Life is Better at the Lake

The weather is hot and everyone is going to the lake to cool off.  What is your favorite activity?  Scuba diving?  Kayaking?  Surfing?  Riding the waves on an inner tube? 

This card depicts all the fun activities you can do at the lake.  I stamped this Watersport Doodles from Technique Junkies with permanent black ink and then watercolored the whole thing with Distress Inks and a wet paintbrush.  The sentiment is from the Better At the Lake set, also from Technique Junkies.

Use this code, TJ10Holly, to save 10% when you shop at Technique Junkies.  You can stock up on stamps, Distress Oxide inks, stencils, and Shimmering Bliss sprays.  Enjoy your summer! 

 

Tree Fairies

I'm playing in the VSN challenges over on SCS this weekend, and the first challenge just went live tonight.  Kim is challenging us to create cards depicting a forest, and since the whole theme of this month's VSN is Fantasy World, I decided to add some tree fairies to my forest.

I started by stenciling the trees from the gorgeous Tree Grove stencil (A Colorful Life Designs) with three different colors of brown inks.  Then I used a green Copic marker to fill in the leaves before I brushed on some blue inks to fill in the background.  I stamped these adorable teeny fairies from Lavinia Stamps and added the sentiment (Ink Blot Shop).

Check out the challenges for VSN by clicking here.  There are four challenges tonight (Friday) and then ten challenges tomorrow.  I'm hosting one of the challenges tomorrow, so I hope you will check them out and play along!

If you're in a shopping mood, you can save 10% off stencils at A Colorful Life Designs by using this code, HollyFan10.  You'll find the Tree Grove stencil there as well as many others that I love.  

 

Joyful Fish Frame

 

I'm popping in to share this Joyful Fish Frame card with you today.  I stamped the gorgeous new Framed Seascape from Technique Junkies onto white cardstock with some green dye ink.  Then I stamped the sentiment from the Ocean Frame Sentiments set (Technique Junkies) with the same green dye ink.  I colored the fish and coral with Copic markers, and then I colored the outside of the frame with a pale blue Copic marker.  The contrast of the white note against the blue sea with the colorful fish just makes me smile.  

Please feel free to use this code, TJ10Holly, to save 10% when you shop at Technique Junkies.  You'll find all kinds of stamps to inspire you as well as stencils, Shimmering Bliss sprays, and Distress Oxide ink pads.  Have a great day!

 

Beachin' It

Good morning!  Are you a beach person?  Is this what you want to wake up to every morning?  This fabulous new stamp from Technique Junkies is called Sketched Beach, and I colored it with Copic markers.  The sentiment, Beachin' It, was added to the bottom.  Isn't that just a dreamy scene?

For all you beach lovers, there are a bunch of great new stamps that Technique Junkies just released.  They are on sale for 15% off until June 8, so hurry up and go shopping!  Be sure to use this code, TJ10Holly, when you check out.  Enjoy!

 

Technique Junkies June 2021 stamp release

Happy June 2021 Release Day!

We have new stamps and stencils in the Technique Junkies line!

All of the June 2021 New Release stamps are 15% off through June 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.

You can save 10% off everything else in the store by using my code, TJ10Holly. Stock up on Shimmering Bliss sprays, stamps, and stencils while you are ordering the new release stamps.

I thought I'd show you a little picture of all of the new June stamps. Aren't they awesome?

For my first card today, I used the fun new Fish or Mermaid.  I stamped the Bubble Flow background (previously released) with Peacock Feathers Distress Oxide ink and then went over random bubbles with some clear glitter glue.  Then I used the same Peacock Feathers Distress Oxide ink to stamp the Fish or Mermaid onto some white cardstock.  I used the same glitter glue to give the mermaid tail some shimmer. 

My second card is very patriotic and perfect for the upcoming 4th of July.  I stamped this wonderful Flag Across America with some blue ink and then colored in the blue star section as well as the red stripes.  I carefully fussy cut it and glued it down onto a white card that was dry embossed with stars.

This third card was a lot of fun.  I stamped the Framed Seascape and the verse from Ocean Frame Sentiments with permanent black ink and let it dry for a few minutes.  Then I sprayed over it with three colors of Shimmering Bliss - Vivid Volt, Miami Vice, and Mermaid.  This card is SO shimmery!  You can see the gorgeous shimmer in the second photo below.  

I confess, I want every single stamp in this release.  If you're like me and you Gotta Have It All, you can grab this bundle while it's on sale.  You can get all of the June release stamps for only $105.80.  That's a fantastic bargain!

Looking for more inspiration?  Check out what my fellow designers have created with these stamps.

TJ Blog

Erin Short

Holly Brown

Patti Gilliam

Beth Norman-Roberts

Judy Jackson

Pat Huntoon

Tracy Schultz

Be sure to use this code, TJ10Holly, when you shop at Technique Junkies.  You can get stamps, stencils, Shimmering Bliss sprays, foils, and Distress Oxide inks all in one trip.  Have a wonderful week!!

 

Beyond the Blue #17 - Glittery Geode Backgrounds

 This week's Beyond the Blue challenge is all about creating your own glittery geode backgrounds.  I have collected geodes for years.  There's just something about those gorgeous jewel colors and the shine and sparkle of these wondrous pieces of earth.  I also collect glittery craft supplies such as glitter paste.  I had some that was starting to get hard and dried out, so I was trying to think of a way to use it up before it was tossed in the trash.

I created this fun little tutorial for the Beyond the Blue blog, and I'd love to see what you create!  Pull out those old glitter pastes, glitter glues, gels, paints, whatever you have.  Enjoy the process and share your creations with us on the Beyond the Blue blog.  :-)

Glittery Geode Background Tutorial

by Holly Brown

 

Supplies:

glitter glaze/glitter paste - any colors, any brand

cardstock - any color

palette knife, optional

ink pad to match glitter glaze/paste and sponge, optional

 

Step 1 (optional):

Ink up sponge and drag across cardstock.  This step is optional - doing this will deepen the color of your glitter glaze. 

 

Step 2:

Using finger or palette knife, dip into glitter glaze and dab over cardstock (on top of your inked areas from Step 1). 

Step 3:

Using clean finger or clean palette knife, dip into second color of glitter glaze and dab it next to the first glitter glaze.  Gently blend colors together, adding more glitter glaze if needed.   Repeat this step with a third color of glitter glaze if desired.

  

Step 4:

Set cardstock aside to dry for at least 4 hours.  It may need additional time to dry, depending on how thickly the layers of glitter glaze are applied.

In this picture above, the first sample on the left was done with turquoise ink (Step 1).  This one has a darker turquoise color than the two blue samples in the middle.  The two blue samples in the middle were done without ink - I skipped Step 1 on these.  I also skipped Step 1 on the black and pink sample on the right, and I used three glitter glazes.

 

Step 5:

Finish as desired with stamps, dies, and embellishments.

 

Stars Can't Shine

I love these two new stamps from Technique Junkies.  These stamps are called Hanging Stars and Stars Can't Shine.  They are just perfect together, and I had fun creating this set of cards with them.  I used black cardstock and Versamark ink for all four of these, and I just changed out the embossing powders on each one just to see how they look.  My favorite is this pale blue with silver glitter version that you see above.  

You can use this code - TJ10Holly - to save 10% off your entire order at Technique Junkies.  In addition to hundreds of stamps, you will find Distress Oxide inks, Shimmering Bliss sprays, and lots of stencils to fuel your creativity.  Thank you so much for stopping by!