Better luck next time

Last weekend I attended a Rubber Stamp Events show. I've gone every year for the last several years, and it's so much fun to shop at all the different vendors, watch demos, and just get all kinds of crafty ideas. One of the things I always look forward to during the show is the card contest. I've won a couple of times, but this year wasn't meant to be. I really liked my cards, though, so I'm excited to share them with you.

Supplies:
Stamps: 3201 Organic Set (Rubbernecker Stamps)
Paper: Watercolor paper (Somerset Velvet), Basic Black card stock (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: VersaFine Onyx Black (Tsukineko); Gansai Tambi watercolor paints - 31 Cadmium Scarlet, 33 Cadmium Orange, 63 Cerulean Blue, 67 Indigo (Kuretake)
Accessories: Clear droplets (Pretty Pink Posh), clear embossing powder (Stampamania), foam tape (3M), Art Glitter Glue (Art Institute Glitter)

The theme for Saturday's card contest was Sunrise/Sunset. We could enter two cards for each day, and there weren't many rules other than the entries had to fit in a standard A2 envelope and had to include stamping somewhere on the front of the card.

I knew that for one of my cards I wanted to feature a twilight sky and flower silhouettes. I played around with different watercolor techniques and layouts, and this was my favorite of the bunch. (I'll share the other versions of this card sometime in another post.) I used watercolors to create a simple wash background then stamped and embossed the flowers and sentiment. I added a few clear droplets and mounted the panel on black card stock.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Waterfront, Gorgeous Grunge, Tiny Words (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper: Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White card stock
Ink: Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip, Crushed Curry, Marina Mist, Soft Sky, Pear Pizzazz, Mossy Meadow
Accessories: Wood Frame Infinity Dies (Hero Arts), burlap trim, Tiny Attached (Tim Holtz), clear Wink of Stella glitter brush pen, foam tape (3M)

My first card didn't have a lot of stamping, but this one is almost all stamping. I created a little mountain setting at sunrise using the Waterfront stamp set. I masked the mountains when I stamped the sun and the sky, but otherwise I just let the stamped images overlap one another. I also added a little Wink of Stella to give the water some sparkle.

When my scene was all stamped, I framed it with a die-cut frame. Here's a tip for the Wood Frame Infinity Dies: Since the dies cut the woodgrain lines into the card stock, the frames might feel a little flimsy. To make mine sturdier, I cut two frames and glued them together, turning one of them 180 degrees first. That helped keep the sides of the frame from bending when I attached it to the stamped panel.

For the rest of the card, I stamped a splatter image all over a Crumb Cake card base and used a mini stapler to attach a piece of burlap trim. With foam tape I added the framed scene to the middle of the card base.

Supplies:
Stamps: KB's Leaf Branch, KB's Birthday Bird (Endless Creations); Mod Floral Stack (Reverse Confetti)
Paper: Soft Suede, Pool Party, Basic Black, Whisper White, Blushing Bride card stock (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko); Blends/Blendabilities markers - Pineapple Punch, Mango Melody, Pool Party, Bermuda B, Soft Suede, Old Olive (Stampin' Up!); W1 marker (Copic)
Accessories: Mini Treat Bag dies (Stampin' Up!), Crystal Effects (Stampin' Up!), Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers), foam tape (3M), clear droplets (Pretty Pink Posh)

The theme for Sunday's card contest was Birds of a Feather. I have a lot of bird stamps, so I had plenty of choices for these entries. For this card, I made a clean and simple card with two love birds standing on a tree branch. I colored the images with alcohol markers, and for some of the shading I applied the color by dotting the marker. I think I've only tried that technique once before, but it adds a fun texture.

I kept the embellishments simple by adding just a few clear droplets around the branch and a pink heart (coated with Crystal Effects) above the birds.

Supplies:
Stamps: February 2018 My Monthly Hero Kit (Hero Arts)
Paper: Thick Whisper White, Basic Black card stock (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: VersaFine Clair Nocturne (Tsukineko); Twisted Citron, Peacock Feathers Distress Oxide inks (Ranger)
Accessories: Wonky Stitched Circles dies (My Favorite Things), clear embossing powder (Stampamania), Go Green sequins (Craft Medley), Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!)

I decided to go bold and graphic for my last card. I used several images from a bird-themed stamp set to create a background. I used my stamping platform to set up the stamps so I could get a good strong black image by stamping them several times. Then I embossed the background with clear embossing powder.

I didn't want to cover up the birds too much, so I added a strip of black card stock and a die-cut circle with a stamped sentiment. To create a punch of color, I stamped a few feathers using Distress Oxide ink and spritzed them with a little water. I die cut the feathers, attached them around the sentiment and added a few sequins.

I'm sorry I only finished one blog post this week. I've been trying to organize my craft supplies (I had so many various boxes of stamps sitting around that I felt like I was going crazy) and then I had some technical issues with my computer. But I think things are back on track now, so I'll try to get in an extra post next week. Thanks for stopping by!