This is a project I started in a class at Impress Cards & Crafts in Tukwila. Carla Zarkos taught a class using alcohol inks. While much of it was a review for me, there were new techniques that I learned. I also decided it was time to step out of my box because I tend to use the brighter colors. She asked us to select only one color and that's all we would work with. I chose Teakwood as my one color. On Yupo, I blew through a straw with each drop of color. I also just dropped

I just learned that a young lady we know is celebrating her 14th birthday. She's far more mature than her 14 years; she's a hard worker and member of a champion cheer team. A quickly made birthday card was needed. Altenew stamps and dies to the rescue! For the base card and top layer panel, I used heavy linen card stock in cream. I stamped the image with Distress Ink onto white card stock, and used the same ink and color to watercolor with. Once the images were stamped, I bru

After an extended absence, I'm back. It's been snowing what seems like forever, and I'm using some of this quiet time to catch up on a massive backlog of cards to make for family and friends. My cousin's birthday was this last Thursday. I wanted to make a card that followed his outdoor activities with a little humor thrown in. I stamped the forest background onto white card stock using the VersaFine Clair Morning Mist. It was then trimmed down to fit behind the oval frame of

One of my nephews is a crazy and fun-loving guy. It was birthday night at his family's home the other night and I wanted to make an unexpected card for him. And here it is . . . I've loved her since the day she arrived at my studio. She's one of the Slapstick Cling stamps from Penny Black. I stamped with VersaMark and heat embossed with gold embossing powder. I colored most of her with Copic markers. Yes, the entire stamp was colored even though some of it is hidden by the s

It's the new year. The actual New Year's Day was a "holiday" at our house. Today, it's "back to work" . . . taking the decorations down, making a couple of cards, packing up a box of treats for our granddaughters in London, and securing our rental accommodations on the big island of Hawaii for this coming December. Egads! This is a birthday card I made for a dear friend. Craft Concepts "Secret Garden" Embossing Folder Tutti Designs "Tulip Panel" Die TUTTI-190 (Birthday die us

I wanted more of a monochromatic type of card design. This came out a little more "colorful" than I had intended. However, I like how the brown tones and green tones came together. Penny Black Stamps: Sweet Perfume 40-464 Heartfelt 30-286 (sentiment) Prismacolor Colored Pencils Sakura Glaze Pens Tsukineko VersaFine ink in Vintage Sepia Lawn Fawn Everyday Sentiment Banners Die LF1139 Elizabeth Craft Designs' Shimmer Sheetz! (accent panel) Velvet Paper by SEI (base panel) Conqu

I've learned . . . time is certainly a precious commodity that cannot be turned back to do over. I've been wanting to color something and use a simple coloring style. I went to my Penny Black stamp stash and came up with this wonderful stamp. Penny Black Stamps: Centerpiece 40-388 Heartfelt 30-286 Die-namics Steel Dies by My Favorite Things: Inside/Out Stitch Oval MFT-846 White Linen Heavy Card Stock in White (base card & cover panel) Pop Tones card stock in sour apple (mat p

I was looking for some ideas to make a quick and simple birthday card. Voila! I cam upon the Clean and Simple (CAS) Colour & Sketch Challenge #222. I just received this Penny Black Stamp and decided to see how I could combine the stamp design and challenge. Penny Black Stamp: Collage of Wishes 40-385 Memory Box Distressed Windham Collage Die 30041 VersaMark ink The Ton embossing powder in Rose Gold Ranger Archival Ink in black Spectrum Noir Sparkle Pens: Peony, Red Berry, H

I just love the beautiful floral bouquet stamp designs from Penny Black. "Sweet Perfume" is one I think I'll be using quite often. Coloring it gave me the opportunity to become reacquainted with my Copic markers. Penny Black: Sweet Perfume 40-464 Magenta: Sending You Sunshine 07.952.F Memory Box Craft Dies: Distressed Windham Collage 30041 Memento ink in Tuxedo Black Ranger Archival Ink in Black Copic Alcohol Markers Sakura Glaze Pen (black) White 110# smooth card stock Nee

I've worked and worked using this stamp from Penny Black, "Berry Kissed". I love solid-image stamps. I think they offer opportunities to use various mediums. This particular one keeps challenging me, and I welcome the challenge because it's an excuse to keep playing. Berry Kissed 40-492 stamped with the MISTI With this first card, I stamped with VersaFine ink in Toffee on the smooth side of watercolor card stock. Caron d'Ache Luminance colored pencils were then used to color

Okay, after I looked at yesterday's card again today, I decided it wasn't very good at all! So I re-did it. Sorry to be repetitive but I think it's all worth it in the end. Hopefully, we'll all learn taking that second or third look might result in a much improved card design. I still used the Soft Finish card stock but used it as a stamp panel on an A2 card base. The bear was stamped in the lower left of the card with the same colors. The bow was stamped with Teal Zeal the f

My nephew is expecting his second son any day, any hour. His wife is going to the doctor tomorrow and they may find themselves with a new addition to the family before they return home . . . who knows! All I know is I cannot wait to meet Reed when he chooses to make his debut. Reed also has a big brother, Jack, who is 5 years old and is quite anxious for everything to happen. While I've been waiting to hear, I made this card. When I saw this stamp in the current Stampin' Up!

I hope all of you enjoyed the Fourth of July Celebration with your family and friends. We were fairly low-key since we'd hosted a birthday dinner party of 15 for my husband the night before. The view from our deck took in many, many fireworks displays all over the skies, nearby and afar. It was awesome! My stepson's birthday is today; he celebrates his 44th birthday. The number "44" is a favorite number in the family. His sister's first boyfriend was on the football team and

I am staying with the Penny Black Stamp set, "Bouquets." Yesterday, I featured one of 4 bouquets in the set. Today's bouquet is my favorite of the four. I stamped it onto an Inchie Arts' art board and used watercolor brush markers. The art board accepts the watercolor markers exceptionally well. This was my first attempt. What's nice about the brush markers is that the fine point of the real brush applies color in very tight corners and crevices. Those teeny spots are sometim

I pulled out my Zig Clean Color Real Brush water-based pens to use with the Penny Black "Bouquets" Clear stamp set. It became a little addictive, I couldn't stop! You'll see another card tomorrow using another one of the bouquets in the stamp set. Today's card will go to a friend who celebrates her 70th birthday with a drop-in reception later this afternoon. Using the MISTI, I stamped the image onto 140 lb. cold press watercolor card stock with archival ink. I left the stamp

The days are whizzing by faster than I can keep up. Can you believe this is the last week in June? Not I! With all of the celebration for LGBT rights and the recent Pride Day parades around the world, I wanted to do my part. I saw this technique on the internet yesterday and decided to give it a try. It's very quick and simple. I embossed a piece of clear acetate (3-3/4" x 5") using an embossing folder from Sizzix (product information unavailable). On the backside, I used 5

The last couple of days have been a blur. For different reasons, the rest of this week becomes even more of a blur with 4 birthdays and 2 graduations, all celebrated on Friday and Saturday. Whew! The first graduation card for a celebration I missed this last Saturday is a very simple card for an amazing young lady. She changed her major and just graduated, with a job!, in elementary special education. Excited doesn't begin to describe how anxious she is for the new school yea

It was a not-so-wild weekend in Las Vegas. We arrived at 9:30 in the morning on Saturday and we immediately hit the gambling tables. I'm not a big gambler; so, I felt quite proud that from a $10 deposit into the video machine, I cashed out with $18. It was time for lunch! I'm lately finding myself drawn to butterflies and fish. When I returned home yesterday afternoon, I dug out some butterfly dies and started in. Die cut butterfly frame on white linen card stock with Stick I

I am back from our trip to London to visit our granddaughters. The weather was cold, windy, rainy, icy and snowy, as well as sunny. I had vertigo that kept me in bed on 2 different days, and I ended up falling in the shower two days before we left. It was quite an eventful stay. The best part was spending time with Cecilia and Hailey. Our hearts were warm the entire time spent with them. Hoping to get back into sync with the local time, I actually didn't start reading in bed

In my reorganizing, I came across this stamp set from Impression Obsession. I had never used it yet because I needed to brush up on using a stamp positioner (the old-fashion ones). Along comes the MISTI stamp positioner and I want to immediately work with it. On white card stock, stamped each peony stamp in the set with Distress Inks. After it was dry, I made a watercolor palette with 3 of the green Distress inks. With a small watercolor brush, I colored around the peony. The