Alex’s Almond Blossoms

Welcome back to my blog!  I’m featuring another one of the beautiful new images recently released by Alex Syberia Designs in the form of digital stamps!  If you haven’t ventured into that world yet you really should!  Not only are the images super affordable, but you have the option to manipulate and play with them to create a myriad of designs and layouts!  Once you’ve created a design you like, just print, color and go!  For today’s card I chose the trio of Almond Blossoms, printed it in a size to fit an A2 card and got busy!  

 I started coloring the flowers with Zig markers, then realized that I hadn’t printed on Bristol Smooth card stock which is my go-to for Zigs and water.  So I used my Prismacolor pencils to fill out the rest of the blossoms.  Next time I’ll leave a little more white space!  

How about those stamen?!   I made them by dotting Glossy Accents to the ends then sprinkled on black glitter!  I love how the light catches them!  I fussy-cut the blossoms then put them aside in order to create my background!  

On a panel of Bristol Smooth this time, I sponged a thick layer of Fossilized Amber, Scattered Straw and Lemonade oxide inks, then deepened the edges with a layer of Aged Mahogany and Worn Lipstick.  You can see my favorite script-y stamp which accents the side and of course, my lovely spatters of black!  I attached this panel to a white base card, put some foam tape under my blossoms and added that to the background!  Finally, one of the great sentiments from Taylored Expressions Simple Strips was the last touch!  Oh!  I can’t forget my pretty little gems which add a little sparkle!  I hope you like my card and I hope you’ll go on over to Alex’s Etsy shop to see which designs will spark your creativity!  Thanks for visiting!  

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Clean Up Cards!

 I don’t know about you, but I have hundreds and hundreds of card photos stored in my computer and my typical habit is to edit them for blog posts or to post on social media then pop them over to my CopyCatCard file!  Once that’s done, I delete them from Camera Uploads but unfortunately, I often forget that step!  During this time of social distancing, I’ve been working on cleaning up my files and came across a number of cards that I never edited and so they were never used for a blog or Facebook post!  I thought I’d share them with you today!  You’ll see that I have quite a few cards made with some of Alex Syberia Designs like this one above!  I printed it onto Bristol Smooth card stock and then colored the blossom with my Zig markers.  After die-cutting the image into a circle, I mounted it to a white base card which I’d embossed with a lovely folder I have.  I think that script is so elegant, don’t you?  The sentiment is from Unity Stamps.  

Here’s another one of Alex’s designs called Roses Bouquet which I stamped onto Bristol Smooth and painted, again using Zig markers! I think the sentiment is from Taylored Expressions  Simple Strips set!  

This card features a stamp made by Crafty Individuals called Summer Poppy Meadow.  I have to admit that I didn’t check to see the actual dimensions of this stamp when I ordered it, assuming it was a full A2 size!  It was quite disappointing to see the actual size when it arrived but it’s still a beautiful image and easy to work with!  I paired it with a black and white striped panel of a store bought card I had in my stash!  

I made this card over a year ago (maybe two?) and I’ve kept it for myself instead of selling it!  The simple yet striking lotus blossom was drawn by Luisana Lowry for her collection of digital stamps she called Red Hibiscus Designs and I was honored to be asked to create cards for her!  I colored this blossom with Copic markers and paired it with a background I had in my stash.  A little gold cord and a few sequins are pretty details!  

How gorgeous is this moth?!  Another one of Luisana’s designs, it’s not something I would typically be interested in, but I loved coloring this!  My Copics collection was fairly new and quite limited at this point but with the excellent tutorials that Luisana has shared, I learned so much and just love how beautifully this came out!  The background was made with Hero Arts Everything Flower stamp and I think I colored directly on the stamp, misted with water then stamped it onto Bristol Smooth card stock.  A perfect pairing, if I do say so myself!  Oh!  That bold sentiment is from Stamplorations!  

I just love this card!  It’s a print I found on Pinterest and it came with the blue background so all I had to do was color the flowers!  I believe I used Prismacolor pencils on this because I had to print it onto regular weight card stock.  The addition of Glossy Accents on some of the blossoms give it a really nice touch!  Sentiment is Taylored Expressions Simple Strips!  

When Alex Syberia created her first line of digital stamps, she invited me to design cards to help promote the line and I was honored and happy to do so!  This image is called Spring Bouquet and you can find it here in her Etsy shop!  Because I printed this with an inkjet printer, the ink smudged a bit but I used the printer ink as my gray and just went with it!  

Here’s the same image in orange and yellow; I like the addition of the Tim Holtz Hello die popping out of it!  

Another colorful card using Spring Bouquet, again letting the printer ink be my gray for coloring.  

Alex rocked the flower frame with this digi called XOXO Floral!  What a glorious array of blossoms and leaves to frame the hand-lettered XOXO!  I used Prismacolor pencils for this card, die-cut it with Gina Marie Designs Stitched Rectangle die then mounted it onto a base card made with heavy patterned paper!  

My last card is a simpler design featuring a sweet little Stampendous set called Sunshine Daisy!  I colored it with Copics, die-cut it into an oval and adhered it to the dotted paper oval.  The embossed base card is perfect with it’s display of petals, right?!  The sentiment is from Butterfly Reflections, Ink set called Let’s Flamingle.  

Here’s the inside of the Daisies card with the rest of the sentiment!  

I leave you with this sympathy card done in restful colors of nature and Papertrey Ink’s Meadow Greensstamp set.  I heat embossed the ferns with clear powder then sponged oxide and distress inks over them for a resist look, one of my favorite simple techniques!  The sentiment is from an old Stampin Up set.  Thanks for coming with me on this little walk through my computer files!  

Unity Stamps In This Together

As I write this blog post, it’s officially been about four weeks since Vermont’s Stay at Home order in the face of a global coronavirus pandemic.  What an unprecedented, unsettling and bizarre time this is and it’s impact affects us all.  Since I’ve quit working and have so much extra time to spend in my stamp room, I’ve made a concerted effort to mail out many cards to encourage my family and friends.  It’s a small thing but if one of my cards brings a smile and a moment of joy then goal accomplished!  A number of stamp companies have created special sets that feature nurses, doctors, essential workers and sentiments that express our gratitude and admiration for them.  Other stamp sets are filled with beautiful images and encouraging words, like this one from Unity Stamps called In This Together.  

The beauty of this set is that it’s a digital stamp which means after my purchase, the company sent me a file in an email which I then downloaded to my computer.  I printed out the images onto regular card stock and then colored and cut them out. I just bought a laser printer so that I can print the images onto heavier card stock and watercolor paper and can’t WAIT to create watercolor cards with this set!  

In the meantime I spent a very happy hour or so coloring this beautiful blossom with Prismacolor pencils, adding many layers of color!  I had a panel of watercolor paper upon which I’d tried out my new Tim Holtz Alterations Collection-Mixed Media 2 die.  Some of the pieces didn’t pop out but I didn’t mind the look.  I layered it over a panel of lavender card stock, mounted my fussy-cut blossom using foam tape and then adhered it all to a base card of white card stock.  The final touch was to sponge a little lavender ink around the sentiment which came with the set and attach it to the panel along with a few iridescent sequins.   

This is another card using In This Together; this time I printed out the panel with both the blossom and sentiment all together.  I colored the flower with Copic markers, adding many layers of many colors as I always do, then added an array of dots inspired by Alex Syberia!  See her gallery of “dotty” cards here!  

I felt my card needed just a little extra “something” so pulled out a small embossing folder and added this lovely raised detail to the bottom left and top right corners!  Perfect!  

I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing these and will be inspired to use your stamps to create encouraging cards as well.  Thank you for visiting!  

New Lesia Zgharda Stamps!

 I’ve long admired the stamps and coloring by Lesia Zgharda, marveled at the precise and delicate detail of each image and have been enamored by their whimsical charm!  I don’t know why it took me so long to place an order but I finally did and just received my package from the Ukraine today!  (Am I the only one who gets a thrill knowing my mail has come from so very far away?!)  I pulled out my Prismacolor pencils and chose three shades of green plus the white to get started, copying Lesia’s style!  

I just love this sweet image which is actually two stamps!  Lesia’s cards are typically made with kraft card stock and coloring on the slightly rough surface gives the pencils some “tooth”!  I finished by mounting the kraft panel to a white base card which nicely accents the white highlights!  I stamped another Lesia sentiment in the center to complete my card which is appropriate for any person or occasion!  

After making two green wreaths I thought a purple one would be pretty and so it is!  I used my blender pencil to smooth out and blend the colors more on this card.  The sentiment is from a Stampendous set called Cling Garden Mum and is just a wee too big for the space but I still love it!  

This up close shot shows the smoothly blended pencil achieved by using the blender pencil.  

I’m not loving this third card but really enjoyed the creative process!  The stencil is part of the Stampendous set I mentioned above and I placed it over the panel then lightly brushed white distress oxide ink over it all.  After heat-setting the design with clear embossing powder it left behind a glossy, opaque impression which I feel overwhelms the delicate leaves.  I liked the gray tones of it though, so mounted the panel onto a gray textured base card.  A different look, for sure!  

My final and favorite card using the beautiful Eucalyptus Wreath was also colored in three shades of purple.  I added Crystal Effects as an added detail which I think is lovely against the organic card stock!  This time, however, I stenciled the background first, again using white distress oxide ink.  I just love how delicate it is and what a lovely backdrop it is for the bolder wreath design!   

Just look at that shine!  The sentiment on this card is from Studio Katia‘s Blooming Bunch stamp set.  I’m so happy with how each one of these cards turned out!  I hope you’ll go to Lesia Zgharda’s website and see all the wonderful images, cards and tutorials she shares there!  Perhaps you’ll be inspired as I was!  

I leave you with this final photograph of my favorite card.  Thank you for visiting!  

Paper Hug

I’ve been under the weather for about a week so haven’t done much in my stamp studio but was browsing my photo files and came across this card.  I made it a couple of months ago for a special friend who was going through a difficult time and took extra care in my coloring, wanting it to be especially perfect for her.  When it was finished I wrote a note inside and mailed it off.  Sadly, she never received it and there’s no telling where it might be now!  I did post it on social media but am just getting around to writing a blog post about it now!

The image is one that was gifted to me by a new Instagram friend and fellow card artist and it’s called Blooming Bunch by Studio Katia.  I love to color flowers and these were a joy!  I used Prismacolor pencils and spent quite a bit of time on it, adding layer upon layer of color!

I wish I’d think to stamp and color on kraft card stock more often; it’s so beautifully muted yet the colors really pop, don’t they?!  I also wish I’d blended out that gray background a bit more but nevertheless, it’s one of my favorite cards!  It makes me sad that it’s lost!

The sentiment is from Taylored Expressions wonderful Simple Strips background set!  There’s a convenient coordinating die which cuts the full sheet of sentiments into handy little strips but I don’t own that…yet!  I trimmed my sentiment down then added a layer of textured gold cardstock behind it and as a last detail, adhered a scattering of sequins for a little shine.  I hope you like this card as much as I do!  My friend has seen pictures of it and hopefully knows that she is “paper-hugged”!  Thank you, as always, for visiting my blog!  I appreciate you!!

Unity Stamps My Condolences

How beautiful is this image??!!  Several stamp companies have recently offered us beautiful rose images and I was torn between this one by Unity Stamps and another by a different company, but this one, My Condolences stole my heart!  It’s the perfect size to mostly fill a card front and the addition of the simple phrase is all that’s needed!  

I stamped the roses directly onto a folded A2 card base of Stampin Up’s Crumb Cake using Crumb Cake ink.  As you can see, I stamped it out several times to fill in the background.  

Then I began coloring with my Prismacolor pencils!  I used many shades of reds, pinks, orange, coral, greens, grays and white, plus a little white gel pen for accents.  I’m not very good at the gel pen accents but I like how they add a little “sumthin sumthin”!  

After adding lovely gray shading in some of the nooks and crannies, I just heat-embossed the sentiment with white powder.  I really, really love this card and was a bit surprised at how beautifully it turned out!  

I made this crazily colored card while stamping with Jackson (aka Bubby!) one evening! 

 I showed him heat-embossing and he had fun watching the powder melt on his dino images, and then I showed him how to do paint spatters!!  He’s five but he’s been stamping with Nina since he was a wee tyke!  Just look at that concentration!  Spatters are the BEST!! 

A happy stamper, right here!!  

While Bubby was spattering, I actually cut my multi-colored roses out of that gorgeous spattery background and mounted them to a background I’d made a few weeks ago but never used.  It makes for a very colorful card, indeed!  The sentiments are from Pink Fresh Studio’s Let’s Flamingle set!  

This is the very first card I made with My Condolences; I heat-embossed it in white onto a panel of Canson watercolor card stock then colored it with Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers and a water brush to move and blend the ink.  When it was (almost) dry, I added spatters which got a little blurry.  OH well!  

I trimmed the panel down and attached it to a base card of Stampin Up’s Crumb Cake card stock then stamped an envelope for it.  This image is so intricate looking, yet so simple to color and create something really special!  Thank you for your visit!