meet Ava...

Hello my fabulous friends, and happy New Year!

I know I haven't been very good about blogging lately.... Sorry about that. I've been having some health problems as well as serious stress overload lately. But things should be settling down somewhat now.... I hope!!! :)

I wanted to start off by introducing you to my newest family member...

Isn't she ADORABLE???? 

Her name is Ava, and she is my new service dog.  (Yes, a tiny little Yorkie can be a service dog!)

She doesn't like the cold, so she wears a cute coat outside, and sits by the fireplace inside when she isn't working. She is super sweet, and loves everyone she meets (including my favorite 3 yr old who is still learning to be gentle with tiny dogs....). She is also a great crafting helper... She likes to curl up on my lap while I'm working.  :)

I'm so excited to have her, and so grateful for what she does for me!

Next up, I wanted to share what I made for the CLASSROOM PIN-Sights challenge for December. (yes, this is a last second entry, but hey, I got it done, right?)

Stamps: Essentials By Ellen Mondo Peony  and Fancy Thanks

The colors where reds, white, and a little bright green... I tied to get an nice rich red, but it ended up being more pinkish than I was hoping for... Oh well... I still love it. 

Step 1: I started out by stamping the flower with Fired Brick Distress Ink onto Bristol paper.. I used my MISTI... you'll see why in a bit.

Step 2: I then pulled ink from the stamped lines into the petals with a water brush. This is a super quick and easy way to watercolor.  (this is where it kinda changed from a good red to pinkish)

Step 3: I wanted to try to get more of the darker red back in while adding some dimension, so I smeared some Aged Mahogany Distress ink onto an acrylic block and used my water brush to pick up some of the darker ink and paint in some shadows. 

Step 4: Ok, here's the big reason I used my MISTI... I wanted to make the edges a little more defined, without it being too harsh of lines... so once the image was dry, I stamped over it with Vintage Photo Distress ink. (I also colored in the center of the flower with the Vintage Photo)

Step 5: I put a clear mask over the flower (made by stamping the image on acetate with Archival Ink, fussy cutting it, then adding a little temporary adhesive to the back) and repeated the same process of stamping and painting with the leaves... I used Peeled Paint Distress ink for the first impression and coloring, then Forest Moss Distress Ink for the shadows and over stamping.

Step 6: I added some white highlights to the center with a Faber-Castell PITT pen (101), then added my sentiment with Ground Espresso Distress ink. Again, I used my MISTI for this because I kinda stink at stamping straight with a block, and because I wanted a really nice solid impression, so I stamped it several times. Some simple matting and some clear sequins finished it off nicely.

I hope this year brings you great happiness!

Enjoy!
~Kassi

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