Playing with Ink and Other fun Techniques

It is Monday. I am hoping all of you are not late to work today. It was just starting to be light out in the morning and now it is dark again. Very hard to get up!!

This Saturday I spent the day playing in my craft room. I thought I would share some of the fun techniques I tried.

First, I tried a "smoosh" technique with Distress inks. I used a craft mat and inked it up with Peacock and Shabby Shutters Distress ink. I then used a mist bottle to spray water over the ink.

I dipped three die cut panels into the mess to create some fun backgrounds. (The panels were die cut from watercolor paper. You can use a heavier card stock for this technique but watercolor paper drys flat.)

You can either dry these using a heat gun or just set them aside to air dry. That is what I did because it gave me a chance to create some cards while I was waiting.

After the panels dried, I stamped some images in black from a new Technique Tuesday stamp set I bought primarily for the sentiments.

"Umpteenth Birthday" can be used for a lot of the cards I send to my friends now that we are all getting older. Aren't they fun?

I then masked the cake and stamped the "Enjoy all the Fuss!" sentiment in gray dye all over the panel. (The panel was die cut into a square in the photo below due to user error!!)

I am in love with cards that use this technique or newsprint as a background. I have some ideas stewing in my brain.

The next technique I played with is "coloring" parts of an image using Stickles. Okay, I am kind of crazy but I LOVE my glitter glue. I figured this counted as one of the "30 Days of Coloring" Challenge" that I am following along with over at The Daily Marker Blog.

On the cake, I only filled in the sprinkles with the Stickles. (I apologize for the blurry photo. I was taking them really quick while I was creating-a bad combination. I have no patience!!)

On a the second panel, I colored in accents on some presents.

The above photo was taken when the glue was wet. The dried panel is okay but not as vivid. I will definitely be experimenting a bit more with this technique in the future. I think it is better to use in small areas, though. The glue shrinks as it dries.

I hope you enjoyed this post. I know it isn't my usual. I used to write step-by-step articles using various products for Scrapbook.com and I miss doing that. This is kind of how they went.

Have a great day!!

Supplies:

InLinkz.com

CASE this Sketch #113, Cupcake Inspirations Color Challenge and 30 Day Color Challenge with WPlus9 "Unforgettable"

Hello, hello, hello!! I hope you all are enjoying this fabulous Sunday. I am trying to wake up from the lovely day light savings time change. I do not like the "spring ahead" mode. I am a horrible sleeper and this just kills me to lose an hour of sleep.

This week was super busy for me. Chris was away so I became the taxi to everything under the sun. Not to mention that Charlotte was sick. She is better now, thank goodness.

Let me tell you, I think all single parents should get an award. I don't know how you do it day in and day out. I would be curled up in a fetal position every night, crying my eyes out. I am one of those super sensitive people that not only need my alone time but if I don't get it, I am absolutely miserable.

Yesterday I was able to spend HOURS in my crap, I mean craft room. Right now it is HUGE mess. You know how I periodically challenge myself to use "what is on my desk?" Well, this is what my desk looked like yesterday.

I should take photos of my desk today because it is worse, if you can believe that. I have a mixture of new products that I have no where to put (I need to spend some money on organizers and no more supplies), as well as things I have been coloring. I have a new ink organizer that I received for my birthday but our printer broke and I need to make labels. I am waiting to transfer THREE drawers full of ink pads that will make room for some of this stuff. Anyone willing to come over to help me clean all this can play with anything they want to!!

Even though this is so messy, I was able to make five cards yesterday, and part of a sixth, yesterday My mojo was flowing! In the midst of all the activities I had this week, I was able to color some of the elephants from Wplus9's "Unforgettable" set as part of the 30 Days of Coloring Challenge. I just had to use one on a card.

Isn't Ella adorable? Okay, she might look like she is not grounded but I figured she is floating in the air. I used CAS(E) this Sketch #113 for the card design and Cupcake Inspirations Color Challenge (chartreuse, white and a pool color) for the rest of the card. Okay, Ella is gray but I am not counting her.

 

I started off this whole card by using the smoosh method to make the panel behind Ella. Laura Bassen uses this all the time to make backgrounds on her cards. I used this method YEARS ago but did it slightly differently then Laura. I tried her method but I am not going into it today. I have a photo tutorial later on this week with all the details. I added some misting to this panel as well because I wanted the green to be a bit more vibrant. I also stamped some bubbles from WPlus9's "Bubble Talk" stamp set in two places with gray ink

Anyway, I mounted the die cut with fun foam onto a top folding A2 card size that was covered with a scrap of patterned paper. I then added the balloon, Ella and some sequins to complete the card.

I love, love, love this card. I have a few ideas up my sleeve for a couple other cards with this stamp set but that will be for another day.

I think this post is long enough. I thank you for your patience and for stopping by to browse. Have a fabulous night!!

Supplies:
Patterned Paper-Lily Bee Designs "Kite Strings"

InLinkz.com

A CASE and a Technique New to Me

Is it Friday yet? Okay, I know it is only Tuesday but I am READY for Friday.

Char was home sick yesterday but since she is a teen, I left her home alone. (does help that I am LITERALLY two minutes up the street if she needs me.) Took her for a flu test but it was negative, thank goodness. She was extra ornery last night so I knew she would feel well enough to go to school today. Thank goodness. Missing more then one day of high school can be brutal with the make up work.

When Charlotte is feeling sick, we often sit around watching programs we have on DVR. Last night I made her watch a "The Internship" with Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson. At first she was saying how stupid it was but no matter how dumb the movie was, I love the two of these actors together. They just make laugh. She finally got into it and laughed right along with me. I think the movie is what made her feel better. (Not really but that is what I am telling her. They do say that laughter is the best medicine!!)

Enough about my night. The real purpose for posting today is to share a card I created. Like the post on Sunday, this was one of the "on my desk" challenges.

I originally stamped this front panel WEEKS ago when I took an online card class. The homework that day was to stamp a background stamp in white pigment ink, let it dry and then stamp over it. I chose to use an old Stampin Up! Crackle stamp as my background. I then stamped over it using the Paper Trey Ink stamp set "Filled with Joy." The overall design of where I stamped the flowers was a CASE from a card that I had on one of my Pinterest card boards. For the life of me, I cannot find the pin on my Pinterest Card board now to give credit. I really need to take a moment sometime and organize my pins!!

Anyway, I let the panel sit and never did anything with it. This weekend I used an MFT die to cut the panel down and mounted it on a piece of Hawaiian Shores card stock.

My last step was to randomly add some rhinestones around the sentiment. I very rarely make one layer cards but I am happy with how this came out. The crackle background is very subtle but you can see it in the photo above.

Well, that is all for now. Have a fabulous day!

Supplies:

Stamps-Stampin Up! Crackle and Paper Trey Ink "Filled With Joy" 

InLinkz.com