Ombre Fern for CAS Mix Up Reminder

Hello crafty friends.

Can you believe it's the 15th of the month?

There's still time to join in at 

CAS Mix Up

Pop on over and see what our talented Design Team and 

this month's fabulous Guest Designer, Bobby have done to inspire you.

I've sponged an Ombre background using Distress inks and

those fun new brushes that Trina gave all of us at the retreat.

They work like a dream! (Or else rubbing Trina's arm to get her

talent to rub off on me really worked!)

I used two shades of green starting with Mowed Lawn at the top

and Twisted Citron at the bottom and blended in toward the center.

I die cut the fern from Neenah cardstock then used what was left

behind as a stencil.  I used a wet baby wipe to dab at the blended

background through the stencil to get a ghosted look.

The frame was in my stash and seemed a good fit.

Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Scripty Sayings 1 (GKD)

Ink:   Mowed Lawn, Twisted Citron (DI), Versafine Onyx Black

Paper:   Neenah

Other:  Delicate Fern Die (MB), Dew Drops (PPP), Deckled Rectangle Die (Spellbinders)

Bashful Brushos for Krafty Chicks

Hello friends.  I'm excited that I've been asked to be Guest Designer at
the Krafty Chicks Challenge.

Tangii has chosen this Photo Inspiration for the 1st challenge of the month.

Isn't this a gorgeous photo?

I found a strip of Brusho in my background box that resembled the background

of the photo (at least to me).

I used the left over from the die cut to ghost another flower in the background.

I rubbed through the handmade stencil with a baby wipe to get the ghosting.

I used my Zigs and a waterbrush to color the stems, leaves and centers of

the daisy die cut and shaped the petals.

Little pieces of dimensionals  hold some of the petals off the paper

to keep the dimension.

A narrow border of dark green adds some contrast and I also 

added some scoring.

I hope to see you over at the Krafty Chicks.

Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Agapanthus (TT)

Ink:   Christmas Pine (GKD)

Paper:   Mixed Media (Strathmore 400 series), Neenah (110 lb. Solar White), Christmas Pine (GKD)

Other:  Bashful Die (PB), Brusho, Baby Wipe, Zigs, Simply Scored (SU)

Ghosting in the Meadow Clover

Hi there.  I'm so glad you could stop by!

I have another card done with the Ghosting Stencil technique.

I sponged with Distress ink then spritzed with water over the stencil

laid atop the sponged piece.  I quickly removed the stencil and gave it

a few seconds for the water to do it's magic. Then I blotted it with a paper towel.

This clover die made me think of St. Patrick's Day.

I'm a little late though.

CAS Stencil

and

Poppystamps Challenge #54

I've used an old Poppystamps die and it's CAS

Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Take Care (ret. SU)

Ink:   Mowed Lawn, Mustard Seed, Peacock Feathers (DI)

Paper:   Mixed Media (Strathmore 400 series), Neenah (110 lb. Solar White)

Other:  Stencil Leaves 2 (Sanna Lippert for Stamplorations), Meadow Clover Die (PS)

Ghosting with Alcohol Ink and Acetate

Hello and TGIF!

There's still a couple days to play in the
CAS Mix Up Acetate Challenge.

We're celebrating our birthday this month and have prizes!

Here's one last card (for now) using acetate.

Using Stamping, Alcohol Ink, Ghosting Technique, Acetate, Die Cut

I used a technique I saw on Jennifer McGuire's blog on my alcohol inked piece.

I inked a stamp with Archival ink and stamped then wiped off the ink with a soft cloth.

It removes some ink leaving a ghosted image.  I repeated the process several times.

When it came to the dragonfly, I didn't think it showed up very well so I

stamped him in black and left him stamped.

Unfortunately the ink smeared a bit (it doesn't dry very fast or at all?) so

I filled in the schmeared wing with a black Sharpie and put some

acetate over the whole thing to keep it from schmearing more.

I die cut a piece of foam behind the frame so the acetate doesn't touch the

dragonfly.

Oh, and I stamped Friend on the acetate.

Even if you don't use acetate, come on over to see the gallery at

CAS Mix Up

Awesome entries!

Also entering at

Craft Stampers Magazine Take It, Make It Challenge

Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Awesomely Artistic (SU), Bouquet of Thanks (SSS)

Ink:   Jet Black, Forget Me Not (Ranger Archival)

Paper:   Neena, Glossy Photo, Window Sheet (SU)

Other:  Alcohol Ink, Stitched Rectangle Die (SSS), Foam Strips

Autumn Leaf for CAS Mix Up

It's time for a new CAS Mix Up challenge

This month's challenge is

I masked off an area of a piece of cardstock and sponged Peacock Feathers Distress Ink

in the open space.  I went over that with Mowed Lawn Distress Ink.  I was 

trying for a teal color.  Ended up with green, but that's OK.

I laid a stencil (a gift from Loll) on the sponged area and 

used a baby wipe to remove some of the color.

It left some lovely ghosted leaves.

Then I masked off the sponged area and moved the sticky notes a little bit away from

the sponged area, smacked it with VersaMark ink and heat embossed it with gold.

A die cut leaf from some gold foil and an embossed sentiment finish this off.

Here's another version with the leaf cut from a piece I'd colored with Alcohol Ink.

Our Design Team has lots of wonderful inspiration for you!

We've added two more members to our Design Team.
We know they will inspire you.

And our fantastic Guest Designer this month is Linda S.

Hope to see you at
CAS Mix Up

Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Lots of Thanks (SSS)

Ink:  Peacock Feathers, Mowed Lawn (Distress), VersaMark

Paper:  Solar White (Neena 110 lb.), Whisper White, Gold Foil (SU), Glossy (TH)

Other:  Sticky Notes, Stencil (gift), Baby Wipe, Gold EP (SU), Stitched Leaf Die (Lawn Fawn),

Ghosting Reminder for CAS Mix Up

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas at

CAS Mix Up

Using Stamping, Ghosting, Stenciling, and Die Cuts

We're using the Ghosting Technique this month.

It seems that the CAS Mix Up Design team is thinking about Christmas.

I hope you'll go check out their inspiration pieces.

I used a piece of a Ghosted Brusho background to die cut my tree.  I tore some snowbanks, and

stenciled some snow to add to the scene.

There are some great videos on this technique.

Ghosting Technique by Loll Thompson (4:28).  See Mac's sample card using this fun technique.  Loll's sample card combines Stencil Monoprint and Ghosting.

Ghosting with Stencils and Rubbing Alcohol by Jane Davies (1:39)
Water Stamping (Ghosting) by Shery Russ (4:05)

Versamark Ghosting Technique by Seasons of Stamping (4:15)
Bleach without Bleach by France Martin (12:29).  See Bonnie's sample card using this easy technique.
Ghost Stamping with Gel Medium by Jill foster (6:34)

Lots of snippets on this card so I'll take it by
Pixie's Snippet Playground.

Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Holiday Snippets (PB)

Ink:   Chocolate Chip

Paper:   Naturals White, Snippets of  Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White (SU), Watercolor (Arches 140 lb. CP)

Other:  In the Meadow Dies (PTI), Falling Snow Stencil (SSS), Embossing Paste (Wendy Vecchi), Dazzling Diamonds

Another Ghosted Card and Design Team Call

Do you like to use Mixed Media on your cards?

Do you enjoy making CAS (Clean and Simple) cards?

We're having a Design Team Call at

CAS Mix Up

It's open until October 15th.

If you're interested, just add DT beside your name 

when you add a card to the gallery.

This month we're using the Ghosted Technique on our cards.

I used Stamping, Ghosting, Brusho Background, Dry Embossing and a Die Cut

I sprinkled some green Brusho crystals on a piece of mixed media paper and spritzed with water.

I love the speckles of blue that show in the green!

I used a dark blue ink for the sentiment to accentuate those speckles.

When it was dry, I spritzed water on a stencil and laid it on top.

After a few seconds I removed the stencil and blotted with a paper towel.

I love how it leaves a subtle pattern in the background!

Here's some links for the ghosting technique.

Ghosting Technique by Loll Thompson (4:28).  See Mac's sample card using this fun technique.  Loll's sample card combines Stencil Monoprint and Ghosting.

Ghosting with Stencils and Rubbing Alcohol by Jane Davies (1:39)
Water Stamping (Ghosting) by Shery Russ (4:05)

Versamark Ghosting Technique by Seasons of Stamping (4:15)
Bleach without Bleach by France Martin (12:29).  See Bonnie's sample card using this easy technique.
Ghost Stamping with Gel Medium by Jill foster (6:34)

CAS Mix Up

I want to wish my friends in Canada a 

Happy Thanksgiving.

Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Inspiration (Stampin' Studio now OOB)

Ink:  Midnight Muse 

Paper:  Solar White (Neena 110 lb.), Mixed Media (Strathmore), Whisper White 

Other:  Brusho Crystals, Delicate Fern Die (MB), Layering Mini Stencil set 4 (TH), Stately EF (retired Craft Concepts)

Sending Ghosted Hugs

Have you tried the ghosting technique yet?

Here's another of my tries.

After sponging some Distress Ink on a piece of cardstock, I used Shery Russ' technique

and stamped with water on the background.

I was a bit too overzealous with the water.  Oops!

So I die cut a butterfly to pop over one ghosted butterfly and

stamped over the other.

I splattered a little bit of water on the background too so there's some ghosted drops.

So I used Stamping, Ghosting Technique, Die Cuts and Embossing with a Die

for my mixed media.

CAS Mix Up

Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Butterfly Trio (PB), Friendship Messages (SSS)

Ink:  Early Espresso, Tangerine Tango (SU), Mustard Seed, Wild Honey Picked Raspberry (Distress) 

Paper:   Watercolor (Strathmore Cold Press), Mixed Media (Strathmore)

Other:  Kaleidoscope Butterfly (MB), Stitched Square Die (LI), Sequins (PPP)

Ghosted Leaves for CAS Mix Up and a New CAS Challenge

This is a long post but there's some fun and exciting news contained herein.

But I'm going to save that for the end.

For now here is this month's CAS Mix Up Challenge

and my card

I used Stamping, Ghosting and Sponging

The Design Team has some awesome inspiration and we're joined this month by
Mac Mable (The Sweetest of Peas) who was our Monthly Pick for August
with this lovely card.

There are several ways to do the ghosting technique and there are video links at CAS Mix Up.

I used the Bleach without Bleach by France Martin (12:29) technique for this card.

First I sponged lots of ink on a piece of Neena cardstock.

Next I spritzed a leaf stamp with Stampin' Mist and pressed it down on the sponged piece.

I repeated the process several times using different leaf stamps.

I pretty much CASEd Frenchie's design.

Because the stamps weren't true silhouette stamps they left the ghosted imprint
of the outline and some lightening inside but still left some color.
I loved that look!

I cut down the panel and have another piece left over.
(That piece didn't turn out as well and may be in the bin before long.)

I don't know what happened to the sentiment.  I stamped it with Always Artichoke ink
and it was much darker when it was first stamped.  When I went back later, the ink had lightened considerably.  I had removed the stamp from the MISTI so I decided it was best to leave it alone.

******
Now on to EXCITING NEWS!!

We are having a Design Team Call for CAS Mix Up.  The DT call runs from October 1st - 15th. Are you interested on being on the CAS Mix Up Design Team??  Check out the requirements on the CAS Mix Up Blog.  Good luck everyone!

MORE EXCITING NEWS!!

Loll and I are excited to announce a new card challenge ---
 CAS Watercolour Card Challenge.

We had trouble deciding between a mixed media or watercoloring challenge earlier in the year.
Mixed media won out then.
But our love of watercoloring on cards was still pulling on us and we're excited to
finally launch this new challenge.

 We hope you like the idea and want to join in.

The challenge starts today.  Future challenges will begin on the 2nd of every month. The challenge is to create a CAS (Clean and Simple) Watercoloured card following the theme each month.

There is a new challenge starting today ... a "sister" challenge to CAS Mix Up.  

Click HERE to check out CAS Watercolour Card Challenge.

Our first challenge is

Here's a little something I whipped up for this challenge

I used a NBUS Verve stamp and watercolored with an Aqua Painter and ink pads.

MORE EXCITING NEWS!!
We are having a Design Team Call for CAS Watercolour Card Challenge.  The DT call runs from October 1st - 15th. Are you interested on being on the CAS Watercolour Design Team??  Check out the requirements on the CAS Watercolour Blog.  Good luck everyone!

If you're interested check out the details at

CAS Mix Up

and 

CAS Watercolour Card Challenge

Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!

Card Recipe (CAS Mix Up)

Stamps:  Vintage Leaves (SU), Beautiful Butterflies (PTI)

Ink:   Crushed Curry, Tangerine Tango, Old Olive, Always Artichoke

Paper:   Very Vanilla (SU), Solar White (Neena 110 lb.), Core'dinations

Other:  Stampin' Sponge, Stampin' Mist, Linen Thread (all SU), Fun Foam

Card Recipe (CAS Watercolour Card Challenge)

Stamps:  Bountiful Harvest, Happy Fall (Verve)

Ink:  Pumpkin Pie, Tangerine Tango, Crushed Curry, Mossy Meadow, Soft Suede, Chocolate Chip, Baked Brown Sugar, Sahara Sand, Soft Sky (SU)

Paper: Mixed Media (Strathmore)

Other:  Aqua Painter, Paper String (TH)

You've Got This

I finally got some time to play and tried a new technique.

I tried the Ghosting Technique by Dyan Reaveley

It's one of the techniques that Loll linked to at the

Happy Little Stampers CAS June Challenge

I mixed some re-inker with water in some Stampin' Spritzers

(Daffodil Delight and Calypso Coral) and sprayed on a piece of

140 lb. cold press watercolor paper.

When is was dry, I placed a NBUS stencil on top and spritzed with water 

I immediately lifted up the stencil and let the water work for about 15 seconds.

I blotted it with a paper towel and presto, a lovely, subtle, ghosted image!

All that was left was to stamp an image and dress it up and it was done.

The Misti came in really handy for stamping.

I had to stamp several times to get a good image.

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge

is  USE YOUR FAVORITE TECHNIQUE AND/OR PRODUCT

Right now I'm enjoying spraying/misting techniques.

My favorite product and technique is Stamping.

I love the variety I can get with stamps and ink.

I'm glad you could stop by.

Enjoy!

    **********

Card Recipe

Stamps: You've Got This (SU), Kind Words (Verve)

Ink: Jet Black Archival (Ranger), Crushed Curry SU Marker (for center of flower)

Paper:  Solar White (Neena), 140 lb. Cold Press Watercolor (Arches), Basic Black (SU)

Other:  SU Re-inker (Daffodil  Delight, Calypso Coral), Stampin' Spritzers, Flourish Stencil (Tim Holtz), Sequins (stash)