Oceans of Love Fish Card

When I got this stencil last year, my first thought was to make each fish a different color…and my logistical brain said “way too much work”. I FINALLY went back to my first thought, and am very glad I took the time!

I used Post-It tape to mask off each individual fish, each bubble (yes, I have a few places where I missed).

When the ink was dry, I repositioned the stencil and applied clear embossing paste over the colored fish. After the embossing paste dried, I applied a very light watercolor wash (and tried to keep my brush as dry as possible, since I didn’t use watercolor or Bristol paper) to make the watery background.

Mood when done:  HAPPY.  🙂

Supplies:  Stamp – My Favorite Things, paper – Gmund Royal, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, inks – Lawn Fawn Manatee, Simon Says Stamp Slate, Stampin’ Up! Only Orange (retired), Tim Holtz/Ranger Distress Ink Abandoned Coral, Blueprint Sketch, Peacock Feathers, Picked Raspberry, Squeezed Lemonade, Tumbled Glass, Twisted Citron, Wilted Violet, VersaMark, die – Simon Says Stamp, stencil – Newton’s Nook, embossing paste – Dreamweaver Wendy Vecchi translucent, watercolor – Sakura Koi, embossing powder – Ranger Super Fine Detail white.

Advertisement

Watercolor and Stencil Embossing Paste Valentine Card

I haven’t bought a new Valentine themed stamp set in some time – I usually just play around with things I have to make them more Valentine-y.

And then I run out of ideas for cards for my husband…there is nothing in my collection that I can modify to fit for Valentine’s Day for him.

So, this year, I watercolored a background red & blue (and I was surprised that the colors did not blend for purple in the middle…maybe the paper wasn’t wet enough when I got there?). I let that dry overnight. Next, I stenciled “falling hearts” onto the painted panel with clear embossing paste.

The shine of the embossing paste hearts is partially visible if I tilt the card towards the light for this photo.

The heart was first dry embossed (embossing folder), then die cut into the heart shape. Emboss a sentiment onto a blue scrap, and the card is done.

Supplies:  Stamp – Hero Arts, paper – Canson watercolor, Gmund Royal, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Stampin’ Up! Real Red, inks – Hero Arts Unicorn, die – Spellbinders, embossing folder – We R Memory Keepers, stencil – Simon Says Stamp, embossing paste – Dreamweaver/Wendy Vecchi translucent, embossing powder – Filigree Fine Art Powder white.

Stenciled Shells Miss You Card

I saw this stencil on Kristina Werner’s blog a few weeks ago (right around the time I needed retail therapy to deal with my dentist billing dispute!)

I blended three Distress Ink colors (Antique Linen, Shaded Lilac, Spun Sugar) over the stencil and let them dry. After I was sure the piece was dry, I carefully placed the stencil over the images exactly, and spread translucent embossing paste over the stencil. Now all of the shells are shaded, raised and shiny.

(SO HAPPY with how the background turned out!)

We spent last week at the beach. I already miss the sand, surf & shells! Everything is unpacked & put away, and I am all caught up on the laundry.

Back to reality – Mom fell again while I was gone and fractured her arm. Does anyone know where I can find a bubble wrap suit??

Supplies: Stamp – My Favorite Things, paper – Curious Metallics Gold Leaf, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Stampin’ Up! Pink Pirouette, Wisteria Wonder, inks – Tim Holtz/Ranger Distress Ink Antique Linen, Shaded Lilac, Spun Sugar, dies – My Favorite Things, stencil – Newton’s Nook, embossing paste – Dreamweaver Studio 490 Wendy Vecchi translucent, embossing powder – Stampendous Detail Gold, gold cord – PaperMart.

Flamingo Valentine’s Day Card

OOPS! Guess who forgot to schedule a post for today!

This is for my goofy parents.

I think the flamingo on the right (Dad!) came out a little dark, but I was not willing to scrap the card over me not having the correct marker color.

For the hearts, I mixed a few drops of Real Red inker with embossing paste, and applied over a tiny heart stencil.

Supplies: Stamps – Inkadinkado, paper – Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Stampin’ Up! Real Red, inks – Copic B0000, B00, BV01, E11, R11, R24, RV13, V04, Y26, YG23, Stampin’ Up! Real Red, VersaFine Onyx Black, stencil – Simon Says Stamp, embossing paste – Dreamweaver, sentiment sticker – Crate Paper (from the SSS February 2016 Card Kit), embossing powder – Filigree Fine Art Powder clear.

Embossing Paste Waves Birthday Card

I used embossing paste with the Hero Arts Wave stencil on royal blue cardstock, thinking I could pair it with one of the sailboat stamps I have. Well, that may have worked FINE, if I didn’t make the whole page waves…with the whole page as waves, it really looked like I was trying to create my own version of “The Perfect Storm”.

So, for today, an abstract background birthday card! You get to pick the background you want to see.

Supplies: Stamp – Papertrey Ink, paper – Gmund Royal, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Stampin’ Up! Tempting Turquoise, ink – VersaFine Onyx Black, dies – Lawn Fawn, stencil – Hero Arts, embossing paste – Dreamweaver, embossing powder – Filigree Fine Art Powder clear.

Floral Birthday Card with Tinted Embossing Paste Background

I am still playing with embossing paste here. For this background, I mixed a little bit of Almost Amethyst ink into the clear embossing paste before spreading it across the stencil.

I die cut a flower out of green, and used the “petals” for leaves.

Supplies: Stamp – Papertrey Ink, paper – Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Poptone Sour Apple, Stampin’ Up! Barely Banana (retired), Bashful Blue (retired), inks – Stampin’ Up! Almost Amethyst (retired), VersaFine Onyx Black, dies – Lawn Fawn (stitched rectangles), Provo Craft (flower), stencil – Neat & Tangled, embossing paste – Dreamweaver/Wendy Vecchi/Studio 490 clear, embossing powder – Ranger Silver Pearl.

Floral Mother’s Day Card with Embossing Paste

Last week, Ellen Hutson’s blog, The Classroom, was featuring Tonic Nuvo Embellishment Mousses. I have none of these mousses. They do look lovely, fun to play with. I really don’t know how often I would use them, and knowing that, how in goodness sakes would I choose which ONE of the 24 colors to buy??? Pink Flambe because hot pink is my favorite color? Or Aquamarine or Powder Blue for the sky/ocean possibilities? In reality, if I do eventually splurge (it is not in the budget for the foreseeable future!) on ONE, I would probably get Pure Platinum, because who can’t use a neutral metallic.

I have a two embossing pastes (clear, white) by Dreamweaver, and these can be colored by adding ink before spreading, and I can potentially sprinkle glitter on top after spreading (before it dries).

Today, I just spread the clear over a floral stencil. This is a card for my Mom.

Supplies: Stamp – Clearly Besotted, paper – Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Stampin’ Up! Calypso Coral, Real Red, ink – VersaFine Satin Red, stencil – Heidi Swapp, embossing paste – Dreamweaver/Studio 490/Wendy Vecchi translucent, embossing powder – Filigree Fine Art Powder clear, twine – MarkerPop.

World Card Making Day 2016

Today is World Card Making Day!

I went looking early (6:00 am, EST) for challenges, and nothing had been posted yet. Then, I got working on my own things. I need to go back and look at company blogs for challenges.

It is rainy and gray here this morning, so I went with that theme. I blended a circle of blue onto gray cardstock, then used a stencil to add falling hearts (rain) with translucent embossing paste. Once that was dry, I mounted the log, the fox, and the sentiment.

Here is a close up of the stenciled hearts:

(click on any photo to enlarge)

Supplies: Stamps – Lawn Fawn, The Cat’s Pajamas, paper – Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Stampin’ Up! Night of Navy, Smoky Slate, inks – Copic E19, Tim Holtz/Ranger Distress Ink Tumbled Glass, VersaFine Onyx Black, Vintage Sepia, stencil – Simon Says Stamp, die – Lawn Fawn, embossing paste – Dreamweaver.

Falling Hearts Be My Valentine Card

For this card, I applied embossing paste to red cardstock using a Simon Says Stamp stencil.

Supplies: Stamp – Clearly Besotted, paper – Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Poptone Grape Jelly, Stampin’ Up! Real Red, ink – VersaFine Satin Red, stencil – Simon Says Stamp, embossing paste – Dreamweaver, embossing powder – Filigree Fine Art Powder clear, metallic cord – PaperMart.

Sunflower Shower Card

Remember the sunflower project I was working on? My mother is attending a bridal shower for the lover of sunflowers, and this is what I came up with for a shower card.

I created a cute little scene, with heart shaped raindrops in translucent embossing paste falling on a smiling sunflower.

Here is a close up of the raindrops:

Supplies: Stamps – JustRite, Taylored Expressions, paper – Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Stampin’ Up! Pear Pizzazz, Pumpkin Pie, inks – Copic E53, R29, YG25, YR04, Y18, Tim Holtz/Ranger Distress Ink Tumbled Glass, VersaFine Vintage Sepia, dies – Lawn Fawn (stitched hill), Memory Box (clouds), stencil – Simon Says Stamp, embossing paste – Dreamweaver/Wendy Vecchi translucent, embossing powder – Filigree Fine Art Powder clear.