Group of Cardmakers - Stenciling with Mica Powders

Hi everyone.  This month at Group of Cardmakers, we are stenciling with mica powders.  I have a few different kinds in my studio - Perfect Pearls, Pearl-Ex, Arteza.  I've used the Arteza Mica Powders for all of today's cards. :)  This was a lovely gift from my dear friend, Barb.  Such beautiful colours!!

Please check out the details for this month's technique and link to video on the blog, along with more card samples from Pat, Susan, and Guest Designer Robyn.

Group of Cardmakers - November

Arteza Mica Powders have no binding agent.  Which means you have to add some sort of adhesive to get them to stick to card stock.  For this first card I added Versamark ink through my stencil and then sprinkled with Sticky Embossing Powder (Ranger).  I heat set the image (it melts really fast), which leaves the stenciled images sticky so the mica powders can adhere.  To make clean-up easier, I cleaned the stencil after adding the versamark ink and then added it back over top of the image, lining it up carefully.  I used a medium brush to add my Mica Powders (Lettuce Green, Tangerine Orange, Royal Orange, Caramel Brown).  I removed the stencil and tapped my card front onto a scrap piece of paper to catch the excess powders.  Then I heat set again (just for a few minutes) to reactivate the gluey embossing powder so it traps the mica powders.

To finish, I used a small piece of dry swiffer cloth to wipe off the excess powder in the background.  A torn vellum sentiment banner stamped with versamark and heat embossed with copper embossing powder is added over top.  I wrapped around the excess vellum and taped to the back of my card front before adhering to the base. :)

Close-up ...

Sending the above card to Stencil Fun November Challenge - Anything Stenciling Goes

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Next, I made a set of cards using the same stencil on black card stock.  One uses the Essential Glue Pad (Tsukineko), pressed over top of my stencil.  The second using Versamark ink followed by Sticky Embossing Powder (Ranger).  Both versions turned out really well and both images are set and don't rub off.  I outlined them using a silver metallic pen (Pilot) and added a simple sentiment banner to finish.  You'll see below the texture of the images is different.  The first is flat, the second has texture.  Both are very shimmery from the Mica Powders, but it doesn't show in the photos.

Using Glue Pad - no texture

 

                

Using Versamark and Sticky Powder - texture

Sending the above card to Rudolph Days November Challenge - Anything Christmas Goes.

Thanks for stopping by!

Card #1:

Stamps:  Gratitude (Penny Black)

Paper:   White card stock (Neenah 110 lb.); Vellum
Ink:   Versamark
Accessories:   Mini Joyful Sunflower stencil (Crafter's Workshop); Sticky Embossing Powder (Ranger), heat tool, Arteze Mica Powders, medium brush, swiffer cloth, Copper embossing powder (Ranger)

Card #2 & #3:

Stamps:  Merry Messages (Lawn Fawn)

Paper:   White card stock (Neenah 110 lb.); Black card stock (SU!)
Ink:   Essential Glue Pad; Versamark
Accessories:   Berry Branch - TM 48  stencil (Magenta), Sticky Embossing Powder (Ranger), heat tool, Arteze Mica Powders, medium brush, swiffer cloth, Silver embossing powder

Challenges:

Stencil Fun November Challenge - Anything Stenciling Goes

Rudolph Days November Challenge - Anything Christmas Goes

Poinsettia Postage

Hi everyone.  I enjoy using this postage stamp with Christmas images.  Here's another to add to my stash of Christmas cards. :)

This time I stamped the Posted (Penny Black) image directly onto my card front in soft gray ink.  I used a small piece of mixed media card to stamp the poinsettia image in black ink, heat embossing in clear.  I sized the panel to fit inside of the posted stamp, sponging the lower portion before watercolour the image with distress inks.  I popped the panel up onto my card front for some dimension.  The sentiment is on the inside.

Close-up ...

Sending this card to the We Love Stamping November Challenge - Anything Christmas.

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps:  Posted (Penny Black); Poinsettia Poem (Penny Black)

Paper:   White card stock (Neenah 110 lb.); Mixed Media (Strathmore 140 lb.)
Ink:   Shadow Grey Archival (Ranger); Black (Memento); Distress inks:  Candied Apple, Lumberjack Plaid, Mowed Lawn, Rustic Wilderness, Mustard Seed (Tim Holtz)
Accessories:  Sponges, Clear embossing powder (Ranger), heat tool, watercolour paint brushes 

Challenges:

We Love Stamping November Challenge - Anything Christmas

Christmas Kickstart Challenge #104

Hi everyone.  

I had to play along at Christmas Kickstart Challenge #104 - Just Add Antlers.  I have quite a few reindeer dies and stamps.  The hard part was figuring which one to use. :)  I ended up pulling out my favourite die that I've had for several years.

I started by cutting a panel to the size I wanted and blending with distress inks.  Once the ink was dry, I splattered with frost white paint.

I centered the panel on my card base, leaving more space at the bottom so I could add my die-cut reindeers and trees (cut from silver matte foil card stock) ... and stamp the sentiment (Christmas Sentiments - Penny Black).

Close-up ...

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Sharing the latest photos of Jessie and Violeta.  They were on their daily walk and stopped at a park near our house.  They do love their walks with "Poppy" (aka Alejandro). :)

You can just see the benches in the background.

They are situated right above the ocean and

it looks as though Jessie was getting a whiff of

the ocean breeze! :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps:  Christmas Sentiments (Penny Black)

Paper:   White card stock (Neenah 110 lb.); Silver Matte Foil card stock (SU!)
Ink:   Distress Inks:  Salvaged Patina, Salty Ocean, Wilted Violet (Tim Holtz)
Accessories:   Reindeer die (AliExpress), sponges, Frost White acrylic paint for splattering

Challenges:

Christmas Kickstart Challenge #104 - Just Add Antlers

Guest Designing at Color Hues #122

Hi everyone.  I'm so happy to be Guest Designing at Color Hues this month, hosted by the very talented Nanc' Leppek.  This is such a beautiful colour combination ... and perfect for Christmas cards.

   

For my card above I've used foil card stock for the main elements.  The ornament, Lavinia Snowflake Ornament - Poppy Stamps (long retired), is die-cut from matte silver (SU!) and shiny teal (Ranger).  I used the snowflake frame in silver and added the ornament piece cut from teal foil card stock.  A vertical strip was also cut from the teal foil card stock and both teal pieces were dry embossed with the Filigree Snowflakes folder (Simon Says Stamp).  After dry embossing, I used a sanding block to expose the silver foil underneath the teal layer, highlighting the beautiful snowflake design.

I added a simple stamped sentiment (Season's Gifts - Penny Black), stamped in Delicata Silver ink.

I had leftover pieces of embossed teal foil card stock, so I made a second card ...

I used a different, older die (Glowing Candles die - Memory Box).  Surprisingly, this die (released in 2013) is still on their website. :)  I cut the die twice, from Silver Matte Foil card stock (SU!) and more of the Teal foil card stock (Ranger).  I pieced them together and popped up the beautiful die over top of more of the embossed teal foil card stock with sanded, silver highlights. :)  I stamped the sentiment (Big Scripty Greetings Holiday - Simon Says Stamp - retired) with Silver Delicata ink to finish the card.

The challenge is open until the 29th, so there's lots of time to play along.  Hope to see you in the gallery!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps:  Season's Gifts (Penny Black); Big Scripty Greetings Holiday (Simon Says Stamp - retired)

Paper:   White card stock (Neenah 110 lb.); Silver Matte foil card stock (SU!); Teal foil card stock (Ranger)
Ink:  Delicata Silver ink (Tsukineko)  
Accessories:   Lavinia Snowflake Ornament die (Poppy Stamps - retired); Filigree Snowflakes embossing folder (Simon Says Stamp), sanding block (PaperArtsy); Glowing Candlies die (Memory Box - retired)

Challenges:

Color Hues #122 - Teal and Silver

Autumn Tree

Hi everyone.  I love the colours of autumn, and here they are again in a background from my stash.  This was a very quick and easy card, simply adding a new-to-me tree die (cut in white), over top of my smooshed background.  A simple sentiment (Memory Box Signature Greetings - gift from friend) is stamped in brown ink to finish.  This literally took me less than 5 minutes to make. :)

Congrats to Just Us Girls Design Team on reaching their amazing milestone of 800 Challenges!!  WAY TO GO!! :)

Close-up ...

Sending this card to:

Just Us Girls Challenge #800 - Special Week - Anything Goes

NBUS Challenge #80 - using a new-to-me tree die for the first time (second entry)

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps:  Signature Greetings (Memory Box - retired)

Paper:   White card stock (Neenah 110 lb.); Watercolour Paper (Arches 140 lb.)
Ink:   Yellow, orange, pink spray watercolours; Ground Espresso DOX inks (Tim Holt)
Accessories:   Tree die (Temu Canada)

Challenges:

Just Us Girls Challenge #800 - Special Week - Anything Goes

NBUS Challenge #80

More Textured Tissue Paper with Dry Embossing

Hi everyone.  Today I'm sharing two more cards for Group of Cardmakers.  I am loving this combination of techniques!

This time I used the Rose embossing folder from Tim Holtz.  It is 3D, but not detailed with lots of open space around the roses.  Turns out the brayer is very attracted to the open spaces and I ended up with gold paint on the highlights of the embossing, plus a lot in the background.  The images still are beautiful, so I cut around the best parts and made two CAS cards. :)

I finished both cards the same ... simple white frame, and stamped sentiment (happy snippets - Penny Black) using Peeled Paint ink.

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps:  Happy Snippets (Penny Black)

Paper:   White card stock (Neenah 110 lb.)
Ink:  Distress Inks:  Peeled Paint, Picked Raspberry (Tim Holtz) 
Accessories:  tissue paper, Rose embossing folder (Tim Holtz), sponges, gold metallic paint (Lumiere), brayer, Rectangle Nestability die (Spellbinders - retired)

Challenges:

Group of Cardmakers - Textured Tissue Paper with Dry Embossing

Peeking Snowmen

Hi everyone.  I recently bought this really fun die.  This just makes me happy! :)  There are lots of bits and pieces (a lot of the die sets these days are like this).  So it takes a while to figure it all out the first time you use it.  I was really happy with how mine turned out. That was until the last step of splattering white paint.  You know how it goes sometimes. :)

The dies were cut out twice, once from white card stock (for the faces and hands), and once from mixed media paper (all the other pieces).  Watercoloured the snowmen accessories with Distress inks, and outlined all the pieces in black (used the side of a black brush tip SU! marker for the edges of the dies, a fine (.05 tip) black pen for the details ... faces, trim on toque & hat, birds.  Adding the outline of black makes it seem as if I used a stamp ... I didn't. :)  Added red chalk for the cheeks.

Also cut out a wooden frame from The Greetery (Curio Cover die), swiped one of the longer pieces with Memento Toffee Crunch (direct from stamp).  The sentiment was stamped in Blueprint Sketch DOX ink to finish. 

Close-up ...

Sending the above card to the following challenges:

NBUS Challenge #80 - first time using both the snowman die and the curio cover die

Merry Little Christmas Challenge #65

  

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps:  Christmas Sentiments (Penny Black)

Paper:   White card stock (Neenah 110 lb.); Mixed Media (Strathmore 140 lb.)
Ink:   Toffee Crunch (Memento); Distress Inks:  Brushed Corduroy, Gathered Twigs, Salty Ocean, Blueprint Sketch, Spiced Marmalade, Candied Apple, Black Soot (Tim Holtz)
Accessories:   Peeking Snowmen die (Temu), Curio Cover die (The Greetery), red chalk, black marker (SU!), fine black pen, white acrylic pen (Posca), diluted white acrylic paint, splatter brush

Challenges:

NBUS Challenge #80

Merry Little Christmas Challenge #65

Group of Cardmakers - Textured Tissue Paper with Dry Embossing

Hi everyone.  This month at Group of Cardmakers, we are making mixed media cards that include four techniques.  By combining these simple elements, you end up with a beautiful, mixed media card. :)

Please check out the details for this month's technique and link to video on the blog, along with more card samples from Christine, Pat, & Susan.

Group of Cardmakers

It all starts with tissue paper.  It needs to be a thick tissue paper (not the one for gift bags - although that might work ... I haven't tried it).  There is a Wet Tissue Paper that can be used to paint, glue, etc., which is a bit thicker, but I have not tried that either.  I will definitely get both of those and give them a try and then update my blog.  I used tissue paper that came from a package of acetate sheets I bought from Amazon.  This is a 12" x 12" package of acetate sheets with a piece of tissue paper between each layer.  This tissue paper is a bit thick and worked great for this technique.  Tissue paper is a wonderful way to add texture to you cards.  

I watercoloured the background first following this video - only the first 3 1/2 minutes, which tells you the how-tos, the rest is other options).

Once the tissue paper is watercoloured with base of colour and dry, I followed the steps on the Group of Cardmakers blog HERE to add sponging, dry embossing, and brayering.  We have added lots of tips and tricks if you want to give this combination of techniques a try ...

For details on what I used to make the cards in this post, check out the Card Recipes at the bottom of this post.

Close-up ...

Sending this card to the following challenges:

NBUS Challenge #79 - first time using this embossing folder

Seize the Birthday #316 - Anything Birthday Goes

 

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A Christmas card with lots of texture.  I scrunched tissue before smoothing out and gluing to card front ...

Sending this card to the Rudolph Days October Challenge.

* * * * *

Here's another Christmas card ... this time I used a regular embossing folder.  The design is not as deep as 3D folders, and you'll see the brayer roller touched the background several times.  I'm still happy with how this card turned out. :)

* * * * *

... and finally, one more Christmas card.  This time I used only half of my card front to create this card with foil cardstock die-cut. :)  You'll see the remaining half made into cards in the next few weeks. :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Card #1:

Stamps:  Birthday Blowout (Poppy Stamps - retired)

Paper:   White card stock (Neenah 110 lb.)
Ink:   Distress Inks:  Mustard Seed, Ripe Persimmon, Wilted Violet, Vintage Photo (Tim Holtz); Versamark
Accessories:   Tissue paper (watercolour with light yellow, purple and pink), Fall Leaves embossing folder (Honey Bee), Brayer, Gold metallic acrylic paint, Princess Gold embossing powder (Ranger), heat tool, Leafy Branch die (AliExpress), sponges

Card #2:

Stamps:  n/a

Paper:   White card stock (Neenah 110 lb.); Gold Metallic paper (Tonic)
Ink:   Distress Inks:  Candied Apple, Lumberjack Plaid, Mowed Lawn (Tim Holtz)
Accessories:   Tissue paper (watercolour with light red, dark red, green), sponges, Poinsettia embossing folder (Spellbinders), Brayer, Gold metallic acrylic paint (Lumiere), Line it up: Christmas dies (Papertrey Ink), Mistletoe die, gold half pearls

Card #3:

Stamps:  n/a

Paper:   White card stock (Neenah 110 lb.); Silver Metallic paper (SU!)
Ink:   Distress Inks:  Broken China, Salty Ocean, Wilted Violet (Tim Holtz)
Accessories:   Tissue paper (watercolour with light light blue, dark blue, purple), sponges, Filigree Snowflakes embossing folder (Simon Says Stamp), Brayer, Silver metallic acrylic paint (Liquitex), Line it up: Christmas dies (Papertrey Ink)

Cards 4:

Stamps:  Snowglobe Sayings (MTF out of business)

Paper:   White card stock (Neenah 110 lb.); Blue Metallic paper (Tonic)
Ink:   Distress Inks:  Broken China, Salty Ocean, Wilted Violet (Tim Holtz)
Accessories:   Tissue paper, sponges, Vine Canopy embossing folder (Simon Says Stamp), Brayer, Citrine metallic acrylic paint (Lumiere), Holly and Berries die (Birch Press Designs)

Challenges:

NBUS Challenge #79

Seize the Birthday #316 - Anything Birthday Goes

Rudolph Days October Challenge

Snowman Choir

Hi everyone.  I had to buy these adorable singing snowmen after seeing them on Michele's blog, I Card Everyone.  Thanks for enabling me to shop, Michele! :)

This card makes me smile.  It did take me several hours to make this card because of all the teeny, tiny pieces (35 in all).  I'm hopeful my second card using the awesome dies will be made much faster. :)

Close-up:

Sending this card to Christmas Kickstart Challenge #103 - Snow Alert! ... just had to play along! :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps:  n/a

Paper:   White card stock (Neenah 110 lb.); Bashfull Blue (SU!) --- I've had this paper for about 20 years! :)
Ink:  Distress Inks:  Warm Lipstick, Salty Ocean, Shabby Shutters, Spiced Marmalade, Ripe Persimmon, Lost Shadow (Tim Holtz) 
Accessories:   The Snow Notes dies (Spellbinders), Small Snowflakes dies (Impression Obsession - out of business)

Challenges:

Christmas Kickstart Challenge #103 - Snow Alert!

Purple and Orange Birthday

Hi everyone.  I'm so happy to create another Fall-themed card using three challenges as inspiration.  I started with Just Us Girls - Fall Mood board, using the leaves.  Then I used the colours from Color Hues (Purple and Orange) to first smoosh, and then sponge colours to create vibrant colours.  And I finished by making it a birthday card for Seize the Birthday!  Thanks ladies!!

I die-cut my leaves twice from mixed media paper, then smooshed them with orange (Ripe Persimmon) and purple (Seedless Preserves) inks.  Once dry I sponged more of the same colours over top.  The sponged purple and orange together changed the purple to more of a purple/brown.  For the background, I used the paper towel from mopping up my leftover inks. :)  Love the texture it adds to the card.

To finish, I stamped a simple sentiment in more Seedless Preserves ink.

Close-up ...

Today's card is inspired by three challenges:

Just Us Girls #797 - Mood Board for my leaves;

Color Hues #120 - Purple and Orange for the colours; and

Seize the Birthday #315 - Anything Birthday Goes option. :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps:  Many Everyday Messages (Hero Arts - retired)

Paper:  White card stock (Neenah 110 lb.); Mixed Media (Strathmore 140 lb.)
Ink:  Distress Inks:  Ripe Persimmon, Seedless Preserves (Tim Holtz)
Accessories:  Abundant Leaves dies (Simon Says Stamp), sponges  

Challenges:

Color Hues #120 - Purple and Orange

Just Us Girls #797 - Mood Board Week

Seize the Birthday #315 - Anything Birthday Goes option