Given to Whimsy

I could go on and on about what attracts me to RubberMoon's stamps. 

I could tell you how awed I am by the quality of the product, the variety, the artistry, etc. 

But if I had to sum it up in one word? 

That word would be whimsical.

I love RubberMoon's stamps because they are whimsical. 

Which means they play right into my flights of fancy 

and my inability to take art seriously.

So, when I saw the catfish and the "Holy catfish!" sentiment stamps,

I had to have them. Had to.

For this card, I began with one of my favorite background techniques.

This one is so easy and so much fun!


Begin by smooshing (that's a technical term, right?) various ink pads 

on a non-stick craft sheet.

Spritz the inked sheet with water and swirl the colors around.


You can use an old chopstick for this, 

but I like to get messy, so I just use my finger.

Then just gently place a piece of glossy paper on to it.

Lift it up, and ta-dah!

The bonus is that there's usually enough left over smooshy stuff

on the mat to do another background, 

and it'll be completely different from the first.

Next, I stamped the catfish in green on the background.

I wanted to make the head and tail different from the body, 

so I stamped that in brown on a separate piece of paper.

I cut the head and tail of the brown catfish and set it aside.

I added some glitter to the green catfish's fins and

 colored in the eyes and whiskers on the brown catfish head.

The background seemed a little bare to me, 

so I sponged on some blue ink to give it a little more oomph 

(another technical term).

I added some fishy friends for my catfish 

using a Stencil Girl stencil, a sponge and brown ink.

After that, I added some seaweed using RubberMoon's Large Fern stamp

as well as the "Holy Catfish!" sentiment.

The only thing left to do was to assemble the piece.

I used some double stick spacing tape for the brown catfish head and tail 

to make them stand out from the page a little bit.

I glued the piece to some matching green cardstock,

then glued that to my card base.

Now I can send it on its way and fill a friend's day with whimsy!


For more of a glimpse into my whimsical world, please stop by my blog at:
In the Studio With Barb


Happy New Year!

One Stamp, Three Designs by Barb Black

Hello, fellow crafty people!I have a lot of rubber stamps. I mean... a LOT! Usually my designs include multiple stamps. But every now and then I like to challenge myself.


So, when I received this very cool Tall Tree stamp in my last RubberMoon order, I decided to play and only let myself use that one stamp for three different designs.

This first design was inspired while I was sipping coffee and watching the cottonwood leaves flying from the trees.



For the background, I used a sponge dipped in various colors of ink pads and simply swiped it across the cardstock. I sprayed the sponge with Tsukineko's Ink Potion No. 9 and swiped over it again.



I stamped the tree using my Brilliance Pearlescent Chocolate ink pad. I sketched in the leaf pile and falling leaves using Derwent's Inktense watercolor pencils.

For the second card, I went Halloween, because... hello? Candy!


I began with a piece of medium blue cardstock. I used the lid from an old plastic container to mask out the moon. Then, using dark blue and dark purple ink, I sponged in the background.



Once I had the color to where I wanted it, I used my Distress Ink paint daubers in white and silver to fill in the moon.



I stamped the tree three times using StazOn Jet Black ink. I used a white jell pen to roughly sketch the outlines of the trees where the light would shine.

My third design plays entirely to my love of winter. Yes. I'm one of those freaky snow lovers.



For this one I used a piece of medium blue cardstock (the same blue I began with in the second card, by the way). I stamped the tree using Brilliance Moonlight White. I also used some of the same ink on a sponge to make the snow on the ground.



I used a white gel pen to draw in the extra branches. And, to finish the piece, I dabbed Picket Fence Distress Stickles to mimic some gently falling snow.



I'll never give up my many, many stamps and I still love using as many as I can at one time, but it was fun to challenge myself.  I challenge you to do the same. Pick one stamp and do three completely different things with it.



Happy Crafting!

BOHEMIAN ART APRON

  

     

                             It all started with a little grey skirt.

                            A skirt that had a lot of sentimental value.

        but so unassuming it was relegated to the closet wallflower  pile.

                                        always.

                                       until today...

                    today that little grey skirt finds her destiny...

                                                   

 see, this little skirt just happens to have a lovely little liner underneath...

                      and I just happen to have a pair of scissors

                        how convenient! (or tragic, depending on
                                 how you look at it) hee-hee
                                                                         

                                   no fear, just chop chop!!!

                 why yes, this is exactly how my bangs looked as a child...
                                    I still have the touch!

                                          carry on!

                            my favorite things!!!!

                            vintage papers!!!!

                           Rubbermoon spiral pod stamp!!!!

                           Tim Holtz Distress Ink from Ranger Inc!!!!
     
                            exclamation points!!!!



                                   **************************


               begin by random stamping on vintage paper...

                                   then

                create a 'reverse contrast' print

                          with white ink

                      stamped on dark paper

           I  just tore a page out of a magazine for this

    *(make sure ink is dry on glossier paper before copying)

  trim strips from stamped magazine page and place on vintage paper
                                           

                                                             

                                         


           add some fun little 'scatter marks' with a sharpie
           

                                                         
             arrange your stamped papers

             face down in your printer,

            put transfer paper in paper tray
               
           * I used 'Tailor' iron on sheets from Michaels

              then hit 'copy'!

                                       
                                 

             by the way  -  using 'reverse/mirror' feature on

             copier prevents words transferring backwards
                                                                                                                                                                                       
                                           
            Below are my printed copies...COOLIO!!!!!!

                                         

                                         

                                       
           now just put pattern face down on fabric, and iron!

                                               
             pull paper up and there you go!!!!!!
                                               

            * sometimes the pattern will just partially transfer

                                  no worries!!!!
                                                             
                                 it simply adds character

                                                     

       I made 3 transfer sheets, adding some of my own artwork

                                   to the mix


                   now it's time for 'cut & paste'!!!

                                         

         if you sew, feel free to stitch your little heart out.

                           I am much better with glue...

         I embellished  and bedazzled with buttons,

                   sparkly ribbons, and raggy strips,

                   
       including some cool mesh from Linnie Blooms!

                                                       

                                               
              and yes, my patches are also are pockets...

    and here ends the tale of how little gray wallflower skirt
                                         
            became the 'life of the party apron',
       
       and lived an artsy bohemian life happily ever after.


             xoxo

          *find fun stamps at rubbermoon.com

         * find more treasures at linnieblooms.com


follow me, lori sparkly franklin at sparkly-heart.blogspot.com
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