In The Holiday Spirit!

It is that time again at Fashionable Stamping Challenges for a new challenge which will run through most of December! The challenge theme "In The Holiday Spirit" was chosen by me and I wanted to keep it simple especially during this time of year! This is an anything goes kind of challenge celebrating the holidays in your way, but of course you must use stamps! The design team has so much festive inspiration to share with you and as always there is a prize from Flonzcraft and a Top 3, so come on and get inky and join in!

I decided another play with my new Tim stamps was in order as I just love this Santa! Santa was stamped using Coffee Archival on the backside of some designer paper (Tim's from the Valentine sheet). It was very subtle with a slight tint of vintage green! I masked him off and then stamped the background trees and those were actually layered. The layers were shaded with Vintage Photo and Peeled Paint

The vintage music sheet was cut and distressed and slide under Santa's drum after cutting around the drum with my craft knife.

Love this vertical Merry Christmas and it worked so well for a separate layer on the brown background. The corrugated cardboard was white and I sprayed it to match the green colors which is hardly noticeable, but add some dimension!

Hope you are having a great start to the holiday season and thank you so much for stopping by!

Merry & Bright!

I hope you are all doing well and getting excited and ready for the Holidays. Sadly I am not a shopper, well except for crafty stuff. It sure would be much easier if my husband would start and then I would always know what to give him! OK, enough of my being silly! This tag/card was kind of a "Mystery" for me in a few ways and since Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge theme is "It's A Mystery," we are going over there for a visit!

So onto the mystery part of this! Not sure if my technique is a mystery, but what I was going to do with the tag after certainly was. It literally sat for several days as I had not a clue what I would do.

How it started is when my "Shatter" new Tim release arrived from Linda's Funkie Junkie Boutique! I ordered this as soon as I saw it and yes I saw the spider webbing, which of course is so Halloween perfect, but I also saw breaking ice from when I lived in New York.

I also took inspiration from Tim's new blog post with the bells and word band. While the paint was wet on the bells and my snowflake brad, I sprinkled on some of that Rock Candy glitter. The plan was to also add some rubs as I saw a delightful card from Brenda, but I just did not know how that would work over all this crackled texture! I had already stamped and cut out the gentleman silhouette, which I knew he would be walking on ice!

So here is the scoop on the tags background. I placed the stencil over the tag and applied modeling paste, let it dry, then I applied Rock Candy Crackle. Once it dried, the fun with colors began.

After I was pleased with the colors, I diluted some Glossy accents with water and brushed this over the entire tag and sprinkled on a little RC glitter. Love that stuff and you will hardly ever hear me say that about glitter.

Sorry this was kind of photo heavy, but it was a process and I know many times I am nervous about using different products and mixing it up.

Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to comment which always makes me happy! On a personal note, my daughter has opened an Etsy shop "Fraudess" for jewelry she creates. If you have some time and would like to take a look and give her suggestions that would be great! I know many of you have shops and would be better suited to give her ideas compared to me!

In The Bag!

It is a Designers Choice Blog Hop at Artistic Outpost and I am sharing a gift bag idea with you! Be sure to stop by and visit all the AO designers for great inspiration and ideas!

  Lisa, Suzanne, Tracy, Linda, Alison, Terry (Me), Kate

It is a more personal touch when giving a gift if it arrives in little bag designed by hand! The fun part is that you can make the bag as simple or detailed as you chose! I wanted a festive and somewhat simple bag and gift tag! Both Christmas Chalk and Chalk It Up stamp collections were used.

I first started my inking the bag with Peeled Paint and Barn Door, using tape for masking the stripes. Next I used Embossing Ink and White EP for the frame and stamped images and edged the same. I also flicked a few pieces of White EP here and there for a little bit of a snowy feel.

The tag was stamped on both sides using Distress Markers and shaded. Easy and quick which is kind of nice during the busiest time of the year!

Thank you for visiting today and I hope you are enjoying the start of the Holiday season! If you have not already joined in the November Monthly Referral Program, you have time to ink up those AO stamps!



Shabby Chic Christmas

That lovely leader of the pack, Shirley, has chosen the them of  a "Shabby Chic Christmas" at Fashionable Stamping Challenges! How fun is that and there is always a random prize drawing to FlonzCrafts and Top 3 selection, so ink up some stamps and join in! My FSC DT Sisters have some amazing art to share with you, so go treat your eyes!

I will admit that Shabby Chic was a challenge for me, but I had fun with it! The stamps I used are from Stampin Up and much neglected at that! I thought this little stocking was just the right image for a Shabby Chic Christmas!

We started using the pink paper from Tim and on the raised side of a Cuttlebug embossing folder applied clear embossing ink, ran it through and then applied white EP. For this I wanted the snowflakes to be sent in.

The frame was cut using Tim's new die from an old cereal box and I torn away bits, inked and sprinkled on some Shabby Pink EP from Stampendous. Nice little shabby chic look. The stocking was colored with markers and shaded in pink!

The tinsel twine was alcohol inked, painted the brads and the sentiment. Glued down a few little silver bells and there you have my take on a Shabby Chic Christmas! Will also link this up to Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge, Got Ink! Thank you for taking the time to stop by and comment! Enjoy your weekend and start those Christmas projects!

Enabler alert: Artistic Outpost is having a 15% off sale through November 18th! Click HERE for the details!

Let It Snow!

Hope you all are doing well and getting ready for the upcoming Holidays! Hence is why I decided to go with a Christmas theme for Tim's November 12 Tags of 2013! And normally I would use all or mostly "Tim" products and stamps, but since Artist Outpost came out with the Christmas Chalk line in September, it just seemed like a natural fit to me! Not to mention Artistic Outpost is having a 15% off sale until November 18th, so stock up and use code November2013.

I followed the guidelines from Tim for the most part for the chalking technique.

I inked and chalked the frame from Christmas Chalk and then the little cottage scene from MidWinter, which I did mask off a little at each side to fit inside the framed area before inking with clear embossing ink.

And has the title of my blog posts states! This was stamped on white, shaded with black and layered up on black and green and I added foam underneath for a little extra dimension! Oh and of course a little extra chalk here and there. The snowflakes at the top are from Chalk It Up.

Enjoy the rest of your day or evening and as always, I deeply appreciate your visits! And if you have some of those fabby AO stamps, join in the November Referral Program!

Have Yourself!

Oh my goodness and you know who is coming to town? Where is the time going and how can I slow it down a little?? Somehow I think we all ask that question. AO JUST ANNOUNCED THAT UNTIL NOVEMBER 18TH ALL STAMPS ARE 15% OFF! CLICK HERE FOR THE SALE.

This is a simple Christmas card and all the details can be found at Artistic Outpost, if you want to know. 

The new Christmas Chalk stamps were used and I think this collection works so well for not only cards, but gift tags and bags. Even though time is slipping was, there is still time to join in the November Monthly Challenge.

Hope you are having a fabulous week and thank you for taking that precious time to visit!

Santa's On His Way!

Well here I am a little late with my DT post for Fashionable Stamping Challenges, which is "Anything But Ink" for stamping purposes only and chosen by Laura! For all the details and some real sweet eye candy, pop on over.

Now you can use ink, just not on your stamped images. My medium of choice was acrylic paint. Oh the reason why I am late! I had paint stamped and watercolored my Santa, masked him off, inked my background and then took him outside for a spray of matte sealer. Sadly, I had a can of grey primer in my hand. So after a few little sprays, I ended up with a dirty grey Santa, but I did like the shadow effect! The sleigh in the background was stamp colored with a Distress Marker.

Mr. Santa was then paint stamped a second time and then watercolored and fussy cut! I actually liked it better this way! I also dappled on some white paint on his beard, hair (and a few liner strokes) and fur areas.

The ornament was cut, stamped in white paint with a little toothbrush splattering for a snowy feel. Added a little Rock Candy to the snowy areas around the ornament and the snowflake brads.

The Poinsettias were stamped using red paint and then some Stickles for the center.  This was fun to play around with paints for a stamping medium, but you can use whatever your little heart desires as long as you don't stamp in ink! Remember there is a $20 prize from Flonzcraft and a chance to be among the Top 3, so come and join in!

Thank you for stopping by today and enjoy!

Friends!

Hello to all my blogging friends! The truth is that I do "Get By With A Little Help From My Friends" and I think we all do! When I think about the possibility of moving, my friends come into mind and as we get older, it is not as easy to make those very close bonds. The tag I am sharing today is covered in full detail at Artistic Outpost and a few more photos, if you would like to pop on over there, which would be lovely.

Being in an area for almost 17 years, there are just so many memories. Everyone of my family members have been here and all of my pets in one form or another will remain here. We moved here to be near my aging parents and at the time, other family members also lived here and now it is just us. Friends do become family!  So I can move to an area that I am so unfamiliar with that is totally a different climate than the desert or stay here and visit family?

I think the Paperboy, along with Chalk It Up and Chalkboard Wisdom do a great job spreading the word about "Friends." Hope to see you join in the new Monthly Referral Program at Artistic Outpost for a chance of a prize and being amount the "Top 3."

Thank you for stopping by and enjoy life with Friends and Family!

Letters!

I was so thrilled to be one of Country View Challenges "Top 3" winners for September, but also honored to be asked to be a Guest Design Team member for November's challenge of "Letters."  Thank you Country View Challenges and here we go with my project and if you want, you can stop over there and give them a "Hello" and learn all the details for the current challenge.

It is so interesting how a project starts out and what you have in mind when you start! Believe it or not, this started out with a Christmas theme in mind! It was going to be "letters to Santa," but I kept drawing blanks. Well not really blanks, but how I wanted to use my new Santa Stamp was too much like something I had already seen. Not that my friend, Vada would have cared, but this needed to be very original!



Now with the embossed "letter" background, I was determined to use it Christmas or not! I used Distress inks and then spritzed some water. Next the raised areas were hit with Coffee Archival, distressed and curled up some edges.

The woman's face was stamped, watercolored and masked off for tag inking! A little white acrylic paint dot for the eye highlight, using a stylus.

Added a little "letter" stenciling, stamped some post scripts and those artsy faces to blend in the background. Keeping in the "letter" theme, I was going for a love letter type theme at this point. Hey it is my mind! I think they are both thinking of each other!

The top "letter" layer was first inked and then the actually stamp covered with Distress markers, torn around the edges and shaded. Added a little airmail stamping to this.

Did a second marker stamping for extra dimension on the "L" for "letters."

What a time I had cutting off the heavy duty pin that went with the winged heart! Actually called the man to the rescue. The heart was colored with alcohol inks and the word band and key colored to match the bronze look of the wings.

Thank you for stopping by today and hope you will join in the current "Letters" challenge at CVC, so pop on over there for more inspiration and all the details! Have a wonderful week!

Stamps: Tim Holtz, Classics 3, Classics4, Classics 5 and various older releases for postage
Inks: Archival Red Geranium Coffee (Faces, Faces, Postage, Air Mail, CB letters
Background colors: Distress Antique Linen, Old Paper, (letter panel), Vintage Photo, Black Walnut, Pine Needles, Peeled Paint, Fired Brick, Forrest Moss, Tattered Rose for skin color, Water colors Barn Door (lips) Peeled Paint (eyes)
Markers: Barn Door, Vintage Photo, Black Soot Peeled Paint, Pine Needles
Alcohol Inks: Pesto, Latte and Gold Fixative