Spring break, over..... :(

Hello, and welcome back!
I am sad to report that my long-awaited spring break vacation is officially over tomorrow! (sigh)
But I did create a bit over the break. I overcame a creative block. I tried and tried to push through, but the block held until the end of the week, where upon inspiration, I conquered! Here is the card that inspired me!

This card was posted by  Cyndi Landrigan from the Tim Holtz Addicts FB group. She gave me permission to pin it - Click HERE to see it on Pinterest. If you would like to shop at her store, click HERE.

I created these backgrounds with distress inks and a handful of Tim Holtz stencils. I used Wild honey mostly. For the flowers I used Distress Oxide inks on a separate piece of cardstock and used mostly abandoned coral, picked raspberries, and cracked pistachio. (maybe a touch of wilted violet on the left one) and mounted them behind the die cut. The tricky part was not losing the tiny-weenie pieces from the die and re-attaching them to the flower once the backing was attached!

The sentiments are from TH, with the exception of the middle one....I believe that is a very old Hero Arts rubber stamp that I unmounted and I pull out occasionally.

 Here is a close up of the sentiments. I stamped with black ink, let dry, then stamped again with versa-mark ink and clear heat embossed them.

Thanks for stopping by, I have a few more cards I would like to share this week! Wish me luck, the next two months of teaching is going to be CRAZY!!! Leave a comment, it will make my day!

More play time with Tim Holtz!

Hello,
Thanks for coming and dropping in. I am having a great time creating sets of cards. Take a look:

I am beginning to feel comfortable letting go of control and going free with TIM HOLTZ style! It is very freeing! I have so much more to learn, and confidence to gain, but I LOVE the colors!

I tried to stamp the background with picket fence and a TIM HOLTZ background stamp. You can see it just a touch. I love the look, even though it did not show through as much as I wanted.

I think I need to collect his "something to say" stamps. THEY are awesome. They fit any occasion, and they are so uplifting! I love the LARGE size of them. They dominate the cards.

*UPDATE* This is the card I am going to send to Tim to wish him well from his heart surgery. Hope he likes it!  :)

I purchased his larger wildflower, and now the older one look SO tiny to me!  LOL I wish I could mix them both, My husband wishes I would just get away from wild flowers altogether. Ahh well...

Thanks for dropping by! I am giddy with delight from the bright colors on this cards. Who shall I give them to? That is the real question!

I joined a challenge:    The Flower Challenge #30 - Anything Goes

Lots of fun...

Hello,
Hope you are having a good week! I am still playing with my Birthday Blueprint stamps from Tim Holtz. I enjoyed the balloons, and now I am playing with the cupcakes! These were fun to create. I am getting so much done. But my craft room is a disaster!
Take a look:

I love the look of the craft cardstock in the background. I decided not to distress the card, I wanted to keep the look crisp and clean. I did use patterned paper for the left card. The cupcake wrapper is striped with pick stripes. There is one lonely heart that appeared when I cut it out. The frosting is actually a patterned paper of roses with glitter on it. It worked great for the clumpy look of frosting!

 I colored these with my zig markers. I LOVE them! I have every color I need, and everything I use them on looks awesome! I don't think I will ever get the hang of copics, I think I will stick to watercolors. :)

Again, I used my watercolor markers, and blended my frosting with pinks and purples. Thanks for dropping in. I would love a few more followers! OR a comment will make my day!

Three Day Weekend! YAY!

Welcome back,

Here in Tampa Florida, we have a yearly festival called STRAWBERRY FEST. I teach in the county that puts on the festival. So, this year, the entire COUNTY of schools takes the day off, and lets the kids and the families enjoy the event. I went several years ago, and the crowds and chaos is just not my thing. But I have more time to play!
I am in love with these Tim Holtz birthday blueprint stamps. I know they are older, but I just purchased them at a stamp expo and had to try them out. Take a look:

This card, I used polka dotted paper for the three elements (balloon, title and sentiment). I distressed the edges with distress ink.

 This card, I stamped on an alcohol inked panel of Yupo paper that I had not liked, and put in my "use some other time pile" and it worked great for this! I had enough to use it for all three elements.

 I wanted to try a plaid paper. I know the plaid doesn't curve around the balloon, but I like the look!

 Here I used another alcohol inked background that I created using diagonal stripes. It looks like it curves with the balloon! YAY I mounted it on thick frosted vellum I had left over from another project. I love the effect it gives.

Here are all four together! I have entered these cards into challenges.

Simon Says Stamp WEDNESDAY - Anything Goes!
Little Red Wagon- LOVE IT (this blueprint stamp set)

Thanks for stopping by. See you again soon. Please leave a quick comment. It makes my day!