Sunday, January 31, 2016

Day 344: Penelope WYW Card 2

For the second card design from that same Penelope Workshops Your Way Kit, I chose a slightly different inking technique for the Rock 'n' Roll bunny.
The general idea is the same, but with a yellow like Canary, if you ink a stamp and then stamp it off onto scratch paper, the second generation is likely to be almost non-existent. That's no good if you still want to keep the detail in the image.
What I like to do for very light shades like Canary is to ink the first generation on the stamp with a swiping motion, using the edge of the pad to wipe some of the ink off the image. Then I go back and roll the edges firmly into the same color, creating a more solid edge and the shading I want without losing the definition of the image. I'm sure I'm up to my elbows in green paint for Ben's room today, so I hope you'll forgive the less than stellar photos. I'll have my new studio (and my shot box!) set up for you soon!! 

Saturday, January 30, 2016

Day 343: Penelope WYW Card 1

Last week before the packers came I managed to fit in a bit of crafting with my friend. I did not have the bandwidth to manage single parenthood, an interstate move, plus designing a ton of stuff from scratch, so I ordered up the new Penelope Workshops Your Way kit, added the February SOTM (sneak peek!), and that's all I brought with me. In two short sessions I made 8 cards, a 2 page pocket spread, and three 2 page layouts WITH PICTURES! I even (mostly) followed the instructions.
This is one of the cards I made using the kit instructions. CTMH used a super cute Spring Critters stamp set on their version, but I opted to use the February SOTM called Balloon Animals, just because I love it. 
I did a Rock 'n' Roll technique in inking up the monkey balloon to give the solid shape a little extra interest. First I inked the monkey in Thistle ink, then I stamped him off onto some scrap paper. I inked the image again in the same Thistle ink, being careful to roll just the edges into the ink so when I stamped him the image would be shaded. I also really liked the effect of adding the striped washi tape over the striped background for a bit of a plaid effect!

Friday, January 29, 2016

Day 342: Harry Potter Wall Decor

Speaking of Max's Harry Potter obsession, a little side project we've been working on this week for his new bedroom after the move are these awesomesauce Harry Potter style letters to add to his wall over his bed. He wanted them to look like the Golden Snitch...
I ordered our custom letters from an Etsy Shop called Ally's Custom Art. The price was reasonable, and she shipped out out pieces super fast! I had Max help base coat the letters with some gold acrylic paint front and back. I filled in the sides for him, and then added three coats of Gold Extreme Glitter acrylic paint, and two coats of Glossy Mod Podge. I love Extreme Glitter paint - the sparkle is outstanding, and it doesn't shed glitter everywhere.
I may retake these pics after we get moved in my shiny new Shot Box to see if that helps to capture how sparkly and gorgeous they are. Max was ready to hop in the car and drive to Oregon that night just to hang his name in his room. I'm sure it'll be mentioned as soon as we get out of the car at our new place Saturday night, lol. 

Thursday, January 28, 2016

Day 341: Harry Potter Painted Bag

Ok, so this is the bag that started the whole project ball rolling. Totes adorbs, right? Max was like, "Mom! I need that bag, please." I said, "Max! I need to not have my card charged and then never see the product shipped, thanks." And off to Hobby Lobby we went...
These bag projects were fairly easy and inexpensive. I already had most of the paint colors we needed, so all I bought were the canvas totes (which we upgraded and got these string backpacks) and the fabric medium to mix into the acrylic paints (plus the correct red for Gryffindor as per Max's choice). I used a ruler to sketch in the Harry Potter face and scarf stripes. I used a mason jar lid ring to make his glasses, tracing inside and out to get the thick black frames. I left his eyes the color of the canvas tote and free handed the green pupils, because the books are always better (Sorry, Daniel, we still heart you). Max is over the moon thrilled about his new Harry Potter tote bag, and I only wish we'd found this project before Max's Harry Potter party. It's definitely a Keeper. Have a Ronderful day, Stampin' Friends!
P.S. hee hee...three hours sleep makes puns ever so funny...#sorrynotsorry #harrypotterforlife #idon'tevenknowwhyI'mhashtaggingthisblogpost #don'tletthemugglesgetyoudown  

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Day 340: Lego Miniman Painted Bag

Today I'm sharing Gabe's bag, which was by far the fastest and easiest of the three painted totes we made. Gabe could not stop giggling when I showed him the freshly painted bag. 
You can see that my ironing skills leave a bit to be desired, since he looked more wrinkly after I ironed him than before. I was worried that I needed to use a pressing cloth (which are who knows where in my boxes) or a layer of packing paper between my iron and the paint, but after a bit of messing about I bit the bullet and just went iron onto the paint directly and it worked just fine. I didn't slide it back and forth, just did a press and hold for a few seconds motion moving bit by bit to ensure I got every bit of the painted area. My iron was just fine, no clean up necessary, and the design didn't smear a bit! Tomorrow I'll share my favorite of the three bags we made.

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Day 339: Yoda Painted Tote Bag

So couple weeks ago Max and I saw the CUTEST tote bag on one of those Facebook ads, and they were offering to give it away for free. Score, right? Except when you looked at reviews for the company making the offer, lots of people were complaining about a variety of issues, and I didn't feel comfortable at all with handing over my credit card details to a company with such a shady reputation. Good thing we are crafty round here, eh? 
So I started with one bag for the youngest child, and then, as these things do, it snowballed into three bags, because every boy needs his own bag. Today I'm sharing Ben's bag. Ok, don't judge me too harshly, because I have never claimed to be an actual artist. I like cutting up pretty paper and gluing it back together - like quilting, but less work! I don't draw much, or even paint much unless you count splattering watercolor paint everywhere, but when your child looks at you with the big blue eyes, and you just finished packing all his toys into big boxes and are prepping him for a big unexpected move, then you get creative for him real fast. So I found a simple Yoda cartoon that thrilled him to pieces. Then I sketched with a pencil until my Yoda sort of looked like the cartoon Yoda. Did you know you can use an eraser on a canvas tote bag?
Once Ben had approved the Yoda, I painted him with standard acrylic paints mixed 2 to 1 with fabric medium. He was supposed to be on a white background, but them someone dropped yellow paint onto Yoda and he ended up hovering over a lake of (tie-dyed) fire. Luckily, Ben thought that was awesomesauce.   After you've finished your painting, you let the project dry for 24 hours and then iron it to heat set the painted areas...now you can imagine these canvas totes draped over moving boxes all over my living room... Although the project was a bit of a departure from the packing I was supposed to be doing, they will be useful during the move, as each boy will be carrying his own car toys and books for the long drive to Portland in their sweet new totes!

Monday, January 25, 2016

Day 338: Owl Miss You Card

The closer we get to our actual move date, the more torn the boys feel about moving. While they are excited about the new house, and happy/nervous about their new school, they are leaving behind so many wonderful friends and teachers who made Spokane a great place to live. 
This weekend I helped them with a little project, making thank you notes and pen pal packages for their teachers and best friends. I was in charge of the card making, and they were in charge of the heartfelt inner notes plus delivery. I used the new sketch from Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge to get this party started, plus some adorable wooden owls and polka dot skinny washi tape that I found at Hobby Lobby and hoarded saved for the right occasion. All the other papers are from La Vie En Rose.
I added bow ties to the owls using the La Vie En rose Complements, and that layered banner at the top was built from a La Vie kraft arrow that I split in half and layered back together. 

I think this quote paraphrased from Winnie the Pooh says it best. "How lucky we are to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard." Thank you to Spokane, and especially to all of lovely, fabulous Spokanites. I know the boys and I will always be happy we had this #spokaneadventure.  

Sunday, January 24, 2016

Day 337: Post-it Masking Tutorial

So my monochromatic card from the other evening brought on some questions about my masking technique. I offered to do a quick overview of how I masked the flowers...but then I thought I should do it with a new card, right?
So I popped over to CAS(E) this Sketch for some design inspiration, and then to  ColourQ for a color palette, because my brain is a big mush of moving details and over-caffeinated bad sleep. I added some 1/4" washi tape I found at Hobby lobby and a bitty strip of Charlotte paper, otherwise this is a one layer card.
My first step was the use washi tape to mask where the sentiment was supposed to go. If you can see the linty look to the washi, when I use it like this I often stick it to my pant leg before adhering it to the card so it won't be so sticky. I make it large enough to go off each edge of the card to help stabilize the card and keep it from scooting around while I'm working. I stamped the first central flower using Blush ink, then again onto a handy post-it note. You'll see that the image on the post-it isn't very well stamped - I don't need all the details, just the general outline, so I didn't bother to re-ink my stamp. I just stamped it with whatever ink remained from my stamped image on the card. I also make sure to catch at least a bit of the actual sticky part of the post-it note to help the mask stay in place on my project.
I cut out the post-it flower image and covered up the original stamped flower. Then I added two more flowers to the cluster., making a mask for each of those out of post-its as I went along. When making a masked cluster, you want to work from the "front" of your cluster to the back, stamping the things you want closest first and then adding more images behind as you go.
Each time I added a flower I made a post-it mask and covered that stamped image so I could keep adding flowers, leaves, and sprays for my floral cluster to my heart's content. When you are done, slide the masks into your stamp envelope to use again in the future. They won't last forever when made out of a post-it, but you can certainly get more than one use out of them.
Finally I removed the washi tape mask, stamped my sentiment bar and added the paper/washi strips. I popped on some pink enamel gems, then went back in with an alcohol marker to turn a few of the flower centers from pink to yellow. I used the same marker to add the dot border detail. I hope my little visual was helpful to those of you unfamiliar with masking!

Saturday, January 23, 2016

Day 336: Valentines Quick and Sweet

Whoo! I'm cutting it so close tonight, but it's been a busy, busy day around these parts. The Tuesday deadline is fast approaching, but I took a moment to whip up a few adorable little quick LaVie En Rose valentines using the Operation Smile stamp set, Animal Greetings
I used the same basic design for each card, just changed up how I did the little dudes. 
Don't they just make your heart melt? Cute and supporting a great cause! CTMH is having a contest around making valentines using this pretty La Vie En Rose paper. Check it out and good luck!

Friday, January 22, 2016

Day 335: Scrap Much Simple Stories Darling Layout

Oh my golly! As soon as I saw this You & Me Line by Simple Stories I was dying to get my inky paws onto this paper goodness! It's so gorgeous I bought it twice in one day! 
Combined with the new Scrap Much? Sketch, how could anything but utter adorableness result? I used it to scrap our anniversary last year.
Look at all the elements in the prints...I {heart} this stitch detail! All I added was some thin 3-D Foam tape and a bit of clear glitter gel. I did do some fussy cutting of the pocket scrapbooking cards from the kit to make everything fit the sketch.
I hope you'll grab this sketch and come play along too!

Thursday, January 21, 2016

Day 334: Congrats Always Card

Here's my last (for now) Springtime Wishes card. I wanted to do at least one card where I did not use the coordinating Thin Cuts dies with the stamp set.
So I popped over to Freshly Made Sketches to grab a sweet and simple sketch inspiration. Then I literally used just a Colonial White card base, some black ink, and a couple post-its to create this card. I stamped the flowers and masked each image with post-its to create the layered look without having to cut out each flower image. Then I drew in the border with a super skinny  .02 journaling pen.
I did stamp the main sentiment onto a Charlotte zip strips for a hint of pale peach color in my otherwise one color card. Then I adhered a few gold puffy stickers and bitty sparkles for some extra sparkle on these good wishes. I'm linking this card up to the Heart 2 Heart One Challenge for one stamp set and one color of ink. Thanks for stopping by, Stampin' Friends!

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Day 333: New Product Blog Hop

Welcome to the Seasonal Expressions 1 New Product Blog Hop! Today we have over 30 talented artists sharing creations using goodies from the new Seasonal Expressions 1 idea book. You might be arriving here from MICHELLE'S BLOG. Let's hop!
I used my favorite new stamp set from SE1, Springtime Wishes. I love the sketchy look of the florals, and the font choices on the sentiment combos. Plus this set has a coordinating Thin Cuts metal die set! I find that I'm a little sloppy with lining them up, so I ordered a magnetic die cutting plate for my Big Shot.
My card was inspired by the Muse Card Challenge. I used the inspiration card as a sketch, filling the bottom with a spray of flowers over black stamped leaves. I did some subtle waterbush coloring with Sorbet Ink before topping the flowers off with some Bitty Sparkles colored black with an alcohol marker. Finally I added a few Gold Puffies heart stickers.
Next up on the hop is KATHY'S BLOG.  Have fun exploring the many lovely and fun new products in this Seasonal Expressions Idea Book

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Day 332: Sweet Thank You Card

I was working on my card to the bog hop tomorrow using this adorable Springtime Wishes stamp set. When I was done, I just wasn't done, so I whipped up this quick bonus card.
I used a tiny swiss dot pattern from my Simple Stories I Am pad. I stamped the sentiments down the card off center, then layered on strips of the patterned paper. I stamped the flowers and colored them using a waterbrush before cutting them out using the coordinating Thin Cuts dies.
I used Corri's Sketch from Paper Issues for this card. My color choices were inspired by the Just Us Girls color challenge. I love it when everything comes together!

Monday, January 18, 2016

Day 331: Valentine Hugs SOTM Card

I'm back with another take on the January Stamp of the Month
This time I went bold and graphic with some help from CAS(E) this Sketch. I filled in the top of the sketch with Pomegranate cardstock stamped with the smaller bloom. The bottom half I added my favorite La Vie En Rose print. I trimmed out the break using my paper trimmer, then stamped the sentiment directly on the card base. I added a strip of super skinny washi tape I picked up at Hobby Lobby to define the bottom edge.
I added a few acrylic hearts and an arrow sticker from the La Vie En Rose assortment. Then I dotted by hand with a small journaling pen through the gutter, and popped on a couple bitty sparkles to highlight the sentiment. Hugs to you, Stampin' Friends!

Sunday, January 17, 2016

Day 330: You Did It! Card

Early this morning my husband left for Portland and now I am officially the only grownup in charge around these parts until we bring our family back together in February. The house is about 60% packed, there are towers of boxes everywhere, this week has included a lot of late nights trying to fit in all the heavy stuff before John had to go...and it's my birthday today. So I decided that the boys and I needed to get out of the house a bit today and have some fun
After our busy day of boy fun, I made dinner and we cuddled to watch Inside Out together. After teeth brushing we started reading A Horse and His Boy, because Daddy reads the Harry Potter books with awesome voices, so Mommy is not allowed to read Harry Potter anymore, thus we read from the Chronicles of Narnia when Dad is unavailable. Finally, at about 9:50 tonight I sat down at my stamp table to whip up a project for today's blog post. In front of me on the table was one of my favs, my Crazy Good stamp set. I decided to make a quick card using the phrases that appealed to my tired mom attitude and it had to made with stuff I didn't have to stand up to reach. Priorities... 
I popped over to peek at the new Sketch from RetroSketches, and combined that with the ColourQ challenge.  I used Lagoon, Pear, and Breeze inks to create my ombre stripes, lining the break with silver foil tape. I stamped the word bubble in Memento Tuxedo Black and used the same ink pads to add color direct to the paper before trimming out the bubble. I couldn't reach my box of Cricut diecuts (yes, I was serious about that), so I added a frame of green glitter triangle enamel shapes. The white space at the top was vast, so I flipped my piercing tool over and added some impromptu polka dots using Lagoon ink. Now I'm off to bed because my sweet kiddos wake up at 5 am when it's not a school day. 
Thanks for stopping by, Stampin' Friends, and a super big THANK YOU and lots of hugs for all the sweet birthday greetings that poured in through text and Facebook today. I'm definitely feeling the love! 

Saturday, January 16, 2016

Day 329: So Happy Birthday to You Card

I've decided that I love cleaning out my studio. As I discover bits and pieces of beloved past lines I'm feeling inspired to craft anew and use it up!
First I found this 1/2 inch BIRTHDAY strip trimmed from a PML pocket scrapbooking card that apparently I just couldn't throw away. then I ran across my Simple Stories I AM 6x6 pad, and I realized the colors worked together pretty well. Next thing I knew, I had a card!
I used bits and pieces from Crazy Good to fill in my sentiment. Then I added some gold sequins topped with pale grey enamel dots.finally I went back and added the stitch detail, which would have been easier to do before adding the sentiment...sometimes you gotta step back in to define the edges, you know?  The packing is going on in earnest now with the movers coming a week from Tuesday, so who knows what I'll find this week! I'm linking this card up to the Seize the Birthday Clean and Simple challenge

Friday, January 15, 2016

Day 328: Lego Wall Letters

My second Lego related project for the oldest child is a set of 3-D letters to hang on the wall in his new room in our new house in Oregon. I have already ordered these awesomesauce Harry Potter letters from Etsy for Max, which we will work together to cover with gold chunky glitter! And I found some amazing 2 foot tall metal Star Wars Letters for Ben's wall, but I couldn't find anything Lego related for Gabe that I a) liked, and b) wanted to pay for. So a trip to Hobby Lobby was made...I know, the sacrifices we make for these children...
I got some big chunky chipboard letters and painted them silver. Then I convinced the child in question to GIVE UP A SMALL BAGGIE OF LEGO PIECES PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE, which sounds simple when you know he has literally thousands of Legos, but in actuality was the hardest step of making these letters. I coated the top of each letter in E6000 glue (Phew!) and pressed the hard-won Lego pieces in place. I do have letters for each letter in his name, but Grumpy McFarland didn't want me to photograph his name either, so you get to view the "A". I'll post a pic of them when we get them mounted after our move to my Instagram when he's not looking if y'all promise not to rat me out. All lined up they are exactly what I was wanting, and now I don't have to pack my bottle of E6000, since I've used every last stinky drop. Two birds with one stone and all, because I think that makes this project part of my moving the studio project, am I right? 

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