Hit the Road

 Hello!  

I am sharing another desert scene today, this time reminding me of my road trips there.  I have used Just Married and Thirsty Soul to create my scene.  

I made this with my niece in mind, who is ready to start life as a new RN.  

The VW Beetle was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink.  I used post it notes to mask off the heart banner and Just Married sign in the back window.  The car was colored with Copics and fussy cut out.  

The cacti were also stamped and colored with Copics,  I stamped the tall Saguaro in varying heights and with various limbs to create a realistic desert of Saguaros in different sizes.  They were fussy cut out as well.  

The background was done with Daniel Smith Watercolors on Arches water color paper .  I had the desert, road and tall mountains in, then decided to add foothills to the mountains using the mountain stamp from the Landscape Silhouettes Stamp Set.  This is where things were almost ruined.  I selected the wrong colors of Distress Inks and then the paper got too wet.  Once the paper was completely dry, I went back in and brushed in a darker color (and I don't even remember what color I used) and this gave the illusion of shadows on the foothills and saved the background. 

The sentiment is from the Inspirational Word Art 1 Stamp Set and was stamped with Versafine Black Ink using my MISTI so I could stamp multiple times and get good coverage, even on the textured watercolor paper. 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Lee Ann  

Impression Obsession's Old is New Day

 Hello All! 

Welcome!  Today the Impression Obsession Design Team is sharing projects using older IO stamps.  I love revisiting older stamps and giving them some love! You can see the list of participants on the Impression Obsession Blog.  

This image, Sweet Baby Bird, is, well, Sweet!  This cutie is colored with Copics and fussy cut out.  

For the background, I opted to use one of 3 alcohol ink prints I made with Alcohol Lift Ink.  You can see the others here.  The background was made with alcohol inks, Alcohol Lift Ink, and the Ornate Flourish Stamp.  I added a die cut using the Bare Branch Die to give it some dimension.    I finished off the card with the sentiment, One Moment. 

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

Head over the the blog for more inspiration using older Impression Obsession stamps! 

Thanks for stopping by, 

Lee Ann 

Live for the Moments

 Hello! 

I hope you all are having a good weekend.  

This stunning floral is another of the new releases from Impression Obsession.  I mean holy moly, the flowers this month!  

These flowers remind me of an old cottage garden, so it was the perfect image to use for the Tic Tac Toe Challenge.  I stamped Hollyhock in InkOn3's Fade Out Ink using my MISTI on Canson Watercolor Paper,  then colored the flowers with-surprise, surprise- Ken Oliver Colorbursts.  

I absolutely love how this turned out.  Sometimes I feel like I could watercolor a portrait, and other times I feel like I need to go back to kindergarten.  Anyone else?  

The sentiment, Moments, was stamped in IO Black Ink using my MISTI.  To add more of a vintage feel, I had to get away from my love of white, so I added a strip of patterned paper with a cream/ecru background.  3 sequins finish the card.  

I used the diagonal row of water coloring, florals and vintage.  

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Have a blessed Sunday!

Lee Ann  

A Flourish and a Sketch

Hello and Happy Saturday! 

I love the unique sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches and just had to play~

I love the trendy slim line cards as well and found that the Ornate Flourish stamp from Impression Obsession was perfect for this sketch.  

I turned the sketch 180 degrees to accommodate my image.  To stamp this image, I started with a alcohol  ink panel in various shades of blue.  I then used Alcohol Ink Lift Ink to transfer the ink color to Neenah Solar White CS.  I ended up making 3 panels and then also had the original negative image on Yupo.  You can find the steps to make these panels HERE.  

The image and alcohol ink did all of the heavy lifting.  I finished the card with a cool tall, skinny sentiment, Made To Be.  A few sequins were added and that is it!

 

Thanks so much for popping in and have a wonderful weekend!

Lee Ann  

Alcohol and Embossing

 Hello!

Happy Friday, All!  

Today I have a mini slim card to share, using the amazing new Ornate Flourish Stamp from Impression Obsession.  This background came about from doing the Alcohol Ink  with Lift Ink technique.  

I started with a variety of Tim Holtz Alcohol Inks on Yupo paper.  These are the steps I used to make my cards~

1.  Place Yupo Paper with Alcohol Ink into MISTI.  

2.  Place stamp on MISTI door

3.  Ink up Ornate Flourish stamp with Alcohol Ink Lift Ink

4.  Stamp onto the alcohol inked Yupo paper 

5.  Remove Yupo from MISTI and replace with a piece of Neenah Solar White CS

6.  Stamp alcohol ink that has transferred to the stamp onto the cs

7.  CLEAN stamp and remove cs from MISTI

8.  Replace cs with the Yupo paper. 

9.  Ink stamp with Alcohol Ink Lift Ink again and stamp onto alcohol Inked Yupo paper again

10.  Remove Yupo again and replace with same cs and stamp it to intensify the color.  You can also replace with a new piece of cs for a second image if you are OK with the color intensity of the first panel. 

I repeated the process several time and ended up with 3 cs prints of the Ornate Flourish and then this original alcohol ink panel with the negative of the stamped image.  You can see one of my stamped panels on this card HERE.  

The image was trimmed up to make a mini slim card and adhered to a white card base.  I then diecut a Rustic Butterfly from white cs.  I inked it up with Versamark ink and heat embossed it with Gina K. Fine Detailed Gold Embossing Powder.  To ground the butterfly, I die cut a circle from the Scalloped Stitched Circles Die Set. Lastly I finished the card with a sentiment strip using the sentiment You Are Amazing.  A sprinkling of gold sequins finish the card.  

I am linking up to Sunday Stamps for their color challenge~

Also linking up to Just Add Ink~

Thanks for stopping by and have a blessed weekend!

Lee Ann  

LOVE Letters

 Hello All!  

Have you seen the newest collection of stamps from Spellbinders?  I really needed this Love Block Clear Stamp Set.  When I saw it, it immediately think of the artwork of Mary Engelbreit.  If you are from the St Louis area, you know who this is! So, I had to have it and I had to color it Mary-style.  

This was super easy!  I stamped the image in IO Black Ink and then colored the flowers with Copics.  The image panel was backed with black cs and then mounted with foam tape on the card base.  A red panel makes the red flowers pop!  'You' was stamped in the bottom corner and a few clear sequins finish the card.  

And check out Mary Engelbreit's work while you are at it! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Lee Ann  

Saturday Crafting

 Hello All!  

It's a rainy, grey day here, so a perfect day to stay in and get projects done.  And craft!  

One of my favorite color combos is grey and yellow, so when I discovered that was the combo at Color Hues this week, I had to jump in.  And perfect for the inspiration at Inkspirational~

Yellow and grey are also the Pantone color(s) of the year! This cutie is Hug Girl from Impression Obsession.  She was colored with Copics and fussy cut out.  I used the sketch for this week's challenge at There's a Stamp For That.  Julee Tilman from Poetic Artistry has graciously allowed us to use her MOJO Monday sketches.  I used sketch 535 for my card~

The background was done in ombre yellow, using the Peony Pattern Cover a Card.  I added a yellow panel and a grey panel and then the sentiment panel- a circle die cut with the Wacky Stitched Circles Dies.  I stamped the sentiment, Sending Hugs, in IO Black Ink.  I love this sentiment as it is not too big and not too small.  I adhered all of the layers, then popped up my girl with foam tape.  A few SSS Moonshine Sequins finish the card.  

You have lots of time to play at There's a Stamp for That- this week you can choose from one of the above sketches, 'Anniversary', or pastels.  

I am also linking up to The Rainbow Card Challenge- I love monochromatic cards! 

Thanks for stopping by and have a blessed weekend!

Lee Ann  

Sweet n Sassy Stamps April Blog Hop

 Hello!

Welcome to the Sweet n Sassy Stamps April New Release Blog Hop. Hop along with us as we share our projects with the fabulous April release.  Leave a comment on each designer's blog for a chance to win a $25 gift voucher to the Sweet n Sassy Stamps Store.  Winner will be announced on the snss blog on Wednesday, April 28th.  

This set.  Thirsty Soul.  It is fantastic.  As a lover of the southwest, this set just had to come home with me.  

The images were stamped on Neenah Solar White CS with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink then fussy cut out.  I used kraft cs for the desert sand.  I found the perfect sky in my box of pre-made backgrounds.  This one happens to by made with my Gel Press plate and acrylic paint.  The desert silhouette image was stamped with Versafine Onyx Black Ink at the horizon using my MISTI so I could get good coverage.  The stamp is from the Landscape Silhouettes Stamp Set. I assembled the card and added my sentiment, which is from the Encouraging Thoughts Stamp Set.  I love the combination of the two different fonts in the set.  A few SSS Moonshine sequins finish the card.  

Maybe you are headed to a wedding this spring.  Sweet n Sassy Stamps has you covered with two new wedding stamp sets.  

This gorgeous set is from Krista Hammrick.  That ribbon though!  The set is Mr. and Mrs.  

And thanks to the dies that come with the set, I don't have to fussy cut that ribbon!  You can get the Stamp and Die Bundle and good news, you can save almost $5 in the process!  

For my card, I stamped the images on Neenah Solar White CS and colored them with Copics.  They were then die cut out with the coordinating dies.  I added them to a watercolored background.  I guess I am a bit out of touch with weddings- who knew that lavender was the new trendy wedding color?!

I used my favorite-you guessed it- Ken Oliver Colorbursts to do the background.  I added 3 bitty clear sequins to the waistline of the dress.  

Here is your hop list~

Sweet n Sassy Stamps blog

Sheri Gilson

Michelle Hale

Lyn Tomlin

Lieeschen Harshbarger

Lee Ann Barrett-you are here!

Karen Decknick

Julee Tilman

Jane Bosi

Esther Asbury

Diane Zechman

Charmaine Canham

Ceal Pritchett

Thanks for stopping by- enjoy the hop!

Lee Ann  

Impression Obsession Team Favorites Hop

 Hello, Hello! 

Welcome to the April Impression Obsession Team Favorites Blog Hop.  Impression Obsession designers are sharing their favorite projects from the April release.  

If you came from the Impression Obsession blog, you are in the right place.  If not, head over to the Impression Obsession Blog to start the hop.  

We will be giving away THREE Impression Obsession Grab Bags so the more designer's blogs you comment on (1 comment per blog), the greater your chances of winning! Comments will be open until Monday, April 19th at 11:59pm CT.  all winners will be announced on the Impression Obsession Blog on Tuesday, April 20th.  

This turned out better than I envisioned it (and that does not happen often!).  The rainbow from the adorable Rainbow Scallops Stamp was colored with Copics.  I cut the panel down on the sides and stamped the sentiment, Believe in Rainbow, in IO Black Ink.  

The card base was colored in ombre fashion with Copics.  The rainbow panel was popped up on foam tape on the card base and then the perfect , little Stitched Cloud die cuts were added with varying dimension.  A few clear sequins finish the card.  

I am linking up to the Double D Card Challenge-Rainbows, Unicorns and Mermaids!

Next up on the hop is the talented Lynda!  Enjoy!

Thanks for joining us!

Lee Ann  

Mixed Media Morning Glories

 Hello and Happy Weekend!  

Mixed Media.  Love it or hate it?  I am loving it more and more.  I have two cards to share using the same stamp- Sympathy Morning Glories from snss- and mixed media.  One is CAS and one is not so CAS.

Starting with a piece of translucent Yupo and Tim Holtz Alcohol Inks, I created a bright, pink, yellow and orange background.  Once dried, I stamped the image onto the Yupo using Versamark ink, then heat embossing with Gina K Fine Detail Gold Embossing Powder.  Lastly, I fussy cut the image out.  And I have to say, one must use a sharp scissors to fussy cut!  I have been using CutterBee Scissors for years, but did not realize how dull my scissor had gotten.  What a difference a new CutterBee Scissors made!  

The background panel was done with a stencil and translucent embossing paste.  I wanted texture and design, but I did not want it to compete with the flowers.  Bonus- it also gave it shine!

A red strip of cs was adhered to the background panel and then the flowers, ,which were mounted on a white cs circle were adhered on top of that with foam adhesive.  To finish the card, I heat embossed the sentiment, from the Birthday Wordfetti Stamp Set, onto a thin strip of black cs and adhered it to the panel.  

I am linking up Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, Happy Birthday and to Tic Tac Toe Challenge; I chose the middle downward row, flowers, FREE and any shape die (circle).

The second card is CAS but still mixed media~

The flowers were stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored with Copics with a light hand- sort of.  I fussy cut it out and paired it with a circle die cut from a gel press print.  I decided to anchor the pieces in the bottom right corner of the card.  for texture, I added a white card front die cut to the background panel.  

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a blessed weekend!

Lee Ann  

Die Cut Obsession with Impression Obsession

 Hello, Hello! 

We have set aside a day to share some fabulous, new Impression Obsession die projects.  Have fun checking out what the designers have made today.  You can find a list of DT participants on the Impression Obsession Blog.  

My card today is rather unique.  I knew I wanted to use the Labrador Die and at first thought I would pair it with a humorous sentiment.  Then as I got to putting the card together, I came upon 1 of three backgrounds I had made using alcohol inks and the new Ornate Flourish Stamp.  Then I got to thinking of the loyalty of man's best friend and I decided to pair him with the The Way You Are Sentiment. 

 For the background, I made an alcohol ink background with greens and blues.  To get the Ornate Flourish image, I stamped the image with Alcohol Lift Ink onto the alcohol ink background, then transferred that ink to a piece of white cs.  

The sentiment was stamped with IO black Ink.  The Labrador Die was die cut from light grey cs and then colored with Copics.  I used a Google image for reference.  I really like to pull up reference photos when coloring as I really like realism.  The tongue and collar were die cut from white cs and colored as well.  The dog was assembled and added to the card front.  His nose, tag and tongue were coated with Glossy Accents.  

I am linking this card up to The Tic Tac Toe Challenge- I used 'coloring', 'Free' and 'Layers'.  

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend!

Lee Ann  

Let 's Have Cake!

 Hello Everyone! 

It's wedding season!  Anyone else here love a good piece of wedding cake?!  I know I do.  We have a little cafe near the house that makes the best cake-much like wedding cake- and I cannot get enough of it, much to the chagrin of the scale.  Anywho, Sweet n Sassy Stamps has a couple of fabulous wedding stamp sets out and one has this fab wedding cake.  

I used the sketch from Global Design Project and the colors from Color Hues~

The image, from the Just Married Stamp Set, was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink, colored with Copics and fussy cut out.  I tried to go pastel- it is so not easy for me; I added some patterned paper for more color and pattern.  I ran the edge of the thin pink strip of cs through some Versamark ink and then heat embossed it with Gina K Designs gold embossing powder.  

Pink and gold embellishments finish off the card.  

This is the Just Married Stamp Set.  Check out that adorable Love Bug! 

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Happy Spring!

Lee Ann  

Day Two of the Impression Obsession April New Release Blog Hop

 Hello and Welcome Back to the second day of Impression Obsession's April New Release Blog Hop.  

If you came from the Impression Obsession blog, you are in the right place.  If not, head over to the blog to start the hop.  Each day (April 5th and 6th) you can find a list of participants on the Impression Obsession blog.  We will be giving away THREE Impression Obsession $25 gift certificates, so the more you comment on the design team blog posts (one comment per DT member post per day) the greater your chances of winning! 

All comments for each of the blog hop days will be open until Monday April 12th at 11:59pm.  All winners will be announced on the IO blog on Tuesday, April 13th.  

The first card- goodness, these stamps are so amazing.  I have used Budding Bloom, Hibiscus Bloom 1, and Leaf for this floral bouquet.  

I did some no-line water coloring with them, using InkOn 3 Fadeout Ink and Ken Oliver Colorbursts.  

The images were then fussy cut out.  I used a gel press print for the background and die cut it with a circle from the Scalloped Stitched Circles.  The sentiment, Seven Billion Smiles, was stamped in IO Black Ink and cut into a rectangle sentiment.  It was popped up on foam tape.  Sequins finish the card. 

Next up, The wonderfully cheerful and happy Hello Rainbow.  

This was stamped on Neenah Solar White CS and colored with Copics.  I added rainbow colored banners to the bottom of the image panel using the Stitched Tag #5 Die Set.  A few enamel dots finish the card.  

All of the new stamps are available now! You can see them HERE.  

Next up on the hop is the talented Lynda! 

Thanks for stopping by, 

Lee Ann  

Day One of the Impression Obsession April New Release Blog Hop!

 Hello and welcome to the Impression Obsession April New Release Blog Hop!  

If you came from the Impression Obsession blog,  you are in the correct place.  If not, head over to the
 Impression Obsession blog for the start of the hop.  Each day (April 5th and 6th) you can find

a list of participants on the Impression Obsession blog.  We will be giving away THREE

Impression Obsession $25 gift certificates-the more you comment (one comment per blog post per day) the greater your chances of winning!

All comments for each of the hop days will be open until Monday, April 12th, at 11:59pm.  

Winners will be announced Tuesday, April 13th on the Impression Obsession blog.  

This first card uses a really beautiful stamp by Dina Kowal, Bee Collage.  

The image was stamped with IO Black ink on water color paper.  My favorite Ken Oliver 

Colorbursts were used to watercolor the image.  I am trying to bring back torn paper, lol.  

I water colored more water color paper with the same colors, tore the edges and layered them.  

To finish the card, I stamped 'love' from the Gracefully Grateful Stamp Set and die cut it with the bitty tag from the Tea Cocoa Die Set and added it to a twine bow.  

I am linking this card up to Fusion Card Challenge where I was inspired by both the inspiration photo and the sketch.  

 

Next up, these  GORGEOUS slimline Anemones.

  

I love that these flowers are all separate, allowing you to arrange them how you want.  I 

started with the  middle flower, stamping it in IO Black ink on water color paper.  Then I masked it and stamped the smallest flower.  That was masked and I stamped the tallest flower.  All were water colored with yep. you guessed it, Ken Oliver Colorbursts.  Detail was added to the flower centers with a Pigma Micron Pen.  A few black sequins finish this card. 

The new stamps are available now!  You can find them all HERE.  

Next up on the hop is the talented Lynda.  

Enjoy the hop! 

Lee Ann  

Spring Gnomes

 Hello Friends!  

It is April and Easter weekend already.  Before Easter is here and gone, I had to share these adorable Easter Gnomes!  I used the chocolate bunny hold gnome on this card because, well, CHOCOLATE!  

The gnome was die cut out and all of his parts colored with Copics, then glued together.  I gave him a flower field to enjoy his chocolate in; I used the versatile Meadow Floral Stamp Set, which is actually a slimline stamp, but works equally well on a regular A2 sized card.  In the foreground I used the slimline Grass Set.  

I placed my gnome on the card and added some bits of grass using the Sm. Grass Border Die.  The panel was added to a kraft card base and embellished with various strips of cs.  Stitching detail was added to the light pink cs with the Border Stitching Die.  Lastly, the sentiment from the Some Bunnies Stamp Set was stamped in IO Black Ink.  

I am linking up to~

  Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge- Easter theme.
Inkspire Me Challenge- Easter

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Easter!  

He Has Risen! He Has Risen Indeed!

Lee Ann  

Sweet n Sassy Stamps and Hippie Vibes

 Hello!  

It's April and Sweet n Sassy Stamps just released the most adorable 
wedding themed stamp set, Just Married.  

Doesn't this remind you of the old Disney movie, The Love Bug?!  So so cute!  I was inspired by the sketch at The Paper Players; it was perfect for my Beetle image. 

The image was stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black Ink onto Neenah Solar White CS.   I colored it with Copics and then fussy cut it out.  

The two narrow panels were the perfect representation of a road, so a piece of black CS with a thin strip of white dividing it was added.  The sentiment is from the same set and was stamped with Versafine Onyx Black Ink.  Gotta love that font!  A few Simon Says Stamp Moonshine Sequins finish the card. 

I am also linking up to Krafty Chicks Challenge- Stamp Act.  

Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulous weekend!  

Lee Ann