Dream

In these days of Corona-induced hibernation, adventures are probably few and far between.  But if you're a stamper, you have numerous chances for adventure!  How?  Just choose a medium that gives you limited control and yields results that are always a surprise.  In this case, I once again played around with alcohol inks . . .

For this background, I dropped four colors of alcohol onto Yupo paper, spacing them a generous inch apart.  After they did their initial spreading, I let them dry for a minute or two.  I added a few more drops to intensify the colors in each area and then let it dry completely. 

The adventurous part came next and took only a split second:  I shpritzed once with 91% alcohol from about 10" away.  That gave me scores of lovely droplets with slightly raised, darker edges that I think look very artsy and provide lots of texture.  Love it!

Cardstock:   Bazzill Jacaranda, Blue (lightest blue from their Mono

                     Blues Pack), Ranger Yupo

Inks:             Adirondack Bottle, Meadow, Butterscotch, Denim,

                     Brilliance Galaxy Gold

Emb Pwdr:   Ranger Gold

Dies:            DieNamics Pierced Rectangle Frames, Horizontal

                     Stitched Strips, Memory Box Cascadia Butterfly Trio;

                     Pippi & Isabella (butterfly bodies), Reverse Confetti

                     Wild Words Set: “Dream”                   

Doo Dads:    Nuvo Crystal Drops Caramel Cream, Sparkle & Sprinkle

                     Glitter Fantasy Gold       

Celebrate

It's been awhile since I last played with Washi tapes . . .

My stash contains several tapes with a musical theme and they were perfect for the recipient of this card - a choral director whose chorale toured the world for years.  He got his start as our church's high school and adult choir director and we've followed his exciting career ever since!

One of the main things I've learned about Washi tapes is that it's best to apply them to a layer of cardstock and to extend the ends of the tape around to the back.  The glue used on Washi tapes is not all that reliable - taping the ends down avoids unwanted separations down the road . . .

Cardstock:   Bazzill Cocoa, Strathmore #100 Bristol  

Stamps:       Stampendous Music Score

Inks:             Gina K Amalgam Black, Distress Old Paper, Scattered

                     Straw, Black Soot

Dies:            Impression Obsession Congrats Word Set: Celebrate,

                     Memory Box Stitched Rectangle Trimmings, Kiwarm

                     Modern Music Score                       

Doo Dads:    Various Washi Tapes         

Journey

Fun with alcohol inks continues!  Because of the Corona quarantine, I've had some extra time to craft.  I like to think of it as having at least a little good come out of this horror.  Anyway, I've made a few backgrounds and will be posting them over the upcoming weeks . . .

There are many ways to work with them and I found that making just minor changes in techniques can yield a variety of wonderful results.  For this background, I put down drops of two colors onto a sheet of aluminum foil and smooshed the Yupo paper onto the drops.  Working quickly because alcohol inks dry fast, I added more drops and repeated the smooshing until the cardstock was covered.  When dry, I spritzed once with 91% alcohol.      

And that was it.  More to come - hope you like them!  

Meanwhile, may all of my readers be safe and well . . .

Cardstock:   Stampers Emporium Marina Teal, Tim Holtz Yupo       

Inks:             Adirondack Alcohol Ink Stream, Denim, Copic Marker

                     BG57 Jasper

Dies:            Papertrey Ink Pierced Feature Frames, Memory Box

                     Delicate Sea Fan, Swimming Sea Horses, Frantic

                     Stamper Journey             

Doo Dads:    Kat Scrappiness Sparkling Clear Droplets, Metallix

                     Glitter Moondust           

Sympathy

My former parish has lost a wonderful, highly creative woman I've known for twenty nine years.  As carnations were her favorite flower, I used my carnation die for her husband's card . . .

A gently smooshed background and a few shimmers on the flowers and this simple card gets sent with love and cherished memories . . .

Cardstock:   Bazzill Light Rosy, Strathmore #100 Bristol     

Inks:             Distress Tattered Rose, Peeled Paint

Dies:            Goodculler Stitched Rectangles, We-Buys Cute

                     Chrysanthemum, Tattered Lace Everyday Sentiments:                                           “Sympathy”                

Doo Dads:   Past Time Stamps Multi Ultra Fine Glitter, Inkssentials

                     Enamel Accents White      

Shamrock

Faith and begorrah!  There's always something about a white and lacy piece of cardstock that seems to work so well for St Patrick's Day themes . . .

 . . . and some textured gold embossing doesn't hurt either.  What do you think?

Happy St Patrick's Day!

Cardstock:   Bazzill Jade, Strathmore #100 Bristol     

Stamps:       Studio G “Shamrock”

Inks:             VersaMark, Ancient Page Pine, ColorBox Gold

Emb Pwdr:   Baked Texture Patina Oxide, WOW Ultra High: Gold,

                     Ranger Gold

Dies:            Spellbinders Resplendent Rectangles, Poppy Crafts

                     Bunch of Four Leaf Clovers, Cugap Potted Plant,

                     Waffle Flower Lacy Layers 2                                

Doo Dads:    Pilot Marker Gold

Blossom

As feather images are a favorite of mine, I couldn't resist getting this wonderful flowery feather die:

A crisp, textured white, paired with black, and set off with a trio of colored petals and a few sparkle dots, which I'm sure the camera hasn't picked up.  Regardless, I love the fresh look this combination has and knowing me, I'm sure to revisit it many times in future!

Cardstock:   Bazzill Raven, Stedner Bright White, Strathmore # 100

                     Bristol Smooth         

Inks:             Distress Faded Jeans, Twisted Citron, Dusty Concord

Dies:            GJ Crafts Feather, DieVersions font Noodles: “Blossom”       

Emb Fldr:     Taylored Expressions Weathered

Doo Dads:    Martha Stewart Glitter Onyx          

Live

Lately, Pinterest has had a spate of interesting ways to distribute paint onto a surface.  One method looked like a lot of fun:  pea-sized blobs of thick paint were dotted over the surface  about 2" apart, and then repeatedly dabbed with a flat ended stencil brush . . .

 . . . the dabbing distributed the paint and also did a fair amount of blending.  I used the side of a palette knife to add some vertical strokes for texture.  The medium I used was different than the paint the artists used and I would like to experiment with their choices.  Meanwhile, I used what I had and thoroughly enjoyed myself!

Cardstock:   Bazzill Parakeet, Strathmore #100 Bristol          

Stamps:       Limited Edition Script 2

Inks:             Distress Faded Jeans, Shabby Shutters

Dies:            Mama Elephant Femme Frames, W-Buys Cute

                     Chrysanthemum, Memory Box Cascadia Butterfly Trio,

                     Arich Rounded Corners Stitched Rectangles, Recollections

                     Word Fetti: “Live”                  

Doo Dads:    Delta Texture Magic Spring Green, Fern Green, Bungalow

                      Blue, Stampin’ Around Gold Dust Glitter 

Bloom

After starting off with a fair idea of where I wanted to go with this design (that almost never happens), I got sidetracked and wound up with this instead . . .

I found myself in the mood to play with watercolors and thought I'd challenge myself with some rather large spaces to work with.  Those petals got bigger and bigger as I was working on them.  But I persevered anyway.  Yes, I've a lot to learn, but I'm quite a bit ahead of where I was a few years ago.   

           Onward - and hopefully upward!

Cardstock:   Bazzill Pomegranate, Strathmore #100 Bristol,

                     Nicole Black

Stamps:       Peddler’s Pack Four Daisies

Inks:             Gina K Amalgam

Waterclrs:    Gansai Tambi Mid-Yellow, Olive Green, Wine Red,

                     Deep Pink

Dies:            Frantic Stamper Bloom                  

Doo Dads:    Wilhold Glitter Black           

Happy

Happily, I stumbled onto a blog recently that featured a very clever way to work with an embossed design . . .

After putting the cardstock into an embossing folder and running it through the machine, she cut around a few of the leaves and then inserted the focal point done on a separate piece of cardstock.  I loved the idea and made my own version.  I loved the contrast and the texture and hope you do too!

Cardstock:   Strathmore Bristol #100     

Stamps:       Sweet ‘n Sassy Majestic Monarchs

Inks:             Distress Faded Jeans, Dusty Concord, Pine Needles,

                     Hero Unicorn, Black

Emb Pwdr:   Hero White

Dies:            Sweet ‘n Sassy Majestic Monarchs

Emb Fldr:     Cuttlebug Leafy Branch

Doo Dads:    Spectrum Noir Sparkle, Inkssentials Enamel Accents Black