Doubly Distressing-Not!

Wow! Week 23! That is were we are at Linda's Studio L3 and the Compendium of Curiosities Challenge. And this week, page 40, Double Distress. Now, the horder in me just can't run amok with the grunge stash--you just never know when you might not be able to get more! but I did practice on a few pieces, and they came out just fine-I guess there really is something in reading directions twice! (note to self--make sure you do that with the pumpkin trifle recipe!) So ready to boldly step forth--I fan through my few texture screens and then..there it is....the Peppermint Swirl that came with a giftcard die!! Eureka! (You see--I have a thing for peppermint swirls--oddly enough not to eat them-but my Christmas Tree would be covered in swirls and candy canes--except that my husband has some say in decorating)

Now, from the batik challenge, I learned you have to think color backwards--see, I can learn! And here, as with all my great ideas, things went awry! To get the white I started with the pearl adirondack dabber; can't imagine what could go wrong. Step three with Barn Door DI, still good. Next step, with aged mahogany, also still good. And then the next step---oh boy. Edging with foam smudged the ink and the dabber together, leaving not a nice dark border, but a pink smudge!! (hmm, just like challenge #4) Ah well, The dark was nice, but the effect is quite cool!

So, with my fav mice (Stampendous) colored with Prismacolor pencils (and I am amazed how the white one can even stand out against white paper) we are set to go. Now, if only this could be done a tad quicker, but I still have 23 cards to make--and the clock is ticking! And I'm still typing! Yikes---oh, and to see a humorous challenge that came up while working on this--visit my previous post--WOYWW...I swear--not staged at all! Thanks for stopping by, and sticking the ranting monologue out! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

WOYWW #77

OK---I SWEAR! This is what I saw when I came back in my craft space after I left to get some more inks...The only reason my camera was upstairs too was I'm working on the Compendium Challenge..otherwise, I would have missed this, and no one would ever believe me! This is Dakota, and she is nosing into the shelf that has my "emergency" candy stash. She sure didn't look too concerned when I yelled at her to get down.

So, to see other great workspaces, head over to The Stamping Ground and see what WOYWW is all about! And to see my compendium piece, check out my next post. Have a Wonderful Thanksgiving everyone!

Splattering-smattering; CCC #22

Oh boy! Now isn't this quite the challenge? Over at Linda's Studio L3, we have made it to week #22 on the Compenium of Curiosities Challenge. The technique: Alcohol Ink Splatter, page 52.

So, armed with a "borrowed" air can from our tech department at work, I headed up to my space, planning on getting this one done and then working on some holiday cards. It was actually quite warm up there, so being snuggie-free, I was planning on getting quite a lot done in my 2 hour window of time. (and I had peeked at some of the early postings...no one seemed to indicate "issues" with this one...)

So, with my sparse supply of glossy paper cut and ready, and my fave inks spread out all around me, I read the directions, twice (see, I have learned something!) and splattering forward, I go! Now, I don't know if my inks were "fermenting", (and I do keep caps on, and it was so windy, my room had wicked drafts) or the canned air was oozing some sort of gas other than air, but after 40 minutes of being so totally out of control of- anything--I was giggling like a fool, and had abolutely no pieces that looked even half good. And I still have no idea what step #5 is supposed to do...I had blobs of metal. So, on my last piece, I stick with just blues, (was still getting little splurts, no large spatters) but in step #5 I POUR on the solution...now, with my paper flooded, I did get a more consistant coverage, so here were are...

So while definately fun and I'm glad I did it, I have to admit, I like a little more- um, consistancy- or mental preview- on my results. (maybe this stems from my restricted craft time, and need to get things done...not sure) so I'm not sure if this will be in my "go to" toolbox of techniques.

WOYWW #76

Well, here it is Wednesday night, the wind is howling, but it's actually on the warm side; no snuggie or space heater needed in my craft room! So, I figured a quick attack on the Compendium of Curiosites challenge, and then on to some Christmas cards...

This shot was taken after I've been working on this an hour...I'm now laughing uncontrollably, and there is no hope for getting any holiday stamping done tonight! My finished challenge piece will be my next post; you can hear all the issues there! LOL!

CCC #21! Perfect Distress

Wow, week #21 already?? Over at Studio L3's Compenium Challenge we have been progressing nicely through Tim's book. This week: page 38, the Perfect Distress technique. Now, this was one of those challenges that upon thumbing through the book the first time, a certain stamp jumped out at me. Not to mess with the muse, I pushed all the Christmas stuff aside, and dug it out. And in a pre-senior moment...I just can't remember who made it...Magenta, maybe? Anyway, I love this stamp, even though it is HUGE! (by card-making standards! LOL!)

So, off I go with the mustards and staws and a dab of..hmm, corderoy or photo, no maybe burlap (where is my memory this morning?), the background was done. Not thinking things through, I immediately stamped my image in Ancient Mahogany...and dusted with copper PP's....TOO SOON! I never dried the background..ugh! So, take two, wasn't in such a rush..and..yupper! It looks pretty much like I hoped! Of course I then needed every trick in my photo-background toolbox to get the shiney-ness to appear; lets just say, thank god I've gone digital--easily a whole roll would have been spent trying to get a clear, focused image!

So, I really like this technique. With the right image it could be your main focus, but it can also make a really cool backgound. Thanks again Linda for running these challenges! Have a great crafty week everyone!

Industrial Grunge

Whew! I managed to squeak out some time to get this weeks challenge over at Studio L3 done. This week, #20, Industrial Grunge! And I was concerned, as on my occasional "flipping ahead" it seemed like this would be a bit time consuming. And I'm really low on grunge items, so as this is a "technique exercise", I wanted to experiement with some "leftover" pieces. (Come on--you know..)

So, all that being said...(oh, and the fact that my "studio" [bonus room over the garage...no heat] was FREEZING {yup, me, the arctic queen} was SHIVERING) I have to say, I had a ball with this. Let me just start with step 1!! Who Knew??? I might never use metallic ink pads again! I used all but the pearl one...and was really ready to stop there! For step 2, I did have to improvise, I thought (make that know!) I had a bunch of different scratch tools for the stampbord, but damned if I could find any?? but the x-acto worked just fine. I used DI Soot ont he silver and copper and DI Aged Mahogany on the gold. To go with the "industrial-ness" i used the little dot scrap in the corners, with the background being DI tumbled glass, wild honey and scattered straw. I meant to add some swirlies before attaching the flowers, but I was so cold, I didn't want to get up to get another ink pad (really..how sad is that?? I have resolved, my step-sons old room WILL be done..this winter..so I can have electricity and heat for the cold season!)

So, all said, I think it came out really cool, and wished I had used some of the "better pieces" of grunge, but it is a technique I will do again! And it was pretty quick too---so if you haven't joined in yet---and can squeak out a half-hour---go get industrialized!

Oh, and after Scratchy, Ponder and Dakota bragged how they had their picture posted, Astro and Angus tried stealing my new camera, so I promised them they would get "air-time" too! So here is the "A" team of my feline foursome...