HELP WANTED

Are you familiar with the technique called Black Magic?

BLACK MAGIC: On a dark-colored cardstock, stamp a solid image -- as opposed to an outline imaged -- in White Craft Ink. With your Heat Tool, make sure the white ink is completely dry, no shiny spots remaining. Once it is dry, use colored pencils to color the image, covering the white ink completely. After coloring, further decorate your design with white dots and lines. 

Simple enough, right?

I have tried this technique a handful of time over the years. I never got results I was proud of and wanted to use in a finished piece.

When I ran across mention of this technique recently, I thought I would give it ONE. MORE. TRY. 

I chose black as my dark-colored background, and stamped the lovely images from Fabulous Florets (page 93 of the Big Catalog) in White Craft Ink. Once the images were dry, I went to work coloring it with Stampin' Up!'s retired metallic colored pencils. I thought that would add some other-wordly elegance. 

After coloring, I added dots and dashes with the White Stampin' Chalk Marker (page 37 of the current Celebrate the Everyday catalog). That worked really well. 

Eh. It was okay. Just okay. 

Now, what to do with it. I pulled out the various Framelits I had. When I reached the Window Frames Collection (page 186 of the Big Catalog), the image fit perfectly. So I went with that, matting it against an Old Olive piece cut with the next larger Framelit from the same collection. 

I added this to a white card front. Yuk. Too stark. And no class whatsoever. So I grabbed Rich Razzleberry, which proved to be just the ticket. 

At this point, I walked away from the card for a day. I was sick of it, and not crazy about it. 

The next day when I came back to it, I knew pretty much how to proceed. I grabbed the birthday sentiment from Blooming With Kindness (page 65 of the Big Catalog), lavishly rubbed a piece of Rich Razzleberry cardstock with my Embossing Buddy, stamped it in VersaMark and heat embossed it with White Embossing Powder. 

Well, you can see how I finished it off with Whisper White 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon and some Basic Pearls. 

Since the card turned out to be an odd size -- 5" x 5" -- I grabbed my Envelope Punch Board and made a custom envelope with some of the Rich Razzleberry Polka Dot Parade DSP (page 154 of the Big Catalog). Cute!

Now, here's where YOU come in. I really am not happy with so many aspects of this card. 

Help Wanted: I would like to start a conversation of improvements/changes 

I could make to my design to help it become a more successful card. 

Please leave comments with your ideas. Be as brutal and honest as you want. I will take all "improvements" into consideration. With what you feed me, I will remake the card, and re-present it to you for your inspection within the near future.

So, please, please, please put your creative thinking caps on and harvest some of those Paper Seedlings and HELP ME!

I really look forward to your comments on ways you think I could improve this lovely mess!

Help

Wanted

Smiles.

SWEET, SWEET MOMENTS

The last couple cards I showed you were a bit on the funky side: the first with all the innuendos and symbolism about my thoughts on whether spring was coming or not; the second, a grungy, cheerful birthday card. 

As a little departure from funkiness, I will now present to you a fairly formal-looking card.

I have recently fallen in love with the Calypso Coral/Coastal Cabana color combo. Aren't they absolutely SWEET together? Added to a crisp white, this trio is a sure winner.

The luscious medallion from Happy Day in the center was the perfect size for the four 1-inch squares upon which it rests. While the center of the medallion was beautiful in and of itself, it called for further embellishment in this case. After trying several different options, I finally settled on the largest of the Antique Brads. The white of the brad, and the fact that it was a mini medallion itself, finished the focal image off perfectly.

Because I was striving for richness and elegance, the medallion was heat embossed in Pewter Embossing Powder. The embossing was repeated in the sentiment.

This card is a PERFECT example of your Embossing Buddy really being your buddy. Without it, the stray embossing particles would be horrible and very noticeable. So GRAB THAT EMBOSSING BUDDY before you stamp your image in VersaMark!

The sentiment fit nicely inside one of the Framelits from Chalk Talk. I felt it needed a little Coastal Cabana mat, like the focal image and the card itself. So I added it as a very narrow border, carefully cutting around the little point on the right side. Although the corners of the Framelit are rounded, I opted to keep the mat square at the corners. 

After I finished that, it seemed a little empty and lacking something. Aha! Let's bring some Calypso Coral back into the bottom of the card with a little punched-out dot. 

Ah -- sweet, sweet moments.

So, share with us: Have you recently fallen in love with a new color combination? 

Smiles.

GORGEOUS GRUNGE BIRTHDAY

This past Monday, my Stamp-In girls created this card as one of their four projects:

The color combo was a bit of a stretch for me -- at least adding in the Rich Razzleberry was. But, I like the looks of these colors together. Do you?

To make your own rendition of this super easy card:

Supplies:

Gorgeous Grunge stamp set

Sassy Salutations stamp set

Whisper White cardstock

Old Olive cardstock

Polka Dot Parade Designer Series Paper

Old Olive ink

Daffodil Delight ink

Pumpkin Pie ink

Rich Razzleberry ink

Rich Razzleberry 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon

Rich Razzleberry button

Mini Glue Dots

Big Shot

Hearts A Flutter Framelits

Paper Piercing Tool

Instructions:

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

Adhere a 4 " x 5 1/4" piece of Whisper White cardstock to a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" piece of Old Olive cardstock. STAMPING OFF FIRST, use the various Gorgeous Grunge stamps to add grunge to the top half of the white piece. NOTE: If you don't stamp off first, the grunge elements will be pretty powerful in color.

Stamp "Happy Birthday" in Rich Razzzleberry amidst the grunge.

Create four banners with the Hearts A Flutter Framelits in the four polka dot colors. Adhere the banners to this piece with the tails almost touching the bottom of the white. 

Stretch a length of Rich Razzleberry ribbon across the tops of the banners and secure the ribbon on the back side. Adhere this piece to the card front.

Use the Paper Piercing Tool to force the ends of a small piece of ribbon through the holes of the button and tie in a knot. Adhere the button to the card with Mini Glue Dots.

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Just a few important Stampin' Up! reminders:

There are only a handful of days left of Sale-A-Bration. It ends March 31. To earn a free SAB item for each $50 you order (before shipping and tax), go here. And don't forget to name me as your demonstrator!

Also ending on March 31, is the Paper Pumpkin Special. You can find out more about the special here. Only until March 31, each new subscriber will also receive with their Welcome Kit a free In Color Stampin' Write Market Set, which is a $14.95 value. When signing up for Paper Pumpkin, you need to name me, Linda Kilsdonk, as your demonstrator.

Thanks bunches!

Smiles.

HELLO SPRING?

We have had a looooong and miserable winter. And, according to the weather forecast for tomorrow, it is certainly not over yet. The forecaster noted, "I think Mother Nature is trying to squeeze out every possible flake of snow before spring arrives on Thursday." Oh, great. Snow, rain, sleet, more snow. I can hardly wait to drive to work tomorrow.

Without even knowing the forecast for tomorrow, on Sunday, when the Paper Players announced their current challenge, #187, Clean and Simple "Spring", I wanted in. Mostly, I wanted the chance to make a STATEMENT.

The card I came up with is full of innuendos and symbolism.

Granted, it's not the most <traditionally> beautiful card I've ever created. But, then, neither is our pathetic wait for spring to show its face.

Putting a BLACK spray of flowers from Springtime Hello (page 21 of the Occasions Mini) behind the screen of Off the Grid (page 108 of the big catalog) starts out my statement. Making the grid glimmer a bit with Pewter Embossing Powder gives us a "glimmer" of hope of spring. 

The sentiment, also from Springtime Hello, actually comes with an exclamation point at the end. I omitted that cheery feel and replaced it with a plaintive question mark. 

I mounted the torn-edged card onto Elegant Eggplant. You know, purple, the traditional color of mourning?? But . . . I added it to a card base of Wisteria Wonder, a more springy, hopeful color. 

I distressed all the edges to evoke OUR feelings of distress. But, by adding the glimmer to the edges of the focal image as well as the sentiment, I once again introduced that "glimmer" of hope for better -- brighter -- days.

Thanks, Paper Players, for another inspirational challenge!

http://thepaperplayers.blogspot.com/2014/03/paper-players-challenge-187-jaydees.html

Hello Spring? Are you there????

Distressed

Smiles.

A SPIN ON HAPPY

Remember the card with the bee medallion I showed you a few days ago?

Well, I had so much fun making the bee medallion, I couldn't wait to try it again with DSP of a very different look. I chose an old retired favorite that was Real Red and Very Vanilla. One side was a very very bold print that I'd intended to use as my main image, centering the print exactly on each of the 1 1/4" punches. However, when I started to fold the eight "petals" and lay them on my work surface, one flipped to the "wrong" side. 

What an absolute DELIGHT!

Adhering the "wrong" side down to create the medallion, a nice clean medallion indeed is what you get. BUT, if you let the "wrong" side in all its crazy 3-D glory be the main focus of the medallion, a very different -- DELIGHTFUL! -- look you achieve! And I fell -- CRASH! -- in love.

Do you see what I mean?? The flippy parts are what would be glued down flat on the other side! Aren't they adorable this way?? And the added bonus doing it "wrong" is that you get to enjoy the FLIP side of the DSP also. And, in this case, who doesn't adore polka dots?

I didn't immediately put this medallion together. Just let it ferment {in my brain} for a few days. 

All of a sudden, I had a real breakthrough! The Floral Frames Collection Framelits have eight points, right?? Quick. Run down to the Creation Station. Sure enough! Eight points! Too much excitement to bear. 

Color, color. Red and ivory are just too plain. What would make this really pop? Of course, BLACK! 

Woo hoo! I went to work. 

And this was my final result:

The final card measures 4 1/4" x 4 1/4". If you don't want to pay the extra postage a square envelope would require, it fits wonderfully inside a traditional A2 envelope. With the Envelope Punch Board, you could even make one to match!

I'M SO EXCITED!!

Smiles.