Commenting???

No pics or tutorial today, just an aha moment! Okay, talk about feeling stupid!!! Long story short...a friend of mine said she left me a comment yesterday. I thought that was strange as I haven't had any comments on my blog since May. I chalked it up to everybody is finally sick of me, but after no comments in June and July, my self worth was starting to come into play. With so many social media outlets now, I figured people were just using Instragram to comment as it's so popular now, and since its inception my blog comments have been low anyway. Well...I went into my settings, and everything was the same, as I have comments sent to my email for moderation to keep the spam away, but under comments in the design section there was an unpublished comment button. I click it, and low and behold a zillion comments awaiting moderation since 2014, and several since May. Albeit, 95% were spam, but also my regulars awaiting to be published. Talk about feeling special instantly!!! ;0) I guess with the new European laws, (hope I have complied correctly) blogger has changed it up, and me not being or looking for the KNOW just didn't know it. This got me to thinking some of you might be in the same boat, as I've commented on several days old posts on some of you, and it read you had no comments either which I found strange. So if that is you, go to your unpublished comments and see.  Anyway, food for thought, and of course a big THANK YOU to those who still comment on blogs. I am so bad about it in the summer months, but I'll be around I promise! Hugs everyone!!!

I hope your hands get creatively dirty soon!

New Holiday Collection Stamps - July Cont.

Hi everyone! Here are some more samples from my Artful Maven Holiday Collection Stamp Series for July from WeCraft. These were super simple to make and fast too! The first two were just paper piercing and inking, using the Tim Holtz Paper Stash Motif Resist and Distress Ink. I just inked over the resist images, wiped off the ink from the resist, tore the paper, and layered it together. All stamping was done in Jet Black Archival from Ranger. The last set are just drops of Alcohol Ink onto Translucent Yupo Paper, and then the butterflies were stamped on...that's it.

 

 

Hope you like, and enjoy the rest of your July!!! 

I hope your hands get creatively dirty soon! 

New Holiday Collection Stamps - July

Happy July everyone, and Happy 4th of July to my American peeps! It's so hard for me to focus, create, and especially blog during the summer months with the kids home and so much going on. I do apologize for not being around, but maybe that's why the phrase "Lazy days of summer.", came around...for people like me. I can't wait for school to be back in and I can get back to a regular schedule! ;0)  I'm a bad mom! Anyway, here are two samples from my July set of the Holiday Collection Stamp Series from WeCraft. I'll have a few more samples from this set later on in the month, but these are for the holiday this week. Enjoy and be safe out there this week!

July Set - 9 Images

 

For the background on these, I used an older Paper Stash from Tim Holtz, Motif Resist...love this stack of Kraft and White papers! I inked over both designs with Distress Ink and misted with water, and cleaned off the resist areas. I stamped the images on Specialty Stamping Paper from Ranger with Jet Black Archival, cut them out, then stitched around everything, and finally colored the images in with Pitt Pens from Faber-Castell.

Thanks for looking, and have a super holiday week!

I hope your hands get creatively dirty soon!

New Holiday Collection Stamps - June

Happy June everyone! Sorry it's been awhile. With my daughter's graduation, prom, and end of high school events, May was a whirl wind month. Today, I have samples from my new Holiday Collection Stamp series from WeCraft for June, featuring Father's Day, Wedding, and Summer images.  I cannot tell you enough how grateful I am for all the support on the stamps...I'm truly blessed by you all. Enjoy!

June Set - 9 Images

 

All the samples were made from Tim Holtz Idea-ology Paper Stashes and ephemera,  and a few old paper lines from 7 Gypsies. I again stamped a lot of the images on deli paper and collaged them on with Tim Holtz Distress Collage Medium from Ranger using Jet Black.

WeCraft Artful Maven Collection Stamp Set - October	WeCraft Artful Maven Collection Stamp Set - November	WeCraft Artful Maven Collection Stamp Set - December	WeCraft Artful Maven Collection Stamp Set - January	WeCraft Artful Maven Collection Stamp Set - February
WeCraft Artful Maven Collection Stamp Set - March	The Artful Maven Holiday Collection Stamp Set for April	The Artful Maven Holiday Collection Stamp Set for May	The Artful Maven Holiday Collection Stamp Set for June

I hope your hands get creatively dirty soon!

Leave A Little Sparkle Stickles Card

I'm back again, with the last card used in the Ranger booth at Creativation this year. They were a ball to make, and I thank you for all the comments and love! And...thank you Ranger for having me make samples for the show...it's always a treat for me. This card was so simple to make, and the hardest part was waiting for the Stickles to dry. Love me some Stickles!

I stamped the sentiment from Tim Holtz and Stamper's Anonymous on Specialty Stamping Paper, and let it dry. I mounted it to black cardstock and a cardstock base card.

I inked through the Splatters Layering Stencil using Pale Ochre Archival (Another fav!) onto the card, moving the stencil to continue the splatter pattern. Once dry, I colored in the splatter marks with a rainbow of Stickles colors. So easy, and the Stickles really made their mark, as this card is full of sparkle!

 Really...thanks again for your support and for stopping by! Cheers! Until next time.

Supplies:

Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Specialty Stamping Paper in 4.25x5.5	Ranger Tim Holtz Archival Ink Reinker in Black Soot	Ranger DIY Archival Ink Pad	Stamper′s Anonymous Tim Holtz Stamp Set in Handwritten Thoughts	Tim Holtz Layering Stencil SPLATTERS
Archival Ink In Pale Ochre	MINI ROUND INK BLENDING TOOLS	Tim Holtz Core′dinations DISTRESS Colorcore 4.25 X 5.5 Cardstock	Eanger surfaces Black cardstock	Ranger Adhesive Strips
Stickles - X-mas red	Ranger Stickles in Orange Slice	Ranger Stickles YELLOW Glitter Glue	Ranger Stickles in Seafoam	Ranger Stickles in Sea Spray
Ranger Stickles in Grape Crush	Glam Pink Stickles

I hope your hands get creatively dirty soon!

Crackled, Resisted, Oxidized Graduation Plaques Inspired by InStyle!

That title was a mouthful, but I don't know how else to describe these Graduation presents, that were inspired by InStyle Magazine's April 2018 issue, in the article Instant Style Color. You just never know how and where inspiration will strike, but I almost always find Art inspiration in each issue...go figure!!! With my daughter's graduation looming this month, I needed presents for her very close friends, and the minute I saw the article with five color palettes, I knew just what to make. Grab some sustenance, as it's a long post.

It took me a few days to complete all five, but after you make the first, the rest are all assembly line type work. They are going from girls to women, out in the crazy world by themselves, and the quotes from Tim's Pennant Stamp Set from Stamper's Anonymous were perfect for just that!

I gathered up Tim Holtz's Distress Oxides from Ranger, matching the colors from the five color combo inspirations (Tropical Swirl, Berry Crush, Fire and Ice, Lush Lagoon, and Orchid Bouquet...don't you just love the names?!!), and the rest just came together.

Using the Small Thickboard Etcetera Tags as bases, I used Collage Medium in Matte to adhere Worn Wallpaper pieces that I thought worked well with each color scheme. I applied Crackle Paste around the edges of the Wallpaper, and let this dry.

I hadn't tried the new Distress Resist Spray yet, and what a treat it was!!! I laid the Trellis Layering Stencil over the boards, and then misted the Resist Spray in. It dried very quickly, which I loved. FYI...wash stencils quickly or let them soak in water after using them with Distress Resist Spray.

I added all three colors of Oxides to each board, straight from the pad, to the crackled areas, and then misted the boards liberally with Antique Linen Distress Spray Stain, and let the ink go where it wanted to, while the stain outlined the resist image. I let it soak it real well, and then used a rag to remove any left over spray from the Wallpaper area. The trellis design was of course resisted because of the Resist Spray...love that.

To bring out the trellis design more, I inked over each board with regular ol' Antique Linen Distress Ink, and then cleaned up areas of the Wallpaper with a rag and water. LOVE LOVE LOVE! Now you can see the trellis design well. I also added more Oxides to the areas in the crackle that I thought needed darkening using a Mini Ink Tool.

I applied all three colors of Oxides to the craft sheet, misted with water, and then dredged a #8 Mixed Media Heavystock Tag through, along with a #5 Kraft tag, drying in between layers, and dredging again and again until I liked the look. The Oxides layer so well without muddying up between dried layers. When I liked the results, I gave each tag a light misting of water to further oxidize the colors. SWOON! I could have done this all day...so much fun. I of course, repeated this for all the color combinations.

Loved the resist so much, I had to do more. I used the same stencil and misted the Resist Spray over each tag, this time going heavier with the spray. It actually makes the colors brighter and the layers more enhanced...love that. Tired of me saying LOVE yet?!!

Once the Resist Spray was dry, I applied Antique Linen Distress Paint over the tags, and wiped off the paint from the resisted stencil areas, so the paint lightly outlined the design.  I love how each one came out, very soft and shabby chic. A few of the tags were so light that the paint was not showing as much, so I added more paint and wiped off until it was more noticeable. I also applied the paint to the edges of the tags and the edge of the boards (applying two coats) for a framed look. I placed the smaller kraft tag inside a small Cabinet Card, hole side down, and then tied a cheaters bow to the tag using ribbon from torn up wedding dresses that I bought who knows where, but I need some more. I affixed a Jeweled Charm to each bow.

I adhered the tags onto the boards with Adhesive Strips, painted the holes for the boards with more Antique Linen and adhered them on with Multi Matte Medium. I inked over the edged of the girl and women Paperdolls with Antique Linen Distress Ink (First time for that as I always use a darker brown.), and colored in a few places on them with Distress Markers. I did the same with the Botanical flower pieces and the Quote Chip, and then adhered all of them on. I stamped the Pennant sentiments with Jet Black Archival onto more Heavystock, cut them out, inked them, and added those on. Then, I added the metal pieces using Multi Matte, and since the Jeweled Charm had rhinestones on it, I added more rhinestones to the butterfly and bow centers for a cohesive look. I inked over a cluster of Bouquet Flowers with one of the Oxide Ink colors for each board, and adhered them onto the Botanical flowers. Last, I tied on more wedding dress ribbon to the hole for hanging.

    Tropical Swirl

 

 

Berry Crush

This one was my favorite...I just love Aged Mahogany! My daughter ended up picking this one too!

 

Fire and Ice

 

Lush Lagoon

 

 

Orchid Bouquet

 

Each girl got to select their color combo choice first, and then they got to see and take their plaque...more fun that way. Needless to say, all were happy, and that of course, that made me happy. 

Until next time, 'see possibility everywhere'!!! 

Supplies:

Tim Holtz Etcetera Small Tag	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Worn Wallpaper	Tim Holtz Distress Collage Medium Matte	Tim Holtz Collage Brushes	Ranger Texture Paste OPAQUE CRACKLE
Dina Wakley Ranger Palette Kinife	Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Ink Pad ABANDONED CORAL Ranger TDO55778	Tim Holtz Distress Oxide FOSSILIZED AMBER	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Oxide in Shaded Lilac	Tim-Holtz-Distress-Oxide-Ink-Pad-AGED-MAHOGANY-Ranger
Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Mermaid Lagoon	Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Ink Pad PICKED RASPBERRY	Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Ink Pad CANDIED APPLE Ranger	Tim Holtz Distress Oxide WORN LIPSTICK	Tim Holtz Distress Oxide BROKEN CHINA
Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Ink Pad LUCKY CLOVER Ranger TDO56041	Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Ink Pad PEACOCK FEATHERS Ranger	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Oxide in Blueprint Sketch	Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Ink Pad WILTED VIOLET	Tim-Holtz-Distress-Oxide-Ink-Pad-TATTERED-ROSE-Ranger
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Oxide in Squeezed Lemonade	Distress Spray Antique linen	MINI ROUND INK BLENDING TOOLS	Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad ANTIQUE LINEN	Tim Holtz DISTRESS SPRAYER
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress HEAVYSTOCK	Ranger Kraft tags #5	Tim Holtz Stencil TRELLIS	Tim Holtz Distress Resist Spray	Antique Linen Distress Paint
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Jeweled Charms	Idea-ology Paper Dolls	Tim Holtz Distress Markers SET	Ranger adhesive foam white	Ranger Adhesive Strips
Tim-Holtz-Idea-ology-BOTANICAL-Layers	Tim-Holtz-Idea-ology-QUOTE-CHIPS	Tim Holtz Pennants	Ranger Archival Jet Black Ink Pad	Ranger Distress Mixed Media Heavystock
Ranger - Multi Matte Medium 1 oz.	Tim Holtz Idea-ology RIBBONS & BOWS Adornments	Tim Holtz Idea-ology BUTTERFLIES Adornments	Tim Holtz Idea Ology BOUQUET Findings

I hope your hands get creatively dirty soon!