Noel

Created by Mary Jo

Papers: Making Memories Falala & Bazzill

Spellbinders Die: Curved rectangles

Inks: Versafine Olympic Green

Old Paper & Brushed Corduroy Distress Inks

Stamps: Cloud9- Christmas Joy

Artist outpost- Snowy Woods

Cloud Nine embellishments

Big News....

I have some big news..........for me that is.

I just made the Guest Designer Team for Artistic Outpost stamps for 2009! I'm so excited.

In order to accept the position, I needed to have my own blog. So, last week, I created one. It's called Creating...My Style. I'm still tweaking the layout & adding things. Guess that's a continuous thing....... You can find it here. I've posted more info about the Guest Designer Team there.

I plan to continue to write this blog...... You may eventually read posts from some of the other FM girls, too!

I created this card with stamps from the Artistic Outpost Bluebird plate. Find it at FM!

I used it as one of my submissions for the Design Team. I used Distress inks........again!

It's also posted on my blog with more info........

Enjoy!

-judy

Gifts at the Door....

I did some more stamping with Artistic Outpost's Snowy Woods stamp set......a wonderful mix of stamps. One of them is a door with a wreath & greenery. My first thought was that I really didn't know what to do with the door. So I challenged myself to try working with it.

I stamped it with Versafine Black Onyx & used Adirondack markers (Pesto, Meadow, Lettuce, Slate) to color the wreath, greenery & accent the shadows on the door. Then I added Weathered Wood Distress ink to the wood of the door & siding. I used Anitque Linen over the complete image to "antique" it. I added "berries" with a dark red gel pen. I stamped the wreath....another stamp in this set......& colored it to match the greenery. I used foam tape to attach it to the door. The bow is a silk ribbon. Silk ribbon is so soft & drapes nicely which works so well for this small bow.

The sled took a bit more work. I stamped one package, then I masked it. I stamped the second package. I added a mask to that package & then stamped the sled. I used a stamp positioner so I could get the sled to be under the packages. (An easier way would be to stamp & cut out the packages, stamp the sled, then glue the packages to the sled. Too bad I didn't think of that before now! )
I colored the packages with Distress inks using Cut n Dry foam. I think I used Antique Linen & Vintage photo........I forgot to make notes. I added Glossy Accents to the sled runners......it doesn't show up very well in the photo. I cut out the sled & packages creating a "snowbank" with the cut edge. I used Weathered Wood to shade along the sled runners & outer edges; the rest is colored with Antique Linen. The little tag is cut with a Spellbinders die. I stamped the verse & then re cut the tag to shorten it. It's distressed with Antique Linen. Do you think that's probably my most used Distress ink.......Antique Linen? You're right! I added a twine bow & attached the tag with foam tape. The sled & packages have 2 layers of foam tape near the center & none at the edges of the card.

I had all these pieces on my work table for a couple days before I put them together because I couldn't find quite the right paper for the card. I finally created a background paper. I started with white paper, stamped snowflakes......also in this set......with Brilliance Moonlight White & heat set the ink. Then I stamped the pine branch using Adirondack Oregano ink. I rubbed Weathered Wood distress ink all over the paper & images. The pattern is subtle but I really like how it turned out. Because Weathered Wood is the same color as used on the door, the colors blend perfectly. Once I put the card together, I added a touch of Black Soot Distress ink along all the edges.

For the inside of the card, I used the pine branch with Oregano ink again. I stamped the ink off twice so the image is very soft. I used Adirondack Raisin for the verse. I love the script in this verse. Isn't it elegant? You guessed it, it's part of this set, too!

Happy stamping!

Ho, Ho, Ho!

Merry Christmas!


Well, not quite yet but today I have a Santa card to share. I had fun creating this card using the Artistic Outpost Snowy Woods stamp set.

Artistic Outpost Snowy Woods stamp set
Cosmos Cricket paper
Creative Impressions hardware
Ranger Espresso & Distress Antique Linen inks
Ranger Adirondack markers: Cranberry, Latte, Mushroom
McGill Pine Branch punch

I used Ranger Espresso for all the stamped images. The santa is colored with Adirondack markers: Cranberry, Latte, & Mushroom. These markers are alcohol based so they do not smudge the image since it was stamped with a water based ink. In order to get the skin color, I scribbled a bit of cranberry marker on a my glass work surface. I added a bit of acohol to dilute the color & then picked up the color with a Tiny Touch applicator (from Ranger & Suze Weinberg) to color the hands & face. (These little applicators are great for detail work. Tomorrow, I'll post a Thomas Kinkade image that's totally colored with Distress inks using Tiny Touch applicators. Did I get your interest peaked? Check tomorrow....)

After the Santa was colored, I rubbed Distress Antique Linen over him to give that vintage look. He is mounted with foam tape under his head & shoulders to give dimension; no foam tape under the bottom edge so that it will fit under the frame. The frame was cut using 2 Spellbinders square dies. The delicate pine branches were cut with a punch from McGill that's new to Fond Memories. I love the detail. I must warn you that this punch is extremely hard to cut through cardstock. I literally had to step on it to push is through the paper. It was worth it, don't you think? The hardware & red twill are from Creative Impressions. I stamped the verse on vellum & embossed it with clear. The wonderful papers are all from Cosmos Cricket except the red mat which is Bazzill.

Enjoy!

Good Morning!

What's new at FM?

Artisitic Outpost stamps came in today. If you wanted a set from the Workshop, they are back in stock. The 2 newest sets arrived, too. One is a full sheet of Christmas & winter images called Snowy Woods, the other is Bluebirds which has winter & spring images. They're all beautiful! You can check them out on the Artistic Outpost website.


New Cosmo Cricket papers came in last week. One line is for the holidays. Others are for Halloween. The print paper on the Robot card is one of the new holiday designs.


Last night I put together a card using some papers from designer Kimberly Poloson for Fiskars. I realy like the deep browns & patterns on this paper line. The dotted paper in the background is a coordinationg print. I used the coordinationg cardstock Border Stickers to create the band along the ribbon. There are 4", 6" & 12" strips in the set. I used 2 Spellbinders dies to cut the oval & scallop. The verse & faint swirl are from an Hero Arts set called Trees, Birds & Messages. I did absolutely no distressing on this card. Can you believe it?

-Judy

Serenity

Number 3.........

This is another creation by Doreen. The stamp is from a set by Artistic Outpost.

Another Artistic Outpost card

Another card made with the Artistic Outpost "Home" set!

I must admit I spent quite some time working on this one. I really enjoy coloring stamped images like this using the Ranger Distress Inks. The truck, barn background & trees are all colored with various Distress inks. I use pieces of Cut N Dry foam to apply most of the color & a Q-tip for a few areas. The "home" piece was cut with a Spellbinders tag from chipboard & painted with Distress Crackle paint. I used "black" & "red pepper" paint from the Ranger Paint Dabbers to stamp "home". The barbed wire image stamped many, many times created the ground under the truck. It worked great!

Enjoy!

Questions? Leave a comment or email me.

4 days & counting.............

Judy

5 Days & a Wake Up

Workshop week! 5 days & counting.... We've come to crunch time. We'll be cutting paper and gathering supplies the next 3 days. Our demonstrators will have an opportunity to make all the cards on Thursday or Friday plus learn which card they'll be teaching. That's when we find out if we forgot something, what tool or supply is missing from a project. I'll have photos of all the cards to share after the workshop. I can hardly wait!


I had some time to work with an Artistic Outpost stamp set on Saturday. Here's the card I made using Graphic 45 paper & the rooster image from the Artistic Outpost "Home" set. When I first saw this set, I couldn't imagine how I'd use that stamp. I challenged myself to work with it. Surprise! I really like how it worked with these papers.

I have another card to post later using most of the other stamps in that set. If you'd like to see the stamp set, check out the Artistic Outpost website.

See you at the workshop!

Judy

Workshop Info

I had a wonderful Labor Day weekend spent with family. I was exhausted yesterday! I know I haven't cooked that much in the past month!!!

Now, I'm concentrating on the the Fall Workshop. I have one card design to finish. Then I'll start writing supply lists & directions for my card projects. After that we'll start cutting paper, gathering supplies & making final preparations. I love seeing all the plans come together.

New stamps companies that will be featured are:
Cornish Heritage Farms
Artistic Outpost
Paper Bag Studios

Remember the date is Saturday, September 20, 2008 at the Walnut Grove Community Center. Cost is $25 & must be paid in advance. There will be 12 Stamping Stations with an instructor at each table. All materials are provided and pre-cut for each card! Please bring your own adhesives, scissors, and any other tools you prefer to use.

Here's the Fall Stamping Workshop 2008 Project List:
Tim Holtz Truck - Masculine Card (1 point)
Fancy Pants Christmas - 3 cards (2 points)
Tim Holtz Collage (1 point)
Paperbag Studio May You Love Anniversary/General Card (1 point)
Serenity-Artistic Outpost Sympathy Card (1 point)
Paperbag Studio Kids Christmas (1 point)
Hero Arts Greetings Set of 4 Cards (2 points)
Cornish Heritage Farms Primitive Sheep Card (1 point)
Hero Arts Live Simple (1 point)
Fall Leaves Card (1 point)

We look forward to seeing some of you at the Workshop!