Well now . . .

it's amazing what one can accomplish when the Craft Room is clean and organized.

Here are a few projects that I've done this week . . . but first, I must say, photography is not my forte . . .never has been . . .probably never will be . . . so, if the pics are fuzzy . . . .I apologize. Really, I tried to photoshop them . . . to no avail.

Next . . . now that my craft room is so organized, I've found lots of new things to play with! (okay, so they aren't necessarily "new" . . .I just re-discovered them while putting stuff away)

For the first few cards . . . they're definitely my style . . .kinda whimiscal cute . . .quick and easy.
The Watermelon ribbon would be one of those re-discovered things. Had to use it, so here's the Great Impressions Monkey enjoying a nice slice of watermelon. Barely noticeable, but I did create a watermelon background using the Hero Arts ClearDesign "W" set. Sentiment is by Purple Onion (yes. . .I finally got around to cutting all the stamps from my Self-Addressed kits).

Loved this little Flower Cart from Gina K. . . . stamped it using VersaMagic Red Brick, colored with pencils. The cloud stencil and grass are from Rosie's Roadshow and the flower background and butterflies are from the Floral Design clear set by Memory Box. Sentiment is by Lockhart.For this card I used the Floral Design set again. These stamps are quite possibly the nicest clear stamps I've used. They hold ink very well (I used VersaColor and VersaMagic inks here) and they really give a crisp impression. Sentiment is from the Hero Arts "W" set . . . .what? it was still on my table. :D

Moving right along . . .I've attempted to find a Collage Artist in me . . but like photography, I just don't think it's my forte. But I tried . . .and maybe with some more practice, I'll end up with projects that sort of, might, hopefully one day look like those over at Vintage Papers. (she's right . . .gothic arch cards are addicting.)

Stamp is by Stamper's Anonymous . . . one from the Tim Holtz line. The music sheet paper, velvet ric rac and flower were in one of my SA kits and the cardstock is from My Mind's Eye.Yep . . .another Tim Holtz stamp. I colored with chalk (another re-discovery during the cleaning process). The arch is cut from My Mind's Eye cardstock. I stamped the postage cancellations using Brushed Corduroy distress ink . . .those stamps are from Purple Onion. Little bit of velvet ribbon, a flower and a button . . viola . . .call it a card.

Yet another Tim Holtz stamp . . .I really like his images . . . just never really know what to do with them. . . but I'm going to just keep working with them . . .

First, I cut out the arch and stamped the King using Versafine Vintage Sepia ink. The cardstock was orignally a cream color . . .but I decided to change it. Sooooo . .. I applied some Sunburst Radiant Rain, spritzed it with water and then added Butterscotch Color Wash. Wasn't too thrilled so I added a smidge of Terra Cotta Color Wash. . . .and sprizted more water to get the colors to move around and blend. The picture doesn't show it very well, but the Radiant Rain did add just enough shimmer.

When the piece dried, I noticed that the Vintage Sepia ink faded to a really cool color. I liked it, but thought it was too plain. . . .so I masked the King and stamped Scroll Tapestry from Penny Black in Butterscotch Adirondack ink. The card is Prism Cardstock . . .Papaya Puree Dark, I think . . . but I thought it needed a background so I stamped a Harlequin background using Butterscotch Adirondack ink and then edged the card with Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink.

The sentiment at the top is from PaperBag Studios. I stamped it on ivory stock and cut it apart. Edged each strip with Brushed Corduroy ink and tried to place it randomly. Remember, I'm trying to get out of the "symmetrical" habit. . . .very hard for me to do . . .

Okay . . . I also took the time to play with all of my Color Wash and Radiant Rain Daubers (which by the way you CAN apply them direct to a stamp!) and made a few tags . . . here they are:

Let's see . . .the Color Wash was Mushroom, Espresso, and Terra Cotta. . . not too sure I like it. I stamped the images (yes . . .more Tim Holtz) using Walnut Stain Distress ink . . . eh . . it's okay.

For this tag, I used Terra Cotta and Butterscotch Color Wash. The Harlequin was stamped using Hot Cinnamon Radiant Rain. The Script Background was stamped using Cranberry Adirondack ink and the flowers (or are those weeds??) were stamped using VersaFine Onyx Black.

I don't know . . . Lettuce and Butterscotch Color Wash, I think . . .by this time, I was spraying just about anything on my table . . .I love this stuff and the Radiant Rain, too! . . .Stamp is by PaperBag Studios . . .I used Vintage Sepia Versafine ink.

Yep . . .Lettuce Color Wash and Olive Vine Radiant Rain. I also spritzed the tag quite heavily with water to really blend the color wash and radiant rain. The Harlequin was stamped using Olive Vine Radiant Rain. I used Pesto Adirondack ink for the Script Background and the Winged Boy.

That's all . . .for now . . . I still have two days left of vacation and plan on stamp stamp stamping!

And I just realized how long this post is . . . yikes.