Challenge Time!! Club Scrap and Freshly Made Sketches.

Well I have not been doing challenges the last few months.  Seems like life and all the fuss that goes with it, kept me from meeting the deadlines. Oh well.  This month, I am armed and ready to meet the challenge.  I will be using this months Kit from CLUB SCRAP,  Office Space.

  Here is my entry for sketch #244.

This is a simple and easy card.  The hard part was figuring out how to get it to all fit on the A2card Base.

Let me show you how I created this.

I started by stamping in Brown Ink and Heat embossing in Clear to give it a shine.  Then I added the word, "memorandum" in Black Archival.

Stamped and cut out a mask to cover my stamped image.

Placed my stencil over the image and taped down.  Using Distress Ink and an Ink Blending tool, softly added Tattered Rose to the stencil.  Then I went back with Spiced Marigold to darken a few of the words.  

Stencil removed.  Next step is to remove the mask and die cut it into an Oval shape.

From the Card stock in the kit, I cut a mat and then using the coral cardstock created an A2 card base.  

Last, I stamped the sentiment in the same Brown Ink and heat embossed with Clear embossing powder, die, cut and mounted it onto my card with 3D Foam Squares.  Done!!  Clean and Simple.

I am thinking this month I am going to focus on stencils!!

Until next time,

Happy Crafing,

Josette

Club Scrap: A Paris Flea Market Blog Hop

This Month the Kit was "Paris Flea Market", and I am saying this is one of my favorites.  The hop is underway and if you are hopping in order,  You should have arrived from Deb,   If not, click HERE  to start at the very beginning.

Here a view of all my cards.  I am going to start with my favorite, then the more complicated one and finally, a clean and simple card.

Card 1:  This card represents my Technique Post.  I found this process and the resulting card to be something of "magic".  I think I was more impressed by the outcome than I have been in a very long time.  I just love this look.  It is an Acrylic Paint Resist Technique.

Even in the photo it looks amazing, but in real life, it has depth and interest that is not apparent here.  So how did I make it?  Well lets start with a close up.

The focus of the technique is the Birdcage and the bird.  I wanted the Paris stamp to act as a background and the birdcage to move to the front.  This is hard to do with stamping and heat embossing.  Often the heat embossing "stands out" and I wanted this to be flat.

Step 1: used Distress Paint in Picket Fence to cover my stamp and then stamp onto white paper and allow to dry thoroughly.  I have done this with other acrylic paint, but I chose this one for 2 reasons:
the dauber and it is easily cleaned off of my stamp.  Spray with water and wipe, all gone.  The other acrylic paint is hard to get off of the stamp.

Step 2:  Stamp the second image in a pigment ink.  Here I used Archival in Potting Soil.  Can you see the bird cage?  It is there!!

Step 3:  Ink.  I used Aged Mahogany and Peeled Paint.  For this to work, you have to rapidly wipe of the acrylic stamping to deep white.  If you look at the bottom of the birdcage, it is slightly darker, I wasn't fast enough, but it still works.  Go slow and layer gradually. This image is after the initial inking, I went on and added more.

 I think this works and is so stunning in part is because of the color combination.  Play with this and try different combos.  It is fast and easy.  The best part is that the acrylic stamping is perfectly flat.  If you don't tell how you did this, it would be hard to guess. When I felt it was complete, I cut to size and mounted.

I had wanted to use this as a background and add something on top.  I just could not.  The background needed to be the focus, so I set it off with layering and a simple silver ribbon.

Card 2:

This was more of a challenge.  The first one just happened, this one, well it is a mistake turned into a Pocket card!!

 Step one:  Cut the 12 x 12 into an 81/2 x 11, score at 4.25 and cut in half.

Step 2:  Turn these 2 pieces into a Tri-fold

 First add adhesive to what will become the back of the center panel,

Adhere them together to create a Trifold, easy!!

Step 3:

Cut from corner to fold.  I was intending to cut from top corner to bottom corner and create a criss cross card.  Well I got confused and cut from top of one to fold, but cut the second one from bottom outer edge to fold and got this!!

Oh goodness if that did not give me pause, oh well I just stopped and rethink it.  In this photo I have put score tape on the inside flaps, and covered them up with pieces cut from the lace mats in the kit.

Added the center part to flap and edging to sides.  Now what do I do with it.
I took one of the triangles I had cut off, and decided to make a pocket.  First I cut a pink paper and covered the back of the card, then added the pocket..Ok I can use it for a gift card.
Now to figure out the from so it made sense.

Here you can see the inside.  The flap with pink paper behind.

So I needed a Belly Band.  I cut a strip 1.75 inches and scored the ends, glued the flaps and added a flower.  

Here is a little trick:  Score the first line on the band, then 1/16th inch away score a second line.  This will form a box like end, that will fit the card better than just a single score line.  Double click to see this up close.

All I needed was a sentiment and another completed card!!!

Ok we are on the home stretch!!

Card 3:

This is the most simple of the cards but in some ways a bit more challenging.  Getting the printing so it looks right!!

Step one:

Trim that stamp so you have a nice straight edge and use this as a reference.  Easiest to do this to the top of the stamp, the Decenders in the lettering makes the bottom irregular.  That is partly how this gets challenging.

Step 2:

Use a stamp positioner with a black ink.  Take your time.  This was stamped in Versafine black onxy on the plexiglass, then the card stock was stamped with Versamark and heat embossed in clear.

It took several trys to get it right.  I staggered the lettering to get the desenders to fall in the text in a way to appear as a continuous writing.  

Step 3:

Once stamping completed, I inked with Pumice stone and Aged Mahogany, cut it down to size and mounted onto a white card base.

Step 4:  Stamped the sentiment in Black and heat embossed in clear, die cut and mounted it onto a black strip of card stock.  Finished.

That is all from me, your next stop is:  Jennifer

Happy Crafting,

Josette

Links:

Club Scrap

Paris Flea Market Deluxe Kit

Other supplies used:  Distress Inks, Distress Paint, Versamark, Versafine Black Onyx.  

Blog Hop for Club Scrap: Crewel and Unusual

Time for the monthly blog hop.  This is where you see all the wonderful creations than have been made from this months kit.  To start at the beginning,  start at  Club Scrap Hop,  If you have been hopping along, you should have arrived from From Deb at debduzscrappin.

Crewel and Unusual Deluxe Kit

This month I am going to organize this differently.  Normally I show you the cards and then discuss the process.  Today, I am going to discuss the making of the background and the creative process.  Then we will explore how the cards were made.  All were simple and are based on the background.

Backgrounds are the work horses of card making.  Any time you create there is a fair amount of testing and experimenting.  All these failures can become elements or information for another process.  I wanted to make a background with distress.  I have all the colors, so how do I choose which ones to use.  Well I play.  The first step is the technique.  I wanted stripes.  So I grabbed some ink and started to figure out what I wanted. 

                   Placed some reposition tape on my card stock and colored between the line.  

This is what I got.  As you can see, I messed up, there is a big glob of black ink on the paper, but remember I am experimenting.  Both with color and with placement of the color.  

Next using white pigment ink, I started playing with how to stamp and position the stamping.  I cut my stamp down so I had one very smooth edge and placed that on the grid line on my block.  I used this to help with placement.  

Ok, I like this concept but I did not like the colors.  So, I pulled out my color swatch sheet and chose several colors I thought would work.  Started to place them randomly on the paper, adjusting and changing inks based on what I was seeing and liking.  Here are my sample papers.

I take what I think will work and place them on paper, overlap, blend, adjust.  I even try different spritzing techniques to get the effect.  The bottom one has been sprayed with water that had Perfect Pearls added to it.    Ok now I know the colors and what can be next to the other, the intensity of the color or the softness.  I took the same process I used in the first example, but with different inks and created these backgrounds.

One is a bit darker, the other more stripes are more irregular.  To the darker one I added the white line stamping.  In looking over my samples, I decided they had promise as well.  So, I took out a stamp that was ink splatters and stamped a circle splatter in white pigment onto the the background, used a towel to tone it down in places.

Double click to get an up close view of the inking and how the the stampings have been faded in places.  I will list the colors of distress I used in the supply section.  Are you ready for the cards!!

Card 1:

 

This is a simple card.  Once the background was prepared, I just trimmed down the panel, stamped a floral and greeting on the front, heat embossed with white powder and mounted it onto a mat and then onto an A2 Card base.  

Note: I did mask off an area where the Hello would go, stamped and heat embossed the flower and then stamped the image.  I used a white Gel pen to "clean up the edges".  

Card 2:

Again the background did all the work.  I stamped the greeting and heat embossed in clear.  It seemed flat, so I cut 3 diecuts from cards stock with a zigzag die, and glued them together.  Then I added a top layer of glitter paper, a silver ribbon and bow and a few rhinestones.  Added a white mat and placed it onto an A2 card base that was created from the red paper in the kit.  Stunning!!!  And all from a sample sheet. 

This photo shows the inking best.  It is most promenade at the corner on the right side of bottom edge and on the top left corner.

Card 3:

Not as straight forward but simple.  Last month Trisha showed us how to put a window in a card.  Follow this link:  Greetings to go YouTube, and at about 2:30 secs, Tricia Morris will show you how to make this window card.  I followed her instructions, but changed the measurements.  This is an A2 card.  The small panel measures 3/4", the window is 1 1/2".  I cut the panels of the background , stamped and doodled on them.  Also cut out additional stamps from the left over backgrounds  and adhered to the so the "peak out over the window.

Stamped and colored the image on the inside with copics and doodled with a White Gel Pen.  This view is with front panel cut off and folded.  A few Pearls and it is a wrap.  

That was fun.  Don't you just love making backgrounds and with amazing stamps to finish off the project, stunning cards that are easy to mail are a fun project.  I also have more backgrounds available for more cards.  A productive process..

Your next stop is:  Hetty over at Craftchaos

Until next time,

Happy Crafting

Josette

Supplies:

Crewel and unusual: Deluxe Kit

Distress inks used:  In final project:  Cracked Pistachio, Wilted Violet, Worn Lipstick, Twisted Citron, Spiced Marmalade, Ripe Persimon.  In the first test run: Blueprint Sketch, Carved Pumpkin, Candied Apple, Lucky Clover, Squeezed Lemonade.  There looks to be others in both groups, but when they are blended over each other they create different colors.

Unicorn White Pigment Ink

Hero Arts White Embossing Powder

Black and white Gel pens, Copics and Multiliner in black.