washi in the sky with... stitching (SSS, Virginias View)

Are you like me, you have 20 rolls of washi in your stash but never know quite what to do with it? Well the Open Auditions for Gallery Idol 2014 over at Paper Crafts and Scrapbooking are asking for entries using washi.  Tja.  What to do?

I'm kinda stuck in a hand-lettering, foot-loose-and-fance-free rut these days.  So decided to give it a go with washi.  And since washi seems to always be about big and bold, I challenged myself to make it not.  It almost worked.

Big it is.  Bold, it's not really, right?  I created a watercolored sky BG and pulled out the most delicate washi tape I own.  Laid some down on white CS to make my letters then cut them out. Stitched for added interest and adhered with various height adhesive. And this is what happened.

Hope you likey.

I'm playing at:
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challege - Die Crazy (I die cut PC-generated sentiments with teeny MFT cloud dies from some of the leftover watercolored BG)
Virginia's View - Stitching

Supplies for high on you:

Paper:  CS Bringmann, watercolor paper

Stamps: 

Ink :

Tools: clouds die MFT, scissors, sewing machine

Other: washi, PC generated sentiment

happy birthday, sandie! (ATCAS)

You probably know Sandie of London Days (or maybe through one of the other five challenge blogs she DTs for so diligently).  Well, today is her birthday and there are a slew of folks wanting to wish her a wonderful day and year.  Check it out here at Nonni's blog.

I first "met" Sandie when we started working together on the STAMPlorations DT.  I totally loved this card of hers that you might remember from blogland.  Well I chose to combine the sentiment Sandie used on that card, the current challenge at Addicted to CAS (Off the edge) where Sandie also works her magic and a technique I used not long ago to make a card.

Here's to a great new year for you Sandie!  Enjoy your day.

Supplies for let's celebrate you:

Paper:  CS Bringmann

Stamps: STAMPlorations, TAWS

Ink : Distress Ink, Versafine

Tools: circle punch

Other: black marker

hey there birdie (Paper Players, SSS)

Oopsy daisy.  (On a tangent... I actually say that.  As does Hugh Grant in Notting Hill (LOVE THAT MOVIE). And I think Nichole H. must follow my blog (HA!) and liked this card way back when enough to create a new stamp set based on it. Of course, right? (HA HA HA HA HA HA))

Anyhoo, I guess in the excitement of the blog hop for it I forgot to post a card from the Card Creations Volume 12 that came out back in March.  It truly is a great (and still paper, folks) issue. Martha will second me on that - she was lucky to win a copy on my blog back in the hop.

Well I want to share this card with you cuz of how I was inspired.  Got a circular in the mailbox and there was a set of sheets with lotsa white and a branch and leaves in citrusy colors.  So I pulled out a NBUS, Bird die from Lifestyle Crafts and set about to create this card.

Moral of the story... inspiration abounds.  Just gotta keep your eyes open, like this birdie here. Thanks for looking.

I'm joining the fun over at Paper Players where the colors are Coral, Saffron and Pear.  Close enough, I hope. And this week at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge it's all about Die Cuts.  Can do.

Supplies hey there:

Paper: cardbase Bringmann, PP Bringmann

Stamps: W Plus 9

Ink:  Versafine

Tools: rectangle die Lil Inker, bird die Lifestyle Crafts, branch die Sizzix, leaves die MFT

Other 

dreamy hello (SSS, Virginias View)

Have you seen the June 2014 issue of Paper Crafts and Scrapbooking yet?  There was one category that I couldn't get enough of... Inspired by Song Lyrics.  You'll die when you see which song/idea came to my mind first... they shared my card over on the PC and S blog!

But I get to share another with you here.  This was for the Stamping on Different Mediums category. (And the complete opposite as far as style goes.)

Artsy fartsy. I stamped the floral arrangement and roughly colored it with gelatos which I then hit with a wet paint brush. Added some bright orange accents with a colored pencil.  Then I randomly stamped the airy Posies from Technique Tuesday on acetate with StazOn and stitched the acetate over the stamped panel. Love how it kinda floats over the image underneath. TIP: Use temporary adhesive to hold the acetate in place when stitching, then rub it off.

Playing at:
Virginia's View #3 cuz stitching is a great way to attach acetate to a card
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge where it's about Spring Flowers

Have a great day!

ETA:  This card showed up over on the PCS blog today and it's so cool to see what it inspired Go-To-Gal Laura W. to make!

Supplies for hello:

Paper:  CS Bringmann, PP Kesi Art, recycled acetate

Stamps:  Hero Arts/BG, Technique Tuesday

Ink : Versafine, StazOn

Tools: sewing machine

Other: gelatos

string art stitching (Virginia's View)

Remember doing string art in school?  My folks still have my light-blue-dark-blue-parabolas-on-black-velvet hanging in their basement! How about string art on cards?

Fancied up an image from Sew Lovely from The Craft's Meow with some embroidery floss stitched in string art style.  Should have posted this a week ago for Cinco de Mayo, eh?

Joining the fun at Virginia's View #3 where it's all about stitching.  Join in.

Supplies for sew lovely:

Paper:  CS Bringmann

Stamps:  The Craft's Meow

Ink : Versafine

Tools: paper piercer, needle, embroidery floss

Other: bling

simply create too 61 (anything but a card)

No cards allowed this time over at Simply Create Too.  Our theme for challenge #61 is "Anything but a Card". So how about a wine bottle tag?

Do you know this technique?  Apply Versamark or Perfect Medium and then brush on Perfect Pearls?  Learned it from Nichole H. at Papertrey. If you love shimmer, this technique's for you.

Join us for this fun challenge.  So many of you out there create such beautiful paper projects that are not cards.  This is your chance to get some extra attention.

Thanks for visiting.

Supplies for cheers tag:

Paper:  CS DCWV, vellum

Stamps: 

Ink : Versamark

Tools: triangle and you die SSS, tag and alpha dies PTI, 2 die Memory Box, oval die Sizzix

Other: Perfect Pearls

CASAF... (STAMPlorations, ATCAS, Moxie Fab)

... as in "clean-and-simple-artsy-fartsy".  Cuz that's how I described my style back in my Moxie Fabber of the Week interview, all the while thinking that the two really don't go together.  Hmm.

Well hear ye, hear ye - Make a CAS card and make it grungy.  Huh?

Kylie heads off to Europe and leaves us with a challenge like that! Proves that there is room in the world for CASAF!

Well the first thing that came to mind was my STAMPlorations Holiday Artsy stamp set. And as I was admiring the cards in the gallery I stumbled upon this card from Loli.  And in her post, talking about "creatividad", she included this photo.

Image Source

Me gusto muchisimo! It'd make me so dang happy to think that my brain looked a little like this. Had to share it with you!

So I took my stamps, lotsa Distress Paint, the current sketch at STAMPlorations and this is what happened.  And before you ask, one line in the copy under "right brain" in the ad reads "I am the sound of roaring laughter" which instantly brought Katy Perry to mind. Thus my sentiment... figure I can add "it's your birthday" on the inside later.

Took a scrap of watercolor paper (note I left it the shape it was - left brain) and heat embossed my hand-lettered sentiment before smooshing the panel into some spritzed yellow Distress Paint. TIP: Use an embossing pen to hand-letter a sentiment.

When dry, hit it with some purple, pink, orange and green paint then spritz and watch the magic (right brain) happen. TIP: You can stop the magic anytime you want (left brain) with a dab of paper towel.

Repeat for another layer. Remember, I was going for the feel of the "right brain" in the ad.

When dry, I pulled out the stamps, splotched some paint onto my craft sheet and stamped with it. Used the block shape and a brush stroke stamp.

Then some yellow "coffee stains" and after I dried them I repeat stamped the wavy brush stroke at the left, hit it with water only there and let the paint flow.  A la the ad. (very right brain - you OCDers are freakin' out about now)

Waste not, want not, ya know? TIP: Mop up the leftovers with scrap CS or tracing paper.  I also re-heat-embossed the sentiment cuz Distress Paints don't really work with the emboss resist technique even if you wipe the embossing up after every layer.  TIP: Do your embossing after the panel is finished ;) Then came the three graphic strips (left brain)  and voila!

Hooking up at the Moxie Fab Handwriting challenge too. Thanks for sticking around for my oration on CASAF!  Have a good one.

Supplies for ROAR:

Paper:  CS Bringmann, watercolor paper

Stamps: STAMPlorations, chaos Alexandra Renke

Ink :  Versafine

Tools: embossing pen

Other: Distress paint, black embossing powder