Patterned paper — or not …

I determined which paper pad I wanted to use next for my Patterned Paper series — Spice Market by Basic Grey.  Except now I can’t find it.  It’s a six by six pad, and I’ve looked through ALL my 6 x 6 pads, and my 12 x 12 pads, too, and it’s nowhere.  It’s got to the point, I have so much stuff, I can’t find things when I want them.  Which is one reason why I needed to go on a buying moratorium.  To use some of this stuff up.

So I was all pissed off and disgusted, and I was watching some YouTube videos to soothe myself.  And I found that Katy Racoosin over at her Daily Marker blog is running a 30-Day Coloring Challenge.  It started on June 1.  The first project was a lovely butterfly shaped card, colored with Copics.

Oh, I thought, coloring.  I can do that.  Just ten minutes a day, she says.  Butterflies are one of my favorite decorative motifs.  I have a big butterfly stamp.  I can do that.

Well, Kathy Racoosin is an experienced Copic colorist, and I … am not.

I have to admit I half-assed this coloring while watching Kathy’s videos.  I just thought it would be fun to give it a try.  It’s far more blotchy than it really should be, if I had paid more attention.  And the fussy-cut image is smaller and thinner than it seemed while stamping, and the Copics bled through the paper pretty bad (Neenah Solar White).  The shaped card wouldn’t do it.

So I mounted the butterfly on a kraft card and added a sentiment and called it a day.  You know I do love the contrast of bright colored images on kraft paper.  The sentiment is kind of hard to read in the pic — it says “Believe in Yourself.”  It’s a Mod Podge rub-on.

Oh, to give the butterfly somewhat of the iridescence of a real butterfly’s wing, I sprayed it generously with Dazzling Diamond Glimmer Mist.  And I put a spritz of Pewter Distress Stain on the card behind it for some interest.

So that was 30-Day Coloring, Day 1.  Days 2 and 3 … no. No-line coloring is too advanced for me.  I’ll check back in with it later.

Just wish I could find that Basic Grey pad.  Where the hell did it go?

Patterned Paper 2 – Paisley

So here is the second card from that Craft Smith paper pack.

This is a 5×7 card.  I wanted a bigger card to showcase the paper.  Love that silver foil!

The sentiment, “Love,” is from the cut-out sheets of the paper stack.  I rounded the corners, and popped it up on dimensional adhesives.  While working on the card, I remembered I had some silver-foiled epoxy paisley stickers that might go well with it.  Man, I had to turn practically my whole embellishments stash out to find them! Embellishments are my weakness.  So many fun fiddly little things to play with, rhinestones, stickers, metal charms … and each pack only costs a few bucks, so I keep buying them and buying them …

Anyway, I first mounted a couple of the paisley stickers on some of the more neutral, B-side papers from the stack, in matching colors, but when trying them on the card they just looked too busy to me.  In the end I went with the plain stickers on the white cardstock, and I think that was best.

This is not the greatest card I ever made, but it’s OK.  Thanks for visiting. 🙂

Side Project

I made a card for my parent’s 50th wedding anniversary.  Yay Mom and Dad!  We had a party.  We’re not really a party family (all terribly introverted) but not many people make it to their fiftieth anniversary, so we made an effort.

Here’s the card:

The paper and the banner is from the Club SEI June Card Kit.  I thought a card kit subs might be a good way to feed my need for new stash without sending hundreds of dollars when I go an a haul binge.  We’ll see.  I had the Studio Calico sub for a while, which came with a clear stamp set every month, which was nice, but I stopped it after a while, because Studio Calico I decided, just isn’t really my style.  Simon Says Stamp also produces a monthly card kit.

The numbers are American Crafts DIY Thickers.  They have adhesive tops that you can cover with glitter, as I did here, or microbeads or flock or what have you.

It’s simple, but I think it hangs together well.  Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!