Can This Mess Be Saved?

I remember from years ago a regular feature in a woman's magazine called "Can This Marriage Be Saved?". While this is not nearly as serious as that, sometimes I wonder if I can salvage some of the messes I create.

This started out as a blank canvas and as usual, I had no idea where I was  going with it. I started gluing down some random pieces of torn newspaper and messing around with paint and stencils. At this point, it looks like it's ready for the trash bin! Now there are times when I will give up on a card, but I figure that if I just keep going, I can always rescue a canvas. 

I soldiered on, adding more layers of paint, glaze, and stenciling. When I was happy with the background, I had to figure out what the point of the canvas would be. I had a new set of bird stamps (Ranger Dina Wakley Scribbly Birds) that I was anxious to use, so I decided my canvas needed a bird. I stamped the bird on watercolor paper with Ranger Archival black ink and colored it with watered down Distress Inks. Then I cut around the body (I didn't try to save the legs since they'd be almost impossible to cut out). I had some newspaper that had been used to protect my work surface when spraying inks, so I die cut some leaves using Tim Holtz' Tattered Leaves. I glued them down starting at the top left corner, trying to create the impression of falling leaves. I freehand sketched a branch as a perch for my bird and filled it in with some brown paint, then glued the bird down allowing the tail to hang off the edge of the canvas.

I chose a scripture from Psalm 98:1, stamping each letter with an alphabet set I've got. After cutting all the letters out, I glued them into place and called it finished. I hope you enjoyed this - it was a lot of fun to see it finally come together!

I'm linking this up to the current Craft Stamper Magazine's "Colour" challenge. Wish me luck!

Immi

Monochromatic Card

I spent some time this weekend working on a couple of monochromatic cards, inspired by the current Muse  #113 challenge.

I started with a smooth white cardstock panel, and several shades of blue dye ink. I used Simon Says Stamp Audrey Blue, and Stampin' Up! Brocade Blue, Not Quite Navy, and Ballet Blue. I inked up some circle stamps from Hero Arts (Box of Dots) and an old Stampin' Up! circle that was part of a set of shapes. After stamping the circles, I used a hero Arts stamp called Silhouette Burst and stamped it three times with Hero Arts Black dye ink. At this point, I didn't really like what I had and I set it aside to work on something else. 

Later, I spotted a piece of vellum and tried layering it over my stamped panel. I thought it really improved the way it looked. I decided to try finishing the card to see if I could make it work out. I stamped the sentiment (Stamper's Anonymous Tim Holtz Simple Sayings) with Hero Arts Unicorn pigment ink and covered it with white embossing powder. I thought this particular sentiment went so well with the image which reminds me of a dandelion. I'm sure we've all had the experience of making a wish and trying to blow all the seeds off a fluffy white dandelion!

After melting the powder with my heat tool, I cut the strip with a notch on the end and stitched it along with the vellum on top of the white stamped panel. I pulled out my scraps and found three butterflies punched from various scraps of blue cardstock (using a Martha Stewart punch). 

I thought it would be good to gussy them up a little, so I chose a 7 Gypsies stamp set called Lillie that had a couple of different script stamps as well as a music stamp. I did all three butterflies with Stampin' Up!'s Not Quite Navy ink, and glued them down on top of the vellum. For a little extra touch, I coated all three with Glossy Accents - I hope you can see the shine. Here's a closeup:

I'm glad I didn't give up on this card (although I'm not opposed to giving up if it's clearly a lost cause!).

Here is the inspiration card that got me started:

Happy crafting!

Immi

All Layered Up

Hello! I'm popping in today with a quick post, linking to a new challenge. Virginia's View has a challenge to use layers or dimension, and this card I made a while ago seemed to fit the bill.

I started with a panel of watercolor paper and a striped background stamp from Stampin' Up! I inked it with Distress Ink, then spritzed the stamp with water before pressing the paper over the stamp. The flower stamp is called Hollyhocks from Prickley Pear. It's stamped with black Archival ink on watercolor paper, and colored with watered down Distress Inks, then torn roughly around the image. I mounted it onto the striped panel, then went to work on the sentiment.

The word "celebrate" is from Altenew's Label Love, stamped in black and trimmed with a small white border. That is mounted onto the striped panel with some foam tape to help it stand out a little bit. Before sticking it down, I made some messy loops with thin gold thread, and used the foam tape to hold it in place. Everything is then mounted onto a navy cardstock base.

I hope your week is going well!

Immi

Muse Challenge #109

I had some time this morning to play around, so I thought I'd try my hand at the latest Muse Challenge. Here's my take:

Muse Challenge #109

Here's the original challenge image:

I loved the yellow background contrasting with the bright blue, the placement of the stamped image, and the Polaroid-style frame. Such a cheerful card!

I started with a piece of smooth white cardstock and blended Distress Inks in Squeezed Lemonade and Mustard Seed over the surface. Then I misted a little water over that and blotted it off. I also like the darker specks of color in the inspiration card, so I put a little Lemon Zest Dylusions spray on my craft sheet and diluted it with water. Then I picked up the color with a small paintbrush and flicked it over my paper. Since I ended up trimming the paper down quite a bit, all that detail doesn't show up in the finished card, but I enjoyed doing it anyway.

I chose an old stamp from a Stampin' Up! set called Nice & Easy Notes and stamped it in black Archival ink on a scrap of watercolor paper. I used Distress Markers in Spun Sugar, Picked Raspberry, Spiced Marmalade, Mowed Lawn, Broken China, and Stormy Ocean to add color to my stamped image. Then, with a wet brush, I blended the colors and dried everything with a heat tool. I added some splashes of yellow over the top, using the same method described above. I used a square punch and a paper trimmer to create my pink "Polaroid" frame, and glued the watercolored image behind it. Then I mounted that onto my yellow paper and trimmed it down. I pulled out a fun printed paper I had in my scrap bin - I wish you could touch it, as the pink flowers are flocked. That was trimmed a little smaller than the turquoise card base and everything was mounted with a tape adhesive.

I had a  scrap of blue glitter cardstock that I punched with my favorite Martha Stewart butterfly punch. That has to be one of  the best purchases I've made - I've used that same punch so many times, and I never get tired of it! I decided that I wanted the blue flowerpot to match the butterfly and turquoise cardstock a little better, so I used a Stampin' Up! marker in Tempting Turquoise to add some additional color, blending with a wet brush. At first I was wasn't sure about the green color that it created when blended with the Distress Inks I'd used earlier, but I really like the finished result. I think it has more depth and interest than before - glad that one turned out okay!!!

For one final touch, I added some Glossy Accents to the flowers - here's a closeup:

Glossy Accents Closeup

Have a great weekend!

Immi

Welcome Spring!

In honor of the first day of spring, I made a small mixed media canvas today.

Rejoice!

I started off with a small, 4 x 4 blank canvas. The first step is always the hardest, so I find it's best to dive in and get something - anything - onto that blank surface. I thought I'd try some stamping and embossing to create a resist. I used Hero Arts Paint a Flower, and stamped with Versamark, embossing with white powder. It's difficult to stamp well on a canvas because of the give in the middle, so I had to fill in with a Versamark marker.

Then I started messing around with some Distress paints, spreading them on the canvas and misting with water to move them around. I first used Spun Sugar and Wild Honey. I liked it, but the Spun Sugar is so pale that the white embossing really didn't show up as well as I wanted. I decided the background needed to be darker, so I brought in Picked Raspberry Distress paint and added more Wild Honey.

To make a long story short, I ended up with a hot mess. When that happens, I think the thing to do is start layering things on top and start anew. I glued down a couple of strips of printed tissue tape using a matte gel medium. I went over the surface again with the Distress Paints and water. To add some additional color, I sprayed the canvas with Heidi Swapp's Primrose Color Shine.

By this point, I liked the background, but the mess of my embossing was still there. I thought I would try stamping the flower on tissue paper and gluing it over the embossing. I ended up stamping it three times, cutting closely around each flower, and using the matte medium again. I allowed the stems of the flowers to continue over the bottom edge of the canvas, and the left-most flower goes over the left edge.

I pulled out an old Stampin' Up! scripture stamp, using tissue paper again and waterproof ink (Ranger Archival Black). I cut around the words, and glued that to the top right of the canvas. I played around with trying to add some green twine towards the bottom, but couldn't figure out a way to repeat that color anywhere else. So, I gave that idea up. After digging around, I pulled out some clear, colored "gems" and glued them on, trying to keep things balanced. As a final touch, I also added some teeny tiny pink and purple sprinkles and a little clear glitter. Since this is the last day for the Hero Arts Nature Challenge, I promise this is the last post connected to it!

Have a great weekend!

Immi

Heat Tool Comparison / Hero Arts Nature Challenge

Hero Arts Nature Challenge

Sometimes it's nice to upgrade a tool. I use a heat tool often in my stamping, as I enjoy heat embossing. It's also handy to speed up the drying process when using wet media. For years I've used the Ranger Heat it Craft Tool; it worked well and I didn't think about replacing it. I began seeing another heat tool used fairly often as I watched video tutorials. This one is made by Milwaukee and is the 1400 model. I noticed as I watched others do heat embossing that it seemed to go so much faster than I was used to. I finally decided to take the plunge and get one.

It came in the mail today, so I quickly got it out and decided to see if it was as good as I hoped.

Ranger Heat it Craft Tool

Milwaukee 1400

I had a scrap of an old manila file on my work  surface, and a brand new Hero Arts stamp (Paint a Flower) I'd just scored on clearance. I inked the stamp with Versamark and stamped the image in the center. I coated it with white embossing powder, then stamped and coated the same flower twice more. (Sprinkling the embossing powder on the first image makes it easier to see where to stamp again, since Versamark ink is clear.) I turned on the heat gun and was thrilled at how quickly the embossing powder melted! I also like that the nozzle is much smaller than my other heat gun, which allowed me to keep the heat focused where I wanted it. It is slightly louder than the Ranger tool, but not enough to be a nuisance. I was glad that I had glanced at the instruction booklet before using it, since it smoked a little at first. I knew that was okay, since I'd read that it might do that - just as the booklet said, it quit doing that after a few moments.

I got out some Distress Stains in Spiced Marmalade and Peeled Paint and squeezed the color onto my craft sheet. I dragged the stamped paper through the wet stain, then dried it and repeated the process. The white embossed flowers resisted the stain, and I love the way it looks.

I thought it would look a little more interesting if I cropped the image tightly around the flowers, so I trimmed the panel down and rubbed some Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink around the edges.

I had a scrap of the stained manila file left, so I stamped a greeting from Hero Arts Trees, Birds, & Messages, using Ancient Page Close to Cocoa and clear embossing powder. I layered my stamped pieces with some patterned paper and some textured brown paper and mounted everything on green cardstock.

Finished Card

I'm linking this to the Hero Arts Nature Challenge.

It's the last day of winter, so Happy Spring tomorrow!

Immi

Alcohol Ink on Acetate

I love Pinterest for collecting ideas! Recently, I stumbled across an image that led me to this post. I couldn't wait to try the technique described there!

Here is the first card I made:

I simply followed the directions I'd read on the blog post, using a couple of colors of alcohol ink and blending with Ranger's blending solution and a blending tool with a felt applicator. Next I stamped the flower from Hero Arts (I hope you can see the faint flower images) with Ranger's Archival ink - I used  Potting Soil but it doesn't really matter what color you use. After letting it sit for a minute or two, I rubbed the surface with a paper towel. That removed the color of  the ink I'd stamped, but left a "ghost" image behind.

I kept everything else very plain - a die cut "stitched" rectangle (Simon Says Stamp) to frame  it, a die cut branch with leaves (Sizzix) and a simple sentiment (Hero Arts Friends) on a banner shape with black marker in a dashed line around the edges.

Here is the second card I made with this technique:

The technique is exactly the same. I used different colors of alcohol ink and a script stamp (Inkadinkado) this time. The butterflies are cut from vellum using a die (Sizzix) and stitched down with a couple of machine made stitches per butterfly. I used the same stitched rectangle die and the same sentiment as before. I think this card is my favorite of the two - the ghost image shows up better.

I'm linking these cards up to Hero Arts Nature Challenge.

Happy crafting!

Immi