To Emboss or Not

When I first started making cards I remember that I fell in love with embossing, especially embossing something with gold or silver embossing powder. I rarely take out my embossing powders now a days and I got excited about the embossing challenge this week at Fashionable Stamping Challenges. http://fashionablestampingchallenges.cottagecrafts.ie/

I choose to use my friend Lisa from Local Rubber King Stamps “Hope” stamp.  Check out Lisa's stamps at:  http://www.localkingrubberstamp.com/   and http://shop.vendio.com/localkingrubberstamp

The paper I stamped and embossed was some paper that I had sprayed with several colours Moon Glow Splitz.  The purple background paper I embossed with a frame Cuttlebug embossing folder that I used a Metallic Rub-on to highlight the raised portions.  I also added some Metallic Rub-on to the butterfly to also highlight the raised portions of the butterfly and tie it in with the rest of the card. I will have to take out my embossing powders more often.  I really like the effect it gives the card.

 My quote for today " Creativity is a drug.  I can not live without it". Thanks for stopping by and have a creative day.

Judy

Come and Get it Challenges - Antique Oriental Box

Front

Back

Side view

It is Sunday again and time for another challenge at  Come and Get it Challenges. The challenge this week is “anything but a card”and I had this box that I wanted to cover and thought it was a good opportunity to do it. I layered and decoupage some oriental style papers on to the box and used a Japanese letter stamp to create some additional writings on the box. I then used some of my antiquing tools and inks to distress the box. To complete the project I added a stick for the handle that I found on the beach that I inked and a fabric sewing closure to close the box

I think the box has the effect of being well used and I was pleased with how it turned out.  Remember creativity does not go out of style.  Come and join us at Come and Get it Challenges:

http://comeandgetitchallenges.blogspot.ca/

 

Judy

Happy Father’s Day Dad

This card was made for an upcoming Father’s Day card swap I am participating in.  I searched through my male themed stamps and decided to do a collage of stamps along with some layering, pop dotting and different textures.

The background faux stitching was done with my new toy, We R Memory Keepers Sew Stamper. The other stamps I used in making this card were by Just-Rite stamps (I would be lost...”), Hero Arts (dad) and Lasting Impressions by Panache (row boats).  No bling on this card but I did add some Magic Mesh and some Diamond Glaze for a watery effect under the boats.

Thanks for stopping by.

Judy

Wild One

It is time for another Party Time Tuesday challenge (#65) this week and the theme is Anything Goes plus Kraft.  I used Kraft paper for the base of my card plus some textured Kraft for one of the layering papers and for the sentiment.  The giraffe rubber stamp is from my collection of unmounted rubber stamps so I am unable to give the company credit for their rubber stamp.    The animal print background paper, I think ties the card together.

Thanks stopping by.

 Judy

Starts With "B"

Shopping Our Stash Challenge (#49) theme this week is “starts with a B”. I have many Bs on my card; birthday, bling, brad and butterfly.

The technique I used was water colouring with distressed inks.  I stamped my water  colour paper with my hydrangea stamp (PSX) and embossed the image with white embossing powder.  I then sponged distressed inks on to my stamped images.  Once I had the desired effect I sprayed the paper with water, let the inks run and then let the paper dry.  Next I then sprayed my butterfly and the card base with Glitz Spritz by Moon Glow to give the card some glimmer. I pull out my tag curler for the first time in a very long time and added a happy birthday tag and ribbon.  My final step was to add some brads and bling to complete the card.

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you have a very creative day.

Judy

Black Embossing Paste and Gold Leaf

A little while ago my friend Yvonne and I were playing in my craft room and she showed me a very interesting technique with gold leafing, a stencil and black embossing paste.  This card was created by first rubbing gold leaf material on to a card size piece of sticky paper that was attached to a piece of card stock. Once the gold leafing covered the card entirely the stencil was placed over the foiled area and taped down.  The open areas of the stencil were filled with black embossing paste then the stencil was removed and the card was left to dry. The embossing paste and stencil were both products of Dream Weavers. I will have to experiment some more with this technique.  It has an interesting effect.

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a creative day.

Judy

Double Z Fold Challenge

The technique this week at Come and Get it Challenges is the Double Z Fold.  You can find a tutorial on this technique on the Split Coast Stampers web site. 

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/newsletter/Oct052011/

I made a variation to the tutorial by adding a sleeve to close the card.  I also used the distressed ink water colour technique to colour images.  I like the watery effect of the wet distressed inks give.   I used several different stamps for the card.  The panels of butterflies are by Michael Strong Rubber stamps, the “Just for you” stamp is by Rubber Stampede, and “It’s your day” stamp is by Hero  Arts.  The flowers are part of a Hero Art stamp and cut set , my new toy that I just love.

Now it is your turn to try the double z fold card.  Come join the fun at Come and Get it challenges.  http://comeandgetitchallenges.blogspot.ca/

Have a creative day and thanks for stopping by.

Judy

Wrinkle Free Distress

I was playing with my distressed inks and working on an upcoming swap using the wrinkle free distress technique today.  You can find this technique on the Split Coast Stampers web site:

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/wrinklefreedistress/

I have ink stains all over my hands but that is a quite normal. No fake nails for me.  I always forget to put on gloves. I have now several extra back grounds ready for some upcoming cards.

I used an old PSX - Hydrangea stamp from my stash for both the tag and the card.  To the card I added some photo corners, sentiment and a ribbon and to the tag some fibers, a sentiment and a butterfly.  The butterfly was made with another technique.  I added alcohol inks to tin foil that was fastened to some card stock. Then I used a die cutter to cut out the butterfly, embossed it and then rubbed the embossed edges with Stazon ink to bring out the pattern. 

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a creative day. 

Judy

April Showers

Shopping Our Stash Challenge (#48) this week is April Showers or Snow or anything water related.  That is a lot of creative real estate to make a card.  Since we are in the month of April I chose the April Showers theme. I have this cute Penny Black stamp called “Sunshine in the Rain” that I just love that I used for the card.

I used the paper piecing technique to colour the umbrella and rain coat.  The rest of the image I used my Copics and distressed inks. The sentiment is part of another rainy day set by Flourishes stamps.

Well back to my craft room to stamp some more and maybe a little clean up.

Judy

Bloom

Party Time Tuesday’s Challenge (PPT #64) this week is an inspirational picture and  colour challenge. to see the inpirational pictures check it out at

http://partytimetuesdays.blogspot.ca/

 When I saw the inspirational picture I thought of this digi image from Bugaboo Digi Stamp that I had in my collection of images.  I love this garden flower girl and I coloured her with my Copics in the challenge colours.  

I thought the card needed a little more of a garden look so I added the stick flowers (an old Stampin Up stamp)  and some bling along with a beautiful green ribbon and a lovely pink flower ribbon.
 
Hope you have an inspiring day.

Judy

Swapping Fun

My yahoo group Inky Fun Stampers has an upcoming cards swap with a theme of what does “L” stand for.  L is for live, love and laugh of course.  I found this pretty digi image on the web site of Bugaboo digi stamps.  Thought it was a great match for the swap.

 The butterfly is one of my new Hero Arts stamp and die cutters. I coloured the images with a combination of Copics, distressed inks and glitter, then added a couple of layers of co-coordinating paper to finish the card.

This cute pocket tag card was also made for an upcoming Inky Fun Stampers tag  swap with the theme “anything goes”.  The tag fits in this cute matching envelope that is small enough to fit into a size A2 envelope for mailing.  The hummingbird is by Stampendous.

Remember to do something creative for yourself and have a wonderful day.

Judy

Card Sketch Time At Come And Get It Challenges

I created this card for the card sketch challenge at Come and Get It Challenges this week.  This is the challenge sketch card. 

And this is my card.

I used one of our sponsor Bugaboo digi stamps for the card along with a Italian poem rubber stamp by Hero Arts  from my stash of rubber stamps.  The digi stamp is from Bugaboo’s series of block stamps.  They are a wonderful idea.  You can use part of the stamp or the whole stamp as a background and size them as needed.  I can see where you could get a lot of use out of the one image.  

Check out Bugaboo's collection of digi images at

http://www.bugaboostamps.com/

I also used a die cutter butterfly, dimensional pearls, a sentiment and some bling to complete this sketch card.  Come join the fun at Come and Get it Challenges. 

http://comeandgetitchallenges.blogspot.ca/

Have a creative day

Judy

Vintage ATC

This is the first ATC that I have made in a very long time.  One of the Yahoo groups that I am active in, Inky Fun Stampers has a ATC swap monthly and this month one of the themes is “vintage”. 

 I have this Cornish Heritage Farms Rubber Stamps sewing set that I thought would make a good vintage ATC.  I made a collage of some of the items in the set and added thread on the spool and a button to complete the ATC.

 

I had forgotten how much fun these little pieces of art can be to make.

Thanks for stopping and taking a look at my little creation.

Judy

Nautical Theme Collage

I create this nautical theme collage card for a challenge by Fashionable Stamping Challenges (319).  You can see their challenges at:

http://fashionablestampingchallenges.cottagecrafts.ie/

It was fun going through all of my nautical rubber stamps to make the collage.  It has been a long time since I have had a lot of them out. Some of the stamps used in the collage are from Toybox, Inkadinkado, Lasting Impressions by Panache and PSX.  They are all older stamps that I had purchased many years ago.

I added some colour with my Tombow markers, distressed and alcohol inks, then I tied what I think is a nautical knot to add to the card to finish off the card.      

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a great day.

Judy

You’re a Star

This week’s Shopping Our Stash Callenge (#47) is a masculine theme or "boy's colour .  I chose to incorporate both themes in my card. I had in my stash a skateboarder rubber stamp by Terry Medaris rubber stamps.  I got out my pencil crayons to colour the image.  It had been awhile since I have used my pencil crayons. I then added a sentiment, some more stars along with co-ordinating papers, distressed glitter and ribbon.  I like the blue, orange and yellow colour scheme, just right colours for a young boy’s card. 

Thanks for stopping by and have a creative day.

Judy

Spring Flowers

One of the yahoo groups I belong to has a swap this month with the theme of spring flowers. From my stash I pulled out a clematis rubber stamp I had and decided to use it for this spring themed card, although I am not sure if they bloom in the spring.  I will have to Google and find out. I am definitely not a gardener.  I added a butterfly, sentiment, ribbon and some bling to give the card more interest.  Hope my swap partner enjoys the card.

Well back to my craft room to clean up my mess. 

Judy

Biker Girl

I was asked by my son to make a birthday card for a friend that was turning 50 who loves motorcycles.  I immediately thought of the digi images from Kenny K Downloads.  There were several different digis to chose from and this was the image that we finally decided on.  The red embossing folder background was rubbed with metallic rub-ons to give the card some sparkle. I then added a 50 that I glittered, button and a couple of stars to complete the birthday card.  I hope she likes it.  Thanks for stopping by and taking a look.

Judy

It Is All About Colour

It is Sunday and time again for a Come and Get it Challenge. This week is a colour combination challenge, plum, pear pizazz and baja breeze. Don’t you just love the colour combo.

For my card I chose to use my new digi stamp from Bugaboo one of our sponsors.

This Bugaboo digi stamp comes with two versions. One with a sentiment, thanks a bunch and second image without. I chose to use the image without the sentiment and added my own sentiment from Art Muse rubber stamps. I printed two images and pop dotted some of the flowers to give the card dimension and texture. For more interest I embossed the background, added a background paper with a punched edge and some bling. Check out Bugaboo’s selection of digi images at http://www.bugaboostamps.com/

Come and join us at Come and Get It challenges.
 http://comeandgetitchallenges.blogspot.ca/

Have a creative day. Thanks for stopping by.

 

Judy

Have a Lovely Day - Card sketch

Tonight I worked on a card for a card sketch swap I was hosting for a Yahoo Groups I belong to.  This sketch has lots of layers of pattern paper that I think work well together.  The sentiment is by Just Rite Stamps. Most of the layered paper came from my scrap bin. It is good to see some of those smaller pieces getting used up.   I added the ribbon, butterflies and the bling to complete the card.   

Well back to my craft room maybe for some clean up or maybe I should just close the door and sorry about it tomorrow. 

Thank you for stopping by. 

Judy

Punch It Out

Challenge 46 for Shopping Our Stash is to punch it out! You had to use at least two punched elements on project.  I chose to use a Martha Stewart Flower Punch called “Embossed Pop-Up Flower” that I had in my stash that I had never used.  As soon as this challenge was announced I had an idea what I was going to do with the punch and I punched 3 flowers in a series. .  I also had a Squeeze Punch called “M-Flower” that I decided to use in the center of the larger punch flower.   I added a Hero Art sentiment, buttons and large mauve staples to complete the card. 

Now back to my craft room to stamp some more but I will first clean a spot to be able to work.   

Judy

Saying Happy Mother’s Day with Flowers

The theme of Party Time Tuesday’s challenge (PTT# 62) this week was flowers.  These beautiful flowers are from part of a set from the Sunshine Designs collection by Stamp Barn.  I used a Hero Arts label die cutter to cut out the flowers.  Next I added a co-ordinating embossed background,  ribbon and sentiment.  Once I had all the elements on the card it was complete and ready for give on Mother’s Day.  

Happy stamping everyone!!

Judy

Bring It On ..... Spring!

Come and Get it challenges this week is “bring it on ....Spring”.   Spring to me is birds, butterflies and flowers and the soft colours of nature.  I thought spring was finally here but we had some snow yesterday even thought the flowers are starting in the garden.  It was great to look for a stamp in my stash that represented spring to me.  This “fairy in gown” is by Stamps Happen, Inc. and the spring sentiment is by Just for Fun.  I added flowers made from the tattered flower die cutter by Tim Holtz , lace , ribbon , bling and some brads to complete this card.

Come join us in the fun at Come and Get Challenges.  

Judy

Here Come Peter Cotton Tail

Hi !  It is anything goes at Party Time Tuesday (PTT #61) this week and I have made my final Easter card for the season.  This cute Easter digi is by Paper Shelter and his name is not Peter Cotton Tail but is a cute Easter bunny. The sentiment is from stash of unmounted rubber stamps along with the layers of pattern paper and ribbon.  I added some Diamond Glaze to give the Eater eggs so shine.  I think my nephew’s almost 3 year old will enjoy the card.  I have been busy making Easter cards in the last week for all of the young ones in my family and there are quite a few. 

Hope you have a creative week. 

Judy

Your So Sweet - Waterfall card

I had fun tonight creating this waterfall card for the Shopping Our Stash challenge #45, Circles or Dots. It has been a long time since I have made a card using this technique.

I used a variety of rubber stamps from my stash and an assortment of pattern paper from a pack called “The Pocket full of Posies Stack”. Some of the stamps used were from Hero Arts, Just-Rite Stamps and Stampin Up. I added a ribbon and a brad to complete this spring card.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day.

Judy