Sunday, August 10, 2008

Stampaway 2008


Stampaway 2008
Originally uploaded by Buckeye
Yesterday, I spent the entire day in Cincinnati....taking in Stampaway, Jungle Jim's, Stamp Your Art Out, and LaRosa's. I'd call that a pretty good day, wouldn't you?

Anyway, I thought I'd share my acquisitions from yesteday. Not as many purchases as in years past, but nonetheless, very satisfying and fun. I'm wondering if I am now becoming a smarter, more frugal stamper...now that I have finally begun to define my style, declare my mediums of choice, and look at all of the uninked stamps and unused supplies that I have acquired since 2002.

Have a great Sunday. I think I'll spend the day recovering.

Friday, August 08, 2008

Sloopy's Friend is One


Sloopy's Friend is One
Originally uploaded by Buckeye
This card was actually made for Sloopy to give to her friend, Gracie. Perhaps I have a bit more time on my hands than necessary. Hmm.

Anyway, this cute little dachshund stamp is from Cowtown Stamps. If you love dachshunds, and if you love stamping, then Cowtown Stamps is where you want to be. They have many, many, many (over 100!) dachshund images to look at and select. The owner has even started a blog: Cowtown Stamps News

This little dachshund stamp was stamped with Marvy Dye black ink and colored with Copic markers and Prismacolor pencils. The sentiment, which cracks me up, was stamped with Karen Foster Snap Stamps. Nestibilities, a corner punch, ribbon and brads were also used.

I don't know if Gracie liked the card or not. I think she liked the bag of Zuke's chicken treats better. Oh well, its the thought that counts...right? Woof!
Close-Up

Thursday, August 07, 2008

A, B, Cupcake, D, E, Football....


C is for Cupcake
Originally uploaded by Buckeye
C is also for "Classroom", the classroom that I need to start thinking about what I'm going to do this year.

Earlier this summer, I signed up for an alphabet inchie swap thinking that I might be able to use these in some way in my Kindergarten classroom. I may not have a classroom ready, but I'll have inchies!

I had the fun opportunity to create inchies for the letter "C" and the letter "F". It is kinda funny how when you sign up for a swap you have ideas that never quite materialize, for one reason or another. I was going to make a "cactus" and a "fish", but ended up with a "cupcake" and a "football".

I decided on "cupcake" because as I was looking for a small cactus stamp, I stumbled upon this cupcake image from Inkadinkadoo. I've had this stamp for so long...way before cupcakes were all the rage, so I just went with it. The letter is a Snap Stamp from Karen Foster.

When I found out I would be sending this swap to California, I changed my "fish" into a "football". I thought it would be appropriate to send a little scarlet and gray out west. In just over a month, my beloved Buckeyes will be out there playing "The Game of the Year", or at least that's what the media is calling it right now. Anyway, the football image is from a College Kids Stamp Kit. The letter "F" is from a very cool collegiate alphabet stamp set from All Night Media.

Both the cupcake and the football were stamped with Marvy Dye ink onto Georgia Pacific cardstock. Both images were colored with Copic markers and then some highlighting done with Prismacolor pencils.

Tomorrow, I plan on returning to my "C"lassroom and begin to "F"igure out what to do.
F is for Football

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Fall is Near


Pumpkins
Originally uploaded by Buckeye
No it isn't! As a teacher looking at the upcoming academic year, I'm saying, "No it isn't". Then why the fall card?

Well, I decided to go ahead and take this image that I colored in my hotel room in Milwaukee and turn it into a card. The interesting thing was, I only had a few of my Copic markers with me. I can't recall which ones, but I know I only had three shades of each color, as I didn't want to fly with my entire set. My point...you can do a lot with just a few markers. You don't need every single color that is made....sure, they're fun to collect...but, it is kinda an interesting exercise to limit your markers and see what you can do with them. You start to see that you can have two shades of a color just by "wet shading" with the same marker (just one orange marker). Highlights can be made with a lighter color (in this case, yellow) and shadows made with a darker color (reds, browns).

This image was an image I received to color during the certification class earlier that day. My guess is it is stamped with Memento Tuxedo black ink on Neenah Solar White paper. It is a Karen Lockhart image. I figure it is better to turn it into a card, rather than have it sit in my folder.

Though I'm not ready for fall, it was fun making this card.
Close Up

Sunday, August 03, 2008

Kinkade's The Rose Garden


Kinkade's The Rose Garden
Originally uploaded by Buckeye
I took a very spontaneous trip to Cincinnati on Tuesday to Stamp Your Art Out. One of my purchases was this stamp from Cornish Heritage Farms, Thomas Kinkade's "The Rose Garden".

Though I had initial doubts that I could do this image any justice, I began to color. I had an absolute blast! The more I colored, the more details I was able to see in the image. I learned that with such a detailed image, I just need to take a deep breath, and jump right in and start. I am thrilled at the outcome.

The deets: The Cornish Heritage Farms image is stamped with Stazon Stone Gray ink, and colored with Prismacolor pencils only on Strathmore Bristol Vellum. Patterned paper from Rusty Pickle and Family Ties were also used, along with black cardstock and ribbon. The layout was kept intentionally simple, as I do believe the Kinkade's beautiful image speaks for itself and does all the work.
Close Up