Friday Cards

I feel like I was just so super busy this week. I am glad to get these cards done and up today. As always, thank you for stopping by to take a look.

This card is created with brown and lime green cardstock, I purchased both at Archivers and they are the Archivers brand.

I used the Handful of Henna stamp set from Technique Tuesday. I stamped each piece with Basic Brown ink from Stampin' Up and embossed with clear embossing powder. I then went back and shadow stamped each design with Sahara Sand ink to give a little more depth. I went back in and accented the design with a white, lime green and blue gel pens. It is key to let the gel pens dry before moving on to the next step. I then aged the lime green cardstock with the Basic Brown ink.

Next, I cut the bands in brown and lime green and edged the lime green piece with the EK Success punch Moroccan Lace. I aged the lime green with the Basic Brown ink. I tied around the strips with Organza Ribbon in Brown from Stampin' Up. My final accent for this card was the little gems, they are from Hero Arts.

Surprise! More Damask!

To begin, I started with a piece of white cardstock, I sponged on Broken China and Faded Jeans Distress Ink from Ranger. Once the ink dried, I stamped using the Antique Damask stamp from Memory Box with Versmark and then I embossed using Gold Zing! Embossing Powder. This embossing powder is great, very opaque and easy to use.

The background and bellyband papers are Brushed Gold cardstock from Stampin' Up. The off-white band was painted using Antique Linen Distress Crackle Paint from Ranger. Once it was dry I sponged over the painted strip with Tattered Rose and Tea Dye Distress Ink. The small medallion was created by cutting out two circles. The blue one was sponged with Broken China and Faded Jeans Distress Inks. I then edged it with a gold paint pen. The gold piece was created by repeatedly embossing the small circle with Gold Zing! powder. On my third embossing pass pressed a stamp from Papertrey's Guidelines Two set in the hot embossing powder. My three brads are custom colored by dipping each brad into the Gold Zing! powder and heating. My last step was stamping the sentiment from Stampin' Up in Faded Jeans.

I am really loving the Alcohol Inks from Ranger, you can create a lot of different looks. I started with a base of glossy white cardstock from Stampin' Up. I sponged on alcohol ink in Eggplant and Meadow, once I had a base layer on I added the Blending Solution and Pearl Mixative on my felt and sponged again. Once dry, I stamped the Compass Rose image, it is from Tattered Angels and is called Tattered Traveler Compass. I used Black Archival Ink from Ranger. I dryed it with my heat gun to set the ink. Next, I poured a little of each color of the alcohol ink onto my craft mat. I only put a little ink on my sheet at a time, as it dries very fast. I then painted with the ink using the Eggplant and Meadow and Silver Mixative.

I had cut a little of the initial cardstock off and used that as my bellyband. I stamped on the bellyband using an image from Technique Tuesday from the Bijou Borders set using Black Archival Ink. I then cut my small square and performed the same inking technique as I mentioned above. Once dry I stamped the central image from the American Crafts set Majestic. I then embossed with clear embossing powder. I added the silver brads and mounted to black cardstock. Once assembled I mounted the base to Eggplant Envy cardstock and then to Sage Shadow cardstock.

Alcohol Ink Cards

Hello! I am finally back. We photographed a three day horse show last weekend and that really ate into my card making time. Between recovering from the horse show and editing and posting the photos I didn't have much time to craft!

I have really been loving the Thinking Inking classes over on Two Peas in a Bucket. Jennifer McGuire has done an amazing job. I also went back over to Tim Holtz's site to re-watch some of his product demos. Here are some of the cards I made using the Ranger Alcohol inks.

For the primary image I began with a square of white glossy cardstock. I used my applicator tool and loaded my felt with Cranberry and Butterscotch and Blending Solution. I covered the whole square and once that was dry I added Copper Mixative to my felt and pounced over the existing colors.

I loaded my stamp, Tapestry Pattern from Stampabilities, with Versamark Ink and stamped on the square. I quickly poured Ranger Distressed Embossing Powder in Black Soot over the image and heat set. Once cool I rubbed off the release crystals. I think that I would have gotten a better result if I had remembered to shake the embossing powder before I used it. Since I don't have a copper paint marker to do the edges, I used my Versamark pen and Copper Embossing Powder. I simply ran the Versamark pen down the edge and the sprinkled that with Copper Zing! Embossing Powder, then heat set it.

I then repeated the Alcohol Ink technique on the background piece and the bellyband piece. I added a Black Organza ribbon from Stampin' Up and then added three brads. As usual, I custom colored my brads with Copper Zing! Powder.

This purple card was made using Wild Plum, Stream and Eggplant Alcohol Ink and Pearl Mixative. For this one I started with the Wild Plum on the left-hand side and then started with the Stream and Eggplant on the right-hand side. I then added the Blending Solution and the Pearl Mixative to my little felt piece and and pounced over the whole card. This is what blended the two sides of the card.

The stamp on this card is from a new set I picked up this week called Formal Esque by Recollections. This set is very elegant and I see myself using it a lot. For this card I used the main image and loaded it with Archival Ink in Jet Black. I would have normally gone with Stazon but I thought that I would try this ink. I was really happy with how it worked on the glossy cardstock. Since it takes awhile for the ink to dry I hit the piece with my heat gun. If I don't do that I run the risk of smudging it and ruining all of my hard work. My last step was adding the little dots with Liquid Pearls in White Opal. I also added just a few little dots of Stickles in Frosted Lace. Added a black piece of cardstock and a black organza ribbon from Stampin' Up.

For the background of this card I started with glossy white cardstock, again. I loaded up my felt piece with Meadow, Currant, and Slate Alcohol Inks and added a little Pearl Mixative and then Blending Solution. I kept the application a little lighter on this card just for a different look. I normally go for intense colors so I sometimes make myself back off a little. I then stamped the background images with a great new stamp from American Crafts. It is from their Majestic Set. I used the Archival Ink in Jet Black and then embossed it with Black Embossing Powder from Stampin' Up. I actually stamped the whole background and then decided to emboss the images. I guess that is a benefit of working on glossy cardstock.

For the central image I selected another image from the Majestic Set and stamped with Archival Ink in Jet Black and embossed with Silver Embossing Powder from Stampin' Up. I mounted the black piece of cardstock to a piece of silver cardstock, both from Stampin' Up. I selected a smooth gem from Hero Arts and colored it with the Currant Alcohol Ink. I adhered the image to the background with pop dots and added a black organza ribbon from Stampin' Up.

Thanks for stopping by there will be more soon!!

Inspired by Berry Sensation

To begin, I wanted to create a fairly simple card featuring electric green, brown and berry cardstock. The cardstock in this card is all from Archiver's.

The stamps are from The Paper Studio by Stampabilities and are in the Flourish Set. The stamping on the bright green is Basic Brown and the stamping on the berry was done in Versamark. The edging on the brown was done with an EK Success border punch called Scallop Diamond. The organza ribbon is from Creative Impressions and the gems are from K&CO. This is a very simple card but I think that the colors are pretty unique.

Rock Star - girly style!

As in my previous card Yellow Damask, this card has been floating around in my head for awhile. The background is Regal Rose stamped with the Zebra Background stamp by Stampabilities in Basic Black Craft ink and embossed with Black Embossing Powder. I ran a silver metallic pen around the very edge.

Next, I cut a piece of Berry Sensation by Brazzil. I stamped the skull border with Basic Black ink and embossed with clear embossing powder. This stamp is from Inkadinkado's Rock Star Set. I colored in the accents with a pink and silver gel pens from Gel Writer. Next, I cut out an oval and embossed it with Zing! Black Glitter powder. I layered onto that the skull rock & roll image that I stamped with Rose Red and Basic Black inks. I threw on the awesome pink metallic brads. I placed that onto a strip of Regal Rose cardstock that I set six very, very small eyelets. I was going for a rock star belt look. I stamped the top of the card with swirls in Versmark from a set called In My Dreams from Ink by Steph for Fiskars.

I cut out the words from White cardstock using my QuicKutz Silhouette Cutter using a font called Jailbird Jenna. I inked it with Worn Lipstick Distress Ink by Ranger and then Rose Red. I then embossed two coats of Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder and then two coats of UTEE. I cut the shadow in Basic Black using my Silhouette. The star is from a sticker set from EK Success, it was brown which totally wasn't working for my card so I inked it with Black Stazon.

Here is a close-up of the detail on the STAR and star.

Soleil & Damask

The first card I am sharing today is a creation that I am calling Monsieur Soleil. A little tribute to a great Concrete Blonde song called Les Coeur Jumeaux.

This card was inspired by the Thinking Inking series. I began this card by cutting out the sun using my QuicKutz Silhouette Digital Craft Cutter. I used Basic Black cardstock form SU! Once I had that cut, I started coloring my sun with Adirondack Paint Dabbers in Gold and Copper, dabbing directly onto the cardstock. I then took my makeup sponge and moved the paint round until I had the effect I was looking for, in this case I wanted it slightly blended. I made sure to leave some places where you could see the cardstock through the paint, I let this air dry. Once the die was dry I rubbed Versamark Ink onto the sun and embossed with Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel, I let it cool and then repeated this process two additional times. You can see the effect in the lower image. In person this is a really neat look.

To create the background I started with a White piece of cardstock, I worked the following Ranger Distress Inks onto the cardstock; Antique Linen, Tea Dye, Vintage Photo, and Walnut Stain. I use a Stampin' Up sponge cut into quarters and my craft sheet to get a smooth effect. I then stamped over the background with the French Script background stamp from Stampin' Up using Tea Dye. Once I ink up my stamp I take a baby wipe and take off some of the ink to give a bit more distress. I kept the negative image from when I cut out my sun and used this as a mask, I sponged with Frayed Burlap onto the background. The edge of the card was detailed with a Marvy Opaque Paint Marker in Gold. The brads are from embossed with Pirate Gold embossing powder from StampN Stuff. To finish off the card I distressed the edges of the main background and mounted it onto a piece of black cradstock.

Our next card today is one that has been floating around in my head for awhile. I am again really happy with how it turned out.

I started with a quarter-sheet for Summer Sun cardstock from Stampin' Up. I know that I have mentioned that I normally eschew working with black embossing powder, it just gets so sticky and gets everywhere!! In an attempt to work though my Black EP issues I have been making myself work with it. The image in the background is from Heidi Swapp. I inked it with Basic Black Craft ink and then embossed with the dreaded Black Embossing Powder, first making sure that was vigilant in my application of my Emboss Buddy. I shadow stamped the same image with Sahara Sand ink from SU. My next step was to add the shading, I made sure to work the color on the edges and over the damask images themselves. I started with Summer Sun and then moved into Marigold Morning, More Mustard and Basic Brown (all from Stampin' Up). I really kept the brown just on the edges. Once my ink set I did a little embellishing with Yellow and Clear Stickles. The ribbon is the black grosgrain ribbon from Stampin' Up. The Sentiment is from My Sentiments Exactly, stamped with Basic Black ink and Black EP. The flowers are from Prima Marketing and the centers are black gems from Hero Arts.

I have two more cards that I am going to get up a little later tonight. Thanks for stopping by.

Distressed Cards

Hola all you out in Blogger-Land. Here are a few cards for you today.

I have been following the Jennifer McGuire Thinking Inking series over at Two Peas in a Bucket for the last few weeks. These are really neat tutorials and very inspiring. I highly recommend that you check it out. I made this card after watching the series on Ranger Paint Dabbers.

I began with a white piece of cardstock. I stamped the images that appear as white with Versamark and embossed with clear embossing powder. The stamp is from the Flourish set from BoBunny. For the next step I pounced paint onto the card with Gold and Copper paint and then swirled it together using a makeup sponge. I used one of those little wedge ones, it seemed to work very well. Then I let the paint dry, Au natural no heat gun assistance. Then I took a damp paper towel and scrubbed the paint off of the flourishes. I did this same process for the sentiment.

The branch shape is from Quickutz, I cut it out of brown cardstock. I removed an extra bird off another branch and then put gold paint onto it. This I blasted with the heat gun to get the paint to bubble up. Everything was mounted to brown cardstock and voila - all done.

For this card I used my Papertrey Damask set - which I adore, I am sure that you hadn't noticed how often I have been using it. I started with Vanilla cardstock and stamped with Versamark and embossed my damask with Distress Embossing Powder by Ranger in Black Soot. Once the EP sets you go back and rub the release crystals off. Next I aged my back ground with Tea Dye, Walnut Stain and Black Soot Distress Inks by Ranger, between the Tea and Walnut I added Close to Cocoa. Since I did this after I did the embossing powder my sponge was a little worse for wear because the embossing powder is quite ruff. I did this same process to my sentiment block but I used black ink and clear embossing powder, I thought that using the Distress Embossing Powder would make it hard to read.

The brads started as gold brads and I inked them with Versamark and then into black embossing powder twice and then into Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel once. I am really irritated at myself for not getting them straight on the card, but such is life. The metallic paper is by The Paper Co and is called Gilded Rust. I added the black cardstock and then to a Vanilla cardstock base.

This last card today was also created with Distress Inks but I think it has a very different look. I started with a white piece of cardstock and inked my image, from Inkadinkado's Garden Flower set, with Peeled Paint and Worn Lipstick Distress Inks from Ranger. I then spritzed the stamp with water a few times and then stamped. For the edging I swiped my two ink pads on my craft sheet then spritzed with water again and then swirled my paper through the puddles of color, only getting the color on the edges. I added a celery ribbon and attached it to a coral piece of cardstock. Very simple easy card.

Cards Galore

I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July. In the spirit of the 4th of July here is my 4th card.

This was a very easy card. All of the shapes were cut out using my Silhouette Digital Cutter. The font is Mandingo. Very easy, but fun!

I am loving all of the distressed techniques that are popular now. I cut out the emblem shape with my Quickutz Revolution. I stamped the image from Colorado StampN' with True Black Palette ink and then embossed with clear embossing powder. I watercolored the image using Twinkle H20s in Yellow Rose, Stargazer, Black Orchid and Key Lime. The Lions were watercolored with Stampin' Up Classic ink in Close to Cocoa. I aged the image with Antique Linen, Vintage Photo and Aged Mahogany Distress Inks from Ranger. The outer frame was embossed with Zing! powder in Chestnut.



The brads started as simple gold brads that I embossed with Zing! powder in Chestnut twice, and then I embossed with Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel. The effect was that the embossing powders created a marbled effect.


On the background, I started with White Cardstock. I sponged on Antique Linen, Vintage Photo and then Aged Mahogany on the very edges. I stamped the corner piece from Regal Flourish by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous and Antique Map Background from Hero Arts in Vintage Photo. I then stamped London from Wordswoth in Vintage Photo and Aged Mahogany. Once I had everything the way I wanted it I spritzed it with water. My final step was to mount the whole thing to a burgundy piece of cardstock and add an organza ribbon from Creative Impressions. Now it took a long time to complete this card but I am really happy how it turned out. I'd like to believe that some of the time was due to the trial and error process.



As you might have noticed, I have been distressing lots of project, so in an effort to do something different I created this card.

The little girl is from Basic Grey and was stamped with Palette True Black and embossed with clear embossing powder. I colored her with my Copic markers. The "Hi" is from the Chic Alpha Set by Fancy Pants. The blue background was embossed with a Cuttlebug embossing folder. I created another custom brad for this card. I started with a silver brad, embossed in blue glitter embossing powder from Zing!, I did this twice and then into the UTEE powder twice. You can see the detail below. The flowers are from Creative Impressions. The gems are from Hero Arts.

I am hoping to get more cards up tomorrow! Have a great night.