Bokeh Technique

This is my first attempt at the bokeh technique!  Bokeh is a photography term for the way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light.  So first I burnished the mat with some Poppy, Cranberry and Whisper CTMH ink.  Then I took daubers and just randomly used Stampin Up Whisper White Craft ink and CTMH Cranberry ink on the mat sometimes stamping off first to get the lighter spots and then directly for the darker spots.  I think I did it right.  Not sure how else I will decorate this mat and finish the card but just wanted to get the bokeh effect down.  There are many ways to do this , I chose this method.  Others have used stencils for their effects from all sorts of shapes from circles to stars.  

Hope you try this out.  It was fun!

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Crafting!

Scrapbook Expo 2015 Day

Well Friday I had the opportunity to go to the Scrapbook Expo in Mesa and what fun I had!
I went to 3 classes and came away with some great goodies.  Some may even be used as door prizes when our local Paper Arts Club starts up!  Hint..hint!

Of course I also did a little shopping!  I should say too much shopping!

I can't wait to play with the Crazy Birds stamp set, they also have matching dies so no fussy cutting!

Here are the classes I took...and the examples we worked on.  They also gave us kits to make a complete project at home.  The classes were just to learn and practice the technique.

ZIG Watercolor   and   Copics: Coloring on paper and glitter

Also another class called Latest and Greatest : Cool Tools were we did a card and scrapbook page using the new tools.  And we got to keep them.....

Had loads of fun and can't wait for next year!


Thanks for stopping by on your busy day!

Happy Crafting!

Coloring Techniques

Sorry I haven't posted in a while!  I have been practicing some ink and coloring techniques. 
The first sample is using ink with a blending pen.  Dipped the pen into ink from the lid of the ink pad and started coloring the image and reapplied the pen with more ink as needed.  I don't like the streaks.  It was to give a watercolor effect. 

The next one is using ink with the water pen.  Not as streaking but still not happy with it.

Next I used my Spectrum Noir Colored Pencils I bought a few years ago and never used.  I watched the video that came with it several times but I am not sure if I got it right yet,  I do like the pencils better than water-coloring.  The colors are not the same as the inks.  This was a close as I could get.  With this attempt, I used the paper stump and blending liquid that is one the the techniques using the pencils.  I found it gave it a smooth look and blended the colors so much that I could not tell the difference in colors.  I did find it easy to work with.

The last one is using the pencils and trying to blend them together without any blender liquid.  Just the different colored pencils.  It gives it a texture look, not smooth like above.

So I have come to a conclusion that water coloring is NOT for me!  I do like the pencils better and I will have to keep practicing on the blending technique. 

Let me know what you think!

My next new technique, at least for me, is trying Rangers sticky embossing powder to put foil on my stamp images.  I just got my order from Scrapbook.com, a local online store along with foils and some different colors of alcohol inks the name brand stores don't carry.  There was also a sale going on.  Love sales!

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Crafting!

Inking Technique on a Get Well Card!

Saw a technique done with ink and an embossing folder on YouTube and decided to give it a try.  Using daubers, you dab ink onto parts of the embossing folder you want the colors to be on, spray a little water ( I used Sheer Shimmer Spritz) to wet the ink.  Place the cardstock on top of it and gently press until you think the color has gone onto the paper and lift carefully.  Let dry and then cut to size and add to card.  Here is my first try at it.  The Sheer Shimmer Spritz added sparkle to the paper ( the picture does not show it very well).  It did not take long to dry.  Pop ups on the sentiment frame.  I had fun trying it out and hope you all give it a try!  I am going to see what other looks I can get using different folders.

Items used:
CTMH Exclusive Sapphire Cardstock and CTMH Exclusive Sapphire Ink Stamp Pad 
CTMH Exclusive Poppy Cardstock and CTMH Exclusive Poppy Ink Stamp Pad
Anna Griffin Feather Illusion Embossing Folder
Spellbinders dies
Sentiment: A1146 Sincere Expressions
Misc pearls

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Crafting!

Happy Anniversary Card

Saw a card from another consultant and decided to try it out. She had used the new CTMH Fundamental Paper Packs and matching Assortment Pack for a birthday card.  I have the retired Fundamental Paper Packs in my stash so I used those and for the bows I used my Cricut to cut them from the Artiste Cartridge for a anniversary card.  Anniversary cards are so overlooked!  The sentiment is a stamp set from CardzTV called Happy Days.  A few gems and stars punched out of glitter paper I had in my stash and wallah!  I had fun putting the bows together, used liquid glass to stick them together, it drys fast.

Let me know what you think!

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Crafting!

"A Thankful Heart"

I fell in love with this new stamp set called Fallen Leaves!

I just had to come up with something, so I hope I did it justice.

Card base is out of Cashmere Cardstock, embossed with the Sizzix Brick Wall folder and stamped with the leaf stamps in the background.  Then I picked 3 of the leaf stamps and fussy cut them out after I sponged (burnished) them with Honey, Canary,Sweet Leaf ,and the NEW Saffron and Fern Exclusive Ink.  The sentiment is from the stamp set called Thankful Heart and placed it on an oval which I cut using my old CM cutting system.  I got lazy and did not want to use my Cricut.  Don't get me wrong, I love..love..love my Cricut but sometimes you just want something fast.  The circle is also cut using the CM cutting system and embossed with the Distressed Strips folder to give texture.

Let me know what you think!

Stop by my store for these or any other crafting needs I can help with!

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Crafting!

EEK! Halloween Time!

Cricut time!  Love making cards using my Cricut.  Some wiggly eyes and wobbles ( the eek circle) and it's Halloween time!   Used my CTMH Artistry cartridge and basic shapes to make the spiders.  Gel Pen was used to add the white lines.  Spooky Sayings from CardzTV stamps for the inside sentiment.

Hope you like it!  Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Crafting!

Halloween "redo"

The more I looked at my Halloween starburst card, the more I wanted to change it.  There are a lot of examples on YouTube of starbursts and the one I did was one of them but I just was not happy with it.  Maybe it needed more paper, I don't know but I went back to an earlier design I did with a starburst or sunburst.

Original

So I redid it like a card I did earlier for a birthday card.

previous birthday card

So here is my redo!

NEW DESIGN

I like this one better!  I should do a card and just sit on it for awhile before posting just in case I change it.  LOL!  As I tell our community club, every card is a one of a kind! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Crafting!

"Give Thanks"

I really love this cute hostess rewards stamp set called Blessings of Autumn! 

The card base is from our new color Saffron and the mat is one of the retired colors Olive.  Embossed the mat with an embossing folder that has branches and leaves.  Placed on a 3x3 Colonial White, I stamped the vines with Chocolate ink and the sentiment on the banner.  Saffron ink for the acorn which I also embossed with clear embossing powder to give it a little sparkle.  It is hard to see in the photo.  Bronze Shimmer Trim was tucked under the mat before adhering to card base.  Loving it!

If your interested in hosting a online event to earn this stamp set let me know!
Also check out my store for any of your crafting needs!

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Crafting!

SOTM Paper Garden!

Created a Get Well card using the September Stamp Of The Month- Paper Garden.  Love how it turned out!

 When you place an order of $50 or more in Close To My Heart products (excluding purchases made in Studio J^®), you qualify for this special Stamp of the Month for just $5.

 

I also used a new stamp set called Feel Better and Inkblot.  I also love the new colors that came out this month.  The new one on this card is called Peacock and I used it for stamping the flower and sentiment.  Peacock also comes in our Exclusive Cardstock and I used that for matting.  Flaxen cardstock was used for the card base.   Flaxen ink was used for the ink blots on the White Daisy mat and inking the edges.  Used some homemade enamel dots to give it a little pop!

Hope you like it!  Don't forget to stop by my store for these or any other crafting needs.

Thanks again for stopping by!

Happy Crafting!

"There's a Feeling of Christmas"

I love Christmas!  Today's card is using a paper saving technique I stumbled across either on Pinterest or YouTube.  I struggle with what I feel is wasting paper when I want to make card bases from 12x12 paper.  When you cut it down to 8.5 x 11 you only get 2 card bases and a lot of waste.  This technique is amazing.  Cut 1 inch off one side of the 12x12 paper then turn and cut at the 4 inch mark twice and wow..you get three cards.  They will be just a quarter inch off but adjust you mats down from there.  They still fit in standard A size envelopes.   I don't know about any one else but this was new to me.  Wish I had thought if it, seems so simple!

I chose our Colonial White cardstock for the card base which comes in 12 x 12 size.  Introducing our NEW Workshop On The Go White Pines Scrapbooking Kit.  I used the stamp set and paper from that kit along with our new Fern Thick Twine and Fern Exclusive Ink.  I added Sparkles for some bling.  I had to color them with my ShinHan Touch Twin Carmine Marker to add color.  Simple but elegant card.  One down, more to go...Christmas is coming sooner than you think!

Thanks for stopping by on your busy day!  Don't forget to check out my store for these and the other NEW items that arrived.

Happy Crafting!

"Introducing Our New Idea Book"

Introducing our new Annual Expressions 2015-2016 and Holiday Expressions 2015!  The Annual Expressions is good through August 2016 and the Holiday Expression is good through December 2015.  So go check them out on my site and you will see gorgeous new items and ideas!

 If there is any questions, feel free to contact me!

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Crafting!

Happy National Stamping Month!

September is National Stamping Month, and this year Close To My Heart has something to help every kind of paper crafter say a big “hello” to life! Available only during the month of September, these exclusive C-size My Acrylix^® Hello, Life! stamp sets can be purchased for $13.95 USD / $16.50 CAD each! Or, for an even better deal, you can purchase all three for only $34.95 USD / 41.50 CAD—a savings of $6.90 USD / $8 CAD! Each stamp set is designed to fit with a specific type of paper crafting, whether that’s scrapbooking, cardmaking, or pocket scrapbooking. However, all the stamp sets coordinate with each other and can be used together to create dynamic artwork. These stamp sets also coordinate with shapes from the new Cricut® Artistry collection to help expand your artwork options even further. Remember, these stamp sets are available for one month only, so get your orders in for one stamp set—or all three—before these gorgeous stamps disappear!

Here's the card I made using 2 of the sets!  Love how it turned out.  Masculine cards are something that is hard for me to do and I think this one turned out great.  I will definitely be sharing this in a class or our community Paper Arts Club!

 

inside of card

If your interested in these great one of a kind stamps sets, please shop here!  Remember they are only available for the month of September!

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Crafting!