Stenciled Leaf

REMINDER: Now thru July 8, enjoy 40% off ALL Hambo stamps! See our SALE page for details. 

Now on to today's card:

I'm very happy with how this stencil (Carabelle Studio) worked! I didn't have to adhere it in any way; I just held it down with the tip of one finger, and sponged the Tim Holtz distress oxide inks around it. It stayed in place without slipping, and I got this really crisp image.

I layered this on a print from Love Nicole's "Aquarelle" pad for a cool monochrome look. The finishing touch was the Hero Arts sentiment, which was embossed in white.

Happy 4th of July!

In Distress

I'm unable to read or hear the scripture on today's card, without automatically starting to sing the song in my head that we sang in rounds at summer camp. Does anyone else know the song? It is simply the words of Philippians 4:4 repeated over and over. Still, it's quite catchy, and an easy way to learn and remember the verse. This is one of the stamps in Verve's "Scripture Medley 1" set.

Craft cardstock serves as the base of this card, which I thought coordinated well with the distressed patterned paper from an old Making Memories "Travel" pad. I added a couple of cardboard buttons tied with cord.

While on the subject of distressed, I'll go ahead and share a bonus card I made in the same sitting:

This card makes me laugh, because in one photo I took of it, you would think you'd have to wash your hands after handling it -- it was very dingy looking. Thankfully the other photos came out better. This one also uses a patterned paper called "post mark" from the same "Travel" pad as the paper above, along with a craft cardstock base. The "thanks" is a stamp by Hero Arts.

I think the "thanks" card is appropriate, since you'll certainly want to thank me for the earbug, if you played the song on Youtube that I linked above. You're welcome! ;)

Metallics

I've decided that I really like metallic cards! The shine catches your eye and makes them look special. I might not have tried using solid metallic sheets had it not been for this background paper ("Delicate Floret" pad by Love Nicole) which I loved, but wasn't sure how to use alone. When paired with some solid metallic gold - WOW! (<---- that was my daughter's exact response.) I wish you could see in person how pretty this looks! My metallic paper is from a DCWV 6"x6" pad.

To go along with the papers, I embossed the Hampton Art sentiment ("Hope & Faith" set) using a champagne-colored embossing powder. It matches quite well and doesn't look gaudy, as sometimes TOO shiny gold does.

I used the trimmed scraps from the patterned paper to make a second card:

This time I used a really large Penny Black scripture (from "All Great Things" set), also embossed with the same champagne powders. I'm happy with how both cards turned out, and look forward to more opportunities to use metallics.

Shine on!

Here are a couple of CAS cards that feature metallics. They look great when the light catches them and are simple to make. The lack of frills helps make these cards a nice choice for a man, as he can look at them without the fear of getting glitter or floral cooties on himself.

For both of these I used a die cut, with the metallic paper showing through from the back, then mounted on a white card base.

I tend to use white card bases the most for my card ministry cards. I either use the plain white card as I did here, or I adhere a designer paper to the front. For the times when I use colored card stock for my base, I add a white paper liner inside. Since many of these card recipients will be elderly church members, I want to make these cards as easy as possible to read.

I also use "thinking of you" quite a bit as a sentiment, because it covers most reasons why you'd send a card. Whether the recipient has been shut-in and unable to attend church, or has been sick, or has had a death in the family, or has had a birthday -- in any of these events recipients can appreciate that someone has them in mind. I pair this simple sentiment with bible verses, so when this is on the outside of the card, a bible verse is inside, or vice versa - no pun intended!