Waterdrop Technique

It's a boy! My cousin gave birth to a beautiful baby boy tonight and right after work I set about making her a congratulatory card to celebrate the little peanut.

Do you ever have emotional relationships to stamps, or am I the only weird one? When I was 14, I saw this beautiful stamp in a crafting store and my grandma saw me staring longingly at it. She, being the amazingly generous person that she is, surprised me with it. I have TRIED over and over and over again to use this stinkin' stamp but I always wind up hating the end result because the stamp is so big. Which makes it the perfect entry for Simon Says Stamp's Boldly go into STAMPtember challenge!

I finally conquered the stamp! I saw this technique where people emboss resisted the background images, and I thought - hey! Why not try it with a sentiment? I embossed the saying using white embossing powder and brushed over it with a heavy coat of shades of blue Distress Inks. Next, I dropped large droplets of water on to the paper, and let it sit. 

It creates this gorgeous result that, I think, compliments the saying perfectly. 

After the droplets formed, I dabbed it with a paper towel and used my heat tool to dry it. In addition to the big stamp, I think this card is bold because I took on two somewhat dated crafting materials: vellum and mulberry paper. I remember using these things back in the day, but haven't seen them used very recently - especially not the mulberry paper. 

I positioned mulberry paper behind the stamped image and distressed the edges using Faded Jeans Distress Ink. To tackle the vellum, I busted out my Cricket Basic Shapes cutter and made some flowers. I used blue vellum, dabbed it in Faded Jeans and painted over it with Perfect Pearls Blue Patina before drying it with a heat tool. Boy were my hands messy!!

The flowers turned out with this grungy, textured, shimmery feel and I finished them with some blue embellishments. Finally, I used some tiny sequins sent to me by my friend, LaVon Hall. 

The finished card looks like the perfect thing to send to my cousin in honor of her little bundle of joy!

MATERIALS:

• Distress Inks: Stormy Sky, Weathered Wood, Faded Jeans
• Perfect Pearls: Blue Patina
• River City Rubber Works, "Oh, but I Won't Know" stamp by Kay Foly
• Cricut Basic Shapes cartridge
• Blue embellishments
• Dark blue and white cardstock\
• Tiny sequins
• Light blue vellum
• White mulberry paper

Dipping My Hands into Stamping Challenges

I thought I'd dip my fingers into some of the stamping challenges I've been seeing some of the other bloggers participate in. I came across the Stamplorations bi-weekly sketch challenge #19 by happenstance and inspiration bubbled over. I also looked through Stamplorations acrylic stamp collections and marveled that I didn't own some of them already (a problem I will have to remedy). They gave this sketch:

I also hopped all over Simon Says Stamp's STAMPtember Stamp-It Challenge and Blog Hop. Inspiration proves essential to creating beautiful, unique cards so thanks to all the designers for sharing their latest creations. I'm going to enter this card into BOTH challenges for a double-whammy - Go me!

I know I've already posted a fall-themed stamped card, but I just had my first Pumpkin Spiced Latte of the season and felt like celebrating! I can't wait for all things pumpkin flavored! (P.S. If you have any good recipes, send them my way.) I even found a couple of colorful leaves in my backyard to add to my photo.

Here's the end result:

MATERIALS:

• Core'dinations fired brick cardstock
• White cardstock
• Photo paper
• Stampin' Up "French Foliage" stamp set
• Close to My Heart "Summer's Wave" stamp set
• Distress Ink - Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, Old Paper, Fired Brick, and Wild Honey
• Perfect Pearls - Perfect Gold
• Mini Mister

I started by whipping out my trusty Distress Ink Collection and applying some ink directly to my mat. I wanted the background to scream with rich, fall color, so I used photo paper to give it a nice shiny feel. I spritzed the Distress Inks with water and dipped my paper. Dried, then dipped again to give rich layers. I then added a banner of red leaves using the "Summer's Wave" stamp set and Fired Brick Distress Inks. I spritzed it all with Perfect Gold Perfect Pearls to give it a nice shimmery finish. 

To make the leaves, I stamped my stamps with one color of ink, spritzed with water for a nice watercolor effect and then stamped over it in a darker color without spritzing to get the defined veins, before brushing them with Old Paper Distress Ink. 

I finished the card with a somewhat wistful saying: "A fallen leaf is nothing more than summer's wave goodbye". Oh well - If it means I can drink more pumpkin spiced lattes, I'm in!

Distress Inks Watercolor Stamp Technique

I told you all about the international card exchange I participated in last month. The big reveal of all the cards was posted today and so I can finally talk about the card I sent all the way to Norway for the lovely Gail of "The Crafty Nomad".

The card I made for today's blog post is very similar to the one that I sent to Gail, but I wanted to soften it a bit and make it into a thank you card to give to my administrative assistant (who makes my life so much more pleasant). In order to soften it, I decided to use a watercolor technique with Distress Inks. I adore Distress Inks and all the unique ways you can use them.

MATERIALS:

• Tan cardstock
• Brown sheer ribbon
• Distress Inks: Tattered Rose, Faded Jeans, Festive Berries, and Vintage Photo
• Inkssentials blending tool (or a sponge)
• Mini Mister
• Personal Stamp Exchange "Rust Tampestry" embossing powder
• Stampin Up' "Inspired by Nature" stamp set
• Stampendous "Dream Text Stamp" background
• Hampton Art Studio G "Ever Thankful" stamp

I started by folding a piece of 5x11 tan cardstock into a trifold, accordion style. I used Stampin Up's "Inspired by Nature" retired stamp set (it's still available as a digital download). To achieve the watercolor effect, I inked the stamp pad generously with Faded Jeans Distress Inks and then used a mini mister to spritz water onto the inked stamp before stamping the image.

I repeated the effect using Festive Berries and Tattered Rose Distress Inks, layering the position where the stamp was placed. Next, I stamped grass from the same stamp set over the watercolored flowers (without spritzing the stamp). I cut around the flowers to create the top layer. I used Stampendous's Dream Text Stamp to stamp the background all over the second layer, again using Tattered Rose. To create a wonderful depth around the edges, I used a blending tool and added vintage photo around the edges, more heavily in the upper right corner. I added ribbon, and my thank you saying to finish out the card.

I love the final result!

Just as an aside, the card challenge asked us to use specific colors (or close to them). A handy way to know what your Distress Inks will look like when you stamp them on the paper is by creating a personal color wheel.

Cut out tags of paper and add an eyelet. Brush with one color of the distress inks, and using clear embossing powder on the bottom half. That way you'll know what the ink color will look like flat, or with embossing powder. It's surprising just how much the color changes! Add a keyring to bind them all together.

Enjoy!

A First for Everything

Well, I'm finally going to bite the proverbial bullet and start a blog. The wonderful and talented Deborah Nolan over at Society of Stampaholics hosts a monthly international card exchange and I needed to have either a blog or a photostream to sign up. Since I love to write and adore crafting, blogging should suit both of those penchants perfectly! Plus, hopefully I'll meet some new friends who can inspire my crafting inclinations. It can get awfully lonely in North Dakota, as I'm living away from most of my family.

What would a first post be without a little cardmaking action? My aunt Jerrie has been bugging me to send her a card and Autumn is right around the corner. (Ok! Ok! It's here already and I'm just living in denial.) I just scored a bundle of new stamps for super cheap at an estate sale and was dying to try out this new fall stamp that was in the mix. 

The Finished Result:

Materials:
Red, white, and tan cardstock
Fall Adirondack chair stamp, Northwoods Rubber Stamps, Inc
Recollections brads, fall medium circles
Spectrum noir markers
Black archival inkpad
Perfect Pearls, Forever Red
Distress Inks, Weathered Wood
X-acto Knife
Mounting tape circles

Instructions:
1. Cut your red cardstock to standard card size (5 1/2 x 8 1/2), fold. 
2. Stamp your image twice onto a sheet of white cardstock (4 1/2 x 3 3/4). Cut out Adirondack chair from one of the images. 
3. Color image and chair using Spectrum Noir markers. This card took many different colors to blend, all of which are listed above.
4. Using raised mounting circles, attach colored chair to original image. 
5. Using Perfect Pearls in forever red, color some of the red leaves for a little bit of glitter (what card doesn't benefit from glitter?) 
6. Using Distress Inks Weathered Wood stamppad and a sponge (or Ranger's lovely blending pads) distress the corners of the image. 

Here's a closeup of the effects of step 5 and 6. It really shimmers in the light but, of course, the camera doesn't do it justice. 

7. Cut 3 tan strips of 1'' cardstock and attach brads to the ends. 
8. Assemble card with your choice of adhesive. 
9. Voila! You are finished. 

I chose an autumn saying for the insides, and brushed it with a little bit of Perfect Pearls to give in a shimmery finish. 

My very first card for my blog brings my love of Autumn's warm colors to life. I hope Aunt Jerrie enjoys it!