idea for dad

Back today to share an idea for a guy. If you skipped the "sick" part, it could even be for Father's Day.

Started with a panel of woodgrain paper. Adhered a strip of foil tape to scrap and dry embossed it. Heat embossed the tools. Printed the secondary sentiment onto yellow paper, added die cut letters and adhered adding two brads at the top. Wrapped a strip of PP (measuring tape) around the seam and adhered the panel to a cardbase.

PP: woodgrain Bringmann, tape WeRMemory Keepers, stamps Jane's Doodles, brads Basic Grey, font Hollywood Hills, embossing plate Cuttlebug, alpha die Memory Box.

This card appeared in the Cool Tools issue of Paper Crafts and Scrapbooking.

Thanks for stopping by. Heads up - I'll be back at the weekend showcasing mixed media projects made with ARTplorations stencils from STAMPlorations!

change it up - king of the grill

Welcome back to "change it up" where I am sharing some reworking of cards to try to make them better. Here is specimen #2.

Started out as an entry for a submission call for PCS Cards for Him. For the outdoorsy kinda guy.

Thought I was being quite clever using the utensils from the Jane's Doodles stamp set It's a Guy Thing to create the grass for the grill to stand on and then the blue sky with the sentiment. The banner sentiment sticker up top, so-so. The touch of striped PP under it definitely helped. But not accepted for publication.  I later did this with the card...

morphing it into a Father's Day card. Added Glossy Accents to the grill (definite improvement) and a sentiment made from alpha stickers. More stripes down the left edge along with a strip of green to tie in with the "grass". But not a show-stopper.

I still like the first one better, I think. How about you?

BTW, I've scheduled these posts in advance. As you are reading this, I am probably hanging around outside Comerica Park where DS is at the Eminem concert with a cousin. And I can't wait to see what I will have learned from that experience!

Supplies for king of the grill:

Paper:  CS Bringmann, PP Simple Stories

Stamps: Jane's Doodles

Ink : Jenny Bowlin, Versafine

Tools: 

Other: alpha stickers Bo Bunny, Glossy Accents

better left to photoshop (Moxie Fab)

Did you see the Five for Friday feature over at Moxie Fab two weeks ago?  If you clicked on Cath's links you might have visited the Colossal site and seen the amazing Double Exposure portraits by Sara K. Byrne.  The cherry blossom gal would be me - you may have seen this card and this one - I've been quite inspired by the trees around our house.

Well, I put my "I can do that" hat on and set about making a card.  My plan?  Stamp a cherry blossomed tree coming in from the side and layer vellum over a part of it with my profile cut out of it.  Figured that would make the ultimate Mother's Day card.

The cherry blossomed tree worked fine.  I forgot to take a photo of my first step which was the branches and then the teensy blooms from the CASual Fridays Calm and Gentle treetop stamp (the circle on the block upper left).  Perfect for this.  I used multi-generational stamping in Spun Sugar, Worn Lipstick Distress and Chewing Gum Jenny Bowlin, spritzing the stamp with water sometimes before stamping.  And therefore I'm parking this at the Wonder of Watercolor challenge at Moxie Fab.

The photo above was after the next step, stamping the same way with some individual tiny blooms from Technique Tuesday, as well as with some white pigment ink.  Still all systems a go.

On copy paper I printed a B/W photo of me taken from the side.  TIP:  It's an easy way to achieve that silhouette we used to do in school with overhead projector and black construction paper.   Put vellum over the photo and traced my silhouette , then fussy cut.  Um, Houston, we've got a problem.

How to achieve the break between the vellum and non-vellum?  How to attach the vellum cuz it needs to be raised a bit to have the effect?  Sentiment?  Ugh.

My solution:  Tear the vellum, leaving only half of the silhouette.  Stamp a few more cherry blossoms to mimic the form of my silhouette.  Use whopper glue dots to achieve the height.  Stamp the only Mother's Day sentiment I have in blue - blue?  Where'd that idea come from????

Result:  Not satisfied.  But not willing to do it again.  So here it is for you to learn from.  Want this effect? Better leave it to Photoshop!

Supplies happy mother's day:

Paper: cardbase Craft UK, vellum The Paper Company 

Stamps: branch Artemio, leaves CASual Fridays, blooms Technique Tuesday, sentiment Jane's Doodles

Ink : Rich Cocoa Memento, Distress, Jenny Bowlin, teal pigment Inkadinkado

Tools:  scissors

Other: glue dots Zots

toot my washi horn (Three Cool Chicks, I am Doe, CFC)

Consider this a triple crown challenge.

Take this inspiration photo from I am Doe.

Add the challenge #72 at CASual Fridays to toot your own horn by being inspired by your own blog header.  See above.

And I've had washi on the brain since Day 1 of the Three Cool Chicks Trendy week.

This is what I've come up with:

Some heat embossed leaves turned trees.  And one colorful tree made from washi (store bought and homemade) which I trimmed into teensy strips, adhered to a stamped image as a guide and then fussy cut.  Gave it a washi trunk too.

The photo inspiration is pretty obvious but I really like the simplicity of this card just like the simplicity of my blog header.  And gray.  I love gray as a design element.  And the trees in rows.  Reminds me of the rows and rows of grapevines that surround me.

Thanks for looking.

Supplies thanks:

Paper: card base Buttinette, CS papermania

Stamps: leaves Basic Grey,  sentiment Jane's Doodles

Ink: Versamark, Memento

Tools: 

Other: embossing powder, washi Bella Blvd & Rayher (also homemade from tissue paper)