Luck 'O the Irish

Here's Bombshell Stamp's Lady Luck! She has all the traditional symbols of luck, I think you get luckier just by owning her! I used two of the stamps from the set, the gal herself, and the, "GOOD LUCK" banner.

I've had several comments about my coloring, and I can't tell you how pleased I am that someone would think my coloring good enough to ask about-so thank you! I use lots of different mediums, but the one I used on this card is very simple! I start with watercolor paper. I stamp the image in VersaMark and emboss with SU! Detail Black EP. Then I use markers to lay a bit of color where I want it. I only use one color at a time. Then I use a wet brush to pull the color around to where I want it. It's that simple! It helps if you give the wc paper a quick once over with a wet brush before you start. It makes the blending easier. I have about five different brands of markers, and all but the Zigs work well with this technique. Sometimes I even use nine year old Crayola markers, they are still going strong! In addition to Bombshell, I used product from a couple of other companies I enjoy.

The Bazzill card base and felt flowers are from Self-Addressed. They are a monthly kit club. I'm not a subscriber now, but I have been in the past, and I really enjoyed all the shipments I received. The gorgeous printed satin ribbon and Limeade Glimmer Mist is from The Embellishment Studio. I won a contest over there and will be Guest Designer in July. They are a monthly kit club, and sometimes they have VINTAGE stuff! They also get cool things from Etsy. Additionally, they have a gallery, and those girls rock the embellishments! They are more into scrapbooking-I won with my cards.

Stuff:
Stamps~Bombshell Stamps: Lady Luck
Paper~Bazzill, MME Everyday Tango, Basic Black, WC
Ink~VM, Palette Hybrid Noir
Goodies~markers, dew drops from Flourishes (thanks again!), felt flowers, EP, ribbon, Aqua Stickles, Limeade Glimmer Mist

DH & DS's suddenly interested in stamping!

It's very curious. I've noticed that since I started using Bombshell stamps, my husband and two teenage sons have taken a sudden interest in my projects. Hmm... Why do you think that is?

Well, anyway, this sexy cowgirl is one of two cowgirl images from Bombshell Stamps' Retro Cowgirl set, isn't she cute? This was my first time to color her, so I followed the indexing sheet that comes with the stamp set. I was a little nervous about getting it right, but it was very easy to color, and next time I'll branch out on my own. Each set from Bombshell comes with a full color index sheet, which I think is a nice bonus. It shows how the artist chose to color the image, but of course you can color any way you want. I'm working on improving my coloring skills, so it's helpful for me to see how artists do it-I hope that if I stare at it long enough, I'll figure out how to do it! Notice that the way she is drawn would make it easy for you to leave the hat or rope out, either through masking or simply stamping, then cutting them off. It's very clever, I think, and it gives you more bang for your buck, because you can turn her into most anything-except ugly! Take a look at the little buckle. That's from Creative Cuts and More. I chose to have it cut out of medium weight chipboard, then asked that they cut me the same dies in bronze stardream metallic card stock. It adds a subtle sheen to this card, which shockingly enough, does not have any glitter or bling on it. I did touch the stardust pen to strategic areas, because I think there's a regulation against entirely shimmer- free cards. It's number 58693 of the Official Shimmer and Shine Legislation Part 37, Referendum 24, paragraph87.6. If I remember correctly, Barbara Trombley was one of the leading proponents of the original bill, and helped spearhead it all the way through the legislative process. Personally, I think she had some sort of agenda with that, but the Great Glitter Shakedown is neither here nor there. This is not a history blog, after all.

Stuff:
Stamps- Bombshell Stamps: Retro Cowgirl
Paper: SU!: Chocolate Chip, Designer (weathered?), More Mustard & watercolor, CC&M: chipboard & stardream bronze
Ink- Versamark, Color Box Fluid Chalk Ink: Chestnut Roan
Goodies- die cut buckle from CC&M, brads, tag die, American Crafts ribbon, various markers, popdots

Stamp desk orphans untie!

You know I spelled unite wrong intentionally, right? Just trying to be clever, you know! (Actually, if you ever see a misspelling on this blog, just assume it was intentional, and not that I'm a poor speller and an even worse typist!) I had this embossed Artistic Outpost image floating around on my stamp desk, along with some Basic Gray Utopia scraps. The card base is a note card from the $ store. I picked up a package of eight, with envelopes, for a dollar. I checked specifically that the insides were blank. So now I have this cute little card and envy. The front of these note cards isn't unattractive, so I let some show. I gave it a good working over with the Chestnut Roan, but few things come off my desk CR free! These gems are not adhesive, so I used my Sakura Clear Glaze pen. Worked like a charm. I made this card about two weeks ago, and they're still on there tight as can be!

Stuff:
Stamps-Artistic Outpost: Serenity
Paper-dollar store note card, Basic Gray: Utopia, Bazzill, Chocolate Chip
Ink-VersaMark, CR Fluid Chalk Ink
Goodies- SU! gold EP, bling, Sakura Clear Glaze, ticket corner punch, Tattered Angel Glimmer Mist in Chestnut

Close-up of Creative Cuts and More shaker kit card~

You can see how perfect all the cuts are, and I didn't have to do any of it! I got to spend my stamping time watercoloring the lovely Bombshell Angel instead of trying to cut a bunch of stuff out-how cool is that?

Stuff:
Stamps-Bombshell Stamps: Bombshell Angel
Paper: from CC&M: Onyx & Rose Quartz Stardream die cuts, Basic Gray Two Scoops, SU! wc paper
Ink: Versamark
Goodies: Shaker card kit from CC&M, dew drops from Flourishes, various markers, micro glass beads

First shaker card!

This is my very first shaker card! Of course I cheated because I ordered a shaker kit from Creative Cuts and More! Literally the only thing I cut on this card is the Basic Gray paper, the lace, and the watercolor paper with the Bombshell Angel from Bombshell Stamps on it! The shaker kit comes with die cut foam, double-sided tape, the window-everything! All the dies are in the exact right size circle, too. You can choose from dozens of papers, of course I went with metallics, because I love them so!

Three of my favorite things!

Artistic Outpost, Basic Gray & Glimmer Mist!! I made this card a couple of weeks ago, but had not uploaded it yet. I've been working on a couple of swaps, so I've just been using pics of cards from my computer for the last few days. I have such a love/hate relationship with swaps! I always get SO nervous that my work isn't going to be good enough that I just agonize over it! Then I wind up making some HORRIBLY complicated million step card times ten! I already make fussy cards, but when suffering from performance anxiety, they can become monstrous! I'll post them here in the next few days, and you can make fun of me at your leisure. Why can't I do something like the simple black and purple Creative Play Stamps card I did a few weeks ago? (It's around here somewhere.) I guess I'm afraid people will think I didn't put enough effort into it if I do a simple card. Well enough about that! Isn't card angst a trifle silly? "Oh, I'm just in agony over this greeting card!" Is that not the most ridiculous thing you've ever heard? Let's talk about this AO card, or more importantly, let me tell you that they are having a pre-release sale on their two new sheets! You had better get over there and see how gorgeous they are and get in line! Of course you'll notice that I helpfully posted this AFTER I paid for mine! Hey, this is rubber we're talking about, I don't want to be at the end of the line!! They will be sending them in the next week or so. Oh, and about this card. I stamped the images in chalk ink, which isn't the best ink for this detailed an image. The Tim Holtz distress inks work beautifully with these stamps. You can get them from Creative Play Stamps, the link is in my sidebar. They sell matching Distressed embossing powder, too!

Stuff:
Stamps-Artistic Outpost: Serenity
Paper-Georgia Pacific, Bazzill, Very Vanilla,Chocolate Chip Basic Gray: Utopia,
Ink-Colorbox Fluid Chalk Chestnut Roan
Goodies-Glimmer Mist: Chestnut, brads, Primas, punches, ribbon

My Favorite Things Rain or SHine

This stamp is from my favorite thing's Rain or Shine set, the sketch is Card Positioning Systems#2. This sketch was hard for me, and I'm not entirely pleased with the results. I like to work with sketches now and then because I feel like it forces me out of my comfort zone. Sometimes they come out better than average-sometimes not! I've been experimenting with various ways to watercolor. I've finally discovered that the single most important factor in watercoloring is that you use watercolor paper! (This isn't, BTW.) I colored this in with WC pencils, which I know are old fashioned and amateurish, but I still like them! I think I'm getting the best results these days with markers on wc paper. It looks the most like wc. My trick when wcing is to put a little Radiant Pearls in my water, it gives the whole card a subtle shimmer that I love. I think every thing's better with shimmer! Sparkle on!

Stuff:
Stamps: My Favorite Things, Rain or Shine
Paper: Basic Black, Barely Banana, Whisper White, My Mind's Eye
Ink: Versamark, Pretty in Pink
Goodies: Making Memories Gem Brad, Bazzill & Prima flowers, watercolor pencils, black & Iridescent Ice embossing powder, M's $ spot gems, SU! ticket corner punch & sponge