Thinking of You

Simple and to the point.  This "Poppies" stamp is hands down my favorite of the new Magenta Spring Supplement.  It doesn't really need any dressing up; it can shine all on its own.

I stamped the Magenta Poppies stamp on white card stock and then stamped the sentiment next to it.  The poppies were colored with Copic markers, and cut out with a circle die.  When die cutting, if you slip your top clear plate down a bit, the die will not cut through your image at the top.  Then you can finish cutting out the circle and top flower with detail scissors.  The image was adhered to pink paper and onto white base card.  Completed card is 5" x 5".  Clear Wink of Stella was applied to flower petals at the end for a little sparkle.

Magenta Stamps Used:

42.208.N  Poppies

07.869.D  Thinking of You

Other materials used:

Copic Markers:  RV23; RV25; RV29; R59

YG93; YG95; YG97

MFT DieNamics Circle Stax I Dies

Clear Wink of Stella

Sun Tile

On Saturday I took two colored pencil classes from a wonderful artist, Terry Medaris.  You can see his website here.  Terry is from Arizona, and was at Art 'n Soul to teach beginner and intermediate classes using Prismacolor pencils. Terry's beautiful rubber stamps have a definite Southwest flair, and I really love them.

In the intermediate class, we stamped and colored on ceramic tiles, shrink plastic and dominos.  We learned shading techniques, and how to get these beautiful bright colors out of our pencils.  This is my tile, which I finished at home...which I'm still not sure is completely finished, so I haven't sprayed it yet.  I'm very VERY sorry that I didn't pick up on this great sun stamp from Terry, although I got a few others.

The tile is bisque (fired, but not glazed), about 4.25" x 4.25" and the image (Terry Medaris Fancy Sun Large) was stamped with StazOn Jet black ink.  I can't really tell you all of the colors of Prismacolor I used.  I just grabbed pencils and colored away to my heart's content.  I can tell you a few, because I haven't put them away yet:  PC989 Chartreuse; PC1088 Mixed Turquoise; PC 1008 Parma Violet; PC 1002 Yellowed Orange; PC1003 Spanish Orange; PC924 Crimson Red.

The red rim around the tile is just red paper that the tile was placed on for photographing.  When coloring is completed, the tiles are sprayed with Krylon fixatif in either glossy or matte finish.  These are SO very much fun to make.  If you are local, we will have a supply of the bisque tiles at Art 'n Soul by Tuesday.

Zen Guitar

My Son-in-Law's Dad has a birthday coming up, and I sent him a card that I was pretty happy with.  What I'm sharing today though is a piece I Zentangled and slipped into his card.  I love how this turned out.

The paper is Strathmore 140# cold pressed watercolor card stock.  I sprayed it with Radiant Rain mists, so it has some sparkle to it in real life.  the guitar shape is from a Dreamweaver stencil (LL 3028).  This is actually somewhat reminiscent of some tangles I did for Son in Law for Christmas, but music runs in this family, so this design is getting a workout.  They turn out somewhat differently each time though, and I do like this one.  (Continuing my obsession with the curved version of the Por Fin tangle - can't seem to stop using it).

Thanks for Everything!

I've been having a lot of fun with watercolor techniques, and stencils are a natural for that.  I love the Magenta Spring templates, and have used them quite a bit.  

For this project, I took a piece of watercolor paper, and taped it down with a piece of painter's tape across the middle of the card stock.  This gave me a place to add a sentiment later.  I taped the stencil down on top of the card stock, and applied Versamark ink through all the openings.  I removed the painter's tape, and applied JudiKins opaque white embossing powder to the Versamark and heat embossed.  I then applied Distress ink, using a mini blending tool, applying different colors randomly around the card.  I sprayed the watercolor paper liberally with water that had Perfect Pearls Pearl mixed into it.  I sprayed quite a bit of water, so that the colors moved and puddled.  The embossed areas resisted the color, and stayed white.  I like how the Distress colors stay pretty true and vibrant and don't turn to mud.

I stamped the Thanks sentiment in the center, and then decided that I wanted something more.  I ironed the card, placed between sheets of waxed paper, so that the shiny white embossing powder came completely off.  I then stamped the Script and Postmark stamp across the top and bottom in Versafine, Smokey Grey.  I added some pearls for bling.  I couldn't find a color of paper to mat it with that matched, so I colored the edges of some white paper with a Copic Marker.  I also colored some of the pearls with the Copic marker.  I love how this turned out; it's a fun and easy technique.

Stamps used:

07.837.H  Thanks for Everything

75.085.M  Script and Postmark

Template used:  TM-42  Berry Branch Template

Other products used:

Distress Ink:  Seedless Preserves; Peeled Paint; Spiced Marmalade 

Perfect Pearls - Pearl

Versamark Ink

JudiKins White Opaque embossing powder

Versafine Inks:  Onyx Black; Smokey Grey

Copic RV69 (For Mat)

Strathmore 140# Watercolor paper

Hero Arts Mixed Accents

Watercolor Background

I have been really enjoying playing with dye based inks to create watercolor backgrounds, and I especially like Distress Ink for this purpose.  A new favorite technique is to apply the ink to an acrylic block and stamp with the block.  In this case, I used a round acrylic block.  No brushes were used in the making of these cards!

Distress Ink was applied to the round acrylic block, randomly.  I was careful not to apply the ink on top of each other so I wouldn't contaminate my pads.  The mixing happened when I sprayed the inked up block with water that was mixed with Perfect Pearls Pearl powder.  The block was sprayed with enough water so that the colors could bleed in to each other and blend.  Be careful not to spray so much so that when you turn the block over it drips onto your work.  (Which is what I did the first time).  Stamp the inked block onto watercolor paper for your background image.  

After initially stamping the acrylic block on watercolor paper, I noticed I still had a pretty good amount of ink on the block, so I spritzed it with water again and stamped a second time on another piece of paper.  The "You are Awesome" card is the result of the second stamping.  I really like both of them for different reasons.  I used Magenta stamps over the background, and added some enamel dots from My Minds Eye.  Easy and fun to do!

Materials Used:

Today I Choose Happiness (first stamping):

Magenta Stamps:

42.207.N  Echinacea

07.845.G  Today I Choose Happiness

23.114.C  Dots

Round acrylic block

Distress Inks:

Peacock Feathers

Squeezed Lemonade

Seedless Preserves

Versafine Onyx Black Ink

Perfect Pearls Pearl

Enamel Dots from My Mind’s Eye “Cute” collection

140# Strathmore cold press watercolor paper

You Are Awesome (second stamping):

Magenta Stamps:

42.210.P  Sunflower

07.876.F  You Are Awesome

23.114.C  Dots

Round acrylic block

Distress Inks:

Peacock Feathers

Squeezed Lemonade

Seedless Preserves

Versafine Onyx Black Ink

Memento Rich Cocoa Ink

Perfect Pearls Pearl

Enamel Dots from My Mind’s Eye “Cute” collection

140# Strathmore cold press watercolor paper

Alcohol Ink Swirls

Last month at play day at Art'n Soul, one technique we were trying out was to get a tub of water and float drops of alcohol ink on top of the water.  We then took pieces of watercolor paper (I use 140# Strathmore cold press) and dragged them through the ink.  I love the effect, and I will definitely use all of these pieces for cards.  It was very difficult to predict how any individual piece would turn out, but it was definitely the case that the bright colors work the best.  We used Ranger alcohol inks for this technique.  Some I liked better than others, but I liked them all.  Sorry if the camera work is not up to par - I took these pics with my iPhone.

On the one below, I tried to stamp and emboss an image in white; but it was a failed experiment.  I didn't take into account that alcohol ink will stick to glossy just fine.  You can faintly see a bicycle image in it - this is the Magenta bicycle stamp 42.192.N

This "thanks" that I die cut from a previous project happened to land on one of the marbled pieces on my desk.  This will definitely be a "thank you" card in the future!

I took one of the pieces and Zentangled on it, and then wrote a note on the back to send to my new friends in Iceland.  I hope they like it!  I really liked using the color in this piece.

Magenta May 2014 Challenge!

May 2014 - Magenta Challenge :

ANYTHING GOES!

Create a Card, a Layout or even an altered object if you feel like it,

the only rule to follow is to use at least one Magenta product :

papers, stamps, embellishment, Peel Off's, chipboard and more...

You have until May 29th to enter!

You could win this Magenta Prize :

This prize is from Magenta's newest Spring collection!

You can use ANY Magenta product for your entry.  I used a couple of the newest stamps for my very clean and simple card:

Magenta Stamps used:

42.208.N  Poppies

07.875.F  Always

Other Products used:

Tombow markers:  899; 847; 835; 098; 491

Glossy Accents

Clear Wink of Stella

Hero Arts Blush Mixed Accents

Onyx Black Versafine Ink

Judikins Detail Clear Embossing Powder

Watercolor paper

So Silk Beauty Pink paper

The poppy image was stamped onto watercolor paper (Strathmore cold press 140#) with black Versafine and embossed with Detail Clear embossing powder.  I colored the flower with Tombow markers, and used a wet brush to move the color around until I was happy with the shading and the look.  Glossy Accents was applied to the center of the largest flower for a little shine, and clear Wink of Stella was applied to all of the flower petals for some sparkle.  The sentiment was stamped with black Versafine.  Image was mounted onto So Silk Beauty Pink for matting, and then mounted onto a white base card.  Hero Arts Blush Mixed Accents were applied for a finishing touch.

Please click here to go to the Magenta blog.  You can see all of the projects from the Design Team, and you can enter your project using in linkz.

New Magenta Spring 2014 Supplement

This is one of my favorite supplements ever - you are going to love these new Spring images!

Supplement may take a few seconds to appear.  If you are having trouble opening the supplement, please link to it directly here

Distress Watercolor

I have been experimenting with various watercolor techniques in advance of our watercolor play day at Art 'n Soul (more on that later).  The first technique I played with is one that I have seen several other places, so I thought I would try it out.  I started with 140 lb cold press watercolor paper, and stamped with various background stamps in Versamark ink.  I embossed each with Judikins white embossing powder.  I then applied Distress inks using Distress markers on some, and ink pads with a mini blending tool on others.  I sprayed each liberally with a mini mister containing water mixed with Perfect Pearls.  The dye-based Distress inks really move around on the watercolor paper.  I let some dry naturally and some I dried using a heat tool.  Both methods worked well.

I have a mini mister that I keep filled with water and small scoops of Perfect Pearls in the plain pearl color.  You really need to just add small scoops of the powder to the water in the spritzer.  If you add too much, it may clog your sprayer.  I just use the back end of a watercolor brush to scoop it out and add 2 scoops to the water and shake it well.  I learned a tip from Jennifer McGuire to add an embellishment pearl to the top of the spritzer that I keep the pearly water in, so that I always know which one it is.

I chose all Magenta sentiments and added them to the front of each card.  This first one is my favorite.  I just love how the colors turned out.

Life is a Gift

Stamps used:  

"Life is a gift untie the ribbons"  Magenta  07.640.G

Impression Obsession Flourishes CAC  CC027

Distress Ink:

Peacock Feathers

Picked Raspberry

Squeezed Lemonade

Paper:  So Silk Beauty Pink

1/4" white silk ribbon

Life is Art

Stamps used:

"life is Art live yours in Color"  Magenta  07.700.G

Impression Obsession Tapestry CAC  CC025

Distress Ink:

Dusty Concord

Worn Lipstick

Spun Sugar

Peeled Paint

Paper:  Stardream Fairway

My Minds Eye Enamel Dots from Unforgettable Firsts and Up, Up, and Away

Hero Arts Mixed Accents in Blush, Floral & Foliage

Sizzix 4 dies 659072 (for sentiment)

Today I Choose Happiness

Stamps used:

"Today I choose Happiness"  Magenta  07.845.G

Hero Arts Asian Flower Pattern  CG243

Distress Ink:

Crushed Olive

Seedless Preserves

Faded Jeans

Paper:  Mohawk Feltweave Eggplant

Hero Arts Mixed Accents - Floral

On the last three cards, I chose to alter the sentiments.  I wanted them to be more stacked, to fit on the card, or to fit onto a die cut.  To accomplish this, I used a stamp positioner and applied tape over the part of the stamp I didn't want inked in the first stamping.  I inked up the stamp and removed the tape, and stamped.  The part of the sentiment not inked did not stamp.  I then went back and taped over the part of the stamp I had already stamped; inked the stamp up again, removed the tape and positioned the rest of the sentiment where I wanted it.

Live the Life You've Imagined

Stamps used:

"Live the Life You've Imagined"  Magenta  07.836.I

Impression Obsession Floral Lines CAC  CC089

Distress Ink:

Spiced Marmalade

Rusty Hinge

Peeled Paint

Mustard Seed

Wild Honey

Paper:  Glossy Black

Spellbinders Labels 11 (for sentiment)

Hero Arts Mixed Accents - Sunshine

You line up the first part of the sentiment with the positioner; ink and stamp.  Then line up the second part where you want it, and ink and stamp.

Give Wings to Your Passion

Stamps used:

"Give Wings to your Passion"  Magenta  07.835.G

Hero Arts Antique Background  CG120

Distress Ink:

Rusty Hinge

Orange Marmalade

Wild Honey

Broken China

Faded Jeans

Paper:  Stardream Copper

Hero Arts Orange Metallic Decor

This is how I altered the sentiment on this card.  I love the original, but I just needed it to be more stacked for this card so it wouldn't cover any butterflies.

Creative Minds

Stamps used:

"Creative Minds are rarely tidy"  Magenta  07.819.G

Impression Obsession Medallion CAC  CC032

Distress Ink:  Faded Jeans

Chipped Sapphire

Aged Mahogany

Stormy Sky

Paper:  So Silk Fair Blue

Tag die for sentiment from Spellbinders for Just Rite Stamps JB08950 Nested Frame Dies

Hero Arts Mixed Accents Floral & Sea

This one was the hardest to alter, because I wanted it to look a little wonky (that's my story and I'm stickin' to it)

This technique would work well to make a set of cards as a gift, or just to quickly make a lot of pretty cards to add to your stash.  They were easy, quick and fun to make, and I love how they turned out.  This is just one technique that I will demo on Friday, April 18, at the watercolor play day at Art 'n Soul.  If you are local, please come and see me!  I will also try to do at least one other post with more watercolor.

I miss our Iceland relatives and friends so much!  They tell me that Spring is also coming there and it's been rainy.  Here is a picture sent to us from Jon Eldon Logason.  They kayak there too!

Photo by Jon Eldon Logason

Magenta April Challenge

April 2014 - Magenta Challenge :

Easter

Create a Card, a Layout or even an alterned object if you feel like it

and use at least one Magenta product :

papers, stamps, embellishment, Peel Off's, chipboard and more...

You have until April 29th to enter!

You could win a surprise Magenta Prize,

containing stamps from the upcoming supplement

Please use In linkz to submit your page

Click here to go to the Magenta blog to submit your entry

Here is my card:

Magenta Stamps Used:  07.807.I  There is Magic All Around Us

86.007.G  Bird Nest

Magenta Template:  TM43 Birds

Other Products Used:  

Tsukineko Neon Inks:  Electric Pink; Electric Green; Electric Blue

Brilliance Coffee Bean Ink

Hero Arts Mixed Accents:  Sea and Blush

Paper:  So Silk Fair Blue and So Silk Beauty Pink

I wanted to try out the new Tsukineko Neon inks, and I absolutely love them.  When I looked at the colors I thought they would be perfect for Easter and Spring; they're so bright and happy.  I applied the color with stencil brushes over the Magenta template, and colored the egg in the nest blue also.  Easy and quick to do!