Thanksgiving 2015

Before I could start my Thanksgiving cards someone posted some beautiful photographs from their drive along a fall forest filled with fiery colors and bright sunshine. I decided that I would try to recreate the effect for one of my cards ... and here it is.

To create the idea of the great outdoors I started with a light tan card covered with a panel of wooden patterned paper (My Mind's Eye) which I edged the panel with both brown and black ink before before attaching it to the card. by stamping a waterfall image (Inkadinkado) in black ink on white paper which I colored using a combination of regular water colors and metallic water colors. I die cut the stamped image using a deckled oval theme (Spellbinders) and then edged the panel with more black ink to emphasize the colors and b rightness within. I attache the stamped panel to the card. To completed the fiery fall look I added some gold rub-on vines (Little Bit) and some glittered 3D leaf stickers (Paper House). Thank you Mother Nature for your daily beauty and inspiration.

Halloween 2015

This year for Halloween I wanted to use a haunted tree image (the scariest part of the original Disney Snow White movie) so here we go again, same theme 3 media! 

Card #1 - Stamped

Bees Wax sun with cloud and Inkadinkado/EK Success tree stamps in black ink on good old Basic Grey paper, edged with black ink and Tim Holtz background on the bottom. I colored the moon using white water color and the eyes using yellow with silver faux gems. 

Card #2 - Rub-ons

American Tradition glittered Halloween tree with moon rub-on blue painted weathered paper (my favorite patterned paper of late) die cut with the Sizzix (now retired) parchment die and then edged with black ink. The text is computer generated.

Card #3 - Embossed

Using a Tim Holtz embossing folder I dry embossed a piece of back paper; which I then highlighted using a white ink pad. Cut out the embossed panel, mounted that on a piece of white paper, more cutting and then mounted on a black card. As a final touch I added a 3D glittered white pumpkin from Jolee's Boutique/EK Success.

These are all easy and quick because who wants to waste time making cards when there's candy to eat!

Happy 1st Day of Autumn

Here's a simple card I made to celebrate the first day of Autumn. OK so it's a flower card maybe not the most masculine card I could have made (not everyone is perfect) but it has many masculine touches.

I started with the color selections; I wanted to really highlight the colors in the 3D glittered sticker from Recollections/Michael's flowers. I chose an ivory and orange (bold and somewhat masculine). Although it's hard to see in this scan, there are subtle touches of gold glitter on the flowers, so gold became my highlight colors as well. The die cut frame (Spellbinders Fleur de Lys) is edged with gold ink and the orange panel is framed with a thin gold line sticker from Mrs. Grossman. I also added a couple of gold sticker flourishes around the flower to balance the overall center of the card.

I for one am looking forward to the cooler weather and the fiery colors Autumn brings!

Thanksgiving Inspiration

I try to challenge myself by selecting one single appropriate image for each Holiday and then making the most out of it by reproducing it with stickers, stamps and die cuts. This year my Thanksgiving inspiration was a shaft of wheat. Here are my three versions (as published in the November/December 2015 issue of Scrap & Stamp Arts magazine).

The first card was made using a 3D sticker.

The second card was made using a stamp.

The third card was made using a die.

These are simple cards to  make ... they need to be with the Holidays being busy already without having to spend hours making cards to go along with them!

Layered Masculine Card

I enjoy using 3D stickers on my cards ... but I also enjoy creating my own 3D images using stamps. Case in point my square deer card.

I started by stamping a deer image with trees from Serendipity Stamps twice in brown ink on Cosmo Cricket Chicken Little patterned paper (to me it's the best sky background). I color both image with pencil and then cut out one of the deer images and one of the trees. The second one is cut into a 4"x4" square panel on which I add the cut out images with thin raised adhesive dots. This panel I add to a 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" square chocolate brown card. Next I cut a square frame using Spellbinders dies to match the exterior size of my stamped panel from a light brown piece of paper; which I them add to the card using raised adhesive dots.