Splashes of Watercolor

eP Get Altered Challenge - Let's alter a book!

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The eP Get Altered Challenge is about exploring your creative journey, about stepping outside of your comfort zone, experimenting with new products, and creating altered and mixed media art.  

You can get all the details for the challenge and link up your altered creation at the eP blog.   All of those who play along with our challenge will be entered into a prize drawing for a $15.00 gift certificate to the eclectic Paperie store.

Tracy is our host this month and she's asked us to alter a book.  That sounds like fun, right?  Well, I thought so and wanted to give it a try.  So up front I'm qualifying that this is my very first altered book and I had no idea what I was doing.  I decided just to wing it, so please be gentle!

This is the finished product:

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I'm going to show you my process photos without a lot of narration.  This started as a possible Valentine project and then took a turn for the beach.  Imagine that!  From me??

You can click on any of the photos to see them at full size.

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Here are some closeups of the finished project:

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I hope you were able to see how it progressed.  The photo is adhered to a piece of cardstock and just slipped in between the pages.  That means I can change it out when and if I want to.

And bonus!!  I have a lot of book print hearts to use in the future!!

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Thank you so much for stopping in today!  Be sure to head on over to the eclectic Paperie blog to check out the challenge details and to follow the links to all the entries!

 

Words Can't Express - Color Throwdown #227

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Hi there, everyone!  Are you ready for the latest and greatest edition of the Color Throwdown?  Lynn is our hostess this week and she's chosen a very beautiful and very versatile combo for us.

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I decided to go a different route this week from the usual Valentine's Day cards to a Valentine/Love inspired altered journal page. 

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The sentiment is stamped in Archival Coffee ink, and I also used Distress Crushed Olive, Frayed Burlap, Spun Sugar, and Worn Lipstick inks.  You can see a complete list of the products (most from eclectic Paperie) at the end of this post.

There are a lot of layers and techniques to this page.  I won't go into all the details today, but I'll be hosting the eclectic Paperie blog this Saturday, February 2nd, so stop by and I'll have some detail shots as well as some instructions at that time.

Be sure to check out all the gorgeousness the Color Throwdown girls have created for you here:

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And we certainly hope you'll be joining us in this fun color challenge!  Check out all the details and link up your creation at the Color Throwdown blog.

Until next time, thanks for dropping by!

 

FTTC200 - Dear Santa Ornament

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Hi, everyone!  Today marks the 200th edition of Flourishes Timeless Tuesday challenge!  That's incredible, isn't it?

Makiko is our hostess and she's asked us to make an ornament or some 3-D project for our Christmas tree!

This was really fun!

I had made several ornaments already this year, so I was at a loss as to what to do differently for this one.  Then I spotted a round coaster I picked up at Chili's a couple of days ago, and an idea started to form.

I had a few scrap pieces of the Poppy paper collection so I cut them into strips and glued them to one side of the coaster on an angle.  The other side is all one color from the same collection.

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I cut my Santa hat, check mark, and list from Flourishes classic white cardstock using my Silhouette and the Dear Santa cut file.  Then I stamped the images in Memento Tuxedo Black ink and the check mark in Memento Love Letter ink.  I colored the Santa hat with these Copic collections:

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I also sponged around the edges of the list using Distress Antique Linen ink and an ink blending tool.

I added the tinsel around the edges with some Scor-Tape, and then I added a tiny tree, some jingle bells and a small pom-pom for more texture and dimension. Both the images are attached using extra thick foam tape.  Finally I added some silver metallic string and a bow made from some Bangkok red seam binding, also from the Poppy collection.

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Now I know you're ready to see what all the other Timeless Tuesday gals have in store for you!  Check them out here:

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• Amanda Havon
• Broni Holcombe - you are here!
• Cindy Haffner
• Denise Marzec
• Makiko Jones
• Katie Sims, December Guest Designer

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Thanks so much for visiting with me today!  Have a great week!

 

"Pin-spired" to Create!

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Hello, everyone! 

Well, it's just 1 week (eek!) until Christmas, and I just finished the place cards for all the grandkids for our Christmas dinner this weekend.

I'm playing along in Kendra's "Pin-Spired" challenges and it's so much fun!  Today is Day 18 for her.  Be sure to check out all the fabulous ideas she's found.

This is the photo idea that inspired me (click on it to go to the source):

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I thought this was a perfect idea for making place card holders for the kids.  So here's my version:

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What fun!

I hope you're ready for the big day!  I have just a few more items to take care of, but I'm getting excited now!

Thanks for stopping in!

Mini Holidays stamp set - Stampers Anonymous

Flourishes classic white cardstock

Memento Love Letter ink

Copic markers: G07 and T7

candy canes

hot glue gun

eP, Sweet 'n Sassy, and Technique Junkies Great Gifts Blog Hop!

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Hello, everyone!

I'm so excited to be joining in the fun for the first ever Great Gifts Blog Hop!  eclectic Paperie, Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps, and Technique Junkies have collaborated to bring you lots of Great Gift ideas!

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Each of the participants received a package from eP, a stamp set from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps and a Great Gifts CD from Technique Junkies, and we were challenged to come up with a handmade gift!

Here's the awesome package I received from Kim at eP:

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And this is the stamp set, You clear stamp set,  I chose to use from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps:

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There were tons of awesome ideas on the Great Gifts CD, but considering I'm somewhat of a coffee junkie, it wasn't hard for me to choose the Coffee Mug Holder.  It's just adorable and the instructions were perfect!  I had a blast making this and will most certainly be making more!

Here's my Coffee Mug Holder, along with a coordinating, patterned paper covered coaster:

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I just love the size of this mug!  It was perfect to hold 3 of the rather large, scrumptious coconut macaroon cookies that just happened to be close at hand!

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The paper is Persnickety from Lily Bee Designs.  The antique white felt flower is gorgeous, don't you think?  And the Mango Madness buttons from Buttons Galore are a perfect match!  I also love that the Caribbean and Buttercream twine coordinated so well!

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I'm so glad you could join me today.  Please be sure to check out everyone's gifts in the blog hop.  You don't want to miss anything!

 

FTTC198 - Joy & Holly Ornament

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Hello, everyone!  It's time once again for a Timeless Tuesday challenge!  Amanda, our illustrious DT coordinator, is our hostess and she's asked us to create a Christmas project other than a card.

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I've been anxious to use my brand new Perfectly Pierced Classic Windows dies so I pulled them out and then determined that I should create a sparkly vellum ornament!

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And here's my sparkly ornament:

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I cut 6 pieces of vellum using the larger die and 1 piece of Flourishes classic white cardstock using the smaller die.

I stamped the JOY! sentiment from my Poinsettia and Pine stamp set using Memento Love Letter ink, and outlined the die cut with some stickles. 

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Then I stamped the fabulous little holly leaf with berries from the Peace & Joy stamp set onto the left side of each of the vellum die cuts and then let them dry completely.  (If you don't the ink will smear when you try to color the image.)

My next step was to color each of the holly leaves/berries using these Copic markers:   G09 from the Meadow Collection,  YG23 from the New Leaves Collection,  R27 from the Poppy Collection,  and R43 from the Dusty Rose Collection.  I also added stickles around the edges of each of the die cuts.

I scored each vellum die cut down the middle using my Scor-Buddy and glued 3 of them together for one side of the ornament, and the other 3 for the other side of the ornament.  I used some twine, silver metallic thread,  and jingle bells to create the ornament hanger.

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Then I used some of my Scor-Tape to adhere the twine to one side of the ornament. The other side was adhered on top of that.

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The final touch was to tie some of the gorgeous Basque Red seam binding around the twine at the bottom.

And here's the ornament again:

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Please be sure to check out what the other Timeless Tuesday gals and our new Guest Designer for December, Katie Sims, have created today.  I know I can't wait to see! 

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• Amanda Havon
• Allison Cope Israels
• Broni Holcombe - you are here!
• Cindy Haffner
• Denise Marzec
• Katie Sims, December Guest Designer

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I know this was a long post, but I hope you enjoyed seeing how I created my ornament using the wonderful new Flourishes exclusive die!  Thanks so much for stopping in!  See you tomorrow!

 

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...

 

An ADFD Mini Halloween-y Hop!

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What fun!  All the A Day For Daisies designers are having a mini-Halloween-y hop today!  You're going to love these spooky (& cute) Halloween images!

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My blog is the first stop on the hop so if you're starting here you're right on track.  If at any time you need to go back to the beginning, you can go to the ADFD blog. 

Here are the details of the hop:

One lucky commenter will win the whole release! There are 3 ways to enter the drawing:

1. Comment on all the designers' blogs & leave a comment on the "ADFD Mini Halloween~y" blog post
2. Become a follower of the ADFD blog 
3. Like ADFD on Facebook

For each of these 3 things, you will get one entry. Leave a separate comment letting us know which of these you did on the "ADFD Mini Halloween~y" blog post

Now on to my Halloween-y creation:

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This little Dragon Cutie is adorable, yet spooky at the same time!  She was colored with Copic markers and cut out.  I also created a second set of wings from vellum and layered them on top.

The manila tag was sponged with Distress inks, then spritzed with water and Dylusions ink sprays.  I stamped over that with a slightly inked Honeycomb stamp then added more interest by stamping again in a couple of places using ink on some bubble wrap.  I also added some printed tape, some textural ribbons and some bling.

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I bet you can't wait to see what the other designers have created, huh?

Your next stop is SHELLY's blog!

Don't forget to leave comments along the way for a chance to win the entire release!

Thanks so much for stopping in.  I hope you have a great weekend!

 

Courteous Flower Fairy

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Happy Friday!!

It's time for a new project from me featuring an image from A Day For Daisies!  This image is right up my alley….I LOVE fairies!  It's called Courteous Flower Fairy and it's from the new September Club Kit!  What a wonderful collection of images!!

We're also starting a new challenge today - #53 "Tag, You're It!"  All you have to do is use a tag for, or on, your project.  Easy peasy!

So today I created a tag featuring my little fairy.  The tag was actually from another project HERE.  I was testing a technique out using my Ranger Distress inks and my Copic airbrush system.   I saved this particular tag and when I saw this little flower fairy I knew I'd found the right image to pair it with.

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I colored her using my Copic markers and cut her out.  She's mounted on Scotch foam tape, backed by a paper doily and surrounded by bling!  Her wings are coated with Star Dust Stickles and the tag is topped with some beautiful velvet trim and another larger rhinestone.

My granddaughter, Molly, started her very first ballet lessons yesterday (following in her Mom's footsteps), and this little darling reminded me of her.  So I think she'll be the recipient!

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I hope you'll decide to play along with us in the "Tag, You're It!" challenge!  C'mon!  It'll be fun!

Check out what the other DT member have created for your inspiration.  I promise you'll be wowed!

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Alice Wertz
Arielle Gordon
Lori Boyd
Shelly Mercado
Tracy MacDonald

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You can also check out all the details for the challenge at the ADFD blog. 

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Have a great weekend, everyone!

 

E-Team Blog Hop - Inspired by Words

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**Please scroll down to the next post for this week's Color Throwdown card.

We're starting a new series of blog hops with the E-Team!  Daisy has challenged us to begin an art journal, and this blog hop is to unveil our journal covers.  Each of the future entries will be "Inspired By Words".   Pretty cool, huh?

I have been trying to "look within" and will myself to grow as an artist with this  project that we're undertaking. It was scary to begin, but I enjoyed creating the cover and I'm feeling a little more comfortable with just "going for it".

Let me give you some background about myself.  I grew up in a small Southern town, with both a structured and secure family and school life.  I'm an accountant, so that also leads me to remain structured.  But there's always been an artist in me, and I've grown to know that creating art is what truly brings me joy.  So needless to say, I've tried to find a true and comfortable balance between my work life and my artist life.  I believe creating this journal will help me release even more of the artist.  Let's hope so!

Ok, on with the blog hop details!

• Visit each E-Team blog participant and leave a comment for a chance to win a $25 eP gift certificate.
• Join the E-Team in our journal adventure and post your journal cover on the eP blog.  We are going to pick 2 people to join us next month!

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The journal I chose was one I found on clearance at Michael's when I was in the art department.  It's made specifically for mixed media and I really liked the 90 lb weight of the pages.  The bright colors of the cover caught my eye; and just how could I NOT choose a journal that specifically asks "What's your story?"

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While I was there I also picked up a few items in the $1 bin that called to me and that I thought I might be able to use.

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My journal cover begins with the colors.  I'm a Cancer, a crab, a Waterchild.  My favorite color is water.  So I chose colors of the ocean for my cover.

I pulled out some watercolor paper and Adirondack color washes and began to play.  Of the 3 pieces below, I really liked the one on the left, the one with the watered-down look.  To create it I spritzed both Sailboat Blue and Wild Plum color washes on my craft sheet, then spritzed on a lot of water.  I laid my watercolor paper down into the color and twirled it, creating a circular pattern.

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My next step was to work on the "theme" - trying to help myself release the inner artist.  So I used a clock image from the Vintage Traveler stamp set from Our Craft Lounge and wrote "There's still time…" around the curve of one.  You're never too old, right?

I also wanted to use images that impart the feeling of flying freely, which is what my artistic goal is.  I stamped the hot air balloon on a #5 kraft tag and dabbed on some Tumbled Glass Distress stain.  I took a couple of the chipboard images, applied some Sea Breeze Versa Magic chalk ink and some Dusty Concord Distress stain.  Then I coated them both with Ranger Glossy Accents.

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You can click on any of the images to see them larger.
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I swiped some Distress stain across some of the water color paper and used stencils and Distress ink to apply some stars and random shapes.  I inked the edges then attached it to my journal cover using Scor-Tape.

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Then I just started layering on other inked and distressed pieces.  Finally I added the "Feel Free to be me" to remind myself every time I pick it up of what I want to accomplish with this journey.

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And the finished journal cover:

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I'm really excited that Daisy has given us this opportunity to grow and express ourselves.  I can't wait to see what the next "Inspired By Words" theme is!

We all hope that you'll join us in this new adventure!  Create a journal cover and link it on the eP blog.  It will certainly be a treat to see what everyone comes up with!

Now you've just GOT to visit the other E-Team members to see their journal covers!  Be prepared to be WOWed!

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Thanks so much for dropping in and taking the time to make it through this long post!  I hope you'll join me again on Friday for the latest A Day For Daisies release entitled "Call Your Mother!"