Winter Coffee Lovers Hop and SPDMIU38

As soon as I got my hands on the Distress Oxide Ink pads I couldn't wait to try them. I didn't think there was anything new that could be done with inks until I spotted these on youtube. I think they have been quite a surprise to everyone who has been around  paper crafting community for awhile.

On this tag I used: Walnut Stain, Vintage Photo, Broken China, and Faded Jeans. Then I used my Sugar Pea Designs Sugar Cut- Coffee To Go Dies. The cup sleeve is a scrap from my stash. I am really trying to use up some of that stuff out of my scrappy drawer.
I want to add this to:
The Winter Coffee Lovers Hop
Sugar Pea Designs Mix It Up Challenge #38

My new friend!

This is my new buddy Squirtle. I got him on Black Friday from the Humane Society. I had picked him from a picture online. His picture just popped out to me and his name is my nickname for my little nephew. I was originally going to look for an older cat. Because of the looooooong wait for adoption on black friday they only let you see 2 animals. The other kitty I looked at, when I read his paperwork, I saw he didn't get along with other animals, so he was out. 

This picture shows his slightly orange stripage in the black.

I decided right off that I wanted to leash train him and was trying to figure out a way to make my own. This tiny t-shirt from a stuffy fit him but when I redesigned it to fit him better, it fell apart.

This was another fail. I ended up with a leather cord and a slip knot and he does pretty good with that. He thinks he wants to go out and explore the hallways. I haven't taken him outside yet and I don't want him out on my balcony because there is a tree right next to it and I can see him jumping over. I did get him a harness but it is too big right now and he can get out of it. The problem with the slip knot is when he freaks out he pulls back and it tightens around his neck. He is not comfortable with other people yet. If he sees someone in the hallway he freaks and does his best Halloween kitty and pulls away, so I pick him up to make him feel safe but he will put up a fight. 

He had an ear infection when I got him and has been feeling much better now. He spent the night of the super moon bouncing off the walls and knocking everything over for about 10 hours. ah, youthful energy. He let me sleep last night.

Delight IN The Little Things

For this card I used great-catch by Sugar Pea Designs. I used some scrap tags from my stash, matching them up on the inside and outside. I colored this in colored pencils.

Simple cards

Yup, I actually made a few simple cards. Actually these just started out as me trying out some new layered floral stamps. I added some scrap tags that I have had in my stash for a long time and left the inside is blank.

You Make My Heart Pop! SPDMIU36

This is another stamp by Sugar Pea Designs . The cat is from Gerda Steiner Designs Playful Kittens stamp set. I added some of the pop corn with foam tape for a little dimention. I could see this little girl watching a movie with her pop corn and a playful kitten flying through the air and causing quite a mess. I use a piece of pop corn as the O in the word pop. I would love the matching dies for this set. Hand cutting pop corn is a pain. LOL

You're a Great Catch! SPDMIU36

I love this raccoon! So cute! The stamps are from Sugar Pea Designs. They have so many cute images. I am still trying to conquer the alcohol marker. I need a lot more practice. They color up much faster than colored pencils (my usual go to coloring product). This is rather love hate for me. I can get an image colored quickly but I enjoy taking my time with pencils and layering, plus they are erase able. Every time I have tried the trick of moving marker color with the clear blender I end up with a huge area of bleed. I will keep trying, but I don't see them as my go to for awhile.

Hello!

This large beautiful background die is another from Sue Wilson's Scandinavian Collection the lovely lady is Juliette from Tattered Lace.

Happy Cake!

The center panel of this card is the new cake die from the fall release at PartiCraft called"Make A Cake" The rounded die on the sides is the "Lattice Arched Adornment". I used the icing decore from the cake set to make a pretty swag at the top of the card. The icing is from Stardream paper and the cake itself is a burgundy suede to make it look like Red Velvet cake.

I could Just Squeeze You- SPDMIU35

Pucker Up is the name of this cute set from Sugar Pea Designs.  I used the Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks on the tag. 

Sugar Pea Designs Mix it up challange #35

I have really fallen hard for these stamps from Sugar Pea Designs. They are adorable!

Blow-me-away Is the name of this set and it comes with the fun blowing bubbles, a piece of cake, a pin wheel and a kite, plus several phrases. 

Watercolor Imprints Play Results

Here is the card I made using a print that I got playing with the Watercolor Imprints in the article from Splitcoaststampers by Dina Kowal. I spent many hours just making backgrounds that can be seen in the last post. 

All the dies used on this card are from Sue Wilson's Atlantic Ocean collection. They are:Atlantic Ocean - Azores, Atlantic Ocean - Border and Corners and Atlantic Ocean - Tag Duo

Playtime Part 2

I started off playing with the Distress Oxide inks and then after seeing the article Watercolor Imprints by Dina Kowal on Splitcoaststampers I had a blast playing with this idea. 

Flower Quatrefoil Stencil by Dreamweavers is available through Stampendous

This was done with the Distress Oxide inks.

Cathedral Windows stencil by Dreamweavers is available through Stampendous

                           This was done with the Distress Oxide inks.

Pinwheel Checkerboard stencil by Dreamweavers ia available through Stampendous

                       This was done with the Vivid inks by Clearsnap.

This was done with the Vivid inks by Clearsnap.

                             This was done with the Vivid inks by Clearsnap.

                            This was done with the Vivid inks by Clearsnap.

                        This was done with the Vivid inks by Clearsnap.

                        This was done with the Vivid inks by Clearsnap.

This is also a Dreamweaver stencil, but I can not find it available anywhere. It is LX7015

                              This was done with the Distress Oxide inks.

This was done with the Distress Oxide inks.

My next post will use this piece in a card.

Playtime part 1

I have had these pencils for many years and never used them. They have 3 different colors of lead all mixed in one pencil. They look cool, but will I ever use them and for what? so, if I want to keep them I need to know that I will use them. So first I cut up a couple of pieces of card stock 4 1/4 by 5 1/2 and scribbled a full sheet. The colors are pretty and change on a regular. I smudged them with Gamsol and a Q-tip to blend them up.

Then I scribbled some more on top of that. Some I went over again with Gamsol and some I left.

I had done the eyes of the Peacock feathers with regular colored pencils and then skipped around using the Magic pencils. Then I used the Gamsol to blend my colors. The Magic pencils were only used on the triple feathers.

This experiment turned out interesting and fun, but I really don't see a huge coloring future with these pencils so off they go to my sale stuff.

Goodies from Stampendous!

I got picked out of the commenters to receive their new Peacock set. It came so fast and it is a beautiful set of dies, stamps and a stencil is included with the stamps.

 This was the first card that I made with this stamp set from Stampendous. I had just gotten the full first set of Distress Oxide inks. I had to get them after seeing so many videos on what you could do with them. So I had been playing with them when the stamps and dies arrived. After coloring the paper I used the stencil with a makeup sponge and some Luminare' paint. Then I decided that I wanted my Peacock to be shiny too. I grabbed my set of gel pens from Color It. I used the glittery ones and didn't have to worry about using them up because they come with refills and they also sell refills separately.  I love their products. They make it easy to buy a set of markers, gel pens and colored pencils. As you can see in the 2nd photo they really sparkle. That was the perfect touch to make my Peacock really pop. The words "Hello Gorgeous" are from Hero Arts Color Layering Flamingo.

 

The story of Boid

The kids were outside walking around and spotted a baby bird that had been blown out of his nest. That little spot is the blood stain where he fell. It was so windy for several days. Then it was rainy for the next few days. I didn't get this picture till several days later. Anyway, they brought the little guy in and we cleaned him up a bit and I gave him some water with a dropper. I didn't think he would make it at this point. We couldn't find any rescues to take him so off to google what to feed a bird. He was pretty big for a baby so I guessed he was a Mourning Dove. They hang out in the tree outside my apt. where he was found. The mix I used was dry cat food that had been soaked in water and Cream of Wheat. By day 3 he was much more active and ate as much as I could manage to get in him. Honestly, I think more was on me and my desk than in him, but he seemed to be getting stronger and more active. We did actually leave him in a box under the tree for parental pick up for the first 2 days, but they never came and at night I would bring the box up and put him out on my balcony next to the tree.The following picture is my cat napping near Boid's box. Yup, I got attached enough to name him and was starting to enjoy feeding him and watching him stretch his wings. Then after about a week, I woke up and tried to feed him and he looked like he was gasping for air or choking. We buried him in the back yard under a bush and made a little shrine. I cried a lot that day and felt like a bad mom. So helpless of a feeling, not being able to help him.

5th Birthday

I made this slider card for my nephew's 5th birthday.

What has happened to me and my art? Part has been that I have been going through my things to get rid of things i no longer need or want. My friend and I also have decided to get an RV and travel.....sooooo I need to get rid of a lot of stuff. Yup, I am a craft hoarder. I have spent many years trying every craft under the sun and holding on to the items because I might want to do them again some day. And yes, I would go back to them many times over the years. Sometimes friends would come to me looking for some craft item and I always had it to give. Now the time has come to unload these and get money for our new home. I have barely made a dent and the sales have slowed which is frustrating and rather depressing.I would drop the whole pile at Goodwill but the truth is we need the money to get the RV. I have a few more pictures to post, but this is it for now. 

Holiday Nails and Color It Marker Review

These were done with metalic green polish, gold stamped plaid and then I added some holiday designs in red. Then I added a few crystals. Not my favorite. But I am still learning. 

This is my newest purchase of markers from Color It. I am loving these and have heard that they will be offering refills in the near future.

This shows the inside of the case and you can see the nice area in the lid that has elastic strips. I chose to put my sampler in there. 

This shows the inside area that holds the markers. The plastic is removable. The inside of the case has a suede like material. It is nice and sturdy

I also got a set of coloring pages to test out with my order. This was the first one that I colored and I am also showing the back of it. Yes it bleeds threw, but I like to see what they look like on the back. Sometimes I like the back just as much as the front. 

I also did this tortoise. I had a lot of fun using so many colors. This set is a wonderful and affordable set of colors if you are looking for an alternative to Copic markers.  Go to Colorit Markers to see the full 50 color collection that they offer for $99.99. They also offer colored pencils and a great set of gel pens that come with refills!