Love This Life

Prompted by Simon's Monday challenge (Mixed Media), I made a card using kraft cardstock, layers of tissue papers (one stamped), a piece of delaminated cardboard, book paper, Tim Holtz Aviary Collage Paper, an embossed scrap (Roses Texture Fade) and the centerpiece is a moth clipped from the Wallflower paper stash.

I save most scraps from previous projects because they always come in handy for projects like this. 

I used a variety of inks and markers to tint/distress and embellished with a Remnant Rub, machine stitching and Nuvo Vintage Drops.

As always, I hope this post finds you well and happy and I appreciate your visit.

Until next time, take care.

Stamp credit: Carabelle Studio Stitched Mixed Media Background

No. 42

Recycle was the challenge over at Simon so I used the inside of a vintage portrait folder for a support, a layer of peeled cardboard, distress-stained parchment paper, a scrap of printed tissue paper, an altered metallic paper frame and one big, beautiful luna moth (Argema mittrei).

The moth image really inspired me (wouldn't it make a great stamp?) and it was printed, cut-out then mounted on a thick piece of cardboard and the edges were painted black.

I used a scrap of vintage lace and, while I can't explain it, I am always compelled to add dimensional dots which you'll see along one of the paper borders (Nuvo vintage drops). The text is a Clipping Sticker.

As always, I hope this post finds you well and happy and I appreciate your visit.

Until next time, take care.

Cielito

Until last year, I always struggled to find dark-toned printed scrapbook paper (it seems to me that, generally, most papers tend to be on the lighter side). Then Tim Holtz released an 8" x 8" Paper Stash called Abandoned and it's become an all-time favorite.

The background for this card was made with a page from the collection.

The flowers were stamped (Simon Delicate Flowers) on Tim Holtz printed collage paper (Typography) then fussy-cut and tinted with colored pencils. The border was made with Nuvo Vintage Drops.

When I make a greeting card, I like to add the sentiment later depending on the occasion for giving. The dark magenta color gives this one a somber vibe so maybe a sympathy card? It also would make a good Valentine.

As always, I hope this post finds you well and happy and I appreciate your visit.

Until next time, take care.

Sent On This Day

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope everyone gets a giant box of chocolates, a big bouquet of flowers plus a big fat hug from someone you love.

I'm sharing a card made for the occasion (and my dear friend, Thelma) that started with a prompt from Simon's Monday challenge to use a "resist technique."

A heart stencil was clear embossed over a scrap of Paper Stash and covered with off-white paint that was wiped off the raised embossing before it dried. Then I ironed-off the embossing (here's a link to the technique) which gives it a mottled appearance I rather like.

I cut the heart out and pasted it on more Paper Stash, added a stamped strip of polka dots, a Paper Doll figure, book text, and fussy-cut butterflies.

I admit an obsession with 3D paint dots and used them to embellish the borders. I may need to seek treatment for this disorder ☺.

As always, I hope this post finds you well and happy and I appreciate your visit.

Until next time, take care.

TWIV

There's such a good challenge at Simon this week called "We're Going Around in Circles."

So I made a hand-carved stamp of a circular symbol known as an Ouroboros. I wish I could say the design was my own but I found it on the net. It was chosen for its simplicity to make it easier to carve.

It was stamped on a vintage book page tinted with Distress inks and the snake's texture came from embossing powders. An Idea-ology sticker was altered with sanding and a vintage sun applied using my image transfer technique.

I printed an image of coronaviruses (Micrograph from Frederick A. Murphy, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas) then cut/paste and tinted it with Distress and emphasized the edges with a black, fine-line marker.

I used my vintage typewriter to make the text quote which I heard on last Friday's This Week in Virology (TWIV) podcast. The border features dots of my new favorite crafting product, Pumice Stone Nuvo Vintage Drops (thanks Simon!) which dry to a matte finish and are so very easy to apply.

It may not be your cup of tea visually but I like it and it was very satisfying to make. My stamp turned out great and I hope to use it again soon. And above all, the symbolism in this tag makes my head spin. ☺

As always, I hope this post finds you well and happy and I appreciate your visit.

Until next time, take care.

Honey Bee

This post is all about the bees. Thanks to lots of rain some weeks ago, every plant here is in full bloom including the desert trees now covered with a blanket of tiny yellow flowers and just as many bees! The air is filled with the sound of them.

The Simon prompt on Monday was "We're All A Buzz" and given my namesake, how could I pass this one up?

I made a card using a stamp set by Simon called Delicate Flowers, the background paper is Epiphany by Prima and Nuvo Vintage Drops were used around the border.

I stamped the flowers on tissue paper and redrew some of the lines to sharpen them. I used Distress Inks for color and created a shadow effect around the frame edges with colored pencils.

As always, I hope this post finds you well and happy and I appreciate your visit.

Until next time, take care.