Two cards for a double occasion - wedding and baptism

A neighbour asked me to create two cards for a couple who is celebrating their wedding and the baptism of their baby at the same time this weekend. So, this is the first card I came up with.
I chose a Hero Arts wedding stamp set and exchanged one of the stamps with a stork stamp. I used the gamsol magic technique for the coloring (okay, in Europe you can't get gamsol and Prismacolor pencils, so I took some odor-reduced terpentine and Karisma pencils instead), and though I think I need some more practice and perhaps should use other blending stumps, I'm pretty content with the result. I added some stickles and attached the little image panels with dimensionals. The sentiment is computer-printed.



This is the second card I came up with.
I used an old SU set with black ink and added some red stickles. I attached the stamped images with dark red cardstock onto a heart-embossed white cardstock, added a heart brad (uuumphhh, okay, just to cover a little spot...), some polka-dot sheer ribbon, some beaded wire with felt hearts, a computer-generated sentiment and some white gelly pens dots at the lower border.
Look for the second card, too!

What do you think? Which card do you like better?

Hi everybody!
I'm back from my trip to Sweden - I really had some wonderful days! My dh and I did not only celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary there with our familiy and friends, but also my birthday, and I got tons of new stamps!!! Nevertheless, today it was a no-stamp day, I first had to do the laundry (okay, I know, "stamping ever - housework never", but sometimes it just MUST be done...). So I just loaded up this quick silver wedding anniversary card I made for some neighbours recently. I wanted to show you the wonderful cuttlebug heart and the stamped chipboard numbers. I love this cuttlebug die which not only die-cuts the heart but also embosses it in different ways. And I love those chipboard numbers. They come self-adhesive and already coated with white cardstock, so you only have to stamp onto them! The paper in the upper part of the card is embroidered.

Tutorials wanted?
I have been asked for some stampoard tutorial. Is anybody else interested in such a tutorial? Or some other tutorials on the techniques I use? Please let me know what you are interested in, then I'll upload some tutorials of course! I love to read your comments!

Ever worked with Stampboard?

I'm going to travel to Stockholm, Sweden, tomorrow with my whole family - parents, parents-in-law, my brother and his fiancée. We're going to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary there. So, preparing this trp, I didn't really have the time to stamp.

Nevertheless, I want to show you a wonderful technique. Have you ever used stampboard yet? Stampboard is a thick material covered with a ceramic-like surface. You can stamp on it and color it with almost any colours or inks - everything works fine on it. And the most wonderful thing is, you can scratch into the coloured image to highlight some parts of the image.
Here you see a card on which I used three stampboard tiles. I sponged them with some Fluid Chalk inks first, then stamped on them with Black StazOn ink. Then I scratched some highlights into the tiles with a fine needle tool. I attached the tiles onto a black card on which I had stamped and clear-embossed a script background stamp. I like the effect very much, and it's an easy technique. And - if you don't like a result, just scratch off the ink and start again ;-)
Have a wonderful rest of the week - I'll be back on Sunday.

Asian Simplicity

I love Asian stamps, and after making so many sponged and brayered cards in the last weeks, I wanted to experiment a little bit with strong, non-shaded colors and clear designs. I stamped the water scene with VersaMark onto terracotta cardstock and embossed it with black powder. Then I went with a white gelly pen along the embossed lines to highlight them. I attached the scene onto white and black cardstock.
The background paper is made from black cardstock which I run through a cuttlebug embossing folder which I had inked up with Brilliance Copper ink. Though I used this "cuttlebug negative effect" before, I was really overwhelmed how "coppery" this turned out! I added a copper twine and a punched-out Asian symbol which I attached to a terracotta circle punch, again highlighted with a white gelly pen.
Though this is a VERY simple card and took only ten minutes, I really love how it turned out!
What do you think about it?

Bella Meets Zindorf

Just in the mood for some goofy thing this evening...
Playing around with today's Splitcoaststampers' sketch challenge, I wanted to use my Cruisabella (perhaps some result of my yearning for some sun, with so much rain in the last weeks that I could hardly use my convertible this summer!). But I wanted to do some brayering and sponging, too - I'm always practising in some silly hope that one day I could achieve "Zindorfian" results... Do you know Michelle Zindorf's wonderful Blog with those gorgeous tutorials? Please check out my blog list on the right and look at Michelle's blog!
SO - though I assume that Michelle would never use a Bella on her cards and though I assume that Bella-Fans hardly use a brayer I just imagined how Bella would look like if she just was on her way to a private Zindorf-brayering class... (oh my gosh, would I be envious of her about that, LOL).
I first stamped Bella with Black StazOn on glossy cardstock, then masked her completely with some post-it notes and created the street, grass, sky and sun by sponging different shades of Adirondack inks (masking parts of the scene as needed). I added some definition to the grass with some mini stamps and added some flowers with markers. Then I stamped the trees, Bella still being masked. I removed the masks and colored Bella, the car and the trees with Tombow markers and added some highlights with a white gelly pen. Oh, by the way, I didn't expect the Tombow markers to work on glossy cardstock and first tried LetrasetProMarkers, but they seem to use the same solvent as the StazOn ink does, so they smeared a little bit. I then tried the Tombows, and, surprise-surprise, they work excellent on glossy cardstock!
Finally I attached the scene onto green cardstock, added the corner brads, the ribbon and dp and attached it onto a white card. Oh, and because it's a BellaMobile, it needed some sparkle, so I added rhinestones for the headlamps.
Michelle, please forgive me, I love your cards and tutorials, I just had to do something daffy, so I combined your wonderful scenes with this Bella! And all you Bella-holics, please forgive me, I really admire your super-sweet and perfect Bella cards - I'll try to get to something more "serious" again next time...
BUT...don't you think, this Cruisabella has just a lot of fun on her way to the private Zindorf class???

Doggy Congratulations

A neighbour asked me to create a card for a 60th birthday for a lady breeding chihuahuas. As I don't have any chihuahua stamp (you see, I'm more with the bigger dogs, I've got an Australian Shephard), I used these little guys and told them to line up... a hard thing to do for those bubbly doggies! They squabbled a little bit about who had the prettiest flower, but finally, I hope, they'll make some fine congrats!

The dogs are stamped with black Memories ink onto watercolor paper, then watercolored in the layering technique. This means that you start with very much water and only a very little bit of colour, then dry this layer and add some more color but only on parts of the light-colored area. Then dry again, add some more color on a little part and so on. You can achieve wonderful color shades with this technique, it only needs some patience. You can speed up the drying process with your heat tool.
Noses and belly buttons were colored with a black marker (again, some patience is needed, I was a little bit too early with the last dog's belly button, so it flew a little bit). I added some mini Prima flowers with mini brads onto the stamped flowers and attached the panel to brown cardstock, pawprint designer paper and finally added a sentiment (congratulations) and two mini paw-print stickers with the numbers 60.

Okay, doggies, and now please the barking choir: Hap-bark woof-day woof you...

What an honor!

I'm soooo surprised and honored! Though my blog is still so small and not really regularly updated, Sankari nominated me for the Brilliante Weblog Award! Thank you, Sankari, you're so much encouraging me with your kind comments. Sankari has a wonderful blog with really outstanding card designs. Please take a look at her blog: Sankari's Sunshine Corner

Here are the award rules:
1) Put the logo on your blog.
2) Add a link to the person who awarded you.
3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4) Add links to those blogs on yours.

Here are my 7 nominations:

1) Silke - My Life
This was one of the first blogs I read regularly, and I got sooo much inspiration from Silke's clean and bright card designs. Sparkle Girl, I don't comment much on your blog, but I love it!

2) Elyssa - Confessions of a Teenage Scrapper
Elyssa is a real amazing girl working in such a rich variety of styles, designs and techniques. Incredible that she's still so young, and for sure a proof that your daughters can't start stamping or scrapping too early!

3) Kim - Paper in the Works
Kim creates really outstanding cards. I especially love the rich details and soft color combinations which make her cards unique.

4) Julia - Addicted to Paper
Julia is my special favorite when I'm looking for fresh and amazing card designs. She always uses great card sketches, and most of her cards have that touch of a smile...

5) Dawn - Treasure Oiler Designz
Dawn creates really beautiful cards, mostly using SU stamps. I love her sometimes unexpected color combinations.

6) Debbie - Thinking Inking
Thinking Coloring would be more suitable, Debbie! You're the Queen of Copics, H2Os and all other kinds of colors! I love our colorful, cheery designs!

7) Meg - Waxy's Whims
Again, someone who impresses me by the variety of styles she uses. A small blog, but a blog of highest quality - that's what counts, doesn't it?

Sunshine??? Where's the sunshine???

It's been a rainy day, no, a rainy week in Germany, and what do the Splotcoasters do??? They come up with a sunshine-themed challenge!!! AAAAARRRGGGHHHHH!!!!! A limited supplies challenge: no designer paper, few embellishments, only sunshine...

Hey, this was an inbelievable hard challenge for a someone who has to stand the German rain which has been lasting for more than a week now - without any stop (except for a tiny little thunderstorm, perhaps...)!
So my limited supplies was the sunshine!!! Not any embellishments!!! LOL!!!
I stamped a scene with some Zindorf-influence (Do you know Michelle Zindorf's wonderful cards? Look at my blog list!), knowing that I never achieve her wonderful results, but nevertheless trying again and again. The palm tree was stamped and colored with markers, then covered with a Versamark pen and embossed with clear powder. I then sponged the island, sea and sky with a lot of Adirondack and Memento inks. I added some waves with a white gelly pen and overstamped the word Sunshine in black, then added some highlights with the white gelly pen. And I couldn't resist to use some tiny beach elements as embellishment (please don't use the buzzer on me because of that, blame it on my sun withdrawal!).

Do you like the card?

Positive and Negative

I'm always fascinated of the possibilities you have with positive/negative images.
You achieve stunning results with just simply overstamping positive and negative images, or use it as contrasting parts on the same card, or stamping the negative image onto colored paper or designer paper so that the color of the paper shows through, or stamping the positive image on acetate and layer it over the negative image, or... I'd rather stop before midnight! ;-)

For this card, I first sponged the negative flower stamp with different shades of blue fluid chalks and stamped it onto white cardstock. Then I overstamped the positive flower with dark blue ink. I then dried the panel and finally overstamped and gold-embossed the positive flower and edged the panel with a gold Krylon pen.
The panel is mounted onto gold glimmer paper, then onto a dark blue cuttlebug-embossed panel, again on gold glimmer paper and finally onto a white card. I embellished the card with some golden flower brads and a sentiment on an oval dark blue panel, edged with a gold Krylon pen.
It's a very easy card - yet I like it. What do you think?

This is a card I stamped recently for a friend. It uses a technique I call the acetate shadow technique. It's a little bit time consuming, but otherwise easy and guarantees for great results.

I first stamped the flowers with Versamark onto watercolor paper. Then I embossed it with white powder. After that I created a watercolor wash as background - important is to do this with a little patience in many layers (drying it with your heat tool between the layers speeds up the process), because only then you achieve all those color shades. After having finished this piece, I stamped the image again - this time with Black Memories onto acetate. Then I attached the acetate panel over the watercolor panel with some eyelets, but put it just a tiny bit beside the lines - so this is the way you get the black and white contrast. Because the acetate is not fully attached to the watercolor panel, there's a very little space in between the two panels what makes the acetate image give a slight shadow onto the watercolor panel and creates more depth and interest.

I mounted the panel onto some pink cardsock, then onto a green designer paper, added a ribbon and two scallop ovals (punched with my Marvy Uchida Scallop Punches) with a sentiment (Stampin'Up) and some stickles.

I hope you like it - try this technique yourself and have fun!

Hi!

I had some hard time during the last months, so it took a while until I could continue with my new-born blog. I hope I'll have the chance to go on now in a more regular way - please be patient with me until I'll have found my rhythm.

This is a fun card I created today. I love this little dog stamp (from American Art Stamps) and the sentiment. I've got a dog of my own, and he REALLY makes me happy even on the greyest days!!!

The dog is stamped with Memories Black ink on light blue cardstock, then watercolored. Then I used my Spellbinders Nestabilities to get the scallop rectangle out of the panel - okay, it would have been easier to do the die cut first and stamp on it after that, but I did it vice versa... LOL!
The borders are sponged with Colorbox Fluid Chalks.
I prepared the card with a cuttlebug folger, then attached the layers on it.
I used a design paper from Diecuts With a View (I love their dogs stack!). Then I added the ribbon, a heart rhinestone and a pawprint sticker. Because the sticker looked a little bit flat, I attached a clear epoxy sticker over it. Last I added some dots and lines with a jelly pen.
It's a quick and easy card - I hope you like it!
Have a nice evening everybody!