Punches, Part III

Here is an adorable Halloween card from the punches class. 

I love this little bat that was made using the Owl Builder punch.  Even his wings were made using the owl's chest piece placed upside down!  A little sponging with Whisper White craft ink, a couple of eyes made using the owl punch and a goofy smile made using a Signo Gel Pen finish this little guy off.  Hang him upside down from the branch from the Bird Builder punch and use the Circle Collections framelits for a big, bright moon.   The sentiment from the Seasonal Sayings stamp set and some Washi tape finish off the inside.

Here's a tip for you:  When punching little items like the eyes from the Owl Builder punch, use Stampin' Up!'s Multipurpose Adhesive on the back of your paper BEFORE you punch.  This way your adhesive is already there and those little pieces are so much easier to attach to each other!

Here's what you will need to duplicate this card:
Stamps:      Seasonal Sayings, Tags 4 You
Inks:           Tangerine Tango, Black Stazon, Basic Black (sponging) & White craft
Paper:        Night of Navy, Whisper White, Daffodil Delight, Basic Black, Early Espresso
Other:       Witches Brew Washi Tape from Holiday catalog, Chevron embossing folder, Signo
                   Gel Pen, Multipurpose Adhesive sheet

Forever Stampin',

    Cathy Williams

Technique Tuesday - Washi Tape...

Have you joined the Washi craze?  I hadn't until I got a bunch of it at convention.  Now I am finding all kinds of fun things to do with it.  Here's one - create a new background with it.

 Here's what you need to create this background:

• Washi Tape - 3-4 coordinating patterns
• Piece of Cardstock - your color is only dependent on if you have any Washi that is transparent.
• Embossing Folder - I used the Argyle
• Sponge and Ink (not shown)
• Sanding Block (not shown)

 Begin in one corner of your cardstock and put a piece of your first of Washi at an angle.

 Continue lining up each strip of Washi with the next.  I leave a bit hanging over which helps hold your cardstock in place.

 Here's what it should look like when you are done placing your Washi.

 Here are the two ways you can handle the Washi tape ends.  You can trim them off with scissors or,

 Just fold them over to the back!

 Next take your Washi background and run it through the Big Shot with your embossing folder.

 Lightly sand the top of the embossed pattern.

Sponge the top with a coordinating ink color (I used Basic Gray).

 Here is the card that I made with the background.  The little bat is made using the Owl Builder punch.  His wings are made using the owl vest.

Finally here is the inside of the card where I used the Washi tape horizontally.

Here's what you will need to duplicate this card:
Stamps:       Seasonal Sayings, Tags 4 You
Inks:          Basic Black, Basic Gray, Only Orange (marker), White Craft
Paper:       Only Orange, Whisper White, Basic Black
Other:        Witches' Brew Washi Tape, 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon (Black), Owl Builder Punch, Label
                    Bracket Punch, Argyle Embossing Folder, Sponge, Signo Gel Pen, Black & Orange Glitter

Forever Stampin',

    Cathy Williams

Stampin' Up! - Hearts A Flutter...

Here's a card that I did with a new group in February.  It was fun bringing back some of the techniques that I have done in the past for new people.  Here, I brought back the Magic Ink Background technique which you can find in the Techniques section of the blog.  I made the glossy cardstock piece larger than we needed on the front of the card so we could cut a 1" strip off of it to inside the card.

Here's what you will need to duplicate this card:
Stamps:       Hearts A Flutter, Seasonal Sayings, Itty Bitty Banners &
                   Teeny Tiny Wishes
Inks:           Daffodil Delight, Pretty in Pink, Melon Mambo & VersaMark
Paper:        Pretty in Pink, Melon Mambo & Whisper White
Other:        Hearts A Flutter framelits, Clear embossing powder, Fancy
                   Fan embossing folder, Bitty Banners framelit, mini brads,
                   Neutrals brads, Circle punch, Melon Mambo ribbon (see
                   Magic Ink Background technique for technique supplies)

Forever Stampin',

    Cathy Williams

Gently Falling and a Bleach Technique...

Here's a card we made at a workshop last weekend which uses the direct to stamp bleaching technique.  Keep your eye out for a Technique Tuesday to show this technique and other bleaching ideas.

 Here's what I used for this card:

• Cardstock - Cajun Craze, Cherry Cobbler, Soft Suede, Always Artichoke, More Mustard, Crumb Cake and Early Espresso Core'dinations
• Ink - Early Espresso and bleach
• Stamp Set - Seasonal Sayings & Gently Falling
• Woodgrain embossing folder
• Brushed Bronze button
• Linen Thread
• Always Artichoke Seam Binding
• 1 3/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches
• Apothecary Accents framelit
• Sanding block

Here's the inside of the card with just the bleaching.

Embellished Events Stamp Set...

Here's a card that I cased from my upline, Stella MacKay - thanks Stella!  As usual, I added my own touches to the design since I am never good at just copying. 

 Here's what I used for this card:

• Cardstock - Gumball Green, Real Red and Very Vanilla
• DSP - Be of Good Cheer
• Inks - Cherry Cobbler and Gumball Green
• Stamp Sets - Seasonal Sayings, Greetings of the Season and Embellished Events
• Boho Blossoms and Word Window punches
• Red Glitter brad and rhinestones
• Dazzling Diamonds

Here's the inside of the card which is simple but pretty.

An Oldie but Goodie....

Do you have a stamp set that you just never get tired of?  Here's one for me - Lovely as a Tree.  Every year, there are long discussions among demonstrators on whether or not Stampin' Up! will retire this stamp set and every year it is still there.  I cannot imagine the uproar when they do decide to retire it.  I used daubers and ink to color the tree on this card and I think it turned out beautifully.  I certainly cannot wait until the fall colors start to show themselves around here.  Fall colors equals cooler temperatures and I am getting tired of 90 degree plus days.

 Okay, back to the stamping.  Since this card has so many steps I figured that I would just tell you how I made it instead of just giving you a list of items so here goes.   First, I stamped the oak leaves on Cherry Cobbler cardstock using Early Espresso ink.  I then stamped the little  pine cones using VersaMark on the left and right sides of the Crumb Cake bottom cardstock as well as the sentiment from the Seasonal Sayings stamp set.  It was then attached to the Cherry Cobbler paper.  I then wrapped the ribbon around the center and attached it to an Always Artichoke card.  I ran the Early Espresso through the Big Shot with the Labels Collection die and then through again using the Lacy Brocade embossing folder from the Holiday mini.  I then sanded it down and attached it to the card using dimensionals.
I then stamped the oak tree on Very Vanilla cardstock and used the smaller Labels Collection die to cut it out.  I then used daubers in Daffodil Delight, Cajun Craze, Cherry Cobbler and Always Artichoke inks to color the tree.  I used Soft Suede and a blender pen to color the tree trunk.  Finally, I stamped the oak leaves on Very Vanilla, colored it with the daubers and covered it with Crystal Effects.  Once dry, I attached it to the card.  The final step was to add tiny pearls to the sentiment.  Phew, did you follow all that?

And here's the inside which was stamped with the pine cones in VersaMark and the oak leaves in Early Espresso and then colored with the daubers.