Happy New Year

Alas, another year has come and gone.

May your lives be filled with good health, love, peace and tranquility. I hope everyone gathers a little inspiration each day and is fortunate enough to have the time to do something that they love.

Wishing you all a happy and artful 2008!

Dianne

XXOO

Collage Sheets

Flourishes by Quietfire Design

Images by Digital Collage Sheets

Words by Penny Wise Arts

I'm having so much fun.....

Flourishes by Quietfire Design
Text stamp by My Sentiments Exactly

Flowers & Flourishes

Flourish stamps by: Quietfire Design

"Flowers say Hello...." by Hero Arts

Valentine's Day Card

Paper by K&Company
Stamps by Quietfire Design

New Flourishes Arrive

Papers are by K & Company

Flourish stamp by Quietfire Design

"To Cheer You" by Hero Arts

All Natural Beauty

Clipart from Luna Girl

Stamps by Autumn Leaves

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

Another skinny!

Listen!

Another Skinny

The background stamp is another I received for Xmas. Thanks sis!!!!!

The clipart was provided by Kelly of Altered Designs and there are a few other stamps used (Magenta, Quietfire Design and Stampington).

I really enjoyed making this piece.

Skinny's are Addicting

I got this fabulous fountain stamp for Christmas. It's a perfect size for this format. I added a couple of small stamps to finish it off.

I'm quite happy with it.

My First Skinny!!!!!

I found this format really tough. I'm so used to doing ATCs and cards.

I dug out some stamps that I have not used for a very LONG time and had a lot of fun creating this piece.

Thanks, Kelly for inspiring me and providing the clipart!

Another New Stamp

This is another stamp I purchased from Rubberstamp Avenue. I've stamped the image in black Versafine and clear embossed. Next, I've colored this with watercolor pencils and layered it onto a piece of torn blue paper that has been stamped with a Magenta stamp using Whispers Starry, Starry Night dye ink.

New Stamps

I had so much fun today playing with some new toys. The scalloped edge squares are from a Cuttlebug die set I found at Walmart.

The crane image, which I absolutely love, is by Rubberstamp Avenue. I so love their stamps! I stamped in black Versafine and embossed with clear e/p. The image is then colored with Prismacolor pencils and watercolor pencils.

Thanks for stopping by.

I love House Mouse!

This card I CASE'd from the Stampin' Up catalogue. I really like the way it turned out. I used a portion of one of my favorite House Mouse stamps. I used chalks to color the image. The background star stamp is one I've had for ages and never used.

Thanks for stopping by.

Magenta papers

These cards were such fun to make. Very little stamping involved, though. It's amazing what you can do with a sheet of scrapbook paper!!!!

Domino Tray

I made this tray for a dear friend of mine last year for Christmas. At that time I didn't have a digital camera and of course I couldn't scan it. I finally managed to get a picture of it and I thought I would show it here.

The tray itself was unfinished wood which I stamped with Versamark ink and clear embossed. After staining the tray, I heated the embossing powder off to create a resist.

The dominoes were bleached, and soaked in tea bags and then stamped with Staz On ink. The coloring was done using chalk inks and a spray sealer was then applied.

I was quite pleased with the result and my friend loves it!

Altered Binder

I needed a binder to hold a bunch of notes in and decided to try my hand at altering a butt ugly binder. LOL.

I covered this with some scrapbook paper, added a stamped Magenta image and stickers, some gemstones and Stickles. Added some flourish stamps and voila, something more interesting to look at.

This could become an addiction.

More Morsels!

Here's another card I did using the See D Morsel stamps. I'm having a blast with these.

I used markers rather than inks for this one.

Not sure who makes the text stamp, but it's one of my favorites.

Distress Inks

This card was done using Distress inks applied with a foam dauber against a torn piece of paper. I added some highlights here and there with gel pens.

The stamp is by Northwoods.

See D Morsel Stamps

I finally got to try out my new Morsel Collection stamps. And, I absolutely love them. Part way thru this, I wasn't liking the look very much. LOL. But, I persevered and kept stamping away, adding more colors and more stamped images. This card was made using 14 of the 30 plus stamps from the Lattice & Vine set and 9 different colors of ink.

It was so much fun! I can't wait to do more!

Thanks for stopping by!

Crunched Up Wax Paper

This was a fun tech to do. I crumpled a piece of wax paper, slightly larger than the glossy cardstock. I brayered Adirondack Caramel directly onto the crumpled up wax paper. Flipped the wax paper and brayered on to the cardstock. It was kind of pale, and I wasn't really satisfied with the look. So, I brayered Raisin Adirondack ink on to the wax paper, flipped it over and once again brayered on to the c/s. Much BETTER. LOL. I chose a Hero Arts stamp and using black StazOn., stamped directly on to the background piece I had created. Added a couple of brads, mounted the layers and that's it! I will definitely be trying this again as I really like the final result.

Thanks for stopping by.

Technique Junkies - Cuttlebug Smoosh

This one is done on matte cardstock.

Thanks for dropping by!

Thanks!

For this one, I brayered a white flower to match the inks used.

Technique Junkie's - Cuttlebug Pearls

Stamps: Flower from Autumn Leaves

Just for You from Inkadinkadoo

Pearlex Powders - mauve and perriwinkle

Stamp is by Magenta

Pearlex powders - gold and copper.

Instructions for Soot Stamping

I've had many e-mails in response to my Soot Stamping. So, I'm posting the instructions here for you all to try!

1. Stamp your image on white, glossy cardstock with Versamark ink. And allow the ink to dry completely. This is important. If you are in a hurry, you can give a blast of heat from your embossing tool. It's recommended that you leave a good 1 inch border around the edge of your image so that the edges don't catch fire.

2. Using a regular candle, with the wick trimmed to 1/4", pass the cardstock over the flame,. Make sure you don't touch the wick. Keep the cardstock moving. You don't want to scorch the cardstock. I recommend placing scrap paper or a piece of aluminum foil on your work surface to catch any drips from the candle.

3. Take a regular tissue (no lotion) and wipe off the soot using a sweeping motion.

And, that's it! (No sealing required).

Have fun!

Soot Stamping

I wanted to try something a little different. At least different to me.

I've seen soot stamping before, wanted to try it, but thought it would be kind of a messy technique. It turned out to be quite easy and really not all that messy.

I am pleased with the results and now I've got 4 Christmas cards done too!

Soot Stamping

Soot Stamping

Soot Stamping

4 X 4

This background is another Scraped Oil Pastels. I really like the colors on this one.

Another Scraped Oil Pastel Card

Scraped Oil Pastels

I finally got around to trying out this technique. And, I think I have a new addiction. LOL.

Here are 3 cards that I did this weekend.

Thanks for dropping by!

Take Time to Smell the Flowers!

Love Happens

I so love this stamp (Inkadinkadoo). I've stamped it on glossy and added a little ink around the edges.

Thanks for dropping by.

Peel-Offs (Birthday Card)

Here are a couple of cards using Magenta Peel-Offs. This one is colored with Sakura Glaze and Souffle pens.

Peel-Offs

For a Music Lover

I was asked to make a card for a singer and music lover. This was definitely a challenge!

(The stamps are Maryse Carrier designs.)

Hand carved stamp

I needed a distressed shadow block stamp and didn't have one, so I carved this one and it turned out pretty well.

This was an idea that I saw in a magazine, created by a New Zealand artist. I figured I'd give it a "shot". It's not nearly as good as hers, but it was fun to do and it gave me a chance to use some smaller stamps that I don't get to use very often.

Gone Knitting

I was asked to make a retirement card for a lady at work. She absolutely loves to knit and I thought she would get a giggle out of this.

Amour

This is a little difficult to see in the scan, but I colored the images with watercolor pencils and then painted with interference pearlex paint.

This is for a swap using Magenta Puzzle stamps. They are a lot of fun to play with.

What I Did on My Summer Vacation

I can't believe that my week of vacation is almost over. Monday I will be reporting for duty once again. LOL.

I did manage to get a fair amount of stamping done, though. (A few swaps and mingles taken care of).

Thanks for stopping by to see my latest creations.

Stillness

Art

She's A Lady

Good Friends

Quiet Moments

Paris

Trip to France