Blog Candy winner

And we have a winner! Chosen at random, the blog candy goes to a
nurse from Round Rock Texas who goes by the blog profile name
TEXCINLULU. Please email me at mike@strongstamps.com with your
mailing address so I can send you the goodies.
Congratulations!

Thanks everybody for commenting.
Look for more non-caloric, non-melting candy in August.

More black & white

 

I'm on a black & white roll! Here are three cards
I made with my brand new set of Cloisonne Medallion stamps.
Look for these stamps in the catalog sometime this week.

Paisley Pencil Box

 

Here's a quick little project using the same Cloisonne Paisley panel stamp I used in the previous entry. This time I made a little pencil box using a Lever2000 soap box (It's shiny and silver - I couldn't just throw it away!). Stamp and emboss two panels as before. Cut them out on the white outline of the design. Using a silver Pearl Pen, decorate each paisley with dots. Set them aside to dry at least 30 minutes. Cut off the two larger flaps from one side of the soapbox. Glue down the two smaller flaps to the inside of the box. Attach the paisley panel to the front of the box. I used spray glue but a tape runner or double sided tape will work too. Aligning the panel with the bottom of the box and press. Fold the top of the panel inside the opening at the top of the box. Repeat on the back side of the box. Enjoy the recycled goodness!

Simple Paisley Card

 

Here's a simple but elegant card using one stamp and a limited color palette. I made it in about 5 minutes.
Stamp the MSRS Cloisonne Paisley panel onto black cardstock using a pigment ink pad and Glacier White embossing powder. Cut the embossed panel out leaving a black border approximately 1/4" wide around the image. Mount the piece onto a white cardstock frame and attach it to a folded black card measuring 4 1/4" x 7". Finish by adding Pearl Pen dots inside each circle on each of the paisleys. I used the turquoise pen and lined the inside of the card with turquoise cardstock for an extra punch of color. Enjoy!

7-20-10 Blog Candy!

Hi everybody,
I have some blog candy for you. Just make a comment on this blog to win a swell prize. After I receive 100 comments, the winner will receive the hand painted card shown in the previous blog entry titled Hand Painted Card. In addition to the card made by me, you will receive everything needed to reproduce it, the set of Origami Crane stamps, paint, brush (a new one!), embossing powder, embossing inkpad, cardstock and Copper Pearl Pen. Good Luck!

Hand Painted Card

 

Here's a hand painted card using my N.P.S.R* technique. I had some wokshops last week making several variations of this card and the universal opinion was that it was fun and easy!
Materials:
Cardstock in black, metallic copper & purple
MSRS Origami Crane
Copper embossing powder
Versamark Inkpad (or similar)
Acrylic paint in turquoise, purple, white & metallic copper
1” house painting brush
Scissors
Paper cutter
Glue stick
Double-sided foam tape or pop dots
Copper Pearl Pen
Cardboard box (the kitchen sink will substitute)
Stiff bristled

Steps:
Put a small amount of turquoise paint onto the tip of the one inch house painting brush as shown. Paint a sheet of black cardstock with broad arching strokes using the tip of the brush (rather than the flat of the brush). Put some purple paint onto the same brush and paint in different directions using the same arching strokes. Add some white paint to the brush and flick the tip of the brush over the painted surface. Ideally, you will have a painted piece with three colors, plenty of wispy brush strokes and some of the black cardstock showing through.
The colors suggested here may be substituted for colors of your own preference. More than three colors works well also. To avoid a muddy look, don’t mix the colors too much.
Transfer the painted cardstock to a cardboard box. Add some metallic copper paint to the stiff bristled brush. Use your finger tips to flick the paint onto the surface. Allow the cardstock to dry.
Using a paper cutter, Cut and fold a black card measuring 5 ½” square. Cut a 5” x 5” mat from the copper cardstock and attach it to the front of the card. Cut a liner measuring 5 ¼” x 5 ¼” from the purple cardstock and glue it to the inside back of the card.
Using the paper cutter, cut nine squares measuring 1 ½” x 1 ½”. Start gluing them to a 4 ½” x 4 ½” piece of black cardstock beginning in the upper left corner. Remember to arrange the squares like a mosaic for maximum color contrast and movement. After all the squares are glued in place trim any edges that may be sticking out. Attach the mosaic to the front of the card. Add a 1 ½” x 1 ½” black cardstock “diamond” to the center of the card.
Stamp and emboss the Origami Crane onto a colorful section of your left over painted cardstock. Cut out and attach it to the diamond with double-sided foam tape of pop dots. Embellish as you like with the copper Pearl Pen.
Enjoy!
*no painting skills required

Hand painted card Supplies

 

Hand painted card Steps

 

 

 

Hand painted card Steps

 

 

 

Hand painted card Steps

 

 

Hand painted card Steps

 

 

 

Crane variations

 

I'm getting ready for a card making workshop at Scrappin' In The Hills in Anaheim next Saturday. Here are three variations using my Origami Crane stamp set and the coordinating papers designed by the Club Scrap design team and me. http://www.scrappininthehills.com/

More Summer Tomatoes-Yum!

 

Something fun in October!

 

Making your own envelopes

One of my students asked how to make envelopes for odd sized cards. Here's a easy way to make an envelope for any size card.

Supplies
Paper
Paper cutter
Ruler
Scissors
Glue stick
Pencil

Steps
All envelopes using this method begin with a square piece of paper. The size of the paper will be determined by the size of the card. In this example, the card size is 5 ½” x 4 ¼” and the envelope paper is 8” square. Here’s how to determine the size of the paper you will need. Trim a piece of 8 ½” x 11” paper to 8 ½” x 8 ½”. Lay the paper on the table diamond shape and place the card in the center of the diamond. Measure the distance from all four points of the card to the edge of the envelope paper. They should all be equal and ideally ½” from the point to the edge. If the paper is too large, trim it a bit until you get to the ½” distance at all four points. If the paper is too small, start over with a larger piece of paper. 12 x 12 scrapbooking paper works well.
Begin folding the points of the diamond over the card starting with the bottom, followed by the two sides. Use a pencil to print a small “T” (for top) on the last flap and fold it down. Open the paper and press flat. Using scissors, trim away the four small triangles made by the folding process as shown. Place the card inside the envelope to see that it fits. Fold up the bottom flap and glue the two sides. Fold the left and right flaps down onto the glued bottom flap and press to close. Trim away or fold down the tip of the bottom flap as shown. Erase the penciled T and fold down the top flap. Glue if desires.
Now you can make an envelope for any odd sized card as long as you remember the ½” rule.

envelope steps

 

 

 

 

envelope steps

 

 

 

 

Summer tomatoes

 

Is there anything better than a sun ripened garden tomato? These are Beefsteak, Better Boy and Heirlooms (the little ones). They will be on the menu for tomorrow's 4th of July barbeque at Casa Strong, Yum!