I’m Late
Good Sunday morning. Are you having a nice weekend? It’s calling for rain here, but if it isn’t, I’d like to go on a nice long car ride. Is this something you like to do?
Yesterday I got creative with the Cheesecloth Background technique from the 1st edition CD of the Technique Junkie Newsletter. To coordinate with my background, I rubbed the same colours onto glossy cardstock and stamped my image over top.
Although this image belongs to Artistic Artpost, I purchased this set from Croppinsville.
I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend.
Subscribe to the comments for this postSunflower Wishes
A very dear friend is going through a hard time so I created this card for her.
I used my newly released Sunflowers set from Flourishes, and paired it with an inspirational phrase from Our Daily Bread Designs. The set I used from ODBD is Keep My Lamp Burning. Designer Paper is from My Minds Eye.
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Have a nice week!
Free Digital Images
I don’t know about you, but I’m quickly becoming a lover of digital images–shhh. Did I say that? Here are some things that caught my eye this week. Enjoy!
I Brake for Digis has a couple for you to choose from.
Sweet and Sassy Stamps has a cute bunny for you.
Halloween by Mujka
Hang in There rubber gallashes. Read the link in the post for the free link.
Dees Divine Designs has a cute owl up for grabs.
Tilly and Snowman by Digital Doodling
If you like cute as a button turtles with funny feet then run over to Scrapblife with Lynn.
Cute witch at Digital Doodling
Tiffany Doodles has a lot on her blog. I clicked on freebies for you.
TRY THAT TECHNIQUE: Herringbone
Wow, wasn’t that Masterchef good on TV last night? Don’t be scared off by Chef Ramsey. I’m convinced his ranting on Hell’s Kitchen is an act, because he is a pussy cat on Masterchef. Sorry to get side-tracked.
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It’s time for TRY THAT TECHNIQUE stampers! But what is the technique you ask? The Herringbone technique from the December 2009 issue of the Technique Junkie Newsletter. Diana Enns and I challenge each other to trying a new technique each week, so pop over to leave her some love on her Herringbone technique post.
Goth, Beth? Yup, I’m jumping on the Goth wagon before I’m left behind 
There are so many adorable goth images out there, eh? “Pinky” is from Tiddlyinks. My skull and crossbones comes from a K&Co Halloween stack.
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Each week, you are invited to submit a card using the technique of the week, This week we feature the Herringbone technique. Post your card on the Design Junkie blog post where I highlight this technique. You can also submit it to the Technique Junkie Newsletter yahoo group as well. We love to see your stuff.
Have a great Thursday my friends!
Weekly tutorials–do you have a favourite?
Happy Birthday Jo-Ann and Patti
Squigglefly is a new-to-me digital stamp company. One of the reasons I like them is because they have lots of artists, so I found just the right image. I already picked a favourite artist, Cheryl Alger, who drew this cupcake.
I believe my paper is My Minds Eye–I just can’t find the 8″ x 8″ stack of paper in my tremendously filled paper shelving. Are you a paper piggy too?
You may wonder who Jo-Ann and Patti are. They are my two long-time best friends who are celebrating their birthdays over the course of the week. I also share an August birthday with them (already gone by). Every year we get together for lunch and exchange gifts, and this year I played hostess and made lunch for us. I joined my friends in school 40 years ago. I marvel at how we stayed in touch through distance (I used to live out east in Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia), and through ups and downs.
Happy birthday dear friends.
Have you Caught the (writers-block) Bug?
Have you caught the bug? You know, the one that takes away your enthusiasm for studio time, or even a lack of direction for inspiration? Well, there’s help on it’s way.
Today I thought it would be fun to share a number of ways to jump start your next project.
Top 10 sources of inspiration
1. Walk away from your studio. It sounds simple enough, but sometimes we get caught up in the “I must create” mode. Everyone needs a break from being creative. Take a walk, or grab a cup of coffee, then come back to where you left off. Sometimes a small break is all you need to get your mojo back. Leave your project and come back to it the next morning for a fresh view.
2. Turn off the TV and turn on the tunes. TV can be distracting. Turn on your favourite music, dance a little jig, and sing along while colouring and cutting. Trust me, it’s fun.
3. Turn to a sketch site. Sketches are designed to jump start your mojo. Flip the sketch, turn it around, do whatever you want with it to make it your own. Here are five sketch sites to jump start your next project:
- Splitcoast Stampers
- Card Positioning Sketches
- Pencil Lines
- Sketches: Creatively Yours
- Stampin’ When I can. See daily web posted sketches.
4. Grab one of your favourite cards that you have laying around in your studio. What do you like about it? Is it the layout, the colours or even the image? Create a new card by changing out the colours, using new designer paper or Cuttlebug template, or even a new image.
5. Digital Stamps are the rage. Tired of all your stamps? Never mind that you have 100+ stamps; everyone can use a new one. Have you thought of going digi? Digis are inexpensive and a good way of adding a new image to your collection at a low cost. Here are five popular digi sites for you to check out:
6. Have you had something on your mind in the last week? Why not blog about it. You can match up your blog post with a photo at one of the many free I stock photo sites. Sometimes one needs to get away from the studio table, and just write about what is on your mind.
7. Look around you for inspiration. Look at the clothes in your closet. Notice a colour palate? Look at magazines for colour inspiration or for layout ideas.
8. Challenges are popular. No matter what style you like to do, there is a challenge site for you:
- Cardvarks
- Dutch Dare
- Splitcoast Stampers
- Small World of Inchies and Twinchies
- Tilda and Friends ATC Challenges
9. Need colour inspiration? Here are some fantastic sites:
- My Create Ink – Hurray, a new SU site has been opened by the original owner of the old site, and now her brother is aboard too.
- DeGraeve is a powerful site that allows you to upload a photo and creates a colour palate
- COLOURlovers has lots of colour palates to pick from.
- Color Scheme Designer allows you to click on the wheel to see colour combinations. Click on the very top of the page (to the left) to pick what colour style you are looking for. Pretty cool.
10. 5 popular blogs
Not only do I love to share, but I loe to learn from others. Please let me know what you liked, and what I missed. I would love to visit the sites you send me too. Who knows, maybe I’ll blog about it.
Weekly tutorials–subscribe today
Get away from it
Hi there folks. Here we are at the beginning of the week, just waiting for the weekend to come. Here is a card to get your week started. This new-to-me image is from Inkadinkado, and the cogs are from Tim Holtz collection.
Ink was sponged onto my background before I stamped in black. I used the Cuttlebug Emboss Clockworks for my background.
Enjoy your week.
Weekly tutorial tomorrow-don’t forget
Acrylic Emboss
Acrylic Emboss is another new technique from the August edition of the Technique Junkie Newsletter. It really gives a nice shabby chic background–perfect for my Tim Holtz stamp purchased from Croppinsville.
Did you pick up that I’m enjoying buying stamps on the internet now? It’s quite an addiction, eh, isn’t it?! I have to watch those “ehs”–I’m Canadian and use it alllllll the time.
Have a great day stamping friends.
Stamps: Tim Holtz, Odd Bird Planet
Embellishments: Flower Soft, Clock sticker (unknown source); hinge sticker, unknown source
Weekly tutorials–subscribe today
TRY THAT TECHNIQUE: Gated Tag Card
TRY THAT TECHNIQUE stampers! But what is the technique you ask? The Gated Tag from the February 2008 issue of the Technique Junkie Newsletter. Diana Enns and I challenge each other to trying a new technique each week, so pop over to leave her some love on her Gated Tag post.
The flowers along the bottom were cut out of designer paper, and the cupcakes are from my store Sunflowers and Dragonflies Creative Designs. Circular flowers are from Stampin Up!
Each week, you are invited to submit a card using the technique of the week, This week we feature the Gated Tag technique. Post your card on the Design Junkie blog post where I highlight this technique. Submit it to the Technique Junkie Newsletter yahoo group as well. We love to see your stuff.
Have a great Thursday my friends!
Weekly tutorials–do you have a favourite?
How to Create a Moon by Masking
This week I will show you how to create a moon. Although I am using a lighthouse image, any image will do.
My card and tutorial was inspired by this week’s challenge at Our Daily Bread Designs. This week’s challenge is to find a sketch and run with it. My sketch came from Bev at Lili of the Valley’s Challenge Blog.
How do you like my mosaic? It is called Mosaic Magic and came from the August 2006 issue of the Technique Junkie Newsletter.
Supplies: Stamp Image, Ink pads, circle punch/punches, post-it notes, sponges
Stamp out images twice
Cut and punch out your masks
To adhere mask I use these sticker squares because they do not tear the paper when lifting off the mask.
After punching post-it note and placing your mask (the lighthouse) in place, position your post-it note where you would like your moon to go. Sponge yellow or gold around the circle to create the moon.
Nest, place a punched circle over the moon and hold in place while sponging. Sponge a medium blue around the top of the skyline.
Next, use another colour for the sky. I chose Adirondack’s Citrus, but you may choose a purple to act as a sunset.
Finish sponging image.
Sponging accent pieces adds a nice touch to your finished card.
Weekly Tutorials–subscribe today
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