Stampfest at Lynette's July 10, 2024

Lynette, Don and I spent the day together on Wednesday, July 10, 2024. We walked to Pita, Pita, a new restaurant nearby and  had a delicious lunch. Then Lynette and I spent several hours stamping. We always have a great time together!

Here are the cards we made. Remember, you can click on any image and see a larger version. 

Our inspiration came from cards made by members of the Gina K Designs & StampTV Friends Facebook Group.

The sailboat and map card was inspired by one of Sheri West Harris' beautiful series of cards. The boat and birds are from Gina K's Time to Coast stamp set. The map background stamp is from Lynette's stash. Tag die from her stash too.

Inks: 

Versafine onyx black

Gina K's ocean mist, sea glass and powder blue blended on the map background; tranquil teal for the sailboat and birds.

This beach scene card was inspired by Tracy Renner's beautiful beach cards. We tore an oval in a 4 x 5-1/4 inch piece of printer paper to mask the scene. Then used a  cardstock to mask the sky, the sea and the sand, using blending brushes to add Gina K inks...

turquoise sea for the sea

sandy beach for the sand

and

ocean mist for the clouds, using Gina's method of torn paper for the clouds.

We used some stamps from Lynette's stash:

Waves using Gina's turquoise sea ink

Seagrasss from Stampscapes using black ink

Sand Hill stamp which we stamped in sandy beach, giving the sand some texture. Then we added texture with a dotted stamp with vintage photo or tea dye ink.

The rocks in the background were stamped with Lynette's Stampin' Up!'s Waterfront set in Versafine onyx black ink. We drew black lines at the horizon and black lines in the sand adding bits of "seagrass" here and there and some hills. We also drew the birds in freehand. Later we noticed that Gina's Time to Coast stamp set had a similar bird stamp!

This sea card was inspired by Debra Ringler-Couch's beautiful card. We punched a circle from cardstock (a scant 2" in diameter). Placed that down first, with a little washi tape on the back-press the washi tape on cloth a few times to make it less sticky. Then we added another mask to block out the sky so we could add color to the sea. We used Gina K's powder blue with a blending brush. Then we covered the sea and added wild dandelion yellow ink with a blending brush as shown. 

We stamped the boat after removing the masks. But we should have added a little bit of blue to the sea part of the circle, masking the sky before stamping the boat. 

We stamped the boat, the rocks , the birds and the sentiment (mine) with Versafine onyx black ink. Then we added the lines for waves and at the horizon with a fine point black marker. 

We had a great time making cards and visiting! We always do!

Thanks for visiting!

Peace and all good!

Stampfest with Lynette, August 1, 2019

Lynette and I made some cards way back on Aug. 1st. Finally have some time to blog these.  

We used two Stampin' Up! sets: 

Lynette's In the City set and my Fresh Cuts set.

Lynette designed the In the City cards.

I was in need of several birthday and anniversary cards. Graciously,  Lynette came to my rescue and helped me make 12 cards! She stamped the main outlines. And created the itsy bitsy cars, fussy cutting them all. I used the fill in stamp and added color to the buildings.

This is our sample card-the one I found in my Fresh Cuts stamp set. I think I bought it second hand from a demo, Karen Weber. This card may have been made by her.
 

Here are our cards. We changed the colors a bit and made a few simplifications. 

Here are further modifications by Lynette. Love the addition of the circle layer stamped with "from the heart" She mailed this to us as a thank you for the stamping and visiting day. Her husband came along and we spent the whole day together.

Here is my card.
 I cannot find the list of ink colors we used. I usually write the colors down as we work. But that was over a month ago. If I find my scrap of paper with the info, I'll edit this.

Thanks for visiting!
Enjoy the last few days of summer!

July 22 Stamp and Watercolor FEST with Lynette

Lynette and I had a great time stamping, drawing and watercolor painting on Saturday.

Lynette brought drawing pencils and Yasutomo pearlescent watercolors-21 pans, that she found at a garage sale tucked inside a zippered case with elastic loops to keep everything in place. I made a sample background using them-bottom left in photo above.
For our faces, first we sketched with a drawing pencil, then we used Jane Davenport's watercolors Petite Palette Brights and Neutrals. After it was dry, we used Jane Davenport's Inkredible pen for accent.

By Lynette

By Lynette

By Laura

I was inspired to attempt to draw and paint this steam engine after seeing Mary Hambrick's wonderful steam engine on the Jane Davenport Mixed Media Facebook group. 

My dad is a train lover and so I had to give this a go! I have a set of train stamps that I used for most of Dad's cards that I make. For his next card, I may have to try and make one like this.

I'm glad Lynette was interested in trying to make a Corner Flip Card. My friend, Lola, at the Enjoy Michael Strong Yahoo Group shared one of these along with the video tutorial by Dawn Griffith. Lynette and I referred to Lola's blog, Raevon59's Blog that instructions and the video which is also on Dawn's Stamping Thoughts blog. We had to view the video a few times. Once we made the cuts in the correct place, it was easy and fairly quick. We did not add the 2nd layer of color cardstock that was 2-3/4 x 2-3/4".

Inside of Lynette's Corner Flip card

Inside of Laura's Corner Flip card

Stamps used:
Michael Strong, Stampin' Up, Hero arts, Stamps by Judith, PrintWorks

Inks used:
Distress abandoned coral, twisted citron, squeezed lemonade, worn lipstick
Versafine black onyx

Lynette and I always have so much when we get together! Looking forward to next time!

Thank you for taking the time to visit!

Anniversary Card

Here is an anniversary card that I made using wrinkle free distress technique.

It's so easy and fun!

Since I had used a previously made background, I'm not positive about the inkpad colors.

I think they were

peacock feathers, mowed lawn and scattered straw

 tapped directly on craft sheet, next to each other. 

Spritzed with a fine mist of water till the color beaded up

then placed paper directly on top, moving the paper just a little.

You can see my wrinkle free distress tutorial here.

I learned from Tim Holtz' wrinkle free distress technique

described here and here.

I usually use Georgia Pacific 110 pound paper, 92 bright.

You can experiment on other papers.

I like to run more than 1 piece of paper through the "color" on the craft sheet.

Then I have extras for quick cards.

I usually let my paper air dry, but you can use a heat tool also.

Stamps and inks used:

Hero Arts Harelquin Pattern Block G3316 in peacock feathers

Hero Arts Woodland Grasses F3182 in wild honey

Stampabilities Happy Anniversary DC CR1148 sentiment in Versafine black onyx

Michael Strong's mini hearts in mermaid lagoon, fussy cut and attached with foam tape.

Fun fur yarn added then the layer was attached to blue card stock.

I wrote in the names of my friends, Hetty & Raymond with my new favorite pen,

Faber-Castell PITT artist pen BLACK 199*** XS .01 nib

I also stamped Michael Strong's mini hearts inside.

Since I wasn't sure exactly which colors I used on the card, I made some samples for you.

Used distress ink pads: broken china, scattered straw and mowed lawn.

Used distress ink pads: mermaid lagoon, mowed lawn and fossilized amber.

Hope you have fun with wrinkle free distress technique!

Thanks for visiting!

March 30 Stampfest with Linda

My friend Linda spent the day with me Wednesday. We had a great time visiting and stamping.

This card design was inspired by Nadine's Wahine Inks card which I saw on Pinterest.  I used the Textile Cuttlebug embossing folder just on the right side of the front. After trying various flower stamps in various inks, we chose this Rubber Stampede stamp called Solidago Sprig. Linda spritzed the rubber with water then colored on the rubber with Staedtler Aquarell crayons. Then she stamped the flower. We punched a butterfly and added some gemstones to it. Added the sentiment on a layer of white, adhering with dimensional foam. Our first 2 cards (above) are single layer card, just the white cardstock.

For these 2 cards, we embossed and watercolor stamped on a 4 x 5.25 inch white layer and attached that to a navy blue card. You can see variations in the watercolor flower stamping. Sometimes the first stamping was faint. So we tried again. I kind of like the look of a shadowy background.

Stamps: Rubber Stampede, Great Impressions
Inks: Versafine black onyx
Staedtler Karat Aquarell Watercolor Crayons

Linda had previously stamped the center flower with Stampin' Up's petal prints with a watercolor technique. I added the rest of the stamping and sponging, making it a collage-y lady card. Sponged the background using "sequin waste" as a stencil.
Distress inks: festive berries,twisted citron, dried marigold, ripe persimmon,
vintage photo-lady, crushed olive-leaf.
Stamps: Inkadinkado-Dawn Houser, Stampendous, Stampin' Up

Thank you so much for visiting!

Cascading Cards

Made this cascading card for my daughter's 31st birthday which was on Easter this year!

Used paper from my stash. I think it's SU dsp.

This time I used LeeAnn Greff's tutorial on her Flowerbug's Inkspot blog.

Distress inks: crushed olive and ripe persimmon

Stamps: Hero Arts, Michael Strong, Stampin' Up! Savvy stamps

This card is for a friend. Again used paper from my stash.

Distress inks: festive berries, iced spruce

Stamps: Hero Arts, Michael Strong, Stampin' Up!

Explosion Card

This may look like an ordinary card...until you open it...

Isn't this a fun treat! Just love explosion cards.
I  used Karen Titus' video tutorial to make this "oldie but goodie".
She shares a little story to help remember how to make the folds
on the 8 inch square of printing paper.
I enjoyed using an old favorite stamp set

Stampin' Up!'s  Fresh Flowers from 2001.

Inks

Distress:  pickled raspberry, mermaid lagoon, dusty concord, mustard seed, twisted citron, tea dye

Stampin' Up: orchid opulence, marvelous magenta

Versafine black onyx

Stamps: Stampin' Up, Hero Arts.

Thanks for visiting!

2016 Winter Challenge Card

This is my card for the 2016 Winter Challenge at the Michael Strong Yahoo Group.

Mike shared the tree sketch on his blog.

The assignment was to incorporate his tree image into our design.

After saving the image, I opened it in photoshop elements.

I duplicated the tree and made 2 more smaller ones.

I printed the trees with my laser printer, 

using printer paper because my cardstock would not run through this printer.

I would have tried my inkjet printer, but I had trouble connecting my laptop to that!

Using home made "hill" templates, I sponged wild honey for my hills.

Punched a circle in a post it. Used the negative punch and sponged scattered straw for the sun.

Placed the circle post it over the sun, I sponged the sky with tumbled glass.

The sentiment, from Stampscapes, was stamped in Versafine black onyx.

Used Victoria Cuttlebug embossing folder for the top layer of my card.

Used a black frame around my layers, and burlap underneath the sentiment.

Thanks so much for visiting!

Watercolor Background

A friend asked me about my recent watercolor background so I decided to make a tutorial

I'm using a set of  used 28 watercolor "cakes" that my friend, Lynette gave me.

I think they are made by Simbalion.

I used a brush from my stash.

I wet my brush with water and swish it on the color cake to fill my brush with rich color!

Then I paint the colors in sections.

I'm using a "watercolor textured" paper that was given to me.

I don't know the weight or brand. It is about 4.5" high and 7.5" wide.

You can see from the photos that I just just keep adding colors.

The paper curls. It's ok if the colors run together. Makes things interesting!

Normally I let the paint air dry, but I was in a hurry to finish the card, so I used my heat tool. 

Here is the dried paper photographed in daylight, showing more accurate color.

The previous photos were taken with fluorescent light giving a blue cast.

I used half of my watercolor paper for my card. 

Roughened the edges with a distress tool.

Here is the inside, with a layer of thinner cardstock.

with a Fiskars edge punch.

Materials

Stamps: Hero Arts, Michael Strong, PrintWorks, Tim Holtz

Inks: distress peacock feathers, broken china, squeezed lemonade

Stampin Up orchid opulence, lavender lace

Versafine black onyx 

Fun fur fiber, gemstones, dimensional foam tape

Flip-its Stampfest with Linda

On Wednesday, Linda and I spent the day visiting and also stamping. She brought her Big Shot and cool Sizzix Circle Flip-its #4 die set, lots of other dies and stamps along with beautiful printed papers!

Here's Linda designing!

 The Circle Flip-its #4 die set contains 21 pieces. There were lots of small accessory pieces and a few words. I wanted to use the "Get Well", but the "Well" part was not cutting completely. Not sure why.

 

Linda's cool clear stamp set that contains the Happy Birthday and outline was great.

The die fits perfectly around this. I need to ask her for the name of that set, and will add later. We sponged the edges on some of the layers.

We incorporated some book paper on our cards. Some of the scalloped circles are from the sizzix die set. Others are punched with Stampin' UPs punches.

 

Thanks so much for visiting!