Happy

This card shows one of my favorite techniques for creating a textured background that won't overpower focal points that are a little on the 

subtle side . . .

With the same cardstock that I use for the card base, I die cut a detailed woodgrain background and then used double sided tape to keep all the negative pieces in place.  After peeling off the release paper, the layer was attached to the card front.  I think that the woodsy-themed background is the perfect backdrop for the birds and the bluebells. Hopefully, my balky camera will be able to pick up some of the nice texture . . .

Cardstock:   The Paper Cut Brown Umber, Beckett Candlelight       

Stamps:       Local King Chicks set, Hero Frames with Sprigs

Inks:             Distress Faded Jeans, Twisted Glass, Gathered Twigs

Emb Powder:   Vippies Transcendence

Dies:            Frantic Stamper Woodgrain Card Panel, Local King

                        Chicks, Memory Box Branching Out, Hero Frames

                        with Sprigs, Recollections Word Fetti: Happy 

Doo Dads:    Viva Pearl Pen Cream       

Achieve, Soar, Persevere

Birthdays near Christmas often get buried in a sea of red and green.  I've decided to try a different color scheme for this December 22 birthday card.  It's going to a single mother with lots of challenges in her life.  Therefore, it seems to me that encouragement can work for any occasion . . .

The fun thing about this card is its source of inspiration - have any of you taken a good look at boutique Kleenex boxes lately? I've included a picture of the one I used for this card below.  I loved the colors, the design, the two patterns together, and the fact that the artist made her techniques so easy to follow!  She used circular sponging for a soft look and then added slightly more concentrated color and texture by pouncing with a coarse sponge.  Along with some lights and darks, solid leafy images worked to give the scene some depth. 

It was really fun to get a stamping lesson off a Kleenex box!  Time to go hunting for another one . . .

Cardstock:   Bazzill Horizon, Strathmore Soft White, Neenah Emperor,

                        Generic Purple   

Stamps:       Our Daily Bread Chalkboard Lattice Background, Printworks

                        Leaf Pattern, Waffle Flower Layering Marble, Starving

                        Artistamps Positive Words

Inks:             Distress Faded Jeans, Weathered Wood, Broken China,

                        Dusty Concord, Evergreen Bough, Papertrey Ink Fresh

                        Snow, VersaFine Majestic Blue

Emb Powder:   Vippie’s Transcendence

Dies:            DieNamics Rectangle Frames, Spellbinders Signs of

                        Spring 1 (bird), Memory Box Lorelai Leaf               

Doo Dads:    Art Institute Glitter: Aqua from the Floral Collection, Stamp 

                         Oasis Heat & Stick

Hear the Angels Sing

In an attempt to simply my usual overly-fussy Christmas card production line, I set up two rules for myself this year:  no heat embossing, and the background must be a smooshed one . . .

These were wise decisions:  with over 80 cards to do, there really is a limit as to how much time I can carve out to spend on these.  I think I'll restrict myself in the same manner next year . . . of course, cutting down an overly large Christmas card list would also be helpful.  

Hope that's not too bah humbug-ish . . .

Cardstock:   American Crafts White, Strathmore #90 Watercolor paper,

                        Generic Dull Gold        

Stamps:        Stampin’ Up Shepherds, Neat & Tangled Joyful Sentiments,

                        Above the Mark Abbey Music, Starving Artistamps Retro

                        Mosaic Grout

Inks:               Distress Chipped Sapphire, Faded Jeans

Dies:              Memory Box Star of Wonder, Tim Holtz Labels              

For You

Here's another take on the background of a card I did last week . . .

The tree is double-layered to give it added body and thickness and I used my favorite time-saving method:  I ran one piece of cardstock through my Xyron and stuck it to the other piece.  A couple of passes with the die-cutting machine and the intricate work was done.  After covering with the textured gold embossing powder, it looks like hammered gold metal.

Sorry for the dark picture - I'm having some camera trouble I hope to resolve soon . . .

Cardstock:   Bazzill Admiral, Strathmore Soft White, Generic Dull Gold     

Stamps:       Impression Obsession Greenery

Inks:             ColorBox Gold, Distress Chipped Sapphire, Pine Needles

Emb Powder:   Ranger Gold

Dies:            Memory Box Stitched Rectangle Trimmings, Arboscello Tree,

                        Marianne Banners and Text, DieVersions Hint of Lime 

                        Font                 

           

It's Your Day

One of my favorite color combinations to use is  two shades of green paired with any combination of bright colors . . .

 . . . it's such a refreshing, happy mixture that always makes me smile.  I hope it does for you too!

Cardstock:   American Crafts Primaries: Green, Beckett Moonlight,

                        Generic textured White      

Stamps:       Brutus/Monroe Watercolor Background, Art Gone Wild

                        Tiny Bouquet 2

Inks:             Distress Mowed Lawn, Twisted Citron, VersaFine Onyx

                        Black, ColorBox Frost White

Colorants:    Inktense Fuchsia, Fern, Sicilian Yellow, Stabilo #8043

                        (Dark Green)

Watercolors:   Zig Clean Color: Light Green, Green Shadow, Green,

                           Fluorescent Green, Yellow, Carmine Red

Emb Powder:   Sweet Stamps Fine Detail White

Dies:            Lil Inkers Stitched Mats Rectangles, Mama Elephant

                        Femme Frames, Frantic Stamper Woodgrain Card 

                       Panel, Memory Box Stitched Rectangle Trimmings           

You & Me

There was a time when I thought I had to know exactly where I was going with a card's design before I could actually sit down and make it happen.  Those constricted days are long gone, thank heavens.  They were exhausting.  It's a lot more fun to pick an element I like and just run with it . . .

This one started out with a sponged panel in green and blue, over which I gold embossed the leafy background.  The Muse took a little while to produce the other elements (she drags her feet a lot), but they eventually came together very peacefully.  The part I like best is the finish on the gold embossing powder - instead of the usual smooth and shiny look, this powder cures to a textured appearance that looks like hammered gold.  I love it so much that I bought an 8 ounce jar so that I would never run out!

Cardstock:   Bazzill Admiral, Strathmore Soft White   

Stamps:       Impression Obsession Greenery

Inks:             ColorBox Gold, Distress Chipped Sapphire, Pine Needles

Emb Powder:   Ranger Gold

Dies:            Spellbinders A2 Distressed Edges, Memory Box

                        Timberland Collage, Cottage Cutz Birch Trees and Deer,

                        Spellbinders You & Me

Doo Dads:    Pilot Marker Gold     

Button Tree

Here is a picture of this year's Christmas gift, destined for two of my friends who love and appreciate handmade efforts . . .

The original idea came from artist Shari Carroll who posted her instructions for this stunner of a button tree last December.  I knew right away that this would be my gift choice for this year.  Here is her excellent video on the procedure . . . 

I enclosed both an easel and a Command hanging strip so they'll have a choice as to whether to hang it or display it on a side table.  It was a really fun project to do and I expect I'll be making several more in future . . .

Ornaments 2017

Every year, I have fun carrying on a tradition my mother started decades ago with her two grandchildren:  making ornaments the kids could use through the years, and then take with them when they moved into their own homes.  Here are this year's ornaments for two of my young grandchildren . . .

The addition of die cutting to a stamper's bag of tricks has made this effort a whole lot easier to pull off.  This year's background reflects my current rage:  gilding flakes!  There are scores of great videos showing how to apply these lovely pieces of light:  one of the easiest is to take double-sided tape, apply it to piece of cardstock, peel off the remaining release paper and start adding the flakes.  Cover completely, burnish with your fingers to get the major excess off, and then burnish firmly with a stencil brush to remove the rest of the bits.

A little of these flakes goes a very long ways, and these collections come tightly packed in the jar, so you'll have enough to play with for years.

ORNAMENTS:

Cardstock:   Wausau Firecracker Red, Generic Green          

Dies:            DieNamics Stitched Mini Scallop Rectangle, DieVersions

                        Christmas Word Tree, Punch Bunch Star               

Doo Dads:    Sparkle & Sprinkle glitter Fantasy Gold, Enchanted Creations

                        glitter Moondust, Mark Richards Metals Gold & Silver, Gold

                        and Silver cords 

BOXES:

Dies:            Papertreyink Bulk Mail Envelope, Memory Box Alphabet

                        Soup, Tim Holtz Alphanumeric (numbers)

Doo Dads:    Past Time Stamps Ultrafine Glitter

Dream, Sparkle

My love affair with gilding leaf continues . . .

I had a scrap left over from a previous card so I decided to overlay it with a spray of bamboo shoots that were also covered with the same gilding leaf.  I strongly recommend doing the leafing before the die cutting:  it's much easier to work with a solid piece of cardstock as opposed to a delicate cut out.

The background was going to be framed with one of the four frames that this one-piece die provides, but I forgot to use the metal plate needed for added pressure when cutting intricate dies.  Therefore, none of the cut out pieces in the frames were cut all the way through, so I decided to leave them in place for a textured look that didn't compete with the bamboo shoots.

There's a lot of glitz and glitter on this card and I'm debating about whether or not to tone some of it down.  We shall see, but for the moment, it's safe from the chopping block  . . .

Cardstock:   Generic Bronze Metallic 

Stamps:       So She Stamps “Dream”, Stampin’ Up “Sparkle”

Inks:             ColorBox Gold

Emb Powder:   Ranger Gold

Dies:            Frantic Stamper Fancy Frames #1, Memory Box

                        Bamboo Shoots                

Stencil:        The Crafters Workshop Mini Cubist

Doo Dads:    Amy’s Magic Leaf Sea Spray, Marigold glitter

So Special

The spectacular background on this card came from a serendipitous incident that Pat Huntoon of Technique Junkies stumbled across one day . . .

Pat calls this technique Stenciled Glittery Gilding Flakes and it's quick and easy to do.  Go here for the 10 minute video on how she did it. 

Here's a quick preview:  remove the liner paper from one side of a piece of double-sided glue tape and stick it down onto a piece of cards stock. Peel off the liner paper and lay a  stencil down over the sticky side.  Press firmly to secure, and spread gilding leaf over all.  Burnish with your fingers, then with a stiff brush.  Peel off the stencil and dust some glitter over the remaining sticky areas.  DONE!

Cardstock:   Bazzill Aqua 

Inks:             Wink of Stella Clear

Dies:            Spellbinders Classic Rectangles Large, DieNamics

                        Pierced Rectangle Frame, Mama Elephant Peek a Frame,

                        Spellbinders Floral Berry Accents, Tattered Lace

                        Everyday Sentiments: “So Special”, Papertrey Ink

                        Angled Labels                

Stencil:        The Crafters Workshop Mini Cubist

Doo Dads:    Amy’s Magic Leaf Sea Spray, Marigold glitter

I Lift Up My Eyes

When encouragement in needed, it's hard to beat this verse from Psalms . . .

I tried a little 2nd generation stamping here with the mountain image.  After inking the stamp, I stamped it off once lightly and then stamped onto the 

deckle-edged panel.  The text was stamped full strength, and the slightly 

lighter mountain range makes the text pop.  It's subtle but in real life, it does make a difference.

The puffy white clouds were stamped with a marble patterned image which made for a nice wispy design.  They are very white and needed a little balance at the bottom of the layout, so I used a white Prisma pencil to emphasize some of the lighter surfaces in the mountain range.

Lastly, I know that these particular birds are more typically suited to be living at the ocean, but I'm hoping the recipient isn't into ornithology and will be just as pleased with this soaring trio of grace and freedom.

Cardstock:   Neenah Desert Storm        

Stamps:        Our Daily Bread Keep Climbing: mountains and text,

                           Waffle Flower Layering Marble

Inks:               VersaFine Onyx Black, Papertrey Ink Fresh Snow

Colorants:    Prisma pencil White

Emb Powder:   WOW White Puff

Dies:              Impression Obsession Sea Birds

Emb Folder: Taylored Expressions 

Fall

Fall is not my favorite time of the year, but I do love the colors . . .

The happy surprise for me was finding out that watercolors can actually be blended to some extent.  Working with just the right half of the maple leaf, I colored the lower part with Red, and then right away, did the tips with Yellow, continuing down into the Red and back up 2/3 of the way in order to blend.  Then I repeated on the left half of the leaf.  It worked much better than I thought it would.  Maybe I'm beginning to get the hang of this coloring gig after all!

To all who celebrate, a blessed Thanksgiving to each and every one of you . . .

Cardstock:   Marcos Jute  

Stamps:        Hero Autumn, Vippie’s Dotty Snow

Inks:               Papertrey Ink Classic Kraft, VersaFine Vintage Sepia,

                           Distress Gathered Twigs, Ground Espresso

Watercolors:   Zig Clean Color Geranium Red, Orange, Yellow,

                              Brick Beige, Blush

Emb Powder:   Distress Walnut Stain

Dies:              Hero Autumn, Goodculler Stitched Rectangles, Essentials by

                           Ellen Stitches Cover Plate, Impression Obsession Branch,

                           Arich Rounded Corners Stitched Rectangles

From the heart

I'm working on December birthday cards at the moment and while there's usually a tendency to tie into the traditional holiday colors and images,  I always try to fight that.  People whose personal major events are right next to big holidays deserve to avoid getting lost in the shuffle . . .

So for this December birthday card, I used frosty white leaves touched with gold, some Kraft-colored cardstock to ground things, and a winter butterfly in burgundy and gold.  A little burgundy shimmer here and there, and done . . .

Cardstock:   Bazzill Crimson, Neenah Desert Storm, Strathmore

                           Soft White         

Stamps:        Marianne Banners & Text: “From the heart”

Inks:               VersaMark, Ancient Page Bordeaux

Emb Powder:   Ranger Fine Gold, Vippies Transcendence

Dies:              Sheena Geometric Cutout, DieNamics Falling Leaves,

                           Lil Inker Stitched Mats Rectangles, Elizabeth Small

                           Butterfly, Marianne Banners & Text 

Doo Dads:    The Art Institute Glitter Burgundy  

Explore, Nurture, Treasure

After our North NJ State Fair, I had the distinct pleasure of being interviewed about my work by our local newspaper.  Reporter Kathy Stevens did a wonderful job with the article and I'm hoping it encourages other potential stampers in the area to give this wonderful hobby a try.  During the interview, Kathy shared her love for leaves, so a couple of those were what I used for her card . . .

The treatment with the leaves was my first attempt with a technique Jennifer McGuire re-hashed from an earlier post a year ago.  The easy instructions and both videos can be found here . 

After setting up your die cutting machine to emboss - not cut - dust your piece of cardstock with anti-static powder and set it down on the embossing pad.  Then lightly tap a detailed die with a VersaMark pad.  Lay it down carefully onto your cardstock, being careful to not let it shift.  Roll through, remove the die, and sprinkle with metallic embossing power.  Tap off the excess and heat.  So easy, and so gorgeous!

To keep the leaves puffed up, I applied embossing paste to the backside and leveled it off with my palette knife

I also tried Jennifer's method of embossing with water spatters!  Just use a wet paintbrush and tap it against your finger to distribute the drops.  Then dust on your embossing powder.  The result is a light, lovely, and randomly artsy dispersal. Try it!     

Cardstock:   Bazzill Dark Olive, Marcos Aquarelle, Stedner Bright White   

Stamps:        Starving Artistamps Positive Words

Inks:               Distress Vintage Photo, Rusty Hinge, Festive Berries,

                           Fossilized Amber, Peeled Paint, Shabby Shutters

Emb Powder:   Ranger Fine Gold

Dies:              Prima Forest Leaves, Memory Box Stitched Rectangle 
                          Trimmings               

Doo Dads:    Tulip Glitter Gold     

Celebrate

While working on a couple of 9" x 12" projects I'm making for Christmas presents, I began wondering if I could translate some of the techniques into a smaller layout suitable for a card . . .

After gluing down some wrinkled tissue paper over the entire card front, I gessoed over the surface and let it dry.  Then I overstamped with a text background, and stenciled with a wonderfully gritty paste.  A few die cuts smooshed with some warm Distress colors, some fibers across the bottom, and I'm reasonably happy with the results . . .

Cardstock:   Strathmore Kid’s Paint Pad, Soft White, tissue paper   

Stamps:        Heartfelt Creations Large Elegant Word Background

Inks:               Gesso, Distress Barn Door, Spiced Marmalade, Mustard

                           Seed, Brushed Corduroy, Walnut Stain, Wink of Stella

                           Clear

Dies:              Tim Holtz Fall Foliage, Impression Obsession Grass, Banners

                           & Tails, DieVersions Hint of Lime              

Stencil:          The Crafters Workshop Mini Tile Texture

Doo Dads:    Glittered twig, various cords, Art Anthology Dimensional 

                         Paste Sandstone

What the?

Here's some more fun with Tim's Crazy Birds:  there are six in the set and I plan to play with all of them . . .

The most exciting discovery I made while working on this card was discovering the joy of Strathmore's Bristol paper.  That stuff is awesome, especially when it comes to moving color around.  The pad cover says that it's not designed for work with water, but you can toss that limitation right out the window.  Its heavy weight keeps it from warping and even after working the water brush extensively, it didn't pill. 

A couple of years ago, I tried coloring with Distress markers and then using my water brush to move the color around.  Mostly, none of the colors budged, even after trying them out on Beckett cardstock and watercolor paper.  But on the Bristol, they moved like a dream.  This method is the way I've always wanted to color and I am so excited to find that it actually works!  The cardstock really does make the difference . . .

And here's another perky look with a few changes in coloring and 

accessories . . .

The Yellow card:

Cardstock:   The Paper Cut Brown Umber, Strathmore #100 Bristol           

Stamps:        Tim Holtz Bird Crazy, Crazy Talk

Inks:               Distress Carved Pumpkin, Brushed Corduroy, Mustard

                           Seed, Gina K Charcoal Brown, Ancient Page Chocolate,

                           Pine, VersaMark 

Colorants:    Distress Markers Carved Pumpkin, Mustard Seed, Mowed Lawn,

                           Frayed Burlap, Walnut Stain, Antique Linen          

Watercolors:   Inktense Cadmium Yellow, Zig Clean Color Yellow

Emb Powder:   Distress Walnut Stain, WOW Clear Matte Dull

Dies:              Lil Inkers Stitched Mats Rectangles, Tim Holtz Crazy 

                          Things             

Stencil:          The Crafters Workshop Mini Ledger + Golden Light Paste

The Orange card:

Tina’s card:

Cardstock:   The Paper Cut Brown Umber, Strathmore #110 Bristol           

Stamps:        Tim Holtz Bird Crazy, Crazy Talk

Inks:              Distress Carved Pumpkin, Brushed Corduroy, Gina K 

                          Charcoal Brown, Ancient Page Chocolate, Pine, VersaMark, 

                          VersaFine Olympia Green 

Colorants:    Distress Markers Carved Pumpkin, Mowed Lawn, Frayed Burlap, 

                          Walnut Stain, Antique Linen, Zig ColorBrush Leaf      

Emb Powder:   Distress Walnut Stain, WOW Clear Matte Dull

Dies:              Inkers Stitched Mats Rectangles, Tim Holtz Crazy Things

Stencil:          The Crafters Workshop Mini Ledger + Golden Light Paste