PaperArts Cafe

Fancy Hearts Card

2012-02-11T21:54:00.001-05:00

YUMMY VALENTINE INSPIRATION
     I took my inspiration for this card from the Moxie Fab Fancy Schmancy Tuesday Trigger blog challenge http://www.moxiefabworld.com/2012/01/tuesday-trigger-fancy-schmancy.html. Here is the yummy picture that was the inspiration. They just look as though they would melt in your mouth, don't they?!
     I was excited to see the pink and brown, as I love those colors together, and I knew exactly what paper I would use. This heart swirl paper from Basic Grey was just what I wanted. I entered this in the Basic Grey Hearts/Love challenge here http://basicgreychallenges.blogspot.com/.
     Allsorts challenge bloghas a Free and Easy Friday challenge, which I also entered with this card here http://allsortschallenge.blogspot.com/A scan of my heart stamps and I found the perfect ones from Impression-Obsession. Here's my take on the challenge:

Close up of details:

A few pearls, some ribbon, and feathers to tickle the fancy! So much fun on a cold, blustery, snowy day!

Blessings,

lynda

Valentine's Day Card Using Cuttlebug & Spellbinders

2012-02-10T17:48:00.001-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day.....I'm BACK!!

SCROLL DOWN TO SEE ENTIRE CARD

Hi there! I know it's been a while since I posted, so I thought I'd catch you up. I really, really missed blogging - and spending lots of time in my craft room. I'm finally able to take a breather, and getting back to a semi-routine. AND, finally stamping and scrapbooking again. I'm so excited to be back in my room doing what I love, love, love to do. I'll catch you up, then show you one of my Valentine creations I made for the Cart Patterns Sketch challenge. Here's a link to the challenge blog: Card Patterns Sketch 151 . Here's a sneak preview. Scroll down to see the rest of the card after my catch-up.

CATCH UP: My "new" job (I started in June as administrative assistant/secretary at my church) is going very well, and I LOVE, Love, Love it. Can't believe it's been eight months already. Seems like I just started. I actually enjoy going to work every day, and look forward to it. It's interesting, challenging yet not overwhelming (now that I know what I'm doing most of the time), and the staff is WONDERFUL - the best people I've ever worked with. Did I say I LOVE MY JOB?! Ok, I guess I did.

My family is doing very well. Faith, Dan, Keeley, and Kennedy, the joys of my life are doing well. Keeley was seven in January, and Kennedy was one in November. It was a busy holiday season. We celebrated Kennedy's birthday and Thanksgiving in November, Faith's birthday, Dan and Faith's anniversary, Christmas in December, Dan and Keeley's birthday and New Years in January.....with other extended family and friends occasions interspersed throughout as well. Phew.

Hubby's job is very unstable. He's working three days a week now, in lieu of closing down entirely. Praying for the company to get some orders so he can stay employed. It's tough out there!

That's the 'in a nutshell' version. I will be back here at the blog more often now that I have a better handle on my job. I'm actually starting to take Fridays off, which I was supposed to have all along, but have been working just until I can do my work in the four days I was hired for. I think it's time. I took off last week, and this week. Fingers crossed. I figure if I can get through the holiday season in the church office, I can get through anything!

As far as this blog, I will be here as time allows, and when inspired, of course. Today I would like to share one of the Valentine's cards I made. I used a Cuttlebug embossing folders, an EK Success punch for the swirl cut-out area, and Nestabilities for the circle, Gina K. Designs stamp. And here's the card......

And...just have to share a couple of pics of my favorite people:

That's it for now. See you soon at the blog!

Happy Valentine's Day!

lynda

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-24T21:52:00.000-05:00

Ah, what a beautiful day. The loves of my life were all together at my home, and we enjoyed a great meal together. I was up at 5 AM to start cooking and prepping for the big meal, but I didn't mind, knowing how much my family would enjoy the fruits of my efforts. Christmas music was playing all day, lending to the festive spirit of the day.

Turns out my daughter was sick, but my granddaughters and son-in-law were excited about coming, and looking forward to having turkey dinner, so they came anyways. Faith mostly laid on the couch, bucket at the ready. Dan and the girls enjoyed dinner with us. Faith did get up a little later and tried some mashed potatoes, and was actually able to keep them down, so that was good.

We enjoyed a nice visit, and I took Keeley to see the new Muppet movie, which opened today. We loved it, and it was so nice getting out with her for a couple of hours. We laughed, and cried....well, I cried! Yes, I cried at a Muppet movie, I know! But it was so good, and I love, love, love the Muppets. Hope you get to see it....and do let me know if it doesn't leave YOU with a lump in your throat!

I'm so thankful today for my family, my health, our jobs, plentiful food and shelter, and this beautiful country we live in. And I'm grateful for God's abundant love and grace. May He richly bless you this Thanksgiving, and throughout the Christmas holiday.

In Him,

lynda

Technique Tuesday - Glitter and Marker Fall Flower Card

2011-10-04T22:14:00.000-04:00

I pulled out one of my favorite Penny Black stamps for this card.....I just love this fall flower. I chose to emboss it with black, and colored it with Tombow markers. After assembling the card, I felt it needed a little something, so I added some glitter. This just kicked it up a notch, don't you think?

I finished off the card with a Spellbinder's die label.

Just a quick post tonight....to bed early for me.

Blessings,

lynda

Canvasette: Cornucopia card on canvasette with markers

2011-09-28T19:41:00.000-04:00

Couldn't resist one more.....I am loving this canvasette paper!!! Here's card two:

Can you tell I'm in FALL MODE? I love everything about fall....the cool, crisp air, colorful leaves, fall foods, fall clothes, the smells and sounds.....everything! I'm even more into spending time in my craft room.....stamping fall scenes, of course! Gotta love all those rich, earthy colors and textures!

Hope you get to try this canvasette paper soon. See my previous blog for the first card and details.

Blessings,

lynda

Technique Tuesday - Fall Still Life Canvasette

2011-09-27T20:37:00.000-04:00

I was poking around in Michael's Craft store a while ago, and came across this pad of card stock weight paper with the texture of canvas. It's called Canvasette, and looks and feels much like canvas that oil painters use. I thought I would give it a try. Here's my card:

I was really pleased with the look, and thought it looked rather like an oil painting. If you click on the picture of the card, it will enlarge it, and you can see the canvas-like texture a little better. In person, it really makes you wonder if it is, indeed, an oil or acrylic painting!

I started by stamping my image with permanent ink - I used Ranger's Sepia archival ink. I chose the sepia, so that the outlines would be less noticeable than if I stamped with the standard black outline. I felt this sepia gave the image a more oil-painted look.

I then just started 'coloring' with Tombow water-based markers, blending and shading as I colored. That's it!!! It's that easy. The paper does all the work. I added some sponging to give it an aged look and soften it a little.

The stamp is one of my old favorites from Art Impressions.

Next time you're in Michael's, stop in the art department and pick up a pad of this canvasette and try it out. You'll be amazed at how easy it is to create this look.

Blessings,

lynda

Technique Tuesday - Halloween Cards With Mesh

2011-09-20T20:57:00.001-04:00

I was rifling through my stash, and found some pieces of mesh fiber "paper" that I just had to play with. This isn't really paper, per say, but fibers that are woven together to create a piece of woven material that makes terrific backgrounds or accents for cards and/or scrapbook pages.

I was thinking halloween (already, right? I know), and here's what I came up with:

I decided to keep the cards similar by using the same papers and colors. The first card uses some black mesh material. I used orange ink on the happy halloween, and tapped some black ink here and there. A simple tag die cut, with some eyelets (remember those?) and checked ribbon complete the look.

On the second card, I chose white mesh. The tag was hand cut, and the bats were from a punch. I added some pen stitch lines on the white panel across the front of the card.

So, that's it for today. Keeping it simple with two easy, clean halloween cards.

Blessings,

lynda

Technique Tuesday - Soldier/Flag Card With Distress Inks

2011-09-12T19:45:00.000-04:00

I was inspired for this card this past weekend when hubby and I spent an evening down at the beach to see the flags commemorating the brave fire fighters who lost their lives on 9/11. I remembered the gorgeous stamps I purchased at the recent stamp convention in Rochester. These stamps are available from Our Daily Bread HERE.

I used ODB stamps with Tim Holtz distress inks - weathered wood, aged mahogany, and brushed corduroy. I inked the stamps with the inks, then stamped onto ivory card stock. Going for a distressed look, I sponged the brushed corduroy along the edges, and used my Making Memories distress tool along the edges.
I finished with a Spellbinder's die and distressing, and some twill. The cause ribbon at the top was created by rubbing my weathered wood stamp pad directly onto the twill (I cut the twill in half lengthwise to make it more narrow).

My friend, Arlene, bought one set, and I bought another. We got together to stamp this weekend, and used each other's goodies and had so much fun. I created this distressed version, and Arlene created an entirely different looking card with the same stamps!
Do stop by Arlene's blog to check out her take with these awesome stamps. You can find Arlene's blog
HERE at SundayStamperPapercrafts.blogspot.com.

Blessings,

lynda

Technique Tuesday - Deep Marker Coloring

2011-09-06T21:11:00.000-04:00

I'm baaaack! Thanks for all the emails and concern about my welfare. All is well, I just got a little overwhelmed with my new job, our home remodeling, the heat, a golf club to the forehead, and the kids moving week. Whew, I'm reeling just thinking about it all!

But, though I've been sporadic for a couple of weeks, rest assured, I'm here to stay! And I'm missing my stamping and blogging BIG TIME!! I am looking forward to this coming weekend to play with some of the new stamps and dies I purchased at the rubber stamp show here in Rochester last week.

For this week's technique, I'm pulling out a card I did for a class a few years ago at the store. This giraffe or any similar stamp is the perfect image for this deep coloring technique. To begin, stamp image onto good quality white or light card stock. Emboss with black. For the giraffe, I chose a very light shade of tan Tombow marker, and "colored" the entire giraffe with the lightest color. Working fairly quickly, I took the next darker shade, just a hint of brown, and added that shade, starting on the left side of the neck, face, and horns. I used a Dove blending marker to blend the two colors together where they meet. I continued on with the next darker color, and finally finished with the darkest shade of brown, using just a bit of it to show shading. After each color was added I went in with the Dove blender and blended the line where the two colors met.

TIP: When finished coloring with markers, heat set slightly (not too much as you don't want to melt the embossing). This will "set" the color so that it doesn't continue bleeding into the fibers of the paper, causing it to fade.That's it!!!

Close-up of marker work

Easy-peasy, right? The key is to not be afraid to use color and add the deep shades. That is where you will get the contrast that makes your image "pop!"

See you next week with one of my new stamps and another technique!

Blessings,

lynda

Technique Tuesday - By The Seashore Card

2011-08-16T21:06:00.000-04:00

I'm keeping it simple tonight. It's hot and muggy, and I made this cute little fast and easy card because, well, it's fast and easy!! And it's way too HOT to be up in my craft room. Soooo, here it is....a summer card featuring the seashore.....

Just grab a couple of ink pads, some summery images, and stamp, then color in with your favorite markers. Add some sparkle with glitter, and Voila! An adorable card to commemorate the last few weeks of summer!

Blessings,

lynda

Technique Tuesday - Dies and Embossing Templates With Matching Stamps!!!

2011-08-09T20:59:00.000-04:00

Someone, please pinch me!!! I have dreamed about the combination of stamps with dies, and wouldn't you know it, Hero Arts did it!!!! And they went one step further....stamps with embossing folders. I was literally watching this video with my mouth open, and every few seconds I made funny sounds and little yelps. It's VERY exciting, peeps! You really have to see this.

Here's the video with Jennifer McGuire demonstrating these combinations and how to use them. Now, pour yourself something refreshing, get comfy, and WATCH THIS VIDEO HERE . You will need to scroll down the post to the video part.

WARNING: You are going to want these stamp/die/embossing folder sets!! You're going to want them now....I know I do!! So, here's the tease....they are not available until September. But, the good news is....I will be selling them on my Etsy site, and through my blog. So, keep watching, keep coming back, and soon we'll be using our new stamp sets!

Meantime, enjoy these late summer days. It has gone by so quickly for me, with my week in Florida, remodel work around the house, and starting my new job, the time just seems to have vanished into thin air. I'm hoping to have a better grasp on my job soon, and maybe take a little break from the house stuff for a while, to enjoy my favorite time of year....FALL!!!

My daughter and son-in-law just bought a house. They close at the end of this month, with any luck. Hubby and I will certainly be spending some time there helping them with the move. Of course, I wish it were closer to Rochester, but at least it's still Buffalo...well, Hamburg actually. Keeley is very excited about her new home. She wants to share a bedroom with her little sister Kennedy. We'll see how long that lasts...lol.

My job is going well, and I'm finally starting to feel like I'm understanding some of it. I still have a long, long way to go. Haven't even touched payroll, yet, or many of the other parts of the job. But, I'm getting there. Today I did several of my tasks all alone, without calling my predecessor even once. Made a couple of mistakes, but nothing earth shattering. I really do love working here, and enjoy my job so much. It's stimulating, fun, exciting, and challenging. And, I'm learning so much. I get to use my creative abilities on the church bulletin and the general intercessions and announcements. I never dreamed I'd love working in an office again...but this is unlike any other office job I've had.

I do miss having more time to stamp, scrapbook, and blog. But, once I get settled and much more comfortable with the job, I will be back to blogging and creating more again!

Blessings,

lynda

Watercolored Pear Card

2011-08-02T20:27:00.000-04:00

I seem to have a 'thing' for pears! I seriously enjoy a good, juicy pear, love the way they look in a bowl, and mostly, I have so much fun stamping and coloring them, and using them on cards. Here's one I watercolored with my Ranger Adirondack stamp pads. See my post * HERE * here for directions on how to do this.

The background papers were in my stash, and they went perfectly with the colors I chose for the pear! Apearently they were meant to be together.....a perfect pair! Oh, I'm just cracking myself up here. It appears I can't control myself. The bow was made with my Bow-Easy!

OK, before you start throwing things at the computer, I'll say good night for now.

Many blessings,

lynda

Technique Tuesday - Layered Cut-Out Image Card

2011-07-26T21:21:00.000-04:00

OK, so the title of this post isn't very creative or inspiring, but, trust me, the technique IS!! I received this gorgeous card from my friend, Arlene. Arlene and I share an admiration for Magenta stamps. The lines and creative possibilities of their images is inspiring. Their style is unique, a blend of classic designs with a funky twist, and just enough attitude to be different.

The technique Arlene used on this card, the cutting away of the negative parts of the image, and layering it up, takes a simple image and transforms it into a unique and complex-looking design. She created a lovely card, far from simple-looking, just by a few snips of her scissors.

This simple tulip image was stamped onto white card stock and colored. Rather than just layering it onto the black, then onto the card, Arlene used her craft knife to cut away the excess (negative) areas around the flower within each square, creating a little window opening around the image. She then layered the white panel onto a black panel, making sure to cut away the center so that the cut-out areas of the image were still open. Then she used foam tape to layer the panels onto the card front.

Such a fun look. And the vertical thank you really finishes off the card nicely, enhancing the image. Here's a close-up view of the cut-out sections:

Next time you want to take your simple cards up a notch, try this! It is easy, quick, and makes a great looking card.

Here are some tips for cutting with a craft knife:

Use a sharp blade! I cannot stress this enough. Knife blades are inexpensive, so don't be afraid to change the blade when it starts getting dull. You will know, because it starts dragging the paper when it dulls.
Be sure to cut on a self-healing mat.
Use the full blade, not just the tip. When cutting, angle the blade so that most of the blade runs along the paper. I see many people get frustrated, because they are just pressing and pulling the point or tip of the blade. If you lay the blade down so that the sharp part is fully touching the paper, the cut will be smoother, and much easier to cut.
Do not try to cut out everything with one swipe. With the sections of this card, for example, I usually roughly cut the opening, then go in and detail cut around the images and the squares.
When cutting around angles, turn the paper, not the knife.

Hope you will give this a try. If you do, send me some pictures! I'd love to see your take on this technique. Thanks, Arlene, for sharing with us!

I'm beginning to get a little more comfortable with my job. Still a long way to go, but I am seeing a light at the end of the long, long tunnel. I'll let you know after next week, when I tackle the biggie....payroll!

And....I finally figured out the mystery of the hair-like prickers that I've been finding in my body for a week now. Tiny little "thorns," literally no thicker than a hair (when they're in the skin they look like the hair on your legs that you hadn't shaved in several days), are what I've had in my fingers, wrists, arms, and even one on my breast - yep, and let me tell you how much that tiny little thing hurt!

Hubby and I have been trying to figure out what it was, and where they were coming from. Then Sunday night, lying in bed, I felt one - wait for it - you guessed it, in my bum! Yessiree, way back where I couldn't get at it. Suffice it to say, when I asked hubby if he could do me a big favor, it wasn't what he had in mind! It was quite a picture, him with a magnifying glass in one hand, and sharp tweezers in the other, trying to get the thorn out of my buttocks!! It didn't help that I couldn't stop giggling.

Well, that did it. After I medicated my "wound," I resorted to the trusty ole Google and Internet. There I found the answer. Dan bought me a couple of cactuses (cacti)? for our deck a couple of weeks ago. One day, last week, I laundered the sheets, and hung them outside on the line. I love the fresh, clean smell of line-dried sheets on a windy day. Well, it turns out, these particular cacti are from the prickly pear family. They have itty-bitty (I'm telling you, you need a magnifying glass to see them) little hair-like thorns. Apparently, in the wind, they became airborne, and embedded into the sheets. Then from the sheets, they found their way into me!

Needless to say, the plants have found a new home. Me, I find myself giggling at the thought of how hubby and I must have looked and sounded the night he performed his surgery on me. Let's just say it wasn't pretty, and leave it at that.

Blessings,
lynda

Technique Tuesday - Layered Window Card

2011-07-19T20:55:00.000-04:00

It's HOT, hot, hot outside, and my craft room is even hotter!!!! So, I dug through my archives and came up with this card, which features a layered window treatment. I remember this gorgeous giraffe, which I had made a couple of different cards from. The other card I embossed the giraffe in black, then colored the giraffe with markers and a Dove blender for a deep-color effect. But, I digress....here's this week's card:

The main card is an ivory card, with a rectangle window cut into the right side. The amber card stock panel, which I stamped with the lion and zebra postage stamp images, was cut 1/4" smaller all around than the ivory card. Then, I cut the window 1/4" wider than the window I cut into the ivory card. I then adhered the panel to the card, and voila! A layered window was born!

The giraffe image is actually stamped on ivory text weight paper, the size of the card minus 1/4" all around. I folded the text weight paper in half, adhered it to just the back panel of the card, then stamped the image through the window onto the paper. I then added some sponging, using a rectangle mask, as I didn't want the stark white of the paper showing through the window.

This next image is a little fuzzy, but shows the window, with my finger through it, and the shadow I created with the mask, as well as the image on the inside sheet of paper.

That's it for tonight. Many of you know, I'm NOT a summer heat type person. I much prefer the cool days of fall, and don't even mind winter as much as I really dislike the hot weather. I'm MUCH too uncomfortable, and just get miserable. I'm one of those that, when everyone was complaining of the cold and snow this winter, I didn't complain. Everyone said they weren't going to complain this summer, but I knew I would, and I am. Air conditioners have been running non-stop, and hardly making a dent in the heat!

I'm so glad for the air conditioning at the office! Don't even mind going in to work. I'm actually loving my new job...it's very interesting, and there's always so much going on in the church office. There's lots to do, but it's also a fun atmosphere. I still have MUCH to learn, but it feels like I'm starting to grasp some things. Long way to go, but I'm getting there. I wrote my first "staff time," an article for the front page of the bulletin. Everyone on the staff writes the front page article, taking turns each week. I was elected to write last week's article.

Well, hubby's home, so I'm off to chat with him a while, then into a nice shower! Gotta cool down some way!

Blessings,

lynda

Technique Tuesday - Spray Ink With Stencils

2011-07-12T22:55:00.000-04:00

Ink refills, Mini Misters, and stencils = awesome technique!!

Here's how it's done:
-Pour small amount of dye refill ink into a Mini Mister or small mist/spray bottle. Make up as many bottles of color as your desire. I used three colors on my card; blue, green, and yellow.
-Lightly tape stencil onto card stock. I chose watercolor paper for it's texture.
-Spray ink onto stencil, directing the different colors where you want to achieve effect desired.
-Carefully remove stencil. Use heat tool to set the ink.
-Cut down image to usable size.
That's it!!!
TIPS: Be sure to cover any areas that you do not want to get ink on.
Try adding some Perfect Pearls to your ink misters (I added some gold Perfect Pearls to mine. It gives a really nice shimmer to your finished image.

Since I was spraying, I made several:

Spraying ink through the stencil

AND....I also sprayed some natural twill tape to use on my card.....

Here's what the Mini Misters look like:

Hope you enjoyed this technique. It's a little messy, but well worth the clean-up!

Blessings,
lynda

All About "U"

2011-07-10T20:07:00.000-04:00

Hi there! In case if you were here looking for Technique Tuesday for July 5th, look no further. I just didn't get it done this week. As you may know, I started a new job two weeks ago, as parish administrative assistant at our church. I am loving it, but it's extremely stressful right now, while I'm learning everything. The worst part of any job, I think, is the first few weeks/months, while you are in the learning phase. There's so much to remember. I had no idea how involved the job is, but I'm taking it a step at a time.....baby steps. Just when I think I'm starting to catch on to one thing, something else comes along...you know how that goes. But anyways, I'm so burned out when I get home, and I go over my notes, make dinner, and am exhausted....I think from stress. I know it will get better as I learn all the components, it's just that I'm anxious to get to that part!! lol. This is the first weekend since I got home from my aunt's in Florida that I have been home and had the weekend to myself, for the most part. So I finally got some stamping done.

Anyways, I feel badly that I didn't get to my TT, so here's a blast from the past, to hold you over until this coming Tuesday 7/12 (which I actually started today. This is a class I did a few years ago, and I used the Hero Arts "U" from the large clear letter sets.

On the first (brown) card, I stamped the 'U' onto the dotted paper, then I cut it out with a craft knife. On the pink card, I stamped the 'U' on white scrap, stamped thanks randomly on it, then cut it out and mounted it onto the card. On the blue and green card, I took the negative of the cut out 'U' from the previous card, and used it as a stencil. I sponged green ink through the handmade stencil, then stamped blue flowers. When I removed the stencil, I had my 'U.'

It's fun to use large letters on cards. I'm sure you can come up with lots of ideas....I'd love to see them!

I'll be back on schedule Tuesday with a fun technique for you. Stop back and check it out.

A few of you have asked about my "kids," so here are a couple of pics of Faith, Dan, Keeley, and Kennedy.....

Blessings,

lynda

Technique Tuesday - Quick & Easy Summery Card

2011-06-28T20:48:00.000-04:00

Cool Colors For Summer Cards
I love to use cool colors when I make cards in the summer. Cool colors on the color wheel make you feel relaxed, refreshed, and well, cool! These colors are blues, greens, and purples. They work well for summer cards, also.
Today's technique card is quick and easy, and just a little bit different in design than the typical card.

This card is simply three pieces of card stock....the blue card base, the green top, and the white panel where I stamped my image. The blue card base is actually the back of the card. The green piece was cut a little smaller than the blue piece, then I scored the green piece about 1/2" from the top, ripped the bottom to create a torn edge, then added three mini brads along the top. Finally, I secured the piece to the blue card stock base.

The image was stamped with India Ink black pad, then watercolored. To keep my daisy white, I added some blue paint around the outside of the petals. The wave of sea green color under the phrase makes it pop. I added the wide ribbon for fun, then added the stamped panel with foam tape.

Easy, fun card, which uses only minimal pieces and embellishments! Great for those quick notes.

The next picture shows the inside of the card (the inside is on the blue card base):

For the inside sentiment, I added a piece of yellow patterned paper, on which I stamped the words. I stamped the flower on scrap card stock, colored, and cut it out and adhered it.

That's it today.....keeping it simple, but still pretty and fun!

Enjoy your week, and be sure to get outside to catch some rays!!

Blessings,

lynda

Technique Tuesday - Watercolor with Distress Inks

2011-06-21T22:29:00.000-04:00

Hi! I'm back from Florida, and believe me when I say, I will NEVER move to Florida. I honestly don't know how anyone can stand to live there. It was HOT, HOT, HOT. Suffocating and stifling. So happy to be home, where although it is warm, it's not as bad, and we have lots of cool breaks, too.

I just returned Friday, and went to Buffalo for the weekend to see our granddaughter, Keeley, at her dance recital. Returned Monday morning, and went right to work. Then I started my new job today, and feeling extremely overwhelmed!! Juggling two jobs right now, until my merchandising job phases out at the end of this week. Trying to learn all the details of my new job is stressful, but I'm sure I'll catch on. I am now working Monday thru Friday as our church's parish secretary/administrative assistant. The timing of this opening was perfect! I'm so grateful and thank God this came along.

So, for Technique Tuesday this week, I'm borrowing a technique from Hero Arts website. It's called watercolor with distress inks.

This card is by Shari Carroll. Isn't it just so lovely? The full directions, including a video, can be found HERE at the Hero Arts website.

I'm hoping to be back to "normal" by next week, and have a couple of techniques I can't wait to share with you.

Blessings,

lynda

Technique Tuesday - Colored Card Stock with Bleach and Marker

2011-06-07T21:57:00.001-04:00

Embossing, Bleach, and Marker Combine to Make Unique Card
Continuing on with last week's bleach-on-black idea, I thought I'd show bleach used on a colored card stock (blue), with the addition of marker for highlight and drama.

On this card, I stamped and embossed the flower image three times with black embossing. This is the same image, just tilted at different angles, so it looks different.

On the top flower, I applied bleach with a small paint brush on the entire flower and leaf. Then, I simply added an outline of blue marker around the outside of the flower, and green outline around the leaf and stem. The line of marker around the bleached-out image makes it "pop," don't you think? It almost looks 3-D.

On the second flower, I did just the opposite. I colored the flower and leaf with marker, then I drew an outline of bleach around the outside with a paint brush with bleach on it. This makes the colored image more dramatic, and makes it pop, as well.

The third flower was left uncolored, and I added a few strokes of blue and green marker along the inside border of the image. Then I bleached out the background of the square the flower is on by painting the background with a brush with bleach.
After coloring/bleaching/drying the pieces, I simply trimmed them, leaving a scant border. Then I arranged them on my stamped background.

I love the three entirely different looks I achieved with the bleach. Combining them on one card is fun, as well.

That's it for tonight. Hope you'll get out some bleach and give it a try on your cards!

Oh, and a quick note.....I will be in Florida next week from Sunday AM until Friday. I am visiting my aunt. There will be no Technique Tuesday. I will post when I return.

Blessings,
lynda

Technique Tuesday - Bleach With Black Card Stock

2011-05-31T21:38:00.001-04:00

Using Bleach on Black or Dark Card Stock -

Last technique in black card stock series

The black panels with the flowers on this card were done with this technique. I took some black card stock scraps, "inked" my flower stamp using bleach, then stamped it onto the black scrap. After dry, I cut the flowers into rectangles, layered, and added to my card.

It's easy to use bleach on your black and dark colored card stocks, and it yields a very dramatic look.

I use a piece of Cut n' Dry for my "stamp pad."

Put some bleach in a small bowl or container, then dab the piece of Cut n' Dry into the bleach.

Have the pad wet with the bleach, but not dripping. You want enough bleach to get the stamp covered with bleach, but no so much that it's dripping off the stamp.

Dab your stamp onto the pad, or bring the pad to the stamp, then stamp the image onto your card stock. Hold the stamp down for a few seconds to enable the bleach to really get into the paper.

That's it!!! Easy-peasy, and oh-so-fun!

Give it a try....just be careful with the bleach...we all know what happens when bleach gets onto clothes! Word of caution...wear something old!! (ask me how I know).

On this card, I stamped the image with permanent black ink, then used a paint brush with bleach on it to paint out the bleach areas. Just brush anywhere you want the color removed.

Inside of card with bleached panel


Close up of bleached flowers

This last piece is just a panel I did. As I've been working on my bathroom (yes, STILL) all day (yep, in 90 degree heat) with my true friend Sylvia, I didn't have time to finish a card for this last piece. But, I love the image, and the way it bleached out, so, here it is:

Close up of bleached flower

That's it for tonight, folks. Thanks to everyone who ordered Bow-Easy's from my Etsy site. I have only four left, so if you haven't ordered, hurry on over, or send me an email to arrange local delivery/pick up. Here's the link to my Etsy site, Tattered Daisy http://www.etsy.com/people/TatteredDaisy?ref=si_pr . Or email me at thestamppad@yahoo.com . If I get enough orders, I will order more. They take a couple of weeks to arrive when I place the order.

Now I'm off to soak in the bathtub!!!!

Blessings,
lynda

Bow-Easy Makes Bow Making Easy and Fast

2011-05-26T21:14:00.002-04:00

Greetings friends,

I have had so many inquiries about my bows that I use on my cards and projects, and have answered many pleas for help by directing you to the tool I use for all of my bows, the Bow-Easy. Do you struggle with making small bows for your cards and paper crafts? Feel "all thumbs" when it comes to tying the perfect bow? Use knots instead of bows because of the frustration of making a bow that looks great?

I have good news for you! I now have the original Bow-Easy bow maker on my Etsy site Tattered Daisy HERE . Stop by now to order yours, and I'll send it right out to you, so you can start making your own perfect bows with no more struggles. Scroll down for some of my cards with bows made with Bow-Easy, and visit my Flickr gallery HERE to see my gallery of cards to see single, double, even triple bows I've made with the help of Bow-Easy.

Bow-Easy Bow Maker For Cards and Crafts

Make mini bows for your cards and scrapbook pages, and other craft projects with ease. Makes seven different size bows for your cards, scrapbook pages, and craft projects. You will be making professional looking bows in no time. You'll wonder how you ever did without Bow-Easy! Full directions, and several online photo and video tutorial links.
Make single loop bows, even double, triple loops, and even four loop bows easily!!

I'm excited to finally be able to offer this tool on my Etsy site. I have one dozen in stock, so it's first-come, first-serve. Click the link above to Tattered Daisy, and let me know how many you want (they make a great gift for a crafting friend)!

Several good tutorial and video links are included with your Bow-Easy, as well as full directions.

Blessings,

lynda

Technique Tuesday - Perfect Pearls With Black Card Stock

2011-05-24T20:37:00.000-04:00

Good morning!
I'm stripping/patching drywall/painting/papering my bathroom today, with the help of my dear friend, Sylvia. I'm much rather be stamping/scrapbooking on my day off, but, alas, the bathroom can no longer be neglected! I know I'll be thrilled when it's finished, so I'm keeping that goal in mind.

Needing something quick for today's Technique Tuesday, I'm "borrowing" a technique from an old, old post on this blog. It is a great technique for your black card stock, and since it has to do with black card stock, I thought it appropriate for this series, and worth repeating. The full post with directions/tutorial is HERE.

Next week is another fun technique with black card stock (which can actually be used with any color card stock, but I find it particularly stunning on black).

Perfect Pearls Technique on Black Card Stock

Butterfly painted with PP and water

Stamped with VersaMark and brushed with PP

I love the bold, pearlized look of the Perfect Pearls with the contrast of the black card stock. It's striking and elegant, and a touch glitzy! Fun technique. You can get the directions on my previous post HERE .

OK, off to work in my bathroom!
Blessings,

lynda

Technique Tuesday - BLACK MAGIC - Black Card Stock with Prismacolor Pencils

2011-05-17T19:31:00.001-04:00

Welcome to another Technique Tuesday! Today's technique continues the series on techniques and tips for using black card stock. Last week I used watercolor pencils on embossed image. This week, I am using colored pencils (Berol Prismacolor is my brand of choice, due to it's soft lead) on white pigment inked images. This is an old technique, which I taught years ago, and it is making a come-back now. I've seen it referred to as "Black Magic" in forums and tutorials. Here's how it looks:

To create the image portions of these cards, I simply stamped my images (flower/bird) with ColorBox white pigment ink, and let it dry. Well, actually, I'm not a big fan of waiting for things to dry, so I hurried things along with my heat tool. When the ink was dry, I colored over the white portions with my Berol PrismaColor colored pencils. I like this brand, as the lead is soft and creamy, and there are lots of colors in the line. That's really all there is to it. Here are some portions of my cards enlarged so you can see details.

Before and after coloring

I added white gel pen "doodles"

On this flower card, I used some of the seam binding which I hand-dyed (see THIS POST *HERE* ) for details and my tutorial on dying seam binding. Bows were made with Bow-Easy, a plastic template which makes bow-making easy-peasy. GOOD NEWS: I will have the Bow-Easy for sale in my Etsy Shop in a couple of weeks. They are on order, and as soon as they arrive, I will be selling them. If you are interested, let me know, and I will send you an email to let you know when they are in. Or, just keep checking my Etsy site to see if they're in yet. Here's the link to my Etsy site: Tattered Daisy on Etsy .

And, before I sign off for today, I thought I'd share a couple of cards. This first one is made by MaryRuth Owens. She tried last week's technique of watercolor pencils on white embossing, and here's her card. Isn't it so pretty!!! Love it, MaryRuth. Thanks for sharing. And...keep scrolling down for another lovely card........

I got this card in the mail yesterday, and just had to share it with you. It's from my friend, Arlene Rose. Arlene took her wheel stamps off the rollers, and shares the benefits of doing so on her blog. Stop by and visit Arlene's blog, SundayStamperPapercrafts and let her know what you think. Here's her lovely card, and she used my favorite color combo!! Thanks, Arlene!!

That's it for today!

Blessings,

lynda

Technique Tuesday - Watercolor Pencil on Black Card Stock

2011-05-10T22:07:00.002-04:00

Thinking of You Card
I really enjoy using black card stock, so thought I would do a series of posts on techniques you can do with black. The look is striking, and really shows off the color of your stamped images.
This first technique in the black series is using watercolor pencils on an embossed image! Who thought, right? Well, the folks over at Magenta had a post on their blog about it here, so I had to try it out, being a Magenta girl, and all. Here's my take on the technique:

Here's how it's done:

Stamp an image onto black card stock using white pigment ink. I used a static bag on the card stock first, so the powder would only stick where I wanted it to.
Apply white embossing powder, and heat to emboss. Let cool.
Using watercolor pencils (NOT plain colored pencils), simply color on the embossed areas. The color will take, and it really pops, don't you think? Love the look.

I even did a little shading and blending, and was amazed how easy it was.

The stamps on my card are Impression-Obsession, and I entered this card in the IO challenge HERE.
The challenge was to use your favorite IO stamp (I used an image from my favorite clear stamp set CL124 Solid Florals.

I also entered it in the Card Patterns Sketch 114 Challenge HERE. This is the sketch.

Hope you'll give it a try!

-------------------------------------

Other news: My Etsy Shop, Tattered Daisy HERE is open, and I have added a few more items to it. I'm adding more every couple of days, as I get the chance. I didn't do anything with it over the weekend, or yesterday and today, as I went to my daughter's for Mother's Day. She took me to see Wicked!! I'm still singing the songs, and absolutely loved it!! I'm working on an article about it, and will post it on my writing blog, A Little Perspective, when it is finished. I shared my list of six promises I make to myself on my recent post there, if you'd like to check it out.

Then yesterday I worked and had a toothache all day and night, and today went to the dentist and was told I need a root canal, and have an infection in the molar where the pain is. I'm on antibiotic, and can't wait to get this over with. Dreading it, of course, but not a big fan of the pain either! Had my prayer shawl group today, and went to work for a couple of hours. Hope to get to posting more items in my shop tomorrow after work.
That's it for today. Enjoy the lovely weather we are finally getting!

Blessings,
lynda

Technique Tuesday - Kraft Card Stock and Colored Pencil

2011-05-03T20:20:00.003-04:00

I took my inspiration from Hero Arts blog this week, and created my card with kraft card stock. I colored the images with colored pencils....still one of my very favorite mediums. I love the control and various looks you can get with good colored pencils. Here is my card:

I use Berol Prismacolor pencils. The lead is soft, and they blend easily and go on smoothly. If you do a lot of colored pencil work, it is worth investing in a good set of pencils. You will be far happier with your results than with a cheaper set.

Here's a closer view, so you can see the shading and highlighting. I use three or four shades for each color/area I'm doing. For example, for the flowers I used a soft peach, medium peach, darker peachy/rust, and finally a deep rust, with touches of brown. I add white colored pencil "highlights" after all my other shading is finished. The white highlights really make the images come alive, don't you think?
Here's the inside of the card:

The kraft card stock really is a terrific canvas to work on. Colors look almost 3-D, and really show up.
Be sure to check out Hero Arts Club Blog here http://heroarts.com/blogs/club/2011/05/03/colored-pencils-kraft-paper-yum/ to see the pretty flowered background card they made with this technique.

I hope you will dig out your colored pencils and give them a try on kraft card stock! So fun.
Stamps used on my card are by Flourishes. I purchased them online here http://www.flourishes.org/ . I really like their stamps. They have some lovely images. The stamps are well made, also. These stamps on my card are from two clear sets, and I'm loving them!! Hop on over to check them out.

I entered this card in the following challenges:
Flourishes - Timeless Tuesday Flowers challenge here http://www.flourishes.org/category/challenges/
and
Stamp Something challenge here StampSomething Weekly Challenge Blog . The challenge was something with wings...I think this fits.

And, now, finally, on to my news!! Drumrollllll...........

I now have an Etsy shop!! I have been working hard, setting up my shop, making my banner, etc., etc. I think what took me the longest is coming up with a name that was not taken. I had to have a name that encompasses ALL of my crafts and products, not just the cards and scrapbook pages. I also make gift items and wedding accessories, like garters, flowers, money/card boxes, favors, etc. I finally settled on my shop name, Tattered Daisy. Daisies are my favorite flower, and tattered speaks to the distressed look I am partial to. tee hee.

For those who are not familiar with Etsy, it's an online marketplace where people sell their hand made crafts. Anyone can join, and it's free to join. You can join just to shop, which is so fun, as there are so many extremely talented artists/crafters on there!! You can also open a shop, if you choose. You can read all about it on the site.

Please do stop by my Etsy shop for a look around. Keep in mind, I only just opened it, and it takes time to get it all set up. I have only entered four or five items so far, but have been taking pictures like crazy, and will be spending every free moment downloading to the shop. This whole working thing really gets in the way of my creating!!! But, I'm trying to be patient. It will get filled up in no time.

The good news is, there is a place on Etsy to sell supplies that crafters use to make a craft. What does that mean for us? Welllll, it means that I can sell stamping/scrapping supplies on Etsy. As long as it is an item that is used to make a craft, I can sell it. So, in a few weeks, I hope to have some card kits, online classes, and some stamping items for sale in my shop.

As a matter of fact, I just ordered the Bow-Easy!! So many people have asked me how I make my bows. I use Bow Easy to make all my pretty bows for my cards. It makes seven sizes! And is oh-so-easy to use. You'll wonder how you ever did without it! I will let you know when they come in, and I get them in the shop.

HERE'S THE LINK TO MY ETSY SHOP: TatteredDaisy on Etsy . This link will take you to my profile. Just scroll down the left side and you will see the word "shop." Click on "Tattered Daisy" under that, and it will bring you to my items for sale. My shop policies are listed in the shop area on the left...just click on policies.

If you like what you see, please "heart" me there. Would love to see you.

That's it for today. Let's hope for an end to all this RAIN!! My poor basement hasn't had a dry floor in weeks!!
Blessings,
lynda