Zentangled

Zentangles.

For those of you that are scratching you heads right now wondering what they are this is my first attempt (I need to practice more!) at creating a card using the technique.  

Basically, it is doodling on paper and drawing designs with a black fine tip marker leaving some areas open and some coloured in.  There are many great video to watch online and trust me, it is easy and relaxing too and something I have wanted to try for a long time.

I began by stamping the leaves from the Simon Says set- One With Nature with black Memento ink.  Then, I picked up my fine line black marker and started doodling away.  I tried to repeat the patterns I chose to doodle on each leaf placing them in a different position each time.  It was fun.

I did add some pencil shading to some of the areas for interest as well.

I kept the background clean by just mounting the leaf panel over a scored edge in the background which is hard to see at the bottom due to the shadow I got when taking the photo.

(one of my lamps is broken!)

Added the sentiment from Paper Smooches for a simple, monochromatic looking card.

 IDEA:  I don't travel but if you do, this would be a great thing to take along to work on while traveling.  All you would need are some open stamped images, a fine line black marker

and some Zentangle examples to refer to.

 Adding my card to these challenges:

CASology- CIRCLES

Little Red Wagon- HAPPY FALL

(leaves) 

CAS on Sunday- POLKA DOTS

Creative Fingers- ANYTHING GOES

Thanks so much for coming by and taking a look.

Supplies:  stamps- Paper Smooches, Simon Says/ fine line marker/ Memento bl ink/ pop dots/ ScorPal  

Inspired by Red

Happy Saturday.  

Feeling so happy that I finally created a card that I love!  

Being inspired by the challenge at Splitcoast from an Etsy site, Osnat Fine Art and this painting:

I began by rubbing Fired Brick, Barn Door and Spun Sugar Distress inks onto my card front being sure to blend all the colors together.  To add interest to the background, I placed a stencil from Tim Holtz over the inked area and sponged on water to help remove some of the ink.  

While that dried, I stamped the flower from Penny Black called Christmas Pride with Memento black ink and did a loose watercoloring on it leaving the edge of the petals white.  

I splattered some white paint over the red background to add a snowy feeling then rubbed the edged with my Versamark ink pad and embossed using white embossing powder.  

The sentiment is a new one from Penny Black that I also embossed in white and pop dotted the poinsettia on last.

Adding my card to these challenges:

Simon Says- NO DESIGNER PAPERS 

Addicted to Stamps- HOLIDAYS

Crafting with Friends- ANYTHING GOES

Winter Wonderland- TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS

One Crazy Stamper- CHRISTMAS/ HALLOWEEN

Hope you have a great weekend and thanks so much for coming by and taking a look.

Supplies:  stamps- Penny Black/ Distress ink/ Memento ink/ wh EB powder/ Versamark/ Watercolours/ paint brush/ white paint/ stencil/ heat gun/ sponge applicator

What's Your Number?

Meet today's card. 

 I am just getting in under the wire but I really wanted to play along with the 'What's Your Number' challenge at One- Layer Simplicity.  

The numbers on my card add up to forty-seven, one of our (hopefully) lucky numbers on our lottery ticket!!  Imagine all the stamps I could get if we won and there is a huge draw on Friday night!

I began by masking an area on my card front then sponged Mowed Lawn and Shabby Shutters Distress inks over the stencil.  Leaving the stencil in place, I sprinkled some water over the ink to add interest and depth to the stenciled image.  When that was dry, I scored a border around the masked area using my ScorPal to add some framing to the image.

Lastly, I stamped the sentiment from Technique Tuesday to finish it all off.  

Adding my card to these challenges:

CASology- CIRCLES

One-Layer Simplicity- WHAT'S YOUR NUMBER

Simon Says- NO DESIGNER PAPER

Thanks so very much for coming by and taking a look.

Supplies:  stamps- TT/ stencil- Tim Holtz/ Distress inks/ ScorPal/ Memento ink

Final Days of Summer

Good Morning.

I lost my mojo over the last few weeks.  Guess that's what happens when you are super busy. 

I am back today, with a simple card that celebrates the final days of summer and I am playing along with the challenge at Splitcoast.

I love inking my stamps using marker so I coloured directly onto my stamp using Memento markers, sprayed with water and stamped onto my watercolour paper.  Love the watery, loose feel the water gives by blending the colour.  The flowers looked a bit flat, so I took the tip of my markers and pressed it onto the wet watercolour paper.  It left a lovely impression and gave the flower centres some definition.   I inked up the sentiment and used my MISTI to get a deep, dark impression.

Adding my card to these challenges:

Addicted to Stamps- MAKE YOUR MARK

Crafty Calendar- ANYTHING GOES

Bloggers- FLOWERS

Simply Papercraft- ANYTHING GOES

Crafts Galore Encore- ANYTHING GOES

Thanks so much for coming by.  Hope you have a great week.

Supplies:  stamps- Impression Obsession, TT/ Memento ink and markers/ mini mister/ watercolour paper/ MISTI

Change

It's all about 'change' right now at this time of year.  

The weather is changing, kids are back to school, warmer clothes are coming out, shorter days.

Meet today's card.  

I began by masking the center of my card front and stenciled the trees using a Memory Box stencil.  I used Salty Ocean, Peacock Feathers and Shaded Lilac Distress inks and applied it using a sponge applicator tool.  I tried to concentrate more ink down the center of the image to represent the light coming through the trees.  I added some shading using a paint brush and grey Memento ink then splattered with water for interest.

I pierced the frame around the image to add interest and added the 'SMile' sentiment.

Addicted to Stamps- ANYTHING GOES

Mixed Media Card Challenge- FRIENDSHIP

Crafty Calendar- ANYTHING GOES

Sweet Stampin- MAKE A SCENE

Bloggers- STENCIL IT

Thanks so much for coming by and taking a look.

Supplies:  stamp- Technique Tuesday/ Memory Box stencil/ Distress and Memento ink/ piercing tool/ applicator tool/ paint brush

Joyful Moment

Happy Saturday!

This morning, I am playing along with the Inspiration Challenge at Splitcoast.  We are being inspired by Pinterest boards again and this week's boards are called 'DRINKS'.  

Here is the photo that inspired my beach feeling card:

I began by masking off an area in the center of my cardstock and rubbed Salty Ocean, Peacock Feathers and Antique Linen Distress inks onto my paper using my sponge applicator.  Next, leaving the masks in place, I stamped the image from Technique Tuesday using black Memento ink.

I framed the sponged image panel by using my ScorPal and scored a line all the way around.  It really helped to highlight the main area and made it seem more finished.  It still needed something more, so using the birds from a Gina K set, I stamped them flying off the top area for interest.

That great sentiment was stamped along the bottom last.  It is also from the TT set.

Adding my card to these challenges:

Simon Says- STAMP IT

Crafty Girls- ANYTHING GOES

Addicted to Stamps- ANYTHING GOES

Word Art Wednesday- LET'S CELEBRATE

Cards and More- CLEAN and SIMPLE

Thanks so very much for coming by.

Have a great weekend.

Supplies:  stamps- TT, Gina K/ Distress ink/ sponge applicator/ ScorPal/Memento ink

Nature's Change

Today is a day that we remember the events of 911.  A day of shock and horror for all of us.

The Hopeful Change challenge today at Splitcoast, is to honor this day by creating a card that depicts transformation, hope and the goodness in the world.

  Today, I decided to transform the fading flowers on my geraniums into a pressed image onto my card front.  What was dying has found new life!

I began by placing some geranium leaves and the flower petals onto my watercolour paper.  I then ran it through my Cuttlebug to get a pressing of the flowers.  When you press flowers, they release a lot of moisture so I let the piece dry before removing the petals and leaves from the paper.

I was left with lovely, watercoloured looking images.  To enhance the images, I added a tiny bit of colour using my watercolour pencils.

Lastly, I stamped the sentiment from Impression Obsession.  I think it gives such a feeling of hope.

This is a difficult day for me as it was the last day I saw my Dad before he passed away and I remember this day and watching as the planes hit the second tower.  Just a surreal moment.

Praying for the families who lost someone today.

Adding my card to these challenges:

Simon Says- USE A STAMP 

Addicted to Stamps- ANYTHING GOES

Craft Stamper- TAKE A STAMP

City Crafter- FEELING FLAT

(I pressed my flowers flat and it fits into a reg envie) 

Crafting with Attitude- ANYTHING GOES

Thanks so very much for coming by and taking a look.

Supplies:  stamp- Impression Obsession/ Cuttlebug/ flowers from garden/ Memento bl/ watercolour pencils/ Scor-bug

Birthday Bliss

Happy Long Weekend!

Meet today's card.  Just a fun challenge at Splitcoast, to create a card you would like to receive for your own birthday.  Since I love the look of watercolour, here is what I came up with.

I used my Brushos to watercolour the bkg.  I just sprinkled a bit of the Brushos onto my acrylic block and picked up the pigment using a wet paint brush.  I find it best to wet the watercolour paper first before adding the colour for a better blend of colour. (I used 90 lb. paper)  

While that was drying, I stamped the flowers from the Pretty Petals stamp set by Penny Black.  It has such a great collection of fun flowers that are perfect for Copic colouring or watercoloring.  Again, I used my Brushos to colour the flowers.  When they were dry, I fussy cut them out and pop dot mounted them to my card front.  I used a white Signo pen to do the flower centers. The sentiment is from a set called Sprinkles and Smiles also from Penny Black.  I have used that set a lot.

I am adding my card to these challenges:

Little Red Wagon- CLEAN and SIMPLE

Simon Says- MAKE IT COLOURFUL

Craft Stamper- TAKE A STAMP, ANYTHING GOES

Happy Little Stampers- COLOURING

Thanks so very much for coming by and taking a look.

Supplies:  stamps- Penny Black/ Brusho/ paint brush/ pop dots/ acrylic block/ Memento bl ink/Signo wh pen

STAMPlorations Sketch Challenge

Hello September.

This month, I have the pleasure of being a Guest Designer over at STAMPlorations.  The challenge this month is to create a card based on this sketch:

Of course I grabbed my blue inks and got to work.  

I began by inking up the back of my Gridlocked stencil with Salty Ocean Distress inks, sprayed with water and pressed it onto my watercolour paper.  When that was dry, I took a circle stencil that I have cut from a piece of acetate and using my Distress and Colourbox inks, stencilled the circles randomly over as per the sketch.
I stamped the flowers using my Misti and then added the sentiment from the lovely Noteworthy set that I have really used a lot.

Addicted to CAS- BLUE

Little Red Wagon- CLEAN and SIMPLE

CAS on Sunday- SPLASH
(sprayed lots of water on my stencil)

Virginia's View- GEOMETRIC PATTERNS


Hope you get a chance to come and play along with us!
Thanks again for your continued support and visits here to see what I have been up to.

Supplies:  stamps-STAMPlorations, Purple Onion/ stencil/ Memento and Distress inks/ mini mister/ black half pearls/ MISTI