Snowflakes and Reindeer in July

Merry Christmas in July!  Snowflakes and Reindeer are closer than you think! All over "bloggy-land" in the paper arts region there are Christmas goodies galore all over the web. It is so hot here, it's hard to imagine snowflakes and Christmas when the temps are over 100 degrees.  But what the hay, let's imagine the snow drifts and snowmen, icicles and peppermint, and start dreaming of the fat little man with his jelly-belly and reindeer.

I received the Reindeer and Snowflakes die from the Paper Wishes/Hot off the Press monthly Die Club, so I had to give it a try. I had the brown and teal card stock out at the time, and thought I would try my die's out in a different color scheme than typical Christmas colors. Luckily the printed stock I wanted to use was a double sided paper, so I had coordinating prints that worked well together. I die cut the deer and three of the swirls, and three of each of the sizes of snowflakes.  I then layered the snowflakes, and attached them together with a turquoise brad. I also reversed every other layer so the printed side showed in between the solids. 

The backgrounds are layered 1/2" to 1/4" apart, and then adhered to the stock card base. The snowflakes and swirls are glued directly to the background with Tombow liquid glue, and adhered the deer with foam tape to pop it off the surface to give dimension.  I stamped the Merry Christmas from the Bows and Holly clear set from Lawn Fawn and  Rich Cocoa Memento Ink from Tsukineko. I highlighted the words and embellishments with my gold glitter Gelly Roll pen from Sakura. 

I am entering this card in the DLArt, Thankful Thursday Challenge-#114 Christmas in July ,

 and the Little Scrap Pieces, Fun Friday Challenge- Christmas in July.

Thank you for stopping by today, I really enjoyed sharing this card with you. I hope you will start thinking about making handmade cards for your holiday cards this year. Although, it is still months away, start enjoying all the card ideas presented in our favorite blogs. You may find something you want to try for the season. Happy Card Making!

Black-Eyed Susan Clean and Simple Card

This is a very simple card that can be as clean and simple as you want it to be.  First off, I stamped the Black-Eyed Susan Wildflower Stamp from Paper Wings Productions on a sheet of watercolor paper. Then using my water-based markers, I colored them in and used a water brush to blend the colors together.

I then stamped the poem, from the Flower Quotes Cling Stamp Set from Paper Wings Productions, and then stippled around the background with Pear Leaf Memento Ink. I trimmed the watercolor paper to 4 1/2" square, and inked around the edge with Shabby Shutters Distress Ink from Ranger and Tim Holtz. I also used my Clear Glitter Gelly Roll pen to accent the vein lines and centers of the flowers.  I then cut a cardstock card base 5 1/2" square and  a piece of coordinating  printed scrapbook paper 5 1/8" square. I rounded all the corners with my corner chomper and adhered them with a double stick tape runner and foam tape.

I hope you all have a wonderful day filled with sunshine and happiness. Please visit with me again soon.
Mindy

Shave Cream Marbled Paper

Hello Friends!  Today's post is a step-by-step tutorial on how to make marbled paper with shave cream, dye reinkers, and Ranger Glossy Card Stock. It's a messy but fun technique, that can produce some really beautiful papers to use in your paper arts.  I use mine in my card making, and mixed-media art.

The first step is to gather your supplies. You will need;
1 can of really cheap shave cream,
1-3 bottles of dye based reinkers,
sheets of glossy card stock,

a roll of paper towels,

and a rimmed baking sheet or pan with short sides.
The tools to combine your colors on the foam shave cream; paint brush, popcicle stick, old comb, plastic fork.

1.  First of all, spray shave cream in a low rimmed pan, and smooth out a bit.

2. Next drop dropplets of the dye reinkers on the surface of the shave cream.  Start with two colors, and refresh with the third color later if needed.

3.  Using the tool of choice, (I used a small fan brush) swirl the colors together, first one way and then turn the pan and swirl the other way. Even though the ink looks like it is mixed in, as you gently press the paper down into the foam, wherever the ink touches the paper, you will have color.

NOTE: Between each sheet of paper, re-swirl the ink, and pick up the ink from the sides and bring to the top of the pile. As you reposition the ink, more of it will adhere to the new surface.

4.  Place your square of glossy paper on top of the foam, and tap down lightly on the paper pressing the paper into the top layer of shave cream. Lift the corner gently to see if the paper is covered with the ink. It doesn't need to be covered completely, the artist is always looking for "white space" in their work. "White space" gives depth and dimension to your work.

5.  Place your square on a clean protected surface and using a paper towel to wipe away the foam and excess ink.  Using a clean paper towel, buff the card stock until the surface is shiny. Many people ask about the glossy paper I use. You may use card stock or watercolor paper, but when you buff it, you may get little fuzzies from the tooth of the paper or paper towel.

6. As I mentioned above, the first applications will be the lightest. You can add more color, as I did with the purple, to get more color.  After your squares are dry (it won't take long), you can cut them into smaller pieces with your paper trimmer and attach them to a card stock base to make interesting and beautiful card bases.

7.  To clean up:  Rinse the foam down the drain with the faucet running, to dissolve the foam and keep the ink from sticking to the surface of the sink.  OR, you can just wipe away the foam and throw the paper towels into a trash bag.

Thank you so much for visiting with me today! I always have so much fun with this technique, it is hard for me to stop. I end up making pages and pages of paper to use on cards and art projects. Even if one doesn't turn out like I think it should, I cut it into small pieces for inchies and Artist Trading Cards, and cover it with stamping. Have lots of fun, and join me again soon for more fun and easy techniques.



Marbled Monogram Card

Happy Monday, cardmakers! It was a hot weekend here, so I spent my down time this past weekend playing in some shave cream and reinkers making some lovely marbled paper.

I usually make several sheets of this marbled mess and let it dry a few days before I cut it into smaller pieces for card fronts. A perfect weekend project!

I wanted to show this card today, so I could get it into the mail this week. I will describe how I made the marbled paper in my next post, but today I am just describing the steps to this card.

After making the marbled paper, and letting it dry for some time, I cut an A2 size piece (4 1/4X 5 1/2") and centered it on a 4 1/2" x 6" scrap of black card stock.  Before attaching the marbled paper, I adhered a length of black and white floral ribbon halfway down the black stock, and used double stick tape to adhere it to a 5" X 7" card base.  I then stamped the letter "A" on the marbled paper with black StazOn ink, and then adhered it to the center of the black card stock piece. I then added two clusters of small fabric flowers from Prima to the two opposite corners with a small brad.  It made a very elegant looking card for a good friend who needed a little cheering up.

Tomorrow I will post my easy, step- by-step procedure of how I make my marbled paper, using men's shave cream, dye based reinkers, and glossy card stock.  Join me here, to participate in the foamy fun! See you soon.

Mindy

Hidden Recipe Card

Today's card is made using the same technique as the Botanical Pocket card posted two days ago. It is stamped with the A Pack of Pears stamp set from A Stamp In The Hand company on Ranger Glossy Card Stock. The difference is in the card style itself; instead of a pocket card, it is a recipe card, with the recipe hidden inside the card.  The recipe is attached to a strip hidden inside a slit in the front of the card. (See picture below)
(*NOTE* This stamp company is no longer in business, but there are many of their stamps available on EBay.)

The pear stamp is solid rubber and is colored using dye based markers directly on the stamp itself. These are so much fun to color, blending various colors on the stamp and then stamping on the glossy paper makes the colors so bright and vibrant you won't believe your eyes. The bumble bees are from the How Does Your Garden Grow set. Coloring is done with Marvy markers and stippling is done with Marvy Yellow Ochre dye ink pad.

The fun part of the card, is making the pull out recipe tab. Print the recipe out on regular printer paper, and cut out, leaving an inch border on one side of the recipe. Glue or use double stick adhesive to attach the recipe, to a scrap of the glossy card stock. Stamp and cut out the word "Pear" and used foam tape to apply it to the 1" blank space on top of the recipe tab. Cut a slit in the stamped front of the card, and slide the recipe tab into the slit.  The edge with the foam tape will stop the tab from going all the way into the card.  Then using double stick adhesive, tape around the outside edge of the front and adhere to the front panel of the card base. That way the recipe will slide in and out of the card front.

This type of interactive card is so much fun, and will really surprise the recipient. This type of card is also fun to make for friends when you have a Cookie Exchange, a Pot-Luck meal, or a special gift for a sick friend. Print out a favorite Soup recipe and then attach a Get Well card to the jar with the recipe enclosed.  What a fun way to say, "I Love You, and am Thinking of You!"  Have a great Thursday, the weekend is right around the corner! Keep Stamping!
Mindy

Botanical Pocket Card

Hello Friends, it's the beginning of a new week, and I have a little different style of card to show you today. It has been awhile since I have done cards using this technique that I learned years ago from the ladies at A Stamp in the Hand Stamp Company. I don't believe the company is in business anymore, but both ladies that taught this technique are still teaching stamping out and about. So for Joyce and Kat, I hope these cards make you proud knowing that what you taught years ago actually "stuck" in one stamper's mind.

To start with, you use a few different supplies from the normal basic card stock and stamps. The paper that gives the best result is Glossy Card stock, I got mine through Ranger. Using red rubber stamps and Marvy Inks and markers, you can create beautiful, and vivid color creations on that glossy paper.  I like to build layers on my cards using this technique.  Starting with the background images, in this card I stamped the large leaf spray in each of the four corners. When you use the red rubber stamps, you can color directly on the rubber with the Marvy markers. Starting with the lightest colors so you don't contaminate your markers, draw the light green marker over the surface of the leaf, touching here and there with the bright green color. Next, draw the olive green marker over the stamp, touching where the darker green areas would be on the leaf stem. Finally, use the darker purple marker to highlight the stem and base of each leaf.  If the ink looks as if it has dried a bit while adding colors, breathe directly on the stamp's rubber, huffing a bit so your breath re-moistens the ink. Stamp onto the glossy stock one or two times to get the graduated colors of the first and second stampings. Re-color your stamp with the markers and stamp again, as many times as you wish.

NOTE: Dye based markers work best with this technique, because they dry slower than do Copic's or Sharpie's.

The next layer on the card base is done with the Marvy Ink pads and a stipple brush. A stipple brush is a stiff bristled brush that is usually flat on the tip end, and is used to "pounce" the ink onto the card. They come in many sizes, from small (1/2 inch) to large (1 1/2 inch) in diameter. I like using the larger sizes because they cover the card base faster when stippling.  Stippling makes tiny dots  on the background if you hold the brush in an upright position when pouncing. Tap the brush on the ink pad several times as it picks up the ink, and then pounce on the paper, shadowing around the edges of the card, blending the colors you want to use.

I then inked and stamped several images on the library pocket, along with gluing several strips of patterned paper and ephemera to the pocket before attaching the metal tag with the dragonfly brad. I stippled a little more ink on the pocket, and then adhered the pocket to the front of the card with red-line double stick tape. The red-line double stick tape is preferred when adhering to the glossy card stock, for stronger hold.

When complete, you can adhere the glossy stock to a card base, or use the glossy stock as the card, the glossy finish is usually only on one side, the other side is a matte finish. I placed an Artist Trading Card in the library pocket, but you could also use the pocket to hold a gift card or handwritten note.  Many ask if the glossy card stock is a necessity?  If you look closely, you can see that the colors stamped on the glossy stock are much brighter and more vivid than the same colors stamped on the library pocket.

I hope you have enjoyed this technique, and will try it on a project soon. I enjoy using it on cards where bright colors are used, and hope the cards will brighten your day. Take care, and have a great week!

Mindy

Where there is Love. . . . . .

Today's post is another page from my art journal. This page started out as a color book page I printed from my computer to practice coloring with my Copic Markers. I have saved all my "colorings" that I may use for card fronts or journal pages, or in mixed-media collages.

I started by covering the page in my journal with black gesso, so that the color book page background would match the background of my journal page. Using Gel Medium as an adhesive, I adhered the color book page to the center of the journal page.  Then using my Posca paint markers by Uni, I continued drawing freehand in the border around the color book page, trying to match up the colors and designs from the scrap book page. I continued to doodle around the page adding images from the coloring page until I had completely filled the margins.  To complete the page, I added some sparkle from a clear sparkle gel writer pen, and some dots from both my white Posca marker and white Signo Gel writer pen.

This is a very easy way to do a memorable page with a saying or quote that you love or want to keep. When printing from your computer, you can keep the art around it, or remove it and use your own art.
I hope you all have a wonderful and exciting  weekend. Be sure and visit again soon.

I Love You, Prima Dolls -

By now you have probably seen where I am participating in a Prima doll Blog Hop starting August 6, 2013. It is going to be so much FUN, I can hardly wait! I have never really loved a special set of stamps like these Prima Doll Stamps from Julie Nutting's designs, and it all goes back to my love of dolls and paper dolls when I was younger.  My dolls were my playmates, and I loved making clothes for them and my paper dolls.

For this tag, I started by covering the Prima Doll Tag with patterned paper from the Botanical Paper Collection from Paper Wishes. The colors in this print are so rich and jewel-like I knew that it would be gorgeous with the Doll in the strapless dress. I stamped the doll on white card stock and colored her with my Copic Markers. After fussy cutting,  I adhered the image to the front of the tag and added a 3-D bow at her waist. I used a rub-on for the message "I love you" on the top right hand corner, and added two strips of printed ribbon across the bottom 2/3 of the card. I also added some "bling" using tiny acrylic stones to the top of the tag, and as accents at her neck and ankles. Next, I stamped a flower using a waterbased marker to ink my stamp then stamped it on watercolor paper.  I used my waterbrush to blend the colors of the flower, cut it out, and added it to my tag between the layers of ribbon. To complete the tag, I added Mermaid Glitz Stickles to the center of the flower, and a strip of ruffled ribbon to the bottom of the tag.

Before I close today, I just wanted to let you know that there will be more information coming on the Prima Doll Blog Hop in the weeks ahead. Be sure to tell your friends about the hop, and invite them to check out the posts, especially if they enjoy dolls, stamping, and paper arts. See you again soon.

Mindy

I've been Caught by the Fashion Police!

Have you ever prepared to leave the house, going somewhere, and your spouse or family member says, "Are you wearing that???"  I caught myself saying that to myself as I passed the mirror this past weekend.
When I was a teen, my Mother used to always tell me the "Fashion Police" were going to take me in for what I was wearing. That is what inspired this page in my Art Journal.

These pages should be for inspiration only, because I have trouble remembering what I did and when. I work on them in stages, a little bit at a time, for days and days. I think I started this page by spritzing on pink Smooch sprays and then added layers with Lime green and Ivory acrylic paints. I then used a large stipple brush to dot on layers of black and brown Memento Ink.  I then adhered apiece of book page and the cute little dog from my June Nesting Components kit from Paper Wings Productions.  I also adhered the large Prima Tag with a handmade doll from Julie Nutting's book Collage Couture. Her dress was pieced with scrapbook paper, and the rose stamp from Paper Wishes was stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento Ink and colored with Copic Markers. I shaded around the doll image with PanPastel chalks and then added colors from the background page to help it blend in with the background.  I added a few Die-cuts from the PWP June Kit and journaled on them after adhering to the page. I added letters for the words "Fashion Police" from the sticker sheet in the June kit, and highlighted around each element with a gray Posca marker from Uni.

To finish it up, I added strips of light mint green ribbon with brown dots to the edges, some swirls and squiggles with the pale peach Posca marker, and a giant floral brad that matched the colors in the top right hand corner. I forgot to mention that the roses and the doll are popped  up from the surface with foam tape to give the page dimension. I also accented the folds in her skirt with some holly green Stickles glitter glue, and added two tiny flowers at her waist. 

These art journal pages are so rewarding to me, because when I finish, I feel as though I have added a piece of myself to the page.  Plus, I have tried a new product or technique that I have never used before to express my artful feelings. I hope you all try something new to stimulate your creativity, and have a wonderful Wednesday!  Please visit again.
Mindy

Card Full of Dreams

Today's card represents a "Card Full of Dreams".  A friend of mine has always dreamed of owning his own business. When I found this package of stickers that I had purchased back in my "scrapbooking days", I figured now was a good time to send him a little encouragement about his "field of Dreams."

To start with, I took a sheet of 12 X 12 scrap book paper from the PinkPaislee Portfolio line of papers, and cut a 4 1/2" X 11" strip of paper for my A2 (4 1/2X 5 1/2) size card background. After folding it in half, lengthwise, as I mentioned before, found this package of Vintage Peel & Stick Labels that I had purchased back in the days when I was making scrapbooks. The label was from the vintage Country Company Collection from Melissa Frances, and was a picture of a storefront named the Porter Bakery.  I hunted through my pages of printed vintage photos and came across a piece of a photo, a small boy standing in a doorway, that fit perfectly in the doorway of the bakery. After gluing the photo into the doorway, I cut out three numbers from a scrap of scrapbook paper and adhered them to the awning of the bakery.

To finish off the front of the card, I added a strip of polka dot ribbon with a scrap tied in a knot, and then added a key tag to the knot with the word  "Dream" punched out of paper and attached to the tag.

I hope you have enjoyed this very simple and quick card that can be used to remind a friend to "Follow their Dreams". Without dreams there would be nothing to look forward to in our lives. Have a Great Day!

Mindy

Frame - Let Freedom Ring!

I Love Independence Day, The 4th of July, or whatever you call it! I love America, the Red, White, and Blue, God Bless the USA, Let Freedom Ring, and all of the other phrases we use to celebrate out great land.  With the holiday right around the bend, the end of this week, I decided to create a Home Decor item that would blend in with any decor you may have. Celebrate our country year-round with this wonderful frame.

I started with an unfinished 5 X 7 frame with glass, and a 5 X 7 frame die cut from Daisy D's designs.   I also had a roll of 4" wide patriotic sheer ribbon with stars and stripes on it. I took a 12" long strip of the wired edged ribbon and accordion folded it along the length of the ribbon.  I then took a small piece of wire, and tied the ribbon about 1" from the bottom of the folds. After tying it tightly, I cut off the bottom inch and set it aside.  I then fanned out the top folds to form the banner.  I glued it to the top of the frame with hot melt glue and then adhered the frame die cut over the face of the frame, thus overlapping the ribbon edge I glued down. To decorate the outside, I glued a satin ribbon bow on top of the banner and added a velvet flower to the ribbon.

For the inside of the frame, I took the middle section of the die cut that had the phrase "Let Freedom Ring" printed on it, and die cut around it with the Worn Edge Die from Die-namics (My Favorite Things).  I took another strip of the sheer patriotic ribbon and glued it to the back panel of the frame unit.  I then used temporary tape to adhere the sentiment to the center of the opening, leaving it available for a photo if needed later on.

This could also be a great housewarming gift to present a friend when attending their July 4th barbecue. Then you could take a photo at the get-together, have it printed, and present it to the owner to put in their frame. What a wonderful remembrance gift!

I am entering this in the DL Art Thankful Thursday June Challenge 112 - Patriotic. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday, whenever you get to celebrate it.