Yellow Best Friends Card JRC#093

This will probably be my last vellum card for a while, I got some more cigar boxes, so I've started working on those. Anyway, this one is also for the JustRite Friday Challenge #093 - "Suddenly Spring".

I used another Cuttlebug Embossing Plus folder for this one, and decided on a nice sunny yellow for it. The vellum was mounted onto yellow paper with green brads, then matted with green CS and gold mirror card. I again used JustRite's Vintage Oval Labels Set, which was stamped with Memento Bamboo Leaves and embossed with clear EP. Since I don't have the die for this one, I fussy cut around the stamp, then mounted it dimensionally over the cut out oval. It was colored with GellyRoll pens.

Prima flowers and daisies I made from punches were added, then I used a gold pen on some of the embossing. I had originally used a white pencil on the embossing, but after I finished the card, I decided it would look better in green, so I used a Ranger nib and the Bamboo Leaves to recolor the embossing.

Yesterday we went off the island again. I brought the cigar box I made into the tobacco shop to show the owner. She liked it so much she wants to buy it, and also wants me to make two more for her. She wants one for herself, and one for each of her daughters!

It's a long story about the cigar boxes, but the owner had gotten ripped off on them a few years ago, and had stopped giving them out. She gave me the one a few weeks ago out of the goodness of her heart, and when I brought the finished box in to show her, she was really happy with what I was using them for. She gave me quite a few boxes yesterday, some are nice, and some are just okay. Some don't have tops, but it was all she had, and I figure I can make shadow boxes or something with those.

She said the box I had done was something called Robusto, and that she should have more of them soon, so she is going to save them for me. I think those are the ones she wants to buy, but a lot of people saw my box, and want me to make more for them too, so I started working on the ones I have which have covers. She wants me to keep making them to sell so I can get extra money, which is really nice of her!

I did get some acrylic Krylon to spray on the box, but I didn't read the ingredients, and apparently all Krylon has acetate in it. It removed a little of the gold on the mirror card, but not enough to show. I think I need to try something else to protect the boxes with. I'll try Mod Podge again as soon as I can get off the island, and then try spraying them if they need it.

I was also attaching the paper with my ATG, which worked really well, but now I'm out of tape with no way to get more for a while. Luckily I have some Score-Tape. Hopefully that will stick as well as the ATG. I gave up on sticking things down with Mod Podge years ago, because they always rippled when we got foggy weather.

Anyway, I think you will be seeing quite a few cigar box projects from me. It think I will make albums to put in some of the ones with sliding tops, and maybe even miniature scenes!

Blue and Gold Garden Card JRC#093

I had so much fun embossing my vellum yesterday that I did another card. I decided to do this one in blue, for one of my most faithful followers, Myrna. :-)

Since this one uses a sentiment and rose from the JustRite Spring Rose Medallions Set, I am entering it into the JustRite Friday Challenge #093 - "Suddenly Spring".

I used a Cuttlebug Embossing Plus folder for this one. After embossing it, I stenciled the raised parts with white ink, and went over the straight lines and edge with a gold metallic pen. This folder is large, so I added it to a blue card using gold brads. The sentiment was added to labels which were cut with Spellbinders Labels Four. The labels were shaded with Brilliance Sky Blue and outlined with gold. Then I used VersaMark and gold EP for the sentiment and rose. I wanted the rose to show up better, so I colored it white with a white GellyRoll pen.

The butterflies are one of the MS butterfly punches where you stamp, then punch the butterfly. I have a couple of those punches, and I'm not crazy about them, but I wanted tiny blue and white butterflies with gold accents, so I used them. I finished it off with a gold bow.

Vellum Best Friends Card JRC#093

I haven't done any challenges for a while, and when putting the flowers on this one, it reminded me that it would fit the current JustRite Friday Challenge #093 - "Suddenly Spring".

When I was thinking of a card to make, I realized that I hadn't used any embossing folders on vellum for a while. I also hadn't used this Marianne Designs folder for a long time, so I decided this was the time to use it.

After embossing the vellum, I trimmed it and mounted it onto linen textured pink CS using matching pink brads. Then I matted it with gold mirror card and more of the pink CS and mounted it onto a white card.

This tag from Spellbinders looked like it would work with this folder, so I cut and embossed it with the pink CS. Then I decided to add gold touches to it, and to the embossed vellum using my PenTouch pen. I took two photos of the card. the top one shows the card better, but the bottom one shows the gold better.

When I am trying to find a sentiment that fits the tags, I usually go through my JustRite stamps first, because I have so many of their sentiments in different sizes. The center of one of the stamps from the Vintage Oval Labels Set fit in the oval almost perfectly, so I stamped it with VersaMark and embossed it with gold EP. This was cut and embossed with the same Spellbinders tag, then I trimmed off the flourishes, leaving just the oval. I added a touch of brilliance pink in the middle of the oval to make it match the card.

To finish the card, I added some roses and white pearls. Then I decided the brads would look better if they were pearls too, so I took my white Liquid Pearls and put them on top of the brads.

I know my blog friend Jill will like this card because it is pink. Sorry Myrna, there isn't any blue in this one.

Butterfly and Roses Card

This is another of the digital stamps I made the other day. I had originally planned on printing the butterfly twice so I could layer them and raise the wings on the top butterfly, but I forgot, and only printed it once. My house is tiny, and my printer is very large, so printing for me at home is difficult. It means rearranging things and carrying a very heavy printer, so I decided to do something different from what I had planned.

First I colored the stamp with Copics. Next, I went around a lot of the parts with a metallic gold pen, which gave it sort of a cloisonne look. It was pretty, but it didn't have the dimension I had planned on, so I used Glossy Accents on the butterfly, and he looked really nice, although you can't see it in the photograph.

My DCWV Mariposa stack had a sheet of purple CS with gold foil, and I had never found anything to go with it. The butterfly seemed to work, so I used it with some Gold mirror card and mounted it onto my card. Then I cut out a few different doilies, and decided I like this one by Noor! Designs the best, so I stenciled it with Delicata Golden Glitz, and mounted it, and the butterfly onto the card.

Next, I added roses, rosebuds, foliage, and pearls to the card.

Altered Cigar Box Finished

Today I finished my cigar box. I decided to add some Spellbinders tags cut with gold mirror card, and a Core'dinations pale gold pearl CS oval from the Twisted Metal Tags and Accents dies layered on top of the tag. The center was stenciled with Delicata Golden Glitz ink to match the top medallion. I added one of those to each of the sides.


It was still light when I took the photographs, so I added a better one of the top. The box is now completely finished except for putting something on it for protection. We can only get one kind of Krylon on the island, and it contains acetone. I tried it on a scrap piece of the Dresden trim, and it did what I expected, turned the gold silver, so I will have to wait until I get off the island again so I can try to get some of the Krylon acrylic spray. I don't really want to leave it unprotected because I'll never be able to clean it this way. Once I spray it with the Krylon, it will not only make it so I can wipe the paper down with a damp cloth, but it will also protect all those delicate little pieces.

More photos are on yesterday's post.

Altered Cigar Box

I've been working on this cigar box for a few days now. It's still not quite finished, but I was anxious to put it on my blog! This box had a very nice varnished finish, and I didn't really want to completely cover it, so I chose a paper that went well with the varnish color, and cut it a tiny bit smaller than each panel.


This is the top. The corners are Dresden trim, and the medallion is made with Spellbinders Labels Eight and Decorative Labels Eight. The paper is Gold Mirror Card, and Core'dinations Pearl in a pale gold shade. The very center layer of the medallion is the smallest oval from the Spellbinders Floral Oval Set. The center fllower was stenciled on using Delicata Golden Glitz, then I added pearls as accents.


This is the front of the box. After I decorated the top, the sides looked kind of plain, so I added Dresden trim to them. I am going to try little medallions of some kind in the center to see whether or not they add to the box, and whether I should only add one to the front, or some to each side as well.


I divided the inside of the box using basswood, and since it is quite deep, I added two layers. This is the top layer. It's one inch deep.


This is the bottom layer, which is one and a half inches deep. I did this layer first, and it isn't quite as neat as the top layer. I only have a small utility knife to cut it with, and the basswood is 3/32 thick, so it's kind of hard to cut. The top edges of both layers are colored by rubbing Memento Bamboo Leaves over them, then I covered all the exposed sides of each layer with this pretty CS.

I'm still trying to figure out what to use over it for Varnish. Water based varnish and Mod Podge aren't good around here. We have so much fog that they tend to ripple after a while, but I don't really want to darken it with regular varnish. I may try spraying it with Krylon and see what happens. I've got to find out whether or not the Krylon will react with the pearls or the dresden trim first though.

Photos of the finished box are here.

My Heart is with You Card

I took two photos of this card, one shows the dimension better, the other shows the stamp better.

This one was made with another of my digital stamps. It's another card where I couldn't quite get it right though. I used Spellbinders Labels Eight, and Decorative Labels Eight. I fussy cut the stamp and laid it on the die cuts, but didn't like it, so I shaded the pink with VersaMagic Perfect Plumaria, and went around it with my PenTouch pen. Then the white lacy parts looked too white, so I shaded them a bit with Brilliance pink. It looked better, so I mounted everything onto a card.

Next, I added Liquid Pearls. It looked too flat, so I added Glossy Accents to only the flowers in the stamp to give them dimension. (It doesn't show in the photo, but it does look quite nice in person).

The card still needed something, so I grabbed an old Anna Griffin label from my stash. (We're going off the island in a few minutes, so I had to find something fast). The label had gold lettering and a gold border, but it didn't quite match the card because they weren't metallic like the golds on the cards, so I went around the border with my pen, and it matched better. Next, I lifted up a few parts of the stamp and mounted the label under those. The label is only attached under the stamp, and is loose at the other end, so it's raised a bit by the Liquid Pearls under it, and can be lifted up on that end. It looks better that way, the card isn't as flat as it was.

I'm not perfectly happy with it, but it's okay.

Grapes and Daffodils Card

Well, the flowers themselves look like roses, but the leaves are definitely daffodil leaves, so I guess those are stylized daffodil flowers. These digital stamps were from old printers ornaments.

After I made the stamps, I colored them with Copics and layered the center one dimensionally into the frame. Then I chose three matching colors of CS, cut them to size and outlined all the layers with a PenTouch Pen before mounting them onto the card.

To decorate it, I added white pearls, violet rhinestones and a bow.

Bouquet of Flowers Card

I'm sorry if I haven't gotten around to visit you in the last few days, I'm way behind on my visiting this week, but I'll get there eventually.

Yesterday was one of those days when everything seemed to go wrong, but in spite of that, I did get a few more digital stamps done. This is one of them. For one of the things that did go right yesterday, I tried some smooth white paper I got at either AC Moore or JoAnn's last weekend. It was next to the Spectrum Noir pens, and is made for alcohol markers. I have an expensive printer I bought for my photography. While the ink is especially nice, it doesn't always like the ordinary papers. It is really formulated to work with fine art papers. It worked beautifully with this paper, and so did my Copics!

The printed and colored stamp was mounted onto this Noor! die. I used my new Delicata Golden Glitz stamp pad to stencil the die, using those Ranger Nibs, and it actually has the most gold shine of any of the golds I've tried so far. The stamped image and die were outlined with a gold PenTouch pen, and mounted onto a pearlescent pink mat which was mounted onto gold mirror card, and onto the card itself. Gold and white pearls were added to the card.

Dragon Card

I made this card with another one of my digital stamps. The dragon is colored with Copics. He was cut out with one of the Spellbinders circles, and mounted onto some blue CS which was cut with a SB scalloped circle. This was mounted dimensionally onto some Chiyogami paper which was matted with more of the blue CS.

The layers were all edged with a gold metallic pen. After I put the card together, the dragon looked kind of flat. The Chiyogami paper had metallic gold in it, and so did the edges of all the layers, but the dragon had none, so I gave him metallic gold claws, and outlined the clouds with gold and he matched better.

The pearls were white ones which I colored with the same gold pen. The color that looks like such a bright pink in this photo is really just a lighter red than his lips. It really isn't that bright in real life.

Iris, Pearls and Lace Card

This is another one that I'm not wild about.

I wanted to use one of the pretty flowered papers I got with a magazine I bought the other day. I also liked the gold Stickles on my butterfly card, so I used the paper surrounded by a wider mat of pearlescent violet, and went around both papers with the stickles. The gold is almost empty, but I didn't buy any more the other day because I've already bought the gold twice, and since you have to buy three different colors to get one, I still have four unused bottles of the other two colors. Actually I have three of one of the colors and two of the other, because that one was in two different three packs, so I had to buy it a third time to get the other two colors colors I wanted in that package.

Anyway, it was kind of difficult to get the gold out of the almost empty bottle, and it's kind of crooked. Next, I stamped several designs before I found one I was happy with. I finally decided on this Lace Medallion from JustRite. It was stamped with VersaMark and embossed in white. Then I stamped some JustRite irises onto Core'dinations pearl cs and embossed them in gold. I colored them with Copics, and they are actually pretty, but they are kind of a hideous orange color in this photo. I took a different photo of them, but everything came out kind of green and yellow. There wasn't much for natural daylight when I took the photo. We had snow all day yesterday, and off and on again today.


Anyway, after I colored them, I fussy cut around them and mounted them dimensionally onto the lace. The medallion was cut with a JustRite custom die by Spellbinders, and I went around that with the same Stickles, and mounted it dimensionally onto the DP.

I added some flowers around the medallion, and it needed something else, so I put strings of pearls around the DP and added more Stickles outside that, then added a few Liquid Pearls to the corners.

Sparkly Butterflies Card

I took two photos of this one so all the sparkles would show up better.

This one was made from my new Spellbinders Classic Petals Edgeabilities. I decided to use this dp from the Mariposa Stack by DCWV. First, I made a 5x7 card, then cut an edge from a piece of white CS big enough to cover the whole card. After layering the DP and the one with the cut edge cut on top of the card, I tried different colors under it, and decided on this green. Then I cut everything to fit and layered them on the card.

The white edge was quite stark, so I took a nib and clored the embossing using Memento New Sprout. The card still didn't look quite right. The DP has lots of sparkly accents, but the rest was too plain, so I added lots of Gold Stickles for accents, and it started looking very pretty. The paper was too pretty to cover up, so to add to the bottom I made a Stickles butterfly trail. That seemed to add enough so it didn't look empty any more. For a sentiment, I was originally going to add a larger Spellbinders tag, but it didn't look right, so I stamped this sentiment from JustRite, and cut it out with their matching Labels and Banners die. That seemed like a good size for the card without covering any of the DP.

I spent a long time trying to decide on a color for the sentiment, then I came across this pearlescent, textured paint sample. It was perfect. It was close to the main color in the DP, only a little darker, and the sheen was pretty. I stamped it with VersaMark and embossed it with gold EP. Originally I cut a backing for it and outlined that with the gold Stickles as well, but after trying the plain one and the other one a bunch of times, I decided I liked the plain one better. The sentiment is mounted dimensionally.

I had also planned on adding flowers, but that would have hidden too much of the pretty paper, so I decided not to add them. In person, there is so much sparkle the card doesn't need anything else.

ArtBin Wonderful Customer Service

When I get great customer service, I like to tell people about it.

Sunday I bought the ArtBin Double Deep Super Satchel. When I got home and put the dividers in it, it was missing one. The store where I bought it is three hours away, so returning it wasn't an option.

I just called the 800 number on the label, and within just a minute or two I was speaking with a real person. There were no numbers to push, just a very short and polite recording, then I was on hold for less than a minute, and a very nice girl came on the line. She got my address and is sending a replacement divider right out to me. She is even packaging and shipping it herself. Calling ArtBin, (Flambeau is the name of the company), is just like calling a very small personalized company. I love dealing with companies like that!

I forgot to mention that the ArtBin things are made in the US, so that makes it even better for those of us on this side of the pond!


This is my pitiful little collection of Copics in the double Deep Super Satchel. I have two Copic 36 pen storage units. Each one fits perfectly in one section of the case. I found out that if I put the bottoms and tops of the cases in seperate sections, I haveroom for twice as many Copics, and my few Spectrum Noir pens fit in the divided tops along the edges of them. Then I have my one refill and some of the Copic Syringes in another section. It's pretty empty now, but someday it will be full! :-)

ArtBin has just made a pen holder satchel, and sells some dividers which fit this bin as well as the pen satchel. The dividers are like the cubed things for the flourescent lights at Home Depot, but are designed to fit these satchels perfectly and lock into place. I'm getting some of those soon, to replace the Copic holders.

I love this, because I can carry my pens around , and they stay in order perfectly, and right now, I will be able to put other things in here as well!

There's No One Like You Card

I decided to make a white on white card with my new Cuttlebug Geometric Circles EF. When I did the embossing, I tried using Brilliance Platinum Planet ink on the EF so it would have a subtle sheen in the recessed areas. It didn't really show up, so I went over the raised part with the ink pad after I took it out of the embossing folder, hoping it would have more sheen. I took two photos, one showing the depth, and one showing the sheen.

The card is 5x7, with a 4.75 x 6.75 layer mounted dimensionally on that. I went around that layer with a dauber and the platinum ink. The embossed layer was cut to 4.5 x 6.5 before embossing it, and I cut another piece of white CS the same size to mount it onto to give it more strength, since I mounted the embossed layer dimensionally as well.

Then I stamped a JustRite sentiment in silver and cut it out with a Spellbinders framed tag, and cut and embossed both pieces of the tag. I rubbed the platinum ink onto the bottom layer of the tag, and mounted the sentiment dimensionally onto that.

The tag was mounted over a white satin ribbon. Some Recollections daisies which had also been shaded with the platinum ink were added, and I used White Liquid Pearls to accent the card.

Went to AC Moore and JoAnn's Today

I was desperately in need of new gold pens and refills for my ATG. I did get two PenTouch pens, one fine, and one extra fine, but no refills for the ATG. Both stores have been out of the refills since October, and apparently even when they order them the parent company refuses to send them. Bangor, Maine is in the wrong district for the good stuff at both stores.

They did have really good paper sales at both stores. The 12x12 plain paper was on sale at AC Moore, so I got a few Core'dinations textured ones. Most of the colors were gone, but they had quite a few shades of blue left, and I can always use blue. I also got the DCWV Four Seasons Solid Stack. (I had to really hurry so my DH wouldn't get bored and decide not to take me to JoAnn's after AC Moore, plus money is tight, so I shopped quickly). I also got some ultra smooth white that is supposed to be for alcohol markers.

I also got another package of Sponge Daubers and some pearls. I messed up with the Xyron though, I meant to get permanent, and got repositional. That was an expensive mistake, and the store is too far away to trade it. :-( I also had a 50% off coupon for today only, and now that I'm home and looked at my receipt, that was never entered. The reason I bought the adhesive refill was because I had the coupon, so it was even a bigger mistake than I first thought. Sort of like the time they charged me for two Wonderful Wings Spellbinders and I only had one. They were supposed to credit me, but never did. No Spellbinders there today, it's such a disappointment.

I did a little better at JoAnn's.

I actually found the Art Bin Double Deep case that is the right size to hold Copics in those squared off light fixture things you can get at Home Depot. (They are plastic with open squares that are the right size for Copic Markers. You cut them to the size of your container and stand a Copic in each one). Well, I don't have that many Copics yet, so I put the dividers in the box, (One divider was missing, so I've got to email Art Bin and see if they will send me the missing one). Anyway, with the dividers in, each section is exactly the right size for the 36 marker plastic boxes. Since I have two boxes and 37 Copics, I just put the boxes in two of the sections, and am going to put other stuff in the rest of the box until I have enough Copics to buy the grid thing. I think it will work well, because the Copics stay nicely in order this way, and I can transport them easily! The box was on sale for half price.

I also got a Cardmaking and Paper Crafts Magazine with the prettiest little stack of 5x5 paper called Floral Fantasy in it. The paper is really beautiful!


Then I got two packs of Core'dinations Pearl paper, one white and one pale gold, and the 12x12 DCWV Chataeau Lavender plain stack was half price, so I got that as well.

I wanted some more colors of Brilliance ink, but they only have a couple of the dew drops sets, and I had both sets, so I got a gold Delicata stamp pad instead. I wanted to try a different shade of gold, since all of my old ones are kind of brown, and my Galaxy Gold is quite yellow. This one looks like it is a color in between the two. I use a lot of gold, so it will be fun trying this one.

They also actually had a Cuttlebug Embossing folder they never had before, and it's one I wanted. It's the Geometric Rings one, and it's 5x7 and it's got a matching border folder with it. I'm really glad to see these folders coming in larger sizes, since the old ones are all smaller than my cards.

JoAnn's also actually had a few older Spellbinders as well. I had most of them, but they did have the Classic Petal Edgeability, and it was on sale for 11.99, so I got that. I so wish we could get some of those gorgeous new ones around here, but once I can get my shop open this summer, maybe I will be able to send for some!

Anyway, I got some new stuff, and it will be really fun playing with it!!!

Oh yeah, I got the bright idea of going into a smoke shop to see if they had any cigar boxes, and they did!!! They only had one, but it is varnished, quite heavy, and has nice brass hinges and a latch. It's quite large and deep, and beautifully made, and it was free!!! It's much nicer than the kind of unfinished boxes they sell in the craft stores! The finish on it is so nice I will have to figure out a way to alter it without covering up the whole thing. Maybe I'll just cut some gold filigrees and things with my Spellbinders and make it look like a varnished box with brass accents.

Anna Griffin Flowered Birthday Card

I bought a couple of Anna Griffin card kits a few years ago, but had only made one card from them so far. I always feel like I'm cheating when I use a kit, but it's also wasteful not to use them, so I thought I would make a second card.

For this card, I took a card blank and one of the smaller panels included in the kit and outlined both of them with a gold pen. Next, I applied some lace from my stash to the smaller panel and mounted it dimensionally onto the card. I took one of the sentiment panels and mounted that onto gold mirror card and mounted that dimensionally onto the flowered panel. Last, I added dimensional flowers, a butterfly, a bow, and some Liquid Pearls.

It was quick and easy, but it made a pretty card, and mounting everything dimensionally gave it a lot of depth.

Copics Over White Embossing Powder Card

Well, this one is different, it looks much better in person, since the colors aren't as bright, and the red is actually more of a burgundy color. (Copic R89).

Anyway, I kept seeing cards on pinterest where they colored over white embossing powder. Unfortunately, whoever originally pinned the cards did it from the blown up page on blogspot rather than the blog page itself, so even after googling for hours, I never found the person who did the original cards. (When you pin the enlargement, it just shows something like 2bp or 4bp rather than the blog address).

I decided to try this background stamp, since it would have quite a lot of white once I used the EP on it. It was stamped with VersaMark and embossed in white, then I colored it with my Copics. I'm not sure this is a great idea, because a lot of white from the EP does get on the tips of your markers. Mine still seem to work fine, but I'm not sure how many times I would want to try this without any extra tips on hand.

The card stocks I used are generic teal, generic black, gold mirror card and some gold and teal patterned paper I got at a paper mill years ago. The label is one of the newest ones from Spellbinders, the pearls are Liquid Pearls, and the sentiment is from JustRite.

Pink Morning Glories Card

I think I got carried away with the Liquid Pearls on this one, the card would have been better with fewer of them!

I really like this digital stamp I made last month and decided to make another card with it, coloring the morning glories pink this time. All the coloring was done with Copics, and all the layers are outlined and accented with a Gelyroll metallic gold pen. The stamp layer is outlined with a PenTouch because I wanted the border a little thicker.

The dies used are Spellbinders Grand Labels One, Spellbinders Marvelous Squares, and Spellbinders Decorative Labels One.

Creatables and Butterflies Card

I haven't used this Marianne Creatables die for a long time, so I decided to use it today. I also wanted to make a card that looked like spring, so I chose greens, yellows and Brilliance Galaxy Gold, which is a very yellow gold.

The Creatables die was cut in white and light green CS, and layered onto darker green, gold mirror card, and a white card. The die was accented and shaded with Brilliance Galaxy Gold, and the outside of the doily was outlined with a metallic gold pen.

The white filigrees in the center are from Spellbinders Marvelous Squares. The butterflies are from the MS Monarch punch. I wish they had been more delicate. I tried some stamped ones, but they weren't delicate enough, and my Cheery Lynn and Spellbinders butterflies were all too large. These were the ones which looked the best. I tried different flowers in the center, and liked this dimensional one from K&Co the best. The butterfly bodies and the pearls are Liquid Pearls.

Cherry Blossoms Card

Lately I seem to be making a lot of cards I'm not crazy about. The one I did today I really don't like, so I'm uploading the one I did on Saturday that I wasn't happy with. The worst part about cards you aren't happy with is that it seems like they take the longest because you spend so much time trying to figure out what you can use on them to make them better.

Anyway, I was looking through my paper stash the other day, trying to use up some older papers when I came across this one. It is one corner of a 12x12 sheet from pad I bought at Walmart a few years ago. It was kind of pretty and reminded me of spring. I cut the paper out with Spellbinders Grand Labels One, and cut a card and a front to fit using the same set. Next I shaded the card front with Brilliance pink. It started to go wrong after that. First I outlined with a gold Gelyrol pen, which worked well. Then I tried to make one of my new metallic pens work, and it got messy.

Then I had to figure out how I wanted to decorate it. Even though I spent hours trying lots of things, I wasn't happy with any of them. I ended up using a very old Anna Griffin stamp from my stash. It was stamped with Brilliance Pink and embossed with clear EP and a few highlights were added with Copics to make it match the background more. The stamp was cut and embossed with Spellbinders Labels One, and matted with Spellbinders Decorative Labels One.

I tried ribbon, bows, and lots of different flowers, but the best I came up with were a couple of these Prima ones, and some Liquid Pearls for accents.

Pink Gold, White Gold and Yellow Gold Card

When I was in New York in December, I bought some pretty white paper with a gold shimmer to it. I also bought some ink pads with a gold shimmer, including Tsukineko Brilliance Rocket Red Gold, and Tsukineko Brilliance Galaxy Gold.

I've wanted to use the paper for a while, but was hoarding it because I can't get it again easily. While I was trying to get to sleep last night, I was thinking of a way to use it, and decided I would make a card using that paper and the two ink pads, along with some dies.

The dies I used are a Marianne Creatables square, a die from Spellbinders Marvelous Squares, and two dies from Spellbinders Persian Accents. The papers are all either gold mirror card or the white paper with a gold shimmer to it. The colors are from shading the paper with the inks.

All the shading which looks pink is the red gold ink. The darker shade is applied with a combination of blending stumps and those Ranger nibs, and the lighter shade is applied with sponge daubers. The card itself is made from the white paper and shaded with the brilliance gold. It looks yellow in the photo, but in person, that, the pink paper, and the white paper, as well as the inks all have the gold shimmer and look quite pretty together. One layer of the pink shaded paper is outlined with a metallic gold pen. The pearls are Liquid Pearls.

PSX Floral and Filigree Card

This morning I designed a card around some paper I've had forever, but I wasn't happy with the card. Since I won't have time to make anything tomorrow, I will probably upload that one tomorrow anyway.

While I was looking for a stamp I liked for that card, I came across a very old Floral set from PSX. I've always liked the set, but the stamps are very small, and I haven't used them in years. I kept the set out, and decided to use it to make another card after I finished the one I wasn't having much luck with. This is the card I made with it.

I cut a bunch of white CS using Spellbinders Decorative Labels Eight . The card itself is also cut with this die set by folding the card in half and cutting it so the fold was inside the filigree on the folded side, then I layered a single die cut sheet over that for the front of the card so it would have filigree all around it.

The DP is some very old Anna Griffin CS from my stash, and is cut with Spellbinders Labels Eight. I used a gold pen to outline the die cuts.

The DP was mounted flat onto the filigree layers, then each layer was mounted dimensionally on top of the one below it.

The design was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black, then colored with Copics. I wanted the design to look more like an embellishment, so after coloring it, I ran VersaMark over it and used clear EP over the whole thing. I really wanted to use UTEE, but no matter how many times I've tried that, I've never gotten a finish I was happy with. I think I need to try the UTEE in a toaster oven. Anyway, I like the one coat of clear EP because it is shiny but has a little bit of texture to it.

The design is mounted dimensionally on top, and Liquid Pearls were added to the filigree.

Decorative Labels Layered Card

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Today I cut and embossed all my Spellbinders Decorative Labels One and Spellbinders Decorative Labels Eight dies.

All of them were shaded with a gold ink pad and my sponge daubers, then accented with a gold Gelyrol pen.

Next, I layered them onto a white CS background which had been shaded with the same gold and outlined with a gold PenTouch Pen. The background paper had already been mounted onto a white card.

Last, I added a simple punched and shaped flower and Platinum Liquid Pearls.

The top photo shows the dimension of the card, and the photo below shows how the gold shines.

If the pearls in the center look a little funny, it's because my platinum Liquid Pearls are very runny compared to the other colors. I took this photo while they were still wet and didn't notice that the center ones had flattened out already, so I cut and pasted them from other areas of the card in Photoshop. After they are all completely dry, I will go over them again, and they will look okay. I always have to do this with my platinum ones.