Thankful

For some inexplicable reason, two of my favorite people were missing from my Thanksgiving list of recipients last month.  Very strange.  So, having caught my mistake in time, I had fun making my very first Shaker Cards . . .

 

I used a kit which contained the dies and the clear plastic shaker domes that will hold the glitter.  First, I cut a window into a piece of cardstock to be layered onto the card front.  I then dry embossed it and highlighted the wood grain with ink to bring out the pattern.  I turned it over and inserted the clear shaker dome. 

 

I think the dome is supposed to descend into the inside of the card.  But I mounted it so it would be raised above the card front.  This gave me the perfect platform on which to mount my textured gold leaf spray.  No pop dots or foam strips needed!  And, as the back of this layer is flat, it gets mounted directly onto the card front and leaves no messy backside to cover up.

 

Cardstock:   Marcos Jute, Neenah Desert Storm       

Inks:             VersaMark, Distress Brushed Corduroy

Emb Pwdr:   Ranger Gold

Dies:            Tim Holtz Skeleton Leaves, Frantic Stamper 

Elegant Thankful                 

Emb Fldr:     The Paper Studio Woodgrain

Doo Dads:    My Favorite Things Shaker Window Kit, 

Wink of Stella Gold  

Grateful

 I’ve used this die cut pumpkin image before because I love the look and the fact that it lets me use up lots of scraps . . .

After assembling the pumpkin, I popped it up on foam to define it more clearly against the busy background.  It’s amazing how effective added dimension can be . . .

 

Happy  Thanksgiving  to  one  and  all!

 

Cardstock:   Bazzill Raven, Strathmore #100 Bristol Smooth, 

Various patterned papers    

Stamps:       Inkadinkado Leaf Background

Inks:            Superior India Ink Black, Distress Oxide Mustard Seed,

Carved Pumpkin, Wink of Stella Black

Dies:            InLoveArts Pumpkin Leaf, On Air-Store Fall Thankful

Words: Grateful      

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                  

Harvest

Triple Treat today, folks, so be sure to scroll down a bit for three photos! 

I decided to dip into my oversized stash of handmade papers as I thought the coarse textures would suit the Thanksgiving mode.  I also need to whittle down the handmade paper collection.

Then I had fun with some alternative color schemes and wanted to share the results.  I did ten different cards for Thanksgiving but thought that three views were enough.

The first sample is a radical departure from the usual fall color palette . . .

The word “Harvest” doesn’t show up as much as I would like and although I tried using white and black letters, the silver glitter paper was the best choice.  Next time, I’ll try backing the text with contrasting cardstock.

The next two pictures show traditional and non-traditional colors.  Both make me happy and in future, I plan to try unusual color schemes just to shake things up a little. 

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

 Cardstock:   Bazzill Raven, Neenah #110 Solar White OR Marcos

Jute, Tim Holtz Alcohol Ink cardstock Silver Sparkle   

Dies:            Tim Holtz Tangled Twigs, InLoveArts Pumpkin Leaf,

DieNamics Leafy Flourish, Dies to Die For Pumpkin

Patch, On Air Store Harvest                     

Doo Dads:    Past Time Stamps Gold Ultra Fine Crystal Glitter         

Place Cards

Our group of four enjoys some of the best friendships ever.  As none of our families are nearby, our little group got together for Thanksgiving.  With no one a particular fan of turkey,  nor the all-day cooking hassles, we broke tradition by ordering our favorite Chinese goodies the day before and reheating them on the Big Day.  All of our local restaurants were closed so that’s how we made do.  It was a wonderful event, quite delicious, and a hostess who was actually able to enjoy the party!

I thought some place cards would be fun additions to the festivities . . .

I cut the tag bases twice, scored the second one ½” down from the top and added glue above the score line.  With the two pieces glued together, the tags became stand-up place cards.  Along with the name strip, both the pumpkin and the acorn were popped up for dimension.  Coloring was done with both pencils and markers.

Hopefully, everyone’s Thanksgiving Day was as wonderful as ours!

Cardstock:   Marcos Jute, Neenah Desert Storm       

Stamps:        Purple Daisy Sand

Inks:             Distress Gathered Twigs

Colorants:    Derwent Inktense Pencils Felt Green, Tangerine

Waterclrs:     Zig Real Brush Light Green, Yellow Green, Orange,

Ochre, Dark Brown

Dies:             Impression Obsession Deckled Tag, Spellbinders Fall

Botanical, Tim Holtz Tiny Type Upper                

Safely Gathered

I’m a sucker for wreath images.  I’ve collected several in both stamp and die form and happily, this is the time of year to trot out at least a few of them . . .

 

Although the design is intricate, the coloring went much quicker than I thought it would.  That’s because I used Gamsol and it smoothed over the colored pencil areas almost immediately.  That wonderful stuff is magic!

 

Cardstock:   Bazzill Pomegranate, Beckett Candlelight        

Stamps:       B&J’s Art Stamps Corn & Pomegranate Wreath,

Impression Obsession “All is safely gathered in”,

Purple Daisy Sand

Inks:             Superior India Ink Black

Colorants:    Caran d’Ache Luminance Pencils Crimson Aubergine,

Moss Green, Orange, Green Ochre, Gelly Roll Clear

Dies:            Gina Marie Stitched Rounded Squares, Spellbinder

Fleur de Lis Squares       

Doo Dads:    Gamsol        

Thankful

For this Thanksgiving card, I wanted to try out my beginning skills with the liquid watercolors I've been playing with.  The pumpkin images were small enough that I figured I couldn't screw up too badly . . .

I've lots more to learn but I still had a fun time with this one!  While I need to find ways to back out of boo boo's, I've learned so far that adding more water can usually mitigate at least some of the damage when color slips out of bounds.  To that end, heat embossing the image can be a great help in preventing spillover!

 

Cardstock:   Bazzill Rain Forest, Various watercolor papers 

Stamps:       Great Impressions Pumpkins in a Row, Purple Daisy

                     Sand

Inks:             VersaColor Brown

Waterclrs:    Concord & 9th Marmalade, Sprout, Parsley, Wheat

Emb Pwdr:  B’Muse Devil’s Food Delight

Dies:            DieNamics Verticle Stitched Strip, Frantic Stamper

                     “Thankful”, Spellbinders Fall Botanical              

Pumpkin

After three days of struggle with a neat layout idea that I thought would work, it was time to admit that the stars were not aligned and I needed to start over again . . .

 . . . so I did.  My one trick to pass along to you is about getting an intricate die cut like the pumpkin to take the ink and then the embossing powder evenly.  My first attempts to ink the pumpkin prior to embossing left a lot of un-inked areas due to the uneven surface of the Bristol cardstock.  So I used a lovely liquid metallic colorant to first paint the pumpkin a lovely brass/gold color.  I then inked the pumpkin with a brayer and gold ink, and then scattered on the embossing powder.  Because of the gold paint, any areas that were missed will never be noticed.

 

Cardstock:   Unknown Burgundy, Marcos Jute, Strathmore #100 Bristol            

Stamps:       Technique Junkies Travel Documents, Impression

                     Obsession “Pumpkin”, Purple Daisy Sand

Inks:             ColorBox Gold, Distress Brushed Corduroy

Colorants:    Jacquard Pinata Brass

Emb Pwdr:  Ranger Gold, WOW Gold Rich Ultra High

Dies:            Cottage Cutz Filigree Pumpkin, Bo Bunny Nested Terrific

                     Tags, Gina Marie Stitched Rounded Squares               

Doo Dads:    Gold fiber, Pilot Marker Gold          

Gathered In

What to do with a twiggy wreath that is too thin to prop up invisibly with foam dots?

    

My solution was to glue down only the inner part of the wreath and leave the outer edges free.  They stood up just enough to add a little dimension.

Some dried die powders gave a rather realistic mottled look to the pumpkin . . .

A very blessed and Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!

Cardstock:            Cougar Opaque Ivory, Nicole #100 Watercolor

                               paper, Generic Dark Brown, Celery Green

Stamps:                Amuse Script Background, Impression Obsession

                               "All is safely gathered in"

Inks:                       Gina K Charcoal Brown, Ancient Page Chocolate,

                               Distress Fired Brick

Colorants:              Ken Oliver Color Burst Orange               

Emb Powder:         Zing Chestnut

Dies:                      Impression Obsession Twig Wreath, Pretty Pink

                               Posh Stitched Foliage: Pumpkin, Goodculler

                               Stitched Rectangles

Doo Dads:             Brown pearls

Fall

It has been a rough year for a lot of people - myself included - but I still have much to be thankful for . . .

While I love coloring with watercolor pencils, it's a little tedious to do over embossed images.  The pencil leads break and so do parts of the embossed image.  But my Inktense set of watercolor pencils had exactly the colors I wanted.  So I used a hand held pencil sharpener to shave off some of the color over a ceramic plate.  I picked out any wood that had dropped into the shavings and lightly misted the rest.  The colors hydrated immediately when stirred with my water brush and I was able to watercolor easily over the embossed acorns and leaves.

I hope all of my treasured readers have a blessed Thanksgiving Day, regardless of wherever they happen to live on our beautiful planet . . .

Cardstock:   Marcos Jute, Strathmore #100 Bristol      

Stamps:       Impression Obsession Give Thanks, Acorn Row,

                        Inkadinkado Filigree Fall Set, Vippies Dotty Snow

Inks:             ColorBox Black, Distress Brushed Corduroy

Colorants:    Inktense Crimson, Sienna Gold, Fern, Mustard, Baked

                        Earth, Willow

Watercolors:   Zig Clean Color: Geranium Red, Orange, Bright Yellow

Emb Powder:   Zing Chestnut

Dies:            DieNamics Horizontal Stitched Strips, Ellentina Nesting

                        Tag, Arich Rounded Corners Stitched Rectangles, Carta

                        Bella Hello Fall: Fall                      

Emb Folder: Spellbinders Bricks and Bark

Doo Dads:    May Arts Jute           

Fall

Fall is not my favorite time of the year, but I do love the colors . . .

The happy surprise for me was finding out that watercolors can actually be blended to some extent.  Working with just the right half of the maple leaf, I colored the lower part with Red, and then right away, did the tips with Yellow, continuing down into the Red and back up 2/3 of the way in order to blend.  Then I repeated on the left half of the leaf.  It worked much better than I thought it would.  Maybe I'm beginning to get the hang of this coloring gig after all!

To all who celebrate, a blessed Thanksgiving to each and every one of you . . .

Cardstock:   Marcos Jute  

Stamps:        Hero Autumn, Vippie’s Dotty Snow

Inks:               Papertrey Ink Classic Kraft, VersaFine Vintage Sepia,

                           Distress Gathered Twigs, Ground Espresso

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

                              Brick Beige, Blush

Emb Powder:   Distress Walnut Stain

Dies:              Hero Autumn, Goodculler Stitched Rectangles, Essentials by

                           Ellen Stitches Cover Plate, Impression Obsession Branch,

                           Arich Rounded Corners Stitched Rectangles

Gathered In

Gina K's Charcoal Brown cardstock is the color by which all other browns are measured, in my opinion.  A true dark chocolate without a whiff of red, this rich color makes other colors really pop . . .

I helped the pop factor along by using foam dots to elevate the upper ends of the wheat stalk, pumpkin, squash and the leaves.  Although there is a lot of dark in this layout, I think the bright veggies counterbalance that and create a warm, cozy feel. 

One happy discovery was finding out how Copic markers react with the cardstock I used for the veggies:  The Paper Cut's White Matte Coate.  I found that the coating made the Copics stay wetter longer so blending was easier.  But even more fun was observing  the interaction between the coating and the ink:  this produced a watercolored effect, complete with darker margins and lovely streaks.  These may be hard to see on screen, but in real life, they're quite obvious.  Previously, I wasn't happy with this cardstock, but I'm going to give it a second chance with my Copics . . .

May each of you have a wonderfully glorious and gratitude-filled Thanksgiving Day!

Cardstock:   Gina K Charcoal Brown, Neenah Desert Storm, The Paper

                           Cut Matte Coate White

Stamps:        Stampin’ Up Truly Grateful, Impression Obsession

                           “All is safely . . .”

Inks:               Gina K Charcoal Brown

Markers:        Copic Napoli Yellow, Apricot, Marine Green, Pecan,

                           Tuscan Orange, Stampin’ Up Daffodil Delight

Emb Powder:   PSX Ochre Tapestry, Distress Walnut Stain

Dies:              Avery Elle Wonky Stitches, Impression Obsession Wheat,

                           Essentials by Ellen Gourd-jus, Spellbinders Long Classic

                           Scalloped Rectangles Large

Emb Folder: Spellbinders Horsehair      

A Time of Gratitude

I've said it before and I'll say it again:  never underestimate the power of your Scrap Stash . . .

On this card, the four squares began life with high hopes.  Unfortunately, they turned out to be failed attempts that didn't work in their original state.  So I gave them a time out in my Scrap Stash box.  Then I experimented:  cutting them up and arranging them quilted-style changed everything.  Some copper brads and an antique-y gold button finished the transformation . . .

Cardstock:               Bazzill Bon Bon, Yam, Generic Chocolate                    

Stamps:                   Hero Wavy Gratitude

Inks:                           ColorBox Gold

Emb Powder:          Ranger Gold

Punches:                  EK Success Tree, Scalloped Corners

Doo Dads:                Gold button, Copper brads

Grateful Hearts

A day of gratitude . . . may we make the time to be grateful every day of the year . . .

 Gold is very much on trend for stampers this year so I am making the most of it with my favorite embossing powder:  Gold, by Ranger.  Unlike all other powders I've tried, this one cures to a non-smooth finish – much like hammered gold.  The texture is amazing and works beautifully on any image except for those with extremely fine detail.  It's also best to use conventional detail powder when working with very small text.  Other than that, this stuff is my go-to for anything gold.  Gorgeous!

Cardstock:   Marcos Speckletone Cover, Generic Cream, Brown,

                           Wausau Firecracker Red  

Stamps:        B&J’s Art Stamps Corn & Pomegranate Wreath, Creative

                           Imaginations “Grateful Hearts”, Meer Image Small

                           Speckle Edger

Inks:               ColorBox Gold

Markers:        Clean Color Wine Red, Yellow, Olive Green

Emb Powder:   Ranger Gold

Dies:              Lil Inker Stitched Mats Squares, Hero Small Tag Frame,

                           Memory Box Branching Out, Quickutz Vases

Impression Plate:     Cheery Lynn Burble

Doo Dads:    Marvy Marker Liquid Gold

In All Its Glory

A gratitude-filled and most blessed Thanksgiving day for one and all!

This is yet another of those holiday cards I make for a number of people and as such, these need to be a little on the streamlined side.  However, this never seems to happen.  Things start out simply enough and then everything just sort of expands.  This card took more than 24 steps to make and when I look at it, I'm still not sure if I'm done yet.

Sigh . . .

One other note:  the background is a lovely rich dark chocolate brown, not the black that my camera seems to think that it is . . .

Cardstock:               Gina K Charcoal Brown, Lustro-Dull Cream,

                                     Bazzill Marigold

Stamps:                    Stampin’ Buddies Patchwork Pumpkin, Creative

                                      Imaginations Thankful Set “In all its Glory”

Inks:                           ColorBox Black, Cream White

Emb Powder:          B’Muse Devil’s Food Delight, Stampendous

                                    Ivory Pearl

Impr Plate:                Cheery Lynn Cement

Doo Dads:                May Arts Cream, Black jute fiber, Gold glitter