Dare to Begin a new Book

There's just something about starting a new book that feels like a dare, right?  These two stamps from Technique Junkies were meant to go together.   I stamped the new Stack of Books onto some watercolor paper with Versafine Clair Pinecone ink.  I then stamped the beautiful sentiment from the new Modern Encouragements set with the same brown ink and let the ink dry completely.  The background was watercolored with a pale gold ochre paint and it looks like old weathered parchment paper (love that!).  Then I used various colors of paint to watercolor all the books.  I deliberately faded the colors so the books look old and worn.

Have you gone shopping at Technique Junkies yet?  Feel free to use my code, TJ10Holly, to save money on your stamps when you check out.  Enjoy your week!

Diet Wagon

Good morning!  I'm sharing this fun card using the new Diet Wagon stamp from the January 2020 release at Technique Junkies.  Don't we all make that New Year's resolution to stick to a certain diet and then by day 2, we're over it??  LOL  

I decided to give this diet wagon the ol' heave ho with a burned edges look.  The fire and the wagon were quickly watercolored and I sponged some Antique Linen distress ink all over the piece.  On the edges, I dragged Walnut Stain distress ink and then streaked it here and there.  After I distressed the edges with a distress tool, I adhered this to a dark brown card base.

All of the new January 2020 release stamps are 15% off through January 8.  You can use my code, TJ10Holly, for an additional 10% off for a total of 25% off the new release stamps.  Have fun!

January 2020 Technique Junkies release

Welcome to the January 2020 Technique Junkies blog hop! This release is filled with a wonderful variety of stamps, and we can't wait to show you what we created with them. 

All of the January 2020 New Release stamps are 15% off through January 8th.

We can all use a little bargain, right?

No codes needed, just put them in your shopping cart and the discount will be applied at checkout.

How about an additional 10% off at Technique Junkies?

That’s 25% off the new January 2020 release!

Use code TJ10Holly

For my first card today, I used the new Stack of Books stamp along with a sentiment from the new Modern Encouragements set.  I watercolored the books and the background to look like old parchment paper.  As a long time reader, I can say these books are going to see a lot of use over the coming months. 

My next card is the most colorful one.  I used the beautiful new You Are Extraordinary stamp and a lot of rhinestones on this multicolored background.  The background is composed of leftover strips that were trimmed off when I used those backgrounds on cards.  This was a fun technique I learned at retreat where we sprinkled Infusions watercolor powders onto watercolor paper, spritzed them with water, placed a stencil on top, and left it alone until it dried.

For my last card today, I stamped the silhouette lady from Butterfly Dreams (the trail of butterflies that is part of the stamp was masked off so it didn't stamp with the silhouette) and then I stamped the new Who and What She Wants sentiment on the left of the lady.  It's fun to combine old and new stamps like this.  I sponged some blue and purple inks for a soft ethereal background and then I flicked water over it.  Some blue, purple, and clear sequins finish off this feminine card.

Want to see more gorgeous artwork from the Technique Junkies team?  Here is the blog hop lineup:

Technique Junkies blog

Beth Norman-Roberts

Ceal Pritchett

Giovana Smith

Holly Brown

Jeanne Streiff

Judy Jackson

Pat Huntoon

Ro Donner

Lynda Pleckan

Carmen Garcia

Remember, you can save an extra 10% on the January 2020 release stamps by using my code - TJ10Holly.  Which new stamps are on your wish list??

Gold Holiday Lights

There's only three more days til Christmas, so I'm posting my last holiday TJ card for the year.  I wanted to do something different with the Technique Junkies Christmas Lights stamp, so I embossed it with gold embossing powder and watercolored each bulb with an iridescent gold watercolor paint.  The sentiment, from the Poinsettias set, was embossed with the same gold embossing powder.  I fussy-cut that and popped it up with foam tape.

Before I adhered this to my card base, I decided I wanted a gold mat between my black card and the stamped lights piece.  The gold cardstock I had did not match my embossing powder, so I employed an easy trick.  I inked up the edges of some black paper with Versamark, covered them with the gold embossing powder, and melted the powder with a heat tool.  I love the seamless transition from my gold sentiment to the gold lights to my gold "framing." 

I hope you all have a wonderful and happy holiday with your friends and family.  

Holiday Berry Cheer

Hi friends.  I'm doing a mix of old and new stamps on this Christmas card today.  Did you see the new Inventory Reduction sale over at Technique Junkies?  The Technique Junkies 35% off Sale is going on now! Take 35% off all stamps in the 35% Inventory Reduction Category for AMAZING Savings!

https://techniquejunkies.com/35-inventory-reduction-sale/

You can take an ADDITIONAL 10% off by adding my code, TJ10Holly, at checkout. That's 45% off the stamps in the Inventory Reduction Category!

See the cluster of berries on my card above?  That stamp, called Berries Panel, is one of the many TJ stamps in the Inventory Reduction sale.  The sentiment is from the newly released Poinsettias Set.   I stamped these with Chianti Versafine Clair ink and then sprayed them with Gold Shimmering Bliss spray.  You can see the gorgeous gold shimmer in my close-up picture below.

I added some gold Nuvo glitter drops and adhered the stamped panel to a colored card base.  Now I have another quick and easy card for my Christmas stash!  Go check out the stamps in the sale and use my code, TJ10Holly, to save even more money.  Enjoy!!

Deer on Nontraditional Damask

Howdy, friends!  I'm here to share this fun and non-traditional Christmas card with you today.  Pink and purple are not your normal colors for the holiday, are they?  LOL  I just wanted to have a bit of fun and do something totally different.

For this card, I pulled out one of my gel press prints, a monochromatic pink background.  I then placed the beautiful Damask stencil from A Colorful Life Designs over the pink background and stenciled it with a purple ink.  A die cut deer and sentiment and some ribbon complete this fun and easy card.

If you are looking for some great stencils, go to A Colorful Life Designs.  There are tons of styles and sizes to choose from.  Personally, I want them ALL!!  :-)  Feel free to use this code, HollyFan10, to save 10% when you check out.  Enjoy your week!

Wishing You Joy

Good morning!  I'm back with another stenciled Christmas card to share with you today.  This time I've used the beautiful Poinsettia Bling stencil from A Colorful Life Designs.  Isn't that gorgeous?  I stenciled it with a dark red ink onto the dark red paper, but I wanted a little extra oomph.  So I pulled out my iridescent medium and a sponge and very lightly sponged over the inked areas on the stencil.  You can see the shimmer in the close up picture below.  

Once the shimmery medium dried, I wanted some pearls on the little dots, so I used Antique Rose Nuvo Crystal Drops for that 3D effect.  For the sentiment, I looked through all my Christmas stamps and I found this swirly sentiment that echoed the beautiful swirls in the stencil (Snowflake Serenade set from Papertrey Ink).  I stamped it with the same dark red ink and then I dabbed the iridescent medium over the stamp while it was in the MISTI and went over the sentiment again.  It's so shimmery and festive!

Head on over to A Colorful Life Designs to grab this Poinsettia Bling stencil.  You can whip out a bunch of Christmas cards in no time!  Be sure to use this code, HollyFan10, to save 10%.  Enjoy!