Sunday, July 28, 2013

Dare You!

It's that fabulous time of year again. Preseason football stuff is starting, baseball is heating up, the final Major of the year is approaching for tennis... Can you tell I'm a bit into sports? Yep!

It's also a fantastic time to be a member of Splitcoast Stampers! Each year they throw a big party with oodles of cool challenges that lasts a week. All the member companies join in the fun providing prizes for those who play. It's AWESOME! It's also a little bit secretive. I can't give away the challenges, but I will be posting some of my work. You can learn about becoming a member - Click Here.


In the meantime - take a look at our unofficial mascot. Yep, that's Buddy and Tinker (left). Buddy was all over the Dare To Get Dirty. He started building an annex to the ArtLab Studio. Hee hee! I just love all that dirt, and Tinker seems to be saying she's not involved, hasn't provided any cheering, and could be whistling with a big though bubble: 'I don't see nuthin!'

Here's a little project I did last week as a warm up for DTGD. It's part of the Mix-Ability challenges hosted by Splitcoast Stampers and I'm on that team. I love working with those creative ladies, and enjoy seeing all the wonderful creations of the 'newbies' to mixed-media art.


This is a House Mouse image and I colored it up with Copic markers. The background print is an ombre application of Distress Inks through a Heidi Swapp stencil. I hope you'll come play at Splitcoast even if you aren't doing the challenges. It's a great place to meet people, learn some new stuff, get inspired, and make new friends.

See ya soon!!
~ky

Monday, July 22, 2013

Stencil This

It's almost that time of year again. Yay!! It's time to DARE to get DIRTY! It's a little 'gimme some luv' thing that Splitcoaststampers puts on for their fans. It's a great time to try new things, or fall in love all over with old things. It's a time to put all domestic duties on hold while you roll up your sleeves and get DIRTY!

(By the by, you can be a fan for 6 months for about $15 US or a full year for $25.)

The fun starts Saturday, July 27. But we're cheating. Shhh...don't tell Lydia! Hee hee! See, there's a shopping list already, and a get-out-of-anything pass to print off and post on your bat cave. And where there's a list, there are questions. Always questions. To me, the questions are where the real dirt begins to fly! We don't stop until August 2nd, and you have time after that to continue to play the challenges.

The goal - yes, there is one - is for you to PLAY with abandon. It's all about what you've got on hand. There's a shopping list, but most of the stuff you probably already have, but might not know it. Here's a little discussion for you. Ok, so it's a monologue, but you get the idea.

**AT ANY TIME, CLICK ON THE PHOTOS TO ENLARGE**


The supply is stencils. The questions are many. Here are a few things that were laying within short reach of my workspace, the Bunny Nest in the ArtLab. See all those goodies? Now, think about your space. Got ideas? Good! Now, here's one way to use that really big circle die, and a miscellaneous snowflake-like star punch:


Distress ink, sponge applicator, mush it through the punch, and voila!


Get the idea? Good. See how easy? Don't have the sponge applicators or distress inks? No problem. The same thing works with makeup sponges (or even a kitchen sponge) and any water-based ink stamp pad that you probably already own.

Next up: Acrylic Paint - don't have any? No sweat. Buy the CHEAP stuff. Here's Bella from Home Depot, but I have a dozen similar bottles from other 2 for a buck paints. Have a reinker? No? Ok, have an ink pad you can smash onto a paper plate? Just add cheap white acrylic paint, thus:


Then apply, using a cheap foam brush or a makeup sponge, etc. Heck, go all wild and use those phingers!


Word of the day: Prestidigitation. Look it up! Hee hee - yeah, slight of hand or magician! Getting even more ideas? Ok, now about that huge die cut circle. What kind of fun can we have with that? Take a gander:


Big circle, white cardstock under. Distress inks, foam blender. You need another piece of scrap paper as wide as your circle.


Get ink on your foam/sponge. Scrub it around on your mat, a paper plate, piece of wax paper, etc. You just want to work it into your sponge a little so the sharp lines aren't too visible. Apply with a circular motion.


Repeat with your second color. Move the paper, and you can see the red sun flare over a horizon. Now, move your paper scrap up to cover what you just made. Repeat with a darker color below.


Remove the piece from under the stencil. Select your silhouette stamp, apply dark black ink to it, and stamp, lining up the horizon of the image to the horizon you created.


Now then. You should have more than a hat-full of ideas of things on hand. I cannot tell you that any of these samples will work with any specific challenges, because I do not know what magic the Splitcoast elves will be bringing. I just want to get you to dip your toes in the water, and ASK THOSE QUESTIONS!

One of the most marvelous things about Splitcoast is the variety of stamping skills and experience the member represent. The other marvelous thing is the willingness to share the knowledge with everyone. If you get stuck, or need a visual aid, stick your hand in the air and wave! Let's get ready to RRRRUUUMMMMMBBBBBLE!!!

See ya there!

~ky

Friday, July 19, 2013

Knee Deep in Summer

Our weather has been unseasonably cool lately. I have been able to work in the studio for short spells with no air conditioning. I'm proud to announce I'm a member of the Splitcoaststampers' Mix-Ability crew! Woohoo!! I love working with these ladies. They are incredibly talented, and oh so inspiring!

This weeks challenge by Lydia was to use the spotlight technique with a white background on a mixed media project. Here's what I came up with:


I love these Blueprints series from Tim Holtz through Stampers Anonymous. They are so cool and perfectly suited to the spotlight technique. I combined them with Authentique's Original papers. I used Gina K Designs black ink (it is the darkest and clearest of all the black pads I own, but it does not play nice with Copics or Odorless Mineral Spirits) and colored with Prismacolor pencils, blending with a paper stump.


I drew a circle around the colored spots to help them stand out. The edges are distressed slightly, and the panel and grungeboard flower die cut were colored with distress inks.

Hopefully I will be able to post more regularly. Lots of things going on, but at least it's a little more predictable around here! Come visit our forum, and don't forget the Dare to Get Dirty challenges are just around the corner!

Thank you so much for stopping by. Hope to see you here again soon!

~ky
Welcome to the Bunny Nest! I host rescued animals in a small in-home setting. Currently, I host 3 bunnies and 2 kitties. These animals will be socialized and housed for the entirety of their lives in my home. They inspire my crafts, and I use any proceeds to pay for their needs. Thanks for visiting!