EMS group July 2014 Sketch

Here is my July Sketch card for the Enjoy Michael Strong Stamps Yahoo Group.

Stamped Mike's large Cloisonne Cat in Onyx Black Versafine instant dry pigment ink, coloring in the spaces with colored pencils, and fussy cutting the edge. Adhered to a "paper banner" that was dry embossed with Swiss Dots then edged in salty ocean distress ink. Under that is a layer of black paper.

The next layer is dry embossed in a star design. I use this embossing folder stamping technique

 with distress inks-salty ocean and festive berries instead of acrylic paint.

I found a neutral pearl ex powder and sprinkled it on top of the wet paper after removing it from embossing folder. Then I realized that pearl ex powder wouldn't stick to the water based ink. Dried the paper with a heat tool then brushed gloss gel medium on top. 

Since the star embossing folder was wet I decided to run a second sheet of paper through it, adding more ink and spritzing first. 

I brushed Perfect Paper Adhesive-matte on top of this.  The label of Perfect Paper Adhesive said it could be used as a dry pigment medium.  The "medium" makes the pearl ex powders stick. Otherwise, it just falls off the paper.  Both mediums worked well.

A Holmade Gift-Note Cards and Case

Made this quick and easy note card set from a paper folder and some white card stock.

I like to give these as hostess gifts when visiting friends. I am entering this stamping project in the Summer Challenge at the Enjoy Michael Strong Stamps Yahoo Group.

I love the summery look of Mike's Mini Cloisonne Creatures. 

Added a script stamp for a faux texture look background.  

Distress inks used:

scattered straw, dried marigold, broken china and rusty hinge.

A few more details on how I made this is here.

Card Captain, Day 5, July 18, 2014

Happy Friday! Here is a water themed card for you, using Michael Strong's Cloisonne Seahorses, large and small, which are stamped in blue distress ink, clear embossed then fussy cut. The background layer was made with distress ink pads wiped on a craft sheet and spritzed with water. The paper was placed down on this and moved a bit. When dry, a paper distress-er was used on the edges. Stamped Mike's Seaweed on the background with green ink. Dimensional foam was used to attach the seahorses. Small dabs of crystal effects were added for bubbles.

It's been a fun sharing my cards this week as Card Captain for the Enjoy Michael Strong Stamps Yahoo Group! Thanks to everyone who came to visit and also for leaving comments! I really appreciate it! Have a great week end!

Card Captain, Day 4, July 17, 2014

Happy Technique Thursday! Today I'm sharing a Torn Paper Pocket card.

 My card has 3 pieces that are positioned to create 2 pockets after they are stapled to the front of the card.

The left piece is about 2" wide by 5-1/4" long.

The middle piece is about 3" wide by 5-1/4" long.

The last piece has the straight on the right edge and is about 3-1/2" x 5-1/4" long.

Distress the edges and stamp as desired.

Staple them together to the front of the card.

Tags, about 2" wide by 3-3/4" long, are made to insert into the pockets.

Use a corner rounder punch on the edges (or leave them square or cut at an angle).

Distress the edges, stamp as desired, punch a 1/4" hole and add a strip of tulle or ribbon.

For the inside, add a layer of paper, 8-1/4" by 5-1/4" to hide the staples. Stamp this as desired and adhere on the left just above the fold. I like double sided tape. 

Card Captain, Day 3, July 16, 2014

Happy Wednesday! Today I have a graduation card, using Mike's mini Cloisonne Flower, stamped in distress ink and then clear embossed. I'm using old music paper again as a background layer along with an embossed strip, some lace and a "ticket" style layer with the sentiment.

 

On the inside of the card, distress ink is used to stamp the mini Cloisonne Flower multiple times and add color to the edges.

Card Captain, Day 2, July 15, 2014

Happy Tuesday!  For today's card, I used Mike's large Cloisonne Flower, stamped with distress ink, embossed with clear embossing powder then "fussy cut" it. Used Kraft card stock for my base card. Then added old music paper, a strip of maroon paper that was dry embossed, some die cut leaves and a home made tag.

Card Captain, Day 1, July 14, 2014

This week, I'm card captain for the Enjoy Michael Strong Stamps Yahoo Group. 

 For today's card, I used Mike's mini fan stamp, embossing it in white.  Also used a layer with embossing folder stamping and a layer with a Dream word stamp, which I don't own, but my friend had kindly stamped up for me. Added a raffia ribbon to this. 

Tutorial for the embossing folder technique here.