WMS July Waltz

Yes, it is that time again, the monthly waltz around the blogosphere with Waltzingmouse Stamps fans. The theme this month is blue and green. I let the paper do the work for me this time and opted for something pretty simple.

I added a little royal purple cardstock to go with the Versafine Imperial Purple Ink that I used to stamp the image and sentiment. Six kiwi green Swarovski crystals set off the Spellbinders Fancy Tag die cut.

I am always trying to capture the sparkle of those gems on camera! To find out more about the blog waltz and where to find all the amazing posts by other WMS fans, (and a chance to win a prize!) please visit the WMS blog post that reveals all!

Christmas Angels

Once again I am participating in Sylvia's Christmas Card Challenge and this month the theme is angels. These two vintage cuties are from an umounted stamp sheet I bought many years ago from Lazarwerx Studios. I stamped them on glossy cardstock in brown archival ink to keep the image outline crisp, then watercoloured them in pastel tones to keep the softness (if that makes any sense!).

I made six of these cards with various backgrounds. The sentiment is from A Muse Stamps and the Spellbinders Fancy Tag is lightly bowed in the middle to give a bit of dimension. The postal mark is an old Rubber Stampede stamp. The peanut gallery (my DH) thought the angels should have been mounted straight on, but I like my angels on angle!

Black Magic With a White Twist Technique

Sometimes cards take a long time to come together. I try to make cards with the recipient in mind, and sometimes that is tough. When learning a new technique, that can take awhile, too. Recently I came across this technique tutorial on Karen Barber's blog, Black Magic With a White Twist, and tried my hand at it. Please go look at Karen's beautiful work - mine is not representative (yet)!

I tried three different stamps with this technique, which is stamping with white pigment ink on dark cardstock and then colouring over top with pencil crayons. Karen's twist is to add little white pin dots to the design with a gel pen.

I think I overdid the dots on that last one! That flourish looks like it has a case of measles. I have only managed to make one of the samples into a card:

I am enjoying this technique and want to try it with other stamps. Karen's blog is full of inspiring samples and I hope practice makes perfect! Stamps: Scene - Stampin' Up!, Sentiment and frame - Waltzingmouse Stamps. Accessories: Spellbinders Labels Ten; White Versamagic Pigment Ink; Prismacolours.

Flat Cards

This is a flat card. Canada Post has gotten very sticky about what we mail in plain card envelopes these days. No lumps or bumps allowed. My predilection for Swarovski crystals, pop dot layers and ribbons means most of my cards must be swaddled in bubble wrap and sent parcel post to pass the eagle eye of the postmaster!

This top-fold card is just the white base and two layers. The Spellbinders Labels Ten die cut is stamped with a frame and sentiment from Waltzingmouse Stamps in red dye ink. I traced around the metal die with an Exacto knife to get a deep red mat that is just an eighth inch or so bigger than the stamped white die cut. The corner flourishes are also from Waltzingmouse. It is extremely simple and yet, somehow, I quite like it. I am not a "clean and simple" type card maker - so this is a surprise to me.

This card (below) is also flat, but I did not have to mail it anywhere. It was a Father's Day card for my husband that I made in a Burnished Velvet class with Deanna and Haroldine recently.

All the little white bits you see in the tie are actually reflections of light off the glitter. The gold-embossed sentiment is from the Words of Wisdom stamp set from Waltzingmouse. I thought it worked well with this tie (although I keep thinking of Rodney Dangerfield for some reason). 

I have one more flat card to show you, which I started in my Burnished Velvet class and finished at home. It is a Going Away card for a colleague at work. The word was created by die cutting letters out of cardstock that had double sided tape on both sides. Then I stuck the letters down on the card, removed the top liner, and loaded on the glitter. Burnished this with my finger to adhere it all well, and to bring up the shine. I am enjoying this technique very much.