Spring Butterfly

Good Morning!

Today I am sharing a Spring butterfly card that I created using some Crafter's Companion stamps and the new Spectrum Aqua Markers.

While most of the country has cold and snow, we are having Spring like conditions here in California.  We really need some rain and snowpack here, so please send it our way as we are keeping our fingers crossed that we won't have a long, dry summer this year.

CC Sheena A LittleBit Scenic-Flying Colors  

CC Bebunni Floral-Bloom and Grow (sentiment)

Spectrum Aqua Markers:  Floral Pack(yellow and pink)

Memento Sky Blue Ink

Watercolor Paper 140# Cold Press

Archival Black Ink

Waterbrush

RI WIW--Inspiration Photo Challenge

Whew!  Can you believe that we are nearly to the third week of February?  Crazy isn't it?

This week on The House That Stamps Built we have been given this beautiful inspiration photo:

I know, you see lots of hearts, pink and red....well, I see hearts and love.  When I put those two things together, this is what I came up with.

1.  Love......I love cheese

2.  Heart......cheese in the shape of a heart

Now what could be better?

How about this adorable mouse with some heart shaped cheese?

I love how this card shows my whimsical side.  I love whimsy as it always makes me smile.  Smiling is good :)

I started by stamping the Repeat Impressions Tumbling Hearts #1210-K in Versamark ink onto an aqua panel and then I stamped the Repeat Impressions Cheese Heart Mouse #4205-G in Archival Black ink onto some 140# cold press watercolor paper and then colored it using Spectrum Noir Aqua markers.  Next I cut the image with a circle die and layered to two additional circle die cut layers.  I masked off everything but the "love" word from the Repeat Impressions I Love You #9711-E (from the Contain Yourself series) and stamped it with black ink.  I finished off the card with some yellow/white bakers twine and a heart button.

Please be sure to stop by each of my fellow Rock Star teamies and check out their
"inspired by" creations.

Cheri 

Joy 

Deonna 

Karen  

Patti J

Kathy

Debbie

Melissa (you are here)

We would love to have you play along with the challenge as well, head on over to The House That Stamps Built for all of the details.  Wendy will be giving away an awesome prize to one lucky person who plays along :)

Don't forget, if you are itching to do a little Repeat Impressions' shopping, you will find a 10% off discount code in my right sidebar.  Don't forget to use it! You will be glad that you did!

Spring is in the Air

I can't believe it is February already.  We have had a very mild winter here and some days it has been very spring like.  I do love Spring but we desperately need some snow pack in the hills to help with the water problems that we are having here in Cali.

I have been inspired by the weather though and created this card:

I created a watercolor background using Spectrum Noir Re-inkers and Blending Solution and then stamped this silhouette image over the top.  I added some Stardust Stickles for a little pop of shine.

Products used:

Crafter's Companion Sentimentals—Nature 
Watercolor Paper
Spectrum Noir Re-inkers: IB1, CG1, CR6
 Spectrum Noir Blending Solution
Spectrum Noir True Black Marker
Stardust Stickles
Sheena Snowfall Embossing Folder

Winter Wonderland hop with Tombow and Stampendous

“Welcome to the TombowUSA and Stampendous! Winter Wonderland hop!
If you have come from Pam Hornschu's awesome blog then you are on the right track, if not- you can start the hop over at the Stampendous Blog!

This hop will be a 3-day hop beginning today!

Hope you are ready to see some winter-ful projects using both TombowUSA and Stampendous products.”

First up, I created a card using these adorable penguins from Stampendous.

I stamped the Stampendous Bundled Penguins #RS-Q206 in black ink and watercolored with Tombow Dual Brush Pens  in a variety of aquas and grays with a touch of orange :)  To add some shimmer to the card, I added some Clear Wink of Stella over the penguins and their hats/scarves.  I used Stampendous Shaved Ice for the snow at the penguins feet and around the sentiment.  I used Tombow Xtreme, Foam Tabs and Mono Multi to adhere the layers and embellies.

For my next card, I used some of the fun Stampendous embossing powder and a sentiment stamp.

I stamped the Retro Script Merry Christmas #RS-G093 in black ink onto die cut label and edged it with some Stampendous Spoonful of Snow embossing powder.  I also edged the blue print panel of the card with the same embossing powder.  I used Tombow Xtreme, Foam Tabs and Mono Multi to adhere the layers of the card together.  I finished off this card with a beautiful bow.

How about a prize pack?

The Prize includes:

Tombow Dual Brush Pens, 10 Set Bright

Stampendous! Jumbo Cling Rubber Top Hat Snowman

Rules:

“In order to be entered to win this amazing prize, please comment on all the design team projects (be sure we have a way to contact you) as well as like BOTH TombowUSA & Stampendous! on Facebook!  If you don't have Facebook, be sure to let us know in the comments :)

We will be announcing our winner on Monday November 24^th at 3:30 PM EST.”

Here is a list of all of the blogs on the hop today, be sure to check them out!

Stampendous Blog
Tenia Nelson
Kristine Reynolds
Debbie Fisher
Amy Hurley-Purdie
Pam Hornschu
Melissa Cash
Tombow Blog

Thanks for stopping by!  Now, I am going to send you back to the Tombow blog :)

Pretty in Pink

Hi there!  This week the Tombow team has been sharing cards/projects with a pink theme in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month and all of the Warrior women who have had  breast cancer.

I think if you ask anyone, they will say that they have either battled breast cancer or held the hand of someone who has.

The card I am sharing today is for all of them.  This card has a bit of a vintage feel, yet soft and powerful with pink tones.

The technique I used for this card is one that I call Glazed Watercolor Technique. It is simple, fun and quick!

I started this card by pulling out the Noble stamp from Penny Black and applying Tombow Dual Brush Pens directly to the rubber.  The colors I used are:

Leaves:  126 and 098

Flowers:  772, 723 and 761

Shading:  N95 

After coloring directly to the rubber, I gave the stamp a few spritz with some homemade shimmer spray (recipe below) and then I stamped it onto some 140# cold press watercolor paper and held it there for a count of 10.  Carefully lift the stamp and allow image to dry. 

 Now here comes the fun....glazing part...okay it isn't really glaze, but it looks that way when finished.  I inked the stamp with Versamark ink and overstamped the watercolor image (be sure your image is dry) a little to one side or the other as this gives a bit of a shadow. Emboss with clear embossing powder.   Use the Tombow N95 marker to add some light shading to the side of the image that is not covered by clear embossing.  See, I told you the technique was easy.  

I would love for you to give my technique a try, if you do please come back and leave me a message so that I can check it out and show you some love!

Now, here is the recipe for the homemade shimmer spray:

In a fine mist spray bottle add a little bit of Ranger Perfect Pearls in whatever color you prefer and then fill with water.  Give the bottle a shakey shake and you are ready to go.  If you like a little sparkle, just add a little powder.  If you like a lot of sparkle, add a little more.  I always start with a little and adjust as needed.

I used Tombow's Xtreme Adhesive and Foam Tabs to hold everything together.  This is a great combo when you are using heavier paper like watercolor paper.

Friendship Spring Branch

I hope your summer is treating you right and you have been staying cool and out of the heat.  No better way to do that then by heading to your stamping space and getting creative.

Today, I am sharing a card I creating using my Tombow Dual Brush Pens and a spritzer to give my card a watercolor effect.

I started by die cutting three of the Hero Arts Spring Branch dies out of 140# Cold Press Watercolor paper and then coloring one of them completely using the following Tombow Dual Brush Pens: Avocado #098, Pink Rose #703, Pink #723 and Chocolate #969 (always need a little chocolate somewhere when crafting ;)

On the 2nd die cut, I colored only the leaves and the flowers and on the 3rd, only the flowers.  Give each of the die cuts a little spritz with water and watch the magic happen.

The Tombow Dual Brush pens will blend together and give you a beautiful watercolor look.  

Before you layer and add your Spring Branch to the card, add a few splatters of color using the markers, a non porous surface (ie:  an acrylic block or plastic plate), a paintbrush or toothbrush and some water. I scribbled the marker onto an acrylic block, spritz with water and then pick up color with the brushes and holding the brush over the cardstock, tap it with your finger.  Do this with each of the colors.  You will really be glad that you did!   I got the larger splatters by using a large soft paintbrush and smaller splatters by using the toothbrush.

When your card base is good and dry, stamp a sentiment in a coordinating ink on the lower right corner.  The sentiment I used is from the Penny Black, Special Wishes #30-229 stamp set.  

Next, you will want to adhere your completely colored die cut onto the card using some Tombow Mono Multi.  Next, you will want to snip the leaves and flowers off of the second die cut and layer them to the first die cut using Tombow Mono Multi.  Be sure to offset the leaves and petals a bit for a more realistic look.  Now, you will add the final set of flowers from the third die cut in the same manner as before.  Add a few pearls for a finishing touch and you are good to go!

This card was really quick and easy to make and would be perfect for when you need to mass produce some cards.

Sending you wishes for a wonderful weekend, thanks for stopping by!

Enjoy This Day

 Hello and welcome to the weekend!  I am so happy to say that we have finally gotten some rain here in Central CA and is much needed.  Although most of the country has been freezing cold and in the snow, we have been unusually warm and dry here.  

Today, I am sharing a card and tealight box that I created using a Watercolor Technique with Tombow Dual Brush Pens. 

I started with a bold image stamp from Impression Obsession called Solid Rose Cluster and inked it up using the following colors of Tombow Dual Brush Pens #452, 373, 133, 126.  I started with the lightest color on the flowers and then went in with a bit of the darker color, next I did the same thing for the leaves using the green markers.  I spritzed the stamp lightly and stamped it onto some white cardstock.  I always leave the stamp down for about a count of ten to allow the ink to absorb into the cardstock a bit.  I used Neenah Solar White 80# cardstock.

I used a Tombow Glue Pen to scribble random circle patterns onto each of the roses and sprinkled with Microfine Silk Warm Diamond Glitter from Elizabeth Craft Designs.  

Now for the whammy!  I created this adorable little box following a tutorial from Pootles Papercrafts on You Tube.  You can check it out here.  I love making boxes and never, ever want them to come apart (especially when used as gifts) and I am thrilled beyond words to say that the new Tombow Xtreme Glue Tape worked perfectly to hold this little box nice and secure!

Hip, hip, hooray!  Can you tell I am excited?  I can't wait for you to try this amazing new adhesive from Tombow. It really is the bomb diggity!

Fall Themed hop with Tombow and Candace Pelfrey

Hi there!  Well Fall is definitely in the air here in Central CA, the temps have dipped into 40's and we have had to fire up the wood stove to keep our tootsies warm.

Today I am sharing a card I created with one of my favorite techniques that I call Watercolor Stamping.  Tombow Dual Brush Pens are perfect for this technique because they have a nice brush tip on one end making it very easy to color directly onto the stamp.

I think it is important to have a good quality paper for this technique and I like Arches 140# cold press watercolor paper.  I chose to use the Cattails #3214K from Penny Black and I colored the leaves/stems with Tombow Dual Brush Pens in #076 and #098  and the cattails in #947 and #993.  After you have brushed the colors onto your stamp, spritz the stamp with a fine mist of water.  Immediately stamp onto your watercolor paper, hold stamp in place for a count of ten as this will help the ink settle into the watercolor paper.  

I find when I use watercolor paper I like to use a strong adhesive like Tombow Power Bond to adhere the paper to the next layer.  For each of the subsequent layers I used Tombow Mono Adhesive Dots as it is perfect for layering paper to paper.

I finished off the card with some Diamond Stickles on the cattails and some green ribbon ties.

Now, for the fun part.  Tombow has a great giveaway this week.  You could win the following:

Irojiten Colored Pencils Volume 9

In order to enter to win the prize, please comment on all the Design Team’s projects this week and if you are on Facebook, please pop on over and “Like” TombowUSA and  Jaded Blossom.   We will announce the Winner Friday November 22^nd at 3:30 EST!

Here is the week’s Line-up:
Tombow Blog
Debbie
Melissa
Jennie
Marie
Candace
Tombow Blog

If you would like to see more of my creations, I would love it if you "like" my INKclinations Facebook page...you would make this girl really happy if you did :)

Hop with Tombow and Michelle Woerner

Happy Veteran's Day! 

I want to start off by saying THANK YOU to all of our veterans.  You are appreciated more than you can ever know.  

Today the Tombow Team is hopping with the fantabulous Michelle Woerner.  Michelle is an amazing designer and I am thrilled to be hopping with her today.

You should have arrived here from Debbie's amazing blog, but if you didn't be sure to pop back to the Tombow Blog and start from the beginning.

I recently had the pleasure of teaching a group of ladies how I watercolor using Tombow Dual Brush Pens and this is one of the projects we made.  I created the wreath by cutting a ring using two nesting circle dies.  I cut several 1" x 3" pieces of cardstock from the Bo Bunny Autumn Song collection and then snipping the ends into a banner flag and then folding them in half but a little off kilter.  I placed a nice bead of Tombow Mono Multi onto the front side of the paper ring and then started placing the strips around the wreath, overlapping each one just a bit.  When I was finished wrapping the strips around, I flipped over the wreath and adhered the strips down with some more Tombow Mono Multi.  I used Tombow Power Bond to hold each of the layers together as the watercolor paper is pretty heavy and I wanted to make sure this turkey didn't budge :)

Here is a close up of the turkey....he is so pretty with his glitter!

I embossed the Inky Antics Tom Turkey image with black embossing powder onto some Arches 140# Cold Press Watercolor paper.  I used Tombow Dual Brush Pens in the following colors:

#020, 845,847,879,925,969,991

For this technique, I do NOT pre wet my paper.  I draw a thin line around the area that I want to add color to and then use a small #2 paintbrush to pull the color out and fill in the area.  I suggest letting each part of the image dry completely before moving on to the next to prevent the colors from running together.  If after an area dries, you can go back and repeat the process to add more color if necessary.

I have kept you long enough, be sure to stop by each of these blogs:

Tombow Blog
Debbie
Melissa
Jennie
Marie
Michelle Woerner
Tombow Blog

Before I send you on your way to Jennie's awesome blog, I wanted to let you know that if you comment on each blog along the hop you could win the following prize pack:

MONO Multi Liquid GlueMONO Adhesive Removable
Refill, MONO Adhesive Removable

In order to enter to win the prize, please comment on all the Design Team’s projects this week as well as “Like” TombowUSA and Spellbinders on Facebook.

I would love it if you would "like" my INKclinations Facebook page as well.

Watercolor Butterfly

Hello!  Wow, that is all I can say about the beautiful weather we have been having here in Cental CA.  I just want to be outside all of the time!  

A couple of weeks ago, I attended The Great Yosemite Stamp Escape and one of the things that we do every year is to trade ATC's.  ATCs (Artist Trading Cards) are 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" little pieces of artwork.  I normally make between 80-100 each year.  This year I chose to do a simple ATC.  I decided to use one of my all time favorite Penny Black stamps and Tombow Dual Brush pens to create these little works of art.

I chose three Tombow Dual Brush pens (Pink #723, Rhodamine Red #725 and Purple #665) and colored directly onto the stamp and spritzed lightly with some homemade pearl shimmer spray and stamped onto some Neenah Solar White 80# cardstock.  After you apply the stamp to the paper, count to three as this allows the ink to soak into the paper a bit and your image will have a bit more definition.  

Once the butterflies were all dry, I stamped the sentiment from the Hero Arts Clear Design Friends set in Memento Tuxedo Black ink onto the lower left corner.  I then rounded the upper right corner of my image panel and my Orchid/Black layering panels with the We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper.  Love that tool!

Next, I used some Tombow Mono Dots Roller to mat the image panel to some Orchid and Black American Crafts panels.  The black panel is 2 1/2" x 3 1/2", the orchid is 2 3/8" x 3 3/8" and the white panel is 2 1/4" x 3 1/4".  

Here is what they looked like once they were all assembled.  The Dual Brush Pens react so nicely with the shimmer spray and the butterflies just glisten!

Watercolor Butterflies

Happy Thursday! Today I have a quick post to share a card that I created for a class that I taught a few weeks ago.  

My card was inspired by the card to the left.  I don't know who made it,  but I knew I liked it and saved it in my inspiration file when I saw it.  If you know who might have made it,  please let me know so that I can give proper credit. This is another great reason to watermark your photos, ya never know when someone wants to give you a little shout out. :) 

 For my card, I used the Hero Arts Friend definition stamp for the background, it was embossed  in white and then the panel was edged with Tea Dye ink. The butterfly is Memory Box's Cocoa Bean butterfly.  I colored my butterflies with three different colors of Lyra Watercolor Crayons and then spritzed the stamp with some pearl shimmer spray and stamped onto 140# cold press watercolor paper. This stamp has a matching die, so I then cut them out and edged them with Tea Dye Distress ink.   Don'tcha love it when you don't have to spend extra time fussy cutting your images?  Well, I gotta run.  See you soon.

Mother of All Blog Hops-Poppies

Welcome to the There She Goes Mother of All Blog Hops! If you have arrived here from Becky's amazing blog, then you are in the right spot. If not, I recommend that you start back on the There She Goes company blog to get the introduction to our hop as well as the information you will need in order to enter to win some exciting prizes!

Tonight I am featuring stamps from the TSG Poppies set that was recently released.  Can I tell you how much I love, love poppies and especially our uber beautiful California Poppies.  The flowers were embossed two times on watercolor paper with Gold EP and then watercolored with Tombow markers.  The second set of flowers were cut out and popped up over the first.

There's alot for you to see tonight, so I won't keep you. So I will send you on to Belinda's awesome blog for some more eye candy.


Hugs,

Somer's Flowers

Hi there!

The card I have for you today is for last week's Potluck Friday challenge over at StampTV. My fellow Center Stage Spotlight Design Team member Deb Felts challenged us to create a soft and femine card. There was a special reason for this challenge, Deb lives in Florida near where Somer Thompson and her family live. This card will be sent to Deb and she is going to give all of the cards to Somer's Mom so that she will know how much people are thinking about her during this terrible time. If you would like to create a card and send it on, you can find the information in the challenge thread here.

I stamped the iris in Black Stazon ink onto Arches 140# cold press watercolor paper and used my Tombow markers to watercolor with. The image was cut/embossed with the Nestabilities Classic Octagon die. I turned it a bit and layered to a light pink octagon and then popped that up with a little foam tape to the print cardstock. Some lavender satin ribbon and clear gems (that I colored with Copic marker BV11 were added to finish off the card.

Stamps: Elegant Flowers (GKD) Paper: purple (Bazzill), print (PTI), pink (Worldwin), Arches 14# watercolor paper Ink: Stazon Black Extras: Ribbon , Gems, Nesties, Copic BV11

P.S. Notice something new? I'll post more about the change later.

Hugs,

Iris Thank You

Happy Monday everyone! The card I am sharing today is one I made just for the heck of it. No particular challenge or class was in mind. All stamps/paper/cardstock used was from Gina K's Floral Frenzy Kit. I embossed the Iris's with Egyptian Gold EP on Canson 140# cold press watercolor paper and then used my Tombow markers to watercolor. I added a bit of Diamond stickles to the centers of the flowers for a little extra bling. If you have any questions, let me know.

hugs,

California Poppy

Good Monday Morning! I will be off to work soon, but wanted to share this card with you first. Being a Cali girl, I have always loved Poppies, but lately I have really been getting into them. When I saw this image from CHF, I knew I had to have it. I embossed the image with detail gold EP onto Canson 140# cold press watercolor paper (yes, paper matters) and then used Jerri Kay's Tombow watercolor technique for coloring. I was lucky enough to take her class at CHA and all I can say is WOW! I used various shades of yellow/orange/green for this card. I didn't keep track, but if you want specifics I will pull them and let you know. The green and orange cardstocks are from my stash and the print is from Basic Grey's Marrakech line. A friend sent me a few pieces from her 6 x 6 pad. Note to my paper buyer (need this too!) The ribbon/trim is from Maya Road (I think), I have had it for awhile now. The buttons are from various places. I used my Nesties for the oval and scalloped oval. Oh, I must get ready for work. hugs to all,