The Best is Yet to Come

January 20, 2016 ~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

The project I had in mind for today was just too time consuming. That will have to be later on, perhaps Saturday. It was floral, so I still had to get my fix in there. The main stamp from this lovely hostess set was perfect.

I try to work when my family is busy, but this was done in the middle of a rushed morning. So, as I tried to accomplish a quick water coloring, I created something that made me less than happy. I was doing the no line technique and well, my lines got lost, almost completely. It looked like I was looking through a frosted glass. Instead of starting over, I just embraced the look and put some velum over the top. Win!

The project was just about some simple layers, nothing too tricky. I love being able to hide my adhesive well when working with velum. Yup, glue dots underneath the lovely silver spots. How great is that. I wanted to use the thread, but with the tags I usually punch a hole and make a bow. The card is too large in scale for a tiny bow like that, so I tried to go without. That did not work. A metal rimmed pearl came to the rescue and finished it off. Even though it wasn’t quite what I had planned, I do love how it turned out. What a great all occasion card to have on hand.

Have a creative day!

Moana

First Sight

January 18, 2016January 18, 2016 ~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

I keep getting drawn into playing with water colors. Maybe that is just my thing for right now, and I love it. The effect is just so soft and subtle. And it isn’t even very tricky.

I do have a hard time putting embellishments on top of this kind of card front. So I settled for a short strand of basic pearls and a hint of Wink of Stella. I drew a few hearts and hi-lighted my stamped flourish to give it a little interest. You have to turn the card to see it, so it is very subtle. I didn’t want much to get in the way of the color blending. When I tried different ribbon options it just was this huge separation that was pretty sad. Clean and simple does the trick today for sure.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Thoughts & Prayers Raining Down

January 10, 2016 ~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

This is the lovely view I have had all this past week. It has been so wonderful to enjoy the cool cloudy days filled with light rain. It makes everything look bright and clean, and the smell is wonderful.

I stamped my image first and washed the paper with plain water. I then proceeded to layer on my ink until it was dark on the top and the right layer of light on the bottom. I continued dabbing my brush along the top pointing down for ink to kind of fall down. It started to look more and more like rain. I finished it off with spritzing water, allowing it to dry some and doing it again. The last time I spritzed heavier allowing for some drops to form, and then controlled them down the piece. It worked wonderfully. How simple is that?

Have a creative day.

Moana

Inspired First Sight

January 5, 2016 ~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

I have a thing for unique mugs and my oldest daughter gets me. She found this little treasure and couldn’t resist. It reminded me of simple water coloring, so I thought I would create a card around it.

Of course it had to be water color somehow to go with the simple brush strokes on the mug. I matted a card base with painters tape to leave me a clean 1/4″ border and brushed the whole surface with plenty of water. I then dabbed my aqua painter in the ink colors to coordinate with the mug and created a very soft background. When I was satisfied I went looking for the perfect stamps.

One of the new sets in the spring catalog caught my eye. It is called First Sight and has more than one use. It isn’t all about Valentine’s Day, or Mother’s Day but really has several uses. For me, that is when a set gets purchased. Having a stamp for just one use better be pretty darn amazing to get into my collection. And as of today, the catalog is live so you can have the stamp set too. How fun!

Have a creative day!

Moana

Sparkly Seasons Ballerina

November 16, 2015 ~ moanaj ~ 2 Comments

Doesn’t everyone get enchanted with a pretty snow globe? This particular stamp set has a few options to make one happen, but this pretty ballerina might be my favorite. She is so delicate and lovely.

The base is stamped in sahara sand and the globe is in soft sky. That is also the card base and background color. I stamped her in sahara sand as well to give a hint of skin color without having to make it happen. I did water color her tutu and slippers though, couldn’t resist that. Her hair just had a touch of marker coloring.

I stamped the ‘sparkle’ inside the globe with versa mark ink and then covered it with dazzling diamonds. Loved it. But I needed more. So I used the 2-way glue pen to color a layer around the bottom of the globe and used more dazzling diamonds. I liked that a lot better. Of course I had to put a bunch of rhinestones around as well. Sparkle means sparkle. I even put a few inside.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Vintage Leaves, All Through My Yard

November 7, 2015November 6, 2015 ~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

The weather has finally changed and I love the color change that follows. Looking out my window I can see trees with leaves in all of these colors. Just so lovely this time of year.

This stamp set lets you create leaf images that have so much texture and the play of light across them. How fun and validating is that. Becoming the artist without knowing how to be.

I stamped the leaves in different colors starting from light colors to darkest. I had started with a different intention, but it didn’t work out. I stuck with my background as the focal point and just enjoyed water coloring it. It went together rather quickly. A few simple layers, very light sponging, and a gentle wrap of gold metallic thread for an accent. I love this kind of creative fun.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Elegant Butterfly

November 2, 2015 ~ moanaj ~ 1 Comment

Butterflies, butterflies, and more butterflies. There are a bunch going on here, but one in particular started it all. You might not realize it, but I played quite a bit with this little butterfly. Lots of detailing and working it with a stylus.

Sometimes the attention to detail makes all the difference. My daughter made a good observation. She said it would be really pretty if it were glass or something so it could be a necklace charm. I have to agree, it would be lovely.

I do rather enjoy working with colors that are so not of the current holiday. Nothing more entertaining than making a spring card in late fall, or a fun Christmas project in the middle of July. Something different to expect.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Neutral Toned If the Broom Fits

October 31, 2015 ~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

I know today is Halloween, but I was just feeling a bit mellow about it. Could that be a result of being with students all day that were super costumed out and completely mental about it? Or maybe because I went back to take yearbook pictures that evening during the carnival and dance? Sounds about right. Let’s just settle down a bit, but still enjoy the holiday.

This stamp is just too funny. I think that I have shown myself that even though there is definitely a Halloween theme with the stamp, it doesn’t have to be used that way, and that always makes me happy.

Instead of focusing on the holiday, I went with a focus on the brooms themselves. This included giving the background a run through with the woodgrain embossing folder, wooden handles on the broom. Also, I did a little piercing around the brooms themselves so I could thread some of the ever so lovely linen thread around the bristles and give it some dimension. I think that looks pretty darn cool. All kinds of dimension going on here. What a great card!

Have a creative day!

Moana

Vintage Butterfly Basics

October 22, 2015 ~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

This project started out as something entirely different, but I love where it ended up. Would you believe I thought I was going to make something dark and dreary with a Halloween theme? Well…like I said, it ended up lovely.

The floral images were stamped in black and water colored with blackberry bliss and mossy meadow. The ferns were also stamped in blackberry bliss. Then the soft suede ink was put to work. Lots of sponging and swirling and edging went into image. I ended up with something that look almost tea dyed. Just what I wanted.

A double layer of blackberry bliss became the frame for the card front. Linen thread was pulled through my blackberry bliss sponge to give it a tint to coordinate. The tan color it comes in didn’t quite go with the soft suede. Extra attention went into dimensionals to give lots of height.

A narrow boardered piece of soft suede card was embossed with the brick wall embossing folder and then sponged to give additional detail to the embossing. All together, these elements created something lovely, just lovely.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Christmas Lighthearted Leaves

October 19, 2015 ~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

What a crazy morning! However, slow and steady wins the race, right? Like I said earlier in the week, I planned on casing myself from another project that looked like Christmas to me. Here it is, my ‘Believe’ card.

As I stamped these leaves last time I kept thinking about mistletoe. Of course, by the time I got done painting all the leaves green, I kept thinking of seaweed. So now I want to do an ocean project. What a great stamp set, right?

I painted the ‘berries’ real read and went with cucumber crush for my green. It is such a fun, bright green. When I trimmed my cardstock down I was left with a few narrow strips and decided to put them to work. I thought about using some quilling techniques, but kept it simple instead. I did decorate one of the leaf images with rhinestones for a little bling and loved how it turned out. So, just like all of the other retailers out there, I have made some Christmas happen before Halloween. It was fun though, definitely fun.

Have a creative day!

Moana

You’ve Got This

September 26, 2015 ~ moanaj ~ 2 Comments

Sometimes simple words are all you have, and sometimes that is all you need. That is just how I feel this morning.

I took my time painting this lovely flower with a few of my favorite inks. I stamped the flower in almost artichoke and did light water coloring to get the base down. I added cajun craze but kept it light the first time through. Adding more water helped to do a little blending, but I didn’t want too much of that. I like that two colors together can create a third unexpected surprise. In person, you can see the blended areas have nearly a cherry cobbler tone. Cool, right? I thought so too.

The entire image was accented in gold encore ink, still using the aqua painter. That really creates a fun look and is surprisingly easy to control. One simple sentiment in black stazon ink with a little gold metallic thread and this simple card was done. Well, I did have to stamp inside as well. I stamped off twice before I placed the stamp on the inside paper. Nice and light. And look, absolutely no sponging! Crazy.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Game On Dear Heart

September 25, 2015 ~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

I absolutely love, love, love making my own paper with unique stamps. Most of the time my friends can’t even place which stamp set it came from. I have overlooked several stamps myself. Example, look at this cute little fish!

Sometimes we feel like we don’t fit in, but I feel like that is a beautiful thing. I made this card with that theme in mind. He is stamped in melon mambo, water colored a bit, and water colored again with silver encore ink. Everything is lightly sponged and there are plenty of dimensionals here.

The sentiment was stamped on a little scrap, punched with the bitty banner punch on one end, and given a bit of ribbon on the other. How easy is it to just staple some ribbon on. Some cards need just that, a little different look. And of course this is layered up as well. Did you see the little fish repeated inside?

Have a creative day!

Moana

Let It Snow

September 1, 2015 ~ moanaj ~ 2 Comments

I know it is only the beginning of September, but I do love seasonal cards, especially winter scenes and Christmas. Not to mention that the Stampin’Up! holiday catalog goes live today. So much fun!

I have used several new products in today’s project. New stamp set, new framelit set, new embossing folder and then comes a new card. How cute is this little snowman?

I stamped the image where I wanted it along with the sentiment. Then I embossed the card front. At first I wanted to have all the snowflakes sky blue and thought to use the brayer. But I decided to be more selective and yes, I did water color select flakes. It didn’t take that long, really. The effect is nice.

I had an extra ‘snow’ die cut from Saturday’s event project and knew just where to use it. Actually, that is what started the card out. I added in a little silver metallic threat and layered it all up on dimensionals. Just my speed.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Irresistible Beautiful Bunch

August 1, 2015 ~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

Some days the creativity flows effortlessly and some days it would be easier to birth an elephant. That would be today. I had to walk away two different times before I called it done.

The color me irresistible designer series paper is so very cool. I love that I get to choose which colors I want to create as well as others that are already done and full of interest, especially this black paper. Isn’t it so elegant?

These flowers just about took me down, they still just might. I was determined to use these new pearl embellishments and picked this flower stamp and coordinating punch to frame them. Well, they turned out too light with my method of water coloring and I didn’t like the boarder from the punch, even though it was small, it made the flower just too light. I did more painting and added black ink in too. Just a bit, but it is there. Tried curling the flowers more, and then just about tore them up.

I just put them in place and grabbed the ribbon. I wasn’t going to use a ribbon, but a sentiment layered on tags. When I gave it a try, I decided it wasn’t so horrible after all. I am sure there could have been other things to help, but I just had to call it and walk away. Either way, I really don’t hate it anymore.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Thanks A Latte

July 27, 2015July 27, 2015 ~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

Well then, how about these precious little cups! Last Saturday a good friend of mine came over to paper craft with me and we just got out several of my paper pumpkin kits and went to work. Some were partials and some were unopened, sorry to say. Busy crafter here.

But this one is actually the current July kit. By itself it is absolutely adorable. I really let myself play on this one. The instructions showcase simple stamping and there you go, totally adorable. I had to watercolor.

After making a lovely little wisteria wonder cup and a little plant set I knew I wanted to do more. The next cup I took the flowering stamp, it could be a plant but I made them flowers, that would have been the plant growing out of the cup. I created a pattern on the cup with it, colored them with markers, and then went to town with my aqua painter. The cup is a little more than an inch square.

The new flowers were punched with the floral punch from the itty bitty accents punch pack and the stems were from variegated embroidery floss. A bit tricky to put together, but lovely at the end.

If you have ever thought about a paper pumpkin subscription, just look at how much fun you can have with them! There was enough material to make eight cards in this kit, plus totally adorable envelopes. And, I now have the so cute stamps that came with.

Have a creative day!

Moana

I’m So Grateful For You

July 22, 2015July 22, 2015 ~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

After yet another awesome summer concert I am super exhausted! So I asked my daughter this morning what color she thought this flower would be. She talked about purple, orange or yellow. I thought about tropical, but went with elegant eggplant.

It is hard to tell, but there is silver ink painted over the purple. Of course I had to get out my trusty aqua painter for all three ink colors I used. Totally love that thing!

There was a heavy amount of sponging as well. I loved the sentiment, but it was the second half of the front sentiment and it was basically a dangling participle. So, I just didn’t ink up the ‘and’ and the beginning. Perfect!

I may have been half asleep for this project, but it turned out really wonderful. It is great when I get to sit back and be impressed with myself. A job well done.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Just Kidding…

July 17, 2015July 17, 2015 ~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

Emma thought I should do a card that went with our current nail polish colors. She has the blue and yes, I do have a very bright pink. I wasn’t sure about the combination, but went for it anyway. Why not?

Looking at the colors, I knew I had to put something silly together. The Just Kidding stamp set is very silly, so that was the obvious choice.

A standard card base with a narrow white card front, which I embossed in the decorative dots folder. Then I added a layer of pool party, also with a narrow border, and the final stamped card front. The aqua painter came to the rescue again and helped me color this funny lady in.

I used a coordinating sentiment for the inside that says, “You’ll be missed.” So, it ends up nice after all. Just Kidding, get it? Like I said, a silly set. There are lots of fun phrases in it, lots. A not so quick bow tied at the front and I called this one complete.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Happy Thoughts for You

July 5, 2015July 5, 2015 ~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

When I first subscribed to Paper Pumpkin it was all about getting exclusive stamp sets that I couldn’t purchase through regular shopping. I didn’t want to miss out. That was true in the beginning stages, but then the kits started getting better and better and the projects were almost better than the stamps.

I had a hard time putting those great stamps to work after I finished up the kits. So I tried something different this time. With my last kit, I used the stamps separately before I got into the kit. These are the stamps, but nothing at all to do with the card kit, which is fabulous by the way.

I am in love with the new heavy weight whisper white cardstock. I love a white card and it just had to be sturdier. Job well done. Sahara sand might be my favorite neutral. It goes so well with everything. Just a hint of color without any obvious distraction.

A little bit of simple layering and a bunch of dimensionals. The aqua painter got involved again, it is such a great tool. Using it along the stamped images to bring in the lightest amount of color. What a great look and so easy to accomplish. Finish it off with the lovely dotted lace trim.

Have a creative day!

Moana

My Dear Friend

July 3, 2015July 3, 2015 ~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

I focused on one image for today’s project. It initially reminded me of a Japanese maple tree as it starts to change colors. They are so vibrant. As I started to paint them I noticed the flowers and the leaves looking different. I thought it was more of a shrub. Put your glasses on, right?

I put the aqua painter to work here. I stamped the image in cherry cobbler and brought the color in with just water. Then I added in old olive and mixed the colors, just as the leaves would be looking. I decided I wanted the flowers to stand out more, so I darkened the centers to bring out the detail. I can’t believe I didn’t notice the flowers the first time.

Talk about being generous with the basic rhinestones, but I wanted all of the centers to sparkle. Such a pretty look. Is it over the top? Well, if it is for a dear friend, you want it special. The friend stamp seemed a bit lonely, so I wrote in above it using an old olive stampin’ write marker. First try even, not bad.

There are so many new products used today. The framelits, the embossing folder, the stamp, and they work together great! I even got all nostalgic thinking about an old friend that I just don’t get to see anymore. Guess I know where this one is going!

Have a creative day!

Moana

Happy Father’s Day!

June 21, 2015June 20, 2015 ~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

What more do you need to say than that? I guess there are too many words to include in such an important day as this, but a card can only hold so many. It is a special occasion, so I did a little more than normal for this project.

A friend of mind recently stepped out of her front door to a scene similar to this card front. Of course hers was more accurate, and with a lot more trees, but you get the idea. It was a beautiful sunset and I couldn’t wait to put it in a card somehow. It worked out and was fun to arrange.

I hope you are all enjoying this special day in the way you would like. We are actually all over the place, but doing good things either way. I love all of the dads in my life!

Have a creative day!

Moana

studio824

Creativity for all seasons and reasons.

Aqua Painter

The Best is Yet to Come

First Sight

Thoughts & Prayers Raining Down

Inspired First Sight

Sparkly Seasons Ballerina

Vintage Leaves, All Through My Yard

Elegant Butterfly

Neutral Toned If the Broom Fits

Vintage Butterfly Basics

Christmas Lighthearted Leaves

You’ve Got This

Game On Dear Heart

Let It Snow

Irresistible Beautiful Bunch

Thanks A Latte

I’m So Grateful For You

Just Kidding…

Happy Thoughts for You

My Dear Friend

Happy Father’s Day!