June Giveaway Starts Today & Father's Day Pine Branches!

Hello and welcome!

I'm home from my two weeks vacation down south in California and Nevada! I had a FABULOUS time with family and even got to bring my 7 year old grandson, Logan, home to Alaska for a one month visit! That has made his Grandpa and I very happy!

My cards today are a few of the Father's Day cards I'm getting ready to sell at the Palmer, Alaska Friday Fling and Colony Days celebration this weekend! I painted with acrylics the pine branches and pine cones using the One Stroke method of painting on Gina K Designs kraft card stock. Then I spattered two of the card fronts with some brown and black distress ink over the painting. I inked two of the cards sides with brown distress ink and stamped the sentiments with Technique Tuesdays "Swanky Sentiments" set. The third [top] card I didn't spatter or ink the sides... it's a one layer card. On the bottom card I used I used Ranger's Glossy Accents to make the sentiment look highlighted and look 3D.

I'm a little late in starting this month's giveaway but I'll make it run for two weeks so there's plenty of time to enter! Here's the giveaway picture and description:

JUNE GIVEAWAY: Studio Calico "Message in a Bottle" stamp set (one stamp missing), Sizzix/Stampin' Up Finial Press embossing folder, Stampin' Up Stamp a-ma-jig (used but still very functional), Creative Memories Scallop corner punch, QuicKutz Nesting Dies Inverted Ovals (8 dies).

Studio Calico "Message in a Bottle"

This giveaway will run through June 20th and I will pick a winner on June 21st!

To win all you have to do is:

1. Comment on this post below for one entry.

2. Comment and/or like giveaway photo on my Instagram account for one entry (Alaska.Kris)

3. Comment and/or like giveaway post on my Facebook page for one entry. (Alaska Forget Me Not Designs)

4. BONUS ENTRY: For a bonus (4th) entry, repost on your blog, Instagram account or Facebook page about my giveaway and leave the link in the comments on this post only.

That is four entries total per person. You have until midnight Alaska time June 20th to do one or all four ways of entering for this giveaway. I will pick a winner and contact them on June 21st. Sorry USA entries only due to shipping costs.

I would love it if you followed me on all my social media but it isn't required for the monthly giveaways. I make cards for the love of creating and love to follow, like and comment on the blogs and other social media accounts of those who love to do the same. That is all.

Thanks for stopping by and God bless.

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CHALLENGES:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Mask It! (Glossy Accents masked from spatters)

Addicted To Stamps and More: Anything Goes
The Paper Players PP298: Father's Day
The Male Room: Father's Day

 

GIVEAWAY Ending May 14th! Eagles and Father's Day

Hello and welcome!

Just a quick reminder about there's only five more days to enter my giveaway! Read all about the giveaway on the May 1st giveaway post here!  Here's a photo to remind you what's in the giveaway!

I'm in the process of making lots of Father's Day cards to sell at the Friday Fling arts and crafts fairs every Friday during the summer in downtown Palmer, Alaska! (Since the Fling hasn't started yet I couldn't get any Mother's Days cards created for it!) So I start out with the (Deep Red) eagle above and used my Zig Clean Color Real Brush pens to color only the beak and eye the brilliant yellow! To give some depth and "life" to them I covered the beak and eye in Glossy Accents... the white "gleam" in the eye is actually the reflection of the light from the window onto the Glossy Accents! Both the base weight white and kraft card stock are from Gina K Designs. I splattered some Ranger distress black paint and Vintage Photo distress ink over the cards to also add some interest. You probably can't see but I did a few dots of Glossy Accents over the cards as well. The sentiments are in Ranger black ink (stamp set info coming soon!).

Thanks for stopping by and God bless!
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CHALLENGES:
The Male Room: Shakespeare (“Yet looks he like a king; behold! His eye, As bright as is the eagle’s, lightens forth Controlling majesty.” [ Richard II – III, 3])

Father's Day Moose...

Moose Father's Day for my husband, Kevin.

Hello and welcome! I know it's been several days since I've blogged but I've started a new job and orientation and training has taken all my time... and I come home exhausted to boot! I have a few cards to show but wanted to do this one today.

I knew I had to get a Father's Day card done for my husband. Two nights ago we had a little incident with a moose in the neighbor's yard you can see in the video on my YouTube channel. (I figured out how to upload to YouTube!)

We have seen more moose in the six months we've lived in the Butte than in all 26 years in Haines! My husband was locking up his bike to a tree after a ride the other evening and heard rustling coming from next door about 20 feet away. He just figured it was the neighbor doing something in his own yard... so he glanced quickly over to just make sure... like you have to do in Alaska... and there was this moose munching on a tree. She wasn't even paying any attention to Kevin and he watched her for a minute before coming in the house to get me. I came out with my phone (camera) of course, and we watched her for a couple minutes while I filmed her. We had a four foot fence and a few bushes and small trees in front of us and if she moved our way we could back track quickly. We didn't even think she'd jump the fence. But lo, and behold, she wanted more delicious looking leaves on the other side of the neighbors fence and lightly, easily leaped over it to get to them. Then we laughed and realized our fence would be just as easy to step over. We let her go on her way eating unconcernedly! Life in Alaska... you gotta love it!

Close up of moose, trees and Butte

So I decided a moose card was in order for Kevin's father's day card. I've used this moose stamp in my first two blog posts and decided I just wanted his head to be peeking into the card. I love the look of watercoloring so much but am not very good at it but I do keep trying and practicing! On Strathmore cold press watercolor paper, I used Ranger distress inks in blues, greens, and browns for the sky, mountain (my quick version of the local Bodenburg Butte) and the ground. I stamped the Misty Mountain rubber stamps moose profile in Ranger Archival black ink. Then using the same ink I stamped the pine trees. ( I'll have to find out from what company! I thought it was Stampin' Up Lovely As A Tree but the tree in that set is larger!) I used distress markers to color in the moose, trees and ground under the trees and the trees on the Butte.

I then die cut the one of the WPlus9 Happy Trio words out of the sky and stacked 4-5 layers of white "happy"s before adding the die cut one to the top. In some photos it looks inset rather than popped up! I used the Winnie & Walter stamp set the Big & the Bold & the Happy to add the "father's day" to finish it. I mounted the panel on Neenah Solar White 110 lb cardstock for stability leaving about 1/4" white border on all sides.

Close up of popped up "happy"

Kevin was very pleased. And so was I! I do love watercoloring with distress inks because they reactivate and react with water so well... I tried with regular (albeit cheap!) watercolors and it doesn't react the same way. So onward with distress inks!

Thanks for stopping by and God bless! Happy Father's Day!

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Supplies:
Stamps: Misty Mountain (moose), WPlus9 (Happy die) Winnie & Walter (father's day)
Paper: Strathmore watercolor cold press, Neenah Solar White 110 lb
Ink: Ranger Archival black, Ranger distress inks & markers
Accessories/Tools: MISTI
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Challenges:
Kathy Racoosin's 30 day color challenge 2
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge: Favorite Technique (watercoloring with distress ink)
Inkspirational Challenges: Wild