Sunflower

Hello!  

What an interesting week it has been.  We are back at school, no kids yet, but hoo boy, covid is really making things challenging.  And last night, when watching in-services for work, my computer literally started smoking!  

So here I am, trying to blog on my phone.  Guess who will be shopping for a new computer?!?

Today I have a card using the gorgeous Like a Sunflower stamp set from Sweet n Sassy Stamps.  Sentiment is pretty perfect for me right now.  

Am I right?  Things Will get better.  

I used Daniel Smith watercolors to color the background and flower.  I used my Misti to stamp both the flower (prior to painting of course) and sentiment, so I could stamp with my Versamark onyx black ink and get good, crisp, black lines on my bumpy watercolor paper.  Paper is Arches #140 cold press paper.  I added a few sequins to finish it off.  

Thanks for stopping by!

Lee Ann 

Freshly Made Sketches #449

 Hello and Happy Wednesday!  

Seasons are changing, everyone is headed back to school in some way shape or form.  Today is my official first day back since March.  Crazy!  But boy, did I get a lot done around the house.  

We have a new sketch up at Freshly Made Sketches.  As I got started playing around, the idea I had lent itself to a masculine card.  It's always nice when it works out that way since they are not always the easiest card to make, lol.  

 

Here is your sketch~

 

I reversed the sketch and used circles. I also took the liberty to add a couple more circles as they worked well on the layout. 

 I had a couple of distress ink panels sitting on my desk and they became the foundation of the card.  Using Simon Says Stamp Stitched Circle dies, I die cut a large red and yellow ring.  I sponged some Hickory Smoke ( I think) ink onto Bristol cs and distressed it with water drops.  I die cut two more circles.  In addition, I die cut a small red one.  

From here on out assembly was pretty easy.  The sentiment is one of my favorite Valentine stamps; it is from a retired MFT stamp set.  The sentiment/image is stamped on kraft cs and fussy cut out.  I added a few black sequins to finish it off.  

Head over to the Freshly Made Sketches blog to check out the rest of the teams fabulous inspiration.  This is the best group to work with !  

Hope to see you in the gallery!

Lee Ann 

Flowers and Freshly Made Sketches #448

 Hello and Happy Wednesday!  

Well, after 5 months of not working (school nurse) it won't be long now and we will be back in school!  Seems like forever, honestly.  I am taking advantage of these last few days to craft!  I had fun with the latest Freshly Made Sketches sketch by Jen B.  I used a floral image from Sweet n Sassy Stamps, Peony Cluster.  

Here is your sketch~

 This peony image is such a beauty.  I stamped it in Memento Tuxedo Black Ink on Neenah Solar white cs and then colored it with Copics.  To add a bit of background, I used a BG11 Copic and created striations from the peonies on down.  The diagonal stripe is also done with Copics.  I decided to do everything in markers instead of fussy cutting the top edge.  The sentiment is from the set, In This Together in Versafine Onyx Black ink.   Something we seem to need to be reminded of often.   

I added Moonshine Sequins from Simon Says Stamp and pale pink sequins.  The flowers have a generous coat of Wink of Stella on them.  

I am linking up to this month's The Flower Challenge~

 As well as Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, Midsummer Blues. 

Head over to the Freshly Made Sketches blog for all of the amazing inspiration and then join us!  

Thanks for stopping by!

Lee Ann 

August Sweet n Sassy Stamps Blog Hop!

 Hello and Welcome to the August Sweet n Sassy Stamps Blog Hop!  Hop along with us for inspiration and if you leave comments on the designer's blogs listed below you could win a gift voucher to the Sweet n Sassy Stamps store!  Deadline to comment is 10pmET August 18th.  What a great collection of stamps this month- I really can't decide a favorite, although this sunflower from the Like a Sunflower Stamp Set would have to be in the top two...

I wanted to do two things- one was to use nontraditional sunflower colors, hence the pink, and two- I thought the sunflower image was perfect for a gate fold card.  

The narrow sentiment strip is actually a narrow belly band holding the card closed.  The sunflower image from the Like a Sunflower Stamp Set was stamped twice on Neenah Solar White cs and colored with Copics. Both sunflowers were fussy cut out.  I then followed a Jennifer McGuire tutorial to create the card.  

The belly band is made with a thin strip of vellum and a sentiment strip.  The sentiment is perfect for this image and is from the Love Wordfetti Stamp Set. I finished off the card with Simon Says Stamp Moonshine sequins and Glossy Accents on the flower center. 

Next up, the new the Lord's Battle Stamp Set.  I LOVE this set!  

These boots are so cool, and can be used for so many different themes.  I was itching to color the boots hot pink, so I stamped them with Memento Tuxedo Black ink, using my MISTI and then colored them with Copics.  When I was happy with the coloring, I put the image panel back in my MISTI and stamped over it, this time with Versamark Onyx Black Ink to get a dark crisp outline.  I wanted this baby to pop!  

The background was done on Fabriano Hot Press Watercolor Paper.  I chose hot press because I knew I had a lot of words to stamp and I wanted them crisp and clean.  With the smoother paper, I would get a cleaner stamped image.  I used my beloved Ken Oliver Color Bursts to make the background.  I wanted the same color palette as the sunflower card above so used pink, orange and yellow colors.  You can see some of what appears to be blue and green on the card panel as well.  I did not use these colors, but the powders are made up of various colors of particles.  I love the look you get.

To finish the card, I fussy cut the boots out then, using my MISTI, stamped the words onto the water colored panel.  The boots were popped up on dimensional adhesive. 

I am linking this card up to Krafty Chicks Challenge- 'Stamp Act'.

 Check out all of the inspiration from the rest of the team and don't forget to leave a little love along the way!  

Sweet n Sassy Blog
Julee Tilman
Ceal Pritchett
Diane Zechman
Esther Asbury
Jane Bosi
Karen Decknick
Lee Ann Barrett
Lyn Tomlin

 Enjoy the hop! Thanks for stopping by!

Lee Ann  

More Places to Shop!

Simon Says Stamp  

MISTI ,   Versafine Onyx Black Ink,  Copic Sketch Markers 

My Sweet Petunia

MISTI    

                                                                                                                           

 

 

Bushel of Blessings

 Hello Everyone!  

Popping in with a card to share, using a Sweet n Sassy Stamps set from the latest release, Bushel of Blessings.  

I am working at 'loosening up' when it comes to coloring, especially with Copics.  I am pretty happy with how this turned out.  

I stamped the bushel basket image on Neenah Solar White cs with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and then colored with Copics.  I used this color palette, 

which happens to be the exact same color palette I used in this card here.  Hard to believe, I know, as there is such a difference between the two.  The sentiment is stamped in Memento Rich Cocoa Ink.  

I added bits of patterned paper to compliment the colors and edged the cream panel with the Lawn Fawn Stitched Borders Dies.  Some hemp twine  and Simon Says Stamp Fall Sequins finishes off the card.  

Thanks for stopping by!  

Lee Ann 

Walk This Way

 Hello All!

The challenge this month at Impression Obsession is Summer Fun.  Summer fun is typically going on a vacation- usually to the mountains or the Southwest. Of course, that did not happen this year.  But summer fun is also walking, lots!  So I played along, using this fun image, Tennis Shoes.  

Using my MISTI, I stamped the image twice, using Memento Tuxedo Black ink, along the left edge of the Neenah Solar White cs panel.  The image was then colored with Copics.  I had a tough time getting the red to photograph well but there is a lot of shading in there.  

The sentiment is The Way You Are.  I stamped in in Versafine Onyx Black Ink and backed the panel with some navy cs. A few of my favorite Moonshine sequins from Simon Says Stamp finishes off the card!  

My colors are from this week's The Color Throwdown.  I really struggled photographing the colors but they ARE there!  

 I am also linking up to 'the Card Concept' where I used the colors and the summer theme.  

Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulous Sunday!

Lee Ann 

Mixed Media Whale

 Hello All!

Today's card was a risk, lol.  Using black Ken Oliver Colorburst Watercolor Powder is not for the faint of heart but I love how it turned out.  I made the card for a Facebook Challenge called 'There's a Stamp for That". 

I FINALLY inked up a stamp that I have had over a year, maybe even two, from Lesia Zgharda Design, Layered Whale. The whale image was stamped on Neenah Solar White cs and using my MISTI and then the corresponding flower layer was lined up and stamp as well, both with Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  The image was colored with Copics in reds and grays and then fussy cut out.  

The background was done on Fabriano Hot Press Watercolor paper.  I painted on some clean water then sprinkled in the black Colorburst powder.  I moved the powder around to eliminate any granules, then let the panel dry.  Once dry, I spattered it with water and dried again.  Then I added more sprinkle of powder and spritzed with water, trying to get a spattered or layered look.  Once the panel was totally dry, I used a Stencil Girl stencil and some translucent embossing paste from Wendy Vecchi.  Before the texture paste was totally dry, I used some chunky silver embossing powder from Stampendous. 

Once everything was dry, I spritzed on more water and blotted with a paper towel to remove more of the watercolor that was not covered by the embossing paste.  This gave me a great contrast between the part with embossing paste and that without.  

The whale was popped up on dimensional adhesive and adhered to the background panel.  

The sentiment is from a Mama Elephant set, Botanic Hello.  

I am linking up to Festive Friday, for their National Dog Day Challenge~

I used red, black and embossing. 

I am also linking up to Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, Use Your Favorite Tool.  That would be the MISTI, which imo has changed stamping forever!   

I am also linking up to Mix It Up Challenge Blog, Anything Goes and embossing. 

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you like today's creation and I hope you stop by There's a Stamp for That to check out the challenge and play along!  

Lee Ann 

Freshly Made Sketches

Hello All!

Wow,  it seems like you all loved last week's challenge at Freshly Made Sketches!  Slimline cards were a hit!  This week we have another great sketch by Kim.

Here is your sketch~

Obviously, I turned the sketch for a landscape card.  I opted to use a stencil similar to this one (mine is old and no longer available) and Light and Fluffy Modeling  Paste for my narrow panel.  I am linking up to Mix It Up Challenge- Embossing and/or Anything goes. 

My image is that gorgeous rose image from the Sweet n Sassy Stamps True Beauty Stamp Set.  I colored the rose with Copics after stamping with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink.  The leaves are stamped with ink and I cannot remember what color I used! 

The sentiment is from the Encouraging Thoughts Stamp Set.  I cannot get enough of that font! 

Head on over to the Freshly Made Sketches Blog to see the rest of the team's inspiration.  Such a talented bunch of ladies! 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Lee Ann 

Sunflowers for Days!

Good Morning All!

Hope you are enjoying your summer days; we are experiencing cooler than normal days and I am loving it!  So is the electric bill! 

Today I have a card made with a brand new set from Sweet n Sassy Stamps, Like a Sunflower.  I used the sketch from Fab Friday for the card~

I stamped the smaller sunflower image in an all over pattern on my Neenah Solar White card panel, using Memento Tuxedo Black ink, then colored the flowers in with Copics.  A trend I am really loving is coloring the background in with Copics as well, which I also did here. 

I added Glossy Accents to the flower centers to give the pop and shine! 

The sentiment, from the Rose Banner Stamp Set,  was stamped on black cardstock in Brutus Monroe's Alabaster Embossing Powder.  I had a fun, sponged piece of discarded cardstock sitting on my desk and it was the perfect shade of blue to match my sunflowers, so I die cut a ring from it and used it to ground my sentiment panel.  I used Simon Says Stamp Stitched  Circle Dies to cut my ring. 

Fab Friday Sketch~

I am also linking up to Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, Anything Goes. 

Deal Alert! 

Sweet n Sassy Stamps new release bundle can save you a bundle! 

Thanks for stopping by! 

Lee Ann