Stamping the Zindorf Way

I don't remember exactly how I came across Michelle Zindorf's blog, but holly molly ... I cannot believe what she can do with a brayer. If you like to experiment with new techniques and love to do silhouette type cards ... take a look at her blog called Freedom in Creating! Scroll down the page just a bit and look under PAGES and click on #2. My Tutorials. She lists all the cards she has done and has full tutorials for each one, just follow her links. Simply amazing!

So of course I HAD to try her technique and boy can I say, I love it. I made two cards after going goo-goo ga-ga over her stuff. Here they are ...

This is the first one I made and you will be able to tell when you see the next one, that this one was kind of a practice run. It's very simple but, I just love the effect of the sponged background with the moon. I bought this particular stamp at Michael's a while back and it had absolutely NO information on it what so ever. So I have no idea who it's from, other than it's a "Michael's" stamp. I love it though! I also just love the new nestabilities (well, they're not that "new" anymore) so many different things can be done with them ... a great shape for sure. So, first I ran my nestabilities through my cuddlebug and kept the die in tact with the cardstock so that I could sponge the inside and have the white rim as you can see. I stamped the reindeer in black and embossed with clear ep, then punched a 1" circle and placed it over the antlers. I sponged all over with Baja Breeze until I was satisfied. I then removed the circle, moon mask and took the nestability off, and voila ... it's done. Oh ya, well I mounted it with foam tape, added a little ribbon and the sentiment from Gina K Designs.

The next one was way more fun and way more challenging, but the outcome is spectacular! Check it out ...

Once I got the hang of it, it wasn't too bad. Mind you, this is nothing compared to what Michelle does! So go and check it out, you won't be disappointed! Oh, the stamp I used is a Penny Black stamp that I just bought purposely last night so I could try this technique out. I wanted the sentiment to be somewhat soft to go with the feeling of the card, so I stamped it in Brilliance white and embossed with clear ep.

Well, short and sweet tonight ... I have to finish watching my movie that I started earlier this evening, called CREEP. It's a scary movie, but it's okay because I just sleep with the TV on afterwards! LOL ...

Until next time,

Two Challenges in One Night!

Wow, two challenges tonight ... I can't believe it myself! I've wanted to do the PCP sketch challenge since it started, but have not had the time. Also, I have not done too many challenges lately on SCS, which I used to do all the time. So with that being said, here are my cards ...

PCP Sketch Challenge SK112908

As you can see ... I decided to combine the PCP sketch challenge with SCS colour challenge! I had a bit of a hard time with this one, and kept changing things because it did not look just right. However, I am quite satisfied with the finished result. I used stamps from 3 different sets because I wanted to try and keep a certain feel for the card and could not do that with just one set. It's hard to explain, but you probably know what I mean! Here is a close up of this one to show the black sparkle ep I used just for the bird!

So ... on to the next challenges which are the Colour Combo and Sketch for this week over at SCS. I just love this colour combo (Basic Black, Sahara Sand, Very Vanilla) and would have never thought to combine these colours on my own! Here is my card for SC205 & CC195 ...

By the way ... this was the first time that I used my Christmas Ornaments embossing folder from Cuddlebug. I've had it for a while now, but it has just been collecting dust until now. When I saw the sketch I knew right away what I wanted to do, at least for the embossing folder part! I wanted to try and dress the embossed part up a bit so I decided to emboss the surface with sparkle dust ep. Here's a close up ...

It's nothing very spectacular, but subtle enough to make a difference. Well, I hope you enjoyed my take on the challenges, and I thank you for stopping by!

Until next time,

Mojo Monday on Wednesday!

Well, it's Wednesday and I finished my cards last night for Julee's Mojo Monday challenge - Mojo63. I loved the sketch so much that I made two cards with it. The first one is for my man who is my Cup of Joe! The second one is just a baby card that I made using Kim Hugh's stamps from Baby Love.

Here's my first card ...

This card features stamps from Rupa Sheude, manufactured by Gina K. Designs which is called, "my cuppa' joe". If you know me, you know that I LOVE coffee, and to be more specific, moccaccino's from Second Cup. Jeff and I stop there almost every day to get a coffee and a little snack. So I thought, how cute would it be to send him a card in the mail ... which he loves to receive even though we live in the same house!!! He truly is my Cuppa Joe!

I tried to use my air brush system for my copics and as you can see, I need practice. I use the D60 can with my markers and thank goodness I had an extra can because it took me almost a whole one to figure out the reason it was not spraying properly was because ... bird brain here ... hadn't screwed the top of the can tight enough!!! I have to say, that once I got the hang of it a bit, I loved it ... I even used the spray to colour the "c" and "j" with blue and a little brown. I can only begin to image what else I can use it with!

For the cupcakes, I used the Glistening snow writer from DecoArt, which I mentioned in a previous post, and then added mini coloured gems. I added the same little gems to each of the letters. I made the border on from using an EK Success corner punch.

Next is my Welcome Baby Mojo63 sketch ...

I didn't really put any thought into this card other than the given sketch. I just knew that I wanted to use my stamps from CHF, the Kim Hugh's collection (I love them!) called Baby Love. I chose bright colours, but for no real good reason other than I liked the paper and thought it matched well with the little turtle. Both having dots! I tried to at least incorporate circular shapes so that everything would come together nicely. I used my new Martha Stewart border punch, Doily Lace, which I also think is so pretty, and even has little circles!!! Of course I used my copics again ... it seems that's all I use these days, but I have to admit, once you start, you cannot stop!

Here are couple of fun close ups ...

I also added some orange stickles around the pink oval punch out to dress it up a bit.

Well, that's it for today, and I just want to thank all of you that actually take the time to visit my blog and leave a comment. It means so much to me, so thank you!!!

Until next time,