Beauty

As promised in my post of April 18, I had some plans for the border strips I had left over after cutting out the background for the Mother’s Day card I featured that day . . .

 

 . . . getting this card together was one of those wandering journeys that took me several places before I finally decided I had reached my destination.  I like the soft and misty coloration and am once again grateful to Tim’s Distress Stains for making that happen . . . LOVE those puppies!

Cardstock:         Bazzill Dark Posey, Beckett Iceberg, Tan scraps

Stamps:              Lost Coast Cat Quotes, Stamp Zia ‘Beauty’
Inks:                    Distress Stains Brushed Corduroy, Victorian Velvet, Spun Sugar
                              ColorBox Frost White
Emb Powder:    B’Muse Eggshell
Emb Folder:       Sizzix Plaid
Dies/Punches:   Memory Box Grove Branch,  Papertrey Ink Angled Label,
                              EK flower punches

 

Journey, Part Two

With increased demands on my time lately, I’ve found myself making several copies of the same card layouts and giving them to widely-scattered friends and family.  This bails me out when numerous card-giving occasions happen at the same time.  Surely I’ve got lots of company out there doing the same thing, right?  Anyway, I’ve accomplished quite a lot this way but have also found myself with a pile of scraps that are too pretty to throw away.  So I’ve been having fun figuring out ways to use these . . .

 

. . . Monday’s card (April 22) showed the original background – today’s card shows a weaving from the leftover trimmings.  It’s a shame to waste all of that time and those beautiful inks, don’t you think?

Cardstock:   Marcos Jute, generic Black, Beckett Moonlight

Stamps:       Starving Artistamps Lil’ Squares Background, Tin Can Mail
                       Addressed Letter, VAP “Journey”
Inks:             Distress Antique Linen, Old Paper, Brushed Corduroy,
                       Fired Brick, VersaFine Vintage Sepia
Emb Powder:  B’Muse Eggshell. Transcendence Clear
Impression Plate:  Cheery Lynn Desert Floor
Dies/Punches:  Spellbinders motif from Lace Doily Set

Journey

At the end of March, Virginia Lu’s blog featured a card that really inspired me.  While her work nearly always floats my boat, this one in particular had me humming.  I loved the Kraft background, the neutral colors, the merest hint of red for an accent, and the surprise punch from the white polka-dotted black frame.  So I played around a little . . .

 

 . . . at the time, I didn’t have the main flower stamp (obviously, I do now) but I did have two trays full of postoids that I’ve never used before.  Good times!  I could have lived a lifetime before I would ever have thought to pair such a dramatic frame with these neutral colors.  As for the red touches I loved in her card, forget it:  never would have happened.  Yes, I’m gonna use this combo again – and often!

Cardstock:   Marcos Jute, generic Black, Beckett Moonlight

Stamps:       Starving Artistamps Lil’ Squares Background, Hero Etched Flower with
                       Stems, Stampers Anonymous Mosaic Fragment, Skeleton
                          Leaf, Rubber Tree Egyptian Map, unknown “Journey”,
                          various Postoids too numerous to mention
Inks:             ColorBox Frost White, VersaFine Vintage Sepia, Distress
                       Brushed Corduroy, Old Paper, Antique Linen, Fired Brick
Emb Powder:  B’Muse Eggshell
Impression Plate:  Cheery Lynn Desert Floor
Dies/Punches:  Wplus9 Banner Trio
Doo Dads:    White fabric flower, black brad

Blessing

Although I absolutely love every toy and supply I’ve ever bought for this wonderful hobby, I must admit that some of these tools get used a lot, while others haven’t been used at all.  So it was time for a challenge: pick two never-used inks I’ve owned for several years and put them to work.  In this case, it was two Distress shades of pink . . .

 

 

 . . . I had fun with this idea and plan to play with it regularly.  With all the money I’ve spent on these toys, it’s nice to find a good way to justify the expense.  At least in my own mind.  Meanwhile, as I made five Mother’s Day cards this year, I had a lot of scraps that called out to be put to use.  Check in again at the end of the month to see what happened with them . . .  Actually, I hope you come back a lot sooner than that!

 Cardstock:             Bazzill Dark Posey [sic], Beckett Iceberg, Tan scraps

Stamps:                  Hero Etched Flower with Stems, “Blessing”

Inks:                       Distress Brushed Corduroy, Victorian Velvet, Spun

Sugar, ColorBox Frost White, Perfect Pearls Mist

Emb Powder:         B’Muse Eggshell

Emb Plate:             Cheery Lynn Desert Floor

Dies/Punches:       DieNamics Grassy Edges

Doo Dads:              Pearls, 1/8” corner punch

 

Happy Mother's Day

Currently in the Spring issue of Paper Creations, the inspiration for this card started with Cheery Lynn’s lacy die cut background that melted me down to the very soles of my creative sox the instant I first saw it.  Can’t tell you why – it just does.  So brace yourselves, as you’ll be seeing a lot of it in future . . .

 

The colors are a bit of a departure from traditional Mother’s Day pastels, but when enlivened with a little sparkle in the form of Perfect Pearls Mist plus my enduring favorite – the Clear Star pen – I think this card conveys the lively warmth that Mothers are famous for giving us.

Cardstock:         Bazzill Burning Ember; Beckett Moonlight, Watercolor paper

Stamps:              Creative Catalyst Tweed stamp, Endless Designs “Happy

                                  Mother’s Day”, Memory Box Poinsettia

Inks:                    Distress Fired Brick and Brushed Corduroy, Versamark,

                                  Gelly Roll Clear Star pen, Perfect Pearl Mist

Emb Powder:    Stampendous Ivory Pearl,  B’Muse Clear Matte Detail powder

Dies/Punches:  Cheery Lynn Japanese Lace Pattern, Wplus9  Banner Trio,

                                  Marvy Giga Scalloped Oval punch, Marvy Butterflies

 

 

Make A Wish

Due to ever-present time constraints, last Monday’s card was done in multiples to take care of several imminent birthdays.  The resulting trimmings from the background pieces left me with more than enough to make a weaving for today's post. . .

 

 . . . don’t you just love leftovers?  Such great timesavers for the kitchen and craft room alike!

 Cardstock:         Bazzill Simon, White

Stamps:              Hero Zig Zag and More, Sweet Stamps Candle Wish Duo, Too Much

                                 Fun “It’s Your Day”

Inks:                    ColorBox Frost White, Gelly Roll White, Distress Stormy Sky,

                                  Peeled Paint, Dusty Concord, Papertrey Ink Fresh Snow

Emb Powder:    Judikins Opaque White

Dies/Punches:   Spellbinders Grommet Tags, Tags and Flags, Cheery Lynn Pine Branch

Doo Dads:          1/8” White satin ribbon

A Day to Celebrate

While the recipient of this card was presumably happy to be celebrating her birthday, I found myself quite happy I had saved the scraps that found themselves quite at home on this layout . . .

 . . . as it happens, the pine branch sprays on the ribbon were die cut from a scrap left over from a previous project.  As the inks I used were the same, serendipity is well served and we are happily reminded that scrap-hoarding pays off yet again.   Booyah!

Cardstock:         Bazzill Purple, White, Rain Forest, Watercolor paper
Stamps:              Hero Zig Zag & More, “A day to celebrate”, Touché Doodle Flower
Inks:                    Distress Stormy Sky, Peeled Paint, Dusty Concord
Emb Powder:    Judikins Opaque White
Dies/Punches:   Cheery Lynn Pine Branches, Spellbinders Petite Ovals,
                                 Wplus9 Banner Trio
Doo Dads:          White-stitched Green grosgrain 5/8” ribbon, Prisma glitter

Congratulations!

 Thanks to my incredibly artistic friend Carol Chiaramonte, I’ve gotten hooked on watercolor crayons and am having a wonderful time playing with them!  Her St Patrick’s Day card featured some feathers done with these wonderful tools and I just had to try them out for myself . . .

 

I like them because you have all the time in the world to draw with these – no fears about their drying out before you’re ready to stamp.  Drawing on rubber with crayons is surprisingly easy and involves a looser style than we anal types usually use.  This is a good thing.  So far, although I need a little more practice in knowing just how much water to mist the stamp with, the coloring part is just fine.  Yes, there’s always room for improvement but my point is that you’re gonna love what you get, regardless of how by-the-book your application is.  Pick up your watercolor crayons,  go back to kindergarten, and just scribble!

 Cardstock:         Bazzill Rain Forest, Beckett Moonlight, Marcos Jute

Stamps:              Fiskars brayer Mesh, Anita’s Congratulations, unknown feather images

Inks:                    Distress Peeled Paint, various Aquarell watercolor crayons
Emb Powder:    Vippies Transcendence
Emb Folder:       Cuttlebug Mesh
Dies/Punches:   Spellbinders Petite Ovals
Doo Dads:          White-stitched 5/8” Kraft ribbon, ¼“ Green grosgrain ribbon

 

A Thankful Heart

This started out to be a Fall-themed card, but I think Gratitude is a good idea all year ‘round . . .

Once again, I am irresistibly drawn to tags, especially when the color Kraft is in town.  And when a woodgrain image and texture gets added to the mix, I am powerless to resist . . .

 

 

 I made an interesting discovery with this wonderful tag die:  if I run it through the machine once, I get debossed holes.  If I run it through twice, I get actual holes.  I love both options and am happy to have a choice as to which look goes best with my layout.  Details, always the details . . . 

Cardstock:         Marcos Jute, Beckett Iceberg scraps

Stamps:              Hero Designer Woodgrain, Wplus9 Pretty Patches (image and text)

Inks:                    ColorBox Cream White, Ruby, Distress Brushed Corduroy, Ancient

                               Page Pine, Copic R29 Lipstick Red

Emb Powder:    B’Muse Eggshell White, Vippie’s Transcendence

Emb Plate:         Papertrey Ink Woodgrain Impression Plate

Dies/Punches:   Chads from Tonic’s Fleur de Lis punch, Papertrey Ink Tag Sale #3,

                               Angled Labels Set

Doo Dads:          Red/Green ¼“ ribbon, May Arts Jute Twine, Oriental Trading

                               wood apple button