Collage Card

I tried a new technique today after watching Papertrey Ink's Make It Monday challenge featuring Dawn McVey. She challenged us to use different stamps to create a collage effect on a card.

The stamps I used are Papertrey Ink (sentiment and gingham background), Stampin' Up (green foliage), Clear Art Stamps (birds), Autumn Leaves (lace), and Martha Stewart (scallop flower).

Mine didn't turn out nearly as good as Dawn's example or many of the other gorgeous cards posted for this challenge, but, hey -- I gave it a try and the winner is chosen by a random draw so I'll still have a chance to win!!!! A couple of things I really do like about my card is how the largest bird looks like it is saying "Happy Birthday" and the fact that I went out of my comfort zone in order to create it!

Speaking of going out of my comfort zone, we had lunch with friends today and I had a chance to try something new -- cactus salad! I have to admit that it wasn't my favorite but I did enjoy the homemade cactus tortillas we had with the chicken fajitas!! Here's a picture of my (mostly) delicious lunch......

Trying new things is a good thing!
Betty

Watercolor Embossing

My card was made using the technique from Make It Monday with Papertrey Ink, which involves watercolor stamping and embossing. The flowers are from a Martha Stewart two step stamping set. The sentiment stamp is from Papertrey Ink, Gracious Vases and the background for the sentiment is a gingham background stamp from PTI. The watercolor technique was a little bit messy but sometimes messy can be fun!

Check out the link and perhaps you'll want to give this technique a try too!

Betty

Build a Flower

The petals of my flower were created with the Colored Kissing Technique demonstrated on the Make It Monday video by Papertrey Ink. Heather Nichols demonstrated the technique.  I did not have many solid clear stamps so I went with this flower petal. First I inked the stamp with the lighter plum color, stamped on white paper and followed that by stamping PTI's Basic Backgrounds: Gingham in the darker plum color onto the petal stamp and stamped it on top of the lighter color. The flower parts are from a set by Autumn Leaves, Build-A-Flower. I also used the Gingham background stamp again by stamping in dark green on a lighter green cardstock. Sentiment is PTI, Everyday Button Bits.

I also made this card with the Sugar Creek Hollow challenge in mind. This week the challenge is Lots of Layers and the design team offered examples of the primitive style. I think that the gingham petals of the flower as well as the dashed stem and leaves give a country effect to my card. However, I think it may fall slightly short of the primitive style -- what do you think, Sugar Creek Hollow DT????? Any suggestions as to how I could get it to look more primitive? At least, my card does have lots of layers, especially if you count each petal as a layer -- they are layered one on top of each other at their points, after all!!

Later,

Betty



Swirly Thanks

I had lots of fun making this card! Dawn McVey showed us how to take a small frame stamp and make a larger stamped image from it on Papertrey Ink's Make It Monday Video Series. I had to hunt through my stamps to find a frame that I could use for this technique -- finally found a clear stamp that most likely came from Michael's $1 bin.

Here's the little clear stamp and this picture shows how I stamped it twice on the white card stock. My next step was to cut out a tag from Spellbinders Ribbon Tag Trio 2, emboss it and sponge to accentuate the embossed dots and surround the image. The little butterfly that you can see on my completed card is from a Martha Stewart clear stamp set. By the way, do you think I should have added a smaller version of this butterfly in the upper right corner of the frame or should I just leave it alone -- I'd be grateful for your input!

My background paper was made using the shaving cream and reinker technique. Colors are Stampin' Up Elegant Eggplant, Old Olive and a dab of Pretty in Pink. This is the technique that I will be demonstrating at our stamping group this coming Saturday. I think all the ladies are going to have great fun playing with shaving cream and ink!! I have three other sheets of paper that I made with the same batch of shaving cream and I think they'll enjoy seeing the different patterns you can get just by "smushing" the paper into the shaving cream more than one time!!

Hope you all enjoy your Tuesday!
Betty

Make It Monday on Tuesday

This is my second post today. It's good to be back having fun creating -- I was in a bit of a funk for a few days last week!

Papertrey Ink's Make It Monday video was delayed until today but it was worth waiting for! Nicole shows us how to make a dimensional sentiment banner. Please check out her video because she can explain it much better than I could. I let the patterned paper do the work for my background but Nicole stamped a beautiful background and then added the banner. After adding my banner and the flowers I felt like my card still needed something. I added a pleated ribbon and even though I completely love the effect I don't know that I will do it again. It almost had me ready to scream it was so tedious. Anyone know an easy way to do this?????

My sentiment is from Papertrey Ink's Everyday Button Bits and don't you just love those light plum colored pearls -- I think they came from Michaels.

I'm going to save this for my mother-in-law's birthday. She can't see very well up close but this has lots of texture that she will be able to feel.

Betty

Make It Monday Ghost Masking

My card today was inspired by Papertrey Ink's Make It Monday with Betsy Veldman -- Ghost Masking. Friends, you have to check out the video -- it's a terrific technique! I had to improvise with what I had on hand and even though it didn't turn out quite as nicely as Betsy's, I was quite pleased with my first attempt!

I would also like to enter this into the challenge at Sugar Creek Hollow -- embossing.

My good friend, Mary Anne, let me know that my card would fit the challenge at Art Impressions and Do You Stack Up so I would like to enter my card at these sites also.  AI's challenge is Pink, Pink, and More Pink -- isn't that a fun title? DYSU also wants us to Be Pinky!

After completing the ghost masking technique, I embossed my panel with one of the Cuttlebug folders in the set Paper Lace II, and then sponged some Distress Ink Tattered Rose on top of the embossing. Also used this same ink to sponge on the edges of my ivory card base. The flowers are from a Martha Stewart set, Clear Camellia Stamps, and they were stamped with Stampin' Up ink, Rose Red, Regal Rose and More Mustard. The circle is a Gina K. Designs stamp from the Spring Mix StampTV set and was stamped with Momento London Fog.

Added a little piece of ribbon in the corner with a couple of buttons tied with a piece of that shiny embroidery floss for embellishment.

Hope you'll check out the video and try this technique -- would love to know how you like it!

Betty