Author: Jean Manis

Tea-rific

This week, the CAS-ual Fridays challenge was to create a square card.

I stamped the Lawn Fawn “My Cup of Tea” steam stamp on a kraft tag with Versamark ink and heat embossed it with clear powder to create a bit of texture on the card. In order to get the tea bag into the cup, I had to create a mask for both the tea bag and the cup. It took several tries to get the masked image to work out!

CFC65

 

Supplies: Lawn Fawn My Cup of Tea stamp set; Stampin’ Up + Neenah cardstock; Ranger Archival ink; Versamark ink; Hero Arts white embossing powder; Ranger clear embossing powder; October Afternoon button; May Arts twine; Spellbinders circle die; MFT tag die

Bear Hugs

Our youngest son left to go back to college at the beginning of this week. Our oldest leaves in September (his school is on the quarter system, so they start later and get out later than schools on the semester system) – we’re not in full “empty nest” mode yet.

I had my youngest son in mind when I created a card for the Retrosketches #24 sketch challenge.

I set out to create a masculine-looking card in fall colors. I paired camping-themed papers from American Crafts with dry-embossed brown cardstock. It was my first time using the A Muse Studio impression plate. In fact, it was the first time I’ve ever used an impression plate. (I have several embossing folders that I use on a regular basis). I tried several Big Shot sandwich formulas before finding one that worked. I sanded the paper after embossing it to bring out the woodgrain.

RetroSketchesBear

Supplies: Paper Smooches Happy Camper stamp set; A Muse Studio impression plate; Papers: Echo Park; Stampin’ Up; Neenah; American Crafts; Fiskars punch; Spellbinders circle dies; Versamark ink; Stampin Up’ embossing powder

Neat and Tangled “Fresh Blooms”

This past weekend I had a chance to play with the Neat & Tangled “Fresh Blooms” stamp set. With the hint of fall in the air, I find myself turning more and more towards autumn colors in my paper crafting. I used a combination of Distress Inks – Wild Honey, Spiced Marmalade and a touch of Barn Door – to color the heat-embossed flowers. I’m already looking forward to using these blooms for some holiday-themed cards and projects.

Fresh Blooms

Supplies: Neat & Tangled Fresh Blooms stamps; Distress inks – Wild Honey, Spiced Marmalade, Barn Door, Peeled Paint, Shabby Shutters; Neenah cardstock; Stampin’ Up embossing powder

August in the PNW

While you may hear a lot about the rainy, Seattle weather, August is historically the “best” month weather-wise. For the most part, August brings warm and sunny days; it’s our only real “summer” month.

This past week we had family in town and took the opportunity to get out and about in Seattle and its environs.

Our first destination was a ferry trip to Bainbridge Island. Before the ferry departed, I took a photo of the new Seattle ferris wheel, technically called Seattle Great Wheel, which I mockingly call the Seattle Eye.

SeattleFerrisWheel

On Bainbridge, we toured The Bloedel Reserve, a 150-acre forest garden created by the son of a prominent lumber company owner. He and his wife lived in a French Chateau-style home, which had been built by the property’s previous owner. Unfortunately, I didn’t snap any interesting photos of the beautiful, immaculately-maintained gardens.

Bloedel

Our final stop was Kerry Park on the south slope of Queen Anne Hill. The park affords views of  Seattle, Elliott Bay, West Seattle, and Mount Rainier.

SpaceNeedleRainier

Neat & Tangled Release Week – Just Hello

The Just Hello stamp set is extremely versatile. For my first card, I took a chalk-on-chalkboard approach by white embossing the stamp set’s graphics and sentiments (in Danielle Walls’ adorable handwriting) onto black cardstock.
JMJustHello-blog
Supplies: Neat & Tangled Just Hello stamp set; black cardstock; Fancy Pants patterned paper; Bo Bunny paper (teal); Versamark ink; Hero Arts embossing powder; Basic Grey button; Divine twine

For my second Just Hello card, I created a square card with a similar set of colors. I happen to really like the turquoise, black and white color combination.

JMJustHello2-blog

Supplies: Neat & Tangled Just Hello stamp set; Neenah cardstock (white); Hero Arts cardstock (turquoise); black cardstock; Versamark ink; Hero Arts embossing powder; MFT conversation die; Basic Grey button; Divine twine

Don’t forget to head over to the Neat & Tangled Blog to enter today’s giveaway – the winner will receive a Neat & Tangled stamp set of their choice. This week’s featured stamp sets will be available for purchase at the Neat & Tangled store tomorrow, Friday, August 10.