Mojo Monday 304

This weeks Mojo Monday sketch is round or square.  This means you can choose your shape preference - often good to get you out of your comfort zone, yes?

I've opted to stay in my comfort zone today with this card;

I've done some sponging in black around all edges included the punch circle.  The clock, face and hands were stamped using the Stamp-a-ma-jig for perfect placement.  Check out this post for a quick tutorial if you'd like to learn more about layering your stamping images so they are perfectly aligned.

Supplies used:
Stamp Set: Clockworks, Gorgeous Grunge & Teeny Tiny Sentiments
Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Marina Mist
Ink: Black Staz On
Paper: Soho Subway DSP
Punches; 2 1/2" circle, Word Window, 1/8" circle
Distress tool, sponge
Black Brad

Thanks for looking!
Cheers
Karen

Easy Vintage

Is there such a thing?  I'm not sure, but these cards certainly were easy and have turned out to be quite elegant too.

I was packing away my DSP from today's class when I came across some leftover Presto Patterns.  Long retired???? Not sure, but I had the idea to sponge the cardstock to make the pattern pop.  You see it's a white embossed pattern on white cardstock.....totally gorgeous, but hard to see.

This first card is sponged in River Rock ink.  Then stamped with the images from Established Elegance in Early Espresso, Baja Breeze & Crumb Cake.  The sponging is best done by starting on the outside edges and working into the middle.  Because the paper already has the embossed pattern it resists the ink.   It's then layered onto Early Espresso cardstock.  To get the card opening at the bottom, simply slice your A4 in half longways, so it ends up being 105mm x 297mm.  The Baja Breeze ribbon is folded and held in the centre by the Vintage Brad.  I used a large glue dot to attach it to the card.  The greeting is stamped before being punched out with the Modern Label then sponged around the edges.   I also used a piece of the Presto Patterns Specialty Paper on the inside as the card is too dark to write on, and I'm loving the look!

My next card was oh so simple........I've only sponged over the embossing this time.   The flourish was stamped in Crumb Cake and is from Elements of Style.  The greeting is from Curly Cute stamped in Early Espresso.   Pearl jewels attached as flower centres give it that little bit of "special".

Lastly, I've used a Crumb Cake base to frame this gorgeous piece of Presto Patterns that was sponged in Baja Breeze ink.  I've really worked the ink around the pattern so that it stands out.  Early Espresso wide grosgrain (retired) and vintage lace add a nice touch and the greeting is a good one for any occasion, stamped in Early Espresso.  Rhinestone jewels add that touch of elegance and the Decorative Label was sponged in Baja Breeze.

So, why not dig around in your stash, you might have some of this specialty paper, and remember, "let the paper do the talking", it may be all your card needs!

Enjoy the weekend.
Cheers
Karen

When negative is good

Think positive, stay positive, look on the bright side, the glass is half full.  This is me.  However, when we're crafting, we can overlook the negative side of things........and it's a shame when we do.
What is she talking about?  Well, everytime you die cut a shape with your Big Shot - you need one of these - or you punch out a shape with your punches, you are left with a negative, or the bit of cardstock that the shape came out of. 

But look what you can do with it.......

The frame on this card was made by attaching the negative from a Top Note die cut to my card front with a bit of low-tack tape (I use drafting tape).  Then I used a sponge and Pink Pirouette ink to define the frame.  I like to dab all the way around the shape so I get an even colour, then I go back over it building up the colour as I go until happy with the results.  I gradually get lighter towards the middle and actually left some of the cardstock white in the centre.

Next, I got my scrap of cardstock that I'd punched repeatedly with the Boho Blossom punch for a previous project.  I used a dauber with Cherry Cobbler & Wisteria Wonder to stencil the flowers.   Once done with that, I used some leftover punched flowers as masks and stamped the flourish from Vintage Vogue in Pear Pizzazz.  

Tip:  A sponge is a piece of sponge - I like the soft, light ones from SU.  I cut them into wedges & staple a piece of cardstock to the top. It acts like a handle & makes it easy to see which colour it's for.
A dauber is one of those little plastic things with foam on the end that you can put on your finger.

The green punched flowers were the ones I used as masks.  I liked that some of them had ink on them so I used them to highlight 3 of the stencilled flowers and added rhinestones for bling.

Do you like the sentiment frame?   Well, it's the Decorative Label punched twice.  The Wisteria Wonder one is just the two shorter ends cut off and stuck behind the oval stamped image.

So, there you have it.   Hope you find some time today to craft.  Make it a Monday to remember!
Cheers
Karen