Dapper Denim

Golden Garden in Bloom

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

Distracted, distracted, distracted.  That would be my theme for the last several days. Sometimes we complain when we get stuck in a run, other times we stress out looking for that comfortable rut.  I think mine was on another planet all together.  Still looking, but getting closer for sure.  This lovely project has waited on my desk for four days to be shared. Worth it though, it is so pretty.

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I sat down, picked out five different colors and began a water color background. That has to be one of my favorite activities, just making soft blending colors.  Almost soothing. When it was dried I added the huge floral stamp from the garden in bloom set. Some images were stamped full strength and others stamped off once. I wasn’t quite happy there, so I took it up a notch. I have these awesome guilding flakes that give a really cool embossed look. You brush on glue from a pen, set them on the glue and swirl a stipple brush over that to get rid of the excess.  This time I brushed the glue directly on the stamp, stamped a glue image and then put the flakes on.  It worked out so great!  Can’t wait to do it again.

The tag was simply created with water color paper.  I stamped the image, rounded the corners and sponged the edges.  It was a bit stark so I took a light wash of color right over the top.  It blurred the sentiment a bit, but not too much.  A touch of ribbon on the side anchored with metallic thread and I was ready to go.

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The inside got a bit of echo stamping of course. I nearly always put that in place.  It just ties it all together so nicely.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Elegant Botanicals

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

I started this lovely project yesterday, but got distracted by a shopping adventure with my mother-in-law and two sister-in-laws.  The weather was terrible, but the company was great, and who doesn’t need a shopping adventure once in a while!  This was waiting for me though, and I couldn’t wait to finish it.

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On Sunday I created some favor handouts for a church lesson I taught and they were so cool. Nothing like this card, but the paper I painted for the die cuts had left overs I knew I could use again.  That is where all of these flowers came from.  Yes, a scrap pile.  You never know what those scraps could turn into.

I created a simple background with three liquid metal colors wet on dry.  They were too stark, so I gave a water wash over the top and was much happier.  I had some accidental splotches happen, so I gave a bunch more to disguise them and called it good.  Then the placement of all of these flowers.  Phew, it took some time.

I first layered the flowers together with different sized floral pieces and began my arrangement.  After I was done I began to adhere them down.  Since they were die cut from water color paper they were more pliable, even kind of molded.  The leaves really looked great with some curling and bending.  Little by little the arrangement came together.  Some pieces were adhered with dimensional foam, some with glue dots and several with tombo liquid glue.  Again, no worries because of the weight of the paper.  So very liberating!

I layered the front on another piece of water color paper and repeated the choice again for the card base itself.  It looks so clean and elegant.  It isn’t always easy to capture the different elements on camera, but this didn’t turn out too bad.  Just look at all of that metallic shine.  It took a bit of time, but was absolutely worth it!

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Rainy Sky or Under Water, Yes

~ moanaj ~ 1 Comment

This lovely water color started as a fun project with my daughter-in-love.  We sat down together with a bunch of blue ink and totally different ideas.  I can’t wait to see what her card ends up looking like.  I wanted to create dimension in a single layer water color.  I love how it turned out.

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I started with a wet brush and paper.  I put different colors in all four corners and the lightest blue in the center.  The wet ink blooms did a lot of blending, but I moved the paper around to control the rest.  My patience runs thin often, which ends up in me drying my projects along the way to speed them up.  This time was different.  I only dried the paper enough to apply some stamped images here and there.  Then, I spritzed the entire piece to soften the images and allow more blending to happen.

After a few hours I came back to see how it ended up.  Just like this.  I even controlled myself and didn’t add anything else.  No more color, or blending or water droplets.  It was accented with copper foil paper and copper metallic thread.  What a great all occasion card to have on hand.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Touches of Texture

~ moanaj ~ 1 Comment

Where has the time gone?  Always rushing away, but I managed to sneak a few extra minutes to play with some water coloring.  During the summer I thought nothing of spending a good hour or so creating a project.  Well…maybe that will have to be a weekend thing now that school is back in session and schedules have changed.  It still felt good, even if it was a quick one.

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I masked my paper around the edges and applied a wash of clean water.  From there I just started to make stripes.  First with the blue and then the pink.  However, I applied the blue in stripes tipping the project so the ink could flow down a bit.  Then I flipped it around and applied the pink, also tipping the project, this time so the pink could flow into the blue. There was hardly any blending on my part.

The stamps were all from the same set, Touch of Texture.  That is a big set.  Definitely wants time to sit down and really play with the layering options.  I stuck with basic black with a little stamping off too.  Then I distressed with water droplets and called it.  I wasn’t sure if I wanted it to be done or not, but the clock said yes.  So there it is!

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Country Basics

~ moanaj ~ 2 Comments

This particular project really made me slow down and think.  My usual haphazard color selection just didn’t work out, as you can tell from the huge collection of colors I have listed. This might be the most color I have used on one project.  It ended up kind of cool in the end, but not sure what it will end up serving as.

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One single stamp was the beginning, just the guitar.  The rest of the images were at the end and quite an afterthought to be honest.  I painted the guitar with cajun craze and the color adventure began.  I had thought it would have been fun to sew metallic thread in the guitar string area, but when I spent so much time on the painting I really wanted to walk away. Maybe next time.

Even though it can be a bit frustrating, it is also quite relaxing to work like this.  It also helps a lot with patience.  I know that if I just stick with it, eventually it will come together. Then, the next project doesn’t seem so daunting, because look at what I managed to pull out of the trash bin!

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I left it clean of sentiment and all other embellishments.  The images speak for themselves and that guitar, I love that guitar.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Hang In There

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

Sometimes I am just so this little frog.  Good intentions, high goals and all kinds of good things seem just out of reach.  So, push on and hang in there.

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I am absolutely in love with these jars.  The stamps and the framelits really are quite fun to create with.  I wish I had more time to sit and play, but the time I get is enough to keep me balanced.  I like stamping the jar in some blue tone, cutting it out and then cutting out another jar in velum to lay over the top.  It gives an opaque look and softens the stamping. I think I would like to use window sheets too, but for now I am all about the velum.

I painted this little frog with emerald envy and touched his eyes up with soft sky.  The fireflies were stamped in black stazon with the wings painted in soft sky and the body in gold wink of stella.  I love the sparkle.  You can’t see it, but trust me, it is so there. Adorable, just adorable.

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I stamped a little of the frog in emerald envy just inside the card insert.  Kind of like he was peeking out a bit.  So there you have it!

Have a creative day!

Moana

Flourishing Phrases

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

This particular project went through a few different phases.  This is how it started out, all about blue.  I had the ocean on my mind and gave it a try.  I had intended on using a new embossing folder after I water colored, but to be honest, I forgot once I got all this going.

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After I painted with all of the blue inks I have I did some detail work using my gold wink of stella.  I focused on some of the watermarks and edges of color.  The look it creates is really awesome.  It is tricky to know when to stop because it is so much fun.  Mission accomplished here for sure.

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The next step was to add a special tag.  This one got a bit out of control and went to a busy style that really isn’t my own.  However, I decided to leave it and see how it balanced out with the huge butterfly addition I had in mind.  I water colored large areas of paper to provide both my tag area as well as the butterflies.  It is much easier to paint whole sheets instead of small specific die cuts.

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When this butterfly combo came along I really began to wonder just what I was up to.  I think that is because I love decorative painted backgrounds so much I rarely cover them up. They are such great all occasion cards, but I pushed forward.  I did edge the butterflies with the wink of stella, which of course you cannot see in these photos.  It is there though, and it looks so pretty.  You can see it better in the lead featured image which is much more close up.  Basic pearls, gold metallic thread with a little more patience and this project was finally finished.  It measures 5 1/2 x 5 1/2 plus the butterfly hanging off the edge.  A custom envelope will definitely be in order here.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Lots of Love

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

I had this little treasure ready for yesterday, but never got to share it.  I guess that is what happens when you are this close to throwing a reception for your child. And yes, that would be today.  I was obviously thinking about them and how sweet they are together.

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This focal image is taken from a new host set called Love You Lots.  I am not usually one to go for whimsical images, but this set was way too cute.  I stamped these guys on water color paper and proceeded to take my time.  The background went through phases, several of them, then I finally just had to stop.  My girls were happy with how it turned out, but I am still a bit unsure.  Either way, here you go.

I wish I could just sit at my desk and water color my day away, but this household has a list of many last minute things to be done.  Some were pushed from other to do lists, but the day of the big event has things that can’t be done any earlier.  These are tasks of joy though, absolute joy.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Layering Love with Dapper Denim

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

When I got done complaining that they were changing out the square framelit set with another one I was pleasantly surprised.  Coordinating scalloped squares, how very thoughtful!  This also helped me not be so sassy about the wonderful scallop circle punches being retired.  There are always adjustments when it comes to new catalogs, products and plenty of favorites retiring.

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The card front was stamped with the Brushstrokes background stamp using the new dapper denim in-color.  I then spritzed it with water until the ink started to move around, let it sit for a bit, dabbed it with a paper towel and then dried it with my heat tool.  All done!

A quick stamp, but a lovely one, cut out with a new framelit, echoed with some more dapper denim in a scalloped framelit and layered up on dimensionals.  Of course I had to use more of that new wonderful ruched ribbon.  Dangerous stuff there.  I can usually control my ribbon purchasing for me and my club ladies, but I don’t know about this time.

The inside was stamped with a bunch of tiny little anchors to fill opposing corners.  It is also part of the same stamp set, which has several fabulous sentiments to be enjoyed.  I think today is a wonderful stamping day.

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Have a creative day!

Moana