Perfect match

Stampin' Up is now offering repositionable RUBBER stamps with clear mount blocks. This is big news for stampers because until now, the main product in the clear block category was repositionable ACRYLIC stamps. Yes, I've used acrylic stamps from time to time, but rubber stamps remain the gold standard, offering crisp lines and fine detail.

While I love the solid feel and natural beauty of a rubber stamp mounted on a traditional hardwood block, there's no denying that clear mounted stamps offer stampers the ability to position their images with precision because you peer down through the block and visually line things up before making the impression.

I recently ordered the set "With All My Heart" from Stampin' Up to try out the new acrylic block set up. The die-cut rubber stamps were easy to mount and remove from my clear blocks and offered some great options.

For example, the flower in this card was created by layering the two flower images in the set over one another. I was able to position them easily because of the clear mounts. I experimented using different color inks, but ultimately I thought the best effect came when I used different shades from the same color family.

I was also really pleased to find paper in my stash that echoed the colors and style of the flower images and the flourishes on the "friend" stamp. I just love when the elements of a card tie together this way.

Because of my success with the above background paper, I thought I'd try a similar approach using a piece of black and cream background paper that had the same kind of flower in it. But I wasn't fully satisfied with my attempts to use my new stamps with it. Instead I pulled out an old stamp from Stampin' Up's "Carte Postale" set and used it to create a focal image that syncs with the background paper. Very simple and elegant card. The colors are darker and richer than I'm seeing on my monitor. The red is a true scarlet.

I've been in a cardmaking mode lately, but I feel I'm overdue for making an art journal piece. Maybe this week...

Tropical colored birthday card

While I love to make cards, I have difficulty making a card for a specific person. I prefer to keep a stash of handmade cards on hand and then select from that when a card occasion presents itself. When my daughter celebrated her 12th birthday two months ago, nothing in my collection quite suited her or seemed age appropriate. I also wanted an element of surprise. What to make?

Inspiration began with the color theme. When my daughter chose a paint color for her room last year, she selected a blazing lime green, which we accented with other strong citrus colors and turquoise blue. We call her room "Key West" because when you step into it, you've left the cozy sensibility of the rest of the house and entered a tropical zone. A budding graphic artist, she has a fondness for circles and incorporated them into her room and her art designs. I decided to follow her cue and do the same on her card.

I started with a sheet of watercolor paper. I stamped dotted circles in Versamark and heat-embossed them with clear embossing powder to create a resist. I then loaded a brush with blue and green acrylic paint and pulled the brush over the paper just once--no blending or go-overs because I wanted the white paper to peek through and add a visual spark and texture.

While my resist technique worked, it didn't have a strong graphic impact. Hmmm. What to do next? And what would be the focal point of the card?

I had a new stamp set from Stampin' Up that I had just purchased and had not used yet. I loved the mod flowers and thought my girl would too. They were also the perfect scale for the card. I selected a blue ink slightly darker than my blue paint and randomly stamped the flowers on the paper. I liked the effect, but it was subtle and the card would need something to give it some visual pop.

That's when I decided to re-ink my dotted circle stamp with black and create another layer. Now I was getting somewhere. I had planned to use the circular birthday stamp from Stampin Up as a design element but not as the card's focal point. However, I was now in love with my background paper and wanted it to have a starring, not a supporting, role in the card.

So I chose a lime green cardstock, heat-embossed the circular birthday greeting in black for maximum impact and texture and then punched it out with a circle punch. I framed it within a dot circle on my paper and glued it on. Voila! Well, not quite. I thought the card needed one more bit of visual interest and texture.

I tried layering a flower brad over the black flower but it didn't work. A rhinestone didn't suit the card's style or my daughter's taste. An orange brad was too jarring, a silver or blue brad too boring. The small yellow brad turned out to be just right. I cut the watercolor paper to size and mounted it on turquoise cardstock. The perfect card. My daughter adored it!

Please don't hate me...

...but today I finished my Christmas shopping. Yes, I even got the gifts for the teachers, mail carrier, doctor's office, and my hairdresser purchased. I bought hostess gifts and "emergency" gifts to have on hand if needed during the month of December, and I got my immediate family and the few other people I buy gifts for covered. I kept things simple, kept my list short, and I had fun shopping. Best of all, I bought everything within my city limits so all the sales tax revenue will go back into my town's coffers. Woo hoo! 

(During the holidays, remember to support local businesses, artists, and crafts people whenever you can. I hit the local galleries and found some very cool stuff at every price point, including under $25.)

Now that I will be able to avoid the madness that is shopping after Thanksgiving, I have time to make my own Christmas cards. I send out quite a few, and because I have neither unlimited time nor energy, I knew I needed designs that I could reproduce relatively quickly. No cutting. No pasting. No painting. No coloring. No fussing with ribbon. These two sweet and simple cards fit the bill.

The central image on this one is embossed in evergreen and rather than using a star-shaped brad, I chose to use a puffy star sticker to keep things easy. The Christmas tree stamp is from an old set from Close to My Heart. I don't know who manufactured the zigzag border stamp.

The second design uses a set from Stampin Up. I Versamarked the background with small snowflakes and then embossed the central image with silver powder. I wish you could see how it shines because in the scan it just looks grey. Then I added one of my puffy star stickers. Voila! I've since bought some stick-on rhinestones so future cards may be a bit more sparkly.

I'll be working on some more designs over the holiday weekend. Stay tuned. 

Holiday cards

Over the weekend I grabbed a little time in the studio and made a few simple holiday cards. I wanted to break away from the usual Christmas color combinations and try something a bit fresh. The resulting cards were surprisingly elegant.

The center of this card is embossed in gold and the background papers are black mounted on a white card. The white card "disappeared" during the scan. Oops. You'll have to imagine the white border.

This one also has a gold embossed center panel. The yellow cardstock is an unexpected choice. The stag looks almost royal set against the rich red paper.

The holly branch is embossed a shiny silver on this one. I love how its curves echo the lines of the floral background paper, which is charcoal gray with Wedgewood blue. Aren't the snowflakes pretty? They give the card a wintry touch.

I don't make all my holiday cards, but I do make some. I try to make all my thank you notes. During the coming weeks, I'll be experimenting with more looks and styles. 

A few new cards

I'd taken a break from card making after the market in the park and focused on painting, but this weekend my stamping supplies were calling me. I made some simple cards, most of them variations on the themes below: 

The colors on this seem a bit off on my monitor. The reds should be rich, almost burgundy. 

I did a series of cards in burgundy and gray on white cardstock, but my scanner wasn't picking up the boundaries of the cards, only the colored images in the center. Very weird effect. I'll try to get them re-scanned and add them here.

Okay, here they are. The colors are charcoal gray, burgundy, and crisp white. I never work with white cardstock, so this a change for me. Once again, I liked how clean the designs are. Paper and stamps below are from Stampin' Up.