Tag : leaves

9 posts

It is time for Fun Stampers Journey Creative Team Blog Hop. The perfect theme for this blog hop is Fall! I know you will be inspired by all the creativity. Remember to subscribe to our blogs. This way you will be notified each month not only with our regular posts but with a colorful line up of uniquely Fun Stampers Journey projects brought to life by the FSJ Creative Team.

I know you will be amazed and inspired by the talent of these creative paper designers. Our team’s blog post links are below. If for some reason you hop off the trail, go to Fun Stampers Journey Blog and pick up where you left off.

Kazan Clark 

Lezlye Lauterbach 

Carrie Rhoades 

Christine Chan 

Jill Hilliard 

Jenny Watson 

Marty McGee (you are here!)

Alissa Hall

 

When you live in Georgia and have 90 degree days in September, things just don’t seem right. You know what I mean? I’ve been asking myself, where is Fall? I have been asking that question because I’m really just tired of the heat and I want to see those lovely leaves change into orange, yellow and red and feel the cool crispness of a fall breeze.

Well, the cooler weather is finally here and that means the leaves will be changing very soon. I must say, “So glad you could make it Fall!” To celebrate Fall’s arrival, I have created a set of cards inspired by those very same colors I previously mentioned. Come on, let’s give a cheer for Orange, Yellow and Red!

Both of the cards used the same beginning processes, which made the completion of these projects quick and easy. I used the dies from the Zen Leaves set and cut out two of each leaf except for one. It was so lonely, I decided to feature it on the treat box. To complete the first step, I pulled out the Gel Press, of course, Rich Coral and Lemon Drop Liquid Colors and the Media Mister.

I took the Rich Coral and Lemon Drop Liquid Colors and ran an alternating line of each color across the Gel Press. I spritzed the colors with the Media Mister and held the Gel Press up to allow the colors to flow down. I gave it another mist of water and then placed my paper on top of the mix.

The first pull is at the top picture below. The second step required a little more Liquid Color spritzed with water. I took the leaves and dabbed them into the mix.

Now, here’s where I began experimenting. Thank goodness, it came out just fine (big sigh of relief). Anyway, I inked both inside panels with Rich Coral. I place the liquid color panel color side down onto the inked section without the logo; I took the leaves and placed them on the backside of the inked panel. I ran this through my Platinum die cutting machine. Since the panel was not fully dried, the leaves pressed into the cardstock and I had to really search for an edge to pull them off. Another bullet dodged!!

TIP: Let the inked piece of paper dry completely. I had another mishap due to my impatience on the treat box.

Such a deep, rich embossed mat. It just warms my soul. Note: The mat is de-bossed even though it looks like the embossed side.

The first card has a base of Rich Coral and a Lemon Drop mat. The embossed mat is cut to allow a 1/8″ border allowing a hint of yellow. This embossed mat is broken up with a Tangerine Fusion strip of cardstock accented with a 1/4″ strip of corrugated cardstock along the bottom portion. The sentiment on the Rich Coral circle was stamped in Whip Cream and embossed with white embossing powder.

It was adhered with foam squares and accented it with a maple leaf from Golden Leaves Bloom Benefit. I inked over the top of the natural maple leaf with Oatmeal Cookie ink and edged it in Rich Coral ink.

Two golden accents from All The Things Bloom Benefit add a little sparkle to the card.

The second card has a base of Whip Cream and two mats. The first mat is Rich Coral. The second mat is Lemon Drop cardstock die cut using the Rectangle dies and piercing piece.

Here is a close up picture of the inked and embossed maple leaf.

The sentiment was stamped using Black Licorice from the Humble and Kind stamp set. This card is accented with yellow Rainbow Drops and one of the inked and embossed maple leaves tied with a double bow Natural Twine. The Lemon Drop mat and the maple leaf are adhered with foam squares.

The treat box was created using Rich Coral as the base. A box to hold the candy was cut from Lemon Drop cardstock with an inked and embossed band glued around the middle of the box. An accent strip of Lemon Drop and Tangerine Fusion are adhered across the front of the Rich Coral base. An inked and embossed leaf along with a dark brown male leaf painted with Sparkle Silk are adhered to the front and tied with a double bow. The treat box holds some yellow, orange and white Candy Corn, yum! The directions for the box are below the picture.


Step 1 – 4″ x 6″ Rich Coral cardstock for the base.
Step 2 – Score the long side at 1″, 3″ and 5″.
Step 3 – 4 1/2″ x 2″ Lemon Drop cardstock for the treat holder.
Step 4 – Score long side at 1/2″, 2″, 2 1/2″ and 4″.
Step 5 – Die cut the top of the box (optional).

TIP: When you die cut the edge using an edgelit type die, make sure to place your top cutting plate where it is not all the way over the die.

Take the Rich Coral base and fold it in half. Place the folded side against the edge of your trimmer.

Step 1 – Measure in 1/2″ and cut from the fold to the 1″ mark.
Step 2 – Move the cardstock to the 2″ mark and cut from the fold to the 1″ mark.
Step 3 – Open the folded cardstock and the tented piece you just created will become the window flaps as shown below.
Step 4 – Take your shears and from the smaller tented fold, cut 1/8″ on each side of the fold. This will create a window with flaps. The “window flaps” will hold the treat box in place.
Step 5 – Place white liner tape as indicated below.

Adhere the base sides together. This will create a long, narrow tent. Then, decorate the treat box as you would like. Place it into the opening while holding the flaps back with the fingers of your opposite hand. Once it is in place, press the flaps onto the box. Embellish the front of the box as you like.

I hope this set of paper projects has and will inspire you to create your own Fall themed cards and giftables. Let me know in the comments what is your favorite project. Make sure to post your inspired creations to Instagram and Facebook, tag me so I can see your paper brought to life.

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We completed the first PJs and Papercrafting class last month and it was a blast! There’s was one hilarious mishap at the beginning of the FB Live presentation. Somehow, and I must say, this has never happened to me before, the base of the card I was working on got pulled into the steel rolling tubes (whatever you call them) of my Platinum die cutting machine and was crinkled to pieces. I had to leave the room and have my nephew help me clear out the mess before continuing with the FB Live class. TIP: Place die cutting machine on clean and clear of any paper table top before using. You just can’t plan for these types of things happening.

Now, it is time for September’s PJs and Papercrafting. This month’s stamp set is the Zen Leaves and Die Bundle along with the Thankful Friends set.

This is an ATS set with a coordinating die.

This is a full stamp set with coordinating die (see green outlined images).

This is the time of year that we begin to focus on giving thanks and being grateful for friends, family and the blessings we have received throughout the year. The color combos are all fall inspired with a little hint of winter month’s. I had so much fun creating this month’s projects.

I used our fabulous fusion inks and card stock (on sale this month 20% off) along with two must have embossing folders. If you sign up before September 16th, you will receive an extra special project to complete at the end of our Live class.

Class includes all cardstock, embellishments, ribbon and PDF instructions for four card projects with envelopes. It does not include inks, embossing powders, glaze, adhesives, liquid colors or pan pastels.

PJs & Papercrafting FaceBook Live Virtual Stamp Class – September 30th, 8:00 p.m. EST

There are three purchase options.

Option 1 – If you already own the stamp sets and embossing folders or you are a Coach, you may take the class  only.

Option 2 – The class, both stamp sets with coordinating dies and both embossing folders.

Option 3 – The class, both stamp sets without coordinating dies and both embossing folders.


Class Options



I have listed the supplies you will need to complete the 4 projects below. If you have a FSJ Coach you order from, please order these supplies right away with your Coach. You are welcome to order through me, please click on an item featured below and you will be directed to my FSJ website or you may contact me via email at www.martyzstamps@gmail.com . NOTE: All supplies used will be listed on the PDF instructions.

Product List

I know all my followers are aware of how much I love my Gel Press. That being said another member of the FSJ Creative Team, Carrie Rhoades, loves the Gel Press as well. We decided to have a challenge throwdown to create cards from each other’s pulls and one of the throwdown stipulations was to include some not so pretty pulls; because, as I tell my crafters, “There are no ugly pulls!”

I received Carrie’s package of pulls this past Thursday; and, quite frankly, I didn’t see any ugly pulls but maybe I have conditioned my mind to see past the obvious and to envision the beautiful. Here is the one I chose to use for the Freshly Made Sketches Challenge 351. I think it is a gorgeous Gel Press pull. *** Carrie used yarn wrapped around her brayer and acrylic pain to create this Gel Press pull (see below). Here is Carrie’s link to the “ugly” pull I sent her and she used for Round 1’s throwdown Carrie Stamps, No Such Thing as a Bad Print blog post (click here).

This set the stage for the FMS 351 sketch.

The minute I began working on putting a card together for this sketch, I knew this pull was a winner! I began with the Thankful Friends stamp set and incorporated some fall colors (Pumpkin Bread, Tangerine Fusion, Rich Coral, Hazelnut Blend and Turbo Teal):

The corrugated paper adds texture and dimension to the circle mats. To create a little depth to the circle mats, Pumpkin Bread ink was applied directly from the pad to the edges of the circles. A hint of twine peeking out from behind the mats adds a little fun to the card. I think the squirrel is just too adorable and makes a great focal point for this card. The sentiment says it all, “Choose to be Grateful.” Do you choose to be grateful? I do.

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This post will feature another FSJ (Fun Stampers Journey) May 2017 Bloom Box card re-imagined for the Fab Friday Card Challenge 113. Here is the card sketch for this challenge:

The original design in the FSJ May Bloom Box featured an elegant doily themed Well Wishes card accented with a silk bow and neutral button with natural twine.

Again, I wanted to incorporate some flowers into the design. I created the blue flowers using the technique mentioned in this post Well Wishes Doily Elegance using FSJ Pool Party ink, FSJ Sweet Pear, FSJ Lemongrass, dauber dowels, and the FSJ stamp set Summer Garden. The doily images were stamped onto FSJ Rock Candy cardstock using Butter Cream ink. The base is FSJ Banana Cream cardstock, with FSJ Rock Cany, and FSJ Butter Cream mats. The “Thinking of You” sentiment was stamped onto the Butter Cream cardstock using FSJ Rock Candy ink.

The second doily from the sentiment focal point, is raised up using FSJ Small Foam Squares. The circular center of this doily is die-cut out and the sentiment sits flush with the first doily (it’s hard to tell in the photo – I have a close-up below). The green leaves were created using FSJ Sweet Pear cardstock and the FSJ Bloom Cluster die. The flower bouquet was popped-up with Foam Squares. The final touch was adding FSJ Journey Glaze to the flowers (the sheen does not show up in the photo). I made a boo-boo and some of the glaze got onto the cardstock with the sentiment. Instead of freaking out, I decided to add some more dots of glaze to mimic dewdrops.

Supplies:

All supplies can be ordered by clicking here.

I am in the middle of a very hectic schedule and turning my son’s old bedroom into a craft room. The craft room change over has been slow but steady. This transition has hampered my creativity due to my current craft room being a MESS! I’m in the process of determining what must stay, what must go on Ebay or Etsy to be sold, and what can be moved to the new room so far. I still need to get desk tops and Ikea drawers to complete the transition. I will have a blog about this at some point in the near future.

When I saw this week’s Paper Craft Crew Cared Challenge #245, I knew I had the perfect card to meet the tic-tac-toe challenge:

My Bloom Box stampers met this past Monday and made our cards from the kit, BUT I thought they needed a little something more. So, prior to our meet-up, I had ordered the FSJ SS-0078 Summer Garden stamp set along with our new dauber dowels and sponges (TO0137 – small and TO0138 – large). I have a picture of the card from the kit below:

I took the basic card design and added to it along with changing the sentiment to Well Wishes. The initial card consisted of FSJ Butter Cream cardstock base, FSJ Banana Cream mat, and final piece of FSJ Rock Candy. The doilies are the featured stamp set in this month’s Bloom Box kit. They were stamped onto the Rock Candy cardstock using FSJ Butter Cream ink. I think the stamped images turned out wonderfully well. I changed my sentiment to Well Wishes and stamped it onto the pre-cut tag using FSJ Rock Candy ink. I popped it out using FSJ Foam Squares. The flower and leaves were created using a technique Richard Garay shared on one of his Facebook Live tutorials. I took a sponge dauber dowel and picked up some FSJ Rich Coral ink onto the sponge and I applied the ink to my cardstock in a circular motion. I did this same technique using FSJ Sweet Pear and FSJ Lemongrass. I, then, took my stamps and stamped the images onto those sponged areas using FSJ Black Licorice ink. The flower and foliage were adhered using FSJ Medium Foam Squares. For the ribbon accent, I took the button from the kit and applied FSJ Rock Candy ink straight onto the button edges using the ink pad. I adhered a large diamond rhinestone into its center and adhered it to a double bow made from FSJ twine. Once every thing was adhered to the card, I applied FSJ Journey Glaze to the flower and parts of the leaves. I think this card turned out to be very elegant with a pop of color. I almost forgot – last but not least, a sprinkling of FSJ Silver Silk was applied to the card. Bodda-Bling, Bodda-Boom!

Supplies:

All supplies except for the diamond rhinestone (who knows where I got it from – it was just part of my stash and fit exactly into the depressed area of the button) are available through www.funstampersjourney.com/martymcgee. Note: The stamp set is only available with the Bloom Box Kit. It must be purchased before the end of May and then a commitment of purchasing 5 more kits is required.

I recently purchased the Fun Stampers Journey (FSJ) Artsy Leaves out of their mini-Trend Catalog (it has since retired as of September 30th). Even though I knew it would not be a stamp set I could demo at parties, I still wanted it. I LOVE the whole collection and it came with a die set that I purchased as well. When I saw the Pals Paper Arts Card Sketch Challenge #320, I thought this set would make a perfect background stamped card with a Thank You sentiment.

ppa-320-sep29I stamped the leaves using FSJ Black Licorice ink. This ink is very versatile. It is a “true” black ink, it doesn’t smear (it’s dry in about 30 seconds), you can use watercolor mediums with it, and it can be used on plastic, glass, etc (some surfaces require the ink to be set with a heat using a heat gun.
I colored the leaves using FSJ Color Burst Pencils. These pencils do not require Gamsol to blend them together; they are infused with oil to make blending without a liquid medium easy. You can purchase blending stubs from FSJ and dry blend them, but I didn’t use the stubs on this project. I outlined each leave with a light blue pencil to make them pop. I used FSJ – Whipped Cream as the base and matted the leaves on FSJ – Black Licorice and FSJ – Deep Lilace cardstocks. The stips of paper accents are in FSJ – Deep Lilac and FSJ – Black Licorice as well. I highlighted the sentiment with FSJ – Twine and stamped the sentiment from one of the Bloom Benefit ATS – Thanks Much. I stamped the “Thank You” in FSJ – Candy Apple Fusion Ink and fussy cut only the “Thank You” out of the full image. The “Thank You” is popped up on dimensionals.

PPA320Supplies:
FSJ – Whipped Cream, Black Licorice, and Deep Lilace cardstocks, Black Licorice and Candy Apple Fusion Inks, Color Burst pencils, twine, dimensionals, liquid glue, white liner tape, and glue dots.

The Pals Paper Arts Challenge 312 sketch was a great sketch to showcase the Elizabeth Craft Design Hydrangea Die I purchased at our recent Scrapbook Expo held in Duluth, GA.

ppa312

To keep the main focus on the hydrangea, I kept the background and the cardstock band neutral. The Elizabeth Craft Design die comes with an irregular shaped circle, a die for the petals and several different sized leaves.  I cut three of the circles and cut the second and third down to create a stairstep affect on the bottom circle. I adhered each of the circles onto the larger circle using SU! dimensionals. This adds greater dimension to the hydrangea.  I sponged a little SU! Pool Party on to some Whisper White card stock and then cut out the petals. I shaped the petals using the Elizabeth Craft Design tool kit for flower shaping; then, I cut the leaves out of SU! Old Olive and sponged the edges with SU! Old Olive ink andshaped the leaves. I  adhered the flowers on the cardstock circles and I took a dry watercolor brush (a stiff one) and took up a little Pool Party ink from the ink pad lid and brushed the color lightly across the petals.

The band is cut from SU! Crumb Cake cardstock and embossed with the SU! brick wall embossing folder. I cut the strips on top of the Crumb Cake from Old Olive using the SU! Swirly Scribbles Thinlits. The sentiment is stamped in Old Olive and is a Bo Bunny – Amen stamp set which I purchased on sale from Hobby Lobby. The mat and base are SU! Very Vanilla cardstock.

If you have been keeping up with my posts, you know I have really fallen in love with 3D flowers. I think this card is clean and simple and would be a great card to give someone as a sympathy or get well card.

PPA312

Enjoy!

As I was browsing through the card challenge websites, I was inspired to create a black and white card with a pop of color from SUO Challenges website. Since I have a TON of SU! Stacked with Love paper, and most of the paper is black and white, I thought what a great way to use up some designer series paper and make a really cute card in the process.

The card started out to be a regular two mat card with a couple of flowers (the pop) accenting the lower left corner. I had yet to use the Sale-a-bration set “What I Love” from Stampin’ Up! and I thought this flower would work really well for this design. I stamped and cut out the flowers along with some petals and began to place them on the mats (nothing was adhered) trying to find the perfect spot for them to “pop”. Then, it occured to me I could make a shaker card. I made a really, really cute shaker card. I used some sequins from my Scrapbook Expo haul this past July. The picture does not do them justice.

 

 

Sentiment and pearls

Sentiment and pearls

 

I had an extra flower and leaves along with the center portion of paper from the shaker card. So, I pulled out some more of the cross hatched paper for the first mat, placed the center of the cut out paper from the shaker card onto it using dimensionals. Then matted the first mat in black to make it stand out from the white cardstock. I added a sentiment banner to the top of the center mat and the extra flower to the bottom left corner (both are raised using dimensionals). I finished the card by brushing some clear Wink of Stella onto the flower and leaves.

Here is card number two:

SUO Challenge #153

Enjoy!!!

It seems like a long time since I have posted. I have been sick plus super busy. The last make-n-take we had at my house featured the card below.  It is using the new SU! Woodland Textured embossing folder. Here is the card:

SUO #130

This is a super simple card to make. I used a brayer to roll Crumb Cake onto the inside flaps of the Woodlands embossing folder. I then placed a piece of Very Vanilla card stock into the folder and ran it through my Big Shot. I cut a wreath out of SU! Color Me Autumn DSP. I cut out the leaves with a retired BigZ die (can’t remember the name) and ran them through various SU! embossing dies (it doesn’t matter which dies you use, just something to give the leaves texture). I printed out “hello” in a color close to Elegant Eggplant, which is the color of the card stock used to mat the embossed Very Vanilla.

Supplies: **Note: I added the current Leaflets Framelits and Acorn Builder below, which can be used to substitute for retired product I used on my card.

Price: $12.50

Price: $110.00

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