Happy Purr-thday

 

I needed a birthday card, so I checked the Seize the Birthday Challenge.  The topping theme is Funny/Pun-ny, or if you that is not your style, Anything Birthday Goes.  I don't typically buy stamps with puns, but as a proud crazy cat lady, I do have a considerable inventory of cat stamps and some of them have puns like "pawsome" or "purrfect."  That meant I would be making a cat card (surprise!) and entering it in the Show Us Your Pussycats Challenge.  I selected a sentiment from the Black Cat Love set from Impression Obsession.  I also have a number of cat dies, so I checked the Die Cut Divas and they are looking for white on white with a splash of color which is one of my favorite styles.  I have several dies that cut windows which either include a cat or can have a cat added to them.  I could cut one out in white and back it with part of a colored background to show through.  That would make a clean and simple card which I could enter in the Simply Clean and Simple challenge.  So which die should I use?  I checked Time Out Challenges which is currently a pick two.  The choices are monochrome, geometric, floral, stitching (real or faux), birthday, and CAS.  I had birthday and CAS covered, but what if I used squares in my layout and put little cats cut using one of my favorite cat dies simply called Cat Set from Impression Obsession in them?  That would add a geometric element to my card.  Okay, cats in boxes it would be!  I had my concept, time to get to work.

I cut nine squares from 110 lb white card stock using Essential Squares from Ellen Hutson to get frames which I stacked to make three "boxes."  I used the same die to cut three from a background from my stash which I had painted with Lindy's Magicals using a mixture of Hydrangea Blue and a touch of Sweet Velvet Purple from the Victorian Bouquet set.  That gave me three blue frames to use on another project and three blue squares that fit perfectly in the white frames.  I arranged the frames, placing shims under the outer corners of the middle square to keep it level.  I had stacked three die cuts for each frame to provide ledges for cats to sit or stand on, so I picked three of the six that the die cuts and settled them in their boxes.  I stamped the word "Meow" for a greeting on the front.  Inside I stamped a birthday pun and framed it with two cats cut from the blue background.  I now have a birthday card ready for one of the many feline aficionados in my life.

Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

Playing With Water, Magicals, and a 20+ Year Old Embossing Folder

 

The theme this week for the Just Us Girls Challenge is water which can include techniques using water.  It has been a while since I played with Lindy's Magicals and embossing folders, a technique which would also would allow me to enter the Can You Handle the Pressure Challenge with an optional twist of "Tie It Up.  I grabbed a few folders including this one by Lifestyle Crafts that I bought at MJ Designs which closed in 2003.  Now I have some things in my stash that I have had for decades and still use regularly, but this folder is not one of them.  I cannot remember the last time I used it which makes it a candidate for the Neglected Stuff Challenge.  

This folder normally creates a raised pattern similar to a chain link fence.  I did not want that.  I wanted the "fence" to be pushed down into the paper creating "valleys" surrounded by "mountains" resembling pillows.  This meant I had to use the folder with the logo facing down on the mat and the fold away from me, so when I opened it the logo side was closest to me.  I put my watercolor paper on that side closest to me aka the "flat" side.  I used a fan brush to sprinkle powders from the Lindy's Magicals Nuneka's Outer Space set on the paper and misted it with water until it started moving.  I then carefully folded the "bumpy" side over the wet paper and ran it through my embossing machine.  In other words I used the folder upside down with the logo facing down and not visible, so the panel ended up resembling snake skin thanks to the colors I used.  It reminds me of the the cover of Alice Cooper's album, "Billion Dollar Baby."  

I didn't want to cover much of the background, so I decided to use a Simon Says Stamp brand die to cut sentiment as the focal point for the Word Power Challenge and the Cut It Up Challenge to use a sentiment.  I cut the word three times and stacked them for dimension and backed it with the shadow in gold mirror cardstock to help it stand out from the background.  To grab a little more attention and fit the Can You Handle the Pressure Challenge twist, I backed the T with an accent of gold thread that I bought a few years ago, used twice, and forgot about.  You could call that thread neglected.  I think I will use it more now that I found it.  I swiped a Rustic Wilderness Distress Oxide pad along the edge of the background to ground it before attaching it to a card base.  I finished the card off off with a few sparkles.

I made a few other backgrounds with other embossing folders because I can't resist trying different combinations and techniques while I have everything out.  You may see some of those in future posts.  In the meantime, thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

Dragonfly Spring

 

I have been playing with mixed media lately inspired by videos and classes by Tiffany Solorio.  She sometimes prints out a sheet called 20 Days of Play which is a series of prompts to experiment with.  The goal is not to make a card but to just play and expand your techniques to use on future projects like this one.  This card includes prompts to brayer ink or paint (day 4) and to apply texture paste on top of ink without sealing it first (day 7).

I started by applying Wilted Violet, Chipped Sapphire, and Shaded Lilac Distress Oxide inks with a two inch brayer on to Strathmore Mixed Media paper.  Next I added texture by randomly stamping using the Sacred Spells stamp by Lavinia, cross hatch stamp from the Timeless Textures set by Stampin' Up, and parts a very old flourish stamp from Stampin' Up and Black Soot archival ink.  Then I lightly brushed Hero Arts White Unicorn Pigment ink through parts of the Feathered Leaf stencil from Lavinia.   You can see some of it below the dragon fly's tail and in the upper left corner.  I then applied texture paste through parts of the BoHo Glam stencil from A Colorful Life Designs.  Because the ink is water reactive it bled through the texture paste.  Lastly I masked off the stenciling with copy paper and whacked my white Posca paint pen with a ruler to splatter white paint on the background.  To finish the background I swiped Dusty Concord Distress Oxide ink along the edges and attached it to a card base.  Now for the focal point.

I used Simon Says Stamp's Tattered Leaves die to cut the vine from mixed media paper and glued only the stem and stem ends of the leaves to the background, so I could curl the tips of the leaves upward for added interest.  For the dragonfly I used the Etched Dragonfly die by Simon Says Stamp to cut the body from mixed media paper and the wings from Platinum velum from Grafix, which has a shimmer finish.  I attached the wings to the body and glued only the body to the background so the wings would pop up.  For the sentiment I swiped Seedless Preserves Distress Ink along the edges of one from the Tim Holtz Idea-ology Small Talk pad. 

I  plan to enter this card in the Crazy is Our Fame - Stencils are Our Game challenge using the optional theme of Vines-Vinery, Die Cut Divas Spring is Coming Challenge, Mix It Up challenge using an optional die cut, and A Place to Start Optional Twist: No Squares challenge.  Why not head over to these challenges and be inspired?

Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi