Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Let It Snow! (Please!!!)

Hello crafty friends and visitors! It's mid 90's here, and I'm hardly in the Christmas spirit. But keeping to my promise, I've made my monthly Christmas card. Here's a little simple card to cool you off.


The white patch you see over the Let It Snow sentiment (Tim Holtz inked in Distress Archival) and upper right hand corner is actually really strong sunlight filtering through the trees. I chose this frosty whimsical snowman from a pack of die cuts my sweet friend Autumn of SewPaperPaint sent me in a pile of pretty wrapped gifts this past Christmas. Isn't he adorable? Thank you, Autumn!


 I used Broken China Distress Oxide to make my snowy background. A sprinkling of dimensional snow flakes are from my stash. I think I used an embossing folder on heavy vellum and fussy cut them out. I stamped the sentiment several times second generation.


I added some DecoArt Snow Writer to the top edge and in a puddle under Mr. Snowman, and sprinkle it with DecoArt Glamour Dust.  So strange to see that combination of products on my desktop. By the way, if you don't have Ranger Grit Paste, Snow Writer is pretty much the same product. Or if you don't have Snow Writer, Grit Paste will stand in nicely.



Here's another look; I brought him inside before he melted and took his portrait in my studio light. That's it for me today...one more card for the Christmas stash!


I'm sharing this at:

Thank you for stopping by today and for all your kind comments!
Hugs and Blessings!
Sara Emily

Thursday, May 25, 2017

Spotlight at A Vintage Journey

Hello crafty friends and visitors! I have a special post over at A Vintage Journey today! I hope you'll pop over to see how I took my trash to treasure on this tag!


Ever since the 12 Tags factory shut down over at Tim's blog, I've not made many tags, so I was super excited to make this one!.




What a fun time I had making this little tag and it took no time at all!


If you don't mind heading over to A Vintage Journey  for details, I'd like to enter this tag into the following challenges:

Mixed Media Monthly Challenge #36 - "Put a Stamp On It"My stamp is a script stamp I used in the background-it's a very old Hero Arts rubber on wood.

Repeat Impressions-Anything Goes Challenge ~ M2417
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge-Little Critters
Creatalicious Challenges Challenge #115 ANYTHING GOES with optional stencils I did not use the optional stencils.
Let's Craft and Create-Challenge #125 MAKE YOUR OWN BACKGROUND


Thank you for your visit today and for your lovely comments!
Hugs and Blessings!
Sara Emily

Friday, May 19, 2017

Vintage All-Purpose Card

Hello crafty friends and visitors! It's been hot, hot, hot here, so after weeks of doing nothing but getting the garden in shape for summer, I decided to spend some time indoors and make this card.


I have soooo many old rubber on wood block stamps, and I've been sorting through them to see which I can get rid of. I was on the fence about this one (as I am with many of the old ones--I am such a stamp  craft hoarder!) and set it aside to use for Mixed Media Monthly challenge "Put a Stamp On It".

The focal image (Magenta) is inked in distress Oxides. I painted the ink on the stamp with my water brush and spritzed it lightly with water before making my impression onto mixed media card. I went back in with Frayed Burlap and Tumbled Glass Distress inks to color the background and frame. The subtle script is by Bo Bunny inked in Potting Soil Archival. I inked the flowers and butterfly from the image a second (and third and fourth) time (Wilted Violet and Dried Marigold DOX), water colored with DI's (Blueprint Sketch and Squeezed Lemonade), fussy cut and shaped them for a tiny bit of dimension.





The background panel is colored with DOX and Distress inks (I can't remember the colors exactly, since this was my 4th background I made for this card!) and stamped and embossed with Prima's chicken wire and the tiniest script from Happy Little Stampers. I love that delicate script! The chicken wire die cut is Tim Hotlz Mixed Media Thinlit, and I also used his Linen ribbon. A splatter of Ground Expresso ink gives it some foxing. My quote is Stampin' Up, inked in Potting Soil, and adhered to waste chipboard to give dimension.




Hugs and Blessings!
Sara Emily

Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Mother's Day Card - Scrapy Land Challenge #66 - Add Pearls and/or Lace


Hello crafty friends and visitors! It's time for a new challenge at Scrapy Land, and this time the theme is 'Add Pearls and/or Lace' using at least one brand die that Scrapy Land sells in the shop. I've gone with a Mother's Day card I made for my Mom. I'm happy to report it arrived safely in the coordinating box I made for it (but forgot to photograph), and she loves it.



For the background I applied grit paste to thin chipboard and allowed to dry. I applied texture paste through a Prima stencil and sprinkled with embossing tinsel. I dried with heat tool to get even more texture.  I painted the panel with chalk paint and wiped embossed areas back with damp cloth before drying. I colored the panel with Worn Lipstick Distress Oxide and blended the edges with Watering Can Archival ink.


The pink lace is from my stash and  dyed with Picked Raspberry and Vintage Photo Distress stain. I had put some lace patterned tissue tape down before adding my stenciling on the background, but it really didn't look good, so I covered it with the real lace. Much better, but my flourishes are upside down! C'est la vie! It's mostly covered anyway!

I cut two of the  Memory Box Palace Oval Frame--one of heavy card stock and one from thin chipboard. I glued the two together to give it more rigidity and used Stampendous Aged silver Frantage to age the frame.


My largest flower (which looks like a peony to me) was made using Sizzix Bigz Tattered Florals die (second to the smallest) and Spellbinders Tammy Tutterow Tattered Posies (2 smallest)die. I colored the petals with Worn Lipstick Distress ink and DOX. The smaller roses and buds were made using Sizzix Small Tattered Florals Thinlits dies. The two off white flowers are store bought flat daisy types colored with DecoArt Everlasting chalk paint and twisted up to make buds. I guess I could have used the Small Tattered Florals with the same effect, but I've got a lot of store bought stash to use up!





I used Tattered Lace Ornate Leaves die for my greenery and Sizzix Butterfly Frenzy Decorative Strip die for the butterfly.


I don't have a suitable Mother's Day sentiment so the 'Special Day' die cut (Penny Black Splendid Wishes) saved the day. It was one of the many sweet gifts from my good friend and teamie Lisa (A Mermaid's Crafts). Thank you, Lisa; I love this die! I aged it with Frantage in Aged Silver, the same that I used on my heart charm and three half pearls.





That's all for me today! I hope you'll take a minute to stop by Scrapy Land to see all the beautiful inspiration from my talented teammates! And then it's over to you! I hope you'll create something with lace and/or pearls and use any die Scrapy Land sells and link up! You'll have a chance of winning a $15 gift certificate to shop at Scrapy Land online shop.



One more look before I link up to these challenges:
Frilly and Funkie-The Sound of MusicNeil Young's 'Heart of Gold' (I used aged silver Frantage, but it looks gold.)Thanks Kathy, I have not been able to get Our House out of my head until I made my heart of gold.Now I can't get that out of my head!

Thank you for your visit today and for your kind comments!
Hugs and Blessings!
Sara Emily

Thursday, May 4, 2017

A Vintage Journey-Use a Quote

Hello friends and visitors! It's time for our newest challenge at A Vintage Journey which is 'Use a Quote' chosen by the talented Jenny. Laura, owner of That's Crafty generously provided That's Crafty Surfaces to all of the Creative Guides to work on for this challenge, and our ever-patient Nikki (Addicted to Art) coordinated everything to be sure we all received our surfaces. Thank you to Laura and Nikki! I was so excited to be able to be able to create on this fabulously sturdy MDF Upright Arch.


Here's what Jenny has to say about her challenge: Take a quote! Any quote! Whether it be on a stamp, a sticker, handwritten or sourced from the internet and make it the focal point of your vintage; shabby; mixed media; art journaling, industrial, timeworn or steampunk project.

My timeworn project was predicated on this quote from a Tim Holtz stamp set I won on his 12 Tags challenge at one time. I felt a little bad never giving this quote any air time, so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity. The inspiration for my choice of quote and eventually this garden scene came from an old broken Frozen Charlotte china doll gifted to me by a friend from her parent's estate. Originally I was going to use the doll on this, but I got a bad case of commitment phobia, and will keep hoarding her.



I started by giving my arch and base a coat of gesso, followed by Pumice Stone Distress paint. I determined where my quote should go, and embossed it with Watering Can embossing powder and ink.

I made a stencil using Tim's old Brick Wall strip die. Masking my quote I applied Ranger Grit paste through my stencil. In some areas, where I wanted it to look as if stucco had been added over the exposed brick, I knifed on additional grit and Prima Stone Effect pastes and set the panel aside to dry.

In the meantime, I got out my Prima molds and paper clay and started the process of making stepping stones, a concrete fountain and some concrete moldings. I purposefully "broke" some of them by using a craft knife to cut pieces off, which hopefully you can see are scattered at the base. When they were dry, I smeared grit paste on the stones and stone effect paste on the concrete pieces randomly, and again allowed to dry. When they were completely dry, I  colored them with a variety of Distress Oxides,  DecoArt fluid and chalky paints and my waterbrush until I was happy with the coloring.


I painted the bricks using a combination of Oxides, paints and inks and the waterbrush for the most part adding washes of color and then highlighting with unthinned color. (I have a complete product list below.) I mixed up some Faux Grass (??What? It looks like Faux Moss to me!) with Forest Moss Distress stain and allowed it to dry. I applied that using gel medium for mossy growth. I added highlights of  DecoArt   chalk paint to the bricks and concrete pieces. I love how all these products work so well together.


I used a Prima crack stencil and black texture paste to make the crack, which at first was a little too bold. I went back in with a white watercolor pencil to soften it up a bit and used a black watercolor pencil to extend the cracks and add a few more on the brick wall and the fountain.




In the shots below, you can see I washed Walnut Stain Dox over the sentiment to give it a look of old plaster (At least that's what I was aiming for.)



Here's a few closeups of the mossy walkway where some of the broken pieces lie. The 'bricks' are also made from paper clay, and the ferns made from just the tip of the die cut. The paper I cut them from was colored with DOX.  I was quite pleased how, coincidentally,  the stones closely resemble the real ones in my courtyard in color.




 That's it for me today. Please stop by A Vintage Journey  to see all the amazing inspiration from the other Creative Guides--I think you'll get close to the full gamut of Guides using their choice of That's Crafty Surfaces. Then it's over to you! You don't have to use a That's Crafty Surface, just be sure it's a vintage, shabby, steampunk, industrial, mixed media, art journaling or timeworn project using a quote as the focal point. That's Crafty is our sponsor this month, and one lucky winner will be awarded  a generous gift voucher to their well supplied online store.


I'm entering the following challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday-Simon Says: A Hint Of Pink-Sad to say, my bricks have a hint of pink.
Simon Says Stamp Monday-Simon Says: The Great Outdoors
Allsorts-Week 413 - Embossing I embossed my quote.
CreataliciousChallenge #114 ANYTHING GOES with optional for the girls / Mother's Day I did not do the optional twist this time.
Happy Little Stampers-HLS May Watercolour Challenge I waterecolored just about everything on this. I included the red option.


Products used: (Most can be purchased at That's Crafty.)   Gesso; River rock mold; paper clay; black texture paste; Prima IOD molds 3, 5 and 6;  Prima Stone Effect paste-concrete: Ranger Distress Grit Paste, Prima Crackle stencil; Tim Holtz Ponderings stamps, Tim Holtz Brick Wall and Frantic Stamper Fern dies, Distress Oxides: Fired Brick (of course), Iced Spruce,  Peeled Paint, Walnut Stain; Distress ink: Fired Brick, Mowed Lawn, Forest Moss;  Distress paints: Mowed Lawn and Ground Espresso;  Distress stain: Forest Moss;   DecoArt Media Fluid acrylics: Paynes Grey, Carbon Black, Prussian Blue, and DecoARt  Everlasting Chalk paint; Prismacolor watercolor pencils.


Thank you for your visit today and for all your inspiring comments!
Hugs and Blessings!
Sara Emily


Wednesday, May 3, 2017

Scrapy Land Challenge #65-Anything Goes

Hello friends and visitors! Are you ready for another challenge at Scrapy Land?  Our newest challenge is Anything Goes as long as you use any brand die that Scrapy Land sells. That shouldn't be too difficult, because Scrapy Land sells over 50 brands of dies!  I've taken a trip down memory lane today pulling out some of my older dies to make another Easter card. Don't worry; it's already reached it's destination in time for this passed Easter.



I used Tim Holtz (Sizzix) Ornate Frame die to frame my sweet Easter image from my stash. The frame was colored using Faded Jeans Distress Oxide (DOX), by blending the color on with an ink blending tool and then spritzing with water. I cut a second frame and cut it in half to make the shadow. To cut my image, I simply traced around the oval left from the frame and fussy cut it just a bit out from my tracing line. It's a perfect fit.


I like to get more use out of my dies so I cut a few of the flowers and flourish stems from the  Tuttie Design Bell Flower Corner die cut. They were colored with DOX in Faded Jeans, Worn Lipstick, Peeled Paint and Cracked Pistachio to go with my image.


The word "Easter" is cut from the same image and layered on a snippet of card colored with Walnut Stain DOX. "Wishes"  (Tim Holtz (Sizzix) Thinlits Handwritten Celebrate) is also colored with Walnut Stain, and I cut a second to make a drop shadow effect as well as to give it more rigidity. At the last minute I decided to add some Worn Lipstick to my die cut sentiment, and then to add the butterfly (Sizzix On the Edge Butterflight).


The background paper from my stash was embossed with a Tim Holtz Texture Fade, and I dragged the Faded Jeans DOX pad over it to high light the raised areas. The snips of crinkle seam binding were also colored with Faded Jeans DOX. And yes, the card blank is also colored with Faded Jeans DOX!

That's it for me today--now it's over to YOU! Please visit  Scrapy Land to see all the amazing inspiration my teamies have made for you and then join in the fun with your Anything Goes entry. Just remember to use any brand die that Scrapy Land sells. You could be our next winner of a generous gift certificate to the shop!

I am entering my card into the following challenges:


Allsorts Challenge Week 413 - Embossing I embossed my background.
Country View Challenges-May 2017 - Flower Power My flowers are die cut and there is a tulip on the image.
Creatalicious Challenge #114 ANYTHING GOES with optional for the girls / Mother's Day While this is for a girl, it's not for Mother's Day, so I'm not doing the optional this time:).

Thank you for visiting today and for leaving your amazing comments! I sure do appreciate them!
Hugs and Blessings!
Sara Emily