Ladybug!

 

Today I am posting from Biblical Impressions.  This is actually "take two" of a card I made for my daughter who likes butteflies and ladybugs.   Somehow, I managed to send her the card without photographing it.  I borrowed it back from her to take a picture ... but somehow managed to lose it!  So, I made this card, a different design, but with the same way of doing the ladybug, with microbeads.  I had first tried stamping the ladybug image and putting black microbeads on the image, but the look was too messy.  So I decided to just cover the entire ladybug, after trimming off the antenae and legs.  By creating a "tail" on the cutout, I gave myself an easy way to cover the bug with versamark ink without having any uneven edges by doing it before cutting it out, and then giving myself  something to hold on to while heating the sticky embossing powder.  After I did that, I sprinkled some clear embossing powder over it and melted that to ensure a firm hold on the microbeads.  I then stamped the image again, with black ink and powder to give texture to the antennae and legs, then glued the microbeaded ladybug on top.  I couple of weeks ago I made something else with microbeads, and it suddenly occured to me that I could try gently pushing the microbeads that were just a bit over the edge, into the design for a neater look.  If you do a close-up look at the bug, you can see a few clear beads overhanging the image.  Now I know to just gently push in those strays for a much cleaner look!

I almost didn't post this card, because it really did not turn out as I had hoped.  (I also didn't sponge my sky on dark enough to see in the photograph!)  I realized in retrospect that hot, humid days are not good days for sticky embossing!  But as I appreciate learning from people's mistake, I'm passing on what I learned with this!  If you click on the picture for a larger image, you can see with the flower that a number of excess microbeads are layered, giving a messy look to the flower.  The butteflies turned out much better, but I also had problems with them.  Just too much moisture in the air!  I embossed the grass and flower stem, and colored in the leaves with marker so that the stem would stand out from the grass.

All the images can be purchased seperately, or you can get the full sheets Flower Blocks and/or Dragonflies.  I have made a number of cards with these adorable images!

Praise the name of the Lord!

It's challenge time again at the Eureka Challenge Blog! The theme this week is "anything goes;" so please show us your creativity, and get a chance to win free images from Eureka!

I absolutely love Eureka's scripture stamps! They're a large size, which is great when you want the scripture to be the dominant part of a card! Psalm 133:3 is a great encouragement that it is always time to praise the Lord! I chose this bookmark image as a great reminder of the beatiful world He created that we can thank him for!

I used colored pencils to color the bookmark image.  I rarely choose stamp images that need coloring because  I don't have a natural ability for it, and so it easy for me to ruin an image, and if I have to "ground" it or anything, I'm really lost!  But this image is not to large, and detailed enough (small spaces) so there is not a lot of guesswork or difficulty in achieving a "smooth" coloring job as there is when a large space is being filled in.  (Have I ever mentioned I got kicked out of a summer art class???)

I often stamp several of the same image, in case I ruin one in the process of turning it into a card.  I absolutely love this rose from Impression Obsession; it's beautiful, and it's great for making a quick card like this one!

Binder creativity

I'm posting today for the design team of Eureka, and decorating binders seemed like an appropriate idea to work with in lieu of their most recent challenge. Most department stores carry binders with clear plastic fronts with an opening at the top. With standard size carstock or scrapbook paper, one has the option of simple paper, an ornate, all-out design (just be careful it isn't too thick!), or like me, a simple design to do the job. Because of the plastic, I couldn't seem to get away from the glare, so please excuse the poor quality.

If you have multiple notebooks or children to design for, you can keep it really simple with patterned paper as I did here, and a simple scripture (Philippians 4:13 seemed like an appropriate one for a student). I don't have any children going off to school (well, one to college but she doesn't use binders), but I put these on my stamp storage albums.

For the second album, I used cut-outs of Eureka's peacock feather that I had made years ago for a journal. I used Opalite Inks on a sparkle blue cardstock. I could have simply used white cardstock and added my colors (example here), but I really wanted copper and only had it in the Opalites, so I went with a sparkle blue cardstock. Opalite inks never photograph really well, and in the wrong light can look rather dull. But, they are fun to play with!

This is a second picture of the peacock album, that I am showing because I like to show problems/errors that teach me. I had rejected a few of these feathers because I had not realized that Opalite inks (interference inks working only on very dark colors) will lose their color and look white if applied to heavily. So if you look closely at the feather on the lower right, you'll see it looks very white in the middle. So, be careful when using these inks!

Sunflower hello

I"m posting for Biblical Impressions today.  I love the faux batik techinique, even if I am not trying for that look, it's just a fun to invert stamping images.  For this card, I stamped Biblical's sunflower background in dark yellow, than embossed the plaids over it.  Then I sponged yellows and butterscotch over the panel, finishing by ironing off the clear embossing.  I embossed the individual sunflower with yellow, restamped it with die ink, stamped "hi" on it, and cutit out with decorative scissors. 

 As often happens when I experiment, even after several tries, I did not get the look I had envisioned, but I still was happy with how it looked in the end.  I've included a picture of the first time I did it before adding the yellows and butterscotch, and then that panel and another that I also tried that I did not use.  How would you have done it?

If anyone be in Christ...

I have been taking classes online at Regent University for a couple of years, and I wanted to make a card for my favorite professor. I chose the 2 Corinthians 5:17 stamp because I had to write a ten page paper on this verse for him; I'm so glad Eureka carries it! The card was far less time consuming to do than the paper, lol! Along with the alphabet set, in which letters are also available to be purchased individually, Eureka has a number of cubes that can be used for the background. The one I used for this card happens to come from the Winter set of four; I wanted a masculine card, and the pine branch seemed a good fit.

Tile Fun!

I went to Lowe's to get some tumbled tiles, and spotted these scrabble-tile sized glass tiles, on clearance for just over $2!  I grabbed one, thinking I would group them together in sets for coasters, and individually for pendants.  I had so much fun, that the next time I was out of town, I stopped by to pick up more.  However, they were all gone, and I did not want to pay full price!  But I then saw the same size, this time in more counter-top style, on clearance.  This time, I grabbed two sets!  I think I am addicted to these!  One of my favorite stamping companies, smARTworks, has a ton of inchies and "little bits" which are perfect for these tiles.  The inchies have a frame, but the tiles are smaller than that, which is great for the these! 

The tile at the bottom right did not photgraph really well, but I embossed it in gold, then affixed Yuzen Washi paper to it.  If I can find a way to attach tiles without grout, and seal it well, I think these would turn into a classy set of coasters!