Suzi Blu... I LOVE YOU!!

I am so excited about today's post because I am covering a number of things I wanted to do all in one fell swoop!  Firstly - it's FRIDAAAY and for me that means Unity Stamps "Friends with Flair";

Secondly I want to send out a personal, heart-felt THANK YOU to Ms. Suzi Blu... An artist whom I just ADORE - and who in 2012 was the first artist whose whimsical faces and figures stole my heart and who whispered right into my heart... "You can do it and YOU are good enough!" And all through her book "Mixed Media Girls" ;

And Thirdly I am so excited to be participating in my very first "Tag it Tuesday", a monthly Tag Challenge put on by Cards and More by Sheri and this Month's Challenge is Showers, Rain, Rainbows ...

So with these three things swirling away in my brain and a phone call from a friend who lives alone and may need a surgery with a two-month recovery period... here is what I created:

And here is the back side...

And quickly, for those that want to know...I covered a tag in this rainbow duct tape..

Then I toned it down by using my ink roller to roll on some Golden white fluid acrylic paint over top. I mounted my Suzi Blu/Unity Stamp colored and cut out figure "Mademoiselle" and then embellished the tag using Art Anthology's Dimensional Crystal Paints. 

I stamped and cut out my umbrella from my Dyan Reaveley collection and I added foam pop dots to the umbrella so it really is covering her.

The final touch was to add to the back of the tag one of my favorite sayings for my dearest friends in need. 

And I KNOW you can see the influence my new book by Joanne Sharpe "The Are of Whimsical Lettering" is making!

So thanks again for popping in to see my stuff and if you leave me a comment I will try to leave you one right back!!
Cheers
Lynne Mizera

Stamps, Ink, Stickles and HEAT...

Oh for once I am ahead of the game and I created this tag for Unity Stamps' "Friends with Flair" in advance of Friday, I am usually scrambling on Friday to get something done for FRIENDS with FLAIR but not this week,  Happy Dance.  I am sharing this tag I created using another of my Unity Stamp Itty Bitty's that I have had for going on three years but has remained in a pristine, un-inked condition until now (Another one Bites the Dust - Yaaaaa Hoooo!)

and here is another pictorial tutorial showing all my steps and all my products so you can follow along... ENJOY!

 1. stamp and heat emboss the image

 2. add a background color

(close up of this step)

 3. accent some of the image with stickles and liquid pearl

 Close up of this step while still wet

 4. Now heat your accented bits with a heat gun until they bubble and froth...

just look how when it cools it crinkles and has melted into itself... Swoon!

 5. And finally, using pigment ink, add a background image in a slightly darker color than your background inks and using archival quality pens outline and add details to make your image pop

And that's it.  I love using heat on my products to see what they do and I think I need to do it more often.

As Always, thank you for popping in to see what I am up to and don't forget to leave me a comment if you like what you seeee!
Cheers
Scrapbook Lynne Mizera

Sharing one of My FAVORITE Techniques...

Hello Everybody!! It's Friday for another hour and you know what that means... YUP, time for Unity Stamps Friends with Flair. You would think I worked for them, but I DON'T (grin), I just LOVE their stamps and have  waaaay too many not to try and put ink on every single one - which, by the way - I have not done yet.  I have THAT MANY Unity stamps.

So here is my submission for "Friends with Flair" and today I am using one of my brand new Itty Bitty's that I chose as part of my Unity Stamp prize package from last month {Be Inspired} Challenge, called "Folksy Feathers" and one of the reasons I chose this stamp was because I knew it would look great when I used it with one of my very favorite techniques, Painting with STICKLES! This is what the image looked like berfore I painted it using my Ranger's Stickles, stamped onto a piece of cardboard covered in inka golds paint and stamped using my black Stayzon ink....

And THIS Is what it looked like AFTER!

I love everything about this card, especially the fact that the background is one of my inky paper towels that I mod podged onto a piece of heavy cardstock which made making this card pretty quick, pretty simple and Just Plain PRETTY - with all that sparkle!

 

As Always, thanks for popping by today and don't forget to leave a comment on my blog because every week Unity Stamps always pick one commenter to give a prize away to! 

Cheers, and GOOD LUCK!

Scrapbook Lynne Mizera

Sending out a Heart-Felt Thank YOU!

Today I am sending out a heart-felt THANK YOU card  - Made for all of you who take the time out of your busy, busy lives to pop into my wee world to see what I am up to, I Appreciate it MORE than you could ever know - Big Giant Smile.  I created this card using my Itty Bitty Unity stamp called "Bright Eyes" and I "painted" him with Stickles!  Just in case you haven't already notices, I . LOVE . STICKLES (grin). With this card I really love how the bright, sparkly image up against the grungy, distressed background really makes him pop.

I am sharing this card on today's Unity Stamp's "Friends with Flair" which happens every single Friday and where you share something you created using a Unity Stamp - there is a random draw for lovely stamp prize packages for both a person who leaves a comment on one of the blog posts and for one of the people who link up... So FUN.... Why not come and plaaay with me one day?

As Always Thanks for popping in and please do leave me a comment if you like what you are seeing!

Sharing Some Lovely Tags ...

Happy Friday everyone!  I am getting in just under the wire to link up with Unity Stamp's "Friends with Flair" today, and I hope you like these three tags I created using one of the first set of stamps I ever purchased from Unity, "Decadent Pear", which have not gotten nearly enough use for how beautiful and versatile they are.  

I created the backgrounds for these tags stamping them with sepia coloured Archival ink and using sprays from Dylusions and Tattered Angels.

I stamped my pear images onto 140lbs watercolor paper in again with Archival sepia ink and then sprayed the paper with the same colors as I used on my background, after which I cut out and pasted my images onto the tags, layering and using foam pop dots as required.

I accented with a gold gel pen, added a bit of CTMH Liquid Glass for some shine and created a few shadows with my copic markers to make them pop off the page.

Now if you have been following any of my previous blog posts you know that Mr. Awesome finished my second studio space last week and I have been working pretty much non-stop in there, getting my hands all dirty and cut up playing with my stained glass. (happy sigh) I am so pleased with my first creation in two years that I thought I would share share it with you even though it is only about 75% complete.

I am calling it "Quilt Blocks" and although the glass portion is finished I am trying to decide what to do with the frame, and I think embossed metal is going to come into play, but I will share the completed project with all of you when I am done!

As always, Thank you for popping in today to see what I am up to, and please do leave me a comment if you like what you see!

Scrapbook Lynne Mizera

 

 

Today, Hug Someone You Love, OK?

It is with a subdued energy that I type today's post... I received the news of someone's passing that has deflated my usually boyant and energetic personality.   It was expected, which doesn't make it any easier to bear, Sigh, and it was not expected today.  For me this news was a reminder again to BE GRATEFUL for what I have in my life (instead of moaning about what I don't have).  And to remember that Life Really Truly IS about LOVE - Who we Love, How we Love and How we allow ourselves to be LOVED back.

I created this canvas to express how I am feeling right now because sometimes there are just not enough words, and this image Phyllis Harris created with this Unity stamp (Your Wings Exist) says it so beautifully and gives me comfort when I am feeling  low today.  It is also a reminder to me that the energy that created this amazingly beautiful world we live in will always be there to hold us in the "palm of it's hand".

I am sharing this with all my friends at Unity for Friday's "Friends with Flair" ... and I am asking if you will please hug someone you love for Me today, OK?

"Nameste"

Scrapbook Lynne

It's Another "Friends with Flair"

I managed to get these two special Valentines finished just in time to share with today's Unity Stamp's Friday Friends With Flair...

This one for my daughter using another of My Suzi Blu Stamps

and this one for my Good Friend Erin using one of my favorite Angie Blom Stamps... because she looks exactly how I see myself in my head! (Grin)

And there seems to be quite a Valentine theme over at Unity's Blog today, so go check it out at Friends With Flair! 
I am entering these cards into the following challenges:
CAS.ology Challenge #130 - Friends (Jan 26th)

As always Thanks for stopping in today to see what I am up to and please do leave me a comment if you like what you are seeing!

Scrapbook Lynne Mizera

Happy Friday!

Yup it's Friday again and for me that means another Unity Friends with Flair linkup!  Just to re-cap last year I realized that I had a HUGE hoard of brand-new, still-in-their-packages Unity stamps and I was determined to USE THEM, and Unity's Weekly "Friends With Flair" link up was just the motivation I needed to get me going and to keep me going. I have to share that I am REALLY proud of how I've managed to use and touch a bit of my Hoard (maybeeee 20%?)  So here's to another year of Unity Stamps and Friends with Flair and hopefully another 20% used - Grin.

This week I took a quick snap of the Valentines' Day ATC's I'm working on.  This is  something new for me, and I will be sending them out to people all around our Globe, who have touched my life, even if I have NEVER touched them, (thanks to Facebook and Instagram!) 

I am using one of my newest Unity Itty Bitty stamps "Be Joyful" (like I needed MORE?!?) and I really wrestled with this purchase because I don't Need any more stamps... Grin, but boy am I glad I got htis one because it's Adorable and Perfect for what I want to do! And I stamped the John Lennon quote on the back, "I get by with a little help from my Friends."

So Thanks for popping in and before you go check out what everyone else at "Friends with Flair" linked up today, please do leave me some blog lovin' in the form of a comment if you like what you see!

Cheers!

Scrapbook Lynne Mizera

THANK YOU! and another Friends With Flair

Hello all my peeps and followers!  Today I wanted to send out a huge THANK YOU  to all of you that take the time out of your busy, busy lives to pop in and visit me to check out whatever I am working on these days, and I especially love when you leave me a comment because to me that feels like I'm getting a cyber hug.  Since I retired from going into an office every day all of YOU have been one of my main connections to the outside world and I APPRECIATE you SOOOOO MUCH! So here is a card just for YOU! 

I am linking up this little lovely to Unity Stamps' "Friends with Flair" because she was created with one of my newest stamps and newest Addictions.... Suzi Blu's Stamps from Unity, and this is her Spring Flower Chic stamp by Unity.  

I... LOVE... Suzi Blu! And Unity Stamps are carrying quite a few of her amazing creations in red rubber (of which I have almost all of them - Grin) So be prepared to see many more of her stamps over the coming weeks! This little lady was created using the Party Love Exclusive stamp created by Suzi just for Unity.

Now for those of you that need to know, both these pretty ladies were stamped onto 140lbs watercolor paper and painted with a combination of InkaGolds and Twinkling H2O's and then highlighted with black and white gel pens, Stickles and Liquid Pearl.

Thanks for popping in today and Please DO leave me a comment... because today as a special Thank you I will be drawing from all my comments and mailing out these two cards to two people who took the time to comment ((Hugs))

Scrapbook Lynne Mizera

Happy HOT Friday!

Yup, it's Friday again... and here I am all tanned and stinking HOT sitting on my deck in Manzanillo Mexico with one week of my vacation gone and another week to look forward to... Happy, Happy Sigh... Grin

The view from Our Balcony

But Friday also means Unity Stamps' "Friends with Flair" and I am NOT going to miss that just because I am here in Mexico... so here is another Angie Blom Girl that I stamped and painted using my Luminarte Twinkling H2o's: Maggie Girl, It's Your Birthday.

I am LOVING this "re-discovered" product of mine because not only do the colors layer without blending to mud, but these paints add a wee bit of subtle shimmer that sparkles without overwhelming the image.  And I am passing on this usage tip that was passed on to me which made all the difference in how I use these paints:  before you start to paint, use a mini-mister and pump a couple of sprays of water into your paint pot and let it sit for about two minutes, the water will turn the hard packed pigment into richly colored syrup that you can water down as needed.  and when you are finished the paint pots dry back to that hard-packed pigment again.

So thanks for popping in to see what I am up to and don't forget to leave me a comment if you like what you see!!

Scrapbook Lynne From Mexico!

Happy FRIDAY!

It's FRIDAY today! and that means another Unity Stamps' FRIENDS WITH FLAIR!  This is a pre-scheduled blog post as I am right now on a plane winging my way to Manzanillo Mexico for TWO WHOLE WEEKS! Whooo hooo... and if you live in a winter climate like I do (Alberta, Canada) you understand that THIS is one of the highlights of our year and we looked forward to this trip even more than CHRISTMAS!  Happy Dance... But back to the topic at hand... It's Unity Stamps' Friday Friends with Flair today and here is my entry, a card I created using another of Angie Blom's stamps: Blooming Rebecca Girl.  

I painted her using my Luminarte Twinkling H2o's because I love how the color layers rather mixing together to make mud.  I cut her out and mounted her on a simple embossed cardstock background because that's all she needs!  So pop on over to the Unity Stamp Blog for some more Friday Inspiration... and thanks for popping in to day to see what I am up to today and I hope I provided a wee bit of inspiration for you too!

Cheers.... Scrapbook Lynne Mizera

Thank you! You Decorate My Life...

Happy Friday!! And you know what that means... It's Unity Stamp's "Friday Friends With Flair" and today I am pumped to be sharing the first Christmas card I have made for 2014 using my brand new Unity stamp called "You Decorate My Life".

Now I needed another Christmas stamp like I needed an extra leg, grin, but when I saw this wee itty bitty guy I didn't even hesitate to hit the "Add to My Cart" button, Bigger Grin! But did you SEE his wee face and that cute tilt to his head?!  Loooooove... I am in Looooove with this little guy!

Now for those who want to know I stamped him using Rangers's Archival Ink because it is waterproof and then I used my long neglected watercolor pencils to color him in, because then you just add water and VOILA he looks painted! Of course I accented him with Ranger's Stickles and CTMH Liquid Glass and I mounted him over some very red cardstock that I embossed using a Sizzix snowflake embossing folder-so this card was quick and Easy Peazy!

Today I am linking him up to:

Unity Stamp's Friday Friends with Flair and also to

613 Avenue Create's Challenge#96-Anything goes with an optional Christmas Thank you

 

Thank you for taking the time to pop in and see what I am up to today... and please do leave me a comment if you like what you see!

Cheers!

Scrapbook Lynne Mizera

It's Friday Friends with Flair!

Yup It is FRIDAY! and I have done up two  more tags especially for Unity Stamp's "Friends with Flair"... using tags they sent me with my last order  - how cool is that?

I am using a stamp that I fell in love with two years ago which I have been Hoarding (grin) and I am finally using it to create these Birthday Gift Tags for presents.  And I hope they inspire you to use something that you have  been "saving for special".

Now for those that want to know I used my Unity "Matching Socks" Itty Bitty stamp, some pre-colored tags I was gifted in my last Unity Stamp order and my favorite paper piecing technique (stamp the image on several different cardstocks and cut and piece as desired) you can see more detail about paper piecing on THIS blog post.

I stamped with my Aqua Blue Stazon ink and used Ranger's Liquid Pearl and some coordingating ribbon to accent the tags.  BTW (by the way) this is also a great technique for using up those scraps of paper.

Thanks for stopping by to see what I am up to and please do leave me a comment if you like what you see.

Scrapbook Lynne Mizera

It's Friday Friends with Flair AND Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

Here we are Friday Again... already?  And I have yet another submission for Unity Stamps "Friends With Flair"... this one is a quickie... Lots of Photos but not so much writing because I am flying out the doooor..

I am linking up to Friends with Flair in Honour of Breast Cancer Awareness Month and I created these two lovely little tags using one of my favorite paper piece-ing techniques:

Stamp Your image on several colored pieces of cardstock, this time I used four shades of Pink

 

Now stamp your image again that many times on a piece of white heavy stock... I had four colors so I stamped and created four images:

Now fussy cut and fill them in ... that it! 

Not even stickles or liquid gas this time... she didn't need them.

Here they are in detail... I used another of my Unity KOM (kit of the Month) stamps for the background and the tags and jewels were Gifts FROM Unity in my last order.. How cool is that!

By the way, I am using my brand new Unity Stamp... Frazzled...and I can see a LOT of her in my future!

So pop on by the Unity blog today to check out everyone else, and leave me comment if you like what you are seeing!!!

Cheers (smile)

Scrapbook Lynne Mizera