Yellow Stars with Brown and Rusty Red

Bright yellow stars with some deep brown and rusty red accents.  The stenciled airbrushing (with two shades of yellow) makes a softly variegated look, while the embossed star outlines are crisp and clear. 

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) dark chocolate (brown), terra cotta tile (rusty red), and stamper's select white.
• The white card stock is embossed with the PTI cover plate: stars die, and I used the same die to cut a stencil from Neenah solar white.  After embossing, I stenciled my stars in yellow, airbrushing with Copic markers Y19 andY26.
• In addition to the cover plate, the dies are PTI double-ended banners and My Favorite Things vertical stitched strips.
• The sentiment "thank you" is from PTI keep it simple: thank you, and the tiny stars are from PTI land that I love, stamped with PTI dark chocolate ink cube.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Papertrey March Blog Hop Challenge: Gray with Bright Flowers and Embroidery Floss

This month's Papertrey Ink blog hop is inspired by the beautiful work of Izziyana Suhaimi, an artist who combines drawings and embroidery on paper.  The challenge photos show soft and smudgy gray backgrounds with gray figures and bright embroidered flowers.

For my card, I tried to create some of the feeling in the inspiration examples.  I used an uneven gray stenciled background, soft green vellum and shimmery silver leaves, bright flowers, and embroidery floss details.  

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) soft stone (light gray), harvest gold (yellow), summer sunrise (yellow-orange), tropical teal, berry sorbet (deep pink), melon berry (light orange), silver shimmer, and the bitty dot print from PTI sheer basics patterned vellum.  In real life, the berry sorbet and melon berry colors are more orangey.   
• I colored the vellum on the back with Copic marker G24 for a green tint.
• Stencil is from PTI modern background collection, airbrushed unevenly with Copic marker T3.
• Dies are PTI turning a new leaf (vellum leaves), branching out (silver leaves), star gazer (button flower centers), stitching lines, and pencil blooms.  I added an extra hole to the shorter stitching line to get an even number for my design.
• Embroidery floss is DMC #3818 (dark green), 954 (light green), 3705 (pink), 943 (teal), and 744 (yellow) using all six strands.  I left my tails on top and separated the threads.

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Blue and White with Wreath

A lovely blue and white background, like an old ceramic tile.  The crisp embossing works beautifully with the airbrushed color.  It's finished with a royal blue banner and wreath, a soft blue ribbon and sentiment, and a thin line of royal blue embroidery floss. 

Card details:

• Card stock is Paper Source royal blue and Papertrey Ink (PTI) rustic white.
• Dies are PTI rustic wreath and cover plate: twist.  
• Technique:  I used the stencil from this card to airbrush with Copic marker B45, then embossed with the same die. Making sure to have my edges straight, I positioned the die as best I could over the airbrushed pattern.  Even with my imperfect alignment, it looks good.   
• Banners are notched with scissors. 
• Embroidery floss is DMC 825.
• Ribbon is 3/8" sheer-and-satin, colored with Copic marker B41.
• The sentiment "thinking of you" is from PTI keep it simple: thinking of you, stamped with PTI blueberry sky (medium blue) ink cube.

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Green Twist Print Card - Two Versions

Today's card is a happy byproduct of yesterday's airbrushed stencil card.  I've found the easiest way for me to clean the airbrushed Copic ink off my stencil (plastic, metal, or magnetic masking material) is to spritz it lightly with Copic "0" colorless blender solution in a misting bottle, and then press a paper towel or piece of card stock onto it.  I typically choose card stock because often, as shown here, a beautiful one-of-a-kind print is the result.

For the card, I trimmed down my print, double matted it, and stamped it with a sentiment and pair of leaflets.  With my one and only piece of the print, I made just one card (below) but I tried another color combination (above) which was more photogenic.  In real life, the card below is richly handsome - perfect for the recipient. 

Card details:

• Card stock is Stampin' Up soft suede (brown - bottom card) and Papertrey Ink (PTI) ripe avocado (dark green - both cards), rustic cream (both cards), and spring moss (light green - top card). 
• Print is made from Copic marker YG95 airbrushed onto a PTI cover plate: twist stencil, as explained above.  See this post for more about the stencil. 
• The sentiment "Thinking of you" is from Stampabilities card phrases, and the leaflets are from PTI turning a new leaf, all stamped with PTI ripe avocado ink cube.

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Green Twist with Airbrush

An elegant monochromatic green design.  The "twist" design, airbrushed and embossed, gives a sense of movement.

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) ripe avocado (dark green) and spring moss (light green).
• The card front is embossed with PTI cover plate: twist.   
• The sentiment panel is airbrushed with Copic marker YG95.  
• Technique: I die cut a stencil using this art magnetic masking material from Ellen Hutson.  The detailed PTI cover plate: twist design cut beautifully and cleanly.  (I left the tiny ovals in place on my stencil, but I could have removed them with no problem.)  Airbrushing was so much easier with the Ellen Hutson craft assistant securing the magnetic stencil on my card stock. 
• Twine is honeydew stripe from The Twinery.
• The sentiment "thinking of you" is from PTI keep it simple: thinking of you, stamped with PTI ripe avocado ink cube.

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Starry Blue Love Card

Lots of stars on this monochromatic blue card.  I used up some leftovers to make it, which seems to fit with Thanksgiving weekend. 

The "love" die cut is leftover from this card where I just needed the inner cutout shapes.  The starry printed paper is made with Copic markers and a stencil using this technique (with ink left over from airbrushing).

Card details:

• Card stock is Hero Arts cerulean (medium blue) and Papertrey Ink (PTI) rustic white and enchanted evening (dark blue).
• Stencil is My Favorite Things stargaze.
• Copic marker is B05.
• Dies are PTI super star border and wonderful words: love.  The little star inside the heart is a cutout from the star border. 

Created for Operation Write Home, "supporting our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them." (399)

Lavender Daisy Card with Yellow

I always enjoy coloring my 2009 daisy drawing for a card.  This time I lightly airbrushed everything with blue, then colored the flowers and leaves.  The blue disappears in the leaves but adds a nice extra touch to the flower petals. 

Card details:

• Card stock is Neenah solar white, Paper Source spruce (dark green - discontinued), Papertrey Ink (PTI) harvest gold (yellow), and the polka dot print from PTI lavender moon pattern pack.
• Embossing folder is Sizzix retro cirque.
• Copic markers are B14 for the airbrushing, G14 and RV52 for the base colors, with RV63 added on the petals and Y26 on the leaves and stems.  Flower centers are Y15 and Y26.  
• I edged the polka dot strip with Copic G07 marker.
• Sentiment "thanks" is cut with Cameo Silhouette.  The word is from Silhouette box and flower tags set. 
• Daisy drawing was scanned and computer printed.

Created for Operation Write Home, "supporting our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them." (394)

Yellow and Yellow-Orange with Avocado

No blues or pinks, no hearts or lace.  Just a sunny, bright "hello" with cheerful shapes and patterns.   I made my chevron-patterned paper by airbrushing with Copic markers. 

This is not at all the card I set out to make, which unfortunately was bland and boring.  So I tried many different base colors, embossing folders, twine and no twine, bigger sunny shapes, busier sentiments.  After cleaning up the mess, I'm happy with my finished card. 

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink lemon tart (light yellow), summer sunrise (yellow-orange), and ripe avocado (green card base).
• The chevron pattern is airbrushed with Copic markers Y19 and Y38 on lemon tart card stock, using Crafter's Workshop 6x6 chevron template (stencil).
• Twine is marigold (new name for lemondrop) by The Twinery.  Love their twine colors and sampler packs. 
• The little stars are punched with a Fiskars 1/4" hand punch.  The sentiment circle is punched with a 1-3/4" EK Success circle punch.
• The die is the largest of the three notched flowers by Papertrey Ink.  The die cut is popped up over the twine with foam tape.
•  The sentiment "Hello" is computer-printed in green ink with American Typewriter font, bold, expanded character spacing.

Created for Operation Write Home, "supporting our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them." (214)

Chevron Print with Green, Yellow, and Rust

A bit of abstract art on my card today.  My chevron pattern is an "original" hand-pressed print.  I love the clean, modern colors, and I'm very happy with my layout, which I'll use again sometime to showcase an interesting paper.

My print came from a "what have I got to lose" experiment.  After much Copic airbrushing with a 6x6" plastic Crafter's Workshop chevron template (stencil), it was time for a cleaning.  (I don't clean it every time, just when the ink starts building up heavily.)  I knew it would clean up nicely with alcohol, but I wondered if I could put all that ink to a good use.

So with my template lying flat on some scrap paper on my table, I spritzed the template with Copic "0" blender solution.  Then I pressed down on it firmly with a piece of white card stock.  The result was beautiful. What a nice reward for cleaning the template! and a lot less messy, too ... 

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink simply chartreuse (green), summer sunrise (yellow), terra cotta tile (rust), rustic white (patterned paper), and stamper's select white (sentiment). 
• Copic colors are ... quite a mix!  I know there's some Y19, Y38, YG97, B05, R35, and more.  I could never recreate this exact pattern.  It's just the happenstance of colors that ended up on my template.  
• Dies are Papertrey Ink double ended banner (smaller die) for sentiment, and pinking shears border die.
• Sentiment "Thinking of You" is computer-printed in green ink with darker green outline, using "BlairMdITC TT-Medium" font.  

Created for Operation Write Home, "supporting our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them." (169)

Notched Flowers in Pink and Aqua

Playing with another new die set.   I like the shapes and monochromatic patterns, and I like the green banner as a leaf stand-in.  Overall, the finished card is not one of my favorites.  But it was interesting to try different arrangements of shapes and colors as I made it. 

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink aqua mist (light aqua), Hawaiian shores (medium aqua), sweet blush (light pink), berry sorbet (medium pink), and simply chartreuse (green).
• Dies are Papertrey Ink notched flowers.  I also used my 1-1/4 EK Success scalloped circle punch, 1/2" plain circle punch, and a square punch to cut the end of the banner.  
• I bent up the flower edges a little, for dimension. 
• The patterns are airbrushed with Copic markers and Crafter's Workshop 6x6" plastic templates,  mini Swiss dot and chevron.  Copic colors are B05, YG97, R24 (on the card base), and R35. The contrasting pattern on the flower layers is stronger in real life.

Created for Operation Write Home, "supporting our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them." (150)

Brown Polka Dots with Hearts and Stripes

Dots, hearts, and stripes. And a button. It just wasn't right without the button. My layout is this week's Sketch Challenge #102, from Operation Write Home's Stars and Stamps blog.

Card details:

• I made my patterned paper with a Crafter's Workshop 6x6" circle grid template (a thin plastic stencil) and my Copic airbrush. The texture comes from a PaperTrey Ink (PTI) impression plate - linen.
• Correction added Feb. 12, 2012: I made more patterned paper like this today, and by trial and error, I found that the Copic colors for the airbrushing are E09 (light amount for the lighter circles) and E29 (medium amount for the darker circles). Not E09 and E15 as originally posted.
• The solid color card stock is Ellen Hutson golden brown, Paper Source papaya (light orange), and PTI Hawaiian shores (turquoise).
• The dies are Spellbinders Nestabilities classic hearts (3 smallest sizes) and PTI Buttoned Up #2 (1/2").
• The lines and heart are drawn with brown Micron pen.
• I sewed the button with embroidery floss - white floss colored with R32 Copic marker - a good match in real life.

Created for Operation Write Home, "supporting our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them." (121)

Two Valentines with Pink Plaid Paper

Two different Valentine designs with mostly the same ingredients. A circular "love you" sentiment layered on a strip of homemade pink plaid paper (drawn with Copic markers) on a wider strip of red or pink. I like the simplicity of both cards, and I'm very happy with the heart-shaped "o's" in my computer-printed "love you."

Created for Operation Write Home, "supporting our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them." Card details are at the end of the post. (039)


Card details - Both cards: Sentiment was computer-printed with Helvetica font (small caps, outlined). The "o's" are PowerPoint heart shapes nested together. Pink plaid paper was drawn with Copic multiliners (black, red, and pink) and Copic markers RV02, RV10, RV29, RV32, RV34, and R32, and "0" colorless blender on a scrap of terry cloth to soften the lines. Colored card stock is PaperTrey Ink hibiscus burst (pink) and pure poppy (red.) Card base is white, size A2.
Top card: Plaid strip was edged with RV29. Sentiment letters were colored with RV29 and RV34. Sentiment background was airbrushed with RV34. Ribbon is 1/8" silk, colored with RV34. Punches are 1-1/2" and scalloped 2" circles.
Bottom card: Plaid strip was edged with RV34. Sentiment background was colored with RV29, and the hearts inside the "o's" with RV34. Punches are 1-3/4" circle and large EK Success heart.