Mrs. Wheeler

A Cameo Appearance is the theme for Monday's blog challenge at Simon Says Stamp and I am inspired!

This tag was made from a Claudine Hellmuth chair stamp, a vintage photo, some scrapbook paper and a bit of colored pencil.

Mrs. Wheeler (making a cameo appearance on this tag) is a good example of how I'm interested in exploring composition, balance and the use of negative space.

She's not traditional
but very original
and perhaps
even one of a kind.

Got Rubber?

I can't explain exactly what the attraction is. Sure, rubber stamps are easy to use, the variety is mind-boggling, and they come in handy for all kinds of things. I think they have magical powers because they put a little voice inside my head that whispers, "you know you love me, buy me."

The Monday blog challenge at Simon Says Stamp is "We Love Stamps," so to show my love I've used a total of 15 stamps to create this tag. They are all store-bought except the cat and the box he's sitting on.

The "got rubber" stamp came in a bundle I bought on E-Bay. I've had it maybe three or four years now and this is the first time I've officially used it. It's not too versatile (for obvious reasons) but given this week's challenge theme, I think it's most appropriate.

Birds of a Feather

click to enlarge

Here is the valentine I made this year for Thelma (my good friend who introduced me to card making). I always push the envelope when making something for Thelma as she's somewhat traditional but has begun to let her creativity run wild after a bit of inspiration.

I stamped directly onto kraft paper card stock using a rainbow ink pad and the French script stamp from Dark Room Door. I tore strips of washi tape to make a border then blotted on Picket Fence Distress stain. The hearts were cut from deli-wrap that was stamped and trimmed with acrylic paint. The birds were made by stamping (Tim Holtz, Birds on a Wire) on the back side of some glitter paper then cutting out and pasting the front side up. I edged the border with dots and lines using a fine-tip marker.

The inscription on the inside will read:

Birds of a feather stick together!

Happy Valentine's Day

It just so happens that the Wednesday blog challenge at Simon Says Stamp is "Get Krafty" so I'm linking it there and then it's off to the mailbox so Thelma will get it by Friday.

Cupid Is As Cupid Does

Simon Says Have a Heart so the Wednesday blog challenge inspired this tag.

The background is book paper stamped with hearts using ink and powder (to create a resist) and tinted with Distress. After removing the embossing with an iron, I pasted on a heart made of fibrous paper and embellished the border with ink and paint.

Cupid was cut from the monthly Trader Joe's flyer, I added a stamped bird and also some paper strips.

I believe it was Forrest Gump's mom who said, "Cupid is as Cupid does." I sure hope mine brings me a box of chocolates.

Love Notes

The Simon Says Stamp Monday blog challenge is "Love Notes" and that was my inspiration for this greeting card design. Fashioned from various collage papers and rubber stamps (Paper Artsy), I used sewing machine stitching and painted dots to add interest along with a branch cut from scrapbook paper.

Heart Candy Love

Just a simple tag inspired by Tim Holtz using his Kraft Resist Paper Stash for a background, a paper punched strip and some hearts, embellished with sewing machine stitching, white Scribbles and a black fine-tip marker.

The love script is a store-bought stamp, the postage stamp frame was hand-cut. To get a chalkboard effect, I mixed white and clear embossing powders together after stamping with white pigment ink and used a white charcoal pencil to cloud the background.

To see more detail, click to enlarge...

The Little Cowboy

This is a photo of my Dad (who is now 83). He must have been quite proud of his cowboy outfit but this may have been one of only a few happy moments in his otherwise, bleak childhood.

He joined the navy at 17 and got a lot of tattoos and when I was a kid, I remember how we would ask about them, where he got them and what they meant.

So this was my inspiration for creating a collage, using a background of torn book pages, an image transfer of his photo and a heart tattoo, a scrap of sewing pattern tissue paper and text cut from a ticket. Colored pencils and acrylic paint were used for color.

I've linked it to the Monday blog challenge at Simon Says Stamp, where the theme is "this is where the cowboy rides away." It doesn't qualify for the random drawing because it is not a new work but it is the first time I've ever shared it with anyone.