Rain, Rain, Go Away!

The card that I am sharing today is pretty simple, but I used a watercolor technique that I thought would be fun to show you.

1. Cut ColorMates Smooth Black cardstock to make a 5 x 5-inch card. 

2. Tape a plastic stencil to a piece of ColorMates Smooth White cardstock. Using pearlescent watercolor paints, paint a thin layer of color over the stencil. (I ended up using a foam brush to get the coverage I wanted.)

3. Remove the stencil and wipe it clean. Use a heat tool to dry the paper. You now have a sheet of polka dot background paper!

4. Trim the polka dot paper to slightly smaller than the card front and wrap with ribbon. Attach to the card.

4. Use die cut templates to create the banner and umbrella. I used Elan Metallics Spectral Blue, and Petallics Sky Pilot and Black Ore cardstock. Attach the banner and umbrella as shown.

5. Stamp sentiment onto ColorMates Smooth Black cardstock with white ink. Emboss with white embossing powder. 

6. Cut out the sentiment with a label die cut template. While the paper is still in the template, trace around the inside edge with a white pen.

7. Attach the sentiment to the card with foam tape.

8. Tie a bow with ribbon and add it to the card. Top with a button and some twine.

9. Use black dye ink to stamp a sentiment onto ColorMates Smooth White cardstock.

10. Repeat the watercolor technique on the right edge of the paper. Add another die cut umbrella as shown. Attach the paper to the inside of the card.

The shimmer of the Elan Metallics and Petallics cardstock looks amazing with the sparkle of the pearlescent watercolor! 

Thanks for looking!

~ Gloria (Scraps of Life)

Supplies used:

WorldWin Papers:
ColorMates Smooth Black, White
Elan Metallics Spectral Blue
Petallics Sky Pilot, Black Ore

Ink: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black; Stampin' Up Whisper White
Watercolors: Yasutomo Pearlescent Watercolors
Stencil: The Crafter's Workshop Mini Swiss Dot
Pen: Sakura Gelly Roll White
Stamps: My Favorite Things Blue Skies Ahead; Our Daily Bread Designs Mini Tags 1
Die cut templates: Spellbinders Labels Twenty-five; My Favorite Things Umbrella; Papertrey Ink Banners
Flower punch: Stampin' Up
Twine and Ribbon: Really Reasonable Ribbon
Button: unknown
Adhesive: Scotch 3M ATG tape; Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L 3D Foam Squares; Aleene's Tacky Glue

Chalkboard Bookmarks

Hello! Gloria with you again. I have created a pile of bookmarks, perfect to give as little back-to-school gifts. The chalkboard stamping technique is so popular right now, that I decided to incorporate it into my little bookmark making party!

I went through my stash of stamps looking for interesting text combinations that also would work well for bookmark sentiments. Then I sorted through my die cut templates to find shapes that would work for bookmarks. I actually had a few bookmark templates, but I also pulled out other shapes that seemed to work well for this project.

I cut all of the shapes from ColorMates Heritage Black cardstock. The smooth finish on the Heritage Black is perfect for my "mini chalkboards." I stamped all the sentiments with white ink, and I embossed each sentiment with white embossing powder. I was a little "messy" with my powder to give that chalkboard look.

I used some white pigment ink to rub the edges of each die cut shape. I also smudged the paper a bit, all for that realistic chalkboard look.

I die cut some background shapes from Treasures Pitch Black and Textured Red Denim cardstock, and used a tiny bit of printed cardstock. This a good way to use up scraps of cardstock!  I traced some lines around the edges of the shape with a white pen.

 I created this flag-shaped bookmark so that it would slip over the top of the page. The paper button and twine don't add much bulk, making the bookmark the perfect thickness.

These three bookmarks are super simple. I used just a bit of ribbon and some paper scraps to finish them. To make the bookmarks a bit more sturdy, I die cut some of the shapes a second time and glued the two together.

This is one of those projects you can do in bulk in an evening.

Thanks for looking!

~ Gloria (Scraps of Life)

Supplies needed:

WorldWin Papers:
Treasures Pitch Black
ColorMates Heritage Black
Textured Denim Red

Die templates: My Favorite Things, Taylored Expressions, Papertrey Ink
Stamps: My Favorite Things, Hampton Art, Our Daily Bread Designs, Taylored Expressions, Stampin' Up!
Designer paper: Graphic 45 An ABC Primer, Place in Time
Ink: Stampin' Up! Whisper White; Clearsnap Colorbox Pigment Frost White
Embossing powder: white
Pen: Sakura Gelly Roll white
Ribbon and twine: Really Reasonable Ribbon 
Buttons: unknown
Adhesive: Double-sided tape , adhesive dots