There is Always HOPE

October is Mixed Media month  here at { My Sweet Earth }..For this card, I used a piece of Susan's Live in Color paper as the background and her Doodle stencil to create the scallop design.. Colorbox Color Pop Premium Dye Inks in Ice and Kiss  were just swiped over the stencil that was  placed on top of the background paper. Tiny mushrooms from the Bunny Hugs were stamped, then punched out and placed in the scallops. A sentiment and flower from Journal Doodles With a Heart was stamped on cardstock then colored with a combination of Colorbox Color Pop inks in Kiss, Fresh and Ice and Clearsnap Smooch in Siren and Gold Lame'. I popped up the sentiment onto the background paper and also the stenciled background paper to the card base. A faux pearl was added to the flower center. 

These inks really lend themselves to a variety of techniques. I used the Colorbox Color Pop Dye inks in Kiss and Mystery directly on the stamps for the sentiment and flower.They can also be swiped   across an acrylic block and applied with a waterbrush, which is how I colored the flower and mushrooms.. And I also applied them directly to paper through a stencil.

I hope this card will encourage you to use your inks in "different" ways. The colors are so vibrant.And combined with some fabulous stamps by Susan K Weckesser, your projects will be absolutely amazing !!

Debra Davison

Susan K Weckesser Creative Team

A Little Bit Ticked Pink Card

Hi Everyone its Kim here again sharing a simple yet effective card I have made using the amazing papers from Susan Weckesser.

To Make this card I have used the following products plus some soft tulle 

You just take an ordinary kraft blank card and cut a piece of the Color Burst pattern paper to be 1/4 of an inch smaller than the front then adhere with double sided tape then take the Live in Color Tags and cut out the Tickled pink one and adhere with foam mounting tape on one side then lay the tulle under so it pocks out the top and the bottom then adhere the other side of the tag down with double sided foam tape and there is your pretty and simple quick card.

I hope you have enjoyed my share.  

Kim Kendell

A Bunny & My Backyard

Our theme for August is "Exploring our backyard - Art Journal Fun". I have had a Large Dylusions Creative Journal for almost a year and have not started the first page. I was waiting for the perfect idea to hit me or an ink/paint,stamp to catch my eye - but it hadn't happened yet. And I will admit that I was bit afraid that I would start a page and ruin it !! Anyone else feel the same way when you get a new journal ?  SO this theme was the push that I needed to create a page. I quickly thought of Susan's Bunny Hugs stamp set because we have had 2 cute rabbits living in the yard the past few months. The are no longer even afraid of me; just move over when I pull out of the driveway or walk up the sidewalk onto the front porch.

Bunny Hugs Stamp set

 I turned the journal on its side to use a "landscape" orientation for my page. I placed colorful strips of Recollections Watercolor Washi tape across the page starting at the top. I used all 8 designs and it reached about halfway down the page. The bottom half of the page was created using Recollections Pink Shimmer and Green Shimmer Spray Inks and a top coat of Tattered Angels Pearl Glimmer Mist.

I made a sleeve out of an 8 1/2 by 11 inch piece of cardstock by placing it horizontally and scoring it across at 2 1/4 and 6 3/4 inches.  You then fold the bottom up first, then the top down. I decorated the top flap on the outside with a floral stamp from Journal Doodles with a Heart. All images were stamped using Colorbox Color Pop Archival Dye Ink in Mystery. I cut a square of Color Burst paper and mounted the fussy-cut bunny from Bunny Hugs stamp set   on the square behind a doily and a few strips of glitter washi. The bunny was colored with Tim Holtz Distress markers and Stabilo Fineliners. You can adhere the top flap to the bottom flap and slide a note,pictures etc into the sleeve. Instead, I left it open and mounted the bunny square only to the top part of the flap so you can open the flap and look inside.

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I consider  the entire area that I love in to be my "backyard". Some call it Hampton Roads, others call it Tidewater. I cut out pictures of my "backyard" and adhered them inside the sleeve. They are pics of my actual yard, my new yard flag, the King Neptune statue at the Oceanfront in Virginia Beach, and a picture from The Sunset Grill in Norfolk and Brian ( my guy ) playing his guitar there on their deck. I also used a tag from the Live in Color paper from Susan's collection. It reflects what I do in my "backyard".. LIVE, LOVE & CREATE ...

Completed Journal Page

I hope you like my first attempt at an Art Journal page. I meet up with a great group of art journalers from time to time and can't wait to show this to them and get started on a few other pages !! Explore your own backyards and let them inspire you to get creative ....

Stamp sets used :

Bunny Hugs

Journal Doodles with a Heart

Debra Davison

Susan K Weckesser Creative Team

Teacher Gift Bag

Hi! Dana Tatar here today sharing my first project as a Susan K. Weckesser designer. My daughters finish up their last couple days of school next week and are absolutely thrilled to start their Summer vacation. I created small gift bags for their teachers, who deserve a big thank you for all their hard work this year.

The colorful alphabet design on the Susan K. Weckesser Live, Love, Create Patterned Paper was absolutely perfect for this project! This gift bag measures 11cm x 8cm x 3 cm, which means I was able to create 2 gift bags with one sheet of 12x12 inch paper! (I used a gift bag template that I found here.) Susan K. Weckesser patterned papers are printed on a heavy cardstock weight paper, making them perfect for off-the-page projects. This gift bag is stronger (and cuter) than its store-bough counterparts.

I highlighted the colored letters on the patterned paper with a black marker for added interest. I then cut a tag from the Susan K. Weckesser Live in Color Tags Patterned Paper, added a stamped sentiment using the Insta-Cute Stamp Set and tied it to the handle with some colorful twine. I finished the bag with a flower and some tissue paper. This gift bag is the perfect size to hold a gift card.

Thanks for stopping by today!

~Dana Tatar - Susan K. Weckesser Designer

An April layout.

Well this is my last post as a Designer for Susan Weckesser and I've had a wonderful time here. She and the team have been the most patient, helpful, friendly and generous people you'd ever want to meet and the next team will be very lucky indeed.

It's time for me to move on but before I do I'm showing a layout for April made using Susan's Live in Color paper as a background and from the Happy Go Lucky paper line by Fancy Pants for the photo layers and embellishments.

It covers all the things I love, mixed media, colour, texture and fun so is a good way to go out.

Thank you Susan for having me it's been absolutely wonderful.

Jaine Drake for the Susan Weckesser Design team.

A colourful start to the year.

Happy 2014, may your year be a colourful one :)

As January is said to be a depressing month with short dark days, cold, wet weather,(well it is here anyway) and the feeling of a general slump in well-being, I've started off my year with a colourful journal page to hopefully stimulate the creativity and lift spirits.

I took a sheet of 'live in Color' paper and cut out the flowers from it, sticking them down onto my journal background. The background it'self is simply spray inks over a gesso base and as I dabbed off the excess with an embossed piece of kitchen paper, I achieved this rather neat background pattern.

To enhance my flowers further I used a black Pitt pen to go around the edges, smudging it with my finger and added some extra doodled lines in black and white pens to the flowers. The words are cut from a sheet of 'Live in Color tags' paper.

  

Have a colourful start to the year and have fun.

Jaine for the Susan Weckesser design team.

xx