I Like Your Style

 My exceedingly dear friend and neighbor Vangie worked in the Garment District for 40 years.  She absolutely wrote the book on style and I thought it would be fun to give her a card with a little humorous take on the subject . . .

 

While the trendy lady pictured displays none of Vangie's taste, I know she'll get a good laugh out of the image anyway!

 

Cardstock:   Bazzill Parakeet, Purple Pizzazz, Strathmore

                     Ultimate White

Stamps:       Treasure Cay “Trendy Lady”, Memory Box “I love

                     your style”

Inks:             Distress Marker Dusty Concord, Twisted Citron, Spun

                     Sugar, Festive Berries, ColorBox Black, VersaMagic

                     Key Lime, VersaCraft Peony Purple, Copic W3 Warm

                     Gray #3, E000 Pale Fruit Pink

Emb Pwdr:  Judikins Detail Black

Dies:            Kat Scrappiness Mini Slimline Double Stitched, Never

                     Ending, DieNamics Stitched Mini Scalloped 

                    Rectangles                   

Stencil:        Papertrey Ink Perfect Plaid

Doo Dads:    Crystals        

Be Yourself

 Blue Ribbon #8 and Best In Show pink ribbon!

The beginning of this Slimline-sized layout involved my first ever use of a gel press plate.  The results were interesting and I foresee many more happy hours ahead with this incredible tool!

I got the courage to try this technique after watching several of Jennifer McGuire's videos on the gel press - I highly recommend viewing them . . .

After laying down the initial colors via the plate, I stenciled on the blocks in blue and then stamped some distressed speckles in black.  I'm still adjusting to the Slimline proportions and I must have tried ten different layouts before choosing this one. 

That's all right - just part of the fun!

 

 Cardstock:   Strathmore #90 Mixed Media, Nicole Licorice, Tim Holtz

                     Silver Sparkle, Scrap Purple        

Stamps:       Glitz Distressing, Hero Be Yourself (text and images)

Inks:             Distress Oxide Dusty Concord, Faded Jeans, Black Soot,

                     ColorBox Frost White

Emb Pwdr:  Hero White

Dies:            Honey Bee Blanket, Lil Inkers Stitched Mats Rectangles,

                     Unknown Tree, Memory Box Tiny Feathers, Punch

                     Bunch Flower    

Stencil:        Dylusions Blocks-small

Doo Dads:    Inkssentials Enamel Accents White        

Feel Better Soon

 Blue Ribbon #7

White-on-white always grabs me but it sometimes needs some dimensional aspects in order to be really visible . . . 

 

So I borrowed an idea from another blogger and sponged on some brown and tan color on the background before adding the die cut layer.  I think it did the trick and grounded the arrangement as well . . .

 

Cardstock:   Strathmore #90 Mixed Media, Scraps: Orange,

                     Yellow, Green

Stamps:       KaiserCraft Marble, Starving Artistamps Retro Mosaic

                     Grout, Too Much Fun “Feel Better Soon”

Inks:             Distress Antique Linen, Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain,

                     Peeled Paint

Emb Pwdr:  Distress Walnut Stain

Dies:            Kat Scrappiness Wood Framed Diamond Wire,

                     Elizabeth Craft Asian Vase, Tim Holtz Holiday Greens

                     (regular and mini), Marianne Flower Fantasy, EK Success

                     punch Flower, Impression Obsession Flags               

Doo Dads:    Liquitex Gesso White, Inkssentials Enamel Accents White,

                     Bead Party Braiding Cord Brown 

Bloom

Blue Ribbon #6

Embellishing my cards with natural elements always appeals to me . . . 

 

.  . . I pick up all sorts of twigs when I walk my dog Tater and I really love to paint them with a metallic ink which makes them look like intricate twists of metal.  This one goes nicely with the background which was done with a layered stencil.  My card was submitted as part of the Artsy category, so I sort of cut loose with unusual, moody colors. 

 

 

Cardstock:   Bazzill Pomegranate, Cinder, Strathmore Toned Grey,

                     Ranger Alcohol Ink Cardstock Silver Sparkle    

Stamps:       Pink Fresh Sweet Blooms, Purple Daisy Sand

Inks:             Memories Soft Stone, Distress Hickory Smoke, Distress

                     Oxide Fired Brick, Aged Mahogany, Mowed Lawn,

                     Twisted Citron, Pilot Marker Silver

Waterclrs:    The Art Spirits Twinkle

Emb Pwdr:  Vippies Transcendence

Dies:            Lil Inker Stitched Mats Rectangles, Papertrey Ink Mega

                     Gracious Vases, Memory Box Slender Leaves, Technique

                     Tuesday Garden Leaves, Frantic Stamper “Bloom”                   

Stencil:        Pink Fresh Sweet Blooms

Doo Dads:    Silvered twig

Christening Day

 Blue Ribbon #5

I made a really happy discovery with the background on this card . . . 

Very simply, I painted the area with Distress Stain and went over the color with my waterbrush.  It was easy to get a mottled look which I enhanced by adding some water drops and then blotting.  Lovely soft results . . . so easy!

Cardstock:   Strathmore #90 Mixed Media       

Stamps:       Northwoods “On your baby’s Christening Day”

Inks:             ColorBox Black, Distress Tumbled Glass, Rusty Hinge,

                     Weathered Wood (Stain), Copic RV10 Pale Pink, E000

                     Pale Fruit Pink

Waterclrs:    FineTec Inca Gold

Emb Pwdr:  Judikins Detail Black

Dies:            Impression Obsession All in One Frames: Rectangle,

                     Gina Marie Stitched Rounded Squares, DieNamics

                     Horizontal Stitched Strips           

Doo Dads:    Smooch Pearlized Ink, Want 2 Scrap pearls     

On Your Anniversary

 Blue Ribbon #4

Stencil mania has struck big-time and what a wonderful thing it is!  Affordably priced, they are a boost to both innovative creativity and the stamping industry as a whole.  One of the all-time best ideas has been the development of layering stencils . . . 

 With anywhere from three to five different layers, it's possible to do the kind of incredible color layering that would be impossible with a single stencil or by hand.   I'm having trouble inserting a link, but you can go to "Layered Stencils and Mini Slimline Cards" on YouTube to check out some great ways for using the same layered stencil set that I did with this card.  

The coordinating die cuts all of them out at once and is very easy to position. You get four flower clusters and two leafy sprigs in this set.  After die cutting them, brushes and Oxide Inks are the perfect combo for absolutely flawless color application and blending.

 Cardstock:   Bazzill Leapfrog, Aquarelle #140  

Stamps:       Impression Obsession On Your Anniversary

Inks:             Distress Oxide Bundled Sage, Peeled Paint, Weathered

                     Wood, Stormy Sky, Faded Jeans, ColorBox Cream White

Emb Pwdr:  Stamp-n Stuff Ivory Pearl

Dies:            Pink Fresh Be Strong, Studio Calico Nested Rectangles,

                     Pretty Pink Posh Stitched Pieces           

Stencil:        Pink Fresh Be Strong

Doo Dads:    Dreamweaver Embossing Paste Metallic Silver, Metallix

                     Glitter Moondust, Kat Scrappiness Sparkling Clear Droplets     

To Have & To Hold

 Blue Ribbon #3

It was the lacy background die cut that set the tone for this one . . .

I wanted to make it stand out, so I mounted it on acetate and used about a bazillion teensy foam dots to raise it off the card front.  The acetate gave me something firm to attach the foam dots too and it will also prevent the rather delicate die cut from buckling. 

Tim's Tiny Tattered flowers go well with the casual Kraft card base.  I've learned that the best way to seal a spiraled flower is with a glue dot.  Those things really hold tight!  I used to use liquid glue for that job but then I had to sit there for too many minutes while waiting for the glue to set.

Cardstock:   Marcos Jute, Strathmore Ultimate White, Scraps:

                     Sage Green, acetate       

Stamps:       Stampendous Wedding Vow, Hero Bride and Groom

Inks:             ColorBox Black, Hero Black

Emb Pwdr:  Judikins Detail Black

Dies:            Tim Holtz Intricate Lace, Stitched Rectangles, Tiny

                     Tattered Florals, Nellie’s Straight Oval, DieNamics

                     Dainty Lace Border, Impression Obsession Small Bow, 

                     Cugap Potted Plant                   

Doo Dads:    Gelly Roll Clear, pearls      

America

 Blue Ribbon #2

For the Holiday category, I submitted my Fourth of July card for this year, which I posted last month . . .

For those of you who haven't seen my previous posting, here is how I put this card together:

I stamped the flag fragments twice:  once in red on the card front, and the other in blue on another piece of cardstock.  Then I used deckle-edged scissors to cut out each of the blue fields of stars and glued them over the red images.  Deckling the edges made them softer and almost invisible.  The effect went very well with the distressed look of the flag fragments . . .

 

Cardstock:    Strathmore Ultimate White, Scraps Navy , Carnival Red

Stamps:       Technique Junkies Patriotic Fragments

Inks:             Brilliance Rocket Red, VersaFine Majestic Blue, ColorBox

                     Frost White, VersaMark

Emb Pwdr:  Hero White, Adirondack Denim

Dies:            Frantic Stamper “America”, Tim Holtz Tattered Banners,

                     Papertrey Ink Sketched Shapes, Reverse Confetti

                     Greetings Frame (banner)                 

Doo Dads:    EK punch Heart, Woolworth’s glitter Red

A Bouquet of Wishes

It's Fair Time again, folks!  After the unheard of cancellation of last year's NJ State Fair due to Corona, it was so nice to be back in the saddle this year.  It was also nice to score eight blue ribbons AND a pink ribbon for Best In Show!

Blue Ribbon #1

A gilded spray of nobbly twigs found by the side of the road 

started this one off . . . 

  . . . and then, things continued with text, paired with Kraft, black, and cream papers which is one of my enduringly favorite combinations. 

A gold bow finishes the layout on this Mini Slimline card.

 

 Cardstock:   Marcos Jute, Beckett Candlelight, Hanko Echizen Gold,

                     Nicole Licorice        

Stamps:       Amuse Script Background, Too Much Fun “A Bouquet

                     of Wishes”

Inks:             Hero Black

Waterclrs:    Jacquard Piñata Brass

Dies:            Kat Scrappiness Mini Slimline Never Ending, Double

                     Stitched, Stitched Fishtail Banner, Scrap Man Rosebud,

                     Cheery Lynn Pretty Pretty Bows            

Emb Fldr:    Taylored Expression Weathered

Doo Dads:    Gilded twig