Tim Holtz Creative Chemistry "Dragon" Hello

 

Hello Crafty Friends!

This week for Tim Holtz' Creative Chemistry challenge, participants were asked to create a project using three or more colors of Distress Paint.  For my project I used Distress Paints in Mowed Lawn, Peeled Paint, Peacock Feathers and Broken China.  The background was created using the marbling technique.

After the background dried, Brett Weldele's stencil "Dragon Scales" was used with Imagine Crafts' Creative Mediums in Iridescent Blue and Iridescent Chartreuse.  The blue was used over the blue areas on the marbled background and the chartreuse over the green areas.  For those of you that have not used these mediums, let me tell you, they are the bees knees.  Love the the iridescent finish!  And it is perfect for dragon scales!  Below is a close up- really hope that you can see the effect but the photo does not do it justice:

You may be wondering about the dragon image.  That was a must have for me after seeing Brett Weldele's CHA Winter release.  The entire dragon stamp set is beyond awesome and works well for those crafters that have Game of Thrones lovers on their crafty gift list.  The image was stamped using black Archival Ink onto watercolor paper and then watercolored using Distress Markers in Mowed Lawn, Peeled Paint, Peacock Feathers and Broken China.  The tongue was Victorian Velvet and Spun Sugar.  If you look close on the green scales, you will see more shimmer.  Of course I had to use Stickles (Seafoam) on the scales.  The eye had Glossy Accents applied.

This dragon is a happy dragon so I wanted the script to reflect that.  Tim Holtz' Sizzix Thinlits set Friendship Words Script had a sweet "hello" that die cut black card stock.  It was adhered to a die cut tag from TH' Thinlits Tags die set. 

Admittedly, this was one of my favorite cards to make.  Love the textures, colors, shimmers, products used and that happy dragon!

Thanks for stopping by!  I do hope you enjoyed this card and I wish you all a happy, crafty weekend.  :)
Hugs,
Kathy Jo

Weekly Inspiration 4: "Happiness"

Hello Crafty Friends.

The New Year's Resolution continues!  Today I am sharing the altered playing card I made for last week and tomorrow I am sharing the card for this week.  (Being sick the weekend before threw my schedule off a little bit but I happily made two altered cards this week to catch up.)

The altered card for last week was inspired by Blue Monday- nicknamed as such because it is supposedly the "blue-ist" day of the year.  I decided to flip that frown upside down and create something cheerful.  

The playing card was covered with two layers of white gesso, dried and then Martha Stewart's Pearl Acrylic Paint (color: Aquarium) applied.  While it was drying I stamped Dina Wakley's Holiday Media Stamp and Stencil set on scrap papers and heat embossed in black.  The hat and bird were fussy cut and glossy accents applied to the eyes.

After the card was dried, I used Brett Weldele's star stencil (love this stencil!!) and Ranger's Texture paste to create the background.  Distress Glitter in Clear Rock Candy was sprinkled onto the paste.

A small amount of Ranger's Texture Paste was mixed with Dina Wakley's Heavy Body Acrylic Paint in Ruby.  It was used to create the "happiness" from the Holiday stencil.  It created a very cool texture and pops against the glittery blue background.

The scribbly bird was adhered to the card front and two large black pearls were the finishing touch.  Isn't that a happy bird?  The bird and altered card is definitely the antithesis of Blue Monday.  So sweet!

Thank you so much for stopping by!  I do hope that the altered card made you smile.  Tomorrow I will share this week's card...which was also a fun make.  (I am really enjoying this resolution!)

Have a happy crafty day!
Big Hugs,
Kathy Jo

This card is entered into the following challenges:
613 Avenue Create, AG
Word Art Wednesday, AG
Simon Says Wednesday, Have a Heart (heart hat)  

Weekly Inspiration 3: Mister Meow Meow & Tweets McGee

Hello Crafty Friends.

Continuing with the New Years Resolution of altering a playing card for a weekly craft project, I present to you the distinguished and honorable Mister Meow Meow and his esteemed colleague Tweets McGee.  They were my inspiration this week.  Actually, Mister Meow Meow reminds me of my cat, Ginger, who inspired me this week to create.  The card altered this week was the 9 of diamonds.

The bright background was mixed media paper sprayed with Dylusions Ink, adhered to the card front and cut to size.  Mister Meow Meow (Stampers Anonymous- Brett Weldele) was stamped using Jet Black Archival Ink and his coat water colored using Distress Ink in Vintage Photo.

Tim Holtz' Harlequin stencil was used to create the tile flooring.  The medium used was Imagine Crafts' Iridescent Turquoise with Distress Marker in Peacock Feathers applied after drying.  Stickles in Aqua was added to the stencil as shown.

The top right corner was a spatter of Distress Stain in Picket Fence.  A row of hearts from the Zombie Casanova stamp set was used on the vertical left side of the card with more Picket Fence.  Stickles was added to Tweets McGee and Glossy Accents to Meow Meow's eye glass.  Tim Holtz' marker spritzer was used with Picket Fence marker to create mists randomly on the card.

Distress Inks were applied along the edges and the altered card was complete.

For those of you that are regular readers of my blog, you may have realized that I missed last week's inspiration.  I have not been feeling well lately and did not go into my craft room last weekend and most of this week.  But, I will make another altered card to make up for missing last week.

The really sweet blogger Carole Robb Bisson asked me how my resolutions were going this year.  I had a lot of resolutions (as always!) and I have not been doing too bad:

• One Pepsi per week.  I have only had three this year.  Yay!
• Downsizing- 15 items per month have to get out of the house every month: we brought 3 or 4 boxes to a local charity this month and I already have 7 items for next month.  
• Save more money (a specific goal in mind): doing well with this one, too!
• Two Christmas cards per month: Well, this one is a bust as I have created zero this month.  Perhaps it is the "burnout" of making so many the last few months of 2015.

Thank you very much for stopping by to see Mister Meow Meow and Tweets McGee.  And thank you for following along in my year long creative resolution!

Have a happy crafty weekend!
Big Hugs,
Kathy Jo

This project is entered into the following challenges:
Word Art Wednesday, AG
613 Avenue Create, AG
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday, AG

Weekly Inpiration 2- "Let it Snow"

Hello Crafty Friends!

Last week I shared the first weekly inspiration project.  This week my inspiration was snow as we had some beautiful snow on Wednesday and a wee bit on Thursday.  The snow was a perfect excuse to use Brett Weldele (of Stampers Anonymous) stamp set, Blizzy the Happy Snowman.  

Just like last week's project, I started with a large playing card.  

It was covered with two layers of white gesso and Faber-Castell's blue Gelatos was applied. Blizzy was stamped using Ranger's Archival ink in Jet Black:

Blizzy was colored using more Gelatos.  Next, Let It Snow was stamped and Faber-Castell's Big White Brush Pen was used to create small snowflakes all over the card:

Tim Holtz' Snowflakes stencil and Ranger's texture paste was used to add three large snowflakes.  The finishing touch was a dash-dot-dash frame using a fine tip black marker.

It will be interesting to go through all of the altered playing cards at the end of the year.  It is a fun project thus far as I can find inspiration from the week or from how I feel at the moment or whatever!  If you decide to do the project, please drop me a line as I would love to see your weekly creations, too!

Thank you for stopping by and have a happy crafty weekend!
Big Hugs,
Kathy Jo

This card is entered into the following challenges:
613 Avenue Create, AG
Word Art Wednesday, AG
Simon Says Stamp Monday, Stencil
Crafty Sentiments, Baby It's Cold Outside
Creative Fingers, AG
That's Crafty, Winter but not Christmas
Addicted to Stamps, AG
Little Red Wagon, Build a Snowman

"You make me melt"- Stampers Anonymous' Brett Weldele

Hello Crafty Friends!

For those of you attending or following the events at this year's CHA in Anaheim, you will know that today is the last day of the show.  I have been following my favorite companies and designers throughout and drooling at all of the crafty goodness.  Last year I was lucky enough to attend the conference and had the most fabulous time.  This year I planned on attending the event but ended up unable to attend.  It was a little disappointing but the good news is that next year I will attend and my sweet hubby will be in tow.  I look forward to it!

Yesterday morning I remembered moments from the show.  One specific memory was being introduced to Brett Weldele's stamps.  I was blown away by the Zombie Casanova stamp set and have been hooked on Brett Weldele's stamps and stencils since.   The memory of last year's CHA and visiting the Stampers Anonymous booth inspired me to make a card using Brett Weldele's stamp set, Blizzy the Happy Snowman.

The images were stamped using Jet Black Archival ink onto watercolor paper and then colored using Distress Markers and a water brush.  I drew a heart on the snowman and added Stickles.  

The fir trees had Stickles applied and glossy accents applied to the carrot nose.  The seam binding bow was dyed using Distress Stain.  The patterned paper is from Tim Holtz' French Industrial pad.

The inside contains the stamped sentiment from the same set.  It was stamped using Distress Markers.

Isn't the snowman just the cutest guy?  He definitely warms my heart.  There are six stamps in the set and below is the complete set.  Such a happy snowman...he makes me smile.  :)

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you enjoyed the card and thank you for sharing in the reminiscence of last year's CHA.  

Have a happy crafty day!
Big Hugs,
Kathy Jo

CHA Sneak Peek- Elizabeth Craft Designs "Merci"

Hello Crafty Friends!

Today I am sharing another sneak peek of a soon to be released Elizabeth Craft Designs die "Merci":

"Merci" is one of fourteen new ECD dies designed by Suzanne Cannon.  The new release dies are Oh-la-la lovely!

The die was cut twice using white card stock and silver glitter stock.  It was mounted on a tag sprayed with Dylusions sprays in Postbox Red and London Blue.  

Brett Weldele's Star Stencil was used with Ranger's Texture paste and Tim Holtz' Clear Rock Candy glitter.

The patterned paper is from Tim Holtz' French Industrial pad.

Seam binding was dyed red and tied with silver twine and jute twine.

The card base was made with Kraft card stock and voila!- the card was complete. The card was fun to make and it had glitter.  We all need some glitter in our day...and I had glitter on my fingers and clothes for most of it.  :)

Thanks for popping by to see the new die!  Have a great day!

Big Crafty Hugs,

Kathy Jo

This card is entered into the following challenges:

613 Avenue Create, AG

Word Art Wednesday, AG

Love to Create, Mixed Media

Inkspirational Challenges, Thank you with something new (Merci die)

Really Reasonable Ribbon, Look what I got (Merci die, Star stencil)

Aud Sentiments, Thank you

Dies R Us, Something new (Merci die, Star stencil)

Emerald Creek, Something New

Zombie "I love you for your brains" watercolor birthday card

Hello Crafty Friends.

Today is my hubby's birthday and I made him a not-so-typical birthday card.  He and I both enjoy watching the Walking Dead together and the Brett Weldele set "Zombie Casanova" (by Stampers Anonymous) was a perfect stamp set for his card.  If you like the Walking Dead or zombie films, I definitely recommend this stamp set.  

The image and sentiments were stamped using black Archival Ink onto watercolor paper.  After drying I used my watercolor brush and Tim Holtz Distress markers to color the scene.  Numerous markers were used to create this zombie card: fossilized amber, broken china, evergreen bough, aged mahogany, vintage photo, fired brick, mowed lawn, antique linen, wild honey, peeled paint and walnut stain.  Note that the background is watercolored in entirety with blue sky...my camera just did not capture the light blue well.

Here is a closeup of the pants and shirt:

The hearts and the sentiment had clear crackle applied and then Distress Ink in Vintage Photo was applied over the crackle and along the edges (love applying ink over dried crackle!).

The inside is another zombie themed sentiment and more of the hearts:

When Greg opened the card, his eyes were huge and he said "This card is awesome!"  Yes!  Success!  :)

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I do hope you liked the zombie birthday card.
Have a happy crafty day!
Hugs,
Kathy Jo

This card is entered into the following challenge:
Simon Says Stamp Monday, I love this technique (inking over crackle)

Creativity Butterfly card

Hello Crafty Peeps!

Last weekend I played a lot with my Distress Inks and Stains trying out new techniques and color combinations.  One paper evolved into a multi layer technique card.  It is amazing what you can create starting with white paper!  On the white base I applied Distress Stains in Picket Fence, Peacock Feathers, Picked Raspberry and Mowed Lawn.  Faded Text Background Stamp (Stampabilities) was applied using Picket Fence Stain and dried with my heat gun.

Next CM Purple Metallic Paste (Imagine Crafts) was applied on Tim Holtz' Blossom Stencil.  The dried medium is a beautiful iridescent purple...love it!  I used my Distress Ink in Picked Raspberry and Mowed Lawn on some areas to highlight the flowers and leaves.  I used my Distress Marker Spritzer with Picked Raspberry marker randomly on the background.

On the left side of the card and the bottom right corner I used the oh-so-fun hearts from Brett Weldele's Zombie Casanova set with black Archival Ink (Ranger).  The hearts were colored in using Picked Raspberry ink and my water brush (Tim Holtz).  The entire card had Brushed Corduroy applied on the edge.

The butterfly and quote from Sizzix/Tim Holtz Framelits with stamps set (Limitations) was stamped with Archival Ink and colored using Distress Inks and my water color brush.  Enamel accents in white (Ranger) were applied to the butterfly and quote as shown.

The quote was glue dotted into place as an arc.  

Seam binding soaked up all of the remaining ink on my craft sheet.  I really like the result...such bright and happy colors on the seam binding! 

Hope you enjoyed the project!  Thanks so much for stopping by.
Big Hugs,
Kathy Jo

This card is entered into the following challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday, Favorite technique (die cutting!) or product (Ranger Distress)
Scrapyland, Favorite color combo (Picked Raspberry, Peacock Feathers, Mowed Lawn, White)
Inky Chicks, Butterflies
Craft Your Passion, AG
Word Art Wednesday, AG
Crafting by Design, June AG
613 Avenue Create, AG
Butterfly Challenge, Butterfly + flowers (flower stencil)
Crafty Sentiments, AG 

CHA Recap- Final post- Warning! Lots of photos of various products and projects

Happy Friday!

I can't believe it was a week ago today that I went to Day 1 of CHA.  The whole weekend flew by!

Today will be my last CHA post.  It will be filled of product and project photos from the show.  Let's jump right into it!

There were some amazing Swarovski and beaded projects on display.  This bird was blinged to the nines:

The bird was on the arm of this beauty...crystals ran up the horns!:

Went gaga over the necklace below!

This was the top part of a dress...magnificent!

Some stamps drew me in, too!  Art Impressions had some cuties:

Penny Black had some wonderful watercolor stamps:

Imagine Crafts was showing off their very cool Creative Medium.  Shimmery metallic paste that is visible on light and dark papers.

I am digging the new Zutter All tool.  It even has a brayer!!

 Scrapbook Adhesives had a fun Make and Take.  It included the ribbon below (please pardon the poor photo quality).  It is a soft jean material...loved it!  

 And here is a grainy photo of the cute as a button Donna Salazaar:

 Of course I spied another die that I liked.  The Elizabeth Craft Heart Pivot Die.  

Stampers Anonymous has so many great stamps!  Here are a couple of my faves from Brett Weldele

 The cats are a must have for me!

 Now, for those of you that have access to the UK's magazine Papercraft Inspirations, you will recognize the next two dies.  The dies were showcased in Issue 130 (October 2014).  Tracy Payne made some gorgeous cards using the dies and I have liked the dies ever since!

 

 I was able to snap a photo of Tim Holtz while demonstrating:

 Big surprise...another die set.  I liked this one because of the sweet embossing folder and the nautical theme:

 Now this product is totally rockin'.  A holster to house your glue gun...even if it is hot!

 

 I know I discussed Faber-Castell in a previous post but I forgot to show this photo.  A studio set.  Drool.  Drool.  Drool.

 7 Gypsies is offering new pad sets.  The cowgirl set below had Sherry Cheever's attention!  Not only are the patterns great but there is also fabric such as canvas and suede in the set!  Yee-haw!!

Thanks for making it through this long post!  As you can tell from this post and the prior posts, I had the best time at CHA!  I would like to go again.  I already figured out my budget and how much I have to save every pay in order to attend next year!  :)

Fireworks from Disney

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Hugs,

Kathy Jo