Quick Cards

Hi, all. I've got a couple of quick cards today, both using Unity stamps. Unity is a cool company in Minnesota that produces high quality red rubber stamps. The stamps come unmounted, but attach easily to an acrylic stamp block. The prices are fantastic, and they have designs for all styles.

I stamped the image on watercolor paper and used a combination of Stampin' Up! markers with a wet brush to do the coloring. I also splattered some ink just for fun and added a strip of washi tape across the bottom. 

Next I chose some 6x6 patterned papers from American Crafts and Colorbok to layer behind the watercolored panel. After taping everything down, I added a few Studio Calico sequins for some additional color.

This card also features layers of paper along with simple marker + wet brush watercolor. Although you can't see it in the photo, I also went over the flowers with a clear Wink of Stella marker, which creates a subtle sparkle. The centers of the flowers also got a touch of Glossy Accents.

The stamped panel was stitched to a paper I had in my stash which makes me think of a garden trellis - kind of nice as a background for flowers. I also added the black strip at the side - I never get tired of seeing how black makes other colors pop! The orange paper in the back was chosen to coordinate with the color of the flowers. (I don't remember who makes either of those patterned papers.)

Quick & easy!

Till next time,

Immi

Valentine's Day Card

I decided to do a little cleanup the other day in my studio. It gets messy really quickly in here! One of the things I chose to tackle was some paper that I use to cover my work surface when I'm using ink sprays. The spray tends to get all over everything, so I keep newspapers or large paper bags on hand to put under my project. I get some interesting colors and patterns as they get all dirtied up. I took some of those pieces and die cut them into flower and leaf shapes, using Tattered Leaves, Tattered Florals, and Jumbo Tattered Florals by Sizzix. But now I'm left with a pile of these pieces and need to figure out what to do with them.

I thought it would be fun to layer some of them on a card. I started with a piece of watercolor paper and some ink sprays, I used several shades of red and pink, along with some gold & bronze to create a background. Next I layered some decorative washi tapes over that, gluing them down since the adhesive on these tapes is not quite strong enough for the textured watercolor paper. I glued down a couple of flowers & leaves and set it all aside to dry between a couple of books to help keep it flat. (I keep waxed paper handy to prevent sticking when I use books as weights.)

I had a chipboard heart that I hadn't used on another project, so rather than put it away I decided to use it. I sprayed it with some inks, then put on a layer of Distress Crackle Paint in Clear Rock Candy. 

While that was drying, I decided which sentiment stamp to use - the one I chose is by Heidi Swapp. I added some additional stamping on the lower left since it looked rather bare, using French Post by Hampton Art and Flourish Wave with Hearts by Hero Arts. Next I added my sentiment.

Once the heart was dry, I attached it to the flowers, and rounded the lower right corner of the panel. I folded a heavy piece of cardstock to use as the card base, and rounded the lower right corner of that as well. I used Extreme Adhesive to mount the watercolor panel since it's so heavy.

I can't say that I got very far in cleaning up my space, but I got a little bit done and had some fun along the way.

Happy crafting!

Immi