Thanks So Much

I love commercial cards:  the art work is fantastic and the inspiration is endless!  The card below was inspired by a birthday card I received that is so full of great ideas, I'll never toss it.  I used just one of the ideas here . . .

After stamping and white embossing the fanciful balloons, I wanted to add some sparkle and shine.  But my usual glue-pen-and-glitter method would have taken a long time and not given me the intricate designs I was hoping for. 

Enter a product I've had for years and never used:  Heat & Stick embossing powder!  This was the perfect chance to try it out:  I inked up some fine-lined circular designs with VersaMark and stamped.  Then I dusted on the Heat & Stick powder just as I do with any embossing powder.  Tap off the excess and heat just until the powder turns shiny – this takes only 5 seconds tops.

Now it's sticky:  just dust on the glitter, brush off the excess, and you're done!  I hope the photo shows at least some of the sparkle.  So easy peasy:  and I'm keeping my jar of Heat & Stick right on my work table instead of buried in a drawer . . . this wonderful little embossing innovation is gonna get a LOT of use!

Cardstock:   Bazzill White, Generic Pink, Textured Green

Stamps:        Various circle images from Hero, Stampin’ Up,

                           My Sentiments Exactly, The Angel Company, Stampin’ Up

                           “Thanks so much”

Inks:               ColorBox Frost White, VersaMark, Gelly Roll Clear Star

Emb Powder:   Judikins Detail White, Stamp Oasis Heat & Stick

Dies:              Spellbinders Ribbon Tag Trio Two

Doo Dads:    Past Time Stamps Ultra Fine Glitter, Oriental Trading

                           Enamel Dots, deckle edged trimmer

You're the Best!

The size of this card (5x7) was dictated by the size of this gorgeous image . . .

Parsons Studio is no longer with us, much to our huge loss, but I have six of her stamps and am very glad of it.  They tend to be oversized and they also scream to be watercolored.  Which is why I haven't used them until now.  As I am no longer afraid of watercoloring (thanks to the Online Card Classes Watercoloring for Stampers), I hope to use her images to their best advantage.  This one of the pears was a little tricky to decide how to color:  the pears overlap and are translucent, so what does one do?  Next time I play with this image, I plan to treat the pears as solid and color each one so that it overlaps the adjacent one.  I think the result will be entirely different . . .

Cardstock:   Generic Yellow, watercolor paper

Stamps:        Parson’s Studios Seven Sliced Pears, Purple Onion

                            Citrus Set: “You’re the best!”

Inks:               ColorBox Black

Emb Powder:  Judikins Detail Black, Black Diamond

Dies:              Spellbinders Radiant Rectangles , Wplus9 Banner Trio

Watercolors:   Peerless Olive Green, Green Myrtle, Poinsettia Red,

                             Chrome Orange

Happy

I've heard that there are people in this world who would just as soon forget about celebrating their birthdays . . .

 . . . may I never be one of them!  I  LOVE birthdays . . . how about you? 

The message inside this card says "It's your birthday. GO WILD."  Good advice.

Cardstock:   Bazzill Hershey, Cutie, Neenah Solar White

Stamps:        Impression Obsession Geologic, Silver Crow

                           Swimming Lady, Posh Impressions Hilltop, Hero "Happy,

                           Go WIld", Stampin’ Up Starry Background

Inks:               Ancient Page Chocolate, Pine, Distress Black Soot,

                           ColorBox Gold, Copic Marker Chrome Orange

Emb Powder:  Vippies Transcendence

Dies:              DieNamics Mini Wavy Pennants

Colored Pencils:  Prisma Orange, Poppy Red, Putty Beige, Sandbar Brown

Doo Dads:    Anna Griffin flower punch, Gamsol, Green jute fiber

The Word Is Out . . .

Our grandson's birthday was last month and as it's the dead of winter, I thought it would be fun to give him something summery to look forward to . . .

Love those intense Peerless watercolors!  But I need a lot of practice with skin tones:  lacking a good tan shade, I used a greatly watered down brownish-red for the boy's image and he came out looking a little sunburned.  Oh well – shades of summer!

Cardstock:   American Crafts Primaries: Green, Watercolor paper

Stamps:        Cats Life Press Diving Boy, Hero Wish Big: Cake

                           and Text, Stamp Camp, Texture Specks, Studio G “8^th”

Inks:               ColorBox Black, EK Success Brushables; Apricot

Emb Powder:   Judikins Detail Black

Dies:              Papertrey Ink Angled Labels

Watercolors:   Peerless Poinsettia Red, Forget Me Not Blue,  Hunter’s

                            Green

Doo Dads:    Glossy Accents

Love

Definitely not  a card for mass production . . .

 . . . took me three days just to get the prototype put together, and another seven to finish the collection.  Good thing I love to stamp, because there sure was a heck of a lot of it on this card!  I hope my eight extremely dear recipients feel the love that went into this one . . .

Cardstock:   Bazzill Kisses, Generic White, Black

Stamps:        All images: Inkadinkado One Plus One Equals Love

Inks:               ColorBox Black, Frost White, Brilliance Rocket Red

Emb Powder:   Judikins Detail Black, Opaque White, BMuse Ruby Red

Dies:              Cheery Lynn A2 Frame

Doo Dads:    Red wood heart, cherub charm, red floss

Take a Bow

My dear friend Anna Seniw owns a rubber stamping store called The Creative Corner in Glen Spey NY and she happily celebrated her 10^th year anniversary a few months ago.  So I had some fun putting together the following for the occasion . . .

I love to make boxes, especially ones with acetate-backed die cut openings in the lids so you can see what's inside.  Visible are the card with its matching gift card holder . . .

The sentiment "Take a Bow" does not refer to the bows I've used for embellishments but rather one's response to kudos after accomplishing something truly significant – such as Anna has done with her well-run store during these exceedingly difficult, economically-challenged years.  She has been amazing with her excellent customer service, wide-ranging product line, and wonderful classes taught not only by herself, but also by several luminaries in the stamping world.  May her success only increase over the coming years!

Cardstock:   Bazzill Pauly Poo, Neenah Solar White, Watercolor paper

Stamps:        Viva Las Vegas “Take a Bow”

Inks:               Lindy’s Stamp Gang Magical Caribbean Blue, Hibiscus

                         Rose, Merry-Go-Round Green, Distress Salty Ocean

Emb Powder:  Vippies Transcendence

Dies:              Dee’s Distinctively Lattice Two, DieNamics Prima Donna

                           Petals, Spellbinders Framed Tags One, Mama Elephant

                           Dainty Bow

Emb Folder: Cuttlebug D’Vine Swirl       

Doo Dads:    Crystals

Your Special Day

I don't very often use pre-printed papers, but Stacy Stamps has come out with such gorgeous ones that I just might change my mind . . .

Stacy's papers are of substantial weight – as far away from flimsy as it gets – and many of her designs coordinate with stamps already in her line of lovely floral images.  This card originated in a class Stacy taught at The Creative Corner in Glen Spey NY where Stacy comes every year at summer's end to enchant us all with her newest images, products, time-saving techniques, and her always-entertaining sense of humor!  She is a not-to-be-missed event for sure . . .

Cardstock:   Generic Deep Purple, White Glossy, Stacy Stamps

                           Poinsettia Paper

Stamps:        Stacy Stamps Poinsettia, Hero “Your Special Day”

Inks:               Ancient Page Pine, Memory Box Grape Jelly         

Dies:              Memory Box Creekside Leaves, Hero Small

                          Tag Frame

Doo Dads:    Enamel Accents White, Gelly Roll White pen,

                          Wink of Stella Clear, Purple eyelash fiber

It's Your Day

There have been scores of tutorials and demos lately featuring reinkers and all the fun you can have with them.  So I've been having some fun as well . . .

I added the merest drop of four intense colors to my craft sheet, spritzed with water, and laid my watercolor paper down in it.  Oh joy!  Lots of splendid color for sure.  I heat-dried after the first pass, and then went after the drops left behind – heat-drying after each blotting.  This is how you get the wonderful splotches and blobs so characteristic of watercolor work. 

As I've got a shelf full of reinkers, I foresee many happy hours ahead!  

Cardstock:   Generic White, watercolor paper

Stamps:        Rubber Stampede Gerbera Block Print, Stampin’ Up

                          “It’s your day”

Inks:               Nick Bantock Reinkers Prussian Blue, Cerulean Azure,

                          Chartreuse Leaf, Chrome Yellow, ColorBox Frost White,

                          Distress Pumice Stone

Emb Powder:   Judikins Opaque White

Dies:              Hero Frames with Sprigs

Doo Dads:    Silver Flower Soft, DIY enamel dots