inspiration monday

as a collector of quotes, this magazine ad quickly made its way
 into my inspiration file as soon as i saw it!
but the other day, it caught my eye again…..
this time, not for the quotes, but for those fabulous talk bubbles!

so i decided to have some bubbly fun with one of my new stamps….

and then i took a nosedive into my vast collection of alphabet stickers.

 after a little punching….

and some stamping, and gluing…..

i had created this fun little bubbly card!
which just goes to show that what inspires us one day,
can easily inspire us another day…...for a completely new reason!


{supplies:  white card stock, hugs & kisses stamp, alphabet stickers, scrapbook paper, 
foam tape, tombow tape runner, micron pen, charcoal stamp pad}

{you can see my rubber stamp designs here}

inspiration monday

here's an easy way to create a "hand-drawn look" without actually drawing anything!  you'll need your favorite rubber stamp, a fine-mist spray bottle, a watersoluble graphite pencil (i'm using an 8B), a paint brush or waterbrush, and a piece of paper that's suitable for water media (i'm using my strathmore visual journal for mixed media).

first, spray a very light mist of water onto your stamp.

while your stamp is still damp, rub the side of your watersoluble graphite pencil over the entire stamp.  the water will activate the graphite and transfer it to the stamp.

now stamp your image onto your paper.  it's no problem at all if your image isn't perfect.....just take your pencil and go over any lines or areas that need more graphite (adding these extra lines also makes it look more hand-drawn!).

now using your waterbrush (or paintbrush and water), go over your lines to activate the graphite......

you can spread the graphite out to give your artwork shadows and dimension!

and if you want to take it a step further, you can add your own touches with some boo-tiful letters, a fun border, and a little watercolor!  now you have a whimsical little piece of art that was created with graphite,  and looks like it was completely hand-drawn! 

{this project was created using a derwent watersoluble 8B graphitone pencil,
mini mister bottle, waterbrush, haunted house rubber stamp by imaginisce (i found mine at michael's), derwent inktense pencils,  strathmore visual journal for mixed media}

inspiration monday

here's an easy way to add some watercolor flair to your projects......and you don't even have to draw or use watercolor!  all it takes is a few supplies:  your favorite rubber stamp, a watersoluble marker,  a waterbrush or paint brush,  and some watercolor paper.

first, run the tip of your marker across the rubber stamp.  make sure you cover all the areas of the image well.

then stamp it onto your paper.  don't worry if it doesn't come out even.....we're going to change it up a bit anyway!

using your waterbrush or damp paintbrush, touch the lines made by the marker and start to "paint" the color around the image.  the water on your brush activates the pigment of the watersoluble marker, giving it a watercolor look!  {one thing i noticed, though......i used a very damp brush here.  if you add too much water, your image will start to disappear!}

you can go back with your marker and add some of the details and lines that may have been lost during your painting.

and if you want to add more color without putting more marker directly onto your image, you can also swipe your marker across your acrylic stamp block,  or piece of plastic......

then pick up the color off the block with your brush and add it to your image.

once you have your image all painted and detailed, add a title if you want, and presto....
you've got a little faux watercolor masterpiece
(and you didn't even have to draw a thing!!)!


for my faux watercolor, i used these supplies:
framed girl rubber stamp, tombow watersoluble marker #493, niji waterbrush, 
strathmore 400 series w/c paper, pilot hi-tech pen for lettering

gingham birdie

i stumbled upon this sweet stamp set over at hobby lobby the other day, and immediately fell in love with this fabulous gingham birdie.  and the fact that i had a 40% off coupon burning a hole in my jeans pocket made the decision easy that this little cutie was coming home with me! 

 after we got home, it was time to get acquainted with each other, so i stamped the image onto a piece of scrap fabric.....

and then i gave him some much needed legs (they're long and lean, just like i wish mine were.....) and a wing that was a former tear-shaped shell button, along with a black bead for an eye.  but no gingham birdie is complete without a happy garden to wander in, so i stitched some colorful french knot flower buds to make him feel right at home.  

and now that we're good friends,  i might even show this little birdie where my chocolate stash is......well, maybe.....

hope you have a great weekend!

book day at donna's

last week martha and i drove over to our favorite stamp shop, a small cleverness, and donna showed us how to make this great book. for the pages, we used gridded 3x5 index cards folded in half. we sewed each signature together using the pamphlet stitch (there are 12 signatures total) and then glued the signatures together to create our book block. the spine was finished by weaving narrow strips of calico cotton fabric through our stitches; the middle piece of fabric was kept long enough to also become the tie closure. we added a glass bead to each thread. the covers are made from black mat board, and the image on the front cover is a stamp that donna provided. this was a really fun project and took about two hours to complete. i really love the end result...thanks donna!