Are you obsessed with Distress Oxides?

O. M. G.  Until now, I've had a love/hate relationship with Distress Oxides.  After using them on the Ranger Glossy Card Stock with water and Distress Glaze, I'm totally in love.  The photo below does not do this background justice at all.  And of course, the CDD Merman Lagoon was the perfect stamp set to use on this beautiful blue bubbly background!

I did not capture the process step by step, as I was just playing around to see how it worked and didn't have filming or photographing on my mind.  So...I'll just tell you what I did.  I smooshed some Tumbled Glass and Broken China Distress Oxide onto my craft mat and sprayed with water.  I took a piece of Ranger Glossy Card Stock and smooshed it into the ink puddle, dried it, smooshed it again, dried, and one more time.  Then I spritzed with clean clear water and let it sit to dry.  The page was rather "chalky" looking after drying.  I then used Distress Glaze on a mini ink blender and rubbed the glaze onto the card stock.  I then buffed it off with a micro fiber cloth and this background simply shines!  I cut down the background using the Crazy Stitched Frame Dies.  I stamped a few images from the Merman Lagoon stamp set, colored with Copics, fussy cut and adhered to the front using Nuvo adhesive and foam tape.  If you are going to stamp on the glossy background after applying the glaze, be sure to use an ink such as Staz-On.

Craftin Desert Divas August Release Day 2 Blog Hop

Here we are with Day 2 of the New Craftin Desert Divas August Release Blog Hop.

I created all of the following using the Fall Fairies and Leafy Background.

The above image from Fall Fairies was simply colored with my Copic Markers, then fussy cut.  I used the Inside Scalloped Rectangles to cut the inner panel and used the Sorted Shapes 1 Stencil and Scattered Straw Distress ink.  I stamped the card base with Versafine Onyx Black and the Leafy Background stamp.

The below card was made using watercolor paper, stamped and embossed using the Leafy Background stamp.  I used the Nuvo Shimmer Powders on the watercolor paper.  Cut out the panel using the Fancy Frames die and matted with a Turquoise paper from my stash.  The sentiment is from the Tiny Sentiments and the Awesome die cut is from the Greeting Words Die.

Be sure to hop along below for more inspiration!  I've listed below, all of the August Release Goodies!

Craftin Desert Divas

Jan

Angelica (Guest Designer)

Elaine

Maaike

Claire-Anne

Courtney

Mari

Candice

Ashlee

Michelle

Sherry - You are Here

Holly

Critter Punnies

Dam Shame

Favorite Nut

Gratefull Trolls

Fall Fairies

Leafy Background

Inside Scalloped Ovals

Mushroom Border Dies

Hill Scene 1

Hill Scene 2

Craftin Desert Divas August Release Day 1 Blog Hop

 I'm so excited, the Craftin Desert Divas August Release is now available!

And....we are having a two day Blog Hop!

Please hop along with us for a ton of inspiration, and be sure to stop by tomorrow for another list in which to hop along!

Craftin Desert Divas

Anaa (Guest Designer)

Jackie

Saundra

Mercedes

Angela

Claire    

Anna    

Joy

Caren

Janni

Ashley H.

Samantha

Natalie

I've listed all of the August Release Goodies below.

Critter Punnies

Dam Shame

Favorite Nut

Gratefull Trolls

Fall Fairies

Leafy Background

Inside Scalloped Ovals

Mushroom Border Dies

Hill Scene 1

Hill Scene 2

Fall Fairies

It is day 4 of the Craftin Desert Divas August Release and I'm showcasing a sneak peek of the "Fall Fairies" stamp set.  This set is super cute!  I decided to position my fairy sitting on the shaker window frame.

Hop on over the the CDD Gallery and FB Event page so not to miss a single peek of this new release!

Craftin Desert Divas Release Week

It's release week over at Craftin Desert Divas.  Join the Facebook event to view sneak peeks and to unlock discounts!  Be sure to click on "Going" to help unlock the discounts.

https://www.facebook.com/events/275027883092435/

Smiles Across the Miles

There doesn't need to be a specific reason or holiday to send someone a handmade card.  Perhaps you were just thinking about someone and decided to send a card just because that person crossed your mind.  Or perhaps you just wanted to send a simple hello.  These little gestures can really warm a heart and generate "Smiles Across the Miles"
Craftin Desert Divas design team will focus on Smiles Across the Miles this entire week.  I can't wait to see all of the beautiful creations.  Be sure to check their blog Wednesday and Friday.

Here is a short video sharing the making of the above card.

Let's Get Coloring

Hello everyone!  Today I wanted to focus a little on coloring and specifically enhancing your coloring with colored pencils.  Colored pencils can be used to add additional depth and dimension to most all color mediums.  In the example below, I used a two color blend with copic markers to lay down the initial color to the cute lamb image.  I then chose darker colored pencils to add more shading.  I could've used the same technique had I colored the image with watercolor, water based ink markers, etc....

For the background, I used Mustard Seed Distress ink over the Polygon Stencil, then sprinkled with water and dried it with a paper towel.  I used Lawn Fawn Jet Black ink to stamp the sentiment and butterfly from the Brighter Days stamp set.  I used the Fancy Frame dies to cut out the background then popped up the lamb on foam tape.  As a final embellishment, I add a few Nuvo Jewell Drops.  Below is a video and below that is a list of the other products used.

Blog Hop - Craftin Desert Divas - July 2018 Release

Today is Release Day over at Craftin Desert Divas and available for purchase!  We are having a Blog Hop.  This collection of stamps, dies  (and a stencil too!) is a great addition to your Summery cards or planner spreads. You’ll find lots of creative uses for the 6x6” swirl stencil - like a fun template for stitching! Once you’re done hopping, head over to the Craftin Desert Divas shop to snag your new release bundle - 10% off only through 7/15!

The Hop List is down below.  Be sure to follow along for more inspiration.

Here is another card I designed using the new Brighter Days stamp set and the Torn Paper dies.  I also used the Outdoor Landscape 2 dies to create the fence and grass.  I stamped the images and colored them with my Prismacolor colored pencils.

All of the new products are listed below, as well as all other products I used to create this card.

Here is a video sharing the entire release.

Swirl Stencil

Torn Paper Dies

Fruity Friends

Brighter Days

LLama Party

You

Good Times

Skatin By

Hop starts here: Craftin Desert Divas

Jan:

Saundra:

Ashley:  

Anna:

Claire-Anne:

Michelle:

Jackie:

Janni:

Natalie:

Samantha:

Sherry: You are Here

Ashlee:

Elaine:
Rachel:

Sneak Peek #2 - New July 2018 Release Craftin Desert Divas

My second peek below showcasing the large 5 x 7  "You" stamp set that lends itself to so-o-o-o many possibilities; ink blending, watercolor, alcohol markers, colored pencils, etc....  For this sample, I chose heat embossing then blended on some distress inks.  Pop on over to the CDD Blog to see more from the design team using this beautiful set.

For even more inspiration, be sure to visit/join the Craftin Desert Divas Facebook Gallery.  We would love to have you hang out with us and see all of the wonderful creations by both the design team and CDD lovers.

Giveaway: Craftin Desert Divas will be giving away one of each new release products!

At the bottom of the Craftin Desert Divas sneak peek blog posts, there will be an area where you can enter to win 1 of each product featured in the July Release! Enter once per day from 7/08 - 7/12. Winners announced on 7/13.

Here is the link for Day  4.

New Release will be available Friday, July 13 at 3:00 PM EST in which I will share a video of the new release!  Stay tuned!

Inside Scalloped Octagons

Sneak Peek - New July 2018 Release Craftin Desert Divas

I thought I would share a little sneak peek of the upcoming July release from Craftin Desert Divas.  There is a ton of cuteness in this release and the design team has been busy making some pretty awesome samples.  This is just one image I chose to showcase.  Pop on over to the CDD Blog for more peeks at this upcoming release! 

Giveaway: Craftin Desert Divas will be giving away one of each new release products!

At the bottom of the Craftin Desert Divas sneak peek blog posts, there will be an area where you can enter to win 1 of each product featured in the July Release! Enter once per day from 7/08 - 7/12. Winners announced on 7/13.

Here is the link for Day  1.

If you haven't already, be sure to visit/join the Craftin Desert Divas Facebook Gallery.  We would love to have you hang out with us and see all of the wonderful creations by both the design team and CDD lovers.

New Release will be available Friday, July 13 at 3:00 PM EST

This cute image is from the Brighter Days stamp set that will be available July 13.  I colored the image with copic markers and added highlights with a white gel pen.  For the background, I created a circle mask and used the negative to cover the entire background then sponged on a little Tumbled Glass distress ink inside the circle area.  I used the new Torn Paper die to cut out the background then sponged around the edges with Vintage Photo distress ink.  I sprayed with water then dried it up with a paper towel to create that distressed look.  Popped up the image with foam squares and used one of the sentiments from the Brighter Days stamp set.

I'll be back in a couple of days with another peek, so stay tuned!