I Am the Way

This layout was supposed to turn out very differently and I remain unsure as to what exactly happened along the way . . .    

                   

Things started off well enough:  I found a fabric-flowered wisteria tree next to the dumpster down the street and dragged it home.  Those lovely purple flowers and green leaves had my name on all of them and I am now well supplied with fabric foliage into the next millennium.

But my best attempts at using them went south, regardless of how well the design worked in my head.  So be it:  maybe my next attempt with this purple windfall will turn out to be more like what I originally had in mind. 

Meanwhile, the message of this most blessed day of the year overrides all other concerns . . . indeed He has Risen!

Cardstock:   Ponderosa Pine, Neenah Solar White

Stamps:         Stamp Magic “I am the way . . .”, Inkadinkado Pebble
                          Background

Inks:               Encore Silver, VersaCraft Peony Purple

Emb Powder:          B’Muse Deep Indigo

Dies/Punches:        Spellbinders Crosses Two, EK Rectangle Tag, Flower

                                         punches

Doo Dads       Fabric Flowers, Purple brad

Rainbow Fish

This is about as close as it gets to Clean and Simple for me . . .

I ran my brayer over the rainbow pad and then laid down the colorful background in one pass.  After stamping, I used leftover scraps on each side to bracket the fish.  A few dabs with the Stickles and I was DONE!  Clean and Simple really comes in handy when life is on overload . . .

Cardstock:   Beckett Iceberg, generic Pink

Stamps:        MJ Barber San Blas Fish

Inks:               Document Black, Fabrico Rainbow Pastel

Doo Dads:    Stickles Icicle                       

Dropping You a Line

The theme for our recent stamping club meeting was to make something with Washi tape, so here’s what I came up with . . .

 

Though I’ve collected a number of these fabulous tapes, I’m still rather new at using them.  One thing I picked up this time around was the fact that Washi tapes are usually translucent.  So when I layered the tapes on black cardstock for some added dimension, the three light colored strips came out muddy and very blah.  Their true colors were retained when I layered the three over oatmeal cardstock.  A sea change for sure!

 The text on the last strip is upside down – a quirk I hadn’t noticed until I was done with the card.  I’ve decided that it doesn’t really matter – it’s just texture and I’m fine with it. 

Well, mostly . . .

Cardstock:   Black Bazzill, generic oatmeal scraps

Stamps:        Starving Artistamps Altered Stitches/Harlequin, Amuse
                         “Dropping You a Line”
Inks:               VersaMark, ColorBox Black, Distress Old Paper
Emb Powder:     PSX Ochre Tapestry, Judikins Detail Black
Dies/Punches:   W+9 Banner Trio, EK Success corner rounder
Doo Dads:          5 Washi tapes, wooden buttons, black floss

Live for Today

Melanie Muenchinger is one of Gina K’s designers and she recently posted a coloring method she calls the Whitewash Technique.  It gives a soft look reminiscent of vellum and I can see scores of applications for this . . .

The technique couldn’t be simpler:  stamp and emboss a line image, then tap your waterbrush onto a white pigment ink pad and color!  How hard is that?  When dry, you can do the same thing with a light-colored inkpad such as pink or green and add some highlights to the image.  You can find a link to her video on this process HERE.

I think this method would make great ghosts, curtains, window panes, summer clothing, clouds, or anything you want to have a misty look to it.  Have some fun and give it a try!

Cardstock:              Marcos Jute, Bazzill Rain Forest, Forest Green

Stamps:                   Great Impressions Random Dot Background,
                                     Stacy Stamps Fern, Studio G “Live for Today”

Inks:                          ColorBox Cream White, Frost White, Distress

                                     Bundled Sage, Brushed Corduroy, Ancient

                                     Page Pine

Emb Powder:          Stampendous Ivory Pearl, Shabby White

Emb Folder:             Spellbinders Bricks & Bark 

Dies:                          Spellbinders Back to Basics tag

Love

Thanks to some really lovely inspiration from Pam via her Expressions With Heart blog HERE, I tried something a little different today.  My adventure involved embossing with a stencil and using the debossed instead of the embossed side ...

 . . . then I decided to gild the lily (in this case, a fern spray) and I sponged with VersaMark through the stencil and white-embossed.  After that, I spritzed with blue, green and purple sprays.  When dry, I masked the fern and stamped a couple of word backgrounds in Dusty Concord.  The Pewter and Perfect Pearls sprays I used to finish off the card don’t show, of course:  all glimmer gets locked in the bowels of my camera, but trust me, the card gleams and looks lustrous without too much flash.

Thanks to Pam for such beautiful ideas and also for her meticulous tutorial which even includes the sandwich recipe for embossing with your stencils – I hope you give it a try!

Cardstock:   Neenah Solar White, Bazzill Blackberry, Robin’s Egg

                           Blue, Marcos White Linen

Stamps:        Above the Mark Sonnet, Art Impressions Mini Travel

                           Background

Inks:               Stamp Zia sprays:  Magic, Iris, Emerald, Distress

                          Dusty Concord, VersaMark, Memento Grape Jelly,

                          Gelly Roll Clear Star pen

Stencil:          Club Scrap Fern

Emb Powder:  Judikins Opaque White, VIP Transcendence 

Punches:      McGill Heart punch, 1/8” corner rounder punch

Doo Dads:    Perfect Pearls, Pewter sprays        

A Fabulous Day

“Saving stuff” – such as beautiful cardstocks and special embellishments – is a mindset that has held me back in my 14 years of stamping.  No more.  It’s akin to hoarding and it weighs me down.  I’m now having the time of my life going through my entire stash and pulling out everything I’ve been reluctant to use . . . such as the card base here:

While the photo may not show it well, the texture is gorgeous!  It was a joy to work with and I’m glad I took the opportunity to do so.  Back in the day, “acid free” was not the norm that it is now, and some of my cardstocks from those early days have begun to change color and fade, especially along the edges.  So I’ve pretty much done myself out of the pleasure of using them, to say nothing of the lost money I spent.

I’m in my seventh decade . . . what on earth am I saving this stuff for?

Cardstock:              Hero Punch textured, Marcos Premium Matte

Stamps:                   Judikins Origami Background, Alias Smith Striped

                                    Background, Papertrey Ink Dress Form and

                                    “Wishing You a Fabulous Day” text

Inks:                          Ancient Page Henna, Gelly Roll White, Clear

                                    Star pens

Emb Powder:          Vippies Transcendence

Dies:                          Spellbinders Labels 23, Papertrey Ink Dress Form,

                                    Family Treasures Scalloped Oval punch (2 sizes),

                                     Marvy High Heeled Shoe punch

Doo Dads:                Crystals, satin ribbons

Asian Knot

Working with Asian themes is always a pleasure and this one was no exception . . .

As usual, less-than-stellar photography skills have made this card a lot darker than it is in real life.  My dear and lifelong friend Sandy takes her annual vacation in Hawaii each year where the Asian influence in island life is so wonderfully felt.  I thought that using this theme on her card would bring back some beautiful memories of her many visits to that lovely state.

Cardstock:              Beckett Iceberg, White-embossed Purple scraps

Stamps:                   Stamp Camp Asian Flip Flops

Inks:                          ColorBox Frost White, Black, Copic V17 Amethyst

Emb Powder:          Judikins White Diamond, Detail Black

Dies:                          Dee’s Distinctively Lattice 2

Doo Dads:                Deckled scissors, Mizuhiki cord, 1/8^th“ corner rounder