Reinker Watercoloring

Hello Stamplings!

And squeeeeeee, the roller coaster called September is braking to a finish! Grab your knickers and prepare to disbark! As you get a hold of yourself, I'll show you the cards I made for the September Group of Seven Cardmakers.

Onefer 

This month we used reinkers to paint random colors onto watercolor paper. Once dry, the panel is embossed with either a regular or 3D embossing folder. That's cool enough at that point, but to make the embossed image really pop, black ink is swiped liberally over the debossed side of the e/f and the panel is re-inserted into the folder and run through. When you open the folder, the black ink is transferred to the panel. 

The 3D folder I used is from SSS called, "Floral Harmony." I thought a border was needed so Hammy smooshed a die-cut frame into the same reinker colors. I didn't apply a die-cut sediment because, ahem, I just plumb forgot! 

Challenges

• Beautiful Blossoms: A/G with optional mood board.
  
• Can You Handle the Pressure?: A/G with optional twist of bees/beehive.
  
• SSS Wednesday: A/G.

Twofer

I used a Park Lane (Joanne's) regular embossing folder for this card and the finished panel is adhered to a red card base. The sediment is from a poppystamps die called, "Festive Noel."

Challenges

• Addicted to Stamps and More!: Die-cuts and/or stencils.
  
• Rudolph Days: Anything Christmas goes.
  
• SSS Monday: Christmas.

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You can find more details on this technique with video information and wonderful examples from the entire Group of Seven Cardmakers by clicking on the link. You will also find a linky tool so you can share the cards you make following this month's technique. We love seeing what you make!

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And now we will have our "Submit Your Caption" contest! (This photo is from my sister Diana who attributes it to someone name Lisa.)

My submission: "Ew! A rotten one!"

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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! 

*Life is too short!

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Autumn, Birthday, and Christmas AI and Tin Foil

Hello Stamplings!

How are you? I hope you are doing well and enjoying yourself wherever you are! I have a Threefer to show you what I've been playing with this past week, so get your comfy shoes on. I don't know what that has to do with it, but okay, comfy shoes are good.

I was watching a You Tube video (don't ask me which one) and you know how one ends and another one starts automatically, especially if your attention drifts and you start looking out the window? The new video turned out to be a Marion Emberson video using the technique of alcoholic ink on kitchen aluminum foil. 

That led me on a search of other videos and I found blogs where this has been done ten years ago! Maybe there are even older ones? So perhaps you played with this technique long ago, but I must have been in the Principal's office that day. (No surprise that.) That's one of many cool things about the Interworlds: you can always find new and new-to-you crafty things to try!

Onefer

To make a large foil panel in fall AI colors (below), I glued a piece of aluminum foil to cardstock and folded over the sides. Once I was satisfied with the colors, I die-cut the leaves using a Simon Says Stamp die called, "Etched Laurel Leaves." The brick e/f background was in my BOB. Hammy decorated it using his feet daubers and metallic inks. I gold heat-embossed the sediment, ran a copper ink pad around the border of it and the two panels and ... shazambam, it was done!

Here is the panel of tin foil after inking:

And here are a few leaves I die-cut to make into more cards:

Challenges:

• Cardz 4 Galz: Leaves.
  
• Just Us Girls: Fall mood board. I was inspired by the leaf image.
  
• {PIN}spiration: Birthday and leaves.
  
• Seize the Birthday: Use fall colors.
• TIME OUT: Photo inspiration.
  

   

Twofer

How about these for bright alcohol colors?? Sorry, I should have warned you to put on your sunglasses! The above is actually my first result using AI on aluminum foil. I didn't get the subtle results that Marion did and that's an understatement! But I have to say, the bold jewel tones are beautiful in real life. I used a Sizzix e/f for added texture ala Marion. 

Challenges

• Can You Handle the Pressure?: A/G with option of trees.
  
• HLS Anything Goes With Dies.
  
• HLS Birthday: A/G.

Threefer

There were quite a few spots of ink that remained sticky on the brightly colored panel I made, so I stuck on gold foil in those spots before dry embossing. Even after that, however, it wasn't completely sticky-free. I was concerned about ink getting on my embossing folder, so I laid a sheet of opaque vellum over the colored foil before I closed the lid and embossed it. 

When I lifted the embossing folder and removed the vellum, sure enough there was quite a bit of ink on the vellum. All that ink would have been on my embossing folder and now, WOW, I ended up with this stunning sheet of vellum, which natch, I made into a card. 

Here's a closeup:

The photos don't do the vellum panel justice. I will be doing this technique again, both for the foil results and for the vellum mop-ups!

Challenges

• HLS Christmas: A/G.
  
• Krafty Chicks: Christmas.
  
• The Holly and Ivy Christmas: Anything Christmas goes.

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If I saw the date right, I just noticed there is a new Gina K. video about using AI on glitter foil so maybe this technique is making a comeback. Can't wait to watch the video and try it on glitter paper!

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

Rereading this I have to add: If I've done this technique before at a retreat with you, please forgive me for not remembering. It's sad that I feel like I have to add that to my posts now, but I'm finding that I am often "very sure" that something happened or didn't happen, only to find out I am not remembering or misremembering. My brain is all filled up, I guess, and now things are starting to overflow out the back!

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! 

*Life is too short!

Mum's the Word!

Hello Stamplings!

Good grief and garbonzos. I had these cards done a week ago, edited the photos, started my draft post, and then totally forgot about it and moved on! I wonder, is there an age limit on this blogging gig? 👵

Oh, well, no matter. Here they are!

I often put an item on my wish list after seeing one of your beautiful cards. Sometimes I follow through and make a purchase, sometimes I don't. Mostly I don't these days, simply because of all the excavation I still need to do on Mt. NBUS.🚧 However, recently my friend Bonnie made a drop-dead gorgeous card using The Ton's Jumbo Spider Mum and I went straight to their website and ordered it immediately. 

I don't know where I was when it was first released, but it was new to me and it wasn't NBUS for long. It's splendid fun to watercolor with Ziggies! I used fall colors for this first outing, but I'm hoping to paint more using all my flowery Ziggie colors. Of course, Hammy loves this set, too, because of all the space that needs winking! This might show the schparkle better if you click to enlarge:

Challenges

• The Flower Challenge: Use a die.
  
• Four Seasons: Fall.
  
• NBUS: Never-before-used schtuff.
  
• Triple B: Fall.
  

Twofer

I'm not sure how this will look on your monitor. Blah or Mwah? As I was looking at my finished fall card, I wondered, "Could a white mum be used on a Christmas card?" Hammy nodded yes. Then I remembered that I have quite a few sheets of ancient ivory cardstock that I've been hoarding. For what? The pearlescent shimmer is beautiful. It's the sort of shine that makes you go "oooh" when it catches the light. 

For this card, I embossed the flower with silver e/p. I found a Christmas sediment that fit in the corner, so I stamped and silver-embossed it on the card panel. This is an uber QACAS design which is a bonus for Christmas makes. I'm sure I'm not alone in having dozens of jars of e/p, most of which I rarely, if ever use, so it will be fun to emboss this mum in all the colors!

You can see the shine better in this closeup:

For some reason this makes me think of a Christmas sugar cookie! 

Challenges

• Christmas Craft Creations: Clean and simple (CAS).
  
• Simply Clean & Simple: CAS ~ optional: stencil.
  
• The Holly and Ivy Christmas: A/G.

Bloglovin'?

Real quick, just curious, can anyone shed light on why Bloglovin' has suddenly reappeared in my inbox? It just disappeared from the interspaces a year ago with no explanation and now it's back. Voododoodo-voododoodo . . .  👻

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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! 

*Life is too short!