Mail, Mail, Here Is The Mail

Congratulations! If you have ever watched Blue's Clues you now have an obnoxious preschool song stuck in your head....

ANNNND now you have a Jefferey Dallas song stuck in your head. Muahahaha. Did I mention I am kind of manic lately? Yeah. Lots of stuff going on, so now I am being dorky. Hope that's okay.

So, recently I reconnected with a dear friend of mine and, like myself, she loves to color and with the new "fad" that has finally caught up to the both of us I wanted to print some free coloring pages and send them to her.

Years ago now, probably at least 5 years? She sent me this amazing box with glitter, paint and washi tape ALL over it. I swear this is STILL glitter in my dining room from that box. I wanted to create something just as special for her that she could keep or hang (or toss, whatever) but make it also be meaningful and make her smile.

I started with a manila envelope (size, 10 x 13...YIKES) and laid down a generous layer of Gesso. I didn't want the colors to mute or get muddy. I also didn't want the watercolors seeping through the paper and creating a ripped up mess either. 

Once that dried, I used my favorite technique of watering down my Dylusions spray inks and creating a beautiful piece of art. I just love this technique and was SO happy with the outcome this time!! I used some stencils and paint to add some more pattern/interest and, of course, used my faber castell black pen and my posca pen (white) to doodle like mad. 

I tried something different too. I decided to stamp these girls on label paper, like, what you would get at staples? Colored them with colored pencil and cut them out with my fussy scissors. It was perfect! No way these gals are coming off in the mail! No worry about how to affix them or masking them off. It worked so well! 

I really can't wait to take this to the post office tomorrow and send it on its way. REALLY can't wait for the recipient to get it though! I hope she loves it! 

Ingredients:

Stampotique Stamps:

Marsha

Sargent

Hanging Hearts

Just Keep On 

Stencil Girl Circles 

Dylusions Circle Stencil

Dylusions Ink Sprays

Ranger Gesso

Posca White Pen

Faber Castell Black Pen

Ranger Archival Black Ink

Folk Art Acrylic Paints

Americana Acrylic Paints

Label Paper

Colored Pencils

Happy Halloween! SDC 257

Is it STILL September? Actually, I feel like September hasn't even been around that long with everything going on here at home.

I went to Target awhile ago and got this adorable wooden house for 3 dollars in the Dollar Spot and knew it needed to be a haunted house. Like, the most adorable, colorful haunted house ever. It is wooden, and pretty sturdy.

This was a new undertaking for me, but anxiety kept me up yesterday so I crafted all night (well almost 11pm, which for me is SUPER late) I really had fun coming up with the color scheme and the theme.

Of COURSE I used a Stampotique Originals stamp, Bat Boy. I did remove his hat, but left the rest of him in tact.

 I used a fiskars punch to create the scallops on the roof and on the eves. I used decorative papers in everything but the washi tape I used for the sides, and then, of course, colored the sweet Bat Boy with my watercolor pencils. I created the fencing and the door and windows free hand and just went where the paper took me.

The clouds are from a paper pack and I just cut them out. I really like how the cloud is on the front and the back. The moon helps make the spider really stand out! I had a really hard time getting a good shot of the house in or out of the sun, so I hope you are getting the idea of how it looks in real life!

Additionally, I am using this as an entry into our challenge this week (week 2, actually)  over at Stampotique originals, "Put A  Bug On It" ,SDC 257. Pretty sure my giant spider is going to fit right in. Poor Bat Boy, trying to see who is lurking outside on All Hallow's Eve! 

Ingredients:

Bat Boy: Stampotique Originals

Core'dinations Cardstock

Studio Calico Cardstock

Tombow Adhesive

Ranger Archival Black Ink

Ranger  Glacier White Pigment Ink

Fabric Washi Tape

Wooden House, Target Dollar Spot

Krafty Halloween

Get it? KRAFT-y? Cause I used kraft cardstock? ::eyeroll::

Seriously, tho. As hot and humid as it is I can't even imagine that October is ANYWHERE around the corner, but it surely is!

Recently, my family and I took a trip to the wizarding world of harry potter and it was, in every way, magical. It, however, took up about a month of my time finalizing plans and being sure that everything was ready and packed, and then, of course, the aftermath of a large trip, the likes of which, we have never taken.

All of this, wonderful tho it was, took away from any crafty mind-space I may have had. So, a week after coming home, here I finally am with something fun! (did I mention we are now planning a MASSIVE Harry Potter party for our soon-to-be 10 year old son?)

So, I got it in my head that I really wanted to make one of these cone wreaths. I had NO idea how difficult it was to keep these things semetrical! HA! Not to mention my seams. Huh. Still, I like how the colors peak out of the kraft paper and I like how the stamped image turned out on kraft stock. I used Core'dinations cardstock. Its like, one of my favorites of all time.  Also a new thing for me to play with!

Here is the center up-close. I used Marsha from Stampotique Originals, as well as "Happy Halloween", also from Stampotique Originals. So many of their images are perfect for the quirky time of year that is Halloween. I used Watercolor pencils, but no water. Just used them for coloring. Love how easily they glide onto the kraft stock.

Now, all I have to do is wait until October to hang this on my door! Its gonna be epic!

Next on my list of new things to try, Yupo paper and alcohol inks! I am so excited! Can't wait to share my results back here in a couple of days, so be on the lookout!

SDC257 Put A Bug On It

Its that time again! We are having another fun challenge over at Stampotique Originals. This time around our theme is, "Put A Bug On It". Not going to lie, I was a bit stumped for about 5 minutes....then I remembered that in our latest release we have this sweet lightning bug in a jar.

My son, who is now 9, lives to catch lightning bugs every summer and is always sad when their time is over.

This image needed to be  in a shaker card. I can image the sequins and stars being lightning bugs. Love this image and the imagination is sparks!

I don't have any of the fancy tools for making shaker cards. I used Spellbinders to cut out my rectangles with my cuttle bug (another bug!) and then used transparency and a LOT of adhesive foam squares to pop the top up to make the shaker box. Super easy.

I hope this card inspires you to go catch a lightning bug with your loved ones. Make a memory, or bring one to the surface.

Be sure to check out my fellow designers (located on my left bar) and share the love with them. Also, hop over to the challenge and enter for a chance to be in our top 3!!!

Ingredients:

Lightning Bug (Stampotique)
Dear Lizzie Neapolitan Paper
Dollar Tree Sequins\
Dollar Tree Twine
Teresa Collins Sentiment
Watercolor Pencils
Studio Calico Veneer Stars
Foam Adhesive Squares

Its ATC Time Again!

This month over at Stampotique our ATC swap theme is Stamped Background. The idea is to stamp a background and hi-light that stamp or another in the foreground. Of course I had to use my cute little monsters. Plushy and the Goat Monster. I went a little bit more simple in an effort to have the stamped background and monsters pop. I love how they turned out.

This first one is on a background that I created for my video on watercolor backgrounds.  It was exactly what I needed for this goat monster and his silly plushies.

 This card I used an extra panel I had from the party banner  that was created awhile back for my first DT slot. I cut it down to the appropriate size and stamped Plusy all over the back. I used watercolor pencils for Goat Monster and then used the "caution" part of the Approach With Caution stamp. I love how the expression on Goat Monster's face almost seems like he is in a daze, or in the twilight zone with Plushy behind him.

 I flipped the colors for the second card, using the blues and greens on the back with the warmer yellows and oranges for the goat. Finished up both cards with a gel pen to create a funky boarder.

Pretty much love the way these guys turned out. I am really enjoying learning to use different color schemes and not just my go-to colors.

So, be sure to hop over and join our ATC swap! There are so many amazing artist waiting to swap with you!

Ingredients:

Goat Monster (Stampotique)
Plushy (Stampotique)
Approach With Caution (Stampotique)
Ken Oliver Color Liquid Metals
Dylusions Sprays
Watercolor Pencils
Black Archival Ranger Ink