Monthly Archives: August 2008

I’m a slow stamper.  I know that.   I rarely “whip up” a card in an instant.  But I hate when one takes two days.  Why should a card take two days?!  Is it really worth the effort?  Sometimes.   It depends on the recipient.  It depends on how much time you have on hand, whether your tools are in working order and how many mistakes you make.  (Do you sense trouble coming?)

It’s Been a While

Today’s challenge at Cornish Heritage Farms is to use vellum cardstock.   After a lot of trial and error (emphasis on the “error” as I think I used six sheets of vellum), I decided to use the vellum as my base.  I added the matted strips of Basic Grey’s new Ambrosia and stamped the flower and sentiment from Silhouette Blooms II onto the center “window.”  The ink takes a bit of time to dry but if you lightly zap it with a heat gun (one that WORKS), that will speed the process.  And you have to CAREFULLY dry the ink or your vellum will warp and you’ll have to either start over or deal with a very bendy card.  (I’m sure you know how I know this.  On the brighter side, at least nothing caught on fire.)

I cut a second piece of vellum cardstock, stamped the French Script backgrounder and adhered that behind the window.  You may want to set the card aside before inking the backgrounder just in case you DROP it and have to start all over.   

To give the inside a more finished look, I added a white border to the inside front.  I also adhered a piece of white cardstock to the inside back (using glue dots) for a handwritten note.

As a final touch, I cut one of the butterflies from the patterned paper, adhered only the center of the butterfly to the front window and bent up the wings.  So after a lot of wasted paper, too much time and a few choice words  , I was  happy with the result.

Check out these other CHF designers to see what they did with vellum cardstock:

Kristine Reynolds

Carole Burrage

Kim Hughes

Julia Stainton

Lisa Silver

On a personal note, my son has his surgery tomorrow.  I’m nervous and stressed, as any mom would be.  I’m trying hard not to worry too terribly much and hoping tomorrow is a cake-walk compared to last summer.  I’m not looking forward to the surgery, but I am looking forward to all of this being over.  Hopefully this will be the last one.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Have a great day!

Stamps:  Cornish Heritage Farms Silhouette Blooms II (Kim Hughes Collection), French Script Backgrounder   Ink:  Palette Noir Black by Stewart Superior   Paper:  Vellum cardstock; Prism Black, Super Smooth White; Basic Grey Ambrosia 6″ x 6″ paper pad   Accessories:  Brads (American Crafts). Card size:  5 ½” x 4 ¼”.

Tomorrow (Friday, August 22nd) is a big day for fellow CHF designer, Kim Hughes.  Friday brings from Cornish Heritage Farms Kim’s very own patterned paper pack, Mocha Chica and a corresponding mini-set by the same name. 

I’m so happy for her.  She’s such a STAR!!!   Big congrats, Kim! 

I haven’t had as much time to play as I’d like, but Kim’s new papers really are fun. 

Peep!

This is a corner of one of the pages.  The tree and lines were already on the paper. 

I added a tiny bit of gray shading to the tree to make it look more 3-d, (I love the look of that), added the velvet brads and the little bird (from the Mocha Chica mini-set).   The bird was stamped onto a different pattern from the pack, cut out and adhered.

I added a bit of stitching in two of the corners and used a craft knife to make a slit on each side of the tree for the ribbon.

Stamps:  CHF “Pretty Birds” and “Mocha Chica” (Kim Hughes Collection)  Ink:  Adirondack Pitch Black   Cardstock:  Prism White (base)    Patterned Paper:  CHF “Mocha Chica” paper pack by Kim Hughes     Accessories:  Copic markers, velvet brads (Making Memories), ribbon (My Mind’s Eye), sewing machine.  Card size 4 ¼” x 5 ½”.
Hello

This is my somewhat feeble attempt at a “Primitive” style.  It does not come easy to me (and maybe even not at all–please be kind).  I’ve always admired Julie‘s style, especially when she uses the Primitive-ish images but I have really struggled.

There are two sheets of each design in the Mocha Chica pack.  The paper I used here actually has four squares of the lined pattern in four different colors with four different images in the lower right corner.  Since I wanted to cover the whole card front, I used this square from both sheets, cutting the top from one and adhering it above the other to extend the length of the paper.  (Did that make sense?)  The seam is under the twill.

I used a black marker and a Stamp-a-ma-jig to split the sentiment, replacing the L’s with the bird’s legs.

Cardstock:  Prism White (base), Super Smooth White   Patterned Paper:  CHF Mocha Chica paper pack by Kim Hughes   Stamps:  CHF “Mocha Chica”and “Pretty Birds” (Kim Hughes Collection); “Primitive Christmas” (The Rummage Bin)   Ink:  Adirondack Pitch Black, Ranger Walnut Stain Distress    Accessories:  Black twill and gingham (scraps), safety pin (Spare Parts by Paper Studio), brad (American Crafts), Fiskars Scallop scissors, piercing template/needle, black marker, sewing machine.  Card size 4 ¼” x 5 ½”.
Thanks so much for stopping by!  I’ll have more samples using Kim’s Mocha Chica paper and mini-set soon!  Have a great day!

That’s the answer I got when I asked my husband if this card looked ok.       (I knew he’d say that.)  Actually, these are my three favorite things to do when creating a card…stagger layers, distress and use brown.   (We tease my father-in-law about that being his favorite color but it’s mine too.  Shhhhh!)

Today’s challenge at Cornish Heritage Farms is to use our favorite product from the CHF store.  I didn’t hesitate in making my choice.

Special to Me

Probably my most used ink, second to black, is Walnut Stain Distress ink by Ranger.  I don’t even bother to put it away.  It stays on my table with it’s dedicated wedge of sponge.

I used it here for the flower and Peeled Paint for the stem. Before stamping, I stamped off gently, once onto scrap paper, then stamped the image four times onto Natural Smooth cardstock without reinking between impressions.  I also used the Walnut Stain ink to sponge the edges of the focal piece.  (That ink makes the best dirty edges!!)    

Be sure to check out these other CHF designers to see their favorite product and what they did with it:

Julia            Alli                  Kristine            Kim 

Joanne       Dawn               Lori                  Sherrie      

Carole        Becky               Val                   Julie

While I was finishing my card, my daughter (she’s six) came into my room and asked if she could make a card for me.  I let her choose the paper and she told me which stamp set she wanted.  Here’s what she made.  Awwww….I love the little cards and drawings I find here and there that say “To Mom.  I love you.  From Katie.”  Before long I’ll be finding those notes less and less frequently so for now, each one is a treasure.   (Look at how straight that white paper is!  I think I have a little stamper in the making!)

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Have a great day!

Cardstock:  Prism Vanilla Cream (base), Wizard Dark, Natural Smooth   Patterned Paper:  My Mind’s Eye Wild Asparagus “Boy oh Boy” Dots and Plaid   Stamps:  CHF Silhouette Blooms I (Kim Hughes Collection) and Birthday Centers (Mona Lisa Moments)   Ink:  Ranger Walnut Stain and Peeled Paint Distress   Accessories:  Button (Tim Holtz Metalz), ribbon/ric-rac (May Arts), edge distresser, sponge, sewing machine.  Card size 5 ½” x 4 ¼”.

Julia’s challenge today at Splitcoast Stampers is to use Copic markers.  I wanted to try something I hadn’t done before…coloring directly on the stamps with the Copics.

True Friend

When I heard about this technique from Dawn (who I think heard about it from Gina K) I was so excited.  I’ve always loved the effect of coloring with markers on stamps but I had no idea you could do it with Copics. 

I colored the flowers here with a yellow Copic, then orange around the edges and finally brown on the stems.  Then I sprayed the markered stamp with rubbing alcohol and stamped!  LOVE IT (not necessarily THIS card, but the concept)!  My room smelled like the doctor’s office, but other than that, it worked great!

The background on the darker paper is one of the newer releases from Cornish Heritage Farms, Pinwheel.  (Just wanted to point that out because I like it so much.)

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Have a great day! 

Cardstock:  Prism Sugar Cream (base), Natural Smooth, Candle Glow Dark, Tawny Dark, Birchtone Dark   Stamps: Cornish Heritage Farms “Nature’s Silhouettes” (Kim Hughes Collection), “Friend Centers” (Mona Lisa Moments) and Pinwheel Backgrounder   Ink:  Ranger Adirondack Espresso and Walnut Stain Distress  Accessories:  Copic markers, rubbing alcohol (in a spritzer), ribbon, hemp, piercing template/needle, brown marker, sponge.  Card size 4 ¼” x 5 ½”.