Aprils Showers Brings May Flowers

Welcome to the monthly Artistic Outpost Design Team Blog Hop!  Today's hop features flowers or women.  I decided that since we are having a week full of rain that I should celebrate spring flower which are the benefit of all the rain we are receive.

I started with a  Memory Box die cut butterfly and stamped the lovely flowers from the Bloom & Grow Plate using black ink. I colored the flowers with STAEDTLER  watercolor pencils and watercolor markers.  I distressed the edges with brown dye ink.

I used the Prima - Hope Chest paper for my tag.  I stamped the butterflies from the Flower Market plate in the background along with a few of the words.  I colored the butterflies with the watercolor pencils and waterbrush.  I added a few highlights with a white gel pen.  I die cut a clock (Sizzix) and sponged it with brown dye ink.  I stamped the ledger from Ephemera Backgrounds over the clock.   I added one of my many favorite sentiments to the tag from Quote & Quotables.

Hop along to see all the fabulous projects by the DT:

Gerrie Johhnic 

Lisa Somerville

Suzanne Czosek (me) 

Tracy Evans

Linda Coughlin

Alison Bomber

Terry Horrall

Kate Yetter

Thanks for stopping by!

Suzz

Seeds of Love

Welcome to the monthly Artistic Outpost Design Team blog hop.  The theme this month is love! 

I went searching for images to create a Valentines Day card and decided to use the seed packets along with a few other sets to create a card for my youngest daughter for Valentines Day.

I started with the little girl with her wheelbarrow and colored her flowers with tiny hearts mixed in the midst of the leafy vines.  I coordinated her outfit in red and added a punched red heart.

The seed packet was stamped multiple times using red and black inks.  I added a little banner with red letters.  I stamped the banner and the added the hearts to it.

Products: Artistic Outpost - Ephemera Backgrounds, Artistic Outpost - Bloom and Grow, Artistic Outpost - Country Life, Ranger Archival Ink - Black, STAEDTLER - Karat Aquarell Watercolor Pencils,

We are also thrilled to have several new design team members join the Artistic Outpost Design Team for 2013!  Now hop along to see what the talented design team members have created for the hop:

Gerrie Johnnic
Lisa Somerville
Suzanne Czosek
Tracy Evans
Linda Coughlin
Alison Bomber  
Terry Horrall
 Kate Yetter

Thanks for stopping by!

Suzz

Tim's Tags Day Four - May Your Christmas be Merry

 Big challenge today with  Tim's Tag 4, I had to do a lot of improvisation.

The background is created by mixing the Ranger Distress Stains - Picket Fence, Faded Jeans, Broken China.  I added a dusting of brown chalkboard mist to the surface and distressed with vintage photo.  The music (Artistic Outpost - Ephemeral Backgrounds) was stamped using the weathered wood Distress Stain. The children are from Artistic Outpost - Sleigh Ride and are stamped in black ink and watercolored to coordinate. The snowflakes are die cuts from acetate and painted with the picket fence distress stain. I added a row of glitter around the edges behind the snowflakes.  The little tag contains a sentiment from Artistic Outpost - Snowy Woods and uses the same background as the main tag.  The snowflake on the tag is chipboard and crackled using the technique from Tim today.

I have a few more pieces crackled and drying so I will have to see if I can create a few more tags using the techniques from today.

Have a lovely day!

Suzz

Veterans Day

I combined a few challenges together to honor our Veterans.  I am a little late for our Veteran's day.  The City Crafter Challenge is Thanksgiving, Card Patterns Sketch # 141 and Simon Says Stamp and Show Some Women. 

In honor our Vets who serve for our country this is a thank you.  My brother who is serving overseas right now and for all our soldiers.

The stamps are from Artistic Outpost She-Roes plate. The background is from the AO Ephemeral Backgrounds.  The inks are Ranger Archival Coffee, Crimson Red, Ranger Distress Inks Vintage Photo and Versafine Blue. The cardstock base is actually blue.  (Photographs black)

The sketch:

Hope your weekend is off to a good start!

Suzz

Sing from the Soul

What a beautiful sentiment "sing from the soul". I think with everything we should do it with feeling or from our soul.

The flower image is from Artistic Outpost Bloom and Grow. The background on the panel on the card base was stamped and lightly colored using the same flowers as the main images.  The background behind the flowers is the Ephemeral Backgrounds ledger and the birds and sentiment are from Song Birds.  I thought it was fun using the postmark as the sun for the bird to be swooping over.  The inks are Versafine Vintage Sepia and Hero Arts Shadow Ink Soft Sand.  

Thanks for stopping by!

Suzz

Songs of the Heart

The Ephemeral Backgrounds plate and the Songbirds plate from Artistic Outpost work beautifully together. The music image from the backgrounds highlights the instruments and lovely birds. 

The image was stamped using black ink and colored with watercolor markers. The music background is stamped using a brown pigment ink. The edges are sponged with brown and gold dye inks. The edges of the circle was distressed with a distressing tool. 

The black pattern paper is Webster Pages Sweet Life The ribbon is black silk.

Thanks for dropping by! 

Suzz