A Different Point of View

Last month I showed you a card using this snowman stamp from Artistic Outpost. Here's another one, a bit different. I don't know, but it could use some bling I think.

I used red cardstock, printed holiday paper, and some heavy cardtsock I embossed with this Sizzix embossing folder and then I used Viva Inka-Gold metallic rub in a platinum white color. I die cut the word Joy with some silver metallic paper using a Sizzix die and then I added some Viva dimensional paint with a Paper Pen. I like this card in person, but I still think a little bling for the holidays...maybe a snowflake...

Check out the Artistic Outpost web site for some fun stamps...

http://www.artisticoutpost.com/

So here's a few Holiday Journal pages to show you...today some of my critters. Well 2 of the 3. My little female cat, Emma, isn't included because she just does her own thing most of the time when we're all together in a picture taking place.

I created this tag for a photo (see below) of my puppy dog Harley. Quite simple but I am using it as title. I took a tag, doodled the words (a favorite technique lately) which I then colored, I cut out the heart freehand  and stamped the woof in it, I stamped the paws and the the words along the bottom of the page (Elsie Flannigan stamps from eons ago when she designed scrap book paraphenalia). Then I added a bit of 7Gypsies tape and I brushed some brown ink with a stenciling brush.

I know, this page isn't much. But I like to alternate my art pages with just plain photos to keep it interesting when you look through the book. This photo I printed and left a white border, which I wrote in what I think Harl is thinking as he walks-love this silly photo. I am always going around speaking what I think my animals are thinking based on their actions, so there is some scrapbook memory appeal to this.

And here is my cat Leo  while we put up and decorate the tree (he is facing away because it is not about him but notice he is still in the room-in hopes of it becoming about him). I used some flowery background paper and a strip of white paper on the left side of the photo. I used yellow ink and stamped smaller versions of meow all over th e strip (Hero Arts stamp) and then I used this bold Autumn Leaves Meow stamp and colored in the middle red. I added yellow tape (7Gypsies) and stamped this border from the same Autumn Leaves set the big meow is from. Then I added the little stamp image from Art Chix and some red Viva Paint Pen dots and lastly-but never leastly- I wrote in what I think Leo is thinking here.

So the cold is really here- not terible cold-days get into the high 30's low 40's but the nights have been about 20-25 and chilly. I guess with winter almost here...it arrives on the 20th...

Stay warm!

Artistic Outpost Christmas

Here's a holly jolly holiday card I made using Artistic Outpost's Frosty and Friends set. I love this snowman stamp. I stamped on white paper and then did a bit of coloring with Copics. Then I used some Vintage Linen Distress stain to lightly darken the music in the background and give this piece a more older distressed look. All this was added to a piece of truly Christmas green cardstock that I added some printed paper too. Then I ran a bit of paper tape (Cavallini &Co.) and the shiny silver paper word Joy, which I die cut with a Sizzix die. Finally I added red Viva dimenional dots on the corners of the snowman panel.

It is a pretty basic card, but I love it because it is pretty easy to make and I can do a bunch of them to send out this holiday season. I don't think it looks too simple though...

What do you think?

If you like this card check out this whole stamp set (because it comes with some other vintage images), plus a whole bunch of others, at www.artisticoutpost.com/.

Thanks for visiting.



Pip, Pip, Cheerio

Here's another card from these awesome London stamps by Artistic Outpost. For this card I embossed some white paper with Tim Holtz/Sizzix gear plate and then rubbed a lot of block ink over it to make it look well used. Then on seperate sheets of white paper I stamped the man, the Big Ben Tower, the sign and a clock (sorry, not Artistic Outpost but an older stamp from the now defunct Postmodern Designs). I colored in the man with Copics. Then I cut these all out.

Meanwhile, I added a strip of cardstock horizontally from the same paper as the card background. To this I attahced the blue underground sign, the man and the Big Ben Tower. Then I die cut in white using  Tim Holtz/Sizzix distressed banners. I took one of these banners and used just one side of it. But before I attached it I distressd it with some brown ink. I stamped the London postmark and the saying. Then I attached  the clock.

Next step, take some Ranger blue Dimensional Paints and make the blue edges to the right side of the card and above and below the saying-flatten out with a little brush and let dry. Then I added some Viva Dimensional dots in bronze (my favorite color) along the blue-I think they kind of look like some type of old hardware heads-which fits this card. Then I used some crackle on the clock and let everything finishing drying.

Thanks for stopping by.

It's a Beautiful Morning

The sun is shining, the birds are singing the sky is SO blue.

Happy Mother's Day on this beautiful day.

Its amazing how in 1 day the woods around my house is starting to get green- lots of little leaves/buds today and so I bet by this evening they'll actually be leaves. Its kind of cool watching them come out.

So here's a beautiful day card for you. I used grey/blue cardstock with a piece of 7Gypsies tape. The scene is a new one from Stampendous which I stamped on white and colored. The little sea creatures are die cuts which I colored with yellow, brown and light pink Copics. The saying is from Artistic Outpost.

My kind of card, simple but complete.

Have a Happy Mother's Day all.

Artistic Outpost

Here's my April submission to the Artistic Outpost. Its a very masculine card using the new Gatsby set.

 All 4 of the sets Artistic Outpost recently put out are pretty fantastic. 

To make this card I started with some Tim Holtz cardstock,  from the new Craft Resist pad. Then I layered some paper, some 7Gypsies tape and some bronze colored German scrap. I used the Gatsby stamp on white and then I distressed the image.  I also stamped the car, the wine bottle and the words from that set too. After I cut them out I attached them, then I added a small die cut fleur de lis.

Thanks for stopping by and looking.

I Wish

I wish the sentiment on this card were true...you can see a bit of winter out from behind the top of this card though and so you know...spring is NOT here yet. Rather unfortunate I think...

Anyhow, my new stamps from Artistic Outpost Arrived the other day- I want to thank you A.O. for combing my 2 envelopes shipping wise!!!! Can't seem to find an e-mail to send you a thank you reply...so hopefully you'll see this. I haven't yet had any time to make anything with those stamps, but this weekend I did manage to make this card with The Birds of a Feather set. Its another great set and I love the images.

So how did I make this card? I started with a piece of paper folded into unevenly...so the back is higher than the front...and I put the fold down on the bottom. I stamped the egg beckaground stamp twice on white paper, colored the eggs with Copics and then distressed with Memories Mango ink. I then attached these to the back.  I then took some blue paper that I texturized with lots of polka dots and colored over that with the Mango ink-I like how the yellowish ink looks more brown on the blue. I attached that to the front of the card. Then I rounded all the corners. I die cut a Tim Holtz Sizzix bird cage in the same blue cardstock as the dots, and used the Mango ink to distress it. I glued that down on the back of the card so only the top shows and put a blue gemstone in the top. I punched out some branches with a Martha Stewart punch and attached it across the top back.

Then I stamped the A.O. bird in brown ink, colored it with Copics and then attached its bottom on the back side of the front blue polka edge- that way when I attached the front of the card to the back the bird is popping up and not attached flat to the egg background. (Does this make sense?) I then punched out a white oval...stamped the saying from the same A.O. set and both distressed it in Mango also and took a brown Copic and outlined the edge. Before I attached that I  ran some paper tape from Tim Holtz across the bottom and also some sheer ribbon with little blue flowers on it...its hard to see that in the photo...and the put the spring oval on top of that.

I'm quite thrilled with the card, actually. Check out Artistic Outpost at this website:

http://www.artisticoutpost.com/index.html

Still Bitter Cold

Bitter, ice cold, freezing, super chilly...you pick the word...its just plain REALLY COLD, again. To make us all feel warm and cheery, again...here's some more cards.

Here's a card using Artistic Outpost's Wizard of Oz set...love this set. I think this morning it should say if I only had a coat, or a plane ticket to someplace tropical and warm...like maybe Tahiti or Bali.

And here's some more of my book celebrating America that I showed you some of in the last couple of weeks. This is using some more of Artistic Outpost stamps-Heroes and She-roes. Here's a link to check out their web-site-and according to their newsletter-new stamps should be here any day! I can't wait to see them.

http://www.artisticoutpost.com/

I made this 2 page spread to look like an old photo album...not so much a fancy or highly decorated art page. Thought that might give a bit more of true life feel for these pages. I think part of our American heritage is keeping photo albums or old scrapbooks. Its how so many of us learn about our past, by looking back at these albums.  I know there's some in my family...with all those aunt and uncle photos from the WWII and the 1940's or 1950's. I always thought they looked so gorgeous dressed in their classy outfits from those decades.

Anyhow- stay warm...or comfy or cool or whatever you day brings you...



More of America

Thought I'd show you a bit more of my American Journey book that I started to show you yesterday. The top page is to represent the westward expansion and that mythic period of  our history. I stamped a CHF cheesecloth stamp on each page and stamped clouds (Magenta) on a seperate sheet and after lightly blueing the paper around the cheesecloth I added the cut out clouds. The barbed wire is by Stampotique and the calvary is by Acey Deucy and those got stamped directly on the page. The other images are all stamped, colored and cut out before being added. Some of the Oxford Impression images I stamped on brown paper, to give it a more vintage feel.

The page below is to represent American pride. Stamps are by Artistic Outpost with Hero Arts in the background- both the lines and the stars (stamped those blue polka dot stars on the back side of the blue polka dot paper and then cut them out. The Statue of Liberty (Artistic Outpost) is placed down on some stamped lined notebook paper which I then cut out to make some background paper. I added the Jolee's  flag borders. These 2 pages are at the end of the book, a good wrap up for the other more historical pages. Though I must say I love the retro theme of these Artistic Outpost stamps.

So want to catch the weather to see if we're going to get the BIG storm tonight into tomorrow. Maybe a snow day... tomorrow...on the fence about that...but think I'll get less at home than at work so that is ok with me. Anyhow...happy Tuesday. Stay warm.

Another Monday

Already! Yawn.  We are getting to the end of quarter/semester at school. Another couple of weeks. Busy planning on wrapping up all the curriculum I need to still cover.

The weekend was great-quiet but productive. I never left the house. Got a good amount done in my studio cleaning/reorganizing...still a mess but you can see some improvement! Yahoo!!! Also read quite a bit and made some yummy brownies from the Fat Witch Brownie cookbook. My kind of weekend, not getting out of my sweatpants all weekend. Wish I could spent today like that too...but we're off next Monday for the Martin Luther King Holiday.

So here's a few pages from a project from last summer that I never managed to show you. It was a book with my view on being an American...kind of a historical view, a 4th of July celebration.

Here's the cover page. I used one of those old fashioned paper bags for paper. The stamps are Oxford Impressions and some tiny typewriter stamps I've had forever that I love but not sure who made and I think the stitching edge is from Autumn Leaves or maybe Gelatins. Not sure which off the top of my head.

A spread from the book. I used an old map for the paper and trimmed it with some great cloth trim at the top. I used stamps from Artistic Outpost, Stampotique and who ever made the Boston baked beans the the Golden Gate Bridge stamps. The USA letters are some cardboard stickers.

Here's the right page upclose. I love this couple from  Stampotique and the Artistic Outpost Roadtrip stamps.

Here's the left page viewed up close. As you can tell, I distressed the map with brown ink too. And the Roadtrip Adventure stamp is on I've had forever from PSX. I'll show you some of the book another day but I do want to show you Mr. Happy Cat the other afternoon. He makes me laugh.

Happy Monday Y'all.