Bisters......Not Blisters!

I sure got a chuckle when so many said they never heard of Blisters like that. I can easily see the mistake too, but it is indeed called BISTERS! And, I know I did a lot of spritzing but not enough to get blisters. LOL

I had time to play today because it was again a rainy, muggy day and therefore, no combining of the wheat. I know the hubby would have preferred I not had time but such was not the case. I guess we need to be patient for the weather to get better.

Again I used images from I Brake For Stamps and they can be found in the Stampenback line. That is also where one can purchase the Bisters. And, they really are quite reasonable in price.

You use just a small amount of the fine powder. I found it was better to start with less and one can always add more if not satisfied. And, if I used bleach it was ordinary household bleach...in fact, the really cheap stuff. I happened to have some old blender pens for water color pencils which went dry so I just saved them and they worked great to dip in bleach and soften the color on things. I also again used a white gel pen but over colored on the white areas in the center of each mum.

And for more information on how to use them, check out the video at I Brake for Stamps. Even though it is not in English one can pretty much catch on as to how to use them.

I especially love the backgrounds one can achieve for beautiful Autumn cards. Perfect for this time of year. And, the element of surprise each time you make one is so cool! I thoroughly enjoyed myself again.

I hope you liked what I did as well and that it was not too boring for you to hear me rave on again about them. Everyone have a wonderful holiday weekend and if traveling, please travel safely.

God bless,
Verna

More Fun With Bisters

I just love the surprise element when one makes a background with these Bisters water colors that I got from I Brake for Stamps. I had so much fun that I had to do another one. Only I chose different colors which made things look very different but perfect for a card background.

This time I went with fruit and I thought red grapes would be perfect as that had lots of the colors one would find in a bunch of grapes, This image is from Gina K. Designs and is called Better With Age and is part of the duo set by that name.

Again I stamped the image with Gina K. Designs black ink and then colored it in with Tim Holtz Distrress markers. I also took some bleach and here and there lightened up the grapes and also added a bit of white gel marker so that they looked like they had depth more to them with a light hitting concept. By layering the finished project onto some Gina K. Designs Cranberry Tart paper and then onto the Prickley Pear base card along with some gold trim I think I again got a great look. 

Boy! I am having a blast. Ooops! Almost time to fix the evening meal so I better put my toys away for today. 

I am entering this card into the Mod Squad Challenge for this week which calls for us to use fruit.

Everyone have an amazing evening,

God bless,

Verna

Playing With Bisters

Oh, my! I purchased a fun new thing to work with and I spent the afternoon making a background with the Bisters which is a type of water based powder which when lightly sprinkled on card stock and spritzed with water makes a fabulous background.

Here is my first card I made with the Bisters. First I did the background which I will show you as well later but first I want you to see what a great scene card I made from it. I used the stamp image from I Brake for Stamps. Oh, and I purchased the Bisters there as well, so now you know where you can find them.

I used bleach to take color away and also used Gina K. Designs inks for the stamping of the scene and for the sponging of more color. Another thing I used was a white gel pen to add highlights to the crashing ocean waves and also for the night sky as this is supposed to be a early evening scene when the sun is just about down and the darkness is starting to envelope the earth.

Below is what I started out with.  I thought it a workable background but I had to figure out what type of scene I could use with it. I think the light house image worked wonderfully and I am very happy with how it turned out.

I have often said I love to get inky and this sure was fun. Also to learn more on how to use the Bisters there is a video at I Brake for Stamps in the area where the Bisters are featured. Even though I could not understand the language I did still learn how to use them. What is required is a paint brush, paper, and a bottle to spritz water with. I used the heavy base weight white card stock from Gina K. Designs. Later you can use other items to complete your card.

I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I enjoyed making the card. And, may the rest of your week go well too. I am so happy I found time to play again.

God bless,

Verna

Hello Fall!

With the new school year beginning this week I could not help but think that summer is fleeting by fast and that soon we will be into the Autumn season. Of course, that is not a bad thing as it is a season I love especially due to the wonderful colors it produces with beautiful leaves and other fauna this time of year.

With that in mind I decided to get out some stamp sets I had not inked yet and make a card celebrating the Fall season. It took me quite a while to make it but I really like the end result. My hubby had a meeting out of town so I was free to get inky again. And, it was so fun!

Melanie Muenchinger who is an illustrator for Gina K. Designs has a wonderful set called Fabulous Frames from which I got the layout of the card and also the sentiment. I stamped that frame in Gina K. Designs Warm Cocoa ink on different colors of card stock, cut them out and then pieced them all onto a base front panel. Card stock colors used were cranberry, sweet mango, faded brick and white all by Gina K. Designs.

The center of the panel is the oval for which I used white card stock and with a paint brush and some Tim Holtz alcohol inks spread a light swipe of cranberry, terra cotta, lettuce and butterscotch ink. I put that prepared paper to the side so I could later stamp the oval and add the tree image.

With a Bic Mark-It pen I colored the outer parts of each section in the frame. When I had them pieced together I then placed them in the Darice Quilt embossing folder to give it some dimension and texture.

The tree image is from the Gina K. Designs I Appreciate You duo set and was inked with warm cocoa ink and stamped over the top of my alcohol ink background that I had laid aside earlier. I then stamped the oval part of the frame again on this and cut that section out. With Bic Mark-It pens I colored the tree and also the outer lines of the oval frame too. I then used my glue gun and adhered this to the oval section of the frame.

The sentiment was stamped with the Warm Cocoa ink onto white card stock and cut in a banner shape and added over the leafy ribbon which is made by American Crafts. My card was finished by adding it to a white base and then adding pearls of yellow and green which I colored with the Bic Mark-It pens to match close to my colors.

This card will be entered into the Mix It Up Monday challenge which is titled "Hello Fall" and basically we were challenged to use some of that season's colors in our artwork. Since that is my favorite season it was a "no brainer" that I would have to enter into the fun.

Thanks for looking and I hope each and everyone of you are having a wonderful week. Meanwhile, enjoy the last days of summer!

God bless,
Verna

Update at Operation Write Home

Just a short note to let those who are into making cards for Operation Write Home that there are some updated regulations now due to the drawback of troops. No, it is not being discontinued but there are some new requirements involved.  So read all about it here: http://operationwritehome.org/operationrollingtapegun/

Thanks to all who have and are supporting Operation Write Home. It is a fantastic way for us who are not in the military to share our love of crafting in the form of greeting cards for our military personnel.

I hope to make a few up for the troops again soon. Now that the bulk of summer activities is easing up I think I will have more time to be creative.

Thanks and God bless,
Verna

Empty Nest Again, So I Stamp To Fill the Gap

Yes, my family was all under one roof these last few days and now that they are all gone again. It sure is quiet and lonely. But we had a wonderful time together playing games, watching TV, visiting and catching up with each other. I heard all made it to their homes too, or I think that they all did. My son and grandson had a two hour delay in their flight but they did reach Japan but missed the bullet train ride to go to their home, so they had to stay in a hotel until the next morning.

Anyway, to fill the time I have once again gotten the stamps out and created my first card in several weeks. I must say I did miss that hobby of mine. Hope I am not out of practice too much. LOL

For this card I used the polka dot pattern stamp from the Gina K. Designs Lots of Dots set by Beth Silaika and the flowers and sentiment from the Gina K. Designs Million Little Things duo set. My card stock was white and red hot card stock from Gina K. Designs. I colored the flowers with Bic Mark-It markers and fussy cut them out and popped them up. I finished by adding some rhinestones in the corner.

I am entering this in the Mix It Up Monday challenge at Stamp TV. We were challenged to use polka dots and one other color with black or gray. I used both the black and the gray in mine. 

Also I might add that I was very remiss in commenting on other's blogs lately as I was just too busy. But I hope you will forgive me and I will try to do better from now on. Thanks for stopping in and looking at mine too.

God bless,

Verna