A song in the air...

I picked up this Tim Holtz stamp when we were out in Arizona for Christmas. Let me tell you, it was hard to pick only one! ;) I inked it up with a variety of brilliance and versamagic petal points, and then added the sentiment (Studio G). I layered it with 7Gypsies paper, a dictionary page, and the cool printed flower. Love how quickly this came together!

Shaby Chic Blessings

I always adore Melissa Phillips' work - I love the way she incorporates so many elements, yet somehow it doesn't feel overdone. Anyway, I set out to make that type of card - and well, it was tough! I started by cutting the postcard from some patterned paper and then distressing the edges. I added the bird stamp (studio g) and the sentiment (Daisy Bucket), then played around with embellishments. I finally settled on a couple primas with buttons, a scrap of lace, a pin, and another page from that dictionary (as shown in my last post). The white card base was too stark, so I stamped a couple swirls just to break it up. Whew! I like the result, but you probably won't be seeing more like it a loooong time ;)

Quick reminder - you have just a couple more hours to join in the smART-word challenge. So throw some glitter on a card and win some stamps! (they're GOOOD ones - you can see them in the middle of this post)

Finding Beauty

I've had this image colored for months and finally got it made into a card this past week. It's colored with a mix of metallic and prismacolor pencils; you can see a hint of the lustre on the moth wings and the eyelids (which look a bit creepy in this pic, but I promise are much nicer IRL! :) I highlighted the word forever with a yellow pencil, which helps it pop from the background. The card front is scored 1 1/4" from the fold, and then I added the ribbon and glued the spine, so the open part is 4 1/4" square.

images: smARTworks Daydream Collage, and the saying is from Tennyson/Emerson/Keats.

A Parisian Thank You

Some friends of ours spent Thanksgiving week in Paris, and brought a few little things back for us. As soon as I saw this cool Eiffel Tower, I knew I had to make a card with this Prima set (which I just had to have, but admittedly have used very little).

I started with a glimmer screen and a couple glimmer mists, just to lay down a nice sparkley backdrop... and then I just stamped away! Several of the images are done with pearlescent Brilliance ink (very noticeable on "Paris") for added shine. I stamped onto the white flowers and then accented them with a tiny rhinestone. The final touch was some sheer ribbon before mounting it onto a card base.

I don't think I spent more than 15 minutes making this card, but I had so much fun just playing with different elements... and I know that the recipients will appreciate it, too.

Trust

I love the image in Hands Collage - I think it captures the essence of friendship... and what better word is there for that than trust?

I started out by stamping the image with black versafine onto white cardstock, then watercolored around the hands themselves to really make them pop. I then matted that image with dark gray, and accented it with a black prima flower and a metal word embellishment (K&Co). I didn't want to mount it onto a stark white card, so I pulled out my handy dandy glimmer screen, and misted over it with silver glimmer mist - it's a perfect way to add interest but not detract from the focal image. I also added some black twill to balance the "blackness" from the flower. It went together pretty quickly, and I love the result!

Looking

I can't believe it's been over a week since I last posted! Life has definitely been a bit crazy around here, and while I have done some stamping I just haven't managed to post anything...

Both cards I'm sharing today use Looking collage. This first one is much darker than what I normally do, but I decided to mix it up a bit. I wasn't happy with the way the swirly in the upper right corner turned out, but a little resin sunflower from my stash (I'm guessing it's K&Co) took care of that issue. I layered it with a strip of sandpaper - definitely an unexpected element - and then pieced together a shortened version of the sentiment.

This second card could be subtitled "Ways to attach vellum." I started out by stamping the image onto some heavyweight vellum, didn't like how it looked, but then when I swiped it with a baby wipe I loved the soft image that was left behind. I decided to layer it onto a navy card base, then added the metal square that reads, "May you never lose your sense of wonder" (Making Memories) I then added the self-adhesive felt edging (Queen & Co), then the little rhinestones (Rob & Bob) as a final touch.

Well, that's all I have time for! Hopefully I won't disappear for an entire week this time :)

Make every hour count

I realized that I had one last project from my cardmaking marathon that I hadn't shared. This little card (4 1/2" square) features another of the new images from smARTworks (clock collage) I stamped the main image with brilliance ink (love that bit of shimmer!), then layered it with BasicGrey Boxer paper. I layered it onto a card base made from rust cardstock, but it looked a bit too stark, so I stamped the script (One Smile) with versamagic wheat ink. Perfect way to break up the solid color without detracting from the focal image!

What do you see?

I'm always drawn to images of children, and Looking collage is right up my alley! This time, I stamped it onto faintly patterned paper (BasicGrey, of course!), then added color with chalks. They're the sparkley ones (Pebbles), so there's even a bit of shimmer. I did add just a bit of detail with prismacolor pencils, then wrapped the mesh ribbon (AMM), and added the sentiment panel. Another quick creation, and a great reminder that it's all about your perspective...

The hand of a friend...

I've been playing around with glimmer mist and the glimmer screens (which are basically plastic templates that you use as masks - you can see more about them here warning: there's music on that blog, so you may want to turn your speakers down) I had made a couple backgrounds using latte & denim blue mists, and then I flipped the screen over onto the white cardstock and "stamped" off the excess. I love the effect it gives, and I thought it made a nice background for this image, too. I stamped the Hands Collage, then added the sentiment and accented with a couple dew drops. I matted it, and after playing around with layout, I eventually settled on this z-fold. I layered some BasicGrey Boxer paper onto the right panel, and it's all done!

Tea Party in the Round

Well, Dina is our hostess this time around, and she challenged us to make circle cards. I'd only made 1 circle card in the past, and remembered having a hard time with the layout... and this time was about the same :) I ended up going with this collage - I like that there are some straight lines with the eye image and sentiment. There are a several stamp sets here: Worries (sentiment), Bits of Time #1 and #2 (key, clock), Love Eyes, and Kings (crown - stamped in silver brilliance ink - the photo just happened to capture the reflection) The card base is bazzill bling, and I cut it with a coluzzle (and yes, it fits in a standard notecard envelope). The tulip is because my 3 YO thought I needed a "pretty flower" and plucked it before I could form the word, "No!" so I figured I might as well use it :)

This second card is from my first attempt at a circle card, but the panel just looked too plain and I couldn't decide what to do with it... Mojo sketch to the rescue! It has sort of an Indian vibe to it with that background paper, and the sponging around the flower is brilliance copper ink so there's a bit of metallic shine. I stamped the flower (Daisy Trio #2) with mostly palette inks: 1st (solid) layer with raw sienna; 2nd with L'Amour red and giverny green, with some red versamagic in the center; 3rd with boudoir blush, veridian leaf and sepia versafine in the center. The little palette cubes seem to work well to ink up these images, but even the larger versafine pad worked fine by just "dabbing" ink on with the corner. I overstamped the sentiment (Wonderful/Marvelous) with black versafine, then completed the card with papers from the BasicGrey boxer collection.

Want to see what the other smART cookies have created? Then check out In the Works, Mama Dini's Stamperia, Dee's Studio & Sweet Somethings!

The Reason for the Season

I am so excited about this piece I'm sharing today! I'd been wanting to make something for our home; I had a whole lot of different ideas, but when I actually sat down to create nothing was coming together. Well, the previous Salt challenge was the theme "Light." The words to the song "Here I am to Worship" by Chris Tomlin immediately came to mind, and I started thinking about how I could use that to create something for Christmas. Never actually got beyond printing out the words, though. And then the latest challenge was "Jesus, the true meaning of Christmas." I just had to actually finish up my project. It all came together when I stumbled onto the amazing paper and gold stickers (seen here)
I started by masking off some areas around the star and spraying with gold glimmer mist. Next I roughly laid out where I wanted the words to go. I scanned Luke 2 from my Bible, and printed out verses 1-7 onto watercolor paper. I stamped the names of Jesus (Biblical Impressions) in the corner, and added several gold stickers. I love how the shepherds really do look like they're worshipping, and the small cross under the manger serves as a reminder of what that tiny baby came to do. Humbly you came to the earth you created, all for love's sake became poor.

This is definitely not my "normal" style, but I am thrilled with the final result. It's now hanging on the wall in our living room, and I'll definitely be making more in the future.

Just in case you've never heard this powerful song, check it out here.

Scraped Oil Pastels

Had some fun playing around with another technique from the newest TJ Newsletter. I knew I had a basic set of oil pastels (I think I picked them up on clearance last year for under a buck - no idea what I'd do with them but it was a good deal. Do you understand why my craft space is so heaped up?!), so went to town with blues, greens, and a bit of brown. The images are all from Time to Stamp, and the accent piece was cut with a Cuttlebug die.








After I finished the card, I had some scraps left - pretty small, but too pretty to just toss - so I pulled out some other dies and made some ATCs. Simple but fun! Stamp is from Serendipity.

Grandma's Birthday

Still waiting on the catalog, and now I'm working on emptying my "craft pit" to make room for the cabinets that I'll be getting next week. Wow, I have a LOT of stuff! Was talking to a friend yesterday about setting up a stamping/ papercrafting sale, just so I don't have to mess with listing it all on eBay. Will have to see where that leads!

Anyway, I haven't stamped at all this week, but thought I'd share another card from my archives. This is the card I made for my grandmother a couple years ago - it was her 90th birthday, so I wanted to make it special. I printed out the picture, then did a simple collage with elements I pulled from my pile. And although it doesn't show well in this photo, the definition of "blessed" is printed alongside the fold. I love this style, but it does not come easily for me. But how else will I learn unless I keep trying? :)

Have a wonderful weekend - and hopefully I'll have some new stuff to share next week!!