Gorgeous Grunge Dragonfly, Card 2

I have another beautiful dragonfly for you today.  This one is embossed with Black EP and is just beautiful. 

The background is all blues and purples, a combo I've always loved together.  To begin, I stamped and embossed a dragonfly directly onto my card front.  I felt it needed more dimension, so I stamped and embossed a second one, cut it out and attached it by adhering adhesive straight down the middle --- head to tail.  That way, the wings can have a bit of movement.  

I've used the same technique on this card as the one in a previous post, where you spritz your stamp after inking it and then stamp.  It gives you a softer background.

REMINDER:
Don't forget that SAB is nearly over.  As products run out, like the cute card tin below, that's just it.  They are gone.  We also have an entire line of In Colors that will be retiring soon.  If you need anything that will be retiring, scoop it up now before it's too late.

My next classes and events:
Monday, March 13 --- 
Scraps and Prayers / 5:30-7:30 / Beautiful Spring cards / $15.00 / Pay to register at least 2 days prior to the class.  REGISTRATION CLOSED.
Saturday, March 18 -- 
Saturday Stampers / 1:00-4:00 / Using stencils creatively (on cards) / $20. / Pay to register at least 2 days prior to the class. 
See sneak peeks on left side here.
Sunday, March 26 -- 
Spring Open House Party / 2:00-5:00 / a 'no fee' event / RSVP by March 24 and I'll have a special gift just waiting for you.  Come and join us for an afternoon of creative fun! 

Special Reminders:
As always, you must pay to register at least 2 days prior to each class.  If you are using a coupon, you still need to register at least 2 days prior to the class and present the coupon at that time.  I need it for tax records, please.
See the left side of my blog for sneak peeks on upcoming classes and events.  Class schedules and descriptions can be found by clicking on 'my classes' at the top of my blog.

- Thanks for stopping by my corner of the blogging world.

- Come  back often for more creative inspiration. 

Gorgeous Grunge Dragonflies, Card 1

We're heading back to some more fun with dragonflies for my next couple of posts and then I'll share some more stenciling ideas.

My color story is a beautiful Wisteria Wonder and Marina Mist ... perfect for our soon to come Spring.  I used a little technique for this one, where you ink the background stamp you're going to use, spritz it lightly with water, and stamp.  I then cleaned my stamp, repeated the same process with a second ink color and then waited for it to dry.  I went back and added just a few tiny speckles of black to really bring it to life.  I stamped the text in black also, to pull it all together.

I created a coordinating envelope and card interior, as well.  The dragonflies were cut from CS, covered in Marina Mist ink and then let dry.  Once they dried, I patted on VersaMark ink and heat embossed them with Iridescent Ice EP (retired).  They have a beautiful sparkle.  I love how this one turned out.

My next classes and events:
Monday, March 13 --- 
Scraps and Prayers / 5:30-7:30 / Beautiful Spring cards / $15.00 / Pay to register at least 2 days prior to the class.  See sneak peeks on left side here.
Saturday, March 18 -- 
Saturday Stampers / 1:00-4:00 / Using stencils creatively (on cards) / $20. / Pay to register at least 2 days prior to the class. 
See sneak peeks on left side here.
Sunday, March 26 -- 
Spring Open House Party / 2:00-5:00 / a 'no fee' event / RSVP by March 24 and I'll have a special gift just waiting for you.  Come and join us for an afternoon of creative fun! 

Special Reminders:
As always, you must pay to register at least 2 days prior to each class.  If you are using a coupon, you still need to register at least 2 days prior to the class and present the coupon at that time.  I need it for tax records, please.
See the left side of my blog for sneak peeks on upcoming classes and events.  Class schedules and descriptions can be found by clicking on 'my classes' at the top of my blog.

- Thanks for stopping by my corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top to see my class schedules. 

- Look on the left for sneak peeks and registration policies. 

- Please sign up to follow my blog and/or leave a comment. 

- Come  back often for more creative inspiration. 

Special Reason Meets Brusho, Part 2

Are you ready for my part 2 version of my Special Reason card?  Let's just jump right in and let the fun begin!  

As you can see, changing the color behind the flower really makes a difference.

Can you see the beautiful color variations made with the Brusho Crystal Colour?  It is just so much fun to play with this product.  Every project comes out differently and is always a wonderful surprise.

Which version of my two cards do you like the best?

I haven't decided which version I like the best, but I do know I'll be playing more with this great product.  I even ordered a DVD called Brusho Crystal Colour  ... and beyond.  I tried to watch part of it yesterday, but Joey pushed a few keys on my laptop and it went into a different project.  It was fascinating to see all the artist did with it.  By the way, I got all these products through Amazon, in case you're interested.

Because of being out of state for our friend's funeral, I'm running a bit behind in posting some sneak peeks for my March 18 class.  I  now have a sneak peek up for you to see (on the left).  You have until March 16 to pay to register.  Your payment holds your spot.  We'll be playing with some of my Brusho, using stencils creatively and having a ball.  I'm getting out stencils, Brusho, Aqua Painters, spritzers, daubers, sponges, and more.  Let the fun begin!!!

  

- Thanks for stopping by my corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top to see my class schedules. 

- Look on the left for sneak peeks and registration policies. 

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- Come  back often for more creative inspiration. 

Special Reason Meets Brusho, Part 1

After a quick trip to Wisconsin, to attend the funeral of a dear friend of ours, I'm back with some wonderful cards using Brusho Crystal Colour and/or watercoloring to create gorgeous projects. 

I've made this card with 2 different color stories for the Brusho layer behind the cut flower.  We'll actually be making one of these versions at my March 13 Scraps and Prayers class.

Because the only difference between the 2 versions I made is the Brusho layer, everyone will get to choose if they'd like more of a turquoise layer or more of a bluish/purple layer like this one.

In the close-up above, you can see the beautiful variations of color from the Brusho Crystal Colour.  I don't know about you, but I just love this card!!!

Come back for my next post to see the second color version.

- Thanks for stopping by my corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top to see my class schedules. 

- Look on the left for sneak peeks and registration policies. 

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- Come  back often for more creative inspiration. 

Faux Watercolor in Rich Razzleberry with Tutorial

Rich Razzleberry is another color that I forget to use more often.  It truly is beautiful.  Looking back at a couple of posts, I realize that I've unconsciously put forth an effort to use more of a variety of colors.  We can't have any colors feeling left out.  Right?  Today's card is done with a Faux Watercolor Technique.  I love how it turned out. 

I've seen several versions and varieties of this technique and decided that this leaf stamp would lend itself very nicely to this technique.

Here's how you do it:
- Cut a strip of watercolor paper to use for your card.
- Stamp a leaf image using Rich Razzleberry ink.
- Immediately color in the leaf using an Aqua Painter.
- Continue stamping, one leaf at a time, and coloring it in.
- Stamp off for a few of the leaves, to create a lighter image.
- Color in the leaf after stamping off, as well.
- Stamp a few 'speckles' (Gorgeous Grunge) with VersaMark ink.
- Emboss the speckles in gold.
- Add a text and emboss it in gold, as well.
Want even more sparkle?
- Try coloring in a few of the leaves with Clear Wink of Stella.   
Why do you need to color each leaf immediately after stamping it? 
If you stamped all the leaves before coloring, they would dry before you could 'spread' the ink with your Aqua Painter.  You would lose the effect of them being watercolored. 

I could have added other embellishments but, when I tried them on the card, I decided I liked this one just clean and simple.
Tip:
Be sure your Aqua Painter is not too wet or you'll have a real watercolor mess instead of a faux watercolor:)

Can you think of other color stories and/or other stamps that would work well for this technique?  If you come up with some, be sure to share.  

- Thanks for stopping by my corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top to see my class schedules. 

- Look on the left for sneak peeks and registration policies. 

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- Come  back often for more creative inspiration. 

Four Days of Sweet Sugarplum, Day Four

Today's post is our final day playing with Sweet Sugarplum.  I've saved my favorite card in this color for our final day of this little series. 

This is the most elegant of all my Sweet Sugarplum cards.  It has lots of layers and lots of details, including gold embossing and touches of gold ink.

I even have what I call a 'happy accident' on this project.  While trying to watch my 2 puppies and finish this card at the same time, I accidentally got into the wrong stamp pads and got gold ink AND Sweet Sugarplum ink on my stamp.  The result turned out to be quite pretty and I was able to clean up the ink pads, so no harm done.

I love coordinating the inside of the card and the envelope with the beautiful card front.

I added a fun little touch with the ribbon and some gold cording.  I colored the flower and the leaves using my Aqua Painter. 

I really didn't think I was going to like this color when I first saw it, but this is one of my favorite cards and I love it in this color.

- Thanks for stopping by my corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top to see my class schedules. 

- Look on the left for sneak peeks and registration policies. 

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- Come  back often for more creative inspiration. 

Playing With Watercolors, Part 1

A while back I had some time and was playing around with watercolors.  Then, when I got sick, I couldn't finish them for a long time.  When I needed to catch up on birthday cards for our church to send out, I grabbed these backgrounds and went to town creating several designs of completed cards. 

Adding a few black speckles and then a mat of black behind the top layer really pulled the card together.  I love how it turned out. 

I made quite a few of these cards, so I was so glad that I had made a bunch of backgrounds on the day that the playing all started.

I made some of the cards with blue or green card bases and others with white (thick CS) bases.  Which one do you like the best?  I have one more post coming up for you (a totally different color story with watercoloring) and then I'll start sharing some of my cards with our upcoming new In Colors.  Yay!  I can't wait.  Be sure to come back to see them!

 - Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or look on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration. 

Let's Count Our Blessings

For our next Scraps and Prayers project, I decided to design a cover for a special journal.  This is a journal to use to write down reminders of blessings for which we are thankful.  When you hit a day when too many things seem stacked against you, you can take out this journal and focus on the good things going in your life. 

I have a stack of journals waiting (more than you see in the photo:) and I hope one will be for you.

I've used heat embossing, basic stamping and a die cut title.

I added a ribbon to use for a bookmark in the journal.

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or look on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration. 

Vintage Frame Project

My husband gave me a beautiful vintage looking frame for our anniversary this year and I promised to share with you how I used it.  Today, we'll look at that, along with some reminders about next Saturday's OSW class.  Here's my framed project.

Isn't this a pretty frame?  I just love it.  Unfortunately, it's one of those frames that doesn't open up completely in the back, so you can't put the glass in the back and create something really dimensional over it.  So, I just stepped up to the challenge and used some of our beautiful DSP and stamped onto the DSP.  I cut out some extra flowers from another DSP sheet of the same design and attached them over my first piece, so it has some dimension contained within the frame.  The butterfly was stamped, cut out, and attached to the DSP, as well.

I think the frame and the DSP compliment each other.  I love how it turned out.  I can always open it up, remove the decorated DSP and create a new setting to go into the frame, or use it for a vintage photo.  Actually, it now has the same paper, minus the butterfly, and I added some of our Vintage Leaves onto the outside of the frame.  They are gently attached with glue dots, so nothing will be damaged and I can change it again whenever I want.  I think I can envision a vintage Christmas project next:)

Before you go, don't forget that my OSW (One Sheet Wonder) cards class is this coming Saturday (Sept. 19th / 1:00-4:00).  I'll teach you how to create your own background papers, teach you how to create your own templates and give you many tips on how to get the biggest bang for your buck from your CS and beautiful DSP sheets.  You'll go home with 5 beautiful cards, along with several templates and lots of ideas.  It's well worth the class fee of $20.  I hope, if you live in the area, that you'll join us.  If not, I'll be sharing more throughout this next week on working with OSW projects, so be sure to come back and check it out.

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or look on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

Awesomely Artistic Card ... New Version

Here's a new version of a previous card I made as an easel card.  This one is a full-size top-fold card.  I use a lot of little 'clothesline' type displays in my studio and the top fold cards are the easiest to display this way.

Actually, I had made an extra piece for the front of my easel card and I decided to try using it in a new version of the card.

By adding the gold ribbon (beautiful, right?), it ties in nicely with the dragonfly.

I decided, since I had a white card base, to add Pear Pizzazz to the inside of the card.  I stamped the ferns and embossed them with white EP for a nice contrast.  I like how it turned out. 

Above ... the new version of the card.  Below ... the original card - an easel card.  Did you miss the post on this one or want to review the details?
Click here to see this post.

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or look on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.