I have a new blog!

I've decided to move my blogging over to WordPress.  Blogger has been great, but there are some things that I just can't do here so I'm giving WordPress a try. 

My new blog is:  Salmon Brook Studio 

I hope you'll stop by and visit!

Some ATC's

Hi everyone...I hope you're all enjoy the long Independence Day weekend!  We've got lot's of things going on here so I'll have to keep this post short and sweet. 

These are a few ATC's I've made recently.  The ones with the pieced backgrounds use a technique called Brick Wall from the December 2010 Technique Junkies Newsletter and the images on those are from Stampendous (I think).  The fold-over card is a Magenta Style image colored with colored pencils and then accented with glaze pens. 

Have a great weekend!

Another finished painting!

Two in one month...I'm on a roll!

This beautiful little girl is our granddaughter, Piper.  I painted her with colored pencils on Mi-Tientes paper.  The paper is colored, a shade called "hemp", which is sort of a medium, warm flesh tone.  I expected that the colored paper would make it easier to create skin tones, but I think I still ended up using every single peach, light pink, beige, tan, light brown, white, and cream colored pencil in my collection. 

Thanks for stopping by today.  I'm heading back to my studio.  There's still a week left in June, and who knows, I might just finish another painting this month!

Happy Summer!

Here's to summer--long days, abundant sunshine, open windows, gardening, song birds, thunder storms, outdoor picnics, vacations at the beach, sitting on the deck, walks in the woods, and all the other good things that summer brings!

Card info:  Stamp used are Donna's Lighthouse and shells from Starving Artistamps; colored with pastel pencils using the Pastel Pencil Blending tutorial from Technqiue Junkies.

Thanks for stopping by!

Technique Junkies Stampbooking Blog Hop

The Technique Junkie Newsletter Designers, along with some very talented Spotlight Stampers, are proud to bring you a special Stampbooking Blog Hop! During this hop, our designers will be using techniques from the recently released TJ Stampbooking CD. The CD contains 75 inspiring tutorials in pdf format. The tutorials are fun and versatile, and you can get more information about the CD and how to order your own copy here: http://www.techniquejunkies.com/stampbooking-cd.html

Of course, you could always win the CD that Jane is giving away on her blog, too.  It's Jane's birthday today she celebrates her whole birthday week (great idea, no?) so this hop culminate on her blog for the give away. The prize is a copy of the TJ Stampbooking CD and all you have to do is leave a comment for Jane by the end of her birthday week (midnight on June 17) to be entered into a random drawing.


And now for my project. I'm not really a scrapbooker, but I do enjoy making small albums for gifts or to commemorate a special occasion so I chose to make a Page-in-a-Box mini album to show you.

This was such a fun and easy project...I can definitely see myself making up a few more of these!  The stamps I used are from I Brake for Stamps and Starving Artistamps.

Our blog hop starts with Judy Jackson at the TJ Designer's Blog, so if you haven't been there yet head on over so you can start at the very beginning and be sure that you don't miss a thing.  If you've been hopping right along, your next stop from here is one of our awesome Spotlight Stampers:  Reagan Seifert @ Emora Designs.

And just in case you get lost along the way, here's the complete blog list:
Judy Jackson @ TJ Designer's Blog
Chris Dickinson @ Creating with Chrissy
Ann Clack @ Created by Ann
Shelly Hickox @ Stamptramp
Beth Norman @ Sunflower and Dragonflies
Tricia O’Bin @ The Passionate Stamper 
Hetty Sanders @ Craft Chaos
Donna Duquette @ Dee's Studio
Regan Seifert @ Emora Designs
Holly Brown @ Glitter, Stamps, and Ink (Oh My!)
Pat Huntoon @ The Technique Trail
Jane Bosi @ Jane's Addiction

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of the hop!

My Latest Painting

I just finished this today--I think the paint was all dry when I took the picture.  This painting is the final project for my Draw and Paint in Your Pajamas course.  It took me much longer than I thought it would to get here, but I finished, and that, my friends, is a very good feeling!

Mayan Gold, acrylic, 12" x 12"

Gingersnap Creations Color Challenge

Technique Junkies is sponsoring the challenges at Gingersnap Creations all month
and this week the challenge is a color challenge--Denim, Rust, and Dust and there's an overall Western theme for the month. On top of that, Pat asked that our TJ design team sample feature the Faux Denim technqiue from the December 2008 newsletter.  That's a lot for my brain to keep track of, but I think I got it covered.

My cowboy is from the DoodleFactory Costume Party collection from Starving Artistamps, and the sentiments is also from Starving Artistamps.  I colored him in various shades of denim, rust, and dust using my Copic markers and made him a lasso out of a piece of twine. 

Happy Trails!

A Scrapbook Page to Share

Yes, you heard right...a scrapbook page.  I used to scrapbook all the time.  I swear, I would do things just so I could take pictures and scrapbook them.  I even signed on as a "consultant" for one of those home-party companies.  Then I started rubber stamping and gradually my scrapbooking fell by the wayside.  I never really gave any thought to combining the two hobbies.  Until now, that is.

Technique Junkies has a new CD, Stampbooking, coming out next week that's chock full of stamping techniques to use in a scrapbook.  When I first had a chance to look at the 75 tutorials that are included I thought, "Cool, I can use most of those on my cards."  But then I made some sample pages for the CD and I was hooked on scrapbooking all over again.  Now, I don't know that I'll ever go back to scrapbooking everything I do, but an art journal/scrapbook that I add to when the mood strikes me sounds like something I could really enjoy.

Anyway, to make a long story short, this new CD is just full of inspiration for scrapbookers, card makers and journal keepers alike.  It's available for preorder HERE right now and will begin shipping first week of June.

The page I'm sharing with you today is one of my favorites from the samples I did.  The technique is called Brayered Frames Border and the stamps are from Starving Artistamps. 

Thanks for stopping by today!

Another Busy Week

Wow, what a week! I have no idea where the time went. Last week the weather was nice so I spent most of my time outside. This week it rained so I've spent the week catching up on indoor projects which I plan to share with you over the next few days. I'll start with this Father's Day card. I know Father's Day isn't until next month, now is a good time to get your cards made and ready to go. For this one, I used a zebra stamp from Class Act, Inc. and a computer generated sentiment. I also used two tutorials from Technique Junkies: Faux Artisan Tiles (May 2011) and Torn Paper Frames (Dec 2008).

Thanks for stopping by!  I'll be back soon with another project to share.

Gingersnap Creations Spicy Supply Challenge

Technique Junkie is sponsoring the challenges at Gingersnap Creations all month
and this week the challenge is the Spicy Supply Challenge - Take on Twine. No problemo--I love twine! What proved to be a real challenge was keeping with the overall theme of Cowboys and Cowgirls. Aside from the fact that I totally forgot that the month had a theme, I don't have any Western stamps except for a few horses. Hmmm, looks like my stamp collection still has a few gaps that need to be addressed. Imagine that.

Back to the card I made for this week. I had this new stamp (Beach Bonita by Victoria Case for SCACD) from Susana's Custom Art and Card Design sitting on my table and I think twine looks great on ocean inspired designs so that's the direction I took.  I colored Bonita with Prismacolor pencils.  Having just returned from a portrait drawing seminar, I decided to experiment with some of the colors that were recommended for auburn hair.  I used several different colors in the hair, including cream, mineral orange, sienna brown, dark umber, goldenrod, vermillion, poppy red, and indigo. Fun!  I can't wait to try those colors on a real portrait.

For the background, I used watercolor pencils with my Blended Blotches technique from the April/May 2011 Technique Junkie Newsletter.  The Kraft brown mat also has a TJ technique--Cuttlebug Highlights from the October/November 2008 newsletter. 

You're all invited to play along with the Gingersnap Creations challenges and there are prizes to be won, too.  To see how to enter and got tons of inspiration, visit the Gingersnap Creations blog.

Thanks for stopping by my studio today!

Class Act Blog Challenge

It's time for the May Class Act Blog Challenge, and the challenge this month was to use fabric or stitching, either real or faux.

My card uses a real piece of fabric which I backed with adhesive tape and die cut with my Cuttlebug.  The rooster and sentiment (new from Class Act, Inc.) are foiled with variegated green metal leaf.  I used Heat and Stick powder to apply the metal leaf.

Be sure to stop by the Class Act Insider blog and see what the rest of the design team came up with.

Thanks for stopping by my studio!

Cupcakes and Kittens

Hi again...just a quick post to share a card I made for the current sketch at Cardabilities, sponsored by Technique Junkies.  I used a tutorial from the April 2010 Newsletter called Corduroy along with an image from Susana's Custom Art and Card Design.  The image is stamped on light blue card stock and then colored with colored pencils.

See ya later!

Rustic Birdhouses

I made this card last week with every intention of posting it as soon as I finished, but you know how it goes.  One thing leads to another and before you know it days have gone by. It's downright scary how fast time flies sometimes!

I used a technique on this card that I've been wanting to try for quite awhile now.  I made a custom stamp pad by stamping my image (from Class Act, Inc.) on some Cut 'n Dry felt pad.  Using the stamped image as a guide, I inked the pad and then stamped it directly into my paper.  Then, I stamped the image over the colors with black ink.  Very cool!

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a great week!

Midnight Madness Sketch

This week's Midnight Madness Sketch 101 at "priscillastyles" is being sponsored by Technique Junkies.  As a member of the TJ design team, I made this card for fun and inspiration, and of course I used a couple of Technique Junkies tutorials.  The technique I used on my design tiles is called Copic Texturizing, and it was published in the the April 2011 newsletter.  For my tiles, I used my colorless blender to create designs that matched my background paper (Basic Grey Stella Ruby).  I love the way the tiles came out looking like batik.

The second technique I used is called Sanded Core'dinations, which you can find on the Technique Junkies Emboss or Die CD.  The CD chock full of cool things to do with your die cutting/embossing machine, and if you enter the sketch challenge this week you could win a copy for yourself along with a 1-year subscription to the newsletter.  Just visit the "priscillastyles" blog for details on how to enter.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Fooling Around with Watercolors

I bought an inexpensive set of Yasutomo Niji tube watercolors a few weeks back and finally broke them out of the box yesterday.  For the 5 bucks I spent, I have to say that I'm pretty pleased with them.  The colors are fairly intense, and I was able to mix any color I needed from the 12 hues included in the set.  I'm definitely not a watercolorist, but this was awfully fun to do.

The stamp I used on this card is from Class Act, Inc. and the papers are Basic Grey Urban Prairie.

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Earth Day

To commemorate Earth Day today, I'm sharing this natural, earthy, and green card that I made using the Kissed Folder technique from the Technique Junkies Emboss or Die CD. This is such a great technique to add just a bit of texture to solid stamps, like I did here with my trees.  The tree stamps I used are from Memory Box and the sentiment is from Papertrey Ink.

Have a wonderful day and remember -- be nice to your Mother...Earth.

Spring Tulip

It's finally gotten warm enough around here to turn the heat off and open the windows.  Well, most of the time anyway.  In honor of spring finally arriving, I thought I'd share this tulip ATC with you today.

For those of you who haven't joined the ATC movement yet, ATC stands for Artist Trading Card.  There are no rules for making them except that they have to be 2.5" by 3.5 inches.  The idea is to make them and trade them with other artists.  I made this one for a recent trade on Rubberstamp Chat. 

The stamp is from Magenta, and I colored the flower with Prismacolor pencils.  The background is a technique from the Dec. 2010 Technique Junkie Newsletter called Colored Pencil Resist. 

Happy Friday!  I hope it's a beautiful day where you are too.

Class Act Blog Challenge #3

Our Class Act blog challenge this month is to make anything but a card. Originally, though, it was more specific--make a scrapbook page. Since my brain was already in scrapbook mode, I decided to stay with that idea.

For my layout, I used a couple of the newly released birdhouse stamps and colored them with Copic markers.  The side borders are made using a Technique Junkies tutorial called Ribbon Spiral Strip from the October 2008 newsletter. 

Be sure to visit the Class Act Insider blog to see the beautiful projects from the rest of the design team.  You'll also find details on how you can join in the challenge and maybe even with this month's prize.

Thanks for stopping by my studio today and have a great weekend!

A Card of Many Challenges

I was in the mood to play in some challenges today, and I made a card that fits several.  The Friday Free for All on Splitcoast today is to make a project with a "home" theme, and these stamps from Class Act were sitting on my table just begging to be inked.  My watercolor pencils were also sitting on my table from a project I did yesterday, so I used them for my coloring.  Yesterday's Ways to Use It on SCS was Flower Frenzy, so I picked floral paper (Basic Grey Green at Heart) and embellishments (Hero Arts Art Flowers).  For my layout, I used the current Card Positioning Systems sketch. 

Thanks for stopping by my studio today.  Have a great weekend!

Accidentally Relevant

With all of the excitement surrounding the impending royal nuptials, it's probably very fitting that I made a card with a decidedly British royal theme.  Truth is that I just now made the connection.  So my card is relevant, but only accidentally.  I find that amusing for some reason...I may be the only one who does, but that's OK.

So why did I made this card, you ask?  I'm still working with the March new stamp release from Class Act, which includes this Buckingham Palace guard in the English doll set and it occurred to me the other day that  Basic Grey Boxer would be the perfect paper to use.  So here you have it!  I colored him with colored pencils and used a clear glaze pen to add polish to his boots and buttons.  I also used some black Flower Soft on his helmet (hat?). 

Thanks for stopping by!

Oh, and GO UCONN!!!  (both teams, men and women--ha!)

Promise of Spring

I just finished this painting for Cindy Wider's Draw and Paint in Your Pyjamas course. One more painting and I'll be done! I've got some rubber stamping stuff to get caught up on, but I hope to get started on my final project later this week.

As for this painting, the assignment was to create a simple original painting using one of three different painting styles. The style I used here is semi-abstract hard edge acrylic painting. I haven't gotten any feedback on this yet so I don't know how successful I was in emulating that style, but I am pleased with my result and I learned a ton in the process.

Promise of Spring
Acrylic on canvas board
9" x 12"

Thanks for stopping by my studio today. I'll be back later in the week with some rubber stamping and paper craft projects. Later!

I'm Back!

It's been a busy couple of weeks here--water in the basement, a trip to Vegas, and then lots of projects to do when I got home.  I've been meaning to post something new here on my blog all week, and I'm finally getting to it now.  It's going to be quick, though, because we have one of the grandkids for the evening and we promised her we'd go bowling.  Life in the fast lane!

While we were in Las Vegas, we took some time to go sight seeing in the Mojave Desert.  These photos are from the Valley of Fire State Park, a truly spectacular place.

And here's a very simple card that I made the other day.  Nothing fancy because sometimes I need a notecard that I can send to a man.  Apparently, they don't appreciate glitter and ribbons as much as we girls do! The stamp is from Class Act, and I used a technique from the new Technique Junkies Emboss or Die CD called Scored Embossing.

 Thanks for stopping by!

I've been knitting up a storm lately

Knitting has been an on again, off again thing with me since I was twelve or so.  Right now its on again and I've been trying to use up some of my stash of yarn.  It's not a big stash by any means, but substantial enough that I can't justify buying too much more.  I do buy a little more, though, now and then--it's just too hard to resist.

Since about half of my stash one or two skeins and leftovers of this and that, I decided that the best way to use it up would be to do some charity knitting.  This little set is one that I donated to an auction to benefit a local high school scholarship fund.

Those of you who are knitters will recognize the little jacket as Elizabeth Zimmerman's Baby Surprise Jacket.  For those of you who aren't familiar, Elizabeth published the pattern in her newsletter in the 1960's and it's been a classic ever since.  It's knit all in one piece and the surprise part is that it folds origami-style into this cute little jacket.  It was so fun and easy to knit that I'm thinking about casting on another one. 

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

So here's the deal...

...and it's a good one, too.  Starving Artistamps is offering a free sheet of rubber for every $50 you spend.  Sweet!

 













And here's a card...

The stamp is from Starving Artistamps (of course), stamped with brown Memento ink and colored with Copic markers.  That gorgeous leather background is the Faux Tooled Leather technique from the Technique Junkies Emboss or Die CD.

That's all I have for today pardner.  Thanks for stopping by!

Dutch Treat

This card just had to be made.  Sitting on my table right next to each other were my set of Dutch Doll stamps from Class Act, Inc. and my copy of the Technique Junkie Emboss or Die CD which, among 78 other awsome techniques, includes the Faux Delft Tiles technique I used here.  How could I not made a card like this?

To create my center tile, I stamped the windmill image with Versamark ink onto watercolor paper, and then embossed it with white embossing powder.  Next, I spritzed the entire piece with water and watercolored with several different shades of blue.  When I diecut the tile, I also embossed the edge and then watercolored the edge with brown, using the embossing as a guide.  The blue mat is cut and embossed from Core'dinations paper and then sanded.

Thanks for stopping by my studio.  Have a great day!

Class Act Blog Challenge #1

This is my first posting for the Class Act Design Team and the stamps I'm playing with this month are brand new in the Dolls of the World series.  When I was a little girl, I had a set of It's a Small World paper dolls which I loved.  I would spend hours drawing and coloring new outfits for them.  Working with these stamps has brought back so many fond memories!

Today is also the first Class Act Blog challenge, and we were challenged to make a creation that used embossing, three or more layers, and bling.  There wasn't really any challenge here at all.  I knew right from the start what I wanted to use the Hannah, the little Dutch girl, and that I would use the Cuttlebug Highlights technique (Technique Junkies Oct 2008).  I colored Hannah's costume with Copic markers and highlighted my embossing by on rubbing a couple shades of blue die ink directly from the ink pads.  For my bling, I added crystals to my scalloped oval mat.

You are welcome to play along with us and maybe even with a prize.  All the information you need to know about the challenge is posted on the Class Act Insider blog.  You'll also find links to the rest of the Design Team's creations so be sure to pop on over there.

Happy Friday and thanks for stopping by!

Today is Sunday

For those of you who are wondering, except for our power being out all afternoon, I enjoyed my Saturday on Friday.  My Saturday on Saturday was even better, though.  Lisa and Bill and the girls came over for corned beef and cabbage dinner, which to our collective surprise was delicious.  I usually only make corned beef once a year because throwing an entire meal in a pot of boiling water is not my favorite cooking method.  This time, though, I decided to try something a little different.  I cooked the meat in my slow cooker all by itself.  Instead of boiled cabbage and potatoes, I made Polish fried cabbage and noodles.  I steamed the carrots separately so that they would still taste like carrots, and since I was on a roll, I made some Irish soda bread, too.  What a fantastic meal!  I will never, ever make a boiled dinner ever again, and I just might make corned beef more than once a year now.

The dinner I made yesterday is pretty exciting stuff to be sure, but here's the real subject of today's post.  Are you ready for this?  That photo you're admiring is a picture of an actual pair of socks knitted by my own two hands to fit my own two big feet.  No kidding!  I finally overcame what I thought was an incurable case of Second Sock Syndrome!  This is truly cause for celebration.  Maybe I'll declare another Saturday.

Thanks for stopping by, and whatever day it is where you are, have a great one!

Really? It's only Friday?

I've been thinking all morning that today is Saturday.  I've been telling my brain all morning that it's not Saturday; it's Friday, but apparently my brain wants it to be Saturday.  I suppose I have no choice but to just go with the flow.

Fortunately, I did convince my brain that it is Friday long enough to get my Friday posting up for the TJ Design Junkies blog.  I used a technique from 2007 called Cottoned Color for my card along with a digital stamp from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps.  I printed my image on Solar White Neenah Classic Crest and colored it with Copic markers.  The layout is from this week's Card Positioning Systems sketch, CPS #206.

Thanks for stopping by, and you all have a happy Friday.  I'll be enjoying my Saturday.

New stamps in da house!

Starving Artistamps has a brand new collection designed by Nina Aaslund--Antidepresstamps Royalty!  Can you say cute?

I used the adorable court jester stamp to make this Valentine for my hubby.  He's probably going to say that I'm a fool all the time, not just for him, but we won't go there right now, OK?  

I did my coloring on this one with Copic markers and pulled my colors from the Basic Grey Green at Heart papers.  The gold frame is a Technique Junkies technique called Hammered Hardware and see that ribbon?  It's from a Coldwater Creek shopping bag!  My layout is a challenge sketch from Splitcoast Stampers, and my colors and theme fit today's Free for All Challenge over there as well.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Just one more to go!

I finished the Paint and Mix Color unit of the Draw and Paint in Your Pyjamas course leaving me with just one more unit to go before I can claim my certificate.  The final unit is Compose Original Art, and I'm so excited to finally be here.  It will be a proud moment when I get my certificate, but at this moment, right here, right now, I feel like I've reached a destination.  This is what I came here to learn.  I'm finally here! 

This was my final project for Unit 2, a copy of Cindy Wider's "The Holiday Makers".  In the dead of winter, it was fun to work with Cindy's bright, tropical colors...it truly did feel a bit like being on holiday.

Thanks for stopping by my studio today.  Happy Friday!

Emboss or Die Sneak Peek Blog Hop

Welcome to the Technique Junkie Newsletter Design Team sneak peek blog hop! We're celebrating the launch of the NEW TJ Emboss or Die CD!  This Cd has 79 pdf tutorials with ideas for getting the most from your Embossing Folders, Die Cut Machines and Electronic Cutters.  The tutorials are in step-by-step format with pictures for each step and include fabulous artwork examples from the TJ Design Team. The CD is $17.95, and you can order yours here from my sidebar or from the Technique Junkies site. Pre-orders are being taken today, and the CD will be mailed the first week of March.

This card uses one of the techniques on the CD: Kissed Folder.

Okay now you are in for a real treat! This sneak peek blog hop is in a different format than what you might be used to. All you have to do is click on one of the pictures below to be taken to any of the team's blog and to view their work -- and the thumbnails are on everyone's blogs, so you can hop around anywhere all you like! Note: all of the entries from the Design Team will be up by Tuesday morning at 8 am.

I hope you enjoy the sneak peek -- and make sure to get your CD ordered today!

Progress

A few weeks ago I told you about my goals for the coming year, and I'm glad to say that I've made some progress.  I'm working on the final project for the Paint and Mix Color Unit in Cindy Wider's Draw and Paint in Your Pyjamas Certificate course.  If all goes well I should be done with it by Monday.  These are the rocks I painted the other day.

On the card-making front, I'm happy to report that I've been chosen for the Class Act Design Team.  My term starts at the end of February, but I'll be adding links to their site and challenge blog before then.  The Class Act image collection strikes just the right balance between cuteness and realism, and they're versatile and very usable; not gimmicky or overly trendy so I'm really looking forward to working with them.

Speaking of things to look forward to, it's almost time for the next edition of the Technique Junkies Newsletter. I've seen all of the beautiful artwork created by Pat the design team so I can tell you that you won't be disappointed!  Pat is also releasing a new CD soon.  We'll be doing a blog hop on February 1st to introduce the CD so be sure to stop by.

I have one more card to share with you from the Dec/Jan newsletter before we move on to February's edition.  I used the Bricks technique with scraps of printed paper in pastel shades and copper patina colored embossing powder.  The butterfly image is from I Brake for Stamps, and it's stamped in Adirondack pesto ink and colored with Prismacolor pencils. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Really? Haven't we had enough?

I'm dressed in polar fleece from head to toe today.  This is why:


Issued at: 3:18 PM EST 1/23/11, expires at: 12:00 AM EST 1/24/11

Wind chill warning in effect from midnight tonight to 9 am est monday,
The NWS in taunton has issued a wind chill warning, which is in effect from midnight tonight to 9 am est monday. The wind chill watch is no longer in effect.
Locations, southwest New Hampshire, central and western Massachusetts and hartford county Connecticut.
Hazards, dangerously cold wind chill values.
Wind chill values, 25 to 35 degrees below zero.
Winds, northwest 5 to 10 mph.
Temperatures, 10 to 25 degrees below zero.
Timing, late tonight through mid morning Monday
Precautionary/preparedness actions,
A wind chill warning is issued when the wind chill index is likely to fall to -25 degrees or colder for at least 3 hours. A wind chill index below -30 can bring about frostbite in as little as 10 minutes. Outdoor exposure should be limited. If you are heading outdoors, dress in layers and keep your hands and head covered to protect against frostbite


Oh, and there's more snow headed this way for Wednesday.  Really?  Is that entirely necessary, Mother Nature?

At least this crappy weather means that I have plenty of time to spend in my studio.  I've been working through the acrylic painting unit of my Draw and Paint in Your Pyjamas course.  I painted this tree the other day, and at the moment, I'm painting some rocks.  It's fun, but boy do I have a lot to learn!

Thanks for stopping by my Studio.  Stay warm out there!

Six Inchies of Snow

We're expecting yet another 6 inches of snow tonight so I thought this would be the perfect time to share my latest batch of inchies, made for a Winter/Snow inchie swap.  The six inchies were fun.  The six inches coming tonight, I don't know...not so much.

I used tons of different stamps, inks, techniques and what-not, but as best I can recall I'll try to give the details.  From left to right, starting with the top row:

1.  This one uses a technique I invented using Fiskars texture plates.  Just rub the plate with a couple colors of Ranger Distress Ink, spritz with a little water and lay a piece of paper on top for a second or two and the remove the paper and let dry.  The snowflake plate that I used here makes some amazing snowy skies.  The sentiment is from smARTworks and I embossed the whole thing with clear embossing powder.

2.  The background is light blue card stock sprayed with some Smooch Spritz.  The snowflake is embossed with white EP and highlighted with some Stickles.

3.  I stamped the little penguin with grey ink, did some simple coloring, cut him out and mounted him to a scrap of printed paper.  The inchie is glazed with Ranger Glossy Accents.  Once everything was dry, I added a small green crystal.

4.  I stamped the image with blue chalk ink onto lavender paper and highlighted the snowflake with a silver glitter pen and a lavender crystal.  This one is also glazed with Glossy Accents.

5.  These penguins are part of a much larger stamp by Serendipity.  I stamped them with black ink onto printed paper, embossed with clear EP and colored with Prismacolor pencils.

6.  For this one, I stamped the fourish, from I Brake for Stamps, onto a scrap of printed paper and embossed with ivory/gold EP. 


Thanks for stopping by my studio!

And the Winner is...

I shook my iPhone for a random number, and the winner a Technique Junkies Fancy Folds and Motion Paper Crafts CD is Faith in Florida.  Congratulations, Faith! 

Fabulous Friday on Saturday

This week's Fabulous Friday challenge at Frosted Designs, Use Paint, is sponsored by Technique Junkie and several cards made by TJ designers are featured on their blog today.  For my card, I made a silly little Valentine using a tutorial from the Aug/Sep 2010 newsletter called Acrylic Emboss.  I also sponged a Martha Stewart doily with pink paint to match my card.  My jittery little creature is Zot, a DoodleFactory Creature available at Starving Artistamps.

Look like fun?  You can play along and maybe even with a prize.  Post a link to your project using paint on the Frosted Designs blog by noon, January 20th and you'll be entered to with a copy of the Technique Junkie Fancy Folds and Motion Paper Crafts CD and a 1-year online subscription to the newsletter.  Sweet!

I'm a Design Junkie and Loving It

I was always sure it would be, but with a few months as a design team member under my belt, I can absolutely say that this is one sweet gig.  I get to play with art supplies, Pat and the other team members are awesome, and the Technique Junkies tutorials are amazing...it just doesn't get any better!

The design team collectively maintains a blog, Design Junkies, featuring techniques from the various newsletters, CDs and the website that Pat publishes.  I contribute on the second and fourth Friday of each month and since this is the second Friday in January, I have a card to share.  The technique I chose to feature is called Pencil Highlights and it was published in the Sept./Oct. 2010 issue of the newsletter.  The stamp I used for the technique (on the background panel) is from Rubber Stampede.   The rose, which I embossed with Ranger Tea Dye Distress Embossing Powder, is from the DoodleFactory Backlit Blooms collection from Starving Artistamps.

When we post cards to the Design Junkies blog we index them by technique name, and we've started to build a nice gallery of samples.   If you're a newsletter subscriber looking for recent examples of older techniques, be sure to grab a cuppa sometime and give the blog a browse.  For those of you who aren't subscribers yet :), there's still plenty of inspiration to be had so grab a cuppa and head on over there too.

Thanks for stopping by my studio, and Happy Friday!

Little Drawings

Last week I told you about my big plans for the year, and those goals will take up a good portion of my time.  But what if I need a little instant gratification along the way?  My rubber stamping hobby fills part of that need.  Cards are quick to make (in theory, anyway), and making them gives me opportunity to experiment with my art supplies. 

But what if I want to do some instant gratification artwork that is entirely my own?  For me, the answer is to work small.  I've fallen in love with the Artist Trading Card (ATC) format and find that the 2.5" x 3.5" size is just perfect for practicing and experimenting.  Small enough so that I can finish a drawing in about and hour, but still large enough to allow for a fair amount of detail. 

These are a few of the ATC's I did for the holidays.  With the exception of the poinsettia with I painted with acrylics, all are colored pencil on Bristol vellum.

Christmas Poinsettia

A miniature version of my 2010 Christmas card.

My little chef nutcracker.

Santa Nutcracker

Soldier Nutcracker

Snowman Ornament

Thanks for stopping by my studio today!

Happy New Year!

Wow.  I know.  Long time, no blog.  It's not that I didn't have anything to show you and it's not that I didn't have anything to say.  It's just that day after day, I just never seemed to find the time to get here.  All in all, I had a very busy and thoroughly enjoyable holiday season.  I hope yours was wonderful, too!

So now it's January and time to get serious about a few things I've been trying to accomplish.  I don't really believe in making resolutions because I've always found them to be counterproductive.  Too often we resolve to do things that aren't completely in our control, and when we can't accomplish them we feel like we've failed.  I'd rather have goals to work toward and give myself the flexibility to adjust those goals if I need to. 

One goal I have is to finish up a couple of classes I've been taking.  The first one is Cindy Wider's Draw and Paint in Your Pyjamas certificate course that I've been working on for the last year.  I've learned so much, and my confidence has really grown, but now it's time to finish!  I'm going to be pretty busy with that for the next few weeks, and I'll try to keep you up to date on my progress here on my blog.

Although I haven't finished Cindy's course yet, I've begun training to be an instructor for the course on her website, DrawPJ.com.  So my next obvious goal is to finish the instructor training and start teaching.  If any of you out there reading this are like I was and always wished you could draw, I'm here to tell you that you CAN draw.  You just need some guidance, some encouragement, and some practice.  OK...you need lots of practice most likely, but it is something you can do.  If you're interested in giving it a try let me know, or visit Cindy's site.  She has a free two-week trial available so that you can preview the course if you wish.

Another goal of mine is to revamp this blog and improve my web presence.  I've purchased the rights to the Deesstudio.com domain and plan to build a website with galleries for my artwork and cards.  I plan to make some of my work available for sale.  As I said, my confidence has really grown, and I feel ready to take that next step.  My plan is to sell original drawings and paintings, commissioned portrait drawings, as well as greeting cards and other craft items that I make.

Speaking of greeting cards, I'll be continuing my on-going rubber stamping obsession, excuse me, hobby, because I just plain love it.  It is an active goal of mine to get onto one more design team in addition to Starving Artistamps and Technique Junkies.  I'd also like to see if I can get some more of my work published, but with everything else I have planned, I'm not sure how much time I'll really devote to that one.

So there you have it...my grand plan, or part of it at least.  I've got other things in the works, but I'll save those for another post.

If you're still reading this post, thanks for hanging in there!  I'd love it if you'd leave me a comment so I know who my most faithful blog readers are.  Come to think of it, you deserve a reward.  I have an extra copy of the Technique Junkie Newsletter Fancy Folds and Motion Paper Crafts CD to give away.  Leave me that comment by January 15th, and I'll enter you in a drawing to win the CD.

Just one last thing before I go...I have a card to share with you.  I made this one for the December 2010 issue of the Technique Junkies Newsletter using the Deconstructed Collage tutorial.  The stamp is from I Brake for Stamps, and the papers are from Basic Grey.

Happy New Year!