Artsy canvas

Hey everyone, today I'm sharing a fun mixed media project that was on the Art Anthology blog last month. 

I'm using an assortment of left overs - letters, trinket, metals and more.  This is one of those pieces that you can just play with and see what happens.

I began by gessoing some paper strips onto a canvas.

Next, I added random words to the canvas using gesso as the adhesive.   To really anchor them down, I added gesso on the entire canvas once I like my word placement.  As you can see I used all different letters in assorted sizes and styles.

Next, was the fun part - adding color.  I used Art Anthology paints in Honolulu Blue, Kenyon Copper, Mia Bella, and Mia Bella, painting each letter haphazardly .  I didn't care if some color got on the canvas.

Once everything was covered, I spritzed Art Anthology Colorations in Waimea Bay, Glorious and Timeless about the canvas.  I love how the Colorations interacted with the colors I had already painted on the letters.

To finish, I used modeling paste with a Crafter's Workshop stencil randomly about the canvas.  It added just a little bit more dimension to the canvas.

Lastly, I added some metal embellishments I found in my stash.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Steph

Thinking of You Butterflies

Hi everyone, now that Christmas is over, it's time to time to think of New Year's and all the possibilities that the New Year brings.  

Butterflies symbolize new beginnings so I just wanted to share a card I created using tons of  Ann Butler's Crafter's Inks, with a Memory Box stencil and my Scor-Pal.

This Memory Box stencil is so pretty and delicate.   Using art daubers with Ann Butler's Crafter's Inks, I inked the butterflies with Berry, Sunshine, and Tangerine.  Once they were "painted",  I used Limelight to ink around the butterflies, creating the background.

Once I had the colors as I liked them, I die cut the design with a Spellbinders die, fussy cutting the butterflies so they would be free.

 

I inked around the oval with ColorBox Pigment ink in Espresso, die cut a larger mat and also inked that.  I inked some metal butterflies with Berry, Limelight and Sunshine, then heat set them so the ink would stay put.  Note to self, heated metal is hot - don't pick it up right away!!

 

I created a 5" x 10" card from orange cardstock and scored vertically every 1/4" using my Scor-Pal.  I also inked around the card with brown ink before mounting the design with foam adhesives.  The sentiment was stamped with Tangerine Ink and embossed with Top Boss embossing powder and added to the card.

 

Thanks for stopping by today.

 

Steph

 

You & Me

Hi everyone, it's release time at So Suzy Stamps.  Check out all the fabulous stamps now available.  You are going to love them.

I've used Two Cats in a Tree and paired it with  Oh la la.

I stamped the cats on a scrap of starry night paper in black and embossed them. 

 

I wanted to keep the card front simple, so I die cut "you & me" and adhered it to the lower right.

 

 

Inside, I added Oh la la.

These stamps are lovely and you are in for some fun designs from the design team.

 

Thanks for stopping by and pop on over to the blog and check out the new monthly challenge.

 

Steph

 

Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone.  As we approach the New Year a New Year's card is in order.

Today on the Robin's Nest, I am sharing a card with a coordinating tag and wrap for that bottle of cheer that goes along with the card.

Pop on over to the Robin's Nest Blog for complete details.

 

Thanks for stopping  by today.

 

Steph

 

Butterfly possibilities

It's a new challenge at Cornish Heritage Farms, and I'd love to see you create a New Year's card.  

As the New Year is the beginning of a new year, of new hopes, of new dreams, I've used the Butterflies Backgrounder  stamp for my card base.  Butterflies, to me, symbolize new beginnings.

 

Using the Butterflies Backgrounder stamp, I "inked" it with Faber Castell Gelatos and used a baby wipe to blend the colors directly on the rubber stamp before stamping it on cream cardstock.  Then I used the Gelatos to add some color around the entire image, again blending with a baby wipe.

The sentiment is from A Time to Stamp set and was stamped on a piece of white cardstock which was spritzed with Clearsnap Spritzers.  The sentiment works well with the background stamp as Every day is a blessing.  I added several gems to finish off the card.

Don't forget to check the Cornish Heritage Farms Design Team's cards on their blogs: 

• Amber Hillman
• Frances Byrne
• Kelly Santi
• Kristine Reynolds
• Steph Ackerman

 

Thanks for stopping by today. Happy New Year.

Steph

The Robin's Nest Design Team

 

 

 

I am very excited to share that I am returning to the Robin's Nest Design Team for the new year.  The Robin's Nest has an amazing product line of papers, trims and accents.  Be sure to visit the Robin's Nest blog often to see what the design team has been creating. 

 

 

 

 

Up on the Rooftop

I completely forgot to post this 5" x 7" Christmas panel.   I had thought to post it Christmas Eve, but too many things were going on!!  This panel did not start out with a Christmas theme, but once I got started this is what I created.

I placed the stencil on a canvas panel and added  Art Anthology's Brick Stone Effects paint.  When I removed the stencil, I found I had created a chimney.  So my project morphed from there.

 

I spritzed Art Anthology's Colorations in Lark around the canvas to give a hint of the night sky.

 

Using The Crafter's Workshop Mini North Star stencil with Art Anthology's Sorbet Dazzle paint, I added stars to the canvas.  When dry, I spritzed the canvas again with Art Anthology's Glorious Colorations for a dazzling night sky look.

 

I painted green cardstock with Art Anthology's Velvet Paint in Basil.   Once dry (either wait till it's dry or heat set it), I die cut it with Spellbinders Holly Wreath die twice. 

 

 

 

Assemble 2 layers of the die cut and embossed wreaths, adding a red bow to the top.  Add to the chimney with foam adhesives for dimension.  Using Art Anthology Dimensional Crystals in Red Corvette, create the berries on the wreath.

  

 

Die cut letters using Cricut Expression from red and black cardstock (or use stickers).  Die cut Santa and his reindeer using the Stamp Doctor die with red and brown cardstock, adding them to the canvas with foam adhesives for dimension.  Using the Inkssentials Blending Tool with  Ranger's Vintage Photo Distress Ink, I added just a touch of color around the edges of the canvas.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Steph

Thank you Gift packages

Hi everyone, have you seen what the design team for So Suzy stamps. has been creating?   Check out the site for some wonderful stamps.

These canvas pouches were rather plain, so I used So Suzy's tulip stamp to add a pretty design to the canvas bags.  ColorBox Crafter's Ink for Ann Butler in Berry and  Evergreen  were used to add color to the tulips.

 

 

Thanks for stopping by today.

 

Steph

 

Merry Christmas from Paulie

Merry Christmas everyone.  Paulie wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas.  But he needed some dressing up first!

I found this Santa hat in the dollar store thinking it would be a great Christmas hat for my son, but he wouldn't pose for me.  So, to the rescue came Paulie.  He posed just long enough to get a couple of good photos!

Using Ann Butler's 2" Flourish stamps from Kellycraft, I stamped them with ColorBox Crafter's Ink for Ann Butler in Canyon.  Crafter's Ink stamps wonderfully on fabric and even on faux fur!

I lined up the first three letters and stamped then, then aligned the last two letters.

 

 

And one final photo of Paulie in his Santa hat.

 

 

Crafter's Ink - perfect for all your crafting needs.

 

Merry Christmas and thanks for stopping by today.

 

Steph

 

Quick and easy Christmas Projects - Day 10

Hey everyone and welcome to day 10 of my 10 days of quick and easy Christmas projects.  I hope you've enjoyed these 10 projects.  All of them were created in less than 30 minutes.

Today, I've created place settings for the Christmas table.

Using a Spellbinders Grand Labels Four die, I die cut the 3rd largest from red cardstock, then scored them  1/2" on either side of the notch.

 

Fold on the scored lines to allow the pouch to stand.

 

I added a 1" strip of black cardstock across the center, then added a belt buckle cut from silver cardstock on top.

Place Scor-Tape along the center of the pouch and place 4 kisses on the adhesive. Punch a hole in the top and thread ribbon through.  Stamp a sentiment and tie it to the ribbon.

Thanks for stopping by today.  I hope you enjoyed my series of  quick and easy Christmas projects you can make in less than 30 minutes.

 

 

Merry Christmas.

 

Steph

Thinking of You

It's a new challenge at Cornish Heritage Farms, and Frances has asked us to create with a Thomas Kincade stamp.

I've used the Streams of Living Water,  stamping it with ColorBox Wicked Black Archival Ink.  I wanted a dreamy look so I added color with  Faber Castell Gelatos blending the colors with some water.  Love the bit of shine these colors have.

The card was cut from cardstock and 2 lines were scored under the image and the sentiment from Script Essentials from stamped between the two lines.  The image was mounted with blue and brown cardstock to give a little dimension to the card.

Don't forget to check the Cornish Heritage Farms Design Team's cards on their blogs: 

• Amber Hillman
• Frances Byrne
• Kelly Santi
• Kristine Reynolds
• Steph Ackerman

Thanks for stopping by today.

Steph

Quick and Easy Christmas Projects - Day 9

Hey everyone and welcome to day 9 of my 10 days of quick and easy Christmas projects. 

Today's project is a candy bar wrapper.  You can use any sized candy bar for this project, just adjust your cardstock to fit.  I used a larger sized Cadbury Candy Bar.

 

Cut cardstock to fit candy bar length.   Then wrap it around the candy bar and add 2" so you can overlap it at the back.  Score to create the sides of the candy bar, then decorate.  I decided to create my own pattern paper so I used My First ColorBox mini stamps - Sweets - and My First ColorBox Dye ink pads.

 

Next, I die cut scalloped edges for the top and bottom of the wrapper and adhered them.  The sentiment was die cut and then added to the wrapper on coordinating die cut. 

Punch holes in the top of the wrapper.  Cut ribbon twice the length of the candy bar plus approximately 6".    Place the ribbon around the candy bar and push candy bar into the wrapper and pull the ribbons through the holes.  Tie the ribbon into a bow.  Pull on the bow to remove the candy bar and push on the bow to replace the candy bar.

 

Thanks for stopping by today and don't forget to stop by tomorrow as I show you one final quick and easy Christmas project you can make in less than 30 minutes.

 

 

Merry Christmas.

 

Steph

Quick and Easy Christmas Projects - Day 8

Hey everyone and welcome to day 8 of my 10 days of quick and easy Christmas projects.

Today I've made Christmas candy pouches.  While I've filled these with peppermints, you can add kisses or any other Christmas candy you desire.

Start with an 8" x 8" piece of double sided pattern paper.

 

Placing it on the Scor-Pal, score on the triangle.  Fold in half.

Fold both sides to the center, then fold down the top edges.

Quick and easy and no adhesive is necessary.

 

 

Fill with lots of goodies and enjoy.

 

Thanks for stopping by today and don't forget to stop by daily as I show you more quick and easy Christmas project you can make in less than 30 minutes.

 

 

Merry Christmas.

 

Steph

Quick and Easy Christmas Projects - Day 7

Hey everyone and welcome to day 7 of my 10 days of quick and easy Christmas projects.

I posted these Snowman Kisses pouches on the Clearsnap blog recently.

 

Stamp the plastic bags with snowflakes using ColorBox Caribbean Surfacez Ink - it's the perfect ink for stamping on non paper surfaces.   It dries instantly so you can continue completing your project.

 

Print out the Snowman Kisses saying and stamp a snowman in black to the left of the saying.  Place the kisses in the bag and staple the topper in place. 

 

Snowman Kisses
They are cute and cuddly
And full of wishes
Enjoy



Thanks for stopping by today and don't forget to stop by daily as I show you more quick and easy Christmas projects you can make in less than 30 minutes.

 

 

Merry Christmas.

 

Steph

Quick and Easy Christmas Projects - Day 6

Hey everyone and welcome to day 6 of my 10 days of quick and easy Christmas projects.

Today, I've got Reindeer Droppings to share with you.

Just think how much laughter this will create! 

Print out the reindeer saying and add a die cut reindeer to the right side.  Place Tootsie Rolls in a cellophane bag and add the topper.  Add red stickles to the reindeer's nose.

 

 

Thanks for stopping by today and don't forget to stop by daily as I show you more quick and easy Christmas projects you can make in less than 30 minutes.

 

 

Christmas is coming and so are the deer.

Listen closely and you will hear.

Along with them comes a special treat,

Reindeer droppings for you to eat!

 

Merry Christmas.

 

Steph