Chapter One - Coffee Loving Blog Hop Fall/Winter 2019

This is my very first time of entering the Coffee Blog Hop.  I have followed along and admired the many coffee themed cards for years now and yet never enters.  And even still I am on the last day, nearly at the last minute, yet here I am.

I think coffee and reading go together.  Maybe that is because I like to get my coffee and read my Bible verses for the morning, my email, Facebook, and blog posts, it's like a morning ritual that gets my day going.  So for this card I thought of book and coffee.  I also had a friend in mind who is an avid reader of books, so making this card just made me smile as I wondered how he is these days.

Stamps by Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous, Stampin' Up! and Unity Stamp Company, 

Stamps by Unity Stamp Company

You can find so many wonderful coffee themed cards here at Coffee Loving Card Makers.

And be sure to check out all the wonderful cards made for this hop here: http://coffeelovingcardmakers.com/2019/11/2019-fall-winter-coffee-lovers-blog-hop/

Thank you for stopping by and may you have wonderful coffee filled memories.

Deborah David

Dino Birthday Play

I am finishing up a Birthday Card, Diorama for my four year old grandson.

I used Tim Holtz Dinosaur Die set and cut the Dinosaurs out of Fun Foam.  The background is painted onto a 7x9 art board.

This was so much fun making it and I hope he will have a few hours of play out of it before it falls apart.  LOL....

I have already started on a second one for another grandchild who is turning five.  I wish I could be there to see their little faces when they get it in the mail.  Oh and there will be some money hiding in the rocks.

I hope this inspired you to think beyond a card with some of your dies.

I am also entering this in the Simon Says Stamp Blog:

Happy World Card Making Day from Simon Says Stamp!

world-card-making-day-simon-style-2

May your day be blessed and thank you for stopping by,

Deborah

A Farm Needs a Barn

 I always hoped to have a farm and especially to have chickens.  It never happened and probably never will but now and again I still think about that.

The idea for this card comes from and uses Barn Door stamp and dies from Stampin' Up!  The Chickens are also from Stampin'  Up!  The whole card is just so cute.


I have a friend who runs a local farm and I buy many vegetables from her in the summer months.  This card is going to be a perfect "hello."

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge is: Down On The Farm.  You can see the details and view other participants here:  https://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge/?p=16344

May you have a blessed early spring week.  The week that leads up to the celebration of Jesus Christ arisen.  

Deborah David

Mathew 20:17-19

17 Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, 

18 “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death 

19 and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”

Relax by the Lake

I would like to do more watercolor cards.  To me they are like mixture paintings that don't take too long but still let me relax in my own world, focused just on how the paint flows onto paper.

This card is a mixture of elements. The frame is a die from Hero Arts.  The background only uses the mountain from a Stampin Up! set as my inspiration and all hand painted.  The foreground chair is a die from Stampin Up!

This reminds me of a hedge of ivy that leads down to a perfect quiet sandy beach.

Since Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge is to Create a Scene -  I am going to enter it here:  

https://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge/simon-says-create-a-scene-3/

It has been a long and cold winter this year with lots of snow in many areas of the U.S.  I for one am anxious to have long warm sunny days and a few visits to the lake nearby.  I have always wanted to live right on the water, but I guess a couple miles away isn't too bad.  I am blessed.  May you be blessed this week in all you do, share, enjoy and love.

Deborah David

Where You Go - I Go With You

Just a simple water colored Anniversary Card using a scene die cut on watercolor paper.  Bike is by Stampin Up!  The words I used are computer generated rated and then punched out.

I love the serene feel this card has along with the commitment of two hearts going together.

This card is going into the Simon Says Stamp - Monday Challenge - Things With Wheels, here:
https://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge/?p=15516

Hope you enjoy the coming week and may it be filled with love.

Deborah David

A Heart Holds the Color Red

I have a friend who loves coffee, as I do and many others I know.  I wanted to send her a hello greeting and just thought it would be coffee relate and since Valentine Day is this coming week, this stamp from Unity Stamp Company fit the theme perfectly.

A fairly straight forward and easy card.  The heart on the coffee cup has glossy accents over it which gives it a nice pop and shine from the rest of the card elements.

The inside greeting is by: Our Daily Bread Designs which is now Divinity Designs.

Close up showing the heart with Glossy Accents. 

Inside Greeting just fits this card so beautifully.

I'm entering this card in the Monday Challenge at Simon Says Stamp Blog here:

https://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge/?p=15510 

Thanks for stopping by.  May you have a wonderful week filled with lots of Love, Joy and Giving unto Others.  

Deborah David

Have a Heart Full of Love

I fell in love with this Stampin' Up! designer series paper last year but hadn't used it.  You know it's part of the eroding of beautiful patterns, colors  that are in the papers these days.

Since foiling is a big thing once again with card makers I had to go back and revisit this technique and play with it again.  I only slightly messed with foiling back in the early 2000's and things have changed.  I now have a laminator,  and a little stash of foils from the newer companies so I was set to go.


The stamp set I used is Hero Arts Stamp Kit from January 2016.  I thought it would be perfect for the SU papers and some gold foiling.  Little did I know with my great enthusiasm and hopes that I would have so many problems getting those little detailed flowers in the heart shaped stamp to foil clearing.  I either got spotting adhesion of the foil or a big blogs of foil with out detail.  I tired several different ways, sticky powder embossing - foil, run though the big shot; sticky powder embossing -foil, run through the laminator; clear embossing - foil, run through the laminator with or without a cover sheet.  Let's just say I threw away a lot of errors.  And my frustration was over the top.

In the end I gave up with trying to foil that heart shaped clump of tiny flower shapes and embossed it all with gold embossing powder.  However I was still wanting to understand how to make this work.  So I took some of the individual flower shapes and ran that with many different ways trying to get the foil to give me a nice clear impression.  I also threw away a lot of errors again but in the end I got a pretty good impression with clear embossing powder, melt that, add foil and run through the laminator in a cover sheet once.  If I ran it twice I got a blob.  If I ran it without a cover sheet I got a blob.  You can see the individual flowers at each end of the sentiment strip on the card.

I am sure I will keep trying to figure this out.  I think every laminator machine is different and perhaps as my daughter says what embossing powder one uses may have something to do with it too.

This pretty little card is going to Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - "Have a Heart." 

Head on over and see what other beauties people have created here:  

https://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge/simon-says-heart/

May the coming week be filled with blessings and love.

Thanks for stopping by, 

Deborah David

Make-Up Brushes for Ink Blending

This was brand new to me.  I am use to using the stencil brushes or the round foam pads for ink
blending but had seen some others use these very very dense make-up brushes and I wanted to give it a try.  Well I am not so sure I like it, maybe I had too heavy a hand or didn't know what I was doing.

The first attempt I used Ranger Speciality Stamping Paper because it is the card stock I like best for blending since the ink stays wet a bit longer on it.  However I didn't like it so switched to Neenah Paper which is what I finished up the card with.  As for the brushes themselves I found the ink does not stay on the brushes for very long.  In fact by the time I did a few circular motions I could rub the brush on a white towel and noting transferred.  It almost got frustrating trying to get an over all smooth finish with a lighter edge disappearing into the white card stock.  On the envelope I gave up with the blue and just used a well inked foam pad and it did much better.  I'll probably go back and add a few Nuvo drops but I didn't have time this evening.

It makes sense that one would not want these brushes to hold onto the makeup but transfer it, however make-up usually has an oil base and I think that is going to allow for a smooth finish with make-up but for me anyway, I was disappointed with using a water based ink. So I think I will retire these brushes from my studio to my make-up bin.


Flower Stamp - Unity Stamp Company
Greeting - Designed Inked (I miss that company)
Inks - Distress

I'm entering this into the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Card + Matching Envelope

https://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge/16639-2/

Thank for stopping by. 

Deborah David

Use Something New

I purchased the Tim Holtz "Paper-Cut Bird" way last fall and hadn't used the die yet.  I had always thought this die would need to be in front of a really cool background or need stained with watercolor paints but it wasn't until Tim featured his new die "Organic" in black card stock that I knew that is how I would do it.  I had never thought of using black card stock as I am just not into the real dark colors but this came out stunning.  The Bird panel is cut down to fit a 4.5x6 inch card base.  Black strips of paper are used to make a frame and finish off the cut ends of the Bird panel.

The background is alcohol ink with a bit of gold, mixative as well.  This background had enough white left in it to make the black card stock really stand out.

Because the card seemed so plain when finished, I decided to add a silk ribbon stained with Mowed Lawn ink into the birds mouth with the words "Hello Friend" stamped on the ribbon.  The stamp set I used is also by Tim Holtz.

The inside of the card got a general greeting by Unity Stamp Company.

I will be entering this in the Simon Says Stamp Blog Monday Challenge here:

https://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge/

I hope you all had a wonderful time playing with any new products, stamps or dies you recently acquired and if not the ending results may surprise you with glee in your creative process.

Thank you for stopping by,

Deborah

It's a Party! Shake it Up! Happy Birthday!

My oldest grandson turns 15.  The years, like all years in the lives of our children and grandchildren just seem to swiftly pass by as they grow up.

This card using the New Tonic Studios Cardmaking Collection Issue 7 Magazine with Celestial Star Die Sets, which also includes an embossing folder and stamps to match the set.

I die cut the craft paper, ran it through the matching embossing folder and lightly applied some ink onto the high spots.  The window around the "You're a Star" is filled with little gold stars and sequins.

I am entering this into the Simon Says Stamp Blog Monday Challenge "Party Time"

Here: https://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge/

Thanks for stopping by,

Deborah

Happy Moos Year!

I live where there are moose and snow and I adored this Merry Moose by Tim Holtz.   I call this cute moose "Tim's Wonky Moose" but actually when a Moose runs they do look a bit like this guy.

He is having a bright fun New Year's Evening enjoying the show of fireworks as he runs though the snow.

Firework stamp was stamped onto black cardstock with Versamark Ink.  I used the Ranger Sticky embossing powder then applied foil over it.  Next I enclosed the cardstock with the foil into printer paper, added another cut piece of cardstock over it, sandwiched it all between the embossing plates on my big shot and ran it through.  I was amazed and thrilled at the wonderful transfer of foil I got with that technique.

Snow along the bottom of the card is Ranger's Distress Grit-Paste.  Next I applied Tonic Nuvo Aqua Flow Pen, Glitter Gloss,  for that frozen sparkle that happens at night when a light bounces off the snow on the white paper and the grit-paste.

I am entering this cutie in the Simon Says Stamp Blog Wednesday Challenge, "Something New" 

Here: https://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge/

Happy New Year Everyone, may the year be full of Blessings, Love, Joy.

Deborah

Stamped with Transferred Ink from Alcohol Inked Yupo Paper

In the previous post I featured the Christmas Cards for this year.  On that card I stamped a snowflake in the middle of a punched out Alcohol inked on Yupo paper ornament.  This card features how I used the snowflake after removing the alcohol ink from the ornament.  I filled a sheet with snowflakes, multi-colored snowflakes.  Highly unusual but so so pretty.

I had to match the sheet of snowflakes with something that would set them off and after holding many different papers up to this background sheet I settled on a multi glitter black paper I had in my stash.  The Trees are a die from Tim Holtz as well as the deer.  The deer are die cut from silver glitter paper.

If one wonders why I have the greeting as "smile" it is because inside the card I added a Christmas greeting pertaining to the birth of Christ.

And so I hope this little card creation also gives you a smile.

I'm entering this in Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, Christmas.  There are so many wonderful creations to see.  

Go check it out here:     https://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge/

Thanks for stopping by and have a blessed bright day.

Deborah

Christmas 2018

As always I am behind, which leaves me frantically busy (fun busy) together the Christmas Cards finished and mailed by the 12th of December.  I am almost there.  I only send card to those that are closest to me so in the reality of it compared to some of my friends I have it easy.

Simon Says Stamp is running a Christmas Card Day and people are posting their beautiful Christmas cards for this year.  I thought I would do a quick blog entry and join in on the fun.

This card is stamped, hand water colored using several different mediums.  The red card stock is embossed with Stampin' Up! (SU) new "Subtle Dynamic Textured Impressions" I love this folder and had waited years for someone to do a embossing folder that minced the linen heaven look of papers you can buy.  I am surprised it took so long.  Other items are an older branch stamp by SU in which I added some watercolor branches to it to fill it in more.  The red card stock after being embossed has a Rub-On applied gently around the edges using the pearl to give a bit of shine to the duller read cs.  

The ornament is punched from a sheet of alcohol inks on Yupo paper, foil is applied in area and a simple snow flake was achieved by using the alcohol lift ink.  I no longer know who made the snowflake stamp as I break down all sets into categories and this stamp is unmounted from years ago.

The “Christmas Greetings” is by Tim Holtz . 

Since I finished these cards and took pictures I have gone back and added a gold die cut bow to the top of the ornament coving the hole that the gold thread goes through.  I'll add a picture of that later.

I like this card much better with the bow on the ornament.

Thank you for stopping by.  I hope these brought a smile and inspiration into your creative process.

Merry Christmas and blessings always,

Deborah David

A Bit of Gold Always Brings a Smile.

A few weeks ago I covered a card panel with Mowed Lawn and Twisted Citron Oxide Inks.  It was pretty plain but splotchy.  I then added a bit of Broken China oxide ink to the green panel and added a few water drops.  The panel was set off to dry and forgotten.

While doing a bit of clean up I came across it and thought it needed leaves or some natural greenery to it but wasn't sure.  It sat longer.  Then today I took it up again and sent it through an embossing folder that had a lots of leaf impressions.  Next I put a little bit of Gold Nuvo Mousse onto the glass mat and ran a roller though it so I could roll across the paper and hit the high spots of the leaves.

Because I have a leaf theme going I took one of my leaf dies that sort of matched the embossing leaves and die cut the leaves with gold paper.  It is held off the paper with a green fun foam cut with the same die.

I still thought the card needed more so I ran a tiny bit of Black Distress Crayon around the edge and smudged it with a damp finger as I did not want it very black.  I next bordered the panel with Krylon Gold pen for a little bit of gold right on the edge.

I wasn't sure how I wanted to mount it onto the actual card as a full panel or cut it down so it would have a border.  I ended up cutting the panel so there would be a border of something else around the edge of the finished card.  Looking though my stash of printed papers looking for something to match and coming up with nothing I used a black and white print and sponged Mowed Law Distress Ink all around the edge.  When it was dry I used the Krylon Gold pen to border it.

In the end I think it came out pretty good.  I am still trying to think outside the simple box so doing cards that seem multi-media are not only fun but pushes me into a more artsy form of card making.  

The sentiment if from Cornish Hens Stamp Company embossed with black on a cut off piece of the original panel which I also used Krylon Gold Pen on around the edges and sprinkled Nuvo Mousse watered down on it.   I don't think Corning Hens Stamps are still in business.

I am entering this card in the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - All That Glitters is Gold.

Check out all the fantastic Cards using some Gold over on Simon Says Stamp Blog Wednesday Challenge.  Enjoy.

https://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge/simon-says-glitters-gold/

Thanks for stopping by and taking a peak at my creative endeavors.  May you day always have a bit of Gold sprinkled in somewhere.

Blessings,

Deborah

Gel Press Papers for the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge

The Monday Challenge at Simon Says Stamp Blog is to do your own background.  This gave me the perfect time to finally use the Gel Press I had purchased months ago.  I really had no idea what I was doing but for watching a few videos.

I gathered a few stencils, the roller, extra papers ready cut and my distress paints and thought I would go with that for my first try.  I later discovered it is better to use a more pigmented acrylic paints, as opposed to distress paints.  I have since purchased some of those paints but have not used them yet.  However the distress paints give a different effect and many people like how these paints separate on the Gel Press instead of a more even coverage.

I did four half sheets letter size paper.  I used standard card stock.  I wasn't too thrilled with the outcome, but have to recognize this is a new medium for me and in all likelihood what I produced is pretty standard looking for mono printing with the Gel Press.

I would like to in the future play with some other papers and of course the better paints.

I forgot to take a picture of the completed paper before making it into a card.  Here is a close up.

I have since fixed the glue over spill onto the white leaves, which show up in a picture but not so much in real life.

Full card

You can check out the Challenge here:
https://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge/#TB_inline?inlineId=tb-7535

Thank you for stopping by.

Have a wonderful and blessed day,

Deborah