Splashes of Watercolor

Got a hot glue gun?

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Check out what I learned how to do with my hot glue gun!  Over at the eclectic Paperie blog today!

e-Team Picks Challenge - HOPE

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Hello, everyone!  It's the time of month for the e-Team Picks challenge!  This month our hostess is Andie and she's asked us to come up with a project with HOPE as the theme.

“Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all.”
― Emily Dickinson

I believe that it's hope that brings us out of any darkness that we may be lingering in.  Hope is what we all live for.

And based on that, I decided to create a page showing the light over the darkness; hoping to inspire everyone to live in that light.

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And this was my process (Warning: this is pretty long!):

1.  Starting with 1/2 sheet of Mixed Media paper, I spritzed it with water, then spritzed it with some Dylusions Vibrant Turquoise ink.

2.  Using up and down strokes, I spread the paint with a paintbrush.

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3.  I coated the Daisy Bits mask with some Studio 490 Translucent Embossing Paste.

4.  I flipped it over and pressed it onto my page.

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5.  The next photo shows the paste that was remaining on my craft sheet.

6.  I pressed my page, face down, onto the craft sheet to pick up the remaining paste.

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7.  When the paste was dry, I used a scrap piece of paper (it just happened to have holes along the side) to mask the upper portion of the page.

8.  I spritzed the bottom portion with Melted Chocolate ink spray, then held the page up and pulled some of the ink down the page using my paint brush.

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9.  Next, I masked the bottom portion with the same piece of paper and spritzed the top portion with Pure Sunshine, Pink Bubblegum, and Fresh Lime ink sprays.

10.  I spread the paints just a little with my brush, then let the excess run to the bottom (which is really the top of the page).

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11.  The next photo shows the 2 distinct sections of the page - dark and light.

12.  Next I added some lines to further make the distinction, then added the bird and wildflowers, sponging with Distress inks.

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13.  I used a Sharpie pen to make some outlines.

14. Then I added some Gesso to the edges of the page with my palette knife.

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15.  I lightly spritzed on some White Linen ink spray.

16.  I added some chevron arrows pointing up to the light.

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17.  I added the word HOPE in white paint and using a pen added some white highlights.

18.  I painted a chipboard feather with gesso, then spritzed it with some Vibrant Turquoise ink spray.

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19.  I sponged the edges of the page with some Black Soot Distress ink, then tied on the feather using some embroidery thread.

20.  Finally I added a piece of black cardstock as a mat and to add stability to the page itself.

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I know that seems like a lot of steps but the whole process did not take that long; or it wouldn't have if I had not stopped to take the photos along the way!

We certainly hope you'll join us in this challenge.  Let us see your project of HOPE!  You can link up your finished project at the eclectic Paperie blog.  And be sure to check out and comment on all the other awesome entries!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this post!  I hope you've found a little inspiration along the way!

InLinkz.com

My First Gelli Arts Print

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I'm over at the eclectic Paperie blog today showing off my very first Gelli Arts gel print!   Please come see!

Taylored Expressions April Sneak Peek: A Glimpse Inside

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Hello, everyone!  I'm so excited to be back again this month as the Taylored Expressions Guest Designer!

We've got another brilliant collection of fabulous stamp sets and dies to show you!  So let's get started!

Today I have the honor of showing you a sneak peek of the new stamp set A Glimpse Inside.  It coordinates beautifully with last month's From My Window stamp set, and is exceptionally perfect with the new Picture Window Die, which I've also used.

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I wanted to have a brick wall as my backdrop for this beautiful window, but I don't have one of those particular embossing folders, so I just made my own wall.

I scored a piece of 4" x 5.25" white cardstock making each brick 5/16" W x 3/16" H.  I played around with a smaller scored piece of cardstock until I found just the right combination of colors for the bricks - Fired Brick (imagine that!) and Frayed Burlap.  I also dabbed a bit of Black Soot here and there and used a white pencil to go over the grout lines and create a few more lines on the bricks.

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To create the window, I first cut the Picture Window from white cardstock and shaded it a little with my W0 Copic marker.  I stamped my beautiful tulip image onto another piece of white cardstock and laid the window over it, tracing around it with a pencil.  I colored my scene with Copic markers and then cut out the scene just inside the pencil lines.

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I also traced around the window onto a scrap piece of plastic, using a pen this time (pencil won't show up), and cut it out as well.  I pieced all three layers together with sticky tape and 1/16" foam mounting tape.

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My sentiment is also from A Glimpse Inside.  It was stamped on white cardstock, cut out with a Labels Ten die, sponged with Tumbled Glass Distress ink, and mounted on 1/8" foam mounting tape.  I also added some cool washi tape to infuse a little unexpected element.

Here's another look at my project using A Glimpse Inside and the Picture Window Die.

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That's it for me today!  Here is today's blog hop route in order to check out all the AWESOME creations of the Baker's Dozen:

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Broni Holcombe

Carole Burrage

Charmaine Ikach

Jami Sibley

Jen Shults

Kerri Mchaud

Lynnette Kauffman

Nancy McKinney

Sankari Wegman

Shannon White

Shelly Mercado

Stephanie Kraft

Tammie Edgerton

Taylor VanBruggen

Wanda Guess

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Thank you so much for stopping in!  Have a great week…..be sure to come back.  I'll have several more projects this week featuring new products from the Taylored Expressions April release!

 

 

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!

 

Inspired by Disney... and it's so hard to say goodbye!

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It's with great sadness and a heavy heart that the entire E-Team begins this, our last, blog hop.  Alas, our fearless leader, Daisy, has embarked on an exciting new adventure in the realm of Disney.  Although we are all SO THRILLED for her to begin her new dream job, we're so sad that our journeys along this creative path will no longer be concurrent.   This is a fabulous team with SO MUCH talent and enthusiasm for their art.  I will miss working with them SO MUCH!!  Love you girls!

Here are the blog hop details:

• Visit each E-Team blog participant and leave a comment. Comments can be left from Wednesday, June 27 - Sunday, July 1.
• There will be a winner chosen from each blog, and Daisy will have an extra special prize at the eP blog.  Winners will be posted on the eP blog on Tuesday, July 3.
• Here's the blog prize I'll be giving away:

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To honor Daisy, our theme for this blog hop is "inspired by Disney".  We were to choose one quote from all of Walt's wonderful quotes throughout the years, and use it to inspire our journal page.

I chose a quote that is probably Walt Disney's most famous….

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***If you can dream it, you can do it.***

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I think the sadness of this finality had an effect on my creativity.  Although I had a great time creating this page, I felt a little underwhelmed in my enthusiasm.

I started by using Claudine Hellmuth matte multi-medium to attach a book page to my journal page.  Next I stamped the beautiful image from Donna Downey's She Said stamp set.

**You can click on any image to see it full size.**

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Next I painted her skin with a mixture of Studio paints - traditional tan and modern red.  After that dried, I painted art masking fluid onto her entire image to protect it for the next step.  You can kind of see the yellowish film in the photo.

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I took several more Studio paints and randomly painted the entire page.  I did create some circles by holding my brush in one place and simply twisting around in a circle.  I knew I wanted to do some doodling!

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When the paint was thoroughly dried, I took an eraser and starting rubbing the edge of the dried masking fluid.  It peels off for the most part, but I did use the eraser to be sure I'd removed it all.

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I know it looks like a mess in this photo, but after all my doodling and more painting, it turned out just fine.

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So here's my final page showing a girl with all of her colorful bubble dreams.

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Can you find the Mickey Mouse silhouette?

Now I'd love for you to check out what my creative and wonderfully talented E-Team sisters have created today:

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Don't forget to leave a comment as you visit each blog for a better chance at winning some of the blog candy!  And please let Daisy know how much you've enjoyed these fun blog hops when you get to the eP blog!

I hope you'll come back to visit soon!

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!!

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!" 

E-Team Blog Hop - Faux Postage

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Hello, everyone!  It's been a while since we've had an E-Team Blog  Hop!  Have you missed us?  We've sure missed sharing our fun creative experiences with you!

This month, our super-creative leader, Daisy, has given us the mission to travel back in time to one of the very first techniques any of us probably learned ….Faux Postage!  It had been a long, long time for me!

Let's take care of the blog hop details first:

• Be sure to visit all the design team's blogs and leave comments along the way.
• Comments can be left beginning today, Friday, March 30, through Sunday, April 1st.
• Two random winners will be chosen from the E-Team blogs to each win a $25 eclectic Paperie gift voucher.
• Winners will be announced on Monday, April 2nd, on the eP blog.

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To start on my project, I turned to the ultimate place for templates and tutorials: Splitcoaststampers.  Here's the link to the Faux Postage tutorial.  This is where I found the template to I wanted to use.

I printed the template on plain copy paper and taped an acrylic sheet that I pulled from some stamp set packaging over it with painters tape.  I used my craft knife and ruler to cut closely around the dotted template lines.

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The mask doesn't have to be perfectly cut by any means.  Mine sure wasn't!  Using the same 2 pieces of painters tape, I taped the acrylic mask over a piece of white cardstock on which I had printed the template again.  Then I stamped my Orchid image from Flourishes.

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I also stamped the image on a Post-It note, cut it out, and placed it on top of my main image.  I wanted to color the background the easy way, by airbrushing with my Copic markers.

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When the background was finished, I removed the Post-It note mask and the acrylic mask, which I taped directly onto the tutorial for future use.

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Now my image is ready to color.  Any blank spaces in between the flowers that couldn't be airbrushed were just filled in by coloring with my T3 Copic marker.

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And here's the finished card.

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After choosing the card base shape and the basic green layer, I just pulled out some scraps until I found the colors I liked with the image.  I layered them randomly before placing the image layer on top. Then I finished the card with some May Arts ribbon and a scalloped circle sentiment layer.

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Now it's time to move on to see the fabulous creations that the other E-Team members have prepared for you!  Be ready to be WOWed!!

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Starla wasn't able to play along this time, but please stop by to leave her some love anyway!

Thanks so much for taking time to drop in today. I love it when you visit, and when you leave comments!  Have a great weekend!

A Marbled Easter Egg - A new E-Team blog hop!

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Hello again!  I usually don't have 2 posts in one day, but today is special because we've got a new E-Team blog hop for you!

We decided to celebrate this leap year with a technique hop!  Today we're showing you how we create faux marble.  Our fearless leader, Daisy, gave us no specific instructions, so it should be really interesting to see what each E-Team member comes up with!

Let's do the business details first:

• Leave comments on each E-Team member's blog post.  You have from today, February 29th, through Friday, March 2nd.
• 2 winners will be chosen to receive $25 eclectic Paperie gift certificates, and will be announced on the eP blog on Saturday, March 3rd.

Now that wasn't so bad, was it?  Short and sweet!

On to the project!

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I decided to use a tried and true method to create my Faux Marble, using alcohol inks on glossy cardstock.  I love this look and usually I'll do it with deep, rich colors, but today I decided to go soft and spring-like with the colors.  I chose Adirondack Alcohol inks in Shell Pink, Willow and Cloudy Blue.  Here are the supplies I started with:

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I used a felt applicator to apply the inks to the paper, dabbing over the entire piece several times until I got the effect I liked.  I did this on 2 separate pieces of cardstock and then on one of them, I applied some pearl metallic mixative to see what the colors would look like in softer shades.

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Since I had wanted a fresh spring color palette I decided to use the piece that had the brighter colors to create a marbled Easter egg.  (I'll save the pearlized one for another project.)

I brought out my Fancy Fringe stamp set from Our Craft Lounge and my Adirondack acrylic paint dabber in snow cap and used them to stamp a border "around" my Easter egg.

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I printed an egg template from the internet, cut it out, traced around it onto my marbled paper with a pencil, and then cut my egg out.

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I sponged around the egg with some Ranger Distress ink in frayed burlap and added some beautiful May Arts lacy trim and some rhinestone stickers to the egg.

My card base is white; then there's another die cut layer of white topped with a piece of patterned paper.  I backed my egg with a paper doily, tied a piece of dyed seam binding around the card front, then added the egg using foam mounting tape.

My felt rose was die cut using the MFT Rolled Rose Die-namics die, and the leaves were cut using the Spellbinders Foliage die set.

And FINALLY, here is my Marbled Easter Egg:

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I'm seriously thinking of doing this marbled look on my REAL Easter eggs this year!  I love the way these colors look together!

Well, it's time to move on to the other E-Team members' blogs to see what they came up with using a Faux Marble technique.  I can't wait!!

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Thanks so much for taking the time to drop in (again) today.  I hope you liked my project and I hope you'll try this Faux Marble technique too!  I'd love to see it if you do!

Happy crafting!