Splitcoast Tutorial: Graphite Transfer Paper Deboss

This week's tutorial over on Splitcoast is a fun Graphite Transfer Paper Deboss - it's a very simple way to make a background using graphite paper and an embossing folder! Who knew?

These backgrounds are beautiful with added color but I wanted to keep mine simple to show off the tire tracks (I got that folder here but it seems to be retired). The Tin Lizzie die I used is here, and it's pieced together with 3 separate layered cuts. The tires are on the base layer, colored with Copic markers. The other pieces are solid cardstock, shaded with Copics and highlighted with a light grey colored pencil. This is the graphite paper I use.

The stamp is from this set, which is in my line - it's one of my favorite masculine sets, and a great staple set to have!

CL672 Timeless Classic clear set

I hope you're having a great week - I'm recovering from an allergy day and a little giddy that we got Hamilton tickets! My son and I have been saving Christmas and birthday checks for a long time!

Beautiful World Tour - Vintage

Welcome to the January Beautiful World Tour, brought to you by Flourishes! Each month the team presents a themed blog hop, hosted by our group of international designers... we are literally spread out all over the globe!  At the heart of our projects is the idea of truly showcasing beauty in card making – whether in a beautifully colored image, a fabulous way to incorporate an embellishment, or a new twist on a card layout.

 If you just happened on the blog hop today because you're a regular reader of my blog, and you'd like to view the entire hop, you can start back at the Flourishes Blog - you'll find a full list of participants there, and all the details you need. If you're already hopping and you arrived here from there, you're doing just fine.

This month's theme is Vintage. I thought a vintage botanical print would be a neat inspiration, so I used several of the images from the Zinnia set to create a little collage on watercolor paper, then painted the panel with reinkers and watercolor paints.  I brayered some white acrylic paint onto the polkie paper to tone down the colors a little.

Love this quote... the flowers are real - not sure where they came from, but this is a year of 'use up the stash'! They're very fragile and sweet.

Details... the watercolor paper and ribbon were dyed with coffee grounds.

Leave comments for all our designers and you could WIN A FREE FLOURISHES STAMP SET!! Comments will be accepted until the end of the month, and a random comment will be chosen by one of our designers - but we're not telling which one! The more comments you leave, the better your chance of winning will be.

From here you'll be traveling on to.........

 Thanks for hopping with us today! Don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win!

More sewing stamps... and a CHA video!

My awesome friend Sandy took a quick video peek at my stamps on display at the CHA show a few weeks ago! Here it is:

This was such a fun release, and it got very positive feedback, which always makes me feel good! My mom taught me to embroider and sew when I was young, and though I can't be bothered to follow a pattern, I am so thankful to have those skills, and very thankful for my creative heritage. Here are a couple of my catalog and show samples made using new dkdesigns stamps.

I did a little mixed-media layering on this card using acrylic paints and chalk and oil-based inks...

Stamps and supplies:
CAC Pattern
Sewing Ruler
Crochet Border 3
Thread Spool
Poppy Dress Form
Border Duo 2 Die set

The second image is watercolored using Shinhan Premium Watercolors, and the cloth is pieced with some Basic Grey cardstock - I love this collection - it coordinates perfectly with these stamps!

Stamps and supplies:
CAC Screen
CAC Pattern
Pattern
Vintage Scissor Snowflake
Sewing Girl
Lg. Sew
What's New
Border Duo 2 Die set

I made a little rosette using a diecut lace border! Love these mix-and-match "sew" sentiments too - they're sold separately so that you can stamp them with or without the "sew" - all of the smaller sentiments can stand alone.

Here's a link to the new release catalog, where you can see all the new stamps and the team's gorgeous samples! Happy weekend!!

Nighttime Pumpkin Scene

One more Fall card using Sandy's nighttime scene tutorial found HERE - this image is just called Pumpkins, and I colored it with my Touch Twin markers. This full scene was more difficult to color in this style, especially with the moonlit background... but it's always fun to try new things! I'm not sure that I really 'nailed' the light source, but it's sort of like the pumpkins are lit by a porch light, while the barn and house are lit by the moon.

Just pretend. :)

To offset the dark scene, I framed the piece in white, and embellished it with diecut leaves (Impression Obsession) and a flourish from Cheery Lynn.

These are the colors that I used... I don't have my usual color map, because there are so many layers of color here...! The warm greys were used to shade the pumpkins, and the blue greys were used in the background.

You can click HERE for a daytime version of this same image... AND check out Sandy's blog - we've been doing random, informal coloring 'throw down' challenges, and she's colored up a similar image today!  Thanks for stopping by!

Impression Obsession DT Challenge: Happy Fall, Y'all!

The Impression Obsession team's challenge today is to create a card with a Fall theme!

I love this Maple Leaves stamp, and I've been having so much fun with my acrylic paints lately - I've also been trying to work on realistic shadows, so I played with that a little here too.

One hint for mixed media type painting - when I stamp and paint, I always keep a sheet of cardstock underneath my work. All the ink, gesso, and paint that goes off the edges of my piece as I'm working goes onto that sheet, and whatever leftover paint I have in my palette goes onto that sheet. When it gets messy and painty enough, it gets cut up and used as the base for a painting. This panel base started off that way!

This is also my sample card for a new challenge over at Designed to Color, which will post later today. Can you guess what the challenge theme is?

Here's another painted card using the same stamp, and this week's sketch challenge at Splitcoaststampers - I also used French Letter, CAC Script, and Paris Registre to fill in my background. The die is from Cheery Lynn Designs.

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

Daniela @ For the First Time
Jeanne @ Inky Paws
Jenny @ One Krafty Kat
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.

Hope You Can.... Sing To!

It's my turn to host a challenge for our Hope You Can Cling To card drive over at Splitcoaststampers! I love this cause, and it's such a blessing to be able to participate as a hostess, enabling our members to focus their talents on encouraging others. I would love for you to join us!

So I got to toying with the concept of awareness when I was developing my challenge theme, and for some reason a conversation about music and show tunes that same week entered into my thoughts as well... so, my challenge is entitled...

 "Start Spreading the News!" 

...and participants are to create a card inspired by the title or lyrics of a song from a musical or movie. I chose the song "Embraceable You", which is from An American In Paris. (Click the song title for a favorite version of mine by Ella Fitzgerald... it's beautiful!) 

I love this "There For You" digital image by Mo Manning especially because it's one that I requested. I'm drawn to huggy images, but sometimes a happy, cheerful hug image isn't appropriate for someone going through a hard time. I wanted one that expressed support and sympathy. Sooooo grateful to Mo for coming up with this image - it's perfect.

I printed the image in a very pale grey, and colored it using Touch Twin Markers. These are the colors I used:

Encourage one another............ ♥