She Who Stamps & Scraps

Tattered Floral Die - Let's Go Fly a Kite

Here's my entry for Tim Holtz's Tattered Floral challenge and the numbers challenge at Simon Says Stamp and Show.  I used lots of my favorite stamps, stencils and inks, and cut 40 flowers using the smallest of the four flowers on the die:

My Tonic pick is a great piercer for adding the brads:

I used an Idea-ology clock, gears, and spinners, along with trinket pins and Glossy Accents to seal in some tiny JB stickers:

Three of Tim's funky keys worked for my tail:

Another peek at the flowers:

And the main body of the kite:

I was in the mood for kites and warm weather because it's been a long winter and I'm ready for Spring. Schools are closed today because 6-10" more snow is forecast. Here's my view at the moment:

Hope you are safe and warm, wherever you are.  Thanks for the visit!

Marjie

PS -- News and a huge giveaway coming very soon! 

 

 

Photos and Metal and Flowers... oh My!

This is my spin on a layout I spied on Pinterest a few days ago by Kristin Cronin-Barrow.  If you'd like to see Kristin's layout, it's the newest pin on my Scrapbooking Pinterest board. I used Basic Grey papers that I customized with stamps and stencils.

The half circle on the left is stamped with the Darkroom Door Measuring Tape background stamp, and the one on the right is inked with jet black archival ink through a TCW elevator gate stencil.  I used the smaller version of that stencil to add interest to the yellow background paper. I edged the letter stickers with black soot distress ink and painted the wood frame black:

After running all the photos and blue sections through my Xyron® 5” Creative Station, I put the rick rack through the smaller Xyron® 1.5” Create-a-Sticker.  

I added faux stitching around the edges, Prima flowers, and Tim Holtz's Idea-ology ornate plate, flowers and brads.  The metal brings me to the Simon Says Stamp and Show challenge this week.

Thanks so much for the visit!

Marjie

 

Idea-ology Ornate Plates

Adirondack Acrylic Paint Dabber - Pitch Black

Distress Ink Pad - Black Soot

It's in the Stars

I broke in my new Donna Downey stamps while art journaling over the weekend. The new DD stamps are huge, and Kim has them all in the Eclectic Paperie store. I hope we see more XL stamps in the future... I really love having images sized for larger projects.  The words are 4" long and the flowers are 8" tall!

This was a loose piece of Ranger Manila cardstock that I fit into my book with washi tape. It's colored with Dylusions Ink Sprays, Ranger Archival Inks, and loads of stamps and stencils. I used the hollyhocks stamp on this page and added clear embossing powder over the black ink:

Simon Says Stamp has a star theme going, and I used a star punch to jazz up my page border. I'll also link to Creative Every Day. Thanks for the visit!

Marjie

 

 

Art Journal ~ Imagination

Joining in with Simon Says Stamp this week as they ask to see what you're known for... seems like my glee in using both Dylusions and stencils has become a bit identifiable. I made this page with some new goodies I picked up when visiting The Ink Pad with Louise Nelson last week. I had the good fortune to spend the day with Louise, a lovely person and talented mixed media artist from Australia. She'd come to the USA for the Craft & Hobby Association show, and as long as she was in California, she extended her stay and came to New York.  

I sure love meeting blogging friends in real life! We met at the famous clock tower in Grand Cental Station, then navigated our way by subway to Greenwich Village. Our first stop was The Ink Pad, and we did our part to help keep the stamping industry sound.

I came home with a lot of new stamps and some gorgeous new stencils. I'd had this page inked up with Dylusions for ages (here it is last summer, drying on my railing):

This small (6X9) journal fits in my Vagabond, and I cut the heart with the Sizzix Movers & Shapers die. I stamped script on the following page and spritzed with an orange spray.

I added Acrylic Ground through a Prima stencil down the right side of the page and colored it with Pan Pastels, and then used a new stamp by a French company called Aladine all over the left side. It's a gorgeous script stamp with lots of variations. I finished the page stamping a few favorites in Jet Black Archival ink and heat embossed them with clear powder.

Thanks so much for visiting today. Pop by Louise's blog if you're not already a follower... she's really inspirational and has a unique and funky style.  

I hope she makes it home all right without needing an extra suitcase!

Marjie

Compendium of Curiosities Finale

For a very long time, Linda Ledbetter has led a troop of Tim Holtz fans through his two technique books, Compendium of Curiosities, Vol 1 and 2.  Linda has cheered us on with fun challenges, comraderie, and giveaways from Tim, Mario, Simon Says Stamp, and The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

This is the last challenge, and it's an ode to Tim himself, who is celebrating his birthday on Monday.  Thank you Linda, for all these wonderful challenges.  I'm sure the organizing, scheduling, etc. was a pain at times and I really appreciate your efforts!

My card is not on paper, it's actually Stampbord by Ampersand. I've been using this a lot lately because of the way it receives ink.  It's a clay board surface I first learned about in October at Art-is-You.  I used it for many of the items in my Etsy shop as it's very sturdy and you don't need to worry about corners bending or anything like that.

For Tim's birthday wishes, I went with a lot of ink blending and collage stamping and stenciling, and gave Umbrella Man a bouquet of heat-embossed balloons in place of his rain gear.  So thank you again to Linda, and to Tim, for all the inspiration.

And in case you hadn't heard, Linda Coughlin's shop is up and running again with a great Reopening Sale.  Check her out at The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

Thanks for the visit!

Marjie 

Artist Trading Card Packs Share your art with these Artist Trading Card size Stampbord cards. Each card is 21/2" × 31/2". Choose either a package of 5 or a Party Pack of 16.

One Little Word ~ Focus

This year I'm joining in with Ali Edwards' One Little Word class. I've thought about signing up for the last three years, and decided the time is right to jump in now. Choosing a word to keep close for a year becomes an interesting excursion in thought, intention, and desire. I auditioned quite a few words before realizing "Focus" is the right one for me for the coming year.

I bought an unfinished top hat at Michael's last month (didn't you?) thinking it might be fun to alter for the New Year. Yesterday Simon Says Stamp and Show announced a Mad Tea Party theme, and I remembered the hat... bingo! I used Tim Holtz's Tissue Tape and several Sizzix dies (Harlequin border, ticket, and Carnivale alphabet strip.) 

Here it is soon after I got started:

And later in the process, when I'd figured out how best to deal with the brim:

A thin coat of Ranger's Glue & Seal was perfect to provide a little 'stick' for the TT. I've taken classes with Tim where he's explained why it's low-tac ~ it comes on a roll, so it has to be low-tac or else it would stick to itself.

I thought Dylusions Ink Sprays would be the easiest colorant, but the TT resisted, so I went with Color Wash, and it still resisted... but Ranger's Archival Inks did the job. I applied Manganese Blue with an Ink Blending Tool, using various degrees of pressure to vary my color.

I really like how the TT layers look, and the way the Harlequin border formed my hat band:

I dyed a trinket pin with Pitch Black Alcohol Ink to hold my ticket:

Fashionable Stamping Challenges has a "Surprise Us" theme, and I'll put my hat over there, as well as at Artful Creations and Creative Every Day. 

On a housekeeping note, this month marks my 2-year anniversary of blogging, and I'm just three posts shy of 400 posts... yikes!  I'm working with a web designer to switch my blog over to my own website, so more news to come on that in the coming weeks. 

Thanks, always, for visiting. Happy New Year!

Marjie 

Favorite Projects of 2012

Thanks to all who visit for your comments and support over the past year. I appreciate each of you and wish you all the best in the coming year. It's been a delight getting together with many of you in 'real life' this past year, and I can't wait to see who I'll have the pleasure to meet in 2013!

Here are some of my favorite projects from 2012. First, some art journal pages and canvases:

And some favorite tags:

     

        

     

   

           

       

I wish you a wonderful New Year, filled with much health, happiness, and creativity!

Marjie

Grateful

I'm hosting the current challenge at Frilly and Funkie, and I've chosen chipboard and metal as necessary components for whatever you feel like creating.  Be it stamping, scrapping, art journaling, collage.... whatever makes you happy, please make something using these two items and join us.  Our challenge runs through Tuesday, November 27th.  

I'm also joining in with the Simon Says Stamp and Show 'give thanks' theme. I've made this card for my sister and her husband, who have hosted Thanksgiving for the last 20+ years.  They are wonderful hosts and always make it seem as if it was easy to pull off, even when they have 30+ people.  This year we'll be a 'small' group of just sixteen.

I'm also very grateful to have had my first 'in real life' meeting with Anita Houston last week.  You know Anita from The Artful Maven Haven.  We laughed and talked like old time pals (well, we reallyl are, after all this time together in blogland!):

 

I've had the pleasure of working with Anita on the Our Creative Corner design team, as well as currently on Frilly and Funkie.  She's amazingly talented and very funny. 

I used the Sizzix Wordplay and Tag dies, Tim's Scallop On-the-Edge die, and two Texture Fades for added interest.  My color comes from Ranger's Archival Inks (Ginger, Saffron, Rust, Monarch Orange):

After applying the colors randomly with Ink Blending Tools, I spritzed the letters with Forever Red Perfect Pearls Mist.  Check out the sheen:

I've aged the keyhole with paint and added a flower and brad from my stash.  The keyhole made the tag look like a door (in my mind, anyway) and made me think of my sister's house. Once I went to put the letters on I realized I was a bit long on the word, so I switched out the 'r' for a thinner one from stash:

Thanks so much for visiting. Please join in at Frilly and Funkie. There's a $25 shop gift certificate to The Funkie Junkie Boutique for a random winner, and a blog badge for the design team's favorite project.

And Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate!

Marjie 

Sizzix Alterations Tim Holtz Word Play Die	Sizzix Alterations Tim Holtz Tag and Bookplates Die	Tim Holtz Sizzix Texture Fades - Dot Matrix and Gridlock Set	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Locket Keys
Ranger Archival Ink - Sepia	Ranger Archival Ink - Coffee	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Brushed Corduroy	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Black Soot
Ranger Archival Ink - Jet Black	Ranger Perfect Pearls Mists - Perfect Pearl	Ranger Inkssentials Ink Blending Tool-With 2 Blending Foams	Ranger Inkssentials Ink Blending Foam

Art Journal: Stamping Without Ink

First, thank you all so much for all the enthusiasm and encouragement on my two earlier posts this week! I truly appreciate everyone taking the time to visit and to comment.  And to my new followers... welcome!   

This week Simon Says Stamp wants to see stamping without ink. No problem! Paint is an excellent medium for stamping. You just need to be sure to use it sparingly if you want to get a decent print. I use a small makeup wedge to apply it directly to my stamps, thanks to a tip from Julie Fei-Fan Balzer. Also linking this to Julie's Art Journal Every Day.

I used layers and layers of paint and stencils from both The Crafters Workshop and Stencil Girl Products. The letters are smudged with black gelatos by Faber Castell.  I used black paint on the circle and flower stamps.  Here are a few closer looks:

 

Fashionable Stamping Challenges has a musical theme this week and my words are lyrics from a Tom Petty song... The Waiting. Hope that song won't be stuck in your head today... the waiiiiiiiting is the haaaaaaardesssssst part!  

Thanks for the visit. Hope you have a great day.

Marjie

 

The Kathryn Wheel, Part 11

Time to share my November page for Kate Crane's calendar project. I've used Tim Holtz's Faux Embossed Metal technique on this one, with lots of Perfect Pearls Mists from Ranger. In fact, pearls are the theme right now over at Simon Says Stamp & Show.

The shine on this one is pretty intense. I used Tim's Sizzix ticket dies and stamps on grey card stock to tone it down a bit. I have a full tutorial featured over on the Frilly and Funkie blog today showing how it came together.

Here's October all finished:

Power's still out. The President declared our county a disaster area yesterday which should help in getting help/restoration.  

Thanks so much for the visit. I appreciate it!

Marjie

 

Ranger Perfect Pearls Mists - Pewter	Ranger Perfect Pearls Mists - Blue Patina	Sizzix Alterations Decorative Strip Tim Holtz Harlequin Border Die	Sizzix Alterations Decorative Strip Tim Holtz Ticket Die	Sizzix Alternations Tim Holtz Movers and Shapers Ornamental Die
Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Rubber Stamps - Odds & Ends	Tim Holtz Sizzix Texture Fades - Rays and Retro Circles Set	Tim Holtz Sizzix Texture Fades - Collage & Notebook Set	Ranger Archival Ink - Jet Black	Ranger Adirondack Acrylic Paint Dabber - Pitch Black
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Tiny Attacher	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Tiny Attacher Refills