I've been getting back into card-making, and challenges are a great way to find inspiration. Wednesday Stamper is a wonderful site for finding a challenge. This week's theme is Asia. This is the card that I've made.
The patterned paper is Basic Grey Infuse. The image of the man is by InkaStamps and colored with colored pencils. The flourish stamps are by Inkadinkado. I embossed the border using the Cuttlebug Floral Fantasy embossing folder. The embellishment is Mizuhiki cord tied in a good luck knot.
Yesterday I 'distressed' some white cardstock with some Ranger distress inks. I wanted to play around with the Castaway ink pad again. I kind of like how unpredictable this can be. It's not unpredictable in the sense that I don't know if it's going to work. It works great every time. I just don't always know what color will come through. That's where some of the fun comes in.This first card has Peeled Paint distressed cardstock as the base. The lighter green image is the effect of the Castaway ink. This wasn't exactly a strong bleach effect, but definitely a distinct effect. The stamps are by InkaStamps. The border was made using the Fiskars lace punch and I edged the card with a copper leafing pen.
This next card has Dusty Concord distressed cardstock as the base. In this case the Castaway ink turned out to be that pale blue color at the upper left. These images are all by Non Sequitur. The sentiment is by Art by Moonlight.
I should mention that I do follow the instructions on the Castaway pad. I give the ink at least 5 minutes to dry before applying heat to it with my iron. I haven't tried using my heat gun on it to see if it'll get as nice a result. I've been enjoying finally using my iron for something fun instead. LOL!
I wanted to try to do more stamping this year, try some new techniques, make more submissions, and that sort of thing. I'd also wanted to join in the Wednesday Stamper weekly challenges. Well, this is my first attempt. This week's theme is Shapes/Forms. For my shape I've chosen the scalloped squares. The stamps are by Stamp Francisco, Inkastamps, and Hampton Arts. The textured paper is DCWV Old World. I used origami paper for the bottom layer.
I've been so absorbed with making ATCs and ARCs that I haven't been making as many regular cards lately. I changed that trend today and made a square Asian card featuring Inkastamps' stamp of the month.
Tsubasa's wings
The stamp of the month is the image in the center, called Tsubasa's wings. I stamped it using Castaway ink, which I was using for the first time. It worked beautifully! I tried something that Dymphie on 2Peas had mentioned, which was stamping with this ink on paper colored with Ranger's Distress Inks. Thanks so much, Dymphie! The above was stamped on regular white cardstock to which I'd applied Fired Brick distress ink by DTP technique. I stamped the image with Castaway, waited 5 minutes and then heated it with an iron. It has the look of ivory, not quite a pure white, and though I originally intended to color it, I decided to leave it as it was. The rest of the images are also by Inkastamps, the background stamped with Peeled Paint distress ink and the sentiment with Brilliance Lightning black ink . The border is paper from Stone House Stamps, punched with a Fiskars lace border punch. I think that this technique of using Castaway ink and distress inks is going to be a keeper!
I admit it. I can be slow sometimes. Most of the time I'm right in there checking out new tools, new techniques, and all of that kind of thing. For some reason though, I never jumped on the Asian art bandwagon. Actually, I think the bandwagon left me in the dust. Today that changed. I made my first Asian card. I'd signed up to do an ATC swap with this theme. This is what I came up with.Asian Imagine
The textured, patterned cardstock is by DCWV. The stamps are all from Inka Stamps. I enjoyed making this ATC. Good thing! I've signed up for an altered rolodex card swap with an oriental theme that's due next month.
I wanted to try to do more stamping this year, try some new techniques, make more submissions, and that sort of thing. I'd also wanted to join in the Wednesday Stamper weekly challenges. Well, this is my first attempt. This week's theme is Shapes/Forms. For my shape I've chosen the scalloped squares. The stamps are by Stamp Francisco, Inkastamps, and Hampton Arts. The textured paper is DCWV Old World. I used origami paper for the bottom layer.
Tsubasa's wings
