Grungy Monday 05: A New Dimension!

Featuring Special Guest Star Designers

Helen Lindfield

Rachelle Emigh

Happy Monday, my friends in grunginess! I hope you all had a wonderful week and are ready to make this new one even better. I'm still making my way around to see your art for GM04, and let me tell you, what I've seen so far has been astoundingly cool! Thanks to you all for showing me such beauty. 

I'm beyond thrilled to be attending Ranger U later this week, and since I'll be completely immersed in that and traveling home next Monday, GM05 is going to last TWO weeks! So, take your time with this fun technique, and upload your submission anytime between now and Sunday, May 8. 

So, what is this cool project we're doing for these two weeks? Glad you asked. Let's pop over to Tim's blog for a cool, dimensional art technique that you can use for scrapbooking, card making and home decor, too: 

May, 2008 Technique Challenge

There all all kinda of possibilities for this, and I know you're going to rock it!

Our Guest Star Designers took this challenge and flew! Check out the spectacular creations Helen and Rachelle made for GM05:

Helen Lindfield

Stamping by H

Rachelle Emigh

Orezonia: An Artist's Journey

Here's mine. I used a rhinoceros pin given to me by one of my

 favorite people in the world, my friend Anne Markel. 

Ready to enter that new dimension? Click the link to Tim's blog up above and create your own masterpiece with this fun technique! When you complete your project, please upload it here using the InLinkz button at the end of this post. You'll need to have your own blog or an online public photo album (like Photobucket, Flickr, etc.) to participate. 

Please be sure to include a link to Tim's website (www.timholtz.com) in your blog post or photo description. I'd appreciate it if you'd like back to Studio L3, too.

Don't forget to upload your art to the Grungy Monday photo album at All Things Tim, where awesome List Mom, Gloria, has provided this easy way to share your GM work with the entire membership there. It's an awesome group of artists, and if you're not a member, get right on that! ;-)

Okay, go forth and grunge, my friends! Remember, you have until May 8 to create and share your GM05 art. Please keep an eye on Studio L3 next weekend-- if technology doesn't fail me, I'll be blogging from Ranger U. And, if you're on Twitter, watch for my Tweets with the hashtag #RangerU, under my account, @lindaledbetter. 

Thanks to Helen and Rachelle for their spectacular and inspiring examples!

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Drunken Stampers on the Farm

Over at the Drunken Stampers Challenge Blog this week, we're taking a field trip to the countryside with a "Farm Animals" challenge. Cows and piglets and sheep... oh, my!

After digging through my entire stamp collection and realizing to my horror that I don't own one single farm animal stamp (the day my Design Team piece was due, of course), I ran to Michael's crafts and grabbed an appropriate set of photo stickers. That's where Florence the sheep and her lamb, Didi, came from. I drew a quick, more or less pastoral background using Caran d'ache pastels on bristol paper, attached the sheep ladies, and scanned the design into Photoshop, where I added the text. So this is a hybrid kind of thing-- part digital, part not.

My Drunken Stamper teammates created some really cool things for this challenge, and I bet you will, too! We're accepting submissions through next Friday, April 29, and all winged and hoofed critters are welcome. Come join us!

Congrats to my HoneyPOP Winner!

Thanks to everyone who joined the eclectic Paperie E-Team/Inky Antics HoneyPop blog hop! As you know, each participating blog is giving away a prize, and without further ado, here's my winner, selected via Random Number:

Congrats, CuddlyBunny! I'll send you and email with the deets on how to collect your HoneyPop prize!

Have an awesome day, everyone!

E-Team Special Mission: Honeypop Blog Hop!

It's a sweet party at eclectic Paperie E-Team central, as we celebrate the adorable new HoneyPOP collection from Jackie Wamhoff of Inky Antics! HoneyPOP combines adorable stamps specially designed to be used with honeycomb tissue paper pads, and the end result is a fun, 3D pop-up surprise when the card is opened:

Mild-mannered outside...

Crazy-fun pop-up party inside!

HoneyPOP designs are so brilliantly conceived, it's a cinch to make your own 3D masterpiece. Check out this quick video in which Jackie demonstrates this fun process:

HoneyPOP Card Technique

Cool, huh? Jackie is not only madly-skilled, she's also incredibly generous, and will be giving a HoneyPOP Stamp and coordinating pack of Honeycomb Paper at every one of the E-Team's blogs! To be eligible, just leave a comment at each blog, and mention what you like about the HoneyPOP collection you see there. Jackie is looking for feedback about this new collection, and your comments will be much appreciated. You'll be delighted and completely inspired by the amazing art my E-Teammates created for this hop. Check 'em out, leave a comment, and you might just win!

The E-Team is:

Broni Holcombe

Latrice Murphy

Linda Duke 

Linda Ledbetter (That's me!)

Micki Harper

Sherry Cheever

Starla Nelson

It get even better! Daisy Sparks, our fearless E-Team leader and the owner of eclectic Paperie, will be giving away a $25 gift voucher to use in her shop! Eligibility is the same-- simply leave a comment on the eclectic Paperie blog and let Daisy know what you think of the HoneyPOP designs!

The eclectic Paperie Blog

We'll be accepting comments today and tomorrow, and the winners will be announced this Friday (April 22).

Thanks so much for visiting my blog, and good luck in the giveaway!

Congratulations, Grungy Monday 03 Winner!

We were so fortunate that Robyn of Outlaw Women Scrapbook Emporium generously sponsored Grungy Monday 03, and it's time to announce the winner!

It was such a tough choice, with so many wonderful creations, that Robyn decided to pick the winner randomly (I'd have done the same thing-- every single entry was my favorite in some way!). Via a drawing, the winner of a fabulous $20 shopping spree is:

Brian K

of the Kraftman blog!

Check out Brian's incredible awesome altered sneaker! Is this brilliant, or what?!

Brian, I know I speak for everyone when I say that I can't wait to see what you create with your stash of Outlaw Women goodies!

Blog friends, if you haven't had the chance to check out Outlaw Women Scrapbook Emporium, please do. It's a wonderful buying club with a huge selection of products, all well below retail. There's no charge to join, and the folks in the group are wonderful, inspiring artists. And, Robyn is an absolute sweetheart, and a brilliant crafter. Check out her personal blog, Robyn's Fetish,  for a huge dose of inspiration!

Thanks so much to Robyn, and to everyone who participated in Grungy Monday 3. And, congratulations, again, Brian K!

Hugs,
Linda

Grungy Monday 04: Texture Fades and Distress!

Featuring Special Guest Star Designers

Clare Horner and Gerri Herbst

Well, my distress-y friends, you've once again blown my mind with your brilliant work for Grungy Monday, and I want to thank everyone who rocked the Color Wash last week! Your work was beautiful and inspiring across the board, and it's been so much fun to see all the clever ways you put that product to use. For those who weren't able to play along last time, welcome back!

As you know, last week's challenge was sponsored by Outlaw Woman Scrapbook Emporium, and Robyn will be choosing the winner of the $20 shopping spree in the next couple of days here on my blog, so keep an eye open and your fingers crossed! Thanks so much to Robyn for her generosity.

This week, we're taking the Wayback Machine for a very short ride, December 2010 when Tim introduced our Grungy Monday 04 technique as part of last year's 12 Tags of Christmas. It's a bunch of fun and something that requires products that most papercrafters have on hand. Give it up for...

Texture Fades and Distress!

It's not just for Christmas, you know, so please make something new for this challenge instead of posting your 12 Tags piece.

It's a delight to introduce this week's Guest Star Designers, two ladies with spectacular talent and a lot of creative genius. Please visit their blogs and show them some love:

Clare Horner

Got Paint In My Hair

Gerri Herbst

It's All Treasure

Spectacular work, ladies!

Here's my own GM04 piece:

Please click here for the list of products I used.

C'mon, click that video link and come play along with us! Once you've completed your piece, please upload it here using the InLinks button at the end of this post. You'll need to have your own blog or an online public photo album (like Photobucker or Flickr) in order to participate. 

Please be sure to include a link to Tim's website (www.timholtz.com) in your blog post or photo description. I'd appreciate it if you'd link back to StudioL3, too!

Don't forget to upload your art to the Grungy Monday photo album at the All Things Tim group, too! Gloria, the fabulous list mom, and all the kind folks there would love to see your art. If you're not a member yet, be sure to join. It's fun, it's free, and it's a goldmine of great people with great idea!

Grungy Monday 04 is open until Sunday, April 24 at 8pm (mdt) and I'm so looking forward to seeing your creations for this fun technique! For forth and distress, everyone!

Thanks so much to Clare and Gerri for sharing their sensational art for this week's challenge!

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Drunken Stampers Have a Blackout...

... as in, No Electricity! That's right, over at the Drunken Stampers Challenge Blog and Candlelight Crafting Lounge, this week's challenge is to create art using nothing that plugs in our has a battery. No heat gun. No sewing machine. If you're going to cut a die, put the Vagabond away and crank that baby by hand! Positively antiquated, huh? In fact, the actual name of this challenge is "Technology Sucks," but I'm such a geek-nerd that I couldn't bring myself to make that my post title. I know... get a life, Linda.

For my piece, I basically just used a bunch of paint. Okay, there are a couple of stamped images, too, from Claudine Hellmuth's Nature-themed Creative Layers Foam Set, which I stamped onto tissue paper and glued down with Matte Multi Medium. Our Very Large Bird is welcoming the sun(flower)rise, which is made from the largest of the Tim Holtz Tattered Florals (cut with my hand-crank Big Shot!), and a litte handmade rose made of Nicole's Bead Backing (awesome not only for beading, but for making shabby-chic flowers that will hold their shape!)

I'll let you in on a little secret: This is not actually a finished piece, in fact, it's the first background I made for Juliette Crane's online "How to Paint an Owl" class. At some point, if all goes well there should actually be a big owl in the forefront. I haven't gotten that far, though...

Okay, ready to unplug and create? Our Technology Sucks Challenge (that causes me pain!) runs through next Friday, April 22, at the Drunken Stampers Challenge Blog, and we can't wait to see what you come up with!

Gingersnaps Get Misty

This week at the Gingersnap Creations blog, we're hosting a Spicy Supply Challenge, and are celebrating a product category that pretty much everyone loves: Mists! Whether shimmery and sheer or saturated and intense, mists offer an easy way to give color and character to a project in the blink of an eye.

   

 I used Ranger Color Wash in Red Pepper to dye a scrap of Sticky Back Canvas, misted over it with sparkling Perfect Pearls in Interference Red, then cut the canvas into one-inch cubes. I adhered these (somewhat wonkily) to a piece of black bookboard, then added some Asian characters cut from a package of origami paper (I really hope I attached them right-side up!). The geisha is an Acey Deucy stamp called "Cinnabar," and she's colored with Copic markers and Sakura Gel Pens.

 We'd love to see what you do with mists, and hope you'll join our challenge, which runs through May 8! Please be sure to check out the amazing art my Gingersnaps teammates created, too-- it's gorgeous and truly "mist-ifying!"

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Grungy Monday 03: Exploring Tim Holtz Adirondack Color Wash!

Featuring Special Guest Star Designers

Hels Sheridan and Kate Taylor

Sponsored by Outlaw Woman Scrapbook Emporium!

Thanks to everyone who helped make Grungy Monday 02 so much fun! Your Distress Ink with Studio Multi Medium art was spectacular, and I hope you had as much fun creating it as I had admiring it.

This week, we're offering a Tim Holtz Product Challenge. Now's your chance to play with (and fall in love with) the new Ranger Adirondack Color Wash! If you've used it, you know how amazing this intense, textile/wood/canvas/paper-friendly spray dye is, and if you haven't used it, it's going to rock your world!

Here's what your GM03 Design Team created to help inspire you:

Hels Sheridan

of Ink of My Fingers

Kate Taylor

of Nosey Critters

I used Color Wash to make a Faux Batik Silk Scarf:

Please click here for info on how I did it.

We have a sponsor this week! Say hello to Robyn Weinrib and Outlaw Woman Scrapbook Emporium!

Outlaw Woman Scrapbook Emporium is wonderful club that offers Heavily Discounted Paper Crafting Supplies to its members, giving artists a means to further themselves and grow in their art without breaking the bank! Membership is free, and once you join you're able to view prices and shop at the Emporium. You'll also be part of their Yahoo Group, where you'll join online friends to discuss products and enjoy special challenges and swaps in a supportive community.

Outlaw Women Scrapbook Emporium is a division of Robyn Weinrib's I Did It Creations. Robyn and her Outlaw Woman co-proprietor, Jeanette Waters, are both are avid scrapbookers, stampers and mixed media artists, and they work hard to supply their shop with virtually every papercrafting product on the market. Their partnership is built on deep friendship in which they share the same goals for women in the art community. Everyone is invited to join their club and shop in the Emporium! As Robyn says, "So many times in our economy we put our creating on the back burner. With the prices at OWSE, no longer does our art have to take the back burner. We can afford to create and at times sell our creations and grow in our own inner selves through our artwork and creativity."

Robyn is generously offering a $20 gift certificate to the winner of this week's challenge! To be eligible, simply create your own work of art for Grungy Monday 03 and link it to this post before the challenge ends on Sunday, April 17 at 8 pm MDT. Robyn will choose the winner and I'll announce their name on my blog on or before Thursday, April 21. Please be aware that, since there's very little markup on the products in the shop, the winner will need to pay shipping on their prize.

Please be aware, since this is a Tim Holtz Product-Specific Challenge, you are required to use actual Ranger Adirondack Color Wash to participate.

You'll need to have your own blog or an online, public photo album to link from, and you can easily submit your work using the InLinkz gadget at the end of this post. 

Please be sure to include a link to Tim's website (www.timholtz.com) in your blog post or photo description. I'd appreciate it if you'd link back to Studio L3, too!

By the way, Robyn also has a fabulous digital art shop of her own. Check out Robyn's Fetish via this link.

Don't forget to share your art at the All Things Tim group! Lovely List Mom Gloria has created a photo especially for Grungy Monday. You'll love the community there, and find TONS of inspiration and support!

Okay, Tim Fans, go forth and create! I can't WAIT to see what you do with Color Wash, and I hope you have a great week.

Thanks to Hels, Kate and Robyn!

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Drunken Stampers Win the Lottery!

... or so we wish! Actually, the Drunken Stampers are celebrating the possibility of independent wealth in this week's challenge, "If I Had A Million Dollars!" Come on, you've thought about it. I know I've thought about it a lot. And while there's a big, long list of things I'd do if I had a million bucks, the first thing that came to mind was... Travel The World!

From New Orleans to London to Rome to Norway to Barcelona to India to Egypt to Tasmania to Sydney to...

You get the idea.

I used images from Tim Holtz's Lost and Found Paper Stash and Salvage Stickers, the jet plane stamp from his new Air Travel set, some Sketchbook Tissue Tape, and some travel-themed tissue collage images my friend Missy gave to me. This was a quick and easy piece!

What would you do if you suddenly found yourself filthy stinking rich? Ponder that while you check out my Drunken Teammates' fab pieces and listen to the Barenaked Ladies song that inspired this challenge. Then, show us your story! You have through Friday, April 15 to live large!

E-Team Special Mission: Re-Inkers and Distress Stains!

Welcome back, papercrafting operatives! The eclectic Paperie E-Team is back with a new blog hop and a new mission, in hopes of inspiring you to Get Distressed (in the best sense of the word!). Before I get to the details, here's the little hanging card I made for this hop:

You probably already know that Distress Ink and Perfect Pearls (Mist and Powder, both) can be used to create some really gorgeous, shimmery effects for your paper art. Did you also know it takes just a couple minutes to create your own "designer backgrounds" like this?

For real! Here's what you'll need:

A nonstick craft mat

Plain white cardstock

Your favorite color Distress Ink Pad

A complimentary color of Distress Re-Inker

A complimentary color of Perfect Pearls Mist

A complimentary color of Perfect Pearls Powder

A soft paintbrush

A large background stamp
Distress Embossing Ink

This technique is a variation of the "Scribble Stain Distress" process from Tim Holtz's A Compendium of Curiosities. I'm throwing Perfect Pearls into the mix and creating a subtle pattern with Distress Embossing Ink. Here's the lowdown:

Begin by swiping your Distress Ink pad liberally onto your craft mat. 

Lightly "scribble" the Distress Re-inker through the ink you just laid down. 

Spray with Perfect Pearls Mist until the ink beads up on the craft mat. 

Press the cardstock into the inky puddle. 

Turn over the card and spritz with a bit more Perfect Pearls Mist to move the color around.

Optional (but it helps me!): Blot the ink with a clean paper towel. 

Use a heat tool to dry the tag and set the ink. 

Once the piece is dry. stamp it Distress Embossing Ink using a large background stamp (this is from Tim Holtz's new Papillon set.) When you life the stamp off, you won't see anything... but don't worry.

Here's where the magic happens: Gently brush Perfect Pearls powder over the inked image. This is so much fun. The image just pops into focus.

And there you have it! 

Now, to make a quick "faux tie die" ribbon, simply tie big, loose knots in a length of white ribbon:

Activate the Distress Stain dispenser by tapping the bottle lightly onto scrap paper until the sponge is filled with ink. Gently pass the knotted ribbon across the sponge to ink it, but don't saturate the ribbon. 

Allow the ribbon to dry, then untie the knots. You'll have a splotchy, funky ribbon for embellishing your art. 

Colors in the prize packages may vary.

This is a blog hop, of course, and in true eclectic Paperie style, Daisy will be giving away two fun prizes, each of which includes 2 Distress Stains, 2 Distress Re-inkers, 3 yards each of Maya Road lace trims and 6 inches of Maya Road Large Organza Rose!


To be eligible to win, simply visit and comment on each E-Team member blog post. You have today through this Thursday to play, and the winners will be posted on on the eclectic Paperie blog this Friday, April 8th.

The E-Team is:

Daisy Sparks, of eclectic Paperie 

Broni Holcombe

Latrice Murphy

Linda Ledbetter (That's me!)

Micki Harper

Sherry Cheever

Starla Nelson

Linda Duke is sitting this one out, but stop by her blog and see all the gorgeousness she's been up to!

My design teammates did amazing samples for this challenge. And, drop by eclectic Paperie for some awesome sales:

Re-inkers are 10% off!

Perfect Pearls in Kits and Singles are 20% off!

Daisy is also offering a cool Distress Bundle at a fabulous price, and it includes 2 Distress Stains, 2 matching Re-inkers, a Mini Mister, 2 yards of seam binding and some lace trim! Everything you need to dive headlong into distressy goodness!

Thank you so much for joining the E-Team for our Get Distressed hop!

Hugs,
Linda

Along with the products I mentioned throughout this post, my card was created with the Unity Marionete Stamp, Graphic 45 Steampuck Debutante paper (the green patterned background), and Twinery bakers' twine in Honeydew.