Easy Stenciled Card!

Doodlebugs, my local stamping and scrapbooking store in Sequim, Washington, is having a Creative Community Challenge this month.  The challenge is to create something using stencils.  Cathy has been posting all sorts of great ideas and examples using stenciling techniques.  (You can click here to visit Doodlebugs blog.)  As I was reading this post, I realized that I had forgotten about one very easy way to get lots of color using my stencils:  use my blending tools along with Tim Holtz Distress Ink pads.  I've recently invested in some of the Mini Ink Blending Tools and I love them!  This card was created using the Heartwood pattern designer stencil from Memory Box and 3 different colors of Distress Inks.  After mounting it on a card I took out my Stickles and added some small little dots.

It's amazing that we can so quickly and easily get such incredible detail by rubbing an inked foam blending tool over a stencil.  I love stencils!!

Here's a close-up of some of the detail and the Stickled dots.

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Art Journal Fun With Color Bloom Spray Mist

I haven't had a chance to work in my art journal lately so last night I put it on my list of things to do today.  Ta da!   That almost always ensures I will get it done.  Sometimes I just have to make art a priority and put it on my to-do list.

As I opened my art journal today I knew that I wanted to give my new Color Bloom Spray Mist a try. The color is called Glistening Waves and it has a beautiful sultry shimmer to it!  It is a gorgeous aqua green!  I sprayed it into my art journal through two new Stencil Girl stencils.  I then outlined the stenciled areas with my Peeled Paint distress pen.  I also used some gelli printed deli paper, some tissue paper that I had previously painted, and some wide washi tape outside the stenciled areas.  One of the last things I did was to use some painters pens to add little dots in the stenciled areas.  I really like this added detail.

Color Bloom Spray Mist, wide washi tape, and Stencil Girl Stencils

Here is a close up of one of the stenciled areas.  I added an enamel dot to the middle.

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Easy Cards With Impress Stamps

I grew up in a suburb of Seattle called Woodinville (in Washington state).  The Seattle area has many rubber stamp and crafting related stores.  One of my favorites is called Impress.  There is an Impress store in Tukwila and University Village.  I don't get to shop at these stores very often since I live approximately 3 hours away but I have taken advantage of Impress's online store.  And, of course, I'm on their mailing list so I get an email every couple of weeks advertising classes, ideas and new products.

A few months ago I saw a card using these three flower stamps in an email I got from Impress.  I knew I had to have them!  The stamps are the mod wish flower, mod starburst, and mod cowslip.  One thing I love about Impress is their simple and quick card ideas.  I stamped the images, added some washi tape leaving room either at the top or bottom for a sentiment and mounted them on a background paper and then a card.  Pretty easy!

Here's a close up.

I'm always a sucker for something that is pretty and quick and easy!  Do you have any quick and easy card ideas??

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Elegant Lily Cards

It's always exciting to discover a blog where the artist posts often and showcases beautiful and inspirational art.  It's even more exciting when this artist puts together great tutorials and videos.  Recently I found just this when I discovered Jennifer McGuire's blog.  It's definitely worth checking out!  About a month ago I fell in love with her card using the My Favorite Things Lily die.  You can see her video tutorial here.  

Since we were invited to my Mom's cousin's house for Easter Sunday, I decided it would be nice to give her a card.  (I'm always looking for an excuse to do something crafty!)  Here is the card I made using the My Favorite Things Lily die and Jennifer McGuire's tutorial.   

I always feel a bit sad when I make a beautiful card and then give it away on the same day.  I guess I really enjoy having a few days to admire my work.  Fortunately my iPhone allowed me to take some pictures so I can look back and remember the beauty.

I like orange flowers . . . but I like pink flowers even more!  I decided to make another lily card (that I will probably hang onto until Mother's Day) using some pink Copic markers.  I'm happy with how it turned out!  The little pink dots really made me love it!

I definitely could use a lesson and some practice in shading and layering colors with the Copic markers.  I'll have to add that to my list of classes to take!

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Tall Birds on a Mixed Media Background

A week or so ago I found a tutorial for Stenciled Coffee Filter Art on the Crafters Workshop blog.  I had some old coffee filters in the pantry so I went to work collaging and stenciling.  You know how sometimes you end up with a bunch of leftover paint after a project?  Well, I had some left over aqua and green paint that I couldn't waste so I grabbed my small art journal and sponged away.  I decided to follow the whole stenciled coffee filter process in my art journal.   I absolutely love the results!  I'm  sure the fact that these are my favorite colors has nothing to do with it!  Then I used my new StencilGirl Tall Birds stencil for the birds.  I colored the birds' bodies in with a few of my Faber-Castell Pitt Big Brush pens and stamped a swirly stamp through the stencil.

Here are the coffee filters I made.

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Gelli Printing With Green Pepper Press Masks

This past weekend I pulled out my Gelli Plate and did some gelli printing.  Oh my goodness!  Gelli printing is so much fun!  I think part of the fun is the surprise of not really knowing what you're going to get when you pull a print.  Then you can layer more and more paint onto the same print if you want.  The possibilities are endless!  And an endless source of fun it is!  

The stencils and masks that I used are from Green Pepper Press:  The Frond Collection.   I love them!  They are natural and organic and I think I will come up with many uses for them.

Do you have a Gelli plate?  Have you done any Gelli printing lately??

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Documented Life Project Planner Page and a Sweet 16 Birthday Card

Last week's Documented Life Project Planner challenge was to do something monochromatic - use shades, tints and hues of one color.  Here is what I came up with.  It's not green!  I decided that I would use different shades of blue.  I used my new Crafter's Workshop stencil called Retro Bursts.  I also used my new Tim Holtz Sizzix Frameworks Honeycomb die.  Along the left side I laid down
some deli paper cut into a scalloped pattern.  Around the rest of the edges I used blue washi tape with white stars.

All in all, I like the blue.   But I must confess . . . it's not near as much fun to create using just one color.   I really prefer to use lots of colors!

On Sunday my older daughter turned 16!  Wow!  This certainly felt like a big birthday.  Here is the card I made for her.  It was fast and fun!  I really like how the enamel dots coordinate well with the polka dot paper.

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