Another Valentine Card

Hi everyone as promised I'm back with another post today.  It has been a busy week. First there was the pantry to redo and then Wednesday I took everything out of the closet in my craft room A friend put a shelving unit in. Alas I could not get two big boxes in it for now so started sorting through them. Right now I'm working on sorting through a box of papers. I'm thinking perhaps this weekend I should do some playing with making my own paper now that I have my dedicated craft blender handy. :-) It would be a great way to recycle some of the scraps which are really too small to be worth saving as well as some of the papers which I've shredded. While sorting through things I found this Goosebumpz folder that a friend had given me. I did find it still available on eBay. Since it happens to be  hearts  I figured it would be perfect for a Valentine card.

I used a EK Success punch for the corners but I'm not sure if it is still available. I then sprayed that panel with my air brush and a silver crayola glitter marker. I've come to the conclusion I like the Marvy Uchida fabric glitter markers better but they are also more expensive. For the embossed panel I used two different colors of Distress Paint. I daubed the paint onto a piece of wax paper. (I keep forgetting that I have palette paper which I've had for a couple of decades.)Misted the paint and then placed my card down. I placed the card down a couple of times in different places until I liked what I saw. Once it was dry I ran it through my embossing machine. I did the outlining of the hearts with a Gelly Roll clear glitter pen. It really makes the embossed hearts pop. I could have colored the hearts but decided to let the painted background show through. Once I was done with my pen I popped the embossed panel on using the corner hearts like photo corners.

It was fun to use a different embossing folder and to take out a punch again. I don't have a lot of punches but once in awhile it is fun to use one.

My boys are telling me it is time to go for a walk. I don't think they know how cold it is outside this morning. Then it is back to sorting and taking time to play. I figure if I keep working at it that by Spring I'll have all the boxes in the closet sorted through. It is actually freeing to get rid of a lot of things. Especially if the getting rid of stuff gives me more room to accumulate more craft goodies. ;-)

Wishing you Happy Frugal Crafting till we meet again! Oh and by the way let's hope the groundhog doesn't see his shadow as I'm ready for Spring. Are you ready for Spring?

Glittered Valentine Card

Good Day everyone! Today I am guest designer over at the Craftwell blog. I have been having a difficult time waiting to show you this elegant card. However, I had to wait until it had been posted. Of course for those who know me I'm the glitter Queen and we know that Valentines have to have glitter on them. ;-)

If you have an embossing machine and have not embossed  thin plastic I encourage you to do so. You can get a really elegant look. You can color the plastic with something like a Sharpie marker like I did here coloring the hearts. You can get different effects depending on how you back it.

The embossing folder I used here is by Darice. I noticed that although I have had this a few years it appears to still be available as I saw it for sale at Jo Ann's last weekend.

Details can be found here: http://blog.craftwellusa.com/2015/01/guest-post-by-beth-wheeler-glitter-queen.html

Thank you for stopping by and do come back as later today I'll have another Valentine card posted. Can you believe it is only two weeks until Valentine's Day.

Wishing you Happy Frugal Crafting till we meet again!

Altered Playing Card Week 20

Hi everyone yesterday was another challenge for creating altered playing cards. The theme for this week is hearts/love. Claudine used some non traditional colors for her cards. I did sneak some pink in my one card because I couldn't remember what colors she used. I usually try to use the colors she uses as it gets me out of a rut of using the same colors or the same combination of colors.

Without further ado here are my two:

I had gessoed using a stencil during the prep of my cards. So I decided to go ahead and use that card. I decided to use my Distress Paints instead of regular acrylic paints. I daubed the paints out on a piece of wax paper and used my mister. Then laid the card down in the mixture. I did place the card more than once down overlapping it a little bit to make sure the card was completely covered.. I love the resulting background. Of course since I got too much of the marmalade on the paper as well as the other colors I had to mop up the excess paint on some small pieces of card I have for future projects. I love how this background turned out.

I stamped my image with white embossing ink onto pattern paper from DCWV Black Currant collection. The paper I used has a subtle gray pattern. I used  Ranger Archival ink and white pearl fine detail embossing powder. I colored in the heart and then thought it looked too blah so took my black glaze pen and drew a heart. I then used the clear glaze pen but it doesn't show in the photo.

I found this pretty black filigree tape at Dollar Tree.  I didn't realize that the tape was actually cut out. Now tomorrow when I go back I hope they have more of it. I also found some neat postcard tape there. After placing the tape on the card I took my white gel pen and colored in the flowers. I didn't realize that the paint was not completely dry in a few places the paint color mixed in with the ink.

I need to work on my decorative printing. It has been a long time since I've done any decorative printing. I used a white gel pen on electrical tape.

For this card I used Daffodil Apple Barrel acrylic paint onto my card back. Since the bottle said it could be used on metal I didn't think I would need to coat the card with gesso.  The paint allowed the border to show through. I get messy doing paint splattering so I put a red Sharpie in my air brush and set the tip so I would get splatters instead of a flow.I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to do my splattering while the paint was wet or not but no problems.

I decided instead of drawing to use a Karen Foster Valentine stamp set which a good friend gave me. I stamped my hearts on the same pattern paper using blue ink. When I cut out the middle heart I cut off the flourish at the bottom. For some reason I've never stamped on pattern paper. Probably because I'm too afraid of messing things up and wasting paper.

For some reason my dots look green to me in this photo. I used a blue Glaze pen to make my dot border.

I was going to use the love stamp on electrical tape but discovered that my ink smeared and the white pearl embossing powder was too fine so covered the whole tape not just where it was stamped. I ended up stamping and embossing on black paper and tearing it.

I'm not as happy with my stamped image on the first card. I think I should have stamped and embossed it with a different color. Perhaps not colored the heart. However, on the whole I'm happy the way the cards turned out.

It is back to rearranging my pantry and getting the food out of the living room. It took maintenance longer for the job which required access to the pantry than I was initially told. The pantry needed organization any way so having to take everything out has motivated me.

Wishing you Happy Frugal Crafting till we meet again!

Don't Regret What Made You Laugh

Hi everyone it is Monday and the start of a new altered card challenge, I thought while I'm waiting for the paint to dry that I would post a card I made yesterday in between sorting.  Yes, I'm still sorting through boxes and containers. I'm not sure what my original idea was when I painted and stamped the sentiment panel but this is what I came up with.

The sentiment was stamped on card stock I had painted. Then stamped with a lace background. I think I didn't use it because the lace was stamped on crooked.  In the same box was the frame which was cut with my Silhouette and the card stock painted. The butterfly is one I bought at Dollar Tree many years ago. I noticed yesterday that at least my Dollar Tree still has them. I did cut the wire and twist the two wires together at the bottom of the butterfly. The flower is a combination of a piece of gold ribbon I cut with a Sizzix die and a flower I had cut with my Cameo. I had used my home made glitter sprays on the flower.to color it. It is really glittery and shimmery but hard to photograph.

I love this sentiment. It just happened to be in a set by Inkadinkado. I don't know if it is still available or not.

Well a friend had to go into the next town so offered to take me to Jo Ann's.  I got a photo storage container for 40% off. In fact I ended up saving what  one storage container cost.  I will probably buy more containers later either on sale or with a coupon. I only have 50 plus years of  photos to go through.I used a 50% off coupon for a butterfly stamp set I have wanted for a couple of years. I decided to buy only a single glitter fabric marker instead of the whole set. I'm not sure if it will work in my air brush. I can always buy the set at a later date with a coupon. Anyway the paint should be dry by now so I'm off to put things away and work on my altered cards.

Wishing you Happy Frugal Crafting till we meet again!

DIY Organizing Project Friday And Craft Room Update

Hi everyone I know it is Saturday and not Friday. I thought I would share with you the project I started yesterday and how my "playroom" is beginning to look. Along with some tips. Sorry this is a long post so grab yourself a cup sit back and relax.

I finished sorting through today a large storage container which I'm giving to a friend. I found stencils and all kinds of things. Still though have not found my Gelly Roll pens. Yesterday while sorting through the bin I found a lid to a cassette case. I had previously used the case for some of my ink pads but the lid never stayed on the case. Which explains why there was glue residue on the lid. from tape. I bought the case at a thrift store. I was looking at the lid which has a crack on the side and is scratched up and just before I tossed it the light bulb turned on. I saw an article where a frame was used to hold small containers.

I covered the edge of the lid with duct tape to cover the scratches and cracks. On the inside there was a gap after folding the tape over so I used electrical tape.

On the inside I used contact paper which I've had for seven years if not longer.  The small containers were bought at Dollar Tree a few years back but never used.( For some reason until recently I never could get around to organizing. Ten come in a package. The instructions say to use double sided tape to fasten the containers down. However I'm going to use either Velcro circles or squares. This way I can pull a container up  if I wish. Hopefully I'll find my Velcro circles as I sort through more containers and boxes. As I put things in the containers I'll label the tops.

This is the view of my "playroom" from the door. I will probably delegate the hanging shoe holder somewhere else after I find places for what is inside the pockets. It is not working for me.. I love that I can see a holder with some cards I've made as well as a shadow box  as I walk in. It puts a smile on my face and gets me in the mood to play. The painted wooden piece was done by my mom who is now gone. Although she didn't think so she was a very creative person. It reminds me that we are all creative. The armoire stores my computer and printer. (Alas some crafting things have gotten hidden in it. But that is another day's chore.) On one door hangs my apron and the other has cards people have sent me as well as postcards.

I have been clearing out the cubes and reorganizing them. (I only have two bottom ones left to go. :-) )The pink container on the far left was another thrift store find. It houses all my acrylic paints. My gelli plate sits on top of the drawer along with the brayer. Originally I used the drawer for cosmetics but since I don't wear a lot of makeup anymore it works for this. I was pleased to discover that it fits in the cube.

I have some unusual things in my craft room. That funny orange thing is actually a condiment dispenser I found on clearance. It is perfect for using with String gel. A cupcake decorator set is in the same cube as it works with gesso and some of the other mediums. A office folder holder is perfect for putting the pads of paper used for painting.A bowl which my late husband had a bouquet of flowers sent to me in now houses paint brushes and sea sponges. I put a favorite mug in the center of it for the bristle brushes.

I could not get my chair under the table with my Cameo in a cube so it on top and easy to move to have access to the things behind it. Originally I had my air brush in a cube with the markers but I decided to put in that cube a clear pocket holder with the essentials like tape runners, foam adhesive, scissors, etc. It kept falling off the side of my work desk and I had to get up to get them. Now they are close at hand. The air brush doesn't take up that much space on the desk and since it is getting used a lot I decided to not place it on a shelf across the room. The butterfly box was a gift and holds all the adapters for the air brush. Lol! I hope they don't come out with more as it holds five adapters with the sixth one on the machine.

As you can see I'm more and more going towards clear containers. I do have a photo box holding embossing folders and dies but since it is on top of the eBosser  I know what is in the box. In the past I loved using vintage and decorative containers but now I prefer to see at a glance what is what even if I don't have things labeled.

If you decide to go the clear container route you don't have to spend an arm and leg. I have found some of my containers at thrift stores. Just know your prices as I passed on some containers which Dollar Tree sells for a dollar and were marked more than that at the thrift store.. I discovered that most containers are cheaper in the regular household section of a store like WalMart or Target instead of in a craft section. Also don't forget to look in the office supply section. Remember you don't have to buy all of your containers or storage furniture at the same time. Not only is it easier on the budget to spread the expense over time but you may change some of your ideas. Also measure your space to make sure the container you have in mind will fit as well as what you plan to put in it. Nothing is more discouraging than to get home all ready to organize and realize something will not work.

Make a plan list what you use all the time those things should be within easy reach. For the things you don't use all the time they can be higher or lower. For example I don't use my blender and soap molds for paper making all the time so they are in the cube under my work table. Still accessible but not taking up prime space. Remember like in real estate location, location is the most important thing.

If your goal for this year is to get your craft area organized you don't have to do it all at once. It has surprised me how much I've gotten done in fifteen to thirty minutes. Also don't spend all your time organizing and not having fun crafting.  After all a little bit of chaos may actually inspire you to use things in a combination you might not have thought about before.

The most important tip I have for you today is to not take everything out at one time. If you have a piece of furniture with cubes like I do take it one cube at a time. One shelf at a time or one drawer at a time. If you are not going to put something back in the space and don't have a place for it yet than find a place to make a pile putting like things together. Nothing is more apt to deter you from organizing than to take everything out see the mess and get overwhelmed.

If you have stayed with me so far thank you for taking the time. Is an organized craft area important to you? Why or why not? What works for you having things visible or hidden?  I would love to hear any organizing tips you might have.

If there are tutorials, review of products, or other things you would like to read about here please leave me a comment. Thank you! Wishing you Happy Frugal Crafting till we meet again!

Quick Hydrangea Card

Hi everyone! Here we are almost at the weekend again. This year seems to already be flying by quickly. Today I have a quick card to share with you. It took longer for the water color paper to dry than to do the techniques and put the card together.

I must confess that I was given a nice set of Prismacolor colored pencils about fifteen years ago and many of them have not even been sharpened yet. :-( I've never had much confidence in my coloring ability but decided that it is time I take a deep breath and just do it. (My new mantra for the year is "just do it.") I have seen this technique done with water colors and a white color pencil used for the resist.. I decided to use Distress ink and color pencils which are non white. I wasn't sure if the Prismacolor ones would work but am happy to report that they do.

I started out by stamping my water color paper with a Hero Arts Hydrangea stamp.(product number  K5376 . It is still available on their website so I'm sure it is available.) I used Ranger Archival black ink because it is suppose to be waterproof but for some reason when I misted my paper some of the ink on the flower bled.Maybe the ink was not totally dry I don't know. Next time I'll heat set it first with my heat tool. I colored my image with a couple of different pinks and a couple of different greens. Then I took a cotton ball and using Concord Grape, Antique Linen, and Peeled Paint Distress ink rubbed the colors randomly with more of the green towards the bottom and more of the grape towards the top. I will be honest I never really work out ahead of time where I'm going to place color when using the different mediums.  However I did decide that I wanted  to use the Antique Linen around the top of the hydrangea to try to get it to look like the sun was shining..Then I took my mister and sprayed my water color paper letting the colors blend together. I couldn't believe when the paper dried how it turned out.To me it  looks like the sun  is shining through storm clouds.  I'm a loving how it turned out.

While my paper was drying I took a Spellbinder die and a piece of pattern card and cut and embossed my corner piece. I was using a scrap piece of the card and the first time it didn't cut through. :-(  I just bought this die  last week so it is my first time using it. I then remembered seeing on a video where a woman placed wax paper and then the card to cut intricate shapes. I wasn't thinking when I put my card stock down or I would have put the green down instead of up. My piece ended up being debossed instead of embossed as I wanted to use the green side and not the white. I used glue just on a few of the leaves to adhere the shape instead of the whole shape. then I went and curled some of the leaves up. I used my corner punch on only two corners of the stamped panel.  Then I edged it with Vintage Photo Distress ink. .I also rounded the corners on my card base.

I challenge you to try something that you may not feel comfortable doing. when it comes to crafting. It can really be freeing when it comes to your crafting journey and open up new adventures for you.

After doing this technique today I've decided that I need more colors of Distress Ink.  I only have six Distress Ink pads and more room in the container that houses the Distress Ink pads. ;-) Maybe I'll be lucky and they will be on sale or I will have a really good coupon like one for off all of your purchases.

Wishing you a fun crafty weekend as well as Happy Frugal crafting till we meet again!

Crayon Background Valentine

Greetings everyone! I though I would share with you a Valentine card I made today while the boys and I were holed up in the "playroom" while a workman was doing some repair work. I wanted to try out the crayon technique in Paper Crafts and Scrapbooking February 2014 issue. Unfortunately if you don't have rubbing alcohol Vodka doesn't work. On the other hand drinking it can be fun. ;-)

Normally I would not use black card for a card base for a Valentine card. However, I thought the black would make pop the other colors. The scallop panel was air brushed using Gold Medal Crayola glitter marker. The panel the heart is on  was done with crayons and alcohol blending solution on a scrap of watercolor paper. I stamped the heart on a scrap of card stock and used white embossing ink and Recollection Raspberry Pearl embossing powder. The white embossing ink gave the powder a softer pink color. Then I air brushed with glitter blue and silver.  I used a pink Glaze pen drawing just on the edge of the heart  over a gold paint pen after I cut it out. I love the metallic look it gave to the edge. The sentiment is one I printed on my label maker playing around with the different functions. I couldn't figure out how to add the apostrophe and didn't think to add the s for Valentine's. 

I will have to keep this coloring technique in mind. I really like how it looks.  It  really softens the look of crayons. Later on I want to see if it is possible to stamp directly on a background done this way. I think this technique would be great using metallic crayons. I'm going to see if I can find some somewhere.

Now that I know that alcohol blending solution will work with crayons I want to see if it will work with oil pastels as well as with color pencils. You know me I always like to experiment.

Tomorrow the workman will be back so I will be back in my "playroom" playing and doing more sorting through and organizing things. I'm hoping I'll find my Gelly Roll pens which have gone AWOL. I probably threw them in a box which I put in the closet when I was trying to get the room straightened up enough to pass inspection. :-( At least I know where the clear glitter ones are. :-)

Wishing you Happy Frugal Crafting till we meet again!

Altered Playing Cards Week 19

Greetings from the banana belt. O.K. maybe not the banana belt but still it was above freezing today so I didn't freeze when I went and did errands today. Nor when I entered the car did I feel like I had just walked into my refrigerator.

Yesterday was the start of a new week and you know what that means. A new altered playing card challenge. This week Claudine picked the theme of Steam Punk. I love Steam Punk but really don't do it enough. Anyway this was a fun challenge for me.

Here is what Claudine did:

I started by covering my card with a black metallic piece of paper. Then I took my hexagon stencil and using liquid embossing ink did heat embossing with copper embossing powder.  Then I cut my cogs and gears off of a card base file I have and re-sized in Studio. After they were cut out  of Kraft card I heat embossed with Antique Gold embossing enamel. My embossing ink pad is dirty with eggplant embossing powder due to an accident. In this case it gave me this nice rusty look. In places the embossing ink did not take so the color of the card shows through. I think it gives it more of a distress aged look. I didn't get my paper on straight and part of the playing card was showing I decided to experiment and took a Fancy Pants antique text stamp and stamped on electrician tape using embossing ink. Then heat embossed with silver. Who knew you could heat emboss electrician tape. Now I'll have to see if I can heat emboss on duct tape or transparent tape. I used my label maker for my sentiment and tore a piece of  old typewriting paper to place it on. I decided to go with this sentiment because too often I don't think people see the beauty in old things and old people.

Claudine used drywall mesh for her card. Alas I have not seen mine since my last move. It is probably in a box which I have not gone through. I can't imagine I would get rid of it but it is a possibility. I improvised and cut some netting which garlic had come in. I applied gesso on my card and embedded the netting in the gesso. In a few places the netting is not down tight but I think it gives the card charm. When the gesso was dry I was going to drag my card through watered down paint. However it did not work and I had to use a brush. I mixed on my mat ivy green, copper, and ivory paint. Using a bristle brush which ended up with all those colors although the ivy green mixed more with the ivory I painted my card. The frame piece is one I turned into a cutting file from a jpg image. I heat embossed it with the antique gold embossing enamel. Normally when I use this file I print and cut a pocket watch to adhere where what looks like a watch is. The girl is a Dover clipart image that I converted to Sepia. I was going to use her on another project and changed my mind. I found her when sorting through a bunch of papers yesterday. I really need to get organized. The Live, Love, Laugh was printed once again with the label maker. In this case I wanted the background to show through.

There you have it my altered cards for this week. I can't wait to see what next week will bring.

I will have workmen the rest of the week so my boys and I will be holed up in my craft room. I will continue the organizing and rearranging I've been doing as well as playing. I bought some glitter markers on clearance and can't wait to play with my air brush. I also have some techniques I want to try.

Thank you for stopping by and do stop on by again to see what I am doing. :-) I also will be doing reviews of products . Right now I'm thinking the fourth Friday of the month. Wishing you Happy Frugal Crafting till we meet again!

Bits And Pieces Card

Hi Everyone! I've been busy organizing my "playroom" the last couple of days. Today a friend helped me do some rearranging of the heavy file cabinet and my sewing machine table. I love now how so many of the things I use all the time are now close at hand. While doing the organizing and cleaning I keep coming across bits and pieces. I've decided that at least once a week I'll do a bits and pieces card. Here is my first one.

The aquamarine panel is a piece of scrap card stock which I used to mop up some extra paint on my crafting mat. No sense wasting perfectly good acrylic paint. ;-) The scallop panel was cut out of gray card stock. I had cut out a bunch of panels in different card stock for my sister and she decided she didn't want them.  I had also cut out a bunch of these flowers only to have my sister tell me she is not a flower person. Although she did color a few with gelatos. The butterfly is one I stamped on plastic but smeared the ink a little bit. It is backed with a scrap of card stock.

For the scallop panel I used a stencil and stamped my embossing pad over it. Then I sprinkled Eggplant Recollection embossing powder. I did not realize that I had  small flecks of embossing powder on the back of the stencil from previous play. That gave me the specks. After removing the stencil and heat embossing I put the stencil back down slightly off. This time I used my Raspberry Recollection embossing powder. Then I took my eBrush and airbrushed the background. I didn't like the edges of the scallops as they were too dark against the painted background so I took the blender marker and used it with the eBrush.

I had colored the flower with a gelato to show my sister how to do it. I took a silver Sharpie and holding it high in the air speckled my flower. Then I used Liquid Pearl for the center.

For the butterfly I used the eBrush with Spectrum Noir markers on the back. I also used the silver Sharpie like on the flower. I thought the butterfly was too dark so used the blender pen on the back. Then switched to the silver Sharpie and speckled the front., Adhered  to a scrap of card stock and cut it out. Both the flower and butterfly are adhered with foam adhesive.

Many years ago I bought at a dollar store alphabet stickers. When I went up to the check stand I thought the clerk was going to divide the packages but he did not. I got over twenty packages of alphabet stickers and although I shared many of them with people I still have a lot. Since pink is not a color I use a lot I took my Sharpie and colored it using my eBrush. 

Do you save bits and pieces thinking some day you will use them? How do you save them? I saw a neat idea where they are adhered using temporary adhesive inside a page protector. I will be doing that then I won't have to be looking through an envelope or accordion file folder.

Tomorrow is a new week in the Altered Playing Card challenge. Not sure what the theme will be but it will fun. Especially now that my "playroom" is more organized. Thanks for stopping by. Wishing you Happy Frugal Crafting till we meet again!

Quick Butterfly Watercolor Card

Greetings on this overcast Thursday. At least it is not Eskimo weather.  When I saw a card in the February 2015 issue of Paper Crafts and Scrapbooking using water color pencils I knew it was time to dust mine off. Alas this is the last issue as there will be no more Paper Crafts and Scrapbooking.

The card I made is a quick card especially since the water colors dries fast. I did not have the butterfly stamps which were used so used my butterfly quote stamp. Normally I don't like to stamp directly because I seem to mess it up. In fact I thought I had messed up until I looked at the stamp.

I scribble water color pencils on watercolor paper. I will be glad when I use up the generic watercolor paper I bought on sale as it has a tendency to buckle even if it is not that wet. Maybe that is why it was on sale. LOL! Using my water brush over my scribbles I didn't even get the paper that wet. I used Stazon Timber brown ink for my stamp.  The stamp is by Stampabilities and as far as I can tell is still available at least online at Hobby Lobby. It may be available at other places I don't know.

I used orange chalk to color the butterflies. I felt like they needed a  little bit of bright color to pop.

I need more practice using my airbrush to airbrush borders. At least my mess doesn't show as it is under the panel. Lol! I did use adhesive foam to pop the watercolor panel up. There you have it my quick card. It has actually taken me longer to type this post than to make the card. Lol!

O.K. I'm off to play with crayons and rubbing alcohol. Hope you are having a great week!

Wishing you Happy Frugal Crafting till we meet again!

Jackson Pollock Imitation Card

Hi everyone! I decided in between washing bedding because one of my dogs was sick to finish the card I started this weekend. This is my interpretation of Jackson Pollock's art. I used his "Lavender Mist" painting which has no lavender at all for my inspiratio. Although his is mainly black and white with some rose pink I went with more modern colors. Also instead of doing my drips and splatters with house paint I used String Gel by Liquidtex which I colored with acrylic paint. I did use my brush to push some of the drips into other colors like Jackson Pollock did. This was my first try at using String Gel which has the consistency of honey and dries clear. I wasn't sure if it would buckle card stock so I used a piece of thin cardboard which was packaging material.

I decided to do a hand print like Jackson Pollock did. However, the paint dried too quick which metallic paints appear to do unless extenders are used plus I didn't have a heavy enough coat of paint on my hand. If you look carefully you can  see my fingers. I first used a palette knife to let the gel drip but I ended getting lots of globs. After doing some drips with a metallic turquoise I added some lilac paint to it which gave me the different color of turquoise mottled with the lilac. Then I decided to see if it would drip better if I used a thinner medium so I mixed purple acrylic ink. I still got thicker lines dripping from the palette knife.  Then I decided to make a spout on my disposable drinking cup and poured the string gel getting thinner drips. After the string gel was dried I used my air brush and Spectrum Noir markers to color over the white background. I used my label marker for printing out the quote. This quote is one of my favorites. "Art is the only way of running away without leaving home."

I looked at the card and decided that it needed something else. The lines reminded me of a butterfly in flight. I stamped on plastic using Stazon ink with my favorite butterfly stamp. (This was the first stamp I ever bought which started me on my card making journey a few decades back.) I then used my air brush first with Spectrum Noir markers and then with a gold Sharpie on tissue wrapping paper. I held the Sharpie a distance away from the tissue paper using the lowest setting so I would get  more of a splattered look. I then glued my wrapping paper on the plastic on the backside. When the glue was dry I cut out the butterfly. Then I used a black Glaze pen for the Antennas and body. Under the black I was able to adhere a piece of foam without it showing. The butterfly is semi-transparent so you can see some of the drips under it.if you are looking. If you don't have an airbrush which works with markers you can use color sprays if you wish to make your own embellishments this way. Just remember to color the tissue paper first as the glue will to a certain extent act as a resist. Also you will want to make sure that the tissue paper is down tight. Especially if you are going to cut out.

What do you think of my adventure in creating modern art? Do you think you would buy String gel and play with it?  By the way this is something which older children would have fun with. I'm hoping that I can introduce my oldest granddaughter to this medium. Who knows even my son might have fun playing.

Wishing you Happy Frugal Crafting till we meet again!

Altered Playing Cards Week 18

Hi everyone! We are now in week 18 of the Altered Playing card challenge and I have not gotten bored yet. Claudine always has a fun technique or a fun theme. This week the theme was beauty. She used the technique of acrylic paints with water. My backgrounds didn't turn out the way her's did. I think I had too much water and my second card definitely got too wet and ended up being distressed looking. Since she used flowers on her card I decided to use flowers on mine also.

Here is the first card I did and I love how the background turned out.

For the background I placed Ivy green, peridot,sorbet,and copper paint next to each other on an old vinyl place mat.. (Who says you need to put out big bucks for a craft mat). I then misted the paint and took my playing card and literally kept twisting it through the paint. until the whole card was covered. The fun part of this technique is that you are never going to get the exact same look twice. I took a Hero Arts poppy cling stamp and decided to stamp the large flower twice and the not fully opened flower once.  I actually stamped them with Stazon Cactus ink but my airbrush changed the color.  Then taking a Spectrum Noir red marker and my eBrush I brushed the petals. In some places I later went over with the blender marker. I airbrushed the stems also. I used a black Glaze pen to accent the dots. Once again my flowers are adhered with foam adhesive.

The sentiment was once again done with my Brother label maker on clear tape. I first printed the smaller font part of the saying and cut the label apart just before never. Then printed the beauty. I carefully adhered the three pieces of tape together. I love how the clear tape allows the background to show through and in my opinion it is less distracting than printed out on my computer would have been.

For this card I put three different colors of paint on but because the paint and card was too wet the light blue really diluted the other two colors. Note to self go easy on the water even playing cards are fragile when wet. I decided for my flower to experiment. I printed on copy paper a photo of flowers I had taken last Summer. Then transferred the photo to canvas using Creative Medium. I don't know if it was because I used Vintage as I have no clear or what but the flower really lost  the variations of color. I decided to use fabric paint over it  which brought the colors out some and then gave it a puffy center. (See photo below) Because the paint made the flower stiff I was able to shape the petals. I then drew a cloud and put text in it for my sentiment.

There you have it my altered cards for this week. Have you tried to transfer a inkjet photo on fabric? If so what did you use as your transfer medium? Have you tried using a label maker for printing out sentiments?

Over the weekend I played a little bit with some String Gel which I bought on impulse. I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to use my interpretation of Jackson Pollock's art. For those who don't know Jackson Pollock was a modern art pioneer. He didn't just splash paint on canvas he thought out where he wanted the drips and splashes to go. Even using a brush to help the drips go the direction he wanted them to go. He would walk around his canvas on the floor to decide if he needed to add something somewhere. To be honest I'm not a fan of most modern art but his work at least to me has a mystical quality to it.

Thank you for stopping by. Do come back. I'm hoping that soon I'll be able to post a Valentine card which is totally gorgeous. I hate having to wait but when you are guest designer it has to be posted somewhere else first. ;-)

I challenge you  this year to make time to create. The more you create the more creativity builds up inside of you.

Wishing you Happy Frugal Crafting till we meet again!

Stenciled Valentine's Card

Greetings from the land of snow. The rain had pretty much scoured out the snow and then off and on today and tonight it has been snowing. As long as it doesn't turn into ice again I won't complain. Besides other than taking the dogs out for a walk I can play in my "playroom".

I am back experimenting. I wanted to see if I could stencil on tissue paper with Distress Paint. My stenciling is not perfect but it is after all a handmade card and not a Hallmark one. I also wanted to see about using lace as a stencil with my eBrush.

I took a scrap of card stock left over from the frame I cut out for a card which I can't post yet and using lace and my eBrush stenciled using a Sharpie maker. I decided I did not want to hide the lace with a sentiment so used a Brother's label maker I just learned I can frame my words with it. I bought the label maker second hand. 

For the heart panel using Distress Paint and a Plaid stencil I stenciled the hearts on tissue paper. When it was dry I used the eBrush and a blue Spectrum Noir marker for the background. I wanted to see if it would change the painted hearts or not. Then taking the same marker which I colored the heart in the dress I doodled on card using my eBrush.  The color looked really dark but once I adhered the tissue paper the background actually ended up being soft.

The rag doll is a Hero Arts stamp. I am fairly sure she has been retired for a few years. It is fun to get out old stamps from my beginning days of stamping and use them again. I colored the stamp with Spectrum Noir markers but since my craft knife needs a new blade I used blue chalk to color the white card stock above her head.  I also used chalk to color the part of her outfit with the heart. I edged her with Vintage Photo ink  and pop dotted her on the card. 

There you have it my play on a snowy day.  Do you make and give Valentine's cards?

Wishing you Happy Frugal Crafting till we meet again!

Altered Playing Cards Week 17

Hi everyone. We are now in week 17 of the altered playing card challenge. I don't know what I will do when the challenge is over as this has been a fun way for me to play and experiment. As well as bringing out and using products that haven't been used in awhile or perhaps never even opened.

The theme this week is birds and the technique is using Distress Paint. Luckily I do have a set of bird stamps and I did last year buy some Distress Paint which I've been playing with. Although the one color had not been opened up yet. I love Claudine's cards but decided to not do so many things because of the bird images. I also decided to use the word stamps that came with the bird set.

Here are Claudine cards:

I really had fun making my cards and here they are.

On the one card Claudine used black embossing paste. I figured since I had played with using gesso and moulding paste with a stencil on this card previously to use this one.  I daubed two colors of Distress Paint onto my mat and misted the paint with water. Then I went ahead and misted my card. Then I dragged my card through the paint on the mat. I took a paper towel to dab paint off the moulding paste shapes. I stamped my bird and cut it out. Then I used glaze pens for the eye and the beak. I used a colored pencil for the nest. I took wrapping tissue paper and daubed Distress paint on it and then spritzed it with water. I then took my heat gun to dry it which crinkled the paper up. I stamped on  the tissue paper with black ink and then tore the word out and applied it to the card using Zig two way glue.

I'm not really a pink person and after choosing this bird stamp I decided to go with the honey and spiced marmalade distress paints.  I had stamped and cut out just the bird and was going to put the bird on top of the stamped image on the card but I like how the stamped image turned out so changed my mind. I used Timber Brown Stazon ink to stamp with.  Claudine used a bottle cap to stamp with on one of her cards and I decided to use some Scribbles fabric paint I have. I took the cap from the paint to use as my stamp and squeezed a little bit of paint onto my mat to dip the cap into. I first used the yellow paint but it was too light. The orange paint had never been open.  I didn't realize until I stamped that the paint actually has glitter in it. After the paint was dry I went ahead and used my orange glaze pen and drew inside of my circle. Once again I used glaze pens to color the beak and to add an eye. With Stazon ink I stamped on clear plastic and cut out the word. Then adhered it with Zig two way glue. You really have to look to see where the glue was applied. If you are going to stamp on clear plastic use an ink like Stazon. Also if you don't want a mess you need to use  a light touch when stamping. The first time my letters ended up blending all together.

I can't wait to see what next week's challenge is. Have you stamped on plastic? Have you used things around the house or in your craft room for stamps?

I'm not sure what I am going to do next but first my craft room is in need of a good cleaning and organizing. I think the cleaning/organizing fairy fell into a snow drift somewhere. Either that or she is trying to make her way through the slush. Wishing you Happy Frugal Crafting till we meet again!

Glittered Stencil Birthday Card

Hi everyone. It has been first icy, then snowy, and now buckets of rain. A wonderful time to spend indoors crafting. I have a few January birthdays so over the weekend I started a  birthday card and today finished it. I love how it turned out.

I cut the panel with the Happy Birthday too narrow so decided to use some Jot laser tape I bought at the Dollar Tree on my card base.  Unfortunately I'm out of white card stock and I now remember why I don't like using some white confetti card with my Cameo for cutting anything but the simplest shapes.  I airbrushed the letters and decided to have them on the silver tape. 

The panel the flower is on was made using a 12x12 template by DCWV which has four different designs. I placed my stencil on a piece of confetti card stock and positioned the template where I liked the look since the pattern was larger than my card. I then smoothed gesso over the stencil and before lifting it up I sprinkled Martha Stewart coarse crystal glitter. Then I carefully pulled up the stencil and washed it.  I must confess normally I don't wash my stencils or templates so it can make for some interesting stenciling. In fact the gesso did pick up some plum ink left over from using the template with alcohol markers. When the panel was good and dry I used my eBrush to airbrush a couple of different Spectrum Noir markers.

I don't know who the flower stamp is by. I inked my stamp with Royal Purple Stazon ink. Small stamps like this is a great way to use scraps of card. Once stamped I colored with Spectrum Noir markers. I'm really new to coloring with alcohol markers. In the past I've only owned dollar store markers. I love how the blender marker worked on the flowers. I cut the flower out by hand and was really tempted to scan it into my software for my Cameo and turn it into a print and cut image.

I like so well how the glittered stencil panel turned out that you will be seeing it more often. You know me I'm the Queen of glitter and sparkly stuff.

What do you do when the weather is nasty? If I'm not crafting I'm curled up with a good book.

Wishing you Happy Frugal Crafting till we meet again!

Glittered Welcome To The New Year

Happy New Year! I am so excited to be ushering in the New Year as a guest designer on the Craftwell Usa blog today. My first designer post ever. When Debi saw my altered card using the glittered background and my eBrush she asked if I could do a guest post tutorial. I sent her the picture of  the New Year card I made Monday and she wanted to use it. Here is the card.

It was so much fun to make this card. I love how the glittered panel turned out as well as how my embossed folder turned out using my eBrush and Sprectrum Noir markers. And the Dimensional Magic on the bubbles really make it look like bubbles. It looks better in person.

Now to blow my cover I will share the link so you will know who Myoriah really is. If you are interested in doing a glitter background the tutorial is there. You don't have to have an eBrush as color mists will work.
.http://blog.craftwellusa.com/2015/01/guest-designer-beth-wheeler-glittered.html

I am making once again my list of goals for 2015. One of my goals is to become a member of a design team. I think I have a good start here. Do you make crafting goals for the year?

Wishing you Happy Frugal crafting till we meet again! As well as a year full of crafting fun.