613 Avenue Create - April 2021- Challenge #4 - Anything Goes w/Optional Twist: In The Garden (Create A Card for Spring)

 Hello, Crafty Makers!

613 Avenue Create's April challenge is a chance to shake off the "Winter Woes" and to "Revel in the Magic of Spring.  Anything you might find "In The Garden" can be used as the theme of your project!

BLOOM

Where You Are!

This project was inspired by a Jo Rice Tutorial. 

Lately,  I find myself having the most fun in my attempts to recreate trendy projects using the stamps I have on hand. I must admit that the projects involve quite a bit of, "Oh, wait, I know I have a flower that looks almost just like that," followed by forty-five minutes to an hour looking for "that" flower stamp.😀 The redemption comes from the joy of finding "that" stamp and few others too.

Owning all of the AALL & Create Stamps is not in my crafting budget.  I have purchased a few (Thanks, Uncle Sam,) and I have set a goal of purchasing bundles when offered at Hochanda and Craftstash.  Interestingly,  I have discovered many stamps in my stash that make great substitutes.  In November of 2020, I used my birthday money to order a bunch of border stamps from AliExpress. They were cheap, and the store owner showed pictures of how these stamps could be cut apart and used individually! I use them all the time as a substitute when following a tutorial by Tracy or Jo.

This Unity Stamp has been stash since 2012.  I used to get the monthly kits, most of which went unopened. 

I planned to use this stamp with the script but it did not work. I opted instead for fussy cutting the petals and stacking them on the card. I stamped the image three times,  removed the leaves from all but one, and added them to the bottom of the floral spray.  I left them uncolored to continue the scheme of black and white spotlighting in the project.

This project attracted my attention for two reasons, the diagonal stenciling on the two layers, and the black and white spotlighting.  In the tutorial, Jo did not use Bundled Sage.  I just love Bundled Sage and Wilted Violet together. I used my  Crackle Stencil to add Sage highlights.

This beautiful butterfly is a Martha Stewart Stamp Set. I purchased this on December 14, 2011.  I used it for the first time two weeks ago.  It now resides in my "special" stamps container.  I don't want to lose it again.

One of the fun techniques I have learned in my recent classes is "partial stamping."   This image is the barrel of a fountain pen.  I only wanted the word "imagine."  I think partial stamping takes the project to the next level.  Now I look at my stamps through a new and exciting lens.

Another technique I am using more these days is stamping words from different sets and using them on my projects.  I am also doing more splattering.  I used Wilted Violet and Fossilized Amber to create the confetti splatter on this card.  

My blooms were "faux" watercolored with distress ink and pastel chalk pencils. I also used oil pencils to darken the center of the blooms. The spot color on the butterfly is Liquid Pearls.

I know this was a bit of a picture bomb.  Thanks for looking!

Hugz,

Chana Malkah

Stuff I Used:

Flowers: Unity Stamp Company- "everyday fairytale" (December 2012 Kit of the Month)

Border Stamp: Forest Whispers- "Dried Flowers) AliExpress

Stencils: Andy Skinner - "Bubbles" (Discontinued) 

613 Avenue Create - February Challenge - Anything Goes w/Optional Twist - "Heart and Soles"

 Hello, Crafty Peoples!

Welcome to our second challenge of 2021.

I must admit that I am responsible for this month's Optional Twist: "Heart and Soles."

I think I was in one of my "forced" creativity modes when I chose this theme. I am convinced that there will be one or two outstanding designs submitted, and that will be all the justification I need. 

~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~

...More Than Jimmy Chew

This card is for my former Infusion Nurse!  

She Loves Shoes and the color Orange

I knew I wanted to use both hearts and soles in my design.  The greatest challenge I faced was figuring out the best way to make that happen.  My stash of shoe dies is very limited.  I have the jumbo-sized one that I used here and another miniature one.  Ultimately, merging the heart and the shoe seemed the best solution.

I created my background using two of my favorite Distress Ink Colors, Candied Apple and Spiced Marmalade.  I mixed in a small amount of Squeezed Lemonade and Fired Brick.  I stenciled in the little hearts using Memento's London Fog Dye Ink.  I used a sponge dipped in glycerin to blend out any hard edges between my colors.

I created the inside sentiment in MS Word™.  One of my self-challenges for 2021 is to decorate the interior of my cards.  I used Liquid Pearls™ and Glossy Accents™ to create an embellishment for the shoe.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I look forward to seeing your Hearts and Soles in the Challenge at 613 Avenue Create!

Hugz,

Chana Malkah

Stuff I Used:

Teresa Collins - Stencil Essentials - "I Love You" (3Pk. 8"x10")

La Blanche Stamps - "Violin"

613 Avenue Create - December 2020 Challenge: Anything Goes with Optional Twist: Anything Vintage

Hello, Crafty Peeps!

Welcome to the final challenge of the year at 613 Avenue Create!  The Optional Twist to our Anything Goes Challenge is Anything Vintage!

Wishing you happy holiday celebrations!

I had an interesting time creating this card!  I knew that I wanted to use the traditional colors of red and green.  I knew that I wanted to use the ornament stamp, and I also knew that I wanted to use kraft paper for both my base and my card face.

As much as I love Kraft paper, I knew that Kraft on Kraft would not be visually interesting.  I decided that I would add color to my layer using Vintage Photo Distress Oxide Ink and Glycerine. Glycerine is wonderful for smoothing out colors. I added in a touch of Memento "Bamboo Leaves" dye-based ink for contrast in random areas.

I love these ornaments. They remind me of the Christmases of my childhood.  I am going to attempt to recreate this card but I will probably make the ornaments blue and yellow.  I hope it works out.  I need at least three more of these!

Hugz,

Chana Malkah

Stuff I Used

613 Avenue Create - September - Anything Goes w/Optional Theme: Use A Charm

Hello, Crafty Peeps!

This month at 613 Avenue Create the Optional Twist for our Anything Goes Challenge is:

Use A Charm!

I don't know about anybody else but I have tons of charms and I very rarely use them.  If I were into jewelry making, I could create some "boss" bracelets. 

This slimline card is another practice scrap that I decided to use in a project.  I have an idea for a diagonal cut gatefold slimline card that has not come to fruition so far.  The idea works but the elements I want to use are tripping me up. I have one more solution to try before I just abandon the idea for a while.

 Happy, Happy Birthday

There is a slight imperfection in the cut but this card is going to a family member so I am not stressing about it. Also, there is a scoreline that shows beneath the Washi Tape.  The Washi tape was the first element I added and that set the tone for the design of the rest of the project.

While working on this card, I remembered why I stopped making "tall" cards...too much real estate on the inside.  I don't normally decorate the inside of my cards, but with these slimline cards, I find that the inside just looks bare and uninteresting without some kind of treatment.

I had one moment of panic when I realized that I did not have a bold "Birthday" sentiment to match my "Happy" die!

I think my "quill" pen save works rather well!

I hope you will join us and share your "charming" projects in our challenge!  Thanks for stopping by!

HUGZ,

613 Avenue Create Challenge - August 2020 - Use Washi Tape (Foil or Matte)

Hello, Crafty Makers!

The Optional Twist at 613 Avenue Create this month is to use Washi Tape (foiled or matte.)

  

I own tons of Washi and I rarely use it. I subscribe to a planner kit and each month I get 6 to 8 rolls of foiled and matte Washi tapes. Although I use these in my planner, it is difficult to use an entire roll in one month of planning.  This challenge made me think about more interesting ways to use my tapes so you may see a lot of Washi tape on my upcoming projects.

A Bad Day

Fade-Out Infinity Stenciling is so cool.  I keep my color wheel handy because I don't want to end up with muddy colors. I am amazed at how each layer claims it's own space and also at the preception of depth this technique creates!

This lovely weekday (foiled) Washi was the perfect choice for my sentiment.  I started the design,  Creating my own backgrounds has definitely become an addiction for me. I have a huge collection of stencils and now feel justified in making so many impulse purchases! I could not afford them at today's prices! I actually ordered mylar this week so I create stencils of my favorite dies

I added a little gold splatter to the face panel and while it has an orangish tone in the photos, it sparkles IRL.  I experimented with three different card bases but in the end, the black card seemed to be the best choice.

Happy Moments

Step Tutorial

Tools:

Paper Trimmer

Stamping platform or acrylic block

Die Pick

Blending Brushes

Craft Tweezers

Heat Tool (embossing)

Supplies:

Distress Inks: (I used: Squeezed Lemonade, Shaded Lilac, Worn Lipstick, Cracked Pistachio, Iced Spruce.)  Use what you have.  You may substitute any ink as long as it is dye-based.  Pigment ink will not work.

Other Inks: Momento Tuxedo Black, VersMark Watermark

Paper:

Black Card Stock 110 lb or higher
White Card Stock 110 lb or higher 

Craft Foam Sheets

Other Supplies:

Stencils (at least two)

Washi Tape

Sentiment Stamp(s)

Sequins

Embossing Powder

Embossing Powder Tool

Teflon Bone Folder

Adhesives:

Wet Glue

Glue runner

Double-sided tape

removable tape or low tack tape

Process

Cut the black cardstock to 4-1/4" x 11" and score at 5-1/2"
Cut your white cardstock to 4-1/4" x 5-1/2" (you will trim this later)

Using low tack tape, adhere the white cs to your work surface.
Optional: You may apply a base color to your white cardstock before beginning to stencil.

Place your first stencil over your paper and adhere it to your work surface.  Avoid placing tape over any area of the stencil that will be inked.  Using your first ink color, begin blending from the outer edges and work toward the center. Blend in additional colors as desired.  If you plan to highlight your sentiment or an image from your second stencil, you should leave white space in the center of your design.  Remove the first stencil.

Position your second stencil.  You can move the stencil to color images into a particular area depending on your desired design.

Color your "anchor" image.

Color remaining images and blend in your complimentary colors.  When coloring is complete, use a clean blending brush to blend in all the colors making sure to blend out any sharp lines.

Trim your panel to the appropriate size.  The panel of the tutorial project was trimmed to 4" x 5-1/4".

Add splatter (I used gold and white) or other mediums to give your background design additional interest.  Water droplets are another possibility if you are using Ranger Distress Inks or Oxide Inks.

Wipe the front of the panel with a powder embossing tool.

Position your sentiment on your stamping tool or acrylic block.

Stamp your sentiment/images black ink.

Use a baby wipe to clean your stamps (do not remove them from your stamping tool.) Stamp the sentiments/image again using the VersaMark embossing ink.

Cover the entire sentiment/image with CLEAR embossing powder.  Return excess EP to the container and lightly tap the back of the panel to remove the excess powder.  Heat emboss the sentiment. (apply heat to the back of the card first and then move to the front.)

For added dimension, apply craft foam or double-sided foam tape to the back of your card.  If you use craft foam, cut it 1/8" smaller than your panel. 

Secure the foam to the back of your panel with both double-sided tape and wet glue.

Position the panel on your card base.

Add your decorative strip.  (I used Washi tape.  You can substitute ribbon or an intricate die-cut border strip.)

Add sequins or other embellishments.

Add paper to the inside.

~~~~~
Thanks for Stopping By!
HUGZ!

Challenges Entered:

Artsy Divas:  Always Anything Goes
We Love To Create: Anything Creative/Mixed Media Goes

~~~~~~~~

Stuff I Used:

Joyful Home Sentiment Stamps: Bad Days Happen

Simply Guilded Perforated Days of The Week Washi

(Hello Dahliang Collection)

TWC Stencil "Mini Flutterby"