Batik with Group of Seven

Hi there.  I'm so glad you stopped by!

The Group of Seven has used a Batik technique for our cards this month.

On 80 lb. cardstock, I stamped this large flower with embossing ink and heat set 

with clear embossing powder. Using a light shade of blue Distress ink, I ink blended over

the embossing.  I folded the card several times vertically and horizontally, using a

bone folder to sharpen the creases. Then I smoothed it out again on the back side.

Back to the front, I ink blended a darker shade of blue Distress ink.  When the creases

weren't showing up as well as I wanted, I folded it to the back along the

creases and added more ink along the creases on the front.  A finger dauber

worked better for this. Make sense?

I wanted a little more interest in the background so I stamped the flower with

a dark blue ink over the embossing.  I had so much ink on the white embossing that

it wouldn't rub off with a paper towel so I used a baby wipe to clean it up.

It was like magic!

Then I tried a different technique...

This time I stamped some leaves on 80 lb. cardstock with a light green ink and blended

over it lightly with the same color ink.  Then I stamped with embossing ink and heat set

with clear embossing powder and blended a medium green ink over top. (Let the embossing

cool before doing this.)  I stamped some more leaves with dark green ink in a few places.

Then came the creasing as on the first card and adding dark green ink to bring out

those fold line.

To finish it off, I stamped some leaves and heat set with white embossing powder.

I cut the piece in two to get a second card.

There is a link to a video tutorial on the Group of Seven blog and my creative

friends have more cards made with the batik technique for your inspiration.

There's also a linky if you want to try this technique and link it up with us.

We love to see what worked, and didn't work, for you.

Card Recipe (card 1)

Stamps:  Passionate (PB), Flora & Fauna 3 (W9 ret)

Ink:   Wow Embossing, Tumbled Glass, Faded Jeans (DI), Dapper Denim (SU)

Paper:   Neenah 80 lb., Solar White

Other:  Clear EP, Simply Succulent Labels die (ret SU)

Card Recipe (cards 2 & 3)

Stamps:  Forever Fern (SU), Celebrate Everyday (HA)

Ink:  Wow Embossing, Sage, Eucalyptus, Spruce Tips (PFS)

Paper:   Neenah 80 lb Solar White, Copper Foil

Other:  Clear EP, White EP, Stately EF (ret), Happy Birthday Poe Script dies (PS), Little Chickadee die (SB)

Enjoy!

If you would like to subscribe by email,

please fill out the contact form in the upper right sidebar.

It is also important to add stampingwithklass1@gmail.com to your contact list

so Google recognizes the address and delivers the updates.

To unsubscribe please use the same form on the sidebar adding

unsubscribe to the message.

Thanks to all who have subscribed to my blog by email.

Your sweet and thoughtful comments warm my heart!

Gilding Flakes with Group of Seven Cardmakers

Hi there.  I'm so glad you stopped by!

This month the Group of Seven Cardmakers are focusing on gilding flakes on acetate.

Gilding flakes are not my favorite.  But this time I got better results than I usually do.  I think

it may be because I used my fingers to rub off the excess flakes instead of the scrubby thing.

It does have a nice shine to it.

I inked the stamp with some Flitter Glue and stamped it on a piece of acetate.

It's important to wash the glue off immediately.  I hope I got it all off.  I used a

toothbrush to get into the crannies.

The glue stays tacky so there isn't a big rush to get the gilding flakes on it.

My pot has some quite large flakes in it so I was able to cover the glue quickly.

When it was covered with flakes, I used my fingers to rub off the excess and a 

Swifter to get the excess off the acetate.

Both sides look nice and in the video, it shows putting it over an aperture.

Instead I framed it and used foam tape to elevate it over a background piece

from my stash that was a Brusho mop up.  I should have done the aperture 

because the foam tape has made it too thick to mail.

A word of warning when using gilding flakes.  Don't have a fan going in the room!

And have a vacuum handy!  Oh, and Brenda says not to cough.  I imagine sneezing

could cause all kinds of flakey fall out too.

There's a video on the Group of Seven post and my teamies have some 

much better examples to inspire you.  There's a linky there too, if you want

to try gilding flakes on acetate and show us what you do.

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Soft Wings (PB)

Ink:   

Paper:   Neenah Solar White, Acetate, Mixed Media

Other:  FlitterGlu (IndigoBlu), Gold Gilding Flakes ($ store), Stitched Rectangle & A2 Thin Frames dies (SSS), Burlap EF (HB)

Enjoy!

If you would like to subscribe by email,

please fill out the contact form in the upper right sidebar.

It is also important to add stampingwithklass1@gmail.com to your contact list

so Google recognizes the address and delivers the updates.

To unsubscribe please use the same form on the sidebar adding

unsubscribe to the message.

Thanks to all who have subscribed to my blog by email.

Your sweet and thoughtful comments warm my heart!

Easter Eggs

Hi there.  I'm so glad you stopped by!

This month the Group of Seven Cardmakers made cards using embossing paste. 

This is a continuation of this post.  I colored enough paste to get two more

cards out of it.

First up is more stenciled leaves but this time on an Easter egg die cut.

It's hard to see the stenciling with all the flowers and butterflies.

I colored some embossing paste with re-inker, spread some over a stencil and smoothed

it out, then removed the stencil and cleaned it and the palette knife.

After the paste was dry, I sponged a bit of ink around the edges of the egg

to add some depth.  Flowers, grass, a bow and butterflies finished it.

I had some paste leftover and hated for it to go to waste, so I spread it over another

die cut Easter Egg.

I love the texture that was left behind!

The flowers were die cut from scraps of white cardstock.  I added a bit of color to the

centers of the flowers with a finger dauber and some WOS on the bow to make it sparkle.

Challenges:

Double D - Easter

Group of Seven Cardmakers - Use Embossing Paste

 

Card Recipe (card 1)

Stamps:  Just Sentiments - Easter (PTI), Splatters (?)

Ink:   Gumball Green, Mint Macaroon, Primrose Petals (SU)

Paper:   Neenah Solar White, Pink Pirouette, Daffodil Delight

Other:  Slimline Gentle leaves Stencil (TCW), Embossing Paste (Wendy Vechi), Mint Macaroon re-inker (SU), Half a Dozen Eggs die (MB), Grassland Border die (MB), Spring Leaves Cover Plate (HB), Mini Blooms & Sprigs (SB), Fit to be Tied die (Grtry)

Card Recipe (card 2)

Stamps:  Just Sentiments - Easter (PTI)

Ink:   Versafine Onyx Black, Primrose Petals, Gumball Green, Pear Pizzazz

Paper:   Watercolor (Strathmore), Pinkn Pirouette, Daffodil Delight, Neenah Solar White

Other:  Embossing Paste, Mint Macaroon re-inker, Mini Blooms & Sprigs dies (SB), Leaves dies (?), Half a Dozen Eggs die (MB), Fit to be Tied die (Grtry), WOS, 1/8" & 1/16" circle punches

Enjoy!

If you would like to subscribe by email,

please fill out the contact form in the upper right sidebar.

It is also important to add stampingwithklass1@gmail.com to your contact list

so Google recognizes the address and delivers the updates.

To unsubscribe please use the same form on the sidebar adding

unsubscribe to the message.

Thanks to all who have subscribed to my blog by email.

Your sweet and thoughtful comments warm my heart!

Embossing Paste Play

Hi there.  I'm so glad you stopped by!

This month the Group of Seven Cardmakers made cards using embossing paste.

I chose this stencil that has two branches on it and white embossing paste.

I put a drop of Mint Macaroon re-inker on my craft mat and mixed some embossing

paste into it until the color was smooth and even.

Using a palette knife, I added the paste through the stencil and when it was covered

good, I scraped it smooth with the same knife.

I used the larger branch for this first card and made it into a Dogwood tree.

Our dogwoods are blooming now and so pretty!

The leaves weren't quite dark enough, so I replaced the stencil after the paste

was dry and sponged some darker green ink on the base of the leaves.

The second card was done using the smaller branch and I got some smudges of

embossing paste where they didn't belong.

The wings of this butterfly covered the smudges very well.  It was cut from

a piece of silver sparkle specialty paper that had alcohol ink dripped on top and 

moved around with a puffer.

Smaller flowers made this into a cherry tree or some kind of blooming tree.

I've learned to clean the stencil as soon as I finish with the paste.  I keep a dish of

water in the studio to drop the stencil in when I'm finished.  When I'm ready to take

it to the sink, the paste hasn't hardened on the stencil. And it's very easy to add color

to the paste with re-inkers.

The Group of Seven blogsite has some step by step instructions and a linky.

If you'd like to try this you can add your card and let us know how it worked

for you.

Group of Seven Cardmakers

Challenges:

Just Us Girls #768 - ATG using a stencil

Stencil Fun - ATG using a stencil (Option of splatters. I have stamped splatters on card 1)

The Neglected Stuff - Dogwood die hasn't been used in at least a year

  

Card Recipe (card 1)

Stamps:  Just Sentiments - Easter (PTI), Splatters (?)

Ink:   Picked Rasperry, Aged Mahogany, Rustic Wilderness (DI)

Paper:   Neenah Solar White, Shimmer

Other:  Mint Macaroon re-inker, Embossing Paste (Wendy Vecchi), Slimline Gentle Leaves Stencil (TCW), Ribbit Prills, Dogwood Die (Elizabeth Crafts)

Card Recipe (card 2)

Stamps:  Easter Blossoms (ret SU)

Ink:   Versafine Onyx Black, Primrose Petals

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Pink Pirouette (SU), Silver Sparkle (TH) 

Other:  Slimline Gentle Leaves, Embossing Paste (WV), Potpourri Flower Set (PS), Dreamy Butterfly (MB), Alcohol Ink

Enjoy!

If you would like to subscribe by email,

please fill out the contact form in the upper right sidebar.

It is also important to add stampingwithklass1@gmail.com to your contact list

so Google recognizes the address and delivers the updates.

To unsubscribe please use the same form on the sidebar adding

unsubscribe to the message.

Thanks to all who have subscribed to my blog by email.

Your sweet and thoughtful comments warm my heart!

Floating Frames

Hi there.  I'm so glad you stopped by!

This month the Group of Seven Cardmakers tried a Floating Frames Technique.

Here's what I came up with...

I used this video tutorial for my cards by stamping, coloring and die cutting these

NBUS flowers.  I arranged them around the framed sentiment and added them

with dimensional dots.  I probably shouldn't have popped up the sentiment, but

it's not coming off!

Then I used a large stamp, stencil and die set for a second card.

I started coloring through a stencil with a pink blending brush then added a little 

extra color.  I'm not sure what the first color was, but the main color of ink is 

listed below.  Once it was colored and die cut, I cut a piece out of the center

so I could use it as a frame which I added it to the card front with a piece of 

foam behind the flowers.

The piece that was cut out of the center didn't go to waste. I embossed it then

layered it up and added to a die cut that I've had for years and not shown any love f

or almost as many years. 

There's another video at the Group of Seven site and lots of awesome

inspiration from my friends.  I hope you'll check it out and if you want to 

make a card using this technique, we'd love for you to add it to the gallery.

Challenges:

Group of Seven Cardmakers - Floating Frames

NBUS #71 - Never Before Used Schtuff - Love Blooms

Just Us Girls #764 - Anything goes stencil

 

Card Recipe (card 1)

Stamps:  Love Blooms (PB), Special Sentiments (PB)

Ink:   Shadow Gray Archival, Versafine Onyx Black

Paper:   Mixed Media (Strathmore), Neenah Solar White

Other:  Zigs (025 Pink, 026 Lt Pink, 045 Pale Green, 041, Lt Green, Caran d'ache Supracolor pencil (Dk Carmine), Classy Frames (PB), Dimensionals

Card Recipe (card 2)

Stamps:  Fragrant Florals (Alt)

Ink:   Archival Shadow Gray, Versafine Onyx Black, Bubblegum, Carnation, Pearfection, Field (SSS)

Paper:   Neenah Solar White, Black

Other:  Fragrant Florals Die & Stencil (Alt), Infinity Circles (HA), Circle Thin Frames (SSS), Dimensionals

Card Recipe (card 3)

Stamps:  Fragrant Florals (Alt), 

Ink:   Archival Shadow Gray, Versafine Onyx Black

Paper:   Neenah Solar White, Black

Other:  Fragrant Florals Stencil, Die & EF (Alt), Amira Flourish Die (ret MB), Sending Die (SSS), Double Stitched Circles (LI), Infinity Circles (HA), Waffled Diamonds EF (Alt)

Enjoy!

If you would like to subscribe by email,

please fill out the contact form in the upper right sidebar.

It is also important to add stampingwithklass1@gmail.com to your contact list

so Google recognizes the address and delivers the updates.

To unsubscribe please use the same form on the sidebar adding

unsubscribe to the message.

Thanks to all who have subscribed to my blog by email.

Your sweet and thoughtful comments warm my heart!

Pink and Red for Color Hues

Hi there.  I'm so glad you stopped by!

It's time for another Color Hues Challenge brought to us by Tracey.

The colors she chose are...

These are perfect colors for upcoming Valentine's Day or

many other occasions.

You can find the Color Hues #103 Challenge here and the wonderful

 cards from our Guests Designer Trina of Phamtastic Designs

and my fantastic teammates will inspire you.

The challenge is open until February 14th at 9:00 AM.

But wait.  There's more...

We are also excited to share with you that we are partnering up this challenge with the Inksprational Challenge! Details are shared below from teammate and card maker extraordinaire Carol Mayne!

******************************

Carol here, one of Color Hues' designers and a designer/behind-the-scenes organizer of Inkspirational Challenges.

The design team gals and I at Inkspirational are delighted to participate in this first-time collaboration with Color Hues. Creating with Red and Pink – a combination open to such a wide range of hues, as well as occasions/events – makes us even more happy! Hopefully, you’ll find our team’s contributions as inspiring as those created by the team here.

This collaboration serves two key goals: to increase exposure of both challenges to players who may/may not know about them and to offer YOU a chance to share your projects in two galleries. If you link up here, please be sure to hop over to Inkspirational to link with us there. We’re hoping for an outstanding number of entries over the course of the two week run of both challenges.

Challenges:

Color Hues #103 - Red & Pink

Inkspirational - Red & Pink

Group of Seven Cardmakers - I didn't ink blend the background first but sponged ink on embossed colored cardstock

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Hand Penned Holidays (ret SU)

Ink:   Whisper White

Paper:   Pink Pirouette, Shimmery (?), Red Foil

Other:  Blossom Swag (SSS), White EP, Nordic Bird Die (Grtry), Precious Hearts Die (MB), Confetti Hearts Punch (ret SU)

Enjoy!

If you would like to subscribe by email,

please fill out the contact form in the upper right sidebar.

It is also important to add stampingwithklass1@gmail.com to your contact list

so Google recognizes the address and delivers the updates.

To unsubscribe please use the same form on the sidebar adding

unsubscribe to the message.

Thanks to all who have subscribed to my blog by email.

Your sweet and thoughtful comments warm my heart!

Group of Seven Cardmakers January 2025

Hi there.  I'm so glad you stopped by!

This month the Group of Seven Cardmakers technique

is Dry Embossed Highlights over Ink Blending.

For my first card (a little larger than A2  size), I inked a piece of Neenah Solar White 

with three shades of Distress Oxide ink and left it to dry.  I find that overnight is best.

While the ink was drying I used a homemade heart mask and pink Oxide Inks

to add color to the center of a piece of Neenah Solar White,

The next step is to emboss the pieces.  It's important that the ink is dry so

you don't get mixed colors the next time you emboss.

(How do I know that?)

Dragging and patting a white inkpad over top of the inked embossing really

accentuates the embossing!

3D embossing folders work best, but regular embossing folders work well too.

This is such a fun technique!  My teammates have outdone themselves

with examples of this technique.  You can see them at

Group of Seven Cardmakers.

There's a linky there if you want to try this technique and share it with us.

Challenges:

Just Us Girls #759 - Stencil Week (card 2 uses a stencil)

NBUS #70  - Never Before Used Schtuff (Nordic Bird Die)

Darnell's I.D.E.A.S. - Anything goes week

Can You Handle the Pressure - ATG with embossing

   

Card Recipe (card 1)

Stamps: Thoughtful Wishes (SSS)

Ink: Encore Gold, Speckled Egg, Faded Jeans, Chipped Sapphire, Bundled Sage (DOX), Whisper White

Paper:   Neenah Solar White, Gold Foil, Vellum

Other:  Vine Canopy EF (SSS), Pine Wisp Die (Grtry), Nordic Birds Die (Grtry), Gold EP

Card Recipe (card 2)

Stamps:  Keep it Simple Valentine (PTI)

Ink:   Encore Gold, Worn Lipstick, Picked Raspberry (DOX), Whisper White

Paper: Neenah Solar White, Gold foil, Regal Rose

Other:  Heart Die (for stencil), Two Hearts as One EF (SB), Gold EP, Precious Hearts Die (MB)

 

Enjoy!

If you would like to subscribe by email,

please fill out the contact form in the upper right sidebar.

It is also important to add stampingwithklass1@gmail.com to your contact list

so Google recognizes the address and delivers the updates.

To unsubscribe please use the same form on the sidebar adding

unsubscribe to the message.

Thanks to all who have subscribed to my blog by email.

Your sweet and thoughtful comments warm my heart!

Ombre for Group of Seven Cardmakers

Hi there.  I'm so glad you stopped by!

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and now we are running pell-mell into 

the new year.  I hope as you look back over 2024 you have had more good than bad

and that 2025 will be a good year for all of us. 

This month the Group Of Seven gals are using Ombre as our Design Element.

It's such an easy technique and has a great impact on cards.

For my first card, I used a NBUS die and brushed on color from light to dark on

the petals and leaves.  I set that aside and used a mask and Distress ink to make

an ombre background staying with the same colors.

While it was all on the table, I decided to do another...

This time I went more playful with this sweet bird.

I used the same technique for the background on the first card but going with

more intense color.  The bird was stamped with Copic friendly 

ink and colored with Copics.

There are some video links at the Group of Seven website to illustrate different

ombre techniques if you'd like to try.  The rest of the GO7 gals have some fantastic examples

to inspire you. Or maybe you'd like to try your own ombre technique. 

There's a link at the post where you can add your cards if you'd like. 

I'm also going to add this to Darnell's NBUS challenge since the peony die

has been patiently waiting in the NBUS box.

 

Card Recipe (card 1)

Stamps:  Happy Snippets (PB)

Ink:   Old Olive (SU), (Background) Antique Linen, Scattered Straw, Wild Honey, Flower (Scattered Straw, Mustard Seed, Wild Honey, Rusty Hinge, Shabby Shutters, Peeled Paint, Forest Moss (DI)

Paper:   Neenah Solar White

Other:  Divine Peony (SSS), Marvelous Masks Rectangles (Colorful Life Designs)

Card Recipe  (card 2)

Stamps:  Flock Talk (Unity), Super Day (PB)

Ink:   Memento Tuxedo Black (Scattered Straw, Mustard Seed, Rusty Hinge)

Paper:   Neenah Solar White, Black

Other:Copics (BG000, BG11, BG15, BG13, BF18, E01, E21, E23), Stitched Shapes Die (ret SU), Infinity Circles (HA), Marvelous Masks Rectangles (Colorful Life Designs)

Enjoy!

If you would like to subscribe by email,

please fill out the contact form in the upper right sidebar.

It is also important to add stampingwithklass1@gmail.com to your contact list

so Google recognizes the address and delivers the updates.

To unsubscribe please use the same form on the sidebar adding

unsubscribe to the message.

Thanks to all who have subscribed to my blog by email.

Your sweet and thoughtful comments warm my heart!