Postage Background

I pulled out some oldie but goodie stamps for today's card. I love the look of old postage, and have several stamps that look like postage stamps. I haven't used them in a while, and decided to make a background with them.

I started with a piece of white Bristol, cut to 4.25" x 5.5". I wanted to use muted colors so that none of the individual stamps would stand out, but blend together. I used some dye inks from Stampin' Up! that I've had since I first began stamping - Almost Amethyst, Barely Banana, Close to Cocoa, and Mellow Moss. I also used an ink Stampin' Up! produced together with Ancient Page called Pretty in Pink. The stamps I used are: French Postage by Paper Inspirations, French Post by Hampton Art, and Creative Block #13 by Stamper's Anonymous. I also used a stamp that is part of a set designed by Dawn Houser for Inkadinkado called World Traveler & Postage Mark as well as a stamp from a set by Stampin' Up! (the cancellation mark). 

Each stamp is stamped multiple times, allowing the images to overlap. I decided that the white of the background was a bit too stark, so I used Distress Antique Linen ink and a blending tool to tone everything down a little.

The sentiment is a new-to-me die from Savvy Dies called Hello Script. I cut it four times from some scrap brown cardstock and glued all the layers together to make it stand up a little from the surface of the card. After gluing it down with matte medium, I decided to add a few sequins from Doodlebug Design. They are also glued down with matte medium. I trimmed the panel slightly smaller and mounted it on a dark brown cardstock base.

I'm linking this up to the current challenge from Craft Stamper Magazine.

Till next time - 

Immi

Thank You Card

It's always good to have some thank you cards on hand - I already know who is going to get this one. This is the last of three cards I made inspired by the current Unity Stamp challenge. To see the other posts, click here and here.

Now on to today's card:

I used a couple of sets from Unity for this card - Donna Poppies and Butterflies & Sunbeams. I wanted to do a resist technique for this card, so I stamped the poppy with Versamark ink on a manila shipping tag, allowing the image to hang off the edge. (I think it adds some interest that way.) Versamark is a clear, sticky ink that is wonderful for heat embossing. I poured clear embossing powder over the image and set it with a heat tool. I chose a couple of colors of Distress Inks - Bundled Sage & Rusty Hinge, using blending tools to cover the surface of the tag. The area that was stamped & embossed resists the color, allowing the base color of the tag to show through - pretty cool!

Next I dabbed some Distress Stain in Peeled Paint on my craft sheet and pressed the surface of the tag into the wet color. This creates the darker areas of green. I really like the uneven, splotchy look I got. Once it was dry, I got out an iron I keep just for craft techniques and ironed the back of the tag with scratch paper under the front. The scratch paper soaks up the embossing powder as the iron melts it. This leaves the original tag color showing, but the surface is smooth rather than raised as it would be if I left the embossing alone. It almost looks like batik, and I guess it's the same principle. The sentiment was stamped with Making Memories Artprint Brown and embossed with clear powder.

I used two colors of twine that coordinated with my palette to tie a bow through the hole in the top of the tag. The papers underneath all got some Distress Ink treatment to darken the edges, and everything is mounted on a cream colored card base.

Here is the challenge image from the Unity blog:

I enjoyed this challenge a lot, and had fun working with these colors.

Hope your week is going well,

Immi

I Miss You Card

Here is another card I made for the current Unity Stamp challenge. For the first card, see this post.

The image on this card is from a Unity stamp set called Truly Rest. The sentiment is from Blossomy Condolences.

Feathers are very popular right now, but they're not really my thing. I probably would not have purchased this set - I got it after winning a drawing, and stuck it away, not sure how to use it. As I looked through my stamps with the current challenge colors in mind, this one jumped out at me and I thought it was a great time to give it a try.

I stamped the image on watercolor paper with Memories Artprint Brown, feeling that brown would be better than black for the look I wanted. Before the ink had a chance to dry, I sprinkled clear embossing powder over it and melted it with a heat tool. Using my favorite coloring technique, I combined Distress inks with a wet brush to add the color to the feathers and the background.

I used a die from Quickutz Nesting Circles to cut out the image,planning to layer it on a larger circle, using another die from that set, but then I spotted a small doily in my stash. It was just the right size, so I added some color to it with more Distress ink, diluted with water. I used a little adhesive just in the center to hold the two layers together, and stitched around the circle with my sewing machine and tan thread.

I chose some papers from a 6x6 pad from My Mind's Eye called Reunion to layer behind my image, taking my cue from the card layout in the challenge. All the papers were darkened around the edges with Distress ink and a blending tool.

I stamped the sentiment on a scrap of watercolor paper, using Versafine Sepia and embossing with clear powder. After trimming it and cutting a notch in the end, I mounted it at a slight angle towards the bottom of the card front. I had a piece of string sitting on my work surface, so I colored it with a little Distress ink & water, then tied it into a double loop bow. I glued it down with some matte medium.

Everything was mounted on a card base made from cream cardstock. I'm going to be sad when all this cardstock is gone - it's old school Stampin' Up! cardstock that they discontinued many years ago.

I've decided that I like this feather image more than I thought! This challenge gave me just the push I needed to make it work.

Here is the challenge image that inspired the card:

I have one more card connected to this challenge to share with you in a few days. Hope your week is going well!

Immi

Fall is in the Air

This is the time of year when I wish I still lived in Minnesota. Fall was my favorite time of year there! Relief from the heat and humidity of summer, the pleasure of pulling out favorite sweaters to wear, stunning fall colors as the leaves turned, and of course, the Minnesota State Fair!

I was inspired when I saw the current challenge on the Unity Stamp blog - the colors are perfect for fall themes.

I enjoyed pulling out some stamps and playing around with inks and paper to come up with something that fit the challenge. I plan to share a few cards spread out over multiple blog posts that I will be linking to the challenge.

First up:

I used a stamp set from Unity called Shrooms. The image and sentiment are both stamped with black Archival ink on watercolor paper, I added color to the mushrooms with a variety of Distress inks and a wet brush. I also added some splatters of wet ink. I figured since these are rather whimsical, the colors don't have to match what you'd find in nature - why not have some fun with it?

I cut the stamped paper into a banner shape and roughed up the edges with a Tim Holtz distresser tool. To add a little additional color, I inked up a blending tool with some Distress ink. Beginning from the outside, I blended color onto the paper, making the edges darker and leaving the center of the panel lighter. 

Now for some fun layering papers. I chose some 6x6 papers from my stash and cut another banner shape slightly larger than my stamped panel from a blue print. I used a little adhesive just in the center to keep the two pieces from shifting, and stitched around the edges using my sewing machine and tan thread.

The rust stripe also got some additional color around the edges with Distress ink and a blending tool, then the stitched banner was adhered to the top. I pulled out some very fine variegated thread and a metal button to dress up the top, taping the thread down on the back side of the panel. I chose a cream cardstock for the card base, creating a side-folding card.

Here is the challenge image so you can see what the original inspiration was.

I hope your week is off to a good start! I'll be back soon with some more cards for this challenge.

Immi