Fussy-Cut Flowers for Martha

Happy Thursday!  I mentioned in an earlier post that one of my creative goals for 2013 is to try new techniques.  One of my other creative goals is to use more patterned paper.  Matching patterns and colors doesn't come easily to me, so I've found that paper packs and matstacks are helpful because they coordinate well with each other.  I used a matstack for today's card and it definitely took away some of the frustration of choosing papers!  I also used fussy-cutting to create dimension with the pattern, which is another technique that is new to me.

I created this card for this week's Teapot Tuesday challenge at Splitcoast Stampers.  This week our cards are heading to Texas for a sweet lady named Martha.  Shortly after Thanksgiving, Martha and her husband decided to take a short,  impromptu trip to New York with another couple.  While they were there, Martha's husband said he didn't feel well.  Moments later he died of a massive heart attack.  Martha enjoys handmade cards, so the Teapotters will be showering her with our best thoughts and wishes as we mail our cards to her.  We were encouraged to use fields of flowers or other peaceful nature scenes for our cards.

Here's my card for Martha:

This card has very little stamping; only the sentiment is stamped.  I started with a card base in natural white (a lovely off-white color).  I stamped my sentiment in Rich Cocoa on a smaller piece of natural white, then attached it to brown and green patterned papers from the Latte matstack collection.  I cut a large panel from the flowery patterned paper in the same collection, then used a second piece of the patterned paper to fussy-cut some of the flowers.  I popped those flowers  up on dimensionals and adhered them over the identical flowers on the larger panel.  

I didn't have the color of ribbon I wanted to use, so I grabbed some off-white ribbon and my New Sprout ink pad.  I dyed the ribbon by running the ink pad over it several times, then rubbing off the excess ink with an old cloth.  I adhered the ribbon to the patterned paper, then adhered the entire panel to the card base. Finally, I added my sentiment block over the ribbon with dimensionals.

It's hard to see the "popped-up" flowers in the first photo, so here's a slightly different view:

If you're inclined to make cards to send to others who could use a bit of sunshine, I hope you'll consider joining us for the next Teapot Tuesday challenge.  Everyone is welcome!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Products Used:
Stamp: Close as a Memory (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa, Memento New Sprout (Tsukineko)

Paper: Classic Crest Natural White 80 lb. card stock (Neenah), Latte matstack (DCWV)

Tools and Accessories: Ribbon (Offray); Stampin' Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!)

Simple Sympathy Cards

Happy Tuesday!  We're a bit under the weather at my house right now (in the midst of Thanksgiving preparations...how unfair is that?!) so I'm spending more time wiping noses and soothing unhappy children than I am crafting.  However, I needed to make a sympathy card this week, so I squeezed in a little stamping time while the kids were sleeping.

I am going to show you a few different versions of this clean and simple, quick sympathy card.  I'm using a stamp set you've seen me use before.  It's not my only sympathy set, but it's definitely my favorite. 

Here's my first card:

For this card, I started with a panel of Whisper White card stock and applied Memento Lulu Lavender using the "direct to paper" technique.  With this method, you apply your stamp pad directly to the paper.  I used a small dewdrop pad and I find this works better (for me) than using the larger pads.  To avoid getting ink lines from the edge of the pad (or depositing too much ink on the card edges) I started my ink pad off the panel (on the scratch paper underneath) and began swirling the ink on the scratch paper, then moved inward onto the card so the "impact" point was not on the card itself.  I sometimes use chalks or sponging to create this effect, but I think these Memento dewdrop pads work really well for this background.  After I achieved the depth of color I wanted, I used an old towel to rub off any excess ink.  I then stamped my image and sentiment in Elegant Eggplant, and attached the panel to an Elegant Eggplant card base.  This card took less than 5 minutes to make. 

I wanted to try other color options while building my supply of sympathy cards (I seem to need too many of these lately).  This time I used Memento New Sprout for the background, using the same technique as above.  I like the combination of Elegant Eggplant and New Sprout:

 

 

I'm also challenging myself to make more one-layer cards, so I tried making a card without the Elegant Eggplant card base.  I think this works nicely as another option:

You can easily use these techniques to make sympathy cards as well as cards for other occasions and with other stamp sets.  I love having go-to card ideas for those last-minute cards, and any card that can be made in 5 minutes or less is a winner in my book!

One tip: Although dye ink should be fast-drying, I had a few issues with Elegant Eggplant smudging this time (so there are a few card fronts in my recycle bin now!).  I'm not sure why it wasn't drying immediately this time, but a quick fix is to use your heat tool for a few seconds to set the ink before moving on to the next step. 

Thanks for visiting! 

Products Used:

Stamps: Close as a Memory (Stampin' Up!)

Ink: Memento Lulu Lavender and Memento New Sprout (Tsukineko);
Elegant Eggplant Classic Dye Ink (Stampin' Up!)

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

Technique: Direct to Paper

Sympathy in Blue

Wow, it's Tuesday already!  Time seems to be flying by, although my son thinks time is really dragging (he's getting quite impatient for Halloween!).  For those of you affected by Hurricane Sandy, my thoughts and prayers continue to be with you.  Stay safe, friends!

When I discovered this week's challenge at Sunny Challenges & Creations, I was inspired to make a sympathy card.  I always find it hard to get motivated to make sympathy cards, but sadly, they are always needed and my supply has run quite low lately.  For this challenge, we were to make a sympathy card using this sketch:

I also incorporated the current Splitcoast Stampers Ways to Use It Challenge, which required us to use embossing on a card.  Here is my card:

 

I embossed a panel of Night of Navy card stock with a Texturz Plate in my Big Shot.  I inked the lower section of the panel with layers of Memento Tuxedo Black and Faded Jeans Distress inks, which created a subtly different shade for the lower half of the card.  I applied the ink one layer at a time, stopping between each layer to remove the excess ink by rubbing with a soft cloth (be sure to use an old cloth if you try this, as the ink will stain it).  Once I had the shade I wanted, I set it aside for a moment to dry.  I inked my sentiment stamp with layers of Night of Navy Classic and Faded Jeans Distress inks, then stamped it on a die cut label of white card stock.  I wrapped a piece of white grosgrain ribbon around the large panel, adhered the tag over the ribbon, and attached the entire panel to a white card base. 

 

While I will usually stamp "With Sympathy" or a similar sentiment on the front of the card and save the message stamp for the inside, I decided to do the reverse for this card.  I think the quote works well on the front for this one. 

 

Thanks for visiting!

 

Products Used:

 

Stamp: Close As A Memory (Stampin' Up!)

Paper: Whisper White and Night of Navy card stock (Stampin' Up!)

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko); Faded Jeans Distress Ink (Tim Holtz); Night of Navy Classic Ink (Stampin' Up!)

Tools: Big Shot (Sizzix); Texturz Plate (Stampin' Up!); Nestabilities Labels Eighteen (Spellbinders)

Accessories: White 1/4" Grosgain Ribbon (Stampin' Up!)

 

 

 

 

 

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