Lunch Plates

 Hello!  

I am back again with another fall and food themed card.  I am loving the Spellbinders Dish It Up Dies and had to use them on another card.  

I know I am not the only one always asking friends to go to lunch!  I mean, it's a favorite activity!  I thought these dies would work perfectly for a friend 'let's go to lunch' card. 

 A place setting seemed to be the perfect way to go and there is a lot of inspiration online as far as place settings go.  This time I used Mirror Gold cardstock for my utensils from the Dish It Up Die Set.  I also used the Mirror Gold cs to make a gold rimmed plate and a gold salad plate.  The gingham plate was done with my favorite background stamp, Gingham from IO.  My leafy sprigs are made with Spellbinders dies, but they have been retired.  These dies are similar.  

I die cut these sprigs in every color cardstock imaginable, but nothing looked right.  I finally found a piece of discarded alcohol inked Yupo in pretty fall colors.  I die cut a set of sprigs, then placed a cs die cut offset behind it to give it a drop shadow appearance. A little bit of gold thread and a few sequins add more sparkle. 

I used a doily as a place mat.  This card base is another one that I have recycled from a disassembled card.  I may have not done any card making in the last few months, but I have disassembled a LOT of them!  Let's Do Lunch is a sentiment from a retired IO stamp set. 

I am linking this card up to Sunday Stamps~

I am also linking up to The Card Concept~

Thanks for stopping by!  

Lee Ann 

Supplies used in today's project(s)

3M Scotch ATG Advanced Tape Glider SSS	Neenah Classic Crest 80# Ream Smooth Solar White Cardstock SSS
Simon Says Stamp Assorted Moonshine Sequins SSS	Versafine Onyx Black Ink SSS | scrpbk
Tonic Craft Guillotine Trimmer SSS	Mirror Gold Cardstock Spellbinders
Mini Distress Ink Pad, Rusty Hinge SSS	Wacky Stitched Circles Dies IO
Gina K Connect Glue SSS	MISTI SSS
SB Dish It Up dies Spellbinders	SB Holiday Blooms Dies Spellbinders

Impression Obsession's Old is New Day

 Hello All! 

Welcome!  Today the Impression Obsession Design Team is sharing projects using older IO stamps.  I love revisiting older stamps and giving them some love! You can see the list of participants on the Impression Obsession Blog.  

This image, Sweet Baby Bird, is, well, Sweet!  This cutie is colored with Copics and fussy cut out.  

For the background, I opted to use one of 3 alcohol ink prints I made with Alcohol Lift Ink.  You can see the others here.  The background was made with alcohol inks, Alcohol Lift Ink, and the Ornate Flourish Stamp.  I added a die cut using the Bare Branch Die to give it some dimension.    I finished off the card with the sentiment, One Moment. 

I am linking up to Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, Anything Goes.  

Head over the the blog for more inspiration using older Impression Obsession stamps! 

Thanks for stopping by, 

Lee Ann 

A Flourish and a Sketch

Hello and Happy Saturday! 

I love the unique sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches and just had to play~

I love the trendy slim line cards as well and found that the Ornate Flourish stamp from Impression Obsession was perfect for this sketch.  

I turned the sketch 180 degrees to accommodate my image.  To stamp this image, I started with a alcohol  ink panel in various shades of blue.  I then used Alcohol Ink Lift Ink to transfer the ink color to Neenah Solar White CS.  I ended up making 3 panels and then also had the original negative image on Yupo.  You can find the steps to make these panels HERE.  

The image and alcohol ink did all of the heavy lifting.  I finished the card with a cool tall, skinny sentiment, Made To Be.  A few sequins were added and that is it!

 

Thanks so much for popping in and have a wonderful weekend!

Lee Ann  

Alcohol and Embossing

 Hello!

Happy Friday, All!  

Today I have a mini slim card to share, using the amazing new Ornate Flourish Stamp from Impression Obsession.  This background came about from doing the Alcohol Ink  with Lift Ink technique.  

I started with a variety of Tim Holtz Alcohol Inks on Yupo paper.  These are the steps I used to make my cards~

1.  Place Yupo Paper with Alcohol Ink into MISTI.  

2.  Place stamp on MISTI door

3.  Ink up Ornate Flourish stamp with Alcohol Ink Lift Ink

4.  Stamp onto the alcohol inked Yupo paper 

5.  Remove Yupo from MISTI and replace with a piece of Neenah Solar White CS

6.  Stamp alcohol ink that has transferred to the stamp onto the cs

7.  CLEAN stamp and remove cs from MISTI

8.  Replace cs with the Yupo paper. 

9.  Ink stamp with Alcohol Ink Lift Ink again and stamp onto alcohol Inked Yupo paper again

10.  Remove Yupo again and replace with same cs and stamp it to intensify the color.  You can also replace with a new piece of cs for a second image if you are OK with the color intensity of the first panel. 

I repeated the process several time and ended up with 3 cs prints of the Ornate Flourish and then this original alcohol ink panel with the negative of the stamped image.  You can see one of my stamped panels on this card HERE.  

The image was trimmed up to make a mini slim card and adhered to a white card base.  I then diecut a Rustic Butterfly from white cs.  I inked it up with Versamark ink and heat embossed it with Gina K. Fine Detailed Gold Embossing Powder.  To ground the butterfly, I die cut a circle from the Scalloped Stitched Circles Die Set. Lastly I finished the card with a sentiment strip using the sentiment You Are Amazing.  A sprinkling of gold sequins finish the card.  

I am linking up to Sunday Stamps for their color challenge~

Also linking up to Just Add Ink~

Thanks for stopping by and have a blessed weekend!

Lee Ann  

Mixed Media Morning Glories

 Hello and Happy Weekend!  

Mixed Media.  Love it or hate it?  I am loving it more and more.  I have two cards to share using the same stamp- Sympathy Morning Glories from snss- and mixed media.  One is CAS and one is not so CAS.

Starting with a piece of translucent Yupo and Tim Holtz Alcohol Inks, I created a bright, pink, yellow and orange background.  Once dried, I stamped the image onto the Yupo using Versamark ink, then heat embossing with Gina K Fine Detail Gold Embossing Powder.  Lastly, I fussy cut the image out.  And I have to say, one must use a sharp scissors to fussy cut!  I have been using CutterBee Scissors for years, but did not realize how dull my scissor had gotten.  What a difference a new CutterBee Scissors made!  

The background panel was done with a stencil and translucent embossing paste.  I wanted texture and design, but I did not want it to compete with the flowers.  Bonus- it also gave it shine!

A red strip of cs was adhered to the background panel and then the flowers, ,which were mounted on a white cs circle were adhered on top of that with foam adhesive.  To finish the card, I heat embossed the sentiment, from the Birthday Wordfetti Stamp Set, onto a thin strip of black cs and adhered it to the panel.  

I am linking up Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, Happy Birthday and to Tic Tac Toe Challenge; I chose the middle downward row, flowers, FREE and any shape die (circle).

The second card is CAS but still mixed media~

The flowers were stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored with Copics with a light hand- sort of.  I fussy cut it out and paired it with a circle die cut from a gel press print.  I decided to anchor the pieces in the bottom right corner of the card.  for texture, I added a white card front die cut to the background panel.  

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a blessed weekend!

Lee Ann  

Die Cut Obsession with Impression Obsession

 Hello, Hello! 

We have set aside a day to share some fabulous, new Impression Obsession die projects.  Have fun checking out what the designers have made today.  You can find a list of DT participants on the Impression Obsession Blog.  

My card today is rather unique.  I knew I wanted to use the Labrador Die and at first thought I would pair it with a humorous sentiment.  Then as I got to putting the card together, I came upon 1 of three backgrounds I had made using alcohol inks and the new Ornate Flourish Stamp.  Then I got to thinking of the loyalty of man's best friend and I decided to pair him with the The Way You Are Sentiment. 

 For the background, I made an alcohol ink background with greens and blues.  To get the Ornate Flourish image, I stamped the image with Alcohol Lift Ink onto the alcohol ink background, then transferred that ink to a piece of white cs.  

The sentiment was stamped with IO black Ink.  The Labrador Die was die cut from light grey cs and then colored with Copics.  I used a Google image for reference.  I really like to pull up reference photos when coloring as I really like realism.  The tongue and collar were die cut from white cs and colored as well.  The dog was assembled and added to the card front.  His nose, tag and tongue were coated with Glossy Accents.  

I am linking this card up to The Tic Tac Toe Challenge- I used 'coloring', 'Free' and 'Layers'.  

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend!

Lee Ann  

Easy Alcohol Ink Swatching

 Hello All!  

Just popping in with a quick post about getting organized!!  OK, who am I kidding?  I will never be organized!  But I am trying.  I tend to avoid swatching of ink colors, but I was having a hard time with alcohol inks as you really can't tell their true colors in the bottle.  

Then along came this cute little die, the 3 Rectangle Frames Die from Impression Obsession.  I also came across some old photo paper that needed to be used up.  So, my rectangles became swatches.  

The best part?  with each die cut I got three swatch tags, not just one!  So time saved=WIN! 

Plus, I am just downright impatient with this sort of thing, so speeding things up is a positive for me.  

I colored each rectangle with alcohol ink and then just labeled the backside of the tag.  Once they were complete, I punched a hole in the top of each rectangle and put them on a binder ring.  

I am so tickled with how this turned out!  

Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulous and blessed week and we enter Holy Week!

Lee Ann  

Celebrating June Sweet n Sassy Stamps Release!

Hello and welcome to another Sweet n Sassy Stamps Celebration Hop!
It is amazing how fast these months are flying by; here we are, already mid-June.  We have some wonderful inspiration for you, all made with the incredible June release! Hope along and leave a little love for the designers linked below and you may be the winner of a Sweet n Sassy Stamps voucher to the SNSS online store!  Winner will be announced on the SNSS blog on Wednesday, June 24. 
How could I not use my most favorite new stamp for the hop??  The gorgeous, huuuuge, Dazzling Dahlia Stamp Set.  Did I mention how huuuuge this stamp is??

This stamp is simply gorgeous!  I went to my trusty Copic markers for this first card. I stamped the image in Memento Desert Sand ink on Neenah Solar White CS and did some no line coloring.  The sentiment is from the Sentimental Mash Up Stamp Set and is stamped in Vesafine Onyx Black ink.  I added a bit of Sakura white gel pen highlights to the flower center and Studio Katia Clear Round drops to finish the card. 

Can you guess what was used to color the flower on this card?

If you said alcohol inks, you are correct!  I was inspired by Sandy Allnock to try this.  I started with a piece of Yupo paper and some Ranger Alcohol inks.  My initial plan was to start with an inked panel but that did not work so well.  As I was removing the ink with alcohol, towards the end I was left with a pinky peachy background, which I loved.  I decided this would be my starting point.
I carefully heat embossed the image in Brutus Monroe Raven Embossing Powder.  Then, using a Wild Plum colored alcohol ink, alcohol and a cheap paint brush, I brushed in some color.  I also splattered on some alcohol to the whole piece for some texture.  Once I was happy with the flower, I chose a section of the flower to fussy cut out and drew a line across the card front.  This was then fussy cut away.
For the background, I clear embossed the leaves onto a black panel.

The sentiment, from the Happy Irises Stamp Set,  was heat embossed on vellum with rose gold embossing powder.  It really complimented the pinky peachy alcohol ink color. I finished this card off with some black rainbow jewels from Kat Scrappiness, gifted to me by Esther Asbury!

The last card is colored with water colors~

Some cards are just tough to photograph and this is one of them.  I really could not capture the color in this card, probably because of the gold paper and gold embossing.  I used Daniel Smith Watercolors for this card.  Stamped in Versafine Black ink on Arches Watercolor Paper.  The sentiment is from the Begin Again Stamp Set. 

Check out all of the amazing inspiration on the hop and don't forget to comment!

Sweet n Sassy Blog
Julee Tilman
Ceal Pritchett
Diane Zechman
Esther Asbury
Jane Bosi
Karen Decknick
Lee Ann Barrett- You are HERE!
Lyn Tomlin
Sheri Gilson 

Thanks for stopping by!

Lee Ann

Other Retailers for products used~

Sweet n Sassy Stamps Sentiment Mash Up from Simon Says Stamp
Sweet n Sassy Stamps Happy Irises Stamp Set from Simon Says Stamp
Versafine Onyx Black Ink from Simon Says Stamp
Sweet n Sassy Stamps Begin Again Stamp Set from Simon Says Stamp
Arches 140# cold press watercolor paper from Simon Says Stamp
Copic Markers from Dick Blick Art Supplies
Sakura white Gel pen from Dick Blick Art Supplies
Ranger Alcohol Inks from Dick Blick Art Supplies

Freshly Made Sketches #426

Hello and Happy Wednesday to you!

Karren is our hostess this week at Freshly Made Sketches and she has a wonderful sketch for us.

So I took some liberties with this week's sketch, including turning it~

The image is from Pinkfresh Studio.  I stamped it in light colored Memento ink on Yupo paper using my MISTI.  I then started adding alcohol inks- first Honeycomb, then several different pinks.  I used alcohol as well and blew the ink around until I was happy with it.  Once I started adding the alcohol ink, the stamped image disappeared but I just used it for purposes of dropping in the ink initially.  At this point I was not planning on fussy cutting the image.
I added a bit of Jacquard Pinata gold alcohol ink as well and then let it dry. There were still some tacky areas, so I rubbed gold foil on the areas.  Lastly, I put it back in the MISTI, stamped it in Versafine Black ink and then heat embossed it with clear dp.
Overall, the look was just too busy, so this is where I decided to fussy cut the image out.
Using a Prima stencil, I added some white embossing paste to the card base, approximately where the circle on the sketch is as well as the narrow dark label type element.
Next came a strip of black cs and then the image itself, popped up on dimensional adhesive.
The sentiment is from SSS and is heat embossed on white cs.  I added a bit of gold threat behind it as well as 3 gold sequins in triangle fashion.
This card is for a dear friend, who is also my boss and lead nurse where I work.  She is leaving for greener pastures as a nurse practitioner.  I am happy for her, sad for me.  I certainly do treasure our friendship.
I am linking up to The Flower Challenge- 'anything goes'.   

Check out the blog for lots of amazing inspiration from the rest of the team! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Lee Ann 

Growing In Unity- 1 image 3 Ways

Hello, Hello!

It is already Day 4 of Growing in Unity.  The week is flying by.  Don't forget to leave a comment on this blog post for a chance to win 25 Unity stamps.  For more chances to win, comment on each of my GIU blog posts for this week.
Today I am featuring one of my favorite Unity Stamps, You Are Forever Beautiful, buy Angie Blom.
 Angie is so talented; from florals to her Angie girls, bunnies to Butterflies, Angie's images are outstanding.
I decided to show you 3 ways to use this stamp (as I could not settle on any one way to use it), starting with the easiest and ending with the most involved.

I got out my Alcohol Ink Lift Ink and an alcohol ink panel that I had in my stash.

Using my MISTI, I stamped the image with the Lift Ink several times.  Easy Peasy!  I added a sentiment from the Lily Blossom set in gray ink and then die cut the panel with a scalloped rectangle die and popped the outer frame up with dimensional tape.  Once again, I used sequins to finish the card.  I was inspired by the book at The Library Challenge.  I love the rich yet subtle colors of the cover.

Next up, I stamped the image in Versafine ink on water color paper and did some loose watercoloring.

I used my Arteza watercolor pens for this which made it super easy.  As you can see, aside from the sentiment, everything else is the same as the first card.  The sentiment is from Another Name for Love.  I had a heck of a time photographing this card.  Sorry for the two pictures.
I am linking this card up to Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge- Beautiful Blooms

Lastly, I did quite a bit of masking for this card, making it my most involved card.

I used a sketch from Sketch Saturday for this card.  I simply turned the sketch upside down.

I really love how this turned out. I masked the lower portion of the image off each time I stamped.  The sentiment panel hides all of the 'unfinished' images.  The images are colored with Copics and the sentiment, which is from the Girl Truly Sentiment Set, is heat embossed in gold. I embellished the card with gold thread, and of course, sequins.

That's it for me today; I really appreciate you stopping by, and I appreciate all your support through commenting on my blog posts and in the Unity Show and Tell group.  Stampers are the best!

Lee Ann

Two for One with Lift Ink

Hello and Happy Sunday!

I am finally getting over being sick for 3 weeks- Hallelujah!  So many things around the house are waiting to get done.  Maybe now...
I do have two cards to share today, using a stamp from the September Technique Junkies Release.  I consider the September release to be the release that just keeps on giving! 

 This Autumn Doodles Background stamp - What a beauty!  This first card uses a technique that Jennifer McGuire shared on a video.  So fun and easy!  And you get two cards out of one technique.

I started with a piece of Yupo and alcohol inks in a fall palette.  I created my alcohol ink background and then simply stamped the Autumn Doodles stamp in Alcohol Ink Lift Ink (using the MISTI).
I then immediately stamped the ink that was on the stamp onto a piece of cardstock that I placed in my MISTI.  I repeated this technique 2 or three times to transfer the maximum amount of ink to the paper, getting intense color. 
I simply matted the background and added a simple die cut and stamped sentiment to the card.

Now I still have the original Yupo paper left that I had lifted ink from.  It had a beautiful texture on it from the ghost image of the Autumn Doodles stamp.  I used this to make on of my favorite backgrounds- popped up negative die cut pieces~

Such a fun technique!  The background die is a retired Sizzix product and the 'thanks' die is from SugarPea Designs.  Gold thread looks so great with fall colors!

That's it for me!  If you plan on doing any shopping at Technique Junkies, use code TJ10LeeAnn

for a discount of 10% on your entire order (excluding clearance).   

Lee Ann 

Birthday Bird

Hello Everyone!

Mixed Media!  Yep, having a little fun!  Several different Technique Junkies stamps were used on this card.  You can get 10% off your entire cart at Technique Junkies with code TJ10LeeAnn, should you decide to go shopping!  Whoop!  Whoop!

This was just plain fun to make.  I started out with some translucent Yupo and alcohol inks.
I created a alcohol ink background in shades of blue.
Next, I wanted to try J. McGuire's ghost image technique.  I inked up my Technique Junkies Stencil Rings background stamp with Archival Ink.  I only had black, so that was going to have to do.
The alcohol inked background was stamped with the Stencil Rings stamp and then the ink
was immediately wiped off, taking the alcohol ink with it.  Such a cool technique.
Once the background was done, I brushed on Flitterglu to the bird from the Technique Junkies She is Fierce Stamp Set -Love this bird- stamped the image in the glue and then foiled the bird in gold.  I do not have a laminator, so I just sandwiched the foiled bird in between a folded piece of copy paper and ran it through my Big Shot.  It worked!  The bird was fussy cut out. 
I added a bit of glue to the background and added foil to that.  The speech bubble die cut was stamped with the Donuts Happy Birthday stamp.  A white strip of cardstock scored with a stitch die finishes off the card. 
I am linking up to these challenges-
Die Cut Divas- 'Anything Goes'
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge- 'Add some Texture'.
Happy Little Stampers 'Anything Goes with Dies' Challenge.

Thanks for stopping by!  Hope the rest of your week is amazing!

Lee Ann 

So Many Fun Techniques!

Hi All!

Weather has been quite yucky here- dreary rain, dreary, wind, rain, dreary... you get the idea!
I hope weather is better where you are!  I frequently have craft nights with friends and it sure is
hard getting the boatloads of supplies into the car when it is pouring!
There are so many things I have been wanting to try lately.  Yupo and alcohol inks being one of those things.  I also wanted to try using the die pieces that would be from the negative space of a background die, popping them up on dimensional tape.
This is what I ended up with~

I started with a piece of Yupo paper and applied alcohol inks to it using the Ranger Ink Blending Tool and alcohol.
Next, using a card front die, I die cut from a plain white piece of cardstock.  To adhere this to the black card base, I took the long way around.  Yep, pretty typical for me!  Instead of just applying adhesive to the pieces I wanted to use while still in the die, I instead used Press and Seal to keep them in place while I removed them from the die, then used more Press and Seal to the front of the pieces, being sure to keep them in their original place- and then applied dimensional adhesive to the backs of the die cut pieces and laid it onto my card base as a single unit.  When I was certain of the placement, I pressed them down and removed the Press and Seal.
See what I mean?  Long way around...
I repeated the process with the alcohol ink colored Yupo paper.  Once the background was done,
I stamped and colored the Butterfly 2 image from Technique Junkies and fussy cut it out.
The raised die cut background made a perfect backdrop for the butterfly.  I added Wink of Stella to the butterfly, though you cannot see it in the photo.

I am linking up to Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, 'Make Your Own Background'.  

If you plan on doing some shopping at Technique Junkies (a butterfly image, perhaps?!) you can
get 10% off your entire order by using code TJ10LeeAnn.

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a blessed Sunday!

Lee Ann