A Spring Tulip

 Hello everyone,

Today's card is a lovely feminine birthday card.

The card base is Stampin' Up Flirty Flamingo.  The image is Art Impressions stamped in Tombow 055, 062, 158, 815 and 925 on Recollections White.  The image is layered on Close To My Heart Baby Pink and Hollyhock.  The sentiment is My Favorite Things Brushstroke Expressions stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections White and is layered on more Hollyhock.  The embellishments are Recollections Faux Adhesive Pearls.

I was having so much fun with the marker technique I couldn't resist crafting a tulip card.  This is a great image and like yesterday's takes marker easily and always stamps beautifully.  I thought the font of this sentiment worked really well with the image.  I couldn't resist placing the sentiment on the diagonal and really love the results.  If the card wasn't to be mailed, a little bow in the bottom right corner of the image panel would be perfect!

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Happy Mother's Day

Hello everyone,

Today's post is the card I crafted for my mother.

The card base is a red Bazzill.  The image is Art Impressions Strawberry stamped in Tombow 177 and 847 on Recollections White.  The sentiment is Gina Marie All Seasons stamped in Altenew Jet Black on Recollections White.  The image and sentiment are layered on a dark green Bazzill, more red Bazzill and a white of unknown origin.

I have been so focused on crafting 'pandemic' cards lately that I almost completely forgot about Mother's Day today.  It would have been disastrous had I not gotten it together last weekend.  My mother loves strawberries and I've made a variety of strawberry cards for her over the years.  This stamp was bought years ago with her in mind.  It is a favourite stamp because it's really easy to colour with markers or watercolour crayons.  I love the layers that make the berry pop!  It's a simple card but so effective!

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

A Terrific Tulip

Hello everyone,

Today's post is another lovely spring birthday card.

The card base is The Paper Studio.  The image is Art Impressions stamped in Tombow 772, 873, 062, 158 and 098 on Recollections White.  The sentiment is Rubbernecker Happy Birthday stamped in Stampin' Up Always Artichoke on more Recollections White.  The sentiment and image panels are layered on Close To My Heart Tangerine and Always Artichoke.  The card is highlighted with Diamond Stickles.

Like yesterday's strawberry card, this Art Impressions tulip stamp is great!  It's easy to colour with markers and always leaves a wonderful image.  I love the layered sentiment; a combination I cased from a girlfriend.  The Tangerine layer on this pink card base is unexpectedly pleasing.  So much so that I'd easily repeat it.  A great result!

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

A Berry Birthday

Hello everyone,

Today's post is a great summer birthday card.

The card base is The Paper Studio.  The image is Art Impressions Strawberry coloured with Tombow 249 and 847, and stamped on Recollections White.  The sentiment is Flonz Happy Birthday stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on more Recollections White.  The image and sentiment are layered on Close To My Heart Pomegranate, and Recollections Black and White.  The embellishments are Watermelon Oregon Raindrops.

This is another favourite stamp that I had to dust off to use.  I bought it because my mother loves strawberries and I figured I'd use it more often than I have.  It's a great stamp and is really easy to colour.  It's also a great size for a smaller card.  The more formal font of the sentiment and the layer of black makes this simple card a little more sophisticated.  A really wonderful result!

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Holly Sketched

Hello everyone,

Today's post is a card that was only partially finished until I decided to make some headway into cleaning up my desk.

The image is Art Impressions UMM2113 Holly stamped in Tombow 249 and 847.  The image is highlighted with Wink of Stella Clear 999.  The sentiment is Kaisercraft Christmas Quotes stamped in Stampin' Up Ridinghood Red on Very Vanilla, highlighted with Sakura Clear Star Gelly Roll pen and layered on a scrap of green of unknown origin.

I started this card when I was working on the holly one sheet wonder a few weeks back.  I stamped the image but then couldn't figure out how to use the printed paper piece.  It seemed wiser to just set it aside.  I'm very happy that I did because this card is wonderful.  This image packs a punch and I love the sketched design.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Beautiful Berries

Hello everyone,

Today's post is another card I've designed for the beginners group for the upcoming fundraising Crop I'm hosting with my girlfriend.

The printed paper is Gina K Vines and Berries layered on Stampin' Up Not Quite Navy and Old Olive.  The image is Art Impressions I2288 Strawberry stamped in Tombow 098 and 228 on Whisper White and layered on more Not Quite Navy.  The sentiment is Stampin' Up Loved Ones stamped in Not Quite Navy and highlighted with Sakura Clear Star Gelly Roll pen.  The embellishments are TPC Studio Heartfelt Travel.

What I intend to show the beginners with this card is how to colour a stamp with markers to achieve a multicoloured impression.  This is a particularly easy stamp to colour as it's rather large in scale and needs only two colours.  I used grandma for this sentiment but plan to have the entire Loved Ones set, as well as a variety of birthday stamps, on hand so the ladies can choose what they know they'll use.  I plan to send this card to my ailing grandmother once the Crop is over.  I think she'll really love these berries.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Mama's Card

Hello everyone,

Today is my mother's birthday and I've crafted her a very special card.

The printed paper is Jillibean Soup layered on Stampin' Up Real Red and Kraft.  The image is Art Impressions Strawberry (I2288) stamped in Tombow 228 and 835 on Recollections Vanilla and layered on more Real Red and Kraft.  The sentiment is Just Rite Clear Large Fancy Sentiments stamped in Early Espresso.  The embellishments are BoBunny Elf Magic jewels.

Anything 'strawberry' always catches my eye because my mother is known to just love them.  When I found this particular stamp on the Art Impressions Web Site, I knew I was going to put it in my cart.  While I usually shy away from really unique and 'one-off' type stamps, there are times such as this one where my resistance fails.

Happy Birthday Mom!

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Heavenly Holly

Hello everyone,

Today's post is of the Holly 'paint stroke' cards.

The image is Art Impressions Holly (UMV2113) coloured with Tombow 228 and 856 on Stampin' Up Very Vanilla and layered on Ridinghood Red.  The sentiments are Cornish Heritage Farms Vintage Christmas Expressions and Bonnidee Christmas Wording 3 stamped in Early Espresso.  The embellishments are Want 2 Scrap LeCreme Baby Bling pearls.

I think this is my favourite brush stroke stamp.  It isn't as straight forward to ink but it is so awesome when it is stamped!  Overall I kept the card really simple so as not to distract from the fabulous image.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Pretty Poinsettias

Hello everyone,

I was on a roll so pulled out some more 'brushstroke' Christmas images.

The image is Art Impressions Poinsettia (UMU2118) stamped in Stampin' Up Ridinghood Red on Recollections Vanilla and layered on more Ridinghood Red.  The sentiments are Cornish Heritage Farms Vintage Christmas Expressions and Bonnidee Xmas Wording 3 stamped in Early Espresso.  The ribbon is Crafts.  The embellishments are Crystal Stickers 3mm gold glitter pearls.

I love this particular image!  It is so very easy to use.  Not only does it ink up incredibly well for a large stamp but placement options are limitless.  In these particular cases, because the cards are large, I opted to stamp the images with just a little bit going over the edge.  I love adding the sparkling embellishments in the flower center and having a similar glittering ribbon, was a bonus.

I hope you enjoy these cards and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Holly Happiness

Hello everyone,

You just had to know that if I was crafting Christmas cards, there would be some holly cards at some point.

The image is Art Impressions Holly stamped on Recollections Vanilla with Tombow 177 and 856, and layered on Stampin' Up Ridinghood Red.  The sentiment is Sweet & Sassy Christmas Silhouettes stamped in Early Espresso.

I found this stamp at the end of the season last year.  I hesitated about the purchase because it is a pretty large stamp for a card.  I think stamping it off the edge, helps ground this large image.  Notwithstanding its size, I love the 'art' style of the stamp and it is really easy to colour with markers.  It certainly makes for a really striking card.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle