embossing with a little water colouring

I had fun making a simple card with a You are my sunshine embossing folder from WRMK and some Fresh and Avery Elle inks mixed  with my aqua brush.

 I did some loose water colouring over the words for some emphasis and colour.

A few more images:

What fun this was!

PTI Make it Monday #207: Double Partial Die Cutting

The phenomenal Laura Bassen shows us how to do double partial die cutting and I haven't done this awesome technique for a while.  My first try had some slightly over zealous cutting and I cut too far with one of the Wet Paint dies since I couldn't see ... next time I will try with a negative piece to position it better ...

I took a cursive Hugs die and a circle die and did the partial die cutting on a Recollections 110lb white card front.  I also die cut four more Hugs die cuts to pop it up and add some dimension combined with foam tape.

I stamped progressively darker colours using the Irresistible Ikat set and then added some Text Impressions dry embossing with one of the PTI impression plates - love those to add a little extra somethin' somethin' ... :)

 Here you can see some of the texture and die cutting up close:

Inside I used the ampersand from Bountiful Banners and the Easter wishes stamp from Mega Mixed Messages - so many useful sentiments in that jam packed set!

Hope you have fun with this week's challenge!!

Check out my sale of crafty items - stamps, an ink pad and some other assorted items!! Oh, and I bought two of the Hero Arts ombre ink pads (mint to green), so if anyone is interested in buying one still sealed, just leave your email and info in a comment!!

PTI Make it Monday #206: Mixing Stamped Patterns

Danielle Flanders did such an amazing job on this week's Make it Monday mixing her gorgeous creations ... I had a great time stamping my patterns but then got stuck trying to put them together to make some cards.  I am not enamoured with them all but will still share ...

I took my colours from some pictures from Rifle Paper Co. - I just love their modern whimsical designs!

I did some swatches to see how they look together:

 And here are my designs using all PTI products - Irresistible Ikat, Ombre Builder, Watercolour Wonder, Leave it Be and Swoosh.

My first card is quite ethereal and hard to photograph with pale subtle colours.  I used a Feather Finery die with the Leave it Be, layered some foam tape using the Ikat polka strip and a Wet Paint III die cut with a portion of the Ombre builder.

 I rounded the corners with a Corner Chomper and that's about it!  A very simple pale pastel card.

My next card is not my fave but I will show you anyhow .... I used a Wet Paint III die on a bunch of different patterns that I had stamped:

 Five patterns are included here with various scales ... some worked better with this die than others. :)

This next one only uses two patterns but I like the layout of it.  I took a Kraft card base and laid a Watercolour Wonder striped piece over, matting and centring it.  I then used a circle die to cut out the centre.

I stacked four die cut layers of Recollections 110lb white card stock with the top being an Ombre Builders pattern from one of the sheets I stamped.

My last card also only uses two patterns but I thought I would share it anyhow:

I used an Aqua Mist card base, the Leave it Be background layered with a DCWV black chalkboard scrap and the Swoosh pattern.

Thank you to Danielle for challenging me to try a bunch of different patterns ... it was a lot of fun even though I found this to be rather difficult ... Nevertheless, I tried my best.

Lovely Laurels layered leaves

I made a few cards before I headed off to San Francisco for spring break but didn't have a chance to post them.  Now that I'm home, I finally had a chance to snap some pictures of these simple one layer cards ...

I got a new PTI order and did some experimenting with Lovely Laurels, Meadow Greens and my Avery Elle inks.  I used my trusty MISTI and did some layers of different coloured inks to add dimension to the leaves.

The MISTI makes it so easy to layer the colours and stamp in the exact same spot.  Love the ease of this tool!

On this card, I added some Glossy Accents on the leaves - love the little something extra this gives to one layer cards.

Check out my crafty sale of items HERE

Supplies
Paper: Recollections 110lb white
Stamps: PTI Lovely Laurels, Meadow Greens (sentiments)
Ink: AE mint to be, aquamarine, fog

Avery Elle ink comparison to Fresh inks

I had some questions from blog readers about the comparison between Fresh and Avery Elle inks so I took some pictures to compare the two.  (note- they are both hybrid pigment inks, meaning that they are quick drying full coverage inks, perfect for clear stamps.)  The colours are vivid and, in my opinion, gorgeous!

I have taken pictures in colour families and some closeups with similar shades.  I used my phone so the pictures might be an odd size ... just go with it! :)  And for larger zoomed in images, click on the picture to see it better.

the pink hues:

AE orchid is a bit more purple in tone 

but FI sugar and AE pixie are very similar.

 the purple and red hues:

 FI silver lilac is a pale greyish purple hue.  Stunning in person.  

FI merlot is a deep red, just like a good Merlot wine.  

AE sugar plum is a deep magenta.

 Above and below are the reds ... FI fuschia could've been in the pink section as it is a reddish pink shade, like its namesake ... :)

the yellows and oranges:

FI mango and AE mimosa are the only 

two similar ones but FI mango is a little bit deeper and darker.

 the green hues:

 FI mint and AE mint to be are very similar ....

It's hard to tell here but FI pear is a light powdery spring moss sort of shade.
And FI tuscan olive is a darker green than AE lemon grass which is a brighter more lime shade.

the greys and browns:

 ** FI blue sage could be in the blue section or the greys as it's a pale blue grey.  

I put it in this category as well so you can see it compared to FI provincial gray.

So there you have it - some ink comparisons from my Fresh and Avery Ele collection!  Easily stamped with my MISTI, pigment inks, PTI tag sale die and a stamp from PTI's Four Square.

Hopefully this is helpful to people looking to broaden their ink collection. :)

my original AE ink collection post here

Papertrey February 2015 blog hop - hello

This month's blog hop is all about the smooshing technique ... what fun!

In the past, I have used cheap watercolour paper and my pieces would always fall apart or the paper would start to ball up if I used too much water.  I invested in some thicker papers on discount and am so glad - what a difference it has made!

I used the gorgeous PTI background stamp (Venice) with some clear Zing embossing powder and Versamark powder.  I heat embossed and then added a variety of my new Avery Elle inks (see my swatch post here) and some Studio Calico shine spray onto my work surface.  I smooshed the heat embossed Strathmore watercolour paper into the mixture and held my breath.

The Studio Calico shine spray adds a nice extra sparkle to this simple card ... I couldn't quite get a very good picture but I tried ... it's late here and no natural sunlight!  What's new, right?!

I added a 'hello' die cut into the panel, popped the piece up with foam tape and added in the piece from the 'e' and 'o' to complete the card.  The Tropical Teal cardstock base adds a darker colour to the card.  

So how did you like the smooshing technique?  Please share your tips here!

I have some items for sale - check out my post here:

http://cardsbycara.blogspot.ca/2014/11/some-items-for-sale.html

Avery Elle ink swatches - set of 15

So, I have a bit of an addiction ... an addiction for inks and colour.  I just got some Avery Elle inkpads at a deep discount and decided to make some swatches to compare them to my others.  They are beautifully pigmented and the colours are gorgeous!  I used my MISTI and a Papertrey Ink die (tag sale #5) and stamp from the Four Square stamp set.

Colours pictured L --》R:

cherry, raspberry, fizz, mimosa, celery

lemon grass, sea glass, mint to be, aquamarine

 sapphire, pixie, orchid, sugar plum, fog

Avery Elle set of 15 colour chart

Papertrey Make it Monday - Cover plate stencils and embossing paste

This week's Make it Monday is all about using a cover plate as a stencil for embossing paste.  I love this technique!  The talented Laurie showed us her beautiful creation with transluscent embossing paste and although I have that, I decided to use pearlescent instead.  It has a gorgeous shimmer to it that I just love ...

I used a heart cover plate and washi taped off one row to use with the Dreamweaver pearlescent embossing paste.  I laid it on thick and then smoothed it out as much as possible.  I removed the stencil and let the paste dry.  I actually wrote some report cards while waiting ... might as well make use of my time! :)  Deadlines and all!

I added a sentiment from Luxe Letterpress using Fresh steel blue ink and some Mini Blooms in mint ink at the top and bottom.

I added some Wink of Stella clear on the flowers, cut down the white card panel (Recollections 110lb white) and added it to a PTI kraft base.  Easy peasy!

Papertrey inspired by Maile

Ahh, Maile ... how I love her style and her design sense.  If only I had an ounce of her creativity and talent!  I am so glad that she is back and will be designing for Papertrey again!  This challenge is inspired by Maile ... I took her tipped card stock design that she often does and added some gold foil CS (DCWV) to a cream linen textured card stock base.  (Click to enlarge any of the pictures to see the texture of this card stock - it rocks!)

I then stamped Sketched Shapes' sentiment in Fresh ink fuschia, triple stamping with my trusty MISTI and then Versafine onyx black for the 'smile' portion.

I added some Fresh sugar sketchy polka dots here and there as well, stamping some off of the edges and masking off the foil.

My pictures were all taken with my camera phone and I didn't have a chance to edit them from their oblong shape so my excuses!!

Papertrey Spring into Action challenge

I pulled out my Signature Greetings II set for this challenge to use an unused or only lightly inked set.

I took a 110lb white Recollectons card base and stamped the sentiment from Signature Greetings II in Fresh navy ink.

I did some rainbow watercolouring on a piece of Strathmore watercolour paper and cut it out with the Slide Frame die.

I added some foam tape underneath and popped it up on the card base.  Super easy and super simple!  I think I might take my Wink of Stella and add some shimmer to the die cut.