I'm an Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator in Wilmington, Delaware. I've been stampin' under the supervision of my cat Onyx since 2008.
This is a crazy fun card that popped into my head a few weeks ago. I’d never tried the emboss resist technique and I thought it would be fun to do it with the Woodgrain background stamp. I tend to be someone who is a bit layer happy, so I also gave myself the challenge to keep layers at a minimum.
I started by stamping the giraffe from the It’s the Thought Level 1 Hostess set on Whisper White card stock using black StazOn. I then colored it with Watercolor Wonder crayons.
To protect the image during all the emboss resisting I had planned, I created a mask from scrap paper and an Oval Punch. The mask covers all of the card except the area around the giraffe. I then smooshed Versamark over the oval area, applied clear embossing powder and heated it up.
My next step was to apply VersaMark to the Woodgrain stamp, stamp it on the card, and emboss using clear embossing powder. Before I did this, I should have created another mask using the Scallop Oval Punch, to protect the area around my white oval from the woodgrainy-ness, but I didn’t (see the wood grain in the yellow scallop oval? Ooops.) So…be sure to mask that area too.
I then applied Daffodil Delight ink all over the card using a Stamping Sponge. That left me with a yellow card with a white woodgrain pattern. I then created another mask, this time using the Scallop Oval punch and placed it so it surrounded the white oval. I clear embossed that area, and stamped and embossed the Woodgrain stamp a second time on the card.
After wiping the sweat off my brow from all of that heat embossing, I rubbed Pacific Point ink over the whole card. That created a greenish/blue card with areas of white and yellow wood grain. I then grabbed a paper towel and rubbed the card so that the ink came off of the embossed areas, brightening everything up.
Finally, I stamped the sentiment that goes with the giraffe on Ivory Naturals paper, cut it into a small rectangle and mounted it with Stampin’ Dimensionals.
I really love how this card came out and now I want to make a whole set of them using that same stamp set.
Recipe
Last month I participated in a New Catalog swap that a fellow demonstrator organized for the 2010-2011 Idea Book and Catalog. The swap I made uses a new Level 2 Hostess Set, Longfellows. It is the cutest collection of animals and phrases.
I loved this turtle and his shell reminded me of 70′s decor so I decided to use that as the inspiration for the color scheme: Early Espresso, Daffodil Delight, Rich Razzleberry, Tangerine Tango, Old Olive and Crumb Cake. I hand cut out each of the spots for the shell (wow that was tedious, but looks great!) as well as the bits of paper for the background. All are glued on using Tombow Multi.
Continuing with my obsession with distressing things, I stamped the sentiment on crumb cake, tore the edges, wrinkled it up on my hand and inked it with Crumb Cake ink.
To focus attention on the turtle, I used an Old Olive 1/4″ Grosgrain Ribbon underneath, and dressed it up with a button I made using the Buttons #5 sizzlet and an Old Olive brad.
The bottom of the paper I punched with the Scallop Trim Border Punch and backed it with Daffodil Delight paper.
Recipe:
This is my favorite of the cards that I created for the Artisan Awards. It was inspired by the wall paper in my 1st floor powder room, which looks like overlapping pieces of paper with drawings of plants on them.
I knew that I wanted to use Herbed Expressions for one of my entries, but was struggling for the right idea. Then one day in the powder room it hit me – to recreate the wall paper as a card.
I knew it would have a very natural, earthy feel to it, so I used Naturals Ivory paper. I stamped each image twice and colored using Watercolor Wonder Crayons. I then distressed each piece using Creamy Caramel Classic Ink so that they’d look like aged pieces of paper. I then glued them to the card base, and trimmed the overhanging edges off.
I popped up the sentiment with Stampin’ Dimensionals and put some brads in each corner (the photo makes the brads stand out much more than do in person).
The sentiment wasn’t standing out all that well, so I brought focus to it by wrapping linen thread around the card in a fan-like manner. The thread helps to draw the eye away from the rest of the card and down to the sentiment.
I just adore this card. Boy I miss it. I’m going to have to make a bunch for myself at some point this summer.
Recipe
I loved the baby card from last week so much, I decided to remake it for the Embellish Magazine Baby Theme Color Challenge. The colors for that challenge are Yellow, Cream, Peach, and Green – I used So Saffron, Naturals Ivory, Peach Parfait and Pear Pizazz cardstock.
Same bling as last time…shimmery linen thread, shimmery ducks on the onesie, shimmery label with rhinestones on it.
I made a few additions…the hanger is now all wire, I added a ribbon to step it up a bit more, and I dressed up the inside of the card as well. Here are a side view that shows the dimension to the card and an inside view that shows the sentiment:
Recipe
The inspiration for this card came from a couple different places. The idea of doing a card that was inside a room looking out at the Eiffel Tower had been bouncing around in my head for a while. The original draft of this included the bird cage off to the side. The layout didn’t really work, so I scrapped the bird cage to just focus on the window.
The inspiration for the background came while I was at a panel discussion for my full time job. The hotel room where the event was being held had a brocade-like print wallpaper that had light vertical stripes on it. I quickly jotted down the idea and tried it out that night. I first tried it with white and vanilla craft inks, but the look wasn’t quite right. So then I tried the Champagne Mist shimmer paint and it was perfect!
To make the stripes look nice, I used my Hobby Blade to cut a rectangle into a beat-up presentation cover I “rescued” from work. I then positioned it over the cardstock and applied the paint using a sponge dauber.
The landscape was painted on Watercolor paper using Watercolor Wonder Crayons and the Eiffel tower was stamped on Brushed Silver card stock with StazOn.
The window frame was made from Kraft (now Crumb Cake) cardstock that I stamped with the Woodgrain stamp and then colored using Creamy Caramel Classic Ink applied with a Stamping Sponge. I then cut it off and then attached using dimensionals.
The frame with the sentiment is from the Hodgepodge Hardware in Styled Vanilla. For the insert, I stamped the flourish stamp in Chic Boutique in Versamark and then gold embossed. I then stamped the sentiment in Old Olive.
The frame is attached with Old Olive 5/8″ Satin Ribbon that is tied with some Linen Thread that has had Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint applied to it.
Recipe:
Welcome to my blog! Here I’m going to focus on my creative endeavors…my inspirations, my successes and my failures. Most posts will be about paper crafts (cards, gifts, scrapbooks, etc) but who knows, if I’m particularly proud of something I’ve photographed or cooked or built…that may show up too.
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