Using photographs on cards

I love stamping, and I love stamps.  I enjoy the creative possibilities in stamps.  You wouldn't think there was much creative opportunity -- after all, it's the same image, over and over. But the image changes with colours used, how it's used and in what scenes you build on your cards.  It never fails to thrill me.

But I also use photographs from magazines on card fronts.  I generally scan the photographs first, in case I want to use them again in collages.  Because of copyright implications, I would never submit these cards to a magazine. Instead, I sent them to my sister as a mailbox surprise!

Except for the photos, these are all SU products, long discontinued (miss you, Summer Starfruit).

Have you discovered foiling?

Jennifer McGuire is a technique queen who has been in the card making business for quite a while, now.  She has an engineering background (like me), and has a very precise and scientific way of putting together her cards.  I just love it when she gets out her T-square to line up card elements!

Perhaps a month or so ago, she demonstrated techniques using foil.  Christine and I were all over it! We fired up the laminator, and here's what we made:

The foil was applied with two-sided adhesive paper die cut in the shape of the butterfly.  I over-stamped it with the dictionary background stamp in Crumb Cake, rubbed with a bit of Pool Party, added coffee splotches (Kaisercraft) and sentiment (Stampabilities).

Another die cut.  Post-it tape is invaluable for keeping the die in shape while you peel the backing off. I overstamped the starburst image in Daffodil Delight.  The stars were punched from a sheet of sequin plastic.

A stamped image needs Versamark, clear embossing powder and a laminator.  stamp, emboss, and then run the image through the laminator with the foil on top.  The embossing melts to the foil.  This give the best image of the methods we tried. The sentiment was embossed with silver embossing powder.  I didn't have any silver paper, so I swiped the edges of some Whisper White with Versamark, and heat embossed with silver. A bit of sheer Cherry Cobbler ribbon looks like it is tied around the stem.

The great thing about summer vacation is it gives me time to CLEAN!!  Yesterday, we tackled the closet that holds all of our water "stuff" - water softener, iron filter, UV light, pump...We now have three piles to be dealt with: garbage, Value Village and ReStore.  That's today's mission!

Cleaning my desk of random supplies can be just as rewarding. These three cards are part of a set that I donated to Louise's hospital. They all use DSP, scraps of ribbon, and bits of string that have been cluttering up my work area, but are "too good" to throw away! Some of the supplies are SU, but most of the paper is from a prize pack of selected papers that I won at a Scrapbooking for Literacy event in March.

It feels good to be back

Well, it's been a while since I've posted.  I even wondered if I would again.  My mother died two years ago, and it seemed that it wasn't my mojo that left me - it was the feeling that I was making worthwhile use of my time.  Making greeting cards seemed so pointless.  And all my crafty "stuff" would end up at the curb in green garbage bags when I die, just as my mother's treasures did.  So I didn't do anything.  And I avoided my craft room.  It got taken over by the papers of my parents' estate.

But everything has cleared.  Accounts are paid out, property dispersed or donated, and Mum and Dad's papers have been reduced to a file folder and a box of old tax returns.  And my craft room looks like a craft room again.  Still messy, but this time with paper and glitter and ink.

What helped was getting together with some work chums to make cards.  I designed 4 cards to make, and a group of 5 or 6 women would stay after school and make the cards.  Having the commitment of 4 cards made me design and play.  Won't lie - the first few cards were totally CASEd from Pinterest. I didn't have an original thought in my head.  But, then, inspiration started returning.

I have a bunch of cards to show you, but I'll start off slow with these 3.

I used a Heidi Swapp stencil on all three.  I sprayed with Perfect Pearls mist, over stamped, used other stencils, and paper pieced.  They lay unfinished on my desk for a long time, which means that I have probably overworked them, as every time I saw them, I did something else to them.  Poor things!

New In Colours

Stampin' Up has gone all pastel with the new 5 in-colours.  I had a big pout with the recent colour revision, as they got rid of MANY of my favourites.  The replacements aren't making me happy, but I am trying to work with them none the less.  Here is a card using 3 of them: Crisp Cantaloupe, Pistachio Pudding and Burnt Brown Sugar.  While I was in the UK, I picked up a magazine, Simply Handmade, which came with a set of stamps.  The dressform stamp comes from that set, as does the pistachio gingham paper used to spotlight the dressform body.  The argyle background is a Tim Holtz.  The ribbon is a scrap of Certainly Celery, which is far enough away from the Pistachio to look related.  This is an uncharacteristically clean card for me.

We had a lot of retirements at school this year, and this card is one that I made for a retiring VP.  It uses a technique that I learned from another UK magazine, PaperCrafting.  It involves outlining the stamped image with a really soft black pencil or charcoal.  It gives a shadow to the image, and really makes it pop.  The stamps are all SU: Everything Eleanor, Papaya Collage and You're a Gem.  Colours are Pool Party, Crumb Cake and Early Espresso.  I spritzed the card first with water and lightly dragged a sponge loaded with Crumb Cake into the water droplets to give the background some texture.  A single line of embossed cross stitches gives the edge some definition.

Thanks for looking!

Published In the Catch Up Issue!

You may remember that I posted all of my bottle cards that I was submitting to Stampers' Sampler.  Then, the issue came out, and....none of them were published :(  Darn!  Though, the ones that were picked were very fine.

Then, in my mailbox this week, was a complimentary issue of 400 More Ideas (formally known as the Catch Up Issue).  And three of my bottles are in there!!

So, the message is...submit your ideas!  You never know -- you can be published, too!

Mojo Making

I love making cards and collages.  But like everyone, I get into slumps.  I don't like my stamps (ANY of them!!).  I don't like my inks!  And my forest-worth of paper....all garbage!!

So, I take a class in anything but card-making.  I try new techniques, I meet new people, and sometimes, I even make something I like :)

Yesterday, I was at Sandra Spanuolo's class. She's an amazing collage artist and painter who generously shares her secrets with students. I attended her classes when she lived in |Milton, but now that she's literally around the corner from me, I find I am attending more.  We did a sweet little bird house.

Now, Sandra warns us -- for a long time, it's going to look ugly.  Then it gets better.  You just have to keep working.  It was my day to be ugly yesterday.  I was sorely tempted at one point to gesso over the whole thing and start over.  I was surrounded by masterpieces!  (Note to self: sit elsewhere next time)  But, with her encouragement, I persevered, and here's the result!

The little ball of wool at the top is a nest, but I need to sew it together.  The verse is, "The woods would be quiet if no bird sang but the one that sang best." (Henry van Dyke)  It's happy and spring-y.  Time to put away my brown and saffron and pale teal palette, and go with pinks and yellows and greens, I think!

desk clean up

I was cleaning my desk.  I found some re-inkers, and so that meant digging out the ink pads they match, and topping up the ink.  While doing that, I poured a blob of mahogany distress ink on my desk.  The handiest thing to grab was a sponge.  Now I have a sponge loaded with ink!  So, I swiped it across a sheet of Whisper White and let it dry.  Then, I spritzed my desk surface to wipe up the last of the ink.  It beaded up on the craft sheet, and I swiped a piece of  Very Vanilla through it.  Now, I have two pieces of unexpected paper.  What to do?

This is what i did with the splattered paper.  I stamped my favourite stamp, Nature Walk, in Staz On.  I rubbed ink in Pool Party, So Saffron, River Rock and Crumb Cake over the image and the edges.  Long ago, I sliced my In Stitches wheel apart, so I used the straight stitch stamp to stamp the stitch lines. I crumpled a piece of First Edition, swiped it with River Rock and layered it under the paper.  I used the Trinkets brads at each corner.  I wrapped the panel with twine.  Under the twine, I layered three Tiny Tags, stamped with Friends from Tiny Tags, and a key and butterfly from a retired Hostess set.

As for the former Whisper White paper...

This really was a desk-cleaning project!  I ran the paper through a Tim Holtz embossing folder with an alligator pattern, and then sanded it.  I stamped a Certainly Celery card base with the Distressed background stamp and Soft Suede.  I applied a rub-on (K and Co) to the edge of a First Edition scrap, and layered it underneath.  The bee is some paintable sticky canvas from Little Yellow Bicycle, painted with Bordering Blue, Daffodil Delight and Soft Suede markers.  The Hello stamp is from the spring catty, and the Petite Curly Label punch is from Sale-a-Bration.

Collage box

These DIY collage boxes are so much fun?  What a great way to use of all of the flotsam and jetsam I've been saving for years. My biggest problem was committing to  gluing things down.  What if I want to change my mind?  But once I started, I had a great time. I only reworked two of the boxes :)

Turns out I have a lot of birds and butterflies!

Tunnel Card

Today is a snow day -- a play day!  I NEVER use Snow Days for housework, even if my house is a dump.  Snow Days are rare.  I live in southern Ontario., after all, and it snows here in the winter.  We're supposed to cope with it, not hunker down.  But this was too big of a storm, so school buses are cancelled, school doors are locked, and I'm home.

In the latest Cloth Paper Scissors, they show a tunnel card.  So cool!  I had to make one.  Warning!  This is not a 10 minute card, least not the way I did it.  This is Brian's Valentine's card, so I wanted to do that "little more".

And here's from the top:

Try one for youself!

French theme Notecards

I drew the name of a very chic woman for Secret Santa.  She loves all things French.  I was inspired by the most recent cover of Take Ten, which featured French theme stamps in red and kraft.  Here's the result: 6 notecards for her stocking.

I'm pretty impressed with myself!

Retro Sketch Challenge

This is my submission for two challenges. The first is for Jammin' Stampers, the group of Stampin' Up demonstrators I belong to.  The challenge was for an embossed layer, a dsp layer, a sentiment and a 3D embellie.

The second challenge is for Retro Sketch #41. Play along at http://retrosketches.blogspot.ca

 It's fun to use these challenges.  Sometimes they speak to me, and sometimes, not so much!

Ready to Get Organized?

You may have noticed photos in earlier postings that showed items that I have sewn to help me store and organize my card making.  I am referring to my marker rolls, embossing folder holders, and most recent creation, my piercing mat and template holders.

I am now offering these items for sale.  I will sew the holders in whatever colour you prefer.  If you are a Stampin' Up devotee, you can request SU only fabric.  The two folders above are sewn in Springtime Vintage, currently on the Clearance table (limited availability).

Want to look really good at your next crop?  Order all three in co-ordinating fabrics!

Marker roll: holds 12 markers, ties shut, $10.00
Piercing Template holder: slightly padded to protect the templates.  Has a large pocket inside to hold the mat, and three smaller pockets on the other side to hold the templates.  Smallest pocket holds the original SU piercing template and mat.  Lots of room for future piercing templates. There is also a pocket for the piercing tool.  Button closure. $15.00
Embossing Folder Holder: Slightly padded, button closure.  Eleven pockets to hold LOTS of Framelits and Embossing folders.  Pockets are sized to hold the Framelits packaging, to further protect delicate dies. $20.00  Or do like Christine did, above, and use a magnetic sheet to hold the dies in place.

Interested?  send me an email at judithmnaylor@gmail.com, and let me get sewing for you!

Broken Tile technique

I've written before about InkStains with Roni (http://inkstainswithroni.blogspot.ca/) and how inspirational I find her techniques.  here is a card I created after visiting her site this week.  She calls the technique Broken Tile.

Rip low-tack tape, like painters' tape, or tissue tape, into strips.  Don't worry if the strips are straight!  Place them on white cardstock in various directions.  You're looking for shapes that look like broken tiles.  In the area created by the tape, stamp an image and sponge around the edges.  You may have to mask the area to prevent ink getting onto another "tile".  Remove the tape carefully -- even low-tack tape can rip the paper underneath.  Stand back and admire your background paper!

Two more simple cards using the Bella Boutique dsp from last year.  I confess -- I had to remove the cellophane wrapper.  I haven't been using my supplies at all, just buying more!

This is such versatile paper, I'm going to regret only buying the one pack.  I have used a layer of dsp on cardstock, so they were very simple cards to make.

Stephanie and I enjoyed the final class for the season at Kathy Mostardi's.  It was a collage class.  We were given a huge sheet of watercolour paper.  We glued all sorts of papers to the surface, and when it was dry, we added paint through stencils, punchella and bits of grids.  It was so fun!  When that layer was dry, we sliced the sheet into postcards and ATCs.

I added some stamping and emphemera to the cards, but still don't feel they are ready to mail.  A bit more playing, and they'll be ready.

Here are 8 of the cards:

At school, the Child and Youth Worker asked me to come up with a Mother's Day card that the kids could make to give to their mums.  it was so popular, we did the same for Father's Day.  I kept the cards very simple -- minimal stamping, some punching, some gluing.  I was able to work through my stash of old dsp, and i think the kids really enjoyed giving something hand-made to their parents.

Here are the cards:

the Mother's Day card is on the left.  On white cardstock, the students layered dsp and embossed, punched white cardstock.  I created the salutation in Word, the had them cut the label out.  It's popped up.  Inside, they stamped "love" in big letters.

The Father's Day card used some of the dsp that I had cut for Mother's Day, plus some of the more masculine papers from my stash.   The postage stamp images involved six different ink colours.  I was worried about contamination, so I stamped the images first, and the kids punched and glued.  Inside, there is a tag with Happy Father's Day,and a bit of linen string.

The cards were quick to put together assembly-line fashion, and inexpensive for me.

Bad Blogger

Although I have been creating, I have not been posting.  Here are two cards I made today.  Unfortunately, the card project is back on.  Louise is back in chemo, and I am making cards for patients to write thank-yous.

This card uses Gumball Green cardstock, possibly one of the more ugly colours SU has come up with.  I sponged a tally sheet using Basic Black and a Crafter's Workshop stencil.  I had some SU black and white houndstooth, which I spnged with Lucky Limeade.  There's some black cardstock "ribbon" between.

I watercoloured this little pear (a hostess SU set) with re-inkers, popped it up on some Old Olive c/s and mounted it all on Crumcake cardstock, which I background stamped with a distressed SU vintage amp.  The label is a piece of grundge paper, inked with Kiwi Kiss ink, and Distress Stains in Vintage Photo and Painted Shutters.  Two vintage brads from SU hold it to the card.

I promise to post more frequently!

More Submissions

Okay, I think I am done with the bottle template from the April/May/June issue of the Stampers Sampler.   I still have ideas -- Alice in Wonderland,  and the label says "Drink Me" or something with Sting and the Police (message in a bottle ) or "Drink to me only with thine eyes". Maybe I'm not done, after all!

Here are the five I am submitting.  Try the template out for yourself at www.stampington.com

 

Every issue, the Stampers Sampler posts a template.  I don't know why,  but this template was really inspirational.  I was proctoring the AP French exam and had lots of time to doodle. These two cards were two of the ideas I had.

The card, Go Confidently,  was inspired by Christine Kokiw.  She did a masculine card for our recent Jammin Stampers Meeting that featured the peragamo technique.   Using a stylus, rub the back of an image stamped on vellum.  The result is white, textured sails.   Christine found the method at Still Stamping.  I added the idea of a message in a bottle.   The stamp sets are Open Seas and French Foliage

The second bottle features the Green Man, a mythical creature from England. The Green Man brings health and growth to your garden. The stamps are: face - inkadinkadoo, leaves - Baby Blossom (SU), label - Le Jardin Botinique (SU)