CC#3C - Alcohol Ink Ombre

Hello to all of you wonderful crafty people and I hope you are doing great! Yes, I am still having Internet issues and until Verizon actually makes the much needed repairs, this will be ongoing! Just trying to edit a picture is so frustrating when you do whatever changes and go to save and then the "page is not available" and that is why I am lacking on blog visits! OK, enough of my problems with Verizon and just know that I am still looking and enjoying your wonderful artwork! Really I am!

I decided to work my Artistic Outpost Generation Redux and Flower Market stamps right into Linda's CC#3C lesson, "Alcohol Ink Ombre," on page 57 of the Compendium of Curiosities III. Tim's book is amazing and to play along you must work from  your own copy! The wonderful sponsor this time around is the Funkie Junkie Boutique and of course there is always sometime from Tim and Mario as well, chosen by that lovely and talented Curiosity Crew! I decided I would go with a tag and used the more pastel colors of alcohol inks and although I can't share the technique, I can tell you that I used Mountain Rose and Salmon!

Thank you for visiting me today and especially that I have been lacking and hopefully this will all be resolved soon.

Spring Is Here!

"Spring Is Here" in my neck of the woods (or desert) and I hope you are enjoying some warm and lovely springtime weather as well! Today I am using Artistic Outpost stamps from Flower Market and Birds of A Feather for my little tag.

The tag was cut from vanilla card stock and Distress Peacock Feathers and Squeezed Lemonade were inked through the Lattice stencil. Next I inked over the entire tag with Antique Linen and shaded the edges with Vintage Photo and then distressed the edges. The little butterflies and dragonflies were stamped in Black Archival.

The frame was cut from a burlap sheet using ODBD Vintage Labels and also shaded with Vintage Photo.  The sweet little butterfly catcher, along with the butterflies were stamped in Black Archival and watercolored using the above inks as well. Her skin tone was done with Spun Sugar. The sentiment was stamped and cut apart! "Everything Goes" at Inspiration Journal, so we are going!

Thank you for stopping by for a visit today. I have been taking advantage of a little yard duty before it becomes too hot here!      

Transportation and Aviation!

A big "Hello" to all of you and I hope you are enjoying some wonderful springtime weather. I was not able to join in Monday for Artistic Outpost's Product Focus, but I could not resist sharing a SALE with you and of course inking up my SteamPunk stamps! All stamps in the "Transportation and Aviation" area are 20% off through April 11. And as always the "Show Us Your AO Art" is up and running and waiting for your wonderful creations!

Wanting to keep it very masculine, I chose colors of Antique Linen, Vintage Photo and of course black! All images were stamped in Black Archival.

I so love this gent daydreaming about his travels and so patiently waiting for his train to arrive and take him on his long awaited journey.

The black tag background was stamped using the gears from Industrial Backgrounds and bleach. I happen to love that effect, but certainly not the smell! I also ran the edges of the tags along the bleached paper towel and flicked on some using a toothbrush.

This card I am sharing went to a friend who has lost someone very dear to her and my heart just aches for her loss. I find it so difficult to make a card for someone who is grieving as I tend to get pretty emotional. The background was inked, debossed and then flattened and then I embossed the card stock using the same folder and highlighted it. The sentiment is from AO's Flower Market.

Thank you so kindly for stopping by to visit and have a fabulous week.

Spring Blog Hop at Artistic Outpost

Spring is in the air and I am sure many of you are very happy about that. It is a Blog Hop all about Spring at Artistic Outpost and the DT has some warming creations for your viewing pleasure, so come on and have a look! Shari, Kate, Tracy, Lisa.

My "Spring" started with some lovely Blooming Garden paper from ODBD, which was embossed with a tulip frame and highlighted using Walnut Stain and shaded around the edges. The Potted Daffodils and Butterflies from Flower Market were stamped in Coffee Archival and then colored in using markers. The sentiment was stamped and cut apart. It is so nice to have a few cards around that are easier for mailing! Will be linking this up to Inspiration Journal's "Spring Blooms."

Thank you for joining me on this beautiful day. Hope you are having a wonderful week!

A Gardening We Will Go!

The first Monday of the month Artistic Outpost will be having a Product Focus and for March it is Flowers and Gardening, which stamps in that category will be on sale at 20% off through March 7th, so check the AO blog for all the details! This is also the start of the new March challenge, so "Show Us Your AO Art" for a chance to win $15 in a store voucher! For additional DT inspiration please visit Gerrie, Tracy (who will 3-6), and Lisa.

I thought it would be nice to alter an old hand held bulb planter, which was a total rust bucket. Washed, sanded, primed, gessoed and then painted on a light buttermilk color.

Next step was to apply DecoArt one step crackle quite think and I let that dry and did a wash of brown paint and then wiped off the excess. Once sealed the magic of the Flower Market began.

All images were stamped on tissue paper using Black Archival and then heat set. On the reverse side, I colored the images using Sharpie markers.

I then applied gel medium to the bulb planter and carefully laid down the cut images and gently patted these down with my fingers. After the Flower Marker images were dry, I again applied gel medium over the tops to seal down.

With the exception of cutting delicate tissue paper, this was really an easy and fun project. The difficult part will be finding a place in the yard to place it!

Thank you for taking the time to visit today and I hope you have a wonderful start to March.