Happy Haunting

This was inspired by Shelly Hickox and a "Western Bandanna" card she did. I've been very intrigued by the Bandanna technique since I love to doodle. I was also intrigued by the wrinkle free distressing she had talked about, and I adore that look and the colors.

The distressing takes some time...but the results are so worth it. But I liked the background so much I couldn't bring myself to "Bandanna" it with the white pen!

I loved the colors, and thought a bare tree would look good with them. So I made another background, a little lighter than the last and made a card out of it.

I used carpet tape to put this card together. It's pretty heavy duty. And of course, as I was trying so hard to put the background on the black card base...painstakingly trying to make sure it was straight...and wouldn't ya know....it's crooked! Then when I was putting the orange mat on the tree piece....and this part seems pretty fool proof because I use the Perfect Layers ruler thingies from Stampin' Up. But for some reason the left side of the orange cardstock cut EXTREMELY crooked. I have no idea how it could even happen. And since all the very many layers of this card are held together with a foot of carpet tape...I couldn't pull it apart and redo it without wrecking it. So, this card is a little wonky...but I really like the colors! I really like the wrinkle free distressing too, and think I will be doing more of it.

I'd love to give you details on the stamps I used...but most of them are all some old UnMounted stamps I had in my binder and have no idea where they came from. The only ones I am sure of are the swirls or flourishes...they are clear stamps from Autumn Leaves.

ZenDoodle

I never thought I was a doodler.
I used to try, and it would look terribly unappealing...and eventually gave up. That was until a stamping friend of mine, Darla Doodles, started talking about ZENTANGLES I liked what I saw and was really curious.
So, I put the Zentangle Kit on my wish list for Christmas last year, and it's all history now.
I love to doodle, I love the way it looks, I love that it is quick, easy and non-messy. And, I really like to make cards from them.
I still seem to take some really bad pictures, so these seem to be a bit blurry, but I hope you get the idea.

These first two I did while I work. I spend 8 hours a day on the phone. I have a bit of free time between calls and while on hold....so I Zentangle/Doodle. I didn't happen to have my Zentangle pens with me, so I grabbed a couple of Sharpie markers that were handy and started doodling on the pad of scratch paper on my desk. I decided to tear the edges and outline them with the marker. I really liked how they turned out, so I brought them home and decided to make cards out of them.

This one I drew right onto the colored card stock. I really like the black and green together. Adding that little bit of aqua matting really made it pop.

A little FOLD will do

It's amazing what a little fold can do!

I saw this idea when I was supposed to be cleaning my stamp room. I got distracted by some stamping magazine or book. (don't have a clue which one) I loved the idea, and it seemed like just cutting my standard sheet of cardstock in the opposite direction and adding one extra fold could make any card look like more fun and like it took a whole lot more time to make than it did!

I used sage green cardstock...cut the long way, ends up being 11 x 4 1/4. Scored that in the middle the long way at 5 1/2 inches and folded then scored the front of the card in the center at 2 3/4 inches and folded it the opposite way. I stamped it with some swirls on the base card and stamped the saying both in black. Drug some black ink around the edges of everything to give it that distressed grungy look. I absolutely love my Cut 'n Dry felt pads and Distress Ink Pads for this!! The saying got matted with black card stock and then adhered to the right side of the folded flap.

And....you're done! It's really quick, really simple.....just like Rice Krispy treats.....looks like you slaved all day, but you didn't.

The Dance..... saying stamp is from Angi-b & Co. Looks like they are having a big sale over there right now.

The Dot Flourishes are from Inkadinkado. I love them and the Circles and Dots. Lots of fun!

Pumpkin Patch Watercolor

I love fall colors....they make me feel warm and fuzzy all over! I know fall isn't a "warm" season...but it brings thoughts of hot chocolate, snuggling in a warm blanket, making soups and stews and casseroles that bring comfort.

Here is another TJN Technique. This one is also from the OCT/NOV2007 issue and it's called Marker Wash.

I love it because it is so easy and looks so great.

I have a lot of detailed stamps that I haven't used in ages because I didn't have a clue how to color them or make them look great. This technique is getting me to pull those stamps out.

All you do is add some color with markers (just a little if you like it light and pastel or lots more if you want it vibrant) ...you don't have to be neat or precise...just get some color close to where you want it....and then spritz it with water. I dry mine with a heat tool to keep all the cool splotches of color and then iron it to get it flat again.

TIP: I found out that if you only spritz 3-5 times with water, you get a more vibrant look, and your black image doesn't look washed out. You can always overstamp the image when the paper is dry and flat...but I haven't had much luck with that....It always looks like I have had too much to drink or need new glasses really bad!

Oh....the stamp is from Northwoods. They have some great images that will work fantastic with this technique!

A Work In Progress

I know, I know, it looks a little bare yet. But I just had to play with the new colored core cardstock that I bought. It's from www.coredinations.com and they have some really cool colors and combinations.

The pack of cardstock I bought is the Cauldron pack in the Black Magic series. So it's black on one side and colored on the other. This piece is black and a light dusty blue. The colors just reminded me of snow, so I pulled out the Cuttlebug snowflake embossing folder. I sanded over the dry embossed images and really love the softness of it.

I'm still trying to figure out what to put on this. I am thinking a snowman would be perfect...just gotta find the "perfect" snowman!

I promise to show you all what I did with this when I finish it!