New Leaves
Posted: August 3, 2012 Filed under: CAS, Foliage Fancy 8 Comments
ThePenny Black blog has started featuring brand new stamps from their Christmas and Halloween catalogs. My card today is made using the new Foliage Fancy set which includes outline and solid stamps in three different leaf shapes along with three sentiments.
I embossed the outline leaf with clear embossing powder first then inked the solid leaf with yellow, green and a touch of orange before stamping over the embossed images. I finished the panel with some sponging before matting it and attaching to the card base.
Just because the fall and Christmas stamps are out does not mean I am finished with summer. I am loving the weather, the activities and the slightly more relaxed pace. I’m in no hurry for September to roll around!
Supplies:
Stamps: Foliage Fancy (Penny Black)
Inks: Memento Daffodil, Cantaloupe, Pear Tart & Versamark (Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Penny Black Mix & Match Papers Grand Canyon & Olive Grove
Also: Clear e.p.
Another Butterfly Birthday card
Posted: August 2, 2012 Filed under: CAS, Flower among flowers, Penny Black, Social Butterfly 10 Comments
I don’t dare count how many birthday cards I have made featuring butterflies; I know there are many. My elder daughter turned 18 today and this is the card we gave her.
This is a very familiar layout from me; the little variation is that I brayered the background this time instead of sponging. The background flowers were repeatedly stamped to get the variation of dark and pale.
Thank you for the kind comments you left hear while I was away. I thoroughly enjoyed my week by the lake and then had fun catching up on the comments when I returned. Thanks to everyone who participated in my last OLW challenge; I haven’t caught up on commenting yet but I will visit all your submissions before my turn comes around again!
Supplies
Stamps: Flower among Flowers, To You…, Social Butterfly (PB)
Ink: Memento Teal Zeal & Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko)
Muted Music card
Posted: July 25, 2012 Filed under: Background Stamps, Bliss, Penny Black 20 Comments
I have another musical thank you card today; it is a repeating theme for me I know. The new feature on this one is my chalk ink sponged base. I tore my masks and positioned them around the edge of a white panel and then sponged the entire space with Tsukineko Wheat Versamagic Chalk ink. The effect is quite different from the Memento inks I have been sponging lately. The music and the flowers are stamped with Memento inks.
I am scheduling this for mid-week while I am by the lake. I look forward to catching up with all that you have been creating when I get back.
Supplies:
Stamps: Music Background, Gratitude, Bliss (PB)
Inks: Memento Lady Bug and Rich Cocoa, Wheat Versamagic Chalk ink (Tsukineko)
Blue Lake
Posted: July 20, 2012 Filed under: Hillflowers, Stamped Landscapes 19 Comments
I haven’t created a landscape card for a while so when I saw a misty lake on the cover of a book on my bedside table I was inspired.
I started by masking the lake edge and sponging in the sky. Then I tore a mask for the hill and sponged that. I then removed the lake edge mask and sponged the reflections moving the hill mask also. I stamped the Hill Flowers stamp in grey first then black to complete the scene.
Our family is off to a cottage by a lake tomorrow so I will be internet-less for 8 days. Hopefully I will get to photograph and enjoy relaxing scenes like the one above and come back inspired to do more creating. I will schedule a post or two for while I am away so drop back in if you like.
Supplies:
Stamps: Hillflowers 3938K (PB)
Inks: Memento Gray Flannel, Summer Sky & Teal Zeal, Versfine Onyx Black (Tsukineko)
OLW 97 Line Up
Posted: July 18, 2012 Filed under: CAS, Lace Delight, OLW, Penny Black, Puzzle Parts 6 CommentsI am challenging you to use lines on your one layer card this week. Straight lines, zig-zags or curves, just as long as they are obviously lines.
I created a set of little note cards each stamped in a single colour. The masculine one is full of lines.
When the idea for this little set popped into my mind I thought it would be so simple. But as it turned out, even with my new gridded acrylic block some of these little note cards took 3 or 4 attempts. Even though my lacey note cards are less linear I have still stamped a line or two of lace so I think they scrape in for the challenge too. To see a couple more pretty note card sets visit the Penny Black Blog today.
Supplies
Stamps: Puzzle Parts, Lace Delight, Flourish Thank You, Special Time, Round & Round , Free Flight. (PB)
Ink: Memento Elderberry, Tangelo, Bahama Blue, Rhubarb Stalk (Tsukineko)
OLW97 Rules
1. A one-layer card is defined as a single layer of card stock folded in half. No other layers of card stock allowed.
2. Make a card featuring lines of some sort.
3. Post your card online somewhere and link back to it using the InLinkz tool on the sidebar of Simplicity. If posting to your blog, please link to your OLW blog post, not just the main page of your blog.
4. Have fun getting in line!
I can’t wait to see what you come up with.
Collage Card Tutorial
Posted: July 16, 2012 Filed under: Collage cards, Flamboyant, Penny Black, Tutorial 17 Comments
I have put together a tutorial describing the way I made my recent collage cards. I am sure there are many successful methods but this is the way I did it.
The tutorial describes how I made a monochromatic collage; my blue collage and the brown collage are in this post. Once again I relied on my son’s and my husband’s expertise to complete the video tutorial but I think I am getting quicker over all!
Supplies:
Stamps: Letter Background, Flamboyant, Gratitude, Lace Delight (PB)
Inks: Memento New Sprout, Pear Tart, Bamboo Leaves (Tsukineko)
Butterfly birthday
Posted: July 12, 2012 Filed under: CAS, Social Butterfly 21 Comments
I have seen a few cards lately with backgrounds made using acrylic blocks so I decided to give it a try. I dabbed ink onto the block using the memento dew drop inks then spritzed it with water and let it blend and run on the block before stamping the block onto the card base. On top of that I stamped the maidenhair several times in three greens before completing the scene with a black butterfly and sentiment. I have seen similar backgrounds with a lot more colour and ink so I will continue experiment with the technique. We are enjoying gorgeous summer weather this week and I am seeing some butterflies too.
Thanks for dropping by.
Supplies
Stamps: Flourish Birthday, Social Butterfly (PB)
Ink: Memento New Sprout, Pear Tart, Bamboo Shoot & Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko)
Inspired by tiles
Posted: July 10, 2012 Filed under: CAS, Oh Spring!, Penny Black 13 CommentsI often find inspiration for cards in House magazines or flyers but I don’t always do something with the inspiration. When I saw the tiled bathroom wall below, however, I decided to turn it into a card.
I sponged all the tiles first by moving a post-it note gradually left to right and top to bottom sponging the edge after each move. The branches are stamped in versafine onyx black and highlighted with FaberCastell PolyChromos pencils.
It has been a bit quiet on the blog the last few days because we had a surprise party for my younger daughter’s 16th birthday. My older daughter made all the plans, contacted the guests, decorated and ran some games, my husband and I handled the food and my son lent his video editing talents to make a clever celebrity quiz. I had the job of getting her out of the house which was not too hard with the mention of shopping. The girls had a great time and my daughter was completely surprised!
Supplies:
Stamps:Oh Spring! , Free Flight (Penny Black)
Inks: Wheat Versamagic Chalk ink, Versfine Onyx Black (Tsukineko)
Also: Faber-Castell Polychromos Pencils
OLW Stars and Stripes
Posted: July 5, 2012 Filed under: CAS, OLW 6 Comments
Susan’s challenge for One Layer Wednesday this week is to use stars and stripes, very appropriate for a July 4th challenge. I did not choose to make my card in red, white and blue however; I went for some bright sunny yellow stars.
I realized after I had finished that this almost exactly the layout I used for my last OLW card; sorry for the lack of variety. This simple three star card took three attempts to complete as I smudged yellow ink outside the star on the first two cards. Sigh. Other than that little hitch it was a very straightforward card. I punched the stars out of a post it note to make the mask. I then sponged yellow first, added a straight mask, sponged orange, repositioned the mask and so on.
Hope your week is sunny.
Supplies:
Stamps: Sweet Wishes (Penny Black)
Inks: Memento Daffodil, Cantaloupe, Tangelo & Potter’s Clay (Tsukineko)
Collage Thank You cards
Posted: July 4, 2012 Filed under: A Flight of Thread, CAS, Collage cards, Penny Black, Queen Anne's Lace 18 Comments
Our daughter graduated from high school last week and when thinking back over the years I started recalling the many people who have positively impacted her life, contributed to her education and prayed for her through thick and thin. I thought I might get a few photos and slip them inside cards and send them, especially to our friends and family in Australia who love her dearly but rarely get to see her.
I enjoyed making my own collages although it does take a little time and does not always work the way I intend. In order to blend the images together without unattractive overlap it is sometimes necessary to ink only part of the stamp or as I did, ink it all then wipe off some ink with a cloth. It is hard to describe my process, especially as I am not sure that I remember what order I did things; perhaps it’s time for another tutorial?
Edited to add: I have posted a tutorial here on the blog and it is on my youtube channel
Supplies:
Stamps: A Flight of Thread, Queen Anne’s Lace, Letter Background, Flourish Thank You 4175F, Gratitude (PB)
Inks: Memento Rich Cocoa & Desert Sand, Summer Sky, Nautical Blue & Teal Zeal (Tsukineko)
Heather Telford 