Monthly Archives: April 2016

SSS Flickr Challenge #43

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Sun-Always-Shines-Above-the-Clouds

The Simon Says Stamp’s Flickr Challenge#43 is all about ink blending.

I used Distress Inks as the medium for my ink blending. Starting with a dark blue (Blueprint Sketch) from the bottom of the card front, I then blended a medium blue (Faded Jeans) further up and finally used a lighter blue (Tumbled Glass) as above the cloud line. T

I blended a bit of yellow (Sequeezed Lemonade) in the upper left hand corner to give a hint of the sun.

The clouds were all stamped on 80# Neenah Solar White with Versmark ink and then heat embossed with silver embossing powder. I used the dies that coordinate with the cloud stamps to die-cut the clouds. I die-cut one additional cloud from craft foam to use as a backing for the center cloud so that the cloud was raised from the other clouds. This gave the clouds a more dimensional look.

The raindrops were also stamped in Versamark and heat embossed in silver as was the sentiment.

With so much ink blending and heat embossing, the card front became a little warped. The card front was originally 4.25” x 5.5”, but I trimmed it down to 4” x 5.5” and then matted the card front onto a 4.25” x 5.5” piece of navy card stock to reduce the warping. I also though the navy-colored mat made the card front stand out a little more. The entire thing was then mounted on an A2 top-folding card base.

I hope this card doesn’t appear to gloomy even though the sentiment is a positive one.

Have a great day!

Supplies used in making this project:

Stamps: Simon Says Stamp Falling Backgrounds (raindrops); Simon Says Stamp Cloudy Sky (clouds and sentiment).

Dies: Simon Says Stamp die set: Clouds.

Inks: Versamark Ink; Distress Inks: Blueprint Sketch, Faded Jeans, Tumbled Glass, and Squeezed Lemonade.

Card stock: Neenah Solar White 80# for card front; Neenah Solar White 110# for the card base; Simon Says Stamp card stock in Soft Navy (mat for the card front).

Other:  Hero Arts silver embossing powder.

You Are Loved: Inspiration from Starbucks!

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You-Are-Loved

I can’t function without my morning cup of coffee. A Starbucks grande blonde (their light roast) sets my day on the right track. Not only do I love their coffee, but I love Starbucks mugs and collect them. So it is no surprise that I found inspiration in one of their latest mugs (shown below).

https://maggiestamping.com/starbuck-blue-floral-mug-2/

The white flowers against a deep blue background on this mug are quite striking. I saw the mug while waiting in line for my morning coffee and decided to use it as inspiration for a card.

I stamped the flowers using Simon Says Stamp’s white pigment ink onto some deep-blue cardstock. At first the pigment ink seemed a little splotchy but evened out as it dried. I didn’t heat set the ink because I wanted to find out how well the ink would even out on its own and it did quite nicely.

I didn’t want the sentiment to compete with the floral design, but I didn’t want it to be lost on the card either. So, I die cut a piece of vellum using a circle die. The sentiment was stamped onto the vellum using Versamark ink and then heat embossed with silver embossing powder. The sentiment came out with the right amount of subtlety without being lost in the overall design.

Hope you like the card.

Supplies used in making this project:

Stamps: Simon Says Stamp: Scribble Flowers and Flowers on My Mind stamp sets; Ellen Hutson: Bold Blooms stamp set; WPlus9: That is All (sentiment)

Dies: My Favorite Things Die-namics: Wonky Stitched Circle Stax.

Inks: Simon Says Stamp white pigment ink.

Cardstock: Simon Says Stamp: Soft Navy for the card front; Neenah Solar White 110# for the card base; Bazzill Vellum 40#.

Other: Hero Arts silver embossing powder.

Hello Spring: SSS Flickr Challenge #42

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Hello-Spring

The theme for the forty-second Simon Says Challenge is things that remind us of spring.

Bright colored flowers always remind me of spring. Spring colors are always so fresh and vivid which is such a contrast from the gray days of winter. I used bright colors for my flowers and bright green for the stems. I imitated the bright flower beds I see planted in the spring.

I added butterflies that were punched out of bright pink cardstock using an old Martha Stewart’s punch.

This card is fairly simple no special stamping techniques and I didn’t add any special background because I just wanted all the flowers and butterflies to pop.

Hope you like the card.

Supplies used in making this project:

Stamps: Simon Says Stamp: Birthday Flowers stamp set.

Dies: Simon Says Stamp: Painted Hello.; Martha Stewart butterflies punch (obsolete).

Inks: Papertrey Ink:  Raspberry Fizz, Hibiscus Burst, Melon Berry, Summer Sunrise, Bright Buttercup, and New Leaf.

Cardstock:  Neenah Solar White 80# for the card front; Neenah Solar White 110# for the card base; Papertrey Ink: Raspberry Fizz for the punched butterflies, New Leaf for matting the card front.