Summer is not over yet.  After having an unseasonably cool week here in Ohio last week, the heat was back over the weekend.  Bad thing is our pool water is freezing cold and will need to warm back up.  So yesterday was one I spent on the deck lounging, after washing the car, cleaning the house, washing two giant dogs.  Hmmmm, I guess I didn’t do that much lounging. . . . .

Here is a beach scene to warm you up. 

This cute little baby stamp is from http://www.mypapermoon.com    Isn’t she just adorable. 

Ready, let’s go to the beach. 

Supplies:

Stamped Sentiment with Creamy Caramel ink on Whisper White card stock.

Using my Stamp-a-ma-jig for placement, stamped the baby with Palette Noir Black ink.

Colored the baby, baby’s shadow and paintbrush point with a Creamy Caramel marker.

Colored the bow in her hair and the paint brush handle with a real red marker.

Missed taking a photo, oops!  Cropped the sides of my card stock.  It now measures 4″ x 4″.   Colored over the baby and the paint brush with a Versamark marker and heat embossed the image using fine detail clear embossing powder and a heat gun.  

Brayered Baja Breeze ink on the top of the card stock.

Note:  I do have a new brayer.  It is a Speedball brayer just like my old one, but the handle looks different.  The roller is the same as my old one.  It says “Soft Rubber” on the package.   I can’t believe four of you readers commented on my last post about the new brayer, very observant!

Brayered Creamy Caramel ink at the bottom of the card stock.

Masked the top 1/4th of the card stock with a post it note.

Sponged Pacific Point ink at the post it note edge.  Being darkest with the ink at the post it note edge and getting lighter toward the creamy caramel ink.

Removed the Post it note mask.

Made a whole lot of little dots with a white gel pen right were the blue ink meets the Creamy Carmel ink to create a look of foam at the waters edge.

Used the direct to paper technique by smearing Creamy Caramel and Pacific Point ink pads directly on a panel of Baja Breeze.

Assembled the card front and here it is measuring 5″ x 6.5″.

Hope your day is one of playing in the sand at the beach.

Until my next post. . . . . . . . . .

Hugs,

Michelle

Happy Saturday!!!!!

  One thing before I get going on today’s tutorial, we have a blog candy winner out of 137 comments, the random number generator selected  #26, LittleSeaOtter~Kecia , Who wrote “Oh, how I love this card. Makes me happy just looking at it.  Favorite thing about fall? That’s a no brainer…..Ohio State Football!!!”  Kecia, please e-mail your address to me at mzindorf@aim.com. 

Alrighty then, about today’s piece.  Split Coast Stampers.com has a great challenge on Saturday mornings. It is the inspiration challenge and I love it.  I use inspiration pieces all the time to come up with my creations.  For example today’s inspiration piece is this swimwear.  I took the color palette and swirl from the inspiration piece.  Those are the elements from the swimwear that most inspire me.  I didn’t feel the need to work in any paisley, or try to duplicate the pattern exactly  :) 

Let’s get started.

Supplies:

Stamped half of the plant image on a piece of Whisper White card stock by first loading my stamp with Versamark and then Kiwi Kiss ink before stamping.   Note I only put the Versamark and the ink on the part of the image I wanted to stamp.   I then heat embossed the image using fine detail clear embossing powder and a heat gun.  Heat embossing the image makes the image resist any ink put on the panel (emboss resist technique).

Brayered Baja Breeze about 2/3rds the way down the card stock from the top and then 1/4 of the way from the bottom up leaving a very light space in between the two brayerings.

Using a Stamp-a-ma-jig for placement, stamped bird with Basic Black ink.

Colored the bird in with a White Gel Pen.  In the large open areas of the bird I tried to imagine which direction the feathers would go and that is the direction I colored in.

Stamp part of the plant image again by loading just part of the stamp with Chocolate Chip ink.

Brayered lightly Purely Pomegranate ink at the top and bottom of the card stock.

Oops, I got a smudge of ink at the bottom right corner of my panel.  Fixed it by stamping over it with the plant image again with Chocolate Chip ink.

This is my color palette that I used with my finished panel.

Stamped my sentiment with Baja Breeze ink.

Assembled card front and then decided to add the flourish with Baja Breeze ink.  Used my Stamp-a-ma-jig for placement.

Here is the finished card measuring 5.25″ x 5.25″.

Hey, give an inspiration piece a try.  Remember your piece only need to take small elements from the inspiration piece.  No need to try to recreate it.

May your day be filled with images that inspire you!

Until my next post. . . . . . . . . . .

Hugs,

Michelle

Good Morning!  I just got the word, I’m scheduled to teach Brayer workshops in Austin, Texas on September 20th & 21st.   I can’t wait to meet you Texans!  I know there are a lot of you too.  So if your interested contact: Lisa Itatani at litatani@pacbell.net or flatfishpaperarts.blogspot.com

Lydia from Texas will be hosting me. Visit her blog which is too funny at www.understandblue.blogspot.com

Also, there are a couple of spots left for the Dayton, Ohio Brayer workshops on September 6th.  Here is a great link to that workshop info with pictures of the projects:  http://marcopaper.com/classzindorf.htm

For more workshop dates and places check out the workshop calendar at the top of this blog.

Also, I really need to share a little something special.  I received this picture from a very proud Grandmother.  Her soon to be eight year old grandson, Noah created this using one of my tutorials.  His Grandmother is not the only one proud!  Way to go Noah!!!

I promise to have a tutorial up tomorrow morning along with the blog candy winner for this week.

Until my next post. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Enjoy the warmth of the sun on your face!

Hugs,

Michelle

I’m posting a bit late today.  You see, I’m a Virgo and my mind will absolutely not function in an unorganized workspace.   So when I woke this morning and look around at my craft-room it was very apparent I had to spend the morning organizing new purchases, putting away items used and give the area a really good dusting.

So after straightening up there was no time for a tutorial so today I am going to talk about one of my all time favorite tools, Fine Detail Clear Embossing Powder. 

If you have read a few of my tutorials you know that I use a lot of Fine Detail Clear Embossing Powder.  It is one of three items that I keep within arms reach at all times when I am stamping.  The other two are my heat gun and my brayer.  I know you are all shocked, lol.

I get my fine detail clear embossing powder from Stampin’ Up and I have also used other brands that I have picked up here and there from craft stores.  I’ve not run into any that have not worked well.  As long as it says “fine detail” on the container I believe it will work great.  If you get clear embossing powder that is not fine detail it will look like crystals and will not work as well with intricate designed stamps.

I use clear embossing powder so I can stamp with any color of ink, apply the clear embossing powder and it becomes the color of the ink.  I don’t have to have a bunch of different colors of embossing powder hanging around.  If you are using dye based inks you will need to load Versamark on your stamp, then load the stamp with ink before stamping.  The Versamark will give the embossing powder something to hold onto.  If you are using pigment ink, it is wetter and the Versamark is not necessary.

I store my fine detail clear embossing powder in a sandwich sized plastic container so I don’t have to use any other tools and try to put in back in the very tiny container that it comes in.  I just keep an old spoon in the sandwich sized plastic container with the embossing powder and I’m ready to use it.

Well there you have it my two cents on Clear Embossing Powder. 

There was a couple of questions posted to me that I wanted to answer today also.  

Do you get ink on your hands?  Do you have trouble getting it off and if so, do you use a special cleaner to get it off?

Well let me answer by saying a big YES, I do get ink on my hands.  :)  It is a rare day when I don’t have ink stains on my hands.  It is my badge of honor as an artist and it is small price to pay for all of the joy stamping has given me.

I don’t use a special cleaner and since I work with all dye based inks, I go around with ink on my hands until it wears off.  It usually only takes about 4 hand washings before it is not noticeable.  I don’t like wearing fingernail polish because it will definitely stick to that and never come off.

Get the picture, I’m not very glamorous, lol.

Well that is all for today.

May your day be one that is overflowing with Joy and Creativity!

Until my next post. . . . . . . . .

Hugs,

Michelle

It’s been unseasonally cool here in Ohio for August and it makes me want to think of fall.  Fall is my favorite, favorite, favorite season of all.  The colors just speak to my creative side.

Also, I wanted to use these great stamps by Fire Cracker Designs By Pamela.  Here is a link if you want to check them out: http://www.safesecurestore.com/stores/merchant.mvc?Screen=SFNT&Store_Code=firecrackerdesignsbypamela   Love them!

I’m always happy to get a set of stamps that has images, such as the corn stocks that are in different sizes.  Makes making scenes with depth so much easier.  So you stamp creators out there keep that in mind, please, lol.

Oh yeah, I’m giving this card away as blog candy!  

So to enter for a chance to win this card, please leave me a comment on this post telling me your favorite thing about the Fall Season.  If you are getting this blog update by e-mail you will need to click this link to leave a comment on this blog post:   http://zindorf.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/2008/08/13/harvest-moon-tutorial-and-blog-candy/

I will use a random number generator to pick the winner on the morning of Saturday, August 16th. 

Ready for this tutorial?  It’s a long one today, so grab a cup of your favorite hot beverage and lets get started.

Supplies:

Stamped the scarecrow on a piece of 4.25″ x 5.75″ piece of Whisper White Card stock with Palette Noir Black ink.  I used this ink so I can color with Solvent based Prismacolor markers and don’t have to worry about it running.

Colored with Prismacolor Eggshell Marker.

Added Prismacolor Sand.

Added Prismacolor Cloud Blue.

Added Prismacolor Blue Slate.

Shaded tan areas by going over parts of them with the Eggshell marker.

Nice thing about Solvent based markers, you can shade by coloring and letting it dry and then going over parts of it to get a darker color.

Colored Shirt with Prismacolor Goldenrod.

Added Prismacolor Tuscan Red.

Shaded the Shirt by going over parts of it again with the Goldenrod marker.

Colored over the entire image with a Versamark marker and heat embossed using clear embossing powder and a heat gun.

Stamped small Cornstalks by first loading the stamp with Versamark and then Old Olive ink before stamping.

Heat embossed images using clear embossing powder and a heat gun.

Note:  you do not have to clean the ink or embossing powder off of the scarecrow.  It will melt right into the embossing powder on the scarecrow and disappear.

Colored in the stalks with a Prismacolor Eggshell marker.

Colored over the stalks with a Versamark marker and heat embossed using clear embossing powder and a heat gun.

Stamped large cornstalks by first loading the stamp with Versamark and then Close to Cocoa ink before stamping.

Heat embossed images with clear embossing powder and a heat gun.

Colored in the large stalks with a Prismacolor Sand marker.

Colored over the large stalks with a Versamark marker and heat embossed using clear embossing powder and a heat gun.

Cut a circle out of a Post it note being sure to have part of the circle cut from the sticky part of the Post it note.

Used the post it note circle as a mask for the moon.

Brayered on Baja Breeze ink at the top and bottom of the card stock leaving a light space in the middle.

Brayered on Not Quite Navy ink at the top and bottom of the card stock not covering the Baja Breeze ink entirely.

Brayered on Night of Navy ink at the top and bottom of the card stock not covering the Not Quite Navy ink entirely.

Removed post it note mask.

Sponge some Baja Breeze ink over the Moon using a swiping motion from side to side to streak it.

Sponged Basic Black ink around the card edge to get it really dark.  The darker you get the outside of the scene the more the lighter parts in the middle pop!

Assembled card front and used a Piercing tool and pierced around the moon edge. 

Drew a line with a fine tip black marker from pierced hole to pierced hole to create some faux stitching.

Used the Tim Holtz ruler and a piercing tool to pierce the middle panel edge.  Oops!  check out that crocked right pierced line.  Covered the mistake with a brad in the right upper and lower corner, lol.   And you thought I didn’t make mistakes!  Hah!!!

Added more brads and here is the finished card measuring 5″ x 6.5″. 

Whew, that was a long project! 

Hope your day is filled with early cool Fall breezes and moon lite night.

Until my next post. . . . .. . . .. . . . .

Hugs,

Michelle