Fabulous Diploma Bella

Inspiration

For a young lady graduating from junior college, and overcoming challenges along the way…  I wanted her to know how proud we all are!  I picked the diplomabella stamp from Stamping Bella just for her.

You’ll see in the ingredients I used 2 kinds of black ink.  Since I colored the image with COPICs, I used an ink that won’t smear – the Graphite Black Brilliance pigment ink gives a sharp clear image that is “smear proof” as long as you let it dry.  I used my old standby black dye ink from Stampin’ Up! for the sentiment.

Ingredients

CARDSTOCK: Sahara Sand(SU!), Bashful Blue(SU!), So Saffron(SU!), Darling Dots designer series paper(SU!); Paper basics White (PaperTreyink)

STAMPS: DimplomaBella(Stamping Bella), Absolutely Fabulous(SU!)

INK: Brilliance Graphite Black (Tsukineko); Basic Black(SU!)

ACCESSORIES:  COPIC markers (0, C1, C3, C5, C7, 100, E000, E00, E55, E57, Y17, Y21, G21, B41) (Imagination International); paper flower (Imaginisce); blue button(SU!); lace border punch(SU!); Prism green embroidery floss(DMC); Zots glue dots (ThermOWeb); Scor-Pal; Adhesive Transfer Gun 714 (Scotch); Rotary trimmer with straight blade(Fiskars)

Instructions

BASE CARD: Cut a piece of sand cardstock measuring 8 1/2” x 5 1/2”, and score it in the middle at 4 1/4”.

LAYERS: Cut a piece of blue cardstock measuring 5 1/4” x 3 3/4”, and punch one long side with the lace border punch.

Cut a piece of patterned paper, measuring 5” x 2 3/4”.

Cut a piece of yellow paper measuring 3 1/2” x 2 1/2”.

IMAGE: Cut a piece of white paper measuring 3 1/4” x 2 1/4”.

Stamp the diplomabella image using the black pigment ink on the white cardstock, and set aside.  It’s important for this to dry thoroughly – the COPICS will smear the ink if it’s not completely dry.  If you’re in a hurry you can heat it with a heat gun before you color the image with the COPICs.

TAG: Cut a piece of yellow cardstock measuring 2 1/2” x 1”; and a white strip measuring 2 1/4” x 3/4”.  Stamp the sentiment using the black dye ink.  Mount the white centered on the yellow.

FLOWER: Using an embroidery needle, thread through the button into the flower from the top, and come back through.  Tie a square not across the top of the button.

ASSEMBLY: Assembly is easy – simply mount each layer using adhesive.  Then add the tag at an angle below the image, and mount the flower with the glue dots.

INSIDE: For the inside, I used a simple “Congratulations” stamp from Hero Arts, stamped in black dye ink.

Thanks for stopping by!

Changes in Latitude, Changes in Attitude

Inspiration

Early in April, I received a request for a “Jimmy Buffett” beach birthday card.  We wanted to create the feel of a tropical get away even though we still had FREEZING temperatures in Dallas in April!

I used real shells I picked up a couple of years ago on the shores of Panama City, FL, and a sand-patterned paper to get the beach effect.

Ingredients

CARDSTOCK: Tempting Turquoise (SU!), Very Vanilla, (SU!), DSP (SU!), patterned paper – sand (DCWV)

STAMPS: All Night Media

INK: Basic Black (SU!)

ACCESSORIES: Prisma Color pencils; Gamsol; Paper stubs; Sea Shells; glue; Scor-Pal; Foam tape; Adhesive Transfer Gun 714 (Scotch); Rotary trimmer with straight and deckle blades (Fiskars)

 

Instructions

BASE CARD: Cut a turquoise card measuring 4 1/4” x 11”, and score it in half at 5 1/2”.

MAT LAYER: Cut a rectangle of the patterned paper measuring 4” x 5 1/4” using the deckle blade. Mount it on the front of the base card.

BEACH LAYERS: Cut 2 right triangles of the printed sand paper using the deckled blade. These triangles are the same size (4” on the long edge, and 1” on the vertical side), and they are cut to be mounted facing each other as shown. Mount the left triangle first flat on the patterned paper, then use foam tape to mount the right triangle to create some dimension to the scene.

PALM TREE: Stamp the palm tree image twice on the vanilla paper, using black ink. Color the image using colored pencils and use Gamsol and paper stubs to blend the color. Trim the images – one including the tree trunk, and the second using only the top of the tree. Mount the tree with trunk flat on the left triangle of sand, and the second tree top using foam tape to create dimension.

FINAL EMBELLISHMENT: Add small seashells below the tree using a clear-drying glue.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Geranium Basket for Mother’s Day

Inspiration

I took a class on blending with COPIC markers a couple of weeks ago.  It was taught be Jen Del Muro (i{heart}2stamp.com).  She showed us this fun stamp from My Favorite Things, and I had to get one for myself! 

I also received my new “deckled rectangle” Nestabilities in the mail, so I had to try them out too. 

Having learned a little more about COPICs and blending, I’m starting to experiment with some stamping inks and different papers.  The image here was done on Neenah’s Ultra Smooth using the Adirondack Pitch Black from Ranger.  It certainly absorbs the color a little better than SU!’s Whisper White, but it will take a little practice not to put too much color in a space!

So – this became my Mother’s Day card design – several moms will get this card on Sunday!

Ingredients

CARDSTOCK: Bashful Blue (SU!), Garden Green(SU!), Pretty in Pink(SU!), Ultra Smooth White (Neenah)

STAMPS: Scented Geraniums (My Favorite Things)

INK (all SU): Adirondack Pitch Black (Ranger),Bashful Blue (SU!)

ACCESSORIES:  COPIC Markers; Pink ribbon (Hobby Lobby); Small Deckle Rectangles Nestabilities (Spellbinders); Cuttlebug Die Cut matching (Provo Craft); Foam tape (3M); Bow-Tie; Scor-Pal; Adhesive Transfer Gun 714 (Scotch); Rotary trimmer with straight blade (Fiskars)

Instructions

BASE CARD: Cut a piece of blue cardstock measuring 8 1/2” x 5 1/2”, and score it in the middle at 4 1/4”.

MATS: Cut and emboss 2 deckled rectangles using the Nestabilities dies and Cuttlebug – one green and one pink.  Remember you run it through twice – once to cut, and once to emboss, with different “sandwich” stacks for each purpose.  An excellent reference for the stacks can be found here.  Note that even with these instructions you’ll have to experiment to get the effect on the embossing that you like. 

IMAGES: Stamp the image in black ink on the white paper.  Color with COPICs.  The easiest way to blend colors is to start with the lighter color, then color over it with a darker color, of similar tone, while the lighter color is still wet. Then go back over the edge where the two colors meet with the lighter color again.

Trim the image closely.

ASSEMBLY: Mount the green rectangle on the left of the front of the card.  Mount a piece of pink ribbon measuring 5 1/2” across the card.  Tie a bow, and mount it on the right side of the ribbon using a glue dot.

Mount the pink rectangle, centered on the green rectangle.  Add the image using foam tape for dimension.

Finish the card with a sentiment above the bow in blue ink.

MORE ON COPICS: I’m really new to the COPIC technique, so I’ve been looking for lots of instruction.  The videos are so helpful, and here’s a few that have given me some help:

http://sherrie-cardcreme.blogspot.com/2007/12/first-video-tutorial.html

http://sherrie-cardcreme.blogspot.com/2008/04/video-coloring-tutorial.html

http://sherrie-cardcreme.blogspot.com/2008/01/video-tutorial-wool-you-be-mine.html

Thanks for stopping by!