Grunge Friend

I love Grungeboard and I am fascinated by the stuff - you can mold it, cuttlebug it, paint it, ink it, scrunch it, emboss it…. I started out with the different shape sets and I have used those for different accents - then I fell in love with the plain, uncut and un-embossed sheets of Grunge. I remember when I first found the plain stuff and I wondered what in the world would you ever use that for??? Well here is an example…

Grunge Friend:

The flower and stem were both created from plain Grungeboard. The back/darkest layer of the flower I traced from a chipboard flower, cut out and rubbed the Popper ink pad all over it (and part of the back too since you can see some of the underside of the petals). After the Poppy ink dried I stamped with a Petal image to give the flower some interest. The top two layers of the flower I stamped twice, inked and cut out.

The bending of the petals was achieved by just simply rolling the Grungeboard between your thumb and first finger. After you roll it a few times the petal will keep its shape.

Flower Close Up:

The stem was also traced from a piece of chipboard.

Ink Tip:
I’ve noticed that Pigment based inks work better on Grungeboard. If you use dye based inks they are not true to color (the only dye based inks that I have tried are SU).

You can find Grungeboard at Innovative Stamp Creations .

Thanks for the visit!
KAT

Other Info:
Stamps - (all Innovative Stamp Creations) Fansy Designs, Summer Elements III, Textured Backgrounds, Nature Silhouettes I
Paper - Flair Designs, Creamy Caramel, Very Vanilla
Ink - Poppy, Rust, Beige (Brilliance); Choc Chip Craft, Choc Chip, Creamy Caramel (SU); Olive, Moss Green (Color Box)
Other - Plain Grungeboard (idea-ology - Tim Holtz), button

Always on My Mind

I needed a sympathy card and I thought today’s sketch challenge on SCS would be the perfect layout. You can find the challenge here.

Always on My Mind:

This entire card was made with white cardstock except for the large Choc Chip panel. All the elements are embossed using Choc Chip Craft ink and clear embossing powder. All the color variations were achieved with lots of sponging! Now the ends my fingers are some interesting colors…LOL…

Hope you enjoyed your second upload today!
KAT

Other info:
Stamps - (all SU) Always, Baroque Motifs, Fancy Flexible Phrases
Paper - White, Choc Chip
Ink - Choc Chip Craft, Choc Chip, More Mustard, Creamy Caramel, Pumpkin Pie, Mellow Moss, Really Rust, Sage Shadow, Soft Sky
Other - Clear EB (Ranger)

Images In Black and White

Where have I been? I’ve been a little lax in my blogging in the last week and I am going to make it up to all of you over the next couple of days!!! Promise!

I made a special surprise for Betsy over at Innovative Stamp Creations. She noticed my work over at SCS months ago and contacted me about being a Creative Architect for her company. Well… after I got over being stunned… I checked out her images, loved them, loved the other designers working with her said YES and the rest has been history! I love the artsy images that Betsy’s company has available! She is going to a show in the middle of July so I thought maybe this might be nice for display in her booth:

Images in Black and White:

(shhhhhhhhhh… don’t tell her she hasn’t seen this yet)

This is a tray with Dominoes. Time consuming but pretty easy… but I will caution you to stay away from solid image (or mostly solid) stamps that span over more than two dominoes… they are slippery little suckers and it’s hard to get a great image.

The tray I bought at Michael’s in the clearance section for… you’ll be surprised… $2. I painted this with a coat of black acrylic paint, sanded, painted another coat and sealed with mat spray sealer. I prefer using acrylic paint to spray paint…because let’s face it - for $2 this is not the best wood available and the first coat of paint brings up all the rough parts of the wood that you can then sand off to get a smooth finish.

I did NO prep to the dominoes. You can’t see in the picture but the sides of each of the domino is covered with Black Stazon - I rubbed the sides right on the ink pad. This gives you the illusion of grout. Make sure that you don’t get any ink on your fingers - it will go right onto the domino where you don’t want it!!! Then I let this dry overnight (at least 12 hours).

Before I stamped the images I placed the dominoes into the tray and started laying the stamps that I wanted to use on the dominoes. Once I was happy with the stamp placement I started to move the dominoes horizontally and vertically so that all the dominoes where going in the stamp direction for an individual image but that all the dominoes on the entire tray were NOT… I want some visual interest.

I then started to remove the dominoes needed for one image -working from one corner out to stamp and placed them on my table in the EXACT same pattern -this was to avoid putting the puzzle back together later. Again - once all the images were stamped - I let this dry for at least 12 hours.

Next I added some sponging around each of the dominoes… I tried to use a sponge like I normally do - but it seemed too harsh… So I used a cotton ball. Again - you get the pattern - I allowed this to dry for at least 12 hours.

Then I glued into place and once again - allowed this to dry overnight (at least 12 hours).

Tips… Hmmmm:

Keep your fingers clean - you don’t want any Stazon finger prints on your project!

Keep your Stazon cleaner right by your side with some paper towels. If you smudge your image or get a pesky finger print you can remove it RIGHT AWAY with the Stazon cleaner.

Remember Dominoes are a slick surface - don't press your image too hard!

Lay out your images before you start to stamp - make sure the images fit on your dominoes that way you want them to - I thought of it as tiles.

Some white space is nice - don’t feel that you need to cover every nook and cranny - but do stamp on every domino.

If you plan on using this to put wet items on it make sure that you seal the dominoes.

Well - if you read this far thanks for sticking with me!
KAT

Other Info:
Stamps - (all Innovative Stamp Creations) Thoughtfulness, Artsy Victorian, Assemblage, Art 4 Frames, Majestic Women, Flair of Summer 1, Rustic Artsy Swirls, daVinci Pears, Women Around the World, Art 4 Frames II, About Me, Alterable Words
Paper - N/A
Ink - Black Stazon
Other - Dominoes, Wood Tray, Black Acrylic Paint (Delta), Spray Sealer, Weldbond Glue

Do you Love Nestabilities???

I do! There are so many great things that you make with them and the storage - well let's just say nothing compared to punches! Innovative Stamp Creations is having a sale on them this weekend!

Innovative Stamp Creations
15 - 16% off on Spellbinders Nestabilities Diecuts
The discount will be applied in the shopping cart!
Offer ends June 22nd so hurry over!!!

Tell Betsy that I sent you!

Innovative Stamp Creations Thurday Challenge

…is a sketch layout - ISC C6! I just love sketches - they can give you so much inspiration! You’ll notice when you look at my sample that I took a little creative liberty (half a square instead of a circle) but you know - sometimes a girl needs to bend the rules!!!

So participate along and use only Innovative Stamp Creations images and you could win a stamp sheet of your choice. All the details, the beautiful creations from the Creative Architects and the sketch can be found HERE .

My sample - Batik Chocolate:

The background was created with the new Batik Flower background stamp using emboss resist on designer paper with acrylic paint (a trick from Tim Holtz). After you clear emboss, apply the acrylic paint and allow it to dry - sprits with a LITTLE water and use a paper towel to remove the paint from the embossed portion of the image - this is very easy and you get dramatic results!

The half square was created with one of the square images from the Artsy Victorian stamp sheet. The image was stamped three times, layered and the top most layer is cracked glass (this tutorial can be found on SCS).

Now let’s talk about the tassel - I seen this a long time ago and completely forgot about it - then Jerri Kay (one of the SCS Dirty Dozen) used it in one of her stunning creations this month!!! So…if you are not a fan club member - SIGN UP - it’s well worth the price of admission! This tassel is simply a piece from the Hodge Podge collections and unraveled ribbon! (one thing to note - I thought the aged copper was not the right color for this project so I used a sharpie on a pewter piece).

Okay - I see I am wordy today - play along with the challenge - you will really enjoy it!

Thanks for the visit!
KAT

Other Info:
Stamps - (all Innovative Stamp Creations) Batik Flower, Artsy Victorian
Paper - Enchante Designer Paper (SU), Choc Chip, Very Vanilla
Ink - VersaMark, Choc Chip Craft (SU), Choc Chip (SU), Antique Linen Distress Ink (Ranger)
Other - Pewter Hodge Podge Hardware (SU), brown sharpie, Choc Chip Grosgrain ribbon, Ultra Thick Embossing Powder, Fine Clear embossing powder (Ranger), Buttermilk acrylic paint, water mister, brown and white thread

Giggles

What if it really is about the Hokey Pokey…. Giggles is singing put your left hip in , put your left hip out, put your right hip in and SWIRL it all about!

Giggles:

This is for my special SIL who is recovering from surgery. She just loves Penguins so I bought her this stamp and tucked it inside the card.

The background is designer paper from We R Memory Keepers - I bought two pieces so that I could paper piece the Palm trees. Giggles bright Hula skirt is flocked and her swim top (I had to hold myself back and not make them coconuts) is paper pieced.

Close up of Giggles:

The palm tree leaves are highlighted on top with White Craft Ink and shadowed on the bottom with Tea Dye ink. I did this to add dimension to the leaves. The coconuts are brown buttons.

Palm Tree:

Oh - sewing - of course I could not stop myself! I hope you enjoyed this cute card!

KAT

Other Info:
Stamps - Imaginisce, Smarty Pants (SU)
Paper - Endless Summer (We R Memory Keepers), White
Ink - Versafine Black, Sky Blue (Brilliance), Whisper White Craft (SU), Tea Dye Distress Ink (Ranger)
Other - Pretty In Pink SU Marker, Grey N95 Tombow Marker, thread, Crushed Velvet Flock (Doodlebug), brown buttons

Tuxedo

Black, white and pearl buttons… sounds like a Tuxedo to me! I guess it would need to be a Tuxedo from the 70’s because of the lace - remember the old lace ruffle some of the guys use to wear?

Tuxedo:

This is a flap fold card and opens in the middle under the white edge. Both of the images were stamped using Whisper White Craft ink. I think these images are very elegant and they are both part of the newest stamp release from Innovative Stamp Creations. If you look closely at the top of the flap you will see that I stamped the main part of the swirl black on white paper and paper pieced it. Simple yet elegant!

Thanks for visiting!
KAT

Other info:
Stamps - (all Innovative Stamp Creations) Artsy Victorian, Thoughtfulness
Paper - black and white
Ink - Whisper White Craft (SU), Graphite Black (Brilliance)
Other - half pearls, Stardust Clear Jelly Roll Pen (Sakura)

Heavy Metal

I had another card to upload today but when I looked at the SCS inspiration challenge late last night and it kept me up designing in my head I knew that I had to make this card!

Heavy Metal:

This is based on the metal wall art that can be seen here .

Each panel is embossed either with Copper, Choc Chip or Clear over Weathered Wood. The two lighter panels I hand doodled brown lines to add dimension. Except for the blue panel the color backgrounds were built on Very Vanilla CS. I sponged dye inks on each panel after embossing to achieve the background color that I think matches the bottom three panels in the inspiration piece. Finally each panel rests on copper CS and the large card in the back is copper CS with Choc Chip Craft ink sponged on to make it look like weathered copper.

Hope you are having a fab Saturday and thanks for visiting!
KAT

Other info:
Stamps - (all Innovative Stamp Creations) Arty Victorian (new this week!), Nature Silhouettes I, Art 4 Frames II
Paper - (all SU) Brushed Copper, Very Vanilla, Soft Sky
Inks - VersaMark, Weather Wood Distressed Ink (Ranger), (rest are SU) Choc Chip Craft, Choc Chip, Creamy Caramel, More Mustard, Really Rust, Sage Shadow, Mellow Moss
Other - Library Clips (SU)

…pieces of what - Masking Tape. I thought I would try this technique with this awesome face image from Innovative Stamp Creations. I wanted to give the face a statue look.

Pieces:

The focal image was created by putting teeny tiny pieces of masking tape on a piece of cardstock - completely covered. I then sponged different colors from the background paper on the tape, stamped the image with Timber brown Stazon - added more ink for shadowing.

The background paper is a large polka dot from Basic Grey and I wanted to incorporate more of the new stamps onto this card. I used the large harlequin stamp, added Choc Chip ink with a sponge, stamped. Then I inked the stamp with Really Rust and stamped.

I cut all my layers and looked at the card (I put it on the floor and stand on my chair - chair has wheels - there could be a stamping accident some day) and I thought it still needed something… Hmmm copper swirls - that what it needed! I masked the harlequins and stamped parts of the swirls. I then added the copper swirls to the face image. Hopefully the copper shows in the picture!

I’m leaving for some retail therapy today - I hope you are having a great day!

Thanks for the visit!
KAT

Other Info:
Stamps - (all Innovative Stamp Creations) Thoughtfulness, Artsy Victorian (fancy swirl)
Paper - Basic Grey, Choc Chip, Really Rust
Ink - Weathered Wood Distress Ink (Ranger), (rest SU) Choc Chip, Really Rust, Creamy Caramel, VersaMark
Other - Copper EB (Ranger), Aged Copper HodgePodge Hardware (SU)

Vintage Pink

Originally today’s card was going to be Black, Grey and Vanilla…but - like a box of chocolates - you never know what you’re going to get...

Vintage Pink:

This card is about as far away from my original “vision” as you can get… With the original vision, of course in my head…hmmm maybe it got lost???… this card had no sewing, distressing, buttons and the lace did not look anything like the end result… But when you are creating you need to go with the flow… even if you have the paper all cut and ready to go.

The stamps used on this card are part of Friday’s new stamp sheet release from Innovative Stamp Creations. You’ll want to take a look - this release has something for everyone!

The lace on this card was embossed on CS Vellum and cut from a larger image to create the two strips. The medallion was created in the same manner. The twill was white and I rubbed some ink on it to give it a vintage look.

Hope you are having a fun creative day!
KAT

Other info:
Stamps - (all Innovative Stamp Creations) Artsy Victorian, Thoughtfulness, Batik Flower (sentiment)
Paper - Luxury Stack (DCWV), (rest SU) Very Vanilla, CS Vellum
Inks - VersaMark, Pearlescent Orchid (Brilliance), Black Versafine, Antique Linen Distress Ink (Ranger)
Other - Seafoam White EB (Ranger), Twill, Pink thread, buttons

Monochromatic Friendship

Okay - I could not resist… One more card with the Card Positioning Systems sketch challenge…

Monochromatic Friendship:

The focal image is the Cracked Glass technique, the background pieces are embossed on Vellum CS and the friendship tag is white shrink plastic. And, yes, again - more sewing!!!

All the stamps are from Innovative Stamp Creations - I just love the girl with the flowing hair image!

Hope you are having a great Sunday! Thanks for the visit!

KAT

Other info:
Stamps - (all Innovative Stamp Creations) Rustic Arty Swirls, Friendships, Summer Flair I, Alterable Words
Ink - VersaMark, Black
Paper - (all SU) Black, Basic Grey, White Vellum CS
Other - White Shrink Plastic, black thread

Can't Be Blue

… how can anyone be blue in the inspiration bedroom on SCS? Check out today’s inspiration challenge here … Of course thinking about keeping those light colors clean would keep me up at night!

Can’t Be Blue:

The inspiration that I pulled from the picture was the beautiful blue and white doors and the pink roses. This card is pretty straight forward except for the roses - they were stamped with VersaMark on white shrink plastic.. Talk about childhood memories… Hmmm I wonder where my Easy Bake Oven is…

Hope you are having a great Saturday and thanks for the visit!
KAT

Other info:
Stamps - Garden Silhouettes (SU), Live Your Dream (SU), Summer Elements (Innovative Stamp Creations)
Ink - (all SU) soft sky, VersaMark, white craft ink
Paper - (all SU) white, soft sky
Other - Old Olive and Mellow Moss SU markers, Pearlescent Chalks (Peebles), ribbon, white shrink plastic, Nestabilities

Copper Flutter

Two of the things that really get my Mojo going are techniques and card sketches. When I was blurfing (you know - blog surfing) earlier this week I noticed that Innovative Stamp Creations is this weeks sponsor on Card Positioning Systems… I’ve never heard of this site and found it by accident - but I was drawn this weeks sketch challenge - I think it really rocks! You can check out all the details here .

Copper Flutter:

I struggled with this sketch a little at the beginning - it is very different from any that I have tried.

As you can see I was in a copper mood so out came the Copper EB, Copper Brilliance ink pad, copper hardware and copper thread. The copper shimmers IRL.

I hope you are having a great Friday and thanks for the visit!
KAT

Other info:
Stamps - (all Innovative Stamp Creations ) Flair of Summer I, About Me, Rustic Artsy Swirls, Textures, Backgrounds & Sentiments
Ink - (all SU) Choc Chip Craft, VersaMark, Sage Shadow, Choc Chip
Paper - (all SU) Choc Chip, Sage Shadow, Outlaw Designer Series Paper
Other - Aged Copper HodgePodge, Copper Thread, Copper EB

Grunged Art

I was playing with some new plain Grungeboard from Betsy over at Innovative Stamp Creations - little did I know when I started this that it would also work for today’s Way to Use It challenge over at SCS found here: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=353309 .

Grunged Art:

I always need a place to store web site information. The inside of the album has tables for sites, information and passwords.

This mini album is made with plain Grungeboard cut in half. The boarder is the Drunken Scotch technique - this feels like tooled leather. The center is chipboard covered with Gesso, inked and then stamped. This is my first attempt at a real collage piece - overall I like the effect - The different inks, paper piecing and the copper embossing. If I was to do this one over again I would use a few less stamps… I think it’s a little busy… But overall I really like it!

Sewing (see I said I was on a kick here), beads wired on (that’s the challenge component) and ribbon finish the cover of this album.

Inside there are two pockets:

Picture of one of the tables:

Hope you are having fun creating today!
KAT

Other info:
Stamps - (all Innovative Stamp Creations) Assemblage, About Me, Fansy Designs, Art 4 Frames II, Majestic Woman 6, Beautiful Flowers
Ink - Raison, Rust, Pitch Black (Adirondack - Ranger), Cosmic Copper (Brilliance), VersaMark, Cool Caribbean (SU), Mellow Moss (SU)
Paper - Recess (Basic Grey), Black, White
Other - Plain Grungeboard, chipboard, gesso, copper EB, Cranberry and Ginger Alcohol Ink (Ranger), Black Acrylic paint, brown thread

Flowers & Swirls

Do you like to think outside the box or at least make boxes and decorate the outside? This week’s challenge at Innovative Stamp Creations is to create a box using ISC stamps. You can read more about the challenge here .

My creation - Flowers and Swirls:

I adjusted the measurements on the box to include the entire length of the swirl - so my box measures 5.25 x 3.75. The card is a gift card holder:

The back of the box is also decorated:

The flower is 5 layers - each embossed either in Chocolate Chip or Clear. The background paper is bleached - I just put some on my hands and flicked it (I made sure to be in my sink so that I would not get bleach everywhere). The swirl is embossed. Oh - I can’t forget about the sewing - I am really on a sewing kick right now (but only on paper LOL).

Our family had great news on Monday - My SIL does NOT have Cancer!!! We are all so thankful!
I hope you had a great day today!

KAT


Other info:
Stamps - Fansy Designs (Innovative Stamp Creations)
Ink - (all SU) Choc Chip Craft, Choc Chip, VersaMark
Paper - Choc Chip, Groovy Guava, River Rock
Other - Bleach, brown thread

Forever Friends

This card is for the most special woman in my life - Rhonda - my SIL and my best friend. She’s my SIL but to me she is my sister. Today she is going into the hospital for either a routine surgery or something much worse… we won’t know until the doctors know… So what do I do when I am sad and worried… I make a special card…

Forever Friends:

This card holds a lot of symbolism for both of us. I won’t go into all the mushy symbolism details but here are some card details: The “sister…friend” paper was created using my Dymo label maker… just cut your paper to 3/8 inch and it will go right through for you. I distressed the strip of paper and put Choc Chip ink on my finger to rub on the words to make them stand out. If you have white core CS you can sand the letters. The face image was stamped on Kraft CS and portions were lightly chalked. The beads in the center of the Prima flowers were hand sewn on.
Sewing, distressing, beads - large and small and some Aged Copper hardware finish this card.

If you have a chance today think healthy thoughts for Rhonda!

Thanks for visiting!
KAT

Other info:
Stamps - Woman Face Love Collage (Artful Illusions), Define Your Life (SU)
Paper - Recess (Basic Grey), (rest SU) Kraft, Cool Caribbean, Pumpkin Pie
Ink - Choc Chip, Cool Caribbean, Pumpkin Pie
Other -Chalks, Aged Copper HodgePodge Hardware (SU), misc beads, redline triangles, prima flowers, Dymo Label Buddy