Say Yes to Distress...

...Oxide Inks , that is! These Tim Holtz inks have been all the rage since being introduced at CHA 2017 earlier this year. I was lucky enough to get 4 of the 12 from the Simon Says Stamp Online Shop as soon as they were available and after playing with these plan on getting a few more:)

 So today's post is to share what I have learned and how I played with them so far. For more expert explanations go to Tim Holtz' You Tube Video from CHA 2017.

 This is what the inks look like when you smoosh them onto a heat resistant craft mat:

These inks are more opaque, finish with a matte, chalk-like look (although they don't wipe off when dry), and they can be layered and layered, AND layered (without muddying) onto white to black card stocks with excellent results!

                                          on manila tags

                                 on kraft cardstock

                 detail after layers of colors and droplets of water added then dried. The spritzes of water are what cause the oxide effect.

  and on a black tag-isn't it a cool effect??

 And here are a trio of tags I made using some of my Distress Oxide backgrounds:

for my T Stands For Tuesday peeps, - a mug of flowers. Heart image is a Dina Wakley stamp.

Dina Wakley heart and face stamps. Behind her head I used a new stamp from this set:

 SO many possibilities with this cool set that  I WON in a recent giveaway by Ellen Hutson LLC!!

And my third tag for Moo mania and More (theme is "in triplicate"):

   Dina Wakley hearts, birds and sentiment stamps.

Seems I'm still on this tutorial kick since last month's stint with the Simon Says Monday Challenge Blog ;) You can see my 4  posts here, here, here, and here if you missed them. Feel free to use and share my tutorials but please remember not to copy as your own, and credit much appreciated, thank you!

 Also joining this post with the Simon Wednesday Challenge (anything goes), Work It Wednesday March (theme is Spring-flowers, bunnies, Easter,etc.), the Simon Monday Challenge (Make a Rainbow),  and Paint Party Friday!

  "Paint rainbows. Take chances. Spread your wings. Believe in fairy tales. Dare to dream your biggest dreams! "

Things With Wings

Another Monday which means a new challenge at the Simon Monday Challenge blog! It also means that my stint as Guest Designer for this month ends with this post. I want to thank the staff at Simon Says for giving me this incredible opportunity. It has been an immense pleasure working along side such a talented group of artists! I also wish to thank all of you who took the time to pop in and leave a comment. Mwah! I will of course continue to participate as often as I can and I hope you will too:)

This week's theme is "Things With Wings"!


 I have two projects to share. All products are listed with links at the end.

 First up is this frame and we are going to begin by making our own patterned tissue paper!
Begin by covering your workspace with newspaper. Add a sheet of plain tissue paper on top. Gather a variety of stamps including leaves, butterflies, script and background dots along with a black Archival inkpad. Begin stamping your images repeatedly onto the tissue:

 Keep stamping until you are satisfied and have filled much of the paper:

 Choose a photo frame to cover. Grab a brush and matte medium. Remove glass and backing from the frame.

 Tear tissue into pieces and collage over the whole frame.

 Don't worry about excess hanging as that will be trimmed away after frame is completely covered and dry. I also wasn't concerned about a bit of overlapping or crinkles.

Set aside. At this point I originally intended to add stains to color the frame but I liked it enough as is to leave it and add the color within the frame :) For the background behind the glass I traced the shapes onto white cardstock then used a blending tool and Salty Ocean Distress ink over it to emulate the sky. I slipped the colored shapes under the glass pieces and secured them in place from the back.

Next, the butterflies were stamped onto Distress watercolor cardstock with black Archival ink. They were painted by smooshing some Salty Ocean, Spiced Marmalade, Worn Lipstick, and Squeezed Lemonade Distress inks from the pads onto a kraft sheet and picking up the colors with a watercolor brush. The butterflies were fussy cut and a bit of thin black wire was glued to the backs to form the antennae. My obsession thinking is that my butterflies must all have antennae:) I covered them with Stickles glitter glue and allowed to dry.

 I curled the wings and secured the butterflies on top of the glass with a dab of gel medium. A piece of black and white cardstock was trimmed to make a label. A Tim Holtz Occasions Small Talk sticker was added. A large gold brad was attached at each end then the label was secured in place with foam dots.

 Project 2- a simple postcard:

 I glued a piece of the handmade tissue paper to a watercolor card. It was then sprayed with Distress stain in Fossilized Amber and a grey/brown toned spray I made. I also used a Dina Wakley face stamp, Distress watercolor cardstock, black Archival ink, a scrap of twine and patterned paper, Tim Holtz mini stapler, Occasions Small Talk  stickers, black pen and Moonshine sequins. Hope you enjoyed this week's projects!

 Simon Says Stamp is giving away a $50 voucher for the online store to one lucky winner, but you can't win if you don't enter, so get to your craft space and create!




Product Links:
 plain tissue paper
 gel medium
 matte medium
 non stick craft sheet
 mini stapler
 blending tool
 adhesive foam dots
 SSS assorted Moonshine sequins
 Distress watercolor cardstock
 Jet Black Archival inkpad
 Occasions Small Talk  stickers
 Distress inkpads: Salty Ocean, Squeezed Lemonade, Worn Lipstick, Spiced Marmalade
 Distress Spray Stain- Fossilized Amber
 Stickles glitter glue-Diamond
 Clear Stamps: Altenew Floral Shadow set
                         Tim Holtz Butterfly 1, Butterfly 2
                         Dina Wakley All The Gals set


 For T Stands For Tuesday:

 how about lunch with a friend at Panera Bread? I had a delicious Mediterranean Veggie sandwich with sun dried tomato bread and would have it again anytime!

 A new month is about to begin so I made two spreads for April:

 Pg covered with a pretty patterned tissue paper then bits clipped from a magazine glued on.

 This is only the right side of my second calendar spread since the painted,dated side was the same as the first one.  I did add glossy accents on the raindrops but wasn't able to capture it. My page was inspired by this YouTube video.

 I am joining in at Art Journal Journey for the theme of "Out and About" hosted by Yvonne; along with Paint Party Friday!

 Next week I'll be sharing about my newly acquired Distress Oxide inks which are  AMAZING new inkpads from Tim Holtz!!

" Give the ones you love wings to fly, roots to come back, and reasons to stay."  Dalai Lama

Layering It Up!

 A big hello to everyone! It is already week three for me in the designer spotlight at the Simon Says Monday Stamp Challenge Blog. Time flies when you're having fun! And a new week means:


 This week's challenge is to "Layer It Up" and that is just what I did for my canvas project:

Here is how I layered it up. (Product links at the end of project)

I began with a 4" x 4" gessoed canvas board. I then glued down some Tim Holtz tissue tape along with gold micro beads and seed beads using gel medium. Once dry, embossing paste was applied through the Mini Cubist stencil (LOVE!!) around the canvas and allowed to dry:

 Distress Crayons in Picked raspberry and Mustard Seed were scribbled in a few places. The I sprayed away using Dylusions Black Marble, After Midnight, and Lemon Zest ink sprays along with Distress Spray Stain in Twisted Citron. The canvas was held up vertically to allow the inks to move around:

 Once that dried I splattered some watered down white paint on the canvas. Black Archival ink was sponged along the edges,then set aside.

 A small square was cut from 140lb. watercolor paper. I covered it with the same Tim Holtz Tissue Tape used on the canvas then sponged Mustard Yellow ink over it. Edges were sponged with the Black Archival ink. Set aside.

 I spritzed a piece of crochet lace with water , then Dylusions London Blue and Squeezed Orange ink sprays along with Distress Spray Stain in Fossilized Amber. Set aside.

A portion of the Tim Holtz heart stamp was stamped onto a piece of light green sea glass using the Black Archival ink:

 Putting it all together:

  The lace was glued to the bottom of the canvas with gel medium. Foam dots were added to the back of the watercolor square and added to the canvas. A piece of scrap mesh (lying on my table) was glued to the square along with the sea glass. A bit of gel medium was used on the back of  the sticker from Tim Holtz' Small Talk Occasions to secure it over the lace. Finally I completed  the canvas with a few Moonshine Sequins.

I hope you enjoyed my project. And now I challenge YOU to layer it up this week for a chance to win a $50 GC to the fabulous Simon Says Stamp Shop!




Product Links:

Inkpads: Archival Jet Black
               StazOn Mustard Yellow

Distress Crayons: Picked Raspberry
                             Mustard Seed

Dylusions Ink Sprays: Black Marble
                                    After Midnight
                                    Lemon Zest
                                    London Blue
                                    Squeezed Orange

Distress Spray Stain: Fossilized Amber

Other: white gesso
           gel medium
           embossing paste
           adhesive foam dots
           140 lb. watercolor paper
           Tim Holtz Tissue Tape
           Tim Holtz Small Talk Occasions Stickers
           Mini Cubist stencil
           Simon Says Stamp Moonshine Sequins

 For my peeps at T Stands For Tuesday:

 My typical morning at the PC checking out blogs with my usual mug of Peets coffee. I have been using this particular mug for the most part ever since losing my Annie as this looks just like she did.

 It was an active week last week for sure!  Many of you are aware of the Nor'easter that came crashing into the Northeast US late Monday night thru Tuesday. Well, this is what it looked like here in PA:

  It was a blizzard with very grey skies, howling winds, snow and sleet. We ended up with almost 14 inches of very heavy snow! And the further north one lives it was much worse. My poor forsythia bushes which were just beginning to bloom with their pretty yellow flowers are all brown now :(. I hope this is it now!

 Wednesday was my birthday and although it began with an upper respiratory infection (the coughing is the worst) I was showered with lovely flowers, cards, phone calls and good wishes:

                                                     The handmade cards:
A fun shaker card from LuAnn,     a gorgeous Poppy card and envie from Patty,

and a beautiful watercolor card and completely decorated envie from Betsy!

  It so brightened my day. Blessed to have such good friends in my life. Thank you all!



I have an art journal page to share:

 I am loving using my newly acquired Dina Wakely face stamps! Other products: Tim Holtz stencil-Clocks; Distress Tea Dye ink; Jet Black Archival ink; arrow stamp (Dyan Reavely-Dylusions); various bits of papers, napkin and ephemera from my stash along with the printed fabric trim. Linking to Art Journal Journey (theme is Out and About) hosted this month by Yvonne of Meggys Way ,  Moo Mania and More with the theme of "time", and of course Paint Party Friday!

 Thanks for hanging in there with these longer than usual posts, and I SO appreciate the comments too! Will be around to visit throughout the week, and I will have one final post next Monday as Guest Designer for the Simon Monday Challenge. I think you'll like my project(s)  :)

 " Every production of an artist should be the expression of an adventure of his soul".
                                                               W. Somerset Maugham