S.S.U.S. Swap Cards

This is my "All About Me" themed card. I started with purple cardstock that I stamped with a paint swoosh stamp in green pigment ink all over. Then I stamped with the Art Definition stamp with Royal Purple StazOn to make a patterned background. I also added the small "ART" word in the bottom left in the same color. Now on to the "Scream". I stamped with versamark on brown cardstock AG frame stamp and embossed with clear embossing powder. This was the first time I embossed this stamp and it came out a lot better than I expected. I stamped the "Scream" on white cardstock with black StazOn, then I colored it with my fav Caran d'Ache watercolor crayons. Then I applied some versamark directly to paper and embossed with clear EP. So what are the clues here: Well - I love purple, and art - but this is what I look like when the Starbucks wears off! he he

This is my "Going Postal" themed card. This was fun because not only did I use my Caran d'Ache crayons again, I repurposed two envelopes from the recycling bin. For the postcard, I stamped with black StazOn, then colored and blended with water. On the two stamps, I added Diamond Glaze. I distressed the edges with MM distress tool and aged all three pieces with Old Paper Distress Ink. I also stamped and aged a mini 2" postcard stamp on the inside [oops I forgot to scan]. On the outside postcard, I stippled with versamark ink and embossed with clear EP. WOW! That was a neat experiment. I didn't expect the texture that it made. Then I assembled the rest. The flowers are white Prima that I aged with Antique Olive Dew Drop [my favorite color to distress edges with].

Now this card was for "Love Potion #9" - my version of a vintage Valentine. I had made this card larger for the Stamping 101 class that I teach, but I used BB patterned paper for the background. Since this is for the SnobbyStuckUpStampers Group, I just had to make my own background - I am only two months old in the group. On white cardstock, I stamped an Inkadinkado flourish with green pigment ink and embossed with clear EP. I learned that with this ink I was using, I had to apply powder, then stamp, then powder, so that the first couple of stamped images weren't dry by the time I applied the powder. So after attempting it a second time, perfection!!! Then I used my new stipple tool [that I became familiar with at a class I took with Joyce Brazen last weekend] to apply two different shades of red pigment ink. Then I used a wet paper towel to wipe the red off the embossed green [my DH thought this was neat] and Viola!!! Love it!!! The layered heart flourish is also Inkadinkado and was stamped with versamark on red cardstock four times then embossed with clear embossing powder.

Did I mention I spilled the embossing power everywhere and lost half of it? That's the risk I take with putting it in a paper plate - it easily is tipped onto the floor. ARRRGGGHHH!!!

Back to the hearts - I cut out each of the shapes, one full size, and the other three smaller following the detail of the stamp. Instead of layering with 3-d dots, I used some thin red craft foam cut to each shape and glued them together. No white, and no red hands from attempting to color them. Enjoy! Sb