America

For this year’s 4^th of July card, I once again dived into my collection of USPS postage stamps that were in use several years ago . . .

 

 . . . I loved the design (still do!) and find them a perfectly patriotic addition to one of America’s most important remembrances.

 

Happy Fourth of July!

 

Cardstock:   Bazzill White, Marcos Carnival Cover Red, Ranger

Silver Sparkle        

Stamps:       Impression Obsession The Pledge

Inks:             VersaFine Majestic Blue

Emb Pwdr:   Vippies Transcendence

Dies:            Frantic Stamper Statue of Liberty, America, Spellbinders

Classic Rectangles Large            

Doo Dads:    USPS postage stamps      

Journey

As promised, here’s the second option with Tim’s very creative Woodgrain die set. .  .

 In case you missed it, take a look at my previous post for more details on this set . . .

 Cardstock:   Bazzill Wheat         

Dies:            Tim Holtz Woodgrain, Tattered Banners, Memory Box

Journey, Cheery Lynn Expandable Quilling Strip                      

Cheery Lynn Expandable Quilling Strip               

Doo Dads:    Viva Pearl Pen Cream, Wink of Stella Clear      

Inspire

When I had the chance to get Tim’s fabulous Woodgrain die set at half price, I jumped at the opportunity . . .

 

The set gives you two versions of intricately veined “planks” plus a base plate to ground each one.  It’s most effective when using three different shades – light, medium, and dark – and I think it’s a winner for Guy Cards. 

The back of each die is labeled so you know exactly what order to assemble each design.  There are even placement indications for some of the top-layered strips (cream colored used here).  The packaging makes it easy to see where the rest should go.  The gluing is not a job for the overly impatient but it doesn’t take long at all.  The best glue to use in order to avoid visible glue-ooze, is Elmer’s School Glue.  It’s cheap, available everywhere – even in the grocery store – stays flexible, is strong, and best of all, dries opaque . . . no sloppy-looking shiny snail trails.

By the way, the best card for this die cut is an A6.

My next post will show the second version of this set

Cardstock:   Bazzill Bon Bon      

Dies:            Tim Holtz Woodgrain, Little B Inspire, Paper

Smooches Butterfly Duet, Cheery Lynn Expandable

Quilling Strip             

Doo Dads:    Viva Pearl Pen Cream, Wink of Stella Clear      

Congratulations

My granddaughter Audrey is graduating high school this month and while I’m shocked at how quickly the time has flown, I’m not too rattled to make her a card to mark the occasion . . .

 

I originally did the mortarboard and text in black but felt it overpowered the light colors I had chosen for the rest of the card front.  So I switched to a burnished orange-gold to match the warm colors in the frame.  Much better – but it took three days of wrestling with various color combos to figure that out.  Sigh . . . sometimes, things just take awhile longer than expected . . .

Cardstock:   Bazzill Kachina, Parakeet, Scraps: Patterned Papers  

Stamps:       Impression Obsession Congratulations, Art Impressions

Mortarboard

Inks:             VersaMark

Emb Pwdr:   B’Muse Metallic Marmalade

Dies:            DieNamics Pierced Rectangle Frame, Mama Elephant

Botanic Envelopes Set (foliage)             

Doo Dads:    Tassel, Turquoise brad

Happy 90th!

My previous post showed the banner I made for my friend Richard for his 90^th birthday.  Now we come to the birthday card . . .

 

This accordion style card was a lot of fun to put together.  There are a number of videos online with helpful tips on how to assemble it but I found the process to be quite logical and not difficult, and much faster than I expected.  One tip:  make sure to completely decorate each panel before you link them together.  Clearly, it’s much easier to work on a flat surface than on an accordion folded one.

 

Cardstock:   Dorset Black Diamond, Stedner Bright White    

Colorants:    Derwent Intense Pencils Poppy Red, Tangerine, Cadmium

Yellow, Spring Green, Iris Blue, Thistle

Waterclrs:    Zig Real Brush Geranium Red, Orange, Yellow, Light

Green, Lilac

Dies:            Elizabeth Craft Katie Label Accordion, Katie Flourish

Frame Edges, Cheery Lynn Tiny Flower Kit, DieVersions

font Noodles                    

Doo Dads:    Wink of Stella Clear, Stampendous Dot Sparklers       

 

90 YEARS!

My exceedingly dear friend Richard is celebrating his 90^th this month and since there’s no room for 90 candles on the cake, I came up with an alternative solution . . .

It’s the same on both sides and took four days to put together.  Not including the ribbons at the ends, it’s about 22” long, hence the unusual display arrangement.  Oddly enough, the banner was not quite as easy to make as it may look.  But I had lots of fun anyway!  Richard’s outer front door is entirely glass and the day before his birthday, I plan to sneak over in the dead of night and tape the banner onto the glass.   Visible from both sides, he’ll see it first thing the next morning.

                                         Happy Birthday, Richard!

Cardstock:   Strathmore Ultimate White

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

May Green, Persian Blue, Violet

Dies:            Impress Candle, Stampin’ Up Label from the

Lakeside Framelets Set, Spellbinders Banner Basics

Three, DieVersions font Noodles                  

Doo Dads:    Black Sparkle Stickers, Orange glitter, Black satin

ribbon, Black embroidery thread,  Wink of Stella Black 

Oh Happy Day!

A color combination I’ve never tried before . . .

  

Dark Brown, light brown, forest green, and white, all happily assembled onto Kraft cardstock.  I think it works – don’t you?

Cardstock:   Marcos Jute, Canson Aquarelle #90       

Stamps:       Carabelle Texture In My Journal, Impression Obsession

Oh Happy Day!

Inks:             Distress Walnut Stain, Brushed Corduroy, Rustic

Wilderness, ColorBox Frost White

Emb Pwdr:   Hero White, Vippies Transcendence

Dies:            Lil Inker Stitched Mats Squares, Goodculler Stitched

Rectangles, Impression Obsession Deckled Tag                   

Emb Fldr:     Tim Holtz Timber

Doo Dads:    American Crafts Jute Green, My Mind’s Eye Wood Dots         

African Adventure

My friend Sandy is into all things African, so every year on her birthday, I get to play with my stamp collection of images from the Dark Continent . . .

 

Unfortunately, the bead dangles in the upper left corner are almost invisible on film, but IRL, they do add nicely to the composition . . .

 

Cardstock:   Love Nicole ­Licorice

Stamps:       Judikins Tribesman, MJ Barber Giraffes, Lost Coats Dots

Inks:             ColorBox Frost White, Superior India Ink Black, Distress

Fossilized Amber, Brushed Corduroy

Emb Pwdr:   Hero White

Dies:            Kat Scappiness Never Ending, Impression Obsession Plane

with Banner Set                 

Doo Dads:    Beads, black brad

SOAR

Some more dabbling in the field of mixed media . . .

 

This one started with a layer of gesso which I overstamped with a text background in black.  Then I toned things down a bit by swirling an Antique Linen ink pad over the whole piece.  When dry, I sponged on a little gold Rub-On.  The final step was to stencil on some texture and when that was dry, I added the die cuts.

I’m having a great time adding several craft elements to my layouts . . . if nothing else, it will help mow down the truly excessive stash of art supplies I’ve collected over the years.

Cardstock:   Bazzill Light Grey, Canson Montval Watercolor #140,

Dorset Black Diamond      

Stamps:       Impression Obsession Script

Inks:             Distress Oxide Antique Linen, DecoColor Liquid Gold

Colorants:    Studio Gesso White

Dies:            Spellbinders Hemstitch Rectangles, Serendipity Bird,

DieVersions font Noodles: “Soar”           

Stencil:        The Crafters Workshop Mini Tile Texture

Doo Dads:    Craft-T Metallic Rub-Ons Gold, Re-Design Chalk

Paste Chalky White, Inkssential Enamel Accents Black