Impression Obsession DT Challenge: Happy Haunting

The Impression Obsession team's challenge today is to create a spooky project! 

I'm going to make this fit the challenge because I like this card so much - black cats always have an air of mystery about them, and this sentiment is perfect for the introvert who likes to make it through their favorite local haunts without being seen! That works, right? For my card, I stamped the cat background on a piece of patterned paper, then used IO Hybrid inks to build the sentiment.

Stamps I used: CAC Black Cats, Introverting 2 clear set

Remember you can enter these challenges too, using your Impression Obsession stamps! And be sure to check out the other designers' blogs for inspiration. See the I.O. blog for all the details - you might even win a $25 gift certificate!! We'd love to have you join us.

Splitcoast Tutorial: Ghost Stamping

It's my turn to share a tutorial over on Splitcoast this week, and this week we're Ghost Stamping! This isn't a new technique, but I thought it would be fun to experiment with some different inks and product combinations to come up with some varied looks.

Writing up the photo tutorial was a little bit humorous to me, because this technique is actually just two steps... stamp a background image in watermark or white ink (pigment or chalk inks work best), then stamp over the image with dye inks, or mist with a dye-based spray. The first stamping layer shows through the second. 

I tried a bunch of combinations and came up with some variations to share - for this card I stamped a base image in chalk ink, and then misted over the area with a ColorBox Spritzer. The silhouette image is actually stamped in a dye ink too, but because I'd done some test swatches, I knew that this particular ink wouldn't react with what I'd stamped beneath it. This is ColorBox Black Bean Premium Dye Ink - I reallly love this line. They're foam pads and the ink is a little thicker than a typical dye.

For this second card, the effect is quite subtle. I stamped the full background in white chalk ink with my Leaf  Ledger background stamp, then stamped and brushed to fill the panel in with the solid leaf from the Layered Maple set.

One more fun card since Fall is in the air and Halloween is coming! I stamped the panel with a repeating pattern, then used one of Clearsnap's new Art Screen Trios for the inked background. These are sets of 3 stencils that layer together beautifully. 

These monsters are just too much - so cute. 

Product links: 

Card 1:

Impression Obsession: Raven Silhouette, Treat the World

Clearsnap: Scribbles Mini Molding Mat, Spritzer, Popcorn chalk ink, Black Bean Premium Dye Ink

Card 2: 

Impression Obsession: Maple clear set, CAC Leaf Ledger

Clearsnap:  Dyestress inks, Popcorn chalk ink

Card 3:

Impression Obsession: Monster Mash clear set, discontinued sentiment, All-in-One Frames - Circles

Clearsnap: Jumbo Swirls Molding Mat, Popcorn chalk ink, Dyestress inks, Art Screens Trio - Disco

Thanks for visiting me today,  and many thanks to Clearsnap for sponsoring this week's tutorial!

World Card Making Day Sales!

Just a few sales around the web on World Card Making Day! If I find more, I'll add them - check back!

Impression Obsession 
Today only, get 20% off your entire order at Impression Obsession using code WCD20

Ellen Hutson
Today only, get 20% off your entire order at Ellen Hutson using code WCMD18

Scrapbookpal.com
30% off selected Lawn Fawn products

Scrapbook.com 
20% off all cardmaking supplies, and a free Hero Arts set with any order (be sure to add it to your cart when prompted)!

Gina K. Designs
$10 off your purchase of $75 or more with code TAKE10

Kindred Stamps
15% discount with code CARDDAY15

Consumer Crafts 
Free shipping over $25.

Spellbinders
Lots of site sales, plus 10% discount on your order using codeSBSAVE10 

MFT inks
closeout sale 75% off
No code needed

A Jillian Vance Design
60% discount on last chance items - no code needed!

A Colorful Life Designs
get 15% your entire order using code makeacard

Hero Arts
30% off papers - no code needed!

Queen & Co.
Special page of deals and steals!

Elizabeth Craft Designs
Clearance bundles and other items

Coffee Hop Winner!

The winner of my teapot pendant is:

Gail9/29/2018 1:02 PM

What a lovely pendant you have created - this is surely taking art a step above the norm - I love it! Dina - we have a Biggby Coffee shop here in the small town of Clio Michigan and Mocha Mocha is my special hot drink order! Yum! Have a blessed day and thank you for the give away!

Congratulations Gail!

Impression Obsession DT Challenge: Make it Sparkle

The Impression Obsession team's challenge today is to create a project that's sparkly!

I tried my best to capture the sparkle in this card, but it's one you have to see to really appreciate, I think! I followed a variation of a tutorial I created for Splitcoast called Colored Glitter Inlay I layered a sheet of double-sided tape over a piece of matboard, then cut the Snowflake Block die into the surface. The matboard is too thick to cut through, but the die cuts into the liner of the tape so it can be removed in stages.

I removed the frame and snowflake from the liner, and rubbed crystal micro glitter over the adhesive that was exposed. After that I removed the rest of the liner pieces, and rubbed in a turquoise micro glitter everywhere that was still sticky.

Products I used: Snowflake Block die, Snow Flourish clear set, Teal hybrid ink

Remember you can enter these challenges too, using your Impression Obsession stamps! See the I.O. blog for all the details - you might even win a $25 gift certificate!! We'd love to have you join us.

Christmas portraits!

It's October, and my focus for portraits has shifted to Christmas orders. I currently have 5 Christmas orders in my queue and I'm estimating that I can only take 4-5 more. If you are hoping to gift a hand-drawn portrait this year, please hurry over and fill out a request form HERE! Personalized gift certificates are another option.

Remember that payment plans are also available - if that would be helpful to you, you can indicate your payment preference when you order. Thanks so much!

Splitcoast Tutorial: Drunken Watercolor Powders

Make sure you check out this week's tutorial on Splitcoast! The background I created here was done with Brusho and rubbing alcohol on glossy cardstock, and it's a completely different effect than the typical water application.

I used Light Brown Brusho for my background, and I tipped the panel to create a streaked effect as it was drying. So cool! I love how the colors remained separate in the alcohol instead of blending as they would have with water.

By the way, this Deer Frame die is a brand new release from Impression Obsession - it is a team favorite! The sentiment is one of mine - God Is.

Splitcoast Product Review - Clearsnap Dyestress Inks

I have hit the ground running this week, after two weeks away from home, but before I left I had the chance to sit down with some NEW inks from Clearsnap… these are ColorBox Dyestress Blendable Dye Inks!

The ink line debuts with 12 lovely colors. This is a water-reactive dye ink with an extended drying time that makes it ideal for blending and other techniques. It can even be used for embossing, though I haven't had a chance to test that out yet.

I swatched out the colors, and found the pads to be beautifully juicy. The shape of the pad is unique, and easy to hold on to - since the pads are intended for distressing techniques, that's an important feature. The pads stack very nicely for storing - I used a strip of label paper (1/4" x 1") to add a color swatch to the side of each pad so the colors are visible when the pads are stacked.

To start off my testing, I pulled out a Ranger blending tool and went to work with one of Clearsnap's new Stencil Trio sets to create a background - I was really pleased with how vibrant the inks were, and how well they filled in all the stencil openings. (Stamps used here: Rodeo Silhouette, Like The Rest) 

My next experiment was a stencil print, where I inked up one of Clearsnap's new stencils, then misted it with water and laid it onto watercolor paper to create a dreamy background (I shared the finished card last week here).

For the next background I blended the inks onto watercolor paper using a Ranger blending tool,  then flicked water onto the panel with a wet brush. With other inks I've had to blot the panel to lift ink from the splattered areas, but here was the result without blotting.

I made 2 smaller cards with that panel (3-1/2" x 5") - for the shadows I used a blending stump to apply a little diluted Graphite Dyestress ink to the scene. (Stamps used here: Cowboy Border, Thank You Kindly)

I shared this final card last week - with limited time before I left home, I was testing products together so I used the inks to watercolor this debossed die image (blog post here). I wasn't fully thrilled with my results here, but at least I was able to show that the inks can be used for palette watercoloring, and I'll revisit that again soon. I'm curious to know if there is any color variation when water is added to the inks - some inks will change or split. We'll see! (Product links here: Spotted Deer Frame die, Layered Bow clear set, Mini Rectangle Tags 1 Die Set)

I always enjoy testing out new products - I feel like the greatest strength of these inks is in their blendability, direct-to-paper and using a blending tool. I did have mixed results with water as well, but loved the reactivity with the water droplets - water stamping and other lifting techniques should be equally successful. Specialty inks each have their niche, which means there will be applications where they don't shine... for the stamped images on my project samples, I preferred the clear and crisp results from the ColorBox Premium Dye inks. It's great that Clearsnap has a product to meet every need!

Thanks for visiting me today!