CAS MIX-UP REMINDER

Have you tried the fun paper towel technique for this month's challenge yet? 

On my first card as guest designer, I used the imprint from the paper towel as my background.  Today I am using the actual paper towel.  

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The paper towel was two ply so I carefully separated it.  Then I put a thin layer of glue on a piece of white cardstock and adhered the paper towel.  Was able to do this twice since there were two pieces.  I put three of the infinity wood frames together with some washi tape and die cut.  Put these on a piece of fun foam and adhered to the card base.  Added the magnolia die cuts, the little sentiment and some raindrops and done.
 

There is still time to enter your card here.  Thanks for stopping by and always love to read your kind comments.

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GLIMMER INKS AND A POINSETTIA

I have used my Hero Arts metallic glimmer inks only a few times since I bought them last year - not good 'cause they give such lovely results.  So found a refresher from Jennifer McGuire on using them and went to town!

Stenciled the background with texture paste and set aside to dry.  Stamped in black ink and die cut the poinsettia (retired HA) and leaves and then watercolored.  Used the red, green and gold along with a bit of water.  To give a more yellow/green tint to the leaves, I mixed the green and gold together.  Put it all together on a little nest of gold thread and few sequins on a navy card base.  It all has such a pretty shine - but impossible to capture in the photo.

A new challenge begins tomorrow on A Blog Named Hero so be sure to stop by and check it out.

Thanks for dropping by and always love to read your kind comments.

CHRISTMAS TREES

Whenever I decide it's time to destash my stamps, I get sidetracked by stuff I forgot I had.  Yesterday it was Pine Trees by Penny Black that I bought on sale after Christmas.  It was the end of destashing for this weekend!!  Had to try it out for the Christmas Kickstart Challenge with the theme of trees and an added challenge from Darnell to do a twofer!

For my first card I stamped the trees in gold pigment ink on a 5.5x4.25 piece of black cardstock.  Then I die cut a piece from the center and cut a gold frame for it.  Put the original piece on a black card base, added black fun foam to the back of the framed piece and put it all together.  The little sentiment is gold embossed and the whole card was spattered with some gold metallic paint.

I first used a blending brush to make the blue sky on my second card.  I randomly added distress inks to the pine tree stamp and stamped - did this a couple of times until I had enough color.  Then I used a watercolor brush and not very much water to blend the colors.  Kristina Werner gave me the idea for this.  The area under the trees was also done this way.  Finally, I used white gouache to spatter some "snow" around my little scene.

Thanks for visiting today and love to read your kind comments.

CAS MIX-UP GD

I am so pleased to be the CAS Mix-Up guest designer this month.  Awhile back when Loll first showed her paper towel technique for making backgrounds, I gave it a try and just gave up on it.  So when Bonnie told me what the challenge was my first thought was that I had to figure out how to make a background that looked good and that I liked.  This time I couldn't give up!!  You really need LOTS of ink to make this work.

First I liberally smooshed broken china, salty ocean and peeled paint distress inks on my work surface and spritzed with water.  Blotted it all up with my paper towel and just kept doing that until there was a lot of color absorbed.  I let the paper towel dry and then continued the way Loll shows in her video.  On the left is the paper towel and on the right is my background.

I made a shaker using my new wood frame infinity dies and icicle sequins from Hero Arts with magnolia die cuts.  I'm really happy with the results - even had a large enough piece to make several cards.  I also managed to use the actual paper towel on a card - check back on 15 August to see my card.

Be sure to have a go at this fun technique and enter your card here.  Besides stamping and the technique, my mix-up items are die cutting and the shaker with sequins.

Thanks for visiting today and love to read your kind comments.

CHRISTMAS IN JULY

Do you have your Christmas card stash started yet?  If not, now's the time to get going - especially since you can enter our latest A Blog Named Hero challenge and have a chance to win a prize from Hero Arts!!

I started my card by stamping holly (HA stamp but no longer available) around the edge of my kraft card base with black ink.  Colored the holly with my polychromos (any colored pencils will work) layering the color from light to dark and then at the end going over it again with the lightest green to blend it all together.  Used some white gouache mixed with a little water to spatter some "snow".  Die cut the sentiment (a discontinued HA stamp & cut) twice in white and once in gold for a little more texture and to make the gold pop a bit more.  Finally added some red Nuvo drops.

Check out our challenge and get a head start on those Christmas cards!  You have until 10 August to enter!

Thanks for visiting today and always appreciate your kind comments.