Create (Your Own) Happy

Happy New Year everyone!  It is the first day of  January in the year 2016.  In the past six months since I really got into card making, I have learned quite a few things about myself.  I had no idea that my personal preference was for pretty clean and bold graphics.  The funny thing is that even though I like that, I also like the soft, well blended lines of other things such as this ink blended background panel paired with the bold graphic of this Twist Cover Plate from Paper Trey Ink.

For the background panel, I used my Ranger Mini Ink Blending Tools with Thistle and Audrey Blue Inks from Simon Says Stamp on a piece of 4.25 x 5.5 Canson Bristol Watercolor Paper.  Once I had the ink blending done, I misted the entire panel with a solution of Perfect Pearls that I keep in a little spritzer bottle. I have several of these in use for different solutions and I have several empty ones for future use if I want to mix my own color sprays using reinkers or any other solutions.  I have a variety of colors of Perfect Pearls as well as several reinkers so the possibilities are endless.  These came from Stampin Up! and they hold about 3 times as much solution as the little Ranger Mini Misters I used to have. Thankfully, my studio is next to a bathroom so water is quick and easy access. 

The Perfect Pearls Solution really softens the color of the inks even more while giving it a subtle shimmer.  I label all of my mini misters with the contents as I also have one with plain water and another with rubbing alcohol.  I would not want to get them mixed up.  

I made my top folding card base from some recently purchased awesome white card stock called "Stamper's Select" from Paper Trey Ink.  It is a 110# smooth cardstock with a pretty fantastic price so far.  I ordered two packages with 40 sheets in each pack for a cost of $6.00 each.  It is a bright white card stock and very thick, so it is important to use a metal shim when cutting intricate dies.  The first time I ran mine through it didn't cut all the way through, so I did a second time with the metal shim and it cut so nicely that the pieces just fell out of it. This cover plate die makes me think of sheer lacey curtains with a pattern.  I am anxious to try it with some other types of backgrounds but knew I wanted to try this today.   

Debby Hughes, of Lime Doodle Design, did a post recently about how to make a greeting pop so I wanted to try it with the bold black and white secondary sentiment.  The "happy" stamp came from a set that I got from Paper Trey Ink called "Embroidered Blooms" which is a layering set that I haven't been too successful with so far.  I really need to get my head directly over it when I am stamping to line it up correctly.  I will try again soon as it is a lovely set.  There are two different coordinating die sets and although I have had the stamps for several months, I only recently purchased the dies.

After I ink blended the background panel, I inked up some 40# vellum with Audrey Blue Ink from Simon Says Stamp and then lightly misted it with some Tsukineko Sheer Sparkle Shimmer Spritz.  Then I die cut it using the Paper Trey Ink "Turning a New Leaf " dies in the largest size. The "Turning a New Leaf" dies remind me of a larger one that I have from Simon Says Stamp called "Clustered Leaves".  I'll be able to use all of them together if I want to.   

Because my background panel had been spritzed, it was warped a bit.  Using a clean B Plate so it would not leave marks or scratches in my paper, I ran it through my cuttlebug a couple of times to flatten it out.  Then I adhered the Twist Cover Plate Die Cut using Ranger Multi Medium Matte and stacked my two largest acrylic blocks on it for a few minutes while that set.  This worked very well for how thick everything is.  

I stamped the "happy" on a scrap of black cardstock and heat set it using Ranger Super Fine White Embossing Powder.  I cut the left hand side into a swallowtail end like a banner while keeping the right side flush with my background panel.  I adhered that directly to the background panel and then added the "Create" die cut just above it, again using Ranger Multi Medium Matte. 

Next I adhered the "Turning a New Leaf" die cut to the panel using a small dot of Ranger Multi Medium Matte under them stem and tucking the tip of the leaf behind the "Create" die cut.  Since it is only adhered in two places it has a bit of dimension to it.  The vellum is slightly curved and does not lay flat if that makes sense.  

I have certainly found that time in my studio is how I "Create My Own Happy" and never more than when I am getting inky, in any form.  Thanks for stopping and spending time with me today!