Intentional Stamper

There are times when I stamp, because I have a class or workshop. Then, there are times when I get to stamp for the pure joy of it. And then there are times when I'm the intentional stamper. These are times when I have a specific person or occasion in mind. Last night was one of those times. I pulled out stamps and ink to make this sympathy card for a woman who recently lost her husband.

I really admire Krystie's watercoloring style. So I decided to try it with Wonderful You. I really like the way this turned out...first time I've actually liked my watercoloring. I especially like the river rock "halo" around the image.

When it was time to add the sentiment I remembered that I don't have any SU! sympathy stamps. So, it was into the contraband drawer (shhh...don't tell) for my Papertrey Ink Mixed Messages. The word window punch is just the perfect size to make a tag with this set. I punched the tag a second time to make it shorter. I used my crop-a-dile to put a copper brad in the tag for the ribbon. Both the tag and the image panel are adhered with dimensionals. The center of the flower is accented with dots of Crystal Effects applied with a toothpick.

Thanks for looking.

Recipe - All Stampin' Up! unless noted - Stamps: Wonderful You, Mixed Messages (PTI); Cardstock: Whisper White textured, Whisper White, Groovy Guava, Basic Black; Ink: Basic Black, Groovy Guava, River Rock, Always Artichoke (stem), So Saffron (flower center); Accessories: Black gingham ribbon, copper eyelet, crystal effects, word window punch, crop-a-dile

Lucky #13

Ok, I know I've been neglecting my blog of late (about 7 weeks, actually...missed all of May and almost June). I really HAVE been inking...just not posting. Most of the inking I've been doing is for convention swaps, so I'll not be posting them online. I'd rather wait and surprise everyone at convention. Don't worry. I'm taking pictures and plan to post them after convention. So, stick around until at least the middle of August...it'll get better, I promise.

So, anyway, tonight I was sitting watching a Jerry Lewis movie with hubby and getting caught up on a couple of blogs when I saw Kristina Werner's Color Inspiration #13 and just had to play along. I love this color combination. And the bedding...just gorgeous. I pulled the inspiration for my card from the throw pillows on the bed. I embossed the medallion from Kind Thoughts in white on Purely Pomegranate, punched it out with my scalloped circle punch, used my stamp-a-ma-jig to stamp the large fleur de lis from Kind Thoughts on River Rock to create my own designer paper and put it all together with a bow on top. I hope you like it. I think I may just have to give this to my sister-in-law for her birthday tomorrow.




Recipe - Stamps: Kind Thoughts; Cardstock: Wild Wasabi, Regal Rose, River Rock, Purely Pomegranate; Ink: Versamark; Other: Regal Rose 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, white embossing powder, stamp-a-ma-jig

Kristina's color inspiration

Wow, it's been a while since I posted. The color challenge in the last post was from 2 weeks ago! And today I'm posting another response to her color challenge. I stopped by Kristina's blog this morning because I had 20 minutes to kill before heading out for work...which is unheard of for me...I'm usually a last minute prep and depart kinda gal. So, anyway, I pulled up her blog and saw this color inspiration challenge:

My first thought was "sahara sand...really??" You see, I've never used sahara sand for anything. But, I absolutely love Kristina's combos, and had some instant inspiration so I ran to my desk, pulled out my markers and my newest stamps and came up with this. I hope you like it.

Stamps: True Friend, Polka Dot Background; Ink: Versamark, Pumpkin Pie, Wild Wasabi; Card Stock: Sahara Sand, Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron, Whisper White; Accessories: Pumpkin Pie striped grosgrain ribbon, yellow rhinestone brad

Color Inspiration

So, here's my first ever color inspiration challenge. I've looked at, and intended to do, several of them on different sites, but this is the first one I've actually done...mostly because the color combination is something I'd never come up with on my own and I love it. It's from Kristina Werner's Blog and the tropical nature of the picture should be no surprise, since she just got home from the Stampin' Up! incentive trip, a caribbean cruise. Each Tuesday she posts a color inspiration photo on her blog, translates it into Stampin' Up! colors, and you can link, in your comment, to your own fulfillment of the challenge. The colors are: Very Vanilla, Tempting Turquoise, Take with Teal, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip and Close to Cocoa.





This card is a great result of going outside my comfort zone. Both the color combo and the stamp set are outside my usual style. I was completely turned off to this set (Wonderful You) in the catalog because the samples were not my style. However, I recently received a card from another demo using this set with Rose Red and Wild Wasabi and it completely transformed it for me. Now I'm so excited to play with it...already made 2 cards and planning to use it at a workshop at the end of the month. (Hi, Aunt Aggie!!)
On to my actul card: the base is Taken with Teal, a color I have quite a bit of, since I can never figure out how to use it. I wheeled the image on Close to Cocoa with my Chocolate Chip craft pad and embossed it with clear powder. The ribbons are both the polytwill from the Occasions Mini collection...you've got to handle this ribbon to believe it...I wasn't thrilled with it in the brochure, but once I got it home...can't stop using it!! I used both colors available: Chocolate Chip and Old Olive. I tied them on using the technique I posted a while back (just scroll down, you'll find it). The flower is Tempting Turquoise and the leaf stamp is Old Olive.
I used Chocolate Chip for the sentiment and all the outlines. I actually like the way the outline doesn't exactly line up with the solid image...but I still used my stamp-a-majig...I'm addicted! I swiped the edges of the Very Vanilla on my pad and used a couple of Itty Bitty Backgrounds to give it a weathered/distressed look. (If you double-click the image you can see it close-up.)
I even decorated the inside of the card (pic #2) with room for a sentiment and signature or just a little note.
So, try something outside of your usual style...you never know what you'll end up with.