Sunday, September 22, 2013

365 Cards Super Sketchy Sunday Day 265

 Greetings challenge players, and welcome to this week's 365 Cards Super Sketchy Sunday! I trust that all is well with you and that you are looking for some papercrafting inspiration! If that is the case, you've come to the right place! Check out that sketch above! Pretty cool, huh?
At first, I could not figure out how to get the zig zag on the bottom of this card. I thought I was going to have to start over, because the background paper was already too strong a pattern to support a bold zig zag. Then I found these chipboard flowers and thought that they would be the perfect solution, and they were! The gorgeous vintage buttons add just the right touch. No stamping on this card, but I did run a dark green ink pad around the edge of the patterned paper to make it stand out from the card base.

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Gamsol Magic Daisies and Other Technique Cards

 I used the Gamsol Magic technique to color these flowers, it's still one of my favorite techniques. I like to try new techniques, but I hardly ever do one more than once. This one I have kept up since I first learned it. It's a very satisfying way to color. I used Gina K. Designs Eclectic Summer Stamp TV kit here. Everything is from the kit except the SU! cardstock and the button.
 This is another Eclectic Summer card, this time using the Polished Stone technique. It's the same background as the cupcake card yesterday. I used Ranger metallic fixatives and alcohol inks, and they work beautifully. You don't have to wait forever for them to dry like you do if you use pigment ink. They also dry ulra-shiny and shimmery.
 Different color reinkers for this card, same technique. I used A Muse Studio reinkers for this background, and they don't work. They won't dry, so don't waste them or your time trying Polished Stone with them. I had to pour clear embossing powder over this one and emboss it to seal the ink. They are also not shimmery, they have a very chalky finish, which I love to stamp with, but don't like much with this technique.
 This one is crayon resist. Just color parts of your image with a white crayon, then sponge ink on top. The colored parts resist the ink, leaving the original cardstock to show though. The white ink is WPlus9, the cardstock is A Muse Studio.
 This rather odd gatefold card sold quickly in my Etsy shop. It's very interesting to me what is popular there. I'll make a card I'm very proud of, and it will languish in my shop for months. Then a card like this sells right away. I can't figure it out.
I hope you can stop by tomorrow for the 365 Cards Super Sketchy Sunday sketch! It's a good one!

Friday, September 20, 2013

I'm So Thankful

 I used the Joseph's Coat technique on this card, you can learn how to do it on Stamp TV. I used the Signs of Autumn and Thanks a Million stamps here. All the cardstock, ribbon and brads are also GKD. I got all these supplies in the Signs of Autumn STV kit years ago. You can still get most of these supplies, you just have to buy them separately now.
 I made this for a WPlus9 Monday Mood Board Challenge, but I don't think I ever uploaded it. I used Sweets & Treats and Sweets & Treats Fillers. It's just one of my weird cards. I make a lot of cards that turn out a little off. I know that some stampers only publish their best work on their blogs, but I don't mind showing the good the bad and the ugly. The background is Polished Stone, and is very cool IRL.
 This is another WPlus9 card. Again, there's something not quite right about this card. Both of these sets were new when I made these cards, and it takes me a while to get to know a stamp set and make something good with it. This set is called Fresh Picked, and has companion dies, which is one of the reasons I love WPlus9 so much.
 This one is from GKD Eclectic Summer. I use this flower pot a lot. The ribbon is GKD, the cardstock SU! and the patterned paper, Basic Grey. I colored this using my 13yo SU! chalks and Chalk Enhancer, which I got grom GKD years ago. It makes chalks perform a little more like paint, so you can get more precise application, but it still dries to a chalky finish.
Another GKD Eclectic Summer card. The kissing couple is embossed and not showing up well in the picture, due to a glare. When I emboss in black, I always begin with VersaFine Black and emboss in SU! clear. I hate dealing with all the messy flecks that black ep leaves behind, and using clear gives almost the same look with a lot less mess.

Saturday, September 14, 2013

365 Cards Super Sketchy Sunday Day 258

 Tada!! Another splendid sketch from Wendi for 365 Cards.
I decided to work with a very old pear die that I have never used before. Then I added a little PTI Love Lives Here to sort of reinforce the pear pair. The paper is Simple Stories. I hope you have time to stop by the other design team members' blogs-they always aim to please!

Monday, September 9, 2013

Hey Cupcake!

 I used a favorite trick of mine for this card, and that is to use vellum to tone down crazy bright designer paper. I trimmed the vellum a little smaller than the DP so you can really get the impact of it, but in a small, easy to digest dose. I used Gina K. designs Sweetest Blessings, and label dies from A Muse Studio.
 I have been loving yellow for a month or two, which is a new thing for me. One of the reasons has to be this Authentique pad. I love every piece of paper in it-they are all yellow and gray. I also added some vintage seam binding. This is a narrower width than is typical. The stamps are GKD Spring Mix. The tag is, well, I can't remember, but it's super cool, and it came with a lot of other cool tags of various shapes and sizes.
 I used the Smackin' Acetate technique here, which is just so fun! This darling stamp is GKD Eclectic Summer.
 Another Eclectic Summer card. How cute is that fish?
Another Eclectic Summer card. I have made at least a dozen cards with this little barrel. The white ink is WPlus9, and I like it quite a bit. White ink, as you know if you are an experienced stamper, is hard to make well. I think WPlus9 did a good job on this one.

We are having a little Indian Summer here, and by that I mean: my house is hot! How about you? Are you seeing fall temps yet?

Sunday, September 8, 2013

365 Cards Super Sketchy Sunday Day 251

 Another fabulous card sketch from Wendi! I enjoyed working with this sketch, and was pleased with the results. I hope you'll try your hand at it, and play with us over on 365 Cards!
 I broke out my brand new incentive stamp from Gina K. Designs. She sends a free stamp set for every $25 you spend up to $75!!
I embossed the grapes in Ranger gold glitter ep, and colored with my new Distress Markers. This card is a mix of the old and the new. The stamp, Tim Holtz paperclip, and markers are new. The American crafts paper, Making Memories metal sentiment, and ep are old. If you look closely, you can see the crazy fuchsia print on the inside of this card. Before I send it, I'll line it with vellum to tame it down and make writing easier to see.