A little memory and a little color!

Makes a big splash! Each Tuesday, Stamp TV has a scrapbook page challenge. It's always fun, and we always have a great project sample. Here's the one I did for this past week.

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These are just a couple pictures from my yard here at the beginning of fall. I love seeing the last few big flowers from my hollyhocks, and freshly picked apples on aspen logs. The smell of the air changes to a crisp, sweet coolness with hints of woodsmoke. Mmmmm....warm apple cider, big pots of stew or chili, warm cuddly sweaters. Heaven to me.

Here's a close up of the chipboard A (for Autumn). I covered it with matching paper, ran it through the cuttlebug in an embossing folder, then spattered it with some copper ink. It's layered over a Spellbinders Fleur De Lis pendant.

I used the Nestabilities rounded rectangles to create the base 2 layers of the journaling block. Then I stamped my Gina K leaves (Melanie Muenchinger's A Year of Leaves) over the Gina K luxury soft sand paper. I embossed the edges with the leaf folder in my cuttlebug. Using the Spellbinder's Fancy and Double Ended tags, I created journaling tags to layer over the journaling base.

Using the same stamp set, I cut out some leaves to scatter on the layout. I also used Holiday Greetings (Gina K Stamp TV set) to stamp the circle in the center of the layout. I hope you've enjoyed stopping by today.

Ta for now! ~ky

Recipe: Basic Grey Dasher and Fruitcake; Gina K luxury Soft Sand and Gold cardstock; Making Memories brads, other items listed above.

Can I get a HIP HOP?

Sad times, these. When passing ruffians can say "Ni!" at will to old ladies... Hmmmm...I know there was a thought there before the movie interrupted...what was it... Oh I know!! This is the second to last HIP HOP EVER at Unity.

Well. You know... I'm sure Sept. 1st will bring something absolutely wonderful from the Unity crew, but this is a little like taking that security blanket away from a 2 year old! So, I will act like one! For a little while...until I see the new blankie Unity has for us...maybe...



On the Hip Hop today...the ladies were talking at one point about Ranger Distressing Inks. I was amazed, nay appalled!, that some of them didn't know how they differed from 'regular' ink, and what all they can do. I whipped up this little project to show just a smidgen of what I do with them.



This project (actually is part of a bigger project that you will see later because I know you are all such faithful readers and you would never ever want me to think you don't hang on my every word...) is a little collage that's going on a scrapbook page depicting some of the beautiful work that you all have shared with me! I'm almost as bad as that first-time mom who keeps every little scrap of paper her baby marked on forever and ever and ever. I do NOT want to part with your beautiful works of art, so they need a home!

They will live in a scrapbook album all about you peeps! Are you excited?? I am - I think this will be a fun project! Not only that, but it will document our relationships through time, what was going on in our world that caused you to send me something, something funny you said in a forum, how your kids are growing up, etc etc etc.

Here's the educational part of the program. I have a scor-mat, but if you have a piece of waxed paper, aluminum foil, basically anything non-porous you can do this neat trick. Take your Distressing ink pads, and wipe them on that non-porous surface. Use as many colors as you like. If you're a purist, you can blob down ink separately so you don't taint your yellow pad with blue, ok?

Take a water bottle, mister, anything that can put out a fine mist of water. Spritz it over your inked up non-porous surface. Working quickly use your finger to break up the solid blobs of colors - just squiggle your finger all the way acrossed, back and forth, here and there just so the inks don't have a clear "edge" to them. The finer your mist, the less you stir, and the faster you move will make a finer pattern. The longer you wait, the more you stir, the more likely you are to have blobs of color or inks that just look muddy.

Plop your paper (whatever kind you want to use, cardstock, patterned papers, glossy, etc.) face down into this watery world of color. Squish it. Peel it up and consider it. Like it? Great - let it dry or use your heat setting gun. Don't like it? Add more color, plop the paper down and repeat until you like it.

My sample here is mottled nicely, and the colors are faint hues rather than overpowering color. That, my friends, is distressing ink. A water reactive dye ink that you can do TONS of things with. Want more info? Check out Tim Holtz's website where he has a lot of tutorial videos using the distressing inks. Oh - I crumpled up the paper after it was dry and hit it with a little more distressing ink, and along the frayed edges.

Hey - I have a sneak peek coming later today. With news about a blog hop...stop back by and see what it's all about! Follow me on FaceBook too - you'll know almost instantly when I change my blog!

Happy hangover! Ta for now, ~ky

Your Moo-me

Malcolm's delivering the milk to this orphaned calf that we raised in 2001! My son had an opportunity to raise a calf who's mother had died, and showed her in the county fair. He won champion of his class, and reserve grand champion of the whole heifer herd that year. I was (still am) so proud of him!

He had to prepare her milk every morning and evening, groom her, teach her to lead with a rope, and learn so many things about his cow. Pretty darn good for an 8 year old, yes? He became her MOO-ME!

I love having Malcolm for this page - he just fits so well! I used SU!s old west paper pack from a few years ago, Bazzill (orange) cardstock, Gina K heavy weight card base (sand color, embossed and colored with Ranger Ink brushed corduroy), and Pebbles white cardstock.

I used my Base Camp cartridge in my Cricut to make the title. Mega Nestabilities curved rectangle was used to cut Malcolm's base, and Malcolm is colored with Prismacolor pencils, Color Box's Smooch (technique below), with Memento inks sponged for the sky (summer sky) and grass (new sprout). Finally, just 6 Robin's Nest dew drops to draw the eye to the journaling.

So - that's Malcolm! Check back this weekend - we'll have another new release from Sunshine's Stamp Creations! Remember, for a limited time you can request your own copy of Malcolm! Be sure to stop by all the Team's blogs for their latest projects!

Thanks for stopping by!

Ta for now, ~ky

My 100th Post! And not a thing to wear...

Wow. I really thought this 100th post would take way longer to reach, or would feel really different. Yet, it's just another day in my bloggerdom! Kinda like birthdays, I guess. That's an on-going oft-asked question in my mind - why do we get all hung up on 5s, 10s, 100s?? What makes them any more special than the 3rd, 27th, 96th?

So - I'll celebrate a first! My first win with Stamp TV challenges! Wooohooo!! Gina's the best! She's generously giving away one set ($24.95 or less) every weekday! The above project won me my first set. Come over and play! Check out the tutorials - she's teaching us about new products, and showing us new ways to use our older products!

On to other things - I have been selected to be on Sunshine's Stamp Creations first ever design team! Woohoo!! I couldn't believe it when I got the email. Keep your eyes out - we'll be showing you awesome ways to use the digital images. You need not fear digital images!! Stay tuned!

Ta for now, ~ky

Gina K Release Party!

Wow - Gina K got me back into scrappin'! And sewing! Do you sew on your projects? What's your excuse? Feel like you don't know enough about machines to do it? Feel like you don't know where to put the stitches, or how to sew on paper? Gina's taken the mystery out of sewing! She's even got a challenge on Stamp TV where you can post your projects to be entered in a drawing for a free stamp set!

I took this picture when my Dad came out to visit. He loves to play cards, and Reilly loves to play Uno. Between the two of them, the rest of us felt more like bait! I used the Special Fathers' set for the Grandfather clock and the sentiment. I colored the clock with SU! markers. I stamped the flower from Eclectic Summer on Bazzill cardstock and painted the petals with bleach. Then I stitched all over in a somewhat random fashion, distressed the paper and smeared a little tea dye all over. The title was cut from Bazzill CS by my trusty Cricut! I love gadgets!

So - pop on over to the release party. We've already started the pre-party, and we'll be going until 10 p.m. Central time. I hope to see you there!

Ta for now, ~ky