I Heart Texas!

Boy, where does time go when you are busy with other projects?  I started in January posting on a rather frequent basis, but somewhere in February I went terribly wrong. Of course, sickness will do that to you sometimes. Well, now I am feeling much better, and hopefully back in the groove of blogging!

Today's post is a card I have been working on for celebrating Texas Independence Day, which is March 2, 2013.  I decided to make a business size card or #10, therefore having lots of space to decorate about my home state!  I started with a piece of 12"X12" scrapbook paper that I cut down to 8"X9" to fit inside the business size envelope. I then scored it in half width wise, and used a circle template to round off the left side to make the front of the card.  Using stamps from Deadbeat Designs, I stamped the barbed wire, Republic of Texas post mark, and the open star, on the beige background with Pumice Stone Distressed ink. I also stamped the Texas Forever Star, and the pick-up truck on white card stock before coloring the star in with prismacolor pencils, and the pick-up with copic markers. I cut around the Texas Forever star and mounted it on a scrap of the Country Heritage stripe scrapbook paper, and mounted the pick-up truck with foam adhesive to make it stand out from the card. I then went to work with my Cricut machine, and the Going Places cartridge.

For the inside of the card, I cut a half circle of card stock to display activities one may partake of to celebrate the holiday. Along with more background stamping, I cut out a tent, a fisherman with his boat, a camper,  a hiker, a young couple (for inside the pick-up) and the words "ENJOY" for the card front, and  "INDEPENDENCE DAY" with two stars for inside the card. The small lettering was from a Cricut cartridge called Word Collage.

After adhering the blank card inside for a handwritten message, I closed the card and glued the tiny Independence Day letters so they would be visible from the front of the card. I am entering this in the following challenge:
           
                +Deadbeat Designs- Texas Independence Day Card Challenge

I even decorated the envelope, which was not required, but every little bit helps! Right?

I hope you all have a wonderful day, and take a little time to enjoy the place where you live!

Decorated Notebook Journal

Hello fellow Paper Artists.
I have been under the weather for the last few days, and haven't felt like crafting or posting. Oh My! I am much better today and have a really cute journal to show you, that I made recently.

I used one of the black and white cover writing notebooks that you can get almost everywhere now a days, grocery store, pharmacy, or office supply store.  I covered the front and back with scrapbook paper (a very pretty oriental print) using red-line tape (double stick craft tape) and a little bit of dot adhesive.  I put the red line tape around all of the edges so they would really stick well, and a little of the dot adhesive in the middle of the paper, all to make sure it didn't buckle the paper. When I got the paper positioned like I wanted it, I left a 1/2"  to 3/4" border all around the three open edges to fold inside the cover and anchor there.

Next, I stamped one of the Oriental Ladies stamp from Stamp Zia, and colored the image in with my copic markers. I then attached this to the top right corner of my journal with some of the red-line tape.(It is called red-line or magic tape because it has a red liner of plastic attached to one side of the sticky tape, so you only have to adhere one side at a time then pull off the "red liner" to expose the other sticky side of the tape. I hope that made sense.)

Sometimes I also cover the inside of the cover with a paper, just to finish it off and keep the raw edges from getting loose. But when I used the red-line tape I have no fear of it coming loose, because the red-line tape is very strong and is NOT repositionable. Sorry, that is the only downfall of the product. You'd better be sure where you want it before you glue it down with the red-line tape. Once it is stuck. . . . it's STUCK! 

I hope you have enjoyed this project today. It is something a little different from card making, but it does fall within the boundaries of my blog, Paper & Ink. Have a good evening, and I will see you again soon.

Celebrate Love

Good  Morning fellow Card Makers,

I have another wonderful surprise Valentine for you inspired by my friends at Paper Wings Productions. I received this beautiful Damask design background stamp from them recently, and was so inspired that I had to make this beautiful card that could be used any time during the year, for any occasion.

First of all I stamped the damask background twice, side-by-side with Memento Love Letter red ink on a piece of white card stock. I then stamped the sentiment, "celebrate love", also from Paper Wings in the lower right hand corner. I left a small space between the word celebrate and love, so that I could attach a strip of black and red check ribbon across the front of the card. I then stamped my Frida face stamp from Stampotique in Staz-On black ink on a piece of adhesive backed cork shelf paper. I saw several cards using adhesive backed cork in the fall issue of the Stampers Sampler magazine.  The cork in thin, so it can be stamped on, and then inserted between two thicknesses of card stock to give yet another layer of texture to your card.

I then mapped out an opening on the front of the card for my cork insert. Using my Xacto knife and ruler, I carefully trimmed  the opening, and then inserted the cork stamping, using red line double stick adhesive to stick the cork to the back of the card front.  I then cut a smaller rectangle of card stock to adhere to the inside of the card front, after removing the backing of the cork to expose the adhesive. Therefore sandwiching the cork between two layers for the card front. The last tiny touch I added, was to tint Frida's lips red, the only part of the stamped image to be colored.

You may want to try using some of this cork in your stamping or scrapbook making in the future. It makes for a unique background, and is found in the shelf paper isle of your home improvement store or large grocery store. Have fun with your stamping this week, and I will see you again soon.

Always Remember . . . . .

Greetings Stampers and Cardmakers!

Today's card is a very simple, and very beautiful card that can be used for many occasions.

The base card is a red/rose colored stripe base with dots. I started by stamping a large open rose or peony with 2 leaves from the Hot Off the Press Fresh Cut stamp set on a piece of white card stock. I colored in the rose with copic markers, blending several colors to make it look realistic. I knew I wanted to leave a banner area at the bottom of the flower to stamp the word "remember" from a Paper Wings Productions clear stamp set, so I left about 2" of stock at the bottom, and cut out around the flower leaving a white border around the edge.  I then stamped the word "remember" in pastel pink ColorBox Chalk ink, and also the smaller word "always" from the same stamp set.  After I trimmed down the white area around the words to fit the card base, I inked around the block with the pastel pink chalk ink.

I left the inside of the card blank, so that I can hand write a special message inside.  These types of cards are handy to have on-hand in case you need a card in a hurry.  I have a few birthday cards to make for later in the month, so I will visit with you again soon with some birthday wishes for February.  Until then, have a great weekend.

Hogs & Kisses Valentine

Hello Fellow Card Makers,

I have been out of pocket for about a week, but have another Valentine card for you before Valentine's Day.

This card is so cute, it could be used for other "Love" occasions such as an anniversary or just "thinking of you"!  I started with a plaid printed A2 card base in lime green and pink. I cut a rectangle of solid lime green card stock and used the Martha Stewart "Birds" punch-around-the-page paper punch to punch around three sides. Most of the punch is leaves with the bird in the corners. I then stamped a giant daisy from the Hot Off the Press Fresh Cut stamp set, and the sentiment from a Cardz TV sentiment stamp set on white card stock. The piggies were stamped with the Barnyard Lawn Fawn stamp set, and I stamped them using the "mirror image" technique where you take the stamp on your clear block and stamp it on the "wrong side" of another clear stamp. Then you stamp them both on white card stock and you have a mirror image of the little animal.

I colored all of the images with my Copic Markers, and then cut them out with my detail scissors. I then used foam squares to pop- up the various layers to give the card dimension. I also stamped a tiny heart and cut it out, to place between the two hogs to represent the kisses. It took me several tries to get the mirror image to come out clearly. You must be very steady handed when stamping the image on the reverse side of a larger clear stamp. The stamp you use to transfer the design onto, must have a stable center so that your clear silicone does not bend or move, otherwise your image comes out blurry. Practice, practice, practice, and before long you will have your two kissing images just like you want them. Ready to go on your card or tag, whichever you choose.

There are still several days before Valentine's Day to get some cards or tags ready. I hope you will attempt to make a handmade card this year to go with your candy or floral gift. A handmade card means so much more than a store bought card, and you can say what is in your heart rather than what a writer from the greeting card company writes.  Be Creative, and I will visit with you again soon.