Thursday, July 6, 2023

Masculine Autumn Silhouettes


It is soooo hot down here!  Our thermometer actually read 104 degrees a few days ago but I'm not sure about its accuracy!  I need to reset and test it!  (The heat index here as I write is 108 according to The Weather Channel).  Our son is visiting from Virginia and commented about how much the humidity influences one's tolerance for the heat.   He's lived up there for about a year, and already is not acclimated for that intense Florida heat. 

I needed to stamp a card, and that Ink Drops Sunset pad was on the top of the stack when I went upstairs to the studio...this card is the result.  Gotta love it when a card idea effortlessly manifests itself!


These two Craft Consortium designer papers work so well together and make this such a fast and easy project to put together.  A few passes through the die cutting machine, a little stamping (no coloring!) and splattering and it's done!


I love this sentiment!  Even though this card is all about the summer sunshine, I thought it was a good fit!

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Thursday, June 29, 2023

Happy Independence Day!


It's almost the 4th of July weekend, so I could not resist giving our Stamp Simply patriotic bundle one last hurrah for the holiday! Here I have paired it with our Spring/Summer Seasonal Wreath bundle...I stamped the wreath on some Sunset paper, going for the look of a straw wreath form wrapped with a few grapevines and accented with that beautiful eagle, some stars and pearls. (I've used grapevine wreath forms and straw wreath forms before, but have never combined them IRL, so maybe now I'll have to give that a try!) 


For me, our new patriotic set with the majestic eagle has become this year's Summer favorite so far.  It looks gorgeous on just about any background whether colored traditionally or in patriotic red, white and blue.   I love the way it looks here against an "evening fireworks" kind of background, a selection from Ink Drops Ocean.  

I used distress markers to apply color directly to the 4th of July stamp from Patriotic Sentiments.   


I used sparkly Delicata ink to stamp a sprinkling of stars on the inside, with one die-cut star cut from Sunset Ink Drops paper. Couldn't resist splashing a little more gold on the card inside and out, especially considering that there will be fireworks this weekend!  

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Thursday, June 22, 2023

Patriotic Shadow Box Card


The Fourth of July is right around the corner, so today's project has a patriotic theme.  If you have visited the homes of any members of our military maybe you've seen an "I love me" wall or corner used to display awards and certificates.  That's the inspiration for this patriotic shadow box card.  

Before I share how this card was constructed, I'd like to share this:


Stamp Simply

To make the shadow box I selected two sizes of Spellbinders' squares to use as both templates and dies.  First I aligned one inside the other on my designer paper, and traced inside each with a pencil.  The distance between the two dies will determine the depth of the shadowbox.  (This will not collapse to fold flat, so if you make this dimension very large, the card will require a box for mailing). 


Next, use a scoring tool (I used a ruler and a ball-tipped dry embossing tool) to score along the outlines of both squares.  Then, with a metal straight edge and an Exacto blade, cut the largest square diagonally from corner to corner making an X that divides the square into four flaps.  

If you're planning to stamp a sentiment directly onto your designer paper, you'll need to finish your stamping before proceeding further with the construction of the shadow box.   

Finally, fold the flaps mountain/valley style so that the shadow box walls are perpendicular to the card base.  Adhere the ends of the flaps and conceal them by covering the center of the shadow box with die-cut squares that will contrast/complement your focal design.  For my card I used our more traditional version of the US flag to go with the Pledge of Allegiance stamped below.  


The USA stamp, the American Hero sentiment and the tiny outline star are all from our Old Glory set.   I love interchanging the various elements of our awesome Full Patriotic Bundle which includes a more stylized version of the flag along with a set of stars, an eagle, lots of sentiments, and various coordinating dies.  

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Thursday, June 15, 2023

A Botanical Specimen


I found a real biological specimen (a cicada, not sure I've ever seen one IRL before! photo at the end of this post!) on our sidewalk yesterday, so today's Stamp Simply project is a Botanical Specimen card!  I've used several sets from one of our floral bundles to make this card.  The daffodil is one of my favorites, and I love this bundle because (besides the beautiful images)/(like so many of our sets) the sentiments work interchangeably so well together.  I adore this font combination!  And honestly, just about anything Tim Holtz is another favorite!


I wish I would have thought to make the inside of the slide from vellum or transparency.   I am gonna have to make another one just to see what it would look like!

And OH!  Voice of experience on those little tiny numbers/letters on these TH dies...tape the back side with tape!  Do not use glue because it seeps through and makes a mess!  I actually experimented adhering them three different ways.  Above, I just removed the tiny letters and let a darker piece of card stock peek through.


Next I left the letters in place and glued the whole thing to another piece of card stock.  Even trying to use the minimum amount of glue, it seeped through and I had a hard time (with a gum eraser) trying to un-stickify it!  I still haven't gotten it all off!


So finally, plain ole Scotch tape to the back side is what worked the best!

The bonus for a card like this is that even though florals are generally thought of as feminine, this streamline no-frills version would really work for a guy as well.  

Supplies:
And just in case you are curious:  



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Thursday, June 8, 2023

Simple Ordinary Things

My clean and simple card for this week is about everyday reminders seen in simple, ordinary things...like the sparrow in the bushes outside your home.  All around us every single day there are visible reminders of unseen spiritual things with simple but profound messages if we will just slow down and open our eyes, hearts and minds.  


Sometimes when life gets busy or feels complicated or overwhelming we forget to look, and a card with a gentle reminder will nudge us to remember to seek those moments of quiet solace. 


I chose to ink all the edges of this card with distress ink and splatter the papers with distress oxides.  Without those details this card would have been even faster to assemble!


This is one of my favorite SS stamp sets because of its beautiful imagery and comforting scriptures.  The delicate leaves/branches and the sweet birds are quite lovely and they're not difficult to color!  And then there's that swirling music staff!  After all, the name of my blog is "With a Stamp and a Song!" 

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Thursday, June 1, 2023

American Eagle Dad!

When I first saw our American Eagle stamp set I knew that I'd have to make a "leather" jacket with that iconic eagle!  It goes perfectly with this cool embossed metal designer paper which is probably one of my very most favorite masculine prints ever!  

I stamped the eagle on a 5.5 inch square piece of copy paper and made a rough sketch of a jacket with a pencil, inking in the lines with a black marker when it felt like the proportions were working. I then made two copies of the template on card stock, one to leave "whole" to use as a base for the paper pieced one made out of "leather" embossed card stock.  (Make sure to label the pieces of the one you plan to cut apart so you know what goes where and which is the right side!  If you click on my sketch you should be able to print it actual size if you want to use my template).  


Keeping the jacket's proportions correct meant that the jacket sleeves would overhang the 5.5 inch card base, so I opted to cut a 7.5 inch square base and glue the 5.5 inch card into the center of it.  That gave the jacket room to "breathe" and also provided the opportunity to add a border  of Stars and Stripes which really boosts this card's curb appeal!  


I wanted to give another option for those of you who might not have leather textured card stock.  This black jacket version was made by dampening thin black card stock with a spritz of water and then crinkling it over and over to get the desired effect.  With thicker card stock it looks even better to actually peel the layers of dampened card stock apart...and that produces an effect that almost looks like suede!


Here's the inside of this one with brick textured paper.  I couldn't decide what to use for a border (thought I had some screw brads from way back when but I couldn't find 'em) so I just changed the placement of the sentiment on this one.  

Supplies for tan "leather" American Eagle jacket card:
Supplies for black "suede" American Eagle jacket card:
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Thursday, May 25, 2023

Coming and Going!


There's a whole lot of coming and going in a military family!  Over the years we spent a LOT of time apart and wrote lots of letters (and sent micro-cassettes too!) in those days before email was available for deployed sailors.  Those bon voyages and homecomings were so emotional!  Military families make huge sacrifices to support our freedom, and we are so very thankful for them.    

My card for today is a patriotic card that commemorates all those emotional comings and goings, inspired by a quilt design (flying geese), made flat for mailing via FPO/Fleet Post Office.  With a vivid imagination those triangles could even make one think of a stealth bomber !  :wink:

This scripture is absolutely perfect for someone about to leave for deployment.  It is part of a beautiful Stamp Simply set, A Man of Knowledge, which includes other scriptures, happy birthday, Father's Day and congratulations sentiments. 

 
The passage inside is from one of our new patriotic stamp sets, American Eagle.  

Here in the United States of America, Memorial Day will be observed this coming Monday.  It honors those who have paid the ultimate price, who left and never came home again.  My husband lost several squadron mates over the course of his career, and our hearts are always with their families.  I hope as you unofficially welcome Summer this weekend, you will take the time to honor these military heroes.  God bless, and God bless America!
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Thursday, May 18, 2023

Sing to Him a New Song!


The colors of this beautiful Ink Drops designer paper inspired a card celebrating God's steadfast love in the midst of the changing seasons.  


That lovely designer paper has cool colors on one side and warm colors on the other.  I used Copic markers in greens, teals, yellows, oranges, and pinks randomly to color the leaves, bringing the colors from the one side of the paper to the other and tying the design together.


Speaking of changes, that little pop of red from the cardinal really changes the personality of this card!  He adds a hopeful, happy note.  Here is what it looks like when he's not there!  Even though the colors from the inside of the card still sing, the atmosphere seems much calmer and more serene without that bright red focal point.
  

This is what the inside looks like once the belly band is removed and the card is opened.  I was going for that "new every morning" feeling and I love the way it turned out using distress oxides/inks with a little Delicata splash and sparkle.  

We've had the landscapers at our house removing some old, tired plants and replacing them with fresh new healthy ones.  Then we had what we thought was a hot water heater problem that ended up being an under-slab leak so the plumber had to cut into our wood floor for access to the repair...so the floor is going to be replaced/repaired too!  Our home was built in 1989/90 and so I suppose it is time for all these things to need replacing or updating.  We did some remodeling during Pandemic too, but the list just goes on and on (and not necessarily on our chosen timing!).   I don't know about you but this kind of stuff sorta stresses me out!  Hence the "note to self" to sing that new song, to remember that it will all work out in the long run!  All things work together for good...(Romans 8:28).  

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Thursday, May 11, 2023

Stars and Stripes Easel Card

Hello again everyone!  I'm here today with a special version of an easel card inspired by one made by Frances Byrne.  (The tutorial that she links to in her blog post is no longer available, but this card's construction was not hard to figure out, so here's my version!)

The dangling star ornament was made by stamping and die-cutting several stars (I used 5 but 3 or 4 would probably have worked just fine!) from our new American Eagle bundle, scoring each star vertically from top to bottom and glueing them one half to another. Remember to add a strand of cording or monofilament for hanging your ornament to the center before glueing the final two sides together!


The card base is a vertical half sheet of card stock, 4.25 inches wide x 11 inches long, scored it at 2.75 and 5.5 inches.  I used a circle die to cut a circle opening through the fold...it helps with alignment if you first cut a circle of copy paper for a template and fold it in half to align it where you want it to be, matching the horizontal fold lines of the card and template. 


For the "frame" I aligned two circle dies, one inside the other, on a sheet of gold pearlescent card stock.  Repeat the process, then center the star inside the circle and position the cording taut before adhering the two frames together.  Finally, glue ONLY THE BOTTOM HALF of the frame to the circular opening of the card so that the top of the circle is free to swing away from the base when the easel is propped open.


Decorate the inside as you wish, with elements to peek through the opening (or to remain hidden) when the card is closed.  Some strategically placed embellishments will help to keep the easel in position for display.  

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Thursday, May 4, 2023

American Patriotism


I really LOVE Stamp Simply's new American Eagle stamp and was inspired to make another very CAS patriotic card using our new sets.  This project is straightforward and no-frills for masculine appeal (although I think the ladies might like it too), and since it has no bows or rhinestones it's flat and therefore suitable for mailing without requiring extra postage for hand canceling.    


I used small and large circle dies to cut a peek-through window through the card front and the striped designer paper so that the starry background could peek through.  If you look closely you'll notice that I used a metallic gel pen around the edges of the papers to add just a touch of sparkle.  The eagle is attached to the front of the card only by the very tips of its wings.  It was stamped with Memento ink, colored with Copic markers, and then backed with another die cut from designer paper so that it would look nice from the back side when the card is opened.

The small numbers above the eagle are from Tim Holtz's Collector's die set.    
 

I also used the metallic gel pen to go around the edges of the fishtail banner, and to add a "drop shadow" effect to the stamped sentiment.  Just that little bit of extra attention to detail really elevates the look of such a minimalist card.  


Once the card is opened, the gold pearlescent stars inside become visible.  (You can see that peek of designer paper that backs the eagle from this angle.)

I graduated from high school in 1976 which was the bicentennial of our nation's independence.  Maybe that is another reason that I love making patriotic cards so much! 

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