I LOVED the June release from My Favorite Things!! I look forward to their new releases every month, but this one was so much fun. There were so many stamp sets and dies that I liked it was really difficult to decide on what to buy! I had some time this afternoon so I played with the Penguins in Paradise set. I was drawn to the little guy with a beverage in his hand, he is so cute...but I wondered if I could make him look like he was holding something else. I noticed that there was a balloon in the Happy Pandas set and decided to see if I could make that work. I stamped the penguin on watercolor paper and used Peerless Watercolors to color him. When I stamped the balloons I was really pleased to note that I could move the balloon string on my acrylic block so I could stamp it to look like a bunch of balloons!! WooHoo...I'm going to be using that balloon a lot! Here's how my card came out...
I made the background a few days ago using a technique I saw on Pinterest. First you use a background stamp with Versamark Ink to make a pattern on watercolor paper (I used Canson Aquarelle) and emboss it with white EP. Next you put Distress ink on your craft mat, spritz it with a little water and then rub your embossed piece into it...changing colors as you go until you are happy with how it looks! The background stamp is Simply Circles from MFT.
Here is a close up...There was so much color in the background that I wanted to add more color to the main image so I stamped out 3 balloons on a separate piece of watercolor paper and added the little hibiscus flower randomly on each balloon. When the card was finished I put Crystal Lacquer on the balloons to make them shiny.
I was having so much fun that I did a little scene for the inside of the card, too!
Here's one more pic. I took it so I'm including it!!!
Thanks so much for visiting!
Janet
Supplies Used:
Stamps: MFT Penguins in Paradise, Happy Pandas, Simply Circles Background
Cardstock: Canson Aquarelle Watercolor paper, Cougar Opaque White 80 lb, Stampin' Up Pacific Point
Inks: Versafine Black, Distress Inks: Picked Raspberry, Squeezed Lemonade & Salty Ocean, Versamark Ink
Miscellaneous: White embossing powder, embossing buddy, Heat gun, Peerless Watercolors, water brush, round paint brush, Crystal Lacquer
Sorry for the delay, sometimes life gets in the way of my best intentions! I am loving doing these tags! The March tag brought some new challenges, e.g. using paint to make a swirly multi-colored background without getting mud! I didn't have any Tim Holtz Distress paints but I have almost 100 bottles of acrylic paint that I used years ago for tole painting. Since Distress paints are described as very fluid water based acrylic paints, I thought my tole paints would work just as well. What I found out is that although they did work and looked very nice, they weren't anywhere near as vibrant as Distress Paints. Here is my March tag...
See what I mean? Very pretty, but not as vibrant. Actually this photo makes the colors look brighter than they really are. I started by putting some pieces of Tim Holtz tissue tape here and there on the tag. Then I dropped random acrylic paint drops onto my craft mat. I spritzed with a lot of water and then mixed them a bit with my finger and dropped my tag on top. When I picked up my tag, there were some bare spots so I put those back down in the paint until the entire tag was covered. Once the paint was dry, I stamped the butterfly in black ink. The butterfly is from Art Institute Glitter. I used a stencil from thecraftersworkshop.com called Numbers and Dreamweaver stencil paste to add the numbers. I sprinkled gold glitter over the paste and embossed it before the paste was dry. I know TH said to wait for it to dry, but I couldn't! I was very happy when it came out ok! The next step was to add embellishments. I used a pin that I had in my stash and a key, a Heidi Swapp Ghost Letter M for March, a butterfly wishes ticket that I found as a printable on-line and a butterfly image in a tiny frame that I've had in my stash forever! I collect quotes and decided to add one to my tag. I thought the blue that I used around the edges matched when I made it but it isn't right. Despite that, I'm happy with how my tag turned out.
Here are some close up pictures...
Isn't the little frame cute?
You can see from this picture that the Dreamweaver texture paste works just fine when heated before drying. It didn't bubble up or distort at all. It may have something to do with the fact that my paste is a few years old. It was kind of stiff but still worked very well through the stencil.
A friend who was doing the tags with me used Distress Paints and the colors were much clearer, more vibrant and more transparent than the acrylic paints that I used. I bet you know what happened when I found that out. If you guessed that I needed them...you are right!! It was a no-brainer, especially when I found out that Joanne's had all of their paper crafting supplies 1/2 off that day!! Yikes, that was serendipitous!! I was a very happy girl! Once the tag was finished and everything was cleaned up, I went directly to Joanne's to take advantage of the great sale! Can you blame me?? I "needed" them right?
On this tag I learned how to make another beautiful background, this time using multiple colors and my craft mat...the color combinations are endless! I also learned that using texture paste with a stencil adds a lot of texture and dimension and that you can make it any color by using different embossing powders. Embellishing is my biggest sticky wicket. I never know what to use or how to combine things but doing the tags is teaching me to let go of the anxiety and just try things that I have on hand and that eventually...if I keep rearranging them, I come up with something that is OK!
If you have any suggestions or ideas on mixed media or collage that might help me or others, I sure would appreciate hearing about them!! I like blogging, but it would be so much better to be able to sit together with some coffee and have a long chat with you about all of the things we love!!
Thanks for visiting,
Janet
I've seen a lot of cards made with Papertrey Ink Autumn Hills and thought they were so pretty that I had to buy the set! I moved to Florida from Massachusetts and I get a little nostalgic in the fall because I miss seeing the leaves changing colors and the smell of the air. Coloring the image on this stamp made me happy and made me remember all the things I like best about Autumn in New England!
I really enjoy doing paper mosaics and used a bunch of leaf stamps to make the one I put on this card. Here's a close-up of the mosaic before I cut it into strips to put on the card. You can't tell from the photo, but the cut pieces are very shiny and really do look like pieces of broken china! If you are interested in the steps for making this let me know in a comment and I'll do a tutorial.
This is a picture of the stamped and embossed piece that I cut up to make it. The leaf stamps are from a set by Impression Obsession called Wreaths and Garlands and the swirl is from a Hero Arts set called Fancy Scrolls. I couldn't find a source for purchasing it on-line so it may be retired, but a different scroll stamp would work, especially since you cut it all up into pieces.
I used a tool that I made myself to add some texture to the background and then spritzed a little Melted Chocolate Dylusions spray and Tattered Angels spray to add some more interest and a little bit of sparkle. Here's my tool!!
I use it like a stipple brush...pounce the ends into ink and then onto the card stock. It gives a flecked look to your piece. It's easy to clean, too!
Thanks for stopping by, I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Janet
Supplies Used:
Stamps: Papertrey Ink - Autumn Hills, Impression Obsession - Wreaths & Garlands,
Hero Arts - Fancy Scrolls
Ink: Momento - Tuxedo Black; Adirondack - Sunshine Yellow, Pesto, Sunset Orange,
Lettuce, Red Pepper, Ginger, Butterscotch; Stampin' Up - Bashful Blue
Copics: B21, B23, Y26, YR24, YR18, E99, YG95, YG97, W2, W3, W5, E43, E07, YR07,
Y18, R29, C3
Dies: My Favorite Things - Stitched Tags Die-namics; Impression Obsession - Wheat die
Cardstock: Stampin' Up: Old Olive, Basic Gray, Black, More Mustard;
Little Yellow Bicycle - Hello Fall-Walnut Knit
Embossing Powders: Judikins Amazing Glaze;
Tim Holtz Distress Powder - Weathered Wood (I just read that this powder has
been discontinued. It's still available so if you would like some, you should get it
now. It makes really good grout!)
Miscellaneous: Dylusions Spray - Melted Chocolate;
Tattered Angels Spray - Inchworm Glimmer Mist;
Sparkle & Sprinkle 2 1/2" Tear-ific Tape;
Mark Richards metal nailheads - black
