Lady of Fantasy or Lady of Mystery.

Here's my card with Fantasy Lady (Stampinback), that is available at I Brake for Stamps. I think she's very mysterious looking. What do you think?

Fantasy Lady was stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento ink (Imagine Crafts), colored with Copic markers, fussy-cut, and edged with a black pen. Glitter pen was used to add a bit of shimmer to her tiara, earrings, and bracelets.

The patterned paper is from the Couture 8x8 pad (Graphic 45). Gold foil stickers were used to add both some pizzazz and a sentiment. A gold leafing pen was used to edge the piece.

I Brake for Stamps is where you'll find great selections of Stampinback stamps plus lots of other stamps from other stamp companies. Click on my badge below to be whisked over to I Brake for Stamps to check out all of the goodies! Best of all, if you buy something, you can get a 10% discount off of your purchase if you use this code: SAVE10KATHI!

Thanks for visiting today!

Decisions at the 5:00 Bar!

I'm the hostess this week at Stampotique Designer's Challenges. My challenge is called "Crack Me Up"! Here's what I said about it.

"Create a humorous project that also has crackled texture!"

If you'd like the chance to win your choice of $30 worth of Stampotique stamps, you should play along with this challenge. Visit Stampotique Designers Challenge blog and be sure to read the rules so that you'll have the chance to win that great prize!!! Remember to check to see the deadline for all of this month's Stampotique Designers Challenges!

Here's my second card for my challenge, which I hope is funnier than my first. I used Stampotique's  Moody (Daniel Torrente) and Banner (France Papillon).

Moody was stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento ink (Imagine Crafts), colored with Copic markers, fussy-cut, then edged with a Black Pitt Artist pen (Faber Castell). Just Moody's hands were stamped, colored, fussy-cut, and edged with marker. Both Moody and her spare pair of hands was set aside while I created a background scene for her.

A piece of 140 lb. Mixed Media cardstock (Strathmore) was sponged with White Media Gesso (Deco Art) and allowed to dry. It was then painted with  Vermillion Media Fluid Acrylic (MFA) paint (DecoArt) that had been mixed with Titan Buff MFA paint. When dry, it was coated with a layer of Media Matte Medium (Deco Art) and allowed to dry.

After an hour of wrestling with my mad arithmetic skillz and proving my genius on Facebook, I mixed four parts of Media Crackle Paint (DecoArt)* with one part Raw Sienna MFA paint, stirred it really well, then painted a thick layer of this combo over the piece. I crossed my fingers, set the piece aside, and hoped that I hadn't diluted the Media Crackle Paint too much so that the cracking miracle would occur!

The next step was to die-cut white cardstock with the Cocktail Party die (Taylored Expressions)*, color the drinks with Copic markers, add a touch of Clear Stardust Glitter Gel pen (Sakura)* to drinks with festive rims, then coat all the glasses/bottles with several layers of Clear Gelly Glaze pen (Sakura)*.

Three layers of cardstock were cut to 5/8" x 5" wide, stacked, then adhered together, colored with Copic markers, then coated with a layer of Media Crackle Glaze (DecoArt), then set aside to crackle.
Fence post dies (source unknown - oops) received the same treatment. When all the pieces were dry, the Cocktail Party die was adhered to the 5/8" x 5" wide painted, crackled strip with 1/8" wide red-liner tape.

The Banner was stamped with Jet Black Archival ink (Ranger) onto white canvas specialty paper, then painted with translucent colors of Media Fluid Acrylic paint to match Moody. The Banner was fussy-cut, then touched up with my Black Pitt Artist pen. Very, very old rub-on letters were used to add the bar's name to the Banner, which was then coated with a layer of Media Matte Medium to seal it.

It was time to check to see if my colored Crackle Paint had crackled. Lo and behold, it had! It was time to start to build my scene. The crackled painted cardstock was die-cut with the largest die from the 5 x 7 Card Creator die set (Spellbinders). Wood-patterned washi tape was added to the base. Moody was adhered to the card front. The Cocktail Party bar was adhered over Moody with little foam dimensional adhesive squares behind each drink. Moody's spare hands were adhered to their counterparts with Moody's hands holding two drinks. The crackled bar legs were attached, then Dymo tape, spelling out the card's sentiment, was added!

A variety of rub-ons from my hoarded Steampunk Collection and the Whimsy Elements sheets (7 Gypsy) were added to the crackled background, the card front was edged with Jet Black Archival ink, then adhered to a pre-made 5x7 card. The painted, lettered, sealed Banner was adhered to the card with dimensional foam adhesive. Flowers and a gemstone were added to Moody's hair to finish the card.

* = on sale at SCACD!

Thanks for visiting today and reading all my blather!

I shall enter this card into the following challenges:
• Through The Purple Haze Challenges: Layers
• Crafty Gals Corner Challenges: Die-cuts or Punches
• Scrapy Land Challenges: Die-cuts/Anything Goes

Crack Me Up!

I'm the hostess this week at Stampotique Designer's Challenges. My challenge is called "Crack Me Up"! Here's what I said about it.

"Create a humorous project that also has crackled texture!"

If you'd like the chance to win your choice of $30 worth of Stampotique stamps, you should play along with this challenge. Visit Stampotique Designers Challenge blog and be sure to read the rules so that you'll have the chance to win that great prize!!! Remember to check to see the deadline for all of this month's Stampotique Designers Challenges!

The left-most cat of the four cats included in Stampotique's Kitty Squad stamp (Kira Nichols) is a Maneki-neko, the beckoning cat, which is a cat figurine with one paw upraised. It's supposed to bring luck to its owner.

Here's my card which is crackled, but not particularly funny! I think this stupid flu bug has made my funny bone disappear! 

Kitty Squad was stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento ink three times and the Maneki-neko cat was fussy-cut from the image. The other kitties were put into an envelope for later use! Each Maneki-neko cat was colored with Copic markers, edged with a black pen, then painted with a layer of Crazing Distress Collage Medium (Ranger). I wasn't totally thrilled with just one layer, so I painted on another layer and was much happier.

A happy accident occurred when the Crazing Distress Collage Medium buckled the paper kitties a bit, so I flipped 'em over and used a shaping tool to add a bit of dimension to them.

The Maneki-neko cats were set aside while I created a setting for them. Initially my plan was to have them sitting atop a table, but then I remembered that I had purchased a super-cute Fireplace die set (Impression Obession) and used that to die-cut 140 lb. Mixed Media cardstock (Strathmore). The brick portion of the fireplace was colored with Copic markers. A Picket Fence Distress marker was used to add a bit of detail. A Gold Leaf marker (Krylon) was used to color the fireplace grate, then black ink was added and wiped off in places. The log and flames were colored with Copic markers and the fireplace bits were complete!

A muted patterned paper was chosen for the background. Wood-patterned Washi tape was added to the the bottom edge, and the fireplace die-cuts were assembled.

A chipboard frame was painted with a layer of Carbon Black Media Fluid Acrylic (MFA) paint (DecoArt), then Metallic Gold MFA was pounced atop it with a pouncy tool (its scientific name). White Mixed Media cardstock was cut to back the frame and colored with Copic markers to dull the white. Black cardstock was die-cut with A Hint of Lime die (Die-versions). The sentiment, "Good Luck" was adhered to the white cardstock and the sentiment-bearing cardstock was adhered to the painted chipboard frame. A thick layer of Diamond Glaze (Judikins) was applied to the aperture. Sadly, rather than set the piece aside overnight, I rushed things and had to pull off the sentiment cardstock and do it all over again. You can see where I messed it up along the edges. This time, I did leave the sentiment frame overnight to cure, only to discover that the black cardstock ran! Whattabummer! Oh well, perfection is overrated. So I went with the imperfect sentiment frame and the unfunny sentiment.

Once I decide who will get the card, I will likely add "You'll need it!" to the inside to go with the "Good Luck" on the outside. Because I'm so funny that way.

Thanks for visiting and reading all this!

P.S. I will be back with at least one other project that (I hope) will be a tad bit funnier and even more cracked!

I shall enter this card into the following challenges:
• Alphabet Challenges: C is for Cats
• Chocolate, Coffee, and Cards Challenges: Spring is in the Air
• Creative Card Crew Challenges: Die Cuts
• Show Us Your Pussies Challenges: Furrything Goes

A Cats Journal Page

Since yesterday was National Pet Day, I decided that I needed to make a journal page featuring the Cats from the Cats and Buildings, which is available at I Brake for Stamps.

Here's the journal page!

Cats from the Cats and Buildings sheet was stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento ink onto white cardstock and also onto masking paper. The masking paper was doubled up and fussy-cut. The mask was placed over its counterpart on the cardstock. Using a stamp positioner, Cats was stamped again. This process was repeated until the journal page was filled with cats -- just perfect for this crazy cat lady. The cats were then colored with Copic markers. I had light grey cats, dark grey cats,black cats, orange cats, calico cats, tuxedo cats, and one special pink cat.

The page was sponged with Black Soot Distress ink (Ranger) and adhered to the journal page. Three sentiments from the Small Talk Stickers (Idea-ology) were added to finish the page.

I Brake for Stamps is where you'll find great selections of Stampinback stamps plus lots of other stamps from other stamp companies. Click on my badge below to be whisked over to I Brake for Stamps to check out all of the goodies! Best of all, if you buy something, you can get a 10% discount off of your purchase if you use this code: SAVE10KATHI!

Thanks for visiting today!

Wishing for Spring!

Yes, I know it's officially spring, but it sure isn't acting like it here in the Northeast. It's been chilly and we might get snow this weekend! Sheesh! Mother Nature seems to be a bit more confused. Or like me, she's down with the flu and just totally out of energy. At least the flowers and trees are blooming and the birds are beginning to show their breeding plumage!

Anyway, here's a card that will accompany my very late ATC on its long voyage to the recipient. It's fun to have projects that are better traveled than oneself.

The card features one of the gals from The Organics digital stamp set (Vera Lane Studios), her flower garland, a flower from the set, and two cats from the Cats and Crocks set (Vera Lane Studios).

I borrowed the garland from the garland-wearing gal from The Organics digital stamp set, by cropping the top of her head off (which sounds weirder than it is), erasing the background, and saving it as a separate file. The file was reduced, duplicated, and flipped to become headpiece and floral lei for one the cats from the Cats and Crocks set (Vera Lane Studios). I pulled the scene together, merged the file, reduced it, then printed it onto cardstock with my laser printer. The scene was then colored with my Copic markers to match the ATC.

The patterned papers are all from a very old 6x6 pad by the late lamented Basic Grey. A strip of the patterned paper and another piece from the sheet were die-cut with the Window Pane Strip from the Arched Windows One die set (Spellbinders) and one of the Patisserie Labels dies (Memory Box). The sentiment was added to the die-cut with rub-ons from Doodlebug and Idea-ology.

Thanks for visiting today!

I shall enter this card into the following challenges:
• Alphabet Challenges: C is for Cats
• Chocolate, Coffee, and Cards Challenges: Spring is in the Air
• Show Us Your Pussies Challenges: Furrything Goes
• Tuesday Throwdown Challenges: Furry Friends

Nature!

Arwen McCullen is the hostess this week at Stampotique Designer's Challenges. Her challenge theme is Nature.  Here's what she has to say about her challenge:

"Create a project with only nature items in it. No humans, no animals."

If you'd like the chance to win your choice of $30 worth of Stampotique stamps, you should play along with this challenge. Visit Stampotique Designers Challenge blog and be sure to read the rules so that you'll have the chance to win that great prize!!! Remember to check to see the deadline for all of this month's Stampotique Designers Challenges!

I created a set of three A2 cards using Stampotique's Meadow (France Papillon).

Anyway, to get back to the card set,  Meadow was repeatedly stamped with Jet Black Archival ink (Ranger) onto a 3.25" strip of 140 lb. Mixed Media cardstock (Strathmore) with the assistance of my stamp positioner. A horizon line was taped and Mermaid Lagoon Distress ink (Ranger) was sponged below it to become water.  Mown Lawn Distress ink was lightly sponged over the grass. The stamped, sponged cardstock strip was then cut into 3.25" squares. White gel pen (Sakura) was used to add movement to the water.

The tape was lifted, repositioned, and a circle Eclipse Tape mask was placed. Blueprint Sketch Distress ink was sponged from the horizon upward and Chipped Sapphire Distress ink was sponged from the top downward. The circle mask was lifted and the positive of the circle was placed over top and sunny Distress ink colors, Wild Honey, Squeezed Lemonade, and Abandoned Coral Distress inks were sponged in the aperture, then lightly outside it. Black Soot Distress ink was sponged around the outside of each square.

A Square Nestabilities die (Spellbinders) was used to die-cut Kraft cardstock and the stamped, sponged squares were adhered to them. Kraft cardstock was cut to 4" x 5.25" and debossed with the Clocks Embossing Plate (Cherry Lynn Designs). The edges of the Kraft cardstock were sponged with Black Soot Distress ink, then all card fronts were mounted on A2 Kraft cards. Sentiments were not added at this time as I haven't decided who will get the cards.

Thanks for visiting today!

I shall enter this card set into the following challenges:

• Cards And More Challenges: Kraft Cardstock

• The Artistic Stamper Creative Challenges: All Things Distressed

• Craft Your Passion Challenges: Anything Goes

Hey Baby! Welcome to the world!

One of my friends has just become a new grandma, which made me think about babies, which made me think of this adorable sleeping baby stamp from The Old and New half-sheet (Stampinback), which is available at I Brake for Stamps.

Here's the card that I made!

The baby was stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento ink and colored with Copic markers. A stencil was placed over the baby and shimmery gold ink was stippled over top to make the baby look even more angelic. The stamped piece was matted with gold cardstock, adhered to map-patterned paper, and love-themed washi tape was added. The card front was mounted onto a grey card and I called it done!

I Brake for Stamps is where you'll find great selections of Stampinback stamps plus lots of other stamps from other stamp companies. Click on my badge below to be whisked over to I Brake for Stamps to check out all of the goodies! Best of all, if you buy something, you can get a 10% discount off of your purchase if you use this code: SAVE10KATHI!

Thanks for visiting today!