Well It's Different!

Here is where I got my inspiration for the above card. Michelle Giraud at Twisted Chick Creations was a Guest Designer for Impression-Obsession when I first started posting on their blog. She is such a great Designer and I check out her blog often. I saw her card and immediately loved the way she threaded the gold cord up the side! I also like that she had used a border punch I had! Hee hee. I actually loved the whole card. She is one creative designer. My problem was I wanted to use the ribbon you see because it matched the leaves in my image. So......I needed bigger scallops and bigger holes. I'll come back to this issue, but first my image.

Image:
1. The image is Victorian Blossom One by Impression-Obsession. Stamp with VersaMark and emboss with Enchanted Gold to give it a delicate sparkly look on Neenah Classic Crest Natural Super Smooth 80lb. Cover cardstock.
2. Paint using Niji waterbrush with Twinkling H2O's Cherry Sorbet and Wintermint, and highlight with Stickles Yellow. (Luminarte 40% off sale is still in progress.)
3. Run image through Cuttlebug using Spellbinder Large Square Die with embossing pad. The stack is:
- Plate A,
- 3 pieces 4.25X5.5 of cardstock,
- Plate B, *Die facing up,
- *Image (Removable Scotch tape used to secure the die to the image so it wouldn't move.)
- Spellbinder embossing mat,
- Plate B. (It actually gives 3 distinct embossed ridges to the frame when you do it this way.)
4. Trim around image.
5. Mount on DP 3.75"x4.0" with no DP showing on the right side. Anna Griffin-Pink Paisley
6. Mount that on 4.25"x5.5" of Bazzill Birthstone October cardstock.


Now for the fun part and what I did so I could use the ribbon:

Ribbon Braid:
1. (2) 1"x4" strips of DP. Draw a penciled line .75" high across the length of DP, from end to end. You can look at how it would be without the drawn line HERE. Then you could trim it down on the bottom to the .75" after you use the Slot punch as shown on the other blog. I have to say that might be easier.
2. Line up scalloped edges with the image side already mounted. (See Above)
3. Eyeball and draw little dots where you want the holes to be in the center of each scallop.
4. Use EK Success 1/4" Paper Shaper Large Circle in the middle of each scallop.
5. Thread 16" of Michaels ribbon through as shown.
6. The Ribbon Slide is from Fancyfuls, Inc. online store.

Embellishments:
1. The butterfly is from the Martha Stewart Butterflies punch. Your local Wal-Mart has it.
2. The 2mm Pearls are Mark Richards Small Script Alphabet and the 3mm are Mark Richards Crystal Stickers Elements Pearls.

On here the card looks a bit over-the-top to me. In person it looks very light and feminine. What is it about the eye of the beholder they say? Ha! And we are done! Thanks for stopping by 'the blog' to look and share.

 

 Shirley

 

Okay, So This Is A Stamping Blog

I know it's a stamping blog, but while I have been taking breaks from stamping I saw a spokesperson for Vote Earth. I don't know if you are familiar with it or not. If you aren't and want to know more go HERE.

Also I would like to share a really wonderful video about it with children from around the world. One who looks like she might be on a Walk About!!!. It is only 90 seconds long. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.




Aren't those kids tooo tooooo cute! and don't forget to turn your power off for an hour at the right time, depending on your time zone, on March 28. The whole World will be voting. They have done it before, but this year includes way more countries and world sites like the Golden Gate Bridge, Sidney's Opera House, the Rome Colesseum, etc.

I should have my card posted by no later than tomorrow before 8:30 p.m . Hee hee......or sooner. Thanks for stopping by to look and share!

 

 Shirley

 

I Have Not Really Lost It

Whatever IT is!!! LOLOLOL. Okay, here's what happened, but first I have a new card over on the I-O blog. I hope you will stop by to see it. I have another almost done for here too.

Now back to my real reason for posting today. I have a friends who send me email humor. I received this email from Norma. I usually don't open videos or attachments in emails. I am kind of a nerd that way. Anyway, this one said you really need to watch this. It only takes 4 seconds. If you don't get it, ask someone who is over 40. LOLOLOL Well, I never said I wasn't inquisitive and 4 seconds is nothing. Well it was so funny I let out a scream and a laugh at the same time. So here it is below for your enjoyment too I hope.



If you have already seen it, it may not be so funny. The surprise was part of the fun for me. Well, it's off to do some assembling. Thanks for stopping by the blog to take a look and share.

 

 Shirley

 

Art Deco Dragonfly

I've tried painting with Opalite re-inkers before, but I really didn't like the effect. This time I did something different and I think I like it much better. I used a Niji waterbrush and the water in the brush seemed to get it to flow better and I love the way it shines better too. See what you think. To those unfamiliar with Opalite inks, they do not show up well on light cardstock, but use them on any medium to dark colored cardstock and I think they are lovely.This is one of the new images by Impression-Obsession Artist Leigh Hannan. The minute I saw it I thought Art Deco.

Image:
1. Impression-Obsession Pond Dragonfly was stamped with Brilliance Galaxy Gold on Black cardstock and dried with a heat gun to set the ink.
2. It was painted with Opalite Crystal Blush, Cypress Frost, Glacier Blue and Arctic Emerald with a water filled Niji Waterbrush. I squeezed the bottle until a little came over the top and used the bottle lip as my color pot. When I finished I squeezed enough to open the top and brushed any extra back into the bottle. No muss, no fuss.
3. Mark Richards Script Alphabet 2MM Pearls were used for the Lily stamens.

Background:
1. The background paper is Dali Dore SHIMMER Cardstock Paper 8.5x11 76lb cover Nero (Black). It's on sale at the hyper-link right now. It has teeny speckles of gold throughout.
2. Neenah Classic Crest Solar White Super Smooth 80lb. Cover cardstock was embossed with Cuttlebug Floral Screen embossing folder, trimmed and mounted on the Black Nero cardstock.
3. The decorative corners were done using the Cuttlebug Vintage Die Set. The flowers were painted with the Niji waterbrush and Opalite Crystal Blush ink. Gelly Roll Stardust Golden was used around the edges.
4. The ribbon is from Michaels. A strip was mounted across the corner. A bow was tied, mounted, and the tails were taped behind the cardstock as shown.
5. Mark Richards 5mm Pearls were used for the corner.

Thanks for stopping by 'the blog' to look and share.

 

 Shirley

 

I Have Another New Card

But it's not here. You might say "It's one blog over". Today is a Friendship Challenge Day for the Impression Obsession Design Team and they invited me to play too. This is my very first challenge ever. It was time for a post to the I-O blog soooo that's where you can see it. I used one of their brand new Spring stamps. Above is a little part of what my card looks like. Also if you would like to see the DT's cards, check them out below:

• Daniella Dobson
  
• Dina Kowal
  
• Julie Koerber
  
  
• Kellie Richardson
  
  
• Laura Fulcher
  
• Michelle Giraud
  
• Tina Werner

Thanks for stopping by 'the blog' to look and share. I am hoping to have another card up here tomorrow or sooner.

 

 Shirley

 

Hi There!

This was a relatively quick card.

Image:
1. Stamp the image Valentine Rose Garden G2310 by Impression-Obsession on Neenah Classic Crest Solar White Super Smooth 80lb. Cover cardstock 4"X5.25" with Brilliance Galaxy Gold.
2. Heat Emboss to set image. It really does raise up. Click on the image below for a close-up of what I am talking about.

3. Paint image with Niji waterbrush and Twinkling H2O's Rubilite and Sweet Alfalfa.
4. Use Kleenex to blot exactly after painting when a lighter color is wanted.
5. Line the right and left hand edges of image up 'just inside' the Cuttlebug embossing folder Distressed Stripes.
6. Paint 'Distressed Stripes' area with Twinkling H2O Warm Pecan.
7. Use Cuttlebug Combo Set Everyday Greetings 'hi there'. Place with glue. Apply Stickles Lime glitter glue.
8. Apply the same glitter glue to the leaf buds as shown in image.
9. Mount image on 4.25"X5.5" of Red cardstock.

You can see the other image I did with this stamp on the Impression-Obsession blog HERE.

Bottom Edge(I have no idea where I got any of this paper):-(:
1. Punch edge using Green/Beige Plaid paper and Fiskars Threading Water Border Punch.
2. After punching the edge measure how much edge you want to be on the bottom and trim the edge that wide with a paper cutter.
3. Thread ribbon through leaving 1' edges of ribbon at each end. Mount as shown and then secure the ribbon to the back of card. Place a glue dot in the middle of the scalloped edge to secure the top just a tad.

Top Edge I have no idea where I got the Red cardstock. I love it and this was a left-over:
1. First remove the plastic edge guide that lines it up for the corner. It slips off fairly easy.

2. Before punching the edge decide how much of an edge you want above the scallop. You can't get more than 1/4" and you will see that once you get started.
3. Measure up from the bottom edge of the cardstock at each end and make a mark. Draw a white line, using your white pen, from right to left. (Punch Image 1)

4. Holding the piece of cardstock in your left hand, line up the white line with the 2 bottom triangles in the design shown above. Makes sure you can see the cardstock completely in the arc area. Punch the carstock.

5. Move your punch over until you can see the upper corner of the other punched image (a little slice in the cardstock) and the white line through each of the bottom purple triangles. There is a paper slice right where the yellow mark on the right is and you line that up with the left edge of the arc in your punch window. Punch again until you have 5 punched images.
6. Tape the back of the flat edge and mount as shown. Trim up edges.

Embellishments:
7. Mount Mark Richards 3mm Crystal Stickers Pearls as shown. I show how to trim under and behind the pearls on my I/O Tutorial under Embellishment III 6.
8. The bow was tied Martha Stewart style and mounted as shown with a glue dot.

That's it for today. Thanks for stopping by 'the blog' to look and share.

 

 Shirley

 

Some Wonderful Eye Candy

Norma Davenport, my TJ friend who lives in AL, sent me this beautiful card for my birthday! She just had shoulder surgery not too long ago and she is sending me the card, and a gorgeous card at that. She used a Cuttlebug embossing folder for the 4 embossed areas and punches for the leaves. The dogwood flower is beautiful too. Thank you so much Norma for making my birthday even more special. I celebrate all year long. :-)

This next piece of eye candy is also blog candy from a fellow blogger, Heather Fullerton, on Enchanted Stamping. If you haven't been to her blog you need to get on over there. She makes the most beautiful cards and is such an artist.

I believe this stamp is Butterfly - Stamp Zia . If you haven't seen her site, check it out. There is something for everybody. All of the images are embossed with and a gold embossing powder. She has mounted a really good sized eyelet on the top. Then she created a beautifully wired clear blue pebble, threaded it with a blue ribbon and the flower. She mounted that through the hole using ribbon as a wrap around knot. And there you have it. A gorgeous piece and I am going to hang it. I haven't decided whether to frame it or not yet. Thank you, Heather.

And thank you all for stopping by 'the blog'.

 

 Shirley

 

This Is My Story

Okay, so it's been a while since I have posted. I have been working on a tutorial for the Impression-Obsession site. It's now published and I am not sure about it. First, I have never used anything but Blogger to post and html is not my forte to say the most. I was so proud of myself at thinking I finally had figured out the >s and /s. Well I published about 20 minutes ago and it was a mess!!!!! Luckily I tried something I had learned when I changed to 3 columns and it works.

I am going to play all weekend. I have 2 cards in the works and hopefully they will not be that detailed. LOLOL You know me. I need to catch up on your sites too. See you soon.

Thanks for stopping by 'the blog' to look and share.

 

 Shirley

 

Flourish Meets I-O

The main images are from Flourishes Thank You set. The background was done with Impression-Obsession's Large Swirl Background Stamp.

Main Images:
1. The Tulips were stamped on Neenah Classic Crest Solar White Super Smooth 80lb. Cover cardstock with Encore Gold ink.
2. They were heat embossed with Ranger Princess Gold Embossing Powder.
3. They were painted with a Niji waterbrush and Twinkling H2O's Olive Green, Dreamsicle, Lemon Yellow, and Mandarin Citrine.
4. A little Stickles Diamonds was added to the centers of each tulip.
4. They were trimmed with embroidery scissors.

5. The Thank you background was stamped on Neenah Classic Crest Natural Super Smooth 80lb. Cover cardstock with StazOn Timber Brown ink.
6. The background was misted with water and then a Twinkling H2O's Warm Pecan wash was painted over the top.
7. While the paper was still very damp the edges were torn.
8. The same Warm Pecan was used on the edges, only a deeper brown for a deeper aged look.

9. The punched edge was done using a Fiskars All-A-Fleur border punch. First a template was made to check the measurements needed to get the length and width correct. Then a piece of Neenah Classic Crest Solar White Super Smooth 80lb. Cover cardstock was used as shown.
10. The thank you script was mounted and the the flowers were mounted to the left using dimensional dots.
11. 3 Gold (brass) Filigree bead caps, that were flattened by putting them through the Cuttlebug, were placed as faux brads on the corners with glue dots. Mark Richards 5mm Olive Green Crystal Stickers were placed in the center of each flattened bead cap.

Background:
1. The large Swirl Impression-Obsession stamp was inked with VersaMark ink and applied to Glossy White Cardstock.
2. The ink was dried with a heat gun.
3. A layer of Twinkling H2O's Warm Pecan, a little thicker than a wash, was applied over the top and then wiped with a tissue. Who would have thunk orange, huh?
4. That was mounted on Bazzill Bling Blank Check.

The card images were then mounted on the Resist and Bling background and the ribbon, from Michaels, was applied as shown. I usually don't think this, but the picture really doesn't do it justice.

Thanks for stopping by 'the blog' to look and share, and thank you too for your warm words about my new adventure. I will still be here too!

 

 Shirley

 

Two Big Surprises

As most of you know, I love Impression-Obsession stamps and I just stopped by Mitra's Impression-Obsession blog and found, Surprise #1, her newest post below:

Design Team Appreciation Weekend!

As I have spent a lot of time updating our Design Team's galleries recently, I really had time to look at the huge amount of work they've done for IO. They've all done so much to spread the word about our stamps and while there is compensation for their work on a regular basis, it's never as much as I'd like to give them.

So as a special "thank you" to them, I am lowering our free shipping threshold from $100 to $30 for three days and I am going to give 25% of our sales from the weekend to our DT members. So if there are stamps you've been waiting to buy, now is a great time to do it and at the same time support the talented women who work so hard showing you projects on their blogs and on our site.

This special promotion will run from 8:00 am (EST) Friday, March 6 through midnight on Sunday, March 8.

She has just listed all of the new stamps she introduced at the Spring CHA convention. Here is where you can start looking at them now. She has new stamps for Alesa Baker, Leigh Hannan, and a new designer, Sara Phelps. Check it out!! Click HERE, and you can start checking out the great stamps. She is also carrying Flower Soft. You will find it under Miscellaneous.

Surprise #2 is Mitra has asked me to be the Coordinator for the Impression-Obsession Blog. She will still be posting too. My responsibilities will be to keep it updated with news about what the Design Team is doing, to post some fun tutorials, and plan some other fun things too. I have been a fan of Impression-Obsession since I started stamping and I am so excited about getting started. I will still be posting to this blog too so I will be busy.

So that's the latest. Thanks for stopping by 'the blog' and head on over to the Impression-Obsession blog. Let her know what you think about her sale. Don't forget you can buy either unmounted with cling or wood mounted too! She also has the clear stamps too.........

 

 Shirley

 

Another Surprise

I have a real love for different cultures and so this award from Connie Paxman at Shades of Stamping truly touches my heart. Connie is a long time friend from Technique Junkies and Blog Land. As a matter of fact, she helped me when I first started my blog. Thank you so much Connie for thinking of me when you received this.

The Premio Dardos award acknowledges the values that every blogger shows in their effort to transmit cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values every day. Some of the blogs below are in different languages. When I visit them I translate to their language and back by using Google Translate. It allows me to translate what they say on my blog and also translates what I want to say on theirs by copying or cutting and pasting. It is rather thrilling to me to experience their art and words.

The rules are:
1. Post it on your blog.
2. Name of the person that has granted the award
3. Hyperlink back to his/her blog.
4. Pass the award to another 10 people worthy of this acknowledgment.
5. Contact each of them to let them to pick up the award and rules on your blog.

Those to whom I am passing this award are all talented, giving, and generous artists. Please visit their blogs to see how they love their art and share with others too. I am giving the award in no particular order.

1. Deb at Paper, Ink, Scissors, & Stamps . Deb lives in FL and is not only a very talented artist, but besides her blog candy, she makes me smile. You have to go, visit and read her posts thoroughly to enjoy the wonderful art and her sense of humor.

2. Anne at Stargroves. She lives in Lambourn, England. Her blog has such a variety of lovely warm art and is always a great visit.

3. Curt at Curt's World. Curt lives in Carmel, IN, and not only is he a talented artist, but he enjoys his boys and then the rest of the world as well. He is a great photographer too. Go check out his blog and while you are there take a look at the new stamp set being done using one of his boys as the subject.

4. Phree at Ink Stain Survivor. She lives in Scotland and has a broad artistic talent. Truth be told, I fell in love with her Avatar first and then was overjoyed with her art.

5. Akkina at mijn cratieve hobby (My Creative Hobby). She lives in Belgium. Akkina has wonderful cards and scrapbook pages filled with pictures of her trips in Europe too!

6. Shirley at Reflections. Shirley lives in Victoria state in Australia. She and her family were fortunate not to have had to evacuate. I know we have all been praying for her and her countrymen. It was such a coincidence that when I went to get Shirley's site address she was awarding me the same award. We have agreed to swap I think.

7. Easperee at Two Worlds Unite. She is Indian and was born and raised in South Africa. She lives in Reno, NV, my home town. Her husband is from the East coast. You need to visit her blog to see what award her son received recently. Besides raising her children with a sense of responsibility, she is a scrapbooker and does cards too.

8. Valerie at Bienvenue sur le blog de Valerie (Welcome to Valerie's blog). She lives in Switzerland and speaks French. Valerie does beautiful cards and scrapbook pages too. We exchanged cards at Christmas and I received the most elegant Chimney Sweep card!

9. Bepa at Бумага в руках (Paper In My Hands). Bepa lives in Russia and her cards are very very beautiful and creative.

10. Cindy at This is My Story. She lives in Colorado, but visiting her blog is like going to a wonderful new place where everything is creative and teapots!! You heard me teapots and you don't want to miss it.

Thanks once again for stopping by 'the blog' to look and share.

 

 Shirley