Playing With The Queen Of Hearts

It's the weekend...woohoo! And, I'm so glad. It's been one busy week in my little bubble.  I have just finished up a set of ATC's for the February swap at the Creative Block - Stamper's Anonymous Yahoo Group..."pink and red". I finished a month early! Huh? Yes, really! I have the Valentine bug real bad. Everywhere I cyber look, everyone is making the most gorgeous Love Day items, so I had to join in as well. 

I have always been enthralled with the Queen of Hearts. Maybe because of the song or what I think she stands for...I don't know...but I love all the different images you see with her.  To me, she is like the female cupid...well, not the Alice version though. I have wanted to make my own images of her, so I thought I'd start on an ATC. I am also submitting this little queenie to the Paper Issues Challenge for "valentines", and the Grungy Monday Challenge for "facets", which is a take on Tim's Technique Challenge from August 2008.  I did not have enough facets for the six ATC's I created, so I improvised and used Memory Glass instead. Tim said the technique would work for this, and it did, but I probably won't use them again this way, because they are so fragile and I am so rough handling. I'm a buff girl...what can I say?

Funny story...I'm out of town, and forgot to take the pictures of the completed ATC and left the camera card at home which has all of the step out pictures. I called home and asked my daughter to photograph the ATC's and text them  to me. She did, hence the top one, but could not get a clear shot of a solo ATC. I asked her to use the big camera, upload the pictures to her computer and email me...huge job for an 11 year old. I walked her through the process and she tried to email me 9 pictures. Well, she doesn't have software to lessen photo size and the email got all bogged up. So in the end, I had to use another email account to have her send me the best picture she had...the bottom one...and she did an amazing job of a very huge task. I have more photos and a step out tutorial of the alcohol ink technique, as well as a masterboard technique from the background, but I will have to do the update on Monday when I return home. I am truly proud of her, and now I can enter my challenges! What an awesome kid!

By the way, I would like to mention that all the sneak peeks are up at Artistic Outpost for the February Release of their four new stamp sets. If you love vintage, steampunky, or old world feel stamps then these will make you squeal with crafter's delight! They really are awesome and very detailed. 

Supplies:

Stamper’s Anonymous: Queen of Hearts Wood Block; Clear Stamps: Love, Post Card Mark

Staz On: Opaque Cotton White, Blazing Red

Hobby Lobby: Valentine’s Day Red Heart Rhinestones

1x3 Memory Glass	Alcohol Ink Applicator Tool	Gloss Finish Paper	Glossy Accents	Jet Black Archival Ink	Love Struck Stamp Set
Mini Ornates Stamp Set	Pitch Black Alcohol Ink	Red Pepper Alcohol Ink	Snow Cap Mixative	Watermelon Alcohol Ink	Winter 2011 Distress Ink Pack
Worn Lipstick Distress Ink	Fired Brick Distress Ink	Aged Mahogany Distress Ink	ATC & Corners Die

I wish you all a fun filled weekend, and I hope your hands get creatively dirty soon!

January Tag Swap - CBSA Yahoo Group

Hello crafty people! I learn more everyday about cyber world...it really is amazing! I just recently found out about another Yahoo group (like I need to be in another) called Creative Block -Stamper's Anonymous...cool name huh? Stamper's Anonymous (SA) is the company that makes all the Tim and Wendy stamps, which I love. They also have monthly swaps, and I joined in the January Tag Swap. The theme is "your favorite SA stamp"...easy theme but hard choice. So I decided to use my favorite quote, background, and image all on one tag. This one is very basic, so no long tutorial needed, but I did do a few step out photos.  I did have trouble with my heat embossing though. I think I must have left my UTEE under the heat too long, because it bubbled. I liked the look of it though so I left it...more shabby that way. I am always so excited to get my swaps back...you'd think it was my birthday every time!

I think 2012 is really the year of the dragon, but every year is an Artist's year!

Harlequin (looks like a gorgeous tile floor)and Time images were stamped with Embossed  Distressed Ink and heat embossed with UTEE. 

Grunge board was stained with Picket Fence and images stamped with Archival Ink and Festive Berries Distress Ink.

Umbrella Man was cut out along with an extra red umbrella that was adhered on top of the other. I had to ink over everything to made it crisper, so the background image on Umbrella Man was lost, so I stamped a dictionary print on him instead. I heat embossed the whole thing, and this is where the UTEE bubbled up, so the background image is not so crisp anymore, but I like the vintage look to it.

This quote is my favorite from this line. It was stamped and heat embossed with Close To My Heart white powder, then heat embossed with UTEE.

Umbrella Man fades into the background some in the photos, but the red umbrella and pop dots help to give him contrast. You can see how the UTEE bubbled up, but it looks like rain drops to me.

Supplies:

Stamper’s Anonymous: Tim Holtz- Start/Ending wood block, Harlequin and Umbrella Man Clear Stamp, World Traveler (dictionary print)

Ranger:  Inkssentials- Glossy Accents, Black Tag; Melt Art- Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel (UTEE); Archival Ink- Jet Black

Tim Holtz:  Distress Ink- Black Soot, Festive Berries, Embossing Ink; Distress Stain- Barn Door, Picket Fence

Hero Arts: Clings- Time To Stamp

Core’dinations: Tim Holtz/Ranger- Adirondack Collection

Staz On: Opaque Cotton White

Close To My Heart: Embossing Powder- White

Doodlebug Design Inc.: Boutique Trims- Beetle Black Assortment (lace, striped)

From My Stash: red and white tulle, computer generated sentiment

 
I hope your hands get creatively dirty soon!