April Showers

We are close to the end of April but I am sure that rain is still in the forecast for many parts of our audience.  The challenge for the next fortnight at Ruby's Rainbow Challenges is April Showers.  The Design Team has created some lovely cards, so do stop by the blog and leave some love!

I found this lovely House Mouse image that not only incorporates the April Showers but also depicts the May Flowers with the sweet Dandelion umbrella that Monica is holding to protect her from the rain.  I continue to practice with my new colors of Chameleon pens.  It is so much fun to have a palette of 50 colors to choose from!

1.     Spritz Goosebumps on Bristol weight board and set aside to dry.

2.     Stamp Stampendous' Rain Flower image in Memento Tuxedo Black on Bristol weight board and color with the following Chameleon pens using different fuse times to change the tone of the ink.  NU2 Light Pink, CG5 Cool Grey 5, YL2 Summer Sun, BL2 Baby Blue, and YG3 Spring Meadow.

3.     Die cut image with Elizabeth Crafts Designs Stitched Circles.

4.     Highlight rain drops with irRESISTable Pico Embellisher in Shimmer and set aside to dry.

5.     Die cut Spellbinders Classic Scalloped Circle from yellow cardstock.  Die cut Sizzlets Tag, Crescent from Bristol board and yellow cardstock.

6.     Stamp sentiment on tag in Versa Magic Aegean Blue and heat emboss with clear embossing powder using Technique Tuesdays Say It Hugs and Say It Happy sets.  Adhere yellow backing tag and add an eyelet.  Loop three strands of baker’s twine through the eyelet.

7.     Apply Versa Magic Aegean Blue to Goosebumps background with an ink dauber.

8.     Wrap baker’s twine around background and secure, and adhere sentiment tag.

9.     Trim yellow background and adhere to A6 card base and use dimensional adhesive to adhere background.  Adhere image backed with scalloped circle background 

Have some fun and create a project that depicts April showers and share it with us at Ruby’s Rainbow Challenges!

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Aloha Friday #70 April Showers bring May flowers

Crazy 4 Challenges #333 April Showers bring May flowers

Sassy Studio Designs #330 Tic-Tac-Toe (Faux stitching, flowers, sentiment)

Double D Challenges April showers bring May flowers

Custom Colored Vellum

Vellum is the perfect medium to be colored with Memento inks to create a custom colored and stamped design.  Two coordinating colors of Memento inks provide a clean and simple design that can be modified to fit any occasion.  Use a matching die set to make a “chipboard” accent in the perfect hue to complete the card.  Please stop by the Imagine Crafts blog for the quick tutorial!

 

Have fun with this technique and create a few cards to share with your friends.

Sketch challenge at Retro Rubber

We have a Clean and Simple sketch for our challenge for the next two weeks at Retro Rubber Blog Challenge.  Please stop by the blog and check out the lovely creations of the Design Team.

I was inspired by a post by a fellow Artist In Residence for Imagine Crafts, Nadine Carlier, to try a new technique with Kaleidacolor ink and Ink Potion No. 9.  This made for a very quick but elegant card.

 

1.     Trim white card stock to 3 3/4" x 5" and ink with ink blusher and Berry Blaze Kaleidacolor.

2.     Spirtz Ink Potion No. 9 on craft mat and stamp image on mat to pick up Ink Potion No. 9.  Stamp along bottom edge of card stock.  A watermark style image will appear.  JudiKins Relish Bollio from before 2004 was used for this card.  Heat set with embossing tool.

3.     Ink the image area with Versa Mark Dazzle, heat emboss with clear embossing powder.

4.     Draw a line with Versa Mark Pen and heat emboss with silver embossing powder. 

5.     Stamp Hero Arts It's Your Day sentiment (2015) in Versa Mark Dazzle and heat emboss with silver embossing powder.

6.     Spritz panel with Shimmer Spray in Sparkle and set aside to dry.  It is difficult to see in a photograph the beautiful shimmer of this card.

7.     Trim white card stock to 4" x 5 1/4" and ink edges with Versa Mark Dazzle and heat emboss with silver embossing powder.

8.     Adhere edged panel to an A2 size white card stock base and mount second panel with dimensional foam adhesive.

This was a fun card to quickly create and I appreciate the inspiration of a great sketch and a fun new technique.  Do give a try at this challenge and join the fun over at Retro Rubber Blog Challenge!

I would like to enter my card in the following challenges:

Crafting When We Can #117 Birthday

MFP #17 Purple

Polkadoodles Week 16 Swirls and Flourishes (in the stamp design)

Cards In Envy Another Year Older

Purple, my favorite color!

 Our challenge at Ruby’s Rainbow Challenges for the next fortnight is to make a project using your favorite color.  If you know me, you know that purple has been my favorite color since I was a child.  My wedding colors were royal purple and red at Christmas time.  I have a number of purple clothing items both for winter and summer!  I do love me some purple!  Any hue of purple will do as my card demonstrates.  Stop by Ruby’s Rainbow Challenges and check out all of the wonderful creations of the Design Team and the variety of favorite colors.

Instructions:

1.     Recollections Purple Passion collection has 5 colors of coordinated cardstock that were die cut using the Heartfelt Creations Layered Swirl.   After each layer is die cut they are adhered together with temporary adhesive and the excess edges are trimmed off.

2.     The top layer is pressure embossed with Cuttlebut D’vine Swirl.  Two sections of cardstock are trimmed to a 1” width and scored down the center.  These are adhered between the layers on the front and back to create the card that swings open from the center. 

3.     A section trimmed to 1 ¼” is punched with Martha Stewart’s loops border punch.   Another strip is trimmed to create a band to hold the card closed.  All layers are adhered together with permanent adhesive. 

4.     Heartfelt Creations Vintage Floret is die cut, stamped with Versa Magic Cloud White and heat embossed with white embossing powder, and then shaped into flowers. 

5.     Boxer Scrapbooking’s “Happy Birthday” is stamped in Memento Luxe Elderberry.

Shhhhh, but some lucky sister will get this card for her birthday!  She likes purple too!  So make a project with your favorite color and link it up at Ruby's Rainbow Challenges!

I would like to enter my card in the following challenges:

Scrapbook Stamp Society  #89 AG with Flowers

Stamps & Fun = Creativity #276 Birthday

Penny Black and More Birthday’s

Allsorts Challenge #358 Purple Passion

Everybody Art Challenge #364 Birthday

Tuesday Throwdown #289 Use your Die Cuts

It’s Raining!

Well not really here in Central Oregon, and in other parts of the country it is snowing . . . but I am sure it is raining somewhere!  Along the I-5 corridor in Oregon and Washington is a good bet!  At any rate it is the the theme for Retro Rubber Blog Challenge for the next two weeks.  Do go check out the fun cards created by the Design Team.  Just a few housekeeping details as well, we were not able to consider a few of the lovely cards in the last challenge as some of the rules were not followed.  Please read the rules here and then join us in this challenge!

I have very few stamps that are the rainy day theme, probably because I have lived the majority of my life where rain is frequent and it’s not my favorite weather condition?  I used to say in the winter when I lived in the Willamette Valley, if it is raining here then at least it is snowing in the mountains for skiing!  Now I live in the sunny high dessert of Central Oregon.  Can’t complain!

I recently received my shipment of 30 Chameleon pens that I ordered way back in October  or November.  They had a successful crowd funding to get the new colors to market and I am loving them!   This project was perfect to try out my new color selections!

Directions:

1.     Stamp Fiskars Layer Away Variety (about 2010?) in Memento Bamboo Leaves on Bristol weight board 100 lb.  This weight of cardstock holds up better to alcohol makers and glossy accents. 

2.     Stamp Posh Impressions by Rubber Stampede grass (1995) in Memento Bamboo Leaves.  Stamp the image on a post-it note and fussy cut to create a mask.  Mask first image and stamp a second to complete grassy area. 

3.     Mask grass image and stamp Daisy Kingdom’s Bear with an umbrella stamp (circa 1988!) in Memento Tuxdedo Black.

4.     Stamp Studio G’s Flowers (~ 2008) and Rubber Stampede’s mini butterfly (~1998) in Memento Tuxdedo Black to complete the scene.

5.     Color scene with Chameleon pens in the following colors:  GR1 Green, OL3 Olive Green, NU4 Neutral Grey 4, PK4 Peony Pink, PK5 Fuchsia, NU0 Sand, NU4 Caramel, BR3 Hot Cocoa, YL3 Summer Sun, YO2 Mellow Yellow.  Most coloring was done in full tone, with a few fuses to lighten up the color on the body of the butterfly and to variegate the color in the grass.

6.     Stamp Studio G’s “Hello” sentiment in Memento Danube blue.  Mask stamp Fiskars Layer Away Variety in Memento Bamboo Leaves around one corner and repeat on the second corner to create a matching frame.

7.     Stamp and fussy cut masks for the bear and butterfly images and place over images.  Use an InkBlusher and a cloud stencil to create a cloudy sky.  Memento Grey Flannel and Danube Blue were a great color combo for this purpose.  I used an old Fairytale Creations Chalk Talk stencil for my clouds.

8.      Ink the edges of the base card with Memento Bamboo Leaves and an InkBlusher.

9.     Trim each of the images and the patterned paper (very old out of my stash!) to fit the front of the card.  Tie a length of yellow sheer ribbon around the sentiment panel. Back the images with pink cardstock and adhere the card together.

10.  Add Wet Looks or another product like Glossy Accents to the umbrella, rain hat, raincoat, and boots to make them shiny.  Set aside to dry.

Come and join the fun at Retro Rubber Blog Challenge and enter your own It’s Raining project!

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges.

Dragonfly Journeys #51 April Showers

The Craft Barn April Showers

Simon Says Stamp and Show April Showers Bring May Flowers

Memento Ink + Wafer Thin Die = Fifteen Minute Card

Today over at Imagine Crafts Blog this fun card and technique are being featured.  Do stop by and check out the tutorial!

Sometimes we just need a really quick hand-made card, and this technique is perfect for just that purpose.  Key pointers for this technique include selecting a die set that is symmetrical with an outline and inner section and to use one Memento Ink that is lighter than the second Memento Ink.  Have fun with this easy beginner technique that creates charming rustic results in just minutes!  I have made a stack of cards to use for the end of the school year to give to my son’s teachers.  Happy crafting!