Five Hearts

I am sharing a new card over at IndigoBlu today.  This is a departure from my usual shabby or vintage style so pop on over there and check out how this simple card was made.

Saturday Step x Step

I am doing the Saturday Step x Step feature at Frilly and Funkie today and this is a sneak peek at one of the elements.  Why don't you pop over there and see how it figures in my project.

Fun and Funky Valentine

It is time for me to share my first project for February for the IndigoBlu International Design Team.  The theme this month is Love so I made a funky valentine card as my first project.

The background was created by taking a piece of grey card stock and adding some stamping using Jet Black Archival Ink and the Script Background Stamp as well as stamps from the Tasty Textures and Rugged Edge sets.

I used some Red Geranium Archival Ink through the Texture stencil and then added some circles with Gee-SSo Good White and a cap from a spray bottle.

To make the heart I started by cutting a piece of red paper from the Damaged Damask 12"x12"paper set and ran it through my crimper over and over and over until it became almost as soft as fabric.  Over time the layers of paper separate as you can see in the photo.  Once I thought it was soft enough I ironed it from the back side with a dry iron to smooth it out.

I got so engrossed in creating that I forgot to take process photos of how the "fabric" paper became a heart.  I cut two hearts from some scrap card stock and another one the same size from quilt batting.  Then I cut another heart from the red paper adding a quarter of an inch all the way around.  The batting heart was glued to the card stock and then the paper heart was added on top with the border glued to the back making sure that the curves were clipped so they would lie flat.  I then glued the second card stock heart to the back.

Some Lindy's Frozen Jack Frost Ink was spritzed on the heart and then a natural sea sponge was used to dab on some Ruby Slippers and Raven Black Metallic paint.

Next I stamped the Big Butterfly on some white card stock with Gee-SSo Good Black and painted it with Ruby Slippers Metallic paint.  A little Mulberry Bush paint was mixed with the Ruby Slippers to add a bit of shading.

I added the background to my card blank, attached the butterfly and then the heart.  Finally I printed the sentiment on the computer, added scribbled frames and then inked the edges with Red Geranium Archival Ink.

I am sharing this post with Gio and Ksenija so pop on over to IndigoBlu and check out all the lovely projects.

I am going to enter this card in the following challenges:

Creative Artiste - Anything Mixed Media Goes
The Artistic Stamper - Love Hearts
Let's Craft and Create - Love is in the Air

Out of the Cold

It is time for a new challenge at Frilly and Funkie and this time I am the hostess.  I am calling this one "Out of the Cold" and when I set the theme a few weeks ago, I didn't realize how much I would want this to be my reality today.  Here is how I describe this challenge:

"It is winter and that means snow and cold in so many places so let's head to the tropics. Create any vintage or shabby chic project that will make us feel warm - think lots of sunshine, bright colours, flora and fauna and even animals hiding in the rain forest."

As I sit here creating this blog post, my husband is outside shoveling snow for the third time in 24 hours. It is cold and miserable and I want to go somewhere warm and fuzzy but since that isn't happening, I am just going to lose myself in my card with warm colours and lots of wonderful products from Wendy Vecchi.  February is heart month so I just had to add at least one and as you can see it works perfectly with the sentiment.

I started by creating my background.  I took a piece of Specialty Stamping Paper and smooshed it through some of Wendy Vecchi's Archival Inks that I had put on my kraft sheet and added some rubbing alcohol to.  I used Tree Branch, Dandelion and Orange Blossom.

Next I marked off a part circle on one side using the circle mask from Wendy's set called Four Spotlight Frames & Masks and a Micron pen.

I left the mask in place and sponged some of Wendy's Tea Rose and Red Geranium Archival Inks on the rest of the background.

Next I did some stenciling with Wendy's Watering Can Archival Ink.  I used the circle frame with a Pointed Star stencil from Jenni Bowlin Studio to keep it inside the part circle.

Note:  After I had done this I remembered that I had one of Wendy's background stamps called Vintage Wallpaper that would have been perfect and wished I had used it instead so I will link it below.

Then I put the mask back on and used Wendy's Checkmate stencil.  I didn't like how bright this part was so I sponged a thin coat of Gesso over it.

Using Jet Black Archival Ink I stamped two copies of the little flower from Wendy's set called Mix and Match Art on each of three different scraps of paper from Graphic 45 and then fussy cut the bloom portion from each.  I shaped the petals of one of each colour bloom and mounted it on top of the flat bloom.  I used a gold gel pen to highlight the stamens.

Now it was time to assemble the card.  The sentiment is from Wendy's set called All Occasion Art and was stamped with Jet Black Archival Ink on a scrap of Graphic 45 paper and the edges were inked with Wild Honey Distress Ink.  I popped it up with some craft foam and added a little dollar store gem.

I cut some leaves with Tim Holtz's Garden Greens Die and inked the edges with Forest Moss DI.  The flowers were adhered to the card with leaves peeking out here and there.

Finally I used Martha Stewart punches to make the heart and the butterfly.  A couple gems were added to the body of the butterfly.

The following products used to create this card came from The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

Change

I am thrilled to have been invited to do a Guest Designer spot at A Vintage Journey.  Jennie is the hostess and is calling the current challenge Words That Are Special.  

When I started to think about what I would do, a special word that came to mind was Change. I spent some time with the uber-talented and very lovely Jenny Marples a couple months ago and when I told her I tend to over-think my creations she encouraged me to just play, which for me would involve change. Then I thought about a quote I heard at a conference a number of years ago about that very topic and I knew those would be my special words.  This canvas came about by playing and trying to follow Jenny's advice.

If you want to see how this canvas came together, please pop over to A Vintage Journey where you can get all the details.

Inspirational Post at Stamps & Stencils

Today I am sharing the Inspirational Post over at Stamps and Stencils.  Here is a peek at what I have done so if you want to know what this is and see some more, click here to head over to Stamps and Stencils.

Believe Canvas

Another month has rolled around and that means it is time for a new challenge at Stamps and Stencils.  Rachel, our hostess this month, wants us to create with Texture, Crackle and Paint. She describes it this way:

"This month I would love to see what you come up with using texture, crackle and paint! Anything goes using stamps and/or stencils - make it mixed media please. Can't wait to get started - hope you'll join us!"

I have made a canvas with lots of texture. If any of you have read my blog lately you will know that I lost some files recently and a few of the process files for this one were part of that accident but I will explain what I did.

I started by making a template for a heart as shown on the left. Then I cut one out of chipboard and gave it a coat of Liquitex Gesso as shown on the right.

The next step was to coat it with Golden Light Molding Paste using a credit card to smear it on. I wasn't too careful to make it smooth and actually went in afterwards and roughed it up a bit. Once the paste was dry I painted it with a bit of Fresco Finish Haystack and Blood Orange Chalk Acrylic leaving bits white. I sealed the heart with a watered down coat of Mod Podge.

Next I grabbed a 6" square canvas, gave it a coat of Liquitex Gesso and then added some stenciling with the Light Molding Paste and a TCW stencil called Mini Pattern Stripes and a Prima Zig-Zag stencil.

At this point I added some strips of Recollections Washi tape, some Tim Holtz Tissue tape and bits of Tim Holtz Postale Tissue Wrap.  I gave everything another light coat of Gesso.

The next photos are a bit confusing because I had to recreate them after the accident but the narrative below will explain what I did in what order.

I added some colour with IndigoBlu Townhouse Teal Acrylic Paint and Fresco Finish Haystack and Blood Orange along with some Ceramcoat White.

Next I did some stamping with a stamp from an IndigoBlu set called Tasty Textures along with some stenciling with a TCW stencil called Mini Geometric Art Layers.  In both cases I used Jet Black Archival Ink.  I also decided to add some Wendy Vecchi Crackled Texture Paste through the stencil.

I also added a heart made from Tim Holtz Frosted Film on the bottom right corner that I painted with Blood Orange and I stenciled another heart on the top left corner with a Hearts stencil from Heidi Swapp.

Once everything was dry I sealed the canvas with watered down Mod Podge, added the large heart and a piece of wooden text that I painted with IndigoBlu Raven Black Metallic Paint.

This canvas is a bit of a departure for me but was lots of fun to make and is quite cheerful.  I hope you will join us for this challenge and show us lots of texture.

Shabby Valentine

The new challenge starts today at Frilly and Funkie.  Zoe is our hostess and calls it Be My Valentine!  She describes the challenge this way:

Love is in the air, and with Valentines Day just around the corner, this challenge is to make a card for your sweet Valentine in a vintage or shabby chic style.

I originally thought I would make a card for my husband but once I got going, it became shabbier and frillier and definitely not one for a guy so I will have to come up with something else for him.

I lost some files when our anti-virus software started churning out false positives and quarantining hundreds of thousands of files so I don't have process photos for this one but am happy to describe what I did. I am also happy that only a few photos could not be restored or I would be sitting in a corner blubbering because sadly, we have become so dependent on our computers and I am no exception.

I started with some Bazzill card stock for the blank and then added a panel of paper called True Love from Graphic 45 Mon Amour 8"x8" pad.  I topped that with a panel from Prima Vintage Emporium and then a couple chevrons from the Graphic 45 Mon Amour 6"x6" pad.  All the paper was distressed before I added it.

Next I made a pleated heart from some scrap paper in my stash.  I started by making a template based on one I saw online and then formed it the same way you would a round rosette.  I cut the shank off a fancy button and added that to the centre.

I hand cut some leaves from black card stock, shaped them and rubbed some Pewter wax from Treasure Gold on them.  Next I topped them with a Wild Orchid magnolia flower along with a couple flowers from the dollar store.  I made a big plaid bow, added a loopy bow from black cord and then the big button with hearts and flowers.

I cut the sentiment from the Mon Amour 8"x8" pad and attached it with a little red clothespin.  Finally I scatted some Kaisercraft pearls around.

The following products used to create this card came from The Funkie Junkie Boutique.