Feel Better Lilies Card

My gardens have lots and lots of tiger lilies.  I was walking around the neighborhood one day a few years ago, and someone had a pile of newly dug-up tiger lily plants in a pile on the curb in front of their house.  I asked if they were getting rid of them, and they said yes, that I was welcome to take them.  So, I walked home, grabbed my granddaughter's red wagon, and scooted back to grab those plants.  That very afternoon, I planted them in a couple of my gardens.  Ever since, I am rewarded every spring with lovely orange trumpets, swaying in the warm breezes.  So pretty, and the best part is they didn't cost me a cent.

I love this lily stamp from Penny Black (brush lilies 3306K), an oldie but goody! 

Our church card ministry needed some get well cards, so I thought this stamp would be perfect for that.  I 'inked' the stamp with my Tombow markers, and, using my Misty tool, I stamped and spritzed, then re-stamped until the flowers looked the way I wanted them.  

When dry, I added some colored pencil highlights and shading with my Polychromos.  The background is done with a stencil from my stash, and the squeezed lemonade distress ink pad with a Clarity stencil brush.

Other supplies:
Stitched rectangle die - MFT Die-Namics die
Banner die - Spellbinders
Pearls - Paper Studio
Micron black pen
Polychromos colored pencils
Tim Holtz distress inks
Tombow markers
Cas-ual Fridays Feel better soon stamp
We Are Memory Keepers embossing plate
Clarity stencil brushg
India ink black pad

I hope you are having a great spring.  The weather here has been hit-and-miss.  The past week has been overcast and rain for several days.  Today it was like that all morning, but now the sun is shining and the temps are climbing into the 60's.  Time for a walk along our lovely river trail.

I am adding my card to these challenges:

Cards In Envy - Favorite color combo

Sunday Stamps Challenge - Beautiful blooms

Thanks so much for visiting.  I hope to see you here again soon. 

Blessings,

lynda

 

 

Embossed Magnolia Card With ColorBox Inks

Last night, all cozy and snuggled in my bed, I had a thought.  An epiphany, really.  I had been watching You Tube videos, and noticed that there is a resurgence of interest in ColorBox pigment inks.  People are using them to paint with, create backgrounds with, even stamp with.  I wanted to get out of bed and start playing with my pigment inks, but was just too tired.  So, after church today, I saw this Penny Black stamp on my desk, and thought I would see if I could do what I had envisioned last night in my epiphany. 

Since pigment inks are perfecty for embossing, I knew I wanted to emboss, but wasn't sure how it would look with this stamp.  So, I played, a lot.  After a few practice pieces, I decided to go for it and make a card.

I created the background onto a piece of pink card stock by brushing some distress ink abandoned coral and worn lipstick onto the pink panel, concentrating color at the bottom, and fading it as I moved up the card.  I used my Clarity brush to apply the ink.

Next, using the same colors of distress ink, I stamped the Penny Black Letter Background 1999L and Swirl Border 1969B intermittently onto the panel.  I dried this with my heat tool before moving on to the next step.

For the image, I used the Penny Black stamp The Unfolding 40-450.  I love, love, love this stamp!  I placed the stamp and panel into my Misty, and inked the petals with ColorBox cat's eye shaped pigment inks in coral, pink, rose coral, chianti, and merlot.  I inked the entire petals with the lighter colors, directly from the ink pads.  I wiped off the areas where I wanted the deeper colors with a Q-tip, and used the edge of the ink pad to apply the darker colors to the areas I wanted it darker.  I brushed some of the deeper color further into the petal, using very light pressure, to create a blended look.  I did the same for the stems and leaves, using moss green, olive, and chestnut inks.  I was going for a watercolor look, but using only pigment inks directly onto the stamp.

Since pigment ink does not dry quickly, I had time to create my scene and get all the stamping done before embossing.  Then I embossed it with clear embossing powder.  I wish you could see this in real life....the embossed shine and dimension really creates a dramatic look.  I had some pieces from my practice session, so I fussy-cut one of the flowers and buds and attached it at the top right of the panel with foam tape.

I added some spatters by adding water to some of the pigment inks that I had rubbed onto my craft mat, and flicked it off a paint brush, and added the stamens with a fine tip Sharpie marker. 

Here is a close-up so you can see the shine from the embossing, which really does not show up in the picture....

The color is a little more true in this picture than the first one.

 And a quick look at the inside.....

  Challenges:

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - Love, anniversary, wedding

Penny Black At Allsorts - Photo inspiration
 

Allsorts Challenge - Birthday - Happy 8th birthday to the Allsorts Challenge blog!  Congratulations!

The Flower Challenge  - Case a design team card (I chose Tae Eun's card and changed the flowers and colors)






Thanks so much for visiting today.  I hope you enjoyed your weekend, and are rested and ready to tackle the new week.  

Blessings,

lynda

Birthday Card With Altenew Lotus Stamps

This amazing stamp set is the Majestic Bloom set by Altenew Stamps.  I love the variety of views in this set, and the scripts.  I made this card for their challenge, based on the inspiration picture below.

I used watercolor paper, and stamped the images using my Misty and Ranger archival ink.  I use the Misty when I stamp on watercolor paper, as the paper is generally rather 'toothy.' The bumpy texture makes it challenging to get a smoothly stamped image.  With my Misty, I can over-stamp it as many times as I like.  How did we ever do without our amazing tools?....especially this one!

Back to my card....  I painted the images using my Tombow markers and a watercolor brush.  When the panel was dry, I touched it up with colored pencils, adding some shading, depth, and highlights.  I added the verse (from the same stamp set).  With my Clarity brush, I added some picked raspberry distress ink to the background, gradually going from dark to light, fading it out as I went up the card.  I can't resist spatters, so added a tiny spattering intermittently.  

Some Pretty Pink Posh clear drops, and Darice baker's twine finish off the panel, which I adhered to a pink A2 card base.

I am adding my card to these challenges:

Altenew Inspiration Challenge 




Simon Says Stamp Work It Wednesday Challenge  - April showers bring May flowers.

It's a glorious day today, with sunshine and warmish temps.....so, I'm off to play in my garden.  I'm itching to finish cleaning out my flower beds, do some mulching, and move and thin some plants.

I hope you have some time to do what it is you love today.

Blessings,

lynda