We're still getting SKETCH-y at Jingle Belles this week. You have until 6pm EST on Wednesday to join the fun.
I started with this gorgeous coppery patinaed Gel Press Print that I accented with scraps of turquoise designer paper.
I found a vintage image in my stash that I thought pulled together the colors nicely. I finished with two sticker sentiments and some holly leaves for the corner elements.
I'm also linking-up at the Simon Says Anything Goes Challenge.
The current challenge at Shopping Our Stash is Leaf Me Alone - creating projects with Leaves.
I started with Hero Arts Autumn Leaves die cut from Gel Printed Tags. I also stamped Hero Arts Bare Branched Tree in white pigment ink, clear embossed, and blended lots of autumn ink colors for the card background.
I finished with some gems, wraps of gold cord, and a sentiment from Hero Arts Birthday Messages.
With my Leaf Dies, I'm joining the Stay Crafty with a Blog Named Hero Die-Lightful Challenge.
I also took my leafy inspiration from Just Us Girls. And I'm linking-up at the Emboss It challenge at Simon Says Stamp & the Make My Monday Autumn Flora and Fauna.
The theme at the Cut It Up! Challenge is Rainbow.
It was the perfect opportunity to break out one of my rainbow Gel Press prints that I made with Dylusions Shimmer Paints and pair it with a bold Die-Versions Happy Birthday Die Cut and some enamel Dots.
Another Gel Press summary to end the week.
I used a fun color combination of A Bit of Fish, Butter and Spanish Mulberry PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Paints and T is for Thread at the Instagram #abcprintingchallenge. I learned about these paints in a Seth Apter class at Creativation and I love them.
The print on the right is actually the first one where I press paper onto the Gel Plate to pick up the paint around my thick thread and the print on the right is the second pull (love that this paint stays wet enough to get two prints).
Next-up was U is for Upcycled. I had late nights at work this week, so I didn't get that creative, but I still loved the effect of using Upcycled tiny bubble wrap that I had in my gift closet ... I love how you can still see the thread pattern in the left print.
I had to turn these two prints into a clean & simple card using this week's Freshly Made Sketch.
I chose my wood-mounted Hampton Art Stamps Friendship sentiment from the Diffusion by Diana Kovacs collection inspired by the Less is More World Cardmaking Day Friendship theme.
V is for Violet ... I am a huge purple fan and it's my sister's favorite color, so I love using it in my art. I kept using the tiny bubble wrap and added in some stencil texture too. I combined Fresco Paints with Dylusions Crushed Grape Shimmer Paint.
W is for Washi Tape. I used some clear double-sided shelf liner on the back of a piece of heavy vellum paper and printed on the vellum (I had previously used Deli Paper, but of course couldn't find it ... turns out I like the Vellum better).
I love all of those wonderful layers. I cut it into Washi Tape strips and then went in with Posca Paint Pens to add some dots. I love using it on envelopes to add a little art on the outside.
X is for *X" Design. I found this X & O foam stamp in my stash and used it repeatedly with Dylusions Crushed Grape and Squeezed Orange Shimmer paints.
Sort of sad that the Alphabet is drawing to a close, but thrilled I have lots of new prints in my stash.
This weekend's #abcprinting challenge included R is for Rainbow. I used Dylusions Shimmer Paints to print the rainbow.
I paired it with the Spellbinders Kaleidoscope Die Cut in Black and white (for a drop shadow).
Stamped Sentiments are Unity Stamp Company Say It Big.
Next up is S is for Stencil (handmade). I used this cool Bird Stencil that was handmade and gifted to me by my friend Bev.
I stenciled in Blue and then went back in with Green (that didn't show through as much as I'd hoped).
I went back in with a Q-tip and paint on the bird to make it a bit more solid for my card. I paired it with a vintage wood-mounted stamp (which clearly wasn't mounted straight at the end of the phrase).
I was cleaning out a drawer for my new Shimmer Paints, and found a collection of Snoopy stickers that included fun Halloween ones ... so I had to make some cards.
The first one uses a Sketch from the CAS Colors & Sketches (only realizing after the fact that I didn't make a CAS card).
I used sentiments from Taylored Expressions Mini Strips Halloween on all of my cards.
I paired these stickers with another Gel Press printed background using marker colors from the stickers.
Snoopy is paired with this week's Freshly Made Sketch (given the way he was facing I flipped it).
And last-up is a fun little card with Sally.
I'm still having fun with the September #abcprintingchallenge.
K is for Key - I used 3D Glue Dots and an acrylic block with my husband's key knife to do some prints.
L is for Layers. I printed & rotated using the Pinwheel Brick Stencil by Lizzie Mayne from Stencil Girl and Catherine Pooler Inks.
M is for Markers. I loved how these Zig Art & Graphic Twin Markers looked on the plate ... so vivid and fun. One technique I'll surely do again.
N is for nature. I meant to grab some grass or leaves, but it was dark outside, so I went with plan B and used Nature stamp from Unity Stamp Company ... hope is a beautiful thing stamp set.
Since Gel Printing is indeed one of my favorite techniques, it is perfect for this Month's Unity Stamp Challenge.
I added some Merlot Hexagons and a sentiment from Unity Stamp Company {...heartfelt sympathy} using the Sketch from Just Add Ink.
I'm also linking-up at the Daring Cardmakers Comfort & Hope Challenge.
Here's the sketch.
O is for Oval is next ... not one of my best results, but the joy is in the process. I cut an oval mask out of printer paper and then printed through the mask.
Next up, P is for Pastels. I used some vintage pastels that I picked-up at The Create Exchange on my plate.
The cool thing about pastels is how many prints you can pull. The first was with white paint and the second was with gold.
And finally Q is for Q-Tip. I used new Dylusions Shimmer paints and painted/drew a spiral design with a Q-Tip.
Hope you've enjoyed my Gel Printing as much as I have.
The newest Challenge at Shopping Our Stash is to create something with an ombre design.
I decided to use Catherine Pooler Inks to create an Ombre background with Apricot, Ginger & Terracotta.
It took me several times to get one I loved, so I used the leftovers to die cut some leaves using Spellbinders Autumn Leaves & Mini Fall Blooms. I'm also linking-up at the Simon Says Stamp Die Cuts Challenge.
I arranged them in reverse Ombre order falling down the side of the card. I finished with coordinating enamel dots from AlteNew and a sticker sentiment.
I do love Autumn.
I hope you'll Shop Your Stash for some Ombre designs and come join the fun.
This week's Just Us Girls Challenge is all about Repetition.
I started with this repeating circles Gel Press Print that to me just screams that it need to be a birthday card.
I used this week's Try Stampin' on Tuesday (or Not) Sketch and several vintage wood mounted stamps for a slimline design, so I could feature as much of those overlapping repeated circles as possible..
I paired my vintage Savvy Stamps Birthday Owl with a repeatedly stamped A Muse Happy Birthday sentiment for a second element of repetition.
It's perfect for a birthday party I'll be attending this weekend.
September is #abcprintingchallenge month. I love doing a little Gel Press printing every day.
Next up is D is for Diamond. I attached my little diamond Gelli Arts plate to a clear block and used it to stamp a diamond shape in various shades of green Catherine Pooler inks and Nathalie Kalbach ArtFoamies Stamps.
E for Exotic had me stumped until Lauren reminded me to go to the Dictionary. Turns out Exotic is also a noun for Exotic plants, so I printed some Botanicals from The Crafters Workshop using some exotic colors.
F is for Fabric, so I pulled out some thin muslin and did a little printing on fabric with a string-like stencil.
G is for Geometric. I used my circle Gelli Arts plate with orange Catherine Pooler inks.
And then with some vibrant paints.
H is for Hexagon. I used a Hexagon ArtFoamies stamp from Nathalie again.
And I is for image transfer. This is the one technique that seems to elude me no matter how hard I try. After 20 failed attempts to transfer a face, I noticed that I really loved how some of the text next to one of my images transferred very clearly, so I did a transfer of a page of text.
I thought those colors and grungy text were perfect for a Halloween Card, so I made one using this week's Freshly Made Sketch.
I paired a journaling card with some vibrant green cardstock and a sentiment from Taylored Expressions Halloween Mini Strips.
And today, day 10, is J is for Jeans. Lauren blessed me with an emergency denim supply, so I pulled out a square and some big bubble wrap and had fun printing on the denim & using the denim to create fabric texture on my other prints.
Happy Saturday.
