Gingersnap Creation - GC101 Cowboys and Cowgirls

Over at Gingersnap Creations blog the Chestnut Theme Challenge is Cowboys and Cowgirls.

I've had this piece done for a couple of weeks, but when I saw the pictures, I almost threw the card away!  It looked awful! Well at least the "ground' looked awful and the color of the card was worse.  I used Prima colored pencils to color it.  After I did a little ground work, I like it much better.  The card itself looks fine to my eye, just not the cameras. 

Then I made the mistake of setting the card aside.  I looked everywhere for it so I could take more pictures and see if they came out any better.  No matter where I looked I couldn't find it.  That is generally what happens when I start to clean - I can't find anything.  So I gave up to finding the card and when on to sort some [paper] scraps I have accumulated.  It's amazing what one finds!  In the bag a scraps not only did I find my missing cowboy, but found some tape I had been looking for too! lol

Any way here is my "revised" cowboy, lookin' much better:

The stamp is from I Brake for Stamps. I used Staz-On jet black ink, Prima colored pencils, distress ink around the edges, the mat is a piece of grocery bag and the horseshoe is cut freehand then inked with vintage photo distress ink covered with vintage photo ditress embossing powder and covered with rusty hinge distress ink!

Hope you had a fabulous weekend and have a great week!

Linda
PS - As I mentioned, I am cleaning (my studio) and if you are interested in an envelope full of scrap paper - anywhere from 1" x 6" up to 8.5 x 11, let me know and I will send an envelope stuffed full. If more than one person is interested I will either divide it up or have a drawing or something but my scrap bin runneth over so some has to leave. Leave a way for me to contact you too, please.

Grungy Monday #8

It's Grungy Monday # 8 over at Linda Ledbetter's StudioL3 blog and almost time for #9!  If you haven't checked Linda's blog out, you really need too!  (The GM link will take you directly to the challenge; the Studio L3 link will take you to the home page.)

I almost didn't have anything for Grungy Monday #8, not because I didn't try, but because it just wasn't working for me.  I tried on Monday evening and I tried on Wednesday.  I was either getting puddles or I was getting no blending. (Yeah, I know too much water or not enough).  But after going through 5 or 6 sheets of paper, I had had enough. It could have been because we are having weird weather for our part of California, nothing like some of you have been experiencing, but none the less, let the barometric pressure change and I get migraines.

I decided to give it one last try today.  At least that was my excuse to take a break from the cleaning! lol   So what was the challenge that was so challenging for me?  To get directions and find inspiration we were sent to Tim's September 2008 challenge. 

Perhaps it wasn't the migraines that were the problem afterall, perhaps it was the "substituting" I did.  I didn't have the Adirondack Dye Pads or watercolor paper.  I used Distress Inks (in Barn Door, Mustard Seed, Peeled Paint and Bundled Sage) and Diamond White paper (it's some really great paper from Stampers' Corner).   The stamp is Hero Arts, the ribbon is from my stash as is  the background paper.

Persistence paid off!

Hope you have a fabulous week! 

Linda

PS - As I mentioned, I am cleaning (my studio) and if you are interested in an envelope full of scrap paper - anywhere from 1" x 6"  up to 8.5 x 11, let me know and I will send an envelope stuffed full.  If more than one person is interested I will either divide it up or have a drawing or something but my scrap bin runneth over so some has to leave.  Leave a way for me to contact you too, please.

State Fair Results

The California State Fair is coming up in mid-July! (It opens July 14!)  But the entry deadline was in April and the submission deadline, this year was Saturday, May 14, 2011, at 1:00 p.m.  And results were received on Saturday, May 21, but no one checked the mail until Sunday! lol

Not that I EVER wait until the last minute to finish projects, I am happy to say, I made it to the fairgrounds at 12:38 on the 14th.  I guess  I should say "we made it"  because my husband was driving as I was madly trying to get the last pieces of my card together.  I decided to make a pop-up card, I've made a few but it has been awhile for this particular type.  Just before we left for the fair I realized I put the pop-up mechanism on backwards.  So while riding in the van, I "fixed" the mechanism so the card would pop up.  When I closed the card, the balloon hung out of the bottom! OH NO!  With limited supplies I fixed it as much as I could and while it was not perfect.  I debated about submitting it, but ultimately decided to let the the judges say yea or nay.


I registered 8 projects, submitted 7.  I have a trip to the State Fair in early June to pick up 3 projects that did not make it. :(  

They said nay to the one I debated about (Still think it is an adorable card, but it does have a few things that could have been better.)

My personal favorite

And the shadow box inspired by the 12 Tags of Christmas (I debated on this one too.)

And the winners are:

Award of Merit (I know these are really bad photos, but they are the only ones I have currently.

2nd Place - Holiday Fun!

2nd place Wedding Wishes

And the 4th item I received an Honorable Mention was my New England Shadow Box., but I don't have a photo it.

There you have, my 2011 fair entries!

Gingersnap's Red and Gold Challenge

GingersnapCreations' Color Challenge is Red and Gold, which made me think "CHRISTMAS!!!"  So for this challenge even though it is the middle of May, I made a couple of Christmas cards!

They were quick to make, except for the bling.  I stamped the images with Clear Embossing Distress Ink on red paper, covered in embossing powder, removed excess embossing powder, heated, cut out, mounted  gold paper and then mounted on the card.  I didn't have any red jewels that were the right size so I made some using Ranger Inks Red Pepper Alcohol Ink on clear jewels.  After they dried, I attached to the card!

Hope you are having a fabulous weekend!

Linda



Products used:
Red paper - DCWV; Gold paper -the Paper Company;  Ranger's Queen's Gold embossing powder; Clear Embossing Distress Ink;   Ranger Inks Red Pepper Alcohol Ink; Miracle tape; Zig 2 way glue; Darice gemstones, EK Success (Martha Stewart) Clear Gem Stickers Stamps: Stampendous "Ornate Poinsettia"; Stamper's Anonymous (Tim Holtz) mini "Merry Christmas"; Hero Arts "Joyous Christmas Greeting" 

Grungy Monday done by Tuesday!

Did you notice the title? That's right! It's Tuesday as in the day after Monday when Linda at StudioL3 issued the latest Grungy Monday challenge and I am posting a project!  Woo Hoo!  Guess my mojo from last week is still with me!

The instructions for Challenge 7 were to go to the Ranger Ink website for a demo on Distress Ink Color Blocking Technique from the master himself, Tim Holtz!

I guess I've been living under a rock or something because this is another "Tim" technique that I had never tried before.  It was fun, quick and easy!  And it looks great!    The bear was stamped, cut out and adhered with foam tape.  His hat was cut free-hand.

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(After I took the picture, I decided to add strings with a black glaze pen to the inside balloons!)

I am so glad Linda is hosting Grungy Monday, it's getting me out and about! If you haven't tried Grungy Monday Challenge yet, drop by Linda's and give it a try!

Hope your week is fabulous!

Linda

In the comments Plume wondered how I did it.
Assuming that was not a rhetorical question, here's what I did for the bear:
Since I really struggle with blending the "traditional ways" (i.e., markers or pencils), I cheated.  I stamped the image on manilla cardstock, then with a blending tool lightly colored the entire bear (including the bow) with Frayed Burlap Distress Ink, next I lightly went over most of it with Vintage Photo, then Walnut Stain around the outer edges and "recessed" areas.  After I cut him out, I went over the edges with Walnut Stain DI too.  I stamped a partial image of the bear just making sure I had the entire bow .  Using the blending tool I covered everything in Broken China DI.  After I cut the bow out, I went around the edges with Faded Jeans DI before gluing it on the bear. I went over his eyes and nose with a black Sakura Glaze pen.  I added a tiny white (Sakura Glaze) dots to each eye too. Quick and easy!


Stuff I used: 
PAPER: Inkssential Manilla cardstock (have I mentioned I LOVE this stuff?), card base unknown 
INK: Ranger Distress Ink (Chipped Sapphire, Rusty Hinge, Victorian Velvet, Tumbled Glass, Pine Needles, Dusty Concord, Crushed Olive, Broken China, Frayed Burlap, Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain), Stazon Ink (Ultra Marine)
STAMPS: JudiKins Stamp (Bear), Studio G Alphabet Stamps (#VS4191), Hero Arts "Sunny Birthday" Stamp 
ADHESIVES:  Micracle tape, Ace double side mounting tape, Zig 2-way glue, Studio Mat Medium
MISC: Blending Tool, Craft Mat, Sizzix Balloon die, small bit of yarn, Sukura Glaze pen

A busy weekend!

I've been on a roll this weekend, actually all week!  Saturday was the deadline for getting items entered in the State Fair delivered.  I made it to the fair grounds with 22 minutes to spare. (And I was NOT the last person arriving either! lol)  Judging is Wednesday and then sometime before June 2, entrants find out what didn't make it.  (We have to pick up the items not receiving a ribbon on June 2 or June 3  or have the fair people mail the stuff on June 2.)   Once I know what made it and what didn't I will share pictures.

I was in creative high gear all week, then kicked it up a notch on Friday and Saturday.  I guess the juices are still flowing today as I have been busy creating most of this cool, rainy day!

Grungy Monday Challenge 6 (GM)(hosted by the fabulous Linda at Studio L3)  is based on Tim Holtz' 12 Tags of Christmas 2007, Day 8.   If you haven't checked out the challenges, you really need to as they are great fun!

Over at Gingersnap Creations' blog the Random Redhead Challenge that ends today is "Fans".  Gingersnap creations is another awesome challenge site, if you haven't checked them out, it's another place you need to go!

I decided to combine the challenges!  WHAT? How do you combine GM with fans?????  Well I created the background using GM's technique:

The piece on the left is being "saved", I have an idea floating around to use it in my canvas I started with Grungy Monday challenges 1-5.  The piece on the right is what I used for the background of Gingersnap's challenge.  (When I took this picture I wasn't quite finished with the GM as you are supposed to stamp an image on it, which I did eventually as you will see!)

I created some fan using washi paper and Tim's Sizzix rosette die.  I used the tiny attacher to hold the fans together, then wrapped some cord around the staple and volia! I had this card!  (Ok, I added a little glue and tape too, but you know what I mean! lol)

Since the base of the card is an Onyx (black) I created a second background piece to use as a liner inside the card:

Hope you enjoyed your visit!  Please take a moment and leave a comment, I'd love to hear from you!  Have fabulous week and don't forget to check out Studio L3 tomorrow for Grungy Monday challenge 7!

Linda


Supplies used for this card are:  Onyx (black) Stardream folding card, Inkssentials Manila Cardstock (LOVE that stuff!), Adirondack Aqua Dabber, Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink, Simply Sage Delta Paint for Paper, Hanko Designs Washi paper, Great Impression #e320 (leaves),  Kodomo Ink "Sayings  1", Studio Matte Medium and Miracle Tape.

a Happy Mother's Day Card

I wanted to create something a little different than the "usual" for my Mother-in-law's  Mother's Day Card.  I came across a card that looked like it would be fun to make on Extreme Cards and Papercrafts blog yesterday.  Carol had a link to Brenda's Qbee's Quest blog who had the directions on how to make a fabulous pop-up card!

The fact that I didn't have much, if anything, Brenda used in her card, didn't stop me from making my own version!   I improvised A LOT!   Although, not being able to come up with Hyacinths ALMOST was a show stopper.  I tried many ideas but didn't like any of them.  In the end, I went with the Rosettes.  And no curtains on the window.     My MIL loved the card so I guess it came out OK.

It was much easier than I expected and other than being frustrated by not having hyacinths, I had fun creating it!  Thank you Carol and Brenda for the help!  If you haven't checked out their blogs, you should!

Hope you have a Wonderful week ahead!

Stuff I used in my card
2 Hero Arts Photo Card with the extra "flap" removed. (it already had the window cut out!)
Stamps
  Hero Arts - Bold Flourish
  Great Impression - E320 (it's the leafy vine)
  Inkadinkado - "Happy Mother's Day
Distress Ink
   Tumbled Glass, Bundled Sage, Vintage Photo, Brushed Corduroy, Walnut Stain, Forest Moss, Spun Sugar, Wild Honey, Shabby Shutters
Sixxix 
   TH Tattered Floral and Paper Rosette dies, Woodgrain Texture Fade
Adhesives
    Glossy Accents, Miracle Tape, Zig 2 way glue 
Miscellaneous
   Tonic Scissors,  EK Success 1/2" punch, Ranger Ink Blending Tools, Fiskars Border Punch

Playing catch-up

What do you get when life is a whirlwind?  Behind!  My life certainly has been a whirlwind lately, but it is finally settling down!  I have been so busy (or sick)  that until this last week I did not even have time to play along with the Grungy Monday challenges and they are already on Challenge 5!  But never fear, it is time to play catch up!

What is Grungy Monday you ask?  Well head on over to StudioL3 to find out!  (The link will take to the "introduction" for Grungy Monday!)

The first challenge started back on March 28 and it used the techniques the AWESOME Tim Holtz used on the 2008 Day 10 Tag for the 12 Tags of Christmas!  The idea of Grungy Monday is to take a "Tim Technique" and put your personal twist on it.  Here is my twist!

 The second challenge took participants to the Ranger Ink website to view a Tim Holtz video demonstrating Distress Ink with Studio Matte Medium!  I never tried this technique before, it was quite fun!  It was kinda like magic because I was sure it wasn't going to come out, but I kept applying the ink and my ship magically appeared!  I think I got it right - the speakers are not hooked up to my computer, so I watched in silent mode, lol!

The third challenge explored using Tim Holtz Adirondack Color Wash!  Another product I had never used before!  All I can say is WOW! oh, and make sure everything around is well protected! lol

The fourth challenge took participates to  the "timholtz" YouTube channel for a lesson on Texture Fades and Distress!

And finally, the fifth challenge takes us to a New Dimension!  You can read all about it on Tim's blog.  This is the current challenge and it is open until 8:00 p.m. (MT) on Sunday, May 8, 2011.  Then on Monday, the fabulous Linda will post challenge 6!

So what do you get when you put 5 challenges together?  A work in progress!  I plan to incorporate a few more of the challenges into my canvas, so nothing is permanently attached yet.  I will let you know when it is complete!

Hope you have a fabulous weekend and in case I don't post again before Mother's Day. - Happy Mother's Day!

Especially for Anonymous

On Wednesday, May 4, 2011, I left my house around 6 p.m. to make a "quick" trip to Costco.  About 1/2 mile from my house I had to pull over and take a picture of this sign for Anonymous!  Anonymous LOVES the heat and as soon as I saw it, I thought of her!

It really wasn't that hot yesterday, it was "only" about 90, if it makes you feel better!   You NEED to come back!

I have been working on many projects, most of which I can share quite yet, but soon I will be able to share.

I am also working on a project for GrungyMonday over at Linda Ledbetter's StudioL3 blog.  I will have it ready to post in the next day or two!  If you want to see the current challenge you can click on the button near the top of my sidebar!

Take care,
Linda