Beaded Dragonfly

I went through a beaded dragonfly phase not long ago and had a ton of fun doing it! 

The job is easy enough to figure out by sight, but if you Google for directions, you’ll find a lot of them.  I made them in all sizes and colors and now have a stash to use on cards, boxes, gift packages, etc.  It’s good TV work to do and takes just 20 minutes apiece to finish.  They are fastened onto the card at the head and tail only and can be detached so the recipient can wear it as a pin or put it to other decorative use.  One of my friends wore hers as a hair ornament at her high school reunion – she said it matched her new dress perfectly!

Cardstock:     Bazzill Rain Forest, Purple, generic Red, Beckett Iceberg, watercolor paper        

Stamps:         Stampin’ Up It’s our day!, various solid leaf images

Inks:                 Vivid Red, Green, Yellow, Purple

Emb Powder:  Clear

Doo Dads:      Beaded dragonfly

Elegant Chess

Here’s an over-the-top treatment of a chess piece!  It’s the King image which is certainly appropriate for my chess-loving husband’s birthday . . .

The image was stamped and glittered on the back of the acetate window – this ensures that it will never flake or rub off.  After making a frame out of the Gold-embossed border, the visible diagonal cuts bothered me, so I covered them up with Gold mini beads:  that’s known as hiding in plain sight.  As for the pearl bauble, who says you can’t put jewelry on a man’s card?

Cardstock:     Metallic Tuxedo-striped Bronze CS, generic Black, acetate

Stamps:         Stampers Anonymous Stitched Border, Art Impressions King Chess Piece

Inks:                 Staz On Black, ColorBox Metallic Bronze

Emb Powder:  B’Muse Detail Pale Gold

Doo Dads:      Black tassel, Gold & Pearl button, Stickles Tiara glitter glue

The Perfect Day

Here’s a Father’s Day image that Dad doesn’t have to pretend to be excited about!

The background was done with a discontinued tool called the RolTap and it’s too bad that it’s no longer available.  It was a mini (½” wide) sponge brayer that allowed you to roll out soft color in a variety of patterns.  Great for borders or backgrounds, it came in handy a number of times.  I suppose you could try Tsukineko’s finger brayers instead,  but I think your best bet is to get a sheet of rubber gasket material from a home supply store and cut yourself your own shadow stamp:  try ½” wide by any length you’d find useful and attach it to cling mounting foam.  Use soft inks and try second generation stamping for a diffused/distressed effect.

Cardstock:     Beckett Iceberg, generic Blue

Stamps:         ColorBox RolTap (discontinued), Stampin’ Up Father’s Day

Inks:                 Encore Gold, Green, Vivid Rainbow, Marvy Marker Gold

Emb Powder: Generic Clear

Dec Scissors: Fiskars Deckled

Doo Dads:      Gold bird charm, narrow Gold & Green ribbons, Green eyelets

Daddy's Favorite Tie

As Father’s Day is drawing closer, below is one of two cards I plan to post this week.  The tie is simple enough to cut out of decorative paper without too much stress and a bit of sponging on the edges takes away the flat look.  Dad might actually prefer this tie to the real thing!

Cardstock:     Generic Navy, Kraft, decorative plaid, Gold scrap

Stamps:          Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers Father’s Day

Inks:                Versamark, Pilot marker Gold

Emb Powder: PSX Cobalt Tapestry

Dec Scissors: Fiskars Stamp

Doo Dads:      Antique Brass wire hanger, Gold star charm, Navy eyelets, Blue raffia

No One Like You!

Gina K regularly has some of the most beautiful and DO-able techniques in town. Head for her site here and sign up for her weekly posts.  Her videos are short, extremely clear, and well worth your time.

This simple card works with any non-outline image which is mostly solid – or even completely solid.  After stamping the text on ivory cardstock with Vivid Taupe, stamp the image in Clear ink and then Clear emboss.  Ink up a dauber with whatever color you are using and starting in the center on top of the Clear embossing, swirl out towards the edges without re-inking in order to have darker color in the middle and lighter toward the edges.  Re-ink as necessary, always starting in the middle and swirling out.  Wipe off excess ink with a paper towel and then ink the edges with a darker color for a finished look.

Cardstock:     Bazzill Black, Beckett Candlelight, generic Teal

Stamps:          Art Impression chess piece Castle, Gina K Botanicals Kit Script Background, Hero “There is no one like you’

Inks:                Distress Weathered Wood, Vivid Taupe, VersaMark

Emboss Powder:  Clear

Emboss Folder:    Cuttlebug Forest Branches                                 

Doo Dads:       Ecru fabric casing, Teal brads

Thanks!

Once in awhile, we anal types benefit by doing things in a rather less orderly fashion.  We do struggle with free-form attempts, but it’s good for the soul to stretch ourselves with efforts made outside of the box – even though the box may still be close at hand.

This card involves stitching which is one of my favorite embellishments.  I resisted the inner urge to follow a perfectly pre-plotted course (usually achieved with a T-square, plumb bob, a level, and by snapping a chalk line) and instead decided to let the machine have a say in where the needle went.  Scary!  The very idea gave me a rash, but I’m glad I did it.  I even avoided making the ribbon ends the exact same length.  Progress, folks – progress . . .

Cardstock:    Marcos Jute, Beige generic handmade paper, Beckett Candlelight

Stamps:          Unknown ‘Thanks!’

Inks:                  ColorBox Black

Emb Powder:    Judikins Detail Black

Dies/Punches:   5-lobed flower

Doo Dads:       Pearl flower button, Black satin ribbon bow, Black and Cream thread

Sending Love

While billed as a Valentine’s Day card, this sentiment could work for anyone wanting to send some loving affection through the mail.

This was a reasonably quick and easy card to do.  After brushing the acrylic paints onto the corrugated paper in no particular order, I piped a little glue down the channels (doing one color at a time) and then adding glitter in the same color.  I also laid down a few lengths of Mizuhiki cord here and there, just to keep from being predictable.  Last came the fern sprays punched out of glossy paper.  A little glitz, a little glitter, what could hurt?

Cardstock:     Bazzill Dark Green, Red, generic Yellow, Red glossy, corrugated paper

Stamps:         Oogaloo ”Sending Love”

Inks:                VersaMark

Paint:            Green, Red, Yellow acrylic paints

Emb Powder:    Stamp a Mania Desert Rose

Dies/Punches:   Heart, Fern

Doo Dads:      Red, Yellow, Green Stickles, Red, Yellow, Green Mizuhiki cord, Red metal flower brad and frame anchor