Ladies Still Waiting!

My "waiting ladies" are doing a triple play today!  Lisa's Bloggers Challenge is all about "Friendship" and I believe these ladies certainly have friendship in common as well as waiting for that most perfect man!   Try It On Tuesday is all about "Time Flies" and these ladies are letting time fly by in wait!  Simion Says Stamp and Show wants us to "Use That Stamp," you love and don't use or a new one or one long neglected! 

My new and neglected background stamp from Impression Obsession finally got inked!  WooHoo!!  I did ink up the vanilla card stock with Tattered Rose and Antique Linen before stamping the image with Archival Coffee.  The Ladies from Lost Coast Designs were stamped and flesh areas colored with Tattered Rose and the floor and sides were shaded.  The crackle on the clock is also a LCD stamp, which was inked and clear embossed.  Pretty much that was it and I will add this card to my collection of easy to mail cards! 

Hope you are having an inky week and thank you for visiting today! 

A Story To Tell!

Hot off the presses and I am so thrilled to share with you the newest Artistic Outpost stamp release, "Paperboy."  Is this not out of this world fabulous?  When my "Paperboy" plate arrived, I could not wait to get started and did so the very next day and I just kept on going!  In fact over the next few weeks, I will share with you more "Paperboy" goodness!  You will want to visit all of my DT Sisters for more incredible inspiration:  Gerrie, Lisa, Sue, Tracy, Linda, Alison, Terry (Me), Kate.   

When I look at these young ladies, I certainly see a story or maybe some good office gossip!  The background and girls were stamped with Archival Sepia and heat set.  For the background I randomly stamped the collage print to cover my entire page.  I masked the girls and inked and did the Flick and Spritz technique, which is a favorite of mine!   The Cheery Lynn Doily was cut and inked as the girls and I curled up the edges.   A little lace and a TH "Story" ticket was added to finish.  I will also be taking my girls for a visit at Frilly and Funkie for the "Layer it on and Share a Word" challenge.  And since this is a new stamp, I am going to link this up to Simon Says Stamps and Show challenge "Use that Stamp."

Now I don't do many flowers or lace treatments, but this just called out to me and I listen to those little voices!  I used Tim's Tattered Floral die to cut glassine, white/brown netting and burlap, which was backed with double sided tape and netting. The glassine was embossed and the little center treated with glass beads, glitter and pearls.  I am also linking this "tattered flower" up to Tim's "Tattered Floral Challenge" and you won't want to miss this one!  So generous! 

I could not help but share two cards with you today and decided to stick with the girls!  After all girls go first, right? 

The girls where stamped in Black Archival and heat seat, colored with Stampin Up Chalks and touches of red with an applicator and Fired Brick.  The building was stamped using Stampin Up Going Gray.  These were both masked and then inked over with Distress inks!  Don't forget there is still time to add your projects using AO stamps to the February Monthly Referral Program! 

This gorgeous vintage "Paperboy" collection is available in both unmounted sheets of red rubber for $14 or mounted on EZ Mount cling foam and pre-cut for you for $22.99.  The mounted version comes with a cling card for easy storage. 

Thank you so much for stopping by to visit and I hope you have enjoyed this new Paperboy release and I can't wait to see what you all come up with!  Really, I can't wait!

Card #1
Inks:  Archival Sepia, Distress Old Paper, Antique Linen, Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain, Clear Emboss & Powder
Cheery Lynn Die, Spellbinders, TH Tattered Floral
Card#2
Inks:  Archival Black, Distress Fired Brick, Antique Linen, Brushed Corduroy, Stampin UP, Going Gray and Chalks

French Country!

Black, Brown and Red is the theme at Fashionable Stamping Challenges for the next two weeks!  This color challenge was chosen by the lovely, Brenda and for extra inspiration and great art viewing stop by FSC!  Remember there will be a prize and Top 3 selection, so pull out those stamps and have some color challenge fun! 

All stamps are Stampin Up.  My French Rooster was stamped in Black Archival, in which I removed very carefully the inked areas from the comb, wattle and feet, which were colored using Distress Markers.  Once heat set, the feathers were colored using markers.  I wish you could see the shimmer on the lighter feather colors on my Rooster, which was gone over with Spica Glitter Pen, Sand!  I then inked over the white areas and shaded, stamped the floral swirl with Archival Coffee and colored with Spun Sugar and Wild Honey.  A sparkly center was added.  The brown base was stamped using the background French Script in Black.  The back panel was inked distressed and stamped with another French Script stamp in Red.  I wanted to mail this without too much worry, so decided to not add embellishments! 

I thank you for stopping by today and hope that you will join in this color challenge!  Have a wonderful weekend!

Inks:  Distress Walnut Stain, Vintage Photo, Antique Linen, Old Paper, Barn Door, Archival Black and Coffee, Stazon Red
Markers:  Old Paper, Barn Door, Spun Sugar, Wild Honey
Stamps:  Stampin Up

I Can See Clearly Now!

OK not really, but at least I can find my glasses case!  For a long time I have wanted to alter the many cases I have and this has laid around with a crackle finish and those Steampunky eyes for several weeks.  Today we decided it would be a good day to finish what was started!

So here is why I did!  I used the SteamPunk and Secretary Pool stamp plates from Artistic Outpost and everything was stamped on tissue paper and cut out, using Archival and heat set!  The block letters are all from one stamp and after I heat set, I colored the reverse side with Distress Markers.  I did give this a quick spray of Matt Sealer to avoid any running once I glued these down with a gel medium.  I was wanting a collage of letters, so these were just randomly placed.  After I was happy, I gave this another coat of gel medium and then a coat of matt varnish!   I am also linking this up to The Cheerful Ink Pad's "Anything But a Card" challenge! 

Remember there is still time to pull out those AO stamps and join in the February Referral Program, so come on and play along.

As always I am thrilled when you stop by and comment.  Hope everyone has a most fabulous weekend! 

Oh Dorothy Artistic Outpost DT Blog Hop!

It is a Literature or Children's Book Blog Hop at Artistic Outpost and I am thrilled to share with you a "mini book" that I created and had such a fun time putting together!  You won't want to miss out on all the inspiration the DT has for you so stop by and have a visit and let that inner child come out to play!  Gerrie, Lisa, Sue, Tracy, Linda Alison, Terry (Me), Kate!

For my mini children's book, I use stamps from the Oz Collage collection and I want to give each character equal time!  Now I will not bore you with every little detail, so if there is anything you want to know, just ask and I will answer you!  I already figure this will be photo heavy and I will be somewhat brief with details.  My little book will also be linked to eclectic Paperie's "Altered Books," as I think this is altered!!  First all the pages were cut using grungeboard, covered with Folk Art Crackle Medium, sponge painted using Fresco Finish "Haystack" and DecoArt "Emperor's Gold."   Once dry I punched the holes and shaded with Archival Coffee and Sepia.  All of the focal pieces were cut using Tim's new "Cameo Frame" from manila card stock.  Love that die!!!  I wanted a heavier texture for my book cover, so used a brick stencil from Crafters Workshop and mixed the modeling paste with Fresco Finish Haystack, after the cut piece was inked. 

Dorothy and faithful companion were stamped and colored, masked and shaded, then I used the Embossing Diffuser with Tim's brick texture fade.  I used two Spellbinders dies for the scalloped frame, which was cut from glassine paper.  The house is shrink plastic, which was sanded and inked prior to the oven visit. 

Lots of masking and inking here!  Both the "yellow brick road" and the little village also received a coat of Rock Candy Stickles for extra sparkle.  The walkway was inked and I drew the lines, cut and inserted under the gentle paws of the lion.  Added a flower border with Flower Soft.  The backing under the courage is embossed glassine and both received a few coats of clear embossing powder. 



The Scarecrow background was inked with Peeled Paint, Squeezed Lemonade and Antique Linen and given and stamped in Coffee Archival. 

I "Heart" the Tin Man!  Again there is masking and inking and coloring with sponge applicators.  All the sentiments have been stamped using Archival on Newsprint! 

For the back cover, I just stamped all the sentiments and added some ruby slippers.  This was tied up with some gorgeous fibers to finish it off.

Thank you so very much for stopping by and joining in this month's AO blog hop!  Remember you can enter any of your creations using AO stamps in the monthly Referral Program, which there is always a prize!



Stamps:  Artistic Outpost, Oz Collage
Ink:  Distress, Vintage Photo, Antique Linen, Pumice Stone, Tea Dye, Tattered Rose, Festive Berries, Barn Door, Worn Lipstick, Spun Sugar, Peeled Paint, Mowed Lawn, Weathered Wood
Archival:  Black, Coffee, Sepia
Stazon: Red
Clear Embossing Powder
Fresco Finsh Paint: Haystack
Crackle Medium
Delta Metallic
Sizzix - Tim
Spellbinders

30 Years!

Sorry I have been a little MIA, but sometimes we all need to just take a little break!  Well I am back and wanting to share an "Anniversary Tag" I made for my darling hubby.  We are coming up on 30 years and it is so hard to believe.  We were talking about that the other day and how time really does fly.   My tag to my hubby is joining Lisa's Bloggers Challenge. "Cut it Out,"  Simon Says Stamp and Show, "Metal-ology"  and Inspiration Journal, "L.O.V.E."

I first started by stamping the sentiment and clear embossing, which was then inked over with various Distress colors.  I was looking for a splattered look and tried something a little different thinning some Distress stains (including a metallic) with water and then flicking with a toothbrush and then taking my fingernail to give a light spray. 

When I was happy with that, I did some random stamping of the time piece with Coffee Archival.  At that point, I ironed away all the clear embossing.  The March calendar page was stamped and clear embossed.   I added some vintage watch bits along the way, but check out that tiny hand with the red!  How cool is that?  Oh our big day is the 5th!

Next we have the metal wings, which I used some Vintaj Patinas and Distress Metallic stains.  The heart was cut from corrugated cardboard, crackled and inked with Distress Stains.  All other TH metals were colored using alcohol inks and paint.  I was happy to find a "30" game piece! 

As always, I am thrilled when you stop by for a visit and take the time to comment!  I hope you all are well and enjoying the week! 

Inks:  Distress, Peeled Paint, Mowed Lawn, Walnut Stain, Vintage Photo, Faded Jeans, Stormy Sky, Tumbled Glass, Barn Door, Fired Brick, Aged Mahogany, Archival, Sepia, VersaMark
Stains:  Metallics, Antique Bronze, Tarnished Brass, Brushed Pewter, Barn Door, Faded Jeans, Broken China, Wild Honey (for heart)

Birds

It is all about "BIRDS" at Fashionable Stamping Challenges for the current theme chosen by Meggymay!  Come on and join us with your lovely stamping creations celebrating one of natures most beautiful gifts the lovely "Bird."  My lovely DT sisters have so much beauty to share with you, so please have a visit at FSC.

This was more than a challenge to me as I worked on this at the same time as keeping my pet bird, Fred, of more than 25 years company.  So this is a tribute to my Fred, who did pass away this morning and I will miss him dearly!  Now this sweet bird does not look at all like my Fred, who was pretty good size and green, but it is one of my favorite images.   "Birds of A Feather" and "Quotes and Quotables" are the stamps I used from Artistic Outpost and I found the quote I used so true and appropriate with how I feel at the moment. 

The bird and sentiment were stamped with Archival Sepia, heat set and then colored with Antique Linen and, Tattered Rose and Festive Berries, Squeezed Lemonade, Stampin Up Barely Banana for the beak and little feets.  The metal pieces were colored with Metallic Stain.  For both embossed panels, I used Cuttlebug folders and highlighted with Tattered Rose and touches of Festive Berry. 

Thank you for stopping by today and I hope you pull out some birdy stamps and join in the fun at FSC!  Also Artistic Outpost has a February Referral Program and that is anything goes using AO stamps!  I hope you have a wonderful week!

Love

Sneaked in some time yesterday to play along with Tim's "12 Tags of 2013 - February," which fits so nicely for "Spread Some Love" at Inspiration Journal.  Obviously, I had a bit of a struggle with not having that blueprint stamp or the seasonal impressions paper, but I do love a challenge!

My Queen of Hearts is a Texture Trade, that I inked the flay side with black Archival and embossed into the rose color paper, heat seat and used my Fire Brick marker to add a little extra color to the raised areas.  For the panel behind the queen, I used my new "BLUE PRINT" embossing folder and also on the tag background, which was highlighted with Black Soot.  In place of the impressions paper, I used Tim's stamp and clear embossed and then inked over that with Black Soot. 

Again I thank you for stopping by and I am working on those blog visits.  For those who have asked, Fred my bird, is still not well and he won't recover from this. Sadly, there is not anything to do other than keeping him company day and night.  I will tell you something sadly funny, but I was sitting near his cage yesterday and started crying and that silly guy chuckled!  He still will make an attempt to flip and flop over to tear up the cage papers, which is one of those things he would do purposely to annoy me.  Pet birds develop quite the personality and the longer you have one, the more it is noticeable.  Anyway, I hope your week is going well and you are doing whatever it is that makes you happy! 

Flapper Banner

Today I am not sharing something new today, but my next post most certainly will be!  Being a Wednesday and my turn to post at Artistic Outpost, I decided to share a banner I created with the Flapper Fashions!  Now if you missed or don't remember this from a previous post, here is a close-up of one Flapper and hop on over to Artistic Outpost for the full post and banner view!  Not to mention it is really so nice to see my lovely blogger friends over at AO!

A new month means it is the start of a new challenge, so if you have some AO stamps, we would love to see you join in the "February Referral Program."

Thank you for stopping by today and I promise to get around to all your blogs as quickly as I can.  My old Fred bird is not doing well at all and it is taking up much of my time and that is OK.  25 years is a long time and if you knew all the history of this guy, you would be amazed! 

Bits

TGIF!!!!  Playing along with Frilly and Funkie's newest challenge of "Spruce It Up"  and I was not sure if I was going to do another 3-Ring Binder Insert to identify stamps or something totally new.  While looking around, I saw this plastic container that I have been tossing in "Bits" of ribbon, thread, sequins, etc.  You get the idea!  I am also linking this to Eclectic Paperie "Altered Boxes."  So here we go and this is a little picture heavy!  Not some of the white areas are reflections from the Pewter Mica Flakes and a little of the Mod Podge is not completely dried, but it will dry to crystal clear! 

Before, well an empty one!



The first thing I did was to take two way adhesive sheets and apply to the empty, cleaned container.  Next was to place Tim's Tissue wrap on the container and a coat of Rock Candy Crackle and let it dry.  I thinned out some Fresco Finish "Chocolate Pudding" and applied to the crackle until I was satisfied with the color.  Let this dry and then applied a thick coat of Mod Podge and began adding some glitter/bead mixture, left over butterflies, threads, etc.,  and also added thicker areas of Glossy Accents to collect more of my mixture.  Let this dry and another coat of MP.


Back

Side

Side

This is what my empty container will be used for!

The letters were cut Tim's Word Play die from grungepaper, inked randomly with Distress Stains, Vintage Photo and Tarnished Brass and then sprayed with water to run and blend.  Another set was cut from chipboard and then covered with UTEE. 

Hope you have some great fun planned for the weekend!  We are meeting up with friends for a birthday dinner tonight and then again for Superbowl Sunday.  Thank you for taking the time to visit!