Sneek Peek

The April/May Technique Junkies is about to reach the hands of many followers.  Here is a sneek peek of some of the techniques that are included.    I'm afraid my scanner did a  smash job on my fringed center.  If you are interested in learning new techniques and subscribing to the Technique Junkies Newsletter click here

Blog Candy

There are a number if Blog Candy contests going on at this time.  One of them is at Creating with Chrissy.  Go, find, and have a look at her site.  There are many beautiful cards on it.  One could spend hours looking at her coloring using Copic markers.  The contest ends April 12.

Look at the sidebar for additional blog candy contests going on at this time,

It's Spring!

Even though it is still chilly outside, all my flowers are beginning to bloom.  Let's bring on Spring with a cheerful-looking Spring card.  The technique I used on this Thank You card was Altered Designer Cardstock.  This is a fun technique and many times the results are surprisingly great.  Stamps are by Stampin' Up and Hero Arts.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to Gingersnap Creations and Artistic Outpost  and  to all the gals who are a year older this month.  This card was made to celebrate all of the birthdays. 

The stamps are by Artistic Outpost, the Send in the Clowns set, and the technique used is Gesso Resist.  The scan does not show, but the ballons are on pop dots giving them a 3D effect. 

I hope everyone has a great birthday and note that another year (balloon)  has "flown" away and cannot be retrieved..

Self Portrait

I haven't posted any of the many ATCs (Artist Trading Cards) I have made,  I thought I would try to post some of them the next couple of days.  This particular one has a reverse side as well as a front side.

I call this ATC "Self Portrait".  It is a littke on the funky side, but it was fun to make.  The front is the way I look at myself and the neat thing on the back is that it has a door when open has a girl looking out.  It was a little difficult to scan because of the door.  In any case, I hope it has inspired you to do something different and not feel confined by set rules or boundaries.  To me art is freedom to create your feelings.

Rub

Rub-a-dub, dub.  There is a lady in the tub.  This is a card I made for my 3 Favorite Colors Challenge being held by Gingersnaps Creationns.  The colors I picked were black, white, and red.  For this card I decided to do a little paper piecing.  The lady in the tub stamp is from The Stamp Pad and the greeting is from B-Line.  The lady is colored lightly with Copic markers.

Working with Fibers

This is one of my favorite stamps.  It gives me an oportunity to weave fibers in and out of the stamped image.   On this card I used a number of different decorative fibers with different textures.  This card was made for the Gingersnap Creations' GC42 Lace and Fiber Challenge.  If you have not joined in on

one of GC's challenges, you are missing a fun and creative time.,  They give you such inspiration. by giving you a theme or suggesting an art item to use.

Happy Birthday Gingersnap Creations!

When you have a birthday, it is always special.  However, when it is

Gingersnap Creations having a birthday it is SUPER SPECIAL    Click on the above link and see all the wonderful blog candy they are giving away.  It is a bonanza!

Blog Candy include great giveaways from Artistic Outpost, Cornish Heritage Farms, The Stampsmith, Hearts in Touch, Serendipity Stamps, Paper Temptress, and Artistic Stamper.

Hurry.  Go to their blog and enter the Happy Birthday contest.  It is easy!

Feburary / March: Showcasing My Favorite Techniques

Al Foil Technique:  I guess this is my favorite of all the techniques I know.  As you can see it gives a beautiful background to the card.  Almost anything or any stamp will go with it.

Multiple Techniques

Below is a card that highlights three background techniques on one csrd. They are brought together with an octagon piece in the center and a overlay of a brass flower.

Design Team Entry

Below are three separate scrapbook pages as part of my entry for the PKG Design Team.  I decided to use some of my thousands of pictures from my last trip.  I used the colors that reminded me of Costa Rica--dark green and black.  The trees are black embossed.

On the second page I found paper that was perfect for a rainforest, big ferns.  Throughout the ferns are tiny frogs which have been sprinkled lightly with embossing powder.  They are not covered completely with the powder making them varied in color.  The embossing makes the tiny frogs "pop" on the page. I especially wanted to use the frogs for the rainforest page as Costa Rica is noted for its frogs.

The third page is entirely different.  It does not have as many pictures on it.  On this one I embossed a music collage and accented the page with a couple of "brass" elements.

Altered Items

Below are a couple of altered items - an ornament and a file folder organizer.  The ornament uses the WonderFilm.  Using it made it invisible when I covered it with glitter.  The nice thing about the WonderFilm is that it is invisible from the back.   I used lace on the WonderFilm to make the design with the glitter.The organizer has embossing powder on the initials on the front    

 

Card Samples

Below are a couple of card samples created especially for the DT application.  They are the ones in the posts "Putting on the Glitz" and ""Glitter, Glitter, Glitter."  Others can be found in two slides on the right border of this site.

Metallics

I love cards with metal or have the look of metal.  I made the below card for the Gingersnap Creations' Metallics Challenge.  The scanner didn't really show the true colors.  The strip down the left is an olive green and the script is on gold metallic paper.  The butterfly is a Martha Stewart stamp that has been embossed in gold.  I used Glassy Embossing on the right half of the card.

Another card I did for the challenge is on a gold base.  It is highlighted in the center with brass flowers inside an octagon.