Artistic Pallet

Here it is the end of the week, and I'm just getting in a blog post. Again. I've been working on a couple of advent calendars that I need to get done, and then there are Christmas gifts to make and buy, cards to mail, and on, and on. There are so many things in my head, it's hard to get to my blog. But here I am with a couple of cards made with the Artistic Pallet background stamp from Unity Stamp Company.

For the first card (on the left) I stamped the background on cream card stock and then colored in the different portions of the stamped image with alcohol markers. I added some gold splatter, rounded two opposite corners of the panel, and adhered it to a dark brown card base. I tied hemp twine around the card front and then adhered a die-cut stem and leaves (with some of the little negative bits left in) to the panel. To make the sentiment I stamped "Happy birthday" on a small banner, and I finished the card with some gold sequins.

For the second card, I used the Sunflower Wishes stamp set (also from Unity Stamp Company) for the focal image and sentiment. I did all the stamping on kraft card stock, and I used colored pencils to color the sunflower. The embellishments on this card are the same as the first: hemp twine, gold splatter, and gold sequins.

To create texture in the center of the sunflower I added dark brown prills. They're kind of like tiny beads with no holes, except they're not uniform in size and shape. I just coated the area with liquid glue, added the prills, let it dry, and then shook off whatever didn't stick. I fussy cut the flower and used foam tape to adhere it to the card.

Thanks for stopping by!

Mixed media autumn cards

Well, election day has come and gone, and I'm so disappointed with the results of the presidential race. I'm also fearful and anxious about what the next four years will hold. So it's been a stressful week, and crafting seems like such an insignificant thing. But it does help me feel a little less anxious. And I hope that by sharing my work -- sending cards or gifting hand-crafted items -- I can put a little joy out into the world. So I'll keep making cards and sharing them here (hopefully a little more often than I did last month).

Today I'm sharing two autumn-themed mixed media cards. In September I ordered a few of the Paper Glaze sampler sets from Picket Fence Studios, and the Colors of Herbs set was perfect for some fall leaves.

I chose a leaf stencil for each card and applied the Paper Glaze to the card stock using a pallet knife. Starting with the yellow, I applied the glaze to random places of the stencils. Then I did the same with the orange and green pastes, blending the colors together in some places, and let the panels dry.

For the first card, I stamped a sentiment from Lighthearted Leaves (Stampin' Up!) on white card stock, die cut it with a stitched circle die, and adhered the circle to the leaf panel. Using the Autumn Leaves dies (Gina K Designs) and card stock that coordinated with the paste colors, I die cut three leaves and attached them to the panel (using foam tape) so they look like they're falling from a tree. I rounded two corners of the panel, adhered it to a dark brown card base, and finished the card with gold sequins.

For the second card, I used the Collage Backgrounds Hero Transfers (Hero Arts) to fill in the open spaces around the stenciled leaves. I die cut the Happy Birthday die (Simon Says Stamp) out of black and gold card stock and attached the sentiment toward the top of the card. For embellishment, I used my finger to apply Gold Hero Paste (Hero Arts) around the edges of the panel, added bits of coordinating ribbon with a tiny stapler, and finished with gold sequins.

I love the texture that the paste adds, and I'm really happy with these finished cards. I also made a few more backgrounds with the other Paper Glaze sampler sets I ordered, but I haven't turned those into cards yet. 

Thanks for stopping by!