely loved being part of the fantastic group of talented artists and working with Toni is the best.

See you tomorrow!

Pacific Petals

I hope you enjoyed your day honoring the important men in your life. We sure had a great day- it was a wonderful Father's Day celebration. Nothing fancy or big~ just a nice lunch and conversation. Later in the day I had the opportunity to spend some time in the studio. My space is fairly disorganized as over the last super busy month I have been able to squeeze in here and there some time to make a few things (when not traveling). But when I am crazy busy like that, I don't worry about putting everything away; I am just happy to find a little time for relaxing in the studio to create with paper and ink. So today I had to clear a spot to even make a card although I am lucky to have lots of dedicated space. So you can image the chaos, the piles and

misplaced items...but if you could see my face, you would see a HUGE smile!

This creation was made for the SCS Featured Stamper challenge. Today Christy S. was spotlighted. I chose this card to case: Clean and Simple. I kept quite a bit from Christy's card including the sketch, the ribbon placement, the randomly stamped flowers, the oval with the sentiment, the black and kraft bases. I changed the stamp set, the colors, the width of the colored cardstock layer, the ribbon type, and the placement of the sentiment.

I took the opportunity to stamp a full 8-1/2 x 11 sheet of whisper white with these Petal Pizzaz images in Almost Amethyst, Pacific Point, and Lovely Lilac. I will be creating many cards using the one-sheet-wonder technique, however, I am just going to wing it. It may be old (from 2005) but I still like this OSW ; I have used in the past and Cat, the SCS artist also has examples of cards designs. I have quite a bit of Pacific Point cardstock left that I want to use up. It is pretty amazing that I have any Pacific Point cardstock left at all as royal blue is my very favorite color of all-time. The multiple cards will serve another purpose of beefing up my stock of 'thank you's' and birthday cards.

I have learned how to get a nice strong image with these solid image stamps. There are several tricks that I've picked up along the way. First, make sure the ink pad is relatively juicy. I re-ink my pad if it has been a while and I am going to be using one of these solid type stamps. Second, hold the inked stamp firmly against the paper for at least 10 seconds. This allows time for the paper to soak up the ink. Last, use a good quality paper- I prefer SU! whisper white and I know from others there are several other quality brands out there, but I don't have experience with any others.

I grew up with this saying "An artist is only as good as his brushes". And I have always kept that in mind when purchasing my supplies. Sometimes I will buy cheaper accessories but I don't scrimp on cardstock or ink. This is one of the reasons I love SU!- the quality of paper and ink is the best PLUS everything matches. I know there are other wonderful brands too, but my preference is SU!

I guess since I had such a long time away, I keep chattering away. Have a great week!

Happy Father's Day

HAPPY FATHER"S DAY!!!

Here is my creation for my father-in-law. He enjoys watching TV in his recliner so this image from The Digi Shack is just perfect for him. Years ago he was a golfer and fisherman, but he has slowed down. Now he mainly watches golfing and fishing on TV along with Cardinal baseball.

On another post, I blabbered on about how much I like this retired SU! DSP called Prestwick~ the colors and patterns are so masculine. And although I sometimes miss my old favorites, I love new products. The ever-changing, updated & trendy products is one of the things that attracks me to this hobby. It is fun and refreshing to try new merchandise.

Speaking of new- I just received my SU! sneak peek, new 'in colors' and hostess products from the 2009-2010 SU! catalog. PLUS I received my new catalog. Anyone else have theirs? What do you think??

For me it's "Oh my...great new stuff!" The under $10 page has some fantastic images that will be perfect for the fall and winter holidays. IMHO, the new 'in colors' - soft suede, dusty durango, crushed curry, melon mambo, rich razzleberry and bermuda bay - are just awesome. {I am still trying to memorize the names. }

And although I have had plenty of time with my new catalog because I've carried it everywhere, I haven't gotten to play with my other new toys- the papers, inks and sets because we have been traveling. As much as I enjoy seeing new places, I am happy to be home for a while.

Enough chit chat-= about my card. I used my copic markers to color the image. I like how it turned out but I am still learning. Any good on line places to learn a little more copic skills? I have heard about the certification, but I am not ready to travel for it. Suggestions?

Have a great day with the special men in your life!

Recipe:

Digital Image: Recliner from The Digi Shack

Paper: Brillant Blue, WW, DSP-Prestwick (retired SU!)

Ink: Copics- B29 ultramarine, B39 Prussian Blue, YG03 Yellow Green, G17 Forest Green, E09 Burnt Sienna, 100 Black, Y13 Lemon Yellow, E00 Skin white

Accessories: Corner Punch, Brillant Blue Brads

Friends are like good coffee...

I am so fortunate to have friends across the United States; and even more lucky to have spent time with some of those friends this past week. I just returned from my professional conference which was held in Fort Lauderdale this year. Because I am part of the planning committee, I go a few days early and stay a few extra days after the conference. Eight days away from home & my stamps is a little long for me, but seeing my friends made it worthwhile.

This is a card I whipped up late last night for yesterday's Inspirational Challenge on SCS. The paper is Chocolate Chip, and the retired Wild Wasabi~ I still love that color, but I am just about out. The DSP is from the {very old} retired SU! Petal Patch~ which I am still hording. I think I will use it up this summer.

The paper piercing was done with Tim Holtz's retractable craft pick. This is one of the best purchases I have made recently. At around $5 it can't be beat. First- the pointy end retracts so no more getting poked when reaching into my bag. Second, the pick gradually increases in width so holes can be made bigger by exposing more of the pick.
That is how I got the paper pierced holes bigger than usual with the normal paper piercer. The scissors are also fantastic, but more about that another day.

I used my silver sparkle gel pen on the bottom of the coffee pot to resemble the silver bottomed pots. I doubled up two buttons- the green one was from my stash and the brown from SU! retired earth elements and neutral buttons.

Have a great SUnday! I'm off for the day~ see you all later tonight!

Recipe:
Stamps: My Cuppa Joe by Rupa Shevde for Gina K Designs
Paper: WIld Wasabi, Chocolate Chip, White, DSP- Petal Patch (retired SU!)
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Basic Gray, Black
Accessories: Silver sparkle Jelly roll pen (sakura), Buttons- green from stash, brown- retired SU!
Techniques: Paper piercing using Tim Holtz's retractable pick, watercoloring using aqua painter, sponging
Ink:

Busy!

We have been so busy since about 5-14-09 that I have hardly had time to make a card. My mother moved to the St. Louis area to a care center 5-29; we had a wedding shower for my niece on 5-30; and my youngest daughter graduated from HS on 5-14. I am grateful for all these wonderful blessings. I have some professional activities that will keep me busy until 6-15, so I doubt I'll have many cards for uploading, but I'll be back- promise. In the meantime, I hope your days are filled with love and peace.