PAPERLICIOUS

Faux Dots

On my last post I said I was practicing and would be gone for a few days.  I've got a few ideas and have been trying them out (and enjoying the failures and successes).  Today, I'm reporting back (faster than expected) on one of them.

I've been trying to come up with a way to color flowers, etc by using the dotted technique of Pointillism.  I tried making tiny dots with the point of a pencil or marker, etc.  Little bits of paint.  A big mess.

I finally figured out that stamping first with a solid image and then layering some faux dots would give me the look I wanted.

Yum.

I got it by lightly shading with a very sharp slightly darker Prismacolor pencil.  Use the side of the pencil tip. 

Ended up with this one layer card (except for the green strip). 

MOOD WHEN DONE = Pleased

Supplies:

Stamps: WPlus9 Ever After; sentiment is from a special Papertrey Ink set that a friend gave to me. I do not know its name but am grateful to receive it as it is gorgeous.
Ink:  A Muse Studio Grass, Bubblegum and Papaya
Cardstock:  Stampin Up (a specked cardstock I found in my stash); A Muse Studio Grass
Other:  Prismacolor Pencils

Using Small Sentiments

Thanks for all your kind comments on my last post (except for the spammers...). 

Here's a fun way to use those teeny tiny sentiments on other than a tag. Sometimes I just need to make a flat one layer card....with no ribbon...just stamps and paper and ink and color.

Card Construction Details:

1. Stamped flowers from a Hero Arts set in Ranger Archival Black ink.  I am not happy with this ink, as it smeared while coloring with pencils.  Hmm.

2.  Colored with pencils and nothing else. 

3.  Outlined parts of flowers with a Sakura Micron pigment pen.  Got the idea to do this from Kathy at The Daily Marker.  Her work is amazing.  And she teaches at my LSS.  My goal is to get to her classes next year.

4.  Covered centers of circles with clear Ranger Glossy Accents and went to work.

5.  Came back and added small circles and the thanks sentiment to make a bit of a background and avoid having to add a sentiment and cover up any of the flowers.

MOOD WHEN DONE = Grateful for a lot of things

 

Thanks

to you.

Your emails, comments, facebook posts and general support are most appreciated -- more than you know. (Since I'm not going to send this card to each of you, I plan on giving it to the staff on floor of my Mom's nursing home (along with some donuts...).

Card Construction Details:

1.  Using white cardstock, cut a turkey with the Silhouette, placing the word thanks inside the turkey, so that cut too.  I'm so clever I can't stand it.

2.  Sponged the turkey with Distress inks and glued brown cardstock behind the sentiment.  Glued the little pieces inside the letters also. 

3.  4.25" square kraft card and inked the cover with an Impression Obsession background (some kind of paint splatter) and Corduroy distress ink.

4.  Trimmed a 4" kraft square  and sponged with inks, outlined both the Mr. Turkey and the layer with a white gel pen.

5. Tied a twine bow around his scrawny neck and adhered a rhinestone for his beady eye.

6.  Adhered the glorious bird with very thick dimensionals.

MOOD WHEN DONE = Grateful and a tad hungry

 

 

Makeover

Can't bear to repost my last card, affectionately thought of as the "big mess!"  It is here.

And here is the makeover -- with a vertical orientation that works so much better.  The size and orientation of the flower panel on the original card was just so wrong...I also went with a cool color palette.  It's not perfect but I'm happy.

Card Construction Details:

1.  Stamped flowers from Paper Smooches in Memento ink.

2.  Colored flowers with a pale purple and a pale turquoise so that there was a nice even base.

3. Added shading with Prismacolor Pencils.  I'm enjoying that combination lately -- light background with Copics covered with a couple of darker pencils.

4.  Cut out flowers.

5.  Added white Ranger Accents to the flower petals and clear Ranger accents to the heart and set aside to dry.

4.  Stamped flowers and stems on white cardstock, masking a bit.

5.  Stamped sentiment (Paper Smooches Chit Chat). Hightlighted "too kind" with the pale Copic.

6.  Trimmed white panel, adhered to black base and adhered flowers.

7.  Fiddled with some rhinestones from Impress (like these because they really are self adhesive and easy to work with).

8.  Shaded around stems, petals and bottom of flowers with pencils and added a little "ground" with pencils.

9.  Adhered to a card made with A Muse Studio Bermuda cardstock.  **love**

 MOOD WHEN DONE = Pleased

****

Since I've received a few requests for a mom update -- she likes where she is, knows who I am, but is [empty space here].  I don't know the adjective to describe how she is.  The word that keeps popping up is "crazy" but that sounds so derisive.  No permanent placement yet.  I'll post more when I can find the words to describe all of this.  But a huge THANKs and a shout out to all of you who are going through, or who have gone through, similar situations. 

 

 

My Favorite Things . . .

3 of my favorite things -- kraft cardstock, colored pencils, and Ranger Glossy White Accents.

I'm a lukcy duck and won a spot in Jennifer McGuire's and Kristina Werner's online summer camp.  I'm also lucky that I finished this card before I saw this week's color challenge.  (However, I have another card with these colors that I just need to photograph...)

Card Construction Details:

1.  A2 Kraft card.

2.  Stamped various flowers with Memories Dye ink.  Elongated the 3rd stem with a fine black pen because the stem was not long enough.

3.  Colored flowers with Prismacolor pencils -- yellow, orange, red, lighter green and a darker green.

4.  Stamped sentiment in wrong place -- should have been a bit lower.  Added small flowers to try and tie the sentiment with the rest of card.  Did I succeed?  Who knows?  Eye in the beholder and all that...

5.  Added Ranger Glossy Accents.

6.  Rounded corners. 

MOOD WHEN DONE = fiesty

Supplies:

Stamps: Paper Smooches Friendly Flowers and Sentiment Sampler
Ink:  Memories Black Dye
Cardstock:  PTI Kraft
Other: Prismacolor Pencils, Ranger Glossy Accents White, W R Memories Corner Chomper

Happy Birthday to Waltzingmouse Stamps

Two years ago Waltzingmouse Stamps entered the highly competitive field of online stamp companies -- right smack in the middle of the worst recessions to hit the world in decades.

But it flourished. 

Because:

- the quality of the stamps are first rate/p>

- the designs are different

- the customer service is perfect

- the Design Team is fabulous

- Claire Brennan cares more about quality and service and beauty than she does making a pound, and

- because sometimes good things happen to good people.

So thank you Claire!

And what better way to thank Claire (other than placing an order!) than to make a card with Waltzingmouse Stamps --

Card Construction Details:

1.  A2 Kraft card, trimmed on the long side so that the finished card is 4" x 5 and 1/2".

2.  Stamped each half of my favorite doily from Dainty Doilies 2 on scrap paper.  Lined up perfectly the first time.  The trick was to line up the center of the doily and stand above the image.  Stamped the image with A Muse Studio Navy ink onto kraft card.

3.  Stamped small doily from Waltzingmouse Large Doily with same ink on A Muse Studio Sugar cardstock and punched with circle punch.

4.  Stamped sentiment from Waltzingmouse Join Us on white scrap, trimmed.

5.  Added white accents with gel pen.

6.  Adhered sentiment and then adhered center doily with a dimensional.

7. Yawn.  Card needs something.

8. Remembered Cas-Usual Friday bling challenge.

9.  Gently removed sentiment, rounded edges of sentiment panel with Corner Rounder and rounded bottom corners of card.  Reattached sentiment.

10.  Added large bling.

MOOD WHEN DONE = Grateful

 

Christmas Thank You

Card size -- 6.5" x 3.75"

Felt flower adds some fun texture to this holiday thank you card.  Hand cut the leaves.  Curved the dotted stamp. 

Debating whether sentiment should be lower.  I say yes, husband says no.  He's just being nice however, so his view discounted. 

 

 

 

 

Mood When Done = thankful

EDITED TO ADD -- just looked at this again.  UGH.  That sentiment is driving me nuts, nutty, batty, whatever.  Consider this the BEFORE pic.  Revised version coming soon!!!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Impression Obsession Borders; Technique Tuesday Thanks

Paper:  Kraft

Ink:  Memento Bamboo and SU Craft White

Other:  random felt, button and PTI twine, corner rounder; PTI flower die

thanks thanks thanks

One stamp + one layer white cardstock + 3 inks (pink, purple, blue) + one corner rounder = a fast, fun card.  Briefly glanced at some embellishments and decided to leave well enough alone...

It took longer to photograph the card than to make it. 

Stamp is Stampendous Posie Greetings (snagged it at Archivers at Mall of America last weekend). 

Enjoy!

Challenging

By the end of my blog break I decided to try new things stamping wise.  So you'll see I'm doing some challenges.  Challenges completely out of my comfort zone.  It's just paper and ink....

This is for Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge # 13. Here's the sketch:

 
Card Construction Details:

1.  Stamped cream cardstock with WM Pic-nic Patterns in Ranger Linen Distress Ink.

2.  Seriously, no business doing challenges.  Took a break.

3.  Found WMS Very Vintage Labels 1.  Eureka, there is a stamp that is square with a circle in the middle.  Saved! 

4.  Stamped, cut, edged in PTI tea dye inks, added some accents in black ink.  Generally just kept stamping until it looked like I'd met the challenge.

5.  Sentiment from WMS Rescue Remedies Addition (can't FIND my Rescue Remedies) -- it has to be in there somewhere!

6.  That red ink is Memento Rhubarb and is more cranberry than the picture suggests.

7.  Went completely nuts with coloring rhinestones with a Copic marker and putting them everywhere. 

Mood When Done = Clueless

Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge # 12 - Going a Little Vintage

I decided to participate in the Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge #12, which you can find here. (Hint:  there are prizes...)

Here's the sketch: 

 

And here's my card:

Card Construction Details:

1.  Trimmed the patterned paper (retired SU) and edged with PTI tea dye inks.

3.  Cut Spellbinders Labels One Die and stamped with WMS Very Vintage Labels #1, using PTI Scarlet Jewel ink and SU Confetti Cream cardstock (fun what you find when you clean up).  Edged die cut with tea dye inks to age a bit. 

4.  Stamped sentiment from WMS Rescue Remedies Additions with PTI Spring Moss ink.  It's a bit too light, but that's life.

5.  Die cut Scarlet Jewel Oval because I was looking for a way to add more red to the card.

6.  Colored fake pearls with Copic marker and adhered.

7.  Colored netting with Copic marker to turn it from bright white to an off white and tied as shown.

8.  Trimmed Scarlet Jewel paper and die cut center for later use.  

9.  Adhered everything.

10.  Took many photos but failed to get the perfect one so settled for this one.

Mood When Done = Satisfied, but Critical.  Think the label stamp would be better in green and the sentiment in red, but it is what it is.