Busy Busy Holidays

This weekend has been another extremely busy one, but I was able to work on cards for a while, yesterday and completed three challenges at MFPSpeedyTV.

This one is the Simple Salutations Challenge that was to include a fruit or vegetable.  I went with pumpkins, though a different color than normal.  (My husband had no idea what they were.)

 

The papers were all given to me by a friend and I have no idea what company makes them, but I really like the tans, greens and teals in them.  The ink of the sentiment is Teal Zeal (Memento).  The tag is from the Fancy Tags set (Spellbinders).  The sentiment is from the Fall Foliage set (Gina K.).  The pumpkins were done with dry embossing using a Lasting Impressions template and cutting the pieces out.

This next one is for the Speedy Fox and Friends Challenge using pumpkins.  The pumpkins are the same template.  Sentiment is from the same set.  Ink is Bamboo Leaves (Memento).  Ribbon on both is Celebrate It 360.  The tag on this one is Ribbon Labels Two (Spellbinders).  Paper is from the same bunch, just different papers.

 

This last one is the Tutorial Time challenge on Faux Bricks.  I love this one and will probably do it again when I have time to play a bit.

 

The poinsettias on this are from two sets, the Year of Flowers (Gina K.) and Holiday Basket (Gina K.).  The sentiment and it’s frame are from the Seasonal Labels set (Gina K.).  I embossed the flowers with pink embossing powder, then inked using a sponge and Ladybug (Memento).  Afterwards, I used a gold glitter pen to fill in the berries in the centers.  I also used a clear glaze pen (Sakura) to highlight the sentiment and the beads surrounding it.  The bricks were made with Red Brick and Walnut distress inks (Ranger), then I used Glossy Accents (Inkssentials) to give it some shine.

Now, I’m off to help my husband put stuff away and continue putting the bathroom back together.  Thanks for spending some time with me!

All Cracked Up

The Cracked Glass technique is fun, fairly easy to do and gives you an intriguing look.

To do this, you will need an image on card stock (mine was a bit thin for this, so the thicker the better), some embossing ink and a heat tool.

First you want to stamp and color your image.

Next you want to cut out your image.  I used Spellbinders Nestabilities to cut out mine.

I also embossed them so I would have a small edge to grasp.  Then you want to cover your image with embossing ink or Versamark ink and cover that with clear embossing powder.  I used the Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel so I wouldn’t have to do so many coats.

Now, use your heat tool and melt the embossing powder.  While it is still wet/hot, press it into a pile of embossing powder and heat again.  Do this a few times to build up your layer, so it looks like it is covered in glass.

Now, after it is completely cool, you can flex the card stock to crack the glass.  It cracks best when you are bending the card stock towards itself with the embossing on the outside.  Some people tell you to put it in the freezer for 10 minutes, which does help it crack easily.

My pieces seem to have wet spots on the card stock, which is what happens when it gets too hot.  That is why I suggest using a thicker card stock.

I then put my cards together.  I was working on two masculine cards, which is why I chose the images I used, as well as thinking they would look good with this technique.  Here’s what I came up with:

My dirt road turned out a bit wider than I needed, but was still fun.  I took a piece of paper grocery sack, cut it to the size I needed, then crumpled it up, straightened it, then did it again.  The plants are from the Follow Your Dreams set by Gina K. Stamps.  The sentiment and car image are from the Stamp Set 285 – 1900 Cars by Sparkle N Sprinkle.

For this one, the impression on the card is the Flourish Impressabilities by Spellbinders.  The image is from the Gleefully Yours set by Gina K. Stamps.  I wrote the sentiment.  Inside it says, “Every generation gets there.  You’re getting closer.  Happy Birthday”.  It is for one of the guys at work that is in his early 30s and now has two little girls.  Hopefully he gets a laugh out of it.

For more examples of this technique, go check out the challenge and tutorial at MFP Speedy TV.

Thanks for spending some time with me today!

Heat Embossing in Color

One of the challenges at SpeedyTV was to use heat embossing.  That is easy enough.  There is another challenge at StampTV to use bright pink.  Hmmm, that sounded like a good one to put together.

I used Passionate Pink layering weight card stock for the bright pink on a layer of Innocent Pink layering weight card stock, then embossed with pink embossing powder.  The flower is from the stamp set “A Year Of Flowers” illustrated by Melanie Muenchinger.  The sentiment is from the “Elegant Post” set illustrated by Nina Brackett.  The ribbon is some from the Holiday Noel set by Celebrate It.  To make the card, I cut a piece of Passionate Pink to 4″ by 5 1/4″ and then used VersaMark ink to stamp the flower all over it and emboss with the pink embossing powder.  I took a small piece of the same color card and embossed the sentiment and another flower.  I cut out the flower and cut down between the petals so I could add some shape.  The sentiment was layered on white and then cut around.  Then I adhered it all together.  I like the look of the light pink on the bright pink for this one.

Well, I have been wanting to use my glow-in-the-dark embossing powder and I thought it would work really well for eyes on black card stock.  Couldn’t think of quite how I wanted to do that, so I used some dark green and stamped two different sizes of dragonflies with VersaMark ink and used my fun embossing powder.  I thought this would work better, but the textured green card stock I used wasn’t quite right for stamping on, and I figured the embossing powder would show up the slightly yellowish/greenish color.  Nope.  This is what I wound up with.

You can slightly see the dragonflies and you can read the sentiment if you look at it straight on.  At an angle, parts of the sentiment don’t really show up well.  Oh well, now I know.  The dragonflies look great in the dark, but then you can’t see the sentiment.  How best to use this embossing powder is going to take some more thought.  Did have fun making the cards, though.  And, it goes with a different challenge at StampTV for making a card that stands up by itself.  Well, it was supposed to be an easel card, but I wanted to switch it up a bit.

Thanks for spending some time with me today!

Masking Large Areas

There is a technique challenge on Speedy TV this week that involves masking a large part of your card and stamping and inking in shades of the same color.  I’ve done something similar before, but not with three shades of the ink.

I didn’t want straight edges for my masked area as I decided to go with a sea theme, so I used an edger on my mask pieces, then attached those to my front piece and got started.

First was heat embossing with clear/white embossing powder the image a few times.  Next was inking the area with the lightest color of ink.  Then I stamped a couple of sentiments with the medium color of ink.  I also stamped the image a couple of times with the medium ink.  Then I shaded a bit with the medium ink.  At this point, I thought it looked pretty good.  However, after shading a bit with the darkest ink, it added a whole new depth to the area.  Then the masks were removed, I rubbed the area with a dry paper towel to remove the ink from the embossing and then I stamped the final image part on this area and part in the area that had been covered.  This was done with the medium ink as was the main sentiment.

Thought it turned out pretty well.  This is for my husband for Father’s Day.  Without him, raising the kids would have resulted in . . . who knows, but it wouldn’t have been good.  So glad he has been here to help me through it all.  I love that man, even when he frustrates me.

Thanks for spending some time with me today!  Oh, go check out the challenge and play along.  It was easy, fun and there are so many ways to use it.  You have until Thursday night or Friday to play along, too.