Happily Ever After

This one is an anniversary card for my dear friends Carol and Gene who are celebrating 53 years of a truly wonderful marriage . . .

I stumbled onto a nifty new idea while working with the stems which did not take the ink all that well.  This meant that the embossing powder did not stick.  So I drew over the stems with my Sakura Quickie Glue Pen.  Drawing slowly allowed the glue time to leave a raised line;  after pouring on the embossing powder, there was enough wet glue underneath to bubble while being heated.  This added texture and dimension to the stems and while likely not visible in the photo, they have a lot of appeal in real life.

Using UTEE would have given the same raised results, but the large granules of the Ultra Thick might have sacrificed the delicate look of the stems.  With the Glue Pen and Detail Embossing Powder, I was able to keep the narrow stems but still have the raised texture.  I'll be using this idea again!

Cardstock:   Strathmore #90 Watercolor paper

Stamps:       Stampendous Ranunculus Field, Taylored Expressions

                     Simple Strips Background

Inks:             Tombow #845, 933, 55, 15 Olive Green, 133, 606, Zig

                     Color Brush Sweetheart, Greek Isle, Dove Blender Pen,

                     ColorBox Gold

Emb Powder:   Judikins Metallic Gold

Dies:            Lil Inker Stitched Mats: Dual Stitched Rectangles,

                     Taylored Expressions Simple Strips, Elizabeth Craft

                     Small Butterfly     

Blossom of Love

Blue Ribbon #8

Here is another card made with an acetate layer . . .

Acetate has many uses in card-making.  It's also great to use if you want to reverse an image without any fuss.  On this piece, I stamped the flourish on the right with black Staz-On.  I then turned the acetate over and stamped the same flourish on the back and right next to the first one.  Positioning was easy because you can see right through the acetate . . . and unless someone looks at your card with a microscope, no one is going to be able to tell that you cheated!

And that brings us to the end of this year's trip to the NJ State Fair.  I hope you enjoyed the journey.  If you don't already, I again encourage you to consider entering your own State Fairs next year.  If you start now, you'll have time to make a variety of cards.  And the chance to win a few ribbons to add to your scrapbook really adds to the fun!

Cardstock:   Bazzill Ash, Vanilla, Scraps Black, Dull Gold             

Stamps:       Red Rubber “Harvest a blossom of love”, Starving

                     Artistamps Ladder Stitch, Impression Obsession Large

                     Flourish Three

Inks:             Encore Gold, VersaColor Chateau Grey, StazOn Black

Emb Pwdr:   Judikins Detail Metallic Gold

Dies:            Spellbinders Curved Matting Basics B, Paper Trey Ink

                     Mega Gracious Vases, Quickutz Vases   

Long Life

Blue Ribbon #7

Asian art has always beguiled me - happily, cards made with Oriental themes tend to be my favorites throughout my years of stamping.  Evidently, the judges liked this one too . . .

I love using Washi papers for embellishments but they are too thin to do the job on their own.  So I iron them onto freezer paper which gives them instant strength.  It's quick, easy, makes no mess, and can easily be cut with scissors, a craft knife or a die.

The Chinese coin embellishment shows my favorite way to deal with the hole that's usually in the middle of these coins.  I laid down a small spray of dried pine needles over the hole and threaded a narrow strip of reinforced Washi up, over the needles, and back down through the hole.  The ends were secured on the back with glue and then the coin was stuck down with a large glue dot.

Cardstock:   Bazzill Cantaloupe, Beckett Moonlight, Generic

                     Washi papers      

Stamps:       MJ Barber Chinese Horseman, Stamp Camp Texture

                     Specks, "Long Life" chop

Inks:             Hero Black, Ancient Page Cardinal, Mandarin, Distress

                     Old Paper, Peeled Paint, Black Soot

Emb Pwdr:   Distress Black Soot

Emb Fldr:     Taylored Expressions Weathered

Dies:            Spellbinders Victorian Tags

Doo Dads:    Chinese coin, dried pine needles           

Discover

Blue Ribbon #6

Weaving is a simple and easy way to add dimensional interest to a card . . .

 . . . it's also a great way to use up scraps!  Everything in the woven background came from my Scrap Stash and after a few passes through my paper trimmer, I had a pile of varied widths that was ready to go.           

I pinned down the top of each vertical strip to a cork board and then began inserting the horizontal strips.  Although it may look rather complex, the actual process doesn't take more than five minutes to do. 

After carefully removing the pins, I turned over the weaving, realigned the strips, and then taped them down in order to stabilize them.  Having left the strips a little longer than I needed, I was able to cut off the pin holes and trim the ends to varied lengths for added interest.

A dark rectangle of Fun Foam was cut to size, leaving the ends of the strips free, and then glued to the weaving.  This raised the weaving off the card base and provided some nice shadowy dimension.

Cardstock:   Bazzill Light Cocoa, Generic scraps Black

Stamps:       100 Proof Press Diagrammed Head, Appaloosa "Discover"

Inks:             ColorBox Black

Emb Pwdr:   Judikins Detail Black

Punch:         Family Treasures Scalloped Rectangle                          

Doo Dads:    Silver fibers, metal arrows, watch gear

Sweet Beginnings

Blue Ribbon #5

I thought this fluffy baby owl perched in a tangle of pine branches would look nice resting on a quilt-look background . . .

With some more fluff coming from the fibers tied to the fold, this new little one should feel comfy and cozy right from the start . . .

Cardstock:   Bazzill Turquoise, Aquarelle Watercolor paper            

Stamps:       Impression Obsession Feathery Owl, Cloud 9 Stamp Baby

Inks:             ColorBox Frost White, Distress Dusty Concord, Faded

                     Jeans, Mustard Seed, Wild Honey, Brushed Corduroy

Emb Pwdr:   Judikins Opaque White

Dies:            Frantic Stamper Striped Frame & Insert, E-Scenery

                     Idyllic, Cheery Lynn Pine Branches

Doo Dads:    Eyelash fibers

Beauty

Blue Ribbon #4

Although I prefer using faith-based art for Christmas and Easter cards, I also think there's always a place to showcase some of His magnificent creation . . .

This card features leaves, a pine spray, birch trees, two lovely cardinals, and a sprinkling of snow - a small display of His never-to-be-equaled, amazing handiwork.

Cardstock:   Bazzill Ash, Light Grey, Beckett Iceberg, Wausau

                     Firecracker Red, Generic scrap Black (plain and

                     marbleized

Stamps:       Stamp Zia "Beauty"           

Inks:             Ancient Page Stone Grey, Hero Black, Papertrey Ink

                     Chamomile, Distress Old Paper

Emb Pwdr:   Stampendous Shabby White, Vippies Transcendence

Dies:            Memory Box Tall Birch, Savvy Birch Trees, Marianne Birdcage

                     Die Set: Birds, Papertrey Ink Angled Labels                            

Punches:     Family Treasures and Punch Bunch Birch Leaves, McGill

                     Evergreen Sprig

Doo Dads:    Deckle edge scissors         

Weeds Will Win

Blue Ribbon #3

There's always room for humor, especially when the subject is weeds and one has to face the fact that the weeds will always win . . .

. . . the inside of the card reads, "The less you give a damn, the happier you will be."  That sentiment actually applies to a lot of situations in life, I find.

Being as we're dealing with weeds here, I figured some torn, rough edges would be suitable to the task.  I drew over a small cluster of dried pine needles with a black marker and put them off to the side to balance the Ironweed cluster.  Some sunset colors to suggest an end to a day of mostly futile weeding, and I think we're done here.

Cardstock:             Generic textured Tan, Strathmore Watercolor paper

Stamps:                  Chapel Road Western Ironweed, “Make no

                               mistake . . .”

Inks:                       Distress Barn Door, Wild Honey, Mustard Seed,

                               Stormy Sky, Brushed Corduroy, ColorBox Black

Emb Powder:         Judikins Detail Black

Brayer:                   Fiskars Mesh                       

Doo Dads:              Dried Pine Needles

Happy Anniversary

Blue Ribbon #2

I became enamored of the many fascinating and creative aspects of acetate a few years ago and this is one of two cards using acetate scraps that I submitted to the Fair.  I've saved all of the unscratched acetate packaging that was used for dies and other craft items I've bought and while it won't withstand a heat gun, it's perfect for making light, floaty layers . . .

Acetate allows you to elevate designs above the background which can make for interesting shadows.  But you will need to figure out a supportive arrangement of embellishments so that you can hide the foam pop dots behind them in order to keep the acetate suspended over the background.  You can also use decorative elements for support directly on the background which are designed to be visible and part of the layout.  In this case, black pearls did the job nicely . . .

Cardstock:   Bazzill Raven, Vanilla, Marcos Jute, Scrap Black,

                     Acetate

Stamps:       Hero “Happy Anniversary”, Designer Woodgrain,

                     Silhouette Grass, Stamp Camp Tiger Marble

Inks:             ColorBox Silver, StazOn Cotton White, Hero Shadow

                     Soft Brown, Distress Antique Linen

Emb Pwdr:   Delafield Silver

Dies:            Stampin’ Up Lakeside Framelets, Memory Box Pine

                     Needle Border

Doo Dads:    Silver webbing spray, Distress Stickles Black Soot,

                     pearls Black, McGill and Marvy punches Butterflies

Feel Better Soon

As promised in early August, today is the first of eight posts featuring the eight cards I submitted at the NJ State Fair.  As evidenced in the photo below, I did all right in the blue ribbon department!

State fairs are lots of fun to participate in and the entry fees are usually cheap.  So if you haven't dipped your rubber stamper toes into the water yet, what are you waiting for?  

Take the plunge! 

Now onto the cards and comments . . .

Blue Ribbon #1

I find that a wood grain pattern - whether stamped, die cut, stenciled, or embossed - seems to go with just about any card layout out there . . .

. . . wood patterns provide warmth, texture, and a visually familiar feel to a wide variety of design themes.

This delicate butterfly looks perfectly at home on the wood-look panel, and with her wings propped up with foam dots, she looks as though she's just arrived and will stay awhile to bring a little peaceful comfort to someone who's under the weather . . .

Cardstock:   Bazzill Steel Blue, Marcos Jute               

Stamps:       Too Much Fun "Feel Better Soon"          

Inks:             Distress Brushed Corduroy, Stormy Sky, Perfect Pearls

                     Mist Pearl

Emb Pwdr:   Vippies Transcendence

Dies:            Spellbinders Blossom Tags & Accents, Memory Box

                     Butterflies Darla, Vivienne                          

Impr Plate:   Papertrey Wood Grain            

Doo Dads:    Gauze ribbon, pearls, Jelly Roll pen Clear Star