Faux Metal Ombre Card

Hi friends!

I'm popping in to share a technique I finally tried over the weekend. I saw Jennifer McGuire do it about a month or so ago and thought "that looks easy enough!"...and it was! I LOVE this technique! Not only is it super easy to do--but it's also kind of fun to combine colors.

Here's my card:

I LOVE how this card turned out! The part that took the longest? Coloring in the ballerina with Copics...but she's so cute! (Image is from the Online Card Copics Class). Once I had her all colored in, I set her aside and started on the background. I cut a piece of white cardstock and used painters tape to mark off the area I was going to work on. Then, I used Abandoned Coral and Barn Door distress inks. I LOVE how the two colors work together to give an ombre look. It is hard to see in the picture because of the shine but it looks great in real life! While the painter's tape was still on the cardstock, I added some pearl perfect pearls to the area. That gives it an amazing amount of shine! I carefully removed the tape and then used an embossing folder (Divine Swirls) to add texture. I die cut the sentiment from Impression Obsessions and then added some gems to the ballerina's tutu and her hair. As the last touch, I added Wink of Stella on the tulle of the ballerina's tutu. I think she's just beautiful! :)

I'll be entering the card in the following challenges:
Simon Says Monday Challenge--Ombre cards
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge--No designer paper
Word Art Wednesday--Anything Goes! (My favorite kind of challenge!)

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a great rest of the week!
Pat

Purple Copic playtime

Hi everyone!

I'm quickly popping in to share a card with you. I've been trying to turn the coloring I've done into finished cards and this piece has been waiting for a long time. I finally added some touches to it and can share it.

Here's my card:

This Penny Black stamp is one of my favorites to color! It seems like you can color it in any color combination and it'll look amazing--I know, I've tried! :) I stamped it repeatedly with Memento Ink to create this background paper. I'm partial to purple and wanted to try my hand with that color. I added very simple shading to the flowers and leaves. I decided to fill in the white background with a blue sky. Since I had colored the panel so long ago, I realized it needed a little brightening up--it was too dark. So, I decided to try a Kathy Racoosin move and added some white gel pen highlights on the leaves and a few on the flowers. I actually really liked the added contrast and interest it gave the panel. She was right!

To make it into a card, I cut the panel at a diagonal and added a black strip. I thought it needed some contrast again so I used my green Copic marker to make a small strip to go right along that diagonal cut. I used the "Thanks" die from Impression Obsession for the sentiment, too. Finally, I wanted to add just a touch of bling so I took some white pearls and colored them in using the same Copic marker I had used on the strip of paper. It was a perfect match and added a nice touch, too.

I'll be entering the card in the following challenges:
Word Art Wednesday--Anything Goes!
Simon Says Monday Challenge--Use a Stamp
Simon Says Wed. Challenge--No Designer paper

Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by!
Pat

A birdie "Thanks"....

Hi everyone!

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend. I'm popping in to share a card I made this afternoon. I saw a sketch (see picture at the bottom of this post) and immediately knew what I wanted to do with it. Love it when that happens!

Here's my card:

So for this card, it took 3 tries to finally get the masking right. I die cut a circle and used the negative to mask off the "sun". Then, I used some distress inks (squeeze lemonade and spiced marmalade) to ink the sun and put small bits of orange in it. Once the sun was ready, I removed the mask and used the die cut circle to mask the sun again so I could ink the sky. I used broken china and chipped sapphire distress inks for the sky.When I was inking the sun and sky, I thought I had added enough contrast but you can't really see it in the picture. I then used a die cut from Memory Box to mimic a fence. That's how I pictured this little bird (Hero Arts)--on a fence enjoying the day as the sun was starting to set. I colored the bird in with Copics. The sentiment is a simple "Thanks" die cut from Impression Obsession.

I'll be entering the card in the following challenges:
Simon Says Monday Challenge: Love this technique (masking and inking)
Simon Says Wed Challenge: Use a die cut
Sweet Sunday Sketch: Sketch was awesome! See below
A Blog Named Hero: Use a die cut
Word Art Wednesday: Anything Goes!

Thanks for flying by!
Pat

Playing with Bleach in the craft room!

Hi everyone!

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. I wanted to share a card I made with distress inks and bleach. I know bleach was used a lot back in the day but I had never tried it. About a month or so ago, I saw Jennifer McGuire use it (click here to watch her video) and I knew it was time to try it. It's super easy and fun to do!

Here's my card:

So, I started by inking up white cardstock in two distress ink colors. I applied a LOT of ink. Then, using the darker of the distress ink tones, I stamped my image (Teresa Collins) and quickly put clear embossing powder to heat set it. Once the panel was done, I cut it at a diagonal (you can use the other portion for another card) and got my waterbrush pen that was filled with bleach. Once the bleach touches the distress ink, it reactivates the ink and you get a bleached look inside the image. I love the texture of the embossing and the different colors that pop up after you bleach the image. So easy and cool! I finished off the card by adding a silver and black strip along the diagonal and used a Lawn Fawn "thanks" die as the sentiment.


I'll be entering the card here:
Word Art Wednesday--Anything Goes
Simon Says Monday Challenge--Use a Stamp & Punch/Die
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge--Use a Stamp

Thanks for stopping by and have a fantastic week!
Pat

A Musical Birthday

Hi all,

I hope everyone had a lovely week. I'm so glad the weekend is here! I plan on playing in my craft room A LOT! But tonight I'm popping in to share a card.

Here's my card:

I'd been meaning to use my music stamp (Impression Obsession)  for awhile and when I saw the challenge at the CAS-ual Fridays site, I knew it was the perfect chance to use it. I masked off the edges of the card so that only the middle portion was open and then stamped the image. Then, I die cut the sentiment (Impression Obsession). The flower is a die from Simon Says Stamp! (fresh daisy) and it's a favorite of mine. I layered some vellum across the panel and adhered the sentiment. Then, the panel was put on some black cardstock and the card was done.

I'll be entering the card into the following sites:
CAS-ual Fridays--Musical challenge (photo below)
Simon Says Monday Challenge--Use a stamp & die cut
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge--Use a stamp
Word Art Wednesday--Anything Goes

I'm typing this on the eve of September 11. Seems hard to believe that 14 years ago our world changed. Being from New York, it's always a sad day. I knew three people that died in the attacks. One of them I knew well. I always remember Lizzie and picture her singing in church. Take a moment to remember those that gave their lives that day to help others. And continue praying for those families that were directly affected by the attacks. Hug your loved ones....and #neverforget.

Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for stopping by,
Pat

Geometric design and Copic markers

Hi all,

I'm popping in to share a card that is very different for me. I received the background stamp as a gift and wasn't sure if I'd ever use it. Turns out, I really like it--even though coloring it all in took some time.

Here's my card:

You know how making cards for guys can be a challenge sometimes? Geometric designs work really well for masculine cards! I showed this to my husband and he really liked it. The stamp (Hero Arts--Lines) actually covers the whole card but I cut it at a diagonal to give it more interest. Once all the coloring was done, I stamped the sentiment (Inkadinkadoo) and added a few more strips to anchor the card a bit and then added gems. That was it! I wish I could say it was a "quick" card but the coloring does take awhile. However, once you are done with the coloring, you can actually cut the panel and make 2 cards with it.

I'll be entering the card into the following sites:
Virginia's View--Use a geometric shape (photo below)
Word Art Wednesday--200th Anything Goes Challenge
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge--Use a stamp

Have a great rest of the week and thanks for stopping by!
Pat

Hero Arts Ombre Ink fun

Hi all!

Well, I waited and waited to try the Hero Arts Ombre Inks and I finally got one. Actually, I played with the first ink and then ran out and bought 2 more ombre ink pads! :) They are amazing and I am having so much fun playing with them....

Here's my card:

Seriously, stamping this was SUPER easy because of the ombre ink! I used the MISTI stamp tool so that I could re-ink the stamp if necessary. I'm glad I used it because I did want the image to be a little darker and stamping it twice made the image pop even more. It also helped eliminate the initial streaking that I got when I stamped the first time. The stamp is from Teresa Collins (Fabrications) and it's great for a male card or as a really graphic background. I trimmed the sides and put the panel on black cardstock. Then I used 2 strips of DCWV silver glitter paper and added that on the sides. For the sentiment, I used the "Happy" set from Simon Says Stamp! and heat embossed the sentiment in white. Super easy card to make but so striking at the same time. If you are contemplating getting these inks--get them! They're amazing!

I'll be entering the card in the following sites:
Simon Says Wed. Challenge--Make it Colorful
CAS(E) this Sketch--I used their sketch for inspiration. LOVED the sketch! See below.
Word Art Wednesday--Anything Goes. LOVE this site!

Thanks for stopping by!
Pat

Thinking of You in hard times....

Hi friends!

I'm popping in to quickly share a card I made for someone that many of us crafters know, if only by name--Heidi Swapp. As many of you may have heard, her son died earlier this summer. I'm sure she received many cards but I wanted to let her know that she and her family were in our thoughts and prayers, too.

Here's my card:

This card took several days to complete...not because it's THAT complicated--but because I just couldn't figure out if I liked it or not! I decided to try a technique I'd learned from Jennifer McGuire years ago. This particular stamp from Penny Black (Blissful) is a reverse image stamp and I usually loves those because they're great for inking up. I began by stamping a "friend" text stamp to the background (Hero Arts) in brown. I then took the Blissful stamp and stamped that in Versamark embossing ink and heat embossed it with clear powder. So, you have a text background with a clear embossed image on top. I try to use the stamp as a guide to know where the flowers are and where the leaves are so that I can color those accordingly but it's a little tricky. I used my distress inks to start adding color to the image. It's colorful but I wasn't sure I liked it. So, I made a frame, inked it the same distress ink I used for the leaves (mowed lawn) and stamped the sentiment (Hero Arts) on a dark cardstock. I added 3 loops of twine behind the frame and added some Wink of Stella to the frame and to the flowers. Once the frame was in place, the card seemed to work. Now the focus wasn't the colorful background but the frame seemed to balance the card a bit. I ended up really liking how it turned out. It's one of my favorite techniques because of the colorful inking you can do with it. Hope you will give it a try!

I'll be entering the card into the following challenges:
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge--Make it Colorful
Just Add Ink--Spring flowers (inspiration photo at the bottom of the post)
V's Sweet Ideas--Technique Time
Word Art Wednesday--Anything Goes

Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for stopping by!
Pat