Powder Power and an Awesome Discovery!

Happy Monday friends! So glad you have stopped by to check out this week's challenge! Simon Says it's time to find power in powders! Think embossing powder, pigment powders! 

I have to admit, I was a little stumped by this challenge and could have taken the easy way out (for me) and just used embossing powder, but I was trying to take it further, and came across my collection of Lindys Stamp Gang Starburst Sprays. They arrive as a powder in their bottles and you just have to add hot water and shake. So, I thought that counts as a powder, right?

It is still Stamptember, and Simon Says Stamp has been celebrating and releasing awesome new products all month long! Well, I had to do a little shopping when I saw the release, and got the Henna Patterns stamps to play with. Some day, I will find a place to have the henna designs done for real! 

I sprayed some watercolor paper with the Lindys, then stamped using the Henna Patterns, using my MISTI. I thought I was doing quite well stamping on my own, but once I started using this tool, I just love the awesome, crisp images I get! 

Laying things out on the tag...

I LOVE this technique I discovered quite by accident!! To get a very cool effect, I sprayed the stencil itself and then turned it over onto the paper to create a reverse image. Check out how it looks on black and on the tag.

Isn't this texture so cool? I love it!

By the time I finished the tag, this ended up hidden, but you can bet I will do this again and make it the focus of a project! I see lots of possibilities!!

I went over the tag with Hickory Smoke to tone it down to work with the black.

I finished the tag off with Ranger Enamel Accents and 28 Lilac Lane embellishments, added some fibers, and some food for thought!

Now, it's time for you to get out your powders, find your power, and start creating so you can join us in the fun this week! Remember, one of you will win the generous $50 voucher from Simon Says Stamp!

SUPPLIES:

                                       

                                       

 A great place to shop! 

Simon is on Instagram!

Are you wondering what powder powers the DT found? Head on over and check out their awesome creativity!! Thanks for stopping by!

SaveSave

Grab Your Coffee Cup and Get Some Fresh Brewed!

Happy Fall everyone! Hope it is a beautiful autumn day wherever you are. For all you coffee, tea and cocoa lovers, you know this also means it's time for the Fall Coffee Hop which you can visit right HERE. 

I had a lovely Lavender Latte (and a delicious almond cake) at my local Co-op on Monday. This definitely got me in the mood for the hop. Who would think lavender and coffee pair so well, but they really do, so I wanted to share a little recipe for a Simple Lavender Syrup and you can read more details HERE, along with a recipe for iced lavender coffee. Yum!!

Lavender Simple Syrup

1/2 tsp lavender buds, dry or fresh

2 cups sugar

1 cup water

Combine all in a small pot on the stove and simmer for 10 minutes. Strain the lavender buds out, cool and store in a jar.

And, here's my card for the hop! How about some fresh brewed? The background is actually from the paper I lay down when I use sprays and stencils, and the leaves and man are stamped on copy paper I painted. Using up some scraps and just having fun!

Hope you've enjoyed my fresh brewed post, and be sure to head over the hop to see all the coffee inspiration! 

Wanderlust 2016 Inspiration in a Bag!

I just went through a wonderful class with Roben-Marie Smith in my Wanderlust 2016 online course. She taught us how to make this awesome artsy bag from a paper shopping/gift bag. I spent a rainy Sunday working on this and a bit of Monday, and I am so happy with my new bag! Wonder what I will use it for?

I'll share a few photos of how I transformed a gift bag like this into this uber cool pouch!

I started with a neutral bottom layer with old book pages and things, then added paints and images I cut out from papers I had made, or scraps leftover from projects.

This will give you an idea of the early stages...and yes, I did have to clean the paint off of my iPad a few times!

Then, I went in and added some awesome images stamped on book paper. My friend, Andrea at Snapping Monsters designed these stamps, and I just love finding ways to use them! Here is a link to her Etsy shop.

Some stenciling, lots of doodling, and many layers and the sewing machine later....here is my bag! I really like the neutral additions to all that color. I can also see I've sewn a bit uphill just like when I write :) ah well, I say just embrace the imperfections!

Back

Now for the question - what will I use it for? hmmm...not sure yet, but I can't wait to try it out! 

Wow, I really went for the bright colors, and they just make me happy!

I hope you've enjoyed seeing what I've learned in my Wanderlust class - I have had so much fun and learned a lot from a great array of teachers, so I've already signed up for 2017.

Have a grand day!

Inspired by Jimmy Buffet's "Fins"

Hello, hello my Monday friends! We have a great theme for you this week at Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge - Inspired by Music!! I love music and listen to it often while I am crafting, just about every time I am behind the wheel, and even in the wee hours of the morning when hubby is playing guitar. 

So, can you imagine how hard it was to decide on one song? But the one that kept coming back to me was "Fins" by Jimmy Buffet, maybe because it takes me back to my younger self? Maybe because like in the song, at that time in my life, I was the girl from Cincinnati? Maybe because I just liked the imagery? 

How appropriate is it to use old cleaned anchovy and herring tins to create the base for my mermaid? Well, I thought it was perfect!

I glued them together, let that dry, then painted them with black gesso.

I am so impatient waiting for things to dry, so in the meantime I started to freehand cut waves out of Graphic 45 Voyage Beneath the Sea papers, and a few extra bits.

I inked up the waves a bit, then glued them around the tin's base.

Next step, adhere some green tulle at the base of the waves.

I am repurposing this beautiful mermaid that I made quite awhile ago and had on a tag - time to give her a new home! She has all kinds of fun details like seashells and bits of ocean treasures, and I love her gorgeous white and purple hair! I think this is one of my favorite Julie Nutting doll stamps.

I seated my mermaid on my tins, added rocks I had collected from the beach, and then added wire with sharks to circle her.  

Can't you feel 'em circlin', honey? 

Can't you feel 'em swimmin' around?

You got fins to the left, fins to the right,

And you're the only bait in town. 

To get my mermaid to sit up straight, I added a popsicle stick to her back and glued it to the tin. In order to hide that, I cut out another mermaid and put her on the back.

and here are a few photos I took of her outside...

Thanks for the inspiration Jimmy Buffet, and a big howdy to all the ParrotHeads in Paradise out there!!

I really hope I have inspired you to think of a song, or how music inspires you so you will join us this week for our challenge. As you know Simon Says Stamp always has an awesome giveaway each week, and you could be the winner of the $50 voucher!

SUPPLIES:

                                       

                                       

A great place to shop!!

Simon is on Instagram! Be sure to use #sssmchallenge so we can find you! 

Now, I wonder how music has inspired the rest of the DT? Do you wonder what songs they will choose? Head on over to the challenge blog to see their amazing as always creations!

Steampunk Challenge: Tome of Time

Welcome to my little corner of the Steampunk world, my friends! I've been working on this project for quite awhile, and the innards are not yet finished since I am not sure exactly how I want to use this, but I am ready to share it. 

So, what do you say to taking an old encyclopedia and bringing it back to life, steampunk style? Let's get the cogs and gears turning and begin the transformation.

First step, I took a craft knife and cut into the binding and took out a lot of pages - the book was just too heavy. I learned that cutting into the binding makes other pages fall out too, so I had to go back in and try to fix that problem with some adhesive. 

My favorite part of this project was making the cover! I started out by adhering and wrinkling deli paper with gel medium to the book cover, then once that dried, painting it with black gesso. 

Now, the fun begins with creating a metallic looking cover! I started with the DecoArt Deep Turquoise and Apple Green, brushing it into areas of the cover, then just when in and used my fingers.

Added a metallic sheen with the Ice Blue and Rich Espresso Metallic acrylics - starting to build the patina.

I felt it still needed depth, so added my fave - Quinacridone Gold, and used the Carbon Black mister.

Final touch, add highlights to the wrinkles with the Gold Rush Lustre. I worked it in with my fingers to really get it into the cracks.

So now that I have transformed an old encyclopedia into a treasure book, time to add all the fun ephemera to my cover! Hot air balloons flying by gears and cogs, bits and baubles, and a time ring. Hmm, maybe hidden inside this book are the instructions for time travel? You can only imagine!

details...

Here's a peek into the innards of the tome...found some wacky photos to use!

Perhaps a different Wheel of Fortune than we know?

You think I don't but...I know! What?? What do you know??

When traveling through time, one must have a place to keep notes and receipts, so I had to make a few pocket pages to keep things in. 

So, did you come across the time travel instructions? No? Ah, good, I have hidden them well!

Please join us in our challenge at Sandee and amelie's Steampunk Challenges this month, and remember, anything steampunk or industrial is what we are looking for. I love seeing the amazing and imaginative ideas you all come up with! 

Thanks so much to our sponsors who keep the gears turning at SASPC!