Celebrate

Merry Christmas!  It's Wednesday, and time for another Word Wednesday Challenge over at 365 Cards.  Our word this time is "Celebration."  I chose to work with the "Auld Lang Syne" plate of images from Artistic Outpost.  To add a bit of sparkle, the matting is gold metallic, the sparkly stars are by Tim Holtz, the dancer was dressed in Ranger Stickles and a final touch of gold embroidered stars on the ribbon.  I look forward to seeing what you come up with for your project!  I am also submitting my card to the December Referral Program at Artistic Outpost.  Hugs, Yvonne

Happy New Year!

Greetings!  It's time for another Word Wednesday Challenge over at 365 Cards.  Our word this week is "New."  I immediately knew that I wanted to make a card for the New Year.  Looking through my gorgeous "Gecko Galz" images, I found this beautiful and fun-filled image of two children and a snow man celebrating the new year.  I enlarged the image to better fit my 8x8 inch card, backed it with snowflake background paper and layered it with a doily to the card front.  The snowflakes are Tim Holtz Rub Ons.  The sentiment is from Artistic Outpost and was stamped with Midnight Blue StazOn Ink.  A simple vintage seam binding bow completes my card.  I look forward to seeing what you might come up with for your project.  Thanks so much for dropping by today!  Hugs, Yvonne

The Beauty of the Season

Greetings!  It is Wednesday and time for another Word Challenge over at 365 Cards.  Our word this week is "Feathered."  How will you interpret the challenge?  I chose to work with this gorgeous plate of images from Artistic Outpost called MidWinter.  Most of the images were stamped with Timber Brown StazOn Ink and the images were colored in with Fired Brick, Walnut Stain and Iced Spruce Distress Inks. I added Clear Rock Candy Distress Glitter for sparkle.  It can be seen a bit better in the closeup below.  

I look forward to seeing what you come up with for today's challenge.  I am also submitting today's card for the December Referral Program over at Artistic Outpost.  Thanks for stopping by! Hugs, Yvonne

Thanksgiving Blessings

Greetings Followers!  Today's post is for Word Wednesday over at 365 Cards.  Our word this week is "Thankful."  I was excited to be able to ink up this adorable pilgrim child by Lost Coast Design.  I stamped the focal image onto a manila tag, added some vines by Artistic Outpost along the bottom of the tag and distressed the entire tag with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  The digital image to the right of the focal image, the leaves at the top and the sentiment are all by Gecko Galz.  I stained a paper doily with Wild Honey Distress Stain and layered all the pieces over a white card blank that was distressed with Vintage Photo and Wild Honey Distress Stain.  A bit of spritz and flick technique and the corners were stamped with a complimentary stamp I received recently from Crafty Individuals. The pumpkin dye cuts were left over from an earlier project as was the seam binding bow that was colored with Distress Paint. A bit of brown burlap string and some buttons from my stash from my stash complete my card.  For those of you who celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow, Happy Thanksgiving.  It is nice to stop for a day and give thanks for all the blessings in our lives, to eat too much and spend time with family.  Hugs, Yvonne

Tie Down Your Business and Sail Away...

Greetings and a special thank you to my recent followers!  My card today is for the this week's "Word Wednesday" over at 365 Cards. Our word this week is "Tropical."  I am in full gear now for Thanksgiving and Christmas cards, so I needed to take a step back to give this one some thought.  And alas, my dear husband and I had planned to be living at the beach by now so all of my obvious "tropical" stamp images are far, far away, as are all of my fall and winter clothing, which is another story.  And so, in sorting through my present stash, I remembered this gorgeous plate of images I purchased recently from Non Sequitur. The white card background was blended with Tumbled Glass and Vintage Photo Distress Inks. The images were stamped with Jet Black StazOn Ink, water colored with Distress Markers and distressed with more Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  After doing the spritz and flick technique, I felt the background still needed something so I added some rays of sunshine, vintage style, using one of Tim Holtz's stencils.  It was not what I might have created if I had my "tropical" stash at hand, but I truly love the vintage feel that resulted.  I hope you will consider joining in our challenge.  Thanks so much for dropping by.  Yvonne

Howdy Cowgirl!

Greetings! It's another challenge for Word Wednesday over at 365 Cards.  Our Word this week is "Flag."  I immediately thought of this plate of stamps from Artistic Outpost, which includes flags.  The focal image was stamped twice, once with Red StazOn Ink and once with Black StazOn Ink.  The cowgirl was trimmed, water colored with Distress Ink and added to the the other image.  The edges were distressed with Vintage Photo Distress Ink and then matted with black paper and assembled over another panel of white card that was stamped repeatedly with a cow print, distressed and matted and added to the card base.  The word "Cowgirl" was created with chipboard letters by Alterations and were painted with Faded Jeans Crackle Paint. Embellishments by Alterations (tickets, paper string and a game piece) complete my card. I am also entering my card at the November Artistic Outpost Referral Program. Thanks for stopping by. Yvonne 

In a Land, Far, Far Away...

Greetings!  It's Wednesday and time for another Word Wednesday Challenge over at 365 Cards.  Our word this week is "Super."  My first thought was to make a card with Superman on it, but since all those types of items are safely packed away and down at the beach, I decided to go in another direction.  Instead, I thought of this huge, beautiful flower by Paper Artsy.  To further enhance the size of the flower, I selected a smaller image of a beautiful little girl trying to catch bubbles that is by Lost Coast Designs. The background was distressed with Iced Spruce and Black Soot Distress Ink. The sentiment along the bottom is a rub-on by 7 Gypsies.  I thought it appropriate as I was trying to give an illusion of a fantasy card!  I cannot wait to see what you come up with for your own card. Thanks for stopping by. Hugs, Yvonne

365 Cards Blog Hop!

Greetings!  There's a "Free For All:  Rock Your Sytle" blog hop going on over at 365 Cards!  Each Design Team Member was asked to create a card in a style that we enjoy, with a caveat, we are to work with a package of goodies that our leader, Pam, sent to us.  Now for me, my favorite style is retro/vintage.  I LOVE the days gone by.  One of my all time favorite designers that I began following soon after starting to blog is Lynne Montcrieff of Adorn.  I am so drawn to her pieces.  They are always vintage, done with great restraint and I love how she uses just littlest bit of fabric and/or lace or fibers to create her card.  She make her own dyes, recycles shower curtains, and much more. She inspires me!  For my card above, I created a card that reminded me of one of the cards that Lynne created for a recent Take Ten Publication. I layered orange fabric to a card base, tucked a scrap of a vellum bag by Fancy Pants behind it, stamped a great retro pickup truck by Paper Artsy onto scrap card stock, added faux stitching and added it to the card front.  A bit of washi tape by My Mind's Eye, a sprocket by Idea-olgy, and a baker's twine bow by American Crafts were added next.  A bit of vintage style fabric was added next along with several words by Artistic Outpost.  I had a lot of fun and hope you will pop on over to see what the rest of the Design Team have created for you. 

Audrey http://organisedmess.blogspot.com/
Carla http://paperpastorale.blogspot.com/
Letisha http://letishainc.blogspot.com.au/
Janice http://twin2u2designs.blogspot.com/
Jennifer http://glitterinmyhair.blogspot.com/
Michelle http://scraposition.blogspot.com/
Pam http://pamcards.blogspot.com/
Ruth http://witchyfingers.blogspot.co.uk/
Victoria http://vmellifuousmusings.blogspot.com/
Wendy http://scrappydayinparadise.blogspot.com/
Yvonne http://www.journeyintoartistry.blogspot.com/  (You are here)

Now it is your turn! Create a card to link up to 365 Cards choosing the style of one of the 365 Card Designers by November 4, 2013 for a chance to win a package of goodies similar to those we received for the Blog Hop. Good luck!

Hugs, Yvonne
  

Moon Glow

This post is for the Wednesday Challenge over at 365 Cards. Today, our challenge is to create a card with as many items as you can that begin with the letter "R."  I chose to create a card with autumnal images featuring this gorgeous image of a Raven by Red Lead as is the chipboard tree. The image was layered over an orange tag, which was distressed with Black Soot Distress Ink and stenciled with the new Shattered Stencil by Tim Holtz and a one by Red Lead.  The rustling leaves clip art is from Gecko Galz, as are the pumpkins and Autumn Harvest sentiment.  The various elements were layered over an 8 x 8 card that was distressed with Vintage Photo DI and Idea-ology Tissue Tape.  I apologize for the delay in posting today.  My PC developed a virus recently and had to be hospitalized.  All is well now!  Looking forward to seeing what you come up with for today's challenge!  Hugs, Yvonne

Tis Harvest Time

Greetings!  It is Wednesday and time for another Word Wednesday Card over at 365 Cards.  This week, our word is "Harvest." Our sponsor this week is DRS Designs.  The beautiful digis, the shock of wheat and the sentiment are by DRS Designs and were printed onto canvas paper, trimmed and water colored with Distress Ink.  The background was done with Distress Paints and the focal image is by Gecko Galz.  

I look forward to seeing what you come up with for your card. Thanks so much for stopping by.  Hugs, Yvonne

Sewing Mends the Soul

Greetings my ever faithful followers.  I truly value your continued support and visits my to blog.  This week over at 365 Cards, the theme is Vintage, and for Wednesday, we are ask to create a card with vintage goodness that includes fabric in some way.  I had all sorts of thoughts about stamping on white or ivory fabric, but realized when I sat down to craft that all of my fabric is packed away and stored at the beach!  And so I moved on to Plan B! Back in the 80s, my former mother-in-law gave me a package of fabric squares suited to quilting.  I decided to work with a piece of blue gingham and stamped this new to me, adorable vintage little girl's dress with Black StazOn Ink.  The dress and all of the background stamps and sentiments are from Red Lead.  This was my first opportunity to ink them up and I must say they have fast become favorites of mine.  A hint of color was added to several of the buttons using Gelatos and my finger to blend.  I found the background to show through the fabric of the dress so I backed the dress with white card and trimmed it close to the fabric before adding it to the card front.  The entire base was distressed with Old Paper and Tumbled Glass Distress Inks.  I grunged up the dress with Old Paper as well as it seemed to bright white next to the background.  A bit of spritz and flick followed.  A seam binding bow, safety pin and some buttons came next.  The panel was matted with black paper and layered to an 8x8 card base. I look forward to seeing what you dream up for your own project. Thanks for stopping by.  Yvonne

Beatlemania

Greetings dear friends!  It is Wednesday and time for a new Word Wednesday challenge over at 365 Cards.  This time, the challenge is to ask someone in your family, or a friend, to give you a word for you to create a card around.  I asked my husband for a word for my own creation and he said "Quote."  Well, I immediately knew I wanted to used a new sentiment from a plate of images called Chalkboard Wisdom by Artistic Outpost with a line from a Beatles' Song.  I stamped several landmarks from London and a pigeon, also from Artistic Outpost, in the background and then added a clip art image, matted in red, by Gecko Galz. And there you have it, a simple creation, but my husband believes any one loving the Beatles would be delighted to receive my card.  Isn't he sweet?  Thanks so much for dropping by.  Best wishes, Yvonne 

Harvest Maiden

Greetings!  It's Wednesday and that means it is time for another Word Wednesday Challenge over at 365 Cards! Our word this week is "Swirls."  I am traveling and was a bit limited as I left my swirl stamps back home.  Then I remembered these chipboard swirls in storage and immediately, my card came together.  The beautiful focal image is by Gecko Galz.  The stamped images on the card base are by Finnabair.  The base, focal image and doily were distressed with Vintage Photo Distress Ink and the swirls were colored with a Spun Sugar Distress Marker. A vintage seam binding bow complete my card.  Thanks for stopping by and I hope you will join in with a creation of your own.  Take care, Yvonne

Speed Limit: 65

Greetings!  Back with another post for Word Wednesday over at 365 Cards.  Our word this week is "Speedy."  I immediately thought of this plate by Artistic Outpost.  I love this young lady in her classy coat, scarf, hat and sun glasses and the sentiment is too rich.  The background is Dreamworks White Embossing Paste, dyed with Gathered Twigs and Ripe Persimmon Distress Paint and stenciled through a Tim Holtz Stencil.  Bakers Twine and Black Liquid Pearls complete my card.   I am also submitting my card to the September Referral Program at Artistic Outpost. I look forward to seeing what you come up with for your own card.  Take care!  Yvonne

Wild Cat

Hello! It's Wednesday and that means there is another Word Wednesday Challenge over at 365 Cards!  Our word this week is "Wild."  Now I had a bunch of different ideas for which direction to go in, but in the end, this gorgeous cat included on this collage stamp by Artistic Outpost won out.  The collage image was stamped with Timber Brown StazOn Ink on white card stock.  The focal image was water colored with Distress Markers. The entire panel was distressed with Vintage Photo Distress Ink and the edges were distressed with Distress Tool.  The image was matted on several shades of brown matting and layered over corrugated card board onto the card front.  Rub ons by 7 Gypsies and tissue tape by Idea-ology fill in the white backaground.  Paper string is also by Idea-ology, as is the clip at the top of the card, which is attached to a piece of frayed burlap and a vintage button.  What will you create for the challenge?  Thanks for stopping by!  Hugs, Yvonne

Oh So Pretty!

Greetings!  It's Wednesday and time for another Word Wednesday Challenge over at 365 Cards.  This time, our challenge is to use the word "Pretty" to create our card.  As I looked around my art studio, and went through some clip art images, this ethereal image by Gecko Galz of a beautiful woman holding and studying a bird caught my eye. The ephemera on either side of her, is also by GG.  Since I worked with an 8" x 8" card base in order to frame the paper doily, I wanted to fill in the background somewhat.  I decided to use a Dylusions Stencil and Dreamworks Embossing Paste (yes, the jar is probably a decade old).  I poured a small amount of Spun Sugar Distress Paint onto my craft mat and smooshed the embossing paste into it with palette knife to colorize it.  After it dried, I applied some Gesso to the embossed diamonds to tone down the pink a bit.  A length of pink lace along the bottom, some complimentary pink dyed seam binding, a metal embellishment, buttons softened with Gesso, (all compliments of one generous Linda Coughlin at The Funkie Junkie Boutique) a feather, some cheese cloth and some liquid pearls complete my card.  Looking forward to seeing what you come up with for your "Pretty" card.  My thanks to so many of you who wished me a Happy Birthday.  There is still time to sign up for my Birthday Blog Candy - see the sticky post at the top of my blog! Cheers, Yvonne

Winter Wonderland

Greetings! It is Wednesday, and that means another Word Wednesday Challenge over at 365 Cards!  This week, our word is "Cool."  I immediately turned my thoughts to winter and this gorgeous set by Artistic Outpost.  In addition to creating a winter scene, I also wanted to keep a rather cool color palette.  My new Distress Glitters arrived while I was at the beach so I decided there was no time like the present to jump in and give them a try.  I must admit that I think I need to go back and review the videos again on using this new product as my glitter has yet to dry, but I love the vintage glittery look.  I simply applied Embossing Ink to the card front and added Distress Glitter.  In retrospect, I think I need to stamp onto cardstock, trim, add Gel Medium, and then add the Glitter. The children were stamped on the card stock, trimmed and distressed with Vintage Photo Distress Ink and adhered to the card front. A simple seam binding bow and an Idea-ology clip with a scrap of ribbon and cheese cloth complete my card.  I will also be submitting this card to the August Referral Program over at Artistic Outpost. Thanks for dropping by.  Hugs, Yvonne

Adventure Is Worthwhile in Itself

Greetings! It's time for another Word Wednesday Challenge over at 365 Cards! Our word this week is "Adventure."  As soon as I saw the word, I immediately thought of several stamp plates over at Artistic Outpost:  Charles and Amelia and Industrial Backgrounds. The focal square was created with Bundled Sage, Rusty Hinge and Chipped Sapphire Distress Paint.  The various images were stamped onto card stock and water colored with Distress Markers.  The card base was also stamped  and the edges were distressed with Distress Inks.  Water was spritzed onto the card base for a bit of relief. Some Idea-ology gears, copper Liquid Pearls and paper string complete my card.  What will you create to define the word "Adventure?"  I also plan to submit my card to the August Referral Program over at Artistic Outpost.  Thanks for dropping by.  Best wishes, Yvonne

Hip Hip Hooray!

Greetings! It's Wednesday and time for another Word Wednesday over at 365 Cards.  This week, our word is Confetti! How will you interpret your project?  Looking through my clip art images, I came across this one from Gecko Galz.  I envisioned confetti coming out of the musician's horn and off I went!  Still working my way through the Tim Holtz Stencils, this time with the Stars Stencil.  I used Wendy Vecchi Gold Embossing Paste on the stencil.  The sentiment stamps are by AMuse Stamps.  Vintage seam binding completes my card.  I cannot wait to see your take on the challenge!  Take care, Yvonne

A Little Time for Tea

Greetings! It is Wednesday, and that means it is time for another Word Wednesday Challenge at 365 Cards.  This week, our word is "Time."  I decided to use this beautiful collage stamp by Crafty Individuals.  Working with a white card base, I chose to paint the background with Spun Sugar Distress Paint for a touch of color.  A doily was layered next, followed by my collage image, which was water colored with Distress Markers.  The embellishments were complimentary items sent to me by Linda Coughlin at The Funkie Junkie Boutique, when I made a purchase.  She is indeed generous.  I look forward to seeing what you create for this week's challenge! Thanks for stopping by.  Best, Yvonne