My first pet was a hamster named Cookie. I grew up in apartments and was limited on what kind of pet I could have. It was pretty much fish, small birds and rodents. I think Cookie escaped from his cage after a move and I never saw him again. As an adult I am a huge dog lover! In fact, I used to breed Golden Retrievers for service, mobility and pets. As a result I have two Golden Retrievers.
This past spring I had to put my first down. He was 14 years old when it was time to let him go. We have a local Children’s Hospital in which he served as a Gabriel’s Angel for just shy of a decade. I found this stamp set shortly after saying goodbye to him:
I know it is hard to see, so click through to see it on the Close to My Heart website!
Cards
I created four cards with this set:
The above are tri-fold cards. I did a LIVE tutorial on my channel in which I created the kitty.
The last two I created on Facebook under 20 minutes using the scraps from the tri-fold card. In conclusion, creating these cards helped me work through some of the grief I was struggling with the loss of my fur baby.
Are you ready for another wonderful blog hop? Today the designers for Joy Clair have teamed up to bring you more new stamp projects featuring the new Color Faith line!
My stamp set is the large Saved By Grace. It has the most beautiful doodled flowers and large script words! Alll of my projects are created with gelatos.
Faith Bible Art
This is not my favorite Bible art page I have ever created. I have decided to share it with you because it is the base of what got me started with this set and the gelatos. I learned a lot as I completed it. My intention was to create a watercolor page. By doing so I learned how to use water with the gelatos.
First I tried to create an ombre affect by mixing gelatos with water and painting them on a clear gessoed Bible page. Once it dried, I tried to stamp with the gelatos, but did not like the look, so I stamped with a waterproof ink and colored them in the same way I colored the background. The page was finished off by stamping “Faith” and “Love”.
The Card
To create this card I first stamped a bunch of the words with white and heat set it with embossing powder. I applied my gelatos on top of the stamped image and wipped of the words as I blended out the gelatos.
To create the flowers, I first stamped the images, painted them with gelatos, cut them out and layered them.
This card turned out super cute! A few gems to make up the center and a couple dots of Dew Drops to finish it off.
Grace ATC
My expectations for this ATC were not high. I was not sure how the gelatos would react with the vinyl , but I tried it and ended up liking it a lot!
The texture makes this interesting! To create the ATC, I first stamped the flowers and heat set them. I applied the gelatos directly on the ATC and rubbed it out with my finger. I took a baby wipe and lightly buffed the top of the flowers to let the embossed image shine through for more definition. Grace was stamped with white pigment ink and embossing powder that I heat set. A few dots of Dew Drop was the final touch.
Now it is time to hop! Please hop through all the blogs to see the rest of the fantastic new releases! Don’t forget to leave a comment in each blog along the way.
Joy Clair Blog – https://joyclair.typepad.com/blog/2019/05/color-by-faith-collection-new-release-may-inspirational-blog-hop.html
I am super excited to be part of the inspiration for the AAA challenge going live today! As part of the Joy Clair design team, I was asked to provide a card with the 1/3 rule and bright colors. I have a few examples of what exactly one can do with the 1/3 rule using the same card base.
What is the 1/3 Rule?
The 1/3 rule is something I learned about 25 years ago in college. I was taking Educational Technology in which we went over how to prepare everything from bulletin boards for our classroom to slides for lessons. The two most valuable pieces of information I learned that have followed me through out my adult life are the use of rubber cement (I will write an article on that later) and the 1/3 rule. Basically you take your substrate and divide it up into three equal parts and only utilize 1 of the parts. It is visual pleasing to the eye because of the dramatic use of white space. A lot of artist get caught up in using the bottom 1/3 of their substrate — which is lovely. However, there are a lot of ways to apply this rule.
1/3 Rule Examples
On the BottomIn the centerOn the topOn the side (either side with focal point at top, center, or bottom)
My Cards
I created two cards for the challenge. I used Joy Clair layering stamp set for the image. Layering stamps are my favorite because I don’t have to color! I just use my stamp platform to line them up and stamp. I fussy cut it out and pop dotted it on a 2 inch scallop circle I punched. For the green and purple strip I used Emerald Starstruck Foiled paper by Rinea and Violet Glossy that I ran through my Big Shot machine. Once the violet was embossed I sanded it a little for definition.
To add take it to the next level I scored lines on my card for texture and added Nuvo Drops.
By using black with the bright colors is really makes the card pop. I matted the card front on a white card base allowing a little bit of it to peak out creating a frame. I stamped the sentiment in green (not shown) on the inside of the card and created an coordinating envelope with the umbrella stamp.
Please head over to AAA and check out the challenge! I hope you play along.
There is nothing much better than coffee and Jesus in the morning. Today is the Coffee Lovers blog hop sponsored by Joy Clair Stamps. Joy Clair will be offering a promotion for the Coffee Themed category in the shop. Use the code: MAYCOFFEELOVE take 25% off coffee stamps.
Please make sure you hop on through to all the amazing blogs and be inspired. Make sure you comment to be entered in a chance to win a prize.
Back to Basics: How to Create A Card
To create this card I went back to the basics with embossing and layering. The floral pattern on the coffee cub is just perfect for spring! I wanted to showcase it and used color pencils to make it pop. To see how I created this card please check out my video:
I am super excited about today because it is the wonderful Rinea hop with my designer friends from the Designer Craft Connection Blog. This hop is personal because I am not only a design team member on the Rinea team, it also it the company that pulled me back into the industry. The designers in this hop are some of the best in the industry and I actually know a few of them in real life! Needless to say, this hop is special to me.
What is Rinea Foiled Paper?
Rinea Foiled Paper founder grew up in Germany in which she learned how to make a traditional German star using foiled paper. Upon returning to the United States she had a hard time finding the correct paper to pass on the tradition to her family, so she decided to find a manufacturer and bring it here. The name is the first two letters of her children followed by the initial of their last name. Since bringing it to the United States the company has grown into carrying many colors, sizes and tools that can be used with the foiled paper.
My Project
One of the things I am most impressed about Rinea Foiled Paper is how well it cuts delicate dies! For this card I die cute the butterfly and the mandala. I like to die cut two at a time. By cutting it in pairs it allows all the little bits to release from the die easier. I used the Starstruck in Blush to matte the focal point. To distress it I crumpled it up, ran some ink over it and flattened it out. I really like how it flattens back out while keeping the crumpled look. For the dog I cut the hat and cape out of Starstruck Lavender.
I like to mix the foiled paper with regular cardstock on projects otherwise the shine can be overwhelming. By using the foiled paper in place of cardstock in areas it really takes your project to another level.
Make sure you check out the other wonderful blogs for more inspiration. Also subscribe to the Designer Crafts Connection Blog (and mine too! 🙂 )
