Natural Thanks

Posted: June 28, 2010 | Author: Heather | Filed under: With Gratitude | Leave a comment

I repeated the layout I used in my previous card and just changed the colour scheme and the stamped image. As I wanted a white leaf on artichoke, I embossed it in white and then sponged over and around it before cutting it out. This year my children have been involved in an Outdoor education program at a campsite out of town. This was the thank you card for the owners of the campsite. The method was the same as my So Glad card and the inspiration, Joan’s gorgeous card.

Supplies:

Stamps: With Gratitude, Sincere Salutations
Inks: Chocolate Chip, Always Artichoke, Handsome Hunter
Cardstock: Always Artichoke, Whisper White
Also: White embossing powder

So Glad

Posted: June 27, 2010 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Of the Earth | 3 Comments

I am so glad to have a card to post after such a long time. I needed a birthday card for a close friend of mine plus a couple of thank you cards so I devoted most of Sunday afternoon last weekend to the task. This card was inspired by the fabulous card I saw on Joan Bardee’s blog Paperlicous. As soon as I saw it I knew I had to make one just like it. I cut a curve across a piece of paper to use as a mask, holding it in place to sponge before positioning the other half of the paper just above where I had sponged to create the white unsponged strip. I also did a similar thing inside the card. The little bird image is punched out and popped up.

Supplies:

Stamps: Of the Earth, Best Yet
Inks: Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, Not Quite Navy
Cardstock: Not quite Navy, Whisper White

Watercolor Grasses

Posted: May 2, 2010 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Inspired by Nature | 5 Comments

Weeks ago I believe I said I had one more of my watercolor cards to share. Here it is at last. Sad to say but I have not made a card in quite a while. The stamps are calling to me, though, quite clearly.

For this card, if I remember correctly, I sponged the paper and the stamped the grasses straight onto the wet watercolor paper. I stamped the same stamp in old olive and close to cocoa, but what was interesting was the way the old olive separated into green and yellow pigments giving me three colors. I then added little red flowers and drew black centres in them.

Supplies:

Stamps: Inspired by Nature, Itty Bitty Buds, Hugs and Wishes
Inks: Old Olive, Close to Cocoa, Real Red
Cardstock: Old Olive, Watercolor paper
Also: Olive Grosgrain ribbon, Hodgepodge hardware buckle

Dissolving blossoms

Posted: April 3, 2010 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Garden silhouettes, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Yes, it is another watery coloured image! (It definitely looks better if you click on it to see it full size)You can see I had fun with this technique. There is only one more after this one, then I will try and move onto other techniques, I think.

Once again I wet the watercolor paper then inked the stamp with markers before stamping it on the wet paper. There is quite a lot of blurring in this image but I still like the contrast of the sharper leaf tips with the dissolving flowers.

Supplies:

Stamps: Garden Silhouettes, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Inks: Real Red and Always Artichoke Markers
Cardstock: Flourishes Classic White, Always Artichoke

Watercolour split

Posted: March 28, 2010 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Inspired by Nature | 1 Comment

As you can see I am still on the watercolor kick. I know some might think the blurring and blending is a little over done here but I like the way some of the petals and leaves float away into nothing. To create this effect I inked up the stamp with Stampin’ Up markers and sponged the watercolor paper all over before stamping. Then I stepped back and watched the magic. Where the ink pooled in an unattractive way I soaked it up with paper towel.

Finishing the card was harder than creating the image. I started by making rough edges around the image but then cut them off again. I didn’t really want to stick any panels over the image but wanted to break up the layout a little so splitting it seemed to be the only solution. (well the only one that came to me) I think this works because the focus moves from one flower over to the two flowers.

Supplies:

Stamps: Inspired by Nature
Inks: Pumpkin Pie, Always Artichoke, Elegant Eggplant
Cardstock: Acquarello Watercolor Paper, Pumpkin Patch, Always Artichoke

Watercolored poppies

Posted: March 26, 2010 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Poppy Patch | 2 Comments

As I have been having fun doing some watercolor painting lately, I was keen to try some of the techniques with stamps. I love watercolor paintings of poppies so the beautiful Flourishes poppy stamps were the perfect place to start.

Getting the effect I was after took some trial and error. The Stampin Up inks dry very quickly so I could not stamp them and then use an Aqua Painter to spread and blend the ink. I found that the best technique was to stamp, then “paint” some ink into the leaves and flowers and then mist the whole image with water in order to get the inks to blend and run a little more. I did this several times before I was happy with the results. The leaves are stamped in Always Artichoke but I used Garden Green ink along with the Artichoke when painting. The images are stamped onto watercolor paper.

Supplies:

Stamps: Poppy Patch (Flourishes), Short and Sweet
Inks: Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Always Artichoke Garden Green, Basic Black
Cardstock: Acquarello Watercolor Paper, Real Red, Always Artichoke, Flourishes Classic Ivory Cardstock
Also: Artichoke grosgrain ribbon

Birthday Silhouette

Posted: March 16, 2010 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Nature Silhouettes | 3 Comments

This is a quick post of a quick card I whipped up for a friend of my husband. We were going to the birthday party on Saturday night so I looked through the stash only to find that I had no “manly” cards. When I finished this one I asked my husband if it was manly enough and he gave me a hesitant yes. It was later in the evening that I began to wonder if we had given a card to the same person a couple of years ago made with the same stamp. He and his wife were quite impressed then to receive a handmade card. I wonder if they will be impressed this time when they see I’ve been using the same stamp for two years! It’s not as if I don’t own a few other stamps!

I embossed the tree in black and then sponged in yellow, apricot and blue to create the sunrise scene. I was going for the CAS look so I popped up the scene and stamped a greeting. Problem was I didn’t bother using the stampamajig for my words so they ended up crooked. To remedy that error I cut the picture off the white card I had attached it to leaving a narrow border of white around it. I then attached the two lavers to a new base and stamped the words again. So the picture is doubly popped up, which I don’t mind. The photo is a little strange as I took it on my craft table under the fluorescent light without the tripod. Time was of the essence.

Supplies:

Stamps: Nature Silhouettes, Teensy Tiny Wishes
Inks: Versamark, Bashful Blue, Yoyo Yellow, Apricot Appeal
Cardstock: Flourishes Classic White
Also: black e.p.

Apple square

Posted: March 13, 2010 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Tart and Tangy | 2 Comments

While playing with the Tart and Tangy set last weekend I also came up with this card. I love the look of red, white and black together so a little red apple combined with black and white gingham was a happy combo for me.

I inked the apple in versamark and red so I could emboss in clear, but before the embossing I wiped off the stem and coloured directly on the stamp in green. I then used the punches and stamped a square of canvas background, which I matted in black. The ribbon is done with Leanne Pugliese’s clever “thread through the whole and tie technique”

Supplies:
Stamps: Thank You Kindly, Tart & Tangy
Inks: Real Red, Basic Black, Versamark
Cardstock: Flourishes Classic White, Real Red, Garden Green marker
Also: Clear embossing powder, Black gingham ribbon

Fruity

Posted: March 7, 2010 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Tart and Tangy | 3 Comments

Well it’s about time!
I have decided that it is possible to forget how to stamp, how to make cards, how to put things together so they look ok! I made three CAS cards, and it took me hours. As Lateblossom has said before, “Clean and simple does not always mean quick and simple.” I stamped the citrus shapes four or five time before I settled on three colours in a row. I tried ribbon in many different arrangements before I decided on no ribbon at all. I tried a green card, white matte. White card, no matte. Green card, green matte. Just as well my daughter came home when she did and made the decision for me. Then there was the decision over the sentiment…

All the fruit were inked up with versamark first and then the classic ink before embossing with clear. The little sentiments are from my new set Teeny Tiny Wishes, a set I’d never noticed before. I stamped them on spare cardstock and then punched the piece out with a square punch. Despite the dilemmas I faced along the way it was nice to be stamping again after quite a break. I have actually been creating lately just using a different medium for a change.

Supplies:
Stamps: Teensy Tiny Wishes, Tart & Tangy
Inks: Real Red, Green Galore, Yoyo Yellow, So Saffron, Versamark
Cardstock: Flourishes Classic White, Real Red, Green Galore
Also: Clear embossing powder

My clever boy

Posted: February 13, 2010 | Author: Heather | Filed under: My Kid's cards | 4 Comments

I don’t have any cards of my own to share but here are few winners from my boy. His cards continue to amaze me. Sometimes he uses my stamps but more often than not he creates his whole card by cutting and piecing images he has drawn himself. Here are some of his latest creations:

This one he made for a boy turning 13

Then he took a different approach for a penguin-loving girl turning 10

And then a hockey-loving boy turning 10

But my personal favourite is the hand drawn farewell card he made for his 19 year old cousin who stayed with us for a few weeks. He skated; he skied; he made snowmen; he tobogganed and then within a few days of leaving us he was on the coast of Australia, surfing.