Red Hot Peppers

Oh my goodness - I can't even believe it myself!! LOL Third post in three days - that would explain the pile of dishes in the sink that need to be washed ;o) I've been stamping in any spare minute I can find and it feels great. The coming of spring and summer always invigorates me no matter how tired I get. All the miracles of plant life, all kinds of birds singing in the early morning, and the sun rising... I just wanna yell praise the Lord! when I'm outside sometimes! I'm sure my neighbors will thank me not to do that at 6am >;o)

Okay, this stamp is from the I Brake For Stamps half sheet of rubber #IBFS-RB026 and I have been admiring it for the longest time. I'm not sure if they are supposed to be red or green irl but they were going to be red no matter what!!! LOL The pattern is the same blanket background stamp as in the teepee post yesterday.

Click image for more detail

Card measures 3 1/2" x 6 1/4"

I started by stamping the peppers on a kraft cs with black Staz-On ink, and coloring it in with numerous colored pencils. I covered over the red area with Judi-kins Diamond Glaze for that shiny wax look. I used a chalky white pastel pencil to color an aura around them, but then decided it looked too plain with so much kraft area left. Which led me to do the Technique Junkies Milkpaint technique for that cool white washed board look. (If you click on the TJ link it will take you to the main page where you can click on the free Milkpaint tutorial link on the right-hand side and you can see the whole tutorial - it's a free online sample that Pat provides so you can see what the cds consist of, and should you get a subscription the online part will be in two pages for each technique - one with the step-by-step instructions and photos, and one with sample artwork which yours truly gets to humbly contribute to :o). Generally I would do this bkgd technique before the main image but it worked out fine. For another sample card with this technique click here.

*tip*

When I do Milkpaint, I like to use the Colorbox white pad because it is very wet and streaks well. For the pen, I find the Micron #2 fine point black pen works great (invest in the multi-size pack at Joann's, Michael's, etc. - you can use them to fill in holidays when you stamp in black, and all sorts of other applications. They last forever if you treat them well and I couldn't work without them.)

Both the corner punch and border punch are by Marvy Uchida. I mounted a scrap of kraft behind the black scrap that I used the border punch on. For the background I used my stamp positioner to stamp the blanket pattern twice using Distress Fired Brick. I used a sponge and some Versafine black ink to finish the edges of both panels as shown.

Thanks for stopping by!

Path to a Friend

Wow! Two posts in two days - you can bet I'm not getting as much work done as I should!! Thank goodness I'm my own boss or I might get fired for stamping on the job LOL

Click photo for more detail

Card measures 5" x 6 1/2"

I thought this word stamp was just a perfect fit for this image! All the rubber is from

I Brake For Stamps The teepee (comes in two sizes - this is the larger one) and blanket pattern are single images, and the phrase is on a half sheet of other cool sentiments, etc. #IBFS-IB06

The technique on the main image panel is one I submitted to Pat and she put it in the current Technique Junkies 04/08 newsletter - woohoo! It's called Aged Tiles, and it's super easy. I used Distress Aged Paper to age all the edges. I stamped the teepee in Staz-On Timber Brown and used a blender pen to color it in with Distress Frayed Burlap.

*tip*

When coloring with a blender pen, close your inkpad, gently press the lid to the pad, open container, and use the ink pooled in the lid to dip blender tip or water brush in.

I partially inked the blanket pattern large bkgd stamp by swiping a Distress Vintage Photo pad over it randomly. I stamped this on one side of the main panel, and also made a card front the same way. I used the same ink to stamp the sentiment, color in more of the image, and edge the cardfront. I then layered the main panel to a coordinating rusty brown panel.

The piece between the main image and cardfront is a taupe panel I brushed with Distress Frayed Burlap Crackle Paint. I left it a little streaky for more visual texture (you may have to click the photo above to see this). I was quite pleased that it curled up initially when wet and then dryed pretty flat without almost no warping. I used a scissor to notch out the edges, and then used aged copper brads in the corners.

Thanks for stopping by!!

Finally, a post!! LOL

This card is especially for Laurie, who's been waiting so patiently LOL to see a fresh card post ;o)

I've only used one stamp here but isn't it a great one, especially for this time of year?! This chair in the sand image is by I Brake for Stamps and is on a half sheet of rubber, #IBFS-RB09.

Card measures 5 1/2" x 4 1/4"

The background is a Technique Junkies technique from the current newsletter called Mesh Direct. I used Stampin' Up!'s Buckaroo Blue and Marigold Morning inks for that, and the same for the scene, along with SU's Apricot Appeal and Palette's Burnt Umber. The grass was colored in using an Adirondack marker.

The scene done all in inks and sponges was inspired by the style on the blog Freedom in Creating Michelle is truly an artist and one of my favorite stampers for her unbelievable use of color and perspective! When you go to her page, click on the Tutorials link and prepare to sit for hours oogling and absorbing! The chair was stamped in the Burnt Umber, covered with a Versamark pen and then embossed in clear powder to allow me to color in the scene over it without ink soaking in to the main image. I pop-dotted the main panel so it would stand out more which only really shows irl.

To get the corners I just cut a square of brown cs, cut it on the diagonal and notched out the triangle as shown. I sponged the edges of these and the Stampin' Up! punched window strips with coordinating ink as listed above. The brads are pearlized light blue.

Thanks for stopping in, and don't miss my note on the top of the sidebar - thanks! :o)

A quick note to let you know that Krista at Wood-n-Paper, Ink has just let me know that the business has been sold and is being taken over by Dan & Amy of AJ's Country Stampn'. They hope the transition process will be complete by the end of the month, but you can still order stamps. Go check out the WPI homepage for all the details. Thanks!

Plaster Flower Panel

Here's a fun new-to-me technique I picked up browsing thru the book section at Joann's the other day. The end result provides the actual feel and look of an ancient plaster wall treatment.

Click photo for more detail

Card measures 7 1/4" x 4 1/4"

The main panel features a fine art product called Modeling Paste. If you're using it on flexible surfaces look for the version labled Flexible (although newbie that I am I bought the regular and it worked just fine as applied below).

Here's how it works:

Cut a piece of scrap matboard or chipboard (white) to size. If you don't have white I think you could prime any color with a layer of Gesso and apply paste over that when it's dry.

All you do is grab a popsicle stick, spread a thin layer over the surface of the matboard, smooth or rough up as desired for patterning, and then stamp an uninked rubber stamp into the surface while it's still wet.

Set this aside to dry, and when it is you can apply chalk inks into the crevices and onto the surface to highlight details. I used Stampin' Up! chalks in the Soft Subtles family, and a tiny sponge head tool to apply it called Mini Tip Applicators by Gary M. Burlin & Co. (very cheap, reuseable, and invaluable for small spaces and chalk application).

The flower is a brushstroke one by Penny Black. For the background cs I used VersaMagic dewdrop chalk ink in Sage to stamp a speckled texture and then a marble texture (both by Paper Inspirations). I inked up only the flower head with SU Pretty in Pink (stamped off once on scrap paper first each time to lighten it) and stamped this randomly. This was followed by stamping the writing (Hero Arts) down one side using a stamp positioner and Colorbox Chalk ink in Creamy Brown. I over stamped all of this with second generation SU Bashful Blue ink using a solid flourish from the Autumn Leaves Big Swirls set. I used the brown ink to stamp the word as shown, and to edge the bg panel. I layered onto a craft panel, and then to a SU Mellow Moss cardfront.

I tried everything to embellish this card and nothing really added to it, so I decided to just let the flower panel be the focus.

Thanks for visiting!

Wildflower Filmstrip

Hi! It's been awhile since I've had a chance to make any finished artwork to post. It's our really busy work season, and I've been spending most of my spare time stamping up some sample cards for the next Technique Junkie newsletter coming out the first part of June.

The filmstrip portion of the card below was inspired by a card in the Dec/Jan 08 Stamper's Sampler (pg. 8). It featured a purchased black and white filmstrip panel with flower heads in grey tones. The color scheme was pinks and green, but I wanted to do more of a sunset look.

Click for photo for more detail

Card measures 8 1/2" x 3 5/8"

I stamped the filmstrip (Judi-Kins) in black Staz-On ink on white cardstock. I used Post-It's to block off each section and then stamped portions of the stamp below (Endless Creations) using the same black ink.

I left the masking on the top and bottom of the filmstrip and stippled Adirondack inks on - Caramel on the base, Ginger in the middle and Raisin on the top. I trimmed the raw edges off and mounted this to a white cs strip, then to a black one with distressed edges.

For the background I stamped the flower heads (Just For Fun) using VersaMagic Cloud White and the vine with leaves (Printworks) with the Ginger ink.

I mounted the filmstrip panel as shown, and stamped the sentiment (unknown) in the black ink on the background. I mounted this to white, and then black cs.

Thanks for stopping by!