I finally spent a little time at my craft table again. It was nice to be stamping, coloring and ink blending.
I made a mask out of scrap paper and blended ink clouds within the oval. The hummingbird colors were from a Google image search – the wings of the hummingbird I chose were so translucent they appeared to be pale purple gray.
My final product is OK – it is not balanced, but I don’t have anything in my stash to add to the left. (I would love to have a smaller hummingbird facing right to add there!) I should have added more blooms to the left – poor planning on my part. I added the turquoise organdy ribbon to help – and I think it does balance it a little more.
Life has been…interesting? That’s not right, but it’s the best I can come up with. Not busy – I have plenty of time and no focus. Stressful – some (parental health issues).
We did get away to the beach for a week. (Our vacation has been renting a single family home, spending time on a not crowded beach, and having carryout for dinner for years now – no big change.) I appreciated the time away, we had beautiful sunsets and entertaining seagulls. Biggest question: why the heck was Dairy Queen “closed for the season” in early August???
Supplies: Stamps – Newton’s Nook, paper – Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Stampin’ Up! Bermuda Bay, inks – Copic B05, BG15, BV00, BV01, Y18, YG25, YR14, Tim Holtz/Ranger Distress Ink Tumbled Glass, VersaFine Onyx Black, dies – Lawn Fawn (stitched rectangle), Newton’s Nook, Spellbinders (oval), stencil – My Favorite Things, ribbon – Offray, embossing powder – Filigree Fine Art Powder clear.
I have had this Peony Bouquet stencil in my shopping cart since it debuted. FINALLY caught it in stock. I blended the inks a little vigorously (note to self: order the temporary spray adhesive for stencils!) and had to add a few petal lines back with a SIGNO Uniball white pen. The hello version is top fold, birthday version is side fold.
How are things in your world?
Things here are OK. Hubby has a “return to work” date. Offspring3 and I have stalled on jigsaw puzzle #5 (2,000 pieces), and now I am tired of moving it to vacuum. My walking tan is almost to “beach week” shade.
My parents have rebelled and released themselves from quarantine! I told them 2 stores a week…they are doing 2 stores a DAY.
I get it, but still…HEAVY SIGH.
Maybe they will slow down after they realize how exhausting it is to be out?
Supplies: Stamps – My Favorite Things, Papertrey Ink, paper – Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Stampin’ Up! Basic Black, Strathmore Bristol, inks – Tim Holtz/Ranger Distress Inks Abandoned Coral, Picked Raspberry, Twisted Citron, Wilted Violet, VersaFine Onyx Black, stencil – Simon Says Stamp, embossing powder – Filigree Fine Art Powder clear
Yes, once I started with this wildflower stamp, I COULD NOT STOP.
The card on the left was a request from Offspring3 after she saw the first wildflower card.
The cards on the left and in the middle are both watercolored using ZIG Clean Color Real Brush Pens and an aqua brush.
The card on the right was stamped first in Distress Inks, then watercolored with an aqua brush, finally overstamped with the image again in black ink (and embossed). It is supposed to be a loose watercolor, but I don’t know if I went “loose” enough – it might just appear to be mistakes! I did splatter some matching ink over it when dry.
All three are Strathmore Bristol paper – so the color would flow effortlessly with the aqua brush.
Supplies: Stamps – Essentials by Ellen, Technique Tuesday, paper – Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Stampin’ Up! Pixie Pink (retired), Poppy Parade, Strathmore Bristol, inks – Tim Holtz/Ranger Distress Inks Abandoned Coral, Candied Apple, Mowed Lawn, Picked Raspberry, VersaFine Onyx Black, ZIG Clean Color Real Brush Pens Black (010), Brown (060), Carmine Red (022), Light Green (041), Light Violet (081), Orange (070), Pink (025), Yellow (050), embossing powder Filigree Fine Art Powder clear.
Struggling with what to post – hard to think that any of this blog matters when the United States is struggling with chaos.
So, thinking of you is appropriate – I am THINKING about a lot of things. The country, the closest cities, my neighborhood. White privilege, empathy, compassion, equality, justice. And, of course, throw in some worry about elderly family members.
I blended ink over a daisy stencil, and added a new sentiment.
Hope you are well, and handling all the THINKING in your life.
Supplies: Stamp – Essentials by Ellen, paper – Strathmore Bristol, Stampin’ Up! Sahara Sand, inks – Tim Holtz/Ranger Distress Inks Shabby Shutters, Spun Sugar, Squeezed Lemonade, VersaFine Vintage Sepia, stencil – Simon Says Stamp, embossing powder – Filigree Fine Art Powder clear.
I used this design for a Mother’s Day card. On cards like this, with lots of stamped images, I stamp an extra one along the way (knowing something inkily catastrophic may happen at the crafting table!). This time, nothing went wrong. I trimmed this one down and added an encouraging sentiment.
This has been a long week! Parenting the parents has been a little frustrating – I can laugh about it 10 minutes later, but that first 10 minutes is just HARD.
Supplies: Stamps – Hero Arts, paper – Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Stampin’ Up! Gorgeous Grape, inks – Tim Holtz/Ranger Distress Oxide Abandoned Coral, Peacock Feathers, Squeezed Lemonade, Wilted Violet, VersaFine Onyx Black, sequins – Pretty Pink Posh, embossing powder – Filigree Fine Art Powder clear.
I don’t have a finished card today – just scraps that I am using to make cards. I have gotten a lot accomplished, but I don’t want to give away the surprise.
Supplies: Stamps – Avery Elle, Stampin’ Up! Taylored Expressions, paper – Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, PopTone RazzleBerry, Sour Apple, Stampin’ Up! Real Red, Stardream Crystal, inks – Hero Arts Unicorn, Tim Holtz/Ranger Distress Ink Picked Raspberry, dies – Avery Elle, Spellbinders, embossing powder – Ranger Detail White.
My main computer saga continues here. Definitely my hard drive is not working. Main computer is just about 6 years old…average lifespan of desktop is 5 years. Do I try to replace my hard drive (and figure out how to get Windows 10 back when main computer was bought with Windows 8 but upgraded later to Windows 10???) and keep my fingers crossed that nothing else was wrong? Or do I replace the desktop tower and start anew?
Anyway, I already had my laptop set up with tools I need for blogging. I did find a spare HDMI cable and linked my laptop to my big desktop monitor, and plugged the speakers into the laptop, so I feel almost “normal”. My biggest hiccup is that I am using my laptop keyboard, but I keep rolling out the keyboard tray for the desktop. (Yes, I could plug the desktop keyboard into the laptop, but then when I want to connect my camera to download photos (quickest way), I would have to unplug sound or keyboard to free up a USB slot. First World problem, to be sure.)
I am going for classic Valentines this year! This one is for my parents.
Supplies: Stamps – Stampin’ Up!, Taylored Expressions, paper – Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Stampin’ Up! Pixie Pink (retired), inks – Tim Holtz/Ranger Distress Ink Candy Apple, VersaFine Clair Tulip Red, die – Spellbinders, sequins – Crate Paper, embossing powder – Filigree Fine Art Powder clear.
