Saturday, May 30, 2015

Tell Me A Story sets- Winner of my challenge is...

  1. Tree Scene Selections
  2. Space Fun
  3. Spring Things
  4. Tailgate Party
  5. Primitive Farm
  6. Now Showing
  7. Koi Fish
  8. In Tents
  9. In my Den
  10. I need a vacation
  11. Honor and Glory
  12. Dino News
  13. Firefighter
  14. Fantastic Dogs
  15. Rain Clouds
These are the sets that I used to make the cards for my Tell Me A Story box.
The winner of my challenge is: Maxine who guessed exactly 15. Way to go Maxine. Congratulations.

Friday, May 29, 2015

MFP blog hop day 4


Welcome to the MFP Stamp Shop
May Blog Hop



Let's get started!!!!
This month's new Stamp Set Releases are:

Featured May 26
Tree Scene

Featured May 27
Animal Birthdays

Featured May 28
Pots and Vases

Featured May 29
Tree Scene Selections

Please Hop along with us!! You have a chance to win one of these new stamp sets! Just comment on the following blogs ( don't forget this one ) each day for more chances to win! ( You do NOT need to comment on on all the blogs each day! The names are drawn randomly.) The winners will be announced on May 30, 2015 right here on the MFP Stamp Shop Blog. You can go back and comment if you missed a day. ( HINT: The more you comment the more chances you have to win. And comments on the MFP blog count twice. ) The deadline for commenting is Friday May 29, 2015 at 10:00 PM EST.

Let's get started !!
Here's the Design Team


The other day I saw a project that had "story starters". It was a bag with rocks with painted pictures on the rocks. It thought it could translate easily to paper. When I saw the little tree, I knew that was how I was going to use the tree. I made two origami boxes. One just slightly bigger than the other. I stamped the little tree on the lid. On the sides of the lid I stamped TELL, ME, A, and  STORY








I then went through my other MFP stamps and picked images to stamp on the story starter cards. 
I used quite a few different images. I stamped them with black stazon ink and I watercolored them. This story starter box is going to go to my cousin to use with her small children. 


That got me thinking that it would be fun if you guessed how many MFP sets I used to make the cards. So here is my challenge. Guess how many sets I used and let me know in your comment. The person or persons closest to the correct number will win a special blog candy prize. I will post the winner on Saturday. Good Luck guessing.

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Summer rainstorm- mixability card.

This week's mixability challenge on splitcoaststampers.com is to make a summer or graduation card with sparkle and use at least 2 mediums. You might look at my card and wonder where my summer is. Well.... I started by thinking summer... hot... sun... sun shining through clouds... plus I grew up in Arizona where the summer thunderstorms were a special treat. A break in the heat. Especially since we didn't have any air conditioning. I ink(markers) spray smashed the background. I stamped the clouds and painted them with white acrylic paint. I used a black ink pen to outline the clouds after I painted them I added pencil and acrylic paint to the raindrops. on the little highlights of the raindrops I added a drop of glue and glitter. I also sprayed the cloud panel with silver shimmer spray.  



I have been wanting to put more of a personal touch with my mixed media projects by handwriting my quotes. I hand wrote the quote on the bottom of the easel for this card. It says. "Your kindness is like the sun shining through the clouds on even the darkest day."

It was hard to photograph the sparkle so I made a quick video. I hope you can see the sparkle and see what I was going for with this project.

MFP May hop


Welcome to the MFP Stamp Shop
May Blog Hop



Let's get started!!!!
This month's new Stamp Set Releases are:

Featured May 26
Tree Scene

Featured May 27
Animal Birthdays

Featured May 28
Pots and Vases

Featured May 29
Tree Scene Selections

Please Hop along with us!! You have a chance to win one of these new stamp sets! Just comment on the following blogs ( don't forget this one ) each day for more chances to win! ( You do NOT need to comment on on all the blogs each day! The names are drawn randomly.) The winners will be announced on May 30, 2015 right here on the MFP Stamp Shop Blog. You can go back and comment if you missed a day. ( HINT: The more you comment the more chances you have to win. And comments on the MFP blog count twice. ) The deadline for commenting is Friday May 29, 2015 at 10:00 PM EST.

Let's get started !!
Here's the Design Team
Enjoy the Hop. Come on back tomorrow for more creative fun!!

These pots and vases are so fun to use. Of course I had to "plant" something in mine. I combined this set with these other MFP sets.

CAMELLIA STAMP SET

GLAD GLADS STAMP SET

I stamped the pot on cream cardstock. I embossed it because it made it look like a pot I have at home.
I stamped the camellia flower 4 times and watercolored it and did faux paper tole technique. I love how it turned out.



Wednesday, May 27, 2015

MFP blog hop day 2


Welcome to the MFP Stamp Shop
May Blog Hop



Let's get started!!!!
This month's new Stamp Set Releases are:

Featured May 26
Tree Scene

Featured May 27
Animal Birthdays

Featured May 28
Pots and Vases

Featured May 29
Tree Scene Selections

Please Hop along with us!! You have a chance to win one of these new stamp sets! Just comment on the following blogs ( don't forget this one ) each day for more chances to win! ( You do NOT need to comment on on all the blogs each day! The names are drawn randomly.) The winners will be announced on May 30, 2015 right here on the MFP Stamp Shop Blog. You can go back and comment if you missed a day. ( HINT: The more you comment the more chances you have to win. And comments on the MFP blog count twice. ) The deadline for commenting is Friday May 29, 2015 at 10:00 PM EST.

Let's get started !!
Here's the Design Team
Enjoy the Hop. Come on back tomorrow for more creative fun!!
I love the little owl in this set. I stamped him twice. Once on the polka dotted dp and once on cream colored cardstock. I watercolored him. I added some extra highlights in his eyes with acrylic paint. I stepped out of my usual comfort zone by adding glitter to his wings and chest. This whole tag was out of my comfort zone because of the  colors. I'm not much of a pink fan, but I love how this tag turned out . 
Close up of owl.


 I added quilled roses and pink, white and brown ribbons to the tag. I also added little dots of white acrylic paint to the polkadoted dp.

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

MFP Blog hop and winner of my roses

Welcome to the MFP Stamp Shop
May Blog Hop



Let's get started!!!!
This month's new Stamp Set Releases are:

Featured May 26
Tree Scene

Featured May 27
Animal Birthdays

Featured May 28
Pots and Vases

Featured May 29
Tree Scene Selections

Please Hop along with us!! You have a chance to win one of these new stamp sets! Just comment on the following blogs ( don't forget this one ) each day for more chances to win! ( You do NOT need to comment on on all the blogs each day! The names are drawn randomly.) The winners will be announced on May 30, 2015 right here on the MFP Stamp Shop Blog. You can go back and comment if you missed a day. ( HINT: The more you comment the more chances you have to win. And comments on the MFP blog count twice. ) The deadline for commenting is Friday May 29, 2015 at 10:00 PM EST.

Let's get started !!
Here's the Design Team
Enjoy the Hop. Come on back tomorrow for more creative fun!!


For this stamp set, TREE SCENE, I decided to make some tags.

My first one, the ink pad was getting a little old and not very inky, So I got a general image, so after I watercolored the tag, I did little dots to outline the trees.

I made sure my ink pad was inky for the second one. But this one I used more of the encyclopedia page than I did with the first one. It made it a little harder to see the trees I think. I outlined the first tag with copper marker. I chose black to outline the second one. I use paper raffia on the first one and twine on the second one.
 

Which one do you like better?



And the winner of my blog candy for my friend Debra's blogaversary.... goes to

Awesome colors on your pretty card! 

Get me your address Denise and I will send you 2 dozen hand quilled roses.

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

abstract card




My friend Debra is celebrating her blogaversary. HERE  I am celebrating with her. I had an embossed piece of white cardstock that was on my desk. I was just playing with it. I watercolored randomly the squares and I splattered the cardstock with the watercolors. I then stamped the sentiment. It was a super fast card, To finish it up I took the white cardstock and mounted it onto black cardstock.

I had a friend this last weekend who had a tragic accident with a table saw. He lost a good portion of his hand. I had a thinking of you card ready to take with me to church to have everyone sign. It was such a neat experience to have that card ready. So I have decided to make sure that I always have on hand some thinking of you cards.I have a lot of girly ones so I needed to make a few that I could send to the guys.

If you have been to my blog before you have seen my quilled roses. I am offering some quilled roses as a prize to celebrate my friend's blogaversary. Leave a comment on my blog and I will chose one of the comments to win the roses.

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Why card makers are a blessing.

I love the art making part of making cards. Sometimes I forget the real joy of the cards. Sending them to someone else and making their day happier because someone was thinking about them. I got these two cards in the mail this weekend and I also received a package of crafting goodies. It made me feel loved and blessed.

 Looking at all these fun toys, I know I'm going to have a blast using them to create.

 I plan on paying it forward this week by mailing some cards out myself.

The splitcoaststampers.com TLC challenge was to make a hot glue stencil. I had made a squiggle stencil several months ago. So I pulled it out. I watercolored the background with blues and greens. Then I placed the stencil on top and sprayed with gold shimmer spray. When it was dry I lifted the hot glue stencil off. It was so pretty I almost left it like that. 
 But I added a piano, cheesecloth, lace,  texture paste and quilled roses.  I made this to give to my friend Alka who has a birthday today. When I gave her the card, she said "Your cards are little treasures."

Friday, May 8, 2015

Textured Cards

Today I have two cards to share. The mixability challenge on splitcoaststampers,com MIX119 is to make a card with texture. On my first card I have lots of texture. I embossed a paper bag. I added homemade texture paste to the green panel using a stencil. I used my version of burned Aleene's tacky glue for the centers of my flowers, and I added depth by gluing the leaves of the flowers over a bamboo skewer that I removed before the glue dried completely. There is also the texture of the lace.


My second card started out just playing around. I took some white cardstock and I smashed it using browns and blues. I would let it dry and then layer more color on top. This is what it looked like after about 20 times of layering.


How it looked with several more layers of color.


I took the cardstock and ran it through my cuttlebug using the script embossing folder.


I stamped a Martha Stewart butterfly on the back of the embossed cardstock, twice and cut out the butterflies. Here is what I had on my desk. The  panel under the butterfly was also white cardstock that I layered the blues and browns. I also used a gear stencil and a blue marker to add gears to the panel when it was wet. I also stamped the  classified newsprint stamp over the top. I also added copper inka gold copper metallic rub using the gear stencil and my brayer.


A plan is starting to come together. You can see I added more inka gold copper to the butterfly.



 I sprayed the base of the card with gold shimmer spray. This photo gives the best look at the sparkle of the gold.
\
My finished card. So for texture, there is the burlap, lace, twine, metal key, embossed butterfly, quilled rosed, quilled coils, die cut gears. 

I really liked the colors of this card. After I finished the card and went outside, I saw the same color combo. It had just rained and there were puddles of water reflecting the sky. The mud in the puddles and the blue and the sunshine looked very much like these colors. This card is also for the Ways to Use it challenge WT530 Splitcoaststampers to add a butterfly. It is also for the MOJO396 sketch.

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Water coloring - Coneflowers and Great Spangled Fritillary

I made a card for the splitcoaststampers.com  color challenge. CC529.  I knew I wanted to make a flower card with those colors. I water colored this card using crayola markers, water and a paintbrush. I used the colors from the challenge and added my dessert of green, but my card looks so different from the others in the gallery that I'm almost afraid to post it because I'm not sure that they will see the colors.  I used these two images as my inspiration for my card:






I made a video showing the progression of my coloring.

Friday, May 1, 2015

National Scrapbooking Day Paper Bag Album

We're so excited to celebrate National Scrapbooking Day at Mountain Plains Crafters. All the action is happening on our Community Facebook page: HERE
We have a wonderful prize sponsored by Lawn Fawn, a stamp set of your choosing! How awesome is that? You get to pick the prize! So what do you have to do to qualify? First, be sure you "like" us on our Facebook page, then head over to Lawn Fawn on FB and tell them MPC sent you (not required but they'd love to hear from you!)
Be sure and comment on one or all of our trivia questions throughout the weekend. Please only comment once per question, however each question you answer, earns you an entry! Our design team has chosen the theme, "Creating with Paper Bags". Yes, we're doing a little upcycling and making fun things with paper bags. Be sure and visit their blogs and show a little love.
Check in throughout the day Saturday and Sunday, answer the questions and we'll announce a winner on Monday. The contest ends Sunday, May 3rd at midnight ET. OPEN TO INTERNATIONAL! YES!


When we decided to use paper bags to craft with, I thought... I'll make a paper bag album. I wasn't expecting to put as much time into this project that I did, but I love the end result and I hope you will too.  I have a lot of photos to show you, and I hope you enjoy looking at them all. After putting over 20 hours into this project I wanted to share what I did. 

This is the outside of my album. The cover of my album was two pieces of a cereal box that I covered with dp. I added lace to cover over where the seam was. I made texture paste with glue, white paint, water and baby powder. I used a stencil to add the texture paste to the cover. I also added little dots of acrylic paint. The album is held together with twine.

 The pages of my album each have a little page on the flap of the paper bag. I called them "wings" in my mind as I was creating. 
 I covered each paper bag with black cardstock and I alternated bags with mostly pink and mostly browns and blues. I added ribbon embellishments to a couple of the pages. I used a circle punch to give access to the pockets made by the paper bags.
 This photo shows the paper  bag pocket.















As I was making this album I was thinking in my mind about how I would use it. I have been wanting to get more involved with the scripture art challenge. I am a little behind but there really is no time limit to creating the projects. The first theme was Trust. This next photo shows how I will use the pockets to hold my cards that go along with the theme. There are 6 bags in my album. I think I can get two months in one bag and thus cover the whole year.
When I went to make this first card. I took a page from an old hymnal.  Isn't this the perfect hymn for this theme?  I stamped the word TRUST going down the side. I stamped the little bird because I was think of the words to another old song "His Eye is on the Sparrow and I know He watches me." If He is watching me, I can trust him. 

On the inside of my card are my thoughts and verses about trust. I could have printed them on the computer, but I wanted to meditate on them as I wrote them out. I think it makes it more personal to me. Wow you made it all the way to the end of my super long post. Thanks for reading it. It means a lot to me that you took that time out of your day. May God fill your day with blessings.