Splashes of Watercolor

E-Team Picks Challenge - Experiment for Spring

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Hello, everyone!  As hard as I tried I just couldn't have a project ready for this past Thursday's e-Team Picks Challenge.  I finally had some time this weekend and I'd like to show you what I came up with.

Sherry is our hostess and she asked us to use FLOWERS. 

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The first thing that came to my mind is the fact that Spring has finally sprung here, and we have flowers everywhere now.   I also just received some goodies from eclectic Paperie, so I decided to experiment with some of the new goodies as well as some older favorites and some flowers, of course!

I pulled out my art journal and coated a page with some new Spun Sugar Distress Paint.  How yummy this pretty pink is!  Then I just started adding paints, inks, stains, sprays and so many other fun elements!  Here's what I finally ended up with:

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I used stencils and Distress ink with blending tools, some Christy Tomlinson Text Coffee Filter paper with Matte Multi-Medium, a crimper with white cardstock and Distress Stains,  a Donna Downey flower foam stamp with black ink, and Ranger Glossy Accents for dew drops on the paper flowers.

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I also used some Wendy Vecchi embossing paste here and there and then spritzed everything with some White Linen Dylusions ink spray.  Love that stuff!

This was certainly fun, but I may have "overloaded" it with all my experimentation!

We'd love it if you play along in the e-Team Flower challenge!  Let's see what you come up with!

Thanks so much for dropping in today!

Imagine - Color Throwdown #225

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Hey there, y'all!  Did you think the title meant that I would start singing the John Lennon song?  Well, lucky for you….NOT!

Today we have a new Color Throwdown challenge for you!  Kerri is our super-talented hostess and she's chosen this awesome color combo:

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How beautiful!

I also LOVED this week's retrosketches #46:

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I wanted to try something different this week and I just got some new goodies from eclectic Paperie, so I pulled a couple of things out to play with!  I couldn't wait to try out the Mini Peacock Feathers 6x6 template.

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I sponged through the stencil with some Picked Raspberry and some Dried Marigold Distress inks.   Then I stamped over it in black with just one word from one of the sentiments from the Studio 490 I Am My Art stamp set.  I also just had to add a little embossed raised panel on the lighter pink section of the color blocking.

I hope you'll play along with us this week!  Be sure to check out what the other gals over at the Color Throwdown have created for your viewing pleasure this week:

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Thanks for dropping by!

 

Wendy Vecchi & eclectic Paperie MAKE ART Blog Hop

*If you're looking for my Flourishes Timeless Tuesday post please click HERE.

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Hi everyone and welcome to our Make Art  blog hop featuring art from the eTeam and special guest, Wendy Vecchi!  We're delighted to have Wendy joining us today, to not only share her products but also to share in her unique artistic style and to be inspired by each of the hop participants.

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During the hop the team is going to be sharing the projects that they created with Studio 490 products, but maybe more importantly, we'll be sharing our experience of working with the products, how we created our projects, and what inspired us to create our piece.

But...that's not all...eclectic Paperie is also offering a few specials during our hop.

• This week only save 25% on all Studio 490 products, this includes Wendy's stamps, stencils, Art Parts, Book, and Blossom Bucket embellishments.  Use code WENDY25 when checking out.
• During the hop, comment on each blog and you'll be entered into a drawing for a prize package worth $50!  Your package will include a collection of Studio 490 products as well as paper and embellishments from the store.

Wait...there's more!

• We want to hear about what inspires you! Share your thoughts about why you create, what styles you're drawn to, even share a favorite project on our Facebook page.  Next week Kim will randomly select a winner from those who have commented on our Make Art Facebook posts and give away a $25 gift certificate to eP!  Now...are you ready for some crafty goodness?   Let's get hopping!

Here is a list of the designers participating in the hop.  You don't have to visit in any particular order, but be sure to visit everyone and leave comments for a chance to win!  If you get lost, just head back to the eP blog to find your way again.

eclectic Paperie - The beginning of the hop

Wendy Vecchi

Barbara Anders

Broni Holcombe

Julie Masse

Kim Schofield

Kim Teasdale

Mary-Ann Maldonado

Michelle Hill

Micki Harper

Sherry Cheever

Tammy Hershberger

Tenia Nelson

Starla Nelson

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So many talented people!  Did you see that Starla is joining us for this hop??  YAY!!!!

Now on to my project~

I love the Studio 490 products!  But being an accountant as well as a crafter, I have a right brain-left brain battle going on constantly!  I've found the best way to meld the two sides is to craft in a practical way.  I try to make things that I can actually use, as opposed to something that just looks good.  KWIM?

So today I've created a Jar Wrap made of grungepaper and various Studio 490 elements.

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See?  Practical! 

The main wrap is grungepaper that I painted with Ranger Distress Stains  then stamped with the background from the Studio 490 Forever Art stamp set.  The flower and leaves are also from that set.  The frame is actually a bookplate from one of Wendy's Art Parts sets, and the words "Imagine" and "ART" are from the I Am My Art stamp set.  The "Imagine" looks darker because I coated it with Glossy Accents to give it more definition.

I used Ranger Glossy Accents to adhere everything to the grungepaper and used various jewelry clasps and jump rings to attach the little Idea-ology charm and the key, which is kind of hiding behind the jewelry pieces. 

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(You can click on any image to see it full size.)
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Because this is a wrap, nothing could be attached completely to the grungepaper, only where it would lay flat when attached to the jar.  You can see all the gaps in the closeups.  Very 3-D looking!!

I just used some seam binding from my sewing basket to tie the back together.  I had thought of gluing it to the jar, but then decided on a less permanent attachment for now.

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That's it for my project!  (Just wanted to mention that if you see any Studio 490 stamp sets or Arts Parts that are not currently in the eP store, Kim said she'd be glad to order them for you!  Just shoot her an email!)

Thank you so much for joining us and make some time this week to create art and craft your story...

 

A Journaling We Go: Inspired by Words (page 1)

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**Scroll down or click HERE for the Color Throwdown challenge post.

Hello, everyone and welcome to our latest E-Team blog hop!  You may remember that last time we revealed how we had designed our journal covers.  And Daisy challenged not only the E-Team but everyone to create a journal cover.  Based on those entries, we added 2 guest designers for this blog hop!  Please be sure to welcome Melody Schwartz and Marjie Kemper as you travel along the hop today.

Now here are the business details before we get started:

• Visit each E-Team blog participant PLUS the guest bloggers to leave a comment to win a $25 eP gift certificate. Comments can be left from May 23-May 28th.
• Two random winners from the blog hop will be chosen. GC winners will be posted on the eP blog on May 29th.
• Join the E-Team in our journal adventure and post your journal page on the eP blog.  We are going to pick 2 people to join us next month! You have until Sunday, June 3rd, to upload your journal page inspired by this month's quote.  We'll pick and announce the next E-Team guest bloggers on Fri, Jun 8th.

On to the creative stuff!

Here is our inspirational quote for this month:

"A woman is like a tea bag - you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water."  ~Eleanor Roosevelt

Since this is my very first journal page, I decided to start simple and stay pretty literal.  Baby steps, folks!

My first creative step was to make some tea!  Yep.  You read that right!  I boiled some water, threw in 3 tea bags, let it steep to get pretty strong, then set the tea bags aside to dry out and put the tea in a container to use later.  When the tea bags were dry, I opened them up and emptied out the tea leaves, then just flattened them with my hand.

I painted my journal page with the tea, let it dry, then repeated the process several times until I got the color and coverage that I wanted.

I printed a teacup template that I found on Pinterest onto some patterned paper and cut that out, then drew an outline around it using a Copic multiliner pen.

Next I drew some curvy lines with a pencil to represent steam coming from the cup.

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I painted the steam with some pewter Twinkling H2O paint and then inked all the edges of the page with some Ranger Distress Stain in frayed burlap.  I created random dots on the page using my Dylusions  Dotted Flowers stencil and the stain as well as some Claudine Hellmuth Gesso.  I also spritzed some of the flower border using Ranger Distress ink in tumbled glass.

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Then I sponged the edges of the tea cup, added the tea bag tag to it and wrote the quote using the Copic multiliner pen on the tea bag.

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I needed to add some more "oomph", so I sponged behind where I was putting the tea cup and other random areas, lightly stamped the flower from Studio 490 Forever Art stamp set,  then highlighted the steam with a white Sharpie paint pen.  The large circles that look like teacup stains are where I dipped an empty toilet paper tube in some Distress stain and stamped it onto the page.

I also used my multiliner pen to outline the page, some of the dots, and the steam.  I created some shadows by making dots with the pen.

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And TADA, I declared my very first journal page finished!

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I hope you enjoyed experiencing my process, now please travel on to visit the other E-Team members and guests to be totally WOWed by their creations:

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Linda's feeling a little under the weather so she's not participating this time.  But please stop by her blog to show her some love and share some healing thoughts!

I'm so grateful you stopped by to visit today!  I hope you have a wonderful second half to your week!!

Crazed!! - a new E-Team blog hop!

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Crazed….meaning Faux Crazed Porcelain.  It's a really cool technique developed by the fabulously talented Wendy Vecchi.  Here's a link to her original post:  Faux Crazed Porcelain.

And speaking of crazed…yes, I'm crazed!  It's been a hell of a week.  My computer hard drive died so I've been without one for 2 1/2 days.  On top of that, my computer sits at my craft desk, so the only time I was home to craft, I couldn't because the PC guy was at my desk working.  Tonight (Thursday) is the first time I've had to actually sit down and create.  I won't even mention all the other craziness of my week!

I guess what I'm trying to say is please excuse the simplicity of my project today.  I promise you won't be disappointed in the other E-Team members' projects!  They're wonderful!!!

So, let's talk blog hop business first.

• Leave comments on all the blogs anytime between today (Friday) and Sunday, Jan 22nd. 
• 3 winners will be chosen to each receive a $25 eP gift certificate.
• Winners will be announced late Monday, Jan 23rd, on the eP blog.

On to my project…

Daisy, our wonderful, fearless, generous leader, sent me Fancy Pants Metal Charms.  So of course I had to try to make a Faux Crazed Porcelain charm!

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The charms each have their own template to use to cut photos or patterned paper to fit inside the frame.  How cool!  I used 2 of those templates to cut images of a seahorse and an angelfish from my On the Boardwalk 8x8 paper pad from Graphic 45.  I also decided to sponge some Ranger Distress ink (Tumbled Glass) onto the images to get to more of a water color.

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Then this was my process:

I used Glue N' Seal to glue the paper onto the charms.  Then came 2 more coats of Glue N' Seal, letting the glue dry thoroughly between coats.  As I put the second coat on I also added some Martha Stewart luster glass microbeads (clear).  I thought they looked like bubbles!  Then came 2 coats of Ranger Glossy Accents, again I let each coat dry thoroughly.  Finally , I applied one more medium coat of Glue N' Seal.  When it dried, I brushed on a fairly thick coat of Ranger Crackle Paint in Rock Candy. 

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I had to leave this to dry for a couple of hours, so I went to my grandson's basketball game!  When I returned I helped it along a little with my Heat it Craft Tool.  The seahorse charm turned out just as I'd hoped but it seems I put too thick a coat of the Crackle Paint on the angelfish because it turned out much too cloudy to use.  I sponged some Ranger Distress ink in Gathered Twigs onto the seahorse charm to darken the Crackle Paint and to make the cracks show up better.

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Then I used my Copic marker (E77) to color all the silver of the charm to get a more vintage look.  I attached the charm to a chain I already had with a jump ring.  I also colored a silver seahorse charm that I had in my stash with my Copics and dyed some seam binding with Ranger Distress ink in Antique Linen.  These were each attached with clasp rings through both sides of the chain (pulling it together) about 1.5 inches above the Faux Crazed Porcelain charm.  Using the clasp rings will allow me to remove the ribbon and smaller charm and just wear the Faux Crazed Porcelain charm alone on the chain.

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So that's it for today's project.  You definitely have to hop on to the other E-Team blogs now.  You'll be thrilled to see their projects!  And don't forget to leave comments along the way!

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Thanks so much for taking the time to visit with me today.  I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

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O Christmas Tree - an E-Team/Want2Scrap blog hop

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The E-Team is excited to share in a fun blog hop with the Want2Scrap Design Team. If you are new to eclectic Paperie or Want2Scrap™ , here is a little information about these two creative companies. Each offers unique lines of products for all paper crafters.

eclectic Paperie (eP) is an online boutique for all who love paper crafts. There is an eclectic assortment of products, supplies, tools, and materials to assist you in your quest for creative expression. Stretch your basic paper crafting skills beyond simple scrapbooking and card making. Take the next step into artistic expression by "feeding your creativity" at eclectic Paperie. You can keep up with new product offerings by following eclectic Paperie on Facebook, Twitter, or the eP Blog.

Want2Scrap™  manufactures rhinestones lines including the Nestabling™ line that coordinates with the newly released Nestaboard™ chipboard line.  A variety of Nestabling and Nestaboard shapes correspond with specific Spellbinders™ Nestabilities™ die templates. Want2Scrap™ also manufactures their own line of chipboard albums and accents, acrylic albums, and multi-layered laser designs, as well as other fine scrapbooking products.  Want2Scrap™ brings ease of use and flexibility in their product lines by offering products uniquely tailored to its customers’ needs. Follow Want2Scrap on Facebook and the Want2Scrap Blog!

The E-Team & Want2Scrap™ Design Team were on a mission to create some fun projects using the Nestabling and Nestaboard, with any coordinating Spellbinders dies, too. Come blog hop with the two teams to see what kind of creative juices resulted.

The E-Team:

Daisy Sparks (The eclectic Paperie Blog)
Broni Holcombe
Latrice Murphy
Linda Duke (Representing Both Teams)
Linda Ledbetter
Micki Harper
Sherry Cheever
Starla Nelson

 

The Want2Scrap™ Team:

Heidi Blankenship - Design Team Coordinator
Dana Gustafson
Elise Durenberger
Karen Taylor
Linda Duke
Mimi Leinbach

 

Twice the number of blog hop participants means twice the fun; that includes prizes, too. Visit each E-Team  and Want2Scrap™ participating member and leave them some feedback about their creations. One comment per person per blog, please.  You have from today, Friday, September 30th, to Sunday, October 2nd, to visit each blog participant.

There will be 6 random winners chosen from the participants' blog comments.  They will each receive a $20 gift voucher from either eclectic Paperie or Want2Scrap™ .   Winners will be posted on the eclectic Paperie blog and on the Want2Scrap™ blog on Tuesday, Oct 4th, so make sure you check back to claim your prize.

 

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Now on to my project!

I chose to use the Peony Nestabord and Nestabilities for my project.  Daisy also sent me the Lavender Petite Scallop Circle (sm) Want2Scrap™ Nestabling which coordinates perfectly with the peony shapes.  (You could also use any circle or flower shape for this project.)

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So the idea I've had in my mind using these supplies was a little crazy and far-fetched, but it actually came together quite like I imagined!  So even though I burned my fingers a little, I'm rather pleased with it!

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I started by cutting several of the peony shapes using the Nestabilities (1 of the largest #6, 2 of #5, 2 of #4, 2 of #3, 1 of #2, and 1 of #1) and some My Mind's Eye paper .  Then I scored each of them on my Scor-Buddy, and folded along each of the scores to give each piece some shape. 

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Next I took some of my Studio 490 Art Parts along with the largest of the peony Nestabord shapes and painted them all with Claudine Hellmuth Studio Gesso.  I applied a coat of Studio paint in Blank Canvas as well.  When they were dry, I applied a heavy coat of Studio Multi-Medium (matte) onto the Nestabord and sprinkled it heavily with Sparkly Fluff (Sugar).  I also added a little extra glitter around the edges.

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I punched holes in each of the die cuts and applied the Nestabling to 4 of them (the tiny one is hiding in the photo).  I also attached loops of some silver string (as my tinsel), using Scor-Tape.

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Then I took a drinking straw, slid each one of the die cuts into place, and adhered them using a hot glue gun.

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I wanted to use more of the silver string in the project, so I decided to wrap it around the Art Parts spool piece.  It's held in place with strips of Scor-Tape.  I then attached the Nestabord with some more hot glue to the top of the spool and hammered in a small nail to place the drinking straw over.

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The last thing I did was to die cut some glitter paper into a star shape and stick it into the top of the tree using a piece of floral wire.

And here you have my Nestabord/ Nestabling/ Nestabilities Christmas tree:

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Thank you SO much for stopping by today.  I hope you've enjoyed seeing how I created my project.  Don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win an eP gift voucher.  Then check out all the other fabulous projects along the blog hop.  Have fun and good luck!!

 

• Paper: Ooh La La "Sweet Surprise" (My Mind's Eye), Fresh Paint Glitter Paper Pack (K & Company)  
• Other: silver string, Concentric Stars die (Provo Craft), foam brush, drinking straw, Tombo Mono Aqua liquid glue, Sulyn Glitter

My Mind's Eye	Spellbinders Nestabilities	Want2Scrap Nestabling	Want2Scrap Nestabord - Peony	Glue Gun
Scor-Tape	Studio 490 Art Parts	Claudine Hellmuth Studio products	Sparkly Fluff - sugar

InLinkz.com

Fiskars 9" paper trimmer

Scor-Buddy

Rock-A-Blocks

Ranger Non-Stick Craft Sheet

Tim Holtz Tonic Scissors

InLinkz.com

It's Better With Color - part 4 Blog Hop: Tattered Angels

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What fun to be able to play to my heart's content with Tattered Angels products!!  Daisy even has a limited quantity of some of the new products that haven't even been released yet, and they're on sale too - 10% off.  They'll debut at summer CHA, but we were able to play with them already!

Here are the Blog Hop details:

• Visit each blog and leave a comment for a chance to win 1 of 3 prizes
• 2 winners will be randomly selected from the E-Team blogs to each win a $25 eclectic Paperie Gift Voucher.
• 1 winner will be selected from the eP blog to win a new Tattered Angels mist assortment and more goodies
• Comments will be taken Friday, July 15, to Sunday, July 17th. 1 comment per blog, please.  Winners will be posted Monday, July 18, on the eP blog.

Now on to my project for today.

**Everything on my project is so shiny and shimmery IRL.  I hope you can tell somewhat from my photos, but they certainly don't do justice to the shimmer of the products.  Also, as always, you can click on any photo to see it larger.**

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I've had this Maya Road chipboard album for a little while and had been wondering what to do with it.  How perfect it was to try out all the Tattered Angels products!  So I thought I would use it as a little memory album to chronicle all the events taking place in my little world, as well as in the big wide, world this year.

I started by spritzing the cover with the new Fairway Chalkboard Glimmer Mist and Bronze regular Glimmer Mist.  I had started out on my desktop, but then moved it into a box to better control the spray.  (In other words, I was spraying everything!)  I also did the same with the scrap of cardboard I wanted to use.

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Then I took a wide paintbrush and painted strokes of the Ocean Spray Glimmer Glam Glitter Paint.  I used a lot of paint because I wanted it to drip down the cover when I stood the album up for it to dry.  I LOVE the beautiful clear drops it formed on the end of each drip!   Then I stamped the background from the Studio 490 Forever Art stamp set in a hybrid cream ink.  See the shimmer and shine??

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I cut a piece of Claudine Hellmuth Studio Sticky-Back canvas and spritzed it with the Bronze Glimmer Mist.  I applied 2 pieces of Idea-ology Symphony tissue tape, then painted the canvas with the same Glimmer Glam Glitter Paint, and spritzed it with Timberline Glimmer Mist (love, love, love this color!).

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I pulled a piece of scrap acrylic packaging  from my stash to see how the new Glimmer Glaze would work on it.  I stamped one side with the text stamp from the Reflections stamp set from Stampers Anonymous.  This stamp is meant to be stamped on the back side of acrylic when you want to apply color to the other side.  I randomly painted with the Island Spring Glimmer Glaze, and also just flicked some drops onto the acrylic.  Neat-o!!

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I wanted my butterfly to showcase the beautiful color of the Glimmer Glaze without it being absorbed into the chipboard.  So I first coated it with a thin layer of Claudine Hellmuth Studio matte Multi-Medium.  I stamped it just like I did the album cover with the background stamp.  When the ink was completely dry, I brushed a light coat of the Island Spring Glimmer Glaze onto it.  It's such a soft beautiful color!

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So finally, here is my finished project again.

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The sentiment is also from the Studio 490 Forever Art stamp set.  The seam binding was spritzed with Timberline Glimmer Mist.  I have a feeling I'll be using that up very quickly!  It's LOVE, I tell you!

How about some closeups?

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I absolutely love how this turned out and can hardly wait to start inserting memorabilia.  I've already printed a couple of photos from my recent beach trip and I've also saved some newspaper articles (like from William & Kate's U.S. visit). 

So I hope you enjoyed the little trip through my Tattered Angels-adorned memory album creation process.  If you have any questions, please let me know what they are.  I'm always glad to help if I can, or at least point you in the right direction towards someone who can!

Now I know you're anxious to move on to see what my uber-talented fellow E-Team members have in store for you.  I'm sure their projects are just as amazing as always!  Don't forget to leave comments along the way for your chance to win some of these AWESOME Tattered Angels products!

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E-TEAM

Latrice Murphy

Linda Duke

Linda Ledbetter

Micki Harper

Sherry Cheever

Daisy Sparks (eP blog)

Starla Nelson (is having computer issues and may be posting later)

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Thank you all SO MUCH for visiting with me today.  You're the greatest!!

 

• Stamps: Reflections (Stampers Anonymous), background & sentiment from Forever Art (Studio 490)
• Paper: none
• Ink/Paint: Ranger Archival jet black; Ranger Distress - frayed burlap; Vintage Cream (PTI); from Tattered Angels: Glimmer Mist - Bronze & Timberline; Chalkboard Glimmer Mist - Fairway; Glimmer Glam Glitter Paint - Ocean Spray; Glimmer Glaze- Island Spring  
• Tools used on every card: Fiskars 9" trimmer, Scor-Buddy, Tim Holtz scissors, Ranger non-stick craft sheet, Rock-a-blocks
• Other: Maya Road chipboard 5 x 7 Binder Album, Claudine Hellmuth Studio - Sticky-Back Canvas & Matte Multi-Medium, cardboard and acrylic scraps, Idea-ology Tissue Tape - Symphony, chipboard butterfly & flower, seam binding, paintbrushes, ink blending tool, crop-a-dile, jumbo eyelets, flower, Want 2 Scrap Nestabling, Labels Ten Nestabilities, Scor-Tape
  

 

E-Team takes on Studio 490 blog hop

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Are you ready?  Ready for some amazing art?  You're going to love all the projects that the E-Team has created for your enjoyment and inspiration today.  We were challenged by Daisy and by Wendy Vecchi herself to use her Studio 490 stamp sets, her Art Parts, and her Clearly for Art Modeling Film.  Wow, you guys!  What amazingly fun and unique elements these are!!

First you should know that leaving comments on all the team members' blogs will qualify you to win one of 2 cool prizes from eclectic Paperie!   Two winners will be randomly chosen from the E-Team blog comments, and each will receive 1 new Studio 490 stamp set, an Art Parts Square & Rectangle Frame, and some other fun surprises.  An additional winner will be chosen from comments on the eP blog and they will receive a $25 eP gift certificate.  You have until Sunday night to blog hop and leave your comments.  Daisy will announce the winners on the eP blog on Monday.

Ready to get started?  Let's "Make Art!!"

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This was quite a work intensive project for me and literally took until last night to complete and photograph.  And I started on it last week!

I won't go into all the details of making it, but I will point out some highlights.

The top of the entire piece is made from a scrap piece of wood.  It was painted, and stamped and heat embossed with one of the sentiments from the I Am My Art Studio 490 stamp set.

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The Art Parts I chose to work with were the Bookplates.  I used them as frames or bases for some of the I Am My Art sentiments and other decorative elements.  They were either covered with patterned paper or painted. 

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I also used some pieces from one of the Art Parts Sample packs - the large flower and the scalloped pieces.

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Some of the smaller flowers were made by rolling strips of kraft colored crepe paper.  The larger ones were made from kraft paper bags and the Clearly For Art Modeling Film, and are die cut from the Tattered Florals Alterations die.

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Each "strip"  of elements is hanging from a small chain (from a hardware store) which has been threaded through a piece of patterned paper die cut with the Oval Chain Border Die-Namics.

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I used plain transparencies for the 3 panels behind the elements, saving my precious Modeling Film for the flowers and for the 3 twisted or wavy strips in the center.  Now those were fun to make!

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That's it!  If you have any questions, please let me know when you leave a comment.  I'll be glad to respond. 

Here's another photo of the entire project.  I think I'll be hanging this in my studio!!

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Now it 's time for you to hop along to the next blog and don't forget to leave comments!  Prepare to be bedazzled and amazed, my friends! 

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E-TEAM

Latrice Murphy

Linda Duke

Linda Ledbetter

Micki Harper

Sherry Cheever

Starla Nelson

Daisy Sparks (eP blog)

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I'm so glad you could join me today!  Thank you so much for stopping in.  I hope you have an awesome weekend!

• Stamps: I Am My Art, Forever Art (Studio 490) 
• Paper: Fine & Dandy, Ooh La La (My Mind's Eye), Basics Kraft 6x6 paper pad (Basic Grey) 
• Ink: Versamark, Ranger Archival - jet black & coffee, Ranger Distress - vintage photo; paints - Studio - blank canvas, classic teal (Claudine Hellmuth), linen & maple syrup (Folk Art) 
• Tools used on every card: Fiskars 9" trimmer, Scor-Buddy, Tim Holtz scissors, Ranger non-stick craft sheet, Rock-a-blocks
• Other: Studio 490 - Arts Parts Bookplates & Sample Pack, Clearly For Art Modeling Film; Claudine Hellmuth - Studio Matte Multi-Medium, paint brushes; Ranger - Heat It Craft Tool, clear embossing powder, ink blending tool, fragments - charms, Tattered Florals Alterations die, mini-misters; Other tools - foam brush, Cropadile, craft knife, emory board, Xyron, Threading Water punch, pinking shears, scallop scissors, Oval Chain Border Die-Namics (My Favorite Things), 1/4 & 1-3/8" circle punches, piercing tool & pad; Miscellaneous - Mini Bingo Card (Jenni Bowlin), kraft paper bags, crepe paper, Caribbean twine (Twinery), glass mosaic tiles, needle, brads, eyelet, Scor-Tape, foam mounting tape, drywall mesh tape, transparency sheet, jump rings, S hook, cup hooks, chain  

Shaped Butterfly - OCLDT61

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Hey, guys!  How's your weekend going so far?  I had planned on going to a couple of little league baseball games, but it seems Mother Nature decided there was no need for ballgames this weekend.  Rain, rain go away!!

But now it seems I have time to show you a card that I made for this week's OCL blog challenge #61 using Shamrock Blessings and Butterfly Kisses, both from Our Craft Lounge.  The  challenge was to make a CAS card using something clear.  Now if you just look at my card, you may not be able to see what's clear.

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Can you guess what's clear?  Yeah, you can't really see it so let me show/tell you what I did.

I stamped my butterfly on a piece of an old book page and stuck it to a small piece of a Humungo Killer Tape Sheet from Ten Seconds Studio that I had precut.  Then I adhered the other side to a piece of Clearly for Art Modeling Film from Studio 490, and cut it out. 

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Let me tell you this modeling film is awesome!!  While holding it with a pair of tweezers, I heated it with my Heat It craft tool.  While it was still warm enough to be pliable, but cool enough to handle, I shaped the wings.  Now if it doesn't look exactly how you want, you only have to heat it again and reshape it.  No mistakes!  Awesome!

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Pretty cool, huh?

The rest of the card is pretty simple (CAS, you know).  I did want to tell you that I used a strip of 1/4" Scor-Tape to adhere the dyed seam binding to the card, scrunching as I went, and stapled the ends.  The butterfly is attached with foam mounting tape.

I appreciate your stopping by for a visit.  I hope your weekend is great and your weather is better than ours is at the moment! 

• Stamps: Shamrock Blessings, Butterfly Kisses (Our Craft Lounge) 
• Paper: cream, old book page 
• Ink: Ranger Archival - coffee, Ranger Distress - bundled sage, forest moss, scattered straw, antique linen
• Tools used on every card: Fiskars 9" trimmer, Scor-Buddy, Tim Holtz scissors, Ranger non-stick craft sheet, Rock-a-blocks
• Other: Clearly for Art Modeling Film (Studio 490), Humungo Killer Tape Sheet (Ten Seconds Studio), ink blending tool, antique lace, dyed seam binding, tiny attacher (Tim Holtz), Scor-Tape, Heat It craft tool, foam mounting tape 

Get Distress Part 3 - Playing with Reinkers & Stains

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It's time for another of the infamous E-Team blog hops!!  This was definitely a fun challenge from our fearless leaders, Daisy and Sherry!   Are you ready for a tour of Ranger Distress reinkers and stains?? 

First, let's take care of the details of the hop.

• There are 2 fun prizes for this blog hop.
• To be eligible to win, visit and comment on each E-Team member blog post.
• You will have from Tuesday-Thurs to leave a comment.  Winners will be posted on the eP blog Friday, April 8th.
• There are also LOTS of fantastic specials going on right now.  Check out the eP blog for all the details.  There may even be a few surprises!

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Now on to my projects.

I don't have any of the new stains yet, so I decided to play with reinkers. 

One of my favorite things to do is to spritz my paper with a mixture of reinkers and water in a Ranger mini-mister.  For this first card, I decided to use a mask as well.

I cut my cage mask using the Tim Holtz Alterations Caged Bird Bigz Die from some scratch paper.

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Then I spritzed with the mixture of water and a couple of drops of Tumbled Glass reinker in a mini-mister.  I also added some of a Dusty Concord reinker mixture as well.

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After I removed the mask and dried the ink with my Heat-It craft tool, I used Chipped Sapphire ink to stamp the sentiment along the left edge of the card.  I stamped the larger sentiment with Ranger Archival black ink, then added the ribbon, bling and the bird which was die cut from patterned paper.

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My second project involved making my own stamp pad using Ranger Distress reinkers and some Cut-N-Dry Stamp Pad Foam. *** I need to point out that if you want to make your own stamp pad to use with detailed lined stamps, you need to use the Cut-N-Dry Stamp Pad Felt.  I was only using stamps that were for the most part solid, so the foam worked just fine for me.

I cut a piece of the foam and used Ranger Archival black ink to stamp my image onto the foam.

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I applied my reinkers directly to the foam in a fairly random manner, making sure to cover all of the image with ink.

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I used the inked foam as I would any stamp pad by pressing my stamp onto the foam and then applying it directly to a piece of cardstock.

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Using this same new "stamp pad", I stamped a few more images onto cardstock, including these.

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And I used one of these to make a card.

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Next I thought it would be fun to make my own RAINBOW pad.  I know I've seen LOADS of rainbow colored inspiration photos on Pinterest lately.  And throughout this entire process I kept hearing the Muppets (Kermit) singing Rainbow Connection.  Geez, it's back in my head again now!

So here's the RAINBOW pad.

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I used this pad to stamp my sentiment from the Studio 490 stamp set called I Am My Art.  The branch that I previously stamped with the last stamp pad was also from this great set! 

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Next I die cut the sentiment and used an ink blending tool to sponge the edges with some Tumbled Glass ink while the cardstock was still in the die.

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The next step for this project was to cover a page from a shaped grungeboard album with some Core'dinations paper and then sand it with a Sanding Grip Block.

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I spritzed some reinkers onto my non-stick craft sheet and pressed a piece of sticky-back canvas ATC into the ink.  Then I punched a circle from it.

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I created a flower with my Alterations Paper Rosette die and used the punched canvas circle for the flower center.

And here's my completed RAINBOW ART album cover/wall hanging. (I haven't decided how I'll use it yet!)

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I also stamped some other images using the RAINBOW stamp pad.

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And here's a card I created using one of the images.

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Can you tell I had a good time playing with my reinkers?  It was so much fun and my fingers are still RAINBOW colored to prove it!

 

***ETA:  I was asked how to store the ink pads that I made and how long would they last.  I store each of mine in their own plastic baggie.  They should stay moist indefinitely, but if they should dry out, just add more reinker!  (Thank you all so much for your enthusiastic comments!!)

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So now it's time for you to move along on the hop.  If you get lost along the way, be sure to go back to the eP blog for directions!  Here's the list of my mega-talented fellow blog team members:

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E-TEAM

Latrice Murphy

Linda Duke

Linda Ledbetter

Micki Harper

Sherry Cheever

Starla Nelson

Daisy Sparks (eP blog)

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Thanks so much for joining me today!  Don't forget to leave a comment here and on all of the blogs for a chance to win cool prizes!

 

Uncaged Bird card 

• Stamps: Stuff to Say (Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous)
• Paper: watercolor paper, Viola Vita adhesive paper pad (K & Company)
• Ink: Ranger Archival jet black, Ranger Distress pad - Chipped Sapphire, Ranger Distress reinkers - Tumbled Glass, Dusty Concord 
• Tools used on every card: Fiskars 9" trimmer, Scor-Buddy, Tim Holtz scissors, Ranger non-stick craft sheet, Rock-a-blocks
• Other: Ranger mini-misters, Tim Holtz Alterations Caged Bird Bigz Die, twill (PTI) 
   

Grungy Butterfly 

• Stamps: Urban Chic (Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous) 
• Paper: Blue-green textured, vanilla, Dancing Girl (Fancy Pants) 
• Ink:  Ranger Distress reinkers - Fired Brick, Spiced Marmalade, Mustard Seed, Peeled Paint, Broken China, Dusty Concord 
• Other: Lemon Bar fabric tape (Taylored Expressions), big scallop oval Nestabilities, Copic marker BG13, foam mounting tape  

Do Not Disturb Album Cover/Wall Hanging

• Stamps: I Am My Art (Studio 490)
• Paper: Core'dinations, red, yellow textured
• Ink: Ranger Distress ink pad - Tumbled Glass; Ranger Distress reinkers - Fired Brick, Spiced Marmalade, Mustard Seed, Peeled Paint, Broken China, Dusty Concord    
• Other: Cut-N-Dry Stamp Pad Foam, labels ten Nestabilities, ink blending tool, page from shaped grungeboard album, sanding grip block, glue stick, Alterations Paper Rosette die, Sticky-Back Canvas ATC, 1-1/4" circle punch, buttons, Alterations On the Edge die, Lemondrop, Lilac & Caribbean twine (Twinery), foam mounting tape, Scor-Tape 

Chair of Thanks

• Stamps: Just You - Unity Stamp Co.
• Paper: blue-green textured, Old World mat stack (DCWV) 
• Ink: RAINBOW stamp pad
• Other: scallop rectangle Nestabilities, ribbon, Lemon Bar fabric tape (Taylored Expressions), buttons (Basic Grey), Lilac twine (Twinery), foam mounting tape, Scor-Tape