Blessings

Every time I play around with alcohol inks I always wonder why I don’t do more of it . . .

  . . . the results are always unpredictable but they always work.  It’s the one time I enjoy using glossy cardstock as I think it is the perfect background for the drama of alcohol ink’s intense colors.  More adventures with these inks surely lie ahead . . .

 Cardstock:   Bazzill Raven, Scraps Gold         

Inks:             Various Adirondack Alcohol Inks

Dies:            Memory Box Twiggy Tree, Spellbinders Blessings

Vine Frame: “Blessings” 

Emb Fldr:     Cuttlebug Tiny Mosaic, DieNamics Chalkboard Frame

Builder

Happy

The background is another rescue from my Scrap Stack . . .

 

 . . . it is so colorful that it needed solid images as focal points in order for them to stand out.  Balloons with overlaid designs seemed to do the trick . . .

 

Cardstock:   Bazzill Blue, Strathmore Ultimate White            

Stamps:       Concord & 9th Turnabout Semi-Circle

Inks:             Distress Festive Berries, Faded Jeans, Mustard Seed,

Twisted Citron

Dies:            DieNamics Pierced Rectangle Frame, Waffle Flower

Lacy Labels 2, Spellbinders Fun On a String, TK Online

Celebration Set: Happy             

Doo Dads:    Wink of Stella Clear, blue and silver glitter        

Nature

I had me some extra fun with scraps from my Scrap Stack for this one . . .

 . . . when the card was done, it looked a little Victorian to me and I really love it!  The purple edging trim on the left was an afterthought that really grabbed me.  I think I’ll pull out some of my edging dies, make up a collection of trims, and start sticking them on a bunch of my layouts . . .

 

Cardstock:   Bazzill Purple Pizzazz, Scrap from a Fred Mullett class,

Gold  

Stamps:       Stamp Zia “Nature”

Inks:             Distress Mowed Lawn, ColorBox Gold

Colorants:    Various dried die ink powders

Emb Pwdr:   Ranger Gold

Dies:            Papertrey Ink Pierced Feature Frame, Recollections

Mix Bird, Sue Wilson Chantilly Lace Edger              

Emb Fldr:     Stampin’ Up Layered Leaves

Doo Dads:    Making Memories Label Holder    

It's Your Day!

With such a strong stencil-pasted background, it took me awhile to figure out how best to use it.  But it’s turned out to be one of my favorite cards . . .

  . . . the film strip from my Scrap Stack covered just the right amount of space to allow both it and the background to shine.  A few flower sprays to soften the graphics and I think we’re done!

 Cardstock:   Bazzill Light Denim, Strathmore Ultimate White,

Scrap Beige 

Stamps        Stampin’ Up It’s Your Day 

Inks:             ColorBox Cream White

Emb Pwdr:   Stamp-n-Stuff Ivory Pearl

Dies:            Pretty Pink Posh Stitched Film Strip, Spellbinders

Floral Berry Accents         

Stencil:        The Crafters Workshop Chevron Tiles

Doo Dads:    Delta Texture Magic French Blue, Wendy Vecchi

Embossing Paste, Gelly Roll Clear Star  

Engineer

Here’s a second take with the same engineering text I used a week ago . . .

 

I wasn’t feeling particularly inspired when I sat down to create this card.  So when that happens, I don’t panic . . . instead, I reach for my Scrap Stack.  Stampin’ Up packages their stamp sets in clear plastic clamshell boxes which are very useful for storing scraps and other unused elements from previous projects.  I have a six-box stack of them sorted by categories such as Text, Embossed, Frames, Die Cuts, etc. 

It’s always fun to take various pieces from the boxes and play with ways to make them work together.  So that’s what I did with this card!   There isn’t a single new thing on it – everything was a leftover scrap from past projects.  I never throw anything out and boy, does that ever pay off in terms of time saved and creative possibilities.  For example, the twig frame over the black rectangle was a pairing that was pure serendipity and totally unexpected.

When the Muse is AWOL and time is short, my Scrap Stack bails me out every time!

Cardstock:   Bazzill Raven, Marcos Jute         

Stamps:       Stampin Up Itty Bitty Backgrounds

Inks:             Distress Black Soot

Sentiment:  Typed

Dies:            Mama Elephant Femme Frames, Spellbinders Small

Deckled Mega Rectangle, Simon Says Sketch Frame,

Sentiment Labels, Unknown Leaf Sprays                  

Emb Fldr:     Paper Discovery Ornamental Gravel, Spellbinders

Blistered

Doo Dads:    Elizabeth Craft Stickers Black dots         

Luck

Inspired by the Ten Seconds excellent line of metal working tools, I bought a number of them years ago.  But the sharp edges of the metal panels concerned me and I couldn't figure out a way to make them safe.  Until now . . .

  . . . frame them!  How hard is that?  This card uses very benign metal tape that has a glue backing.  But I plan to start collecting soda cans so that I can cut them apart and work with real metal.  The aluminum is so soft that it easily cuts with regular scissors.  I think I'll stick a piece into an embossing folder, run it through the die cutting machine, and see what happens . . . wish me luck!

 

Cardstock:   Bazzill Raven, Intertape Aluminum Foil Tape, Nicole Licorice        

Stamps:       Studio G Series 29 text)

Inks:             ColorBox Frost White

Emb Pwdr:  Hero White

Dies:            Memory Box Pinpoint Double Frame, AccuCut Title

                     Blocks #2, Gina K Rectangle Small Set, Poppy Crafts

                     Bunch of Four Leaf Clovers, Impression Obsession

                     Shamrock          

Emb Fldr:    Cuttlebug Tiny Mosaic

Doo Dads:    Ten Seconds Studio Wheel Set D

Engineer

Whenever I find funny engineering sentiments, they always get saved for use on cards I make for my three engineering people:  my brother Gordy, my computer guru Allan, and my dear friend and neighbor Richard . . .

 

For the Circuit background, I skimmed a gold ink pad over the side of the embossing folder where the design is projected.  After rolling through the machine, the gold ink was embossed into the cardstock.  I dusted on gold powder and heated it.  In real life, the background does look like a gold wired circuit board!

Cardstock:   Bazzill Smoky, Scrap Grey

Stamps:       Tim Holtz Crazy Things, Cat’s Life Press Man w/Raised

Hand

Inks:             ColorBox Gold, Distress Hickory Smoke, Pumice Stone

Colorants:    Copic E000 Pale Fruit Pink, Faber Castell Artist Pen Red,

Blue, Yellow

Emb Pwdr:   Ranger Gold

Dies:            Mama Elephant Femme Frames, Simon Says Sentiment

Labels, Tim Holtz Crazy Things             

Emb Fldr:     Tim Holtz Circuit

Thinking of You

Upon his horrendous diagnosis of Parkinson’s, a card of encouragement for my friend Bill was certainly called for . . .

 I used a music background image as music has been his lifelong passion.  My prayers for his comfort will continue for the duration.  A cure for this ghastly disease is long overdue . . . may it appear soon.

 

Cardstock:   Bazzill Pinecone, Nicole #140 Premier Watercolor       

Stamps:       Stampendous Music Score

Inks:             Gina K Charcoal Brown

Waterclrs:    Zig Clean Color Geranium Red, Orange, Yellow,

Olive Green, Persian Blue, Deep Violet

Dies:            DieNamics Pierced Rectangle Frame, TK Online

                     Celebration Set: Thinking of You, Rambling Poppies              

Thanks A Bunch!

A very dear former neighbor is now living on the opposite coast.  After I mailed out her Christmas card, she up and thanked me by sending me a bouquet of gorgeous flowers!  How’s THAT for letting me know she loved my work!  That was a high-water response for sure.  So I went to work on a Thank You card for her . . .

I figured an array of flowers would not be amiss and I went for creamy white over a softly colored brushed background.  Some background text for added interest and a few sparkly bits to perk things up – which the camera will undoubtedly ignore. 

I hope she likes it!

Cardstock:   Bazzill Bon Bon, Nicole #140 Premiere Watercolor Paper         

Stamps:       Art Impressions Travel Background, Tim Holtz Craze,

Elizabeth Craft Banner Sentiments

Inks:             Distress Brushed Corduroy, Ground Espresso, Broken

China, Gina K Charcoal Brown

Emb Pwdr:   Vippies Transcendence

Dies:            Tim Holtz Wildflowers, Elizabeth Craft Banners           

Doo Dads:    Kat Scrappiness Sparkling Clear Droplets