Simon Says Stamp and Show Me...

...EPHEMERA!

You can check out the details of the challenge, and see more wonderful entries over at the Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge Blog!

You can't get more ephemera-ish than 7 Gypsies Mini Ephemera packs and Graphic 45 Transatlantique!  That's what I chose to use on this weeks project to make a five page chipboard book, along with a few of Tim's On The Edge dies!

Basically, there's a lot of cutting and gluing here, so I don't think I need to bore you with details, so I'll just include pictures of the pages.....

This week, our wonderful sponsors at Simon Says Stamp are giving away a $50 voucher!  Just think of all the great stuff you can order with THAT! lol!  So, be sure to create something and enter it for a chance to win!

Here's a list of the other design team members blogs, be sure to check out their wonderful creations!

Lynne

Nancy W

Nancy C

Linda C

Dan

Kim

Terry

Linda E - the DIRECTOR
Thanks for stopping by!

Anyone Up for a Swap?

I thought it would be fun to do a three for three ATC swap....anyone interested?  I thought a "vintage humor" swap would be fun.  Here's how it will work:

1) If interested, click on Rocky (the dog!) on my sidebar to email me.
2) Three for three swap, send me three, get three back. You will need to enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope for return to you, international players, we'll figure something out.
3) Sign up by March 5, due date for ATC's TO ME BY MARCH 31.
4) I'll swap them out within two to three days of the deadline.
5) Since it's "vintage humor", I thought using vintage people images would be cool, but you don't have to..as long as it's humorous...and vintage...lol.

Here's a couple more that I have done using Val's images from Sum of All Crafts....

Honestly?! Designer diapers?

Hey! This isn't Tickle Me Elmo! (yeah, you can barely see the stuffed animal there for the glare, doh!)

Okey dokey?
Email me!

A One-ah and a Two-ah...

..wondering where I'm going with this, eh?
Two challenges and one award!  Oops, I mean...one award and two challenges! lol!  First, let me expound on the award portion of our program...
I was bestowed the Stylish Blogger Award from not one of my blog friend, but TWO!  First from my friend Helen (StampingbyH), and then from Stephen, (My Thoughts, My Life)!  WOW!  Thank you so much, you two! Really made my week!

Then, I'm supposed to tell you 8 things about myself...hmmm.....what don't you already know? lol!
1) Let's see...well, for those that haven't seen me in person, I'm tall, (5'10"),and along with that, big boned.  Yes, I'm calling that a body type.  It worked to my advantage in high school, I was never picked on.  It also works well when you're in a crowd.  Not so much when you're young, and the crowd consists of single girls vying for the bridal bouquet.  Somehow, they had some sort of missile guidance system and headed right for me.  No matter how much I ducked and weaved, it found me.  After while, I just stayed in the bathroom till it was all over.
2) I change the oil in my pickup every 3,000 miles. No, I mean I change my oil. Same with the motorcycles.
3) I have one sibling, a younger sister. Hi Sis! lol!
4) I like to read, just don't have a lot of time to do it.  I like a good who dun it, trashy historical romances set in the "pioneer" period, and surprisingly, the Twilight series.
5) Back in college, I refuse to divulge the year, I competed in powerlifting. Just on a state and local level.  I was actually too tall, the less height you have in that sport, the better you do.  It's all leverage.  But I did fairly well for what I had to work with. lol.
6) I have a bad back and bad knees, see #5.  Not so much that I can't get around, but the older I get, the more I'm feelin' it.
7) My favorite color is brown. (ok, and Broken China)
8)  I love music. Quite a wide variety, really.  Usually, current pop is on my radio.
Ok! The other part of this award is to pass it on to 8 other bloggers.  Well, I find this part rather daunting, there are so many wonderful blog friends out there.  So, rather than narrowing it down, I prefer to leave it open for any of my blog friends that wish to grab it, you're all wonderful, and I thank you for your support! And thanks to Helen and Stephen for choosing my blog!
Alrighty then, on to some art...
The CCC this week is Altered Metal Alcohol Inks, and the details can be found on Linda's blog HERE.
I decided to cover a frame I had made a while ago that was covered with inchies.  I put some grungeboard shapes and letters on the inchies, then covered everything with metal tape.  Then liberally applied alcohol inks, and swiped a little black paint on the shapes and letters.  I also added a stamped image (Tim's) on manila cardstock.

Nope, haven't decided on a picture yet.  It looks better in real life, the picture is kind of crappy.

And, at the Everything Wendy Vecchi Yahoo! Group, the challenge is ... a heart and some junk jewelry. So, using all Wendy stamps of course, I made this little hanging....

As far as the junk jewelry is concerned, I used an old earring for the flower center, and the hangy heart on the bottom is another old earring. These weren't my earrings by the way. lol.  And no, I didn't grab them off unsuspecting people as they passed by, these were garage sale finds.
Whew! If you've read all the way to the bottom, thank you!
Now, Go Be Creative!

Simon Says Stamp and Show Me .....

...Stripes!

Apparently, a lot of us on the team over at the Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge Blog went with Graphic 45 paper for our stripes, but we each came up with something completely different!  I chose to use the Renaissance Fair paper,  and covered this HUMUNGO wooden box I've had laying around. (14" across!)
Actually, I saved it from the trash at an office I used to work at, (big surprise there, but I actually snagged it BEFORE it actually went in the trash), it came as a cheese and sausage gift box.   I knew as soon as I started it, it was going to take FOREVER, (it did), but I like the end result; and once I started it, I was committed to the end!
I used the Tattered Florals die for the roses, some clear Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel and a Melting Pot to cover them, and Studio Multi Medium Matte to adhere all the pieces together!

My teamie, Linda C, had a great tutorial on her blog about using the UTEE on flowers, you can check it out HERE.  I've seen it on other blogs as well, everyone has their own method for covering the flowers with UTEE. It's a little time consuming, especially when you decide to do, like five flowers and five leaves, but worth it in the end.

The paper has a sheet of just faces and images of women, so I featured those on triangular pieces of chipboard (Maya Road Triangle Banner).  Hence, I'm calling this piece.... the faces of Renaissance... brilliant, eh? lol....

This week, our wonderful sponsors at Simon Says Stamp are giving away a $50 voucher!  Just think of all the great stuff you can order with THAT! lol!  So, be sure to create something and enter it for a chance to win!

Here's a list of the other design team members blogs, be sure to check out their wonderful creations!

Lynne

Nancy W

Nancy C

Linda C

Dan

Kim

Terry

Linda E - the DIRECTOR
Thanks for stopping by!

Stamping, Inking, Masking...Oh My!

..yep, corny.  Well, if you didn't laugh, if anything, maybe I made you shake your head and roll your eyes. lol.
Ok, the CCC this week is Inking and Stamping Masks...you can check the details on Linda's blog HERE.

I went with a card this week, who doesn't need those?

I'm not sure about this, but I tried some different colors....I'm thinking Brolley Man is Irish.

Classic Tim stamps.  I used Olive Archival for the sentiment and umbrella dude.  The background is the wrinkle free distress using Crushed Olive and Pine Needles.  I kinda like that combo.  I think the rest is self explanatory.

And the theme over at Order of the Opus Gluei is actually...a sketch.  You can see the sketch, the details and other wonderful entries HERE.  Again, I went with a card.  And it is probably not going to fit in a flat envelope.

There is a slight pattern on the background paper, it's just hard to see. I looked at the back of the paper for a name or something, didn't find that, but I found the year....2001. Yes, it's true.  But I still like it.  I overstamped it with Wendy's script stamp in Tea Dye.  The sentiment is Wendy's too.  I had a flower I had made using old book paper, sprayed with Maya Mist Brown, then a chipboard button ran thru the embossing folder for the center of the flower, with some baker's twine tied thru it.  I added some Prima Say It In Pearls with two others next to the flower, all mounted on a piece of brown velvet with ecru lace at top and bottom.
So, there you have it!  Couple of challenges done, let's see how the rest of the week plays out!  Thanks for stopping by, hope you are having an arty week!

Simon Says Stamp and Show Me...

...a TAG! 
I don't think I've ever done one of these before...ROFL.... 
Click the link and you will be zoomed away to the Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge Blog for more details, and..
Be sure to visit the Simon Says Stamp super store, too! They'll have lots of the newest products from CHA coming in!

It just didn't feel right to put a meager little ribbon thru the hole on the top of the tag, so I went with a roof and a bird....lol...but trust me, it's a standard #8 tag under the roof.  Here's some details:
1) Covered the tag with a collage of paper from the 7 Gypsies Conservatory paper.
2) I melted some beeswax in my melting pot, and proceeded to apply that with a brush over the collage. 
3) Brushed some Perfect Pearls over that. (I used the Cafe collection, which is difficult to find, but any Perfect Pearls will work!)
4) Fussy cut some of the botanical elements from the paper, brushed a coat of beeswax on them, and glued them down around the sentiment, which is an unknown rub on word
5) The flowers and leaves in the lower right corner are BEESWAX brushed with PERFECT PEARLS. Yep. Made from an old mold I had lying around. Or, you could make your own with MOLD N POUR.
6) Added a little bling with an old button, from which hangs some Maya Road Chandelier pieces and a pearl bauble.
7) Roof is chipboard cut with Tim's On the Edge Scallop die, ran thru a Cuttlebug Victoria  embossing folder, and treated with various paints, sanding and inks.  Check out  Shelly's tutorial for faux copper verdigris to see how that was done.  The bird is beeswax again, rubbed with Espresso Perfect Pearls.


This week, our wonderful sponsors at Simon Says Stamp are giving away a $50 voucher!  Just think of all the great stuff you can order with THAT! lol!  So, be sure to create something and enter it for a chance to win!

Here's a list of the other design team members blogs, be sure to check out their wonderful creations!

Lynne

Nancy W

Nancy C

Linda C

Dan

Kim

Terry

Linda E - the DIRECTOR
Thanks for stopping by!

Making Art! Challenge #2!

Ok! Here we are again! I posted the new Making Art! Challenge on Wednesday for the Everything Wendy Vecchi Yahoo! group, and the theme this week is...use a chipboard flower with the pigment ink resist technique.  The technique can be found at Wendy's blog post of 4-30-2009, where she did it on manila cardstock, same technique applies for chipboard though.  She has other posts related to the same technique, I just didn't have time to go thru all of them, and the blogger search wasn't working the way I had hoped.
Now, I must tell you, I've had "issues" in the past with this technique, as I think most have.  It seems that the white pigment ink wants to "disappear", unless you make sure your ink pad is nice and juicy before you use it. AND, that the ink is DRY before applying distress inks. Like..."let it sit on a radiator overnight" dry. Kidding about that part.  (I hereby absolve myself from any fires that may result from that last comment.)  I'm just sayin'...it's gotta be good and DRY. Ok, point made.

I've had some of these chipboard pieces for AGES. Everything but the flower itself is Maya Road. Best chipboard I've ever used. So...I thought it was high time I start using it and doing a little "stash bustin'".

All stamps are Studio 490, of course. (When I refer to Studio 490 or Wendy, they're the same thing) The colors of distress inks I used were: Brushed Cord, Broken China, Peeled Paint, Spiced Marm. A little pen stitching with the trust Sakura black glaze pen. 
Now, here's the good part...the button on the flower, you may think, oh, that's one of Tim's buttons. Well...it is and it isn't. lol! I made a mold of his button with mold 'n pour, and used Pearl UTEE. Close enough for me! I also made the little pearl drops on the brackets, by just dropping some UTEE on my craft sheet.
So, there you have it! Thanks for checking me out (my blog, I mean), now...you...
Go Be Creative!

Tag Tuesday...

The theme for this week's Tag Tuesday is .... tag on a tag!

I chose to keep it pretty simple this time, but sometimes simple is good.  I really like this set of stamps from Tim, so I don't like to cover it up much. And, I made two versions, see what you think. Minor differences, mainly the ribbon at the top of the tag and I added a fiber around the small tag.

The colors I used for the background are Spiced Marmalade and Broken China. I scammed this combo from Craftytrog, who used this on a card, and I thought it was just a great combo.  Then I dropped some water droplets on it, and blotted with a paper towel.  A little bit of Walnut Stain around the edges before stamping the images with black Archival.
My second "tag", of course, is the little round metal edged tag with "make art" stamped on it.  That's a Catslife Press stamp.  The ribbon slide is Maya Road.
See...simple.
Thanks for stopping by today, and don't forget about the Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge, there's still time to enter!

Time for the CCC!

..you'll see what that means in a minute... (ooo, pun..time..minute...totally unintentional)
The theme for the CCC this week is Rusted Enamel...one of my FAVORITE Tim techs.

Although, I must say, I'm not sure if the way I did it on this card is my fave...lol.  I tried a different color combo for both ingredients necessary, and you can barely see it on the background, but it's there!

I embossed the Fab Flourish stamp with black embossing powder after I had done the technique on the background.  I also embossed the sentiment with black ep, too.
Yep, the metal strip at the top is the leftover piece that I posted Monday, from my SSS DT piece.  Just happened to still be laying on the desk, so why not? lol..
Ok, the pocket watch is my favorite piece, simply because I found some dies and stamps that work GREAT for this.  The pocket watch itself is an older original Sizzix die.  The watch stamp is Studio 490 (Wendy).  Fits beautifully. Then, I found that on the original Sizzix die, Circle and Frames Combo, the one circle frame fit over the top of the stamp and pocket watch PERFECTLY.  And the frame was treated with Shelly's faux tarnished silver tech, which you can read about HERE.  I then filled the watch with Crackle Accents and let dry, then rubbed some Black Soot ink over it to enchance the cracks.
As long as I was on the time kick, I made another card to enter in Hels Sunday Stamper, of which the theme is....time!

Here's another older original Sizzix die, the grandfather clock.  Beauty part - one of Tim's watch Salvage Stickers fit's PERFECTLY in the round part, which you do have to cut out.  I used the tarnished silver treatment on this one too, and filled the watch with Crackle Accents. And hey, it's five o'clock somewhere... lol... the word "time" at the bottom is 7 Gypsies.
Background paper is Paddington paper, also from 7 Gypsies, of which I applied a mist of Black Soot and Brushed Pewter Perfect Pearl mix, LOVE this combo:

Can't see the sparkle from the PP of course, but it's there. (Hmmm...it seems you'll have to trust me a lot on these projects...lol)
I also used some Gadget Gear dies cut from black cardstock, with a swipe of Silver paint dabber across them.
The bookplate is from Tim's Tag and Bookplate die, same tarnished silver treatment, and the sentiment is Wendy's, which fit PERFECTLY inside the bookplate. (How many times did I use the word PERFECTLY today? Is that even a word?)  Ok, my choice on the sentiment was for this reason... Time is short, so Create a Memory TODAY...
Thanks for stopping by today, and remember what I just said! lol!

Simon Says Stamp and Show Me...

...EMBOSSING.
Click the link and you will magically be transported to the Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge Blog for more details, and..
Be sure to visit the Simon Says Stamp super store, too! They'll have lots of the newest products from CHA coming in!

It's been a while since I've worked with my Ten Seconds Studio metal and molds, so I thought this would be a GREAT opportunity to use it to complete this challenge.
I covered up a journal that I thought needed a little pick me up.  I also love the Time Expressions Kabuka mold, I think it's perfect for the cover of a journal.  I also love the Peacock color metal.  Yum-O!

I thought the reference to time on the back cover would be a good companion with the front cover, since that mentions life being only "ten seconds long".   Rock Star Black metal was used for the spine, which was run thru Tim's On the Edge Ornate die first, before I embossed it with yet another portion of a different Kabuka mold.  After sanding, I swiped a Black paint dabber lightly over the embossed areas, just to tone it down a bit.  I thought about more embellishing, but I want the journal to be able to be stored flat, and it may get a lot of handling, so I left it as it was.
I used Humungo Killer tape from Ten Seconds Studio to adhere all the metal.  Here's some more shots, it's so hard to photo metal.

And lookee here, I saved the cut outs from the die to use on ATC's, tags, whatever...

This week, our wonderful sponsors at Simon Says Stamp are giving away a $50 voucher!  Just think of all the great stuff you can order with THAT! lol!  So, be sure to create something and enter it for a chance to win!

Here's a list of the other design team members blogs, be sure to check out their wonderful creations!

Lynne

Nancy W

Nancy C

Linda C

Dan

Kim

Terry

Linda E - the DIRECTOR
Thanks for stopping by!

Some Challenges...

Over at the Everything Wendy Vecchi Yahoo! Group, I started a challenge based on Wendy's books, Make Art, Studio 490 Style.  I brilliantly named it the Making Art! Challenge. lol.  Why fight the obvious.  I had thought about these for a while last year, but I was stumped on how to do it since her books are project based as compared to Tim's Compendium of Curiosities, which is technique based.  I was then prompted by a friend and fellow member of the EWV group to think about it again. And I believe I came up with challenges that will be general enough for those without the books to play along, while still challenging those that have the books.
Any who....Wednesday was the first challenge post.  The challenge was to use a scallop AND a butterfly on the project.  Here's my take, an ATC:

For the scallop requirement, I decided to go with Tim's On the Edge Scallop die. That, and the base, are cut from chipboard.  Some grungepaper for the flower, stem and butterfly. All stamps used are Wendy's. (Studio 490).  Distress inks I used: Broken China, Peeled Paint, Rusty Hinge, Spiced Marmalade and Brushed Corduroy.  The little brass flower by the sentiment is Maya Road.
Yes, the sentiment is stamped on a bit of manila, to ... ah... cover up the wonky stamping underneath. lol.
I will also tell you that due to the highly dimensional nature of the flower, this ATC ain't fittin' in no stinkin' sleeve.
I just might do as my pal Eileen suggested (so geniusly, too..no, I know that's not a word according to Webster, but it is in my world) and make it an easel ATC.  My blog buddy Chris, just had a great tutorial on how to make one. Check it out!
And since it is, after all, the Everything Wendy Vecchi group, one of the requirements is that you use at least ONE Studio 490 stamp. No problem here!

Ok, the Tag Tuesday Challenge this week was to use circles, and more than one.
Hey, you Stampin' Up people, remember this set?

I'm also going to enter this into the Order of the Opus Gluei challenge this week, which is to use something to do with CHICKEN. (light meat, please)  Yeah, I really had to dig to find something to do with a chicken.  Well, after all, that's why they call them challenges.  The one stamp had a postage circle on it, which you can see near the bottom there. And, I just realized that the circle tag is turned around, revealing my first feeble attempt at punching a hole in the tag. lol.
If you look closely, you will see yet another sample die cut, painted silver and swiped with black paint dabber, it kind of fades into the background.  Speaking of backgrounds, this one was wrinkle free distress with Dusty Concord, Broken China, and Turquoise Perfect Pearl Mist, overstamped with the French Script stamp and Azure Staz On. The black border on the bottom is black metal, a leftover piece that was cut with Tim's on the edge die.
Whew!
Thanks for stopping by, I truly appreciate all your comments! 
Go Be Creative!

Sentimental Metal

Hey all! Good afternoon from snowy, blowy, and generally crappy Illinois. lol.  Right now, I'm looking out the window and all I can see is.... white.  Thankfully, the power is still on and I'm still getting an internet signal. Oh, and amazingly enough, still receiving the satellite TV signal. lol.
Alrighty then, the theme of the CCC this week is... Altered Metal with Paint.  Check out the details on lovely Linda's blog, along with her awesome sample,  HERE.
The theme over at Hels Sunday Stamper is... Sentimental Journey.  Click here to check out her awesome creation as well as many others.
You know what, I had this lovely paper and stamped images from my friend, Alexandra, who resides in bonny Scotland.  Thanks so much, Alexandra!  So, I decided to use it! Yep, that's right!  Here we go:

After I inked the edges of the paper with Tea Dye, I stamped the Fab Flourish stamp in black.  It's also edged with black and gold paint dabber.
I inked the stamped images, then mounted them on black card, edged with gold dabber.  The stamped images themselves are edged with black dabber. 
The bookplate is actually the piece that meets both challenge requirements..the sentiment inside and the ...ah...altered bookplate, which you probably can't see real well unless you blow up the picture.  Oh, I did alter the metal fleur de lis on the tag too.
What? Oh. The crown. lol. That is UTEE, and the mold is courtesy of a blogger friend of mine, she knows who she is...lol..THANK you for that.  I totally love it.  I went nuts one day and poured a gazillion of them.  I put some gold paint dabber on that too.
Ok, now, I wanted to answer some questions from comments from the last couple of posts. 

Debby wanted to know if there are directions for the easel cards on the web, and I can tell you, YEP. Tons. That's how I learned how to make one. Just Google it, and there's even some videos. Now, after viewing the video, I tried it from memory, and since then, I've just been eyeballing where the score lines go. Sometimes successfully, sometimes...not.
My friend Eileen mentioned that ATC sized easel cards are very cool, and I would have to agree, they would be VERY cool. Is she brilliant or what?
Craftytrog wanted to know what color my toenails were...HA! Ummm, the comment was about as far as that got.
Electra wanted to know how to get in on the swaps. Well, Electra, they were for the Everything Wendy Vecchi Yahoo group, so you would need to be a member of the group. You can click the button on my sidebar to take you to the homepage, or just email me.
And one other thing, does anyone own one of those electric label makers? Like the Brother PTouch? I'm wondering if they would be handy in the studio for printing little labels for ATC's, journaling for scrapbooks, etc. As compared to running to a computer with a printer all the time. Give me your thoughts. Yeah, I have a dymo, but sometimes I wanted some printed stuff.
Thanks for stopping by, try to keep warm!