Refresh, Recycle, and Distress!

Kaz is the hostess this week at Stampotique Designers Challenge blog and her challenge is called Refresh It! Here's what she has to say about her challenge!

"We all love playing with new stamps, but sometimes it's good to revisit some that have been neglected for a while. I'd like you to find an old favourite and give it a new lease of life."

If you'd like the chance to win $30 worth of Stampotique stamps, you should play along. Visit Stampotique Designers Challenge blog and be sure to read the rules, so that you'll have the chance to win a great prize!!!

To be totally truthful, I can't remember my first Stampotique stamp, though I remember the first batch I received! So I decided that I should use a stamp that I've neglected and I opted to use Nerd Cat (Kira Nichols).

Here's my card!

Nerd Cat was stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento ink onto patterned paper from the White Basics 6x6 pad by Basic Grey. He was colored with Copic markers and his shirt buttons, pens in his pocket, and his glasses were coated with Clear Gelly Roll Glaze pen to add a nice glassy dimensional finish. The frames received several more layers to make them stand out from the lenses.

Very old rub-ons (2005) from 7 Gypsies were added to the white space around him and the image panel was set aside while I worked on the background. This card is for a special cat lovin' nerd, but I can't name names. Just in case...

I grabbed an old empty two-toned file folder and cut it down to a more workable size. Media White Crackle paint by DecoArt was dry brushed unevenly over the folder and left to do its thing. When I returned, I was delighted to find an unevenly crackled background!

French Journal Page (France Papillon) was stamped over the crackled background with Onyx Black VersaFine ink, then heat embossed with black sparkly embossing powder, which curiously was unlabeled in my stash.

Media White Modeling Paste by DecoArt was tinted with a drop or two from Primary Cyan Media Mister, then applied through Stars, Schoolhouse Layering Stencils, and Specimen Stencil by The Crafter's Workshop.

I liked what the background looked like, but it still needed something. I'm not a big spray person, probably because my inner Virgo control freak problems, but I wanted some different colored paint splatters. I sprayed some Red Media Mister by DecoArt onto a palette, dipped a toothpick into the paint, and applied some control freakish splatters, which looked like blood spray. So I sprayed Primary Yellow Media Mister onto the palette and dipped its cap and the cap from a Mini Mister into the paint, and added little yellow rings. That made the panel look less crime-scenic and made me much happier.

The painted, stamped folder was torn to size, then my underused Bind-It-All was used to add punches along the left hand side. All edges were distressed using my distressing tool by Tonic, the edge of a scissor blade,  then some of my beloved Black Soot Distress ink was sponged around the piece to distress it a bit more.

The Happy Birthday die by Elizabeth Crafts was used to die-cut the blue folder. The Nerd Cat image panel was matted with a piece from the folder than adhered to the card. Ancient photo turns were attached with red brads. The missing dot from the "i" in Birthday was replaced with another red brad.

The card front was attached to a card made from the other side of the file folder and I called it done! Hallelujah!

Thanks for visiting today!

I shall enter this card into the following challenges:
• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenges: Stamp It
• A Little Bit Crafty: Distress It
• Scrap It Girl Challenges: Stencils or Masks
• Fashionable Stamping Challenge #80: Birthday for Someone Special