Hello Awesome!

 I love Autumn!!  In fact I think it's Awesome!! (hee! hee!)  All the amazing colors and textures...  Here's and idea for combining them on a greeting card.  

The background of this project was inspired by the way beautiful Fall leaves float down  onto our wood deck.  

To get the same sort of plank decking look, I embossed my paper with a wood grain folder, colored it up and then cut the pieces into 'planks' of different lengths and reassembled them onto the card front.  I really like the way this turned out.  

I made this a pocket card because there were a lot of layers on the front panel of the card making it thick/heavy.  Adding a simple back would make it so disproportionate.   I like the idea of using this on an Autumn scrapbook page with the 'hidden' journaling or photo card pull out.For me, the leaves are the star of the show!  I love to heat emboss on them.  If you would like to know more about how, here's a link to that blog post.  WARNING: Stamping on leaves is highly addictive!

Blessings to you my friends ~ I hope you are well and looking forward to this holiday season as much as I am, and I hope we all find the time, friends and family to enjoy it with ❤💛💚 

A True Friend

The Greatest of all Blessings

Hello Friends!! Another fun card using my enormous stash of mono-printed backgrounds!!  This time I paired one with 2 great stamps from Unity Stamp Company, an embossed background and a random sprig of left-over diecut from another project!!  The heat embossed powder from Lindy's Stamp Gang really gives the sentiment a beautiful metallic finish.

Maybe another thing to note: I die cut a doily shape out of vellum and also a circle frame, layered 3 deep, to host the sentiment.  Layering the circle frames not only gives a great surface for attaching the vellum, but it also lifts the vellum off of the paper without completely obscuring the background pattern/colors underneath!

Intrigued by mono-printing?  It's a forgiving art form ~ fun and honestly addictive.  Every day I think to myself, "Can I justify making just a few more in new colors?"  Well, of course I can!  But really, I already have SO many made I am trying to use them up a little first!!  Honestly! They go with everything!!  If  you want to see more be sure to click the follow button on the left.  I will be posting a mono-printing with embossing folders tutorial soon!

#Primamarketing #unitystampco #Lindysstampgang #papercraft #scrapbooking #fussycutting #monoprinting #watercolor #rubberstamping #stamping #embossing #heatembossing #pressureembossing #distressink #oilpastel

ARG!!

                 Computers!!!!!!!

Can't live with 'em  ~
              Can't live without 'em

Have you ever spent a lot of time perfecting an online project only to have it VANISH?

I can't explain it!  It was there, it was saved and previewed and posted..... & then it was gone!

Well, I am sure I have joined a long line of other frustrated bloggers... and I have a feeling it may be more of a revolving door than a line!

Luckily, I have this fun little gem to share so maybe things  happen for a reason!

I love this sweet gal from Unity Stamp Co. She is so like me; my hair up, sitting criss-cross apple sauce (vocab of a mom!) and oh how I love fat stripes on silk pj's!

The technical side: All of the stamps are from Unity Stamp Co ~ The beautiful vellum doily is cut from Kat Scrappiness scalloped circles.  A small round frame behind helped not only to mount it on the card, but also sets it off without covering any of the lusciousness of the mono-printed background!!

***I am planning a quick tutorial on mono-printing because I have become enamored with the process.  It is WONDERFULLY random in a controlled way! and SO fast and SO easy!  I recently made 50 or so backgrounds and I can't wait to make some more.  I have been using them like mad because they just seem to go with everything I layer them with!

                                                                                  
#papercraft #scrapbooking #fussycutting #monoprinting #watercolor #rubberstamping #stamping #embossing #heatembossing #pressureembossing #distressink #oilpastel #katscrappiness

Super Mom!

For all of the Mom/Daughter relationships

 

Mom's are our unsung heroes sometimes, aren't they?  When I saw this stamp set I fell in love! I put an "M" on her shirt badge and pieced her skirt with embossed dots.  I liked the urban feeling of the brick background and stamped the sentiment as if it were graffiti.  The frame is out of a retired set from Stampin' Up "Shining Star"

I also added the die cut red stars reflecting the negative of the white stars in the frame. 

For me, the inside is pretty special because so many kids have trouble believing in themselves.  I know my mom was my biggest champion and probably still is 

 

You might also notice that the inside is the debossed side of the brick wall.  It was so pretty I did not want to cover it so I cut the back of the card with enough extra to extend a small way across the front, enough to hold the original brick and still look intentional.  I like decorating the insides &/or back too!

Below is a list of supplies:

Laney Girl (aka Super Mom) designed by Angie Blom at Unity Stamp Co's web site( https://www.unitystampco.com/shop/laney-girl/ )

Graffiti sentiment from KOM Aug 2014 ( https://www.unitystampco.com/shop/summer-collapsed-into-fall-kom-814/ )

Inside sentiment "She's yor best friend . . . " From the KOM at Unity https://www.unitystampco.com/shop/happy-thankful-blessed-kom-914/ 

Shining Star Frame usually available on eBay ( http://www.ebay.com/itm/Stampin-Up-Shining-Star-Stamp-Set-Music-Note-Star-Candle-Moon-Balloon-Frame-/162123509568?hash=item25bf506f40:g:aiMAAMXQs~ZRlaj7 )

Reduce Reuse Recycle :)

Today I thought I would share with you how I build a simple card.  I like to reuse stuff that would other wise be thrown away, I find that to be a lot cheaper too!!  Here's what I did: 

Another quick & beautiful option!!

On this one I was excited to be using the wonderful white side of some MFT packaging.  The weight and texture of this paper is pretty close to the card stock I usually use for cards, it is definitely not cardboard. If it were I would've saved it for building a box, embellishment or something else :)

I'll use the pink
another time!

  I also decided that I liked the pink stripes at the top so since I have several of these MFT labels I decided to slice off that part and keep for another project!

You can see that I chose a simple color palette and stamped these pears from Unity Stamp Co. randomly on the white part of the card.  Using accent papers the same colors as  the ink makes it quick and easy. 

A slice from the pears
+ sentiment = beautiful
quick & easy!!

  For the background any of the ink colors used would've worked. Blue, light blue, lime green and soft yellow. 

I could've easily stopped there and added a sentiment but I decided I wanted to texture the background paper.  I also thought a monochromatic pop of color would be nice so I inked the de-bossed side of the embossing folder in the same green. 

Once again that would have been enough for a beautiful card, but I decided to set off the stamped image with a dark blue mat. 

  I wrapped a  double line of pale yellow bakers twine around the pears image, added a bow, and decided to use the lighter blue paper  with a heavier font for the sentiment -- {deciding that the dark thin sentiment got a little lost}.  I rubbed the "thanks" sentiment with a little ink a shade darker than the cardstock to make it stand out more and added dimensional tape before adhering it to the card.

          

Ta-Da!! As easy & simple as the card maker chooses!!           

Here are some additional picts with prompts. CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE THEM   If you've  been wanting to try card-making for yourself I hope this simple tutorial helps alleviate some of they fears you might have had!  Please let me know if this was helpful and what other information you would like to see here in the future. 

Thanks,