Celebrate

Having fun with some black, white, and silver . . .

For my grandson's birthday, I thought some fireworks were in order.  But I didn't have any dies for them.  So I took a bare-branched tree, divided it into thirds and glittered it up a bit.  I glued the pieces slightly askew, added some stars, and am hoping the final result suggests fireworks.  

Did it work?  Or am I fooling myself?

 

Cardstock:   Strathmore Pastelle: Bright White, Nicole Licorice,

                     Concord & 9^th Neutrals Glitter Pack: Silver 

Inks:             ColorBox Silver

Emb Pwdr:  Unknown Silver Sparkle

Dies:            Impression Obsession Congrats Word Set: Celebrate,

                     Savvy Tree               

Stencil:        La Crea Wheel Tracks, Simon Says Snow, Our Daily

                     Bread Sparkling Stars

Doo Dads:    Schmincke Dry Gouache Silver, Dreamweaver

                     Translucent Embossing Paste     

Smile

 I love to mix patterns, particularly when one of them is a stripe . . .

 I don't know if the scattered sequins will photograph well, but they were a clear crystal which turned pink once they were glued in place.  I'm not pleased with the look for this card and will have to experiment to find a way around this . . .

 

Cardstock:   Strathmore Ultimate White

Stamps:       Simon Says Diagonal Stripes, Stampin Up On Safari

Inks:             Hero Black

Dies:            Impression Obsession Large Frame, Goodculler Stitched

                     Rectangles, Recollections Word Fetti: Smile Mikey Store

                     Happy Birthday set (balloons)                       

Doo Dads:    Crystal Sequins      

 

Deepest Sympathy

 Inspired by a painting in my dentist's office, the following layout emerged . . .

 

It doesn't look anything like the painting, but I had fun anyway.

The die cut is the result of excellent design by Pink Fresh.  The leafy part of the spray is from one stamp, while the flowers are another.  This allows you to use two different colors.  The stamps are clear so they're easy to line up, after which the coordinating die cuts out the whole image.  Easy peasy!

 

Cardstock:   Bazzill Juneberry, Canson #90 Aquarelle White          

Stamps:       Stampers Anonymous Distressed Shadow Background,

                     Kaisercraft Marble, Stampington Button Mums, Pink Fresh

                     Curvy Floral Vine

Inks:             Distress Aged Mahogany, Crushed Olive, Old Paper

Emb Pwdr:  Vippies Transcendence, Ranger Gold

Dies:            Lil Inkers Stitched Mats: Rectangles, Gina Marie Stitched

                     Rounded Squares, Pink Fresh Curvy Floral Vine                

Doo Dads:    Viva Paper Pen Gold, Perfect Pearls Mist Gold

Happy Birthday

Tim's new 3D embossing folder Typewriter is a stunner . . .

Not only are the letters textured and very pronounced, but so is the background.  I hope you can see this in the photo.  This is currently my favorite embossing folder and I'm probably in danger of wearing it out . . .

 

Cardstock:   Strathmore Ultimate White, Scrap Textured Red          

Stamps:       Inkadinkado Happy Birthday, Unknown Diagonal Stripes

Inks:             Hero Black

Waterclrs:    Various Zig Real Brush colors

Dies:            Tim Holtz Large Stems #2, Spellbinders Tags Trio                  

Emb Fldr:    Tim Holtz Typewriter

Doo Dads:    American Crafts jute Red

Dream

If you've been following my blog, you're well aware that it's texture - and lots of

it - that floats my boat . . .

The background on this one is actually two plaid dies - one with narrow bands and the other with wider ones.  They can be used separately or when layered, they provide marvelous dimension.  I think I'm going to have a lot of fun experimenting with these plaids in all kinds of colors . . .

 

 

Cardstock:   Bazzill Purple Pizzazz       

Emb Pwdr:  Stamp A Mania Desert Jewel, Desert Evening,

                     Enchanted Creations Seaside Sparkler

Dies:            Spellbinders Wonderful Wings, Concord & 9^th Plaid

                     Card Front: Thin and Thick, Sue Wilson “Dream”                    

Doo Dads:    Joy Pearls Purple, Gelly Roll Clear Star 

  

Bloom

As with the other gatefold cards I've made so far, it's surprising how quickly this one came together . . .

 

I took a standard A2 card base (8.5" X 5.5") and scored 21/8" in from each short side.  When folded in, the two flaps meet and the resulting card is the regular A2 size. The flaps can be decorated any way you want, likewise the belly band that keeps it closed. 

I love the versatility of this style of card and believe I could use it for almost any occasion and with any choice of colors . . .

 

Cardstock:   Dorset Black Diamond, Neenah Desert Storm, Wausau

                     #100 Burgundy    

Stamps:       Hero Newspaper Background

Inks:             Hero Black

Dies:            Nellie’s Straight Dotted Oval, Tim Holtz Wildflowers,

                     Frantic Stamper “Bloom”                   

Doo Dads:   Jute trim, Wink of Stella Clear      

Birthday

I'm going to be stuck on gatefolds for awhile, folks - I'm having such a wonderful time with this style!  Here's another version with the same die used on my previous post . . .

This one uses Asian-themed pre-printed papers which are very thin.  In order to give them some added body and substance, I cut freezer paper to the same size as the Asian paper I'm layering.  Then I place the back of the Asian paper onto the shiny side of the freezer paper.  This goes between two sheets of typing paper to protect the ironing board and the iron from any waxy seepage.  I then iron in circular motions on a medium setting.  It takes 5-10 seconds to melt and fuse.  The result is a sturdy piece of paper that die cuts easily.

The one drawback to gatefold cards is that in the closed position, they are hard to prop up for display.  A decorated belly band is part of the whole composition and it would be nice to display it that way.  So a die cut easel made from sturdy cardstock is an option.  There are a few easel dies on the market, but I do wish there were more choices . . .  the available designs could use some structural improvement and so could the hefty prices . . .

 

Cardstock:   Bazzill Jubilee, Asian Designer paper, Hanko Echisen

                     Gold 

Inks:             VersaMark

Emb Pwdr:  Ranger Gold

Dies:            Creative Craft Curvy Gatefold, Papertrey Ink Swoosh

                     Set: “Birthday”

Doo Dads:    Stampendous stickers Geo Shapes Gold  

Engineer

With two mechanical engineers in the family, and several practitioners of the trade as friends, I am very familiar with the species - and I have full admiration for the profession.  That's not to say we can't have a little fun with it . . .

An image of some technical drawings set the tone, along with a collection of die cut gears.  I did a little experiment with the embossed gravel design panel at the bottom:  after dry embossing the design, I skimmed a Distress ink pad lightly over the surface.  I waited a few minutes for much of it to dry, and then dusted on some Clear embossing powder and heated it.  I was after the occasional glint you get from mica in rocks, and happily, that's exactly what I got!  Of course, the camera is not likely to capture the subtleties of my efforts, but in real life, I'm happy with how it turned out. 

For me, the delight is indeed in the details . . .

 

Cardstock:   Bazzill Raven, Neenah Desert Storm, Marco’s Stardream

                     Cover Copper,  The Paper Cut Orion Variety Silver, The

                     Paper Company Gold Metallic Text

Stamps:       Hero Formula Fun

Inks:             Hero Black, Distress Black Soot

Emb Pwdr:  Vippies Transcendence

Dies:            Tim Holtz Gearhead, Goodculler Stitched Rectangles             

Doo Dads:    Wink of Stella Gold

Emb Fldr:    Paper Discovery Ornamental Gravel, Spellbinders Blistered