Peace and Joy in 2016

Even though I did make a card today, I can't seem to get it photographed decently.  I guess the colors I selected are more muted and just not that vibrant and the sparkle I added seems to be not that evident either so this is a poor representation for the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge which is "Make it Sparkle".  Trust me, I'll try to do a better one.

I wanted something similar to a card I made previously but thought I would go for a more "Chic" look so I started by embossing this Hero Arts Peace & Joy Stamp using WOW! Metallic Platinum Sparkle Embossing Powder and cutting it out with the WPLUS9 Love Showers Tag Die.  I used Wisteria Wonder Card Stock from SU! and embossing the word "in" from the Winnie & Walter "The Big, The Bold and The Comfort" Set using the same embossing powder. The embossing appears to be just a dull grayish color, but it isn't!  The A2 card base is Bazzill Marshmallow Card Stock with the front embossed using a Design Objectives Embossing Folder.  It isn't as 3D as the Next Level Embossing Folders, but it is more than just a 2 dimensional look.

I cut the stars from some old QuicKutz Dies that I had, the streamers from the Taylored Expressions Raise Your Glass Die Cut Set and the numbers from a number set by QuicKutz called No. 73.  I put 8 strands of DMC metallic thread through the hole in the tag and did a slip knot.  

To make sure the numbers matched as far as the color, I inked up a piece of scrap card stock using Versamark and put the same embossing powder over it and heat set it.  Then I cut my numbers. This particular color of embossing powder is a bit warmer than silver, so it was important to me to match it up and silver glitter paper just didn't do it.  Additionally, all of the paper was spritzed with Tsukineko Sheer Sparkle Shimmer Spritz.

To assemble the card I used a combination of Foam Squares and Ranger Multi Medium Matte. The tag and the bottoms of the numbers have foam on them while the top of the numbers have a bit of adhesive so they lay flat against the tag at the top.  The streamers are adhered with Ranger Multi Medium Matte as well. The stars are also a combination of foam squares and liquid adhesive.  

Assembled, this card barely fits in the envelope and if I made it again, I would make it 4 x 5.5 to give it that extra bit of room.  This card is side folding and I don't like it as much as the top folding version I had made before.  But it's for my best friend and she won't have nearly as critical of an eye as I do.  She just enjoys getting the card in the mail. 

Thanks for stopping by today.  I already have an idea for my next card so I'll see you all soon!  I'm going to have two of my granddaughters here for a few days this week before school starts again the next week, but I will be around.  Be sure to let me know if you have any questions and I'll answer them for you.  

Merry & Bright

This tag will be entered into the 25 Days of Christmas Tags which is an annual event hosted by Tracey McNeely over at her blog "In My Creative Opinion".  Whenever I am in a class, I have several of those "parts & pieces" laying around from attempts at a certain technique or style.  This post is all about one of those but my attempt to reclaim this particular part was inspired by Tracey herself and her tag from Day 9.

I really messed this panel up the other day when I ran it through my die cutting machine after heat embossing the silver snowflakes and attaching them to my card front which today became my tag.  I put it in to cut the edges off of the snowflakes in alignment with the scalloped rectangle. So all of the silver embossing had lines and creases in it from all the lines and creases in my cutting pads.  I should have had a thin sheet of printer paper in there to prevent this from happening, but I don't normally cut after the fact, so I had forgotten this one little detail.

This panel was laying at the top of my trash can when I had a sudden thought that maybe, just maybe, I could use my heat tool to re-melt the embossing powder and salvage this panel that I liked so much.  BINGO!

The card stock was inked up with a Ranger Mini Ink Blending Tool using a bit of Thistle in the very center and Audrey Blue all over the rest of the tag.  I then stamped several of the Stamps from the Simon Says Stamp Lots of Snowflakes Stamp Set in Versamark and heat set them using Simon Says Stamp Ultra Fine Detail White Embossing Powder.  There are 17 stamps in this set. Next I cut the Simon Says Stamp Exclusive Snowflakes Eliza, Abby, Alexis and Kate in heavy white cardstock.  I inked up each of the snowflakes using Versamark and then put Fine Detail Silver Embossing Powder and heat set them and repeated that. This gives your die cuts so much dimension; it's really beautiful!  I attached them all to the Scalloped Stitched Rectangle from the Sunshine Layers Die.  Then I popped it back into the die and ran it through to cut off the overhanging edges. That is when I saw all the creases in the silver embossing.  So I tossed it in the trash and went on to the next card front.

I don't know what made me think to try reheating the embossing powder to see if it would melt again, but I had nothing to lose.  It worked like a charm and after seeing Tracey's cute tag from day 9, I had to make it into a tag even though I don't seem to have a cute little snowman like she does.  Ya'll know I love my snowflakes!

Since it wasn't in the shape of a tag and I don't have a tag this large, I slipped a My Favorite Things Stitched Oval over the top portion only and cut it to get the arch. I could have used a circle die but I came to the ovals in my binder first. Then I reheated it to smooth out all of the silver embossing.  I cut and stamped my greeting using the Mama Elephant "Merry" die with Silver Glitter Paper and two stamps from the Papertrey Ink Sparkle & Shine Stamp Set for the "& Bright" that are heat embossed in the same Simon brand Silver Embossing Powder on a strip of paper inked up with the same Audrey Blue Ink that I love and adore so much! It is such a beautiful color. I have a banner punch that I used to make the swallowtail end on the banner strip and adhered it to my tag with foam squares. A few silver sequins and Voila!   I used ribbon from my stash.

It's not captured very well but I'm really happy with all the texture and sparkle on this tag and will be uploading it over at the 25 Days of Christmas Tags on Tracey's Blog. Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Online Card Class - Holiday Style

You all probably remember a couple of months ago when I took an online class called "Watercolor For Card Makers".  For the next few weeks I am taking another fantastic class through Online Card Classes called "Holiday Style" and it will feature many different styles of cards for the upcoming season. Today's card is "Clean and Simple" style.



I started by creating my card bases from 100# Bazzill Marshmallow.  These are 4.25 x 5.5 top folding cards.  Next I used a piece of 2 inch wide Post-It Tape to create a diagonal mask on the lower third of my card front.  I used the same piece for each of the cards and I will use it many more times and wear all the "sticky" out before I throw it away.  You could also use a couple of Post-It Notes if that is what you have.  Additionally I used a piece of painters tape on the top end to keep the panel in place on my craft mat while I did my ink blending with a Tim Holtz Mini Ink Blending Tool.  I don't use a clean pad for each color of ink that I have, only one for each color family; blues, reds, greens, etc.  My only exception might be for any pastel varieties of color but so far, I haven't needed one for pastels.  I used Simon Says Stamp Ink in Lipstick Red, with Stampin' Up's Rich Razzleberry and Pacific Point inks.  After I colored that portion of my card I misted each with my solution of Perfect Pearls and water that I keep in a little spritzer bottle, but before removing the mask.  You can buy little mister bottles at Simon Says Stamp or use one that is empty from another kind or type of product or you can buy Perfect Pearls Glimmer Spray ready to go.



I created the diagonal lines by scoring that section of my card front at 1/2 inch increments all the way up.  You make the first line by scoring on the top of the card.  Then flip it over, make the score line again in the same place and now the line will be raised on the front.  All of the additional lines will also appear raised on the front.  I couldn't have done this very well without my Score Pal.  Simon Says Stamp has the Martha Stewart Mini Score Board if you need one.  I've had my Score Pal for several years and it is actually a "Score Pal" brand.  If I didn't already have one, I would buy the mini because it takes a lot less space to store it.



Once you complete the score lines, you can stamp your sentiment on the front and finish it in whichever method you would like.  I used Simon Says Stamp Super Fine Detail Gold Embossing Powder and Fine Detail Silver Embossing Powder with the Simon Says Stamp Big Scripty Greetings - Holiday Stamp Set for both.  You could use a die cut if you wanted and I have a Christmas Blessings die cut that I plan to use in the future.

I loved the simplicity of this card design but I had to add my own little spin on it of course.  For the red card, I stayed true to the design of the class, but for the other two I put a strip of glitter paper that I pulled from my scraps along the diagonal.  You could use whatever width you want.  I actually would have like a skinny little strip on the red card, but I had already adhered everything by the time I thought of it.  I sort my paper scraps by color family so I usually know what I have in my scraps and I didn't need much for this card.  *Ü*

I cut the Poinsettia Leaves and Berries from the same Bazzill Marshmallow Card Stock.  The dies are from Spellbinders so they cut and emboss in one pass if you use the metal shim and/or the embossing pad.  I also did ink blending on the leaves in Simon Says Stamp Beanstalk Green and Stampin' Up Garden Green. For the berries, I used the Lipstick Red with several layers of color and Blackberry Bliss for the purple ones. Once I had everything adhered, I went over the berries with my Wink of Stella Clear Glitter Bush Pen and then put a coat of Glossy Accents on the top of each berry for the final touch. 

These were super fast cards to put together and I didn't need a lot of different papers or special supplies.  I already had everything I needed to make this "Clean and Simple" card.  I really love the look of the blended inks using the Tim Holtz Mini Ink Blending Tool.   The more layers you add deepens the intensity of the color. While I like the shimmer from the Perfect Pearls Solution, I also really like the card well enough not to use it on other cards I might make using this design. 

Thanks for stopping by!  Feel free to leave a comment if you like because I read every single one.