Hero Arts February Card

This started out as a valentine, but I have a young friend who has a birthday in February, and this seemed to fill the bill. The printed paper was punched with a Mega Giga Marvy punch. The red dots were added by using the new red pearlized glue. All you have to do is squeeze it out and let it dry. (Really liking it!) The words are from one of Hero Arts new clear sets just released in January. Don't remember where I found the clip, but they came in sets of three and thought it added a nice finish to the card.

Memory Box Paper Valentine

Here's the first valentine from my stash. The card and paper are by Memeory Box. The black piece was punched with a Fiskers punch. The metal heart is a sticker from Magenta. The ribbon is velvet. The silk flowers are from a pack I got at the store. In the middle of the flower is a pink gem. Put it all together, and there it is!

Stampscapes Night Walk Card

Am happy to be home for a few days. I came back because I'm teaching Stampscapes class at Angela's Happy Stamper. This is one of my favorite classes to teach. It's the intro class and once folks realize how Stampscapes work, they are thrilled!
This scene was done on Stampboard, which has a white chalky surface you can cut into. The images were stamped in dye black and then the color was added with a stylis tool. Then the scratch tool was applied and the white shows through. So easy and so fun! Stampscapes has a great web site if you want to know more. Or, come take a class! I offer a Stampscapes class at least once every couple of months.

More to Life card

Been coming and going so much, this card speaks to me. Am back home a bit, and am happy to report Valentine cards did get made! Will post some soon. But, let's talk about this card. The color on the card was created by a masking and color application technique using Color Box Chalk pads. Although pigment,you can layer up the colors and they will interact as you layer them. Images were also addded in between layers. It's one of my favorite techniques, but it is messy and a bit time consuming. I tend to do several sheets and then cut them up to use on different cards. The orange paper is mulberry paper that was torn. Can't remember who the quote is from, and I'm too comforable to go look! Can I say it's great to be home?

Penny Black flower

I'm posting early because it looks like travelling tomorrow is going to be bad, and I need to go check on Dad. Will be gone for a few days. This is a card I did with a group of ladies new to stamping. A lot of folks in the group love books, so thought I'd show them how to stamp on printed paper from paper back books. This flower was inked with pigment ink. We used "dew drop" pads. They are small ink pads shaped like a dew drop. It makes it easy to ink directly onto a stamp with these, especially since one end is pointed so you can get into specific areas on a stamp. This is really helpful when applying more than one color to the stamp like we did with this flower. Once all the ink was on, I stamped onto the printed paper, tore the edges, and added it to the red paper. The yellow printed paper was punched with a Fiskers punch, and added under the red paper. The word stamp was inked with a black ink.
Hope to finally get to my valentines while away. Will have more to show when I get back.

Dee's card

We have a couple of January birthdays at the store. Dee's is at the end of the month, but I gave her card to her yesterday. Hero Arts put out clear letter sets a few years back, and the "D" set was perfect for Dee. The letter was stamped on the back of the printed paper and cut out. The "E"s were embossed in black and punched out with a circle punch. (They are a little hard to see here. I think they caught the reflection of the flash) The word and flower were part of the set and were stamped with a dye base black ink. Sparkly gems were used on the flowers to complete the card. Dee truely is a delight, and is a cheerful person who likes happy colors, and she likes daisies. So she seemed pleased with this card. Happy birthday, Dee!

Marsha McCarthy Card

We had our staff party last night for those of us who work at Angela's Happy Stamper. We stuff ourselves silly with food and fun, and give cards and usually a handmade gift. This is the card I gave to the ladies. I picked it for the quote on the front of the card, and inside stamped "You inspire me". It's such a gift to be around so many creative and caring folks. The card has a white glossy paper brayered and then stamped in black dye ink on the front. I went back in and added extra color in parts with water base markers, and added a glitter pen to parts for a little sparkle. Also added some small gems for more bling. The next picture shows the tin cans that I sponged alcohol ink on the sides. On the lid I punched out printed paper and applied it to a punched out double stick sheet which I placed on the lid. The paper didn't cover all the sticky part so I poured colored beads over the rest to create the rim. Then more double stick paper was punched to fit over the printed paper. On the sticky part clear glass beads were added. Inside I placed a book "thong". It's a bookmark made from satin ribbon with Delft beads and crystals I brought back from the Netherlands. You just lay it on the page you want to mark and the beads stick out either end of the book.

Winter break

It sure has gotten cold! So thought this card would bring a welcome warm thought to you all. The card was first brayered with Kalidacolor pad "Creole Spice" onto a white glossy paper. Then the palm trees were stamped in black dye ink onto one side, then reinked and stamped on the other side. The tip of a palm branch was then stamped along the edge of the card. A white pen was used to highlight the images. The paper was punched with a purple giga punch by Marvy. The scallop was a super giga Marvy punch. If you want to see the parts done in step by step form, come to Angela's Happy Stamper and look at the directions by the Stampscapes section.
If you think it's cold here, you should have been in PA where I have been all week. It's even colder there! I'll be in and out for a while. Will be having to take more trips to PA to care for my dad who has been ill. Next trip I'm taking my crafts along. This is good stamping weather!

Pink Paris Card

Several years ago we celebrated a milestone birthday for me by going to Paris. It was a warm spring there so the weather was fantastic, and I absolutely fell in love with the city. Ah, spring time in Paris. Could use a little of that right now, which is why I'm looking fondly at this card. The Paris stamps are by Art Declassified and are stamped with a gray Versafine pad. The background stamp is by Stampers Anonymous. It also was stamped with the gray but onto cream paper. Pink was sponged over it. Can't help but look at this card with a smile on my face. Hope you enjoy it as well.

Kid's Wisdom Card

This is one of my favorite valentines. It's not hard, just involves lots of stamps and stamping. The saying (by Inkadinkado) was stamped on with Versafine black. All other stamps were stamped with various pigment inks. Each image was inked each time before stamping to get the vivid colors. Overlapping was ok, and the colors did interact some. I store my stamps by category, so all my heart stamps are together which made making this card very easy. So who are you going to tell you love them?

Punched hearts Card

This is a quick and very easy card to do. The hearts were punched out using a pink Marvy punch on to different colored card stock. Beside the heart the word by Stampn'Up!was stamped with dye base pink ink. Then everything was mounted onto the card. If you want your cards to hold up over time, rather than using a stick glue which will dry out, use one of the tape adhesives. There are lots of options out there. I tend to use Scotch brand double stick adhesive that can be mounted onto a tape dispenser. The larger tape guns are more economical, but take up more space. It's a matter of finding what works best for you.

Shabby Chic Valentine card

Still not making valentines. Had a class last night, and have been making cards for our staff party which we do at the end of the month. Did find this card in my stash, though, and thought it fit for the season. The heart is by Inkadinkado and was embossed with white embossing powder onto blue paper and then cut out. This was then mounted onto the printed paper with a piece of foam tape. The white square was placed on top of the blue paper. The shabby chic look is all done for you on the paper. The white strip of paper and buttons were the only thing I added to the card. The other part of the card that's unique is the fold of the card. The white strip is actually the edge of the card and folds over on to the front heart piece.

Black Glossy Night scene

It's been a snowy winter. In fact, on the news last night they said 49 states have snow. Amazing. So glad we aren't the winners of snow this year. Last year made a big impact that I'm still feeling. But it sure can be pretty! So here's a Stampscapes card we did in my Winterscapes class as a tribute to the beauty of snow. (In the mountains where it should be.) Enjoy.

Coffee Birthday

Today is the birthday of a friend who loves to drink coffee. Thought this would be a good card to send her. The cup is by Hero Arts. It was stamped with Momento black and then restamped onto brown card stock. The second stamping was only for the coffee wrap which was cut out and glued on top of the first cup. It was the same paper used for the message. A little color was added to the edge of the paper with a sponging tool. The cup was outlined in a Cool Grey Copic. The printed paper is from Memory Box. One of her favorite colors is burgandy, so everything was mounted onto burgandy paper. On the inside flap, another piece of Memory Box paper was attached with double stick tape so a Starbucks gift card could slide into it.

Lasting Impression Card

Hadn't done a dry embossing card for some time, so thought this card would fill the bill. The squares on the card came already embossed by Lasting Impressions. All I had to do was mount the white piece onto card stock, and add the rest. The heart was cut and run through a corrugater to make the "ruffled" look. A piece of double stick tape attached it to the card and added some depth to it. The words were inked with dye black ink. Ribbon was attached to the paper clip and attached to the card. Done! Just a reminder though, that I would hand deliver a card like this, or only mail by putting it in a padded envelope.

Memory Box Birthday Card

Part of the reason I haven't been working on valentines is because I've been doing birthday cards. Had to get 5 cards ready for January birthdays. So, no surprise, today's card is a birthday card. And a nice simple one at that. The paper is by Amuse. Then on the white card I took a Memory Box bear and found a cake that fit with him (sorry, can't remember who the cake is by). I stamped the images with a Momento black pad and colored them in with Copic markers. Then I added just a touch of iridescent glitter glue to the flame to add a little sparkle. The words are also by Amuse Stamps.

Leaf punch and Baker's String Card

Don

Don't you just love all the colors to Baker's string? Angela's Happy Stamper has got them all! I loaded up and tried out the brown and white on this card. The leaves are punched with Memory Box printed reversable paper. The words were done with a Kalidacolor Autumn pad. Two buttons were glued together and then glued over the sting. The base card is brown cardstock.

Heart Bench Card

This is one of my favorite valentine cards. It's very simple. The image is by Paperbag Studios which was stamped in Versafine Smokey Gray onto white card stock. (This isn't a pure white though. It's a softer white which works will with the gray.) A small red heart was punched out and added to the bench. Then the image was mounted onto grey card stock, and then onto the card. Besides being quick and simple, I really like the message. One of those cards that works well sending it to anyone.

Printed Paper Love

Got any Valentines done? Me neither. Figured I ought to start posting though, so have put up one here that I had left over from last year. Very simple and easy. Just need some printed heart paper, ribbon, and a heart paper clip. Ok, some white and black paper helps too. But you get the point. I took the template from a card I saw in a stamp magazine. Even if you don't like the paper or colors, do look at cards as though they were a template. In other words, what is the basic format used? On this card it is to put printed paper on one side, solid paper on the other, a ribbon in between the two papers, and then a large square image on top with a slight boarder around it. If need be, sketch it out so the papers and colors aren't a distraction. Once you have a template, you can switch around the papers and images to make lots of different cards.

Northern Lights

Had a great class yesterday at Angela's Happy Stamper store. We did "Winterscapes" and this is one of the cards. Must say, the all the ladies (some who had never worked with Stampscapes before) did a fantastic job. This card wasn't hard, just took time. We started with a white glossy card and did a whole lot of coloring with the stylis tool! Lots of layers of colors! If you want to learn more about Stampscapes, I have an intro to Stampscapes coming up at the end of the month at Angela's. The cards are up at the store if you want to see what you'll learn. Must say, there's no card you'll feel better satifaction having accomplished than a Stampscapes card.

Anniversary Watercolor Card

Still haven't started valentines yet, but did fix up the hearts and love seasonal section at the store and it's getting me motivated. Have a class to do today though, and needed to be ready for that. But, since I'm in a heart mood, I've posted a card I gave my hubby for one of our anniversaries. This stamp is by Hero Arts. I stamped it in dye black and heat set it so it wouldn't bleed from the water. A basic water color palette was used with a reservoir pen (a pen that comes with water in it that flows out continually) and colored in the hearts. As you can see, I purposely didn't try to stay in the lines. I wanted a flow look. Was pleased with how it turned out.

Melinda's Card

Have you started on your Valentines yet? Yeah, me neither. So, I thought I'd post this lovely card by Melinda. Love how it's clean and simple yet so effective. I did make my list of folks I'd like to send a valentine to last night, but that's as far as I got. I know lots of folks don't like Valentine's day because they see it as a "romantic" holiday. Guess all those years as an elementary teacher gives me a different perspective. I see this as a day to let anyone you love know you think they are special to you. Out of all the holidays Valentine's day was the party the kids looked the most forward to. Oh, the power of those little cards! So why don't you send some to folks who don't expect it? I'm sure it'll put a smile on their faces.

Cinderella Card

I took a friend shopping over the holidays. She was looking for an outfit she could wear to interviews. Thought this card was a humerous reminder that what we wear can help change who we are. The shoe is actually a punch. No stamping on it, printed paper was punched. A self adhesive gem was added to it. The quote was stamped with dye black ink and is from Impression Obsession. Add some printed paper, and you're done.

Egg Plate Card

It's a new year and with that comes the potential of new beginnings. Been thinking of any new starts you want to make? This card is a reminder to me that I can begin again at making changes I've been wanting to make in my life. The eggs image is all one stamp. It was inked with a black Versafine ink pad and allowed to dry. Then the color to the eggs was added with colored pencils. The paper was shaded with a Distress ink added by a sponge tool directly to the paper in a swirling and dabbing motion to give it the soft look. A design stamp from Memory Box was inked in a brown ink and added to the brown paper to give it a subtle background.

Accepting what is Card

It's a gray and rainy day today. This card is a good reminder that gray rainy days are a part of life. The image is stamped with a soft gray pigment ink onto a white cardstock. The words are stamped with a darker gray onto gray card stock. Then the papers are layered onto the lavendar card stock. That easy! The words are by Rivercity Works stamps, and the image is by Paper Inspirations.

Birthday cake Card

Happy New Year! I'm starting the year with a birthday cake. This image is by Printworks. It was stamped with dye base black ink and then colored in with Copic markers. The whole image was outlined with Cool Grey. A little bit of the stardust pen was then added to the flame to give just a hint of sparkle. Then it was layered onto printed paper on then onto the cardstock. A little bit of ribbon to finish it off. Can't go wrong with organsa ribbon. Looks good, ties nicely, and travels well in an envelope.