Two ATC's for Today's MIX12 Mixed Media Challenge at SplitCoast Stampers

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Hello!

I created a couple of ATC's (Artist Trading Cards) for today's fun challenge over at SplitCoast Stampers. 

It is our Mix-Ability challenge that happens every Friday. This week, it's my friend Dina Kowal's turn to hostess. She asked us to use cool colors with a "pop" of warm or visa versa in her "POP! Goes You Color Wheel" challenge.

I will show my cards here, but you will have to head over to MY GALLERY at SplitCoast Stampers for all of the details of what I used and how I did it. ;)

Thanks for dropping by!

Join Us in the April Really Reasonable Ribbon Blog Hop!

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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 you'll want to head back there where it all starts.

The April Ribbon Club assortment is a perfect blend of springy teals, greens, and white.

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.

I couldn't decide which of the ribbons to choose so I used them all!

Here's my card.

I simply cut a piece of scrap cardstock 1/4" smaller than my card base, ran some ATG along all 4 sides as well as some in the middle. Then I placed strips of ribbon over the entire surface, weaving one piece in and out, down one side. I then trimmed the ribbon to where it overhang the sides by about a half inch then adhered the ends to the back side with ATG, to create my background panel.

The cardstock is Discount Card Stock's - Brilliant White.

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

The stamps are #IB-47 "Hello My Friend" from Unity, and #1115MC "Magnificent Men" sentiments from Inky Antics.

I used watercolors on my image, painting the flowers to match the ribbon,but doing the heart in a contrasting pink for a pop of something different.

I just want to take a second to thank Bonnie Garby for having me on her team these past 3 years. This is my last post "for now at least" as a design team member, as I am not renewing my term. Bonnie has generously given me more ribbon than I will be able to use in a life time, and I have some things going on in my life that I need to dedicate more time to, so I'm taking a break. 

Better than all of the ribbon in this world, is the friendship she has given me. That will last a lifetime as well. 

LOVE YOU GIRL!

Thanks also to to all of my design teams sisters, past and present. You have made this team such a blast to play on!
Mmmmmwah!

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!

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

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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!

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

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 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. :)

Tardar Sauce, The Grumpy Cat Cookies

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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!

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

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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.

The cardstock is Discount Card Stock's - Brilliant White and Intense Kiwi Prismatic.

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.

The stamps are #IB-11 "I'll Always Love You" from Unity.

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!

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

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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!  

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

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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

Allie Gower's blog.

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)

Allie Gower

Sean Fetterman

Lydia Fiedler

Leah Lucescu

Linda Lucas

Bev Gerard

Dina Kowal

Colleen Schaan

Carisa Zglobicki

Lisa Lara

Bonnie Garby

Suzanne Dean

Joe Rotella

Judy Rozema

Lori Craig

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

Visit My SplitCoastStampers Gallery!

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Hi Everyone!

Have you visited SplitCoastSampers lately?

It's is one of the very best places to go for inspiration, and a great place to share your creations!

Here is a peek at the ATC (artist trading card) that I created for today's MIX4 Mix-Ability - mixed media challenge.

I would L♥VE it if you popped over and took a peek at my latest project, or my entire gallery!

Remember to leave some love so I will know you were there!

If you see something you like, don't forget to Pin it too! :)

Hugs,

True :D

I Am So Excited About My Friend Lisa Lara's New Stamp Release Through A Jillian Vance Design!

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Hi everyone!

I am pulling a fast one over on my sweet friend Lisa Lara!

Her very first clear stamps ever are being released through A Jillian Vance Design TODAY!!!

The owners Bunny and Jillian Vance of AJVD, and I are friends and we have been in cahoots so that I could create sample cards with Lisa's brand new stamps without her knowing. 

Vewy vewy sneaky wabbit...ahem...I mean Bunny! :)

Here is a sneak of my first card that I created with the Flutters & Flowers stamp set by: Lisa Lara Originals.

This is what the Flutters & Flowers set looks like.

Head on over to the AJVD blog to see the entire card, other samples and Lisa's other new release!

Tell 'em True sent ya! :)

Time For Another Really Reasonable Ribbon Blog Hop!

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Hi everyone and welcome to another...

If you are here from the Really Reasonable Ribbons Ramblings blog, you are in the right place. If you just happened on to my blog, head on there and start from the beginning. Bonnie will be showing the prize that is up for grabs, so you don't want to miss it!

This month, the design team got to play with the beautiful February "Easter Egg Mix" Ribbon Club set. 

Here's a picture. Isn't it fun?

If you aren't a Ribbon Club member, there is no better time to join. There are lots of pretty ribbon combinations coming, and some of them include ribbon that is only available through the 

Monthly Ribbon Club.

I decided that since this the Easter assortment that I would pair it up with my newly released "Swirly Easter" stamp set that I illustrated for Inky Antics. 

Once again, I couldn't decide which ribbon I wanted to use so I made a couple of variations of the same card.

(click on the photo for a closer look)

Here is a peek at my entire Swirly Easter set.

Card Recipe

#11158MC Swirly Easter clear set from Inky Antics

Easter Egg Ribbon of the Month set from Really Reasonable Ribbon

Teresa Collins #FAB110 Fabrications 6x6 Designer Paper Pad

Discount Card Stock Brilliant White, Poptone Berrylicious, and Drk. Raspberry Prismatic

Spellbinders #SB-001 Frames One Shapabilities Die D-Lites

Art Glitter Mystery and Burgundy Ultra-fine glitters 

ClearSnap Pink Pastel , Dark Peony, and Prussian Blue inks

Staz-On Jet Black ink

Want2Scrap 72 Count White Pearls

Scotch ATG and Foam Tape adhesives

Judy Kins Diamond Glaze

#C-1 Copic marker

Prismacolor pencils

Your next stop on the hop is sweet Judy's Joyful blog.

Make sure to leave comments along your way to increase your chances of winning the awesome prize from Really Reasonable Ribbon! :)

Thanks for dropping by!

And the Winner of My Blogaversary Prize is....

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Hi Everyone!

Sorry that it took me so long to post the winner. It took longer than I thought to make all of those little slips to draw from, and I kept getting side-tracked!

OK...now for the business at hand.

Drum roll  pleeeeeeaaase....

The winner is......

Jennifer Scull!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

I would like to thank Jennifer and all of my friends/followers for sharing my celebration around the net.

You are all awesome!

I would also like to thank all of my sponsors.
I have some super generous friends in the industry!

You all ROCK!

I would love it if you clicked over to my original blogaversary post and visited some of my sponsors shops. I know you will love them as much as I do!

For those who didn't win this time, stay tuned. There is going to be a blog hop in a few weeks with my new releases ans some of my amazing crafty friends. You won't want to miss it! Inky Antics is sponsoring me again and this time, they will be giving my entire Spring stamp release away to one lucky winner!

More details to come, as we get closer to the event.

I can hardly wait! :)

Thanks again! :)

Huge Blogaversary Celebration With Prizes!

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The Blogaversary candy is now closed and the winner has been drawn. :)

Hi Everyone!

Welcome to my BLOGAVERSAY CELEBRATION!!!

Gee....time sure flies when you are having fun!

I have been making cards for about 5 years now, and blogging for almost 4 of them. :)

To celebrate my 4 years of blogging, some of the companies that I have had the pleasure of working  for, plus others, who's product I just love, have joined together with lots of fun prizes to help me celebrate! ;)

PLEASE FEEL FREE TO USE THIS PICTURE WHEN YOU SHARE! :)

One very lucky follower will win the prizes listed below! I am running the give-away until February 4th (my blogaversary day).

I am going to do a running list of sponsors (adding more as I get them) so check back often to see how much the prize has grown. I will also pop on every now and again during the month to give a prize or two away to followers/friends that I have "caught" spreading the news of my give-away. This give-away is for my followers only, so if you aren't one yet....become one and you are in! :)  Share on your blog, FB page, Pinterest, where ever, and it will earn you extra drawings for the main prize as well as a chance at some of the extras. :) Just leave a comment below every time you share (and tell me where) and I will add your name again to the hat. :)

By the way, I would really appreciate you sharing the love with my sponsors as well. "Like" them on Facebook and/or follow their blogs to earn even more chances. I will have links below each prize.

Here we go with the prize list!

Sponsoring with 3 (soon to be released) clear stamp sets by Yours Truly ;) for Inky Antics.

I will show clear photos of the sets after they are debuted in Anaheim at CHA the middle of January.

The winner will be the first to get them! :)

Visit

Inky Antic's Shop

Inky Antic's Blog 

Inky Antic's FaceBook page

Sponsoring with this awesome collection of ribbon and goodies!

Visit

Really Reasonable Ribbon's Shop

Really Reasonable Ribbon's Blog

Really Reasonable Ribbon's FaceBook page

Sponsoring with a multi-pack of metallic cardstock

Visit

Discount Card Stock's Shop

Discount Card Stock's Blog

Discount Card Stock's FaceBook page

Sponsoring with an assortment of BLING! 

Visit

Want2Scrap's Shop

Want2Scrap's Blog

Want2Scrap's FaceBook page

 Sponsoring with a set each of Glaze and Souffle pens!

 Visit

Sakura's Shop

Sakura's FaceBook page

 Sponsoring with a $15.00 Gift Certificate!

Visit

Clear Dollar Stamp's Digi Shop

Clear Dollar Stamp's Blog

Clear Dollar Stamp's FaceBook page

 Sponsoring with a $15.00 Gift Certificate!

 Here is just a sample of some of the things you can purchase at Pinque Peacock.

Visit

Pinque Peacock's Blog

Pinque Peacock's Shop and FaceBook Fan page

 

A note from Allie...Hi, I'm Allie Gower, and I love TRUDY, and I'm so excited that her blogging and designing brought us together. I am a Close To My Heart Consultant and my team, CardParties, is pleased to offer a WHOOOO's Your Valentine Kit from Close To My Heart along with a BRAND SPANKIN' NEW 2013 Idea Book.  The December 2012 Stamp of the Month "Year Round Cheer" is also included.

The darling WHOOOO's Your Valentine Kit includes 12 Die-Cut Boxes, 3 Cardstock Sheets, 1 Sheet of Silver Glitter Paper, 12 Treat Tubes, and an exclusive D-Sized Stamp Set created specifically for this kit. 

Visit 

Allie's CTMH "My Card Parties" site

(click on "Shop Online" to go shopping)

A $15.00 Gift Certificate from I Brake For Stamps!

Visit

I Brake For Stamps Shop

I Brake For Stamps Blog

I Brake For Stamps FaceBook page

A beautiful prize package from Creative Touch!

A note from Lou Ann...Since 1983,  I has been crafting, painting and scrapbooking. Family & life,  have changed the direction of what I craft.  For years painting for craft shows dominated my time and I was productive from 8pm to 2am J, when the kids were in bed.  My three kids are now all over 21 and out on their own. Eight years ago I started working for Best Craft Organizers  at scrapbook shows across the US.  Where I fell in love with Magnabilities interchangeable jewelry. I was also introduced to a 1” button machine. Since I was traveling a lot, I started scrapbooking digitally and took classes from The Digital Scrapbook Teacher.  Being somewhat of a computer geek I found I liked crafting cute buttons to wear for inserts, zipper pulls and pins,  made from scrapbook papers, digital files and photos.  

Visit

Creative Touch's Blog

Creative Touch's FaceBook page

Whimsy Stamps sponsoring with 5 Free Digi Stamps of your choice!

Visit

Whimsy Stamp's Store

Whimsy Stamp's Blog

Whimsy Stamp's FaceBook page

Doodle Pantry sponsoring with a $20.00 gift certificate!

Visit

Doodle Pantry's Shop

Doodle Pantry's Blog

Doodle Pantry's FaceBook page

Thanks so much for dropping by!
Remember, the more you share, the better your chances of winning!