Wednesday Stamper - Open Theme

I was going to title this Open Mic, then I didn't know if anyone would get it. :tap: :tap: :tap: Is this thing on? Sigh....I'm strange, I know. :-)

Ok, here I present my most favorite thing I've done. Ever. It's a double-sided ATC I did for the Oxford Impressions swap. I am not sure where the idea came from - it's mostly an embodiment of everything I love. Masculine - check. Feminine - check. Vintage - check. Cool gears - check and check. Photo stamps - got it. Old French and Algebra paper - done. Commentary on how weird men are - doublecheck.

All stamps are from various Oxford Impressions plates.

Who wants another clock freebie???? You do! To download, click on image then right click and choose 'save image as'. You could also copy and paste it into a program like Word.

Happy New Year to all of my wonderful artist friends! I hope 2009 will be a great year for us all.

Believe Arch

I am really missing my Gothic Arch challenge - I'll be glad when we get back to them. I made another Faux Designer paper background (Technique Junkies)and it wasn't working with this stamp.....until I cut it into an arch shape! Lots of bits and pieces and plenty of Oxford Impressions stamps and I had myself a pretty little arch!

Created Byhand Challenge - Chalks/Pastels

This is my contribution for this week's Created Byhand Challenge. I am not a big user of chalks - that's what I love about challenges, they really force you to try something new.

For my background I scraped soft pastel crayons on an old piece of ledger paper that I adhered to a piece of cardstock for strength. After rubbing them in I was like, huh, this is really not very exciting. Then I noticed that, in one little spot, the chalks had adhered to a bit of glue that had got on the front (I'm a sloppy gluer, that's why everything I do has to be grunge/vintage, lol!). Anyway, it looked really neat so I dragged my glue stick over the paper in several places and scraped more pastel over that and rubbed it in. Ooooh, very cool! I did this several times until I was happy with it. I will definitely be using these crayons more often now.

I also used the pastels to color my little fairy, who is from the new Fairy Sweets collection by Oxford Impressions.

New Stamps From Oxford Impressions + Faux Designer Paper

Ahhhhh.....I love combining three of my favorite things into one piece. Actually, I think this uses just about everything I love!

First we have brand new stamps from the Fairy Sweets plate just released by Oxford Impressions. These are just about the sweetest stamps I own! I just got them today and can't wait to play with them some more.

Next we have a Faux Designer Paper background. I cannot get enough of this technique! I bought some paper at Archivers on Saturday. Do you know why?? So I could copy it using this technique! LOL! I will never buy premade paper again. This technique has really made me look at stamping in a whole new light. Ok, what was the next favorite thing? Hmmmm.....vintage lace? Things with wings? Velvet ribbon? Oh, I know, Technique Junkies! That's where I learned the fantastic technique I used to make my background.

Click on the picture to see the larger image - it looks so much better and more true to life.

Wednesday Stamper - Open Theme

Merry Christmas!

This is my contribution for today's Wednesday Stamper. The stamps on my arch are all from Oxford Impression's Winter Snow collection. For a special treat, check out Suzanne's blog!

I wish you all peace a joy and lots and lots of presents under your tree!

Created Byhand Challenge - Pattern Paper

After shopping all day (yes Kat, I am just now finishing my shopping!) I thought I would be too weary to participate in the Created Byhand challenge, but I decided some art time was just what I needed to liven me up after all that shopping!

When I saw we were to use patterned paper, I knew I had to find something to go with my new Fortune Teller stamps from Artistic Outpost. I found some sheets of Basic Grey (I think?) that I've had forever. They seemed to be a perfect complement to these stamps. As I was making it I kept thinking - am I channeling Kelly Burton or what? lol! To me it has a very 'Kelly Burton-esque' feel. I love the richness of her work so I was pretty happy with it! My favorite bits (in addition to the fab stamps) are the little jewel in his turban and the pretty black embellishment on the bottom, which is from my friends at RockCandy Studios.