Daisy Girl

Inspiration

Here's a cute card for a little girl - I love these "bittybloom" stamps from Stamping Bella - the daisy is one of my favorites.

Ingredients

Note: Finished card size: 4 1/4" x 5 1/2"

Stamps

daisy Bittybloom (Stamping Bella)

Paper

Wild Wasabi (SU!)	5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4
PIxie Designer Paper (Memory Box)	4" x 5 1/4"
Rose Red (SU!)	2 3/8" x 2 3/4"
Stamper's Select White (Paper Trey Ink)	2 1/4" x 2 5/8"

Ink

Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko)

Accessories

COPIC Markers (Imagination International)

Ribbon (SU!)

Bow Easy

Paper Flowers (Paper Studio)

Brads (Paper Studio)

Zip Dry glue

Sticky Tape (PKGlitz)

ATG (3M)

Scor-Pal

Rotary Trimmer with straight & deckled blades (Fiskars)

Instructions

BASE CARD

Cut a piece of green card stock measuring 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", score it at 4 1/4", and fold.

MAT LAYER

Using a deckled blade, cut the patterned paper to measure 4" x 5 1/4". mount a strip of yellow ribbon using double-sided tape about 1 1/2" above the bottomn edge.

IMAGE

Stamp the image onto white card stock measuring 2 1/4" x 2 5/8". Color with COPIC markers. I used these colors:

• Flower Center: Y21
• Skin: E000, E02
• Shirt/Shoes: YG61, YG63
• Petals: R81, R56
• Shadow: C0, C2

Mount the image panel onto a mat layer of dark pink (2 3/8" x 2 3/4"). Mount the image on the designer paper mat layer, toward the right of the panel, just over the ribbon.

ASSEMBLY

Mount the three flowers on the mat layer using brads at the upper left corner of the image. Finish by tying a bow of yellow ribbon and mounting to the left of the image along the ribbon strip.

Thanks for stopping by!

Extreme Surfer Birthday

Inspiration

I CASEd this last year from a card by "peggy-sue" on Splitcoast Stampers. It's a masculine birthday card, perfect for summer birthdays, and I've sent this one in other seasons too - I keep coming back to it and making another one!

Ingredients

Note: Finished card size is 4 1/4" x 5 1/2"

Paper

Baja Breeze (SU!)	5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4"
Basic Black (SU!)	4 1/8" x 5 3/8"
Whisper White (SU!)	3 3/4" x 5 3/8"

Inks

Black pigment ink (Color Box)

Versamark (Tsukineko)

Sky Blue (SU!)

Baja Breeze (SU!)

Stamps

Extreme Surfer (SU!)

Birthday Greetings (SU!)

Accessories

Clear embossing powder (Stampendous)

Turquoise embossing powder (PSX)

Copper embossing powder (PSX)

White embossing powder (Sweet Stamps)

Heat gun

Sponges

Small black brads

Scor-Pal

ATG 714 (Scotch)

Rotary Trimmer

Instructions

Surfer Image

Stamp the surfer in the center of the white cardstock using the black pigment ink. Sprinkle copper powder on the right side of the image, turquoise powder across the bottom of the image, and clear powder overall to cover any remaining areas. Emboss it with the heat gun. Using a sponge, apply Sky Blue ink all over the white card stock. Now, sponge in some Baja Breeze in to create some dimension in the colors. To create the water, sponge Versamark ink in a "wave" shape around the surfer. Apply white embossing powder, and heat.

Sentiment

Stamp the sentiment in the lower left corner, using black pigment ink, and heat emboss with clear powder.

Assembly

Place 3 black brads vertically aligned in the upper right corner of the image panel. Adhere the image panel to the black mat - I cut this one a little differently; instead of a centered image with black all the way around, I made the image panel and the mat the same length, and left wider margins on the left and right. Mount the matted image on the card.

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Lighthouse Beacon

Inspiration

I always struggle a little in coming up with cards with a masculine theme. I've had this lighthouse stamp for years, and use it a lot. I made this for a coworker's birthday, and expect it'll be a Father's Day card in a few weeks, too! The sketch is from the Splitcoast challenge SC330.

Ingredients

Note: Finished card size is 4 1/4" x 5 1/2"

Paper

Baja Breeze (SU!)	5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4"
To the Nines DSP (SU!)	2 1/2" x 5 1/2"
Cherry Cobbler (SU!)	3" x 5 1/2"
Stamper's Select White (PTI)	4 1/4" x 5 1/2"

Inks

Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko)

Creamy Caramel (SU!)

Stamps

Lighthouse Beacon (Stamps Happen)

Accessories

Fancy Tags Shapeabilities (Spellbinders)

Long Rectangle Large Nestabilities (Spellbinders)

Grand Calibur (Spellbinders)

COPIC Markers (Imagination International)

Baja Breeze Ribbon (SU!)

Large pearl brads (Spare Parts)

Sponge

Scor-Pal

ATG 714

Scissors

Rotary Trimmer

Instructions

Image

Stamp the lighthouse image on white paper, and trim it around the frame (the actual image goes outside the frame). Color with COPIC markers:

• Lighthouse: R35, R59, C3, C5, C7, W2
  
• Sky: BG70
  
• Water: BG70, BG72, BG75
  
• Grass: G29
  
• Sand: E30, E33
  
• Frame: E33

Tag

Cut and emboss the tag from white paper with the die cut machine, and sponge with caramel ink before removing the paper from the die. After removing the die cut, sponge some more ink around the edges of the die cut. Punch 3 holes in the tag, and add the brads.

Assembly

Cut and emboss a long rectangle from red paper.

Mount the patterned paper at the bottom of the card, followed by a strip of ribbon to cover the edge of the paper. Add the red rectangle, followed by the image. Add the tag to the right of the image.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sunset Sail

Inspiration

I usually have to cast around to find ideas for a masculine theme for cards. Here’s one that came to me as I searched through seldom-used stamps for ideas to use on the several March birthdays that require a masculine touch. 

Of course, the technique is from Michelle Zindorf – on this one, I used a sponge instead of the brayer to create a color gradient across the card. I also came across a technique on Splitcoast Stampers that incorporates COPICs and colored pencils (2 of my favorite ways to color images) on the same image.

 

 

 

Ingredients

Note: Finished card size is 4 1/4” x 5 1/2”

Paper

Bashful Blue (SU!):  5 1/2” x 8 1/2”, scored at 4 1/4”

Whisper White (SU!):  4 1/8” x 5 3/8”

Stamper’s Select White (Paper Trey):  4 1/8” x 5 3/8”

Inks

Versamark (Tsukineko)	Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko)
Apricot Appeal (SU!)	Bashful Blue (SU!)
Pumpkin Pie (SU!)	Brilliant Blue (SU!)
Dusty Durango (SU!)

Stamps

Medallion (SU!)	On Your Birthday (SU!)
Seagull (CC Rubber Stamps)	Sailboat (PSX)
Sand (CC Rubber Stamps)

Accessories

Colored Pencils (Prisma Color)	Gamsol and paper stubs
COPIC markers (Imagination International)	Clear embossing powder
Sponge	Heat Gun
Scor-Pal	Adhesive Transfer Gun 714 (Scotch)
Rotary trimmer with deckle and straight blades (Fiskars)

Instructions

Sunset and Sea 

Step 1: Stamp the medallion sun in embossing ink on the left side of the white panel and emboss with clear powder.

Step 2: Sponge the sunset colors starting with the lightest orange color over the upper left 2/3 of the card.  Add the darker orange colors to create a gradual darkening in color as you move away from the sun.  After sponging on the color, you may want to “polish” the sun with a paper towel – this will remove some of the orange color from the embossed image, but still leaves a glow.

Step 3: Sponge the sea using the blue inks, again going from lighter near the sun to darker in the lower right corner of the card.

Step 4: Stamp the sand dots over the sea with the darkest blue color to add a little texture and movement to the water.

Step 5: Stamp the sentiment and the bird in black to the right of the sun.

Sailboat

Step 1: Stamp the sailboat on the heavier white cardstock using the black ink.  My sailboat image also has clouds and water – when I cut the image out, I eliminated the clouds – nothing to “block out” the sun!  I left the water around the boat as part of the image.

Step 2: Color the image with COPICs.  I used these colors:

• Sails: BG0000
• Boat: E30, E31, E37

Step 3: Add color shading using the colored pencils, and blend with mineral spirits and a paper stub.  I did all of the color for the water with pencils, but you could easily pick a blue shade of marker to lay the base color for the water.

Assembly

Step 1: Mount the sunset panel to the front of the card.

Step 2: Add the sailboat, using foam tape for a little bit of dimension.

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!