Stencilled Birthday Card

Over at Splitcoaststampers there was a challenge to create a card with a stencil. Seize the Birthday's challenge is "Anything Goes."

I had wanted this particular stencil for a very long time and once I finally got hold of it - it sat unused. Why does that happen? So this was a good time to get it out.

I layered Ranger Opaque Matte Texture Paste through the Stampers Anonymous stencil onto some very old patterned scrapbook paper that I have been saving for a special card. After it dried, I used Versamark to adhere Perfect Pearls to the flowers and vines for colour and shimmer.

The Quietfire Design sentiment was stamped on a Stampin' Up Word Window Punch tag and tied with a ribbon. Thanks for visiting today.

Copper Christmas for August

Here is my Christmas card for the August challenge at Sylvia Durocher's blog. This month the inspiration prompts are copper and square. I have a roll of 36 gauge copper metal sheet, so I decided to get literal. This is a 5 inch square card.

I used a Dreamweaver's Stencil to emboss the wreath in my Cuttlebug, then used ball and cup metalworking tools to further enhance the relief. I sanded across the top to get a bit of contrast on the berries and bow.

The stencil includes a script Season's Greetings saying and I sponged Celestial Copper Delicata ink through the stencil to create a bit of a background, which I promptly covered up with layers of matting. The copper square mat is actually tan cardstock that I coated with the same Copper Delicata stamp pad to coordinate. The ink is rich and radiant - just like its label says! I had some brass corners to cover the sharp corners of the metal square and I antiqued them with Black StazOn ink. Thanks for visiting!

Dreamweaver Stencil Flowers

Isn't this a lovely thought? It is a Quietfire Design rubber stamp. I stamped it in Martha Stewart Aloe pigment ink, a rich green colour that I felt went well with the cardstocks I used to mat the card. And I hoped the green complimented the flowers that are the focal point.

To make this card I stencilled pearlescent embossing paste through a Dreamweaver Stencil LX7021 (about 6.25 X 4.5 inches). I dusted it with some silver mica powder while it was still wet. Once it was dry, I trimmed it down a tad and went around all of the petals with various Copic markers to highlight and provide colour.

This was a nice technique because the colours are vibrant and happy, but the silver paste petals tone down the effect and are less "in your face."

I am entering this on the Dreamweaver blog (inspired by spring!) and on Seize the Birthday, too. Keep dreaming!

Creative Chemistry 102 - Day 2

I have done all the techniques covered in Day 2 of CC102. I must say, I need to develop a better water flicking wrist action than what I've got going on right now! Tim Holtz makes it look so easy...

Day 2 was all about stencils, specifically Tim's Layering Stencils. I don't own any of those but I do have plenty of other stencils on hand so decided to make do. I think the first and last ones are my favourite effects - but I definitely need more practice! Can't write more - I am busy playing with the Day 3 techniques. Stay tuned. 

Mixed Media Layering

Machine Embossing With Stencils

Distress Embossing Through Stencils

Stencil Stamping

Stencil Sketching

Ink Monoprint

Paint Monoprint

Sprayed Stencil Backgrounds

Stamps: Stampers Anonymous

This is another one of the 42 cards I made in the recent Splitcoaststampers DTGD challenge marathon. It was pretty easy - spritzed some Tsukineko Walnut Ink sprays across a Crafters Workshop stencil, then overstamped the bird on the branch and the quote in Black archival ink. I blended some Broken China distress ink into the swirls.

Here's a card using the same technique with a homemade spray mist I created from a Broken China Distress reinker. Very different feel to this one.

Prima Masks!

I recently participated in the Splitcoaststampers annual Dare to Get Dirty event. It is referred to as the Iron Man marathon of stamping. They issue 42 different card challenges during the week, I think six per day. Each was a different technique, or a sketch, or some other required element. I made all of them - just barely - with 36 of my cards completed in the last two days once my vacation started. This was one of the things I wanted to do with my "staycation" this year.

These two cards were part of the results. I used a Prima mask (plastic stencil) over patterned scrapbook paper (same paper for each card).

Stamps: Inkadinkado Nostalgia. 

For the butterfly card above I used Tsukineko Walnut Ink sprays over one of the Prima masks from this set:

Die: Sizzix Caged Bird

For the bird card I used sprays and sponged on Distress Inks. This was leftover stencilled paper or "test" paper, but with my faux verdigris birdcage I thought it would work well. The amazing quote (close up below) is a Quietfire Design stamp.

The challenge was an incredible experience. Normally I hum and hah over a card and can take an hour or two to make one. Time did not allow that, but I was determined to try and make my normal quality level of cards instead of just slapping any old thing together. Toward the finish line that was severely tested but I think I remained true to my goal! I'll share more cards from this event soon. Thanks for visiting.

Distress EP, Dreamweavers and WMS Sketch

For this Christmas card, I tried a new technique using a Dreamweavers snowflake stencil, some regular stencil embossing paste, and Rangers Tim Holtz Distress Embossing Powder in Tattered Rose.

I used this week's Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge for the design, but opted to put the borders top and bottom instead of on the sides. Here is the sketch:

And here is my "distressed" card:

My first step was to take a plain white piece of lightweight cardstock and tape the stencil in place in the middle. Then I spread the paste over the stencil and scraped off the excess. I lifted up the stencil, then applied the Tattered Rose Distress Embossing Powder. I let it dry, then heat embossed the powder to assure good adhesion. The texture is very unique - sort of sand-roughened.

I used my foam sponge blending tool and applied various Distress Inks to the cardstock: Antique Linen in the center and Salty Ocean and Broken China moving outward. A moistened swab was used to remove any ink from the snowflake. I cut the ornament shape (Spellbinders Heirloom Ornaments 2011) from the center and inserted a pearl brad, then traced around the die on a scrap of cardstock and cut out a shadow layer. I treated it with the same Distress EP on the edges and layered the snowflake piece on top.

The inked up cardstock with the ornament hole in the center was too pretty to discard, so I ran it through my die cutting/embossing machine with the Sizzix Tim Holtz Postcards embossing folder. I highlighted the raised lettering with Tattered Rose and Antique Linen Distress Inks. With the shadow layer under my snowflake, I could use pop dots to adhere it back on the background with no cuts showing.

I have a few precious pieces of cobalt blue Italian silk cardstock and used one to border the ensemble. Before layering, I die cut a very large piece out of the center so that it is mostly just the visible border that was used. No sense wasting that goodness underneath!

I embossed the Waltzingmouse vintage greeting, and border strips in a pearly embossing powder that echoes my thin border. I added a "Mini Me" Waltzingmouse ornament just for fun. The card base is cream but I treated it all with Tattered Rose Distress Ink to tie it all together. Ranger and Dreamweaver are showcasing techniques using the Distress Embossing Powders and the stencils, and there are prizes! Check out these links for more information: Dream it Up Blog and the Ranger blog. And while you are at it, create a card for the Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge. You don't even need to use WMS stamps to play along!

Doin' a Happy Dance!

Hello! I just found out that the good folks over at the Dreamweavers Blog chose my Burnished Velvet Leaves card for their October "Festively Fall" challenge winner in the category: Best Interpretation of the Challenge. Woohoo! I get to choose a stencil from the vast array of Dreamweaver Stencils. I have already decided on this one:

You can see an amazing card by Joy Hauck here on the Dreamweaver Blog that shows what can be done with this stencil. Another great sample using glitter (with instructions!) can be found on Yogi's amazing art blog here. Thank you, Dreamweavers, for choosing my card!

The November challenge on the Dreamweavers Blog is CAS Holidays (Clean and Simple). The only two Dreamweavers Stencils I own are holiday related, a snowflake and a spray of holly. I decided to enter this challenge using the holly. I rarely make anything CAS so this is extra challenging for me!

I bought the stencil, some embossing pastes and a metal offset spatula at my local stamp store (Stampers! in Victoria, BC) eons ago, but I have never gotten around to trying them out until now. Shame on me!

I taped the stencil down, ran it through my Cuttlebug to pressure emboss, then used Copic markers to colour in the image. I needed to use a light touch with the markers so they didn't seep under the stencil. Then I applied the transluscent Pearlescent Embossing Paste over top, removed and washed the stencil, then waited for the holly to dry.

Meanwhile, I created a little label with a Stampin' Up! punch and found it paired well with a Spellbinders Labels 21 die for a glittery background. I stamped the sentiment with Versafine Olympia Green. It's a Waltzingmouse Stamp. (One of the monthly WMS Christmas Card Challenges is to make a card based on a song. Fa la la la la...)  Two strips of glittered tape top and bottom framed the holly nicely and the whole works was mounted onto dark green card stock. This is a 5.5 X 4.25 inch card.

I hope you can see the raised image in the photos. The paste dried in about 20 minutes and I think it looks better in real life than it does in the photos. It is pearly, but not as muted as the colours here suggest. I can't wait to practice more and improve my technique! Why not join the November CAS challenge on the Dreamweavers blog, too? See you there!