Friday - Elegant

I don't normally post two in one day but I just couldn't put the Devil Duck card in the same post with Damask. So, you get two.

I began this card with Pink Passion cardstock from Stampin' Up. I stamped the Damask images with Archival Ink in Black and then embossed with Black Embossing Powder. All of the stamps in this card are from the Damask Designs set from Papertrey Ink. Once I had all of the Damask images stamped and heat set I went over the card with Pixie Pink Ink and then Pink Passion Ink and finally Rose Red Ink using my quarter sponge. With the Pixie Pink and Pink Passion I went around the edges but also over the prints as well. I think that this gives additional depth to the card. With the Rose Red I just stayed on the very edges. My next step was to layer my pink cardstock onto a quarter sheet of Basic Black. I added a bellyband, also in Basic Black, then added the organza ribbons. Both ribbons are from Stampin' Up in Pink Passion and Black. I punched the oval using my Stampin' Up Large Oval punch and edged it with a little pink ink and stamped the sentiment. I added the oval to the card first and then added the pink metallic brads from Memory Makers. I finished off the card with four black eyelets set in the corners, they are from Stampin' Up.

This card was created using Archivers Cardstock in Sand and Burgundy and accented with Brushed Gold cardstock from Stampin' Up. The stamp set is Baroque Motifs from Stampin' Up. I stamped the background swirls with Black Archival ink and then embossed with Stampin' Up Embossing Powder in Burgundy. I then stamped a shadow image using Versamark Dazzle in Champagne. I stamped the main image with Versamark and embossed with Gold Embossing Powder from Zing! I also shadow stamped this image with Versamark Dazzle. The center brad started life as a gold brad but I embossed it with the same Burgundy Embossing Powder as I used earlier in the card.

I really liked the way this card turned out, I hope the recipient thinks so too.

I started with Real Red cardstock from Stampin' Up. I stamped the flourishes, which are from the Kimberly Poloson set called Flourish, in True Black ink from Memento. I then embossed with Black Embossing Powder. I shadow stamped flourishes again using Versamark Dazzle in Champagne. I edged my cardstock with the Corner Chip punch from EK Success. I then edged the cardstock with Worn Lipstick, Fired Brick and Black Soot Distress Inks from Ranger. My next step was to stamp the small flourishes on white cardstock with Memento Ink in True Black and emboss with Black Embossing Powder. I then punched these out using a circle punch from Stampin' Up. I also cut out Basic Black mounts for my circles using the next size up of circle punch. I aged the white circles using Old Paper, Tea Dye and Walnut Stain Distress Inks from Ranger. The Walnut Stain was only applied to the edge of the circles. I added the Black Organza ribbon from Stampin' Up, mounted my circles and then added the Red Gems from Hero Arts.

That is it for today - have a wonderful week!!

Friday - Whimsy

We have family that live in the Greater Seattle area and a few years ago my husband and I made a trip up to visit them. There is the most wonderful store called Archie McPhee. They have the strangest and most kitchy products you could ever want. One of my favorite items is the Devil Duck. (My husband thinks that the Zombie Duck is better but he is way wrong.) It is a rubber duck with edge. I made the below card in homage to said Devil Duck.



While most of my card feature some stamping, this one was made completely with my Silhouette Cutter and one EK Success punch. I started with the basic rubber duck from QuicKutz and I free handed the beak, horns and eyebrow in the RoboMaster program. I then cut out the wave shapes and added the white shadow. The skull and cross bone punch is from EK Success.



Sorry this is blurry, I really should make sure that I have gotten a good photo before I give the card away. The main stamped image is Dahlia from The Greeting Farm. I colored her with Copic markers. Most of the cardstock is random pieces from my stash. On the bright teal circle I stamped with a Fancy Pants image in Versamark. The sentiments were cut out using my QK Revolution. The "U" is from the Blossom alphabet set and "rock" is from the Zoe alphabet. The DP is from Fancy Pants. I cut the circles with my Fiskars Circle Cutter.




I was again using my Silhouette Cutter for this card, in fact all images are from QuicKutz. I first cut out the ladybug using Basic Black and Real Red. I shaded the red using Worn Lipstick, Fired Brick and Black Soot Distress Inks from Ranger. The highlights were added using a Sankura White Gel pen. Next I cut the ovals in Real Red and White cardstock. The sentiment was also cut out using my little favorite machine. I added two black brads for accents. My last step was the grass, once I cut that out I added the color using Shabby Shutters and Peeled Paint Distress Ink from Ranger. When I add small die cuts to my cards, things like letters, I use Two-Way glue.

I'm back . . . . well at least for now

As I mentioned in my previous post, things have been crazy busy around here. We have one more "normal" horse show to photograph and then the huge Championship competition here in Colorado this month. After that I am planning to spend lots of time crafting!!! Of course, that is after the editing, stressing, completing orders and stressing. Here are a few cards that I have put together over the last few weeks.

So clearly this isn't the greatest photo. :-) I totally forgot to get a good photo of this card before I was about to give this to my dad for his birthday. So this was all I could do. My inspiration for this card is the cover of OneRepublic's album. I first stamped the tree from Inkadinkado's Fall Season Set with Versamark ink and then I embossed with white embossing powder. I then applied the following Distress Inks with 1/4 sponge; Broken China, Dusty Concord and then Black Soot. I edged the main image with a silver paint pen, layer onto Basic Black CS from Stampin' Up and the added the brads.

The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink's Damask Designs, stamped on black CS with Versamark ink and embossed in silver powder from Stampin' Up. I then edged with the silver paint pen. I'll admit when first heard about Emboss Buddies I was skeptical. I thought "Just one more thing to buy that won't help." Well, I finally caved and bought one and I loved it, especially on dark papers or when you will be layering color over your embossed image. They certainly have a life span, my first one was leaving white powder all over my cardstock and was not rubbing off but once I replaced it, back to happy times. I highly recommend this tool to anyone that does a lot of embossing.

I have a thing for most things British. The Rampant Lion is certainly one of my favorite images. I have a T-shirt that is green with a Rampant Lion with a crown that inspired this card.

To start I took the following Distress Inks and rubbed them on my craft sheet; Tea Dye, Shabby Shutters and Pealed Paint. I then spritzed with my Mini Mister. I rubbed the cardstock onto the ink puddles about three or four times to get the look I was after. Between rubbings I dried with my heat gun.

The Rampant Lion image is from the Tim Holtz's Collection from Stampers Anonymous and comes from the Regal Flourishes set. The crown is by Hot Off The Press and is from the Flights of Fancy set. I stamped the image with Broken China Distress ink and then dusted with Perfect Pears in Gold. The blue paper was some random cardstock that I had in my craft and while it looks black in the photo the other cardstock is a Gun Metal from Brazzil. The ribbon is black organza ribbon from Creative Impressions. The Fleur-De-Lys is an EK Success punch that I embossed with Sahara Pearls embossing powder from Stampendous. I embossed the punch three times to give it the dimension. There is a small green gem in the center of the Fleur-De-Lys from Hero Arts.

This was another simple card but I think that it has a really elegant look to it. The navy cardstock is Night of Navy from Stampin' Up. The pink DP I used on the background is from the Old World Stack by DCWV. I cut out a circle with my Friskar's Circle Cutter in Night of Navy and a smaller one from white cardstock. I sponged onto my white circle with Tattered Rose and Worn Lipstick to mimic the background paper. I then stamped the image from Stampin' Up's Finest Flourishes in Faded Jeans. I also embossed this with clear embossing powder. I added very small dots of Distress Stickles in Faded Jean on the two small dots on either side of the flourish. The Bonjour is from the Stampin' Up set Carte Postal and was also stamped with the Faded Jeans Distress Ink. I edged all of the cardstock with a very small line of silver using a silver paint pen. I just applied the paint to the edges. My final element prior to assembly was setting the eyelets, and I actually used a ruler this time, so they are pretty straight.

That is it for today! Thank you, as always for stopping by.

Back Soon

I have been completely ignoring my blog. For those of you that don't know, I am a Dressage photographer and we are right in our busy season. As soon as I complete my editing I'll be posting some new cards. I hope you are all enjoying your summer!

Red & Black

Sometimes I have cards rattling around my head for awhile, I have been having a black and red construction bouning around in my head for sometime. The card creation process is usually fun and I really enjoy it, usually. Pulling this card from deep within my brain was a bit painful and I struggled getting everything to come together - but here it is.







So I started with a red piece of cardstock, I stamped the image lower left-hand image from Bo Bunny in Versamark and then embossed with clear embossing powder. I then shadow stamped the same image with Worn Lipstick and then embossed again. I then grabbed my trusty sponges and layered on the Worn Lipstick, then Fired Brick and then I layered on the Black Soot.



My next step was to stamp the large wroth iron image over the red stamp and inks. The large image is from Fancy Pants, it is strange because it matches the Bo Bunny image but is a size up. Next I stamped the silver image in the top right-hand corner with Versamark and then embossed with Zing! embossing powder in Platinum.



I cut out the red circle with my Revolution and Spellbinder die. I stamped the circle with the background stamp from Stampin' Up called French Script. I used Fired Brick Distress Ink and I did the same with the bellyband. I then rubbed the edge with Fired Brick and Black Soot Inks. The "M" was cut using the QK Revolution and it from the Magnolia alphabet set. I pressed it into a Versamark pad and then embossed with the Zing! Platinum. I added the red ribbon from Stampin' Up and then layered onto a charcoal accent papers.

As you can see, this card is very similar to the first one. Instead of embossing the top right hand image with Platinum I used Black Glitter also by Zing! Embossing Powder. Next, I took a button from Little Yellow Bicycle. It started out white and I covered it with Versamark and embossed it with the same Black Glitter Embossing Powder. I added the side accent and place a few gems from Hero Arts.

As I always say - skulls are not just for Halloween!! Thanks for stopping by.

'Ello Govna'

I love all things British, in the spirit of my adoration I have made this British Bulldog card.

Can you tell that I am in a distressing mode?? To begin I started with a blank white card. I sponged on Antique Linen, Tea Dye, and Vintage Photo Distress Inks, then I added a very little touch of Walnut Stain on the very edge. The awesome bulldog is from Inkadinkado. I stamped him with Jet Black Archival Ink, added a few touches of colour with my Stampin' Up markers, cut him out and then aged him in the same manner as the background. I then mounted him on a piece of black cardstock and cut that out.

Now to the Union Jack, I cut the flag out using my Quickutz Silhouette Craft Cutter it was cut from white cardstock. It was in three layers. I sponged on the background piece with Broken China Distress Ink and then worked in Faded Jeans. Next I worked on the top layer, starting with Worn Lipstick and then Fired Brick Distress Ink. I worked Antique Linen on the light part of the flag. I then assembled my flag, and then aged it following the same process I used on the background of the card. My last step was to mount this to my black cardstock. I stamped the sentiment in Walnut and that was it. This was pretty quick and easy and I think that this bulldog rocks. Have a great night all!

Fairy Card

I love The Greeting Farm's stamps. They are super cute and I love breaking out my Copic markers to color them. The only problem is that I feel like I need to buy more markers every time I use them!!!

Here is my latest creation featuring the Flutter Anya stamp.

The pattern paper is from Making Memories, the flowers are Prima and the solid cardstock is all from Stampin' Up. The Flutter sentiment is from Making Memories. I used my Stickles all over my flowers and on the wings.

Here is a list of the Copic markers I used.

Hair
B32
B21
B24

Face
E00
E02

Cloths
BG10
BG13
BV00
BV04
V01
V04
V09

Thank you for stopping by!

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.

Wrought Iron & Vampires

I have a little confession, I usually hate black embossing powder. I have trouble making it work correctly and I typically end up with little black speckles all over my card. I recently purchased a new Emboss Buddy, so I thought that I would give it another shot. Here is the result of the experimentation. I am pretty happy with how speckle-free the card is. I think that using Versamark under my ink gives me a little more time, which allows me to go a little slower and as a result I get better results.

I started with a piece of Sahara Sand cardstock by Stampin' Up. I really rubbed my Emboss Buddy over the paper before stamping. I loaded my stamps with Versamark Ink and then right on top of that I inked them with Palette True Black ink, this was then embossed with black embossing powder. The image on the lower left-hand side is from the Flourish set by BoBunny and the image on the top right-hand side is from the Ornamental Set also by Bo Bunny. I then trimmed the cardstock so it would look like I am capable of stamping straight (I always stamp a little crooked). Next I loaded the stamps with Champagne Versamark Ink, I slightly off-set the images and stamped. There is a little residue on the black embossed part of the card but I think that it gives a cool effect.

I stamped the sentiment by Mae West on a scrap piece of Sahara Sand cardstock by Stampin' Up. The Mae West stamp is by All Night Media. I rounded the corners with the EK Success Large Rounder. I layered this on Black cardstock and rounded the edges with the EK Success Corner Chip punch. I added a very simple antique gold brad and then a little bellyband in black cardstock. The main image is mounted to a piece of antique gold cardstock that I picked up at a local paper store (brand unknown).

As I mentioned in my last post, I often make two or even four cards at one time. That is the case with the next two cards. I recently ready the Sookie Stackhouse novels and I have been loving the HBO series based on them called True Blood. This is not a new obsession for me, I have loved vampire books and movies as long as I can remember. My friends and I waited in line on opening night to see Interview with a Vampire. These two cards are a testament to this life long love of the fang. :-) I do know that these are a little over the top, but they were great fun to make and you may see more like them.

To start, I cut out the mouths with my Quickutz Silhouette, for these I first cut the primary image in Real Red cardstock by Stampin' Up and then I used the off-set function and cut-out the black part. I hand cut the fangs, as I was unable to find something in my library that I could convert or any online image that would work. I used Rich Red embossing powder by Ranger on the red lips to give them a gloss. Of course, like everything on this card once was not enough, I repeated this process three times. I assembled everything for the mouth once the embossing powder was cool. For the top card, I cut out the sentiment and heart with my Silhouette, the font is Boister Black. I added a little accent on the heart with a white gel pen. The mouths are mounted with pop dots.

Next I went to work on the background, I started with Whisper White cardstock by Stampin' Up and using my quarter of a sponge I sponged on Real Red ink by Stampin' Up and then Fired Brick Distress Ink by Ranger and then on the very edges Aged Mahogany Distress Ink. I layered that onto a black piece of cardstock. Then to the flourish image, I stamped the central image from Baroque Motifs twice using Real Red ink by Stampin' Up and then embossed with clear embossing powder. Next I went back to my sponge and worked Worn Lipstick and Fired Brick Distress Inks from Ranger on the white cardstock. This was layered on black and then red cardstock. On the second card, I stamped the sentiment with Martha Stewart's Halloween Typface Clear Stamp Set in Real Red Ink.

These were so much fun. They are actually pretty heavy, much weightier than a regular card. Must be all of that embossing powder. Thank you for stopping by and have a great week!

Baroque Motifs, Damask & Girly Girl Goth

Here is a bold little card made with the Baroque Motifs stamp from Stampin' Up. I really like this stamp set so I am sure you'll be seeing more cards with this set.

The base of this card is just simple white cardstock. I stamped the motif twice with Palette ink in True Black and then embossed with Clear Embossing Powder. I then sponged on the color, building up the color effect slowly. I used red, purple and black inks. I gave a little boost to the image by going around the image and accenting with my Starlight Gel Pen. The last steps were to adhere it on black cardstock and then on to a white card base. A very simple card, but I like the way it looks.

On occasion, when I start working on a new card I will make two at the same time. Usually they come out looking very similar, or in some cases I make a mistake and there is only one. I am posting two sets of cards that were intended to turn out the same but ended up as slightly different versions, so I'll share both.

To start, you'll see a familiar pattern - more Damask!!

Version 1

On this card our top layer is Orchid Opulence cardstock from Stampin' Up. For this card I started with the silver image first. The stamp is from the Tim Holtz Visual Artistry French Market set. I loaded the stamp with Versamark ink and then Starlite Silver from Brilliance. I stamped the image and then embossed with Stampin' Up Embossing Powder.

The next step was to stamp the Damask image, which is from the Bold Damasks set by Inkadinkado. I used Lovely Lilac Craft Ink by Stampin' Up this time. There is a lot of surface space on this image and I was having trouble getting a clean image. (Which is the reason there are two variations of this card and not the four I started with) I put a magazine under the card when I stamp to give a little cushion to press into. I have seen people use mouse pads and I'll probably give that a try next time. Once I stamped over the silver flourish I took a paper towel over the silver images to remove the ink that settled there. I then sponged over the images with Orchid Opulence ink. On the very edges I sponged Lovely Lilac ink.

I stamped the Thank You image, from Wordsworth in Lovely Lilac. The gems are from Hero Arts. The focal cardstock was layered on to Brushed Silver cardstock from Stampin' Up and then onto Lovely Lilac. The final step was to a White cardstock card base.

Version 2

So here is Version 2 of our Orchid & Lilac Card. The biggest difference on this card, aside from the fact that the left silver flourish is crooked, is the depth of color and the order in which the main image was created.

For this card I stamped the Bold Damask first, then I let it dry for about an hour. I also flipped the damask image and stamped more of the image on the card. I made sure to really rub my card with my Emboss Buddy to be sure that the embossing powder would only stick to the flourish. I loaded up the flourish in the same way as I did for Version 1 and embossed it with the Silver Embossing Powder from Stampin' Up. I was trying to see if I could get the same look without the smudging that happened in the other image. Turns out you can - I just didn't like the look, so back to sponging color around the image. I also added Elegant Eggplant ink around the very edges. The clear gems are from Hero Arts and the purple is from K & Co. I also added a few accents with Purple Stickles.

Our last card series today is something that I am calling Girly Girl Goth. I have a soft spot for the drama of goth and really felt like breaking out some skulls . . in pink.

Version 1

Version 2

Both cards started with a white piece of cardstock. I first stamped the flourishes from Fancy Pants in Pink Passion Ink from Stampin' Up and then ofset the stamp loaded with Pretty in Pink Ink. Then I sponged on Pretty in Pink, then Pixie Pink, Pink Passion and on the very edge Rose Red. When I start building a background like this I take the lightest color and using a circular motion I work it from the edge to the center of the cardstock. Then I proceed with each darker shade repeating the process but not completely covering the lighter shade. When I get to my darkest shade I often work that on the very edge only. When I load my sponge with ink I start my circular motion off of the card and then move it onto the card in a circular motion, the limits the blotches that can occur if you place a loaded sponge right on the cardstock.

My next step was to cut out the diamonds and skulls using my Quickutz Silhoutte cutter. This machine is awesome and I am loving what it can do. I cut the skulls out of white cardstock and the diamonds out of Pink Passion and a misc. grey cardstock. I didn't like the way that the plain grey looked so I inked it with Billiance Platium Planet ink. I inked it pretty heavly so it took a few hours to dry. I also thought that the pink was too plain so I inked them up with Pink Passion and Rose Red. I also used Pink Passion to stamp the same flourish on the pink diamond.

Next came my skulls, on Version 1 I simply inked them with Versmark ink and the embossed with Stardust Embossing Powder. On Version 2 I stamped my handy-dandy flourish with Starlite Siver Brilliance ink and then embossed the whole thing with Stardust Embossing Powder. The pink skulls for both cards were inked with Pikie Pink and Pink Passion, the flourish (yes, again) in Pink Passion. Then that whole thing went to the Stardust Embossing Powder. All of the skulls went into the Stardust Embossing Powder twice. What can I say, I like my bling!

For Version 1, I finished up with Hero Arts gems and then put the skulls and diamonds onto black cardstock and then onto a white card base. Version 2, got the same treatment but I added a black organza ribbon below the eyes.

Thanks for stopping by!