Scored Mosaic

Here is a card I made before the "Inspiration Mosaic" release but hadn't shared yet, realized we are about to get out of the "pumpkin months" for awhile, uh oh! LOL! This was a fun way to use the mosaic for an understated card: stamp your grid on colored or neutral CS (here Pumpkin Spice Pure Luxury), in any color ink, it won't matter because this will be the BACK. Now line up the different lines over your tracks on your Scor-Pal and score away until you have the entire frame scored, I did all the verticals at one time first, then turned the CS and finished the rest. Once done, I flipped it over and now you have this beautiful tone on tone dry embossed look! I mounted it on Ivory Pure Luxury.

I inked up the "Tropical Window" with an olive and pumpkin marker and stamped, then trimmed it to pop up onto the grid. I wanted to recreate that same thin live border on my base as on the image, so I just drew one 1/8" in on all sides with my marker and a straight edge.



Hope this gives you new ideas for how to use that mosaic! :)

Blessings

Here is a photo I took of my 4 year old catching a butterfly on a trip to a farm outside of Austin last month. The color pic was beautiful too, but I love using the black and white option and trying to do a little photo tinting with my editing program. This photo reminds me of blessings great and small: the tiny hands that belong to one of my most precious gifts, and the joy small things things like a butterfly bring him (and could bring all of us if we take the time to stop and appreciate them!)


I pray all my readers have a very safe and happy Thanksgiving. I would love to hear about what God has blessed you with this year. :) A special blessing of late is a bible study I began a few months ago: "Lies Women Believe" by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. I highly recommend it, you could do the study on your own or perhaps get a small group of friends together. It is really working wonders in my life... :)

More to come!

Final Festive Week with Linda Payne!

Ahh, it's been a festive month with Linda, hasn't it? We are one week away from our next Gina K release, and i have one more of Linda's "Festive Frame" projects to share with you! No"frame" today just this sentiment and some gorgeous poinsettias (from the matching "A Year of Flowers" set) and it's just a symphony of colors and patterns! Cranberry Tart, Good as Gold, White are all Gina K Pure Luxury and the SU! Purely Pomegranate thrown in ties in the fuchsia in this beautiful swirly Basic Grey Eva print. I am just lovin this two tone look of the poinsettia in deep these jewel tones! TIP: A printed ribbon could get too busy with another print, but these patterns and gold that ties them both together is really working here, a bold and artful choice, great job Linda! Finally the gold embossing and cut work really takes it over the top, plus details like the nail heads, cording and highlighting the words with a bit of yellow are just the cherries on top of this amazing card!

Let's have some applause please for the amazing Linda, thanks for sharing your talent with us this month! Please go see Linda's blog now for another "Festive Frame" project! :)

Farm at Dawn

Here is a silhouette card I made using Signs of Autumn and Thanks a Million. I stamped the rooster first in Vivid Coffee Bean and then stamped the wheat all over the bottom stamping off into the distance. The ones closest to the bottom I colored in with a dark Brown Copic to match my rooster since the wheat is a line art image. Leaving the ones behind it open, though, give it a little more variety, depth and texture. then I sponged olive ink on the bottom and rust ink to the top, adding a circle mat at the end and sponging a little more to make a sun (and give me a nice spot to put my greeting.) I placed a square nestabilitie over my mat and traced a square border to frame it up, then ran the marker along the outside edge to give it a double border. A few punched large flourishes from Chocolate Kiss Pure Luxury finish it off. Card base is Sweet Corn.


I love how these images and colors evoke the quiet countryside! I made it months ago and had to share it while harvest time is still here! :) Have a happy Thanksgiving later this week!

Christmas Cardinal

Here is one of my favorite cards fro this release, I just love the way the colors turned out and how the Good as Gold base just sets it off! "Festive Frame" as stamped in Memento Black on Pure Luxury White and colored with Copics, the the bird from "First Christmas" was cut out and popped up after coloring, the edge of the window makes the perfect little perch for him! A few adhesive nail heads to the top balanced out the layout.



Christmas gets closer every day, do you feel it?? I'm getting so excited! :)

Punch it Up Tree #2!

Here's another simple card (no stamping today!) you can make using one of the corners from the EK Success Curved Corner double punch. (be sure to see this post for a tree made with the other half of this punch!) Aren't those three points perfect for a layered fir tree?? I punched out 6 for this 4.25" square card, but you could make it taller to match the proportions of your design. Starting from the bottom, I put a little adhesive at the the top of the punch and lined up another one over it, repeating the punches and adhesive until I got to the top. I popped the completed tree up on to the die cut scalloped Pure Luxury white mat, then added some little adhesive strips of 3 mm pearls for garland and a little shiny red button from the Gina K Holiday button assortment at the top with a glue dot. Card base is All Spruced Up.

Happy Sunday!

Monogram Mosaic

This paper pieced mosaic uses some of my favorite prints from one of my all-time favorite Basic Grey packs: "Ambrosia", how sweet it is! The easiest way I've found to piece the grid is keep one DP grid whole as a base for the smaller top pieces, here the pale orange and grey print is all one, with 2 - 3 smaller pieces each of the dark gray and dark orange prints adhered on top. I matted the peiced grid onto Pure Luxury Black Onyx and Moonlit Fog, then added some punched curved corners and a monogrammed pieced(stamped with a Just Rite letter over the grid. Last I embellished it nailheads (colored witha black Copic) and ivory sateen flowers.

Thank you for visiting! Curious: would you be interested in doing a Mr Linky blog hop with the Inspiration Mosaic? let me know! :)

A Child is Born

I love the combination of sets on this card: my "Festive Frame" and "Hand in Hand", and "Vintage Borders" by Nina Brackett. After stamping the frame in Memento Black onto Ivory Pure Luxury, I colored the images and borders with Copics (trimming the image leaving about 1/8" around, lining the edge with black and coloring with red to make the double border) and then masking the center oval and stamping the greetings border (love all the languages in this one!) across in Antique Linen Distressing ink, I love that soft look on ivory. Next I stamped the pair of hands in the middle, colored and then sponged more Antique Linen ink into the oval around them. Last I inked up just the "a child is born", part of the Bible verse from the Festive Frame set and stamped at the bottom right. I wrapped a Large Flourish punched from Fresh Asparagus to the top accented with a few adhesive pearls I colored with my Cardinal Copic to look like the berries in the arrangements.

Have a blessed weekend! Thanks for visiting me in our first ever STV member hop! Be sure to check Gina's blog here for the complete list of participants! :)

Bleached Green Apple

Here is another bleached card I made with "A Year of Leaves". I embossed the leaves in gold onto Pure Luxury Green Apple, the addition of bleach to the center turned the paper a beautiful sunflower yellow. I cut the paper into sections and matted them onto Ivory and a Good as Gold 4 1/4" square base. TIP: Dividing up a patterned paper into panels is a great way to add interest to your layout without covering up the print or makigna more ccomplicated layout than you have to! :) The greeting uses a large and small oval punch, popped up, and accented with adhesive nailheads. Ribbon is ivory gold lined organdy.


Have a terrific day, we have so much to be thankful for!

Vintage Borders Hop!

Welcome to this stop on the "Vintage Borders" hop! Today I thought I'd share holiday projects that would be very simple to mass produce using just a few layers, and no coloring. This first card is 5 inches square. I die cut a square out of the middle of my White Pure Luxury mat and then stamped this border around the edges, using the window as guide. I added some adhesive pearls to the corners and middle of the medallions. Mat is raised up on pop dots on the Rocket Red base.

If you leave a space in the middle of the top of the mat, you can slide a photo in and out, the pop dot in the middle on the bottom edge of the mat will hold it in place.

This next card shows a fun way to ink up just one greeting you want to emphasize from this many language border with your markers. Scalloped border is stamped below is Vivid Brick. Since the set has no focal images, I thought I'd create one to go with the holiday borders: this wreath from Petite Scalloped Nestabilities dies and accented with some adhesive pearls and colored nail heads. Organdy ribbon was tied with the Bow Easy. Easy peasy!

Last a card using an image of Gina's, these borders will match any holiday set! Cardstock is Pure Luxury Ivory and All Spruced Up. I began by stamping Nina's musical score along the bottom in Antique Linen Distressing ink, I just love this on Ivory! Now I have a pretty perch for the bold bird from the Stamp TV kit "Holiday Cheer", I used a red and green marker to ink up the bird and the branch before stamping. Piercing a row along the bottom and adding some sateen flowers (the red one was also ivory but colored with a Copic), punched greenery to add some dimension to the vine and nail heads add sizzle to this understated card. :)

I hope you enjoy seeing some of these simpler designs, it's the only way I'm going to get all my cards done this year! (out of curiosity I counted this morning how many I've already completed: up to 43, woo hoo!)

How about some more inspiration with the Vintage Borders stamp set? First, check in with the Illustrator of this versatile stamp set, our Senior Designer Nina Bracket and her friend Lisa Hjulberg joining in the blog hop tonight.

Then, stop by these GinaK Designer's & Center Stage Spotlight blogs for even more samples:

Asela, Carolyn, Cindy, Emily, Erika, Jessica, Kurtis, Lee, Lynn, Tami, and Theresa

Deb, Melissa, Karen, Sharri, and Sue

Before you finish hopping, be sure to check in on GinaK's blog to enter your comment for a chance to win Nina's Vintage Borders stamp set. If you already have purchased Nina's set, you can substitute any GinaK Designs stamp set valued at $23.95 or less.

For those of you are who looking for a quick and easy Christmas card idea, check out the Vintage Borders Card Kit available online in GinaK's store tonight. The Kit includes the step by step tutorial as well as all the card stock cut to the exact measurements needed to make 4 cards. For more details and photos of this card kit, see Jessica Fick's blog link as well as this Class Kit link. Thank you again for visiting me today!

Festive Clock

Eek! I am so excited how this clock project turned out!

First color the Festive Frame, as shown in this post. Crop it so there is 1/4" border all around it.

I painted an unfinished wooden panel I got at Hobby Lobby (regularly 99 cents on sale for 30% off) using a foam brush and 2 coats of cranberry colored craft paint (these Plaid paints are 50 cents to a dollar). I adhered the stamped frame with mono multi, this works great on wood, but you could also decoupage it on with Mod Podge, you'll just have extra drying time. Drill a 5/8" hole through the exact center of the plaque, and then assemble your clock kit as shown on the packaging. Here I have it displayed on a bookshelf, propped up with an inexpensive brass display stand (they have these by the checkout at Hobby Lobby also, they are perfect for photographing your cards, too!).

The clock kit ( 3/4" depth for the panel is $5.99 at Hobby Lobby (or 3.63 with their 40% off coupon!)) has a bracket on the back so you can hang it as well, below I have it on the wall. The oval on the frame could be oriented horizontally if you preferred and the clock would be just as easy to read, so consider the space where you want to put it. Fortunately, without numbers you can change your mind at any time (no pun intended!) and turn it if you wish, just reset the hands accordingly!

With these colors and my decor, this is something I could have out year round. I made it for less than 5 dollars, and it would be an attractive and functional home or office gift for family, friends, teachers, etc.

Hope you like this idea, have a great day!

How to Color Poinsettias

I've had lots of wonderful feedback as well requests for coloring the poinsettias in "Festive Frame": although I don't have a video, my process of just 4-5 steps for these is so simple, a few pictures ought to do! :) I don't use the Colorless blender very much when I'm coloring (for me it's mainly for taking away boo boos or just when I ended up putting on waaaay too much color than I should have), preferring to stick with just a few contrasting shades of each color for a lot of "pop". (Blend too much and you can lose the dramatic shadows that really make your images look 3D.) Today's will be using traditional colors.

Color the poinsettias completely with a solid coat of R16 Strong Red (above).

Imagine "the light" coming from "above", and trace along the undersides of each petal with R59 Cardinal where there is one overlapping another, just following the underside of the lines.

Now trace the veins with Cardinal down the centers of the leaves, working from the middle going outward, and small strokes out from these, again just going over the lines. I love the contrast of these two colors, they provide very dramatic shadows and give lots of dimension. (If you like this look, skip the next step. If you want a more blended look, go to step 3.)

Pick up Strong Red again and go over these areas you did with Cardinal, working in the same direction you made the Cardinal strokes. If more blending is desired, go over the lines/areas in small circles. You'll see how these darker lines blend seamlessly into the Strong Red layer.

Color in the center with YG03 Yellow Green of other bright, light green.

Add a few dots of Greenish Olive or other darker green to the middle and bottom of the center.
That's it! you're done! Trace with a Stardust pen or add Stickles for shimmer if desired.

Here are the remaining colors I used for the pine cones and needles. As you can see: I usually only use two shades of a color, and create the other shades i need "in between" by doing tip to tip coloring, (which is picking up the darker color on to the lighter marker and coloring with that, which I'll share this another time) )or as I did in this tutorial just using the lighter color as a blender going over the darker color.

I hope this was helpful! I know you've seen this color combo from me a ton of times with this image, but it's just what goes with stuff I like around my house. ;) To make purple, pink, blue, whatever, just choose a light and dark shade of each and follow the steps above! :)

Stay tuned for a project I am SO excited about using this colored image!! :) Any guesses what I made this time??

Week 3: Linda Payne

Anybody recognize these gorgeous children from scrapbook pages on STV or see a resemblance to a certain someone's sweet smiling avatar? ;)

You can see Linda added "2008" to the corner, I love this idea of creating a special card to send to a family using their holiday photo from last year! :) What a wonderful surprise to receive that memory of Christmas past... :) The "Festive Frame" is stamped onto pine patterned paper, and she cut out a full sized poinsettia from "A Year of Flowers" embellished with pearls and glitter to accent the bottom and a little Pure Luxury bow at the top to balance the layout. Beautiful photo project, Linda!!


Linda's design details - embossed poinsettia onto Red Rocket that had been misted with Gold Glimmer Mist, paper pieced one poinsetta, used copic R59,R27, E33, black...matted onto stash dp, GKD white, red rocket, and all spruced up, gold mini pearls, gkd ribbon, 2008 from unknown collection peg stamps, nestie scalloped ovals.

Let's go see what else Linda made for us today! :)

Beautiful Bow!

Here is a large 5" square card, with the only stamping being the greeting from "Festive Frame" on a popped up oval die cut. After I made this luscious double bow with my Bow Easy and some burgundy silk ribbon from Sharon's store, I wanted to keep the rest of the card, really simple, no image required!. The DP is Basic Grey Indian Summer, matted on Pure Luxury Cranberry Tart, perfect match with this ribbon. Base is Pure Luxury White, I embossed this little branch trim on the side, it's a bit hard to see in the pic but is a lovely match with the delicate pattern of the paper. I attached the bow with a glue dot, as well as a cranberry button to the bottom corner from the Autumn Assortment (it looks a bit dark in this pic, but matches both the paper and ribbon very nicely! Last I added an adhesive nailhead to button's middle middle for a bit of bling.

I love how with a few top quality items, "simple" can be so "WOW!"

Have a blessed Sunday!

Oh, PS!! I bet you thought I forgot all about the Bow Easy winner!! The winner of the blog candy from our Festive Frame hop left this comment on Wendy's blog:
Jerusha said...
WOW! This is beautiful. What an amazing idea! I love it!

November 11, 2009 6:59 AM

Congrats Jerusha!! Please send me your addy and I will put your ribbon and Bow Easy in the mail!! :)

First Christmas Blog Hop

Welcome to our "First Christmas" Blog Hop!

Today I used Asela's gingerbread pair to make a cookie wreath. I placed a circle die on my paper to use as a guide on my white CS and then stamped the image 5 times around it leaving a space at the bottom for my bow. After coloring, adding shadows with W-1 Warm Gray Copic and outlining the white piping with a Sakura Clear Glaze Pen, I cut loosely around the outline of the cookies. Next I took a small rectangle punch to make two slits in between each pair to thread my polka dotted ribbon through, I chose this one to go with the little white dots on the cookies. The bow is separate and attached with a glue dot. I stamped "Festive Frame" onto DP, this print has such a homey feel, and colored my borders in tan to match the cookies. Wreath is attached with pop dots, completely covering the oval border, and card base is Pure Luxury White.

Are you ready for some more Eye-Candy tonight!? Stop in at Asela Hopkin's blog (our featured Illustrator tonight) and see what she has prepared for us.

Then, check out these GinaK Designer's blogs for their projects:

Carolyn, Donna, Erika, Jessica, Lee, Melanie, and Theresa

as well as our CenterStage Spotlight Designer's blogs:

Deb , Diana, Karen and Sharri

Remember, the Idea Center has lots of tutorials, photos, and links that will provide even more ideas for you with this stamp set!

And, if you haven't already done so, be sure to leave a comment on GinaK's blog for a chance to win this stamp set tonight too! If you have already purchased this set, you may swap it out for any other GinaK stamp set valued at $23.95.