Ever have one of those cards? You know, where nothing looks quite like you imagined it, or planned it, or at least hoped it would? This is one of those cards...
First off, I think this card looks better in real life than in the photo, where the contrast between the embossed flower and the card base isn't quite so stark, and where the sentiment ink is a closer match to the patterned paper. That being said... I picked one of the sketches from the current Hero Arts contest and decided to use this awesome Hero Arts/Basic Grey flower as a focal image. I divided the patterned paper, put it back together with repositional tape, and embossed. When I tried it on a white base... I discovered my white embossing powder isn't so white. (I'm not sure if it's always been so creamy -- I've noticed before it's not a perfect white, but it really showed up with this large, semi-solid image. Maybe it's the age of the powder; who knows?) At least on the vanilla base, the flower just seems more highlighted, and not dingy, as it did against the white. The vanilla base also looks richer than the white did.
So, while obviously this card didn't end up in recycling, and I'm willing to share it with cyberspace, and I've even entered it in the Hero Arts contest and the current Simon Says Stamp challenge (April Showers Bring Spring Flowers), I'm not entirely happy with it. And if you have any recommendations for a WHITE embossing powder, please share!
Stampin' Up very vanilla cardstock, My Mind's Eye Stella and Rose Hattie patterned paper, Hero Arts/Basic Grey stamps, Colorbox frost white & VersaMagic Aegean blue inks, white embossing powder, circle nestability, pop-dot tape
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If it's Wednesday, then it must be time for another Crafty Creations challenge! This week it's all about showing some flower power on your card or other crafty item.
I think as far as flower images go, nothing I own has a bigger impact than this big Stampin' Up rose. I heat embossed it, watercoloured it with distress inks, then layered it on a panel embossed with Market Street Stamps vintage music background and sponged with the lighter two shades used to colour the rose. The sentiment is heat-embossed on vellum. This card is for my husband's aunt who turns a youthful 90 next week. I'm going to enter this card in Lily Pad Cards current flower challenge.
Whiff of Joy is sponsoring our current challenge -- so why not come and show us some flower power?
Supplies: black & white cardstock, vellum, Stampin Up Fifth Avenue Floral, Market Street Stamps vintage music & Memory Box happy birthday stamps, spun sugar, worn lipstick & festive berries distress inks, Versafine onyx black ink, clear embossing powder, Martha Stewart border punch, pop-dot tape
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I seem to be getting to Flashback Fridays challenges a little later each time I play! This time around, the challenge is to revisit your first project that used a die-cut. Long before I owned a die-cut machine, I made this little card thanks to a die-cut I was given:
The original post is from January of 2011, and was a CASE (copy and share everything) of a card of Emily's that I made when she was the featured stamper on Splitcoast Stampers. She was also the provider of the die-cut! I did get all fancy by cutting one end off. :P
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Happy Friday, and the beginning of a long Easter weekend! Donelda and I are back again with another day of Paper Crafts magazine CASEing. My turn to pick today, and here's the card I chose, this one from Vivian Masket:
This card is an online bonus project from the issue, so you can read all about the original here. I picked it entirely because of the ribbon, and knew exactly what I was going to use.
I won this wide ribbon ages ago (along with a similar one in blue and brown), and rarely use it. From there, it was a matter of deciding the other elements for the card. I originally tried the flower from this card from last week, but it was too formal for this more casual ribbon. Fluffles the Cat, however, is just about perfect! Fluffles qualifies this card for the current DYSU challenge (DYSU#66), Friendly Critters. And of course I heat-embossed Fluffles, so this can go in the current Simon Says Stamp challenge to use your favourite tool. Although the patterned paper is from Echo Park's Holly Jolly collection, I thought the green was very spring-like. And that means I can enter this in the current Ribbon Carousel Challenge, RCC47, Spring is in the Air! Even though I basted and gathered the ribbon, instead of knotting it as Vivian did, I still needed a double layer of pop-dot tape to raise Fluffles high enough. No sentiment, but I'll be able to customize the inside when I'm ready to use this card.
Donelda said she was immediately drawn to the ribbon on this card, too, so it will be fun to see what she came up with!
Supplies: white cardstock, Echo Park Holly Jolly patterned paper, Stampendous Flower Fluffles stamp, Versafine onyx black ink, clear embossing powder, Prismacolor pencils, ribbon, pop-dot tape
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It's such fun CASEing cards from Paper Crafts magazine with Donelda! We're still working our way through the March/April 2012 issue, and we're starting off this week with Donelda's pick first. She chose this card from Go-To Gal Teri Anderson:
I have to admit, this is the first card Donelda has picked that didn't immediately "speak" to me. I like it, I just didn't immediately have fifteen ideas in my head to choose from. And -- there's no stamping on it! I thought about why she might have chosen it... and if I know Donelda, one of the things that would have attracted her was the opportunity to use some scraps! So that's where I put my focus. Here's the final product:
I felt the need to ground the pennants, so I attached them to some hemp cord, which may or may not indicate that my initial plan was to use a kraft card base. We also don't need to discuss the sheet of kraft cardstock that may have given its life in vain. It's possible there were going to be white clouds stamped on the kraft card base. So when I switched to the white base and added the sentiment, I realized there wasn't a lot to tie the sentiment to the pennants. That's where the little heart, glitzed up with some Glossy Accents, came in. It also provides a little echo of the brad that Teri used.
After that sad little story, it's time to go see what Donelda did with this inspiration!
P.S. Since those pennants are all from my patterned paper scrap basket, I'm linking this up to the Moxie Fab World paper scraps challenge! And since my favourite stamping tool is my heat tool (no surprise there), it's going in this week's Simon Says Stamp challenge!
Supplies: white and Stampin' Up real red cardstock, Stampin' Up (red), Recollections (orange & yellow), Karen Foster (blue), DCWV (dark blue, pretending to be indigo) & My Graphico (purple) patterned paper, Technique Tuesday sentiment stamp, Versafine onyx black ink, clear embossing powder, small heart punch, Glossy Accents, hemp cord
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This week at Crafty Creations Challenges, we are thinking SPRING! Celebrate spring by making a card or other project that incorporates green, buds, blossoms, grass... you get the idea.
These seed package stamps are part of a set the awesome Meg sent me for Christmas. The plant images would also be fun to colour, but for this card I decided to ink them up on old olive cardstock, and used some kraft cardstock behind them to resemble old-style seed packets. I've been starting seeds the past few weeks to get ready for spring planting, so this card really epitomizes the season for me.
What about you? Make a spring card or other project and join us! We have a great prize from Digital Delights on offer this week, so why not play along?
Supplies: Stampin' Up very vanilla & old olive cardstock, Stampin' Up patterned paper, TPC Studio Victory Garden stamps, Memento tuxedo black ink, dimensionals
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