Orchids

I changed my orchid stamp (Clear and Simple autumn sentiments set) a bit for this card. The original stamp has the stems ending at the top of the vase. I wanted to make it look like the vase had water in it, so I drew the stems longer to make them reach down farther into the vase. I used watercolor pencils to color the image and added some paper by Basic Grey (Wisteria line) to finish the card.

I also updated my Memory Box blog tonight with a card using Twinchies and Shimmer Spritz. That card can be found here.

As I drove home tonight, the neighborhood was lit up with fireflies. Nothing says summer more than fireflies. Unless of course you count the stifling heat we are having this week!

Baby Wipe Technique

This is the first card I have ever made using the baby wipe technique. Basically, you take a baby wipe, fold it over a few times, and place it onto a paper plate. Then you add drops of various colors of dye reinkers, mist the baby wipe a little to blend the colors, and use the baby wipe as a stamp pad. The result is similar to using a rainbow ink pad, but the colors blend together better and it gives you a more watercolored look. Solid stamps work best for this technique, so I used one of the latest fern stamps by Impression Obsession.

Impression Obsession Red Challenge

The latest Impression Obsession Challenge is all about the color red. I immediately knew that I wanted to use my current favorite background, Cover a Card Roses (CC043) for the challenge. After all, what conveys the color red better than roses? Well, except apples, strawberries, lips, fire engines, etc... :)

I stamped the Roses background onto medium red paper using black versafine ink and layered the Rose Full Bloom (D6217) and Rose Leaf Branch (F8199) on top. For the individual rose, I stamped it onto white cardstock with black Versafine and colored it with Prismacolor pencils (Tuscan Red, Crimson, and Pink). I stamped the rose leaves onto white cardstock with Adirondack Lettuce ink and cut out only two leaves from the stamped image. To finish the card, I edged pieces with black cardstock and added some Diamond Stickles to the rose.

Need more red inspiration? Check out the cards by Daniela, Deborah, Dina, Jeanne, Jenny, Julie, Kathy, and Rosemary.

Want to play along? All the information can be found here. You could win a $25 Impression Obsession gift certificate!

Diver

I made this card for my brother's birthday because he has recently taken up deep sea diving. I am so proud of how well he has been doing with his new hobby. Of course, I knew he would be really good at it since he has always been very comfortable in the water and has always preferred swimming under the water to swimming on the surface.

I don't own any diving stamps, so I knew the person to ask was my friend Marilynn. She has an extensive and eclectic assortment of images that would make any stamper envious. Because she has been stamping for so long (I think she started in the 80's), she has stamps from companies I have never heard of. The diver on this card is by "Love you to Bits." Has anyone heard of that company? The coral is by Fred Mullett, and I couldn't figure out who makes the fish.

To make the card, I stamped the images onto acetate using black Staz on ink. I colored the images on the opposite side of the acetate with copic markers then covered the marker work with a white paint pen so that the colors would show up better on the acetate. I then layered the acetate onto blue paper to look like the ocean.

Watercolor Vellum

Today I am posting a card that I made for one of the Splitcoast VSN challenges. The challenge was to color a stamp with water-based markers, spritz it with water, and stamp it onto vellum. I had done this technique before, but never on vellum. I was quite surprised at how well it worked! The one thing I changed from the challenge instructions was that I added Perfect Pearls to my water so that I misted the stamp with pearlized water. It gave my finished card a metallic sheen. The background stamp and flower are both by Impression Obsession, and the clear rhinestones are by Hero Arts.

On an unrelated note, I had the chance to go to the Wine Enthusiast Taste of the Town on Friday. It was held at the National Building Museum in DC. Who knew there was a National Building Museum?! In any case, it is gorgeous. Here is a picture from the event:

The surprise of the night? My friend Chrisi and I loved the pear/Parmesan cheese gelato from Penny Chocolates in Fairfax. Yes, that is right. Parmesan in gelato.

Difference of Opinion

Posting cards online is a funny thing. Sometimes the cards you don't like as much get lots of comments and positive reviews. Then there are the cards you really like that hardly get noticed. The card above is one of those cards. During the Splitcoast Virtual Stamp Night, one of the challenges was to make a card inspired by the song "Singing in the Rain." I was quite pleased with my bird card, especially considering the challenge time constraint. Alas, people seemed to gravitate to the submissions featuring women holding umbrellas. My "Singing in the Rain" card received the least number of views of all my challenge cards.

So, which one of my cards got the most views and comments? One that really isn't my taste. What does it say when people like the cards you make that aren't your personal cup of tea? Humm...best not to think about that too much! Here is a picture:

The challenge was to make your own flower for a card. After panicking for half of the allotted challenge time, I made a flower out of tissue paper like the ones my mom taught me as a child. Did anyone else take Kleenex and fold it back and forth into a fan, tape the center, then fluff the edges to make a flower? The flower on the card above sits several inches off of the paper and is held together with tape and a prayer. I think all of those factors made me biased against it.

I have to say that blogging and sharing pictures is definitely an eye-opening experience, and it never is quite what you expect. Darn those viewers with differing opinions! :)

Moxie Fab Fabric Challenge

The latest Moxie Fab challenge is to make a card using fabric. I don't have much experience working with fabric, so I knew my project would involve fabric and tape rather than sewing. I took some cream silk, stamped it with an Impression Obsession Cover a Card background and some black Versafine ink. I then taped the silk over a rectangular shaped chipboard piece that had batting on top of it. The end result was a really soft "pillow" for the card. Here is a side view:

To finish the card, I stamped the same background onto white paper using grey ink and added some ribbon, flowers, and pearls. After I finished the card, I realized that the softness of the card would be great for baby showers. Of course, I would switch to a different color palette!

Quick Card

Thought I would settle down tonight and try to turn off my brain by making a quick card for the Clean and Simple challenge. Here is the latest sketch:

I stamped the Impression Obsession Cover a Card roses onto my pink card and pink layering piece. I added an IO saying and two Hero Arts pearls, and voila...I was done. I think it took about 5 minutes total. Cool.

Beach Challenge

I always look forward to the Impression Obsession Challenges, but I have to admit that I am particularly excited to see what people will do with the current "beach" theme. I am such a beach junkie!

For my card, I decided to use the Hatteras Lighthouse (F1174) image. My family used to go to the Outer Banks all the time, and visiting Hatteras and the beach there was always on the agenda. My mom is a lighthouse aficionado, so I checked a picture of Hatteras to make sure I had the correct coloring. Believe me, she would know! To accent the card, I added a shell from the Hatteras beach. I love the blue shells you can find there.

I used three Cover a Card stamps to make the background, but only two showed up on the card. The light blue I used with the script really was just too light. Here is a close up of the background:
I used the Cover a Card Screen(CC049) and the Cover a Card Distressed Dots (CC046) with Colorbox Chalk Creamy Brown ink. For the Screen, I inked it then stamped it onto scrap paper before stamping it onto my card so that it would be lighter than the Distressed Dots stamped in the same color. I then stamped the Script (CC050) in Colorbox Chalk Ice Blue ink. If you squint, you MIGHT be able to see it. :) For the lighthouse, I stamped it onto 90lb watercolor paper with black Versafine ink and colored it with Twinkling H2O's and a waterbrush.

Want to see more beach cards? Check out the cards by Daniela, Dina, Jeanne, Jenny, Julie, and Kathy.

Want to play along? All the information can be found here, and you can even win a $25 IO gift certificate!