Challenge: I ought to use this more!

The Monday challenge for this week from Simon Says Stamp is to do something or use something that has been "neglected" for a while.

I decided to post a card I made for Operation Write Home that uses a stamp I've had for a long time, but haven't used much lately. It's part of a Stampin' Up! set that I still like a lot. I have to be in the mood for coloring to use it - it lends itself really well to watercolor.

The background is made from a couple of pieces of paper, stitched together on my sewing machine. The bird image is stamped on a plain old shipping tag with black Archival ink. I added color with a small watercolor set. The blotchy color on the tag background was done by pressing the tag repeatedly onto some of the watercolor which I'd dabbed onto my Ranger craft sheet. I also used a marker with a weird little tool called (I think) an ink spritzer. I've had mine for years, and I notice that now they are back in vogue! The spritzer forces air past the tip of the marker, which adds tiny little bursts of ink dots. I added some color to the edge with Distress ink and a blending tool, and attached the kraft colored heart from a cheapo set of stickers I think I picked up at the Dollar Spot at Target.

Even though there is a lot going on here, it really was fairly quick and easy - just the way I like it!

Happy crafting!
Immi

Mission: Stash Reduction - Belated Father's Day

Hi, all. Although Father's Day has come and gone, I did make some cards that I sent off to Operation Write Home that I meant to post. I am still working my way through papers that I'd like to use up, and enjoying stamps I haven't touched in a while. Here's a sample of some cards I made.

These cards are part of a larger group of miscellaneous cards I made using up a sheet of dimensional white letter stickers, called "Thickers". I'd had them so long that the adhesive on the back of the letters wasn't very good anymore, but I hated to throw them away. So I laboriously put drops of a strong liquid adhesive on the backs of the letters, then weighted each card down with books. (I keep a box full of old telephone books just for this purpose.) I always put a sheet of waxed paper between the project I'm drying and the book so that if any adhesive leaks out, it won't make my project stick to the book. Although it took some time, I was very pleased with the results of the white letters against darker backgrounds. Can you tell that I cheated on the second card and used "p" stickers upside down in place of "d"?

The next two cards make use of some Stampin' Up! sets I have. I stamped with Ranger Archival Ink (it won't bleed when it comes in contact with water) and used a brush loaded with inks diluted with water to color the images. Very quick, easy, and I love doing it!

I hope some of our military personnel enjoyed sending these cards home.

Till next time,

Immi

Challenge: Anything Goes

This week's Monday challenge from Simon Says Stamp was "Anything Goes". That leaves the door wide open for me to have some fun!

I decided to submit a card I made a while back while playing around with alcohol inks and glossy paper. It's kind of messy, so I don't get those out very often, but the results are very cool. I always use latex gloves to prevent staining my fingers, and Ranger's craft sheet is indispensable for this technique.

Here's the card I made:

The portion of the card with alcohol inks is the multicolored background behind the filmstrip stamp (made by PaperArtsy). The card base is stamped with Architectural Elements from Stampin' Up! in a light color, with a splatter stamp used over that. The rest of the card is layers of miscellaneous scraps, including a tiny tag from a package of Grungeboard that had been in my stash for a long time. It was nice to finally find a use for it. The sentiment is from a Tim Holtz set - it seemed to fit the "feel" of the image with the man walking away.

This turned out to be a fairly quick and easy card. While I had the alcohol inks out, I made some other backgrounds for cards. I like to do things in batches - it seems to save time in the long run.

Till next time,

Immi