Queen Kat Designs Royal Wednesday Blog Hop

Today's challenge was to alter a frame. The team has made some fantastic projects for you! So if you started with me, please click your mouse on QKD blog to start at the very beginning of the blog hop. I wouldn't want you to miss a thing! If you came from awesome Anessa's blog, then you're on the right track and you know that she and I were thinking alike as we both did travel frames. And next up is Nina's blog. Here are the Queen Kat Designs stamps that I used for this project: Retro Trailer; Aged Compass; Owl and Stumpy; and Take A Journey Greetings Set
I used the basic untreated craft store frame, painted an undercoat with Making Memories Scrapbook Colors manila paint and then added Adirondack Lake Mist Acrylic Paint Dabber. I covered just the front of the frame with a map that was a 12x12" patterned paper from Creative Imaginations Art Warehouse. (Two tips: I decided to go with Sailor 2in1 Glue Marker because it has a wide felt sponge applicator and put the glue on the frame, not the paper; after positioning the map, I smoothed it out with a brayer.) Once the glue dries, I have a special long, narrow sanding tool (like a nail file) that I used to get the paper perfect with the edge of the wood. The colors in the map matched perfectly with the Prima Bark Map flowers. I layered the flowers with a button and some Tim Holtz Idea-ology hardware.
Here's the blog hop road map, should you need help navigating cyberspace! Be sure to welcome all of the wonderful, talented new designers! See you next week!
QKD blog
Shannon's blog
Jules' blog
Penny's blog
Tina's blog
Vicki's blog
Maria's blog
Kelly's blog
Kelly Jean's blog
WIS blog
Bev (SG's) blog
Victoria's blog
Lara's blog
Anessa's blog
YOU ARE HERE!
Nina's blog
Alex's blog
Meredith’s blog
Linda’s blog
Nancy’s blog
Anita’s blog
Queen Kat Designs’ Store

Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge Week #20

Here's my entry for this week's sketch challenge at Priscilla's Midnight Madness. I used Graphic 45 papers along with BoBunny Splendor Paisley red background paper and Sandylion alphas.

Hostess Gift Tag

I created this tag for my Design Team Saturday post on the official QKD blog. I used the two stamp sets that I was given to work with for the month of September. Keep reading if you're interested in my design process for this tag.
I started with a manila tag and a craft sheet. I swiped onto the craft sheet several colors of Tim Holtz for Ranger Distress Inks. You can see how I swiped them separately as if making a rainbow. Then I used a water mister to get the colors wet and blending together. I placed the tag on top of the wet ink and pressed down to blot and have the tag absorb the color. After the tag dried, I sprayed it with gold Adirondak Perfect Pearls mixed with water. Then after it dried again, I offset the tree from the QKD Apple Days set and stamped it onto the tag with black tuxedo Memento ink. I like the idea of the ink showing through the stamp, but I wanted the apples to "pop" so I first colored them with my gold glitter gel pen (which is a dark color) and then topped them with Scattered Straw Distress Stickles. I edged the tag with Adirondak Metallic Gold Acrylic Paint Dabber. (This is sooo much easier to use than a gold leaf pen.) I got out my QKD Give Thanks stamp set and used three of the stamps. I stamped the bird on the tag so that it looks like it's perched on the sentiment banner. Using another manila tag, I stamped the background banner with Antique Linen Ranger Distress Ink. I over stamped the Happy Thanksgiving sentiment in black. (Make sure your background ink is dry before overstamping to avoid bleeding.) Please note that this QKD stamp is solid and looks like torn paper. That's why I used the light ink for the background. After cutting it out, I distressed the banner with a shade darker Tea Dye Ranger Distress Ink. To add to the torn look, I further distressed the banner with my scissors. Instead of eyelets or brads, I used Tim Holtz Idea-ology Snaps along with some twine. (I placed two long, narrow strips of foam adhesive on the back of the banner in RR track fashion and laid the twine in-between them. That helped to balance everything so that the sentiment banner would lay flat on the tag.) Another pointer: color the top of your white foam adhesive so that it blends better with your project. Since the back of the tag has blotches of ink from my hands when I was sprtizing and working with the ink on the craft sheet, I matted it with black cardstock for a more finished look. Fibers, ribbons and leaves (with some Ranger Peeled Paint Distress Crackle Paint, Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink and Lettuce Acrylic Paint Dabber--I was going for a crackled autumn leaf look) complete the tag.

Queen Kat Designs Royal Wednesday Blog Hop

CRISP APPLE DAYS, COZY NIGHTS
This sentiment from the QKD Apple Days stamp set is perfect for today because yesterday we celebrated THE FIRST DAY OF FALL here where I live.



The QKD Design Team's challenge for today was to use an inspiration photo containing the colors orange, white and beige. The team has made some fantastic projects for you! So if you started with me, please click your mouse on QKD blog to start at the very beginning of the blog hop. I wouldn't want you to miss a thing! If you came from awesome Anessa's blog, then you're on the right track. And next up is Nina's blog. Both of them have posted amazing cards.
I was able to post this card for a sketch challenge after the Apple Days stamp set was officially revealed at the beginning of the month. I worked so hard coloring this tree with my Copics and Prismacolor pens that I wanted to take a second look. I blended green, yellow and two shades of red on the apples until I got them just the right shade to work for this orange challenge, wanting them to still look like apples not oranges! This time I used chalk for the sky. I took the guard off my corner rounder to make the scalloped edge. I cut out the butterfly that was on the Sassafras Life is Beautiful patterned paper and placed it on my card as a reminder that spring will return.
Here's the blog hop road map, should you need help navigating cyberspace! Be sure to welcome all of the wonderful, talented new designers! See you next week!
QKD blog
Shannon's blog
Jules' blog
Penny's blog
Tina's blog
Maria's blog
Kelly's blog
Kelly Jean's blog
WIS blog
Andrea's blog
Victoria's blog
Lara's blog
Anessa's blog
Helene's blog YOU ARE HERE!
Nina's blog
Alex's blog
Meredith's blog
Linda's blog
Nancy's blog
Anita's blog
Queen Kat Designs’ Store

Grunging with Wendy

On Saturday, September 19, I spent the morning with Wendy Vecchi at Prairie Art Stamps in Springfield, IL. Wendy brought her concept, Lovin' the Grunge, to the group, and we executed her idea using her Studio 490 stamps, lots of Ranger products and Maya Road metal flowers and mini alphas. Everything else was made with grunge paper, a very flexible material (just take a look at how the ticket, rose petals and butterflies bend and stay bent!). I learned how to bend the metal petals, use a snap for a flower center, and use clamps to hold the flower petals in place while the glue dries. I reinforced my masking and distressing skills and got to work with the brand new Rock Candy Stickles and Tim's filmstrip ribbon. I learned a great tip: mask off the butterfly and stamp just the antennae; then stamp on another surface the butterfly--cut out the butterfly and glue in place by the antennae. Brilliant! Here's a pic of Wendy and me. I'm holding my finished product as well as her book Make Art, Studio 490 Style, which she autographed for me. (Not only did she know me by name, she also spelled it right!!!! She is such a sweet lady!) Note my very inked-up fingers! Grunge is Good!

Here are a couple more pics of my project. I chose to stamp It's in the Details on my ticket to go with my own title, Altered Art. I may end up making this part of a grunge album for all of my workshop adventures.

MMSC19

Here's this week's Midnight Madness sketch challenge (#19). I used the Apple Days stamp from Queen Kat Designs. I didn't have an oval cutter large enough to provide the background for the stamp so I used my craft knife (a tool I haven't quite mastered) and an oval template. I swiped, across my craft mat, five different colors of Ranger Distress Ink, used my water mister to blend, and then dragged the oval though the ink. Once the oval dried, I misted it with gold Perfect Pearls. I used black tuxedo Memento ink to stamp the apple tree image. Then I got out my Adirondack Metallic gold Dabber acrylic paint and edged the oval as well as painted some copper German scrap. I finished by layering everything together with fiber, flowers, leaves, and ribbon. I took the photo out in the sun, hoping you can see all of the shimmer. This also is my Saturday post on the QKD blog.

Queen Kat Designs Royal Wednesday Blog Hop

You guessed it! If it's Wednesday, it's the QKD Royal Blog Hop! The QKD Design Team's challenge for today was to use the colors Olive, Yellow Bronze, Brown, and Cranberry. The team has made some fantastic projects for you! So if you started with me, please click your mouse on QKD blog to start at the very beginning of the blog hop. I wouldn't want you to miss a thing! If you came from awesome Anessa's blog, then you're on the right track. And next up is Nina's blog.
I used this month's QKD Give Thanks stamp release to make this card:


I used a K & Co Recycled brown card and matching envelope. I happened to have in my stash SU Old Olive and Cranberry Crisp cardstock as well as their matching ribbon and Old Olive ink. Instead of yellow bronze, I used beige to stamp the leaf pattern, the frame, and the Give Thanks sentiment--all from the QKD Give Thanks stamp set. I used a scrap of holiday paper from last season and a burgundy Zig Writer to color the berries. This was an easy design, but a lot of cutting and layering of paper. I used foam adhesive squares of various thicknesses to even out the layers. I think it ended up looking simple yet elegant. I used the birds from the same set to embellish the envelope.
Here's the blog hop road map, should you need help navigating cyberspace! Be sure to welcome all of the wonderful, talented new designers! See you next week!
QKD blog
Shannon's blog
Jules' blog
Penny's blog
Tina's blog
Maria's blog
Kelly's blog
Kelly Jean's blog
WIS blog
Andrea's blog
Victoria's blog
Lara's blog
Anessa's blog
Helene's blog YOU ARE HERE!
Nina's blog
Alex's blog
Meredith's blog
Linda's blog
Nancy's blog
Anita's blog
Queen Kat Designs’ Store

MMSC18

Here are two photos of my entry for this week's challenge sketch #18 for Midnight Madness at Priscilla's site. The first photo is more true to color but the second photo is lighter so you can see the rose better. As soon as I saw the sketch, I knew I wanted to do a Halloween card. However, I had trouble finding the right image. I finally settled on this vintage bat costume offered as a freebie from The Graphics Fairy. Thanks, Karen. I altered a scrapbook patterned paper by downsizing the spider web and covering the white web with a purple Glaze pen given to me by my friend Terri, owner of Prairie Art Stamps and Supplies, where I purchased the exquisite purple, green and black card stock. I put the green card stock in the D'vine Swirl embossing folder and ran it through the Cuttlebug. Fancy buttons and ribbon are from Walmart. I altered the image with Copics E00 Skin White, Y15 Cadmium Yellow and Y17 Golden Yellow as well as Prismacolors Muted Turquiose and Scarlet Lake. I altered a white fabric rose by spraying it with Maya Road purple mist and edging with black diamond Stickles. I touched up with Sugarberry Smooch. I found the Halloween sentiment in my stash and accented the dots with my black Glaze pen.

Friends in Art Meet in Springfield

On Saturday, September 12, I was very lucky to be in the company of my friend in art, Linda Cain. In the morning, we posed for this photo at Prairie Art Stamps in Springfield, IL. following the Graphic45 Collage workshop. Linda provided the altered art concept which the group executed in their typical individual and unique styles. We painted the frame and then distressed it with sandpaper. Since we each got to individualize our project, most of the morning was spent selecting our papers and embellies. You know, you can never have too much bling to choose from, and no embellie shall remain unturned! Here's a closer view of what I came up with:

The afternoon was spent intently working on our Graphic45 CoverAll Book. This journal uses the Graphic45 Transatlantique paper collection and is too perfect for the photos and travel memorabilia from my parent's wedding and honeymoon in England shortly after the close of World War II. I followed Linda's cover design, changing things up just a little bit. But I took liberties with the back and inside covers. I wanted the papers to reflect my parent's trip. Here's a photo of my cover:

More photos and thoughts from the day on Linda Cain's blog: (click on the title of her blog for a quick link to her site) Friends in Art

Another card for my SIs

I'm continuing my set of cards for my sis using the QKD Retro Trailer stamp. This is today's Saturday post on the official QKD blog:
Last Saturday I used aluminum to make an Airstream. Today I tried Tim Holtz idea-ology basics plain Grungeboard with Brilliance Starlite Silver ink. (It has a sheen to it that the camera didn't pick up.) I stamped the image with Memento tuxedo black ink but it turned out a darker silver instead of black--all the more looking like a silver Airstream. The background is made with the Cuttlebug Forest Branches embossing folder. I used the Spellbinders Nestabilities Label One diecuts with my computer generated sentiment, Hope you're out of the woods And on the road to a speedy recovery! Prima flowers complete the look. I hope you have time today to scrap a lot!

Queen Kat Designs Royal Wednesday Blog Hop

You guessed it! If it's Wednesday, it's the QKD Royal Blog Hop! The QKD Design Team's challenge for today was to use this sketch. The team has made some fantastic projects for you! So if you started with me, please click your mouse on QKD blog to start at the very beginning of the blog hop. I wouldn't want you to miss a thing! If you came from Anessa's blog where you saw her awesome apples, then you're on the right track. And next up is Nina's blog. Both the layout made from the sketch and her altered bag are a must see!
I used this month's QKD Apple Days stamp release to make this card:

This was a real test of my ability to use my Copics and Prismas to color the apple tree and background. I used the striped paper and red patterned paper from the Bo Bunny fall paper pac found in the QKD store. There are only 2 packs left. So you better hurry and grab one! I also used Sassafras Vintage Yummy pleasantly puzzled paper and stamped on it Harvest Time, one of the sentiments from the QKD Apple Days set. I cut the framed cowboy from Sassafras wall of fame paper and added a Prima flower along with two Maya Road leaf pins.
Here's the blog hop road map, should you need help navigating cyberspace! Be sure to welcome all of the wonderful, talented new designers! See you next week!
QKD blog
Shannon's blog
Jules' blog
Penny's blog
Tina's blog
Vicki's blog
Maria's blog
Kelly's blog
Kelly Jean's blog
WIS blog
Bev (SG's) blog
Andrea's blog
Victoria's blog
Lara's blog
Anessa's blog
YOU ARE HERE!
Nina's blog
Alex's blog
Meredith’s blog
Linda’s blog
Nancy’s blog
Anita’s blog
Queen Kat Designs’ Store

MMSC#17

Here's my take on this week's Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge -MMSC #17. I used the Queen Kat Designs Apple Days stamp set and colored with my Copics and Prismas. I took the guard off my corner rounder to make the scalloped edge. I cut out the butterfly that was on the Sassafras Life is Beautiful patterned paper. I took artistic liberties with the sketch by turning it upside down and, rather than turn back the corners, I cut them.

On The Road Again

This is the first in a series of cards using this stamp that I'm making for my Sis and her hubby.
This card and the following description are my Saturday post on the official QKD website:
Labor Day weekend usually means squeezing in some end-of-summer fun. I hope you enjoy the weekend and find some time to scrap a lot. Lots of folks try to get in one last camping trip. Snowbirds are thinking about heading to Florida. I'm thinking about the Airstream my sister and her husband have, so I used Staz-On ink to stamp the QKD retro trailer onto a thin sheet of aluminum. I put some blue cardstock in the Swiss Dots embossing folder and ran it through the Cuttlebug . The Bo Bunny striped paper was perfect for the road. I made my own cloud, stamped it with a sentiment from the QKD Sayings Mini Stamp set, used a blue Prisma marker, and put it in the sky with foam squares. This card isn't my usual design style, but I'm lovin' how it turned out.

QKD Royal Blog Hop and September Designs

You guessed it! It's the first Wednesday of the month and time to reveal the September stamp sets at Queen Kat Designs. The team has made some fantastic projects for you! So if you started with me, please click your mouse on QKD blog to start at the very beginning of the blog hop. I wouldn't want you to miss a thing! If you came from awesome Anessa's blogs blog, then you're on the right track. Didn't she make a fantastic card with the new Two-Step Tree set?
This month I got to create with two stamp sets. Today I'm revealing Give Thanks. Next Wednesday, you'll see a card I made with Apple Days. I absolutely love both stamp sets!!! ADMIT ONE TO THE GAME OF LIFE! For this altered art project, I started with a black chipboard house that I made and then covered with patterned paper and embellished with an antique wood checker, old ticket, mini Framedangoe, silk leaf, black rhinestones, metal word life, and two of the stamps in the set. I stamped the bird in the most perfect spot. I repeated the leaf stamp to make a vine across the top of my house. So if you're not ready to start making Thanksgiving projects, you can use this Give Thanks set for lots of other projects. Next up is Nina's blog with 3 great projects using the new Prosperity Crane set! Here's the blog hop road map, should you need help navigating cyberspace! Be sure to welcome all of the wonderful, talented new designers! See you next week!
QKD blog
Shannon's blog
Jules' blog
Penny's blog
Tina's blog
Vicki's blog
Maria's blog
Kelly's blog
Kelly Jean's blog
WIS blog
Bev (SG's) blog
Andrea's blog
Victoria's blog
Lara's blog
Anessa's blog
YOU ARE HERE!
Nina's blog
Alex's blog
Meredith’s blog
Linda’s blog
Nancy’s blog
Anita’s blog
Queen Kat Designs’ Store