Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Happy Birthday, Punkin'!

Hello friends and visitors! Today I have a rusty crusty card to share with you.  I have to say I'm a bit rusty (no, I did not intend to make that pun) on my grunge. As of late it's been mostly frills and flowers in the Closet.


The crackled background was made (quite some time ago) by first painting thinnish chipboard with black gesso. Next up, a good thick coat of DecoArt Weathered Wood Crackling Medium, left to dry overnight. Then another thick coat of DecoArt Media Crackle Paint--the cracks show up almost as soon as you get it painted on, but I left it to dry to a couple more days. Lastly I gave it a quick watercolor wash of  thinned DecoArt Media Prussian Blue.

To make the rust behind the nail heads, I wiped on Golden Bead Gel medium, dried, then dripped with Caramel alcohol ink and spritzed with water. More drying, then another watery wash of DecoArt Media paint--this time Quinacridone Gold, followed by a smudge of DecoArt Patina Green Antiquing Cream. While I had the Q-Gold out on my craft mat, I watered it down further and added random washes and splatters over the panel. I let everything dry overnight (or so) and gave it all a coat of DecoArt Ultra Matte varnish. I pressed the finished panel under some heavy weights for days, because with all that product, there was a good deal of warping.


For the nail heads I started with half pearls, and followed the incredibly talented Jenny Marples (Pushing the Right Buttons) steps here to give them the aged metal look. I don't have the rust alcohol ink, so I substituted with Caramel again. I also went back in with neat Q-Gold in the end.


I (tried using) the same technique on the Happy Birthday chippie but had already wiped on some DecoArt Texture Sand Paste and glass bead gel. I think there may also be some Paynes Grey on there, and Q-Gold as well as Patina Green Antiquing cream.


The wooden cogs and Tim's birdcage (modified at the tip to make it fit) die cut all got rusted with a variety of products including sand and grit pastes, DecoArt Everlasting chalk paint, Q-Gold, and Patina Green. I even tried making my own rust pastes with a combination of gel medium and Distress paint (Mustard Seed) and alcohol inks. I really think I need to invest in the stuff that everyone is using; it would be so much easier, and more effective. You do, however, get lots of great bubbling with the heat gun and gel medium, so not a bad substitute.



I've tucked in a few pieces of Tim's ephemera aged after a fashion like my talented friend and blog boss Brenda Brown (Bumblebees and Butterflies) did here on her giant altered tag. If you ever need rust inspiration, Brenda's your go-to girl!



I've made this card for my good friend, Niki (Pawsitively Creative) because I know she loves grungy rust as much as I do. And because Niki likes growing flowers, I tucked in a little flower from my stash, altered with Wilted Violet and Rusty Hinge Distress inks and another tiny cog for it's center.


Niki's birthday is not until April 28th, so I hope you will take minute to drop by her blog and wish her a happy birthday on Friday! A little birdie told me she's going to be 29 (again)! Wink, Wink!


I've made this card especially for Niki, but with these challenge in mind:
Mixed Media World-MMW#24: Anything Mixed Media Goes with a Twist I gave my background a watercolor washed look with watered down acrylic paints.

Thank you for stopping by today! I really appreciate your lovely comments!
Hugs and Blessings!
Sara Emily
Posted by at 25 comments:

Monday, April 24, 2017

Life...Not Perfect, Just Wonderful

Hello again, friends! Today is my second post of the day, and here is another rainy day card. You can see my first one here. As you can see, I've taken a more positive approach to the rain, welcoming it rather than turning it away.


I used my raindrop stencil from Emerald Creek along with Distress Oxides and inks using the monoprint technique to get the more sparse raindrops. This is more of the 'April Showers Bring May Flowers' sort of rain--not at all what we are getting today. We are getting the 'April Monsoons Wash Away Your Garden You Just Planted' type of rains.

But the Bible commands us to praise God through all times-good and bad. Praise will get us through hard times, and reminds us of what God has done and can do in our lives.


"I will bless the Lord at all times" Psalm 34:1 NRSV



I used Walnut Stain DOX to ground my Umbrella Man image (Tim Holtz-'In Dreams'). I smooshed the DOX pad on my acrylic stamping block, spritzed with water and smooshed that onto my card. My sentiment is from Tim's 'Way With Words' set and was stamped and embossed in Watering Can Archival Ink and embossing powder. Hindsight tells me I should have embossed the Umbrella Man, too. My flowers are Tim's Tiny Tattered Florals Thinlits and were cut from paper I colored with DOX Worn Lipstick and Wilted Violet and a dusting of Chipped Sapphire Distress ink. I added a few tiny blue flowers from my stash and Stickles for the centers. Die cut foliage is cut from a scrap using Tattered Lace Ornate Leaves die.

That's it for today! Tomorrow is another day!

I would like to enter once again into:
Mixed Media World-MMW#24: Anything Mixed Media Goes with a Twist Again, not traditional water colors but using watercolor techniques using Oxides and inks. Some water from the rain, too!

Thank you for your second visit today and for your comment if you have time to leave one!
Hugs and Blessings!
Sara Emily


Posted by at 19 comments:

Rain. Rain. Go Away

Hi friends and visitors! It's been raining cats and dogs here, so I had some extra crafty time to make a few cards on Sunday afternoon. I wanted to participate in Suzz's challenge 'April Showers' over at Frilly and Funkie, and I only had to look out my window for inspiration.



Nothing new or too complicated here. The background is made with Distress Oxide in Broken China and Faded Jeans. I splashed some water on for drops and allowed some of the color to run down like the drops hitting the window and trailing down the glass.

I formed a little puddle for my man to stand in using Tim's  Birch  stamp and Faded Jeans DOX applied right to the rubber and spritzed lightly with water.

 Outside my window I see people with umbrellas walking their dogs (Today's the kind of day I'm happy I don't have a dog to walk!), so I used Tim Holtz Umbrella Man (In Dreams) to stamp my image.

I used an Emerald Creek stencil for my raindrops inked in Stormy Sky and Chipped Sapphire and embossed with clear powder.


Because my card was just a little too simple, I die cut an umbrella using Tim's Umbrella Man and colored with more Faded Jeans DOX and blended some Black Soot ink over the top. It's got some black foam tape under and glued just at the top edge so it will stay dimensional.


Last, a favorite childhood ditty my kids loved to sing as my sentiment. I used a portion of Tim's   "Thoughts" quote and Cobalt Archival ink and a couple of Chit Chat stickers edged in Chipped Sapphire ink.


That's it for this simple card! I hope you are enjoying some sunshine wherever you are in the world, but I'm afraid it's more rain for us today! At least I won't have to water the veggies and perennials I planted last week!

I'm sharing my card with these challenges:

Thank you for your visit and comments today! I appreciate hearing from you and try to return the visit as soon as possible!
Hugs and Blessings!
Sara Emily
Posted by at 26 comments:

Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Scrapy Land Spring Blooms

Hello friends and visitors! It's the middle of the month and that means it's time for a new challenge at Scrapy Land. The theme this time is Spring Blooms plus use any brand die that Scrapy Land sells. They sell over 50 brands, so that shouldn't be too difficult! 


Since I made this card quite some time ago for a friend who was in the hospital, I'm a little foggy on all the details. This was her favorite shade of pink. Unfortunately for me, but wonderful for her, she is now in Heaven.  I will do my best to give you the high points. For my focal image, I chose one of my favorite Tim Holtz dies of all time (I do use it a lot!) Sizzix Ornate Frame. I covered it in texture paste and lightly sprinkled with Frantage embossing powder, heating after the paste had dried.

The two larger flowers in pink are made with Sizzix Tattered Florals die. The beautiful single white blossom was made by my sweet friend and talented teamie Samra (Paper Talk With Samra). Please pay her a visit if you haven't. She makes the most elegant cards in her unmistakable shabby chic style.


I tucked in a Felicity Tiny Doily by Cheery Lynn behind the flowers. I love splashing my inky backgrounds with water and blotting with a clean cloth to get the spots. Splash with more water to get inky dots.



Foliage is by Prima's Forest Leaves.



The berries, lace and vintage seam binding are from my stash.


I tucked a couple of pieces of the lovely Quinn Flourish by Memory Box between my layers. Everything is layered on a stamped (Prima) and aged panel. The pink panel is stenciled with paste and a Tim Holtz stencil and painted with gesso and Worn Lipstick Distress ink. Looks like a little Vintage Photo or possibly Frayed Burlap, too. There's a little script stamping in the background, although I don't know who's script it is. I can tell you the tiny birds are from Tim's Tiny Things set. That one gets a lot of action, too. The stamped and colored butterfly was hoarded from another life time ago, so I don't know who the maker is on that either.


That's all for today! I hope you'll stop by Scrapy Land Challenges to see all the amazing projects my talented teamies made using their Spring Blooms! Then it's over to you so you can be in the running for a generous $15 gift certificate from  the Scrapy Land shop.

I am entering my card into these challenges:
Creative Artiste's Challenge #25-"Anything Mixed Media Goes"  I used paint, texture paste,ink, and gesso at minimum.
Simon Says Stamp Monday-Simon Says: Splash It On-I splashed water onto my two inky background panels to mingle the ink and to remove color for dots of white.
Fashionable Stamping Challenges-Challenge #122 – Sound Of Music – My Favourite Things--Raindrops on Roses, my favorite stamps-birds, lace, and script.


Thank you for your visit today and for all your inspiring comments! I read and appreciate each and every one!
Hugs and Blessings!
Sara Emily
Posted by at 31 comments:

Friday, April 14, 2017

Shabby Burlap Easter Card

 Welcome friends and visitors! I hope you are enjoying a beautiful Easter weekend whereever you are in the world! This is my last Easter card this month, but I promise I will have one more for you in May! Ha! Ha!


I purchased some cheapo burlap sheets in a stack at a big box craft store earlier this year, and this seemed to be the perfect time to bring them out. I gave them a wash of DecoArt White Wash paint. More patterned paper from my stash in a soft mint that really does not photograph well in the bright sun.

I used a beautiful Memory Box frame die cut dipped in a puddle of Walnut Stain DOX to frame my Tim Holtz Wildflowers (original set--I don't have the newer set). These are painted with DOX and a water pen.


And there's that embossed butterfly belly band again! This was actually a test scrap I made on pink card. I used DOX on it and it looked HORRIBLE! So I sanded it off, gave it a scraping of gesso with a credit card and added DOX again. I kind of liked how it turned out, so I saved it, in case I made a card I could use it on. Just perfect for this card, I think.


A Chit Chat sticker makes for an easy sentiment, also dipped in Walnut Stain DOX. So another Easter card, easily mailed. I'm happy to say I think it will reach it's destination in time to please my sister and brother in law who grow flowers at Hilltop Farms in Springfield, MO. Thank you, Amy, for  sharing the good news with me so many years ago!

"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23 NRSV


I'm sharing my card with these challenges:

spring-inspiration-board

Thank you for your visit! I wish you and your family a wonderful Easter! 
Hugs and Blessings!
Sara Emily
Posted by at 20 comments:

Thursday, April 13, 2017

Non-traditional Easter Colors

  Good Morning friends and visitors! I have a quick card to share with you--a rusty Easter card for my sister. This particular sister is not a frilly kind of girl, so I chose to use rust colored patterned paper from my stash. I couldn't resist a little lace to balance out the masculinity of this card.


 I'm on a belly band roll right now, but I decided it was time to do something a little different from my embossed and sanded belly band of my last two posts here and here. I've used texture paste and a Dina Wakley stencil for this band. When almost dry, I dipped it into Walnut Stain DOX, and heated for some rusty bubbling. To give it more rusted coloring, I swiped the Spiced Marmalade DOX pad over it to highlight the raised areas. I hope you can see the crusty look I got in the close up below.


I used an old Stampin' Up sentiment and a Memory Box die cut frame. A little splatter of more Walnut Stain finishes this simple card. Whew! Just two more Easter cards to make and get in the mail! 

I wish to enter this into the following challenges:




Thank you for your visits and your comments on my blog! They mean so much! If I can't get my other Easter cards posted before the weekend, I'll wish you the best for your Easter weekend now!
Hugs and Blessings!
Sara Emily
Posted by at 18 comments:

Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Sweet Easter Reminder

Hello friends and visitors! I hope you are having or had a good day where ever you are in the world! It was an amazing spring day here! It reminded me there's just days before Easter and I still need 3 more cards for family out of town. So I made a simple card that can be sent easily through the mail, borrowing a simple design from myself. I hope you are not tired of seeing pastels and butterflies!




 I am sharing all three photos I took; the first is taken indoors and it looks almost purple, although it's really a soft lavender.  The second photo is truer in color, but sadly, the lighting really shows off the fact there are pieces of foam core under there providing some lift. I can assure you, these do not show in real life! The last photo is evidence of that, but in the bright sunlight, we have lots of shadows! I need a course in photography!


Like my birthday card here. I used the beautiful Lemoncraft papers my lovely and talented friend Lisa (A Mermaid's Crafts) gave me for my birthday. The Everyday Spring paper stack has the prettiest pink and green designs on them from soft to bold. I love them all! You can see how well they coordinate with DOX in Cracked Pistachio.

My sentiment is an old one from Stampin' Up, and I use it every Easter, with a simple Happy Easter greeting stamped on the inside. Although I see so many miracles of new growth in spring, I am reminded of God's everlasting love throughout the year.


I used the same embossing folder for the belly band that I did on my previous birthday card, this time adding some lace from my stash. I used Tim Holtz old On the Edge die for my butterflies and splashed them, my central sentiment panel and the background panel with Cracked Pistachio DOX.  Bundled Sage Distress ink on the card blank is almost a perfect match. I had a couple flowers left over from my spring wallhanging and I tucked those in there along with a couple of store bought stem pieces. My mouth has been watering over the foamiran flowers I'm seeing in blogland, but since I don't have any of that product yet, I picked these up at 80% off at Joanne's to use on my spring cards. 




I am sharing my card with these challenges:
Dies R Us-Challenge #70-Easter I used Sizzix (flowers/butterflies) and Spellbinders dies.
Stamped Blessings-HeARTtful Stamping Anything Goes + a Stamp
Penny Black and More April Challenge-Spring
Stamping Sensations-April-Anything Goes

Thank you for stopping by to visit and to leave your lovely comments! I read and appreciate each and every one of them!
Hugs and Blessings!
Sara Emily
Posted by at 25 comments:

Monday, April 10, 2017

A Spring Birthday Card

Hello friends and visitors! I hope you are enjoying some fine spring weather! Inspired by the colors I'm seeing on the trees and the flowers in my garden, I made a quick spring birthday card.


(pardon me, my glue is showing-still wet--anxious to photograph and get in the mail!)

I just love these beautiful Everyday Spring papers by Lemoncraft  gifted to me by my dear friend, Lisa of A Mermaid's Crafts. Please be sure to pay her a visit...once you do you will be a regular visitor. She makes the most amazing cards and other projects in her own unmistakable style, and she is as sweet as can be. And she sells these beautiful papers in her Etsy shop at very good prices!


For the belly band and oval, I embossed the delicate pink patterned paper from the same paper stack with two different Tim Holtz Texture Fades and sanded lightly. I used a Spellbinders die to cut the pink oval and the frame below it. I had to take this photo to show you the gorgeous results you can get using Distress Oxides and Distress inks splashed with a little water. I used Peeled Paint and Cracked Pistachio DOX and Vintage Photo ink. I know it looks a little rough in the middle, but I knew it would be covered with my image (Tim Holtz).


I tucked in a Prima doily die cut, added some flowers, stamens, and half pearls from my stash and a Chit Chat Occasions sticker for my sentiment.  My card is nice and flat (for easy posting) with just a bit of foam tape between some of the layers.


I am sharing my card with the following challenges:
Thank you for your visit today and for your wonderful comments! They are very inspiring to me!
Hugs and Blessings!
Sara Emily
Posted by at 31 comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)