POSTAGE DUE COLLAGE + CHALKBOARD + FUN FOLD!

Today, a new look for the "Postage Due" collage image AND a new card fold I have not used in a while, the "fun fold."

The stamping on both samples was done with White Craft Ink on Basic Black cardstock. After the ink set, I sponged color on the images.

The fun fold card uses two folded cards layered together. It is easy to do, however, you have to remember that the inset (right side) "card" is going to open in reverse.

POSTAGE DUE (Fun Fold Card) in 2013-15 In Colors.
Lacy Brocade Embossing Folder used on Crisp Cantaloupe panel, layered with "flat" side up and lightly sponged with Baked Brown Sugar ink. Butterflies from PAPILLON POTPOURRI set, punched with coordinated Bitty Butterfly Punch

 

POSTAGE DUE (Fun Fold Card) - open

For the card above, I did not stamp a sentiment inside. You could stamp whatever sentiment you like!

POSTAGE DUE (Fun Fold Card) in 2014-16 In Colors with Lost Lagoon Stitched Satin Ribbon band

POSTAGE DUE (Fun Fold Card) in 2014-16 In Colors (front with ribbon band off)

 

POSTAGE DUE (Fun Fold Card) in 2014-16 In Colors (half open)
Leaves punched with Bird Builder Punch; sentiment from TEENY TINY WISHES

POSTAGE DUE (Fun Fold Card) in 2014-16 In Colors (open-inside)
Pansy Punch flowers in Lost Lagoon and Tangelo Twist

I thought adding the punched embellishments gave the above version a little more panache. I was careful when I adhered them that when the card parts were folded nothing showed that I wanted "hidden" until the next part unfolded. I did the flower in Lost Lagoon and Tangelo Twist because this is still a celebration of In Colors and I wanted to incorporate all of them. You could play with coordinating/contrasting colors from any of the color families!

MORE FUN WITH "WORK OF ART" - THE SET THAT MAKES ANYONE AN ARTIST!

I keep thinking of more pictures the shapes in "Work of Art" can build! Since I am also continuing to feature our current In Colors, all my new samples are also "In Colorful!"

As I did with my previous designs, I only used the shapes in the set. However, sometimes I only inked part of the stamps and/or used some masking as I stamped the design.

I did not put sentiments on these samples, but you could!

First, a simple one. I've seen a lot of samples others have created using this set to make flowers, so here is my Tulip Trio. I left it simple for now...but it could be stepped up with additional layers of cardstock, sponging, Dazzling Details, ribbon...the possibilities are endless! It just depends on who will receive the card, and the time you want to spend on it.

WORK OF ART tulips in Strawberry Slush and Pistachio Pudding on Whisper White cardstock

Next, I did a couple of new scenes. First, I went back to the beach only this time, instead of a palm tree, I created an umbrella and lounge chair!

WORK OF ART - Beach Day in 2014-16 In Colors (Blackberry Bliss card background)

The next one is a desert scene. I used Crisp Cantaloupe for the ground because it reminded me of the red dust in Arizona.

WORK OF ART - Desert Scene in 2013-15 In Colors (Strawberry Slush background panel)

You probably know by now I like to save the best for last - this is my favorite and the one of today's samples of which I am the MOST proud! Here is my ballerina:

WORK OF ART - Ballerina in Crisp Cantaloupe, Strawberry Slush and Baked Brown Sugar (on Coastal Cabana background panel)

 That is all for today! Please leave a comment and let me know what you think! Thanks for visiting!

ANOTHER PERFECT BLEND

Thanks for coming back to my blog! Here is another sample using the "Perfect Blend" stamp set and designer paper. This sample pairs Baked Brown Sugar and Crisp Cantaloupe, however, you could pair any two In Colors and this design would look awesome!

Perfect Blend and Yippee Skippee stamp sets; Crisp Cantaloupe, Baked Brown Sugar, Basic Black and Whisper White cardstocks; 2013-16 In Color Designer Series Paper Stack (Baked Brown Sugar); Crisp Cantaloupe Thick Bakers Twine

I tied a piece of the new thick twine in coordinating Crisp Cantaloupe around the cups. For a more feminine look, you could tie a bow, use ribbon, or add a Simply Pressed Clay flower!
The Basic Black background panel was textured with Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder (and the Big Shot).
The Baked Brown Sugar panel behind the sentiment was cut with one of the Window Frames Framelits; the sentiment was stamped with White Craft Ink on black and cut with a Circle Framelit.
The cups and sentiment were attached with Stampin' Dimensionals.

A "PERFECT BLEND" OF STAMPING AND DESIGNER PAPER!

As I promised yesterday, today's samples show another variation of piecing paper to create your design. 

I love love love the "Perfect Blend" set! Pretty much, I always love any stamps with coffee, tea or chocolate themes no matter what style the art is! What is especially fun about this set is the versatility of what you can do with the coffee cup image. You can stamp it and color it in using markers, Blendabilities, watercoloring, sponging, etc. Or, you can do what I did in today's samples and stamp it onto patterned paper, cut it out the pieces and put it back together. You could also combine piecing and coloring as I did in this first sample!

 

COFFEE CUP THANKS - Perfect Blend and Lots of Thanks stamp sets; DSP from Moonlight stack; Blackberry Bliss and Whisper White cardstock; Jet Black Stazon and Blackberry Bliss ink pads; Hello Honey Stampin' Write Marker; Decorative Dots Textured Embossing Folder

For the second sample below, I stamped the body of the cup twice on two different DSPs from the Moonlight paper stack. I cut out the segments (staying consistent with the dividing lines as they are "scribbly" in the image) and switched the patterns around when I reassembled them on a Whisper White cup image. If you are a paper-saver with a little patience, just stamp the lid segment on Whisper White cardstock, cut it out and assemble the whole cup like a puzzle with your cutouts.

PERFECT BLEND FRIENDS - Perfect Blend stamp set; DSP from Moonlight stack; Lost Lagoon, Hello Honey, Basic Black and Whisper White cardstock; Jet Black Stazon ink pad; Postage Stamp Punch

You can have a lot of creative fun playing with this set and different colors and patterns of DSP! Come back and visit for more ideas!

PIECING PAPER (AND MORE IN COLOR INSPIRATIONS!)

Yes, you read that post title correctly - we are talking about "piecing" (as in pieces of paper laid out in an arrangement), not "piercing" (which would be a topic for another day). This may be a stamped image that is cut into pieces and reassembled like a puzzle, or pieces of patterned paper and/or stamped images organized into an array.

You have seen examples of this already in my post of samples casing Deanna Hibbert's Postcard/Postage Due collage cards. That is where I got the idea for this first sample which is the main image from "Postage Due" (stamped, sponged and colored a bit with markers) punched out with the Postage Stamp Punch and reassembled (that is, pieced back together).

The next sample is three stamped rectangles and some punched trim pieces arranged to create a 3-tiered cake on a stand! I used the Corner Rounder punch on the corners. The trim on the layers is the "negative" edge of the Finishing Touches Framelit trim used for the cake stand platform. The base of the stand is a little rectangle of card stock with two corners punched off with the 1 1/4" Circle Punch.

 

HAPPY CAKE DAY: Age Awareness set (photopolymer);
2014-16 In Color Markers; Hello Honey, Tangelo Twist & Lost Lagoon ink pads;
Lost Lagoon, Tangelo Twist and Whisper White cardstock.

 While using the framelit to cut the decorative trim for the stand is easy (especially if you have the Magnetic Platform), cutting the extra piece you need to trim all the layers is a bit trickier. If that is too fussy for you, then just sponge ink on the edges instead, or punch a scallop edge trim.

The last sample for today uses the Hexagon Punch to created a paper-pieced flower. I stamped patterned hexagons using the "Six-Sided Sampler" set, however you could also use patterned DSP. My "bee happy" message hexagons were stamped with images from "Honeycomb Hello."

BEE HAPPY HEXAGON FLOWER
Strawberry Slush, Coastal Cabana & Hello Honey inks; Hello Honey, Coastal Cabana & Whisper White cardstock; Vintage Faceted Button colored with Coastal Cabana Blendabilties marker; Baked Brown Sugar Thick Twine

Isn't the button lovely? The new Blendabilities alcohol markers will work to color buttons! 

Come back tomorrow to see more samples of pieced paper, this time used with the "Perfect Blend" coffee cup and the Moonlight DSP assortment.

IN COLORS POSTAGE DUE COLLAGE C.A.S.E.

When I saw Deanna Hibbert's gorgeous, vintage-style, collage cards stamped with images from "Postcard" and "Postage Due" and punched with the Postage Stamp punch, I KNEW I would be casing them - as soon as I got those sets! Well, truth be told, I couldn't wait and borrowed them from my friend Gina (who is always totally awesome about letting me use her stamps etc.!)

Here is my assortment:

 And now for the close ups and details...

I really liked Deanna's arrangement of light and dark, so I didn't change that, or the way she put "POSTCARD" on the top left corner and the "Place Stamp Here" image on the top right corner. She had included the now-retired "En Francais" background stamp so I just used more of the script part of "Postage Due" for my first variations of her cards:

"POSTAGE DUE" and "POSTCARD" sets, Early Espresso ink (stamping and spoinging), Very Vanilla and Lost Lagoon cardstock for postage stamps, Early Espresso background panel and Sahara Sand card.

"POSTAGE DUE" and "POSTCARD" sets, Baked Brown Sugar ink (stamping and spoinging), Very Vanilla and Crisp Cantalope cardstock for postage stamps,Baked Brown Sugar background panel and card, Crisp Cantalope cardstock layer.

For my next variations, I played around using more of the main image in "Postage Due," and brought in images from "The Open Sea" set.

"POSTAGE DUE," "POSTCARD" and "THE OPEN SEA" sets, Early Espresso ink (stamping and spinging), Very Vanilla and Hello Honey cardstock for postage stamps, Early Espresso background panel and Natural Ivory card.

In the variation below, I used some of the script image from "The Open Sea" instead of just the script in "Postage Due."

"POSTAGE DUE," "POSTCARD" and "THE OPEN SEA" sets, Baked Brown Sugar ink (stamping and spoinging), Very Vanilla and Coastal Cabana cardstock for postage stamps, Baked Brown Sugar background panel and Coastal Cabana card.

For my last variation, I went very nautical and masculine by using lots of images from "The Open Sea" and going back to the Lost Lagoon In Color:

"POSTAGE DUE," "POSTCARD" and "THE OPEN SEA" sets, Early Espresso ink (stamping and spinging), Very Vanilla and Lost Lagoon cardstock for postage stamps, Early Espresso background panel and Lost Lagoon card.

This card is not hard, but it is a little time consuming what with positioning the punch on the images, sponging all the punch-outs, and arranging/gluing all the punched stamps evenly on the background panel. Deanna used Stampin' Dimensionals to raise a few of the punched stamps, and she also embellished with a stamped/punched butterfly and a little sentiment-stamped tag. I planned to embellish mine but ended up liking the simpler look so much I decided to leave well enough alone. I hope you like the results and will leave me a comment!

RESISTING THE GOLD

Today the featured technique is emboss resist with Gold Embossing Powder and the featured In Colors are Tangelo Twist, Mossy Meadow and Hello Honey.

First up, a rich-looking birthday card for someone really special:

WORTH CELEBRATING EASEL CARD

The sentiment is from Remembering Your Birthday and the gorgeous flower is from Blooming With Kindness. To punch up the flower a bit, I also blended in a little Strawberry Slush with the Tangelo Twist (if you look closely, you'll see some parts are pinker than others). 
Note: This image would also be great for coloring with the new Blendabilities, however those don't work as well on the colored cardstocks because the texture is slightly more rough. Try it on Shimmery White, Whisper White or Very Vanilla!

Since the green is a bit dark, I decided to stamp the sentiment on matching Hello Honey cardstock and punch it with the Decorative Label Punch. The edges are lightly sponged.

This next card uses the same gold embossing and Tangelo Twist + Hello Honey + Mossy Meadow marker coloring with the Pleasant Poppies stamp. Instead of layering the stamped panel onto Mossy Meadow, I cut an oval window with the Big Shot and Ovals Collection Framelits, and layered the panel on top. It was nice just like that, but a little plain. The solution to step it up? Butterflies, of course! What is a garden of poppies without butterflies, anyway?

 The butterfly stamps are from one of my favorite sets, Papillon Potpourri, which coordinates with our two butterfly punches! The larger butterfly is Mossy Meadow ink stamped on Brushed Gold cardstock. The small ones are Tangelo Twist ink on Hello Honey cardstock. All three are adhered with Stampin' Dimensionals.