Feeding My Need for Spring!

Hallo, Lovelies! It feels like forever since I played at Tag Tuesday where the current theme is Spring Is In The Air. I've had a UFAP (UnFinished Art Project) for many months in a shoebox lid with Easter/Spring goodies, so win-win: free up a lid and make a Spring tag!

I decorated both sides of this Easter-themed tag, so my photo has them combined. Same tag - both sides. I used collage sheet images by RetroArt Cafe, Twisted Papers and Dover. Everything else I used is from my Black Hole of Stash: ribbon, gems, chipboard, silk and mulberry flowers, paper scraps.

I began by blending on some Distress Inks in greens. Then I used Tim's Heart-Struck Layering Stencil with Catherine Pooler Peppermint Scrub dye ink. I did this to both sides of the tag.

Here's what both sides looked like after I collaged on some paper layers and before I began adding dimensional stuff.  Do you spy the negative die cut layered behind the chick? :-)

A few close-ups:

Thanks for visiting. I hope your Monday goes well! XOXO

CHALLENGES:
1.   Tag Tuesday Challenge: Spring Is In The Air
2.   Crafts Galore Encore #72: AG
3.   The Creative Crafter #25: AG
4.   A Bit More Time To Craft #110: AG
5.   Outlawz Color Tuesdays Feb. 11-24: Photo + Opt. Use the word Love -- I used the word Love on the bunny side of my tag.

6.   Mix It Up Challenge #34: AG + Optional Stemciling -- I stenciled on the background of both sides of tag.
7.   2 Crafty Critter Crazies Feb. Challenge: AG with a Critter -- I have a chick on one side of my tag and a bunny on the other.
8.   We Love 2 Create Challenge #2: AG Mixed Media
9.   Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #126: AG
10. More Mixed Media Feb. Challenge: AG + Opt. RED -- I've played the option using red on the bunny side of my tag.
11.  Aud Sentiments #245: Sentiment + AG -- I have a sentiment on both sides of my tag.

First Time Fun with Foiling

Sunday Salutations! I've been working on a Spring home decor tag and a birthday card since my last post. I'm still adding bits to my tag, but I did finish the card to share with you today.

The idea for this card began with a scrap: a negative die cut of a Spellbinders heart shape I had die cut back in January for the back of our daughter's wedding card. The heavy paper's completely corrugated and I liked its texture so I wanted to use the scrap.

I also wanted to use a background of hearts under the cut out that I'd stenciled with some modeling paste colored a pinkish red, but the textures just didn't look right to me. I thought this card would qualify as a decent CAS style, so I went over to CAS Stencil's Foil challenge and watched one of the videos HERE . I had the supplies and watching the video gave me the motivation to experiment.

So I decided to stencil another background of hearts, this time using some of the new iCraft Transfer Gel and Ranger Transfer Foil. I also tried Indigo Blu Flitterglu and some iCraft  rainbow foil on another background. That one had some bare spots but was good enough to use on the back. I got more adventurous and used some Zig 2 Way Glu pen + rainbow foil around the edge of the cut-out and my Xyron and rainbow foil to die cut Happy Birthday. So I was able to try foiling using a few different adhesives.

This is one of the rare times I am not showing the inside of my card. And that's because I'm thinking this is going to be Honey's birthday card in April, and I don't want to decide what to do in there just yet. So here's a few shots of the card back.

This is the piece I foiled with the FlitterGlu and screwed up by forgetting to take off the stencil first. So I took some of the rainbow foil scrap and just began sticking it down again and again until the card was filled in. And I don't think I could recreate it but I do love it! Every heart looks differently foiled and the shine in real life is pretty bad ass! I also tried out my new (to me) Spellbinders siggie die. I cut it from a piece of pink scrap paper and colored it with wax pencils to stand out more.

I cut a tiny Spellbinder heart and stamped in VersaMark and heat-embossed with red tinsel powder.

On Foiling: I have SO MUCH MORE to learn and practice, but I did learn you should save every scrap of foil and that your learning curve (or at least mine) uses up foil. For example, the red foil I pulled off the hearts can be used again for the red non-heart area, on an art journal page or as part of an abstract card front collage background, etc.

I also had by far the best luck with the iCraft transfer gel as an adhesive. The new kind that I used called DUO,  is for foiling with and/or without heat, but you do have to let it dry at least an hour before placing the foil down. I'm fine with that; in fact, I left this for 90 minutes and as you can see it foiled my red hearts perfectly! 

I have not even gotten to heat foiling yet. Santa brought me a laminator for Christmas so I might need to figure out where to buy the cheapest foil.

Thanks for dropping by to visit. Cheers to a great week ahead! XOX

CHALLENGES:
1.   CAS Stencil Feb. Challenge: Foil -- I used Ranger red Transfer Foil on iCraft Transfer Gel  applied through a Ranger Brett Welde heart stencil. 

2.   Try It On Tuesday: Go Green or Recycle Something -- I recycled my corrugated negative die cut.
3.   Seize the Birthday #183: ABDG + Opt. White Space -- I've played the option with white space. 

4.   Happy Little Stampers Feb Challenge: AG with Dies - I used a Spellbinders large negative die cut heart and very small heart die, and an Our Daily Bread Happy Birthday sentiment die.

5.   Mix It Up CB #34: AG + Opt. Stencilling -- I have played the option and stencilied with foil.
6.   Time Out Challenge #155: Birthday Quote

7.   The Crafters Cafe #236: Use Red and or Pink -- I used RED
8.   Through the Craft Room Door Feb 18-24: AG
9.   The Male Room #130: Use Embossing -- I heat-embossed the From The Heart sentiment and the corrugated paper is dry embossed. The card is for my husband's birthday. 

10.  A Place to Start Feb. Challenge: Masculine -- Card is for my husband's birthday. I chose the stencil I did because the hearts looked more masculine, and I tried to keep the design non-feminine.
11.  Outlawz Festive Fridays Feb. 21-Mar. 5 - Birthday Theme

I Heart Mermaids

A HUMP Day Hello! I was planning to do a second post yesterday... but a card never got made as Honey had other plans for me. (Yes, think your naughty HUMP thoughts, all true! Hehehe) So, I woke up early and very refreshed this morning ready to play at some card art.

I have a card to share today featuring a Stamplorations stencil and a Paper Nest Dolls mermaid (Mermaid Ellie in Clam Shell) which makes me happy because I am a Pisces. I HEART Mermaids, they and Fish are my Spirit Animals! And while I have several rubber, clear and digi stamp Mermaids, Ellie was already printed out so I used her. 

I purposefully kept HER colors a bit muted in order for that gorgeous stenciled heart to stand out against my turquoise Stampin' Up card stock base.

WOWZERS. I'm thinking I will use this stencil again! Holy Moly, I had to take a pic because I almost left it as is and called it a day card! I love how crisp the inside lines are and I have to tell you right now how I got them so crisp!

I had ordered some of that Pixie Spray temp adhesive for stencils everyone has been talking about and this was my very first use of it. OhMyGosh, I am a BELIEVER now. The stencil came off and washed up so easily, too. I want to note how well this spray worked on card stock, because I used finger daubers with Distress Inks and I worked worked worked the colors into the corners. I'm trying spray inks next, then watercolors, on watercolor paper. I'm betting Pixie Spray can handle it all, but even if it works only on card stock, I'm sold. LOVE IT when a product lives up to the hype, don't you? Let me know if you've used it and what your experience has been.

  

At any rate, as teachers say, back on task! lol I used the current Sketch Saturday sketch. I have to say that when I first saw it, I thought the element shape was a tough one. I kept seeing a Japanese lantern. Then I turned it 90 degrees to the left and I kid you not, I thought my stenciled heart fits that. I did try putting the two enamel dots at the bottom left like the sketch, but they looked better to me anchoring the ribbon.

So, both the gorgeous turquioise card base and bottom dry-embossed layer is Stampin' Up card stock. Other than that, all other card stock and papers used were scraps from my stash. The bubbles embossing folder is by Scruffy Little Cat for Crafters Companion.  As I mentioned above, the stencil is Stamplorations and I used Distress Inks on scrap white Springhill 110# index card stock (that had something stamped on the other side I never used).

On the back of the card, I used a Sheena Douglass for Crafters Companion embossing folder called Water Ripple, a scrap of fishies paper and my Lawn Fawn siggie on another scrap of the white index card.

Inside the card, I put down some tiled Flair patterned paper scraps and then stamped on some Spellbinders die cuts I'd never used. The sea floor scene is by Our Daily Bread Designs and the sentiments are all My Favorite Things stamps. I used a CC Designs fish and some shells to shadow stamp on the sentiments.

I printed Ellie out on the white index stock and colored her with ProMarkers. I added a bit of clear Sparkle Pen to her huge pearl she is leaning against and added some Sakura metallic gel pen to it and to the clam shell edging. I stamped the CC Designs and My Favorite Things sentiments on deli paper with VersaMark ink and heat-embossed using white powder. I used the last of some glittery sheer ribbon in my stash and added some white iridescent enamel dots.

Close-ups....

And a final look. I'm happy to have been able to color something other than barnyard animals, lol, although I'll miss them soon enough. Thanks for dropping by and I hope you have a good rest of week. XOX

CHALLENGES:
1.   Sketch Saturday #597 -- sketch is shown above
2.   The Crafters Cafe' Challenge #236: Use Pink or Red -- PINK
3.   Stamping Sensations Feb. Challenge: Feminine
4.   MIUCB #34: AG + Opt. Twist Stenciling -- I have played the twist, the stained glass heart is stenciled
5.   Stamplorations Never-Ending Anything Goes Challenge -- I used the ARTplorations Glass Heart Stencil on the background.

6.    Colour Crazy Week 5: AG with Colouring -- I used ProMarkers to color my mermaid and Distress Inks to stencil the heart
7.   Through the Craft Room Door Feb. 18th Challenge: AG
8.   Time Out Challenge #155: Birthday Quote

9.    AAA Birthday Card Challenge Game #10: Cute

10. Outlawz Paper Saturdays Feb. 15-28: Here's to Girls

Another Birthday Card? Holy Cluck!!!

Hee Hee - I'm just a birthday card factory these days, apparently! Greetings, everybody! The card I'm sharing today features another animal digital stamp image that I had in my printed stack: a trio of chicks ready to party down from Bugaboo Digi Stamps . I colored them up with my ProMarkers.

  

I began with Cheerful Sketches' current sketch. In PSE I resized to A7 and printed out, planning to use it turned left 90 degrees. I cut a 5x7" card base from white Recollections 110# card stock and opened my Birthday Paper Trapper where I store birthday-themed patterned paper and scraps. Because of the balloon in the image, I had to make the balloon my circular (flower) element in the sketch. I corrected the balance of the design by moving my focal to the center and then adding the blue rhinestones around the ribbon at lower left. Then a few around the balloon... I managed to stop myself there, lol.

After coloring the image, I cut it out using a Lawn Fawn stitched rectangle die. Doing this cut off part of the balloon on the right hand side. I had printed out an extra balloon to cover the cut one...kinda like doing the Out of the Box Technique but cheating, lol. I was TIRED LAZY!!! lol  I cut a little larger mat for the image with a Stamps of Life stitched rectangle die. One of the Bugaboo Bingo challenge items I chose requires stitching, so I used 2 dies and a ribbon with stitching.

For the Bugaboo Holy Cluck sentiment, I printed it out and then cut it using a Spellbinders ribbon slide label die. I ran a striped ribbon and a stitched ribbon through the slide. I kind of enjoyed letting the ends of the ribbons lay unsecured as I never ever do that for fear of fraying. Well, I may just start now! :-)

For the inside of the card, I used more pattern scraps to line and stamped the Hero Arts sentiment on a smaller scrap.

Did kind of the same thing on the back, same paper, but with scrap strips and stamped the Impression Obsession on top.

A close-up angle shot to try to capture the sparkle of the bling...

I think this might be all of the animal images I printed, so you will hopefully be getting a break from those...for a while, anyway. This turned out to be a colorful and cute card that comes with a laugh or at least a groan and smile, lol. Thanks for visiting and here's to a great week!

CHALLENGES:
1.   Cheerful Sketches Feb. Challenge -- See sketch above.
2.   Catch the Bug Feb. Bingo Challenge -- I chose the middle row: Sparkle / Bugaboo Image / Stitching

3.   AAA Birthday Card Challenge Game #10: Cute

4.   Time Out Challenge #155: Birthday Quote 

5.   2 Crafty Critter Crazies #35: AG with a Critter -- Chickens
6.   PaperBabe Stamps Challenge #112: Layers
7.   Colour Crazy Week 6: AG with Colouring -- I used ProMarkers to color my focal image.
8.   Passion for ProMarkers Challenge Week 530: Use 3 of Something -- I used 3 chickens in my image and I coloured them with ProMarkers
9.   Outlawz Color Tuesdays Feb. 11-24: Use Photo Colors + Opt. Twist Love -- I used every color and I did not play the option  

10.  Cutie Pie Challenge #144: Cute and Cuddly Animals -- Chickens
11.  The Crafters Cafe' Challenge #236: Use Red and/or Pink -- I've used a lot of pink, a touch or two of red