Hark the Herald Angels!

 This is my last post for the year 2022.  I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday, and I send you all the best wishes for the coming New Year.  And in keeping with the holiday theme. I have a little card full of angels for you!

This was created for the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity using the Herald Angels stamp from Lost Coast Designs.  My background is a pink and orange gel print I had in my stash with a bit of stenciling added.  I stamped directly onto the print with black ink, and when dry, cut a neat border around the edges.  I layered this with a gold panel, white panel, and finally a pinkish-orange panel and added three sparkly gold stars for some glitter.  Simple but this is such a wonderful stamp that you don't need a lot of extras when using this one.

You still have until the end of the month to enter your seasonal projects for a last chance in 2022 to win some free stamps from Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda!

Wishing You A Gnome-y Christmas!

 Christmas is drawing near, and I have a holiday tag for the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity.  The December challenge is "Something Seasonal", and this tag was made using the Pompom Gnome stamp from Lost Coast Designs.  This is just one of a whole array of gnome stamps you can find at the Lost Coast website.  Some holiday, some others good for any occasion!

My background for this little tag is a collage I created using holiday themed papers and ephemera.  I cut out a section for my tag and edged it with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  I then stamped my gnome with black ink onto white card stock and fussy cut him out.  I colored his suit evergreen green and added a bit of color to his nose, beard, and shoes, all using Copic Sketch markers.  I then attached him to the front of my tag with dimensional tag.

Finally, I added some white glitter to his beard and the pompom on his hat and some Glossy Accents to his shoes.  I punched a hole in the upper left corner and tied a piece of evergreen ribbon through the hole.

I hope you are enjoying this run-up to the holidays.  We hope to see your holiday creations over on the Portal as we might be gifting you with some free stamps if you are the lucky monthly winner!!

Wintertime

 Welcome to the 1st of December from Laurie and a brand new challenge at the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity where we ask you to create "Something Seasonal".  So whatever the season means to you and how you would like to express that.  

Just be sure to include some rubber stamping in your projects for the chance to win some rubber stamps!

This little card features the Georges and Louis stamp from Lost Coast Designs.  I love this stamp!  It's one of my all time favorite LCD stamps.

I started by stamping onto white card stock with black ink and fussy cutting out the image.  I then restamped the image with blue ink and then again with brown ink.  From these I cut out the blue coat and hat and the brown dog.    I glued them atop the original stamping and added some color to George's face with Copic Sketch markers.  Using the same markers, I colored in his pants a light gray color.

My background is a gel print made with a a stencil and some blue and green Distress Oxide Spray inks.  I splattered this with some white Dyllusions spray ink and after that dried, spritzed the whole surface with Distress Mica Spray in Brushed Pewter.  I edged it with a silver pen and layered it with a white background.

We look forward to seeing the fun and seasonal projects that you make during the holiday month of December!!

Oriental Doll Tag

The challenge going on at the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity until the end of November is "Tags".  So lot's of room to be creative - just make your projects in the tag form. 

This tag uses the Oriental Doll stamp from Lost Coast Designs.  This was pretty simple but I love this stamp and finding different ways to add color to it.  I started by stamping my doll onto white card stock and cutting it out.  Using red and yellow Copic Sketch markers, I colored in the doll.  I then took a gold gel pen and added highlights to the doll's hair and her costume.  I think that the gold accents really kicked it up a notch.  I used the same markers to color in the checked border and added some gold rick rack to the top as my tag hanger.

We look forward to seeing your tag makes - challenge ends the end of November so hurry and get them posted!!

Owl-y Tag

 

What a fun "Tag"challenge they have going on right now over at the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity  I have made a cute owl-y tag featuring one of the cute little owls from the Katzelkraft Owl Set from Lost Coast Designs and the Keep Calm clear stamp from Carmen's Veranda.

I stamped my little lady owl with black ink onto white card stock and fussy cut her out.  She was colored with Copic Sketch markers.  The base for my card is a piece of tissue paper that was printed on my Gel pad using shades of pastel paints and some stencils.  I layered this over a piece of text and attached the two layers to my tag base.  The edges were dabbed with pink Oxide Distress Ink.

The owl was then attached with foam tape.  I stamped the sentiment with black ink onto a white scrap.  The corners were snipped off and the edges dabbed with the same pink Oxide Distress Ink.  I added some sparkle with a glitter gel pen and attached the sentiment above the owl as shown.  Final touch is a sparkly pink ribbon at the top.

We are looking forward to seeing your terrific tag makes.  Be sure to feature some rubber stamping on your tags for a chance to win some free stamps from Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda!

Spooktacular Florals: 3 Small Skulls

 Welcome to the1st day of November and the start of a brand new challenge at The Lost Coast Portal to Creativity:  Spooktacular Florals.  I have made a set of three tags for this one, using the 3 Small Skulls stamp set from Lost Coast Designs.

For my background, I used my Gel plate to print onto tissue paper using green and yellow acrylic paints and some stencils.  It was my first attempt at printing on tissue paper, and I love how these turned out.  I cut my tags out from plain white card stock then covered them with some vintage book pages.  I layered my printed tissue paper over this and trimmed up the edges and inked them with green marker.

I stamped the three skulls onto white paper with black ink and cut them out.  I colored all three with the same green, orange, and yellow Copic Sketch markers and added a few little touches of a white gel pen here and there.  These were then affixed to my tags as shown.  The final touch was to add some orange ribbon to the top of each tag.

So pretty simple but fun to do - especially if you like coloring!  Please join us for the new challenge - you might be the lucky winner of some free stamps from Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda!

The 31 Days of Halloween: Cats and Dogs

I have another fun Halloween card I made for the 31 Days of Halloween Challenge going on until the end of October at the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity.  This one features two of the dogs from the  Circus Dogs Set and the Bubbles background stamp, all from Lost Coast Designs.

I started this by stamping my Bubble background onto a piece of orange card stock with black ink.  I next stamped it onto a piece of green card stock and for a third time onto a piece of white card stock.  I cut the orange stamping into a rectangular shape, following the lines of the stamp itself, to make my card front.  I next cut sections of both the white stamped and green stamped papers and lined them up, attaching them atop the orange base.  I colored in some of the bubbles on the white section with orange and green markers and layered this with a piece of white card stock.

The dogs were stamped with black ink onto white card stock and fussy cut out.  I colored each with Copic Sketch markers and added witch-y hats to both.  From the same stamp set, I stamped the ball and  little step and colored them with orange and green markers respectively.  I adhered all to my card front with foam tape and scattered some silver stars here and there across my background.

So get busy and finish up your Halloween themed stamped projects, and be sure to enter by the end of the month for a chance to win some rubber stamps from Lost Coast Designs or Carmen's Veranda!

31 Days of Halloween: Day 20

 Here is a fun Halloween card featuring one of the cats from the Party Cat Set from Lost Coast Designs and the When Witches Go Riding clear stamp from Carmen's Veranda.  I made this as a project featured today on the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity where the 31 Days of Halloween Challenge is going on all month.

The background for this is a piece of decorative rice paper glued atop a piece of a vintage book page.  I find that using rice paper is much more effective if you layer it with something behind it as you can see it through the images on the rice paper.  The rice paper panel was edged with some black ink and affixed to a white card base.

The Party Cat was stamped with black ink onto white card stock and fussy cut out.  I colored him with Copic Sketch markers and cut off the hat he comes with and glued a witch's hat to the top of his head in it's place.  I added some black and white marker to accent his eyes then glued a little black mask over them.  He was then attached to the card front with foam tape.

The sentiment was stamped with black ink onto white card stock.  I reduced the size of it on my printer so it would better fit the size of my card.  After printing I edged it with black marker and attached it to the upper right corner.

Excited to see all your fun Halloween makes, so be sure to use some rubber stamps and enter then on the Portal for a chance to win some free stamps!

Day 13 of the 31 Days of Halloween

 Here we are on day 13 of the 31 Days of Halloween Challenge over on The Lost Coast Portal to Creativity  I have a Poe inspired card for today, featuring the Edgar Allen Poe stamp from Carmen's Veranda and the Spiderwebs background stamp from Lost Coast Designs.  The Nevermore stamp is a clear stamp  from Carmen's Veranda.

For my background, I sprayed a piece of white card stock with water then spritzed on some Tim Holtz Distress Mica Spray stains in Wicked Elixir and Decayed.  I spritzed on a bit more water and let the colors run and blend, then blotted with a tissue until I had the desired effect.  It's hard to tell from the photo but these spray stains have an iridescent effect that I really like.

Once this was dry, I stamped the Spiderweb background using black ink, then trimmed up the edges.  This was layered with some black then green paper.  

Edgar was stamped onto white paper with black ink and fussy cut out.  I added a bit of color to his face with Copic Sketch markers.  The Nevermore was stamped onto white paper with black ink and cut out.  I added some gray marker to the raven as well as some orange for his feet and bill and a little gray rhinestone for his eye.  

Edgar was attached to the card front with some foam tape and the Nevermore sentiment was attached directly below Edgar with foam tape as well.

We hope you are all playing along every day this month and making some spooky and scary Halloween projects.  A lucky winner will receive some free stamps from Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda!

Day 11 of the 31 Days of Halloween

 

I am sharing another project made for the 31 Days of Halloween Challenge going on all month over at the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity

This tag that I made for this 11th day uses the RIP stamp and one of the 3 Mini Birds from that set, all from Lost Coast Designs.

The background for my tag is a collage made of a variety of new and vintage papers layered with some Tim Holtz tissue paper.  I added a bit of color with some Distress Oxide Ink sprays, randomly applied here and there.

My RIP was stamped with dark green Distress Oxide ink onto a piece of coffee stained paper.  I tore around the edges and inked those with Distress Vintage Photo ink.  I attached my skeleton to the center of my tag as shown.  The mini bird was stamped with black ink onto coffee dyed paper and fussy cut out.  I attached him in the lower left corner.  Final step was to stitch around the edges of the tag with black thread and tie a piece of coffee dyed muslin to the top of the tag, adding a Tim Holtz Halloween charm.

Come join the fun!  Get out your Halloween craft supplies - including your rubber stamps - and post you projects here on the Portal for a chance to win some free stamps!!

Frankenstein!

 It's day 6 of the "31 Days of Halloween" on the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity.  Such a fun month around here and hope it is for you as well.

I've made a little ink box card for today's project.  If you are not familiar with ink box cards, they are 

3 X 3 inch squares with the corners rounded.  They are called ink box cards because they are the exact size and shape of a Tim Holtz ink pad.

The background is a piece of white card stock that I laid a stencil on then sponged with Distress inks in blues and green.  I added some splatters of colors, including some pink and black and edged the whole card with the green ink.  I did a zig zag stitch around 3 sides of the card with black thread.

The Frankenstein stamp is from Lost Coast Designs and was stamped onto white card stock with black ink and colored with Copic Sketch markers.  I added a clear plastic dome to his one eye and an old metal "sample approved" button to the upper left corner.  I used foam tape to adhere him to the card front.

Come join the fun here on the Portal all month with your Halloween projects!

31 Days of Halloween with Dracula

 

Oh how we love the month of October over at the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity!  It's Halloween all month, so we all get the chance to make some extra Halloween goodies that we hope will inspire you to play along with and enter your creations on the blog.

I'm introducing Day 1 of the 31 Days of Halloween Challenge.  And to kick this first day off, who better than Dracula himself to put us in the Halloween mood???  This dandy little  Lost Coast   Dracula is from Lost Coast Designs as is the background stamp I used here - Grunge Tree.  The tree stamp comes in two sizes, and for this I used the larger size.  The smaller one is perfect for an ATC.

The background for this was made with orange and yellow Distress inks that were spread onto my gel plate and then smoothed out and blended together with a brayer.  I pressed an impression plate with a circle pattern into the ink before I pulled a print, so you get the design in the ink.

The Grunge Tree background stamp was stamped with brown Distress ink and then trimmed around the edges with some deckle edged scissors.  This was then layered with a piece of white card stock.

Dracula was stamped with black ink onto white card stock and colored with Copic Sketch markers.   I added some gray rhinestones to bring out his eyes and his buttons then I fussy cut him out and attached him as shown in the lower right corner.  I added a couple of little black chipboard bats and that's it!

So get out your Halloween craft supplies - don't forger to include some rubber or acrylic stamping in your projects.  Let's celebrate the 31 Days of Halloween together!

Star Boy

 Howdy from Laurie with Here is a card I made for the current challenge on the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity:  Things With Wings.  Lots to choose from for this one so get creative with it and have fun!

This project uses the Star Halo little boy stamp from Lost Coast Designs and the Smell Cake clear stamp from Carmen's Veranda.  My background is a gel print I made using Distress Oxide Inks in brown and cream, rolled onto my gel plate with a brayer then pressed with a foam impression plate to get the design.

My little boy was stamped with black ink onto white card stock and colored with Copic Sketch markers.  I added some gold accents to the butterfly wings as well.  Since I couldn't fussy cut out the stars when I fussy cut the little boy, I stamped the stars onto the center of the card front then affixed my little boy directly beneath them so they didn't get lost in the fussy cutting.  I colored them in with a bit of gold ink as well.

The sentiment was stamped with blue ink onto a white square, outlined in blue, and attached directly above the little boy as shown.  This was then layered with a white panel and that's a wrap!

We are excited to see your winged creations so please be sure to enter them here on the Portal for a chance to win some free stamps!

Use At Least 3 Stamps: Fish Collage

 I have another entry for the current challenge at The Lost Coast Portal to Creativity:  Use At Least 3 Stamps.  I had the chance to play with some of the newer stamps from Lost Coast Designs for this one including the Mini Fish Collage and the Pieces of Calligraphy Set.  Linda has created several beautiful and intricate collage stamps so be sure to check them out in the "New" section on the website.

I used a 6 x 6 scrapbook paper pad for this project. It's part of the Craft Papers collection from Craft Consortium called "Grunge - Light Tones".  There are a lot of great softer colors, and I love how the background piece for this one looks like it was made with blended alcohol inks.

I started by stamping my Fish collage several times onto several of the different paper colors.  Once I had a background I was happy with, I re-stamped the fish, the shell, and the domino onto different

 colors and cut them out, superimposing them atop the original stamped image.  I added a bit of green Copic Sketch marker to the fish to give him a bit more depth.  I edged this with black ink after cutting it into a tidy square.

The background is another piece from this collection, and I randomly stamped 6 of the 7 stamps in the Pieces of Calligraphy set with black ink onto this square of paper.  I centered the Fish Collage and attached it with foam tape.  Final step was to trim down the background piece and edge it with black marker.

Hope you are having fun with this challenge which requires you to use at least 3 of the stamps in your stamp collection to make something fun and fabulous!

 First of the month always means the start of a new challenge over at The Lost Coast Portal to Creativity, and this one is really fun.  For this challenge, you will "Use At Least 3 Stamps" in all of your projects.  I don't think we have ever done one like this before, so it should make for some great entries.

For this journal page, I used the following stamps:

Rossetti with Butterfly

Ledger Background

Large Chicken Wire Background

Cheesecloth Background

all from Lost Coast Designs and 

Postcards Background

from Carmen's Veranda.

My background is a piece of a vintage book page overlaid with a piece of decorative rice paper.  First step was to stamp my piece of rice paper with the four different background stamps.  I stamped randomly here and there using black ink.  Once that was finished, I used a glue stick to adhere my rice paper to the vintage book page and edged it with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

My lady with the butterfly was stamped with black ink onto a white square of card stock.  Using Copic Sketch Markers, I colored her in.  Instead of coloring the butterfly in the stamped image, I cut out a butterfly and attached it with foam tape to give it some dimension.  This was affixed directly atop the stamped butterfly.  I layered this with a piece of handmade paper in a cream color and affixed some gold adhesive strips around the edges of the stamped image.  

So get out your stamps - at least 3 - and join us for this fun challenge and a chance to win some free stamps!

 

Raven Silhouette

Head on over to the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity for their continuing "Silhouettes" Challenge. Below is a card I made using the Raven with Branches stamp and the Large Chicken Wire background stamp, both from Lost Coast Designs.

The base for my card is a page from a vintage text book onto which I have glued a piece of Tim Holtz black and white patterned tissue paper.  I trimmed this to a square and edged it with black.

My raven was stamped onto white card stock with black ink and fussy cut out.  I then die cut a stitch-edged circle out of dark red paper and stamped the chicken wire background stamp onto it, also using black ink.  This was positioned in the center of my card base and the raven glued into the center of that.  I added a vintage looking label to the lower right corner.

Come join us for this challenge before the end of the month for a chance to win some free stamps from Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda!

Background in Focus: Bunny

 Here again with another project for the "Background in Focus" challenge over at the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity.  If you are anything like me, you have a lot of background stamps in your craft stash, so here is your chance to focus on some of those by bringing those backgrounds to the foreground.

The stamps I have used here are:

Shrubbery Background Stamp

Swirls and Dots Border stamp

Bunny stamp

My background shrubbery was stamped with green Distress Oxide ink onto a piece of scrapbook paper.  I edged that panel with the same green ink.  The bunny was stamped onto white paper with black ink and fussy cut out.  I colored him with Copic Sketch markers and added a touch of Glossy Accents to his eye.  I attached him to the card front as shown, using foam tape.  The final step was to stamp the Swirls and Dots border stamp onto a piece of strip of light green paper and affix it to the left side of the card front.

Please join the fun for the challenge and get creative with your background stamps.  You have a chance to win some free stamps from Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda!

Steampunk Gears

 Happy August and welcome to a brand new challenge over on the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity:  Backgrounds in Focus.  So think background stamps and bring them to the foreground, and make them the "focus" of your work.

I've gone with a steampunk inspired piece for this challenge using the Gears background stamp from Lost Coast Designs.

The first step was to stamp my gears onto a piece of coffee dyed tracing paper.  I used StayzOn black ink so it would not smear since the surface of the paper is kind of slick.  I layered this over a piece of text from a vintage book and trimmed the edges.  Using my sewing machine and black thread, I stitched around the perimeter.

Next I dug out my little collection of gears and other steampunk goodies and randomly selected some to glue atop my stamped image.  I added a vintage label  to the lower right corner as well.  

What fun  or interesting background stamps do you have in your stamp collection?  We would love to see what you do with them for this latest challenge.  Random winner gets some free stamps from Lost Coast Designs or Carmen's Veranda!

Christmas in July: Santa Gnome

There is another new challenge going on at the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity called "Christmas in July".  My project for this one is a Christmas tag I made using the Pompom Gnome stamp and the Bubbles background stamp, both from Lost Coast Designs.

I decided to go with a traditional red and green color scheme for this tag, and started by stamping my white tag with the Bubbles background stamp and some green Distress Oxide ink.  I then randomly colored in some of the bubbles with a red marker and edged the tag with the same green ink.

  Santa was stamped onto white paper with black ink and fussy cut out.  I restamped his hat, cut that out, and affixed that atop the original stamped image with foam tape to give it some dimension.  I colored Santa with Copic sketch markers and attached him to the tag front, using the same foam tape.  Last steps were to add a cotton ball pompom to his hat and some bright red ribbon to the top of the tag.

So dig out your Christmas supplies and show us over on the Portal your Christmas in July projects for a chance to win some free stamps from Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda.

Happy Birthday!

 First day of the month means a brand new challenge on The Lost Coast Portal to Creativity.  Running from July 1st - 14th it is:  Celebrate It!  So pick a special occasion, holiday, achievement - whatever you want to celebrate and post your makes on the Portal for a chance to win some free stamps from Lost Coast Designs or Carmen's Veranda.

I have made a birthday card for this one featuring the Party Baby Stamp Set from Lost Coast Designs and the Queen of Everything clear stamp from Carmen's Veranda.

After digging into my box of gel prints, I found this one that works so well with the baby and her party dress.  I layered that with my white card base.  I then stamped the baby onto white card stock with black ink and fussy cut her out.  I restamped her onto pink printed paper and cut out just the dress and party hat, superimposing them onto the original stamped images.  I added some color to her face and hands with Copic Sketch markers.  The wings were also stamped with black ink onto white paper and fussy cut, then colored with a gold fine tipped marker.  I fastened the wings to my baby and put the little party hat atop her head.  She was then glued to the lower right of the card front.

The sentiment was stamped with black ink onto a white square that was edged in black, then attached to the upper left corner.  And that's a wrap!

Can't wait to see what fun projects you create in celebration of all the great things life has to offer!  Thanks for joining this latest challenge over on the on the Portal.

Do I Smell Cake??

 Happy July 1st and hope you are ready to "Celebrate" with a brand new challenge here on the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity  For this one I made a tag using the Party Cat stamp from Lost Coast Designs and the Smell Cake clear stamp from Carmen's Veranda.

This one starts with a white tag made of regular card stock.  Atop that I glued a piece of vintage music paper and Mod Podged a piece of decorative blue and green rice paper over that.  Using a stencil with random small circles, I added some blue and green Distress Oxide inks.  Then using the same stencil, I added some TCW Champagne Gold Stencil Butter here and there.  After this dried well, I edged it with some gold ink and punched a hole in the top.

Next step was to stamp my Party Cat onto a piece of pale yellow card stock and fussy cut him out.  I re-stamped his eyes on white paper and his party hat on pale blue paper and cut them out, superimposing them atop the original images.  I added some shading with Copic Sketch markers then attached the Party Cat to the lower portion of the tag with foam tape.

 The sentiment was stamped with black ink onto the same pale yellow card stock and cut out then affixed above the Party Cat.  Final step was to tie a piece of gold ribbon to the top.

So come celebrate with us and enter your projects on the Portal for a chance to win some free stamps from Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda!

Buying Craft Supplies

 Here I am, bringing you another fun challenge from The Lost Coast Portal to Creativity:  Funny or Cute.  There have been some fabulous entries for this one, so you still have time to get your creations posted on the Portal for a chance to win some free stamps.

For this card I used the Head In Hands stamp from Lost Coast Designs and the Buy Craft Supplies clear stamp from Carmen's Veranda.  And anyone who is a serious crafter knows how true this sentiment is!!

The background I used is a piece of decorative rice paper that I adhered to white card stock with ModPodge then dried well.  I stamped the Head in Hands onto white card stock with black ink and cut it our.  Color was added using Copic Sketch markers, and the butterfly was fussy cut and affixed as shown with foam tape.  I layered this with some gold paper and attached it to the upper portion of my card front. 

 

The sentiment was stamped with black ink onto a white panel edged with black and placed directly below the woman's image.

I love how this woman's image goes so perfectly with this sentiment, like she has given this great consideration and come to this amazing realization!!

Please join us here on the Portal with your Funny and/or Cute makes - we can't wait to see what you create!

Flat Earth and Cats

 Hi ho as we find ourselves having fun with the newest challenge over at The Lost Coast Portal to Creativity:  Funny or Cute.  So wide open to so many possibilities, we are sure you will come up with some amazing makes.

This card was made with one of the cat stamps from the Party Cat Set from Lost Coast Designs and the Flat Earth clear stamp from Carmen's Veranda.  I've had this clear stamp for a while and finally found a great use for it!

The background here is a gel print made with white and green acrylic paints and a circle stencil.  I stamped my cat onto white card stock with black ink and fussy cut him out.  I restamped his party hat with green ink, cut it out, and affixed it atop his head.  I added a bit of green to his eyes and a handsome green bow tie.  

The background piece was edged with green ink and layered with a piece of green scrapbook paper.  The sentiment was stamped onto a white square with black ink, edged in the same green, and affixed at the bottom of the card front.

We are excited to see what fun and cute things you can make for this challenge.  Be sure to feature rubber stamping in your projects - you might be the lucky winner of some free stamps!!

Whimsical Flora

 Happy June!  I'm here to tell you about a brand new challenge here on the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity:  Tropical.  So travel off in your imagination to your dream tropical destination, and see what it inspires you to create.

This is a large round tag made with the Whimsical Flora bird stamp from Lost Coast Designs.  There is a whole collection of these adorable bird stamps by Doris Arndt so be sure to check them out.

I stamped this bird with black StayzOn ink onto a green scrap of a Gelli print I had in my scrap box.  I fussy cut it out, then re-stamped the beak and eyes onto white paper and cut those out as well.  I colored the beak with yellow marker and left the eyes black and white.  I glued them atop the original stamped image and added some darker green marker to give little Flora some striped "leggings".

The background is a piece of decorative blue-ish scrap book paper die cut into a circle.  Then using a circular flower stencil, I dabbed it with some deep turquoise Distress Ink to create this pretty flower design.  I added some drops of gold Nuvo Crystal Drops and edged the border with gold wax.  I punched a hole in the top and tied on some coordinating blue and green ribbons.

I'm sure you have some great ideas for some tropical themed projects, so please be sure to enter them here at the Portal for a chance to win some free stamps from Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda!

Best Friends

I made a Rolodex card for the current challenge on The Lost Coast Portal to Creativity "Under the Sea".  I got into making rolodex cards awhile ago in a Swap Bot group I am part of, and I must say they are a lot of fun to make and keep.  This one uses:

The Sharks stamp from Lost Coast Designs

The Bubbles Border stamp from Lost Coast Designs

The Best Friends clearstamp from Carmen's Veranda

Rolodex cards come in two sizes, and this is the smaller of the two.  Small size measures 2 and 5/8" by 4" The larger sizes measures 3" by 5".  The holes for the rolodex file are located 1 and 3/4" from either end on both sizes.  

The background for my card is a gel print made with blue and green acrylic paints.  I then stamped it with the Bubbles Background stamp in a darker shade of Distress turquoise ink and heat set the ink.  When stamping Distress ink onto a painted surface, the ink takes time to dry, so heat setting it speeds up the process and gives you a nice dry surface to work with.  

The sharks were stamped onto white card stock with blue and green Distress Oxide Inks and fussy cut out.  I attached them to the card front with some foam tape and added googly eyes to each.  Little clear acrylic dew drops were glued in place to look like bubbles.  The sentiment was stamped with black ink onto a white strip of paper edged in green and affixed to the top of the card as shown.

We can't wait to see your sea themed projects for this current challenge.  Be sure to use some rubber stamping in your work and you could be the lucky winner of some free stamps!!

Strong Women: Early Stitch and Bitch

I have one more project for the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity "Strong Women" challenge.  They are looking for projects depicting what "Strong Women" means to you.

For this one I used the Early Stitch and Bitch stamp from Lost Coast Designs and the Fairy Godmother clear stamp from Carmen's Veranda.  

 I stamped the women knitting onto white card stock with black ink and fussy cut it out.  I added some Copic Sketch Markers to their hands and faces and went over their dresses with a gray marker.  The yarn they are using was colored blue.  I attached this to a piece of card stock that looks like old vintage wallpaper.  The sentiment was stamped with black ink and cut out.  I outlined the edges with black as well and affixed it to the upper right corner as shown.  Final step was to glue a blue flower in the left corner.

You still have time so submit your "Strong Women" projects before the challenge closes.  You might be the lucky winner of some free stamps from Lost Coast Designs or Carmen's Veranda!

Strong Women: Frida Kahlo

 Here again at the beginning of another fun Challenge over on the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity.  This one is Strong Women.  "Strong Women:  May we know them.  May we raise them.  May we be them."

For this card I used one of my favorite Lost Coast stamps of Frida Kahlo.  This is just one

of a nice selection you will find at Lost Coast Designs.  

My Frida was stamped onto coffee dyed onion skin paper using StayZ On ink in Black.  I layered that with a piece of vintage ledger paper to give it more body, then fussy cut around the edges as shown.

The background is a piece of a master board I made using various pieces of hand made papers.  I glued my Frida to the center of the card front as shown, making sure all the edges were down securely as the paper is fairly thin.  Final step was to machine stitch around the perimeter of the card.

We would love to see your Strong Woman creations.  Please be sure to feature some rubber stamping in your work for a chance to win some free rubber stamps from Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda!

Karaoke Cat and His Hat

 It's the last day for a fun challenge on the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity:  Hats.  I've got a fun slimline type card using the Karaoke Cat stamp from Lost Coast Designs, the Doodle Circles background stamp, also from Lost Coast, and the Currently Unsupervised clear stamp from Carmen's Veranda.

This background was a scrap of a gel print with green and blue acrylic paints and some gold stamping.  I added some doodle circles using red Oxide Distress inks.  The cat was stamped with black ink onto white paper, colored with Copic Sketch Markers, and fussy cut out.  I cut a pointed had for him from red card stock and added some polka dots.

The sentiment was stamped onto white card stock with black ink, the corners rounded, and edged with red.  The sentiment was affixed to the top of the card and the Karaoke Cat below.  The whole thing was layered with a piece of white card stock.

So hurry and get out your stamps and your crafty supplies and enter your "Hat" projects over on the Portal for a chance to win some free stamps!

Three Monkeys in Hats

 Hi again with another post to tell you about the newest design challenge going on at The Lost Coast Portal to Creativity:  "Hats".  I expect that we will be seeing some fun projects for this one!

I made a series of three tags for this challenge using the Three Monkeys stamp and the Vertical Hats border stamp, both from Lost Coast Designs.

After cutting out my three tags, I covered each with some papers from my stash:  one is a Gelli print and the other two were done with Oxide Distress spray inks.  I edged all three with a dark blue marker.

The Three Monkeys were stamped onto white paper with black ink and colored in with Copic Sketch markers.  I then fussy cut them out.  The various hats were done the same way and colored and cut out and then attached, one to each monkey.  Next I die cut ovals out of coordinating papers, attached those to the center of each tag, and placed the monkey images in the center of each oval.  I added some white Nuvo Crystal Drops to each of the monkeys' hats.  Final step was to punch a hole in the top of each and add some blue seam binding ribbon.

So get out  your crafty supplies and make something fun with a "Hats" theme to it, and you just might win some free stamps from Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda!!

Something That Starts With S: Sherlock

 Happy April with some news about the latest challenge going on at The Lost Coast Portal to Creativity!  There is a brand new challenge that Starts today - "Something That Begins With S".  So the Sky is the limit as long as your challenge features rubber Stamping and Something that begins with the letter S.

The card I have created here features the Sherlock Stamp from Carmen's Veranda.  Such a great Stamp featuring Such an iconic character!  

My background is a little patchwork of Some pieces of Several master board collages I have made.  I have used most of them for various projects but always hang onto the extra bits and usually find a good use for them.

I taped them all together then zig zag Stitched down the middle and Straight Stitched around the edges.  I then Splattered the Surface with Pumice Stone Distress Ink Spray.  

Sherlock was Stamped with black ink onto a piece of coffee Stained paper.  The edges were brushed with Vintage Photo Distress Ink and then the whole was  Stitched to the center of my card front.

Done and dusted!

We can't wait to See what fabulous S creations you can make for the challenge!  So come join the fun!

Tweet This: 3 Birds

The newest challenge over at the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity is "Tweet This", so think birds and all things birds.  I used one of my favorite background stamps for this from Carmen's Veranda called Bird Collage.  It is technically a background stamp, but I wanted to show how beautiful an image it makes and how it can be used just on it's own.

 This was super easy:  I stamped the image onto vellum paper with black StayzOn ink and let it dry well.  I colored parts in with Copic Sketch markers then trimmed around the edges.  I layered it over a piece of vintage music paper, which you can see shows through.  This was layered with brown and dark yellow card stock, and that's it!  

So get out your birdie stamps and show us what you can make for this Challenge for a chance to win some free stamps from Carmen's Veranda and Lost Coast Designs!