A Few More Thelma Tags

I finished a few more tags with the "Thelma" stamp my friend Mark Jetton at Deadbeat Design Stamps sent me.  He also promoted my blog on his post yesterday, so I thought if someone came looking for his link I would have more than the one little tag I posted yesterday.  Thelma is so much fun to stamp, color, and even paper piece! 

I have been adding scraps of scrapbook paper to tags for backgrounds for several weeks now.  If you viewed my blog last year before Christmas, you saw the tags I made to decorate a Christmas tree for our church group.  This year I am doing something different with the church group, but we haven't quite decided yet what it will be.  I do, however, like to have some tags prepared for decorating, "just in case I need them!"  Since many of Mark's stamps are Texas themed, I thought I would use another themed set by Paper Wings Productions (also Texas based) for the Texas sayings. These were from the Texas Quotes set.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend, preparing for Thanksgiving which is not too far away. These tags also make  wonderful place cards for your Thanksgiving table. So why not make up a batch to decorate your table, "and let your creative juices flow!"  See you soon.
Mindy

PRIMA DOLL STAMP BLOG HOP! - Week #2- Summer

It's time for Week #2 of the Prima Doll Stamp Blog Hop! Have you seen the Doll Stamps from artist Julie Nutting? They are adorable, and a few of us are having so much fun with them, that we have decided to put together a 4-part Blog Hop, and the rules are very simple.

Each Tuesday throughout the month of August, we will be sharing creations made with a variety of these fabulous stamps, to inspire you. This is going to be a 4-Seasons Blog Hop with each Tuesday's projects featuring a season of the year.

The theme of Tuesday, August 13, 2013 will be Summer Features;  Tuesday, August 20, 2013 will be Fall Features;  and Tuesday, August 27, 2013 will be Winter Features.

All you will need to do is HOP to each of our blogs each Tuesday in August and leave us a comment. Be sure to leave your email address, because on August 30th we will EACH be giving away a prize!  (and we need to know how to get in touch with you, so we can send your Blog Candy!)

Yes, each participant will be giving away a prize package, and these packages will be shown on each of our blogs during the Hop!  REMEMBER. . . . you will need to comment each Tuesday to be eligible for the prize drawing.  AND. . . .if you share our hop information on your blog, Facebook page, or Twitter account, be sure to let us know and you will get a SECOND chance at the prize drawing.  WAIT THERE IS MORE!  If you become a follower/subscriber to our blogs, you will get a THIRD chance!!!!!!

Are you ready for some fun?????Here are our participants, and they are waiting for your visit this week!                          
                                                                     * * * * * * * * * * * *

                                                               Dar's Crafty Creations

                                                                 Primitive Seasons

                                                              A Mermaids Crafts

                                                                   Nellies Nest

                                Paper & Ink with Mulberry Mindy (you are HERE)

                                                               Scrap for Joy

                                                                     * * * * * * * * * * * *

Here is my Feature for Week #2:  SUMMER FUN AT THE BEACH TRIPTYCH

This three-panel art piece can be used as a free-standing collage, or wall art piece used to decorate your special "get-away" space, to remind you of a time, feel, or special destination that inspires you to relax and enjoy every moment of the day!

I started out by collecting all sorts of "beachy" type ephemera, clip art and stickers that reminded me of a special time. Most of my summers were spent with my family at the beach.  My father would take a couple of weeks vacation time during the summer when I was out of school, and the family would drive down to the coast of Texas, where we would enjoy the sun and sand, and lots of fish dinners during our stay.

I began the project by giving the entire piece a nice coat of white gesso and letting it dry completely. I then glued my clip art picture from Paper Wings Productions to the center panel about half way down.  Then using the picture as a starting point and guide, I sketched the mountains on the left panel, and the water line/horizon line on the right panel.  I then basecoated the beach/sand on the left , sand in the center, and water and sand in the right panel. When the paint was dry, I added a layer of gel medium to the sand area and sprinkled on a  layer of  Tim Holtz Distress Embossing Powder in Antique Linen, which when right from the jar looks like grainy sand.  I also added more gel medium to the left panel, and sprinkled on Spring Meadow Speckles from JudiKins, which is a product similar to glitter, (loose and rough textured) and reminds me of chopped up grass clippings. This gave the sand dunes a feeling of plants growing at the edges.  I then used various shades of watercolor pencils to color in the sky areas, and the water with waves.

After the sky dried, I painted a wash of yellow acrylic paint, thinned with Golden Acrylic Glazing Liquid around the edges of the frames, in the joining area, and on the back of the piece.  Then using the circles background stamp from Paper Wings Productions I stamped one row of the circles around each

frame in Sepia Archival Ink from Ranger. I colored in the mountain area with my Copic markers, and stamped some low clouds with the cloud stamp from Paper Wings. I also wet my watercolor brush with water, and scrubbed some white cloud areas in the sky areas and blotted with a paper towel. Using my white Posca marker, I added white caps to the waves in the water, and softened the stamped clouds so they weren't so striking.

The last steps consisted of adding all the collectibles to the triptych panels. To the left panel I added acrylic bubbles and spanish moss to the grassy area, with 3-D flowers to accent the panel. The center panel hilighted the sun in the sky and the shells in the sand at the water's edge, and a turtle sticker and sea glass accented the last panel along with the words, "Summer is. . . . Time for Fun!"

For my Prima Doll, I stamped the Doll in Peasant Dress Stamp on heavy watercolor paper, and colored her in with Copic markers, coloring on her one-piece bathing suit. I then paper pieced her dress/cover-up from a summery flowered scrap of scrapbook paper. I dimensionalized the dress and figure using the very thick 3-D Zots from Thermo-Web to adhere her to the triptych panel.

So, there you have it! Don't forget to leave a comment here, to be eligible for my "BLOG CANDY" give-away. Please check my sidebar on the right for a picture and list of my Blog Candy prize!

DON'T FORGET TO CONTINUE ON HOPPING TO JOYCE'S BLOG,  "SCRAP FOR JOY" to continue on the hop!

Here are a few more of my past projects using my Prima Doll Stamps.

Thanks for stopping by, see you again soon!   Mindy

You're A Doll!

Happy Spring Friends!  Today's tag's are using my Doll  stamp from Julie Nutting, and Prima Flowers. The stamp name is Doll with Peasant Dress, and it is one of my favorites right at the moment. It is about 71/4" tall and fits on the 81/2" Prima Tag beautifully. I also can't wait to use her in my Art Journal, as she will be just the right size for the pages.

The large Prima tags are pre-stamped with a light stamping of words, but they are very light and hard to read. I inked around the edges with my Tim Holtz Distress ink in Salty Ocean and then stamped the doll stamp with Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  I paper pieced her dress with a piece of printed scrap book paper and colored her hair and skin and shoes with my Copic markers.  I also made a faux paper casting of flowers for down the left side of the tag, using my Australian flowers Bolilio stamp from Judikins.  The bunny cut-out is from the Folk Art Fiesta cartridge from Cricut. To finish off the tag, I stamped colored dots from my Smash Inks from K & Company behind the doll and tied a length of ribbon at the top of the tag.

My second tag uses the Doll with Peasant Dress stamp also, but I hand cut a different style of Peasant Dress for her. When you paper piece a design such as this, you can easily change the clothing with just a few stamping modifications. I just masked off the bottom flounce of the dress when I stamped the image, and then put the paper pieced long dress over the body parts. After base coloring with my copic markers, I used foam tape to adhere the dress. The background of this tag is another large Prima Tag highlighted with Crushed Olive distress ink and several stampings of a daisy stamp and polka dots. My embellishments for this tag were a stamped

piece of card stock with the Damask Background stamp from Paper Wings Productions with another faux paper casting piece off a button card stamp.  On the blog  from Paper Wings Productions (click here), you can search the archives for March 5, 2013, and Dana did a tutorial on the Faux Paper Casting Technique. It is very easy to do, and turns out really great in less than half the time and less than half the expense of regular paper casting.. I also used foam tape to pop up a punched out heart which I adorned with Hydrangea Liquid Pearls.(I also drew on a little necklace with the liquid pearls.)

To complete the embellishments, I added a piece of sparkly trim at the bottom of the tag, and a piece of braid tied at the top for a hanger loop.

There are six variations of the Julie Nutting Doll stamps by Prima that have been really popular. Most of the suppliers are already out of stock, so I am on several waiting lists for the stamps when they come in.
I read somewhere that there may be more coming out in July along with a book by Julie.  I have really enjoyed her designs so far, and am looking forward to seeing more from this designer.

Which leads me to mention that my "One Year Blogaversary" is coming up on May 9, 2013. Beginning about the middle of April, I will be promoting a Give-Away that will be held during my Blogaversary. I will have a prize package to give away, and you can place your name in the drawing just by visiting and leaving a comment on my blog during the contest period. More information to come soon!
I really do appreciate the visitors that leave comments on my blog, and this will give me an opportunity to Thank you in another way.  I hope you will tell your friends about my blog, and anyone that is interested in stamping, or mixed media art. Until I visit with you again, have a great week, and keep on "Stampin".

Let Your Dreams FLY!

Happy Friday Everyone!
Today's card is the last in the series of Melange Women that I made on World Card Making Day last weekend. This is Cassandra.

Cassandra is one of four Melange Women cling mounted rubber stamps from Paper Wings Productions. To check out these and other wonderful stamps, click here.

I started the background for this card as a 4" X6" piece of watercolor paper. I then edged the paper with grape and peach Gelato pigment sticks from Faber Castell. These Gelatos are so much fun to work with, they are like an oil pastel stick in a chap-stick tube, that are water-based instead of oil-based. You just draw with them like a crayon and then either blend them with your fingers, a baby wipe, or a water brush like watercolors. I just scribbled through the middle of the watercolor paper, and then blended it together somewhat. When it was dry, I used purple Smooch ink to swirl over the top and make more swirls and squiggles. I then put the background aside to completely dry before moving on.

Next I stamped Cassandra in Wild Honey Distressed Ink and colored her with my Copic markers. I had a saying in my computer about "catching a star that lets your dreams fly" so I printed it out and trimmed around its edges. Before putting the card together, I assembled a felt flower with three layers and adhered a pearl embellishment in it's center.

I trimmed the background to fit an A2 size card blank and adhered all the layers to the card front. Cassandra was adhered with foam tape to give the card dimension. The felt flower is very soft, so it will smash down when mailing the card.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I am attending a Halloween Card Making class, given by a friend of mine, and we will be using stamps from the House Mouse line of stamps. I think they are one of my favorite categories of stamps.  So, have a stampin' good time this weekend, I know I will be.

Hello Friend!

Hello Friends,
Today's card is using the 3rd Melange Woman stamp from Paper Wings Productions, and her name is Diana.

The background of this card was made from a piece of eggshell card stock run through a Sizzix embossing folder on my Cuttlebug. After removing it from the folder, I took an older chestnut roan chalk ink pad and ran it lightly over the embossed image.  Be very careful if you use a new chalk ink pad, because they are very juicy when new. I then stamped out Diana on the same eggshell stock and colored her with my Copic markers. Most of the shading is on the stamp itself, so is very easy to make the image look so real. Then using a flourish die from Die-namics and "Hello Friend" from a Sizzix plate, I ran a bronze sheet of stock through the Cuttlebug for the embellishments.  All the pieces were then adhered to a kraft colored card base.

A very easy card with just a little time needed to complete it. Tomorrow I will show and explain the last card in the series of  Melange Women group. Again, if you would like to have a set of these wonderful images or purchase them singly, click here.  See you tomorrow!

Hats Off to You! Paper Wings Productions

Hats Off to You! fellow stampers,
Here is card #2 of my Melange Women cards made on World Card Making Day this past weekend.

As I mentioned yesterday, I love this set of cling mounted rubber stamps from Paper Wings Productions, click here to see all of their wonderful stamps. This beautiful woman is Claudette.

I started with a piece of antique lace I got in a goody bag at an antique store years ago. (I'm sorry it is so hard to see in this photo.) It was a shaped applique of a flower, and I thought it would look lovely as a hat. I covered my card base with a sheet of A Ladies Diary paper from Graphic 45 and made a rectangular accent square with other bits from this same line. I adhered them to the front of the card, and then using a thin layer of tacky glue adhered the lace applique in the top right corner. I then stamped the focal image, face and body with Tuxedo black memento ink, and colored in with my Copic markers. I wanted the head to really stand out, so I adhered a 1" button between the lace and the cardstock head. To the button I attached some looped ribbon, the cut-out, more small bits of lace and some sparkly gemstones.

Then using my Cuttlebug I die cut 2 fancy flourishes from Die-Namics. I accented the paper strip on the side with a piece of ribbon and glued the two flourishes down, one on each side of the figure.  I then stamped the banner from Bannerific by Lawn Fawn stamps and the phrase "hats off to you!"

I had been dreaming about this card for quite awhile, picturing how I would put it together in my mind. I finally found the stamp I wanted to use, and practiced coloring the image many times before I finally got it like I wanted it to look. I am so glad I could finally share it with you, and say "hats off to you" my friends.

Happy Birthday Card with Paper Wings Productions Stamps

Hello friends,
Happy Tuesday!  By the time you read this it may be Wednesday though. I want to share with you the rest of the cards I made on World Card Making Day this year.

I used a set of cling mounted rubber stamps from Paper Wings Productions.
www.paperwingsproductions.com
called Melange Women. I have just found out that they are also selling the individual women stamps,  and this is Heather.

First I stamped Heather on white card stock with potter's clay Memento ink. I then colored her with Copic Markers or you could use colored pencils if you don't have the markers. I then cut out around the image and put aside. I had a small piece of scrapbook paper that had fruit on it in soft colors. Apples, peaches, and pears, along with some flowers and leaves and three flourish squares. I fussy cut all of the images and matted the squares. I cut a piece of printed cardstock for the background of the card and positioned the face and fruit around it before I glued it all down. I tried to adhere it in different layers so it would have some depth in it. For my ribbon embellishment I took the three matted squares and attached them to a double length of ribbon using my Tiny Attacher from Tim Holtz. Then I used foam tape to adhere the sections to the card front.

The Birthday medallion was punched from a 3" scalloped oval, and 2 1/2" solid oval, then stamped with a birthday greeting from Hot Off the Press.

I Love this Melange of Women and made a card with each stamp. I will show the other three women this week, so stay tuned.  "Same Bat Channel" as they say on ME TV! See you soon.