4th Annual Queen of Hearts Challenge

Quietfire Design is announcing their 4th Annual Queen of Hearts Challenge.

Create art and enter for a chance to win prizes!  It's easy!

 For details, visit the Quietfire Creations Blog

Journal Page

Lots of layers here... I almost trashed the page a couple of times but I kind of like it now.  It does look much better in person.  Back when I did the last journal page I shared with the brick wall on it - when I was finished I had left-over paint on my craft sheet so I grabbed the group of flowers (they are from Chocolate Baroque) you see stamped along the bottom, it was, after all, just sitting there waiting to be used :) and stamped on a blank page to use later.  So I thought I do something with that page.  I started by sprayed Dylusions ink on the page which of course the paint stamped flowers resisted.  I also had the new January Stencil Club Kit stencils from Stencil Girl and wanted to use the largest stencil so laid it on the page and sprayed ink.  Well, it was rather dark but I thought I'd keep going and tried to add some "drips" with spray, that didn't work so well either, thought about tearing it out and throwing it away but opted for the challenge.  I added white Distress Stain over the page which muted the flowers too much so I stamped right on top of the flowers already there (just the higher up flowers) using Archival Ink jet black to make them stand out again and tried spraying again - nope.  I decided I really needed to lighten up the top and paint was my best option so put some white tube acrylic paint and gold Lumiere paint on my craft sheet (I did not mix them together), put the stencil back on and using a cosmetic sponge started picking up and applying paint.  I also stamped more of the flowers down in the bottom right corner first with pigment ink but it didn't show up so well so then with paint and also sponged some gold paint along the bottom and on the edges.  I took a water brush and some of the gold Lumiere and made splatters over the page.  I finished by stamping and white embossing the quote (stamp from Quietfire Design).  I kind of looks like flowers outside in front of a fancy window.  

A Mini Card

A quick little mini card using some of the newest stamps from Quietfire Design plus an older one, the I Love You Alphabet image.   I started with a #8 manila tag, folding it in half.  I used Distress Stains to color the outside (barn door) and the inside (scattered straw) and then Distress Ink barn door applied with a blending sponge around the inside.  The background on the front is stamped with Distress barn door ink.  The heart is stamped on a scrap of white cardstock using Archival Ink jet black, colored in using a waterbrush and Distress Stains - just pick up a little stain off your craft sheet and start painting - and cut out.  All the sentiments and the flourish inside the card are stamped with jet black and color added to the inside flourish again using the waterbrush.  The 13mm white silk ribbon is colored with Distress Stain barn door and scattered straw.  

You could take more time and doodle edges with a black pen or add more stamping using some of Quietfire's flourishes from the Flourishes 1 set or how about the Flourishing Inside Hearts.  Leaving the left side of the inside blank allows a place for you to write a personal message.  

Love You

I received new stamps in the mail yesterday from Quietfire Design - the 2013 Valentine's Day collection - and I just had to make something today!!!  Although this is great for Valentine's Day, it could also be just an I Love You for any time and that's what this tag is for, my hubby just because.  

I started with a Ranger #5 manila tag and put spun sugar Distress stain all over it, dried it, did another layer of spun sugar and while it was still wet added fired brick along the edges and dried it.  Then I added barn door along the edge, sprayed just the edges with some water and dried it again.  Stamped part of the Love You Heart 3 times along the left edge of the tag using jet black Archival Ink and also a whole heart on a scrap of manila cardstock.  Stamped the I Love You Alphabet 3 time down the tag to cover the whole tag using Distress Ink tea dye. Added spun sugar Stain to the extra heart, dried it, cut it out, added barn door stain around the edges and in the letters using a water brush.  Decided I wanted some gold and used gold Smooch on the very edge of the heart.  Stamped the Heart Flourish border image onto 13mm white silk ribbon using jet black, added spun sugar stain to the ribbon and dried it, added barn door and peeled paint stain to the image using a water brush while also holding the heat tool on the image so the color wouldn't bleed too much on the ribbon and dried it.  Tore a scrap of manila cardstock, colored it with barn door Stain, dried it, and added the stamped ribbon on top with double sided tape.  Adhered it to the tag and trimmed the sides even with the tag.  Layed the extra heart upside down on a scrap of manila card, traced around it with a pencil, cut out the heart about 1/16" larger than the pencil line, flipped it over, added barn door stain around the edges and layered the heart together with foam mounting tape.  I also adhered the hearts to the tag with foam mounting tape for lots of dimension.  Added gold dots around the edge of the tag with Smooch.  Colored a piece of 13mm silk ribbon with barn door stain, crumpled and dried it, stamped the Heart Flourish Border on the ribbon and tied it to the tag.  Glued on a gold heart charm.   

Wishing you the Happiest....

This card is large, almost 7" square, and looks so much better in person.  I started with one of my pick-up-extra-ink-etc pieces of cardstock that has Dylusions and Perfect Pearls on it.  Next I used The Stamping Gear and one of their stamps to create the flower.  In the center is a Wendy Vecchi Studio 490 stamp.  All the stamping is done with Archival Ink jet black.  Next I used a white pen in each of the petals and some of the letters which really made things pop.  Doodling with both black and white around the edges and the piece layered onto black cardstock.  

Instead of piecing together cardstock to make a folded card I added a pocket to the back.  It was a yellow library pocket and I sprayed and stenciled on it then added stamping along the bottom with the same image used to make the flower and again added the white to it.  In the pocket was put cash and I wrote both on the pocket in black and on the cardstock with white a note. 

Pooh Bear

I had a request for a Pooh themed box for a Christmas Gift and this is what I did.  On the cover I used the 4 different Winnie The Pooh stamps I have.  They are stamped with Archival Ink onto cardstock, colored in using a Dove Blender and chalk pastels, cut out and spray sealed. On the inside of the cover I used Pooh stickers I had and to be sure they would stay stuck I glued them in with matte medium under and over them.  The wood box was gessoed and then acrylic paint used.  Archival Inks for any stamping onto the acrylic paint.  All the Pooh quotes are computer generated and cut out.  Everything glued on with matte medium.  Everything sealed with Krylon satin finish.  On the inside bottom of the box I used flocking.

A Great Work

I started this journal page Sunday afternoon.  It is inspired by the sermon at church Sunday morning that focused on this scripture and on the various "Great Works" we all have going on in our lives.  Specifically in Nehemiah the great work was rebuilding wall and that would be why I have a wall on my page.  The page already had the blue in the background - I had pressed a stencil (The Crafter's Workshop) on the page to use up the ink left on it after using it to spray through on another project.  The brick was made using Wendy Vecchi's brick stencil and her embossing paste.  After the paste was dry I used Golden Fluid acrylics to paint over and to add highlights.  Next I wanted to add some 'sunshine' to my background without causing the blue ink to bleed and wondered if I might accomplish that by using alcohol inks; so I tried it and it worked - yay!!!!  The scripture is hand written with a Pitt pen.  The bottom seemed bare and I wanted to put something there so die cut some manila cardstock using a Tim Holtz on-the-edge die and then sprayed it with Dylusions spray and a little bit of Perfect Pearls spray which you probably can't see but I like that it looks like sunshine reflecting.  I am now sitting here wondering why I made the wall such a dark color, lol.  Oh well, I like the page!!!!

Linking to Artists in Blogland Show and Tell Saturday #33

Be You

Totally loved making this!!!!  I mentioned a very cool project I was working on using the Stamping Gear System when I posted This card and I've had it done for several days but didn't manage the time to take pics and post it here.  I started with a piece of Ranger's Specialty Stamping paper and after stamping the bees trimmed it to 8 1/2" square so, yes, this is large.  I colored the paper with scattered straw Distress Stain, dried it, and then began stamping the bees using Ranger's Archival Ink jet black.  After they were all stamped and dried (you do have to be careful while stamping as the ink doesn't dry as quickly on the specialty stamping paper as on just plain old cardstock), I colored in each bee with Dylusions spray ink using a water brush and dried them.  The honeycomb image (Studio 490) was roll-stamped randomly. Distress ink was added around the edges using a blending tool.  Water was flicked, blotted, and dried.  With a water brush I added water to the inside of each bee wing and then blotted it up so the wing areas would be lighter. I used Wendy's Dots & Stripes borders stencil and black Distress Ink to add the lines around the edge.  I attached this to a piece of black chipboard and also spray sealed it with Krylon satin finish spray.  I want to be able to hang it up and not worry that something will happen that messes with the ink.  

The bee in the top left corner is Wendy's Art Part bee (2 parts - one is the whole bee and the other is just the top part of the body with antennae) that matches the stamp.  I sponged Adirondack snow cap pigment ink on both parts of  the bee and dried it, stamped the bee image in black and embossed it with clear powder, added "stripes" of Dylusions ink on the bottom part and just one color on the top part and dried it.  The snow cap ink while making the colors truer also mutes it somewhat so I added another layer of dylusions and dried it to deepen the color.  Over the wings I added rock candy Distress Stickles, 2 layers allowing it to dry between layers.  Over the legs and antennae I added gold Paint Dabber using a small paintbrush.  

A Fishy Birthday

I started with manila cardstock adding color with Distress Stains, dried it, flicked it with water, and dried it.  Stamped and embossed the fish (Studio 490 image) and also stamped an extra on copy paper to use as a mask.  Masked the fish and stamped the larger seaweed.  Removed the mask and continued to add stamping along the bottom.  Used a water brush to add water to the inside of the fish and blotted out much of the color, dried it.  Colored in the fish using the water brush and heirloom gold Perfect Pearls - doesn't it look fabulous!!!!  It has that shimmer that fish have!!!!  Used the ocmputer to print out the letters to spell 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY', punched them out with a 1/4" inch hole punch, glued them on and then added Glossy Accents over each circle and also some other smaller drops outside the circles.  Matted it onto white and then a folded green card.  

Earrings

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!  

Today I'm sharing a pair of earrings that are made using Vintaj Arte Metal blanks, butterflies, findings along with their embossing folder, patinas, sanding block, and glaze.  Added a couple beads from my stash.