A Vintage 50th Birthday Card and Gift

Quite some time ago I purchased the 12X12 pad of graphic45's Botanical Tea Collection and I am going to be sad when it is all gone. I needed a special birthday card for a colleague who likes vintage things, and adores gardening, so this was my go to stack.

I dusted off my Tim Holtz caged bird die and used some Creative Chemistry techniques to give the bird's home a patina. The flowers were made using the Spellbinders Bitty blossoms dies. I had to make a box to go with.

Sentiment: Waltzingmouse Stamps

I added Rock Candy Dry Glitter to the dollar store flower. I used Distress Crackle Paint and inks and stains on the papier mache box. I made some wrinkled rayon ribbon with Distress Stains. The label frame was silver, but I antiqued it to match the really old key using alcohol inks. I forgot to take a photo of the inside, but I lined the box with the same background paper as on the card. Here's the set:

I am entering this in the Seize the Birthday challenge.

Summer of Creativity Week 7

Alcohol Inks were the challenge for this week of Tim Holtz's recap of Creative Chemistry 102. It has been fun to revisit some techniques.

My favourite Alcohol Ink technique is to use it on clear acetate, and then apply clear double-sided tape and foil the back. If you click on the photo below you might be able to see how the acetate glows like jewels. I used silver foil.

The Alcohol Inks I used were Cranberry, Wild Plum and Denim. I cut out a Sizzix scalloped tag die cut from acetate and used Tim Holtz's On the Edge Brackets die to create the top and bottom borders from acetate. Steel rule dies like these are best for cutting acetate. I embossed the top border with a Sizzix checkerboard embossing folder.

The card background was created by second-generation stamping the Direction of Your Dreams (Time2Fly/Uptown) in Iris StazOn over the white card front, then sponging Wilted Violet Distress Ink through the Bubble stencil.

The dragonfly is from A Stamp In the Hand and I stamped it on the front of the tag with StazOn Cotton White. A brad and some gem stones finished it off. This will make a nice graduation card for someone.

Summer of Creativity Week 6

Where does time go? I am posting my efforts for week 6 of the Tim Holtz Summer of Creativity over at onlinecardclasses.com.

For week 6 we were to use two stencil techniques. I used three four Tim Holtz stencils for my project and started with a white Strathmore 110 pound Mixed Media base.

I used stains to wash the background, then pounced Broken China Distress Paint about. I sponged Wilted Violet Distress Ink through the Doily (left) and Gothic (right) stencils and then inked the burlap stencil and used it as a monoprint device here and there. Then I sponged Distress Paint in Tarnished Brass through a Bubble stencil (not shown).

I used Distress Embossing Ink to stamp the Lost Coast angel and heat embossed in black. I did the same with the column that I had hand-carved many years ago. I added bits of music (Waltzingmouse Stamps) in black Archival Ink here and there.

Finally I added some Nuvo Crystal Drops (White Blizzard) to the wings to add some iridescence which the camera refuses to pick up!

Summer of Creativity Week 5

This week's Online Card Classes lessons and challenge from Tim Holtz were all about Distress Paint. I only own a small handful of colours so it was especially challenging. I tried a few techniques using these paints to create a birthday card.

The main image was done using the Stamping Resist Technique: the butterfly was stamped with Chipped Sapphire Distress Paint onto white cardstock and allowed to dry, then I sponged overtop with various Distress Inks. I created a background by embossing silver foil and used the Industrial Technique to antique it. I did not have Black Soot so used the same blue paint. I used the Altered Surface Technique on the Compass Coin by dabbing Broken China and Chipped Sapphire Distress Paints on and selectively wiping off.

The sentiment is a Tim Holtz stamp and I used the same Distress Paint to stamp it. I think it works for a birthday card for a gentleman even though there is a butterfly on it. Thanks for stopping by today.