Taking the Positive with the Negative - Take 3

You know I love an opportunity to showcase positive and negative dies.  It's becoming a thing with me, and so here is my third post using it all!  This one is birthday themed.  

So let me first say that there is an element of stenciling on this one, best seen in the negative space, and it was the element that I was truly trying to capture in my original piece.  So let's cover the negative first.  This one was inspired by the prompt at AAA Birthday to use a stencil. 

I have the Spotlight Stencil from Catherine Pooler Designs that has this really cool circle bursts.  And then I have the Circle Window Die from Close To My Heart.  While I knew they weren't a match, I thought they would make an interesting pair.  So I created a water color piece using Ken Oliver Color Burst in Catherine Pooler ink colors.  I then stenciled with some white pigment ink to lighten within the stencil images, embossed using some Wow embossing glitter and then after heat setting, I used my die to get my circles. I love the result. 

A little sparkle and a little shine.  I love the boldness of the watercolor pieces here.  I used the matching Catherine Pooler Inks to color the candle . . . and of course, added some sequins. 

And so that positive piece, which in this case was the leftover piece for me.  Had to use it. You can still see the rich color and the stencil pieces which almost seem to highlight each circle.  I'm in love with this stencil and die together! 

For my sentiment spot, I connected two of the circles, and love the result there.

These colors just make me happy.  

I hope I've inspired you to look for options for all your negative and positive pieces.  Go create!  

Debbie

Supplies Used - Make a Wish

Stamps and Dies:  Birthday Joy Stamp Set and Multi-Circle Window Die (Close To My Heart);

Ink & Embossing:  Melon Ice Embossing Glitter and Embossing Pad (Wow); Limoncello and Mardi Gras Color Burst (Ken Oliver and Catherine Pooler); Midnight, Limoncello and Mardi Gras Ink (Catherine Pooler); White Pigment Ink (Color Box);

Paper: Premium White Cardstock (Catherine Pooler Designs); Watercolor Paper (Canson);

Other: Diamond Stickles (Ranger); Spotlight Stencil and Big Apple Sequin Mix (Catherine Pooler Designs);

 

Supplies Used - Let's Celebrate

Stamps and Dies:  Birthday Joy Stamp Set and Multi-Circle Window Die (Close To My Heart);

Ink & Embossing:  Melon Ice Embossing Glitter and Embossing Pad (Wow); Limoncello and Mardi Gras Color Burst (Ken Oliver and Catherine Pooler); Midnight, Limoncello, Mardi Gras and Suede Shoes Ink (Catherine Pooler); Tuxedo Black (Memento); Copic Markers; White Pigment Ink (Color Box);

Paper: Pineapple Punch Cardstock (Stampin' Up); Premium White Cardstock (Catherine Pooler Designs); Watercolor Paper (Canson);

Other: Diamond Stickles (Ranger); Spotlight Stencil and Big Apple Sequin Mix (Catherine Pooler Designs);

Taking the Positive with the Negative - Take 1

I'm such a hoarder of scraps that I've made a conscious decision to use my positive and negative die pieces immediately so I don't have small bags of scraps hanging around in my crafty space.  Not to mention, they are easier to piece together if you use them at the same time, as you can place your negative pieces easier when you have the positive framework as a guide. 

I was inspired by the World Card Making Day Event at StampNation to create a card using all pieces from the die.  I wanted to post them together so you can see the value in using it all, and I've started a few other cards, hence the "Take 1", as you'll see some other creations down the road.  

So here is the first of my two cards.  Let's start with the positive die creation.  I used a stencil from Catherine Pooler Designs and watercolor with emboss resist for my background, and then cut a frame to create a shaker card.  

I was not a fan of how the embossing in some areas was heavier than others, but then I die cut the piece and it really adds some interest.  I turned this piece into a Halloween card using some stamps from Close To My Heart. 

 So then a I had to get to work with the negative pieces.  Most would toss them, but can't get rid of my scraps.  For this one, I flipped in the other direction and went with a fall themed card using my newest Club Sursee set.  

I brought in some complimentary colors of ink and couldn't not have been happier with how this one turned out.  I think the design on that thermos went well with the design of the stencil.  

While these aren't traditional fall colors (the purple), used muted tones for this one.  Entering it in Try it on Tuesday where the prompt was all about fall colors.  

I can't wait to play with some other pieces on my table, and I encourage you to "take the positive with the negative" both in crafting and in life.  

Cheers - and go get inky.  

Debbie

Supplies Used - Ghostly Greetings Shaker

Stamps and Dies:  Booticul Characters and Multi Square Windows Die (Close To My Heart);

Ink & Embossing:  Embossing Pad and Opaque Bright White Embossing Powder (Wow); Royal Treatment, Sugared Lavender, Pink Champagne (Catherine Pooler Inks); White Pigment Ink (Color Box);  Tuxedo Black (Memento); Copic Markers;

Paper:  Premium White Cardstock (Catherine Pooler); Watercolor Paper (Canson); Window Plastic (Judikens);

Other:  All Linked Up Stencil (Catherine Pooler Designs); Seed Beads (Simon Says Stamp); Spooky Days Mix (Pretty Pink Posh); 

 

Supplies Used - It's Pumpkin Season

Stamps and Dies:  It's Pumpkin Season Stamp Set and Dies (Catherine Pooler Designs); Multi Square Windows Die (Close To My Heart);

Ink & Embossing:  Embossing Pad and Opaque Bright White Embossing Powder (Wow); Royal Treatment, Sugared Lavender, Pink Champagne, Midnight, Icing on the Cake, Orange Peel, Twilight, Green Tea Grape Crush (Catherine Pooler Inks); White Pigment Ink (Color Box); 

Paper:  Premium White Cardstock (Catherine Pooler); Watercolor Paper (Canson); Window Plastic (Judikens); Wink of Stella Clear (Zig);

Other:  All Linked Up Stencil (Catherine Pooler Designs); Crater Lake Sequin Mix (Catherine Pooler Designs);

 

 

She Who Leaves a Trail of Glitter

I was inspired to create a card with two challenges in the back of my head.  One was to use a stencil (inspired by a challenge at StampNation), and the other was to create something layered with mixed media for the Happy Little Stampers Mixed Media  challenge.  

This is not super mixed media, but I decided to explore the layering effects from distress oxides, and then to layer some glass glitter bead gel over the top.  I love how the oxides layer, rather than blend.  And the glitter bead gel over the top is such a great effect. 

 

Again, perhaps not super mixed media, but fun to explore the layering with some mixed media products.

I hope you find some time to create today.

Debbie

Supplies Used - Trail of Glitter

Stamps and Dies:  Trail of Glitter (Riley & Company Funny Bones)

Ink & Embossing:  Peacock Feathers, Picked Raspberry and Spiced Marmalade (Ranger Distress Oxide Inks); Black Onyx (Versafine); Clear Embossing Powder (WOW);

Paper: Solar White (Neenah); Yellow Dot Paper (Bo Bunny); Vellum (Bazzill);

Other: Pink Peonies, Marigold, and Aqiuamarine Sequins from Pretty Pink Posh; Glass Bead Glitter Gel (Faber Castell); Zone Art Screens (Color Box)

July 2017 - A Year of Card Making Techniques - Bleaching Your Cards

Welcome to A Year of Card Techniques Blog Hop where each month we feature a different card technique.  We’ve assembled a team of card makers who range from new to advanced, so you’ll see a great variety of cards and ideas.

From laundry, to disinfectant, to fashion, bleach is a staple in many households; but did you know you can use bleach in your card making and paper crafting? Yup, from stamping, to painting, and several techniques in between, we’re going to share our experiments with you. And if you would like to check out our past technique hops, you can do that here:

• January-Shaving Cream Marbleizing
• February-So Sketchy
• March-no hop this month
• April-Stamp Set Showdown
• May-World of Watercolor
• June-Basic Card Folds

Our  amazing sponsor this month is Debbie Bonczek of Close to My Heart.  (Hey that's me!)  

Please take a moment to check out the great products Close to My Heart has to offer. To visit my blog, click here.

And the awesome prize this month is:

 This super cute stamp set, ad the mini stapler pictured below!

We really appreciate feedback, so please leave a comment on each of the blogs in the hop today. While you are encouraged to comment at any time, only comments received by Friday, July 21, 2017 at 8:00pm (EST) will be eligible to win. The winner will be announced on Sunday, July 23, 2017 on A Piece of (my) Heart’s blog, so be sure to check her blog on Sunday the 23rd to see if you are the lucky winner.

You should  have arrived here from Stampin Jodie Creations. If you're visiting  here first, you might want to start at the beginning so you don't miss out on increasing your chance of winning by commenting on  each blog.

So first, my 'disclaimer"!  I've tried this technique before and very much like this time, I had mixed results.  Let me start by saying that I make scrapbook pages.  When I purchase paper to scrapbook, I have leftover scraps, which I bag up for several montha at a time.  At some point, those scraps end up in a box in cut pieces that are sized as "card friendly", and eventually they end up on cards.  So I rarely know the type of cardstock on my scraps, and different brands of cardstock react differently to ink.  That's my disclaimer.

So here are the tools I used . . . 

There is a piece of plastic canvas, an embossing folder, a brush, a dauber, a stencil, an acrylic block and an acrylic stamp.  And using bleach, I created all the panels below: 

#1 - Black cardstock - I laid the plastic canvas on it and used the brush to put the bleach on.  The bleached areas turned a bit of a green tone. 
#2 - Red carstock - I used the dauber and the stencil. 
#3 - I used the acrylic block and used the ink smooshing technique, only with bleach instead of ink.  The color variation did not thrill me. 
#4 - The stamp, which I daubed bleach on, and then stamped light blue cardstock.  I think this one was my favorite piece.
#5 - Black cardstock . . . ink smooshing . . . this one turned tan (and very quickly).
#6 - Bleach brushed onto the embossing folder . . . the least amount of change.  I even brushed bleach down the cardstock.  (Whatever!)

And here are my cards . . .

For the yellow one, I merely stamped with back pigment ink and embossed, leaving an empty spot for a sentiment. 

For the blue piece that refused to change it's color (maybe a hint of change in a few spots), I used an embossing folder with bleach on it.  I then dabbed bleach onto those raised circles.  I then pained bleach downward on the card.  Not a lot of luck on this one. 

 
The stripes in the inlaid die were created using pieces of scrap cardstock.  And watch at some point, because I will use the striped "Thank You" on another project one day (just not today). 

For that black/brown ink smoosh piece, I stamped and cut little dogs out of part of it, and used part as a border on the card.  This card is matchy-matchy! 

Those little pups are adorable. 

Now . . . important to note!  Black cardstock above bleached to brown.  Black cardstock in the project below bleached more to a greenish-gray.  So for the black mesh piece, I created a little thank you card for my mom, who sent my new puppy a few toys.  

Dogs love mail. Check out that beard!  As Schnauzer peeps say, "Fear the beard."

My favorite bleach piece . . . the light blue . . . added some of the stamps from the same set used with the bleach, and a nice blue ink.  It's my favorite because of the way it reacted. 

 I do love those bleach images. 

And then my favorite card, just because it's fun . . . two monsters . . . one monster displays words of amazing awesome wowsers, and another monster crashes through the card . . . so there are monster eyes in the dark . . .
 

And there is some dimension to this card where there are monster eyes in the dark . . .

Inside and out . . . check out the action wobble monster who crashed thru my card.   That's the crasher! 

He's a blurry, wobbling fool!

Now you’re off to visit with Ronda's Paper Creations. Hope you had fun and thanks for stopping by. See you next month with another technique!

And, I hope you can find some time to create. 

Here’s the full line-up in case you get lost:  

• Sharon
• Claudia
• Kim
• Wilma
• Card A Day Challenge Team
• Sandy
• Jodie
• Debbie
• Ronda

Supplies Used - Thinking of You

Stamps:  Simply Stated and Wild Garden Stamp Sets (Catherine Pooler Designs)

Ink: Black Pigment Ink (Simon Says Stamp)

Paper:  Desert Storm (Neenah); Scraps of Yellow and Black Cardstock

Accessories:  Clear Embossing Powder (Ranger); Marigold Sequins (Pretty Pink Posh)

Supplies Used - Thank You Inlaid Die

Stamps:  Still Smiling (Catherine Pooler Designs)

Ink: Something Borrowed (Catherine Pooler Designs)

Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Scraps of Cardstock

Accessories:  Beads Embossing Folder (Carabelle Studios); Thank You Card Set Dies (Sizzix); Enamel Dots (Close To My Heart)

Supplies Used - Ruff Day

Stamps:  Four-Legged Friends Stamp Set (My Favorite Things)

Ink: Black Onyx (Versafine)

Paper:  Solar White (Neenah) and Scraps of Cardstock

Accessories:  Clear Embossing Powder (Ranger); Enamel Dots (Close To My Heart); Gold Shimmer Trim (Close To My Heart); Four-Legged Friends Die Set (My Favorite Things); Bone Button

Supplies Used - Favorite Human

Stamps:  Four-Legged Friends Stamp Set (My Favorite Things)

Ink: Black Onyx (Versafine)

Paper:  Solar White (Neenah) and Scraps of Cardstock

Accessories:  Clear Embossing Powder (Ranger); Enamel Dots (Close To My Heart); Snow Marker (Marvy); Four-Legged Friends Die Set (My Favorite Things)

Supplies Used - Worry Less; Giggle More

Stamps:  Giggles and Medallio Mix-ups  (Catherine Pooler Designs)

Ink: Something Borrowed (Catherine Pooler Designs); Black Onyx (Versafine)

Paper:  Solar White (Neenah) and Scraps of Cardstock (blue)

Accessories:  Cobalt Sequins (Pretty Pink Posh); Blue Shimmer Trim (Close To My Heart); Clear Embossing Powder (Ranger)

Supplies Used - Wowzers Monster Card

Stamps:  monsters2celebrate (The Stamps of Life)

Ink: Versamark and Versafine Black Onyx

Paper:  Scraps of Cardstock

Accessories:  monsters2stamp Dies (The Stamps of Life); White Embossing Powder (Hero Arts); Silly Eyes; Color Box Stencil; Action Wobble

Freshly Made and CAS-ology Cards

A couple of cards to share tonight, and first up is a card created for Freshly Made Sketches.  Here is the sketch . . .

And here is my card . . .

 

First and foremost, I love the lyrics . . . from Dear Prudence by The Beatles . . . "The sun is up, the sky is blue, it's beautiful and so are you." 

This was an unusual card for me.  I didn't use a single stamp or any ink.  It was purely cardstock, pattern paper and stickers, all leftover from a kit that I had for a mini album.  I love when I can use my supplies that are left from another project. 

Next up is a card created for CASology.  The Cue Card was "Sprinkle."  Here is my card . . .

So some sprinkles of salt . . . and a message to take life with a grain of salt.  Seasoning makes everything better!  

My shaken salt was created with Diamond Dust glitter, and the salt in the shaker with Stickles. 

I'm heading off on vacation in a few days . . . no crafting while I'm gone.  But I do hope to do a little creating before I head off.  And I hope you find some time to create as well. 

Supplies Used - So Are you

Paper:  Life in Color (Simple Stories) and Solar White (Neenah)

Accessories:  Life in Color Stickers (Simple Stories) and Cork Flower Sticker (The Stamps of Life)

Supplies Used - Grain of Salt

Stamps:  saltshaker2stamp (The Stamps of Life)

Ink:  Licorice (The Stamps of Life Color Box)

Paper:  Licorice (The Stamps of Life) , Solar White (Neenah), POW Silver (American Crafts), Studio Calico Pattern,

Accessories:  Salt Shaker Dies (The Stamps of Life), Stickles, Diamond Dust Glitter (Floracraft), Twine (The Stamps of Life), Liquid Glass (Close To My Heart)

Christmas Wishes for Merry Monday and StampNation

Created this card as a combination of the challenge at Merry Monday (to have a penguin on your card) and the challenge last week at StampNation which was a color challenge with a palette of three very fresh, non-traditional Christmas colors. 

The pink, green and blue were those non-traditional colors in the palette.  I included kraft and white and stamped in black. 

 Hope you find some time to create today! 
 

Supplies Used

Supplies for this card came from The Stamps of Life June Card Kit (cardstock, pattern paper, twine, cork sticker,

Additional Supplies:  postage2Stamp and lights4Christmas stamp sets from The Stamps of Life

Postage Dies from The Stamps of Life

Ink from Color Box and Hero Arts

Crafty Creations for Just Add Ink and Time Out Challenge

I have two cards to share today, the first is for Just Add Ink who had some photo inspiration for their challenge this week.  Here is the photo . . .

And here is my card . . .

I was inspired by the balloons, and I loved mixing up inks on this one.  The supplies used were from my April Simon Says Stamp Card Kit.  The toughest part was the tiny holes that I punched and threaded and tied single strands of gold thread.  Worth the effort? 

For my second card I used the inspiration photo at the Time Out Challenge.  There challenge was to use the photo, but give it your own twist. 

I was inspired by the layout of this card, but also the white ink on the dark background.  My twist was was to pull a similar card off using some bright colors. 

Instead of a jar . . . a gumball machine.  Instead of flowers . . . some colorful gumballs.  I was on the fence as I created this card, but I love the end result.  Those gumballs are so darn cute.  I cut them from a multicolored hexagon paper from The Stamps of Life.  

Hope you find some time to get crafty.

Supplies Used - Celebrate

Cardstock:  Simon Says Stamp*

Pattern Paper:  Bazzill Gold Foil*

Stamps:  Big Birthday Wishes*

Ink:  Encore, Memento and Stampin' Up

Other:  Gold Ombre Washi tape from PinkFresh Studios* and DMC Gold Thread

*from Simon Says Stamp April 2015 Card Kit

Supplies Used - Bubble

All supplies from The Stamps of Life April Card Kit except for the following items which were also used:

Stamps:  bubblegum4me from The Stamps of Life

Dies:  Bubblegum Dies from The Stamps of Life

Ink:  Color Box

Keep Your Balance - Colour Me Challenge

Loved the color scheme at this week's Colour Me Challenge . . .

And here is my card . . .

 I used stamps and paper from The Stamps of Live to create my card.  The only additional color I added was in the flower sequins that appear in the bicycle basket.

Nice bright summer colors.  Summer is nearly here in the northeast!

Hope  you find some time to create today! 

Supplies Used

Cardstock:  The Stamps of Life*

Pattern Paper:  The Stamps of Life*

Stamps:  bicycle2stamp from The Stamps of Life

Dies:  Bicycle Club Die Set from The Stamps of Life

Ink:  Colorbox

Ribbon: The Stamps of Life*

Other:  Pretty Pink Posh Sequins

*from The Stamps of Life November Card Kit

Real Deal and Hello for The Card Concept and Color Throwdown.

Hello again!  I was creative this weekend. 

If you're looking for the CASE a Card Blog Hop - Click here to continue on the hop.

And again, if you didn't know about the hop, highly recommend you check it out as it's a great hop that shows the progression of card as it is CASE'd from one person to another (and there is a prize).

I have two more cards to share this afternoon.  My "go to place" for inspiration - StampNation - was having a virtual retreat this past week.  I wanted to share a few more cards that I created there that were mixed with some other challenges. 

First up . . . for The Card Concept . . . they had an amazing inspiration photo . . .

I immediately thought of a deck of cards, but was also drawn to those chevrons in the photo.  I set out to create and Clean and Layered card.  One of the challenges at StampNation was to try a new technique.  So I wanted to do layering of stencils. 

 

 The spade, heart, diamond and club were stenciled onto the white cardstock first, and then I used a second stencil to add the chevron embossing. 

I used an opaque embossing paste and some glitter.  I was pleased with how it turned out, as it will be an awesome masculine card (and we all need those). 

My next card was for Color Throwdown, whose color scheme this week was . . .

Daisies . . . Kathleen Kelly's favorite flower in You've Got Mail.  StampNation had challenged us to make a thinking of your or miss you card.  So here is my card . . .

I used up supplies from a kit from The Stamps of Life, and just added some ink, Stickles and metallic spray.  

I hope you found some time to create today! 

Supplies Used - The Real Deal

Cardstock:  Neenah and Bazzill

Stamps:  Quite the Pear from Simon Says Stamp

Ink:  Simon Says Stamp and Hero Arts

Ribbon:  Stampin' Up

Other:  Stencils from Art C and Color Box, Dreamweaver Embossing Paste, Glitter

Supplies Used - Hello

Bulk of supplies from The Stamps of Life October Card Kit

Additional Supplies:  Ink from Colorbox, Stickles and Color Theory Gold Spray from Studio Calico