For the Love of Rubber Art

Flying High in our Shoe Balloon

Stampassion's latest Greeting Card Kit features a wonderful stamp, Shoe Balloon, from artist Leigh Hannan and Impression Obsession.  It's one of those wonderful images that you can use for lots of different occasions.  All the details are on our website.  Just follow the link above... after you check out the rest of this post : )

I had a great time coloring all of these cards with Copic Markers. 

To see a larger version of each image, just click on any of the photos.  Hope you enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Here's a close-up of the two elegant Victorian ladies with their parasols and pretty balloon, out for a little look-see.  I'm fairly certain their names are Millicent and Letitia, Lettie to her dearest friends.  Don't ever call Millicent, Millie though... she is likely to, politely, whap you with her umbrella.  
The kit comes with a dozen Memory Box Iris Cards & White Envelopes, two yards of yummy sheer dot ribbon, lots of layering papers and a set of Tim Holtz' Springtime Background & Borders Embossing Folders—so pretty.  Check them out here, but remember they are included in the cost of the kit!

Also included in the kit is the saying stamp, "sending you joy", again from wonderful Mitra at Impression Obsession. Here are two additional sample cards I created using both kit stamps, Memory Box die, Puffy Clouds and Poppystamps die, Pine Border.

 

My Valentine

If you aren't my husband, Dan, you won't understand how meaningful the comparison I used on his Valentine card really is.  Here's the deal: right after I get up in the morning, Dan will often ask if I'd like to go do this or that and my response, every time, is, "I haven't had my tea yet".  Or, he'll want my (intelligent) opinion on a business matter, and I'll say, "but I haven't had my tea yet!!".  Regardless of what it is... I MUST have my tea, first thing, before I can engage in, well, anything. 

Now, the following will make sense...

If he didn't know before, which I believe he did, he now knows how I feel : )  In fact, his first words after reading the front, matched what is inside...

 

I cropped this to save us all the embarrassment of reading the rest of the message. 

 

The Memory Box stamp, Cozy Chair, is a favorite of mine.  I had intended to use Zentangle patterns to "upholster" it but ended up stamping it on one of the Brioche 6x6 paper patterns instead.  I do need to tangle the chair at some point—it's perfect for that.  Both patterned papers are Brioche, which is also from Memory Box, as are the gems and the Parsley Duplex card.

I colored in the little tea cup with PrismaColor Pencils, added some glimmer with a Clear Stardust Pen and then glazed the cup for shine.

Thank goodness for my Micron Pen Set. The line on the top/front of the seat cushion didn't stamp well, so I grabbed the .005 Black Micron Pen and, poof... it was fixed!  The text is computer generated 'cause sometimes even the stamp lady doesn't have just the right stamp.

Cherish Border Die... with Love

The Cherish Border die from Memory Box is one of the big hits at Stampassion
this month and I think you can see why... it's just so happy.  This card was quick and easy, just as I like them.  What you can't see is the pretty shimmer in the die cut paper, Cryogen White; it subtly sparkles in person. Click on the image to see a larger version.

The little Love stamp is from Lockhart Stamp Company.  I stamped it with VersaFine Crimson Red Ink because: a} it matched the card perfectly and, b} I prefer VersaFine for stamping words - the image stays crisp, with no bleed. The card comes from a nice Hero Hues three-color assortment, Blush Mix.  I'm working on a second version of this card using a different Blush card, which I'll post soon.

Here's a close-up of the Love and heart detail.  The hearts are the waste (aka: die-poo : ) from the die cutting process.  I glued one of the smaller hearts on top of a larger one with my always handy, never-to-be-without Quickie Glue Pen. Again, double click on the image to see a larger version. 

The Quickie Glue Pen is a great tool for gluing small items.  I used it under the tiny, intricate areas on this die, although I didn't glue them all.  I like the dimension shown by leaving some loose.

How To Shim Memory Box Dies

I have heard from a few Stampassion.com customers who have asked for help with the more intricate dies from Memory Box.  Specifically, some of the detailed areas on the beautiful dies are not cutting all the way through on some machines. To address the issue, Memory Box has produced a short video on how to shim their dies so they will cut evenly.  And here it is:

I hope this will help anyone who is having this problem.  Please note that the metal shim Dave is showing is now available on Stampassion.com! 

Love and Kindness Collection from Memory Box

We have been shipping out stamps and dies like mad from the new Memory Box collection, Love and Kindness.  Dave's new designs are beautiful, as always.  So much so, I placed another (huge!) order almost two weeks ago as I knew these would sell quickly.  We've been shipping to every corner of the country. If you are looking for something we don't have at present, please know that we will be restocked soon!

With my recovery from some minor surgery, I have not had any creative time.  However, Dave and his team have been hard at work, so take a look at Dave's blog. 

Dave has made some great videos about using Memory Box stamps and dies also.  Look on his blog for the latest, Tuckaway Heart Card.  For the video showing how he made the Paper Rose card to the right, just look at his post on January 3.  Everything is from Love and Kindness collection. Enjoy!

More of Zentangle & Art Stamps Class

I was up til all hours finishing this bit of Zentangle Inspired Art (ZIA) for my July 13 Zentangle & Art Stamps class. Not because it was difficult—it wasn't—but because I could not STOP.  Adding a little more color here and some additional shading there.... I was having a blast, just me and my pencils. Goofy, but true. I can proudly say that I color for a living (and live to color too).

(click on either photo to see a larger image)

The Open Poppy rubber stamp comes via one of my favorite stamp purveyors, Memory Box. Open is good when you're tangling, so this choice was a natural for our new class on combining stamp art with Zentangle®.  The repetitive patterns in both this ZIA card, and the one in my prior post, are official Zentangle-tangles that I've altered to fit the project, which is called a "tangle-ation". The flower is tangled with a version of Finery and the leaves are Poke Leaf, embellished like crazy 'cause, again, I was having way too much fun to quit ; )

 

Here's a close-up of just the card:

Like the other class project, this is colored with PrismaColor Pencils and shaded with them, along with a regular #2 pencil.  I tangled using several different sizes of Black Micron Pens.  You often need a smaller or larger nib, depending on what you're doing, so the Micron Pen set is a sensible buy for tanglers.  I added Black Glaze Pen to the center of the flower, along with some black gems for a little sparkle. 

 

Fred P. Bear on a Snow Day

I fell in love with this little bear image the moment I saw it.  However, you should know that I have a bizarre affinity for stamps of animals with scarves on... who knows?

His name is Fred P. Bear, so named by the folks at Memory Box, not by me.  I decided to embrace the continual snowfall by declaring a Snow Day for Fred, complete with Snowflake Jewels.  They're beautifully sparkly in person - the photo doesn't capture the twinkles.  The Snow Day stamp is a duo stamp, with a trio of little snowflakes on the side.  Love those duo stamps, it feels like you're getting something for nothing.

The print paper is from the Memory Box Pixie collection and I edged it, and the white paper, with an Ink Blending Tool and Tumbled Glass and Weathered Wood Distress Inks.  To make him stand out against the background, Fred is edged with a Copic Cool Shadow Marker and on his scarf, is Copic Garnet and Lipstick.  Fred is stamped with a Black Soot Distress Ink Pad and Snow Day, with Tumbled Glass.  The small card is a White Linen Note Card.

I wonder what the P stands for - surely nothing so mundane as polar.  I imagine it's Pablo or Pierre.  With that scarf, definitely Pierre!

Deer Friends

This is one of the card variations I did for Stampassion's new Deer Friends Card Kit.  Using this beautiful paper from the Memory Box Pixie collection, it couldn't be easier. Just cut the paper to size, stamp and color!  I generally use PrismaColor Pencils to color, and especially so on print paper like this.  The pencils are pigment and fairly opaque, so they cover any little bits of print underneath (mostly).

The gems are from a Memory Box assortment we have in the shop, as is the Vanilla Bean card.   I stamped the scarf from Candy Cane Bird right on the non-print side of the paper, and trimmed down to fit the doe.  For some reason, she has a smaller neck than the bird ; )

Altered Peony Collage

 
Just thought I'd show you a quick way to change the Memory Box Adore Peony Collage to fit any occasion.  I sent this card to my sister, Suzanne, for her birthday.  Although "adore" is fine for a birthday, "celebrate" seemed more appropriate.  I stamped Lockhart's "celebrate" stamp and edged it with VersaMagic Gingerbread ink, to match the base image.  Then I just popped it off "adore" and poof, it's a birthday card.  I love versatile images! 

On this version, I used colored pencils on the peonies and added Smooch Illuminate Top Coat over the pencil color.  Illuminate is the transparent pearly version of Smooch Accent Ink, that allows the color underneath to show through - very nice.  Click on the photo to see a larger image.

 

 

 

Due to my extreme dislike of naked envelopes, I stamped Suzanne's with a couple of my favorite envelope stamps from Karen Lockhart, Itty Bitty Escargot and Snail Mail.  When using the tiny Escargot stamp, I enjoy adding a sparkly slime trail with my ever-present and often used Clear Stardust Pen.  Sparkles just make everything better.

Craft Birds for the Birthday Boy

I've really enjoyed working with the new Valentine Delight collection from Memory Box.  This stamp, Crafty Birds, spoke to me immediately, whispering... "Brilliance Pearlescent Chocolate Ink, please" (they are polite birds).  I photographed this in the sun, hoping the subtle sparkle of the ink would show.  Not so sure that worked, but trust me, it's gorgeous!

I teamed the stamp with Basic Grey's Cappella Paper Pad, our Fresh Leaf Bark Greeting Cards and Sky Blue Pearls for a little something extra.  The card was for my darling husband's birthday.  He would have preferred the image of a steam train, but I was fresh out — boys.

 

I cut 1/2" off each side of the ornate patterned Cappella paper to center the print, ending up with a 3.75" by 5" layer.  The two 1/2" slices were adhered inside the card and trimmed before stamping with this new saying, Hug For You, from Hero Arts with Pearlescent Chocolate Ink.  This was photographed, at night and in poor light, before I wrote the mushy stuff inside to Dan ; )

It's always a good idea to find a spot for the little snips of scrap paper... on the envelope, inside, back, wherever.  It brings the design together and you don't feel guilty about throwing them out — or worse, keeping them.