efflorescence: noun

 the action or process of developing and unfolding as if coming into flower

 an instance of such development 

 fullness of manifestation : culmination

 the period or state of flowering

the process or product of efflorescing chemically

pronunciation

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12 Tags of 2013 - May

 It started all fun and games, loved the first step with the ink/rub on resist technique. I've used that before and always have fun with that. Then it sat for about the whole month, hadn't a clue and frankly was quite bored with the whole piece...which usually gets me in trouble, and now is the part where I blame Ranger Inc. for doing the 16 days of Melt Art Mania....lol 

They brainwashed me...I got out my melt pot, heated it up and stared at the board....did some more staring at the melt pot.....and finally, my creative .....errrr....stupid other half took over. You know the one that gets us in trouble? I took the whole pot and poured it over the wall hanging, and had the brilliant ( not ) idea to use a credit card to spread out the wax....uh, credit cards are plastic..the melting pot melts plastic....what on earth was I thinking? 

It was OK for the first swipe and then my card melted and I got wax on my fingers and I yelped, did a little panic dance and flung wax everywhere....when it was over and I checked to make sure no body parts nor kitchen parts were damaged, I peeked at the piece and figured it was no more a mess than I had begun with, so I took it to the art room and used my heat gun and a METAL spatula to spread out the wax, inserting the word strips and hand into the wax itself so it does have a nice embedded look to it.

 Do I recommend this technique to anyone? 

Nope, it's like handing a pack of matches to a 5 year old and saying, 

"Now, don't burn the house down dear! "

so yeah....I definitely embraced imperfection :)

So how hard are you laughing right now?

Go ahead, I won't hold it against you.

garnish: verb

decorate, embellish 

 to add decorative or savory touches to (food or drink)

 to equip with accessories : furnish

 to take (as a debtor's wages) by legal authority : garnishee

pronunciation
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PanPastel Challenge Blog - #21 Bling it

All That Stickles - Turquoise Linky Party

So, here I was playing with my gelli plate intending to make a mermaid print and I did too, but what I made here, was created from the stencils I was using to mask with. ( In other words instead of using the pieces that I had cut from the Cricut as a mask, the pieces themselves became part of the art. Each layer was cut from the Cricut, laid onto the Gelli plate and then lifted off after painting. Then each piece was layered on top of each other to make the wall hanging. Each piece was cut out of a trasparency sheet. )
This is my unintentional mermaid. :)
 I say unintentional because I didn't plan on using the Cricut cuts as part of the design, I thought I would be throwing these cuts away.

For each transparency layer there is a coat of gel medium over it so I am assured that the paint won't flake off the plastic transparency. So that's a whole lot of layering, coating with medium and then adding another layer.

 I just LOVE how bright and vibrant the colors came out and since I was using transparencies, any color below shows through the top layer. Each time I peeled up the mask piece I squealed! seriously There are numerous layers here and each one is delicious!

The color themselves are not neon, but laid against this black background and they just zoom off!

I used the turquoise stickles to outline the turquoise seaweed and left the others alone, I did add stickles to the starfishes. 

My mermaid is outlined and a few drop of liquid pearls are added to her, and that's all the garnishment that she needed.

Rangers- stickles, turquoise, yellow, glam pink

Pebeo - outliner

Higgins - white ink ( for eyes )

American Crafts - Mary marker ( lips )

Plaid - acrylic paints

Gelli Plate

Cricut Craft Room - Pirates and Mermaids ( digital cart )
Rock Princess, p. 54 ( banner )

sky pilot: noun

clergyman; specifically : chaplain

pronunciation
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Page Maps - boy-girl challenge with Stephanie Perdue + Fancy Pants prize! 

 "Create a layout, based on the sketch above, in a boy or girl theme. We'll be looking for something creative in place of the flowery embellishment on the sketch." 

So here is my LO, with acorns and leaves replacing the flowery element. I also added a button instead of more flowers alongside the journaling.

 and a close up for your viewing pleasure:

I altered the colors of the orange dots on the polka dot paper by coloring them in with a lighter pink so that they would match the colors of the flowers better and used pink letters and numbers to further tie in the colors together.

I loosely glued the acorns and leaves down so that they have dimension, without using any pop dots 

also entering this in:

Anything but a Card - #20 Dust off your old supplies

Fancy Pants - button ( the only FP product I had )

Little Yellow Bicycle - brown woodgrain and polka dot paper, journal card

 ( Used really old papers from my stash for  the background and an old piece of hoarded vellum )

Cricut - Stretch Your Imagination, p. 46  ( acorns )

Simply Scarecrow - ( leaves )

Ranger - Distress Marker, Distress Ink

ZIG - marker

Signo - white pen

Heidi Grace - pink sticker letters

Sandy Lion - expoxy numbers

tontine: noun

a joint financial arrangement whereby the participants usually contribute equally to a prize that is awarded entirely to the participant who survives all the others

pronunciation

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Welcome to Challenge #11  

Use 2 or more Ribbons

Begins: Monday, May 27

Ends: Sunday, Jun 9

Sponsor: Cardz TV Stamps http://www.cardztvstamps.blogspot.com/

Prize: 1 set of stamps

(must have USA address)

Last year I made this little bird house plant decoration wondering how it would hold up. Even though my balcony is covered it still got a little dirty and the yellow paper faded. So it needed a little tender loving remodeling...

And here is the summer of 2013 version; covered with velvet ribbon and pom pom fringe...a little yellow polka dot butterfly and a snazzy button hole entrance...and to top it off, a tiny white bow.

A couple of close up shots of the sides and back.

  And here it is, in it's new location for the summer :)

Really Reasonable Ribbon - polka dot satin

pom pom fringe, bow, velvet ribbon - misc.

Ranger - Liquid Pearls

Helmar - 450

entering this in:

Craftin Desert Diva's - Craft It Up & Link It Up Party # 7
 

pertain: verb

to belong as a part, quality, or function 

 to be appropriate to something

 to have reference

pronunciation

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Hi everyone, here is your Monday inspiration over at Frosted Designs where our new challenge is to use punches. What do you mean it's not Monday? sshhhh....don't tell on me, I am posting this a day early, you really weren't suppose to notice!  I do hope you go over and see what the other lovely ladies on my DT have come up with, the creativity astounds me sometimes!

OK, so coloring on the canvas was a wee bit of a learning curve. When it's wet my gelatos ran...so had to wait for it to dry and then went back in with my pens to try and straighten out the coloring a bit. They color much better with markers. I added some glitter to the wings.

I admit I don't have many punches. I never invested in them especially after getting my Cricut machine, but I have a waterfall punch and used it here on the bottom of my card.

Little Yellow Bicycle - Acorn Hollow pattern paper, canvas bee
Faber Castell - PITT pens, gelatos
Traveling Typewriter - font

This weeks sponsor is :

Boys Rule Kits

And by playing along, you could win this....

So get punching!

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I seem to "bee" working a theme here :) 

I think it's bee-cause I've been out in the garden working lately!

entering this bee-utiful card in:

( last bee pun, promise! )

Inkspirational sketch challenge

 The honeycomb was made using paints and a stencil with my gelli plate.

Cricut - Art Nouveau, p. 56

Plaid paints

ZIG - writer

Traveling Typewriter - font

Ranger - Glossy Accents

American Crafts - Mr. Huey's stencil

Faber Castell - PITT pen

goldbrick: noun

a worthless brick that looks like gold

 something that appears valuable but is actually worthless

 

a person who shirks assigned work
 

pronunciation

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entering this in:

 

Moxie Fab - Gift Card Holder challenge

 

 I love to make shaped cards, I think they are too darn cute. So much so that I have made 3 of them. A little girl, little boy and androgynous.

( The androgynous version will be printed in an upcoming Cricut magazine. )

 

The GC slides into the front of th card behind the bow.

Cricut - Doodlecharms, p. 106

Really Reasonable Ribbon

My Little Yellow Bicycle - stickers

Faber Castell - PITT pens
Easy Bow Maker

amalgamate: verb

to unite in or as if in a mixture of elements; especially: to merge into a single body

pronunciation

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Cute Card Thursday - #270 Tie it Up
Paper Smooches -  Cool Shades challenge

 

combined with this challenge from Pagemaps:


using this sketch

Amalgamating several challenges and elements to create this card:

I stamped the sand piper and piling on Kraft paper, shaded it and cut it out. I also cut into the waves so that the piling is "sunk" into the top layer.

I added a small fish stamp on top of the brad ( which I painted white ) and then added a little bit of glossy accents on the fish. I swear if I had known there was an air bubble in it, I would have tried to move it over his eye, wouldn't that have looked cool?

Sand Piper, pier stamp, fish, sentiment - Paper Smooches Surf and Turf
red striped paper, Kraft hexegon paper - Little Yellow Bicycle
large brad - American Crafts
Faber Castell - PITT pens
Ranger - Glossy Accents, stickles
Really Reasonable Ribbon - twine
Cricut - Heart Bubble layout ( free cut thisweek )


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I made it to the top 3 finalists for designing a wooden book for Genuinely Jane Studios, would be honored if you would go visit there and cast your vote for me...( I designed the camera. )

scrumble: verb

to make (as color or a painting) less brilliant by covering with a thin coat of opaque or semiopaque color applied with a nearly dry brush

 

 to apply (a color) in this manner

 

 to soften the lines or colors of (a drawing) by rubbing lightly

pronunciation
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Little Yellow Bicycle Spring/Summer Color Challenge

Use this color range (orange, navy, light blue, green, and brown) 

 

No scumbling here folks, I love the bright vernal colors from LYB!

Little Bicycle products:

frame, dotted cloud chipboard - Just Because

fox, small blue cloud, sentiment chipboard, pattern paper - Fern & Forest Boy

green paper - Acorn Hollow

OK, it's a shame that you cannot order individual pieces, because I would order the heck out of the little fox, isn't he cute? 

I needed a navy color so I "painted" the inside of the photo frame with a distress stain.

other:

Ranger - distress marker, distress stain

Martha Stewart - fringe scissors

Eyelet Outlet - butterfly brad

I did add one other product to the card that wasn't LYB, but gosh, that tiny butterfly is just perfect there, don't you think?

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I made it to the top 3 finalists for designing a wooden book for Genuinely Jane Studios, would be honored if you would go visit there and cast your vote for me...( I designed the camera. )

filial: adjective

of, relating to, or befitting a son or daughter

 having or assuming the relation of a child or offspring

pronunciation

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♥ WOYWW ♥
Have you missed me? I certainly have missed you!! I have been sooooooooo very busy since joining 3 DT's and business is picking up again at the Art MoB now that winter is over. On my desk today is a mini album that I tried to sell last fall, but maybe it will get a better reception earlier in the summer. Plus, revamping it it with some prettier ribbon might help...crossing fingers!

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I made it to the top 3 finalists for designing a wooden book for Genuinely Jane Studios, would be honored if you would go visit there and cast your vote for me...( I designed the camera. ) I REALLY , really need your vote!! ♥

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Little Yellow Bicycle 

Now for more fun stuff I entered the sketch challenge for NSB day:

And a close up of my lay out:

Little Yellow Bicycle:

cork background - Making the Grade

dark brown woodgrain paper - Acorn Hollow

light brown striped paper, chipboard shapes, sentiment words, Fresh Verse - Fern & Forest Boy

canvas butterfly sticker, cork sticker letters - Naturals ( colored with distress stain )

Clear cut - Saturdays

I love how 5 different paper groups merged so well together, mixing them up is the best way to get the most use out of your stash!

I love that the canvas stickers can be colored in but since I needed both orange and white to balance out the lay out, I only added a tiny bit of color.

Here, I did darken the cork letters with distress stain so they would show up better against the light colored backgrounds.

I mixed in some chipboard banner pieces that I wrote on with a permanent marker along with the Fresh Verse so I could make a sentiment.

other:

Ranger - Vintage Photo distress stain
American Crafts - Slick Writer
Faber Castell - PITT pens
Really Reasonable Ribbon - twine

Frosted Designs tutorial

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Well, if you came over from Frosted Designs in order to have a giggle, this is the place to do it. This is my very first time trying to do a video tutorial. I must say the hardest part is trying to stay in the camera frame and the next hardest part is trying to NOT stutter! lol 

 So here you go, the debut of Sandee's movie career. 

If you want to see the stepped out version you can go over to Frosted Designs...:)

Here is the finished card ( all made from one of my Gelli prints )

 

entering this in:

Simon Says Stamp Challenge - Flower Power

Simon Says Stamp and Show - Favorite Ink

( I realize that for most people pens are not considered their favorites, but they are for me. I LOVE to outline my images, doodle on my creations, write...everything...so my favorite ink is the Faber Castell PITT pens. )

Sparkles Monthly Challenge - #44 Monochromtic ( 2nd entry )

Craft Room Challenge - Stamp your own background ( 2nd entry )

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I made it to the top 3 finalists for designing a wooden book for Genuinely Jane Studios, would be honored if you would go visit there and cast your vote for me...( I designed the camera. )

Try it on Tuesday-animals

My heart goes out to all the families in Oklahoma, please keep them in your thoughts and say a prayer for them.

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 'On the Wild Side' , to feature animals or birds.

The background to this piece began with Imagines Goosebumps spray and then followed with an assortment of Ranger sprays. The compass and quote were cut from a magazine and outlined with  a Faber Castell PITT pen. The entire piece was outlined with Higgins Super White ink and is hung with Really Reasonable Ribbon's hemp cording.

The pup was hand drawn on a magazine image and cut out, once adhered to the board, he was outlined with my Pebeo liner. His tongue and shadowing was created with Faber Castell gelatos and his eye was made with American Crafts Marvy Marker.

The tile words and letters were fitted on a straight pin with a small cork bead at the end and then glued down with Helmar's 450.

So, are YOU living like someone left the gate open?

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♥

 a favor to ask...

I made it to the top 3 finalists for designing a wooden book for Genuinely Jane Studios, would be honored if you would go visit there and cast your vote for me...( I designed the camera. )