Funkie Junkie Tag # 11 & 12

Happy Christmas!  It is getting very close to the big day!  I snuck in some time this morning to finish up my tags for Linda's Funkie Junkie Twelve tags of Christmas.  Her on-line store the  Frilly and Funkie Boutique sponsors her challenge. 

Linda's tag #11 is a beautiful shimmery tag with lovely hints of blue and a snowy snowflake inspired tag.  I tried to play with the ideas of the embossing paste, snowflakes and the shades of blue in my take on her tag.

I started with a coat of embossing paste on my tag.  I laid a layer of tissue paper over the embossing paste and inked up the snowflake stamp and stamped into the tissue paper. You get the stamped image and an impression in the embossing paste. I repeated randomly and at the end I sprayed the entire surface with a blue mist.

I let that dry and while it was drying I decided to cut out a series of snowflakes in vellum. I thought I would use the soft vellum to place the snowflakes onto my background. 

When I finished I realized you couldn't see them so I decided to edge them in silver which lead to embossing them with Aged Silver embossing powder and then of course I had to emboss the edge of my tag as well. :)

It ended up darker than I intended with the aged silver embossing powder but I love the heavy metallic feel of the snowflakes.

Next up is Linda's rustic charming tag # 12.  I love that Linda' folded her tag to create a folded tag with a message inside.  I was sketching this idea and trying to figure out what I wanted to do with her lovely plaid on the outside and holly on the inside, when inspiration struck.  What if I cut off both sides of the fold to make it a tag on either side.  After I sketched this and thought about the plaid I realized it would look like a dapper Christmas vest.  So here is my Santa's vest folded tag.

 I used the Tim Holtz stripes stencil with Candy Apple Red and Lucky Clover to create the plaid on the front.  I used Antique Linen in the back with the same plaid pattern.   I added a few buttons and died my suspenders to coordinate.  Linda had the adorable tag and holly on her band which inspired my tag on the suspender.

 When you open it up inside there is a smattering of holly with red stickle berries

I added Christmas music in the background using the Antique Linen Dye Ink and then the berries over that with the Penny Black sentiment stamped in the center. 

A close up of the tag and holly:

Thanks for stopping by!

Suzz

25 Tags of Christmas

Simon Says Stamp is joining in on the  25 tags of Christmas where all the fun can be found on   Tracy's Blog.

I was happy to join in on the fun with a new die from Simon Says Stamp and create a tag card.

I was inspired by the new Create Joy release from Simon Says Stamp.  I received the beautiful Mod Ornament Wafer Die and knew it would be beautiful in silver.

I die cut several ornaments from silver cardstock.  I then laid the ornaments out on the tag where I wanted them. I traced the outside of the ornaments to help me determine where to place my circle die to cut the openings.

Next I sprayed my teal blue color on the tag card front where the circles were to be placed.  I created my little barrier for my shaker bits and poured in the sequins and mini flowers.  Then I applied acetate behind the ornaments and attached the tag to the card front.  I added a few bows for decoration and the Joy stamp in the bottom right corner.

Products: Simon Say Stamp Mod Ornament, Simon Says Stamp - Blessed, Sequins, Paper Artsy Metal Cardstock, White Cardstock, Ribbon, Simon Says Stamp Momma Foam, Ranger Distress Stain Spray - Blue, Simon Says Stamp Audrey Blue Ink

Thanks for Stopping by!

Suzz

New Winter Release at Simon Says!

Simon Says Stamp just released their new winter release called Create Joy.  I was lucky enough to receive the fun Bear Necessities.  

When I saw the little fish bones I had visions of a shaker tummy for the bear with the little fish bones floating around in his tummy.  I mixed in a few small sequins and some mica flakes. 

I used a few strips of the My Minds Eye Bright Side 2 papers and a few beads and buttons for accents.

You can find all the new stamps and dies at Simon Says Stamp.

Have a wonderful Saturday!

Suzz

Sneak Peek!

Good Morning!  I don't have a new project to share yet... I have a few sneak peeks for Simon Says Stamp Stamptember that starts on Monday!

 As you can see there is a variety of goodies coming your way!  We will be sharing all the details on our projects in future posts.

Let's get this party started!

Thanks for stopping by!

Suzz

Scrabble Anyone?

Simon Says Stamp Has a new release called the Color of Fun and boy are there some beautiful colors in this release.  I ended up playing with the new colors and a fantastic game tile letter set of stamps. My family is big on Scrabble!  My dad and I always try to get a game in when he comes over. A perfect way to celebrate Father's Day was to create him a Scrabble well wishes for Father's Day.

 I used the new Simon Says Stamp Game Tile Stamps along with some watercolor pencils.

Then I decided to play with the new ink pads: Scuba Ink and Jellybean.

 I added the pretty flowers (Simon Says Stamp - Artful Flowers) and sentiment with a touch of gold glitter.  I used the Tsukineko Delicata Gold Glitz for the gold touches. I also used the Simon Say Stamp Background stamp Falling Snow.

Suzz

Birthdays Birthdays

February and March are big birthday months in our family.  I ended up buying ahem all my January cards because I got so far behind.  That meant me getting pro-active and creating cards early for this month.  Both are challenging for me as one is for a nephew turning thirteen and the other is for my niece who is turning 18. 

For my nephew I was looking for a grungy mixed media effect using basketball as the focus.  He plays on multiple teams. I used the Graphic 45 sports stamps for the images.  The background uses a mix of the DarkRoom Door stamps.

For my niece I followed the same grungy style but mixed in stars and music.

I was trying for a new color mix of lavender, gray and yellow.  I might re-work this one as it didn't fly with my daughters.  I still have time. :)

Well that is all I have to share today. I am busy working on a few different projects for future shares and I will be back tonight with the new Simon Says Stamp Challenge!

Suzz

Love & Hearts

I decided it was time to get back in the studio... I looked around for a few of my favorite challenges to inspire me.  I used Card Fusion beautiful hearts and the Cardabilities sketch #115 to put together my hubby's valentine.

I started with a lovely St.Patty's Day paper as my background.  I added distressing and stamping around the edges.  I added a splotch of black and white paint in the background.  I then die cut some polka dotted hearts and layered them over feathers, and a few Memory Box die cut flowers.

The inspiration photos:

and

Have a blessed Sunday!

Suzz

Monster Valentines

A little change of pace here as I share some valentines I have been working on... I just received the new Monsters valentine set form Simon Says Stamp.  They were so silly looking I wanted them for my kids even though they are getting a little old for monsters.

I used a few different color combinations...

and a few different images and layouts...

Cute aren't they?   I colored with STAEDTLER Karat Aquarell watercolor pencils and the images are Simon Says Stamp Monster Hugs.

Happy Tuesday!

Suzz

Die-Cember

All this month Simon Says Stamp is celebrating Die-cember!  There are new dies and they are on sale!

I received the new Mod Circle Frame Die Cut.  I love the fun circles.  I decided to create a shaker card and a masked and misted card.

 The shaker card is for my niece. She is a teenager and requested one of my cards, she even said she didn't care about the gift but wanted a cool card from me.  I was happy to hear it as I always worry about the teenagers and creating cards they enjoy.   I wanted to do something fun and I thought a shaker card with some of the circles would be cool.

 I had to cut up my foam squares to do this. Foam tape would have saved me time!  I used the sentiments from the Simon Says Stamp exclusive Birthday Balloons.

Thanks for stopping by. 

Suzz

Happy Heart Day!

Time for another Valentine's day card. I decided to get my mojo on with the Mojo Monday Sketch #330.  This is the last week in the month so the Mojo Monday sketch offers up two different ways to use the sketch. this is a long and skinny sketch and you can make it in two different sizes. I chose the 6" x 3.5" size for my card.  To make it even easier for me I decided to use the colors in the Color Throwdown Challenge #277. . 

 I started with the cute dog Simon and his girlfriend from Simon Says Stamp - Simon in Love.

 I followed the sketch and rotated it.  I used Authentique paper for the bottom and added a touch of pink vellum with rounded corners.  The twine is May Arts.  I added a few hearts cut using Spellbinders Nested Hearts.   The image is colored with STAEDTLER Karat Aquarell watercolor pencil.

Sketch & Color Palette: 

Have a lovely day!

Suzz

Passport to....

I have to say I have a real fondness for Elephant stamps. I don't know what it is but they always look so charming to me.  This week at Simon Says Stamp and Show the challenge is Passport to Fun.

 This little guy was my starting point and kicked off the idea to create a travel themed flip journal.

We are planning a road trip this summer and I thought it would be fun to create a flip book with pages for photos and pockets to store the mementos.

I started with this to make my flip book: 

 I cut a few pieces of the back of the notepad and the ring binder to create the back of the flip book.

 I covered the back of the chipboard with brown cardstock. I added a piece of white cardstock stamped with greens and blues.  I distressed the edges of the white cardstock and sponged with a touch of brown dye ink.

on the second page I created a pocket and added a few more stamped images and stamps.

The front is a mix of stamps and charms.  Now I am ready to capture all the bits and pieces we pick up along the way. . 

Products: Stampers Anonymous Tiny Things , Hero Arts - Postcard Collage,  Hero Arts - Friends Collage.   Tim Holtz Large Ring Binder ,  chain.,  Memento Blue Bahama, Memento Pear Tart, Stampendous Aged Gold Embossing Enamel, Ranger Distress Inks  Vintage Photo, Round Calendar Studio Calico, Tim Holtz Word Sticks

Simon Says Stamp is offering a  $50.00 gift voucher for one randomly selected participant in the challenge, so come join in on the Passport to Fun this week.

Thanks for stopping by! 

 

 

Suzz

By the Numbers

Simon Says Stamp and Show this week is challenging us to be inspired by numbers.  My mind was churning with ideas of different number stamps and how to use them.  I ended up creating a tag with the numbers on the ruler being my number inspiration.

I was searching in my stamps and my eye landed on the rulers in the Stampers Anonymous Attic Treasures.  I thought that it would be fun to create my own background using the rulers and masking off sections to change direction of the rulers in different sections.

I stamped the background of my  tag  using brown ink.  I added a touch of color to each of the rulers with a waterbrush and watercolor pencils.  The clock with wings was stamped on ivory cardstock using brown ink.  I cut the clock out and colored again with the same colors.

The dress forms were stamped twice once on acetate and a second time on cardstock. I cut the top half of the dress form from the cardstock to put behind the acetate image.  I added some ribbon for the skirt and a butterfly to the front.

I added a Philosophy tag to the twine which seemed appropriate.The ink is Ranger Archival Coffee. Then I added a few snaps and the ribbon on the top with some twine.

Come join in the challenge this week for a chance to win a $50.00 gift voucher from the ever generous Simon Says Stamp:

Thanks for stopping by!

Suzz

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines Day!  Sharing the cards created for my kiddos for today!

 First up is a simple easel card for my son.  I wanted something masculine and fairly plain.

 I started with Authentique papers as the base and added a bit of stamping on the heart (Dark Room Door)  and the Valentine Wishes from Hero Arts.

The next card is for my youngest who loves robots.  Darkroom Door has these fun Montage papers which include a variety of images in a theme.  When I received the Robot Montage I knew I would be using them for my DD valentines.

 Click on image to enlarge

 I intermixed sentiments from the Hero Arts Valentines clear set to add words on the various images. I also accented with gem hearts.  I think she will be pleased. :)

Finally I have this adorable set from Simon Says Stamp which is an exclusive called: Simon in Love. 

 I used the sweet image stamped in Black ink and colored with the STAEDTLER watercolor pencils.  I added a heart and background using the Darkroom Door Love Word Block Stamp.

What is even cuter is the little paw print and sentiment which I stamped on the inside: 

Hope you have a lovely Valentines Day!

Suzz

Flowers that Bloom

I have been busy this weekend playing with new stamps!  I love new stamps.  I can't share anything of course, yet. :) But I did squeeze in a fun tag using some of my favorite Hero Arts flowers.

I created the tag from corrugated cardboard.  I tore up the surface, painted with white and sand colored acrylic paint. I cut a piece of Bo Bunny paper for my background to stamp on.  I stamped the Hero Arts Fleurette several times using brown ink.  The image didn't stamp clearly so I pulled out my Sakura pen with the fine tip in brown and filled in where I had lost parts of my image. (A little tip if you have an image that is hand drawn or etched) I stamped the lovely Verses Rubber stamps quote using brown ink.

I finished it off with a few Hero Arts butterflies from the Papillion set.  The flowers and butterflies are colored with Memento Lilac Posies Dye ink.

This is for the current Hero Arts challenge of Fabulous Flowers and the Simon Says Stamp and Show Anything Goes. and the Fashionable Stamping Challenge - Bingo (Flowers, Distressing, Words).


Have a lovely Monday!

Suzz

Veterans Day

I combined a few challenges together to honor our Veterans.  I am a little late for our Veteran's day.  The City Crafter Challenge is Thanksgiving, Card Patterns Sketch # 141 and Simon Says Stamp and Show Some Women. 

In honor our Vets who serve for our country this is a thank you.  My brother who is serving overseas right now and for all our soldiers.

The stamps are from Artistic Outpost She-Roes plate. The background is from the AO Ephemeral Backgrounds.  The inks are Ranger Archival Coffee, Crimson Red, Ranger Distress Inks Vintage Photo and Versafine Blue. The cardstock base is actually blue.  (Photographs black)

The sketch:

Hope your weekend is off to a good start!

Suzz

Anything Goes

Simon Says Stamp and Show challenge this week is anything goes. They are having a special blog hop with lots of fabulous projects from the design team. 

This card uses the beautiful new stamps from Artistic Outpost Whimsical Melange blended with the images from Artistic Outpost Birds of a Feather plate and the Old Grist Mill.

I am working on some really fun projects that I can't share right now. :)   But enjoying the process. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Suzz

Simon Says Stamp and Show - Your Numbers

The challenge is to use numbers on a project for Simon Says Stamp and Show challenge this week.  Should be easy right. :)

I have a collection of Bingo cards that I have been wanting to use so I pulled one out and created this:

The background of the bingo card was stamped using versafine Olympia green and embossed using clear embossing powder. Sponge with yellow and orange dye ink.

Stamp the children (Artistic Outpost Sleigh Ride) using versafine black onyx and watercolor. Clear emboss the image of the children.

The papers are all from the wonderful Graphic 45 Christmas Collection. I just added a little distressing and sponging. The snowflakes are punched using a Martha Stewart punch.  The snowflakes had a little glistening added by using Diamond Dust and a Glue Pen. :)

Hope your Friday is wonderful!

Suzz

Etsy Inspired Challenge #100 & Simon Says Stamp - End of Summer Blues

The Etsy Inspired 100th Challenge is to be inspired by Cathy Walters.  If you take a look at her work you definitely will be inspired. Here are a few of the pieces that inspired my card:

The other challenge that caught my eye was the Simon Says Stamp - End of Summer Blues. The colors I wanted to pull from Cathy's work was the shading from her Paris inspired pendant. So they both work together beautifully.

I had so much fun creating these little scenes. Sponging, flowers, butterflies, dragonflies... what's not to love!  I also loved the silver around each of Cathy's pendants and wanted to pull that in as my accent colors.

The stamps are mostly Hero Arts with a few Cornish Heritage Farms thrown in. The colors of inks are Memento Blue Bahama, Ranger Distress Inks Tumbled Glass, Memento Summer Sky, Versafine Blue.

Have a wonderful Friday with a nice weekend coming up...

Suzz