The Music of Life

With the holiday time crunch upon us, it was time to pull an earlier favorite out of my stash and send it along . . .

The recipient is a friend who is a passionate gardener, so the sentiment on this one really fit.  The musical background is one of my favorite ways to add some non-intrusive texture that ties all of the elements together so well.  Text can do the same thing, especially if it's foreign language . . .

Cardstock:             Generic Textured Kraft, Beckett Moonlight, Bazzill

                               Rainforest             

Stamps:                Impression Obsession Music Background, Verve

                               Floral Symphony: flower and text, Stampin' Up Itty

                               Bitty Background    

Inks:                       Distress Antique Linen, Archival Black, Stampin' Up

                               Garden Green

Emb Powder:         Ranger Gold

Colored Pencils:    Prisma Poppy Red, Orange, Violet, Burnt Ochre

Doo Dads:              Gelly Roll Clear Star pen, Punch Bunch Flowers

Gathered In

What to do with a twiggy wreath that is too thin to prop up invisibly with foam dots?

    

My solution was to glue down only the inner part of the wreath and leave the outer edges free.  They stood up just enough to add a little dimension.

Some dried die powders gave a rather realistic mottled look to the pumpkin . . .

A very blessed and Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!

Cardstock:            Cougar Opaque Ivory, Nicole #100 Watercolor

                               paper, Generic Dark Brown, Celery Green

Stamps:                Amuse Script Background, Impression Obsession

                               "All is safely gathered in"

Inks:                       Gina K Charcoal Brown, Ancient Page Chocolate,

                               Distress Fired Brick

Colorants:              Ken Oliver Color Burst Orange               

Emb Powder:         Zing Chestnut

Dies:                      Impression Obsession Twig Wreath, Pretty Pink

                               Posh Stitched Foliage: Pumpkin, Goodculler

                               Stitched Rectangles

Doo Dads:             Brown pearls

Autumn

This background started out as the handy ink blotter for two other cards I was making . . . I was doing the smooshing technique and as always, didn't want to waste any of the ink I'd smeared on my craft sheet . . .

After adding a few spattered drops of black gesso, I deemed it worthy of a card base. 

This card is the maiden voyage of my new double stitched set of dies.  The eight dies in the set don't cut - they just impress double rows of stitching to add lovely texture.  I used the largest one on the orange card base and am in love with the look it provides.  Perhaps I should just leave this set at the ready on my die cutting table . . .

Cardstock:   Bazzill Cutie, Nicole Bristol Smooth        

Stamps:       Stampin’ Up Autumn, CC Rubber Stamps Fibers

Inks:             Distress Peeled Paint, Mowed Lawn, Crushed Olive,

                     Wild Honey, Rusty Hinge, Barn Door, Vintage Photo,

                     ColorBox Black, VersaMark

Colorants:    Studio Gesso Black, Marvy Liquid Gold Marker

Emb Powder:   Ranger Gold, Distress Black Soot

Dies:            Ali Express Leaf, Lawn Fawn Just Stitched Rectangles,

                     Simon Says Talk Bubbles                      

Doo Dads:    Inkssentials Enamel Accents Black        

Good to Play

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld always did have a way with words . . .

I'm in a time crunch yet again . . . so I pulled this one out of the stash.  It's a favorite layout of mine for a variety of reasons.  One of the main ones is that I learned it was possible to stamp an image and then run it through an embossing folder without harming any of the detail on the line drawing.  Every single dot and tiny number on the horse schematic is as clear as they were when the cardstock was flat.  I never dreamed that would be the result. Happy surprise!

Cardstock:   Generic Taupe, Bazzill Black, Becket Moonlight          

Stamps:       Lost Coast Steampunk Pony, Cloud Nine Simple

                     Thoughts/Laughter 

Inks:            Archival Black

Colorants:    Copic W4 Warm Grey       

Emb Fldr:     Cuttlebug Herringbone      

Doo Dads:    Gelly Roll Clear Star, Marvy marker Silver, brads

                     Antique Pewter                 

Tags Sample #3

And to wind up the last of the class, another simple tag using a number of die cuts . . .

So many of us have fallen in love with the realization that intricate shapes are entirely possible to create right on our very own craft tables.  Such delicate work used to be entirely out of our reach.  Now, we can cut out the most delicate of doilies easily.  I thought it would be fun to show my students a little of what is possible to create . . .

Cardstock:   Beckett Candlelight, American Crafts Green, Wausau

                     Rocket Red  

Stamps:       CC Rubber Stamps Dot Shader, Celestial Dots, Stampin’

                     Up To/From       

Inks:             ColorBox Frost White, Distress Mowed Lawn

Emb Pwdr:   Hero White

Dies:            Papertrey Ink Doily Details, Lychee Flower Stitched

                     Circles, Tim Holtz Holiday Greens, Gemini Loving Tags: 

                     Heart                                    

Doo Dads:    Baker’s string Red/White               

Tags Sample #2

As with all of the other techniques, embossing was a new experience for these newbie stampers in my classroom at the library.  Along with the previous tag, this one provided an opportunity to get a little more practice with the fun of heat embossing . . .

For most of us, heat embossing was the fascinating technique that enticed us into the joys of rubber stamping.  I love to share it with new stampers whenever I can . . .

Cardstock:   Precut Dark Kraft     

Stamps:       Hero Tiny Ink Spots, Stamp Camp Tiger Marble, Memory

                     Box Presto Flourish, Vivaldi Flourish                    

Inks:             Brilliance Gamma Green, Rocket Red, Distress Gathered

                     Twigs, Mowed Lawn, ColorBox Chiffon White, Fabrico White

Dies:            Papertrey Ink Tag Sale #10                                   

Doo Dads:    Assorted fibers                    

Tags Sample #1

As the rubber stamping class was held in the early Fall and the holidays were looming, I thought making a few tags might be fun.  It was a good way to apply some of the techniques the students had learned with card-making earlier in the class . . .

On this pair of tags, the background was stamped in dark brown and heat dried.  Then, the flourishes were overstamped in Clear ink and Clear embossed.  After sponging on some dark brown color for contrast,  the fabric flowers were added and secured with a brad.

In order to avoid having the To From text interfere with the layout, I usually stamp the words on the back of the tag . . .

Cardstock:   A Stamp in the Hand Tags White

Stamps:       Inkadinkado Script Background, PSX Rosebud Flourish

                     and Stampendous Dream Text, Memory Box Vintage Scroll                      

Inks:             Distress Walnut Stain, VersaMark

Emb Pwdr:   Ranger Clear

Dies:            Papertrey Ink Tag Sale #10                                   

Doo Dads:    Fabric flowers Cream,  Brads Cream, assorted fibers