Oct 15, 2017 | Gallery, Hand-Crafted Cards |
Whew! I spent several hours yesterday playing with the Stampin’ Blends. The perfectionist in me was not happy. I didn’t like the way the pens were blending over (and beyond) the black lines. My solution was to think borders. You know, how the Big Shot dies leave a white border around them, rather than cutting on the lines.
Here’s my project, and I’ll continue to explain.
I was determined to make a one layer card; meaning no layers, no die cutting, no embellishments, just stamps, ink and Stampin’ Blends.
I began with a Thick Whisper White card base, and with less room for error, this was scary. My trash was full of discarded samples, but I persevered.
I stamped three flowers from the new stamp set, Color Me Happy, in Rich Razzleberry. I used the brush side of the Light Rich Razzleberry Stampin’ Blend to color the middle of the petals. So far, so good, no color was outside the outside lines. With reading glasses, I added the pen side of Dark Pink Pirouette to fill in most of the white spaces. I colored right over the center of the flower (feeling daring), and then added a few dots of Dark Rich Razzleberry to the center.
I found the leaves and tiny blossoms in the Daisy Delight stamp set, and scattered them among the flowers. I used Old Olive ink for the outline of the leaves, and filled them in using the solid leaf stamp and Pear Pizazz ink.
The sentiment, “Life looks beautiful on you” is from the Beautiful You stamp set, and I used Old Olive ink, so it would blend in with the leaves.
I was really happy to complete this project without a stray smudge somewhere. I hope this technique was helpful for you like-minded perfectionists.
Although, I might just get crazy, and go outside the lines one of these days. I love other people’s art that is done in a more carefree manner. I’m learning, and that’s what makes all of this stamping so much fun!
If you missed my first card with the Color Me Happy stamp set and Stampin’ Blends, you can see it here. I was excited to find out yesterday that it was chosen as a winner at the Paper Players challenge.
Stampin’ Blends Color Me Happy
Thanks for visiting my blog. I hope this will color “you” happy too!
Oct 14, 2017 | Gallery, Hand-Crafted Cards |
It is a fabulous Friday, and I had so much fun creating this card today, although it will post on Saturday. I made this card exclusively for the Fab Friday Challenge #123 for a very good reason. Here is my card and the designer’s sketch:
My very good reason is that my card was chosen as a Fab Fave in the last challenge. It’s such an honor to be selected, and I’m very appreciative of the time it takes the design team to make their thoughtful comments. This is the link, if you’d like to see it.
Autumn Bouquet Thank you Card
Now, for today’s project. I began with a Garden Green card base, layered with a red and white striped pattern from Be Merry Designer Series Paper. This was layered with a green patchwork pattern from Quilted Christmas DSP. You can tell, I was definitely making a Christmas card.
One of the main elements in the sketch was the banner in the upper right corner, and I knew the Banner Triple Punch would do the trick. I used the 1 1/2″ size for the Wood Texture DSP, and the 1″ for the Whisper White. I stamped “There’s a feeling of Christmas” from the Feeling of Christmas stamp set in Garden Green ink on the white cardstock. The font is so pretty, and reminds me of my grandmother’s handwriting.
For the horizontal line, I used Burlap Ribbon topped with Quilted Christmas Ribbon, and secured it with Tear Tape. This made a perfect, little path for Rudolf. Santa’s Sleigh provided the die for cutting Rudolf, which I did three times, once with Wood Textures DSP and twice with Thick Whisper White cardstock. I like how he looks like he’s been cut with a jigsaw.
I completed the inside by adding a piece of Whisper White, and stamping it with, “May it continue to last throughout the year.”
Rudolf wanted a red nose, but I liked how handsome he was without it. So, I told him, “next time.”
Thank you for visiting my blog. I love sharing with you!
Oct 13, 2017 | Gallery, Hand-Crafted Cards |
Tic Tac (Cat Punch and Painted Autumn DSP) Cat often hops over our fence to go exploring. By the time I found him at the pumpkin patch, he was sitting beside what he called his marvelous fall creation, made with pumpkins in autumn colors.
He manages to get people to help him, saying it’s because he’s cute and polite. He’s definitely not humble!
The pumpkins are from the Pick a Pumpkin stamp set and cut with the Patterned Pumpkin Dies. The tree branch is from a Seasonal Layers die, and the fence is from the Classic Label Punch. Teeny Tiny Wishes was used for “Happy Halloween.”
He told me the scary thing tied on the tree branch is Copper Trim.
I was curious why the pumpkins had to be stacked this way, and he patiently explained it was because of a contest that started today, actually two contests.
On our walk home, I complimented Tic Tac for participating, but to please tell me the next time he decides to leave the yard.
Thanks for visiting my blog and humoring Tic Tac!
Oct 12, 2017 | Gallery, Hand-Crafted Cards |
For this weeks Freshly Made Sketch challenge, Rita used a die that cut out a shape like the old Polaroid pictures, and designed her sketch around it. How fun is that!
I couldn’t resist combining my two stamping hobbies, since thoughts of Polaroid cameras was taking me back in history. I chose a six cent stamp from 1968, celebrating the Hemisfair. I glued six stamps to cardstock and used a scallop edged Layering Circles Die to cut the size that would fit within the Very Vanilla square. Two of the Layering Circles also cut the Night of Navy frame for the postage stamps.
The Night of Navy rectangle was cut to fit the circled stamps, the square and the card front. The Post Script background stamp would be perfect for my postage stamps, and I stamped it in Night of Navy ink on a Thick Very Vanilla card base.
I found “Special Delivery” in the retired Tin of Tags stamp set, and used a die from Bunch of Banners for cutting. The red strip beneath the rectangle is also retired, a piece of Watermelon Wonder DSP. It matched the red in the stamp, so I had to use it.
This was such a fun challenge! Thanks for the sketch, Rita!
Oct 11, 2017 | Gallery, Hand-Crafted Cards |
Welcome to the Pals October 2017 Blog Hop featuring some very “Wicked Folds.” Thank you so much for joining us today. Sit back and enjoy the view while the Stampin’ Pretty Pals treat you with their wickedly folded projects. Whether you’re just starting the hop, or have come from a previous Pal’s blog, you’ll find the line-up toward the end of my post to help you move along.
Everyone loves giving and receiving gift cards, so I wanted to get an early start on this year’s gift card holders. This “wickedly folded” design is one I used last year, and it was so popular I’m bringing it back in the new Designer Series Paper, Be Merry (Annual Catalog) and Merry Music (Holiday Catalog).
I begin by cutting an 8 1/2 X 11 piece of Real Red cardstock into two pieces, 7 3/4 X 5. Score these at 6 and 2 1/2. You’ll have a 1 inch strip left over, and this will be one of your bands. How handy is that? You need to cut a second strip for your other gift card holder. The band is scored at 6 1/8 X 2 1/2. You want that extra 1/8 inch on the scoring, so the band will slide off and on easily.
The fun part is choosing the DSP. The bottom front is 4 3/4 X 2 1/4. Top front is 4 3/4 X 1 1/2, and a Whisper White piece for inside is 4 3/4 X 1 1/2. I like this plain piece of cardstock for writing messages, or for stamping a sentiment. TIP: You can do this before gluing, in case of an inky accident.
After gluing those pieces, I find the center on the bottom section, and use our 1 3/8 inch punch to create a finger slot. Then, I place strips of Tear Tape on the sides, and fold it up, making a secure pocket for the gift card.
All that’s left is decorating the band. I place the seam in front, trim a bit as needed, and cover it with my decoration. This way, my holder looks nice from the back where my name is stamped. Last year I stamped sentiments for the front decoration, but I decided to go with objects this year. I had such a selection, I ended up making two more in Garden Green.
The tree and deer are Card Front Builder Thinlits Dies. The gold foil French Horn and the silhouette drummer boy are from Musical Instruments Framelits Dies, and the reindeer is a Santa’s Sleigh die.
The possibilities are endless, and I have a feeling I’ll be making this gift card holder for many years to come.
Thank you so much for hopping with the Stampin’ Pretty Pals today. Please take a minute to mark your calendar for our next hop on November 8, 2017. Now hop along using the Blog Hop Line-up below. Don’t forget to leave us a comment.
Oct 10, 2017 | Gallery, Hand-Crafted Cards |
The theme for this month is “sympathy.” Being in nature is comforting to me, so that’s what I wanted to portray in this sympathy card. Once again, the Woodland Embossing folder comes into play.
I chose Always Artichoke as the card base color for its woodsy feel, and Sahara Sand for embossing with the Woodland folder. I cut the embossed trees in two, making the right side shorter, and raised them on Foam Adhesive Strips for dimension.
The leaves are my favorite part of this project. I don’t know who originally thought of this technique, but I learned it from Robin Daus at the recent “Create the Day Away” in San Diego. You start with a piece of Glossy White cardstock (p. 194, Annual Catalog), ink re-fills in the colors you want to use, cotton ball, alcohol, and an old, soft cloth.
Saturate the cotton with alcohol, then drop spots of ink onto the cotton. I used Real Red, Daffodil Delight and Sahara Sand. Leave a bit of space between the dots, because they’ll blend together soon enough. Next, pat the inked cotton all over the Glossy cardstock. Here’s where you use the old cloth: place it on top of your art piece allowing it to absorb moisture, lift, and rub it around. You can leave it alone at this point, or add more color.
You can use the entire piece as a background, but I used the leaf die from Eclectic layers to cut the three sections of leaves for this project. I like that it’s different every time you do it, and the shine from the Glossy cardstock makes it extra special.
My favorite die cut from Bunch of Banners provided the “home” for my sentiment, “I’m here for you.” I found this in the Weather Together stamp set, and I stamped it in Always Artichoke to match the card base.
The inside sentiment is from the Thoughts and Prayers stamp set, and the most important part of this card.
I used the same Eclectic leaf die on the inside, and embossed the flap of the envelope with the Woodland folder.
Thank you so much for visiting my blog!
