Thinking of You - Slanted Sentiment

Hi Everybody,

I'm on the Strawberry Jude Stamps blog today guest designing for them one more time this month.  I'm really impressed with the quality of their stamps.  HERE'S A LINK to check out the online shop.  

I'm using one of the new release stamp sets called, Grateful Florals.  Last post I used the large bouquet so this time I wanted to use the pine cone and leaf.  When I think of pine cones and leaves, I either picture them laying on the ground in piles on the ground or flying around because it's Fall and windy.  On this card they are flying around. :) 

So, in my head, I have a list of techniques I want to try, ways I want to lay out my card, etc., most of the time I don't use something from the list. This time I am, I have been wanting to do a slanted sentiment so now I can mark it off my head list. 

I am using Gina K Designs Kraft Cardstock and bottom layer Tomato Soup. The sentiment is fairly large so I started by putting it where I wanted it on the card and making lines above and below and then on those lines, I placed the Stitched Border Die by Lawn Fawn.  I really like how you can use these border dies to frame something, section something off, etc.  

Next I used the MISTI and I started stamping using Brutus Monroe Clear Embossing Ink (love!) and Penny Embossing Powder, which looks like copper. I just randomly stamped everything around those slanted lines. I stamped the sentiment in between the slanted lines and embossed with the Penny Embossing Powder.  

I colored the leaves and pine cones with Prismacolor Pencils.  This is another thing I wanted to take off of my head list lol, color on kraft cardstock with colored pencils.  It's very different than coloring on actual pencil paper. I think you can let lose here and not be so perfect on colored cardstock because it is very forgiving. 

I initially thought I would put Glossy Accents over everything but I decided to only use it on the leaves, then I would have a differentiation.  The leaves look like stained glass with the Glossy Accents on them.  Very pretty!

I finished it off by wrapping a piece of natural twine around the card going with the slant and made a bow and then added a few brown glitter enamel dots. 

Did I inspire you to try the slanted sentiment?  I'm not used to it so it makes me feel like my card is not straight lol. 

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a great day!

Regina

Botanical Banners - Thinking of You

Hi Everybody,

I'm on the Brutus Monroe Blog today with this beauty of a card and the great thing about this card is it was quick and easy. The watercolor look is all the rage these days but it doesn't have to take a lot of time.

I am using the Brutus Monroe Botanical Banners Stamp Set.  I love this set!  The floral image is perfect to stamp in the corners of your card as I did here.  The black strips with a white embossed sentiment are popular right now so you can stamp these banner stamps in black or emboss in black and voila' your black strip with white letters if on white cardstock and you didn't even have to cut them yourself. So for instance, you could use Raven Detail Ink which is a really dark black ink or you could use Brutus Monroe clear Embossing Ink (love!) and Ultra Fine Raven Embossing Powder if you want shine and some dimension. 

I decided to use the Brutus Monroe Ultra Fine Penny Embossing Powder on this card because it is such a rich, beautiful color and makes me think of Fall, which I love. I stamped the floral stamp in two corners using the clear Embossing Ink and embossed with the Penny Embossing Powder.  I chose a few Zig Real Brush Markers that I thought would look good together and not turn muddy.  If some of the colors do turn muddy, they can always be fixed. I chose darker colors for this one, jewel tones, because I thought they would look pretty with the Penny Embossing Powder.

I have a video on YouTube showing how I do this.  It was a live Facebook video I did several months ago so it's not picture perfect quality but I think you'll get the gist of what I'm showing here.  This was my very first video ever so go easy on me lol. (We have since chosen some paint colors in the yellow family to replace those green walls). 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wf3ogT5UdD4&t=632s

I scribbled (literally scribbled) wherever I wanted on the paper with these markers, not worrying about getting out of any lines.  It doesn't really matter where you put the color because next you're going to spritz heavily with water. I used Strathmore Bristol Smooth Paper so that the ink can run freely and not get held up by the texture in watercolor paper.  You can control where it goes by moving it around and you can use a paintbrush to move it along the edges or if it's muddy, brush the muddy part away.  I purposely left the center lighter for the sentiment but you do not have to.  I stamped the Thinking of You Banner using the clear Embossing Ink and Penny Embossing Powder .  

You do not have to emboss your images to do this technique, you can also just stamp them but try to use the Bristol Smooth paper.  You can use your heat gun after you spritz it each time and you can add more color if you want and then use heat gun again.  You'll have to add darker colors if you want more color because the paper will be really saturated by this time and light colors won't show.

I used beautiful Copper Cardstock from Gina K Designs and also an Orchid color as well but this was a limited edition color a couple years ago or so.

I hope I inspired you to try this technique.  It's so much fun and you will be amazed at the results.  No two will turn out alike. 

There are a few additional posts using this technique.  If you'd like to see them, do a search for Zig Scribble. :)

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Regina

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50th Anniversary Card

Hi Everybody,

I made a 50th Anniversary card using Altenew stamps, Beautiful Day and Thinking of You stamp sets.  I wish you could see this card in person, it is so beautiful. The pictures do not do it justice.

I actually made a video on how to make this card just playing around.  My intention was to make the card and not talk and I talked the entire time!  It's not edited yet but if you're interested in seeing it, I can publish it in the near future.  I don't think I did too bad for the first one but there are about 3 things I need to edit out lol.

I took a lattice die and cut it out using acetate and then used that acetate die cut as a stencil.  How cool is that!  I used Cosmic Shimmer Paste in gold and just used a palette knife to spread it over the stencil being sure to cover all of the openings well.  The excess goes back into the jar.  Cosmic Shimmer Paste spreads like a dream too.  These are so easy to work with, I don't have to 'futz' (is this a word) with it very much like I do the Dreamweaver ones.  I let it dry for several hours.

 
Then I used my MISTI and the corners to make sure the sentiments were straight.  I colored the flower from Altenew Beautiful Day stamp set with Copic markers in R20, R22, and R24 and used Y17 in the center.  I used some gold Stickles to line some of the petals.  I think this adds a lot to the flower and card.  I cut out leaves from the Royal Leaves die set from My Favorite Things and then used foil with the Mini Minc.  I love this green and gold foil.  I originally colored the leaves in the Beautiful Day set with Copics but decided the foiled ones would look better.  I embossed the sentiments with Stampendous Detail Fine Gold Embossing Powder.   This works so well for me on tiny words/letters.

I used Gina K Designs gold card stock and it is just gorgeous and such a great weight.  Inside I used a sentiment from Close To My Heart stamp set called, The Happy Couple Anniversary I believe.  I love how pretty this font is.  I usually don't use stickers but I had these 50 Years stickers and thought it would look good because the Years font is similar to the Happy Anniversary font.  I got these at a big box store.

I cut out a Scribble Rose from My Favorite Things and added a few of the foil leaves I cut out from the Royal Leaves die set.

Last of all, I used the Papertrey Ink Envelope Liner Die (LOVE THIS!) and lined with the gold card stock. How pretty is that??

This card was a lot of fun to make.  I hope you'll try to make your own stencils with acetate and your dies.  One word of advice..... I had to use my Precision Plate to get the acetate to cut right.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!


Regina

Poppies

Hi Everybody,

I made another card with a poppy image that I colored as part of the Nature Class at Kit and Clowder. Keep in mind when you see my coloring of flowers in this class, I drew in all of the detail.  That is what you learn in these classes as well as color combos, technique, etc.

I made this card as a Thinking of You card for someone going through some things she shouldn't have to be dealing with.  I hope it puts a smile on her face.  I also made a matching envelope liner and stamped the flap of the envelope.

(I apologize for awful inside photo.  I forgot it when I was taking other ones)

Do you think I could've popped on a few more layers??  LOL!  I couldn't decide what colors I wanted to use so it looks like I used everything I had in my head and then some.  :)

I know the card doesn't have a lot of detail to it but I think when you color an image, it doesn't need much more than that, do you?

Supplies Used:

• Gina K Designs White, Red Hot, Black Onyx Cardstock
• Close To My Heart Slate Cardstock
• Poppy Image from Nature Class at Kit and Clowder
• Rectangle die with the x's (my mind just went blank on what these are called)
• Copic Markers
• Clear Sequins, Pretty Pink Posh (LOVE THESE)
• Wink of Stella Clear Shimmer Pen
• Lawn Fawn Scripty Sayings Stamp Set
• Paper Smooches Religious Words Die Set
• Right At Home Happy Mail Year 2
• Papertrey Ink Envelope Liner Die

I hope I have inspired you to color up an image as the focal point of your card.  Layer it up like I did as well!  :)

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Regina

I Brake for Watercolored Dahlias

Hi everybody!

I started out this year loving poppies and I still do but now I am on to a new flower, the dahlia.  I love all of the little petals and they are super fun to watercolor.  I got my inspiration from a Kristina Werner video.  Her inspiration was from a comforter and she made a card using the purple inks I used below. 

Here's a link to I Brake For Stamps online store.  I LOVE this stamp set!  It's great when you know you will actually use all the stamps in a set.  

The set is called, Quarter Sheet Dahlia.  I also used Large Grungy Leaves stamp.  This is what it looks like...

Use Coupon Code SAVE10REGINA to receive 10% off your order.

I stamped the flower and leaves in Versamark ink and embossed with white embossing powder.  I chose a few Tim Holtz inks in Fall colors and just pressed the ink pad on my craft mat and spritzed with water and used a watercolor brush to paint the different colors on my flower and blended.  It's so easy and relaxing.  I also used Fossilized Amber, I added that later to have a golden brown yellow color.  Be careful not to paint outside the lines of the flower.  Then I used Antique Linen to paint the background.  Be careful not to touch the flower when you're painting the background because the colors will run.  Ask me how I know that!  LOL!  Use a heat gun to dry.  Take a paper towel and wipe off the flower and the ink will come off of the embossed part, it resists the ink.  Then I put a few drops of water in my hand and let them drop onto the paper.  After the water sits for 30 seconds to a minute, take a paper towel and blot and you will have the white spots, dry with heat gun.  You can add more water droplets but dry in between.  I sponged ink around the edge of the watercolor paper and around the sentiment.  I added a few sequins and twine and called it a day.  

Supplies:
  

• I Brake For Stamps Quarter Sheet Dahlia Stamp Set and Large Grungy Leaves Stamp

• Recollections 110# card stock for card base
• Gina K Designs Tomato Soup and Cherry Red card stock
• Strathmore 140# Cold Press Watercolor Paper
• Tim Holtz Distress Inks in Fired Brick, Fossilized Amber, Ripe Persimmon, Spiced Marmalade and Abandoned Coral.  Antique Linen for background and Gathered Twigs for sponging around edges and stamping the sentiment
• Sizzix Framelits Die, Phrases.  Stephanie Barnard's name is on package and these numbers 658838
• Versamark Ink
• Recollections Detail Embossing Powder in Snow
• Watercolor Brush
• Tombo Mono Adhesive
• Pop Dots
• Craft Medley Sequins in Citrus
• American Crafts Twine

Purple card, same as above but used Tim Holtz Victorian Velvet, Seedless Preserves and Dusty Concord.  Sequins are Craft Medley, Viola, Gina K Designs card stock in Kraft and Edible Eggplant.

Did I inspire you to start watercoloring?  These Tim Holtz inks are so easy to work with and the colors are so vibrant.  You can do a lot with this Dahlia Stamp Set. 

Don't forget to use Coupon Code SAVE10REGINA to get 10% off order.  Check out the Christmas stamps too.  There are deals of the week for 50% off. 

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Regina - I Brake For Stamps Design Team Member

I Brake For Poppies

Hi everybody,

I am in the process of trying to decorate my boyfriend's house and didn't know what I wanted to do in the dining room.  One day I was browsing one of the local Facebook groups that sell things and saw a poppy picture.  I knew that would be the start of my decorating in that room and would decorate around that.  What does that have to do with anything you ask?  I started loving poppies then, this was around the first of the year and all of a sudden, I am seeing poppies everywhere, including the card making business, stamps and dies galore.  I Brake For Stamps has a few really pretty poppy stamps including the one I am using on today's card.  Here is a link to the I Brake For Stamps STORE.  Here is a link to the stamp I am using called, Stained Glass Poppies.

I wanted to do something different so I made a square window card with this stamp.  One of my friends lost a family member recently so I wanted to use this one as a sympathy card.  I used Gina K Designs White, Red Hot and Sweet Corn card stocks.  I colored the stamp with copics, which are listed below.  I used a Lawn Fawn die called, Thinking About You Border.  It is all one phrase but I cut it apart so it would fit on the card.  I used the Silhouette Adhesive Sheets with the die so that all I would have to do is peel off the backing and stick it to the card, no worries about it coming unglued.  I used a Cuttlebug Polka Dot embossing folder but only embossed part of the card.  I used Diamond Stickles in the center of one of the flowers.  The patterned paper on the inside is by Echo Park called Sweet Girl.

I just used a Spellbinders Classic Large Square die to cut out the opening for the window. 

Copics Used:  Poppies R20, R22, R24, R27
Stems and Leaves:  G20, G24, G28
Frame:  Y11, Y13, Y15, Y17
Center of Poppy:  E23, E25, E27 and Y15
Background:  BG000 and BG01 and also used tip to tip to blend better

I hope you liked this card and you can get this stamp for yourself at a 10% discount by using Coupon code SAVE10REGINA, off your total purchase.

Did I inspire you to make something beautiful.  Have a great day!

Regina - I Brake For Stamps Design Team Member