Sunday, 16 July 2023

Using white ink doesn't always cut it

 I don't know about you, but I have great difficulty getting a good stamped image from white ink.

I saw a really cool card that Juli Baca made - she used white ink and it looked amazing!

This is my version with white ink - and I added more ink to the pad before stamping, and I also stamped each image multiple times.

Cheerful Daisies with Basic White ink


I was using Crumb Cake as my card stock, and even with 3 stampings of each image you can see it didn't show up all that well.

I left it for a few days, then I thought - OK - white stamping is not my thing, but here's how I can make a card that looks as good as Juli's did.  Here's what I came up with.

Cheerful Daisies using White heat embossing


It's still Crumb Cake cardstock (with an Early Espresso frame this time), but I also stamped each image with Versamark and then heat embossed with white embossing powder.  What a difference!

I've used Garden Green ink for the stem and leaves, and Pebbled Path ink for the flower centres.  These cards are for thank you cards for those who have ordered off me - an order really does make my day!

In order to add another element I gently flicked my White Stampin' Chalk Marker a few times which gave me the white flecks on the front.  I originally tried to do these with embossing powder, but I couldn't get it work the way I wanted it to.

The ink for the sentiment was Early Espresso.  

On the inside of the card I used an Early Espresso cardstock frame, then a top layer of Very Vanilla cardstock.

Measurements

Crumb Cake card base:  29.7 x 21cm, folded in half
Early Espresso layer: 10 x 14.4cm
Crumb Cake card front: 9.5 x 13.9cm

For the inside of the card
Early Espresso layer: 10 x 14.4cm 
Very Vanilla top layer: 9.5 x 13.9cm

If you live in New Zealand, and you'd like to purchase any of these products, feel free to click on the picture and you'll go through to my online store.  I'll even send you one of these cards to say thank you!

Take care,
Andrea



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Tuesday, 9 May 2023

The Sweetest Songbird!

 Even though I've owned this set for a while, this is the first time I've actually used it!  Please tell me I'm not the only one who does this!

I cased this card from Donna Ross, and I just love the colours I've used in this card.  The Countryside Inn Designer Series Paper does totally tick my boxes as I'm a blue girl at heart.



The colours I used were: cardstock Night of Navy, the bird is stamped in Boho Blue, with a Pumpkin Pie beak, Early Espresso branch and Lemon Lime Twist leaves.  The flowers are Boho Blue (note the Basic Rhinestones in the centre of each flower).  The sentiment, bird's eyes and the musical notes are all stamped in Night of Navy ink.

I used both the Songbird Builder Punch and the Stylish Shapes dies.  I really like the stitching affect of the Stylish Shapes - it adds texture and interest in one easy step.

Here's the inside of my card


For this I used the Biggest Wish stamp set - I left just enough white space for a short birthday message.

If you live in New Zealand, and would like to purchase any of the items I've used today, please click on the pictures below.

Take care,
Andrea


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Tuesday, 2 May 2023

Countryside Inn - taking it for a whirl!

I took part in a team stamping event over the weekend, and this is the 'Make 'n Take' that I made.

I used the Countryside Inn dies and Designer Series Paper, and I was inspired by a card that Gail Ellis made.



My card stock measurements are:
Basic White Card base:    14.85 x 21cm, scored at 10.5cm
Basic White pieces:          14.4 x 10cm to emboss
                                         14 x 9.5cm to use to stamp the flowers and leaves
                                         14 x 9.5cm as backing for the DSP
                                         Scrap for the sentiment
Designer Series Paper:    14 x 9.5cm for the floral frame

After folding the card base, I embossed the Basic White piece.  I then cut out the frame using the second and third largest shapes from the Countryside Corners dies.  I held the dies in place with washi tape as I did this, as I wanted it even all the way around.

Once I did this, I put the frame on the embossed layer, however I didn't like the look of the embossed 'busyness' and the DSP 'busyness', so I cut a piece of whisper white the same size as the larger part of the frame, and adhered the white to the back of the DSP frame. I then adhered this to the card front.

Next I stamped the flowers in Flirty Flamingo, using the Artistically Inked stamps, then the leaves in Boho Blue. I stamped the leaves off once onto scrap paper.  I cut out the flowers and leaves using the Artistic Dies.  I love this stamp set - it's a Distinktive set, so the stamping looks two tone, yet it's all done with one stamp!

I placed the flowers and leaves where I wanted them, using dimensionals on one of the flower/leaf sets.

I then used the Happy Birthday sentiment from the Artistically Inked stamp set again, and just cut this out as a plain rectangle.  I used dimensionals to adhere this to the card front.

I finished off the front of the card with some xxxx embellishments.

I've made a goal recently to make sure I decorate the inside of the card, so you can see here that I've followed through on that this time!  I stamped the sentiment using full strength Boho Blue, and the flowers using Flirty Flamingo stamped off once.



During our team event, I noticed a couple of people had made the card in portrait rather than landscape, and I liked it so much I went home and made it that way myself!  Which way round do you prefer?


If you'd like to purchase any of these gorgeous products, please click on the pictures below to go to my online store if you live in New Zealand.

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Saturday, 30 May 2020

Social Stamping - Heartfelt Hearts



Thank you for joining my blog!  I've joined in with the lovely Kelly Kent's Social Stamping Blog Hop. The theme this week is 'Hearts' and I've had a lot of fun with this card



For this card I've used two of the new 2020-2022 In Colours - the yellow colour is Bumble Bee, and the brown colour is Cinnamon Cider.

I used the stamp set Heartfelt to stamp the hearts, and then the even sided Heart Punch from the Heart Punch Pack.  I do like punches - they are quick and easy - and I love getting two in a pack!

I used metallic thread as the ribbons on the heart balloons, but as a single thread it wasn't obvious enough, so I plaited (braided for those who don't know the word plait) three threads for each ribbon.  It took a while, but I prefer the look.

Next I completed the sentiment - this stamp comes with the words on top of each other, but I wanted them across the card front.  Using masking I managed to stamp it out in a row.  I then heat embossed with silver embossing powder.

I fussy cut the sentiment, and then fussy cut some of the Bumble Bee paper from the In Colour Designer Series Paper pack.

I had to buy this stamp set when I saw this particular sentiment - Love You Lots.  My children and I say it to each other a lot, so I foresee plenty of cards in our future using this sentiment.  I'm thrilled it's in the Annual Catalogue, so I've got it for another whole year!

Time to move on...please click on the 'Next' button to move to Andrea Sargent, (it's double the fun with two Andreas!) who has created a fabulous card for you.


To go to the Host Blog to see all the participants, please click here


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Saturday, 16 May 2020

Social Stamping - Sunshine



Welcome!

I'm blog hopping with the lovely and very talented Kelly Kent - and it's well worth checking out everyone in the hop.  The name of the hop is Social Stamping, and this week the theme is Sunshine.

Here in the South Pacific we are heading into winter, so we need all the sunshine we can get!

Here's my contribution


This card is a bit rare for me - it turned out pretty much as it looked in my head when I was thinking about it!

You'll forgive me for a fairly long post, but I wanted to explain how I did this.

My card front was made from Whisper White cardstock, and the first thing I did was decide where I wanted the mountains to be, and ruled a pencil line across the page to indicate that.  I then cut a 3/4" circle out of a post it note using my 3/4" punch. Then I covered below the line with post it notes so I didn't layer the colour where I wanted the water to be.

Next, I started laying down the ink.  I worked from the pencil mark up the page, and first I used Daffodil Delight. I covered the card fairly evenly with this, and made it slightly darker than I thought I wanted, otherwise I found it looked too much light white later on.  Next I used Calypso Coral, and made sure that the colour was more intense near that pencil line, lightening as it went up the page.

Real Red was the final colour, and again, I made sure it was more intense nearer the sun.

Once I was happy with those colours, it was time to move to the bottom part of the card.

I again used post it notes to cover the colouring I had already done, as I didn't want any overlap (although a little wasn't a disaster as I was going to stamp over that line anyway.

Pool Party was the first colour I laid down, and this was very gentle, and spread over the whole of that part of the card.  I wanted the water to be a different colour from the sky, so that layer of blue was enough to change it.

Next came the Calypso Coral and the Real Red again, with the colours being more intense near the pencil line.

I used the Stamparatus to stamp the Waterfront stamp set mountains as they needed stamping 4 or 5 times to be dark enough to not see the colours behind.  I used Memento Ink.  My coverage wasn't perfect, so I used the Basic Black Dark Blend to improve things.

Make sure you take the post it 'sun' off before you stamp the mountains or the sun goes over the mountains and is completely wrong.  Ask me how I know this!!

I used the White Stampin' Chalk Marker to make the lines on the water, but they looked all wrong.  I decided to try rubbing them off with an eraser, and it worked a little to kind of lighten and blur them.  I thought that looked great, so I went a bit firmer.  But had I waited for the ink to dry?  I had not.  So the paper tore a little, however it looks like a particularly choppy wee wave, so I was very happy with it (but I didn't try to replicate it)

So there you have it.

To head back to the main blog post, click here.

Thank you for reading this very long post, I hope you have time now to go to the next  person, the very talented Mandy Depiazzi using this button here    






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Wednesday, 13 May 2020

Just Add Ink #504 Colour Challenge

Thank you for coming to my blog!  Today I have entered in to the Just Add Ink Colour Challenge. The colours we were given were Rococo Rose, Basic Gray and Smokey Slate.  


I love these colours together - it speaks really nicely to my sense of quiet and gentle

My card was inspired by one that Debbie Danford made that I saw a while ago.


As you can see, I used Rococo Rose cardstock as the main card base, then Basic Grey to layer the front.  The front piece is Whisper White.

I used a Sponge Brayer to make the ombre look on the front - using Rococo Rose ink.

Beauty Abounds is the stamp set that I used, and I stamped both the image and sentiment in Basic Grey.

And that's all there is to it - simple but gorgeous (just like me!!)



Please click here to head back to the challenge to see the next entry


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