Monthly Archives: September 2018
From the Lip of the Big Round File
As I mentioned in the last post, my mojo went AWOL at the Scrapbook Carnival. Somewhat unluckily for my wallet, my shopping mojo was still in high gear, but that is a story for another post. Anyway, I am quite sure that people who stopped to chat at my crafting spot thought this card was destined for the big round file. It sat there half done for two days, while I tried to decide what was wrong with it.
Today, I think I figured out the problems and corrected them. I think this card could be a birthday, sympathy, wedding or Christmas card, depending on what sentiment I put on the inside.
Scrapbook Carnival – Lost Mojo
I had a blast at the Great Canadian Scrapbook Carnival that was on at Spruce Meadows for the last two days. It was great to see so many scrapbooking friends out there and some Stitching and Quilting friends as well, as it is a combined carnival. The only drawback for me was that I lost a circle die and my mojo. I did some alcohol backgrounds and some lift ink techniques that I liked, but no amount of fixing and fiddling made them come together into cards that I liked. Part of the problem was that the work space allotted was very small. This probably also contributed to me losing my die. The rest of the problem was lack of mojo. I didn’t want to abandon the projects, so I took a look at them again today, to see if they could be salvaged. I am happy to say that it was a different experience today. While my circle die seems to be gone forever and I had to use a slightly smaller one to finish my card, I like the result.
This card is once again made with the Stained Glass Suite from Stampin Up. This time, however, it is paired up with Stampin Up “Subtle” embossing folder and a Lift Ink technique. I think I am going to get a lot of use out of the “Subtle” embossing folder as it just adds a little something to the overall design without competing with the main images. The rhinestones from Studio Katia reflect all the colours of the alcohol ink.
Stained Glass Suite from Stampin Up Part 2
It occurred to me after I created the cards in the last post, that there was supposed to be matching dies for the Stained Glass stamps. I will spare you the details……………………but panic ensued as I could not find the alleged dies anywhere in my craft room. Eventually, they turned up.
I am happy they did as they are wonderfully intricate and delicate and are amazing as a complement to the stamp set. The card came together perfectly until I heat embossed the sentiment. I put the moth too close to the flame, as it were, and I warped the vellum a bit. To fix that, I decided to run the card through my Bigshot to flatten it. Bad Idea! It did flatten it a bit, but in the process also flattened the delicate die cut. While it still looks good; it did look better and more dimensional before I steamrolled it. Live and learn.
Stained Glass Suite from Stampin Up
Today I wanted to use the Stained Glass paper and stamp set from Stampin Up. I did not actually notice this set on my first view through the catalogue. I think it was because the paper looked just black and off-white and the stamp set had smallish images with sentiments in an Old English font. On my second glance through the catalogue, I did notice the Old English font which I like. Looking at the set more closely, I realised that the paper was printed vellum with stained glass motifs. I began to think of the multiple uses of a set like this, from elegant birthday cards to respectful sympathy cards. I also realised that the smallish images in the stamp set enhance the stained glass scenes on the vellum, without overpowering them.
I made three cards, that all turned out well.
Make it MondaY # 336
The challenge this week is to create a card with faux gilding. At first glance, I thought the only possibility in my Papertrey Ink stash would be the feather. In fact, I have down real gilding using this stamp set before. I happened to find the What the Doodle Ornament Set and bonus, it was brand new. Not only, did it work for this challenge, but it also satisfied my need to not have unused stamps in my stash,
It actually worked even better than I expected. What slowed me down in getting it posted though, was finding a frame that enhanced but did not overpower the ornament. I tried the Papertrey Ink Marquee frame first, but it was a bit too ornate to showcase the ornament well.
Here is the card:
Take off on American Gothic.
I got this crazy cow stamp from High Hopes Rubber stamps because it made me laugh out loud. It is a take-off on a famous American painting called American Gothic. This stamp is called American Cowthic. Go Figure.
I have had this stamp set for a while now, but I realised it would look great with my Barbed Wire paper from Authentique, so I made this card.
Here is the inspiration for the stamp:
Here is American Cowthic:
I laughed again as I posted it. I feel like I have already gotten my money’s worth out of this cute stamp.
Thinking of Arizona
We have had our first plant killing snowfall of the year. As usual, we all winge and moan about how crazy it is that snow came so early, when in fact it does this every year. In fact, the rarity is if we don’t get a September snowfall. What this inevitable snowfall does for me is to get me thinking about Arizona and my upcoming trip down south again.
Right now, Phoenix is in the middle of the Scrapbook Expo, and so, I wish I was there. Also this week, I signed up for a number of classes for Creativation in January, so the excitement for the winter season in Arizona is rising.
The challenge this month for the Phoenix Papercrafters group is Southwest/cactus. Recently, I made some cards using a paint dragging technique (inspiration from a Jennifer McGuire video). This technique really lends itself to the Southwest colours/desert sunset type of background and so I decided to combine that with some stamps/dies from Scraps of Love and Concord and 9th.
The paint dragging technique is super easy to do, but oh so difficult to have it end up just like you envisioned it. That is part of the charm of the technique……………………….you have to give up control………………….and embrace some of the weird parts to make it work. Actually, what I did was keep on thinking that the NEXT one IS going to turn out just like I envisioned it until I had eleven sunset backgrounds drying all over my house.
In the end, I loved all of the cards and the not quite what I envisioned backgrounds. Take a look:
Sook, this one is from Moab, Utah but still Southwestern in theme.
DebSelby
Maverick Muses 