Elf With A Wand

 Welcome to the day after Christmas as we start to wind down our December Challenge here on The Lost Coast Portal to Creativity:  In the Deep Midwinter.   You still have until the end of the month to enter your projects for a chance to win some free stamps.

For this card, I used the Elf With Star stamp from Carmen's Veranda.  The background is a section of a paper collage master board I made using wintry colors and patterns.  I edged that with some silver ink and layered it with a white panel.

I stamped the elf with black ink onto a white paper scrap and fussy cut him out.  I then colored him using Copic Sketch markers.  I added a star to his wand and accentuated his eyes and mouth with a black marker.  He was then attached to the card front along with two little blue washi tape dots I placed in the lower right corner.

So come and join the fun over on the Portal.  We look forward to seeing what you create before the end of the month to celebrate the Deep Midwinter!

Georges and Louis

 So glad you are back so I can share the December challenge from The Lost Coast Portal to Creativity with you:  In the Deep Midwinter.  I grew up in the Midwest so remember what those winter days could be like.  So use those memories as your inspiration for this challenge.

For this one, I have a card that uses the Georges and Louis stamp from Lost Coast Designs.  I love this stamp - it is one of the first Lost Coast stamps I acquired.  My background is a portion of a master board I made with a winter theme.  Using silver embossing powder and a Versa Mark Watermark pad , I embossed this with a splatter stamp then added some more of the silver to the edges of the card.

I stamped George and Louis with black ink onto white card stock and fussy cut them out.  I then stamped Georges's coat with blue ink, cut that out, and superimposed it onto the original image.  I colored this in with Copic Sketch markers and attached it to my card front with foam tape.  A boy and his dog playing in the snow!

Be sure to post your makes over on the Portal and you might be the lucky winner of some free stamps!

In the Deep Midwinter: Snowman

 Happy December 1st, and welcome to the month long challenge over on the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity:  In the Deep Midwinter.  

Winter is significant for many reasons, so choose the way you want to interpret this and be creative!

I've made a simple card here using the Snowman stamp from Carmen's Veranda and one of the snowflake stamps from the Small Snowflakes Set from Lost Coast Designs.

My background is a piece of blue card stock with a pattern that to me looks a lot like snowflakes.  Using white embossing powder, I randomly stamped one of the snowflake stamps onto my background and heat embossed them.  The snowman is stamped with black ink onto white card stock and fussy cut out.  I colored him with Copic Sketch markers, added some Glossy Accents to his buttons, used dark blue enamel dots for his eyes, and attached him to my background with foam tape.  I then layered this with a piece of white card stock.

We look forward to seeing your winter-themed projects - be sure to enter them on the Portal for a chance to win some free stamps!

Round and Round: Circus Dogs

 Welcome back as we continue on with the "Round and Round" Challenge over on the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity, featuring all things circular.  We hope you are playing along with us on this fun challenge.

For this I have a card that uses the Circus Dogs Set of stamps and the Doodle Circles background stamp from Lost Coast Designs, as well as the Fun clear stamp from Carmen's Veranda.

My background is piece of scrapbook paper that I have gelli printed on with green and yellow paints.  I stamped this with the Doodle Circles background stamp and some Fired Brick Distress Oxide ink.  The circus dogs were stamped with black ink onto white card stock and fussy cut out.  I colored them with Copic sketch markers and attached them to the card front with some foam tape for dimension.  I stamped then punched out the circus ball and colored it with markers as well, positioning it atop one of the dog's noses with foam tape.  

The word "Play" was stamped with black ink onto a white scrap that I edged with orange marker.  This was positioned in the upper left corner using foam tape.  The entire card front was then edged with a green marker and layered with a piece of white card stock.

Be sure to post your entries over on the Portal for a chance to win some free stamps!!

Stamping on Printed Paper

 Welcome back to the final days of the current  challenge on the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity:  Stamping on Printed Paper.  We all have lots of printed scrapbook paper, but I decided to make this example using some of my gelli print stash.  I have a whole box of all sizes of prints I have made with my Gelli plate and inks, paints, and stencils.

So for this one I used the Grunge Flower Profile stamp and one of those prints.

This was really simple.  I stamped my Grunge Flower Profile onto a piece of gelli print using black ink. The gelli print was made with acrylic paints and a texture plate with connecting circles on it.   I used gold, rust and some green acrylic paint then after pulling a print, covered my plate with white paint and pulled a second print.  So I get some nice pattern but not so much that it takes away from the stamped image.   I edged this with some gold paste and layered it with a piece of printed card stock and then a piece of hand made paper in off white.  

You still have time to enter your projects featuring stamping on patterned paper and the chance to win some free stamps from Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda.  Hope you will join in the fun!

Stamping on Patterned Paper

 Happy November and welcome to the new challenge on the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity:  Stamp on Patterned Paper.  If you are like me, you have lots of scrap book paper or other patterned paper, so this gives you the chance to try out your rubber or acrylic stamps on them.  Challenging but fun!

I just bought a pad of William Morris designed paper, and I was excited to use it.  I chose two different but complimentary patterns for this card I made using the Face with Heart stamp from Lost Coast Designs.  This was so simple!

I stamped my doodle face onto one piece of the patterned paper then cut it using a die cut with a stitched edge.  I then die cut a piece of cream handmade paper with the same type die in the next larger size.  I attached the die with the face to the larger one, being careful to center them.

Next I cut a square of the second patterned paper and layered it with a square of the cream handmade paper.  I centered my circles exactly then attached them to my square panel.  Last step was to add some Glossy Accents to the heart-shaped eye, and that's it!

So get out your stamps and your patterned paper and be sure to enter your projects over on the Portal for a chance to win some free stamps!

31 Days of Halloween: Day 29

 As we close in on the last days of October and the end of the annual "31 Days of Halloween" Challenge over on the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity, I have one final project for this challenge using the Evil Eye stamp from Lost Coast Designs.  Such a wicked looking stamp - I love it!

The background for this one was made using a stencil with a lot of small detail to it.  I sprayed the stencil with Distress Ink in Fired Brick then laid it down onto a piece of white card stock.  I sponged the excess ink with a paper towel and dried the paper well.  I then splattered it with dark blue Distress Ink and spritzed it with Distress Mica Spray.  

The Evil Eye was stamped with black ink onto some white card stock and colored with Copic Sketch markers.  It was fussy cut out and Glossy Accents was added to the eyes.  I affixed it to my card front with some foam tape to give it some dimension and added a few die cut bats to complete the "mood".

So hurry and get your projects in before month end for the chance to win some free stamps from Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda!

Day 21 of the 31 Days of Halloween

 I'm back again with a Day of the Dead card for the 21st day of the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity Halloween month long Challenge.  I hope you have been making some fun projects to share over on the Portal and a chance to win some free stamps.

This card features the Coatlique Day of the Dead stamp from Lost Coast Designs.  This was stamped onto a piece of vellum with black Stayz On ink. Once the ink was dry, I flipped the image over and adhered it to a piece of orange card stock.  I trimmed the edges, following the design of the stamp, then layered this with a piece of black card stock and trimmed it in the same shape.

My background is made with a technique called "Stencil Smooshing".  Not sure if that is the technical name or not, but the You Tube video where I found this calls it that, and it's appropriate.  

I took my stencil and sprayed it with orange Distress Ink.  I turned it over and pressed it onto a piece of white card stock, mopping up the excess ink with a paper towel.  Once it was completely dry, I repositioned the stencil atop the the paper, lining it up exactly, then dabbed the white spaces with some green Distress Ink.  I removed the stencil and spritzed it with Altnew gold spray ink and let that dry.  The DOD stamped image was then affixed to the center of the card with foam tape and layered with a piece of white card stock.

You still have lots of time left to show us your fabulous Halloween creations, and we can't wait to see them!!

Day 16 of the 31 Days of Halloween

 Welcom back to Day 16 of the 31 Days of Halloween, the month long Halloween extravaganza over on the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity, featuring a new project every day for 31 days.  We really hope you are playing along with us and entering your projects on the Portal.

This tag was made using the Loopy Background stamp and the Dancing Skeletons stamp, both from Lost Coast Design.

The background for this stamp is made using Distress Inks in Fired Brick and Mustard Seed.  I sprayed a stencil with Fired Brick ink and placed it upside down onto a piece of white card stock.  I blotted up the excess ink with a paper towel and dried the paper well.  I then reapplied the same stencil, lining it up as exactly as I could, and using the Mustard Seed ink, I sponged that into the white spaces.  I then randomly stamped the Loopy Background script onto the tag with black ink.  Final step was to spray it with Distress Mica Stain in Mulled Cider.  Once it was completely dry, I mitered the corners and edged the tag with black ink.

The Dancing Skeletons were stamped with black ink onto white card stock and fussy cut out. I attached them with some foam tape, but only behind and head and "body".  That left the arms and legs free to look more like they were really in movement and "dancing".

I tied some fibers to the top in the hole I had punched, and it's ready to go!

Hope to see what you all are making soon - some free rubber stamps would be coming your way if you are the lucky winner!

31 Days of Halloween: Day 10

 So glad you are back for Day 10 of the 31 Days of Halloween that's going on over on the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity.  I've got a fun witchy card for you featuring the Witch 2 stamp and the Grunge Tree stamps from Lost Coast Designs.  The Grunge Tree comes as a large background stamp as well as an ATC sized stamp, and I used both for this.

I started with a dusk-y colored piece of card stock that I sprayed with Distress Mica Spray in Brushed Pewter.  I let that dry, then stamped the large Grunge Tree with black ink onto my card stock, right over the dried mica spray.  I edged that piece with black ink and layered it with a white panel.

The witch was stamped with black ink onto white paper and fussy cut out.  I added some shades of gray marker to her dress and hat and some browns to her broom.  I attached her with foam tape to give her some dimension.

I then took the small ATC sized Grunge Tree and stamped it on some white paper.  I then took a circle punch and punched a circle in the upper branches part of the stamped image.  I affixed this in the upper right corner, and as you can see, it looks like the moon shining from behind the tree!

Hope you are keeping up with us day by day and making some fun and spooky Halloween goodies.  Be sure to share them here on the Portal for a chance to win some free stamps!

31 Days of Halloween: Day Number 4

 Welcome to the annual 31 Days of Halloween over on The Lost Coast Portal to Creativity where it's Halloween all month long.  To celebrate, I made this card was made using the M Raven 2 stamp and the Spiderwebs background stamp, both from Lost Coast Designs.

My raven was stamped with black ink onto white paper and fussy cut out.  I colored over him with a gray Copic marker to fill in the white spots, and also added some color to his beak and the branch he is perched on.  I affixed an orange gem to his eye, which I think kind of gives him a siniste look!

The background is a not terribly successful attempt at stencil-smooshing - spraying Distress Ink onto a stencil, turning it upside down on a piece of paper, and pressing it into the paper while wiping up the excess ink with a paper towel.  But when I stamped this with the Spider webs background stamp, it really came to life.  I then sprayed it with some Antiqued Bronze Distress Mica Spray.  It gives it a great metallic sheen, which is hard to photograph but is a great touch.

This was layered with a white panel, and I stitched around the perimeter with black thread.

So we hope you will join us all month for the fun of another Halloween with Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda!  And a chance to win some free stamps when you post your makes here on the Portal.

Birdy Sings

 It's the last day of the Birds Challenge over on the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity so if you have not entered your bird projects on the Portal, please do before the challenge ends.

It's Laurie here with a tag made for this challenge using the Cracked Bird on Wheels stamp from Lost Coast Designs and the Sing clear stamp from Carmen's Veranda.

The background for this tag is made using Distress spray inks and ink pads and a stencil.  I sprayed my stencil with dark blue Distress Spray ink then turned it over and pressed it onto a piece of white card stock, patting with a paper towel to pick up the excess ink.  Once that was completely dry, I placed the stencil back atop the paper, lining it up exactly.  I then took a sponge dauber and a pink Distress ink pad and dabbed the pink ink into the white spaces.  I edged the tag with the same blue ink.

I stamped my Crazy Critter Bird with black into onto white paper and fussy cut it out.  I colored it with Copic Sketch markers and added some Glossy Accents to the bird's eye and a gold ball to the wheel on the end of the bird's front leg.  The bird was attached to the tag as shown with foam tape.  

"Sing" was stamped with black ink onto a white scrap and cut out, then affixed with foam tape.  Final touch was to tie a piece of pink seam binding to the top of the tag.

We look forward to seeing your Bird-y projects on the Portal and hope you are the lucky winner of some free stamps!

Hokey Pokey Bird Clinic

 Hi again with a post for the newest challenge on The Lost Coast Portal to Creativity:  Birds!  This one features the  Grumpy Penguins stamp from Lost Coast Designs and the Hokey Pokey Clinic clear stamp from Carmen's Veranda.

My background is a collage of black and white papers that I put together in a sort of patchwork design.  I layered them atop a piece of black card stock then machine stitched around each of the pieces to really make it look like patchwork.

I stamped the penguins onto white paper with black ink and fussy cut them out.  I added some yellow marker to their beaks and cut out some funny hats for each of them to wear.  They were then mounted atop my card front with foam tape.

The sentiment was stamped with black ink onto a white rectangle, edged with black ink.  It was affixed as shown with foam tape, and this card is complete!

Be sure to post your bird-y makes here on the Portal.  You just might win some free stamps!!

Steampunk Heart

 So glad to share this first day of September and the first day of the new challenge over on the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity:  Bling It Up!  Who doesn't love some bling, and when we say "Bling It Up", that gives you permission to use all the bling you want.

It's Laurie here with a little card made using the Steampunk Heart stamp from Lost Coast Designs and the Teri Sherman collection of stamps.  

The background for this is a piece of a gel print I made using orange and red paints and a stencil.  I bought some Cosmic Shimmer Gilding Flakes recently and have been playing with them, and this is one of my results.   I used the suggested tacky glue and brushed it through a stencil onto the surface of my gel print.  After letting it dry (although it will still be tacky), and using my fingers, I rubbed some gilding flakes over the stenciled areas.  Wherever there was tacky glue, the flakes stuck.  I absolutely love the way these gilding flakes add so much to whatever I have used them on.

I stamped my heart onto some orange/red scrapbook paper and heat embossed it with some gold embossing powder.  I fussy cut it out and got out my drawer of "bling", adding some lovely "jewels" to my heart and the four corners of the card front.  I mounted it with foam tape and layered it to a white piece of card stock.

So get out you sparkly, bling-y goodies and show us how you can "Bling It Up".  Be sure to feature some rubber stamping in your creations for a chance to win some free stamps!

Time Flies

I've got a project to share for the current Steampunk Challenge over on the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity that runs through the end of August.  

There are so many great steampunk themed stamps at Lost Coast Designs, and this is one of my favorites:  Time Flies.  

I started this card using a piece of a collage Master Board that I had created for another project using vintage book pages with a kind of mathematic vibe.  Before I mounted the background panel to a piece of black card stock, I spritzed it with some Tim Holtz Mica Spray in Unraveled, and let it dry.

I stamped my image onto a piece of a manilla file folder and fussy cut it out.  I edged it with Vintage Photo Distress ink and colored it with Copic Sketch markers and gold and silver gel pens.  I re-stamped the face, punched it out with a circle punch, and affixed it over the original image with some foam tape. I added a couple of brads that look like screws and attached the whole image to my background panel, again using foam tape.  

We look forward to seeing your Steampunk and Vintage makes here on the Portal.  Don't forget to use some rubber stamps for your projects, and we hope you are the lucky winner of some free stamps in August!

Steampunk Bicycle Lady

I'm here today to share with you the latest challenge on The Lost Coast Portal to Creativity:  Steampunk/Vintage.  I love a steampunk theme, so for this project, I used the Steampunk Bicycle Lady stamp and the Gears background stamp, both from Lost Coast Designs.

The bicycle lady was stamped with black ink onto white card stock and fussy cut out.  

Her clothing and the large clock were colored with Copic Sketch Markers, and the bike frame and the frame around the clock were colored with silver and gold inks respectively.    

The background gears were stamped with black ink onto cream paper that was then edged with Distress Ink in Vintage Photo.  I positioned the Bicycle Lady as shown and attached her with foam tape.  Final touch was to add some random gears in brass.

We look forward to seeing your creations for this latest challenge over on the Portal.  Don't forget to use some rubber stamping and you just might be the lucky winner of some free stamps from Lost Coast Designs or Carmen's Veranda!

Summertime Challenge

 Happy 1st of August, and since it's the first day of the new month, that means it's time for a new challenge over on the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity:  Summertime.   Perfect theme for this time of year, so get out your craft supplies - don't forget your rubber stamps - and start creating.

For this card, I used the Rabbit Square stamp from Carmen's Veranda.  The background is a piece of a gel print I made using blue and green Distress Oxide inks and a flower stencil.

The rabbit square was stamped onto white paper with black ink.  I colored the rabbit with Copic Sketch markers in greens, blue, brown and tan.  I cut around the edges with some decorative scissors to give it a kind of torn or jagged edge.  This was layered with my background print and then layered to a white base.  Easy as an be!

We look forward to seeing your makes over on the Portal and you might be the lucky winner of some free stamps!

Christmas Mona

 How fun is this - having a chance to use our Christmas craft supplies in July!  This card was made for the current "Christmas in July" challenge over on the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity and uses the Santa Mona stamp from Lost Coast Designs and the Dear Santa clear stamp from Carmen's Veranda.

I started this by making a collage master board using exclusively Christmas papers.  My master board was 5 x 7 so I cut a section of it down to fit the front of a 5 1/2"  X 4 1/4" card front.  I edged it with Distress Vintage Photo ink and adhered it to my white card base.

Santa Mona was stamped with black ink onto white card stock and fussy cut out.  I colored her in with Copic sketch markers and affixed her to the card front.  The sentiment was stamped with black ink onto a white square, edged in red ink, and placed at the bottom of the card front as shown.  Final touch was adding a white pompom to her Santa hat.

We look forward to seeing what Christmas-y projects you can create for this challenge and encourage you to post them over on the Portal for a chance to win some free stamps!

Christmas in July: Snowman

 So crazy to think that Christmas is 6 months away, so we are doing a "Christmas in July" Challenge over on the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity.  And this is a fun card for the first day of this Challenge, using the Snowman stamp from Carmen's Veranda as well as the Find Your Happy Place clear stamp, also from Carmen's.

The background for this card is one I made using blue and lime green Distress Oxide Ink pads and an impression plate with various designs on it, applied to a Gelli Plate.  The snowman was stamped with black ink onto white card stock and the scarf, buttons, and arms were colored with Copic Sketch markers.  I fussy cut him out and affixed him to the card front as shown.  The sentiment was stamped with blue ink onto a white strip and cut into sections, affixed in the upper left corner with foam tape for some dimension.

I love the non-traditional colors of this holiday card, and we are excited to see what fun creations you have up your sleeve for our "Christmas In July" challenge.  Be sure to enter your creations her for a chance to win some free stamps.

Mini Fish Collage: Red, White and Blue

 Welcome to the last day of the current challenge on The Lost Coast Portal to Creativity:  Red, White, and Blue.  So be creative in whatever way you like - just make it red, white and blue!

That's what I have done with this card using the Mini Fish Collage stamp from Lost Coast Designs.

I started by stamping the fish with blue ink onto white card stock.  I edged it with red ink and added some touches of red ink here a there within the collage.  I added a blue "jewel" to the fish eye then layered it with a gel print I made using red and blue acrylic paints on a page from a vintage book.

I layered this with a piece of blue card stock and that's a wrap!

So get out your red, white and blue craft supplies and make something for our current challenge!  A lucky winner will receive some free stamps from Lost Coast Designs and/or Carmen's Veranda!

Use Some Words: Waltzing Cowboys

I'm here again with a fun tag for the current challenge on The Lost Coast Portal to Creativity:  Use Some Words.  If you have not been over to the Carmen's Veranda website lately, you must check out the huge selection of clear stamps there.  Some really funny and some touching ones as well!

The base for my tag is a gelli print that I made atop a piece of music book paper.  I used cream and rust colored acrylic paints and a couple of different stencils.  I cut this down to tag size and edged it the Vintage Photo Distress ink.

The Waltzing Cowboys were stamped with black ink onto white card stock and fussy cut out.  I colored the cowboys with Copic Sketch markers then attached them to the front of the tag with foam tape to give them some dimension.

The 2 to 3 Glasses of Wine clear stamp was stamped with black ink onto white paper, edged with Vintage Photo Distress ink, and attached to the bottom of the tag below the cowboys.  

Find some words that inspire you to create something special and post it over on the Portal for a chance to win some free stamps!

Do I Smell Cake???

I'm here again with another project for the Mini Me Challenge going on right now over on the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity.  What is Mini Me??  Well, think small.  ATC, inchie, twinchie, Ink Box card, mini tags or cards.  Lots to choose from, and I have an ink box card for this one.  If you are not familiar with ink box cards, they measure 3" x 3" with rounded corners.  They are called ink box cards because they are the exact shape and dimensions of a Tim Holtz Distress Ink pad.

This card uses the Curtain Cat stamp and the Large Chickenwire background stamp, both from Lost Coast Designs, as well as the  Smell Cake clear stamp and the Calligraphy Square stamp from Carmen's Veranda.

First step was to stamp my cat onto a piece of orange card stock with black ink and fussy cut him out.  I then cut a strip of coordinating paper and stamped it with the chicken wire background stamp.  I layered that atop the cat, cutting around where his paws are so you could see them.  My ink box card is backed with a piece of a gelli print in shades of white and orange and it was stamped with the Calligraphy Square stamp in black ink.  

I attached the background to my card base then positioned the chicken wire and cat portion along the left edge.  All edges were trimmed to fit the shape of the card base and then edged with black ink.  The sentiment was stamped with black ink onto a white scrap, and I ran it through my printer to reduce the size so it would better fit the card front.  I cut it into sections, outlined them in black and affixed them as shown along the left side.  

You still have a few days left in this Challenge so be sure to get your makes posted in time for a chance to win some free stamps!

Mini Me: Two Butterflies

 Welcome to the first day of June and the first day of the latest challenge over on the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity:  Mini Me.  So think ATCs, twinchies, inchies, ATC coins - in other words, little things.  I went with an ATC for this using one of the stamps from the ATC Text Set #1 and two of the stamps from the Butterfly Set, all found at Lost Coast Designs.

The background is a piece of a larger gel print that I had made awhile ago using Distress Oxide inks in oranges and pinks and a stencil.  I stamped the Asian text with black ink onto the front, trimmed it to ATC size, and edged it with black marker.  

The butterflies were stamped onto another piece of a different gel print that was mainly yellow Distress Oxide ink with some red added in here and there.  I stamped the two different butterflies with black ink

and fussy cut them out.  I glued them to the ATC front as shown.  As a little embellishment, I made a small wax seal with a flower motif and once set, I highlighted the raised portions with some gold wax.

We are excited to see what mini masterpieces you can create for this challenge.  Post them here on the Portal before the 15th for a chance to win some free stamps!

Frida Kahlo and Other Women

 Hello all with a card for the Frida Kahlo and other Women Challenge over on the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity.  This challenge ends in a couple of days, so be sure to get your makes posted on the Portal for a chance to win some free stamps.

For this, I used the Calligraphy Lady stamp from Lost Coast Designs.  She was stamped with black ink onto pinkish patterned rice paper and cut out with deckle edged scissors.  I then glued her to a piece of vintage French book paper and edged that with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  That was layered with a pink patterned paper from 49 and Market and a white panel.

The butterfly, flower, and label were glued on as shown and all were also edged with Distress Ink.

Hope to see your fantastic projects over on the Portal!!

Frida Kahlo

Hi and glad you stopped by to find out about the newest challenge over on the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity.   I hope this card will inspire you to enter your projects on the Portal for a chance to win some free stamps.

This card uses the Frida 3 stamp from Lost Coast Designs.  I love this stamp and the quote from Frida that surrounds it.  My background is a piece of vintage book paper that has been stained with green and yellow  Distress Inks.  Atop that I have randomly added some orange acrylic paint and edged it with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  It is layered to a white panel.

Frida was stamped with black ink onto white card stock and cut out as shown.  I colored her with some Distress water color pencils in shades of rust and yellow and added a bit of pink to her cheeks.  She was then centered and glued atop the card front.

Please be sure to share your projects over on the Portal - we can't wait to see what you create!

Girl With A Curl

I have a fun Challenge to share with you that is over on the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity called "Paper Piecing.  And as you can see, that is exactly what I did to create the background for this card.

I started with an 8 1/2 by 11 piece of card stock and got a stash of bits and pieces of left over paper that I can't ever seem to get rid of.  You know, you might need it one day!!  At any rate, I began on the perimeter of my base paper and started tearing out small bits and gluing them around the edges.  Once that was complete, I started filling in the blank spaces, working my way into the center until every bit of the card stock was covered.  I trimmed the edges to neaten it up.

Next I stamped The Girl With A Curl stamp onto white paper with black ink and colored it using Copic Sketch Markers.  I layered it with a piece of white paper that I cut with deckle edged scissors then to a gold and then a pink panel.  I cut a square section of my paper-pieced page and affixed my stamped image right in the center.  I edged it with a gold pen and layered it with a piece of white card stock.

Making this pieced background was a lot of fun and I really liked the end result.  I made a couple of copies of the finished product so I would have some pages I could use other projects.  We can't wait to see your paper piecing!!

Celebrate It with the Party Gal!

 Hi on the last day of April and the last day for the current challenge on The Lost Coast Portal to Creativity:  Celebrate It!  So whatever occasion you want to celebrate, now is your chance to make something fancy or fun and post it over on the Portal for a chance to win some free stamps.

This card features the Party On stamp from Lost Coast Designs.   The little party lady was stamped with black ink onto white card stock and fussy cut out.  I colored her with Copic Sketch markers and tried to use some bright colors because she looks like the kind of little old lady who would love bright colors!

My background is made with two different stencils, and I used Distress Oxide spray inks in bright pink and orange for the color.    I first did the flower then the concentric circle stencil on top.  My party gal is affixed with some foam tape to give her a bit of dimension and lift her off the background a bit.

We can't wait to see what you are celebrating right now!!  Be sure to get your submissions in today!

Flying Mona Celebrates It!

 

I'm here today with a tag for the "Celebrate It" challenge, currently going on over at the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity.  For this tag, I used the Mona Flying stamp and the party hat stamp from the Party Baby Set, all from Lost Coast Designs.

I made my background by stamping a gelli plate with alternating colors of blue and green Distress Oxide ink pads.  I then pressed a page from a vintage book onto the plate and pulled a print.  I added some extra with an alphabet stencil in one of the green inks I used.  I cut this into a tag shape and edged it with blue ink then added some black splatters randomly.

Mona was stamped with black ink onto white paper and fussy cut out.  I restamped her "dress" onto a piece of checked scrap book paper, cut it out, and glued it atop the original stamped image.  I colored her with Copic Sketch markers and glued her to my tag front.  The party hat was stamped with black ink onto white paper, cut out, and colored with a green marker.  I glued that atop her head as shown.   I added some blue enamel dots to the buttons on her dress and decorated the buttons and the butterfly wings with gold Nuvo Crystal Drops.  Finally she was attached to my tag base and some green seam binding was tied through the top.

So many things to celebrate - what will you choose?  Don't forget to feature some rubber stamping on your projects and post them over on the Portal for a chance to win some free stamps!

Pop Up Butterfly

Happy first day of April and the start of a brand new challenge over on the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity:  Rock or Pop.  For this one you will create either a rocker card or a pop up card using whatever theme and stamps you choose.  I had to go to You Tube to find out how to make a pop-up card and there are some great tutorials there if you need inspiration for either the pop up or the rocker card.

I used two of the stamps from the Butterfly Set from Lost Coast Designs and the Queen of Everything clear stamp from Carmen's Veranda.  

I started by cutting a piece of 8 1/2" by 11" lavender card stock in half lengthwise, giving me a piece that was 4 1/4" by 11".  Using a glue stick, I glued a piece of decorative rice paper to the entire strip and inked the edges with Faded Jeans Distress Oxide ink.  I folded that strip in half, then folded the front flap back on itself at the 1" mark and glued that 1" piece down. So my card is essentially 4 1/4" by 5 1/2", but to make constructing the popup inside, the actual opening of the card is a square that is 

4 1/4" by 4 1/4".

For the inside of my card I used a piece of coordinating patterned paper to create the "pop up" part of the card.  I stamped the sentiment with blue ink onto white paper and used a circle die cut to cut it out. I edged that with gold ink and attached it with foam tape to the right side of the popup on the inside of my card.  

For the left side I used one of the smaller butterfly stamps and stamped that with the same blue ink on another die cut circle of white card stock edged with gold.  I colored it in part with a lavender marker and attached it opposite my sentiment with foam tape.  

If you haven't tried a rocker or pop up card, you will have fun with either or both of these formats.   Don't forget to prominently feature rubber stamping on your projects for a chance to win some free stamps!

Black and White: Chess King

There is a new challenge going on over at the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity: Black and White!  It's a real "challenge" to make something with no other colors!  But I had fun piecing together some different background stamps for this card.  I used the following:

Chess King stamp from Lost Coast Designs and the following background stamps, also from

Lost Coast:

Idinkera

White Waves

Large Chicken Wire

Cheesecloth

And also the Grunge Diamonds background stamp from Carmen's Veranda.

For each of the 5 background stamps, I stamped them with black ink onto white card stock and cut them into 1 1/2 squares.  I then assembled them in rows of three and pasted them to a piece of card stock.  I stitched around the edges with black thread. 

The chess king was stamped with black ink onto white card stock and fussy cut out.  I then pasted that to some black card stock and fussy cut around the original image to give it a nice black outline.

It was then affixed to the center of my background panel with some foam tape, and I added some black rhinestones to his crown.

We can't wait to see your black and white projects so be sure to share them on the Portal!

So glad you are back and hope you are planning to take part in the latest challenge over on the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity:  Black and White.  I've made a card for this one using the Mini Fish Collage stamp from Lost Coast Designs.  Since the theme is black and white, I stuck to this and only used those two colors.  Harder than I thought it might be!  But the design is super simple.

My mini fish collage is stamped with black ink onto a white rough edged square of paper.  I edged the square with black ink and layered it with a piece of black card stock.  I added a black gem for the fish's eye.  The background layer is a piece of rice paper in a black and white pattern, also edged in black ink.  I attached the fish collage with foam tape to the center.  So easy but the black and white color scheme is always striking.

Come join the fun and share your black and white makes over on the Portal!

Tulip Gnome

 Greetings on this 2nd day of March and second day of the "Spring Has Sprung" challenge over on the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity.  I've made a tag for this one using the Gnome with Tulip stamp from Lost Coast Designs.  It's just one of a whole collection of fun gnome stamps over at Lost Coast Designs.

My tag is made with tissue paper on a gel plate in place of regular paper.  It's obviously more fragile than regular paper, so be gentle when you are working on the tissue.  I used paints in pink, yellow, and green and a stencil to create the design.  Once dried, this was then glued to a piece of vintage book page.  I rounded the corners and edged this with Worn Lipstick Distress Oxide Ink.  

My gnome was stamped with black ink onto a white piece of paper and fussy cut out.  I colored him in with Copic Sketch Markers and glued him in the center of my tag.  Final step was to tie a piece of blue seam binding to the top of my tag.

We are excited to see all your spring creations - don't forget to feature rubber stamping in all your projects!