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Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Imagine the Possibilities Card

This is another one of the cards that I designed to swap at convention.  The inspiration came from a card that my friend, Marilyn, made using the clear blocks to stamp the background.  I loved that idea and had to play with it.

I stamped with the butterfly from Simple Friendship and the sentiment from Word Play with Rich Razzleberry ink.  Then I stamped the rectangles with Baja Breeze.  You are using the clear blocks that are normally used to hold the clear mount stamps.  In this case, you are using the clear block by itself.  For the Baja Breeze rectangles, I used Block B.

I used Block  A to add the Certainly Celery squares.  Then I used the flower and Old Olive ink to finish the background stamping.

After that, I added the Old Olive 1/4 inch grosgrain ribbon and Rich Razzleberry card  stock.  The card body is Baja Breeze card stock stamped with the Texture jumbo roller. 

This ended up being a quick card to make and a fun new way to use the clear blocks.

Creatively yours,

Sharon Cheng
Richland Hills, TX
My Blog

Monday, July 26, 2010

Flores Suaves Card

I just got back from Stampin' Up!'s convention in Salt Lake City.  What a fun way to have girlfriend time, see wonderful projects, learn new techniques and come home with free product from the upcoming Holiday mini catalog!  One of the things I like the best about convention is swapping cards.  At convention, you swap cards with other demonstrators so you come home with lots of new friends and samples of their work.

Flores Suaves is one of the cards that I made to swap at convention.  At a recent retreat, one of my friends, Heather, was working on several contemporary paintings.  I was so inspired by the layering in her work that I wanted to make a card with multiple layers in the background.  This card uses several simple background techniques to make what looks like a difficult card.  Truthfully, the hardest part is waiting for one layer to dry before you add the next one. 

Step 1:  Sponging Technique
Sponge Always Artichoke on all four edges.  Leave the center uninked.

Step 2:  Wrinkle Free Distressing Technique
Step 2 is a variation of the Tim Holtz technique where he inks a non-stick craft sheet and mists the inks with water and then lays his card stock in the ink.  I adapted this technique to use Stampin' Up! products.  I replaced the non-stick craft sheet with clear block F and I used the Always Artichoke ink refill instead of an ink pad.

On the clear block, put a thin bead of the Always Artichoke ink and mist with water.


Lay the card stock in the ink.  Color all four edges of the card stock using this method.


Step 3: Drop and Swish Technique
Apply a thin layer of white acrylic paint over the card stock.  To do this I use one of the fake credit cards you get in the mail or the hotel keys that are the same material as credit cards.  Apply a thin bead of white acrylic paint across a little over half of the short edge of the credit card.  With the paint side down, pull the paint across the card.  Be sure to leave some of the Always Artichoke edges showing.  Let dry.  Repeat if needed.

Step 4
Using black StazOn ink, stamp Flores Suaves.  Flores Suaves is my favorite stamp set out of the Hispanic catalog, Celebrando Creatividad.


Step 5:  Smooch Spritz
For this layer I used the Gold Glow Smooch Spritz.  Instead of spraying, I put drops on the card stock and used my finger to spread out the Gold Glow.  You can see from the picture that I only added the gold to a few areas.

Use Always Artichoke to stamp the words from the Flores Suaves stamp set across the card.  Because you are stamping on acrylic paint, you can use a damp paper towel to soften the edges of the words if you want.

Step 6:  Watercolor Pencils
Use the darkest red watercolor pencil to color in the shaded areas on the flower.  You'll see the shading lines on the stamped image.


Step 7:  Coloring with Ink
Color in the flower with Cherry Cobbler ink.  I used a paint brush with water rather than a blender pen.  The blender pen can make the StazOn image blur since it is on acrylic paint.  I love how the watercolor pencil makes shading the petal so easy.

Color in the stem and leaf with Always Artichoke. 

Step 8:  Blushing with Ink
Okay, technically this is just sponging again.  Lightly sponge on Cherry Cobbler ink like you would add blush to your forehead and nose.  It's much softer than the amount of color you would put on your cheeks.  There should be just a hint of color that "marries" the background to the flower.  It's a tip that I learned in painting class many years ago.  Adding small tints of color in the background, helps highlight your focal point.  You can see the difference in the above picture with Step 7 and Step 8 right next to each other.  I also sponge on more Always Artichoke if I covered too much with the acrylic paint. 

Assemble per the sample and you are done!

Supply List:
Flores Suaves stamp set
Always Artichoke Classic ink pad
Always Artichoke Classic ink refill
Cherry Cobbler Classic ink pad
Gold Glow Smooch Spritz
Stampin' Sponge
Water mister
Fake credit card
White acrylic paint
Very Vintage Jumbo Wheel
1/8" Basic Black grosgrain ribbon
Confetti Cream card stock  2 3/8 x 4 3/8 inches
Basic Black card stock  2 1/2 x 4 1/2 inches
Cherry Cobbler card stock  2 3/4 x 4 3/4 inches
Always Artichoke card stock  8 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches, wheel with Always Artichoke and fold to form card

Enjoy making this card.  I'd love to see what you make.

Creatively yours,

Sharon Cheng
Richland Hills, TX