The Happy Room

Hello Michael Strong Fans (and everyone else!)

Today, I'm sharing a card I made using a Technique Junkie background called Faux Washi Paper. I used a Stampin' Up Word Window punch to punch out a slot for the bookmark and then attached it to the base card.

The Cloisonne Panel stamp is from Strong Stamps (Michael Strong). It was stamped with VersaMark ink and embossed with white embossing powder. Then, painted with Distress Inks. If you're a Technique Junkies member, I wrote a tutorial there for the "secret ingredient" to get these lovely blended colors!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Kathie

CLICK ON THE PHOTO FOR A LARGER VIEW

Today's card features the Cloisonne Dragonfly stamp, a long time favorite of image of mine from Strong Stamps. I made the background for this card using a technique I learned on the Technique Junkies group. It's called "Faux Washi Paper" and wow, is it fun and easy.

I made the background first, then decided how I wanted to make the dragonfly. I thought copper embossing powder on eggplant cardstock would be the perfect combination. I wanted to embellish the dragonfly, so I chose to use some irridescent beads which I attached to the dragonfly with Crystal Effects. I carefully cut between the wings with sharp scissors, then gently curled the wings by pulling them between my finger and thumb. I attached the dragonfly's body to the card with two sided foam mounting tape. I also used some larger copper beads to decorate the corner of the cards. They were also attached with Crystal Effects.

TIP: Lastly--and most importantly--I would like to share a very fun embellishment I discovered using a few years ago. Behind the dragonfly, please notice a copper colored material which looks like a type of shred.

What the material is: it's a metal pot scrubber which I purchased at the dollar store--three of them in one package (what a deal!). I cut into the scrubber near the top with a regular pair of scissors, and then gently pulled the material as it began to "unravel" from the scrubber. When I had enough, I simply cut the length. To "tame" this big wad of copper, just roll it into a ball in your hands until it's the size you want. You can attach the material to the base card with just about any kind of clear drying adhesive--I used my favorite fabric glue, Fabri-Tac. Since the material is wadded up into a ball, glue is necessary in only a few places. To ensure attachment, I placed Fabri-Tac in a few places on underside of the dragonfly and then weighted it down on top of the metal material with a few punches until it dried.

I hope my projects have inspired you in new and different ways in using your Michael Strong Stamps and Dies.

Thanks for stopping by today!!

Kathie

What is Faux Encaustic Wax? It's my version of melting cheap crayons instead of using "real" encaustic wax! I bought a new little iron at WalMart (craft section of the store, 10.00) and decided to try my hand at wax. With a tutorial from a stamping friend and a few YouTube videos, and I was well on my way to creating some backgrounds.

I had so much fun melting crayons and "painting" with my iron and old, broken crayons. This background uses regular white cardstock. The patterns are unpredictable (unless there's some experience which was not the case with me) and can be shaped and melted and re-done at the artist's discretion.

Since this piece looked "ocean-y" to me, I paired it up with a Michael Strong Cloisonne Fish image and backed the fish with some English Ivy Fantasty Fiber from Art Institute Glitter. The fish is colored with a Technique Junkies technique called "Pencil Over Marker" and I added some Stickles Glitter and a gem to his eye to complete the image. The corners are Cuttlebug die cuts and the stick-on gems are from JoAnn Etc.

Thanks for stopping by today and have a fin-tastic weekend!!

Kathie

I am happy to share my scrapbook page showcasing the technique, "Giraffe" from the 4/10 Technique Junkie newsletter. The technique is called giraffe because it was actually intended to create spots for giraffe artwork (brown spots on gold paper), but I couldn't resist turning it into a paint horse project.

I chose to make this page using black and brown paper to match a greeting card size replication of a portrait I have of a family horse named "Minnie." Minnie and her baby were photographed and (color pencil) drawn by the fabulous equine artist, Suanne Wamsley. Her website showcases some spectacular equine artwork, sure to delight horse lovers everywhere! You'll find this piece of artwork for sale in a much larger size along with one other portrait of Minnie and her baby. So many more gorgeous horses portraits there, too!!

I generated the text on my computer for the title, "Dream In Color." The border stamp is from Taylored Artwork.

Thanks for looking!!

Kathie McGuire

This is the Faux Tooled Leather technique included on the Emboss or Die Technique Junkie CD. Wow, what a great technique! This is the first (but certainly not the last) time I tried it. It's perfect for western themed cards, but so much more!

This card is a late (probably too late) entry for a recent challenge over at the Gingersnap blog. Have you been there? So many wonderful things to see and do. AND she now has a fabulous line of stamps (of course, I bought some. Would you think otherwise?).

My sentiment is a sticker I purchased from Scrappin' Deals and Steals, the image is Stampourri.

Yee Haw!

Thanks for stopping by today!

I made the background for this card with a Cuttlebug folder. I learned the technique from a fabulous Technique Junkies CD called Emboss or Die (tee-hee). Kinda cute name for a CD with some incredible embossing and die cutting ideas. LOVE IT!

I stamped the butterfly--from The Rubber Cafe--with two Distress ink colors onto glossy card stock. Then, I added some coral color ink to the wings with a sponge. The fabulous half-pearls are also from The Rubber Cafe!

It was a quick and easy card that I really enjoyed making. I hope you'enjoyed seeing it.

Until next time, happy stamping!!

~Kathie

I recently got the Technique Junkies Fancy Folds and Motion CD. Wow, what an incredible collection of tutorials and artwork!! I selected the "Side Step" design for some of my Christmas cards. I had a blast making these, as they were so easy and fast!

This card features an ornament image from Rubbernecker. I purchased it years ago, so I'm not even sure it's available anymore. The text image is from Hero Arts.

Merry Christmas!! Thanks for stopping by today!!

~Kathie

I made two of these cards (identical) for two dear friends, who are both very accomplished harpists. I chose the Tri Shutter card design because it gave me so many small pallettes where I could use a lot of my music related stamps and supplies.

The cardstock is from The Paper Temptress, the die cut swirls are from Sizzix, the stamps are PSX (the main image), JudiKins (the musical score) and Alluring Impressions (the harpist). The embellishments are from Scrappin Deals N Steals.

I sprayed the cardstock with some homemade Pearl Ex mix; I learned how to make it over at Technique Junkies. Since the harp player image was directional, I chose to stamp it twice onto acetate using Jet Black StazOn ink. Then, I just flipped one of the images over and then both harpists faced the center of the card. I attached them with brads to the gold cardstock, then glued that to the base cardstock.

I hope you've enjoyed the project and thanks for stopping by!!!

BE SURE TO CLICK ON THE PHOTO FOR A LARGER VIEW!!








I had a great time playing with all of my new things from Scrappin Deals N Steals!! I used the Cuttlebug Highlights technique from the 10/08 Technique Junkies newsletter—it’s very light on the gold panels, but I thought it was just enough to add some interest on this very busy card.

The Gold frame looking object in the center is a big gaudy plastic belt buckle which is part of an upcoming package over at Scrappin Deals N Steals. Groovy! Since it had a bar across the center of it (for a belt to thread through) I layered my black paper piece on top of it. Instant frame!!

I made a custom brad with a Chatterbox Easy Brad Maker, also from Scrappin Deals N Steals. What a fun tool!! It comes with 3 circle punches in varying sizes to fit the three brad blanks that come with the tool. The flourishes around the brad are pieces from a Cuttlebug die, as well as the small fleur-de-lis in the outer corners. The gem flourishes are from Scrappin Deals N Steals too! How did I ever craft before I found that place? LOL

Cardstocks are from The Paper Temptress.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the project and thanks for stopping by!!

Kathie

I just got this new set of stamps from Firecracker Designs by Pamela, and I'm having so much fun with them. There are numerous images on this sheet of horses in every shape and size along with some hilarious text "horse sayings". I'm such a fan of Dancing With The Stars (NOT So You Think You Can Dance--but it's dance related just the same), so I HAD to use it on this card.

I'm especially fond of Paint horses, so my horse is naturally a Paint!!! Add to that, this image looks strikingly like the Gypsy Vanner breed--a breed of horse which tugs at my heart strings every time I see one. I was giddy with excitement when my stamps arrived--or should I say "giddy-up" with excitement? Well, anyway I was really happy! I colored my Paint Gypsy Vanner with a technqiue called Pencil Over Marker. I learned it over at Technique Junkies.

The base card is from a great company called Creative Cuts and More. It made the designing portion of this project a snap! I am suprised at all the time I save with that one simple change in card designing. Starting out with a pre-cut base is really a great way to begin. The other cardstock layers are from The Paper Temptress.

Lastly, my brads are from Scrappin Deals n Steals.

Thanks for stopping by today!!

~Kathie

For years, I've been a big fan of Faith's over at Mark's Finest Papers. She is the queen of all borders polka dotted and a fabulous artist/paper crafter/stamper! So I decided I was going to try to copy Faith a little (imitation really IS the sincerest form of flattery, right??) because I saw a card she made that I LOVED! So, here is my shameless attempt at copying one of my stamping heroes, Faith!

The images are from Sweet'n Sassy Stamps; this is the first time I've used their products. WOW, do they ever stamp nicely! Thank you Sweet n Sassy for some top quality products!!

The paper is from The Paper Temptress and the ribbon and embellishments are from a new favorite company of mine called Scrappin Deals and Steals. The teal theme is part of an upcoming bundle of products that will be available on Friday July 9th. All of the bundles on this site are available for one day only, so don't miss out on some of the fantastic deals over there--especially this upcoming one!

I've included several photos of this card because it's fun on both the inside and outside. Two photos of the inside are included because I used my new Scor-Buddy to make the border score lines. The second photo of the inside of the card is lightened up a bit to help show off those score lines. It sure helped when I was making all of those white dots! I used a technique from Technique Junkies to add some interest to the white~it's called "Wisped Frames".

Thanks for looking at this big post about my big love for my big card! I'm sure glad you stopped by today!

It looks like I'm hopelessly hooked on making these roses, doesn't it?

I made this purple rose several weeks ago from some plain white cardstock and painted it with some Twinkling H20's on a stamping sponge. I "streaked" the sponge across the rose for a little different effect.

I learned a great new technique called "Patchwork" from Technique Junkies, so I borke out my Distress Inks and made a few backgrounds. Then, I dug through the rose stash to see what would match. Since the rose was already purple/white striped, I thought adding some navy ink with a stamping sponge would make a great coordinated embellishment.

The silk leaves are from my leaf assortment, the fern punch is Martha Stewart, and the butterfly is a purchase from a local mill ends fabric store. Corner punch is from Marvy.

Stamp credits:
Close To My Heart (zig zag stitches)
I Brake For Stamps (Beauty)
Stampin' Up! (Fern)

Thanks for looking!

~Kathie

Here is a little Happy Birthday card for my dear friend, Hetty Sanders in The Netherlands. I had so much fun making this card, because I thought about Hetty the whole time that I was making it and remembered our long time friendship.

The dragonfly image is from Michael Strong Stamps. It was stamped with VersaMark ink onto black cardstock and embossed with gold embossing powder. I hand cut the image and then stamped it a second time, cut it out and layered it on top of the first image. That allowed me to gently shape and curl the wings to give it a 3-D effect.

The top layer of the card is just basic white cardstock which was Cuttlebugged and layered onto more basic black. Here is where the fun begins on this card. The gold layer is obviously Cuttlebugged, but do you know what it really is??? It's foil from a coffee bag!! Now if you know my friend, Michael Strong, you will know that he is the "Original Recycler". I'm a short step behind him, because as one of my friends always says "Kathie was 'Green' before it was cool!" So how could I throw something away that was so recycle-worthy??? I'm happy with the results!

The inside of the card (white layer) was cut with the Stampin' Up! Top Note die. I added a little dragonfly image and utilized a fun little technique called "Pierced Patterns" learned over at the Technique Junkies group. It made a nice little flight trail to show you how happy this little dragonfly really is!

Best of all, my dragonfly flew out of Arizona last Monday and landed on a leaf in Hetty's yard today (Saturday). Just in time to deliver my Happy Birthday wishes to my dear friend. Love ya Hetty!!

Thanks for stopping by~

~Kathie

This was one of those projects that was close to going in the trash. HUH? Me throw something away?? Well, I thought about throwing it away but then there was an A-HA moment.

My friend Judy and I spent an afternoon making Faux Designer Paper, a fabulous technique I learned over at the Technique Junkies group. I was trying to make a very special card for a another very special stamping friend, but I just wasn't loving how it turned out (and I usually really love the technique) so I thought I'd toss it and start over. Judy suggested to me to try stamping a big huge stamp right on top of it and let the Faux Designer Paper peek through a little bit. So I inked up an old Close To My Heart favorite image of mine in Tuxedo Memento Black ink and overstamped it. , I loved it and thought my other friend might love it too (another stamper really can appreciate what one can go through in the creating process, right?).

I didn't want to do a lot of embellishing, because this image is pretty powerful on its' own, so I opted to add just a few little Dew Drops along two edges. It still needed a little something else, so I found the paper tile in my stash that looks like a little painting. That darling friend of mine, Judy, gave me a package of these tiles and I've had so much fun with them. Thanks, Judy! I think it added the perfect touch to my almost trashed project. So would this be considered Trash To Treaure?? :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Kathie