My Apologies To Everyone!

To all my Blogland friends......

I would like to apologize for not leaving comments on your blogs lately.  First off.. our shop is so busy right now that I dont have much spare time..maybe only a few minutes here and there.  Secondly, I know I am not the only one!  It seems that quite a few of us are having problems posting!  The comment fields dont accept our IDs and even though the comment field will take you to the blog sign in page you will go back and forth until you are blue in the face and give up!
Hopefully this problem will be fixed in the near future.  I do, however, get to visit most blogs that post every day.  You just dont know I am there!
Have a wonderful Sunday!
Hugs,
Sheree

Greeting Card Challenge

Good Morning Everyone!

This is a card that I made up to participate in the sketch challenge over at The Outlawz.  I encourage everyone to join up and display your works of art here as well as on SplitCoast Stampers.  You will not only receive lovely feedback from the Outlawz Girls but, you can join a forum and build up your followers qutie easily!  There are challenges for each day of the week... Check it out!

Here is the recipe for this card that I threw together.  I find that creating Stampscape scenes are so much easier for me than colouring a stamp and then creating a layout that will enhance the image.

Stamps:         Majenta Stamps, Penny Black sentiment
Paper:           My Mind's Eye - Quite Contrary
Inks:              Stampin' Up!  and Versamark
Stickles:        Diamond
Doily:           Wilton - Michaels
Circle Punches
Pop dots
Jelly Roll Star pen - Pink

Challenges:
The Outlawz - Sketch number SC0525
Sew Many Challenges - Circles


Thanks for looking and have a wonderful weekend!

Stampscapes - Brayered Mist

Good morning Everyone!

First off I would like to send caring thoughts to my friends in the tornado ravaged area of the United States, to friends in Manitoba, Canada who are affected by terrible flooding, and to friends in the Slave Lake area where more than half the town burnt down.  My heart goes out to each and every one of you affected by these terrible 'acts of god.'

Last night I was playing with the brayer again as DH was watching the Stanley Cup semi-finals...yay..we won and now it's off to the Stanley Cup finals!

This is the scene I came up with and thought I'd try to add some foggy mist like I've seen in some scenes on the Stampscapes website.  It's not perfect but, not too bad for a first attempt either.  The misty effect was acheived by using a Colorbox stylus and Brilliance white ink.  At first I tried steaking it but wasn't getting much colour so then tried tapping it on using the main flat side and then the edges to define the top of the mist to a small degree.  Here is a closeup of the mist and highlights:

So... here's the recipe for this one!

Stamps used:

150E     Pine Row

146F     Crooked Path

302A    Gulls

Nature Sheet #1 - Two Firs

Sentiment:   Stampin' Up!

Paper:   Glossy white, Recollections solids

Ink:       Big and Juicy - Hydrangea, Archival black, Brilliance white

Punch:   Circle

Jellyroll Star pen - Platinum

Fiskars scissors

Pop dots

Bling

Thanks for looking and have a wonderful week!

Hugs,

Sheree

 



Stampscape - Brayer

Good Evening Friends!

I started this card last night but wasn't sure how to frame the scene so left it until today.  This layout should fit into the sketch challenge at The Outlawz!

Once again I've used my Speedball brayer and another Ranger Big and Juicy ink pad that I bought a while ago.  When I first tried this pad I was new to brayering and using deep colours so after my horrendous first try I put it away for a while.  This time I think I hit the nail on the head!

When brayering this scene I used three colours on the top half and then turned the paper around and used the same three on the lower half.  Everything was just toooo balanced so I cut off some of the top when I finished the scene.

To get the cabin at the right spot I used my clear block that has white lines on it as guides.  I lined up the water line to the white line and then was able to stamp right in the middle where the blues meet.  Just prior to stamping I wondered how embossing the images would turn out and voila!  Not too shabby!  So after stamping in black I used a very fine embossing powder in clear.  The trees and finally the geese were stamped and embossed as well.  Here's a closer look for you..

Lastly I used my Jellyroll Star pen in platinum to highlight the cabin windows, water and trees where the moonlight would hit.  This made them stand out a little bit more. 

Once everything was done I sprayed the scene with Krylon Acrylic crystal clear spray to keep the colours from fading.

Stamps used:

023A       Duck trio in flight  (I have to order a new one because my puppy chewed

               mine!)

147F       Lakeside cabin

196F       Pine tree

222F       Twisting pine

Paper:      Glossy white, Coresentials, Stampin' Up!

Ink:         Archival black, Ranger Big and Juicy Hydrangea

Ribbon:   Sheer black - WalMart

Punch:      Martha Stewart photo corner

Pen:         Jellyroll Star - Platinum

Pop dots

Challenges:

Gingersnap Creations - Scene Stamping

Note:  This card is approximately 5 1/2 X 8 1/2 inches

Thanks for looking!

Hugs,

Sheree

Stampscapes - Playing with 'New Stuff!'

I'm back home from another work day in Nanaimo.  Seeing as I've been such a good girl lately I thought that a few 'little' special treats were in order!  These are the secret special treats that are smuggled in when nobody's looking because.. I've probably gone over my nonexistant budget as it is!  These purchases will be blamed on Victoria at Crafty Capers!  All she has to do is post on her blog what's new in the store and I turn into someone on par with a heroine junkie!!  Ever have those days when you swear you're 'just going to look??!!'  I have them all the time.

So... Today I picked up another BIG and Juicy stamp pad in 'Soothing Sunset.'  It's gorgeeeeeous!  When I arrived home I put everyone's appetite on hold and ran into my little room and started brayering.  WooHoo!  Loved it!  Once I had that done I picked out a stamp that was wide enough for my paper and voila!  There you have it!  Simple and I think it looks pretty kewl.  There are no embellishments other than Stickles on this card.  The colours are so bright and strong that the patterned paper I had hoped to use made it look like the I-5 during a nuclear evacuation.  The top stamped image is popped up.  Here's a closeup so you can see where I put the Stickles...  They show up much better in person.  Actually the colours are all quite bright and really don't show as well as I had hoped due to my terrible photographic skills on automatic!

Stamps:    Stampscapes - 023A     Duck Trio in Flight

                                       295C     Lilly Grass

                                                    Country Stream - Nature Sheet #1

                                                    Sentiment - Scenic Sentiments Sheet #1

Ink:          Ranger Big and Juicy, Archival Black

Paper:      Recollections Soda Pop, Stampin' Up! yellow, Recollections Black

Stickles:   Lemonade

Pop Dots

            

Thanks for looking!  I'll try and get some more done up this weekend if the rain shows up like they are forecasting.  Second thought.. I should get back to work on the Arc!

Hugs,

Sheree