Mom's Birthday Card

So, I a couple of weeks ago I mentioned that it was my mother's 71st birthday and promised to show you the card I had made for her.  Well, today is the day!  Here it is...

Birthday card featuring the Backyard Basics stamp set with sentiment from Simply Sketched (Hostess) stamp set.

My mom is a HUGE gardener and loves orchids.  I thought this image, from the Backyard Basics set, looked like some of the orchids in my mom's collection, so I thought it would be the perfect focal image for her card.

She is also an avid reader, so I thought the Pretty Print TIEF would be a suitable way to add some texture.  Here is a quick rundown of how I put it all together:

• I stamped the floral image on watercolour paper using Staz On ink and then coloured it using a blender pen and markers.  Colours I used were:  Perfect Plum, Elegant Eggplant, Crushed Curry, Old Olive and Always Artichoke
• I die cut the coloured image using the coordinating Backyard Basics Framelits.
• The background is a piece of Crumb Cake card stock that I embossed using the Pretty Print TIEF and then lightly sponged using Soft Suede ink.
• The label is die cut using the Apothecary Accents Framelits.
• The sentiment is from the Simply Sketched hostess set and is stamped in Soft Suede.  The floral image on the label is stamped in Crumb Cake ink.
• I used Crumb Cake seam binding ribbon and a Vintage Trinket brad for the bow.
• The card base is Soft Suede

Inside view with sentiment from Full of Life (retired)

A special card for a special lady!  Have a great Monday, everyone!!

Shadow Stamping

Today I have another man card that I designed for my techniques group this month.  It uses the shadow stamping technique (also known as faux embossing) which creates the illusion of a raised image with ink.  It also allowed me to review Masking with them, as a couple of my club members are new.  Have a look...

Father's Day card for my DH featuring the Just Believe and Family Reunion stamp sets

Inside view with sentiments from the Full of Life and Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp sets

Its not terribly visible in the photo, but the floral image is stamped twice, once in crumb cake and again in soft suede ink, with the latter stamped slightly offset from the former.  The result is the illusion of depth.  I created the sun by punching a 1 3/4" circle in a self-adhesive note and using it to mask my image panel.  I used Summer Starfruit and Cajun Craze ink to sponge inside the circle.  The DSP in the background is from the new Comfort Cafe pack...loving the variety in there!  The button is one of the new Naturals buttons from the upcoming Annual Catalogue...I tied using a nifty trick I saw on Pinterest (my newest time-waster!)  The best thing about this card is that I stamped it using my new Soft Suede ink pad...oohhh...how I love these new pads...can't wait to replace ALL of my colours!  The image quality is absolutely perfect!