Stopping By to Say Hello . . . .and Thank You!

Today's post is a combo of cards that I have been working on. They have been decorated with papers/tags that I colored with the Tattered Angels Paint Systems that I purchased recently.  The first card, Stopping by to say Hello, uses a strip of watercolor paper colored with the Naturally Aged Paint System, Precious Stone; Turquoise, and then embossed with the Sea Beauty Embossing Folder from Spellbinders.


I adhered a strip of the watercolor paper down the left side of the A2 card, and trimmed with a row of cream iridescent double loop braid from Michaels' Dollar bin. I then added a cream colored fabric flower from Prima along with some pearl bling also from Prima. The Angel stamp is from American Art Stamp, and is stamped on Ranger glossy paper with Rich Cocoa Memento Ink and colored with copic markers.  I attached the angel with foam tape to pop it up, along with the sentiment stamped on a manila tag.

Card #2 has a manila tag colored with the same Turquoise Paint System, attached on top of a card base with a scrap of patterned paper as the background.

The angel is from the same American Art Stamp set, stamped and colored with the same ink and markers.  Using several leaf metal dies, I punched out some leaves from various green papers and attached a cluster to the card front and tied with a bow of Limeade lawn trimmings from Lawn Fawn.  I adhered a strip of wide Huckleberry rick-rack trim from Li'l Davis Designs and then stamped  Thank You on a die cut banner. The angel was again attached with foam tape to give it dimension on the card.

I hope you have enjoyed these cards as much as I enjoyed making them.  I love layering papers and tags, ribbons and embellishments.  I find it hard at times to stop, before making the card too thick, as to require more postage at the post office to mail them.  I know the poor Postal Service is going broke due to the drop in postal business, but I just can't see spending that much to mail an envelope. I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend. Until next week, Joy to all and enjoy yourself!
Mindy

Shave Cream Marbled Paper

Hello Friends!  Today's post is a step-by-step tutorial on how to make marbled paper with shave cream, dye reinkers, and Ranger Glossy Card Stock. It's a messy but fun technique, that can produce some really beautiful papers to use in your paper arts.  I use mine in my card making, and mixed-media art.

The first step is to gather your supplies. You will need;
1 can of really cheap shave cream,
1-3 bottles of dye based reinkers,
sheets of glossy card stock,

a roll of paper towels,

and a rimmed baking sheet or pan with short sides.
The tools to combine your colors on the foam shave cream; paint brush, popcicle stick, old comb, plastic fork.

1.  First of all, spray shave cream in a low rimmed pan, and smooth out a bit.

2. Next drop dropplets of the dye reinkers on the surface of the shave cream.  Start with two colors, and refresh with the third color later if needed.

3.  Using the tool of choice, (I used a small fan brush) swirl the colors together, first one way and then turn the pan and swirl the other way. Even though the ink looks like it is mixed in, as you gently press the paper down into the foam, wherever the ink touches the paper, you will have color.

NOTE: Between each sheet of paper, re-swirl the ink, and pick up the ink from the sides and bring to the top of the pile. As you reposition the ink, more of it will adhere to the new surface.

4.  Place your square of glossy paper on top of the foam, and tap down lightly on the paper pressing the paper into the top layer of shave cream. Lift the corner gently to see if the paper is covered with the ink. It doesn't need to be covered completely, the artist is always looking for "white space" in their work. "White space" gives depth and dimension to your work.

5.  Place your square on a clean protected surface and using a paper towel to wipe away the foam and excess ink.  Using a clean paper towel, buff the card stock until the surface is shiny. Many people ask about the glossy paper I use. You may use card stock or watercolor paper, but when you buff it, you may get little fuzzies from the tooth of the paper or paper towel.

6. As I mentioned above, the first applications will be the lightest. You can add more color, as I did with the purple, to get more color.  After your squares are dry (it won't take long), you can cut them into smaller pieces with your paper trimmer and attach them to a card stock base to make interesting and beautiful card bases.

7.  To clean up:  Rinse the foam down the drain with the faucet running, to dissolve the foam and keep the ink from sticking to the surface of the sink.  OR, you can just wipe away the foam and throw the paper towels into a trash bag.

Thank you so much for visiting with me today! I always have so much fun with this technique, it is hard for me to stop. I end up making pages and pages of paper to use on cards and art projects. Even if one doesn't turn out like I think it should, I cut it into small pieces for inchies and Artist Trading Cards, and cover it with stamping. Have lots of fun, and join me again soon for more fun and easy techniques.



Hidden Recipe Card

Today's card is made using the same technique as the Botanical Pocket card posted two days ago. It is stamped with the A Pack of Pears stamp set from A Stamp In The Hand company on Ranger Glossy Card Stock. The difference is in the card style itself; instead of a pocket card, it is a recipe card, with the recipe hidden inside the card.  The recipe is attached to a strip hidden inside a slit in the front of the card. (See picture below)
(*NOTE* This stamp company is no longer in business, but there are many of their stamps available on EBay.)

The pear stamp is solid rubber and is colored using dye based markers directly on the stamp itself. These are so much fun to color, blending various colors on the stamp and then stamping on the glossy paper makes the colors so bright and vibrant you won't believe your eyes. The bumble bees are from the How Does Your Garden Grow set. Coloring is done with Marvy markers and stippling is done with Marvy Yellow Ochre dye ink pad.

The fun part of the card, is making the pull out recipe tab. Print the recipe out on regular printer paper, and cut out, leaving an inch border on one side of the recipe. Glue or use double stick adhesive to attach the recipe, to a scrap of the glossy card stock. Stamp and cut out the word "Pear" and used foam tape to apply it to the 1" blank space on top of the recipe tab. Cut a slit in the stamped front of the card, and slide the recipe tab into the slit.  The edge with the foam tape will stop the tab from going all the way into the card.  Then using double stick adhesive, tape around the outside edge of the front and adhere to the front panel of the card base. That way the recipe will slide in and out of the card front.

This type of interactive card is so much fun, and will really surprise the recipient. This type of card is also fun to make for friends when you have a Cookie Exchange, a Pot-Luck meal, or a special gift for a sick friend. Print out a favorite Soup recipe and then attach a Get Well card to the jar with the recipe enclosed.  What a fun way to say, "I Love You, and am Thinking of You!"  Have a great Thursday, the weekend is right around the corner! Keep Stamping!
Mindy

Botanical Pocket Card

Hello Friends, it's the beginning of a new week, and I have a little different style of card to show you today. It has been awhile since I have done cards using this technique that I learned years ago from the ladies at A Stamp in the Hand Stamp Company. I don't believe the company is in business anymore, but both ladies that taught this technique are still teaching stamping out and about. So for Joyce and Kat, I hope these cards make you proud knowing that what you taught years ago actually "stuck" in one stamper's mind.

To start with, you use a few different supplies from the normal basic card stock and stamps. The paper that gives the best result is Glossy Card stock, I got mine through Ranger. Using red rubber stamps and Marvy Inks and markers, you can create beautiful, and vivid color creations on that glossy paper.  I like to build layers on my cards using this technique.  Starting with the background images, in this card I stamped the large leaf spray in each of the four corners. When you use the red rubber stamps, you can color directly on the rubber with the Marvy markers. Starting with the lightest colors so you don't contaminate your markers, draw the light green marker over the surface of the leaf, touching here and there with the bright green color. Next, draw the olive green marker over the stamp, touching where the darker green areas would be on the leaf stem. Finally, use the darker purple marker to highlight the stem and base of each leaf.  If the ink looks as if it has dried a bit while adding colors, breathe directly on the stamp's rubber, huffing a bit so your breath re-moistens the ink. Stamp onto the glossy stock one or two times to get the graduated colors of the first and second stampings. Re-color your stamp with the markers and stamp again, as many times as you wish.

NOTE: Dye based markers work best with this technique, because they dry slower than do Copic's or Sharpie's.

The next layer on the card base is done with the Marvy Ink pads and a stipple brush. A stipple brush is a stiff bristled brush that is usually flat on the tip end, and is used to "pounce" the ink onto the card. They come in many sizes, from small (1/2 inch) to large (1 1/2 inch) in diameter. I like using the larger sizes because they cover the card base faster when stippling.  Stippling makes tiny dots  on the background if you hold the brush in an upright position when pouncing. Tap the brush on the ink pad several times as it picks up the ink, and then pounce on the paper, shadowing around the edges of the card, blending the colors you want to use.

I then inked and stamped several images on the library pocket, along with gluing several strips of patterned paper and ephemera to the pocket before attaching the metal tag with the dragonfly brad. I stippled a little more ink on the pocket, and then adhered the pocket to the front of the card with red-line double stick tape. The red-line double stick tape is preferred when adhering to the glossy card stock, for stronger hold.

When complete, you can adhere the glossy stock to a card base, or use the glossy stock as the card, the glossy finish is usually only on one side, the other side is a matte finish. I placed an Artist Trading Card in the library pocket, but you could also use the pocket to hold a gift card or handwritten note.  Many ask if the glossy card stock is a necessity?  If you look closely, you can see that the colors stamped on the glossy stock are much brighter and more vivid than the same colors stamped on the library pocket.

I hope you have enjoyed this technique, and will try it on a project soon. I enjoy using it on cards where bright colors are used, and hope the cards will brighten your day. Take care, and have a great week!

Mindy