Voice of Africa

It's birthday time for my friend Sandy, who loves all African art forms . . .

Coloring the dresses on the three women was fun, simple, and great for any stamper who's none too confident of her water coloring skills.  Using two colors for each figure, I drew a line with the darker color down the right side.  The lighter color went on the left.  A water brush applied with circular strokes blended the two in the middle.  Try it!

Cardstock:   Marcos Jute  

Stamps:       Gotcha Images African Women, Postmodern Design

                        Woven Frame, Stamp Camp The Voice of Africa,

                        MJ Barber Bird, Mini Afro Set (Sun, Motifs)

Inks:             Hero Black, Distress Brushed Corduroy

Watercolors:   Gansai Tambi Wine Red, Dark Pink, Orange,

                        Mid-Yellow, Cobalt Blue, Cornflower Blue, Dark Brown

Emb Powder:   Distress Black Soot

Dies:            Lil Inker Stitched Mats Rectangles                       

Doo Dads:    Ranger Enamel Accents Black

Best Day Ever!

The background on this card is called "Formula Fun" and I think it makes a great card for a technically-oriented guy . . .

 

My plan is to make two versions using this stamp and they will go to two very dear engineer friends of ours.  So stay tuned for another way to use this image!

Cardstock:   Bazzill Dark Olive, Strathmore Ultimate White, Generic

                        scraps Black          

Stamps:       Hero Formula Fun, KaiserKraft Marble, Spellbinders Fun

                        Tags: “The best day ever”, Simon Says Sketchy Banner

                        Greetings: “Wishing you”

Inks:             Hero Black, Distress Old Paper, Antique Linen, Peeled Paint,

                        VersaMark, ColorBox Frost White

Emb Powder:   Distress Black Soot, Sweet Stamps Fine Detail White

Dies:            Mama Elephant Femme Frames, Memory Box Grosgrain

                        Ribbons, Simon Says Sketchy Banner Greetings,

                        Papertrey Ink Sketched Shapes, DieVersions font

                        Noodles: “the”, Tim Holtz Labels, Cheery Lynn

                        Expandable Quilling Strip 

Doo Dads:    Ranger Enamel Accents: Black   

Same Direction

This card is for two exceedingly dear friends who are celebrating their 61st anniversary.  As they own twelve adorable cats (mostly Rescues), it's only right to include a couple of representative ones in the layout . . .

Amazingly enough, the camera actually picked up my sparkly, star studded sky.  Wish I could get it to do that all  the time!

Cardstock:   Bazzill Crimson, Generic White   

Stamps:       Inkadinkado Exupery Quote

Inks:             Distress Mustard Seed, Weathered Wood, Chipped

                        Sapphire

Emb Powder:   WOW Silver Sparkle

Dies:            QuicKutz Window, Impression Obsession Cat Set,

                        Waffle Flower Lacy Layers 2, Bottone Stitched 

                        Ovals                     

Emb Folder: The Paper Studio Woodgrain

Doo Dads:    Ranger Enamel Accents: Black   

Blessings

While working with another sunflower image a few weeks ago, I decided to pull out this larger version and see if my Gansai Tambi watercolors blended as well as I'd heard they do . . .

  . . . and do they ever!  A colorist I'm not, but I had so much fun with this image because the colors blended so beautifully.  After laying down a narrow band of orange next to the center of the flower, I filled in the rest of the petals with yellow.  Then I took a water brush and used small circular motions to bring the orange out into the yellow areas.  It was quick and simple and has me all hopped up to do a whole lot more water coloring!

Cardstock:   Bazzill Pinecone, Strathmore Watercolor paper

Stamps:       Local King Sunflower, Stampin’ Up Itty Bitty Backgrounds,

                        Red Rubber “Blessings”

Inks:             Ancient Page Chocolate

Watercolors:   Gansai Tambi 43 Mid Yellow, 33 Orange, 54 Olive Green

Emb Powder:   Zing Opaque Chestnut

Dies:            Mama Elephant Femme Frames                                     

Doo Dads:    Adirondack Earthtones: Espresso

Time

This is a birthday card for my baby brother Gordy, who's not such a baby anymore.  Father Time has done his thing and we three sibs are Seniors now.  So I used an aged them for his card this year . . .

From my ephemera stash, I dug out the "Found Relative" baby picture on the little tag.  It is actually such a close resemblance to Gordy's real baby pictures that I couldn't resist adding this to his card.

With the die cut bird soaring over the word "Time", the idea was to make the viewer think, "Time Flies" . . . did you get it?  Or did I try too hard?

Cardstock:   Marcos Jute, Sears Roebuck Catalog page, Generic scraps

                        Black   

Stamps:       Time to Stamp: tag texture from Grunge Set, Limited Edition

                        Pocket Watch

Inks:             Distress Brushed Corduroy, Ground Espresso, Antique

                        Linen, Black Soot

Emb Powder:   WOW Clear Matte Dull

Dies:            DieNamics Wonky Stitch Rectangle Stax, Traditional Tags

                        Stax, AliExpress Spring Swallows, Tim Holtz Alpha

                        Numeric                    

Stencil:        Brutus Monroe Tire Track

Doo Dads:    Ranger Texture Paste Transparent, Jute twine 

A Day to Celebrate

This perky lime and turquoise frame is yet another rescue from the Scrap Stash box . . .

I first tried making the tree orange in order to pick out some of the orange highlights that surprisingly popped up in the lime part of the frame.  But it didn't really play well.  

So I went for a more dramatic black and I think it worked better . . .

Cardstock:   The Paper Cut Watercolor paper, Generic scrap Black           

Stamps:        Clearly Posh Far East News, CC Rubber Stamps Fibers,

                        Hero Day to Celebrate

Inks:               Distress Peacock Feathers, Twisted Citron, Hickory Smoke

Colorants:    Lindy’s Stamp Gang Magical Tibetan Poppy Teal,                                                      Luminous Lemon

Dies:              Marianne Tree, Wplus9 Banner Trio                   

Brayer:          Fiskars Mesh

Love

I chose this image because it reminds me so much of my own lovely, dark-haired Mother.  Among her many talents, she also played the piano beautifully.  She's gone now, but I love sending Mother's Day cards in her memory . . .

The background features three of my favorite techniques:  smooshed color, a little randomly applied text, and my favorite coarse embossing powder scattered onto the surface and heated from beneath.  When I apply that particular trio of techniques, I'm nearly always happy with the results!

Cardstock:   The Paper Cut Eames White, Strathmore #90 Watercolor

                        paper, Beckett Candlelight      

Stamps:       MJ Barber Woman Playing Piano, Amuse Script Background

Inks:             Distress Walnut Stain, Worn Lipstick, Distress Oxide

                        Abandoned Coral, Aged Mahogany, Walnut Stain,

                        Archival Coffee

Emb Powder:   Stampendous Shabby White

Dies:            Mama Elephant Peek a Frame, Avery Elle Peace, Love,

                        & Joy set: “Love”

It's Your Day

Born and raised in California, I was long familiar with the golden poppy - our state flower.  But it wasn't until I became a Flight Attendant and flew over the rustic countryside on approach to Spain's Barajas Airport that I learned that wild poppies came in red as well . . .

Even from a few thousand feet, those red poppies just glowed.  I had fun going for the same effect with this layout.  The stamp is actually a reverse image, so the poppies are surrounded by a background that is embossed in white.  The flowers are actually a little recessed and because of that, they were easy to color.

Cardstock:   Paper Cut Watercolor paper         

Stamps:       Hero Poppy Background, Too Much Fun “It’s your day”

Inks:             Distress Mowed Lawn

Watercolors:   Bienfang Watercolor Brush Pens Cadmium Red,

                           Vermillion, Sap Green, Hooker’s Green

Emb Powder:   Sweet Stamps Fine Detail White

Dies:            Spellbinders Classic Scalloped Squares Large, Lil Inker

                        Stitched Mats Squares, Goodculler Stitched Rectangles,

                        Impression Obsession Small Bow                

Thinking of You

Once again, my Scrap Stash comes to the rescue!  My calendar has been unusually jammed up of late and I haven't been able to take the time I always love to take while card making.  After excavating this background from the pile in the box, it led the way to the rest of the layout . . .

At long last, Spring has finally arrived, and to me, that means color and lots of it.  A little chicken wire for texture, a couple of pristine daffys, and Spring is officially launched!

Cardstock:   Bazzill White, The Paper Cut Watercolor paper

Stamps:       Elizabeth Craft Banner Sentiments: Thinking of You

Inks:             Distress Barn Door, Rusty Hinge, Mustard Seed, Mowed

                        Lawn, Salty Ocean, Dusty Concord

Colorants:    Inktense pencils

Watercolors:   Distress Stains

Dies:            Cheery Lynn Chickenwire, Expandable Quilling Strip,

                        La Crea Daffodils, Elizabeth Craft Banners        

Stencil:        The Crafters Workshop Mini Cubist

Doo Dads:    Dreamweaver Embossing Paste Translucent, Past Time

                        Stamps Multi Ultra Fine Glitter