This Thursday It's All About "waving flags", and our sponsor, Dinky Dots Crafts, has given each of us a different one of their very cute stamps to play with! You've got to admit, this is a darling stamp! But "cute" is difficult for me. I appreciate cute, and I love "adorable", but it's just not representative of what I do. So this was challenging for me, but with very unexpected results: I LOVED playing with this stamp! I LOVED coloring-in the images, and finding the right embellishments and colors to go with! I've learned that I can "do" cute, and I enjoyed playing! But it's still not "me".....unless maybe there's a hidden side of myself that is trying to unveil itself.....? LOL! At any rate, this was fun, and a very pleasant interlude that almost seemed like a crafting vacation. Perhaps "cute" will become my new stress buster.
The pennant was made using patterned paper, rick rack, some flowers from Close to My Heart, and chip board pieces covered in a mix of yummy Art Institute glitters. The heart on the left and the stamped image were both adhered with dimensional tape. Everything else was applied flat. "The Kiss" image was stamped with VersaFine and colored with Prismacolors and Sansodor.
For the tag, the flag was printed onto matte photo paper, then cut to size and shape, and mounted onto stiff card, with some ribbons threaded through at top. Dinky Dot's "The Kiss" was once again stamped with VersaFine, and this time, colored with Tsukineko inks. I have been wanting to try the Ecoline inks that I have heard so much about (see Godelieve's blog for more about them), but they are either not available in the U.S., or are very difficult to find. It finally occurred to me that my Tsukineko inks, which I purchased long ago for fabric painting, would probably be much the same. This is my first time using them to color a stamped image, and I love the results! Very fun and relaxing, and the colors are vibrant! They can be mixed and thinned with water, so the range is limitless. And when dry, they are permanent! By mistake, I mixed the light blue in a watercolor pan that had residual peralescent watercolor (Ganzai) paint in it, and it mixed in with the powder blue and gave it a shimmer! Good to know that this works, since a powder like Pearl-Ex would probably just have sunk to the bottom and not shimmered up through the paint.
Now that I have my first "cute" stamp, I'm really thinking of adding more! It may be a departure from my personal style, but it was so much fun!
Have a great day, Everyone, and Happy October!!
Brilliant work WTG xxxx
Posted by: carolann | October 02, 2008 at 11:49 AM
I did wonder how you'd cope with those little images!! You have triumphed - these are adorable! I love the pennant in particular. Isn't it funny you had that challenge the same time as I carved DD's cute little Dinos? Our ephemeral (or should it be esoteric?) umbilical chord is very strong...
Posted by: Rosie | October 02, 2008 at 04:23 PM
I love what you have done with AJ & Lulu. For someone who doesn't do cute you do it very well. I love your creations.
Posted by: Alison | October 06, 2008 at 08:40 AM