Happy Hallowe'en and Hoppy Birthday

When searching for an image that would look good in green to compliment the colours in my patterned paper, the first thing that came to mind was a frog. I had to have this Technique Tuesday stamp set since it came with the appropriate sentiment.

Natalie

Card Recipe
Stamps: Technique Tuesday
Papers: white cardstock (Georgia Pacific), blue & green cardstocks (Bazzill)
Inks: Colorbox green & Versafine Black
Accessories: label punch (Stampin' Up), Spellbinder Labels & Circles, brads (Doodlebug)

Twinkle, Twinkle...

On this card I wanted to "run with the sentiment". Since it had candles in it, I accented the candles on the cake with Stickles of the same colour as the green ink.

Natalie

Card Recipe
Stamps: sentiment (Hampton Art Studio G), image (Stampin' Up)
Papers: white cardstock (Georgia Pacific), patterned (KI Memories)
Inks: Colorbox Citrus & Cerulean
Accessories: Spellbinder Labels, Lime Stickles, ribbon (stash)

Just My Type

Though the patterned paper on this card was made up of letters, I thought that the difference in type and size would not make it difficult to read the sentiment. The white frame also sets the "Enjoy Your Birthday" apart from the background, as do the solid gift images.

Natalie

Card Recipe
Stamps: sentiment (Hero Arts), image (Stampin' Up)
Papers: white cardstock (Georgia Pacific), patterned paper (KI Memories)
Inks: Colorbox Citrus & Cerulean, Versafine Black
Accessories: brads & buttons & embroidery thread (stash), ribbon (Fabricland), Spellbinders Label Die

Go Big or...

The big print on this card allowed me to use bigger brads and wider ric rac. Along with colours, keep in mind the size of the pattern in your paper when choosing embellishments.

Natalie

Card Recipe
Stamps: sentiment & frame (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Versafine Black
Papers: white cardstock (Georgia Pacific), blue (Bazzill), patterned (KI Memories)
Accessories: brads & ric rac (stash), Tim Holtz Ticket Die

The Ticket Trend

Thanks to Tim Holtz of Ranger Industries, tickets continue to be a hot icon in the stamping world. He has a ticket die, along with coordinating stamps. Here I have used a stamp from a Papertrey Ink stamp set. See how you can incorporate this idea into your work to make it current.

Natalie

Card Recipe
Stamps: sentiment & frame (Papertrey Ink)
Papers: white cardstock (Georgia Pacific), blue & green cardstocks (Bazzill), KI Memories
Ink: Versafine Black
Accessories: Tim Holtz Ticket Die, ribbon (Doodlebug)

Dressing Up Die Cuts

The die cut given to me was made with a Cricut. I enhanced the bird by using Distress Ink on the edges and glitter on the wing and tail tips.

Natalie

Card Recipe
Stamp: Papertrey Ink
Papers: cardstocks (stash)
Ink: Versafine Black, Distress Milled Lavender
Accessories: Quickutz Embossing Folder, Cricut, iridescent glitter (stash)

3D Stamping in Reverse

3D Stamping is done by stamping an image in white ink and then restamping the same image, somewhat offset, in a coloured in. In this case, I stamped the image in coloured ink, to find that it wasn't distinct enough from the colour of the cardstock. Then I restamped the bird in white ink, resulting in a dimensional image. This technique works well with snowflakes.

Natalie

Card Recipe
Stamps: image (Stampin' Up), sentiment (Papertrey Ink)
Paper: cardstock (stash)
Inks: Colorbox Frost, Distress Milled Lavender, Versafine Black
Accessories: Quickutz Embossing Folder, rhinestone (Kaiser)

A Touch Up

The versatility of white flower cannot be understated. I took one and inked the edges of it to make it match my cardstock. It's a good idea to have a good inventory of white flowers of various types and sizes. You can always colour them to suit your needs.

Natalie

Card Recipe
Stamp: Impression Obsession
Ink: Versafine Black
Paper: cardstocks (stash)
Accessories: flower (stash), embossing folder (Quickutz), stamp positioner (EK Success), leaf punch (Marvy)

Round'em Up

This was a very quick sympathy card to make. A stamp positioner allowed me to get the sentiment perfectly where it belonged. The light colour of the cardstock still made stamping the sentiment in the right spot a challenge, so I used painter's tape above and below the dry embossed rectangle. To give the card more elegance, I used a corner rounder. It's another tool most of us have and often forget to use, despite it's profound effect.

Natalie

Card Recipe
Stamp: Impression Obsession
Paper: cardstock (stash)
Ink: Colorbox grey
Accessories: painter's tape, stamp positioner (EK Success), Quickutz Embossing Folder

Puttin' on Some Weight

Though the darker paper is patterned, it's faint design left the flower embellishment somewhat "floating". To anchor it, I die cut some flourishes; this is a great alternative to using leaves, as I have done so many times. To balance the card, I added a punched corner, adored with brads.

Natalie

Card Recipe
Papers: cardstock (Bazzill), patterned (Daisy D's)
Ink: Colorbox Berrilicious
Accessories: corner punch (EK Success), Spellbinder Blossom Dies, button (stash), brads (stash), flourish die (Quickutz)

All in the Family

Unlike the Cuttlebug Embossing Folders, Spellbinder Impressailities are a metal template. They result in a somewhat softer dry embossed paper. To pull this card together, I used patterned paper and ribbon from the same product line--All My Memories. The lighter weight patterned paper was scrunched rather than dry embossed to avoid tearing it.

Natalie

Card Recipe
Papers: cardstocks (Bazzill), patterned (AMM)
Ink: Colorbox Maroon
Accessories: ribbon (AMM), button (stash), Spellbinders Label Die, Spellbinders Butterfly Impressabilities

Solemn Sympathy

I thought that the colours in the patterned paper were appropriate for a sympathy card. I took advantage of the die cut design to add a variety of sizes of brads.

Natalie

Card Recipe
Stamp: PSX
Papers: cardstock (Bazzill), patterned (Creative Imaginations)
Ink: Colorbox Blackberry
Accessories: brads (stash), Spellbinder Labels

Very Vintage

Purple hues tend to lend themselves to a vintage look. With this theme in mind I chose the Victoria Cuttlebug embossing folder to create a band for the card that matched the embossed layers of the flower. The lighter weight of this patterned paper did not allow me to moisten the flower layers with Glimmer Mist; I crumpled each layer and flatted them out before adhering them together with Glossy Accents. This is a fabulous adhesive!

Natalie

Card Recipe
Papers: silver cardstock (stash), purple cardstock (Bazzill), patterned (Creative Imaginations)
Ink: Colorbox Blackberry
Accessories: brad (stash), Cuttlebug Embossing Folder, Spellbinder Dahlia Dies, Glossy Accents

A Border of Buttons

Instead of a paper or ribbon border, I made this one out of buttons. The variety in colour and size add interest to the card design. Vintage Photo Distress Ink along the edges of the pieces of paper add to the chic/shabby look of the card.

Natalie

Card Recipe
Stamp: image (PSX), sentiment (Gina K.)
Papers: off white cardstock (stash), patterned paper (K & Company)
Ink: Distress Vintage Photo, Staz On Timber
Accessories: buttons (stash), Spellbinder Ovals

Stamps and Coordinating Dies

Here I've used a sentiment stamp from the Fanciful Tags set, sold by Gina K. Designs. The images were made to work with the Spellbinder tag dies. I accented the tag with matching Sugar Spun Distress Ink and Stickles.

Heartfelt Creations has also produced stamps that work with Spellbinder dies. Deb has them for sale. I hope to get a sample done soon.

Natalie

Card Recipe
Stamp: Fanciful Tags (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Verafine Black, Distress Spun Sugar
Papers: pink cardstock (Bazzill), patterned paper (Basic Grey)
Accessories: Distress Stickles, Spellbinder Tag Dies

Shimmer It

Creating the illusion of shimmering wings gives a design movement. I achieved this with irridescent glitter on a layer of clear drying liquid adhesive.

Natalie

Card Recipe
Stamp: Verve
Ink: Versafine Black, Distress Spun Sugar
Papers: pink & green cardstocks (Bazzill), patterned (Basic Grey)
Accessories: Spellbinder Ovals, border punch (EK Success), glitter (stash), rhinestones (Kaiser), ribbon (stash)

Sweet Sympathy

Butterflies make a pretty embellishment for a sympathy card. The small patterned paper provides a good background for it. I found this paper in a pad of patterned baby paper from Linda G. Once again, look at papers in terms of their pattern size and colour, rather than just their theme.

Natalie

Card Recipe
Stamp: Papertrey Ink
Papers: pink cardstock (Bazzill), patterned (Sandy Lion)
Ink: Versafine Black
Accessories: Quickutz Embossing Folder, butterfly punch (Martha Stewart), pearls (Kaiser)

Simple Sympathy

The simple elegance of dry embossing is perfect for a sympathy card. Choose appropriate cardstock colours for this card type.

Natalie

Card Recipe
Stamp: Papertrey Ink
Papers: green & off white cardstocks (stash), patterned (K & Co.)
Ink: PSX Moss
Accessories: embossing folder (Quickutz), Spellbinders Label die, leaf punch (Marvy)

Poppin' Pieces

Inspired by my good friend, Judy, I love to stamp images on both solid and patterned pieces of paper, cutting some elements out of the patterned paper for layering. Let the fashion designer in you come out to play!

I gave her hair dimension with Glossy Accents.

Natalie

Card Recipe
Stamps: sentiment (Uptown Rubber Stamps), image (Stamping Bella)
Ink: Verafine black
Papers: white cardstock (Georgia Pacific), brown cardstockBazzill), patterned (Basic Grey)
Accessories: brads (Doodlebug), ribbon (stash), Glossy Accents (

"Pursonally" One of My Favourites

I often use scraps to make 3 X 3 gift cards. This is my best one to date. I used a Spellbinders Label die to cut a "flap" for the top of the card. A corner rounder was used on the bottom of the card base. Edges of the card pieces were inked to pull all of the card elements together.

Natalie

Card Recipe
Stamp: Papertrey Ink
Ink: Colorbox brown
Papers: off white cardstock (stash), patterned (Basic Grey)
Accessories: Spellbinders Labels, button & embroidery thread (stash)

Flower Power

This punched flower looked similar to the flowers in the patterned paper, so I chose to use it on my 3 X 3 gift card. To emulate the texture in the patterned paper, I sprayed the flower with Glimmer Mist. I used Distress Stickles for my flower centre. These come in colours that coordinate with the Distress Inks!

Natalie

Card Recipe
Papers: off white cardstock (stash), patterned paper (Basic Grey)
Ink: Colorbox brown
Accessories: ribbon & brad (stash), punch (Martha Stewart), Aged Mahogany Distress Stickles

Resist with White Embossing

Resist is a great technique to try with Distress Inks. Rather than use a clear embossing powder, I wanted to see what would result with white embossing powder. Though the powder is not as white as cardstock, it wasn't tinted at all by the ink. If the cardstock on which you stamp your image is not white, your resisted image will be the colour of your cardstock. Consequently, if you want it to be white, white embossing powder is required.

Natalie

Card Recipe
Stamp: image (CTMH), sentiment (Papertrey Ink)
Inks: white (Colorbox), black (Versafine), blue & green (Distress--Broken China & Shabby Shutters)
Papers: white cardstock (Georgia Pacific), blue cardstockArtisian Pool--Bazzill)
Accessories: distress tool, parls & rhinestones (Kaiser), white embossing powder (stash)
(

The Apple of My Eye

So far this is my most daring use of Distress Inks. I incorporated 4 of them in the process of making this card: Crushed Olive, Bundled Sage, Fired Brick and Vintage Photo. With practice, the blending of these inks gets easier and creating backgrounds for images stamped in permanent ink is a breeze. The key is to drag the blending tool from the silicon craft mat on to the stamped image. Be sure to stamp your image with a permanent ink. These inks have given me a way to colour detailed images other than simply stamping them on coloured cardstock.

Natalie

Card Recipe
Stamp: Rubber Stampede
Papers: white cardstock (Georgia Pacific), blue cardstock (stash), patterned paper (stash)
Inks: Versafine Black, Distress (see above)
Accessories: Spellbinders Labels 11, ribbon (Martha Stewart), brad & anchor (Junkitz), distressing tool

Safety First

Over the years, I have collected many items for embellishing cards, but I often forget to use them. I thought this black safety pin was a perfect accent for a Hallowe'en card.

Natalie

Card Recipe
Papers: off white cardstock (stash), patterned (Debbie Mumm)
Accessories: safety pin (Making Memories), ribbon (stash), sticker (stash), brads (stash), scalloped circle punch (Stampin' Up), eyelet (stash)

Puttin' the PIeces Together

Here's where Distress Inks came in handy. This patterned paper was from a mat stack. Consequently, I had to cut it down to size to fit an A2 card. In doing so, I used the distressing on one side. I used Antique Linen Distress Ink along the side of the cardstock that had been trimmed. I was not only able to make the sides of the card front match, but I salvaged the strip I cut off, inked its edges and used it to embellish the card front too.

Natalie

Card Recipe
Papers: white cardstock (Georgia Pacific), patterned (DCWV)
Ink: Antique Linen Distress
Accessories: brads (stash)

Double Up

I put my Spellbinders Label die on double duty. I cut a piece of patterned paper and a piece of black cardstock the same size. When adhering them to the card, I shifted the black cardstock 1/8" to the right, creating a perfect border.

Natalie

Card Recipe
Stamp: Impression Obsession
Papers: white & black cardstocks (Georgia Pacific & stash), patterned (Ambrosia--Basic Grey)
Ink: Versafine Black
Accessories: Spellbinders Labels, buttons & embroidery thread (stash)

A Tree for All Seasons

Versatility is always a key factor in choosing stamps. I "blinged" this tree in orange crystals for my Hallowe'en card, but there's no reason the same image couldn't be dressed in autumn leaves, snowflakes or hearts. For a change I used curled wire in my button holes, rather than embroidery thread.

Natalie

Card Recipe
Stamps: image (Inkadinkado), sentiment (Impression Obsession)
Papers: cardstock (Bazzill), patterned (DCWV)
Ink: Versafine Black
Accessories: Spellbinder Labels, buttons (stash), wire (stash)

Customize Your Flocking

To make grey flocking, I simply put some black and some white flocking in a plastic baggie and shook it. I was very pleased that the resulting colour matched the grey cardstock.

Natalie

Card Recipe
Stamp: Stampabilities
Ink: Versafine Black
Papers: orange & grey cardstocks (Bazzill Canvas & Thunder)), patterned (Heidi Grace)
Accessories: Spellbinder Scalloped Circles, grey & white flocking (Stampendous), buttons & embroidery thread (stash), googly eyes (stash)

Sparkle It!

To bring this ghost to life, I applied a coat of tacky glue and some white glitter. I was pleased to find cardstock that perfectly matched the ribbon I had.

Natalie

Card Recipe
Stamp: Michael's
Ink: Versafine Black
Papers: black cardstock (stash), orange cardstock (Bazzill)
Accessories: ribbon (stash), glitter (stash), Spellbinder Long Rectangles, brads (stash)

All Things Pumpkin

To high light the dimension in the dry embossed cardstock, I applied Glimmer Mist. It's a good idea to choose Glimmer Mist colours that will coordinate with the cardstock and/or ink colours that you use most.

Natalie

Card Recipe
Stamp: Hampton Arts Studio G
Ink: Versafine Black, Colorbox Charcoal
Papers: orange cardstock (Bazzill Canvas), patterned paper (Heidi Grace)
Accessories: ribbon (stash), Spellbinder Fancy Tags, Mimosa Glimmer Mist

Just A Lil' Bling Will Do It

Here again I highlighted some of the elements in the patterned paper to coordinate with the accents on the framed "Happy Hallowe'en".

Natalie

Card Recipe
Stamp: Hero Arts
Papers: cardstock (Bazzill Yam), patterned (Heidi Grace)
Inks: Versafine Black and Colorbox Charcoal
Accessories: Stickles, Spellbinder die