She Who Stamps & Scraps

Darkroom Door Delivery

What a happy mail day to find a box from Australia, full of fantastic new stamps from Darkroom Door!  I had to abandon all plans for the afternoon and get inky immediately. I colored Mr Bright Idea with Distress Markers and a water brush and roughed up his edges with my distressor.

I used the Measuring Tape background stamp to fill my XL tag, and inked it up with a variety of distress and archival inks by Ranger.  Tim's sentiment is embossed with clear powder, as is the old fountain pen.  I added a key tied on with twine as a note to self - it's key to imagine beyond what you may think is possible.

The design of the Mr Bright Idea stamp blew me away and I thought Tim's sentiment went perfectly!  Here's a peek at some of the other goodies:

I can't show you them all as some are sworn to secrecy for a bit longer, but it's very safe to say I'm loving what I've received and look forward to playing with all of them.  Linking to Paper Issues and Creative Every Day.

Thanks so much for visiting!

Marjie 

 

How to Use Xyron Adhesives on Selected Parts of Your Projects

Hello! Welcome to followers old and new. I made this jumbo today using stamps, stencils, inks, paint, and water soluble crayons. I used my Xyron® 5” Creative Station to adhere the image and corrugated cardboard to my tag, and I'll share below how I kept her party hat 3-dimensional by controlling my adhesives.  I started out with these parts: 

Then I stamped the sentiment and covered it with embossing powder:

Heating the power brought the sentiment right to the top of all the layered stamping and stenciling beneath it:

I stamped and cut out the hat separately and ran it through the Xyron® 1.5” Create-a-Sticker:

I adhered it behind the hat the girl is wearing.  Next I put that stamped image (with two hats) through the machine, and after it came out I peeled off the 'dummy' hat and the main hat had no adhesive. So it's totally popped up and dimensional, yet the rest of her is really tacked down with adhesive.  Cool?!?

Here she is:

And here's a close-up of the corrugated cardboard, all inked and painted and distressed:

I love being able to put dimensional items like that through my machine. Be sure to visit the Xyron blog to see lots of other ideas.

I'll share this today at Creative Every Day.  Thanks so much for visiting!

Marjie 

Classes at Great American Stamp Store (Jan & Feb)

 

A show of hands at the Great American Stamp Store in Westport, CT:

Aren't those inky fingers fabulous!?!?  I taught 14 people in two art journaling classes on Saturday, and we had a great time. Most people were new to art journaling and everyone came away wanting to do more of it.  I met so many creative people... it was a great day!  Here are some pics from the morning class:  

Me, Susan, Betsy, Patty, Debbie  

Amy from Plucking Daisies

Betsy from Just a Pharmgirl

Paula ~ brand new to art journaling, and totally hooked!

Suzanne (sorry your eyes are closed but your smile is as bright as your creations)

Debbie (such gorgeous pages ~ but check out her water misting bottle ~ we were scared!)

Evelyn (rocking out on Dyan's ghosting technique)

 

Me with Amy and Leslie

And some shots from the afternoon class:

Loretta, Maria, me, Alison, Kerry and Susan

  Alison (a member of the All Things Tim yahoo group!)

    Loretta (love those layers!)

Kerry (that tag positively glowed!)

I forgot to take a picture with Judy, the gracious and lovely owner of the Great American Stamp Store ~~ but I'll have another chance when I return to teach an all-day class on Saturday, February 23rd.  We'll spend the whole day creating pages that reflect your mood, style, and feelings.  We’ll work with layered pages, create spaces for hidden and private journaling, and learns ways to increase the appearance of depth and dimension in your book.

Seating is limited and several seats were booked on Saturday when those classes ended, so please call the store to register.  Thanks!

Wishing you a wonderful week with time to be creative, however you wish that to be...

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

Art Journal Page... Taking Time...

I'm really enjoying the slow pace this week between Christmas and New Year's. We've been taking time to just relax and enjoy not having to be anywhere at any given time. We've gone to the movies and hung out at home, and today we're heading into the city to view the Warhol and Matisse exhibits at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. One's closing on Monday, and the other just opened earlier this month, so we're excited to catch some 'old' and 'new' all at once.

I've also been playing in my art journal (of course!) and am so glad to be part of the Eclectic Paperie design team, where just next week we're going to start hosting two challenges per month. The first will be an Altered Art challenge beginning on January 3rd, and the second will be a DT member's choice begining on January 17. We're calling that one the eTeam Picks Challenge. I am hosting and get to choose the theme for the first one on January 17th... hope you'll join us!  (You can sign up for email alerts of EP blog updates here.)

This page was made with the Sizzix Word Play die, Donna Downey's new Wayward Blooms stamp, a Sizzix texture fade, joint tape from the hardware store, Color Wash by Ranger, and lots of inks, stamps, and stencils. Here's a close-up on the texture from the tape (on the tag) and the texture fade folder (on the letters):

I'll be back Monday.  Hope you have a great weekend!

Marjie 

A Fond Farewell to Frilly & Funkie

This is my last project as a design team member with Frilly and Funkie, and I want to thank Linda and all my DT buddies for their support, friendship, and encouragement over these last nine months.  I've loved being part of this team!

The current challenge ("Make it a Tag - Winter or Christmas") is hosted by Terry.  I decided to make a jumbo pocket tag using Tim Holtz's Snowflake On-the-Edge die.  I used the Snowflake Texture Fade to emboss my XL tags.  I was careful in placing my old book page upside down so the music would be in the right direction when I folded it over as a flap.

I used a few wintery stamps and lots of Tim's Idea-ology: Adage Tickets, Muse Token, Brads and Metal Corners.  A strip of Linda's white corrugated cardboard (colored with a light rub of Antique Linen and Vintage Photo Distress Inks) finishes it off.

I used the Vintage Photo to highlight the raised snowflakes, too.  Please join us at Frilly and Funkie to see what the design team has created and then add your tag to the challenge... it's open through Christmas Day.

Thanks for visiting!

Marjie

Frilly & Funkie - A Light in the Darkness

Rebecca Primrose is hosting the current challenge at Frilly and Funkie, and she asks us to create with light in mind. I thought I'd try to get into the holiday spirit with some of my favorite Tim Holtz holiday ATC-sized stamps.  I used distress markers and distress inks to color these, after first stamping in jet black archival.  

I restamped the faces onto Specialty Stamping Paper (Ranger) and used the picket fence marker to color the hair and beards.  I used a strip of Linda's corrugated cardboard, dyed some ribbon with distress stain, and attached some of Tim's Idea-ology.  

The little lantern is another ATC-sized stamp, which I colored with distress markers and then heat embossed with clear powder. Three little stars from stash.

That's it for me!  Hope you will join us at Frilly and Funkie.  Though Linda's shop is temporarily closed due to her move, we are still issuing a $25 gift certificate to her shop for a random winner (redeemable upon reopening in January) as well as a blog badge for the design team favorite.

I'll also enter this at Our Creative Corner (Santa) and Try it on Tuesday (Inky).

Many thanks for the visit.

Marjie

First Time Selling at a Craft Show

Thanks for all the encouragement last week about taking my first booth at a holiday fair! It happened on Sunday, and it went very well. Here's a shot of me and my space:

Most people hadn't heard of mixed media before but they seemed interested and I had quite a few sales. My sister Cathy helped me and it was great to have a second pair of hands and eyes. I was also really lucky to find a tag sale on Saturday where a woman was selling store fixtures for next to nothing. I purchased the best little dress and two metal racks that held my magnets:

  

I also had many sizes of canvases:

Last night I added the remaining magnets and canvases to my Etsy shop. Please pop over to see the full inventory if you're looking for any gifts, stocking stuffers, etc.   

Thanks so much for the visit.  Have a great week!

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

I Double Dog Dare Ya!

Dare. That's the word at One Little Word this month.  When I saw Ronda Palazzari's post about it, I was instantly transported back to being ten years old and saying things like "I double dog dare ya!" all the time with my friends. Often for unwise dares.

Now, I double dog dare myself. Lots of things are happening, with great effort and a major learning curve on the behind-the-scenes technical stuff. So I'm DDDing myself to keep at it.

Linda Ledbetter has an awesome challenge this week at Studio L3 using a technique found in Tim Holtz's book (Compendium of Curiosities 2 ~ you know I love that book, right?) using the Sizzix Texture Fades.  I used the clocks fade.  I started out with Tim's new tissue wrap on an XL tag and then followed the technique in the book.  Then I roughed up the edges with my distressor before inking them with black archival ink. Next step was to press my Versamark pad all over the tag before covering the whole thing in clear embossing powder and heat embossing.  Thickers alpha stickers spelled it out.

Here's a peek at all the texture gained from the technique in Linda's challenge:

The smaller tag features a Paper Artsy stamp.  I inked the tag with distress inks and Versamark, then used my fingers to rub off the Versamark on the top and bottom edges.  Heated it up, then went back and added black soot distress ink and repeated the process.  You can see the detail on the edges of the main tag here:

It's Anything Goes this month at The Artistic Stamper so I'm joining in over there, too. Thanks so much for stopping by... have a great day!

Marjie