DABBING AWAY

Once again I put my Adirondack Acrylic Paint Dabbers to work. I dabbed away with Celery, Sunshine Yellow and Pearl and put a simply stated Happy Birthday on the front.

I used Sail Boat Blue and Pearl for the background.  I also took a paint brush and went over the bird with the same colors.  For the branch I used one of my Stampin' Up markers.

 Once I got started dabbing away, I got carried away.  I wanted to try different colors and mixtures and styles.  I first stamped away with the presents stamp from one of my Stampin' Up sets.  I then went over the stamp images with the dabbers.  I decided to highlight the one image in Turquoises Stickles.

This one I used Celery and Red Pepper on the background and then dabbed the Red Pepper over my "Celebrate You" stamp also from Stampin' Up.  I put a dot of Black Diamond Stickles in the center of each of the Celebrate You image.

 Once again I took a paint brush and went over the bird with Pool and Pearl.  I outlined the bird in in Patina.  I filled in the white area with Crystal Ice Ice Stickles.

 This one I used Sail Boat Blue, Sunshine Yellow and Pearl.  I dabbed with different colors each of the birthday hats and went over the hats with Stickles as well as going over parts of the card again to give it more sparkle.

I briefly went over the card with my Pool and Pearl Dabbers.  I got the bird to peak out a little and went over the head of the bird with Stickles just to sparkle him up.

Circus Girl

I have seen these "pin up" girl images around on different blogs and projects, but didn't know where I could get a hold of them and, to be honest, not too sure what I would do if I had them to use. Then one day, I came across Paper Imagery Designs http://www.paperimagerydesigns.com/ and, HELLO, I found many wonderful pictures to choose from. So I got this delightful collection http://www.paperimagerydesigns.com/item/Pin-Up-ATCs-760-628. My package came with all of our mail that was collecting at the post office since we were on vacation (see below posting).

I was settling down with the family to watch a movie with inks in hand and trying to decide what to make when the mail just came walking in and with it was my package from Paper Imagery Designs. The pictures are bright, colorful and beautiful. I set out to cut one of the pictures out so I could make a card.

So I attached it to another paper and contemplated what to do next. And then it came to me. Something that I did a week or so ago. I mixed drops from Re-inker bottle of Tattered Rose Distress Ink with my new favorite from Ranger Ink, Acrylic Metallic Pearl Dabber Paint, and painted it across the background paper and image. I guess I was tired that night because I couldn't think what more I wanted to do with it plus it needed to dry so I put it down and picked it up the next day. From there I wanted to play with some more of my Distressed Inks and the metallic dabber so I made a couple of background cards with these products.

I then decided that the corners needed a little something so I pulled out my scallop corner punch from Creative Memories and punched away. The picture is quite beautiful on its own but I just wanted to add a dab of something so I added Crystal Stickles to her crown and Cotton Candy Stickles to her outfit. Now she sparkled too! I then remembered the beads that I had gotten awhile ago. They are pretty pinks and purples and wasn't sure at the time how I would use them but since these are colors that I tend to move towards, I knew they would be used, eventually. I tend to hold on to my things but really wanted to dress this up. So then I decided as I looked at it that it would make a great gift tag or small bookmarker. I then added thread from the Bastille company. I still wanted to add some more beads and then remembered my collection of beads that I rarely use and went to work stringing beads.

Hm, now for the next part. As I mentioned above, the night before I was playing with some Distressed Inks and the dabber. I had this pretty pink/peachy looking background which I thought would be perfect with the tag so I put the tag in the middle of it and was trying to figure out what to do next. I then noticed the small butterflies and it came to me to add butterflies from the Stampin' Up die cut that I got a few months ago. I took some other paper that had already been played with and rolled it through the Cuttlebug and punched out the butterflies. I also wanted to this to be versatile. You can either keep the tag with the rest of the card or pull it out so I made a pocket for the tag. I stained a smaller strip of paper, scored it a few times, stamped with a butterfly image and attached it. I wanted a pop of color so I took a blue shimmer paper and ran that with the butterfly die cut through the Cuttlebug. I liked it but it just seemed too much of a contrast with my pink/peach color card. I then decided to paint another card with pink and metallic pearl and once it was dried, I ran that through the Cuttlebug. I added a little Fruit Punch Stickles to highlight the butterfly. I placed this on top of the blue butterfly so that a little of the blue could be seen. It is like two butterflies in flight together.

Now for the final layer which is the actual card itself. Once again I added Spun Sugar Pink and Wild Honey around the edges. I wanted to give it a touch of Distressed Stickles and chose Tattered Rose because it gives it the slightest touch of pink stain with some matting. All in all it is a perfect combination.

3 Dimensional Flowers

Did you ever start a project with one thing in mind but by the time you finished it, it was something completely different? Well, this was my flower project. I was planning on making this into a card. I was wondering how exactly it could be mailed with the flowers being 3 dimensional, but figured I would think of it as I progressed. I started out with the flower on the top. I used some colors that I haven't used until recently, Spiced Marmalade and Wild Honey and also another color that I don't use very often, Fired Brick. I then used one of my Mini Misters that I have been using here and there the past month. I then painted the tip of the top flower with Spiced Marmalade Cracked Paint.

Then I went through a pink phase (I have been having a lot of pink days lately) and painted a flower with another Cracked paint -- Tattered Rose. I colored another flower with a new Distressed Ink - Victorian Velvet and probably another favorite as I've been using it a lot lately. I also colored another flower with another new Distressed Ink color - Spun Sugar. I then painted the outside of the flowers with Pearl Dabber and Tattered Rose Re-inker and finally once again sprayed the flower with Berry Twist, Tattered Rose Re-inker drops and water combination in Mini Mister.

With the 3rd 3-dimensional flower, I tried Shabby Shutters, Broken China and Tumbled Glass. I covered the Shabby Shutters flower with matching Distressed Stickles. I painted these three flowers with Pearl Dabber paint and Broken China Re-inker drop mix. I also sprayed with Green Patina Perfect Pearls, Broken China re-inker and water combination in the Mini Misters.

I wanted to try out the Vintage Photo Embossing Powder so today I played with that too. I first inked up a larger open rose with Spiced Marmalade and covered the paper with the embossing powder, tapped off excess and dried with heating tool. I then used a smaller rose stamp in Distressed Embossing Ink and once again put the Vintage Photo Embossing Powder on the paper and repeated process.

Now, as I said, I can't use this as a card b/c the flowers will be crushed so I think I'll be off to find an appropriate frame for my Masterpiece (LOL).

Dabbers and Adirondack Alcohol Ink

Friday was like Christmas for me. My latest Ranger Ink order came so I spent Friday night playing with some products that I have been eyeing up for a while. I ordered Tim Holtz Textured Fades Emboss Folders - Damask/Regal Flourishes. It is a two-set embossing folder package. The example on the left is of the Damask Embossing Folder. I used a Pearl Dabber and a Sail Boat Blue Dabber on top of the embossing paper. Both of these are also new for me. I have been wanting to order them for a while but kept pushing it off. I then got some very positive feedback about the dabbers from my fellow on-line blogger, http://cards4ubylouise.blogspot.com/. I heavily dabbed on the outer edge of the larger centered card and then once again dabbed first using the Pearl Dabber. I then stamped my message and floral image. Before I dabbed again with the blue dabber I colored in using my alcohol inks. It made a very interesting effect. (To see a larger image of the card, double click on image and then you can click on the back arrow to come back to this post.)

I colored in the flowers and stems using Adirondack Alcohol Inks and Tim Holtz Refillable Pen. To add ink to the pen you need to use a tweezers and on the larger end pull at the base of the nib. However, do not pull on the nib itself but on the base. Once it is out take the tip of the alcohol ink and add in ink for about 3 - 5 seconds and then put nib back (you'll want to use the tweezers again). You need to then go to the smaller side and this time with the tweezers pull the nib out and once again add the ink for 3 - 5 seconds. Lay the pen down and wait for 5 minutes and then the nibs should no longer be white and you can start using the pen.

The priorities for Linda's Cozy Craft Corner is Customer Service and Great Prices. Please contact me regarding bundling a package together for you for even better prices. For the products above and more, please check out my Etsy store (www.lindascozycraftcorne.etsy.com).

Are you interested in a Tim Holtz or Ranger Ink product? If I have not shown it on my blog or have not listed on my Etsy store, please feel free to enquire to Lindascozycraftcorner@yahoo.com. Even if I don't currently have the item available, I might be able to order that item for you. If I can't obtain that item for you, I will try and direct you to another company that has that product. For example, perhaps there is a color or embossing powder that I do not currently have in stock. I have access to many different colos and would be happy to order a color that you need. Please feel free to contact me for Grungeboard products and Ideology products that I can make available. However, if I receive enough orders, I will be very happy to order it or add it to the next order that I place.