Measure the Moments, Not the Time

This card was originally made solely for the Flonzcraft Fashionable Stamping Challenge #90 - Numbers, and then I discovered A Step In The Dark's "dark side challenge blog". It's nice to see a crafting blog move away from the cutesy and into the grotesque.

I loved making this card because it gave me a good reason to use my Flonzcraft crying skeleton stamp. I have the crying, praying, and thinking skeleton stamps; I love all three!

Here's how this card came together:

• Since I started with sepia & black inks and yellow measuring washi tape, I opted to use a Kraft card base.
• Tim Holtz Tea Dye Distress Ink sponged lightly to color the front card edges, then dry embossed the card using the Darice ruler embossing folder.
• Flonzcraft crying skeleton stamp in the Holtz Tea Dye on a Walmart (i)Phone Sticky Note.
• Used one of the StudioG Series 4 Alphabets to stamp the sentiment "measure the moments" in ColorBox black pigment ink, and lightly smeared all the inked letters.
• After assessing how all the pieces were coming together, the Tea Dye over the dry embossing didn't tie the card together well enough, so I sponge-wiped ColorBox black pigment ink lightly over the embossed design (don't currently have black dye ink on hand, and the pigment ink is too sticky and dark for light sponge applications).
• Used scissors to mildly distress the edges of a piece of black DCWV Glitzy Glitter cardstock 1/4" larger than the Walmart Phone Sticky Note, taped & glued both papers together and down to card, added a piece of measuring washi tape to the right side and a clear rhinestone on button of "phone".
• Stapled three mini pheasant-like feathers together, adhered to card with two mini Glue Dots.

Entered in the:
Fashionable Stamping Challenge #90 - Numbers - Winner! 
A Step In The Dark's "Anything Goes" challenge #14
Crafts Galore Encore Challenge for February "Use a stamp or digi"
Inspiration Destination "anything goes" challenge #19
Clear It Out Challenge "anything goes/anything goes"
Catch The Bug challenge "anything goes"
Your Scrapbook Place February challenge "anything goes/masculine card"
Party Time Tuesdays challenge #195 "anything goes"
Loves Rubberstamps challenge #137 "anything goes" 
Sister Act Card Challenge #92 "anything goes"
Crafting By Designs February Anything Goes Challenge
Crafting From The Heart Anything Goes Challenge #45
Brown Sugar Challenge Blog #132 "anything goes"
Creative Fingers Challenge #66 "anything goes"
Sisters of Craft February Anything Goes Challenge
Craft Your Passion Challenges #247 - February Anything Goes
Scrapper's Delights challenge #40 "Anything Goes" 

The Man's V-Day Card

Valentine's Day; it's only a week away and I have four VD/hearts/love themed challenges on my radar (Make My Monday, The Kraft Journal, Aud Sentiments, and STAMPlorations). Of course, getting my honey's card done was top priority. Any other Valentines I complete will just be gravy.

Here's the card I made for my man: I started out with the 24 SEVEN journal card as inspiration. This called for a larger card base, so I upcycled food packaging cardboard to make a 6" x 6" base.

 Paper layers, from bottom up:

• stash paper, mini brown & blue floral
• scrap paper in yellow Moroccan print & musical tissue paper
• journal card dyed with Tim Holtz Weathered Wood Distress Stain and triple-edged with stain to add depth; initial journal card wasn't too sturdy after being stained, so reinforced back with a layer of Kraft paper (Holtz stains are available cheaply from Joann Stores during sales or with coupons)

Embellishments:

• gold adhesive arrow and twine glued into heart-shape over upcycled carpet pad netting
• three layers of Recollections floral embellishments: pale mint green, yellow & green checked, and distressed black - tied with plastic straw-like material upcycled from gift packaging
• finished off with one large champagne rhinestone, because I love the subtlety of champagne-colored bling

Entered in:
Make My Monday "Hearts and Flowers" challenge
The Kraft Journal's "Valentine's" challenge #209
Fairytale challenge #100 "Something with a heart"
The Crazy Challenge #190 "Love"
Naughty or Nice Challenge #12 "Love/Anti-Love"
Inspiration Destination "anything goes" challenge #19
Clear It Out Challenge "anything goes/anything goes"
Catch The Bug challenge "anything goes"
Craftyhazelnuts Patterned Paper February 2015 challenge
Your Scrapbook Place February challenge "anything goes"
Crafting By Designs February Anything Goes Challenge
Word Art Wednesdays Anything Goes Challenge #169
Crafting From The Heart Anything Goes Challenge #45 
Crafts 4 Eternity Recipe Challenge #212 "With Love" - Winner!
Creative Fingers Challenge #66 "anything goes"
Chocolate, Coffee & Cards Challenges #84 "Love Is In The Air"
Sisters of Craft February Anything Goes Challenge
Craft Your Passion Challenges #247 - February Anything Goes
Artistic Inspirations challenge #124 "Anything Goes With a Twist of Hearts"
Creative Moments challenge #61 "Anything Goes/Love"
Scrapper's Delights challenge #40 "Anything Goes" 

My First (Completed) Art Journal Page

Recently I left a job and company I loved in order to move over 2,000 miles to go back to school full-time and join my husband in the remote village where he works. Sad about leaving a place and people I loved, but happier to be joining my husband on his awesome adventure, my dear one and I sat down with a talented friend to make our first full art journal pages and play with new techniques. Of course, the theme of my page was the happy, hopeful anticipation of new adventures and challenges.

High Hopes

1) We started off with a thin layer of gesso to help the thick paper resist the moisture of the acrylic paint wash we applied next. The gesso dried quickly, and the transparency of the acrylic paint wash was determined by that amount of water mixed with the purple acrylic paint. If the layer isn't vibrant or thick enough, try a slightly thicker wash, or a wash using another shade or color of acrylic paint to vary the affect. 

2) Once dry, I used Hampton Art's hot air balloon stamp set and a lattice background stamp in grey, sepia, and black ink. I wasn't happy with how strong the balloon images turned out, so I applied another wash of acrylic paint to tone down the balloon images. I then smeared a thin layer of Faber Castell iced coffee gelato on the edges and rubbed it in until I had a nice border.

3) I sponged a darker purple acrylic paint (not diluted with water) through a stencil after the last acrylic wash dried.

tinted modeling paste letters

4) We mixed some high-quality pigments into modeling paste, though you can experiment with tinting small batches of modeling or texture paste with just about any ink, chalk, paint, etc. I chose a mellow grey so my words wouldn't POP off the page with contrast in addition to the natural height of the past. You can apply the paste through any stencil design you like, but be sure to rinse the extra paste from the stencil right after application. Once it dries, it is a bear to get off the stencils!

This was my first time playing with modeling paste with stencils, though surprisingly not my first time with tinting paste. I love the spongy affect of the paste once it gains height from the stencil application, and can't wait to play with it some more!

5) While my stenciled modeling paste dried, I assembled my embellishment layers from my friend's scrap pile. The propeller and vellum were probably the only new embellishment elements. I chose a patterned base paper, followed by black mesh, then postage and script scraps, then an inked tag. After gluing those layers to each other, I stamped the lady gear head from Hampton Art's Time Flies stamp set across all 3 paper scraps, attached a metal propeller and clock hand. I finished the embellishment patch by stapling the vellum poem over top and glued the entire patch to the page.

layered embellishments

6) As an afterthought, I decided that the page didn't look best with the resulting matte finish, so I applied a thin layer of glazing medium over the paper, working around the embellishment patch. Then I was perfectly happy with my "high hopes" page!

So to recap the basics of this project, which you can easily alter to suite your tastes or to take advantage of materials on hand:
Over a base of gessoed paper, we had
1 - a background layer of color,
2 - stamped elements to make a background,
3/4 - stenciled elements of paint and/or modeling or texture paste,
5 - multiple embellishments, and
6 - top layer of glazing medium.

Entered in: 
SimonSaysStamp.com Monday Challenge "H is for..."
Crafts Galore Encore Challenge for February, "Use a stamp or digi"
Altered Eclectics February "anything goes"
Inspiration Destination "anything goes" challenge #19
Clear It Out Challenge "anything goes/anything goes"
Your Scrapbook Place February challenge "anything goes"
Papertake February challenge "anything goes"
Loves Rubberstamps challenge #137 "anything goes"
Crafting By Designs February Anything Goes Challenge
Word Art Wednesdays Anything Goes Challenge #169
Crafting From The Heart Anything Goes Challenge #45
Brown Sugar Challenge Blog #132 "anything goes"
Creative Fingers Challenge #66 "anything goes"
Sisters of Craft February Anything Goes Challenge
Craft Your Passion Challenges #247 - February Anything Goes
Scrapper's Delights challenge #40 "Anything Goes"
Fan-Tastic Tuesday challenge #71 "Anything Goes... With Purple"