Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Stop the presses.......

........I stamped a card! Waaahooooooo! I know its been a bit and I'm so sorry for that. Life has just been a wee bit busy and the first thing a lack of energy seems to zap, is my creativity. Grrr... Now, even though, I still feel as if I am a cat chasing her tail some days, I decided to craft some time for myself to ink up a stamp that I've had sitting out for awhile now. I absolutely love the detailed images of Mostly Animals stamps and this sunflower is from my stash from back in my early stamping days......about fifteen years ago.

Did you know that you can emboss with your Distress Inks?? Remembering hearing (okay, so I didn't hear it...I read it!) on the 2Peas stamping board (a couple of years ago) that you can emboss with Distress Inks, I thought it was about time I finally try it out for myself! Even though they are dye inks, they do stay wet long enough to pour on embossing powder and heat. Sooooooo....add another dozen ink colors for me to emboss with....yay! (There are way more than a dozen colors....but that's about the number that I own.) Does this add to your collection of colors to emboss with? Or are you an uber cool stamping encyclopedia and already have this knowledge incorporated into all those fun files in your brain?

Even though I had much more elaborate plans for this beautiful stamp, once I stamped and embossed her, I found that I liked the detailed line image so much that I chose to leave it as is. Wanting a bit of color on the card, I punched a trio of butterflies to flit up the card from some Stampin' Up! DSP left overs I had on my table, inked the edges with the same Distress Ink, folded them up, glued them on, and added a touch of bling for some sparkle. Actually, while the pic doesn't show it, there already is a bit of sparkle embossed into the image. Do you remember that orange glitter I had covering my old stash of embossing powder, glitter, and flocks? Well, there was a touch of it left on the rubber of my sunflower stamp that I absolutely could not get off.......until I stamped it on my card and then it was embossed in for a permanent home. Now, I'm really glad its there as for some reason, it just works!


Here's one more trip down memory lane..............back in May, I shared with you some wonderful Strawberry Charm of and from my sweet boy. Well, here is strawberry number four....kind of. That plant has flowered and fruited many times now. But, the noisy blue jays that visit us in our backyard every afternoon this year have been eating them all summer long!! My sweet boy got so excited every time he saw a "pretty white flower" because he knew that a strawberry that he planted, watered, and nurtured would follow that he could eat. We kept encouraging him to keep taking care of it and more would come. Well, either the blue jays found something more interesting to eat or the tomato cage with the reflective strips tied on is working or my sweet boy's timing has improved because he has been able to reap the benefits of his care taking as he harvests and eats the last four ripened strawberries from his charming strawberry plant. Now he wants to grow tomatoes, eggplants, lettuce, zucchinis, and a whole host of other fruits and vegetables!

Supplies:
Cardstock: Bashful Blue - Stampin' Up!
Patterned Paper: Stampin' Up!
Stamp: Sunflower - Mostly Animals
Ink: Tea Dye - Distress Ink
Punch: Butterflies - Martha Stewart
Other: clear embossing powder - Stash; Hemp Twine - Stampin' Up!; Bling - Me & My Big Ideas

22 comments:

  1. that is a great card Karen. Love it

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  2. Karen this is GREAT - I did NOT know that I could emboss with distress inks so I may just check that out. Beautiful card that is bold and yet soft.

    Thanks for your sweet comments on my card - I'll be happy to send some fall your way but you can keep the heat! We had one of the coldest summers on record which is JUST FINE with me - that's the ONLY reason I'm still looking for a couple more days of 80 (no more) and dry (not humid) weather.

    Hugs,
    Pam

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  3. Love the card Karen, fabulous job! How fun that your son is gardening and reaping the rewards of caring for his strawberries.

    Hugs to you!
    Karyn

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  4. I am going to have to make note of the distress ink tip and give it a try... did not know that! Thanks for the heads up! Love your card! That sunflower stamp is awesome!!

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  5. OH how awesome that you got some 'me stamp' time!!!!! Beautiful card!

    And, what a super mom that your little guy now has the gardening bug! You must be so so proud!

    xo

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  6. This is lovely Karen! I love your gorgeous embossed sunflower paired with the twne and butterflies. HOw very garden of you!

    and speaking of garden...congrats on the harvest. Everything is so slow in coming this summer that it's torture to wait. I can't wait to see what you all grow next year!

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  7. Hi Karen

    thanks for stoping by my blog and for your lovely comments. I'm glad I came here, your blog is fab and I'm absolutley loving the card down the page with the birds on (thanks a bunch in pink and red)

    Following you from now

    Victoria
    x

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  8. I love this card Karen. and how you made it a little rustic with the twine. simply beautiful! yummmmmm for strawberries! have a great day girly!

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  9. That is such a sweet story Karen! You need to document that somehow! So sweet.

    And this card is cute. You know I actually didn't know you could emboss with distress inks. I actually (shhh don't tell) don't use mine that much. Well not as much as I thought I would.

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  10. great card
    i love sunflowers
    they are a happy plant..
    there is such detail to that stamp!

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  11. A beautiful card like always, Karen! I love this clean and simple style though I feel I cannot master this kind of card. I hadn't the faintest clue that embossing could work with the distress inks - thanks for sharing :)
    That strawberry looks just yummy! Congrats to your little guy :) It seems like he's got the green thumb!

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  12. I adore your card. The image is gorgeous (I love sunflower images!) and I love that look you created by leaving the image uncolored.

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  13. Beautiful sunflower card! That strawberry looks delicious!

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  14. I love the stamped image Karen! It's a simple and elegant card....:)

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  15. What a beautiful card! I love the look of it!

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  16. Gorgeous card! I love how you let the stamp make such a statement but the butterflies are a perfect touch of color and interest.

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  17. Hi, Karen! That sunflower stamp is gorgeous! I can see why it hopped into your hands and came home with you! :-)

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  18. What a cute card! I love the butterflies! And that strawberry looks SO amazingly delicious!

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  19. Hi Karen,
    Thank you for your lovely comment on my halloween creations...I don't think we celebrate it nearly as much as you do across the pond which I think is a real shame.
    Your card is just stunning, what a fab image, and thank you for sharing your knowledge on embossing with distress inks, I didn't know you could do that!
    And that strawberry is begging to be eaten, it looks so delicious!
    Love Sarita xx

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  20. WHoo hoo, you did stamp, and very well I may add! I hav a thousand stamps sitting in my room and I'm too afraid to use them!
    Hey, go Seahawks!! Congrats! We'll see you next Sunday, lol!!!!!!!xoxo

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  21. Oh, Karen! Love your card, love your story, love being back in the world of bloggers! It has been a hectic few weeks (ok, months), but it's good to be back and to see you creating beautiful projects for me to drool over - both cards and strawberries!

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