Friday, July 31, 2015

More Home Decor


I bought some little canvases at one of the craft stores.


They were on sale.

Very cheap.


Unfortunately  they were coated with something that water wouldn't penetrate.

Solution....

I cut watercolor paper to fit,
did a watercolor wash on the background,
stamped and painted the images.

I hope the paper sticks for a long time.

Since little things on the table end up getting knocked off,
I hung them in the dining room
opposite this art.

What do you think?

They actually hang straight.

I'm going to take them over to 

ANYTHING GOES

and

NO ORDINARY PAPER
I used watercolor paper on the canvas.

I'm so glad you could stop by.

I appreciate all your comments.

I'll catch up to you very soon.
I hope....

Enjoy!
    **********
Card Recipe
Stamps:  Butterflies (?no name on these stamps), Awesomely Artistic, Butterfly Basics (SU)
Ink:  Jet Black StazOn
Paper:  140 lb. cold press watercolor (Arches)
Other:  Canvas (ACMoore), Koi Watercolor, Aqua Painter, Burlap Ribbon (SU), Vintage Brad (?)



Thursday, July 30, 2015

Palm Branches and Brushos


Here's another card using the die my sweet friend sent me for my birthday. 

I've had such fun playing with it!

I also had a great time playing with the Brushos for backgrounds!

After die cutting these lovely palm leaves, I ran them through the Big Shot
with a PPI Impression Plate to give them a bit of texture.

And I used my all time favorite embossing folder to put behind the Brusho colored oval.


Thanks for stopping by.
    **********
Card Recipe
Stamps:  Friendship Messages (SSS)
Ink:  Whisper White (SU)
Paper:  Solar White (Neena), Watercolor (Arches 140 lb. cold press), Whisper White (SU), Teal (snippet ?)
Other:  Brusho Crystals, Hero Arts Palm Branch Die, Linen Impression Plate (PTI), White EP (SU), Ovals Collection Dies (SU)

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Brushos, Snippets and a Butterfly


This is a result of some Brusho play.

I had 3 splotches that looked like flowers.

I tried stamping outlines and totally messed up the piece.
(Should have used the MISTI.)

I was able to salvage a snippet by placing it behind the circle frame.

Then I added a butterfly die cut from another snippet.

All these snippets so I'm taking this over to


And it so happens that Di is the Guest Designer over at

Where it's RECIPE WEEK.
and the recipe is
SNIPPETS
and they're celebrating a special day.
A very happy birthday, Chrissie!


I'm so glad you could stop by today.

Enjoy!
    **********
Card Recipe
Stamps:  Peaceful Petals (retired SU), Enjoy (PB)
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper:  Solar White (Neena), Watercolor 140 lb. cold press (Arches), Basic Black (SU)
Other:  Brusho Crystals, Pippi Butterfly (MB), Double Stitched Circle Die (Lil' Inker)

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Winged Beauty Make Your Heart Sing


Today is DD3's birthday and this is the card I made for her.

First I did a soft watercolor wash on a snippet and let it dry.

Then I inked this sweet bird with Stampin' Up! Markers, spritzed (just a little),
and stamped over the wash.

A little blending with a damp Aqua Painter finished the design.

It's mounted on a piece embossed with a Lil' Inker die and mounted
with dimensional tape.

I hope she likes it.

I'm playing in these challenges
Oops! I forgot to add
SNIPPETS

***ADD A SENTIMENT***

I used 2 snippets of watercolor paper

NO ORDINARY PAPER
I used watercolor paper

There's still a couple of days before the close of


Thanks for the visit.

Enjoy!
    **********
Card Recipe
Stamps:  Winged Beauty, Eloquence (both Penny Black)
Ink: Soft Suede, SU Markers (Soft Suede Wild Wasabi, Garden Green, Marina Mist, Pacific Point, Blushing Bride, So Saffron)
Paper:  Watercolor (Arches 140 lb. cold press)
Other: Re-inkers (Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue both retired SU), Aqua Painter


Monday, July 27, 2015

Rudolph Days in July

We're on the 2nd week of the heart challenge

You have a whole 'nother week to participate.


Can you find the little, bitty heart on this card?



The Rudolph Days Challenge 
is going on too.
It lasts until Friday.

I know it's the middle of summer
but Christmas is coming at us with
breakneck speed!

I can tell you that I love having my Christmas cards done early.

How about you?

Thanks for stopping by.

Enjoy!
    **********
Card Recipe
Stamps:  Frosty Friends (retired SU), Handy Christmas Greetings (Amy R.)
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Real Red (SU)
Paper:  Naturals White (SU)
Other:  Copic Markers, Simply Scored (SU)


Sunday, July 26, 2015

Palm Branches and Chevrons


A sweet friend sent me this die for my birthday.

I've had a great time playing with it!

The current Addicted to CAS challenge is


I didn't think I had any chevrons.

But I found the stamp I used on this card.

Then I remembered a NBUS stencil of broken chevrons.

So I pulled out the neglected embossing paste and got busy.

The palm leaves were die cut from a piece of saturated watercolor.

The hello comes from a retired SU set.

It took longer to find the perfect sentiment than to do everything else!

Sometimes I just leave off a sentiment because I can't decide which to put on the card!

Over at the Addicted to Stamps Challenge this week
they're looking for 
CLEAN AND SIMPLE CREATIONS

I want to make a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT here.
Kylie, of Addicted to and Happy Little Stampers, 
is launching her first release of 
Happy Little Stampers stamps.

I know you'll love these stamps.
You can see them here and even enter for a chance to win the whole release!
She will ship them internationally (mine are on their way).
Ooh, I cant wait to get mine!

The Australian currency is a bit different than other countries, 
so keep that in mind when shopping.
I was pleasantly surprised when the total amount went down when converted.


Thanks for the visit.

Enjoy!
    ********** 
Card Recipe
Stamps:  Elementary Elegance (retired SU)
Ink:  Garden Green
Paper:  Solar White (Neena), Watercolor (Arches 140 lb. cold press), Whisper White
Other:  Re-inkers (SU), Chevron Stencil (SSS), Embossing Paste (Wendy Vechi), Fancy Palm Die (HA), Large Oval Punch (SU)



Saturday, July 25, 2015

Painting with the Zigs


I got some Ziggies for my birthday!

Zig Kuretake Clean Color Real Brush Pens that is.

I got the 12 pack to give them a try.

Yesterday I had a play with them.

Don't you love that rich, vibrant color?

I used them on cold press watercolor paper and blended with my Aqua Painter.

I need lots more practice, but I was really happy with my first try.

One thing I found did not work was stamping and embossing on this paper.

I tried to mask the hummingbird and stamp the flowers behind.

So the hummer has dimension now.

I think I like it better this way!

The flowers (I'm calling them Crepe Myrtle since they are in full bloom around here),
were inked up with the Zigs (#25 pink) and the stems with #60 brown. 

I stamped off a couple times to give dimension.

Then I moved the color with my damp Aqua Painter.

For the wash I scribbled on a plastic lid, diluted with a little water 
and added to a wet background.

Since this is my very first (and at the moment only) Wplus9 set
and I really want to share this card over there,
I'm going to see if it will fly in their

maybe they won't throw it back.

That's all for this post. 

I'm anxious to play some more.

Thanks for stopping by.

Enjoy!
    **********
Card Recipe
Stamps:  Flora and Fauna 2 (Wplus9), Sprinkles and Smiles (PB) 
Ink:  Archival Black (Ranger)
Paper:  Strathmore 140 lb. cold press (card base), Arches 140 lb. cold press
Other:  Zig Brush pens (#25, 22, 40, 41, 60, 91)

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Work of Art?


Addicted to CAS has a new challenge.
Deepti chose

and

LIFE'S A BEACH

"i scream for....."
INK
Lots of ink on this one.

I used snippets for the tag and starfish.

and don't forget




I used my MISTI to stamp the chevrons.  
By moving the card I managed to get straight lines.

Yay! I didn't think that was possible for me!

I'm so glad you could stop by today.

Enjoy!
    **********
Card Recipe
Stamps:  Work of Art, Endless Birthday Wishes, By the Seashore (retired)
Ink: Sahara Sand, Whisper White, Baked Brown Sugar (retired)
Paper:  Solar White (Neena), Whisper White, Crumb Cake
Other: Tag Punch (retired), Twine (stash), White EP

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted


Monday, July 20, 2015

Hearts for Merry Monday

It's time for another challenge at


It's my turn to choose the challenge this week
and I chose......


This was made with a borrowed stamp.

What a nice friend I have to lend this to me!

This beautiful heart was stamped with Jet Black StazOn and colored
by swiping Stamp n Write Markers on a piece of acetate and
 picking up the color with a Blender Pen.

I touched up the greenery with a darker green and
colored the berries with Real Red.

The gold was added with a Gold Gel Pen.

Edited to add
Addicted to Stamps
HOLIDAY

Sugar Pea Designs in having a
Christmas in July Challenge

Happy Little Stampers CAS Challenge




I hope you'll find a heart, add it to a Christmas card,
and join us at Merry Monday.

This challenge will last 2 weeks.

Thanks for stopping by.

Enjoy!
    **********
Card Recipe
Stamps:  Let Not Our Hearts (Heidi Satterberg)
Ink:  Jet Black StazOn, SU Markers (Garden Green, Handsome Hunter, Real Red, Cherry Cobbler)
Paper:  Solar White (Neena), Cherry Cobbler, Sage Shadow(retired), Whisper White (SU)
Other:  Gold Gel Pen, Gold String (May Arts)

Saturday, July 18, 2015

A Sunny Pair


I love sunflowers and this Penny Black pair found it's way into my stamp collection.

I stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black and colored with Copic markers.

I actually did this sunflowers quite a while ago and it ended up in the UFO box.

It was time to put it on a card!  

I'm entering this at

******ADD A SENTIMENT******
Must have hand stamping and a sentiment.

and

'FRIENDSHIP'

Thanks for visiting.

And thanks for all the birthday greetings.
Who can mind a birthday with such warm wishes?

Enjoy!
    **********
Card Recipe
Stamps:  Sunny Pair (PB), Eloquence (PB)
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Chocolate Chip (SU)
Paper:  Solar White (Neena), Chocolate Chip (SU), Whisper White
Other:  White Gel Pen, Color Spritzer Tool (SU), Anytime Tag Dies (Lil' Inker), Quilted Stitched Pattern Die (Lil' Inker), Polka Dot Ribbon (retired SU) 


Thursday, July 16, 2015

More Blooming Buds


Here's another card from my play with the Blooming Buds.

The watercolor process was the same as for this card.

By mounting it on a dark card base, it has a totally different look.

I love the sentiments that are included with these flowers.

Most of you probably know that Heidi Swapp lost her second oldest son.
An unimaginable loss!  You can read about it on Jennifer Mcguire's post here.  

You can send Heidi a card at

Persnickety Prints
44 West Center St.
Orem, UT 84057

Thank you for your visit.

Enjoy!


Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Watercolor Wings in Mint


Here's a little reminder of the 
for this month.


This time I did 4 step stamping.

I stamped the fullest butterfly first in Mint Macaroon ink, stamping off on scrap first.

Then I built used the next fullest stamp doing the same thing.

The outside of the wings were stamped without stamping off.

The last piece was also stamped full strength.

Being photopolymer, it was easy to see where I was stamping.

Where I was a little off, I used a damp Aqua Painter to blend the colors.

After die cutting, I used some Wink of Stella around the outer circle
and over the butterfly.

Can  you see that shimmer?


I finished the butterfly off with a little sequin.

is stamping too.


I hope I don't have too much embossing and die cutting to qualify.
Since the main images are stamped, I'm going to share anyway.

ANYTHING GOES
Simon Monday Challenge Blog


Thanks for stopping by.

Enjoy!


    **********
Card Recipe
Stamps:  Watercolor Wings (SU), Heartfelt (PB)
Ink:  Mint Macaroon, Chocolate Chip (SU) 
Paper: Solar White (Neena), Whisper White
Other:  Stitched Mats Rectangles, Stitched Mats Circles (both Lil' Inker), Clear Wink of Stella, Sequin (SU)

Monday, July 13, 2015

Christmas Word Tree

We have an extra week for our Merry Monday Penguins.

So this isn't a Merry Monday card.

I thought I'd share a Christmas card anyway.


No penguins this time.

This is a lovely die cut that my friend Loll sent me.

I smooshed it.

You can see how to do this technique here.

Once it was good and dry, I glued it to a snippet of 
DSP that I cut with my Lil' Inker die and
added it to a gorgeous piece of DP that I had been hoarding
saving for a special occasion.


This fits for the Happy Little Stampers


Hope you have a wonderful Monday!

Thanks for the visit.

Enjoy!
    **********
Card Recipe
Paper:  Solar White (Neena), DSP (stash), Champagne Glimmer
Other:  Star Punch (SU retired), Stitched Mats Rectangle (Lil' Inker)