Wednesday, April 22, 2009

I hope you ENJOY the RIDE... and consider my DT offering!

I still feel like a novice blogger, and I wouldn't be anywhere, if it weren't for the benevolence of dear friends, and even strangers, who are quickly becoming dear friends! I'm so honored to be learning and playing among so many of you, some of whom I'm slowly getting to know better... I'm loving the fact that there will be many, many more friendships for ALL of us, as we travel deeper into this techy, creative, amazing world! Thanks to one of my dearest friends and major blog mentor, Dana, from PaperDaydream, I'm offering some work to be considered for a design team. Lovely, Lauren Meader, has a fantastic blog and a huge following and she is currently asking for submissions for DT members! Dana has already tossed some spectacular work in for the offering and has encouraged me to do the same, so here it goes!


Of the three sketches Lauren has for inspiration, the first one I chose to play with, she is calling "an oldie but a goody!" Tee Hee For a newbie like me, this technical description is...rather fun!


I hung pretty close to the sketch for this card, since I felt that I had the perfect material for the job! (If you're thinking about Tim Holtz's FRAGMENTS, you're getting to know me better!) Of course, I'm still trying to incorporate fragments into EVERYTHING because: just look! They create so much visual interest and just make the most scrumptious eye candy!


Eventually, we all have to find our own voice, creatively. Hopefully, we learn how to tap into our own distinctive styles. This is usually based on the things we are are most drawn to... Of course, being crafters, we are probably all united in the fact that we are drawn to MANY things, MANY colors and MANY different kinds of materials.... But of all of those delightful options, there is usually something that we play with that makes us feel most confident. Like the right pair of jeans, the right shade of lipstick... the right craft materials, subject, etc., can make all of the difference! For me... wait for it: ALL THINGS WESTERN! Oh, gosh! I'm confessing! Tee Hee Whenever I might be in doubt, I add a horse or a huge silver star and I know I'm going to be alright...

See! There's one of my silly horses, aptly named: WILDCARD! I wanted "horse" for background, but I was without an assistant (ha!) and didn't want Mr. Dough-Head to eat my work for dinner. I'm always looking for the "right situation" for a photograph, but try to maintain some sense of the health and welfare for my little creation....

Materials and specific techniques for this project are as follows:

Card stock - S/U!
Mirrored C/S - Unknown
Patterned Paper - Cosmo Cricket
Acrylic circles - Fragments by Tim Holtz
Ink - S/U!; Staz-On; Alcohol Ink - Tim Holtz/Ranger
Acrylic Paint -Liquitex
Black Dotlets - Doodlebug
Lace border punch - S/U; Star punch - McGill; Circle punch - EK success
Stamps - Tim Holtz (Barbed wire and "Enjoy the"); All Night Media - Woodgrain; Buckin' Bronco rider - WIZARD
Chipboard letter - 7gypsies

For the largest fragment piece I stamped the "bronc rider" with black Staz-On directly to the plastic and let dry. I painted in the details, let THEM dry and then flipped it over. I placed it on top of the silver star that had been distressed with a mixture of gold, slate and espresso colored alcohol ink: SHAZAM! Was that fun! I mounted the star on framed circles of "close to cocoa" C/S! and striped Cosmo Cricket, then sandwiched the fragment, with the painted side down, and secured it with Ranger's metal tape!

Working from sketches is still quite new for me: its a surprising amount of fun! Think good thoughts for me as I make a bid for my first ever "card-making" design team... As ALWAYS, I appreciate you taking the time to visit my blog. I can't thank you enough for that, and if you take an extra moment to post a comment I am even MORE humbled! Thank you: THANK YOU!


Wildcard thanks you, too!

14 comments:

Rosemary said...

Awesome card E!! I love your western cards! They are such a hoot! I'm so glad you are pursuing the DT!!! Your horse is gorgeous.

*kathleen* said...

love your western card and love your animals.

Tamara said...

This is a great card, and a fantastic way to photograph it. Thanks for playing along!

Karen said...

You keep on playing with those fragments....you make them shine!! Also always love it when I get to see you put some of your Western supplies into action! And......yay for you for getting in on Lauren's action! :>

tg said...

Very nice Elise! I love the woodgrain stamping on the letter. I have lusted after this technique and that stamp so I think I know where my next coupon is going. Love the picture of Wildcard. Thanks for sharing.

Dana Gustafson said...

Mama E! Yeeeehaw! You hat waving, silver wearing, cowgirl outlaw of the craft world! You know I am loving your latest offering of a lil something western :) Giddy-up, girl! Good luck with Lauren's DT call...I'm crossing my fingers and toes for the both of us. :)

Sarah Martina said...

You are the sweetest thing! I love how true you are to your interests!

Keep up the awesome work!

Anonymous said...

Eeeek... sorry I used the wrong profile!(assuming you even care... lol!)

Lynne in NI said...

Oooh fabulous card - love the Western theme and the sherrif's badge idea

sam said...

cool card!! and a beautiful photo.
hugs sam

Kristin Eberline said...

I love your card! I've been struggling for weeks trying to finish a card using a horse as the main image...thanks for the inspiration :O)

Monica said...

Great job on Lauren's sketch! I love the colors you used and the whole theme of your card. The picture that you took with your horse in the background rocks! What a beauty.

Also I wanted to say thank you so much for your very sweet comment on my blog!

Denise said...

Very cute take on the sketch!

Dois Cafés said...

Very nice one this "You ARE just my type". Good job! :)