Best Friends

Happy Thursday! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I have finally awoken from my turkey induced coma and have a project for you using pieces from a couple of Lindsay's Stamp Stuff stamp sets. This week I made a project using a 5x5 canvas from Joanne Fabrics. It had a large dragonfly on it, but I painted over it with gesso, and then two colors of light green acrylic paints. Next, I cut some small pieces of coordinating CK Scrappin' Creations Power Pad and layered them over the painted canvas using matte gel medium. I added more layers of paint, Distress Inks, and paint colored with Alcohol Inks until I had a look that I liked. Actually, I think I got a little too much ink, but that's ok. You still want to be able to see some of the papers through the layers. Oh-and you need to let each layer dry before adding the next. I used my heat tool to speed things up - no patience, you know!

At this point, those of you (who are not me) would get out your graphite paper and trace the fabric flower stamp onto the canvas. If you are me, you cannot find your graphite paper and start to panic until you remember Lindsay's "trick". The trick is to color over the back side of the printed image with a pencil. Then lay the image on the canvas and trace over it with your pencil. This transfers the image, just like graphite paper! At this point (if you are me) you are thinking you may never look for that paper again! This part was too easy!

Once the image has been transferred to the canvas, paint it and let it dry. Add details with your prisma pencils to the leaves and outline the whole image with a charcoal pencil. Add a gemstone brad for the flower center. Print, cut out, and ink up the "If friends were flowers" stem and the heart and star from the "Patriotic Elements" set. Attach them with the gel medium and dry. Stamp "best friends" with Distress Ink, distress the edges and you are done.




You can get the Doodle Flowers Set and the Patriotic Elements set at Lindsay's Stamp Stuff or if you want instant gratification, you can download them at her MyGraficO! shop. Check out the cool projects the Design Team has for you to be inspired by this week! And don't forget - Lindsay always has awesome freebies on her blog, The Frugal Crafter, so start there and check it out! Happy Digi Stamping!!!

ATCs with Matching Domino

This is a set of ATCs from another Stamp Shack Swap, this time hosted by Christie. Everyone made a set of ATCs, and one matching domino. I also previously posted my ATC with the matching domino as well. In the swap, I got Donna's cute Ladybug Domino, which she cleverly made into a book marker. I didn't find a blog address for Donna, so I couldn't do a link for her. Thanks so much, ladies, for giving me more beautiful art to add to my collection!

Let's Get Sewing ATCs

Sherri at the Stamp Shack posted a swap to get sewing on some ATCs. I had never tried, and thought it sounded like fun. While looking at old photos with my mom one afternoon, I found a sweet photo of two children holding flags. I thought it would make a great ATC - another first - using a photograph for an ATC. So, I stitched around the edges with red, stamped memories in blue and hand tinted the large flag with water color pencils. I added a heart shaped brad in the corner for a finishing touch.

We don't yet know who the children are in the photo, but my mom thinks that it may have been taken on a 4th of July at a family reunion. I've been trying to track down the story of these two children. I'll make a new post once I solve the mystery.