Cards for July 8th

I hope that everyone had a wonderful 4th of July. We loaded up the baby and dogs and headed to my parent's house. There is a new development just south of their house and we can watch the fireworks from the deck. It is so nice. The horses are not huge fans but they seem to stay pretty calm but do go in and out of the barn a lot to keep an eye on things. We slept with the windows open and were awakened at 4 am not by the baby but by coyotes right outside the window. Okay they weren't right outside but they were close and they were loud. Luckily the barn cat was still there in the morning.

For my first card today I attempted something a little different. I wanted to make a shabby chic card versus my normal distress. I tried to explain what shabby chic is to my husband and I decided that it is like distress only with white as the main color. Not sure that really describes it but that was the best I could do.

I used my Silhouette Digital cutter to cut out the bird cage, the bird, the roses and the word "Dream." I used a font called Be Safe.

I started with the background by cutting a piece of white cardstock. Using Spun Sugar Distress Ink I stamped the background using Hero Arts Antique Flower stamp. I then used Antique Linen Distress Ink to stamp over the flowers with a stamp from Fancy Pants. I the went over the edges of the paper with Spun Sugar and Victorian Velvet Inks. I distressed the edge with my paper distresser. I then mounted that to a piece of pink paper that I also distressed the edge and inked lightly with Antique Linen Distress Ink.

Next, I went to work on my embellishments. I started with the birdcage. I cut it out of white cardstock and then inked it with Antique Linen Distress Ink and then added the pink and clear gems from Hero Arts. The bird was also cut using my Silhouette and then painted with Antique Linen crackle paint. It did curl up but I set a little weight (I use an old small glass bowl for a weight) on it when I glued it to my card. I layered on the pink ribbon which I received in a mystery box I ordered from My Sentiment's Exactly but I suspect that it is from Creative Impressions. I added my bird and birdcage. Next I painted the grungeboard key hole with pink and white paint from Ranger. I was actually a mix of red, white and pearl paints since I don't have pink. I painted it in several layers because I wasn't happy with the color. I adhered this to my card using off-white eyelets. I then adhered my "Dream" to the card and once that was dry I added Rock Candy Distress Stickles. (It's hard to see in the photo it is a very subtle bling).

My last step for the card was to create the tiny roses. I used a new release in the Silhouette Machine store called 3D Rose. I made these pretty small, the flat roses are about one inch in size and the completed roses are around one centimeter. I inked the pink and tan roses before rolling them, using Spun Sugar and Tea Dye Distress Inks. I rolled the other two roses and then applied ink on the edges only. These can be a little tricky to roll up but I found that gluing them at the half-way point and letting that dry before rolling the rest was helpful. You might want to cut them out of a lighter weight of paper.Once I glued those on we were set.

My second card today was also created with images purchased and cut with my Silhouette. It was a very simple card but I really like how it turned out. I started by cutting my images out with the Silhouette and then inked them with my Distress Inks and Ink Blending Tools. I used Wild Honey, Barn Door and Vintage Photo. I then adhered the Mendi images to my layered card and added Stickles. Easy Peasy!

Have a great week and thank you for stopping by. :-)

Cards for June 19, 2010

I wish I was clever. I always want to have a cute and clever title for my posts but I can never seem to think of something that doesn't seem dorky. So, in that vein I have a boring title today. :-)

My first card today is a very summer inspired card. The plaid element was created using Ranger Alcohol Inks and the Alcohol Ink Applicator. To start I placed small puddles of each color on the applicator and applied the inks in a single direction on to the glossy white cardstock, the I reapplied the inks and brushed the applicator in the opposite direction. Once that was dry I used Archival Ink to stamp the dragonfly. The dragonfly is from the Tattered Angel's Field Notes stamp set. I then stamped the swirls from the same set using Adirondack Paint in Pearl. The little flowers are from Creative Impressions as are the brads.

This card is a variation of an earlier card, please see that card here http://badablingblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/mothers-day-card.html. On the background I stamped the damask images in the same manner as the earlier card but I used Victorian Velvet and Spun Sugar Distress Inks to color in the background. On the edges I added Dusty Concord and Black Soot. I added Gurngeboard hinges by Tim Holtz that I painted with Pewter Crackle Paint. The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink's Giga Guide Lines Set. I colored the center of the flourish using Tea Dye and Vintage Photo Distress Inks. The paper flowers are from Prima and the gems are from Hero Arts and Basic Grey. I don't know if you can tell from the photo but the large gems are grey.

My last card for today was made with Technique Tuesday's Parisian Market stamp set and an assortment of Distress Inks. I stamped the background images using Broken China on a white piece of cardstock and then I used my Ink Blending tool to add the ink over the images. I used Tumbled Glass, Old Paper, Wild Honey and Rusty Hinge Distress Inks. I stamped the large element with Embossing Ink and the embossed with Distress Embossing Powder in Walnut Stain. The oval is a piece of Grundeboard painted with Gold Paint from Adirondack by Ranger.The Fleur-de-Lys is a punch from EK Success. The ribbon is from Creative Impressions.

Thank you for stopping by today!

Odds and Ends

Hi All -

Last week I was very motivated to use up the bits and pieces I had around my craft area. I had made some backgrounds and accent pieces and I finally put a few together to make some cards. Because some parts of these cards have been around for awhile it might be a challenge for me to remember all of the techniques or colors I used but I thought I'd share anyway.

For this purple card I applied ink to a piece of white cardstock using sponges (I am pretty sure they were Distress Inks). Once I was happy with the background I let it dry thoroughly. I then stamped over the ink with Versamark ink, the stamp is Regal from Tattered Angels. I then embossed with clear embossing powder. Once that cooled I mixed Twilight Purple and Espresso Adirondack paint on my craft sheet, I made sure that the two colors weren't completely mixed and I then applied the paint over my background with a makeup sponge. I gave that just a minute to dry and then took a damp paper towel and rubbed the paint off of the embossed swirls. I live in Colorado and things dry fast here.

The damask image was cut from white cardstock using my Silhouette. I then painted the image with Silver Adirondack paint and let it dry. My final step was to assemble everything.

For the background of this card, I again applied Distress Inks to a piece of white cardstock. I had cut out the "Rock Star" with my Silhouette for another project and used the negative as a stencil and colored in with Distress Inks. I then stamped a variety of images with more Distress Inks. The wings are from Regal Flourish Set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous. The heart was cut using my Silhouette. To color the heart I spritzed Fired Brick reinker and water on my craft sheet then rubbed my heart in the pool of color. I then repeated the process with Gold Glimmer Mist.

For this card I used a few techniques that I have described before here on my blog so I'll just list the products. Stamps: La Letter - Hero Arts, Giga Guide Lines - Papertrey Ink, Thank You - Inkadinkado, Inks - Assorted Distress Inks, Noir Palette Ink. Flower: Silhouette. Gem - My Minds Eye, Organza Ribbon - Creative Impressions. Below is a close-up of the flower.

The last card was something a little whimsical. The highland Cow is from the QuicKutz Scotland set. I cut him out of white cardstock and then colored him with Distress Inks and my Ink Blending Tool. The frame is from Spellbinders and the paper was just some random paper I picked up at the store.

I know a little disjointed and maybe a little odd, but I was trying to get this posted while a little someone was napping. Have a great week!

Dreaming in the Garden

The other day I was cutting out some Russian nesting dolls with my Silhouette and had a little extra room on the last piece so I threw in a small piece of fencing. Honestly I didn't even really measure it. I just thought that I might use it on a card, and here is that card.

I started with the fence. I cut it out of white cardstock using my Silhouette.

Next, I added Weathered Wood Distress Ink.

Then Black Soot Distress Ink.

To give the gate a more wrote iron look I added Stormy Sky Distress Ink.

Then I started with a quarter sheet of white cardstock.

I then rubbed Crushed Olive, Bundled Sage, and Forest Moss Distress Inks on my Ranger Craft Sheet and spritzed with water. I then took my cardstock and dragged it through the color until I was happy with the result.

All stamps on this card are from Tim Holtz Flights of Fancy clear stamp set by Stampers Anonymous. I stamped the flowers with Forest Moss Distress Ink.

I added the flowers on the left, stamping them with Bundled Sage Distress Ink.

The dream sentiment was added with Forest Moss Distress Ink.

And now I started my favorite direct-to-paper inking. Here I started with Bundled Sage Distress Ink, then Forest Moss Distress Ink and on the very edges I added Pine Needle Distress Ink.

I mounted the background to a piece of Basic Black cardstock and then to a piece of Forest Foliage cardstock, both are from Stampin' Up!

I added my gate to the background and added a few flowers that I had left over from my previous card. I added a few gems by Hero Arts, because all cards need bling and voila - all done.

I am sorry that my photos are a little blurry, I had the wrong lens on my camera and didn't bother to change it.

Thank you for visiting and have a great weekend!

Mother's Day Card

Hello All - I know that it has been awhile but the new baby has been keeping us very busy. I did manage to sneak in a card over the course of a few days, working a few minutes at a time. I made this card for my mom for Mother's Day.

I started by cutting out the frame and flowers using my Silhouette Machine. Both elements were purchased from Silhouette. I added text to the center of the frame prior to cutting it out. The text says "Mothers hold their children's hands for a short while, but their hearts forever." Once cut out I inked the center oval with Antique Linen and Frayed Burlap Distress Inks. I then inked the frame with Weathered Wood and Black Soot Distress Inks. My next step was to color the flowers, for these I used Milled Lavender and Dusty Concord. To give the flowers a little shape I pressed each petal around a small dowel (aka cuticle stick).

For the background, I stamped the damask image from Great Impressions in Dusty Concord and then embossed with clear embossing powder. I am loving this stamp and I am sure you will see more of it. I then applied Milled Lavender over all of the background, then Dusty Concord keeping mostly to the edges. To give added depth to the colors I added Weather Wood and Black Soot Distress Inks around the edges. Once that had a chance to dry I used my Distressing Tool to rough up the edges, added a black organza ribbon from Creative Impressions and adhered the background to a black piece of cardstock. I assembled the card and added gems from My Little Yellow Bicycle and Hero Arts.

A pretty simple but high impact card. I hope you all have a wonderful day!

A few cards

Hi All -

I know that I have been MIA for a little while. We are still waiting for the baby to arrive and as we get closer it is harder for me to get these cards created and posted. I do have a few quick cards to share today.



For the crane card I started with a light blue piece of cardstock for the base. I then cut out the crane from the QuicKutz Japan set. I actually cut him out of white cardstock and colored in the various parts with Copic markers. I then glued him together and set him aside to dry. I then cut out the temple out of black cardstock. The Chinese characters stamp is from Inkadinkado and I stamped it with Embossing Ink from Ranger and then embossed with Gold Zing! EP from American Crafts. I then mounted the red cardstock to Brushed Gold cardstock from Stampin' Up! I added a gold brad and assembled the card. My last step was to add the Hand Stamped from Stampin' Up! with Tumbled Glass Distress Ink from Ranger.

I made 20 of these carrots for my Baby Shower. I cut out the carrot box from Silhouette. The bunny is also an image from Silhouette and added that to the carrot so there would be a bunny shaped hole when I cut the box. Once cut, I glued a piece of cardstock behind the bunny and then I added the green glitter. I made half of these with green bunnies and half with pink bunnies. I then glued my boxes together and filled them with candy and tied on the green ribbon.

This last card was made for our vet that did our French Bulldog's spay. The staff and vet were great and really made us feel at ease. I broke out my Silhouette cutter for this one, I added the oval to my software and added the paw print in the center. This is similar to the bunny boxes in that are cutting a shape within a shape. I added color to the oval using assorted Tim Holtz Distress Inks. The stamps are from Tattered Angels. I made sure to let the ink dry before I added the glitter. I stamped the Thank You from Papertrey Ink on the background, added brads and then assembled the card.

That is all for today. Have a great week!

Thank you - 03.22.10

Hello All -

Things are getting a bit hectic over here as we get ready for the baby. My OB said last week that she could come at anytime now, hopefully she'll wait until after our baby shower. I just packed my hospital bag today and put the car set in my car so I guess we are getting pretty close to ready. With all of that, I did manage to sneak in a card today. :-)

This card is for my dad who helped me move one of my horses to a new barn and came with me to check-out a horse trailer. Being almost nine months pregnant makes some of this stuff a little challenging.

I began with a 4"x 5 1/4" piece of white cardstock. I had cut out my own mask using acetate and my Silhouette machine. The shape is one that you can purchase from the online store. It took several passes to get the acetate cut but I am pretty happy with the results. I laid the mask on my cardstock and sprayed the paper with my Tim Holtz mini-Mister filled with Vintage Photo reinker and Perfect Pearls in Gold.

I removed my mask and dried the paper using my heat gun. Once it was dry I reapplied my mask and sprayed my cardstock with Tea Dye reinker in my mini-mister.

Once I dried my paper, I applied Pumice Stone Distress Ink over the flourish.

Then I applied Stormy Sky Distress Ink.

Then I added Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink over the flourish and Black Soot on the edges.

Next, I cut out a label using Spellbinders Labels 1. I stamped the horse image from Creative Impressions with Black Soot Distress Ink. I then applied Antique Linen ink.

I then applied Frayed Burlap and Black Soot on the edges of the shape.

Using the next size up of die I cut out a label in brown cardstock. I then distressed the label using my Tonic Distresser.

Next, I stamped "Thank You" from the Papertrey Ink stamp set Giga Guide Lines using embossing ink and then heat embossed with Gold embossing powder from Zing!

I added a brown ribbon and rick-rack ribbon to the card, the rick-rack is from American Crafts.

I added the horse label using EK Success pop dots. I painted two gold brads using Adirondack paint dabbers in Stream i added these to my labels before I mounted it to my card. Later I added Distress Stickels in Faded Jeans to the brads. I mounted the whole thing to a piece of Charcoal cardstock by The Paper Company.

Have a wonderful week!

St. Patrick's Day Card

I love St. Patrick's Day! When I was in college, my mom and I took a trip to Ireland and we spent St. Patrick's Day in Limerick. We had such a great trip! It is fun to remember it every year. In honor of one of my fav holidays I made this little card.

I started with a 4"x 5 1/4" piece of white cardstock. I stamped the image using Bundled Sage Distress Ink, the stamp is Dreamy Leaves from Stampendous.

I then applied Antique Linen Distress Ink over the whole image.

Then added Bundled Sage around the edges.

Lastly, I added Vintage Photo Distress Ink without covering the Sage.

Next, I went to my trusty Silhouette machine and cut out the shape below. It is called Artsy Flourish. Once I cut it out I added Vintage Photo all over the shape.

I then did a colorwash over the Vintage Photo with Suede Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist. I followed that with a very light mist of Gold Glimmer Mist.

I then cut out a shamrock, again using the Silhouette and white cardstock. I applied Antique Linen all over the shamrock.

Next, I added the Bundled Sage Distress Ink. This is a new color from Tim Holtz and Ranger and I am loving it!

I added Vintage Photo on the very edge. I also went back over the edges with Bundled Sage just to darken them up.

I cut a piece of 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" Old Olive cardstock from Stampin' Up.

I then edged the cardstock with Vintage Photo.

I mounted the white cardstock to the Old Olive and added a distressed piece of Chocolate Chip cardstock and added a light green organza ribbon.

I then glued the flourish to my shamrock. I also cut out two small hearts, one using a Marvy Uchida punch and the larger was a miscellaneous heart punch. The larger heart was aged with Antique Linen and the smaller with Bundled Sage. I added Distress Stickles in Rock Candy to the green heart and once that was dry I applied Diamond Glaze. It is a little hard to see in the photo but it almost looks like a stone.

I mounted the shamrock to the card. I discovered some old photo corners in my drawer and painted them with Lettuce and Espresso Adirondack Paint Dabbers and completed the card with green gems from Mark Richards.

A close up.

I really like the way this card turned out. Have a great rest of your week.