Dylusional Mixed Media Canvas

Where does the time go???? It has been a month since my last post....It has been an absolutely crazy few weeks.  We finally finished the store move, we packed up a bunch of old product and sent it to auction and put some more in storage.  We are still unpacking a few boxes at the new store and sorting out books and organizing. I will post a few pictures of the new store next week. We even managed to have a day off this week. 

During the last few months I really haven't had much time for crafting.  I really miss being able to make stuff so I need a substitute for crafting.  My solution for this is.....SHOPPING for craft supplies.  So I have been buying stuff for the past four months.  I'd place an order here and there and then pop by Scrap Arts to pick up some other stuff.  It's all just sitting there in my studio waiting for me!!! The only problem is when I got a chance to go in there the other day, I didn't know where to start (LOL!  what a terrible problem :).  Here are a few pics of some of the goodies.  There are more pics but some of them can wait for another post.

  Anyhow, I decided a class was the best way to get inspired...also a good way to get out for a few hours and spend some time with friends.  Whenever I want to take a class I usually head to Scrap Arts and look at all the fabulous samples.  I really liked the look of the Dylusional Mixed Media Canvas class samples and decided to give that a try.  Janni - class designer & instructor always has the best designs, ideas & tips.  We started with some collage work and then onto the dylusion sprays.  Then stencils with different mediums, inks, paints, stencils etc. and tons of different techniques.  I really had a lot of fun in this class and was quite happy with the finished project.  The canvas is 12"x 16", I'm not sure if I'll get it framed or just hang it like this.  I really love all the different textures and hidden stuff that you don't see at first.

So now that I'm all inspired and actually have some free time I might actually get some projects done and posted.  I really should have something else ready to post in a few days.  Thanks for stopping by everyone and have a fabulous weekend.

Dee

A Day Off!

I finally had a day off work and actually have time to update my blog (and clean house & do laundry LOL!).  The Simon Says Challenge this week worked out well for me.  Make a masculine/Father's Day card,  and I needed to make a card for my nephew's birthday this week.  I had a couple of hours to sit down Sunday night and make the card and this is what I came up with.

Since my nephew is saving his money to buy a motorbike I thought this image would be perfect.  The stamp is from Hot of the Press and I stamped it with ranger archival ink.  I shaded much of the image with watercolour pencils (ivory black, blue grey, gunmetal & french grey.  I edged the paper with versa magic wheat chalk ink and then distressed it and all the patterned papers with Tim Holtz walnut stain ink. The patterned papers are from Prima engraver pack & Simple Stories Awesome pack.  I coloured some amber rhinestones with prisma marker (cocoa bean) to add a little more dimension.  The greeting is from the Flourishes tag line stamp set and stamped with ranger archival ink.  

Move update...we finally got the new store open last Friday.  We are still in the process of bringing over some stock from the old store and will have both stores open for a couple more weeks.  Once the old store is closed I may actually have a little more time for crafting and updating my blog.  I am going to try and get a few Father's Day cards made this week.  I will post them ASAP.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great week everyone!

Dee

Anything Goes!

Once my craft studio was all organized I wanted to get in there and make something.  I had a request for a coffee themed birthday card, so I decided to see what I could come up with.  I went searching through all my stamps (of which there are tons) and I only had one coffee themed set.  I was really surprised by this, I really thought I had more....must add that to my shopping list.  I also decided to look and see what challenges I could combine with this card.  I popped over to Simon Says and the challenge this week is anything goes!!!  So here is the card I came up with.

For this card I used the stamp set mini sparkle coffee stamp set by Hero Arts and the Happy Birthday is from the Flourishes "tag line" stamp set.  I stamped the greetings and the image with memento espresso truffle and edged the papers with memento toffee crunch and rich cocoa.  I coloured the image with copics (W1, W2, W0, & sepia multi liner) I also added a little copper metallic gel pen.  The patterned paper is from the Do Crafts Paper Mania Lincoln Linen paper pack.  I cut out the tabs with die-namics Mini Tabs die set.  I used prisma marker (cocoa bean) to colour the rhinestones to match the paper.

That's it for tonight or morning actually.  I think I better get some sleep.  Have a great day everyone and thanks for stopping by.

Dee

Catching Up!

Well at least it hasn't been a month between posts this time!!! We are still crazy busy moving the store to its new location.  We are planning to have it ready to open by Friday (fingers crossed).  I haven't had a whole lot of time for crafting but I have managed to get a couple of cards made.  I also managed to finally finish redoing my craft studio and have a few pictures as promised.

The first picture is from the entryway to my craft studio/Kit's Room.  She has 3 chairs/beds and condo in this room.  She can usually be found sleeping on my chair, the back of the big green armchair or her rocking chair.  Unless of course I am working in there, then she can be found on the paper trimmer or whatever project I am working on LOL.  The desk runs along the length on the wall and I made it out of those storage units from Michael's and some table tops from IKEA.

 My main work space is about half the desk and I still manage to run out of space when I'm working.  I have two copic marker storage units.  One for all my copics and I use the other one for my prisma markers, water colour pencils and some other random pens.  I keep most of my inks stored right above the markers.  I also bought a couple of pieces of magnetic sheet that I have on the wall for many of the dies I like to use.  If you look right above the copics under the memento inks I have some CD tins there with most of my spellbinders stored in them.  I have the rest of my dies, embossing folders, bigshot and most of my clear stamps stored on the shelf right above the desk.  The towers on the other side of my desk house most of my patterned papers and some card stock.  Most of my card stock is in a filing cabinet under my desk.  I have a cricut create in my studio and a Cricut Mini at my computer desk.  There are quite a few drawers in the base of my desk that house all the other essentials (brads, rhinestones, embellishments, glitter, embossing powders, etc...)

 The major problem I had in my craft room is that my desk wasn't big enough to house all my crafting supplies. So I had a bunch of stuff housed in the closet...out of sight, out of mind.  So I bought this storage unit from Ikea.  The top shelves house a lot of my books and some of my favourite items.  I have my easel and yet another cricut machine on top of the unit.  The bottom 3 rows house baskets with most of my other craft items & Albums.  I have baskets for wood & plaster items to paint or alter, beads & jewellery making, cross stitch and fabric.

I moved my old computer desk into my studio and decided to use it for my sewing machine (which has also been buried in the closet for about 5 years).  Now that I can actually get to it, I might actually use it.  The tote under the desk is filled with all my yarn and knitting needles.  You can see Kit's rocking chair is right is right in front of the desk with a couple of her babies she likes to snuggle up with.  

Well I guess that's about all of it.  If I think of any other details I will add them later.  Thanks for stopping by and have a great week everyone.

Dee

Well....

....that took way longer than I thought.  I can't believe it has been almost 2 months since my last post.  We have been swamped at the store.  I thought maybe life would get back to normal once we got through April, but it just didn't happen.  At the end of April we decided to move the store to a new location and now we are in the process of doing that.  This will take a few more weeks to accomplish.  We will have 2 locations for most of the month of June.  Fortunately the new store is only 4 stores away from our current location so it will be a fairly easy move.  We hope to have our new location at #123 Lonsdale Avenue open the first week of June.

So with all we have going on I really haven't had too much of a chance to get in my craft room.  I did manage to get one day off and spend it in my craft room last week.  I invited my friend Christine over and we spent the afternoon chatting and crafting.  She made a fabulous mini album and I made some Mother's Day cards.
Here are 2 of the cards I made...both are done with the All About Mom stamp set by Amy R. from CC Designs.

For the first card I used Ranger archival ink to stamp the greetings and the scrolls and edged the oval with midnight black versa magic ink.  I cut the flowers out using the Mother's Day Bouquet cricut cartridge and a small ek success flower punch.  The leaves are from a poppy stamps die called "meadow leaf".  I used a stylus and cloud white versa magic ink to add some detail to the leaves and stamped the white flowers with some random designs.  The patterned paper & ribbon are from the Do Craft Papermania Bexley Black line.

For the second card I used the same layout but changed up the paper, ribbon & leaves.  This patterned paper is from 2008 called Daisy Downpour by Imaginisce.  The ribbon is still from the Bexley Black line and the leaves were cut out on the cricut using the Mother's Day Bouquet cartridge.  I used the stylus and white chalk ink to add details as well.  I used some grey rhinestones for the flowers but black rhinestones on the corners.  I also stamped the inside with a sentiment "I love you" & "Happy Mother's Day".

Kit was very happy to have a craft day as well.  I think she has been missing them.  I didn't get as much as I planned done because she decided she should be the centre of attention.  So I spent a lot of time with her in my arms or on my paper trimmer.  Finally she did decide to nap on my desk but away from my main work area.

During all this craziness I did get a chance to almost finish my craft room redesign and I will post some pictures of that soon.  I just have a few minor things to finish up and then I will take some pictures.  Thanks for stopping by and I will try not to take quite so long between posts again.  LOL!  I keep saying that.   I did just get a great big order of new crafting supplies in and I picked up some goodies at my local craft store Scrap Arts.  So I really need to look at some challenges and get some stuff made with all this fabulous new stuff.  Have a great week everyone!!! Happy Crafting!

Dee

Yikes!!!

....It has been a whole month since I last updated my blog!!!!!  Sorry I've been M.I.A. for so long.  To be honest though it will be a few weeks before I can update as often as I want.  Hopefully it won't take me quite so long before my next post though.  I haven't had any time to spend in my craft room these last few weeks.  March & April are always my busiest months at work and this year they are even busier because we have a lot of events to prep for next month.

I did get one project started about a week ago for a challenge I want to take part in.  I'm not sure I will actually get time to finish it before the due date.  Here is my project so far....  I will post the details when I get it finished.  I did a lot of masking and I still have a lot of coloring to do.

Before I can finish this project I will have to clean my studio.  I actually have plans to change my room up quite a bit and buying a new storage unit.  I am also going to order a bunch of new goodies so that when I get some more time I have a some new stamps and supplies to play with.  Here is what my desk looks like today.  I have no room to work on anything right now.  As soon as I get my room organized I will post some pics.

Well that's it for tonight,  I hope to be back soon with a picture of my completed project.  Thanks for stopping by and Happy Spring everyone!!!!

Dee

Simon Says...

.... White on white,  that is the challenge this week over at Simon Says stamp.It was quite a challenge for me indeed.  However, I did manage to get a card made and I just might actually get it posted in time.  Here is the card I made.

I started with the cupcake image and stamped it on some white card stock with brown memento ink.  I coloured the bottom with a copic marker and covered the top with diamond stickles.  It looks blue in the picture because the stickles are still wet.  I cut the image and the mat out with spellbinders large & small labels. I used the Happy Birthday cuttlebug folder for the background piece.  I edged the pieces with just a tiny bit of pink chalk ink to make them stand out a bit.  I used an old EK Success flower punch for the flowers and added a few champagne rhinestones to them to add a bit more detail.  I attached the image piece to the card with foam dots.

I should be back in a couple of days with a few more cards.  I still have a couple of challenges I want to take part in this week.  Have a great day everyone and thanks for stopping by.

Dee

More Hearts!!!

I have been a bit swamped with work this week and haven't had much time for crafting.  I had all kinds of plans and ideas for Valentine cards but it just didn't happen.  I had a whole bunch of challenges I wanted to take part in this week and I ran out of time, again!!! I can see I am going to need to start my Easter cards now if I expect to get many ready on time....LOL.

Anyhow, I did get to spend about an hour or so in my studio a couple of nights ago and this is what I came up with.  It is another card for the Simon Says "Have A Heart" challenge.

This is a redesign of a card I made last year. I decided to add more detail to this card.   I cut out several different sized hearts using the cricut and "George" cartridge (the "I Heart You" is also from that cartridge).  The paper is all from the Basic Grey "bitter sweet" & "Eva" lines.  I edged all the papers with  versa magic jumbo java chalk ink and layered the hearts over each other.  The large heart in the middle is popped up with foam dots and edged with diamond stickles.  The greeting is from Flourishes and stamped with memento rich cocoa ink.  I also used the rich cocoa ink to stamp a border around the background paper with a stamp from the basic grey "flourish corners" set.  The pink rhinestones are from Kaiser Craft.

Time to get back to work!!! Have a great week everyone!!!

Dee

Aphrodite!

The goddess of Love & Beauty...I couldn't think of a better stamp for some Valentine cards and challenges!!!  I made this card for the Kraftin' Kimmie "Texture" challenge and the Simon Says Stamp "Have A Heart" challenge.

The picture isn't the best and the stickles were still wet at the time.  It is hard to see all the spots the star dust pens have been used (head piece as well as dress).  It looks much better in person.

I started by stamping Aphrodite by "Kraftin' Kimmie" stamps with black memento ink and colouring her with copic markers (E0000, 00, 01, 02, 23, 25, 27, 29 - R20, 22, 24, 27 - N0, 1, 5, 7 & B000)  I also added some sakura star dust pens to her outfit both red star and clear star.  I wanted lots of texture on the card so I  used swiss dot embossing folder for the piece behind the image.  I then decided to pop up some of the hearts  at different levels some with glue dots and some with foam dots.  I had originally coloured the hearts with red star dust pen but it didn't seem to show up enough so I covered them with Christmas Red stickles.

The patterned paper is from the Echo Park "Yours Truly" collection and I stamped a couple of swirls in the corners to match the Love sentiment (Flourishes stamps) and then added a little more texture with some rhinestones.  I cut the hearts out of white card stock with an old EK Success double heart punch and coloured them with copic R27.

That's it for tonight, thanks for stopping by.  I hope to be back tomorrow with another post.  Have a great weekend everyone and happy crafting!

Dee

More Cute Stamps!

I just got another email from All That Scraps blog with more fabulous new Easter & Spring stamps.  You can check these samples out on their blog.  These samples feature the new stamps Found It & Eggstra Special Sentiments.  

Well that's it for now, I'll be back in a little bit with another card for another challenge!!!

Dee

Love Is In The Air!

I was able to spend most of Monday in my craft studio with a good friend and we got so much accomplished.  She made a journal and I made a bunch of Valentine cards.  I decided to use some challenges as my inspiration as well as some of my favourite techniques.

The first cards I did are for the Simon Says challenge for this week.  It should have been really easy "anything goes" but, I needed a jumping off point.  I looked back through some of the cards I made last year and some of the techniques I've taught and decided to go with making my own patterned paper.  I used this layout before but with patterned paper.

For these cards I started with ivory coloured paper and used an script stamp by inkadinkado and frayed burlap ink to create main background.  I then inked the paper with distress inks (antique linen, spun sugar, vintage photo & walnut stain) and added some decorative edges with basic grey "flourish corners" stamp set and walnut stain ink.    I did the same technique for the image piece and used the Eiffel Tower stamp from crafty secrets as my main image.  The "I Love You" and "Be Mine" are from Flourishes and the Je t'aime is from crafty secrets (all are stamped with the walnut stain ink). I added a little more pink to the image with ribbon and pale pink rhinestones.  The image piece is popped up with foam dots.

I will have a few more cards to post later this week.  Thanks for stopping by and have a great week everyone.
Dee

New @ All That Scraps!

I just received an email from All That Scraps with some adorable new samples.  The samples are all made with the new C.C. Designs stamps.  You can check them out here.  Since I can't link the banner in the post... I've added it as a direct link in my side bar so I can keep checking on all the new February releases.  They have some amazing samples on their blog.  

Well I'm off to spend the day in my craft room so I should have some more cards to post later today or tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by!

Dee

Marilyn!

I had a little Christmas money left over to do some craft shopping in January.  I of course had to get a few new Kraftin' Kimmie stamps (I got lots for Christmas see this post for pics) but, they keep making more so I keep buying more LOL.  With this shipment I got Marilyn and a couple of others.  I decided to use her for the Something Old, Something New challenge.

Marilyn is my something new and the papers are the something old.  I stamped Marilyn with tuxedo black memento ink and coloured her with copic markers ( Y21, 23, 26 - E000, 00, 21, 04 - N0, 1 - BG0000. 10 & R20).  I cut the image and mat out using spellbinders large and small petite ovals. The patterned paper is an from an old line by Kaiser Craft "Spirograph"  I think it must be about 4 years old,  I know I used it in a class I taught in spring 2009 LOL.  I loved the paper line so much I bought a whole bunch of it and still have it in my stash.  I also punched some little flowers out with an old mini flower punch as little accents.  I decided to keep with the Kaiser Craft theme and use their blue grey rhinestones and a greeting from their Birthday mini clear stamp set.

I'm planning a crafting day on Monday so I should have lots to post next week.  I really have to get busy making Valentine cards this weekend.  I can't believe tomorrow is February 1st already!!!  Thanks for stopping by everyone, have a great weekend!!!

Dee