Pocket Cards

I made these cards awhile ago but just put them aside while I waited for the perfect stamp set and occasion.  My niece had a tea party for her birthday and when I received the Tea Party stamp set, I knew it would be perfect for these cards.


Check out the Tea Party stamp set by Lila Grey Stamps by clicking here.


I should have taken a photo of the cards without the embellishments, but I always forget about the "before".


Anyhow, to make these cards, I grabbed a plan white 12x12 piece of cardstock.  The thicker the better.  I normally buy mine from Stampin' Up.  I really love their quality and thickness of cardstock.


With that, I used paint, inks, distress inks, markers, book pages, washi tape, etc. to come up with the random background.  Once I was happy with the final product, I cut three 4x12" strips.  Those strips I cut into three 4x6 cards and six 3x4" cards; rounded the corners and then it's time to embellish.


Here is a photo of all the cards:

Some close ups:

Techniques:
Stacking Tea Cups:  I used a masking technique to stamp the cup on top of each other.  I stamped the bottom cup on the card and another one on a piece of scrap paper.  I cut out the image on the scrap paper and placed it on top of the cup on the card.  From there, I stamped the second cup in the first cup.  As you can see, the saucer and bottom portion of the stamp does not appear on the final project card.  Once I did that, I used white acrylic paint to paint around the cup.  This allows the cups to pop.


Cupcake:  Paper pieced the cupcake.  I stamped the image onto different colors/types of scrap paper.  Cut out the portions I wanted and adhered them to one image.


Journaling Spots:  I used white acrylic paint to create an area for journaling and then drew lines with a pen.  Easy peasy!


Flowers Patterned Paper:  Make your own patterned paper by stamping the same image randomly on the card.  This was done with the flower image.  I then highlighted the flowers with marker, added dots and other small embellishments.


Each of these cards can be used alone or to add a photo or journaling.  I feel I embellished them enough to where I won't need to add more to them. 


FYI:  Pocket cards can also be used for card fronts.  They are not only for pocket pages in your scrapbook album.


I love the idea of making your own pocket cards.  If you are interested in pocket pages, check out my pages from our trip to Orlando (safari).  I had so much fun making this album.  You can fit so many more photos on each page and once you get the hang of it, it's a lot of fun.  BTW, the cards that I used for the Animal Kingdom Safari photos were also made a similar way.  I couldn't find anything that worked so I made my own.  The base of these cards was a piece of patterned paper that I knew I was never going to use.  It already had a mixed media vibe so it worked out perfect.  Don't you love that! 

You're A Classic

This is the reason why I like to look for new challenge sites.  The challenge site, Anything But Cute is for mixed media challenges and the current challenge is masculine.  I wasn't even sure if I had anything that is specifically mascaline, but once I started, the ideas just came to me.

So I started with the idea of creating a tag.  I have a Tim Holtz Sizzix embossing plate of measuring tapes.  So I embossed.  Then I added some ink from CTMH (Olive, Gypsy, Black).  I also used a Chocolate ink pad from AMM (had this forever).  Then I stamped the car with black ink and this car stamp I got from a mail-order stamp club that I enrolled in for one month about three years ago  Although I love the car stamp, the quality of the stamp is really poor - thin stamp.

I also stamped a light post from 7 Gypsies with the black archival ink pad from CTMH.  Shaded each of them with Whisper alcohol pen from CTMH.

The white etchings were stamped on with white acrylic paint and a stamp that I got from Rubber Paws.  This is the first time I used it and I can tell I'm going to use it more and more.  I don't know the company or where it was purchased.  Shoot, I can't even tell what it says...if anything.  LOL

The sentiment is from the car set and was stamped and inked and adhered.  Then the twine/button and ribbon.  Sure I like it, but a tag...what am I going to do with it??

Ah ha...my art journal had some violet ink spots and of course the left over splotches from the inks/paints from the tag project.  So I added more of the ink colors and some other random additions to create a background for the tag.  Now it's a page and I plan on cutting it down for a card front.  Love it!

Products used: are listed above.

Drink Tea With Me

I thought I'd enter this in the Try It On Tuesday challenge blog.  The theme is tea cups.  I know this isn't a tea cup, but tea cup/tea pot same thing, right??

Here's another Art Journal page using the Tea Party stamp set from Lila Grey Stamps.  I love this stamp set!  I looked on Pinterest to find a "tea" quote and thought this was simple enough.  The page started off as a clean off page full of random strokes and splotches from other projects.  I doubled stamped the teapot (love that you can do this with clear stamps!) because I wanted a really dark impression.  I colored in the flowers and dragonflies with a variety of markers I have in my stash.  I shadowed the teapot with a lt. gray marker.  I handwrote the title using a black Sharpie and other markers for shadowing and decorations.  Then I used a watered down yellow paint spray to add some yellow.  I always say, every project needs a little yellow.  I used an old drinking straw dipped in acrylic craft paint for the little circles.  I also used this paint and a lacey cupcake wrapper (yup, I kept this from a baby shower that I attended last month) for the "doily-like" design at the bottom of the page.  The random doodled circles are from a black BIC pen that I also use a lot.

Close ups of the tea pot and sentiment.  I'm entering this on the Try It On Tuesday challenge blog.

Never Ending Adventure

Here it is...

Art is an adventure that never ends.  I know it's hard to read, but I just can't get a direct shot.  This is just inside the door when you walk in to the Command Center.

 The painting wraps around this skinny wall.  The wall facing the open door is the artwork above.

Here's my son Tony checking out the wall.  He thinks I'm crazy.  Who knows...maybe I am.  LOL

I treated these walls like a mixed media canvas.  Paint everywhere, distressing sprays and markers everywhere.  It's all crazy but I think it gives the Command Center an artistic, fun look.  I have a feeling that I'll be adding, covering, and revising these walls a lot.

An Adventure?!?

OH EM GEE!  I am working on something in the Command Center that I'm pretty excited about.  I am hoping to finish tonight.


No sneak peeks and no hints on what it is, but I think you'll either think I'm crazy (like my family already does) or love it.  LOL


Pictures are coming soon!!

Celebrate!

Thinking outside the box is where this one came from:

I used Lila Grey Stamps (set:  Home Sweet Home) for the "fans" and the bar across the page.  I used Ranger distress sprays for the background colors; white acrylic paint and bubble wrap and some random spritz of blue, yellow and white to create a confetti feel.  The lines both straight and squiggly are handdrawn.  I outlined the "fans" with white gel pen and used a black Sharpie for "Celebrate".  More handwriting.  LOVE!

Here are some close ups:

Girly Things

Here's another Lila Grey Stamps set and an Art Journal page I completed.  This set is called Home Sweet Home.

Click here to go to her website/store.

As part of the design team, I created a few different items using two different stamp sets.  I started this piece by inking and stenciling some texture page to one corner.  I then stamped the medallian all over the page to create a background.

Then I decided to cover the whole thing with gesso.  I knew I wanted to showcase the chandelier on this piece so I stamped in Versamark and embossed with black embossing powder.

Handwrote the title and adhered.  After that I realized that it needed to be more girly so I added some fingerpainted circles, pink washi and random gold and silver metallic paint dots.  I also colored in part of the shades with markers.

The finished product and close up:

I love this chandellier!  I can see myself using this on lots of fancy pages/cards and other art projects.

Supplies: 

Lila Grey Stamps (Home Sweet Home)

Inks by Stampin Up!

Gold/Silver Metallic Paint Marker

Markers

Washi Tape

Homemade Texture Paste