Inkspiration for Stamping and Scrapbooking

All work and no play...

It feels like there's not been much time for stamping lately - I've got lots of writing to do for my other job.

But I wanted to take a minute and show you this. I had a team meeting last week and this was my swap card - our theme was to use a technique, so I chose the chalkboard technique. Isn't the Tart & Tangy set just darling for this technique?

It starts with a Real Red cardbase, onto which I layered Whisper White and stamped with a greeting from Enjoy Life in Staz-On Black. The patterned paper running up the left side is from the Summer Picnic pack. The Basic Black is stamped with the dotted lines stamp from Live Your Dream (Occasions mini). The apple is done by stamping in Whisper White craft ink and then using a sponge dauber to apply chalk over top while it is still wet. If some chalk clings to the black cardstock, use that eraser that comes with the Stampin' Pastels to remove it and clean it up.

This card will go to one of Sarah's teachers in June, I think. I really like how it came out, don't you?

I will be back tomorrow with another fun card that we did at my team meeting. Meantime, leave me a comment letting me know what fun techniques you've been playing with lately. I love hearing from you!

Tart & Tangy class close up

The Tart & Tangy class was a LOT of fun!

I showed you a group picture of the cards earlier, and now you can see each one up close!

This is the faux postage card, which some of you may have seen before, as I posted it way back when I first announced this class.

Faux postage is really just another masking technique and it creates a really fun effect. We used markers to colour the cherries, and then used a sponge dauber to shade in the background.

This is the faux tile card. There are a few faux tile techniques out there; one involves scoring a grid-like pattern on your card, but I've also seen that called a grid card. This technique involves creating a tile like surface by stamping with classic ink, and then smooshing the cardstock in your Versamark pad and clear embossing.

I know there aren't blue apples, but I love this card, and here's why:

  My dining room is adorned with my Delft collection - yes, there's Dutch blood running through my veins and I love the blue hand-painted porcelain that typifies Dutch artwork - I'll never be able to afford a VanGogh or Rembrandt so these hand-painted beauties will do just nicely.

So I used my Delft  trivets as my inkspiration for the faux tile card.

This next card is a close copy of one in a recent Stampin' Success magazine. For those that don't know, Stampin' Success is the monthly magazine that SU! demonstrators receive free full of business and stampin' ideas.

This technique is called the loaded marker. I like the watercolour-y effect it creates. We loaded the side of a light-coloured brushtip marker with darker-coloured ink and coloured with that. The effect is somewhat subtle, but quite pretty.

This card is a very close copy of Sharon Johnston's card found here. She eventually incorporated her card into a kitchen collection gift set - so cute!

You've heard me talk about Sharon before - I love her simple, elegant style. She posts a stamp simply challenge every Friday, and if you want to play along, you'll find the challenges on her blog.

This card incorporates a template, more than a technique, but I loved it so much I included it in the class! There's a little flap on the inside cover that can hold a favourite cherry recipe that you'd like to share, or a gift card or gift certificate.

This card smells so good!

This is a scratch and sniff card. I mixed unsweetened KoolAid with clear and irridescent ice embossing powders and the whole orange slice is the one that produces that sweet happy smell when scratched.

The 3 slices are embossed with irridescent ice ep and look yummy enough to eat, don't you think? They remind me of candies I'd see at my grandparents - those sugary fruit candies. Anyone know what I mean?

This card is inspired by this  one I saw on SCS - only I eliminated the green - we have enough green cards already, and because I wanted the scratched image to be big enough to get lots of enjoyment out of, I went with the whole orange.

So that was our class - if you missed it, I hope you can make it to another class in the future.

Hope these inspire you to get your stamps out and play - there are so many things you can do with a single set. Next week, I'll show you another Tart & Tangy card I'm dreaming up for my team meeting swap card. Sorry, but you have to wait until they get theirs first.

Happy stampin' and blessings,

Ann

Tart & Tangy, comin' up?

Did you say you like your stampin' tart & tangy?

Well, you'll get it just the way you like it at this Wednesday night's class - an evening of nothing but Tart & Tangy ideas!

Here's what we're making! I'll show you pictures of each individual card after the class. The ladies attending get to see it first - that's fair, right?

This is a technique oriented class so we'll be learning these techniques:

• loaded marker
• faux postage
• scratch n sniff
• faux tile
• as well as a really neat cutting trick for the cherry card (which is a very close copy of a card by Sharon Johnston - you've heard me rave about her work before)

The orange card is inspired by one I saw on SCS and I wrote down the name of person who uploaded it, but I can't find it just now; I'll be sure to give credit when I post each card individually on Thursday.

Come back tomorrow when I'll share a little problem and an easy solution for it.

Happy stampin' and blessings! - Ann

Texture Goes Cute

In my last post, I showed you a card that I had made for 2 purposes - to stamp something that meets Sharon's challenge, and to make up something for our stamp club. Well, our club meeting was last night and they loved the card, with its curved corners. And they loved playing with the glitter. The ribbon technique takes some practice, so some got that better than others. That's the way it is with life, isn't it?

This card was a huge hit with them. The texture here is created only with paper. We used the paper piecing technique to create some visual texture on those Unfroggetable frogs. If you haven't tried this technique, you really should - it's very easy and fun!

This technique works really well with line art images. Simply stamp your image twice, once on the cardstock that is your top layer of your card, and once on patterned paper. Trim out the patterned paper piece, cutting just on the stamped line. Adhere the cutouts to the stamped images and voila - cute and easy paper piecing. Try it with such images as funky flowers, animals, shapes, dresses etc. Check your stash, I  bet you have a set this would work with!

The water was created using the Wonderful Watercolour Crayons and the Aquapainter - that's how the dragonfly was coloured in as well. The lily pad and rock are done by punching out the shapes. The Sahara Sand cardstock was crumpled after punching and a little direct to paper with the ink to add some tactile texture and make it appear rock-like. The lily pad was trimmed into with the paper snips and a little additional green was painted on with the Aquapainter and the WWC.

How's this for texture - this one has been sitting on my shelf for about a week now, and every time I look at it, I want to touch that strawberry!

The colours are Real Red and Certainly Celery - the celery changed a little somewhere in the photographing/editing process... I am still learning!

The strawberry comes from the Tart & Tangy set - such a cute, versatile set, isn't it? I stamped the berry in Real Red on to Whisper White and punched it out. Then I used the Tombow multi, fine tip, to spread glue on the hull part. The beads are from the bead duo - so fun! You get big beads and microbeads in matching colours all in one package. So we sprinkled on the bigger tube beads first, and then sprinkled on the microbeads to fill in spots. Then repeated the process with the red duo.

The patterned paper comes from the matching called Summer Picnic and we used the white gel pen to accentuate just a few dots and play up the visual texture a bit.

I hope that gives you some great ideas to try to add texture to your stamped art - now, go get stamping, and leave me a comment to let me know what you think.

Happy stampin' and blessings! - Ann

Cherries go Postal

Well it is the start of March, and the start of a new mini catalogue. The Occasions mini runs through to the end of May and features lots of great sets for Spring-y stamping projects.

This card features the Tart & Tangy set, a cute little 4 piece stamp set with fruit in solid images. Oh, the things I plan to do with this set! Fun stuff!

This card uses Baroque Burgundy, Garden Green and Almost Apricot along with some Basic Black and Whisper White. The technique is called Faux Postage and if you like this look, you'll have to be sure to sign up for my upcoming Tart & Tangy class. I'm including this card/this technique in that class. It's being held on Wednesday, April 2nd and it is technique oriented. So you'll learn lots of other fun and faux techniques that night! There is a price for set included, and without the set. AND for those of you who can't attend in person, there are the to-go versions too. 

Hope to see you at the class - we always have a ton of fun while we get together for some stamping!

If you haven't got your Occasions mini yet, just let me know.