Watercoloring Techniques

Happy Watercolor, Delighful Dozen, Very Vanilla, Cherry Cobbler

 For my last workshop, I wanted to show the guests how many ways they could color in a lined image without going to a lot of work.  This technique, Watercoloring with Markers, is one of my absolute faves.  Simply stamp with StazOn Black or any other solvent ink onto a piece of watercolor paper (Stampin' Up!'s paper is the best - only because I've tried others and their absorbency rate is fantastic!), use a marker to go over the accent lines on the stamp, then use an Aqua Painter to spread the color out.  If some of your image ends up too light, go over some of the accent lines again with the marker when your color is dry.  On this card we used Cherry Cobbler.  That is my absolute favorite shade of red!!!  We made a removable bookmark with the watercolor paper and flower image, tucked it behind a piece of Gold Vellum and the Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding.  Those were attached with Mini Glue Dots.  We used the Tag Topper Punch to shape the top of the bookmark and some Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine finishes the bookmark off.

Happy Watercolor, Cherry, Very Vanilla, Brushed Gold

I made this card because I wanted a stepped up version to show.  I love the layers of Cherry Cobbler cardstock and the Brushed Gold cardstock against each other.  Such an elegant look.  Here I used the Gold Washi Tape for a background and across the stem of the flower.  On this card I experimented with some watercolor paper from a local crafting store.  See how the image is washed out and there isn't much color variation?  It took a 1/2 hr for the little bit of water to soak into the paper.  I had to go over it again with the marker to get some color variation.  I was very disappointed.  Lesson learned.  Unless I'm using blender pens, DON'T use the cheap watercolor paper!  Because of the colors going on here, I chose not to use the Baker's Twine.  Instead, the Linen Thread looks quite fine. 
Thanks for stopping by the Stamping Station once again.  Let me know how you've been enjoying coloring in your stamps recently.
Blessings,
Julie

A Little Banner Fun

 Oh yes, banners are so fun and so in!  The smaller banners were made with Stampin' Up!'s Banner Blast and the Banner Punch from the Sale-A-Bration catalog.  (You only have 13 more days to order and be able to get these babies for FREE!)  I colored the Made a Wish stamp in with my Pacific Point and Pumpkin Pie markers before stamping them on Whisper White cardstock.  The banner behind it was embossed with the Decorative Dots embossing folder.  These banners were cut out with the Banners framelits and the Big Shot.  The lighthouse and sailboat are from the Settin' Sail photopolymer stamp set that I love so much.  Oh, see that background?  Well, you know that bubblewrap that the Envelope Punch Board comes in?  Well, ink that puppy up with some So Saffron ink and a brayer, then lay your cardstock over the top of it.  So much fun and super easy.  I'd forgotten about that technique until I came across the saved bubblewrap in my craft room.  It's always fun to bring back an oldie-but-goodie.

And this card ... well it was made with leftovers from a swap that I did.  See that cool image on the two smaller banners?  It's the Embossing Folder Resist technique.  Here are the directions:
1.  put a piece of wax paper in a detailed embossing folder and run through the Big Shot.
2.  build a sandwich on your ironing board:
     one piece of copy paper
     one piece of glossy cardstock, glossy side up
     wax paper with the embossed pattern
     one piece of glossy cardstock, glossy side down
     one piece of copy paper
3.  turn your iron onto the cotton setting and iron just for about 5 seconds
4.  ink up a brayer and spread the ink onto the glossy side of one of the glossy pieces of cardstock, rolling until it's even
5.  repeat with the second piece of glossy cardstock
6.  wipe away the extra ink with a tissue or paper towel. 
TADA!  You have a really cool looking piece of cardstock!  I used the arrows embossing folder from the Occasions Catalog.  I do love that folder. 
So, what do you think?  Ready to try it?  Let me know what you come up with.
Thanks for stopping by the Stamping Station!
Blessings,
Julie

Vivid Vases Made Easy

Summer Starfruit, Calypso Coral, Coastal Cabana, Pistachio Pudding, StazOn Jet Black

This is a one piece stamp.  It comes in wood only, but who cares?!  It's cute!  At first I wondered how I would use it and if I'd like to color it in all of the time.  Until this idea struck.  I used the Watercolor Block idea.  Make sure you stamp your main image in StazOn Jet Black so that your black ink doesn't run and stamp onto watercolor paper.  Ink your acrylic block. (SU's is the easiest since you have nice beveled sides to hold on to so your fingers don't get messy.)  Spritz a couple of times with water, holding the spray bottle about 6-8" away from the block, stamp down on the area of the image you want to color.  Clean your block and ink up with the next color, etc.  This is a 5 minute card if you're organized.  The hexagon design behind the image is the Hexagon Hive Thinlit Die from the Occasions Catalog.  The hexagon nicely compliments that Designer Paper from the Sale-A-Bration stack.  It's all finished off with the Summer Starfruit twine, also from the Sale-A-Bration catalog. 

Have you tried this technique before?  If so, I'd love to see what you've done with it.

Thanks for stopping by the Stamping Station!

Blessings,
Julie

We're baaaaaaaack.......

 ....yes!  Ok, it's been one crazy week.  Finally got the taxes done on Friday, then left on Saturday for Friday Harbor on San Juan Island.  Our favorite place to stay is the Earthbox Motel & Spa.  The kids love it because it has an indoor pool, hot tub, exercise room, and sauna.  We love it because it's within walking distance of all the downtown shops and restaurants.  And after we returned, I realized how long it had been since I had posted anything!  Yikes! 
This fun card uses a set called Summer Splash from the upcoming Summer Mini Catalog.  I can't wait to show you all the wonderful things inside that catalog!!!!  I embossed the fish, bubbles and shells, then brayered over them.  I used the SACC92 color challenge, the SASC92 sketch challenge, and the A & M 4.13 accessories challenge to make the card.  There were a few random spots of ink, so I added the punched sanddollar and shell.  And I actually like it better that way!  :-)  Love it when that happens!  The colors are Pacific Point, Wild Wasabi, and River Rock.  The greeting is from On Your Birthday, stamped on a large oval and cut in half. 

 So here are a few shots from this weekend.  This is my oldest man-child.  He thinks he's pretty cool because he's already 6 inches taller than his mama.  He's a pretty nice kid.

 Here's my middle man-child.  He loved sitting by the rocks and feeling the crazy waves splash up.  Too bad it was only about 50 degrees outside! 

 And this one...my youngest man-child.  Need I say more?  I think you can tell plenty from the photo!

And here are my DH and I in front of Roche Harbor.  Yes, I am wearing my SU! sweater.  I love that thing!  And underneath is my cool Toby Mac Tshirt.  I'm so glad that it was such a beautiful day there.

Well, I guess that's it for now.  I'm working on a few more challenges, so hopefully I'll be back by tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by the Stamping Station!  I'd love to hear from you.

Blessings,
Julie

Demented Robot :-)

It's not my fault, I tell ya!  When I first attempted the previously shared card for my DH, the image came out blurred.  For some reason, it looked like a mirror to me and this crazy question popped into my head.  It just popped, I tell ya!  So, what do you think of my mirror, mirror on the wall?  Does it make my tread look big?  ;-) 

Thanks for stopping by to share my demented moment with me.

Blessings,
Julie

p.s.  The DP is retired, the polka dots were embossed on Tangerine Tango and then sponged with Pacific Point, the greeting was made with My Digital Studio, and the mirrored image was stamped on the center oval from the Baby Blossoms Stamp Set and then the oval was stamped on the very vanilla. (This technique is called "kissing".)  The base of the "mirror" is from my stencil from the Holiday Mini Catalog.  The bots were colored with blender pens and the pearls were colored with a sharpie pen.  The layout is from the SC327 sketch challenge.

Stampin' Celebration #47

 Here's the inspiration challenge for this week.  I love these fun images!  It was really hard to decide which way to go on this one, so I decided to concentrate on the party cup.  Isn't it adorable?  I love the little elephants and the polka dots.  And once I got a close look at that striped paper ... eureka!  That's almost exactly like the SAB DP from a couple of years ago!  So, this is what I came up with for it...

I pulled the elephants and the striped paper from it.  I also decided to duplicate that cute polka dot pattern.  I ran my Bashful Blue cardstock through the Big Shot with the Large Polka Dot texture plate so that I could use those polka dots as a template for where to glue the dots on.  I punched out the circles with my Itty Bitty Punches circle punch and glued them on with Tombow.  The elephants are the Baby Steps single stamp with the Congratulations word blocked out.  It's stamped with Certainly Celery, ears are colored in with So Saffron, and the eyes were colored with Early Espresso.  The image was covered in VersaMark and the embossed with Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder.  (This technique is called Dazzling Diamonds Dust.)  I love how sparkly it is!  The hearts are from the Heart to Heart and 2-Step Owl punches.  The string on the greeting is a new item in the upcoming Summer Mini Catalog.  Ooooo, I really love this stuff!  It's the Early Espresso Baker's Twine.  Isn't it fun?! 
So what can you make from this Inspiration piece?  I'd love to see it!
Thanks for stopping by the Stamping Station.
Blessings,
Julie

Challenges Love I Do

 Yes, I decided to play a new challenge.  Stampin' Celebration has some really fun challenges and I've seen them regularly on Krystal's blog, but I've never played along.  Well, not until today.  :-)  I do plan on playing again whenever possible because I love the fact that they usually give 4 photos to draw inspiration from.  This card is based on the inspiration photo right below.  I've pulled the flower them, the ruffled ribbon, and the colors from the photos.  Unfortunately, the lighting in my stamp room didn't reveal the true colors of this card.  I really like it much better IRL.

 This card combines 3 challenges!  The first is Sketch Challenge 325 from SCS.  I didn't know what I was going to do with it at first, but knew that I needed a sympathy card.  A dear man in our church passed away last week from bone cancer.  This will go to his widow.  I hope it helps lift her spirits a little.  I didn't really want to go the black route since we, as Christians, are assured of eternal life, so I used the Color Combination Challenge 88 from SA as a heart-lifting color combo.  The main image of daisies is made using the Faux Silk technique.  This version of Faux Silk is the "new" way that Stampin' Up! showed us in one of the latest Stampin' Success magazines.  (Available only to current demonstrators.  Want to receive great ideas like this?  Talk to me about signing up.)   This technique was highlighted for us in the SA Technique Challenge 84.  I added sponging over the edges and across the tissue paper to make the "silk" more noticeable.  The daisy popped up is a technique called "spotlighting".  I really like how it finishes off the main image and adds that spot to draw your eye.  And where would I be without my faithful basic pearls?!

I like to try to make the inside of the cards that I give out as much interest and attention as the outside.  (Well, ALMOST as much!)  I really love this message from the Thoughts and Prayers stamp set.  It pretty much says it all.

Thanks for stopping by the Stamping Station once again.  Let me know what you think of these challenges and please play along if you have time.

Blessings,
Julie

I Love These Three Amigas Challenges!

 My dear friends Sharon, Joanne, and I are having trouble coming up with a day for a stamping playdate, so we decided to go virtual again.  What does that mean?  We each set forth a challenge for each other and have a deadline to submit them by.  I'm barely making this one.  I have two minutes left to upload.  Let's see how fast I can type.  :-D 
This first card is for my challenge.  Something old is the rhinestone brads that we've had in the catty for awhile.  Something new is the DP and the Four Frames stamp set, which are the special for this month.  (They're gorgeous, BTW!)  Something borrowed is the layout.  It's from this week's sketch challenge on Splitcoast.  The something blue is quite obviously the DP.  :-)  Yes, I cheated and used the rhinestones from last year's Easter Egg kit.  Sorry!

 And this card is for Sharon's challenge.  She told us to make a quilted card, using this tutorial for instructions.  I, of course, had to go to see what other patterns I could find on the internet.  I found this awesome quilting site to find other patterns to try.  I also found a lot of images on google and found a diamonds pattern that I thought would translate well to paper.  I did use retired DP, just in case I didn't like my first attempt.  I also decided to use my retired brads to match.  After gluing down the DP, I ran the whole thing through the Big Shot with my Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder.  The tag punch and Tiny Tags stamp set attached with crochet thread finish it off.

And last, but definitely not least, Joanne challenged us to make an Easter treat holder.  (Mine must contain chocolate, because I don't get enough of that food group.  ;-D )  The background scallop is punched out of Naturals Ivory and then stamped with the Medallion center and Marina Mist ink.  (I was going for a different look than usual.)  The flowers were made with my Boho Blossoms punch and the Itty Bitty punch set.  The leaves are courtesy of the lattice die leftovers.  Yes, I have a problem with keeping all kinds of scraps!  Basic pearls finish off the flowers and the Pretty in Pink Satin Ribbon was also a leftover!  Let's hear it for leftovers!  Whoo Hoooo!!!! 

Ok, now it's your turn!  Let's see what you can do with these challenges.  Upload your projects to an online gallery (splitcoaststampers.com or for Stampin' Up only stampinaddicts.com) and then come back here to leave us a link.  We'd love to see your creations!  I promise to leave you a comment, too.

Blessings,
Julie

More Boyish Birthday Cards

I promised to show this one awhile back. My apologies for the delay.  I had to figure out why blogger was turning the image sideways.  This is a card that I made for our youngest son, Zach.  He really likes the Sonic the Hedgehog characters and this one, Silver, is one of his favorites.  I printed this image off of the internet and then cut it out with my Circle Scissors Plus and then cut a black circle mat for it.  I used my Tasteful Trim XL die to cut out the zig zag, but then....yes then....I saw the leftover pieces.  Ha!  I used the leftover pieces instead!  Needless to say, my Zachboy loved it. 

 And this is a card I made last night for a party that my oldest is going to today.  What to do for a 14 yr old's card???  I embossed the Extreme Guitar image with clear EP and then sponged around it with River Rock and Old Olive, then rubbed the edges of the Very Vanilla cardstock on my Real Red ink pad.  The background is some leftover strips from a pkg. called Dasher, which was from a few years back.  Doesn't really look like Christmas when you put it with these other images.  After gluing the strips of DP onto a piece of Old Olive, I ran it through the Big Shot with my Lattice embossing folder.  Doesn't that look cool?  You can't even tell that it's separate strips glued on!  The "party hearty" greeting is mounted on a tag from the Lots of Tags Sizzlits, an exclusive to Stampin' Up!

And what does a teenager want?  Money!  I think all of the card that I've made in the last 6 months for birthdays have been money holders.  I guess that means that the kids are getting older.  On this one, I stamped the cake and words from Birthday Bakery and colored it in with my SU markers.  The money holder was stamped a few times with the Extreme Guitar image and then sent through the Lattice embossing folder.  It's attached to the inside of the card with Sticky Strip, to make sure it stays on tight.  Oh!  But before I stuck it down, I took a bite out of it with my oval punch.
So there's your trip into my world of boys.  Definitely, they're harder cards to make and not quite as fun, but I DID have some fun, so that's ok.
Thanks for stopping by the Stamping Station!
Blessings,
Julie

Class Techies

 Last week I had the privilege of doing a class for some advanced stampers.  This was a benefit from an auction basket for our school.  I threw in a gift certificate with the wonderful things that Stampin' Up! had donated.  (And they were VERY generous!  Thank you SU!)  This first card concentrated on learning the ribbon rose and using a circle for a piercing template.  It was also fun to throw on a bunch of the freebies from SAB.  The layout for this card is from last month's Stampin' Success Magazine.  I like the whimsical feel of it.

This card had a few other techniques that I was teaching.  The first was sponging on the backside of vellum cardstock after texturing it in the Big Shot.  Isn't that color behind the roses lovely?  The rhinestone on the sentiment was colored in with a sharpie, which really isn't a technique as much as a wonderful use of your supplies.  The other technique on this card was the reinker spread.  See that lovely rose from Fifth Avenue Floral on the bottom corner?  It was so fun to see the ladies try the technique.  I think half of them thought that they had completely messed theirs up, but once dried and cut out, they were all beautiful.  And since I'm particularly fond of Shimmer White cardstock, this is one of my favorite techniques.

I think this one was my favorite.  We watercolored inside the champagne glasses with Watercolor Wonder Crayons and then covered the liquid area with Crystal Effects.  Isn't it lovely?  Oh, and then I had to show them the hot, new ruffled ribbon look.  They all thought that it was going to be hard, but were amazed that it didn't have to be perfect to look good.  We finished it off with a bit of Victoria Lace and a Bronze Safety Pin from Vintage Trinkets.  This DP is so easy to use and makes simple cards look wonderful.

Thanks for stopping by the Stamping Station again.  I'd love to hear from you.

Blessings,
Julie

Three Amigas...Three Challenges!

I love my stamping friends!  I've met such wonderful people since I began demonstrating for Stampin' Up!  I really didn't expect new friendships, but I've been richly blessed by them.  My friends Sharon, Joanne and I haven't been able to get together recently for a stamping playdate, so we decided to do a virtual playdate.  :-)  Isn't that hilarious?  Anyway, we were all to come up with a challenge and we needed to post our projects by tonight, midnight.  Oh yes, if you happen to be attending Ashley's workshop this Saturday, you'll be making these fun projects!

This sweet treat is for Joanne's challenge....to stamp something sweet.  I'd also planned something like this as a project for this Saturday's workshop, so double-bonus on this one.  :-)  This project uses the Designer Paper from Sale-A-Bration, ribbon from SAB, three hearts punch, half pearls colored with a sharpie, and the stamp set Eat Chocolate.  Oh yeah, I'm loving that stamp set!  The idea for this candy holder came from my dear blogging buddy Janet.  Thanks for sharing your wonderful idea, Janet!

This card is for my challenge.  My challenge was a color combo...Elegant Eggplant, Pear Pizzazz, Baja Breeze, and Peach Parfait.  I didn't get the extra points for using pearls.  :(  The layout for this is from SC317.   I used the Designer In Color Pack, which is a hostess level 1 set from Stampin' Up.  How sweet is that?!  And did you know that the Pumpkin Pie Grosgrain would match so nicely with the Peach Parfait DP?

The last challenge was from Sharon.  We were to use a "found" item, ie. something from around the house, like a jar lid.  I saved my netting yesterday that the mini watermelons came in.  How fortuitous!  I used the cardboard that is the backing of each DP pack, punched a 2 1/2" circle out of it, used packing tape to attach the netting to the edges of the cardboard and sponged over it.  After that, I punched the circle out, attached it to a scallop made with my Scallop Circles #2 Bigz Die and went from there.  This sketch is from SASC80 and the color combo is from SACC79.  I think one of the beatiful things of papercrafting is that you can find inspiration from so many sources.

And this is what my sponging template looks like.  Packing tape holds the netting on very well.  I didn't try to pull it evenly, because I wanted the "natural" look. 

So, blogging friends, what can you do with these challenges?  I'd love to see them!  Please post them somewhere online and leave a link at one of our blogs so that we can find them and leave a love for you.  There's no time restrictions for you.  We'd love to see how creative you all can be.

Thanks for stopping by the Stamping Station.

Blessings,
Julie

VSN Vellum Flowers

Yes, I am once again playing the VSN challenges.  I'd like to do one more today.  We'll see.  I'm having terrible trouble with a pinched cyatic nerve and it hurts!  Anyway, this card is for my sweet, wonderful, amazing friend Monica.  Her husband just received his new, healed, heavenly body last night after a long battle with cancer and CNSV.  She's so upbeat and positive ... she wants us to celebrate his life and that he's healed now, so I didn't want any black on this card.  I want her to feel stronger and blessed by it.  That's why I've chosen the colors that I have.  So you're wondering about those flowers?  Well, I made them out of vellum with my flower embosslit from SU, flipped them over on their backside and colored on them with my Watercolor Wonder Crayons.  After that, I covered the back of them (the colored side) with glue stick and stuck them down.  Because you're looking through the uncolored side of the vellum, the color is muted.  I really love this technique.  And after stamping my sentiment on the Very Vanilla, I punched off the corners, ran it through the Big Shot with a texture plate, and then lightly sponged Crumb Cake around the edged.  The green accents are from the Swirls Scribbles sizzlit.  Just the right touch to finish it off and tie in the Garden Green of the flower centers.  On the inside I repeated the Very Vanilla cardstock and pattern and put some more swirls scribbles on the corner.

Thanks for stopping by the Stamping Station.

Blessings,
Julie

p.s.  if you're a praying person, please lift up my friend Monica and her family in prayer.  The strength of God is truly what's holding her together.  May thanks.

A Fun Fold

 There's a story behind this one!  Last year at convention, a friend of mine came back to the hotel room with a gorgeous folded tree swap.  Of COURSE I had to figure out the fold.  And this is my version of that tree fold.  What I love is that it looks 3-D but folds flat for mailing.  Double-bonus!  I really do like the way this tree shows off the beautiful Deck the Halls DSP.  I thought it looked a bit like quilting, so added the faux stitching. 
But then my brain got to whirling....what ELSE could I do with that fold?  Hmmmm.....and what would it look like if you layered them in a different way?  And could I make a snowflake out of it?  Eureka!

And so that's what I did!  I used some retired DSP, just in case it didn't turn out so great...and used two different designs of DSP...I kind of like it!  I was going to put a snowflake or flower in the middle, but that was too busy, so I finished it off with a glitter brad.  (Have I mentioned how much I love those things and how gorgeous they are?!?!) 
Now the challenge is to come up with more ideas using this fold.  Can you help me out with that?  I'd love to hear your ideas.
So, thanks for stopping by once again at the Stamping Station.
Blessings to you,
Julie

Portland Regionals Swaps

 Yahoo!!!!  We leave for Regionals today.  I've been working on these cards for awhile and have been wanting to share.  It's so hard to hold back on you all!  This first card is my general swap.  I cut out 30 of those mugs and watercolored 30 percolators!!!!  Let's hope that it's good enough that people will want to swap with me.  Sorry that the color is a bit off on this one.  I couldn't get them "just right".  Colors should look like Naturals Ivory, Riding Hood Red, Basic Gray and Basic Black.  The percolator was colored with an Aquapainter and Watercolor Wonder Crayons.

And this is my WOW swap for some sidelines.  I sponged with my daubers over the Vintage Frame stencil with Cajun Craze, Marina Mist, and Crumb Cake.  The centers of the flowers are Crumb Cake cardstock, covered with Versamark and Iridescent Ice embossing powder.  I love how that emb. pdr. melts and looks so sparkly!  the leaves are a sizzlit and the butterflies are an embosslit.  Ok.  Now you know all of my secrets for Regionals.  I hope you have a wonderful weekend and I hope that I have lots of wonderful swaps to share with you next week.

Thanks for stopping by the Stamping Station!

Blessings,
Julie

Apparently, Landscape Orientation is Working....

Ok, so I can't share with you the cards that are Portrait style, but I can share this one with you.  Grrr....  I used the retired Slumber Party DSP on the squares.  I will be sharing how to make this gorgeous flower with my World Card Making Day guests tomorrow and then I will post the instructions for you.  I sure wish that I could find the blog where this technique was shown, but alas, I can't find it back.  So...if this was from your blog or you know where it was posted, please let me know! 
The greeting is from Because I Care, a beeeeeeeeeautiful Hostess Level 1 stamp set.  The frame behind it was cut with the Big Shot and the Matchbox XL Die.  the pearls are the new adhesive backed half pearls.  These are the BEST!!!!  Seriously, this could be one of your cheapest and best investments in your card making supplies!

Thanks for stopping by the Stamping Station.  I'm hoping that I'll have better news about the photos soon!

Blessings,
Julie

Recipe:  Because I Care stamp set. Sahara Sand & Riding Hood Red cardstock.  Modern Label, 2 3/8" Scallop Circle and Fancy Flower punches. Big Shot and Perfect Details texturz plate.  Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz and Basic Pearls.

Growing Greener Every Day

At my last workshop, we had a lot of fun watercoloring with markers. The guests were remarking on how easy it was and how great it turned out. Want to see? It's quite easy!

First, you need to stamp your image in a permanent ink, like the Jet Black StazOn that Stampin' Up! sells. This is a wonderful product and I love the true black color. After stamping your outline image, use your Stampin' Write marker to outline some of the lines, but not all. Take your Aquapainter and spread the color out from the lines. We finished off the center piece with the Scallop Trim Border punch. Just for this sample, I've added the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder on the background vanilla.

Well, thanks for stopping by, once again.

Blessings,
Julie

Recipe: Growing Green stamp set; Early Espresso, Garden Green, and Very Vanilla card stocks; Woodland Walk DSP.

Wax Paper Technique

This is the technique that is featured in my June newsletter. How fun! I found this technique on the challenge thread on Stampin' Addicts. This card has the wax paper pattern on the background Tangerine Tango. First, you wad up a piece of wax paper. Place a piece of copy paper on your ironing board (yes, you do have to get it out! :-D But it's ok to get it out for stamping...maybe not clothing.) Put a piece of cardstock on the copy paper, then put the straightened out piece of wax paper over that, then place another piece of cardstock down over the wax paper (this way you get to make 2 cards with one technique!) and cover again with a piece of copy paper. Iron on medium, without steam, flip the cardstock sandwich over and repeat.
For my second piece of cardstock, I used Glossy White. After the Wax Paper Technique, I sponged color onto it. That subtle background of Bashful Blue and Kiwi Kiss is the effect that this will leave. I stamped my Ocean Commotion stamps on Vellum Paper and cut them out so that it would look like it was all underwater. To adhere the vellum to the glossy cardstock, I covered the back with SU! glue stick. It doesn't show if you cover the whole back of the vellum. And even though the color combo is a little unusual, I like the way it turned out.

Supplies for the 1st card: Hit the Road and It's a Sign stamp sets. Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Tangerine Tango, Whisper White, retired DSP. Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Old Olive markers. Blender Pen.

Supplies for the 2nd card: Ocean Commotion stamp set. Kiwi Kiss, Creamy Caramel, Bashful Blue, and Glossy White cardstocks. Vellum Paper. Always Artichoke, Kiwi Kiss, Creamy Caramel, Bordering Blue, Basic Black, and Bashful Blue ink. Sponges.

Thanks for stopping by the Stamping Station again. I'd love to see your creations!

Blessings,
Julie

Mojo Monday Sketch, TAWC Martha Stewart Cover Again and Frayed Ribbon Tutorial

First of all, I love this sketch, so I just had to try it. It's from Julee Tilman's sketch blog. Isnt' it a fun one? So I combined it with all the other inspirations coming at me today!
I love this cover of the magazine so much that I just had to have another chance to play with it. This time around, the branch and little flowers were my inspiration. Then I read that today's color challenge on SCS is Pretty in Pink, Kiwi Kiss, and Baja Breeze. My brain says to me, "Hey! I think that's a great combo for our branch and flowers card!" Then I find out that my friend Barb, a sparkle sister and fellow demo, became a grandmother for the first time today to a bouncing baby girl. Yippee! So now this becomes a Mojo79, TAWC, CC211, baby girl card. I just love it when everything comes together like that.
I stamped the branch and flowers from Eastern Blooms. I punched flowers out of Pretty in Pink and Pink Pirouette with my SU! Trio Flower punch. No, that's not your imagination. They do appear to be 3-D. Stay tuned tomorrow for the tutorial on this. The flowers are mounted with mini glue dots. The centers were colored with Baja Breeze ink and a blender pen, then a bit of white gel pen over that to mute it a bit. The greeting was embossed with white EP and then stamped again for the shadow with Pretty in Pink. I used the Eyelet Border Punch for the edge of the bottom piece of Regal Rose Designer Paper, which comes in a Hostess Level 1 Designer Paper Pack. (BTW, that's a GREAT reason to host a workshop before the end of June.) The button is a piece of Pretty in Pink cardstock, run through the Big Shot with the Buttons #5 Sizzlit. I tied a bit of white crochet thread through it.

Are you asking yourself yet, "Where did she get that awesome frayed ribbon?" I made it. Yep, you read that right!
Cut along the long edge of your grosgrain ribbon. After cutting the whole edge off, pull away the fibers that you want to get rid of.
Now, flip over that ribbon and repeat on the other side. This photo shows you how little you cut away from the edge. For the piece that's on the branch, after following these two steps, I tied it in the center with a knot and then pulled the vertical fibers off to create a totally frayed look. If you're feeling creative, you can keep your long fibers from step 1, tie them in the center and use them as an accent on a project. I'd love to see what you can do with this. If you try this technique, please email me or leave a comment here with the link to your photo.

Thanks for stopping by the Stamping Station! Remember, come back tomorrow to learn how do add dimension to your punched cardstock flowers.

Blessings,
Julie

Stay Tuned....

Yes, I'll be drawing the winner for the blog candy soon. I have to wait for my children to return from school so that they can help. Soon!
Here's the card that I'll be giving to my wonderful husband tomorrow. I used the LSC207 on SCS today for my inspiration. The challenge was to use or do 2 things that you haven't used/done for awhile. This is what I used/did
1. rub-ons
2. chipboard
3. cutter kit
4. weathered background technique
I popped the heart out of the retired Blooms & Basics chipboard, glued the DP to it and sanded the edges, took the hobby blade to the back to cut the heart out of the DP, then used my retired rub-ons for the Love You saying. Then I got out my Priceless dry embossing template and embossed a bunch of overlapping hearts on the Sage Shadow piece. I distressed the Kraft and Chocolate cardstocks. I cut the bottom of the Kraft cardstock with my Cutter Kit and then distressed the curvy edge.
Weathered Background Technique: Open up your classic or craft ink pad. Starting somewhere in the middle of the cardstock, rub the ink pad across the cardstock. Repeat starting in different areas. I did this with both the Sahara Sand ink and the Sage Shadow ink pads. Doesn't that look great? It's a super and easy way to make a background. Try it in your scrapbooks when you want a background without too much going on and specific colors.
So, there's a technique and many items that I haven't used for awhile. Hope it gave you some new ideas or helped you remember some things you haven't done for awhile. Let me know what you come up with for this challenge. I'd love to see it!
Thanks for stopping by the Stamping Station.
Blessings,
Julie

Embossing With Classic Ink - Another TAWC and Today's Technique Challenge

So what's black and white and red all over? The Three Amigas Weekly Challenge! Yes, this is my second entry for the challenge. I'm just having so much fun with it. Check out our TAWC Gallery. I decided to combine today's Technique Challenge at Splitcoast with our TAWC to see what I could come up with. The Technique is to cut something out: design from DP, a stamped image, a border... so I thought of stamping a border in black on red and then that's as far as my idea went. Once I figured out that this border was for the sides, the card fell together in a few minutes. I just love it when that happens! So try this method of embossing: ink your stamp in VersaMark, then, without stamping on your paper, ink it again in your color (here it's black). Sprinkle the stamped image with Clear Embossing Powder and heat. Cool, huh? No more messy Craft/Pigment inks necessary! Love it. A lot easier to clean up, too! The black paper has the leaves from Refuge and Strength clear embossed and the leaves are also clear embossed in the corners of the focal image. Add a little dotting for interest and it's finished.
Supplies: Beautiful Borders & Refuge and Strength stamp sets. Whisper White, Basic Black, Real Red, Ski Slope DP (retired). Basic Black, Real Red, VersaMark inks. Clear EP, Black Journaler.
Thanks for stopping by the Stamping Station!
Blessings,
Julie