WEDDING WEEKEND !!!

Our oldest niece was married yesterday so we had a wonderful day of family and friends, good food, and lots of dancing!!! My feet ACHE !!! I haven't worn heels in eons so I am paying the price today.

The weather in London was absolutely gorgeous and the bride and groom were beautiful.

This is the wedding card that we gave to them... a duplicate.. I didn't take it back!!

A very simple and elegant card made with ivory linen paper and Magenta peel off stickers. The flower chain I used for the side and the cake was put on a piece of ivory linen paper and colored with chartreuse and light purple (the colors of the day) Tombow markers.

I matted it onto gold mirri card and then onto a piece of chartreuse paper - just the slightest hint !

Now it is time for some gardening and enjoy the sunshine !! Have a wonderful Sunday everyone...

The Power of Pink !!

This is the Doodle This set from Stampin Up. It is stamped in black on shimmer white cardstock and the flower stamped on pink cardstock twice and cut out. I placed on top of the other and added silver stickles.

I popped it up on the white cardstock and used some designer paper in my stash to complete this simple card that can be used for a birthday, anniversary or just a simple hello.

Have a wonderful day everyone !!!

Good Morning !!

Just a quick Hallowe'en card ... I think I have enough made now to send out when the time comes. This one is done with the Hero Arts Hallowe'en clear set and the flourishes are from Autumn Leaves. A lttile pumpkin embellishment sits right by the witch.

Will Post Tomorrow !!

Hello all... Sorry I did not post a card today but we just walked in the door from a very quick visit to our son who is going to school in Ohio. We live in London Ontario so a 5 hour drive down on Wednesday and a 5 hour drive back today. He was inducted into the National Honor Business Society for being in the top 10% of his class for Business Administration. Very nice ceremony, nice luncheon and guest speakers. We had a great day and now will relax. I will post tomorrow morning. Have a wonderful evening everyone. !!!

Julee Tilman's Mojo Monday # 4

This is my card for Julee's Mojo Monday # 4.
The witch stamp is quite large and that was part of the challenge. It is from Penny Black and I stamped it with Black Versafine ink on white cardstock. I went over the broom with a black shimmer pen which is hard to see in this picture, but doesn't every witch need a sparkly broom???
I layered it on orange cardstock and used some designer paper from my Hallowe'en box that had a big spider web on it. Very appropriate I thought.
The bugs and hisses stamp is from Stampendous and is wrapped around the designer paper with orange grosgrain ribbon.
Have a great day everyone !!

CLASS CARDS !!

I teach a wonderful group of women on Monday nights and we have started a weekly challenge. Last nights challenge was a card with flowers of some description using alcohol inks. These are two of the wonderful cards that were brought to class..

I wanted to share because we have such a good time and the night just flies by.

Next week's challenge is a color challenge so stay tuned for some wonderful samples.

Congratulations Card

I made this card for a friend's daughter that has just become engaged. The flourish in the top left hand corner is from Autumn Leaves and the flower stamp is from Inkadinkado. I simply colored directly on the rubber with Tombow markers, misted lightly with water and put the stamp to watercolor paper.

The sentiment, which is hard to see because it is so small, says congratulations and is from Hero Arts.

I layered it onto a piece of gold mirri card, then onto olive green cardstock and then onto that beautiful blue paper from Magenta.

I still have to learn how to get my pictures more clear and crisp but that will come. Maybe with the next 500 hits.

Have a great day everyone !!!

I Hit the Big 500 !!

I logged on this morning and I was right on 500 !!! Fabulous !! Thankyou !!

ALMOST 500 ...

Only 13 more visitors and I will have hit the 500 mark... and only since September 8th 2007.. I am astonished. Thank you to everyone who is looking and commenting.. Be on the lookout for some Blog Candy when I hit the 1000 mark.

Kim Reid's Challenge # 3

Kim Reid's challenge this week is to make something relating to babies...

Well this was a REAL challenge for me because I don't have many baby stamps. A few that I knew I had I spent alot of time hunting for this morning. But I found this cute lamb from Inkadinkado. I stamped it three times and colored them with Tombow markers. Actually I just had to color the tails, and the faces and hooves.

I thought and thought about whether to do something in the background but all the flourishes and whatnot that I had just seemed to be too much. The simple beauty of a baby just made me leave this card alone.

It would be nice to stamp one more lamb and make a tag to go along with the gift!!

Hallowe'en Fun !!!

I absolutely love these Peel Off Stickers from Stampendous. And I think the face on the spider is so adorable. The BOO is from Printworks. Some simple doodling on the orange and white cardstock and a small snippet of ribbon and you have a cute, simple, fast Hallowe'en card.

And that is the order of the day as it is far too nice outside to be downstairs in my studio.

Have a great Sunday everyone !!!

Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge # 20

I found this blue satin ribbon in my stash of ribbons and just went from there. The paper is Bazzill, and I used a Cuttlebug embossing die on the light blue Bazzill.

The stamp is one part of the Two Step Stamping Petal Prints from Stampin' Up. The sentiment is a simple hello from Stampendous.

I watercolored the flower and added a little purple to the flower on the hello stamp.

Have a great weekend everyone !!

I was Tagged !!!

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car) Shy Suburban
2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fav ice cream flavor, favorite cookie) Strawberry Chocolate Chip
3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name) J - Orc
4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) Black Panther
5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born) Catherine Toronto
6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first) Orcja
7. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd favorite color, favorite drink put “The”) Purple Wine
8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers) Anthony Stanley
9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne, favorite candy) Aromatic Elixir M & M's
10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names) I will have to call them and get the right spelling... they are Polish names.

How funny was this !!

The Rich Colors of Fall

This was a new technique that I taught in my class last night called the "Inlaid Technique". The person who came up with this idea thought it looked like inlaid tiles, which is difficult to see in the photo but the images sit up a bit off the paper due to all the embossing that you do.

With this card, I started with a piece of green cardstock, a stamp from Impression Obsession, and green Color Box ink a few shades deeper that the paper. Stamp your images randomly then emboss with clear embossing powder. Sponge in Copper and Gold Brilliance pigment ink in and around the images. Cover the whole piece with embossing powder and heat set. Again tap your whole piece with an embossing pad, cover the whole piece with clear embossing powder and heat set.

The technique works best with stamps that have a flat surface. I finished it off by layering to a dark orange card. I added ribbon and brads then layered to a green base card that I stamped with Autumn Leaves "Swirls" in Tea Leaves Versa Magic Ink. Enjoy the sunshine everyone !!!

Thanksgiving 2-5-7-10 Box

I have seen so many 2-5-7-10 boxes on many blogs that they inspired me to make a very simple box as Thanksgiving favors. Our Thanksgiving in Canada is in a few weeks so I thought I would make up a bunch of these with something special in them.

The stamps are a clear Thanksgiving kit from Hero arts and I used the Kaleidacolor Creole Spice stamp pad.

Great colors for this project.

Fall Celebration

This is a peg stamp set from Rubber Stamp Tapestry. I used the Kaleidacolor stamp pad in Creole Spice. The colors are so fallish!!!
I used my Coluzzle template to cut the ovals and used one of decorative corner punches to add detail to the card.
It is mounted on a burnt orange then a deep purple cardstock.
Now it is time for me to head into my garden. Lots to do!!!
Have a great day everyone.

Watercolor Pumpkin Patch

Good Morning everyone !! What a beautiful day here in Ontario !! The colors of fall are wonderful and as we were driving home from our weekend away I saw many fields brimming over with pumpkins and the leaves changing into rich reds and oranges.

This stamp is by Magenta and I used the technique I learned last week with the H2O daubers by Luminarte.

I tapped Spice Pumpkin and Hot Cinnamon on the stamp, misted with water and stamped on watercolor paper.

I then used a brush filled with water and agitated the color out of the lines. I added more color for shading and added Teal Zircon. It added a bit of punch to the coloring.

I layered on Teal paper, then on a light orange and again on the teal cardstock. I used gold sticker lines from Magenta to outline the whole image. The sentiment is from Hero Arts layered on a dark orange cardstock. I used a Quickie Glue pen and copper glitter on the vines of the pumpkins. Enjoy your day everyone.......

Kim Reid's Challenge # 2

Kim asked us to use this colour combination today and this is what I came up with.

I used Purely Pomegranete and Wild Wasabi cardstock from "Stampin' Up", and a scrap piece of light pink that I had. I used the "Whispers" stamp and the "warm hello" stamps from Penny Black stamped in Black archival ink.

I colored the flower using H2Os in colors that came close to the colors of the paper.

I layered the flower on the light pink and then on the darker pink cardstock and popped it up with foam tape.

I layered the warm hello on the dark pink cardstock and just attached it flat.

BOO !!!

I just love this simple little spider from Wordsworth. He is stamped in Ancient Page black ink on Olive Green cardstock and cut out. He is then popped up on some orange cardstock and BOO from a Stampendous alphabet set is stamped down the side. All this is layered on a dark yellow cardstock. Bats from Inkadinkado are stamped in Versamark on the Olive green card. A dark yellow grosgrain ribbon is wrapped around before being layered on the main card base. A pair of witches shoes is attached with a glue dot onto the ribbon.

I outlined the spider and BOO is shimmer pen from Sakura...

Thankyou Tulips

This is the card that I am sending my aunt and uncle for a fabulous weekend in the Bruce.

The tulips are from Magenta and are colored with prismacolor pencils. The vases are covered in Crystal Laquer to make it look like water. The crystal laquer dries and hardens to a clear finish and gives a little bit of a 3D effect.

The sentiment is from Printworks.

A Weekend Away

I have been away all weekend with my family, nieces, aunts and uncles up in the Bruce Peninsula. That is why I have not posted any new cards but as soon as I can I will get a few up probably by tonight. Right now I am going to enjoy a walk with my niece. Have a great Sunday !!!

Poinsettia with Twinkling H2O's Daubers

I tried to get as close as I could with this one . We did the same technique. The daubers were tapped onto the stamp then misted with water and stamped on watercolor paper.

It was alot of fun and because I love watercoloring so much it was nice to learn how to use some new products.

I haven't used the Shimmering Mists yet but they leave a wonderful luster to your cards as well. They work really nicely on glossy cardstock.

New Technique

I am posting this quick tag that I made up this morning to showcase this technique that I learned yesterday.

A representative from Heinz Jordan came to the store where I work, Stamp Art in London, Ontario and was showing us how to use the new Twinkling H2O's Shimmering Mists and the daubers from Luminarte.

If you know anything about H2O's these are exactly the same thing only in liquid form. That's the best way I can describe them.

We used the daubers directly onto the stamp, then misted with water then stamped onto watercolor paper.

You then take a brush and agitate the color out from the lines. You can apply some color from the daubers directly onto a pallette and go back in to darken any areas. They leave a subtle luster to your work which can't really be seen in this photo but it is quite stunning.

We also used the Stardust pens in Red and Copper to brighten up any lines, for example the veins in the leaves. I finished up this quick tag by sponging Versamagic Red Magic and Mango around the edges, layering it onto Red Mirri card and then onto red cardstock.

Trick or Treat !!!

Just a quick Hallowe'en card made with two stamps from Stampendous. Stamped in Black Ancient Page on a muted yellow cardstock. Cut out again in orange in behind the large Trick or Treat stamp.

The Bugs and Hisses stamp was popped up and a little pumpkin charm I found in my stash of stuff hanging from the orange ribbon.

Have a wonderful day everyone. !!

My attempt at SCS Wednesday Tutorial

I remembered that I had these coasters in my basement so I found them. I know I said I wasn't going to do any crafting last night but I had to try my hand at SCS's Wednesday tutorial.

The background is stamped in Black Staz on and the stamp is by Hero Arts.

The flower is by Stampendous and is aslo stamped in Black Staz On. I let them dry for about 1/2 hour then went back in with a make up sponge and Pumpkin and Sunburst yellow Staz On. The yellow came out a little more olivey than I would have liked but not bad.

Pumpkin Punchneedle

I am just too pooped to craft today. But here is the punchneedle that I completed yesterday. It will be framed soon and ready for fall decorating.

Have a great evening !!

Falling Leaves

This is a new stamp from Printworks. I stamped it in Timber Brown Staz on on a piece of beige cardstock then chalked in browns and rusts over the whole piece.

I cut out an extra leaf and watercolored in reds and oranges. As it dried it naturally curled so I left it as it looked so much like a real leaf on the ground in the fall.

A small hodgepodge hardware piece was attached with a brad and the sentiment from Hero Arts was hung with a small piece of linen thread.

I wound some beige and brown linen thread around the piece then attached it to a 5" x 5" piece of chocolate brown cardstock.

Red and Orange Stickles here and there complete this fall card.

Bat - tini Anyone???

Got this new stamp today from Impression Obssession and I just love it !! Hallowe'en is such a fun time of the year. A quick color with Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol, hung my Stampendous spider off the glass, and a little Crystal Stickles around the rim to represent the salt or sugar, whatever you fancy!

Used the rectangular Giga Punch to frame the glass then layered on Orange Bazzill cardstock then onto a scrap of designer paper and again on Black linen to finish the card.

Fall Is In The Air

This stamp is by Magenta. I used Close to Cocoa ink and stamped it on white cardstock. Prismacolor pencils were used to color the leaves and tree. They are wonderful to use because of their oily consistency which makes them move nicely over the paper. I cut the image out close to the edge and layered it on red Bazzill cardstock and then again on lime green, and then on choclate brown cardstock. I used Crystal Stickles on the veins of the leaves and Hero Arts gemstones in each of the four corners. Just a simple orange grosgrain ribbon and a Hero Arts sentiment and you have a very pretty Fall card...

Outlines Hallowe'en Card

Here is another collage stamp from Outlines. The ladies used Stardust shimmer pens to color as well as using Stampendous dot sparklers to embellish their creations with.

Outlines Bloom Card

Here are a few of the cards that the ladies in my Monday night class did. They are the Collage stamps by Outlines and they are so much fun to work with. Labor intensive but the finished product is beautiful !!

Kim Reid's Sketch Challenge

The turkey and sentiment are from Inky Antics. I stamped the turkey on watercolor paper and colored with Tombow markers. I layered him on red Bazzill cardstock and then again on orange cardstock. The sentiment is stamped on white cardstock and popped up on the orange grosgrain ribbon which is layered on red Bazzill cardstock.

Unfortunately I don't know the name of the designer paper because it was a scrap that I had that I thought fit the color scheme well.

I love the way the colors blend into one another and create light and dark spots. This is not an exact technique and sometimes you will love the end result and sometimes you won't. Just keep trying until you get what you want.

I really hopes that this helps a bit.

Using a clean brush and enough water to move the ink, color your image and let the ink move on the paper. You will need to practise to know when you have enough water on your brush. If you want any areas to be darker, wait until your piece has dried then add more color, otherwise your paper will pill.

Add your other colors, (here the green) and add water to move the ink.

Using the brush end of the marker, just color randomly on your image with both the light and dark colors.

Watercolor Wash

A few people had asked how I did Mr. Pumpkin from a few posts ago. I love Tombow markers for watercoloring and it couldn't be simpler.

Stamp your image on watercolor paper with an ink that is waterproof. Choose the colors that you want for your image and I usually use a lighter and darker color in the same color family. Make sure that you don't use colors that will turn muddy when they wash into one another, so if you have a color wheel that it is a good tool to use.

Hallowe'en Treat Jars

I saw these Hallowe'en treat jars in a Paper Craft Magazine and had to whip up a few. I think they are adorable.
Fill them with Jelly Bellys and give them to friends ! You can get the jars at Micheal's. The possibilities are endless and a great way to use up scraps of designer paper.

Window Card

This is a card that I made for a friend's housewarming.

It is a stamp by "Artful Stamper" and it is stamped on watercolor paper and colored with Tombow markers.

It is hard to see in this photo but I stamped the window box a second time and popped it up. A small flower was stamped on the brown cardstock base with Versamark ink.