Art Ali

Growth

Oops - long time, no post!  I've been super busy with a myriad of projects both at home and stamping related.  And I realized that I forgot to post the card I made for Gingersnaps Growth Challenge last week.  And I posted another challenge today, which will be on my blog tomorrow.  Yikes - I can't keep up!

For this card, I used a new poppy stamp (well new to me) from Penny Black and I just love it!

The poppy is stamped on watercolor paper and I used Stampin' Up! markers to watercolor it (Marker Watercoloring).  The centers has black seed beads, which you can see better in this close up picture:

Tomorrow I'll share a wall hanging I made using a paper fringe.

Thanks for visiting!

Supplies:

Stamps: Poppy Poem (Penny Black), Teeny Tiny Wishes (Stampin' Up!)

C/stock: Watercolor paper, Old Olive c/stock & Fabriano card base

Ink: Stazon, SU markers, Old Olive

Accessories: Linen thread, black seed beads

Tools: Word window punc

First Rubber Stamp

I'm in a purging mood at the moment and am trying to get rid of 'stuff' that I just don't use anymore.  While cleaning out a drawer, I came across the very first rubber stamp that I bought.  I've no idea how long ago that was, but I found it in a bargain bin in Michaels for $6.99 - it still has the sticker on it!  The image is from Inkadinkado and is called Illuminata.

I still like it after all these years, so figured I make a quick ATC with it.

Do you remember your first rubber stamp?  Do you still like or use it?  I'd love to know!

Have a happy week!

Fluffy Bunny

I'm hosting the Gingersnaps Spicy Supply challenge today, which is to use 'frosting' on your creations.  This means any kind of embellishment or product that goes on top of the final piece, such as pearls, glitter, beads, stickles, etc.

I decided to use Flower Soft and this cute bunny image from I Brake For Stamps.  Flower Soft is one of those products that was hot this time last year, so I bought a couple of pots and I used it only once or twice.  It's not my favorite product to work with, but it makes a nice little spot for this little guy to sit on.

Here's a better look:

The background that the image is stamped was created on watercolor paper with Distress inks and the Watercolor Distress technique (TJs Feb/Mar 07).  I made another card using the same technique late last year.

Have a great day!

Supplies:

• Stamps: I Brake For Stamps
• Paper: Fabriano watercolor card base, watercolor paper, chocolate chip c/stock
• Ink: Peeled Paint, Weathered Wood & Faded Jeans Distress Ink, Stazon, Primsa pencils
• Accessories: Green Flower Soft, brown sheer ribbon

Image Transfer ATCs

I want to share a few ATCs I created using image transfers made with packing tape. If you're not familiar with this technique, check out a tutorial I wrote about it on Gingersnaps today.  I'm not sure why I'm in the mood for making ATCs, but I'm just going with the flow!

I'm entering the first ATC for Think Monday Think ATC (TMTA), which challenged readers to use metal in their creation.  I used one of Tim Holtz' metal tags layered onto some sheet music and then an image transfer from an Oxford Impressions collage sheet.

This image transfer was created from the same Oxford Impressions collage sheet.  It's layered onto a piece of Basic Grey paper that I inked, stamped and stitched. 

This bird was taken directly from a home/lifestyle magazine.  It's layered on a collage of inked vintage papers and the word was cut from an old love letter.

All these ATCs have birds as their theme to put you in the mood for Spring.  I hope that wherever you live, Spring is on its way!

Thank you for visiting.

Glimmery, Shimmery ATCs

We had a taste of Spring in New England today.  The sun was shining and the thermometer almost hit 50 degrees. After taking a really long walk along some new trails, I only had a short amount of time to make something. Still on my quest to try some different things this week, I decided upon a couple of ATCs. 

The background of the first ATC was created by dabbing a mixture of reinkers and shimmer paint onto a piece of c/stock (Dabbed Shimmers technique - Feb/March '10 edition of TJ newlsetter).  Once it was dry, I added the extra step of running it through an embossing folder.

I had an extra image left over from this tag - she's stamped on a vintage bridge score sheet. The word 'faith' and number 12 were cut from a Jenni Bowlin bingo card (love those things!) and a few latte pearls from Amuse finish it off. 

I made this orange guy for Think Monday Think ATC, where they challenged readers to create an ATC that is predominantly orange.  The background is a piece of white c/stock that I created using the Antiqued Glimmers technique (Dec '09/Jan '10 TJ newsletter).  I also threw in a Tim Holz mask for good measure.  Then I simply stamped the image over the top, spotlighted the word 'art' and added some printed twill tape to the bottom. 

Have a fun weekend whatever your plans are!

Stamps: Oxford Impressions & Lost Coast Designs

 

Tag Challenge

I decided to take a little time this week to participate in some challenges.  I've been feeling rusty and uninspired recently, so I thought doing some challenges might perk me up.  And I have to say that I like this tag.  I'm my own harshest critic, but this one turned out okay.  You have it in writing!

 

I made it for Tag Tuesday Challenge #42, which is to use brown plus one other color on a tag and the color I chose to pair with brown is pink. 

I can't tell you how I made the base of the tag because it's going to be in a tutorial on Gingersnaps next Tuesday - remember to check it out!  But I can tell you that the woman is from an Oxford Impressions plate called Times Past.  She's stamped onto a vintage bridge score sheet and I found the name Ella on one of the Kentucky cards also available on the Oxford site.

The other embellishments are old bone buttons, a flower from Maya Road, trim from Making Memories and a double-sided satin ribbon.

Thanks for visiting and have a happy day!

Rainbow Double Card

Here's a card I made for my mum.  We live far apart and although we speak a couple of times a week on the phone, it's nice to send snail mail too.  She recently lost her mother and things are still pretty tough for her, so I thought this might cheer her up a bit.  I really hope she likes it.

The technique is called Rainbow Double.  It's a Technique Junkie technique from the August/September 07 edition.  The first layer is a Versmark resist on glossy c/stock - stamp the images with Versmark and brayer ink over the top.  The second layer is embossed with white craft ink and white embossing powder.  The hard part for me is applying the spectrum ink evenly - I'm brayer challenged!

Thanks for visiting - have a wonderful day!

Supplies

• Stamps: Garden Silhouette (Stampin' Up! - retired), Whimsical Words (Stampin' Up!)
• C/stock: white, glossy white & chocolate chip
• Ink: Pumpkin Patch Spectrum ink pad, chocolate chip, white craft ink, Versamark
• Accessories: sheer brown ribbon, white embossing powder
• Tools: brayer, heat gun, large oval punch

Happy Birthday Gingersnap Creations

We are celebrating our 1st birthday at Gingersnap Creations!  I can't believe a whole year has passed since Sharon and I set up this blog.  It started as a way for us to have some stamping fun together and satisfy our need for creating without rules and restrictions.  But boy, have we grown! 

Hundreds of people from around the world play our challenges each month!  We have a magnificent Design Team, who work so hard to make fantastic artwork each week.  We post awesome tutorials and techniques, review books and products and showcase different manufacturers and artists. To name but a few of the things we do.

As part of our birthday celebrations, we're hosting a joint challenge with Artistic Outpost- you can check out the details of the challenge here.  This is the card I made for the challenge using their Cutie Pie set.

 

To make it a little more special, I created a Top-Latch card (TJ technique June/July 08 edition) - here's a side view, so you can see it better.

Artistic Outpost is one of my very favorite stamp companies and I own quite a few of their plates.  In case you need a little inspiration for the challenge, I've put a few of my favorite cards into a photo album, which you can find in the sidebar.

Happy Creating!

Supplies:

• Stamps: Cutie Pie (Artistic Outpost), Celebrate Everything (Stampin' Up!)
• Paper: Vintage Cream (PTI), pattered paper from Making Memories and Basic Grey
• Ink: Black Memento, Copic Markers
• Accessories: Rhinestones (Amuse), Dazzling Diamonds (SU)
• Tools: Scallop edge punch (SU) & glue pen