Patina Flower Block

card measures 5 1/2" x 4 1/4"

(Click photo for more detail)

Two things about my stamping 1) I rarely use any patterned paper and that's why I love the TJ thing so much - gives me almost unlimited options for interesting backgrounds, etc., and b) >;o) I generally can't see my finished card in my mind when I start a project so I make it up as I go.

I got the idea to emboss in a light shade and color in the flower from a card by Glenda C. posted on the Technique Junkies Retired Stampin' Up Card Gallery pages (under Reverse Prints). These pages are open for anyone to go look at and there is a Current Sets Gallery also. If you've never checked it out go see! It's amazing how many cards Pat has posted there!!

The background border is the Patina technique from the current Technique Junkies October newsletter. I hated to cover it all up but I always seem to make my main image panels too big and then my background pieces end up WAAAYYYY in the background! LOL

For the main image panel I started with Stampin' Up!'s Very Vanilla cardstock and stamped the Judi-kins artist's names background on it in Distress Antique Linen. Then I inked the flower block image from the retired Stampin' Up! set Reverse Prints with embossing ink and covered it with off-white semi-transparent embossing powder. I filled in the flower/weed with SU markers.

I used a sponge to add more Antique Linen over all and around the edges, then added Distress Tea Dye around the image with a small stencil brush. I added more Tea Dye around the edges, then a small amount of Distress Walnut Stain.

I stamped the verse "Oh, sing to the Lord a new song For he has done marvelous things." PS 98:1 by Biblical Impressions/Eureka and Rejoice by Stampin' Up! in Palette Burnt Umber ink. (Just a sidenote and why I picked this verse: I was running errands this afternoon and while I was sitting in my car waiting for the light to turn, I saw the most amazing grass seedheads in the median! They went sideways and hung there like bleeding heart blooms would. I had never noticed this type and was so amazed at the precision of each one, wondering what the purpose of that shape was. Seems the longer I live the more proof I find that nothing in God's creation is random and I always love to find out how/why.)

To add some dimension I used the previous Distress inks to add second generation flourishes from the See-D's/now InkBoutique Shabby Chic and Aged and Elegant sets.

When I got ready to layer cs to finish I found I didn't own any brown to match or even blend with what I had used for ink. Argh. So I swiped my Distress Walnut Stain pad over scrap SU Very Vanilla till it was completely covered.

And that's it! :o)

Thanks for looking!!

a HOT technique!! LOL

This card features a technique from the Ultimate Subscriber section of Technique Junkies called Reverse Soot Stamping, and I really enjoyed doing it. My only tip - when it says keep water nearby it's no joke!! I actually did all my soot work over the bathroom sink and that worked great.

The cardstock colors I used were Stampin' Up!'s retired In-Colors Cool Caribbean and Cranberry Crisp and then some generic gray toned ones to blend with the soot effect.

The horses image is from a retired Stampin' Up! set titled Equestrian Dream, the tracks quote is from Rubbernecker, and the blanket is Stamp Cabana. I looked thru all my Bible verse stamps hoping for a good visual one in the right size but came up high and dry. Will have to look for some good ones in cool fonts soon... For the blanket, I smudged the blue and red inks plus Chocolate Chip onto the stamp right from the pads onto gray cs, then sponged a little more blue in, and then edged with a sponge and Chocolate Chip.

For the background behind the main panel I stamped SU's Sanded bkgd in the CC ink, then used a ruler and paper piercer to make a subtle border. This was layered onto the blue cs and then dark brown. It's really hard to see but there is an antiqued silver concho type bead in the center of the string which is fine linen twine.

I roughed up the gray cs with a Tim Holtz distressing tool, then layered onto a blue cs with sponged brown edges.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great rest of the weekend!

Fall Scene - leaf pile!

Hi! Has fall hit 'your neck of the woods' yet? Our backyard is quickly becoming covered in pine needles - those are so much fun to try to rake up ;o)

Here's a card to get you in the mood if your leaves are still green! I used a little scene stamp called Shy Bear from I Brake for Stamps , and used a single word from the phrase "The path to a friends house is never long", drawing in the swirl with a finepoint marker. If you have never seen this Shy Bear line, go take a minute to look - the link above should get you right to the page... There is an image for every occasion - on a bike, peeking in a bassinet, checking out the birdhouse, etc. - I just love them, they are so sweet but not in a corny way. And there is enough substance to each image you really don't need anything more than maybe a few words and embellishments to make a great card!

(click on photo for more detail)

card measures 5 1/2" square

I started this card by stamping the image on cream cardstock using Staz-On Timber Brown. I then used the Technique Junkies Marker Water Coloring technique from the June/July 08 issue to color the scene, using a white gel pen on the bear's eyes. I used the M. Zindorf method of covering the image completely with a Versamark pen and embossing powder, allowing me to sponge in colors over the top to fill in the background. The moon was created by punching a circle from a Post-it note, and sponging over it. I swiped a sponge covered with Stampin' Up!'s More Mustard over it to tone the brightness down a little. I edged some of the tree with white gel pen for highlights, which helped to tie in the areas on the teeny branches where my Versamark pen went over the lines a bit, creating white areas ;o)

To put the card together I ran a piece of rust brown cardstock thru the Cuttlebug, using the Distressed Stripes folder, and mounted that over a scrap of Faux Handmade Paper I had left over (see the Technique Junkies June/July 08 issue for this one as well - you will love it!) Not sure who made these metal leaf brads but now I wish I had purchased another pack - the backs are really flexible and very thin so your layers don't bulk up. I 'needed' to fill in some of that light space at the bottom (which is Stampin' Up!'s Natural cardstock) so I markered in just the word from the stamp listed above, and then drew in the dots for movement.

Thanks for looking, and happy fall!

Southwest Indian Pot

This is a technique I've never tried till now. It's called Embossed Vellum, and it's on the brand new Technique Junkies CD #6, which is available to none-subscribers also!! But why in the world wouldn't you want to be a subscriber?! LOL It's such a great deal it's almost a steal!! Go to Pat's blog and you'll see a link for a free CD tutorial and all the info you need!

(click on photo for more detail)

All stamp images on this card, including the blanket background, are from I Brake For Stamps. Actually, the pot, cactus and building are all on the same half sheet, so that's a great deal. And check the site often - the sales/specials are awesome and change regularly. If you need some ideas for the IBFS images, go to my sidebar (under Index of Posts) and click on I Brake For Stamps and you will see all the cards I've posted using their stamps!

I have a couple hints when doing this technique:

*tips*

~ don't press too hard on the vellum or you will rip right thru it

~ pick a stamp with enough open area for the color to show

~ add shading around edges to tone down the white of the vellum (I used a sponge)

~ back the vellum by white so your colors pop

~ eyelets, brads and gemstones work well to hide tape at corners

I used Stampin' Up! inks in the Earth Elements family. I added a shadow for the pot using three colors to keep my images from floating. I used a sponge to edge the largest panel with Really Rust and then Close to Cocoa, and used some scraps of same to make corners for my main panel. The southwest border punch is by Marvy. It's hard to see, but I roughed up the edges of the rust and tan panels with a Tim Holtz distressing tool just a bit. I think that's about it for the details!

Thanks for stopping by!

Hello!

oh my goodness, it's been so long since I posted I almost forgot my blogger password!! LOL I kind of lost my stamping mojo for a while there. But I'm back and feeling like playing with ink and stamps!

In a nutshell, here's what I've been up to since last post: I made sample cards for the upcoming Technique Junkie newsletter in October, I made a Pineapple Upside Down cake, I cleaned the garage, I planted an herb garden by my back step (photos coming!), I got stung on the top of my foot by a bee, I had the chance to rescue a baby cardinal with a bad wing and take it to the Wildlife Rehab Center, I played with the neighbor's cat as usual and got a nasty cut on my eyelid and two more on my cheek, I completely emptied and restocked our antique booth, I rearranged some stone borders around the yard to get ready for planting more in the back yard, and did a lot of just regular old make the house payment work.

Okay, on to a card I just finished!

(click on photos for more detail - sorry the black bkgd washed it out a bit, figured it was better to photograph rather then scan this card because of the 3D nature

)

....and here's the card below that I picked up at a used stamp sale and dismantled so I colud make my own, only to Google and find there is a perfectly good template for it on SplitCoastStampers!! LOL Here's the link for you in case you want to play.

No designer paper was harmed in the making of my card ;o) although using it versus hand-stamped cardstock would probably make it easier to fold and better for mailing.

I had also picked up this green, brown and white ribbon when I bought the sample card and felt like playing with those colors, so the inks on my card are Stampin' Up! Kiwi Kiss, Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel, and Colorbox White ink.

I started by stamping various flowers from SU's Spring Solitude set in the brown and green inks on caramel cardstock. Then I used the corresponding wheel to add flowers in white. I used my Scor-Pal to make the score lines, then folded as shown. I used a sponge and Caramel ink to highlight all the edges. The flower applied to the dress is from a punch. I put the flower in my palm and pushed a rounded pen cap into it to make it concave, then added a green flat backed gemstone.

I thought about putting the dress on white, but then thought why not a color? So I stamped the words Diva (unmounted and unmarked) then filled in the open area with a white gel pen, and Mood Du Jour with phrase (Inkadinkado, Mood Du Jour set by Dawn Houser) in the Kiwi ink on pale blue cs, using a stamp positioner. I stamped the faces, also from the Mood set, in Kiwi on white scraps, punched them out, and edged them with Caramel ink and a sponge. I had a scrap from the dress background so I used that behind my main image face, which is pop-dotted.

Not sure where I got the hanger, Savvy maybe?, but I'm sure they are around at the stamp and craft stores. I used Glue Dots to tack it down behind the dress straps.

I just stamped the stemmed plant on a background linen-textured white cs, using the Cocoa ink, and layered all as shown, adding a row of more green gemstones to the bottom corner.

Careful if you try this dress - it's so much fun I just wanted to make more, but work calls!! I want to go tweak the shop and add a few bulky items while I have some extra space to work with LOL!