It's going to be beautiful

Another card, and this one is for the CAS(E) this sketch challenge #231.  I'm really enjoying doing challenges lately!  It forces me to get in my craft room and use all my wonderful supplies. I recently subscribed to Unity Stamp Co.'s monthly kit.  The flower and sentiment stamped in the center is from the July kit. I used some Lindy's Stamp Gang Magicals and then heat embossed the sentiment with white Zing embossing powder.  I used Distress Ink in Black Soot and some of the Magicals mixed with water to splatter on the front of the card.  I had the remains of a large peacock feather in my scraps, and decided to place a few strands together.  You can't see it in the photo, but there's an iridescent pink and green in the strands that go perfect with the butterfly and stamped flower.  So here's the sketch for this week:

And here's my take on it:

You can find the details of the CAS(E) this sketch challenge here

#unitystampco

#lindysgang #magicals

You Set the World on Fire

I finally had some time to play with my Gel Plate, and I'm hooked!  I created the background of this card with red and yellow acrylic paints and a stencil.  I made so many prints, but I liked this one the best to go with the fire, flame and sentiment Inkadinkado stamps I have.  I used black soot Distress Ink for the edges, and some Paper Artsy Infusions to augment the background.

Challenges entered:
Pile It On#132 Challenge
Day Dreamer Challenges #1 Anything goes
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge You've Got the Edge

Clean and Simple Thank You Card

As I continue to go through my stash, I found a printed paper from one of my Stampington magazines from way back.  I really liked the soft colors and thought it would go perfect with stamps from the the July monthly Hero Arts kit.  I'm playing along with the CASE(E) This Sketch #230 with this sketch created by Donna Mikasa:

I used the iced spruce Distress Oxide Ink by Ranger on a kraft cardstock 5 x 7 card, and stamped the pitcher and bouquet images as well as the sentiment then added clear embossing powder.  I also distressed the printed paper and inked with a teal Chalk Cat's Eye ink.  I stamped the additional sentiment on the heart made of handmade water color paper that was included in the Hero Arts kit. #mymonthlyhero

Challenge entered:

CAS(E) this sketch #230

Halloween Card

I've made many cards for family and friends, but this is my first Halloween card.  There are so many great Halloween stamps out there, and I absolutely love the casual, funny, and endearing sense of humor from Art Impressions gang.  I happen to have a pug, and I get this look from her if I dress her in anything.  So I had to have this stamp set!  Too cute 😂 I've been trying to use some items in my stash, and I happened to have a glossy foiled overlay from Pink Paislee and those cute little skeleton confetti pieces as well as the sparkly fuzzy balls.  I strung them on some thread to make a garland.  I colored the stamped images with Copic markers.

Challenges entered:
Ai #212 Bling, Glitter, or Glossy Challenge
Simon Says Stamp Work it Wednesday Challenge July 2017

Don't whirry be happy

I have several stamp sets I haven't used yet, and this one from Lawn Fawn being one of them.  It's an adorable stamp set with so many cute little smoothie items you can add to your project.  I made this card for the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge.  The theme was to use plaid and to use Lawn Fawn products if you have them.

July 1776

I wanted to do an art journal page in celebration of the recent Independence Day holiday.  I wanted to make this page very blingy with lot of embossing to commemorate these United States in which we live.  It seems as with other holidays, the meaning is getting lost.  It's not about picnics and fireworks, but those these are the part of the celebration of our freedom.  So many sacrifices were made so we may enjoy the freedom we have, and that is the meaning behind this page.  If had more room, I would have added some quotes from George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson.

I started by painting my page with a coat of gesso, then added the deep dark acrylic blue paint.  I continued with stamping the fireworks with different flourish stamps I have in my stash and embossing them with iridescent and glittered embossing powders from Lindy's Stamp Gang, Zing and Ranger.  I mixed red and black embossing powder for a distressed look on the word July.  I love how that came out!  I decided to add some stickers I also had in my stash.

Art Journal Page

Got back into my craft room this past weekend, and I had some fun doing another journal page.  This one is chock-full of mixed media.  I used Paper Artsy Fresco Finish Chalk paints and Crackle medium for the background, and I colored my stamped image with Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers.  I also used Art Impressions stamps & watercolor paint method to enhance the scene.

Another journal page using Distress Oxide inks

I'm really loving the new Distress Oxide inks by Ranger!  Tim Holtz was so right when he said these would be a game changer.  You have to try them!  The colors are amazing and just seem to "light up" when they meet water.  This is an investment worth making in new product. Thanks to @timholtz and @rangerink for their innovation! I've just started my art journal, and it's so fun to just play.  I wish I would have started long ago...(sigh).  #distressoxideinks

"uptown girl AUDREY loves MAKEUP" by Stampingbella

One of my favorite stamp companies is #Stampingbella.  I absolutely adore their Uptown Girls line of stamps.  The artwork on these girls is so much fun to color and arrange on cards!  This is "uptown girl AUDREY loves MAKEUP" for my contribution for their March 17, 2017 Bellarific Friday post.  The theme for this week is to use glitter.  I stamped her onto white cardstock and colored her with Copic markers, then fussy-cut the image and embellished with glitter.

Doing something I love again…

It’s been over 3 years since I blogged anything I made, but I’ve recently been back in my craft room on a regular basis. After some much needed organization, my creative mojo is alive again! I’ve realized I’m definitely one of those people that needs to be somewhat organized in order to be creative. There’s still more organizing to be done, but hey Rome wasn’t built in a day! 😁

So I decided to start an art journal, and here’s a recent page I finished. The image is from a jumbo stamp set by Stampendous, called The Look. I used Paper Artsy Fresco Finish Acrylic paints, Ranger Distress Inks, and Dreamweaver embossing paste.  The quote is by Sophia Loren and says "Beauty...is how you feel on the inside and it reflects in your eyes."