Ramblin' Stamper

Friday, November 10, 2017

Retirement Congratulations

Hi Friends,

It seems lately that I've had several friends who are reaching that wonderful milestone in their careers-I'm talking about retirement! What an exciting time with so much to look forward to. The card I designed here is for a guy and since so many people look forward to traveling in their retirement, that's the theme I went with.

I chose a color scheme of Night of Navy, Sahara Sand, Copper & Watermelon Wonder. Watermelon Wonder is retired, but it's still a favorite of mine. Actually, there are several retired products used on this card that I find myself reaching for again and again. The bi-plane is part of a Sale-a-Bration stamp set called Sky is the Limit. I know a lot of pilots, so I use this stamp often!

"Adventure awaits" is from another retired stamp set with a travel theme called Places You'll Go.

This card is pretty straight-forward. The technique used to make the clouds look like they are behind the airplane is called masking, and it goes like this:

Begin with a 4" x 5'1/4" piece of Sahara Sand cardstock. Stamp the airplane and the large balloon (from Lift Me Up) using Night of Navy ink. The wingtip on the airplane is purposely stamped off the edge to give the illusion that it's flying right onto the page!

Stamp a second image of each onto a Post-It note and fussy-cut them out. The Post-It notes with adhesive all over them rather than just a strip at the top work best for this. Place the cut-outs over your stamped images.

Randomly stamp clouds (also from Lift Me Up) all over the page in Sahara Sand, overlapping both images and letting some of them hang off the edge of the cardstock.

Remove the Post-It notes and this is what you will see. Isn't that fun?

One of the smaller balloons is Night of Navy ink stamped on Watermelon Wonder cardstock; the other is Versamark stamped on Night of Navy cardstock and heat embossed with Copper Stampin' Emboss Powder. The banner shape is from the Banners for You stamp set. Because the greeting is a photopolymer stamp, I was able to shape it on the acrylic block to perfectly fit inside this banner, even though it was not made to fit it. I cut a second banner from Copper Foil, attached the two banners together and adhered them to the card front with Stampin' Dimensionals.

I didn't have a stamp with the sentiment I wanted for the card inside, so I created my own in Microsoft Word. The fonts I used are Lavanderia Regular for "Congratulations", and I used a Word Art shape to give it a soft arch. The font for everything else is AR Julian.

Product List

Lift Me Up Clear-Mount Stamp Set

[142896]

Up & Away Thinlits Dies

[142748]

Sky Is The Limit Wood-Mount Stamp Set

[141282]

Places You'll Go Photopolymer Stamp Set

[141741]

Banners For You Photopolymer Stamp Set

[141710]

Bunch Of Banners Framelits Dies

[141488]

Night Of Navy 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[100867]

Sahara Sand 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[121043]

Watermelon Wonder 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[138334]

Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad

[126970]

Sahara Sand Classic Stampin' Pad

[126976]

Versamark Pad

[102283]

Copper Stampin' Emboss Powder

[141636]

Copper Foil Sheets

[142020]

Stampin' Dimensionals

[104430]

I've enjoyed sharing this project with you and I hope that you can use these ideas in your crafting!

Creatively,

Pat

Tuesday, November 7, 2017

Embossing Folder Technique - Quick & Easy Christmas Card!

Hi Friends,

Today I'm sharing a technique that's been around for a while but never gets old. My friend Lani showed me a gorgeous card she made using the Woodland Embossing Folder and I just had to give it a go! Here's my version:

I love the way this turned out and it's so much simpler to make than it looks. Follow along while I explain - these are the basic supplies you'll need:

You will be working on the inside of the front of the embossing folder. The front is the side with "Sizzix" printed on it. Open the folder and using a sponge brayer and Smoky Slate, roll the ink onto the folder until you can see a pale gray shadow.

Next, using the evergreen stamp from Lovely as a Tree, stamp directly on the embossing folder in Basic Gray ink. Start with the first tree in the middle, move to either side of that tree and stamp again without re-inking your stamp. Repeat until you have 5 trees stamped across the folder. Be sure to move the stamp up or down each time - this will give the illusion that some of the trees are further in the background.

Cut a piece of Whisper White cardstock 4-1/4" x 5-1/2" and position it on the un-inked side of the folder. When you have it straight (left & right edges parallel to the edge of the folder), carefully close the embossing folder.

Being careful not to let the cardstock slip inside of the folder, run it through the Big Shot as you normally would.

Ta-da! How cool is that?

To finish the card, I trimmed my embossed piece to 4" x 5-1/4" and added Dazzling Diamonds glitter to one side of each tree trunk and on each horizontal branch. I used a Zig Glue Pen for this step. The 2 birds are from the Thoughtful Branches Bundle, which has been retired (sad, I know!).

The sentiment comes from the Holly Berry Happiness stamp set. I used Real Red for this and the birds. The ovals are cut with the Layering Ovals dies. The larger oval is cut from Basic Gray.

The card base is Basic Gray. The inside sentiment is also from the Holly Berry Happiness stamp set and I added another Lovely as a Tree evergreen and two more birds for a pop of color.

I hope you're inspired to try this technique for yourself! The supplies you'll need are listed below - click on any of them to go directly to my website to purchase them. Sadly the die-cuts for the birds are no longer available, but your local craft store should have some pre-made embellishments that would add a pop of color to your card!

Product List

UPDATED November 10, 2019 - This is the replacement for the older discontinued Woodland Embossing Folder -

Woodland Embossing Folder

[152881]

$8.50

Thanks for stopping by today,

Pat

Friday, November 3, 2017

Blue Christmas

I'll have a blue Christmas without you

I'll be so blue just thinking about you...

Decorations of red on a green Christmas tree

Won't be the same dear...if you're not here with me...

Can't you just hear Elvis crooning that? That song was stuck in my head, going round and round while I worked on this card. Does that ever happen to you? I'll wake up in the middle of the night and it's still there. Ridiculous!

This is my idea of a Blue Christmas! My Whisper White card base is layered with Pool Party and Dapper Denim. The embossed background was done with the Softly Falling EF.

My favorite thing about this card is the sentiment from Watercolor Christmas. I love the ribbon-like font, which is perfect for this three-color technique. I used sponge brayers to layer the colors onto the stamp - from top to bottom, I rolled on Pool Party, Island Indigo & Dapper Denim. The circle is cut out with the Stitched Shapes Framelits.

The bow & pine boughs are cut with the Perfect Pines Thinlits Dies from Pool Party, Island Indigo & Dazzling Diamonds cardstocks. A piece of Pool Party Shimmer Ribbon and some Rhinestone Basic Jewels are the finishing touches!

There's an easy way to add layers of multiple small die-cut pieces to a card like this - you absolutely must have a silicone mat. Lay a scrap piece of cardstock the same size as your card front behind the silicone mat (you can see through it) and begin arranging the die-cuts. This way you won't make your design too large to fit on the card. When you're satisfied with the arrangement, begin gluing the smaller pieces to the circle using Multipurpose Liquid Glue, my favorite. You could also use the Fine-Tip Glue Pen if you like. Gluing small pieces together like this can get messy, but none of your extra glue will stick to the silicone mat. It only takes a few minutes for your beautiful arrangement to dry and you can pick it up and adhere it to the card front as a unit.

Product List

Watercolor Christmas Clear-Mount Stamp Set

[144838]