Mixed Media Swallowtail

I've really become more interested in mixed media lately, so I thought I'd start working through some of the awesome tutorials and challenges over on Splitcoast Stampers.  This card was for the second challenge from way back in Febuary 2013.   It was to do emboss resist.  I inked up my Stampni' Up! Swallowtail stamp and went to work.  I used distress sprays, inks, and water for the color part.  Pretty fun to make and I love the result!

Stamps:  Stampin' Up! Swallowtail, Simon Says Stamp It's Your Birthday
Ink:  Versamark, Tim Holtz Abandoned Coral, Cracked Pistachio, Mermaid Lagoon, and Black Soot, Versafine Onyx Black
Paper:  Canson watercolor paper

Laila having fun with craft time.  The schedule/chart is helping a lot, but we've still have several rough days.  Thursday and yesterday were just killers.  We did meet with her doctor on Thursday and have a referral for further testing with a specialist.  I hope we can figure out what exactly she has going on and learn ways to help her.  :(

Freshly Made Unicorn

Hello!  And Happy Wednesday!  It's Freshly Made Sketches Day!   I'm the hostess/sketch designer this week and I used my new found love of tags of course.  :)   I love the look of tags and I love using the smaller ones on cards.   I recently got the Tim Holtz tag dies, so I had use them for my card today.  I found this cute little unicorn in my stash already colored and ready to go, so I just built my card around that.  It is so helpful to have colored images laying around for weeks like this when you are short on time!

I hope you'll come play along!

FMS 245 Lifesaver

Watch out!  I managed to get my card made on time AND my blog post all set to go on time.  I don't know what's going on, but let's hope this is a good start to getting back to normal.  :)   It's a new week at Freshly Made Sketches and we have a great new sketch from Jen M.   Now I normally avoid square cards, but I decided to behave this week and try one.  I found this neglected kit from Simon Says Stamp in my stash and thought it would be fun for the sketch.  I love the papers and the colors!  

I did make it a 4 1/4 sqaure so that it's easy to throw in a regular envelope.  I never the right stamps for square cards so I need my creations to work with normal regular price stamps.  :)   

Laila is having a blast at school.  I am so thankful that we finally found someone who knows how to work with kids like her.  Her behavior at home is even better thanks to what she's learning there.  It's mostly play right now, but learning to play independently and how to socialize are two things she needs more than anything.  She is starting to read a few words here and there, so maybe that will take off more as we get the other things established.  :)  

Rainbow Tag the Remix

I thought I'd share another project I made during my stamping time with my friend Meg.  We worked on a rainbow coffee tag similar to the one I did for the last coffee blog hop.  We added a bit more to it this time and I was so happy with the results.  It really allows the coffee cup to shine!   

Tim Holtz's style of tags and fun came into my life at just the right time.  Life right now feels messy and crazy, so it's good to carry that over into my stamping.   Now I have a way to craft that doesn't have to be perfect or frustrating.  If I make a mistake I can make it work.  I know it's just ink, but it is also therapy and sometimes therapy is a big hot mess.  If I cry on my tags, it just adds more to it. If I rip it, more character.  There's no wrong way, no mistakes, just art. 

Supplies:

Stamps:  Stampers Anonymous Fresh Brewed Blueprints, Bo Bunny Stained Textures

Ink:  Ranger Distress Inks, Ranger Archival Jet Black

Other: Manila tag, seam binding, Tim Holtz Idea-ology Small Talk stickers

Simon Says Red White and Blue

I managed to make a card yesterday!  I actually have a little pile of things to blog, so you might be in for a treat this weekend.  :)   This card is for the Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge.  It is a bit more technique/mixed media type challenge, so I figured I should start playing since I am so in love with Tim Holtz products.  :)   This week's challenge was to do a Red, White, and/or Blue project.  I thought I'd just go with them all and a make a card to send to someone with a birthday in July.  I have several friends already who I need to mail one to, so it might be heading out of my craft room tomorrow!

Stamps: Mama Elephant Carnival Cupcakes, Altenew Label Love
Ink:  Copics, Blueprint Sketch and Candied Apple Distress Inks, Versafine Black Onyx
Dies: My Favorite Things Stitched Scallop Circles plus Stampin' Up! Stars embossing folder
Embellishments:  Studio Calico Wood Veneers Stars, Wink of Stella, seam binding

When my friend Meg got here, Laila didn't waste any time getting her to craft!  :)  

Freshly Made Skies

One of these days I might get my act together.  lol  I managed to get my Freshly Made Sketches card made in time this week, but I forgot to do my blog post!  Things have been so crazy since we returned from vacation and I am just a mess!   Jen T. challenged us with an awesome sketch this week and I enjoyed making this card so much.  I had to change the sketch to fit what I have since I own ZERO ovals.  Am I the only one without anything oval???  Surely not!

Laila started school this week and I had a crafty friend come spend a few days visiting.  It was great!   I got some adult time and Laila was able to spend time with other kids and the best teacher we could have asked for.  We are hoping to follow this teacher to her new job this fall, so keep your fingers crossed.  The only down part is that she does think we need to explore further testing with the pediatrician.  She sees some autistic traits in Laila, so we want to make sure there's not something going on there that we need to be working on.  But, better to know and get help started early, right? 

Pet Sympathy

Oh WOW!  I didn't realize it had been so long since my last post.  We went out of town to visit my family in Kentucky last month and I was so busy before we left.  We got back on the 30th, but it's been crazy since.  I managed to make a couple cards yesterday and I thought I'd share one.  The other is my Freshly Made Sketches card, so you'll see it Wednesday.  

One of my high school friends recently lost his dog so I made a card to send to him and his family.  I know they've been dreading the day they had to say goodbye so much.  I kept it super simple in shades of white and gray.  I won't tell you how many times I smudged the white, but I think I finally got it.

Laila had such a fun time in Kentucky.  She was attached to my brother at the hip which was so funny.  She got to have a birthday party with lots of new cousins, go fishing, ride a bike, play at the park, and snuggle a lot with her grammy and pap.   :)

Coffee Lovers Rainbow Tag

Today I got to play around a little and I made a tag for the Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop and for Day 3 of the Online Card Classes Summer of Creative Chemistry challenge.  I grabbed distress inks and got busy.  Boy were my hands messy!  I've been working on getting a lot of cards out in the mail along with making more things, so my desk is in a constant state of MESS!  It's crazy!

Here's another card I made with a rainbow theme. I forgot to snap a photo with my camera before I sent it off to some dear friends who I know are hurting this week.