RAK from Lisa

My BSF (Best Stamping Friend), Lisa, sent me an awesome package the other day.  We 'met' on SCS, and have developed a great online friendship.  She is a very talented stamper, and her coloring, shading, and sponging blows me away.  I can only hope to be as good as her one day.  You'll have to check out her blog to see what I mean.

Another thing that blew me away was what she sent me.  Take a look...

When I opened the package, things just kept coming out of the envelope.  I never thought I would get to the bottom of it!  Everything from handmade buttons, to paper, to stamps, to ribbons, and even chocolate!  (She knows me too well!)  And take a look at all the Distress ink she sent me!  Can you believe it?

I have to tell you, my favorite thing in the whole package was the adorable hand drawn original image by Lisa.  It is the scalloped die cut in the front row.  You are looking at the work of a future stamp designer if I do say so myself!

Well, I had to send her a thank you, so I used the stamp set she sent me and tried my hand at the Distress inks.  I have a loooong way to go to get to the level of sponging genius as Lisa, but I'm gonna keep practicing.

I used a Post-it to mask the table, and drew the table edge with a marker.  I used the Tim Holz blending sponges for all my sponging, and they take a little getting used to, but I like how they blend the ink so smoothly.  It's hard to see in the picture, but I used a Spica pen for the stems, and put a little Stickles on the flower centers for a little extra sparkle.

Do you like the faint shadow from the jar?  I was really impressed with how realistic it looked.  Shadows are very hard for me to 'see'.  One of these days I hope to have an eye for them!

Supplies:
Stamps - Everyday Jargon from Clear Dollar Stamps
Paper - Sahara sand, GKD PL white
Ink - Memento tuxedo black, various Distress inks for sponging
Accessories - Copic markers, Spica pen, Stickles, Tim Holz blending sponges, Post-it note, half pearls, dimensionals

Thanks, Lisa!  You are the BSF ever!

K

Would the Real OLC Please Stand Up

Ok.  I'm back with a real one layer card for this week's ONE LAYER Wednesday challenge.  If you're not sure why I am yelling, just see my first post for today!

The challenge was to use shimmer on your card, but not in the form of glitter or rhinestones.  I wanted to use my Pearl Ex powders, but couldn't find them, so I decided to use my Shimmer Spritz again.

I actually have two cards.  I gave up on the first one after I had completed the image.  I was trying to put some shimmery organza ribbon on it, and it just wasn't working, so I made a different card.  Then when I was searching for a sentiment to put on my second card, I found the perfect finishing touch, a sentiment, for my first one.

I am lovin' life right now!

Card #1...

The sentiment looks much better on this than the ribbon I was trying to use.  Even though the ribbon was sheer, it was still too heavy.  I used sticky notes to mask off the left side of the card, and kept them in place while spritzing with shimmer spritz.  Only the image is shimmery.  I rounded opposite corners to balance all the straight lines of the card.

Card #2...

I made a template out of typing paper (did I just date myself or what?) to use for my mask.  A little repositionable adhesive kept it in place for sponging the background.  As with the first card, I kept the mask in place for spritzing.  All the corners were rounded to continue the curve of the oval for some added softness.

Supplies:
Stamps - Fast and Fabulous, PTI Simple Sentiments and Mega Mixed Messages
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Memento Rose Bud and Angel Pink for stamping, Soft Sky and Wild Wasabi for sponging
Accessories - sticky notes, petite oval Nestabilities, Big Shot, repositionable adhesive, daubers, Sparkle Shimmer Spritz

The shimmer on these cards was really hard to photograph, but it gives a very nice effect.

Hope you're having a happy Wednesday!

K

OLW38 A Sketch

I made two cards today for the One Layer Wednesday challenge hosted by Jennifer Styles this week.  Although they are both one layer cards, one of them was much more involved than the other.  This will show you the extreme looks you can create on a one layer card.

I have been making a lot of warm, sun and beach themed cards lately, and this one is no exception.

I sponged the sand and water, and used a brayer for the sky.  I took Michelle Zindorf's brayer classes a little over a year ago, and love to play around with her technique.  As you can see, you can create very elaborate cards with just one layer.

Supplies:
Stamps - All Night Media, Short & Sweet
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Crumb Cake, Cool Caribbean, Turquoise, Pacific Point, Summer Sun, Pixie Pink, Orchid, Espresso
Accessories - Post-it notes for masking, circle punch, Copic markers, brayer, sponges, white gel pen

This card is much more simple, but still packs a punch.

The bird cage and stand are embossed to make it look like wrought iron.  The triangulation of red in the three image areas pulls the whole card together.

The large bird cage image in this set doesn't have a perch for the birds to sit on, so I drew one with a black marker before I stamped the bird cage.

Supplies:
Stamps - PTI Love Birds
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Riding Hood Red, Versamark, Memento tuxedo black
Accessories - clear EP, heat tool, quilting ruler, SAMJ

Thanks for stopping by.  Hope you're having a great week!

K

CAS94 - Sponging

The CAS challenge for this week is to use sponging.  I love sponging, and if you take a look in the CAS94 gallery, you will find many, many ways to use it.  That is what I love about sponging - you can achieve a variety of different looks with it.

I decided to sponge my background on this card.

I had never sponged with my newer Versamagic chalk inks, so I tried them on here.  It took a little getting used to because the ink is a lot thicker than dye ink and tends to blotch up on the paper if you aren't careful.  Ink can be applied by dabbing or rubbing when you sponge, and I found myself rubbing the chalk inks a lot more than when I use dye ink. 

I really like the texture the watercolor paper gives to this image.  It adds just enough interest without being overly obvious.  I tried spritzing the background with water to get a watercolored look, but didn't notice any change with the chalk ink.  *Note to self to use dye ink if I want that effect.*

This card looks much prettier IRL.  The colors are very rich, and I could not get a good photo no matter what I tried, so just imagine it being a lot more vibrant!

Supplies used:
Stamps - Pocket Silhouettes
Paper - Fabriano 120 lb cold press watercolor paper, espresso, cajun craze
Ink - various Versamagic chalk inks, espresso
Accessories - Nestabilities ovals, Big Shot, sponges, satin ribbon, home made bow easy, dimensionals


On a side note, we are at my parents for the holiday week.  We girls whupped the boys in euchre last night 4 games to 0.  I thought it very interesting that my husband wanted to play a different game after they had lost twice.  Heehee!  Paybacks!

K