White on White Stencils and Impressabilities Card

I wanted to play with my Anna Griffin stencils again today. I keep them in binders, along with a couple of Spellbinders Impressabilities I have, and decided to make the background with one of those.

I've only used one of the Impressabilities once. It was before the Grand Calibur came out, and I used it in my Big Kick. Unfortunately, it warped all out of shape when I tried to emboss with it. I tried this one in the Grand Calibur, and it worked well. Rather than using the letterpress technique, I stenciled Brilliance Platinum Planet on it to make it shimmer. (In case you haven't figured it out yet, I really like shimmery cards)! :-)

For the top medallion, I ran the stencil through the Grand Calibur and then stenciled it with the same ink.

The label at the bottom was made from two different stencils. This one was done on the light table. I used the sentiment from one stencil, and used another to make the bottom part of the border, then flipped it and did the top half. (It was a large border, so I only used parts of it).

All the embossed pieces were mounted onto Core'dinations Pearl CS, then mounted dimensionally onto the card. The accents are Liquid Pearls.

White on White Bouquet Stencil Card

I have quite a few brass stencils which I hardly ever use any more. I decided to use this very old Anna Griffin one to make a card.

I have made cards with this before by embossing on a light table, and it took forever to emboss all those tiny flowers, not to mention how much my hands ached, so this time I ran it through the Grand Calibur by layering the raspberry plate, the embossing pad, the CS, the stencil, and the white plate. The embossing isn't nearly as deep doing it this way, but this stencil has so much detail that I will use it much more often this way.

The other embossed layer was done with a Spellbinders M-Bossibility. Both embossed layers were done on plain white CS, because I knew I wanted to use my PearlEx Micro Pearl watercolor I made to add shine. The shine doesn't show up as much on pearl paper. Next, I used a Ranger Nib to highlight the embossed areas. The painted seeped a little under the stencil when doing the tiny flowers, even though I tried to keep it quite dry, but it isn't all that obvious in person.

Both embossed layers were mounted onto Core'dinations Pearl CS. The bottom layers were mounted dimensionally onto a pearl card, and the top layers were mounted dimensionally onto the bottom layers. The card was accented with a sheer white bow and Liquid Pearls.

Bass Harbor Head Light Card

This is a very old stamp made in Maine of Bass Harbor Head Light in Bass Harbor, Maine.

I was looking at it this morning and wondering if it would look like snow if I embossed it in white, then colored it. Well, it didn't look like snow, but I kind of like it anyway.

I used a bunch of stamp pads and colored it with Ranger nibs after stamping it with VersaMark and white EP. There are a few touches of various markers and a bit of PenTouch gold as well. I shaded everything toward the edges and originally left them white, but didn't really like the look. Then I decided to use the VersaMark Aegean blue that I had used on the water to shade around the edges and in toward the rest of the colors.

Up here, we have a great deal of fog, and we get an interesting effect of very clear areas, up against the very thick fog when the sun begins burning it off. The fog is lighter, almost white where it is thin and the sun is shining on it, and gets very dark where it is still thick. That is the look I was going for when I shaded the edges.

The stamping was mounted onto pearlescent black/green CS. I colored another layer of white CS using the Aegean Blue and a sponge dauber. That layer was matted with antique gold, and mounted onto the card, then I mounted the stamp and green mat dimensionally onto it.

The compass was stamped, embossed and colored the same way, using ODBD's Sail On Set. It looks brighter in the photo than it does in person. This was mounted dimensionally on top of the lighthouse layer. I used one piece of dimensional tape on the top layer, and two layers of tape on the bottom layer to raise it up.

The seagulls were fussy cut from tiny seagulls in some K&Co paper and mounted dimensionally onto the card and white half pearls colored with a gold pen were added to the corners.

It's interesting, my blog friend Sasha called the effect on this card sea spray and made me look at it in a whole different way. Now as I look at it, the white embossin does kind of look like snow, and the way I shaded it looks like what we call sea smoke. It happens in the winter when the air temperature is very, very cold. The water evaporates and forms an interesting type of "sea smoke".

Gold and Pearl Bouquet

When I made my last gold and pearl card, the pearl flowers looked like mother of pearl, and it was really pretty, so I decided to try another card with gold and pearl flowers. I did these on a pale gold Core'dinations Pearl CS. The flowers don't look quite as much like pearl on this paper as they did the last time. It might be the light, it's really dark today. I don't have window sills, so I propped a plastic container up on the back of the couch and faced the card as much as I could toward the window, but it doesn't really show the shine.

The bouquet was stamped with an Anna Griffin stamp using VersaMark and gold EP, then painted with my Micro Pearl PearlEx paint. The layer behind is White Core'dinations Pearl which I also painted with the PearlEx to give it even more shimmer. Both of these layers were outined with a gold pen, and the flower was mounted dimensionally.

They were matted with more of the pale gold, some gold mirror card, and mounted onto a white pearl card.

I added some half pearls and a small gold bow as accents.

Butterflies, Roses and Hearts

I've never used this Spellbinders edge with the hearts, so I thought it was about time I tried it.

I took a sheet of Core'dinations Pearl, and made 5.5 x 5.5 inch card, then die cut one edge, and used a Fantasix to stencil Brilliance Pink between the two die pieces.

I knew I wanted to cut the DP and mat to match the bottom, but was afraid if I cut them to size first, they wouldn't match, so I cut the CS wider than the card and used the die. Next, I laid them over the front in the position I wanted them and measured and cut them to fit, then cut a 5.25" square piece of pink for the inside.

The DP is from K&Co, and the pink is pearlescent CS from my stash. I wish I had bought more than one of each K&Co stack this paper came from when I first saw it, because I never found these stacks again. There were two matching stacks, and they had some lovely papers.

After applying the paper to my card using my Yes! Paste, I decided to stencil the hearts and dots with a deeper shade of pink Gellyroll pen. It made a pretty little design on the inside of the card, and made the hearts prettier from the outside. (You can't really tell that from the photograph).

The motif in the center is from JustRite, and was cut with one of their custom dies from Spellbinders. It was stamped with VersaMark, and embossed with gold EP. It was colored and shaded with a combination of the pink Brilliance ink, and two Gellyroll pens. Both layers were mounted dimensionally.

The butterflies are from two MS punches, and were punched from the same DP as the background, then I added gold accents, bent the wings up, and applied them with glossy accents.

Rose and Ribbon Card

Sorry if I haven't been around to visit you yet today, but we had to go to get the taxes done, and it's two hours over and two hours home. Plus, I joined WOYWW, (What's on your workdesk Wednesday), and it's great fun, but I didn't get as much visiting done as I wanted to on there either.

Anyway, I have quite a few cards I've never uploaded, and this is another one. The stamp is one I made, and it was colored with Copics. I used Spellbinders Romantic Rectangles to cut the paper.

For the yellow around the rose, I used a Ranger Nib and Brilliance Galaxy Gold to make the background. The next layer was colored with Memento Bamboo Leaves and a Fantastix. Both of those layers are dimensional, and I used an extra fine PenTouch to go around the inside of the die.

I wanted the lower layer to match, but be darker, so I used the same Bamboo Leaves first, then went over it with Memento Cottage Ivy. That layer was matted with some antique gold from my stash, and then mounted onto a white card.

I can never find nice mottled CS, and found I really like this way of making pretty backgrounds. Sometimes patterned paper is too much, but plain paper is too boring. With the ink and either daubers, Fantastix or nibs, you can make some really pretty paper in just the right colors!

To finish the card, I used Liquid Pearls and a gold bow.

WOYWW #201

This is the first time I have participated in WOYWW. My blog friend Regina reminded me to take a picture of my desk before I clean it up so I could post it. I always love seeing everyone's desks, so I thought I'd show mine!

This is the card I just finished. I work on a table, and have to clean up after every session, so I had to take the photo the night before.

The stamps I used on the card are on the left. You can also see one of my Xyrons in the photo. The cup has water in it so my paintbrush wouldn't dry out before I cleaned it. I used that to spread the Yes! Glue on my card.

You can also see two mesh desk organizers, one holds small paint brushes and my aqua painters, and the other holds blending stumps and Fantastix and things.

The wooden box is one of my treasures. It belonged to a great aunt, and is very old. She gave it to me when I was a child. That's where I put scissors and other small things that I use every time I stamp. Next comes some Krylon Spray, and a little box with a push pin and some scraps in it. When I use my Spellbinders, I use the pushpin to poke out the little bits into the box. I empty the box into the waste basket when I clean up.

Next comes my heat gun, which is barely visible in the photo, and a set of plastic drawers where I keep my most used stamp pads. In front of that is my Yes! paste and a glue runner which doesn't stick. There is also some Mod Podge, some regular tape that I use to stick my Spellbinders down with when I don't need to use removable tape, my wax paper, which is my most important tool when using delicate dies, some scissors, a roll of dimensional tape, and a little plastic container of watercolor I made from PearlEx.

There is also a glass jar of Ranger Nibs, Glossy accents, and a pencil.

To see what WOYWW is all about, and visit everyone's desks, go here to Julia's Stamping Ground.

Gold and Pearl Lattice Card

I was looking through my Dresden Paper this morning and decided to use this lattice background for a card. I used my new Yes! paste to attach the lattice and the gold borders around it. I like the paste very much, and think I will be using it a lot!

For stamps, I used four different ones from JustRite. They were stamped with VersaMark, and embossed with Gold EP. I cut and embossed them with matching Spellbinders Dies, then mounted them dimensionally, then decorated everything with Liquid Pearls.

After I added the pearls, the irises needed something, so I painted it with some Micro Pearl PearlEx paint I made. It was still wet when I photographed it, and the paint rippled the paper a bit while it was wet, but it's perfectly flat now.

It's one of those cards I really liked when I finished it.

Another Dimensional Wallpaper Card

I tried another dimensional wallpaper card using wallpaper from a different roll I have. I used Tibetan Poppy Teal from Lindy's Stamp Gang again to color the wallpaper, but this time I used watercolors I made from PearlEx Sparkle Gold for the gold parts.

I also used the same gold glitter CS and Core'dinations pearl CS for the matting as I did on the last card.

The center is a flower made from the center of the wallpaper fussy cut from more of the paper, shaped and mounted over the bottom layer.

Last, I added Liquid Pearls.

These cards are much prettier in person than in the photos. The blues, golds, and white CS all shimmer in real life.

Yesterday we went off the island again, and I got some of the Yes! Paste. I'm hoping this will actually work to hold the cards together until I can get some refills for my ATG. I've tried every one of my little glue runners, as well as two brands of glue sticks. Elmers and Avery, and they just don't hold the cards together. With the runners, the edges kept popping up, and with the glue sticks, once dry, they became brittle, and if you bent the card a tiny bit the layers just popped off. It's probably because Iam using very heavy card stock.

I wish Scotch would push the advantages of the ATG more so it would be easier to get. Every time I ask stores to carry the ATGs, they just say that the ATG is too expensive and nobody will buy it. I always try to explain to them that once you have the runner, it's cheaper than the little ones, and it actually sticks, but they just don't get it.

I suppose I'm going to have to try sending for some refills and hope they actually get to me. I sent for something again a few weeks ago, and called to place my order when they wouldn't let me use my PO Box online, and they assured me it would come UPS. They never sent me a tracking number, and I waited every day for the UPS man to show up. Two weeks later, I found out they had shipped through the PO, and it had been sent back for no such address. I'm getting so I really hate having to send for things.

Dimensional Wallpaper Card

I decided to try making a card with the dimensional wallpaper I used on one of my cigar boxes.

For this one, I colored the wallpaper square with a Tibetan Poppy Teal dauber from Lindy's Stamp Gang. The raised areas were colored with Brilliance Galaxy Gold. They were brighter and more metallic when I first did them, but the ink didn't dry on the paper. I tried heat setting it, and it was still tacky, so I put clear embossing powder over it. It looks okay, but I liked it better before.

It was matted with some gold glitter cs, some Core'dinations Pearl cs that I colored using the Poppy Teal, and then mounted onto a Core'dinations Pearl card.

I colored some more of the pearl CS with the poppy teal, then cut that, and more glitter CS with some Spellbinders Circles. Then I stamped a JustRite Hydrangea onto the blue circle with VersaMark and embossed it with gold EP.

It was shaded with more Galaxy Gold and a Ranger Nib, and the circles were mounted dimensionally onto the card.

Last I added Glossy Accents to parts of the card, sprinkled holographic gold glitter into them, let them dry, and added more Glossy Accents on top of that. It's okay, but it's not my favorite card.

Shimmery Roses Card

I took two photos of this one, the first shows the design better, the second shows how shimmery it is.

I felt like trying a different way to shade flowers, so I chose this very old stamp from Stampendous because it had large flowers and leaves. It was stamped onto pale gold Core'dinations Pearl CS with VersaMark, and embossed in white.

What I decided to try was shading with only ink, blending it out to almost the color of the card stock, without using any other color or shade.

The roses were colored with Brilliance Rocket Red Gold, and the the leaves with Memento Bamboo Leaves. The tiny flowers were done with Brilliance Pearlescent Lavender. All the ink was applied with Ranger Nibs. After shading the roses and leaves, I used Delicata Golden Glitz, and used the nibs to shade the background.

All the paper is the same Core'dinations Pearl, and gold mirror card. The sentiment is an Anna Griffin tag that came with some card kits, and is mounted dimensionally. I added a bow and some pearls to embellish the card.

Has anyone else had problems trying to log into SCS? My computer crashed this morning, and when I restarted it, I was logged out of everything. Whenever I hit the log in button, the password disappears and I get sent to the wrong password page. I tried clearing the cache and cookies, and still couldn't log in. Then I reset my password, but I still can't get in. I can't ask on there, because if I can't log in, I can't post! As of now, I can't even view all my items in my gallery, because SCS thinks I'm a stranger, and none of the cards they moved into other albums show up. I can only see the stuff they let me leave in my members gallery. It's awful to be a stranger there! In case anyone else is having the same problem, I'm using Firefox, which has always worked well. I suppose I will have to try using Chrome, but I really don't like the Chrome Browser.

Okay, Chrome works. I can use it to log in to SCS, so apparently the latest version of Firefox has a bug. I sure hope they fix it!

My Third Altered Cigar Box

I think it's finished except for adding more coats of Krylon. I really like the look of just the embossed and stained paper, and this way it would work for either a man or a woman. It also would work on a desk in an office. The embossing is quite dimensional, and the colors are interesting in person.

This box is 6" x 10.5", and is shallow, so there is only one layer inside.


I stained the basswood dividers with the same stains as I used on the paper, and decided to leave the inside cover undecorated except I will be adding more Krylon to give it more gloss. I tried Mod Podge on the bottom paper, but it removed some of the stain and made it more yellow than it was. It looks okay that way inside, but I'm only going to use the Krylon on the outside, since that didn't change the color.

I also went over the Liquid pearls with Copics Y28 on the "studs", and Y25 on the flower centers, and they came out the way I wanted them to.

I hope more of my followers try decorating boxes so I can see them too!

For everyone who didn't see yesterday's post, I'm adding it below, since it tells what I used on the box. (If you saw yesterday's post, just ignore what is below) :-)

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I got the idea for using the dimensional wallpaper from this tutorial, but I used a different technique from hers. My wallpaper is also different from what she used. It's not spongy, and it's not prepasted. I bought it quite a few years ago to make dollhouse ceilings with. I had always planned on using it on a card, but never thought of a cigar box until I saw hers on Pinterest.

After applying the wallpaper to the box, I used Wild Honey Distress Stain all over it. Next came Lindy's Stamp Gang Tibetan Poppy Teal Starburst, then Peeled Paint Distress Stain. Then I wanted some gold, so I rubbed an old gold stamp pad over it. That shade of gold looked kind of gray, so I rubbed my Brilliance Galaxy Gold over that. Unfortunately I turned the stamp pad kind of green, but that's okay, the color is interesting, and I can always get another stamp pad. :-) I did the same with another piece of the paper cut to fit inside the box. The photo doesn't show the gold, but it looks nice in real life.

The last thing I did was add Platinum Liquid Pearls to some of the raised dots and the center of the flowers. I want the dots to look like old dull brass studs.

This is the first time I have ever done anything grungy, and it was fun! Since I'm not really into grunge, it won't be too grungy though, but it's grungier than it looks in the photo.

I'm Working on a Third Cigar Box

I got the idea for using the dimensional wallpaper from this tutorial, but I used a different technique from hers. My wallpaper is also different from what she used. It's not spongy, and it's not prepasted. I bought it quite a few years ago to make dollhouse ceilings with. I had always planned on using it on a card, but never thought of a cigar box until I saw hers on Pinterest.

I started with the outside on this box, rather than the inside. The inside will be divided, but I think I will only add matching paper to the bottom underneath the dividers. I want this box to appeal to either men or women, and to look like either a jewelry box, or a desk organizer.

After applying the wallpaper to the box, I used Wild Honey Distress Stain all over it. Next came Lindy's Stamp Gang Tibetan Poppy Teal Starburst, then Peeled Paint Distress Stain. Then I wanted some gold, so I rubbed an old gold stamp pad over it. That shade of gold looked kind of gray, so I rubbed my Brilliance Galaxy Gold over that. Unfortunately I turned the stamp pad kind of green, but that's okay, the color is interesting, and I can always get another stamp pad. :-) I did the same with another piece of the paper cut to fit inside the box. The photo doesn't show the gold, but it looks nice in real life. I took seven photos, but never got a really good one.

The last thing I did was add Platinum Liquid Pearls to some of the raised dots and the center of the flowers. I want the dots to look like old dull brass studs, but don't have anything the right color, so tomorrow, when I'm sure they're dry, I'll go over them with Copics or something to make them the right shade.

This is the first time I have ever done anything grungy, and it was fun! Since I'm not really into grunge, it won't be too grungy though, but it's grungier than it looks in the photo. Well, I'm late starting dinner, I hope I can get the box finished to show you tomorrow!

My Second Altered Cigar Box

I finally finished it, and this one was a pain! I like the way the first box opens better, but this was a nice box anyway.


This is the top. It was decorated with Spellbinders Floral Ovals and corners by Noor! Designs, and accented with Brilliance Sky Blue, a gold pen and Liquid Pearls. The DP is some I've had in my stash for several years, and the die cuts were done with Core'dinations Pearl.


This is what the longer sides look like. The die cut is from Noor! Designs, and the oval is from Spellbinders Floral Ovals. The gold edges are Dresden trim.


This is what the shorter sides look like. The tag is from Spellbinders. I had this all finished and photographed when I realized that I forgot to use the gold pen on this, so I had to do it while the Liquid Pearls were still wet. It's a bit messy.


This is the top level of the inside. I had a terrible time with the dividers in this box, and will probably tweak them some more.


This is the bottom level inside. It's just as crooked as the top section.

I'm Working on another Cigar Box

I always feel like something is missing from my day if I don't post to my blog, so I'll show you what I was working on yesterday and today.

This cigar box is a bit smaller than the first one, and opens on the opposite side from the other one. I've got a lot more decorating to do on this one, but making the divided inside was a pain, and I've still got to play with it some more.

I decided to use a glue gun so I wouldn't have to clamp it and wait overnight for things to dry all the time, but I'm not sure that was a good idea. The gun has a trigger, but in order to make it work right, I still have to push the glue sticks with my fingers. The trigger doesn't seem to do anything. Also, the glue seems to harden up too fast, and I have to keep heating the dividers up with my heat gun and remelting the glue to get everything to stick. It's a royal pain. I know many people like them, so maybe I got a dud. The glue comes out really well when it's just sitting there, and I get lots of blobs of glue all over the scrap paper I put under it, but when I go to use on on the box, nothing comes out unless I push hard on the glue sticking out of the back. Then it just trickles out and makes little lumps that harden before I can get the dividers in. It's the glue that came with it, so it must be the right kind, but I don't think I am good at glue guns.

I had my share of fun with the outside too. I decided to use my Xyron to put the paper on with. Well, I ran out of adhesive when the top paper was only halfway through. Then I put a new refill in, and ran a new piece through, and the Xyron started to jam up. I lifted the top, and it was winding my paper around the top roller instead of out the back. I've never had that happen before! Anyway, after I finally got it unjammed, things started going better, and I managed to get the paper on the top and sides, as well as mount some Spellbinders die cuts before it was time to start dinner.

Hopefully, I will have a finished box to show you tomorrow!

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.