Layered and Foiled By The Sea!

I chose Grace for today's tutorial.  I used a couple of different techniques.  The first was using a heat and stick embossing powder to attach some mica flakes and the second is foiling Graces shell.   Below is how I created the card.

Images First:

1. I built the card from the back to the front so I inked up Clouds with Memento Summer sky and stamped on Neenah Solar White cardstock, and then
2. I inked Rolling Waves with Fluid Chalk Alabaster on blue cardstock, then
3. I used a caramel colored piece of Bazzill Dotted Swiss and stamped it with VersaMark and CAC Dots, applied heat and bond embossing powder, heated until clear, applied Mica Flakes Gold Dust and then heated again to seal it.
4. Stamped Grace (from my clear set) twice on white cardstock with Memento Toffee Crunch.  Painted her with twinks.  Applied Jones Tone thin layer to the shell.  Let dry for an hour and applied the Pearl foil.  BTW - if you buy any of this, you don't need a lot. The piece you see there is about 8 years old and still has lots more to use. One copy of Grace will be used to layer (of course).

Building Background:

1. Die cut the card shape using Resplendent Rectangles.
2. Used the die as a stencil to get the Clouds background.
3. Lined up the Rolling Waves on top of that.  Have to admit this was a leftover from a previous card.
4. Tore the Dots background along the top.  Cut it 2" deep.  Taped it in place and used the bottom edge of the Clouds to trim it.  (Do you follow this?)  If not you can ask.  :-)  Applied glitter glue to the torn edge and applied Mica Flakes Gold Dust on top of that.
5. Threaded pink organza ribbon around the edge and tied a bow.
6. Mounted to another piece of caramel cardstock.

 Finishing The Card:

1. Finished Grace, embossed her from the back and mounted with 3D pop dots.
2. Cut out the Starfish, Scallop, swirled shell, and flower in her hair.  Embossed them from the back and mounted them.
3. Used Glossy Accents on the swirled shell and the Starfish.
4. Used Gesso in a little fine tipped bottle I have for the Scallop.
5. Added a 2mm pearl to the flower in her hair.
6. Added a heart shaped pearl to the lower right hand corner with Glossy Accents.  Dusted with the Mica flakes.
7. Stamped By The Sea sentiment with Memento Toffee Crunch.

It was a fun and fairly quick card.  Thanks for stopping by to look and share!

 Shirley

SUPPLIES:

Nautilus Shell At The Beach

I love a lot of Stamp Zia stamps because they remind me of Art Deco. I have both the 3" and 5.5" stamps of the above image. It is called Shellscape Sphere. She offers her stamps in:

• Unmounted



• Mounted with vinyl or



• Mounted to Acrylic block

The image was stamped with Galaxy Gold, what else is new, and painted with Twinks. The shell was done with Jones Tones Foil. The technique is shown in my tutorial at the Impression-Obsession blog HERE. After using Jones Tones Foil, I always go over it with a thin layer of Glossy Accents. Mica Gold Flakes from USArt Quest were added to simulate sand.

The sphere around the image is a cut and embossed circle from Spellbinders Large Circle Dies. The punched holes are from an EK Success Small Shapes punch. Mark Richards 5mm pearls were mounted in between. 3D Pop Up Dots were used under the image and also under the punched circle die cut.

The background bottom layer is Neenah Classic Laid Solar White. The next layer is Bazzill Bling Sparkle. I used Classic Laid Solar White left overs after the die cut was removed. They are from the Cuttlebug Floral Borders Die set. They looked like waves to me.

The ribbon is from May Arts and I tied it Martha Stewart Style.

Stamps: Stamp Zia Shellscape Sphere
Paper: Neenah Classic Crest Solar White Super Smooth and Laid cardstock, Bazzill Bling Sparkle cardstock
Ink: Brilliance Galaxy Gold, Twinkling H2O's
Accessories: *Jones Tones Pearl Swirl Foil and Foil Glue, USArt Quest Gold Mica Flakes, Jones Tones Pearl Swirl Foil and Foil Glue, Glossy Accents, EK Success Small Shaper Punch, Mark Richards 5mm Pearls, May Arts Ribbon, 3D Pop Up Dots.

*Jones Tones Pearl Swirl Foil is transparent and takes on the color underneath. It give a Mother of Pearl look here, but can also take on a Gold Fish look like HERE. Their Swirl, however is not transparent and can pass for a Faux Dichroic look, like HERE, or it can also be used for Faux Abalone Shell, also called Paua shell by New Zealanders.

I thank you all for stopping by 'the blog' to look and share today. Hope your Mother's Day is all you have wished it to be!

 

 Shirley

 

Just A Bunch of Bubbles!

I am near the end of Christmas cards I think and Christmas trees too. This is all one stamp. I am going to be brief with my explanation of how I did it. If anyone has more questions, feel free to email me using the gadget in my sidebar to the right.

The image, Starry Night by Impression-Obsession, with Brilliance Gold Galaxy then heat embossed to dry the ink. The background was painted with Twinkling H2O's Caribbean Mist and Bashful Blue, and Lemon Yellow. The stars were highlighted with Rangers Stickles Yellow glitter glue. The white area is White Gesso. (I have a small plastic bottle with a metal tip that makes it so quick and easy to do. It's like working with frosting. It also dries pretty fast.) I thought about the tree and how I wanted to do it for quite a while.

I decided to stamped it again and cut out the tree. I painted the tree with Twinkling H2O's Sweet Alfalfa. Jones Tones glue was then applied and when just tacky Jones Tones Iridescent Green was applied.(It is green translucent foil, with specks of blue, gold, and silver). Liquid Pearls White Opal was applied and then when dry Mark Richards 2 and 3mm pearls were applied. Mark Richards only offers 2mm pearls in their Script Alphabets, so I get those and then cut what I want. The tree was then mounted with dimensional stickers.

I wanted a larger star for the top of the tree. (Yes, I do save leftover cardstock. I punch images and tags with it, etc.) I decided which star in the background to use and(1) inked just that area, kind of LOLOLOL, (2 ) then placed the piece of cardstock on top of it and pressed down, careful not to move it around. Then I lift it straight up. It is so much easier to copy part of a larger stamp this way. I do all of my large backgrounds this way too, as I am sure most of you do. The star was cut out, mounted on the top of the tree where the other smaller star is, painted with Lemon Yellow, and then Stickles Yellow glitter glue applied. When dry I added Glossy Accents.

I trimmed the white border around the outside down, mounted it on Bazzill Emerald City cardstock. The holes for the ribbon were punched with the small Stampin' Up Slot punch. The ribbon from Michaels was mounted and a bow added. A 1.5" corsage pin, Czech 5mm Yellow pressed glass heart, and 2mm white glass pearl were added to the Blue Organdy bow. EK Success Jolee's Boutique Snowflakes were used to embellish the card and tag.

The tag is from Spellbinders Ribbon Tag Trio and the words from Impression-Obsession Merry Christmas were stamped with Brilliance Galaxy Gold.

Thanks for stopping by 'the blog' to look and share. Hope your Christmas shopping is done and, if not, that it goes smoothly!

 

 Shirley

 

A Very Shelly Christmas

I love shells, don't you? I think almost everyone does. This tree has it all if you like the ocean too. The image is Ocean Tree by Impression-Obsession and was stamped with Brilliance Galaxy Gold on Curious Ice Gold text weight paper. Stickles Glitter glues was used for the crabs, fish and starfish. Jones Tones Foil Glue and Pearl Swirl Foil were used for the little circles on the fish and the scallop shells. The starfish were stamped on a separate piece of Ice Gold cardstock and then mounted with dimensional glue dots.


The waves were done with Sparkle and Sprinkle Dimensional Glue and Starfire Glitter. I am sure any dimensional glue and transparent sparkle glitter will do. Mark Richards 3mm Pearls were applied to the ocean wave bubbles randomly. The sand along the bottom of the tree is USArtQuest Mica Flakes Gold Medium PFX702.

AMACO Bright Gold Embossing Sheet and a Cuttlebug Vintage Die was used for the upper left hand corner adornment. The open areas were filled with the dimensional glue and glitter used on the waves. The gold metal piece on the bottom right hand corner is a left over from the die cut. The way I did the corner so it wouldn't lose its shape would be another tutorial. If you would like to see how I do that, email me by going to the sidebar on the right where it says Email Me. The ribbon is grosgrain from Wal-Mart. The orange dots are Stickles Orange glitter glue.

The image was mounted on Bazzill Bling Karat and the dots were applied with a White Signo Uni-ball pen. I think I have had enough of dots for a while, but I promise nothing. :-)

I am going to try to do the stamping with Brilliance pads tutorial next. Hopefully maybe tomorrow. Thank you for stopping by "the blog".

 

 Shirley

 

Ocean Shell Flap Card

I have seen so many cute Flap Cards that I just had to try it. Of course, I changed it a little because I wanted a different size that would work well with an A2 envelope, so this card is 4.25X4.25. The direction on putting the card together are directly after this post or you can look under Tutorials for Flap Card in the side bar on the right.

The cardstock, behind the shell image and behind the shells on the cardfront, is actually Stardream Chiara Rose Quartz text weight 80 lb. paper.


The main image on the card flap is Ocean Shell by Impression-Obsession. It was stamped with Brilliance Gold Galaxy on Neenah Classic Crest Solar White Super Smooth cardstock, and painted with Twinks Fuzzy Peach and Icicles. Shimmerz Glue was used to highlight the middle three edges in the middle of the shell. Next Jones Tones Foil glue was applied and let dry until it was clear, but tacky. Jones Tones Foil Pearl Swirl was then applied. To give it the shell shine I used Glossy Accents. I applied Twinks Golden Sand and more Shimmerz Glue to do the waves around the edges. It was cut out and then mounted about half way down and in the middle of the scallops on the Rose Quartz background. I also applied Mark Richards Crystal Stickers Pearls.
For the cardfront that folds up beneath the flap, a 4.25X4.25 piece of Stardream Chiara Rose Quartz paper was mounted. Then the Shell Wave Border by Impression-Obsession was stamped with Brilliance Gold Galaxy on another piece of the Neenah Classic Crest Solar White paper 4.25X5.5. I stamped in the middle first and then in the middle of each side and the middle image. The shells were painted with Twinks Fuzzy Peach, Golden Sand, Icicles, Solar Gold randomly. It was trimmed to 4X4". The extra was saved for inside the card and the envelope. The ribbon is by May Arts.
Inside the card the words were stamped with Brilliance Gold Galaxy and are from Angel Fish set by Impression-Obsession. The I trimmed above and below the words with pieces from the cardfront I did with Shell Wave Border.
This was fun. It shows how I usually build a card. I start with the main image and go from there. More detail how to do the Flap card itself in the post directly after this one. Thanks for stopping by "the blog" to look.

 

 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

 

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