In the Deep Midwinter: Day 30

This is a card I created for the Lost Coast Design Challenge for December:  In the Deep Midwinter.  

For this card, I used the Snowman stamp from Carmen's Veranda and the Small Snowflakes Set from Lost Coast Designs.  I began by stamping my snowman onto white card stock and cutting him out.  I trimmed off the tail of the little scarf around his neck and using some navy fibers, I fashioned a real scarf for him.  I added small enamel dots for his eyes and larger ones for his buttons.  I cut a small "carrot" nose for him from orange paper and cut out a black top hat to finish him off.

I took my dark blue background paper and heat embossed a variety of snowflakes randomly across it with white embossing powder.  

I also heat embossed the edge with white embossing powder, then layered this with a piece of silver metallic card stock.  I attached my snowman with foam dimensional tape, and that's a wrap!

You still have time to join the challenge and show us your wintry projects for a chance to win some amazing free stamps!

Happy New Year!

In the Deep Midwinter: A Boy and his Dog

Winter greetings from Laurie.  We have one challenge for the month of December.  The rest of the year we have two per month, but recognizing what a busy time of year this is for most people, we have made things simple for December with the "In the Deep Midwinter" challenge, going on all month.

I made a card for this challenge using the Georges and Louis from Lost Coast Designs - one of my favorite stamps on the site. I started by stamping my image onto white card stock with black ink.  I cut it out, then stamped it again with green ink and cut out just Georges's coat which I then attached atop my original stamped image.  I used some Copic markers to color Louis and add some color to George's face.  I then glued some small brass brads to the front of Georges's coat to look like buttons.

I then took a piece of scrapbook paper that looks like snow falling.  I roughly tore a rectangle of the paper and edged it with Distress Ink. For the background I cut a piece of music paper from a vintage music book and layered that with a piece of kraft paper.  I attached my stamped image to the center and added a couple of torn strips of washi tape to two of the corners.

The last element was to add a bit of glitter to some of the snowflakes, and I am done!

Please join us here on the Portal and share your Midwinter projects for a chance to win some fabulous free stamps!  Happy Holidays!

Gecko Galz Challenge for December: In Dreams

I made this mini album for the Gecko Galz December challenge:  In Dreams.  There are some "dreamy" new and old collage sheets on the Gecko Galz Etsy store and I loved using some of them to create this album.

I used the Afternoon Tea paper (from the Solarium paper pack), Abigail paper, and Timeless #3 paper for the base of most of my pages.  The album measures approximately 4" x 5" so I was able to get several album pages out of one printed page.  I used a simple signature binding to hold my pages together (created one signature), and edged all my papers with Distress Ink in Vintage Photo.

I used the following collage sheets for the images and words in my album:

Charming Words

Rusty Bucket ATC

Text Ture Dominoes

Pixie Magic

Altered Beautifully

Book Marks

Dream Land

Old World Surreal

I embellished my pages with gold sticker trims and gold stars and several of my pages have little pockets for tucks.

For the Men: Merlin

Hi again with another project for the end of November Challenge on the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity.:  For The Men.

I made a card for this one using the #7: Oracle of the Seven Enigmas at Lost Coast Designs.  There are 18 of these awesome Fortune Cards that are sold individually or you can buy a set which includes 9 of the designs.  They are all really interesting designs as well.  But this one makes me think of Merlin the Magician, thus my title for this post.

I began by taking a piece of card stock and using some Distress Oxide Inks I gave it a light cover of green and blue inks to create this kind of soft aqua background.  I stamped Merlin with black StayzOn ink, cut him out, and edged him in black ink.  I then very carefully attached this piece to a sheet of golf leaf.  I have this interesting piece of tissue paper in my stash with the aqua background and a gold design.  I made a copy of it onto card stock, cut it into the right size, edged it in gold pen, and affixed Merlin to the center.   I stamped some little gold stars randomly here and there and added some Glossy Accents to the 7 eyes.  And that's a wrap!

Albert Introduces "For the Men" Challenge

At the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity there is a new challenge that starts today and goes through the end of November.  The challenge is "For the Men".

For this challenge I made a card using the new Albert Einstein stamp from Carmen's Veranda.

I started by stamping my image with black ink onto a page from an old architectural textbook - I loved that Al's image is sitting atop some lines and angles!  I cut it into a square and edged it with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

Next I took a piece of Astrological tissue paper I had in my stash and, using Matt Medium, I glued it to the page from an old book.  After it dried I cut it into a circle using a circle die.  I edged it with the same Distress Ink.

I then used a couple of different stencils and stenciled randomly with brown ink.  I also used an alphabet stamp and randomly stamped it with black ink.  Using foam tape, I positioned Al right in the center of my circle.

I layered the circle with black and cream card stock.  Finished!!  So be sure to visit the Lost Coast Portal and make something "manly" for this new challenge!

Geckogalz November Challenge: Peace On Earth

  

I have created several projects for the Gecko Galz November Challenge:  Peace On Earth.  Be sure to check out the Gecko Galz Blog for information on entering this and other customer challenges for a chance to win a gift certificate from Gecko Galz!

My first project is a set of three Christmas tree ornaments, each featuring the image of an angel from the following Gecko Galz collage sheets:  Beautiful Angels and O Holy Night.

This card is made with an image from the collage sheet Cuties At Christmas.

And this nature themed card is made with an image from the Baby It's Cold Outside collage sheet.

Lost Coast Designs Halloween Blog Hop Day 2: Danse Macabre

Happy Haunting from Laurie on this 2nd day of the month long 31 Days of Halloween celebration on the Lost Coast Portal.  It's my favorite time of year, and I love working with my Halloween and fall stamps from Lost Coast and Carmen's Veranda.

For this card, I used the Grunge Tree background stamp and the Dancing Skeletons stamp, both from Lost Coast Designs.  I started with a piece of the new Tim Holtz Halloween paper pad and using black embossing powder, embossed my background stamp on the paper.  I trimmed around the edges, leaving a border of the paper around the outside of the embossed image.

Next I stamped my dancing skeletons onto white card stock then fussy cut them out.  Be patient - it's worth the effort!  I adhered just the heads and torsos with glue to my background, leaving the arms and legs to kind of stick out so they appear to be moving on the page.

I typed the words "Danse Macabre", (meaning "dance of death") onto a piece of white paper and printed it out, outlined it with black ink and attached to my card front as shown.
Final step was to layer the card front with a white card base.

So go grab your Halloween craft supplies and stamps and show us what hauntingly fun goodies you can create!

Grumpy Penguins Making It Funny

I made these three tags for the Lost Coast Designs challenge:  "Make It Funny", using the Katzelkraft's Grumpy Penguins Stamp Set, which is available from Lost Coast Designs, and three of Carmen's Veranda Clear Stamps.  There is a great selection of sentiments so be sure to check all four pages!

I used the same background for each of my tags.  It is a Gelli print I made using blue and green acrylic paints.  I then stenciled my tags with Distress Oxide Ink in Abandoned Coral and white paint, using a different stencil for each tag. I added a bit of black random stamping for some contrast.

Next I stamped my penguins onto white card stock with black ink and fussy cut them.  I colored their beaks orange and added some Glossy Accents to the beaks and eyes.  I placed each penguin on the lower portion of the tag to give me room at the top for my stamped sentiment.  I added a hat to each and used some foam tape to give then some dimension.  The hats can be found at Vertical Party Hats at Lost Coast Designs.  I simply stamped three different hats and cut them out, only adding a couple of little flowers to Mrs. Penguin's hat.  

Sentiments were stamped with black ink onto white card stock, cut out, and edged with black ink.  All sentiments were also attached with foam tape.   For the final step I added some ribbon and various colored fibers to each tag.

Come join us for this fun challenge at Lost Coast Designs Portal to Creativity for a chance to win some free stamps!

Make it Funny Challenge: Drink Wine and Knit

The Lost Coast Design challenge for the last half of September is "Make It Funny".  

I made a card for this one using the Early Stitch 'n Bitch stamp from Lost Coast Designs and one of the funny clear stamps from Clear Stamps at Carmen's Veranda.

I had this piece of flowered tissue paper that had always reminded me of my Grandmother's parlor wallpaper.  So I thought it would be a perfect background for my knitting ladies.  I adhered it to a piece of cream colored card stock with Modge Podge then cut it into a square -ish shape and edged it with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  I layered that with some kraft card stock.  

Next I stamped my ladies onto white paper with black ink and fussy cut them out.  I added a bit of color to their hands, faces, and the knitting basket and yarn with Copic Sketch markers.  I positioned my stamped image at the bottom center of my card and adhered it.  Next I stamped my sentiment with black ink onto a cream rectangle, edged it with the same Distress Ink, and affixed it above my knitting ladies.

Perfect sentiment for this fun stamp!  Come join the funny fun at the Lost Coast Portal today!

Gecko Galz: Steampunk Autumn

The September Challenge at Gecko Galz is "Steampunk Autumn"; a combination of two of my favorite themes.

I have created a collage page, an ATC coin, and an ATC card for this challenge.

The first shown is the collage page.  The background is one of the Shabby Ledger papers.  I have zig zagged stitched around the edges with black thread.  The collage elements include items from:

Owling for You collage sheet, Bugs collage sheet, Butterfly Dreams collage sheet, Mad About Men collage sheet, Library Cards collage sheet, Sentimental Journey collage sheet, The Mechanical Life collage sheet, and Charming Words collage sheet, and the Time Flies ATC set.  Once all my items were placed as I wanted them, I straight stitched around the entire outside border.

The second item is my ATC coin.  For this I have used an element from the Industrial Age digital stamp set and the Owling for You collage set.  I added one of my own vintage metal gears to enhance the steampunk element.

And the final piece is my ATC card.    For this one I used Steam Punk ATC set as my background, some text from the Sentimental Journey collage set, and the owls from the Owling for You collage set.  Again, I added a vintage brass tag from my own collection.  

Sing, Baby, Sing!

Happy September to all from Laurie with a fun post to help kick off our new "Sing and Dance" Challenge here on the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity.  This one goes through the 14th of September so you have a couple of weeks to create your singing and dancing projects and share them here.

For this one, I used the Showgirls stamp from Lost Coast Designs, the Large Chicken Wire background stamp, also from Lost Coast, and the Sing clear stamp from Carmen's Veranda.

I used a sheet of vintage music paper as my background.  Using Distress Oxide Inks in shades of green, yellow, and orange, I stenciled over the whole page.  I randomly stamped bits of chicken wire with black ink, and stamped the word Sing at random as well.

Next I stamped my 3 showgirls onto white paper.  Using Copic Sketch markers, I colored them to coordinate with my green, yellow and orange background.  I then took a sparkly silver marker and added some glitz to each of them - in their hair and along the trimmed edges of their costumes.  I fussy cut them out and using foam tape, attached them to the center of my card.

I layered my background with a piece of black card stock them zig zag stitched all around the border with black thread.  And that's a wrap!!

LCD Wood Challenge: Evil Eye

I have made a card for the latest Lost Coast Designs challenge using the Grunge Tree background stamp and the Evil Eye stamp, both from Lost Coast Designs.

I began by creating a background, using a circle stencil and green and blue Distress inks.  I cut around the edges with some deckle-edged scissors and mounted my piece to a black background.

Next I stamped my image onto white card stock and began coloring it with Copic markers in shades of gray and brown, using yellow for the claws and eyes.  I added some Crackle Accents to the eyes and teeth to give them some shine and make the stand out.  Finally I fussy cut my image and affixed it to the front of my card.  

Anything Goes: Raven

I have another entry for the "Anything Goes" challenge at Lost Coast Portal to Creativity.  I tried out a lot of different ideas for this one, but I had this cool background I wanted to use, and the Raven With Tree Branches stamp from Lost Coast Designs won out. 

I made this background using some astrological tissue paper I found online - really I loved the patterns on these papers.  I took a page from a vintage book and using matte medium I adhered my tissue paper to the book page.  I let it dry well then cut it into a square shape, trying to incorporate as much of the design as I could.  I edged it with black ink then mounted it to a torn edged piece of black card stock.

I stamped my Raven with black StayzOn ink onto another page from a vintage book and cut it out.  
That was a bit of a challenge, but slow goes it and it came out perfectly.  Using a glue stick I pasted the raven as shown and gave him a tiny black rhinestone for an eye.  I then sprinkled around a few matte silver star sequins for a finishing touch.

This one gets me in the mood for Halloween - can't wait!!  Please join us here on the Portal and submit your "Anything Goes" projects by the 14th of July for a chance to win some awesome free stamps from Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda!

Gecko Galz August Challenge: Shabby Chic Seaside

The new challenge at Gecko Galz for August starts on August 1st and runs through the end of the month.  The theme is:  Shabby Chic Seaside.  Here are some projects I made using Gecko Galz products:

This tag uses the Sea Shore Sweethearts collage set and the By the Shore digital paper pack.

This card uses the Sea Nymphs Collage Set. 

This ATC coin uses the Sea Life collage set, Summer Seas collage set, and By the Shore collage set.

This trio of ATCs is made using the By the Shore collage set and the Summer Seas collage set.

Here is a project I made for the Lost Coast Design new challenge: "Anything Goes"!  The sky's the limit and you can turn your creative side loose to go crazy.  Or, if you need some inspiration,  check out the blogs of all the Lost Coast Design team members and see what they have gotten up to with this one.

I let my feminine, fashion side fly with this card and used the Mannequins Set stamps from Lost Coast Designs.  I started by using pink acrylic paint and a stencil on my Gelli plate.  I had not cleaned off a previous print so you can see bits of orange and green peeking through, which I really like.  The stencil makes a really nice and symmetrical background for this project.

Next I stamped my mannequins onto my background using black StayzOn ink.  I then stamped the bodies of the mannequins onto some Japanese origami paper I had on hand and cut out just the corsets for each and glued them atop my original stamped images.  I added some black German scrap trim to the sides and bottom and die cut the broader black boarder at the top with black scrapbook paper.  I finished it off by adding a strip of bling to the top portion.

You have until the middle of August to enter your projects on the Lost Coast Portal to have a chance to win some free stamps!!

Christmas in July

I made a card for the current challenge at the Lost Coast Design Portal to Creativity using the 50's Girl stamp from Lost Coast and the Dear Santa clear stamp from Carmen's Veranda.  My base is a piece of scrapbook paper that came in a 6X6 pack.  I cut it down to size and edged it with red ink.  

I stamped my 50's gal with black ink onto white card stock and cut her out.  I then stamped her again onto green paper then cut out the checkered parts of her dress and affixed those parts atop my original stamped image.  I colored her skin with Copic markers and added some red rhinestones to the buttons down the front of her dress.  I then cut out a Santa hat and perched it atop her head.

Next I stamped my sentiment onto white paper with black ink and cut it out.  I edged it with black ink and positioned it in the left corner of the card front.  I attached my 50's gal atop that so it appears she is perched on the edge.  I added some red foil trim and an ornament sticker as shown.  

Show us your early Christmas projects by the end of July for a chance to win some free stamps!!

Let's Celebrate at the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity

Here is a project for the "Let's Celebrate" challenge going on here on the Lost Coast Portal until July 14th.  So you still have time to make something fabulously celebratory to enter for a chance to win some free stamps.  

For this birthday card I used the  Queen of Everything clear stamp, the Coffee Chihuahua Katzelkraft stamp from Lost Coast Designs, and the smallest butterfly stamp from the Butterfly Set at Lost Coast.

I created my background using Oxide Distress Inks on watercolor paper.  I stenciled my ink colors onto the paper then spritzed it generously with water, let it run a bit, then set it with a heat gun.  I stamped the butterfly randomly with black ink and also edged the panel in black.  

I then stamped my little Chihuahua onto white paper with black ink and cut him out.  I colored him with Copic Sketch markers and added some gold pen to the spikes on his red collar.
I positioned him on my card front then stamped my sentiment onto a white square with black ink.  I trimmed it down to size, edged it with black, and positioned it so my little Chi chi is holding it up and glued both down.  Final step was to layer this with a white panel and you've got a fun birthday card for any dog lover!

Come celebrate with us at the Lost Coast Portal and share your creations!!

Midsummer Night's Dream Challenge: Gecko Galz

The monthly customer challenge over at the Gecko Galz Blog for July is "Midsummer Night's Dream".  And there are some dreamy collage sheets, papers and digital stamps in the Gecko Galz Etsy Shop for you to choose from to join us in the challenge.

Here are the projects I made for this challenge:

This was made with the Gecko Galz Tag set 

For this one and the one that follows, I used the Midsummer Night's Dream Collage Set.  

This collage page was made using the Artful Visions, Text Ture Dominoes, Once Upon A Dream, Jardin, Altered Beautifully, and Tic Toc and Cameos collage sheets as well as the Rusty Bucket ATC set, the Gecko Galz tag set, and the BB Weekend paper pack.

This was made with the Altered Beautifully Collage set.

Two Day Frida Kahlo Blog Hop - July 6th and 7th!

Hi and welcome to the Day 1 of the 2 day Frida Kahlo Blog Hop that is going on right now at The Lost Coast Portal to Creativity!  The hop will go on July 6th and 7th in celebration of the new Frida stamps at Lost Coast Designs.  So be sure to check the Portal for other great Frida creations by the Lost Coast Design team.

I have made two cards for this Blog Hop, and the first one featured today uses the new Frida with Roses stamp.  I used a background that I made with Distress spray inks and a stencil.  After placing the stencil onto white paper, I sprayed it with Tea Dye and Antique Linen inks.  I then turned the stencil over and pressed it onto the paper to add another layer of ink.

I stamped Frida directly onto this background with black ink, then turned it on the diagonal and used a square die to cut it out.  I die cut a larger square out of red paper and attached them together, then added another white layer.  I used my sewing machine to stitch around the edge of the red layer.  The final touch was to add some red paper flowers to Frida's hair.  

Waltzing Cowboys: Lost Coast Design "Celebrate" Challenge

Card made for the Lost Coast July Design Challenge:  Let's Celebrate.

Made using the Waltzing Cowboys stamp and the Medium Shrubbery Background stamp from Lost Coast Designs and the Smell Cake clear stamp from Carmen's Veranda.

Enter you celebration creations today for a chance to win some free stamps from the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity!  You have until July 14th to enter your creations!

Girl With A Curl

There is a new challenge going on until the end of June at the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity:  Add A Human Face.  I have made a square collage piece using the  Girl With A Curl stamp from Lost Coast Designs and the Postcard Background from Carmen's Veranda as an inspiration piece for this challenge.

I started by stamping the girl onto a scrap of cream paper then tore around the edges to give it a rough look.  I added just a hint of color with some pink Distress Ink to her cheeks.  

I had on hand some Tim Holtz decorative tissue paper that I had died using coffee.  I stitched my girl's face onto a square piece of that tissue paper.  Next I took some leafy die cuts and stamped them with the Postcard Background stamp to add some text, then glued them to opposing corners. 

For the final step, I took a rough edged piece of hand made cream paper and stitched my tissue paper square to that.  I love this Girl With A Curl stamp and like the vintage-y feel of this collage piece.

Please visit the Portal and show us the projects you can create that Include A Human Face.  You just might win some free stamps!!

Last Chance!!

For the Lemon, Lime and Black Challenge on the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity!!

There is a new challenge going on at the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity.  For this challenge, we want you to use the colors Yellow, Lime and Black for your creations.  And don't forget that you must include some rubber stamping in your work - digital stamps don't count!  So get out your rubber or clear or acrylic stamps, or whatever you have in your stash, and make something fabulous!

I've made a card for this challenge with one of my favorite stamps from Lost Coast Designs:  Annie.  I also used the Carmen's Veranda background stamp Grunge Black Swirl and the Carmen's Veranda clear saying stamp In Front of A Salad.

I took a piece of yellow and green background paper made with acrylic paints on my Gelli plate and stamped the background with some green Distress Ink.  I then stamped Annie with black ink onto white paper and colored her dress yellow and also added some color to her face.  I cut her out and glued her to the front of my card.  I stamped the sentiment with black ink then copied it on my copier, reducing the size to 75% to make it fit the front of my card better.  I outlined it with black ink and glued it to the lower right corner.  I outlined the card front with black ink and layered it with a white layer.  

Come and join in the fun at the Portal - you just might win some free stamps!!

Put A Sticker on My Forehead

Here I am again with another project for the "Use Some Words" challenge going on now until the end of May at the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity.  This is pretty simple:  Make a project with some rubber stamping and add some words - any theme you chose.

I made a card for this project using the Housewife stamp from Lost Coast Designs and the Out of Order Sticker clear stamp from Carmen's Veranda.   There are four pages of these fun and funny clear stamps on the Carmen's website to chose from - be sure to check them out!!

I stamped my housewife onto white paper with black ink and cut her out.  I wanted to keep that 1950's vibe so she is all in black and white except for the yellow pompoms I added to her slippers.

I used some green and orange acrylic paints and a circle and square stencil on my Gelli plate to make the background.  I attached my housewife as shown and edged the background page in black.  I stamped my sentiment onto white paper with black ink and used a square punch to cut it out.  I edged this with black ink as well and attached it to the upper left corner.  Done!

Use Some Words: Eating Tip

There is a new challenge on the Lost Coast Designs Portal to Creativity all about using some words.

So stamp or otherwise create your project and add some words or a sentiment to qualify for the challenge and a chance to win some free stamps.

I have created a card for this challenge using the Party On stamp from Lost Coast and the Pro Tip

clears stamp from Carmen's Veranda.

The background I used for this card was created with red, pink, green, and blue acrylic paints and a Gelli plate.  I layered my background onto  white card stock.  I stamped my party lady with black ink onto white card stock which I edged with turquoise marker.  I colored her with Copic markers in bright colors to echo the colors in my background paper.  I mounted this to the upper portion of my card front.  I then stamped my sentiment with black ink on white card stock and used a decorative die cut to cut it out.  I also edged it with turquoise marker and attached below my party lady.

I hope you will try your hand at creating something with words and entering it in the new challenge for a chance to win some free stamps!