Cool Caribbean Birthday

Happy Monday! I'm praying that this week we have a NORMAL week...no snow days, no school delays, no sick days. Just a NORMAL week.

Are you with me?

Today's card is larger than usual (6.25" x 4.5", fits an A6 envelope, I think). I tried the image on a regular-size card, but it was a tad too long and I wanted that dragonfly to be able to breathe. So here we go with some nicely proportioned white space that's really cool caribbean.

I love cool caribbean. I cannot believe that StampinUp didn't bring it back when they did their major color overhaul. I have two packs of it carefully hoarded, but unfortunately never got the reinker. Poor planning, wouldn't you say?

Anyway, I stamped the dragonfly in VersaColor turquoise and used a glue pen to put glitter onto its wings. The stamps are from Papertrey's Masculine Motifs set, which is a versatile and fun set to play with.

Have a lovely Monday!

Supplies
stamps: Papertrey Masculine Motifs
ink: VersaColor turquoise and bark
paper: white, cool caribbean, chocolate chip
accessories: dimensionals, glue pen, glitter (Doodlebug white)

You Don't HAVE to Color the Peacocks...

So, I was looking through Take Ten and saw some cards which used images stamped in black with accents of color by Glenda Giguere. The effect was striking, and I wanted to play with it myself. The Hero Arts peacocks set was perfect for trying the effect because it has outline images that are really pretty all by themselves, and with spots where coloring could add a little umph. So I made this:

Now, I'm not sure how I feel about the little ledge I have him standing on (good idea or not?), but I LOVE how the spots of Turquoise Stickles dress him up! It's uber sparkly in real life, though I'm not sure the picture does it justice.

Why not look for some outline images in your stash that you could stamp in black on white cardstock and then dress up this way...with a just a little glitter, bling, embellishments, or coloring? It's quick, easy, and has a fun graphic impact!

Many thanks to all who have wished me well after yesterday's rather whiny post. I'm still feeling icky, but my energy seems to be coming back. This, too, shall pass...hopefully in time for Christmas, which is looking to be white here in our corner of Ohio!

Scor-Tape and Glitter, Oh My!

I won a roll of Scor-Tape in some candy from Susie's blog last summer (Thanks, Susie!) and finally pulled it out to play. OH. MY. GOSH. It's easier to work with than I thought it would be (much easier than the "red" tape), and it holds glitter beautifully.

To edge the stamped panel, I cut a piece of tape slightly larger than a long side of the panel. This way, I could handle the ends of the piece but not compromise the stickiness. I placed the first piece down and then cut both ends flush with the paper. Then I lined up one edge of the second piece of tape with the previously stuck-down piece, cut off the extra at the end, and continued this all the way around until the last piece. Of course, I couldn't overlap the pieces, so I used a sharp craft knife to carefully slice the last piece flush with the first piece.

Hope this makes sense. It's harder to describe it than to do it, LOL!

At one point, my tape didn't go down quite right, and because I hadn't firmly pressed it down yet, I was able to pull it up and move it to the right alignment. You can't do that with red tape.

Then I peeled the backing off, sprinkled on white glitter, smoothed it down with my finger, and shook off the excess.

The star was punched and glued down, then I used a glue pen to apply the glitter to it.

I wanted to add a sentiment but couldn't figure where to put it. After a bit of thought, I decided we don't need no stinkin' sentiment. The bling says it all.

And that's all I have to say about that.

Supplies
stamps: Hero Arts
ink: garden green
paper: PTI white
accessories: Scor-Tape, glitter (Doodlebug)

Hero Arts Decorative Birds

As I've mentioned before, my New Year's resolution was to use every image stamp I have on a card. These decorative birds, from Hero Arts, are so adorably cute and lend themselves nicely to clean and simple cards. Here's a selection of cards I made so I could check this set as finished.

The first four are pretty self-explanatory, one-layer cards with ribbon. The first also uses a few scored lines as a ground for the bird, and I really like it. I used my Doodlebug Designs glitter or flock to decorate the wings of the birds for a little added interest. Where there is coloring, I used Bic Mark-It markers.











The last card is a bit different and more involved and colorful. The branch is from another Hero Arts set (clear), and all the coloring is with Bic Mark-Its. The sentiment, I think, is a bit too small, but I like how cheerfully colorful this card is.



I hope you are all having a lovely, safe weekend!