Wonderful RAK from England

I hadn't heard from Germana in like forever! And all of a sudden in my mail box to brighten my day was this beautiful card. The last I remember, Germana, you were in Dubai. You are really traveling the world, lady! The card is a beautiful Rust color. As you can see, it is framed in white, then a wonderful deckle rust edge. Next she did a very creative thing. She has 2 different stamped backgrounds and has torn them and then sponged the edges with the rust ink. The words are stamped with the same Rust ink. The effect is stunning. I will bet all of the wonderful stamps are Stampin' Up.

In addition to the beautiful card she included some embossed papers for my own use. They are pearlized light gold, pink, and lavender that have been embossed using part of one of the latest Technique Junkie techniques called Parchment Punch. There are also 2 other sparkly pieces of cardstock. I also have wonderful ideas for them too.

Thank you so much Germana for your thoughtfulness and for brightening my day with such a beautiful card with great surprises inside.

 

 Shirley

 

TJ & Impression-Obsession

It is not true that pictures never lie!!! LOL When I look at the card above the blues all fade in and out together and match up. When I scanned them they do not. Oh well.

The background is Artsy Dimension from the current Technique Junkie Newsletter. The image is Three Windows by Impression-Obsession-Leigh Hannan.
They were stamped with Brilliance Gold Galaxy ink and painted with Twinkling H2O's. The highlights are Rangers Stickles Gold and Liquid Pearls White Opal. The words are Word Plate I by Rubber Stamp Tapestry. The ribbon is from Michaels $1 bin. Its been a while, so I am not sure if ribbon in the bin is still $1. Ha! The Heart Charm is from Fancifuls, Inc. The 3 pearls are from Mark Richards Crystal Stickers.

I am expecting some new stamps from Impression-Obsession. I took part in the sale and free shipping they are having though today. The details on in the post just below and before this one.

Thanks for stopping by "the blog" to look.

 

 Shirley

 

A Very New Experience

This card was a totally new experience for me. I have always wanted to try a collage card, but never thought I really knew how to put it together. Well, the last Technique Junkie Newsletter actually shows a person how to do it. If I can do it anyone can, as the saying goes. LOL

I used the following stamps:
I Brake for Stamps - Stampin Back Basic Elements
Impression-Obsession - Nicole and Small Flourish Three
Hero Arts - A Warm Hello (retired)

The inks were:
Brilliance - Lime, Lavender, Sky Blue
ClearSnap - Bronze, Green
Stampin' Up - Classic Basic Brown, Pretty In Pink

The ribbon is by May Arts. When the light hits the Green ink from ClearSnap just right, it matches the ribbon. The Copper Stick Pin is from Nunn Designs. The pink rhinestones are from Mark Richards Crystal Stickers Elements..........And last but not least, her lips are painted with Twinkling H2O Cherry Sorbet.

Thank you TJ for an interesting trip with a new technique. Thank you all for stopping by "the blog" for a look-see!

 

 Shirley

 

3D or Tole or Paper Layering

The main image is Rosey Vase by My Heart Stamps For You. It was stamped with Galaxy Gold ink. I heated everything I stamped or edged with Brilliance Galaxy Gold ink with a heat gun before the next step. I can't get enough of Swirly background by Fire Cracker Designs by Pamela. I used it to do Reverse Mask technique on the vase, again using Galaxy Gold ink. Next I painted the roses and the vase with Twinkling H2O's. I stamped the image again and painted with Twinkling H2O's. I cut out the individual leaves and roses to mount on the image. I used Rangers Glossy Accents to glue the bottom ends to the image and also had a piece of a Pop Dot underneath near the middle to make them stand out from the card (3-D or Tole effect). I used a Fiskars template to cut the oval around the image and then edged the image with Galaxy Gold by lightly dragging the edges over the ink pad.

Next I stamped "the" Swirly background again with Galaxy Gold ink on another piece of cardstock for the background. The oval image was mounted in the center of the background, then mounted to the Bazzill Bling green cardstock. The metal corners are remnants from die cuts I did in the Cuttlebug for other cards. The metal gold oval is by EK Success Architecture Building Embellishments. I think they are discontinued. The word is from Word Plate I by Rubber Stamp Tapestry. I stamped it with ClearSnap Mica Magic Green and then went over it with a Green Sharpie. The gold cord is by Stampin' Up. The beads are Czech glass beads. The butterfly is by Fancifuls, Inc., online.

Thank you for looking and thanks for stopping by "the blog".

 

 Shirley

 

Bargello Play From The Beginning

I have looked at Bargello cards for years in awe of the pieces and patterns. Finally I decided this was the week to do it. I found relatively easy instructions on HGTV.com. I decided to use Glossy cardstock and started by dyeing all of the Glossy White with 5 different colors and left one white. Next I used background stamps from Fire Cracker Designs by Pamela - Swirly, Impression-Obsession - Swirl, Starving Artists - Fern Leaf , and Sculpy Clay Texture Sheet - Dancing Spirals. Brilliance Galaxy Gold was used to stamp the Swirly, Swirl and Fern Leaf backgrounds. Dye on Dye was used for the Purple background. I used the Castaway pad on top of the Lavender dye ink to bleach it out. Then I used the instructions from the HGTV.com page from the direct link above.

The flower is one from the Three Windows stamp by Impression-Obsession. It was stamped with Brilliance Galaxy Gold, painted with dye ink, and then Twinklin H2O's. The gold tie is Krenik Gold #16 Tapestry Braid cord. The heart is from Fancifuls, Inc. Charm Catalog pg 5, #2046. Ranger Stickles Diamond glitter glue was used to highlight the fronds around the rose. It was fun and not so difficult when I followed the directions. Smile!!

Thanks for stopping by "the blog" to look.

 

 Shirley

 

An Important Message on Breast Cancer

I received an email that Congress is getting ready to vote on the Breast Cancer Protection Act that will require insurance companies to Pay for at least 48 hours of hospital stay after a Mastectomy. It has failed to be passed before and the history is explained on Snopes. I checked it out on Snopes and it gives the history and is legitimate, although who would ever bring themselves to lie about something like this I am not sure.

STEP 1. There is a petition to sign to approve of this bill is here:

http://www.lifetimetv.com/breastcancer/petition/signpetition.php

STEP 2. Once you have done that if you would like to notify your Senator(s) and Representative(s) you can go here:

http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/

It costs nothing to join Congress.org and they notify you on upcoming bills, etc. They also give you the opportunity of telling your Senator(s) and Representative(s) how you would like them to vote. Shorter messages are more effective if you are worrying about what to say.

They also automatically let you know how many session your Senator(s) and Representative(s) attend and how they voted on certain bills. At that time you can also tell them what you think about how they voted, positive or negative.

I read that they (politicians) believe one email is worth 10,000 votes from the people they represent. My senators and representatives have contacted me by email and telephone. Don't be discouraged if they seem to be giving you a politically correct answer. It is okay for you to tell them that. I think this is one way we can make a difference one person at a time and they will know it is not "politics as usual".

Any way thank you for stopping by "the blog" and I hope I have helped the campaign to lengthen stays for mastectomies to an appropriate amount of time based on their evaluation by medical personnel.

 

 Shirley

 

A Quick Card For Me!

Anybody who knows me will tell you this is a quick card for me. The stamp is from Hero Arts Solid Flowers Flourish Set. It was inked with Brilliance Galaxy Gold , heat embossed, and then the petals were painted with Twinking H2O Mulberry. I am including a close up below so you can see what happens when you paint over Galaxy Gold with Twinks. Your ink pad needs to have sufficient ink and not be dry. When you heat it with a heat gun it will raise up and looks embossed. When you paint over it look what happens (Click on it to get an even larger look):



The ribbon is some I bought at Christmas at Michaels. The embossed images are from Cuttlebug Fancy Corners. The pearls in the center and on the embossed images are from Mark Richards Crystal Stickers. I get mine either from Hobby Lobby or online from A Cherry On Top. You get twice as many as from Hero Arts for the nearly the same price. The Small Butterfly is a Fiskars punch from Aspire Petallics Gold Ore text weight paper. It was highlighted with Rangers Stickles Orange Peel and a Marvy Black pen. The words, from Paper Salon, were stamped with Galaxy Gold and painted with H2O Mulberry.

Hope you like it. Thanks for stopping by "the blog" to look.

 

 Shirley

 

Deco Art Liliy Pond

The background is Stippled Pigments from a Technique Junkies Newsletter. Then I ran it though the Cuttlebug with the Tiny Mosaics folder. The Gem Stones are from Hero Arts. The black polka dot ribbon is Wal-Mart and the Turquoise is from Michaels. The "Pond" by Impression-Obsession was painted with Twinkling H2O's. The brass frog is from Fancifuls, Inc. online. The words are from Word Plate I by Rubbert Stamp Tapestry.

Hope you like it and thank you all for stopping by "the blog".

Check out the special coupons from Michaels below if your are interested. 20 and 40% off until May 10.

 

 Shirley