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

Colorful Leaves

 

For this card I wanted bright Fall colors which is not a palette I typically use, so there wasn't going to be a suitable background in my stash.  One custom background coming up.  I started by ink smooshing Festive Berries, Abandoned Coral, and Wild Honey Distress Oxide inks on Epson premium glossy photo paper which is thicker and sturdier than most photo papers.  The directions I have read on this technique say to apply Distress Glaze to reveal vibrant colors.  I have found that rubbing hard with a dry microfiber cloth will remove the oxidation without leaving the background slightly tacky to the touch.  I cut the top layers of the leaves using Altenew's Leaf Mix die set and laid them on the background to find the optimal spots to cut the bottom layers.

The "foil" paper is holographic paper in grapefruit I ordered from Stampin' Up years ago.  I grounded the arrangement with a piece cut using Altenew's Linear Crossroads die.  The sentiment is from Taylored Expressions Simple Strips line.

I plan to enter this card in the Sisterhood of Crafters Encouragement, Time Out Challenges Friendship/Encouragement, Support,  Four Seasons Fall Season September, A Place to Start Anything Goes, and Die Cut Divas Anything Goes challenges.  Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

Sending Warm Wishes for a Speedy Recovery

 I bought this Hero Arts stamp pre=pandemic because it made me think of my teenage years, yet I have only used it once and that was a couple years ago.  The Neglected Stuff  and Shopping Our Stash Hot Hot Hot challenges motivated me to use this poor neglected stamp lingering in my stash.  Of course the first step was to go through my stash of backgrounds to see if I had anything that would work.  This one goes back to when Distressed Oxide inks were introduced and a friend brought some tags over to play with my new inks.  For this one I ink smooshed Worn Lipstick, Wild Honey, and Broken China.  To add some texture to this old background I random stamped Lavinia's Sacred Spells text stamp in second generation and then, for a focal point stamped the sun using Ground Espresso Distress Oxide.  The sentiment comes from Stampin' Up's Desert Details set.  I don't use sparkles that often anymore, and when I do, I usually use clear ones.  For this card I went through my stash of embellishments and found these tiny, 2mm, black sparkles from Close to My heart that were retired years ago.   I also plan to enter this in the A Place to Start with an optional twist of Summer Things Challenge.

I am sending this to a friend who is rehabbing after knee replacement surgery.  Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

Using Up Old Backgrounds

 

I know I am not the only one who makes backgrounds and finds that some of them are, shall we say,  less pleasing to the eye.  Sometimes I can salvage a part of such a background and use it to back a window type die cut like with these cards, but sometimes not.  I had one such background leftover after making these cards where I created bokeh backgrounds using gold rather than white pigment ink for the over laying circles, and it has been sitting in my box for almost six (!) years waiting to be used.  

When I saw this Freshly Made Sketch I thought about a die from Penny Black I bought last February and have yet to play with use.  

This is how I discovered that using a die such as a sentiment or very small shapes breaks up areas of color enough to simply give some color variation and interest to the die cut.  I backed the die cuts with two layers of Neenah 110 lb. cardstock for dimension.  Next I used a Penny Black Stitched Nested Frame to emboss a white panel, backed it with the remnants of my failed background and a single layer of 110 lb. cardstock for dimension and adhered it to a white cardbase.

I also plan to enter this card in the Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes With Dies Challenge, Just Us Girls No Stamping Challenge, and the Penny Black Saturday Challenge, Anything Goes or Fussy or Fancy.

Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

Back to School to Live a Dream

This card is for a young woman I know who graduated from Radford University a few years ago with the dream of teaching art or maybe even photography.  Of course thanks to budget cuts and the emphasis on STEM, such positions are few and far between.  She cobbled together part time jobs, some in her field and some not, until last Tuesday she began the school year as a high school photography teacher.  I am so proud of her!

For the background I applied Distress inks directly to acrylic blocks, misted them with water, and pressed them onto smooth watercolor paper.  I left each block on for several minutes to allow the color to absorb and become more vivid.  I used a MISTI to stamp the cameras three times each to get the intense black and embossed the sentiment with black embossing powder on vellum.  The embellishments are Nuvo dots.  To make the mat I used the backside of a metallic paper I bought at Micheal's years ago because it was the most intensly black paper I had.

I plan to enter this card in the Paper Players "Back to School" challenge.

Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

Materials:
Paper:  watercolor paper from Close to My Heart, vellum and metallic paper from Michael's
Ink:  Wild Honey, Worn Lipstick, and Broken China Distress Inks by Ranger, Black from Close to My Heart
Stamps:  Retired Close to MY Heart Stamp of the Months from years ago
Embellishemnts:  Caribbean Ocean Nuvo Drops, Black embossing powder by Stampendous

Freshly Made Sketches Meets Eastern Palace

I am an aging hippie who still sometimes wears flowing Indian print clothes.  Now they call it boho, lol!  I have always been fascinated with India.  I love the rich colors and gold accents in everything from clothing to artwork to home decor.  And the food of course...  My husband use to travel to India for work, and in 2009 I got to join him at the end of his trip and spend five too short days there.

When I flipped through the new Stampin Up catalog I knew the Eastern Palace suite products were going to be at the top of my wish list.  Today I played with a few of them using this Freshly Made Sketch:

For my first attempt I used the thinlits and stamp set, gold embossing the stamped images.  I even embossed along the edges of the center panel.  To accommodate the thinlit I wanted to use I had to make a 6.5 x 5 inch card rather than my usual 5.5 x 4.25.

You say you don't have a heat tool or maybe you don't have time for embossing?  No worries!  The suite includes gold vinyl stickers which I used here.

I had to fudge the dimensions a bit because the border stickers are 6 inches long.  This is the card I plan to enter in the challenge.  The suite also includes specialty paper and adorable mini tassels which I could not work into the design, so I will have to use them on my next card.

Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

Materials used:
Paper:  Fresh Fig and Tranquil Tide from Stampin Up, White Daisy from Close to My Heart
Stamps:  Eastern Beauty from Stampin Up
Ink:  Peacock from Close to My Heart, Versamark
Embellishments:  Ranger Princess Gold Embossing Powder, Blue Sparkles from Close to My Heart (retired)

Lighthouse and Waves for Mojo Monday

When I saw this Mojo Monday sketch I knew immediately what I wanted to do with it.  Finding the time this week was another story!

To make the background I stamped my new Hero Arts Waves background stamp using Versamark, embossed the image with Ranger White Detail embossing powder, and sponged on Distress Inks.  I left one at that and sprayed the other until it was saturated to the point of puddling and let it dry to a soft watercolor look.  I then ran it though my Cuddlebug with the sandwich I would use to die cut plus two pieces of cardstock to flatten it back out.  Lastly I sponged around the edge of each panel with Chipped Sapphire to ground it against the card base.  Background done!

Next I heat embossed the lighthouse and birds from Close to My Heart's Perfect Day set in white on vellum.  This is one of my favorite stamps because, not only do I love lighthouses, but this one resembles the Old Cape Henry Lighthouse in my hometown.  The trick to attaching vellum is to apply the adhesive behind the embossing.  For one I folded the top over the edge on the background panel and glued the flap to the back.

Rather than trying to match colored cardstock to ink, I cut strips of White Daisy cardstock and sponged on the same Distress Inks.  The scripture verse was stamped with Blue Denim pigment ink and embossed with Stampendous Clear Detail powder.

The Harriet Beecher Stowe quote was stamped with Versamark and embossed with Stampendous PEARLuster embossing powder.

Both sentiments were attached with foam tape.  A few Bitty Sparkles from Close to My Heart complete the card.

Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

Freshly Made Goldfish

I used my new Color Layering Goldfish stamp set from Hero Arts and this Freshly Made Sketch to make this card of encouragement for a friend.

Following the directions in Jennifer McGuire's Water Color + Embossing Folders video, I swiped mini distress ink pads across the flat side of an embossing folder, used the inked folder to emboss a piece of White Daisy cardstock, misted the now embossed and inked panel with water until it was saturated, and let it dry.  Of course it warped as it dried, so I ran it through my Cuddlebug set up as though I were going to use a die cut to flatten it out.

Next it was time for the goldfish.  I used my MISTI to stamp the first two layers leaving the second layer stamp in the MISTI and an acrylic block to stamp the "facial features."  I then stamped over the fish with Versamerk using the second layer stamp and embossed it with clear detail powder.  I repeated the embossing process two more times for dimension and shine.  The sentiment was embossed using a mixture of Sapphire and black powders on vellum.

Now to put it together.  I folded the ends of the vellum under the background panel and applied a toothpick sized bit of liquid glass under parts of the sentiment and the fins of the fish.  I attached the fish with thin foam tape and used liquid glass to embellish his eye and create some bubbles. 

Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

Materials used:
Paper:  White Daisy cardstock from Close to My Heart, Vellum
Stamp:  Color Layering Goldfish by Hero Arts
Ink:  Broken China, Pine Needles, and Chopped Sapphire Distress Inks by Ranger, Honey, Poppy, and Cocoa by Close to My Heart, Versamark
Embellishments:  Clear Detail embossing powder by Stampendous, liquid glass by Close to My Heart, Quatrefoil embossing folder by Close to My Heart

Be Your Own Kind of Beautiful

I'm still playing with black and white, but this time with a pop of pink and this Atlantic Hearts Sketch:

Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

Materials used, all Close to My Herat unless otherwise noted:
Paper:  Charlotte, La Vie En Rose (both retired), Black and White Daisy cardstock
Stamps:  Your Beautiful Self, Be Your Own Kind of Wonderful (retired)
Ink:  Black, Marvy Uchida Le Pen, Tender Pink ShinHan marker
Embellishments:  Black Sparkle Flourish (retired)

Color My Heart in Sunset, Olive and Blue Denim

Here is a scrap your stash card featuring this week's Color My Heart Color Dare colors of Sunset, Olive, and Blue Denim.  I started with this sketch from Mojo Monday:

This sketch screams for a use scraps kind of card, so I chose Close to My Heart's Lucky, an oldie that goes back to the days when B&T papers were not printed on cardstock and just happens to feature the challenge colors.  I sponged the edges with Desert Sand and was very careful when attaching the strips because thin paper does not lend itself to repositioning.  I used sponge daubers to color and outline two Milepost Shapes (retired) and backed the star with another star cut from cardstock before attaching it with foam tape.  To complement it I added stars from the Scaredy Cat Assortment.  The sentiment is from one of the sets that comes with the Artbooking Cricut cartridge.  I used Post-it  Notes to mask off sections of the stamp before inking and stamped it twice, first with Cocoa and then Olive.  The clear acrylic of CTMH's stamps makes it easy to stamp twice and keep the parts of the image aligned.

Thank you for stopping by!  Now why don't you check out the other creations at Color My Heart and Mojo Monday and perhaps even enter one or both of these challenges yourself?  I would love to see your work!  Until next time, Hansi

Materials used, all Close to My Heart unless otherwise noted:

Paper:  Lucky (retired), Victory, Bamboo, Sunset, and Colonial White cardstock

Inks:  Desert Sand, Olive, Blue Denim, Cocoa

Stamps:  Artbooking Cricut Bundle 

Embellishments:  Scaredy Cat Assortment, Milepost Shapes (retired)

My Favorite Stamp

This week the folks over at Heart 2 Heart challenge us to create something using our favorite stamp or stamp set.  Now if you have been following this blog for a while, you probably know that my all time favorite stamp is the butterfly from the long retired "Find Your Style" set.  Because that stamp is so old I decided to also share my favorite stamp from the current Close to My Heart Catalogue, "Your Own Kind of Wonderful." You might think these are favorite stamps because I love butterflies, but the real reason is that I love to play with color and ink, and these stamps are a perfect way to indulge that passion.  Using this sketch from Atlantic Hearts I made a card using each set:

First up is the butterfly from "Find Your Style:"

I like to ink this up using sponge daubers.  Since I am never sure how it is going to come out, I usually make several, use the one I like best for that project, and stash the rest in the back of the envelope that the set comes in to use later.  This butterfly is one from my stash using Juniper and Sweet Leaf.  I sponged around the edges with Saddle and Chocolate and was ready to move on.  The center panel is a card from the Skylark Picture My Life set.  I got a background and sentiment with no real effort on my part.  How cool is that?  or the butterfly's antennae, I masked off the body so just the antennae were inked and stamped directly on the card.  With a premade butterfly and panel this would have been a quick card if I didn't decide to color the clear sparkle flourish with one of the new ShinHan markers.  I love how well the color took!  Since this was not going to be a quick card, I stamped the butterfly one more time in Saddle, cut out the body and used the Mahogany marker to add texture.  I also stamped a dragonfly with second generation Juniper ink in the upper left of the PML card.  I used the Butterfly stamp on the inside of the card as well:

Speaking of ShinHan markers, my next card features the stamp set "Your Own Kind of Wonderful" which is the prefect showcase for them.  

I love how vivid the colors are and how well they layer!  I heat embossed the butterfly using Black pigment ink and Clear Detail powder.  Again, I used a Picture My Life card, this time from the Laughing Lola set.  I also did some coloring on the inside:

So now you know two of my favorite stamp sets.  What's your favorite?  Thank you for stopping by!  Now head on over to Heart 2 Heart Challenges and Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge to see some more creations.  Until next time, Hansi

Materials used, all Close to My Heart unless otherwise noted:

Card 1:
Paper:  Juniper and Colonial White cardstock
Ink:  Juniper, Sweet Leaf, Saddle, and Chocolate ink, Bronze and Mahogany ShinHan markers
Stamp:  Find Your Style (retired), an old Petite Perks set (retired)
Embellishments:  Small Clear Sparkle Flourish, Green Sparkle (retired), Bronze Shimmer Trim
Other:  Skylark Picture My Life card

Card 2:
Paper:  Crystal Blue, Black, and Colonial White cardstock
Ink:  Black dye and pigment inks, Lavender, Cerulean Blue, Tender Pink, and Peony Purple ShinHan markers
Stamps:  Your Own Kind of Wonderful
Embellishments:  Small Black Sparkles Flourish. Black Sparkle, Purple Shimmer Trim
Other:  Laughing Lola Picture My Life card

The Great Outdoors With Heart 2 Heart

The theme of the last Heart 2 Heart Challenge for June is the great outdoors.  I used an old paper pack, Victory, An old stamp set, Life is a Journey, and a layout from Close to My Heart's Wishes Card Confidence Program, a helpful book with lots of layouts (complete with dimensions), tips, and techniques to make this card of encouragement.  I distressed most of the pieces with Chocolate except for the sentiment on which I used Outdoor Denim followed by Chocolate.  The tag was cut with the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge.

Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

Materials used, all Close to My Heart unless otherwise noted:
Paper:  Victory (retired)
Ink:  Chocolate, Outdoor Denim, New England Ivy
Stamps:  Life is a Journey (retired)
Embellishments:  Durables Triangle Studs, White Hemp (retired)
Other:  Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge

Color My Heart in Pacifica, Crystal Blue, and Red Barn

This week's Color My Heart Color Dare is to use Pacifica, Crystal Blue, and Red Barn to create a project which dovetails nicely with Heart 2 Heart's "Rhapsody in Blue" challenge.  I started by using pigment inks and clear detail powder to stamp and emboss the girl and sentiment from Close to My Heart's "Dreamer" stamp set.  Then I sponged over the girl with Pacifica dye ink.  To add texture to the background panel, I used Crystal Blue pigment ink to stamp the butterfly from the set diagonally across a piece of Crystal Blue cardstock.  The sequins came with the Ivy Lane Workshop on the Go Cardmaking Kit.  I had to add a few Blue Sparkles...  If it weren't for the embellishments I would say that this is almost CAS.

After being away from my craftroom and the bloggersphere for a while, it feels good to be back.  Thank you for stopping by!  Now why don't you head on over to Heart 2 Heart and Color My Heart to see some more creations?  Better yet, why not take the Color Dare yourself?  If you don't have the exact colors, just use the the closest ones you have.  We would love to see what your creation!  Until next time, Hansi

Materials used, all Close to My Heart unless otherwise noted:

Paper:  Crystal Blue, Red Barn and Colonial White cardstock

Ink:  Pacifica, with Pacifica, Crystal Blue and Red Barn pigment inks

Stamp:  Dreamer

Embellishments:  Sequins, Blue Crystals (retired)

Other:  Clear Detail embossing powder

Mojo Monday Meets Heart 2 Heart to Give Encouragement

A friend from church could use some encouragement right now.  What I love about Close to My Heart's "Look to the Light" stamp set is that the Bible verses are appropriate for a number of different types cards for my friends of faith.  I have made sympathy, thinking of you, encouragement, confirmation, and even graduation cards.  I started with this sketch from Mojo Monday:

I chose to use mostly blues in order to enter the Heart 2 Heart "Rhapsody in Blue" challenge.  After stamping the tree and sentiment in pigment ink and heat embossing them with clear detail powder, I colored the tree with alcohol markers.  I used CTMH's new stripes embossing folder to give texture to the banner.  To give the card some pop, I added some butterflies cut from Ariana Coral cardstock using the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge.  I gave them some dimension by sponging the edges with Smoothie and then Outdoor Denim ink and attached only the bodies so that the wings can flap.  A few Clear Bitty Sparkles in the tree and Blue Sparkles (retired) for the butterfly bodies add some light because you know how much I like sparkles.

The Mojo Monday challenge closes in a few minutes, but you can always go over and check out the other cards for some inspiration.  The Heart 2 Heart "Rhapsody in Blue" challenge is open until the end of the month, so you have plenty of time to create something emphasizing blue and enter it.  Why don't you give it a try?  Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

Materials used, all Close to My Heart unless otherwise noted:
Paper:  Ariana, Ariana Coral, Outdoor Denim, Crystal Blue and White Daisy cardstock
Ink:  Smoothie and Outdoor Denim with Black and Outdoor Denim pigment inks, Crysal Blue, Sky, Outdoor Denim, and Sorbet alcohol markers
Stamps:  Look to the Light, A Tree
Embellishments:  Blue Sparkles (retired), Clear Bitty Sparkles
Other: Clear detail powder, Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge, Srtipes embossing folder

Color My Heart in Goldrush and Topiary

It is time for a new Color Dare!  This week the colors are Topiary and Goldrush.  When I saw this week's Atlantic Hearts Sketch I thought about this butterfly from the retired "Find Your Style" set (which as you may have figured out by now is my all time favorite Close to My Heart stamp) and this flourish from the Swirls Around set which is currently my second favorite Close to My Heart set.

Then I checked out this week's  Heart 2 Heart challenge and would you believe it?  This week's challenge is flourishes!  I love it when three challenges work together so easily.  Before I could make the card I got word that my cousin has a rare and particularly aggressive form of breast cancer.  I knew that this card would be for her and, as she is a woman of strong faith, this sentiment from the "Look to the Light" set was the one to use.

To make the butterfly I inked the stamp with sponge daubers which made the colors softer, cut it out and sponged around the edges to intensify the colors and finally sponged the tips with Cocoa.  I used liquid glass to attach just the body so that the wings would stand up.  After all the stamping was done, I used my ruler with the guide holes to make sure my piercing was straight and evenly spaced.  |Lastly, I used a Goldrush alcohol marker to color some bitty sparkles and applyied them to the flourish.  This is just a heads up:  Close to My Heart will be retiring all of the Exclusive Inks markers sets, so they are now available only while supplies last.

Now I have to tell you a secret.  I do not have any Topiary ink or paper, so I used New England Ivy.   If you want to play the Color My Heart Color Dare and don't have the exact color you can still play using the closest thing you have.  Now please go check out all the creative projects at Color My Heart,  Heart 2 Heart Challenges, and Atlantic Hearts Sketches.  Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

Materials used, all Close to My Heart unless otherwise noted:
Paper:  Goldrush and Colonial White cardstock
Ink:  Goldrush, New England Ivy, and Cocoa plus a Goldrush alcohol marker
Stamps:  Find Your Style (retired), Swirls Around,  Look to the Light
Embellishments:  Bitty Sparkles, Brown Opaques (retired)