I love Summer....

...and I love it even more so when it starts in March!!  Too bad that this is just another one of our weather flukes, as I could get very used to this and be very happy to have this wonderful weather hang around longer.  But, like all good things, nothing is forever and it looks like today will be the last of our record breaking weather days, with more seasonal weather back tomorrow!!    Fifty degrees is going to feel very chilly after having the past two days!!

    Another love I have is for online classes, and I could not to express just how much I am loving the latest class that Tim Holtz is teaching at the Online Classroom.  It's been a fabulous week and he has taught us so many new things along with lots of great tips and hints.   As much as I thought I really knew a lot about various inks and many of the Ranger products...I've again learned something new, each and every day.   I also want to THANK Tim for being such a fabulous teacher for for formatting each day based on the class feedback and many of the numerous questions that have been posted for him each day.   He truly has a lot of patience and has devoted countless hours to make these classes fabulous in every way.

   I'm stopping by to share my three latest tags, which were all basically created using some of the new tips and techniques we learned today.   These are kind of my own variation on some of the things we also learned earlier this week too.  I did not have all the products he shared in today's videos, but I still enjoyed it very much and did my own thing with what I had on hand.

   This is the first tag and this is a form of Water-coloring that is done using re-inkers -- very cool!!    A really awesome way to color.   I used my brand new Water Brushes and really liked them, especially this new flat brush that Tim helped design for Ranger.   It's awesome!!   My stamped image is from Hero Arts and one I've had for a long time.  It's called Flourish Lily and is a wooden stamp.

  My second tag was inspired by another technique that Tim taught us today.    It's all about Misting and how you can create your own misting sprays!!   Another great less with some wonderful hints and tips!!   I also used one of my new craft stencils on this tag and it's a Brocade type pattern and is a stencil I bought at my LSS.  It's from a collection by Crafters Workshop and is really easy and fun to use.

  My third tag is one I did on my own, as I did not have the materials on hand to create my own custom stamp pad, but I sure will be buying those the next time I head to my store, so that I can try the technique.  For my third tag today, I stamped with my new Distress Markers, which I'm quickly growing to love.  I simply colored directly on my stamps, (Hero Arts - Newspaper Tulips), and then huffed it one time and stamped directly to some of the new Specialty Paper that Ranger is now selling for stampers.   It's awesome and a super smooth finish and takes ink amazing well.   I have bought a set of these to try out for class, and it's one of the nicest papers I've ever used and has a gorgeous Matte finish.   This is a paper I will use again!!  

   Well that's it for today!!  I am going back over to the classroom now to catch on on reading the posts in the forum.  I'm totally amazed at the amount of questions that are being posted and think Tim is an angel for keeping up with answering them all!    Special thanks to Jennifer and Kristina for running the Online Card Classroom and for inviting Tim to teach there.  I do HOPE he'll consider coming back again and hope that everyone is enjoying all the classes, as much as I am!!    There is still another class tomorrow and a full week next week, and you can still sign up now and be part of the Live Classes!!   Hurry on over and join the FUN!!  I'm sure you won't be disappointed!!

Day 3 - Fun with Alcohol Inks...

  It's another record breaking day here in Massachusetts, with temps almost up to 80....!  LOVE it.  Feels like a gorgeous Summer day and today I have all the windows open and it actually feels kind of hot.  But, I'm not about to complain...I'll take HOT any day over cold and by Friday, we'll be back down to 50, so I'm enjoyed it while I can.

   I had a very busy morning with a hair appointment and then came home to meet up with Brian and Meghan to finish cutting the envelopes for their Save the Date announcements.  I think we have enough done and left ended up leaving with a box full of tags and envelopes and were going to the PO to have them weighed and buy the stamps.  They will then work on the last little insert and hopefully get starting on putting them in the mail.    I also still need to get back to working on the Rehearsal Dinner plans and they both seem to be happy with one of the places I've been in touch with, so that may be where we go!   Until I have a final head count and meal choices from them, I'm kind of stuck, but think it will all work out well!

  Today is also Day 3 in Creative Chemistry and I'm stopping by to share a couple of pictures of the tags I put together after today's class, which focused on Alcohol Inks, which I really do love to work with.  Once I had mine out it was really fun trying some new color combos and then adding in some Silver Mixative too!!

  These are a few of my favorites from today and it's was again and very enjoyed and educational class.  I have noticed there are tons of brand new crafters in this class and Tim sure must be swamped with all the questions he is being asked each day.  You can tell that he puts a lot of time an effort into each Video and the daily PDF files, very much like Jennifer and Kristina have done with all their classes.   I wonderful when these creative people ever sleep, as they seem to always be so busy and area always sharing some wonderful new project!!

  And that's it for today!   The second image above ended up being my favorite color combination today, which I'm sure is not much of a surprise.  I really love how the purple and blue shades mixed together.  I also have some green, aqua and plum along with Silver Mixative!!   I totally loved today's class and very much am looking forward to tomorrow, as I don't have to leave for any appointments and can spend a lot more time in my craftroom!  WOOHOO!!!

Having FUN!!!

  What a wonderful week this is starting out to be!   Gorgeous sunshine, lots of blue skies, warm temperatures, open windows and lots of awesome fresh air.  I'm LOVE it and I love that Spring is off to such a great start.

  On top of that I'm really enjoying being in the new Creative Chemistry 101 Class and have already learned quite a few new things about a variety of inks and also all about the various inks we use every day in crafting.  Tim is an excellent teacher and also very enjoyable to watch on Video.  He gives tons a great information and like all the other classes I've taken at the Online Classroom, we also have PDF files to print out each day.

   Yesterday's class was very much a general information class and also very interesting.  Even after all the time I have spent in classes and making cards, I still learned quite a lot of about how various inks works and a lot more about the differences in Dye vs. Pigment inks and so forth.   If you have ever wanted to learn about this, particularly as it related to Ranger products, I highly recommend you hop on over to the classroom now and sign up for this class.   We are only on Day Two and I think you'll be very pleased and also be able to catch up.

  Today, we starting learning some of the many techniques we will be learning in this class and we started with Distress Inks.   I can't share all the details of the class, you'll have to take it yourself to have that information, but I can tell you that I really like it and today was fun.

  I have have my first two sets of Tags to share, as we can share our personal project, but not any of the class content, as always.   I can also say that all the tags I created today were done solely with Distress Inks and Water in one form or another and all my tags today started as Manila.   There are three tags were I used stamps along with the inks and those images were first stamped onto watercolor paper, which I later applied to my tags.

        Those three tags are each created with a different technique, but you can also combine techniques to come up with even more styles and ideas.   I have also LOVED the way Distress Inks works and between classes at my LSS, Tim's Class I took when he was here, along with Classes I've taken from Jennifer McGuire, I've learned so much about them.  I especially LOVE how they react with water of mist and that' is what makes them so cool and unique.  Tim also shared the story of how he first introduced them and it was really fun to learn and hear about this first days with Ranger.    He's really a great teacher and has so many tips and such to share, after all, he did create these products!!  

        This next set, were simply my own sample sets that I made using the techniques we learned in class.   I created two with the same Hero Arts Fabric Background Stamp, but totally changed the look with the different colors I used.  

         Another really fun part of class is seeing all the wonderful projects that everyone in class shares in the the Class Gallery.  WOW!!  There are some amazing projects already out there and some very talented crafters.   I also like ready the forum and there have been lots of really good questions and Tim has taken the time to answer them all!   It's a very education class and I love that you can practice what you learn each day!!
     
        On top of that I was at my LSS for the Monthly Card Club classes today too, but don't have a thing to share.  Unfortunately, I did not really 'love' many of the cards and they were pretty much all in an Easter Theme and that's simply not one of my favorite themes.  I sent out maybe one or two Easter Cards at the most, these days!  I also admit that I'm not much of a 'sticker' person and quite a few of today's cards had Stickers as embellishments...which sadly are not my thing.   On top the that, my new Fiskars Trimmer ended up breaking while I was trimming, so that pretty much was the end for me at class today.  I did bring everything home and will use all the card-bases and some of the elements for others cards, so they will be put to good use.   I'll also donate the stickers to someone with children, who loves to play with them.

      I did contact Fiskars as soon as I did get home and they will be replacing my trimmer.  They have a warranty form on their website that I completed and I also included a picture of the broken area, which is the guide wire.  I had a reply within minutes saying they had all my information an a new trimmer would be shipped to arrive in 5-7 days, so that was really good.  I have a larger version of the trimmer, at home and Love it and have never had any problem, and hopefully won't.   I  bought the smaller one to take to classes and I should have the replacement next week.  

    My navy blue cardstock from PTI was also here when I got home, so I did also cut some more of the custom envelopes we'll be using for Bri and Meg's - Save the Dates and Meghan is planning to come over tomorrow after work, so we can hopefully finish them.   Busy, Busy Busy!!!

    Tomorrow, I'll be off early for a hair appointment, but then have ALL day to create and I'm very much looking forward to Day 3 in Creative Chemistry.  I did buy a few new supplies today too, that are on the recommended list.  I wanted to try the new Ranger Stamping Paper and the new sets of the Kraft core cardstock.  I also picked up some really pretty new Bo Bunny papers, from the new Double Dot Line...awesome!!!!

     I'm now wiped out...so time to say Goodnight!!   Hoping tomorrow is as fabulous as today!!

Getting Ready...

   Today is my last "free" day and boy is it gorgeous!  Right now it's after 5pm and I still have my windows open and it's beautiful.    It's so nice to have it this warm and still have bright sun at this time of day!

    I have only two cards to share and both were created for  Operation Write Home.   Other than that one challenge, and organizing my craft room, I have not done much else today.  It's just nice to totally relax and enjoy this weather.

      After dinner, I'll finish cleaning my room and have everything ready for class tomorrow!!  I totally LOVE classes and some of my favorites have been those that I started taking with Jennifer McGuire and Kristina Werner on their new online classroom, which opened last Summer.   Tomorrow, we start our next class and this one is being taught by Tim Holtz and I think it'll be a lot of fun!!   And guess what, you still have time to enroll and join the fun.  All you need to do is go to the Registration page, Sign up - make you payment via PayPal and you're in!!    This class starts tomorrow and runs through April 2nd.   They are new videos and PDF files, every day (weekends excluded), student discounts to some fabulous craft stores, a forum and even a Class Galley for inspiration.  They also have had several Giveaways in the previous classes and they all of the classes have been wonderful.  I really enjoy them and have been looking forward to this, every since it was first announced.    You will also have Lifetime access to the classroom, videos and files and can work at your own pace.

   This will be  perfect way to learn about the newest products and also be refresher for any other products that I already own, but have not used in awhile.   I'm hoping, Tim will share inspiration and ideas on using the new Distress Markers and maybe even some of the new Dylusion products.

   

   Today, my goal was to take part in the weekly Sunday Sketch Challenge over at the Stars and Stamps blog and then to clean up my craft room and be totally ready and organized for tomorrow's class.  I have some new stamps and supplies that I had ordered from the Suggested Supply List and I want to have them all set and ready to go.

   My first task has been completed and I'm here to share my newest OWH Cards with you.  Both were inspired and created by today's new Sketch Challenge and I have also included a copy of this week's Sketch to share:

Sketch # 113

My Cards

   I made both cards with a Hugs sentiment and I think with these sweet little girls images, they will be very sweet for a Dad who is serving overseas and wants to send a card home to his special little Girl.  I do hope these cards will make some little girl, very happy to hear from her Dad (or Mom) who is serving in the Military.

   The first card features a cute little Digi Image from By Lori Designs and she's been colored with Copics.   My second card, also based on the same sketch was even easier to make, as it's a pre-color image that I bought from Lily of the Valley.  I think these sweet little images (they refer to them as die-cuts), are perfect for quick and easy cards.   They come on a sheet of six and are available in a variety of wonderful designs and themes.   The one I used today is from the "Friends and Flowers" set.  For my card, I cut down the image a bit and then matted it onto a layer of Lavender cardstock.   Many of the LOTV images are also available to buy as rubber stamps and they are very popular.

  And now, I am off to clean up my room and have it all set for the morning.   Typically, each class will be posted at midnight and we also receive ab email update, once it's ready.    I can't wait to see how it goes with Tim as our teacher and what new things we'll learn.    It's going to be a very busy and craft filled week and I'm almost ready to Create!!  WOOHOO!

Back to creating......

  Today is the first day I have had all week to work on cards and I'm excited to be sharing some new projects with you now.

  My first two cards were actually created on Tuesday at the Memory Box Class I took at my LSS.   It was a fun little class and I always enjoy working with Memory Box products.    This first card is one of the Memory Box Stamps and also comes with a matching die, which is really cool.   We first stamped out the image and colored it and then used the die to cut it out.  The nice think is how close the die cuts to the image edges and it makes it so much easier than trying to cut by hand.

   My next card, which is my favorite from the day is a fun little bright and happy little flower card and I fell in love with these little Poise dies that day and bought the little scalloped edge flower die, so I can create more of these fun little flowers.  The background die, called Quinn Flourish, is stunning and is now on my wish list.  The day we took the class, it was out of stock, but I'm hoping it will be back soon!  

      My next card is one that I created today for this current  that Marti is hosting over at the Color Me Creative Classroom in her new Mix it UP - Mixed Media/Altered Art Group.   This is is brand new group that has just recently been started at CMC.  It's also something I'm very much into learning and I have had a great time starting to buy some new goodies to go along with this style of crafting.   Below are pictures of the new goodies I used today and my favorite new sprays are these awesome Dylusions by Ranger.  The colors are all very vibrant and they were inspired by Dyan Reavely, who also now has a line of Stamps and Stencils and is the UK Ranger Designer.   Check out this wonderful video from CHA that features Dyan, she's awesome and I am very excited to meet here when she comes to teach at my LSS (Absolutely Everything) in July!

    I used two of my new Dylusions along with some Perfect Pearls mist and a new Stencil, and a Lavender Pearl Pen to create this card for the Challenge.   I thought it was so cool to see that the inks actually started to blend in with the Pearl pen, as if to match the different section of the design!    

  I have one more card that is done and this one was inspired by the Wings and Blooms Blog Hop Challenge that started yesterday over at Crafting by Designs.   I created my flower with a Hero Arts Stamps set and some left over scrap papers.   I stamped the flower image twice, then cut it out and cut out both and popped one on top, added a little button and twine and some Silver Pearls with a Pearl Pen.  Then then created my cardbase with some Soft Pool cardstock, also from Hero Arts along with more scraps and put it all together to make this little 'Thank You' card.

    I'm off now to see if I can come up with a fun idea for this week's Paper a la Mode Challenge over at The Outlawz.  The theme is to Think Green and great a project with something that you have recycled?   I'm also going to get read to take part in another 90 Minute Scramble with the Hero Arts Group on Flickr!   I totally enjoyed the last two Scrambles and find it a lot of fun to try these fast paced challenges.   The next one starts at 6 PM Eastern Time tonight!!    All we know at this point is that it will in some way tie into the fact that today is St. Patrick's Day, but other than that, we do not have any other hints until the challenge is posted!   Oh and speaking of St. Patrick's Day, which I totally forgot about until just now, I'd like to wish all my Irish friends a Happy Day!   I'm half Irish and my Mom is all Irish and I know she was baking two Key Lime Pies yesterday to take to a party she was heading today.  I'm sure she is wearing her Green and if I were going out, I would be too.  But, I'm very happy to be home today and spending time in my craft room making cards!!  

    If all goes well, I'll come back online later to share my Scramble project and anything else I might happen to finish up.   It's been really a joy to make some cards today and as much as I have loved all the fun I had this week, I have to admit, I've missed making cards too!!

    Update:  I'm back to share the cards that I was able to get done for today's 90 Minute Scramble.  It was such a fun and different challenge and I want to thank Donna for hosting it and coming up with such a fun idea.  It was a Tic-Tac-oe Challenge and this is a copy of the chart that Donna designed for us to use for our cards --  The idea is to use any three elements that form a Tic-Tac-Toe to create a card that also includes at least one Hero Arts Stamp.

Source:   Hero Arts Flickr Group-90 Minute Scramble

  And these are the three cards that I managed to create all in the 90 minutes!   This one was first and is my favorite.  The image is from is a digi from one of my Hero Arts Digital sets.   For this card I used Decorative Tape, Green and Twine.

  The second card include a Hero Arts Sentiment and also incorporated using a Die Cut, Green and Patterned Paper.

  And the last one, I don't really like and it was also the card that ended up being most rushed as time was running out.  It again includes a Hero Arts Sentiment and the other elements for this card are Dry Embossing, Green and Buttons.   I also did not really get a good picture of this card and the sentiment ended up being too light!  

  But...I sure had a lot of fun and really enjoyed the Scramble.  There are so many amazing crafters in thsi group and we all share that LOVE of Hero Arts Products.  If you have a Flickr account you can go HERE to the Hero Arts Group and see all the cards everyone created!   
  I did not have time to work on a project for the Paper a la Mode Challenge, but do HOPE to try something tomorrow.  Then on Monday, it'll be Day one of Creative Chemisrty 101 with Tim Holtz.  Woohoo!  I'm sure I'll be very busy in that class, but will try to stop in from time to time to share some of my work.   As with any and all classes, I can only share my projects, as all the class content is protected by Copyright, as it should be.    I know it's very much going to be a technique class, which are my favorites nd like the classes I've taken at my LSS, we will often be created tags that we can keep for the future and go back to for inspiration.  I'm especially excited to learn more about the new Distress Markers and hoping we might also use some of the Dylusions line too?   Fun Fun FUN!!