I tried another challenge...

But somehow managed to fail at the very last moment! :D First, I should say that I joined yet another group - SSC. Which brings me up to five. *sigh* I like some of the things that they're doing over there - really it's newer than something like SCS so it seems to be easier to do things. Anyway, I joined and found a challenge that was to use only one stamp on your card. Surely I could do that!
Hmpf.
I pulled out Maribel (one of the most gorgeous stamps EVAH!) and started creating. Apparently she's been sitting long enough that there were some issues. Not sure exactly what the problem is - my technique? The rubber? Suffice to say that I had the devil of a time getting a clear image - this was the best of the lot.
I stamped her using Walnut Stain Distress Ink on glossy paper (it was the only brown ink I had that worked with the dp) then lightly colored it with Milled Lavender and finally buffed it with a coat of white chalk ink. I attached that layer to a piece of the dp (it's the reverse of the brown & blue stripe) with curled edges.
The base started with a lovely dark brown card. I layered a piece of the dp, then layered a piece of brown punched paper over that. I cut some flourishes (QuickCutz) using my Cuttlebug from the same brown as the base and attached them to the stamped layer. That's when I realized that I really wanted some shimmer! :D
Ranger just came out with a new set of Perfect Pearls (Cafe) and I couldn't resist the brown. So, using a water brush I painted the brown PP on the flourishes and the punched piece. Planning ahead would've made this a lot simpler!
The little flowers were kind of creamy yellow, but that was fixed with a little Milled Lavender and white chalk ink too. Some half pearls and I thought I was done... oh, right up until I *had* to paint some of the cream color PP on the flower centers! *lol* (and then I realized AFTER I took & edited this picture that one of the pearls fell off! grrr)
Once everything was dry and adhered together I realized that I needed a little something more in the bottom right. This, of course, is when I completely forgot that I was only supposed to use ONE stamp! Sure enough, I stamped the sentiment in Walnut Stain & dusted it with more PP. THEN I remembered why it wasn't supposed to be there! ;D
Oh, well! It was just lovely to play with Maribel anyway!
Thanks for dropping by!

I actually completed a sketch!

I'm not sure why I'm sketch challenged, but I am. They always look so fun! Somehow though, whenever I try one, it ends up in a pile of scrap paper and sheer frustration. Oy!
I happened upon a blog post about Sarah's birthday and blogoversary sketch challenge and thought that it looked like so much fun that I had to try it. (see? I keep getting caught up in the excitement!) I must have been totally out of my mind because it wasn't enough to just do the card - I made a bookmark too! :)
This is the set that I finally came up with. I fell in love with this paper from Little Yellow Bicycle and bought two sheets (the leaves and the one with the birds) of 12x12. Like I said, I'm sketch challenged so this used almost *all* of the bird paper and half of the leaf paper. Jeez!
Here's a better look at the card by itself. I used soft green card stock for the base - I believe I cut it to 6 1/2 by 8 because I couldn't see a way to fit everything on an A4 card. The three background panels and both bird panels are matted on light blue card stock. The main sentiment/image panel is matted on the soft green again.
The stamped bird (a clear stamp by Fiskars) was stamped on a small panel taken from the bird sheet - there was very little design in that area so it wouldn't compete. I inked up the bird with VersaMark first, then with a mix of Distress inks (Chipped Sapphire, Peeled Paint & Broken China) and finally gave it a little spritz of Perfect Pearls mist (in Pearl). Finally I stamped the sentiment over the top with Walnut Stain DI. Once that part was dry I went over the word "Fly" with a gold Spica pen. Actually, there is quite a bit of Spica pen on this card. All three bottom panels have Spica on the leaf outlines and the base green layer has doodles on the top and bottom. Some light blue dew drops and the ribbon completed it. (which sounds easy, but I assure you that it was *not*)
As for the bookmark.... Well, nothing was as easy as it should have been! ;D
I started with a small panel of the bird paper - I really didn't want to waste any so I just measured around the bird instead of going with an accepted size. I used some acetate that had been run through an embossing folder to position my flourishes and then poked them with a tool. I used two strands of each color floss on the different flourishes. I did try to match that dark blue bit on the bird - but it was so dark that I had to pick it out and try again. *sigh* Once I was done sewing I used Glossy Accents on the bird for dimension and shine, along with more Spica pen against the stitching.
I used the reverse side of the paper for the green mat. It has a subtle wood grain print that is gorgeous - too bad it doesn't match the soft green from the card! :) On the back of that is a layer of the leaf paper to cover all the stitches. The butterfly was an afterthought - I'm still not sure it was a good one. It is glued down, but the wings pop up - how long till they get torn off? :)
Anyway, there you have it. Several days of work! I am so very jealous of all the crafty people that can whip up a card in an hour. Even *more* jealous of people who can easily follow sketches!
Thanks for dropping by!

C & M fairy again, and a revision

After posting my last card I realized that I wasn't happy with the bright blue butterfly. Unhappy enough to actually go back and change it (which is something I *rarely* do).
Well, here:
I wasn't entirely sure of the color or size so I changed them both. This is actually from the same Martha Stewart punch - it's just the larger size. I punched it from the same kraft cardstock as the image panel, stamped it with a Basic Grey flourish in Colorbox white ink before gluing it down in place of the original. I'm *still* not sure that it's the best thing for that spot. I do like it much better than the original blue one. Enough that I'm willing to leave it alone now. How about you? Would you leave it alone? :)










Now for the new card. Strangely enough, it uses the same digital stamp from Crafts and Me, in the exact same size, on a background of kraft and brown cardstock. I also used the same brown pencil, a white pencil, white Colorbox ink and flourishes from Basic Grey. It looks entirely different though! :)
For this card I used the Out of the Box TJ technique to let her wing hang over the side of the nestie die cut. I outlined the fairy in white pencil and did all of the interior coloring with one brown pencil. Yes, *one*!
The next layer is stamped with the Basic Grey flourishes (several from the set) in white ink. I used a Martha Stewart edge punch to mimic the flower that the fairy is holding. That piece is layered over a piece of dark brown cardstock that was also punched with the MS flower edge to give it some depth. I ran some thread around those two layers with a few simple beads for interest. I really wanted to add a sentiment, but just couldn't find one that fit the mood. *sigh*
Finally I stamped the same flourishes on the base card using Antique Linen Distress Ink. I also used the SU! ticket corner punch on the base to echo the fairy panel. You can't see it in the picture, but there is a bit of Spica pen around the layers and on her wings. Not much, but IRL it adds a subtle shine. *Love* that!
Thanks for dropping by!

Another digi stamp

I've run across some really gorgeous things lately. First there was this stamp from Crafts and Me in the UK. Ok, there were some others that I loved as well, but Poppy was the one I bought. ;)
Then there was this painting (also available as a digi stamp) which just jumped into my imagination and wouldn't let go. Still hasn't in fact (I'm actually working on another card with the same stamp also on kraft & using white pencil).
This is what came out of that inspiration:
Poppy was printed on kraft cardstock then allowed to dry for several days. All of the white was colored with a pastel pencil (not wax or oil based) then rubbed with a sponge (or finger!) and reapplied until I liked the depth. Unfortunately, I learned that pastel pencil sort of dissolves under stickles. Originally the wings were *very* white! :D
Her hair was colored with several different shades of brown pencil (regular colored pencil, not pastels). I colored the leaves and the flower with pencil at first, then went over them with smooch for extra pizazz. If you look closely you can see that I cut and embossed with a nestie (curved rectangles) and used some Distress Ink around the edges. I wanted a bit more definition so I ran the white pencil around the embossed edge and then smudged it so that it would look soft IRL. I don't know *why* it took on such a hard edge in the photo!
The sentiment was actually a part of a flower stamp from Hampton Art done in Colorbox ink on the same kraft paper. Some of the dots are done with white smooch - too bad I couldn't get it to show well in the picture. *sigh* Both the flower and the butterfly are done with the same color of blue smooch - although looking at it now I want to make the butterfly larger and not as solid colored.
The base card was embossed in the cuttlebug then attacked with stickles. Ok, maybe just rubbed a bit! ;D
Thanks for dropping by!