Distress Ink Lifting

I had so much fun trying the

Distress Ink Lifting technique shared by Jennifer McGuire on her blog
I know I will be using it again and again.

I matted my stamped panel then inked the cardbase using the same ink.
The Stampendous Magnolia Rose is quite a large stamp
and it fits on the 6x6 base perfectly.

I think I may have used the opposite side of the white cardstock base to the one I used for the stamped panel, as the ink looks slightly different, even though they're the same colour => something to keep in mind if you try this technique.

Here is a close-up so that you can see the sparkle from the Wink of Stella over the stamped image.  It really adds extra pop to the coloured image against the background.  I think it blends the inks a little more too.

Here is another panel using the same stamp, technique and inks, each time the result is unique. 

From my experience I can say:-

• this is an exciting technique, once you try it, it will be one you will use over & over again
• super saturate your background with Distress Ink, when you think it is saturated, give it another good inking
• make sure you get plenty of ink in ALL the tiny gaps between the embossed image 
• work as fast as you can, the more the ink dries, the less it reacts and the less it blends ... I had heat embossed four images in readiness for my 1st attempt, loved it so much that I thought I would get organised and inked up the other three panels and I super saturated them.  Sadly when I went back to them the next day it didn't work!!!  A quick check of Jennifer's video tutorial reminded me that I had to do everything while the ink was still wet => lesson learned!!!

INGREDIENTS

• Smooth white 285gsm cardstock
• Stampendous Magnolia Rose Cling Stamp
• Versamark Ink
• Clear glitter embossing powder
• Heat Tool
• Zig Watercolor BrusH2O detailer
• Zig Wink Of Stella Clear Glitter Brush
• Mini Distress Inks:
• Faded Jeans - background
• Worn Lipstick - flower petals
• Peeled Paint - leaves & stems
• Spiced Marmalade- middle of the flowers
• Barn Door - berries
• Dusty Concord - bow
• Perfect Layers Ruler - to cut the white mat around the stamped panel

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

~~~*~~~*~~~

PaperCrafter's Corner Blog

Magazine Monday's - Week 133

   

The colours are gorgeous ... the darker blue sure looks like Faded Jeans Distress Ink that I used for the background of my stamped panel - what do you think?  The flowers are really pretty too ... the petals luscious,just like the ones in the Magnolia Rose stamp I used.  And the last piece of inspiration is the white edged squares, just like the layers under the image panel of my card.

~~~*~~~*~~~

The Daily Marker

Kathy Racoosin's 30 Day Coloring Challenge
#thedailymarker30day

I used the exciting Distress Ink Lifting technique to colour my image and card panel.

The Details of Kathy's challenge can be found HERE if you want to join the colouring fun.

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Simon Says Stamp Blog

Work It Wednesday January 2016

The challenge is to try something NEW.

I used a NEW stamp and a NEW technique.

~~~*~~~*~~~
Sparkle N Sprinkle Creative Challenge Blog
February 2016 Challenge
The challenge requires the use of loose glitter, embossing powder and/or flocking.
I have used embossing powder to heat emboss my stamped image.
There is glitter in the embossing powder for some extra sparkle.
If you want to become a SNS Featured Artist, you must use an SNS image
=> I will be checking my stash to see what I can create with them later this month.


~~~*~~~*~~~

Distress Ink Lifting - Inspired by Jennifer McGuire

I confess

I'm a terrible stamper

and

I have very limited experience using heat embossing, distress inks and colouring.

Kathy Racoosin's 4th 30 Day Coloring Challenge

has inspired me to practice my stamping so that I could colour along with her challenge this month.  I've been inking up my stamps with my new-to-me Versafine Onyx Black ink using my Fiskars Stamp Press and stamping on watercolour paper, ready for some colouring with Distress Inks and watercolour paints.

Well, today that all changed - they can be coloured another day!!!

Have you seen this "Distress Ink Lifting" post and video by Jennifer McGuire?

I was so excited after watching her in action and seeing the results.

So, today I took another brave pill and tried my hand at a little heat embossing and just had to share my first attempt at Distress Ink Lifting.

I took the Stampendous Magnolia Rose cling stamp and stamped it using Versamark Ink on 285gsm smooth white cardstock then applied embossing powders (two images in clear with glitter, two in white).  After noticing some extra sparkle on my 1st image, I realised that I had forgotten to "powder" the cardstock beforehand, so that was fixed for the other three images.

Following Jennifer's technique I took my Faded Jeans Mini Distress Ink and saturated the entire panel with luscious blue ink.  (I only have a few inks in my stash, so I will definitely be adding some more vibrant colours like the Blueprint Sketch that Jennifer used.)
important update
DON'T ink your background until you are ready to "lift" the ink
from the within the stamped image!!!  This technique will
not work if you let the ink dry.

 Next came the water ... and I forgot to take a photo.  I touched my water brush into each of the petals, leaves and bows, where I wanted to "lift" the colour in preparation for colouring.
This photo shows the "bleached" areas of the image and the start of my colouring where I used the water brush to add Worn Lipstick Mini Distress Ink into the petals.

 Mini Distress Inks used:

Faded Jeans - background

Worn Lipstick - flower petals

Peeled Paint - leaves

Spiced Marmalade- middle of the flowers

Barn Door - berries

Dusty Concord - bow

And here is the finished panel, 

with a touch of Clear Wink Of Stella sparkle over the "coloured" elements of the stamped image.  

I wish you could see it in real life, I am so excited with the the result, learnt a lot for my 1st effort and look forward to working on the other three panels I have ready and waiting over the weekend.

AND I will make sure that I colour the stems green next time, not sure why I got them confused with the ribbon ... I will try "bleaching" them with some water and adding some green tomorrow, not sure how the Wink Of Stella will affect things, so it will be another good learning experience!

Thank You for taking the time to read to the end of this very long post.
I really enjoyed this technique and hope you like it too.

I have linked my work to Kathy's 30 Day Coloring Challenge.

#thedailymarker30day
The details of Kathy's challenge are linked above and HERE is the link to the post where you can link your colouring projects and admire the creations shared by others joining the challenge.  You are sure to be inspired.

HAPPY COLOURING :)

A Valentine Anniversary

We have some friends celebrating their 13th wedding anniversary on Valentine's Day this year and what better way to celebrate their special day than with a lovebird shadowbox card!

The cool thing about shadowbox cards is that they fold flat for mailing and open up into an exciting dimensional scene - WOW!

I used my Silhouette Cameo and the 

5x7 Love Birds Shadow Box Card

cut file by Daniela Angelova from the Silhouette Design Store

Here is the back of the card

I used my clear Wink Of Stella to add sparkle to the red panel, to all of the hearts in the patterned paper and the sentiments on the back of the card... the sparkle really is quite lovely but quite challenging to photograph, all I can say is I AM ADDICTED to Wink Of Stella SPARKLE!!!
It was such a PLEASURE to colour the sentiments and cut panel using the LUSCIOUS brush tip.

PS - I have to confess that this would have looked much better

if I had used smooth cardstock, so I will remember for next time.

Ingredients:

cardstock - American Crafts Textured Cardstock

patterned paper - Kaisercraft XO Collection - True Love 12x12 paper

celebrate - Paper Smooches - from the Birthday Words Dies set

love - Winnie & Walter - In A Word - Love Cutaway

SPARKLE - ZIG - Clear Wink of Stella

I have entered my card in the following challenges:

~~~*~~~*~~~

PaperCrafter's Corner

Magazine Mondays - Week 132

Here is the magazine cover for this week's inspiration

  

Apart from being inspired by the magazine photo, in honour of Valentine's Day, this challenge also requires the papercraft project to include the colour red and / or a heart.

I was inspired by the mainly white with a pop of red and the snake-like scrolls of the swirling armbands.  Her folded arms on top of her head & the red stripes the magazine name are mimicked by the red arches the love birds are sitting on.  The red hearts are actually the negative space of the white front panel, there is a heart in his wing and I also added some tiny white hearts.
Love this inspiration, hoping to get some doodling action happening this weekend too.

~~~*~~~*~~~

Crafty Gals Corner

Challenge #58 - Sweethearts (Use a heart)

This week the challenge is "Love is in the air!" - just add a heart to your project, it doesn't have to be a Valentine's.

My entry is a Wedding Anniversary card for some friends who were married on Valentine's Day thirteen years ago and it has several hearts, both cut out hearts and heart shaped negatives.

~~~*~~~*~~~

The Daily Marker
Kathy Racoosin's 30 Day Coloring Challenge
#thedailymarker30day
It's probably stretching things by calling my Wink Of Stella SPARKLE "colouring", but it is the first colouring I have done for the month and I look forward to using it to add finishing touches to stamped & coloured images over the coming days, now that I have some Versafine Onyx Black Pigment Ink Pad ready & waiting for a watercolour workout.  I was excited to see Wink Of Stella used for ink blending recently and I'm looking forward to giving it a try too.



The Details of Kathy's challenge can be found HERE if you want to join the colouring fun.

~~~*~~~*~~~

Kathy's 4th 30 Day Coloring Challenge has STARTED on The Daily Marker

EVERYTHING

you need to know about Kathy's

4th 30 Day Coloring Challenge

can be found HERE, on her Day One post
on her blog, The Daily Marker

ALL colouring projects you create for the challenge can be linked to her Day One post.

I hope to be adding some colour to my day, every day this month ... so, given that it is nearly 9pm Monday Feb 1st here, I had better get moving, NOW!!!

#thedailymarker30day

Paper Smooches Feb-16 release DT Blog Hop

It's Pep Rally Week on the Paper Smooches Blog.

Kim and the DT are sharing fun and fabulous projects using the

one new stamp and five new dies from the February 2016 release,
 

CREATIVE INSPIRATION

CRAFTY TEMPTATION

AND the chance to WIN
one of FOUR $25 Paper Smooches gift certificates too!!!

AWESOME!!!

Head on over to the
Paper Smooches Blog

and get hopping now,
GOOD LUCK :)

Here are some links to their store if you want to check out other crafty delights they have to tempt and inspire:
 

It's nearly time to COLOUR YOUR WORLD ...

with

Kathy Racoosin from The Daily Marker 

and her

30 Day Coloring Challenge

from 1st Feb to 1st Mar 2016

#thedailymarker30day

While we are all getting prepared, Kathy has a fabulous giveaway on her blog.

Looking forward to seeing you there each day for the challenge

and

DON'T FORGET TO ADD
    SOME COLOUR TO YOUR DAY :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Paper Smooches DT Jan-16 release Blog Hop

It's Pep Rally Week on the Paper Smooches Blog.

Kim and the DT are sharing fun and fabulous projects using the

new stamps and dies from the January 2016 release,
 

CREATIVE INSPIRATION

CRAFTY TEMPTATION

AND the chance to WIN
one of FOUR $25 Paper Smooches gift certificates too!!!

AWESOME!!!

Head on over to the
Paper Smooches Blog

and get hopping now,
GOOD LUCK :)

Here are some links to their store if you want to check out other crafty delights they have to tempt and inspire:
 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas . . .

OK

I confess ...

I had great intentions to have our Christmas cards created and posted by December 1st

TODAY it's the December 11th

... and I've only made ONE!!!

Guess what I'll be doing this weekend?!?!

This card was surprisingly easy to make as it is an SVG cut file that I cut using my Cameo, which is still a very-new-to-me tool.  Don't know about you, but visiting the Silhouette Design Studio is kind of like Pinterest , bundles of wonderful designs that keep calling "look at me, look at me"

Here is the link to the file in the Silhouette Design Store

5x5 Christmas Candle Layer Card by Daniela Angelova

I enlarged the design to be 5 3/4" square because I prefer larger cards, originally I had planned on making 5x7" cards, so I stocked up on envelopes for them, now I'll be looking out for 6x6" ones if we decide to go with this square design, not having much luck locally so far, so I might have to make smaller cards yet, time will tell.

~~~~~~

ANOTHER Christmas craft that has been on my mind is ornaments,
specifically the dimensional ones made using circles.  I made THIS ONE two years ago using Core'dinations Black Magic cardstock, punching 20 x 1 1/2" circles using my Large Fiskars Round N Round Squeeze Punch, scored for the folds, distressed the edges, folds and some of the middle, then added a rhinestone to the middle of each circle before adhering together.

Why did I link this old project?
I recently found a cut file in the Silhouette Design Studio that has a set of 20 circles with the fold lines partially cut so that they're super easy to just cut, fold and assemble.  While I thoroughly enjoyed making my original ornament, it was a bit of a pain scoring each circle (using my embossing stylus & ruler, no scoreboard for me) so as soon as I saw the ornament file, I just had to get it, thinking it would be fun to put together some kits for our nieces & nephews and neighbourhood kids to make.  FYI - the circles in the cut file are 2" diameter.
Here is the link to the cut file - Faceted 3D Ornament by Nic Squirrel 

This is how far I have progressed.

Each ornament needs 20 circles, so I cut a set out of 4 sheets of cardstock and I'm going to assemble the mix of colours the same as in Nic's sample because they look so cheery.
As you can see, the final ornament will be much larger than my original hand punched version, I will be playing around with the sizes and different colour combos.

Hope you have enjoyed the start of my Crafty Christmas.
NOW it is time for you to head on over to
the PaperCrafter's Corner blog
and check out their
12 Days of Papercrafting Giveaways
and ENTER for your chance to WIN!!!
I'm sharing my projects here today for Day Five.
#12DaysOfPapercraftingGiveaways2015

Paper Smooches Design Team Blog Hop - December release

It's Pep Rally Week on the Paper Smooches Blog.

Kim and the DT will be sharing fun and fabulous projects using the

new stamps and dies from the December release,
 

CREATIVE INSPIRATION

CRAFTY TEMPTATION

AND the chance to WIN
one of FOUR $25 Paper Smooches gift certificates too!!!

AWESOME!!!

Head on over to the
Paper Smooches Blog

and get hopping now,
GOOD LUCK :)

Here are some links to their store if you want to check out other crafty delights they have to tempt and inspire:
 

#sharehandmadekindness - Week Four

Week Four of the Share Handmade Kindness Challenge

has been posted HERE on the SUPER KIND Jennifer McGuire's blog.

THIS week we have been challenged to

"MAKE something and GIVE IT"

sharing any kind of handmade kindness with strangers

This week's challenge has only just been posted, so I haven't made or done anything yet.
I will add pics with details when I've created something or updates when I have done something.

=> I'm posting today because I want to help spread the word and

encourage you to take up the challenge to #sharehandmadekindness

*****

Not sure what the Share Handmade Kindness Challenge is all about?

Click on the image below to learn more.

don't forget to

BE CREATIVE
and
SHARE HANDMADE KINDNESS

seeing STARS

yes, you guessed it, there are lots of stars in my card today

I was inspired by Laura's November Monthly Meetup Challenge on the Lil' Inker Design Blog

  

EDITED
At long last, here is a photo of my card.  The phone & internet lines have been down all morning and the connection has only just been restored.  Sadly I missed the deadline for the link-up to this challenge but I'm happy to have Ben's birthday card ready in time.

There are five balloons, as the birthday boy is turning five.

The Balloon String Die has three strings, so I cut an extra one and trimmed off two strings to add to the other balloons in the background.
This is a colour combo that I look forward to using again :)

Lil' Inker Designs dies used to create this card include:

Balloon Dies

Balloon String Die

Mixed & Stitched Alphabet Die Set

Other ingredients:

star patterned paper - Kaisercraft Blast Off Paper Pad

textured cardstock - Kaisercraft - Moss, Papaya and Navy

#sharehandmadekindness - Week Three

Week Three of the Share Handmade Kindness Challenge

has been posted HERE on the SUPER KIND Jennifer McGuire's blog.

THIS week we have been challenged to

"MAKE something WITH a child
and/or

GIVE something TO a child"

This week's challenge has only just been posted, so I haven't made anything yet.
I will add pics with details when I've created something.

=> I'm posting today because I want to help spread the word and

encourage you to take up the challenge to #sharehandmadekindness

*****

Not sure what the Share Handmade Kindness Challenge is all about?

Click on the image below to learn more.

~~~ update 19th November ~~~

Here is the fun starry 5th birthday card I have created and entered in this week's challenge, perfect birthday timing for the kids theme.

This CAS card was LOTS of FUN to make because included several FIRSTS.

This card started as an A4 sheet of 280gsm cardstock, scored in half using my Martha Stewart Scoreboard (first time scoring with this AWESOME new-to-me tool).  I trimmed the folded card down so that it stands 7 1/2" tall and have half an inch of matted layers around the patterned paper panel.  The starry patterned paper is from the Kaisercraft Blast Off 6 1/2" paper pad.  The cardstock is Kaisercraft Weave Navy, Moss & Papaya and American Crafts White textured (from a bulk 60 sheet pack).

Check out those narrow borders on the layers
... it is SO COOL to see 1/16" borders and everything so straight isn't it?
Another FIRST was using my Perfect Layers Rulers.  Usually I measure and cut all my layers, using the grid on my craft mat to make sure everything stays square & straight.  I have to confess that it was pretty exciting to start with my patterned paper panel and just cut.  I adhered it to some white cardstock, lined up the 1/16" Perfect Layers ruler edge, cut with my craft knife, repeated three more times and - WOW - PERFECT 1/16" border all round ... another AWESOME FIRST.  All my layers were adhered with Helmar 450 Quick Dry - I find this liquid adhesive to be one of my two GO-TO glues.  Apart from making it easy to make any adjustments to align layers perfectly, it is great for attaching ribbons & embellishments, drying clear and fast, just like a hot glue gun without the hot.

The dies are all from Lil' Inker Designs and include the
Balloon Dies, Balloon String Die and Mixed & Stitched Alphabet Die Set.
The balloon strings got their FIRST workout and I think they're AWESOME too.  It's so much easier to anchor the balloons with these die cuts than it is to tie each one and knot together.  The die has 3 strings, so I cut another one and trimmed off two extra strings to make up the five I needed.  I adhered the balloons and alphas in place using Tombow Mono Multi Liquid Glue (my other GO-TO glue).  At first I applied a tiny amount to the back of each piece, allowing it to dry, then fiddled around with the placement ... the best thing about this is that the Tombow becomes repositionable when used this way, so once I adjusted the placement, I went back and applied some Tombow and put each piece in place as I went, so when it dried, they were all securely in place.  I popped the small balloons and the large green balloon using foam dots for extra dimension, with the balloon strings adhered to the base of each balloon.

QUESTION - do you think I should take my white gel pen and mark a little white line across the "knot" on each balloon to make it look like they're attached to the balloon strings?

I really enjoyed creating these easy matted layers and using this colour combo,
looking forward to trying my hand at matting different shapes real soon,
you never know, I might even get to put some card, tag or bookmark kits together for kids to make.  We have lots of kids in our street and I was thinking that they might come in handy for a too-hot or too-wet weather activity.

don't forget to
BE CREATIVE
and
SHARE HANDMADE KINDNESS

#sharehandmadekindness - Week Two

Week Two of the Share Handmade Kindness Challenge

has been posted HERE on the SUPER KIND Jennifer McGuire's blog.

THIS week we have been challenged to

"MAKE and GIVE something to someone who works in our community"

The challenge has only just been posted, so I haven't made anything yet.
I will think about who to make a card for and will add pics with details when it's done
=> I'm posting today because I want to help spread the word and

encourage you to take up the challenge to #sharehandmadekindness

Not sure what it's all about?

Click on the image below to learn more.

don't forget to
BE CREATIVE
and
SHARE HANDMADE KINDNESS

#sharehandmadekindness - Week One

Week One of the Share Handmade Kindness Challenge

has been posted HERE on the SUPER KIND Jennifer McGuire's blog.

THIS week we have been challenged to

"MAKE and GIVE something to a friend or family"

Here are the cards that I created and mailed out today.

photos to be inserted soon

It feels wonderful to create special cards for special people and to

#sharehandmadekindness

Not sure what it's all about?

Click on the image below to learn more.

don't forget to
BE CREATIVE
and
SHARE HANDMADE KINDNESS

I'm joining the "Share Handmade Kindness" Challenge

Have you heard the latest?

The amazing Jennifer McGuire has launched the most wonderful challenge for us all to

transform our

JOY of CREATING

in to the

KINDNESS of GIVING

during the month of November.

#sharehandmadekindness

Here is the link to learn all about it

Jennifer McGuire Share Handmade Kindness

There will be a new challenge announced each week (Mondays)

and I am looking forward to seeing how Jennifer prompts us to reach out and

SHARE HANDMADE KINDNESS.

Jennifer has a giveaway offered as part of the launch of this event on her blog
"Welcome to the Share Handmade Kindness (and Giveaway)"
ANOTHER piece of exciting news is that Jennifer has collaborated with Hero Arts to create two beautiful stamps to helps us share handmade kindness, with 25% of the profits going to the Kind Campaign, so it's a win-win for everyone!!!

I am joining the challenge and hope you will too.

BE CREATIVE
and
SHARE HANDMADE KINDNESS

30 Day Colouring Challenge - Day 30

This month I am going to try to improve my stamping and colouring skills.

I will be playing along with

Kathy Racoosin's
30 Day Coloring Challenge
on her blog The Daily Marker

Each day Kathy will be sharing different colouring techniques, products and projects.

During the challenge, we are all encouraged to colour something every day.

FULL details and links are listed at the end of this post.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Day 30

Sadly today is the last day of the 30 Day Coloring Challenge

photo of today's colouring efforts to be inserted soon

Kathy has shared some FABULOUS sneak peeks and EXCITING news on her blog today!!!

The Daily Marker - Day 30 - Some Special News

DON'T FORGET TO ADD
       SOME COLOUR TO YOUR DAY :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here are some links that will help you if you want to join the colouring fun:

Kathy's Blog - The Daily Marker

Kathy's Blog Post with all the details about
The Daily Marker 30 Day Coloring Challenge

Kathy's DAY ONE Blog Post

The Daily Marker Day 1

this is the one you link your projects to if you want to share your colouring adventures

don't forget to include the following hashtag
 #thedailymarker30day3

Paper Smooches Design Team Blog Hop

It's Pep Rally Week on the Paper Smooches Blog.

Kim and the DT will be sharing fun and fabulous projects using the

two new stamps and ten new dies from the November release,
available from 8pm Pacific Time 31st October.

CREATIVE INSPIRATION

CRAFTY TEMPTATION

AND the chance to WIN
one of FOUR $25 Paper Smooches gift certificates too!!!

AWESOME!!!

Head on over to the
Paper Smooches Blog

and get hopping now,
GOOD LUCK :)

Here are some links to their store if you want to check out other crafty delights they have to tempt and inspire: