Unity Stamps Photo Challenge April 7 – 14.

Since I didn’t have to make a project for this week’s Life Book 2016, I spent my time making cards for a couple of challenges.   I hope you read my previous post about the projects I created for Club Scrap.

This week’s photo is open to interpretation as you can see by the image.  I’ve seen a few of the cards people have made for this challenge and many involve rain drops.

I chose to concentrate on the colors instead of the raindrops.

I went to Hobby Lobby and found a Spellbinders Stained Glass die cut on clearance.  I think this was an excellent purchase and will make great use of it.

I used the You do This stamp which has several words you can insert in the banner.  I chose “amaze.”  I then cut out the letters and the banner individually so the “stained glass” wouldn’t be obscured.  I used silver cardstock and ran it through the Big Shot.

I die cut another piece using white cardstock and used it as a mask, then used inks, colored pencils, and markers to add the colors on the photo.

Here’s a close-up

I really enjoyed making this card although had to take my time to color each segment of the “stained glass” and fuzzy-cut each letter.

I hope you enjoyed your visit here, and until next time,

make some art!

Carmen

Life Book 2016 – Week 16 and Club Scrap Technique Challenge

Artist Interview With Roben-Marie Smith!

This week we didn’t have an artsy lesson, instead Tamara interviewed Roben-Marie Smith who is an awesome teacher and artist.  Tam does this once in a while so we can catch up on some lessons we’ve missed or try and redo some lessons we are not happy about.  It is also a good time to go back and revisit the lessons we’ve enjoyed and make a new project. 

I thought about redoing Roben’s lesson from last year because I wasn’t very happy with it.  I’ll be doing that this week too.

Instead, I made some cards for a couple of challenges.

Technique Challenge at Club Scrap

I subscribe to Club Scrap to get information on their new releases and to be inspired by their scrapbook pages and cards made by their Artists Team

The technique for this month was the Stained Glass look hosted by Lisa Dolezal.

I jumped right in because I found a stained glass die on clearance at Hobby Lobby!

Lisa used Color Burst Powder, but since I don’t have Color Burst powder, I used Colourcraft Brushos Crystals and Magical Micas from  Lindy’s Stamp Gang.

I started by spraying water on the watercolor paper, then using the shaker container, I applied only three colors that would not make mud – Color Brusho in Lime Green; Rose Red, and Yellow Ochre.  The results were stunning!  I got a clear vivid image I was thrilled with.

After the Brusho powders  dried, I cut out the background and the “stained glass” out of shiny silver cardstock.  I did notice that the cardstock came out with a strange texture because it picked up the scratches from the plate when I ran it through the cutter; but I took advantage of that since it made it more realistic.

I cut a piece of acetate and glued it between the watercolor paper and the die cut and added pink floss and tied it in a bow.  Then I glued this piece to two other pieces of cardstock.  Then stamped the sentiment, cut it apart and adhered it to the stained glass.

This is a closeup of the background and the sentiment.

Second Project

 

This is the technique that Lisa demonstrated using the Stamper Star

In my haste, instead of following the directions, to  stamp and emboss the image first, then add the Color Burst powder, I used the dried watercolor paper with the Brushos, then using my MISTI, I stamped the image a couple of times to get a good impression.

The results weren’t as stunning as Lisa’s project, but I managed to save the project by adding several different mediums to the paper like stencils, molding paste, other stamps, then I added black ink to the edges and adhered it to black cardstock so I can put it in a frame later.  I’ve had this stamp so long, I don’t remember the name of the kit, but I also used the alphas and the border that came with it.

A few close-ups

I’m going ahead and adding this to the challenge as well.

Thanks for visiting!

Carmen

 

 

 

Two Cards and Two Inking Techniques

Hello, my stamping friends.  Today I want to share a technique I learned at Club Scrap hop to introduce their new stamp kit Dahlias.

I made two cards to enter into the Unity Stamp sketch challenge, but I missed the deadline.

Card Number One

 I went ahead and shared it with the group and I had someone ask how I did the inking on this card.

First, I stamped the flower from the Everything Joyful & Beautiful kit on specialty paper, but you can use any nice card stock available. I used Ranger Archival Ink.   I then created a rectangular mask using  low tac masking paper.  I used the grid on my cutting pad to align the rectangle so it would come out perfectly centered on the paper.  Then, using four different colors of distress ink and a sponge, I dabbed the colors making sure the paper stayed in place.

Once you remove the masking paper, you are left with a beautiful frame. Then I stamped the sentiment and the three hearts that came in the kit.  I then stamped the three hearts on white cardstock and used the same inks and used a circle punch.

I matted it with violet card stock and popped it up on top as well as the three circles to follow the sketch.

Next time, I’ll take pictures as I go along.

Card Number Two

This card was also inspired by the Dahlias post at Club Scrap.

They showed cased a card stamped with white ink on black cardstock.  It is not exactly the same because I added hearts instead of buttons.

I used  the Remembering You blooms kit  using only the flower which I stamped several times with Dew Drop Brilliance fast-drying pigment ink in Platinum Planet, and added some silver drops and a butterfly punched out of patterned paper.  The layered hearts are from my stash.

I hope you enjoyed the tutorial and the links for more information.  Stay tuned or the next challenge!

Thanks for stopping by!

Carmen

A Family Wedding and a Couple of Cards

Hello, my sweet crafty friends!  Get a cup of coffee because this turned out to be a loooong post.  Last week we attended a family wedding in Phoenix.  We were invited to two back to back, but were only able to attend my nephew’s.

My nephew is a DPS officer  with a very funny sense of humor.  He wanted the wedding to be laid back and very informal.  He made all the arrangements for the wedding. He ordered the invitations, which were decorated with a ball and chain; set up the venue, at the Hardley-Davison’s of Scottsdale; engaged the bride’s daughter-in-law to be the photographer; and asked my daughter, Zonia, to officiate at the wedding at the Chapel at the dealership. Seems odd, but it worked out perfectly.

The ceremony involved the immediate family and used Native American customs, as well as Catholic traditions.  My daughter used a prayer that her grandma Chefa used to say for the family, Prayer To St. Joseph, as a guide. She thought it would be perfect because according to Catholic tradition, St. Joseph personifies the perfect family head.

She asked my nephew’s dad and his two uncles to take part in the ceremony.  Instead of the traditional wedding lasso in the Catholic ceremony; they gave the bride and groom a necklace and his dad used a feather to bless them in the Native American tradition.

She had her aunt give them the Blessing for the Journey, which his grandma used to give all of the children each time they embarked on a new journey.

And here are  Mr. and Mrs. David and Cindy Lucero, and granddaughter!  It was so cute, she didn’t want to leave her grandma, so she was also part of the ceremony.  When they exchanged rings, Cindy gave her a little ring too

That’s my daughter, Zonia, in the background.

Their first dance – so sweet!

This is the whole family enjoying the festivities.

The bride’s son and the awesome photographer!

Wedding Card Number One

Making the wedding card  was so fun.  Since Dave used a ball and chain for the invitation, I used the theme together with his law enforcement background.

I made a tri-fold card with the yellow tape and hand cuffs.

The band comes off to reveal the inside of the card.

I used a couple of Unity Stamps, George and Scarlett the couple and the sentiment from the November Kit Love is a Magical Thing.

Inside the tri-fold.

I drew the ball and chain  for each one and a pair of handcuffs for the groom.

Wedding Card Number Two

Since we weren’t able to attend my cousin’s wedding, I made them a very special card using a Unity Stamp called Cherished Moments and the sentiment from the same kit as above. I’m going to enter this in a future challenge.

The last time I was at Hobby Lobby, I saw some Joleen’s stickers for a wedding, so that was my inspiration for this card.

I colored the couple with watercolors on watercolor paper.  I bought some satin fabric and cut out each segment of the dress and pieced it together.  I added a piece of tulle and glued some gems on it as well as her hair and dress, then added the bow.  I also added stickles to each fold of the dress.

OK, folks, I hope you enjoyed a bit of family fun and pictures.

Until next time!

Thanks for visiting!

Carmen

Life Book 2016 Weeks 14 and 15

Week 14 – Our Lady of Compassion with Shilo Sophia

Retitled:  Compassion Personified

Shilo Sophia is a beautiful person on the outside as well as the inside.  She is part of the Contemporary Symbolist Movement.

She puts her heart and soul into every painting she creates and does it all with deep spirituality.  She is also a wonderful poetess.

I am a deeply spiritual person also, but I  follow the Bible’s teachings of worshipping only one God.  therefore, I followed the way she painted, but not her form of spirituality

I was having problems with the video stopping, and going, and getting no voice, so I just clicked on the progression bar and followed her technique.

I didn’t take more time than I needed because I wanted to finish it up quickly, but I think I will be taking one of her free class just to see what I missed in the Life Book class.  I’m sure there will be lots of techniques I can use for future projects.   She really made it very simple to follow along and this is what I created at the end.

There were four words that I added on each corner, Patience, Joy, Tenderness and Compassion.  I only used three colors, but I really like how everything just worked together.

I call this piece – Compassion Personified

Week 15 – The Ripple Effect – Your Story Matters with Tamara Laporte

Tam wrote:  “This week’s theme is all about getting in touch with the interconnectedness of us all and how each and every one of us matters in this world. We will symbolically represent this theme in the form of a drop of water falling into a larger body of water, making ripples.”

I really liked this theme, because I find it so true.  Everything we do in our lives for someone has repercussions – good or bad.

She taught a shaving cream marbling technique that I’ve been wanted to try, but never had a occassion to use.

I just had to go to the new Hobby Lobby near my house (ahem) to buy some Daler-Rowney FW Acrylic Water-Resistant Artist Inks to use on this project.  They are aaaaamazing!!

I used smaller watercolor paper for this project because I didn’t think I had a big enough container to spray the shaving cream on, so I used an 11 x 8 1/2 paper.

We were to write in the ripples of the water something we did at one time in our lives that had a rippling effect on someone else’s life.

The closeup of the marbling effect – so much fun!!

Although I used a little too dark paint on top, you can still she some of the marbling.

This is a closeup of the water drop that looks a lot like a person, but I forgot to draw a small heart on the “body”.  I will when I go up to my dungeon, err, my craft room!

I was having trouble looking at the picture in the PDF that I downloaded, so I went looking for one on Google.  There were so many different ripple effect pictures I could choose from, but I fell in love with this one:

It came with a quote which I thought was perfect:  “When you truly love life and people, you start a ripple effect that changes the life of another, who in turn changes the life of another…”    I’m sure it was computer generated, but nevertheless, I downloaded the picture and tried to paint it as close as possible.

I wrote the quote on the ripples coming from the heart splash.

There was not much marbling on this background, but I think it makes a good contrast with the rest of the project.

There you have it, my friends.  Looking forward to another week.

Thank you for stopping by and please leave me some love in the form of a comment.

Carmen

 

 

 

 

Unity Stamps Anything Goes Challenge

This week’s challenge over at the Unity Show and Tell Facebook page is to use any Unity girl stamps to create a card, scrapbook page, mixed media project or anything else, using Unity Stamps only.

I love mixed media so I took the opportunity to play with Donna Downey’s stamp Kit, Calliope.  The girl’s image is 5×7.

This is an 8×11 canvas board that I primed with clear gesso so I could work on the face.  I first worked on the background and left a space for the image.  I used several Unity Stamps after laying down three different colors of Deco Art media fluid acrylics in Pthalo Blue, Hansa Yellow Light, and Liquitex heavy body acrylic in Payne’s Gray.

After the acrylic colors dried, I started stamping randomly using Unity Stamps Numbers, Etc.; the script from the Let it GO & Focus set; Donna Downey’s Peony and She; and Layers of Life kit Paper Hearts.

 I also added some doodles with my white Signo pen.

Then I went to work on the girl’s face and body.  I first stamped her on Rice paper so I could get a good impression then glued her with matt medium.  Some of the colors I used on the face were Americana acrylic in Fresh Tone, Golden Brown, Natural Buff, White and Liquitex Basics in Light Portrait Pink. For the lips, and cheeks, I used  the Tombow Art markers.

While that was drying, I used Donna’s stencil and applied gold and green Art (C) molding paste I found on clearance at Michael’s.  Great stuff, by the way!  It came in three small containers with three different colors – enough to try out!

I used one of Heidi Swapp’s stencils and her glittery silk screen molding paste here…

…and here.  It was the first time I used it and was very impressed with the creaminess and the shine – just like her glimmer mists!

after everything was dried, I stamped the She stamp on regular printing paper so it would have a good impression, cut it out, and glued it on the canvas with matt medium.

Then I worked on her hair, glasses, and dress. I used three different colors of Tombow pencils and ArtDeco Interference to make it shine.  I also added shading to her face and body using Pitt Markers.

I added glossy accents on the glasses and a few white lines to make it appear as the glare on the glass.

Thanks for stopping by to see my project and leave me some love in the comments.

Happy creating you all!

Carmen

Life Book Week 13 with Rae Missigman

This week’s lesson, given by Rae Missigman, was as usual challenging for me because it was about layers and intuitivity – if there is such a word.  (My spell checker didn’t recognize it, but I’ll add it anyway, ha!)

After I finished the project I had to leave it alone overnight to see it with new eyes.  So, it wasn’t that bad after all this morning!

She does lots of layers in her projects and I like layers, but the intuitive part just doesn’t resonate with me, so I thought about it and and made a plan.  I used a stencil without flowers!  I picked two by Claudine Helmuth with different shapes of bird cages and the Love Birds stencil.  The other one by Heidi Swapp that has the bird on a branch which includes the mask and another stencil.

So after layer and more layers, this is what I came up with.

I used watercolor paper, acrylic paints, a black pencil, splash colors, molding paste, and napkins for collaging.

I guess you can say I made it my own because instead of using flower stencils, I used the ones I mentioned above.

Here are some close-ups.  Since I also stamped different birds, cages, and bold stamps, I was surprised to see these birds come out after the layers.

I like the idea of circling the different parts you want to highlight.

I also added some doodling and more stamps to the empty spaces.  I also used modeling paste for the birds.

I stamped this sentiment on tissue paper I used with a gelli page.  I love how all the cages stand out with different objects inside of them.

The only flowers were these on a napkin I added just for fun.

This picture shows the bird on the right side and more bird cages hidden by the acrylic layers of paint.

Thanks for dropping by to see my project for this week and please leave me a comment and tell me what you think!!

Happy weekend everyone!!

Carmen

Unity Stamps Color Challenge

Coincidently, this week I made two cards for some friends and they matched the colors of the challenge at Unity Stamps, yay!

I was actually going to make them for the picture challenge, but I ran out of time.  When I went to the challenge page, the information for the next challenge was already up so I went with what I already had!

I made a banner and added some butterflies and a flower group.  I used the Wish With Your Heart Sentiment Kit which just happens to be on sale this week!  I stamped the wish sticks on a doily also and the round circle in orange and black.

This one is for a friend who is a little under the weather. I used the same stamp kit, but stamped the wish sticks in black only.

This week I’m working on a baby mixed media project and I’ll post that one soon!

Thanks for stopping by!

Carmen

Life Book 2016 Weeks 11 and 12

Hello my artsy friends.  Did you survive Daylight Savings Time?  Oh, it took me a week to get over it and I’m still taking my naps to catch up!

Arizona is the only state in the Union that doesn’t follow DSM.  I guess it’s a rebel thing!  LOL.  We lived there for about five years and enjoyed it very much, but we couldn’t stand the heat.  In the summer it was impossible to enjoy the outdoors because of 115 F heat, so we moved to Las Cruces, NM.  Our family was in El Paso, TX, just a short hour away. Unfortunately, my dad, hubby and I all got Cancer and we decided to move back to El Paso to be closer to the family and closer to the hospital where we had our treatments.

Anyhow, we are having a blast here, the weather is pretty much temperate – we have hot summers and cold winters, but loooong Springs and Autumns.  Love it here.

Now on to  Life Book!

Week 11 – Roots & Ground, Wings & Light with Tamara Laporte

This week Tam gave us a lesson on mixing colors for dark skin girls.

I managed to use my Caran D’ Arche and Tombow artist’s markers to come up with a fairly dark skin girl.  I wanted to make her a cool angel so I gave her a rainbow hair do.  i really like how her eyes came out!

Here are some details:

A closeup of her cute sunburned face and green eyes.

For the background I used some napkins with birds and flowers and this birdie wanted to come out, so I outlined it.  I also used some zentagle stamps to fill in all the open spaces.

For these flowers I used a stencil and modeling paste and outlined them with a black pen.  I also added white and black stars and gave her wings the same colors as her hair.

Here are more stenciled/modeling paste flowers and more stamps.  I mostly used the crayons and some acrylics for the background.

I added more zentangle stamping on her dress and a heart to fill in the blank space here too.

Here you can see more zentangle stamps in between her wings.

Now on to:

Week 12 – The Simple Things With Angela Kennedy

If you go to her page, she has some sweet-faced girls done very simply, but beautiful!

This was a bonus lesson to give us a chance to catch up with our projects and time to breathe in between.

All she used on this project was a stabilo pencil and a few pastel colors and a quote that has to do with grounding.

Here is my interpretation:

I didn’t have a good Stabilo pencil so I used the black Inktense watercolor Block, but it came out a little bit purple and brown, but I still like the effect.  I used orange and red for the flowers, and two shades of green pastel pencils for the leaves and branches.

Sorry about the light, I was fixing it up in my loft at night, hence, the sepia color. I found out I misspelled the quote, so I typed it using one of my favorite fonts and glued the paper to cover up the misspelling.  I was thinking about my daughter, a masseuse, and how she really heals through her hands after grounding herself on her feet.

Here’s a closeup of the flower in her hair.  The trouble with pastels is that they come off easily on your hands, so I applied a fixative when I was done.

A closeup of the face.

and a closeup of the left hand side flowers,

Alright friends, thank you for sticking with me through this process of sharing my Life Book projects.

Until next time,

Happy painting!!

Carmen

 

Unity Stamps Sketch Challenge

This week the challenge at Unity Stamps is to make a card using this sketch:

I decided to make a sympathy card for a dear friend who just lost her mother last week.  She is loved by many people so this sentiment is perfect for her.

I used watercolor paper because I wanted to use my Brushos color crystals.  They are intense paint powder that is water-based. The colors are brilliant and transparent.  They’re mainly for impressionistic work, but I love the way they run on water color paper when I use the wet-on-wet technique.  You can also do sprinkling, spritzing, and other techniques.  I’m still getting used to the intensity, and at first I was getting mud.  I’m getting closer to liking them much more now that I can control them better.

I started out by brushing gesso on the paper and after it was dry I then used a stencil and modeling paste with this awesome stencil.  I let it dry, then I used the Brush powder adding a little water on my palette and coloring the branches.  Then I just spritzed the paper with water and threw a miniscule amount of the crystals on the background.

I used a Unity Stamp that came with one of the Kit of the Month collection, What Lies Within Us.  I wanted the girl to be walking in a field of grass so I masked the stenciled branches and stamped her directly on the watercolor paper using Memento ink.  I also used the Brusho crystals.  I then went back and used a pen to outline the scarf, the branches, and the hair.

For the sentiment, I used printed vellum and outlined the edge to make it stand out, then I aded a few sequins.  If you look closely at the vellum, you can see it has faint leaves all over.

I hope you enjoyed looking at my sympathy card.  I want to give it to my friend personally, but she leaves on the west side and there is construction going on, so I’ll mail it.  Be sure and stop by the Unity Stamp store this week, they are having a FUNtastic sale!

Until next time,

Create something awesome today!

Carmen