Leaf Trio

When birthdays fall on Halloween, the temptation to go with that wonderfully graphic theme is huge . . .

 . . . but I am usually able to resist and go with a Fall flavor instead.  After all, we ought to at least be able to own our very own birthdays, right?

Cardstock:                     Marcos Jute, Generic Oatmeal, Beckett Moonlight

Stamps:                          We R Memory Keepers Pumpkins & Leaves, Hero
                                           Wavy Birthday, Stampin’ Up Itty Bitty Background
Inks:                                 Distress Markers Brushed Sage, Peeled Paint, Barn Door,
                                           Fired Brick, Mustard Seed, Wild Honey, Brushed Corduroy,
                                          Gelly Roll Clear Star pen, Copic Markers R35 Coral,
                                           YR07 Cadmium Orange                                                           
Emb Powder:                Vippies Transcendence
Emb Folder:                   Cuttlebug Mesh Texture          
Dies/Punches:              Papertrey Ink Take Three, 1/8” corner rounder
Doo Dads:                     Beige floss dyed with Copic markers

Life's Simple Pleasures

 I don’t know about you, but I never do my best work in card-making classes:  my concentration is focused on learning whatever technique is being taught and I rarely come away with a completed card, let alone a good one.  But that’s all right . . . it’s all grist for the mill and I enjoy coming back later to put the pieces together and maybe even put my own spin on it . . .
 

This particular class was about using various shading techniques with Copic markers.  Unlike previous attempts, this one turned out rather well.  As my performance with Copics is way short of reliable, I guess a lot more practice is in order.  Please excuse me while I get started!

Cardstock:      Bazzill Blossom, Beckett Iceberg, Designer Pink Gingham               

Stamps:           Unknown Flower Background, Text  
Inks:                Copic markers, Distress Brushed Corduroy,
                            Gelly Roll pen Clear Star              
Dies/Punches:   Die-Namics Prima Donna Petals, Unknown Banner                      
Embossing Folder:  Unknown
Doo Dads:      Wooden button, May Arts Jute      

Thanks

Another card from the Rehab Stash . . .
 

Kraft and Peach – a gentle color combo that’s hard to beat.  Remember when Mini Beads were all the rage?  I love them still and plan to drag them out more often.  Meanwhile, here’s a tip on working with metallic floss which sometimes refuses to hold a knot or stay tied in a bow:  tie your knot or bow and dab Glossy Accents on the backside.  Be sure to cover the knot well and extend the glue onto the fibers leading into the knot.  When dry, that baby will stay tied no matter what!

Cardstock:                  Marco’s Jute, Bazzill Blossom, Designer Pink Gingham

Stamps:                       Stampin’ Up Crosshatch Background, Memory Box
                                         Large Border Tree, Too Much Fun “Thanks”
Inks:                              ColorBox Queue Rose Coral, Rouge, Distress Old Paper,
                                           Brushed Corduroy, Hero Latte
Emb Powder:             B’Muse Clear Matte Detail, Vippies Transcendence
Dies/Punches:            Impression Obsession Flags, Die-Namics Prima Donna Petals
                                          Marvy Southwest punch
Doo Dads:                 Gold fibers, mini beads

 

The Things We Do . . .

 When is a rosebud not a rosebud?  Why, when it’s a broom instead, of course!  When my friend Carol gifted me with Christine Adolph’s classic long-stemmed rosebud stamp, I instantly saw a broom instead of a bud, and decided it would be fun to play with for my Halloween cards this year . . .

 

A little silvery outline along the top of the broom to make things frosty, a clever crow enjoying the ride . . . and I think this trick has become a treat!

Cardstock:       Bazzill White, Watercolor paper, Beckett Iceberg

Stamps:             Christine Adolph Trims X 4 Set, the bird from Inkadinkado
                               Star Pumpkin Mini Set, Stamps ‘n More “The things we do . . .”,
                                CC Rubber Stamps Fibers                                            
Inks:                   Distress Dusty Concord, Stormy Sky, Spiced Marmalade, ColorBox
                                 Black, Stampin’ Up Going Grey, Ancient Page Coal, Perfect
                                Pearls Mist Silver, Gelly Roll Clear Star, Archival Jet
                                Black                                             
Emb Powder:  Judikins Detail Black  
Dies/Punches:  PaperTrey Ink Angled Labels, EK Success Corner Adorner
                                Flames           

               

Wonderful You

Our daughter recently asked for a short stack of Thank You cards that she could have at the ready when needed. Knowing that my To Do list was somewhat on overload, she suggested that I check my stash and see if I could find anything there that was already done and might be useful. When it comes to being efficient, I don’t need much encouragement. So with that in mind, I dug out ten cards that I’ll be featuring in the near future. This one is the first . . .
 

My stash contains several cards that have good bones but could use some perking up.  I blogged a previous version of this card last year, but very little of the original remains.  I think that this sort of purposeful shuffle is a good way to see the same things in different ways.  That’s gotta be good for my growth and development as an artist, right?   Oh do say yes . . .

Cardstock:      Bazzill Pinecone, Burning Ember, watercolor paper

Stamps:           Evolving Images Leaf Spray, Hero Envelope Pattern
Inks:                Distress Walnut Stain, Antique Linen, Brushed Corduroy, Fired Brick,
                               ColorBox Frost White             
Emb Powder: Judikins Opaque White
Dies:                Papertrey Ink Angled Labels             
Doo Dads:      Pearls, Burnt Orange fiber

Style is Eternal

A couple of really terrific ladies I know are opening up a women’s accessories shop in an empty storefront my husband and I own on Orchard Street in Hamburg NJ.  I thought the enterprise was worthy of a card done in the same colors as the store will be . . .

 

We’re putting in a black and white checkerboard tile floor and the color scheme will also be black and white with hot pink accents throughout.  It’s gonna be a knockout – if you’re in the area come January, please do stop on by!

Meanwhile, the card features a checkerboard done with a stencil and embossing paste.  The image of the woman was done with the Kissing Technique:  the solid figure was inked first and then an un-inked textured background stamp was pressed into the rubber which was then stamped on the cardstock.  It’s easy to do and very effective for adding some textural interest.

Cardstock:      Bazzill Raven, Beckett Iceberg, Generic Flat Black, Neon

Stamps:           Hero Woman with Pearls, Hampton Art “Fashions Fade”,
                             Stampin’ Up On Safari Background, CC Rubber Stamps Fibers
Inks:                ColorBox Black, Ancient Page Coal, VersaFine Onyx Black
Punches:         ¼“ corner rounder, Anna Griffin Flourish punch
Doo Dads:      Golden Molding Paste, Checkerboard stencil, Eyelash Fibers, crystals

 

Dream

More scraps – this time in blues and greens.  My husband is not a huge fan of this color combo but I was born and raised in Southern California and was a typical Beach Baby back in the day.  I can never think of the ocean without thinking in terms of blues and greens and I use this combo as often as possible.  It always makes me happy . . .
 

 The “Dream” text covers a sentiment that was alongside the image of the girl – which was very nice, but not what I was after for this card.  This ability to alter reality is one of my favorite aspects of this terrific hobby:  too bad that Real Life isn’t quite this easy to change!

Cardstock:                  Bazzill Rain Forest, generic watercolor paper          

Stamps:                       Red Rubber Designs Art Gave Her Wings, So She Stamps
                                               “Dream”
Inks:                             Distress Peeled Paint, Mowed Lawn, Shabby Shutters,
                                                 Evergreen Bough, Frayed Burlap, ColorBox Frost White
Embossing Powder:   Judikins Opaque White
Embossing Folder:     Cuttlebug Mesh
Punches:                     McGill Butterfly punch, 1/8” corner rounder           
Doo Dads:                 Perfect Pearls Mist, Gelly Roll Clear Star pen

Unique

Every now and then, I like to do a card without any heat embossing or glitter, just to see if I can make a more simple style work without my usual fallbacks . . .

 

 . . . but while I both admire and aspire to the laudable Clean and Simple (CAS) style, I gotta have me some dimension.  Be it visual or tactile, texture is what floats my boat, hence my die-cutting machine gets used just as much for dry embossing as it does for actual cutting. 

 As for this card, it provides both pattern and texture – hope you like it!

Cardstock:      Neenah Desert Storm, Wausau Firecracker Red, Designer paper   

Stamps:           Picture Show Chicken Wire Chicken, Hero Designer Woodgrain,
                               Stampin’ Up Itty Bitty Background, Appaloosa “Unique”          
Inks:                  Distress Antique Linen, Frayed Burlap, Archival Jet Black            
Colored Pencil:  Prisma Orange
Dies/Punches:  Marianne Creatables LR0154 Flower Tag, Spellbinders Classic
                                  Rectangles, Die-Namics Say What text bubble, tiny
                                  flower center punch
Impress Plate:  Cheery Lynn Cheesecloth
Emb Folder:      Cuttlebug Honeycomb

Thank You Banner

This was an attempt to pair two flower backgrounds of similar design but of different scale.  I used two rich colors and set them off with white in order to zing things up.  The problem was that the flourish diecut didn’t show up well on the small-scale, busy background . . . actually, it sort of got eaten alive, poor thing.  But, we intrepid stampers need never say die . . .

 

 . . . vellum to the rescue!  I piped a very thin line of glue across the top of the vellum panel, tucked it under the banner, and voila!:   a  secure adherence with no glue show-through.  The vellum gave just enough misty translucence to tone down the background and rescue the diecut.  YAY!  Still, I’d love to figure out stuff like this in advance:  20/20 hindsight can be a real pain to work around . . .

 Cardstock:                     Bazzill White, Beckett Iceberg, Generic Vellum

Stamps:                           Judikins Deco Flowers, Origami Background
Inks:                                ColorBox Frost White, Distress Dusty Concord, Chipped
                                             Sapphire
Embossing Pwdr:         Judikins Opaque White
Dies/Punches:              Savvy Thank You Banner, Spellbinders Banner Basics Three,
                                              Die-Namics Leafy Flourish, 1/8” corner rounder
Doo Dads:                     Fabric flowers, White brad, Gelly Roll Clear Star pen