2008 August » » Page 4

Crazy for Copics!

Challenges, Copic Markers, Our Daily Bread 6 Responses »

Aug 142008

Good morning! Mallory just told me that there are tons of frogs down at the pond, so I’m going to get this post written and then go for a walk. Need to grab the camera first, leash up the pups and we are walking to the pond today. Hopefully I’ll be able to get some pictures. Actually every time I walk them around the boulevard there is something I wish I had my camera for – I need to start putting it in my pocket when I leave the house. Duh – what an idea!

Today’s card is for the Ways to Use it Challenge on Splitcoast. What a challenge to fall into my lap today, Crazy for Copics. The set I used today is called Peace on Earth, and is being released by Our Daily Bread Designs on August 15.

The image was colored with Copic Markers, masked, and then the background was airbrushed. I know this is rather a masculine looking card, but the paper colors just went so well with the image – I couldn’t resist. The edges of the image and all the cardstock were sponged with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

Stamps: Peace on Earth by Our Daily Bread Designs
Paper: Neenah Classic Crest Solar White; Prism Herbal Garden Dark and Tawny Dark
Ink: Ranger Adirondack Pitch Black, Tim Holtz Vintage Photo Distress, and Archival Coffee
Accessories: Copic Markers and Airbrush System; Venture Foam Mounting Tape; Tsukineko Sponge Dauber; Ribbon; Eclipse Masking Tape

I hope you have a great day, and I’m off hunting!

Grunged Up Flowers!

Challenges, Grunge Paper/Board, Rubbernecker, Sewing/Stitching, Techniques, Wrinkle-Free Distress 6 Responses »

Aug 132008

It’s still Wednesday, right? Well I know it is while I’m writing this, and hopefully I’ll finish by midnight. I’ve had one of those days where nothing wants to come together. I went for a haircut this morning and hung around longer that I wanted. I went to my mother’s today for one of those Salon Days. We have a friend that comes in, and cuts all of our hair in one setting. Mine was a little longer than I liked today, so I hung around until she was done with everyone else to have that extra half inch trimmed off. Just that tad bit made all the difference. Of course, now it’s only about an inch on the top – do they still make that contraption that you can attach to a vacuum cleaner and cut your hair? But wait, I have been meaning to get some dog grooming clippers . . .

Anyhoo, before I left this morning I did get into the studio. I made a card. It sucked. My daughter even said it was the ugliest thing she had ever seen. You won’t be seeing it . . . I believe it is now in the town dump.

I ended up sitting here on my butt for most of the afternoon. I did take the pups out for an occasional walk and watched my soaps. Well, I tried to watch the soaps. Yes, I’m an All My Children and One Life to Live junkie! It all makes my life look so easy – thank goodness I’m not caught in a 1968 time warp. I would be 10 years old and it makes me shiver just to think about it. All those preteen hormones rushing and being a tomboy to boot. I can hear Charlie Brown now . . . aaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggg!

As I sat here all afternoon, I kept thinking about that SCS Sketch Challenge today and what a mess I had made of that card. I needed to stamp. Yesterday I made five cards that had been ordered by our hairdresser, Kathy, and needed to get made before today. I was on a roll yesterday and wanted that roll to carry over today. Hah so much for wishing or even hoping.

The girls came in, one with a new boyfriend. Does she not realize she is going back to school next week and long-distance relationships just don’t work? We found that out last year. But that’s another story for another time. I ordered pizza for everyone and while I was sitting here munching on my new fave, Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza, I had a brainstorm. Yes, it hurt – don’t even ask!

I have been an admirer of Wendy Vecchi’s work since February when I met her at CHA Anaheim. Then in Chicago, I met here again. This time she was a demo in the Ranger Booth and I got to spend unlimited time watching her work. Saturday while at Stampaway in Cincy, I purchased a couple of sets. But, I was determined to make Rubbernecker stamps work and so that is what I did tonight.

I got out the Grunge Board, all my Shimmer Mist, and some inks and went to work. I had so much fun creating this card.

I started by stamping the flower image twice on plain Grunge Board and then cut them both out. The middle circle was die cut with a Cuttlebug circle die and my Wizard. There has to be an easier way to make that work, because my plates got stuck and didn’t want to come out. I’ll have to look that one up. Once the flowers had been inked, I stamped a screen background on the flowers. I picked a very large flourish from the Grunge Board package – well actually, it was one of the last I had and I even cut it down. It was partially covered with Peeled Paint Crackle Paint and when dry, inked with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. To make the background, I sprayed different colors of shimmer mist onto white paper. After it was dry and the colors I wanted, I misted the How Do I Love Thee background with water and stamped it twice on the background. Those are the water blotches you see in the photo. The edges of the top two panels were sponged with Vintage Photo and then sewn together. The flourish is adhered to the background panel with Matte Accents, and the flower is raised on mounting tape. A Tim Holtz Hitch Fastener holds the flower together.

Stamps: KK Originals Flowers Collection Berrie Flower SKU:03-07 KK; Rubbernecker Valentines Collection How Do I Love Thee SKU:246-13 and Halloween Screen Background from Rubbernecker Stamp Company
Paper: Neenah Classic Crest Solar White; Prism Suede Brown Dark and Intense Teal
Ink: Ranger Tim Holtz Dried Marigold, Spiced Marmalade, Walnut Stain, Vintage Photo, Broken China and Scattered Straw Distress Inks
Accessories: Spellbinders Wizard; Cuttlebug Circle Die; Sewing Machine; Ranger Mini Misters, Gold Perfect Pearls, Peeled Paint Distress Crackle Paint, and Matte Accents; Tim Holtz idea-ology Philosophy Tag, Jump Ring, Hitch Fastener, Plain and Elements Grunge Board; Tsukineko Sponge Dauber; Mounting Tape

Here’s hoping you had a great day today!

EEK, it's Tuesday!

Halloween, Rubbernecker, Tag Art 5 Responses »

Aug 122008

Arrrrrrr ye mateys, it be a Tuesday and ya know what that means. It’s Treasure Hunt Tuesday at Rubbernecker Stamp Company. Put ye swashbuckling skills to the test and plunder all the treasure that be waitin’ fer ya. Set sail along with me mates and join us fer the first clue. Along ye way, there are a few ports ya need be stoppin’ at. There be some extra to be found today – set sail now and visit Candy and Jules for a chance to win a $10 Rubbernecker Gift Certificate! After ye stops there, head on over to Rubbernecker where ye will find the first clue and more deets on how ya may claim ye bounty! While ye are sailing around today, make sure ye stop and visit the rest of me mates, Shelly, Tami, Kittie, Broni, Bev, and Linda.

You’ll also want to take note that the Ranger Adironack Pigment Pads and Reinkers are still on sale. If you look closely, you’ll see that if you purchase $25 in product, you’ll receive a 10% rebate on your entire order. Not only that, but for every $100 spent, you’ll receive an additional 10% off your total.

I decided to make another tag today, but this time I used the Ranger pigment inks and not the distress.

For this tag, I worked Terra Cotta, Eggplant and Denim pigment inks onto the tag. The eyes were stamped with a Snow Cap Paint Dabber, and the spider web was then stamped in Pitch Black. The spiders were also stamped in Pitch Black and then embossed with Black EP. The sides of the tag were distressed with my scissors, and then sponged with Black Soot Distress Ink. I used the Mini Grunge Board for the sentiment, covering the Grunge with Pitch Black, adhering the letters on the tag with Glossy Accents and then covering the letters with Crackle Accents. Just for the heck of it, and so inspired by Pam’s bottle caps, I decided to hide a pair of eyes in the bottle cap. I inked a round piece of Grunge Board with Pitch Black, stamped the eyes with a Snow Cap Paint Dabber, and glued the circle in the bottom of the bottle cap. I tried the first time to use Ranger Crackle Accents to cover the eyes, but needless to say, that didn’t quite work. Everything turned black. So, I turned on my new Melting Pot, threw in some clear UTEE, and when it was warm, drizzled the melted UTEE by spoon into the bottle cap. I love the eerie feel of the eyes peeking out through the distortion of the UTEE. I tied the ribbons off through the tag, and then using a lighter, I melted the ribbon.

Stamps: Rubbernecker Halloween Collection Grand Spider Web SKU:45-10, Mr. Spider SKU:45-03 and Eyes from Rubbernecker Stamp Company
Paper: Shipping Tag
Ink: Ranger Terra Cotta, Eggplant, Denim and Pitch Black Pigment; Black Soot Distress
Accessories: Ranger Glossy and Crackle Accents, Melting Pot, Clear UTEE, Snow Cap Acrylic Paint Dabber, Ink Blending Tool, and Black EP; Tonic Tim Holtz Scissors; Tsukineko Sponge Dauber; Tim Holtz idea-ology Mini and Plain Shapes Grunge Board; Bottle Caps

Have a great day today!

Shadow, Our Yellow Lab

Her Badness 47 Responses »

Aug 112008

It was a sad day here yesterday. We lost our 12-year-old Yellow Lab, Shadow, to cancer. He hadn’t been the same since we lost our Dalmatian, Penny, a year ago. He had stayed by her side for weeks, keeping her warm and guarding her. He never wanted to leave the garage after that. It was as if he was expecting Penny to return. Of course, during this warm summer that we’ve had here in the Ohio Valley, his move out to cooler air was a must.

He would stand at the sliding glass door on the deck and bark until I went to give him two large bones. He would gobble them up and then trot off to rest. When I came home from Texas last week, I noticed a huge change in him. He no longer wanted to play with the little pups, and he didn’t bark for his treats. Yesterday morning, he was non responsive and lying in the garage. Lance took him to the vet, where we found out he had cancer and there wasn’t much we could do.

We named him Shadow because as a pup he would follow the girls around the house. It seemed so appropriate – their shadow. He was a neighborhood dog, roaming from house to house getting his daily lovin’ and treats. He made friends with the little boy down the street, whose family all but adopted him. They had a bed for him on their deck and when we were looking for him that was the first place we would go. He received Christmas cards from the neighbors, addressed to Mr. Shadow Cheever. Our little pups loved him and Miss Ellie will surely miss him. He was her boyfriend, even though he favored Sydney.

Shadow will be missed not only by us, but his neighborhood families as well. He was a gentle dog but also very protective. Sadly, the only picture I could find of him this morning is one from when we had the garage built and it is rather distorted and blurry.

The fence was down and he was chained by the tree to keep him out of the workers way. Of course, a fence was just there and didn’t do much to keep him in the yard. He could, and would, climb it to get out to roam from house to house. When he was ready to come home, he would once again climb the fence to get back in the yard. Such a fabulous dog!

Spiders, Bats and a Ghostly Brew!

Grunge Paper/Board, Halloween, Holidays, Rubbernecker, Tag Art, Techniques 15 Responses »

Aug 082008

Good Friday morning! It’s a great morning here in the Ohio Valley; 70 degrees outside and the sun is shining – an absolutely gorgeous morning! By the way, is anyone going to Cincinnati Stampaway this weekend? I’m driving over early in the morning with my girlfriends for a day of shopping. I’m so excited that I actually get to walk around a show this time and not work. I just might get that set I’ve had my eye on for months from Impression Obsession . Which reminds me, I need to make a list of Copic Reinkers I need. Aaaaahhh inks!

I had a major stamping day yesterday. It felt so good to be in the studio working away with no interruptions. I’m going to show you a tag that I made last night. What I like best about the tag, are the Grunge Board bats that I cut out, inked up with Black Soot and then embossed with UTEE. While they were curling from the heat gun, I held them in place and gave them a final bend to hold their shape.

The tree was stamped in black acrylic paint, and then the distress inks were worked over the tag to make it appear a dark and spooky night with the glowing yellow moon. For the sentiment, a separate tag was inked in the same colors and then the sentiment was stamped. I decided to lightly distress this panel and than raised it on the tag with mounting tape. The bats are adhered to the tag with Glossy Accents.

I love the dark and spooky feel of this tag!

Stamps: Stamp Oasis Halloween Collection: Spooky Tree SKU:1629 SO and Halloween Wish SKU:361 SO, from Rubbernecker Stamp Company
Paper: Shipping Tag
Ink: Ranger Tim Holtz Scattered Straw, Dried Marigold, Spiced Marmalade, Faded Jeans, Dusty Concord and Black Soot Distress; Ranger Archival Jet Black and Pitch Black Paint Dabber
Accessories: Tim Holtz idea-ology Plain Grunge Board; Ranger Glossy Accents, UTEE, and Ink Blending Tool; Tonic Tim Holtz Distress Tool; White Foam Mounting Tape; Ribbon

Don’t forget to check out the sale at Rubbernecker. What a great deal! If you purchase $25 in product, you’ll receive 10% off your entire order. The new Ranger Pigment Pads and Reinkers are also on sale as well as some Spellbinder Dies!