Korner Challenge - Polished Stone

Inspiration comes from a variety of places.  So often, my inspiration comes from YOU!!  During a Hostess Club swap this past Wednesday, one of my incredibly talented downline created this gorgeous Halloween card using the Polished Stone Technique.  Tell  me that's not just killer??  Patty inspires me with so many different ideas with her swap cards and this one is no different.  As soon as I saw it, I knew today's challenge was going to be Polished Stone!

Polished Stone is a technique created using glossy card stock, a cotton ball, rubbing alcohol and reinkers.  The link above will take you to a wonderful tutorial in Split Coast Stampers if you're new to this particular technique.  For my card, I'm still working on fall colors.  the leaves in my yard are starting to turn and pretty soon, I'll have enough of them on the ground to fill a couple dozen lawn bags.  While I'm not a big fan of raking, I love the blanket of color it gives.

Now it's your turn!  Grab some glossy paper and your favorite reinkers and make try this fun technique.  I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Kelli's Card Recipe
Stamp Set - Upsy Daisy
Card Stock - More Mustard, Cajun Craze, Basic Black, Glossy White
Ink - Versamark Pad, Daffodil Delight Classic Reinker, More Mustard Classic Reinker, Cajun Craze Classic Reinker
Accessories - 5/8" Basic Black Satin Ribbon, Black Stampin Emboss Powder, Cotton Balls, Rubbing Alcohol, Heat Tool

Korner Challenge - Emboss Resisting

Happy Friday!!  Thank goodness, right?  It's been a really busy week in Kelli's Korner. We're having a yard sale at our house on Saturday.  I've dedicated my day and night today to getting ready for the sale.  It's a lot of work but I'm really hoping it will be well worth it.  I'm really looking forward to decluttering my life :)

Today's Korner Challenge is a technique called Emboss Resisting.  I think Emboss Resist is cool because it gets out your Craft inks (or Versamark), lets you get your fingers inky, and makes a beautiful card!  There is a great tutorial on Split Coast Stampers that you can visit for step by step instructions.  The one thing I did differently from the tutorial is that I used More Mustard Craft  ink instead of Versamark because I wanted more color in my design.

This card was another that we made for Korner Kards on Monday.  Since summer is officially over, I was really feeling some fall inspiration.  I love this color combination for fall.  I can't wait until the leaves start to change and really show such these wonderful pictures in nature.  So let's see what you can do with your Emboss Resisting.  Grab some embossing powder and get creative!  I can't wait to see what you create!

Card Recipe
Stamp Sets - Upsy Daisy
Card Stock - More Mustard, Cajun Craze, Bravo Burgundy, Very Vanilla
Ink - Bravo Burgundy Classic Ink, Cajun Craze Classic Ink, More Mustard Craft Ink
Accessories - Clear Stampin Emboss Powder, Heat Tool, SNAIL Adhesive

Love your BRAYER!!

Last night was the first in my series of brayer classes.  We were working on Brayer Basics.  I absolutely love my brayer!!  By learning a few simple techniques, you can make some amazing background and fun elements for your cards and scrapbook pages.

We started Brayer Basics by working on simple color blending.  After that, we used two colors to create a wonderful floral horizon.  Our last card used the beautiful Bride Designer Paper and our own rainbow ink pad made from baby wipes and Classic Reinkers to make fun butterfly embellishments.  Lots of learning and fun was had by all!!

Ready to learn the next step in your brayering adventure?  Join me for Brayer Beyone The Basics!  You will continue to add color, depth and design to your beautifully inked creations. Brayer Beyond the Basics will teach you to blend color, mask areas to create depth and dimension, and use new techniques to bring your brayered cards to a whole new level!


The cost for this class is $20 and includes a pack of Stamping Sponges and a bottle of Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz. You must bring your brayer to this class. If you would like to order a new brayer, you can add one at the time of registration for just $12.50.

RSVP and payment must be received by June 1. Space is limited!

This class is available as a Class To Go. With a minimum of 4 participants, this class can be conducted in your home or mine on a date of your choosing. Please plan at least two weeks in advance to allow time for payment and product ordering.

Class Options

Class Only $20.00 Class plus a Brayer $32.50

Brayered Background

I just love my brayer...or brayers, I should say.  With a little know how and some time, you can make some beautiful and fun backgrounds for your cards and scrapbook pages!  This is one of my latest brayered background creations.  I wish you could see the sparkle.  It's covered with shimmer paint mist and this card absolutely pops!

Colors used to create this background were So Saffron, Pumpkin Pie, Really Rust, Sage Shadow, Mellow Moss, Almost Artichoke and Basic Gray.  The stamp set used is Upsy Daisy, one of my favorite standbys.

It's pretty incredible to think that this card started out as a white card front.  I had a lot of fun making this design.  So much so that I whipped up 20 of them for some special customers :-) Because of the great response I've gotten from several of the brayered backgrounds I've been working on lately, I'm looking for a date to schedule a brayer class in the very near future.  Be sure to check my Facebook Fan Page or my Meetup for information on the upcoming class date.

Vintage Versamark

Ok...I'd admit this up front.  This card is a total CASE from Leadership.  It was shown in the Workshop Elements class I took and I totally fell in love with it.  It uses both the Watermark and Versamark Resist techniques (see my brief tutorial here).  The one thing I changed between my card and the one I saw is the bottom border.  Instead of using the vine stamp from Vintage Vogue, I used the Very Vintage roller in Versamark.  Same concept, tho.

I would love to give credit to the originator of this card but I can't find my materials!  If you know who created this card originally, please email me so I can update this post to give credit where credit is due.  I think this is just too totally cool to go unnoticed!

Happy Stamping!!

Vintage Versamark Resist

Another swap I'm taking with me to the Stampin' Up! Leadership conference is this fun Vintage Vogue card featuring a new stamp set of the same name from the Occasions Mini Catalog.  I'll be honest, this set really didn't do it for me when I first saw it.  I've never been all that into the old world vintage looking style.  I really couldn't quite picture exactly what I'd do with it.  Once I started playing, however, I fell in love!

The background of this card was made using a technique called Versamark Resist.  This is a fun and easy way to create your own custom backgrounds to match any of your projects.  I love this technique for scrapbooking, too!

To create a project using the Versamark Resist technique, you need Versamark Ink, a paper with a glossy finish, a brayer, and ink.  For my paper, I simply used Stampin' Up!'s Whisper White. It works really well with this technique.  Our glossy paper is great for this also but does require additional dry time.

Stamp your image all over your paper using the Versamark Ink.  I tried to get a good photo of the Versamark on the paper and if you click on the photo, you should be able to see it.

Ink up your brayer using Stampin' Up! Classic Ink in whatever color you want your background to be.  Roll over your piece several times in multiple directions to get an even coat of ink on your cardstock.  Depending on the paper you've used, you may need to let it dry for a while before you try to move it to avoid finger prints.  When I use the Stampin' Up! glossy paper for this technique, I like to let it sit for a good 2-3 minutes before I try doing anything else with it.  Dry time will also depend on how much ink you put on the image.

Once your piece is dry, use your beautifully stamped background image to create your card, scrapbook, or other work of paper art.  This can be a very addicting  technique!  Go ahead...try it! :)