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!

Group of Seven - Water Lifting

Hello Stamplings!

I hope you are doing well and I hope your garden is producing wonderful treats. Gardens love the heat, I think; people, not so much. But before we know it, we will be enjoying the cooler temperatures and beautiful colors of fall. Hang in there!

This month our Group of Seven Cardmakers played with a second way to do ink blending and you can find instructions and video links on the website.  We then took that one step further by adding another technique to our cards with water lifting. Using a water brush or watercolor paintbrush and water, we lifted the ink from our open images by applying the water in small areas and then blotting up the water with a paper towel. This technique is also known as faux bleaching.

I enjoyed playing with this technique and made two cards.

Onefer

I used a NBUS Birthday Balloons stamp from Studio Katia. The date on it is 2018, which is basically considered brand-new to me!😂 There are two stamps in the set and they are so cute. 

I heat-embossed the image in gold and then blended two oxide inks over the panel. Using my waterbrush and a paper towel, I removed the ink from the balloons. To finish the card, I added the sediment and two lines of gold Washi tape.

Challenges

• HLS Birthday: Anything goes.
  
• Send a Smile 4 Kids: Birthday cards for kids.
  
• SSS Wednesday: Bright and cheerful.

Twofer

Next I had fun making a Christmas card using the same technique. After I was happy with the "bleached" snowman (from Gerda Steiner Designs), I turned it over to Hammy who gleefully schplattered the scene with water so it looked like it was snowing. I matted the panel with crinkly gold mulberry paper. I don't remember using mulberry paper without fraying the edges, but I like it unfrayed. Now I will start using more of my stash of it!

Challenges

• Krafty Chicks: All occasions.
  
• Peace on Earth: Anything Christmas goes.
  
• Rudolph Days: Anything Christmas goes.

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I hope you will pop over to the Group of Seven Cardmakers website to see the other cool designs from the other ladies! There will be a link for you to share your own fabulous creations using this technique. Many thanks go to our talented friends Linda Snodgrass and Colleen Foelker for introducing these techniques to some of us at a craft retreat years ago. It's been a fun technique to revisit!

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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!

Sunflower Season

Hello Stamplings!

Good day or good evening wherever you are! I hope you had/will have a sunny day! If not, I'm bringing the sunshine to you with my card. (Sorry if you are about to turn in and my card keeps you awake!)

Onefer

This sunny sunflower and sweet bees image is NBUS from Whimsy Stamps, called "Sunflower Buggies." I had great fun coloring it with my Ziggies and, of course, Hammy followed behind with his winker. 

It was a head-scratcher trying to figure out how to add a sediment and do something to the sides which were begging for some kind of something. The next time I stamp it, I will stamp it off to the side. I stamped it in the middle because I was planning on stamping two more, one on each side. Then I decided against that idea and after a bit of scratching and cocking my head, the sunny striped Washi Tape saved the day!

Challenges

• Beautiful Blooms: A/G with mood board.
  
• Colorful Options: Yellow and green.
  
• Double D: Sunflowers.
  
• The Flower Challenge: Add spots or stripes.
  
• Let's Craft and Create: A/G + polka dots and/or stripes.
  
• Triple B: Sunflowers (and bees!).

 

  

Twofer

Here are a few more Christmas makes. I used regular embossing folders (not 3D). I know the trick of lightly spritzing the paper on both sides before embossing a 3D e/f, so I thought I would do the same with a regular e/f and I was surprised and pleased with the resulting dementia. The e/fs are from Sizzix and the sediment is from Winnie & Walter.

Challenges

• ABC Christmas: P-Q-R. Mine is Q is for Quick for the white-on-white card on the left.
  
• Christmas Craft Creations: Clean and simple (CAS).
  
• Jingle Belles: Oh Christmas Tree (or pine branches).

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The Mister stopped at the Farmer's Market and brought home fresh peaches and blueberries. He handed them to me with a knowing smile and a question in his eyes. He's irresistible.

Ina Garten's Peach and Blueberry Crisp

It is delicious with vanilla ice cream. 

And it was fun to use "knowing smile" in a sentence.

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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!