Are You My Mother?

Had to go to the Post Office this morning, so on the way home I decided to take a chance and see if the Feed Store had gotten in their shipment of Americauna's early. And they had! So three new babiez made the trek home with me. And I'm really glad I stopped because the Chocolate Layers that weren't supposed to be in til May are now scheduled to arrive this coming Tue! So I'll be making another trip on Wed to get three of them.

They are so cute next to the Buffs! They keep trying to get underneath them like they would their momma. And the Buffs want NO part of that!

 The Buff's are starting to lose their downy feathers. And are trying to fly! John had gotten this  heavy cardboard watermelon bin last year at W*M and we folded it up and put it in the shed after we moved the big girls into the coop when we got it rebuilt. Good thing! The Buff's were trying to fly out of the toilet paper box I had them in after the first week. So now the watermelon bin is in the chicken coop so I don't have downy feathers all in the garage like I did last year. Plus, if they fly out, they can't go anywhere since they're in the coop and we don't have to worry about the garage door going up and down and them possibly being loose. They are separated from the "big" girls, but they can hear each other.

THIS ONE! This one's gonna be my Trouble Maker. I can see it happening. Her name is ANNA. She is the one who is trying to spread her wings and fly. She's on TOP of the waterer trying to figure out how to get OUT where I am. She watches me oh so closely when I am taking care of them. She likes to pick at my fingernails and rings. She likes glittery things it seems! I think I need to take some Distress Inks out and dab different colors on she , Anita and Sluggy because I can't tell them apart. Except for when Anna is in Trouble Maker mode!

Creative Chemistry Day 10

And today it is over. Students are already asking for CC2! Sure hope t!m does decide to do another sometime. I will certainly be signing up if he does. Today was all about the "liquid embellishments". Stickles, Ice Stickles, Distress Stickles, Liquid Pearls, Glossy Accents (MY favorite for over 10 years now!), Enamel Accents, Crackle Accents and the differences in all of them. Seems Distress Crackle Rock Candy is the Prof's favorite because it is clear and you can use it on so many things. I'll tell you a secret. The Rock Candy is meant to be spread with your finger. Put a dab on your Kraft sheet and use your finger to apply it to your project. It is meant to be a thin layer. And unlike all the rest, Rock Candy can be dried using your heat gun. Just keep it moving so it doesn't burn.

 Rock Candy Distress Stickles. Ink water spritzed tag using Distress Satin (Victorian Velvet) and dry. Ink stamp with various colors of Distress Ink (Iced Spruce & Gathered twigs on t!m's Mixed Media stamp set) and stamp tag. Ink edges of tag. Apply Rock Candy Distress Stickles with finger in a thin layer over entire tag. Allow to dry on it's own, or if you're impatient like t!m and I are, use the heat gun!

Sentiment is from Words for Thought. I stamped it on the tag in Archival Black then stamped again in Mustard Yellow Distress Ink and cut out the "finding" and used my stapler to attach it. I also used my white highlighter pen on the "making" to make it stand out a bit more. And you can see in this pic the glossy effect that the Rock Candy gives. It really shows up better in person!

Creative Chemistry Day 9

Only one day left. :::insert sad face::: I have learned so much these last two weeks. I will truly be sad to see tomorrow come. Today was PERFECT! All about Perfect Pearls Powder and Liquid and what-all can be done with them. I found out I can mix the powder with multi medium and use it as a colorant! I see that on a mixed media piece coming up soon.

 Perfect Distress Mist. Remember the day of the don't gots? And that I only had ONE color of re-inker? Well, I still only gots ONE color of re-inker. Old Paper. We were supposed to mix THREE colors of re-inkers in a mini mister aling with water and three different colors of Perfect Pearls powder. So, if you only gots one re-inker, you mix three different powders with the same color re-inker! So there is no pretty different colors of ink on my tag, but there are some interesting blips and blops of Perfect Pearls! Stamp set is CTMH Love Life (still available, Anita on pg 100!)

 Perfect Distress. Probably my favorite technique today. Use a light color Distress Stain (Spun Sugar) on a wet tag and dry well. Stamp image on tag using Distress Inks in different colors. Apply Perfect Pearls Powder with a brush. Remove extra Pearls using a large dry brush. Mist lightly with water to cause the Distress Inks to run. Dry tag with heat gun. Ink edges of tag with Distress Inks. (which I forgot to do!)

Perfect Splatter Distress. This is kind of a play on the first days tags Wrinkle Free Distress where you smoosh your ink pads on your Kraft sheet and spritz with water then smoosh your tag into the color. Dry and keep smooshing and drying the tag til you achieve the look you want. The only addition to this tag is you flick small bits of Perfect Pearls Powder over the ink before you spritz the water so you get these "puddles" of pearls. The sentiment tag was given to me years ago by a friend. I don't know where she got it, but it pretty much describes me to a "T!!"

Creative Chemistry Day 8

Today's class was all about paints and the differences in Paint Dabbers, Claudine Hellmuth Studio Paints and Distress Crackle Paints. Learning new things every day and isn't that what school is all about. Guess the number one question people are asking t!m is "how do I know when my project is dry." Seriously?! So Prof t!m's answer, "if you touch it and it's not wet, it's dry." The man is a GENIUS!!!

 I used the Marble Technique from Day 5 for the tag itself and I like it better than the one I did on Day 5!! And I covered most of it up!! This technique is called Dabber Resist. I used my Copper Paint Dabber and dabbed it on the 3 Gentlemen tag and stamped on Sticky Back Canvas. Dried it well, then sprayed the tag with water and used Wild Honey and Broken China Distress Stains on the canvas.

 Crackle Paint Resist. Used Broken China Distress Crackle paint that I thinned too much with water because it was too thick and it didn't really crack like it should have. Oh well! Carry on! Once it was dry, I used the trees from t!m's mini holidays 2 collection (that I won from the 12 Tags of Christmas!) and stamped the background ones in Vintage Photo Distress Ink and the tall ones in Archival. And I decided I either need to buy Archival re-inker or a new pad. I am not happy with how those trees came out. They need to be "bolder" and more "forward." As it is, they look like they are part of the background.

Shattered Stains Resist. We were supposed to use Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint for this. Went to grab what I *thought* was my Rock Candy and it's Picket Fence! Whoops!! So Rock Candy is now on my gotta have list! That Necessity Being the Mother of Invention reared IT'S head again, so I pulled out some Crackle Accents and coated my 'Brolly Man that I cut out of GrungePaper with it instead! Once it was dry and crackled, I used Broken China, Dried Marigold, wild Honey and Vintage Photo Distress Stains to color him. I used Weathered Wood, Tumbled Glass and Vintage Photo Distress Inks on my tag and then did the Spritz and Flick technique to mimic rain.

Creative Chemistry Day 7

A much happier day today since I gots embossing powders of all sorts and sizes! Today was all about the properties of embossing powders and the differences in Fine Detail, Detail, UTEE and Distress. t!m is a great Prof and I am sorta digging on the online class as opposed to taking the actual class with him at the front of the room teaching because this is more about the whys and where-fors instead of all technique all the time. Not that he doesn't drop some of that info in his "real life" classes, but at the pace you go, there isn't a whole lotta time to delve into the backgrounds behind each. and. every. product. And since the class will be available online to you if you take it forever, if there's ever something that you want to go back and revisit, you can. Great for those of us who's memory isn't what it used to be! I can tell you what I wore to school when I was 8, but don't ask me what I had for breakfast yesterday!! And it's still not too late to sign up! Go here and sign up now! All of today's stamps are CTMH. Not a t!m or Dyan stamp in sight today!!

 Nostalgic Batik Technique. Stamp your image in a bright color of Distress Ink and apply embossing powder and heat. Blend different colors of Distress Ink over entire tag. Where you have embossed will "resist" the ink. Wipe excess ink off embossed images and Spritz and Flick water to complete.

 Rusted Enamel Technique. Using green color pallet Distress Inks, apply direct to paper. I used Tumbled Glass and Iced Spruce. Apply clear embossing powder over entire tag. Flick the back to remove excess powder and use fingers to swipe the edges and center in a random fashion. Heat embossing powder then apply brown color pallet Distress inks over entire tag.

Distress powder Resist Technique. Stamp image in embossing ink or Distress ink. Shake Distress Embossing Powder well and apply generously over image. Heat emboss and allow to cool completely. Rub well to remove release crystals from image. Apply Distress Inks over entire image  and wipe image with a damp cloth to remove excess ink.

Friend Anita asked me what the image was in the above tag. It is a Peacock and it's from the now retired CTMH stamp called Circle of Love. I stamped it on plain white cs so you could get a better idea of what it looks like. You're welcome HRH!!!

Creative Chemistry Day 6

It's another day of the "don't gots" at Sue's! I don't gots Distress Markers and I don't gots Specialty Stamping Paper. But I am muddling through! I used my CTMH markers and while fine for plain old coloring, they are notsomuch for using with water! They don't blend worth a hoot, even on watercolor paper!! Both of my lss' are on back order, as is the rest of the country, for Distress Markers. So eventually I will have them, just not anytime soon.

 Watercolor With Markers. I used some of the images from Dyan Reaveley's Bits of This stamp set. LOVE those bugs! I think you can really tell with this tag that the colors didn't so much blend as they just watered down.

 Blending With Markers. I finally broke down and used the butterfly stamp that t!m has been using so much of here lately! I generally like to march to my own drummer, but I thought I'd try the technique with the CTMH markers and see how it worked compaired to his sample. And it didn't! Again, basically just watered down the color and didn't blend it so well.

Stamping with Markers. This one we were supposed to use the Specialty Stamping Paper with. Ahhh, no gots! So I colored my stamps with my CTMH markers and then "huffed" on them and stamped directly on a manila tag. When you use the Distress Ink with the blending tool directly on the tag, it tends to "muddy" the images jsut like t!m said it would! Hmmm...guess no matter how old you are, teacher is ALWAYS right!!

Druthers

Second post of the day...scroll down for more!

The challenge this week at OCC has me pining for two places. One I have been visiting since I was a wee pup vacationing in a tent with mom and dad and my two sisters. That would be the Great Smoky Mountains in TN and NC. If I had my druthers, I'druther be in the mountains! I am completely at peace when I am there. And second is a place I never visited until well into adulthood but it quickly captured my heart. That would be Japan. We accompanied my mother and father in law and sister in law and her dh in 2003 to visit my mil's grand-niece and her family that mom hadn't seen in 20+ years. It was a fantastic trip and one that I look back on fondly and with many wonderful memories.

 These are two stamps I picked up a few years ago at My Scrapbook Store, a "superstore" with all things scrapbooking and papercrafting in Pigeon Forge, TN. You used to see Mail Pouch Tobacco signs painted on barns all across the south. Now that smoking is no longer "cool", you don't see so many of them. This stamp reminded me of a simpler time and for that reason, I kept the card simple. And the bear paw stamp was a "must have" for me since the bear is the symbol of the Smoky's. All these many years I've been going to the mountains and I've never seen one in the wild. It's one of the things on my bucket list! Please note that this is not a "specific" barn. Back in the 30's and 40's companies would send employees out across the south and they would ask "Farmer Jones" for permission to paint their logo on his barn so that it could be seen by passing motorists. It was a labor-free way for 1/4 of the barn to get painted every year, so most barn owners said yes! This is just one artists rendition of a barn on a stamp.  I stamped the barn in Pigment ink on watercolor paper and used my waterbrush to color the image. And the bear paw I random stamped using Pigment ink.

For my Japan inspired card, I used some Origami paper that cousin Akiko-san sent me. John likes to make origami figures with it and I use it for carding. I used to make cards for mil to send to her friends and family in Japan but since her strokes a couple of years ago, she has limited use of her right side and so her writing skills have fallen away and I don't make cards for her any more. The Giesha is a stencil that I used my Stipple Brush and Cocoa ink on. The Kanji phrase is from a retired CTMH set called Wisdom. It's had to see, but in the center is a piece of Mulberry paper that Akiko-san sent as well.  I kept this one simple because that is the Japanese way. They don't go for a lot of frills and doo-dads!

And now I have my first two cards to go in Debbie's box for her 2013 Wak/Run since I sent her all of the cards I've created over the past year last week!

Paradise Art Journal

 Friend Anna shared this blog post with me yesterday and the sound you heard about 10:30 AM Eastern time was me sighing! I thought the card was simply beautiful. And as is generally the case when I see something that I am especially taken with, I have to try and recreate it using the "Sue spin" on it. So that what I've been up to this morning! The latest pages in my Art Journal.

I used CTMH Footloose paper pack and  the accompanying stamp set along with the surfboard and sun from now retired CTMH Splish Splash. All stamped images either have Stickles or Glossy Accents on them. I used wild honey Distress Stain to color the cheesecloth and once I dried it with my heat gun (there's that impatience rearing it's head again!) I further distressed it using Distress Ink Pad gathered twigs and my blending tool. I found a little clam charm in my stash and attached it to the cheesecloth. I cut out the banner pieces using Pinky and covered them with a piece of Random Stamped cs I had left over from an earlier project. I used CTMH A Typeset alphabet to stamp the sun n fun on the banner and used raffia to attach it.

Journey

I've had this idea in my head since before I ordered my newest Dyan stamps and when they finally arrived last week, I was so entrenched in the t!m classes that I couldn't wait til the weekend so I would have a chance to work on my Art Journal and get. the. idea. out. of. my. head! It was driving me crazy! Friend Anita had stamped and sent me some images of her Pondering Petunia stamp set, so I had them to play with as well. So again, I am mixing up stamp sets and products in my mixed media art. There's the doily stencil from Christy Tomlinson's SheArt collection, two different Dyan stamp sets in Pondering Petunia and Ruby Rainbow, t!m's mixed media stamp set, Lily Bee papers that were left over from the canvas book class I took at Posh Scraps and some really funky new felt ribbon I found at World Market over in Daytona Beach when we were over there a couple of weeks ago. The instant I saw it, I knew I had to have it for "hair" for the Dyan girls!!

I started with mini misters and CTMH re-inkers in Ocean, Sunflower and Orchid Bouquet. I wet my white cs and sprayed it with the mini misters and dried it. Then I mixed up some CTMH Sweet Leaf re-inker with some molding paste and using the stencil, added it for texture and dried it with the heat gun because I  am impatient! (I may have mentioned that a time or twelve!) Then stamped the various mixed media stamps and did a bit of coloring in and adding some diamond dots (I think that's what they're called!) around for more visual interest. Once that was done, I applied Perfect Pearls mist over everything for some shimmer and shine. Stamped my images and used my PrismaColor pencils, odorless mineral spirits and a stub to color them. Applied Stickles to the wings and boots and waited for.ever for it to dry! The hands, eyes and frog images are some from Anita's Pondering Petunia set that she sent and I simply sprayed them with the mini misters.

Creative Chemistry Day 5

Today was all about Distress Stains and sprays and the differences in both. Only makes me want some (OK, ALL!) of the Dylusions Paint Sprays. Waiting patiently on Michelle at Posh Scraps to get her Dyan order in.

Stained Kraft Resist Technique. This tag was done using t!m's Kraft Resist paper pack. We applied Distress Stains to the paper and where the varnish is resists the stain. Flicked water on the paper to leave spots and dried. Then we used the blending tool and Distress Ink pads and applied layers of color. I used the pattern piece of paper and a couple of the stamps from the Haberdashery stamp set using Archival ink.

Stamping with Stains Technique. This one started with a wet tag and then we applied Distress Stains. Dried with the heat gun and misted water on as we dried to create a mottled effect. Then used a stamp  and instead of ink, applied Distress Stain Picket Fence to our stamp and stamped, then quickly dried it. Then stamped an image on top using Archival ink.  

Marbled Stain Technique. This one started with a puddle of Picket Fence on our Kraft sheet. Then sqiggled other colors of Distress Ink around it. Then drag the tag thru the colors for a marbled effect. As you dry the tag, re-dip it into the colors and spritz with water for a more mottled effect. Images stamped in Archival ink.

Creative Chemistry-Day 4

Well if I'm gonna flunk, today will be the day! We are supposed to have cut-n-dry felt to make our own custom stamp pad for today and I don't have it. Will never use it, so ain't buyin' it! I don't even have something here that I can fake my way thru it, so I only have 2 tags to share today.

Today was all about re-inkers and the various ways you can use them. I own ONE Distress Re-inker...Old Paper. I've had it so long, I don't even remember why I bought it! I don't have an Old Paper Distress Ink Pad, so I didn't buy it to re-ink with. BUT! I have a crap-load of CTMH reinkers, so Necessity Being The Mother Of Invention, I went with what I had! I mixed up Orchid Bouquet, Autumn Terra Cotta and Ocean CTMH re-inkers in mini misters and held my tag over the trash can and sprayed away! I can tell you, and you'll just have to trust me on this, that my left hand is a lovely shade of the three colors and my wrist looks a little like the Statue Of Liberty color with it's greenish tinge! Or should that be patina?! And for my second tag, I smooshed my distress pads on my Kraft sheet and used my waterbrush to pick up the colors with instead of using the re-inkers like we were supposed to. This is the tag that I used my one and only Distress Re-inker on. I went around the outside edge of the watercolor piece and also the entire manila tag with Old Paint Re-inker. So maybe I'll get a D- instead of an F for at least using the one thing I do own for todays class!!

 Layered Misting. Used CTMH re-inkers in Orchid Bouquet, Autumn Terra Cotta and Ocean mixed with water in mini misters and sprayed on tag. Dried, then mixed up Cocoa re-inker in a mini mister and used masks and oversprayed with Cocoa.

Watercoloring with Re-inkers. Stamped image with Pigment ink. Then used Distress Ink pads and smooshed on Kraft sheet. Picked up color with waterbrush and applied to watercolor paper.

Creative Chemistry Day 3

Today's class was about mixing the different products and the cool things you can end up with. I did manage to incorporate some of my new Dyan Reaveley images that I finally received in the mail the other day. Stay tuned for more with them! My head is FULL of ideas and I need to let. them. out!

Alcohol Ink Agates. This tag uses alcohol inks and mixatives and blending solution then stamping with Archival ink. I used the Haberdashery stamp set.

Reflections Stamping.  This tag uses Reflections stamps stamped in Archival inks on an embossing folder then stamping other images on top of the Reflections stamps. Embossing the tag and finally coloring with Distress Inks. I used the fancy script from the Reflections stamp set,  CTMH Footloose WOTG stamp set , using the fish, clamshell and starfish and tumbled glass, iced spruce and weathered wood Distress Inks to mimic water.

Archival Resist. This tag uses stamped images in Bright Archival Inks (which I don't have, so I used the "brightest" green I have!) then stamping in a dark color with other inages and coloring with Distress Inks. These are a few of my new Dyan images from Bits of This stamp set and the chicken wire stamp from t!m's Mixed Media stamp set. And I HAD to do the pop of Red Pepper Paint Dabber on her lips! And I'll probably flunk the class for doing that!! ;)

Creative Chemistry Day 2

I am currently taking t!m's first ever online class. Day one was learning about the different properties of the products and what will and will not work with each other. Yesterday we actually got to put ink to paper!  And it's not too late for you to join the fun. Class is self-paced , gets sent to your email address every day and if you are a student, you have free lifetime access to the classes. So go see what all the fuss is about!

The second day of class was all about Distress Inks and the different ways to apply it. I can't go into details about what and how we are doing things, so you will have to just enjoy some pretty pictures without a bunch of blabber from me! Enjoy that while you can...cuz I'll soon be back to blabbering my heart out! It IS what I do best, after all! I can tell you that this technique was more about learning how to apply the color and notsomuch about all the schtuff you put on after. So many times, you almost can't see the background once all of the other stuff is applied. The only one that I kinda made like a "real" tag is the last one and I only added a sentiment. Of the three, it is my favorite!

 Wrinkle Free Distress Technique

 Blended Distress/Spritz & Flick Technique

Brushless Watercolor Technique

Peep, peep, peep

My feed store is getting peeps in already. I had stopped a couple of weeks ago to see what the schedule was on the arrival of the different varieties I want to get. I'm down to 4 girls and like to have between 8-10. Course I have to have my Americauna's! Love those green eggs. And I lost both of my chocolate layers last year, so wanted to get a couple more of them. The "chicken guy" at the feed store told me I needed to try Buff Orpingtons. He said they are very docile and are great layers of brown eggs and today was the day they were to arrive. Apparently they came in the end of last week instead, so I got to bring 3 new babiez home with me today.

And since it's a new week, there's a new challenge at Simon Says Stamp. This week it's all about make your own background. So the new (as yet, nameless) babiez were my inspiration behind this tag.

I started with Distress Stains in vintage photo and peeled paint (to mimic grass and dirt) and did the splat them on my Kraft sheet and spray my tag with water and smoosh it thru the stains technique. Then I dried it and flicked some water on it to give some spots. The smaller tag I did in the same fashion but used dried marigold and vintage photo. I used some of the Scrabble letters from the CTMH Crusin' paper pack to spell out "Peeps." I stamped a row of peeps on white cs using a stamp from the CTMH set called Springtime and colored them with colored pencils then cut them out. I used a piece of Magic Mesh and used some Molding Paste to give a bit more definition to the tag and once I dried it with my heat gun, I distressed it a bit with some Distress Ink gathered twigs. I printed a pic of the peeps that I took after I got them home on regular copy paper and cut the images out and applied them to the tag. Once everything was in place, I used t!m's mixed media chicken wire stamp set to stamp over the whole tag. And I love how the one peep that her head is kinda hanging off the top of the tag, how the chicken wire appears broken and she's trying to escape! That was NOT planned! I didn't even realize it til after I was done stamping.