Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Good Friends are So Sweet



I love this Stampendous stamp.  It's such a sweet vintage image, and I thought it would mix perfectly with my Inktense pencils.

I added just a soft wash of yellow and then stamped it with Versafine, and lightly colored it in.  I wanted it to have that old timey feel, so I wasn't overly careful with my coloring and didn't make the colors that intense either.

The sentiment was pieced/masked together using PTI's Wonderful Words Additions set.

Just a sweet and happy card for a Tuesday.

Supplies Used
Paper/Cardstock:  PTI - Kraft cardstock; Avery Elle - Cherry - Watercolor paper from Target
Stamps:  Stampendous - Kids on Wheels Cling Stamp; PTI - Wonderful Words Additions
Ink:  Versafine
Other:  Inktense Pencils; Tombow - Mono Adhesive

Monday, April 28, 2014

Stop and Go Winner!

Hey everyone!  Just popping in to share the winner from the Stop and Go blog hop.

Random chose Laura O'Donnell's blog as the 'it' place, and Comment #36 which came from.....

MAUREEN JONES!!!!

Congratulations Maureen!  Please shoot me an email with your address and I'll get you set right out to you.

Thank you all for hopping and sharing such sweet comments.  I have a couple stamps releasing in May so there will be another chance to win in just a few weeks!

Sunday, April 27, 2014

It's time to shake things up!



Literally.

I had a bit of time today and thought I would play along with the Sequin Shaker Blog Hop over at Pretty Pink Posh.  I love a good shaker card, and I thought I would kind of turn it inside out.  Usually you have a shaker element as the focal point of the card, but today I decided to make the card the shaker, with the focal point the non-shaker part.



To create the frame, I combined Avery Elle's Custom Panel Elle-ments full A2 die with the second largest Stitched Rectangles Die from Lil Inker.  I also cut a piece of a page protector slightly smaller than the full A2 size.

The oval frame was cut with CM's custom cutting template, and I used that to cut the oval in the page protector as well.

Then I adhered the page protector to the two frames and proceeded to add dimensional foam tape around each of the frames to seal them up.  I added a variety of sequins and then attached it to an A2 sized panel which I had previously stamped the sentiment on.  I thought it would be easier to attach it to a panel then to the card itself.

Once everything was secure, I attached the shaker piece to the card front and added the little girl who is from Avery Elle's Red and Goldie set.  I thought she was the perfect figure....doesn't she seem to be encouraging you to shake the card?

That's all for today!  Hope you are having a great weekend!

Supplies Used
Paper/Cardstock:  CTMH - White Daisy cardstock; PTI - Pure Black Cardstock
Stamps:  Avery Elle - Red and Goldie; Lawn Fawn - Milo's Alphas
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black
Other:  Avery Elle - Custom Panel Ellements Dies; Lil Inker - Stitched Rectangle Dies; Neat & Tangled - Tangerine, Clear, Pearl, and Gold Sequins; Copic and Spectrum Noir markers; CTMH - Dimensional Foam Tape; Tombow - Mono Adhesive; CM - Custom Cutting System

Friday, April 25, 2014

three!



I realize that while I have been scrapbooking lately, I haven't posted any of my recent layouts.  I thought I would share one today.

These photos are from Carina's birthday.  She was so anxious for our dinner guests to arrive she waited out on the stoop/steps for them to come and I was able to get a few shots of her.

Hard to believe that in just a few more months she'll be FOUR!  Where does the time go?!

Anyway, this one is pretty simple.  I've got papers from Elle's Studio as well as Webster's Pages Recorded collection and a healthy sprinkle of Elle's Studio tags.

The title was created with my silhouette.  I couldn't decide which color to use, so I cut two and adhered them slightly offset to create a shadow.  I also added some stitching details for some interest.



Looking forward to the weekend.  It's going to be busy one, but hopefully the weather will be nice enough for us to get some outside time in.

Supplies Used
Paper/Cardstock:  Webster's Pages Recorded Collection; Elle's Studio - Penelope Collection; CTMH -  Outdoor Denim cardstock
Other:  Elle's Studio - Penelope Bits and Pieces and Serendipity Tabs; Tombow - Mono and Multi Mono Adhesive; 

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Thinking of You



Sharing another card I created a few weekends ago while crafty at my friend JJ's house.  It's so fun to get to play with other people's stuff!

This was me working with the Peerless watercolors again.  I have to say that I like them, they are nice and compact and would be perfect for a travel kit, but overall I prefer my Inktense pencils.  I think it's easier to pick up the color from them and you get a much brighter, dare I say intense, color right off the bat without having to layer color.  I do like the fact that there are so many different Peerless colors though.

Anyway those flowers are from a Stampin' Up set that my friend Tessa brought.  I thought they would be perfect for watercoloring and stamped them with Smokey Grey Versafine.  The sentiment is from the set in SC's Clarabelle Card Kit Add-On.

I cut the paper on an angle and added a couple pieces of vellum to soften things up.  The vellum pieces were adhered directly to the card while the stamped panel was popped up.

Hope that you are having a great week.  Don't forget to join in the Stop and Go Blog Hop (just scroll down), someone is going to win a free stamp set!

Supplies Used
Paper/Cardstock:  Avery Elle - White and Fog Cardstock; Recollections - Vellum
Stamps:  SU - So Very Grateful; SC - Clarabelle Card Kit Add On Exclusive
Ink:  Versafine Smokey Grey
Other:  Peerless Watercolors; Tombow - Mono Adhesive; SU - Dimensional Foam Adhesive

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Stop and Go Blog Hop Redux



Confession:  I had two cards to post for the hop yesterday, but late Sunday night, I (or rather one of my eagle eyed friends) discovered a big mistake on the card.

Since I didn't have time to get it fixed/photographed, I just posted the one card and tackled fixing it yesterday.

I used the same paper pad (MME Cut & Paste Adorbs) as in the first card, but went a little more bold and graphic for this one.

The image was stamped directly on that one patterned piece of paper.  The 'YOU' is from my On the Corner set, the fonts are the same, and it allows you to really stretch the possibilities with the Stop and Go set.  The bold houndstooth pattern is popped out with foam tape.  To add a little definition to the transition between papers, before adhering the houndstooth pieces I added some Queen & Co washi, but spaced it so that just a bit of it shows.  A few Neat & Tangled sequins added some extra color and sparkle.



I also stamped one of the borders from the On the Strip stamp set along the left border and clear embossed it for some additional texture.

What do you think?

Want to see the original card?



It ended up not being too hard to fix.  I stamped the sign again on another piece of patterned paper.....lining it up correctly was the hardest part, then I stamped the hand image, fussy cut the square out and pasted it over the original.  

Have a great day and don't forget to hop to win a set of your own...just scroll down for my original hop post.

Supplies Used
Paper/Cardstock:  MME - Cut & Paste Adorbs 6x6 pad; PTI - True Black cardstock
Stamps:  Neat & Tangled - Stop and Go, On the Corner, On the Strip
Ink:  Memento - Tuxedo Back; CTMH - Holiday Red; Versamark
Other:  Queen & Co - Washi; Neat & Tangled - Red Sequins; CTMH - Clear embossing powder and Dimensional Foam Tape; Tombow - Mono Adhesive

Monday, April 21, 2014

Stop and Go Blog Hop



Hey everyone!  Hope you had a wonderful weekend.  Ours was filled to the brim with activities, friends, family, and a candy too.

I'm really excited to be co-hosting a blog hop today with Danielle from Neat & Tangled.  This month we're showcasing my Stop and Go stamp set that was released back in February.  Some of my favorite crafty friends are helping me out and I just know that you are going to be wowed.  The hop starts at the Neat and Tangled blog, and I'm the second stop.

Every blog hop has to have a prize right?  Well there are two prizes up for grabs.  Danielle and I are both giving away a Stop and Go set.  Danielle will choose from comments left on the Neat & Tangled blog, and I'll be picking a random commenter from all the hop locations.  Comments will close Saturday April 26th and the winners will be posted on Monday April 28th.

I created a very clean and simple card for the hop.  The ombre paper is also from the MME Cut & Paste Adorbs pad.  I stamped the stop light on some white paper, colored it with Spectrum Noir markers and cut a curve using my CM custom cutting system circles.  I added a second curve of dark gray cardstock adhering that directly to the ombre paper. The stoplight piece is popped out with foam tape.



I won't keep you because there's so much good stuff to see ahead.  Your next stop is Alexandra, but the full blog hop list is below in case you get turned around.

Danielle (http://www.neatandtangled.blogspot.com/)
Me (http://mprantner.blogspot.com/)
Alexandra (http://www.artscrapandmore.com/)
Amy (http://stamp-n-paradise.blogspot.com/)
Cheiron (http://www.cheironbrandon.typepad.com/)
Kelly (http://notablenest.blogspot.com/)
Laura (http://itsallrosie.blogspot.com/)
Taheerah (http://littlemisst-papercraft.blogspot.com/)
Tessa (http://craftygrl.blogspot.com/)

Supplies Used
Card 1
Paper/Cardstock:  MME - Cut & Paste Adorbs 6x6 pad; PTI - True Black cardstock
Stamps:  Neat & Tangled - Stop and Go, On the Corner, and On the Strip
Ink:  Memento - Tuxedo Black; Versamark; CTMH - Holiday Red
Other:  Queen & Co - Washi Tape; Neat & Tangled - Red Sequins; CTMH - Dimensional Foam Tape; Tombow - Mono Adhesive
Card 2
Paper/Cardstock:  MME - Cut & Paste Adorbs 6x6 pad; PTI - True Black cardstock; CTMH - White Daisy Cardstock; MFT - Steel Grey cardstock
Stamps:  Neat & Tangled - Stop and Go
Ink:  Memento - Tuxedo Black
Other:  Spectrum Noir markers; CM - Custom Cutting System; CTMH - Dimensional Foam Tape; Tombow - Mono Adhesive

Friday, April 18, 2014

Love Always


Thought I would share another of the cards I created this year for Stamping Royalty.  

The patterned paper was created with one of the leaf stamps from Jane's Doodles' Doodle Flower set. They were stamped in Versafine Smokey Grey and then colored with a waterbrush and Evergreen Bough distress ink.  

One of my favorite tricks for softening things is vellum. I used some here on top of the slide frame die as well as over the patterned paper beneath the slide frame die opening.  The secondary sentiment was embossed on that vellum piece and both vellum pieces were run through my Xyron before being adhered.  


The main sentiment is from Winnie and Walter's the Big, the Bold and the Happy set and fussy cut.  A bit of string and enamel dots finished it off.

Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy your weekend!

Supplies Used
Paper/Cardstock:  Avery Elle - Fog cardstock; Recollections - Vellum; Watercolor Paper; CTMH - White Daisy cardstock
Stamps:  Jane's Doodles - Doodle Flowers; Winnie and Walter - The Big, the Bold and the Happy
Ink:  Tsukineko - Versafine Smokey Grey, Versamark; Ranger - Evergreen Bough Distress Ink
Other:  PTI - Slide Frame Die; MME - Enamel Dots; Stampendous - White Embossing Powder; Ranger - Waterbrush; Xyron - 5" Machine; Tombow - Mono Adhesive; CTMH - Dimensional Foam Tape

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Another experiment



Yesterday's blog post was about a technique I have been wanting to try where you heat emboss a stamp, add color, then iron away the embossing so you can stamp over the design/color that is left.

It's a really fun technique, and when I was done I kept thinking that it would be such a cool technique to adapt to use on stencils.

As luck would have it, I received a new stencil in the mail yesterday that I thought would be the perfect candidate.



To create the card, I used a Versamark marker (the fine tip) to trace around the lines/openings in the stencil.  Then I heat embossed the design and used dye inks and a waterbrush to color in the image.  I also colored in the negative space, where the actual stencil sits normally, and then ironed away the embossing.

I have to say I really love how the technique translated to the stencil and the possibilities that this opens up for my stencils.  Not every stencil is appropriate for this - you need one with openings large enough so that this makes sense to do, but I love the control you get in terms of adding color without being too messy, and being really able to control the color being added.

I'm also going to link this up over at Virginia's View where the challenge is to use stencils.

Thanks for stopping by, hope your week is going well!

Supplies Used
Paper/Cardstock:  Watercolor paper from Target; PTI - True Black cardstock
Stamps:  Winnie & Walter - The Big, the Bold and the Happy
Ink:  Tsukineko - Versamark and Versafine; CTMH - Sunkiss Yellow, Honey, Creme Brulee, Goldrush, Autumn Terracotta, Holiday Red, Cranberry
Other:  TCW - Mini Web Doily stencil ; Ranger - Waterbrush; Tombow - Mono Adhesive

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Experimenting



I got to experiment a little this weekend.  One of the techniques I've been wanting to try is one I've seen Jennifer McGuire do a few times where you emboss and then iron away the embossing powder.  It looks so cool, but I am often too lazy to go get my iron.....however when I was at my friend JJ's house over the weekend, I decided to try it, and I didn't even have to get the iron out, her nice hubby did. ;)

Anyway, I used the largest image from PTI's Circle Scribbles set, embossing it on watercolor paper.  Then I colored it in using Peerless Watercolors....another experiment....I've been wanting to try them, and they are really pretty cool.  Once that was done, I removed the embossing powder by placing some regular printer paper over it and ironing.  Then I stamped the sentiment over top.

I really love the technique, and am plotting some twists on it as we speak.

Supplies Used
Paper/Cardstock:  PTI - Smokey Shadow; Watercolor paper
Stamps:  PTI - Circle Scribbles, Wet Paint
Ink:  Tsukineko - Versamark, Smokey Grey Versa fine
Other:  Judikins - Clear Embossing Powder; Peerless Watercolors; Tombow - Mono Adhesive

Monday, April 14, 2014

Celebrate with Style



Such a busy weekend!  But one of the highlights was getting together with some of my favorite crafty friends JJ and Tessa.

While we were there, I was able to pull out my new Bowtiful set from Waffle Flower Crafts.

A really simple and easy card.  I stamped a bunch of the stars with gold Delicata as the background and the sentiment was stamped over top with Versafine.

The bow was also stamped with Delicata and fussy cut.  I didn't have any matching ribbon, so I cut a thin strip of cardstock and swiped the Delicata pad over it to create my own matching ribbon.



Quick and easy, but I think it has a big impact.

Hope you had a great weekend!

Supplies Used
Paper/Cardstock:  Avery Elle - White and Black cardstock
Stamps:  Waffle Flower - Bowtiful
Ink:  Tsukineko - Versafine and Gold Delicata
Other:  Tombow - Mono Adhesive; Stampin Up - Foam Adhesive

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Hatch Who?




This one is for the current gallery challenge at Paper Crafts Connection - get well cards.  The papers are BG - I really appreciate that they generally include a couple 'solid' patterned papers in their collections.  The stamps are all Lawn Fawn, and I used Lawn Fawn's A Birdie Told me speech bubble dies, but trimmed them down as necessary.

The tissue box and turtle were colored with a combination of Spectrum Noir Markers and Copics and I added some distressing with Antique Linen Distress Ink.

This one makes me smile, and I'm looking forward to someone getting sick so I can send it out....not really, but someone should get a chuckle out of this, no?

Supplies Used
Paper/Cardstock:  BasicGrey - Carte Postale 6x6 pad; CTMH - White Cardstock; Avery Elle - White Cardstock
Stamps:  Lawn Fawn - On the Mend and Milo's ABCs
Ink:  Memento - Tuxedo Black; Ranger - Antique Linen Distress Ink
Other:  Lawn Fawn - A Birdie Told Me Dies; CTMH - Dimensional Foam Tape; Tombow - Mono Adhesive

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

It's Your Birthday - Squeal



Playing along with a couple challenges today - Simon Says Stamp's Happy Birthday challenge and Anything Goes at SPARKS.

I recently got Paper Smooches' Party Posse set.  The critters are so cute and I chose this little guy for a really quick and easy card.  I cut a few random strips of patterned paper from SC's Snippet's collection, adding a bit of stitching detail.

Then I colored the little critter (I'm really not exactly sure what it is, hamster?) with Spectrum Noir markers and fussy cut him.  The word bubbles are Lawn Fawn....I actually have the dies, but I was lazy to go upstairs and get them, so I just fussy cut them and added the PS sentiments.

Hope that your week is going well!

Supplies Used
Paper/Cardstock:  Studio Calico - Snippets 6x6 pad; Avery Elle - White Cardstock; CTMH - White Cardstock
Stamps:  Paper Smoches - Party Posse; Lawn Fawn - A Birdie Told Me
Ink:  Memento - Tuxedo Black
Other:  Spectrum Noir Markers; Tombow - Mono Adhesive; CTMH - Dimensional Foam Tape; Sewing Machine

Sunday, April 6, 2014

MIM - Stamping with Watercolor Mediums



Thought I would play along with this week's Make it Monday.  The challenge was to stamp with watercolor mediums.  The sample card involved gelatos, and I haven't gotten mine out in a while, so I thought this would be fun to try.

I don't have have any solid PTI stamps, but this bird from Happy Trails is almost solid.

I used two colors, blue and pink, and waterbrush to created the stamped images.  A little gelato goes a long way.  With the exception of the first bird I never reapplied gesso....just added a bit more water and stamped it again.  I liked the look of movement this gives, kind of like generational stamping, so I reapplied the gesso and stamped one more time over that first bird.

The sentiment is also from the Happy Trails set, and I added a vellum mat to soften the transition to the black cardstock.

That's all for today.  Working on a few other projects I hope to be able t share soon.

Supplies Used
Paper/Cardstock:  Strathmore - Mixed Media paper; PTI - Black cardstock; Recollections - Vellum
Stamps:  PTI - Happy Trails
Ink:  Memento - Tuxedo Black
Other:  Faber-Castell - Gelatos; Ranger - Waterbrush; Tombow - Mono Adhesive

Thursday, April 3, 2014

With Gratitude



Thought I would share one of my Stamping Royalty entries with you guys, a very clean and simple mixed media card.

For the background I inked two of the corners with Antique Linen distress paint.  I added a very thin layer of gesso in the center of the card, inked up my Hero Arts Woodgrain background stamp with the Antique Linen distress paint in the center of the stamp and stamped it over the still wet gesso.  This creates some great texture, I love the way that the gesso and distress paint react/mix.



The sentiment is Paper Smooches and the leaves and berries are WPlus9.  Some May Arts burlap string helped to anchor the sentiment and add some extra texture.

Thanks for stopping by.  Hope that you are enjoying the warmer/sunnier weather!

Supplies Used
Paper/Cardstock:  PTI - Kraft; Avery Elle - Vino; Strathmore - Mixed Media Pad
Stamps:  WPlus9 - Fresh Cut Florals; Paper Smoches - Many Thanks; Hero Arts - Woodgrain Background
Ink:  CTMH - Chocolate, Topiary and Cranberry
Other:  WPlus9 - Fresh Cut Floral Dies; Ranger - Antique Linen Distress Paint; May Arts - Burlap String; CTMH - Dimensional Foam Tape; Tombow - Stamprunner and Mono Adhesive; Claudine Hellmuth - Gesso

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Addicted to Gold



I really am....and it's one of those things where when I pull out the gold, everything seems to get 'golded'.

I wanted to play along with the stencil challenge going on over at Moxie Fab World, and my sweet friend Nina (who incidentally is opening her new store, Waffleflower Crafts TODAY, please go check it out!) sent me a jar of gold Wendy Vecchi embossing paste.

I pulled out Dina Wakley's Halftone Borders stencil from The Crafter's Workshop.  I first used a sponge dauber and gold Delicata ink to add the pattern to the cardstock.  Then I turned the stencil 180 degrees, adjusting it vertically so I could get an interesting intersection of the opposing patterns, taped it down and added the gold embossing paste.  I LOVE this stuff!  It's gorgeous and shimmery and elegant.



I really wanted the stenciled piece to shine, so I just added this big Love die cut from, you guessed it, GOLD cardstock, and the secondary sentiment was embossed in gold.

I love how all the different shades of gold play here and there's a great mix of sparkle and shine as well.  Here's a photo with the light reflecting off of all the shiny parts.



I'm also going to link this up over at Simon Says Stamp's Monday challenge since it's Anything Goes this week.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Supplies Used
Paper/Cardstock:  Avery Elle - Sapphire and Whipped Cream cardstock; Recollections - Gold Mirrorboard cardstock
Stamps:  Avery Elle - Simply Said: Love Clear Stamps
Ink:  Tsukineko - Delicata Golden Glitz, Versa mark
Other:  The Crafter's Workshop - Mini Halftone Borders 6x6 Stencil; Dreamweaver - Wendy Vecchi Metallic Gold Embossing Paste; Avery Elle - Simply Said: Love Elle-ments; CTMH - Dimensional Foam Tape and Gold Embossing Powder; Tombow - Mono Adhesive