Debossed Inky Resist

Hello Stamplings!

Welcome to the last day of the second month of this year already. I'm going to stand on this little calendar square and not move with the hope that I can enjoy this month a little longer. Then again, I don't want to hold up spring, especially after a week of cold, rain, sleet, and snow in many places, even in the lower elevations of California. Snow falling in Hollywood is a sight to see!

Today the Group of Seven Cardmakers posts the cards we made following our crafty Zoom session earlier in the month. This month Julia led the group based on a video she saw on Splitcoaststampers called Debossed Inky Resist (by Anna-Karin Evaldsson). It involves an embossing folder, heat embossing, and smooching of up to four colors of ink. Here are my results:

Onefer

The embossing folder I used is from Sizzix and the dragonfly die is from Clearly Besotted. The sediment is from Waffle Flower. I used two colors of Distress Inks. I don't remember their names and they are in a container behind where Nellie is fast asleep on her doggy divan, so Hammy suggests we call them Poolside Pickle and Toasted Caramel. (How lucky was I to find paper that matched the inks so well!)

To be honest, it took me a few attempts to get this technique to work for me. Basically you swipe your Versamark ink onto the non-bumpy side of the embossing folder, add your paper and run it through your machine. Then you add white embossing powder and heat it. Adding the powder is where I ran into trouble because I kept putting the white powder on the wrong side of the white paper. Oy. Once I stopped doing that, things went smoothly. (I should have tried it with colored e/p until I got the hang of it.)

After heat-embossing, you smooch your panel around in spritzed inks. The embossed bits in the depressions will resist the ink and stay white. I did find that using thinner watercolor paper worked better for me. And while the 3D e/fs gave a lovely depression, I also had great success using my non-3D folders, such as the ones I used for both my cards shown.

Challenges

• Can You Handle the Pressure: Anything embossing goes with twist of "things with wings."
  
• Little Red Wagon: Die-cuts.
  
• SSS Wednesday: Anything goes.
  

Twofer

The embossing folder I used here is from Darice and the sediment is from The Ton. The upcycled felt deer was in my stash and the little red cardinal was created from the "Happy Snowman" set by Gerda Steiner.

Challenges

• ABC Christmas: C is for checks; D is for die-cuts.
  
• Peace on Earth: Anything Christmas goes.
  
• Rudolph Days: Anything Christmas goes.

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Technique/Linky Details

If you'd like more information or have any questions about the Debossed Inky Resist technique, please visit the Group of Seven Cardmakers blog. You'll also find an Inlinkz tool for you to share your cards using this technique! We'd love to know you are enjoying these new or revisited techniques and can't wait to see what you make!

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Enjoy your day! No, seriously, enjoy! LITS!*

As always, thank you for coming by to visit the Playhouse and special thanks to you if you take the time to join as a follower! Please let me know you came by so I can be sure and return the flavor!

*Life is too short!

To open the pop-up comment box that let's you jump to the end w/o scrolling: Click CTL + Home. Click the Home tab under my blog banner which resets the post. Click Page Down to reach the end of the post. Click Comments and a pop-up box opens. Click "Jump to Comment Form" and wallah, no more car pool tunnel! Mwah! (p.s. If you ask me a question in your comment, please remember to leave me your email address so I can respond. Thank you!)

Greens and Blues

Hello Stamplings!

I hope you've had a good week and you're feeling well! We've had some excellent springlike weather, but in a coupla days, that's going to fade out to allow winter to come rushing back in for an encore.

While they are here, the sunny days and warm temps brought this first design to mind.

Onefer

I can't look at this card without laughing, which makes it hard to type. What happened was, this NBUS Sissix "Thankful Bicycle" stamp and die set was on super sale somewhere and naturally I couldn't resist a deal. 

The background embossed cloud panel was in my stash. I added Washi tape shamrock grass and then die-cut the bicycle and flower wheels. I used my Ziggies for the first time in ages to watercolor the flowers, which Hammy winked. I die-cut once more to make the basket and I fussy-cut some of the shamrock flowers from the Washi tape to fill the basket.

That didn't take long, but then I sat hunched over for ages trying to make the flowers fit into the wheel hubs. The front was straight-forward, but the back fender is really curved too much for the flower to clear the hub. Rolling them this-way and that, I finally found the best spot and glued everything down.

It wasn't until I took the photo that Hammy and I fell over laffing because we hadn't realized that the flowers had a flat spot which I stupidly lined up in such a way that now it looks like this poor green bicycle has two flat flower tires! What's the rider to do with two flat flower tires? 

And from the hamster cage:

"Shirley you realize that the rider wasn't going to drive on those 'tires' no matter what the rotation?" 

Imagine a wee hamster, speaking sardonically, and using little tiny paws to make air quotes. 😂😂😂

Challenges

• Color Hues: Lime green and cyan.
  
• SSS Monday: Things with wheels.
  
• Snippets Playground: Anything goes with snippets. I used snippets for the bicycle, the basket, the sediment, and the flowers.

Twofer

Aaah, no drama-rama-ding-dong with this CASlicious design! A simple e/f, a strip of perfect Washi tape, and a bird and tag from my stash. Thassit. QACAS to the max usin' up my schtuffs! I love these colors, so I also have the fixings for a few macaw cards and a few flower stencil cards, but I didn't finish them in time for this publication.

Challenges

• Allsorts: Anything goes (w/ option of wings.)
  
• Can You Handle the Pressure: Anything goes (w/o option).
  Happy 1st Anniversary!
• Double D: Birds.

Threefer

And for my Christmas card, another QACASilicious and self-exploratory design. It's a design I used for this past Christmas, but didn't post. I decided I loved it so much, I made more. The stamp ("The Magic of Christmas" from Simon Says Stamp) was colored directly using markers and spritzed before stamping. The NBUS sediment is called, "Holiday Greetings Mix 1" and it is also from SSS.

Challenges

• Krafty Chicks: CAS.
  
• The Four Seasons: Winter.
  
• We Love Stamping: Anything stamped (no option).

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Enjoy your day! No, seriously, enjoy! LITS!*

As always, thank you for coming by to visit the Playhouse and special thanks to you if you take the time to join as a follower! Please let me know you came by so I can be sure and return the flavor!

*Life is too short!

To open the pop-up comment box that let's you jump to the end w/o scrolling: Click CTL + Home. Click the Home tab under my blog banner which resets the post. Click Page Down to reach the end of the post. Click Comments and a pop-up box opens. Click "Jump to Comment Form" and wallah, no more car pool tunnel! Mwah! (p.s. If you ask me a question in your comment, please remember to leave me your email address so I can respond. Thank you!)

Happy Heart Day!

Hello Stamplings!

How are you doing? Are you looking forward to a mandatory day of chocolate and lovey-dovey? Oh, hee hee, I guess I've got my priorities wrong! Don't tell The Mister! I hope you have a Happy -entine's Day today or tomorrow, depending on where you live. Whether it's with a Val, Gal, Pal, Sal, Cal, Hal, or even a Youentine's Day, have a good one!

I've had a coupla busy weeks helping out friends and making a few Entine's Day cards myself, some of which I even forgot to photograph. That's a new step in my aging journey. I'm just sorry that you didn't get to see them because they were the best designs I've ever made. No they weren't. That's a total lie. But I do have two to share.

Onefer

How many heart dies do you have? I ask that to make myself feel better as I look down at my enormous adequate pile of them. I must have purchased this NBUS heart die on sale sometime since the last VD. It's from poppystamps and it's called, "Floral Lace Heart Split Border." Yep, I think that about covers it.

Depending on how your eyeballs look at it, and in spite of the name, you might not be sure what the die cuts, so I've added a photo. I've had the love sediment for years and I still love it. It's from My Creative Time. 

Hammy did a good job placing the bling, considering it's all a crapshoot when you blow hearts through a straw while standing on the wire bars at the top of your cage. 

Challenges

• Cut It Up: Have a Heart.
  
• Poppystamps: Me and You. Where my friend Colleen is Guest Designer!
  
• Little Red Wagon: Somebody to Love.
  
• SSS Wednesday: Fun With Dies.

 

Twofer

These colors make me think of the American Southwest. The stitched die is from My Favorite Things. I've had it forever and think this is the first time I've used it. 

The heart embossing folder is by Gemini. I colored it in coral CP ink using a brayer. The sediment die-cuts were in my stash. I don't know if you can see that Hammy winked some of the hearts to add a touch of schparkle.

Challenges

• Allsorts: A/G with option of All About Hearts.
  
• Can You Handle the Pressure? A/G with a twist of hearts. Must use e/f.
  
• Color Hues: Coral and sage.
  
• Just Us Girls: Sparkle.

   

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Enjoy your day! No, seriously, enjoy! LITS!*

As always, thank you for coming by to visit the Playhouse and special thanks to you if you take the time to join as a follower! Please let me know you came by so I can be sure and return the flavor! 

*Life is too short!

To open the pop-up comment box that let's you jump to the end w/o scrolling: Click CTL + Home. Click the Home tab under my blog banner which resets the post. Click Page Down to reach the end of the post. Click Comments and a pop-up box opens. Click "Jump to Comment Form" and wallah, no more car pool tunnel! Mwah! (p.s. If you ask me a question in your comment, please remember to leave me your email address so I can respond. Thank you!)

Powerful PP

Hello Stamplings!

I hope this finds you well. Thank you for stopping in! I have to be quick today. I'm in charge of getting the groundhog back to his habitat after the mayor finishes using him for a photo op. Happy Groundhog's Day!

My twofer today would have been a good candidate for a challenge some of you might remember from years ago. Pauline of Pretty Pink Posh used to have a challenge called, "Ten Minute Craft Dash" and I think there might have been other challenges of ten minutes or less, but you know, dimension.

QACAS at its best, if you don't mind me saying. This will be a birthday card for a bird-loving friend.

And below is the simple Christmas card I made with the negative cut. It shows the whole panel and where I laid the die to get the best placement.

That's it. Simples. This NBUS bird die is from poppystamps called, "Perched Bird Collage." Not too long ago I used pp with another bird die and then, when I went to put it back in the Bird Drawer, I discovered this sweet bird! Now I want to go through, oh, 4228 sheets of pp and just keep on bringing beautiful birds to life. Or maybe butterflies. Or maybe flowers. A simple stamped sediment or die-cut sediment is all that's needed. Shazambam!

I miss my Ziggies, though, and Hammy wants to use his new winkers, so this might be a passing phase. Time will tell. That Time, man, it has a big mouth, doesn't it? It always tells.

Challenges 

• Just Us Girls: CAS card week. #1
  
• Seize the Birthday: Anything goes. #1
  
• Christmas Crafts All Year Round: Two of something or a dove. #2

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p.s. Does anyone know if Bloglovin is also out of business for good?!!

~~~

Enjoy your day! No, seriously, enjoy! LITS!*

As always, thank you for coming by to visit the Playhouse and special thanks to you if you take the time to join as a follower! Please let me know you came by so I can be sure and return the flavor!

*Life is too short!

To open the pop-up comment box that let's you jump to the end w/o scrolling: Click CTL + Home. Click the Home tab under my blog banner which resets the post. Click Page Down to reach the end of the post. Click Comments and a pop-up box opens. Click "Jump to Comment Form" and wallah, no more car pool tunnel! Mwah! (p.s. If you ask me a question in your comment, please remember to leave me your email address so I can respond. Thank you!)