DESIGNER'S CHOICE CHALLENGE AT THE HOUSE

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! 

We're off on our first challenge at The House That Stamps Built of 2017 and it's a Designer's Choice challenge.  This one is hosted by our super talented Shirley and her challenge is to make a winter card....but NOT a Christmas card.  

I live in Maine and it's winter here most of the year....LOL....just kidding....I think!  I really don't mind the snow or the cold (crazy huh?), because it has it's own beauty.  

Chickadees are a big part of my winter scenery and music....I feed the birds and have had these adorable little creatures land on my head and hands as I fill the feeders....they just can't wait and they seem to be so people friendly.  

Stamps used here are RI#211-P "Chickadee at Rest" and the sentiment is RI#2512-E "Just a Note".  A little bg sponging, coloring with Copic Markers, then framed, mounted on the card layer and done.  

Check out what my Rock Star Teamies have done with this challenge....you'll find so much inspiration.  Then grab some crafting time and join Shirley's challenge.  You could win a $25.00 gift certificate for some awesome RI stamps.  All the details for entering can be found at THE HOUSE.  

Deonna - Heather - Joy - Kathy - Laurie - Patti J - Shirley 

Thanks so much for stopping by.

TECHNIQUE JUNKIES MORE JANUARY 2017 RELEASE

Hey there, Junkies!!!! 

I'm here with a quick post - Technique Junkies has a new group of stamps that were released yesterday....they are all being offered at 15% off until January 9th...and what fun they are and just in time to make your special Valentine cards (or any occasion cards).  

 I used two of the new stamps for this card..."By Us" and "Left Unsupervised".  

You'll notice that "By Us" comes with an attached sentiment, however, when I saw the faces of these two ladies, I thought "Left Unsupervised" worked as well.  So, I stamped the ladies on a separate layer and fussy cut them out.  I used a mask to create a moon, sponged it and then stamped the "Left Unsupervised" sentiment inside the moon.  I used Inktense pencils to color the ladies and then popped them up with dimensional tape and added some "shadow" behind them with grey Copic markers.  

These new TJ stamps are so much fun to create with.  Get over there and get some for yourself and take advantage of that 15% off discount!  

Cheers!

JANUARY 2017 NEW RELEASE BLOG HOP WITH TECHNIQUE JUNKIES

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!   (Note:  I have two posts today.  If you're looking for my project of the week for Repeat Impressions, please go to the next post)
  
Welcome to the January 2017 New Stamp Release blog hop for Technique Junkies!!!! 

For your shopping pleasure, Pat is offering a 15% off all of these new stamps from now until January 9, 2017 and the discount will show up in your shopping cart.  

If you didn't start this hop at the Technique Junkies Blog you can link back and see the beginning - If you did and you came here from the incredibly talented TJ Designer Lanette Erickson you're in the correct order and on your way.... Didn't you love Lanette's creation?  Don't miss any blogs...we all have different stamps to show off.  

Here are a couple of cards I made with some of my new stamps.  

Growing up (and even now), one of my most favorite shows was I Love Lucy.  I loved it so much I bought the VCR tapes back in the day and, while those tapes are long gone, I still watch reruns whenever I see them.  I don't think there'll ever be another Lucy.  (Except I have to make a note here....my 2 year old granddaughter's name is Lucy).  

The focal stamp is called "Be a Lucy", and she was stamped with an Archival "Sepia" ink on white cs.  Don't you love that message?  I'll be doing much more with this stamp in the future.  

After stamping the background stamp "Love Overlay" on watercolor paper with VersaMark then heat embossing it with white embossing powder to create a resist, I used Distress Inks to get a watercolor look.  The "bow" is a die from "Twine and Bows" from Pretty Pink Posh.  

The bg technique I created for this card is similar to the one above.  Using the "Love Script" stamped with Versamark ink, on watercolor paper, then heat embossed with white embossing powder to create a resist.  Next, I used my Spectrum Aqua pens to add color to various areas of the panel by simply scribbling then spritzing with water and letting the colors mingle. It didn't take much ink to get these results. 

On a coral colored scrap piece of cs, I stamped "Unicorns and Sparkly" in VersaMark and again heat embossed it with white embossing powder.  I cut a window in the bg panel with my Stitched Heart Layer dies from Memory Box and again using those dies, I cut the sentiment and a scrap piece of sparkly paper and layerd those inside the window.  

For both cards I used a die from MFT Blueprints 27 to cut the bg panels.  

Thanks so much for stopping by.  Now head on over to my friend and TJ teamie, Kathy Stacy.  I know she's going to rock your creative world.  

PROJECT OF THE WEEK - BACKGROUNDS USING A DRYER SHEET

Happy New Year, everyone!!!  
(If you're looking for the Blog Hop for Technique Junkies, please go to the next post).  
I'm here, starting off 2017 with a brand new project of the week for The House That Stamps Built.  I'm calling it "dryer sheet background technique".  

Supplies you'll need:

Several dye inks that react with water

Watercolor paper or heavier weight (100#) card stock 

Water in a sprayer bottle

Used dryer sheets (one for each collection of colors you are using)

Craft sheet or some other waterproof base (freezer paper/waxed paper) for your work surface.

Stamps and ink to finish your project with.  

Step 1 - Press your inks in a row onto your craft sheet.

Step 2 - Spray with water from your sprayer until you have nice saturation and beeding that looks like this.  (If you'd like a softer background, use more water)

Step 3 - Place one of your dryer sheets over the watered inks on your craft sheet.

I like to let it sit on top of the ink for a little while in order for the dryer sheet to soak up some of the ink.  Grab each end of the sheet and give it a slight twist back and forth then bring it to your card stock to the area you'd like the ink to be.  

You can twist it again while on your card stock, however, unless you want the colors to mix together, be careful to keep the wet inks in their own area.  When you're satisfied with the coverage, you can get another generation using the same dryer sheet and another piece of card stock if you'd like. NOTE:  You can repeat this process with other colors of inks and fresh used dryer sheets.

                   

Step 4 - Use your new backgrounds as you'd like for new card or project creations.  

I really liked how these big word stamps looked againt these dryer sheet backgrounds.  I used three of the 4 sets: You Series #10100, Thanks Series #1000 and Hello Series #9900.  BTW, these sets all come in red rubber on cling too.  

I hope you liked this tutorial and will give it a try.  It's really fun to do and to see the cool results you get with used dryer sheets.  

Have a fabulous year ahead!