Single Layer Cards

Single layer cards are a fun challenge and (for me) so is coloring. After the first card, both of these techniques became my goal this week. I even pulled out stamps I haven't used in a while. I could almost hear those brain synapses firing away while I worked. Actually, I had some smooth jazz playing in the background, and I enjoyed being lost in the process. 

Dragonfly by Great Impressions; colored with Prismacolor pencils
and covered with clear Wink-of-Stella; sentiment by Hampton Arts.

Adobe by Stamp A Mania; colored with Prismacolor pencils;
background and sentiment by Impression Obsession.
This would have been a true single layer card if I hadn't blurred
the sentiment the first time I stamped it. #tricksofthetrade :-)

Strawberry by Art Impressions; sentiment by Impression Obsession;
washi tape grass on the bottom of the card. 

What else is smooth like jazz? Flat ironed hair; a crisp dollar bill; warm creme brûlée; and single layer cards! 

Beautiful Cards

Bonito. Schön. Bell. Mooi. Beau. Falleg. Bellissimo. Hermosa. Kaunis. Smukke. Álainn. Frumoasa. 

Stamps and sentiment by Simon Says Stamp;
heat embossed on watercolor paper and
colored with LuminArte paints.

"Be-You-tiful" die by Ellen Hutson;
background stamps and layered dies by Stampin' Up;
I used a gold leafing pen on the edges of the card. 

Sentiment by W Plus 9 stamps;
sun by Stampin' Up is heat embossed in gold. 

No matter how you say it, it's true. You're BEAUTIFUL.

Family Birthday Cards

Today is my husband's birthday and I am sharing the cards I made for the girls and me to give him. Birthday cards to the family are not always my best cards artistically, but they are by far the most fun to create, because each design has that person in mind. 

Look over the cards and see what you can discover about my husband's favorite things? Daughter number one gets a kick out of Dad when his eyes tear up after he takes a big bite of wasabi, and daughter number two chose the motif for the next card, because she is baffled by his fondness for all things "pumpkin spice" (as in pumpkin spice peanut butter???). And, the last card, to be honest is described like this: "Oh, look! Stamped images are left over from my father-in-law's birthday card, and I need to start dinner, and these colors go together....done!" 

"Dad" by Avery Elle stamps; sushi set by Lawn Fawn.

Coffee mug by Impression Obsession; Happy Birthday by Stampin' Up;
Dad by Avery Elle; border die by Pretty Pink Posh.

Birthday sentiment by Rubbernecker Stamps;
fishing real by Deep Red Stamps; large fish by Fred B. Mullett

Family birthday cards and my hobby go together like sushi and wasabi, or pumpkin and spice, or rubber and ink. I just love my hobby and my hubby! 

Washi Paper Cards

My dilemma with making cards with washi paper is this: All I really want to do is adhere this regal rectangle on color coordinating cardstock and say, "Viola!" (or the Japanese equivalent). That's a funny thing for a card maker to say, but I would rather let the paper speak for itself. 

The Rare Orchid has a tantalizing array of washi papers and tapes, and I mean to compliment them in my cards with as little intrusion as possible. I couldn't even bring myself to cut a second piece of paper this week to show off another of their designs. However, I do think the different background colors with this washi paper give each card a unique tone.

Cotton Candy Dreams is the name of this paper.

The sentiment is by Honey Bee Stamps in the Beautiful Life set.

Courage sentiment is by Unity Stamp Co.

Oh, and speaking of letting the paper speak for itself; it is not just washi paper. It's "Fine Japanese Hand-Silkscreened Chiyogami Yuzen Washi Paper".