Hello and welcome to my blog!
I am a freelance illustrator, artist and paper crafter. I hope you will set back, have a peek around my blog, check out my archives and enjoy!
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Some Of My Favorite Creations To Date

Friday, March 29, 2013

"Enjoy the Journey" - Mixed Media ATC for MIX9 @ SplitCoast Stampers


Hi Everyone!

It's Friday, and time for another Mix-ability challenge over at SplitCoast Stampers!
I am so happy to be one of the co-hostesses of this cool weekly challenge. I love joining in with the rest of the hostess's challenges  It is a great way to learn some fun mixed media techniques using supplies that most of us already have at home.
This week is Lydia Fiedler's turn to host and she has come up with MIX9 - "Construction Zone". All you have to do is use some kind of metal and paint or ink on your project, with sanding as an extra feature if you like.
Here is a peek at the ATC sample that I created for Lydia.
(Remember that you can click the image to enlarge for a closer look)

What is an ATC? It is a 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" miniature piece of art that is created by an artist in his/her own style, to give/trade for other similar cards. 
I have done a few in the past but am really enjoying them a lot more as of late. ;)
For this one, I started by painting the card base with gesso and Ranger Ink's Studio acrylic paints. I then crinkled some tinfoil and adhered it to the card base. I painted the foil with gesso and acrylic paint. let it dry, then washed it with thinned black paint and blotted some of it off. After it all dried, I sanded the high spots to reveal some of the foil. I added some gold paint (with some bubble wrap) and some gold-leafing to finish off the base.
I stamped a sentiment from Stamper's Anonymous #CSM155 Simple Sayings by Tim Holtz on to a scrap piece of cardstock that I had already painted to match. I then added some gold paint and covered it with UTEE. I cut it to fit a Ranger Ink's - Idea-ology Ornate Plates by Tim Holtz, and attached it to the card with the provided brads.
To see the entire ATC, please CLICK HERE.

Here is a bonus ATC that I created last minute for both this challenge, and for my new friend Mary Knapp's birthday.
She said she loves butterflies, glitter, and her favorite colors are pink, teal, and silver. 



I used Basic Grey's - Knee Highs designer paper.
The butterfly is from my "Swirly Butterflies" stamp set that I illustrated for Inky Antics. I stamped Perfect Medium onto some clear acetate, sprinkled on some Ranger Ink silver embossing powder,  heat set it then cut it out. I then stamped the image again and "colored" it in with Art Glitter glitters, then attached the acetate butterfly over the top.


Thanks so much for dropping by!

Friday, March 22, 2013

Excited to be Co-Hosting a New SplitCoast Stampers Mixed Media Challenge!

 Hi Everyone!

Today is my very first time to hostess a challenge over at SplitCoast Stampers!
I'm super excited, and hope you will join us and help me celebrate!

My Mix8 Mix-Ability challenge for today is called "Rip It, Paste It, Ink It!". You simply need to create a background for your project by ripping tiny pieces of designer papers, pasting them to cardstock, then adding some ink, somewhere, somehow to tie the papers together. ;)

Here's a peek at my ATC


See the entire piece HERE.

For my card, I used scraps of Basic Grey's new Knee Highs designer papers. I glued them to my ATC sized piece of cardstock with Mod-Podge, trimmed around the edges, then lightly inked over the entire piece with ColorBox's Ice Jade Chalk ink, just hitting the raised areas. Then I inked the edges in black. I added some white gesso under where my image would go so it would stand out and so I could write in the sentiment with a Copic multi-liner pen. I added a thin coat of Matte Mod-Podge to seal it all, then after that was dry, I used Want2Scrap's #4802 Bricks stencil by: Donna Salazar, to sponge on some ColorBox Popcorn colored chalk ink. I quickly sprinkled on some UTEE (Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel) from Ranger Ink, then heat set it.
I stamped the image (from Unity's "Follow My Heart") onto more of the same Basic Grey papers several times, and cut out different pieces to stack. I added touches of Sakura - Gelly Roll glitter pens, then covered each piece in a heavy coat of UTEE before gluing together and adhering to the ATC.

I sure would love to know what you think about my ATC, and I'd love it even more if you joined us in this challenge! :)

CLICK HERE for all of the Mix8 challenge details. :)



Sunday, March 17, 2013

Tardar Sauce, The Grumpy Cat Cookies


Hi everyone!

Hubby was craving sugar cookies, and I was feeling the need to play with flour and sugar, so I made some cookies that look like my favorite internet celebrity, Tardar Sauce, the Grumpy Cat.


Hubby doesn't do the internet much other than for work, so he didn't even know who Grumpy Cat was. He thought she was tasty though! ;)

Thanks for dropping by!



Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Join Us In Really Reasonable Ribbon's March Blog Hop!


Hello everyone!
Welcome to another...

If you are here from the Really Reasonable Ribbon's Ramblings blog, you are in the right place. If you just happened on to my blog because you like checking in on me every now and then, you'll want to head back there where it all starts.

The March Ribbon Club assortment is made up of one of my favorite color combinations....pinks, whites, and sage greens.
Isn't it beautiful? :)


For those of you who have yet to be blessed with a pretty assortment of ribbons and trims in your mail boxes each month, check out the monthly Ribbon Club details HERE to find out how.

My friends at Basic Grey sent me some of their new releases to play with, and this month's ribbon works perfectly with their sweet Knee Highs collection.

Here's my card.



It's a very simple layout that I created by cutting pieces from "Kissing Tag" and "Hide & Seek" designer papers, taped them together and cut to fit my card front.


I used White Checkerboard Satin and Green Diagonal Stripes Satin from this month's ribbon assortment, to both hide the seam, and to add a pretty detail to my card.

I tied the bow with my handy dandy Bow-Easy.

True's Tip of the Day:
I water-colored the hearts, then topped them with Crystal Effects before I colored the rest of the cupcake. That allowed me to paint the green wrapper without having to be careful of it bleeding into the hearts.

I used Matte Mod-Podge to adhere the sugar sprinkles (Art Glitter's #D29 Confection Hexis Grande) to the frosting.
I hand cut both the cupcake and the sentiment and attached them with foam tape.
Like I said...."easy" but cute right? ;)

I also entered this card in the Chevron Challenge in the Moxie Fab World. :) You should go check it out and join in on the fun! :) 

Your next stop on the hop is sweet Judy's joyful blog. I know she has something awesome to share with you!
BUT, BEFORE YOU GO....
Make sure and leave a comment below about my card, so I'll know you dropped by. Then comment on all of the girl's projects as well. They need some L♥VE too! 
Don't forget to end up back where you started, and answer Bonnie's question for your chance at winning the wonderful prize package from Really Reasonable Ribbon.

Thanks so much for hopping by!

Monday, March 11, 2013

And the Winner of the Prize from "Our Friends of True's Inky Blog Hop" is....


Hi everyone!

We had so much fun creating projects to share with you this past weekend during our "Friends of True's Inky Blog Hop"!
So many of you left sweet messages. Each and every one of them are very appreciated! THANK YOU!

As we mentioned, we would pick a random blog from the hop, and a random commentor from that blog to win the prize.


The winner is from Bev Gerard's Savor The Journey Blog, and comment #37 was picked.

The winner is Else!

Else,
Please leave a comment below so I can reply with an email to obtain your mailing address.

If we have not heard from Else within 48 hours, we will draw another name from Bev's blog.

I would like to thank Inky Antics for sponsoring our hop.

I would also like to thank all of my amazing friends who took time out of their busy lives to create projects with my "Swirly Spring" collection. You all are my inspiration!

I wish everyone could have won, but sadly, it just doesn't work that way. :(

If you would still like to get your hands on some of my "Swirly Spring" collection, you can see the entire line of clear stamps and papers HERE.
Some of the images are also available in red rubber/wood mounted.
Visit the Inky Antics store and click on "Special Themes" under the Inky Logo at the top of the page, then click "GO" under the "Swirly Spring" butterfly.
(make sure and click next several times to scroll through them all)

Thanks so much!  

Friday, March 8, 2013

Friends of True's Inky Blog Hop. Win My Entire Swirly Spring Collection!


Welcome to the... 


Hi Everyone!
I am so excited today!
I have made tons of wonderful crafty friends since I started making cards and illustrating stamps, so when I wanted to share my latest "Swirly Spring" Inky Antics release, they are the ones I turned to. :)

I sent stamp sets and coordinating papers to a couple dozen friends, and many of them decided to join me in a hop sharing projects created with them! They are all truly AMAZING artists and I can't wait to see what they have created! 
I hope you will hop along with us and check them all out. 

You could win an awesome prize donated by Inky Antics!
One lucky commentor will win all six sets of my Swirly Spring collection!


The winner will be picked (from comments made between now and midnight on Sunday the 10th) on a random blog. Make sure and comment on all of the projects along the hop to increase your chances of winning. Only one comment per blog please. 
The winner will be announced on Monday the 11th here on my blog, so remember to check back and see if you were the lucky one. :)

I chose to use my #1115MC - "Swirly Birds" clear set to create my card.




I also used my #IA-PAC003 "Everything's Coming Up Roses" designer cardstock
The image was colored with Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol, then topped with Ranger Stickles.


The die cut shapes are from Spellbinders and the larger flower and leaves were also made with their Bitty Blooms die set. The small roses are from Wild Orchid Crafts. The pretty ribbon is from Really Reasonable Ribbon, the cardstocks from Discount Card Stock and the pearls from Want2Scrap. (see card recipe below, for links)

Here are a few other projects that I have recently created with my Swirly Spring collection.
Click on the images to be taken to the original posts for details.






   


 Your next stop on the hop is my sweet friend
Bookmark my page, just in case you get lost along the way, because here is a complete list of links for you to use. :)

Trudy Sjolander (you are here)
Judy Rozema
Trudy Sjolander (Come back and let me know what you thought about my friends wonderful projects. :)

I would love it if you would "Follow"my blog.
"Friend" me on my Facebook page.
"Like" my Facebook fan page.
"Follow" me on Pinterest.


Thanks so much for stopping by and hopping with us!


Card Recipe:

Inky Antics - #115MC - "Swirly Birds" clear stamp set and #IA-PAC003- "Everything's Coming Up Roses" designer paper by: Trudy Sjolander Designs
Ribbon from Really Reasonable Ribbon
Spellbinders - #S4-112 Classic Ovals Sm and #S4-113 Scalloped Classic Ovals, #S2-128 Classic Squares Sm. and #S4-129 Scalloped Classic Squares Nestabilities, and S5-086 Bitty Blossoms Dies
Want2Scrap - 72 count White Self-adhesive Pearls
Discount Card Stock - Brilliant White, Bazzill Swiss Dots - Irish Eyes, and  Vista Metallic Blue
Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol
Ranger Stickles -Waterfall
Tskiniko- Staz-On Jet Black
Wild Orchid Crafts - small paper roses
Scotch - ATG tape runner
Beacon - Fabri-tac glue
sewing machine, thread, paper trimmer, scoring board