Generational Stamping on Christmas Card

Inspired by Heather Telford's Tannenbaum Forest Video I made these card layers using Canson 140 lb watercolor paper. A great big thanks to Heather for sharing this very fun and easy tutorial! 

Since I do not have the Penny Black Tannenbaum Trio set, I used an Inkadinkado wood mounted stamp labeled #96683. It has two pine trees. Also used a smaller wood mounted pine tree stamp that was not labeled. As Heather suggests, I inked my stamp with mowed lawn, then added some peeled paint then a little chipped sapphire on the edges.  The inked stamp is spritzed before stamping. Then two more impressions are made with that stamp without adding more ink! The spritzing allows a lighter and then again another lighter image! The lighter trees look farther off in the distance.

I used a distress vintage photo marker to add brown to the trunk of my small tree. Heather used a gathered twig brown distress marker. This is done before the first impression is made. My larger trees did not have tree trunks. 

My stamp is smaller than the Penny Black Tannenbaum Trio, so I just kept at this process till I felt I had enough trees. I followed Heather's instruction to change the color order to peeled paint, then mowed lawn, then chipped sapphire after a couple of rounds of stamping. I think she did that for her  second round of three impressions. Please refer to Heather's video for all the details on her wonderful method of generational stamping!

Heather recommends using Yellow Frog tape. I wish I had that because the blue painters tape ripped my paper when removing it. Before using it, I stuck the tape piece to my hand a few times to try to remove some of the "stickiness".  

I planned my layers to be 4 x 5-1/4 inches. But I made a mistake when cutting. Then I had to trim the rips from the blue tape removal. So I have some odd sized layers.

I used a heat tool to dry the paper before the first strip of tape was removed. Added a circle mask cut from a sticky note. Used a blending brush to add distress faded jeans to the top edge and around the circle and to the edge of the tape to get "snow hills". Once the first hill was "created", removed the tape and reapplied it for more "snow hills".

Below you can see some of my finished cards. I used a dark green card base, 4-1/4 x 5-1/2 inch size.

Then I experimented using Michael Strong's cloisonné Christmas tree, adding the distress mowed lawn, peeled paint and chipped sapphire, spritzing  and stamping. I only did the one impression with that stamp. Then I switched to the Inkadinkado two tree stamp used above and continued with Heather's generational stamping technique.

Heather's generational stamping technique was very fun and easy! I hope you give it a try!

Happy Stamping! Peace and all good!

Bird Talk Birthday

Made two birthday cards with my old Tim Holtz stamp and die set, Bird Talk 2.

Background layers are from my stash. Just added some stenciling and sponging. Used distress twisted citron for the zig zag and dots. Sponged the edges with distress abandoned coral.

Stamped bird, hat and balloon with distress abandoned coral, fossilized amber and festive berries inks. Used coloring pencils to add more color. 

Sentiment is stamped in Versafine onyx black ink. Used a Faber-Castell PITT pen to add  "sister" and the string to the balloon.

Used fossilized amber for the stenciling and used mermaid lagoon for the sponged edges. The bird is stamped in mermaid lagoon and coloring pencils were used afterward.

Sentiment stamp is from Verses Rubber Stamps.

Thanks so much for visiting!

Embossing Folder Stamping Technique

These "embossing folder stamping technique" cards were inspired by Bev Gerard's cards here. I was glad to finally try this technique of adding images behind a dry embossed image. I substituted my Park Lane Birch Trees embossing folder since don't have the Stampin' Up! Woodland folder. 

I wanted to mention that I used SU's close to cocoa ink for the car in the card above. This was the second card I made. The car in the card below was stamped in distress brushed corduroy. The distress ink seems to blotch up when using a clear stamp. Stamping on the plastic embossing folder probably accentuates that blotchy-ness. I prefer the look of the car stamped in the SU ink. But I don't think the blotchy-ness will not be noticed by the recipient.

Getting back to the steps I used to stamp the embossing folder...

First I inked the top side of the embossing folder with the tumbled glass distress inkpad. I swiped and dabbed from the top of the folder to about  2/3's of the way down. I used a piece of scrap paper to cover the part I didn't want inked. 

For this technique , the top of the embossing folder is the part that gets inked. Usually there is printing on the outside, but the Park Lane folder did not have printing on the top. One way to check to be sure you are inking the correct side is to check that you are inking and stamping on the flat areas between the trees which are facing up. The trees are recessed! They will not "get" the ink you are applying.

I inked the bottom one third of the embossing folder with distress scattered straw.

Then I inked my car next using distress brushed corduroy in this card (Used SU close to cocoa in the first card). 

Then I inked the tree from SU's Lovely as a tree set, with distress pine needles and stamped several images on the embossing folder.

Then I placed my cardstock carefully into the stamped embossing folder and closed it and ran it through my Cuttlebug.

I used a light brown/tan Tombow marker, #992, to all the little lines on the birch trees. 

I sponged the edges of each panel afterward with distress broken china and scattered straw. Then I went around again with distress hickory smoke.

The happy birthday stamp and die is Hero Arts' DC184 Ribbon Messages, Stamp & Cut.

Used my Zig Denim marker to write the birthday years in each.

Now I will show you my mistakes: 

In the first image above, I spritzed the embossing folder with water after inking and before adding my paper. Did not turn our well as you can see.

In the second image, I tried using multiple inkpads but the colors were too squared off. Maybe if this was a geometric embossing folder instead of a nature scene? 

Thank you for visiting! Hope you have a great week!

Restful Tree Cards

I had a lot of fun making cards with the Penny Black Restful stamp. It's quite large, extending over my 4 x 5-1/4 inch layer of paper. The Misti platform worked great on this. I used Versafine onyx black ink to stamp the tree.  After the ink was thoroughly dry, I sponged it with distress and Stampin' Up inks:  scattered straw in the sky behind the tree and fossilized amber on the ground. I sponged a little blue jeans ink along the horizon and then used Stampin' Up brilliant blue for the rest of the sky.

Below are some variations.

Sponged with distress scattered straw for the ground.

Sponged distress spun sugar ink behind the tree. And intentionally made "swirl lines" while sponging the SU brilliant blue of the sky. The ground is sponged with fossilized amber ink.

I used some Sure-Line touch up paint pads to sponge this one. They are about 1-3/4 inches wide by 2 inches long. I really like the smooth result. The ground here is sponged with distress crushed olive and fossilized amber is used behind the tree and along the horizon.  

Below are photos of these Sure-Line pads. 

Thanks for visiting! Keep yourself safe from Covid!

Autumn Leaves Cards for Thanksgiving

I made very simple Thanksgiving cards using an old Stampin' UP! set called Day of Gratitude. My inspiration is from this card by Brian King.

I played around with some of the colors. Here you see the distress twisted citron and spiced marmalade.

I decided I liked the distress crushed olive and wild honey instead. Also used rusty hinge and brushed corduroy. The sentiment is from Hero Arts.

I am thankful for so many blessings...most of all the blessings of family, friends and health. Wishing you a very special Thanksgiving!

Thank you for visiting!

More Halloween Cards

. 

a Halloween Birthday card for a special friend

Stamps and Embossing folder used:

Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Snarky Cat Halloween

Tim Holtz Bird Talk #2 Stamp and Die set

Michael Strong Pumpkin Harvest

Stampscapes

Park Lane Brush Dot embossing folder

Thanks for visiting! Please stay safe from covid!

Halloween Cards 2020

Here are some cards I made using the Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Snarky Cat Halloween set and a few other stamps. I was inspired by creative artists Keisha Charles and Tami Bastiaans who share their ideas online! Thank you very much!

Just had to try a card like Keisha Charles snarky cat cards on her The PaperMint blog. I used blending brushes to add distress inks seedless preserves and twisted citron to the panel. Then used hickory smoke with stencils from my stash. The images were stamped with black soot.

The backgrounds for these cards were made with wrinkle free distress using distress stormy sky, peeled paint inks and a bit of Dylusions Sunshine (yellow)-unscrewed the sprayer and tapped it on the craft sheet between the blue and green colors. I avoid spraying those things...I am very messy! 

Stamped the stampscapes tree trunks with distress ground espresso, the birds (Lost and Found, a Tim Holtz acrylic set) with distress black soot. The cat was stamped in black soot as well as the sentiment. Used yellow and green colored pencils for the eyes.

I was inspired by Tami Bastiaans Plays Well With Paper card for this card. My card is so simple compard with Tami's. I like how Tami positioned the cat and  used the sentiment. I fussy cut the cat and pumpkin and attached them with foam tape.

Candy corn stamp from Hero Arts.

Inks: distress carved pumpkin, black soot, gathered twigs, peeled paint.

Another card inspired by Tami Bastiaans. My card is very plain compared to Tami's. I love the way Tami created that swirly sky! I used watercolor paper for this. 

I did not have the moon stamp, so I traced a circle and added some dots and circles with fine point black PITT pen by Faber-Castell. Trees from Stampscapes and Stampin' Up!. All stamping with Versafine onyx black, letting it dry thoroughly. I used distress ink with an aqua brush/water brush to "paint" the background like Tami did. 

Distress inks: scattered straw, tumbled glass, broken china, faded jeans, peeled paint.

Used colored pencils to add color to the tree trunks, cat body and eyes.

A HUGE thank you to Keisha Charles and Tami Bastiaans for sharing their creative talent! I had a lot of fun playing with these cards. 

...and THANK YOU for visiting me here! Hope you all stay safe from Covid!

Snow Blanket Card

This Penny Black Snow Blanket stamp arrived in today's mail. I have been wanting to try a scene stamp using my Misti. One of the disk magnets broke. But I was able to use the Misti without a problem.  I do have a bar magnet ordered. 

I copied the sample on the package of this stamp. It was easy using the Misti, adding each color separately with either the markers or the distress inkpad.

The stamp was huge! About 5-7/8 inches wide by 4-3/4 inches high. 

I was using a 5-1/4 x 4 inch piece of cardstock so I added a piece of computer paper underneath my cardstock so it wouldn't mess up the bottom of the Misti.

I pulled out all my markers to find the colors I wanted. Here is what I used...

Fence: Zig clean color real brush 062-Dark Brown

Bottom part of tree: Ranger distress marker-vintage photo

I decided to stamp the far edges of the branches next-Distress ink pad-rusty hinge

Then I went in the center part of the tree branches-Tombow 925-Orange

Pine trees-Tombow 098 kind of an olive green. On panel 2, 3, and 4, added strokes of Tombow 177-a darker green. This green was similar to SU's old olive

Then for the shadows on the fence, below the fence and on the snow on the horizon I used Tombow 526 blue dabbed onto the craft sheet and picked up with my water brush/aqua painter.

It was very fun and relaxing to play with this scene card. I can add a sentiment on  separate layer for a special occasion card. Or, just leave it as is for a hello card.

Hope you are staying safe from Covid! Thanks so much for stopping by to visit!

Fun Background Stamping

 

I created a small stampscapes scene on my block stamped area. Applied distress dried marigold and ripe persimmon on my acrylic block. Then I spritzed with water and placed the block onto a piece of watercolor paper. Once dry, I stamped the scene.

Stampscapes: 

Buck-191A and Gulls-302A in distress ground espresso

Tree Duo-085A in distress peeled paint

On the bottom of the blocked area I added green lines with my zig clean color real brush green marker. But I didn't like the look, so I stamped over that with stampscapes bush-191A.

Happy Birthday clear stamp from Dimensions-Crafts, stamped in dried espresso.

Mounted my watercolor layer on an orange piece of cardstock from my stash.

The color panel on this card was made with Dylusions Ink sprays: fresh lime, pure sunshine and postbox red. I love the vibrant color, but I am not a fan of the MESS sprays make. Maybe it's me and I'm just messy. I was trying to be careful...to spray my paper only... but the spray got all over my stamping area. Next time I will make more backgrounds outside! I probably have not used these sprays since Lynette and I had a book paper and altered book stampfest in June 2014! We used the sprays outside on her patio!

Stamps:

Stampin' Up! Antique Collectibles, Days Gone By

Rubber Stampede She Knows 3652C

Hero Arts sentiment

Here is a photo of my sprayed panels made with the Dylusions sprays. For my card above, I cut one of the panels in half. 

Thanks so much for visiting! Hope you are having a great week!

Block Stamped Birthday Card

I'm still playing with Block Stamping. This time I applied distress spiced marmalade and ripe persimmon inkpads on my acyrlic block. Then I spritzed with water and placed the block onto a piece of watercolor paper. Once dry, I stamped a clear acrylic Inkadinkado stem from #97623 Garden Delight using Versafine onyx black. The sentiment is from a little clear acrylic Fiskars set called Birthday Bash.

Thanks for visiting. Hope you are finding little moments of JOY in your life!

And More Block Stamping

This background was made using Tombow markers #873 (light orange), #062 (yellow) and #098 (a yellow-green). Color descriptions are mine-the markers are labeled with numbers only. I really like how my Tombow markers have stayed nice and juicy over the years. I do not have a huge variety of colors. 

I added the color to a large acrylic block, spritzed with water and placed the block onto a piece of watercolor paper. I had hoped to get darker color. For the second card, I went back to using distress inkpads to "color" the acrylic block. 

I sponged the edges with  distress inks: dried marigold, mustard seed, crushed olive and peeled paint over the bottom. I sponged crushed olive distress ink onto my home made hills stencil.

Stamps and inkpads used:  
Stampscapes: Old Fence 293C-vintage photo
Hot Sun 285E-creamy caramel
Cattails 016B-ground espresso
Ducks in Formation 027A-black soot
Smaller trees are Stampscapes Tree Duo 085A-pine needles
Large tree, unknown stamp company-pine needles.

I used crushed olive distress ink when using my home made hills stencil.

For this card, I went back to using distress ink pads on my large acrylic block. For me, I was able to achieve a more vibrant color. Used ripe persimmon, fossilized amber and crushed olives inkpads.

Stamps and distress inkpads used:

Stampscapes: 

Bear 167A-ground espresso

Hot Sun 285E-ripe persimmon

Bush 191A-old olive

pine tree group from Inkadinkado-old olive

Thank you for visiting! Hope you are having a great week end! Stay safe from Covid!

Started with Block Stamping

 

Here are some birthday cards I made:
Two Z fold cards, continuing to use up flower photos.
The map and boat card was not my idea. I CASE'd it from Lynette.

Experimented with "block stamping" by dabbing ink pads onto an acrylic block then spritzing with water. Inspiration from Cathy at Maine Mountain Stamper. She used markers to "color" the acrylic block. I used distress inkpads because I liked those colors.

The green card base is 4-1/4 by 11 inches, scored at 5-1/2 inches and 8-1/4 inches. I cut 3 pieces of white cardstock, 2-1/4 by 3-3/4 inches.

Stamps: Stampin' Up! Marvelous Morning Glory.    Using ballet blue ink, I stamped off  for the first impression for the fuller part of the flower. Then used ballet blue again  "full strength" for the detailed part of the flower. Same idea for the leaves using wild wasabi ink.  I stamped some tiny irregular dots in the center of the panel of flowers with SU's old Itty Bitty Background stamp. Used SU's Simple Sketches Happy Birthday stamp in ballet blue and added the little bird from SU's Feathered Hope.

Stamps: SU's Beautiful Friendship and Watercolor Minis using SU's wild wasabi and distress worn lipstick and dried marigold.  Not sure which SU set the "happy day" stamp is from?

Here is the guy card I CASED from Lynette's card. 

Stamps: Prima #572594 Seashore (a very tiny little clear acrylic stamp set), Sentiment from Tim Holtz cling set: Saying Stuff, SU Old World Map, that I embossed with Zing white opaque finish embossing powder.

Here are the block stamping cards. I used off  white cardstock from my stash. It has a laid finish. It's a little thicker than the Georgia Pacific 110 lb. that I use. I may try this technique with watercolor paper or a watercolor layer because the card front warped a little. I used 3 colors on this  card: distress spiced marmalade, fossilized amber and salty ocean.  It was difficult trying to tap ink in the middle. I put a piece of paper down on the bottom third of the block to keep that part clean. The very bottom of the color block did not seem to get enough water. One does not know what the result will be...keeping it kind of fun. 

Stamps: SU's Petal Prints (flower) and Denami Designs (sentiment) stamped in Versafine onyx black.

Here I switched to just 2 colors of ink, Salty ocean and crushed olive. Much easier to do. I would like to try and make a scene card with these colors...sky above and green grass below.

I probably did not add enough water for this block stamping? Instead of throwing it out, I thought little houses, trees and clouds from SU's Good Neighbor's set would be fun and funky? What do you think?

Thank you for visiting! I hope you have a wonderful day! Stay safe from covid!