A Day of Thanks

This one was a bit of a struggle . . .

The original rubber image has lovely shading marks to define the indentations on the body of the pumpkin.  When I added color, they got rather dark and grim.  All of my rescue methods failed.  But I made eleven of these and decided to go ahead and send them out anyway.  The next time I use this image, I’ll be more careful . . . meanwhile, to one and all:

                               Happy Thanksgiving!!

Cardstock:   Bazzill Ivy, Strathmore #100 Bristol Smooth     

Stamps:       Eureka Fine Art Pumpkin, Creative Imaginations “A Day

  of Thanks”

Inks:            StazOn Timber Brown, Distress Peeled Paint, Tea Dye,

 Vintage Photo, Gathered Twigs, Distress Crayon Rusty

 Hinge, Spiced Marmalade

Emb Pwdr:   WOW Clear Matte Dull, Vippies Transcendence

Dies:            Sizzix Fall Foliage, Tangled Twigs, Gina Marie Stitched

 Rounded Squares, Dies to Die For Pumpkin Patch, 

                    Spellbinders Fall Botanical                  

Thinking of You

My dear friend Anna recently gifted me with a lovely Hero set of stamps and matching dies . . .

The set is called “Wisteria” and even though purple is my favorite color, I decided to use a warm color scheme instead.  Then after die cutting the image, I turned it upside down and made it look like a garden border filled with tall spikes of beautiful flowers. 

How I love finding different ways to use such lovely products in my stash!

Cardstock:   Bazzill White, Rain Forest, Breathtaking, Strathmore 

#100 Bristol Smooth

Stamps:       Hero Wisteria Set

Inks:            Distress Peeled Paint, Crushed Olive, Wild Honey,

Mustard Seed, Weathered Wood, ColorBox Frost White

Emb Pwdr:   Hero White

Dies:            Hero Wisteria Set, Impression Obsession Sea Birds,

Large Frame, Lil Inkers Cloudy Sky         

Doo Dads:    Stickles Yellow       

Get Well

My dear friend Anna gave me a die set she was ready to let go of, and I am really happy to add this one to my collection . . .

After the flowers were die cut and colored, I felt they needed something more.  I thought it would be neat to highlight the embossed grooves that outline the petals.  But no marker is skinny enough to fit into those grooves without smearing the petals as well.  Then the lightbulb turned on and I thought maybe I could use a gel ballpoint pen to outline the grooves.  Gel ink takes a little longer to dry than regular ink so I figured that would give me time to add embossing powder and heat it.

Lo and behold I was right!  This solves numerous problems with trying to get metallic or embossed highlights into small areas.  There are times I want to highlight a stamped earring, or belt buckle, or trim, or anything else too small for an embossing pen.  So it’s going to be lots of fun putting this little trick to work on future projects!

Cardstock:   Stedner Bright White, Strathmore #140 Watercolor, 

Scrap Dark Green, Black

Stamps:       Unknown Splatter

Inks:            ColorBox Gold, VersaMark, Xyleyw Gel Pen Gold,

Waterclrs:    Inktense Pencils Poppy Red, Hot Red, Dark Aquamarine,

Thistle

Emb Pwdr:   Ranger Gold, Stampendous Shabby White

Dies:            LeCrea Design Frame Roses, Paper Smooches 

Get Well Phrase, Tattered Lace Everyday Sentiments: 

“Soon”             

Happy Thoughts

Along with several other designers, Tim Holtz has several die sets done in the “Cutout” style – these are intricate patterns that are designed to make windows into card fronts.  These can then be backed with all sorts of colorful options to emphasize the design . . .

 

Occasionally, matching outline dies are included in the set that allow you to cut out the entire image.  Usually, however, only the interior part of the design is cut.  For these leaves, I backed them with three colors of alcohol inks.  I think using these images for a shaker card would be wonderful.

Actually, there are numerous ways to use these cutout dies and I plan to try out as many as I can think up . . . get ready for more!

Cardstock:   Canson Mixed Media #98, Tim Holtz Alcohol Ink 

                      Cardstock  

Stamps:       Impression Obsession Waves, Just For Fun 

Fractured Background, Patelai “Sending Happy

Thoughts”

Inks:            Distress Lost Shadow, StazOn Jet Black, ColorBox 

Black

Colorants:    Adirondack Alcohol Ink Meadow, Stream, Bottle

Dies:            Tim Holtz Leaf Print          

Doo Dads:    Joy Pearls Green    

Autumn

I’ve a dear friend who does not have happy memories of long ago birthdays, so for her, birthday cards are out.  But Friendship cards are happily received . . .

In my ongoing experiments with Dragonfly Tissue, I thought I’d try it out over some bright colors to see what would happen.  The rich colors still came through but the Dragonfly Tissue gives a subtle, misty look that is quite appealing. I really love this stuff and am very glad I’ve got lots of it in my stash!

Cardstock:   Bazzill Festive, Strathmore #140 Watercolor, PaperArts

Dragonfly Tissue     

Stamps:       Hero Delicate Blossoms

Inks:            ColorBox Black

Colorants:    Distress Crayon Flickering Candle, Jack-O-Lantern,

Hocus Pocus, Studio Gesso Black, Wink of Stella Black

Waterclrs:    Inktense Pencil Fern

Emb Pwdr:   Judikins Detail Black

Dies:            Spellbinders Small Deckled Mega Rectangles, Paper Smooches “Autumn”             

Doo Dads:    Inkssentials Enamel Accents Black        

Thank You

Another happy experiment with Dragonfly tissue . . .

 

Instead of double-sided tape, I used Mod Podge this time to attach the tissue to the background.  The leafy background was applied with stencil paste.  I thought a creamy glue would make it easier to mold the Dragonfly tissue around the dimensional leaves.

That turned out to be true.  The result had a little more sheen to it than did the tape, even though I used matte finish Mod Podge.  But the sheen is subtle and not harsh.  I’m quite happy with the results . . .

Cardstock:   Strathmore #100 Bristol Smooth, Paper Arts Dragonfly

Tissue, Scrap Dark Brown 

Stamps:       Stampin Up Thank You

Inks:             Ancient Page Leaf Green, Pine, Distress Twisted Citron,

Mowed Lawn, ColorBox Sepia Black, Cream White

Emb Pwdr:   Stamp-n Stuff Ivory Pearl

Dies:            Lil Inker Stitched Mats Rectangles, Gina Marie Stitched

Rounded Squares, Hero Palm Fancy, TEMU Lovely

Tree Leaves              

Stencil:        TEMU Large Leaf

Doo Dads:    Golden Light Molding Paste         

Another Year Older

The more I look at this card, the more I like it!  I’m also happy because I used two products that have been languishing in my stash for ages.  But no more – these will both be making regular appearances in future! 

The first product is the lovely sheer overlay on the background.  The green colored panel was initially a little too vocal for this project, so I dug out my supply of Dragonfly tissue and attached it with double-sided tape*.  I then ran the piece through my die cutting machine with the usual sandwich but no die.  This strongly fused the tissue to the background.   FYI:  the camera has picked up on the white color of the tissue, but in real life, it's the green background that is dominant.  The white doesn't show at all.

Dragonfly is a wispy matte-finish rayon fiber that is machine-made in Japan and has tiny streaks of lustrous fibers running randomly through it.  The entire piece is translucent and almost disappears when glued down.  The end result is a very subtle sheen that provides both visual and tactile texture.  Gorgeous stuff!

* The dragonfly tissue is so thin that the sticky tape still had a bit of stickiness that could be felt on the surface.  So I lightly dusted it with my anti-static pouch, brushed off the excess powder, and was glad to find no change in the background color.

The second product is Tim’s 3D Impresslits which I used for the leaves.  This is an amazing product that creates a 3D embossed image and cuts out the shape at the same time.  Two steps condensed into one – NICE!  The cardstock can be colored before or after they are embossed and die cut.  If the latter, you may wish to re-insert the pieces back into the die and running it through the machine again.  This will restore the dimension that wet inks will take away. 

I plan to stock up on these lovely time-savers as funds permit!

 

Cardstock:   Unknown textured White, Strathmore #100 Bristol Smooth, 

Scrap Dark Green, PaperArts.com Dragonfly       

Stamps:       Endless Creations “Another year older…”

Inks:            Ancient Page Pine, Leaf Green

Colorants:    Memories Mists Strawberry Daiquiri, Mango Lemonade,

Wheat Grass, Lindy’s Stamp Gang Tiger Lily Red Orange,

Perfect Pearls Mists Heirloom Gold

Emb Pwdr:   Ranger Gold

Dies:            Lil Inker Stitched Mats Rectangles, We-Buys Cute Ovals,

Tim Holtz 3D Impresslits Laurel, Leaf                    

Doo Dads:    Gold metal dots      

Smile

Having a good time with leftover scraps from Tim’s Kraft Resist pad . . .

I wanted this card for my friend Carol’s birthday, but it came out a little too masculine for that.  So I added a little die cut trim on the left and a couple of frothy butterflies to lighten things up a bit.  I’m quite happy with the results, although the crackle border did disappoint:  the cracks can hardly be seen.  So I plan to experiment with two more brands as finances permit.  Stay tuned!

Cardstock:   Bazzill Raven, Tim Holtz Kraft Resist, Marcos Jute     

Inks:            Superior India Ink Black, Wink of Stella Black, Clear

Dies:            Spellbinders On the Edge, Pretty Pink Posh Stitched

Film Strip, Memory Box Cascadia Butterfly Trio, 

Elizabeth Craft Small Butterfly, Recollectons Word Fetti:

Smile          

Doo Dads:    Inkssentials Crackle Medium