Brilliant!

I'm sure you've been there, every stamper has. You find a new product and a whole new world opens up for you. Recently I took an altered book class from Deena Parsons of DP Artwork stamps. She gave us a chunk of Ranger's Cut N Dry foam to distress pages in the book. Sure I've heard of this stuff but I was taken by surprise with the all the unusual uses. It was great to apply ink to distress the pages, then I hear about heating the gray side and making a reverse stamp. So I buy a sheet. I can say this is a product that won't leave my stamping studio, it's the coolest.

The above card was made by applying Brilliance reinkers to a Cut N Dry foam pad. I wish you could see this in person, the colors are so rich and shimmery. I stamped the crane on white card stock then stamped Wildflowers and Asian symbol on black linen card stock. The crane was double matted and mounted with mounting tape. The silver and gold cord was looped and anchored the crane backing.

I also should mention that after using, you can wash out the ink and reuse on your next creations. If you've not tried this project, give it a whirl!

Simple Details

Whew! it's been a busy week of card designing for my summer classes. And now they are all completed and I can play. The above card is from my Cards that Care class and features the new clear peg Inkadinkado stamps sets. This set is called Floral Wishes and you can see it here http://www.inkadinkado.com/products/detail.lasso?unq=2_2418_Floral-Wishes
I like that this set is clear and unmounted and also it's so versatile and comes with its only acrylic block/peg. I would say that if you can only buy one set of stamps or maybe need a gift idea for a fellow stamper, this would be a great option. Heck, I came up with six different designs from this one set. The options are nearly endless.

I made a pattern of the heart and traced on pattern paper by Daisy D's. Then smudged the edges with Versamagic Pink Petunia ink. I stamped flower, stem, leaves and bow from the Floral Wishes clear peg set in other Versamagic inks. Next I stamped a different clear peg flower all around the edge of the heart and added the Happy Birthday strip. Finally smudged the edges with Pink Petunia again and my simple card with interesting details is completed. All in 30 minutes.

Distressed Vellum Angel

We all love vellum, that soft transparent nature but it does present some design challenges doesn't it? The above card is from my Vellum Creations class and the technique is reversed coloring. Basically its very simple, the angel by Stamper's Anonymous was stamped on cream vellum in Stazon Timber Brown ink. When dry turn over and color the reverse side with chalk inks applied with a Q-tip (I spare no expense!) Use a light hand until you find the effect you want. When finished tear the edges of the vellum and smudge edges with Colorbox pigment cocoa ink. You might need to heat set the pigment ink to aid in drying.

The card background is Basic Grey Raspberry Blue and to attach the vellum requires a decision. Adhering vellum requires full coverage of adhesive so you have a smooth look. Running the panel through the Xyron works great, a little trick I learned from Laurel Stimler. But if you do not have access to a Xyron, use a good gluestick like UHU. Be certain to apply a liberal amount of gluestick to the whole back of the vellum, very important! FYI: the vellum will curl like crazy, be prepared. Next slap that vellum on the card front pronto and press firmly. Because there is solid coverage of adhesive, there are no nasty little marks.

And lastly, use a nearly dry Krylon gold pen to edge the card. The skipping pen will create a weathered look that will enhance the distressed look of the card. Add a brass charm and you are done!

Another great reverse coloring trick is to brayer various inks on the vellum, then stamp the front. Give it a try, I bet you love it!

More Doodles

I guess doodling is like potato chips, you can't just have one. This card was for a recent doily swap. I stamped the butterfly on the doily with chalk inks only to realize that because of the coating on the doily, the chalk it wasn't drying. As any stamper worthy of her rubber knows, when in doubt, emboss! And I did. Then I use an exacta knife to cut the butterfly wings. To keep them from being flattened in the mail, I place small rectangles of mounting tape under the wings. Which shows on the scan, I do so regret that.

Next I attached the doily to a purple card and embellished to my heart's content with the Signo white gel pen. Such fun!

Doodles Anyone?

while blog hopping weeks ago, I ran across a link to a wonderful white gel pen on Shari Carroll's blog, http://shari-design.blogspot.com/search/label/mixed%20media . I was intrigue as I had never found a white pen that work satisfactory. I hurried over to Jet Pens and purchase three. I must say that I agree with Shari, it's a fine product. Fast forward to the present, I'm knee deep into planning summer classes and thought a class on stamping and doodling would be fun and outside the stamping box. Thanks Shari, you are always an inspiration!

The flower stamp from Great Impressions was heat embossed and embellished with super easy dots and dashes. I made a simple border of long parallel lines with dots and finished the edges with running dash marks. Lastly I made a matching metal rim tag, inscribe my message and tied the tag to the stem with silver cord.

In case you feel you can't live a rich and fulfilled life without your very only white gel pen, go forth and purchase! http://www.jetpens.com/product_info.php/cPath/21_83_66/products_id/380 And if by chance you find a better source for this pen, please let us know.

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells....

What, you aren't singing Christmas carols today? Well in my studio today it's Christmas. I'm working on a Christmas in July class and what fun! Stampington stamps and Basic Grey Fruitcake papers. I love making Christmas cards all year long and getting to teach Christmas card making is even better. This card features images from the eight sided Holiday Cube from Stampington stamped in Stazon Saddle Brown. I love this ink for its sepia look. All edges are shaded with Colorbox cocoa pigment ink, it gives a soft aged look that I love. The paper is Basic Grey Fruitcake Snowed In/Wintermint on a sage green card.

I think one of the elements that I love the most about stamping is I can create a design that has never been before. By bring together the elements of color, composition and images, you can tell a story.

I think of all my stamps, (and I do have many) the focal stamp is my all time favorite. The look of her face makes me stop and take notice every time. The stamp is Cupid & Psyche by Post Modern Design.

In this card I brayered glossy card stock with a rainbow ink pad. Then stamped all the various images. Notice how the woman's face is spotlighted by the center color, which in turn draws you to her face even more.

Vellum Butterfly

I have a Vellum Creations class on Saturday and realized I'm one card short. Yikes! how did this happen?
I went to the shop and the first stamp that grabbed my fancy was this butterfly stamp by Just For Fun with a text background. I've sorta had my eye on it for sometime and now it was time to commit. With stamp in hand I grabbed some cream vellum and stamped my brand new butterfly in chocolate ink.
Now to find card stock. Let's see, how about the Wild Asparagus double sided card stock that I never tire of? The warm and worn floral side with the cool calm blue reverse side. I start to make the same A2 side fold card that I make everyday and I hear a little voice in my head that say "remember you were going to make an nontraditional shaped card?". Well, yes, I did mention something like that. No time like the present. I putter around until I figure out this simple design where you can see the warm outside of the card with the butterfly panel being held with Basic Grey semi circle notches and the cool blue inside of the card stamped with B Line Design's Textured Cube in blue ink.
Whew! Vellum class is done!

Out of My Comfort Zone

If you are a frequent visitor of this blog, you know I'm a sponsored artist for DP Artworks http://www.dpartworks.net/. Which is great fun to get my inky paws on Deena Parsons's fun stamps. Deena requested some altered items for a show in August and being a good little stamper I tried to accommodate her. So what could be more altered than a shrine? Plus I found a small cigar style box at Michael's and thought

I could work with that. You must know this is way outside my comfort zone but nothing ventured, nothing stamped, right?

Ta Da! One travel themed shrine. This little box took me all week because I never had a clear picture of what I was going to produce. Sort of bumbling around in the dark so to speak. Deena has a lot of travel themed stamps and there stamps are of great European images like Big Ben and the Eiffel Tower. Plus I love the interesting people stamps. There is something so familiar in their faces.
When I completed the shrine, I showed it to my biggest fan, my hubby Tom. He was speechless and a bit confused, I guess that's only happen a couple other times in all our years. But I didn't blame him, it was very different that most of my creations! LOL

Deena was pleased with the final product and that made me happy. I had a good time with this project, it really made me stretch and reach as an artist. But! I'm ready to go back to my comfort zone and make beautiful cards.