Tim Holtz is on a HOT streak!

Hello,
Thanks for stopping by. With the nation/world on stay at home orders, Tim Holtz has been doing MANY facebook live videos. Although I truly adore him, and I have embraced many of his techniques and I own TONS of his products, I am not glued to the computer when he is on live. I watch for a bit, and they move on. No one really notices that he does not CREATE anything in full. There is never a finished product in the end. It is almost as if he CAN'T complete a full creation ever. He leaves that up to all his creative team, I suppose. It's funny how no one really notices that....but me. He simply shows techniques that I already know, or don't interest me.
However! I do adore all his inks, stains, paints, oxides dies, stencils, stamps and hopefully (when I have more $) his glazes!
But I always go back to his wildflowers when I am stuck creatively. Take a look:

I know these look very similar to a post I had a few months back, but I saw this sentiment on someone else's card, and I HAD TO HAVE IT! I placed an order just for this set! I actually created these cards and left the space open on each card so I could finish it off with this sentiment when it arrived in the mail. Have you done that before? New to me.  Lol.
I also die cut these flowers from some alcohol inked backgrounds that I din't know what to do with! They made great flowers!
Thanks for stopping by, leave a comment. It would make my day!

Lots of time at home

Hello,
I am glad you are here. I have more time to post on my blog, so I thought I would show you a few of my recent cards.

I have really enjoyed watching Jennifer McGuire's posts and videos. She makes everything look so easy and beautiful. She showcases many of the latest ALTENEW flowe sets.  I recently purchased a second set from ALTENEW. I have the vintage rose set that I thought I would love. I don't like it at all.

Years later they came out with a Stamp/die/stencil matching set that I thought was perfect for me! How can I go wrong, right?! It is now a go-to set for me. I wish it had some layered stamps in it, but ohh well. I have found new ways to use this set.
Take a look.

 I used distress inks for the background, and the Altenew flowers in the opposite corners. The Sentiment is from Picket fences. I adore big bold sentiments.

 Same stamp set, this sentiment I believe is a HERO arts that I pulled off a wooden block. It is so retired. I water colored with distress colors.

 Same stamp set. This is another picket fence sentiment. A more masculine design is what I was going for.

 All three cards together. Thanks for stopping by. I would love a comment if my cards inspired you!
See you again soon.

Turning the Corner...

Welcome back,

I am so glad you dropped in. I have been really intrigued with the more mixed media/grunge/steam punk look of stamping recently. I have been totally entranced with all the new releases at Creativation 2019 from Tim Holtz all the companies that he designs for. I watched all the facebook lives and drool over all the new products and designs that are coming on the market!

Although I can't own them all, I have a nice little stash of goodies that I am learning with. Take a look at today's creation!

JUST A THOUGHT:  I have been doing a lot of video watching, and blog reading about Art Journaling. The process of Art journaling never really interested me before. As I have mentioned before, I enjoy creating pieces that I can bless others with. Everything I create is turned into a card or gift of some form. I have passed by Art journaling previously because its end result is self-fulfilling. (i.e. I keep them) That makes it hard to share and it doesn't bless others.

However, I am growing as an artist, and my skills, techniques and subject matter are always changing and evolving. I am wondering if IN ADDITION to card-making (and scrapbooking) I could create a few art journal pages to play with ideas on a larger format rather than the very little card sizes.
I recently gave another look at Vicky Papaioannou art journaling style. She intrigues me. It took me a long time to assimilate her Greek accent, it was very difficult for me to understand at first. lol Her art style is very different than mine, but it is very controlled and I think I like that about it. I like the HAPPY PLANNER and hole punch that she uses for her journals. From what I can gather, she has notebooks, as well as several different sizes. (i.e.- 6 x 6 and 8 x 8) She mentioned she enjoys square journals. (huh) Just a direction I may venture into. Though I would share!

Here is another piece from the same background. Take a look:

I REALLY like these two pieces, and I am not sure I want to share them! So,  I may turn them into art for my craft room and keep them! (... I am a bit selfish after all) lol.
But before I do, I entered these into a few current challenges. Each one will take you there. I would love to know what you think!

1. Dragonfly Dreams
2. Fashionable Stamping
3. Love 2 Create
Leave a comment, I always return one!

Thanks Gift Set

Hello,
Welcome back! I am sad to say that my spring break has come and gone. I can't complain though, I made it very productive, and I feel like I got many "to do" items off my list. I even got to go to Indian Rocks Beach, and Sarasota!
On to my cards. I enjoy creating gift sets for different occasions. I am particularly proud of this set, because it uses two new techniques that I learned recently, and I can say (with confidence) that it is absolutely unique from other cards! Take a look:

 Card #1: Spiced Marmalade and Fossilized Amber Oxide Inks
 Card #2: Broken China and Peacock Feather Oxide Inks

 Card #3: Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain Oxide Inks
 Card #4: Peeled Paint and Cracked Pistachio

 Card #5: Faded Jeans and Iced Spruce Oxide Inks
 Card #6: Fired Brink and Worn Lipstick Oxide Inks

The box I made out of heavy watercolor Paper, and covered it with SU! Patterned paper. The box holds all 6 cards and then ties closed. Each card was matted with with cardstock and matched with cardstock from Stampin' Up! The Stamp is Whumsy Daisy from Endless Creations.

I love when a look I am going for works beautifully! I cannot say these techniques are my own, I got them from Jennifer McGuire. See below for her awesome blog posts and even detailed videos. She can explain so much better then I can!

Technique #1: Wreath Builder Stamping - Click HERE for the video and blog post
Technique #2: Distress Oxide Water Painting - Click HERE for the video and blog post

I entered one card into two challenges.

• Caswatercolour
• Theflowerchallenge

Thanks for dropping in!

Denim and wildflower Love

Welcome back,
Totally different look for me. I kinda like it!  :) It is very forgiving, everything goes!  lol!
Here is my card for today:

I have entered this card into a few challenges:

The Male Room Challenge - Anything Goes

Moving along with the times -  Flowers

Supplies:
Stamps: SU denim background stamp

Ink: Denim blue, distress inks

Sentiment: die cut from SSS Love you edge die
Paper: Neenah Solar White, Black cardstock 
Dies: Wildflowers

Thick Black embossing powder

Purple is wonderfully peaceful

Purple is wonderful,
I think 45% of everything I own is a shade of purple, violet or lavender. Clothing, accessories, shoes, coat, etc...It is an import part of me, and of course in my crafting! Take a look!

Seriously, you can't go wrong with purple! This card is so peaceful to me. I adore it. I distressed the edges, so it has a loved worn look to it. Thanks for stopping in. Have a peaceful-purple day!

Card Fever

Good Morning!
FUNNY STORY:  Last weekend, I was looking through some of my older cards that I created some time ago. I started to set aside a few cards I wanted to duplicate. I choose a few that had a bunch of distress inks on it, and I just purchased a few new colors and wanted to see if I could duplicate the same look with a few new colors.

Several hours later, I had created close to 15 different card backgrounds and they all looked FABULOUS! I was loving ALL of them! (don't you love it when that happens?) I began to think that I could produce and complete all these cards in one weekend, what an accomplishment that would be to brag on my blog!

Just as I began assembling my cards, I RAN OUT OF ATG tape! Can you believe it? I order tape 12 rolls at a time. I guess I did not realize how low I had gotten. I had to stop my assembling, and go online and order more rolls. GEEZ!

Needless to say, I found a great deal on EBAY, I placed an offer for 4 dollars less than their advertised price, free shipping to boot....and they accepted my offer. It was mailed out of Miami (I'm north of Tampa) and it was here in 4 days.

This weekend, I had Friday off of work, and I assembled all 15 cards beautifully. I am very pleased with the fresh look of these cards. What, you want to see them? Oh good. Here are just a handful. Take a look:

 The twine I used was not matching the color of the distress inks used, so I dyed the twine! that was new to me. It looks great! On the right card, I attempted to use sequins. They were bigger than I wanted, and not quite the right color. I am not that thrilled with the look. I tried to cover a few ink blotches. *he he*

 Many of the other ones look VERY close to these, so I didn't want to post all of them. I had TOO much fun creating these. I even gave a few away as gifts already. Thanks for stopping by. More coming!

Pink Dandelions, back to basics

Hello,
I have another creation to share with you. It was slightly different than yesterday's, but yet very similar. Simple yet powerful! Clean and Simple, take a look.

Card Details:
Stamps: Dandelions from Hero Arts, Made Sentiment in Word
Inks: SU! markers, various colors
Cardstock: Marcos papers, SU!

Additional Card Gift Sets

Hello,

I am so sorry for being away so long. Despite the holidays and the crazy life I live, I had a terrible creative block. I tried each week to push through it. I think I am over the hump and back in the green!

Here are a few card sets I have created. I was in the mood to make gift sets, so when inspiration hit, I created several cards in different colors.

 This set I used the same embossing folder for all the cards. I added bling to the flowers to bring interest.

 I had fun creating this set. I used Brilliance pigment ink pads to create these multi-colored butterflies. 

This smaller set of blue, green and pink flower set was created with distress inks.

I will be moving into more duos. I picked up a few new stamp sets that I want to play with. Check in soon!

Featured Stamp: Glass Vases by Hero Arts

Happy Saturday!
I sure do look forward to the weekends when I have time to create in my craft room and post my creations on my blog to share with you. I sure do enjoy it. Today's duo features a gorgeous stamp that I grabbed from a craiglist ad. What a great stamp! This makes for such a clean and simple card. I did not put a sentiment on them, but I think I might along the bottom when the occasion comes to it.Take a look:

Supplies: Stamps:Glass Vases - Hero Arts  Paper:  Neenah Cardstock  Inks: Yo-Yo Yellow, Bundled Sage, Tuxedo Black Tools/Punches/Dies: SU! markers.

Featured Stamp Set: Pocketful o' Posies by Hero Arts

Hello All!
 I wasted no time experimenting with my new purchases. I have a duo to share with you using the Hero Arts Pocketful o' Posies.

On duo one, the three flowers are evenly spread apart, and colored with copic markers. Both cards are on river rock cardstock by SU.

On duo two, I used colored pencils and gamsol to blend the colors together. I used clear embossing on the edges and on top of each flower. The purple rectangle behind has been dry embossed as well as distressed and clear heat embossed around the edges.  The sentiment is embossed black to tie it all together.

Supplies: Stamps: Pocketful o' Posies - Hero Arts, Feeling Better soon 02 - Stampabilities  Paper: River Rock - SU, Perfect Plum - SU, Neenah Cardstock  Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black, VersaMark - watermark, Copic markers, Colored pencils, Gamsol Tools/Punches/Dies: Paper distresser, Embossing folder Other: Black Embossing Powder, Perfect Plum ribbon

Purchase: Craig's list find!

I search our local Craig's list occasionally to see if there are any good finds on stamps and stamp supplies. I found a good one today. This gentleman's mom had passed and she had to been collecting stamps, inks and papers for years. I dug through boxes and draws of stamps, and found a few that made me smile (hero arts always does) and some odds and end items that I have never had the chance to own (white flock). I had to show you my finds! The cost....this is the good part, You'll have to scroll down to see the price. Take a look! (you may need a tissue to collect the drool...lol)

The price.....drum roll...$30.00 total! Can you believe it? That is a bit more than a dollar an item! Yes, these are used items, but a few of them are unused. To be truthful, the only REALLY beloved stamp in the bunch is the oriental writing background stamp. How about those adorable birds? He also threw in some older stamp magazines to get ideas from.... I can't wait to get stampin'! :)

Featured Technique: Blending with Masking Card Set

 I am beginning to think I have a hidden "clean and simple" style yet...I really love the simplicity of this set. The colors just pop. I chose flowers from three different sets with different sentiments. The bluebells are from Local King Stamps (Chicks), the set of 2 flowers is from Penny Black (Allegro) and the dandelion set is from Hero Arts (Wildflower Garden). This is going to make such a great gift. Enjoy!

Featured Design: One-Piece Boxes

My spring break is coming to an end. :( I decided to get "boxy" and make some cute Easter gifts for my co-workers as a welcome back. I had a bunch of fun finding these templates from here. I enlarged them to 11.5 and ran them through my cricut. Putting them together was easy with a dab of glue. Then decorated them with flowers and filled them with Easter grass and candy! I didn't realize how heavy candy can be!  :) Enjoy. Oh, BTW - happy Easter. (I mean St. Patrick's Day)

Note Card Set: Fiskars Flower

     I often get my inspiration from other images or other people's blogs as I am sure I am not alone. I try to give credit to the person of my inspiration when I can --> from Annie Rose.
     Anyway, I got the itch to create a note card set. They are not my usual A2 size. I would love to create more square cards, but all my envelopes are A2 size. I'm hoping to create the envelopes for this set! Please be mindful, I'm still trying to master the art of photography with my limited budget and my older camera. I am getting better though! 

Check back soon, more to come!

Featured Stamp: Whumsy Daisy by Endless Creations

This Duo shows two simple cards that illustrate the elegance of two flowers and a sentiment. I also found this stamp at the convention I attended in Orlando last month. I had to have it! The neat feature of this stamp in it had one flower on one side of the wooden block and the reversed image on the back. It's like two stamps for the price of one!

Duo #1 - Features the Whumsy Daisy stamp. I used perfect plum and glorious green pens to color in the flowers and stems. I cut the ovals using my Cricut once in white and one a slight bit bigger in black. I finished it off with whisper white ribbon and a small sentiment "for you".

Duo #2 - I used the same stamp. I used pink pirouette and glorious green pens and paper. The sentiment is called Precious Gift by Stampendous. (2002) I used the same stamp on the background using color-on-color technique. Love that! Enjoy! See you soon!

Card Making with Stampin' Up!

This is the first card I created with my new purchase of all the Stampin' up materials I purchased! I was so excited to be able to see someone else's idea from a blog, and be able to duplicate it with! I love all the stampin' up products!