Linda Cain #1 Take Time To Smell The Flowers

"Hi everyone Linda here, I’m back today sharing one of three projects this week. We are going to start with a tag again. These stamps from JOFY are just too wonderful to ignore when we’re waiting desperately for spring here in the States.  So let’s see what we can do to brighten up our day"!

Start with a #8 Manilla Tag and Distress Inks. I blended Mustard Seed and Squeezed Lemonade onto the middle of the tag. Keep this light section clean to make a statement on your tag. 

Next I added a layer of Peacock Feathers to the top section of the tag. I always, always use more than one color to really make a brighter and richer color. It’s like different glazes in a watercolor. Next the Chipped Sapphire layer, and last a smidge of Stormy Sky on the edges.

Down to the bottom of the tag we break out the greens…Bundled Sage and Forest Moss in layers. And then add a bit of Peeled Paint for the last color. 

Now, for the fun part, in my opinion! I took the hot color Picked Raspberry and added it to the center side sections of the tag. Blend into the upper layers of blue and the yellows and the greens. Don’t stop there; add some Ripe Persimmon to the mix and you get a wonderful array of bright, fun colors!  The bright pink of the Raspberry disappears into a great red-orange color. 

Looking at the stamps and the tag, I decided that some water spots would look great. So I sprayed water into the palm of my hand, and let the water drip down to my fingertips, then bring your fingers back into a ball and quickly flick them outward. This sprays a finer droplet of water onto the Distress Inks {as these inks react with water} and creates little dots of lighter color. Dry with a heat gun before going onto the next stage or blot excess water off with some paper towel.

Next come the stamps. I bent the large stamp to go in the direction I wanted for the stem. It’s easy with the thin stem to redirect it. Stamp onto the tag with JetBlack Archival Ink. Using the other stamps in the set, stamp the other flowers and leaves. I added the bubbles on the corner areas and wherever I wanted to fill in. I love how the water spritzed areas go so well with these bubbles stamps.

JOFY09

 

OK, here comes the White Pen. Nothing makes color pop like a white or black pen! Add a white dot to all the bubbles, and highlight the outsides of the different sketch lines of the stamps. "Go crazy; have fun! It’s just a piece of paper"!!! 

 Then I brought out the Tim Holtz Distress Markers and added more color to the centers of the circles on the flowers and some gray shadows to make things jump out at you more. I always like contrast. This shot shows the gray shadow in detail and the markers. Don’t be too hard on yourself with the white pen, as you can see here, it’s never perfect, just let it flow! 

I had a piece of white chipboard from some images I received and this looked like a perfect weight to stamp the verse on. So stamp it out, and then cut it apart. Glue to the tag for a really fun statement to your whimsical scene.

Then I glued the tag to black chipboard….remember, black and white make colors pop. Trim around the tag leaving about 1/8” edge and highlight with white pen stitches.  I use a dot at the corners sometimes to make it easier to turn if you’re using a longer stitch.

I like to dye my Crinkle Ribbon most of the time, but here, the white was perfect with all the colors going on. So just spray it with some water and crumple it up in your hand. Lay it down on a Craft Mat and dry with the heat tool. Punch a hole in your chipboard and tie a loose bow.

A simple tag to start with this week. And we’ll bump it up tomorrow with

something a bit more difficult.

Your Friend In Art!

Linda! 

Leandra Says: Awesome Linda, nice to see the Distress Ink background. By keeping the centre lighter it sure makes the design "pop". Gotta love these stamps!

Gillian Says: Jo's stamps used with Distress Inks look great Linda, the little water droplets in the background is one of my fav things to do.

If you would like to join this week's challenge and play along with us via inLinkz, please take a moment to share how you have been inspired by Linda's creativity with PaperArtsy products. Use some/all of the following: PaperArtsy Stamps, Fresco Paints, Wood or Paper Mache Substrates, and you will be in with a chance to win stamps of your choice {either 1 x A5 set or 2 x A6 sets or 3 minis}