Ink Blending for a Valentine

I do love emboss resist & thought Impression Obsession Heart Flourish stamp (D2145) would be a good one to use that way for the IO Love is in the Air challenge.  

I white embossed it in opposite corners & then blended Distress Inks picked raspberry & abandoned coral.  I used just the top row of the IO sentiment, Valentine Wishes (D5541), stamping in Brilliance Starlite Black a couple times with the Mini MISTI. Decided against embellishments except for a bit of Stickles. The edges of the card front were inked with Starlite Black--a gorgeous, shimmery gray.  I'm also entering CropStop. Thanks so much for taking time to stop by. 

Peace

When I first saw the inspiration board for the Ellen Hutson Pin-Sights challenge, I thought of aqua Bold Blossoms. However, the black & white photo with snow caught my attention last night & I ended up with a Christmas card I really like.

Heidi Swapp White Art Screen Ink was spread through the SSS Falling Snow stencil on a die cut circle which was then inlaid into a square of SSS Fog cardstock.  The EH Stag die was cut from black cardstock, brushed with Spectrum Noir clear sparkle pen & covered with Diamond Glaze.  

I tied on a little scrap of sheer gray ribbon before attaching it to the card front.  The word die cut is from Penny Black & is also covered with Diamond Glaze, but no sparkle.  I'm also entering Christmas Card Challenges, HLS Christmas, HLS Anything Goes with Dies,  SSS Wednesday & Rudolph Days.

Winter Holidays

I did force myself to do some housework yesterday, but then it was back to making cards--haha!  
First up is another Valentine using Concord & 9th's Love you, Mean It and Flourish.  

I was inspired by Kelly's blending of Distress Inks picked raspberry, fired brick & aged mahogany. Actually not sure my aged mahogany has ever been used.  I stamped the solid heart in the same 3 inks, the little bud in white pigment ink & the tiny dots in silver--all stamps I'd never used.  

Black embossed the sentiment & spritzed heavily with Perfect Pearls which gives the most gorgeous shimmer! Simple card I think my brother & sister in law will enjoy.  I'm entering City Crafter Challenge Blog, CropStop, SSS Wednesday, SSS Work It Wednesday & Where Creativity Meets C9.

Next is another Christmas card using a new PB snowflakes stamp set I won from Virginia.  Talk about gorgeous snowflakes!

I was inspired by Jennifer's video using Versafine ink to resist Distress ink.  It's been years since I did that technique & it was really fun using up some of my glossy photo paper scraps.  The inks are mermaid lagoon & pine needles. The hidden word is done with the beautiful Winnie & Walter Noel die.  I backed the thin glossy photo paper die cut with heavy weight cardstock, added Stickles Frosted Lace (inspired by the Christmas card from my friend, Martha) & added the same Stickles to the edges of the card front.  I'm entering HLS Christmas, HLS Anything Goes with Dies, Penny Black & More, SSS Wednesday & Darnell's NBUS #9.  Thanks so much for taking time to stop by.

NBUS goodies, NBUS technique

I have 2 cards to share today--both about to be mailed.  First up is a spinner card for PTI MIM.  Don't think I've ever made an interactive card--just not on my list of things I want to do. However, when Lizzie showed how it spins when the recipient opens the card, I got a big smile on my face--so fun!  

All the red is from sponged festive berries Distress Ink & the blue hearts are colored with a Summer Sky Memento marker. The embossing folder actually has tiny hearts which are covered in Frosted Lace Stickles & the blue hearts are covered in Diamond Glaze.  I really like using this tag from PTI Tiny Tags for the technique, but might try another one, too. The word friend is in the Tiny Tags set & the sentiment is by A-Muse.  I trimmed the banner by hand & mounted it with foam tape just in the center for a bit of dimension.  I'm also entering SSS Wednesday.

Next is a card using 2 new dies for the first time:  Memory Box Bingham Heart & SSS Painted Hugs.  I've had the MB Grand Heart for several years & have wanted a coordinating fancy heart die.  Couldn't justify the expense, but last year I saw it included in a sale & that was that!  It cut like a dream & I'm thrilled to finally own it.  Maybe for my next card I'll actually pair it with the Grand Heart as I'd planned.  

I colored the heart with a blue Spectrum Noir sparkle pen--first time to use it as I never got around to coloring snowflakes for Christmas cards.  I grabbed a scrap of cardstock to put under it while I colored so I wasn't wasting all that gorgeous blue sparkle!  I brushed on a bit more so I could use it to cut the hugs die.  I really love the size of the word--just right for cards. If you look close you can see a dark blue shadow layer.  I had it white, but didn't look right.  Fortunately, the adhesive didn't hold, so I lifted the word off & colored the shadow with a dark blue pen.  Now it's attached with Diamond Glaze & is not about to move!

The card front is sponged with Distress Inks lucky clover & cracked pistachio.  I tried to make the edges darker & left a small area almost white.  I spritzed heavily with Perfect Pearls--just love that shimmer which compliments all the blue sparkle. I'm really drawn to color & have bought a lot of things because the color appeals to me.  That includes 7 bottles of Liquid Pearls which I mostly just admire & never use.  Turns out the Mint Green was just the right color to add a few dots to the heart. I'm entering Outside the Box, Darnell's NBUS #9 & SSS Work It Wednesday. Thanks so much for taking time to stop by.

Papertrey January Blog Hop Challenge

Hurrah--it's time for the PTI January Blog Hop! The inspiration is so gorgeous I made my card days ago. Wouldn't you love to have one of these cookies?!  I combined shades of red & pink for the bouquet of roses from PTI The Sweet Life using PTI Lovely Lady, Memento Love Letter & Memento Rhubarb Stalk.

The leaf clusters are stamped in Spring Moss & Limeade Ice. The roses are brushed with Wink of Stella & mounted with foam tape.  

The sentiment is from PTI Wonderful Words: Friends & I covered the die cut in Diamond Glaze.  Hard to tell, but the sequins are green, pink & white.  I'll be mailing this soon since I'm using it for a Valentine.  I'm also entering ATSM, HLS Anything Goes with Dies, The Playground, SSS Wednesday & Word Art Wednesday.  Enjoy the hop--I know the gallery will be full of gorgeous cards!

Thinking Roses

Work actually went great yesterday!  Guess I've done it so long that even a 4 month break didn't make me forget everything--haha!  My dad & I shared a love of roses & I'm always drawn to cardmaking products with them. Recently I used a gift certificate to get Stamplorations Boxed Blooms and Bold Sentiments.  As you can guess, my first card uses the rose.  

My layout comes from the January Stamplorations sketch.  The rose is silver embossed & colored with Zigs using a "messy" watercolor technique--hopefully giving an "artistic" look--haha!  The sentiments in the set seemed a bit too large, so I used one from C&9th Flourish stamp set.  The black ink is Brilliance Graphite Black which I also used for the splatters. I struggle getting small splatters--can never figure out the right brush to use--but this time it worked!  I'm also entering Stamplorations January CAS challenge, Stamplorations Never- Ending Anything Goes challenge, Darnell's NBUS Challenge #9 & Word Art Wednesday.  Thanks so much for taking time to stop by.

Two More Valentines

I stepped down from a 1/2 time job nearly a year ago, but I've remained as a casual employee.  That means they ask me to work when someone is off.  I'm required to be available 4 days/month, but they haven't needed me nearly that much.  I usually worked at least every 6 weeks, but my last shift was Halloween.  I was beginning to feel retired, but couldn't quite bring myself to resign. Now they've decided to give the full-time person some help, so I'm heading to work today.  I'll see how it goes--can always give notice, but a bit of spending money will be nice--haha!
As you saw in my last post, I'm loving Melissa Phillips' masked heart wreath technique.  I wanted to try color combos of red & white and black & white.  

The stamp sets are PTI Garden Gild, Fancy Foliage, Lovely Layers & Quilled Elegance. The inks are VersaMagic Red Magic & Brilliance Graphite Black.  The red card is spritzed with Perfect Pearls & the PTI love die cut is covered with Spectrum Noir clear sparkle pen & Diamond Glaze.  I thought I had some heart shaped doilies, but turned out this was my only white one. Think I need to find some more!
I'm entering CAS on Sunday (red card), Double D (black card) & Word Art Wednesday (black card).  Thanks so much for taking time to stop by.
Edited to add: I'm also entering the black card in Paru's Card Making Challenges.