Carol Stamps

Challenge: All Things Pink

10/19/2019

Because October is breast cancer awareness month, the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Design Team is asking us to check ourselves and if necessary make an appointment to see your Doctor; and to create something with pink! So the Challenge for October 14, 2019 was "All Things Pink"!

I started by stamping and heat embossing a rose from a new-to-me GInaK stamp set and heat embossing it withGInaK "Dark Chocolate" embossing powder. I also stamped a sentiment from another GinaK set using her Amalgam "jet black" ink:

I watercolored the flower using Zig Clear Color brush markers:

Products used in the making of this card were:

Inks: Versamark: Zig Clear Color brush markers “Dark Pink” (029), “Pink” (025), “Pink Haze” (201), “Pale Green” (045), “May Green” (047) and “Marine Green” (500); GIaK Amalgam “Jet Black”
Embossing Powders: GinaK “Dark Chocolate”
Papers: D-M-D Notecard “White Spec” (NTC01210)

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Therapy Thank You Cards...

10/19/2019

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I've been undergoing occupational therapy on my left hand since I ruptured the flexor tendon to the thumb back in the last week of August. My last scheduled session is this coming Tuesday (I see the surgeon on November 5 and he will likely agree that no more therapy is called for, although I will probably continue with the exercises on my own), and I wanted to make thank you cards from the two therapists who have worked diligently to get my hand back in working order.

The first one was an artsy design for the therapist who is an actual artist:

Emma was the lead therapist on the team that worked on me and she also was on my therapy team three years ago when I broke the wrist that was the ultimate cause of the ruptured tendon!

Products used in the making of this card were:

Stamps: River City Rubber Works “Paintbrushes Scattered” (1964-V)
Dies: Sizzix Thinlits “Shadow Script #2) (662685)
Inks: Distress Markers “Aged Mahogany”, “Walnut Stain”, “Hickory Smoke”, “Old Paper”. “Black Soot” and “Pumice Stone”; Zig Clear Brush Markers “Lt. Blue” (041), “Natrual Beige” (071), “Emerald Green” (048), Peach Pink” (212), Blue Haze: (302); Sanford UniBall gel pen “silver”
Papers: D-M-D notecard “White Spec” (NTC01210); scraps of black gloss and aqua shimmer cardstock
Adhesives: GinaK “Connect” glue

~~~~~
For Michelle, I made the following card signifying that she now has a beach vacation due for her patience and hard work!

The cover of the card was made from leftovers from a card I made back in June, 2019.

Products used in the making of this card were:

Stamps: GinaK “Ocean Minded” from the Ocean-Minded Card Kit (OMCDKIT)
Inks: Versamark
Embossing Powders: Inkon3 Ultra Fine “Arctic White”
Papers: GinaK Ocean Mist card blank scrap; scraps of gold metallic; D-M-D notecard blank “White Spec” (NTC01210)
Adhesive: GinaK “Connect” glue

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Challenge: Christmas

10/12/2019

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The WOW! embossing Powder Fans Facebook Page has a Christmas challenge for October, 2019.

I stamped some peppermint candies in "Worn Lipstick Distress Oxide, followed by Versamark and heat embossing with WOW! regular embossing powder "Primary Pink Robin". I also stamped and heat embossed a sentiment from the same stamp set (the KitchenSInk/Simon Says Stamp collaboration for Stamptember 2019) in the same WOW! embossing powder.

I used a glossy white notecard as a base and attached a strip of Idea-ology Deco Sheet. To that I attached the sentiment and two strips of red "rainbow tape". I scattered the fussy cut candies over the front of the card to finish:

Products used in the making of this card were:

Stamps: KitchenSink/Simon Says Stamp Stamptember 2019 collaboration “Gingerbread Hugs” (sss202045)
Inks: Distress Oxide “Worn Lipstick”; Versamark
Embossing Powders: WOW! “Primary Pink Robin” (WH26R)
Papers” Paper reflections glossy notecard (NOTC01047); Idea-ology “Deco Sheets - Christmas” (TH93644)
Embellishments: Rainbow Tape in red
Adhesives: GinaK “Connect” glue; iCraft “Easy Tear Tape”

I'm also entering this in the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge October 9, 2019: "Christmas"

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Challenge: It's Halloween

10/12/2019

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"It's Halloween" is the October 9, 2019 challenge over at the Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog. Since I am still in scene building mode with die-cuts, I pulled two Sizzix Halloween die sets to create the following card.

After temporarily attaching a circle to my A2-sized cut of Neena Solar White, I blended Distress Inks and Distress Oside Inks to create a night sky with a full moon. After spritzing with water, I added some cloud detail over the lower portion of the "moon" using Zig Clean Brush Markers.

My next step was house the Sizzix "Ghost Town" die set to cut a "haunted house" from gloss black card. I lined the windows with matte grey card and then filled them in with a silver gel pen to make it look like moonlight reflected i window glass.

I attached a pale grey smoke stream and a dark brown tree (dies from the same set) and a pale grey sentiment from the "Halloween Words - Script" die set. I black marker was used to create a swarm of bats around the house roof.

I trimmed the panel to for the front of a pre-folded glossy white notecard:

Products used in the making of this card were:

Dies: Sizzix “Halloween Words -Script” (660957) and “Ghost Town” (664194)
Inks: Distress Inks “Faded Jeans”, “Blueprint Sketch”, and “Wilted Violet”; Distress Oxides “Stormy Sky” and “Black Soot”; Zig Clean Markers “Fog Gray” (904, and “Platinum Brown” (903); Sanford Uniball gel pen “silver”; BIC permanent marker “black”
Papers: Paper reflections glossy notecard (NOTC01043); Neena Solar White; scraps of gloss black, matte dark grey, pale grey and dark brown cardstock
Adhesives: GinaK “Connect” glue; iCraft “Easy Tear Tape”

I'm also entering this in the Simon Says Stamp Instagram Challenge for October 2019: Favorite Technique (ink blending), #sssigchallenge

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Challenge: Christmas/Happy Holidays

10/10/2019

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I seem to be in a scene-building phase using Sizzix dies these days. So when the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge was announced on October 9 as "Christmas", I went back to my die-set files and pulled a pair of Christmas die sets.

Using scraps of cardstock in several colors, I used the "Fireside" die set and assembled the following "fireplace":

No ink blending or shading to detailing... just the layered diecut pieces of solid card, some with texture, and some a scrap of metallic gold card.

Using Idea-ology "Worn Wallpaper", I covered an A2 card base and added my fireplace. A sentiment in gold metallic completed the card:

Products used in the making of this card were:

Dies: Sizzix Thinlits “Fireside” (664193) and “Handwritten Holidays” (660979)
Papers: The Paper studio A2 notecard base “kraft” (697227); scraps of brown, tan, red, ochre and rust card stock and metallic gold mirror card stock; Idea-ology “Worn Wallpaper - Christmas” (TH93777)
Adhesives: iCraft “Easy Tear Tape”; GiaK ‘Connect” glue

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Challenge: Fall/Autumn

10/10/2019

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The Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge for October 7, 2019 was "Fall/Autumn". and they were showcasing Tim Holtz products.

I have an envelope in my "leftover" (AKA'tover') basket full of various die-cut leaves, most of which were cut by Tim Holtz/Sizzix dies from scraps of cardstock and patterned scrapbook papers. Many had been splattered with metallic Distress Inks; some had been sprayed with shimmer spray; and some had even been stamped before being die-cut. I searched through that envelope for some suitable autumn leaves for this card (I concentrated on maple leaves from the "Fall Foliage" die set) and layered them on a prefolded kraft A2 notecard. I die cut a script sentiment in brown and fussy cut an ochre shadow before attaching it to the card front:

Products used in the making of this card were:

Dies: Sizzix Thinlits “Fall Foliage” (660955) and “Handwritten Holidays” (660979)
Papers: The Paper Studio A2 notecard base “kraft” (697227); scraps of autumn colored cardstock and scrapbook papers; scraps of ochre and brown cardstock
Embellishments: leftover leaves cut from the above scraps of card and paper, splattered with metallic sprays and shimmer sprays and cut with the above Sizzix die set 660955
Adhesive: GInaK “Connect” glue

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Challenge: Think Pink!

10/7/2019

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Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge announced it's October 2, 2019 challenge with a "public service announcement":

"As October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month we’re helping to highlight the need to be vigilant. If you need to see a Doctor or think its time for a mammogram then please pick up the phone and make the appointment!"

In other words, create a project featuring the color pink...

I started with one of my favorite techniques: blending Distress Oxide Inks! I used three colors of Distress Oxide Ink ("Victorian Velvet", "Tattered Rose" and "Spun Sugar") with a foam blending tool on Neena Solar White card:

I used two more colors of Distress Oxide Ink ("Worn Lipstick" and "Picked Raspberry" ) to stencil some texture on the card base. After the inks were dry, I stamped a Wendy Vecchi image in GinaK "Amalgam" ink:

The Wendy Vecchi stamp set includes a coordinating stencil which I used to color the flower and leaf, again using Distress Oxide Inks. I also added two more leaves using the stencil. I shaded leaves and flower with Distress Oxide markers and outlined the floral image using a black gel pen (a technique I learned from Kristina Werner). Using Versamark Ink and GinaK embossing powder, I embossed a sentiment from the same Wendy Vecchi set::

The panel needed some glimmer so I trimmed it down, mounted it on gold metallic mirror card, and added some accents using a gold gel pen. A few gold DoodleBug Designs sequins completed the panel which was mounted on a kraft A2 notecard:

Products used in the making of this card were:

Stamps: Studio 490 Wendy Vecchi "Special Art" (SCS160)
Stencils: Studio 490 Wendy Vecchi "Special Art" (SCS160); Stampers Anonymous Layering Stencils "Bubbles" (THS002) and "Strips" (THS 004)
Inks: Distress Oxide Inks ""Victorian Velvet", "Tattered Rose", "Spun Sugar", "Worn Lipstick", Picked Raspberry", Peeled Paint", Forest Moss", and "Wild Honey"; Distress Markers "Worn Lipstick", "Picked Rasperry", Peeled Paint, "Forest Moss" and "Spiced Marmalade"; Sanford Uniball gel pen "gold"; Ranger OHTO FudeBall "black"; Versamark; GInaK "Amalgam" jet black
Embossing Powder: GinaK "Dark Chocolate"
Papers: The Paper Studio A2 notecard "kraft: (697227); Neena Solar White scrap; mirror metallic gold scrap
Embellishments: Doodlebug designs Sequins "Rainbow Assortment) (4268)
Adhesives: iCraft "Easy Tear Tape"; GinaK "Connect" glue

I'm also entering this in the Simon Says Stamp Instagram Challenge for October: "Favorite Technique" #SSSIGChallenge

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Challenge: Let's Get Ready for Christmas

10/6/2019

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After the failure of my attempt to manipulate small piece of die-cut card in my last post, I decided to try a different die set for a second entry in the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge, September 30, 2019.

I chose a holiday die set that looked a little more straightforward (although I did discover during the assembly that there were more of those mysterious itty bitty pieces with no clue as to their purpose - note the "broken" green ribbon) and set about die cutting images from black, white and metallic card scraps. I assembled the pieces on a side-folding A2 notecard in craft and added a sentiment from a different die set (dotting the "i" again with a gel pen), deliberately tilting the packages as the elf clearly seemed to me to be off balance!

Products used in the making of this card were:

Dies: Sizzix Thinlits "Santa's Helper" (664192) and "Handwritten Holidays" (660979)
Inks: Sanford Uniball gel pen in "gold"
Papers: The Paper Studio A2 Notecard "kraft" (697227); scraps of metallic card stock in red, bright green and and gold; scraps of card stock in white and black
Adhesives: GinaK "Connect" Glue

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Some Dexterity Experiments, post surgery...

10/6/2019

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I had a graft repair to my left thumb's flexor tendon the last weekend of July, and am in my 15th week of occupational therapy to recover use of that thumb and bring the hand back to full strength. The cast is off and the thumb moves now, albeit not as much as it should, and I have been issued some dexterity exercises to pursue: picking up small objects. I passed in the hospital with beads and small stones and even pegs in boards but slips of paper, sequins and the like are evading me and these are often critical in my efforts at paper crafting and mixed media. So I decided to use this week's Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge (September 30, 2019: Let's Get Ready for Christmas) to do some "practice". I can't say it was a total success and I suspect that there are some techniques I will be avoiding from now on but...

I decided to pull out one of the new Tim Holtz holiday layering die sets and see what happens. My first card was using the "Hanging Ornaments" colorize set on four colors of metallic card stock. And I have some issues with the concept, at least with this set.

1. On darker, brighter colors, at least on metallic card, the etched lines on the die cut are not that easy to see. What is more, it isn't obvious (at least to me) where all those itty bitty bits go and, not realizing that this would be a major issue for me, I did not watch any online tutorials before starting. I did find a couple of you tube tutorials after but they weren't that helpful either...

2. How is one supposed to manipulate a pin-sized dot with adhesive on the back to a nearly invisible spot on the base? Liquid glue is messy, often more than needed and squishes out or smears on the surface. Sticky-back adhesive doesn't allow any wiggle room at all. What is more, many of those pieces are too small for a jewel picker or tweezers to manipulate, assuming they were even visible after coming off the die itself (I lost one of the silver blue pieces and just gave up on the pin-point sized dots and tiny thin lines).

3. And finally, not having multiple shades of the same color in metallic card, I had decided to do all the pieces for each ornament in one color and so, while there is a resultant dimension/texture, the ornaments probably would have looked the same without adding the layers. In fact, on the following card, many of those tiny pieces were omitted on the bright green and silver-blue ornaments and you can't really see much difference there between the layers and the non-layers. If they were in different shades, perhaps...

So, as I said earlier, I used metallic card stock and cut the layers for four ornaments. I did not cut the hangers --- I KNEW there was no way I could manipulate those tiny string-llike pieces. Instead, I colored the hanger end of each ornament with a silver gel pen and drew in the hanger with a black gel pen. I added a die-cut "Merry Christmas" from another die set (I dotted the "i" in Christmas with a white gel pen - another of those tiny die-cut dots that got lost in the removal of the diecut) and layered all the bits and bobs on an A2 "kraft" notecard base.

In my opinion, the following card was not a happy success... although I suppose a recipient might not realize this as it wasn't that bad looking. Just not what the die set promises. Nor was my ability to use my left thumb in the assembly of this card a success (you don't realize how important a functional thumb is until you don't have one, even if it is NOT on your writing hand!) - in fact, if might well have been a contributing factor to my frustration with the die set itself.

Products used in the making of this card were:

Dies: Sizzix Thinlits "Hanging Ornaments" (664197) and Home for the Holidays" (662419)
Inks: Sanford Uniball gel pens in "silver' and "white"; Ranger OHTO FufeBall "black"
Papers: The Paper Studio A2 Notecard "kraft" (697227); scraps of metallic card stock in red, silver-blue, bright green and light green; scraps of card stock in white
Adhesives: GinaK "Connect" Glue

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All About Artist Trading Cards and Artist Trading Coins - some coins

9/29/2019

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I finally got around to making some trading coins for the All About Artist Trading Cards and Artist Trading Coins class (see my previous post about Artist Trading Cards). I wanted to use up a lot of left-over bit and bobs, primary of which was the purple background I abandoned here. Unlike the one in the monochrome card, I used an embossing glitter instead of gold embossing powder:

But much of the glitter rubbed off so I put the piece aside to cut into later. Later was now.

I couldn't find a functioning 2.45" punch so I cheated little on my coin size and went with a three-inch scallop punch to cut into that glittery scrap. Also used were a two-inch circle punch and a 1.75 Inch circle punch with which I cut circles from several scraps of purple (glimmer card, washi tape, mulberry paper and Bazzill textured card) and some gold (a scrap of text on scrapbook paper and a piece of gold-embossed Neena Solar White). I scavenged my "leftovers" for some words and some shapes (I settled on a lattice, a gear and a label) that were in my set-aside envelopes of die-cuts and that coordinated with the colors I was using. Basically, I glued and layered!

I wasn't really trying to make a trio that worked to gather --- but they did seem to end up telling a story!

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Author

Born in New Jersey, I grew up in Southeastern Ohio. Attended university at Bowling Green State University (B.Sci in biological science, 1964), University of Southern California (M. Sci in biological science, 1967) and University of Florida (Ph. D in zoology, 1971).
Worked in environmental consulting for a little more than a decade and then seven years as an instructor in biological science at various community colleges in California and Texas. Moved to London in 1992, then Beijing (1996) and Saudi Arabia (1998), before returning to NW Ohio in 2002. I am currently living in NW Ohio with my husband and three Bombay cats. I love to read (mystery, science fiction, history) and stitch (have done crewel, currently experimenting with free embroidery and needlepoint but blackwork and cross stitch are my main genres); have been known to knit; and now I'm heavily into papercrafting!
Retired upon the return to the US so lots of time for our hobbies...