It's my BIRTHDAY!!! +PRIZES+

It's my official birthday today!!! WoooohoooooOoo! I've got some big plans which include dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, followed by drinks at a new wine bar that just opened (they have wine DISPENSERS - like pop machines), followed by a late night comedy improv show. I'm ready to kick up my heels and have some fun!

Speaking of fun - look at this guy: 

I can't help BUT to laugh. hahaha - put googly eyes on anything and I'll be mesmerized into laughter for the next 3 hours. 

That bird represents one of the images on my birthday mood board: 

Bet you can't guess which image ;)  

But wait - "Mood board?" you say. YES! To celebrate my big day, I'm having a link up that will be open through the end of July. Just choose one of my favorite things to make a card - represented by my mood board. 

Let me break it on down for you. Here are a few 
of my favorite things:

>Purple and teal color combos

>Watercolor washes

>Fun, bright, eclectic clean and simple cards 
>Polka Dots

>PUNS!! :)

>Typography

>Distressed, vintage cards full of texture

...You can use one, two, all of these things... 
Whatever inspires you!

The card I made is a mashup of the bird (obviously) with a corny pun AND those adorable colorful dots.

 I used stamps from the STAMPlorations Party Time set to do a fun corner of swirly dots and topped it off with that REALLY old bird - I think he's a retired Stampin' Up bird, but I honestly couldn't say.

I repeated the swirly images with metal embellishments and a dry embossed panel. I used the sketch designed by my fellow googly eye-loving friend, Jessi Fogan, who designs for Tuesday Morning Sketches.  

I'm also going to link up to the following fun challenges:
Seize the Birthday - Anything Goes
Aud Sentiments - Anything Goes
Virginia's View - 100% stamped

Ok - now to give YOU the details of how the Birthday Bash Linkup will work. I'm giving away ALL of these sets PLUS Shery from STAMPlorations is throwing in a $10 gift card, too! (Isn't she the very best!?!)

PRIZES!!!

 


If you click on the image, it will take you to the STAMP shop to view these and other birthday-related sets. I want to spread the wealth around, so I will be doing a drawing for >>7<< different winners! Woohoo!

RULES:
>You MUST use an image from my mood board to inspire you
>You MUST display the mood board graphic in your post
>Although being a follower of my blog is not required, it would be a really AWESOME birthday present to me. :D
>You may enter as many projects as you like (cards, scrapbook, ATCs, Mixed Media projects)
>You MUST link back to this blog post
>Deadline to submit cards is July 31, 2015 at midnight CST

Link up your mood-board inspired cards here:

An InLinkz Link-up

Becca's Birthday BASH!!! woohoo!!! +PRIZES+

Hullo Friendly Friends!!

This week is extra special for me because it's my BIRTHDAY WEEK! That's right, even though my birthday doesn't happen until Friday, I celebrate for a whole week! Don't judge. :) 

I was pondering what I should do for my birthday to celebrate with you all and then I thought - I know!! I'll have a big giant giveaway with some of my favorite birthday sets! I'm SO beyond grateful for all the friendships I've made over the past almost year of blogging and I want to do something special for YOU!

So that's what's going on. 

I decided to put together a mood board with all of my favorite things and ask you to celebrate with me by making a card that's inspired by the board. If you link it up here and help me celebrate, you'll be entered to win! 

Here's the board:

Let me break it on down for you. Here are a few of my favorite things (represented with pictures of course). 

>Purple and teal color combos

>Watercolor washes

>Fun, bright, eclectic clean and simple cards 
>Polka Dots

>PUNS!! :)

>Typography

>Distressed, vintage cards full of texture

...You can use one, two, all of these things... 
Whatever inspires you!

For the next couple of weeks I will be sharing some inspiration from my mood board. The card I made today combines the watercolor wash, purple and teal color combo, and typography. It's a three-for!

I started by doing a wash with the Distress Ink Dipping technique. Here's how you can get the same effect:

Smoosh Cracked Pistachio, Dusty Concord, Shabby Shutters, and Salty Ocean Distress Inks onto a craft mat and then spritz with water. The more water you add, the more the colors will meld together. Since I wanted these to run, I sprayed quite a bit. 

Dip number one: 

Press the paper into the mixture and wiggle side to side *slightly* You don't want the colors to get muddy. Then air dry or heat dry. As you can see, the round one dip was really pretty, but I wanted some depth and layers so I took the dried papers back to the craft mat and dabbed them in the ink again.

Dip number two: 

See what I mean by depth and layers?! You can continue the drying and rounds of dipping until you are satisfied, but I was happy with my results.

I used the STAMPlorations Hashtag Authentic set to create a positive, uplifting sentiment and added some wooden corners to complete the look. I kept it simpler than I usually do, but that's because I didn't want to cover up any of the wash. :)

Ta-daaaa! I hope you like it!

I'm going to enter it into the following competitions:
Through the Craftroom Door - ATG
Simon Says Stamp Monday - ATG
Try it on Tuesday - In the Frame
613 Ave Create - A2, Encouragement, Watercolor


Ok - now to give YOU the details of how the Birthday Bash Linkup will work. I'm giving away ALL of these sets PLUS Shery from STAMPlorations is throwing in a $10 gift card, too! (Isn't she the very best!?!)

PRIZES!!!

 


If you click on the image, it will take you to the STAMP shop to view these and other birthday-related sets. I want to spread the wealth around, so I will be doing a drawing for >>7<< different winners! Woohoo!

RULES:
>You MUST use an image from my mood board to inspire you
>You MUST display the mood board graphic in your post
>Although being a follower of my blog is not required, it would be a really AWESOME birthday present to me. :D
>You may enter as many projects as you like (cards, scrapbook, ATCs, Mixed Media projects)
>You MUST link back to this blog post
>Deadline to submit cards is July 31, 2015 at midnight CST

Link up your mood-board inspired cards here:

An InLinkz Link-up

Thanks for celebrating with me!

Featured Friday - Lauren Bergold!!!

Well you all are in for a TREAT today. If you're a new follower to my blog 1) you are awesome! and 2) Featured Friday is a once-a-month segment around these parts in which I highlight another crafty blogger who is a huge inspiration to me. 

Getting to know other bloggers has been a huge part of what drives me to create and without further ado, I will introduce this month's Featuree:

Lauren Bergold of ...all the GOOD blog names were taken...!

Firstly - how cool is her blog name?! It's just one of the MANY examples of Lauren's hilarious personality. 

I first stumbled upon Lauren's blog after viewing some of her amazing work on a design team challenge inspiration post. Her downright miraculous treatment of patterned paper leaves me incredulous every time I see one of her creations. Many of her designs include zero white space and patterns that I never would have thought to pair!

  

She's Artsy with a capital A - she frequently draws her own designs and goes beyond cardmaking with ATCs, fancy index cards, and mini-journals. 

But why let me tell you all about Lauren, when she can tell you about all about herself? Here are 7 things you should know about Lauren:

1. How did you get your crafty start?

I'm pretty convinced there's a "craft gene" and I was born with it. My mom and her sister are crafty, their dad was very creative, my nieces and nephew love to draw and color and make stuff... it's just a thing we all do!

2. What is your favorite "style" of crafting?

Collage has always been my favorite medium and I'm definitely a "more is more" kind of gal, lol! I love lots of layers, pattern-on-pattern, vintage ingredients, found objects and loads of texture. I really admire people who can do "clean and simple" but alas, I'm not one of them.

3. If you could be any color, which would it be and why?

Can I be a rainbow? Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeease??!?!! If not, I guess I'll be hot pink, to cheer everyone up! :)

4. What is the best craft organization tip you have?

Think about how you personally work best and think realistically about how much stuff you actually have. We all love pretty containers but let's face it, the plain sturdy ones tend to hold more and last longer. I store as many things as possible vertically (like a book shelf), so I can browse and access individual items easily; if I have to dig through a *pile* the stuff on the bottom just won't get used. I also keep a "basic kit" of things i use constantly (scissors, adhesives, pens)next to my prime workspace, and a duplicate set in my travel bag, because i was constantly forgetting at least one vital thing when teaching or taking classes.

5. What are your favorite card making/scrapbooking challenges to participate in?

Well Shopping Our Stash and Jingle Belles are both very near and dear to my heart, obviously! I also love the Cardabilities sketches. Fusion Card Challenge always inspires. The Crooked Stamper Sketch Challenge is pretty awesome... and I'm not just saying that because Leslie is my friend and I designed the graphic for it, lol! For the last three summers, I've participated in The Index Card a Day project (aka ICAD) via the Daisy Yellow Art blog, which is not a challenge in the traditional sense, but which I find hugely helpful for recharging mojo and trying new things.

6. What is your least favorite crafting supply?

Hmmmmmm... that's really tough! I don't think there's any particular category I dislike. I suppose I'd have to say anything that's badly designed or doesn't work right. Punches that line up poorly, dies which don't release and unreliable adhesives don't last long at my house. Life's too short!

7. What is your best advice for new crafty bloggers?

Try not to get too caught up in the "comparison" game. There will always be people who are a skill-level above and below you, this is true of EVERYTHING in life. Make things you love, keep practicing, learn from your mistakes and especially...HAVE FUN!!!

-------------------------------------------

I think her last piece of advice - to have fun! - is something that we both really agree on. Blogging and crafting is supposed to be a blast! 

Now here's the part of Featured Friday that I REALLY love. We take one of Lauren's old designs and CASE it! I distinctly remember seeing the card I chose to case for the first time and I am pretty sure I stared at it for a good long while. 

The Original: 

Thud <--- sound of my jaw dropping. Right?!?! If any card is a work of art it would be THIS ONE!! It's made with tons of paper folded pieces and patterned paper. Lauren has a tutorial on her blog, if you'd like more details about how she pulled this off. 

Lauren's CASE

Lauren opted to go for a travel-themed card and this time around she used old falling apart maps and atlases to fuel her design. She folded all the pieces from the books and maps and repurposed them into something absolutely stunning!!

My CASE

To be perfectly honest... I feel a little silly. There's no patterns on here! Doh! I started folding bits of white paper just to practice with and then I never stopped! I gessoed the whole bit to make the white paper firmer and give it more of a distressed paper mache feel and then I added a heavy layer of gelatos and blended all together. Lastly, I sponged a layer of Black Soot Distress Inks to really bring out the corners of my folded triangles. So, no patterns - but hey I'll just have to make another gorgeous card like this. 

I'm going to send this baby over to play along in the following great challenges: 
Addicted to Stamps - Make Your Mark
613 Ave Create - Anything Goes with Flag option

Thank you for popping by - Lauren has an extra card to share with you on >>>her blog<<< using this technique, in addition to that tutorial I mentioned earlier so you should definitely go say HELLO! and help to make her day EXTRA SPECIAL. That's what this bloggy community is all about - right?!

Distressed Sunflower Card - STAMPlorations sketch challenge

As I laid in the grass gazing up at the sky bursting with fireworks last night, I was so grateful for my country and my family who'd come to visit. It was a quintessential summertime moment. I decided to capture that summery feeling on card stock with another quintessential summertime emblem - the sunflower.

Here in the midwest, those hot summer days make for big ol' sunflower blooms. I used the gorgeous sketchy sunflowers from The Birds and the Blooms STAMPlorations set and embossed them in white before filling them in with Spectrum Noir alcohol markers. (GB3, GB7, EB8, BGR4, TB6, TB5, TB4). 

There's a new sketch in town over at STAMPlorations, 

so I squared up to make a card today. 

Isn't it a beauty?! Sometimes I don't know what to do with a sketch, but this one gave me all sorts of ideas! 

To create the grunge background, I stamped a bunch of grungy stamps from the Mixed Media Grunge set. (Seriously makes mixed media soooooo easy). and then I used a stencil (Brackets ARTplorations stencil) and embossing paste to create texture. 

I used some Scattered Straw and Vintage Photo Distress Inks to sponge around the edges and a little over the top of the embossing paste. Then I stamped a sentiment from the Bloom Sketches set and, after a little gluing, had a completed card!  

I'm also going to join the fun over at:
Crafty Gals Corner - Rays of Sunshine
Simon Says Stamp Monday - Summer
Mixed Media Monthly - Summer Days

Inkspirational - Grunge


As for you all - You should definitely go play along with the sketch at STAMPlorations and check out what the rest of the designers made! 

Distressed Frilly Card - STAMPlorations June Challenge

Ok, I am going to share my new favorite card with you crafters. Every once in awhile I get done with a card and I just sit back and say, "wow! I'm glad my brain still has some beauty left in it after all those terrible puns it has to make room for!"

I was over-the-moon elated about the July challenge happening over at STAMPlorations. 

Hulllloooooo?! Damsel of Distressed anyone? Hooray! Sometimes I go through phases where I keep things pretty clean, and I feel like I've been in one of those moods lately, so this card really helped to spur the distress comeback. 

I started by smooshing Picked Raspberry and Worn Lipstick Distress Inks onto my craft mat and then I spritzed it with water. 

This technique is called Distress Dipping (at least in my brain). It's a really easy way to create a gorgeous watercolor-esque background. 

Lay your card stock into the inky mixture and press down and move it left to right, trying to get all of the white area inked. 

Lift up and dry (air dry or heat dry works). I usually repeat this step 3-4 times to add lots of pretty layers and depth to the background. 

Next, I sprayed the background with Picket Fence Distress Spray Stain to add a little white. Please note that you should not just do this anywhere, as you will wind up with white splatters all over your ink pads. *Ahem*


Next, I added a layer of Mixed Media Grunge stamping and applied a layer of white gesso through the Gridlocked ARTplorations stencil. 

 

Before that layer dried, I added some rock glitter to it. Then I die cut a frame (coated with perfect pearls) and added some flowers, an embossed gold butterfly from the Trendy Butterflies and a sentiment piece from Hashtag Authentic. 

I really enjoyed getting back to my Distressing roots! 

I have to give  BIG shoutout to {PIN}spirational challenges for giving me this awesome inspiration image to work with:

I'm also going to join the fun at:
Frilly and Funkie - Sentiment as the focal piece
613 Ave Create - Use Roses or pearls 
In the Pink - Shabby Chic/Vintage
Craft Stamper Magazine Take It Make It - Take a Stamp

Thank you for popping by and I totally think you should try distressing. If you need any tips or pointers, I'd be happy to help you out and there are several tutorials you can find on my blog! 

Once you're done, make sure you link it up to STAMPlorations for your chance to win some awesome prizes! You can use ANY product or ANY brand of stamps. 

Transport - Eclectic Ellapu Challenge

Happy Friday! Oh, wait, it's Thursday... well close enough in my book since I have tomorrow off. My lovely cousin is coming into town and she's going to spend the weekend with me! 
This post is going to be quick and dirty, because once again I have procraftinated and I have like 2 minutes to post this. So I'm sorry for the brevity!

Over at Eclectic Ellapu, our new monthly challenge has started. The Pink team is bringing you creations with the theme of "Transport" and the Purple team is bringing you creations with the theme of "Favorite Holiday".

Since I happen to be on the Pink team, my card features a vintage car from the STAMPlorations Enjoy the Ride set:

I've added in a bunch of hand-drawn swirly dos, some grungy stamps (Mixed Media Grunge from STAMPlorations), some splatters and little arrow bits from a Heidi Swapp collection. 

I've used the awesome sketch from the Paper Players.
 

I'm also going to send it over to:
Cardz 4 Guyz - Somethign beginning with B (blue car)
Addicted to Stamps and More - Anything Goes

As for you! Well you should head over to Eclectic Ellapu and play along with us!

Mixed Media Flowers - Mixed Media Card Challenge

It's my first challenge over at the Mixed Media Card Challenge!! I'm pretty thrilled to have another reason to get all messy and inky, and am pumped (say that in Arnold's voice and you'll laugh) to bring you this card today.

The theme over at the Mixed Media Card Challenge this month is:

Blue can be taken a number of ways - literally the color, sadness, or maybe even you want to get all funky creative and channel Picasso during his blue period. 

As for me, when I set out to make this card, I was having a bit of a mixed media block. So I did what I always do in this situation and broke out the gesso and a palette knife.
 

The scariest thing about mixed media is staring at a white page, so whenever I'm having troubles, I just start slapping things on and hope for the best. 

Lo and behold - as soon as I had some texture on my page a plan shaped in my mind. I used my Cricut to die cut an elaborate frame and then I painted it with a shimmery layer of deep blue Perfect Pearls. 

As you can tell from my whack-a-doodle process photos, it was late when I was making this. :) That's ok, I've decided that I'm going to be like the Rachel Ray of cardmaking. I'm going to be real! I always think it's super weird when I see process photos that have a pristine white background. Like what happened?! Did you really take the time to clean up the mess between each photo?

Anyways, back to the show. 

I ultimately opted to incorporate the optional vase element into my design. I cut out some heavy weight vellum and scored it to look like a vase, then I applied a layer of rock glitter. 

To that, I added some stamped, fussy cut flowers (from the Dee's Artsy Impressions - Blooming Buds set) that I colored with layers of gelatos. I also used Old Paper Distress Inks to make the gesso texture in the background pop and speckled it all with some Perfect Pearl splatters. 

Et voila!

My card, for your perusal. 
I'm going to join in the fun at
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday - Dots or Spots (my splatters)
Sparkle and Sprinkle - Use loose glitter, flocking, embossing
Glitter and Sparkle - Must have a sentiment

Isn't it blue-tee-ful? (You didn't really think you were getting out of here without at least one bad pun, did you?!)

So come get blue with us over at the Mixed Media Card Challenge! You'll be happy you did!