It's Your Day

Last week’s posting (Thursday 23^rd) used up only three of the six Washi strips I had in my stash, so I decided to have another go at playing with them . . .

 

 . . . they look so good with Kraft that I stayed with the basic color scheme while mixing up some of the other elements.  Enjoy!

 Cardstock:         Marcos Jute, Brown Bag, Bazzill Cheddar, Beckett Iceberg,

                               Washi scraps

Stamps:              Too Much Fun “It’s your day”

Inks:                    Ancient Page Chocolate, Dylusions White Linen spray, Distress Frayed Burlap

Emb Powder:    B’Muse Devil’s Food Delight
Emb Folder:       Spellbinders Asian

Dies/Punches:   WPlus9 Banner Trio, three sizes flower punches

Doo Dads:          1/8” corner rounder

A Day to Celebrate

My last attempt at making a Father’s Day card wound up with lace, pearls and beads.  While this might have worked for Valentine’s Day, it was a little too much of a stretch for Father’s Day.  So I went surfing through my beloved Scrap Stash and unearthed the bones for this card . . .

 

While I didn’t label these particular scraps, I believe my friend Carol Chiaramonte is responsible for these glorious shades of Olive, Gold, and Orange which she sponged over watercolor cardstock as well as on the canvas strip layered under the sentiment.  Carol thinks she’s not very good with color.  She’s nuts, isn’t she?

Cardstock:         Bazzill Festive, watercolor paper, Generic Mango scrap

Stamps:              Stamp a Mania Line Background, Hero “A day to celebrate”
Inks:                    Memories Art Print Brown, Unknown golds/greens/oranges
Emb Powder:    Vippies Transcendence
Dies/Punches:   Savvy Tree, 1/8” corner rounder
Doo Dads:          Green satin 3/8” ribbon*, May Arts Jute fiber
* Although the camera argues otherwise, the ribbon loop perfectly matches the darker green in the background and isn't really blue at all.

Just Words

Can’t stay away from Kraft cardstock for long . . . it sings me siren songs if I go more than a few days without spending some time with it . . .

 

A little while ago, I had need of a Washi paper background, so I took a cheerfully flowered red pattern, ironed the back of it onto the shiny side of freezer paper, and wound up with a good-sized piece of delicate Washi paper that now had a lot more body to it.  After trimming to the size I needed, I had enough leftover strips to use in making two cards.  After notching the ends of the strips, my new banners were ready to go . . . Happy Birthday this very day to my baby brother Gordy!

Cardstock:         Marcos Jute, Brown Bag, Bazzill Cheddar, Beckett Iceberg,

                               Washi scraps
Stamps:              Penny Black “Young, old . . .”
Inks:                    ColorBox Black
Emb Powder:    Judikins Detail Black
Emb Folder:       Stampin’ Up Fancy Fan
Dies/Punches:   WPlus9 Banner Trio, Spellbinders Labels 20, Marianne
                                Collectables LR0156 (Leaf Duo), Cheery Lynn Tropical Leaves
Doo Dads:          May Arts Jute, 1/8” corner rounder

Dear Friend

As a fellow Board Member of the North American Vegetarian Society, my friend Carole has been a dedicated participant in our group’s many worthy efforts for nearly 40 years.  Change comes to us all, however, and she and her husband Art have decided that it’s time to pull up stakes and move out West. While both were pretty much hippies back in the day, one might think this wholesale uprooting would be rather easy for them to do.  Actually, this is a major upheaval and I am in total admiration mode for their decision to take this on and tackle strange new lands (just in case you weren’t aware, the West is radically different from the East, folks).  BRAVO!
 

 Naturally, this event calls for a significant card and I think that Hero’s True Friends Background stamp covers the subject rather well.  Some lovely die cuts, a whimsical tassel, and some very special beads (see below) completed the opportunity to send her this piece of my heart.

Cardstock:         Generic Black, Burgundy, textured Kraft, Beckett Moonlight

Stamps:              Hero True Friends Background, “Dear Friend” from Sweet ‘n Sassy
                                Rose Collage Set, unknown Mesh background
Inks:                    ColorBox Black, Frost White, Ancient Page Coal, Gelly Roll Clear Star
Emb Powder:    Judikins Detail Black, White
Dies/Punches:   Impression Obsession Branch & Leaf Cluster,
                               Marianne Creations LRO128 Flowers, DieNamics Mini Wavy Pennants
Doo Dads:          1/8” corner rounder punch, Burgundy tassel, Garnet beads*

*When Carole’s mother passed, Carole was sorting through her jewelry box and found a broken string of lovely garnet beads.  I was quite honored when she gave them to me for possible use on my cards . . . even more so as garnets are my birthstone and yet I had never owned any.  I have loved using them on very special cards for very special people – like this one for Carole herself.

Ashanti

My very dear friend Sandy is in love with all things African, so to honor her, I’ve invested in a large collection of African-themed stamps . . .
 

 

  . . . let’s hope her love affair with the Dark Continent continues – at least until I have the first go-around with all of my African images!

Cardstock:         Paper Cut Umber, Generic Oatmeal, my own Scrap Stash Orange-y inks

                                sponged on and overstamped with a crackle background
Stamps:              Repeat Impressions Ashanti postoid, MJ Barber Two Giraffes
Inks:                    Distress Stain Tarnished Brass, Memories Art Print Brown,
                               Stampin’ Up Basic Brown, Distress Antique Linen
Emb Powder:    VIP Transcendence
Dies/Punches:   Die-Namics Grassy Edges, Spellbinders Scalloped Rectangles Short
Doo Dads:          May Arts Jute, USArt Quest Gold Flakes, Fiskars decorative scissors Stamp

Discover

 . . . this is the last one in My Jewel Collection series, and my personal favorite . . .

 . . . loved the quiet colors and the mix of subtle textures with hints of glittery glint that I hope my greedy camera hasn’t eaten.  However, with its insatiable appetite for all things that shimmer and shine, my hopes are not that high.  Make your own Faux Lace cards and find out for yourself what this gorgeous technique really looks like!

 Cardstock:         Bazzill Ash,  Generic Metallic Bronze

Stamps:              Appaloosa “Discover”
Inks:                    ColorBox Silver
Emb Powder:    Ranger Silver
Dies/Punches:   Marianne Creatables LRO128 (flower, leaf), DieNamics Prima Donna
                                 Petals (starburst), Family Treasures Scalloped Oval punch
Doo Dads:          Various colors of Judikins Rox, USArtQuest Perfect FX, GildenGlitz

 

Charisma

A little departure on this card, the third in my mini-series . . .

 

 . . . I’ve never been able to get Liquid Pearls to perform reliably for their chosen task:  creating pearl substitutes for embellishing cards.  So rather than waste the handful of bottles in my stash, I tried using my white one to cover a little more real estate than a pearl does.  I was hoping for some shimmering strokes with a fair amount of surface dimension.  Regardless of what the camera says, I can assure you that it worked.  I stroked it on with my finger and while it was still wet, I did embed some of the Rox and glitter into various areas, but I mostly left the Liquid Pearls to do their thing.  I’m looking forward to using Liquid Pearls this way again!

Cardstock:         Bazzill Admiral, Constellation Jade White, Generic White, Metallic Copper

Stamps:              Another Stamp Company “Charisma”
Inks:                    ColorBox Frost White, Gelly Roll White Glaze
Emb Powder:    Judikins Opaque White
Dies/Punches:   Memory Box Vivienne, Darla Butterflies, Spellbinders Petite Scalloped
                              Oval Small
Doo Dads:          Various colors of Judikins Rox, USArtQuest Perfect FX, GildenGlitz,
                                Liquid Pearls White

 

Dream

 Today is the second view of my jewel series . . .
 

 The results are dramatic enough to carry the whole card, so as with the rest of these cards, I‘ve kept the  layouts quite minimal.  I suppose I could have cut these backgrounds in half and still made a shimmering statement, but I wanted it all and couldn’t make myself do it.

I’d give anything to have clothing that looked this sumptuous and beautiful . . .

Cardstock:         Bazzill Burning Ember, Generic Black, Metallic Gold

Stamps:              Appaloosa “Dream”
Inks:                    ColorBox Gold, Marvy Marker Gold
Emb Powder:    Ranger Gold
Dies/Punches:   Spellbinders Fanciful Flight, Wplus9 Banner Trio
Doo Dads:          Various colors of Judikins Rox, USArtQuest Perfect FX, GildenGlitz

Nurture

Today begins a four-post series I am calling “My Jewel Collection”.   While these cards involve mostly paper-crafting techniques instead of straight stamping, the results of this drop-dead gorgeous  inspiration from Susan Pickering Rothamel of USArtQuest are too stunning to overlook and can be used in many applications.  Take a look at the first one . . .
 

 I am so hoping that the camera doesn’t steal all of the gleam and shimmer the way it usually does.

Susan calls this method her “Faux Lace Technique”  and you can go here to see her demo this technique in a 7 minute video:  scroll down the video list on the right and it will appear about 6 videos down.  It’s fun, easy to do, takes mere minutes, and is practically fail-proof.  Her gorgeous mica products are perfect for this but any fine-to-chunky glitter-type embellishment you have in your stash – from subtle to glitzy – will work wonderfully.  And pull out that box of leafy gilding that you haven’t played with in years:  it’s perfect to use with the Faux Lace technique!

Full Disclosure:  I struggled the most with this card because I tried gilding the lily by adding some gold mini beads in the corners.  This was manifestly the wrong thing to do.  So I covered them up with textured corners instead.  Not my finest hour, and these are fussier than this background deserved . . .

Stick with me, folks – it does get better!

Cardstock:         Bazzill Lagoon, Generic Black

Stamps:              Starving Artistamp “Nurture”
Inks:                    ColorBox Gold, Marvy Marker Gold
Emb Powder:    Ranger Gold
Dies/Punches:   Marianne Creatibles LRO156 (Flower & Leaf), Wplus9 Banner Trio,
                               Cheery Lynn Lace Corner Deco B
Doo Dads:          Various colors of Judikins Rox, USArtQuest Perfect FX, GildenGlitz