Mixed Media Card Challenge - Thanksgiving

Fall is slowly fading here in North Dakota. The first frost planted its icy breath all over my windshield and flower bed late last week. All of the leaves have been blown from the trees and are scattered atop my unraked lawn - a leafy standout amongst my neighborhood's block of well-kept lawns. 

Even though fall is fading, that doesn't mean I can't MAKE my own dang fall scenery. And that's exactly what I did for my card for The Mixed Media Card Challenge this month. I watercolored up a super sweet little autumnal scene.

Our theme is Thanksgiving and our optional element is table. I used the colors from the inspiration image, and also decided to make a sweet thank you card to go along with the theme.

I muddied up a piece of patterned paper by applying a coat of gesso and then adding random drops of Distress Spray Stain in Barn Door, Spiced Marmalade, and Fossilized Amber tones. I dabbed some of the color off while it was still drying to tone down the vibrancy. I shaded the edges and added a big ol' bow.

The deer and the tree are from the Stampendous Winter Trees set. I've probably owned this set for a good 10 years or so. It's a classic and definitely one I turn to when the Holiday season approaches. The sentiment is from the STAMPlorations Grateful Beyond Words set - love the bold lettering! 

I'm going to send my card over to play in the following challenges: 

Simon Says Stamp Monday - Thinking of You 

Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers - Watercolor (I know, I know, I'm lacking in the snark department, but I wanted to support my girl, Lauren B!)

I hope you'll join in the Mixed Media Card Challenge this month! 

 Psssssstttt - I'll be drawing names for the winners of the Hop to Stop prizes tonight around 9 p.m. CT on my Periscope Channel @damselofdistressed is my handle. 

Mixed Media Harvest Blessings Card

Ahhhhhhhh September. Pumpkin Spice Lattes return to the land of all things good. The smell of apples is in the air. You can take deep breaths and inhale.... Cough* Cough* OUCH! That was a wasp. 

Seriously - up here in North Dakota, you can't walk 2 steps without encountering one of the stingalicious flymobiles - and breathing deeply is done at your own peril. 

Autumn is my most favoritest season, though, and I can't wait to become a boots-sportin', PSL-guzzling, sweater-wearing gal again. 

Over at the Mixed Media Card Challenge, we are celebrating Autumn in fine fashion with our new challenge. 

 

Our theme this month is Harvest Basket with the optional element of Fruit. 

For my creation, I inked up a stamp that has been beckoning me since I bought it last Fall. It's a gorgeous autumn basket from the STAMPlorations HOLIDAY EXPRESSIONS: Thankful for Autumn set. 

I'm sorry I don't have my usual process photos to show off - I actually made this background a while ago when I was just putzing around having some messy fun in my room. 

I can tell you the process, though. 

1. Sponge a mixture of Mustard Seed and Fossilized Amber Distress Inks on a sheet of cardstock
2. Ink up a grungy-looking stamping with Spiced Marmalade Distress Inks and randomly plop that baby onto the sponged paper.
3. Apply gold texture paste through a stencil in random areas around the edges. 

My image was colored with Spectrum Noir Makers and Distress Markers and then I embossed the sentiment on a sheet of vellum. 

I'm going to link my Harvest beauty up to:
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday - Anything Goes
Crafty Gals Corner - Anything Goes
Little Red Wagon - Lets Get Inky

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In other BIG and super cool news! I'm so excited to announce that I was invited to be a part of the 2016-2017 Fusion Challenge team!

 WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! 

I love the Fusion Challenge and the seriously talented design team they've always seemed to gather so I was uber chuffed when I got the email! Hope you'll pop by & check out my new teamies!

Watercolors & Rainbow - Oh My! Mixed Media Card

It's a new month! And that means rainbows! And glitter!! Right?!

Well, ok, not necessarily, I guess... but for my purposes we're going to pretend that a new month means rainbows and glitter because that's exactly what I've got to show you today.  

This card was inspired by the new challenge over at The Mixed Media Card Challenge, which happens to be - you guessed it - RAINBOWS! 

With the option of Dragonflies.But since I don't have any dragonfly stamps you get to see a boat instead. Taaa daaaaa!

This card began when I pulled this piece of watercolor paper that I had created an ombre rainbow on and then didn't know what to do with it. I stared at and decided to go all happy and nautical. 

I stamped and cut out some images from the Simon Says Stamp Sailing stamp set. I colored the boat with Spectrum Noir Markers and then I used some stripedy paper and sponged it with Distress Inks. To finish it all out, I added some sequin stars for additional shimmer and Wink of Stellad my clouds. 


All done! 

I'm also sending this cute little guy sailing to play in:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday - ATG 
Mixed Media World - Under the Sea
The Paper Players - (I chose beach, patterned paper, red) 
Time Out Challenges - I was inspired by the drippy rainbow print

Glitter and Feathers and Gems - Oh My! Mixed Media Card Challenge

We are getting alllllll sorts of sparkly up at The Mixed Media Card Challenge this month and boy do I every have some sparkly goodness to flash your way!

You may have already guessed that our theme for the month is Sparkle along with the option of including Gems.

I was in the mood to make some mixed media backgrounds earlier this week and this card showcases a quick and easy, but classy and fab-o mixed media background that anyone can achieve. 

I started by sponging Fired Brick Distress Inks onto a piece of cardstock, putting a heavier coat on around the edges to create a little vignette action. 

Once I was satisfied with my sponging, I used a Polka Dot stencil and a wet paper towel and lifted some of the ink off the paper to create layers of visual interest. 

Then I stamped another circular-shaped grungy stamp randomly across the background. 

Lastly, I added some gold texture paste over through a smaller polka dot stencil and then let it air dry. 

These are some examples using the exact same techniques but it different colors and stencil variations. 

When creating a cohesive mixed media design, I really like to use one shape (in this case a circle) repetitively throughout the design in various shapes and sizes. 

Since I used polka dotted stencils and circular stamps, I carried the circle shapes into the foreground by dry embossing part of my sentiment panel with a polka dotted embossing folder and then gluing glitter on the raised areas. 

 

Since the theme was sparkle, I added glitter to some gold feathers, and then added gold gemstones, too. I put some burgundy raffia behind my feathers to give some contrast to the design. So pretty! 

I'm going to send my sparkly beauty over to play along in the following challenges:
Craft Stamper - Take It Make It - Take a Stamp
Just Add Ink - Just Add S (for Sparkle, Sponging, Stamping)
Creative Artiste Challenge - Anything Mixed Media Goes

Sunset Card - Mixed Media Card Challenge

SUMMER! I know that technically summer doesn't start until June 20th, but it's been soooooooo beautiful up here in the prairieland that I'm beginning to believe the calendar is wrong. Either that or I'm somehow living in a parallel universe of good weather. 

I'm talking sun-dappled, breezy days followed by evenings of rolling thunder dampening the land... ahhhhhhhh... 

But I digress! (as usual!)

Today I'm here to show you a card that was inspired by the lovely weather AND by the Mixed Media Card Challenge for this month. 

The theme this month over at Mixed Media Card Challenge is Sunset with the option of postage stamp.

I started out with grandiose plans, thinking I'd sponge a whole scene and create a masterpiece on a card. 

....Instead I scribbled....

And it was fun. 

Haha! Seriously! If you guys haven't noticed by all of my posts lately, I've been having a blast experimenting with the different things Distress Crayons can achieve. 

Normally, When I do a Distress Crayon card, I try to blend the colors together by smearing with my finger. This time, though, it seemed somehow wrong. I liked the scribbly scrawly feel of their non-blended origins.

So I left it, and used the sun die cut from Verve's Partly Cloudy set. I also stamped some "rays" with a sentiment from the coordinating Partly Cloudy stamp set and added some glittery gems going everywhere.

I topped the whole design off with Winnie and Walter's In a Word: Love die cut and stamped a sentiment from STAMPlorations Fond Expressions 2 stamp set. 


I'm also playing along with:
Shopping Our Stash - 4 elements (I'm doing Fiiiiiiiiiiire baby, with all my hot heat)\
Crafty Friends Challenge - Summertime

Reflection Card - Mixed Media Card Challenge

I'm late! I'm late! For a very important date! Stupid blogger got me again with their stupid Publish/Save button. YESTERDAY this was supposed to go live, but it'll just have to do today. 


Up at The Mixed Media Card Challenge, we've got a whole new theme for the month: Reflections with the optional element of water. 

 

I stared at this for a good long time in dread. Dun Dun Dunnnnnn!

I've never attemped to do anything with reflections on a card before because I know it takes precision and a certain sense of artsyness. Both of which I'm lacking. I don't mean to imply I'm not artsy - but MY version of artsy involves messiness that all somehow seems to magically resolve itself into a pretty design. NOT things placed for any particular reason. haha.

But, I rolled up my shirtsleeves and decided to give it a go. 

The first thing I did was to stamp my image which are these lovely lotuses (loti?) from Dee's Artsy Impressions Lotus Love set.  And then I started scribbling with some Distress Crayons. 

I wanted to create a sky and water with the lotuses helping to break up the background and the foreground. I scribbled Broken China Distress Crayon for the water and punctuated it with lines of Chipped Sapphire. Next, I colored the flowers and lily pads and made sure to add some of the same color to my water area to create a "reflection".  Then I used my finger to smudge and blend colors together.

I added some white to the edges of my flowers for a little bit of highlights, and then used a Chalk Marker to add white highlights in the water itself (the white Distress Crayon just wanted to blend so I switched to a chalk marker.) 

I used a lighter blue gelato for the sky (since DCs only come in certain colors right now). 

 

I added a vellum strip and a gold-striped vellum background to seal the deal and make the whole thing complete. 


I may not have known what the heck I was doing, and I certainly haven't mastered this technique, but it was fun to stretch my creative muscles and attempt it! I hope you'll stretch your muscles with us and come play along at the Mixed Media Card Challenge. 


I'm also linking this up to:

House of Cards - Use Vellum or Acetate
613 Avenue Create -  ATG with option of Beach or Nautical 
Simon Says Stamp Wed - Anything Goes


Thanks for popping by! Leave me a comment or follow my blog and I will endeavor to do the same for you!

Mixed Media Card with Distress Paint Tutorial

Editor's (hey! that's me!) Note: This was scheduled to go live on the 1st of the month and then apparently my brain only hit the save button instead of the publish button. Insert facepalm here. 

It's April 1st! And no foolin' that means a brand spankin' new challenge over at The Mixed Media Card Challenge. What better way to celebrate the onslaught of springtime cheer than by making our theme: SUNSHINE with the optional element of BRICKS. 

The other day, I pulled out my very neglected Distress Paints and decided to have a play. I knew I wanted to create a background with a bright burst of sun and culled through my stamps before I landed (or seafared) on a sketchy ship from the STAMPlorations True North Set.

I started by spritzing some heavy weight watercolor paper with a mini mister and then used 3 shades of yellow to create a sunny area and 2 shades of blue Distress Paint to create a watery abyss. 

I created a brilliant sunburst in the sky area by using the Wendy Vecchi Sunburst Stencil and some Ranger Translucent Texture Paste:

Wondering how I got that shimmery gold? I used some Perfect Gold Perfect Pearls and sprinkled it over the top of the texture paste before it dried. If you don't want the multi-step process, you can just use Metallic Gold Embossing Paste, too, but I really like the way this turned otu!

I decided I wanted my waves to be even more pronounced, so I used a stencil to create some waves by dabbing some Chipped Sapphire Distress Paint through the design. 

City Crafter Challenge is having a Whitewash theme, so I ringed my edges with white to tie in the white from the ship and the sentiment, stamped some birds and added a little grunge around the edges. Voila! 

I had a ton of fun playing around with my Distress Paints and have a feeling they won't go through such a long dry spell again in the future! 

In addition to City Crafter challenge, I'm linking this up to:
Simon Says Stamp Wed - ATG featuring Ranger \
Mixed Media Monthly - Dimension Challenge

I will actually have another full Distress Paint tutorial for you all later in the week! So make sure to stop back. 

I love reading through your comments and will do my very best to give one back to you!

Mixed Media Card Challenge - Trees

It is officially the end of winter!! Welp, meteorological winter anyhow... I wish Mother Nature would get on board because yesterday it was -18 degrees here in North Dakota. Sigh*

But at least I can pretend everything is green and delightful, right?! If I can't grow trees and green things in my back yard, at least I can color them on a card! Wooo! 

That's because over at the Mixed Media Card Challenge our theme o' the month is TREES with the option of birds. 

I started out thinking I'd make this a bright, happy summery card... and you may have noticed that didn't work out so well for me. 

It's still bright and happy, mind you, but as soon as I scribbled on some Gelatos, I thought it looked more like night time than a summery day. And so, a plan was born! 

In addition to the Mixed Media Card Challenge, I wanted to play along with Ms. Darnell-the-Fantastic's NBUS (Never-Been-Used-Schtuff) challenge. 

I have used these adorable houses from Shirley Bampton's Bee's Knees - Houses stamp set before, but I'd purchased the accessory pack with cute trees and mailboxes and roads and they've just been sitting about unused for months! Thanks for the impetus, Darnell!

Once I'd blended the gelatos with my fingers, I used the Big Bang Sci-Fi Screening (stencil) from Winnie and Walter along with a baby wipe to pick up some of the gelatos.  

When I was satisfied, I repositioned the stencil and added some texture paste to give my night sky some texture. I also changed the house color to be more purpley because I wasn't totally in love with how the pink was meshing with my colors.

Then I added some finishing touches - graphic washi tape and a stripey chipboard sentiment - which makes it perfect for the Allsorts challenge of "Sentiment in Focus".

Et voila! This little number is going to go to a friend who is buying a house tomorrow. Awww! :) 

Mixed Media Card Challenge - A Celebration Card with Vellum

When it comes to Christmas cards, I am the quintessential Fiddler on the Roof crazy person shouting "TRADITION!" ...Speaking of, I really need to go watch that movie again. 

What I mean by "tradition" is that I cannot seem to get away from the classic green and red color scheme, and I'm not even sorry about it. It's the ONE time of the year that those colors can go together without someone looking at you all cross-eyed. 

And December 1 doesn't just mean the countdown to all things filled with sugar, family, love, and magic (also known as Christmastime). It ALSO means the start of a new challenge over at the Mixed Media Card Challenge. 

Since we know that everyone in the universe BESIDES good ol' Becca is totally on top of their holiday cards already, we opened it up to "CELEBRATION" cards - whatever you're celebrating, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanakkuh, birthdays, finally potty training your three-year-old -- it's pretty wide open! 

We also have the optional element of adding vellum, which I did. Because I'm awesome like that. Actually, it's solely because I wanted to try out my new Ornamental Add-on dies from Heartfelt Creations. 

I used heavy weight vellum and die cut some of the various ivy (holly?).  Then I spritzed the heck out of them with my Distress Spray Stains (Colors Mowed Lawn and Black Soot). **Please note that when working with spray stains on vellum it is SO important to use a heavy weight vellum or else it will just shrivel up into a little ball.** A big thank you to Jenn Shurkus for teaching me how beautiful spray stains look on vellum! 

Next, I got to work on the background. I used some vintagey song lyrics, added a doily that had been sponged with Vintage Photo and Mowed Lawn Distress Inks, dropped some splatters on it, then added a final layer of gold texture paste through the ARTplorations Confetti Circles stencil. I used my heat tool to dry the paste so that it bubbled and crackled. 

Et voila!

TRADITION! 

As you can see, I finished the card with a beautiful sentiment from the Holly Berry Cling Stamp set from Heartfelt Creations (which also happens to coordinate with the ornamental die. I added some gold curlicue metal things (painted with gesso to tone down their shine) and some red plastic thingamobobs for the "berries". I tied it all together with a gold sheer ribbon from the Paper Temptress. 

 I'm going to add my creations to the following lovely challenges: 

Mixed Media World - Anything Goes

Everybody Art - Music Note Paper 

Cards in Envy - Put Some Extra Layers on

Vintage Stamping Challenge - Traditional Christmas

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Thanks for popping by! On a more personal note... My good ol' trusty Henry who has been with me for years decided he'd wander into the eternal abyss of wirelessness. 

On the plus side, I think I can break him up and make some cool steampunk textures. On the not-so-plus side. Ay ay ay --- now the hunt is on for a new computer.