Markers and Cards and Challenges ! OH MY!

 Greetings My Crafty Friends!

  I cannot believe how fast the year is flying by. It seems like only yesterday I was planting my spring containers... and now its AUGUST !!

Time really does fly.

 I wanted to share a couple of cards that I have made over the past few weeks - One for the Birthday of a  family member, One just because I wanted to play with the same Stamp Set again and my last and most certainly not least was for a  Spectrum Noir  Monthly challenge on Facebook...

So without further Ado! Bring on the cards!


 My first card  to share with you today is a birthday card I made using the Build a Tree stamp set from Fiskars. I inked the squares first using a masking technique and multiple colors of distress ink .
Then stamped the tree trunk from the set and  then all the leaves in trio and singles with black archival ink from Ranger. I layered  the stamped image on a celery-ish green matt and a white 8.5 x 5.5 card base. A light and bright green bakers twine and small buttons accent the happy birthday sentiment. I did have to cut down some skeleton leaves and then I inked them with distress ink as well.

 The inside has an inked square in similar tones to the outside and a birthday sentiment inside too.. ( I just didn't get a photo of it before it was given to the person who was sending it out... Whoopsie!


 The next card on our journey is one that I made because I wanted to play with the stamp set some more ,  so I stamped the trunk down and randomly stamped a different leaf and some flowers.  Then I colored the leaves and flowers with my Spectrum Noir Alcohol Markers.. In pinks and Greens -( I didn't write down the Marker numbers for this card, I was just playing around)...after looking at the colored image I thought it just too busy, So I cut the image down the center, I stamped one half with a birthday sentiment and  then stamped the other half with this sentiment...  The bummer thing was that I bounced the Stamp on the upswing and smeared the sentiment.....  but  it turned out to be a happy accident and was easily covered up but  the same sentiment (unsmeared) with a narrow pink and green matt.. This of course gave me the inspiration to break up the right side panel with pink and green squares instead if a single color. I embossed them with my texture folders and may add a few statically placed rhinestone bling or Sequins to add a little something, But haven't decided for sure.

I plan on making the other half of this image into a birthday card eventually but for now its in my waiting for inspiration  folder.

 And without further ado, My Challenge card.. This is for the Spectrum Noir August 2015 Monthly Challenge -  This was an anything goes challenge so I was over the moon that I could create anything that I wanted!!!

Spectrum Noir August 2015 Challenge  

   I have been obsessed with stained glass patterns lately (not sure why) - and this was a great way to practice my color blending !

I liked using this image because I could work in small sections.  Each segment didn't have to be exactly the  same as the one next to it because it is the color variances that make the stained glass so beautiful.

 I used the following Spectrum Noir Alcohol marker colors -
 Greys/Blueish  - BGR1, BGR3 and TB2                                 
 Pinks/Purples - LV3, LV2, PL2, BP2,TB2 , TB3
 Greens - DG3, CG2, CG1, CT1, CT2

There was lots and lots and lots of blending and color over colors because I wasn't satisfied with how it looked. Still not completely satisfied but I was starting to color through the paper (UH OH! That little goof is hidden under the sentiment !)

 I used a smooth navy cardstock and punched out several lacy borders strips and attached them staggered onto white cardstock to make the lace back round then matted it with white and then navy.  Its on a white 8.5 x5.5 card base

The focal image is popped up with pop dots as well as is the  sentiment. I hadn't decided what sentiment was going on it until the last minute and it just screamed sympathy card to me ..

So there you have it ....My work schedule is crazy during the summer but I am excited that I still managed to indulge in crafty time.  Looking forward to doing more challenges and projects in the next couple weeks..... FALL is almost here and I cant wait !!!

  Thank you for stopping by and see you soon !

XOXO Jenn








  

My, how the time flies...

Hey there ,

   Have i been a bad bad blogger or what!!

 I am honestly not sure how I let  two years go by without updating my blog. Life certainly can get the better of you sometimes ( I am preaching to the choir with that comment , Am I right ?)

So on the bright side, Even though i have been neglecting my blog that doesn't mean that I haven't been crafting.  Anytime I get stressed out by work or family life, I just clear off my craft table and try something new. As a compromise for not updating my blog as often as I should, I am going to try  extra hard to turn over a new (blog) leaf and let everyone know what goes on in the little crafty corner of my world.

 My latest obsession this month is.....

Marbled Paper !!!

 I am not sure what I like more, the mess I get to make with the shaving cream or actually being able to use my Ranger ink Sprays  and Alcohol inks in more than the "normal" way.

 This technique is super easy and  the results are so
beautiful and versatile .

 I will be putting up a picture tutorial and perhaps even making a tutorial for my (also Neglected) Youtube channel but in the mean time here are a couple of cards that I made using this technique as background paper!

 This card was made for the daughter of a coworker who was turning 25.  The flowers remind me of fondant flowers that you find on wedding cakes... I just want to pick them off and eat them.... I used Spellbinder dies and Recollection bling flourishes and pearls, and the bling numbers are from Hobby Lobby . The flowers ( IamRoses) and ribbon were dyed to match the paper .

 The awesome thing about making custom backgrounds for your cards
is that you also able to use those same colors to dye paper flowers and 
ribbon too !! Its simple -  Fill a small (2oz) spritz bottle halfway with rubbing 
alcohol and add several drops of your chosen ink spray (remember the more ink you use the more vibrant/dark the color will turn out - the reverse is also true. The less color you use the more subtle your colors will be).
 Once saturated to your satisfaction set them aside or use a heat tool to dry them.

 When doing this technique I realized that if you use a flat edge to scrape off extra foam, you get drag marks , so i learned to blot the Shaving cream instead of dragging it across the paper. This helps keep the colors and swirls intact. I thought it still looked pretty and kept it. As an added bonus the white shop rags I used to blot look amazing once I rinsed them out.

 

Next up is a  birthday card for my brother Rick.

 He just got open water certified and love love loves scuba diving. I tried to keep this card as masculine (he turned 34) as I could given the colors that I used. I used layered mats and embellished with bakers twine and ocean themed buttons instead of my normal ribbon and rhinestones. The focal  image was found on the internet and colored with alcohol markers (I used a combination of Spectrum Noir and Copic and Bic Sharpie Markers).

 The sentiment is a Hero Arts Wood Block stamp ( I think - But I could be wrong ;) )

These are the only two cards that I have made with my marbled background paper so far.  I did make some more papers with different color combinations one night when I was bored after work....  you can see them below. I hope you like them as much as I do.

When I sprayed these colors I was NOT impressed with how
it looked on the foam. The colors seemed muddy and  I almost
rinsed the whole tray off to start from scratch... Boy am I glad I
didn't do that.. I think this is my favorite mix of colors yet.

This paper begs to made into something for Valentines day... Maybe
on a black card base .... We shall see

Eventually I got bored with seeing the same patterns each
time i sprayed new colors so I decided to use the handle of a
plastic spoon to mix up the designs and i really like the bigger
swirls that it produced

This is the left overs from the red and black ink after
 it was all mixed together into a pinkish color  I spritzed on
some more black ink and got to swirling and was pleased that it
turned out okay.

And this is just me playing around I had already rinsed
out the other trays and this one had been sitting untouched
for about two hours... the shaving foam had started to
 break downand become less foam like, I had a couple
 of pieces of cut paperleft out so I though why not...


   Check back in the next week or so to see the step by step tutorial, and as always feel free to message me with questions or comments.
 If you have any tips or trick to share , I would love to hear from you.

Keep it crafty!

Jenna Lynn