hello

Good morning! It's Tuesday, and that means lots of running around for the folks in the Estes household.  

In all our running, it's also a day of remembering the events of 11 years ago that changed us all forever. I hope we never forget the sacrifices of so many, and the many that have lost their lives in the wars since 9/11. Hug your loved ones today.

Before the craziness starts I wanted to share this little cutie with you all. I just can't get enough of the little porcupine! He's from this exclusive set from Simon Says Stamp. I'm itching to do something with that mushroom, too. So sweet!

I hope your day is filled with the things that bring you hope. <3

Angel

New Toys and an Old-School Reboot

I got a few new goodies today from Simon Says Stamp, including a few of their new exclusive stamp/die sets, and this fun stamp. So many thoughts running through my mind for this one! 

I've been really liking all the "ombre" stuff I've been seeing over on Pinterest. I love the soothing way the colors blend into each other. And what does ombre mean anyway? Anyone know?

Pretty!

Naturally, the Gradation stamp really got me excited to play with my own ombre, eh hombre? 

So here's my card:

I broke out an old technique I haven't used in years: VersaMark and chalks!  

The vast majority of my comments on my last post - in fact, every comment was *begging* for step-by-step instructions, so I thought I'd add some on this post! (thanks, Karen ;) )

I started by inking up my stamp really well with VeraMark ink. VersaMark is a clear ink that's very "sticky", and dries very slowly. It's great for heat embossing, but for this project, I just wanted the ink to stay wet while I work with the chalks.

I then put the folded card onto the stamp, rather than putting the stamp onto the paper. With a stamp this large, it's sometimes easier to do this. You just have to be sure to press the entire card onto the stamp - rubbing your fingers to the edges all around.

It's a little difficult to see, but the VarsaMark ink leaves a pale watermark on the paper.  

I start applying the chalk. Beginning with the lightest shade of blue and using a cotton ball I gently rubbed the color onto the card. After I got the color I was happy with, I blended the medium blue and finished with the darkest shade of blue.

I then set the card base aside and started to work on the sentiment. I was super excited to play with this die. These wafer-thin dies are so great. Quick and easy to use and they do a great job. I used a little washi paper tape to hold the die on place.

I ran the die and a small piece of Neenah Solar White card stock through my Cuttlebug, and...

Voila!

The pieces just push right out! I used a needle to push the center of the loopy letters out. 

I wanted the sentiment to pop off the page a little, so I colored it with a Distress Ink marker in Faded Jeans.

Since these pieces are pretty thin, I wanted to be careful when adhering them that the adhesive didn't show. I used tiny dots of Glossy Accents and it did a great job.

A few coordinated gems, and there you have it!

I hope you enjoyed walking through this with me - Thanks for stopping by!

STAMPtember Challenge!!

I'm so happy to be inspired by Simon Say's Stamp! to not only create something today, but also to get on here and post on my blog again! It's been sorely neglected. Life happens, eh?

I can't think of a better way to start this Thursday morning than by hopping along with Simon Says Stamp! blog's second STAMPtember blog hop! There is soooo much inspiration and great ideas on this hop - some seriously talented ladies. I loved that there was a focus on washi tape. I've been wanting to play with washi tape more - I just needed a little push.

So, I just had to accept the challenge. And here's my little creation:

I started with a piece of watercolor paper - I used the smooth side for this - and stamped the Penny Black background with VersaMark ink and embossed using white Zing powder.

I then used Distress Ink Markers in Broken China and Peeled Paint to scribble in diagonal sections. I overlapped the colors a bit so that they would blend - I then used a mini mister to spray liberally with pearlized water and set aside to dry. Then I got impatient and used my heat gun to finish the job. :)  A baby wipe, used lightly, will clean up the ink off the white embossed areas.

Finally, I cut the piece a little smaller than my card base, and pop-dotted it onto my card.

I covered a small piece of Neenah Solar White in green washi tape and die cut my butterfly out of it, adding a little blue dot washi to the edges of her wings. A few pearls, and she's done.

My sentiment is stamped on Neenah Solar White also, and the cut with Spellbinders Labels 8.

So there you have it! Thanks so much for stopping by - Come back soon!

Angel