High school chemistry meets stamp room

Hello!  We have a new scanner and I am still working out the kinks of uploading and editing.  This was done in the Paint application, so very basic editing capabilities. I think I managed to save a lot of white space along with the picture. My apologies for the crookedness. My old editing software had a straightening function, which this one doesn't.

A friend of mine asked for some custom thank you cards, including one for a techie sort of fellow. I don't have any techie stamps, so I went with a science theme instead.  I figured that a techie person would have taken at least some science courses. Just like crafty people tend to like lots of different crafts. Also, I have been watching a lot of Big Bang Theory, and if Sheldon & Co are anything to go by, people like that appreciate any science-related effort at all from muggles.

So, here we have it.  I started by swiping some Izink pigment ink on a piece of marl paper using a baby wipe (colours: cactus, bamboo, turquoise, iris, topaz). Then, I used a bubbly Dylusions stencil to rub in some different shades of gelatos for my molecules.  Once I had a pleasing arrangement of little happy atoms, I connected them using a ruler (!) and the writing tip of a beige Tombow marker.  I kept adding lines and atoms until it looked nice and moleculey.  Next, I stamped the periodic table (Indigo Blu) with Versafine Onyx Black ink and added some framing lines with a black pen and ruler.  I adhered the panel to black linen, and then to a teal card base, which I edged in Tide Pool shadow ink (Hero Arts). For the sentiment, I stamped the same image on white paper and cut out the various letters. Unfortunately, no one has decided to abbreviate any elements with just the letter A.  There are lots of A-somethings, so I picked one and painted over the extra letter with opaque white Copic ink.  I added some other splotches of the white on the other letters to make it look more grungy, and less obvious.  I guess "cooking my results" like that will prohibit this effort from successful peer review, but it could never be successfully replicated either.  It will have to be a one-time experiment!  I found some great dotted scrapbook paper in my stash, a bit grungy with different coloured circles of different sizes. It made the perfect envelope!

I hope this techie person likes it!  I am pleased with the result and can see myself enjoying using this periodic table stamp from time to time.  It brings back memories of high school and Mr Taylor, my high school chemistry teacher.  I can see that classroom perfectly in my mind's eye, with the green chalkboards on two walls, the rows of lab benches at the back, the fume cupboard and sinks, and the bunsen burners and the smells of all the different things we'd make.  I did enjoy chemistry quite a bit.
How about you?  Any fond memories of high school?

Jake's birthday card

Hello!  No, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, I have just had a bit of a dry spell in the stamp room.  I've done some knitting, and reading, and some Bible art journalling, but not a lot of stamping.  However, when a special boy turns 10, I had to get inky!

I used the My Favorite Things combination set of letters and cutting die (Vanity License Plate) to make the focal panel.  It's stamped in Deep Lagoon Fluid Chalk Ink and I added the top and bottom words with some snap-together letter stamps. I also edged the license plate with some coordinating Copic marker (BG97 I think) I inked it with versamark (should have heat set first - it smudged - grr) and embossed with several layers of ultra think embossing enamel (UTEE).  It's very shiny and looks like a brand new license plate.  The various accent layers are from the Wander collection (BasicGrey) and all the papers are edged in Memories Art Print Brown. I used my corner rounding punch (small) to round the edges of the main panel to go with the rounded edges of the license plate.  The card base is Crushed Curry (Stampin' Up).  I felt the card needed an accent of some sort, so I fussy-cut some little cars and a bus from a scrap of paper and popped them up, and brushed them with clear Wink of Stella.  I don't think it made the card too girly for Jake.

It was fun to get back into the stamp room.  I will have to clean it up and get back there more regularly.  I felt a bit rusty making this and I miss my ink and rubber! I think what it is is that my job has gotten very interesting in the last year and I have been really engaged and interested there, which has meant that I am more tired when I get home and needing less to "fill up" my "contentedness reservoir" with stamping.  Not a bad reason, I suppose!  It's nice to feel like I enjoy my job.

The other thing that happened in our household that has taken priority in a good way is this little fellow.  Introducing Finnegan!  He's a shih tzu-cocker spaniel mix and we got him on Labour Day weekend when he was 11 months old.  He's a full-time cutie and part-time criminal mastermind, specializing in aerial acrobatics and petty thievery. He has stolen all our hearts and we can't imagine how we ever got by without him. This is a picture of him from the fall, when he really loved roaring around the backyard and jumping in and out of leaf piles.  He would do big laps and sail off the top step of the deck (top of three shallow steps, don't worry) into an enormous pile of maple leaves.

Sympathy Card

Hello!  A friend asked me to make a sympathy card, and this is the result.  The main panel is sponged with Distress Inks (Scattered Straw,Victorian Velvet, Seedless Preserves, Chipped Sapphire and a tiny bit of Black Soot) on very smooth cream cardstock.  Next, I misted a pretty damask background stamp (Hero Arts) with with water and "stamped" it on the distress ink.  It gives a very pretty, subtle effect, and the more ink you have applied, the more striking the effect is.  I heat set the panel before embossing, and stamped the flower (Penny Black) in black pigment ink and embossed it in black.  Where possible, I like to use the same colour of ink to stamp as emboss in case there are any gaps in the embossing powder.  Of course with semi-opaque and translucent powders you can use other colours for interesting effects too...but that will be a project for another day!  I added a few impressions of the same flower in Chipped Sapphire as well as a border stamp (Stampers Anonymous - Tim Holtz) on the bottom in Wild Honey.  The card base is Naturals Ivory (Stampin' Up) and the accent strips are two shades of purple (an eggplant, and Stampin' Up's Rich Razzleberry).  The eggplant strip has the same damask print stamp used with Hero Arts shadow ink in Raspberry Jam.  I like these inks for stamping on dark cardstock because they are semi-opaque, like chalk inks, and you see the colour interactions.  A pinkish dye ink would get lost on the dark purple, but the Shadow inks sit on top and add a luminosity to the paper that appeals to me.  To finish it off, I added three dots of Adirondack Liquid Pearls in Eggplant.  They went disastrously wrong so the whole effort had to be peeled off the card base and applied to a new card base and more care and attention applied to the squeezing and placing of the dots.

Thanks for stopping by!

Birthday butterflies

Hello!  It's been a while - sorry for the absence.  I have been quilting lately more than stamping and I've also been knitting up a storm.  I've discovered the tremendous pleasures of knitting socks, and the even greater pleasure of wearing them.

Here is a card I made recently for a birthday celebration this week.  It's an Artful Stamper image, stamped and embossed in gold.  There is a bit Art Institute Glitter in the embossing powder, which gives it an extra twinkle.  Not too much, but just enough.  The butterflies are coloured with Tombows and blended with a paintbrush.  I've accented with Stickles (speaking of - there are new colours coming out!  so exciting!). The image is matted on brushed gold (should have used my perfect layers tool - doh!) and elegant eggplant.  The blue accent strip is one that was lying on my desk, waiting for this card to be created.  The card base is a 5 1/2" square in cherry cobbler.  The accent dots are Stream Adirondack liquid pearls.  I've placed the leaf so that it will be guaranteed to fold in a card (doh!) or require an enormously oversized card. These are things that could be avoided with some advance planning, but I don't stamp that way.  I normally just pick a stamp, and start there, building the card as I go.  I tend not to have a final "vision" in mind.  How about you?  How do you approach designing your cards?

Thanks for stopping by.

Snowy scene Christmas card

Hello!  Here's a card I made last night when my mother came over for a stamping evening.  I had been experimenting with this stamp (Hero Arts) with different ink and paper combinations, trying a lot of different blues, mostly in chalk inks.  I settled on this one, in Blackbird Colorbox Fluid Chalk, stamped on Whisper White (Stampin' Up) and matted on silver mirror cardstock. I added a sentiment (Cornish Heritage Farms), embossed in silver. The card base is Basic Black, with a Brushed Silver accent strip.  There are some of the stars accented with Diamond stickles, but when I make this again, I will use Stardust.  Diamond has a hint of gold that isn't quite right here.

I know it's early to be thinking about Christmas cards, but I usually make them in batches over the summer holiday and I didn't this year, so I am feeling behind.  This card is a good candidate for a big batch - quick and easy but great results.  The secret here is to use a stamping mat to get a good impression.  Also, Sauron the Scanner is pointing out to me that the card would also benefit from a stamp positioner.  I don't often bother, but for a big batch, it would probably be worth it for the sentiment.

Can you believe it's September already?  I had a great vacation this summer and I hope you did too.  What are your plans for Christmas cards this year?  Do you send them?  Do you make them?

Magazine giveaway

Hello!  I have gone through some of my stamping magazines and would like to make room for future new ones. Would anyone local like to give them a new home?  If you'd like them and you're not local, you'd need to be willing to pay shipping (or for me to visit and bring them with me!).  They are mostly Scrap and Stamp Arts, a few Stampers' Sampler/Take Ten and a couple of Paper Crafts.  Leave me a comment and let me know if you would like an armload of stamping magazines!

Thank you teacher #4

Hello! Happy Canada Day!  Here's another thank you card for teachers.  I started with a sheet of paper that some time ago I had spritzed and sprayed with Dylusions ink in shades of pink and red.  Quite often I make extra when I have my spray station in operation.  (My spray station is the top of the deep freeze in the furnace room, so it can't be a permanent fixture.) I also like to mop up the extra colour with scrap paper and keep it on hand for future projects.

Once I had selected my Dylusion-y paper, I chose this wonderful negative image poppy stamp from Hero Arts.  I stamped it in Blackbird fluid chalk ink (Colorbox) because I wanted a very juicy ink, but also the detail of a dye rather than a pigment.  I also didn't want to emboss it in this case.  I trimmed it out, mounted it on some black then spent quite a bit of time auditioning card bases for it.  This is the part I always find trickiest, because some papers wash out the vibrant colours and neutrals can be too stark a contrast.  I often find that Japanese tsumugi paper is the answer, as it seems to be richly coloured enough to balance out the intensity of the Dylusions.  This card base is a lovely warm smoked paprika colour.  (I got mixed packs of notecards at my local art store - Wallacks, but if you can't source it in your local store, check out The Japanese Paper Place - they have links to retail locations and on-line sellers too.)  To finish off the card, I added a few dots of Black Diamond stickles to the poppies with centres showing.

Do you have any plans for Canada Day?  I will be making strawberry jam (how is that patriotic?  it's red and makes use of the wonderful berries that are at their peak locally) and watching World Cup soccer.  And quilting.  Fun day!

Thanks for stopping by!

Thank you teachers #3

Hello!  Here's another thank you card I made, using the same techniques described in this post.  I really like the shimmery Lumiere paint with the wooden stamps (green accent strip).  I learned this watercolor technique on the On-line watercolour class I took recently and tried it with the Stampin' Up watercolor wonder crayons.  Easy and fun!  The trick is to wait until the adjacent areas are dry so you don't get too much "running".  Also, use minimal layering of colour as the crayons are more opaque than regular watercolour paints and you can cover up some of the subtlety you might be trying to get.

Thanks for stopping by!  Hope you get a chance to do some stamping/painting today.

Thank you teachers! #2

Hello!  Here's another thank you card I made for the teachers this year.  I had a pretty stamped and painted panel on hand, along with a pretty strip of background paper, also on hand.  A quick arrangement and some foam mounting tape, a Not Quite Navy card base and the thank you card was done!

Now, more about the "on hand".  My mother and I have been getting together for stamping sessions on Tuesday evenings and last Tuesday we were at her house trying out some wonderful handcarved wooden stamps.  We were using them with Jacquard paints to stamp on fabric, but I had some leftover paint  on my transfer surface (aka yogurt lid!) and I couldn't bring myself to wash it away.  There were some scraps of pretty sage green around so I used up the rest of the paint stamping on those.  The delicate shimmer is just lovely, I think.

After we were done with the fabric experiment, we moved on to trying out Stampin' Up's watercolour wonder crayons.  These are watersoluble pigment sticks, not sure if Stampin' Up still sells them or not.  Anyway, I stamped this nice poppy (Stampendous) and embossed it in black.  For the background, I coloured directly on the paper with some soft greys and blues and added some darker ones in the corner, then blended with a wet brush.  These crayons are semi-opaque, so that is something to remember when adding additional colour.  (This is different from using regular watercolour paints.)  When it came to the flowers, I just lifted the colour directly from the crayon with a wet brush and layered up from lightest to darkest, starting with yellows, going to orange and then red and burgundy.  The final step was to add in some Distress Ink in Iced Spruce to cover up the big orange blob on the background, obtained by stacking two poppy panels that were not quite dry.  Oops.  You can blot away some of the pigment, but not all....

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you have a good weekend.  I plan to keep having an excellent weekend.  Yesterday included a trip to Foster Family Farm in North Gower for some baskets of fresh strawberries (delicious!!) and an outing to see the Royal Canadian Mounted Police musical ride in the evening.  I have seen it many times and it is always wonderful.  Not sure what we'll be doing on Canada Day (July 1), but something fun I hope! I will also need to turn some of those wonderful berries into freezer jam, as well as a splurge on strawberry shortcake :-)

Thank you teachers!

Hello!  It's that time of year when I need a slew of thank you cards for teachers.  I had this little panel done for another card and decided not to use it. It's a Memory Box stamp, inked with Tombow markers and stamped over a scrap of paper that I used to blot up extra ink after a wrinkle-free distress technique.  I added little eyes to the birds and added blue stickles for embellishment.  The panel has a dark brown mat, and is popped up on a pale blue note card (also Memory Box).  I see that I had on some previous occasion inked the edges of the notecard with Ice Blue fluid chalk ink.  The sentiment is by A Muse, I believe.

Four more thank you cards to go - but I'll save those for another post.

Are you enjoying local strawberries?  We are, and off to pick some for jam this weekend. We even get some free, as members of our Community Supported Agriculture program.  What a great way to start veggie box season!

Thanks for stopping by.

Watercoloured Poppies

Hello! Here's a card I made with a technique shown in the On-Line Watercolour class I've been taking.  I was lucky enough to have a weekend of stamping with a great friend and we had a wonderful time playing in the stamp room.  I really wanted to try this techinque and my friend had the Sheena Douglass poppy stamp, which was perfect for the technique.  You can find great inspiration and instructional vidoes on Sanketi's blog here.  The top card was my first effort and the bottom card was my second attempt.  I like them both, but I like the composition in the second one better.  I also stamped the leaves in green, which makes for a softer look I think.  For the colour medium, I used a Windsor and Newton student watercolour set.  The sentiments are stamped in yellow pigment ink and embossed with Sahara Pearl (Many thanks - Stampin' Up; Happy Birthday  josephinekimberling for Impress Rubber Stamps).
This was a wonderful techinque to try and I had so much fun making these.  I have a Sheena Douglass sweet pea set that I want to try next.  I just couldn't get off the poppy kick.  I made two other watercolour technique cards, but will post them another day.  I need to dash and get ready for a special evening service at church tonight.  Thanks for stopping by!

Mother's Day card and Watercolour Class Day 1

Here's the card I made for Mother's Day, using the vibrant backgrounds technique from the on-line class I'm taking (see sidebar).  I used Dylusions for the background in the new colours.  The flower stamp and background are from Penny Black and the sentiment is from Stampin' Up. This was a fun technique - masking with masking fluid and adding colour around the image.  I would like to try more of these with different watercolour media.  The masking fluid makes masking smaller areas much easier than trying to use masking film or paper masks.  Good times!

Thanks for stopping by.

Watercolour Class Day 4

Hello!  Here's a card I made using the Stamps Specifically for Watercolor technique in the On-line Watercolor class (link in sidebar).  I used a Stampin' Up two-step stamping set and Distress markers for the ink.  I sponged on some coordinating colours at the end and matted it on black.  I found a few coordinating scraps of paper for a quick and easy layout and it feels done.  I am thinking about adding some rock candy distress stickles to the main image, which would give it a bit of texture, but it might overpower the soft shimmer in the lavender piece.  I think I might just leave it as-is!

Thanks for stopping by.

Watercolour Class Day 1 - another project

Here's a sample I did for the Vibrant Watercolor Wash technique in the On-line Watercolor class I'm taking (link on sidebar).  I used Distress markers and the paper is white shimmer.  The stamp is one of Fred B. Mullett's stamps from nature prints, and the sentiment is Stampotique.  The stamps are embossed in black, except on the notecard (Memory Box in squash), which are stamped in Soft Olive (Hero Arts Shadow ink).  I love this technique and will try it again.  It is really quick and easy.  I am enjoying this class so far, and learning new things, which is always fun.

Watercolour Class Day 1 - Second Post

I am re-posting this one so I can load it into the class gallery.  It only lets me link to one picture for each blog post. It might be something I'm doing wrong, but I don't have time (or inclination) to figure it out right now so I am doing this work around.

My second card also features the same technique - painting through a stencil (The Crafter's Workshop Mini Fish Scales). I stamped this lovely heron and grass cluster (both Old Island Stamp Company) and applied some different Distress Inks with a colour duster brush.  (It's fun to play in someone else's stamp room - you get to try all sorts of things!) The cardbase is stamped with a linen background stamp (Stampin' Up) using Dark Peony Colorbox Fluid Chalk ink for a wonderful effect like Kaffe Fassett's shot cottons. It's a gorgeous effect and it did look like the shot cotton fabric (warp and weft threads are different colours). I will be using this technique again (and again and again!).


I didn't have time to try the other two techniques, but they are ones I have done before.  This one was new to me and it was a lot of fun.

Thanks for stopping by!

On-Line Watercolour Class Day 1 - First Post

 Hello!  I signed up for the On-Line Watercolor Class (see button on the right-hand sidebar).  The first class was yesterday and we learned about different watercolour backgrounds.  I was at my mother's house for a stamping visit and thought I would try out a couple of the techniques.

The top card features watercolour paint applied through a stencil (Memory Box Style No. 88515).  Once that was dry, I sponged Vintage Photo Distress ink on it and sponged a bit through the stencil.  Then I overstamped it with a text stamp (sorry I don't remember which one).  The sentiment (Stampin' Up) is is matted on some dark brown and mustard cardstock and accented with some stamped flowers (Stampin' Up). The card base is burgundy with a textured accent strip. I used a student-sized palette of Windsor and Newton's watercolour paints.

The bottom card also features the same technique - painting through a stencil (The Crafter's Workshop Mini Fish Scales). I stamped this lovely heron and grass cluster (both Old Island Stamp Company) and applied some different Distress Inks with a colour duster brush.  (It's fun to play in someone else's stamp room - you get to try all sorts of things!) The cardbase is stamped with a linen background stamp (Stampin' Up) using Dark Peony Colorbox Fluid Chalk ink for a wonderful effect like Kaffe Fassett's shot cottons. It's a gorgeous effect and it did look like the shot cotton fabric (warp and weft threads are different colours). I will be using this technique again (and again and again!).

I didn't have time to try the other two techniques, but they are ones I have done before.  This one was new to me and it was a lot of fun.

Thanks for stopping by!

Thank you card

Hello! Here's a card I made last night.  I made it for a lovely lady at work who has recently been to Japan for a vacation.  When I found out she was going, I told her how much I love the decorative Japanese paper.  She offered to send me some if she came across any during her travels if I paid for the paper and the postage.  Well, this offer could not be turned down and sure enough, one day a box arrived in the mail covered in Japanese writing!  How exciting - there were some lovely treasures in there and somehow knowing it came directly from Japan made it all the more special.  So, this card, made with some of that very paper, will be her thank you card on her return to the office today.

I started with this lovely stamped image (The Stamp Barn), stamped on watercolor marl using a blue Versafine ink (plus a bit of Memento for the red).  I added some shading with pencil crayons as it was a bit too stark otherwise.  The card base is tsumugi card stock (from a package of notecards in assorted colours - all lined with pretty mulberry tissue and complete with envelopes - I got them at Wallacks and The Papery).  The dark blue accent paper was also in the package of patterned paper (each piece of patterned paper had a coordinating solid - now if only quilting fabric assortments came that way too!).  I edged the green paper with Blue Iris Colorbox Fluid Chalk Ink and added some Red Pepper Adirondack liquid pearls for accent.  I see Sauron the scanner has highlight the downward slope of the accent strip for me so I have gently pried it off on that side and fixed it. I think the package she sent me is handmade patterned yuzen paper in origami squares.  I don't know how to do origami, so I hope I am not committing some outrageous faux pas in cutting it up for other purposes.  Somehow I think not- this is still a respectful and appreciative use of something beautifully made in an ancient art form.

If you can't find pretty Japanese paper at your local art store or your local specialty paper shop, you can find it through The Japanese Paper Place. This link will take you to re-sellers by country and on-line.

Thanks for stopping by !

Birthday Bird

 Hello!  Here's a card I made for my dad's birthday.  I had been mulling over different card options (masculine cards are so tricky, aren't they) and nothing was really coming to mind. I did a few trials of a stamped image on inky paper and it wasn't really "coming together".  Then, that wonderful mysterious creative inspiration came into my head - what about a blobby bird card?  Hmm...what about a karate bird!  So I sketched one on my scrap paper and it was so cute.  Probably the cutest one - that's always how it is - the first sketch is the best. Anyway, that bird was just standing there and karate is really about the movement, isn't it.  So I thought, what about the bird breaking a board (pretty impressive to see your dad breaking a board with his bare hands).  So I drew the bird breaking a board.  Then more of that wonderful mysterious creative inspiration came into my head - the bird shouldn't be breaking a board, he should be karate chopping a birthday cake!  So I redrew it again, this time with a birthday cake.  Like usual, I watercoloured the image with Tombow markers and accented the picture with Stickles (Cranberry for the icing, Yellow for the flames, and some Black Diamond for the belt -ssh probably not regulation Shotokan black!)

I mounted the image on Night of Navy paper, then matted it on some citron (precious hoarded citron, only for special occasions like a father's birthday), then arranged some Basic Grey patterned paper (from the June Bug collection).  The sentiment (Papertrey Ink) is stamped in Blue Iris Color Box Fluid Chalk ink.  The paper is all edged in Hero Arts Wet cement (sentiment also edged in Blue Iris).

The second picture is the inside of the card, with some scraps of the paper from the outside on it.  I added an inside panel so that the writing would be easier to contend with on a navy card.  The sentiment on the inside is one of Heather's Stamping Haven stamps (should be available from Frog's Whiskers Ink if you are looking for it), and is stamped in Blue Iris ink too.  I liked this for a birthday stamp - and it's very suitable for this particular recipient (and probably sender too!).

Thank you for stopping by!  Hope you got some time to stamp this weekend too!

Fredly Feather

Hello!  I had a few stolen moments this evening and a few minutes' quiet time at my stamp table seemed the perfect way to decompress after a long day and tiring commute.  I thought I might sift through my stash of pre-cut card projects from my days as a Stampin' Up demonstrator.  I have a few of these around, leftover from classes or workshops.  Well, the intended project is lost to the mists of time, but it's fun to think of something else.  Actually, I think this project was from a Father's Day card workshop from years ago and I think this one was some sort of sunset safari scene.  I no longer have those stamps, but I was inspired by this piece of glossy cardstock to get out my brayer and a multicolour ink pad (Winter Sky - Adirondack ink pad from Ranger) and add some colour.  The colours have run together somewhat, so I added some extra green in the way of Oregano (Adirondack from Ranger) at the bottom.  Because these are all dye inks, they were dry in no time and ready to be stamped on.  I wanted a solid image I could emboss and what better place to turn than my drawer of Fred B. Mullett's stamps from nature prints.  I chose this beautiful feather and embossed it with Hematite, Liquid Platinum and a bit of Antique Gold at the top.  It's on a True Thyme card base with a scrap of some sort of patterned paper that happened to be on my stamp desk at my finger tips (despite a massive tidy last week).  It was meant to be on this card I guess!  The card base is stamped with a script background stamp from Stampers Anonymous, also stamped in Oregano ink.  I edged the pieces of cardstock with that same Oregano ink.  I thought this card might be suitable for a masculine birthday or a sympathy card so I have left it unglittered (if you don't count the little bit of white gold glitter in my gold embossing powder - a great tip from Heather Hayley).

This went together so quickly I think I might see what else is in that drawer of "ripening" projects.  I'm sure there are some treasures waiting to be stamped.  Why don't you have a rummage in your scraps and make a quick card.  It can be fun to see what you can make with just a few things you might have on hand.

Happy stamping!

Shabby Chic - CASE

Hello!  Here's a card I made, inspired by Nina B Designs here.  I loved her cards - the shabby chic feel was so pretty, and the soft colours and the beautiful stamps.  I didn't have any of the stamps she used, so I had to improvise (and add them to my wish list!).  I used a large flower stamp from Stampin' Up for the background, stamped in Hero Arts Soft Pink.  Then I added solid leafy stamp at the top (Stamping Bella) and the border stamp at the bottom (Papertrey Ink).  These were embossed in Seafoam white before sponging the card with Antique Linen, Vintage Photo and Victorian Velvet.  The ribbon is silk, from my stash and the dotted accents on the border are Orchid liquid pearls.  The main image is matted on kraft, then vanilla, and the card base is a pretty pinky purple from Papertrey Ink, and is stamped with the same flower as the background. Sauron the Scanner squashed the ribbon, but in real life it has a nice lively bounce to it.

Well, I'd better sign off for the evening.  I have to get to bed - I have two very special stampers coming over tomorrow morning for a stamping playdate!  I can't wait.  I've cleaned off my stamp table to make room for visitors and tried to remind myself where everything is.  I have my stamps in all different places, paper in all different places, it's a bit of a crazy system but it's a combination of where things will fit and what things I need to keep separate, etc.  Also, the time I spend looking for stuff helps remind me of what things I have, so I find that helpful.  And enjoyable.  It's not the sort of stamp room that someone super-organized would like.  If you are the kind of person that files your stamp according to the Library of Congress system, then you would be horrified and/or baffled by my system: Stampin' Up boxes in one cupboard, other wood mounts in a drawer cabinet.  Cling stamps hanging by clips, in binders, in Tupperware boxes, in DVD cases, in more Tupperware boxes, in a vintage metal card catalogue.  You get the idea.  The cling stamps are the wild card, but also the most fun to rifle through.

Thanks for stopping by!  Hope you get some time to stamp this weekend too.