Thursday, April 3, 2014

Simple Birthday Cards Using WPlus9 "Coming Up Roses" Stamp Set

Happy Doris Day day!! In honor of Doris Day's birthday, I am going to share some birthday cards.

Today I want to share with you two cards I created using WPlus9's "Coming Up Roses" stamp set.
I bought this set a couple weeks ago and was able to play a little this past weekend with it. It was so much fun!! I think this is going to be my new "go to" stamp set when I need a pretty card.

 


To start the process, I used the matching dies to cut roses and leaves out of heavy white card stock. I also die cut a vase out of tracing paper as I have misplaced a whole package of vellum. I am still flummoxed as to where I put it but tracing paper worked in a pinch.

I then stamped the rose stems, roses and the sentiment using Hero Arts and Paper Trey Ink's dye inks. Next I used a new technique that I learned in my Clean and Simple 3 Card class that I took a couple weeks ago. I used a Copic blender to lightly take some of the color off the ink to give it a more 3-D effect. Mine did not come out as well as the teacher's but since this is my first time utilizing this technique, I think I did pretty well.


My next step was to spray the card with silver and pink mist spray. I chose to use the mist as it was meant to be used AND also took the bottom out to "fling" more color in strategic places. I am a bit obsessed with mist spray at the moment and it has been used on a lot of my projects as of late.

Now it was time to assemble my card, which was easy peasy. I just took the roses and leaves I had die cut and stamped and layered them over the roses stamped on the card base with foam adhesive. To give the card even more pizazz, I adhered sequins in silver and pink to the front.


My second card is actually the first card I created. The only difference is that I didn't spray the mist spray on but flung it on using the actual mister taken out of the bottle. I also had to create a banner because my first attempt to stamp the sentiment ON the card went awry. (one reason I am not a one layer card girl-the sentiment is something I usually stamp last and something always goes wrong!!) I also only added one extra leaf rather then two. 

Bonus Card:
I am going to include the third card I created using this set too in this post. It is much different then the other two cards I created and I have to admit it is not my own design. I copied it from one of the WPlus9 designers, Lea Lawson. Her work is stunning!! You could take hours going through her blog. Lea's card was a bit more elegant then mine but I needed to make a quick birthday card and this fit the bill. 

Instead of using a cream card base, I used Lemon Yellow card stock from PTI. I then used yellow and white spritz on the card base. (The white is hard to see in the photo-I think I should have shaken the bottle up a bit more to get the pigment out too!) I stamped the two yellow sprigs of flowers at the top and the sentiment on the bottom. I wanted to make sure before I glued anything down that I didn't mess that up! 

Next I layered the stamped die cuts to the left, wrapped ombre floss around the card and adhered a blue button. My last step was to scatter sequins across the top. It is not as clean as Lea's card but I like how it came out. This will be going out to my Aunt tomorrow. I might actually be getting a card out in time for someone's birthday for a change. 

Well, that is all for now. Have a great day!!

Nora

Supplies:

Rose Cards


Yellow Card



Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Happy Hump Day!

Happy Hump Day everyone! It is Wednesday and I am hoping this day goes by fast. I am looking forward to the WEEKEND and Wednesdays always seem to drag on for me. Today was not a particular good day for me. I received a jury duty summons in the mail and found out someone I knew when I was young passed away.

Today I am sharing a fun, quick card I created using an Inkadinkado stamp set that I bought on clearance at JoAnn's for $.97. It was a steal!! I actually bought it more for the sentiments then the images but I decided for this card I would try one of the images out.



I decided to make the image on this card the focal point. I started out by stamping the lizard image in black permanent ink and then coloring it in with Copic Markers.


I could have colored the lizard green but wanted to mix it up a little and make it a bright color. I used a range of yellow/red hues with a little bit of red. 


I then highlighted the image with some purple.


To finish him off, I went over him with a Wink of Stella glitter pen and used glossy accents on his spots. I think he came out cute!!

I was originally going to make this a one layer card but par for the course, I got ink on my hands and it rubbed off on the left side of the card so I had to cut the card panel down. I used this mistake to layer the panel over a piece of Washi tape and a punched border.


I used some foam adhesive to give it some dimension. The last step was to glue a few iridescent sequins onto the card front. Now I have to figure out who I want to send this card too. I think it came out really cute for a $.97 stamp set.

That is all for today. Thank you for stopping by.

Nora
Supplies:


Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Clean and Simple 3 Class Homework

Hello everyone!! Just a quick post to show off the last card I created for the Clean and Simple 3 class. I used Jennifer McGuire's technique of stamping a background in white. Jen then stamped over the background with a a different stamp but I wanted to try something different. Instead of stamping over the white, I masked over it with post it tape and used inks to get an ombre effect. I saw this on a Julie Ebersole video and have wanted to try this for a while.


The sentiment was stamped and embossed first, before I did anything. I didn't want the background to interfere with that.

The mist spray I splattered and the added sequin are really a cover up for some fingerprints I got on the card. A girl has to do what a girl has to do to make it right!! Hee Hee!! I also added some Wink of Stella glitter over the stripes but it is hard to tell on this photo.

Things I learned:
Not all white pigment ink is the same. I used MFT's white on this card. Jennifer used Hero Art's, which I did not have at the time. (I have since gotten my hands on some!!) On some parts of the card, the ink was a bit saturated and I had a hard time with it drying, even with my heat gun. I also need to get some ultra fine white (and black) embossing powder for sentiments. The stuff I have just doesn't work all that well.

Well that is all for today. Thank you for stopping by!!!

Nora
Supplies:
Stamps-Hero Arts and Paper Trey Ink
Wow Embossing Powder
White ink by Colorbox for MFT
Distress ink
Doodlebug sequins
Wink of Stella glitter

Simple Class Homework-Day 9-Textural Effects

Happy Hump Day!!

Blog, create cards, blog, create cards-that is the dilemma for me these days. Also, having a concussion and still feeling the effects of it has kept me off of the computer for the most part. I did want to share some of the cards I made using techniques from the Clean and Simple 3 Class I just completed. What a fun class!! I would definitely recommend taking one of these classes if you ever get the chance.

For the first card, I used Debbie Hughe's embossing technique to create my card. Her beautiful butterfly card inspired me to make a card using a butterfly stamp. This stamp is from Stampin Up!'s "Wonderful Wings" set-one of the oldest stamp sets I own. I rarely use wooden stamps anymore but this stamp set is still one of my favorites!


Here is the card I created:


Unlike Debbie, I chose to emboss in black rather then in white for this card. I think that the black suited this butterfly rather then the white. I then colored in the butterflies with Copic markers.


I generally like the way they came out BUT they did pick up some of the black embossing powder and sent it through the coloring to mottle it a little. It made the butterflies a bit dark. I then used a Wink of Stella pen to go over all the butterflies to make them shine. It is a little hard to see in the photos I took, though.

I then sprinkled green and orange mist on the card. Debbie showed how she does "controlled" sprinkles but I threw that out the window and just went for it. I am in that mode these days of just going full out.

The embossing paste technique was the last step. I used a stencil I cut out of white card stock using my Silhouette digital cutter. After the embossing paste dried, I covered it all with a little Wink of Stella.


The second card I created I decided to leave the embossing paste off but started off trying the "controlled" misting. Once you see the card, you will see I did NOT control my spraying in any shape or form!!!


I decided to used white embossing powder for this card and pulled out some Radiant Pearls paint-something I have had in my stash FOR YEARS to paint the butterflies.


Can I tell you how disappointed I am that they don't make these anymore? They are so fun to work with and I only have about 7 colors. It is hard to tell from the photo but the butterflies are shiny from the paint-no glitter pen needed. 


I have to admit, that I liked this card better then the first…until I screwed it up with the darn greeting. I messed up the stamping-one reason I rarely make one layer cards. I tried to "fix it" by stamping over it in black and then using my glitter pen over the black. I wish I had just used a gray or black ink for the greeting in the first place instead of getting fancy with a color. 



I also went around the outside with Hero Art's gold ink. I thought that it was a nice touch. I added sequins too because I thought it needed a "bit" more. Sometimes knowing where to stop is so difficult!!

Things I learned from this class:
1. Masking takes a bit of time. For this card, I had to make four separate masks using masking paper. Each of the butterflies needed a mask, as well as the sentiment.

2. Also, I need to get a palate knife for the embossing paste. I used a plastic knife for it on the first card and you can see the ridges from where I went over the paste with that knife. I also was kind of sloppy but since I have only ever used this technique once before, I know that I just need to practice.

3. Black embossing powder is not color fast. I think this is the greatest lesson!!

4. When you make a mistake on a one layer card, you have to figure out how to "fudge it" to make it better or throw it away. Sometimes you don't want to throw all that work away so you make do.

Well, that is all. I thank you for looking at my cards. I have had a blast at looking at all yours. Have a great day!!

Nora



















Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge-Glitter It!

I hate to post two in one day but I needed to do this to enter the Simon Says Stamp glitter challenge for tomorrow.


I created this card using the Stampin Up! "Stipple Butterfly" stamp. This was a case from a Debby Hughes card from the Clean and Simple 3 Class that ended last week. (My last butterfly card was inspired by the same card, as were the two that I will be posting for my homework tomorrow.) This is one of the OLDEST stamps I own. I never use wood stamps anymore but I never got rid of this because I LOVE butterflies. Every card I made this weekend I was thinking of my late mother. Her birthday was yesterday and I think I just had it on my mind. 



I had fun pulling out old supplies, using my "new" embossing paste, and spritzing mist spray every which way. 


I colored the butterfly in with Copic markers. I used a photo off the internet as a "model" for the coloring. Blue butterflies are my favorite!!


I then stamped a thank you from Simon Says Stamp "Thanks" set from September. I LOVE this stamp set!!



I masked the butterfly and sentiment off using the paper mask but as you can see, it wasn't 100% successful. I used a Wink of Stella glitter pen on some of the embossing paste, as well as the butterfly. It is so hard to see in the photo, though.



That is all for now. Thanks for stopping by.

Nora
Supplies:
Stampin Up! Stipple Butterfly