Sunday, July 30, 2017

Rinse and Repeat!


I did the same Zig Scribble technique as my post from yesterday to make a sympathy card today. I used a pink and purple colour scheme, and white pearl embossing powder. The florals are Altenew's Peony Bouquet.



My uncle passed away recently and he was a gifted pianist. After masking the flowers, I heat embossed sheet music on the card front. On the inside, I stamped piano keys and this calligraphy stamp from Quietfire Design:


Here you can see the heat embossed sheet music a bit better:


I am happy I was able to create a card that reflected a bit of my uncle's gift for music with stamps I had on hand. These cards are always difficult to make, but this watercolour-ish technique makes it more enjoyable. The YouTube video where I learned this technique is here.


Saturday, July 29, 2017

Color Throwdown #453


The Color Throwdown 463 challenge was this photo, which features some amazing yummy Mason jar drinks that inspired my color pallette.

I needed a farewell card for one of my staff and over at Splitcoaststampers, the Way To Use It Challenge was to heat things up. So I heat embossed these Altenew Peony Bouquet stamps with Silver Pearl Embossing Powder, masking as needed to add in leaves.



I worked on Bristol Smooth cardstock and used the "Zig Scribble" technique with Zig Clean Colour Brush Markers that I learned from "Cards by Regina."  This was So. Much. Fun! See her You Tube video here.



The Quietfire Design sentiment is stamped in Black Versafine ink and clear embossed. The fancy piecing on the right side of the card was necessitated by my cutting too much off. Decided to make it a design element!

Saturday, July 22, 2017

CCT14 Christmas Rainbow


The Christmas Card Throwdown Challenge No. 14 is:

It was a challenge. I don't usually think of rainbow colours and Christmas going together other than red and green. Here is my card:

I recently picked up a stamp set from Stamp-it Australia at a garage sale and this ornament intrigued me. It does not have an outline, so I had to create a mortise mask to enable me to sponge Distress Ink through the hole to colour just the balls. I tried to leave the centers paler as though that is where the light would hit them. The branches are from a Flourishes set.

I put some Nuvo White Blizzard Crystal Drops on the snowflakes here and there to add some shine. This card is 4 X 8.5 inches. Still time to play in the challenge if you want to tackle a toughie!



Sunday, July 16, 2017

Welcome Card

This week I have a new staff member joining my team and as is my tradition, I have made a card.  Unlike the orientation manual I put together for her, this card came together quickly, using scraps of metal in my Ten Seconds Studio scrap box.
I used a Cuttlebug embossing folder for the background panel and the flower is cut with the T!m Holtz Tattered Floral dies and embossed with the Swiss Dots embossing folder . A soft white velvet flower brad provided a different texture, and I added a purple Swarovski crystal gem to the center.
The sentiment is a Waltzingmouse Stamp and I used my new Spellbinders Fancy Framed Tags One set to create the tag frame. The leaves and ferns were punched out of metal, as well. The thin white mat and burgundy card are the only paper used in this almost all metal card.

I am so excited to have this gal joining our department so that I can go back to doing one job instead of two!

Friday, July 7, 2017

50th Cascading Card


Doves, hearts and ribbons - oh my! I was asked to create a 50th Wedding Anniversary card for a friend. I wanted it to be really special, and so I turned to the Dreaming Tree to find a design with some WOW factor to cut on my Silhouette Cameo. Here is the Doves Cascading Card:


Instead of the provided front embellishment, I used JustRite "Ever After" stamps for the frame and sentiment. I heat-embossed in gold. 

The panels were embossed in my Cuttlebug with a Poppy damask embossing folder from Anna Griffin. I highlighted the panels with Delicata Golden Glitz ink. I used rhinestones to embellish, and the highest portion features hearts in gold mirror cardstock and doves and a bow. The most amazing thing about this card, though, is it folds flat for mailing.

If you have a cutting machine and have not visited the Dreaming Tree site yet, please do. Their customer service is fantastic, and their cutting files are very well designed. I like that the access to the files you purchase never expires! Thanks for visiting today.


Wednesday, July 5, 2017

Christmas in July

I tried my hand at some watercolour with this spectacular pine wreath stamp (Pine Burst) from Penny Black. I overdid it and was feeling sort of meh about it. Then I had the brainwave to layer vellum overtop to soften the look and ended up liking it much more.

After stitching the vellum down, I created a JOY stencil cut on my Silhouette Cameo and brushed clear Wink of Stella glitter over it (which I doubt you can see). I dotted the berries in the wreath with red gel pen on top of the vellum to highlight it a bit.

In the end it is a card saved, but I don't think I can keep hiding my watercolour efforts under vellum. Need to practice more and try to get better! This is for Sylvia Durocher's Christmas Card Challenge. The month of July requires a circle and the colour white. Check and Check! 

Sunday, July 2, 2017

Birthday Blooms

It's time to Seize the Birthday Card. The challenge this week is anything goes, so that could not be easier.

I chose to highlight a Quietfire Design calligraphy sentiment and frame with Labels One dies from Spellbinders and mirror image blooms from "Petals & Stems" by Avery Elle. The MISTI made it possible to place the blooms right where I needed to have the design continue across the layers.


I added three coral hot-fix Swarovski crystals to the lower right corner, which sparkle in real life, but not so much in the photo!
Thanks for visiting today!