One more...

Ok, I know I said last week that I was done with the Faux Patina projects for a while.  Here's the thing:  after demonstrating the technique five times last Saturday I was left with five card-sized pieces of gorgeous Faux Patina.  Now I couldn't very well just throw them out, could I??  So, I decided to use one to create a sample for my techniques group this week.  It is a bit of a variation on one of the cards I showed you last week...which just goes to show how versatile this beautiful technique is!  Have a look...

Friendship card featuring the Field Flowers stamp set and using the Faux Patina technique.

Simple and elegant, eh?  I can't get enough of those Labels framelits (and I have it on very good authority that there are more to come in the upcoming Holiday Catalogue!).  I also used a little ribbon saving trick.  I used less than 5 inches of lace trim on this card.  I trimmed short little bits for either end and adhered them to the front and the back of the cardfront with glue dots.  The label is so large why would I want to waste all that beautiful lace hiding behind it?  I also used a wee bit of lace on the brad, simply sticking the prongs of the brad through the holes in the lace.  Easy-peasy and cost-effective to boot! 
Now I'm off to work on more XL cards.  I have SIX MORE to make for our ladies year-end event.  We have three staff members having babies and three who are leaving for other  schools.  That's a lot of big cards!  Time to get creative with filling all that extra space...

One more Faux Patina project

Are you sick of Faux Patina yet??  Can you tell that has been my focus for the last week or so?  Today I have the last of the projects using this great technique.  It is another card I designed for our event this weekend...and I think we'll likely do it at my monthly techniques group this month too!  Have a look...

Simple friendship card featuring the Field Flowers and Tiny Tags stamp sets.

Inside view.

A couple of days ago I mentioned that I was playing around with different colours of embossing powder for this technique.  For this card I used gold...a completely different look from the pewter, don't you think?  I also allowed more of the blue to show through because I knew I wanted the background to coordinate with my flowers.  The basic design of this card is CASE'd from one I found on Splitcoast Stampers...lots of great inspiration there!!  I hope you've enjoyed these four Faux Patina projects...I sure did have fun making them!

...and Something for Mom!

I didn't want the moms among us to feel left out so after designing the Father's Day card I posted yesterday I decided to do one for Mother's Day as well.  For this one I pulled out another of my favourite IBC sets:  Field Flowers (I know, just about every set is my favourite!).  I also drew on an oldie but goodie...Inspired by Nature...have a look:

Something for Mom featuring the Field Flowers and Inspired by Nature stamp sets with sentiment from Family Reunion.

Inside view with sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ok, so I'm hoping you all noticed the distinct lack of ANY embellishments on this card!!  If you've been following this blog for a while you likely know that I LOVE embellies...ribbon, buttons, brads...they all make me smile and no card is complete with out at least one of the above.  So when I create something that DOESN'T use any of the above it is a momentous event.  So, why did I leave this card so darned naked?  I was thinking of my own mom when designing it.  She is not a girlie girl by any stretch...how many 69-year-old women do you know who own their own chainsaw?!?  Ribbon and buttons just don't suit her style, so I opted for the naked look.  She is, however, an avid gardener and living in Northern Ontario she often incorporates the natural wildflowers native to the area in her gardens.  The images on this card remind me of a snapshot of her acres (and I'm not exaggerating) of gardens.  So, here is what I did to create this simple mom-worthy card...
Starting with a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of very vanilla cardstock, I stamped the grass image from the Inspired by Nature set in pear pizzazz ink.  I stamped it a couple of times to fill the space.  I then stamped the stems from Field Flowers in garden green ink right over top of the grass.  I stamped the solid flowers in perfect plum and then the line flowers in elegant eggplant...gotta love two-step-stamping!  I added the solid centres in more mustard for contrast.  I then sponged the edges of the stamped cardstock using pear pizzazz, going heavier along the bottom edge and lighter along the top.  To add a little interest I used my paper piercer and mat pack to add the detail in the top left and bottom right corners before adhering the whole thing to a pear pizzazz card base.  For the sentiment, I stamped the "To my" from the Family Reunion set in pear pizzazz on some scrap very vanilla cardstock and then the "Mom" in elegant eggplant.  I punched it out with my large oval punch and layered it on a scalloped oval in elegant eggplant.  It is adhered to the card with dimensionals.
For the inside I stamped the stem and blossom images again, but stamped them off first to give the more faded image.  I omitted the more mustard centres to keep it looking muted and soft.  The sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes and is stamped in elegant eggplant on very vanilla and then punched out with the word window. 
A simple card made quick and easy thanks to SU's Two-Step-Stamping ingenuity.  Sure hope my mom likes it!

Cornflowers...

...that's what today's card remind me of.  I love the beautiful blue wildflowers that grow so profusely along country roads at this time of year...they are such a vivid splash of colour against the grass...dried, and dead after this summer's heat.   When one of my hostesses asked for a generic card for her workshop this week, I pulled out the Field Flowers set and put together this simple card.  See what you think...

Simple all-occasion card using the Field Flowers and Nature Walk sets and a sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes.

Inside of card

This card was so fast and easy to put together I don't think I need to give you any instructions.  I will tell you the colour combos for the two-step stamping on the flowers though:  marina mist and not quite navy for the blooms and so saffron and more mustard for the centres.  The stems are always artichoke.
My hostess and her guests were thrilled with this card and loved how easily it came together.  Two-step stamping is a great way to get multi-dimensional images without having to colour or shade.  This set is fast becoming my favourite two-step stamping set EVER!

Where does the time go?

How is it the end of July already?!?  I feel like summer just got started and here it is half over!  The month of August spells an end to my care-free days and the beginning of ramping up for another school year.  Somehow my brain knows all this and the back-to-school dreams start, like clock-work, on August first...ugh!  Good thing I have my Holiday Mini pre-order to distract me!  I get to place my order for new goodies starting on Monday and boy, do I have a wishlist!!  I'm going to have to pace myself!  In anticipation of all my new Holiday goodies arriving in the next week or so, I've been working on planning my classes and workshops for August and September.  It's been fun to pull out some sets that haven't seen ink in a while and give them a workout.
Today's card is one that uses a brand NEW set...one that I've fallen in love with:  Field Flowers.  It is a two-step-stampin' set that allows you to get multi-coloured images with amazing depth without watercolouring or using markers.  Gotta love something that gets gorgeous results this quickly and easily!  Check it out:

Card using the new Field Flowers and Clearly For You sets with sentiment from Nature's Pace set.

Aren't those flowers pretty???  And SO easy to do...anyone with a couple of colours of ink can do it!   Here is how I put it all together:
Starting with a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" piece of First Edition DSP, I stamped the stems twice using always artichoke ink.  Then, using perfect plum, I stamped the solid flower image three times and a fourth time on a piece of scrap DSP.  Following that, I stamped the outline flower image in elegant eggplant right over top of the solid images, not worrying about exact alignment (no Stamp-a-ma-jig for me!).  Finally, I stamped the solid centre image using more mustard.  I then cut out the flower that was stamped on the scrap and adhered it to the larger stamped piece using dimensionals. Then I tore the edges of the stamped piece all the way around, trying to ensure I tore an even amount from each side.  Using the mahogany ink from the distressing kit, I sponged the torn edges.  I then took a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of elegant eggplant cardstock and crumpled and distressed it.  I ran my distressing tool from the cutter kit around the edges and then applied mahogany distressing ink using the rubber applicator to highlight the wrinkles in the paper and the rough edges.  I then adhered the stamped DSP piece, folding down the top left corner and securing it with an antique brad that I had threaded with a little Victoria Lace trim.  I adhered the entire thing to an always artichoke card base that I had also roughed up with my cutter kit tool.  On a piece of scrap very vanilla cardstock I stamped the sentiment from the Nature's Pace set in always artichoke ink.  I punched it out using my large oval punch and then stamped the butterfly and ladybug from the Clearly for You set in elegant eggplant and more mustard respectively.  I sponged the entire oval using the tea stain ink from the distressing kit, added a little library clip and adhered it to my card using dimensionals.
I really like this card!  It may be one that never gets given away...but then again, I have A LOT of cards that I say that about...I only have so much storage space!

A Burst of Creativity!

Today was a perfect day:  lots of quality time with my little guy and some time to play with my new stamping goodies!  It was another HOT one here today...still no rain.  We spent time in the pool this afternoon...about the only place it was comfortable being outside!  I sure hope it rains soon...
Now...on to today's project.  It has been several weeks since I've been able to participate in any online challenges so I decided it was high time I got back to it.  Today's card is  based on this week's Mojo Monday sketch.  Here is the sketch:

And here is my card:

Card for MOJO200 using the new Creative Elements stamp set and sentiment from Field Flowers.

Close up of my popped-up flower

LOVE the new Designer Frames embossing folders!

Inside of card featuring Mocha Morning DSP...so rich and yummy!

This card is really a study in texture.  There are so many different textures going on you just have to touch it!  For starters, I stamped the flourish from Creative Elements in soft suede on a card base of the same colour.  I then ran it through my Big Shot using my Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder.  I wrapped a piece of black striped 1 1/4" grosgrain ribbon around the card base and added a bow tied with an antique brad.  I then cut a strip of the flocked Mocha Morning specialty paper and added a scalloped edge in basic black textured cardstock, adhering it to the cardfront.  Next I stamped the flower three times on watercolour paper using black Staz-on ink.  I watercoloured all three flowers using crumb cake and soft suede inks and my aquapainter.  I then fussy-cut out the full flower for the bottom layer, as well as the middle and top layers from the other stamped images.  I layered the flower using dimensionals to give it depth.  I then brushed it lightly with champagne mist shimmer paint using my aquapainter to give it some sparkle and richness.  On a separate scrap of very vanilla cardstock I stamped the butterfly in crumb cake ink and the sentiment in basic black.  I then ran the scrap through the Big Shot using the rectangular designer frame embossing folder.  I fussy cut out the frame and sponged the edges using soft suede ink.  I adhered both the frame and the flower to the card.  Voila...a gorgeous-so-rich-you-want-to-touch-it card!  I am SO in love with these new products!  I can't wait to show them to my customers...they're going to love them as much as I do!
I really liked working with this sketch, so tomorrow I'll have another card using the same sketch for you!