Did you miss me?

As you probably have noticed I have been a little absent.  There are many reasons, but the most important one is my DH & I have been super busy with craft shows & making items for a local shop.  Good thing we only do this for a hobby.  LOL  We just turn around & make more things.

I am going to get this blog up & running as I finish samples for classes I will be teaching in town & in March.

Stay tuned.

MERRY CHRISTMAS to all of you!

Happy Fall Y'All

I feel Fall in the air which is fine with me.  I have always loved Fall.  To me it was my "New Year's", a fresh beginning.  Why?  If you are a teacher you will know what I mean.  New first day outfit, new class, new books, new lessons, new challenges, etc., etc.

Here is something different I made with Just For Fun Stamps - an 18" x 18" wood sign made from recycled pallet boards.  This what keeps my DH in his workshop.  Lots & lots of signs.  We are selling them in 4 stores.  Some are finished others we call DIY Signs.  "We make, You finish."  We don't make a lot of money, but we can buy new supplies to keep our fun going.

I used 3 different Stamptangle leaf stamps: Stamptangle Maple Leaf (E3860), Stamptangle Oak Leaf(F3859) & Stamptangle Elm Leaf (D3858)

I base coated the sign with Ivory acrylic paint.  The leaves were stamped on the sign using Ranger Copper Metallic Paint Dauber.  It dabbed just the right amount of paint.  A couple I had to restamp, but since I was using the stamps on a cling cushion & clear stamp block it was easy to realign the stamp without too much trouble.

Just For Fun Stamps also have leaf stamps more like nature.  I do like, however, how the Stamptanlge leaves came out.  It is hanging on the living room wall!

So "Have A Happy Fall To Y'All!"

Just Flyin' By To Say Hi!

As I mentioned before I have been binge watching YouTube card techniques.  I tried one of the fun techniques I watched with this card.  Actually it was done with watercolors, but I did it with ink pads & sponges.

Pick your stamp & sponge colors on the cardstock anticipating where the stamp will fall within the colors.  The stamp, Tropical Sunset (G1442), made it pretty easy.  I added more Sand (C413) & a Crane on a Pier (C3636).  The Sentiment 3 (UMS7020) stamped & added with pop dots.

Another flat card, well almost flat, but again I built a story with the stamps.  Simple, but fun.

Oregon Sand Dunes

We live near the Oregon Sand Dunes & they are beautiful.  This week's card is a homage to our dunes.

I sponged in the "sand dunes" & stamped sand over them. I added the beach fence & grass.  A beach is not a beach without a seagull swooping down.

Now this card is very different than any other card I  completed over the past year.  Can you all tell me what it is?  OK, I'll tell you...it's flat...no fussy cut on this card.  Yep, all I did was sponge & stamp a beach scene & I love how it turned out!

Stamps used:

• Sand                 C413
• Beach fence      B3336
• Seagrass sm.     A988
• Seagull              B3695
• Sentiments 3     UMS7020

Sand in Our Toes Sketch Challenge - August

I am so excited this month's challenge sketch & theme is "Sand in Our Toes" because I live on the Oregon Coast.  There is sand not only in our toes, but it tracks inside the house all the time.  I don't care...I love the wind, fog, & in the Summer cool weather.

Here is the first of my cards this month...

Beach Chair - A082

Excalibar Sandcastle Small - B3376

Stamptangle Spiral Shell - A3775

3 Cards for Christmas in July

I have been totally binge watching YouTube craft shows.  Do you remember the Carol Duvall Show on DIY?  I loved that show, well, anyway, there was a Christmas Holiday Show & the guest demonstrated a background technique using Puffy paint & reinkers.

You place a large drop of Puffy paint in the middle of your cardstock & 1 drop of stamp pad reinker ink.  In my case it was Navy.  You take a brayer & roll out the paint/ink all over the cardstock.  Using your embossing heat tool you quickly dry the paint/ink.  The effect is supposed to be a foggy background from the dry Puffy paint. 

Of course I couldn’t find my brayer, so I used a sponge paint brush to spread the paint/ink over the cardstock & even though the effect didn’t quite look like it did on the TV show, I still liked the effect it gave the backgrounds to all 3 cards.

Because the paint is wet on paper the cardstock did warp a bit, but I think if I ironed the back of the card base it will straighten out.  Gluing it on an A2 card will probably straighten it out also.

Stamps I used:

Holiday Magic: On Dasher (A3445), Ice Skaters (F2280), Pine Forest (F3588), Sentiments Unmounted 3 (UMS7020

Happy Holidays: Getting the Tree (F3510), Pine Forest, Sentiments Unmounted 1 (UMS7018

Joy to the World: Holly Branch Sketch (G2632), Fiber Background (J2207), Sentiments Unmounted 3

Christmas in July

I love making Christmas cards, so I am thrilled this month's challenge is Christmas in July.

I love how the sky turned out.  I used light blue copy paper & stamped the tree line.  There are 1st, 2nd & 3rd generation stamping.  I like to call it ghosting, but that's just me.  I sponged the sky, but didn't like it so I sprayed it with water.  I really liked it a lot even though it started to crumple.  Ii hit the paper with the embossing heat gun & it left the sky with texture.

The snow is simply two torn pieces of white cardstock & the cut out snowman colored & tucked between the layers.

Stamps used are: Snowman ( C2937), Pine Forest (F3588), Sentiments 3 (UMS7020)