Scrappy Strip goes mosaic

I saw recently that the Bertucci's had a new version of their scrappy strip technique I thought it might be fun to have a go using the colours I could see in the new colour board at AAA Colourful.

How to get started; in a nutshell you create a "scrappy strip panel". As the strips have to be uneven in width you actually create the strips by cutting.

I also need to say that I will never do this technique again it's so messy, you have to glue down the first strips really well as every bit has to be adhered for when you cut the second strip. EDITED 4/4/24: One of my crafty friends Sarah had a brilliant suggestion to use adhesive sheets on the card stock before making scrappy strips so then no glue needed.

You then attach them to a panel of black, leaving small gaps between, leave over night to dry and cut off the ends with your trimmer/guillotine/sharp scissors. Then using a trimmer or guillotine,  I used the latter, create a pile of 1/4" strips.

When attaching the 1/4" strips you still leave a wee gap but the gluing is much easier as you can glue straight down the middle and not edge to edge.

I've just used a sentiment  from Hero Art's Encouragement Sentiment Strips to finish off as I had a pile in my stash already white heat embossed.

This is the colour board at AAA Colourful that inspired my colour choices which were: Sweet Pea (C9), Fig (C9), Grape Soda (C9), Very Vanilla (SU!), Lemon Lolly (SU!), Orchid Oasis (SU!)

As always I'm pleased to have tried something new and if I had an Zig Glue stick of old I think I would have liked adding the glue to the back better but you definitely have to have the first strips adhered fully to make this work. Thanks for popping in.

✿Karen✿

AAA Card Challenge 262: Sketch Challenge

Welcome to the latest sketch challenge at AAA Cards.  I really find sketches challenging but I am finding it is best not to overthink them and actually just use them as inspiration. 

So for the latest sketch challenge I've made a stacked animals in an "L-formation" without masking.

The 2 die-cuts balancing on top are just die-cuts with the bottom of the die-cut snipped gently up to the line by me and then using my Memento black brush marker swiping that edge so the images look seamless and as if "masked".

When I first got this set I played with it colouring the racoons in grey toned markers but looking for fresh inspiration lots of the MFT design team have done them in shades of BV (blue violet) and I thought how stinking cute is that, so just had to have a go and I really love how it turned out. 

The middle raccoon is slightly lighter BV02 > BV00 > BV000 > BV0000 as Carly Tee did HERE. I decided I wanted to go darker and added BV04 into the mix for the top and bottom racoons.

Supply List:

Stamps: A Little Racoon (MFT), Adorable Elephants - sentiment (MFT)

Ink: Sprout (C9), Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Clair Nocturne

Other: Copics, white gel pen, black glaze pen (Sakura), Grassy stencil (LF), Memento Tuxedo Black dual marker, 1mm square foam (SP)

Challenge: AAA Cards #262

Well I hope you want to rise to the challenge of this sketch, do check out the AAA Card blog for lots of inspiration from the fab design team. I love seeing what everyone creates so I do hope you can join us, as always you have 2 weeks for the challenge and don't forget we're a CAS (Clean and Simple) challenge. It's also my birthday today and that would be a fab present if you do choose to join in with us and play along.

Thanks for popping in.

✿ Karen ✿

Let's Get "Striped" with Time Out Challenges

I am absolutely thrilled and delighted to be the Guest Designer for Time Out Challenges latest challenge. It's a real fun one too; to use stripes on your project. You have 2 weeks to have a go and you too could be a future Guest Designer for a challenge (if you want too) AND Lawn fawn are generously sponsoring this challenge so you could also win a $25 Gift Card to the Lawn Fawn store, how cool is that!

I'm using a card idea that Jenn Shurkus, taught me/us at a 2023 Virtual Art Retreat. I've modified her idea and am using a stencil and distress inks to make my stripes. Jenn loves making fab backgrounds. In her original class we made very loose streaks of colour using Distress Watercolor Pencils as our background then placed our dark grey Copic coloured image on top. 

I've used a stencil to re-create her look and working with my smaller blending brushes to blend in the stripes. As I am actually using a slimline stencil I die cut out a perfect stitched rectangle with Lawn Fawn's largest Inside Out Stitched rectangle die. But oops I'd been a bit messy and there was gold embossing powder on my plates and I had gold speckles on the RHS after running through my Big Shot. As this was my second go at doing the panel, I went into how to fix-it mode. So spritzed with shimmer spray and water and blotted but felt it needed some black splatters. I used my Licorice spray bottle to add a few drops by unscrewing and just tapping lightly the tubing for the nozzle to make controlled wee drops/splatters. When I sprayed it was much too dark on my practice run. 

My first panel I added a glitter paste through the stencil after ink blending and it looked fab but had a few funny reactions around some of the stripe edges which is why I tried again to make my striped panel.

Supply List:
Stamps and dies: Humbled and Grateful (PFS)

Distress Inks (RNG): Worn Lipstick, Kitsch Flamingo, Dried Marigold, Squeezed Lemonade, Twisted Citron, Salvaged Patina, Shaded Lilac, Wilted Violet

Paper: Hammermill white, Neenah #110, Black

Other: Versafine Clair Nocturne ink, clear embossing powder, Frost shimmer spray (imagine), Licorice Izink dye spray, distress mista bottle, small blending brushes (TE) and foam strips, Inside Out Stitched rectangle die (LF), Horizontal stripes slimline stencil (PFS), Warm Gray Copics (W2,4,6,8)

Well this is a fun, fun challenge and there's no doubting that adding stripes is really effective so hope you can join in as well but definitely check out the Time Out Challenge blog to see the the inspiration on show.

I'll also enter my card at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge which is an anything goes challenge. I also see Just Us Girls would like us to use  a stencil so I'll also enter their current challenge.

Thanks for popping in.
✿Karen✿