Enjoy Your Birthday

Because I thinks it's good to show the boo boos as well as the triumphs, I have decided that today is a Full Disclosure Day.  To mark the occasion, I am posting a card that falls way short of the mark.  It had such promise inside my head, but once it made it onto cardstock, it picked up a few warts . . .

The coloring is amateur – but since that's what I am, I guess that fits.  But I'm still a little surprised that my chalk-work was less than successful this time.  Part of the problem may have been the super-smooth cardstock:  chalks usually do better when the paper has a little tooth to it.  Another disappointment came when I used my usual wonderfully matte spray fixative and it turned the entire layer into a glossy sheet – it took away the subtle, delicate look I was after.  Glossy paper and I are not BFF's.  As for the outlining around the image, lame.

I do like the butterfly.  The lace was a last minute inspiration and I was delighted to find that my butterfly die did as good a job on the lace as it did on paper.

Am I going to send this?  You betcha:  the recipient is nowhere near as picky as I am, and loves me very much – warts and all – so, off it goes!

Cardstock:   Generic Textured Blue, Bazzill Dark Sand, PaperCut

                          White Matte Coat

Stamps:        The Stamp Mill Poppy, Stamp Out Cute Swirls, Hero

                          “Enjoy your birthday”

Inks:               Archival Coffee, Distress Antique Linen, Old Paper,

                          Peeled Paint, Mowed Lawn, Copic Warm Grey #4,

                          Wink of Stella Clear

Emb Powder:  WOW Clear Matte Dull, B’Muse Devil’s Food Delight

Dies:              Memory Box Isabella, JustRite Charms

Chalks:          The Stencil Collection, I-Kan-Dee

Doo Dads:    Blue satin ribbon, Ecru lace snippet, Gold mini beads

Treasure, Play, Live

This card showcases my latest hot new discovery . . .              

 . . . did you spot it?  Of course not:  it's too subtle to be seen in a photograph.  And this time, it's not the camera's fault.  Give up?  It's the embossing powder!  It's WOW's Clear Matte Dull and it's a truly marvelous product!  The image, text, and corner design were all embossed with it.  It gives a nice raised texture with absolutely no shine.  There are many instances where a super-shiny line is not what I want, such as with designs that are distressed, or hand carved, or when a more casual look is what I'm after.  And since it's clear, it works over any color – as you can see – and that means that I need only one jar of this stuff instead of a drawer full of colors.  In a word, YAY!

Cardstock:   Generic Oatmeal, Black scraps

Stamps:        Gloria Page Tree from Get Into Nature set, Corner from

                         Magic Tree set, Starving Artistamps Positive Words            

                             “Treasure, Play, Live”

Inks:               Distress Barn Door, Spiced Marmalade, Mowed Lawn,

                          Vintage Photo, Black Soot

Emb Powder:  WOW Clear Matte Dull

Impr Plate:    Papertrey Ink Linen

Doo Dads:    DIY enamel dots

Birthdays Are the Best

I raided the Scrap Stash yet again for this one . . .

The background is an interesting feature here:  it's really a solid image with the funky stripes recessed so that they don't pick up the ink.  First, I inked with VersaMark and stamped on white cardstock.  Then I clear embossed the image and colored in just the stripes.  After ironing off the clear embossing powder between two sheets of copier paper, I was left with colorful funky lines I couldn't have gotten otherwise.  Easy Peasy!  This technique is also a chance to see if the iron still works . . . how else would I know - who irons anymore?

Cardstock:   American Crafts Brights Lilac, Beckett Iceberg,

                          watercolor paper

Stamps:        Outlines Funky Stripes, Stampin’ Up Chicken Wire,

                         “Birthdays are the best”, Hero Stitched Circles, Prima

                         Stitching Lines

Inks:               Ancient Page Pink Pizzazz, Primrose, Cobalt, Vivid

                         Ultramarine, ColorBox Frost White, VersaMark

Emb Powder:  Judikins Opaque White, Vippies Transcendence

Dies:              Mama Elephant Embellished Tag

Doo Dads:    Stampin’ Up Stitched Ribbon, White floss

Smoochin'

The minute I saw Dina Kowal's wonderful treatment of this adorable stamp HERE,

I had to order it and give it a try myself.  The linked tutorial shows several cards with various techniques – just keep scrolling until you get to those marvelous bunnies.  There's also a video as well . . .

The camera actually picked up some of the Distress glitter, but what may not be very visible is that the embossing paste was applied in a heart shape – appropriate for an anniversary card, don't you think?

I'm no colorist but Dina's skills helped me get a lot farther along than I would have otherwise.  I kept my laptop with her card up at my elbow and it was very helpful while working on shading.  I've found that chalks are very forgiving and therefore great for making a stamper look more skilled at coloring than is actually the case, so since "my Momma din't raise no fools", that's what I used on the whole card.

This is the first time in quite awhile that I've played with my chalks . . . time to get back to them!

Cardstock:   Neenah Classic Solar White

Stamps:        The Artful Stamper Smoochin’, text from Paper Smooches

                           Sentiment Sampler

Inks:               Archival Coffee, Hero Soft Brown, Gelly Roll Clear Star pen

Emb Powder:   WOW Clear Matte Dull

Chalks:          The Stencil Collection Non-Smear Pastels, Bruynzeel

                         & Faber Castell Pastel Pencils

Stencil:          Simon Says Stamp Mosaic Heart

Emb Paste:  Dreamweaver Translucent

Dies:              DieNamics Fishtail Banner

Doo Dads:    Distress Dry Glitter, Flower Soft Polar White

Your Special Day

This card was a fun one to do, even though the coloring took a little time.  It's a variation on the Spotlight technique whereby the image is stamped twice.  After coloring, one image is trimmed, and then layered over the other with pop dots . . .

Since this took a fair amount of time to color, I hated to waste the trimmed away portion of the image.  I soon realized I'd done the right thing by doing such a careful trimming job as I was left with a cleanly cut piece I could turn into a frame . . .

I added another little banner at the bottom for my "With Love" & signature.  I plan to use this idea with many other images for sure . . .

MORAL:  It pays to work neatly!

Cardstock:   Marcos Jute             

Stamps:        Hero Delicate Blossoms, Simon Says Stamp Sketchy

                           Banner Greetings, Stampin’ Up Itty Bitty Backgrounds                     

Inks:               Ancient Page Chocolate

Emb Powder:      WOW Clear Matte Dull

Colored Pencils: Inktense Fern, Hot Red, Thistle

Dies:              Simon Says Stamps Sketchy Banners                                                   

Doo Dads:    Tattered Angels Gold Glimmer Mist, mini beads Gold              

Sun-sational

In sending cards to inmates, one has to be very careful about embellishments.  The Correspondence Police are extremely picky about how much dimensional love one is allowed to put on a card.  So I went outside my usual, probably-more-than-necessary embellie mode and kept it as close to Clean and Simple as I am constitutionally capable

of doing . . . 

Trust me, I am sweating at the effort.  Her name and the red background are die cuts, while the black corners (without which the card looked positively naked) are punched.  This is as flat as I can get it, folks . . . hope it makes it past the Mail Room Gestapo.

Cardstock:   Generic textured White, Red scrap, Beckett Iceberg

Stamps:        Amuse Palm Silhouette, “Have a sun-sational day”

Inks:               Distress Fired Brick, Wild Honey, Mustard Seed, Superior

                         India Ink Black

Dies:              Die-Versions Hint of Lime Font

Punch:           EK Success Scalloped Corner     

Memories

At the time of this writing, a really dear fellow parishioner had lost her husband of 48 years.  Their marriage was a beautiful one and the loss is deeply felt . . .

The events that immediately surround a death can be a welcome distraction for awhile.  But it's later on that the realities set in . . . sometimes, the aftermath is worse than the event itself.  My intent with this card was to give her something beautiful to look at and to let her know she remains in our hearts and daily prayers.

As the flowers make it too bulky to mail in the usual way, I pulled out the stops and decorated a large envelope with embellishments that also would never make it through the mail as is.  Then I sent it in a decorated chipboard box  I made.

The whole process stretched out over four days.  Sometimes, quick and easy just isn't enough . . .

 

Cardstock:   Generic Blue, Beckett Moonlight

Stamps:        Just For Fun Memories

Inks:               Distress Weathered Wood, Shabby Shutters,

                           Mustard Seed, ColorBox Frost White, Wink of Stella Clear

Emb Powder:  Judikins Opaque White

Dies:              Cheery Lynn Cathedral Lace Background,  Impression

                           Obsession Bare Branch, Spellbinders Bitty Blossoms,

                           Memory Box Pippi/Isabella Butterflies

Doo Dads:    Prisma glitter