Faux real.

The Faux Technique challenge at Gingersnap Creations has really caught my interest. Their Design Team is providing lots of inspiration, with lots more promised before the March 18 deadline...I may have to enter again!

For this card, I tried the Faux Linen and Faux Metal techniques. I'm not sure either looks like faux anything, but I'm happy with the result! I also added some Faux Stitching with my awl and a copper Sakura gel pen.

For the Faux Linen piece, I used the beautiful FREEBIE digi paper that Funky Hand is providing for their Get Funky! February Challenge. Since the theme is Flying High, I also used stamps from Funky Hand's Our Betty series.

It was such a difficult decision to only color Betty's balloons...but I really liked the look, and my Design Consultant (husband) agreed!

The Stampendous Impressions Challenge February theme is Texture, which I created mostly with heat-embossing. The image is stamped on vellum and heat-embossed in copper. I mixed the "Faux Metal" technique with Stampendous' "Frantage" technique for the sentiment.

The rosette is actually the first one I ever made, last week when I bought the Tim Holtz die. I cut it on scrap -- the cover of a package for Recollections Gold Metallic cardstock. I stamped it in watermark ink before starting the embossing process (for the Frantage technique, you heat the paper from underneath).

I even made some tissue tape for the right-hand-side element (I thought I was making Faux Tissue Tape, but I think I just made tissue tape!). I stamped a Stampendous! border in Copper onto tissue paper (which came between pieces of acetate), cut it down to half an inch with my papercutter, and adhered it onto a piece of vellum tape. Easy-peasy! No, really!

Inspiration/Challenges:

Deconstructed Sketch #39 (right)

Get Funky! February Challenge: Flying High + Funky Hand paper or extra

Gingersnap Creations Random Redhead Challenge #139: Use a Faux Technique

Stampendous Impressions February Challenge: Add Some Texture

Tutorials from Splitcoaststampers: Faux Linen and Faux Metal

Stampendously corny

Wow, I'm all about challenges this week, even more than usual. I simply can't stop creating! Mom just sent me some stamps, one of which is this cute Owl set by Stampendous! that I just had to use for their Sketch Challenge sponsored by Taylor Usry. In fact, it's so cute I used it for a Back to School card for the Come and Get It Challenge and for a Halloween card for Delightful Challenges.

I paper-pieced both projects, adding just a bit of color with Copics or Sakura gel pens. For the Back to School card, I used magazine pages. I generated the sentiment; it's a classy Krusty line from The Simpsons.

Inspiration:
Stampendous! Sketch Challenge #41
Come and Get It Challenge: Back to School

Stamps: Stampendous!
Paper: Hammermill, DCWV, Core'dinations, Urbanite magazine
Tools: Fiskars papercutter, stamp block, MS detailing scissors, Sizzix Texture Boutique & embossing folder
Other: ZipDry glue, Memento ink, Offray ribbon, Copics

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Inspiration:
Stampendous! Sketch Challenge #41
Delightful Challenges: Halloween

Stamps: Stampendous!, stash (sentiment)
Paper: Hammermill, Recollections, Coredinations
Tools: Fiskars papercutter, stamp block, MS detailing scissors, Sizzix Texture Boutique & embossing folder
Other: ZipDry glue, Memento ink, stash baker's twine, Sakura gel pens

Soft Spotlight on Inchies

I was excited to see the Crafty Cardmakers Spotlight Challenge on Inchies, because I really needed an excuse to try this very groovy technique. Folks come up with the most gorgeous, incredible ideas for this simple concept, but I'm pretty happy with how mine turned out too. Thanks for the inspiration!
I only used 2 papers (kraft & white) and 4 inks (Peeled Paint, Antique Linen, soft brown, and watermark), plus clear-embossing. There's some emboss-resisting going on as well. For the inchies, I ink-distressed the white pieces with Antique Linen and then clear-embossed the stamp with watermark ink. I had planned on adding some ink afterwards, but the contrast came out so well that I kept it. The mats are inked in corresponding colors.

Inspiration:
Crafty Cardmakers Spotlight Challenge: Inchies

Supplies: Asian by Design & Asian Influences stamp sets by Inkadinkado, sentiment from Regal Greetings set by {ippity} Stamps, Recollections cardstock, Tim Holtz Distress Inks, Martha Stewart detailing scissors and chalk ink, Fiskars papercutter and deckle scissors, Stampendous clear embossing powder, Marvy heat tool, stash twine


Update 6/5/11: My goodness, this card won the Crafty Cardmakers Spotlight on Inchies Challenge!

Bottle Cap Robots

One of my favorite creative things to do is to combine several challenges to create one card. My only problem is making the deadlines, as I tend to overthink these sorts of projects!
I just had to try this week's PaperWorks Co. (PWCO) Sunday Sketch; I liked the idea of making a "skinny" card. Then I saw the Circles Challenge at Cards for Men, and decided it was the perfect opportunity to use my new $1 circle-background stamp. Hmm, I always forget how difficult it is to line up rubber stamps...the border took me a few tries. Of course I wanted to heat-emboss it, so I stamped it in watermark ink, which meant that it was also invisible, which didn't help the lining-up problem.

Somewhere in there I discovered the Bottletops Challenge at Crafty Cardmakers (love the new look, ladies!) and decided it was fate: a chance to use some of those bottlecaps I save! I pulled three bronze-and-black caps (Monteith's beer...I don't remember when we had that! Luckily I'm very good at popping off tops without bending the cap; I never manage to buy screw-off tops!) and worked around that color scheme.

To pop the images, I cut up a cork (one of those non-cork plastic ones, which which like a dream), and glued it in after putting a hole in the cap with my Crop-O-Dile punch. Because I like things to move, I included brads so that the caps move together like gears.

I made this card with my best friend from college in mind; his favorite color is orange, and I've found that it always makes a good "splash" color.

Thanks everyone for the inspiration: I had tons of fun making this!

Inspiration:
Crafty Cardmakers Spotlight Challenge: Bottletops
Cards for Men Challenge #9: Circles
PWCO Challenge: Sunday Sketch #79

Supplies: StudioG rubber stamps, Stampendous embossing powder, Versamark watermark ink, Marvy heat tool, MS detailing scissors, Recollections cardstock, ZipDry glue

Slightly cracked and a little blue

I haven't participated in Dutch Dare Challenges recently, but I couldn't pass up the current one: Use the Cracked Glass technique. You know how I love a new technique...and heating four layers of embossing powder is my idea of a good time! It was really really fun.

The color inspiration is from the iCopic Monochromatic Challenge, but I'm not entering it into the challenge because I didn't really color with copics. I did, however, use copics for all the coloring. Boy are those great markers! I stamped the images in Baja Breeze Memento ink (both from Stampendous) on letterpress paper, then used BG10 liquid for the background and B00, B000, B32 & BG15 for details.

I made the card and frames in SCAL, did a little light distressing with sandpaper (after the paper was cut but was still on the mat), and voilà.

Stampendous

I ran across Laura's Stampendous! Sketch Challenge and ended up making two cards, both little love notes to one of my favorite brands.
I'm entering the card on the right into A Day in the Life of the Paper Poppy's challenge (Laura's blog), and the card on the left into the twin challenge at Stampendous! Impressions (brand blog) as well as ColourQ Challenge #79 (Melon Mambo, Old Olive, Bermuda Bay, Basic Black + white).

I wanted to focus on embossing, because ever since I paired Versamark watermark ink with Stampendous detailing powder I've felt like an embossing genius. Seriously, it's practically fool-proof (fool knocks on wood). Plus, the opaque powders show on anything.

Although the sketch challenge only suggests that we use Stampendous products, I went through my stash and discovered that my Stacked Teacups stamp is actually by them. That stamp inspired this bright flowery card, which coincidentally contains many of the same supplies as my quieter Color Splash card. I also decorated the inside of the card, stamping a flourish "Happy Birthday"That was yesterday. Today we went to Michaels and they had Stampendous silicon stamp sets for $2.50! Still over my budget, but too good to pass up. I bought their Orchid set, which I used exclusively for the card below. As you can tell, I really like heat embossing!