And MORE prezzies...

Beyond lucky, I am!  A recent speed-bomb trip to Alberta meant I got to spend a couple of nights with Alice Saltiel-Marshall, recently returned from an extended visit to the US.  She came back with a number of gifts for me tucked away in their R-pod, and I scored

BIG!

Alice's gifts are always legendary - she's the quintessential shopper extraordinaire.  This delicious stamp will be a frequent flyer in my collection, I suspect.

A Tim Holtz speckles stencil is great fun, and terrific for that area where a 'controlled splash' is required.

I LOVE this little 1" foam roller she found - it's fabulous for doing a quick frieze along the side of a piece.

And this embossing folder is a beauty, used on a dryer sheet spray-glued to a piece of card stock.

I used the other floral embossing folder on a another dryer sheet piece,

and because I was on a roll with the Sizzix machine, I used a previously gifted folder on some painted paper.

These delightful little metal embellishments will certainly find their way onto a painting, perhaps coloured with alcohol inks (see below).

The large maple leaf place mat was used as a stamp (top right), the brayer imprint used as rolling stamp, then Gelli printed onto a previous print in progress, and ghost printed onto another.  How's that for a multi-use item with such a delicious pattern?!

I used this stencil by Stencil Girl the last time I visited with Alice, and I suspect I moaned so long and loudly about needing to have one that she gave it to me as well.

She also brought me some metallic alcohol inks and I've splashed and then sprayed them with 99% alcohol,

 dropped and

 then rubbed with deli paper,

 and sprayed with 99% alcohol and then drizzled them.

I'm certain that's not what they are intended for (they were originally developed for use with metal).  How do you use them?  I'm curious about the best way to apply and utilize their uniquely opaque metallic properties!

In fact, with all these new toys and thanks to my ever-generous friend, Alice,  I may not come out of the studio for days in spite of the glorious weather.  Thank you again, Alice;  you know how much I love you!

How's your summer creativity coming?  Are you in the studio, in the garden, or in another country?