Autumnal Sunshine

All the leaves are brown
And the sky is grey
I've been for a walk 
On a winter's day

                                                               "California Dreamin' "

Mother Nature seems to have skipped over fall and sent us right into winter...it is 28 degrees in central Louisiana this morning! I haven't even had a chance to enjoy the cool, sunny fall days that I love. I will be taking advantage of the warmer temps next week!

There's a new challenge up on the Southern Girls blog and the theme is to use inks or sprays. The sponsors for this challenge are Neat and Tangled and A Day for Daisies . Each company is generously offering gift certificates to our randomly chosen winners, so be sure to link up your inky creations for a chance to win!

I created an autumn themed art journal layout for my design team project. I found a quote by Nathaniel Hawthorne that sums up exactly how I feel on beautiful fall days!



I used three digital images from A Day for Daisies in my design, A Barrel of Blossoms,  Catching Leaves, and Joy. I love the versatility of using digital images in my designs! I created my design in Photoshop Elements, printed on mixed media paper, and used Gansai Tambi watercolors, distress inks and Prismacolor pencils to color the images.

I can think of so many fun techniques with inks and sprays, but I chose simplicity for this project.  I added some background spatters with an OLD bottle of metallic copper Memories Mist. I haven't used it in years and it still works! The spray mechanism was clogged, so I just took it off and used it to flick droplets onto the background. I also added some water droplets to lift some of the distress ink from the background for added interest. All of the different mediums worked well together. I even blended the colored pencils with Gamsol and didn't get any lifting from the watercolors or distress inks. This is definitely a combination I'll use again! 

Be sure to visit the Southern Girls blog for more inspiration from the Design Team and link up your "inked and sprayed" creation for a chance to win one of our prizes or be one of the Southern Girls' top 5!

I'll look for you in the gallery! 

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World of Wizards and Witches

I'm definitely Zelda.



I follow the rules when I drive (and bike!) and it makes me insane when other people don't. Am I crazy? Probably. I get really crazy when drivers don't watch out for bike riders. I'm always on guard. Sigh...that's why I wear a full cranium cycling helmet that my kids say makes me look special and I wear the flashiest/brightest colored shirts I can find.



So, I broke down and bought a new bike last week...



I test drove a few bikes before "she" chose me like an Olivander's wand!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5whe9XtdQgw]

That blue-green is one of my favorite colors and the fit was perfect! Now to give her a name...I kept my old bike, Esmeralda. She is more green. This color is a little more blue...I kinda like Bonnie Blue from Gone with the Wind. I like the way it sounds and you can say it fast too! Bonnie Bluuuuueee!

Today starts the new weekly challenge at Cupcake Inspirations and the theme is the World of Wizards and Witches!



Frantic Stamper is our sponsor this week and they are GENEROUSLY offering a $25 gift certificate, to our randomly chosen winner, to shop in their online store!



I had fun designing this spooky Halloween scene. The supplies used are listed in the captions below and convenient links are at the end of the post. I used some Strathmore Toned Tan medium surface sketch paper to create my background on.  I really like the "tooth" of this paper, it really works well with colored pencils. They blend so easily on paper that is a little more textured and I think the colors are brighter than on smooth paper. I had to use my new Tim Holtz stamping platform to line up the stamp images and repeat stamping on the solid stamps. It worked like a dream! Look at the great coverage the Distress Oxide have when stamping on top of the other images!

JFF Rubber Stamps Flying Witch, Harvest Moon, Bats, and Collaged Row Houses. Club Scrap® cardstock.  Strathmore Toned Tan medium surface sketch paper.  Derwent colored pencils and Distress Oxide inks.

I used the the tiniest pop-up tab from Frantic Stamper's Pop Up Card Bases Precision Dies set for the inside of my card.



[caption id="attachment_9434" align="aligncenter" width="3456"] JFF Rubber Stamps Tiny Black Kat. Frantic Stamper pop up tab die, Concord and 9th Sophisticated Script font stamp set and  Club Scrap® white pigment ink. Gansai Tambi watercolor splatters.[/caption]

I love that tiny black cat! Check out these links for more ideas for this tiny stamp... Les Chats Noirs,  You Say Witch Like It's a Bad Thing!, Yes, I Can Drive a Stick!,  Pepe Le BOO!



And...have a look at what the rest of the Design Team Sweeties have created (blog roll below) and join the fun with a Wizards and Witches themed creation of your own on the Cupcake Inspirations blog!

Charlotte

Christine

Debbie

EK

Kim

Do more of what makes you happy!



SUPPLIES USED:

I link to sources for your convenience. Some affiliate links are used at no extra cost to you.

 

• Ranger Ink - Tim Holtz - Distress Oxides Ink Pad Kit - 2017 Bundle One


• 


• Price: $61.19

• Kuretake - Gansai Tambi - Traditional Solid Watercolours - 36 Piece Set


• 


• Price: $51.38

• Tonic Studios - Tim Holtz - Stamp Platform


• 


• Price: $36.99

Club Scrap White Pigment Ink



Concord and 9th Sophisticated Script Stamp sets

[gallery ids="9607,9609" type="rectangular"]

JFF Rubber Stamps



Bats

[caption id="attachment_9617" align="alignnone" width="342"] Collaged Row Houses[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9618" align="alignnone" width="341"] Flying Witch Small[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9619" align="alignnone" width="401"] Man in the Moon/Harvest Moon[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9620" align="alignnone" width="206"] Tiny Black Kat[/caption]



CHALLENGES ENTERED:

That's Crafty Challenge 08/18/17  Only Cards 

Fussy and Fancy Friday Challenge #194 Things with Wings!

Southern Girls Challenge #166 Add Some Stamping

Crafty Girls Corner #136 Add a Star

Fab n Funky Challenges #361 Anything Goes

Dies R US Challenge #79 Anything Goes Using Dies

 

 

 

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Ride and Shine!

The freedom of the open road. When it's quiet, it's a form of meditation for me. I leave my problems at the start of my ride and can choose to pick them up again at the end of it. I find that a lot of those problems disappear while I'm riding. They didn't need to come home with me anyway.



I have been riding my bike at least 3 nights a week for almost six months. I feel 100% better and stronger. I've made some new friends on this exercise venture, everything is more fun when you do it with friends, right?



[gallery ids="9313,9314,9315,9316" type="square" columns="2"]

(FYI "helmet police", they all have one now!)

August has been so hot! The temps have been in the mid 90's with high humidity. I look like I've jumped in a pool after a few minutes outside! The best times to be outside are early morning or late afternoon/evening. Mornings are my favorite, especially Saturdays! Ride and shine!

[caption id="attachment_9309" align="alignnone" width="3045"] JFF Rubber Stamps bicycle stamp, Club Scrap® card stock, Gansai Tambi watercolors, Concord and 9th Sophisticated Script font stamps. Ranger Archival Ink in black.[/caption]

Roni Johnson, the DT coordinator for JFF Rubber Stamps, shared this about the new glossy white cardstock from Club Scrap® ...

"Don't know if any of you have Zigs Clean Color Real Brush watercolor pens or not but they work perfectly on the white glossy cardstock in the Lagoon kit. Direct from pen to paper then blend with a waterbrush...just like they are supposed to!"

So, I thought I'd try using my favorite Gansai Tambi watercolors on it. The result is exactly what I wanted with the drips!

[gallery ids="9323,9324,9325,9326,9327,9328" type="rectangular"]

I used the JFF Rubber Stamps bicycle stamp for the focal image and Concord and 9th Sophisticated Script font stamps for the sentiment. I'm kinda obsessive about lining things up straight, so I used my Club Scrap® grid ruler. Note to self, erase pencil marks with an artist eraser before taking pics of my work...oh well, they don't really show up in "real life" unless you are looking for it. Gosh I love that background! I want to make this into a t-shirt!



The JFF Rubber Stamps monthly challenge is going on now...



Make something HOT!HOT!HOT! and link up here for a chance to win a gift certificate to shop in the online store!

Do more of what makes you happy!



SUPPLIES USED: 

I link to sources for your convenience. Some affiliate links are used at no extra cost to you.

JFF Rubber Stamps bicycle stamp



Club Scrap® glossy white card stock from the August 2017 Club Scrap Deluxe Lagoon kit



Club Scrap® Grid Rulers



Gansai Tambi Watercolors



Archival Ink in black



CHALLENGES ENTERED:

Tuesday Throwdown #356 Anything Goes!

Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge #255 Photo Inspiration



Cute Card Thursday Challenge #491 Fun in the Sun!

Happy Little Stampers August Watercolor Challenge

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