Something old...

Good morning!

I am part of a great group of ladies that swap a card once a month.  Each month has a theme, and this month it was to use something that you haven't used in a long time.  For me, it was stamps and tape.

The card I ended up making...

I hadn't used the silhouette stamp in a very long time.  And I love to watercolor, although I'm not very good at it.  But with a silhouette stamp you can't fail, right?  So I watercolored the background to look like a summer sunset. When it was dry, I stamped the floral silhouette image.  I had to stamp it a couple of times because of the bumpy watercolor paper, but using a stamp positioner allowed me to stamp it in the same place.  I matted it with black cardstock.

Then it was time to choose my background cardstock.  I chose this pretty yellow cardstock that matched the yellow in my watercolored piece.  But it was plain, so I dug out a stencil and some Distress Oxide Inks (they blend so smoothly) in the same colors as the watercolored piece, and sponged them on the cardstock.  The colors I used was Fossilized Amber and Faded Brick.

Now I needed something for the bottom.  I dug around through my stash and found this glittery black tape that I had purchased a couple of years ago and never used.  It was great for the bottom of the card.  

A few sequins, and viola!  I was done.  I was very pleased with the results.

Hope you are having a fantastic Monday.  I'm a little sore. My chickens have decided they love to dig underneath my huge bouganvillea, and I was afraid they would step on some of the sharp thorns and hurt their feet.  So I went to Walmart and bought some loppers and pruners and set about pruning the tree around the bottom, about 2 feet up.  Between the pruning and the raking and picking up and hauling to the curb, I used some muscles that haven't been used in a while, and I can tell it this morning. But my girls now have plenty of room to dig around under the bush without hurting themselves.

Henrietta and Goldilocks

Until next time, do something crafty!

Butterflies and Spring

Good morning!  It's spring, but not so you would notice.  One day it's cool here, the next day in the 80's.  I think summer is going to be here before we know it.  I'm going to enjoy the cool weather as long as we have it.

For my card today, I wanted to use one of the backgrounds I had made with the Distress Oxide inks (see them here). I also have a butterfly die that I absolutely love.

Here is the card I made.

I apologize for the bad photo.  I can never seem to get the lighting right.    I trimmed the background paper, made with Distress Oxide inks, down. I die cut the butterfly and set aside (I can use this on another project).  I die cut another butterfly out of yellow cardstock to contrast with the background.  I put some black mulberry paper that has metallic flecks in it behind the die cut background.  Then I covered the die cut yellow butterfly in glitter and adhered it to the middle section of the die cut space. The wings curl up, showing the black mulberry paper under them.This went on a brown textured piece of cardstock and was ultimately layered onto a white background card.

Here is a close up of the yellow butterfly showing the glitter.  You can see the color of the background better, too.  

Thanks for stopping by.

Inky hugs,

Distress Oxide Inks

Good afternoon!  I apologize for not posting sooner, but I've had a lot going on, and sometimes life gets in the way.  But, I'm back!

First things first.  Since I was last here, I have become an independent demonstrator for Stampin' Up. I'm very excited about this, and hope to share some cards with you in the near future.  If you want to take a look at my website, it is http://beckypartan.stampinup.net/.  There you can look at my blog or order online.  My Facebook page is Becky's Stampin' Up FacebookPage.  Hope to see you there.

Now, on to other important things.  :-)   After watching Jennifer McGuire's video on using Distress Oxide Inks, I purchased some.  Then I watched her video a couple more times.  Then I decided to play with MY Distress Oxide Inks.  All I can say is WOWZA.  How much fun.

All of the following samples I used Neenah solar white cardstock or Bristol cardstock.

I spent all of Sunday afternoon playing with these inks.  The first example above with the flower, I sponged the Distress Oxide Inks (DOI) onto Neenah solar white cardstock.  Then I took a stencil and a baby wipe and removed some of the ink.  It gave it a very soft  appearance.

On the example with the tee shirt, I again sponged DOI onto solar white cardstock, then I inked up my stamp with water and stamped.  I blotted the wetness with a paper towel, again removing some of the ink.  It also gave it a soft look. 

Because these are a hybrid ink (dye and pigment), they react with water in a beautiful way.  I didn't use my heat tool between adding colors, but I did allow them to dry naturally after each color. Because they were dry, the colors didn't get muddy when you added the next color.  

The bottom right shows a piece of cardstock where I just put some of the DOI onto a piece of acetate, added water, then flicked onto my paper with a paintbrush.  I love how it looks, and think it will be fun to diecut birthday sentiments out of it.

Below are some of the other fun backgrounds I made.

The bottom right used the two colors of brown and some of the cracked pistachio. I think it gave it quite the oxidized look, don't you agree?

The top right background was just sponged inks that I blended without any water.  These inks blend beautifully.

Some of the backgrounds I put the ink onto acrylic blocks, spritzed with water, then smooshed onto the cardstock. As long as you let them dry between colors, you won't ever get a muddy look. Some of these were also just sponged on and blended.

The bottom left was sponged on, then water flicked onto the background.  I love the oxidized look. 

I had so much fun and really look forward to making cards with these beautiful backgrounds and playing some more.

I hope you've enjoyed my post today.

Inky hugs,