CCC#3 # 28: Alcohol Ink Ombre, Pg. 57

Welcome to another installment of the Compendium of Curiosities Challenge, Vol. 3, hosted by Linda at Studio L3.  This is the Twenty-Eighth challenge in where we work through the techniques of Tim Holtz from, you guessed it…his 3^rd Volume of the Compendium of Curiosities!!  As in the past challenges, we can’t give details on the challenge, so don’t ask, but do go get your own copy of Tim’s fabulous book.  Also, TheFunky Junkie Boutique has offered an extremely generous $25 Gift Certificate for all the even numbered weeks! So grab a copy, and join in to play!!  All the 

deets are Here on Linda's Blog!

I confess; I thought this challenge would be a breeze…and a perfect technique for a card for my Mother in Law.  And while the steps outlined in Tim’s wonderful Compendium are pretty straightforward, I realize my collection of alcohol inks is sorely lacking.  I started my collection “back in the day…” before they had lights and brights, and you needed a Krylon pen to “marbleize”…actually, I still prefer the pen sometimes to the mixatives…and have only added a few new ones—mostly the lights— over the years.

So coming up with my colors was pretty limited.  I ended up using Lemonade, Peach Bellini and Butterscotch.  My first attempt came out beautifully…no really!  I then stamped the tulip from Penny Black, and I knew I wanted to add color. So I heat set the Archival ink…just for safety..then used the alcohol ink blending pen to start coloring using Meadow AI..  Yup, you guessed it…it totally smudged the black ink…quite the mess!

So, take two.  This time I used colored pencils to color the tulip. (Still smudged a bit on the leaf)  Not as bright as I was hoping, but still it stands out. The Ombre effect wasn’t nearly as smooth; I probably didn’t take enough time with it…and I didn’t take a picture of the first one. 

Now that I’ve seen the new color palettes (Honey comb??? Yeah!)...you guessed it; I’ll be on the lookout for more of these beautiful inks…and I’ll start using them more often, because I really do love them!

Now go visit the wonderful Curiosity Crew’s work to see how they showcased the Ombre Effect! Have a great week everyone.

WOYWW #10

Welcome to WOYWW…the “What’s on Your Workdesk Wednesday”  blog hop created by Julia at the StampingGround,  so hop over there to join the fun.

 What a difference a week makes…mostly because I had to “clear the decks” before working with the molding paste again; as it is I’m down to 11 ATC’s from 15.  I did flip them over so they’ll still be a surprise, and they are mostly done…just need to put on the finishing touches.  Phew!

Actually, looking back at the photo..not so very cleared! LOL!  I need to find a new way to store the markers, as with all the new Distress Ink 2015 colors, my nifty found shelving just won’t work much longer; as it is I can’t fit the Mermaid Lagoon in, and there is no room for the Twisted Citrus once it arrives..I might have to mix up the color families..Oh No!!!  I can’t remember why the X-acto knife is out..I don’t recall using it at all.  The craft sheet is drying off after scrubbing all the paint/molding paste off.  So, there it is…

Oh, and here is a rainbow I captured as I got home last night…of course by the time I took this as I got out of the car on the phone, then ran in, grabbed the good camera, got Dakota out, then got to the end of the porch where it should have been an outstanding shot over the field, it was gone…but the hawk is a nice touch.

Now go say Hello to Julia and see what this WOYWW phenom is all about!  Have a great week everyone!

WOYWW #309

Welcome to WOYWW…the “What’s on Your Workdesk Wednesday”  blog hop created by Julia at the StampingGround,  so hop over there to join the fun.

OK…I’m fine; there has not been a studio invasion…nothing has been ransacked…this is the aftermath of me panicking that I hadn’t started my Anniversary ATC’s yet.  I know…not pretty.

My craft mat is there drying…after an unfortunate incident involving red paint and the texture paste.  The Black ATC’s are there waiting to get put away..as the Tim Holtz Tissue over them just wasn’t light enough (in my opinion-it’s in the lower center there) to use as a background. First I have to inspect them to see if they escaped the unfortunate texture paste incident…The Poppy Stamps (lovely...still inked since Sunday..that will leave them stained/sigh) The manila ATC’s are waiting their shot to prove they are worthy..hopefully tonight! The blue paper is a mask I tried which may work, assuming I can find a way to avoid that unfortunate incident in the future, and the block front right is for the JustWrite Alphabet stamps..really tiny ones in this case…I wish they still sold these sets. I could use more fonts. And of course all the ink pads, tools, pens that just couldn’t make those stressful 2-5 inches to get put away.

Wow..I’ll be spending most of my evening just getting room to start again…

Now go say Hello to Julia and see what this WOYWW phenom is all about!  Have a great week everyone!

CC3C # 27:: Embossing Diffusers, Pg. 61

Welcome to another installment of the Compendium of Curiosities Challenge, Vol. 3, hosted by Linda at Studio L3.  This is the Twenty-seventh challenge in where we work through the techniques of Tim Holtz from, you guessed it…his 3^rd Volume of the Compendium of Curiosities!!  As in the past challenges, we can’t give details on the challenge, so don’t ask, but do go get your own copy of Tim’s fabulous book.  Also, InspirationEmporium has offered an extremely generous $50 Gift Certificate for all the odd numbered Challenges! So grab a copy, and join in to play!!  All the deets are here, at Linda’s blog!

First; I love the idea of these Embossing Diffusers, and have had them since they came out.  I do wish they were a bit more “moveable”, as centered doesn’t always work for me, but I do understand there are physical limits, so I’ll deal! LOL!  Now, while I can’t go into details…you need to get our own copy of Tim’s great book, I will say WoW! What a difference the last 3 steps make!  So I’ll find myself centered more often! LOL!

Here is the card that I not only got to use this technique on, but I also finally got to play with the new Flower Garden Stamp set.  I used Tim’s watercolor paper, used Distress Markers to color, discovered the Sizzix oval dies fit perfectly with the diffuser size, and that oval worked best with the Black Eyed Susan.  I then chose the burlap texture folder, as it seemed a more natural choice for this flower. Gave it a quick distressing around the edges and sanded the top for good measure.

My Bee is my disappointment; when will I learn, when seeing something cool (in this case, really cool Bee Charms at a stamp show a few years ago) Buy Them!  Yes, it adds to the hoard mentality, but then I‘d have a really cool bee, and not this stamped one that I tried to jazz up with Rock Candy Glitter. But overall, I’m pretty happy with it. 

Now go visit the wonderful Curiosity Crew’s work to see how they used the Embossing Diffusers! Have a great week everyone.

WOYWW #308

Welcome to WOYWW…the “What’s on Your Workdesk Wednesday”  blog hop created by Julia at the StampingGround,  so hop over there to join the fun.

 I’ve missed a few weeks, but mostly because work has been too crazy for me to post, because I’ve actually managed to spend quite a bit of time in my craft room lately! Yay Me!  Not that this quick shot from last night shows that, as I’ve actually been able to tidy up as well. 

But you do see the new My Favorite Things Poppy stamp set (the matching dies are underneath) I finally acquired…and the card that sent me on that quest.  It was an example in a Just One Layer article in last October’s issue of Craft Stamper…and it has stuck with me.. so when I found them on the Simon Says Stamp site…they were mine.  I will say; that card is an excellent exercise in advanced masking! (I need more practice! LOL!)

Here it is up close, along with my Compendium Challenge card..(which will be my next post today), another card I made with the Poppies using my new Spellbinders Curved Border Dies I had to acquire because of Pinterest (no...I’m not easily swayed! Lol!)  And the Birthday card for my Sis in Law that was in the works on my last post.

Now go say Hello to Julia and see what this WOYWW phenom is all about!  Have a great week everyone!

CC3C Challenge #26 Smudge Stamping, Pg.42

Welcome to another installment of the Compendium of Curiosities Challenge, Vol. 3, hosted by Linda at Studio L3.  This is the Twenty-Sixth challenge in where we work through the techniques of Tim Holtz from, you guessed it…his 3^rd Volume of the Compendium of Curiosities!!  As in the past challenges, we can’t give details on the challenge, so don’t ask, but do go get your own copy of Tim’s fabulous book.  Also, TheFunky Junkie Boutique has offered an extremely generous $25 Gift Certificate for all the even numbered weeks! So grab a copy, and join in to play!!  All the deets are here, at Linda’s blog!

For this challenge, I fell back to my “go-to” subjects/ colors: butterflies and yellow, and a tag because I just couldn't work out a card theme right away.   I used black soot, forest moss and walnut stain DI’s for the technique, which nicely softens and mellows the background.  I then filled with Cracked Pistachio and Wild Honey DI’s. I used the Butterfly Duo die and embossing folder, as well as one of the clear sets for all the background “smudges’.  I had some washi tape with the butterflies that I ran down a bit of the edges, and used Mustard Seed Stickles on the butterfly to give it a bit of sparkle.   A bit of Forest Moss and Cracked Pistachio on the linen ribbon, and Done!  It seems a bit brighter in person, and I’m thinking of finding a way for it to fit on a Mother’s day card…we’ll see…

Now go visit the wonderful Curiosity Crew’s work to see how they used this Smudgy technique! Have a great week everyone.

WOYWW #305

Welcome to WOYWW…the “What’s on Your Workdesk Wednesday”  blog hop created by Julia at the StampingGround,  so hop over there to join the fun.

 

The Mayhem continues….spent the weekend working on the April Birthday cards…ended up scrubbing one of them, but 2 are now done, and this last one is still in progress: having fun with the Bird Crazy Tim Holtz stamp set, and my new Simon Says Stitched Rectangle dies-off to the right (OK, for those of you who have used them…you do cut them apart? Right?  While together they leave a nice double stitched frame, they will also cut your image into small rectangles...but separating just the outer two trashed my scissors…suggestions?) The new Banner dies are to the right as well; also still attached.

The Distress Markers are still out; a few of the stamps are there, my new Wendy Vecchi Archival ink pads are there (Hydrangea is visible, Carnation can’t be seen) Yup, a right mess, but as soon as I figure what to do with the birdies for my Sis-in Laws card, I’ll do a good clean up; I’ll have too; went berserk with orders lately; need to get my new stash put away!

And here are the 2 finished cards; one for my Brother, one for my Mother in Law…

I used the small layered butterfly/embossing folder set from Tim Holtz on the one, and the Clarity Stamp Blue Tit stamp for the other; can't remember the companies for the sayings...

 

Now go say Hello to Julia and see what this WOYWW phenom is all about!  Have a great week everyone!