I (heart) Valentines!

It’s so close to Valentine’s Day! One of my favorite card making holidays.

Here are a few that will be going out this year:

I’ve always loved these three hearts from Hero Arts. I embossed them on black card stock with Wow! Fluorescent Tickled Pink powder. The grey layer is embossed with athe Swirly Bird Cuttlebug folder. Sentiment from Hero Arts.

Below is a fast and easy card, also a Hero Arts image. (May be an old image?)

As you can see, the heart was stamped and heat embossed (two with white, one with black).

And one more, little wilder:

Also pretty fast and easy. I pulled an ink-splattered background from my stash, stamped this terrific Laurel Burch designed cat (from Stampendous!), added the box of candy (Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous Crazy Birds Accessories) and put it all together.

Next post will feature a beautiful die cut floral from Altenew.

Thanks for stopping by!

Quick All-Purpose Card

Here’s a quick card I made while I was playing with some feather die cuts (from Spellbinders):

 

I haven’t added a greeting because I may use it for a fall birthday (this is a good masculine card) … or it may be for a Thanksgiving hello. The card base is 4 7/8 x about 7″, then folded in half. The bottom embossed design is from a Darice embossing folder. The leaves were cut from random scraps, then the tips were embossed in copper powder. This was so fast and easy!

Thanks for stopping by.

More Topiary Frenzy

In my last post, I went crazy using Vertical Greetings, a nifty new topiary set from Stampin’ Up. I was all about the white embossing on blue.

But had to experiments a bit more, using mostly what was left on my desk.

Still playing with the white embossing:

And trying out two-tone embossing:

(embossed with Ranger’s Lime Green and Tea Rose powders.)

A little different, embossed in gold on vellum:

(Using TapeTastic tape to hide some boo-boos. Not my favorite, but hey, that’s what experimenting is all about!)

And my favorite use, tags:

I stamped the topiary and the sentiment in Ranger’s Wendy Vecchi Archival leaf green, then gold embossed a pot, cut it out and added it on top. This was fast and easy, especially since I had pre-embossed and cut a bunch of pots!

Thanks for sticking with me!

 

 

Fabulous Finds Friday: Pretty Topiary Set

I was attracted to this pretty topiary set (Vertical Greetings) from Stampin’ Up! for two reasons: I love the three topiary designs and I  was intrigued by the vertical greetings.

You know how I work … when I get a new set, I go all out, stamping with wild abandon, playing with different papers, inks, powders … figuring out how it all works. This set is no exception. Here’s what happened in my first play session:

Although my first impulse was to emboss the trees in gold, silver and copper, I soon fell in love with the images embossed in white on blue card stock. I combined the card card stock with some dry embossed pieces I had left over from a previous creative frenzy:

(Cuttlebug Swirls embossing folder)

(Lifestyle (now owned by We R Memory Keepers) Crafts Whimsy embossing folder; all the dry embossed pieces were adhered with Plus Extra Strong Glue Tape.)

(Cuttlebug embossing folder; sequins from Lawn Fawn)

And one more:

Pearls are from Eyelet Outlet.

Stay tuned for more!

 

Random Craftiness

Here are some bits and pieces of crafty news:

Let’s give a warm welcome back to Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps. Prickley Pear, which opened in 2003 by Nicole LaCour and closed last August, is back with new owners but the same fun, whimsical designs.

Tanya Doner-Kostynuk, owner of Riley & Company and Cornish Heritage Farms stamps, and Sue Helm are the proud new parents.

With nearly 900 products in 36 categories, Prickley Pear boasts a large assortment of vintage designs, many of which remind me of the cards my grandmother used to send me! Stamps come in clear polymer or red rubber and there are many matching dies.

Here’s a card I put together very quickly, using just scraps that were on my desk, and the birdcage stamp and die set:

I die cut the bird and cage from some card stock that I think was made using Ranger Distress stains and/or sprays. The butterflies were from punches, the sequins from Doodlebug Designs and the cool background is the Art Deco Texture Plate from Spellbinders.

It’s great to have Prickley Pear back!

. . . . . . . .

If you love fabric and you love vintage, take a look at 7gypsies‘ new Gypsy Seamstress line here and here, which  brings together the look of old fabric prints, quilt-like bunting shapes and gypsy style printed banners.

Aren’t these yummy: 

The collection includes banner making surfaces, totes and an apron.  Besides adding lace, fabric, charms and other bits and baubles, you can color them with  markers, acrylic paint, watercolor, glimmer mist, ink, etc. 7gypsies is part of the Canvas Corp Brands. 

. . . . . . . .

WOW! Embossing Powder (www.wowembossingpowder.com) has come out with its own embossing “mixing” jars so you can create custom-made embossing powders. Why, you ask, do you need to buy a special jar? (Well, that’s what I would ask …) Because these jars are treated with an anti-static material on the inside so your powders don’t cling to the sides. They also have a label so you can jot down your mixology notes. Check out the video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDAm7lU_SCE

If nothing else, check out the website for lots of embossing facts and to see the company’s wide range of powders and more. You’ll say “Wow!”

Thanks for stopping by for this little craft update.

 

Fabulous Finds Friday from Fiskars

(Wow. How many times do you get to write a five-F sentence???? Without using a dirty word?)

Anyway … For cutters, scissors and punches, Fiskars is still golden.

Fiskars has a tool for every need, but my focus is usually on those that are particularly useful for paper crafters.

For example, it was punch lust at first sight when I saw this adorable XOXO punch:

This was perfect for Valentine’s Day cards — so fast and easy. But I see more uses. I have several weddings coming up and I think this could be a card making winner. Here’s a quick one I made, inspired by some scraps on my desk:

(The sequins are from Lawn Fawn.)

The punch was also perfect for some foiling:

(I am somewhat obsessed with foiling since I’ve been playing with various foils and adhesives from Therm O Web. But that’s another post…. stay tuned. The background embossing plate on the above card is the grid folder from Spellbinders. Love it.)

At the Januray CHA show, crafters of all types were checking out the new Paper Trimmer with Aluminum Cut Rail*.

I sometimes get a little wobble with smaller personal trimmers, so this should be a boon to my cutting. The reinforced aluminum cut rail (with a locking system) promises to eliminate cutting wobble – which is a problem with my old personal trimmers. (Or maybe it’s me? Either way, this one is a delight.) Other nice features include a paper clamp/smudge guard (something else I need!), a self-leveling extension arm that stretched to 15 inches, and an extra wide base for a bigger work space.

(Here’s my big admission — I was recently working on a small, crowded desk and put the trimmer on my lap so I didn’t have to move to a larger, cleaner work table, assuming I could find one. I know, I know … lazy crafter. Don’t judge. But the good news this, this is so sturdy, it still cut fine with just my flabby thighs for support.)

More exciting Fiskars punches are in the works.

*Fiskars was kind enough to send me this cutter to try. 

Fabulous Finds — New Embossing System

I found a fun new embossing system called Inside Out Embossing Plates (or IOEP for short!) that lets you create several embossed looks by simply switching out some plastic plates.

Here’s what they look like:

Created by Australian crafter Tasha E Armour, who wanted an easier way to do double embossing on her cards, the plates work with most tabletop embossing machines and with most embossing folders. (You can see some excellent videos on her website, teapapercrafts.com.)

Tasha has also created a versatile embossing folder designed specifically for the 9-piece IOEP set, which she promises is only the first of many future designs:

Here’s how it works: Say you want to emboss your card front with only the center oval. You load your paper inside the embossing folder, then use removable tap to attach the center oval piece of the IOEP set to the appropriate area on the outside of the embossing folder. (Sorry, I didn’t take a photo of this step!) The center oval piece presses down on that area so that the oval is the only thing embossed. Hope that makes sense!

Take a look. Here is an example of using the entire embossing plate:

Pretty, right?

But for my next card, I wanted space for a sentiment in the center, so I used the rectangle piece that covered the corners and the piece that covered the larger oval:

When applying the plates, think about which areas you want embossed. That’s where you apply the plates. (It almost sounds counter-intuitive, but picture it as if you are pressing down on those areas to get an impression — that’s what the plates do.)

I trimmed the piece, heat embossed a sentiment in the center and mounted in on tan card stock:

Playing around with the folder and the plates (which are made in the USA from a semi flexible plastic) I created a small decorative piece using the smaller oval and the inside design:

I cut the oval using Spellbinders’ Classic Ovals Small S4-112 (one of the first dies I ever bought!) and mounted it on a tiny tag (actually a pre-scored place card from Paper Source. Love these for tags!) The background was stamped using Hero Arts’ Unicorn white pigment ink and Hero Arts’ Pearl Strings Bold Prints stamp.

Tasha says there are 31 different combos for the IOEPs — but I think I found a 32nd design! Check out the two embossed lines on this card:

To create those lines, I used the outside frame. I put just one side of my card stock in the folder, ran it through, and repeated the step. I trimmed the piece and applied it to front of a 3 1/2 x 4 3/4 (4bar) folded card. The cute pot is one of my new favorite dies (flower pots B667) from Cheery Lynn and the flower stamp is an old one from Memory Box. I put a scrap of glitter paper behind the opening in the pot before mounting it.

I haven’t had a chance to try the IOEP set with other embossing folders, but that’s in the works, and I look forward to some new designs from Tasha!

 

 

Continuing March of the Ornaments

For my next batch of ornament cards, I went a little rogue, going for non-traditional Christmas colors. (Again, it’s mostly Stampin’ Up! unless otherwise noted.)

The ornament is die cut from an old greeting card using Stampin’ Up!’s Delicate Ornament set. (Diamond Stickles has been added to the petals, though it is hard to see here.) The sentiment, gold embossed and layered on gold paper, is from Stampin’ Up!’s Embellished Ornament stamps. The background is embossed using Sizzix  damask and regal Texture Fades embossing folder.

For the next card, I stamped, then cut the ornament:

I inked the stamp using various Ranger Distress Inks, misted slightly and stamped on watercolor paper. The background is made using Stampin’ Up!’s Falling Snow embossing folder; the sentiment, gold embossed, is by Hero Arts. (This is from an old set, so simply substitute any appropriate sentiment.)

More rogue cards coming!

 

 

Ornament Cards to “Die” For…

I’ve been having way too much fun with Stampin’ Up!’s ornament stamps and dies (Stampin’ Up and Sizzix.)

The first thing I did was cut various ornaments from a bunch of scrap paper found among the ruins of my desk:

Here’s the first card I made:

When I first tried to cut this die out of self-adhesive glitter paper (Cosmo Cricket) it was a bit of a hot mess — the intricate die did not cut through in some spots. I worked on it with a craft knife but the center was still not clean. So I hid the messy portion behind a decorative piece that comes with the die set! (I also went for an ombre look using Ranger’s Distress Ink Broken China with mediocre success.)

And then I learned that I needed a precision cutting pad for these intricate pieces. And oh, what a difference that made!

Here’s a detailed look and the not-so-clean piece:

(I added some Ranger silver Stickles to the middle piece, which also did not cut cleanly.)

Look how much cleaner it cut using the Sizzix Precision Base Plate:

That pretty background is made using the Stampin’ Up/Sizzix Softly Falling embossing folder. (I edged the embossed piece with Delicata Golden Glitz, but I don’t really like the edging and will leave it off others.) (The Merry Christmas sentiment is from an old Hero Arts set; everything else is from Stampin’ Up!)

Stay tuned for more cards made with this ornament set.

Technique Tuesday’s Lovely Camellia

In my last post, I teased a picture of a new stamp from Technique Tuesday’s Greenhouse Designs — the beautiful camellia.

I admit, I went a little camellia crazy… because the flower is so much fun to color and easy to cut out if you want it just as an element.

Here’s my first, very simple, set:

As you can see, I had a great time experimenting with different coloring techniques. I stamped the flower on plain white card stock in VersaMark embossing ink and used black powder to heat emboss. Then I just colored myself silly, experimenting with just about every coloring agent in my desk.

I used a lot of Faber-Castell PITT Artist Big Brushes, scribbling various colors on my plastic palette, then using my water brush to paint in the petals. I also used my VERY old set of LuminArte Sparkling H2Os** (Sunburst, Yellow Rose, Lemongrass and Moss Green for the yellows; Chiffon Pink, Cherry Sorbet and English Lavender for the pinks/purples.) I love the subtle shimmer. (**I’m not sure who is making these anymore, but you can still find them by checking on the internet. These are a water-based, mica-filled dry paint that is activated with water. So yummy.)

When the flowers were dry, I cut them out (the perfect thing to do while watching TV!).

To make the card base, I ran the front of my folded card stock through this beautiful embossing folder from Stampin’ UP/Sizzix, called Softly Falling. (I can’t wait to use this folder as snow on my holiday cards!) I rounded the card corners using a heavy-duty corner rounder.

Then it was just a matter of adhering the flowers to the card base, using foam tape. On some, I added the lovely Wink of Stella clear to get a little sparkle.

I plan to make several sets to give as gifts. (The sentiment is from Technique Tuesday’s new Random Thoughts stamp set, cut with the coordinating Little Labels dies.)

Here’s a close up, showing off the Wink of Stella glimmer:

More camellias to come!