Waving goodbye to 2012

This was a very lean year for crafting for me for various reasons. I kept up with the crafting world, but didn't sit down and create. Maybe I just needed a break. Who knows? 

But when the holidays rolled around, I felt the need to jump back into it. I've been a longtime member of an internet fan club devoted to Diana Gabaldon and her Outlander series. For the past several years, many of us have participated in a holiday card exchange, and it's great fun to send cards and receive cards from all around the world. I've always made my cards and decided that I didn't want this year to be different. So, I started brainstorming, and this was the first card that I came up with.

The Penny Black hedgie image was fun and has a humorous connection to The Books. I got to use an embossing folder (Sizzix) and my Vagabond that had been sitting and gathering dust. (GASP!) I've always liked the look of the kraft card stock  I liked the card, but I didn't love it. Plus, I thought it was kind of the same old thing that I'd done before, from a design standpoint anyway.

It was back to the drawing board... but wait! I'd been "saving" cards that caught my eye on my Cards to CASE board on Pinterest. I knew that I'd been attracted to the simpler and cleaner designs lately. I browsed the board to see what else they had in common and to see if I could find some inspiration. The following card is what I came up with.

I went the cleaner and simpler route with a panel of color on solid white card stock and the sentiment in the lower corner. Since I was making a large number of cards, I opted to go with a panel design that would allow me to make many in one fell swoop. I ended up doing a resist on glossy card stock using Perfect Resist and dye inks, then stamped over the whole sheet with black and navy blue permanent inks, collage-style. All stamps used in making this card front were by Scottish Borders Stamping, by the way. I cut out the strips, mounted them on black card stock and adhered them to the fronts of the cards, later adding score lines and the sentiment.

This is a closer look at the front panel. I liked it! The whole design felt more up-to-date.

But after looking at the card a bit more and trying to decide how and where to add just a bit more embellishment, it occurred to me that the center panel of the card front could double as a bookmark, for when the holidays were over and the decorations and cards taken down. On subsequent cards, before adhering the stamped panel, I added a couple perforated score lines that I tried to show in the above photo, taking care to run my adhesive between them so that the panel could be detached easily. This in mind, I added the ribbon to the edge of the panel using a mini stapler. Done! Happy! Finished in time to send them out in timely fashion, too.  :-)

So, this is my 2012 post. I hope this gets my creative juices flowing again. To those still checking in, I wish you a Happy 2013 with lots of time for creating and doing all of the things that let you relax and recharge.

two more cards using new Cuttlebug folders

For this card I used the new Leafy Branch A2 Cuttlebug embossing folder to emboss a piece of glossy cardstock that I'd spritzed with Stampinback's Perfect Resist and then colored with a Kaleidoscope inkpad. Stampinback is a company based in the Netherlands. They also produce a metallic myst as well as stamps. I purchased the Perfect Resist from I Brake For Stamps. I can recommend that site. Great service! The sentiment is by Heidi Grace Designs.


For this card I creatively Cuttled using my Forest Branches Cuttlebug folder. The stamped images are by Inkadinkado and stamped using Memento dye inks. The flowers are Primas.

dropping a line, again

I made a card recently using these images and sentiment by Inkadinkado. This time I stamped them with Memento ink, colored with Prismacolor pencils, blended with my Goo Gone pen, and then gave some gloss to the bubbles with my clear Sakura Glaze pen. I made the background by spraying Perfect Resist on glossy paper, letting it dry, then swiping a Marvy blending blox inkpad over it. I removed the excess ink with a soft paper towel. I like the way it turned out, and I was able to get a look similar to using a brayer without the muss or fuss.

mistake, or not?

I've mentioned the granite-like look that I got by spraying Perfect Resist by Stampinback on glossy paper. I'd planned to use this for a challenge that had called for stone, but never got around to posting it for that. I still like the card though, so here it is.


The images are all by Tim Holtz and stamped using Brilliance black ink. I'd also spritzed my cardstock with Glimmer Mists by Tattered Angels.

I kept trying to decide whether this card needed more. I left it as is because I really couldn't think of what to add to it, or where. It seems to have plenty going on as it is. I couldn't help but think that my creativity was asking me to call it quits. Dunno if that was a mistake or not. :-)

Happy 4th of July

We're spending a nice mellow holiday here. Mild weather. Sunny skies. We've slowcooked ribs on the grill. Ahhhhh!

I also managed to do a little cardmaking. Not a holiday related card, but still. Can a day get much better?


I stamped the background the other night with silhouette stamp images from Inque Boutique that I'd inked with Perfect Resist by Stampinback. I should have mentioned before that Stampinback is a company based in Norway, but I'd ordered my Perfect Resist through I Brake for Stamps, a great online shop that also carries some of Stampinback's line of rubber stamp images. The sentiment is also by Inque Boutique. The background was colored with EZ TintZ by Fiber Scraps. The butterfly is a Spellbinders chipboard die cut spritzed with Glimmer Mist by Tattered Angels.

Hope everyone celebrating the 4th of July today enjoys a safe and happy holiday. :-)

can't resist Perfect Resist

Okay. Before I got sidetracked yesterday playing with faux jewels, I'd been experimenting with Perfect Resist from Stampinback. Here are a couple more cards using Perfect Resist.


The cup image is by Inkadinkado. The sentiment is by Impression Obsession. I love that sentiment! The coffee bean die cuts are Sizzix.


This is another one of those granite look backgrounds. The bird image by Inque Boutique was stamped with Perfect Resist. The sentiment is by Cornish Heritage Farms. The tag die cut is by Sizzix.

granite resist

I finally got my hands on some Perfect Resist by Stampinback the other day. I'd been wanting to try this stuff since I first heard of it. I put some in a mister and gave it a go. It was fun! Here's what I have to show for my first attempts.

This first resist was spritzed on glossy and allowed to dry. I then added color DTP using my Memento dye ink dew drops. I love how it turned out! It was similar to a polished stone look, but more like granite than marble because of the speckling. I then stamped the butterfly image by About Art Accents using more Memento inks in various colors, and stamped over them again in black. The purple layer was embellished with the floral lace Martha Stewart/EK Success edge punch and embossed with the Perfectly Paisley Cuttlebug A2 embossing folder. The flowers are Primas. The sentiment is by Impression Obsession and stamped with Tuxedo black Memento ink.

These next two backgrounds were also made by spritzing Perfect Resist on glossy cardstock and allowing it to dry. This time I added color by spraying over that with two complementary colors of Glimmer Mist by Tattered Angels.

This ATC was stamped with an image from I Brake For Stamps.

The dragon in this card is also from I Brake For Stamps. The sentiment is by Inque Boutique. The edging was done using Martha Stewart/EK Success edge punches.

Can't wait to see what else this resist can do!