Clownmom Creations: April 2015

Thursday, April 30, 2015

MFP Stamp Shop Blog Hop Day 3 - Big Trees

Welcome to the MFP Stamp Shop

April Blog Hop

Let's get started!!!!

This month's new Stamp Set Releases are:

Featured April 28

Paper Doll Sophia

Featured April 29

Paper Doll Sophia Let's Go

Featured April 30

Big Trees

Featured May 1

Small Flowers

Please Hop along with us!! You have a chance to win one of these new stamp sets! Just comment on the blogs listed below ( don't forget this one ) each day for more chances to win! (You do NOT need to comment on on all the blogs each day! The names are drawn randomly.) The winners will be announced on May 2, 2015, on the MFP Stamp Shop Blog. You can go back and comment if you missed a day. ( HINT: The more you comment the more chances you have to win. And comments on the MFP blog count twice. ) The deadline for commenting is Friday, May 1, 2015, at 10:00 PM EST.

Today's stamp set, Big Trees, lends itself well to masculine cards. I've made two of them, both stair-step cards. The first one is a Side-Step Card.

I've used two different trees from today's set on my card today, along with images from several other MFP Stamp Shop sets -- Big Boy Toys, Scenic Selections, and Out of Time.

My second card today is a Center Step Card.

This is another set that has no sentiments, so I used the Happy Father's Day from MFP Stamp Shop -- Get Reel, The reindeer is from a Christmas/Winter set called Crisp Winter, and the birds are from Scenic Selections. The trees across the front are all the same stamp -- with lots of masking!

Now it's time to visit the blogs of the rest of the team. Hopefully, you'll get some inspiration from everyone this month. Be sure to comment so you increase your chances of winning a free MFP Stamp Shop stamp set.

Here's the Design Team

Bonnie

Jane

Janine
Karen
Lois (that's me)
Marilynn

Pam Mc

Pam T
Pat
Sandy
Shirley

Sue

Toni

Vickie

MFP Stamp Shop

We have one more day in this month's Blog Hop, so be sure to come back tomorrow for more inspiration.

CCEE1518 - National Astronomy Day

Frances told the CCEE Stampers that April 28 was National Astronomy Day and asked us to create a card/project which includes stars in some way. It just so happens that back in December I gave myself a Christmas gift of a stamp set from Our Daily Bread Designs called Shine On, which is filled with stars and has a matching die set.

I encourage you to go star gazing at the CCEE Stampers blog!

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

MFP Blog Hop Day 2 - Paper Doll Sophia Let's Go

Welcome to the MFP Stamp Shop

April Blog Hop

Let's get started!!!!

This month's new Stamp Set Releases are:

Featured April 28

Paper Doll Sophia

Featured April 29

Paper Doll Sophia Let's Go

Featured April 30

Big Trees

Featured May 1

Small Flowers

I'm continuing my Copic techniques today with the second set of paper doll stamps -- Paper Doll Sophia Let's Go.

Here's Sophia ready for cold weather in her overcoat and boots.

The technique I used on Sophia's coat gives some texture to an otherwise flat surface, using Colorless Blender fluid from the refill bottle.

Color the area you want texturized in your marker of choice. I used an olive green for her coat.

Choose a cloth with some texture. I used a terrycloth dish towel.

Squirt some of the colorless blender fluid onto the cloth and then pat onto the colored image. You'll probably be able to cover the entire area (unless it's a really large area) without having to re-wet your cloth. You can see the subtle texture in this photo.

I finally made a card using Sophia.

I chose a piece of My Mind's Eye patterned paper which looked a bit like a picture frame to highlight Sophia. Then I added the flowers and word bubble.

My technique for her dress is the same as the previous outfit except that the texture is a little bolder.

Color your area in your marker of choice, this time a lime green.

Choose a cloth with lots of texture. I used a knitted dish cloth. You can see the bumps and open spaces in my dish cloth.

Here you can see the bolder texture.

I hope you enjoyed this technique and will give it a try. Now it's time to visit the blogs of the rest of the team. Hopefully, you'll get some inspiration from everyone this month. Be sure to comment often. The more you comment, the better the chance you have to win a free stamp set.

Here's the Design Team

Bonnie

Jane

Janine
Karen
Lois (that's me)
Marilynn

Pam Mc

Pam T
Pat
Sandy
Shirley

Sue

Toni

Vickie

MFP Stamp Shop

Enjoy the Hop. Come on back tomorrow for more creative fun!!

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

MFP Blog Hop Day 1 - Paper Doll Sophia

Welcome to the MFP Stamp Shop

April Blog Hop

Let's get started!!!!

This month's new Stamp Set Releases are:

Featured April 28

Paper Doll Sophia

Featured April 29

Paper Doll Sophia Let's Go

Featured April 30

Big Trees

Featured May 1

Small Flowers

I took an on-line Copic marker class last year, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I decided that for the two days that we are highlighting Sophia and her wardrobe, I will share some techniques I learned during that class. I have no cards today, just two photos of Sophia in her outfits.

I colored this outfit with red Copic markers and then, using a blue marker, I made a plaid skirt and collar. Pretty easy, right?

Here she is, perhaps dressed for work.

I made the stripes using the Copic colorless blender. "Blender" is really a misnomer . . . it's more like a "color mover." Here is how I achieved the stripes.

First, color the entire area in your color of choice
. . . in my case, blue.

Then, using the blender, start drawing in your stripes. What actually happens is the blue color moves away from where you are striping.

Here is what your striping looks like when you're finished.

I hope you give that fun technique a try. Now it's time to visit the blogs of the rest of the team. Hopefully, you'll get some inspiration from everyone this month. Be sure to comment as often as you can. You might win a free stamp set.

Here's the Design Team

Bonnie

Jane

Janine
Karen
Lois (that's me)
Marilynn

Pam Mc

Pam T
Pat
Sandy
Shirley

Sue

Toni

Vickie

MFP Stamp Shop

Enjoy the Hop. Come on back tomorrow for more creative fun!!

Thursday, April 23, 2015

CCEE1517 - Hug an Australian Day

Frances is celebrating a holiday in her country this week -- Hug an Australian Day. Her challenge to the CCEE Stampers was to use a cute critter that would be huggable -- bonus points if we used an animal native to Australia. I was going to go with Hugh Jackman but decided against it at the last minute! I have no Australian animal stamps. I even tried to find a kangaroo or a koala at both Michaels and Hobby Lobby with no luck. So I resorted to the internet, where I found a line drawing of a koala that was downloadable at Deviant Art. I colored him with Copic markers. I printed the sentiments on the computer.

Check out the CCEE Stampers blog to see if the rest of the team had better luck with stamps than I did.

Thursday, April 16, 2015

CCEE1516 - National Librarian Day

Frances advised the CCEE Stampers that today is National Librarian Day and challenged us to use a book as our inspiration. In addition, today is my day to post a card to the CardMaker Blog, and as fate would have it, my theme was U Inspire Me. I was to create a card inspired by a piece of art, fashion, home decor, photograph, etc. So . . . I sort of combined my two tasks for today. My inspiration for the CardMaker blog was a vase that my mom (who was a talented ceramicist, among other things) had made many years ago and now sits in my dining room.

So, for Frances' challenge, I had to come up with a book about sailing. Aha!!! Moby Dick is definitely about sailing.

And here is my card:

If you'd like to see how I created this card, check out today's CardMaker Blog. And if you'd like to play along with the CCEE Stampers, pick out a book and make a card.

Thursday, April 9, 2015

CCEE1515 - Stencils

Frances asked the CCEE Stampers to use a stencil on our cards this week. I love creating backgrounds with stencils, so I really enjoyed this challenge. I made a sort of rainbow behind my tag.

There are a lot of stencils out there. Check out the CCEE Stampers blog to see what stencils the rest of the team used on their cards.

Friday, April 3, 2015

MFP Blog Hop Day 4 - Mushroom Selections

Welcome to the MFP Stamp Shop

March Blog Hop

We're a little late this month due to delivery of our new stamps.

This month's new Stamp Set Releases are:

Featured March 31

Gardenia

Featured April 01

Pirates

Featured April 02

Pirates 2

Featured April 03

Mushroom Selections

Please Hop along with us!! You have a chance to win one of these new stamp sets! Just comment on the design team members' blogs (don't forget this one) each day for more chances to win! ( You do NOT need to comment on on all the blogs each day! The names are drawn randomly.) The winner will be announced on April 04, 2015, on the MFP Stamp Shop Blog. You can go back and comment if you missed a day. (HINT: The more you comment the more chances you have to win. And comments on the MFP blog count twice.) The deadline for commenting is Friday, April 03, 2015, at 10:00 PM EST.

Here it is, Friday already, and our Blog Hop is coming to an end. My first card using today's set, Mushroom Selections, also has an interesting background techique, Partial Retiform, which is sort of a collage.

I used some other MFP Stamp Shop sets on this card also -- Fairies and Scenic Selections. As you can see from several of my cards this week, you can mix and match MFP Stamp images and sentiments on your creations.

My second card also uses images from Fairies and Scenic Selections. The "plaque" on my portrait has a sentiment from MFP Stamp Shop Birds and Trees. I cut strips from a piece of patterned paper that looked like wood to create the frame.

Please visit the rest of the team members' blogs and comment for a chance to win a free stamp set. Here's the Design Team:

Lois (that's me)

Pat

Sue

MFP Stamp Shop

I hope you have enjoyed my creatioins this week -- maybe you'll even want to try one or two of those background techniques yourself.

Thursday, April 2, 2015

MFP Blog Hop Day 3 - Pirates 2

Welcome to the MFP Stamp Shop

March Blog Hop

We're a little late this month due to delivery of our new stamps.

But we made it before the end of the month so let's get started!!!!

This month's new Stamp Set Releases are:

Featured March 31

Gardenia

Featured April 01

Pirates

Featured April 02

Pirates 2

Featured April 03

Mushroom Selections

The background for my first card today is polished stone. If you've never done this technique, click here for my tutorial on this fun background. When I was in Joann last week, I picked up a package of nautical embellishments -- specifically for this sailing ship, which I thought would be appropriate for a "pirate" card.

For my second card I actually paper-pieced the bandanna for the skull and cross bones, using a similar scrap of patterned paper as the background. The Happy Birthday sentiment is from another MFP Stamp Shop set, Island Life.

Please visit the rest of the team members' blogs and comment for a chance to win a free stamp set. Here's the Design Team:

Lois (that's me)

Pat

Sue

Enjoy the Hop. Come on back tomorrow for more creative fun!!

CCEE1514 - April Fools Day

Frances is the CCEE Stampers hostess for April, and she's starting off the month by celebrating National Humor Month. In honor of that and April Fools Day (which was yesterday) , she asked us to include some humor in our cards using either a funny sentiment, a humorous image or both. I don't have too many humorous images, so I pulled out Sassy Suzie, who has a slightly biting sense of humor.

Check out the rest of the team's sense of humor at the CCEE Stampers blog.

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

MFP Blog Hop Day 2 - Pirates

Welcome to the MFP Stamp Shop

March Blog Hop

We're a little late this month due to delivery of our new stamps.

But we made it before the end of the month so let's get started!!!!

This month's new Stamp Set Releases are:

Featured March 31

Gardenia

Featured April 01

Pirates

Featured April 02

Pirates 2

Featured April 03

Mushroom Selections

Today's set will help you with some of those masculine cards, with which we all sometimes struggle. For the background I used a piece of patterned paper showing the Caribbean Ocean, where there were many pirates in days gone by.