Life is Good

It is, don't ya think?  I saw a really great sketch at Freshly Made Sketches, and I knew just what I was going to do.

I give my team a challenge every month, and this month is a color challenge.  The CTMH Convention is in a few weeks, and these four colors (topiary, honey, lagoon, and black) are on the list of ink pads to bring.  I can't wait to find out what we are actually going to do with them, but I thought it might be fun to use them for a challenge.  Just thinking about these colors doesn't do them justice, but when you actually put them to paper together, they are really very nice together!  I used pigment inks to make everything just a little softer, but bolder.  I've told you before that this is one of my favorite retired stamps (It's Your Day) because it just really makes me happy!

Thanks for stopping today!

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Muslin Bag

I am teaching a class tonight and tomorrow night on misting with the Close To My Heart spray pens.  I wanted to show other examples of what can be done with this fabulous tool, and this is just one of my other ideas.

I misted one of our muslin bags using a mixture of alcohol, desert sand re-inker, and water.  I have found that the alcohol helps the mist "set" and dry just a little faster.  The base color is vintage-y because I wanted to use these great stamps from the Fabulous You stamp set.  If you look closely, you see I've stamped a harlequin pattern in the background using creme brulee pigment ink.  I used cocoa pigment ink to stamp the bird stamp and sentiment.  Pigment is pretty important, I think, when stamping on these bags.  You get just a little more definition and richer color.  Pigment is not an instant dry like dye ink, but by the time I got the harlequin stamp cleaned, I was ready to stamp the bird.

Now, to color the bird and flowers, I used alcohol markers.  Before coloring, I slide two pieces of white scrap paper inside the bag.  Alcohol markers will seep through, so you want to make sure that you are protecting your piece.  I used blush, sorbet, and indian corn blue markers.  That looks just like the little bluebird from my backyard.  

What a fun little gift bag to give to a friend!!

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