August SOTM – Framed (S1508) Blog Hop International

Welcome to the August SOTM – Framed (S1508) Blog Hop International. I am so glad to have you come by to join the 51 of us and I sure hope you find some inspiration here. If you came from  Michelle Jones you are in the right place.  If you have just hopped on board please continue at the link at the end of this post to continue around the whole loop.

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Today I want to share with you this card using Framed, August 2015 SOTM. This set lends itself to so many cards and this little technique can be used for all of them.

August SOTM Framed

ink embossing folder

You can easily achieve the background paper. I cut White daisy at 4 x 5 1/4. I inked the NEGATIVE side of the Damask embossing folder with Bamboo ink. I laid the white cardstock on it and ran it through the Cuttlebug.

Ink the raised embossed edge

I then used the actual Bamboo Ink Pad to ink a much darker value of the same colour onto the raised damask pattern.

I made the strip of Gold Polka Dot by attaching it to strips of Bamboo cardstock.

I stamped the Frame and For You Sentiment with Versamark ink and embossed with Gold embossing poweders. I cut this and mounted it to Cocoa cardstock.

Make a pile at once!

I made the card based from a 4 1/2 x 11 inch piece of Cocoa card stock. I have made some use of Cocoa fundamentals in my greetings:)

I have added some ribbon from my stash to add that finishing touch.

I hope you have enjoyed this card and will give these techniques a try! I can’t wait to share this in my classes. Framed SOTM is available to Australian Customers for just $5 with a $75 purchase of $29 at full price in AUGUST ONLY. Be sure to get yours from your consultant or shop online right now joining the monthly virtual host draw.

Your next stop on the hop is  Peachy Iris G. Lamb  Hop on over there and see what she has for you! Don’t forget to comment before you leave!

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CTMH Products used in this project

• SOTM Framed – August 2015
• White Daisy Cardstock
• Cocoa Cardstock
• Damask Embossing Folder
• Versamark ink
• Ranger Princess Gold Embossing Powder
• Gold Shimmer Trim
• 3D Foam Tape
• Gold Polka dot Washi Tape. (PS if you like this stuff you might want to grab some while it lasts!)

July 2015: Life Is Wonderful Blog Hop

S1507 Life is Wonderful

Hello and welcome to our Close To My Heart international Blog Hop. If you have arrived here from Kathy Burros you are in the right place. If you have just hopped in please join us full circle by clicking hop links at the end of each post. If you get lost along the way a complete list of bloggers is here. We have a fabulous SOTM for you and because Life is Wonderful we need to celebrate it:) July Stamp of the Month Life is Wonderful. is only available for JULY. It is FREE in the Jump on it July campaign! Yes…FREE! Or, you can purchase it for $5 with a $75 AU Purchase, or $27 just for the stamp alone.

During the month of July, when you purchase $32.50 AUD in current, retail priced stamps, you qualify to receive either the July Stamp of the Month, My Acrylix^® Life Is Wonderful, FREE or any one of the Hostess Rewards stamp sets featured in Annual Inspirations 2014–2015 or Seasonal Expressions 2 for only $6.50 AUD!

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Today I would like to share with you a creation which features Close To My Heart’s July Stamp of the Month Life is Wonderful.

July SOTM Life is wonderful with Chalk It Up and Coloured Chalk Technique

To Make my elements featuring the stamp of the month I have first stamped them in White Pigment ink. I then heat set this to make sure it was all very dry. DRY Colour the white with selected colours for our Water Colour Pencil collection. This is really important. If you use wet techniques you will reactivate the with pigment ink and not end up with the desired result. Just colour in. Because we have stamped whit on Black it won’t matter if you cannot stay in the lines, but a good sharp pencil will help!

S1507 Life is Wonderful

s1507 Life is Wonderful

To finish my pieces I sanded the edges before mounting them to the page.

S1507 Life is Wonderful SOTM

I hope you are inspired to try a little chalkboard art with this stamp set. Your next step in the hop is  Catherine Nowak Please hop along and see what wonderful art she has made to share. 

This is a perfect scrapbookers stamp set. I have had a lot of fun making pages with it and hope you do too!

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Shopping list All products can be purchased by Australian readers from my online store or by contacting me directly.

S1507 Life is Wonderful

Chalk it up Paper Packet

Black Cardstock 1386

Kraft Cardstock

White Daisy Pigent Ink Z2163

Watercolor Pencils 3505

Icecream Dreams SOTM Australasia Blog Hop

Hello and welcome aboard ourStamp of the month Australasian Close to My Heart Blog Hop. If you have arrived here from Marguerite Svendsen-Designs by Marguerite– then you are in the right place. If you landed here by accident, no problem, please join in by following the link at the end of this post.

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Today I would like to share with you this card which features June Stamp of the Month Icecream Dreams S1506  available exclusively throughout June for $27 or for just $5 when you spend $75.

I started this fun card stamping up a few versions of it using just Black ink to stamp the label but this one features a Black embossing powder I have. I have also used out glitter paper and sequins.

I am going to share with you some tips for colouring the icecreams and the dogs in this post. If you want to skip ahead, your next stop in the hop is Maz. Please leave me a comment before you go.

A few variations of the same idea before they make it to a card

You have 2 choices for colouring here and they both begin by squishing your ink pad so some ink ends up on the lid as shown. You need to choose to use either your colourless Shin Han Marker Z2469 or a paintbrush. I have a fillable paint brush commonly available from craft stores. You can also use a standard size 3 nylon brush. 

 

Add water to the ink you have transferred to your lid and you have a water colour to play with. All you need is to remember a few simple rules,

• a softer colour requires a mix of more water, less ink – and vice versa – a strong vibrant colour will come with less water and more ink.
• rinse between colours
• do not over wet CTMH White cardstock – it will bleed no matter what ink you use for the image to colour if it gets too wet from either your brush or your marker.
• Paper towel nearby is a useful blotter to remove too much water
• turn your work so you are pulling colour toward you. You will notice I often turn my work in my videos.
• Enjoy he pocess and fuss less. These will go on a card, not win an art award….

I believe cards need to be made with scraps and these samples have all been made with a strip scrap after last months workshop. (Look for my give away at the bottom of the post)

Brush colouring on right, clear marker colouring on left – you decide which you like best

You CAN use your colourless Shin Han Marker if you are not comfortable with a brush. I have illustrated this in the video. However, I find this process too slow and tedious and much prefer to paint. I also have much more control over the colour and its intensity as you will see.I can get a much softer blend too. (However I acknowledge I am very comfortable with a paintbrush in my hand)

You can also see I have stamped a number of these elements on one card. Make sure it is thoroughly dry. The next step is to give them a good coverage of Liquid Glass z769. Your liquid glass will cause bleeding if the artwork is not bone dry. (Try setting it with a heat gun). Be sure to leave it a long time. (OVERNIGHT). You can then fussy cut the items out and mount them to the card.Once cut you can ‘hide’ the white core by colouring the edge with a Shin Han Black marker.Z2446

The full palette of colours is inspired by the palette listed for the Blossom papers. Exclusive Inks Lagoon, Blossom, Sorbet, Flaxen and Pear. I used Cocoa for the Dog. (it does look green when you add water – don’t panic, it dries brown.)

To finish off my card I have used some Teal glitter paper z1991 and Sorbet Cardstock. I have used the Coral sequins too.

Here is a Video to show you how I colour with both the pen and the brush. *embedding you tube does not want to play the game nicely with  me tonight so here is the Link to click.

June Stamp of the Month Icecream Dreams S1506  available exclusively throughout June for $27 or for just $5 when you spend $75. You can shop online right now with The Creative Heart.  or contact your consultant.

I sincerely hope I have inspired you to give brush colouring a go and compare it to the Colourless Shin Han Marker. Give each a try and see what is a good fit for you!

Your next stop along the hop is Maz 

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Shopping

• Icecream Dreams S1506
• Shin Han Marker Z2469
• Liquid Glass z769
• Exclusive Inks Lagoon, Blossom, Sorbet, Flaxen, Cocoa and Pear.
• Teal glitter paper z1991

Everything ABC’s Letter B – Birthday!

Welcome to the Everything ABC’s Blog Hop!

For this hop we will be featuring the letter B. This may be the name of a paper, a stamp set or an embellishment. Whatever the crafter has chosen as their # element will be featured in their post. If you have just hopped onto my blog, please start at the beginning at Linda’s blog ~ Scrappy Therapy If you came from Stephanie Feist-then you’re on the right track!

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 Your Birthday is supposed to be fun right? Mine is in MAY, and this is my May Calendar page!

 

B is for Birthday

If you have been following the blog you will know I have been working on a Calendar project. I am up to June – but wish to share with you up close and personal my May Page, since on good advice (as above)  I plan to celebrate my birthday all month long! Right now I am into colour – and lots of it (usually I am an earthy neutrals girl unless it is red and purple…that is different!) ; and I am into finding those mantra’s and sayings that will lift me up in 2015. This is a gem!

My bestie Sandra shared this pinspiration – ‘Start each day like it is your Birthday’ with me but I have had a bit of a time locating it so pinned it myself.  The timing of her sharing this with me was impeccable. I loved the design and it’s colours. I so totally had to scraplift this one for my May page. My finidshed art work is not the same but is deeply inspired by that  pin..  I cannot give you more than the original artists website – Sketcherella – the orginal image is gone – but the pinned image remains. (go figure….)

SO…Hopscotch was the obvious paper palette choice. I had a bit of white card stock as my base about 5 x 7.  It turned out not big enough to carry birthday so I did it completely separate and trimmed it back a bit from there when done.I have used quite a number of the Close To My Heart Alphabet sets listed below, as well as the awesome new Brushstrokes stamp set C1608 (love this one completely!)  If I had it I would also have incorporated Framework Alphabet E1027. The H in Birthday is from a little M stamp that is NLA (M1030). I just stamped it without the bow and cut it up the middle. The current retiring ‘HI’ stamp would work too. I deliberately mixed up colours and stamp sets here – you do need to play and do your thing with this! My T in birthday (thanks again to inspiration from Sandra) is topped with a gift and candles all from the Build a Cake Stamp Set D1618  There is a bit of Circus Alphabet and Washi Wonder in there – all limited edition stamps from our previous catalog. (Just goes to show Host Rewards and Stamps of the Month really are spesh! Ask your onsultant – I promise they will be thrilled to tell you all about it!) ) Once all the lettering was done on the main piece I smudged colours into the background with my sponge and stamped the brushstrokes shapes into places they fit using different colours from the hopscotch palette.

Letters that needed colouring were coloured with watercolour pencils. Those which were also being fussy cut were given a lift by first spreading liquid glass onto them and allowing them to dry.  TIP – Do all the letters you intend to liquid glass on on one piece of card stock- liquid glass them all. Fussy cut when dry. I tried the other way and it is messy, requires tweezers and….yep not a good result. My repeat effort with one sheet, letting them all dry then cutting them was much better. You CAN cut dry liquid glass….it is not rock hard 🙂 It’s nice n flexible on paper.

I mounted the completed saying piece onto lagoon and this went on the Hopscotch background. I used a scrap of the reverse of Hopscotch as a strip to support the word birthday and added a flash of bling with Teal Shimmer trim Z1918. A 4.5 inch wide strip of Lagoon is there ready for Birthday photos and the added labels are a sneak peek of a Stamp of the Month that is coming for you in May.

I think that covers it. I used my stash, I used alphasets, I used lots of colour, and now in May I will be encouraged to celebreate each day as if it is my Birthday – on one of those days it will be!

Close To My Heart Products Used in this project

• 12 x 12 Monthly Calendar
• Urban Alphabet D1507
• HopscotchAlphabet E1028
• Marquee Upper Case E1029
• Hand Written Print E1030
• Brushstrokes c1608
• Inks – Lagoon, Sorbet, Flaxen
• Sponge z697
• Dimensional Film Strip  – use Snapshots Z1901 or mine came with Artiste Cartridge Collection. You can cut one from Artiste).
• Teal Shimmer trim Z1918
• Watercolor pencils 3505

Please leave a comment before you move on. Your next stop on our Everything ABC’S blog Hop is “Lauren Moore – CTMH Craftings “.In case you get lost along the way…go to Scrappy Therapy 

Thanks for stopping by

Jen

Australasian Stamp of the Month Blog Hop S1412 Cutie Pie

Hello and welcome aboard our Stamp of the month Australasian Close to My Heart Blog Hop. If you have arrived here from Maz’s Inky Fingers then you are in the right place. If you landed here by accident, no problem, please join in by following the link at the end of this post.

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How cute is this???

S1412 Cutie Pie

I Love it and I have had a LOT of fun making cards and pages with it already! I know many of us have been hanging out for this Stamp of the Month to get here and yippeee here it is! December Stamp of the Month is Cutie Pie S1412 and it is available  for $27 or for just $5 when you spend $75 with your consultant. (Ask your consultant about the additional Deal of the Decade if your order is at this amount!)

I have decided to pair my SOTM project up with the new paper collection Heartstrings because it comes with a card making kit rather than a WOTG, and we have a yummy mini pack of coordinating PML Cards. So, it did not take me long to come up with this layout.

I have focussed on the blues in the PML cards. The best match card stock and ink was Crystal Blue. I used our biggest block (4 x 5 Y1012) and started by mounting all 4 cupackes on the block in random directions. I then stamped this rotating the block 90 degrees and 180 and even rotating the paper. This gave me the random stamped cupcake background.

 

The side strips are a 2 inch strip of Crystal Blue embossed with the new Diamond Embossing folder. It looks and feels really quilted! I added the flourish from the Heartstrings complements, inked the edges of my selected pml cards and added a zip strip to one of the photos mounts. Random scraps also make a great washi look and you need that bit of bling with silver shimmer trim.

I had already been playing in my paper packet so I had B and T scraps to use – but you could use PML cards if that is all you have. Stamp a cupcake (or 3!)  using Black ink on the Heartstrings B and T papers. Mix it up. Separate the wrapper from the top of each one and shuffle them around. Adhere them to a small strip of scrap paper as you put them back together. This will support them. Then use foam mounting tape to adhere them to the page. I used a strip of B and T paper as a ‘shelf’ to put them on. Don’t forget the sparkle for the top!

I added some heart stamps and some puffy hearts from the new Stuck on you Puffies just to finish it off with a bit of red.

To complete this project you will need

• Stamp of the Month Cutie Pie S1412
• 4 x 5 Acrylic Block Y1012
• Inks –  Crystal Blue andBlack
• Cardstock – White and Crystal Blue
• Heartstrings Paper Collection X1973B
• Heartstrings Complements X1973C
• Heartstrings PML cards Z3046
• Stuck on you puffies Z3037
• Silver Shimmer Trim Z1799
• Stuck on you puffies z3037

December SOTM is only available through till Dec 31 is from your CTMH consultant.I’d love you to leave a comment before heading off to the next stop,  Wendy Hopper,to see what she has created for you.

PS Make sure you have a go at the page by CTMH on page 16. It is a LOT of fun to make.

PPS…Be sure to follow the hop…grab a cuppa and hop along to Wendy Hopper and keep going! There is some really inspirational artwork this month!

Take a cupcake with you!

Jenny

The creative Heart

 

Everything ABC’s Letter V is for Volcanic

Welcome to the Everything ABC’s Blog Hop! For this hop we will be featuring the letter V This may be the name of a paper, a stamp set or an embellishment. Whatever the crafter has chosen as their V element will be featured in their post. If you have just hopped onto my blog, please start at the beginning at Linda’s blog ~ Scrappy Therapy. If you came from “Lauren Moore – CTMH Craftings”  then you’re on the right track!

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Hello and welcome to a small piece of my personal Scrapbooking world. I am a lover of mixed media and like to dabble in it from time to time. Choosing a V project isn’t easy but I have settled on this page that illustrates the fabulous Sun Pyramid, the largest structure in the Ancient City of Teotihuacan in Mexico. It is my V project because of the presence of coarse red volcanic rock which I have attempted to symbolise in the background art work on this page.

I first visited Mexico in 1979 as a child. I was an exchange student and at the mercy of host families to see the country. The day I was brought to visit these pyramids we found them closed. (I suspect that family knew little about them!) I dreamed of a return to Mexico, and promised myself that if I ever did I would go to the Sun and Moon Pyramid. Fast forward 35 years here I am on the Street of the Dead with the Sun Pyramid in the background! Volcanic rock heaven!!! I could not walk the street due to sciatica but I was there….right there…at last!

The Sun Pyramid of Teotihuacan. This page is presented in the Black Designed Decor Black Shadow Box frame It just makes the page even more stunning. I love how I can quickly pop pages in and out of these frames!

The pyramid rises 216 feet (66 metres) above ground level, and it measures approximately 720 by 760 feet (220 by 230 metres) at its base. It was constructed of about 1,000,000 cubic yards (765,000 cubic metres) of material, including hewed tezontle, a red, coarse volcanic rock of the region. (Read More about this fascinating landmark here).  Obsidian, a Volcanic Glass is also present in the ruins.

I have created this page in the following way:

• Base 12 x 12 Slate cardstock
• Overlay with Texture paste. I used the V shape of the overlay in the Sugar and Spice Key of artbooking page 80 and a knife to lay down this shape to reflect the steps of the pyramid. Allow this to dry well.
• I used bubble wrap technique to add some spots for the round rocks evident in the stone work. I simply painted the wrap with gesso and pressed it onto the paper in places around the dried texture paste. Focus on ares that will not be hidden by the photo.
• Smudge it all up! I used ink pads direct on the texture paste and in places of the spots. I used the sponge to add more and rub edges. I have not completely eliminated the slate grey background. I have used Slate, Cocoa, Chocolate and Barn Red inks to achieve the overall look. If you do this it will look different – it is the process rather than the outcome that is repeatable!
• The next step is to rehearse the placement of the photos and mixed media embellishment pieces. These flowers and the champagne bottle button were from my stash. The Jute Ribbon is a product NLA from CTMH. The chain is a piece of a Base and Bling Faux Gold chain. Chain looks great on pages! Just snip a bit off with pliers!. These items are all quite deliberately grouped in the bottom right corner and help to tell the story. The hessian has the harsh texture of cloth from the time, the chiffon symbolises the wealth of the priveleged who lived here, the flowers represent Roses, a national symbol of Mexico, the bottle of bubbles my celebration for finally being there and the chain marks the sections of the city protected and still to be excavated.
• If the eye is lost it can follow the stamped signs which are from different stamp sets. Here we Go D1600 and D1622 Wanderful WOTG set as well as A1160 All the details NLA (Host reward) Stamped embellishments are in Barn Red on Colobial White, smudged with Desert sand to age them out.
• I adhered the photos to Kraft and Barn Red cardstock as a mount and used foam tape to stick it to the base. There is also a bit of Slate Washi Tape tucked in there.
• Liquid glass is my best friend for sticking everything else down.

I am so pleased the Pyramids are all now under the good care of Authorities and are being properly investigated by archaeologists and historians. I am truly grateful to have had the opportunity to be gobsmacked, up close and personal with the pyramids and bringing a dream to reality!

What is really fun about mixed media is no page is ever the same. Sometimes you can start with a sketch, sometimes the photo, as was the case here. As long as you can tie it all together with a colour, a theme, and can clustering of embellishments it will work for you.

Here is a list of Current products used in this project. You can shop online at Jen’s Creative Classroom and have it delivered right to your door.

• Cricut Cartridge – Artbooking
• Black Designed Decor Black Shadow Box frame Z2015
• Inks – Barn Red, Slate Cocoa Desert Sand
• Cardstock – Slate, Barn Red Colonial White
• Cardstock Kraft (Z1375)
• Adhesives – Foam Tape Z1511 and Liquid Glass Z679
• Embellishments – Faux Gold Chain Z1940
• Wanderful WOTG G1088
• Here We Go D1600
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I love getting your comments and feedback. Be sure to leave a comment below before you move on in the hop! Thanks for stropping by

Your next stop on our Everything ABC’S blog Hop is Carol-Anne Grenier. In case you get lost along the way…go to Scrappy Therapy for a complete list of participants!

Simple Stunning Picture My Life part 2!

Hi everyone

I took my Picture my life page layout from the last post and showed my weekly class students. They have boys and wanted to have a shot at it. They have given me permission to share the work they did and they did an awesome job! These pages were put together quickly. Almost all are what we call level 1 pages – which simply means there is no stamping. PML cards are brilliant for the non stamping scrapbooker!

 

My Tuesday Technique class students did these pages so quickly they got to do a second one – 2 double pages done in less than 2 hours! “The hardest part is choosing the cards!’

This one used a background stamp on 2 strips making it a level 2 layout.

One more…

On this page I made I tried to replicate some of the background and texture on the cards. First I sanded. Then I added the colour to the corners. Bubble wrap would have been good but I did not have any so a dauber did the work. I also used my spray pens to splotch it up a bit. Finally I rubbed in some darker colour. A close reflection of the background of one of the cards on this page was made. I hope we get a checker plate stamp some time as that would have been awesome!

Closeup of the background artwork

Picture My Life sets can be viewed here. Add some Washi Tape and some Embellishments and you are done! There are so many to choose from! If you would like a class using PML cards and live within cooee of me in Sunraysia book a class and you and your friends will be able to select from a large range of cards to make your pages. Use the form below to get started!

Happy crafting!

Jen

 

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Everything ABC’s Blog hop – S is for SIMPLE!

Welcome to the Everything ABC’s Blog Hop!

For this hop we will be featuring the letter S. This may be the name of a paper, a stamp set or an embellishment. Whatever the crafter has chosen as their # element will be featured in their post. If you have just hopped onto my blog, please start at the beginning at Linda’s blog ~ Scrappy Therapy 

If you came from  Lauren Moore – CTMH Craftings youu are in the right place. 

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S is for Super Simple!

I recently have been watching from a distance on FB the success of my nephews in their sporting activities this year and that got me thinking about how we might scrapbook the stories of a teenage boy and his almost double figure younger brother and their awesome season. This is what I came up with. I will be giving one of these nephews this page layout when he visits in the school holidays.

Super simple PML page layout in the traditional way. Picture My Life cards are truly very versatile! Close To My Heart have a lovely range for us to choose from too!

The page is built on our awesome Picture My Life Scrapbooking Program. The design used here is Later Sk8terZ1945.  While we do not have the paper pack of this design we do have these cards and the card stock to match! PML cards are the source of titles, embelishments, photo mounts and journalling boxes all rolled into one! You can use them to pocket scrap, make cards and do more traditional layouts like this one. The price of them makes them very cost effective for a themed album too.

Each card is double sided. There are 22 of each 6 x 4 design (44 cards)  and 3 of each 2 x 4 design cards (78 cards) giving you a total of 122 cards to play with. Each set comes with a title page and a variety of pocket pages for your album. You can mix pocket pages and normal pages up in your album using layouts like this one..

Sand the base cardstock to match the texture of the cards. The extra white little bits come from paper crumbs (corner rounder bits) under the cardstock – a happy accident!

I decided to use the same colours that are in the set – Outdoor Denim and Pear. To get ‘the look’ of the cards I have scrubbed the card stock with the sanding tool in our sanding kit. I did smudge the pear strips with a little outdoor denim ink using a sponge, but this is the only ink on this layout!

Fussy cut embellishments from a card or use them whole. Here I have taken a big card, cut the banner embellishment away and turned the remainder into a title card.

I have fussy cut 2 of the cards for embellishments, chosen a journalling card and a title. the rest are pure decoration. The suggested photo sizes for the layout especially on the right could really change according to what you have on hand.

And there is more!!! While I was at it I used these cards to creae a birthday card and some congratulations cards for both my nephews since they had had such an awesome season.

Front of the congratulations card!

Many consultants are offering PML Buffet classes for page layouts like this and I am one of them. If you would like to host a Picture My Life Buffet workshop, or come to a class to make one of these layouts and see how simple it is let me know!

Shopping List

• Cardstock – Pear, Outdoor denim
• Later Sk8terZ1945.
• Adhesives – 3D faom tape and 3L EZ dots
• Sanding Kit
• Corner Rounder Z1912

Use some of your cards for quick card notes. In this example I have done some little notes to congratulate my nephews. The journal cards were perfect for the inside and ther cards work for the outside of the card.

Your next stop on our Everything ABC’S blog Hop is  Melissa Hegwood- Scrappin’s More Mom

In case you get lost along the way…go to Scrappy Therapy 

What a hoot! CTMH Stamp of the Month Australasian Blog Hop

Hello and welcome aboard our Stamp of the Month Australasian Close to My Heart Blog Hop.

If you have arrived here from Mandy’s Blog, Hall of Indulgence, then you are in the right place. If you landed here by accident, no problem, please join in by following the link at the end of this post.

I have been having a hoot of a time with this month’s stamp of the month! This stamp is for ‘owloween’ but being a Dinky Di Aussie I do not relate much to this event in the calendar. However, I love what we can do if we explore a little outside the box with this stamp set and am very excited to use this in my teaching this month!  I have created a journal page in my Bluebird My Crush Book. Z1856 with the results. I would like to share with you my project….soon…which features August Stamp of the Month What a Hoot! S1408  available exclusively throughout August for $24 or for just $5 when you spend $75.

Take a really good look at the shapes and designs and ignore halloween feel and you have the fun owl stamp, some really crazy eyes (and hats!)  that you can put on a set of funky glasses, use as flowers on stems or in groups of circular shapes to make flowers or random stamp a background! There is a stamp clearly intended to be a batwing….well not for me. A smaller batwing stamp also gets a different treatment. I had so much fun coming up with this after thinking about looking through ‘rose coloured glasses’ with the eyes, or thinking ‘outside the square’ with the shapes and designs I hope you enjoy what I have come up with – a ROSE!

Wise Owl Crush Book journal page

This is one very wise owl indeed taking time to smell the rose! I also of course got to play with our awesome new Shin Han Touch Twin Markers and my Messy Mat! (all purpose Mat z2045 ) 

The owl,stamped in black on white cardstock,  is coloured by first layering in the base colour and then while wet (work fairly quickly) add some darker shade then cross the two together with the same colour as the base. I have also used the markers to draw stems, the grassy bottom and color the little stamped flowers. The eye glass piece on the owl was stamped separately and is hinged on with a brad so you can move the glasses on or off.

 

Another example

The Rose is the larger batwing stamp stamped with the new Thistle colour. I stamped a number of these on a 6×6 white  card. I fussy cut these and daubed the edges with thistle to darken them. I curled some using the Quilling  tool Z1795.

I then began layering them onto a white base. I put three rows of the new Duck Easy Stick Z3033 (love it) on scrap card and layered petals wing edge up! I added more adhesive if needed being careful not to adhere the top side of each piece. This was so I could roll more if I needed to.The smaller batwing, carefully placed back to back forms wings for a butterfly. I just drew in the body,

I wanted a little more shade between the rose petals so I used a technique I have seen on videos with the messy mat. Simply make an impression on the mat with your inkpad to get a small amount of ink on the mat. Put a drop of water in it. Pick it up both water and ink colour with a paint brush and brush it into the inside of the petals. Wipe the mat when you are done. (You could also go back in with a water colour pencil and soften with a wet brush…but I wanted to use my new messy mat:)

Z

The leaf image was stamped in black. coloured with the green marker, then I used pear z2197  ink on a dauber to darken the edges after cutting them out. I cut some in half to make the ground for my pieced image.

The title, journal card and the eye glasses all come from cards in the awesome new For Always Picture My Life kit. Z2022 . I have used our lovely Marvey Uchida Lepen Z1979 to both journal and outline on my page. I use White Z2163 pigment ink to stamp ‘Wise’ using the new Hand Written Print E1030 alphabet stamp set and ‘owl’ comes from the stamp of the month. Yes, I did CUT the ‘owl’ word from ‘owloween’ for this purpose! I had heard of that being done but was never game to do it myself but I really wanted the font option for the chalkboard title. Remaining white on the title was achieved with the Chalk Marker pen. z1767

This journal page reflects how I have to look at things sometimes to stay sane. I hope you have some sense of the fun I had creating it. Try making flowers with the stamps on this set. You will enjoy the process if not the outcome!

August Stamp of the Month What a Hoot! S1408  is available exclusively throughout August for $24 or for just $5 when you spend $75 from your consultant. I’d love you to leave a comment before heading off to the next stop, Monika, A Sprinkle of Glitter to see her sparkle on What a Hoot. I would love for you to leave a comment before you head off!

Supplies used to create this page

• Bluebird My Crush Book. Z1856
• For Always Picture My Life kit. Z2022
• What a Hoot! S1408
•  Hand Written Print E1030 
• Marvey Uchida Lepen Z1979
• Shin Han Touch Twin Markers
• Chalk Marker pen. z1767
• Exclusive Inks Black, White daisy Pigment and Thistle
• Duck Easy Stick Z3033
• Messy Mat! (all purpose Mat z2045 ) 
• Quilling  tool Z1795
• Blocks
• Microtip Scissors

Everything ABC’s Blog Hop N is for Northern Lights

 

 

Welcome to the Everything ABC’s Blog Hop!

For this hop we will be featuring the letter N. This may be the name  of a paper, a stamp set or an embellishment. Whatever the crafter has chosen as their N element will be featured in their post. If you have just hopped onto my blog, please start at the beginning at Linda’s blog ~ Scrappy Therapy

If you came from “Ren’ee Musgrave~ReneesCreativeQueens ” then you’re on the right track!

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N is for Northern Lights technique. 

Hello readers! I have landed back in Australia safe and sound after my awesome adventures overseas and I am looking forward to sharing more of that adventure with you in coming weeks. For now I am back on board with the everything ABC’s Blog hop and I hope you enjoy my N project, northern lights which I took with me to Convention in Anaheim for the Consultant Showcase. There are number of videos about this technique and I watched a few before trying it myself. I hope you enjoy my instructional video in and will have a go at replicating the technique of scrubbing and rubbing just with your $2 sponge!

Let’s get started by looking at some samples! Bring on the eye candy!

Always Grateful C1559

 

Always Grateful C1559 Use a toothpick dipped in pearl paint (NLA) or use the  Chalk Marker to create the sparkle of stars.

 

Cityscape C1563 retiring July 30 2014 so be sure to grab this one!) I had this one on show at Consultant Showcase at the Convention.

Do something really different. Hello Tweety B1420 – (NLA. It appears to already have been retired!)

Hello Tweety B1420 with a background using the Damask Embossing Folder Z1927

So how is it done?

You start with your inks all lined up – Honey, Topiary. Indian Corn Blue, Hollyhock, Outdoor Denim and Black. You will need the sponge to apply the ink and you simply rub the sponge on your inkpad and rub the ink onto your paper. You are rouging it scrubbing the ink into your White cardstock. Rub and buff!!!  It is easier to show you how so here it is!

 

Tips!

• Work on scratch paper so you can work well over the edges
• Do a bigger piece than what you need
• Work one colour then the next
• Begin with a kind of diagonal line
• smudge colours into each other to create more colours including purple! This works especially well if you are quick
• don’t fuss too much with placement – every time you do this it will be different to the last
• Change it up – make it lighter and brighter, leaving out the dark colours, adding more of one colour than another and more.
• It is recomended to use sihouette type stamps for this technique hence the trees and the city scape. But I challenge you to try other stamp sets such as Hello Tweety, Fast and Furious and Born to Ride!

Change it up – leave out the dark colours! This was an experiment – it is currently a UFO! I am in temp accommodation with a temp craft room so it is unfinished as yet!

Here is a picture of the finished artwork I was working on in the video featuring Born to Ride C1483. It is finished off with the Durable Studs Z1836

Born to Ride completed- as shown in the Video

Shopping List

• Exclusive Inks Honey z2163 Topiary z2155 Indian Corn Blue z2130 Hollyhock z2128 Outdoor Denim z2140 Black z2105
• White Daisy Cardstock 1385 Black and Slate for mounting
• White Daisy Cards and Envelopes Value pack x254
• Sponge z697
• Durables Artisan Studs z1816
• Chalk Marker z1767
• Embossing folders for backing – Damask z1927
• Stamp Sets – choose from Always Grateful C1559 Cityscape C1563(retiring)  Hello Tweety (already retired)  Fast and Furious D1541 or Born to Ride C1483
  

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You have reached the end of the blog hop but you can start over or continue at your next stop on our Everything ABC’S blog Hop – Linda Norman of Scrappy Therapy

In case you get lost along the way…go to Scrappy Therapy for a complete list of participants!