i put my heart and my soul into my work and have lost my mind in the process - vincent van gogh

I'm entering the birthday card below in Sweet Stamps July's Anything Goes Challenge.

 

Have fun, keep crafting and get messy my blogosphere friends.

you can't blame gravity for falling in love - albert einstein

As you can see although there is less media used to create this birthday card (it's pretty much all paper minus some stickles, marvy snow pen and gelly roll pens), the layers are quite typical of everythingshetouches.   

If you're new to the blog you will quickly learn that I have a mad love affair with gorjuss girls.  I can design a card around these little treasures all day long.

I coloured in gorjuss i love you little rabbit with coloured pencils.  I know what you're thinking .. coloured pencils? but it has such an amazing consistent blended texture! how on earth can this be coloured pencils?  Ah, but they are coloured pencils.  I use a blending solution to gain that amazing creamy blended texture.  Yes, this is now at the top of the top five colouring techniques (sorry watercolour; still love you loads but you're now a close second).

Here's a close up of little miss gorjuss i love you little rabbit and rabbit.

I'm entering this birthday card in three challenges:

1.  Craft Stamper Take It Make It Challenge: July Anything Goes!
2.  Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Anything Goes 
3.  DL. ART July Linky Challenge: Anything Goes
  
 

hope is the only bee that makes honey without flowers - robert green ingersoll

I love using faber-castell gelatos to create a watercolour palette.  It's easy to get depth and subtle colour transitions when using rich and creamy gelatos.

I stamped tim holtz flower garden onto watercolour paper in white permanent ink and white embossed the images to give them definition.  I used watermelon, metallic melon and bubble gum gelatos to fill in each of the flowers.  The background is a boxed card set that I bought at michaels.  These boxed card and envelope sets (I'm sure you've seen them - huge boxes of cards and envelopes) really help out when you need to create a whole bunch of cards at once in a jiffy.  Especially when you're like me and love creating multi-layered cards but have a limited amount of time.

Here's a closer look at the watercoloured flowers.  There are a few ways to use gelatos to get different results; my favourite, hands down, is this technique: take your gelato, smash a bit of the tip onto your craft mat, dip your paintbrush into water and mix it with the gelato colour.  Like all watercolours, the more water you use the lighter the colour, the less water you use the darker the colour.  Try layering different colours onto an image and then go back (it doesn't need to be perfectly dry; gelatos on watercolour paper dries really quickly anyway - if you haven't used a ton of water) and add more colour with less water.  You'll find that the colour depth you can create is phenomenal.  And it's so much fun.

Get messy.  Have fun.  See you back here soon.

you can't stay in your corner of the forest waiting for others to come to you. you have to go to them sometimes - a. a. milne

Oi.  It's been five months since I've posted anything on the blog.  I'm not sure why I have found it difficult to post regularly (Instagram is feeling almost the same level of neglect).  Maybe it's just a matter of paying more attention to posting once the photos are snapped.

The post neglect is not for lack of crafting, that's for sure.  I have been a little crafting chipmunk.  Busy, busy, busy.  Which means one thing friends, you're in for a craft downpour here on everythingshetouches.  A craft downpour.

I created the background of this birthday card using bisters and tim holtz flower garden stamps.  The layered forest is a memory box series of dies: grand forest archway, medium forest archway and small forest archway.  Makes for a gorgeous layered forest, no?

The focal stamp is santoro mirabelle tell me something.  I'm obsessed with everything santoro.  My collection of mirabelle and gorjuss is outrageous.  I think they are simply elegant, beautiful and diverse stamps.  And yes, very easy and fun to work with.

Here's a better view of the background.  Bisters on watercolour paper equals gorgeous and quick backgrounds for any paper craft - cards, scrapbook, memory book or mixed media.  Amazing.  And I'm hooked.

Stay tuned folks.  More rain to come ..

a happy twinkie birthday

Twinkie is one of those precious little Stampotique stamps that make me so happy.  His joy is infectious.  I made this birthday card for one of Alex's friends at school.

The brick wall was embossed on gold mirror paper and coloured in with permanent markers.  Tim's crazy bird accessory presents were also stamped, cut and coloured in using gold mirror paper.

The background was torn from an old book now used for .. well, my crafting amusement and eventually a memory book (whenever I get around to it).

 

 

I'm entering Twinkie in the:

 

1.  Craft Stamper February 2016 Text Me! Challenge

2.  SDC February Mardi Gras Challenge



 

winter is a season of recovery and preparation - paul theroux

I designed and crafted this birthday card for my amazing aunt who is very much enamoured with everything winter.  I have to admit, I don't really get it.  Sure snow is pretty when you're inside and you're not expected to travel anywhere and you're in the mountains, however, winter when you're heading out to work and it's minus a bazillion and there's ice and the mush covers the back of the work pants you just washed and ironed is pretty darn crappy.

Regardless, this little gorjuss foxgirl and her adorable companions make my winter-grinch heart warm and happy.

a twinkie and mirror paper birthday

I crafted this card for a little guy who turned six this year.  Thought Twinkie had the right amount of enthusiasm.

 

 

I have taken to colouring on mirror paper lately and I strongly recommend you give it a go.  It's quick, simple and the results are spectacular.  Add a little glossy accents and the final product has tremendous wow factor.

it is not the strongest or the most intelligent of the species that survives, it is the one that is most adaptable to change - charles darwin

I created this steampunk mixed media card for a friend who is very much obsessed with everything steampunk.

 

 

 

This was definitely a fun card to build: so much mess! (Yes, short text means I'm pushing through to get all the 2015 projects posted before the year ends)

subway graffiti

I made this masculine birthday card for a friend a little while ago using prima julie nutting aidan, my trusty and well loved brick stencil and pumice modeling paste.  I sprayed the pumice bricks with dylusion sprays (squeezed orange and cherry pie) and primary elements artist black emerald.  I absolutely adore finnabair's primary element artist pigments.  Such incredibly beautiful colours.  Have you seen dragonfly wings?  Stunning.  Simply.  Stunning.

Aidan was coloured with distress inks (pumice stone, vintage photo, black soot, weathered wood) and markers.

I'm currently working on a whole bunch of new projects using a whole bunch of new product.  I think my favs (memory box, tim holtz, mft, finnabair,gorjuss, elizabeth craft designs) have outdone themselves this season(don't worry mr.everythingshetouches I have shown some restraint).

I also have some very fun class crafts to post.  Two dragon bits (an eye and an egg) and a finnabair project canvas.

What has been your favourite new product that you purchased this season?

it is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness - lucius annaeus seneca

New Heights Stamp Set by Simply Gorjuss Urban Stamps was the inspiration for this birthday card for my mother-in-law.  We all know someone in our lives who pushes us to be better versions of ourselves.  My mother-in-law is one of those people, in my life, who pushes me to new heights.

From 130-lb white cardstock I cut out a triangle (math folks look away; it's not really a triangle.  Yes, I know triangles only have three sides.  I took creative liberty) quadrangle (is that really a word?) and layered on strips of washi tape.  I picked out the little ms. heights colours before I started my washi layering and selected my washi tape with those colours in mind, so that the card was pulled together and had continuity.  I also slipped in some tribute washi: music and Paris.  My mother-in-law loves music and traveling.

The little butterfly and sign are both from this seven-piece set. Can you believe the level of cuteness?  I know most of you have gasped at the complete disconnect with my usual more intense style (I can be cute.  I own a smiling frog and a fox) but seriously how can you not love the Gorjuss series?  I plan on getting many many more (look away mr. everythingshetouches).  And if you live in the greater Edmonton area you too can find many of these darling stamp sets at The Inked Stamper.  

I embossed the sign with my wood embossing folder and distressed the raised image with vintage photo distress ink.  The butterfly was coloured using coloured pencils and highlighted with bronze stickles.

 

ms. heights was coloured using colour pencils.  I chose coloured pencils as the medium because I wanted to give her a bit of an airy feeling, to keep the card light and bright.  And I added a few pieces of sequence because, quite frankly, who doesn't love a bit of good sequence?

Little ms. heights will be one of my very first Etsy Shoppe posts next month.  She will come in a four card pack in different colours, made to order.  Check it out.

i am only a sparrow amongst a great flock of sparrows - evita peron

I realise that it's been a while since I last posted.  Somehow time has just gotten away.  I spent a fair bit of time putting together two retirement/memory books for colleagues who have started new life adventures. And once completed, I decided to take a bit of a craft respite to renew and refresh.  My version of a craft break involves moving my crafting space to an entirely new location in the house.  I previously occupied the dining room with bits and pieces and odds and ends in different spaces and now I am, and my stuff is, all one space.  And I think, although the space is currently devoid of storage furniture and my materials do not yet have homes, I will be very happy and crafty in my new space.  I also spent some time with the greats: Finnabair and Dina Wakley.  I will post the class results sometime in the next month or so.

I have been struggling, as many of you know, with keeping things clean and simple.  There has been many discussions and great coachings but every so often I need a strong reminder to pull back on the reigns.  One of my crafting enablers had a birthday recently and her style is clean, simple and elegant.  She likes the Dina Wakley chickadees and so the focus of the birthday card was this adorable little sparrow.  And without much fuss and mess I crafted a CAS card.

 

I started the background by splattering and dripping silks acrylic glaze (fuzzy peach) onto heavy white cardstock (I said there wasn't MUCH mess; there always has to be a bit of mess).  I highlighted and transformed the splatters into little precious flowers with my gelly roll pen (black).  The sparrow was highlighted with vintage photo distress ink and perched onto of a Memory Box birch tree (converted into a branch) which was cut from cherry wood paper.

 

I added some greenery to the tree/now branch.  The adorable cloud thread is a Memory Box die-cut.

Coming soon: Father's Day cards (either late for this, early for next year or something to consider for that special man birthday), Finnabair, Dina Wakley and the two retirement/memory books.

Thank you so much for stopping by. 

ten candles and a cupcake

As you know clean and simple isn't really in my repertoire and believe it or not this card starting off being both clean and simple.  I got into a bit of trouble when I decided to borrow an idea from one of my craft enablers (you know who you are) to create the candles.

The background was created by inking painter's tape with distress inks (pumice stone, weathered wood, festive berries and worn lipstick).

I coloured Tim Holtz's cupcake (birthday blueprint) with markers and watercoloured distress inks.

And then I started working on the candles and my simple idea turned into something a bit more complicated (it's just in my nature). 

I die-cut the candles (poppystamps dies picket fence) and decorated each one individually using bits of scrap paper I had lying about.  

The foundational candle layer was die-cut out of sookwang.  The sookwang gave me an easy way to build up layers and to cover the flame with glitter ritz (sand).  I embellished with my trusty and well-loved black gelly roll.

I am entering my cupcake and candles card into Sweet Stamps' Monthly Technique Challenge: Painter's Tape Technique.

Soon to come:  Father's Day cards (yes, I know how late they are but consider them for inspiration for next year or a masculine birthday card), another attempt at a clean and simple birthday (teaser alert: not entirely successful) and, not one, but two memory books for retiring colleagues.

scottie and yolanda birthday wishes

I started working on this birthday card by splattering and dripping silks acrylic glaze (fuzzy peach) onto heavy white cardstock and then highlighting and transforming some of the splatters into little precious flowers with my gelly roll pen (black). 

I added Yolanda (dressed up Deep Red), my little Scottie, two adorable clotheslines and old bits of heart cardstock leftover from Valentine's Day to the shimmered background to create a simple and sweet card for my friend's daughter who turned eight.

I just returned from a stamping retreat.  Fifty-three hours of demos, cropping and laughter surrounded by some of the most talented women I have ever met.  I was guaranteed to walk away with a new idea and mucho money spent on all the new supplies I will need to buy to recreate what projects I saw this weekend.  I can already hear the cash registers ringing across the city.  I had a lot of commitments to complete this weekend: forty-two information postcards to share with my stamping club in honour of our fifteenth year, ten quirky tags, ten fairy tale tags, one birthday card (I have many more but I finished one up) and two Mother's Day cards so there was little time to play, however, I did manage to pull out and paint-up my new Gelli plate.  I also learned a brilliant way to clean off the paint once I was done.  Brilliant.  I will show you the outcome and technique one day soon.

I really cannot wait to share it all with all of you.  Keep an eye out for the many posts.

I am entering this card into Simon Says Anything Goes Challenge this week. 

a touch of colour and a birthday wish

I cannot believe it has been almost a month since my last post.  The family was "trapped" in the Caribbean with very limited WiFi making any communication back home difficult.  I know it was a sacrifice but I admit I would willing sign up for this type of sacrifice again without hesitation.

It was my mom's birthday and I wanted to create a card which had light, colour and some whimsy.  With the exception of the butterflies scattered around the card, the only area of colour is centralized near the Scottie.  Mom loves dogs and sadly her Chewbaca, an energetic and adorable Fox Terrier and Belgium Sheep-hound mix, has died recently.  The little Scottie is an adorable reminder of great puppy times.

I gave a Julie Nutting page a bit of a white-wash with Gesso to draw attention to the centre of the page and stamped it with blades of grass, Stampendous dandelions and butterflies black&white style.  I coloured the lower half of Yolanda (dressed up Deep Red)and Yolanda's eyes and lips as well as the blades of grass behind her creating a centralized area of pigment.  The punch-cut butterflies add pockets of colour throughout the front of the card.

May will mark my first year bloggiversary.  I have some ideas for how I would like to shape this upcoming year including the start of an Etsy Shop in the Fall and different monthly highlights.  Stay tuned friends!  And thank you for making my first year so amazing and special.  I have truly enjoyed.

 Chewbaca 2000 - 2014

my little hoo's birthday

It's my little monkey's birthday and I thought Stampotique captured my sentiment best with their monster and little hoo-hoo stamp.  With a stamp this fantastic you don't need much else going on and so I kept it simple (I apologize to my friends for the lack of advance warning; I promise the next project will be messier).

I'm entering this perfect pair into Stampotique Designers Challenge: SDC #134 Perfect Pairs.

I covered the Impression Obsession cover-a-card distressed brick stamp with antique linen distress ink and clear embossed it to create the card background.  Have I told you how much I love Tim Holtz's distress inks?  I might have once or twice.  They are my go-to product for colour and the card below is a somewhat good example and I'll elaborate:   

1. The brick was created by directly applying distress ink colour to the stamp
2. The lettering was individually hand stamped with archival black onto watercolour paper which was initially run through watered down weathered wood, peeled paint and vintage photo (the definition and texture is astounding) but that's not all; you can:
3. Use the distress inks as watercolours
4. Remove colour 
5. Emboss it and, but not limited to,
6. Use distress inks with as many tools as you have in your repertoire including stencils, embossing folders and stamps to get a whole variety of outcomes especially when you play with different types of papers like watercolour, grunge and glossy

No shares bought, just an honest enthusiasm for an amazing and diverse product.

Monster was coloured in with coloured pencils and markers.  Little hoo-hoo was coloured in with markers.  And both were highlighted with Viva Pearl Pen (ice white) and black Sakura Gelly Roll.

The hearts were punch cut and the entire thing was mounted on green cardstock which is Alex's favourite colour.

I have a special evening planned for my amazing little man with all of his favourite things (secretly determined in advance; aren't moms great that way?) and dinner out at the restaurant of his choice (secretly wishing it is not one of the more popular children's restaurant/playpark in the area which I will not name).

Still reeling from a great long weekend and cutting out ten bazillion creature power activators (handmade) for Alex's Wild Kratt birthday party scheduled later on in the month.  How did you spend your weekend?  Was it crafty?

another prima birthday

I designed and crafted this card for my sister-in-law's birthday with a few self-inflicted "had-to-includes".  The card had to include Prima.  If I had to redesign the Prima Doll to better reflect my sister-in-law and her personality I would replace the stilettos with soccer cleats.  Beautiful, elegant and tough.

It had to include my first new find:  Marvy Uchida snow marker.  The snow marker is like a hedonists' chia-pet dream.  Add heat and watch grow in far less time than it takes to grow a grassy critter.  I highlighted the ruffle on Prima's skirt with the snow marker for a little whimsy.

The banners on the right were distressed in with vintage photo Distress Ink.  The popped-up dots accent the corner.

The card had to include my second new find: Viva Decor Inka Gold paint.  The texture alone is enough to keep me in crafting bliss.  Messy, intimate.  Good, good fun.

It had to include the Silhouette vintage old chair.  The chair was mine as soon as I discovered it.  No stops to the wishlist, no hesitation, didn't pass Go.  In the checkout before you can say vintage old chair.

I cut the chair out of grunge paper, distressed it with Distress Ink vintage photo and highlighted the edges with gold
Viva Decor Inka paint.

The chair cushions are part of the Silhouette chair design which I also cut out of grunge paper, covered with cardstock taken from the Recollections: Tattered and Worn paper pad and gently curved to give it a more 3D effect.

 

The new year has kicked off a crafting frenzy so stay tuned for the outcomes.  I have been informed that I must create 42 Valentine's Day cards/tags for a card/tag exchange (I love you regardless and I will not disappoint in terms of effort) and asked to join the Inked Stamper's Steampunk 10-tag swap.  Over 50 tags between now and the beginning of February is a challenge, preparing for Alex's birthday party and crafting 50 tags is a venture. But I cannot wait to share them all with you.  

Sneak-peak preview: I purchased some Octopode Factory stamps and I joined a Junk Journal group which means, yes, there is junk in the tag and I have a growing stack of pieces that need some upcycling.  Follow me on your favourite RSS feed application and you won't miss any exciting updates.