Green Dragon Birthday

Here is my latest attempt at making a one-layer masculine birthday card:  I started by stamping the dragon, then masked it with a square before I added the repeated stripes.  I used two shades of marking pens to draw the center square, and used a pale grey to draw a shadow around the square.  I went over the body of the dragon with marking pen to deepen the color and fill in some uneven patches.  Finally, I used my trusty clear glaze pen to give the sentiment some extra dimension.

Supplies  

stamps: Gorgeous Grunge (SU), Chinese Dragon (Delta Rubber Stampede)

sentiment: Birthday Basics (Papertrey Ink)

ink: Almost Artichoke (SU) paper: Papertrey white

pens: Garden Green, Almost Artichoke (SU), Pale Grey Copic
accessories: Sakura clear glaze pen

Mistletoe

Up, Up, and Away!

Here is a little card I made last summer, in a workshop hosted by my friend Marcia.  I like the combination of textures we created using the embossing folders.  I also love the way the kites look when stamped onto the patterned paper.  This is a technique I should use more often!  With all the punching, embossing, and layering involved, this card took some time to create, but I really like the finished result.


 All products from Stampin' Up. 
Stamps: Send Me Soaring (2012 Occasions Mini, still available as a digital download)

Based on a design created by Marcia Yoshida.

ATSM Sketch #4

 I made this card using the sketch at Addicted to Stamps. It's one of those rare occasions when the idea in my head actually transferred well to the paper.  The back panel is embossed using a Cuttlebug folder, and the tree in front is from one of my favorite stamp sets, Snow Swirled from Stampin Up.  I edged the white panel with a Krylon gold leaf pen, and added tiny gold rhinestones to the centers of the flowers on the tree.  I also went over some of the dots with the gold pen.  Finally, I "embossed" the swirls on the tree with a Sakura glaze pen.  I am very happy with the final result!

  Addicted to Stamps Sketch Challenge #4

Stamps: Snow Swirled (SU) 
Ink: Real Red (SU) 
Paper: Real Red, Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White (SU)
Other: Cuttlebug embossing folder, gold leaf pen, Sakura clear glaze pen, rhinestones

Merry & Bright

This is a fairly quick and easy CAS layout.  I stamped the snowflakes stamped directly onto the base layer with SU Going Grey (retired) ink, sometimes stamping  more than once without re-inking to vary the intensity of the color.  The main image is from the SU set A Tree for All Seasons (retired), which I stamped onto SU Shimmery White paper, then colored with pencils. I used a Sakura Clear Glaze pen to highlight the snowflakes, the snowman and his scarf, and the mittens.

Tea for Two

All products from Stampin' Up.  Stamps: Tea Shoppe (2012 Occasions Mini)

Based on a design created by Marcia.

OLW71: Tag, You're It!

This week's OLW71 challenge was to make a tag, or three.  I had trouble with this one at first, but once I got started, I couldn't stop, and ended up making six!  The lighting was not ideal for taking photos, but this shows the general idea:

My favorite is this cheerful bit of holly. I used an old border set from SU, glazed the leaves and berries using my favorite Sakura glaze pens, and trimmed it with a gold leaf pen.  The tag itself is a leftover bit of white SU cardstock, trimmed with scissors and a corner rounder.  Simple!

 For this next one, I wanted to play with some flourishes.  Instead of the more usual gold, I decided to see what bronze would look like.  I added some sparkle to the sentiment using a Sakura glitter pen.  It does not show up too well on the photo, but I'm fairly happy with the results.

The workmanship on this next one is a bit sloppier than I would have liked (I didn't realize that my lines were crooked until too late), but I like the basic concept.  I masked off the center, and stamped snowflakes all around the border.  I then used the glitter pen to make the snowflakes sparkle, and also added some tiny dots and the aforementioned (crooked) lines.  My silver leaf pen added some contrast on the edges.

This next tag was actually the first one I made.  I realized that my tag template page included a round tag which looked a bit like an ornament.  I used SU Cranberry Crisp (retired years ago) and the poinsettia from the SU Christmas Cardinal set on SU Kraft paper, then freehand cut the ornament, added the label, and edged it with the gold pen.

About halfway through this process, I realized that tags are a wonderful way to use up stray bits of cardstock that might otherwise go to waste.  All it takes is a few clicks of the corner rounder and my mini hole punch, and voila! you have a tag.  This one uses a very old border stamp from SU, navy ink, and a glitter pen.

And finally, this one really did start out as a scrap: I was testing the "emboss resist" technique on a stray bit of cardstock.  Rounded the edges, clipped the corners and punched the hole, and now it too is a tag.  (The name of the recipient will go on the back.)

I will add the ribbons when I put the tags onto the packages, to coordinate with the wrappings.

I had a lot of fun making these tags, and I hope the recipients will enjoy them, too.