Happy Birthday, Mom

My mother celebrated her #?? birthday last week. Since I knew I would not be with her, I created this card and tucked a small gift inside for her to enjoy.

This was created when Flowers to Flourishes was running a Fancy Pants contest and I entered a few projects. I don't think the owner ever followed through on the contest.

Here is a top view. I tried to keep my dimensional elements to a minimum since this had to go through the post.

I made the foundation for this card during my aperture kick but never added any additional embellishments. I have several with the same theme. I love that they are sitting in my container waiting to be finished and personalized for that special someone.


Since this one was for my mother's birthday, I went to my birthday swap stash and pulled a few of the embellisments. I think they work well together.

I needed to leave some white space so that I could write in my sentiments and sign my name.


How did this all come together? I used watercolor paper as my base. I cut the aperture using the Spellbinders scalloped circle die. I then stamped and embossed the cover with clear ink and used the TH Distress Ink Fired Brick to cover the entire card. Next, I wiped the card with a dry paper towel to polish the clear swirls by removing the excess ink.

I turned the card over, reinserted the scalloped circle and covered the inside with the TH Distress Marigold. I dusted a bit of the Fired Brick on the circle for color continuity.

For some reason blogger is turning this picture and no matter how much I manipulate the size it is posting as portrait and not landscape.

For the right side, I measured a piece of watercolor paper and added an additional 1/2 inch to create a fold. The top was glued with a 1/4 inch border showing on the front. I decided not to cover the strip on the inside.

I stamped my sentiments on the scalloped circle and adhered that to the back of the card, added the other embellies and it was finished.

I usually go crazy and fill all of the empty space. I wanted to keep this one simple and clean.

This one was the same. It would only post in portrait.







After locating an envelope, this was ready to bring a smile to my Mom's face.

When I spoke with my Mother, she said that she loves her card. Mmmm, is she saying this because I am her daughter? lol.


I like crafting with watercolor paper because it can take as much ink and water as I want to use and not worry about the paper warping. If you have not tried it, do. Michael's has the Canson paper on a buy one get one. I picked up a few $2.99 packs.


That paper is the perfect opportunity to color, paint, and Ink in the Name of Love.
Until then.

Mother's Day is Drawing Near

I know Mother's Day is still a few weeks away, but time does fly when you are having fun, and it will be here before we know it. As soon as I completed my Easter cards, I started working on an idea that I had been kicking around for a card design and decided to use it for this year's Mother's Day cards.

This technique allows me to maximize my cardstock paper with minimal waste. Here is the final result of the mock up card. I just could not get my lighting to co-operate.  The card is four sided and stands upright.

So how did I get started? I began with a 12x12 sheet of Fancy Pants double sided paper that had the manufacturing information on the white strip. I cut it in half to get two 6x12 strips with the white piece on the six inch side. I then scored from left to right at 3, 6, 9 and 12 with 12 being on the strip--see left hand side.

I inked all of the edges with Distress Ink and stamped and embossed the flowers so that they would be in the center of my aperture. Queen & Co pearls were adhered to each center.

The overlays were created using the Nestability Labels 6 die. I ran them through a Cuttlebug folder and swiped ink over various parts to bring out the embossed design. I did two panels to be embossed and two panels were debossed. This spices it up a bit, I think.

Next, I prepared the pieces that would go on top of the

embossed/debossed panels.

Below you can get a better view of how this all came together. I finished them off by stacking two flowers together and putting a brad through each and adhering them with the clear glue dots. LOVE those. The mom and cupcake were mounted on low profile foam tabs because I did not want to create too much bulk.

I can see this being used to cover the plain clear bottle that a bouquet of flowers come in or as a pencil/pen caddy. Slide this over the plain container and you have something that Mom or anyone else can enjoy all year long.

How great would this be to cover the holder for your summertime plasticware?  Much cuter on your table than that red plastic cup we all use.

Slide it over that small bottle of handcream/sanitizer that sits on your desk and you will smile each time you reach for it.

 

I created this as a topper if it is not used for other purposes. I added touches of Worn Lipstick Distress ink to this one, and just played around with decorating the Spellbinders Peony.

As always, thanks for stopping by to see what I have been inking. Can I be cheesy and say my ink runneth over? I do put it to good use by swiping it over everything that doesn't move. Keep crafting and inking in the name of love.

Until then.

Celebrating Spring

It is that time of the year. Spring has sprung. Except that this year the tree blossoms are coming and going very quickly. Before I have had a chance to get out my camera and capture the Dogwoods (state tree) and Cherry Blossoms in full bloom they are falling to the ground. One of my most cherished times of the year is passing far too quickly. Our area continues to go from summer to spring and back again. Hopefully by May things will have settled a bit and we will have more predictable weather.

This card captures so much of what I love about spring. The feeling of looseness and freshness. We are less confined by heavy outer wear and snow and ice.

This is the completed card which I recently sent to a blog winner along with her set of stamps. It is from the DCWV kit in the pink box currently available at HSN.

This next card is uber cute in its simplicity. I was on an aperture binge and could not stop myself. I used my Spellbinder scalloped circle on this one. I did not get to finish off the card but kept it in my stash for inspiration. 

Taking a look at the components close-up. Everyone knows that I love my Sakura pens and I used them on this card.
The flower stamped on the scalloped
circle was colored in using the meteor pens. It looks like stained glass. Very classy.


 The circle quote was stamped and embossed. I went over the tulip and the dots with the black Sakura glaze pen. Love this cute little stamp.

Since I cannot leave well enough alone, I also outlined this cute bunny with the Sakura black glaze gel pen and filled him in using one of the metallic pens. A regular gel pen was used to achieve his cute little pink ears. I will at some point finish off this card with a ribbon wrap across the top and bottom and send it out to provide cheer for someone.

This card was created using watercolor paper which added a unique texture. I am having a blast playing with everything. When I take out a set of something to craft with, it reminds me of why I made the purchase. I have great ideas for lots of other things, but need more time to work on them.

No matter what I do, it will always be inked with love.

Until then.

He Is Risen

I just absolutely love the Easter season. The promise of spring comes to fruition. The trees push out their blooms and the tulips and daffodils extend their tender stems towards the sun. Their reward for braving the cooler temperatures: luscious flowers that bring us joy and delight in a myriad of beautiful color.

In the springtime everything is fresh and bright and new. It is truly a rebirth. As we celebrate the death and the resurrection of Christ, let us remember that life can began anew at anytime. As a matter of fact this month's Vee-ism is, "The best time to begin is now." It falls right behind why put off for tomorrow what you can do today. There is so much satisfaction in beginning and finishing what we start.

My ScrappinFriendz Yahoogroup issued an Easter card challenge. Everyone who enters will get a prize. So, well, why not. I entered two. Both were experimentations on my part. I had gotten some new Spellbinder Dies:  Kaleidoscope being one of them, and wanted to play with my Sakura Stardust pens and my water pen.  Thus this first card was born. Disregard the cluttered background--not enough time to take a proper picture.

The water pen used on the diecut template behind the egg was the large size. Therefore, I did get some bleeding of the color under the die. Lesson learned.

I diecut everything using watercolor paper--I wanted something that would stand up to the pen and water work without warping. The base for this card is a piece of American Crafts grape paper cut to 8x8. I used the Victoria Cuttlebug Folder to add some texture.

This is my original pop up design and it will fold flat for mailing. I added some of the Dew Drops/Pebbles around the egg and some of the Martha Stewart micro clear gemstones. I do like the overall composition and debated on covering the centers of the two side pieces with a small flower image stamped onto the smallest oval die cut.

Here is the center image up close and in person. You can see what I mean about the bleeding so I corrected for the second card.

This base on this cute little card was edged in a mixture of Tim Holtz Distress Inks--Shabby Shutters and Peeled Paint. The second layer is a card from Die Cuts With a View. I simply cut it in half and embossed the striped side with the Floral Fantasy CuttleBug folder. TH Distress Ink Worn Lipstick was used on the edges.  The white dots were created using the Sakura glaze gel pen.

To paint the bunnies, I used the smallest water pen I could find. I do think the results were much better.

This is a close-up of the large egg used. I created about 6-7 eggs in total using various background colors and Sakura pens.

I like the natural texture created by the watercolor paper. And this Spellbinder oval die gives the appearance of triple matting although it is only the single piece of diecut. I stamped the quote using some Martha Stewart acrylic alpha stamps. That was embossed onto a scalloped rectangle and layered onto one of the long Spellbinder rectangular tags. I needed it to reach from the bunnies and overlap the DCWV card. The gauzy ribbon mimics the stripes in the card without being too overwhelming.

It is my hope to get the remaining cards created and post them here. One will be for my DS. His favorite color is red, but I am hoping I can sway him with a deep orange or red-rose colored egg.

Have fun this coming weekend with family and friends. Remember the reason for the season. This is a celebration of the Risen Christ.

Thank you for taking the time to visit and see what I have been inking in the name of love.

Until then.