You're Amazing

A great way to use up small scraps . . .

My dear friend Lynn gifted me with a lovely book on paper crafting and I immediately pounced on one of the layout ideas I found inside.  After die cutting the frame, four different embossing folders were used on half of the inserts.  Four leaf dies embellished the remaining four pieces.  This took a little longer to come together, but the whole process was fun and relaxing.  I'll be playing with this idea again . . .

Cardstock:   Papers by Catherine Ivory, assorted scraps Brown,

                     Beige, Cream   

Stamps:       Simon Says Sketchy Banner Greetings

Inks:             Distress Brushed Corduroy

Dies:            Alexander De Grote Comic Frame, Spellbinders Signs

                     of Spring 1, Floral Berry Accents, Joy Leaves, Simon Says

                     Sentiment Labels, Sketchy Banner Greetings      

Emb Folder: Taylored Expressions Burlap, Cuttlebug Oxford, Lifestyle

                     Linear, Stampin’ Up Fancy Fan

Doo Dads:    My Mind’s Eye Just Splendid Wood Dots           

The Best!

My white Prisma pencil was the key in making both the background and the focal points work . . .

After using VersaMark ink for a tone-on-tone background, the lightness of the cardstock kept the leaves from being clearly visible.  So I lightly filled in between the  veins with the white pencil.  In real life, it worked beautifully but I don't know if the camera will show them very well.  Crossed fingers . . .

On the focal point leaves, I did just the opposite by using the white Prisma on the veins.  With the leaves lightly edged in Plum, the contrast is much greater and I'm very happy with the results . . .

Cardstock:   Conqueror Lightspeck Dune, Bazzill Orchid      

Stamps:       Stampin Up Oak Leaf, Purple Daisy Mega Maple, Amuse

                     “Birthdays are the Best”

Inks:             VersaMark, Vivid Taupe, ColorBox Amber Satin, Royal Silk

Colorants:    Prisma pencil White, Tombow #603

Emb Powder:   WOW! Clear Matte, BMuse Eggplant

Dies:            Spellbinders Ribbon Tag Trio                  

Doo Dads:    Brads Purple, Ric Rac Taupe       

Blessings

Purple, green, and white - one of my favorite color combinations . . .

This re-do involved changing out the previous buckle which was a very simple one for a much more ornate one that I thought would suit the frothy flowers very well.  For text, I added a stacked "Blessings" against the textured brick wall:  white-on-white always looks so wonderfully elegant to me . . .

Cardstock:   Bazzill Deep Magenta, Strathmore #90 Watercolor paper,

                     Beckett Iceberg 

Stamps:       Stampendous Ranunculus Field

Inks:             ColorBox Frost White, Adirondack Wild Plum, Ancient

                     Page Plum Wine, Whispers Savoy Green

Emb Powder:   BMuse Detail White

Dies:            Spellbinders Ribbon Buckles, “Blessings”                     

Emb Folder: Tim Holtz Bricked

Doo Dads:    Pearls, Green stitched grosgrain ½“ ribbon       

It's Your Day

This card is yet another time-saving re-tread . . . I'll be doing this re-purposing for awhile yet - at least until I can get caught up - and I hope you will find the journey useful.  It's turning into quite an eye-opening adventure and I am enjoying it quite a bit . . .

I changed out the card base, beefed up the sentiment with a two-layered die cut, and added another layer to the frame which I edged in dark green to help make it stand out against the background.  As both are made from the same cardstock, this helped set off the leafy frame.

Digging up old cards gives me the opportunity to make changes I wish I'd seen the need of when I originally made the card.  Twenty-twenty hindsight can be a wonderful thing, especially when it allows you to do over past mistakes!

Cardstock:   Papers by Catherine White, Unknown Celery, Scrap

                     from my Scrap Stash

Stamps:       Outlines Bits & Pieces Leaf, Hero "It's Your Day"

Inks:             Ancient Page Chocolate

Emb Powder:   BMuse Devil's Food Chocolate

Dies:            DieNamics In and Out Stitched Rectangle Squares,

                     Fiskars Jelly Jar Frame                 

Doo Dads:   Twig         

Happy Birthday

Raiding my card stash in order to save time by re-working them is proving to be an interesting journey.  Some of the cards I'm unearthing are over ten years old and it's interesting to see how my styles and creative ideas have changed.  I made the following card back when Hero's Shadow stamps were so popular . . .

The Shadow images offer instant frames and backgrounds which make layout composition so much easier.  This one provided twelve squares that I decided to take literally and use them as frames.  A raid on my Scrap Stash unearthed a disastrous background which became a lot more interesting once I went to work on it with a square punch.  I changed out the original card base for a darker one which I thought set off the colors better.  After roughing up the edges, I pronounced this one done.

Cardstock:   Bazzill Jade, Unknown Pale Peach, Marcos Jute, Scraps

                     from my Scrap Stash   

Stamps:       Magenta “Three Daisies”, Hero Super Solids Background,

                     Wavy Birthday

Inks:             Distress Antique Linen

Colorants:    Prisma pencils Green, Rose

Dies:            ¾” square punch                

Doo Dads:    Glossy Accents       

Congratulations

It's our granddaughter's 8th grade graduation and I decided to do another (mostly) white-on-white treatment . . .

Following an idea I got from a blog, I used an embossing folder on the background layer, and then colored the raised flowers and leaves with Copics.  It's easier than you might think because embossing breaks down the paper fibers a bit.  So when ink is applied, it wicks into almost the entire raised areas. Basically, you just color along the tops of the raised areas and the wicking does the rest.  If your marker-wielding skills are not the greatest, you'll still do just fine with this technique. 

The process is quicker than you might think, especially if you decide to color a partial area as I did.

Cardstock:   Papers by Catherine White           

Stamps:       Too Much Fun "Congratulations", Fiskars School Days:

                     "You're a Winner!"

Inks:             Copic YG67 Moss, Y17 Golden Yellow, Ancient Page

                     Saffron, Distress Mowed Lawn

Emb Pwdr    Vippies Transcendence

Dies:            Spellbinders A2 Matting Basics A, DieNamics Pierced

                     Rectangle Frames, Stitched Rectangle Word Windows           

Emb Fldr:     Crafts-Too Sweet Flowers

Doo Dads:    Gelly Roll Clear, American Crafts Grosgrain Ribbon Green   

Splish, Splash, Sparkle

One of stamping's most endearing aspects is its ability to easily re-purpose our projects.  I got caught in a real time crunch in June and many of my Summer cards are being rescued from my stash and given a face lift.  The text gets swapped out, images get rearranged,  and maybe even a whole new card base is in the works . . .

The original card was part of a stamp club challenge and while I kept the basics, the stenciled card base and frame are new.  The "ice cubes" are Page Pebbles - very popular embellishments a few years ago.  After stamping and glittering the cardstock, I cut it out in the shape of a tumbler, embellished it with a fabric flower and a jewel, and added two white cardstock strips to serve as straws.

Hopefully, your Summer will be full of many frosty and delicious moments!

Cardstock:   Papers by Catherine White, Bazzill White, Lilac,

                     Kachina      

Stamps:       Impression Obsession Splish, Splash, Sparkle, Judikins

                     Beaded Curtain

Inks:             Distress Broken China, Dusty Concord, Vivid Lavender,

                     Sky Blue, Turquoise

Emb Powder:   Ranger Embossing Tinsel Snowflake, Enchanted

                         Creations Seaside Sparkler

Dies:            Memory Box Stitched Rectangle Trimmings                  

Stencil:        Honey Bee Radiant

Doo Dads:    Page Pebbles          

SOAR

Concord and 9th's incredible Faceted stencil was the colorful starting point for this one . . .

                        

After the layout was pretty much finished, I took a break to do some rearranging on one of my workroom shelves.  I came across a little quilled kite I'd made years ago, and since the colors were quite perfect for this design, I decided to put it to use.  I stuck it on after backing the kite part with a white medallion to make it a little easier to see against the busy background.  So sorry that the photo isn't as clear as it is in real life

Cardstock:   Papers by Catherine White, Strathmore Ultimate White          

Stamps:       Fiskars brayer Mesh

Inks:             Ancient Page Pine, Sage, Mandarin, Distress Barn Door

Dies:            Gina Marie Stitched Rounded Squares, DieNamics

                     Horizontal Stitched Strips, Memory Box Lisette Buckle                      

Stencil:        Concord & 9^th Faceted Turnabout Stencil

Doo Dads:    Past Time Stamps Crystal Glitter Gold Extra Fine         

The Last Breath

I kept it simple for this one . . .

 . . . the blood-stained flag and the incredibly moving text are stark reminders of the ultimate sacrifice so many paid in order to secure our freedom.  

May we never  forget . . .

Cardstock:   Bazzill Admiral, Strathmore Ultimate White

Stamps:       Technique Junkies Last Breath, Our Daily Bread Home

                     of the Free set, Time to Stamp Grunge set

Inks:             ColorBox Blue Iris, Hero Black, ColorBox Silver, Brilliance

                     Rocket Red

Emb Powder:   WOW Clear Matte Dull

Dies:            DieNamics In and Out Stitched Rounded Squares                   

Doo Dads:   Tim Holtz Mirrored Star