Simon Says: It's A Dogs Life

This week on the Simon Says Monday Challenge we've got - It's A Dogs Life.  

As always Simon Says Stamp will be giving away a $50 voucher to shop at their store.

I had a lot of fun (an some frustrating moments) creating this ornament using one of the crazy dogs from the Tim Holtz/Stamper's Anonymous set, Mini Cats & Dogs along with the matching die.  The trees inside the ornament are part of the Tim Holtz/Sizzix thinlits Tree Line cutting die. I first tried these items using card stock but I could not roll it up, get it inside, and unroll it without making lines and creases in the paper...  So I've used White Yupo Paper.  I stamped the dog with Archival Ink Jet Black, die cut it, and then used the Detailer Water Brush and Distress Inks to color it.  Nope, that wasn't easy either and it took quite a bit of time and using the heat tool a little at a time to get the coloring dry.  I used Tim Holtz Alcohol Inks to color trees.  So much easier :-)  For the "snow" inside the ornament I've used a few things - Scotch Create Permanent Tacky Glue, Sparkly Fluff, Glossy Accents, and Rock Candy Dry Glitter.  First I was using the Sparkly Fluff and it wouldn't keep it's "whiteness" with the clear glue but worked really well with the white glue except that static cling also caused it to stick everywhere inside the ornament, lol.  I still like it and was able to go in with a small piece of a Swiffer sheet using tweezers and clean much of it off the front area of the ornament so things were easier to see.  I left the back as I like that it looks like the snow blowing around.  When I decided I need more "snow" in the bottom partially for support for the dog and trees and also just for more "ground cover" I thought some glitter would also look nice and added that with the clear glue.  Over all I think it turned out well.  Finally I added some Tim Holtz Baubles to the inside for some added color and fun. They are colored with Alcohol Inks, Red Pepper and Mushroom.

On the top of the ornament I've used one of the dies from the Tim Holtz/Sizzix Holiday Greens Mini set.  I cut three of the pine branch pieces from green card stock, added shading with Distress Ink Pine Needles and splattered them with Distress Paint Tarnished Brass. Also used is Tim Holtz Crinkle Ribbon (dyed with Distress Ink Festive Berries), Metallic Ribbon, Jump Rings, and a Tidings Token (Tarnished Brass paint around edges and Picket Fence Distress Crayon in the letters).

It was also difficult getting good pictures so I've taken extra (many more than I'm sharing even) and hopefully you can see how great this turned out.  I'm pretty sure my daughter is going to claim it :-)

I hope you've enjoyed today's project!!!!

Hugs, Wanda

Peace Christmas Card

Hi There!!!  I hope you are having a good week!!  

This card uses a couple of the newest cutting dies from the Elizabeth Craft Designs by Designer Suzanne Cannon, A Way With Words Collection.... the beautiful Flourished Frame die and the word Peace from the Christmas Ornament Set.  These are both cut from Adhesive backed cork.  There is also a Peace cut from white cardstock.  

In the background is Distress Oxide Ink, flicks of white paint, and then snowflakes stenciled with Opaque Texture Paste.  The panel is edged with silver paint.  The larger snowflake is die cut from white cardstock with double sided adhesive on the top.  Once cut the liner was peeled from the top and it was glittered with Elizabeth Craft Designs Warm Diamond Glitter.. accents added with glitter dots stickers.

Simon Says: Not A Card

This week on the Simon Says Monday Challenge we are challenged with making something other than a card.

As always Simon Says Stamp will be giving away a $50 voucher to shop at their store.

I've created a spread in my Small Dylusions Journal.

The first layer uses PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Paints (Amethyst, Cheesecake, Smurf, Captain Peacock) applied with my fingers.

Opaque Crackle Texture Paste was added through the TCW Mini Rosetta Stencil and left to dry.

Once dry more Fresco Finish Paints (Lilac, Turquoise, Antarctic) were used, this time applied with a brush to make it easier to paint over the crackle.

A close-up picture of a crackled area.

Stenciling through the PaperArtsy PS001 stencil with both Snowflake and Banana paint applying Snowflake first and then Banana.  I didn't wait for the white to get totally dry, just went in with white and then immediately the yellow over it.

Some stamping using a text image from PaperArtsy ESN11 and Archival Ink Garden Patina. 

Pieces of Composer Tissue Wrap torn and glued on with Distress Collage Medium Matte.

Then back in with some of the first colors of Fresco Finish Paints again using my fingers.

More stenciling using Antarctic paint through PS016 stencil this time adding the paint with a stencil brush to get a sharper image with no bleeding under the stencil.

Stamped an image from ETS11 using Amethyst paint.  Put some paint on your craft sheet, spread it thin with your finger, tap the stamp in the paint and then onto your page.  Be sure to clean your stamp before the paint dried on it.  Once the paint was dry, I used a White Gel Pen to add doodles and marks to the circle images.

Stenciling with Black Embossing Paste and PS045 stencil.  Once stenciled I used a heat tool to dry the paste.

Some PaperArtsy Treasure Gold brushed onto the center of the flower and rubbed around the edges of the spread.

Highlights added to the black stenciling with the White Gel Pen.  Idea-ology Stickers - "every" from the ChitChat pack and "day" from the Big Chat pack - were stuck on.  Distress Markers used a add a bit of color to them.  A black pen to add lines by the stickers and a border line around the spread.  The Distress Splatter Brush used to add splatter, first with Little Black Dress and then with Gold.  

I hope you've enjoyed the journal spread for this week.  I really enjoyed making it!!!  If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Hugs, Wanda

Daughter of a King

The background is a very light piece of shaving cream technique paper and I sewed around the edge.  The words are a Taylored Expressions stamp, stamped and embossed with black, a Distress Marker used to add color to some of the words.  The leaf is a Tim Holtz/Sizzix die cut from alcohol inked paper, embossed using the matching folder and the high spots hit with some Distress Ink.  Gold metallic ribbon used to make the bow.  Dots of Gold Lame Smooch are a nice finishing touch.  

I'm linking this to the Simon Says Stamp World Card Making Day Challenge.

Baby It's Cold Outside

Hi There!!!!  I have a short tutorial over on the Quietfire Creations blog today showing how I made this card.

Simon Says: A Walk on the Dark Side

Hello There!!!!!  I'm absolutely thrilled to have been asked to be this months Spotlight Designer for the Simon Says Monday Challenge.  I could hardly believe my eyes when the email came from Lols.

Wow!!  Thanks so much, Lols and Simon Says Stamp, for this opportunity!!

This week on the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge we have A Walk on the Dark Side.  The challenge is to use Dark Colors or to go with a Halloween theme.  As always, the first week of the month also showcases a product and this week it is Tim Holtz products so if you have some we'd love to see how you use them.  If you don't have any, it's all good, you can still create something for the theme and enter the challenge.

As always Simon Says Stamp will be giving away a $50 voucher to use in their shop.

For my project I went with Dark Colors, and actually one dark color, black.   

I knew for this project that I would use dark colors and had decided maybe I'd stick with black but beyond that I had nothing.  So as I do when there is a deadline and I've got no plan, I just started something.  I took a piece of black cardstock (4 1/4" x 5 1/2") and brayered on some Distress Oxide Reinkers (Black Soot and Walnut Stain).  Shake the reinker bottles and put just a little bit on the craft sheet, run the brayer through the ink a couple times lightly and then onto the card a couple times lightly.  Pick up the rest of the ink and brayer in the opposite direction on the card. 

After drying the ink, I used the Flourish Embossing Folder and then inked over the high spots with Distress Ink Black Soot.  This gave a nice contrast to the Oxide.

The panel was edged with Distress Paint Tarnished Brass, dried well, the edges distressed, and then Tarnished Brass splattered on using Tim's Brush.  

I love to use flowers including the Tim Holtz/Sizzix Wildflower dies so I cut them from black card and sprayed them with Distress Mica Spray Tarnished Brass.

I'd chosen a picture from the Tim Holtz/Idea-ology Photobooth pack and I had left the picture and all the black flowers just laying on the panel for awhile as I wasn't really sure where I was going next with it and while doing other things as I walked past it the thought "Hope Springs Forth" popped in and I thought, "Oh, that would be cool" and I cut one flower from the Wildflowers 2 set from yellow card and spritzed it with Distress Mica Spray Tarnished Brass.  

I pulled out the Small Talk Sticker Book and Metallic Stickers Book and the Quote Chips hoping to put that phrase together.  I found Hope Is Never Lost and decided that would work just as well.  I could have used a Dymo or the computer to create the first phrase, but I like this.  I cut the Quote Chip between Hope and Is, nipped the corners of the Hope piece, inked both pieces with Distress Ink Mustard Seed, dried them, and added Distress Paint Tarnished Brass to the edges.  The whole time I was working on this panel I was planning to make a card.  Once I was this far, I think because I liked it so much, I decided it needed to become a canvas.

I got out a 6" x 8" canvas panel and put both Black Soot and Tarnished Brass Distress Paint onto the panel, sprayed it with lots of water and moved it around a bit.  I was concerned that I'd used too much Brass but, nope, the back overtook it.  I thought about a second layer but chose to just move on.  I knew the center area would be completely covered.

I used the Tim Holtz/Stamper's Anonymous stencil Mesh along with Wendy's Black Embossing Paste and after removing the stencil added Clear Embossing Powder and then heated it all.  Fun stuff..... 

And then I forgot to take any more process pictures.  

I put some Tarnished Brass paint on my Craft Sheet and using a dry paint brush, brushed it on the canvas panel.  Sprayed the paint on my craft sheet with a little water and then used the Splatter Brush to splatter all over the canvas.  Next I stenciled through the Bubble stencil with Distress Paint Black Soot using a Stencil Brush.  When you have a more fluid something that you want to stencil, it can really help to get a nicer image if you use a stencil brush.  The very edges of the canvas are painted with Black Soot.  I die cut another set of Wildflowers from black card and used them without spraying or inking them.  The black flowers and main panel are attached to the canvas as shown.  Finally I added a Metallic Sticker at the bottom.

I do hope you like my project.  Thanks so much for following along!!

Hugs, Wanda