The Hands of Time - Celebrating 2013

I'm so happy to be celebrating the year 2013 as it was a banner year for one of my favorite non-floral stamp sets, Hands of Time. There's also a Clock Face Die and Hands of Time Die, each available separately. This set is so classic and elegant and I love using it.


I love clocks, especially ones that have Roman Numerals!  The particular clock image that I used today normally requires multiple stampings to get all of the numbers and other details stamped onto it. The set includes a smaller clock than only requires two stamps to get the clock face and numbers done, but I wanted to use the bigger one today.  I usually like bigger and bolder graphics.

I wanted to make a card in different colors from the one I posted on my blog back on January 29, 2016 which was done in pink and coral and definitely had a feminine feel to it.  To start today's card, I did ink blending using Distress Inks in Cracked Pistachio, Peacock Feathers and Blueprint Sketch on Canson Bristol Watercolor Paper. Once I had the ink blending done I gave it a little spritz with some Tsukineko Sheer Sparkle Shimmer Spritz. and then heat set it for a minute to let that dry since I was planning to heat emboss the clock.  Distress inks tend to stay a bit wetter than some other inks and I wanted clean, crisp embossing. Once I was sure it was dry, I stamped the clock face in Versamark and heat Embossed it with Ranger Gold Tinsel Embossing Powder.  Each of the Roman numerals for the large clock face are stamped individually if you are using an acrylic block. But since I last stamped them last year, I have acquired a MISTI Stamping Tool which let me lay all of the numbers down in their place, pick them up with the door of the MISTI and then ink them up all at once with Versamark. Once I stamped them, I heat embossed in the Gold Tinsel Embossing Powder.  This took much less time than lining up each Roman Numeral one at a time and stamping it.  In fact, it was so easy, I'm thinking I might do another one of these yet today.

Next I cut the Hands of Time Die which gives you the clock hands and stamped the sentiment then heat embossed it. The sentiment reads, "Time allows the heart to grow fonder".  I die cut the panel with a stitched rectangle and mounted it to a Dark Indigo Card Base. Like Black or White, Navy is another classic. Anytime I use a dark colored card base, I put a light colored panel on the inside to write on. It makes for a nice finishing touch.

This card was so simple it seemed like I was cheating to make this beautiful card. That is one of the things I like most about Papertrey Ink - their stamps are very much my style and have a classic and timeless appeal.  The kits are the same way but are even easier with their coordinating papers.  Effortless is a good way to describe their stamp sets.

I hope you've enjoyed this card.  It's not a new design but rather a timeless one. Be sure to stop over at the Papertrey Ink (Nichole Heady's) Blog to see all of the gorgeous projects from the Design Team and customers as well.  Thank you so much for stopping by today and I hope you'll come back soon.

Papertrey Ink Make it Monday #271 - A La Carte

Card by ©Anna Kossakovskaya

Card by ©Diana K

For this week's Make It Monday #271, we can choose any of the previous year's techniques to create our card. I chose Betsy Veldman's Make it Monday #269: Embossed and Outlined Backgrounds.  I was happy with the project I did initially, but I was over the moon for these two cards that were entered into the challenge from other card makers I wanted to create my own version.  I love the soft color both of these ladies used, and I wanted to try that although I didn't success nearly as well. Well I did, but I couldn't get an accurate photograph so I applied more color.  One of the best things about card making is that there are so many incredible "artists" out there to inspire you. That is what both of these ladies did for me.

Hands of Time is one of my favorite Papertrey Ink Stamp Sets but I also love the soft pink Diana used so my intent was to try to make one card incorporating both things. Most card makers would not claim to be artists although some do have an art background.  But many more (just like me) are just trying to make something lovely to send to a friend or loved one. It's the personal, "made for you" touch that folks like more than it's about the artwork.

For my card, I stamped the clock faces from Hands of Time onto watercolor paper using Versamark and heat set it using Ranger Gold Embossing Powder. Next I stamped the hands of the clocks and finally the greeting.  I carefully went around the clock faces with a C1 Copic Marker which is the lightest grey. Initially I used a light pink Copic Marker, but I like the contrast of the neutral grey better. Once that was done, I used a Mini Ink Blending Tool to add Lovely Lady Ink to the panel being careful to preserve the soft white color of the clock faces.  Once the ink was dry, I gave it all a good spritz with Tsukineko Sparkle Sheer Shimmer Spritz.  For the clock faces, I added a heavier concentration of shimmer by using my Wink of Stella Glitter Brush Pen and put a pearl at the center of the hands on both clock faces.  This made for a fast and easy card that has high impact.

Be sure to stop over and visit the Papertrey Ink Blog!  Today is Day 2 of posts from the Design Team for Release Week and there's lots to check out over there. This is my last post before CHA as we are doing a bit of visiting with our Kansas friends as well as some sight-seeing on our way to Phoenix.  I have two more blog posts for the "Designer in the Spotlight" on the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog for January 2017 that I hope you'll enjoy; one next Wednesday, January 18th and another on Wednesday, January 25th.  I hope you'll come back.  Meanwhile, I'll be posting photos once CHA starts!  Make sure to follow me on Instagram to see everything.  I'm excited to meet other card makers there. I can't wait to see what awaits us all in 2017 and I'm pretty sure Tim Holtz will be the first booth I check out once I get there.  I've been watching his sneak peeks on Facebook Live all week and can't wait to see the products in person. Have a great rest of the week everyone!

April 2016 Papertrey Ink Blog Hop

Today is the Monthly Blog Hop for Papertrey Ink and I spent a considerable amount of time figuring out my project for today.  Nichole always has the most interesting inspiration photos for us to launch our projects from and this month is no exception!

Inspiration Photo

Astronomy Chart

The image on the left is our inspiration photo. It made my head spin with all the different possibilities I can see in it. Do you see pulley's and gears, clock faces, medallions, kaleidoscopes, astronomy charts or something else entirely? It could be the center of the universe, the center of an eye or probably a hundred other things.  There's no wrong or right answer it's all about perspective.

For me, as soon as I saw the inspiration image, I thought of Mehndi Medallions and Hands of Time.  Ultimately, I couldn't choose between them so I incorporated both into this card along with the Mehndi Medallions Mini Stamp Set.

For this card I started by doing ink blending using Ranger Mini Ink Blending Tools on a 4.25 x 5.5 inch piece of Canson Bristol Watercolor Paper with Lavender Moon, Hibiscus Burst and Plum Pudding.  Once I had the color applied, I misted it with Tsukineko Sheer Shimmer Spritz which has quite a bit of moisture in it and helps the inks to blend and move on the watercolor paper, giving a softer blended line where the color changes not to mention that gorgeous sparkle. Twinkling Paper is my trademark afterall. *Ü*

Once the ink blended panel was completely dry, I used both clock faces from Hands of Time Stamp Set and some of the smaller medallions from the Mehndi Medallions Set.  I stamped with Versamark and heat set using Ranger Gold Tinsel Embossing Powder.  This embossing powder has gold glitter in it so no matter what you are using it on, it looks rich and regal.

I also misted a piece of Lavender Moon Cardstock for the mat to the watercolor panel. Funny thing about the Lavender Moon Cardstock --  It's more pink than purple.  Both of these were die cut with the largest of the Simon Says Stamp Stitched Rectangle Dies.  To get the smaller frame, I carefully realign the paper into the die and cut again making it just slightly smaller than the original frame but bigger than the next size die.

I cut the "Awesome" word from a Waffle Flower Die using gold foil poster board which is all I ever use anymore because it is so cost effective.  I talked about this in a previous post here.

Like many before me, Heat Embossing was my "aha" moment in Stamping and Card Making and I try to incorporate that as often as possible into my cards.  You can find embossing powder in a vast array of colors but I use Gold most often.  I like both Gold and Gold Sparkle Embossing Powders followed by Platinum and Platinum Sparkle.

I'll be adding this image over on the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog for their theme of "Show Us Your Metal" and their Wednesday Challenge Blog for "Make It Girly".

Thanks for joining me on the Papertrey Ink Monthly Blog Hop.  I love reading your comments if you'd like to leave one and I hope you'll come back soon to see another project.

The Hands of Time

I have been in a Watercolor Class this week and I was so ready to make a card today when I finished with the lesson.  I didn't do much homework but class doesn't conclude until next Friday.

It should come as no surprise that when I sat down today to make a card, I chose pink (SU Rose Red) and coral (Simon Says Stamp Teeny Bikini) as my color choices.  I grabbed a piece of Canson Bristol Watercolor Card Stock and a couple of Mini Ink Blending Tools.  Lots of card makers just use white card stock to do this but I love the way the inks blend on the watercolor paper and I just can't get this good of an effect with card stock. This is about my favorite way to make a background panel.  I love the softness and the blend that I am able to achieve by using a bit of water to help the color along.  It doesn't take much effort and I don't have the patience to wait and see what happens by dabbing at it with multiple watercolors.

I inked up the background corner to corner with both in the middle and used a few mists of water to blend.  I use a solution of alcohol and water which speeds up this process.  Once it's dry from that, I stamped my Papertrey Ink Hands of Time clock image using Versamark and heat set it with Ranger Gold Tinsel Embossing Powder.  I forgot to use an embossing buddy or powder tool, but I took a dry brush to clean up the area where there was a bit extra. Thankfully, that only happened in one small place or I would have had to start over. *Ü*

I'd love to be able to tell you that the clock face has all those numbers on it, but it doesn't.  The stamp set does include each of the Roman Numerals so I carefully stamped them one by one.  I stamped 4 at a time, then put the Tinsel Embossing Powder on and heat set it, then moved on to the next 4.  I did mess one number up so I scraped it off with my palette knife, put more powder tool on it and re-stamped it. I can tell where it is, but I'm pretty sure no one getting a handmade card will notice.  They just enjoy the fact that you think enough of them to spend the time making a card.

The sentiment on this card is also two separate pieces so I laid the stamps face down on my card to see where they would fit, then picked them up with my acrylic block and stamped them in Versamark, again using Ranger Gold Tinsel Embossing Powder to heat set them. The hands of the clock are included with the stamps but I also got the Hands of Time Dies which are slightly larger, so I cut them with a scrap of Metallic Gold Foil Card Stock.

I cut my background panel with my favorite Simon Says Stamp Stitched Rectangle in the largest size and started assembling everything.  In photography, there is the rule of thirds that you should pretty much always use and I've found the same to be true in card making.  So my clock time is set using the rule of thirds.  For whatever reason, this is the most visually pleasing to most people. I poked a hole at the center of the hands for a tiny gold brad then mounted the background panel onto a PTI Stamper's Select White A2 card base.

This certainly isn't the most difficult card I've ever made, but I love how it came out.  I also love that it is flat for mailing.  I tend to mostly make things that are easily mailable so that I can send more cards rather than spending a fortune on postage and not being able to send as many.  Everyone loves to get a personal note in the mail.  This is an irrevocable truth.

I'll be entering this card over at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog this week for the "Anything Goes" Challenge.  I still have a few valentines to make so hopefully I'll be back here with one or two more before the weekend is over.
 
Thanks for stopping by today.  I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!