Mixed-Up Pumpkin!!

Happy Friday to you all!  I’ve been a good girl this week and haven’t typed too much or did much creating as my wrist has been killin’ me and I want it to get better ASAP.  But I am cleaning the house today LOL, its that time again KWIM and we are having folks over tomorrow. After school Alexa is having her nails done so they will be purty for dance tomorrow (mama is too cuz mine look like crud).  And tonight hubby & I have to work at the concession stand for half of the Homecoming football game….oh joy joy…NOT my most favorite thing to do.  In the past I have gotten stuck working the fryer, but now I use my BIG MOUTH to say no way Jose…icky nasty, greasy job…I’ll do other stuff that requires NO lifting as my wrist is not able to lift much currently w/o dropping stuff and dr’s orders right? LOL!  So big homecoming game tomorrow and then apparently a bunch of teens (boys) back at my house to watch “The Walking Dead”…ick I pass on that show, I’m not into zombie stuff-killing-bloody shows! (BUT I’m sooo loving that new show Nashville…omg…its really good) Then we will get mums & pumpkies Saturday morning while Riley’s at football pic to decorate the porch & patio for Homecoming pics…which will consist of me telling hubby where to lift & put them since I cannot hahahaha!  Then Alexa’s BFF Grace is coming over to get ready for dance…I will corral Riley and help him get ready as much as he lets me..I’m sure there will be whining & yelling involved no doubt.  Then pictures at 5 pm in backyard with Alexa, Alexa’s date Jhavi, Grace, Riley, and Riley’s friends and all the parents.  Then we will tromp across neighborhood to get group photos with the LARGE group that Alexa is going with to dinner.  Then we will escort Riley & his pals to the dance..aka our duties as the neighborhood chauffeur.  Alexa and her friends are going to a bonfire party at friends house till 1 am after dance, then a sleepover at our house.  Apparently the boys are wanting to go to Buffalo Wild Wing after the dance so we will be taking some of them (14 boys in total…omg…shoot me)…oh how fun…oh yeah I may have a glass(es) of wine after all of that hahahaha along with many Advil!  I will post some pics up on Facebook Saturday evening if you follow me there and want to see before I get them on my blog next week!  I shall survive...I shall survive...I shall survive....you hear me chanting LMBO!

Yesterday I went to my pal Marti’s house for some mixed-media fun!  We made the project below…which was easy and fun.  I’ve been wanting to get into more mixed-media and see how to use all the products that are out there.  We also went to a class at the Queen’s Ink in MD on Saturday for an all day class with Wendy Vecchi—fun but my wrist was killing me by the end of class. Love the book we made too!  Marti is fostering kittens for same rescue I used to…before I collected 5 cats of my own and hubby told me I had to quit…LOL!  So the cat below reminds me of my cat Windy that passed away a few years ago…she liked my lap…she would be here at my house right now if I didn’t think hubby would divorce me heehee! Isn’t she a beauty?  Awwww….and her name is Savannah…one of my fave cities!

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A Mixed-Up Pumpkin!!

My friend Marti Wills has a chaotic life not unlike myself…we are also very similar in many BAD ways hahahaha…we also get along well even though we are both very sarcastic, stubborn and Taureans LMBO! Marti is the ONLY friend I have near me that is into crafts and the craft world like myself…thank god! We’ve been pals for about 5 years now and been to many of CHAs together too, yes yes she is the one that gets up at 3 am when I’m just going to bed…that is where we REALLY differ LOL!  So like a nice friend Marti (aka Smurfette) had the canvas painted in orange & dry when I got there…ready for us to play with LOL!  Then we ripped Halloween/Fall papers and some music sheets for the background. <See Slideshow at bottom for steps> We put the paper on with Gel Medium on the back and front till we got the look we wanted.  Then we sponged both acrylic paint in cream and Luminarte Silks (I used Harvest Sol) over the dried paper to make it more muted.  The swirly scrolls were done with a stencil and then we used Liquitex Ceramic Stucco mixed with Perfect Pearl powders to create the color we wanted (mine was an orange & brown mixed in).

What’s next with me & Marti-o?  We are gonna create with our Art Journals with different techniques so look for those posts every now and again too!

Find bunches of great Mixed-Media products at SCACD HERE!

You could cut out a pumpkin with dies or your e-cutter, but I like to use oval dies to make mine, I like the patchwork quilt look!  I distressed and inked all the edges and then put it together with foam tape for a layered look!  I curled my leaves a bit after inking them and added Stickles for sparkle.  Then I finished up with a twine bow, button and fall tag (sentiment from PTI).  The green-leafy scrolls were done with a Marianne Designs die.

A closer look of the background…so fun and easy to do…something I may try with my card backgrounds as well.  And YES this trip to Marti’s cost me $$$…meaning now I want stuff so I had to order stuff so that cost me $$ LOL!  But its ok I’m gonna have fun with them or Marti will come bop me on my head…she’s small, but SCARY sometimes ahahahaha!

My project now takes center stage on my family room mantel next to my mirror for my fall decorating…I just love it!!

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

Memories That Last!!

Happy TGIFriday!  As I’m typing this I am just getting home from a Zac Brown Band concert which was excellent and of course we had a bunch of whack-a-doodles in front of us LOL…it never ceases to amaze me that there are a WHOLE ‘nother group of peeps out there weirder than me…hahahahaha!  So I’m pretty tired out and still recovering from my awesome Montreal trip (waving hi to all the lovely ladies up north).  My mom is here visiting so today we are to lunch and to shop for a dress for me for a wedding I have to go later this month of June.  We are supposed to have terrible weather here but I’m hoping the storms hold out till we get home…I’m not a fan of driving in thunderstorms/tornado type of weather KWIM.

So not a lot of chatter from me today….I will be back next week with Gina K releases and some stories (yep you KNOW I got travel stories LOL) from my trip to Montreal!  So check out today’s post and then I’ll see you back here on Monday!

NewsBitz:

-Remember all CMC Classroom classes are on SALE thru Aug 24th…including my Copic classes and the other instructors classes.  So if you want to take something register now while they are on sale…you can always save the class to start in fall if you’d like!

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New Memories!

Here at SCACD we've been "die"ing to mix things up! So, this month we have the launch of two awesome new Collections.  First is a fantastic new line of dies. Susana has collaborated on a collection of dies with a timeless, classic feel. Delicate and beautiful, the diecuts from these high quality wafer thin metal dies will be featured on your projects for years to come!

Second is a wonderful new direction for SCACD. Susana is following her heart with a new line of Mixed Media stamps. For those of you who are new to the concept, Mixed Media is a style that embraces creativity and experimentation. Let SCACD take you on a new creative adventure with the Blank Canvas Collection. From the beginner to the mixed media enthusiast, these stamps will have the creative juices well and truly flowing!

Each set in the collection comprises three looks, perfect for mixing it up with different techniques. Use the elements set to enhance the blank canvas silhouettes, or use them on their own for gorgeous effects.  In addition there is a fabulous set of word outlines, ready to be customized however you like! Color them in, doodle, zentangle, paper piece - go wherever your creativity takes you.

Today the DT for Susana’s Custom Art & Card Design (SCACD) is showcasing a new line of stamps and dies for you!  The new line of stamps is called “Mixed Media Blank Canvas Collection” and there is a good mix of images to play with and add to all your paper projects whether they are mixed-media or not! Do you like mixed media?  Are you like me and you love to SEE mixed media but AFRAID to try it…LOL?  Yeah I was too but I always like a good challenge and I tend to jump in with both feet…why not right? I always say we ONLY work with paper, paints and colors…not like we are saving lives or curing life-threatening illnesses here.  Embrace the fear people, embrace it like me hahahahaha!  Make sure to hop along with the DT to see their take on these stamps and dies….sure to inspire you in many ways!

I decided to go with a mixed-media, collage, vintage memories frame.  I approached it like both a card and a scrapbook page…that made it a bit easier for me.  The main project is on a 6 x 6 pc of cardstock and then I went from there adding, subtracting and playing with some new projects.  I printed out a few pictures of my trip to Carmel and Monterey California that I went on with Alexa…changed the colors a bit and distressed them and then added them to the collage mix.  This frame will go in my bedroom by my bed! ;)

I used the new stamp “Solid Blank Canvas Woman” and stamped her in Versamark ink and then embossed with those fabulous Stampendous Frantage Embossing powders, micas and cystal chunks.  I had seen them at CHA in January and loved the look…so I bought the whole darn line (umm yeah I did lol)…but this is the first time I broke ‘em out and used them LOL.  Key tip:  Heat from the bottom of your paper so they don’t blow around and add chunks while embossing powder is puddling and still liquid so they stick.  The swirls are from a Magnolia die, the Memories is from my Silhouette Cameo and then I used a mix of Primas & Petaloo flowers (layered them).  The sparkly mists around the edges of the frame and on some of the swirls was done with Maya Mist in “Metallic Latte”.  The gadget clock stamped on the patterned paper and the sunrays/starbursts on the Tim Holtz tickets are from the same line of stamps at SCACD…see HERE.

The frame I got at AC Moore (40% off all frames now…go stock up…lol) and I loved that it had a vintage feel but also a metallic-copper like shimmer…goes fab with this project.  I took the glass out for pictures so it didn’t reflect but I may leave it off entirely..not sure.  I added a few large pearl buttons from Kaisercraft to the bottom.  The keys are Magnolia dies but Tim Holtz has some cool ones HERE.  Hope you liked this and maybe got you thinking outside the box a little too.

The second card uses those fabulous new Dies by SCACD…they cut beautifully and they are so intricate and delicate…really add to your projects!  I decided to create a more CAS (clean & simple) card to really showcase them.  I kept the color scheme to black, white and teal.   The black cs was embossed and the beautiful vase was cut out on teal cs and then I glued it over white cs and trimmed…in the holes I added some black Spica pen for more detail.  Those beautiful corner dies are to DIE for aren’t they?  I absolutely adore them and love the way they pop off the black cs!

That’s all for me today, hope you enjoyed my projects and your visit!

I’m the last on the blog hop so to keep on hopping if you have started with me…

go to Danni’s Blog Here!