Using Leaves as Stamps

This month the Gina K. Designs Monthly Mix Challenge is repetition of the sentiment, or part of the sentiment. For the Mod Squad Challenge - Back to Nature, we need to have a piece of nature on our project, or use a leaf as a stamp. I combined the two challenges on my card.

I lined up Happy Birthday sentiments from Gina K. Designs (GKD) Fabulous Frame, By the Sea and Happy Birthday to You stamp sets on the door of my Misti, and stamped them in GKD Sweet Corn and Peach Bellini ink. I moved the card around, so the stamps were not lining up in the same position in each row.

Once I had the background finished, I inked up a set of three leaves that I found with GKD Faded Brick ink. I stamped this three times over the background. I used a sponge dauber to pounce the ink on the leaves, so I would get a good impression. I used the stem to pick it up and then pressed on each leaf with my fingertips.

I left room at the bottom, so I could attach a piece of ribbon and then added a leaf that I stamped with VersaMark ink, from the GKD Give Thanks stamp set, and cut out with the coordinating die.

I layered the background with a piece from the GKD Give Thanks patterned paper pack, and attached this to a white card base.

I was quite pleased with the way the leaves 'stamped'. They made a nice pattern on the card.

Outdoor Scene

This week, the Mod Squad Challenge is called Back to Nature. We need to use an item from nature on our project, or use leaves as a stamp. 

When I was out for my walk today, I found a piece of wood that looked perfect for a project. I picked up a few other things and made a scene on the piece of wood.

I started by sanding the wood to make it a bit smoother. I stamped the sentiment, from the Gina K. Designs (GKD) Dazzling Dahlia stamp set, with GKD Chocolate Truffle Amalgam ink. Because I didn't have the wood completely smooth, there were parts that didn't stamp, so I used a toothpick that I tapped on the ink pad to fill in the voids.

I thought the scene would look better with a little colour, so I added some GKD Powder Blue at the top and GKD Jelly Bean Green and Sandy Beach toward the bottom. Then I used a glue gun to attach all the pieces - bark, moss and cones. I used a marker to draw in the 'tree trunks'. 

I was really pleased with how this turned out. I'm glad that it was a challenge over at Mod Squad!

Telescoping Card

This month, I am the host of the Scor-Pal More than One Score Challenge. The theme is Harvest/Fall or Halloween. You can make a card, box or other project, as long as it has more than one score and follows the theme. 

I live in Canada, so we celebrate Thanksgiving on the second Monday in October. I decided to make a Thanksgiving card.

Here is a different view, showing the sentiment inside.

Come back on the 15th of October, when I will show all the steps in making this card!

90th Birthday!

My father turned 90 last week, so I wanted to make a special card for him.

I stamped the leaves from the Gina K. Designs (GKD) Skeleton Leaves stamp set onto some GKD Honey Mustard cardstock with VersaMark ink. Then I heat embossed them with copper embossing powder. 

Using my Silhouette Cameo, I cut out the sentiment from Honey Mustard and the mat for the sntiment from GKD Dark Chocolate cardstock. I covered the sentiment with some GKD White Glitz Glitter Gel to give it some sparkle. Once it was dry, I glued the sentiment onto the Dark Chocolate mat, and glued it onto the card panel, which I had also matted with Dark Chocolate and added to a white card base.

I am entering this in the Gina K. Designs Monthly Mix challenge - Fall is in the Air, and the Simon Says Stamp / Gina K. Designs STAMPtember Collaboration challenge.

Alcohol Ink Fall Background

I had recently bought some Yupo paper and decided to play with my homemade alcohol inks. My parents anniversary was this week so I made this anniversary card.

I first spritzed the paper with rubbing alcohol and then dropped colours of ink onto the paper.  I kept dropping different colours to get a Fall effect. To finish it off I went over it with a foam pad. This gave it a smoother finish.

Once the ink was dry, I made the pattern of falling leaves. To do this, I used my MISTI so that I could stamp in the same place several times. I placed one of the leaf stamps from the Gina K. Designs (GKD) Autumn Wreath Builder stamp set onto the door of the MISTI, inked it up with GKD Whisper Amalgam ink and "stamped" it onto the paper. This lifted the alcohol ink off the paper. I removed the Yupo paper, put in regular cardstock and stamped the image. This transferred the alcohol ink onto the cardstock. I repeated this process a few times for each leaf image.

I cut the sentiment out with my Silhouette Cameo using GKD Sweet Corn cardstock and cut the background out of GKD Dark Chocolate. I mounted the background and sentiment onto some GKD Fresh Asparagus cardstock before placing it on a white card base. To give it some sparkle, I used some Clear Wink of Stella on the sentiment.

I'm entering this into the Gina K Designs September Monthly Mix Challenge, Fall is in the Air; and the Simon Says Stamp/ Gina K Design collaboration.

Here is a picture of the bookmark I made out of the cardstock that I transferred the alcohol ink onto.  After I transferred the images I added some Sweet Corn ink to colour the background.

Fall Tag

On the Mod Squad Challenge blog this week, we are to make Anything But a Card. Over at Gina K. Designs, the Monthly Mix Challenge is Fall is in the Air. We are to create our own patterned paper, or use some of our Gina K. paper, with a Fall theme. I decided to make a tag with my homemade patterned paper.

To make the patterned paper, I placed the stamps on my MISTI cover, and using ink cubes, inked up the stamps and stamped them onto a piece of white cardstock. I turned the cardstock, stamped again, and repeated until the piece was covered. I coloured in the acorns with alcohol markers.

I punched the top of a piece of Sweet Mango cardstock to make the tag, punched the paper and added it to the tag. 

For the sentiment strip, I didn't have any cardstock that was the colour I wanted, so I used a piece of white and sponged on Warm Cocoa. I stamped the sentiment with VersaMark ink and heat embossed it in white. I added a piece of ribbon that seemed to match perfectly!

We're preparing to be hit by Hurricane Dorian later this evening. The rain and wind have started and a lot of people have lost power. I better get this posted before we lose power, too!


I used the following supplies:
Gina K. Designs: Autumn Wreath Builder, Sweet Camellia stamp sets
                     Ink: Sweet Corn, Fresh Asparagus, Red Hot, Warm Cocoa, Sweet Mango, Honey                                         Mustard
                     White, Sweet Mango cardstock
MISTI
VersaMark ink
Spectrum Noir Alcohol Markers GB6, GB10
Stampin’ Up! Scalloped Tag Topper punch
white embossing powder, ribbon from my stash

Back to School

This month, the Scor-Pal More than One Score Challenge #63 is Back to School. At first, I was stumped, as I don't really have any stamps for the occasion, but then I found this patterned paper pad in my stash.

I started with a piece of cardstock measuring 8 1/2" x 11". I made a mark 3" from the bottom on one side and 5 1/2" from the bottom on the other side. I lined up the two marks and cut along the line. You should end up with two pieces that are the same. You can set one aside for another card.

With the long edge along the top and the 3" side on the left of my Scor-Pal, I scored at 2 3/4" and 8 1/4". Then I flipped it over so the 5 1/2" is on the left and scored at 5 1/2". 

I decorated the card with the We R Memory Keepers Hall Pass 6x6 paper pad, using Scor-Tape. I wanted to add a couple of embellishments, so I used the Gina K. Designs Fruit of the Season Stamp set and matching die, stamped in Cherry Red Dye ink, for the apple, and the Art from the Heart Stamp set, stamped with Whisper Amalgam ink, for the pencils. I coloured in the pencils with some coloured pencils.

It's hard to believe that September is here already! While I like the warm temperatures in Summer, I always look forward to the cooler temperatures and pretty leaves in the Fall.

Thanks for looking, and I hope you will give this month's challenge a try!

Getting in Shape

No, this isn't a post about exercising! It's the name of the August MISTI Monday challenge on Splitcoaststampers. We have to use a geometric shape to create our background. I am also entering this in the Gina K. Designs Monthly Mix challenge - For the Boys (Make a masculine card); Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge - S is for...; and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge - Anything Goes.

I used my MISTI and my wreath template to make the oval background pattern. For the Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge, my S stands for Shades of green. 

I used the small oval from the Gina K. Designs (GKD) Holiday Frame Filler stamp set and stamped it in GKD Jelly Bean Green, Grass Green and Fresh Asparagus ink. 

I stamped the sentiment, from the GKD Birthday Blessings stamp set, in GKD Jet Black Amalgam ink and used my Cut-Align to cut it out. I brushed the Fresh Asparagus ink cube along the edge of the sentiment piece to give it some definition against the background. I layered this on the background, which I had matted with Fresh Asparagus cardstock, and placed the whole thing onto a white card base. 

  

One Layer Masculine Card

There are a few challenges this week that seemed to go together, so I made a card that satisfied them all. I made a one layer masculine birthday card.

My MISTI and the Gina K. Designs (GKD) Wreath Builder template make one layer cards easy to make. I picked small images from a number of GKD stamp sets: Electro Pop Flowers, Autumn Wreath Builder, Made with Love, and Holiday Frame Fillers. I stamped them with GKD Sea Glass, Ocean Mist, Turquoise Sea, and Tranquil Teal ink.


I entered the following challenges:

Mod Squad Challenge - Layer Me Not

GinaK. Designs Monthly Mix Challenge - For the Boys

SimonSays Stamp Monday Challenge - Happy Birthday

Scor-Pal's More Than One Score Challenge #62 - Stylish Storage

This month, the More Than One Score challenge is to create some Stylish Storage. I made a Patterned Paper and Scor-Tape Holder.

I was looking on Pinterest and found this post, which sends you to two posts that explain how to make the two sections. I kept the back section the same and tweaked the front section slightly. I will give you the directions to make the project as I made it.

For the back section, the patterned paper pack holder, start with two pieces of cardstock that measure 8 1/4" x 8 3/4". On each piece, score the short side at 2" and the long side at 1/2" and 2 1/2". On one piece, with the 8 3/4" side at the top of your Scor-Pal and the 1/2" score line on the left, make a mark at 5 1/2" down on the right hand side. With a pencil, join that mark with the bottom of the 2 1/2" score line. See the picture below, which will hopefully make this clear!

On the other piece, with the 8 1/4" side at the top and the 2" score line on the left, score at 5 1/2" down to the 2 1/2" score line. Draw a line from here to the bottom right corner. 

Cut along the pencil lines and score lines to create the tabs as shown below.

Add Scor-Tape along the tabs as shown, attach the two pieces along the sides and fold in the bottom.

You will end up with this:

For the Scor-Tape holder, start with a piece of cardstock 8 1/2" x 10 3/4". With the 8 1/2" side at the top, score at 2" and 4 1/4". With the 10 3/4" side at the top, and the 2" score line on the left, score at 2 1/4" and 8 1/2". Then score at 1 3/4" and 9", just down to the second score line (4 1/4"). Cut along these two score lines, down to the 4 1/4" score line, and then cut along the 4 1/4" line to the 2 1/4" line on each side. Cut along the 2" score line into the 2 1/4" line on each side. This will give you two tabs on each side.

On the top section, measure up 2 inches and draw a line from there to the top of the 10 3/4" side at the 2 1/4" score line. Do this on each side and cut along the lines. You should end up with this shape.

Add Scor-Tape along the tabs, fold the back up and attach to the bottom. Then fold the front up and attach.

You will end up with this:

Tape the two sections together using Scor-Tape. Then you can decorate it as you wish. I used Gina K. Designs Delicate Essentials patterned paper pack and some pink cardstock that I had in my stash. I made dividers for the patterned paper, labelled them with the name of the pack and wrote the coordinating cardstock colours on the divider for each one. 

The front part, which holds my Scor-Tape, also holds my Scor-Envi, which fits in my Scor-Pal to create envelopes.

I hope I have explained how to make this! If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments and I will do my best to answer them. Thanks!