Dance Yourself Clean Handmade Card

Happy Saturday, friends! I'm popping in to share a card I just created for Visible Image. I was really really excited to get the Born to Perform set because I don't have any stamps for dancing or performing arts and this set is super unique and artsy. 

One of the techniques I like to use from time-to-time is to use my ink pad directly to press ink on to my paper. In this case, I used Picked Raspberry Distress Ink and Worn Lipstick Distress Oxide.

Next, I spritzed the ink with water to let it bleed and soften the hard edges. 

I stamped a series of words to create a graffiti-like effect in the background. 

On the bottom layer of my card base, I added a little bit of stamped grunge with the Universal stamp set. 

I added some hand-drawn stitching, washi tap and black gemstones, along with a stamped ballet dancer to finish off the design. 

I hope you all like it!

Elegant Poinsettia Stamped Christmas Card

Hello Ladies and Gents,
It's getting sooooo close to Christmas! Anyone else still working on cards? Anyone else trying to decide if they are actually going to address all those envelopes to people this year even though you've made a bunch of cards?

Sigh* sigh*

Alas, my mantle is getting full of Christmas cards and I would feel mighty guilty not returning some joy. I have weekend plans, yo! 

Anyhow, I'm popping in to share a reminder that STAMPlorations is smack dab in the middle of the December Theme & Sketch challenge, which has lots of prizes up for grabs.

For my card, I decided to use the theme, along with a very loose version of the sketch. 

I cut a background using the Stitched Snow Hills CUTplorations dies and then spritzed it with water, then Barn Door Distress Spray Stain.

Next, I used some InkaGold and liberally wet my paintbrush to create some gold splatters in the background. 

I used some decoupage to add lots of chunky gold glitter. I embossed a very merry sentiment (Merry and Bright Typografia) and then added in some elegant poinsettias to complete the look. 

Taaaadaaaa! Now to go address some cards. 

PS! If you want anything in the STAMPloraitons store, definitely give yourself a little giftie because you can use code STAMPGIRLBECCA to get 20% off anything in the STAMPstore.

2017 Winter Coffee Lovers Blog Hop

It's a hip hop, a hippity hop, a hip hip hop hooray!

(if you haven't heard that song, you need to google it now so that it's as stuck in your head as it is in mine.)

Anyhow

I'ts the Winter Coffee Lovers Blog Hop! Woooo!!!

I know you all have many places to hop along to, so I will keep this post short and sweet. 

When I think winter, I immediate think Valentine's Day, because that' my favorite part about winter. Ergo (using antiquated words is fun, huh?), I decided to create a wintry love-themed coffee card for this particular hop. 

I looooooove this cheeky stamp set (A Cuppa Love), which I designed for super sponsor STAMPlorations. It's perfect for Valentine's Day, lovey-dovey cards, friendship cards, and more. 

Best of all? This set is only $10 AND during the hop you can get it (and anything else in the STAMPlorations store) for 20% off using code STAMPGIRLBECCA at checkout. 

Well what are you waiting for?! Get to hopping you crazies! I'll be popping in with more cards throughout the hop and can't wait to see what you make! 

Inspiring Blackout Poetry - Visible Image

Do you hear that?
If you listen really closely, no matter where you are in the world, you can hear the sound of my happy dancing. 

Why? Because it's my very first post as an official member of the Visible Image design team and I am over-the-moon excited to show you what I made with their stunning products. 

I've shared my love of blackout poetry a couple of times through my blog, though mostly share these pieces on my Instagram account. 

But when I got my inky hands on the Face It! set from Visible, I couldn't help but to want to make a blackout poetry set. Drawing eyes and mouths are my least favorite thing, so it makes me sooooo happy to finally have a fool-prove face-making method! 

If you're unfamiliar with blackout poetry, let me explain. To create a blackout poem, you find a phrase or "poem" you want to highlight using the words on a book page (in this case, I'm using Homer's "The Odyssey"). Finding the right phrase can be a lot trickier than it looks! 

Once you've identified your words, scribble around them to make them pop out. 

Once I had my poem, I used my Misti to stamp eyes, nose and lips. 

Kind of creepy to have a face staring out at me from my Misti. :) 

Next, I used the Strobes stencil and inked it up with a black pen and outlined where the rest of my drawing would go. 

I sprinkled the sunburst with yellow and orange Ken Oliver Color Burst crystals and used a very, very slightly damp brush to spread the color. You don't want to use too much water because the pages of books are very thin and they will warp easily. 

I painted up an abstract flower hairpiece using a variety of purple paints and white gesso.

I painted her hair with colorburst crystals, and added detailing to the facial features. 

The whole blackout poem reads:

"All that dwelt around were
Fettered
Of Heart
But
She
Threatened to Raise
The Sky"

I hope you love my project today! Make sure to stop by Visible Image's blog for some awesome inspiration from the rest of the VERY talented design team! 

Jingle All the Way Stamped Christmas Reindeer

Iiiiiiii'm dreaming of a whiiiiiiiite Christmas. 

Seriously, here in the frosty tundra that is North Dakota, things are decidedly... brown. Which is rather uncustomary for this part of the land. Now that it's December, I'm missing the fluffy white stuff. 

And now that it's December, that means it's time for a new Theme & Sketch challenge over at STAMPlorations! wooo! 

This month's theme and sketch are alllll set up to result in some uber elegant designs. The theme is stamps & gold and the sketch involves some scrawling lines and big ol' blooms.

But, naturally, instead of elegant I chose to go goofy and make some reindeer with jingle bell noses. 

I cut three curved lines into my background using Stitched Snow Hills die cuts. Since I also wanted to play along with the challenge over at Shopping Our Stash, which is snow much fun, I stamped some snowflakes from the Christmas Reindeer set and then sponged in two shades of blue Distress Inks. 

I cut out the reindeer and added on some jingly "noses" to accompany the sentiment. Snowy and cheeky! :) 

I hope you come play along this month at STAMPlorations because there are TONS of prizes, yo! You can use any stamps you'd like. 

I'm also going to play along with the following challenges:
Moving along with the times - Christmas Animals
The Merry Christmas Challenge - Anything Goes