My Heart Sings When I See Halloween

Yeah it's Saturday and time for a color challenge at the Fall Collection of Create with Connie and Mary. You can see that it is perfect for Halloween and of course that is what I decided to design, a Halloween card. I grabbed markers and the typographic image of Shakespeare's "toil and trouble" for my focal point. I have always liked these lines from Macbeth because it reminds me of a poem my mom helped me write in the 3rd grade. It started something like this: "Peach pits, drippy zits, banana slugs, potato bugs..."

For the skull image I inked it up with a Basic Grey and a Smokey Slate marker. The eyeballs actually look like they are glowing with the addition of the Basic Rhinestones which adds to the fun of it all.

Age Spots?

I love this card and had a mega blast making it, but... When I look at the splatters I see age spots! Please tell me I am nuts. 

Here is what I did for this card: I started with watercolor paper and stamped the largest splatter image from Gorgeous Grunge a whole bunch of times in Pistachio Pudding, and then again in Crisp Cantaloupe, and then a whole bunch more in Coastal Cabana. Then with an Aqua Painter and water I smeared and blended the ink to create an ombre effect. I had to keep adding and adding stamp images to get the intensity of color I was looking for. Once the painted ombre was dry I stamped more splatters, the diagonal stripes, and the skid mark. I wanted the greeting to stand out but I didn't want to use black, so to keep things fresh I grabbed Baked Brown Sugar. To finish I added layered butterflies with Glimmer Brads.

Halloween for Hand Stamped Sentiments

This is a one SUPER cool sketch challenge. You can check it out over at Hand Stamped Sentiments and all the cards made by the Design Team based on this square sketch. Serioulsy, you definitely need to pop over and see the cards and meet a new designer on the team--I'll give you a hint: she is a one talented stamper and a fast runner!

I busted out my favorite stuff for this card to include lots of new Halloween goodies. I started with 5 1/4" square Basic Black card base and then layered on a piece of Witches Brew DSP. The Apothecary label is stamped with an image from Toil and Trouble on Pumpkin Pie. The skull is stamped with Versamark and Heat and Stick Powder so I could add black glitter (YUM) on Summer Starfruit. When the glitter was finished I punched it out with another one of the Apothecary labels. The bottom greeting is from Seasonal Sayings and I used Versamark, Heat and Stick, and more black glitter.

Monday Montage Hop

Welcome to the first of many Monday Montage Blog Hops. A super fun experience at Convention this past summer was the Artisan Finalist Swap.  All 20 of us swapped with each other and let me tell you each one was amazing, but even more exciting was the chance to get to meet everybody. I thought for our first hop I would post about the card I designed for that swap. This card is TOTALLY me. I has my new "go to" neutral Baked Brown Sugar, texture, a marker colored image, curly twine, pennants, Basic Rhinestones,  Candy Dots, and a fluffy flower coated in glitter and shimmer.

From Dara Gloden

To Julie Warnick

Last Preview Day

It's the last day of Preview Week for the Fall Collection of Create with Connie and Mary and you should definitely check out what's happening. Connie has crafted up a fabulous "BOO" wall hanger and a tutorial just for you. Go see, download, and comment to win BLOG CANDY. Today is also the last day of your chance to win a FREE subscription to Create with Connie and Mary.

What Saturday would be complete without a fun card for your inspiration board? So, I want to show off a very cute 3" x 6" card with y'all that I made using the Gorgeous Grunge & Remembering Your Birthday stamp sets, the Elegant Butterfly Punch, the Bitty Butterfly Punch, and my sewing machine. I love the clean and simple layout, the zig zag stitching and the Basic Rhinestones. What do ya think?

Preview Day Six

It's the sixth day Preview Week and it's a good one! You have two chances to win BLOG CANDY. Just hop over to Create with Connie and Mary and you will see who is hosting the candy today. While you're there scroll to Thursday's post to look at all the fun cards made by the Designers following this week's sketch challenge.

I thought I would play along with the challenge and some new holiday goodies. The stamps and DSP are from the Holiday catalog and I think they are fresh and stylish for this upcoming season. 

The Fall Collection starts August 24th and runs through September 21st.

It features 24 never-before-seen projects EXCLUSIVE to subscribers only!

Cards, gifts, home decor, class projects and more - 

Each with it's own full-color step-by-step tutorial!

Visit Create with Connie and Mary today to see what it's all about!

Preview Day Four

I hope you will join me for the Create with Connie and Mary Fall Collection 2013! Early Bird pricing ends this week so don't delay! Deb Currier has a fabulous project and FREE tutorial to share with you today during Preview Week. She is also offering blog candy!! Make sure to visit Create with Connie and Mary to see what it's all about!

I have a fun card to share with you today made with soft colors that transition perfectly from the summer season into fall. I designed this card for Convention, so you may have seen it on a display board. I started with Pistachio Pudding card stock and stamped it with the splatter stamp from Gorgeous Grunge and Whisper White ink. Then I ran the card stock through the Big Shot and the Alphabet Press TIEF. Then I had fun adding two layers of Hearts a Flutter banners.

I used markers to do some "omit" stampin'. I love only using parts of stamps to get completely different looks. It's like having a HUGE gallery of images. I included Crisp Cantaloupe and Basic Grey along with the Pistachio Pudding marker and Calypso Coral Bakers Twine. I think it looks perfect twisting through the banners.

Sinister and Snarky, Day Three

(BLOG CANDY ALERT keep reading)

We are nearing the most wonderful time of the year...Halloween! I love, Love, LOVE all the fun, vintage, stylized, and scary Halloween decor so making cards and goodies is, for me, lots of fun.

I have put my card together with lots of brand new products from Stampin' Up! I started with the Thinlits Framelits swing card and the Witches Brew DSP. The skull and crossbones in orange glitter is stamped with a new image from the set Toil and Trouble (love it). I can't decide what is my favorite part of this card. My sinister greeting "oh what fun" or the spooky iron fence complete with cobwebs. Maybe it's the greeting I mean come on think about singing "what fun it is to ride and sing a sleighing slaying song tonight!" Isn't it great when Christmas greetings work for more than just one time of year?

Another favorite part of Halloween for me is CANDY--I love, Love, LOVE candy and I have a HUGE sweet tooth. So, with my passion for candy I am giving BLOG CANDY away today. It's super easy, just leave a comment on my blog today, Tuesday 8/20, and be entered to win a FREE subscription to the Fall Collection of Create with Connie and Mary. Winners will be announced on Sunday, 9/1.

What is Create with Connie and Mary Fall Collection?

• NEW card sets and projects that can be completed in about 2 hours...perfect for classes and camps!
• FREE Preview Projects August 19 - 24 (so you can see what we are all about)!
• Fall Collection runs August 24 - September 21
• Features the Holiday Catalog AND 2013-2014 Catalog Products
• 24 EXCLUSIVE samples
• Step-by-step DOWNLOADABLE PHOTO tutorials
• Only available to subscribers!
• Demonstrators & Customers welcome!

Create with Connie and Mary
Fall Collection 2013
Regularly $24.95 US

EARLY BIRD PRICE, now through 8/24 only $19.95 US

2013 Artisan Project #10

For the last day of our Artisan Finalist Blog Hop I am posting about my second 3D project. I submitted a stack of three inch deep canvases covered in a mish-mash of mixed media fun. I actually screwed the canvases together to maintain the shape and set up of the skewed stack. Each canvas started with ripped pieces of First Edition DSP mod podged to the fronts and sides. Then I paint-washed the dried DSP with on ombre of watered down ink refills. I wanted purple and blue tones for the top section to feel like sky and then variations of green to represent a grassy field or garden to set the stage for my whimsical paper pieced flower. The painting step is fun because you keep adding and blending and feel like a real artiste!

I used the Hearts a Flutter stamp set and Framelits to create my fanciful flower out of the Summer Smooches DSP.

All the letters in the words were cut using the Typeset Alphabet dies and cardstock. The letters are painted with both high and low lights along with small splashes of Dazzling Details.

A few Designer Buttons in coordinating colors accent in places here and there as well as Basic Rhinestones. Nearing the end of almost finishing this project I decided to add a drawer pull to top it all off. A couple loops of ribbon and one last button on the top of the knob and I was done. That makes it sound easy, but it was a project that took a couple weeks. Time was needed for layers to dry and for me to decide what to do next. 

Just for fun I thought I would share a picture of my 3D projects at Convention.

Thanks for visiting over the past ten days to learn more about each of our artisan entries. I have had a blast sharing them and even more I have enjoyed visiting all the other blogs. 

Be sure to come back often in fact COME BACK Monday, August 26th for our Monday Montage Blog Hop.
That's right the Artisan Finalists will be stamping and paper crafting every other Monday!

From Dara Gloden

To Julie Warnick

Stamps – Hearts a Flutter, Distressed Dots

Inks – Whisper White, Jet Black Staz On, Basic Grey Stampin’ Write Marker, Gumball Green, Always Artichoke, Island Indigo, Pool Party, and Rich Razzleberry Ink Pads

Paper – First Edition DSP, Summer Smooches DSP, Elegant Eggplant, Wisteria Wonder, Marina Mist, Tangerine Tango, Gumball Green, Always Artichoke, and Not Quite Navy Card Stocks

Accessories – Hearts a Flutter Framelits, Signo White Gel Pen, Typeset Alphabet Bigz Dies, Dazzling Details, Regals Buttons, Brights Buttons, Basic Rhinestones, Basic Grey Stitched Ribbon, Perfect Plum Taffeta Ribbon

Other – 3" Deep Canvases, Mod Podge for Paper, Matte Sealer, Knob

Day Two Preview

Are you ready? Today you are in for a real treat. The A-MA-ZING Mary Brown has a brand new adorable pumpkin centerpiece project highlighting Holiday Catalog products and she is offering a FREE tutorial to everybody. Hop on over to the Create with Connie and Mary blog to have some fun seeing and learning about a new project. This will give you a good preview of what the Create with Connie and Mary Subscription series offers.

I want to share a glaringly gorgeous card with ya today that includes colors that I think are perfect for late summer/early fall. How about a sleek mix of Bermuda Bay, Tangerine Tango, Sahara Sand, and GOLD. Mmm I am lovin' Gold Embossing Powder lately and find it super yummy and fresh.

For the double embossed background here is what I did: I preinked the Alphabet Press TIEF with Versamark ink, ran it through the Big Shot, then added Gold EP, and last I heat embossed the powder. FYI the twine and mini clothes pin come from the Tag a Bag Accessory Kit.

2013 Artisan Finalist Project #9

Here we are at day number nine of our 10 day Artisan Hop and I am going to share one of my 3D projects. This project started out as a festive "enjoy" banner I created as a sample for my customers to see during Sale-a-bration. I had the banner hanging above my mantle and over the weeks of SAB I kept adding layers of circle garlands and other goodies to create a fun mix of handmade decor. It looked so cool that I decided it would make a perfect entry for the Artisan Contest. However, I needed to find a method of sending it to SU! so I came up with a totally adorable one-of-a-kind pegboard chalkboard. Oh how I wish I had some sunny days back when I photographed this project so you could see the bright intense look and feel of everything, but lo there was darkness an overcast sky.

I based the "enjoy" banner with the envelopes from the Happy Hello Simply Sent kit that was offered as a freebie during SAB. The grey strips and square paper flowers were also from the kit, but the medallions were made with the More Amore DSP cut with the Designer Rosette Bigz XL Die. The Tea Lace Doilies were crumpled and spritzed with silver Shimmer Paint to complement the grey colors in the kit.

In between each banner I added lots of ribbon, twine, flower trim (may it rest in peace or make a BIG COMEBACK), and scraps of More Amore fabric to create junque bows.The banner and the garlands all hang from drawer pulls. I stitched all the circle garlands, paper and fabric, with black thread. I even included some of the "cupcake" liners from the Pop Up Posies kit.

The frame was made with cheapy yardsticks that I dyed using ink refills. First I drenched them in water and then rubbed a wet sponge with ink refill drops the length/direction of the wood grain. I laid them in the sun to dry and they were ready in about 10 minutes. I really REALLY loved how fast this element came together and the finished look.

 To hide my mechanics I hot glued Designer Buttons over the screws.

From Dara Gloden

To Julie Warnick

Inks – Real Red, Daffodil Delight, and Pool Party Ink Refills

Paper – More Amore DSP, Silver Glimmer Paper, Basic Grey Card Stock

Accessories – Simply Sent Happy Hello (SAB), Designer Rosette XL Bigz Die, Tea Lace Paper Doilies, Silver Shimmer Paint, Lacy Brocade Embossing Folder, Pop Up Posies Kit, Paper Daisies, More Amore Designer Fabric, 5/8” Flower Trim, Basic Grey/ Basic Black Two-Toned 1 ¼” Ribbon, Sycamore Street Ribbon, Raspberry Ripple Satin Stitched Ribbon, Summer Starfruit Satin Stitched Ribbon, 5/8” Flower Trim Ribbon, Basic Rhinestones, Brights Buttons

Other – Sewing Machine, Black Thread, Peg Board, Chalk Paint, Yardsticks, Décor Knobs, Rubbing Alcohol

Day One of Preview Week

Preview Week has officially started at Create with Connie & Mary and we are kicking off this week by introducing our AMAZING Guest Designers! Each of the Guest Designers has a special card they posted on their blog so you want to make sure you check them out. Preview Week also marks the LAST WEEK for the Early Bird Special Price for Create with Connie and Mary Fall Collection 2013!

And the Guest Designers for the Fall Collection are:

Pam Strobel from Stamp and Stretch 

Deb Currier from ARTfelt Impressions 

Deena Boos from My Home Grown Art

Margaret Rayburn from Fun Stampin' with Margaret

Learn more about each of them and see their preview cards by hopping to their blogs.

I know I'm goin' go check them out and start thinking of ideas for fall.

2013 Artisan Finalist Project #8

I can't say it enough that I LOVE this page! So let me tell you why. When I was working on this page I left it out on my table and my son picked it up and studied every detail. He came back to check it out all over again the next day. I'm telling you folks that is what scrappin' is all about; seeing others enjoy a page dedicated to all to them. If you are not aware I will let you know that everything you submit to Stampin' Up! becomes their property and they do not return any items. Even though I sent my copy of this page off to Stampin' Up! and cannot get that one back, I really can. I can print another from Stampin' Up!'s professional printing and have one for myself and my son--that's the beauty of creating in My Digital Studio.

For this page I started with a photo of my younger son Logan as the background paper and then turned the opacity to about 50%. Turning the opacity down is actually disguising the fact that this is not the greatest quality photo. You see it's really hard to get great photos when you shoot through safety glass at the hockey rink. Next I pulled in another action photo which I framed. Like my other hybrid scrapbook page I submitted, I printed two full size copies. One for the photo so I could crop it and mount it on the second page, I used lots of Stampin' Dimensionals to do that ;0)

Allow me to share a few more details that are special to me. First, I layered the smaller photo so that it did not cover Logan's number or name on the background photo as those are important details. As I was adding the brush stamps to the page I noticed that the word "fan" almost landed in the back label of Logan's helmet. With a little nudging I framed the word to fit perfectly in the label to create an easy highlight. The red swirl was included because it reminded me of some of the crazy skatin' and deekin' over the rink. For the journaling I decided to have it on a square path to create a border for the page. It reads as follows: "The Pioneer JV hockey team finished this year with a bang! After four games in one day the Mustangs won the championship game after going into three overtime periods. It was an all around stellar season and totally cool that Logan led the league in goals."

The only traditional elements I added to this page were 1/8" Mini Brads.  The first four brads represent Logan's number and the second two for his second season. The last two on the bottom right don't have any meaning, they just create balance. Thanks for letting me blab on and on. Do you enjoy scrappin' if so what is your favorite method?  Digital, traditional, or a mix of both?

From Dara Gloden

To Julie Warnick

MDS Stamp Brushes – MDS Seriously Awesome/Seriously Awesome – fanfreakintastic, Designer Kits/Neon Notes/Neon Notes - super great, Designer Kits/Neon Notes/Neon Notes - awesome day, Designer Kits/A Year in Review/A Year in Review – june, Designer Kits/A Year in Review/A Year in Review – 2012, Designer Kits/Fan Fair - embellishments/Fan Fair - frame 4

MDS Colors – Cherry Cobbler, Brilliant Blue, Basic Black

Paper – MDS Professional Printing (heavyweight)

Traditional Accessories – 1/8” Mini Brads, Stampin' Dimensionals