Rain, Rain!

Hello and Happy New Year! Guess what???? It is raining in sunny Southern California and it is raining big-time! It would be nice to have the lovely rain spread out to avoid flooding and damage, but that is not how it flows and we will take the much needed water!

And speaking of rain, I was inspired to pull out the "Springtime" collection from Artistic Outpost! I used a kraft type paper for my tag background, applied Tim's Rays stencil and inked over that with Hickory Smoke, next I inked over the entire tag with Antique Linen and flicked on some water spots. Wanting a little extra background texture, I applied a Boho Background die cut piece from Our Daily Bread Designs and again applied the Rays stencil and inked over. The "Playing in the Rain" children were stamped in Watering Can Archival as was the sentiment and then fussy cut. Next, just added some embellishments to finish and distressed the the tag.

Thank you for stopping by today, especially considering how MIA I have been. So much to do here, there and everywhere, but I am trying my best to visit all of you wonderful crafty and fabulous bloggers!

Spring's Greatest Joy!

Today the Springtime kids are coming out to play in the Artistic Outpost sunshine and I hope you will visit my DT blog post for all the details and to say, "Hi."

Thank you and I hope you have a lovely weekend!

In Springtime Play!

Hope all of you are doing well and enjoying the Summer! When I worked on this tag, all I could think is how we surely could use some rain in California!! Maybe these lovely Springtime children from Artistic Outpost will do the rain dance for us!! If you have AO stamps, please join in the monthly challenge "Show Us Your AO Art" and you could will a store gift certificate!

The images and sentiment (masked the lines) were stamped in Black Archival, fussy cut and shaded in Black Soot. I also outlined the the separated lines to the sentiment.

Color Burst (thanks Gerrie) which I ordered from the Funky Junkie Boutique and just love the magic, was used to color the tag. This was my first experiment with the product and what I did was to sprinkle a little on my craft mat and you don't need much! Then I misted my tag with water and placed the tag on top of the CB and patted it down into the product. I also gave it another direct mist and when dried did a little more flicking of water drops! Using a brick stencil from TCW, I layered some bricks with modeling paste and a washing of white acrylic paint and a wash of Weathered Wood in the grout lines. Added a few stars and a tie and off we go to play!

Have a wonderful weekend and thank you for taking the time to visit and comment!

Springtime Play with AO!

Hello to all of you and welcome to the "Designers Choice Blog Hop" with Artistic Outpost! All of the team will be sharing their awesomeness with you, so don't miss a thing! Tracy, Shari, Lisa, Kate, Gerrie

I decided to use one of the projects I created with the New Release, "Springtime" and here is how this tag came about!

The little cuties were stamped in Black Archival and watercolored using Brushed Corduroy, Tattered Rose and Spun Sugar, masked off and next the tag background was inked over in Weathered Wood and Stormy Sky, flicked with a little water. Masked off the stamp to stamp on a few Umbrella's using Watering Can Archival and drew on the handles with a marker. I also inked over these a little with the tag background colors to set them back a little. The Fence was also stamped in Watering Can.

To Finish I added a die cut "Play" and that reminds me that there is only a few days remaining to PLAY along in the "Show Us Your AO Art" challenge for May. The sentiment was stamped in Black Archival and inked, then die cut using ODBD Vintage Labels. Finished off all the edges with distressing and inked with Vintage Photo and Black Soot. The ribbon was stained using Weathered Wood and Faded Jeans stain.

Thank you so much for visiting today and have a lovely day and go PLAY!

Artistic Outpost New Release Blog Hop

WooHoo Artistic Outpost has a fabulous New Release Blog Hop for May, "Wander and Dream" and "Springtime." Please join in the Blog Hop as all the DT has some wonderful treats for your viewing pleasure! Shari, Tracy, Kate, Gerrie, Lisa. And here is the prize information oh my!

Prize Information:

Just for commenting on the Design Team Blog Posts, you have a chance to win a $15 Artistic Outpost Gift Certificate, good towards the purchase of AO Stamps.  You have until May 23, 2015 at 10:00 PM CDT to leave comments on the participating designers blogs for a chance to win! Three random winners will be selected from the comments left on the designers blogs, the winners will be announced on the AO Blog on May 24, 2015, be sure to check back there to see if you have won! 

This first card I am sharing today uses the Wander and Dream stamps, so perfect for the fact I live in the desert! Of course it is also perfect for a real masculine themed project or for those who just love good old country themes!

Lots of masking took place and it began with the the couple being stamped in Black Archival, watercolored with Tattered Rose, Spun Sugar, Antique Linen, Black Soot, Creamy Caramel SU marker, masked before stamping the Desert scene in Sepia Archival. I also continue the Desert scene to cover the entire area and this was inked over with Antique Linen. The skyline was inked using a mix of Tumbled Glass, Stormy Sky and Faded Jeans. A little more masking and then the Cactus were stamped using Coffee Archival and colored in with Creamy Caramel SU marker. The edges were distressed with Black Soot. The sentiment was stamped by masking off each line and then spread across the great big sky!

My second card is from Springtime and I just love these kids wanting to play and have a great time and not caring at all about a little rain! I decided to add the entire group, pup included!

On a piece of ivory paper (usually my paper of choice), the children and child with dog were stamped in Black Archival, inked over the entire paper with Antique Linen and edged with Brushed Corduroy. I will admit it took a couple of attempt to align them properly! Next they were watercolored using Brushed Corduroy, Tattered Rose, Spun Sugar and Antique Linen. The edges were distressed, added some curled corners and a few little tears for that old vintage photo look. Stamped the sentiments in Black Archival and shaded with Black Soot. 

Thank you for stopping by and joining in the AO New Release Blog Hop and as over the next weeks, I will be sharing some more NR creations! Have a fabulous day!