MULTICOLORED BIRTHDAY

 Do you like working with stencils -- or masks, as Stampin' Up! refers to them? They are truly fun to work with and can be used in a plethora of ways.

Starting with a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of white cardstock, I used sticky notes to hold the stencil in place over the paper. I used a Blending Brush to add the colors, starting with the lightest color and working towards the darkest. I started out with a light hand so I had room to increase the intensity of the color in certain areas. As you already probably know, it's best to start out light, working to dark because once you have a dark hue laid down, there's no going back.

The ink colors I used were Daffodil Delight, Granny Apple Green, Coastal Cabana and Flirty Flamingo. A few of these colors don't always play well together, so you have to be careful not to create mud. One way you can avoid mud is to let a color dry before you add another. That seems to help a little bit. In this combination of colors, it was the Granny Apple Green and Flirty Flamingo that could have potentially caused problems.

Once I was satisfied with the color I'd added, I carefully pulled the stencil away, and this is what I ended up with:

With careful blending and a nice assortment of pleasing colors, I ended up with a piece that was so cheerful and almost-perfect. In order to maintain that fresh look, I decided to keep the rest of the card simple and uncluttered.

I took three white sequins and used a Stampin' Blend in Dark Parakeet Party to color them in to coordinate well with the card.

I decided to use black for my sentiment so it really stood out from the busy background. The "happy birthday" was made up of stamps from the delightful set, Biggest Wish, found on page 40 of the Annual Catalog. Check out that set! You can get so many wonderful combinations for a sentiment.

To pick up another color from the stenciling, I mounted it to a Flirty Flamingo card base.

With minimal effort and materials, I ended up with a card that is simple, but striking in its appearance.

Have you dug out any stencils/masks lately? How did you use them?

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I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.

- L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables -

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Multicolored

Smiles.

QUACKY BIRTHDAY

I am drawn to stamp sets that feature animals, whether they're silly or realistic. Because of the presence of a very sketchy fox and a pair of mallards, I needed to have this Sale-A-Bration set in my arsenal.

For this card, I chose to highlight the mallard ducks in a very simple, fairly masculine setting. I wanted it to be a CAS (Clean and Simple) card, meaning it features lots of white space and not too much going on in the card.

To add to the masculine feel of the card, I cut a strip of woodgrain Designer Series Paper and used the lined folder of the Stripes andd Splatters Embossing Folders to add texture and maybe a more real feel to the "wood".

Below you can see a closeup of the "wood" and how well it complements the ducks.

After stamping the mallards in Memento Tuxedo Black ink, I used Stampin' Blends to color them in as realistically as possible, using photos of actual mallards to do so.

I love the sketchy look of this ducky pair. It adds so much more interest than if they'd been sketched without the extra lines.

The only dimension on this card comes from the slightly elevated piece containing the ducks with the help of Stampin' Dimensionals and then the two mallard green rhinestones that flank the simple sentiment.

Following is a tutorial on how to make a card similar to this one.

SUPPLIES:

White cardstock

Woodgrain Designer Series Paper

Itty Bitty Greetings (unfortunately retired)

Stylish Sketches (from the most recent Sale-A-Bration)

Stampin' Blends in:

     Light and Dark Crumb Cake

     Light and Dark Soft Succulent

     Dark Daffodil Delight

Memento Tuxedo Black ink

Die cutting/embossing machine

Tasteful Labels dies (retired)

Stripes and Splatters Embossing Folders (page 177, Annual Catalog)

Green rhinestones

Stampin' Dimensionals

DIRECTIONS:

Fold a 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" piece of white cardstock in half, creasing it well with a bone folder.

Cut a 1 3/4" x 5 1/2" piece of Woodgrain Designer Series Paper that coordinates well with the colors you will use in your ducks. Emboss it using the stripes folder of the Stripes and Splatter Embossing Folders.

Adhere this strip to the card base about 1/2" - 3/4" from the right edge.

On a 2 1/2" square of white carstock, stamp the male and female mallard ducks from the Stylish Sketches stamp set in Memento Tuxedo Black ink. Color the ducks as desired.

Use the appropriate die from the Tasteful Labes set (or any other label die that you have that will nicely frame your couple) to die cut the ducks. Use Stampin' Dimensionals to add this over the wood look strip about 1" - 1 1/4" from the bottom.

In black ink, stamp the sentiment on a strip of white cardstock that measures 1/2" x 1 3/4". I used the sentiment from Itty Bitty Greetings (or use any other sentiment that will fit the occasion and the label). Add this flat onto the wood strip, so it lands about 1/2" from the bottom,.

To finish it off, add green rhinestones on either side of the sentiment. If you don't have green rhinestones, you can always color a couple of Basic Rhinestones with Stampin' Blends to match.

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We are united with all life that is in nature. 

Man can no longer live his life for himself alone.

- Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965) -

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Quacky

Smiles.

TO SHARE WHAT I LEARNED

 Several weeks ago, I wrote a post, Wooden Leaves and Tenth Blogiversary, about how things have changed in the blogging world, my blogging world specifically, and how I'm trying to grapple with these changes and trying to accept them. I questioned whether it was worthwhile continuing to blog and whether or not blogs are slowly dying.

The response to this post was incredible and overwhelming. The love, empathy and advice came pouring forth from so many of you. And in the Comments, I heard from several other bloggers that they had learned from some of this advice and planned on incorporating these ideas into their own blogs.

Since I have received such a vast amount of information and advice from so many of you, I thought I would share with others the bounty of these thoughts so it was not only I who benefited. Many of these ideas require some technical savvy, so I am still trying to work my way through those. Others are common sense, and you may already know some of this.

Below I have compiled all the helpful tips I received. Have fun and run with whichever of these seems to fit your blogging situation. 

On the Instagram platform, check out linktr.ee to add links to other platforms where readers can find you, such as your blog, your Etsy shop, your Facebook page, your Twitter account, and your Pinterest boards. When you figure this out, all of it will appear on your Instagram home page. More links that were mentioned as helpful included linkin.bio and smart.bio. linktr.ee is free to use.

Use YoastSEO to optimize each of your posts for SEO. 

A blogger application that creates links for readers to be able to share your post on social media easily is Add to Any. 

Since it's good to pay attention to SEO and algorithms, Keywords are important to use throughout a blog post.

Fix or change any broken/nonworking buttons on your blog home page. If you have any problems with your page, it looks bad for you and visitors may not come back out of frustration.

If you don't already have these, add buttons for readers to easily follow you on the various social media platforms, such as Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. (I am working on that now, but am having no success whatsoever.)

It's good to have posts on your blog that are considered "evergreen", those that are worth revisiting, as these posts are timeless. Make it possible for your readers to do so.

Add labels/tags so people can find an item of interest they may be searching for.

Create a Gallery Page. 

Provide links to other similar posts that you have written, such as, in my case, other autumn cards I have made. Just for further inspiration.

Keeping readers on your page longer makes Google happy.

Utilize links directly to products you may have been referring to in your post. 

You could explore and get involved with affiliate programs. If anyone buys through your links, you earn a commission.

Attach a shop to your blog or to your Instagram account.

Tag others, in my case, Stampin' Up!, on any card posts on Instagram.

Utilize Instagram better, such as expanding to Reels or Stories, not just still photos. Make Reels using your Smartphone on a tripod to film your creation.

If you have a Facebook Business Account, use the Meta Business Suite to schedule Facebook and Instagram posts.

Search out and become involved in Facebook groups that work together to help build each others' traffic. These groups are also good for brainstorming.

Pin your work often to Pinterest.

Be consistent in your blog posts. For example, if you decide to publish posts on Tuesdays and Saturdays, be faithful about doing so, as your readers will expect to find fresh content from you on those days.

 

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That's about it. Many of these hints are still flying right over my head. But, hopefully some of you wonderful bloggers out there will find benefit in one or two of these helpful nuggets. 

If you have any further comments or advice, we would love to hear from you! Thank you to all who have contributed through comments on the Blogiversary post. Not only do I appreciate all you put into them, but I'm sure a lot of us bloggers take to heart what you have shared. GO BLOGGERS!

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If you would like to create a card like the one at the beginning of my post, just go to Pinterest and search for the maple leaf quilting pattern. It took me some trial and error, but I did it!

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Never give up on something that 

you can't go a day without thinking about.

- Winston Churchill -

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Sharing

Smiles.

WITH MUCH LOVE

It's October in Wisconsin. And we are being treated to a wonderful colorful exhibit! Some of the trees around here, especially the maples, almost look like columns of fire. The intensity literally takes your breath away!

With the beautiful autumn colors in full force, I thought I would share with you a card I made incorporating the varying colors we are experiencing right now.. 

I have been weaning myself away from politics (it is literally driving me crazy!) and have been focusing more on creative videos and blog posts instead. Occasionally I will come across something that really inspires me. 

Thus, I wanted to try using Post-It notes to screen off a strip of a black and white Designer Series Paper and color it in that way. Normally I do all that fussy coloring with Stampin' Blends, which I adore doing. This way, however, is ever so much quicker, and results in a stunning strip of color in an otherwise black and white space.

Using my Blending Brushes with Calypso Coral at the top, gradually blending in to Crushed Curry, and finally, Pear Pizzazz, is the process I used.. 

In the photo below, 

you can see the sticky notes in place with the blending of the inks done.

But then, when the Post-It Notes are slowly peeled away, 

the eyes are treated to a striking stripe of autumn colors.

I found a flower and leaf stamp that sort of echoed the look of the flowers in my DSP and stamped it in Memento Tuxedo Black ink. Using Stampin' Blends in Light Old Olive and Light Calypso Coral, I colored it in, then fussy cut it.

I cut a simple white circle using dies from the Beautiful Shapes dies on page 169. In Calypso Coral, I stamped a lovely sentiment from the Through It Together stamp set (page 69, Annual Catalog) towards the bottom of the circle.

Using Stampin' Dimensionals, I added the flower to the top of the circle, then used more Stampin' Dimensionals to place the flowery circle partially covering the blended in stripe.

Two Basic Rhinestones in Pear Pizzazz completed the focal point and also added a bit of bling.

I added this completed piece to a Crushed Curry card base. 

How are the autumn colors in your neck of the woods? Do you experience a change in the seasons? I always think it's so sad when this happens because the trees had worked so hard in spring to produce all those lovely leaves, only to have them survive just a handful of months.

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Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads.

- Henry David Thoreau -

I must mention that any photographs I include in my blog posts are my own. 

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Autumn

Smiles.

FAUX SILK HALLOWEEN

On Friday I was watching a video telling me how to do an age-old technique, only revisited somewhat. The technique, Faux Silk, is one I've been using very often over the past years, most times incorporating the topmost layer of a decorated napkin. 

This take on the technique was different, however. Jessica Taylor from Ink It Up With Jessica, was showing how to do the technique by using plain old white gift tissue paper over DESIGNER SERIES PAPER!

She was doing it over flowered DSP, but I thought that, with the almost spooky look that can be achieved with this technique, I would try it with some Halloween DSP!

With the next day being World Cardmaking Day, I commented on Jessica's YouTube video that I was going to give it a try on this occasion.

The Designer Series Paper I decided to use for my card:

How the DSP looks after applying the Faux Silk Technique to it:

To apply the tissue paper to the DSP -- and this is how you do the Faux Silk Technique -- crush the tissue paper into your hand, sort of flatten it, crush again, sort of flatten it, doing this three times so you have lots of nooks and crannies (?) to give it character. Use a glue stick on the surface of the DSP ALL OVER, CORNER TO CORNER, EDGE TO EDGE. This is so so so important. Then just lay the flattened and crushed tissue paper on top of the glue, gently patting it in place. Be gentle, but firm, about this in order to retain the texture.

Once the piece is dry, use  your paper snips to trim the tissue layer even with the DSP layer. Very easy to do.

I love the almost spider web look -- making it even more spooky -- my card has.

Since I loved the way the background looked, I wanted some sort of focal point that wouldn't detract from it. So I decided on a simple Halloween vignette. 

For the jack-o-lantern I used Pumpkin Pie, Garden Green and Black inks on one of the pumpkins from the old retired Fall Fest stamp set. 

Using the sentiment -- with a great font! -- from the also retired Wonderfully Wicked set, I stamped it in a wicked black. A die from the Stitched So Sweetly die set was perfect for cutting out the sentiment.

After adhering the pumpkin and sentiment together, I looped some Linen Thread (page 145, Annual Catalog) all around the focal point, and added it to my spidery background with Stampin' Dimensionals. A couple Black Matte Dots (page 143, Annual Catalog) finished it off just right.

I noticed that the spidery texture was even more pronounced 

when looking from the top of the card!

Adding this to a layer of black cardstock, then to a Pumpkin Pie card base -- and voila! -- a cool Halloween card!

If you'd like to check out how Jessica made her card, click on either of the links above. One will take you to her blog, where the project is the first one, or the other link, which is her YouTube presentation of the project. Thanks, Jessica, for the wonderful inspiration!

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Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is to you.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson - 

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Faux

Smiles.