B-I-G Flower

A bit of an optical illusion going on here....this flower seems to be jumping off the page but the flower and the white background are all one layer! (the green card base is the only other layer) I colored the flower with Prismacolor pencils. I did not use any kind of Gamsol or blending medium of any kind. I colored the area with the lightest color and then moved to the next darker color and blended the edges with the lightest color. I then moved to the next darkest color and blended with the lightest again. Coloring the entire area in the lightest color first, put a waxy layer down over the area that allowed me to move the darker colors around a bit when blending. Here's the colored flower and the pencils I used. Now it needed something else.....hmmmm....I created a mask out of another sheet of cardstock and sponged some River Rock all around the edges of the flower working from the center outward and going especially dark on the areas that indent closer to the center. (I had to move the cardstock around a bit to get really close to the flower because the thickness caused a gap.) That looked good but I needed something else. I love text in the background and I love when its not completely uniform. So, I took advantage of that thick mask and stamped the text in the background without pushing down too hard. That thick mask and light pressure kept the text away from the flower a bit. Loved this now! It was sent to my Mother-In-Law for her birthday (and in keeping with my goal this year, I had it done several days early!).

Stamps: Stampin Up From the Garden, Papertrey Text Style
Paper: Perfect Pear, Whisper White
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black, River Rock Accessories: Prismacolor Pencils, SU Certainly Celery Ribbon, Crop-a-dile Corner Rounder

Enjoy!
Michelle B.

Outer Space Tutorial

I tried to describe how I made the outer space scene the other day and as I was writing it down, I was thinking "I really need a visual for this". So, here we go:



First I used Versamark ink and a dot stamp from Itty Bitty Backgrounds to place little dots all over the piece. Oh, the cardstock is Stampin' Up Whisper White which I love for sponging because it has a slightly slick surface that lets me move the ink around a bit. I covered the Versamark with clear detail embossing powder and heated to emboss. These will be the stars.

Next I sponged some Pacific Point kind of randomly. I made a line across the top and a "V" shape across the bottom. Always wipe with a paper towel after each inking to keep those white spots white!

Both above and below the Pacific sponged lines, I sponged Not Quite Navy.

Both above and below the Not Quite Navy, I sponged Night of Navy.

Finally, I added black all around the edges and heavier into the corners. Ta Da! You are all set to put this piece into use in an outter space card like this one:

Enjoy!

Michelle B.

Calendar

As part of my "not being with it" in the past, I waited until January to make a calendar! Why am I showing this to you today.....in March? Because the 2012 templates are out and we can get a head start on next year!

I found the calendar template on SCS (click HERE for 2011 and HERE for 2012). I printed them off my computer onto some GP 110 cardstock. I cut them to the size I wanted (just made up a size that centered the calendar in the bottom and left stamping room at the top).

The idea for the physical structure of the calendar came from THIS blog posting. I loved that paper insert and it works amazingly well (and made it easy for me to fold this an take it to work).
Here's the rest of the calendar pages include a side shot of the structure. In case you are wondering....September and October are my absolute favorite!

PS: January uses Clear Dollar Stamps Snowman Wishes and my Snow Drift Tutorial is here.

February: Stampin' Up Happy Hearts


March: High Hopes St. Pattys Day Hat


April: Pink Cat Studio Limitless Limbs


May: My Favorite Things Bundles of Bouquets

Check out my Ground Sponging Tutorial I used here.


June: My Favorite Things Can Ya Dig It?


July: Verve Up, Up and Away


August: Hanna Stamps Pool Party


September: Papertrey Ink Through the Trees


October: Gina K. Spooky Silhouettes


November: Stampin Up Voila to Go and you can see my Table Tutorial HERE (except that I had to sponge in the base color first instead of using a piece of cardstock).


December: Papertrey Ink Take a Bough

And here's a side shot of the structure.

Enjoy!
Michelle B.