bulky mail...

The MIM challenge this week is to create your own chipboard accents - so fun!  Since their steel dies can only cut the thickness of a thin piece of cardboard at a time, the trick is to glue 5-6 layers together to get a really thick accent for your project.  The top layer should be in the cardstock color of your choice and/or stamped with the coordinating image.  And voila!  A homemade chipboard accent.

I'm also entering this card into the current CAS-fridays challenge: to use at least 3 shades of a monochromatic color, and then add the color brown as well.

I've used 2 PTI sets to create this card: "postmarks", and "tag-it's #2".  I started out with a kraft base, and added a vintage cream mat on top.  The postage border was stamped onto the cream layer in SU's real red ink.  The air-mail image in the top left corner was first stamped off on a scratch paper so that it would be less vibrant.  Same goes for the wavy cancellation lines.  Beside the wavy lines, I stamped the tag-it's frame in a rose-red, to provide a frame for my chunky postage stamps.

I stamped the postage stamp frames in "vintage photo" distress ink, and the crown and lady silhouette images in a darker, burgundy ink (SU's cherry cobbler.)

The sentiment was stamped in the same brown distress ink, and stamped again over-top without re-inking.  In person, it gives the softest shadow-effect.


Thanks for looking!

MIM - on Saturday

This week really flew by... I haven't missed participating in a MIM challenge yet, and I didn't want to break my streak.  I have to admit that I'm not head-over-heels for this card.  The stitching is sloppy, which is bugging me.... but at least the kids were excited by this card!  They asked that it be given to them on Easter Sunday, with "lots of chocolate, ok?" haha.

The challenge this week is "heat-embossing."  Really not my go-to technique. At all.  I find it messy and I absolutely hate it if it's not cleanly done.  When there are extra gold or silver or (even worse) white flecks on the paper?  blech.  So I mostly (when I do heat-emboss) use clear embossing powder.  Wanna see it closer-up?

The kids had fun running their fingers over the stamped images.  So did I, truth be told.  

ps - did you notice the eggs in my apothecary jar?  I stamped PTI's "textstyle II" and "background basics: gingham" onto white tissue paper (y'know, the filler you put into your gift bags) and then modge-podged strips onto some dollar-store plastic eggs.  Our crafty spring decor... 

Card supplies

stamps: friendship jar spring fillers, tag-its (PTI)

paper: whisper white, certainly celery, baja breeze, pink pirouette, daffodil delight, bashful blue dsp (all SU)

ink: versamark, daffodil delight, early espresso (all SU)

misc: clear embossing powder, scallop edge punch (SU)

birthday tags & sewing machines.

There was a lot of under-the-breath-muttering that went into this project.  I must have sounded pretty bad over the phone, because my sister packed up her 2 kids and ran over to help me out with my machine.  We're not friends, let's put it that way (my machine and I, obviously... I like my sis just fine.)   But I'd like for this relationship to work out...for so many reasons... but let's start with paper, I guess.  Work my way up to fabric later on...

Love the look of stitching on cards.  I know my stitches are far from perfect, but I think they're pretty cute.  In a "look what I finally accomplished" kind of way :)

I've never even tried the zig-zag stitch on my machine before!  I feel like I just ran a marathon.  I need to eat some chocolate to calm my nerves.

I look forward to becoming better acquainted with my sewing machine... tomorrow.

Here are the deets on my birthday tags:  I stamped the tulips from "friendship jar spring fillers" and the "happy birthday" greeting is from tag it's 1.  The tag shape and papers are all SU.  I need to use up some of my stash. Why do I keep buying more papers without using up the old ones?  It's inexplicable... some women can't resist a new pair of shoes - it's patterned paper for me :)