Challenge: Cure for the Monday Blues

I stumbled across another card challenge this week and decided to participate. This involved taking inspiration from an image provided in the blog post. Apparently, this is a regular feature on this blog, and I thought it would be fun to play along. Here's the image:

The colors alone are enough to cure Monday blues! I knew right away that I wanted to incorporate a lot of white space with the yellow stripe at the top. I also wanted to include the pink and turquoise and somehow use circles. Here's what I did:

I started with watercolor paper, and used Distress Ink in Squeezed Lemonade with a little water to paint the yellow stripe across the top. I roughed up the edges of the paper with my Tim Holtz distresser. The flower image was stamped on a piece of white cardstock and colored with pencils. The dots are stamped with some old-school Stampin' Up! inks. I mounted the stamped panel on some matching turquoise cardstock, then adhered it to the watercolor panel. That was then mounted on a pink cardstock base. The sentiment was stamped on a scrap of white cardstock with the ends notched to make a banner. That was mounted on yellow and put on top of the card with some dimensional adhesive dots to make it stand up a little from the card base.

I am quite happy with the way it turned out - I love the bright colors! It was also an interesting experience for me to look for inspiration in an image that had nothing to do with stamping. I enjoyed the whole thing, from beginning to end!

Happy crafting!

Immi

Mission: Stash Reduction

Here are a few more cards I've made recently, trying to find ways to use some of my "stuff". These aren't going to win any awards, but they are still fun to do. I've also enjoyed using stamps that have been gathering dust for a while.

The stamp of the little boy splashing in the rain (from Stampin' Up!) makes me smile. This stamp is part of a set that I've had for a loooong time. I pulled out my colored pencils and had some good old-fashioned coloring fun with it.

Next is a card with very little stamping (just the thx), but several layers - an excellent way to use up that paper! I also pulled out some washi tape and a button to add some interest.

This last card has a similar look to the last one, with layers, washi tape and a button. I created my own patterned paper (the blue) by stamping with a very similar color to the background.

All these cards will go to Operation Write Home. I hope they are enjoyed by someone else!

Happy Crafting!

Immi

Mission: Stash Reduction

Do you remember the show "Mission Impossible"? At the beginning, Mr. Phelps would receive a message explaining the situation and prompting a decision whether or not to accept the mission. This is the scenario I'm imagining myself in right now...

"Good morning, Immi. You have before you a stash of paper crafting products. Some of these products were purchased for specific projects, never completed. Others were purchased on a whim, and now you can't remember why. Your mission, Immi, should you choose to accept it, is to reduce this stash. In order to accomplish this task, you will need a two-pronged approach. One, you must think of ways to use these products; two, you will need to get busy creating. This tape will self destruct in five seconds.....

Okay, so it's more than a little silly, but I really have been in the mood to do some stash reduction. I see this topic come up often on blogs, so I know I'm not alone in my struggle. When you've been crafting for a while, you tend to accumulate lots of "stuff". When the stuff starts to become stressful, it's time to clean house! That's the idea behind my plan to begin showing some of the projects I'm doing to work towards this goal. As I'm doing it, I also plan to work in sessions of taking a good hard look at what to keep and what to purge.

Here are some cards I made recently. These will go to Operation Write Home. As you can see, I used up lots of little odds & ends and had some fun at the same time. The tags used on these cards all came from the Dollar Spot at Target. The sentiments on the cards are from stamp sets made by Hero Arts with Operation Write Home in mind.

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I'll be back soon with more cards to share. Until then, Happy Crafting!

Immi

Playing with Watercolor

I had some fun today visiting several blogs on a blog hop featuring the new spring releases from Simon Says Stamp. I enjoyed seeing all the different ways the artists used the new items. Several of the blogs featured videos showing how the cards were made. One of those bloggers, Kristina Werner, used a technique I wanted to try right away (follow the link if you'd like to see her video). Although it's not a new technique, I hadn't worked with it before, but I found it to be easy and fun. 

Here's what you need for the technique:

• A Ranger Craft Sheet
• Distress Inks (your choice of colors)
• Water in a spray bottle
• Watercolor Paper

Press the ink pads down on the craft sheet to leave some of the color on the surface. Spray liberally with water; then begin pressing the watercolor paper down into the ink. Dry with a heat gun or allow to air dry, then continue pressing the paper down into the inks to get a beautiful, multicolored look.

I used some of my Sizzix dies to cut out shapes, then made several cards. Since the watercolor paper is heavy, I find that I need a heavier adhesive to get it to stick well to the card. I would recommend either Glossy Accents by Ranger or Diamond Glaze by JudiKins. They both are excellent as a strong adhesive or to add a shiny, glossy coat to an embellishment.

Here are the cards I made this afternoon:

All these cards are destined for Operation Write Home, to be sent to American troops for them to use as mail home to family and friends.

Happy crafting!
Immi