It always amazes me...

...how the simplest of cards can be the most popular. I made this card two years ago, and was asked to make a set of them for a friend. The next year, I sold a couple, and since I had made several extra the previous year, I still had one for this year. The craft fair was poorly attended, and I did not sell a lot, but I sold that! It does look nicer than the scan shows, but not significantly.

I was very happy this evening when looking through my "Christmas box" of miscellaneous shapes, panels, etc, from the previous years to find a panel with the embossed vellum already completed so I can make a quick card as I realize my Christmas card list has grown... If only all my cards could be done so quickly! :-)

Sci Fi dominos

The first dominos I posted, even though I felt there was an elegance to them, also had a bit of an outer space look to them, so I played around with the same inks to deliberately create that effect. I tried for a less solid look, more like suns, maybe on the first domino, then a more solid planet look the second time. I don't normally go such a bizarre direction, but I was having enough fun with it that I unthinkingly made domino earrings to match as well. Now that's really weird! :-)

Dominos with alcohol inks

I've been working off and on with dominos for awhile, to sell at the City News & Daily Grind my friend Cheryl owns. I love alcohol inks, so I am using them quite a bit. These dominoes are black, and without the gold I added to the mix, it would have been difficult to see any color. The colors are Red Pepper, Cranberry, and Rust. I probably photographed this set several dozen times, but no matter what the lighting, I could not get a true representation of the look. They really look amazing! I gold-embossed the holes on the opposite sides of each, as you see below. It's a little challenging to scrape off the gold splatters. I'm still working on technique for this; the domino was "clean" when I went to heat-set the embossing powder, but it bubbled over a bit, hence the splatters and gold around the rims. I can scrape it off, but I still have to be very careful or the ink comes off as well.

Think on these things...

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things." Philippians 4:8

This was the scripture for the SALT challenge, and a challenging one for me to apply just now. It's an important instruction, but sometimes life presents us stuff that makes it difficult to remember what is true, noble, right, pure, etc. People can wound and betray us, job situations can demoralize us, difficult family situations can overwhelm us, sometimes it can even seem as if God has forgotten us. And sometimes it's not about trauma and tragedy, it just seems like the path from A to B is through the sewer, and it's hard to think about anything besides the smell!

But I am reminded that just a few verses later, in the same chapter, we are told that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. He can help us to put our focus where it needs to be. And maybe, even in the sewer, we can catch the scent of a Rose.

What does one do with glossy envelopes?

Alcohol ink them, of course! I found this neat idea on a The Paper Source website last week, and decided it was the perfect way to use up some of the glossy A1 envelopes I have had for ages and never used.

I forgot to open the envelope so that the flap was being inked at the same time as the back; if you look closely, you can see there is a slight "line" on the backs of the envelopes where the "bump" created by the flap kept the ink from being applied evenly. If that does not make sense, don't worry, just be sure to open the envelope before inking!

Fun discovery!

I mentioned in Thursday's post I had some stuff that came from an old stationary store. Well, these envelopes were some of what I came away with. They've been stashed in my attic - a huge box of them - for several years with no use for me. We have standard white business envelopes, with little use even for them. These are also larger, 11" x 4.75"; an odd size indeed! But while looking for something up in my attic today, I came across them again, and suddenly it clicked that they were coated envelopes; perhaps alcohol inks could be applied.

As you can see, it definitly works! Since the envelopes are brown, the colors are more muted; they are less bright than the picture shows them to be, and the blue looks "browner" than you see it here (the light spots are pearl fixative, which did not work very well, I used gold fixative with the green, which worked a little better). Still, I'm pleased, and with postal regs and prices, it's nice to have something thin and lightweight to use.

So ... what do you have lying around that you've dismissed short-sightedly for craft use? :-)

Friendship

This alcohol ink covered panel was made some time ago, but I did not protect it, and it was full of scratches. :-( I know to remember to put stamped glossy cardstock inside a sheet of folded paper for protection, but I don't always do so. By using vellum, I am still able to feature the panel, yet keep the scratches in the background, so they are not noticed. So, not a total loss! Text is from Eureka.

Psalm 103

I don't exactly make New Year's resolutions, though I always think about what I want to do differently in my spiritual life or practical day-to-day living, and pray for grace to make those changes! On the practical end of things, I decided to really try and use up unused backgrounds and other stamped scraps items I have. This card uses a blue background made with alcohol inks. I'm realizing that my greatest challenge with a card is finishing it. I don't mean having the discipline to finish, though when it comes to gluing everything together, that certainly is a factor with me, but finding that "thing" that will finish the card. Sometimes it's a corner punch, usually it's an embellishment of some sort. With this card, I designed and assembled it fairly quickly, but then did not know how to finish it. I attached the ribbon a little too close to center, and for some reason, tht seemed to make it more of a challenge to find the finishing touch. The blue looks a bit like sky, so I finally went with this butterfly image.

Valentine

I was able to make 6 hearts from the panel I used for the last card, and was going to just make a duplicate of it. But, instead I made this variation. Text is from Biblical Impressions.

Valentine's Day

It was hard to break from Christmas card making; I had a few stamps I did not get to use this year that I was really looking forward to working with!

But it is fun to work on a new holiday. This card was done with alcohol inks and gold embossing powder. The hearts came from Biblical Impressions, the text from Stampin Up.

For Unto Us

This is the card my friend chose from my music-themed Christmas cards I designed for her. The design she chose last year had the same scripture, so I was a little surprised she chose it!

Now I'm technically done with Christmas cards, though I have a few new stamps yet that I haven't used, so I know that I will make a few more anyway, and be ahead for next year! :-)

The background was done with alcohol inks (wow, hope I can replicate the same look for my friend!!!), the scripture is from Biblical Impressions. The background text stamps are from Eureka or Biblical Impressions, the music from Merry Stamper.

Note: The inspiration for this design came from Barbara Nick, who posted in the Stubby Stampers' gallery.

Fifth, optional, workshop card

Trying to be sensitive to those that might not really be into Christmas, I made a fifth card as substitute. I'm not sure where the snowflake is from, but the text is from Biblical Impressions.

The background is from the blue glossy in my Nov 2nd post. The flakes were embossed with white craft ink and SU winter white embossing powder onto white vellum. I also tried it on blue dark blue vellum, which worked fine as well. The blue gloss cardstock is especially slippery, so I did not want my workshop ladies to risk ruining their cards with messy flakes. The background is silver.

4th workshop card

This card was a bit too time consuming for a workshop, so I would never do it again. :-/

I stamped pine-needles from Biblical Impressions over the alcohol-inked panel with Stazon Green. The text is also from Biblical Impressions, and the ornament is from Eureka. I used a slot punch after stamping the image with versamark, on the top of the ornament (where the hook is attached). Then I used a versamark pen to fill in the space and embossed in gold. I glued all but the top to the panel, so that the hook could be easily inserted.

Third workshop card

Ah, a simpler card! If I had duplicates or triplicates of all my supplies, I would have started with this card, then worked up to the fifth card (skipping the fourth card altogether, instead of having the option of choosing two out of the three Christmas/winter themed cards). But I have cards being worked on simultaneously because of supply limitations.

Anyway, the stamp on this is from PSX.

Second workshop card

This is a more vivid mix of alcohol inks; I wanted a "fruity" look for the harvest theme! After cutting the alcohol ink panel diagonally, I stamped the text on one diagonal, using Stazon Ink. Glossy cardstock is slippery, so it's important to be careful when stamping on it. the grapes were stamped with ordinary black dye ink, and colored in with markers.

Stamps are from Biblical Impressions.

First workshop card

I felt so badly ... my cards were too time consuming for the women to finish. They were all new to stamping, and there were eight, which is quite a few when they are beginners. The workshop was held through the local art center, and was not inexpensive, so I feel doubly bad. Most of them were amazingly gracious about it, and I hope I haven't scared them away from stamping!

The featured technique was polished stone. I applied the inks in stripes across the felt pad, and the alcohol in striped as well. The cardstock on this is sort of "half glossy", more of a matt finish, but slippery like glossy, and works as well as glossy. The moose, from Biblical Impressions, was chalked.

Not all glossies are alike!

I am really seeing a lot of differences in the various glossy cardstocks I use. Some make colors look very vivid, others are dull or alter the shades. Some take heat embossing, others bubble. For a workshop I am doing tomorrow, I have been using alcohol inks, and have discovered that even colored glossies differ. The black from yesterday's post took the alcohol inks well. When I tried the same effect on blue, however, the blue came off of the cardstock, and left white specks. In all honesty, I didn't get it at first; I thought perhaps there was left over silver from a previous use. At any rate, as you can see, the effect is rather neat. The upper panel looks a bit like a gentle snow fall, the other, like a blizzard.

Workshop: polished stone technique

I am doing a workshop with alcohol inks on Saturday, and tonight I finally got a chance to prepare. Actually, it's more like I finally got a chance to play! It's nearly midnight, and I haven't completed a single card since I started four hours ago ... I'm having way too much fun!

This design took me completely by surprise. I decided to see if the inks worked on black glossy, but it really did not ... until I added gold fixative. Then wow, what a difference! It still seemed a little dark, so I added one more drop of gold directly to the paper. Then I paused, and watched it spread. What a perfect moon! If you can see by the scan, there is an odd "aura" around the moon, but I don't think that hurts it. Sort of like Saturn's ring(s).

Welcome to my new blog!

I have discovered that not everyone is able to leave comments on my former blog, and I was having a few difficulties in the set up, so I'm switching over to here. This card is my thanks to you for stopping by! If it looks familiar, it is because I have a "twin" of it posted on my other blog. When I come up with a card design I like, I enjoy making duplicates, and altering each by color or text. :-) Thank you image is from Biblical Impressions, and the scroll background and heart are from Eureka.