Something Old And Something New Two

I'm back with the kind of new thing again!  I created the background using a technique from my Online Watercolor Class.  I had the images from an earlier card and just changed them around a little.  Here is how this card was created:

CARDFRONT:

1. Stamped Rose Pitcher on white cardstock with Brilliance Galaxy Gold, painted with Twinkling H2O's.  The roses and the bud with stem were both stamped 3 more times and painted with twinks.  All were fussy cut, embossed from the back and mounted on the cardfront with 3D pop-dots and w/o on other areas.  The lace tablecloth open areas were cut out with an X-Acto Knife and a healing mat.
2. The background area was created with CAC Craquelure and Twinkling H2O's using a technique I learned in the Online Watercolor Class series.

 Building Card:

1. Front -  White Laid cardstock was used for the base.
2. The Craquelure BG was mounted on that.
3. The image was mounted on die cuts from Spellbinders Lacey Squares using white and natural cardstock.  It was then mounted on the Craquelure.
4. Inside - Die Cut edges were mounted with strips of the Craquelure BG.
5. A small die cut was used for the Rose and a rose with stem was mounted to the right.
6. Envy - Two of the Lacey Square edges were mounted back to back and a rose with stem added. The lacey edges were peeled to thin before mounting and so was the rose with stem.  I start the separation by flipping the edge back and forth with my X-acto knife, see it starting a little and open it up enough to gently a little at a time holding one side flat or with the free hand.
7. The bow is May Arts and the heart pen is Maya Roads with a Czech bead added by applying Glossy Accents to the stem.

Off to clean some rain gutters.  LOLOL  No rest for the wicked....or is it the stamping.  ;-)  Thanks for stopping by to  look and share.

 Shirley
SUPPLIES:

My First Almost Christmas Card!

PARTRIDGE IN PEAR TREE

I have had this image forever and to prove it, it is from Rubber Stampede and I could not find it for sale anywhere but on EBay.

IMAGE:

1. Stamped on white cardstock with Brilliance Galaxy Gold and heat gun used to dry the ink.   The pears were stamped again and the leaves too.  They were all fussy cut.  They were painted with twinks, and all but leaves turned over and embossed from the back with stylus.  Added Glossy Accents to bird's eye.  After it was mounted I brushed on Wink of Stella Brown. It looks great next to the Galaxy Gold.

BACKGROUND:

1. (To the best of my recollection) - This BG was done eons ago, just like the image!!  Stamped a fern here and there on natural cardstock with VersaMark, covered with Clear EP, and embossed.
2. Spayed Radiant Rain Fern here and there, sprayed with Radian Rain Solar Gold, sprayed with a little water to mix a little and then laid aside to dry.  
3. Heated with heat gun to dissolve the Clear EP.  BE careful not to burn if you try this.  Laid aside for years. ;-)
4. Added the green trellis leave border stamp with Memento Bamboo Leaves and painted leaves with twinks.

CARD FRONT AND FOLD PREP:

1. Two die cuts from white cardstock and 2 die cuts from white text paper.  The text cuts are to line the backs of the cardstock die cuts so it looks more finished.  The nerd in me.... ;-).  They were put together like it describes in my tutorial HERE   Cut two smaller die cuts from white cardstock for inside top decor.
2. Used the largest die as stencil on the prepared BG and mounted to cardstock side; added ribbon across the front and taped in the middle on back.

ASSEMBLED:

1. Mounted bird in middle of front.  Mounted pears on back for inside top.
2. Used largest die inside to trace pieces of BG for inside top and bottom as shown.
3. Added a corner of BG to envy (Peeled top layer of cardstock so it is thin); peeled of top layer of 2 leaves and added to the corner of envy.
4. Embellishments added are:  Viva Ice White Pearl was added to dots on BG pieces and to make a heart on envy; baby half hearts were added to front and inside card as shown.

If nothing else it's a loving start toward Christmas!!!  Thanks for stopping by to look and share!

 Shirley

SUPPLIES:

Angelic Tree and Snowman

For my card today I chose Alesa Baker's Angelic Tree, Cover-A-Card Dots, and Fir Tree die set.  I think because there is so much glitter, I had a very difficult time getting a good picture.  I created it by:

1. Stamping the image on white cardstock with Memento London Fog, painted with Memento Cottage Ivy marker, Spica At You Lipstick pen, and Twinkling H2O Warm Pecan.  Used Sakura glue pen for the edges of the snow angels and DecoArt glitter, added bow to tree.  Mounted with 3D pop-dots after the cardfront background was done.
2. I cheated on the CAC Dots background.  It is a leftover from another project.  It was stamped on white cardstock using VersaMark, Stick and Bond powder applied, heated until glossy, Deco Art Glitter applied, heated to seal.  Die cut and layered as shown.  Leftovers were torn for snow around trees.
3. Used Spellbinders Labels 8 for the die cuts and as stencils for the white and blue cardstock as shown.

Thanks for stopping by to look and share!!
 Shirley 
SUPPLIES:

A Card For All Reasons

Because I give a lot of cards and don't always know for what that will be, I usually try to create a card I can use for any reason.  Below are the rules I follow to do it:

1. The sentiment on the front is usually "For You".  It can also be "Thinking Of You".  Something that makes it personal, but could cover a broad number of reasons for giving the card.
2. I have gone crazy for the twisted easel cards because you can choose how much space to fill on the base, so you can say as much or little as you want.  (Even if the space is full, you can always include a note piece of paper folded and placed behind the easel part).

Below is how I did it this time:

Background:

1. CAC Tapestry stamped on Neenah Solar White cardstock with VersaMark ink and embossed with a white pearl embossing powder (from my stash) was used as a matte for the Embossed Gift die cut, after brayering it with Memento Angel Pink. 
2. The die cut was done twice using Curious Ice Gold cardstock and then overlapped as shown.
3. The die cuts were taped in place on the back.  I placed the tape first and then inserted the "quilted" images.
4. The white cardstock matte for the "quilted look" was cut 6"X4" and then the edge die cut with a Border Duo 1 die for the edged below (taped in place with removeable Scotch tape).

Images:

1. Getting ready for the images meant doing a die cut with the paper cone die with another stashed CAC Tapestry stamped with Memento Angel Pink on Curious Ice Gold cardstock.  It was then folded along the creases as shown and then embossed from the underside go give it dimension.
2. The two mini circle round tags were used to get a die cut from white cardstock and one from the Curious Ice Gold with the pink ink.
3. The flower bouquet was stamped twice from Spring Medley clear stamp set with Delicata Golden Glitz ink, painted with Twinks, and cut out as shown.  The images were embossed from the back for dimension and mounted with 3D pop dots, then placed inside the Paper Cone and mounted as shown on the cardfront.  A simple white organdy bow was attached with a glue dot.
4. The circles were mounted, the sentiment stamped with Memento Bamboo Leaves, a 5mm pearl mounted with Glossy Accents and glitter applied on the squashed part.   It was mounted with 3D pop dots too.

So there you have it.  All ready for whomever and whatever comes into play for any reason. :-)  Thanks for stopping by to look and share.

 Shirley

SUPPLIES:

Snow Family Fun And No Patterned Paper

The IO blog is having a "No Patterned Paper" challenge this week, and although I didn't play, I couldn't resist finishing this card that would have been okay to enter.  I love Alesa Baker stamps and had started this card a while back.

For some reason I did the card front and base backgrounds first this time.  I wanted a 5" square easel card.  I used a 5"X10 piece of Domtar Cougar Super Smooth White cardstock for the card.  You can find the measurements and instructions HERE.  If you would prefer a video, you can go HERE.  (You could increase the top half by .25" so it would cover more to the right when open, and set further to the right when flat.  It would extend .25" over the bottom part.  It would still fit in a 5.5" square envelope.)  I may try that next time myself.

The bottom cardstock is 5"x5" Bazzill Basics Blissful from their Blissful Trio collection.  The next layer (for the card front) is Neenah Classic Crest Solar White cardstock stamped with my Mega Mount and Impression-Obsession Cover-A-Card Pine inked with SU Old Olive.  I used snow behind the family that I had left over from another project.  I had stamped Cover-A-Card Dots on Neenah CC Solar White Laid CS with VersaMark, added Deco Art Crystal Glamour Dust, and heated it to set.  The layers were torn to give a snow drift effect. Then it was layered onto the Pine as shown.

I stamped Impression Obsession Snow Family Fun using Brilliance Galaxy Gold ink on Neenah Classic Crest Solar White cardstock.  They were painted with Twinkling H2O's, cut them out, turned them over on my Pergamano embossing mat, embossed their caps, scarfs, and buttons with a stylus, and then layered them on top using 3D pop dots as shown.  I added Glossy Accents to their buttons, coal, and carrot noses. :-)  Viva Decor Ice White Pearl Pen was added to the dots on the little snow-girl.

To finish off the bottom, I used the pine boughs from Impression Obsession's Clear set Winter View, by Alesa Baker on Neenah CC Solar White.  The image can also be purchased in red rubber as Pine Garland Border.  I used a Spellbinders Fancy Tags One die for the sentiment.  The sentiment is from Impression Obsession's Clear set Swirl Tree.  The pearls are Oriental Trading Post 7mm pearls.  The star pin is from aking Memories Mistletoe Deco Pins.  (I altered it in the photo because it looked gray when it really is a pearly white.  :-)

So that's all for now.  If you want to play, you have until this Wednesday night at 10:00 p.m.  The theme is No Patterned Paper and you could wind a $25 Gift Certificate for the online store.  You can get the detials by going HERE.

Hope you are having a great week!!  Thanks for stopping by to look and say hi!!

 Shirley

Supply List:

Iris Blooms Floating by Challis & Roo - A Green Card!

First, I would like to report that 2 bloggers have told me that they noticed their Followers were gone and tested my theory. My theory is that by emptying your Google Reader your Followers are somehow connected. Read HERE. They report that the Followers were back after doing that. :-)

I am still using up images I painted this last Winter in an attempt to go 'Green' and not waste! It was kind of fun going through what I have hoarded in backgrounds too.

I created the image by stamping Iris Blooms Floating by Challis & Roos twice using Galaxy Gold on Neenah Classic White Solar Crest cardstock.  I heated it to set and painted with Twinkling H2O's Royal Satin, True Blue, Moss Green, and Olive Green.  Images were trimmed and the edges were painted with Gold Galaxy too.

Two pieces of the Neenah Classic White were run through my Cuttlebug using Spellbinders Labels 13 and repeated to emboss the edges.  One Iris Bloom was mounted onto the embossed die cut with tape, followed by part of the other Iris Blooms and 3D pop dots as shown.  X-Acto knife on a healing mat was used to cut open slots for the ribbon on each side of the die cut. 

I created the back ground when I was doing this card for the Impression Obsessions Blog HERE, if you want to see the tutorial.  So now you know I have had it for almost 2 years. I liked the background so much that I saved 3 more backgrounds to work with later. I used Cover-a-Card™ CC024 Tapestry and CC002 Swirls.

Next I mounted the image with label onto the finished Quilt Background using 3D pop dots.  Michaels ivory colored organza ribbon was threaded through the slots and a double-bow using the Bow-Easy was mounted.  A gold filigree button from my stash was applied with a 5mm pearl sticker and additional Glossy Accents.  I used an acrylic circle and discontinued stamp from Rubber Stamp Tapestry for the tag.  I stamped the image and the edges with Galaxy Gold and heat embossed with Egyptian Gold, and tied it on using left over gold cord.  'Hello' didn't show up well enough, so I went over it with an Olive Green Sharpie.

Thanks so much for stopping by to look and share! 

Supplies:
Stamps:  Impression Obsession Cover-a-Card™  CC024 Tapestry and  CC002 Swirls; Discontinued Iris Blooms, Challis & Roo - Inkadinkado; discontinued stamp from Rubber Stamp Tapestry.

Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Solar White Super Smooth and Natural cardstock
Inks: VersaMark; Brilliance Galaxy Gold; Twinkling H2O's Royal Satin, True Blue, Moss Green, and Olive Green
Accessories:  Judikins Egyptian Gold Embossing Powder, Spellbinders Frameabilities Scalloped Edges (Flower), Fiskars Apron Lace border punch; Michaels Organdy Ribbon, Bow- Easy, Mark Richards 5mm, 3mm pearls; Olive Green Sharpie.

Thanks for stopping by to look and share!

 Shirley

A Smaller Folded Napkin Card Tutorial

First let me blame my friend Sue, at Suzanne's Stamping Spot, who started all of this with her beautiful Napkin card made from a 12"X12" piece of DP.  I loved it and wanted to do one, but not as big.  I decided to use Martha Stewart Around the Page punches because they are quicker.  In reading Sue's post, she refers you to an instruction post found, HERE.  I found it works on the rule of fourths, whatever that is!! Ha!  Here is my journey to a 5 1/8"X5 1/8" Square Folded Napkin card. BTY, IT IS NOT LESS WORK, JUST BECAUSE IT'S SMALLER!! LOLOLOL....

THE FOLDS:
1.  I checked out MS instruction sheet for 10.25" Around The Page.  I knew because Sue's finished card was 6" (1/2 of 12"X12") that mine would be a little more than 5".  I couldn't quickly figure out how to divide that by 4, (you'll get my point if you try doing it following the site above) so this is what I did.  I cut my Neenah Classic Crest Solar White 80 lb. text down to 10.25" square.  I used MS Eyelet Lace Around The Page punches and did my edge first instead of last.  You will see why soon.

2.  I folded it  to allow me to crease it (in the middle only) to find the center.  I actually ran my thumb nail across it (the center crease).
3.  Now fold it the other way and make another crease across your other one (in the middle only).

4.  Take a pencil and draw the cross you have made in the center:  It will be my guide all the way through.

5.  This is the part that allows you to use any square piece of paper for your fold.  Take one corner of the paper it to the center (NOT INTO the center) of the paper and crease the fold all the way.  (When this was done I also put my folded edges on my Scor-Pal to make them neater and easier to fold later.)

 

6.  This is the step that was first on Sue's larger card, where the measurements were easy to figure out.  Your sheet is totally open.  You take the two bottom corners of the square and fold them ONLY to the CENTER of the page, creasing the paper, as shown below (1/4 the width/length).  Turn the page a quarter of a turn and do the same thing.  Repeat until you have four creases as shown:

7.  What you do next looks tricky, at least it did to me, but it's relatively easy, once you get one corner going.  You have squares on each of the corners.  Next to them you have triangles and in the center you have one big square.  Gently fold the triangles next to each corner square inward as shown.  The only fold not here is the corners being folded back.  You will see what I mean below.

THE TRAINGLES:

Okay, so I am not going to go step by step.  I will tell you how I set up each step.  Let's take a look at the finished product:

MY STAMPED CARDSTOCK:
1.  I stamped on Cryogen White cardstock using  Cover-A-Card^TM  Tapestry stamp inked with Memento Bamboo Leaves ink.  The stamp produces a 5.75"X5.75" piece.  I did two pieces.  I used printer copy paper to trace the pieces I would need with a stylus and then I traced it on the stamped cardstock.  As you can see from the picture, the corner pieces are not perfect triangles because of the punch I used.  :-) The picture looks like I used two different types of green ink because of the lighting.  Go figure!

2.  I stamped on Curious Ice Gold cardstock using the same stamp and VersaMark pigment ink, applied Stampendous Pearl White Embossing Powder, and heated with a heat gun.  I think one piece of 5.75"X5.75" worked.   I still used the copy paper first to determine my pieces.  Again, I didn't have perfect triangles because of the punch I used.  Click on the image to see the difference in the cardstock themselves, even though both names imply white.  One has a yellow cast and the other is whiter.

3.  For the center I put Curious Ice Gold through the Cuttlebug using a Spellbinders Lacy Circles die.  A Neenah Classic Crest Solar White cardstock die cut from a Large Circle Spellbinder die was put through the Cuttlebug using their Swiss Dots Embossing Folder.  Another smaller Spellbinders Circle Die with DCWV Latte Metallic Olive Green cardstock was done, and then another smaller one using the Solar White cardstock.  The sentiment is from Impression Obsession's brand new All Occasion I Clear Stamp set.  The vine twirlies are from Flourishes Sweet Peas Clear Stamp set.  The button is from Hancock Fabrics.  The butterfly is Martha Stewart's Classic Butterfly 3-in-1 punch. used on Stardream Chiara Rose Quartz paper.  The pearls are 2mm I found on EBay HERE.

CARD BAND WITH BOW:

1.  The band is a 2.25"X11" piece of Neenah Classic Crest Solar White Cardstock punched on both sides with the same border punch used for the edge.   An 11" piece of May Art ribbon was taped to the center.  The cardstock was rapped around a pencil to break down the cardstock so it would bend easier.  I used the same, just smaller sizes of dies and cardstock for the image as I did for inside the card.  I used Flourishes Sweet Peas Clear Stamp set for the image.  I stamped it with Brilliance Galaxy Gold and painted it with Twinkling H2O's Buttercup, Cherry Sorbet, and Olive Green.  It was cut out with an X-Acto knife, the edges painted again, and mounted with 1/16" pop dots.  The button is Hancock Fabrics.  It was mounted with tape on the band. The bow is May Arts and done with the Bow-Easy.

Hope your week has been good and that your weekend will be even better.  This has been a difficult week for all of us with what happened in the South!  Thank you all for stopping by to look and share!

 Shirley

It's A Cupcake Kind Of Day Challenge!!!

First I need to remember to tell you that if  you participate in the challenge you have a chance to win a $25 gift certificate for the IO Online Store.  If you want to play you have until tomorrow night, 9 p.m. Friday.  The instructions are in the first side bar over near the top under the "I'm A Winner Tuxedo Cat" widget on the IO blog HERE.  Think about the fun and the chance to win $25 worth of free stamps, plus the I'm A Winner widget for your blog.

This was a fun card to create.  The Palm Cupcake is one of the NEW Spring IO STAMPS.  I stamped it with Brilliance Galaxy Gold, restamped the top part twice so I could layer it, cut them all out, then used a medium embossing tool on the foamy top parts before mounting them with 3D pop dots.  The flower was also tooled.  I added miniature white pearl cake decorator flower stamens to it for fun and mounted it with 3D pop dots.  The bottom of the cupcake and the Palm tree were painted with Twinkling H2O's.

The backgrounds were done using using the Mega Mount^TM, and Cover-A-Cards^TM Wood Grain on top (Pink toothy cardstock inked with Brilliance Moonlight White and heat gun dried), and  Hearts (White Laid cardstock inked with VersaMark with Rangers Enchanted Gold embossing powder).  The Wood Grain was used on top for a watery look and the heart layers are torn and then embossed on the torn portion with the embossing powder again for a faux heats and sand look.   Gold cord was run through the lace and then mounted in the center of the card. (If you click on the card, you will be able to see the grain on the different cardstocks.  I think that really made the card even more special.)

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE MEGA MOUNT USED WITH THE LARGE 5.75" STAMPS YOU CAN VIEW IT HERE.  *Note - I happen to stamp on enough cardstock to take the whole stamp and I use my mount sitting down and rocking it from the bottom to the top, instead of left to right.  Whatever floats our boat, right?  :-) I like the leftovers for the inside and envelope. etc.

I ran some more white cardstock through my Cuttlebug with a Spellbinders Lacy Squares die and then stamped the You're Sweet with Memento Cottage Ivy.   The words can also be purchased as part of Red Rubber Cling Set Sweet Hearts or Clear Stamp Set Sweet Hearts.   The words were also mounted with 3D pop dots.

The embellishments are 5, 3, and 2mm pearl stickers mounted with Glossy Accents to make them more permanent for mailing.  The buttons are leftovers I have had for eons.  The gold cords was used for them as well and they are mounted with large glue dots.  The faux stitching was done with Spica At You Olive Green pen and Signa Uniball White pen.


As a finishing touch to the card,  I edged the inside of the card and envelope with remnants from the backgrounds.

Now check out the DT members creations on their blogs below for more beautiful cards created with the NEW SPRING stamps too:

Daniela Dobson
Deborah March
Dina Kowal
Jeanne Streiff
Jenny Gropp
Julie Koerber
Kelli Richardson
Laura Fulcher

Supplies:
Image: Impression Obsession - Cover-A-Card^TM Wood Grain and Hearts; You're Sweet
Paper: Neenah Classic Crest Solar White Super Smooth and Laid cardstock, Pink cardstock with a tooth look
Inks: Brilliance Galaxy Gold and Moonlight White, Memento Cottage Ivy, VersaMark; Twinkling H2O's Gold Sand, Nutty Oak, Mallard Green, Warm Pecan
Accessories: Niji Waterbrush, Glossy Accents, Spellbinders Lacy Squares, 5, 3,and 2MM pearl stickers, Kreinik Gold Cord, 3 mother of pearl, Spica AtYou Olive Green pen, Signa Uniball White pen.

I am closer to posting some more cards!!!  Yikes!!  Thanks for stopping by to look and share all!!

 Shirley

Getting Ready

For Christmas. I chose Leigh Hannan's Ice Skate Stockings from Impression-Obsession for my main image. I say main because I used Cover-a-Card™ stamps CC002 - Swirls and CC008 - Thick and Thin to create my background.

1. The skates were stamped with StazOn Jet Black on Neenah cardstock. They were painted with Twinkling H2O's Garnet+Rubilite, Olive Vine, Sweet Alfalfa, Moss Green, Royal Satin, and Solar Gold. For the tops of the stockings I used White Fun Flock on the left and Shimmerz Blingz Gold glimmer. I cut the image out to mount.
2. I ran largest Labels 4 die through my Cuttlebug, and then embossed with the Heart Dotted Swiss from Cuttlebug Love Language set. Then I embossed the edges with the die. The edge was painted with Twinks Solar Gold. The bow is a triple bow done with the Bow-Easy.
3. The background was created with IO's Mega Mount™, and Cover-a-Card™ CC002 - Swirls and CC008 - Thick and Thin. The Swirls stamp was inked with VersaMark, stamped on Neenah cardstock, Clear Embossing Powder was applied, and it was heated with a heat gun. Then the Thick and Thin stamp was inked with Classic Old Olive and stamped over the Swirls. (*TIP - A Kleenex was used to blot he plastic embossing that couldn't absorb the ink.) It was trimmed to 4.25"X5.5". (If you want to see how the Mega Mount is used, take a look HERE.)
4. I save pieces left from die cuts that I think would make great frames. The one you see above is a leftover from the Spellbinders Frameabilities Scalloped Frames. I really like the way it looks. It was mounted on top of the background. For the stitches I used a new stencil Doodle Dots from The Crafters Workshop and an SU Old Olive marker. I found the greatest selection and prices for the stencil HERE. I've done business with her before. I was enabled after seeing another one of Sue's gorgeous cards, at Sue's Stamping World, HERE. Her latest card is just so elegant too.
5. The image was mounted on the white die cut using 3D pop dots. That was mounted on the background.
Supplies:

• Stamps - IO - Ice Skate Stockings and IO Cover-a-Cards™ - CC002 - Swirls and CC008 - Thick and Thin
• Inks - StazOn Jet Black, VersaMark, SU Old Olive or Adirondack Pesto, Twinkling H2O's Garnet+Rubilite, Olive Vine, Sweet Alfalfa, Moss Green, Royal Satin, Solar Gold and Shimmerz Blingz Gold Glimmer
• Paper - Neenah Classic Crest Solar White
• Accessories - Mega Mount™, Clear Embossing Powder, Niji Waterbrush, White Fun Flock, Mark Richards 2 and 3mm pearls and 2mm clear rhinestone stickers, Glossy Accents, Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Four, Remnant from Spellbinders Frameabilities Scalloped Frames, Crafter's Workshop Doodle Dots Stencil, Michael's Ribbon, Bow-Easy, Jolee's Snowflakes - Dimensional Stickers

Thanks for stopping by to look and share. Off to finish some cards!!!
LOLOL

 

 Shirley

 

Me And My Mega Mount

I was showing my Mega Mount™ to a friend and she immediately said, "How do you hold it?"  I showed her and of course she was sold.  So I thought maybe I should do a mini tutorial on how I use mine.
I did the background below using 2 Cover-a-Card™ stamps and the Mega Mount™.  Below is a quick pictorial of how I use my Mount and how I did it.

Supplies:

• Mega Mount™
• Cover-a-Card™:  CC002 - Swirls and CC008 - Thick and Thin
• VersaMark Pad
• Clear Embossing Powder and Heat Gun
• Ink Pad Color of your choice - Adirondack Pesto is shown
• 8.5"X11" piece of cardstock

Click on the photo and take a look at how I mounted it.  It is actually sitting on the handle in the photo.   All of IO's Cover-a-Card™ stamps are 5.75"C5.75".  As you can see the sides on the left and right have a little more acrylic block showing.  That comes in really handy when you are lining up with the bottom of your cardstock.  There is a tad on the top and the bottom and that really helped me line up the left edge.

 You get another really good idea from looking at the back too.  Now for how easy it is to ink up the stamp.

• For me it's easiest to let it sit on the handle.
• I put my left hand through the handle to keep it in one place and then I ink the top portion first moving from right to left, etc. 
• Then I switch ends to ink the bottom that will now the top.  Topsy Turvy!!  It is so easy.

• Next I lay the 8.5"X11" piece of cardstock in front of me.
• I line up my stamp with the left and bottom sides of the cardstock.  It's like a right angle.  When I have done that:

• I put it down on the cardstock and simply roll it forward.  (When I first started doing this I thought, "It can't be that easy.  I am going to rock it back and forth a little. I wonder if I will mess up the image."  I have to honestly say I have not had a bad image yet.  If your ink pad is dry, don't expect a good solid image. This applies to any stamp with any mount.
• I also find it is a lot easier to clean the stamp by sitting it on the back of the handle, holding it in place with my left hand and cleaning it with my wipee.  I use the alcohol free type and have for years.
• I always replace my backing on the stamp.  It helps it keep its cling for the next time I use it.

Background Instructions:

1.  I inked CC002 - Swirls with VersaMark ink and stamped it on the lower left-hand corner of an 8.5"X11" Neenah Solar White piece of cardstock.  I applied Clear Embossing Powder and heated it with my heat gun.  I do not trim my cardstock yet.
2.  CC008 - Thick and Thin was inked with an Olive Green ink and stamped over the first image.  I gently took a piece of tissue ( I use Kleenex), and blotted the top.  Ink will lay on the embossed swirls because they are plastic and can't absorb it.
3.  You will probably notice that I was a little off on each stamp.  It really doesn't matter.  I picked the lines I liked and trimmed around it.  I trimmed the 4.25 piece first and the other side.  I save these for stamping images, punching borders, or for dies.
Time to finish my card with my new background and then get on to my shaker for the challenge coming up.  If you have more questions about the Mega Mount™, please ask by posting here and I will answer here so others can see too.  If I don't have the answer I will, of course ask the designer of the Mega Mount™ and owner of Impression Obsession Inc., Mitra Friant!!!

Thanks for stopping by to look and share!

After All Else Fails

Scan the **&&(%R(%*& thing!!! I tried for hours to get a good photo of this card. The flowers looked like they were a neon color when, in fact, they matched the cardstock. Finally I said see what a scan can do. LOLOLOL Much better.

I found my image by visiting Sue's site. The image is called Floating Flowers and I love it. It measures 4.5"X5.75.

1. I stamped it on Neenah Classic Crest Solar White with Brilliance Galaxy Gold. (I got my very first bad stamp from Hero Arts in 10 years. I emailed them and they had a new one in the mail the next business day.) The flowers were painted with Twinks Mediterranean Blue. The stems are Medori Melon. When dry I went over the stems with a VersaMarker and embossed with Clear EP. I was so surprised. The VersaMarker didn't pick up any of the watercolor. Wonderful!!! A button was placed in the center of the large flower and then Glossy Accents and Gold Micro beads with glitter were applied. The closest thing I could find to it now is Gala Glitz by Art Institute Glitter.

2. Cut the image to 3.75"X5.0" and mounted to some deep aqua colored cardstock matching the watercolor.

3. I applied Brilliance Galaxy Gold to the portion of the background stamp I wanted to use for my flowers and heated to speed dry it. The flowers and stems were painted like before and then trimmed around with a pair of scissors. They were mounted as shown with 3D pop dots.

4. I ran the same deep aqua cardstock through the Cuttlebug using the smaller frame from Spellbinders Frameabilities Scalloped Frame set. I painted the bigger circles with the Midori Melon and then used the VersaMarker and embossed with CP. The smaller circles were done with Liquid Pearls White Opal. It was mounted to another scrap piece of Neenah Classic Crest Solar White. The words are from Impression-Obsession's Anytime Sentiments Clear Set, stamped with Brilliance Gamma Green and then the VersaMarker applied with Clear EP.

5. The frame and words were mounted in the center of the background and then I mounted the flower with 3D pop dots.

6. 4 pieces of white ribbon were cut for each end. One piece was used to tie a knot in the center of each left over ribbon. Those were placed on opposite ends and mounted to the back as shown. A bow was tied with the Bow-Easy and mounted as shown.

Supplies:
Image: Hero Arts - Floating Flowers and Impression-Obsession Anytime Sentiments

Paper: Neenah Classic Crest Solar White and a Deep Aqua cardstock

Inks: Brilliance Galaxy Gold and Gamma Green; Twinkling H2O's Mediterranean Blue and Medori Melon

Accessories: VersaMarker, 1 Small 4 hole button, Glossy Accents, Gold Glitter + Micro beads, Spellbinders Frameabilities Scalloped Frames, Liquid Pearls White Opal, Michael's White Picot Ribbon, Bow-Easy

Don't forget the challenge at IO on Thursday. It's a Wreath Card Challenge. Thanks for stopping by to look and share.

 

 Shirley

 

Quilt Weather Is On Its Way

When I see background stamps or the new Cover-a-Card™ stamps I immediately think of using them for paper piecing, quilt cards, or ways to show off the great patterns.  For today's tutorial I am going to use 2 of the new Cover-a-Card™ stamps for a Quilt card.  I already had one of my backgrounds.  I made it to show you how to use these bigger than life stamps for different techniques HERE, remember?  So there's our start.....Make your backgrounds.

Swirls CC002 (Cream and Gold) and Tapestry CC024 (Greens and Gold)

 Quilt Card Piece Patterns and Background:

1. The first paper piece was created applying 3 different shades of green dye ink on White cardstock.  Then VersaMark ink was applied to Cover-a-Card™ CC024 Tapestry. Next Egyptian Gold embossing powder was applied and heat embossed.
2. The second paper piece was done using Cover-a-Card™ CC002 Swirls.  Next Egyptian Gold embossing powder was also applied and heat embossed.  An extra one was made for one the backgrounds.
3. Cut (2) 4X4 pieces of white, bone, ivory, or vanilla cardstock to be the bases for your quilt pieces.  You will have enough for 2 cards.

 Creating Quilt Pieces:

Cut 1, 2, and 3 as described below.

 Each 4"X4" Piece of Patterned Paper:

1. Cut a 4X4 inch piece from each of your stamped pieces of paper.  Cut the first piece in half as shown by the blue number. You have 2 pieces.
2. Cut those 2 pieces in half again as shown with the green numbers.  You have 4 pieces.
3. Cut those 4 pieces in half as shown with the orange numbers.  There will be a final 8 pieces.

Swirls CC002 (Cream & Gold) and Tapestry CC024 (Greens & Gold)

Building the Background and Embellishments:

1. One piece of green cardstock 5.25X5.25
2. One piece of prepared Swirl cardstock 5X5 mounted on the Green in1.
3. Using a piece of the light cardstock (not embossed) punch the edge using Fiskars Apron Lace border punch.  Each side is separately mounted as shown.
4. Using the leftover Tapestry cardstock cut into:

• turn the 'Quilted 4X4' over and tape the back.
• cut the green embossed leftover remnant into .5 inch strips
• mount each strip to abut each other as shown and trim extra where needed.

      5.  Turn over and mount with 3D pop dots in the center of the background. 6.  Using leftover remnants of
           the Swirls Quilt piece and Spellbinder Frameabilities Scalloped Edge Flower die, cut 3 flowers.  One for
           the center and the other two halved as shown. 7.  Paint the flowers as shown and mount the pearls.  One
           Mega 10MM and 4 5MM. 8.  Tie bow using Bow-Easy and mount as shown.

Supplies:
Stamps:  Cover-a-Card™ CC024 Tapestry and CC002 Swirls
Paper: Neenah Classic Crest Solar White Super Smooth and Natural cardstock, Green cardstock to match the patterned paper.
Inks:  VersaMark; 3 different shades of Green dye ink.
Accessories:  Egyptian Gold Embossing Powder, Spellbinders Frameabilities Scalloped Edges (Flower), Organdy Ribbon, Bow- Easy, Mark Richards 10MM and 5MM pearls.

 Shirley

Cover-a-Card™

The Cover-a-Card™ stamps and the Mega Mount™ are being announced at CHA for vendors and as soon as they are available at the online store it will be posted here.
I was going to do a card using one of my new Cover-a-Card™ stamps, but thought what you might like best is to get to know more about the stamp and what you can do with the results. The Cover-a-Card™ stamp used for all of the techniques is CC024 Tapestry.
I did four backgrounds using 4 quick different quick techniques and here they are:

A.  VersaMark Resist -

1. The stamp was inked with VersaMark on Glossy White cardstock.
2. A sponge brayer was inked with a Pink Dye ink and rolled across the card. You can let it dry on its own.
3. I stamp on a stack of used computer paper, so I turned it over to blot it just in case it wasn't all dry.  Dye ink dries very quickly, but my pad was inked well and I wanted the ink area even. (Clicking on the photo gives you a much better idea of the coverage and image.

 B.  Embossed Resist -

1. White cardstock was stamped with the VersaMarked Cover-a-Card™. 
2. It was embossed with White Pearl Embossing Powder.  I like this for a Wedding or Engagement card.  It looks lovely on Vanilla or Ivory cardstock for Anniversaries too.  Again, you need to click on it to appreciate how really elegant it can be.

 C.  Dye Brayered and/or Sponged -

1. I brayered White cardstock with a Caramel colored Dye Ink.
2. Sponged with an Orange dye ink here and there.
3. Stamped with Tapestry stamp inked with VersaMark.
4. Embossed with Ivory Pearl Embossing Powder.

Take a look at those Fall colors and the leaves and hearts that show up.  Great for a touch of Fall or a male card really.  Click on it and you will see all of the details.

D.  Sponged Dy Ink and Glitzy Emboss -

1. Sponged White cardstock with a light, medium, and dark Olive dye ink. 
2. Inked stamp with VersaMark.
3. Embossed with Egyptian Gold Embossing Powder. 

The embossing powder has sparkle so it is a little hard to see.....and right, clicking on it will help.  The leaf you have been seeing at the bottom is in the middle on the left-hand side.  I think this looks good for a any season but Winter.  It can be used with anything where nature is involved (leaves, flowers, wild life, etc.). Now, about the backgrounds.  You say what am I going to do with the extra paper.  Well you won't have any if you stamp on an A2 (4.25X5.5).  Otherwise I do several things.

It can be used:

• inside the card and on the lower left side of the envelope.
• to punch leaves, etc. for the same purpose.
• with other pieces to create interest on the background of your card.
• to make a Bargello card similar to this one HERE.
• to weave a decorative mat for your card like HERE. 

And the list goes on.  We will probably be seeing some of them here too, now that we have these wonderful Cover-a-Card™ stamps!!!

Thanks for stopping by to look and share.

 Shirley

Fishing Line Dropped Again

IMAGE:
The image, Polka Dot Fish D2195, was stamped with Brilliance Galaxy Gold on White Cardstock. It was painted with a Niji Waterbrush and Twinkling H2O's. I wanted the dots to show more so I painted them with a VersaMark pen and used Egyptian Gold EP heated with a heat gun. I also used a little Stickles Diamonds and Orange glitter glue to highlight the Jellyfish and the Starfish.

Tip 1. I almost always go around the edges of the image after cutting it out, with a Waterbrush, Sharpie, or Marker of a similar color to give the image more depth, especially if I use 3D pop dots, like I did here.

Background:
I stamped Wave Background F2209 on White Glossy Cardstock with VersaMark.

Tip 2. I used a heat gun to dry the VersaMark. I did want something that was very distinct, and this gives it kind of a muted tone. I actually heat dry almost everything but dye inks and areas done with markers.

I pounced all over the card with Ancient Page Neptune Ink as shown. I highlighted areas here and there with Stickles Diamonds glitter glue. It was trimmed and mounted on Neenah Classic Crest Laid Solar White.
Tag:

Tip 3. I love how I get embossed edges and an edge around the outside too. Reminds me of an old fashioned frame. This is the stack I use in the Cuttlebug to to it. A Plate on bottom followed by: B Plate, Die with sharp side up, Emboss matte from Spellbinders (or gasket mat from Home Depot or Lowes), B Plate.

The words, from Angel Fish MC183, were stamped with Mica Magic Green in the middle of the tag. The raised ridge from the embossing was highlighted with painted with Ancient Page Neptune and then highlighted with Stickles Eucalyptus.

Embellishments:

Tip 4. I love it when others share. I picked up this hint from someone and I need to thank whoever it was. Sometimes I do things out of sequence and don't want to undo what I have done. I needed to thread the gold cord up the Polka Dot Fish rope and the fish hook too. Tiny itty bitty holes. I used a dental floss guide. Yep! Worked like a charm to pull the cord through every teeny tiny space without hurting what had already been mounted. When not that tiny I have also used a crochet hook.

The last thing I did was mount the rhinestones.
SUPPLIES:
Stamps: Polka Dot Fish D2195, Wave Border F2219, Angel Fish MC183
Paper: Neenah Classic Crest Solar White Super Smooth and Laid, Glossy White cardstock
Inks: Brilliance Galaxy Gold, Twinkling H2O's Lemon Yellow, Dreamsicle, Cherry Sorbet, Sweet Alfalfa, Warm Pecan .(They are staying in business and the 40% off sale is good until June 14th. Read about it on the link I gave you.) Thanks to all of you who helped. VersaMark, Ancient Page Neptune, Mica Magic Green retired.
Accessories: Judikins Egyptian Gold EP, Spellbinders Nestabilities Classic Ovals Large, May Arts and Gold Cord Ribbon, Bow Easy, Stickles Eucalyptus, Orange, and Diamonds glitter glue, Mark Richards Orange Crystal Stickers, Nunn Designs Stick Pin

Thanks for stopping by to look and share. Don't forget the blog candy on my blog. The instructions for entering are there too!

 

 Shirley

 

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

 

Hugs And Kisses Too!

I've been waiting to use this stamp, Valentine Margarita by Impression-Obsession for almost a year.

1. The image was stamped with Brilliance Galaxy Gold on Neenah Classic Crest Solar White Super Smooth cardstock 80lb.
2. It was painted with Twinkling H2O Garnet and Solar Gold.
3. The glass was emphasized with Glossy Accents.

4. The truffle on the rim was painted with Twinkling H2O's Solar Gold. Stickles Garnet glitter glue was used on the top.

5. The holes for the ribbon were done with an eyelet Silent Setter. The picot ribbon is from Michaels.

6. The Drink Charm was made by using the EK Success Wrought Iron Corner Adorner Slot Punch on Clear Lucky Squirrel Poly Shrink. I added bold lines on the figure below to give you and idea of how it was trimmed after punching was done.

VersaMark was then applied to both sides to keep it from sticking to itself while shrinking using a heat gun. You can't do this if you paint or
color it before shrinking. The paint will run. This technique is also great when working Poly Shrink you are going to stamp while hot to make an impression. I also use a bread loaf non stick pan when shrinking something small like this. Helps keep it in sight....and a wooden skewer also rubbed with VersaMark and placed loosely in one of the holes while it was heated. When done the VersaMark was rubbed off the charm with a baby wipe before doing anything else with it.

7. The charm was painted with a Red Sharpee pen. Two size jump rings were used to hang it from the stem of the glass as shown.


8. The edge punched with the Fiskars Heart Border Punch, done after the image, is another story. If anyone knows of a better way please email me.
-a. Measured the width of the punched area itself from outside edge into the edge of the image and marked it.
-b. Trimmed the cardstock on each side, leaving the bottom and top alone at first.
-c. Centered the punch and punched the 2 hearts in the center.
-d. One heart was punched on each side of them by turning the punch over and lining up on the bottom of the punch.
-e. The top and bottom edge of the image was punched by lining the punch edges up with the two punched edges already there. The the edges were matched by trimming with cuticle scissors to match as well as possible.

9. The image was mounted on Stardream Metallic Jupiter Text weight paper.

10. Neenah Classic Crest Solar White Super Smooth cardstock 80lb. cardstock was run though the Cuttlebug using Floral Fantasy and trimmed down to 4X5.25".
11. It was mounted on another piece of Stardream Metallic Jupiter Text weight paper.
12. The image was mounted on it as shown.
13. Certain areas shown on the embossed Floral Fantasy were painted with Twinkling H2O's Garnet.

14. White Prima Forever Flowers were used on the top and bottom of the cardfront, mounted with glue dots.
15. 3 Hearts were punched from some Stardream Metallic Jupiter Text weight paper using a Fiskars Hand Punch 1/4" Heart. They were mounted in the centers of the flowers and Glossy Accents was added for depth and shine.
16. A glue pen was used on the veins of the petals and DecoArt Glamour Dust Crystal glitter was applied. Then Shimmerz Angel Wings was used to highlight the edges of the petals.

Thanks for stopping by 'the blog' to look and share. Have a great weekend too!

 

 Shirley