Distressed Backgrounds and Specimen Entomology Slides

 

Hey friends!  I'm sharing a couple of cards with you today from the August new release at Creative Worship Stamps.  I was so excited to see this month's release included the Entomology Elements stamps and Specimen Slide dies!  This is a theme I always enjoy.  

I created an couple of inky background panels using Uncharted Mariner, Walnut Stain, Frayed Burlap and Pine Needles Distress Inks.  For this first card, I repeat stamped one of the butterflies over a panel in Pine Needles to make "patterned paper" then layered with another of the darker papers I had inked.  I cut the Specimen Slides from heavy watercolor paper and inked them, then layered over hymnal paper.  I stamped a sentiment from the Wordfetti Mash-Up stamps inside one of the labels and a different butterfly, which I watercolored - fun!  

My next card uses the same papers and process, with the addition of stamping the Vintage Elements stamps behind the slide.  I layered with the die cut silhouette flower and bird.  

I'm giving away one Entomology Elements stamp set on my Instagram page HERE and hope you will enter to win.  Check out the rest of this month's release at Creative Worship stamps for more inspiration.  xx, Autumn

Grungy Little Entomology Tag Book

 

Hey friends!  I'm happy to be sharing the new release products by Creative Worship Stamps this month and what a fun collection it is!  I was eater to play with the new Entomology Elements stamp set and paired it with the Specimen Slides dies for this grungy little tag book.  It's small enough to send in an A2 envelope, but still packs a lot of fun.

I assembled the book by folding a sheet of watercolor card and using the Tag & More dies to cut a folded double tag, by putting the fold just inside of one of the cutting edges.  Then I decided I wanted a third flap, so I cut a third tag and adhered it with washi tape on both sides, but upside down.  It would probably be just as easy to do this with all three tags, ha!  Leave it to me to make something complicated.  

I used a combination of Distress Inks in Antique Linen, Rusty Hinge and Cracked Pistachio to ink the tag trio for a worn, rusty effect, tapping each color onto my kraft mat and spritzing with water before dipping the elements into the watery ink.  I stamped butterflies from the Entomology set in a repeat pattern across the front and back tag.  

I used the same inks to watercolor the butterflies and cut them with the coordinating dies.  And filled in the background with partial stamping using my Faith Definitions 1 stamp set.

For the cover I switched gears and added a mushroom from the Vintage Nature Elements set, layered over a piece of torn eyelet fabric I stained with the same inks.  I finished with bakers twine for the bottom facing tag and sari ribbon for the top.  

The Tag & More dies are designed to work with a monthly release of tag, ticket and sentiment stamps.  There's the Spring Collage with a flower tag, the Summer Collage, with a butterfly and this month the Autumn Collage with a maple leaf.  I'm so happy to see this product line offering so many versatile options, and love just using the tag and ticket dies on their own!  I do hope you've enjoyed this project and will check out the new release and join us in this month's Instagram hop at @sewpaperpaint.

Vintage Floral Mixed Media Cards

 

Hey again sweet friends!  I've been stamping away in my art room and having some good old inky fun.  Today's cards feature the gorgeous Vintage Floral Collection.  These stamps are such fun to play with!  I shared another batch of cards with them on THIS post.  

For this first pair of cards, I used a stencil brush to blend Crushed Olive Distress Ink over a book page through the new Lovely Lace stencil.  I just loved this look so I made two cards.  I colored my focal flowers using Crushed Olive, Pine Needles and Speckled Egg.  I layered with another book page dipped in watery inks and a piece of card dipped in the same then cut with the new Decorative Edges dies.  Love these fun dies and their flexibility!  I added a little half ticket to each to make a more dynamic layout using the Butterfly Tag & Ticket stamps and Tag & More coordinating dies.  

My next card features the same flower and a butterfly from the Vintage Floral Collection, stamped over an inky background stamped with the Flower Burst Background stamp.  

I used the same colors as before and made another panel with watercolored stripes using a flat brush.  I tucked it beneath the first panel, cut with the Decorative Edges dies and sandwiched a textured panel stamped with Typed Thoughts.  Fun!  I hope you've enjoyed these projects, Autumn

Vintage Butterflies Distressed Mixed Media Cards

 

Hey everyone!  I hope you are having a great (and creative) summer!  Today I have a couple of fun cards to share with you using the totally gorgeous Vintage Butterflies Blooms Stamps & Dies by Creative Worship Stamps.  

I was trying to try some new color combos and this one was created with Worn Lipstick and Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink.  I used texture paste through the new Lovely Lace stencil, then stamped in Brushed Corduroy with the branch stamp around that.  I sprayed it with water repeatedly to diffuse the stamping.  I added another torn layer with more stamping using the little berry bundle, then another inky layer unstamped.  I pulled some pieces from my leftover pile and cut them into little tags, topped with the awesome tag topper in the Tag & More Die Set.  These were stamped with my Faith Definitions 2 stamps and the Vintage Snippets stamps.  I finished with a sentiment from Typed Thoughts.

My next cards were stamped repeatedly from the same branch stamp in the Vintage Butterflies Blooms Stamps using Archival ink in Coffee.  I stamped them as a pair so I could overlap stamping.  I found the branch works great going all in one direction for a row, then turning it upside down for the next row.  I dipped the panels in watery Antique Linen Distress Ink, then very loosely watercolored the petals and leaves with Tattered Rose, Wild Honey and Crushed Olive.  For the green berries I used a marker.  

I then cut my cardstock in half vertically to make two top-fold cards.  I used the new Decorative Edges Dies to cut the bottom of the cards and colored panels.  I found a scrap of textured card and used oval dies to cut "relief panels" then sponged the edges with Wild Honey and stamped the floral motif from the set in Tattered Rose in the middle.  I layered with watercolored butterflies and sentiments from Typed Thoughts.  I just love these pretty panels and stamping my own backgrounds always gives me such a thrill!  I hope you will try it too.  Hugs, Autumn

Simon Hurley Timeless Textures 3D Embossing

 

Hello lovely friends!  I am thrilled today to announce my new collaboration with Spellbinders Paper Arts.  I am so excited to share some new projects with you!  Make sure you follow my blog, because I have so much in store over the coming months!  

First, I upgraded my die cutting system to the New & Improved Platinum Machine with Universal Plate System - 8.5" Platform.  I've had my old machine for so long and really wanted a wider cutting base.  This machine works with EVERY brand and includes all of the plates required for any die cutting, embossing or foiling.  A couple of Christmases back I got an electronic cutting machine by another company and it quit working within the month.  Thankfully I received a refund.  I have been skeptical of trying again, but I am so glad I did!  I've really enjoyed my Platinum so far.  If you don't need the 8.5" cutting option, Spellbinders makes a smaller 6" Platinum Machine as well.  

Today's projects are centered around the new Simon Hurley Timeless Textures 3D embossing folders and dies.  

Recently my friend Carol and I had a playday to create our Flowers Magic Art Fest journals.  I used a combination of vintage linens to create my cover and bound a variety of vintage book pages and tea dyed papers within.  I've shared more detail on my IG Reel HERE.  I hope to share a quick tutorial on my YouTube page soon.  Please leave me a comment if you are interested.  HERE is a flip through of another of my vintage journals.  

We played with some tea stained paper, which was standard copy paper folded in half, then embossed with the Flowing Florals 3D Embossing Folder.  What gorgeous pages!  I used one to wrap around a signature.  I just love how Spellbinders new embossing folders are large enough to use in this way!

Next I was inspired to create an ephemera pocket to share some goodies with a journaling friend.

I embossed a kraft card panel with the Hummingbird Garden 3D Embossing Folder.  I loved the kraft!  I then dipped the panel in Chipped Sapphire and Rusty Hinge Distress Inks.  When that was dried, I used a Versamark ink pad to add some copper embossing powder lightly over the raised textures.  

I tested out the Glimmer Hot Foil System for the first time and foiled the Must Have Sentiments by Simon Hurley onto blue cardstock.  I didn't expect it to work, but I followed the instructions in the box and it worked on my first try.  

I cannot believe I procrastinated in foiling until now!  It was so easy and I am smitten over these copper foiled little sentiments!  I mounted my pocket over a book page onto coordinating blue cardstock onto a kraft square card.  I filled it to the brim with goodies from my stash and finished with an acetate butterfly, which I stapled onto a tag and covered the staple with one of my foiled expressions. 

For my final project I created a sweet little mixed media greeting card using the Rattan Cane 3D Embossing Folder embossed in the same blue card.  I layered with book pages and kraft core copper card I cut from the Essential Stylish Ovals dies.  These are such great dies!  They have sold out multiple times, so make sure to click "Notify Me" and Spellbinders will send you an email when they restock.  

I gave the card base a splash of Rusty Fresco Chalk Acrylic Paint by PaperArtsy and the book page a splash of Rusty Hinge and Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink, then layered with my foiled sentiment and the Hummingbird Garden 3D Embossing Folder & Coordinating Dies.  I really love the ability to use this set with or without the 3D background or cutout hummingbirds.  I hope these projects have inspired you and you'll checkout the Timeless Textures Collection by Simon Hurley on the Spellbinders website.  Hugs, Autumn

Embossing Resist and Mixed Media Card Making

 

Hey friends!  I'm back today to share a fun set of cards using an embossing resist technique I learned from Tami Bastiaan years and years ago.  I started by making an inky background with Distress Inks in Worn Lipstick and Vintage Photo and dried that panel thoroughly before clear embossing the entire Typewriter Keys Caps Alpha stamp set onto the panel. 

Then I went in with lots more Vintage Photo over that and it resisted the lighter clear embossing, showing the pink through!  So fun!  I did not iron off the EP like Tami has done, but I did cut it into a mini file folder with my paper cutter.  I layered it over a background made with the same inks over my brand new Faith Definitions 2 stamp set I designed for Creative Worship Stamps!  If you've enjoyed Faith Definitions set 1, you will love this set and how well it works with various holidays/events, let alone your journaling.  Take notw how I first stamped my definitions in Wendy Vecchi's Tree Bark Archival Ink onto my Bristol panel, then dipped it in the inks.  The oil in the Archival inks acts as a bit of a resist too and I love how the ink pooled around the definitions!

To finish out the card I layered a die cut Polaroid Frame, stamped with the Vintage Snippets stamps.  

I made a second panel with a different background stamping the Flower Burst Background Clear Stamp in WV Fern Green Archival Ink with the same ink dipping.  I used the numbers strip from the Typewriter Keys Caps Alpha stamp set and the Polaroid Frame die, this time stamping it with the Faith Definitions 2 and staining the center cut out with Peeled Paint DI.  Both cards feature watercolored images from the Hope Blooms Stamp and Die Bundle and the birthday sentiment from the Wordfetti Mash-up sentiments.  

My next card uses the same embossing resist background technique with the Typewriter Keys Caps Alpha stamp set.  I added more inks over the piece using Distress Inks in Seedless Preserves and Wild Honey.  I overstamped with my Faith Definitions 2 stamp set.  I layered onto a wadded up panel stamped with the Vintage Ledger Page stamp.

I layered with an inky panel using the same colors and white embossed a sentiment from Timeless Hymns.  I layered over a little ticket from the new Spring Collage Tag set.  Finally I added a butterfly from Vintage Butterflies Blooms.  I hope you're inspired to try this resist technique and enjoy it!  xx, Autumn