JOSEPH'S COAT

For those of you who have been doing cardmaking for any amount of time, you are probably familiar with the technique that is referred to as Joseph's Coat. A process that takes a few steps and can be messy and somewhat unpredictable, the end result always proves to be worth the effort and gives a stunning background for your next card creation.

To start your Joseph's Coat background, cut a piece of white cardstock to your desired size. For my card, I used 4" x 5 1/4".  Rub this piece of cardstock well with an Embossing Buddy. 

Choose a stamp that you think would make an attractive background. I used a botanical branch. In VersaMark ink, stamp all over the cardstock, not overlapping the images at all. You may want to do this in stages so the ink doesn't dry before you even get it embossed. 

Once you have several images stamped, at the heat station, cover the images with clear embossing powder and use your heat tool to set the embossing. 

Finish up this piece in the same way.

Once the entire piece is embossed, used blending brushes to add color here and there. Try not to over blend the colors to keep the colors clean and separate, but joined. 

The photo below shows my piece embossed and the color added, ready for the next step.

For the next step, choose a color of ink that is fairly dark. I used Pretty Peacock. Using a rubber brayer -- and lots of patience -- roll ink over the embossed/colored piece until it is evenly covered with the dark ink. Roll every which way, repeatedly. It will require lots of layers. You might want to be listening to Adele's Rolling in the Deep while you are doing this. Just kidding. Though I do love that song.

Once the brayering is finished and you are happy with the look, take a tissue and gently wipe any excess ink from the images.

There! Now you are ready to create your card.

An up close and personal view of my finished card:

Snce I see my labor intensive background as the star of my card, I was, of course, hesitant to cover up just too much of its wonder, so went simple with the rest of the card.

If you are interested, I used a stamp from the set Forever Fern for my background image. The colors of ink I used, besides the Pretty Peacock, include Pear Pizzazz, Wisteria Wonder, Pacific Point, Rich Razzleberry, and Bermuda Bay. I know most of these are retired colors, but if you're like me, you still have them all around.

Have you ever tried the Joseph's Coat technique? Is this the same process you use to get your results? If not, please share with us how you go about the technique.

Colorful 

Smiles.

JUST BECAUSE

I decided that a truly spring-y looking card was in store for you today. I love this time of the year here in central Wisconsin. The blooming trees and bushes are at their lushest and spring flowers are popping up all over. The trees are at their vulnerable new stages of leafing out. Everything just looks so fresh and wonderful!

My card was created with a few retired products: the lovely Designer Series Paper and the darling flower die.

Just a closeup:

Here is a tutorial to recreate this card -- if you still have your supplies!

SUPPLIES:

Pool Party cardstock

Calypso Coral cardstock

Old Olive cardstock

Die Cutting/Embossing Machine

Floral Squares dies

Just Because die

Pool Party sequins

Peach-Colored Pearls

Stampin' Dimensionals

INSTRUCTIONS:

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

To this card base, add a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of coordinating Designer Series Paper.

Use a small piece of Old Olive cardstock to die cut a framed flower and stem piece using a die from Floral Squares.

From this same die set, cut the three matching flowers in Calypso Coral cardstock. Adhere them over their counterparts on the first diecut piece.

Mount this to a 2 1/4" square of Calpyso Coral cardstock. Use Stampin' Dimensionals to add this to the card front, leaving equal margins at the top and at the sides.

From Pool Party cardstock, die cut a fairly large sentiment. Use small dots of glue to add this to the lower portion of the card.

Add coral colored pearls to the centers of the three flowers.

Scattered around the square, add three light turquoise sequins.

Spring-y

Smiles.

ALWAYS REMEMBER

I have been debating for some time now about whether I should discontinue my blog, Paper Seedlings, or if I should get back on the blogging wagon and keep on keeping on. Yesterday I had a really beautiful and encouraging comment on the post I had published about a month ago. This was enough of an incentive to prompt me to put something out there again. At least, for now.

Do you have any opinions on blogging? Namely me continuing my blog in order to plant little paper crafting seedlings and hope, along with you, that these seedlings grow into something beautiful and satisfying. Please share any thoughts you may have!

Back to today's card. The precious little flowers are forget-me-nots. Thus, I thought the sentiment was perfect for this card. A few words of beauty to remember a dear one who has just passed?

I did stamp, color and, finally, fussy cut my little bouquet. Because you all know how much I love fussy cutting and the look it gives to a piece. But, you'll notice in the tutorial that I suggest just die cutting the circle on which you stamp the flowers.

If you send out cards as snail mail frequently, you probably appreciate the fact that this is a very "flat' card, no unwieldy, dimensional additions.

Are you ready for that tutorial? Here you go:

SUPPLIES:

White cardstock

Balmy Blue cardstock

Coordinating Designer Series Paper

Peaceful Moments stamp set

Flower stamp from a recent Paper Pumpkin kit

Stampin' Blends in: Light Daffodil Delight, Light Just Jade, Light Tahitian Tide

Memento Tuxedo Black ink

Die Cutting/Embossing Machine

Seasonal Labels Dies

Deckled Circles Dies

1/2" white satin ribbon

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.

To this card base, add a 4" x 5 1/4"  piece of Designer Series Paper. 

Cut a strip of Balmy Blue that measures 1 1/2" x 5 1/4". Centered onto this strip, place a piece of 1/2" white satin ribbon that is about 6" long. Tape the ends of the ribbon to the back of the strip. It helps when placing something like this to run some adhesive along the back of the ribbon to hold it in place.

Adhere this strip down the center of the card.

On white cardstock, stamp in Memento Tuxedo Black ink a frond of forget-me-nots. Color them in as you wish. See list of supplies for Stampin' Blends colors I used.

Die cut this bouquet with the 2 3/8" circle from the Deckled Circles Dies.

From Balmy Blue cardstock, die cut another Deckled Circle, this one measuring 3 1/4" in diameter.

On a strip of white cardstock, stamp "Always Remember" in black ink. Use a die to cut it out. From Balmy Blue cardstock and the same die, cut another tag. Cut the blue tag in half, and adhere it to the back of the sentiment label, leaving approximately the same amount of blue extending on both ends.

Use Stampin' Diemsionals to adhere this to the bottom of the card.

Please don't forget to share how you feel about blogs in general, mine in particular. I can't wait to hear what you have to say!

Unforgettable

Smiles.

#365birds OCTOBER 2023

It's been more than a minute since I've posted anything on my blog, much less any of my bird drawings. In a bad headspace in recent months, I am struggling constantly.

The last batch of my bird portraits I shared with you was SEPTEMBER 2023! And, now it's April. Whoa, Linda. 

I share with you today my 14 favorite bird drawings from October, 2023. Being October, I am getting close to the end of my personal challenge, #365birds, during which I drew one bird image each day for a year.

As always, I will put certain information above each of the drawings: the day of  the challenge, the bird's name and where in the world the particular bird can be found naturally.

day 327 - golden conure

brazil

day 328 - european shag

northeast atlantic and the mediterranean

day 329 - great indian hornbill

southeast asia, bhutan, nepal, southwest china, southwest and himalayan india, cambodia, laos, myanmar, thailand and vietnam

day 330 - anhinga

southwest coastal north america - north carolina and texas

day 331 - rooster

day 336 - white-throated magpie jay

central america

day 339 - spiny-cheeked honeyeater

australia

day 344 - ornate hawk eagle

tropical americas

day 346 - bee eater

africa, asia, southern europe, australia, new guinea

day 347 - keel-billed toucan

southern mexico to venezuela and colombia

day 350 - saddle-billed stork

tropical africa

day 352 - american kestrel

alaska, northern canada, the u.s., central mexico, caribbean and south america

day 354 - steller's jay

western north america

day 356 - grey-headed bush shrike

sub-saharan africa

And there you have it. At this point, there are only  nine more days left of my 365-day challenge. I am not going to tell you right now whether I continued after the year was up or not. Watch my blog for the end of it all. ?

Please keep in mind that these are quick snapshots of my original artwork and are not to be used in any way without my express permission. I will gladly have a good quality print made for you if you wish. Just reach out to me.

Birdie

Smiles.

SENDING HUGS

I don't know what exactly it is, but a beautiful floral-themed card has always really appealed to me.

The flower featured on this card is fussy cut from a sheet of metallic-outlined flowers on Stampin' Up! Designer Series Paper. When faced with the possibility of getting several focal points from a single sheet of DSP, and that I can do one of my alltime favorite things -- fussy cutting! -- I am one excited girl.

I colored my chosen flower with Stampin' Blends, which did a wonderful soft job on this gorgeous flower. 

The flower, being as beautiful and large as it is, didn't require just too much effort to incorporate it into a lovely card.

Shown at an angle in the sun, you can appreciate the coppery glow of the outline of the flower. 

Adding dimension with dotted Swiss, created with an embossing folder, was the perfect, but non-invasive, addition to add charm to the card.

If you are lucky enough to have in your stash a couple sheets of this type of Designer Series Paper, and would like to use it on a card similar to this one, here is a tutorial on how you can do so.

SUPPLIES: 

Copper Metallic Cardstock

White cardstock

Soft Seafoam cardstock

Flower cut from metallic-outlined flower DSP

VersaMark ink

Stampin' Blends in: Light and Dark Seafoam, Light and Dark Balmy Blue, Light Mango Melody

Splendid Thoughts

Die Cutting/Embossing Machine

Tasteful Labels dies

Stitched Shapes dies

Balmy Blue ribbon

Stampin' Dimensionals

Genial Gems

Embossing Buddy

Heat Tool

Copper Embossing Powder

Dotted Swiss embossing folder

DIRECTIONS:

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

Cut a piece of white cardstock to 4" x 5 1/4" and emboss it with a dotted Swiss embossing folder. Add this piece to the card base.

Fussy cut one of the flowers from the Designer Series Paper. Color it as you wish. 

Die cut a 2 7/8" circle with the stitched edge if you have it. Mount the fussy cut flower to this circle. Use Stampin' Dimensionals to add it to the card base so there are even margins at the top and the sides.

Heat emboss in copper embossing powder a sentiment. I used a small flagged label from the Tasteful Labels dies to cut this out.

Take a 6" piece of  Balmy Blue ribbon, fold it in half, and tape it to the back of the sentiment label. Use Stampin' Dimensionals to add it to the lower right corner of the card.

Add three Genial Gems in green to the card, two on the circle and one on the sentiment.

Fussy

Smiles.