The New Year will be a New Beginning

Happy New Year!

I have plans to work on this blog site starting 2007. Due to the holidays, I haven't had a chance to work on cards. I'm itching to start creating.

I just started this blog in December and have been blogging when I can. I can't wait to build this blog up and turn it into something I really want it to be. I have visions of adding instructions, links, and so many other things that will be useful to my readers.

Thank you for taking the time to read and look at my blogs. I hope you'll find something on this blog and my other blog site "Card Inspired" that will inspire you to make cards and other fun creations using rubber stamps.

My primary goal with these blogs is to share my love for this art and hopefully, encourage you to tap into your own creativeness.

I hope y'all have a Wonderful New Year! May your year be filled with wonderful blessings, prosperity, joy, and happiness.

Until later. . .

Mixed Bouquet Again

I really like this stamp set. Initially, I couldn't think of a design for this stamp set but the bold rose image really stands out as a front design. The stamp set is also versatile that various backgrounds can be created using the different floral stamps.

This card is pretty self explanatory so I won't write an instruction for it. I posted other images of this card on my previous posts with instructions. Check it out.

Pastel Greetings Galore

One of my favorite color mediums are pastels. I prefer it to watercolors and dye inks. The reasons are that there's no drying time required, no warping as in the case with watercolors, it's very blendable using a blender pen or water, and can be used both on matte and glossy cardstock. Stampin Up sells their pastels for $19.95 in all 48 colors. The picture below is a picture of the older pastel cover. The design of their product logos changed in 2004.

• Card Instructions
  
  Materials
  
  Greetings Galore stamp set
  Loving Hearts stamp set
  Antique Cracking stamp set
  White Cardstock 2 x 5"
  White cardstock to stamp the main image
  More Mustard Cardstock (Card base)
  Real Red Cardstock (to mat the background design and main design)
  Stampin Up Wave shaper scissor
  Eyelet
  Ticket Corner Punch
  Designer ribbon
  Real red, garden green, more mustard, and black dye ink
  Blender pen
  Pastels
  1/8" hole punch
  Designer ribbon
  Foam tape

  

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  Instructions
  
• Rubber stamp the card base using the Antique Cracking stamp using More Mustard dye ink.
  Set the base card aside
• Rubber stamp the white cardstock randomly with the Loving Hearts stamp set using real red and garden green dye inks
• Mat the cardstock on to real red cardstock and cut the top and bottom edge with the wave shaper scissors.
• Mount on to base card

• Rubber stamp the Happy Birthday stamp from the Greetings Galore stamp set using black inl on to white matte cardstock.
• Cut the image to the size you want
• Color in the image by picking up the pastel colors with a blender pen.
• Cut the right lower corner with ticket corner punch
• Mat on to the real red cardstock about 1/8 inch wider around the image
• Punch hole to the lower right corner and attached the eyelet
• Punch two holes on to the upper left corner and insert the ribbons
• Mount the completed design using foam tape to the right lower half of the card base

Pearl Ex Mixed Bouquet

Unfortunately, I covered the back design with the large floral images in the front.

This instruction is for the back design although you can't really see it.

When using Pearl Ex. . .you need to have a medium that will allow the powder to adhere. I've read that Future Floor Wax (yes, regular floor wax) is a great medium to use with Pearl Ex.

In this case, I used Gum Arabic which works in the same way.

Materials

Stamp of any sort. I used the Mixed Bouquet set.
Veramark ink
Dark cardstock. I used Baroque Burgundy.
Gold embossing powder
Heating tool
Pearl Ex. I used Forever Blue.
Gum Arabic
Watercolor brush

Instructions

Stamp your image randomly on to the dark cardstock.

Apply gold embossing powder then heat it with the heating tool.

Dip the watercolor brush into gum arabic.

Pick up a small amount of Peal Ex.

Color in the images and repeat the steps until all of the images are fully colored.

The results are a beautiful shimmery elegant design.

Design the front as you desire. In this case I used ballet blue and eggplant envy dye ink for the flowers. I covered the flowers with Versamark and heat embossed the image with clear embossing powder. I then cut out the image and mounted them on to the stamped background.

I matted the image on to more mustard cardstock then distressed the edge.

To add a little texture and embellishment, I pierced the edge of the mats with piercing needle.

The base card was rubberstamped flowers using more mustard dye ink onto the same colored cardstock.

This card took about 45 minutes to create because coloring in the images with Pearl Ex took some time but the results are worth it.

Until later. . .

Double Slider Card

I was going to write my own instructions for this card but it's a bit long so I decided to link the instructions from SCS instead.

Click Here for the Tutorial.

There's a slight variation to my card from the instructions given on SCS. I did have a few difficulties when creating this card. I had initially created the dimensions exactly as the SCS instructions but made a few technical errors that I ended up having to modify the card a little bit.

• I had punched the slider window too long (the instructions asked for 1 and 1/2
  length of the word window punch) and I think I went over that by a half inch so
  when the inner insert was reinserted behind the face, it would show up at the
  bottom of the face of the card.
• To fix that problem I cut the inner insert by 1 inch.
• The second problem was the top portion of the sliders were punched too low, so
  when I pulled on the outer insert to pull up the hidden messages, the hidden messages of both the inner and outer inserts' were cut off half way from viewing.
• To fix the problem, I punched the window for the sliders higher up on the card.
• The third problem. . .the brads would get caught on to the card when I reinsert
  the card. I can't fix this problem unless I remove the brads which I don't want
  to do. I just need to reinsert the inserts carefully.

Materials

The stamp set used for this card was Mixed Bouquet and the sentiments were from Friend to Friend.

The ink colors are ballet blue, green galore, garden green and pink passion pixie pink.

The cardstock used were white, beige, pink, pretty in pink, and ballet blue dye inks.

Slot punch for the top to insert the pull ribbon.



The card below is actually the first slider card I made. I had a few technical glitches similar to the ones I did with the card above. I had placed the heart on the outer insert too low so when the insert was pulled up, half of the heart did not show so I had to move the heart up a little bit.

You can't tell by the picture but the images on the outer insert (the one with heart in the back), are mounted with foam to give it a 3D appearance. It looks great but when I tried to reinsert the insert back down, the sides of the base card would pop off because the foam tape made the card bulky. The adhesive just could not hold the sides closed whenever I reinserted the inserts.

To fix that problem, I stapled all around the edge so it won't pop off. The staples are not a design concept, it's to fix a mistake but it turned out okay because it looks like an embellishment instead.

Materials

The stamp sets used were from A Light Heart and the outer insert was stamped with Loving Hearts.

The ink colors were pixie pink and real red.

The face design was stamped using white craft ink on to real red cardstock then heat embossed.

The cardstock colors used were pixie pink, real red, and white.

Punched tab from the Word Window punch for the pull handle at the top of the outer insert.

I don't want you to be discouraged in making this card. It's an excellent concept. I do suggest that the inserts should be designed in a simple way and leave the heavy embellishments to the front of the card.

Secondly, don't let the technical problems deter you from making a beautiful card. There's always a solution to a problem.

Until later. . .

Slow on the posts

I made a whole bunch of cards in the last two weeks but haven't posted any of them because I'm waiting for the memory card for my new camera to be delivered. Right now, the memory card that came with the new camera I got for Christmas only holds 5 super high quality photos and I don't want to download 5 photos at a time.

Anyhow, I will update this blog site as soon as I can take photos of my cards. I will also add the instructions for each photo.

Until later. . .

Crimping

Crimping your background adds texture to your card. I used "All Wrapped Up" to create this card with a swirl background. The flowers were colored with pastels then mounted on to a black background to create a 3D effect. I did the same thing with the jar. I enhanced the jar with crystal effects to create a glassy appearance to the jar (can't tell by the picture). I wanted the flowers and jar to be the highlight of the card so I kept the background simple. At the same time, crimping the background added texture to make it interesting.

Stampin Up sells a wonderful crimper that is wide enough to crimp a card front. Many crimpers sold on the market tend to be too small to crimp the whole card front. Another benefit of Stampin' Up's crimper is it's sturdiness. It's not made out of plastic. It has a metal base allowing multiple use without compromising the quality of the crimped cardstock.

Cocoa Packet Card

I made a bunch of these cocoa packet cards. I absolutely love them. I learned this technique from a stamp camp I attended. I made 4 different card designs and took each one and put them in a baggie. I gave them out to friends and family for Christmas. What's great about this pocket card is that it's reusable. After taking out the original cocoa packet, another one can be inserted.

I'll link the instructions when I have a chance. Check in at a later time.





Until later. . .

Color Spritzer Tool

The Color Spritzer Tool has returned. For awhile Stampin Up stopped selling this tool. It returned in the 2006 - 2007 catalog. (Click on the title of this post for ideas on how to use this tool).

How is it used?

Simple. Insert a marker through the tunnel (left side of the picture). The marker's tip sits right above the spritzer opening. When the bulb is squeezed, it blows air out of the opening and causes the marker to spritz ink in a mist pattern.

A great way to use this color spritzer is to spray a mist of water on to your cardstock, spritz a splash of color using the color spritzer and re-spray water on the the colored area. This disburses the ink creating beautiful watercolored background.

Here is a sample of a card I made using this tool:





Materials used:

Rubber stamp set: Happily Ever After

Ink Colors and cardstock: Orchid Opulance and Lavender Lace







Technique:

Background colored using the Color Spritzer Tool and water as described earlier, matted on to lavender lace cardstock then attached to card base.

Heart image randomly rubberstamped on to background after spritzed cardstock dried.

Bride image rubber stamped on glossy cardstock, colored with markers (lavender lace and green). Glue applied to the outline of the gown using a zig glue pen, then glitter applied.

Right corner punched using ticket corner punch.

Image matted on to lavender lace cardstock. Eyelet attached to the right lower corner and a small tag with saying is attached through the eyelet using a silver glitter cord. Swirl clip attached to left top corner and a ribbon tied to the clip.

Image mounted on to background using foam tape to give it a 3D appearance.

Wedding cards should be simple but elegant.

Pocket Note Card

This pocket card is easy to create.

Click here for the Instructions

Below are pictures of three cards I made using the same design but with different color combinations. I don't particularly like the white flowers but it did work well with the black and white combination.

Work in Progress

I haven't been posting on this blog because I've been working on my website which will be linked to this blog and vice versa. I wanted to get that started first before I start blogging. I've gotten the skeleton up on my website and soon will be able to link it to this blog. In the meantime, for those reading this blog. . .check out my other blog. Right now the link is in my "About Me" profile. . .I'll add the link on the blog page tomorrow.

I've been working on cards for an upcoming open-house that hopefully, someone will attend. I'm not sure if anyone will even show up but that's okay. . .even if 1 or 2 people show up. . .that's better than nothing.

Regardless, I do enjoy rubber stamping and honestly, I've gotten very good at it. I still have a lot to learn but I do have one thing going for me . . .my background in art. It helps with my ability to put things together, coordinate colors, textures, and patterns without having to follow instructions and such.

Anyhow, I'll start posting pictures and work I've created maybe tomorrow if I have the time. It's already late and I've just finished posting on my other blog, tweaked my website, and posted photos of cards on SCS. I'm too tired to post pictures on this blog for tonight.

My membership with SCS Demonstrator Only forum was approved and I'm very, very happy about it. I believe that forum will help me with Stampin' Up!

Until later. . .

Welcome

I am excited to start a new journey in rubber stamping. I've created this blog site to help promote my business as a Stampin Up demonstrator and share my love of this art with anyone interested. I will be posting blogs regularly showcasing the many different things you can create using Stampin Up products.

I hope through this journey, you will find the art of rubber stamping as enjoyable as it is to me. If you are familiar with rubber stamping and Stampin Up products and want to host a workshop or purchase Stampin Up products, feel free to email me. If you have any question regarding any of my posts, I will gladly answer them. Please comment on the post or email me at lbmcd66@hotmail.com.