Birthday Commit

This is a birthday card for a teenage boy.  I pulled the background from that box I shared yesterday.  I'm pretty sure it's alcohol inks spread using canned air.  I painted an area large enough for the scripture (Our Daily Bread Designs) so that it would stand out and not get lost in the busyness of the background.  Pen doodles around the edges.  A piece of burlap and a combination of Finnabair mechanicals and Idea-ology gears.  Some paint spots added with the back of a paintbrush to help set off the scripture.

Twirl a journal page

Good Morning!!!  I'm again playing with the new stamp from Quietfire Design, When in doubt Twirl, and I'm also playing with old and new stamps from PaperArtsy Ellen Vargo.  The twirl stamp is so Fun, it just makes me smile!!!  Flowers also make me smile and I wanted to make a big beautiful flower from a new Ellen stamp.  A journal page seemed like the place to go.  I started the background by scraping Fresco Finish paints (limelight, beach hut) and then used a baby wipe to fill in some left over white spots with zesty zing.  Next I stamped the large sketchy circle and then the new small sketchy with Archival Ink aquamarine.  The large swirl stamp at the bottom is first stamped with a mix of green paints and then after I had the flower done I decided to also stamp it with Archival Ink emerald green.  Around the edge is a sketchy oval stamped with Archival Ink jet black.  Twirl is stamped with Archival Ink jet black... the first time I stamped it directly on the background and got it crooked because I forgot it wasn't straight on my acrylic block because the first time I used it it didn't have to be since I was going to tear it out (see previous post).  So I tore a piece of masking tape, put it over my first stamping, painted it, and then stamped it again.  To blend in the edges of the masking tape I doodled the long twirl around it but that was actually a perfect addition - twirl, twirl!!!  

I needed to stamp the petals of the flower onto something and I have this large box of various backgrounds and scraps that I throw leftover pieces in after working on something.  To prove it's large here is a couple of pics.

You are not even seeing to the bottom of the box in the picture below.

The piece of paper on the very top is what's left of the piece I used to stamp all the flower petals on and cut them out (also the circle for the center of the flower).  Yes, it first came out of the box and then what was left went back in.  I'm really trying to start using up some of this stuff!!!!   I put the flower together and then first painted on the stem and then used a Posca paint marker over it and finally a white gel pen and a black Pitt pen.  I also used the Pitt pen to draw a spiral on the center of the flower.  A white Sharpie paint marker was used to add the white dots to the petals.  I hope this page makes you smile.

When in doubt Twirl

I'm using another new stamp from Quietfire Design from the set Twirl & Enjoy.  This stamp  makes me smile.  To think about twirling is just such a happy thought!!

As I thought about the stamp my old spiral punch (marvy Uchida) came to mind and I knew I wanted to combine them.  I punched 7 spirals from a scrap of heavy textured cardstock and glued them to another piece of smooth cardstock using gel medium.  I gessoed over the whole piece and then began painting with Fresco Finish paints.  My first layer was dolly mix.  I then added some orchid in spots and finally a mix of mostly vanilla with a little zesty zing to make a brighter yellow.  I somewhat blended between colors but not too much, just making sure hard lines were gone.  I used a black All Stabilo pencil  and water brush along the inside of the swirls and decided I needed something more.  I grabbed the bora bora paint and using my finger lightly went over the swirls.  I did get some around the swirls but that even looked good and I also rubbed my finger around the edges.  Now it looked good!!  I painted a scrap of cardstock with yellow mix of paint, dried it, stamped the quote with Archival Ink jet black and tore it out.  I first layered it onto another painted piece but then changed my mind and in the process got a couple little spots of paint on this piece but went ahead and left it.  I glued it to the background and added a couple of clippiolas (I haven't used these in a long time and noticed them just a couple days before I was working on this card).  The finished size of this card is 4 1/2" x 4 3/4".  

Give Thanks Canvas

Quietfire Design has 4 new sets of stamps and this canvas uses one of the stamps from the Give Thanks set.   When I received the new stamps and looked through them, this was the one I wanted to use first and I just felt like making a canvas.  

The canvas is 6" square.  I started by painting it with Fresco Finish paints (mushroom, rose, sage), drying it and also stenciling on some rose through the 6x6 TCW stencil (tiny circles).  I stamped the quote onto tissue paper with Archival Ink jet black and glued it onto the canvas with gel medium both under and over the tissue.  Next I wanted texture and pulled out my jar of Golden glass bead gel I got a few months ago and hadn't tried yet... yum!!!  I've decided I way too much fun stuff just sitting around and I need to start using it!!!  Wonderful things but it seems I get something, use it a bit, and then it's on to the next thing and the other stuff gets left behind.  I have a shelf full of different sprays that are like this.  I love spray!!!  Of course, new ones are fun and then there is the fact that you can't use everything all the time!!  Anyway I grabbed a couple of bottles of Glimmer mist (both greens) and sprayed it over the bead gel.  I kept it off the quote area by holding a baby wipe there while spraying... a fabulous tricked learned at the Finnabair classes I attended.  I blotted up any spots that had too much spray and then dried it.  Next I used some renaissance Treasure Gold around the edges of the beaded area and down some on the sides of the canvas.  I cut the flowers and greenery from the Sizzix Tim Holtz strip dies (tattered floral garden and Spring greenery) - the butterflies were left over from cutting with the butterfly frenzy die - and sprayed all the pieces with Glimmer Mist.  After they were dry I added shading with Distress Inks and stamped the flowers and leaves with a variety of background images (Wendy Vecchi Studio 490) and the butterflies with an old Inkadinkado stamp. Some metal pieces (Prima Finnabair), brads, and pearls finish things up.

Joy

Another simple card and this catches me up with things I'd done and not blogged.  The flower is a Stamp-it Stencil-it! set from Wendy Vecchi called Fresh & Funky.  These sets have a stamp and matching stencil packaged together so I could stamp the flower, lay over the stencil and sponge ink on just the flower, stem and leaves... very cool!!!  Before stamping the flower I stamped a background image (Fred Mullett stamp) through a large circle using Archival Ink, Then I added the flower.  Then I added the green ink in the background also flicking with water.  Some text stamping in the background.  Stamped Joy, added black pen around the edges and white pen to the center of the flower and finally decided to stamp part of Wendy's wonderful doily at the bottom.  

Butterfly Earrings

I love Vintaj products and don't play with them nearly enough.  For these earrings I started with brass blank circles and embossed them with the wildflower vines folder and sanded both sides.  Added amethyst patina and removed it from the high spots.  After it was dry I again sanded the high spots and then glazed the pieces (both sides allowing the first side to dry and then doing the other side).  Next I used the dapping block to cup the circles a little.  The butterflies have a little opalite patina on them and they are also glazed.  Jump rings, wire, ear wires and some beads from my stash and their done!!  These were for a gift and one of these days I need to make myself a pair!!!

It doesn't get any quicker

A super fast card to send a note to someone.  I used a TCW stencil and Distress Inks for the background also adding some Distress Ink splatters using a water brush.  Dried it.  Stamped the quote (Our Daily Bread Designs) with Archival Ink jet black.  A couple of scraps of colored cardstock and a folded white card.  Done!!!

Bold and Beautiful

On white cardstock I sponged Versamark ink through a TCW stencil and then embossed with white powder.  Added color with Distress Inks, wiped off any excess on the embossed flower with a slightly damp towel, flicked on some water, blotted it and dried it.  Stamped a script lightly with Distress ink.  Stamped the sentiment (old PSX stamp) with Archival Ink jet black.  The dimensional dots in the center of the flower are made with a Viva Perlen pen.  

I can't think of a title...

.... truly!!  I was drawing a complete blank and so told it like it was :-))  

I had some polished stone samples lying on my work space after I had finished THIS POST on the Quietfire Creations blog....  (side note - Quietfire Design currently has their alcohol inks on sale for 30% off, you'll see the sale price after the item is in your cart)....  and decided to use one of them for this card.  I stamped the flower (Wendy Vecchi Studio 490) and embossed it.  I then used the oval shaped Embossing Diffuser (Tim Holtz Alterations) and an embossing folder to emboss the swirls and then sanded over the embossing just a bit.  I decided I wanted to define the oval area more so drew around the oval opening with a black pen.  The edges of the panel are distress a bit and inked with Distress Ink.  I added color and highlights to the flower with markers and a white gel pen.  A piece of gold cording and some pearls finish it off.  

Shaped Card - Thinking of You

I began by cutting the folded card and the layered piece with a Spellbinder's die.  On the center panel, I stamped the large flower (Chocolate Baroque) with Versamark Ink and embossed it with white powder.  Using blending foam I added various Distress Inks blending as I went, wiped the excess ink off the flower and flicked on water to create spots, blotting and drying.  I stamped the center of the flower on a scrap, embossed it, added ink, cut it out, used a stylus on the back rubbing in circles so it would have a dome shape and added it to the flower with a piece of foam behind.  I stamped and embossed Thinking of You... (an old Stampin' Up stamp).  I inked around the edges of the folded card trying not to match the exact colors around the edge of the center panel and then dry embossed just the front of the folded card using and embossing folder.  I added gold Smooch ink around the edges of the center panel and attached it to the folded card.  Added the punched out butterfly and sticky-back pearls. 

Butterfly Hi!

 

A super quick card.  The background is done using TCW stencil and distress inks.  The butterfly (Memory Box) is die cut from white paper and colored with distress inks.  The body of the butterfly and the edges of the background have gold Smooch on them.  Hi is a Stampabilities stamp.

Set of Cards

A friend of mine had indicated that she would love some cards, made by me, for her birthday that she could use.  They didn't have to really complicated and she wanted to be able to mail them.  Soon after the suggestion I had posted THIS CARD to my blog to which she replied that that would be a really good one so I decided to make a set to give to her.  All basicly the same, just changing up the color and the greeting.  As in the original card I used Fresco Finish paints in the background and Archival inks to stencil the flowers.  For the greetings.... top left - Quietfire Design; top right - The Stamp Pad Co.; bottom left - hand carved stamp by Michelle Morlan; bottom right - PaperArtsy.

If you look at the world,.....

Love this quote!!!  The background begins as white cardstock, embossed with an embossing folder, sprayed lightly with Dylusions pink (it just looked speckled with color) and then sprayed heavier with Perfect Pearls mist heirloom gold...  the pink color spread out and I love how the mica from the Perfect Pearls like to settle more in the low spots.  There is a little Distress Ink walnut stain sponged on the edges.  The quote is stamped and die cut with a Spellbinders die - with the die still in place there is distress ink sponged around the edges of the inside and then with the die removed there is ink on the very edges.  Some lace, a flower (also sprayed with PP), die cut butterflies and white pearls finish it off nicely.

Embossed Paste

I have a guest post today over on the Quietfire Creations Blog.  

I hope you'll go take a peek.