Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Color Mixing

Blending analogous colors can create cool subtle looks for your hand stamped creative works.  I think this water and painting ink blending process works great with hues that sit next to each other on the color wheel.  I shared this "tie dye" technique several months back, click over to here to learn how, where I made tons of background papers.  Since then I continue to put them to use on my cards.

To see what the other designers have crafted using this color combination head over to Hand Stamped Sentiments, be inspired, whip up a card or tag or box, and then share with us what you have made.
For my background my ink color include all three challenge colors AND Powder Pink and Fresh Fig. Stamps are all from the Happy Birthday Gorgeous Stamp Set.  There's a hint of Silver Metallic Thread and a shoestring bow of Flirty Flamingo Bakers Twine.  That color twine is my "go to" twine right now because it goes with almost everything.
I think the "Z" fold layout showcases the tie dye technique, but my favorite touch on the card are the hidden balloons and their delicate thread strings

Thursday, January 25, 2018

Epic Celebration Stampin' Up! Artisan Blog Hop


Welcome to the first Artisan Blog Hop of 2018.  We have everything to celebrate this month, February, and March too with Stampin' Up!'s Sale-A-Bration!  But first is it oaky if I celebrate this long awaited moment?  I am elated to be creating with 15 powerhouse-superstar-amazing stampers from all over the globe representing Stampin' Up!  

What is Sale-A-Bration?  During Sale-A-Bration, you can earn exclusive free products with every qualifying purchase; you earn rewards when you shop, host, or join.  I love the the Sale-A-Bration season.  The stamp sets and accessories are always some of my most very favorite products and this year offers awesome new tools and toys you will want to get your hands on!

My mind went reeling with all sorts of ideas the moment I thumbed through the Sale-A-Bration Brochure.  One stamp set that fast grabbed my attention was Epic Celebrations.  With a house full of guitar players, everybody but me, the set had to join my stamp collection.
The Gift Bag Punch Board was calling my name and seemed perfect to go with the Epic Celebrations Stamp Set.  I made my bag with a Window Sheet which I lined with Whisper White Card Stock.  But first before putting the bag together I added a layer of Silver Embossing Paste for some spunky texture.  Take a close look and you may see that there is Dazzling Diamonds Glitter in the brick pattern.  Just sprinkle the glitter before removing the mask--it's that easy.  No fuss no glue just a bit of glitter all over you ;0)
The guitars are my favorite part of the bag.  I stamped them with Basic Black Archival Ink on Shimmery White Card Stock and waited for them to dry.  With an Aquapainter I colored plain water inside the guitars and then sprinkled Brusho Crystal Colour.  I let the crystals and water do their magic and when dry I fussy cut them out with Paper Snips.  A thick layer of Fine Tip Glue coats each guitar for added depth and shine.
For the cards I stamped again on Shimmery White Card Stock with Basic Black Archival Ink and added Brusho Crystal Colour.  This time I kept the layout super clean.  I cut the words "epic" and "dude" using the Large Letter Framelits.
On my "epic" card I love how the shoelaces frame and lead the eye to the greeting.  That kind of detail is totally me.  What's not me is the color yellow.  While I like yellow hues to create depth I don't typically feature them as a focal color.  When the Brusho Crystal Colours dried in the sneakers/Chucks the Crushed Curry Mini Chevron Ribbon looked great with them so I went with it.
I use the word "dude" all the time--so this card is very me.  It was designed for any of the dudes in my family because they are all awesome.  
Thanks for stopping by my blog and to our first Stampin' Up! Artisan Design Team hop of 2018.  Being a member of the team will be an epic celebration of which I am blessed to be enjoying.
You are going to be delighted by your next stop along the hop.  Emma Goddard from the UK has a post that is sure to inspire and get you ready to Sale-a-Brate.

2018 Artisan Design Team

Product List

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Special News to Share

Warning:  this post contains way more info than normal


In my family once you are big you get to celebrate your birthday all month long.  So, for my birthday this year I got 50 amazing, silly, sentimental, super cool gifts to celebrate my big milestone—1/2 a century!

I also received another fabulous gift of which I could not say a word.

It goes like this…

I have great news and can’t tell anybody except my husband Newel.  Not saying a thing for more than two months is going to be tough. 

On the 7th of September, just 19 days before my 50th birthday, I learned that there was such a thing as “waving” on Messenger.  They say old dogs can't learn new tricks—well this old dog did!  I follow quite a few fellow Stampin’ Up! Demonstrators online.  As Demonstrators we see and share creative and business ideas.  Some I have never met in person and others I have spent a few fun cherished moments at SU! events.  Because we all have a passion for stampin’ and creating, we are friends!

Going back to the wave I received, I wondered what was up it had me intrigued.  Intrigued because the wave was from a Stampin’ Up! employee who is also one of those demonstrator friends.  Then another message came from another SU! friend/employee; it said they were trying to call me.  Wondering what was up I was quick to message back that I was free to chat.

A few moments later my cell phone rang and it was not just one, not two, but three calling from SU!, it was Cindy Schuster, Becky Cowley Foster, and Melody Hyde.  At that moment I could feel my heart beat a bit faster.  How cool was this to get a call from three amazing creative people at the same time.  In fact when Cindy said she was calling from Stampin’ Up! she giggled and mentioned it was the first time she has introduced herself on the phone with her new job.  I had a sweet feeling of luckiness to be her first call ;0)  Then my mind started freaking out, could it be “the” call?

It was!

I had been invited to the Stampin’ Up! Artisan Design Team for the year 2018!!!
I was fist pumpin’ and dancing' like a fool and was glad nobody could see my dorky reaction.  They gave me lots of information and then asked if I would accept.  “Of course I would!”  I was thrilled beyond belief.

Next they asked if I had any questions.  Usually I can’t think of anything in that type of a situation, but for some reason I asked how many they had selected for the team.  Sixteen were chosen from all over the world and I was one of four from the United States.

One of four?  My throat welled up in an emotional knot.  Humbled I was at that very moment and have been since that day.


Thank you Stampin’ Up!, Cindy, Becky, and Melody for a day I will not forget.
Theses photos are from November's Onstage Live Event in Salt Lake City.  What a relief it was to finally share my news.
Photo taken at Onstage Salt Lake: Charlet Mallet, the cute gentleman from Stampin' Up!, Connie Collins, Kim McGillis, Cathy Caines, Elizabeth Price, and Jenni Pauli
 

2018 Artisan Design Team:

Sunday, January 21, 2018

Party Pandas are Picture Perfect

Welcome to #seeinginkspots and our #mondaymontage blog hop.  Our group of nine Stampin' Up! Demonstrators hops every other week to share what we have been whipping up in our moments of inking, cutting, gluing, embellishing, and crafting.  In my creative process this week I put together a few Party Panda cards which I paired with the Picture Perfect DSP.
My card stock colors are Basic Black, Berry Burst, Whisper White, and Bermuda Bay.  I stamped with Black Momento ink and colored with Stampin' Blends.  For my layers I grabbed the Stitched Shapes Framelits and then embellished with the Tutti Frutti Sequins and Bermuda Bay Mini Chevron Ribbon.  Take a look at the second card and you'll see that I have also included the Confetti TIEF.

It's always great to have you visit my blog--big hugs!
Up next in our hop is Julie Warnick
Or, you can click back to see Dani Dziama's Thoughtful Corner.

Friday, January 19, 2018

#TGIF143

You can spin this challenge in just about every direction possible and it will always be perfect!  Take a spin on over to #TGIF143 to see what the entire team has whipped up for the theme
"Awesome Friends."

For my "awesome friend" card I pulled out of my stamp stash the Sure Do Love You and Southern Serenade sets.  My ink pad colors are Calypso Coral, Melon Mambo, and Rich Razzleberry.  The word amazing is cut from the Celebrate You Thinlits Dies.
Tips of the Day:

1.  Try watercoloring with images stamped with Classic Ink Pads and NOT care if the colors bleed. That's what I did with the flowers and I think it's cool.

2.  Cut the "amazing" three times, stack them, and glue them all together to create perfect dimensionals that won't show.

3.  When stamping the hearts try inking up, stamping off, do a little rock and roll around the edges, and then blend the harsh inked edges with a paintbrush.

4.  This next tip is for those who are not too fussy.  If you want unique multi-colored images DON'T clean your stamps in-between colors.  If you look close at the heart in the upper left it's mostly Calypso Coral, but there are hints of Melon Mambo in there.