African Adventures

 A Postage Collage layout with an African theme . . .

My friend Sandy loves all things African, so this will be her birthday card for this year.

One of the things I love about the Waffle Flower Postage Collage collection is that I am putting scores of tiny stamps to work for the first time ever.  I have acquired a bunch of Waffle Flower’s themed stamp collections for their Postage Collage sets and they are wonderful.  But I‘m also very happy to put many of my own tiny stamps into play – once I dust them off, that is . . .

 

Cardstock:   Strathmore #100 Bristol Smooth  

Stamps:       Repeat Impressions Ashanti, Hanko Africa Set: Face,

“African Adventures”, Unknown “Safari”, MJ Barber 

Three Ladies, Giraffe Duo, Elephant

Inks:             Hero Soft Sand, Superior India Ink Black, ColorBox 

Cream White

Waterclrs:    Zig Clean Color Deep Red, Pale Rose, Orange, Mustard,

Yellow, Olive Green, Light Blue, Lilac, Oatmeal, Pale

Dawn Gay, Dark Gray

Emb Pwdr:   B’Muse Eggshell

Dies:            Waffle Flower Postage Collage, Postage Collage Blocks, 

Simon Says Sentiment Labels               

Stencil:        Waffle Flower Postage Collage    

Celebrate

Here’s another look at Jennifer’s Pop Up Inlay technique . . .

My May 19 post shows the results of my first playtime with this easy technique.  Using the same die, I’ve tried out a different look.  I’ve got a few more ideas to try out, so get ready!

Cardstock:   Bazzill Rain Forest, Fox River #130 Tiara White

Waterclrs:    Zig Clean Color Mid-Green, Olive Green

Stamps:       Stampin’ Up Itty Bitty Backgrounds

Dies:            Gina Marie Leaf Quilt, Impression 

                     Obsession Celebrate                    

Doo Dads:    Queen & Co Black pearls  

Happy Birthday

My love affair with layered stencils continues . . .

This one goes to my sister-in-law who lives in the green, very green state of Washington.  I thought that three different shades of green would just about cover the lovely spectrum of nature she is surrounded with around her home north of Seattle. 

However, the next time, I think I’ll try this with black, grey, and silver.  Might turn out to be a stunner, don’t you think?

Cardstock:   Bazzill Purple Pizzazz, Fox River #130 Tiara White     

Inks:             Distress Peeled Paint, Shabby Shutters, Dusty

Concord, Stampin’ Up Always Artichoke

Dies:            Simon Says Sentiment Labels, Divinity Designs 

“Happy Birthday to you”, Memory Box Butterfly

Meadow 

Stencil:        The Crafters Workshop Layered Fern Banner

Doo Dads:    Gold glitter, Queen & Co Pearls Grass Green   

Feel Better Soon

Here’s another example of Jennifer McGuire’s wonderful Pop Up Inlay technique . . .

 

Alternate portions of the leafy die cut have been popped up and in real life, the dimensional aspects are really cool!  Given the multiple pieces of the main image, I thought that setting it onto a quilt-like panel would continue the piecework theme.

 

Cardstock:   Bazzill Rain Forest, Strathmore #140 Watercolor        

Stamps:       Annette Watkins Feel Better

Inks:             Distress Faded Jeans, Peeled Paint, Crushed Olive

Emb Pwdr:  Vippies Transcendence

Dies:            Gina Marie Leaf Quilt, Gina Marie Stitched Rounded                                                  Squares, Poppy Grosgrain Bow             

Doo Dads:    Fiskars Decorative Edger Scissors         

Blessed

Here is a six-layered Zinnia I had fun assembling . . .

 The tiny lilac flowers were actually designed to be flower centers and are made with quilling dies.  I love making paper flowers but I usually have trouble controlling the process with the spiral-shaped dies usually used for making them.  Happily, I stumbled onto these straight flower center dies and am off to the races!  That’s because the margin beneath the petals is just wide enough to let me lay down a double-sided strip of 1/8” wide glue tape.  This is a real game-changer!

Start at the end you plan to begin rolling the strip and allow about 3/8” before you start adding the glue tape to the length of the strip.  This lets you withdraw the quilling tool without getting it stuck on the tape.  The glue tape makes it so easy to maintain the tension and line up the edges.  Also, if the phone rings, you can set the coil down without having it unroll.

The glue tape is so strong that it’s easy to fluff out the petals without having the flower unroll or get skewed.  Best of all?  No messy glue and no waiting for the wet glue to dry.

If you want a larger flower, simply die cut 4-5 extra strips, successively overlap the ends just a bit and attach with wet glue.  When dry, take your newly-long strip, add the glue tape, and start coiling.  You can also create a stamen center as part of the flower:  using a different color of cardstock, die cut a strip and then cut off about a 3-4” piece for the center.  Add the glue tape across the bottom and roll. Die cut the strip you want to use as your flower, add the glue tape and add this to the center you’ve already rolled and begin rolling.  Voila: all in one piece!

Cardstock:   Boxboard, Printed Paper, Unknown Dark Green, Yellow,

                     Lilac, Strathmore #140 Watercolor         

Dies:            Impression Obsession Large Frame, Spellbinders 

Zinnia, Fall Botanical Set: “Blessed”,Quilled Creations 

Fringed Mums,                     

Doo Dads:    Nuvo Glitter Gloss  

Celebrate

Zinnias can come in many beautifully strong colors, so I decided to use a saturated blue for this one.  It may not be a realistic color in the zinnia world, but in the artsy world, anything goes, right?

This one has eight layers . . . anything from three to nine layers can work well for zinnia die cuts . . . but you can get carried away and do even more, if you like!

Cardstock:   Textured Cream, Patterned Paper, Scrap Blue

Dies:            Waffle Flower Oversized Postage, Spellbinders Zinnia, 

  Memory Box Grove Branch, TKOnline Celebration Set: “Celebrate”              

Doo Dads:   Nuvo Glitter Gloss  

Blessings

I couldn’t resist buying this enchanting layered butterfly die . . .

The layers have wonderful incised designs and lovely scalloped edges – really unique!  Can’t wait to try this out with various other colors and even some patterned papers.

 

Cardstock:   Marcos Jute, Bazzill Light Rosy, Dark Rosy      

Stamps:       Stamp Camp Tiger Marble

Inks:             Hero Soft Brown, Nuvo Glitter Gloss

Dies:            Waffle Flower Lacy Layers, Memory Box Stitched

Rectangle Trimmings, TEMU Elegant Design Butterfly,

Butterfly Set (just the body), TKOnline Celebration set

"Blessings"                 

Doo Dads: TEMU Raindrops    

Birthday

Lately, I’ve gotten hooked on Zinnia dies as they are alongside Ranunculus as my favorite flowers.  All of those layered petals really grab me!  So I’ve made a few cards using Spellbinders’ Zinnia die set.  Oddly enough, the camera has decided to add some pink into the picture.  There is no pink in my layout - only pure white . . .

The only drawback is their bulk as this will make mailing a little more expensive than it already is.  But for special people, it’s always worth it.  Happily, bulky layouts are tailor-made for hand deliveries, yes?

Cardstock:   Bazzill Yellow, Strathmore #140 Watercolor, Patterned

  Paper, Scraps Green, Yellow

Dies:            Waffle Flower Oversized Postage, Spellbinders Zinnia,

 TEMU Celebration Set: “Birthday”

Bloom

Here’s another card featuring a six-layered zinnia flower . . .

 

I went for a little more drama this time and chose colors with high contrast.  Also, while the camera likely didn’t record it, there is the merest sprinkle of glitter in the background.  When I want a little sparkle in an openwork background, I like to spray the backside of the layer with adhesive.  I angle the spray can so that some of the glue gets around the insides of the cut edges.  Just enough glue does cling to the edges, so when I dust with the glitter, the result is a subtle shimmer that adds to the fun.

 

Cardstock:   Bazzill Raven, White, Scraps Yellow, Green     

Dies:             Gina K Master Layouts 20, Spellbinders Zinnia,

   Frantic Stamper Bloom   

Doo Dads:    Couture Creations Glitter Silver