Happy Anniversary To Me!

Today's blog post is in celebration of my one year anniversary as Twinkling Paper Studio. My first blog post was July 31, 2015 but the name came to me one year ago today. It seems that once I could think of a fitting name for me and my style of card making, the blog part got easier.  In the past year I've done 207 Blog Posts, made a few hundred cards and learned a lot by watching how others create.  My favorites include Jennifer McGuire, Yana Smakula and Marika Rahtu all of whom generously share their talents with this industry. I don't typically copy anyone's projects exactly, but I do use many of the same techniques tweaked to what works for me personally. From the beginning I have loved heat embossing and using gold on my cards. My friend, Yana, shares my love of gold and gold accents. I'm always happy when she has a new blog post or video up because I know somewhere in there she is going to have some shimmer, some sparkle or a bit of gold. Sometimes, (like me), she has all three.

Today's card (also for the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge for their "Anything Goes" theme) has all three (of course) and in colors that are slightly different for me although I do love this Salmon color nearly as much as I love Pink. I started with a panel of Canson Bristol Watercolor Paper and did some ink blending in Berry Sorbet with a stencil brush going from upper left to lower right.  The stencil brushes (i.e. cosmetic brushes in my case or you can find Clarity Stencil Brushes HERE) give such a soft overlay of color and I couldn't possibly match it with a Mini Ink Blending Tool.  Both have their place in my arsenal, but I do love the super soft wash of color I get by doing it this way.  For more intense color (like in a night sky background) the Mini Ink Blending Tools are the way to go.  Next I put a drop of Berry Sorbet Reinker onto an acrylic block and mixed it with a bit of water then splattered drops onto my panel using a #4 Silver Black Velvet Round Brush.  By tapping my paintbrush against another brush handle, it makes splatter really easy and you can sort of predict the general area where it will fall.  After I let that dry for a couple of minutes, I put splatters of Finetec Arabic Gold Mica Watercolor onto the panel using a #8 Silver Black Velvet Round Brush.  Finally I went back in with my #4 brush and some Iridescent Gold Glimmer Mist mixed into a stronger concentration of Berry Sorbet for the more vibrant of the coral splatters.  I've started using another brush to tap against as my hand was really starting to take a beating whacking my paintbrush against it all the time. *Ü* This way is much less painful.  I never thought of doing it that way before Stamp-A-Faire. I set that aside to dry while I worked on the rest of my elements.

I'm thinking this will be a good place to mention that I keep the rinse water in a separate container when I'm using the Finetec Mica Gold Watercolors. My container has a lid that I can leave open slightly so the water can evaporate out of it.  There is so much paint left in the brush when you are using it so I started keeping it several months ago.  I can add a few drops of water to it to mix with a color or to make less concentrated splatter. Most of the rest of the time I am using a tiny drop of reinker with a mist of water on an acrylic block for this technique and I use it up.  Whatever is left, if anything, wipes right off.

Next I  stamped the bloom and the leaves in Versamark Ink on more watercolor paper and heat set it with a gold embossing powder that I made by mixing Simon's Rose Gold with Simon's regular Gold Embossing Powder.  I call this mix "18 Karat" because of it's distinctive Yellow Gold tone.  Next I lightly misted my watercolor paper then stamped one of the detail layers of the bloom and the solid layer of the leaves. With the water on the paper the ink immediately begins to soften and blend.  This technique gives me the look of watercolor without all the time invested.  I enjoy doing it both ways - traditional and this way, but I wanted to make sure I told you how I got this look today. You can lightly mist the inked up stamp also for an even softer blend of color.  I tend to get too liberal with water if I mist both, but everyone should just do whatever works for them.  I die cut the Impression Obsession Butterfly and the "Amazing" from Gold Poster Board. The "Amazing" word came from the Papertrey Ink "It's the Thought" Die Collection. Once my ink splattered background was completely dry, I heat embossed the rest of the sentiment directly on to that panel using the same "18 Karat" Embossing Powder while still leaving room to put the last die cut word on there.

Before I assembled my elements to an A2 Top Folding card made from Berry Sorbet Cardstock, I heat set the background panel and then lightly misted it with Iridescent Gold Glimmer Mist.  This is similar to Tsukineko Gold Shimmer Spritz.  The one I have is from Tattered Angels and isn't made anymore but I still have several bottles in my stash.  Basically, I sprayed it into the air and waved my panel under the falling mist a couple of times.  I wanted to be careful not to undo all my work on the background panel.  Once that was completely dry, I cut it with the largest Simon Says Stamp Stitched Rectangles Die and started putting the card together.  I used Thin 3D Foam Squares for the bloom, the upper part of the leaves and the body of the butterfly and Ranger Multi Medium Matte for the die cut word.  This way it has some dimension but is still easily mailable.

This is a really simple design that I've used before and is similar to a card I made when I was in a class at Altenew Academy with Marika, only there are more splatters here. I really miss seeing her out here in blog land, but she is on to very important work and doesn't have much time for crafting right now.  Thank goodness Yana isn't going anywhere!

Thank you so much for stopping by today and helping me to celebrate my first year as a blogger/cardmaker & sometimes artist.

You Are Awesome ♥

Hello there!  I have to say that I love challenges where we can use the inspirational photo, the sketch or we can combine the two into one card. They are my absolute favorites and I never know which way it will go until I am very nearly finished with my project.

I love the colors in the Sugar Pea Designs 1st Challenge inspiration photo but I also really like the sketch so I wanted to include a little of the sketch into my project as well.  I am inspired by the colors, but they aren't a new combination for me.  My mom bought her house almost 32 years ago and the bathroom has Peach/Coral and Blues. It has always been a lovely combination.  In fact, it is so lovely that Double D Challenges has the same color combination this week. Plus I'll be able to include the CAS Mix Up Challenge using Stamping, Die Cutting and Sprays, Stamping Royalty #332 with Flowers as the theme and Word Art Wednesday which is always Anything Goes. I don't know if I've ever been able to participate in so many challenges with just one card!

When I sat down in my studio yesterday my first project for the day was to create a page header for my blog.  I wanted it to be mine, not just some random text I could put in the little form box.  I'm happy to have that done. I've been thinking about it for a while. While I was sitting at my computer I was thinking about a thank you or encouragement type of card I wanted to make to send to a scrappy friend that lives in Europe.  I use the term "scrappy" because I started as a scrapbooker 20 years ago and those friends were "scrappy" friends. I think most card makers refer to them as "crafty" friends.

This particular person does a lot to share her knowledge and expertise with others who are getting started making cards and her YouTube videos are top notch all the way.  I have followed her blog (and YouTube Channel) from the first time I saw a video that she had done when I got seriously into making cards last year in August. Although English is not her first language, she speaks it incredibly well.  She is on several U.S. design teams and I love her style.  It is classic and elegant even when she is working on something more cutesy.  It's a style I mimic in my own projects.

I was trying to think about the card I would make for her and I wanted it to be different than the things she uses and has access to which meant using a stamp set from Papertrey Ink. Once I did that, it was easy to determine which one I would use; Tulip Time wins out almost every time.

I started with an A2 top folding note card made from Papertrey Ink Rustic White Cardstock. I wasn't sure I would like this cardstock even after it arrived but now I wish I would have ordered the bigger package as I've used it several times and only have about 5 sheets left.  It's a soft white with little flecks of color in it.  It's a nice alternative to crisp bright white without having to go with cream cardstock. It's the one I will use the way other cardmakers use Kraft.  I spritzed two 4.25 x 5.5 inch panels in Sea Glass (a Creative Memories paper) and Berry Sorbet with Tsukineko Sheer Shimmer Spritz and set them aside to dry while I was working on my other elements.

To stamp the Tulips, it definitely called for my MISTI Stamping Tool.  I cut the die cut pieces from Stamper's Select White and then used the negative in the MISTI to hold those pieces in place while I stamped all of the layers.  There are two layers for the leaves and three for the tulips. I used Spun Sugar, Abandoned Coral and Picked Raspberry Distress Inks for the blooms and Papertrey's Vintage Jadeite with Mowed Lawn Distress Ink for the leaves. I grouped them together using a combination of Ranger Multi Medium Matte and Thin 3D Foam Squares. I wanted to get the bow tied around them before I attached the bouquet to the card so that was next.  On the back side of the bouquet, I used a little Glossy Accents to keep the ribbon in place.

I die cut the frame from Spellbinders Labels 42 and Labels 42 Decorative Elements.  You have to have both sets to get the frame but you could also use just the label without the center cut out of it.  Look through the dies you already have to see what you have that would work as a frame or label.

Next I die cut the Sea Glass and Berry Sorbet panels using the largest Simon Says Stamp Stitched Rectangle.  I re-aligned the sea glass panel back into that same die to take a bit more off of 2 sides rather than going down to the next size die. This allows a narrow mat all the way around the panel. Then I started assembling everything to the card base.  I used Scor-Tape (Sookwang Paper Tape) on each of the background panels and adhered them to the card base as well.  For the tulips, I know the person I am sending this too really loves to have dimension on her cards so I used Foam Squares (Thin and Regular) to add dimension to the gold frame, the bouquet, and the little banner across the front.  I die cut the Waffle Flower "Awesome", adhering that and the little heart using Ranger Multi Medium Matte.  The little hearts are the extras I keep in the (real) Vintage Jadeite bowl that sits on my desk.  I use this Mini Hearts Die a lot and there are always extras from that die in my little bowl of leftover pieces.

This finishes up today's post.  Thank you so much for stopping by and I very much appreciate it when you take time to comment.

Color Q & Simon Says Challenges

When I got up this morning, the first thing I checked was the Color Q Blog to see what the new colors were for the new challenge this week.  I love coral and pink so this challenge was one I definitely wanted to participate in.  Plus the new theme for this week over at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog is Flowers.  The colors listed at Color Q are all Stampin' Up! colors but we can use a representation of the colors listed which is what I did.

I started with the Square Label from the Don't Forget to Write Kit cut from Stamper's Select White Cardstock.  This kit has been wildly popular and they are accepting pre-orders for a very limited time -- until May 16 at 7:00 a.m. ET.  The stamps and dies alone make up $80.00 of the cost plus there are many additional items in the kit including stencils & papers and a downloadable PDF File created by the Designer, Betsy Veldman.  Anyway, I love it.

I used the Don't Forget to Write Stamp Set that came in the kit (it is not available for individual purchase) and stamped the corner flourishes and then the striped outline in Papertrey Ink's Berry Sorbet.  I used my MISTI tool so that I could double stamp to intensify the color.  Then I set that aside while I started stamping the bouquet. Since green wasn't one of the colors in the "Queue", I decided to stamp the leaves and stems in Kraft Ink.  I actually really like how this looks and decided this will be a great way to start using up some of my Kraft paper as well. Initially, I wasn't too crazy about the way it looked until I was finished putting all of the other layers of color in. For the large bouquet, there are seven different steps to get the finished product. The colors I used are Sahara Sand (Kraft), Berry Sorbet (Calypso Coral), Hibiscus Burst, Melon Mambo, and Sweet Blush (for Peach Parfait).  The scalloped background panel is from the WPLUS9 Sunshine Layers Designer Dies and is cut from Berry Sorbet Cardstock.  Everything has been misted with a coat of Tsukineko Sheer Shimmer Spritz (of course).  The card base is made from Sahara Sand Cardstock from SU!

I still need some practice at getting each layer of stamping lined up perfectly, but this bouquet turned out pretty well.  I was not as successful with the smaller bouquets on my first attempt so more practice will be needed but it's a sacrifice I am willing to make. *Ü*   I really love how the Kraft color in the bouquet and the card match and tie everything together.

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today.  I'm sure this is just one of many cards you will see me creating from this kit.  There are so many possible ideas and I plan to make a few more before today is over.  Please feel free to leave a comment if you like.  I read and treasure each one.

A Party in a Card

Today's card is a celebration and when I mail it to my girlfriend who lives all the way in Charlotte, NC, I want her to feel like it's a "party in a card."  We are celebrating.  No, it's not her birthday, anniversary or Christmas.  We are celebrating NO MORE CHEMO and I know that is more than enough to make her SMILE!  My sweet friend has endured 18 months of Chemo every three weeks or so.  In October of 2014 after a routine Mammogram, they found Breast Cancer.  After further Testing, they found she is a BRCA Gene Carrier which was previously unknown because she is adopted. And of course, once they knew that, they decided to do not only a mastectomy but also a complete hysterectomy. It's better to be safe than sorry but I've watched this journey and it was hard to watch from the sidelines so I can't imagine living it.  Amanda is and has been so brave.  I wish she were the only friend I had who has been going through this but the important thing is that both of them are survivors.  My other friend still has a ways to go but she will do her last Chemo Treatment next Monday.

To start this card, nothing says festive to me more than some shimmer, sparkle and shine, so I started by spraying some Iridescent Gold Glimmer Mist onto some Papertrey Ink Berry Sorbet Cardstock to create a shimmering background for the Papertrey Ink Cover Plate: Twist cut from Gold Foiled Cardstock.  Since the card stock is not going into a scrapbook, I've started using Gold Foiled Poster Board for my cards.  It's a lot less expensive and I only have to cut it down to a manageable size when I get it home with a decent pair of scissors.  It is frequently on sale for $1.09 at Hobby Lobby and I can use about all of the gold I want with this much less expensive version and I like that option, *Ü*.  It seems like the sheets come maybe 24 x 36 inches, so the equivalent of 5 sheets of 12 x 12 Gold Foiled Cardstock which costs $10.00 for just $1.09.  It works for me!  I attached it to the background panel using Ranger Multi Medium Matte holding it in place for just a few moments to set it.

Next I cut some Memory Box Elegant Leaves and used my embossing mat on them for the 2nd pass.  I arranged them on the left side of the card knowing that I wanted a label or medallion or something to go in the center of them to hold my sentiment.  For this, I ended up using a couple of new-to-me dies from the Papertrey Ink Stamp-A-Faire Renaissance Kit and a Circle Die.  The set I have is from Quickutz several; years ago and there must be a least a dozen different sizes in the set.  I cut the two dies from the kit in Gold Foil and the other in Gold Shimmer Vellum.  I cut another circle out of the Berry Sorbet to place behind it. Then I cut my "smile" sentiment out of gold foil and started adhering the layers. The smile sentiment is from a set of three words that came from Little Yellow Bicycle  and are some of my favorites for their size and their font. I adhered the center medallion using some thin foam squares for just a bit of dimension and gently curved the leaves up around it to give some additional texture.  I adhered the panel to a Standard A2 Top Folding Card Base made from Papertrey Ink's Stamper's Select #110 White Cardstock.

The Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog theme for this week is "Touchy Feely" and my card has lots of dimenion and texture that can be seen and felt.  I have another idea that I hope I can get to this afternoon or tomorrow!