Birthday Joy Card

July is winding down, and it's hotter than, well, you know.  I found some reprieve from the heat today at a friend's house, where we stamped and played with our card-making 'toys' all afternoon.  I will share what I made on tomorrow's post.  I still have to put some finishing touches on my creations.

For today, I decided to try one of my new dies......

 The colorful panel was created with Twinkling H20's.  Remember those?  If you do not know what they are, they are a wonderful watercolor paint, and they have a very shimmery luster to them.  You can't tell from the picture, but in real life, this background has such a vibrant shimmer and twinkle.  I simply dipped my wet paint brush into the H20's, and swiped them onto the card, using the warmer colors of the color wheel.  I adhered the panel to a white card base when it was dry.

I used the Impression-Obsession DIE200-I die to cut the bird from white card stock, then used a circle die to cut it out.  I stamped happy birthday on the die with Marvy Matchable inks using the Impression-Obsession Happy Birthday square frame from the WP40 Fun Frames set.  I simply inked only one side of the square frame and stamped it.
The JOY stamp is also Impression-Obsession, C5471, and I embossed it with VersaMark ink and white embossing powder.
I adhered the die to the panel, added some Swarovski crystals, and Viola!  It was finished!
 
There are several blogs with really interesting and fun challenges today, so I made this card for the 30 day color challenge at www.thedailymarker.blogspot.com , as well as the following challenges:
Impression-Obsession  - Hello Sunshine - Use Warm Colors
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Things With Wings
Love To Scrap Challenge  - Anything Goes
Seize The Birthday Challenge  - Bold and Bright Birthday

Thanks for visiting today.  See you tomorrow, when I will catch up with my 30 day color challenge (I'm a day behind, so I will post two).  I have some that I started today at Karen's house, so I will finish those up and post tomorrow.  Hope to see you then.

Blessings,

lynda


 

Wishing You Joy - Day 15 Color Challenge

Here we are, over the half way point for the color challenge at The Daily Marker .  Today's card uses stamps from Marion Smith Designs - MS101058 Garden Rose Stamp set, and Jillibean Soup by Hampton Arts - JB0198 Hand Written Sentiments.  I love the flowers in the Marion Smith set, and the different scripts and phrases in the Jillibean Soup set.  And here's the card.....drumroll.....

I embossed the flowers (masking the first before stamping the one on the left) with white powder.  My painting medium was Tim Holtz distress inks.  I applied water to each petal and leaf individually, then added the ink and let it blend naturally, then went back and added some darker color to distinguish the petals from each other and show shadow.  I inked the phrase with Memento brown ink.  The little net thingie is a small stamp that came with the set, so I inked it up and stamped it randomly while masking the flower images.

I get a lot of questions about my soft backgrounds.  I actually have two ways to do these.  One is with the TH inks and the round ink applicator tool.  I rub the tool into the ink pad, then off on scrap paper.  Then I start applying the ink to the borders of the card.  I actually start off of the card, working the tool in a circular motion, and bring it from my craft mat onto the card.  By then, the color is very soft.  I take my time with this, as too hard pressure or going too quickly makes splotches.  So, the key is very light pressure, starting off the page, and circular motions, building color up as desired.  

The second, and quickly becoming my favorite when I am using card stock (the ink blends better on watercolor paper than on card stock) is pastel chalks.  I love these little bars of smooth, chalky color.  This is what they look like...

To create the creamiest, softest backgrounds using these chalk pastels, I put a sheet of scrap paper next to my project and shave the chalk onto the paper, using a craft knife.  Just run the knife gently along the edge of the chalk and it will make tiny crumbs onto the paper.  I use square makeup pads folded into fourths.  I rub the pad into the chalk pile, and then off to the side, gently rubbing the chalk into the pad.  Then, I bring the pad to my project, and, using circular motion again, I rub the color onto the project with the pad.  Viola!  Smooth, creamy, soft color.  I use alligator clips with tiny and small pom-poms for the small in-between areas.  I get these from the craft stores.  I am not concerned with the color getting onto the stamped images, at it is usually pretty light, and doesn't show.  If I do use a dark color, I simply mask off the image first.  If I want a darker color I usually shave the chalk right onto the project where I want it and rub it in.  Here are my supplies for this....

I hope this is clear.  If you have any questions, leave me a comment and I will get back to you.  

This card is also going to a challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - one layer, and, of course, the color challenge at The Daily Marker .

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Comments are always welcome and appreciated!  Thank you for stopping in.  I hope you find some time to create today, even if only for a few moments. 

Blessings,

lynda