Three Gorgeous RAK's

Wow! Going to my mail box lately has been nothing short of sweet.

This beautiful card was sent by Jane Rodgers, a TJ friend. She surprised me with this when I found out she loved eagles and sent her an unmounted one I had. We were both soon to be surprised again when it turned out to be an owl. I have 4 owls already so the sharing was still wonderful.

Her card above using the Sparkle Paper Technique from the current TJ Newsletter. It literally shines everywhere. Jane, what a beautiful card. The tearing technique you used around your heart is just perfect to enhance the artwork. Thanks so much.

This card is from Deb Waldron, who teaches a variety of art classes at Stampers' Alley in Mooresville, NC. She is an artist on just about any type of craft or art you could mention. Here she displays some of her beautiful Quilling techniques. She wishes me a speedy recovery from "the Shingles". Thank you, Deb, for thinking of me and say hi to everyone there.

This beautiful card reminds me of "Scherenschnitte". Scherenschnitte is a German word used to describe the art of cutting figures, and even whole scenes, from one piece of paper. This particular cutting has been mounted using dimensional glue dots, so it has a raised look. It was sent to me by Brenda Elliott, the owner of Stampers' Alley. She is indeed an artist in her own right, but doesn't get much time to create because of her wonderful stamp store and the classes that are held there. The card, itself, was created by one of her customers and friends named Randi Monacell. She too wants to wish me well. Thank you Brenda for thinking of me.

Can't wait to get well and want to thank you all for stopping by "the blog" to let me share my cards with you.

 

 Shirley

 

Just Wanted To Drop You A Line

I've had these blank cards for over a year and just couldn't think of what would look good with this layout. Then Impression-Obsession came out with their Summer line of stamps and, when I saw Angelfish, a light bulb went on. This card uses stamps from Angelfish and Seascape.

The waves were stamped with Brilliance Sky Blue. All of the other images, except the words, were stamped with Brilliance Galaxy Gold.


The ocean life is painted with Twinkling H2O's using a Niji waterbrush by Yasumoto.. Highlights on the Gold Fish are Ranger Stickles Yellow. The Plants are highlighted with Stickles Lime and Green. The bubbles from the fish and waves are highlighted with Ranger Stickles Diamonds. The pearly bubbles on the yellow fish had Jones Tones Foil Glue applied; then Jones Tones Pearl Swirl Foil was applied when the glue was clear but sticky.

The Gold Cord is by Stampin' Up. The Gold fish hook is 22 Gauge wire on a spool from Ben Franklin. The words were stamped on a Spellbinders Circle Scallop die cut with Brilliance Pearlescent Ivy. The edges were done with Brilliance Sky Blue ink. The swirls of sand along the ocean bottom are Twinkling H2O's applied using a Royal 3/8" Soft Grip SG 730 paint brush that looks like this:
This was a fun card! It was like stamping a story on how to get to the words!

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

 

 Shirley

 

Wonderful RAK's Lift Me Up

I was so surprised this week to get 3 beautiful RAK's from 3 beautiful friends. They are get well RAK's and couldn't have come at a better time. Thank you, ladies, for making my week.

The first one is from Connie Thorson and her friend, Judy. The lady is layered right down to her boots that have been done with Glossy Accents. The puddle is done too! How really pretty. On the inside it says, "Blankets, tissues, soup and rest, May you get what you need till you're feeling your best!" What great words ladies!! Thank you so much.

This card was sent by Joy Martin. The background really does vary in shades of aqua to moss green just like it looks here. The flower and verse are one stamp and is mounted as shown. Those 2 cute little yellow buttons are brads. Where have I been? I haven't seen those before. I love them and the ribbon too! The background has also been done with the Cuttlebug folder Swiss Dots. She wishes me well and I wish her hugs for such a great pick-me-up! Thank you Joy for your heartfelt message.

Last, but certainly not least, is a card from Vicki Freeze. This lady has a sense of humor that just won't quit! Before I forget I want to mention that all of these cards came on separate days and what a treat.

Vicki's card also has a Cuttlebug background, D'Vine Swirl. Her flowers are the loveliest shade of peach. The flower was stamped 3 times for each flower and then layered with dimensional dots. The green scroll and the little posies used as stem accents are perfectly trimmed and pretty too! The picot ribbon is just right for this card. Vicki sent well wishes too! Vicki, thank you so much for adding to my wonderful week. Although I would never suggest what I have in order to get wonderful cards like these, these have certainly brightened my week.

Thanks so much to all of you.

Thanks everyone for stopping by "the blog".

 

 Shirley

 

Peonies and Faux Handmade Paper

I fell in love with this stamp, Peony Square by Stampendous, the minute I saw stampers on SCS using it. I stamped mine with Encore Copper Ink on Very Vanilla Stampin' Up cardstock and embossed it with Copper Embossing Powder. It was painted with Twinkling H2O's. The peonies were highlighted with Ranger Stickles Copper glitter glue. The Purple/Pink flowers were highlighted in the center with Provo Craft Shimmerz glue (it resembles the sparkle of opals when dry), and Ranger Yellow Stickles glitter glue around the opal center. Shimmerz takes longer to dry than regular glitter glue, but it is well worth the wait.

The background is Faux Handmade Paper from the current issue of Technique Junkie Newsletter. I had no idea it would be so much fun. The ribbon is from Michael's $1 bin. The Copper Charm is from AC Moore in their jewelry findings area. It was accented with Ranger Stickles Copper glitter glue. Three more dots of the glue were added to the bottom right side of the card front. The words are by Inkadinkadoo and were stamped with Brilliance Pearlescent Ivy.

Thanks so much for stopping by "the blog" to look.

 

 Shirley

 

A Really Wonderful RAK

I received a really beautiful RAK from Ret Cudmore, a Technique Junkie friend. She used the Delight In Life Stampin' Up set. These colors are among my favorites. She has accented the centers of the flowers with Dazzling Diamonds, also by Stampin' Up. There is nothing more wonderful than getting a surprise card when you didn't expect it, huh?

Ret now has her own blog. If you haven't already seen it you all should check it out here. Thank you so much for the great card.

Thanks for stopping by "the blog".

 

 Shirley

 

Dropping You A Line

I just received my new Impression-Obsession stamps and this one, Sailboat, just begged to be used. It was stamped with Brilliance Galaxy Gold on Neenah Super Smooth Classic Crest Solar White 80 lb. #03249 cover cardstock. *Tip (It is the only paper so far, besides Stampin' Up Whisper White, that doesn't ball up when you watercolor on it.) The image was painted with Twinkling H2O's. The pearly bubbles on the gold fish had Jones Tones Foil Glue applied; then Jones Tones Pearl Swirl Foil was applied when the glue was clear but sticky. The little orange and yellow fish with the yellow middles had Rangers Stickles Yellow glue applied to the middles. The white waves on the hull of the boat also had Jones Tones Foil Glue applied and then the Pearl Swirl Foil followed. The White Pearl on top of the mast and flag is a flatback bought on EBay. Below is a close-up of the foiled gold fish bubbles, the foiled waves and you can see a little bit of the head pin fishing pole.


The clouds in the sky are from the Impression-Obsession Clear Cling set "Angel Fish". They were stamped with ClearSnap Mica Magic Pearl Ink; then highlighted with Rangers Stickles Diamonds; Tulip White Puffy Paint was added and then heated to give the clouds dimension.

The fishing pole from the deck of the boat is a Gold Eye Pin with Stampin' Up Gold Cord attached. A bow was added and also a White Pearl flatback. The beads are Czech glass beads.

The waves and the words are also from the Impression-Obsession Cling set "Angel Fish". The waves were stamped with VersaMark. The words were stamped with Mica Magic Pearl and then a Uniball Signo White Ink pen was used over that. The brass Starfish charm is from Fancifuls, Inc. online.
Thanks so much for stopping by "the blog".

 

 Shirley

 

Art Deco Natural Humming Bird

The image, Hummingbird, is one of several beautiful stamps I bought from I Brake for Stamps. I swear Della, the owner, has something for everyone, and you always get at least one free stamp. The Hummingbird was stamped with Brilliance Galaxy Gold and painted with Twinkling H2O's. I highlighted the centers of the daisies and the lily with Rangers Stickles Yellow glitter glue. (I found the colors for the hummingbird on Google under photos of hummingbirds. This one lives in Central America.) The circular frame was done using a template, with no name of the company who makes it, on Black Glossy cardstock. *Tip 1 (The edges of black glossy are white and can show and look awkward to me. I run a thick black Sharpie around the circle with my right hand, while I hold it in my left hand. I did the same thing with the black glossy cardstock behind the background.)

The back ground was done with the 5 leftover templates from Cuttlebug 2X6" Floral Borders. I still have the white die cuts to use on another card. That's kind of backward, but it worked here. Ha! I taped the left over stencils together, taped them to a 4.25X5.5" piece of Stampin' Up Very Vanilla cardstock. I used my sponge brayer to cover the stencils with Brilliance Lightening Black. The heat gun was used to dry the ink before removing the tape and the stencil. It was then mounted on the Black Glossy cardstock. The upper left hand corner was done with EK Success Large Rounder Corner Adorner.

The circle for the word is Very Vanilla cardstock using the same template. I created the mat around it with the 1/8" metal disc from my "Magic Matter" from Puzzle Mates Designs. By the way, their price is high based on other sites that sell their product. It pays to "Google". The word is from the Word I Plate from Rubber Stamp Tapestry. The rhinestone accents are from Mark Richards Crystal Stickers Elements. I buy mine at A Cherry On Top or their sister online store, Stickers Galore.

TIP 2 - Now for the ribbon. I didn't have any ribbon that seemed to be the right color of green, fuchsia, yellow, etc. Well, I painted my white $1 bin Michaels ribbon with the same color I used for the pink lily, Twinkling H2O Jasmine. Ha! I wondered if it would work and it was so easy. I used one of my big tipped Niji waterbrushes. It only took it about 20 minutes to dry. I think it looks pretty good. If you already knew this, good for you and now good for me too!!!

I want to thank you for stopping by "the blog".

 

 Shirley