Beware

Halloween themes are always so much fun to play with . . .

 The only part that didn't work at first was the four words:  they didn't show up against the background, even though it's not at all a fussy one.  The solution was to mount the words onto narrow, deckle-edged strips of white cardstock and pop them up with foam dots.  Much better . . .

Cardstock:   Dorset Black Diamond, Strathmore #100 Bristol, Bazzill

                        Velvet, Generic Orange  

Stamps:       Inkadinkado Happy Haunting

Inks:             Hero Black

Dies:            Spellbinders A2 Distressed Edges, Frantic Stamper

                        Scary Words               

Doo Dads:    Ranger Studio Black Gesso 

Thinking of You

A neighbor is going through some serious health challenges and I thought a peaceful card with a bit of sparkle would help to cheer her up . . .

This layout features one stencil used three ways:  the upper part of the card front was sponged through the stencil with VersaMark and then some clear embossing powder with a little sparkle was dusted on and heated.

The burgundy layer was stenciled with a very light tan stencil paste.  I skimmed over the paste to flatten it a little and keep the texture on the subtle side.  After it was dry, I sponged over the whole layer with ink.

The lower part of the card front is another layer I stenciled with coarse embossing paste which gave the design lots of texture and dimension.  The twig was propped up with dots of Glossy Accents added to the ends of the stems . . .

Cardstock:   Generic Light Taupe           

Stamps:       Stampin’ Up “Thinking of you”

Inks:             Distress Aged Mahogany, Pumice Stone, ColorBox

                        Cream White, VersaMark

Emb Powder:   WOW Clear Sparkle, Stamp-n Stuff Ivory Pearl

Dies:            Spellbinders Classic Squares Small, Classic Scalloped

                        Squares Small, Memory Box Eva Stem, Hero Small

                        Tag Frame

Stencil:        Tim Holtz Doily

Doo Dads:    Art Anthology Sandstone, Faber Castell Texture Paste Cement

Bloom

Irena, our neighbor who lives two buildings down from us in our condo village, is moving to California.  She's leaving behind a truly spectacular 100 ft–long garden which she created entirely with her own labor and funds.  Formerly nothing but weeds and scrub, it now has stone pathways, small trees, a bridge over a stream and a remarkable collection of hundreds of flowering plants.  She's going to live with her daughter where there is no garden.  So this card is to encourage her to make one . . .

 After die cutting the scalloped panel, I die cut the branch and set it aside for future use. I then backed the panel with Washi patterned paper.  After die cutting the branch out of white cardstock, I glued it down slightly offset onto the black panel.

Irena will be missed terribly and several of us are going to do our best to keep her garden blooming.  Wish us luck!

Cardstock:   Bazzill White, Washi paper Black & White, Generic Black         

Stamps:       Stampin' Place Dandelion, Verve Floral Symphony: "Bloom

                        where you're planted"

Inks:             ColorBox Frost White, Gelly Roll Clear Star pen, Wink of

                        Stella Clear

Emb Powder:   Stamp Zia White Sparkle

Dies:            Memory Box Grove Branch, Spellbinders Small Deckled

                        Rectangle, Small Scalloped Rectangle, Pink Fresh

                        Floral Squares            

Doo Dads:    Queen & Company Nightfall: Black pearls          

Thanks

Taupe and cream - always an elegant combination in my book . . .

 . . . but a little pop of color is never amiss, don't you agree?  Plus, plenty of texture, yes?

Cardstock:   The Paper Cut Bark Collection, Strathmore #90 Watercolor                           paper, #100 Bristol    

Stamps:       Touche  Stampin’ Up “Thanks”

Inks:             Distress Pumice Stone, ColorBox Black, Hero Black

Colorants:    Zig Real Brush Olive Green, Pale Rose

Emb Powder:   Judikins Detail Black

Dies:            Altenew Fine Frames Rectangles, Spellbinders

                        Romantic Vines                 

Stencil:        The Crafters Workshop Mini Art Is . . .

Doo Dads:    Fanci Kwik Stencil Paste, scrap of white trimming waste       

Hello!

While I've used this typewriter die before, the look changes radically when different colors are used . . .

This is a Guy card for an 18 year old computer whiz – I thought it would be fun to remind him of what the original word processor looked like . . .

Cardstock:   Core’dinations Nostalgic Greys set, Beckett Candlelight,

                        Generic Black     

Stamps:       Darkroom Door Torn Text, Marianne Eline’s Typewriter

                        set: “Hello”, Purple Daisy Sand

Inks:             Hero Black

Dies:            Lil’ Inkers Stitched Mats: Rectangles, Marianne Eline’s

                        Typewriter, Ali Express “Pierced Labels”                      

Doo Dads:    Typewriter definition: computer generated          

A Little Birdie

This is a birthday card for a guy and it did not come together easily . . .

Initially, I colored the background with green spatters and left the embossed fern white. But there wasn't enough definition around the fern to be able to see what it was.  So I inked the tips and along the sides of each frond in black.  No go.  I darkened the space between the fronds with more green ink.  Nope.  I darkened the fronds themselves with more green ink.  TA DA!  Light at end of tunnel switches on . . .

That led me to the final solution:  ditch the pristine white frond idea and cover the whole thing in dark green ink.  I've had better results, but I'm happy that this one finally came together before I decided to make a flaming offering into the waste basket . . .

Cardstock:   Bazzill Light Green, Strathmore #90 Watercolor paper

Stamps:       A Stamp in the Hand Words Background Script, Tim Holtz

                        Crazy Talk: “A little birdie told me”

Inks:             Distress Mowed Lawn, Hero Black

Dies:            Mama Elephant Femme Frames, Memory Box Stitched

                        Rectangle Trimmings, Lavany/Amazon “Bird on a Fence”  

Stencil:        Dreamweaver Fern Frond

Delight

A misty , foggy background, a flutter of butterflies, and perhaps a rain-dotted screen for texture . . .

 . . . and a sparkly star of the flutterby world shows up  as a focal point!  I hope the camera picks up some of its shimmery allure . . .

I also used a product that is new to me:  Glue Drops.  They come on a roll and are available in three sizes.  They are like glue dots except these are rounded and dimensional.  You can sprinkle glitter on them as I did here, or even embossing powder, which you can leave it as is - no heat.  This will give you textured and puffy colored dots right where you want them with no waiting for wet glue to dry.  A nice product!

Cardstock:   Bazzill White, Strathmore #90 Watercolor paper           

Stamps:       Angel Company “Delight”

Inks:             Archival Olive, Jet Black, Distress Iced Spruce Hickory

                        Smoke

Emb Powder:   WOW Clear Matte Dull

Dies:            Avery Elle Wonky Stitches, Simon Says Butterfly Drift,

                        Elizabeth Craft Small Butterfly                 

Stencil:        A Colorful Life Grunge Dots

Doo Dads:    Faber Castell Whipped Spackle: Matte, Wink of Stella

                        Clear, Past Time Stamps Ultra Fine Glitter, Stamp On It

                        Glue Drops    

Nature

It's so much fun to use natural materials I have picked up while walking my dog, Tater. This is a guy card for a neighbor who loves to take long walks every day and presumably, he encounters many of the trees mentioned in the background image . . .

The dried twigs are from some sort of vine and as they are quite dimensional, it's probably best to hand-deliver these rather than snail them.  Since Bob lives right next door, that will be an easy thing to do . . .

While this is actually a birthday card, I've lately decided that it doesn't really have to be easily identifiable as such on the card front.  I can save the 'Happy Birthday' text for the inside and have some artsy fun with other sentiments on the outside.  What do you think?

Cardstock:   Bazzill Raven, Generic Tobacco, Strathmore Ultimate White 

Stamps:       Hero Zig Zag Pattern, Stacy Tree Name Background,

                        Stamp Zia “Nature”

Inks:             Distress Black Soot, Tea Dye, Walnut Stain, Vintage Photo,

                        ColorBox Frost White

Emb Powder:   Sweet Stamps Detail White

Dies:            Lil Inkers Stitched Mats: Rectangles, Spellbinders

                        A2 Distressed Edges , Tim Holtz Labels

Doo Dads:    American Crafts Jute Brown, Just Splendid Wood Dots          

Soar

With Autumn well underway, some pretty, leaf-changing colors seemed appropriate for this card . . .

While in church one Sunday morning, I noticed the attractive colors of a fellow parishioner's dress and thought it would be fun to put them together on a card.

Keep your eyes open, stampers - inspiration is everywhere!

Cardstock:   Bazzill Rain Forest, Strathmore #90 Watercolor paper

Stamps:       Just For Fun Zig Zag Stroke, A Stamp in the Hand Words

                        Background, Script

Inks:             Distress Wild Honey, Carved Pumpkin, Barn Door, Peeled

                        Paint, Gina K Charcoal Brown

Dies:            DieNamics Single Stitched Line Rectangle Frame,

                        KaiserCraft Hessian, Love Nicole Dragonfly, DieVersions

                        font Noodles                    

Doo Dads:    Adirondack Acrylics Pesto