Stamping, Inking, Hardware Stores & Alcohol Inks!

Here is the layout that I just completed. I had so much fun creating this page. It took so long because my week got so busy! (You know how it goes...) But I was finally able to play last night... and into the morning! There is so much going on, but I think that it all ties together well, and I am excited to share it with you.

AT A GLANCE:
techniques you see...
~Stamping
~Glimmer Mist & Mask

~Embossing

~Alcohol Inks
~Paper Tearing (Don't be scared... just rip!)

~Inking

The Bling that you see above did not start off as purple... but, a little Alcohol Ink and it becomes the color that I need to match my layout!

Close Up of my torn paper... after you tear your paper inking the edges helps give it a more finished look....

Who doesn't just love Prima Flowers?!

Embossed & painted Grundgeboard.... the key & heart is a Vintaj embellishment. I just discovered this company and, well, I am head over heals! The little jump rings are Tim Holtz...

I am very excited about my tag. I love inking up tags... ever since participating in the 12 Tags of Christmas, but I wanted to start putting them on my layouts. This was my first attempt... and I see many more in my future. I used a Kaleidacolor Stamp Pad and a brayer to ink of my stamp. I then embossed it with clear powder and inked over it all with my Distress Inks. A little more stamping with some flourishes...

Do you see this embellishment? This is the coolest!!! Do you want to know what it is??? OK, I will tell you... It is a washer! I bought it at Lowe's for less than 50 cents! I used Ranger's Alcohol Ink and inked it all up, front (top) and back (below)... added a little glossy accents and WOW!

Using different colors and motions you can get a ton of different looks! I challenge you to go to the hardware store and see what you can find to make your own embellishments. I came out with a whole goody bag that cost less than 10 dollars!

Using "Insightful Meadows" from Unity Stamps, I stamped the flowers right onto my background paper using different colors.

Don't be afraid of stamping on your backgrounds. I am really into stamping. So much you see though, is stamping on cards. I don't really make cards... (I should!), but I am enjoying taking stamps and finding ways to use them on my layouts.

My Mind's Eye Challenge #10 "Dream Big"

This was my layout that I did for the My Mind's Eye Challenge #10 Contest... The theme was "Dream Big" after the song by Ryan Shupe & the Rubberband. I took the lines that I liked from the song and put them on tags that are in the pocket. I did this layout as a reminder to myself to still dream... just because I am a "grown-up" it doesn't mean that I can't dream still, and that I can't go after those dreams. This blog is one of those dreams... and I have enjoyed so much sharing here.

until next time...

Dream Big

Alcohol Ink! Oh Boy!

I am so excited! I finally bought some Alcohol Inks!!! I couldn't wait to get home and play with them! I pulled out "Compendium of Curiosities" by Tim Holtz, picked a technique and went for it! The finish product: this grungeboard heart. The steps were so easy and it is not complicated at all! I can't wait to take this technique and start mixing it up a bit and coming up with other creations. That is why I love this book. It is all techniques. 6 steps and Waa-lah! The technique that I used here is "Alcohol Ink Agate on Grungeboard".

(I do not think that it would be right for me to share the steps to this technique due to the fact that it is published in his book and it is not mine to share. On future projects where I play and twist the technique up though, I will be glad to share...)

Prima + Glimmer Mist = Match Made in Heaven

Here is my latest layout. I was inspired by some Prima paper that I had bought a while back. I cut it in half and turned it sideways so that the frilly edge was on the side. I then used Glimmer Mist to spray the other three sides. I also sprayed the butterfly that you see on the right page using a screen and Glimmer Mist. I enjoyed working on this layout... I normally make my two page layouts more similar than this, but I am constantly trying to push myself to try new things.

These were once white Prima flowers... Glimmer Mist changed all of that! The crystals you see are from 7 Gypsies. I originally had it hanging straight down, but changed it to loop back up.
Don't be afraid to try things one way on your layouts... you can always go back and change it... that is what is so wonderful! Move a picture, layer up some flowers or other embellishments, etc... the worst that can happen is you start over, which is rarely... the best thing: you try something & absolutely love it!!!

Here is a close up of the butterfly. I laid the mask down and just sprayed. Using masks is very easy and the finish product packs such a punch! I did this right on top of my pattern paper. Using the Glimmer Mist you can still see the design of the paper. Try spraying a light color first, than laying your mask down and spraying with a darker color. Or what about starting with one color and working your way up the mask with other colors??? So many possibilities! Play!

Here is a little accent that I did that you really don't notice until you look... I took Distressed Crackle Paint in Rock Candy and just highlighted the word "love". If there are areas on your patterned paper that you just love try emphasizing them with things such as the Rock Candy Crackle Paint, Glossy Accents, or what about a bling frame???

For my journaling I used a frame that I cut from my Silhouette. I rotated the pieces so that they were not straight and so that they did not line up. An embellishment might be shown one way, but who says that you can't shake things up a bit?

Paper Patch Crafts - Sketch Contest....

This was the sketch.... This is the layout inspired by the sketch....

I used a Crafter's Workshop template to do the half circle design on the right. I traced it with my Copic Multi-liner and then went back and colored in with my Copic markers. I inked the edges of all my paper on the layout, but not the background cardstock.

My picture is not the greatest... but then again, it is the perfect picture. It is one of my favorites. This picture captures my husband's wonderful smile and it is so special to me. Don't be afraid to use pictures that may not be the best or may be a little blurry. Sometimes, those are the most perfect pictures we have....

"Create"

This is it! My latest canvas... I had fun creating it, but also struggled at the end, trying to get it right... I used acrylic paint on the background. I wanted it to be very colorful, but when I finished with the painting part, it was just so bright! I took a Mod Podge/black acrylic paint mix and brushed it over the entire background to dull it down a bit. The paper I used was a 12x12 piece from Prima. I cut out the swirly part and then made it a frame by cutting out the center. Bling of course and some Prima flowers... (just love Prima flowers!!!) The flourish image in the top left is a Tattered Angels stamp and I used my acrylic paint as my "stamp pad".

The flowers that I used originally had white centers on their petals. I took my Copic markers and colored the top layer of petals to add more color... that is a little gem hanging from behind the pink flower.

This is another shot of the flowers and of the little bird embellishment that I used.....

This was just a flat butterfly embellishment. I wanted to raise it a bit and wasn't sure at first if I wanted it on my project. I glued it to a little clip and then just clipped it on to my paper... it worked out perfectly...

These were little square mirrors that I had from who knows what project... I put them on the canvas and then added my little embellishments to them to complete the look.

I do like my canvas, and then again I am needing it to "grow" on me... but overall I am satisfied. I really enjoyed working on this project and there is something so fabulous about painting onto a fresh canvas!

Beautiful "Toilet Paper" Brides

Layout created for PageMaps "Couture Cardstock" Contest....

This is my latest layout... I was inspired by the sketch for this month's PageMaps Contest on their blog, www.pagemaps.com/blog.php . I used a lot of color in my papers and several patterned paper as well, so I made my pictures black & white. The details are below... Hope you enjoy!

I have been seeing a lot of pleated ribbon lately and I really like it... so I tried it! I took white ribbon and inked the edges of it with my Memento Tear Drop Ink Pads. I used the blue, (picture above) and then I used the pink and green (below). I like the dimension that this gives to my layout.

My letters were cut out of the striped paper that is towards the bottom of the layout. The problem was that my title was disappearing into my page. I took an ink dabber and used the same blue from the ribbon and inked over the letters to make them stand out better. I then sprayed with Glimmer Mist to make them shimmer!I was very excited about my flower! It was a nesting design from my Silhouette program. I cut out all the sizes on cardstock and then traced the ones I needed on to my paper... ( I know I could of cut them directly out of my paper, but I was creating stencils/guides for future reference...) I then inked the edges and put together... a button completed the look!

a little more teasing...

Here are a few more shots from my album I started last week. I am loving it! and having so much fun making it, too! I am going to put pictures of my mom in here from when she was a little girl. They are all black and white and I think it is going to look wonderful... I am also going to include pictures of my mom's mom and dad too... I really can't wait to get to the finished product and to share it with you.

Phone call at 7:30 A.M. - "Get Online Christine!"

So this morning my cell phone started ringing at 7:30 a.m. I ignored it and let it go to voicemail... just wanting those few more minutes of sleep. Then I thought, Bridget! That is my friend who is expecting her baby any day now... so I grabbed my phone and listened to the message. It was my friend Pam... "Christine, I sent you a text at 6:15 a.m., it is 7:30 a.m. you HAVE TO GET ONLINE to the GCD Studios Blog... so I rolled out of bed, trying to not get excited... I figured Pam won. (She does that often!) ...and to my surprise I saw this....

Chipart Tool Contest Winners:

1st Prize: Pam Bray

2nd Prize: Christine Hatchell

3rd Prize: Julie Campbell

I screamed! I won! YIPPPEEE! but, not only did I win, Pam won too!!! WOW! DOUBLE YEAH! So, my project is posted above. It was a chipboard letter "C". It is about 8" tall. I used the Melody Ross Chipart tool to put the flower impressions all over it. Then I used black acrylic paint to paint it and then dried brush the Pearl paint dabber paint over it... A little ribbon and customized flowers with glimmer mist, oh, and of course, BLING! completed the project. Along with a picture of our project we had to take a picture in front of the Archiver's Chipart Display... that is below... my friend Ann helped me come up with a fun pose and took the picture for me...

so... that is what became of my 7:30 a.m. phone call!

Do you guys remember this...

(February 15, 2010)

Well, here it is...

I finished! I have been battling the scrapper's block thing... yes, it stinks! BUT, I have finally realized that when I really think too hard, I am guaranteed to get frustrated. So, I am vowing to start just creating... inking, ripping paper, cutting & pasting, etc.... and guess what... I love the outcome of "stress-free" scrapping. If I don't like something, I can change it... If I mess up, I can cover it up... that is my mindset from here on out! and with that, it produced the above layout. I am pleased.

My title, below, was made using bleach and a mask. I laid my mask on my paper and sprayed bleach from my mini-mister onto my paper... (more details on February 15, 2010 post).

My journaling tag is cut from grungeboard. I sketched the shape on the back and cut it out. I then sprayed the grungeboard with Glimmer Mist and inked the edges. Adding my key embellishment (Tim Holtz) and ribbon completed it and it was good to go!

I tied ribbon through holes I punched on the side and at the bottom of the title to just add color and make it fun.

A little more journaling telling that this was my MAGIC birthday. After all, I can only turn 24 on the 24th once! :)

I really like my title and the bleach technique. I am going to play with it on future projects. I wonder... what would it do to flowers? grungeboard? chipboard? ribbon?

oh the possibilities!

So remember to have fun... and don't worry about messing up or not liking your project, because it can be fixed, and if not, you can start over! (Do you want to know a secret? I started with a completely different direction and background paper for this layout!)

What is that Mad Inker up to now???

I started a mini-album many many moons ago... and that was it. I started the album. Today I stumbled upon this wonderful paper line from Graphic 45. It was instant inspiration... I started working on my album again! The top picture is just a little sneak peak... I have a ways to go.. I look forward to sharing the completed project, hopefully sooner than later.