Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Nature's Beauty - A Challenge & Repurposing too

I'm loving the Compendium of Curiosities Challenges (CCC #22) over at Linda's Studio L3.  I haven't played with my alcohol inks in a while, and this was the perfect opportunity.  The challenges are taken out of Tim Holtz' book Compendium of Curiosities -- this one was from page 52, Alcohol Ink Splatter.  And so much fun!!  I picked out the stamps I wanted to use first--Tim Holtz' Mini Holidays2 & Reindeer Flight, in which I used the two different sizes of trees.  I used the smaller size for my background and the larger size for my overlay, stamped on acetate/plastic.  Which brings me to the repurposing part--I used glossy cardstock I had been saving from various packaging, and the plastic was recycled from another package I just couldn't throw away.  The glossy cardstock was a great find, originally used as a liner in one my of packages--it wasn't as solid as traditional cardstock, but it worked great.  I probably had more bleed through than using traditional glossy cardstock, but no one ever sees the back side.  Oh, wait--guess what...I used that too!  ha ha...  For the quote by Helen Keller (CTMH stamp set "Beautiful Things") I used the back of a portion of my alcohol splatter project...I liked the softer look for the sentiment.  For the main portion of my card I used Tim's technique as in his book with the following colors:  Lettuce, Meadow, Pesto, Willow, Slate, Cloudy Blue, & Gold Mixative.  Yep--I used a lot of color. I stamped on the plastic, heat set it, cut it out and wrapped it with a wire ribbon, strung some lights, and popped dot it to my card. My tree star was a blue button--so I colored it with the gold mixative & blending solution before adding it to my tree.

NOTE:  I don't receive any compensation for recommending products, but this is too cool not to pass on.  I wanted to make a quick mention of my Non-stick Craft Sheet by Ranger Industries.  Whether I'm crafting at home or teaching a class I always use this craft mat.  It's awesome!  I purposely photographed my card on my craft mat so you could see the splatters from my ink before I cleaned it.  What is so cool about this mat, is that nothing sticks to it--glue, paint, ink, embossing powder, etc...it all wipes up so easily, and no bleed through.  You can iron on it, heat set, emboss, & more--it even repels water.  Seriously, I love this mat!  Okay...that was my public service announcement---moving right along...   =)

This was the first time I've attempted this technique and boy was it fun! If you haven't gone out and bought Compendium of Curiosities yet, you're gonna want to add it to your Christmas list--if you can wait that long.

Thanks for stopping by...and come again!


Lisa

22 comments:

  1. it looks dazzling! love the way the trees and garland work together!

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  2. that is awsome - love you did the trees
    ( ATT member )

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  3. This is gorgeous! I love how it turned out.

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  4. This is so beautiful! I love your card!

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  5. Absolutely BEAUTIFUL card, Lisa!! :)

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  6. Your card is just gorgeous!

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  7. You reallly seem to master this technique. I love the forest background and what a great idea to repeat the tree stamp! great card!!!

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  8. First attempt??? You really ROCKED this challenge Lisa! Love it!

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  9. This is so beautiful, I can't believe it was your first try at the technique.

    Yvonne

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  10. Awesome card! Love how you wrapped the lights around the trees!

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  11. This is great! The background looks like mountains off in the distance!!

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  12. Such a pretty card, excellent work.

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  13. Lisa, this is utterly magical! Your alcohol ink splatter is stunning, and the forest you created by layering the tree image and plastic sheet is gorgeous. This is a truly ingenious design, and the beautiful quote suits it perfectly. The colors are lovely and the entire piece has such a peaceful feel. I love it!

    BTW, you're so right about the non-stick craft sheet! I couldn't be without one!

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  14. Your card is so beautiful. Really lovely colours and design.
    Sue x

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  15. Your card is lovely, I love that stamp. I agree about the craft sheet...keep up the great work.

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  16. I love your card. I was in such a hurry this week, I didn't even check out other entries before I got started. Looks like we had similar ideas...Gotta love all those green AI's together. I love all the dimension in your card. Thanks for sharing.

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  17. Wow! This is amazing! I love the forest that you created and your use of splatter is wonderful!

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  18. Wow...thank you so much for all your great comments! I'm so glad I finally tried this technique from Tim's Compendium book in a fun challenge.

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  19. Oh wow this is stunning, love it. Annette x

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  20. Beautiful piece. The trees look great on that background.

    Marilyn

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  21. I LOVE this technique....and I love how you used Tim's trees for this! (As for your promo for the craft sheet.....I would NEVER be without one! In fact, I have 3 giant ones and a little one. I guess Ranger is going to offer a 'choose-your-own-size' opportunity, too.)

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