Created By Hand Challenge -- Buttons/Orange

I decided to do something different for this challenge by Created By Hands Challenge http://quietfire.ning.com/group/createdbyhandchallenge.  Instead of a card, I decided to make a decoration for my new craft room.  At the moment, it looks more like a storage room for crafts than a craft room.  Hm, maybe next month when the children go to school, I can finish organizing and decorating. 

I started this project with stamping in Distressed Ink Rusty Hinge the verse God is my Salvation; I will trust and not be afraid.  The Lord is my Shepherd and my song.  He has become my salvation.  Isaiah 12:2 (from Our Daily Bread Designs).  This was stamped onto Elegant Designs Oval Spellbinders/Nestabilities from Our Daily Bread Designs Exclusive Dies Collection.  I used Tea Dye Distressed Ink and sponged the color. I  went over the border in Tea Dye Distressed Stickles.  I also stamped the butterfly image with Distressed Ink Rusty Hinge and cut the butterfly out and stained in Spiced Marmalade and then brushed with Perfect Pearls - Copper. 

The out card was stained with Antique Mahogany and Walnut Stain.  I stamped the flower and stems image in Rusty Hinge and the stained in Tea Dye.  I took a white ribbon and dyed it in Sunset Orange alcohol ink.  I added a button and then decided it needed a little pop of color so I punched out the bird and stem and stained in Blue Jeans and the branch in Crushed Olive.  I brushed over the bird with Perfect Pearls Blue.

Thank you for looking.

Busy Times

Sometimes as one goes through the day-to-day stuff one forgets how blessed they are.  I don't know why.  It was not a significant birthday by any means, but it did reflect a number rolling over and this year I realized just how old I am starting to become.  I had a lot of well wishes on my birthday and I just want to send a great big thank you to my friends and family, especially since I've been very forgetful and haven't been good about remembering to send well wishes to others on their birthdays.

This was a very simple card.  I've been so wrapped into distressing and coloring my cards that I wanted to make a simple and colorful card so I pulled out some colored paper and added it to my white card stock and then stamped some flowers in Stampin' Ups Rich Razzleberry and then punched it out with a flower punch from Stampin' Up.  The scroll punch is also from Stampin' Up.  

 I haven't sent this card out yet.  I wanted to use one of my new stamps from Our Daily Bread and also I wanted to use the Spellbinders Nestabilities tool I got.  I colored in the middle with Distressed Ink Tattered Rose, The middle was punched out with a scroll puncher from Stampin' Up and distressed in Old Paper.  I love the ribbon that I got from Stampin' Up.  I colored the butterflies in a variety of Distressed Inks and punched them out using a Die Cut from Stampin' Up.  I gave them a sprinkle of Stickles.  The outside of the card was inked using Distressed Ink Tea Dye.

The verse is Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose.


I wish you a very blessed day.

Simpler Times

I knew when we went on vacation to Pinetop, Arizona, I would find a different stamp than I usually see. I love the details of this stamp, and the rural setting which reminds me of Pennsylvania. This would have made a perfect stamp for a Father's Day Card for my dad if he were still with us. This stamp just brings back memories of the simplicity of my childhood which is another reason that I liked it so much. Simple. It is hard these days to lead simple lives and it seems that we are hit every day with something new to think or be concerned about and sometimes we just need to take a step back, take a deep breath, and place our faith in our Heavenly Father.

With all of that said, let me tell you a little more about this stamp. We strived on our recent vacation to relax (and that doesn't come easy with 3 young children). However, the goal was to enjoy the resort with the indoor pool, racquetball court, basketball court, pool tables, and ping pong. On some down time I planned on working with my inks but b/c space was limited I tried, really tried to think about what I might need. Paper and inks and that is where I stopped. I didn't bring Stickles with me (unless a couple of bottles accidentally fell into my container - oops) . I didn't bring glitter because I honestly didn't want to deal with embossing and that also would have meant that I would have needed to bring my heating tool so it was really right down to the basic.

I first stamped the image and then with a paint brush I "painted" by dabbing the brush in blue color the sky line. I also did that with the green grass using Peeled Paint. The leaves on the tree were made using a Tim Holtz Refillable Pen and Adirondack Alcohol Inks. I was nervous about bringing my alcohol ink bottles with me b/c of the mess that could be made so I only brought my pens with ink in them. That, I must say worked out perfectly.

Worn Lipstick

I am trying to contact Jane who is the winner of my products. Jane, please email me so I can ship your goodies.





I got the floral stamp a few months ago, and it is one of my favorites b/c I love flowers. I stamped in Peeled Paint and then colored in the flowers using alcohol inks and Tim Holtz Alcohol Ink Fillable Pen.

First I brushed on the Worn Lipstick Ranger Ink (ink available http://www.lindascozycraftcorne.etsy.com/) and then I used a Mini Mister mixed with Re-ink Tattered Rose ink, Perfect Pearls, and water. I then stamped the flower image and filled in with color using alcohol inks (also available at my Etsy store). I then stamped Best Wishes on top of the flower stems and then I brushed on Perfect Pearl powder and then I brushed off the excess and that is how I got my shimmer embossed effect. To finish off the card I brushed the edges with Warn Lipstick, Black Soot (which I decided I didn't like on this particular card so I went over again with Walnut Stain and then again with Worn Lipstick). I wanted to add a little embellishments today so I pulled out my Satin ribbon from Stampin' Up and then a flower from the Pretties Kit (Stampin' Up), dyed the flower in Worn Lipstick and then for the center used a crystal brad. It is so pretty that if I have time I am going to make a few more cards today using this technique.


Tuesday was our 14th Wedding Anniversary. I am very blessed to have such a good husband. He took the day off and we saw Date Night which we both really enjoyed. I think it had items for both of us, romance, action, and humor. Anyway, this was my card for my husband this year. I used an ol' favorite Sassy Suzie. I actually used my Stampin' Up colored pencils and blender pens. I then highlighted her by sponging over in Tattered Rose. Now I have come to use and like a new tool. It is called Perfect Medium Pen. It is terrific b/c it gives me the liberty to write my own words. I wrote my message and then tapped Ancient Princess Gold and then used a heating tool to melt the gold.


Thank you for looking. Now off to run some errands.

Thinking of Christmas

It is a little early to think about Christmas. However, being a card maker, creator it is never too early. My goal has been to dedicate

at least one day a month to design and work on my family Christmas cards and also cards to sell. Well, it is May now and I keep needing to shift that goal. When I was thinking about using the different embossing powders, I thought of this stamp and wondered how it might come out using the powders. I decided to give a distressed look and so this is how I came up with the image.

First, as I mentioned in my previous blogs this week, I used an embossing cloth and rubbed the paper with it to take away any static electricity. I then stamped using Perfect Medium Ink. For this image I tried Ancient - Antique Gold Embossing Powder. I used a heating tool to melt the gold embossing powder. I knew from the beginning I didn't want a gold embossed Santa on striking white paper. However, I wasn't sure of the colors that I wanted to use. I decided to use Antique Linen Distress Ink and Crushed Olive Distressed Ink (NEW INK). For the border I used Walnut Stain and Fired Brick Distressed Ink. I then went over the color with Fired Brick Distressed Stickles and Aged Mahogany Distressed Stickles.

Next time - Ancient Gold - Princess Gold Embossing Powder. It is so delicate and pretty and elegant. I have found that it looks really pretty for embossing words.

New Fun

It has been a great couple of weeks for my family and my little on-line shop (www.lindascozycraftcorne.etsy.com). I had a sale on my Distressed Inks last week. That was a lot of fun as I got to "meet" new people through email and through Etsy. I got my first international business which was very exciting for me. My son got a basket in his basketball game. We celebrated my husband's birthday. I'll have to show you next time the football tickets I made up for him with the intent that he will go to a Dallas game this fall.

I received a request for the new 12 Ranger Ink Distressed inks a few weeks back so I gladly ordered those and since I need to order in bulk I opened some of the colors. One of the colors is Pumice Stone which I used on the center piece of the card. I then stamped a flower in black ink and filled in with Perfect Pearls Berry Twist. I used the Swiss Dots folder and Cuddlebug. I then stained the paper with Shabby Shutters Distressed Ink and stained over with Shabby Shutters Distressed Stickles. I have been using the Distressed Stickles a lot lately and first they slightly change the stain color and mellow them down which I love and on top give a beautiful matted finish to the cards.

I also used the Shabby Shutters Distressed Stickles on the Thank You part of the card. Thank you for my friend Patti who loaned to me forever ago a beautiful greetings stamp set and I really need to get creating so I can give them back to her. I love the lettering of this particular stamp set and haven't seen anything equivalent to it. I finished off my card using one of Mini Misters. I put a small amount of Perfect Pearls in the tube, added water, shook the Mini Mister bottle and then sprayed the card. It gives a dazzling shimmer to cards.

Liquid Pearls - A NEW LOVE

SALE! SALE! SALE! SALE! SALE! SALE! SALE! SALE! SALE! SALE! SALE! SALE!

I am posting this Monday, April 26, 2010 and for those of you that may be interested, I am having a MAJOR SALE on 24 colors from Ranger Ink Distressed Inks www.lindascozycraftcorne.etsy.com. The sale ENDS, Friday, April 30, 2010. Only 5 days left!




Last week I wrote about Ranger's Alcohol Inks used with Silver or Gold Metallic ink and they make really pretty images. Today is another example of the use of alcohol inks except that I have now added a floral image. I believe the Stamp is from Stampin' Up Friend 24-7 Set. I stamped with Stazon Ink. I then went over the image using liquid pearl in green for the stem and leaves and pink around the flowers. I then filled in the middle areas with my all time favorite, Stickles.

My First Card Class

A couple of weeks ago I designed 10 cards for four very fun ladies. Some cards were made using a lot Stampin' Up designer paper and one or two stamps. I added bits of colorful paper and accessories like ribbons and the cards were very pretty. For the first time I designed square cards too which I like very much b/c they really show off the beautiful paper.

This card was made using Ranger Ink Faded Blue Jeans Distressed Ink. I first stained the paper all over and then went over it again with Distressed Faded Blue Jean Stickles. It also will stain paper in addition to leave a matted look. In addition, I then inked up the de flouris and Happy Birthday stamps in the Faded Blue Jeans ink. I also used one of the new punchers from Stampin' Up to make the fancy corners and use a heart shape punch to complete the card. I really like this color blue and have been enjoying using it.

I was first introduced to Ranger Ink a couple of years ago with their Stickles product. I decided to use the Sassy Suzie stamp set which is always great for light humor and showing off her jewelry and Stickles. Lots of bling bling going on with this lady.

I then went in a little different direction and had the ladies try Distressed Inks. The Card stock paper was purple in color. I used a purple color ink and sponged the paper to give it more of a vintage look. I then inked up a stamp with the Distressed Color. We then used Walnut Stain around the edges. I stained white ribbon with the purple ink.

A new method of staining that I started was to take a Distressed Resist Ink Pad and ink up a stamp with it and stamp on paper and then take a sponge and sponge over the image with a combination of Mustard Seed and Tainted Rose Distress Inks. I added a little Cotton Candy Stickles to the cake for an extra little sparkle.