There's Still Time!

Don't miss you chance to enter the Starving Artistamps Swedish Collage Challenge. Complete details are posted on our Design Team Gallery. You have until tomorrow to enter so why not give it a try?

I enjoyed making my first Swedish Collage style card so much that I just had to try another. This time, I grabbed some papers from my stash that I just had to have but have been hanging around forever. My layout was CASEd from a couple of the "genuine" Swedish collage cards on our blog. I loved the one with the torn paper and ball fringe, and another used a scalloped mat outlined with black dots. I combined those elements with Frozey from the DoodleFactory creatures collection and a Sun Spirit Studio sentiment (both availabe at Starving Artistamps) and came up with this composition.

This one was even more fun than the first!

This One is Growing on Me

I was not crazy about this card at first, but it really is growing on me. Maybe my objection to it at first was that it was just too easy. Other than the time it took for the watercolor wash background to dry, the whole this went together in less than 10 minutes.

Believe it or not, this was the first time I had done a watercolor wash for a background. Talk about easy. Just wet your watercolor paper and start painting. I used some cake watercolors I had on hand and just mixed colors right on the paper until I had something I liked. The tree image is from Inkadinkado and is stamped with Brilliance Graphite Black. If I did this one again, though, I'd use Stazon to get a really dark imperssion. For the mat, I picked cardstock that matched the colors in my image, taped them together from the back, and ran the piece through my Cuttlebug. Before trimming the mat to size, I temporarily assembled the pieces so that I could get the split to align with the horizon on my image panel.

Thanks for looking, and enjoy what's left of the weekend!

A Pile of Pumpkins

Well, really it's more of a stack, but "pile" sounded better. I made this card for Sketch Challenge SC194 over at Splitcoast Stampers. The stamps are from the DoodleFactory Halloween II Witch's Brew set available at Starving Artistamps. I stacked up the pumpkins and colored them with Copic markers. The papers in the color blocked background are scraps.

Happy Friday!

Fall is Here

OK...I am in total Fall mode now, the leaves are turning, the weather is perfect, everyone isputting out their mums and pumpkins, I'm craving fresh apples, and I've put on a couple of pounds for no reason whatsoever. Yup...it's Fall, alright!

Keeping with my Fall state of mind, I made Halloween cards this weekend. This one, made with DoodleFactory Halloween II stamps available from Starving Artistamps, cracks me up if I do say so (and I do)! Trouble the cat has just brewed up a potion and conjured up a spell that turned Lorelei the Witch into a pumpkin! He's definitely having more fun than Lorelei right now, but see how Trouble's getting ready to sneak off? Lorelei is soooo not gonna be happy when that spell wears off!

My scene is colored with Copic markers, and I used a slick trick that I picked up from Marianne at I Like Markers. The ground is colored a darker shade of green, then I used lighter markers to create the pebbled texture. The lighter color dots push the darker color away leaving a very cool texture.

Lots to Talk About Today

I'll start off with what I think is just the coolest thing...I got my first blog award thanks to Shirley at Card Art, Etc. "My first award", LOL, looks like my head has swelled and I'm already planning to receive more awards! Not really...I'm just excited to have received the I Love Your Blog award. I "know" Shirley from the Technique Junkies group, and she creates some of the most amazing artwork. Be sure to check out her blog!

Recipients of this award are asked to post the award, link it back to the person who sent it to them, and then pass it on to 7 more recipients. Not an easy task for me. Not because there aren't tons of deserving recipients, but because I never seem to have the time to find them all. And, as Shirley has already said, if you take the time to blog so that you can share your creations with the rest of us, you automatically deserve an award! But, I need to pick 7, so here they are: Donna at Serenity in Stamping, Barb at Stampelicious, Natasha at Palm Trees and Pogosticks, Rose Ann at Paper Delightz, Jacquie at Simple Reflections about Quilting, Cats and Kids, Linda at Linda Quilts Too, and Donna at Quilting Grandma. Thanks for sharing your creations with the rest of us

And...I have a card to share too! The stamps I used are from the DoodleFactory Witch's Brew set available at Starving Artistamps. My paper is mostly from my scrap pile (where to all those scraps come from?), except for the background, which is Cosmo Cricket Hello Sunshine. I used Brilliance Graphite Black ink and colored my spider with Copic markers. The sentiment is stamped multiple times using a Stamp-a-ma-jig to keep everything lined up. If you don't have one of those babies, run to your nearest stamp store and get one. Seriously

And finally, to close out this post, which I think may be my longest ever, I just wanted to share some photos I took while walking on the trail in back of my house yesterday. (Hmmm...longest sentence ever too?) We are just starting to see some color in the trees and the air is dry and crisp. My favorite time of year!

Are you Ready for a Challenge?

I hope so, cuz it's a fun one! Tracey over at Starving Artistamps is running one very cool challenge. If you've visited our Design Team Gallery Blog or the Starving Artistamps Blog, then you've no doubt seen the awesome cards some of her Swedish customers send in.

Well, that's your challenge. Make a card using that quirky, whimsical, colorful, and downright fun style! The complete details are posted on the blog, but I will tell you that you have until October 1st to enter and the prize is rubber, and lots of it, too. A full sheet of Starving Artistamps or DoodleFactory stamps to be exact. You don't even have to use Starving Artistamps images on your entry...although, if you got 'em, flaunt 'em!

This is my first ever Swedish Collage card. I used stamps from the brand new DoodleFactory Witch's Brew set. My paper, ink, and embellishment selections are too numerous to list, and most of them came out of my scrap and "what-will-I-ever-do-with-this?" piles. Give Swedish Collage a whirl...it's fun!

My Latest Pencil Painting

I don't have a card to show today because I haven't had a chance to take pics of the ones I made last weekend, but I've been meaning to show you my latest pencil painting anyway. I finished this about a month ago, and it seems like I worked on it forever. The piece is about 12" x 14" and is done entirely with Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils. I didn't use any solvents such as Gamsol...the blending is done by building layer upon layer upon layer of colors.

I did this piece in my studio class, but it's a Janelle Johnson piece and the pattern (along with several others) is available on her site if you'd like to give this kind of painting a try.

Go create something today!

A Card for Mid-Autumn

Because of my "day job", I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to work with people from many countries and cultures, and I am currently working with two groups of engineers; one group visiting from India, and the other from China. Today is a very important holiday in China...the Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon or Moon Cake Festival.

I know this card doesn't have any Asian influences, but it does look like mid-Autumn, don't you think? The technique I used is Layered Collage from the latest Technique Junkies newsletter. For inks, I used Ranger Distress Scattered Straw and Vintage Photo, and Stampin' Up Pumpkin Pie Classic. My stamps are: Stampin' Up Sanded, PSX Oak Collage, Anita's leaf and dragonfly, and a maple leaf stamp that has no markings. A row of Dew Drops across the top finish off the design.

Happy Holiday to all of you of Chinese heritage!

It's Getting to be that Time Again

The change is seasons is definitely underway here in southern New England. The leaves are starting to show some colors, all of the farmstands are well-stocked with mums and pumpkins, the air feels cooler and dryer (unless it's humid...this IS New England, afterall), and the day are getting noticeably shorter. It's definitely time to get going on those Fall and (dare I say it?) Holiday projects!

To kick off the Holiday crafting season, I like to make some Halloween cards...don't need them; just like making them! For this card, I used images from an Inkadinkado clear set that I just got. I stamped the tree onto a piece of shimmery rust cardstock, first with Brilliance Moonlight White, and then with Brilliance Graphite Black, offsetting it slightly. The printed paper is Basic Grey Scarlet's Letter and the little jack-o-lantern charm is from Making Memories.

Happy Fall!

More Magenta

This is another Magenta tile stamp that I scored on eBay...you gotta be patient, but there are some good deals to be had there. Oh, and it also helps if you don't mind a bit of staining on your wood blocks.

I put this card together the same way as Leslie's card from last week. I used Ranger Platinum embossing power, which I just got and now love, and colored with shimmering watercolors. Man, I love making these cards!

Scrap-lings!

If you're a scrap saver like me, you have got to try this idea from Hero Arts. I have such a hard time throwing paper away and I end up with tons of skinny strips in my scrap drawer. Mind you, these didn't even make a dent in the pile, but I sure felt virtuous for using up even a few of my scraps. And...Bonus!...I might actually use these because they're the perfect size for gift tags. Does it get any better?

I used a variety of stamps from Hero Arts, Stampin' Up, Inkadinkado, Memory Box, and Studio G ($ stamps from Michael's). The image panels for the first four scrap-lings are stamped onto address labels, another cool idea on the Hero Arts site.

Show me your Scrap-lings, or just show me what cool thing you do with scraps. I'm always looking for ideas.

Ba-ling!

Well Hanna sure did drop some rain here, but the wind wasn't any worse than the thunderstorms we've been having all summer.

I did do quite a bit of stamping Saturday, and apparently I was in the mood for bling, LOL! This little reindeer stamp is from Outlines as is the sentiment. I colored the images with Prismacolor pencils and did a background panel with Cuttlebug Smoosh (a Technique Junkies technique, but I've seen it lots of other places too). If you haven't tried Cuttlebug Smooshing, you really need to...it's simple and fun! Just ink up one side of your embossing folder, insert your paper, and smoosh. I used Brilliance Moonlight White on mine so that the debossed portions have a bit of white shimmer.

Enjoy!

Let's Pretend

...that it's still Wednesday. Why? Because yesterday was the first smARTworks Tea Party challenge of the season and I had a card made and everything...I just never got a chance to post it.

So here's my card a bit late. Hey, someone has to be the last to arrive to a party, right? The images are all from smARTworks, printed paper is Memory Box, and I did the coloring with Prismacolor pencils.

You can see more challenge entries as well as the original sketch on Susan's In the Works blog. Everyone is invited to the party, so why not join in?

It's all About the Details

And I wasn't paying attention to them...again! My Starving Artistamps discount code, savetenDD, is good for 10% off all Starving Artistamps and DoodleFactory rubber stamps; not your entire order. Still a sweet deal though!

A Magenta for Monday

I made this card to give to my friend, Leslie, and her fiance, Mark, at a party in their honor. They are getting married in October so Fall colors seemed appropriate, and besides, I just love to work with these colors.

The stamp is a Magenta frame/medallion stamp. I'm a huge fan of all things Magenta, and this stamp is one of my new favorites...partly because I love it, and partly because I shopped it victoriously on eBay for a darned good price...still makes me giddy to think about it!

I stamped it onto cranberry red and gold cardstock, and then embossed with clear EP. I actually used Opalite ink on the red, but you can't see the shimmer so Versamark would have worked just as well. I used brown pigment ink for the gold piece. I colored in the different areas with shimmering watercolors (like Twinkling H2O's) in shades of red, rust, gold and green. Finally, I cut the pieces apart and reassembled them using foam tape to add dimension. Fun and not too difficult because the cutting is mostly straight lines

Whatever you choose to do for enjoyment...enjoy it!