It's Your Day

As I don't have a collection of birthday images that work for an 11 year old boy, I figured a background of a bazillion birthday wishes would do the job . . .

 

I popped up some colorful candles to echo the same colors in the background and added a sparkly flourish.  This should entitle me to a slice of his birthday cake - yes?

 

Cardstock:   Bazzill Classic Red, Classic Yellow, Strathmore Ultimate

                     White, Tim Holtz Silver Sparkle   

Stamps:       Inkadinkado Happy Birthday Background, Too Much

                     Fun It’s Your Day

Inks:             Distress Candied Apple, Spiced Marmalade, Mustard

                     Seed, Mowed Lawn, Faded Jeans, Dusty Concord,

                     ColorBox Black

Emb Pwdr:  Judikins Detail Black

Dies:            Lil Inker Stitched Mats Rectangles, Impress Candle,

                     Fyore “Stitched Stamp-Edged Rectangles”, Papertrey Ink

                     Angled Labels, Marianne Swirl Circles               

Doo Dads:    Gelly Roll Clear, Jones Tones Glitter Lazer Silver       

Journey

A return to my favorite elements of Khaki, Cream, Black and lots of text . . .

 

After stamping the text background, I cut out the rectangular window and mounted the text layer over some black cardstock.  I had to guess as to where I wanted the window and hindsight tells me I should have positioned it lower than it is.  In order to add weight to the bottom and improve the balance of the layout, I decided to give the vase something to stand on.  It started out to be a flourished strip but since this is a guy card, I snipped off the frou frou, leaving an irregular edge.  I think it worked!

 

Cardstock:   Marcos Jute, Nicole Licorice, Scrap Cream       

Stamps:       Hero Friend Definition, KaiserCraft Marble

Inks:             Hero Black, ColorBox Cream White

Emb Pwdr:  Stamp-n Stuff Ivory Pearl

Dies:            Lil Inker Stitched Mats Rectangles, Goodculler Stitched

                     Rectangles, Papertrey Ink Mega Gracious Vases,

                     Spellbinders Bitty Blossoms, Frantic Stamper Journey,

                     Gemini Opulent Swirls            

Doo Dads:    Twig, Foamiran, Viva Pearl Pen Cream  

Birthday

Yep, here's another gatefold card featuring some lovely floral edging . . .

 

I am doing this write-up in early Spring and am still pretty much staying home due to Corona.  As New Jersey now has the highest number of deaths from this viral outrage, I plan to continue to reduce my exposure.  In order to avoid crowds and the wearing of that suffocating mask, I attend streamed church services in my home office every week.  On the Sunday I posted this card, which was waiting on my desk until church was over, my prayer candle leaked about a nickel-sized patch of wax on one corner of it.

I did not curse - it was Sunday, after all - and I decided this might be a learning experience on how to recover from a candle wax invasion.  First, I put the card in the freezer for a few minutes.  That froze the wax blob and it was easy to pop it off in one piece.  But there was a waxy residue left behind and it had darkened the cardstock.

As I had nothing to lose at this point, I took my X-Acto knife and gently scraped away with short, small movements.  Not only did the residue go away, so did the darkening of the cardstock.  Now that really surprised me!  Although you'd have to know where to look, and would also need to have a magnifying glass in hand, the surface was ever so minimally roughened up.  I decided a few small flower die cuts would ensure that no one would ever know of the waxy mayhem that had taken place.

While it's nice to know that I can obliterate the aftermath of a sloppy candle, in future my cards will be placed on the other side of my desk.

 

Cardstock:   Bazzill Carrot Cake, Georgia Pacific White        

Stamps:       Judikins Flower Dots

Inks:             Ranger Gold

Emb Pwdr:  Stampendous Shabby White, Ranger Gold

Dies:            KS Kraft Envelope Lace, Spellbinders Wonderful Wings,

                     DieNamics Prima Donna Petals, Papertrey Ink Swoosh

                     Set: “Birthday”                  

Doo Dads:    Stampendous stickers Geo Shapes Gold           

Hugs

 I have three cards for you today - all of them using backgrounds made with my new favorite layered stencil Camouflage . . .

The layouts are all the same, but the different color schemes make for very different looks . . . I have several more experiments with different colors I used with this three-layered stencil, so stay tuned!

 1st card:

Cardstock:   Bazzill Smoky

Stamps:       Impression Obsession Script

Inks:             Distress Faded Jeans, Stormy Sky, Antique Linen

Waterclrs:    Iuile Glitter Watercolor Gold, Purple

Dies:            Lil Inker Stitched Mats: Rectangles, Memory Box Stitched

                     Rectangle Trimmings, Recollections Word Feti Set: 

                     Hugs                      

Stencil:        Erin Lee Camouflage

 

2nd card:

Cardstock:   Bazzill Twig     

Stamps:       Impression Obsession Script

Inks:             Distress Black Soot, Old Paper, Brushed Corduroy  

Waterclrs:    Iuile Glitter Watercolor Gold, Purple

Dies:            Lil Inker Stitched Mats: Rectangles, Memory Box Stitched

                     Rectangle Trimmings, Recollections Word Feti Set: 

                     Hugs                      

Stencil:        Erin Lee Camouflage

 

3rd card:

Cardstock:   Bazzill Bazzill Blue

Stamps:       Impression Obsession Script

Inks:             Distress Faded Jeans, Broken China, Dusty Concord,

                     Stormy Sky

Waterclrs:    Iuile Glitter Watercolor Gold, Purple

Dies:            Lil Inker Stitched Mats: Rectangles, Memory Box Stitched

                     Rectangle Trimmings, Recollections Word Feti Set: 

                     Hugs                      

Stencil:        Erin Lee Camouflage

Bloom

This is my third sample card using swatches of Tim's Texture Roll.  It's been fun to play with and I expect many more happy hours of experimenting with this terrific material . . .

 

As noted in a previous blog, the idea is to crush, twist, wrinkle, and otherwise mutilate the piece.  When done, it gives the appearance of leather and it can be perfect for a Guy Card - which is what this is.

The gilded twigs are quite dimensional, but that's OK - the card is for my next door neighbor and can be hand delivered!

 

 Cardstock:   Bazzill Leapfrog, Provo Collage Pad Golds & Silvers,

                     Tim Holtz Texture Roll: Tan, Hanko Echizen Gold   

Stamps:       KaiserCraft Marble

Inks:             Jacquard Piñata Brass

Emb Pwdr:  Ranger Gold

Dies:            Goodculler Stitched Rectangles, Papertrey Ink Mega

                     Gracious Vases, DieVersions font Noodles       

Doo Dads:    Twigs, Viva Paper Pen Gold

 

Soar

Every once in a while, my Glitz-O-Meter sounds off and I simply have to respond . . .

 It all began with a rectangular piece of silver Texture Roll which I crumpled to a fare-thee-well until it took on the look of metallic leather.  The crackle background was stenciled with silver paste and dusted with glitter.  I decided that the lacy gold wings needed their own touch of glitter glory so I did them too. 

Every now and then, a glittery indulgence is good for the soul . . . yes?

 

Cardstock:   Nicole Licorice, Bazzill Raven        

Dies:            Goodculler Stitched Rectangles, Tonic Wings & Things,

                     Hero Alphabet Uppercase

Stencil:        Dress My Craft Crackle

Doo Dads:    Dreamweaver Embossing paste Metallic Silver, Distress

                     Glitter Dust Vintage Platinum, Stamp Oasis Heat & Stick      

Bloom

 I had an overdose of fun with this card . . .

For the dry embossed background, I inked the raised side of the embossing folder with VersaMark, added the cardstock layer and ran it through the machine.  I then dusted the cardstock with gold powder, scraped off the excess with a credit card and heated it.

The flowers were punched-out leftovers from my explorations with Foamiran craft foam.  I added some gold paint, sprayed with adhesive, and tapped on some gold glitter.

Lastly, I had a ball with a new product:  Tim's Texture Roll.  The crushed gold rectangle behind the flowered branch is a piece of the Texture Roll and you get the texture by actually crushing, bending, twisting the product.  It is virtually impossible to tear, but it die cuts beautifully.  Despite the abuse you give it in order to create the leather-look texture, it is practically indestructible. 

Texture Roll comes in a few metallics along with some neutrals.  I'll be playing with some khaki and silver in a few days . . . stay tuned!

 

Cardstock:   Unknown Deep Blue, Tim Holtz Texture Roll: Gold,

                     Hanko Echizen Gold, Scrap Dark Brown

Inks:             VersaMark

Colorants:    Jacquard Piñata: Brass

Emb Pwdr:  Ranger Gold

Dies:            Goodculler Stitched Rectangles, Memory Box Stitched

                     Rectangle Trimmings, Alphabet Soup: “Bloom”           

Emb Fldr:    Taylored Expressions Weathered

Doo Dads:    Foamiran punched flowers, Distress Glitter Dust

                     Vintage Platinum      

Fleur

Jennifer McGuire recently brought out a wonderful older technique that is perfect to use with the new layered stencils . . .

Dab on VersaMark ink through whatever layer you're using and then dust on Perfect Pearls in the color of your choice.  Repeat this with the other layers of the stencil set.  I used only two colors of Perfect Pearls for this mandala and am happy with the subtle result.  After brushing on the Perfect Pearls, use a soft brush or cloth to lightly whisk away the excess.  Spray with a matte finish fixative when done.  Lighter colors of cardstock can be used but the best effects are achieved with dark papers.

 

Cardstock:   Bazzill Leapfrog, Nicole Licorice, 2 Cool Colors Dull Silver 

Stamps:       Unknown Fleur

Inks:             VersaMark, ColorBox Silver

Colorants:    Perfect Pearls Pearl, Green Patina

Emb Pwdr:  Delafield Silver

Dies:            Lil Inker Stitched Mats: Rectangles, Memory Box

                     Stitched Rectangle Trimmings,  Spellbinders Tags

                     Trio, Rose          

Stencil:        Altenew Mandala Builder Stencil Set

Doo Dads:    Silver fiber, Mark Richards Stickers Silver