Inspired by Leo's hoody

I was searching for some colour inspiration a couple of days ago and got caught up in my son's latest top!  I always find it rather amusing these days that whenever I see colours I translate them into SU names - does that happen to you?  So his top is definitely Tempting Turquoise, Real Red, Daffodil Delight and Black.

I translated those colours into a card with the generous addition of white to tone it all down a little and here is what I came up with - you'll see the cheeky monkey I used for inspiration at the end of the post! (he's at that age when they will just not sit nicely for the camera, the're always pulling funny faces for the camera - I hope he outgrows this phase soon!)

What I used:

Card:  Tempting Turquoise, Daffodil Delight, Real Red, Black, Play Date DSP.

Ink:  Basic Black

Stamp Sets:  Teeny Tiny Sentiments

Tools and other fun stuff:  Floral Fusion Sizzlets die, Button #5 die, 1/4' circle punch, scalloped border punch, word window punch, dots embossing folder.

Happy Birthday Keryn

Yesterday was Keryn's birthday and as I know she has already received this in the post I can show it to all of you now!

I received the latest Impressions magazine a few days ago and wanted to try out a new technique they showcased on the cover regarding mixing embossing powders to create a dappled effect.  They used black and white but I chose to mix gold and black (you guessed it, I don't have white!) to try and recreate the effect.  You may not be able to see the results too well in the photos but it did work and looks very nice.  As I was using black and gold I decided to go for a vintage/shabby chic look so used Rose Red, Crumb Cake and a hint of black to finish off the card.

(Click on cards for larger view)

What I used:

Card:  Very Vanilla, Black, Rose Red, Crumb Cake

Ink:  Crumb Cake, Versamark Watermark.

Stamp Sets:  Fresh Cuts, Sincere Salutations

Tools and other fun stuff:  Floral Fusion Sizzlets die, Basic Pearls, Stampin' Dimensionals, gold embossing powder, black embossing powder, embossing buddy, heat gun, Scalloped Border punch, Scalloped Oval punch, Wide Oval punch.

Trying out a new technique today

Hello again, nice to see you back here!

For ages I've been meaning to try the technique where you emboss a design with clear embossing powder and then sponge over the top with inks to reveal the design and today I had a chance to do so.  I wasn't too sure what would happen, I hadn't really seen any tutorials but sort of guessed what people had done and went from there!

This time I remembered to use the anti-static pad and it made a huge difference!  When I heat-embossed the last two butterflies I forgot to wipe the card with the afore mentioned pad and then I had to find a paintbrush to brush off all the stray black powder, not something I recommend having to do!

Randomly stamped with Versamark Watermark ink the daisy image from Petals Prints on the lower left corner of my white card and up and accross to form a half-frame, poured the embossing powder over it and set it with the heat gun.  It sort of creates your very own Presto Paper if you like!

I used a couple of colours for the sponging, I started with Regal Rose at the bottom of the white card and worked up one side and across the bottom edge too, then I used So Saffron to fill in the rest of the card.  It is a little pale, but I'm happy with how it turned out.

The three flowers were cut with the Floral Fusion die, and embossed with the Square Lattice embossing folder.  I also used the same embossing folder for the scallop border, I personally think it makes the border look a little like lace!

Close up of the dry-embossed Floral Fusion flowers.

Close up of the heat-embossed daisies.

What I used:

Card:  Rose Red, White, So Saffron

Ink:  Regal Rose, So Saffron, Chocolate Chip, Versamark Watermark ink

Stamp Set:  Sincere Salutations, Petal Prints

\Tools and other fun stuff:  Scalloped Border punch, Scalloped Oval punch, Wide Oval punch,
Square Lattice embossing folder, Floral Fusion die, Basic Pearls, anti-static pad, clear embossing powder, heat gun, Stampin' sponges.

Warm Wishes

(OMG - you almost got three posts yesterday - did you know that if you press Control +P it publishes your post????   Well, I certainly know now!   Anyway, by clicking on "save as draft" it sent it back into the draft status.... lucky!)

The card you are seeing today was made for a Shabby Tearoom challenge, and it is the first 'theme' card I've attempted.  I have to say it is quite different from the cards already posted on their website, it's not very shabby, no bows or hearts, but differences are the spice of life, right?

The theme was KEEPING WARM and the ideas was to convey the feeling of warmth somehow - so I used the word WARM as my focal point.  I had all these fancy ideas about adding buttons, wrapping yarn and ribbons around the letters, make it really 'homespun' etc, etc.... In my mind the letters were somewhat larger and could cope with buttons and wool, but once I cut them out reality took a grip so I just left them plain (if you can call plain a stamped, cut out, sponged and ultimately embossed letter!)  So, I really had a lot of fun putting it together, it took a while but here it is.

(Of course the (retired) alphabet set is really for Leo to use, but he's having a hard time getting his hands on it as I keep using it - the scrapbook page I did for his Kindy a couple of weeks ago went down a treat!)

What I used (what didn't I use!!)

Card:  Riding Hood Red, Crumb Cake, Pumpkin Pie, Haiku DSP (retired)

Ink:  Riding Hood Red, Soft Suede, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Crumb Cake, Versamark watermark, Chocolate Chip

Stamp Sets:  Big Deal Alphabet (retired), Sincere Salutations, Simply Said

Tools and other fun stuff:  Large Oval punch, Scalloped Oval punch, Floral Fusion Sizzlits die, 2-step Bird punch, Scalloped Border punch, Stampin' Sponges, Sqaure Lattice embossing folder,  Peach Parfait polystitched ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals, Basic Pearls, embossing buddy, clear embossing powder, heat gun, pheww!