Celebrate

Lucky you:  today is another two-fer, so be sure and scroll down for the second card!  I was having fun trying out various ideas and decided to make a second card with the extras.  The top card shows a completely exposed wreath which sort of ties the various elements together.  . . .

On the second card, I thought it would be neat to actually use the wreath to ground the various leaves.  But when the wreath was completely hidden, the leaves just made a rather aimless circle on the card front. . .   

So I tucked in several twiggy sprigs facing out from under the leaves and it changed the whole look.

Moral:  let some of the wreath show here and there between the leaves.  It's likely to look a lot better that way . . .

First card:

Cardstock:   Marcos #110 Jute, Wausau Firecracker Red, Generic Gold,

                           Green

Stamps:        My Favorite Things Burlap Background, Clearly Besotted

                           Diagonal Stripes, Printworks “Celebrate”

Inks:               Papertrey Ink Classic Kraft, Ancient Page Chocolate,

                           VersaMark

Emb Powder:   Ranger Butterscotch

Dies:              DieNamics Falling Leaves, Stitched Traditional Tag Stax, 

                           Spellbinders Classic Rectangles, Memory Box

                           Grapevine Wreath

Doo Dads:    May Arts Jute, Glossy Accents

Second card:

Cardstock:   Marcos #110 Jute, Wausau Firecracker Red, Generic Gold,

                           Green

Stamps:        My Favorite Things Burlap Background, Clearly Besotted

                           Diagonal Stripes, Stampin’ Up “They say it’s your birthday!”

Inks:               Papertrey Ink Classic Kraft, Ancient Page Chocolate,

                           VersaMark

Emb Powder:   Ranger Butterscotch

Dies:              DieNamics Falling Leaves, Pierced Rectangle Frames,

                            Impression Obsession Twig Wreath, Spellbinders

                           Dragon Delight

Doo Dads:    May Arts Jute, Wink of Stella Clear, Glossy Accents

Witchin'

This one did not come together smoothly, and it was all because of a few color issues . . .

And here's a look at the inside . . .

If I stamped the hat in black over black cardstock, I'd get wonderful texture but no visible design.  And since I wanted the card itself to be black, I was in a pickle.  I tried stamping on a gray cardstock background, but that fell flat.  Then I tried stamping the hat on white cardstock and coloring in with gray.  That seemed to work.  The clincher was when I did some grunge-style (ie: artistically sloppy on purpose) silver embossing  around the two main elements.  That tied everything together and yet provide some needed contrast.

Happy Halloween!

Cardstock:   Bazzill Raven, Strathmore Ultimate White

Stamps:        Unity You Witch!, Stampington Fresh Flowers (broom)

Inks:               ColorBox Black, Silver

Emb Powder:   Distress Black Soot, Delafield Silver

Dies:              Spellbinders Fancy Tags 2, Deckled Rectangles Large

Colored Pencils:     Inktense Tangerine, Apple Green, Neutral Gray

Markers:        Copic Tuscan Orange, Chrome Orange

Message:      Amuse Witch Feet, DRS Shoe Fits Greeting 

A Time of Gratitude

I've said it before and I'll say it again:  never underestimate the power of your Scrap Stash . . .

On this card, the four squares began life with high hopes.  Unfortunately, they turned out to be failed attempts that didn't work in their original state.  So I gave them a time out in my Scrap Stash box.  Then I experimented:  cutting them up and arranging them quilted-style changed everything.  Some copper brads and an antique-y gold button finished the transformation . . .

Cardstock:               Bazzill Bon Bon, Yam, Generic Chocolate                    

Stamps:                   Hero Wavy Gratitude

Inks:                           ColorBox Gold

Emb Powder:          Ranger Gold

Punches:                  EK Success Tree, Scalloped Corners

Doo Dads:                Gold button, Copper brads

Thank You

Here's an early Fall card with a bit of a twist:  the sunflower petals are white and it's the background that shows the traditional orange and gold colors . . .

This is a resist method which is really easy to do:  stamp and emboss the image, and then color in the petals with a regular white crayon.  Then, sponge on the warm colors with a circular motion.  User a paper towel to gently remove any ink from the petals. 

The crayoned and embossed areas will resist the color and the rest of the cardstock will pick it up.  Easy and fun!

Cardstock:              Bazzill Raven, Beckett Candlelight, Generic Pumpkin

Stamps:                   Peddler's Pack Sunflower, Hero Precious Thank You

Inks:                           ColorBox Black, Distress Wild Honey, Spiced

                                       Marmalade

Emb Powder:          Judikins Detail Black

Colored Pencils:     Prisma White

Dies:                          Spellbinders Standard Circles

Emb Folder:             Cuttlebug Tiny Mesh

Doo Dads:                White stitched 3/8" Black grosgrain ribbon

Happy Birthday

While I rarely use patterned paper, I had a yen for a bit of plaid in order to make a few cheery December birthday cards.  Pre-printed papers seemed to be the way to go and I am happy with the cozy results . . .

The bottom of the card features snowflake dies that were used with an embossing sandwich instead of a die cutting stack:  this gave the panel some wintery-themed texture which I hope the camera is kind enough to pick up . . .

Cardstock:   Marcos Jute, My Mind’s Eye Pajama Plaid, Generic

                           Textured Cream

Stamps:        Prickly Pear Poinsettia 2, Hero Wavy Birthday

Inks:               Archival Rocket Red, ColorBox Gold, Distress Brushed

                           Corduroy

Emb Powder:   Ranger Claret, Unknown Detail Gold

Dies:              DieNamics Horizontal Stitched Strips, Mama Elephant

                           Peek A Frame, Prickly Pear Poinsettia Flower,

                           DieVersions Snow Flurries

Doo Dads:    Adirondack  Acrylics Cranberry

Thanks

This last of my Thank You note series features one of my favorite backgrounds . . .

Here are the simple instructions:

1. Crumple a piece of waxed paper.  Smooth it out and lay it on your cardstock.

2. Sandwich this between two sheets of typing paper and iron – no steam.

3. Let cool and sponge on your favorite soft colors of any dye ink.

4. Overstamp and/or embellish with whatever images you like.

The crumpled wax will act as a resist and give you a softly textured background.  This is a quick and easy method that never fails.  Try it!

Cardstock:   Marcos Jute, generic textured Oatmeal, Beckett Candlelight

Stamps:        Stacy Leaf Border, All Night Media “Thanks!”

Inks:               Stampin’ Up Always Artichoke, Hero Soft Brown, PTI Chai,

                           Chamomile, ColorBox Cream White

Emb Powder:   Stampendous Ivory Pearl EP

Dies:              Cheery Lynn Small Exotic Butterflies #1

Doo Dads:    Antique Gold frame, Crackle Accents, Distress Antique

                           Linen Stickles

Thanks

This card is for the second wonderful neighbor Bob who helped me out by walking our happy little dog Tater during my broken ankle follies of summer's end . . .

It features four of my favorite leaf designs which I thought Bob would appreciate as he loves to take long walks in our beautiful countryside every day.  Tater loved them too!

Cardstock:   Marcos Jute, Bazzill Julep, Generic Green scrap

Stamps:        Judikins Four Leaves, Starving Artistamp Zig Zag Stitch from

                           her Altered Stitches Sheet, Lawn Fawn “Thanks”

Inks:               ColorBox Frost White, Stampa Rosa Blanco Opaque White

Emb Powder:  Judikins Opaque White

Impr Plate:    Papertrey Ink Woodgrain

Pencils:         Derwent Inktense Felt Green, Sherbet Lemon,

                           Apple Green

Dies:              Papertrey Ink Angled Label, Memory Box Lorelei Outline

                           Leaf (portion)

Pens:             Gelly Roll White & Clear Star 

Too Cute

When one of our parishioners had her first baby recently, this was the card I sent . . .

It will be a good while before Baby Alexa will be jumping rope like the little golden charm girl is doing, but she's definitely on her way!

Cardstock:   Coordinations Just Peachy, Champion Snow Day, Strathmore

                           Ultimate White

Stamps:        Stampendous Baby Girl Block, Studio G Too Cute

Inks:               ColorBox Black

Emb Powder:   Judikins Detail Black

Dies:              Lawn Fawn Say Cheese, DieVersions Hint of Lime (“Alexa”),

                           Tim Holtz Labels

Watercolors:     Zig Clean Color Light Pink, Yellow

Doo Dads:    White paper lace trim, gold charm, Stickles Buttercup

Hugs & Kisses

I've been having fun lately with border stamps, banners, and birds.  The fact that all of these elements begin with the same letter is merely a whimsical coincidence . . .

The color choices of lime, black, white, and deep red were borrowed from a very attractive commercial sign I pass by frequently . . . it was such a fresh combination that I always wanted to try it out on a card. 

So here it is:  a little art deco, some loving, time-honored text and a soaring red bird of happiness . . . I think we're done here, folks!

Cardstock:   Bazzill  Parakeet, Strathmore Bright White

Stamps:        Judikins Bollio Whimsy, Stampendous Wedding Vow,

                           Marianne Collectables Banners & Text “Hugs & Kisses”,

                           PSX Screen Background

Inks:               ColorBox Black

Emb Powder:   Judikins Detail Black

Dies:              My Favorite Things Vertical Stitched Strip, Lil Inkers

                           Stitched Mats: Rectangles,  Stampin’ Up Itty Bitty Banners,

                           Signs of Spring 1 (bird)

Watercolors:     Zig Real Brush Geranium Red, Yellow Green, Inktense

                                Poppy Red

Doo Dads:    Wink of Stella Silver, Inkssentials Enamel Accents Black