Gingersnap Creations Color Challenge

Technique Junkies is sponsoring the challenges at Gingersnap Creations all month
and this week the challenge is a color challenge--Denim, Rust, and Dust and there's an overall Western theme for the month. On top of that, Pat asked that our TJ design team sample feature the Faux Denim technqiue from the December 2008 newsletter.  That's a lot for my brain to keep track of, but I think I got it covered.

My cowboy is from the DoodleFactory Costume Party collection from Starving Artistamps, and the sentiments is also from Starving Artistamps.  I colored him in various shades of denim, rust, and dust using my Copic markers and made him a lasso out of a piece of twine. 

Happy Trails!

Midnight Madness Sketch

This week's Midnight Madness Sketch 101 at "priscillastyles" is being sponsored by Technique Junkies.  As a member of the TJ design team, I made this card for fun and inspiration, and of course I used a couple of Technique Junkies tutorials.  The technique I used on my design tiles is called Copic Texturizing, and it was published in the the April 2011 newsletter.  For my tiles, I used my colorless blender to create designs that matched my background paper (Basic Grey Stella Ruby).  I love the way the tiles came out looking like batik.

The second technique I used is called Sanded Core'dinations, which you can find on the Technique Junkies Emboss or Die CD.  The CD chock full of cool things to do with your die cutting/embossing machine, and if you enter the sketch challenge this week you could win a copy for yourself along with a 1-year subscription to the newsletter.  Just visit the "priscillastyles" blog for details on how to enter.

Thanks for stopping by today!

So here's the deal...

...and it's a good one, too.  Starving Artistamps is offering a free sheet of rubber for every $50 you spend.  Sweet!

 













And here's a card...

The stamp is from Starving Artistamps (of course), stamped with brown Memento ink and colored with Copic markers.  That gorgeous leather background is the Faux Tooled Leather technique from the Technique Junkies Emboss or Die CD.

That's all I have for today pardner.  Thanks for stopping by!

Class Act Blog Challenge #1

This is my first posting for the Class Act Design Team and the stamps I'm playing with this month are brand new in the Dolls of the World series.  When I was a little girl, I had a set of It's a Small World paper dolls which I loved.  I would spend hours drawing and coloring new outfits for them.  Working with these stamps has brought back so many fond memories!

Today is also the first Class Act Blog challenge, and we were challenged to make a creation that used embossing, three or more layers, and bling.  There wasn't really any challenge here at all.  I knew right from the start what I wanted to use the Hannah, the little Dutch girl, and that I would use the Cuttlebug Highlights technique (Technique Junkies Oct 2008).  I colored Hannah's costume with Copic markers and highlighted my embossing by on rubbing a couple shades of blue die ink directly from the ink pads.  For my bling, I added crystals to my scalloped oval mat.

You are welcome to play along with us and maybe even with a prize.  All the information you need to know about the challenge is posted on the Class Act Insider blog.  You'll also find links to the rest of the Design Team's creations so be sure to pop on over there.

Happy Friday and thanks for stopping by!

Really? It's only Friday?

I've been thinking all morning that today is Saturday.  I've been telling my brain all morning that it's not Saturday; it's Friday, but apparently my brain wants it to be Saturday.  I suppose I have no choice but to just go with the flow.

Fortunately, I did convince my brain that it is Friday long enough to get my Friday posting up for the TJ Design Junkies blog.  I used a technique from 2007 called Cottoned Color for my card along with a digital stamp from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps.  I printed my image on Solar White Neenah Classic Crest and colored it with Copic markers.  The layout is from this week's Card Positioning Systems sketch, CPS #206.

Thanks for stopping by, and you all have a happy Friday.  I'll be enjoying my Saturday.

New stamps in da house!

Starving Artistamps has a brand new collection designed by Nina Aaslund--Antidepresstamps Royalty!  Can you say cute?

I used the adorable court jester stamp to make this Valentine for my hubby.  He's probably going to say that I'm a fool all the time, not just for him, but we won't go there right now, OK?  

I did my coloring on this one with Copic markers and pulled my colors from the Basic Grey Green at Heart papers.  The gold frame is a Technique Junkies technique called Hammered Hardware and see that ribbon?  It's from a Coldwater Creek shopping bag!  My layout is a challenge sketch from Splitcoast Stampers, and my colors and theme fit today's Free for All Challenge over there as well.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Fabulous Friday on Saturday

This week's Fabulous Friday challenge at Frosted Designs, Use Paint, is sponsored by Technique Junkie and several cards made by TJ designers are featured on their blog today.  For my card, I made a silly little Valentine using a tutorial from the Aug/Sep 2010 newsletter called Acrylic Emboss.  I also sponged a Martha Stewart doily with pink paint to match my card.  My jittery little creature is Zot, a DoodleFactory Creature available at Starving Artistamps.

Look like fun?  You can play along and maybe even with a prize.  Post a link to your project using paint on the Frosted Designs blog by noon, January 20th and you'll be entered to with a copy of the Technique Junkie Fancy Folds and Motion Paper Crafts CD and a 1-year online subscription to the newsletter.  Sweet!

Merry Winter!

Well, technically it's not winter yet, but it sure feels like it around here.  My thermometer is showing a measly 13 degree right now.  Brrrr!

The card I have for you today uses a technique from the August/September 2010 Technique Junkies Newsletter called Soft 'n Sparkly.  I have quite a bit of Flower Soft in my collection, but I don't think to use it often enough.  While working on this card, I remembered this technique and decided to give it a try for the trim on Juniper's outfit.  Boy, was I surprised at how much I like the look over plain Flower Soft.  I just wish I know how to take a photo that shows off glitter in all of it's true glory! 

The stamps I used (Juniper, the circle background, and the sentiment) are all from Starving Artistamps.  I did my coloring with Copic markers and used Ultra Fine Pine Flower Soft and Sparkle and Sprinkle Laser Green glitter for the Soft 'n Sparkly technique.  The papers are from the Basic Grey Jovial collection, a new favorite of mine.

Happy Stamping and stay warm!

I Just Can't Wait

Remember when you were a kid and it seemed like Christmas would never get here?  Now it seems like it gets here so fast there's no time to enjoy the season.  I'm sure it's because, as kids, the only thing we had to do is sit and wait like little Jupiter here.  Although...he's an elf so shouldn't he be busier?

Jupiter (from Starving Artistamps) is colored with Copic markers, and the brick wall he's sitting on was made from a tutorial in the December 2010 Technique Junkies Newsletter.  I took my wall one step further and embossed it using extra coarse sandpaper as my embossing plate (I used a piece of black gasket rubber and a couple of shims to get just the right sandwich thickness for my Cuttlebug).  I lost some of my "mortar" after I did the sandpaper embossing so I went over it with a Versamark pen and added more embossing powder.  It went on kind of messy, which actually made the brick look more realistic.  

Here's a detail so you can see the texture. 

I made the tag from a piece of white chipboard airbrushed it with a Copic marker and a couple of grungeboard numbers that I dyed with distress ink and covered with distress Stickles. 

Whether it's going by fast or slow, I hope you're enjoying your holiday season!

A Neat New Technique for You

The background for this card is a technique I came up with for Technique Junkies, and it appears in this month's newsletter.

The newsletter has a step-by-step tutorial for this technique, but I'll give you the condensed version here.  First, go dig up those blue Fiskars texture plates that you just had to have a few years ago.  You're finally going to actually use them!  Take one of the plates and smoosh a couple of colors of distress ink all over the plate.  Spritz the plate with a little water and then lay your piece of cardstock on the plate.  After a couple of seconds, lift off your cardstock and check out your totally cool background!

I used the snowflake plate with Broken China and Stormy Sky ink to make my background.  The image is from Starving Artistamps and is colored with Copic markers.  It's doesn't show in the photo, of course, but the white and blue panels are glitter paper.  The layout is this week's sketch 195 at Card Positioning Systems.

Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy your new technique!

Busy as an Elf...

That's been me the last couple of days making cards with my new Juniper and Jupiter stamps from Starving Artistamps.  The little cutie is Juniper Elf.  She's partly colored with Copic markers, and partly paper pieced.  The card layout I've used here is called Flap Fold, and it's one of the cool tutorials on the Technique Junkies Fancy Folds and Motion Paper Crafts CD.  I have to admit that I don't always have the patience to do fancy folded cards, but this one was easy to cut and even easier to put together.

Stay tuned...I'll have more holiday cards to post other the next couple of weeks.  Like I said, I've been busy as an elf!

Divine Diva Inspiration Challenge #38

Sorry to be a little late joining the challenge this week. I've had this card essentially done for days, but I was waiting for a little bit of last minute inspiration to tell me how what embellishments to add. Well, inspiration never came, so I'm taking that to mean that this card doesn't need any embellishment. Anyway, that's my story, and I'm sticking to it!

Lori gave us a couple of different photos to choose from this time, mostly involving apples and pears. I only have one pear stamp and no apples to speak of...hmmm, maybe I do need more stamps? But I digress. I did have my DoodleFactory Gourds and Pumpkins (from Starving Artistamps) out on my desk, though. Done up in the right colors and looking at them with my eyes squinted, they sort of look like the apples and pears on this cake to me!

In the inspiration photo, the fruit is surrounded by luscious chocolate so I surrounded my fruits with a chocolate brown frame and placed everything on a ground of cocoa brown.  My gourds and pumpkins are paper pieced from scraps and then shaded with Copic markers.  The wood grain background I used is also from Starving Artistamps.

The other Divas always come up with divinely inspired projects so be sure to take a few minutes to visit their blogs and have a look.

Lori
Anne
Chris
Julie
Kerri

Hope you are inspired to come and play along. Just leave a comment on Lori's blog with a link to your card. We can't wait to see what you create! The keyword for uploading on online forums will be DDIC38.  Have fun and look for the next challenge on November 4th.

Fall is Here for Real

We had a light frost last night so it officially feels like Fall around here.  The foliage isn't at peak yet, but we have quite a bit of color and the air is filled with the sweet smell of dried leaves.  This is my absolute favorite time of year.  I love the weather, the colors, and the upcoming holidays--starting with Halloween.

I really enjoy making Halloween cards so I'm only too happy to be working on my design team cards for my latest batch of stamps from Starving Artistamps.  The card I made today uses the jack-o-lantern faces from the DoodleFactory Gourds and Pumpkins set and Hollow from the DoodleFactory Ghoulies set. 

The glowing faces in the background are done with a simple resist technique.  I stamped the faces with Versamark and then embossed them with clear embossing powder.  Then, I just smooshed on some Weathered Wood Distress Ink and used a paper towel to wipe the ink away from the faces.

I made my frame from scraps of paper.  I cut a bunch of 1.25" square from scraps and glued them down to a piece of thin cardstock and then I cut out a variety of shapes, including this frame.  I put a piece of vellum behind the frame so that Hollow, colored with Copic markers, would stand out a bit from all the chaos.

Thanks for stopping by my studio!

Frankie

Today was my first post on the Technique Junkies Design Team blog, and I'll be posting there on the second and fourth Friday's of the month.  I made this card to showcase the Texture Duet (October 2010) and Sanded Core'dinations (April 2010) techniques, but Frankie is really taking center stage.  He's from the DoodleFactory Ghoulies collection from Starving Artistamps.

The Core'dinations paper I used on my card is called Black Magic, and I love the stuff so much it's hard not to hoard it.  I colored both Frankie and the sentiment (Starving Artistamps) with Copic markers. You can't see it in this picture, but Frankie's eyes and the letters are shiny because I went over them with a glaze pen.

Have a great day, and thanks for stopping by my studio.

Divine Diva Inspiration Challenge 37

It's the first Thursday in October, which means that it's time for another Divine Diva Inspiration Challenge. I also just realized that I've been doing these challenges for a whole year now. It's been a fun year with some truly beautiful inspiration photos--thanks for inviting me to play, Lori!









These Classico soaps from Cambria Cove were our inspiration this time.  I just love the colors and the Art Deco patterns on the wrappers.  Truly beautiful.

I'm also trying to participate in the Hope You Can Cling To card drive to benefit those affected by breast cancer, sponsored by Splitcoast Stampers.  I'm not sure that I'll get all of them done, but I'm going to try.  This card is for challenge HYCCT02B-Lingerie Inspired.  The stamp I used is Simone from the DoodleFactory People collection at Starving Artistamps.  I colored her with Copic markers and paired her with a sentiment from the Classic Decor collection, also from Starving Artistamps.  The layout I used is Laura's sketch #62 this week at 2 Sketches 4 You so I covered a lot of challenge ground with this one!

The other Divas always come up with divinely inspired projects so be sure to take a few minutes to visit their blogs and have a look.

Lori
Anne
Chris
Julie
Kerri

Hope you are inspired to come and play along. Just leave a comment on Lori's blog with a link to your card. We can't wait to see what you create! The keyword for uploading on online forums will be DDIC37.  Have fun and look for the next challenge on October 21st.

One Studio Fits All

It's been so long since I posted. I was on vacation last week and we've been generally busy, but really, time isn't the problem. It's more of a lack of direction. I've been toying with the idea of doing two blogs, one for cards and one for my art, but when it came right down to it, that idea stopped me cold. So back to the one blog for everything. Just like my real studio, which is packed to overflowing with supplies for all the different things I do, this blog will be for everything. There. That feels better already!

So what have I been working on, you ask? I've got several projects going (I always do), and today I'll show you a couple that I've actually finished.

I mentioned awhile back that I had become a member of the Technique Junkies Design Team, and since the October newsletter has been mailed and is also available online, I can start sharing the cards I made with you. The two I'm sharing today were published in the hard-copy version of the newsletter.

The first card uses a technique called Puzzle Layers.  The image is from Twisted Papers, and I colored it with Copic markers.  I didn't color the entire image three times, just the parts I needed, but I will admit that this one took some time to do.

My second card was much quicker to make.  The technique is called By the Inch, and it's a great way to use up leftover technique sheets.  I started off with a sheet I made using the Antique Wallpaper technique from the June 2010 newsletter.  The stamps I used are from I Brake for Stamps.



It's going to be a nasty, rainy day here today so I plan to spend it in my studio.  I'm not sure which project I'll decide to work on, but I'll be in there doing something, and I promise I'll have more to share soon!

Have a great day!

Divine Diva Inspiration Challenge 36

It's time for the second September Divine Diva challenge already?  Time seems to move in hyper-drive since I stopped working.  Maybe it's true that time really does fly when you're having fun.  Who knew?

Speaking of fun, this book cover was our inspiration this time.  I already had my DoodleFactory Backlit Blooms stamps out on my table, so naturally, I used those.  This is the poppies stamp, and I just covered up the poppies with a couple of big Prima flowers.  I didn't have two flowers in the color I wanted, so I airbrushed them with Copic markers.  At 5 inches by 7 inches, this card is a bit bigger than I usually make, and I have to say, I like the bigger format.

Be sure to check out the cards made by all the Divine Divas for this challenge!

Lori
Anne
Chris
Julie
Kerri

Hope you are inspired to come and play along. Just leave a comment on Lori's blog with a link to your card. We can't wait to see what you create! The keyword for uploading on online forums will be DDIC36.  Have fun and look for the next challenge on October 7th.

Craft Season has Begun!

It's after Labor Day, the weather has turned cooler, and the days are shorter.  All of these things signal the beginning of Craft Season, which almost immediately turns into Holiday Craft season.  All of a sudden, it doesn't seem to early to start working on Christmas cards, and here's my first one. 

I used the DoodleFactory Backlit Blooms Poinsettia and sentiment from Starving Artistamps.  The poinsettia is stamped with Copic markers.  Yes, you can do that!  The instructions can be found in the June/July 2010 issue of the Technique Junkies Newsletter.

Starving Artistamps has a whole slew of new stamps out besides these gorgeous blooms.  Best of all, Tracey is giving away some of the new stamps as blog candy all month on the company blog.  Check it out and spread the word!

Divine Diva Inspiration Challenge 34

I can't believe it's already time for another Divine Diva challenge!  This time, Lori chose a magazine ad for Lindt chocolate.  I had lots of ideas for this one and ultimately settled on replicating look of the journal.  I loved the colors, and besides, I have LOTS of buttons!

Lindt chocolate magazine ad.

All of the papers I used came out of my scrap pile--Yay!  I just taped the pieces together from the back and then cut my panel so that the seams fell at 30 and 60 degree angles.  The stamps I used are old favorites from Inkadinkado and the cupcake is colored with Copic markers.

Be sure to check out the cards made by all the Divine Divas for this challenge!


Lori
Anne
Chris
Julie
Kerri

Hope you are inspired to come and play along. Just leave a comment on Lori's blog with a link to your card. We can't wait to see what you create! The keyword for uploading on online forums will be DDIC34. Have fun and look for the next challenge on September 2!

Smooth Sailing

It's official.  Friday was my last day at work, and I'm retired...nothing but smooth sailing from here on out!  My husband will follow along sometime before the end of the year. 

So many people have asked me lately how I will keep myself busy.  Won't I be bored?  Um, no.  My job was the boring thing that got in the way of all the things I want to do.  No.  I won't be bored.  Yes. I will be busy. 

One of the things I plan to busy myself with is this blog.  More and more I've been feeling like I need to have two blogs--one for my cards and one for my art.  On the card blog, I'd like to start a challenge, do some tutorials, and be much more consistent in the way I present the cards.  My art blog will be a place for me to post my artwork and my thoughts--I envision this blog as an online art journal.

For now though, I'll keep sharing cards here like I always have.  This one uses stamps from Starving Artistamps --my buoy background and the sail boat from the Juniper and Jupiter Go to the Beach set. I stamped the background with Tea Dye Distress Ink onto a piece of paper from the Basic Grey Basics Kraft paper pad.  The sail boat is colored with Copic markers, and I used a few long forgotten white snaps for embellishment.

Enjoy your day!