Experiments in alcohol ink!

I've been itching to try Ranger's Alcohol Inks on Junkitz' plain white Tilez for ages and finally had the time, inclination, and opportunity!

Hmm. I just now noticed that the tilez scanned as different sizes. My brain is too befuddled to fix this now, so I'll just say that both tiles are the same size and measure 1 11/16" wide x 1.5" deep.

The Post-It note book features a Junkitz white tile which was inked with alcohol inks and stamped with justjohanna's Staff, Sylvie Left, and Sylvie right. Treble, and Michelle's Big Scroll were also used on the project. I also used 4" chipboard coasters, a big honkin' slide mount, some old metallic mesh stuff from my stash, a clear plastic winky dink also from my stash, and Ranger's Queen's Gold Embossing powder.

Meadow, Lettuce, and Bottle Ranger Adirondack Alcohol inks were pounced onto the tile using a felt applicator. I lightened the image a bit using Ranger's blending solution, then reapplied a bit more ink. When I was happy with the coverage, I stamped the images using Ranger's archival black ink. I took the tile outside and sprayed it with Krylon Acrylic something or another to protect the piece. The spray took away a bit of the ink, but created a cool mottled look.

I inked all sides of the two coasters with Ranger's Meadow, Lettuce, and Bottle Adirondack Dye inks. I spritzed 'em with water to make the ink spread a little. I ironed 'em dry and used a VersaMark pad to stamp Michelle's Big Scroll repeatdly on one side of each coaster and embossed Queen's Gold Embossing Powder.

I scribbled on the slide mount with Krylon's Gold Leafing pen and then pounced the same three green alcohol inks onto it. The slide mount was edged with the leafing pen. I adhered the Gold Mesh to the slide mount and then backed the mesh with Ivy Bling paper from FiberMark. Minibrads were used to adhere the stamped tile to the center of the slide mount.

VersaMark was used to stamp the treble clef on the plastic disk and then embossed it with Queen's Gold. I was very happy (and a little surprised) that the disk didn't melt.

I adhered the ribbon to the front of the coaster, added the slide mount, adhered the Post-It note to the inside back cover, adhered the ribbon to the back cover, and tied a big bow!

The bird pin features justjohanna's Sophie Left. Stonewash, Denim, and Cranberry Ranger Adirondack Alcohol inks were used in the same way described above. After the tile was colored to my liking, I stamped the bird onto it using Ranger's black archival ink. I squirted some of the Alcohol Ink Blending Solution onto my craft mat and dipped a Tsukineko Fantastix into the solution. I carefully removed the alcohol ink from the bird's body re-dipping the point of the Fantastix into more Blending solution as needed. I messed up in a few places and removed the outline, so I used a black fine-point Sharpie to touch it up. I again used the Krylon Acrylic spray, but it lightened up the piece substantially and really mottled the surface much more. However, I was pleased with the look, so it's all good. I finished the piece with some rhinestones from my stash, added a self-adhesive pin back, and called it done!

It was fun to play with my alcohol inks again and to work on some 3D pieces!

Argh. I'm not good at keeping up with the blog.

This past week has been relatively busy. We visited with my brother, new sister-in-law, and mom on Monday. Tuesday was spent finishing up cards for justjohanna and replenishing our empty larders. Wednesday involved a myriad of housekeeping errands and hitting the post office. Today I ran to the mall and the post office...

Most of the cards that I did on Tuesday can't be posted yet. I will post them as soon as I can.

Here's one that can be posted. It uses justjohanna's Waltzing Matilda alphabet designed by the incredibly talented Godelieve, a pair of Bonnie Chicklets, Palette Noir, thePapercut's Polarized cardstock, Prismacolor Markers (which I really like), Marvy Uchida punches, a Cuttlebug folder, QuicKutz photo corners, KI patterned paper, and very, very pretty sheer ribbon that has tone on tone swirls.

The card went together really quickly which is always a bit shocking for me!

The colors are much nicer irl. The yellow is a nice vibrant mustardy yellow.

Scanners. Feh.

Another long weekend...

I've had another long weekend without a chance to sit down with my stuff. I find that if I go for more than a day without "playing", I get grumpy. It's been three or four. Additionally, I'm about to do the ever-so-fun "drive from he!!" and I'm tired because I woke up "very warm", so I'm in a rotten mood.

Hence, I'll share some cards that express my current state of mind. These cards use one of my top ten favorite stamps, "Cocktail Time" by Inky Antics. I stamped the image, used my beloved Masquepen, inked over with my equally beloved Brilliance Inks (though I do love all inks), colored the images with Twinklin' H2Os, and then added K&Co stickers. For some reason, the FiberMark Bling papers scanned very dark. They're textural and sparkly irl.

A note: Whereas I like boozy images (margarita/martini glasses, wine bottles, etc.), I really don't have a drinking problem. Really! *giggle*

Oh. I just thought I'd share that I've voted myself "Mother of the Year" for hosting 20 teenagers for 8 hours on Saturday.

Time flies! Birds, bees, and butterflies do too!

Especially during the last week of school. DD took her finals, did moderately well, and is officially a Senior! Yikes! How did that happen?? So, school's out for summer! (cue Alice Cooper and plant that song in your head for the duration) *snicker* There are lots of parties and such going on, including one at our house. Yep. 20-30 teenagers running amok with super soakers, water balloons, and our hoses. And I have to feed them! They will pay by letting me take photos of them!

Anyways, I've been playing with my justjohanna stamps this week and have come up with these cards.

Jolie flying to the Spring Tree features palette chalks used with a template, chalk pencils, and Prismacolor markers.

The tilted flower scene uses palette chalks, watercolor pencils, and Twinklin' H2Os.

The "B" cards feature chipboard monograms which were painted with Ranger Dabbers (I've come to like these quite a bit) and Twinklin' H2Os. The acrylic/Twinklin' combo came out rather nicely on the Making Memories metallic word that I dug from my stash.

Busy weekend without crafting!

So here are some "older" cards and ATCs!

The top two cards use justjohanna stamps and are for the sketch challenge that is posted on Johanna's blog! There's still time to enter and win free stamps, so hurry!

The ATCs were my first ever! The heron and wood duck are both Stamp Zia images that were stamped, embossed, masked, inked with Tsukineko Brilliance and Ranger Distress inks,and overstamped with Hero Arts harlequin, script stamps, and a feather stamp from Rubber Stampede. The masking was removed and the images were then colored with a combination of watercolor pencils and Twinklin' H2Os. I used charms and K & Company sticker words from my stash to finish the wood duck atc. The heron sentiment uses epoxy alpha stickers. The "Cattitude" ATC uses stamps from Paper Candy (I think) plus an epoxy word from Creative Imaginations.

I need to run a bunch of errands but then plan to get out some tissue paper to participate in the Technique Thursday challenge!

I spent the day making cards.

Sadly, I can't share yet since I submitted 'em to the Rubber Stamper. I'm really happy with two of the three and the third one is still very "me", so I'm hoping that they get picked up. If so, it'll be my third time in that magazine, which will make me happy. If not, I'll have holiday cards ready for the 2007 holidays.

I do love making holiday cards and keep holiday papers in a folder next to my work space. I make holiday cards year round, pretty much whenever the urge strikes me. I'm also equal opportunity and make both Chanukah and Christmas cards.

So, since we're 6 months out, I'll share a few of my older holiday cards. Two of them don't use any stamping at all, but use QuicKutz diecuts. The last one, "Meowy Christmas" uses Sprinkle from the Cat's Pajamas and also uses the clear sticker shim from QuicKutz as the glass globe of a snowglobe.

Papers on the top two are from Flair. I love Flair. It probably shows. The "Meowy Christmas" card uses papers that were a gift, so I have no clue who made them. Oh well.

I don't know if I'll be able to post this weekend as we have a bunch of family stuff going on, which will preclude any paper crafting on my part. :(

I like making scenes...

More specifically, I like to use punches, diecuts, and/or stamps to create little scenes. There's something about the process that just totally amuses me and makes me smile.

I think that's part of the reason why I love justjohanna stamps. The critters, accessories, and places are just perfect for making scenes! Since I got my first bird stamp, I've been having fun perching the birds on all sorts of things ranging from margarita glasses, to coffee cups, to monograms, to trees, nests, and flowers!

Here are a few examples that I hope make you smile too!

Notes on the projects:
The Birthday Card:
The margarita glass is by A Muse, the other stamps are all by justjohanna. The paper is by Doodlebug and is very bright, but fun. Sadly, the scan wiped out the glimmer from the Twinklin H2Os and the glittered salt rim.

The "J" Notepad:
I sponged ink through the negative space of a QuicKutz Grand Abigail "J" die to create the monogram. The birds are inked and/or painted so that they showed over the Basic Grey floral paper (from Baby Girl collection). That paper is one my favorites of theirs! The birds are justjohanna stamps.

The Window Card:
I created the window using the drawing module by AppleWorks. I actually use the drawing module for most of my journaling as well. Anyways, I created the window and printed it out on white cardstock. I then traced over the grey lines with a Micron pen, masqued the windows, stamped the tree branches, the birds, and chalked the "sky" (which doesn't show in the scan because the chalk apparently was non-repro blue). I cut the window out and put it over patterned paper. The intertwined kitties were stamped, colored with watercolor pencils, cut out, and positioned in the window. I computer generated the sentiment and used the QuicKutz balloon die to diecut it. The papers are from Basic Grey and Junkitz.

One day soon, I'll dig back into my files and post some punchart and diecut scenes too!

Playing is such fun! Part #1: Chalk

I just love experimenting and playing with different supplies! Cards and tags are the perfect size to experiment with because they're small enough that if (when) I mess up, I don't feel horrible for wasting product.

I've always loved the dreamy look produced by chalk. I use both chalk pencils (Generals & Derwent) and palette-type chalk (Stampin' Up & Craf-T) that I apply with an alligator clip/pom-pom thingy or with a cotton ball.

I use chalk to color in stamped images, to edge torn paper, and as a background. I pulled out my old Fairy Tale Creations templates recently to create a cloudy sky background and was really happy with the results. If you don't have those templates, a good alternative is using chalking along the edge of a torn paper.

Technique Thursdays is exploring Chalks this week. So be sure to check out that blog as well.

Here's a card that I did this week using chalk. I used chalk pencils to shade and color the woman, chair, and beach. I also used palette chalks to create the backgrounds. I couldn't decide what sentiment to use, so I left it blank for now. The stamp is Stampin' Up, but I don't recall the name of the set. Oops.

Sunday evening.

This blog is less than a week old and I'm already neglecting it. I'm glad it's not a baby or a kitten!

Yesterday we visited my fil and then went out to dinner with my parents and sister's family to celebrate my dad's 80th birthday. I am pleased that I got a photo of my dd with my mom and one of my mom, dad, and daughter. I hope they came out okay since the restaurant lighting was a bit bizarre.

I spent part of the day today making cards, which I will scan tomorrow and upload.

I've gotten out my chalks and have been playing around with them. I finally used the "chalk enhancer" fluid and am less than impressed. I'm going to assume the role of (mad) scientist, re-read the directions, and conduct an experiment, which will be comprised of a side-by-side comparison of a regular and enhanced chalked image. I'll be sure to scan and publish my results.

The weather's been too hot for me to open the window in my craft room, so I haven't been able to play around more with the Prismacolor/gamsol technique. I read that using Baby Oil also works to soften and blend the Prismacolors, so maybe I'll give that a shot.

When we returned home on Saturday, I was delighted to find my package of goodies from Cat's Craft Cupboard! I got several adhesive refills, an new VersaFine pad, Art Institute Glitter (to use with my Essential Glue Pad and make huge glittery messes), a thin nib for my Masquepen, and some StampBord! Yay!! It'll be fun to play with the glitter, since I'm firmly in my Bling phase. I also am eager to try out the StampBord.

Cat also put in some samples of Prism cardstock. Wasn't that sweet of her?

So, until I scan the weekend's cards and conduct my experiment, here are some cards!

The stamps are by justjohanna.

I just love the QuicKutz Grand Swirl. I had the EK Success music paper for ages and thought it would be perfect for bird song type cards. I was delighted that the music paper matched both the Basic Grey Blush papers and the Kelly Panacci papers. Pink & brown is such a great color combination.

The results of my experiment!

These cards represent my second and third attempt at the "gamsol/Prismacolor pencil" technique. I'm moderately happy with the way they came out though clearly there's a learning curve involved.

Of course, my first attempt is my favorite, but the sloppily stamped image prevented me from doing anything with it.

If any of you reading this (if anyone is actually doing so) and you have tips, bring 'em on. I can use all the help I can get! (so true in so many ways *grin*)

I did find good information on this technique here!

Anyway, all stamps are by justjohanna (who is holding a sketch contest where you can win stamps!) The images were stamped with Palette ink, the birds and sentiments were stamped with Onyx VersaFine (which I love... if I were ink, I'd marry it! *snicker*). The birds were colored with Prismacolor markers, which are fun and smell good too (yes, I'm weird that way).

The magenta/brown card uses patterned paper from Maisy Mo Designs. The orange/yellow card uses Silly from Basic Grey.

I won't be playing with gamsol today because it's 90° and I'm keeping my craftroom window firmly closed.

Let me know what you think of these and again, any helpful advice is welcomed!

Meanwhile, I'll load a few cards.

These cards were submitted as part of my entry to the justjohanna dt contest.

All stamps are by justjohanna.

Experimenting today!

Gosh. I just love experimenting and playing with my supplies and new techniques!

Today I'm trying out Prismacolor Premiere colored pencils and gamsol, though I'm not using gamsol since I couldn't find it locally. I'm using Sansoder, which seems to be working just fine. I am pleased with the result of my first try, but I won't post it because the stamping was sloppy. It's not easy being a Virgo sometimes.

I had been a bit worried that the Sansoder would aggravate my asthma, but I worked with an open window and was just fine. Whew!

After dinner I'll do some more experimenting and with a little luck, I'll have some cards using this technique to share tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I'm mentally kicking myself in the rear because several years ago, I bought a ton of Prismacolor pencils from an art store that was going out of business. I never really liked using them, so I swapped them for an OTT light, which was supposed to provide lighting for a second table in my craftroom. That table turned into a diecut center and I didn't need the light, so it's stored somewhere.

Now I'll need to get more pencils, though I'll try to survive with the 36 pencil set that I got for 50% off at Michael's.

Tagged!

I love surveys, saw this one on Dianne's blog , and will fill it out since I didn't stamp or scrap or play with my stuff today.

I will eventually post more of my justjohanna cards and some older favorites too. I'm just not in the mood to go through my files and choose.

So, without further ado:
10 FAVORITES
Favorite Color: Blue, specifically the color the sky turns right before the darkness of night falls. I think it's called twilight, but I'm not sure.

Favorite Food: Fresh raspberries or grilled tuna. Not together though.

Favorite Month: September because people give me presents!

Favorite Song: That's a tough one and totally depends on my mood. I'm eclectic in my musical tastes... Little Wing by Jimi Hendrix, Bridge of Troubled Waters, Fish & Whistle by John Prine, Heard it through the Grapevine, Respect. Hmmm. I don't think I answered that one. Oh well.

Favorite Movie: Spinal Tap (runners-up: West Side Story, Bladerunner, Dirty Dancing...)

Favorite Sport: Baseball

Favorite Season: Spring

Favorite Day of the week: Wednesday because Lost is on!

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: Chocolate Cherry from our local ice creamery

Favorite Time of Day: Afternoon before dd gets home from school and before I have to think about dinner and suchlike.

9 CURRENTS
Current Mood: Calm

Current Taste: Fresh Cherries

Current Clothes: Jeans, floral tee shirt, barefoot

Current Desktop: The imac in the family room

Current Toenail Color: The one I was born with, except for my big toe which is sort of white, black, and blue from catching a can. Oops.

Current Time: 11:18pm edt

Current Surroundings: Family room

Current Thoughts: I so wish I had gotten a chance to stamp or scrap today.

8 FIRSTS
First Best Friend: Lisa

First Kiss: I don't remember. We were playing "Spin the bottle".

First Screen Name: DPK

First Pet: A snail that died a horrible death when it slithered out of its planter, out the window, and fell five floors to its doom. I was bummed.

First Piercing: Ears

First Crush: One of my classmates in sixth grade

First Record: My first record was a 45 and was "Hang On Sloopy"

7 LASTS
Last Cigarette: March 1989

Last Drink: I have half a glass of Chardonnay in front of me.

Last Car Ride: Home from BJ's (price club)

Last Kiss: A goodnight kiss from dh.

Last Movie Seen (in a movie theater): Pirates 3, before that? I don't recall.

Last Phone Call: Wrong number. The guy was speaking really rapid Italian and then got irritated when I interrupted him to tell him he had the wrong number.

Last CD Played: DD made a cd for me with my favorite songs from "her music".

6 HAVE YOU EVERS
Have You Ever Dated One Of Your Best Guy/Girl Friends: Yes. Married him.

Have You Ever Broken the Law: Yes. Speeding

Have You Ever Been Arrested: Not really

Have You Ever Skinny Dipped: Yes. Several times, but not in the last 28 years.

Have You Ever Been on TV: Yes at the 7th Game of the 1986 World Series!

Have You Ever Kissed Someone You Didn't Know: Yes.

5 THINGS
Thing You're Wearing: Necklace

Thing You've Done Today: I went to AC Moore to talk to the class coordinator to schedule a class I'm going to be teaching. However, it didn't get scheduled. Sigh.

Thing You Can Hear Right Now: It's blissfully quiet except for the hum of the G3 Mac next to me.

Thing You Can't Live Without: Allergy/asthma meds and/or coffee. :-D

Thing You Do When You're Bored: Read blogs

4 PLACES YOU'VE BEEN TODAY
Diner
Post Office
AC Moore
Curves

3 PEOPLE YOU CAN TELL ANYTHING TO
No one that I can tell everything to. I'm kind of a private person.

The 3 people that I can tell most things to are Mark, Modi, and Stacy.

2 CHOICES
1. Black or White: Black
2. Hot or Cold: Cold

1 THING YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE:
See dd grown up, with a college degree, a career, family, and friends.

Whoever reads this should consider themselves tagged. Comment to let me know that you're going to answer!

Can I post a photo?

Hmm. Wow. This seems to have worked! I'm totally shocked!

This card was created for the current sketch challenge that you can find at justjohanna. While you're checking out the contest details, be sure to look at all the wonderful and whimsical stamps. The gallery is pretty wonderful too, but I'm a mite bit biased.


I suppose I'm supposed to talk about how I made the card. I stamped the tree and the birds, masked them with my Masquepen, then inked the background sky and grass, peeled up the mask. I colored the tree with watercolor pencils and an aqua pen. The birds were colored with either my Prismacolor Markers (a new discovery) or Twinklin' H2Os, which are a favorite of mine.

Mostly, I just uploaded this one because the birds and tree make me smile and because I wanted to see if I could.

Gosh. I feel like a real blogger now.

"lf your friends jumped off a bridge, would you?"

The bridge is blogging and the answer is, "Yep. Apparently!"

After fighting it for so long, I've decided that it's time for me to start blogging.

I really don't know what to say, so I'll just introduce myself and we'll go from there.

I'm Kathi and I'm a Scrapper & Stamper. Now you all say, "Hello Kathi!"

I've been scrapping since June 27, 2000, so I'm coming up on my seventh anniversary. I completed 80 pages in my daughter's baby book that first summer doing a weird combination of desktop publishing and traditional scrapping. Yep. I was a "hybrid scrapper" and didn't even know it. Basically, I'd create a background color/pattern, position a title, captions, and journaling. Then I'd print the page, adhere the photos, and perhaps add a sticker or two. Most often, I'd take clip art, alter it on the computer, and either print it, cut it out or glue it down, or most frequently, I'd just drop it into place on the page.

Then in September 2000 we got our cable modem and joined the Internet. My CMC had told me that computer ink wasn't acid free, so I decided to look online for the answer. I found Scrapbook Addict, a message board, lurked for a while, then posted. My scrapping and my bank account have never been the same! I discovered the joys and camaraderie of an online message board, learned about cardstock, patterned paper, punches, scrapping magazines, and various techniques. I was hooked on both the internet & scrapping!

I also discovered that I'd have loads of scraps left that were great for cards! Eureeka! I'd be saving money by not buying Hallmark!

In July 2001 I was invited to a Stampin' Up party. I was really curious about stamping so I went, but I vowed to myself that I would not buy a thing. Yeah right. Un-huh.

So I started collecting stamps, stamp pads, and experimenting with those.

Sometime after that, I saw an ad for a design team for a kit club. I figured "what the heck" and sent in an application. I was accepted.

Since then, I've served on several design teams for kit clubs, online stores, an online message board, and a few manufacturers. I've also been lucky enough to have several layouts and cards published in a variety of idea books and magazines. I've also done demos and make & takes at CHAs and am about to start teaching classes.

Seven years of scrapping and six of stamping. My style's evolved. I've taken a few detours and branched into other paper crafts. I've enjoyed every second of it and I've made some wonderful friends. I hope to make more through this blog.

So there you have it. My first blog post.

Woo-hoo.

Now to figure out how to post cards and such.