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Hello Friday!! I am sure many of you feel the same way.  Of course I can't complain as I have been off work this week doing a lot of nothing.  I was playing in a new journal book this week and this is one of the pages I played around with.

I wanted to try the acrylic block with mists as a backdrop and then layered in some stenciled birds.  I added in a few different background stamps with soft grays.  I love the Darkroom Door Eclectic Key and how it looks like I drew it on the page myself.  

Products: Darkroom Door - Home,  DarkRoom Door - Eclectic - Key, Memory Box - Joy to the world, Memory Box - Branch, Birds Stencil, Ranger Distress Stain Spray - Honey, Mustard Seed, Tattered Angels - Spun Sugar, Black Charcoal Pencil

Thanks for Stopping by...

Suzz

Love is In The Air

Happy Wednesday! I have been busy creating this week but nothing I wanted to share until today.  This morning I was flipping through a catalog and  I spied an ad for some lovely denim pillows from Pottery Barn.  The pillows  had me thinking how I could replicate the effect.

I was inspired by the design team at  Vintage Journey's Love is in the Air.

   Here are the pillows:

I tried a few different effects to get this effect and was satisfied with the effect when I finished but wished I could have gotten the denim blue color.

I stamped the images on white cardstock using versamark and heat embossed with clear embossing powder.  I then tried a few different techniques but ended up using acrylic paint to give my denim texture.

I did a second version with ghost stamping and it was pretty but you can't get the cloth effect and get a strong enough image.

The stamps are Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz and the stickers Idea-Ology.

Thanks for stopping by!

Suzz

Catch the Trade Winds

Is it cloudy by you?  This time of the year we see more clouds than sunshine.  The  Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge  this week is up in the clouds.  I was out looking for cloudy inspiration and was inspired by so many gorgeous canvases showing a stormy sky.  I decided to get out the acrylic paints and create a background.

I layered in  paints onto a mixed media paper blending a variety of colors trying to achieve a stormy skyline over a restless sea.

After I had layered in my paints I sponged in some clouds.  When the canvas was complete I cut it into pieces and created a card and a bookmark.

 I ended up cutting down the background and adding in some spotting of paint along with a few more clouds.  I added the boat and sentiment by stamping them on tissue paper and adding them to the surface using decoupage.  The branches I stamped directly on and used a micron pen to fill in where the ink didn't apply with a solid line.

Products:  Gesso,  Mixed media paper,  Dina Wakely Acrylic Paints ,  DarkRoom Door – Sail Away ,  Memory Box Cloud Stencil,  Memento - London Fog ink,  Stampers Anonymous - Spring Sprung ,
Ranger Archival Ink - Black,  Decoupage, Prima Flowers Watches

  I hope you share your cloudy inspiration for a chance to win a $50 gift voucher at Simon Says Stamp.

I am started to enjoy painting a a bit more and am going to keep the brushes, canvas and paint out on the table. Thanks for stopping by!

 Suzz

Intuitive Painting

Happy Saturday to you... I spent a good part of this morning playing with paint.  The Mixed Media Place has Creative Gym challenges and exercise #4 is to try intuitive painting.  This is easy to do but requires letting go and just painting which turns out was harder for me than I thought.

I loved my backgrounds but struggled with the second part which was to identify shapes and turn them into things.  I ended up with a few that I really loved and had a few flops.

I'll start with one that surprised me when I finished it as I really liked what I doodled. 

 I started with a mix of paints on my craft mat and added a bit of water to make it blend.  I then laid the paper down and picked up a few different tags on Mixed Media paper.  When that was done I splattered green paint onto the surface.

I looked at the to blotches of orange and thought i will try drawing a few flowers on the splotches.  I liked them but hen there was all that space...  I started circling the tiny green specks and the other spindly flowers became a garden which made the whole thing work.  I then went into my Verses Rubber stamps to find sentiments.

I cut the ends off of my tag and left it in a shape that I can put on a card.

 This was a very structured paint approach I dragged the paint down the tag in stripes of colors and added circles.  When it was finished and dried I decided to stamp some of my DarkRoom Door stamps on the tag and add another sentiment that doesn't get used very often.

Next up a very simple scene.

 I saw a skyline and a path coming towards me.  I outlined it with a black micron and stamped the sentiment along the bottom.  The bottom tore as I was cutting it and I decided to tear the bottom.

 I saw a bird in the big blotch of blue with a orange head.  I decided to draw a bird with his wings slightly spread as if preparing for flight.  I decided to add the music because the birds are always singing.

Lastly I just pulled a butterfly stamp and added it to the beautiful painted background.

 And one of my backgrounds waiting for inspiration. I actually see a wing shape in this and maybe I will try to hand draw one onto the paper.

 A very fun creative and relaxing day.  A good way to spend time getting my mojo kick started!

Suzz

On Wings of Snow

Winter isn’t just coming – it’s fully here! With the holidays behind us and spring seeming so far away, let’s focus on the season at hand. Will you stamp a snowy scene? Try a new use for a snowflake stamp? Perhaps be inspired by the colors of winter in your ink choices… however you decide to get stamping, we hope you’ll join in the  Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge  

You may wonder how I arrived at angel wings but it all started with the beautiful Tim Holtz snowflake Sizzix Layering Die.  I thought how soft and feathery the snowflake looked and the wings of a snow angel were born! 

I started with some hand drawn wings on cardboard.  I then painted them white with gesso to ensure if anything came through it would capture the inks and paint the same way as the snowflakes.

I die cut a blizzard of snowflakes from vellum and then embossed them using the coordinating embossing folder. I cut them in half to apply them to the wing.

Then the layering starts.  I covered the wings with tacky glue over the entire surface.  I then started at the end and put a row of snowflakes.  I continued layering them until the wing was covered. 

After the wings were covered I took white gesso and painted the wings.  Once that dried I sprayed the wings and my heart with lavender and silver mists.

 (Click on the Photo to enlarge)

I stamped a sentiment in the center of my heart and added some white splatters.  I painted and sprayed some paper roses to add to the heart and hung my wings onto a hanger.

 (Click on the Photo to enlarge)

Products: Gesso, Stampers Anonymous - Visual Artistry - Thoughts and Prayers,  Ranger Distress Stain Spays - Milled Lavender, Brushed Pewter, Sizzix Heart Die, Prima Roses, Melisses Frances Decorative Scroll Clip, Ranger Archival Ink -  Black, Zip Dry

Come join in all the fun and play along for a chance to win a $50 gift voucher at Simon Says Stamp.

Thanks for stopping by!

 Suzz

Love & Hearts

I decided it was time to get back in the studio... I looked around for a few of my favorite challenges to inspire me.  I used Card Fusion beautiful hearts and the Cardabilities sketch #115 to put together my hubby's valentine.

I started with a lovely St.Patty's Day paper as my background.  I added distressing and stamping around the edges.  I added a splotch of black and white paint in the background.  I then die cut some polka dotted hearts and layered them over feathers, and a few Memory Box die cut flowers.

The inspiration photos:

and

Have a blessed Sunday!

Suzz

Monster Valentines

A little change of pace here as I share some valentines I have been working on... I just received the new Monsters valentine set form Simon Says Stamp.  They were so silly looking I wanted them for my kids even though they are getting a little old for monsters.

I used a few different color combinations...

and a few different images and layouts...

Cute aren't they?   I colored with STAEDTLER Karat Aquarell watercolor pencils and the images are Simon Says Stamp Monster Hugs.

Happy Tuesday!

Suzz

How do we measure ourselves?

The Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge  is inky backgrounds.  The Dina Wakely All the Gals set had me thinking about how we measure ourselves. 

This inspired a journal page with a inky background using shimmery yellow mist  which happened to be the end of the bottle and I just poured it out and ran it all over my background.  I added a lovely mix of Peacock Feather Ranger Distress Spray over the top.I knew I wanted to create a journal page.  I decided to be inspired by the Dina Wakely

 I stenciled a bit of embossing paste over the measuring layering stencil and then mixed in the words form the stamp set along with spelling out Measure.

Products:  Simon Says Stamp - Sketched Alphabet, Dina Wakely All the Gals, Tim Holz - Layering Stencil - Measured, Ranger Distress Sprays - Peacock Feathers, Signo - Uni-Ball White Gel Pen,  Idea-ology Remnants,  Wendy Vecchi - White Embossing Paste,  Gesso

Come join in all the fun and play along for a chance to win a $50 gift voucher at Simon Says Stamp.

Thanks for stopping by!

Old and New Again!

It’s a new year, and the first challenge of 2015 at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge! This is so very exciting and we’d like to kick things off celebrating both old and new. Will you use an old favorite and pair it with a new supply? Try an old technique with a new stamp? However you feature old (or new) – we can’t wait to kick off this crafty year with you! I decided to step away from my favorite coloring medium and renew my love of other mediums.  I have a tutorial over at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge blog today featuring the following:

Each project uses a different medium to color the image...

Can you guess?

If you pop over to the blog you can see what I used and how they differ in application and techniques.

A complete list of the products are on the post on Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge but I wanted to highlight that the main image is Stampendous Nestled Bird and the Sentiments are from the Impression Obsession In a Garden.

Come join in all the fun and play along for a chance to win a $50 gift voucher at Simon Says Stamp.

Thanks for stopping by!

Suzz

Twenty One Five

Sorry about the long delay with no posts. I have been working on the Tim H January tag for about 4 days. :)  I finished one (I had three on the craft table going at the same time)

I loved the background when I got done and then got stuck because Tim's tag had some pieces I didn't have.

Here is the reason I have been a bit distracted from my crafting...

I forgot how much time a puppy can take.... He has had a trim since this picture and looks a little less shaggy.  He makes it harder to find time to craft as he is always getting into something. 

Have a lovely Monday!

Suzz