My Next Class at China Phoenix 2!

Hey, all!  Welcome back!  Today I want to share one of two cards I will be teaching at China Phoenix 2 on December 15th at 1:00pm.  Both cards will feature lots of Tim Holtz dies, tools, and techniques, which I just LOVE!

Do you ever start to pile stuff onto a card and find you can't help but keep adding more.  Yes, I've heard the adage "Less is more", but apparently I have no concept of what that means.  Especially where this card is concerned, LOL!  

I started by creating a fun splashy background using Distress Inks in last seasons winter colors...Iced Spruce, Evergreen Bough, and Fired Brick.  Oops, I should have used Festive Berries to make the trio complete, but Fired Brick is my absolute favorite red in the Distress line.  I swiped these colors onto a craft sheet and misted generously with water to form little droplets of diluted ink, then I laid my white paper panel down and gave it a gentle twist or two before I pulled it off the sheet.  Not too much though, as I didn't want to muddy the colors.  I went back in and dabbed up the remaining droplets so that I had lots of inky splatters on my panel.  A blast with a heat gun to set it and then I was ready to add more color.  I used the Evergreen Bough reinker and just swiped the dropper across the sheet in a swirly pattern.  I didn't even squeeze any additional color out of the dropper, more or less I just used what was on the tip.  I misted this lightly with water and laid my paper down again.  This time I didn't twist the paper, but pulled it straight up.  That's where those brighter splashes of color came from.  I LOVE creating backgrounds with the Distress Line!  The possibilities are endless!

Next, I just PILED on the die cuts and the embellishments.  There is NO WAY this card is going in an envelope...LOL!  My thought process went something like this...if one rose is good, two are better!  If two roses  are good, a clump of pinecones is better!  And so on, and so on.  Crazy, I know ;D

Anyway, this is the first of two cards I will be teaching.  If you're in or around the Albuquerque area on December 15th and feel like getting crafty, come join me!  Call Nancy at China Phoenix 2 at (505)884-8217 and she'll add your name to the roster.  I'll be back in a day or two to share the other card.  I have to make it first...LOL!  ;D

Until next time, stay crafty!       

My October 6th class at CP2

Hey, all!  I'm back today with the second card I'll be teaching on October 6th at China Phoenix 2.  This card also features a fabulous new image from Stampendous, but this time I opted to forgo the Copic coloring.  Instead, I added vibrant color using some of the fabulous distress inks from Tim Holtz.  Maybe you've heard of him.  This guy is pretty good and I think he might have a future in this business...LOL!

Anyway, I just generously swiped Peeled Paint, Seedless Preserves, and that Marigold color (too lazy to get off my tookus and look up the actual name) across a white panel and then misted it heavily with water.  Then I just sat it aside and let the colors slide around doing their own thing.  After it dried, I was left with this very cool, very bright background, which was a perfect landing spot for this wonderful raven image.  Very simple, but it makes an impact.  I think I might do all my Halloween cards this way this year.  The rest of the card is all about the embellishments.  Remember those cheap glittery spiders that I completely raided my Westside Pier 1 for?  Yep, that's one of them in the corner.  I decided to break them out for this class seeing as I have about 50 of them...lol!  I reckon I can share ;D  The burlap is from Hobby Lobby and I picked up the black cheesecloth in the Halloween section of Target.  Dang, they have some cool stuff this year!

If you're going to be in the Albuquerque area on October 6th and want to join me to create these cards, contact Nancy at China Phoenix 2 or drop me a note at cvaladez@comcast.net and we'll add you to the roster.  Have a great Sunday!  Until next time, stay crafty!

My next class at CP2!

Copic colors used:  skin- E00, E000, R20, E11 hair- E18, E09, E07, E01 dress- YG67, YG17, YG13, YG01 hat- V17, V15, V12  shoes and mask- C7, C5, C3, C1 clock- Y28, Y26, Y21, Y00, E31, E50  ***Colors listed in the order they were used*** 

Hey, all!  I'm back with one of two cards I will be teaching at China Phoenix 2 on October 6th.  Both cards will be Halloween themed and feature new stamps from Stampendous.  This pretty little image has a bit of a steampunk flair and is called Halloween Magic.  I also played with some Sticky Back Canvas for the first time and I must say...this might become my new addiction!  I see so many possibilities!

If you'll be in the Albuquerque area and want to hang out with me for a few hours on October 6th, contact Nancy at China Phoenix 2 or drop me an email at cvaladez@comcast.net and I'll add your name to the roster.  Pop back in later in the week and I'll have the second card up.

By the way, I don't say "thank you" enough, so I'd like to extend my deepest gratitude to all the folks that visit my blog or send me emails.  You guys are the greatest and I appreciate you so much!  

Catch you later!  Until next time, stay crafty!   

My next class at China Phoenix 2... part II

Hey, all!  I'm back today with a quick post to share the second card I will be teaching at China Phoenix 2 this Saturday.

This card features the same set of images I used on yesterday's card, Americana Silhouettes by Tim Holtz.  I cannot stress enough, how great this set is!  At first I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it, but once I started playing, I just couldn't stop!  Also, I have a bit of recycled ribbon on the left-hand corner.  I treated myself to some retail therapy at Pottery Barn while we were waiting to close on our house and I picked up all new bedding.  Each sham was tied with careful detail using a bit of natural colored ribbon.  Of course, I had to tuck it away for later use.  I stamped it and distressed it to make it just grungy enough for my card.

Again, I had a lot of fun making these cards.  If you will be in the area this Saturday and feel like taking a little break to get inky, call Nancy at the shop (505-884-8217) and have her add your name to the class list.

Catch ya later in the week with a new Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps DT card!  Until then, stay crafty ;D  

My next class at China Phoenix 2...

Hey, everybody!  Hope you're all doing well out and about in Blogland.  We finally moved into our new house almost 2-weeks ago and are still settling in as I type this.  We spent almost 3-weeks at my sister's house while we were in transition between moving out of our townhouse and closing on the new house.  Originally we were only going to be homeless for about 4 days, but that stretched into a week, and that stretched into 2-weeks, and that stretched into....well, you get the idea.  At one point, we seriously thought we were going to have to move everything back into the old house and that the whole deal was going to fall through.  Phew!  Thank goodness, that didn't happen.  The last cog finally fell into place for our buyers and that set the ball rolling in the right direction.

I have a lot of folks to thank whose assistance was instrumental during this process...first of all, we have a group of friends who graciously helped us move all of our worldly possessions into the garages of our new place, my sister and her boyfriend who not only helped us move, but hosted us (and our 2 cats) for what must have seemed like an eternity to them, my mom and dad whose support and encouragement were tremendous, my father-in-law who also cheered us on, my friend Shay who helped me unpack and organize my entire kitchen (no small feat...LOL!), and let's not forget all of the strong shoulders I leaned on when I needed a friendly ear to listen to my tale of woe... my how you must have gotten sick and tired of hearing me whine, LOL!  

What started out as a super smooth and lightening fast sale in the beginning, proved to have a rocky ending when all was said and done.  My word of advice to anyone selling a home...a pre-approval letter is no guarantee, especially if your buyers are first timers.  In today's market, that pre-approval status can change faster than a nanosecond if an "i" is not properly dotted or a "t" is not properly crossed.  Seriously, the process is wrapped up so tight in red tape, even Indiana Jones would have trouble breaking through that maze of detail.  If you are, or will be, deep in the process of selling or buying a home, I wish you smooth sailing, my friend :)

Enough home stuff, after all, this is not a real estate blog, it's a card blog, so let's talk about a card!  The one I'm featuring today is part one of two that I will be teaching in a class this Saturday at China Phoenix 2.   Independence Day is right around the corner and these cards celebrate everything great about this holiday.  I used a set of stamps (Americana Silhouettes) by the ever clever Master of Grunge himself, Tim Holtz, and let me emphasize, I LOVE this set and ended up using all of the images at least once (sometimes twice) for the 2 cards I created for class.  The cards have a bit of a retro feel and combined with the trademark TH distressing techniques, were an absolute blast to make.  They were a bit messy, but you know it's been a good crafting day when your hands are covered in ink.  Pop back in tomorrow and I'll share the other card with you.

If you're in the Albuqueruque/Santa Fe area and you want to hang out with me this Saturday to make these cards, give Nancy a call at CP2 (505-884-8217) and she'll add your name to the class list.

Until next time, stay crafty!  

My Next Class at CP2: Halloween ala Tim Holtz

Hey, everyone!  Big plans for the weekend?  It's a long one for some of us.  We've got some grilling and cooking planned for Sunday (big surprise!) and maybe some light entertaining with family and friends.  Perhaps try to squeeze in a little R & R, too ;D  We'll see ;D  Whatever's on your agenda, I hope it rawks! 

Even though the details of this weekend are still up in the air, next weekend I know exactly what I'll be doing.  I'm teaching a class at China Phoenix 2.  Fresh off my Tim Holtz high, I walked away from his workshops truly inspired.  These two Halloween themed cards are out the norm for me and if you look closely, you'll see why.  Did you catch it?   That's right.  These cards are devoid of all stamping AND no Copics were harmed in their creation.  Crazy, right?

I sat down to make these samples yesterday afternoon and my head was swimming with all of the techniques I had learned just a few days before.  So much so, I was overwhelmed and didn't know where to begin.  Usually, if I'm stuck, I'll just start with a stamped or digi image, grab a few Copics and start coloring.  I know that the rest of the card will fill itself in once I get moving.  These were different, because as we've already determined, there is no stamping or Copic coloring on them...DOH!  What to do, what to do!  I literally had to go back to some things that Tim said in class...the first one was "get over yourself" and the second one was "it just doesn't matter".  In other words, don't over-think it and don't get so lost in the details that you become paralyzed.  BINGO!  After that, things clicked...I was able to let go and just let it happen.  If they turned out awful, I would just tuck them away and revisit them some rainy day for a re-do.  No big deal.

You have no idea how freeing that realization was.  No wonder this guy is a crafting god!  Anyway, once that whole epiphany occurred, I was able to move forward and bang out these two cards that I'm pretty pleased with.  I had fun putting them together and I'm hoping that the folks who take the class with me will feel the same way.  

A couple of words about the embellishments.  I literally ripped the rosettes and the red flower off of a canvas I had made earlier in the year and was not happy with.  You ever do that?  Cannibalize one project for another?  The plastic skull came from a craft show.  I bought a whole slew of these, but now I'm running a bit short.  A friend told me that one of the local craft stores is carrying them now, so I better get my tookus over there and stock up, if I'm not already too late.  Stuff like that never gathers any dust in this town.  It just flies off the shelves.  That crazy cool twill Halloween trim is courtesy of my friend Kathy who spied it on one of her shopping excursions last year.  I just love it!

Speaking of my talented crafting buddies, I've added a few blogs to my sidebar.  These are local blogs by some of the most inspiring folks I know and I would love it if you paid them a visit and took a look at their wonderful art.  It's amazing stuff and you'll want to visit them again and again, so you might as well sign up to follow them while you're there.  Just sayin' ;D 

I don't say it enough, but please know that I always appreciate everyone who pops in to visit me here.  I love you guys!  

Stay crafty and have a wonderful holiday weekend ;D                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Sample 2 of 2 for my March 19th card class at CP2

Hello, all!  Today I have card #2 of the Spring cards I will be teaching at CP2 on March 19th.  Again, I used the Spring Sprung set by Tim Holtz for Stamper's Anonymous.  You may recall it was released last year, but not quite in time for Easter.  I think I was craving a Tim Holtz fix, since his new stuff is being released piece-mill.  Doesn't he know that us crafters are the sweetest people on Earth, but not the most patient.  In fact, patience is not even in my vocab when it comes to new tools and stamps.  I see it, I want it...NOW!  Like that nasty little girl in Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, I think her name was Veruca Salt.  Well, that's me when I'm around anything paper crafty.  When my mom and I go shopping together for stamping treasures and there is only one of something left, I will snatch it up and buy it, because there is some sense of victory in the process.  Now don't go feeling sorry for her, she does the same thing to me.  I tell you, it's eat or be eaten in this crazy, wild world of rubber stamping.  Sure, we're all sweet and sugary on the outside, smiling and laughing, but make no mistake, if you dare come between me and the new TH Distress Stains or a pad of that crazy fabulous Kraft Resist Stash...I will cut you.  No, I won't, but I will be pretty peeved...lol!

Well, that's enough silliness for one day.  Tomorrow I have another card ready to go and I'll be using a few images from my Stampotique bag of tricks.  Come back tomorrow and check it out.  Until then, stay crafty!  

A Special Collaborative Class at CP2

Hello!  Today I am excited to share something I have been working on for a little while.  This is the finished project for a collaborative class I will be teaching at China Phoenix 2 on March 5th with my friend, Anne Engelhardt.  Anne is an amazing artist.  She is a master bookmaker and combines this skill with her passion for gorgeous Japanese washi papers to create absolutely exquisite 3-dimensional art pieces that include handmade journals, boxes, and jewelry.  She owns a fabulous online store, by the name of Craft Fantastic, that carries an exciting array of papers, glass embellishments, clip art, and jewelry making supplies.  It is truly worth a visit, so get over there and take a look around!  You'll be glad you did!

When Anne asked me to work with her on a collaborative class, I was honored and intimidated at the same time.  The idea was that she would give me the first part of the project, a book, a box, or some sort of foundational piece that I could decorate for my part of the class.  The attendees would spend the first couple of hours creating this beginning structure with Anne and then they would spend the next couple of hours adding stamped images and embellishments with me.  It sounded great to me.  When I received Anne's "foundational piece", I was blown away!  She had created a 6-panel screen out of bookboard, carefully covered all of the pieces in a beautiful washi paper, then made delicate text paper blossoms and attached them to tiny branches, added clip art to glass embellishments, AND...as if that weren't enough, cut decorative text paper strips from dictionary pages.  All of this was handed to me in a box that also included rolls of fabulous ribbons, additional clip art, papers, text pages, etc.  She left out not a single detail.

I didn't even know where to start.  The project was wonderful as it was and I couldn't bear the thought of gluing anything to it.  It would be like spray painting graffiti on a museum wall.  Well, I had to get over that, so I buckled down to come up with something that might be semi-worthy of sitting atop that perfect base.  It was this project that caused me to revisit that ancient technique of embossing a background on cardstock, adding color and then ironing off the embossed areas using blank newsprint.  As you can guess, I had fun playing with this technique and have been using it on a lot of cards lately.  The background images I chose to work with for this project are all by Judikins.  On top of the backgrounds, I stamped brush stroke flower images by Penny Black and then double embossed them to achieve a thick, shiny, raised image.  The results, to me, have a somewhat Asian feel and I thought that worked well with the papers that Anne chose for her panels.  I added lots of embellishments and Nancy (CP2) let me borrow 2 haiku cube stamps that are so fabulous, she may never get them back...lol!

Well, it is finally complete and I am hoping that I have done Anne's lovely work justice.  Sometimes when you are elbow deep in a project, it is difficult to get a good feel for the outcome.  I am crossing my fingers that Anne, Nancy and the CP2 patrons like it.  Wish me luck ;D          

I'm teaching a class this Saturday! Join me!

Just a quick note to let everyone know that I am teaching my Goth Christmas card class this Saturday at China Phoenix 2 at 1:00pm. The cards feature fabulously edgy images by artist Daniel Torrente for Stampotique.

Sick of the long lines at the mall? Tired of the incessant non-stop assault of Christmas music blaring over store speakers? Angry at the sight of all the broken Christmas ornaments at Hobby Lobby, because they've been hanging around being randomly molested by looky-loos since Halloween when you weren't ready for them, but now you actually need them? If the holidays are already starting to get under your skin, cut the sugary sweetness by adding something a little bit twisted to your Yuletide festivities. Join me Saturday and I guarantee just that!

Afterwards, we'll all get back to the holiday hustle and bustle we have grown to love, but for a few hours, let's take a little break and create something edgy and elegant ;D

Black Friday Challenge at Bombshell Stamps!!

Hola, fellow bloggers! Welcome back! It's great to see you again. Do come in and sit a spell ;)

I have a little bit of Bombshell bliss to share with you today. First of all, do you like free stamps? Of course you do! We all do! Right now we have a Follow That Blog contest going on a the Bombshell Stamps Blog and it's really quite easy to enter. Here's the deets:

• Sign up to follow the Bombshell Stamps Blog
• Post about the contest on your personal blog
• If you're already a follower, not to worry, just add the post regarding the contest to your personal blog and you're good to go!

You have until December 20th to sign up to follow the blog. After that, we will randomly select a winner and that person will be able to choose 2 Bombshell Stamp Sets...one rubber set and one digi set! New sets have recently been released, so now is the time to beef up your Bombshell arsenal of images!

Be sure to check the blog frequently for new challenges and chances to win prizes, the latest and greatest Bombshell news, and lots of inspiring creations from the Bombshell DT (also known as the Bombshells)! Tell your friends about the blog...we want to share the love with everyone!

Now, onto the Black Friday Challenge hosted by Ms. November, Mary Harmon. Mary has come up with an awesome challenge perfect for this holiday season. What does Black Friday mean to you? Make it a color challenge if you like, or create a shopping themed project, or as Mary pointed out, perhaps you'll create something regarding a downward swing in the stock market...LOL! Not that a downward swing in the stock market is humorous, but I love that Mary has covered all aspects ;D

I was inspired by the color black and decided to use one of the new heart images that was released just a few months ago. I picked up both sets, because I love the images so much, but the heart I chose is from the Sacred Heart Art set. I paired my heart with wings from the Sacred Heart set, which is a set that has been around a while, but it is timeless. All of these images are available in the shop. Get some now! OR if you live in or around the Albuquerque, NM area, stop by China Phoenix 2. If Nancy doesn't have them in stock, she is always happy to order them.

Nothing complicated about my card. I colored the images with Copics and used a fair amount of glitter glue to give the wings some pizzaz. I found some interesting hardware in a drawer filled with card making odds and ends, and decided to use them. I don't even know what they're called, but they're cool. I wrapped some twine around them once I had them on the card. Sorry, I wish I had a name for them :( I know! How about Metal Thingies ;D Anyway, I wrapped twine around the Metal Thingies and tied a crude bow. That was pretty much it.

Please swing by the blog to see all of the cool stuff the Bombshells came up with. There are some amazing creations! Also, you've got roughly two weeks to submit your own Black Friday Challenge card. You'll find a linky tool at the bottom of the Black Friday Challenge post, so be sure to enter. There are prizes to be had! AND don't forget to sign up to follow! That's it for now, come back tomorrow and I'll have a Christmas card for you. Stay crafty!

Sample #2 for my December 4th card class at CP2...

Hello, everybody! I know I said I would be back yesterday, but guess what! I tried looking for my "angel" stamp only to discover that I DO NOT own it! Ackkk!!! Yes, I absolutely did launch into a full-fledge temper tantrum and it was not pretty and it took a good chunk out of my day :( Instead I had to improvise. I own so many Stampotique images, I have a rather good-sized box dedicated to just housing them. In fact, that box is overflowing and they probably need a new home to accommodate their growing family, but that will have to wait.

I ended up using an image called Winter and adding some Bombshell Stamp wings to her to give her a goth angel look. I used lots of the same techniques on this card that I used on the other card, so I won't bore you to death with the details. I did, however, make the gray felt flower, which I just love.

I'm going to keep this post short, 'cuz, DANG it's late! ***yawn*** Nighty-night!

New Christmas Card Class at CP2 on Nov 20th

I'm back with card number 2 as promised! This is the second card I will be teaching at CP2 as part of my Christmas Card Class for November 20th.

Again, not much stamping on this card. The focus is the Tim Holtz Caged Bird Alteration die, which was part of an earlier release, but I absolutely love it! It is so versatile. You may recall that I had used it and put some fab Bombshell Skullies in it previously. No skullies this time, but you know, that might not be a half bad idea. Skullies need Christmas, too ;D I embossed the bird cage with the music paper texture fade and I embossed the bird with that awesome snowflake fade that I "acquired" from Kit...hehe! I painted the bird cage with Gold Adirondack acrylic paint and then sponged on Distress Ink in Walnut Stain to bring out some of that fab texture. I'm really happy with the shabby chic look of the bird. I painted him with 2 coats of Snow Cap Adirondack acrylic paint and then sponged on lots of Distress Ink in Vintage Photo to really highlight those snowflakes. I also gave him a pretty heavy coat around the edges because it was such a lovely contrast to the Snow Cap and the finished result had a nice vintage look to it. I'll need to remember that combo.

No Christmas card is complete without glitter, so I cut out some die cut snowflakes in cream cardstock, added some Vintage Photo, and then glittered them up with Diamond glitter glue to make them shine. I randomly added these to the cage and behind Mr. Bird. I wish I could say that I made that beautiful flower, but alas, I did not. It's by Bo Bunny and the package came with 8 of them on a strip so I had to buy all they had, which was only 2 packages, but oh how I wish they had had more...! Lots of ribbon and leaves finish this card off. I really love how it turned out. I didn't even miss the fact that it had minimal stamping and there was no Copic coloring. What a switch for me ;D It was a nice break, but next card class...watch out! You better have those ink pads primed and ready to work...LOL!

Have yourself a swell weekend ;D

Best Witches

Hello! Today I am sharing the second Halloween card I am teaching at CP2 in the afternoon of September 25th. This one features another very cool Halloween image by Impression Obsession. The background is by Hero Arts. For some reason, Hero Arts is my "go-to" background company. I've got a stack of wood blocks a mile high of just HA backgrounds and now I am adding the cling, as well. I can't help it! They're so cool!

My favorite part of this card is the tiny sentiment that fits perfectly on the tag in the upper left-hand corner. Would you believe that stamp came in a super tiny set that was only a dollar? Whoa! I know...it's making my head spin, too! By the way, that black blob in the lower left corner is actually a handmade black felt flower, however, my Ansel Adams photography skillz are eluding me this evening, so it just looks like a random lump of coal, or something equally unappealing. Trust me, though, it's pretty cool in person.

I'm starting to nod off, so I better scoot. Dontcha hate it when you're blogging late at night, and your eyes close for what seems like a nano second, but you wake to find that during your mini doze fest one of your fingers relaxed and hit the keyboard, and you end up with something that looks like this on the screen...jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj...LOL! Don't act sassy, you know you've done it, too ;D

Something Wicked...

Hi All! I apologize for the delay in getting this post up. Thanks for your patience ;D

Today's card is the first of two Elegant Halloween themed cards I will be teaching at China Phoenix 2 the afternoon of September 25th. The main image is by Impression Obsession, who has a ton of awesome new Halloween images out this season. That fabulous flourish in the background is by Hero Arts. It is stunning and I will be keeping it close to my work desk for those inevitable crafting emergencies that can only be quelled by a fabulous flourish. The main image has been colored with Copic markers. Which reminds me...did you see it?! See what?...you might ask. My snazzy new Copic Certification Badge in the left-hand column!!! Yep, that's right! I am completely "certifiable"...lol! But, really, it is so dang cool, I wish I could have it tattooed on my forehead...hahaha! Then I really would be "certifiable" ;D

Anyway, enough about that. With any luck I'll be back tomorrow with the companion card to this one. Have a great day!