Looking Forward to the Cool Fall Air....

 Of course, we are going to have to extinguish all those fires here in California before the fall air is clear but since two weeks ago it was 106 degrees, cool but smoky air would be okay with me!

When I looked at the Among the Branches stamp set and looked at the Autumn Wishes & Tasty Dishes stamp, I thought "ok, that will work at the Thanksgiving dinner table but not so much for cards".  Hah!  Just hide it.  A couple rounds of gold cord and an Into the Woods Element acorn will do just nicely to hide the words "& tasty dishes".

See last Friday's blog entry (Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds) for a tip on getting a good stamped image for the Autumn Wishes stamp.  Also, you can use a blender pen and the ink pad to gently add color to places that you don't get a good stamping.

I used the new Fine Tip Glue Pen to run along the seam of the Mossy Meadow and Into the Woods Designer Series Paper to glue down the gold cord.  You will need to hold it in place for a minute to allow the glue to set.

Forever Stampin',

    Cathy Williams

Product List

Happy Scenes Photopolymer Stamp Set [139821]	Among The Branches Photopolymer Stamp Set [139823]	Tangelo Twist 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [133677]	Early Espresso 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [119686]
Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730]	Daffodil Delight 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [119683]	Into The Woods Designer Series Paper [139586]	Mossy Meadow 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [133676]
Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad [126978]	Mossy Meadow Classic Stampin' Pad [133645]	Tangelo Twist Classic Stampin' Pad [133646]	Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad [126953]
2" Circle Punch [133782]	Season Of Cheer Designer Washi Tape [139611]	Gold Cording Trim [139618]	Into The Woods Elements [139636]
Fine-Tip Glue Pen [138309]	Aqua Painters [103954]

Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" Revisited...

Halloween is supposed to be scary, right?  Well, when I think scary I think of Alfred Hitchcock's movie "The Birds".  I was a young child when I watched it with a friend and it has always stuck with me.  It also helps that I spend a lot of time in Bodega Bay and the little town of Bodega where the movie was filmed. That church on the hill, I drive by it all the time and I always think of all of those birds.  So one blackbird in a tree isn't really scary but five of them?  Now you are getting closer....

To make the foggy look to the Spooky circle, just stamp in Blackberry Bliss and then take your Blender Pen and work back and forth gently until you remove some of the color in those areas.

Tip:  If you are not getting a good stamped image with a photopolymer solid stamp like this, make sure your stamp is clean and ink it up with VersaMark ink.  Then without cleaning, ink it up with your chosen color of ink.  The VersaMark ink attracts the other ink giving you a much better amount of ink onto your stamp.  Make sure that you have a pad of some sort below your grid paper and press gently over the entire image.  With photopolymer stamps, you always want to have a soft pad (think Stampin' Up!'s Piercing Mat or a piece of fun foam).  Wood and clear mount stamps have the foam built in but photopolymer doesn't have any foam and you want that "give".

Here is the inside of the card.  You cannot really tell the color but the "BOO" is cut out of Blackberry Bliss cardstock.

Forever Stampin',

    Cathy Williams

Product List

Among The Branches Photopolymer Bundle [140872]	Blackberry Bliss 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [133675]	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730]	Into The Woods Designer Series Paper [139586]
Black Glimmer Paper [139605]	Jet Black Stazon Ink Pad [101406]	Blackberry Bliss Classic Stampin' Pad [133642]	Little Letters Thinlits Die [133730]
Circles Collection Framelits Die [130911]	2" Circle Punch [133782]	Everyday Chic Designer Washi Tape [138385]	Spider Web Doilies [139622]
Blender Pens [102845]