Taekwondo

Leon is the grandson of an old friend of mine.  He is turning twelve, a passionate practitioner of Taekwondo, and I’m told, a real fan of my rubber stamping.  I feel very honored by his appreciation and have pulled out the stops for his birthday card . . .

The rubber world contains very few martial arts images – a situation that I hope will be remedied before too much time goes by.  Meanwhile, the internet’s wealth of images and information were what made this card’s focal point and wording possible.  I printed the fighter three times, cut him out and glued the layers together.  The added dimension is subtle but has made all the difference.  Gluing down the die cut letters took a good while but including the Taekwondo philosophy was important because Leon strives to emulate these fine qualities.  That kid is going places . . .

 

Cardstock:   Dorset Black Diamond, Carnival Cover Red, American Crafts White 

Stamps:        Unknown Chinese Chop ”Harmony”

Inks:               Superior India Ink Black

Dies:              Penny Black Antique Frame, Die Versions Hint of Lime 

                        font              

Emb Fldr:      QuicKutz Sketchbook

Doo Dads:    Inkssentials Enamel Accents Black        

Sending Love

The more I play with layering stencils the more addicted to them I become . . . 

They save so much time with the coloration and they practically eliminate the chance of coloring outside the image.  I can use any ink with a Life Changing Brush and the end result makes me look more skilled than I really am.  I’m always up for that!

Cardstock:   Canson Aquarelle #90       

Inks:             Distress Crackling Campfire, Spiced Marmalade, Black

Soot, VersaFine Olympia Green

Dies:            Lil Inkers Stitched Mats: Rectangles, Mama Elephant

Femme Frames, WPlus9 Banner Trio

Stencil:        Cathe Holden Layered Vintage Floral, Memory Box

“Sending Love”

Doo Dads:    Inkssentials Enamel Accents Black        

Thinking of You

Tim’s new Distress color Lost Shadow is a shade of grey I’ve wanted for a very long time.  Not too dark and not too light, it is the perfect shade for the kind of work I like to do.  Grey compliments every color in the rainbow and I am thrilled to have this subtle but immensely useful shade in my stash.  Good thing I also got the reinker, because I’m sure going to need it!

 

I first spread Lost Shadow over my background and dried it. After dry embossing the leafy background, I skimmed over it with a Mowed Lawn ink pad to pick up just the highlights.  Am very happy with the results!

 

Cardstock:   Champion Narrow Ribbed Mud Mask, Canson Aquarelle

#90, Canson Montval Watercolor #140

Stamps:       Impression Obsession Ink Splatter

Inks:             Distress Lost Shadow, Distress Mowed Lawn

Dies:            TKOnline Celebration Set “Thinking of You”, Simon

Says Butterfly Drift

Emb Fldr:     Sizzix Leaves

Doo Dads:    Diamond Dots Stickers Silver      

A New Beginning

When my hard-working neighbor Trish finally decided it was time to retire, a card was certainly in order to mark this major milestone in her life . . .

 I don’t have a suitable text stamp for Retirement, so I typed this message I came across recently.  May her newly free lifestyle be as much fun as mine has been!

Cardstock:   Bazzill Red Devil, Canson Mixed Media #98

Stamps:        KaiserCraft Marble

Inks:              Distress Lost Shadow

Colorants:    Nuance Die Powders Red, Bright Yellow, Jade

Dies:             Goodculler Stitched Rectangles, Simon Says Butterfly

Drift, Marianne Butterflies             

Doo Dads:    Sparkle & Sprinkle Glitter Fantasy Gold,  Inkssentials

                       Enamel Accents Black 

Shamrock

Having just re-discovered my stash of Spellbinders’ extraordinarily ornate die sets, what could I do but put two of them to work right away . . .

After die cutting the black piece twice, I scored the top of one piece about a half inch from the edge.  I applied glue to this flap and matched it to the other piece.  Voila! A card base is born.  The white layer is from the same set and I thought both made a lovely background for the ornate shamrock. 

                                      Happy St Patrick’s Day to one and all!

 Cardstock:   Strathmore Ridge New Black, Constellation Jade Raster

White, Bazzill Rain Forest  

Stamps:        Studio G “Shamrock”

Inks:               ColorBox Frost White

Emb Pwdr:   Hero White

Dies:              Spellbinders Resplendent Rectangles, Cheapo Dies Lucky

Clover, Verve Charming Banner              

Doo Dads:    Heidi Swapp Crystals         

Thanks

More fun with the gatefold style . . .

Every time I play with this gatefold die set, I get new ideas.  And that is one of the major reasons why I love stamping so much.  There are multiple ways to use images and dies that go beyond the original intent of the designer and that really helps to stretch the budget . . . and the imagination!

Cardstock:   Neenah Desert Storm, Bazzill Wild Pansy, Stampin’

Up Old Olive, Scrap Light Green       

Inks:             Zig Color Brush Cola

Dies:            Sizzix Gatefold Card, Tree          

Doo Dads:   Joy Pearls Purple, Wink of Stella Clear  

All You Need

I love it when I get to hand-deliver a card.  Not only do I save on postage, but I can do things design-wise that would cost me extra to mail.  In this case, I had fun with a square card shape that would normally drive the postal sorting machines whacko . . .

With hand-delivery I can also go to excess with bulky embellishments, although that was not the case on this layout.  The flowers here are made from Foamiran, a polyethylene foam that stays perky and survives anything the postal system does to it in transit.  A few seconds with the heat gun curves up the petals and even after days flattened in an envelope, they’ll pop right back up. 

Cardstock:   Marcos Jute, Canson Aquarelle #90, The Paper Cut

Brown Umber         

Inks:             Distress Bundled Sage, Weathered Wood, Forest Moss

Dies:             Papertrey Ink Shape Shifters Oval 2, InLoveArtshop

“All you need is love”, Marianne Creatables Flower

and Leaf                  

Emb Fldr:     Spellbinders Blistered

Doo Dads:    Pearls Aqua, Foamiran    

Thank You

As I’m always on the lookout for a truly opaque white marker, I thought I’d try out the one from Spectrum Noir’s set . . .

  . . . it’s the best of all the ones I’ve tried.  And with a double stroke, it even works on black cardstock.  Other than paint, white is the most difficult shade to make into an opaque medium. I will always look for the perfect white medium, but in the meantime, I’m very happy to have discovered Spectrum Noir’s version.

Cardstock:            Unknown Dark Green, Marcos Jute

Stamps:                Purple Daisy Dogwood Corner

Inks:                       Stampin’ Up Always Artichoke, Spectrum Noir

Paint Marker Pure White

Dies:                       Purple Daisy Dogwood Corner, Simon Says

Thank You Ticket (words only)               

Emb Folder:           Taylored Expressions Brick         

Doo Dads:              American Crafts Jute White, VIVA Pearl Pen Cream

Get Well

When my friend and fellow stamper Valentina broke her wrist recently, that rather put the kibosh on any stamping fun for her for a good while.  So a get well card was in the works . . .

The floral image is part of a bundle containing a layered stencil set, die, and a stamp set.  Sometimes these bundles even include an embossing folder.  I am over the moon about these new collections as they contain everything needed to create a large variety of lovely layouts in small amounts of time.

The flower centers on this card are embellished with mini beads – a very pretty enhancement I stopped using for several years as I couldn’t figure out how to permanently adhere them.  Glues I’d always liked using for other tasks weren’t up to the challenge of getting these tiny round things to stay put.  But now I’ve found that Glossy Accents is a real powerhouse! 

I squeeze on enough to make a very small mound and then add the beads.  I push them down into the glue which then partly surrounds the beads and holds them in a death grip.  I’ve got a drawer full of these beads and will undoubtedly be using them on most of my creations for years to come . . .

Cardstock:   Bazzill Saltillo, Canson Mixed Media #98, Scrap Black          

Stamps:        Pink Fresh Floral Notes

Inks:              Superior India Ink Black, Distress Rustic Wilderness,

Crackling Campfire, Scattered Straw

Dies:             Pink Fresh Floral Notes, Paper Smooches Get Well 

                      Phrase            

Stencil:         Pink Fresh Floral Notes

Doo Dads:    Micro Beads Gold, Inkssentials Enamel Accents Black