My First Challenge (s)!

So today we have a tag that I created for an online Blog Challenge, Simon Says Stamp and Show ... a Tag! and also their Anything Goes Challenge, Simon Says ,,,,,,, Anything Goes !! :-)  .  I have always wanted to submit an entry to one of these things, so I thought, why not?

First off, thanks to The Graphics Fairy at http://graphicsfairy.blogspot.com/ for the free graphic of the bunny. She has tons of free graphics you can use--check out her site!!

I printed the bunny on Stampin' Up! vanilla cardstock, then again on regular copy paper. I cut the bunny out from the copy paper and used that to mask the bunny on the cardstock. I was then free to color the tag with Distress Ink. Once I removed the mask, the bunny just popped off the paper, so I left him alone.

I then added a distressed piece of fence from Tim Holtz' On The Fence die, two tea roses made with Tim Holtz' Tattered Pincone die, some Tim Holtz baubles, a Prima Walnut Blossom branch, some SU chantilly lace ribbon, and the Happy Easter sentiment, which I printed out from the computer and aged with Distress ink.

What do you think?

Creative Chemistry Class Day 10... The End

Ahhh, the finale. There was a lot of discussion about the different types of Dimensional Mediums, but our homework was a tag created using Distress Stickles. Stickles are glues that have bits of colored mica flakes in them. They come in a lot of colors and they are fun! I always forget about using them!

Just one tag today... again you really can't see the sparkle of the result, but it looks like sparkly bit of glass or sugar in the the light. Very "sweet" effect.

I had a lot of fun with the class and met a lot of nice people. Tomorrow I will be posting a tag I made for the Simon Says Stamp Challenge "Show Me a Tag"--I am entering my first online Challenge--Whoo Hoo!

Creative Chemistry Class Day 9

While today's class utilizing Perfect Pearls was great, unfortunately you cannot exactly see the fruits of my labors, lol. The shiny aspects of the Perfect Pearls did not photograph well, except for the upper right hand corner of my first tag!

I have been working on lightening up my colors, and so I am very pleased with my results otherwise!!

Tomorrow is our final class --> Dimensional Mediums

Creative Chemistry Class Day 8

Here are my three efforts from today's class... I can't believe there are only two days left. Today's topic was Paint. We used a resist method on the 1st tag by stamping in white paint on canvas (love that stuff) and then applying Distress Stains. The paint resists the stain!

On the 2nd tag we used Tim's Crackle paints, then stained and stamped over that... another cool resist.

On the 3rd tag was used the clear Crackle paint, then stained over the top. The stain seeps in the cracks and creates an awesome "Stained Glass" effect! By far my favorite. See the closeup below.

Creative Chemistry Class Day 7

Oooh, ooh! I just loved today's class! It was on techniques for embossing, and I have to say... coolness!!  I have always loved embossing - just seeing that powder transform is like magic!

Today we learned a "batik" method where after you have embossed and colored and stamped, etc. (doing the resist technique for the stamping), you place a piece of absorbent paper over the embossing and iron it. The hot iron transfers the shiny embossed powder off of the surface and onto the absorbent paper. So cool!! I used that for the tag on the far right on the red butterfly. If you didn't emboss with a colored ink, as I did here with red, it would just show the color of the paper underneath! I will definitely be trying that in a Stampin' Up! workshop in the near future.

My middle tag was the rusted enamel technique, which I have tried before. I got a little crazy here (I have learned too much chemistry) and stained with Picket Fence distress stain, then dried it and flicked water on it. Not bad... kinda looks like verdigris?

My first tag was done using Distress Embossing powders--these powders have little release crystals that come off after embossing; they also have a sandpapery quality to them as well.

Can't wait for tomorrow--> Paints!!

Creative Chemistry Class Day 6

Well, unfortunately nothing to show today as today's class techniques involved using Tim Holtz's Distress Markers. They were released earlier this year and due to their overwhelming popularity, they are back-ordered in most places. I am still waiting for mine to come in :-(
So I will revisit this entry and post some pics once I get my markers. So until tomorrow...

Creative Chemistry Class Day 5

Well, it's the end of a week of learning technique. Tim Holtz is, in my humble opinion, a master of color--he can blend colors you never thought would possibly go together and they end up looking great! I am getting braver about trying different color combinations, too.

My first effort here didn't come out light enough, but I am pleased with the other two!!

Have a great weekend everyone, and back for more on Monday. I look forward to bringing some of these techniques to my Stampin' Up! business as well. Thanks again for all of the feedback as well, I really appreciate it :-)

Creative Chemistry Class Day 4

I am having so much fun "attending" this class. I am not much of an artist, so coloring is not my forte, but I am pleased with the results of these!!

Creative Chemistry Class Day 3

Wow--Day 3 of this class was absolutely amazing! Not only did we learn about the properties of different types of inks (i.e. water-based, pigment, archival, etc.), we got to play with them! Absolutely so much fun to practice with. Can't wait til tomorrow!
And thanks to everyone for your kind comments ;-)

Creative Chemistry Class - Day 2

I am attending Tim Holtz's online class called "Creative Chemistry 101." I am big Tim Holtz fan and this is my first online class... he is great. You watch the class videos on your pc, then you get to try the techniques at home. There is also a forum where you can post your submissions and ask questions that Tim will answer. Very cool!
Here are two tags I made trying out a technique called "Brushless Watercolor". You ink up your stamp with various colors, then spray water directly on the stamp, then stamp it onto watercolor paper. So easy and with awesome results!

Where In The World Is My Vagabond?

Sizzix is running a promotion for a free set of stickers and Gauge Keys if you submit a pic of your machine. Well who doesn't love free stuff!! My Vagabond is in Wingdale, NY--go METS!

Cards for a friend in the hospital

I have a good friend that's in the hospital and I made two cards for her. On this one I just love the bucket of tulips... colored with my Copic markers (don't get to pull those out often enough!)

And this one I know she'll love too as browns are her favorite colors and she loves flowers as well!

Starting Out...

I am new to the Blogging World, but I would like to share some of the cards and tags and bags and boxes that I make, so I am looking forward to posting some things. More to come!