Silver Anniversary

Good afternoon Crafters !

I hope you had a great weekend.   My husband Jim & I celebrated our 25th Anniversary (a little late) on Saturday with friends.

It's amazing & scary how time flies by.   It makes us realise that we need to treasure each day.   I think it's funny now that I thought I was an 'old' bride at 32 and I would be 'really old' when we reached this milestone.  OK I'm an older lady yes, but 57 isn't as old as I thought it would be :)   My hubby is still working hard at 63 !   We brought out our wedding photos and we certainly looked much younger back then !     I feel that as long we are enjoying life we are not old.   Of coarse life gives us both ups & downs, and we've had our share of both, but we feel grateful for everything that we have. 

So today I thought I would post a couple of Anniversary cards.  

I made this card while playing with the 'stamp-kissing' technique.  I was inspired by work created by Miranda at  Miracle art Inspirations.    I used the same Impression Obsession stamps - Solid Oval F6193 and Cover a Card Pine CC030,  that she used on her card which you can see on her post here When Stamps Kiss.

I need to use my IO Solid & Cover a Card stamps more.  I am lucky to own many CAC stamps, they are great to work with.     The two birds are also from Impression Obsession - D8193.  

I used Versamagic Magnolia Bud Chalk Ink on the Solid Oval stamp and then used Boysenberry Pigment Ink to edge the Oval.  I stamped-kissed with the Pine Cover a Card and then stamped the 'kissed' oval onto smooth white card stock.  Next I stamped (the normal way) the birds with Boysenberry Ink over the Oval.  The sentiment is from Kaisercraft CS916 Occasions.

I added the border die cut (using Spellbinder S5-034 set), gold ribbon and layered as show.  Below is a close up of the stamp kissing.

 

This next card is very similar to one I posted previously using Designs by Ryn  CM-F16 Vine Heart and is the card that I gave to Jim.

The Vine Heart was stamped onto Vellum, turned over, placed on a pad and embossed with a stylus.  I created the background with Tom Bow markers, water and large flat brush.  I added Starform Silver Border & Corner stickers and a little 25 for extra silver !

And here we are with the tasty cake one of our friends baked for us and the long-stemmed roses Jim surprised me with.  

Well that's all for today !   I hope to be back later in the week with a card for Impression Obsession's Seaside Challenge.   More fishies .....

Thanks for your visits & comments, they are always appreciated and have a great day !

Shirley

Enjoy the little things ....

Hello Crafters, I hope you had a great Easter Weekend.    We had fun with our family and ate too much chocolate.

I know I've posted fish cards recently but "Wanda the Fish" is back !    I've created two more cards for Designs by Ryn  using her Sea Bubbles Set CM-S15 and Wanda the Angelfish CM-S7.   I included her African Daisy CM-F1 on this design as it looks tropical or could be a water lily !

I love Ryn's hand drawn designs and her stamps are top quality & deeply etched which results in crisp images every time.     Her Sea Creature line will be added to her website by the end of April.    We are going to celebrate with Blog Candy in May, so stayed tuned !  

 
To create the background for this card I started with Kaleidacolour Ink- Caribbean Sea using a Brayer to ink onto IO's Solid Cover a Card CC084.   I stamp-kissed the small bubble stamp in the set before stamping onto white card stock.   It's a little hard to see the stamp-kiss effect in the photo, but it added some texture.   I heat dried and then stamped the large Bubble in the set with Versamark and embossed with Gold EP that has a little glitter.  

I stamped and embossed the Angel Fish and Daisy with Gold on water color paper and colored with Tom Bows and water.    I stamped the flower twice and cut a mid-section out of the 2nd to add to the flower for more dimension.     I realise as I'm writing this that I should have added some glitter to the centre of the flower - I will do that !  

The wonderful quote is from Chocolate Baroque's Artistic Expression set.  It was also embossed with Gold and then I blended a little Shabby Shutters and Old Paper Distress Inks over the lettering.      I also added  gold ribbon before I popped up the images onto the background.  

I used Wanda the Angel fish & the Bubbles again on this next card but also sponged some larger bubbles by using card stock that has circles cut out as a mask.       I've been using the sponge technique to create 'scenes' & bubbles for quite a while now, ever since I was inspired (again) by cards made by Miranda (of 'Mir'acle art Inspiration Blog).   I was wishing for a lesson, but I figured out a way to sponge using card stock for shapes.  I've had a lot of fun with creating scenes !    

I stamped kissed the bubbles again using a light colored ink- ColourBox Pigment - Glacier Ice.   Next I used ColourBox Aqua & Thistle to sponge the bubbles over top.  (I used a large dabber).    The poem is from the set by Impression Obsession - CL182 by the Seaside which was stamped with Versa Fine Black Ink. 

The two Angel fish were stamped and embossed with black on Watercolour paper and painted with Tombows and water.   The purple mat was embossed with CB Divine Swirls Folder.   The fish were popped up over the background.  You can see the stamp-kissed bubbles on the close-up below.

That's all for today, thanks for visiting !
Shirley

Spring Flowers

Good Evening !

We are enjoying warmer than normal temperatures in this area.   Our snow has melted (yay !) and I've had a chance to get out into the gardens to start pruning and admire crocus that are blooming.   We normally wait until April for this treat !

The warm weather motivated this simple card for Spring.    It's a challenge for me to create cards without a 3D image, but I've been inspired by looking at the elegant cards posted at  Less is More's Blog.   I love creations that are 'fussy' but also appreciate Clean & Simple.      At some point I would like to enter some of their challenges.  
 

The background behind the tulip was created using the stamp kissing technique (again).   I covered Impression Obsession's Solid Cover a Card with Colour Box Moss Green pigment ink.   I used a flower from the Hero Art flower set CL428 and covered it with Boysenberry Colour Box pigment ink and then 'kissed' the two stamps.  Using the Cover a Card stamp I then applied the image to white cardstock.   Over this I stamped the tulip from the Hero Art Set CL427 and embossed with deep purple powder.   I coloured the tulip a little with Prisma Pencils.    I used dark plum & vibrant moss green cardstock to compliment the stamping.   A little ribbon and rhinestones were added for the finishing touch.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope that you are enjoying nice weather where you live !
Shirley

Another Hummingbird !

Hi everyone,  I hope you are enjoying the weekend.     The weatherman says it's going up to 12 tomorrow with sunshine !     It's still too early for Hummingbirds, but I saw some crocus today peeking thru the little bit of snow that is still hanging around.   It's exciting to see the first Spring flowers coming up ! 

I'm a little behind in 'card work' but have one more Hummingbird card that I created for Designs by Ryn that I thought I would share.   This is Ryn's favourite in the group of Hummingbird cards :)

Stamps: Designs by Ryn -  Leaves set CMF5 and Sitting Hummingbird CMB7
Stamps: Impression Obsession - Solid Cover a Card CC084

Spellbinder Die:   Labels 23 S4-347

To create the background I started with the stamp kissing method with the large leaf from the set.   I covered IO's Solid Cover a Card stamp with Memories Foxglove Pigment Ink.   I stamp kissed the leaf into the ink and then stamped onto white cardstock using my Mega mount.     Next I stamped over top with the leaf using Brilliance Gold, then Brilliance Pearlescent Crimson (a few times to change the density without re-inking) and finally Bamboo Leaves Mememto Dye ink.    I sprayed the entire background with Gold Glimmer Mist (which is hard to see in the photo - it added a nice shimmer).    I kept 'playing' until I was happy with the result.

The Hummingbird was embossed with black and then coloured with Tombows & water.        I used "Peeled Paint" Distress Ink and the die as a mask to colour around the bird.   A little ribbon and rhinestones are the final touches !  

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day !
Shirley

Butterflies Kissing

Hello Crafters !    Wow, March is here and Spring is around the corner !  Can't wait !    I'm still suffering from a wicked cold.   I haven't had such a bug in years !   I've cancelled my plans for today (again) but hopefully my energy comes back a little more and I can work on cards :)    Then the day would be more pleasurable !

I'm posting a card this morning that I created last week while playing again with Stamp-kissing and also using Distress Inks with the Acrylic Block technique.  Some things ended up in the recycle box but that happens when I'm  'playing' and trying different colours.     This card was created using both techniques. 

 

I used a large acrylic block to add both Tumbled Glass & Scattered Straw Distress Inks with some water sprayed on the ink and then stamped onto smooth white cardstock.   The Butterflies (Impression Obsession stamp - D5565 ) were stamped several times using Stormy Skies Distress Ink that was spritzed a little with water first.  Next I sprayed the background with Gold Glimmer Mist which is hard to see in the photo.  It really added a nice sheen.   

The Butterflies stamp was covered with Harbour Colourbox Pigment Ink and "kissed" with IO's Cover a Card CC108 Greenery and stamped onto white cardstock.   I embossed the images with clear 3 times to give them a hard shine and then cut them out and adhered to the background.   

The label is from Spellbinders Shapeabilities S4-322 set which was distressed around the edge.   The sentiment is from Kaisercraft CS921 set.    The polka dot designer paper is Quick Quotes - Andrew Avenue.   A few rhinestones and co-ordinating ribbon are the final touches.

Thanks for stopping by & have a great day !
Shirley

Stamp Kissing

Good Afternoon  !

I'm still working on card designs for Designs by Ryn and still trying out the "Stamp Kissing" technique that I saw on Miranda's blog.       There are so many things to try and not enough time !

So here is a card that the background was created by having stamps "Kiss".   Such a cute name for a stamping technique !   But actually that's what it is !    Two stamps "kiss" either with ink on both or just one.    I've always been in love with "Smooch" Inks and now it's "Stamp kissing"....... my husband doesn't mind :) x

For this card I used the Solid Cover a Card by Impression Obsession (CC084).   I inked it up using a brayer and Colour Box Pigment Ink - Harbour.   Then I used Ryn's African Daisy stamp (CM-F1) which seemed to work for this technique as it has bold lines.   The flower stamp made contact with the cover a card stamp with the ink, which takes ink off and then I stamped it on white card stock !  I use IO's Mega Mount for all their Cover a Card stamps... love them !

The background turned out looking Batik as I recall Miranda saying on her Blog.     After I stamp-kissed the background I used clear embossing power to add texture.  I stamped the flower a few more times and embossed with Silver and painted a little with TomBow markers, hard to see the shading in the photo.     The embossing folder used for the embossing is Daisy & Swirl  CTFD3043 by Crafts-Too.     A little bling was added for the final touch. 

Ok that's all for this afternoon ! 
Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend !
Shirley