Botanicals

This card has such a soft subtle look that is very easy to achieve.

The background is more Glimmer Mists. Can you tell how much I love those Glimmer Mists?

You could use this technique on plain paper and get a similar effect.

Stamp your image with VersaMark and apply clear embossing powder. This causes your stamped image to be several shades darker than your paper. No matching embossing powders! I love it. Great results that are fast and easy.

The botanical stamp is by Fred B. Mullet. This company has some fantastic botanicals and fish fossil stamps. Very high quality rubber that stamps beautifully.

The second card uses the same technique with one difference. Some of the images have been embossed with fine line gold EP.

Note that the edges of these cards have been sponged with black dye ink.

This technique can also be used to create very interesting backgrounds.

Cowboys and Cowgirl "Cards"

While in the local farm and ranch supply store I spotted two decks of playing cards on sale AND some wonderful gift wrap.

The gift wrap is the background paper on both cards.
The edges have been softened by sponging on black dye ink. This also adds depth.
I measure and punched on the back side of the cards to achieve good corner spacing when placing the black brads.

The barbwire stamp is by Sutter Enterprises, while the Cowboy Up stamp is unknown.

I did a little distressing with a sanding block on the cowgirl playing card. Smaller black brads were used on this version.

The floral flourish is by Inkadinkado and the barbwire is by Sutter Enterprises.

The "Cowboy Up" and the floral flouish were stamped with VersaMark and embossed with fine line embossing powder.

STAMPER BASICS - many everyday items, such as gift wrap and playing cards make wonderful embellishments for your creations.

Gum wrappers, pages from magazines, dried flowers, ribbons, old postage stamps and leaves are just a few more ideas. You will never look at a hardware or gift store in the same way again.

God Bless, Shelly N.

Variations on a Theme

My theme here is stamping over Glimmer Mist backgrounds.

When I am going to use embossing powders on a paper I usually use a dusting of talc to prevent strays of embossing powder adhereing where I don't want them. Even the oils from your fingers on the paper will cause the powder to stick in places you really don't want it.

The only time I don't talc is with dark backgrounds as the powder will lighten the paper somewhat.

On all three cards the images were stamped with VersaMark ink. Then either black or white fine line

embossing powder was applied and heated with a heat gun.

The edges of the black embossing powder cards have been sponged with black dye ink.

Personal Stamp Exchange, fondly known as PSX to long time stampers was the maker of the Courage phrase. I have no idea of who now owns this company as it has changed hands several time. It has been a long time since I have seen any of their classic images.

The floral flourishes are by Inkadinkado. This particular set is clear acrylic. I have found the quality to be excellent.

They stamp and clean up well. The "With Sympathy" stamp is made by Stamps Happen Inc.

The Glimmer Mists were applied to a seperate piece of paper that was the size of the card front. After the misted paper had dried I glued it to the card base with Crafters Pick Ultimate Glue and let the entire card base rest for the night under a heavy book. This gives my cards a nice crisp apperance that is very pleasing.

Working on the card front itself will often warp the card.

Many of the inking type techniques dampen your paper and cause warping.

Make Your Own Corner Stamp

When I looked at this card after I had stamped the Inkadinkadoo image in the center, I knew it was lacking something. Like a corner. But I didn't have a corner stamp that would blend well with my main image, soooooo, I improvised with another Inkadinkadoo flourish stamp and made my own corner stamp.





The background of the card is Glimmer Mists.
It was talced to prevent strays of embossing powder.
The image was stamped with VersaMark and fine line black EP (embossing powder) was applied. I used the same process to stamp the images on the corners.

An Inkssentials opaque white gel pen by Ranger was used to fill in areas of the flouishes. This added a lot to the whole look of the card and I was very pleased with the results.

Stamper Basics - embossing powder is frequently referred to as "EP", while Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel is called "UTEE". Both are embossing powders. The Ultra Thick is just that, very thick and heavy for a different look. UTEE can be stamped in while still warm. Just be sure that your stamp is well coated with pigment ink so the UTEE doesn't permanently adhere to your stamp. There is even a product to add to the UTEE to make it flexible.

Thank You card

The card began on a seperate piece of white cardstock that was cut slightly larger than the basic A2 card. (A2 - 4 1/4 x 5 1/2)
A brass stencil was laid over the paper and misted with the darker shade of Glimmer Mists. Then I carefully placed another piece of paper the same size over the entire stencil to pick up the mist that was on the stencil. This created a negative image.
Now mist on a lighter color to have the entire card front covered with shimmery glimmery color. To see the tutorial for this technique click here.

The dried finished product is glued to a card base and the edges trimmed. It then was flattened to under a big heavy book overnight for that nice crisp clean look. This avoids warping, which is something that I really dislike.

Dust the entire card front with talc (cheap baby powder) to avoid strays when embossing. Stamp the Inkadinkado image with VersaMark and apply fine line black embossing powder.

My final touch - fill in areas of the flourishes with Inkssentials white gel pen by Ranger. A friend also suggested using clear glitter glue to the ends of the flourishes. I think I will have to try that. Thanks for the suggestion Nancy S.

A Vintage Lady

Isn't she lovely? The vintage lady is a stamp by Magenta, which happens to be one of my all time favorite stamp companies. She was stamped with black pigment ink and fine line black embossing powder was then applied. The image has been lightly colored with pencils. I carefully cut it out with a scissors, applied 3-D double stick foam to the back and attached to the card.

The background was stamped with a crackle image using Distressed Inks by Ranger, Straw. The outer edges of the card had Distressed Ink by Ranger, Burlap, applied with a piece of Cut N' Dry foam in a swirling motion to achieve the faded misty effect. The final touch was a light sponging of Distressed Ink Black Soot to give the illusion of a burned edge.

The flourishes were stamped in Distressed Ink, Walnut. I think the flourish stamps are by Basic Grey, but could not find them on their website, so, I have no clue who made them. BUT aren't they just luscious????

Monograms Cards

Making monogram cards is such a blast. AND they make a great and unique gift for friends.

This card was sent to my dear friend and cousin as part of a set of monogramed cards. She sent it back to me. Since I now have a blog I am sharing the design here.

The mottled brown is made using the polished stone technique. This is done with alcohol ink on glossy paper. There are many methods to achieve the lucious polished stone look. I have even used rubbing alcohol and die ink re-inkers. Yes, it works, but the commercial alcohol inks with their accessories make it so much faster and much less of a mess.

Here is the Bosskut die cut that I used to make the frame for the monogram. The entwining of two die cuts creates the frame for the monogram.

The polished stone is first layered over dark brown, them dark gold metallic and attached to a black card base.

Wringer Washing Machine

I got this as an email and thought it was very interesting.
I am busy counting my blessings and thanking the good Lord
for my washer and dryer.


Wringer Washing Machine
Washing Clothes Recipe Years ago an Alabama grandmother gave the new bride the following recipe:This is an exact copy as written and found in an old scrapbook - with spelling errors and all.


WASHING CLOTHES
Build fire in backyard to heat kettle of rain water.
Set tubs so smoke wont blow in eyes if wind is pert.
Shave one hole cake of lie soap in boilin' water.
Sort things, make 3 piles1 pile white,1 pile colored,1 pile work britches and rags.
To make starch, stir flour in cool water to smooth, then thin down with boiling water.
Take white things, rub dirty spots on board, scrub hard, and boil, then rub colored don't boil just wrench and starch.


(For you non-southerners -"wrench" means "rinse")
Take things out of kettle with broom stick handle, then wrench, and starch.
Hang old rags on fence.
Spread tea towels on grass.
Pore wrench water in flower bed.
Scrub porch with hot soapy water.
Turn tubs upside down.
Go put on clean dress, smooth hair with hair combs.
Brew cup of tea, sit and rock a spell and count your blessings.


================================================
Paste this over your washer and dryer.
Next time when you think things are bleak, read it again, kiss that washing machine and dryer, and give thanks.
First thing each morning you should run and hug your washer and dryer, also your toilet---those two-holers used to get mighty cold!
And we think we have it rough!

Meanwhile......back at the ranch

Another in my latest cowboy/western series.

Again, the background crackle stamp in a light brown.

The outhouse with the ground tied horse is

by Ink Blocks with I Brake For Stamps.

Barbwire by Sutter Enterprises and the phrase is

from Claudia Rose.

All images were stamper with black pigment ink and embossed with fine line black embossing powders.

A medium brown ink was swirled on with a sponge to distress the outer edge and black ink applied on the very outer edge to add the final finishing touch.

God Bless, Shelly

Vintage Friends

When I make up a background like this one, I make at least ten of them, often more. Why? They are messy, they are addictive and I like to have them on hand. I am a lot more likely to use something like this if I have it on hand. This particular background is a time-consuming pain to make, but I really, really like the finished product.

I stamped the friends by Art Impressions in black pigment ink and used black fineline embossing powder.

The texture was created by dragging Distressed Ink pads across the paper and the flourishes where stamped using stamps from various companies. Then a light mist with water to create the faded vintage look. The edge of the card was sponged with medium brown ink followed by a very narrow edging of black ink, again sponged on.

Why I Sponge Edges

This is the same card. The one on the left is before I sponged and the the card on the right is after sponging (also called distressing). The difference is dramatic.

Sponging or distressing is one of my favorite techniques. It adds depth and interest to a project.

The beautiful cowboy stamp is by Ink Blocks which is now a part of I Brake For Stamps. It can be found in their southwestern and Indian division. Ink Blocks has some of the most unusual and striking native American stamps I have ever seen and they are well worth the effort to find them. I only have a small portion of this amazing art work in rubber. Now I will have to get some of them stamped up and on the blog for you all to see.

The barbwire stamp is from Sutter Enterprises. The Howdy greeting stamp is unknown. The background crackle stamp is also unknown. The greeting, cowboy and barbwire are stamped with black pigment followed by finline black embossing powder. The crackle is one of the lighter brown Distressed Inks by Ranger.

God Bless, Shelly

A Cowboy Card

I have a love for the cowboy/cattle western images.
I judge how well I have done with my western stamping by how my husband reacts. He said this was one of the best I had ever done.

I used a light brown ink to stamp the crackle background stamp.
The edges are sponged with dark brown with the very edge "burned" with black ink.

The images were stamped with black pigment ink followed by an application of fineline black embossing powder.

The cowboy stamp is by Rubber Stamp Avenue.
The barbwire is by Sutter Enterprises.
I have no idea who made the Howdy stamp.

Simple and Quick Happy Birthday

This is a post card. I had cut out all these parts, started playing around with my new QuicKutz Happy Birthday die and put them all together. So there are the results.

The long green rectangular background and the white scallops are a Spellbinders Nestabilitly die set. The happy birthday is a brand new die that I got at the Treasure Box Scrapbooking store in Ft Collins CO. (love, love, love that store, if it's new and fantastic, they have it) That lovely flourish is made by Bosskut.

Very fast, very easy card that has a certain elegance.

This same design would be stunning with a polished stone or Glimmer Mist background in place of the plain green. Often less is more.

Definitely a Man's Card

This is a card for a man. My husband even liked it!

The train image is by Uptown Rubber Stamps, which no longer exists as a stand alone company. It has been stamped with black pigment ink and the embossing powder is black fineline.

The phrase is printed on inkjet transparency.
It is: "When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don't throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer. ~Corrie Ten Boom"

The card base is plain white cardstock. I seldom work directly on my cardbase. I have seperate pieces of cardstock cut that are the same size as my card base and work on those. Many of the techniques I use will warp the cardstock and I have found that using a seperate piece for the card front and then gluing it to the base allows me to place the finished piece under a heavy book to dry. The finished product is very flat and crisp in appearance. This is one reason I seldom use double-sided tape.

A Spellbinders Rectangle Nestibilites die was used to cut the opening in the card front and the card base at the same time. Open the card up, place the card front over the open cardbase and hold the two firmly together with low tack masking tape. Pick a rectangle that will fit the size of the transparency, position on the two layers, hold in place with low tack masking tape and run it through your die cut machine.

Now use the same Spellbinders Classic Rectangle Nestibilities die and one a size larger and cut TWO frames of plain brown card stock. These can be held in place on your paper with that lovely low tack masking tape too.

I glued the transparencty in place on the card base. Then glues the base and the front together, matching up the rectangular openings. Now make that transparency stand out a little by attaching one of the brown frames.

You will have an inked piece that has been cut out from the card front. Carefully position in inside the card base so that is shows through the transparency and glue in place. The second frame can be glued around the inked cutout.

The finishing touch was a sponging of brown inks around the outer edge of the card.

The vintage flourish card front was created using Distressed Inks by Ranger. I used the ink pad to pull ink across the entire card and create a scratched wood look, then stamped flourishes with various shades of brown. The final step was to heavily mist the entire piece to cause the inks to "fade" and spread out. Giving a worn faded vintage look.

I think I like these inkjet transparencies!!!! Wild Women of the West Stampers - give it a try.

Basic Stamper Tip: Low tack masking tape is a must have for stampers. I use the lavender low tack masking tape from Walmart. Only under the most extreme pressure will it adhere to card stock tightly enough to pull a layer off when removed. The only die cut machine that can apply that much pressure is the Wizard by Spellbinders.

B Line Designs

I had the priviledge of spending Wednesday through Saturday in the Denver area. One of those days was spent playing with the Basement Babes at the home of Jen Lowe, aka JLo.

We all helped Susan Mostek design cards for B Line Design Rubber Stamps. To view those fantastic cards visit the B Line gallery.

The picture to the left is of "The Babes".

Scenic Winter Cards

My stamping pal, Bettye S., had a stamp that she just could not do anything with. She gave it to me to play with several months ago. It has been sitting out in my studio, staring at me for that time. Finally today I had an inspiration and several ideas. Here are two that actually worked. I just love it when the vision in my head comes together and looks good as a card.

The stamp is by Creative Impressions. I am not the greatest colorist in the world, so I knew that was not going to be the answer. On both cards the image is stamped on light blue cardstock with Clearsnaps Colorbox Fluid Chalk Blue Iris.

With the first card I highlighted with Ranger's Inkssentials white gel pen. By using the pen at the same angle over the whole card, a 3-D effect is achieved. The finishing touch was Sizzix's Sizzlet

Architectural Corners in navy cardstock. These are glued down with Crafters Pick Ultimate Glue, applied to the back side of the die cut with a toothpick.

With the second card, I went crazy with a silver glitter pen. The well glittered image was then mounted on navy cardstockand trimmed closely.

One of my favorite accents with cards is metallic gift wrap. In this case it is a brushed metallic silver. Double sided tape was used on the card base, the gift wrap attached. I then turn it over and use a scissors to trim the gift wrap to the exact size of the card base. The card itself provides my guide for a clean straight cut.

Enjoy Bettye and thanks for the challenge.

Silk flower card

Here is that same scrapbook paper again. It truly looks like material.

I took apart a silk flower, reassembled and put a rhinstone in the center. The leaves are all cut down from the original size.

Swirl die cut - Sizzix
Heart die cut - Bosscut

Butterfly Kisses

The mediallion punches can be used to make a great side bar. This one is punched three times, layered on scrapbook paper and then layered again on the same plain burgandy paper. I used a decorative scissors to finish.

The stamps are by Sugarloaf Productions.
I have no clue as to the maker of the scrapbook paper.

This type of card is fairly fast to make, yet has a certain elegance to it.

Other embellishments that could be added would be: brads in the center of the mediallions, brads or glitter glue on the butterfly wings. You could sponge around the outside edge of the card with a burgandy ink to add some depth.

Meet A Cow

I live on a ranch. That means there are cows. We raise

a breed called Black Angus. This particular cow is a

very nice one. She was not at all threatened by me

and even graciously stood still long enough for me to

take this picture.

Blessings

I do love this paper. It looks so like real material. You can even see the "weave". I have no idea what company manufactured it.

I lost the front cover and never dreamed I would have a blog and want that information, so was not terribly worried about it.

The frame has been cut using a Spellbinders nesting dies. The paper in the frame is from the same stack as the paper on the front of the card base. That is one of the major reason I like to buy stacks of scrapbook paper. All the paper in the stack will coordinate.

The flouish is a Sizzix extended cut die. "Blessings" is a sticker I got from Serendipity Stamps.