Tearing & Spritzing

For my club this month I had a request to show a tearing technique and some spritzing (with the Color Spritzer). This is the card I came up with:

I'm loving this new set Autumn Days ~ it makes such great masculine cards. I just tore the edge (about 1/2" in) on the Chocolate Chip. I then layered it onto a Naturals Ivory base after stamping the leaf image from this set using Chocolate Chip ink on the Chocolate Chip card stock...makes a great background! We stamped the pheasant in Chocolate Chip on the Naturals Ivory card stock layered it onto the Always Artichoke and used the Color Spritzer with the Chocolate Chip marker to antique/distress the two layers. Do you like the notches in the Always Artichoke? Well that's done using the Horizontal Slot punch. Just slide it about halfway in and punch on each side ~ makes a great "catch" for the Hemp Twine which always seems a little uncontrollable to me but is the perfect touch to a masculine card...we just circled the card stock twice with the hemp twine and tied it in a knot on the front. Hope you like it!!

See you tomorrow...

Supplies:
Stamps: Autumn Days, Sincere Salutations
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Always Artichoke, Naturals Ivory
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Hemp Twine, Horizontal Slot punch, Color Spritzer

A handmade card can mean so much...

Last year I donated some cards to my CBS (Community Bible Study) Children's Department to use as Thank You's for ladies that had helped out with the kids. At the start of the year, our Children's Director had not used handmade cards, then when some of the ladies received the handmade cards, everyone was so quick to comment about how they loved them and those that had not received them were quick to point out that "I didn't get a hand-made card!" So...the Children's Director and I continued to make cards last year so no one got "left out."

We got smart this year and decided that all of Leadership could help out...so I prepped the cards and we got together as a group and made the Thank Yous. I hope they all enjoyed making them this year and we can all say we each had a "hand" in the Thank Yous for our members! Never underestimate the power of a handmade card!!!

Anyway...here are the cards I designed and we all made. They all had to be quick and easy...


Supplies:
Stamps: Thank You Kindly
Paper: Tea Party DSP, Almost Amethyst
Ink: Lovely Lilac
Accessories: So Saffron ribbon (retired ~ part of Sale-a-bration earlier this year)


Supplies:
Stamps: Le Jardin Botanique, En Francais
Paper: Mellow Moss, Always Artichoke, Very Vanilla
Ink: Always Artichoke
Accessories: 1/4" Always Artichoke Grosgrain ribbon, Eyelet Border punch


Supplies:
Stamps: Eastern Blooms, Sincere Salutations
Paper: Dusty Durango, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White
Ink: Dusty Durango (marker), Chocolate Chip (marker & Classic ink pad)
Accessories: Cutter Kit (to distress edges), Dusty Durango 1/2" Polka-Dot Grosgrain ribbon


Supplies:
Stamps: Curly Label Bundle stamp set (retired)
Paper: Razzleberry Lemonade DSP, Pumpkin Pie, Crushed Curry
Ink: Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: Curly Label punch, Crushed Curry 1/2" Polka-Dot Grosgrain ribbon, Flower Fusion Pumpkin Pie Felt Flower, Silver brad

Embossed Wedding/Anniversary Card

ETA: Click here to go to my home page!

My downline Katy had done a wedding card that I thought was really pretty and simple, so I thought I would use her card as inspiration and make one of my own.

You can see her card HERE.

And here is my version...



I just love the Manhattan Flower Textured Impressions Die!! It makes such a beautiful image with very little effort. I used the Shimmery White Card Stock for the card base ~ just enough shimmer to make it special. I only ran the front half of the card through the Big Shot using the Embossing Textured Impressons Die. After I embossed the flower image, I cut around the outside edge and layered the Basic Gray card stock behind it to make it POP. Hope you like it!

Enjoy...

Supplies:
Stamps: Sincere Salutations
Card Stock: Shimmery White, Basic Gray
Ink: Versamark
Accessories: Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder, Key Tag punch, Basic Gray Taffeta ribbon, Horizontal Slot punch

You can never have enough...

Thank You cards. This is another Thank You card we did last week. This was a super-simple card to put together and it has such a nice effect. You just emboss using White Craft Ink and White Embossing Powder for your line image on dark card stock...you could easily change stamps with this idea ~ doing another kind of flower or even a swirled design. The Eyelet Border punch adds so much to a card ~ no need to add ribbon since it's so fancy by itself. Use the Key Tag punch to punch out your sentiment ~ so many of our stamps fit right into our punches making it quick & easy to make a tag.

Hope you like it!

Supplies:
Stamps: Echoes of Kindness, Sincere Salutations
Cardstock: Always Artichoke, Mellow Moss, Whisper White
Ink: Whisper White Craft, Always Artichoke
Accessories: Eyelet Border punch, Key Tag punch

Brayered Background

I had been seeing these brayered backgrounds everywhere and thought I would give them a try. We did this card at club a couple of months back ~ I have to admit, it takes a little bit of working with the ink and brayer to get the effect you're looking for. Overall though, I didn't think it was too hard! We used Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa, and Chocolate Chip for the ground, then used So Saffron, More Mustard, and Really Rust for the sky. You just roll your brayer over the ink pad, then using a torn piece of paper for a mask, you roll it onto your cardstock, starting with the light shade at the top next to your torn paper (the torn paper acts as a mask to protect the opposite side of your cardstock), then working your way to the darker shade at the bottom, blending as you go. I then used Sponge Daubers in the ink to blend even more. Then you turn the carstock around and do the same thing with the 2nd set of colors. The row of trees from Lovely as a Tree were stamped twice, each running off my sheet of cardstock on each end to give the look that they're ongoing instead of just a line of trees. Wouldn't this effect be pretty in pinks and blues with grays and black across the ground for more of a wintry look. Let me know if you have any questions about this card!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Stamps: Lovely as a Tree, Sincere Salutations
Cardstock: So Saffron, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel, So Saffron, More Mustard, Really Rust
Accessories: Brayer, Sponge Daubers

Another Masculine Birthday Card

This card was also one that was offered at my Birthday Bash Card Class. It is stamped multiple times using one of the trees out of the set Lovely as a Tree. I inked the image up with Always Artichoke and stamped it up to 3 times, at varying heights, on the cardstock. By doing this you create depth so it looks more like a forest instead of just a few trees. I used the hemp twine which adds more of the outdoors to the card and adds just a touch more masculinity. The background is also stamped with the Sanded background stamp in Chocolate Chip (you may have to click on the picture to enlarge it to see that added touch!). Let me know if you have any other questions about this card!

Thanks! and enjoy!

Supplies:

Stamps: Lovely as a Tree, Sincere Salutations, Sanded

Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Mellow Moss, Always Artichoke, Chocolate Chip

Ink: Always Artichoke, Chocolate Chip

Accessories: Hemp Twine, Metallic Eyeletes, Fresh Favorites II buttons, Key Tag punch, Slit punch