It's Up To You... by Lisa Gregory

Wow! Lisa has done it again! This beautiful layout...I LOVE the way she used the sentiment stamp!
Thanks Lisa for wowing us yet again!!!

It's Up To You...Everything you do, every choice you make, it's up to you. I opt to see the beauty in the everyday. This is something I teach my children, and now my grandchildren. Yvonne's stamp for Impression Obsession,  It's Up To You, rings so true. I started my 12 x 12 layout by adhering a 12x12 piece of Prima Paper from the Rossibelle collection to a piece of 12x12 corrugated cardboard using Mod Podge. After it dried, I sprayed the edges of the layout with water, let it soak in and peeled back the top layer of the cardboard and the patterned paper. I then wrinkled, bent, twisted and shaped the edges exposing the cardboard underneath. I love the texture  of the corrugated part of the cardboard. Once it dried, I painted the corrugated part, and the peeled back part with white gesso, After the gesso dried, I sprayed the painted parts with colored sprays in a shimmery grey toned color.

I made sure I left a part of the lighter part of the paper free of embellishments and stamped the It's Up To You stamp onto that part. I  chose Black Archival ink as it stood out among the blacks in the paper.

I created the middle part of the layout by covering different sized pieces of corrugated cardboard, and layered them for dimension. I painted the Dusty Attic chipboard frame and dusted it with Art Basics Mica Powder. I added the tiny Dusty Attic butterflies to the frame.



 I created some of my own flowers and mixed them in with flowers from the paper collection I used, I just love floral clusters!!

 Here is a view of the floral cluster under the frame. I also used die cut leaves to tuck underneath my floral clusters. Just the hint of light green blends in well. The butterflies are from a printable file I created, then printed it up and cut them out. I painted them with Glossy Accents to give them a bit of shine.

Thank you for joining me this week. I hope that when you venture out during the day, that you see the beauty in the everyday...

It's Up To You Stamp

Make Today Awesome Card by Tonya Gibbs

How fun is this!!! Tonya is up today with this beautiful watercolored card and...

bonus foiling!!! Thanks Tonya for this beautiful inspiration!!! 

Oh today I have a treat for the eyes.  I am going to share with you a simple watercolor technique you can use to create beautiful cards in minutes. And a great way you can turn your stamps into foiled designs to add texture and sparkle to Yvonne's amazing stamps.

I chose these two fantastic stamps for today's card.  For this technique I suggest line art or text stamps that are not too complicated.  Larger text works best, like the first stamp.

Make Today

On this stamp set.  I'm going to use "Tomorrow is another day" on the inside with Heidi Swapp's Navy blue ink.  It will not be foiled.  This stamp set is too small for the foiling technique.

Card Sentiments

In the video below I share with you the simple technique I used for watercoloring the flower.  I used an inexpensive 18 color watercolor set that retails for $5.  It took about 15 mins to watercolor the card.  I used a 3" inch punched circle as a guide to make sure I was staying in frame. 

The card dimensions are as follows:

Base - is a top folding  A2  (original cut 4 1/4 in x 11 in scored at 5 1/2 in)

Top Panel:  110lb white cardstock  4 in x 5 1/4 in

Acetate:  3 3/4 in x 5 in

Mask:  4in x 5 1/4 in with a 3 in circle die cut

To foil the stamped image.  I used Ranger's Sticky Embossing powder with Versa Ink.  The Heidi Swapp's Foil in Pink and Minc to set the foil.  I show you the steps in the video below.

I must confess that the foiling is cool, but not a completely smooth technique. 

Here is the video.

Watch on YouTube

Here is what my final card looks like. Of course the front is super shiny it is just hard for the camera to capture the metallic surface. The hand doodling really give the card a whimsical feel, and gives life to the flower cluster.  It hides a lot of imperfections, and helps for the flowers to take shape if you aren't an experienced watercolor artist.

I do not recommend doing the foiling technique if you want a completely smooth effect on text. The sticky powder will not allow for complete coverage of the foil. However, I think the texture offers some interest to the text.   To hide the imperfections, I decided to make mine a shaker card.  The sequins on the front of the card really give a lot of pop and depth. By adhering a few down inside  the shaker area, it keeps them from being lost when they aren't being stirred. 

Here is the inside of the card.  I wasn't happy with the way it stamped in the video. So I re-stamped it on a fishtail banner die cut and placed it on top of the original stamp. I think I like the die-cut better.  I also decided to use Navy blue ink instead of black, because it matched my watercolor better.

Who wouldn't love to receive this card? I hope I have inspired you to create a beautiful watercolor card, and try to foil emboss the stamps from Yvonne.  It really gives them a unique look, and the shaker cards are always a big hit.

Thanks for stopping in today.

God Only Knows-CCB Video Inspiration!

Hello everyone! 

Today I am sharing my project that was inspired by the video-God Only Knows. 

Linda Ledbetter was the genius who thought of it! 

It was definitely new for me.  When I watched the video one message kept coming through. 

God Only Knows-well yeah! 

The video was so whimsical and dreamy. I would have loved to jumped in and played! 

Have you ever done that...pictured yourself in the middle of it? 

I really wasn't sure what I was going to do, 

my mind was on complete and utter overload, so, I just pulled out a blank canvas 

and trusted the journey would take me where I needed to go! 

I did stare at blank canvas for a short bit...then I decided to pull out some 

of my 'hoarded' scrapbook papers. You know the ones you don't want to use

because they are limited and what if you use them and then you find something else to use them for. 

LOL...I do that!  Lately I have been trying to use the things I have instead of hoarding it. 

AND I have to say...I love where this went! hehehe. 

I collaged some of the papers (torn) onto the canvas using Multi Medium. 

Still my favorite medium for adhering things.  I wish I had a BIG gallon jug of it! 

Anyway, once those were collaged, I white washed the entire canvas with some watered down 

white acrylic paint. I wanted the background to be more subdued. 

Then I just added color here and there.  I put blobs of paint on my craft sheet, 

spritzed some water and basically finger painted lightly. 

 Once I had the colors the way I wanted it, it was time to start adding embellishments. 

The butterflies are fussy cut from Bo Bunny paper,

Adhered those with Multi Matte as well. 

Doilies were added to give it some more texture.

Then I stamped the word 'trust' from my stamp line with Impression Obsession. 

It was VERY bold at first, too bold. So I watered down a little more acrylic paint 

and went right over it lightly! Now it was more in the backgroud! Yes! 

I used my typewriter to type out the words believe and faith several times.

Cut those into little word strips and adhered those as well. 

I stamped 'God Only Know' with one of Tim's alphabets from Stampers Anonymous. 

They Typewriter is from We R Memory Keepers. 

The think I love about it is..you can change the ribbons.  They have MANY different colors! 

AND it is designed for a 12x12 format so you can put your page right in and type,

for those of you who also scrapbook!

Of course, I had to use the PINK one with the black! 

(Had to get a little more PINK in, hehehe)

Now I just finished off the embellishing using rub ons and a paint scrapper. 

The only thing left to do was give it definition. 

I used my Distress Crayon in Black Soot to go around all the edges and rub. 

I LOVE what happens when you rub! 

I did the same around the butterflies and called it a day! 

So there you have it! 

I have learned that it is true.  God Only Knows....I trust that even through the most difficult times of my life God has been with me, even when I strayed.  God will always be with us, no matter what. 

All we have to do is to remember that, trust in that, believe in that and we will never be alone. 

I hope you enjoyed! I hope you are playing along with us at Creative Carte Blanche! 

If you haven't yet seen the video you can go watch it here in the original post! 

Made sure to visit the Creative Carte Blanche Blog as my Creative Co-horts have been creating some 

truly beautiful, fun and whimsical projects!

Thanks for stopping by! 

Hope you have a great day and find your inspiration! 

Until next time! 

'tover ATC's by Lynne

I love when Lynne does here 'tover' posts!!!
These are so beautiful! Thanks Lynne for some amazing inspiration yet again!

Sometimes.....life just get's toooo BUSY!!

....and the well laid plans of mice and men

go flying out the door!!

When that happens....and I have a creative deadline
I usually head to my 'TOVERS!
YOU KNOW.....those pieces parts that 

are left over or just didn't make it into a project!!

....that's just what I did today!
I had some leftover ATC's I had created for
a previous project.
I created them by applying various
tissuestock to a piece of handmade paper
accented with a bit of vintage curtian pieces.

I cut the sheet into a bunch of ATC's 2.5" x 3.5"

....well this is what I made with my

'TOVERS!!

In fact, everything, except for

the Yvonne Blair Designs/Impression Obsession stamped verbage 

is from my 'TOVERS pile!

....given a little face lift

with some Glimmer Mist.

....in case you were wondering what stamp set I used....

it is Words for Art

I just reached into the packaging and chose
4 stamps for my ATC's,
without looking!!

Here are my ATC's

I sprayed all 4 ATCs with a background color,

splattered on another then

dripped the last color....

a few flowers, a bit of burlap ivy

and of course a loopy bow!!

I LOVE each of the stamps I chose!!!

....what a shame it would have been to throw all

this stuff away just because it didn't find a home

first time around!!!

thanks BUNCHES for stoppin' by....

what do you do with your 'TOVERS??

other products used:

Tattered Angels ~ Glimmer Mist

Vanilla Breeze

Bronze

Navy Blue

Amethyst

Glimmer Glam

Lime Cordial

Canvas Corp

Tissue Stock

Ivory

French Script on Ivory

Kraft

Handmade Chipboard

Ivory Cardstock

Ranger Ink

Multi Medium Matte

Archival ~ Watering Can

If it Makes You Smile 12x12 layout by Lisa Gregory

Oh my! This layout made my heart do a little dance when I saw it! 

Thank you Lisa for this fabulous inspiration!!!! 

Hello Art Girls Lovers!! Today I have a 12x12 layout that was created all around a stamp, that reminded me of the photo I used of my granddaughter. "If it  makes you smile, giggle or laugh, Do it again"!! It was perfect for this layout. Yvonne Blairs  stamps for Impression Obsession has solved my journaling problems for my projects. They are wonderful!!!

For the stamp, I used a scrap piece of the Prima paper, stamped the quote using black archival ink, cut around it, inked the sides, and layered it over a piece of corrugated cardboard to give it dimension.

We do what we can to hear a babies sweet giggle. Of course when they do, they want you to do what ever you did to make them giggle again!! In everyday life, we all need to smile, laugh or giggle a little more.

I created this layout with only a couple of sheets of Prima paper. I backed each layer with corrugated cardboard to give each layer lift and dimension. Once the layers were done, I painted the whole thing with clear gesso. This gave the paper a perfect medium for my color sprays.

As you can see I also used some gold Mica flakes and copper Micro Beads to give the layout a little bit of sparkle and elegance. I adhered them with a bit of  Art Basics 3D gel. The frame was also covered with clear gesso. I love the way the sprays just settle into the grooves of the frame. Like an old patina.

Thank you for joining me this week. I truly believe the crowning touch on my layout was this  stamped quote.I hope you were inspired to use the word stamps on one of your next projects.

Other Products Used:

Prima Art Basics 3D gel

Prima Art Basics Clear Gesso

Prima Art Basics Micro Beads Copper

Prima Art Basics Mica Flakes gold

Prima 12 x 12 paper Salvage District

Prima Salvage District flowers

Prima Flower Bundles Teal

Prima French Riviera flowers

Prima Resin Frame

Black Archival Ink

Lindys Stamp Gang Cest la vie Cerise Flat Fabio Spray

Lindys Stamp Gang Steampunk Sepia Starburst Spray

Corrugated Cardboard

Beautiful Colors Mixed Media Tag by Tonya Gibbs

Hi everyone, today I have a colorful tag to share with you using Yvonne's Everyday Quotes 1 set that she created for Impression Obsession.  This set has so many wonderful phrases that are awesome to use in your mixed media projects.

Everyday Quotes 1

For today's tag, I wanted to create something vibrant and bright.  When I thought about the phrase "she colored her world in the most beautiful colors"  I felt as though she was full of life, happy, fun, colorful, and I really wanted that to be reflected in my tag.  I stuck with saturated colors, because these colors seem to bring joy to me. They remind me of a party, or celebration.

I dressed my dressform in a feather styled dress as if she were going to out to dancing. Look at all these wonderful layers of sparkle and color she is leaving in her trail.

Here is a quick video tutorial

(

watch on YouTube.

Wasn't that a lot of fun!  I hope you were inspired to de-stash and make vibrant fun tag!

I wanted lots of glitter, gold, and sparkle. When you hold this tag, I wanted you to think that there was a celebration happening. That "she was colorful, and really happy". 

Thanks, for stopping in today, I hope you enjoyed my process video, and tag share!

I love you more-Lynne Forsythe

Hi PEEEPS.....Thank you for stopping by 

and checking out my latest creation

for Yvonne Blair Designs &

Impression Obsession.

I began my project by gluing a branch to a piece

of barn board, applied a clamp and set it

aside to dry.

I pulled out one of Yvonne Blair Designs stamps

Sketch Daisy.

Using Archival Ink, I stamped the flower head

on the canvas and dried with a heat tool.

I painted on a bit of paint....

I spritzed the painted flowers with water

to create a water color look!

When dry, I painted highlights on my

Sketchy Daisies!

I cut out the flowers.

I applied a layer of Multi Medium Matte

to the back of the flowers to help sculpt the flowers.

I then colored a few buttons for the center of my flowers.

I repeated the above techniques

on canvas that is adhered to cardboard

to create a base for my dimensional Sketchy Daisies!

Here are a few closeups of my Sketchy Daisies.

I finished up my wall hanging with

Everyday Quotes 2

"I LOVE YOU MORE"

stamped on canvas with Archival Ink

and adhered them to my canvas squares.

A few more closeups.....

....a bit of chicken wire

a few splatters of paint

and various fibers

to complete my wallhanging.

I hope you have enjoyed my

creation and that I have inspired you

to use your stamps in

an "off the page" creation!

OTHER PRODUCTS USED

Canvas Corp Brands

Canvas

Perfect Paints

Sangria

Halo

Bright Gold

Grape

Ranger Ink

Multi Medium Matte

Archival Ink ~ Jet Black