Michelle Zindorf makes huge cards, so I either have to cut out a lot of the framing and layering that she puts into her cards, or I have to make the focal image smaller, which is sometimes difficult.
Sunset still lake
This Zindorf tutorial was not as hard as it looked. I substituted Tim Holtz distress inks for the SU colors, and the "branch" is a tulip stem from a CTMH set; I thought it looked like a small palm, and those do occasionally get submerged, I think.
Michelle Zindorf makes huge cards, so I either have to cut out a lot of the framing and layering that she puts into her cards, or I have to make the focal image smaller, which is sometimes difficult.
Michelle Zindorf makes huge cards, so I either have to cut out a lot of the framing and layering that she puts into her cards, or I have to make the focal image smaller, which is sometimes difficult.
A few more inchies
I got tired of doing vintage, so I made some more modern inchies. These have distress ink burnished backgrounds, but I used a clear gelly pen to cover the parts I wanted to stay white first. I think they are cute!
Inchie heaven
If my postings last week were a little sparce, it was because I was very busy creating for Digital Two for Tuesday - I got to be Guest Designer this week!
Cora was spot on giving me inchies to make, but even though one inchie doesn't take that long, making over 70 of them takes forever! If you want to see a better picture of my little gems, you'll have to pop over there.
Cora was spot on giving me inchies to make, but even though one inchie doesn't take that long, making over 70 of them takes forever! If you want to see a better picture of my little gems, you'll have to pop over there.
A little birdy
The archnemesis is out of town, so I had time to do another Zindorf tutorial today. My cardstock (GP110) was starting to get tired after a while, so I didn't work it as much as Michelle did, but it is okay, good enough to send to my mom.
The whitish parts on the bottom half are done with a embossing resist technique. after I put it together, I thought the top trim was a little dark, so i put a little white stamping up there to balance the whole thing.
At one point, my bird looked really good, but I had to keep coloring it, and it has suffered as a result. This is a real mish mash of stamps - the bird is Tim Holtz, the flourishes are TAC, and the flower is SU. I'm submitting this for the Embossing Powder Challenge at Gingersnap Creations.
The whitish parts on the bottom half are done with a embossing resist technique. after I put it together, I thought the top trim was a little dark, so i put a little white stamping up there to balance the whole thing.
At one point, my bird looked really good, but I had to keep coloring it, and it has suffered as a result. This is a real mish mash of stamps - the bird is Tim Holtz, the flourishes are TAC, and the flower is SU. I'm submitting this for the Embossing Powder Challenge at Gingersnap Creations.
Airbrush cat
One of the techniques in the current TJ newsletter is Airbrushed Markers, which uses Copic markers and the Copic airbrush system. I don't have either of those, so I used the airbrush I have.
The digital stamp is from Wink Wink Ink. I have wanted to be able to put my cat on a card for a long time, but couldn't, because my cat is a tuxedo cat, which is to say, she is mostly black with white on her face and chest, and on her feet. Cats like this are often named Socks or Boots, or Fred Astaire, and sometimes a cat with these marking could be a Kitler, but my cat is not one of those. Her name is Vampire, not only because of the tuxedo, but she has sharp fangs, sleeps all day, and looks like she has the letter V on her nose. This stamp is perfect for her.
The biggest problem with coloring black cats with a black outline is how readily it turns into a black blob. The lines disappear in all that black. If you use very dark gray, it just looks like a dark gray cat. However, by airbrushing black ink, you get thinner and thicker applications of black, which reveals enough detail to make out the shape of the cat, and the fuzziness is perfect for the fur. I am very pleased to be able to showcase my cat on a card.
I glossed up the eyes with a Glaze Gelly pen, and used a Milky Gel to draw in the white whiskers after I applied her to the backing. After I finished the cat, I had to fussy-cut her out of the background, and I picked a pretty paper to put behind her, and then I was stumped. what else to do? I looked for a sketch to perk up the card, and this CPS layout had some interesting lines, but I think it needs a little something else. It has plenty of hearts for the Belli challenge and the Inky Impressions Challenge. Any suggestions?
The digital stamp is from Wink Wink Ink. I have wanted to be able to put my cat on a card for a long time, but couldn't, because my cat is a tuxedo cat, which is to say, she is mostly black with white on her face and chest, and on her feet. Cats like this are often named Socks or Boots, or Fred Astaire, and sometimes a cat with these marking could be a Kitler, but my cat is not one of those. Her name is Vampire, not only because of the tuxedo, but she has sharp fangs, sleeps all day, and looks like she has the letter V on her nose. This stamp is perfect for her.
The biggest problem with coloring black cats with a black outline is how readily it turns into a black blob. The lines disappear in all that black. If you use very dark gray, it just looks like a dark gray cat. However, by airbrushing black ink, you get thinner and thicker applications of black, which reveals enough detail to make out the shape of the cat, and the fuzziness is perfect for the fur. I am very pleased to be able to showcase my cat on a card.
I glossed up the eyes with a Glaze Gelly pen, and used a Milky Gel to draw in the white whiskers after I applied her to the backing. After I finished the cat, I had to fussy-cut her out of the background, and I picked a pretty paper to put behind her, and then I was stumped. what else to do? I looked for a sketch to perk up the card, and this CPS layout had some interesting lines, but I think it needs a little something else. It has plenty of hearts for the Belli challenge and the Inky Impressions Challenge. Any suggestions?
California sunset - NOT
Cat challenged me to do a Zindorf tut called "California Sunset", and I've been putting it off for a while, but tonight, after seeing what Cat made for the challenge, I couldn't put it off any longer.
My first attempt was so bad I threw it away before I finished it. The paper I was using wasn't smooth enough, and I kept getting lines from the brayer. I used slicker paper for my second try:
No, I'm not particularly pleased with this. In fact, it's pretty awful. The only redeeming part is on the inside. It's a Tim Holtz stamp that says,
I'm thinking this is not really a keeper.
This one started out okay. I used a manila folder and distress inks to make this one, but I didn't see how much I got wrong until after I put it all together. The water spot (drip from when I cleaned my stamp afterward) the ink spots, and when I tried to straighten out my card in the scan, I realized how far off my horizon is.
Now that you've seen mine, you have to see Cat's. Keep in mind that this is a HUGE card - this is all that would fit in my scanner, 8 1/2 by 11, the base of the card being a raspberry file folder.
I'm not 100% sure, but I think Cat drew that wild octopus - it looks like her style. Isn't this a hoot!?!
My first attempt was so bad I threw it away before I finished it. The paper I was using wasn't smooth enough, and I kept getting lines from the brayer. I used slicker paper for my second try:
No, I'm not particularly pleased with this. In fact, it's pretty awful. The only redeeming part is on the inside. It's a Tim Holtz stamp that says,
creativity is
allowing yourself
to make mistakes
art is knowing
which ones to keep
I'm thinking this is not really a keeper.
This one started out okay. I used a manila folder and distress inks to make this one, but I didn't see how much I got wrong until after I put it all together. The water spot (drip from when I cleaned my stamp afterward) the ink spots, and when I tried to straighten out my card in the scan, I realized how far off my horizon is.
Now that you've seen mine, you have to see Cat's. Keep in mind that this is a HUGE card - this is all that would fit in my scanner, 8 1/2 by 11, the base of the card being a raspberry file folder.
I'm not 100% sure, but I think Cat drew that wild octopus - it looks like her style. Isn't this a hoot!?!
IOU
I am way behind on my projects. First of all, I won several blog giveaways, and I feel that when you win a crafting supply from a crafting blog and you have a blog where you post the crafts that you make, there is an obligation there to make something with what you won.
So, keep me honest - I'm going to tell you what I need to do, and then, with the implied pressure of your expectations, I will get on those cards.
First off, I won a terrific stamp set from Sherrod Studio. Rock and Roll is my favorite one that they sell - if I hadn't won it, I do think I would have bought it. It's on sale right now!
Second, I won a book from Craftside, 1,000 Handmade Greetings: Creative Cards and Clever Correspondence There are 1000 photos of some of the most artsy cards I've ever seen, way different from your normal blog hop card. I find it very inspiring, and at some point I will be able to put it down long enough to make a card like the ones that are in it.
Third, I owe the PaperTempress bigtime. First of all, I won a big packet of Valentines paper in a challenge last month over at Gingersnap Creations blog. Second, PaperTemptress is offering a Silver Lustre Package for every donation of $10 or more that is donated to any charity for Haiti by anyone for the next two weeks (see the site for details). If you know me, you know that the Vintage Silver Lustre is my favorite paper for coloring in the world. This package has ALL the textures that she sells, and you know you are supporting the relief anyway, so why not take advantage? Two packages of luxury paper, I ought to be able to make some amazing cards out of that!
Finally, and this isn't a blog candy, it's just a really nice gesture on Jackie's part, but Jackie Kalchert posted this card online, and I really liked it. In fact, I told her that I wanted to CASE (Copy and Steal Everything) it. She was so sweet, she mailed it to me! So, I really need to CASE this card already, and now I have no excuse, because I just got a bunch more paper from PaperTemptress!
Those are all the projects I NEED to do, so I went down to my crafting desk to stamp something, and this is what I made.
I didn't really need to make another long card, but the paper was sitting out, and so was the owl, already colored and waiting to be used. The card doesn't have anything to do with anything, it's just something that seemed to want to be made.
I will get to that other stuff, eventually.
So, keep me honest - I'm going to tell you what I need to do, and then, with the implied pressure of your expectations, I will get on those cards.
First off, I won a terrific stamp set from Sherrod Studio. Rock and Roll is my favorite one that they sell - if I hadn't won it, I do think I would have bought it. It's on sale right now!
Second, I won a book from Craftside, 1,000 Handmade Greetings: Creative Cards and Clever Correspondence There are 1000 photos of some of the most artsy cards I've ever seen, way different from your normal blog hop card. I find it very inspiring, and at some point I will be able to put it down long enough to make a card like the ones that are in it.
Third, I owe the PaperTempress bigtime. First of all, I won a big packet of Valentines paper in a challenge last month over at Gingersnap Creations blog. Second, PaperTemptress is offering a Silver Lustre Package for every donation of $10 or more that is donated to any charity for Haiti by anyone for the next two weeks (see the site for details). If you know me, you know that the Vintage Silver Lustre is my favorite paper for coloring in the world. This package has ALL the textures that she sells, and you know you are supporting the relief anyway, so why not take advantage? Two packages of luxury paper, I ought to be able to make some amazing cards out of that!
Finally, and this isn't a blog candy, it's just a really nice gesture on Jackie's part, but Jackie Kalchert posted this card online, and I really liked it. In fact, I told her that I wanted to CASE (Copy and Steal Everything) it. She was so sweet, she mailed it to me! So, I really need to CASE this card already, and now I have no excuse, because I just got a bunch more paper from PaperTemptress!
Those are all the projects I NEED to do, so I went down to my crafting desk to stamp something, and this is what I made.
I didn't really need to make another long card, but the paper was sitting out, and so was the owl, already colored and waiting to be used. The card doesn't have anything to do with anything, it's just something that seemed to want to be made.
I will get to that other stuff, eventually.
