Seamless Tiers with Patterned Paper Experiment

Happy Wednesday! I'm in the midst of reorganizing my craft room and several other rooms in my house, so I haven't had much stamping time over the past several days.  I have a few cards I need to send out this week, so I took a break from reorganizing and managed a little bit of crafting time after my kids went to sleep last night.

Over in the general stamping forum at Splitcoast Stampers, we've been having a discussion about the best way to use the Seamless Tiers/Triple Time technique using patterned paper instead of stamped images.  I think the easiest way is to use nested rectangle dies, but since I don't have those, I thought I'd try just cutting the layers myself.  This did not work out as well as I'd hoped, but it was a fun experiment!  The top two layers are lined up correctly, but I didn't manage to get the bottom layer to match up with the middle layer.  I don't mind, though, because I know the recipient of the card will not be critiquing it.  It's easy to forget sometimes, in our quest for perfection, that the recipient is usually just thrilled to get a card that was lovingly (if not perfectly) created.  I am going to try this technique again to see if I can manage it without the dies, but I think the dies would sure make this easier!

Here's my card:

I have to apologize for the poor picture quality.  I use natural lighting through a window, and the winter is really making it difficult to find the right time of day to photograph cards.  The colors on this card are Night of Navy and white, although the navy color looks black here.  Also, the shadows and angle make the sentiment panel look off-center, but I measured it and it's centered pretty well.  Darn photo!

This card uses almost exactly the same measurements as the ones in this post, but this time I used patterned paper in place of stamped images.  Before adhering the final layers, I wrapped a band of white card stock behind the sentiment panels, then popped up the sentiment panels using Stampin' Dimensionals.  This is a very simple card, and if I had just gotten that pattern lined up better I would have been happy to have made an easy AND pretty card!  But it's given me a jumping-off point and I'm sure I'll make another card like this soon so I can figure out how to fix those layers.

This card will be mailed to a sweet lady with leukemia who just had a bone marrow transplant.  She has to spend 100 days in a hotel away from her family and friends to avoid germs and be near the hospital.  Can you imagine spending 100 days away from those you love?  The thought breaks my heart, so I hope this card will encourage her. 

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

Products Used:

Stamp: Scripture Series 3 (Our Daily Bread Designs)

Paper: Night of Navy card stock (Stampin' Up!); Classic Crest Solar White 110 lb. card stock (Neenah)

Ink: Night of Navy Classic Ink (Stampin' Up!)

Cocoa and Friendship

Happy Thanksgiving week!  Here in the U.S. we're busy getting ready for a holiday.  It's been unseasonably warm where I live, so I'm having trouble believing we're coming up on the end of November so quickly.  Christmas (my very favorite time of the year) is just around the corner!

Today's card is a quick and easy winter card.  I collect coffee and hot chocolate stamps (and snowman stamps...do you see a wintry pattern emerging here?), so hot drinks appear quite often on my cards during this time of year.  One of my favorite ways to embellish a stamped cup of hot chocolate is with puffy white Liquid Applique.  This is such a fun (and easy) way to add a bit of fluffy whipped cream!

Here's my card:

I stamped my mug in Rich Cocoa on some light brownish card stock (it was in my stash and I have no idea what the color name is).  I added the steam in Close to Cocoa.  The steam is from a different set.  I love to mix and match my stamp sets to make them more versatile. 

I stamped my sentiment in Rich Cocoa, then die cut it and inked the edges with Rich Cocoa.  I used a dewdrop-sized pad this time because the smaller size makes it so much easier to ink the edges on a small label.  I added some baker's twine to my panel and then attached my sentiment piece with Stampin' Dimensionals over the twine.  I adhered the panel to a dark brown card base (also from my stash) and applied Liquid Applique.  I allowed it to dry, then used my heat tool to puff it up.  I decided it needed just a bit more so I added more Liquid Applique over it and puffed it up with the heat tool again.  I love that you can add layers and continue building the "foam" if you want to.  I thought it needed a little something else, so I added a red striped straw over the foam.  Unfortunately a bit of the red got on the foam (those new SU ink pads are JUICY!), so once again I added some more Liquid Applique and heat set it.  See how great this stuff is for covering up mistakes and creating dimension?

I am leaving this card as a "friendship" card by not adding any other sentiment, but I could easily change it to a missing you, thank you, love you, thinking of you, etc. card just by adding a sentiment to the inside. 

Thanks for visiting! 

Products Used:
 

Stamps (mug and sentiment): Close to My Heart

Stamps (steam and straw): Like it a Latte (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa (Tsukineko); Close to Cocoa, Real Red (Stampin' Up!)

Tools and Accessories: White Liquid Applique (Marvy); Baker's Twine (unknown); Nestabilities Labels One (Spellbinders); Big Shot (Sizzix); Stampin' Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!)

Ready for Snow!

Happy November!   This month I'm spending some of my time working on winter and Valentine's cards to donate to Operation Write Home.  Today's project is a snowman card using OWH Sketch #144 and this week's Ways to Use It Challenge at Splitcoast Stampers, which challenges us to make a card using anything except Autumn colors (no red, orange or yellow). 

Here's the sketch:

And here's my card:

This card's colors are off-white, brown and blue to match the colors in the patterned paper (I could not get the colors to photograph well today without the picture becoming too dark).  To create this card, I started by embossing the front of an Ultrasmooth Vanilla card base with a snowburst embossing folder.  (Ultrasmooth Vanilla is no longer available, but it's comparable to Very Vanilla.)  I cut a strip of the patterned paper and mounted it on brown card stock.  I cut a panel of Ultrasmooth Vanilla, stamped it with my sentiment in Memento Rich Cocoa (I just love this color) and mounted it on brown card stock.  I die cut a snowflake in Ultrasmooth Vanilla and sponged it with Bordering Blue to match the blue in the patterned paper.  I added some pearls to the snowflake and attached it to the sentiment panel, then adhered the panels to the card base.  Because I'd weakened the card front with my embossing, I added a liner on the upper portion of the inside to balance the weight of the layers.  This extra blank space inside also allows the sender to write a longer message.

Now that I've finished this winter card, it's time to get outside and enjoy the unseasonably warm weather we're having this week.  Thanks for stopping by! 

Products Used:

 

Stamp: Thanks Snow Much (Stampin' Up!)

Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa (Tsukineko); Bordering Blue (Stampin' Up!)

Paper: Ultrasmooth Vanilla card stock (Stampin' Up!);

snowmen patterned paper (The Paper Studio); brown card stock (unknown)

Tools and Accessories: Big Shot (Sizzix); Snowflake #23 (Sizzix);
Textured Impressions Snowburst (Sizzix for Stampin' Up!);  Pearls (KaiserCraft)

 

My First Midweek Throwdown Entry!

I completed my very first challenge for Operation Write Home!  I am so excited!!  I have started making cards to donate and decided using challenges will help me accomplish my goal faster.  I chose to do the Midweek Color Throwdown over on their blog, Stars and Stamps.  The challenge this week was to make a card using black and white with a "pop" of either red or green.  I was surprised at how difficult I found this challenge, considering that one of my favorite color combinations is black, white and red.  In fact, I've blogged about a couple of cards using these colors recently (HERE and HERE).  I'm going to blame my creative frustration on the fact that my baby is teething so I'm not sleeping much! 

I decided to make a "general" card, as our deployed servicemen and servicewomen can always use "any occasion" cards.  This stamp is from a set that really frustrates me because the font is intentionally messy. Whenever I use it I find myself trying to correct the ink mistakes, only to realize they are not mistakes, they're part of the design.  Being a bit of a perfectionist, this drives me batty! 

Here's my card:

See how it looks like my stamp skipped a bit or I wiggled it too much?  I promise that's how the stamp is designed!  I stamped the sentiment on white card stock, then die cut it using Nestabilities in my Big Shot.  I cut red and black card stocks with the same Nestabilities set, then layered the pieces.  I embossed the white card stock in my Big Shot, adhered the stamped piece to it, and tied some baker's twine around it.  I adhered the white panel to the black card base.  This is a quick Clean and Simple card, which seems to be my style this month.  This stamp set comes with four different sentiments, so I could easily make several different cards with this CAS layout. 

That's all for today!  We have a busy weekend ahead of us, but I hope to get some stamping time in to finish another project that's waiting on my desk. 

I hope you have a great weekend!  Thanks for stopping by!

 

Products Used:

 

Stamp: That's Nice (Stampin' Up!)

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: Various sources

Tools: Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels One; Divine Swirls Embossing Folder; twine

 

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!)

Black Lace/White Tag Card

Today's card is for this week's Sketch Challenge and the Ways to Use It Challenge at Splitcoast Stampers.  The Sketch Challenge was a tough one for me, because I knew at least one of the layers needed to be a patterned paper.  Patterned paper and I have a love/hate relationship: I love to buy it but I hate figuring out how to use it!  As a personal challenge, I am trying to use more patterned paper in my cards.  I followed the sketch pretty closely.  If you want to see the sketch and play along with us, you can go HERE to get all the details!

For the Ways to Use It Challenge, we were to use a tag on a card.  If you want to see more about that challenge, just click HERE.

This card is a bit outside of my usual style, but I loved using these colors and this patterned paper.  I think the lace on this paper is so vivid!  This week was my grandmother's birthday (she passed away last year) and this card is very much her style.  So in honor of my Grammy, I made a card that reminds me of her:

On this card I incorporated some mulberry paper (the torn black paper behind the tag).  I love the texture mulberry paper provides.  Here's a hint, though: When you're tearing black mulberry paper at 2:00 in the morning, there's a darned good chance some of the little scrap pieces are going to look like hairy spiders on your craft table when you see them out of the corner of your sleepy eyes!  Don't ask me how I know this...

I adhered a strip of Black Floral Lace patterned paper (Recollections) to a piece of red cardstock.  I used the Dainty Lace Border Die-Namics die (My Favorite Things) on my Big Shot to die cut the white border.  I attached the border to the back of the long red piece and adhered both pieces to the black card base.  I embossed a piece of red card stock using the Square Lattice embossing folder from Stampin' Up! and attached that piece to the card base.  I tore a piece of black mulberry paper and adhered it to the patterned paper.   I stamped the sentiment in Memento Black using a Gina K stamp on a white tag, then attached the tag to the card with a small silver brad.  I also used a small amount of Tombow Mono Multi adhesive to secure the tag. 

You could easily change the sentiment on this card to fit any situation.  I chose "smile" so I could use this as an encouragement card, but the sentiment is general enough to be used for almost any occasion.

Thanks for stopping by!

You Warm My Heart with Polka Dots

This week's Clean and Simple (CAS) Challenge at Splitcoast Stampers was a sketch challenge (they provide a sketch and we use it for the card's design).  The Try a New Technique Challenge (also at Splitcoast Stampers) required us to use polka dots somewhere on our cards.  I combined both challenges in this card:

 

The stamps are from a Close to My Heart clear stamp set.  While I normally prefer rubber stamps, I absolutely love CTMH clear stamps.  They stamp quite well with a variety of inks and I think they make a very clean impression.  I bought this set because of the coffee images in it (the coffee cup in my previous post is from this set), but I thought these mittens and the tiny snowflake were adorable.  I hadn't even noticed the polka dot stamp in this set until tonight, and it worked perfectly for adding the dots required by the challenge!  I love stamp sets that have multiple uses.

The images are stamped on white card stock using classic dye inks from Stampin' Up! in Rose Red and Handsome Hunter.  (I don't think I will ever get those tiny snowflakes to stamp in a perfectly straight line!)  The white card stock is adhered to dark green card stock, and I used a thin piece of that same card stock to make the solid strip under the polka dots.  Because my larger piece of dark green card stock was not big enough for a card base, I trimmed it to fit as a card front and adhered it to a white card stock base.  The benefit of a white card stock base is that you won't need to put a liner inside your card for writing your message.

This card is quick and easy to make. Cards like this are perfect for making multiples at one time, and you can always vary the sentiment, colors or image if you didn't want duplicates. I like to keep extra cards on hand or add them to my box for Operation Write Home, so I try to make duplicates of "general" cards. (I don't tend to make duplicates of birthday cards for family and friends, as I try to make each birthday card specific to the person receiving it.)

One of the biggest difficulties I face in creating Clean and Simple cards is leaving all that white space!  The idea behind CAS is that you will have lots of open space and little (if any) layers or embellishments. I think CAS cards look deceptively simple sometimes.  If you make mistakes, they are easily seen on a CAS card. You can't just add an embellishment to cover them up!  I really love the clean look of a CAS card, especially with bold, vibrant colors.

That's all for today. Thanks for visiting!