Congratulations

Inspired by a lovely card by blogger Holly Endress HERE, I decided to give her idea a try.  She stamped a feather in Distress Black Soot and then pulled some of the black outlines in with a water brush, after which she added several shades of brown . . .

 Her feather image was an open, much looser design than the one I have, and with the thicker lines in her stamp, the shading effects were much more pronounced.    My version falls short of the effect I was after, but I will be trying this with other designs that are not so intricate.  I think this change will make a big difference with the results on my next attempt.  Back to the drawing stamping board!

Cardstock:   Generic Dark Brown, The Paper Cut watercolor paper,

                          Neenah Solar White

Stamps:        Close to My Heart Feathers, Club Scrap “Congratulations!”

Inks:               Distress Black Soot, Brushed Corduroy, Walnut Stain,

                           ColorBox Black, Inkssentials White pen

Emb Powder:   Stampendous Shabby White, Judikins Detail Black

Dies:              Spellbinders Deckled Rectangles Small/Large

Impr Plate:    Papertrey Ink Herringbone

Doo Dads:    Woven jute ribbon, Tulip Hot Fix Jewels

Happy Anniversary

LOTS of happy color on this one . . .

The border die cut is actually quite ornate, but it's a little hard to see against the same-color background.  A little extra sponging might have taken care of that ....

Cardstock:   Neenah Solar White, Bazzill White

Stamps:        Technique Junkies Simple Sentiments Style C “Happy

                           Anniversary”

Inks:               Distress Mowed Lawn, Barn Door, ColorBox Frost White,

                           Gelatos Banana, Lindy’s Stamp Gang Magicals: Merry

                           Go Round Green, Pineapple Paradise

Emb Powder:   Judikins Opaque White, Vippies Transcendence

Dies:              Marianne Anja’s Border

Watercolor Crayons:    Lyra Greens: 13067, 13068

Doo Dads:    Wink of Stella Clear, punches: McGill’s Pine, Unknown

                          Retro Heart

WOO HOO!

I'm having a wonderful time with Lindy's Stamp Gang powders from their Magical line.  These are dried dye inks in powdered form which can be stirred into any water soluble medium to add color.  My favorite way of using them is to wet some cardstock, then pick up some of the powder with a dry brush and tap it onto the wet cardstock.  The wetter the cardstock, the more the color wicks out into wonderful random patterns.  You can use a fine spray mister to add more water if needed.  The results are always unpredictable,  which I think is half the fun . . .

My second tip of the day involves the "WOO HOO!" sentiment.  I felt the card needed something fun in the upper left corner and was mulling over various text options.  I absolutely love word stamps and have collected more than I'm going to admit to.  With numerous clear and cling sets having multiple text images, it was impossible to remember what words or phrases I had in my stash.  So, last year, I made a chart and typed every word and phrase I owned, and then ran an alpha sort.  I listed the manufacturer and the type (clear/cling/wood) so I'd know what section of my stamp storage I was looking for.  As new word stamps are acquired, it's easy to add them to the list, as this list is never printed out but rather kept in my computer.

It took a couple of days and was worth every minute.  Case in point is this card:  I thought it would be fun to stick a "WOO HOO" in that corner but had no idea if I had such a stamp.  Enter the list . . . found the phrase, stamped it, and done!

Cardstock:   American Crafts Primaries: Raspberry

Stamps:        Unity Damn, you’re old! set: cake and text, Impress Small

                           Dotted Flourish, Stampin’ Up Just Sayin’ “Woo Hoo!”

Inks:               ColorBox Frost White, Lindy’s Stamp Gang  Magical

                           Hibiscus Rose, Mango Mania, Orange Creamsicle,     

                           Pineapple Paradise, Gelatos Fuchsia, Banana,

                           Orange, Distress Picked Raspberries,

                           Spiced Marmalade, Mustard Seed

Emb Powder:  Judikins Opaque White

Dies:              Spellbinders Medallion Two, Sizzix Speech Bubble  

Doo Dads:    Silver thread

Many Thanks!

Have you ever gotten what seemed like a great creative idea for a card layout, then sat down to put it together – only to find that it just wasn't happening?  Oh well . . .

  . . . I guess that's part of the fun, yes?  This card bears not the slightest resemblance to what I originally had in mind.  But I like it, especially since I had fun using my two favorite embellishments.  One of these is UTEE which is scattered on top with no ink used as a binder – heat from beneath to melt the powder.  The other is Heat & Fix nail heads – the small gold dots which are randomly attached here.  So quick and easy, and those puppies are stuck permanently.  They come in metallic and in crystal styles with a wide range of colors.  Lotsa fun for sure . . .

Cardstock:   Bazzill Rain Forest, Beckett Moonlight

Stamps:        Stamp A Mania Line Background, Rubber Stampede

                           Eucalyptus, Stampin’ Up “Many Thanks”

Inks:               ColorBox Cream White, Distress Peeled Paint, Forest

                           Moss, Wild Honey

Emb Powder:  Stampendous Ivory Pearl, Shabby White

Punch:          Marvy 1½“ Scalloped Square

Doo Dads:    American Crafts Yellow Jute, deckled scissors, Tulip

                            Heat & Fix nail heads Gold

A Bouquet of Wishes

Inspired by an embossed resist technique I learned about from Split Coast Stampers, I decided to give it a try with one of the French dictionary pages I was given earlier this year.  I applied gesso to one side and was prepared to stamp over the gesso.  But it was so opaque that none of the text was visible – which was supposed to be part of the design.  So I turned it over and used the other side instead . . .

 The problem is that the gesso-covered text was now visible from the other side.  I decided to regard it as texture and went ahead anyway.  I stamped the lilies and clear embossed.  Then I sponged over them with the three colors of Distress inks.  I like the results but I'm going to repeat this method without the gesso and see if I can keep the text visible on one side only.

Cardstock:   Generic Orchid, Cream, French dictionary page

Stamps:        Hero Lily Silhouette, Too Much Fun “A bouquet of wishes…”

Inks:               VersaMark, Distress Dusty Concord, Faded Jeans,

                           Tumbled Glass, Brushed Corduroy

Emb Powder:   Ranger Super Fine Detail Clear

Dies:              Tim Holtz Tattered Banners, Memory Box Grove Branch

Doo Dads:    Bonnie’s Best Metal Corners Cutout Bright Antique

                           Copper, Craf-T Products Copper Rub-Ons,

                           Ivory jute

Celebrate

Still dipping into the wonderful stash of lovely papers I was gifted with early this year . . .

Pictured are a velvety pinwale ribbed green wallpaper sample, a French dictionary page, and a piece of Asian washi paper.  The last two papers are quite thin, so they were adhered to cardstock before die cutting for added strength and subtle dimension.

Now I'm going back to the same stash to find more lovely papers to play with!  Much more to come for sure . . .

Cardstock:   Marcos Coventry Rag #140 White, various wallpaper

                           samples, French dictionary page

Stamps:        Printworks “Celebrate”

Inks:              Distress Old Paper, Dusty Concord, ColorBox Gold

Emb Powder:  Ranger Detail Gold

Dies:              Spellbinders Labels Eight, Cheery Lynn Tiny Flower Kit

Doo Dads:    Tulip  Hot Fix Jewels Gold

Thank You

Jim and Lynn, our wonderful neighbors, gifted me with an extraordinary variety of lovely papers – everything from Asian text on very old  tissue, to wallpaper samples, to a lovely handmade Indian piece.  These are not new and they all look like they have some real history attached to them.  Naturally I had to put a card together with a couple of them right away . . .

The two papers used on this card are wallpaper samples and they have a soft feel but still with a very sturdy heft to them – just right for layering.  I don't normally use very many pre-printed papers, but I will happily make an exception with these.  I'm keeping them within arms' reach of my worktable and am so looking forward to finding creative ways to use them . . . stay tuned for future looks!

Cardstock:   Bazzill Light Sand, Generic wallpaper samples

Stamps:        Stampin’ Up “Thank you”

Inks:               Distress Brushed Corduroy

Emb Powder:   Vippies Transcendence

Punches:      Marvy Scalloped Rectangles

Doo Dads:    Oriental Trading Distressed Opaque Adhesive Jewels,

                           Tulip Hot Fix Brass nail heads

The Reunions of Tomorrow

For this stunning sentiment, I wanted to keep the layout very simple . . .

  . . . a watercolor wash in three misty colors, sparkly white embossed vellum, and a few crystal stars comprised most of the artwork.  Although many have had trouble with vellum warping when it's embossed, I'm happy to report that Stampin' Up's brand of vellum gave me no trouble at all. 

I do follow the prevailing advice, however:  let the heat gun warm up for about 10 seconds before aiming at the embossing powder.  This will keep the vellum's contact with the high heat to a minimum and reduce the chances of warping.

Cardstock:   Generic Textured White, Stampin’ Up Vellum

Stamps:        Wordsworth “Christ has made . . .”, Outlines Star

Inks:               ColorBox Frost White

Emb Powder:   Judikins White Diamonds

Watercolors:    Gansai Tambi Purple, Blue, Cornflower Blue

Doo Dads:    Pilot Silver Marker, Stamp Oasis Heat & Stick Powder,

                           Past Time Stamps Ultra Fine Glitter, EK Success

                           Cross punch

I Am The Way

There is no greater event in the history of the universe.  He is risen indeed . . .

                                        

                         glorify Him!

I was hoping that the shape of the text layer would suggest a crown.  Having a nail head gem over it seemed especially appropriate for this card . . .

Cardstock:   Bazzill Pauly Poo, The Paper Cut Watercolor paper

Stamps:        Art Impressions Wispy Background, Stamp Magic

                           “I am the Way”, The Artful Stamper Cross Silhouette

Inks:               Kaleidacolor Calypso, ColorBox Black, Distress Wild Honey

Emb Powder:   WOW Black Puff, Ranger Super Fine Clear

Dies:              Lil Inkers Stitched Mats Rectangles, DieNamics Accent It:

                           Labels and Tags

Doo Dads:    Gold nailhead  gem