Thursday, August 11, 2016

Happy Thursday with Prickley Pear!

Hello everyone! Today I have a couple of cards to share with you featuring some great Prickley Pear sets! Even though it is August and hot as can be here in the Midwest, I felt like getting a start on my holiday cards. Lookie:


My first holiday card of the season featuring Victorian Ornaments 2




For my second card I couldn't resist using the super cute Gnome Home set. It is quickly becoming a go to set for me!



I hope you are inspired to get inky and spend some time in your studio. Thanks for visiting and be sure to follow the Prickley Pear Facebook page for even more inspiration!

Until next time!
Angji

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Travel Challenge



Hiya! Today at the Ink Spot blog we have a new challenge. This time our theme was Travel! I immediately knew what I wanted to do, admittedly it was a scraplifted idea from the internet but I really wanted to recreate it!

I used Map Riley and You're Off to Great Places, grabbed my paints, inks, sacrificed a manila file folder, and then I was ready to get busy.  Lookie:





Don't forget to check out what the rest of the design team came up with and give them some love!





Thanks for stopping by! Go get inky!

Angji
Studio Red Art

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Share Your Pride Challenge



Hello! Today at the Ink Spot blog we have a new challenge, Share Your Pride. I could have gone in several different directions with this challenge but the idea that stuck with me the most was the fact that I have a couple of ideas that have been made into stamps for Riley & CO. I'm very proud and excited about that! My first stamp is Pro in Procrastinate. Naturally I had to use Smiling Burt and have a little fun.


Introducing the newest All-Star of the PPL (Professional Procrastination League)......





I drew the helmet and jersey by hand and cut them out to fit Burt. I think it came out super cute! Burt totally looks ready to put off his tasks. Just like someone who is writing this blog post with 40 mins to spare. Hehe. 

Be sure to stop by the Ink Spot blog and check out what the rest of the design team is proud of!




DESIGN TEAM CALL



We are looking for 8 creative card and scrapbook artists that would love to join the Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps Design Team or the Riley & CO Design Team!
 
How to apply:

Send us 3 samples in JPEG format of cards or scrapbook samples that showcase your best works, along with a link to your blog.
Please include your name, address and e-mail and a short paragraph about yourself telling us why you would be a great fit for Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps/Riley & CO. Please also include any other design teams you are a member of.

You have until June 15th, 2016 to apply for the design team. We will review all applicants and on June 22nd, we will contact you via e-mail to let you know if you have been accepted or not. Announcements of our new DT members will be made on our blog, Facebook Page, website and email on June 25th.
Requirements
  • Commitment of 12 months (1 year) required, from July 15th, 2016 to July 15th , 2017.
  • 3 monthly submissions to the PPRS offices required by the 15th of each month. All submissions become property of PPRS/R&C.
  • A minimum of 4 postings (one per week) featuring PPRS/R&C products on your blogs. Posting to Splitcoast is appreciated!
  • You will be required to submit your digital pics with instructions each Saturday to the PPRS Yahoo Group/R&C Facebook group.
  • As a design team member, you will also be working with products that have not been officially released to the public. You cannot post those projects to your blog until the products are officially released on the PPRS/R&C blog and website.
  • When submitting cards, layouts and altered projects, we do require that you use only the Prickley Pear/Riley & CO line of stamps and dies but you can use any tools, embellishments and accessories.
  • Each stamp you receive will need to be used at least one time. Using more than one stamp on a card is fine.
  • We also require that you participate in the fun stuff - like our new release blog parties and occasional sketch challenges.
  • Engaging on Facebook and sharing posts is also HIGHLY recommended.
 Prickley Pear and Riley & CO
You will have a bio and photo on our website with links to your blog and Facebook page from our website and blog.

All the stamps, dies and product we send you will be yours to keep!

You will also receive an exclusive 25% discount on all other merchandise you would like to purchase during your 12 month contract as a Prickley Pear Designer.

We are excited to hear from you!

Submissions for Prickley Pear email us at info@prickleypear.com

Submissions for Riley & CO email us at info@rileyandcompanyonline.com

We hope to hear from you!


Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Fancy and Fun Challenge



Hello everyone! Today at the Ink Spot blog it is my turn to host a challenge. I chose Fancy and Fun for the theme. I had seen a tutorial for a Double Diamond Fold card and knew that I wanted an excuse to make one. Two birds, one stone. That's how I roll. :P

Check it out:




For the Fancy: I allowed myself to use some of my all time favorite pattern paper for the card base and even went a bit crazy making 3d die cut flowers. A new trick for me was to use a magnet to hold the card closed. This made the card easily opened and makes it stand up nicely.




For the Fun: I really liked the idea of juxtaposing a beautiful card with snarky sentiments. Luckily for me, the Funny Bones line is chock full of them. Hehe 

I narrowed down my choices to Wondering Midge, Happy Birthday Old Friend, and Damn Girl. What do you think? Did I succeed in fancy and fun? Let me know in the comments. 

Have a great day!


Before I go, I want to share with you the Riley & CO and Prickley Pear DT Call! Details below.

DESIGN TEAM CALL



We are looking for 8 creative card and scrapbook artists that would love to join the Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps Design Team or the Riley & CO Design Team!
 
How to apply:

Send us 3 samples in JPEG format of cards or scrapbook samples that showcase your best works, along with a link to your blog.
Please include your name, address and e-mail and a short paragraph about yourself telling us why you would be a great fit for Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps/Riley & CO. Please also include any other design teams you are a member of.

You have until June 15th, 2016 to apply for the design team. We will review all applicants and on June 22nd, we will contact you via e-mail to let you know if you have been accepted or not. Announcements of our new DT members will be made on our blog, Facebook Page, website and email on June 25th.
Requirements
  • Commitment of 12 months (1 year) required, from July 15th, 2016 to July 15th , 2017.
  • 3 monthly submissions to the PPRS offices required by the 15th of each month. All submissions become property of PPRS/R&C.
  • A minimum of 4 postings (one per week) featuring PPRS/R&C products on your blogs. Posting to Splitcoast is appreciated!
  • You will be required to submit your digital pics with instructions each Saturday to the PPRS Yahoo Group/R&C Facebook group.
  • As a design team member, you will also be working with products that have not been officially released to the public. You cannot post those projects to your blog until the products are officially released on the PPRS/R&C blog and website.
  • When submitting cards, layouts and altered projects, we do require that you use only the Prickley Pear/Riley & CO line of stamps and dies but you can use any tools, embellishments and accessories.
  • Each stamp you receive will need to be used at least one time. Using more than one stamp on a card is fine.
  • We also require that you participate in the fun stuff - like our new release blog parties and occasional sketch challenges.
  • Engaging on Facebook and sharing posts is also HIGHLY recommended.
 Prickley Pear and Riley & CO
You will have a bio and photo on our website with links to your blog and Facebook page from our website and blog.

All the stamps, dies and product we send you will be yours to keep!

You will also receive an exclusive 25% discount on all other merchandise you would like to purchase during your 12 month contract as a Prickley Pear Designer.

We are excited to hear from you!

Submissions for Prickley Pear email us at info@prickleypear.com

Submissions for Riley & CO email us at info@rileyandcompanyonline.com

We hope to hear from you!






Tuesday, May 10, 2016

You're Off To Great Places


It's that time again! Time for a hot off the press Ink Spot Design Team challenge! Our host this week is Joy and she chose the theme...Masculine. I find masculine projects difficult usually but once I saw this digi from Cornish Heritage Farms, I knew I had found my muse. Lookie:



See what I mean? The Harbor Scene digital image and Funny Bone sentiment, You're off to great places lend themselves well to lots of types of projects. Not just masculine but travel, retirement, graduation, birthday etc.

I quickly colored this image with Distress Crayons by putting a bit of color directly to the image and then spraying the whole thing with water and smudging it all around. This gave it a vintagey watercolor effect that I really liked. I added some metal embellishments and called this puppy finished.

Be sure to check out what the rest of the Design Team came up with!



Have you seen our new Friday Faves? Every Friday Tanya picks out a few of her favorite Rileys and Funny Bones along with some samples and shows you how they can be used. A little inspiration for your weekend? Yes please! Sign up for our email HERE and see what you've been moosing!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!

Angji
Studio Red Art

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Hugs are the best!



Today over at the Ink Spot blog I'm hosting our newest challenge, HUGS! It was a lot of fun browsing the Riley catalog choosing which image to use for this challenge. There are so many that would work so well with this theme. I finally settled on Sock Monkey and Riley and Exercise Your Arms. I couldn't believe that I had sock monkey paper in my stash! Plus it was in the bright colors that I wanted to use for this card. Score! Check it out:



I'm so pleased with this card that I can't stand it! Not only was I able to use paper that I had been hoarding for years because I love it so much. I also conquered my ability to use yellow and orange. I love those colors but find they are hard to work with for me. 

While I was coloring this image I kept thinking that I need to do a Riley coloring video. Believe it or not, I used 6 different Copic colors on Riley alone! Be on the lookout for a coloring video in the near future!

The Ink Spot design team knocked it out of the park with this challenge. Check out what they came up with!



If you aren't on the email list then you are moosing out! Friday Faves, Tickle My Funny Bone Stamp club, flash sales and more! Subscribe HERE!

Thanks for visiting!

Angji
Studio Red Art


Tuesday, April 12, 2016

April Showers Challenge


Hello! Over at the Ink Spot blog we were challenged to make something with flowers. I decided to make a shaped card out of some pretty paper and Funnybones stamp, Always Believe. Check it out:



Cute, quick and springy. I like it! Be sure to check out what the rest of the design team came up with.



If you aren't on the Riley and Company email list, you are missing out! We recently started a Riley Friday Faves that only goes out to the email subscribers. Subscribe here!




Not enough Riley and Funny bones for you? Don't forget to check out the Tickle My Funny Bone stamp club!




Thanks for stopping by!

Angji
Studio Red Art



Tuesday, March 29, 2016

April Fool's Challenge!



Hello everyone! Today is another Ink Spot Design Team Challenge. Our host, Kendra, chose the theme-April Fool's-something funny. Funny is not hard to do when you've got Funnybones stamps!

Check out my card:



You should know by now that I love Burt the Cat. I really do have to restrain myself from using him on every card. 

I went with a more artistic background by using watercolor markers, acrylic paint, glitter medium and ink on watercolor cardstock. I wish you could see the shimmer and shine on this card! 



Be sure to check out what the rest of the Design Team came up with!






Don't forget to check out the new stamp club from Riley and Company! The Tickle My Funny Bone Stamp Club is an awesome way to collect Riley and Company stamps, get inspiration, receive and exclusive discount and last but not least, get your funny bone tickled!

Have a great day! Get inky!

Angji
Studio Red Art

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Green Challenge!

Hello everyone! It's time for a new Ink Spot Design Team challenge! Our host this time is Heather and she chose the theme...Green, green, green. I picked some pretty green paper with a pop of blue and I was off! You can never go wrong with Burt the Cat. In fact, I rarely put him away. He's almost always sitting on my craft table waiting to be inked up again. I then chose an appropriately snarky stamp, Sarcasm is..., and set to work. Lookie:




I love that cat. He makes me smile every time I see him. I like to color him differently every time I stamp him. This time I used my Inktense pencils and Copic markers. What do you think? Isn't he just the best?

Be sure to visit the Ink Spot blog, you know, that magical place where you can find 6 great stamps lines in one place to see what the rest of the design team came up with.









Thanks for stopping by today!

Angji
Studio Red Art


Monday, March 14, 2016

Mixed Media Morsels #8-Houses

Hello everyone! After battling seasonal allergies the last few weeks, I have finally gotten my latest video up. I apologize for my scratchy voice. Trust me, it's way better than it has been!

Anyway, I worked on the Mixed Media Morsel technique #8 which is houses. The goal is to make houses out of scrap paper rather than a stamp or stencil. Mixed Media Morsels is a Youtube series hosted by Cat Hand. There is also an active, friendly MMM Facebook group.

I had a lot of fun playing with the Distress Crayons again. The more I use these, the more I like them. Please check out my latest video and watch for my "oops!" at the end of the video






Thanks for stopping by today! If you liked the video please hit Subscribe and Like!

Have a great day!

Angji
Studio Red Art


Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Mad For Plaid Challenge!



Hello everyone! It's time for a new Ink Spot design team challenge. The theme this time is Mad For Plaid! Use any plaid paper with a Riley & CO or Cornish Heritage Farms stamp. I chose Tool Time Riley, Two Hands from Funny Bones, and some fun plaid paper and got to work. Lookie:


I enjoyed  making this card as it could very easily be made into a masculine card. Every time I get to color Riley, it makes me happy.

Be sure to check out the rest of The Ink Spot Design Teams projects. It's a plethora of plaid!










Thanks for stopping by!

Angji
Studio Red Art

Friday, February 19, 2016

Life is Art

Hello everyone! Today I have a new project featuring the hot new product, Distress Crayons! I got my hands on these bad boys yesterday and have been playing ever since. I even made a video. Let me repeat: I made a video! My first one! I'm super excited about it as I never thought that I was the kind of person who could figure out how to make a youtube video and have it look pretty good. Anyway, link after the photo:



I used one of my favorite Funny Bones stamps from Riley and Company called Life is Art, a TCW stencil, some really old bling and that's it. Easy peasy and super cute. Check out my video below for more details on the crayons. If you like my video please hit subscribe and/or like. You would really make my day!





I've got to get back to those crayons! Thanks for visiting!

Angji
Studio Red Art

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Winter Scene Challenge


Hello! Today at the Ink Spot blog, 6 great stamps lines in one fun place, Kendra challenged the team to make a winter scene. I knew I wanted to use Ice Skating Sophie but beyond that I didn't have an idea.




So I pull out some paper and finally decided on a pretty pink plaid. Which is weird because I'm supposed to be making a winter scene, but the plaid called to me. So, pink plaid and then what? I thought and thought and finally decided to make a pond for Sophie to skate on with some snowy hills in the background. Ah ha! Now that I had an idea and I just needed a fitting sentiment and I was all set. I love the Inspirations stamps as they can be used so many ways, which made If it were easy, the natural choice. Look at my cuuuute card!


Confession: I always wanted to be an ice skater. 
Why yes, I did cut out Sophie's dress from my pink plaid! Thank you for noticing! This card is just so stinkin' cute that I can't stand it!

Be sure to check out the rest of the cute projects from The Ink Spot Design Team!









Have a great day! 

Angji
Studio Red Art


Sunday, February 14, 2016

If you love something....



Hello my lovelies! I hope you are having a sweet Valentine's Day, how ever you celebrate it!  For today's card, I'm all about the love. He he. I've had this card in my head for weeks now and I finally got it on to a card.  Lookie:




I've always wanted to use the Fireman Riley image and when I saw that sentiment, If you love something, I knew what had to be done!

I took my time coloring Riley and even went outside of my comfort zone and used kraft cardstock. The final touches were those tiny hearts that are the remainders from a die cut I had stashed away. A little glitter and crystal lacquer and this baby was finished!

That's it for today. Short and sweet. Get back to snuggling with your loved ones. For me, I'm eagerly awaiting tonight's return of The Walking Dead.

Angji
Studio Red Art

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

You Rock! Valentine's Day card

Hello everyone! Today at the Riley and Company blog our challenge was to make non-traditional Valentine's cards. Masculine cards are always a challenge for me. So, that's what I decided to make! Lookie:






A box card gives you lots of "wow" factor and lots of room to add some personality. I couldn't decide on just one Riley image to use, so I used 4! Yes, I'm an over-achiever. I also really like coloring Riley so it wasn't too much of a hardship. :P


   


Look at that face! I just want to color him all day!
             

I chose the theme "You rock!" instead of a traditional "I love you" and added images that I thought would convey the sentiment. Whether your rock star is fixing a broken chair, rocking out on stage or in the living room to Guitar Hero, is your own personal super hero, or someone so awesome that the only way to describe them is "You rock!" this card has you covered.

I hope I've inspired you to think outside of the Valentine's box and make a card for your special someone. Until next time, keep on rocking!

Don't forget to check out the rest of the Riley and Company design team cards!

Angji
Studio Red Art


Images used:
Tool Time Riley
Super Moose!
Heart Riley
Rockstar Riley
You Rock!



Wednesday, January 27, 2016

CHF Mushroom Lane Library Art Journal Page

Hello! Welcome to my new blog, Studio Red Art! I had a blog many years ago and it laid fallow for a couple of years due to life and lack of inspiration, so long that almost all of the pictures had been lost on the hosting service and I replaced my computer during that time. So, it was time for a new blog with a new title. Here I am!

For my first offering, I tried something very new to me. Digital images! I've always been old school and stubbornly clung to my stamps and scrapbook albums. Well, no longer! The Mushroom Lane collection at Cornish Heritage Farms is so stinkin' cute that I couldn't resist. After much thinking, researching and trial and error, I figured out the best way to use digital images on a mixed media layout.



The good, bad and the ugly:

The Good-print out the image on mixed media cardstock on a laser printer. I used a page from my Dylusions journal that I cut down to 8 x 11. After some playing, re-sizing and adjusting the placement of the original image on the scanner bed, I finally had an image that was ready for use.

TIP-make sure that the feeder edge of the cardstock has straight corners, not rounded. It won't feed properly otherwise. AMHIK! (Ask me how I know)

The Bad-image transfer via gel medium on laser printed copy paper. This worked but was a long process that was way too fiddly to get right. I didn't like having to go over the image several times with water or other things to get the paper to come off. Also, I don't have a mirror function on my copier so the image was reversed. Not the end of the world, but annoying.

The Ugly-image transfer via gel medium on inkjet printed copy paper. I knew inkjet was not the way to go but I had a couple of test images printed and wanted to see what would happen. The inkjet bled because of the gel medium, I knew it would but tried it anyway. Then when I tried to remove the paper, the image bled even more. So, now I know that there is no way I can use image transfer via gel medium and inkjet images.

         (Ignore the cat. She jumped in my lap a split second before I took this photo)

I had an image printed and ready to go. How do I make an art journal page with it? Art journaling is messy. Ok, ok I'm messy! The question remained: How do I work with this image and not ruin it while making the background?

First, I fussy cut a mask. I know, I'm crazy. Just as I finished cutting the mask, it hit me. Masking fluid!!!

Masking fluid! Simple and effective. Once I had my image covered in masking fluid and dried thoroughly, I was ready to go.

TIP-use a crummy paint brush to apply the masking fluid or you will spend a ridiculous amount of time picking blobs of masking fluid out of your paintbrush. AMHIK! Or, you can buy one of those fancy masking fluid pens with small tips. If you want to do things the easy way. Whatever.

Once my image was protected I was free to go to town on the background. Gesso and acrylic paint were flying everywhere! I even got crazy and splattered rubbing alcohol on the background to make my sky more interesting. Just be sure that the paint is still nice and wet for the magic to happen.

Finally I was ready to tackle that super cute mushroom. I knew I wanted bright and happy colors. I also knew that I didn't want to lose any of the lines on the image. There was only one medium I reached for, Inktense Blocks. If you haven't tried Inktense, you seriously haven't lived. They are a dry ink medium that is activated with water and is permanent when dry. The colors are bright and mostly transparent. Also, a little goes a long, long, long way. I used a wet brush to pick up color and paint my image. Once the first layers were dry, I was free to add more colors as needed. I also used scraps of the same mixed media cardstock to cut out the grass and then use the same Inktense color I had used on the grass in the image to color the cardstock.



A quote, some butterflies, my date stamp, a layer of glaze over the whole page to deepen the colors and this page was ready to be glued to my journal. I trimmed down the page just a bit more to make a nice layering piece and adhered it to a page in my journal that I had painted with black chalkboard paint. Done!

Lookie!

(Click image to embiggen)
(A library is not a luxury but one of the necessities of life.)

I'm tickled pink at the page and can't wait to print out more of those mushrooms! I'm no longer scared of digital images. See you next time! Thanks for stopping by!

Angji
Studio Red Art