Frosty Tree – Tutorial #126

45 Comments September 30, 2008 zindorfstamps

When I woke up this morning I decided to check out the Color Challenge on Split Coast Stampers http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=386411

The color challenge today was to use Stampin’ Up colors Baja Breeze, Really Rust and Chocolate Chip. This combo really intrigued me so I gave it a whirl. This is what I came up with. The Baja Breeze really gives an icy feel to this piece. I know, I know, I know it is Autumn, not Winter yet, but this is what came to mind.

Let’s get started. 🙂

Supplies:

Stamps: Impression Obsession “Branches of a Tree”, The Saltbox Studio “Fences” & Stampin’ Up “Lovely as a Tree”

Paper: Stampin’ Up Whisper White, Baja Breeze & Chocolate Chip

Ink: Stampin’ Up Baja Breeze, Really Rust & Chocolate Chip

Accessories: Chocolate Chip marker, White Gel Pen, Aqua Painter, Sponge, Ribbon, Silver Brads, Brayer

Brayered Baja Breeze ink at the very bottom of a 4.5″ x 6″ piece of Whisper White card stock.

Brayered Really Rust at the very top of the card stock.

I decided to not use any emboss resist this morning, so this scene is being built from the background to the foreground, so I had to keep in mind to go from lighter objects to darker ones. So the darker (foreground) objects cover up the lighter ones underneath them. Clear as mud?

Stamped trees from Lovely as a Tree set with Baja Breeze ink, by stamping off on my scrap paper first to make them lighter (this is called second generation stamping).

Stamped fence with Chocolate Chip ink.

Stamped large tree with Chocolate Chip ink.

Stamped tree again to make a shadow using Baja Breeze ink.

Note, I did not ink up the root part of the tree trunk in order to omit it.

While my Baja Breeze stamp pad was closed, I squeezed it to make a pool of ink in the lid of the stamp pad. I used the pool of ink and an Aqua painter to make shadows for the fence posts. I made the ink pretty watery here.

Used the Aqua Painter again with a watery Chocolate Chip ink to color in the fence posts.

Sponged Baja Breeze along the bottom of the background trees and around the sides and bottom of the card stock.

Note: I use a dry sponge when sponging. If you are getting dots and streaks you don’t want, keep adding more ink until they disappear. Another problem could be you are using a card stock that is not super smooth.

Sponged Really rust at the very top of the card stock.

Darkened some of the large tree branches with a Chocolate Chip marker. Added some snow on the branches with a White Gel Pen.

Added Panels, Front to back, Main image panel, Chocolate Chip Panel, Baja Breeze Panel, Chocolate Chip panel.

Assembled card front and here it is finished measuring 5″ x 6.5″.

I hope you enjoyed this icy scene tutorial and will give this color combo a try.

May your day be filled with laughter and joy.

Until my next post. . . . . . . . .. . .

Hugs,

Michelle

Links to all my tutorials can be found here: http://zindorf.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/tutorials-ive-written/

Here is a link to my workshop calendar if you want to get info on beginner and advanced Brayer workshops: http://zindorf.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/workshop-calendar

No More Leaves Rabbit – Tutorial #121

48 Comments September 23, 2008 zindorfstamps

Happy Tuesday! I’m back to the regularly scheduled program today since I have all that traveling business out of the way, lol. So I’m coming to you with another Autumn themed tutorial.

I found some great rabbit images by Stamp La Jolla at a Stamp convention this year. I purchased mine unmounted. I bought mine as single stamps, not sets. Here is a link to their web page: www.stamplajolla.com

I’m dedicating this tutorial to my new friend Lydia, who told me she loves my long tutorials. Girl, I’ve got a long one for you today, lol. Anywho, let’s get started. 🙂

Supplies:

Stamps: Stamp La Jolla Rabbit, Inkadinkadoo Fall Season

Paper: Stampin’ Up Whisper White, Basic Black & Orchid Opulence

Ink: Stampin’ Up White, Basic Black, More Mustard, Elegant Eggplant, Old Olive, Summer Sun & Orchid Opulence, Palette Noir Black

Accessories: Versmark Marker, Fine Detail Clear embossing powder, heat gun, brayer, sponges, Prismacolor markers & Pencils, White Gel Pen, Coluzzle for cutting mask, Green & Purple Ribbon, Brads

Stamped my Rabbit image on a 3″ x 6.25″ piece of Whisper White card stock with Palette Noir Black ink.

Note: I used this Palette black ink because it doesn’t smear when using alcohol based markers, such as Prismacolor.

I’ve shown this before, but I think they are pretty all together. This is my organization system for my Prismacolor markers. Not fancy, but functional. 🙂 You can find more detail on my marker organization in the tools section of this blog.

My marker sheets showing the color number, name and a stripe of marker color for easy selection.

Anyway, back to the tutorial, focus Michelle!

Colored the rabbits hat and robe in with a Prismacolor 30% Warm Grey marker.

Colored in the shadow areas with a Prismacolor 40% Warm Grey marker.

Added some Prismacolor 60% Warm Grey marker to the folds shadows in the hat and robe.

Colored in his inner ear with a Prismacolor Deco Peach marker.

Colored the broom handle with a Prismacolor Light Walnut marker.

Added more color to the left side of the broom handle with a Prismacolor Sienna Brown marker.

Colored the Rabbits nose and bottom of his feet with a Prismacolor Deco Peach marker.

Colored the broom bristles with a Prismacolor Yellow Ochre marker.

Colored the darker areas of the broom bristles with a Prismacolor Goldenrod marker.

Colored over the entire image with a Versamark marker being very careful to stay inside the lines of the image.

Heat embossed the image using fine detail clear embossing powder and a heat gun.

Note: I heat embossed the image so it will resist the inks I am going to use for the back ground. This is called emboss resist.

Brayered on Summer Sun ink.

Used a 2.5″ circle of card stock to mask for the sun. Held the mask in place as I brayered on Orchid Opulence ink at the top of the card stock.

Brayered Old Olive ink at the bottom of the card stock.

Used a 3 5/8″ card stock circle to mask so I could sponge Elegant Eggplant at the edge of it to create a interesting sky area.

I masked, sponged Elegant Eggplant ink at edge and then moved the masked and repeated.

Once I got to where the sun mask is I made sure to hold both masks in place so I was sponging around the sun mask at the same time.

Removed card stock masks.

Sponged More Mustard ink around the edge of the sun leaving the middle bright.

Sponged Basic Black ink around the edge of the card stock.

Glued the main image panel to a 5″ x 6.5″ panel of black card stock.

Stamped the Inkadinkado leaf flourish with White Craft ink over both panels.

Colored the leaves in with Chartreuse & Pumpkin Orange Prismacolor pencils.

Added White Highlights to the flourish with a White Gel Pen.

Added some ribbon and here you have the finished card measuring 5 1/8″ x 6 5/8″.

Now that’s a rabbit with attitude! But he sure is stinking cute, lol.

May your day be filled with the spectacular colors of a sunset.

Until my next post. . . . . . .. . . . . . . .

Hugs,

Michelle

Links to all my tutorials can be found here: http://zindorf.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/tutorials-ive-written/

Here is a link to my workshop calendar if you want to get info on beginner and advanced Brayer workshops: http://zindorf.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/workshop-calendar

Embossed Resist bird – Tutorial #111

37 Comments August 29, 2008 zindorfstamps

Hello! I have a tutorial for you on emboss resist, resist. That is what I call it anyway. 🙂

I used the embossed resist technique, but did it in layers. When creating a scene with this technique, you will want to keep in mind to work from the foreground to the background. Meaning you will want to stamp the images in the foreground before you stamp the images in the background.

Let’s get started:

Supplies:

Stamps: Stampin’ Up Always, Stem Silhouettes, Brocade Basics

Paper: Stampin’ Up Whisper White, Bashful Blue & Basic Black

Ink: Adirondack ink Pitch Black, Lake Mist, Oregano, Pebble & Aqua

Accessories: Versamark pad and marker, Black Faber Castell marker, Coluzzle Circle Template, Brayer, Fine Detail Embossing Powder, Heat Gun, Ribbon, 2 brads, Sponge, Post it Notes

Stamped bird by first loading the stamp with Versamark and then Pebble ink before stamping it on a 5″ x 5″ piece of Whisper White card stock. Heat embossed the image with clear embossing powder and a heat gun.

Colored over the design on the bird with a Versamark marker and then heat embossed the image again with clear embossing powder and a heat gun.

Stamped the Brocade flourish by first loading my stamp with versamark and then Pebble ink before stamping. Heat embossed image with clear embossing powder and a heat gun.

Filled in the White spaces on the leaves with a Versamark marker and the heat embossed the image again with clear embossing powder and a heat gun.

Stamped the Brocade flourish again by loading the stamp with Versamark and then Pitch Black ink before stamping. Heat embossed the image using clear embossing powder and a heat gun. Filled in the white spaces of the leaves with a Versamark marker and then heat embossed the image again.

Stamped the Stem Silhouettes three times using just Versamark and heat embossed the stems with clear embossing powder and a heat gun.

Masked half of the panel with a Post it note.

Brayered Lake Mist ink over the uncovered half.

Removed the Post it Note make and put a fresh Post it note mask on, this time masking the Lake Mist half of the panel. Brayered on Aqua ink on the unmasked side.

Removed the post it note mask.

Cut a circle with my Coluzzle to use as a mask and sponged Pebble ink around the outside of the mask.

Used a Faber Castell fine point marker and drew an outline around the circle mask.

Note: If I were to do this again, I would not have drawn the black line across the embossed images. We live and we learn. 🙂

I also used the same black marker to define the bottom sides of the Bird and Brocade Flourishes.

Sponged Oregano ink around outside edge of the panel.

Assembled card front and added a ribbon and two brads. Here it is finished measuring 5.25″ x 5.25″.

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial on emboss resist, resist and will want to give it a try.

May your day be filled with the sweet sounds of sing birds and sunshine.

Until my next post. . . . . . . . .

Hugs,

Michelle

Note: Links to all my tutorials and be found here: http://zindorf.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/tutorials-ive-written/

Flourished Trees – Tutorial #106

38 Comments August 21, 2008 zindorfstamps

I’m feeling a bit foggy today, not enough sleep, allergies kicking in. That could be why I picked to do a foggy scene, lol. In real life, this looks a bit more foggier (is that a word?). 🙂

Photographing cards in the wee hours of the morning, when it is pitch black out, is a little difficult, but that is when I do my stamping and posting to this blog, so the photos are what they are. Thanks for understanding!

Well let’s get on with this foggy tutorial. 🙂

Supplies:

Stamps: Innovative Stamp Creations “Artsy Victorian” & Impression Obession “Branches of a Tree”

Paper: Stampin’ Up River Rock, Not Quite Navy & Whisper White

Ink: Stampin’ Up River Rock, Always Artichoke, Not Quite Navy & Bordering Blue, Adirondack Lake Mist

Accessories: Versamark Pad, Brayer, Fine Detail Clear embossing powder, Brads, Ribbon, Not quite Navy Marker, sponges

Stamped tree image by first loading my stamp with Versamark and then loading it with River Rock ink before stamping. Stamped it on a 4.5″ x 6″ piece of Whisper White card stock.

Heat embossed it using fine detail clear embossing powder and a heat gun.

Stamp the tree again using Versamark only, no ink.

Heat embossed it using clear embossing powder and a heat gun.

Stamped the tree a third time by loading the stamp with Versamark and then Lake Mist ink before stamping.

Heat embossed it using clear embossing powder and a heat gun.

Brayered on River Rock ink at the bottom of the card stock.

Brayered on Bordering Blue at the top of the card stock, leaving a light area showing between the River Rock and the Bordering Blue ink. This gives a foggy look to the piece.

Stamped Flourish with Bordering Blue ink at the right and bottom sides of the card stock.

Sponged Not Quite Navy ink at the top and right side of the card stock.

Sponged Always Artichoke ink at the bottom of the card stock.

Assembled card from and stamped the flourish again, only this time stamping it with Not Quite Navy ink. Note: When stamping over layers of card stock you will get gaps in your image. Be sure to stamp in a color that you have a matching marker for so you can fill in those gaps.

Filled in the gaps in the flourish image with a Not Quite Navy Marker.

Assembled card and here it is finished measuring 6.5″ x 5″.

Hope your day is filled with sunshine to take away any fog that may be around. 🙂

Until my next post. . . . . . . . . . .

Hugs,

Michelle

Catching 47 – Tutorial #105

40 Comments August 20, 2008 zindorfstamps

It’s time for the Split Coast Stamper’s Dirty Dozen Present & Alumni monthly challenge. This months challenge was to make a birthday card using numbers in the design and not use the word Birthday.

This is what I came up with for my husband Russ’ birthday in October. 🙂 Good thing he doesn’t read this blog, lol.

To see all of the Dirty Girl’s creations for this challenge check out this link: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/showgallery.php?si=DCB808&x=8&y=8

The Dirty Girls will be posting their creations throughout the day, so check back at that link often.

Here is the tutorial for mine:

Supplies:

Stamps: Stampin’ Up “on the Fly”

Paper: Stampin’ Up Whisper White, Baja Breeze, Apricot Appeal, Night of Navy

Ink: Stampin’ Up Baja Breeze, Apricot Appeal, Not Quite Navy, Night of Navy & Palette Noir Black

Accessories: Brayer, Versamark marker, Fine Detail Clear embossing powder, Heat Gun, Cuttlebug numbers, Prismacolor Markers, White gel Pen, Black fine tip marker, Sponge, Ticket corner punch, photo Corner punch, Post it notes

Stamped Fisherman on a 5″ x 5″ piece of Whisper White card stock with Palette Noir Black ink.

Colored his hat and pants with a Prismacolor Oatmeal marker.

Added Khaki to his jacket and the creases on his pants.

Colored his skin with an Eggshell marker.

Colored over the fisherman with a Versamark marker and heat embossed the image with fine detail clear embossing powder and a heat gun.

Put a post it note over the bottom of the card-stock to mask it and then Brayered on Apricot Appeal ink.

Brayered on Baja Breeze ink at the top of the sky.

Brayered on Not Quite Navy ink at the top of the card stock not covering the Baja Breeze ink entirely.

Removed post it note mask.

Put a clean Post it note mask on to cover the sky area of the card stock.

Brayered on Baja Breeze ink at the bottom of the card stock.

Brayered on Not Quite Navy ink at the top of the water area, by rolling over the post it note.

Colored in just the hook of the lure stamp with a black marker. Huffed on it to moisten the ink and stamped it.

Cut the numbers 47 from a piece of Kiwi Kiss card stock with my Cuttlebug.

Glued the numbers on so they look like they are on the hook.

Extended the fishing line to reach the hook with a fine point black marker.

Colored the trees with a Prismacolor light Olive Green marker.

Made dashes in the water with a white gel pen.

With the fine tip end of a Prismacolor Light Olive Green maker, made a shadow on the right sides of the “47”. Did this to create depth.

Sponged Night of Navy ink around the outside edge of the panel.

Used a ticket corner punch on the main image panel and the Apricot Appeal panel.

Punched 4 corner punches from Baja Breeze card stock and adhered them to a 5.5″ x 5.5″ piece of Night of Navy card stock.

Assembled the rest of the card front.

Here is it finished measuring 5.5″ x 5.5″.

I challenge you to make a creation today using numbers. If you accept this challenge, please leave a link to your card in the comment section of this post. I would love to see them!

May your day be filled with cool lake breezes. 🙂

Until my next post. . . . . . . . .

Hugs,

Michelle

Inspiration Imagine – Tutorial #102 and Blog Candy Winner

19 Comments August 16, 2008 zindorfstamps

Happy Saturday!!!!!

One thing before I get going on today’s tutorial, we have a blog candy winner out of 137 comments, the random number generator selected #26, LittleSeaOtter~Kecia , Who wrote “Oh, how I love this card. Makes me happy just looking at it. Favorite thing about fall? That’s a no brainer…..Ohio State Football!!!” Kecia, please e-mail your address to me at mzindorf@aim.com.

Alrighty then, about today’s piece. Split Coast Stampers.com has a great challenge on Saturday mornings. It is the inspiration challenge and I love it. I use inspiration pieces all the time to come up with my creations. For example today’s inspiration piece is this swimwear. I took the color palette and swirl from the inspiration piece. Those are the elements from the swimwear that most inspire me. I didn’t feel the need to work in any paisley, or try to duplicate the pattern exactly 🙂

Let’s get started.

Supplies:

Stamps:Innovative Stamp Creations “Flair of Summer”, Cape Arago “Bird”, Inque Boutique “A Word or Two”

Paper: Stampin’ Up Whisper White, Kiwi Kiss, Purely Pomegranate

Ink: Stampin’ Up Kiwi Kiss, Purely Pomegranate, Baja Breeze, Basic Black & Chocolate Chip

Accessories:Versamark Pad, Clear embossing Powder, Heat Gun, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Brayer, Ticket Corner Punch, White Gel Pen

Stamped half of the plant image on a piece of Whisper White card stock by first loading my stamp with Versamark and then Kiwi Kiss ink before stamping. Note I only put the Versamark and the ink on the part of the image I wanted to stamp. I then heat embossed the image using fine detail clear embossing powder and a heat gun. Heat embossing the image makes the image resist any ink put on the panel (emboss resist technique).

Brayered Baja Breeze about 2/3rds the way down the card stock from the top and then 1/4 of the way from the bottom up leaving a very light space in between the two brayerings.

Using a Stamp-a-ma-jig for placement, stamped bird with Basic Black ink.

Colored the bird in with a White Gel Pen. In the large open areas of the bird I tried to imagine which direction the feathers would go and that is the direction I colored in.

Stamp part of the plant image again by loading just part of the stamp with Chocolate Chip ink.

Brayered lightly Purely Pomegranate ink at the top and bottom of the card stock.

Oops, I got a smudge of ink at the bottom right corner of my panel. Fixed it by stamping over it with the plant image again with Chocolate Chip ink.

This is my color palette that I used with my finished panel.

Stamped my sentiment with Baja Breeze ink.

Assembled card front and then decided to add the flourish with Baja Breeze ink. Used my Stamp-a-ma-jig for placement.

Here is the finished card measuring 5.25″ x 5.25″.

Hey, give an inspiration piece a try. Remember your piece only need to take small elements from the inspiration piece. No need to try to recreate it. 🙂

May your day be filled with images that inspire you!

Until my next post. . . . . . . . . . .

Hugs,

Michelle

Harvest Moon – Tutorial #101 and Blog Candy

148 Comments August 13, 2008 zindorfstamps

It’s been unseasonally cool here in Ohio for August and it makes me want to think of fall. Fall is my favorite, favorite, favorite season of all. The colors just speak to my creative side.

Also, I wanted to use these great stamps by Fire Cracker Designs By Pamela. Here is a link if you want to check them out: http://www.safesecurestore.com/stores/merchant.mvc?Screen=SFNT&Store_Code=firecrackerdesignsbypamela Love them!

I’m always happy to get a set of stamps that has images, such as the corn stocks that are in different sizes. Makes making scenes with depth so much easier. So you stamp creators out there keep that in mind, please, lol.

Oh yeah, I’m giving this card away as blog candy!

So to enter for a chance to win this card, please leave me a comment on this post telling me your favorite thing about the Fall Season. If you are getting this blog update by e-mail you will need to click this link to leave a comment on this blog post: http://zindorf.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/2008/08/13/harvest-moon-tutorial-and-blog-candy/

I will use a random number generator to pick the winner on the morning of Saturday, August 16th.

Ready for this tutorial? It’s a long one today, so grab a cup of your favorite hot beverage and lets get started. 🙂

Supplies:

Stamps: FireCrackerDesignsByPamela

Paper: Stampin’ Up Whisper White, Baja Breeze, Basic Black

Ink: Stampin’ Up Baja Breeze, Night of Navy, Not Quite Navy, Basic Black, Old Olive, Close to Cocoa, Palette Noir Black

Accessories: Brayer, Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Gun, Piercing Tools, Brads, Prismacolor Markers, Versamark Pad and Marker, Sponges,Post it Notes, Coluzzle Circle Template, Fine tip Black marker

Stamped the scarecrow on a piece of 4.25″ x 5.75″ piece of Whisper White Card stock with Palette Noir Black ink. I used this ink so I can color with Solvent based Prismacolor markers and don’t have to worry about it running.

Colored with Prismacolor Eggshell Marker.

Added Prismacolor Sand.

Added Prismacolor Cloud Blue.

Added Prismacolor Blue Slate.

Shaded tan areas by going over parts of them with the Eggshell marker.

Nice thing about Solvent based markers, you can shade by coloring and letting it dry and then going over parts of it to get a darker color.

Colored Shirt with Prismacolor Goldenrod.

Added Prismacolor Tuscan Red.

Shaded the Shirt by going over parts of it again with the Goldenrod marker.

Colored over the entire image with a Versamark marker and heat embossed using clear embossing powder and a heat gun.

Stamped small Cornstalks by first loading the stamp with Versamark and then Old Olive ink before stamping.

Heat embossed images using clear embossing powder and a heat gun.

Note: you do not have to clean the ink or embossing powder off of the scarecrow. It will melt right into the embossing powder on the scarecrow and disappear.

Colored in the stalks with a Prismacolor Eggshell marker.

Colored over the stalks with a Versamark marker and heat embossed using clear embossing powder and a heat gun.

Stamped large cornstalks by first loading the stamp with Versamark and then Close to Cocoa ink before stamping.

Heat embossed images with clear embossing powder and a heat gun.

Colored in the large stalks with a Prismacolor Sand marker.

Colored over the large stalks with a Versamark marker and heat embossed using clear embossing powder and a heat gun.

Cut a circle out of a Post it note being sure to have part of the circle cut from the sticky part of the Post it note.

Used the post it note circle as a mask for the moon.

Brayered on Baja Breeze ink at the top and bottom of the card stock leaving a light space in the middle.

Brayered on Not Quite Navy ink at the top and bottom of the card stock not covering the Baja Breeze ink entirely.

Brayered on Night of Navy ink at the top and bottom of the card stock not covering the Not Quite Navy ink entirely.

Removed post it note mask.

Sponge some Baja Breeze ink over the Moon using a swiping motion from side to side to streak it.

Sponged Basic Black ink around the card edge to get it really dark. The darker you get the outside of the scene the more the lighter parts in the middle pop!

Assembled card front and used a Piercing tool and pierced around the moon edge.

Drew a line with a fine tip black marker from pierced hole to pierced hole to create some faux stitching.

Used the Tim Holtz ruler and a piercing tool to pierce the middle panel edge. Oops! check out that crocked right pierced line. Covered the mistake with a brad in the right upper and lower corner, lol. And you thought I didn’t make mistakes! Hah!!!

Added more brads and here is the finished card measuring 5″ x 6.5″.

Whew, that was a long project!

Hope your day is filled with early cool Fall breezes and moon lite night.

Until my next post. . . . .. . . .. . . . .

Hugs,

Michelle

Heart Felt Thank You – Tutorial #100

61 Comments August 12, 2008 zindorfstamps

Supplies:

Stamps: Stampin’ Up Lovely As a Tree & Holidays & Wishes, Cornish Heritage Farms Hinges

Paper: Stampin’ Up Whisper White, Bashful Blue, Brilliant Blue

Ink: Stampin’ Up Brilliant Blue, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Bashful Blue, Basic Black, Barely Banana, More Mustard

Accessories: Stampin Up Black & Gray Markers, Post it Notes, Brayer, Corner Round Punch, Gold Brads

Starting out with a 4.5″ x 4.5″ piece of Whisper White card stock.

Mask a little under half of the bottom of the card stock with a post it note.

Brayered on Bashful Blue ink at the top of the card stock.

Brayered on Brilliant Blue ink not covering the Bashful blue ink entirely.

Sponged Brilliant Blue ink at the top of the card stock very heavily to create some drama in the sky.

Sponged a bit of Black ink at the edge of the Post it Note mask to create a couple of hills in the distance.

Removed Post it note Mask.

Masked Sky area with a clean Post it Note.

Brayered on Barely Banana ink on the unmasked section of the card stock.

Tore a piece of post it note in a triangle shape to mask a section to create a road. This is an experiment, I have not tried this before. The sticky part of the Post it note is at the bottom of the card stock.

Brayered on More Mustard ink.

Removed triangle post it note, but left the post it note that is masking the sky on.

Sponged More Mustard ink in the middle of the Road.

Sponged Close to Cocoa ink in the middle of the road and the bottom of the card stock, not covering the More Mustard ink entirely.

Sponged Chocolate Chip ink at the very bottom of the card stock.

Took the Post it Note off of the Sky.

Colored in the middle tree with a black marker, huffed on it and stamped it.

Colored in the two trees on the right side of the stamp with a black marker, huffed on it and stamped it to the left of the first tree I stamped.

Sponged a bit of black ink under and to the left side of the trees to create a shadow.

Used my corner rounder punch on two corners of my main image panel and the Brilliant Blue panel that will go under it.

Stamped two hinges on with Basic Black ink and colored them in a bit with a gray marker.

Assembled card, added a gold brad to each hinge and then stamped my sentiment using Basic Black ink.

Here you have it, the conclusion of tutorial #100 with the finished card measuring 5.25″ x 5.25″.

May your day be filled with dreamy scenery. Thanks again for your encouragement!

Until my next post. . . . . . . . . . . .

Hugs,

Michelle

Beginning of the Day – Tutorial

45 Comments June 28, 2008 zindorfstamps

I’m wrapping up leaf week here on my blog. I hope you have been inspired this week to get out those leaf stamps and use them for projects other than Fall themed ones. Now you know I had to wrap the week up with a brayered sky scene!

Let’s get started on the tutorial. 🙂

Supplies:

Stamps: Stampin’ Up Best Blossoms

Paper: Stampin’ Up Whisper White, Basic Black & Soft Sky

Ink: Stampin’ Up Apricot Appeal, Basic Black, Really Rust, More Mustard & Soft Sky

Accessories: Photo Corner Punch, 1 3/8″ Circle Punch, Brayer, Sponges, Piercing Tools & White Gel pen,

Brayered Apricot Appeal on the bottom 2/3rds of a piece of Whisper White Card stock that measures 4.5″ x 4.5″.

Punched a 1 3/8″ circle from the sticky part of a post it note and used it as a mask for the sun.

Brayered More Mustard over the bottom 2/3rds of the card stock.

Brayered Really Rust ink at the bottom 1/2 of the card stock.

Brayered Soft Sky ink at the top of the card stock.

Decided I wanted some more interest to the sky so I sponged More Mustard ink in a “U” shape around the sun.

Sponged Really Rust ink just under the More Mustard sponging.

To add more interest, sponged black at the bottom, left top corner and then lightly through the center of the card stock.

Removed post it note mask and sponged Apricot Appeal ink at the bottom of the sun so it isn’t so stark looking.

Stamped leaves with Basic Black ink.

Highlighted the leaves by outlining just the side of the leaf that is facing the sun.

Assembled my card front and used my piercing tools and a White Gel pen to put in some faux stitching around the main panel edge.

Added some Soft Sky card stock photo corner punches and a brad to the bottom two corners.

Here is the finished card, measuring 5.25″ x 5.25″.

I hope your day today started with a fantastic sunrise and ends with a fantastic sunset!

Until my next post. .. . . . . . . . . . .

Michelle

Gardening with MFT – Tutorial

31 Comments May 31, 2008 zindorfstamps

Happy Weekend everyone! I finally got a moment to use this new set, Can You Dig It from My Favorite Things. Cute, cute images! Of course I’m a sucker for gardening images this time of year.

Before we get started on this tutorial, I need to apologize in advance for the first 10 photos being blurry. I was taking photos in the garden and forgot to change my camera setting back again, daaahhh, lol. Stick with the tutorial, I do finally get my act together!

Let’s get started. . . . . . . 🙂

Supplies:

Stamps: MFT Can you Dig It

Paper: Stampin’ Up Whisper White, Soft Sky, Not Quite Navy & Creamy Caramel

Ink: Stampin’ Up Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Not Quite Navy, Soft Sky, Old Olive, Night of Navy & Always Artichoke, Palette Noir Black

Accessories: Brayer, Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Gun, Prismacolor markers, Brads, Ribbon, Stampin’ Up Markers, Sponges

Stamped image with Palette Noir Black ink on Whisper White card stock.

Colored her hat with Prismacolor Eggshell marker and then put in a shadow around the flower band with a Prismacolor Sand marker.

Colored her dress with a Prismacolor Cloud Blue marker.

Put shadows on her dress at the top and on the bottom with a Prismacolor Blue Slate marker.

Colored her gloves and shoes with a Prismacolor Light Olive Green marker.

Gave her a tan on her arms and legs with a Prismacolor Sand marker. Don’t we wish tanning was that easy, lol.

Put a little darker shadow at the top of her dress and the very bottom with a Prismacolor Periwinkle marker.

Colored the flowers on her hat with a Prismacolor Blue Slate marker and filled in the centers with a Prismacolor Sunburst Yellow marker.

Ok, now we are back in focus, lol.

Colored over the image with a Versamark maker and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder and a heat gun.

Masked upper portion of the card stock at an angle with Post it notes.

Brayered Creamy Caramel ink on un-masked area.

Sponged Close to Cocoa ink right were the post it note meets the card stock.

Flipped the post it notes around and lowered them a little. Sponged Close to Cocoa ink right where the post it note meets the card stock.

Continued to move the post it notes down and sponge more Close to Cocoa ink making more lines.

Removed post it notes.

Made dots in the rows of dirt with an Old Olive Maker.

Masked Sky area with new post it notes.

Note: I use new post it notes instead of re-using ones that have ink on them when I change colors, because the ink on the post it notes with mix with the new ink, yuck.

Sponged Old Olive ink on the grass area, using a circular motion.

Removed post it note and sponged on Soft Sky ink in a circular motion in the sky area.

Sponged Not Quite Navy ink at the top of the card stock not covering the Soft Sky ink entirely.

Decided to put a shadow in for the gardener. Sponged Close to Coca ink around the bottom part of her.

Getting darker yet with the shadow, sponge a small amount of Chocolate chip ink right around her leg.

Sponged a little Always Artichoke at the top of the grassy area.

Used a Chocolate Chip marker and put a hard line between the row of dirt to define them a little more.

Sponge a bit of Night of Navy ink at the top of the card stock to create some movement in the sky.

Assembled card and here it is finished measuring 5.5″ x 5.5″.

This ends the tutorial, but I have a few photos of my garden to share with you today.

My Lilac bush is in bloom and smells heavenly!

An Iris, I think the colors on this one is unbelievable.

Peonies have made there appearance. These are close to my heart because they have been in my Grandmother’s garden and my Mother’s garden, before coming to me.

Here is a front view of the house and the split rail fence I was wiening about installing last weekend, lol. Wave hi to my DH, Russ who is leaning on the fence and wondering what the heck his wife is doing, lol. Anyone want to come over and help me dig the flower beds that will go in front of the fence? Just let me know and I will have a shoval all ready for you. 🙂