Sunday, September 25, 2011

September Papertrey Blog Hop



This is the inspiration for the September Papertrey Blog Hop:


And here's my card:


The colored strips were made by stamping Hero Arts Life of the Party Dots cling stamp onto white cardstock, then heat embossed with white embossing powder.  This was then cut into strips and swiped with Distress Inks.  

The background of the card was embossed in my Cuttlebug with Cuttlebug's Swiss Dots embossing folder.

The colored strips were adhered to the embossed background.  A black strip was placed across the bottom.  Button embellishments were then adhered using glue dots.

The edges of the sentiment were distressed with the same colors of Distress Ink as used on the colored strips (a different color for each side).  The sentiment was then adhered with 3D foam squares.

I love the bright, fun colors of this card!  Thanks Papertrey for the inspiration!





Friday, September 23, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving (with Autumn leaves)


I love fall/autumn and the beauty that comes with it - the colors of leaves turning and the crispness of the air. I've never used my Hero Arts Real Leaves stamp set and I figured there's no better time than now!  This card was inspired by Joy Taylor and her video on Distress Ink Wicking. Here's how I did it:

I inked the leaf stamps with Distress Ink and stamped on white cardstock.  I then spritzed the stamped image with water causing the "wicking" affect.  I wanted the leaves to look a bit more realistic, so I crumpled them up while the paper was still damp.  I then distressed the edges of the leaves with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  (NOTE:  The leaf veins on the lightest colored leaf didn't show up too well after I spritzed them, so I stamped over it with the same stamp inked with Vintage Photo.)

The bottom portion of the card was made my inking the same leaf stamp with Versamark and stamping it randomly across the paper.  This gave the tone-on-tone effect.

The most "autumnish" greeting I had was the Thanksgiving stamp, so I chose it :-)

Thanks for looking!

 

Friday, September 16, 2011

Lily Pad Cards Sketch Challenge (presented by Hero Arts)


Here's a card I made for a Lily Pad Cards Sketch Challenge.  This challenge was presented by Hero Arts. Here's a picture of the sketch:

My husband and I will soon be celebrating our 28th wedding anniversary.  I'm always stumped when it comes time to make a card for him.  Masculine cards are a challenge for me!  However, this sketch really inspired me for this card.  Here's how it was done:

Penny Black's Paisley Outline stamp was stamped with Versamark ink onto strips of black, white, and red cardstock.  The black and red strips were then heat embossed with white embossing powder.  The white strip was heat embossed with black embossing powder.  I then cut the strips to the size I wanted and used some of the "scrap" strips to break things up a bit. These strips were then adhered to the card.

The heart was made using my Cuttlebug and their heart-shaped die cut.  Then, the heart was embossed using the Cuttlebug Floral Fantasy Embossing Folder.  The heart was then adhered to the strips with 3D foam squares.

The sentiment is from Inkadinkado's Wedding clear stamp set.  The stamp was inked with Versamark, then heat embossed with white embossing powder.

Finally, silver adhesive gems were then added as embellishments........and this is where some significant meaning comes into play.  The single silver pearl on the heart symbolizes the fact that my husband and I are of one heart - always and forever.  The three silver gems underneath the sentiment represent our 3 children whom are the most precious blessings of our 28 years together!

Thanks Lily Pad Cards and Hero Arts for your timely and special inspiration!!

Hero Arts Weekend Inspiration





This card was created for Hero Arts Weekend Inspiration.  This was the photo for the inspiration:


Here's how I made the card:

First, I inked the "tall grass" stamp from Hero Arts Earth Flowers clear stamp set with Peeled Paint & Forest Moss Distress ink, misted it with water, and stamped across the bottom edge the paper.

Next, the "flower bundle" stamp (from the same clear stamp set) was inked with Mustard Seed Distress ink, misted with water, and stamped across the paper.

The purple flowers were made by inking a stamp from Hero Arts Real Garden Petals clear stamp set with Dusty Concord Distress ink, misted with water, and stamped randomly across the page.

I then tore the edges of my cardstock and ran a strip of blue ribbon across the bottom (to "resemble" the blue vases in the picture).

The sunflowers were stamped using an old Rubber Stampede stamp inked with Versamark and heat embossed with clear embossing powder.  (I stamped the image 3 times). I then watercolor painted them using Distress ink pads tapped on my craft pad, misted with water, and painted on the flower and leaves.  Ink colors for the flowers were Spiced Marmalade & Rusty Hinge Distress inks.  The leaves were colored with Peeled Paint & Forest Moss Distress Inks.   The center of the flowers were colored with a Copic Sketch marker (E29 - Burnt Umber).  The flowers were then cut out and adhered with 3D foam squares.

I used a stamp from Hero Arts Fancy Friendship clear stamp set for my sentiment.  The stamp was inked with Versamark and heat embossed with black embossing powder.  The edges of my sentiment banner were then torn and the edges distressed with Faded Jeans Distress ink.  This banner was also adhered with 3D foam squares.