Check The Technic

This week's Try that Technique is Layered Masking from the February 2012 issue of the Technique Junkie Newsletter. For my card, I wanted to use stamps that haven't seen ink in a while. All of the stamps here are from River City Rubber Works. 

You should play along, too! Upload your creations to the TJ art groups -- we would love to see your work. Have a great weekend!

Oh my. It has been weeks since I have posted and it is all due to my out-of-control life! At least, it WAS out-of-control, but now I think I have a handle on things and I am embracing my creative muse with both arms outstretched. I was able to just create this weekend and yesterday, too. Getting back in the swing with filming tutorials and creating artwork felt amazingly good. Normal. <insert happy sigh here>

Today I am sharing one of the, um, fruits of my labor. The Try that Technique theme this week is Cascading Images from the April 2012 (current) issue of the Technique Junkie Newsletter. These fun stamps are from Mark's Finest Papers & Stamps, a Heinrich Co. -- I just love them! They come with several saying, but my favorite is the combination I used on this card: When Life gives you Lemons... (on the front) and inside:"Throw them back and demand chocolate!"  I, for one, can relate to that.  Remember that MFP offers a 15% discount to Technique Junkies using the code WEEKENDER2.

I colored the lemons and edges with Pastel Pencils using the Pastel Chalk Pencil Blending Technique from the June 2011 issue of the Newsletter. The background embossing was colored using the Pastel Embossing Technique from the Emboss or Die CD.

In any case, I hope you have a chance to try our featured technique this week. I would love to see what you do! And I hope you don't get sick of my postings...I have ALOT to share!

It has been a few weeks since I have participated in the Thursday Try That Technique feature from the TJ Design Team Blog, so I am very happy to be playing along today. Today's technique is Mulberry Magic from the February 2011 issue of the Technique Junkie Newsletter.

My card uses stamps from  I Brake for Stamps (remember, there is a TJ discount on my blog sidebar). I just love the way this technique looks in person -- so beautiful and rich.

Play along with us! Post your art to the TJ egroup. You might just end up on the group's home page!

As a scrapbooker, I am always looking for ways to marry all of my paper crafting tools into my layouts. That is one of the reasons that Jane Bosi and I produced the Stampbooking CD -- we wanted a perfect marriage of easy-to-do techniques that use Rubber Stamps on our layouts. The Glimmer Masking Tutorial -- the Try That Technique Challenge Technique -- does just that. After you are done here, you should go take a look at what Nancy Dawson and Jane Bosi have done with the technique. Just beautiful results.

Today's layout shows the technique used as a background for my page. The glimmered butterfly outlines were just the right simple touch for my page. Now it is your turn! Try that Technique!

The Stampbooking CD is $17.95 and contains 75 tutorials in pdf format. Order yours today!

This is an example of Double Bugging, the TJ Newsletter Technique for Try that Technique Thursday.  I wanted to use two folders that were both very detailed since I usually gravitate toward the same two folders every other time I have done this technique. I love the way this turned out!

This technique is from the June 2009 issue of the TJ Newsletter, and can also be found on the Emboss or Die CD.

The image is from Inkadinkado. 

This week's challenge is the Aged Tiles Technique from the April 2008 issue of the Technique Junkie Newsletter. This technique was an egroup favorite -- and I remember why! Any stamp will work, and it is easy. You should give it a try!

My card uses a giraffe from I Brake for Stamps layered over paper from Mark's Finest Papers. I found the grasses in my stash (um, that doesn't sound quite right to find grass in your stash, but as crafters, you know what I mean LOL), and I thought it added the right flair.

A couple of years ago I found "pastel pencils" in the clearance aisle at Michaels. They look like colored pencils, but they spread like pastels. I LOVE them and love to blend them with my fingers. That is how I colored the giraffe.

Take a moment to pop over to the TJ Design Team blog to see Beth's creation if you get a chance! She put a cool spin on it.

Today's Try that Technique is Fossil Stone from the April 2006 issue of the Technique Junkie Newsletter. Try that Technique is a feature started by Beth Norman and Diana Enns; each week a technique from a past issue is spotlighted and we encourage you to try it.

Fossil Stone is such an easy technique! If you have the 2006 issues or the Purple CD4 (2006), I encourage you to Try that Technique this week!  Post your work on the TJ egroup or the TJ Design Team blog on Beth's post with a link HERE. You could win a week on the TJ home page!

A little about my card...first, the background is Fossil Stone, and it has been stamped with a definition background stamp from Innovative Stamp Creations. The gorgeous butterfly collage is from Alluring Impressions (make sure to enter TJAUG10 for 10% off at Alluring Impressions!), and was colored using the Ink Wash Technique (April 2007 Technique Junkie Newsletter). The card also has a bit of Wild Webbing, one of the 10 bonus techniques on the soon-to-be released CD8.  Now, I didn't originally intend on adding the webbing to this piece, but I was looking for an accent...and it was sitting on my desk...and it just kind of attached itself to my piece.  The colors were just too perfect together!

Oh - one more thing...after I finished making the card and photographed it, I realized that it is the exact same layout as yesterday's card. How could I not realize that until I was ready to post this?

Today's Try that Technique is the Gated Tag Card from the February 2008 issue of the Technique Junkie Newsletter.  What you see above is the INSIDE of the card -- with the tags.

One of the things I love about this technique is that there are lots of parts to stamp -- the more the merrier! Here is the outside of the card:

My Gated Tag Card uses the Arts and Crafts kit from Club Scrap. I love the stamps and paper from this kit. So elegant and beautiful! I chose to stamp my tags and the outside of the card with colors from the designer paper; I used markers to color the separate areas of the stamps. On the inside of the tag packet, I used the stencil from the kit and sprayed Glimmer Mist over it to get the gorgeous designs onto the olive card stock.  Do you ever fall in love a little bit when you create? I fell in love with this card...just a little bit. 

Make sure to check out Beth's card, too, on the TJ Design Team Blog. That girl can STAMP!

Today is Try that Technique day with the Technique Junkies! If you have not seen it yet, Beth Norman has posted this week's technique on the TJ Design Team Blog: Textured Tape from the October 2005 issue of the Newsletter. Beth's creation is beautiful and inspirational. I love the richness of her colors.

I couldn't help myself this week. I created TWO cards. One, of course, is posted above, and the other is posted HERE on the TJ Design Team Blog. The one above uses a Textured Tape Background. the saying uses the Wisped Frames Technique from the February 2010 issue of the TJ Newsletter to highlight the saying. The bird is a punch. both are from Stampin' Up!.

Don't forget that CD8 is now available for pre-order, too -- and the tutorial for Wisped Frames is on that CD! Just $14.95 for subscribers, or $29.95 for a subscription renewal and the CD. Email me for an invoice if you are interested!

Now, go Try that Technique!