Farewell...Thanks for all the Memories

Hello Creative Lovelies. 

It's Keri here on The Sweet Life Blog...for the last time. {single tear} 

More on that later...on to my PROJECT!!

I couldn't finish my term with Susan without a sentimental farewell...

This little piece is a jumble of my favorite Susan K Weckesser Stamps from Unity Stamp Company along with a lot of mixed media fun.

Here's a breakdown of a few steps:

My background started with Susan's "Splatter It" stamp and Distress Ink in Pickled Raspberry on a small canvas. I then took some yellow and teal Tattered Angels Baseboard to add some color. 

(I forgot to take a picture of this part.) I then laid a piece of lace over the top and lightly spritzed through it with a dark black Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist and layered a few pieces of colored drywall tape on my canvas.

To add some texture and shimmer, I took the puchinello style stamp from Susan's "A Little Bit of Washi", stamped it with Tim Holtz Embossing Ink and Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel (UTEE) in gold. 

To make my silver dots, I just used my finger tip to stamp with embossing ink and used silver UTEE. My circles were made by dipping the bottom of my Tattered Angels Glaze bottle in some Tattered Angels baseboard that I had sprayed on my non-stick mat and stamping it on my canvas. 

To Make your textured heart, follow these 4 easy steps (this is one of my FAVE techniques!)

(1) I started by painting my chipboard heart white. (It had a pattern on it.)

(2) Next, I smooshed my heart into my embossing ink and added a layer of UTEE. Heat to melt. 

(3) Let it cool and repeat. I used silver the first time and bronze the second. (Depending on how detailed your stamp is, you might want to repeat a third time.)

(4) While your final layer of UTEE is still hot and liquidy, tap your stamp into an ink color of your choice, place your stamp on top of your piece and lightly press down. I used Susan's "In Circle Me" Stamp. Don't use too much pressure or your stamp will slide. Lift it off and voila! A yummy textured embellishment. 

Here is a close-up...you can see the two toned colors better: 

So there you go.

My final project for Susan.

She and I did the math and between being a guest designer and design team, she and I have been together for the last year and I have loved every minute of it.

Susan, Cheryl and the whole team are truly some of the most genuine and supportive people I have ever had the privilege of meeting in the industry.  

I will greatly miss typing these little blog posts to you all twice a month. I hope I have inspired your to create some thing new and maybe challenged you to step out of your comfort zones...even just a little bit. 

As I always say...and I will say one last time...Make your art a choice...not an after thought. 

XOXO,

KERI