USAQ Blog Hop

It's a blog hop and everyone is invited!  USAQ is hosting a blog hop and you're invited!  Please check out all the details on the USAQ Blog but don't wait - the deadline for submissions is August 20th.  Time is running out so don't miss your chance to play along and be eligible to win some fabulous prizes.

Need a little inspiration from the master herself?  Sue will be in Cincinnati this week for Stampaway and will demoing USAQ products at Stamp Your Art Out on Wednesday and in the Marco Paper booth on Friday and Saturday at the Sharonville Convention Center.

Stampaway Friday Night Ticket For Sale

I have two tickets for the Friday night preview party at Stampaway for sale.  Cost is $38 each.  If you are interested in purchasing, please send an email to craftjunkies@gmail.com.  Tickets will be sold on a first come, first paid basis!

USAQ DT Challenge #4

 

Sometimes, beauty is found in the simplest things.

When I received my kit for the USArtQuest Design Team challenge #4, I found a tin full of fabulous colors, sizes and shapes of mica chips and flakes.  The way the little jars were packaged reminded me of the wide array of bling embellishments available today.  I decided to make a batch of my own and started with some chipboard, die cut a bunch of shapes and then just started playing with them. It is really quite simple to do - brush each piece with a coating of PPA gloss and randomly sprinkle or artfully place flakes on top.  Leaving them to dry overnight, I was quite pleased when I revisited my treasures the next morning.  

For my DT project card, I selected this butterfly and decided the best way to transform it into a thing of beauty was to make a simple yet elegant backdrop.  Taking my inspiration from the colors of the mica flakes, I opted for a grey, blue and turquoise palette.  A little scoring around the edges, highlighted with some lightly dusted turquoise ink gently complements the butterfly without drawing the focus away from it.  And, taking my cue from our last challenge which included handmade papers, I cut a "mat" from a pretty paper bag and mounted the entire piece to a soft blue grey square card.  Can you "shabby chic?" 

Be sure to check out the cool projects created by the rest of the USAQ DT (see links on the right).

USArtQuest DT Challenge #3

It is time for another USArtQuest Design Team challenge post.  For this challenge, the DT received some mica tiles, PPA gloss and some beautiful handmade papers.  The papers reminded me of some gorgeous woven silk fabrics I purchased while in Hong Kong and Gurgaon, which made me think of fashion and this page from a vintage Sears catalog I had patiently waiting in my craft stash for just the right project.

The base of this card is black linen cardstock matted to ivory linen cardstock.  A few carefully torn pieces from my vintage catalog page were adhered with PPA matte; accompanied by some lace trim, aged with a bit of walnut ink.  For the finishing touches, I used heart shapes punched from mica to spotlight the model's face, the price and a deep red silk flower to bring a touch of color to the collaged card. 

If you haven't played with Mica tiles in a while, hopefully this will inspire you to dust them off and get creative.  Be sure to check out the awesome projects created by the rest of the team at the USAQ blog.

Box of Chocolates

Remember the line from Forrest Gump - ". . . life is like a box of chocolates . . . "?  Well, that's what I think of whenever I look at this card.  Verses Rubber Stamps has come out with some fabulous new designs and this card features one of them so be sure to check them out online or in person at Stamp Your Art Out.

I made the background paper with a quick swirl of chocolate brown acrylic paint and pink shimmer mist.  The little gold "faux" brads were made using Duo Glue and Gilden Glitz flakes from USArtQuest.  And the cardstock is my favorite KaleidaPaper from Marco's Paper.  And the best part?  The embellishment is a gold foil-wrapped chocolate!  Add this to a tin of your favorite homemade or store bought chocolates and you've got the perfect girlfriend gift for any occasion.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my mother's birthday and she is quite the firecracker.  She loves to dance and strut her stuff so I decided the peacock (from Magenta) was the ideal image for this year's birthday card.  I stamped and embossed the image in gold (Judikins) on watercolor cardstock (Marco's Paper) and then painted it with watercolor paints (USArtQuest).  I matted the finished image with two colors of Stardream cardstock (Marco's Paper). 


 
Lately, mom's been a bit frustrated because she's "off the grid" and everything she wants to do seems to require internet access and/or an email address.  My siblings and I decided to help her get connected and we bought her a laptop.  To say she was surprised is an understatement.

It isn't often we can pull one over on my mother but with a little planning and some fancy footwork, we managed to really get her good this time.  We started her off slow - teaching her how to play solitaire and do some basic stuff in Word.  We're working on getting her on email and maybe even Skype so she can virtually visit her out of town family and friends.  Oh, the possibilities are endless and, while she admits to feeling a bit overwhelmed, she is really excited to be learning all kinds of new things.

If you're interested, you can leave her a quick birthday message via a comment on my blog because, of course, I know it will be one of the first places she'll want to visit wants she begins surfing the net!


Happy birthday, mom!

Pink Flamingo

It's time for another USArtQuest Design Team project!  Before we begin, however, I want to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who visited our blogs for the inaugural blog hop and giveaway.  The winner of the Draw and Gild kit was Karen Denson - Congratulations, Karen!


Now, on to the current project.  The DT received the goodies for the napkin collage technique and, once again, we each had our own way of transforming them into unique works of art.  Want to see what the other DT members have created?  Check out their blogs:

Sarah Anderson

Suzi Blu

Lea Cioci

Jessica Griffin

Jan Hennings

Terri Sproul

USAQ Blog

The inspiration for my project came from one of those purchases we've all made.  You know - the fun item in the clearance section of our favorite store that we just have to have it because we're certain it will be ideal for some unknown future project.  I found these fun pink flamingo napkins last summer and today I am finally vindicated! 

If you want to make your own version, just follow these easy instructions.  Brush a quick coat of PPA matte on the art canvas and gently apply the printed layer only of the napkin, centering the flamingo.  Let it dry and then trim around the design, leaving about 1/2" to wrap around the back of the art canvas, adhering the edges to the back with PPA matte.  To finish the focal piece, I used my fine liner tool and some gold watercolor paint to highlight parts of the flamingo and then gave it a top coat of PPA gloss, with a little sprinkle of Crystal Effectz.

With my flamingo complete, I just needed to create the perfect tropical setting.  With a few quick strokes of interference watercolors, I created some palm fronds and rippling water and my card was complete.

Thanks for stopping by my blog and happy summer!

Connie