February 2009 Stamp of the Month

Stamp of the month is back after it's January break. I've gone for a heart for February (can't think why??) , but as per usual it's not just any heart. There is 15% off the marked price for the rest of the month, whilst stocks last.

The Patchwork Heart stamp from Funstamps will work really well for almost any occasion. Without meaning to I've ended up heat embossing on three of my four cards.

On the first the heart has been embossed with fine detail black powder and mounted onto glitter card with 3d foam to raise it. The U is a Basic Grey chipboard letter painted black with the Adirondack Acrylic Dabber. I used clear embossing powder over the black and stuck gems down the side using Didi Glue Dots. My favourite dotty ribbon and black ric-rac are stapled to keep the card contemporary.

On this one I wanted to play with the idea of a 'white' card which could be used as a wedding invitation or wedding/engagement congrats card. When I embossed the heart on the vellum the paper buckled and pulled, instead I cut out the embossed heart and used vellum adhesive to adhere the heart to the front of the vellum wrap. You would be hard pressed to realise the heart is a separate piece. The square of white card underneath the vellum just helps to highlight the heart, whilst the self-adhesive pearls cover the Diddi Glue Dots that I've used to stop the vellum flapping around.

My dangling heart has been embossed with Super Sparkle Silver powder on pale pink card which I've mounted onto punched pearlescent hearts, between which I've sandwiched a piece of ribbon for it to dangle in the aperture. The bright handmade paper on the outside and the paler one on the inside are both from the 1lb of paper packs. Finished off with a snipped frame and a heart gem.

Last but not least - colouring pencils, one of my favourite techniques and Kraft Card another of my favs. The hearts have been stamped using the Sepia Versafine inkpad and I've punched them out using the largest Woodware punch. Having shaded each heart I decided to trim one and mount it, using 3d foam on to a piece of Kraft card. The beads are stitched around the heart using a co-ordinating green Alcazar Metallic Thread.

Hope you approve.

xxxxxxx

Doodlebug Crushed Velvet Flock

Having been a little skeptical about this product I set aside a good day and a half to play with them. Having tried several methods I think the best results seem to be achieved when using double-sided sheet adhesive on top of card of a similar colour to the flock you are using.

On this card the I've used the flock around the edge of the Fancy Pants Splendid ATC size cat image. Unfortunately, the photograph doesn't clearly show how the flock looks. To apply the flock I coloured the edges roughly with a glue pen, before sprinkling on the Crushed Velvet, which I then pressed on to ensure even coverage. The paper is another of the Fancy Pants range, brad and ric-rac add design elements.

On this card I painted a chipboard D using the Adirondack Acrylic Dabber in a bright cerise which is similar to the pink flock. Whilst the paint was wet i sprinkled and then pressed the Crushed Velvet Flock onto the chipboard. Behind the 'd' I've attached one of the Fancy Pants Transparencies with a brad, my favourite spotty ribbon makes yet another appearance and I've used co-ordinating black cardstock and cerise pearlescent card. The coverage is good, I quite like the distressed look, as did Dina as this card was for her.

On this and the doggy card I used the double-sided sheet adhesive method for applying the flock. The stamp is a previous stamp of the month, dotty/Mirri cardstock and self-adhesive silver ribbon finish off the card.

For this card I applied the double-sided adhesive to brown cardstock before cutting out the doggy with the Big Shot. I then applied the Flock by rubbing it into the shape. A red cardstock collar and black gem help to make him friendlier. The brown card has been distressed using a dye ink pad and the doggy has been layered onto gingham, white and green card. Happy Birthday is stamped with a Versafine inkpad

The Crushed Velvet Flock produces an image that looks good is very tactile. Children in particular will probably appreciate a card made using it.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Mega Catch up

This will hopefully be the first of at least three posts.......

OK 3 weeks ago on Tuesday night I demonstrated how to use the Tim Holtz Fragments, which after having used them for Scrapaholix I fell in love with.

I find the best way to use them is with Rangers Glossy Accents, squirt a bit on the back and when you place it down onto your card, wiggle it a bit to pop any bubbles. They're very cool, trust me. All 4 cards are made with the new Fancy Pants Splendid range of papers and embellishment's that have come in.

Definitely not just for Valentines.

This card has been created using just the papers, I've rounded the corners and used the Adirondack Acrylic Dabber in white around the edges. The heart has been cut out of one of the papers and raised on 3d foam.

This time I've used one of the die-cut shapes and place one of the rub-ons along the lower left hand side.

The hearts have been cut out of the paper again, with the centre one raised on 3d foam, with a pearl brad pushed through. The image under the Fragment is one of the rub-ons, under which I've stretched some 3mm ribbon for added interest.

For this one I trimmed the big heart out of one of the papers using the Fiskars Shapecutter. The Groovy Frog is one of the 12 ATC size pictures that come as a sheet of patterned paper.

Hope that all makes sense as I'm getting a little tired.

xxxxx