I Brake for Challenges #13 - White Out

Good morning, everyone! It's time for another challenge on the I Brake for Challenges blog. The theme for this week is "White Out." Nooooooo - we don't want you to use the white out stuff that we used in school to cover up our mistakes. LOL We want to see what you create when you do NOT use any white on your project. No white cardstock, no white ink, no white, period.

Quite a challenge, huh?

I pulled out this sweet country stamp of a momma horse and her baby grazing in the meadow. This is called "Mare and Colt" from I Brake for Stamps. I stamped it with Rich Cocoa Memento ink, and then colored in the grass and trees and mountains. For the horses, I used the Silhouette technique from Technique Junkies. It's an interesting take on this scene.

I overstamped this scene with my beloved Holly's Tattered Background stamp to give it that weathered, aged, time-worn look. To enhance the aged appearance, I distressed the edges, and then I added some brads and brown twine to frame the scene.

There is no white on this card at all. I've used kraft cardstock for my main image and some Artichoke and Chocolate Chip cardstock for the matting.

Give your stamps another look and see what you can create for this White Out challenge. Need more inspiration? Check out what the other girls created over on the IBFCC blog by clicking here. We'd love to have you play along with us!


Stamps: Mare and Colt, Holly's Tattered Background - I Brake for Stamps
Ink: Rich Cocoa Memento, Kraft
CS: Kraft, Artichoke, Chocolate Chip
Other: Copic markers, distress tool, brads, brown twine, photo corner punch
TJ Technique: Silhouette

IBFCC #10 - Fall

It's Holly posting today, and this week's challenge over on the I Brake for Challenges blog is all about fall. I love the fall season - you're probably sick of hearing me gush about the crisp, cool weather. LOL Just as soon as I actually GET some here, maybe I'll stop gushing. Hee hee hee!

I decided to use this fun Harvest Pumpkins scene from I Brake for Stamps for my challenge card today. This image just screams fall, doesn't it? The pumpkins, the apples, the adorable little kitty.......

I stamped this image on watercolor paper and then pulled out various dye inks (SU as well as distress inks) to color in the image. I colored the background behind the fence a warm golden glow to go with the fall theme.

The pumpkin cardstock is stamped with Holly's Tattered Background, and I used the Torn Frames technique on the dark brown cardstock. I just couldn't cover up this sweet scene with ribbons or buttons or anything, so this card is clean and simple (and tattered). :-)

Take some time to pull out some fall-themed stamps and play along with this fun challenge. You can see more gorgeous inspiration on the I Brake for Challenges blog, and you can go shopping at I Brake for Stamps for all kinds of fall-themed stamps.

Stamps: Harvest Pumpkins & Holly's Tattered Background (I Brake for Stamps)
Ink: Jet Black Stazon, Pumpkin Pie, dye inks for watercoloring
CS: Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip, watercolor paper
Other: aquapainter, distress tool
TJ Technique: Torn Frames

IBFCC #9 - Background Stamps

Howdy! It's Holly posting today, and today's challenge over on the I Brake for Challenges blog is all about background stamps. So pull out your background stamps and get inky and share your creations with us!

I love background stamps, and my favorite one is Holly's Tattered Background from I Brake for Stamps. This is THE most versatile stamp I've ever owned. Just look at how I used it on this card.

Not only did I stamp the Tattered Background on the red paper, but I also stamped it directly over the horse scene after I colored it. Now it looks like a very old Western painting - love it!!

I stamped this Desert Mustang with Timber Brown Stazon ink onto watercolor paper, and then I watercolored it with various distress inks. After this was completely dry, I sponged some Antique Linen distress ink around the edges. Then I used Antique Linen distress ink and stamped Holly's Tattered Background all over the colored image.

I used some Walnut Stain distress ink on the same Tattered background and stamped it all over the red paper in the background. The main image was distressed with a distress tool, and then I used the Torn Frames technique (from Technique Junkies) around it. Lastly, I frayed some twill tape and added that behind the Torn Frame.

You can see that you don't "have" to use background stamps only on your backgrounds. Give your stamps a whirl and see what you can do with yours. Better yet, check out what the other gals have done on the I Brake for Challenges blog and play along with us. There's a fun prize for one lucky player!


Stamps: Desert Mustang, Holly's Tattered Background - I Brake for Stamps
Ink: Timber Brown Stazon, distress inks
CS: Chocolate Chip, Vanilla, watercolor paper, Wanted pp (Cosmo Cricket)
Other: aquapainter, distress tool, twill tape, sponge
TJ Techniques: Torn Frames, Worn Wallpaper

Tie Dye Leaves

Hi y'all! It's Holly posting today, and I have used the fun Tie Dye Chic Embellishments technique from the new Stampbooking CD on this leafy card. The beauty of this cd is that the techniques can be applied to cards and 3D projects as well as scrapbook pages. There are 75 awesome techniques on this cd that you will want to try out for yourself.

I wanted to showcase this technique on a card since that is my primary canvas of choice. I've used this Tie Dye Chic technique with some leaves that I cut out with Tim Holtz's leaf die. The leaves are stamped with Holly's Tattered Background from I Brake for Stamps and I used my fingers to shape them and give them a real 3D appearance.

The sentiment is also from I Brake for Stamps, and I've used the Wisped Frames technique on it. I tied some linen thread around each leaf stem and I wrapped it around the edge of the card base. I opted for a clean and simple card base so that the leaf embellishments can take center stage.

Stamps: Holly's Tattered Background & Nature from I Brake for Stamps
Ink: Walnut Stain, Tea Dye, Scattered Straw, Forest Moss, Rusty Hinge, Timber Brown Stazon
CS: white, brown
Other: Labels 4 die, sponge, linen thread, Tim Holtz leaf die
TJ Technique: Wisped Frames, Tie Dye Chic Embellishment (Stampbooking CD available from I Brake for Stamps)

Patriotic Star

Hey folks! It's Holly posting today, and I'm sharing my patriotic card today which uses the Color Sandwich technique from Technique Junkies. It's a fun and unexpected technique with loads of possibilities. I used Holly's Tattered Background from I Brake for Stamps on the star and accented it with some red, white, and blue buttons.


Stamps: Holly's Tattered Background (I Brake for Stamps)
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Not Quite Navy, Kraft
CS: Kraft, White
Other: buttons, linen thread, sponges, star die, distress tool
TJ Technique: Color Sandwich

Autumn Bear

Hi y'all! It's Holly posting today. It was a hot and windy day here, and I'm ready to just skip over the summer heat and head straight into crisp and cool fall weather. This Autumn Bear from I Brake for Stamps is just darling! I think this is easily my favorite bear so far. :-) (Yeah, I say that about all of them, don't I?? LOL)

After I watercolored this Autumn Bear with distress inks, I paper pieced his sweater and cap with some olive green paper from Basic Grey's Pyrus collection. I stamped Holly's Tattered Background on the artichoke cardstock in the background, and then distressed all the background layers. The bear was cut with a circle die and then I distressed the edges and used the Torn Frames technique on the brown circle.

Head on over to I Brake for Stamps to order this Autumn Bear and the versatile Tattered Background. Here's to a quick summer so we can enjoy some crisp, cool autumn weather soon! :-)

Tattered Cameo

I started out by painting the chipboard pieces with some paint. While they were drying, I used Holly's Tattered Background stamp from I Brake for Stamps to do the Worn Wallpaper technique (from Technique Junkies). It's hard to see it on some of the papers, but I did stamp all of them.

The white silhouette piece was a bit too white for my liking, so I lightly sponged on some Antique Linen distress ink. The brown paint on the second chipboard piece wasn't dark enough, so I smeared some Walnut Stain distress ink on the edges and smooshed it around with my finger (which is a lovely shade of dark brown right now LOL). The two pieces put together resemble a gorgeous old-fashioned cameo.

I used the sketch from the Sweet Stop Sketch blog (SSS99) to put this card together. The peach toned flowers were a lucky find in my Prima stash so I added those along with some wrinkled ribbon.


Stamps: Holly's Tattered Background stamp
Ink: Fresh Snow, Walnut Stain, Antique Linen
CS: dark brown from stash, Curio pp (Basic Grey)
Other: wrinkled ribbon (May Arts), flowers (Prima), buttons, sponge, chipboard (Maya Road), Claudine Hellmuth Studio Paints (white, brown), Scallop Diamond edge punch (EK Success)
TJ Technique: Worn Wallpaper

Distressed Cowboy

I went with a masculine, distressed approach for this card. The papers from Cosmo Cricket's Wanted line were a good starting point, but I wanted to mess them up a bit more. I stamped Holly's Tattered Background from I Brake for Stamps onto the patterned paper, and then I used the Distressed Papers technique to age it even further. The cute little cowboy is from Cosmo Cricket's Wanted chipboard sheet as well as the little leaf medallion. I found this cool barbed wire twill at a LSS last year and I just had to use it with this cowboy card.



Stamps: Holly's Tattered Background from I Brake for Stamps
Ink: Vintage Photo distress
CS: Black, Cosmo Cricket Wanted
Other: Cosmo Cricket Wanted chipboard sheet, distress tool, sandpaper, ribbon (Creative Imaginations)
Techniques: Distressed Papers, Worn Wallpaper (Technique Junkies)

Dear Friend

I've been itching to try out my new deer Sizzix die, so when I saw this sketch challenge on SCS, I just had to try it out. I pulled out the Pyrus papers from Basic Grey and cut out a deer from the greenish paper in the collection. Then I ran it through my machine with a music texture plate and did the Cuttlebug Highlights technique on it (from Technique Junkies). Yeah - AFTER I did all that, I realized that the notes are backwards and upside down. OY! Hee hee hee!

I couldn't resist using this sentiment from I Brake for Stamps with this - it's just too perfect! You can find this sentiment on the Every Day Phrases sheet LOL I needed a little extra something, so I used Holly's Tattered Background, also from I Brake for Stamps. I stamped that on the sentiment strip and on the whitish designer paper on the right side of the card. It's subtle but just the right touch I needed.