Getting all Krafty with the Gingersnappers

And now... our Zen moment du jour.
~ Om ~
~ Om ~
Zzzzzz....
(I never could meditate without falling asleep.)

Anyway, our new challenge this week at Gingersnap Creations is to use the color Kraft in our artwork. Who doesn't love this serene, earthy, goes-with-EVERYTHING color? No matter what your other shades of choice are, you can bet that kraft will look fabulous with them.

This was one of those rare projects that didn't take me all day to do. The flower stamp is from the Hero Arts Watercolor Petals set, one of my favorite releases so far this year. In fact, their entire Artists Proofs series is really cool (which does not bode well for my credit card balance). I used Brilliance Inks in Pearlescent Poppy and Pearlescent Ivy, so in real life the flower has a little shimmer.

I smudged some Old Paper Distress Ink around the flower, and stamped the "be here now" with tiny magnetic alphabet stamps. The little ladybug is a pewter charm colored with Copic markers. I used my crappy, wonky corner rounder on this panel, and on the 7 Gypsies red paper behind it. The corners looks lousy, as you can see. Next payday, I'm getting myself a Corner Chomper.

When I bought my townhouse last summer, I decided to put grasscloth on one wall in my living room. Consequently, I have a big stack of grasscloth samples that we unearthed while organizing a closet last week. (Don't you love when you find random stuff you can use in your projects?!) There's a scrap of that here, and I just ratted up the edges a little with a Paper Distresser and some Walnut Stain ink.

To finish it up, I wrapped some... what is this stuff? Ribbon?... around the bottom, mounted everything onto layers of red paper, and added a Tim Holtz metal corner to the top. Simple, low stress... zen!

Okay, it's your turn! Wow us with your, um, krafty craft (sorry...), and post it at Gingersnap Creations!

Hugs,
Linda

Drunken Stampers Get Caffeinated!

I love coffee.

I've loved it since junior high, in fact, when my precocious (and insane) best friend poured me a cup one morning after a sleepover and insisted that 14-year-olds were more than mature enough to imbibe in this particular adult beverage. I'm sure my love-at-first-sip experience had a lot to do with the half can of sweetened condensed milk the insane girl had added to my cup, but that no longer matters. Coffee is my friend, and it is dear to me. It's the dark, mysterious, sweet-talking stranger that lures me out of dreamland and into my work day. Okay, yeah, it makes me talk really fast and stuff like that, but still... I'm in love. Let's not kill my buzz.

So, you can imagine my unmitigated glee when Peggy and Spike sent out the alert that this week's challenge at Drunken Stampers was to create something with a coffee theme! Holy cow, could it be more up my alley? The biggest challenge here was simply making sure I didn't meander toward the cute end of the spectrum again, because Coffee Is Serious Business. There would be no latté-swilling teddy bears or Starbucks cups with The Little Mermaid in place of their split-tailed siren. However, a quick review of my stamp collection didn't bode well...

I had the coffee bean Rollograph wheel, so the background was taken care of. But the main image? Zilch. And for once, I actually knew what I wanted to do! I cruised all the familiar digi stamp sites, but couldn't find anything that was quite right. So, I finally just made my own, using an old Turkish proverb* and a Photoshop sketch.

And here he is, my very first little Digi Stamp. Awww! Let's call him "Diego del Zumbido" (which more or less means "Diego of the Buzz," but I think more closely translates to "Zoom Diego" which totally fits, yes?)

I also had some little coffee bean earrings that I never wear, so I dismantled those and gave them a quick once-over with the Copic E29 for a bit of metallic bling.

So, yes, I enjoyed the heck out of this particular challenge! Can ya tell? I hope you'll join us Drunken Stampers at the ol' Irish Coffee bar and make your own caffeinated masterpiece! Even if you don't actually drink the Magical Elixir of Life, you can still play along. ♥ And the deets are:

• Papers: White Strathmore Windpower Bristol Paper to stamp and print on; Core'dinations Black Magic Whammy (sanded to reveal the purple core) and some random handmade beige stuff from the mystery bin.
• Stamps: Rollagraph "Espresso" stamp wheel; my own Digi Stamp.
• Embellishments: Kitchen twine, coffee bean earring pieces, Graphite Perfect FX doused in Coffee Shop Glimmer Mist (adhered with copious amounts of Sepia Accents).
• Inks: Adirondack Espresso, Latté and Raisin, applied with an Ink Blending Tool. The Rollagraphed background was stamped with brown pigment and embossed with black powder. Copic E29 marker was used to color the pewter coffee bean embellishments.

Hugs, Linda

*That Turkish proverb about coffee? I first saw it in the awesomely fun book Espresso Shot, which is part of the awesomely fun Coffeehouse Mystery Series by Cleo Coyle. If you like coffee, cozy mysteries, or just a great summer read, check 'em out!

P.S. Drunken Stampers now has a (non-blinking) blinkie!!! We'd be thrilled if you'd post it on your sidebar and link back to our challenge blog. Get the lowdown by clicking the (non-blinking) blinkie below!

Gingersnap Creations, Botanicals and the Feline Mystique

You knew it was going to happen eventually, didn't you? Actually, it's kind of shocking that it took this long. That's right: My three cats have finally slinked their way into my art. 

In my defense, I couldn't help it. The new Gingersnap Creations Random Redhead Challenge this week is "Botanicals," and around my house, three out of five inhabitants agree that Catnip is, in fact, the BEST botanical in the entire world. And so, today, we celebrate Nepeta cataria, the mind-bending, mood-altering, rolling-on-the-carpet-with-glee herb of choice for discriminating furballs. 

Here come the details:

• Background: Broken China Distress Ink swirled onto white Cardstock for the sky; Meadow Adirondack Ink Pad and Marker used to make the grass. 
• Grey Kitty, Bowie and Stella were photographed individually about seven zilllion times to get these three similar poses. After a refreshing nap, I applied various Photoshop illustration filters to the images to make them less "photograph-y." 
• The Fence, Vine, Bird and Leaves were all cut with the Silhouette SD. 
• The little flowers are real. I pressed them ages ago and have had them stored in my flower press for, like, six years. Who knew?!
• The Tim Holtz Alterations Hanging Sign Die was used for the CATNIP plaque. The "iron" piece was coated in Vintage Ink DI and embossed with a combo of Vintage Ink and Tea Dye Distress Powders, then finished with Rusty Hinge DI. The sign was cut from thin wood laminate and hand painted. 

So, what kind of botanical brilliance do you have to share? We want to know! Whatever it may be, link that baby up at Gingersnap Creations. It's just the right thing to do. 

Hugs,

Linda

Drunken Stampers in the Kitchen

At the Drunken Stampers Challenge Blog this week, we're invading our kitchens in search of stuff to use in our artwork. This was not easy for me, as I'm not a "kitchen person." The kitchen is where I make my coffee and feed my cats. Sometimes I stand in front of the open refrigerator and eat Nutella straight from the jar. Otherwise, I try to spend as little time in there as possible.

So, when Drunken Stamper Peggy sent the challenge criteria, I totally blanked out. I wandered around that appliance-filled room and tried to envision what I might be able to create from its contents. Spatula Art? Unwieldy! Dry pasta glued to construction paper? Been there, done that. I even thought about crushing miscellaneous doodads in the BlendTec, like the "Will It Blend?" guy, but I couldn't find my goggles.  I was failing as a Design Team member. It hurt.

Then, I noticed the roll of wax paper. I've had it for like five years and never really known what to do with it. "Eureka! I bet a wadded-up sheet of wax paper would be swell for applying pigment ink to paper!" I said to myself. And... it was! I went to town with four colors of Adirondack, splotching and smushing  like a woman possessed, and in the process learned that if you ball up the wax paper just so, you can kind of make the resulting print look like roses. Try it— it's WAY fun!

Once I had the background, the rest of the card came together easily. The digital stamp is from The Greeting Farm. She's sweet. A little too sweet, in fact. I had to sass her up with a phrase I hear often, courtesy of my boss, Ken. You see, when Ken arrives at work in the morning and you ask him how he is, there's a good chance his answer will be, "Why, I feel as fresh as a pre-moistened towelette!"

It would be a crime to not use those words in this card, don't you think?

I'll probably give my boss this card for his birthday. He'll be mortified.

Okay, now, everyone run to your kitchen and find your inspiration there! Then, link it up at the Drunken Stampers Challenge Blog so we can all bask in your brilliance. And, if anyone does take the "Will It Blend?" challenge, let me know. I admire that kind of ingenuity.

Hugs,
Linda

The Deets:

• Background: Adirondack Pigment Inks in Red Pepper, Terra Cotta, Watermelon and Peach Bellini, applied with wax paper onto Strathmore Windpower white Bristol paper.
• Girly-Girl: The Greeting Farm "Freaky Flutter" digital stamp, colored with Copics. 
• Red Flowers: Wax paper colored with Adirondack Red Pepper ink, cut with Tim Holtz Alterations Tattered Florals dies. 
• Leaf Garlands: Brown paper bag cut with Tim Holtz Alterations Regal Crest dies, colored with Copics. 
• Banners were made by scanning a die cut from the same Regal Crest set, adding text and re-sizing in Photoshop, and printing onto white paper. They were colored with Adirondack Rust dye ink. 
• "Pre-moistened Towelette" phrase courtesy of my boss, Ken, who's attempting to copyright it was we speak.

Found: Objects!

This week at the Gingersnap Creations there's a brand new Spicy Supply Challenge, and it's something everyone can enjoy: Found Objects!

"Onion Lady" stamp from the Character Constructions Bird and Bee Collection #3; colored with Copics. Larger lamp post from Tim Holtz, smaller one from Inkadinkado, both stamped with Black Tuxedo Memento Ink. Cobblestone path made with Copic YR07 and the Colorless Blender (see technique here). Grass and background drawn and colored with chalk. Metal Posts are Tim Holtz Memo Pins. Earrings from my box of mate-less and broken jewelry in the dresser drawer. 


Now, I don't know about you, but I find stuff all the time! Almost (but not quite) as often as I lose stuff. What I rarely find, however, is "The Other Earring." You know what I'm talking about. We all have that box of mate-less earrings in a drawer somewhere. We don't dare get rid of them, because the moment we do, the missing pieces will magically return to us. It's as predictable as the sunrise. So, the mate-less earrings rattle around in their box in the drawer next to the pantyhose for ten or twenty years.

(Where exactly does that Other Earring go, anyway? My theory is, there's a small rip in the space-time continuum, and occasionally The Other Earring gets sucked through it. Same thing happens to The Other Sock, by the way. Again... just a theory.)

Anyway, when the call came for Found Object Art, I rejoiced like the cats when they hear a can opening. At last! A way to put some of those little pieces to good use. I tried to be judicious and not load the card up with too many metal doodads. Believe me, I could've made this thing four feet square and still been able to cover it with broken jewelry parts!

Obviously, "found objects" is a category with a lot of room for creative license and interpretation, and you've gotta check out what the other Design Team members did with this challenge. I'm incredibly lucky to be working with these folks! And, I'm going to feel even luckier when I get to see what you create! So, go forth and find something! Then, make some art with it and post it at Gingersnap Creations!

Hugs,
Linda

You Rock!

I've been the very lucky— and very grateful— winner of several blog contests over the past few weeks, and it's high time I gave a shout out to the nice people who so generously sent me cool stuff!


So, Christine at Change of Heart Creations, Sherry at GOT ART!, Stephanie and the Gang at Simon Says Stamps, and Susan from 365 Cat Ladies, this is for you:

Greeting Farm Digital Stamps CC Drummer, Chibi Rock Out and Chibi Punk Boy, all colored with Copics. Tim Holtz Retro Grunge designer paper. Random unknown alphabet stamps with Tuxedo Black Memento Ink. Bazzill Basics cardstock. Wonky hand-drawn cartoon skull by Linda, who can't draw. 

Christine of Change of Heart Creations, a wonderful artist from right here in Boise (who I hope to meet "for real" very soon) did a random drawing from among the comments on her blog last week, and I scored big when my number was drawn! She sent me a $10 gift certificate to The Greeting Farm, which I immediately used to purchase the three little rockin' digital stamps in card above. I've never played with Greeting Farm products before, but that was all it took: I'm hooked now! Christine, you're the bomb! Thank you, sweetie!


Next up is the sweet and soulful Sherry from GOT ART!, who hosted an Earth Wind and Fire trivia contest a few weeks back. Okay, I absolutely love EWF, and was (eventually) able to figure out the answers to all the clues she posted. It was so much fun, I'm going to do something similar in the near future! Sherry has a spectacular ETSY shop, and she allowed me to choose $25 worth of merchandise as my prize. Great music and shopping?! Yeah, baby! I'll allow the girls to show off the goodies I chose. Thank you, Sherry! You're as awesome as the music on your blog!

Stella loves the vintage Frozen Charlotte doll almost as much as I do!

Gray Kitty models the fabulous Alice and Flamingo piece that Sherry created!

Here's a better view.

The friendly and fabulous folks at Simon Says Stamp are always doing cool, random giveaways on their blog, and I lucked out when I won some rad Dear Lizzy FLAIR, which I've been using in cards and projects ever since. Thanks to Steph and the whole SSS gang! I love these!

And, finally, a huge hug and big purr to the amazing Susan Faye at 365 Cat Ladies, from whom I won this darling, lavender-filled Tabby Cat and Kitten Sachet! It's so beautifully made, and such a sweet homage to our feline buddies! I've since ordered a couple of Susan's new Kitty Corsages, and they're the cutest things ever. Check out her ETSY shop if you're a cat lover. You'll be enchanted. 

Bowie isn't too sure about the scent of lavender, but he thinks the sachet is awfully cute!

I wake up every day feeling so fortunate that I have a bunch of wonderful friends out in blog land, and prizes or not, I want you all to know how much you mean to me. My life is richer and so much more fun because of you, and this community has got to be the BEST community in the world. So... thank you, one and all!

Hugs,

Linda

Drunken Stampers vs. Magazines

Hello. My name is Linda and I'm a magazine junkie.

I've had this "issue" for as long as I can remember. Oh sure, it started innocently enough... a Tiger Beat with Andy Gibb on the cover here, a Seventeen with acne camouflage tips there. It reached DEFCON 5 when I worked for a magazine distribution company and came home with armloads of outdated periodicals every single week. All that info! All those photos! Even today, I gravitate toward the magazine rack in every store I visit (okay, not so much "gravitate" as "glom on to"). Scott humors me, but deep down, I know he thinks I'm crazy.

This week, however, I feel vindicated in my obsession hobby, because our Drunken Stampers Challenge is to use a magazine or newspaper clipping in your stamped art! Let's just say, I had a lot of options...

But, a lot of options does not a speedy project make. I re-did this card so many times I lost count! In the end (as in "I need to send this off to Peggy and Spike five minutes ago"), I settled on a clipping from Natural Home magazine of the dining room I someday want to own, with stamped and Copic-ed images from Stampotique (the happy homeowner is "Eric," and his companion is "Kitty") cut out and arranged into the scene. I think it looks like a friendly place, kind of like Tim Burton crashed an episode of Trading Spaces.

The background was fun and quick. It's blocks of Bundled Sage and Tattered Rose Distress Ink, stamped onto white cardstock with a foam Ranger Blender. The "distressing" is from Tim's Bitty Grunge collection, and it's stamped all around the border with Forest Moss DI.  The entire panel was attached to a brown card with eyelets, and finally, the text was in-jettisoned and smudged with Tattered Rose before gluing it down.

So, 'fess up. You've got a stack of magazines hidden somewhere, too... yes? Or, maybe you have more self-control than I do and keep a single, pristine issue of Martha Stewart Living on your coffee table. Either way, it's time to have some periodical fun! Play along with the Drunken Stampers Challenge this week, and knock our socks off!

Hugs,
Linda

Gingersnap Creations Challenge: The Good Earth!

Okay, truth is, I've wanted to be an astronaut ever since I squinted up at the moon trying so hard to see Neil Armstrong one July night long ago. Tragically, my complete inability to comprehend even basic algebra shattered that dream, but I'm still a sucker for all things NASA. Yes, I'm a Space Girl.

Last year, I discovered a gorgeous "coffee table" book by Kevin W. Kelley called The Home Planet, which is filled with the most stunning photos of our lovely earth, interspersed with awesome quotes from those lucky guys and girls who've had the chance to see it from a perspective that few of us will ever enjoy. Reading it, I expected to be wowed by nebula and quasars and rings around Saturn. Instead, I found myself teary eyed— more than once!— with a new-found appreciation for this little green and blue world right here.

So, my contribution to the Gingersnap Creations Good Earth Challenge was created with that feeling in mind.

The Earth image and quote were ink-jetted (it's a verb now!) onto Strathmore Windpower Smooth Bristol Paper (which I've been using whenever I need a matte, white paper. It's fabulous, takes ink beautifully and is more environmentally friendly than most). These were attached to a spacey background made by swirling blue, purple and green Luna Lights paint onto glossy black cardstock.

The background card and quote panel were colored with a blend of Clover and Sailboat Blue Adirondack Inks. Nearly wore out my blending tool on this one! I used a Tim Holtz flourish stamp with more Clover ink on the base card. The leaves and vine are Silhouette die cuts, spritzed with a mix of green Perfect Pearls and water.

But enough of that. Since Earth Day 2010 is nearly upon us, let's all relax, grab a nice beverage, look at some cool photos and be happy that we have such a beautiful place to call home..."Where all the good stuff is."

Hugs,
Linda

"Suddenly, from behind the rim of the moon, in long, slow-motion moments of immense majesty, there emerges a sparkling blue and white jewel, a light, delicate sky-blue sphere laced with slowly swirling veils of white, rising gradually like a small pearl in a thick sea of black mystery. It takes more than a moment to fully realize this is Earth . . . home."

—Astronaut Edgar Mitchell, USA

  

 "Looking outward to the blackness of space, sprinkled with the glory of a universe of lights, I saw majesty - but no welcome. Below was a welcoming planet. There, contained in the thin, moving, incredibly fragile shell of the biosphere is everything that is dear to you, all the human drama and comedy. That's where life is; that's where all the good stuff is."

—Astronaut Loren Acton, USA

 "A Chinese tale tells of some men sent to harm a young girl who, upon seeing her beauty, become her protectors rather than her violators. That's how I felt seeing the Earth for the first time. I could not help but love and cherish her."

—Astronaut Taylor Wang, China/USA  

 

 

  

 

 

"During the eight days I spent in space, I realized that mankind needs height primarily to better know our long-suffering Earth, to see what cannot be seen close up. Not just to love her beauty, but also to ensure that we do not bring even the slightest harm to the natural world.".

—Astronaut Pham Tuan, Vietnam

 

 

 

 

"The Earth was small, light blue, and so touchingly alone, our home that must be defended like a holy relic.

—Cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov, USSR

 

 

"My view of our planet was a glimpse of divinity."

— Astronaut Edgar Mitchell, USA

Ginger... But No MaryAnne

I know, I know. I've mentioned it numerous times already. But, I'm really excited to be a new Design Team member at Gingersnap Creations! If you're not familar with the group, come over and check it out. It's all about LOW STRESS challenges, and friends, that's MY kind of challenge!

Shar and Ali, the Gingersnaps Founding Femmes, asked each of us new designers to create a copper, ginger or rust toned card as our inaugural piece (and, hey, there's actually a Copper, Ginger and Rust Challenge open to everyone right now, so dive on in!). This is my piece, a little homage to late summer, even as it's still flipping nasty and cold in the great Idaho outdoors.

The background is a whole lot'a Rusty Hinge and Wild Honey Distress Ink, with a bit of Vintage Photo, all swirled together on glossy white cardstock.

Then, the super cool Hero Arts Silhouette Burst stamp was added, using black StazOn ink. Once that dried, I stamped over the top, just slighly off center, with the same stamp using The Essential Glue Pad. I rubbed loose multicolored metallic leafing over the glue, and gently swept away the excess with a soft brush.

I stamped the little Tim Holtz butterfly with black StazOn, too. The smaller black dandelion in the foreground is a vinyl die cut from the mighty (and moody) Silhouette SD machine.

(The only way to photograph this so the foil really shows up was in direct sunlight., and it looks a little washed out.  But you get the idea.)

From there, I used a square of contrasting designer paper and cut it diagonally in half. I mounted the pieces onto a square of black cardstock and stuck the foil-festooned dandelion panel on top. The finishing touch was a couple of fancy corners from Mr. Holtz.

So, I'm all gingered up now, and I hope you'll join me and the rest of the friendly design team at Gingersnap Creations! We introduce a new challenge each Wednesday, and you have an entire month to submit your masterpiece. Like I said, low stress! Yeah, baby! Even better, your creation simply has to include some form of papercrafting, so there's a lot of room for interpretation.

And with that, I'm off to do some blog hopping! I hope you're all having a fabulous day!

Hugs,

Linda

Drunken Stampers Challenge: Make Your Own Designer Paper!

It's Saturday, which is my favorite day of the week for several excellent reasons, not the least of which is the fact that it's that magical day when the new Drunken Stampers Challenge gets posted. And what's this week's challenge? It's Create Your Own Designer Paper!

I've had a set of tiny "Moon Post" stamps for years, and have only used one or two of them at a time in any given project, and even that is a rare occurrence. So when the call came for homemade Designer Paper, I figured I could put the whole set to good use! Oh, how quick and easy! Of course, nothing is ever as quick OR easy as it seems during the conceptual stage, especially when we're talking about me.

At first, I methodically lined all the little stamps up on one big acrylic block, thinking I could just stamp the entire montage all at once, be done with it and go have ice cream. (All my readers are thinking, "Wow, Linda, really? Haven't you learned ANYTHING from your past attempts at taking the easy route?!") Turns out, the stamps aren't all the same thickness, so the thinner ones left big blank holes in the design. "Okay, fine, forget that shortcut," I muttered to the cats. "I'll just stamp them each individually."

This took me hours. I do no have an artist's eye for symmetry, and tend to twitch a lot when I'm trying to line... tiny... things... up... perfectly.... AAAIIEEEE!!! Eventually, however, I got it "close enough" to work, although a quick glance at the background reveals just how wonky some of the squares really are:

Incidentally, I stamped with Black Archival Ink and smudged alternating squares with Adirondack Lights in Peach Bellini and Cool Peri. Then I used a black marker to fill in the blanks between the squares.

The dapper moon and his hand are from the Character Constructions Theatre of Dreams set #1. I stamped them on pearly white cardstock with black StazOn. They were attached with pop dots.

And, the little silver heart was a gift from my friend, Missy. It was also pop-dotted onto the card. The teeny silver stars, however, were stuck down with Matte Accents. So, they're never coming off, ever.

You can see above that there are several layers of cardstock going on here. (Maybe I should change my blog name to "Studio L5: Linda Louise Ledbetter Loves Layers"...?) The purple right behind the "designer paper" is the same Cool Peri ink from earlier, applied directly to white Bristol paper. The swirly silver a couple of levels down is a piece of vellum, which I edged with a Krylon pen.

There. You've been mooned. ;-)

Okay, it's your turn! Join us over the the Drunken Stampers Challenge Blog and knock our socks off with your homemade Designer Paper! We can't wait to see what you come up with.

Cheers!

Linda