Seahorses

I wanted to play again in this month's Mixed Media Monthly challenge, and so I decided to create a underwater birthday card.  This month their challenge is "around the house" meaning to find items around the house to use in our creations.

Can you guess which item I found in my house to use on this card? A pencil - I used the eraser end of the pencil to stamp some circles using gesso. I actually got this idea from a kids art project I saw on pinterest.

My new stamps from Just For Fun Rubberstamps are so perfect for these mixed media creations, and all the stamps I used here are from JFF. My background was mostly done using dylusions inks. I did use a honeycomb stencil, but it is really hard to tell. I also wiped a distress inkpad over the background to add a little extra interest. 

The seahorses and seaweeds in the foreground were stamped onto watercolor paper and I used gelatos and a damp baby wipe for coloring. They were then fussy cut. Sentiment is also from JFF.

Product list:

Seahorse small, seahorse large, stamptangle bloom, seakelp large 

unmounted sentiments 1 sheet

(all stamps by JFF)

dylusions inks, distress ink, archival ink

gelatos, gesso

leafy flourish die (whimsy stamps)

mixed media card stock, watercolor paper

pencil for gesso circles

Playing along here:

Mixed Media Monthly - around the house

Mixed Media Cards - touch of nature

Inky Chicks - Happy Birthday
Paper Minutes -Underwater World
Crafting When We Can - Make Your Own Background 

Season of Change

I know we aren't close to fall yet, but I just had to have this cutie from Whimsy Stamps.

It's one of Whimsy's recently released rubber stamps illustrated by Sylvia Zet - Oak Tree Girl. She's been stamped onto copic xpress blending card and then colored using copic markers.

As with most my recent cards I have kept this one clean and simple, to keep the focus on the cute image.

 Products used:

Oak Tree Girl rubber stamp by Whimsy

Autumn letter seals sentiment set by Whimsy

 Feather and Flourish sentiment set by Whimsy

  lace doily 1 border die by Whimsy

memento tuxedo ink

twine, copics for coloring  

copic xpress blending card

Have a great day!!

 

Watercolor 101 challenge

I recently found out about a brand new challenge - Watercolor 101. I really want to get better at watercolor techniques, so I am hoping to be able to join the challenge each week. 

This week the theme is watercolor and salt. I have tried this once or maybe twice before and it's lots of fun. However somehow today my card didn't turn out as nice as I hoped it would. I also wish I had used a brighter orange.

I guess it makes a nice fall-themed Birthday card.

I used hubby's Grumacher Deluxe watercolor paints, regular table salt and painter's tape for masking off the edges. The flower stamp is from a Penny Black clear acrylic stamp set - Allegro. The sentiment is from Whimsy Stamps - Simple Everyday Greetings. I used black archival ink for the flowers and sentiment. To finish it off I spritzed it with glimmer mist for some sparkle, but it's hard to see in the photo.

Thanks for visiting! 

PS: This is my second post for today. If you'd like to see my card created with my new gelli arts plate and some stamps from JFF please scroll down or click here.

Gelli plate fun

Today's project was so much fun to create! And very messy! I recently purchased a 6x6 gelli arts plate and that is what I used on today's card.

I made the card below using stamps from Just For Fun Rubberstamps. I started out by applying acrylic paint  in 3 different shades onto the gelli plate. Then I stamped the gelli plate with the Stamptangle Pattern Background to create a texture on the gelli plate. (This process actually took paint away from the gelli plate where it stamped.) I absolutely love this background stamp and can't wait to use on another card!

After the paint dried (it didn't take very long), I used a couple shades of green gelatos on the bottom part. I also used the stamp Sea Oats from JFF to stamp some grass using green distress ink.

 The Collaged Row of Houses by JFF were stamped onto separate card stock and then colored using gelatos (doors were colored with a copic because I don't have brown gelatos). They were then fussy cut and adhered to the card. The sun is a solid silhouette stamp - sunny silhouette, so I just used some yellow ink and fussy cut it after stamping. I used a cloud stencils and some modeling paste (another new to me product) for the clouds. To finish it off I stamped the words from the set Sentiments 1  unmounted sheet and cut the words apart to adhere separately to the card.

 

Just wanted to leave a little review about the gelli plate. According to instructions on package, the company recommends the use of acrylic paints because dye inks will stain the gelli plate. I only used acrylic paints with mine, and it got stained anyway. The staining is not supposed to affect the quality  in any way. Maybe the paint brand I used was too cheap? I don't know, but at least now I can use my dye inks on it as well without worrying about staining it. 

And then just to warn you, you have to be very careful how you keep it, even for a short period of time. After washing the paint off of the gelli plate and a stencil, I had put the stencil on top of the plate, and now my plate has a probably permanent pattern on it. This was my mistake because they did mention that on the package and I was just too careless with it. 

I am playing along in the following challenges:
Inky Impressions - No DP
Wonderful Wednesdays - Always Anything Goes 
Party Time Tuesdays -Anything Goes
Altered Eclectics - Anything Goes must be mixed Media
Crafting from the Heart - Always Anything Goes
Chocolate Baroque Challenge - color challenge (see logo below)

 

Thanks for visiting, hope you have a nice and sunny weekend!

Feathers and Flourish

Good Morning and Happy Monday!

It's time for a little Whimsy inspiration using a brand new stamp set from Whimsy Stamps. 

This was quick to make but pretty messy :-)

I created the background using dylusions spray inks and a stencil, and also a little bit of gesso.

The feathers were all heat embossed using versamark ink and white embossing powder. The flourish and sentiment were also part of this beautiful set.

This stamp set can be found in Whimsy's SC designs collection HERE.

Have a great day and happy stamping!

More Stamptangle Fun

Happy Saturday and thanks for visiting! 

I had a little time yesterday to ink up another new stamptangle from Just For Fun rubberstamps. I  am having so much fun with all the stamps I chose and the extra brand new ones that I was sent! The one I used here is one of their new dragonfly stamptangle stamps inspired by zentangles. I thought it would be prefect to use for this week's CAS sketch challenge.

I stamped it onto copic xpress blending card and colored with copics and then fussy cut. I adhered it onto a couple layers of oval nestabilies as you can see. 

The sentiment is also by JFF from the set Sentiments 1 unmounted sheet.

I simply embellished with a button and some twine, glittered the dragonfly and did some paper piercing. 

Products used:

Stamptangle Dragonfly large by JFF

Sentiments 1 unmounted sheet by JFF

scallop oval nestabilies

contest ribbons die set by Whimsy

Papers by SU, recollection, copic xpress

copics for coloring

button, twine, stickles glitter

paper piercing tool kit by SU

I am playing along in the following challenges:

4 Krafty Girlz -  Anything Goes
Through the Purple Haze - Happy birthday   

CAS(E) this Sketch! -  See sketch below  

                                                                   

Penny Black and More - Midway Reminder

Good morning! It's time for Midway reminder post at Penny Black and More, and I am so happy that I managed to create a card on time this month. Be sure to check out the challenge blog to see what the rest of the design team made!

This month our challenge theme is dies and/or punches.
And here is my card.

I was in a watercolor mood, so I borrowed my husband's Grumbacher Deluxe watercolor set. 

Products used:

Enjoy Life (Penny Black transparent set), Feather s& Flourish (Whimsy Stamps)

Feathered Hope (sentiment only from SU)

Feather die (Whimsy Stamps)

Archival black ink

Grumbacher Deluxe watercolors

Twine

I would love to play along in these challenges:
Charisma Cardz - Anything Goes
4 Krafty Girlz -  Anything Goes
Addicted to Stamps and More -  CAS

 

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Whimsy Stamps - Special NEW ARTIST Blog Hop

Have you heard yet?? Whimsy stamps is having a new artist join their very talented team of artists - Art by Mi Ran! Today is actually the last blog hop day, I hope you were able to hop along with us on Monday and Tuesday! If not you can find the hop links for those 2 days on the whimsy blog, and you have until Saturday to hop along and leave comments for a chance to win.

We are celebrating the debut release of our new Art by Mi Ran Collection! We have 7 new rubber stamps, illustrated by Mi Ran, exclusively for Whimsy Stamps. If you didn't join the hops Monday or Tuesday, you might want to scroll down the page for the links to the DT blogs and hop along for a chance at prizes and to see some wonderful eye candy.

All of the new rubber stamps are now available to buy from the Whimsy Stamps store and selected Whimsy Stamps retailers.

I used the stamp "Painter Pennie" for my creation. Pennie has been colored with copic markers and then fussy cut. 

I created the background by using a stencil and some distress inks. I didn't like the cleanliness of the background so I flicked a paintbrush over it using gelatos diluted with water. 

The grass was done using some designer paper from my stash and a grass punch. I flicked some more color using a paintbrush and gelatos onto the grass too.

I thought a climbing flower would look nice on the brick wall, so I added a flourish diecut using Whimsy's large flourish die. The card measures approx. 4.25x5 inches, I wanted the scene to cover the whole card so I adhered the card front onto the same size card base. 

I embellished with some prima flowers and rhinestones to finish it off.

PRIZE ALERT ... Hop and comment for a chance to win our Grand Prize of 3 new Art by Mi Ran rubber stamps!! We will draw the lucky winner from the comments left on the Whimsy blog and on today’s design team posts (listed below), so be sure to visit everyone and leave a comment to be entered into the draw.

For this release, we are excited to be joined by guest designers Alyce Keegan and Mariska van der Veer as well as the Art by MiRan digital design team.  So without further ado, it’s time to check out what the amazing designers have created with these new stamps. Don’t forget to leave a comment at every stop along the hop to be entered into the grand prize draw and if you didn't hop Monday or Tuesday, you can go back and hop and comment for a chance to win 1 of 2 $15 gift certificate prizes.

Ruza
Iris
Samantha
Mariska (guest)
Monica
Jackie
Ellie
Vesi
Shannah

Thanks for joining us for our Art by Mi Ran debut release. We hope you loved our creations! Please hop and comment by the end of the day Saturday, July 19th to be eligible for a chance to win! Winners will be posted on Monday, July 21st at Noon ET on the Whimsy Stamps Inspirations blog.

Happy hopping and good luck to everyone!

Enjoy Life

I wanted to play in a couple mixed media challenges, and so I thought I'd get some more of my new Just For Fun rubberstamps inky :-)

I created the background with some dylusions inks, stamps from JFF and I also used some corrugated card board for stamping with gesso (one of the challenges I am playing along in the challenge is "things around the house"). 

Products used:

Stamps all by JFF

Stamptangle fancy fish, Stamptangle leaf flourish,

waterring large , Enjoy life sentiment 

other products:

Dylusions inks, gesso, black archival ink, 

copics, sequins

Challenges:

Mixed Media Monthly - around the house (I used corrugated cardboard for stamping with gesso)

Mixed Media card challenge - Touch of nature

Creative Corner - Water

Hope you have a great weekend!

To watch a Sunset

Happy Friday and thanks so much for visting!
 Today I am showing you my very first card using stamps from Just For Fun Rubberstamps. I just received my Design Team package of stamps yesterday and I was blown away by all of the beautiful stamps I received!

Above is my creation using several stamps from JFF. I kind of hurried with it, because I wanted to be able to take a photo while the sun was still up, so please excuse any imperfections.

Product list:

Stamps: (all by Just For Fun Rubberstamps) Mother & Baby Dolphins, Sea Oats, Water ring large, sunny silhouette, tiny flying crane, to watch a sunset sentiment

Inks: distress, SU, archival black, versamark

Msc. products : gelatos, embossing powder, twine, brads, gray copic

I am playing along in the following challenges:

4 Krafty Girlz -Anything Goes
Fab 'n' Funky - Summer
Deep Ocean Challenge Add A Sentiment
Going Grey With Scrap-Creations  - Water 

Hope you have a nice and fun filled weekend! I should be back Monday with a new creation. 

Whimsy Stamps - July Release Day Blog Hop

Welcome to the Whimsy Stamps July Release Day BLOG HOP!

The Whimsy Stamps Designers and Guest Designers have been sharing some amazing creations made with the new July release stamps and dies over the last couple of days, and today we are celebrating their release with a GRAND BLOG HOP! The hop starts today (Wednesday July 9th at 12.00PM noon ET) and ends on Friday July 11th at 12.00pm noon ET. If you would like to hop along with us today, please

 CLICK HERE to start the hop at Iris's blog. 

 Here is a complete blog hop list in hopping order: 

Iris  Bridget  (GDT) Jacque  Sue  (GDT) Simonne  Linda  (GDT) Ann-Marie  Mary  (GDT) Ellie (that's me) 

PRIZE ALERT ... We have hidden a fabulous prize of a $25 GIFT CERTIFICATE at one of the stops on today’s hop! To enter the draw, simply leave a comment HERE and at EVERY stop along the hop by 12.00pm noon on Friday July 11th. 

 For today's hop I used a new stamp from Whimsy's Time 4 Tea Designs (Yo Yo girl), along with the set Feathers and flourish and a sentiment from a previous Whimsy release - Girl Talk.

It's a pretty simple design. I used designer paper from my stash, but added a little more stamping to it by using the flourish and a feather stamp from the new set "Feathers and Flourish" by SC designs. Image has been colored using copics and fussy cut. I simply embellished with a butterfly and some pearls and then sewed around the edges. 

Here are you Whimsy Stamps quick links and images of stamps/sets that I used.

Yo yo Girl, Feather & Flourish, Girl Talk

 These stamps are available for purchase TODAY at  Whimsy Stamps.


This is also my DT entry for this month's Whimsy Stamps Facebook challenge, where the theme is Favorite Colors.

Such an easy challenge, as I think all of us most likely choose our favorite colors when we create a card. In my case I really have lost of favorite colors, and so any recent card I made would fit the challenge theme. I hope you will join in for another fabulous prize. We do ask that you use a Whimsy Stamp, this can be rubber, clear or digi, to be entered to win. All you have to do then is add it to the July challenge album which I linked above. You have until the end of the month to play in the challenge :-)



 Don't forget to leave comments on each Designer's blog post (links listed above), if you'd like to hop along with us for a chance to win.

Happy hopping, and I hope to see your challenge entry on the Whimsy Facebook page.

Whimsy Stamps - July Release Day 2

Hello everyone and thanks so much for stopping by!

Starting this month, Whimsy Stamps is holding  3-day blog hop events starting the first Monday of each month instead of later in the month. Also, new rubber stamp releases will be done monthly again instead of every other month, and they will be released on the last blog hop day which will be Wednesday.

Today is day 2 of our 3-day hop event, and another day for a fabulous prize. I hope you will join us on this hop.

*************************************************************

This week Whimsy Stamps is releasing 14 new red rubber stamp/stamp sets and 4 coordinating die/die sets, and they will be available to buy from the Whimsy Stamps store and all selected Whimsy Stamps retailers ... TOMORROW!

PRIZE ALERT ... We have hidden a fabulous prize of a $15 GIFT CERTIFICATE at one of the stops on today’s hop! The lucky winner will be drawn from the comments left on today’s design team posts (listed below), so be sure to visit everyone and leave a comment at every stop along the hop to be entered into the draw. Yesterday we sneak peeked the new Elisabeth Bell, Time For Tea Designs and Raindrop Echo Designs products. Today we are excited to show you the brand new Crissy Armstrong, Wee Stamps and SC Designs stamps and dies being released this month. For a full reveal of these stamps, check out the Whimsy blog!

**********************************************************

 For today's project, I used the cute stamp "Autumn Fox Kit", available tomorrow in Whimsy's Crissy Armstrong collection.

 Products used:

 Stamps:Autumn Fox Kit (Crissy Armstrong collection) Feathers and Flourish (Whimsy's SC Designs - flourish from set stamped onto green card stock on left side), Everyday Mini Postage also by Whimsy

Papers: copic xpress, SU, designer paper from stash

Tools: mini postage die from Whimsy stamps, MS grass border punch, MS flower punch

Embellishments: sticky pearls, fabric flower, button, twine

Copics for coloring.

 So now it's time for you to continue today's hop! Don’t forget to leave a comment at every stop along the hop to be entered into the draw to win a $15 gift certificate: 

Bev  Simonne  Mary  (GDT) Jacque Ellie  Shelby  Danni  Debbie  Bridget  (GDT) Shannah 

I am playing along in these challenges:

Pile It On - Add some flowers
A Gem of a Challenge- Any animal
Bunny Zoe's Crafts -Layers
Use Your Stuff -  Leaves (everything I used besides the stamps is old)
Great Impressions - Animal Friends

Have a great day, and thanks again for visiting! 

I'll be back again tomorrow with another card using a brand new Whimsy stamp. 

Punches and dies for Penny Black and More

Happy July everyone, and finally a new card from me :-). I apologize for having been such a bad blogger recently. Hubby is back to work now after 2 weeks of vacation, and so things are slowly getting back to normal. I have been busy working on new cards, which I will show you later this week.

Today's card is for our new challenge at Penny Black and More.

 

- Dies and Punches-

Hope you'll join us. We have some fabulous prizes up for grabs again as always, and you can enter up to 3 times for more chacnces to win.

Here is what I created.
The image stamp is from the clear set "Hello Friend" by Penny Black.

In one of Penny Black's recent posts (just a few weeks ago) they where showing how to create a melted crayon background. Since that was one thing I haven't tried before I decided to give it a try for this challenge. I didn't have the Faber Castell crayons that they showed this technique with, but we have more than enough crayola kids crayons around the house, so that is what I used.

 If you are unfamiliar with this technique, I will explain how I did it.

First I covered the surface of my iron with aluminum foil. (You don't have to do this if you have a craft iron.) Next I heated up the iron until it was very hot, then I unplugged it. I simply rubbed crayon onto the aluminum foil on the iron, which melted it right away. I simply swiped the iron onto card stock (I used a heavy 110lb card stock. In the video that I saw they recommended glossy card stock, but it worked just fine with my recollections card stock which is very heavy.) As you can see I used green on the bottom part and blue on the top part. This did use quite a lot of a crayon, and I don't think I would want to buy expensive crayons to do this technique with. Crayola crayons worked perfectly and they are cheap. It was really fun to try this technique and I love the vivid colors. I might end up purchasing a craft iron though because I just don't like messing with the aluminum foil.

I kept the card pretty simple. I added a negative die cut to create a sort of frame using a nestablities die and some MME designer paper. Tucked the sentiment (Whimsy Stamps- Boy Talk) under the frame. To finish it off I added a layered punched flower (MS) using the flower punch and a leaf punch. Inked up the edges of the card using black ink and then adhered to my card front.

Playing along here:
Animal Friends Challenge -  dog and / or cat
Tuesday Throwdown - Anything Goes  
4 Krafty Girlz - Anything Goes 
 Addicted to Stamps and More - Make Your Mark (with markers, pencils, chalk...) I used copics and crayons

Thanks for visiting,

have a great day!!