How Many Circles Do You See?

Happy Thursday!  Wow, the past week has just flown right by and I've had very little crafting time.  We've had two major snowstorms which have resulted in many, many snow days at my house.  I figured snow days would mean plenty of crafting time, but I've hardly had a moment to step foot in my craft room!  My kids have had a blast playing in the snow and it's been fun to have the whole family home together, but I'm glad the snow is starting to melt and we're getting back to our routine again.

I created this card for three challenges.  The Try a New Technique challenge at Splitcoast Stampers this week asks us to use circles on a card.  The Teapot Tuesday challenge (also at Splitcoast Stampers) asked us to use circles while drawing inspiration from this week's tea set.  And for the first time ever, I am entering the weekly challenge (Week 61) at Pixie's Crafty Workshop because I used snippets of scraps from my craft drawer for several pieces on this card.  Those girls with their snippets are such a hoot, and I'm so glad I get to join them this week!

Here's my card:

Another view, which hopefully shows the inlaid embossing better:

This card uses one of my favorite techniques, the inlaid embossing technique.  I saw a card using the technique with solid-colored circles on Pinterest, so I drew my inspiration for my background circles from that card, which can be seen HERE.  I love it when I can CASE (Copy and Share Everything) a card or idea and change it a bit to create something of my own!

I started by die cutting several circles out of snippets of paper from one of my favorite matstacks.  I adhered them to a piece of pale purple card stock, then ran the entire panel through my Big Shot and the Square Lattice embossing folder.  I embossed a piece of shimmery pale purple paper with the Spots and Dots embossing folder, then adhered that over the circles.  I attached the entire piece to an Elegant Eggplant card base.  I stamped the verse in Elegant Eggplant on Natural White card stock, then die cut it and attached it to a die cut piece of Elegant Eggplant.  I attached this panel using Stampin' Dimensionals.  I added several sizes of pearls to the circles on the shimmery pale purple panel for a final "circles" touch.

I've lost count of how many circles are on this card!  Too many?  I hope not!  

I have a couple of square cards that I'm finishing up today.  I'm planning to post them tomorrow, so I hope you'll visit again soon.  Thanks for stopping by!

Products Used:

Stamp: Scripture Series 3 (Our Daily Bread Designs)

Ink: Elegant Eggplant (Stampin' Up!)

Paper: Latte Matstack (DCWV); Elegant Eggplant card stock (Stampin' Up!); Classic Crest Natural White (Neenah); shimmery pale purple paper (from a scrap bag at cutcardstock.com); 

pale purple card stock (unknown)

Tools and Accessories: Nestabilities Standard Circles Large (Spellbinders); Square Lattice embossing folder (Stampin' Up!); Nestabilities Labels One (Spellbinders); Spots and Dots embossing folder (Provo Craft); 

pearls (KaiserCraft)

Triple Time/Seamless Tiers Love Card

Happy Tuesday!  It's a beautiful day here and I'm feeling a bit spoiled by the brilliant sunshine and mild temperatures.  This weather is really unusual for us at this time of year.  What a blessing!

I rarely make New Year's resolutions, but this year I decided to focus my resolutions on the "creative" part of my life.  One of my resolutions is to try new techniques and projects this year.  I have developed a bad habit of seeing techniques I want to try and "pinning" them but never actually trying them.  So I'm going through my Pinterest boards and my gallery favorites at Splitcoast Stampers and pushing myself to try new things.  Here's to breaking out of my comfort zone in 2013!

This week's Try a New Technique challenge at Splitcoast Stampers gave us the opportunity to try one of the many challenge techniques from 2012, so I chose to try Triple Time Stamping (also called Seamless Tiers) for my card.  I have seen so many magnificent cards using this technique, but it involves a bit of measuring and I'm more of an eyeballer than a measurer.  Thankfully, many wonderful bloggers are willing to share their recipes and measurements and they've taken all the hard work out of this technique!

Here's my card:

And here's a link to the tutorial I followed at Jan's Stamping Creations.

There are many wonderful tutorials online and some of them include videos, so you can certainly find many options for this beautiful technique.  I've seen lots of different measurements for the layers and I may try other combinations in the future.  You could easily cut the pieces for several cards at once and then construct them as you have time, or make several of the same card assembly-line style.  I was truly surprised at how quickly this card was completed. 

Thanks for stopping by today.  I hope you have a wonderful day!

Products Used:

Ink: Real Red Classic Ink (Stampin' Up!)

Paper: Real Red, Whisper White card stock (Stampin' Up!)

Stamps: Field Flowers (Stampin' Up!)

Chalkboard Technique with Rick Rack

Happy Friday!  Today's card was a bit of an experiment.  One of my creative goals in 2013 is to try lots of new techniques (not just pin them on my Pinterest boards!), and this week's Try a New Technique challenge at Splitcoast Stampers intrigued me.  For this challenge, we were asked to use the chalkboard technique.  I also wanted to play along with this week's Ways to Use It challenge (also at Splitcoast Stampers) which asked us to use things that are new to us, so I designed a background using some new rick rack I picked up while Christmas shopping.  I like the wavy effect of the rick rack against the solid panels of the sentiment:  

To make the chalkboard panel, I ran my Embossing Buddy over a piece of black card stock, then stamped my sentiment in white craft ink.  I added white embossing powder and heat embossed the sentiment.  I set it aside to dry for a few moments, then sponged white craft ink on the panel to create the effect of chalk dust.  Since craft ink is slow-drying, I set the stamped panel aside and started working on my background.  I ran my rick rack through my Xyron Create-A-Sticker to get a good line of adhesive on it, then attached it in rows to a black card base.  I attached my sentiment panel to a piece of white card stock and trimmed it to fit, then attached it with Stampin' Dimensionals to the card base.  To add just a bit of color, I punched two hearts from a piece of shimmery hot pink card stock and added them to the sentiment panel.

I really had fun with this technique and plan to try it again soon.  I love that it uses ink in place of chalk (no chalk dust!) and looks quite realistic in person.  This stamp is one of my new favorites with its lovely message (you may remember it from this post).  If you want to see more cards using the chalkboard technique, I have a few pinned to my "cards" board on Pinterest.  Feel free to follow me and see more examples of this fun technique!

Thanks for stopping by today! 

Products Used:

Paper: Whisper White card stock (Stampin' Up!); black card stock from stash;

shimmery hot pink card stock from stash

Stamp: 7 Gypsies/Hampton Art

Ink: Craft White (Stampin' Up!)

Tools and Accessories: Baby Rick Rack (Wright's); white embossing powder (Stampin' Up!);

heart punch (Marvy Uchida); Stampin' Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!)

Holly Jolly Sparkly Snowman

Whew!  It's been several days since my last post but I finally have a new card to share with you. This card was so much fun to create!  I started with an idea in my head that actually worked out on paper, which is always exciting!

For today's card I decided to CASE (Copy and Share Everything) some ideas I saw recently and use them to make an original card.  I saw a project on Splitcoast Stampers that used embossed circles for a snowman's body (see the project HERE)  and I really liked the idea of embossing a snowman.  I also saw a card that used a swirled embossing folder with glitter glue (see it HERE), and I was inspired to add Stickles to my embossing.  This week's Try a New Technique Challenge at Splitcoast Stampers asked us to make our own snowmen, so I used these ideas to create this sparkly, swirly snowman card:

I tried photographing this many times and just couldn't get a picture of the whole card that really shows the sparkle on the snowman as well as the embossing on the blue piece, so here are a couple of close-ups:

I started with a Neenah 110 lb. white card base and added a piece of wintry patterned paper to cover the card front.  I die cut 3 circles from Whisper White card stock, then embossed them with the D'Vine Swirls embossing folder.  I created a hat from black card stock and attached it to the "head" of the snowman.  I stamped my sentiment on Whisper White in Versafine Onyx Black and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder, then attached it to a piece of black card stock.  I cut a strip of blue card stock and embossed it with the Swirls, Ribbons and Snowflakes embossing folder, then cut the end to a point.

Once I had all the elements cut and stamped, I attached them to the card front.  I carefully applied Star Dust Stickles directly from the bottle to the raised embossing on the snowman.  I wanted to add some dimension to the snowflakes on my blue piece, so I added Stickles to the centers.  I quickly decided I didn't like the way that looked, so I added tiny pearls to the centers instead. 

I set the card aside to dry overnight (and somehow managed not to smear my Stickles, which was quite a feat for me!).  I had so much fun with this card that I will probably make a few more using different backgrounds, colors and embossing folders. 

I am also entering this card for the Paper Players #124 Challenge (snowman cards) and the ABC Challenge #7 (holiday cards with bling).  Thanks for stopping by today!

Products Used:
 

Stamp: Merry Merry (Recollections)

Ink: Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko)

Paper: Solar White 110 lb. card stock (Neenah); Whisper White card stock (Stampin' Up!); Arctic Wishes Matstock (DCWV); black card stock, blue card stock (unknown)

Tools and Accessories: Circles #2 die (Sizzix); D'Vine Swirls embossing folder (Cuttlebug); Swirls, Ribbons and Snowflakes embossing folder (BasicGrey/Sizzix); Big Shot (Sizzix); clear embossing powder (Mrs. O'Leary's); Star Dust Stickles (Ranger); tiny pearls (Zva Creative)

Glittery Embossed Christmas Stocking

Today's card incorporates a fun technique that I'm excited to share with you!  I created this card for this week's Try a New Technique Challenge at Splitcoast Stampers.  We were challenged to use the Glittery Embossing technique, which uses dry embossing, glitter glue and a brayer.  What fun! 

Here's my card:

I decided to use a square card to accommodate my large scalloped circles, so I cut a 5 x 5 card base from Real Red card stock.  I cut a 4.75 x 4.75 piece of Whisper White card stock to layer on top of the base (in this photo it looks more like silver than white, but it's actually a white square).  I die cut a piece of silver card stock and a piece of Real Red card stock with scalloped circle dies.  For the glittery embossing, I dry embossed the red circle with the Snowburst embossing folder in my Big Shot and set it aside.  I squirted some some Stickles (glitter glue) on a piece of scrap card stock and spread it out a bit, then ran my brayer through the Stickles until it was completely covered.  (I used Star Dust Stickles to create an icy look, but it's hard to see in this picture.)  I ran my brayer several times over my embossed red scalloped circle to deposit the glitter glue all over the embossed piece, then set it aside to dry. 

Next I stamped my stocking in Real Red on another piece of white card stock and die cut it.  I added silver glitter glue to the top and tiny rhinestones to the center of each snowflake.  I set the stocking aside to allow the glitter glue to dry overnight.

The next day, I adhered the layers to each other and attached the stocking with dimensionals (I added a bit of Tombow Mono Multi glue on top of the dimensionals because I find that helps adhere things to embossed backgrounds).  I curled the edges of the red embossed piece to add even more dimension.  I added a rhinestone to each corner of the card and a white liner to the inside panel.  Easy peasy!  Although it took two days to create this card (to allow the glitter glue to dry), I didn't spend a lot of time working on it at each session. 

I have a few tips to share with you today, all based on my own mistakes while making this card.  First, if you are going to die cut and emboss a piece of card stock, be sure to cut first, emboss second.  If you do it the other way, your embossing will get squished.  Second, if you smudge your ink, there are ways to fix it.  I smudged the red on my stocking onto the white area around it (in a very small place, but it really bothered me) so I used a white gel pen to cover up the red marks.  If you layer it on slowly, it usually works.  I got a little too ambitious, however, and ended up getting the white gel ink on the red stocking...grrrr.  So I used a tip I learned from another blogger recently: I grabbed my blender pen and some Real Red ink and blended the red ink over the white marks.  It worked like a charm!  I can't remember which blogger shared the tip, but she successfully uses her blender pen to fill in gaps on stamped images that have "bald spots" where the ink didn't transfer.  This is a pretty handy trick to have up your sleeve!

I hope to try the glittery embossing technique on some larger panels that I can use to make my own background papers.  There are many options and variations on this technique, and I hope you will give it a try, too!

Thanks for stopping by!

Products Used:

 

Ink: Real Red Classic Dye Ink (Stampin' Up!)

Paper: Real Red, Whisper White card stock (Stampin' Up!); silver card stock (unknown)

Stamp and Matching Die: Hero Arts Stamp & Cut Christmas Stockings set

Tools and Accessories: Nestabilities Scalloped Classic Circles Large (Spellbinders); Star Dust Stickles (Ranger);

Silver Glitter Glue (Studio G); Big Shot (Sizzix); Snowburst embossing folder (Sizzix/Stampin' Up!);

Stampin' Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!); Mono Multi glue (Tombow); rhinestones

Acrylic Block Collage, Take 2

I just couldn't stop playing with this fun technique this week!  This is a continuation of the technique I posted yesterday.  If you missed it, HERE is yesterday's post.  You can also see the original challenge and technique instuctions on Splitcoast Stampers HERE.

This time I wanted to use softer, more subtle colors, so I decided to use purples and pinks.  My first card is a very Clean and Simple sympathy card:

The background was created by inking my acrylic block with several shades of pink and purple, then spritzing it with water and stamping it on the white card stock. After the background dried, I inked a small heart stamp and stamped it randomly over the background. Then I stamped my flowers and sentiment. Quick and easy!

I have mixed feelings about this next card.  I used the same basic background as the card above, but this time I inked stem images all over the area. I like the effect but feel it might just be a little too "busy" with all those stems! 

This technique just has so many possibilities.  I still want to make a card with separate color blocks, so I need to add that one to my list.  But I have a couple of other challenges waiting on my craft desk, so I am off to work on those now!

Thanks for stopping by!

Products Used:

 

Paper: Whisper White card stock (Stampin' Up!)

Inks on background: Various shades of pink and purple markers and dye ink pads

Inks on sentiment and flowers: Elegant Eggplant (Stampin' Up!)

Sentiment and flower stamps: "Close as a Memory" (Stampin' Up!)

Tools: Acrylic block, water mister

Acrylic Block Collage Cards

For the past couple of days I've had a lot of fun playing with a new (to me) technique, Acrylic Block Collage.  This technique was introduced in the Try a New Technique challenge this week at Splitcoast Stampers (you can see the challenge HERE).  With the Acrylic Block Collage technique, you color with markers or stamp pads on acrylic blocks (the same blocks you use to attach stamps that are not mounted on wood) starting with the lightest color and progressing to the darkest color.  You then spritz the ink with water and stamp directly onto paper.  Once the ink has dried (it only takes a few minutes), you can stamp random images on the collage area and then use a larger image and stamp it in a dark color over the area.  There are so many possibilities with this one, and I have had a wonderful time trying lots of different options with this technique.

The Clean and Simple Challenge at Splitcoast Stampers this week required us to make a Harvest-inspired card.  I decided to combine the two challenges for this card:

For this one, I inked shades of yellow, brown and green all over the block, then added a little orange in the center section.  I misted the block lightly with water so the colors would start to blend and provide this multi-hued Autumn background.  After the ink dried, I lightly stamped some leaves over the background, then added my large sunflower and sentiment. 

I really loved the colors on this card, but wondered how it would look without the orange, so I made another card:

I kept everything almost exactly the same but eliminated the orange.  I like the effect but still feel like it needs more color to help it "pop" off the card.  I would like to revisit this card and use more distinctive color blocks (one yellow, one green and one brown, for example).  Since these are CAS cards I had to restrain myself from adding anything else to these cards!

While I was playing with this technique I tried several different markers and ink pads, and I apologize for not capturing the specific ones used on these cards.  What worked best for me was to use mostly markers (especially for my lighter colors), scribbling and drawing and thumping on the block with them.  I did use ink pads, but mostly for the darker shades.  I also learned it takes a lot more ink than I expected.  I really had to get the ink built up on the block before I could get a good impression.  I only needed one or two pumps of water mist to get a good result (too much water just led to water spots).  I use a little travel-size mister bottle (I pick mine up in the travel-size products section at Wal-Mart or Target).  I held the bottle 8-12 inches from the paper and stamped immediately after misting.

Tomorrow I will share more cards using this technique.  I'm having so much fun playing with this one that I just keep trying new colors and designs.  I hope you'll give this technique a try and discover just how much fun it is to play with water and ink!

Thanks for visiting today!

 

Products Used:

 

Paper: Whisper White card stock (Stampin' Up!)

Inks on background: Various markers and dye ink pads

Ink on sunflower and sentiment: Colorbox Chalk Chestnut Roan (Clearsnap)

Stamps: Sunflower from "Friendship Bouquet" (Close to My Heart), Delight from "Paint Prints" (Stampin' Up!)

Autumn Leaves in Plaid

Thanks for visiting my blog on this chilly October day.  It's really starting to feel like Autumn where I live, so I've been stamping a lot of leaf and pumpkin images.  I love this time of year!

Today's card is for two challenges this week at Splitcoast Stampers.  The Clean and Simple (CAS) challenge required us to use plaid, and the Try a New Technique challenge required us to use dimension.  If you'd like to see these challenges, please click HERE and HERE.  We'd love to have you play along with us! 

Using plaid is definitely something I don't do often (even in my wardrobe), so this challenge really required me to step out of my comfort zone.  I also found it very difficult to stay in the CAS style when incorporating plaid into my design.  This card is not heavily embellished so I think it still fits the basic definition of CAS.  Adding dimension was much easier, as I used foam dimensionals and jute to elevate the sentiment. 

Here's my card:

I started by cutting my patterned paper into a panel slightly smaller than my card front.  I stamped the leaf on the patterned paper panel in Chocolate Chip.  I cut two pieces of jute and stretched them across the panel, attaching the ends of the jute to the back of my patterned paper. I attached the patterned paper panel to my Chocolate Chip card base. I stamped the sentiment in Chestnut Roan on a piece of tan card stock, then mounted it on a piece of Chocolate Chip card stock.  I added foam squares to the back of the sentiment piece and adhered it to the card over the jute. 

I really wanted to use raffia in place of the jute, but I just couldn't find raffia in the right color in my supplies.  When I first looked at this plaid paper I wasn't sure if I would like it on a card, but now I really like the masculine feeling it lends.   

(A note about my photo: I photographed this card near the sliding glass doors leading out to my deck, as I can usually get the best light there.  We have large trees in our backyard and it was a rather windy day, so I was getting all kinds of leafy shadows on my card when I tried to photograph it.  It turns out the leaves on the tree overhanging my deck are shaped almost exactly like the trees I stamped on this card, and it made for a really cool shadow effect!  I finally managed to snap a decent picture of this card in the lull between wind gusts.) 

That's all for today.  Thanks so much for stopping by! 

 

Products Used:

 

Card Base: Chocolate Chip (SU)

Patterned Paper: Brown Plaid (Recollections)

Ink: Chocolate Chip Classic (SU), Chestnut Roan Colorbox Chalk (Clearsnap)

Leaf stamp - PSX

Faith stamp - Stampabilities

Other: 3D Foam Squares (Therm-O-Web), jute