Moments

As my dear friend Sandy is into all things African, I always have fun diving into my stash of African images on her birthday every year.

 

The African woman is dancing over a light-filled background that has been stenciled with the help of a new toy which happily replaces my palette knife.  Ranger makes a flexible tool called the "Gel Plate Squeegee" that will spread your embossing paste in pretty much one pass.  Shriek Pink in color, it costs a little over a buck, unlike the new Stencil Pal which sells for about $5.   At over 5" in length, I deemed the Pal too big to use comfortably and have been perfectly happy with my 3.75" Squeegee which covers nearly all of my stencils easily.

The gold nailhead embellishments on the woman's dress are taken from a nail art kit I picked up in the dollar store.  They're tiny but are just the right size for this use.  A dab of glue and my needle-nose tweezers, and voila!  A very pretty trim for her dress . . .

Cardstock:   Papers by Catherine White, Bazzill Raven, Unknown

                     Mustard, Concord & 9^th Neutral Glitters: Gold

Stamps:       Postmodern Swirly Girl

Inks:             Gina K Amalgam

Colorants:    Gansai Tambi watercolor Gold

Dies:            Tim Holtz Pondering Words: “Moments”, Hero            

                     Small Tag Frame                  

Stencil:        A Colorful Life Wavy Dashes

Doo Dads:    Stampin’ Around Gold Dust, Delta Texture Magic White,

                     Golden Pear, Nail Art embellishments Gold nailheads        

Cheers

As so often is the case, one of our merry band of stampers does more than stamping:  Barb is also a passionate quilter.  So I had fun putting this quilting themed card together for her . . .

The really fun part about making this card was using the Life Changing Brushes and getting an effortless, perfect blend on the leaf.  Just look at that lovely thing:  no line of demarcation to be found anywhere!   Blending remained a very iffy skill for me, but no more, thanks to those brushes. 

The craft world got hold of these things and markets them for $50 for a set of ten in varied sizes.  But Double Trouble Scrapbooking  HERE sells the exact same set for $20.

  

These were originally designed as cosmetic brushes and are unbelievably soft - they actually put velvet to shame.  Best of all, you need only one set:  the color comes off in seconds when swirled a couple of times on a paper towel, so changing colors is no problem at all.  These now live in a mug on my desk and I cannot imagine stamping without them . . . life changing for sure!

The plaid background seems to set off the quilted leaf very well, while a narrow stitched strip below continues the hand-sewn look.  I double-stacked the framing blocks for a little dimension and added some domed drops for texture.  Those wonderful drops always help to unify the focal point with the background and I use them time and again for that purpose.

Cardstock:   Papers by Catherine White, Strathmore #90 Watercolor

                     paper

Stamps:       Stampin’ Up Pin Dot Plaid

Inks:             Vivid Lavender. Plum, Purple, Olive

Dies:            Gina Marie Leaf Quilt, Goodculler “Stitched Rectangles”,

                      La La Land Stitched Ribbon, Cheery Lynn Cheers                      

Doo Dads:    Lowe’s Granite Crystals, Adirondack Acrylics Lettuce 

Journey

Today is my baby brother Gordy's 74th birthday and I have allowed myself to get carried away with a black, white, and silver theme for this decidedly non-floral Guy Card . . .

As a texture freak, I used all kinds of it on this layout.  Additionally, the potted leaves have been popped up with foam dots and likewise the banner as it soars in the breeze.

As is usually the case, this one was lots of fun - but then, so is my brother . . . Happy Birthday, Baby Bro!

Cardstock:   Papers by Catherine Ivory, Unknown Dull Silver         

Inks:             Vivid Teal, Spring Green, Lavender

Dies:            Cugap Potted Plant, Impression Obsession Banner from

                     Plane with Banner set; Memory Box Alphabet Soup             

Emb Folder: Stampin Up Layered Leaves Dynamic, Taylored

                     Expressions Brick

We Go Together

Once in awhile, the right image and text suddenly arrive on the marketplace and nothing will do but to snap them up.  That's because you've got a great card in mind and you already know exactly who you're going to send it to!  In this case, the image and text are truly tailor-made for the recipients:  my friends are cat people, as evidenced by their twelve indoor cats and their four outdoor felines.  Richard and Vangie are celebrating the 62nd anniversary of their incredibly happy marriage and I don't think I'll ever be able to put together a card more perfectly suited to them . . .

A gentle color scheme, some sparkly bling for the female cat's neck, and a paw print background:  they're gonna love it, and I hope you do too!

Cardstock:   Papers by Catherine Ivory, Unknown Cream    

Stamps:       Technique Junkies Kitty Comfort, Cats and More Cats,

                     Stamp Cabana Cat Print Background

Inks:             Gina K Amalgam

Dies:            E-Scenery “Stitched Oval and Frame”, Arich “Rounded

                     Corners Stitched Rectangles”                 

Doo Dads:    Nailene Nail Art Gems Pink, Green         

Happiest

For some inexplicable reason, I had a devil of a time with this card . . .

I used designer paper because I absolutely loved the colors and the pattern.  But I had trouble with the other elements.  After four attempts, one of which lived for twenty minutes in the waste basket, I fished it out and tried once more. 

The dies for the flower head and leaf elements actually have matching stamps, but the added color and detail on the mustard pieces didn't work against the busy background.  So I turned to texture for the rescue:  used on plain cardstock with no added stamping, I think this project finally got pulled together.  I hope.  What do you think?

Cardstock:   Papers by Catherine Ivory, Bazzill Jade, Unknown

                     Designer Paper            

Stamps:       Papertrey Ink Tropics: “Happiest Birthday Wishes”

Inks:             Distress Pine Needles, ColorBox Cream White

Emb Powder:   Stamp ‘n Stuff Ivory Pearl

Dies:            Dynamics Wonky Stitch Rectangle, Papertrey Ink

                     Tropics, Tim Holtz Labels                      

Emb Folder: Tim Holtz Damask

Doo Dads:    VIVA Pearl Pen Cream      

Soar

A blogger recently posted a picture of a card using many of the same kinds of elements that I did on this card . . . 

I was so inspired by the beauty she had created that I had to try my own hand at putting together some similar images from my own stash.  The camera hasn't picked up the iridescent colors from the dried die powders I used, but trust me, they shimmer beautifully.

Cardstock:   Strathmore #90 Watercolor paper

Colorants:    Lindys Stamp Gang Magical: Freaky Frankenlime,

                     Bachelor Button Blue, Urban Amethyst

Dies:            Mama Elephant Peek A Frame, Tim Holtz Mixed Media #3,

                     Memory Box Butterflies Pippi, Isabella, DieVersions font Noodles
Doo Dads:    VIVA Pearl Pen Cream       

Happy Mother's Day

The treatment of the butterfly on this one came directly from the packaging on Tim's Tattered Butterfly Bigz die . . .

I thought it was gorgeous and needed no further input from me on how to style it.  But I am disappointed in the camera's failure to pick up the background texture.  The embossing folder I used is called "Ruffled" and it looks exactly like a tiered ruffled skirt with defined edges and flowing fabric.  Really an amazing look.  I'll be using it a lot and will hope for better camera work in future.

Meanwhile, a very happy and blessed Mother's Day to everyone!

Cardstock:   Papers by Catherine Ivory, Neenah Classic Natural White    

Stamps:       Tim Holtz Script, Etcetera “Ledger Page”, Gina K Rose

                     Peony Bundle: Dots, Impression Obsession Happy

                     Mother’s Day

Inks:             Distress Vintage Photo, Antique Linen, Wink of Stella Clear

Emb Powder:   WOW Clear Matte Dull

Dies:            Tim Holtz Tattered Butterfly                       

Emb Folder: Stampin’ Up Ruffled Dynamic

Doo Dads:    Oriental Trading Pearls Natural    

Explore

There is something so very restful about white-on-white, especially when paired with an organic element like these deep green leaves . . .

As a brand new stamper nineteen years ago, I stocked up on a stack of A6-sized cards and envelopes.  When a recent cleanout showed I had nearly all of them still in their unopened wrappers, I resolved to use them up before they went all brown and crinkly.

The dimensions of an A6 are not really that much larger than those of an A2, yet it's enough of a difference to throw me off my game.  Good!  A creative shakeup is probably an excellent idea.  On occasion.  So please bear with me while I hit my stride.

Meanwhile, I shall probably continue playing with restful color combinations while easing myself into a different dimension - so to speak . . .

Cardstock:   Papers by Catherine card base Ivory, Strathmore #90

                     Watercolor paper     

Stamps:       Kitchen Sink Big Leaves, Art Impressions Travel

                     Background, Stampin’ Up Itty Bitty Backgrounds,

                     Wordsworth “Explore”

Inks:             Distress Bundled Sage, Peeled Paint, Black Soot

Dies:            Memory Box Wrapped Stitch Rectangles, Nellie’s

                     Straight Dotted Oval       

Doo Dads:    Viva Pearl Pen: Cream      

The Happiest

When I realized that Copic's markers and their blending solution dissolve heat embossed images, I tried an idea I'd read about:

Using the MISTI, I stamped the flowers in a light colored ink and left the stamp attached to the lid.  After coloring in the flowers and making sure they were dry, I then replaced the cardstock in the Misti, inked the stamp in gold and stamped over the colored image.  After dusting with Ranger's gold powder, I then heat embossed the image.

I still need lots of coloring practice, but 'm delighted with this work-around for the difficulties that Copics have with heat embossed images.  How I love my MISTI!   

Cardstock:   Strathmore Ultimate White

Stamps:       Pinkfresh Bloom, Simon Says Sketchy Banner Greetings,

                     Impression Obsession Ink Splatter

Inks:             ColorBox Gold, VersaMark

Colorants:    Copic R05 Salmon Red, R83 Rose Mist, YG67 Moss,

                     YG03 Yellow Green, Gelatos Green, Blood Orange

Emb Powder:   Ranger Gold, Stampendous Shabby White

Dies:            Pinkfresh Bloom, Simon Says Banner Greetings                     

Stencil:        The Crafters Workshop Mini Tile Texture

Doo Dads:    Faber Castell Embossing Paste Pearl