Fat Snowmen Last Longer

Hello, dear friends! Just a moment to thank you for visiting and leaving encouragement. We're coming to terms with my "new" limitations. Your kindnesses help me more than you know... so THANK YOU!

Here is another fat snowman, reminding why sometimes being fat might be beneficial - LOL - we all know THAT'S not true, but it's a good story!

This happy little guy was stamped and snail mailed by a friend for me to color and assemble. Cute stenciling for the background.

He is colored with Copic Markers and Distress Inks. A stenciled background was done with Iced Spruce ink. The dies (listed below) and papers are all from my ancient stash (giggle).

To create the sparkling snow, I applied VersaMark ink and clear EP. After that was melted, a VersaMarker was applied atop the melted clear EP. I dumped a ton of clear glitter on it, and re-melted the EP from the underside of the image. After putting a little more glitter on top of the melted EP+Glitter combo, I reheated it from the under side again. It's really sparkly and the embossing powder holds the extra glitter so it won't rub off!

Products: Cute Snowman from a friend, Clear Glitter, Clear Embossing Powder, Copic Markers, Distress Inks, VersaMark Ink, VersaMarker, Stencil for background, K&Co designer paper, Marianne Creatables Anja's Large Ovals die, Spellbinders Labels 23 Grand die, MS Starlight Punch

I'd like to play in the following challenge please (and thank you to the DTs who make the challenges possible):

1. 52 Christmas Card Throwdown Technique Challenge 8-24 EMBOSSING (To create the sparkling snow, I applied VersaMark ink and clear EP. After that was melted, a VersaMarker was applied atop the melted clear EP. I dumped a ton of clear glitter on it, and re-melted the EP from the underside of the image. After putting a little more glitter on top of the melted EP+Glitter combo, I reheated it from the under side again. It's really sparkly and the embossing powder holds the extra glitter so it won't rub off!) 09-07

Stamping hugs,

Dimensional Inchies on an Easel Card - and freebies

Hello, my friends! Hoping you are not uncomfortably dripping wet from the sweltering heat (here in the northern hemisphere) - I also hope that our friends Down Under are escaping the wrath of the current explosion of influenza cases. May you be well soon if the flu has come to your home.

Do you know what "inchies" are?

Before I became "house-bound", 20+ years ago, I had the pleasure of working in a brick and mortar store called THE PAPER PLAYHOUSE. There I taught classes and designed the free, weekly Make N Take, instructing about new products and how to use them. It was a great opportunity to meet people and enjoy our hobby!

Do you remember when...

In those days, designer paper was scarcely a "thing". So we stamped our own background papers, embellishing them with inks, glitters, embossing powders, etc. It was great fun cutting them for One Sheet Wonders or Inchies-Twinchies creations. 

 My card shares today involve some of the oldest designer papers of day - lovely K&Company designer paper, which was also VersaMark stamped with an Impression Obsession image and heat embossed with clear EP containing glitter, to give the paper some extra pizzazz. 

First up are some "Just A Note" cards - with die from Sue Wilson Script collection. Cut once on white cardstock, a lavender glitter layer was attached - it has been adhered to vellum for a bit of texture and mystique.

I was inspired by a friend recently who took an "Inchies Class" involving 3-D appearing shadows without actual dimensional adhesives:

The ribbon, also 25 years old, was fed through a slit in the vellum:

Has this ever happened to you? 

The "colored powder" of a die flaked off, onto the paper. It is deeply embedded in the white and is quite noticeable. It worsened with each pass through my Gemini Junior machine. If it happened to you, how did you remedy it? The folks at Creative Expressions told me to use wax paper, which Spellbinders always said not to do (at least when they were a new company) (you may have to click on the photo to enlarge it).

Two very special birthdays in blog land are soon coming! 

I'm all set for them:

flat for mailing:

Also a little sentiment on the card backs, which I've included as a gift to you below:

This project, while challenging for not-so-nimble fingers, was SO FUN, and brought back happy memories of laughter, fun and dear people in the classes!

Products: Die Sets: Sue Wilson Scripted Just a Note, Double Pierced Circles and Scripted Happy Birthday, Spellbinders Grand Nestabilities Scalloped Squares, SB Classic large scallop rectangles, Sizzis TH Garden Greens, Cottage Cutz Greenery 4x4, Papers: Lavender, Pacific Blue, White, Black, Purple, Green Glitter, Vellum, Lavender Glitter, K&C patterned papers, Inks: Pumice Stone DI, Fantasia VersaFine Clair, Versamark, Misc: EK Success 1-1/4" punch, Clear EP containing glitter, stamps: SU Elegant Greetings stamps, IO Alesa Baker Large Flourish Three E2036, my digital sentiment stamps

I'd like to play in the following challenges, please!

(many thanks to challenge owners and design team members who create fun for us!)

1. The fabulous DOUBLE D CHALLENGES (Aug 21) Use Shapes (I used multiple 1.25" squares from an EK Success Punch, 1/2 circle scallop layers, circle sentiments on the back, and shaped rectangular layers) 9/1
2. Darling "I Spy With My Little Eye" challenge #18 Something from the garden (flowers, leaves, dragonfly) 9/17
3. Lovely Creative Inspirations Challenges #17 - Anything Goes 9/1
4. Love Those Pretty Papers 8/3 Used the option anything goes 9/1
5. Word Power #8 7-31 Sentiment is Focus of Card (words on front, sentiments on bottoms and backs) 9/1
6. Paper Minutes #860 Birthday 8/27
7. Creative Moments #261 Patterned Paper - inchies are punched from patterned paper. 9/5
8. Creative Creases #89 Anything Goes with a Fun Fold Card 9/1

My gift to you - 

Arrangements of the same sentiment for use on the inside or outside of your projects. Please do not sell these Sentiments. Use on any of your projects, including projects involving any design teams you might be on.

Click on the image to bring it to full size. Because of the changes Google Made with Blogger (June 2020), your image will appear to be solid black. Don’t panic. Right click and do a SAVE AS PNG. Once it is saved on your hard drive, you can open it and it will have a transparent background. I create PNGs instead of JPGs so they can be placed anywhere on a scene or project, and so backgrounds can be made using them. Please let me know if you have any problems. I hope they serve you well!

Enjoy!

   

Sending you Joy,

The Last Triangle Cards

 Happy July to you! Hoping the summer temperatures are not being too cruel to you, and that you have escaped some of the weather hardships assaulting so many countries.

Today I'm sharing the last of some designer-papers-cut-into-triangles stuff from my unfinished box. These were papers cut into triangles years ago, and then hidden away in a box for... why? I reasoned lasst month they would be good backgrounds to showcase some sentiments on card fronts, using an assortment of embossing powders and images. I also employed some of my oldest Spellbinders die shapes, a Sizzix branch, little round Prills (for flower centers) and an old Martha Stewart flower punch.

First are three sympathy cards. Is it appropriate to use Wink of Stella on serious cards?

Such a sweet sentiment "Embrace a Memory" by Verses Rubber Stamps - it says so much.

Textures are created with punches, Prills, inks and Wink of Stella:

You're Never More Than a Thought Away (Old SNS stamp):

Two thinking of you cards:

(sentiments from Biblical Creations and Stampin' Up!)

It was fun mixing and matching shapes to accommodate the sentiments. And OH-SO-GLAD to have six more cards completed from the now (gratefully) depleted triangle stash!

Wishing you a beautiful week-end!

Playing in the following challenges please:

1. **brand new** Love Those Pretty Papers Challenge Blog 7/31
2. Word Power Challenge - Words must be dominant feature of card 7/25

stamping hugs,

LOST AND FOUND - MORE "unfinished stuff" from my old stash - freebie

I've been plugging away in my craft room, a little at a time and using more "stuff" discovered in my "unfinished projects" box. I love using my old stamps and papers from long ago. Do you?  Today, I am using previously cut out triangles of papers in the backgrounds of these cards.

I especially enjoy this Fred She Said stamp because it works for people from our past or present - still present in our lives, and/or having moved away until we next talk. I love hearing the stories about my friends' relatives and family stories. Those kinds of memories come alive when retold, and give us inspiration to live in a way that inspires others, too. On this occasion, the card was sent to a friend's husband who has been chronically ill, and fighting a terminal illness, for decades. His strength and influence have encouraged me. In the card, I shared that he and I are "aged to a perfection" only the two of us can appreciate (giggle).

Aged to Perfection - Fred She Said Old Trucks

Using the backgrounds from my unfinished box, with a little help from Fred She Said Old Trucks, I utilized an ancient (dare I say "vintage") technique. Some call it "Cracked Glass" and others call it "Cracked Ice". 

Using Sepia tones to further the vintage look, I die cut the images, inked them up, coated with several layers of clear EP, and put them in the freezer for about 30 minutes. Then the images were "cracked" before the EP could thaw:

I liberally smooshed Black Soot DI on top of the images, so the ink could get into the crevices. The rest comes off easily with paper towel. These cracked really well -- kinda like me! (giggle)

I tried to capture more detail in the photograph by removing the overhead light on my desk:

Products: Stamps: Fred She Said Old Trucks, Freebie Digital Sentiment below Dies: Surprise Creations Pierced Decorative Ovals, Sue Wilson Double Pierced Ovals, Sue Wilson Pierced Flags, Inks: Distress Oxides Vintage Photo & Brushed Corduroy, Distress inks Black Soot, Old Paper, VersaMark, Clear EP, other: Charcoal colored Vellum, FREEZER TECHNIQUE

FREEBIE SENTIMENT

My gift to you - Arrangements of the same sentiment for use on the inside or outside of your projects. Please do not sell these Sentiments. Use on any of your projects, including projects involving any design teams you might be on.

Click on the image to bring it to full size. Because of the changes Google Made with Blogger (June 2020), your image will appear to be solid black. Don’t panic. Right click and do a SAVE AS PNG. Once it is saved on your hard drive, you can open it and it will have a transparent background. I create PNGs instead of JPGs so they can be placed anywhere on a scene or project, and so backgrounds can be made using them. Please let me know if you have any problems. I hope they serve you well!

Enjoy!

Playing in the following challenges please:

1. Perfect Time to Craft (June 1) #6 AG 7/1
2. Classic Design Challenge #5 AG with masculine 6/15
3. Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #231 AG 6/16
4. The Alphabet Challenge (May 31) E is for Embossing 6/13 (one of the background triangles is dry embossed with dots - the main image has several coats of Clear Embossing Powder - wet embossing - was placed in the freezer, then cracked and distressed as mentioned above)
5. Aloha Friday #11 Masculine 7/3

Stamping Hugs,