Stamp-a-Faire 2014: 1940's Vintage Patterns - Emily

Emily went in a completely different direction with her vintage pattern challenge card.  She used stamps from Vintage Ornaments Additions and Simply Stationery.  It's a unique pairing!

She experimented with different colors on scratch paper before deciding on these.  The little diamond shape makes a really interesting pattern.  You can see other cards for the challenge here.

Stamps:  Vintage Ornaments Additions, Simply Stationery, 1940's Era (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Aqua Mist, Autumn Rose, Winter Wisteria (Papertrey Ink)
Paper:  Hawaiian Shores, Soft Stone (Papertrey Ink)
Misc:  Standard Circles Large die (Spellbinders)

Stamp-a-Faire 2014: 1940's Vintage Patterns

I followed the challenge tutorial pretty closely for this card.  I just changed the colors to put my own spin on it.  I really loved the original card!

Isn't this such a sweet stamp set?  It didn't take very long to build the pattern.  I love making backgrounds with my stamps.  The banner and flowers were fussy cut and popped up for dimension.  You can see other cards for the challenge here.

Stamps:  1940's Era (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Hawaiian Shores, Harvest Gold, Pure Poppy, Dark Chocolate (Papertrey Ink)
Paper:  White, Dark Chocolate (Papertrey Ink)
Misc:  Cappuccino baker's twine (The Twinery); pop-dots

Stamp-a-Faire 2014: 1920's Sparkle - Emily

Emily used more of the pink and purple rhinestones for the Sparkle & Shine challenge.  She paired them with bright Bubblegum glitter by Martha Stewart.

So fun!  You can see other cards for the challenge here.

Stamps:  1920's Era (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Paper:  Vintage Cream, Hibiscus Burst (Papertrey Ink)
Misc:  1920's Era die (Papertrey Ink); Bubblegum glitter (Martha Stewart)

Stamp-a-Faire 2014: 1920's Sparkle

Oh, this was fun!  You can't go wrong with glitter and rhinestones.  :)  I have always loved the art deco style of the 1920's.

I just used clear rhinestones this time along with a pretty White Gold glitter by Martha Stewart.  It almost looks like a brooch.  I kept the design simple to keep the focus where it belongs - on the sparkle!

You can see other cards for the challenge here.

Stamps:  1920's Era (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Paper:  True Black, Soft Stone, 1920's Era (Papertrey Ink)
Misc:  1920's Era die (Papertrey Ink); White Gold glitter (Martha Stewart); rhinestones

Stamp-a-Faire 2014: 1920's Rhinestones - Emily

I have had these pink and purple rhinestones for years and barely used them.  Emily went to town with them on her design!

She used VersaMark ink to create a subtle background with an image from the 1920's Era stamp set.  Love her sparkly centerpiece!

You can see other cards for the challenge here.

Stamps:  1920's Era (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Tuxedo Black (Memento); VersaMark
Paper:  Soft Stone, Winter Wisteria, clear cardstock (Papertrey Ink)
Misc:  1920's Era die, Double-Ended Banner die (Papertrey Ink); rhinestones

Stamp-a-Faire 2014: 1920's Rhinestones

This challenge was fun!  Who doesn't love sparkly rhinestones?  The only difficult part was cutting the clear cardstock with the die.  That stuff is tenacious!  Not easy to cut through, for sure.

I used clear, smoky, and black rhinestones to create my design.  It just screams 1920's era, especially with the stamped scrollwork.  I used VersaMark ink and another stamp from the same set to create a subtle background.

I really love this card!  You can see other cards for the challenge here.

Stamps:  1920's Era (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Tuxedo Black (Memento); VersaMark
Paper:  Hawaiian Shores, True Black, clear cardstock (Papertrey Ink)
Misc:  1920's Era die (Papertrey Ink); rhinestones

Stamp-a-Faire 2014: Regency Needlepoint Elegance - Emily

When Emily saw this die, she immediately pictured an apple.  Clever girl!  She designed her card to have the apple hanging from a tree branch.

She handcut the branch and die cut the leaves using Happiness in Bloom dies.  The birds are from the Little Bitty Bird stamp set, and the sentiment is from Fathers Know Best.

You can see other cards for the challenge here.

Stamps:  Little Bitty Bird, Little Bitty Bird Additions, Father Knows Best (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Autumn Rose, Pure Poppy (Papertrey Ink); Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Paper:  Soft Stone, Spring Moss, Aqua Mist, Dark Chocolate (Papertrey Ink)
DMC floss:  321, 472
Misc:  Regency die, Happiness in Bloom die (Papertrey Ink); needle

Stamp-a-Faire 2014: Regency Needlepoint Elegance

I loved this challenge!  I used to cross-stitch all the time.  I love having a die to use that technique on cards.  I taught my daughter Emily how to do it and she's decided she wants to try a cross-stitch project now.  I have lots of patterns for her to choose from!  :)

I chose three shades of pink floss for my stitched flower.  After I was done, I added some strips of Sweet Blush and Hibiscus Burst cardstock, plus a strip of polka dot print from the Regency Era collection, and popped up the whole piece on a Sweet Blush card base.  My sentiment is from Green Thumb, an oldie but goodie!

You can see other cards for the challenge here.

Stamps:  Green Thumb (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Paper:  Kraft, Sweet Blush, Hibiscus Burst, Regency Era (Papertrey Ink)
DMC floss:  961, 962, 963, 966
Misc:  Scallop Border punch (Stampin' Up); pop-dots; needle

Stamp-a-Faire 2014: Regency Antique Gold - Emily

Emily is a much quicker stamper than I am.  I fussed around with my card, but she knew exactly what she wanted to do.

She stamped her damask background using Fine Linen ink.  It looks pretty and subtle in real life.  I never would have put those colors together, but it works!

Stamps:  Love Birds, Damask Designs, Regency Era (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:      Dark Chocolate, Fine Linen (Papertrey Ink); VersaMark; Walnut Stain (Distress Ink)
Paper:  Kraft, Sweet Blush, Regency Era (Papertrey Ink)
Misc:  Regency die (Papertrey Ink); Standard Circles Large die (Spellbinders); gold embossing powder

Stamp-a-Faire 2014: Regency Antique Gold

It never occurred to me to sponge over embossed images to antique them, but it is a really neat look.  Emily and I were also grateful that this was a quick and easy challenge!  lol

I kept my design pretty simple.  I used some of the pattern paper included in the Regency Era collection along with Sweet Blush cardstock.  Soft, pretty colors.  I placed an Ocean Tides circle behind my antiqued gold frame for the sentiment.

Stamps:  Regency Era (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Rich Cocoa (Memento); VersaMark; Walnut Stain (Distress Ink)
Paper:  Kraft, Ocean Tides, Sweet Blush, Regency Era (Papertrey Ink)
Misc:  Regency Era die (Papertrey Ink); Standard Circles Large die (Spellbinders); Scallop Border punch (Stampin' Up); gold embossing powder

Stamp-a-Faire 2014: Renaissance Velvet - Emily

Here is Emily's card for the stamped velvet challenge.  I ironed the piece for her since she didn't want to touch the hot iron, but she did everything else herself.

It was her idea to use the Happy Trails stamp set and feather.  Brilliant way to tie in the Renaissance era!

Stamps:  Renaissance Era; Happy Trails (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Paper:  White, Aqua Mist, True Black (Papertrey Ink)
Misc:  Renaissance Era die (Papertrey Ink)

Stamp-a-Faire 2014: Renaissance Velvet

I've seen this technique of stamping velvet before, but had never tried it myself.  I was pretty chuffed when it worked on the first try!

Gluing the velvet to the card and get it to lay flat was a different story!  lol  I ended up using Glossy Accents, but it still shifted slightly when I put the card together.

My card is obviously inspired by the challenge sample.  I just changed the colors and used a different sentiment.  It's from the Happy Trails stamp set.  My daughter's idea, actually.  I think the feather is a nice touch for a card inspired by the Rennaissance era!  :)

You can see other cards for the challenge here.

Stamps:  Renaissance Era; Happy Trails (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Tropical Teal (Papertrey Ink); Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Paper:  Rustic White, Tropical Teal (Papertrey Ink)
Misc:  Renaissance Era die (Papertrey Ink)

Stamp-a-Faire 2014: Ancient Rome Faux Fresco - Emily

Here is Emily's card for the faux fresco technique.  My first attempt messed up due to a over-enthusiastic water brush.  Therefore my daughter and I took turns to paint our frescoes with the one that worked properly and she completed hers first.  Unfortunately, I forgot to tell her to heat-dry each color before moving on and it all blended together.  She decided she liked it anyway and didn't want to start over.  :)

I love the gorgeous golden color she used for the background.  It really looks like Italian fresco with that texture!  She chose a sentiment from Boutique Borders: Thanks to finish off her card.  You can see other cards for the challenge and the faux fresco tutorial here.

Stamps:  Friendship Jar Spring Fillers; Boutique Borders: Thanks (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Paper:  White, Aqua Mist (Papertrey Ink)
Twinkling H2O's:  Ocean Wave, Icy Iris, Blue Zircon, Sun Flower, Iris Petal, Celadon, Mystique, Royal Satin, Snapdragon
Misc:  white embossing paste (Wendy Vecchi); water brush; palette knife

Stamp-a-Faire 2014: Ancient Rome Faux Fresco

This was a fun technique!  You can see the tutorial for the faux fresco at the challenge post here.  Essentially, you spread a thin layer of embossing paste on cardstock and let it dry, then stamp and color over the texture.  Pretty cool!

 

My card is obviously inspired by the challenge sample, but I changed the orientation.  I pulled out my Friendship Jar Fillers stamp set for these pretty flowers.  I used Twinkling H2O's to color my fresco piece.  My first attempt messed up due to a over-enthusiastic water brush.  Therefore my daughter and I took turns to paint our frescoes with the one that worked properly.  I'm glad this one turned out because I didn't want to take the time to prepare another paper!

I matted my fresco with Dark Chocolate and then adhered it to a Kraft card base that had been stamped with Classic Kraft ink using the Ancient Rome stamp set.  My sentiment is from the Tea For Two Additions set.

I will definitely do this again.  I love the textured look!

Stamps:  Friendship Jar Fillers; Tea For Two Additions (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Dark Chocolate, Classic Kraft (Papertrey Ink); Jet Black (StazOn)
Paper:  White, Kraft, Dark Chocolate (Papertrey Ink)
Twinkling H2O's:  Bashful Blue, Hopeful Honeysuckle, Good News, Cedarwood
Misc:  white embossing paste (Wendy Vecchi); water brush; palette knife

Stamp-a-Faire 2014: Renaissance Wax Seal - Emily

I will say that our first attempt at a wax seal didn't work out.  We waited too long and the wax had mostly hardened.  The other two turned out beautifully.  Emily got the best one for her card.

She just had to use Royal Velvet again.  Isn't it a gorgeous color?

You can see other cards for the challenge here.

Stamps:  SAF Rennaisance (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Tuxedo Black (Memento); VersaMark
Paper:  White, Royal Velvet, Plum Pudding (Papertrey Ink)
Misc:  Beaded Squares die (Spellbinders); gold sealing wax

Stamp-a-Faire 2014: Renaissance Wax Seal

Emily and I both loved this challenge.  Neither one of us had ever done it before.  We used the gold sealing wax stick included in the SAF kit to make our own wax seals.

Isn't that gold seal gorgeous?  I went with a regal vibe for my card.  Who could resist?  :)

I stamped the medallion from the SAF Rennaisance set in a simple pattern on white cardstock.  I cut a red strip using a fishtail flag die to mimic a royal red ribbon.  Then, I simply stamped a sentiment and adhered my gold seal underneath.

I love this one!  It was so quick and easy.  Now if I can just keep it simple for the rest of my SAF cards.   :)

You can see other cards for the challenge here.  I'll post Emily's card next.

Stamps:  SAF Rennaisance; Gracious Vases (Papertrey Ink(
Ink:  Tuxedo Black (Memento); VersaMark
Paper:  White, True Black, Pure Poppy (Papertrey Ink)
Misc:  Fishtail Flags STAX (My Favorite Things); gold sealing wax

Stamp-a-Faire 2014: Ancient Rome Mock Mosiac - Emily

Emily had a lot more fun with this challenge than I did.  :)  She decided to stamp her scene with the Bird Watching set and just loved choosing the colors. 

Stamps:  Bird Watching, Bird Watching Additions (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Aqua Mist, Lavender Moon, Sweet Blush, Royal Velvet, Enchanted Evening (Papertrey Ink); Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Paper:  White, Sweet Blush (Papertrey Ink)
Markers:  Pool Party, Baked Brown Sugar, Blushing Bride, Orchid Opulence, Green Galore, Elegant Eggplant (Stampin' Up)
Misc:  clear embossing powder, SAF Ancient Rome die (Papertrey Ink); white fun foam

Stamp-a-Faire 2014: Ancient Rome Mock Mosiac

We got stuck on this challenge.  It took a lot more time than expected, and as a result, we have been behind on the challenges since.  It's a good thing that we have until Tuesday morning to post our cards!

I used the mosaic die included in the SAF Ancient Rome era collection to cut self-adhesive white fun foam to make our own custom stamp.  I adhered it to an old wood block.  Unfortunately, that meant that we couldn't see through the block to line it up properly.  The die isn't big enough to cover a card front, and you sure can't see where you've already stamped when you're using VersaMark ink!!

I stamped flowers from Filled With Joy, this year's exclusive SAF stamp set using the masking technique.  I also stamped leaves behind the flowers, using Simply Chartreuse ink, stamping off some of them to add depth.  Flower centers were done in Summer Sunrise ink.

After I finished my panel, I stamped over the whole thing in VersaMark ink with the mosaic stamp and then embossed it in clear embossing powder.  I think my pad is drying up because the powder didn't adhere cleanly.  It does add a more weathered look though!  I sponged over it all with Dark Chocolate ink for my "grout".

I trimmed the panel down and glued it to a Royal Velvet card base.  I also cut a Labels 22 shape with the same paper and embossed my sentiment, selectively stamping to change its orientation.

This technique was quite the experience.  I was getting pretty tense so my daughter turned on our 80's playlist to calm me down.  She said it would get us prepared for the 80's challenge!  lol  We didn't get that far today, but that's the one she's looking forward to the most!

I'll post Emily's card next.  You can see other cards for the challenge here.

Stamps:  Filled With Joy (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Dark Chocolate, Royal Velvet, Pure Poppy, Simply Chartreuse, Summer Sunrise (Papertrey Ink); VersaMark
Paper:  White, Royal Velvet
Misc:  white embossing powder, clear embossing powder, sponge, SAF Ancient Rome die (Papertrey Ink); Labels 22 die (Spellbinders); white fun foam

Stamp-a-Faire 2014: Morning Timer Challenge - Emily

Emily and I both picked the same color combo from the selections for the Stamp-a-Faire Timer Challenge.  Not planned either!  She picked a different sketch though.

I'll let her describe her own card first thing in the morning.  She's already in bed, which is where I should be too!!

You can see other cards for the Timer challenge here.

Stamps:  Little Bitty Bird, Little Bitty Bird Additions (Papertrey Ink)

Ink:  Hawaiian Shores, Winter Wisteria (Papertrey Ink); Tuxedo Black (Memento)

Paper:  Soft Stone, Spring Rain, Blueberry Sky, Hawaiian Shores, Winter Wisteria, White (Papertrey Ink)

Misc:  Standard Circles Large die (Spellbinders), white gel pen (Inkssentials)

Stamp-a-Faire 2014: Morning Timer Challenge

Whew, it's been a long day.  Emily and I have spent hours in the studio working on the Stamp-a-Faire challenges.  Here is my card for the Timer Challenge.  We got to pick one color combo and one sketch, and it had to be completed in twenty minutes.  I barely made it.  lol  I was helping my daughter at the same time, so that made it interesting!

I used Soft Stone cardstock for my base and Spring Rain, Winter Wisteria, and Blueberry Sky cardstock with an MFT die for the three scallop borders.  (trimmed to make them shorter)  I stamped my sentiment from Little Bitty Bird at the top.

For the adorable little bird, I first stamped the body in Hawaiian Shores ink.  Then I stamped the bird outline in black ink so it was standing on the sentiment.  I stamped the polka dot wing in Hawaiian Shores, but it didn't show up very well, so I took my white gel pen and added polka dots myself.

It turned out pretty cute!  You can see other cards for the challenge here.  I'll post Emily's timer card next.

Stamps:  Little Bitty Bird, Little Bitty Bird Additions (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Hawaiian Shores, Winter Wisteria (Papertrey Ink); Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Paper:  Soft Stone, Spring Rain, Winter Wisteria, Blueberry Sky
Misc:  Blueprints 4 die (My Favorite Things); white gel pen (Inkssentials)

Stamp-a-Faire 2014: Friday Night Meet & Greet

It's time for the annual Papertrey Ink Stamp-a-Faire!  My daughter Emily and I have been looking forward to this online event for months.  I even ordered the kit this time since I really love the era-specific stamp sets and dies.  The theme this year is Time Traveler and the challenges look like lots of fun.  We can't wait to get started!

We decided to have a little fun for our meet and greet photos.  I pulled two cloche-style hats and some sparkly scarves from my closet for a little 1920's flair.  After all, that is one of the selected eras for the theme!  Who could resist?

We are big old goofballs as you can tell!  My son was rolling his eyes as he took pictures under protest.  lol

Emily and I participated in the Stamp-a-Faire challenges last year and were super lucky to win the Top Chef prize.  It was so much fun stamping together.  (although she thinks I take too long making one card and she's probably right!)

We can't wait to try some new techniques and have a weekend-long date in my studio!  It will be a great way to end summer vacation before school starts on Monday.  I don't know if we'll get all the challenges done, but we're certainly going to try.  I'm really glad for the extra posting time this year.   

I also can't wait to see everyone else's projects for Stamp-a-Faire.  So much eye candy and creativity!  So, welcome to our little corner of the world.  The weather is beautiful here in North Carolina.  Let's get inky!