Box of Crayon Leaves

Good morning!  It's Holly posting today.  It alllllmost feels like fall here, because the mornings are just a tiny bit cooler and crisper than they have been over the past four months.  We are still in the 90's in the afternoons, so it's not quite there yet, but I do think there is some hope for some cool fall weather on the horizon.  So with that in mind, I had a lot of fun with today's card.  

I stamped the new Leaves background from Technique Junkies with a dark brown permanent ink onto some white cardstock and let it dry.  Then I had a blast watercoloring the leaves in various shades of yellow, orange, red, green, and magenta.  While this was drying, I stamped the sentiment from the Autumn set (Technique Junkies) with the same dark brown ink I used for the background.  That sentiment says it all, and it really does look like I used all the crayons in the box to color those leaves, doesn't it?  LOL

Please feel free to use this code, TJ10Holly, when you shop at Technique Junkies.  You'll save 10% off your entire order, so grab this beautiful new Leaves Background stamp and check out all the great fall stamps from this month's release HERE.  Have a great day!

  

Watercolored Stains by Judy Jackson

I love this technique from the current newsletter!  It makes for easy and wonderful backgrounds!  The background stamp is from Stampin' Up!  The verse is from Impression Obsession -- an advertiser on the TJ newsletter. They have discount code in the newsletter! How great is that?  The woman stamp is a retired stamp from PSX.  I would love to own these stamps. I was able to get images from a friend. 

Enjoy your day! 

Judy Jackson

Happy Fall by Judy Jackson

I love embossing folders and all of the things you can do with them. They easily add visual interest to your cards. These two embossing folders are two of the fall embossing folders folders Tim Holtz designed for Sizzix. Isn't the Texture Duet technique a wonderful way to use more than folder? I love it. The stamps are from Mark's Finest Papers. The pumpkins are watercolored. This will be one of my Thanksgiving cards -- I only make of few of those! I make over 120 Christmas cards so fall cards have to be limited!

Have a great day!

Judy Jackson

Clipped Corners by Judy Jackson

Hi! Judy Jackson here.

I love this Steampunk set by Artistic Outpost. I used the train station and a few other stamps from this set to create this card.  I watercolored the images of the man and station. Then I used the Clipped Corners Technique from the October 2010 issue of the TJ Newsletter before I placed it on my panel.

The other image and the stamped words were just sponged with color. The crocheted lace trim seemed to just match vintage image the vintage look of the train station. I modified the Technique by Design sketch for this month to allow for the larger stamped image for this design sketch. The script stamp in the corner is from Stampin' Up. The background paper at the bottom is from 7 Gypsies.

Enjoy your week. Take some time to be creative!

Judy Jackson

Wonderful Texture Duet by Judy Jackson

The Texture Duet technique in the October TJ newsletter is such a great way to use more than one embossing folder. The top folder is one of Time Holtz's alterations embossing folders. The bottom one is called Vintage Wallpaper and is from Stampin' Up. I sponged over the embossed areas with a dark blue to highlight those areas.

I found this rubber stamp with the image of a Rubber Stamper years ago. I have used it on a variety of things -- but mainly those things were all for me: ways to keep track of my tools and inks and things like that. I have never used it on a card before now. The image is by Delafield Stamp Company which is now closed. I added glitter to her sweater, her tool box, and a couple of other things. I used my glitter pen to outline the shelves and the pens and the brushes.

The reason for all this glitter (besides liking it that is!) is the verse below my stamping lady. This sentiment rubber stamp is from Victorine Originals (2278-D ~ Ink on My fingers). I was recently given this stamp and as soon as I saw it, I knew it was the perfect saying to use with my stamping lady! I could hardly wait to team these two stamps together. I own another stamp from this company -- there are some great images and verses on their website. (I love their mermaid!) How many times I have had people come up to me and ask if I knew I had glitter on my face?

Some friends (and their hubbies!) who have visited my home have said to me "You have a problem!" after seeing my stamp room. I admit I have a storage problem. I am now in the process of unmounting nearly all of my wood mounted stamps -- in order to create more space for stamps and other tools! I have a small stamp room. I always trying to think of another way to somehow create MORE room for stuff in my stamp room. It is about 10x11. Almost all of the walls are now covered in either shelves, rods to store punches, gutters to hold rolls of ribbon, drawers, racks, cupboards, etc. etc. etc. My craft table sits in the middle of the room.

Not only does my face have glitter -- but the rug can have a certain shimmer and glimmer if you look at it just right -- or maybe "just wrong!" My fingers nearly always have ink on them - I get ink on my wrists, my arms, but I usually avoid ink on my clothes! I have a desk mat under my stamp table so I don't get ink on the rug! I am also sure that stampers can identify with this sentiment.

So go forth -- get ink on your fingers and glitter on your face and in your hair! Have a GREAT time!

Judy Jackson

Worn Wallpaper meets Halloween by Judy Jackson

I don't often make Halloween cards but I love this SU set called Greeting Card Kids. Isn't this little girl sweet looking?

Last fall I bought a small paper stack of Halloween background paper made by Recollections. There are only a few sheets of each design. So I made four cards using different background designer papers. I knew these papers would be wonderful using the super easy technique called Worn Wallpaper from the current newsletter.

I used a background stamp called Sanded from Stampin' Up. It really did work to make the designer paper look worn out!

The little girl on the pumpkin for each card was watercolored and then sponged around the edges with green ink first and then the dark purple. I used scraps of the background paper as an extra layer behind the focal image of the little girl. It just adds some interest plus it also ties in some of the other colors used on the card. Each card is different and that is just fine!

I hope you have some time this week to do some stamping!

Judy Jackson

Symphony of Sanded Core'dinations by Judy Jackson

New things are always so much fun, aren't they? I could hardly wait until the new embossing folders from Sizzix and Tim Holtz came out! When the first one arrived in my mail box I had to use it right away! It just so happened that I had also purchased a packet of the whitewashed Core'dination card stock while I was away a few weeks ago.

I discovered something about these embossing folders that is important and I want to share it with you. When you place your card stock in the folder and run it through your embossing machine you will discover these are actually "debossing" folders and the design that you may want to sand is not the side of the card stock you think it might be. They emboss - or deboss - beautifully but you have to think carefully about which side you want to sand.

When I sanded this side I thought i must make a card with this! It is so pretty. I couldn't even wait to make a focal point and I went digging through ATCs that I had made and saved. I found this ATC and thought the colors went well with the sanded card stock. I tried some stamped vellum to add to the right hand side and took it off. I decided a ribbon and a few more pearls tied to the bow was just the right touch!

The stamp is by Impression Obsession and it water colors wonderfully. The stamp is much larger than an ATC so I remember placing the card stock on the stamp carefully to get the right part of the stamp for the focal image on the ATC.

Have a great week!

Judy Jackson

Judy Jackson does Pointillism

Try this Technique

Do some techniques scare you and you think, "Boy, I am not sure I can do this one?" Well, that is how I felt when I started to create the background for this card. As I read the directions for the Pointillism technique from the December 2006 Technique newsletter they seemed simple enough. But as I was working I wasn't so sure, but I think i got it right!

Now the background is dry! What stamp shall I use? I decided to use this lovely giraffe from Prickly Pear. I embossed it with a brown embossing powder and then watercolored the image.

It ended up being a fun card to create. What don't you try it too?

Have a wonderful stamping day!

Judy Jackson