Relish Simple Pleasures!

Not only is today Monday, and a new challenge for Simon Says Stamp & Show, but Spring has officially sprung Crafters! YAY! This week, our challenge is all about words. From your favorite movie lines, to a sentiment on a stamp you keep meaning to use more, to an inspirational quote,  to something a family member is always saying...this week we challenge you to "Use a Quote" on your craft project!

I love quotes, heart felt sayings, thought provoking phrases, meaningful Scriptures, and stamp sets that contain them. I often cut quotes out from magazine articles and pin them to my corkboard. I even save every fortune from fortune cookies. I really am turning into a hoarder...wow! That is why I have so many stamp sets...I love the words they contain and not just the images. That is a big reason why I love Wendy Vecchi's stamp sets from Stamper's Anonymous. Not only do they have great images, but they always contain great phrases or quotes. I thought this one from her new Sunshine & Art set was perfect to celebrate the delights of the awakenings of the Spring Season on this canvas. 

I've had this gesso'd, and collaged with ephemera and flower canvas for ages with absolutely nothing in mind to do with it (actually have 4 of them), until now. I have it a little more color on the base with Claudine's paint to make a fleshy color.

I stamped this beauty in Jet Black, although she came out a little choppy with all the texture on the canvas. Not to worry though. I used a Sharpie to fill in, but it altered her looks some.

Tim's Distress Paints came next, first with a paint brush. I love using a paint brush and these paints. With their thin consistency, if you make a mistake you can just use your fingernail and easily clean up the mistake. You can't do that with acrylic paints without making a mark. That's a huge selling point for me! 

Next use for them...stencils. I used a Crafter's Workshop Cosmic Swirl Stencil here. But, no squeezing or dabbing, just gently swipe side to side. It side might run under the stencil some, so if you want a crisp image, don't use them, but I didn't need anything precise here, as I was going to be making layers anyway. I used a scrap piece of paper to block off the portions of her face I didn't want covered.

She looks totally different with hair! I used the stencil and a Krylon Gold Leafing Pen to add more detail and highlighting to her hair. I also used more of Claudine's Paints to elongate her neck.

Wendy's Embossing Paste and her Wildflowers & Bird Stencil came next. I wanted her to smell the Spring flowers! I used tape to hold the stencil down. I love this Paste!

More paint brushing and Distress Paint onto the Embossing Paste. It takes it fabulously! I also painted the collaged flower and freehanded background flowers, leaves, and stems. Then, using my finger, and channeling my inner preschooler, I used the Salty Ocean and a little water and colored in the sky portion of the canvas. I love the versatility of these paints! I can still see the lady up in the corner and music notes perfectly, while still having a beautiful blue hue! Perfect!

Using a Walnut Stain Distress Marker I gave her hair a little more contrast and bounce!

A Spring scene needs a sun! Wendy's stamps helped me out with that and the quote! I colored it in with Distress Paint and the face with Distress Marker. I love the way it came out.

 

 

Is there a particular quote or saying that is your favorite of all time? Or maybe there is one that is pertaining to you at this very moment. If so, create an inspirational work of Art and enter it into our challenge. You just might be the lucky winner of a $50 voucher to Simon Says Stamp. You can also be named as one of the "Top Three Picks" for this challenge. Good luck, and please visit the other DT member's blogs, their inspiration abounds!

 

Supplies:


I hope your hands get creatively dirty soon!

Spring Has Sprung Floral Canvas

Happy Spring crafty peeps! I hope you are having glorious weather today!

WOW! I have been honored by the gals at Our Creative Corner to be spotlighted as a winner for today's Top Talent Thursday because I've won a few of their challenges (See my side bar if you want to know which ones.). They've asked me to make a little something that they will showcase on their blog today, as well as take part in a brief question and answer session...that was the scary part. You will need to visit their blog to see what they wanted to know, but here is my project and a step out for it. I thought something Spring-y was appropriate, and I've included some "Tattered Florals", so I am submitting this to Tim's challenge as well.

 

I added Claudine Hellmuth Gesso esso to the round canvas first, adding texture, but I wish I wouldn't have, because I had problems later on with my Dylusions color really staying and popping like it should. Live and learn.

Using Wendy's Leaves and some Ranger Acrylic Paint Dabbers in Stream and Citrus, I stenciled away.

More stenciling again, but this time with Wendy's Embossing Paste and Flowers. I love this stuff! 

More Embossing Paste and more Florals, but this time with Claudine Hellmuth's flowers.

Spring is a little windy, so I stenciled in some gusts with The Crafter's Workshop Mini Capricious and Pearl Paint Dabber.

I love using Tim's new Distress Paints over Wendy's Paste. With a paint brush it's very easy, and because of the sponginess of the Paste excepting the paint so well you just don't have to be so precise, and I like that. PLUS, it's my new favorite technique...it's acts as a resist to Dyan's Dylusions Ink Sprays! Love that!

Now comes the mess and the fun...Dylusions. But, like I said above, I should not have given this gesso and my color would have adhered better. I had to spray many times. You can see the resist though.

I added some Wendy stamps with Archival to a few places among the grasses.

I stamped one of my favorite quotes onto tissue paper from Stamper's Anonymous. I adhered it the canvas with Glue N Seal, and it sort of made an inky mess, but I think I like it.

Tim's Tattered Florals Die from Sizzix was my very first die. I've used it more than any other, and it has made countless gifts...countless! So I love that he used it for this challenge. I also love that he came out with a Tattered Flower Garland Sizzlet Die last year that coordinates with this. All the Tattered Florals are on here but in mini size and with holes in the centers and leaves as well. I decided to use this too. I die cut several of each die using Tim's Melange Tissue Wrap.

I had just cleaned up my table, so in an effort to keep it that way I misted my inks onto the Tattered Florals on the paper towels. Yes, I can be lazy! I did save the towels though. I stacked these up and made a bouquet and added them to my canvas. Now I have a great 3D look.

Finding some goodies from my stash from The Girls Paperie, I used Watermelon Alcohol Ink to color them up and give them some detail a bit and used them as centers on a few of the flowers. I did some doodling on the canvas with a white pen as well.

I thought this needed a little something else, so I stamped a bee using Mustard Seed Distress Paint and Pearl Paint Dabber. I dried that and stamped it again in Jet Black Archival. I added Crackle Accents over the top. While that dried I stamped the Numbers from the same set in Snow Cap Pigment and then Aquamarine Archival on top of that. While you can see it fine in person, I just couldn't get it to show in the photographs.

 

I thought I'd see what it looked like outside while enjoying a gorgeous Spring like day. It was perfect outside. I needed a swim suit,. ice cold drink, and lounge chair!

This is Lucy, who enjoyed the sun with me as I photographed away. She is the 4th child for sure!

Supplies:


I hope your hands get creatively dirty soon!

Under The Sea & Into A Cup!

Happy Monday Crafters! March can often be a very wet month with rain pouring down regularly, so we at Simon Says Stamp & Show thought, "Why not talk about WATER this week in our challenge?" You could literally use water, perhaps with some distress products for a cool effect on your project. You could use watercolor paper, watercolor pens, water brushes with distress markers, or use water and paint to make your own color wash. Not feeling the water? How about something with an ocean or tropical inspiration? Perhaps put a scrapbook layout together with those Caribbean photos, or decorate a frame to give to your friend just back from a cruise. The possibilities are endless with H2O in mind, and your hands might even stay a little cleaner this week!

 

 

I purposely bought these Dyan stamps because they reminded me of my crazy baby boy who is always into some type of mischief and is often a little on the dirty side, God bless him!

I traced the old insert onto a piece of vellum and cut it out.

I started to stamp the Dyan Sea images I wanted to use onto the vellum to create a sea scene using Jet Black Archival.

I had to make lots of masks of the images, so I just used post it notes to help me.

When I finished stamping all the images, I started to color in everything using Dyan's Ink Sprays inside of Ranger's Inkssentials Water Brushes. I also added the perfect sentiment!

I adhered the edges of the scene together using Glossy Accents, and used it as well to adhere the edges of the plastic pieces of the cup.

Looks like he likes the cup! Oh he is so cute despite the mischief, dirt, and grime!!!!

We all need water to live, but do we need it to craft?  I say yes, and especially this week to give you inspiration. Create your water work of Art and enter it into our challenge. You just might be the lucky winner of a $50 voucher to Simon Says Stamp. You can also be named as one of the "Top Three Picks" for this challenge. Good luck, and please visit the other DT member's blogs.'Water' group of talented people we have on this team!

 

Supplies:


I hope your hands get creatively dirty soon!