My (oh so) lovely Katzelkraft tree!

Today I thought I might show you 2 versions of a card that I made. Yes, I made two of the same(ish) thing. I made the first one (on the blue background) and had to, *ahem*, adjust it a tad. (Many thanks to the girls in my Yahoo group for their excellent suggestions!) There were some things that I didn't like very much, so I thought I'd remake it - fixing the things that I didn't like. Hmmm, neither is exactly what I wanted! You can't really tell from the pics but both backgrounds were made with Adirondack inks just slapped on paper & brayered until it looked OK. Then I went in and sprayed Glimmer Mist over the top & brayered again. You can't really see the shine, but trust me, it's there.

So, number one.... I didn't get the best image when I stamped (operator error!) and I didn't feel confident enough to use the Stamp A Ma Jig to realign the stamp. Instead I went over the tree with a black Glaze pen. Once it dried I realized that I didn't like it! The black was just too black and shiny, KWIM? It made the ribbon look off, although it looks better in a pic than in person. The dimension of the glaze pen didn't do it for me either. I really liked the sentiment stamp, it seemed like a great choice for this gorgeous tree. But again, it wasn't perfect - I should've centered it better.

Then, number two.... I didn't get as much blue in this background which made it look bad on the blue cardstock. *sigh* I finally found some nice cardstock for the base (and my image looked great) but then I had to go and change the sentiment. D'oh!

In the end I guess I like them both, but if I could just take the best parts of each to make one card.... Oh well, guess you can't have everything! I did learn one important thing from this experiment. I honestly didn't like the backgrounds when I made them. It was just an experiment to get color on paper (for a trial run) and make it shiny with the Glimmer Mist. Strangely, the first attempt looked much better than the second, probably because I was over thinking the process. After it was allowed to dry, and I was able to choose the best looking piece to stamp on, I was amazed at how much I liked the result. Lesson: let it dry and stamp on it before tossing it! :)

Thanks for visiting, hope you come back soon to see another version of this lovely tree!

Recipe: Tree by Katzelkraft, Woods by PSX, Heart by Stamp Oasis, Adirondack ink in Currant, Denim & Eggplant, satin & velvet ribbon, Pearl Glimmer Mist, Black Glaze pen, Gelly Roll pen in white, Gelly roll glitter pen, piercer & (home made) template

Not a speck of black in sight...

Hello again!

I tried and tried to get a good pic of this card... alas, the blue layers are shiny/metallic and throw the camera off every single time! So, the colors won't look as good in a picture - you'll just have to trust me that they match IRL! :) If you saw this in person you would know that both blue layers are the same paper. Does that give you an idea of the trouble I had? And since there was such trouble balancing the blue, you can't even see that the stem extends down on the lined paper. Sheesh. I didn't realize that I would need a degree in PSE to start a blog!

I don't do enough with this dandelion stamp, I really like it (read: HAD TO HAVE IT! lol) and always seem to forget it when I'm looking for a more delicate image. Oh well, I used it this time! Hope you enjoy and thanks for visiting!


Recipe: blue scrapbook paper, lined scrapbook paper, tan C/S & ribbon, flower from Penny Black, sentiment from B Line Designs, white ep, tan ink

Something mellow

Hello again!

Today I have something a little more mellow - no black! A little amazing, no?

I *love* this stamp from Third Coast, but then I love all the stamps I get from Val. If you've never gone to see her offerings - do!
Once again I was lured by the Distress Inks, they are very easy to blend using Tim's blender. The only problem I have is remembering not to put the edge down first - I'm working on it. Some days are better than others, this time I didn't get any hard edges (woohoo!).

Thanks for visiting!


Recipe: Bamboo Post stamp from Third Coast, background paper from DCWV, ribbon from my stash, Distress Inks & blender, white embossing powder, 'Journey' is from another stamp by Rubber Stampede (partially inked)

Another TJ technique

Hello! I'm stopping in today to post a picture that doesn't look great on screen, but has *mucho* shimmer IRL. This was called Opalite Smoosh (heh, I think it was!) and uses the opalite pad under the regular inks to give it gorgeous shine. There is no way to really give you a hint, but if you've played with opalite inks you can picture the golden/rusty shimmer coming through the distress inks. I hope you like it!

Recipe: stamp from Of the Heart, Distress Inks in Shabby Shutters & Fired Brick, Opalite inks in Golden Mist & Autumn Rust, Graphite Black ink, Mat from DCWV, black & white c/s, green ribbon & asian coin from my stash.

Just stopping by!

Hi again. I am still in NM and I don't know exactly when I'll be returning home. My grandpa took his last breath on Friday; it wasn't a surprise, but it's never expected. KWIM? I wish that I could post something especially for him, but that will have to wait until I return home to all my stuffies - I only brought the bare minimum with me this time.

Actually, I took time to write a post last night - can't tell, can ya? I was trying to use Windows Live Writer (for the very first time!) and the dang thing froze my entire system! Of course it waited until I had finished writing everything, added a photo and went to hit 'post' before it crashed. Grrrr. On the upside, I wasn't all that fond of the pic that I had to go along with that post anyway!

So, here is something that I hadn't intended to post yet - but will! Like I said, I'm not at home, so this will have to be an approximation of what went into the card. I think the stamp is from Inkadinkado (Hobby Lobby at any rate) and I'm fairly certain that the background is one of the Ranger multi color pads. After that had dried I sprayed some pearly Glimmer Mist on it & brayered it for an even looking coverage. There are some flourishes on the card itself (which is blue) but it was nearly impossible to get a picture of black flourishes on dark blue cardstock! Guess I need to work on my photography a bit more. Oh, and I found some clear plastic-y ribbon that was printed with flourishes too - that's what is on the corners of the panel. I'm not sure that I like them but they're stuck down now, quite permanently! I can't (for the life of me) remember who the greeting stamp is from... if you want to know, leave me a comment & I'll check as soon as I get home.

Thanks for visiting!

Finally working again!

Yay! Finally this crazy laptop is working again! I have an all new OS installed and am working on adding all the 'extra' programs that make life easier on the computer. However, my posting will still be a little sketchy. My grandpa is in the ICU down in southern New Mexico. So... dh, ds & I will be in the car tomorrow on our way down. I will have connection, but, well, you just never know....

So anyway, I thought I'd drop a little eye candy here while I'm able. :) Here's a card I made by accident. It was not at all what I intended, but I don't really think I had much intention when I started - just kinda slapped things together that I thought looked good.

When I look back at the things that I've posted I notice a lot of black. Hmmm, guess it seems like the perfect pair of shoes to me! :) I just like how it makes rich color *POP*, makes it seem more finished somehow.

I hope you enjoy. See you soon!

Recipe: Black & white c/s, fibers from Fibers by the Yard, blue Perfect Pearls by Ranger, Brilliance black ink, Gold Opalite ink, Waterfall ink pad from Ranger, Heart & Swirls bkgrd from Stampin Up, music from Club Stamp, squares from Stampabilities, and I can't even FIND my dancer stamp... think a little boy got to it?! *lol*

Joseph's Coat

Hi all! Today is special for two reasons: first, it's Talk Like a Pirate Day (isn't that awesome?) and second, it's DH's birthday! Happy birthday husband, and many, many more! *mwah*

You, of course, are not here to talk like a pirate or hear about DH's birthday... so how 'bout a card instead?

I happen to really like this card even though it took a lot of trial and error. This is my take on Joseph's Coat - although I did tweak it a little. The actual technique calls for glossy paper and permanent ink on top. I found that I got better results on regular card stock, and used Black Soot Distress Ink instead of permanent ink. I used a multi color dye ink pad for both the base of the piece and for the flower cut out (it's the same stamp). I cut and matted the rectangles before adding some ribbon. A little glitter for the center of the flower and voila!

I hope you like it!

Recipe: black and white card stock, brayer, ribbon, flower stamp from Stampabilities, glitter, clear ep, Black Soot Distress Ink, Calypso Kaleidacolor pad