Mosaic Technique + Hand Stamped Sentiments 110

You know how Stampin' Up's stamps come in that piece of rubber that you have to punch your stamps out of?  Well, I always feel guilty throwing the pieces away because I feel like I can use them for something, so I've saved a few of them.  I saw this technique ages ago, but completely forgot about it until I was looking through Splitcoast stampers and saw it again.  So out to the craftroom this morning to give it a whirl!

I am in L.O.V.E.!  I love the emboss resist technique, but this adds a whole new element to it.  I originally pulled out this set for a Hand Stamped Sentiments challenge sine the image lends itself nicely to water colouring.  It had been sitting on my desk waiting to be coloured, I just wasn't sure what colours I was going to use.  Yesterday I received an order that contained some Always Artichoke cardstock and seam binding ribbon (my absolute fave ribbon).  After using my ink pads and blender pen, I used my newly made mosaic stamp to cover the image with Versamark.  I then used clear embossing podwer and heat set it, creating the little tiles.  The final step here is the brayered ink in Soft Suede and Always Artichoke.  The dark ink really makes the image look like a mosaic.

If you aren't familiar with the mosaic stamp, check out the page on Splitcoast Stampers.  It's really simple and chances are you've got what you need to make it!

A La Card Monkey #96

I love challenge blogs that post later in the week.  I can't find time to craft for challenges that close before Saturday, so the Card Monkey challenges are great for me.

As soon as I saw "moments" on the sketch I knew which set was coming out to play!  My dear friend, Elements of Style.  I love this set for two reasons:  a)  It's stunning  and  b)  It doesn't judge me for eating almost a whole bowl of Turtle Cheesecake dip in one sitting (I did also use about two whole apples to scoop it up with, though I cannot lie and say I didn't think about using a spoon).

Shabby Chic

I seem to be in the mood for vintage-ish type cards these days, and I'm on a kick using my scissors to rough up the edges.  I bought this paper AGES ago and made a few cute little things with it, but it didn't make an appearance on any of my cards.  Fear not Beau Chateau!  You shall have your 15 minutes of fame.

One of the great things about Stampin Up's designer paper is that there are 12 designs.  One of the designs is actually the flowery branch from Elements of Style.  I wanted to use it, but not in the Marina Mist that the DSP has it in, so I pulled my faithful old friend off the shelf and made a Soft Suede background version instead (with roughed up edges too, of course).  It's really a minor detail, but I think the card would look stark without it.

Love this paper?  It's available as one of my shares.  Take a look here for details.

True Friend

I am slightly obsessed with this layout right now.  I love using my embossing folders whenever I can, and this layout is perfect for it.  It lends itself nicely to simple statements such as this.  I have had a package of Pink Pirouette sitting around for ages, just waiting to be used, and this seemed the perfect thing for it.  I really like how it contrasts with the brilliant tones of Rich Razzleberry and Old Olive.

Stamps:  Love and Care, Elements of Style
Ink:   Pink Pirouette, Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive
Paper:  Pink Pirouette, Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, Whisper White
Extras:  Vintage Wallpaper EF

Colour Coach - Pear Pizazz

 

To the Colour Coach again!  I think this is combination 3 out of about 90 possibles so far (on the CC - which I am going to try and get through).

This is actually one of the colour combinations for Pear Pizazz, though I used it more as a supporting colour than the main one (Garden Green).  I like the two colours together and was trying to think of what I could add in there and I thought of my good friend, Elements of Style.  The little hummingbird was perfect to stamp in Rich Razzelberry over the flourish to make it really stand out.  So far, the Colour Coach is batting 1000.

Stamps:  Elements of Style

Paper:  Garden Green, Pear Pizazz, Whisper White

Ink:  Garden Gree, Pear Pizazz, Rich Razzlberry

Extras:  Whisper White ribbon, Modern label punch, Scallop trim edge, Scallop trim corner

Colour Coach - Concord Crush

 

Let it be said - I hate orange.  However, I am trying to incorporate it into more of my cards since I know that many people love it.  Flipping through my Colour Coach this morning to find a compromise, I came across the Concord Crush card. That's it!  I feel like Tangerine Tango is more of a minor actor in this card rather than supporting actress, played by Daffodil Delight.  The colour scheme is cherry and playful, and matches the weather outside.  Maybe spring is really on its way?

Stamps:  Elements of Style, Sweet Summer

Paper:  Concord Crush, Daffodil Delight, Tangerine Tango, Whisper White

Ink:  Versamark, Perfect Plum

Extras:  Clear Embossing powder, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder

Mojo Monday 183

Is it really Monday again already?  I have no idea where the last week went.  Oh, yes I do.  I've spent it in my craft room.  My husband is out of town right now and it looks like my craft room has barfed everywhere.  Usually I try and keep it somewhat tidy, but for the past few days I've been like an irresponsible teenager when the parents are away.  I'm loving it.

I haven't used my Elements of Style set in a while, and it's my favourite one, so I thought this would be a good time to pull it out again.  I wanted to try a couple of colour schemes out with this layout, and here are the results.

Stamps:  Elements of Style
Paper:  Basic Black, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, First Edition
Ink:  Basic Black, Cherry Cobbler
Extas:  Scallop Trim Edge, Modern Label Punch, Very Vanilla ribbon

 

I've been looking EVERYWHERE for my Colour Coach (thought I would never use it, but I always do...), and it turns out it was in my work bag.  I pulled it out and wanted to do something with Marina Mist, but a little different than the greens or yellows that I would naturally pair it with.  Cajun Craze showed up on my CC to pair with MM and I am in LOVE.  This is an unexpected pair, but I think it's pretty great.  Thanks Colour Coach.

Stamps:  Just Believe

Paper:  Marina Mist, Cajun Craze, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla

Ink:  Marina Mist, Cajun Craze

Extras:  Very Vanilla ribbon, Scallop Edge trim

This one's a response to a colour challenge that I found online.  I tried out my Tulips frame today (it showed up about an hour ago - yay!) and I think my next binge will be embossing with it.

Stamps:  Silhouette Sentiments, Just Believe
Paper:  Rich Razzelberry, Old Olive, More Mustard, Whisper White, Brights DSP
Ink:  Old Oliver, Versamark
Extras:  Whisper White ribbon, Tulips Textured Impressions frame

Layers Layers Layers

 

Whoever said "Less is more," had probably never had quite enough more.

I love the look of layers upon layers of patterned paper.  When done properly, many layers of paper can come together quite nicely. Of course it helps when your paper has been made to coordinate, like Stampin' Up's designer paper series.



 This little boxed set will make a nice gift for a colleague of mine that's forever doing nice things for me.

Paisley Petals

This is the newest designer paper put out by Stampin' Up (available in the new catalogue coming in July).  There are 6 different prints that all work nicely together.  I wasn't too sure how much I liked this red one, but it's grown on me over the past few days.  It's not a colour I would usually choose to work with so it gave me a chance to go outside my comfort zone.

Stamps:  Clearly For You
Paper:  River Rock, Paisley Petals
Ink:  River Rock, Old Olive, Soft Suede
Extras:  Whisper White Ribbon, Basic Jewels Pearls

I love Baja Breeze so I was thrilled to see it used so much in this colour palette.  The clean lines  of this card give it a touch of mordernity  juxtaposed against the heritage feel of the pattern.


Stamps:  Elements of Style
Paper:  River Rock, Baja Breeze, Paisley Petals
Ink:  River Rock, Crumb Cake
Extras:  Modern Label Punch, Basic Jewels Pearls

I wanted to make something on a larger scale to really show off this print so I made up this altered journal.  Right now I am slightly obsessed with making these paper flowers, so it seemed a perfect fit to give the cover a vintage feel.















 Here's a detail of the flower, as well as the tag to keep your place, or to use as a bookmark.
 

Altered Journal

Unfortunately, I cannot claim this idea as my own. I saw on someone's blog somewhere an altered journal and I knew that I wanted to try making one.  I love journals (though I never seem to follow through with writing in them regularly) and I think they make really nice gifts.  I think I might send this one down to my niece.

You could cover it with plain cardstock as opposed to designer paper, but I really like the look of stamping on newsprint, so my First Edition paper was hauled out once again.  I don't have my Melon Mambo ink yet, but as soon as it comes in, I'll make another one with that colour.

Stamps:  Elements of Style (120045)
Paper:  First Edition (121878), Basic Black (121045), Real Red (102482)
Ink:  Real Red (103133)
Extras:  Modern Label Punch (119849), Embosslits Beautiful Wings (118138)

Black & White

Disdain filled my heart this morning as I looked out the kitchen window this morning just after waking, anxious to get the coffee brewing.  Giant white flakes were falling to the ground.  I am soooo over winter and ready for spring.  Once the coffee was brewed I headed into my craft room and thought about what I felt like making.  The snow outside (horrible, beautiful stuff that it is) inspired me to use white.  I don't usually use white because it's so, well, white.  However, I happened to have left some black cardstock on the top of my pile and I quickly decided it was high time for some classic black and white.  I had a workshop planned for the afternoon so I knew I didn't have much time before I had to gather my things and head out, but I managed to get this little gem started before I headed out.

The workshop was great.  I love bringing newbies over to the dark side.  It's so satisfying to see the transition between I-don't-know-what-I'm-doing-this-is-too-hard-I-hate-this-I-can't-do-it, to the much more positive Yay!-Look-at-me-!-I-made-something-amazing!  This is the great thing about making cards.  Small, manageable, and immediate gratification.  Though it takes a while to get going, the balls rolls along pretty darn smoothly once it's going.  The ladies made some great cards and I look forward to delivering their orders so we can all get together and play again.

So when I finally got home this evening I managed to get around to finishing my card.  Here's the result.
 

Elements of Style is probably my favourite set.  I love the big images, and the little hummingbird is  graceful and refined. 

Stamps:  Elements of Style (120045)
Paper:  Basic Black (121045), Very Vanilla (101650)
Ink: Versamark (102283)
Extras: White Embossing Powder (109132)