Life begins after coffee

I went into the craft room today to make a birthday card for a young man, a 30 year old man and this isn't a card for a young man. Sometimes creativity just takes over and decides what is going to be made and today that is exactly what happened.

I pulled out some of my older stamps. The coffee set is a Clearly Besotted set I've had at least 5 years. The bird is a stamp I've had even longer. A friend of mine and I went to a rubber stamp show about 7 or 8 years ago and we each purchased a grab bag of unmounted rubber stamps from Victorine Originals. I think they have merged with Raisin Boat stamps and is now SumMore Fun stamps.

The papers in this card are from Pink and Main and came from their new release. The papers just spoke to me.

I stamped the mugs in Pink and Main inks, street light and stop sign. And I die cut them with the coordinating die.

I hand cut the edge of a piece of kraft cardstock and then ink blended distress oxide frayed burlap ink on cardstock without reinking my foam, I just used the ink remaining from the last time I used that foam. I added some white pen dot detail as well as some gold dot detail with my gel pens for a little bit of interest. Then I used a versamark pen and heat embossed the edge with WOW white puff embossing powder.

I used asphalt ink by Pink and Main for the coffee steam and the birds but I used second generation stamping to get a much lighter image. I thought it made the birds look like they were far in the distance.

I placed the cups on the weathered wood "table" and stamped the sentiment in the same Pink and Main Asphalt ink but first generation so it was very bold. I didn't want to introduce black on this card because I thought it would be too bold.

I used two Copic markers to fill the cups with coffee, E57 & E59 because you have to have coffee in the cups...

I love this scene and wish I could find this beach. I'd love to sit and watch the waves crash on the shore while drinking out of one of these adorable mugs.

Day 7 and just an image

I colored. That is all I accomplished today. Between all the little people pooping on the floor, spitting up, needing snacks, changing diapers, filling sippy cups, and, and, and... it is 11pm and I finally got a second to color a thing!

I needed it too!!!

Day 6 and I felt like Dory!

Have you seen that movie, the one where the blue fish continues to say Just keep swimming... ?

This card was my keep swimming moment of the week, for sure!

I embossed the image on white bristol smooth cardstock. I had envisioned water coloring these flowers with sepia tones. I did what I thought would have accomplished just that but, it did not look nice at all. I almost threw this card panel away. I never do that, but I almost did.

I got up from the craft desk and did some housework and went back to it. I figured I could splatter brown and gold splats on the image and maybe that would help. NOPE, still hated it.

I got out a stamp set that has splatters and swatches you can stamp so it looks random but it really is controlled... I stamped that on the image. STILL HATED IT!

I left it alone for a little while and did more housework. When I went back to my desk I actually picked it up to throw it away and then decided, to ink blend over it because maybe it would help. I thought it couldn't hurt. I was ready to throw it out anyway. So I ink blended distress oxide inks over the entire panel, image and all. AND... it looked like leather. I actually sort of liked it.

I decided to stamp a sentiment and then use those zig clean color real brush markers to add some deeper color inside the sentiment letters.

I layered the panel onto a piece of gold tonic cardstock and then onto dark brown.

I love how this ended up. It looks so regal and beautiful and stunning and warm and I was so excited to share it. 

Moral of the story for day 6 of this coloring challenge, keep swimming, that blue fish has it right.

Coloring without coloring on Day 5

What a neat concept, to color without actually coloring. My Favorite Things makes this set called abstract art, many companies make similar sets which consist of scribbles, paint brush swipes, spots, dots and splatters.

I stamped the image, Simon Says Stamp's beautiful flowers across two card panels of Strathmore Bristol Smooth cardstock. And I heat embossed it with ultra fine gold embossing powder.

I die cut the panel out with a Mama Elephant stitched rectangle from the Basic Set Dies. Then I simply stamped the large scribble from the MFT stamp set over the image, twisted citron for the leaves and spun sugar for the flowers.

The sentiment was heat embossed in the same gold embossing powder and it is from a Pretty Pink Posh stamp set called simple sayings Courage. I felt like the line style matched this stamped image so well.

I layered it on a piece of Tonic Gold Pearl Satin finish cardstock. I then mounted the matted panel to a piece of Bazzill Guava Sensation cardstock, which is an excellent match to the spun sugar distress oxide, and then onto another piece of the gold pearl cardstock.

I know I used a lot of products to make what seems like a super simple card, but I think it turned out really pretty and in just a few minutes I had a very beautiful card, in my opinion.

That completed day 5 of the coloring challenge for me.

Day 4 and some Deer

Today I made a super quick card. I die cut this deer silhouette landscape scene from some lawn fawn licorice cardstock.

I ink blended three distress oxide inks in mustard seed,  spiced marmalade, and broken china on a piece of Simon Says white cardstock.

I heat embossed the sentiment from a Simon Says stamp set in the lower right corner in white embossing powder. I layered the die cut over the ink blended panel and adhered it to a white card base. 

Today is day 4 of the 30 day coloring challenge. Did you color today?

A Shore thing and Day 3

Today, I had the opportunity to sneak a few minutes in of some crafty time. I am still working through the Pink and Main Crafty Courtyard card kit. I'm working on creating as many cards as possible with these kits to make them worth the cost because it is hard for me to justify the monthly fees for these kits if I can't make a bunch of cards with them. 

These are the three cards I'm choosing to share today. All different but all using this kit. I think being able to create entirely different feeling cards from one kit makes this one a real winner.

This seashell card was actually the last of the three that I made today. It was made up of extras. I had this panel die cut and these left over shells from the other shell card I made. The only thing I had to do was stamp and watercolor the sentiment strip and adhere everything together on a Tonic Studio honey gold panel. So pretty and delicate looking. I finished it off with some of the PnM rose gold gems. STUNNING!

The second card features this amazing light house. I masked the stamped image and ink blended the background panel with some stormy sky distress ink and a honey bee stamps stencil. I layered everything onto some heavy weight cardstock and adhered the panels to the card base. I cut my sentiment stamp (GASP!) so it fit on the wooden planks of the patterned paper, tied a piece of the brown twine to the panel and added a few knots for a nautical look.

A little glossy accents on the light of the light house finished this card. I adore the color combination of this kit and this card.

The final card for the day is something I never thought I'd create. I dry embossed the circle with the embossing folder that came in the kit, Darice's sunrays. I used some abandoned coral and squeezed lemonade distress ink. I masked off the circle with a piece of post it tape I cut a freehand wave pattern from and ink blended the water, broken china and chipped sapphire distress oxide.

I masked off the water and inked up the sand with antique linen distress oxide. I added some water splatters to the image and let them sit and picked the water up with  my towel. And I mounted the circle to a deep gray/ blue cardstock. I heat embossed the sentiment on the water in the little scene with white embossing powder.

I heat embossed the shells with gold embossing powder and water colored with zig clear color markers in pink flamingo and tea rose and blended the color out with the blender pen. I layered these shells on the edge of the circle.

I finished this card off with some spectrum noir sparkle pen, flat back gems, a gold Love from Lizi peel-off and some pattern papers from the paper pad. I popped the circle and shells up on foam mounting tape and tucked those gems in to add more sparkle.

Today was day three of the 30 day coloring challenge by the daily marker.

Day 2 and a Ship in a Bottle

 Today was day 2 of the 30 day challenge from The Daily Marker.

I chose to use this adorable ship in a bottle image from Pink and Main to create this card. I colored the image with Copic markers, my coloring medium of choice.

The layers are created with the patterned paper in the Shore 6x6 paper pad that also came in the card kit.

I fussy cut the image and added glossy accents to the portholes.

A Simon Says Stamp stitched banner die was used for the sentiment which I heat embossed in Navy Embossing Powder from Ranger.

June Pink and Main Unboxing and a 30 Day

Today, Kathy Rakusen has started her 30 day coloring challenge. Her philosophy is that  10 minutes a day of coloring can melt the stress away and I'm not sure I don't agree. I have always found coloring to be my therapy. I'll leave the link to her blog below so you can participate in the 30 day challenge yourself!

I have been trying to get into my craft room daily but sometimes that just isn't in the cards. And with that, inspiration can sometimes be hard to come by. The past 4 months I've been subscribed to Pink and Main's new subscription box and it has been a really good inspiration point. Although, it does not help with finding time to craft. If someone would sell a box with extra time in it, I'm sure I'd sign up for that!

The new Pink and Main Courtyard box arrived today. And as always there are things I'd reach for over and over again and some things that are a stretch for me and my style of card making. Which makes these boxes a real exercise in stretching my skills.

I don't have a video capable setup yet so my unboxing is done with photos this month. I hope to be video capable by next month.

 The kit always comes in this adorable pink box. And to protect this fun box, it was packaged in a postal envelope. So now I will feel terrible about tossing it in the trash so it may have to become my June splat box for now.

Once opened everything is packaged in tissue paper, as always. And if you wanted to, you could use this tissue paper in your monthly projects because it does coordinate.






The themed postcard with info about the month's theme and what is inside the box. On one side there is this awesome anchor image and on the other side is the color theme, name of the monthly collection and the contents of the kit.

Everything but the cardstock is enclosed in this zip top pouch. I believe the dimensions are 8 1/2 x 11". I love these to hold my projects in progress.

These are the embellishments inside the kit, buttons, gems, sequins, twine and the wooden pieces. Some of these are things I'd reach for over and over, and others are things I'd normally not use. We will see how this works out for me this month, will I or won't I reach for them???





 These two items are in my wheelhouse for sure. Embossing folder and embossing powder. I love how this folder could be sun rays from the sun to the ground or sun rays below the water. And this embossing powder is really pretty. Very nautical in color.




The 6x6 paper pad, Colored cardstock and stamp set are the items I'm most excited for. These papers are so beautiful. Gender neutral, nautical, they read textural but are smooth. I can see them adding a lot to my cards. The cardstocks all coordinate and the light kraft one has an embossed polkadot texture to it. I'm excited to see what I can create with this kit.

 This stamp set is the item I was most excited about. Look at that ship in the bottle! I've got so many ideas for this set. And as of now it is sitting on my work desk waiting to be used.

  So back to this 30 day coloring challenge. I did a little coloring today on some fish, of all things. Yesterday I posted a quick video clip of a technique called glazing done with copic markers. Today I finished coloring those images and created three cards.

Here is a photo of the finished coloring. Three cards were created, all similar but different. One has a fish hook in its mouth, another is on a wobble and the third is simply colored and highlighted with glossy accents.

For additional information on the daily marker 30 day challenge, please feel free to check out the Facebook page, Facebook group or the daily marker blog all linked below.



Daily Marker Facebook Page

Daily Marker Facebook Group


The Daily Marker

As always, if you are interested in seeing what other cards I've created, you are welcome to check out our online store at www.delaneyjanecards.com