Soul Mutts and a portrait reveal (grab a tissue!)

I can't seem to put this Soul Mutts set from Whimsy Stamps away - the images and sentiments are just so sweet and perfect. 

I wanted to make some smaller notecards to tuck in with my portrait orders, so I cut into one of my favorite watercolor cards... this is Fabriano Medioevalis stationery - it is luxurious and I hoard it like crazy! If you buy some, get the Portrait Folded Cards (6-3/4" × 4-1/2") - they are a great size for a full watercolor card, or you can cut them in half and trim down or die cut for an A2 card front. For this one, I cut the whole card in half, so I have 2 cards that are 3-3/8" x 4-1/2" - perfect size for tucking in a package.

 I used QoR watercolors for my coloring - I love how vibrant they are... my favorites again! 

I love that soft splattery background too - just enough to brighten up this little scene.

Speaking of soul mutts... I finished up this portrait of Marley last weekend and her mama received it Monday - you've watched me working on these portraits, but if you've ever wondered what it looks like on the receiving end, click over to Marley's page on my commission site for a video of her unpackaging. Grab tissues!

By the way - I am open for Christmas orders, and I'll gladly include a free pendant with your order if you mention that you saw that offer here on my blog!

Splitcoast tutorial: Faux Leather Wallet

This week's tutorial over on Splitcoast is a Faux Leather Wallet - the cardstock is treated with glycerin, which makes it thick and soft. Such a cool effect!

Before I sewed the edges, I sewed three layers together up the center - I put a line of washi tape along the center line to hold the pieces together and to give me a guide for a straight seam. 

I made a little label with a square of cork and a tiny logo stamp I had made for tags and smaller projects. My sewing machine apparently needs a tension adjustment, so I darkened the thread with a Copic marker. The distressing on the cardstock is done when it's wet, and I highlighted it with a medium brown inkpad to show off the texture just a little. 

The compartments in the wallet will hold cash or check, as well as gift cards or little notes. It's so cute! Great little masculine project.

Impression Obsession DT Challenge: It's a Guy Thing

The Impression Obsession team's challenge today is to create a masculine project. I never shared these cards after the spring release - these are designs by my friend Gail Green! They're detailed silhouette stamps, and they're perfect to use with beautiful backgrounds! 

 I used a full sheet of watercolor to make the backgrounds for all these cards using a variety of inks and ColorBox sprays.

After stamping, I used a circle die cut to mask off the sun, and brushed lightly with some grey ink to create a sunset.

Stamps I used: Giraffe Scene, Elephant Scene, Cheetah Scene, To Everything, Greetings Top Edgers die set

Be sure to check out these other designers' blogs for inspiration -

Anna @ Sassy & Sweet Notes
Daniela @ For the First Time
Giovana @ Believe
Ilina @ Creativity Within
Jeanne @ Inky Paws
Jenny @ One Krafty Kat 
Karen @ Paper Lilies and Ink 
Kelli @ Stamping with a Dream 
Kittie @ Kittie Kraft
Laura @ Laura's Stamp Art Journal
Vicki @ Summerthyme Studio


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.

Splitcoast Tutorial: Coffee Filter Prints

It's my turn to share a tutorial over on Splitcoast, and I'm sharing a fun technique for using coffee filters to print on photo paper. You can find the tutorial HERE! 

Spellbinders August Small Die of the Month
Impression Obsession CL577 Maya clear set

Photo paper has some really cool properties when paired up with dye inks, because the coating on the paper allows it to take an instant 'print' of the ink that doesn't fade when it dries - you can actually dry it right away without changing the look. When you're working with watercolor powders, you can create some really interesting effects directly on photo paper... here's a sample I made in the video to show what that can look like. 

Spellbinders Shapeabilities Crystal Peaks die
Impression Obsession B13280 Be Here Now

The results tend to be more spotty, since the effect of the water is instant, and you don't get the full bleed and blend that you can get on more absorbent papers since the powders don't reactivate. That may be an effect that you want, but maybe not - it's great to try different methods to see what works best for different effects.

Spellbinders August Small Die of the Month

Impression Obsession CL577 Maya clear set

Darice® 4.25 x 5.75 Embossing Folder: Wire Fence

The other cards in my post were created by transferring activated watercolor powders using a coffee filter.

Spellbinders August Small Die of the Month
Sentiment - The Cat's Pajamas (retired)

I'm working with some dies from Spellbinders too - these sweet little flourished frames and birds you see are from their August Small Die of the Month kit! You can find out about all of Spellbinders' kit clubs here - there are various levels, and you don't have to be a subscriber to purchase.

Spellbinders Shapeabilities Little Boys at Play
Impression Obsession C13433 Never Give Up

 You can even make prints from filters that have been used - in the video you can see how I made this background using a filter that was still damp, but had been used pretty heavily on another card. It's a completely different look, but so cool!

Hero Arts May 2018 My Monthly Hero kit

When you're all done, dry the filters out to use as card backgrounds! There's so little waste with this technique. Again, check the tutorial for great tips on attaching coffee filters to cardstock.

 Hope you'll try this one out - there are so many ways to play!

Bunny Balloons, and Dare To Get Dirty!

Dare To Get Dirty starts today! If you're a Splitcoaststampers Fan Club member, these challenges are for youuuu - it's our way of saying thank you for your support of the site! If you're not a member - join today and play along with us! 

I'm hosting a challenge today, and I made these 2 cards to fit, using my favorite little bunny set from Whimsy Stamps - the bunnies are so sweet, and I couldn't resist a pencil-colored red balloon (nobody can be uncheered with a balloon!) 

If you need a great cloud stencil, check out the one I used from istencils.com! It's a great size, and really nice design... and they have a TON of stencils in their inventory!

It's been a crazy week - still working through that to-do list! I had my first in-person pencil class yesterday with 5 students, and it was a success! Looking forward to more of that. :) Have a great weekend!

Splitcoast Tutorial: Daisy Punch Dress Card

This week's tutorial over on Splitcoast is a Daisy Punch Dress Card - such a fun way to 'dress up' a card! 

I used this gorgeous set from 49 and Market as well as a sentiment from my stamp line (Treasure Moments). Any image with a dress or skirt will work! I think a fairy would be cute as well.

The petals were cut from Spellbinders die cuts (the set is called Daisy Heads, and it's been discontinued) - I did have to shape the sides a little, and cut the tips flat to layer them together, since the petal lines didn't go in very far. Once I had them layered, I lightly ran a nail file over the skirt to distress the edges.

I used colored pencils to just color in the roses in her hair - clean and simple! The background is lightly watercolored with a mixture of colors on my palette.

Thanks for stopping by today! I'm working through a lonnnnng to-do list this week... finishing up samples for Dare to Get Dirty, shooting/editing/writing next week's Splitcoast tutorial, preparing for my first pencil class at Hobby Lobby on Friday, getting my entries ready for the state fair, finishing up my Valentine stamp collection, scheduling tutorial authors for Falliday Fest, and counting the days until school starts! 

Dare To Get Dirty 2018!

So fun again to be participating in the Dare To Get Dirty event for our Fan Club members over at Splitcoaststampers - our event kicks off on Saturday, Aug. 4, and we'll be posting 5-6 challenges each day through Aug. 10! I'll be hosting a challenge on Saturday, and sharing some samples along the way for some of the other challenges. It's so much fun interacting with the other past and present designers, and also encouraging our Fan Club members, who are soooo encouraging to us! 

Here's one of the samples I made to help kick off the challenges this weekend... I can't share the details here - you'll have to join us to find out more! This is one of my new clear sets at Impression Obsession - it's full of gems in different shapes and sizes, outlined and solid with negative lines. On this card I arranged several stamps on the MISTI for a quick background, embossed with clear powder, then watercolored, trying to get different concentrations of color in each section. So easy and fun! The set has some mix-and-match sentiments too.

Stamps I used: Precious Gems clear set

If you're a Fan Club member, we hope you'll come and join the fun! Here is your official permission slip! 

If you haven't joined the Fan Club yet - what are you waiting for?
 

Impression Obsession DT Challenge: Christmas in July

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

I'm bending the challenge just a little bit to share a couple of winter silhouette cards - they could be great Christmas cards too! My first card has a stenciled background that was done with two layers of brushed ink, flipping the stencil once (you can find the stencil HERE). I added some snow dots with white gesso, applied with a ball stylus.

For the snow I used a curved hill die set that makes great scenes as well as card edges - that's linked below.

I stamped the Skater Silhouette over a gel printed panel, then embossed it with a snowflake folder and sanded lightly to give the scene some depth. Love that effect!

Stamps I used: Sled Silhouette, My Heart is Warm,  Skating Silhouette, Layered Bow clear set, Hill Landscape Layers die set

Be sure to check out these other designers' blogs for inspiration -

Anna @ Sassy & Sweet Notes
Daniela @ For the First Time
Giovana @ Believe
Ilina @ Creativity Within
Jeanne @ Inky Paws
Jenny @ One Krafty Kat 
Karen @ Paper Lilies and Ink 
Kelli @ Stamping with a Dream 
Kittie @ Kittie Kraft
Laura @ Laura's Stamp Art Journal
Vicki @ Summerthyme Studio


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.

Splitcoast Tutorial: Center Step Gift Card

This week's tutorial over on Splitcoast is a Center Step Gift Card - this is a fun and easy A2 size card with a little gift pocket inside!

The card base is simple to make, with 2 cut lines and a few scores... but it's impressive on display!

The stamps I used here are from Whimsy Stamps - this is their new Soul Mutts clear set... there are two adorable images in the set, along with lots of sweet sentiments, spots, and paw prints.

Here's a closer look at the main panel - I watercolored the image then added a few shadows with a dark brown colored pencil... one of my favorite ways to add a vintage tone to a colored image.

Here's the inside of the card - there's a little pocket ready for a gift card (the perfect gift, in my opinion!).

Hope you are having a good week!

New IO Fall/Winter Release Hop - Day 4

The Impression Obsession team is showcasing new Fall and Winter images that are available NOW! You can visit the I.O. Blog all this week for links to the previews and ALL the challenge details. Leave a comment on our designers' posts throughout the week for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate from Impression Obsession! If you just happened on the blog hop because you're a regular reader of my blog, you can find a full list of participants at the end of my post. 

Today's the last day of the hop, but you still have some time to visit previous posts and comment if you haven't done so - remember that 5 gift certificates are up for grabs!

When my Introverting clear set came out in the Spring your response was overwhelming (thank youuu!)... but some of you said you weren't really cat people, and suggested a dog set next! Well - here it is! The stamps above are in a companion set called Introverting 2 - this is a fun set with a few mix and match sentiments and some more sentiments that express the joys of the introvert life.

The Dude clear set is another favorite of mine with some fun sentiments about the joys of adulting. I think you'll like it! The sentiments are all divided so you can stamp them separately for an inside-the-card punchline. My background here was stamped with Brusho - this is a really fun brush-stroke background that has lots of possibilities. It's one of Tara Caldwell's designs.

IO products I used: Introverting 2 clear set, Dude clear set, CAC Abstract Circles, Grunge Grids, Treat the World (text background)

Be sure to check out these other designers' blogs for inspiration! You're not required to comment on every one, but the more comments you leave, the more chances you have to win! Thank you for visiting me!

Anna @ Sassy & Sweet Notes
Dina @ Dina Kowal Creative
Giovana @ Believe
Ilina @ Creativity Within
Jeanne @ Inky Paws
Karen @ Paper Lilies and Ink 
Laura @ Laura's Stamp Art Journal
Vicki @ Summerthyme Studio