Archives for October 2021

Inky Play Friday – Painting with Distress Inks

It’s that time…time to play with some inks! Today I am painting with Distress Oxide ink pads. I am always so inspired to craft when I watch craft videos on YouTube. I have been really into my oxide ink pads for the past few months so I have been watching videos where crafters are using them in a variety of ways.

The first thing I did was select some coordinating colors that would look nice on the blue background. Then I heat embossed the ornaments and sentiment with white embossing powder. Then I applied blueprint sketch color onto the back. At first, I was going for a solid background then I started to like the way the lighter areas almost looked like a glowing effect and left it.

Next, was the fun part – painting with the ink. So I rubbed a bit of twisted citron onto my glass mat, gave it a few squirts of water, and then painted the first ornament. It was so relaxing and easy because the embossing keeps your color right where it’s supposed to be. If you haven’t painted with your Distress ink pads, you really should, it’s very fun.

For the first card, I drew the strings with a sparkle pop pen and then used Wink of Stella to give the ornaments a hint of shimmer.

For the second card, I searched my stash for coordinating glitter pens to color in some of the ornaments for a cool contrast.

Here is a close-up so you can see the glitter pens on the second card. I love how they came out. It reminds me of old-fashioned glass ornaments my mother used to hang on the Christmas tree.

I will be sure to incorporate these techniques in future cards because it was really fun.

Have a wonderful weekend!

New Merch!

It’s that time again – new merch for the shop! I have three new items from my Fall Welly Bookmark Collection releasing today. It’s such a perfect day to release them in the shop because it is a rainy fall day and all I want to do is grab my books and blanket and read!

I made three designs for this bookmark collection because let’s face it, you can never have too many different color welly boots in your wardrobe so why not add them to your books.

These bookmarks were super fun to color with my Copics and there were endless color choices however I decided to limit it to three for this first release.

Be sure to stop by my Etsy shop if you would like to own one of them for your next book.

Have a wonderful day!

Inky Play Friday!

Hey friends, it’s Friday, my favorite day of the week! I hope you are ready for some inky play. I rolled up my sleeves, broke out my distress oxide inks, Fintec paints, a new embossing folder, and some sequins to create a Halloween card.

Inspiration

I was inspired by Cathy Zielski’s video, The Best Halloween Embossing folder. I saw her video and knew that I had to have this adorable embossing folder. I have been having a moment with all of my old embossing folders and have been quickly snatching up the new 3D embossing folders that are on the market now. So when I saw her card I ordered the embossing folder to add to my collection. (Warning: Watching craft videos on YouTube can be dangerous for your bank account!)

Inky Play

I realized after I got started that Cathy embossed after she laid down the color. I realized it once I grabbed some of my blending brushes and the same three Distress Oxide Inks that Cathy used in her video and got to work laying down the color. I think the way she did it allows you to saturate the paper more easily because it is a flat surface. So next time I will try it that way to see if I notice a difference. I think it was because I was so excited to see the embossed paper, was the reason I did that first.

I love how the Distress Oxides rich and vibrant colors totally transform the white cardstock. It’s so beautiful to see it in person.

The black soot color was so smoky looking and perfect for a Halloween card.

I did not have a fan brush that Cathy had to apply the water droplets for the reactive effect so I used a regular brush and the result was not as good. I ended up having a few large spots that I didn’t like. I went over them with ink to try to cover them up but then decided I would address them at the end of the process.

I grabbed my Finetec paint set and used the gold color to splatter on the card and it the result was so pretty. Then I cut out the sentiment in gold and black cardstock. I used my new set of black Stampin Up Dimensionals to raise the sentiment. Then I assembled the card.

I wasn’t happy about a couple of the large splatters from the water flicks so I dug out some of my sequins. Because I have so many from when they were ‘the it’ embellishment that I never used and well why not?

I can’t tell you how much I love this card. There is so much to love – the dimension from the embossed ghost, the layered sentiment, the gold splatters, and the bling, bling sequins.

I decided to make a couple more cards to send to some family and friends after I made the first one. The process always goes more smoothly the more you do it.

Have a wonderful weekend!

New Product Release – Bookmarks!

I love being in my craft room playing with different products and trying out new craft mediums. I’ve been making cards for so many years and truly enjoy creating them. But another obsession of mine is my love for reading books. I have my mother to thank for introducing me to books and the public library. I cherished each trip to the library and having access to all those books each time was so magical for me. Fast-forward to now, and I have taken reading and the acquisition of books to a whole new level. I own several bookcases filled with books in my home. I enjoy watching videos and reading posts about books. So I don’t know why it has taken me so long to design my own bookmarks to sell in my Etsy shop.

Today I am releasing two new products – two Halloween-themed bookmarks. Be sure to stop by my Etsy shop (link above) to see more photos of these absolutely adorable Halloween witches! It is very important for me to challenge myself creatively from time to time. Designing on a smaller surface to create bookmarks has been my latest challenge and I have to say, I am really enjoying it. Coming up with images and sentiments and rummaging through my patterned paper stash to put together a small piece of art has been a lot of fun and just what I need to get me out of my creative slump.

I will be releasing more bookmarks for my fall collection in the coming days and hope that people will choose to purchase them to mark their place in their latest read!

Have a wonderful day!

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