Thursday, July 31, 2014

July Challenge Winner and Highlights

There were 89 amazing mixed media cards and tags in last month's challenge and all of us in the design team had a tough time voting! Every entry was beautiful and we so appreciate your talents and the time all of you put into creating these works of art!

So who's our first mixed media card rockstar? Drum roll, please...


Congratulations, Lula! Your mixed media card is nothing but stunning. Your card so impressed us that we voted you the winner! Grab your winner badge below to display proudly on your blog.
 

Each one of us picked an entry to highlight. It's the entry that uniquely impacted us in some way -- a specific technique that was used, the colors, the creativity, or something in it that touched or impressed us.


Congratulations, ladies! Grab your badge below to display proudly on your blog.

We're so happy that so many have embraced this style of card-making. I'm especially ecstatic that our first challenge was so warmly received! I have an incredibly talented design team and much of the success of our first challenge was due to their amazing projects that served as inspiration to card-makers out there.

Are you ready for the August Challenge? Another month of mixed media fun starts tomorrow! We've got loads of mixed media cards to inspire you , so we'll see you then, okay?

Be artsy. Be messy. Be creative! :o)

Friday, July 18, 2014

More Challenge #1 Inspiration Cards {Or We Can't Stop Making More Mixed Media Cards!}

Okay, it's confirmed: we now know there's a bunch of us card-makers who love mixed media and can't quit making them it looks like!

SIXTY (60) delicious mixed media cards and tags in the gallery to date! The gallery is a feast for the eyes. I believe it's gotta be one of the most awesome collections in all of blog land if I may say so. And I'm ecstatic that so many of you have embraced this artsy, fun card-making style! :o)

Don't stop now...keep making those cards and sharing them...we've got a little over 7 days left to play and be messy! Link up your fabulous mixed media cards here. We've also got a link tab above so it's always easy to access the current challenge.

And if you're still a little intimidated by the term "mixed media", please check out this page here to read about how we define a "mixed media card" as it pertains to our challenge blog. You might even be surprised to discover that you've made this type of card before!
As for the girls in the design team...we're back with more inspiration. We just can't stop making more mixed media cards too!

distress Ink, distress paint, stencil, twine, pen, textured embossing powder

recycled book paper, gesso, stencil, distress inks and copper heat embossing
distress and archival inks, embossing, stencil, and modeling paste

Loll
distress Inks, monoprint of ferns from my garden, dry embossing, burlap

Deepti
watercolors (Twinkling H2O and Gelatos), markers, die-cuts
layered die cuts, inks, stamps and enamel dots

Friday, July 11, 2014

Challenge #1 Inspiration Cards {Or We Couldn't Help Ourselves So We Made More Mixed Media Cards!}

Well, judging by the number of submissions we've received for the first challenge to date, ya'll are liking creating mixed media cards! We're only a week and a half into this month's challenge and already there are 35 stupendous mixed media cards in the gallery -- from CAS to no-gesso-or-embossing-paste-spared cards...we're having a blast looking at your creations! Isn't mixed media fun or what?

Want to enter again? You certainly can. There's a little over 2 weeks left before the challenge ends. Create and enter as many mixed media cards as you like based on the current theme. Link up your fabulous mixed media cards here.
You're not the only one having fun with the first challenge. The girls in the design team are too! So here are more mixed media cards from us for this month's challenge. Hope these get you inspired to create too!








Tuesday, July 1, 2014

The Mixed Media Card Challenge #1 {Touch of Nature}

Welcome to The Mixed Media Card Challenge #1! We're excited to get started with our very first challenge! Our theme this month is wide open to interpretation and we hope the mixed media projects we created will inspire you. We'd love you to play with us. This is your playground...where you can be as messy (or clean) as you want to be and where you can go beyond using just your inks and stamps! 

HOW TO PLAY
1. Create a mixed media CARD based on the theme, with or without the optional element.
2. For this challenge only, you may create a mixed media TAG based on the theme.
3. Display the challenge graphic on your blog post and link back to this challenge post.
4. You may enter as many times as you want, as long as each entry is different.
5. You may combine a maximum of 7 challenges (6 other challenges plus ours).
6. Submit your projects by July 25, 11:55 p.m. PDT (GMT -700).
7. We'll announce the winner and favorites on July 31.

And now here are the mixed media cards and tags the girls in the design team have created.


Manila tag, background created with embossing paste, 3 different colors of Dylusions sprays directly onto the stencil, then I layered the tag on top of the stencil to create the back ground. The bird is water colored.

Heat embossed birds, stenciled sun done with modeling paste and acrylic paint mix results in a CAS mixed media card.

Background partially embossed, inked with brown inks, and decorated with water splashes. Flowers stenciled with texture paste on pink cardstock, inked and stamped with text texture stamp. Leaves stamped, cut out, and inked with brown inks.

Acrylic Tag: alcohol inks and archival inks used on the back for the alcohol ink resist technique.Bird stamped on the front and enamel accents added. Focal background and card base water colored with distress ink. Sponging added texture to the meadow. Flower stamps inked and misted with water. Embossed band was sanded and inked.


Floral Wreath Tag: stenciling with ink and ink-colored embossing paste, stamped and die cut florals, Glossy Accent highlights, and sponging.

Background made with Studio 490 embossing paste through stencil, archival inks, chalk inks, gelatos and stamps on paper & lace. Gesso, inks and stamps on the rest of the layers to tie it all together.


LOLL
Fern with Tag:  watercoloring with distress inks, stencil, embossing paste

Bliss: Lots of texture with woodgrain paper, stitched canvas flag, grungeboard, mulberry paper, wood veneer, distress metallic paint, distress ink and gold embossing powder.


MARIA F.
Leaves and Tags; distress inking, embossing paste, die cuts, paper piecing



A faux watercolor pressed stencil image in several tones and a structure paste image with the same stencil. Nature: a twig from my garden with some twine around and fussy cut paper leaves. Then some stamping, color spray splatters and a stamped tag.

DP with nature & newsprint design distressed, inked, and stenciled using modeling paste; stitched die-cut circle on panel as aperture; stamped daffodil watercolored with Inktense blocks on card base; grunge floral strip stamped around card base and inked; sticker sentiment to finish the card.

Dyed cotton canvas, die cut, textured embossing powder, Distress Inks, thread