Technique Junkies - Altered Designer Paper

Altered Designer Paper (from the April/May '09 Technique Junkie newsletter) is one of those techniques that is so handy to have in your repertoire. It is a great way to use paper that you love, but doesn't quite fit the mood of the card you'd like to create.

The Birds of a Feather stamp collection from Artistic Outpost is perfect for Spring cards. I created the tissue paper flowers out of necessity - I wanted something light and airy to echo the feeling of softness I was trying to achieve and regular paper or silk flowers just looked too heavy. I love the softness these give the card!

Theme Thursday - Flourish!

This past weekend I was thrilled to see that our local Archivers had the new Distress ink colors. I bought the two that I was most anxious to try out - Rusty Hinge and Forest Moss (is that self-control or what?!).

I was really inspired when I saw Linda's tag. Actually, I think I was more than inspired, I didn't realize it at the time, but I pretty much CASE'd the whole thing (it's a beautiful tag, what can I say?)! My tag uses the Antiqued Shimmers technique from the Dec/Jan issue of the Technique Junkie newsletter. I also added a little gesso resist to the mix. The stamps are all from one of the clear stamp sets from Tim Holtz. The bit of flourish at the top at bottom make it fit the Theme Thursday Flourish challenge perfectly.

Do you have the new Distress inks? Which are your favorites? I am making up my shopping list......

Created Byhand - Things That Fly

I love making cards that combine my favorite things. This card, made for the Created Byhand challenge, uses the Brayered Impressions technique (my invention!) from the Dec/Jan '10 issue of the Technique Junkie newsletter, wonderful stamps from Artistic Outpost's Paris Exposition collection, and an adorable image from Twisted Papers.

I am still having trouble with my crepe paper ruffle addiction - it just seems to add such a nice touch!

Gothic Arches - Steampunk

I was really excited to see the Gothic Arches challenge theme for today was Steampunk. I have been in love with this style since first hearing about it a couple years ago. From that time it seems it has become more and more mainstream and I'm seeing it everywhere now!

For my arch, I decided to go all out and make something substantial that I could load up with all the junk I've been collecting. First, I traced the template onto a scrap of 2 x 6 and cut it out with a jig saw. Then I stained it with various Distress inks and sealed it with Mod Podge. After that it was just a matter of digging through boxes and bins to find the right junk.

 

It's so hard to show the dimension in something like this in photos. The man is a photo stamp from The Family Man collection by Oxford Impressions. He seemed to have the perfect vintage look for the Steampunk era.

My favorite part of this is the alligator clip holding the optical lens. I have been dying for AGES to use the lens this way, but have just never had the right project for it. Oxford Impressions has a great selection of these found here. The quote is from Alluring Impressions. It's stamped on an aluminum circle that I found at Navel Jelly Studios.

Thanks to Martina for coming up with such an awesome theme! Make sure you check out the other fantastic artwork on the Gothic Arches Challenge blog.

Tag Tuesday - Cutesy!

 

 Is this cutesy? I don't know, but it's just about as close as I can get! Cutesy is the theme over at Tag Tuesday. I love this challenge, but I don't even think I own ONE stamp that could be called cutesy. Ok, there are a couple House Mouse stamps that I bought my daughter when she used to stamp with me, but c'mon. That is too much to ask, Louise!

I thought this stamp from Artistic Outpost's Send in the Clowns collection was pretty cute! I have been dying to try this color combination since I got the latest Anthropologie catalog - it's a vintage circus theme and the colors are so unusual. I love the faded look. My tent background was created using the Faux Painted Paneling technique from the Oct/Nov '09 issue of the Technique Junkie newsletter. The red cardstock is from Paper Temptress.

Louise, I hope I get points for trying! :-)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Image from Twisted Papers.

Stamps by Oxford Impressions and Inkadinkado.

Shadowbox Card

I just posted this Shadowbox card over on the Design Junkies blog. I thought some of my readers who weren't Technique Junkies might enjoy it too! This 3-d card was the online bonus technique from the Oct/Nov '09 newsletter.

At first I was a little intimidated by the construction aspect of this card. However, once I sat down and started making one, I realized just how easy it was. This is such a versatile card - there are so many different ways you can interpret it. What's great is that it folds flat for mailing....how nice would it be to receive a special card like this?!

For this card I used stamps from the Marie Antoinette and Le Beau Monde stamp sets from Oxford Impressions. Such pretty, romantic stamps!

Tag Tuesday - Monogram

This morning a friend emailed me a link to the Ten Seconds Studio blog where they had the coolest video demo of the 'Controlled Squish' technique. The minute I saw the results, I knew I had to try it out! Of course, did I have any of the 'right' tools or supplies? No! It seems like I never do. So I did my best to improvise....

My friend Cyndi had told me long ago (and even sent me a card w/the technique!) that I could adhere aluminum foil to cardstock and it would be a cheap and easy stand-in for more expensive sheets of metal. So, that is what I did for my tag. It's colored with a combination of alcohol inks, Stazon, and acrylic paint. Be careful when you're sanding this! The foil doesn't stand up to a lot of abuse.

The bird is made from Grungeboard that's been stamped with a raven from Oxford Impressions' Haunted stamp collection. The sentiment is from one of Tim Holtz's clear stamp sets.

The texture on the top is created by heating various acrylic paints. Most I used were cheap craft paint, but the gold Lumiere worked the best of all of them. The samples they showed used a special German paint, but since it's not like we can run out and get that here, I think plain old cheap stuff works just fine.

I added a foil-covered and embossed chipboard 'B' and voila - perfect for today's Tag Tuesday challenge!

UPDATE!  I just came across a link to Lin's blog where she gives step by step instructions for her tag. I totally misunderstood the paint part, but I'm still glad I experimented!

Sunday Postcard Art - Cats, Mixed Media Monday - Romance

I have always wanted to participate in the Sunday Postcard Art challenge, but never quite got around to it. When I saw the theme for this week though, I knew I had to do it! In my last post I mentioned how much I love the images at Twisted Papers. I downloaded this adorable little girl with her kitty last week and have been dying to use it. I am also submitting this for today's Mixed Media Monday. We are big cat lovers in my family. That kinda counts as romance, right? ;-)

My first layer is made of felt that has been stiffened with fabric stiffener and run through the Cuttlebug. I wish this hadn't ended up being so hidden - it looks really cool! The pink layer is done using the Faux Felt technique from the Feb/March '09 issue of the Technique Junkies newsletter. I've stamped it with a background stamp from the new Bonbon collection from Oxford Impressions. The word Valentine (also from OI) is stamped on a vintage paper scrap and covered in melted beeswax to give it strength.

Tag Tuesday - Touch of Red, Theme Thursday - Pink and Black

There is so much going on in this tag! First of all, the theme for Tuesday's Tag Challenge is 'Touch of Red', secondly the theme at Theme Thursday is 'Pink and Black'. I decided to combine both challenges into this one tag and I think it works pretty well!

My background is a combination of two different techniques from the Technique Junkie newsletter: Metallic Pop and Dabbed Shimmers. I love them together! The adorable image is from one of the new TJ sponsors - Twisted Papers. You really need to check their site out!

To finish my tag off I embellished it with some silk flowers, ball fringe, and a rubber stamp from Oxford Impression's new Bonbon collection.

Technique Junkies - Technique by Design

Hi all! Welcome to the Technique Junkies "Technique by Design" blog hop! If you've landed here first, you'll want to head over to the Design Junkie blog so you don't miss any of the fantastic artwork the Design Team has created for you.

This month's blog hop is a bit different - we are challenging all you Junkies to create a card, using the sketch below, for a chance to win a fantastic prize! You can find all the details on Pat Huntoon's blog, which is the final stop in our blog hop.

For my card, I've turned the sketch on its side. To create my squares, I used three different techniques: Cracked Glass (2-08),  Cuttlebug Stamps (4-09), and Dabbed Shimmers (from the current newsletter). The stamps I've used are all from Artistic Outpost's Paris Exposition and Birds of a Feather stamp collections.

I hope you all give this a try! The next stop on the hop is Evelyn's wonderful blog. Enjoy!