Britta Swiderski Creative

28 is my favorite number (EVER!), so it’s fitting that this challenge is about one of my favorite things ever… Distress Ink. I love them so much. I’ll post my full update at the end of this post for this interested in the non-crafty stuff, but for now, let’s talk Lawnscaping Challenge, shall we? :)

This one was a push for me… not because of the medium but because I totally forgot to pack several very important things for crafting, and it hit me hard on this challenge. So, I present to you, a card made in a very makeshift way that I think actually made me more creative than I otherwise would’ve been. Challenges for me are always a good “make it work” moment, and it pushes me to be more creative. I love that.

What was I missing for making this card? Clear blocks for stamping (I have a 1″ by 6″ one, but that’s it) and ALL of my colored Distress Inks. The Reinkers? I have my collection of those (it’s not very extensive – I just pick up one here and there as I need it) but as for pads themselves, I only brought a bag of neutrals and seasonal colors to Spain with me. The colors are at home with my parents in a box that they may never send because of the crazy cost of shipping. Anyways, this is how I managed to distress some Simon Says Watercolor paper to create this cute little bouquet.

Supplies used: Distress Ink Reinkers in Spun Sugar, Shabby Shutters, Peeled Paint, Tumbled Glass and Milled Lavender (lighter colors are better for this technique), watercolor paper (I used the smooth side), a mister bottle of water, a craft sheet and a heat gun (optional).

Drop a few drops of each color onto the sheet (each color has a specific part of the sheet for minimal contamination, or you can mix like colors together if you like that look better). I used three drops here.

Spray once or twice onto the area of color. Let it run. Turn the paper or spray again. Blot of extra if desired for a lighter look.

Do this with the rest of the colors. I found it was best to spray all at once. I also intermingled the two greens for more depth in my leaves.

Let it air dry or use a heat gun to speed up the process. use a paper towel to dry off huge pools of color and the edges. When completely dry, stamp the images (Blissful Botanicals used here) in Memento Black ink. The watercolor paper is coarse, so you make have to touch up the flowers and leaves with a black pen. My favorite pen EVER is the Signo Uni-Ball Black. It’s perfect and will not bleed on watercolor paper (as long as the paper is dry).

Then I just cut out everything and adhered it down. I stamped my sentiment on a scrap of the watercolored paper to bring everything together. Oh, and the background was done with Pumice Stone (base) and Black Soot (around the edges) and then stamped on in Versamark + water with Schoolhouse Backdrops. It’s a subtle but really great effect for a background.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my card for this week’s challenge! Now make sure to head over to the Lawnscaping blog for more information on the challenge, more inspiration from the fabulous design team and of course your chance to join us.

Thank you SO much to Lawn Fawn for sponsoring us this week. You’re our favorite, LF! <3

Update on Me

Trust me, I think about blogging every day. I wish I had enough hours in a day to incorporate everything I want to! <3 I’m having such a fantastic time in Spain traveling around the city, around the country and even for a (very cold!) weekend in Berlin, Germany. I have so many wonderful pictures to share with you, so I’ll insert some little slide shows with pictures from different trips. I try to keep my flickr account updated at least bi-weekly with all of my favorite pictures, so follow me (or friend me? not sure) over there if you always want the latest photos from my journey. I’m getting my last few weeks up at the moment and will add in some links to slide shows soon. :)

Other than that, I’ve been sick. A little homesick (for the second time ever – the first was 6 weeks into my freshman year away at college), missing my wonderful friends, family and boyfriend, and mostly missing my favorite foods: Cheez-its, Papa Johns Pizza, cheese curds, lasagna (heck, anything cooked in the oven since I don’t have one in my tiny ass kitchen) and free refills of water and soda at restaurants. My stomach was also really bothering me for several weeks to the point where I even got an ultrasound and bloodwork done to make sure my organs were functioning correctly.

It turns out, it’s all stress-related and the stress I experience (and don’t handle as well as the average student) causes me to have symptoms of IBS. It’s usually something that people discover later in life, but I’m just so *lucky* to have discovered it now. Ha! So I’ve been working on changing my diet to cope with my symptoms and have been making friends with homeopathic pharmacists here. Ha! My mom suffers from IBS, so she showed me this website that is very helpful: Help for IBS. If you know of any other tried-and-true resources for this, I would love if you would share them with me!

So that’s me right now. I’m working on not being stressed. It’s something that I deal with every. single. semester. It’s something that sometimes makes me very angry or even inconsolable. It causes my life to do little tail spins in which I don’t respond to e-mails and want to curl up into a little ball. Just know I’m working on it always. I love you for reading and for being here. This is a life experience for me, and I will get everything out of  living here that I possibly can. That probably means very sporadic blogging and lots of apologies, but this is me now. Sporadic and apologetic. And it’ll all be different in three months when I’m back in the States.

Thank you and I love you,
Britta

It’s the 23rd of the month again, so it’s time for another Young Crafters Unite challenge. I want to send out huge hugs and lovies to the lovely DT team (and especially of course the wonderful Marie) for keeping the YCU blog afloat while I’m travelling. We have the best team. :) The lovely Marie has whipped up a fabulous sketch for us to use on this challenge. Check it out!

Here’s the official challenge badge for you to add to your blogs when you post your card for the challenge:

Here’s what I’ve come up with for the challenge. I did my own take and left off the sentiment banner because the heart already has writing on it. Instead, I added more embellishments to bring out the heavy emphasis of that area of the card on the sketch. :)

By the way, I’m loving this We R Memory Keepers aqua ribbon (sold as part of the Sew Ribbon line) and these CG426 Four Hearts heart stamps from the most recent Hero Arts release. They’re constantly right by my work area on my desk. :)

Make sure you check out our lovely sponsor for this challenge (as always), Simon Says Stamp. How cute is this new little blinkie?!

They are providing one lucky winner a $25 gift certificate to their fantastic online store! Thank you so much, Simon Says Stamp!

Now it’s time to hop over to the Young Crafters Unite blog for more information about the challenge and to see the amazing Design Team creations. Enjoy!

Love,
Britta

Hi there! Did ya miss me? In short, I’ve been busy and sleeping in my free time. I’m loving Spain so much. I’m safe and sound, and I’m settling into my tiny little dormitory located in the heart of L’Eixample district. I have a full recap of my first week half-done in a blog post and a second one coming, but between settling in, exploring and coming down with a nasty cold, I hope you can understand that I’m a little short on energy when I get home for the day.

So look for a new blog post coming soon about my adventures here, but for now I have some business to attend to – this week’s Lawnscaping post! Here’s the theme for challenge number 26:

Even though it doesn’t really ever snow here in Barcelona, everyone’s still in the wintery mood in parkas with mittens and hats (not that I am… it’s still warm for me!). Either way, no one can resist some cute, wintery penguins. :)

Lawn Fawn images always look good with some simple Copic coloring. I’m loving these light violet colors lately (V01, V04 and V06).

Now make sure you hop over to the Lawnscaping blog for details on the challenge and to add your own entry. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I hope you check out the other inspiring DT creations!

Thanks so much for your patience and messages of love. I love you all so much and can’t wait to share more of my trip with you! Now if you could just send me some sleep, that would be great. ;)

Love,
Britta

Hello there! I’m actually typing this from the Appleton, WI airport right now. I’m officially on my way to Barcelona, Spain! Sorry I’ve been a little absent around here, but I promise it’s with good reason. I’ve been preparing, packing and also making several cards in preparation for my travel over the next couple of days. I’m scheduling a couple posts while I wait at the airport so you have things to read over the next couple days!

As a side note, I really love flying out of this tiny airport. I have to connect to my international flight in Chicago, but I only had to wait in line at security behind 6 people, my parents got to park by the curb and bring my luggage in for me to the check-in and there are only six gates. It’s my perfect little airport. (Not to mention that the main food offered is cheese… that’s pretty cool.)

Also, it’s currently 64 degrees (18 C) in Barcelona and only 16 (-9 C) here. Let’s just say I’m thrilled to be going somewhere with a high of sixty degrees every day this week. Yippee!

Today I’m popping in to share my card for this next Lawnscaping challenge. It was just a year ago that this sweet little challenge blog got its start, and I’m so very happy to be a part of it. We have so much fun sharing our love for Lawn Fawn. Thanks for your  love and support over this last year. To celebrate, we have a special gift for you over at the Lawnscaping blog. make sure to check it out! Now, onto the challenge…

I used Lawn Fawn’s Year One (what an appropriate set for this challenge!) as well as Bows and Holly for one of my favorite birthday cards I’ve made in a while. I love making my own patterned paper with sentiment stamps like this.

The Stickles on the present’s ribbon add the perfect glittery touch. It’s even more sparkley in person. :)

Make sure to hop over to the Lawnscaping blog for your free birthday present (it’s SO CUTE!) and to get more details on this challenge. The winner will be winning a $25 gift certificate from our lovely sponsor, Simon Says Stamp!

Thank you so much for stopping by today. I will see you on the other side of the Atlantic. I can’t believe today is finally here!

Love,
Britta

Hi there! It’s the third Monday of the month, so it’s time for the next Lawnscaping Challenge. I’m really excited about my creation for today, and I think you’re really going to love this challenge. This week is all about texture!

I built the little scene using Frosties and Making Frosty Friends so that it would fit into the polaroid frame from Say Cheese. Everything is adhered with foam adhesive to add even more texture and dimension.

The background is done with one of my new favorite embossing folders from this set from Sizzix, and I added Stickles for accents throughout the card when I was finished. I’m kind of obsessed with glitter right now if you haven’t noticed. :)

Thanks so much to our fab sponsor, Lawn Fawn, for providing a stamp set of the winner’s choice to the winner of this challenge! Make a project using LF stamps and inspired by the above photo and then check out this post on the Lawnscaping blog to enter into the contest. I’ll see you over there! Don’t forget to check out the DT’s super cute creations over there as well. They’ve really outdone themselves for this challenge.

Here’s to a productive and happy week. Each passing hour has me more and more excited about going to Spain. I can’t believe I’m leaving in two weeks! I’m reading articles, looking at pictures and reading guidebooks. I had a physical on Friday and I’m happy to say I’m 100% healthy and ready to not infect other countries. Ha! Are you excited to come along with me? I’m excited to bring ya! Be back later today with a brand new Video Tutorial Monday.

Love,
Britta