Monthly Archives: February 2017
Technique Junkies – Pug’s the Word
Hello Junkies
I’m here today with an ATC that is sure to put a smile on the face of your swap partner using the February Technique Junkies stamp called, “Pugs & Kiss #SD718”. This stamp is a perfect size for use on your ATC’s and very easy to fussy cut.
After making a standard ATC background which is 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches, I cut a slightly smaller piece of sticky back canvas and watercolored that with some beautiful Quinacridone Gold. I stamped the sentiment directly on the sticky back canvas and wish I would have used Misty Tool because I wouldn’t have had to put down so much pressure somewhat distorting the stamp. I “fixed” my error by coming back in with a Faber Castell Pitt marker. I love that trick!
My pug was colored using Distress Markers adding depth by using the folds of his skin for where I put in the shadow. I colored his eyes with several colors to give them life. Isn’t he adorable?
Sure hope you find some time to get your fingers inky today and I can’t wait to share the new March Technique Junkies stamps with you on 1st.
See you then!
A Day For Daisies Surprise Blog Hop
As many of you know, A Day For Daisies has some of the most GORGEOUS digital images out there. I was over the moon thrilled to be asked to participate in a special surprise blog hop dedicated to Tammy, the creator of A Day For Daisies images. The current and some of the past Design Team members want to show our gratitude and thank Tammy for the blessings and joys we have received as members of the A Day For Daisies Design Team.
Our hop theme is “A Collection of ADFD Favorites.” Each DT member will feature her favorite ADFD image. The hop has hidden prizes so don’t forget to comment beginning today until 9:00 p.m. eastern standard time on Tuesday, February 27, 2017.
We also want your participation! Enter a card over at the A Day For Daisies Challenge Blog using an ADFD image. You have until Friday, March 3rd to enter your cards.
For my favorite image, I’ve chosen “Doll Face 5”. I’ve colored her up using my favorite Copic Markers. The skin is done in Eooo, Eoo, E21, E11, E04 & R20. The hair is E55, E53, E51 & E50 with added color pencil work. Her luscious lips are R89, R35 and R14 and her eyes are B04 & B12. That glorious background is a super technique I learned from Jennifer Dove which uses 91% alcohol and copic markers applied off a palette in B29 & B25. I then texturized with burlap and more alcohol for a great background. My sentiment is Wplus 9’s Hand Lettered Hello and my frame is the new Hero Arts Infinity Postage Stamp die.
Here is the original card I posted several years ago using this image.
All prize winners will be announced on the ADFD Blog on Saturday, March 4, 2017. We hope you will join our celebration of the thousands of images Tammy has created. Rules for the challenge are posted on the right sidebar of the ADFD Blog! Are you ready to HOP?!?
Thanks Tammy!!
From The Heart Stamps: Mid-week Design Team Inspiration 2-22-17
It’s Wednesday and time for the From The Heart Stamps Mid-week Design Team Highlights. Today, I made a spring inspired love card using Love You Mouse by From the Heart Digital Images. As a reminder we have the Stamp of the Month challenge as well as the current sketch challenge for you to join.
I colored this sweetie with cool grey Copic Markers then cut him out with an oldie but goodie Spellbinders circle die. My papers are by Lawn Fawn.
We hope we see you this week over at From the Heart Stamps. We are glad to back and seeing your beautiful cards. In addition to posting your card in the challenge, We’d love to see you on the FTHS Facebook group.
Cards in Envy Challenge – Red & Blue!
This Cards in Envy Challenge, which is named, “Roses are Red, Violets are Blue”, is a color challenging using the colors red and blue. You don’t have to use roses or violets, just the color red and blue. Don’t worry, the white in your card base does not matter.
Here at Cards in Envy we ask that you make your card fit into a standard A2 envelope. This challenge will run through Sunday, March 5th.
My card uses the My Favorite Things stamp and die set called, “Geometric Greenery”. I stamped and cut out the images in hot press watercolor paper which I prefer as it’s very smooth. I then colored with my Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers and a water brush. I then used the Lawn Fawn stitched rectangles to cut out two panels. I don’t do a lot of clean and simple cards so this was really fun.
I hope you will join us at Cards in Envy this week and show us your Red & Blue cards!
Technique Junkies ATC with Attitude
Hey There Junkies!
The Crafty Nurse here with a little ATC attitude for you this month using one of the February new release stamps called, “Downtown Boy Kitty #SD705”. Wow! Does this stamp really epitomize the glorious detail you can get in a high quality red rubber stamp. You can see every line of fur and every cross hatch in his tweet jacket. This is a real stunner!
For my ATC, I began by dry embossing a standard 2 1/2 by 3 1/2 size piece of card stock with a Tim Holtz embossing folder. I applied a few layers of Daniel Smith watercolors in Quinacridone Gold, Aureolin, and Burnt Umber. Boy Kitty was stamped using Black Soot Archival Ink, then colored with Distress Markers.
My sentiment is a Tim Holtz sticker, but Pat has also created a fabulous sentiment that goes perfectly with this stamp called “Sarcasm.”
Hope you all find time to this week to get your hands inky with a few of these new stamps from the February 2017 release.
Until next time,
From The Heart Stamps Sketch #162 – Twist: Snow Day
Hello friends! Happy Monday! I’m here with sketch #162 at From The Heart Stamps. These are great challenges because you can use just the sketch, or if you’d like, add the twist. The only requirement is that you use a From The Heart image and the sketch. The rest is up to you. The twist for this challenge is: Snow Day.
As you can tell from my card, I chose not to use the “twist” this week, but just the sketch. My image is the new, “Bunnies and Butterflies” which I colored with Copic Markers and cut out with a stitched My Favorite Things stitched cross stitch die. The background is textured with a Tim Holtz stencil and distress ink in Stormy Sky. The bow element is a Paper Smooches die.
We sure hope you’ll join us for Sketch #162 at From The Heart Stamps this week. Also, don’t forget to stop by and join the FTHS Facebook group. Happy Monday!!
Technique Junkies – Talking to You
Hello Junkies
I’m here today with inspiration using the February Technique Junkies stamp release called, “Talking to You #S707” which I stamped several times using the Misti tool for a really crisp impression. I love using this tool because with large surface stamps like this one you often don’t get a good first impression.
For a really quick card, stamp over some patterned paper. It’s perfect for a homemade care that takes no time at all and a great way to send some encouragement.
As always, we hope you find some time to get your fingers inky today and I’ll see you later on this month for more junkie goodness.
See you then!
Cards in Envy Challenge “Be Mine”
As we get closer to Valentine’s day, here at Cards in Envy we are having a “Be Mine” challenge. Cards in Envy challenge entries can be any size as long as they fit within a standardized A2 Envelope.
For my card today, I used a few different Hero Arts products. The first is last years Hero Arts January Card Kit, which is no longer available, but new kits come out monthly. I also used Hero Arts “Love” Stamp and Cut, which has both the stamp and the die in one package.
The background is created with a Rhonda Palazarri stencil that I applied with white Pan Pastels. Using Pan Pastel’s in stencils is a fabulous because the paint doesn’t seep through the other side and you get a really nice image. I blurred out the background to get a little more cohesion, which I felt looked “cloudy” and lovey.
After doing my stamping and die cutting, I applied a strip of American Crafts black glitter paper over American Crafts design paper called “Valentine”. I edged the hearts in black Tombow and popped them up with foam tape for dimension.
I do hope you will join us at Cards in Envy this week and show us your “Be Mine” cards. The challenge will run through February 19th and we look forward to seeing your entries!
From The Heart Stamps Sketch #161
Hello friends! Happy Monday! The sketch challenges are back on here at From The Heart Stamps. Today, we have Sketch 161, which has two twists. The first is the color option and the second is to use a birthday cake.
The only rule is to use a From The Heart image and the sketch and the rest is up to you. Here’s our sketch:
For my card I am still in a “Valentine” mood. To show case this I used February’s Free “Stamp of the Month” called, “Hogs & Kisses Pigwit”. If you participated in our last SOTM challenge in June, you’ll have gotten this image for free in your e-mail. If not, there’s still a way to get the image. Check it out here.
I colored up Pigwit with Copic Markers in my favorite piggy color combination of R01, YR61, & Ro2. I also used the warm grey’s in W5, W3, W1, W0 & W00. The candies are colored using RV29, RV25, RV23, & RV21 and finally, the ground is E43, E41 and E40.
Sure hope you’ll join us this week for Sketch #161 at From The Heart Stamps. Also, don’t forget to stop by and join the FTHS Facebook group. Happy Monday!!
Technique Junkies February Blog Hop!
It’s the first of the month and that means it’s time for a Technique Junkies Blog Hop showcasing the new February release! The fabulous Technique Junkie Design Team will provide an amazing selection of inspiration for your enjoyment.
Pat is again offering 15% off all February Release Stamps for one week! In addition to new stamps, Technique Junkies has some great new stencils you absolutely need to check out. The other new product is the Nuvo Mouse, which is a 3D effect product like modeling paste in gorgeous colors.
For my first card on the hop, I’ve taken Palm Tree’s Set of 3 #SS069 and used the Misti tool to create a multilayered effect using Distress Markers. The Misti allows you to keep your stamp in the same place and repeatedly use different colors. I saw this technique by the wonderful Jill Foster and thought it would be perfect for this new TJ Stamp. I used Frayed Burlap, Gathered Twigs and Espresso for the branches and Shabby Shutters & Peeled Paint for the branches. Once the tree is completely stamped, seal it with a clear layer of embossing powder. This protective layer allows you to work on the background without dulling the focal image colors. It also gives you little highlights that peek up, which I love.
Next I took distress inks in Broken China and Faded Jeans and began creating the clouds. The “sand” is created with Mustard Seed, Fossilized Amber and Gathered Twigs.
Here is another card with the very same technique only using more muted distress inks. For this card I added another new February stamp called Fly Me Away #S716 which frames this scene perfectly. The sentiments in both cards are included in the Palm Trees Set of 3 set.
My next card features Fly Me Away #S716 in a full card. I used the same technique with the repeated stamping using the Misti Tool. For more texture, I added a Tim Holtz Stencil over the top with Antique Linen Distress Ink. You can use any of the new Colorful Life stencils too! The sentiment is a Tim Holtz Small Talk sticker.
My final card for you today features “Kitty in Curlers #SD743”. I stamped her using Versafine ink in smokey grey and colored her in Art Anthology paints in Cotton Candy for her curlers, Buttercream for the body and Baby Blue Eyes for the background. The patterned paper is created using the technique called, Whitewash Chic from Artistic Effects CD. I wanted her to look like an old time picture frame so I hung a string over a brad so she can hang in her glory.
Now, that I’ve shown you what I have to offer, I don’t want you to miss any of the other design teams creativity so I encourage you to start hopping at the Technique Junkies Design Team Blog.
If you are arriving from Cheri’s Blog, you in the right place! Gorgeous Projects Cheri !
The next stop is the wildly creative Ro Donner!
Here is a list of the Design Team lineup:
Kathy Stacy That’s Me!
I sure hope you enjoy the Technique Junkies February Release Hop! Don’t forget – 15% off the February Release Stamps for the next week only!
The Crafty Nurse 