Green Thumb

I took the plunge and bought the Papertrey Green Thumb stamp set - my first ever acrylic. I know, I know. I should have done this much sooner! But I've just been stamping for about 2 years. I move slow!

I have very few pigment inks, so all my creations were limited to the colors I own. I have all the Versamark Dew drop inks on order and should see them in about a week... all 36 colors! I'm really excited by this. So, my sad collection of pigment inks were dusted off for this first for me.

What a fun set. I really like how the images themselves lend to simple designs. Here's my first card with the strawberries. I think this is what sold me on the set. I love that image! I added my ColorBox pigments to show what inks I had available. Sad, isn't it? I think I need to go shopping!

It became obvious to me that the dye inks will not work for acrylic stamps... very quickly in my experiments. The chalk and pigment inks do a fabulous job coating the acrylic and stamp very cleanly.

I really liked this card! The boot in green was a MUST! And the large violet primas that I just bought (another first for me) seemed perfect for this card. I used a small swatch of lavendar dotted grosgrain ribbon from a recent share. I like this card!

Here is a group shot of all the cards I managed to make this weekend with this set. They are bright (again not my usual - just the limits of my inks), but very fun. I like the other Papertrey sets too. Maybe I'll just have to check out the other ones!

Thanks!

Framed Art

So, I've been wanting to post this for about a week, but had been working on some projects, requiring a deadline. I'm also in a couple swaps that I wanted to complete.

So... Now I can finally add this little tidbit. My husband and I finally repainted the family room - a lovely Close to Cocoa shade (LOL!). I have a fairly traditional style for decorating - burgundy leather furniture, dark wood for the entertainment center, and hard wood floors. With the new paint, I thought it would be good to move around the wall art we have and try to add to it.

My dad is a wonderful painter. He doesn't paint anymore (a previous hobby), so the two paintings of his that I have are REALLY important to me. I absolutely love them. My mom gave me a framed painting of his for Christmas a few years ago; a painting she found rolled up in the basement that she hadn't seen for years! Dad learned his craft while he lived in the Philippines - so this is an Asian influenced watercoloring on rice paper. The delicate nature of the paper lends to it's charm.

When moving my framed art around the house, I decided to move this to a more prominent location - in my family room, where I'll see it every day. I thought I'd also add to the grouping with a stamped piece of my own.

Here's a close up of this picture. I used a piece of the Scarlet Letter - Basic Grey paper. I stamped the Artfully Asian branch in Basic Brown on top of the Scarlet Letter paper and used a white gel pen to fill in the leaves. I highlighted some of the scrolls with a glitter gelly roll pen. The bottom of the picture is the branch from Artfully Asian (x3 - and closely trimmed) overlapping. I used some burgundy velvet ribbon and some hardware. I really loved how this finished.


I think it's a perfect fit with Dad's painting! The muted grey and brown tones are perfect with the Basic Grey paper.

Now... I just have to convince my Dad to pick up that brush again!

Thanks for looking!

Lisa

Tag! You're it!!

I was tagged by a blogger today (Marie)! Her blog is wonderful and is on a frequent hit list of mine... you know, when I should actually be stamping. I love to read stamping blogs for inspiration. I feel like I have a personal connection through their journaling. It's a fun way to be a part of the greater community of stamping addicts... I mean crafters!

So, I was tagged! Marie added a post on her blog about two wonderful artists that linked to her blog... and she created a list of 5 other blogs she recently added to her reading list.... and I was one of them! What an honor!

Marie's blog has been a favorite of mine for quite some time. She has so many inspiring projects and cards - both clean and simple to whimsical! I love to read her posts. Definately check her out!

So, I'll play the game of tag. If you aren't reading some of these blogs, be sure to add them to a favorite list. Everyone on my blogroll (to the right) is worth the read!

1. Hop Art Studio - Asela Hopkins: Such a wonderful artist

2. Paper Fections - Sharon Harnist: Former SCS Dirty Dozen designer and fabulous artist!

3. Confessions of a Ribbon Addict - Jody Morrow: Current Dirty Dozen... and my ribbon enabler!

4. Inky Paws - Jeanne Streiff: my stamping hero

5. Stampin' Kub - Kurtis Amundson: One very talented young man!

It was hard to pick my favorites... since I read a ton of blogs. Check everyone out for added inspiration! You'll be blown away.

Thanks,
Lisa

Quick Birthday card

A co-worker of mine had a birthday last Friday. I didn't realize it was her birthday until it had passed. So, my group and I did a quick scramble and put together a quick celebration.

I made one of the quickest cards on record for me. It was also a first. I'd never used Primas before. I'm not sure they are my style, but I really enjoyed how it all came together.

The inspiration? I bought her violets for her desk. All in all, I think the card was wonderful!

What do you think?

First Blogger's RAK!

I joined the RAK group (Random Acts of Kindness) on Splitcoaststampers only a week ago. Part of this group is the Blogger's RAK group, which consists of SCS members that are journaling on-line. Some of the most talented artists on SCS are blogging. I asked to join the Blogger's RAK group. Strangely enough, they let me in! LOL!

The very first card I sent as part of this group was to Teresa Shaw. Teresa was my big sis' as part of another SCS group (a secret group that swaps handmade and purchased gifts). Teresa was SO good to me. She's immensely talented. So, I sent her a card.

Ironically enough, our cards must have passed each other in the mail... because she sent me one! Isn't her card amazing?!?!

The card is a triangle Tri-fold card (see SCS resource page on this link for instructions). Her card is a perfect example of this technique! Teresa used So Saffron cardstock with Petals and Paisley Designer Series paper. The ever fabulous Marvy scallop punches are the centerpiece of the card, with the most adorable little chick.

Thanks, Teresa! I love the card and the warm words! Her blog is amazing and I hang out there all the time. Check out Inkfully Yours for wonderful, inspiring stamping projects!



Lisa

ATC Swap

So... I mentioned in an earlier post that I was invited to join an ATC swap. I received over 50 different cards from several talented SCS artists. I'll post some of them over the next few weeks.

ATC's are really addicting. With their little size (standard ATC's are 3.5"x2.5"), they are quick to make and fun to trade. Artist Trading Cards were used as a calling card / business card for artists... first as a small canvas showcasing a painter's abilities which evolved to the paper-crafted cards we know today. They are like Baseball cards for grown-ups!

In the recent trade, I received a few ATC's that I thought I'd try to duplicate myself - the technique at least.

The first one is a card to highlight Faux Stitching. I love the new 'Bundle of Joy' set in the Spring mini from SU! It's so sweet! The design tie-in is the Aida cloth background stamped on the main card and the faux cross-stitching on the main image. Fun, right?!?!

Supplies: Stamps: Bundle of Joy, Aida Cloth BG; Cardstock: Barely Banana, Certainly Celery, Apricot Appeal, Natural white CS; Ink: Whisper white craft ink, Black Stazon, Certainly Celery (ink and marker); Accessories: Mat pack and piercing tool, tab punch.

The next ATC I tried was one that was a surprising technique. I've always liked the look of the Spectrum (multi-colored ink pads), but have never owned one. The Baby Wipe Technique is perfect for this! Using a few baby wipes and three coordinating colored re-inkers, I was able to make a quick spectrum pad. This was a fun card to make!

Supplies: Stamps: Love Ya! (SU retired set); Cardstock: Glossy white cardstock, Pink Passion, Brocade Blue; Ink: Pink Passion, Brocade Blue, Lavender Lace; Accessories: silver cord, silver eyelets, crop-a-dile.

The last ATC I made was the simplest one! What have I been waiting for??? I should have tried this technique ages ago!!!

The card is made using glossy cardstock again (loving it!) to create a Spotted Background. Using the Stampin' Spots that I had on hand, gathering dust... I was able to make a really easy background. Stamp / press the spots onto the glossy cardstock in a random pattern. I used a tissue and my fingertip to blend the colors. Fun!

Supplies: Stamps: Heartfelt Thanks and Warm Words; Cardstock: Kraft paper, Night of Navy, Glossy cardstock; Ink: Night of Navy, Brocade Blue, Taken with teal (spots), Black stazon, Handsome hunter and night of navy markers; Accessories: Stitched ribbon, white gel pen, and tissues (to blend / smear color).

With all these new ATC cards, I HAD to make an album to showcase the talented artists that sent me their work. I love the ATC albums and covered one with some Designer Series Paper. I love how it turned out!

Thanks for looking!

Lisa

Such a bad blogger lately!!!

Not to make excuses, but I had been VERY sick. Pneumonia is not fun. I was seriously tired of coughing. I knew something had to be wrong though. I didn't even want to stamp! Oh horrors!

So... to catch up a bit... I have a couple cards that we recently made in my March stamp camp that I think are pretty cute. I'll update more tomorrow about a recent ATC swap and a few more that I made to round out my technique collection.

This card is so simple, but I really love the crayon resist technique. Rose red is an all-time favorite color of mine. Black just seemed like a natural addition. With the white crayon on the main image, it seemed like a natural effect to add white gel on the main sentiment. I think it works pretty well.

Supplies: Stamps: Cross-hatch BG, All Natural, Fancy Flexible Phrases; Cardstock: Rose Red, Black, Barely Banana, Glossy cardstock, natural tag sheet; Ink: Rose Red, Black Stazon, Garden green, barely banana; Embellishments: Grosgrain ribbon, silver cord, white gel pen.

So... our other camp card was an "office" themed card. It's all the rage right now, isn't it? Well... I thought this was a fun card and perfect for a young person.

With the new punches from the SU mini catalog and the "Stamp of Authenticity" set, this card was really easy and super cute. I thought it would be great to add someone's name (hand-written) - the recipient, of course - as a personal touch. And the metal binder clips are an inexpensive embellishment! I just had to remember to put the "Made in China" etching on the back side / glue side of the image! LOL!

Supplies: Stamps: Cross-hatch BG, Warm Words, Stamp of Authenticity, It's Your Birthday; Cardstock: Naturals white, gable green, bashful blue, apricot appeal,; Ink: Black, brilliant blue, gable green; Embellishments: spiral punch, tab punch, binder clip, grosgrain ribbon.

I'll update more tomorrow with the ATC cards... super fun and addicting, aren't they?!?!?!

Thanks!

Lisa