A Touch of Grace

Happy Halloween!  This week I have several Halloween projects (including JustRite treat bags, broomsticks and coffins) to share with you beginning today with this first design.  Using stencils I have designed a ballroom filled with vintage dancing ghosts. 

The scene you see in the design is from The Haunted Mansion at Walt Disney World.  At the end of the post, you’ll find links to the stencils I used as well as other products I used.  The total size of the ballroom is 7″ x 10″, a perfect centerpiece for our small round kitchen table.

I printed the image onto white cardstock and paper toled the ghosts.  Using stencils, I embossed and cut six pieces; the overall frame with the topper, two pillars, two side panels, and the row of six columns that span across the bottom.  The row of columns was made using the same stencil as the pillars by turning the stencil upside down and using only a portion of it. I sponged Tim Holtz black soot distress ink onto the pieces to give my ballroom a dingy appearance. 

The design has a lot of dimension which I’ll try to illustrate in the photographs below. 

The flowers were made with punches and prima paper flowers.  Two stencils from the Star stencil collection were used to design the ballroom. 

In this view you can see a little of the dimension.  If you look closely, you’ll see a bar of the white foam on the right side of the frame, approximately one inch in length, as well as white foam behind the columns.  The foam dots raised the frame and columns off of the paper toled ghosts.   The pillars stand out 1/2 inch from the focal image. 

I used a Martha Stewart leaf punch, as well as Fiskars flower punches, and prima flowers for the floral decorations attached to the design.  The leaves were hand drawn and cut with a craft knife.   To add a little elegance, I added black, gold, and green glitter to the the flowers and leaves.  The black stamens in the center of the roses were made using a small flower punch.   

I embroidered the pillars and columns using black sewing thread.  I attached black silk bows to the side panels and placed roses in the centers of the bows.  The ribbon is 1/8″ white May Arts silk ribbon that I dyed black.  The bows were made with the Bow Easy. 

This picture is somewhat of a teaser.  I purposely made it dark and small to give you just a glimpse of the all the Halloween treats I’ve cooked up.  For some fun Halloween ideas,  come back tomorrow to see which treat I’ll be featuring.  While the ballroom took some time to complete, the treats were simple, quick, and easy to make.

Shopping Links:

A Touch of Grace:  PD0004 Star Collection - Pillar; PD0002 Star Collection; Scor It; Zip Dry; Foam Dots; black embossing paper, silver grey embossing paper, stylus, glitter, sewing thread, needle, light box, Genesis Paper Trimmer, Fiskars punches, self-healing mat, sponge, dauber, graph paper, black pearls,

Stamp Simply Ribbon Store:  Bow Easy, May Arts Ribbon, JustRite Halloween stamps (featured tomorrow)

Joan’s Gardens:  Martha Stewart Leaf Punch

Hi everyone,

Sorry to have been gone for so long.  We were on vacation for nine days in July, I returned home for a day and then headed over to Orlando and spent a week at CHA; and last week I traveled to my parents’ home and spent a week with them.  I’m back at home and will try to get in another post before I leave for Nashville next Friday to help my son get settled back in at school. Where did the summer go?

I’m excited to be a part of the Stamp Simply 100th Challenge Birthday Celebration.  I have prepared for you a stencil embossing tutorial utilizing a light box below, as well as a paper tole birthday card.  At the bottom of this post you’ll find shopping links to A Touch of Grace - Paper Boutique for the stencils and products I used for the birthday card and the tutorial card.  You’ll also find links to all the other designers that are participating in the celebration.  Be sure to check out all the wonderful projects the ladies are sharing, you won’t be disappointed! 

Inspiration for my birthday card came from a Kubla Crafts photo frame shown below:

A close up of the toled flowers.

The focal image was hand drawn, painted and paper toled. 

In celebration of the 100th Stamp Simply challenge I’ve put together a stencil embossing tutorial for you.

For successful embossing it’s important that you use a paper that is not too thin or too thick.  I have found a paper that I feel is perfect for embossing that is for sale in my store, A Touch of Grace - Paper Boutique.  The stencil I have chosen for this design can be hand embossed or run through a die cutter.  When I run my stencils through a die cutting machine, the Wizard by Spellbinders is my die cutter of choice.  For purposes of this tutorial, the design is hand embossed using a light box, a stylus, and Perga Soft wax (an oil free wax manufactured by Pergamano, especially formulated for hand embossing). 

I recommend before you begin embossing this design that you practice on inexpensive cardstock until you have the hang of it.  Begin by using light pressure to stretch your paper, if you use too much pressure, you may tear or pearce through your paper.  Go back over the area you’ve embossed a second time using more pressure for best results. 

In this design embossing is done on the back side of the paper; pay careful attention to how the stencil is placed on the light box.  If placed in the wrong direction, your embossing will be the reverse of what you want it to be when you turn your paper over.  Use your stylus to trace the outline of the portion of the stencil you are embossing and not the center, this results in a nice raised section.  If you rub the entire area with your stylus, the result will not be as smooth and elegant.

I recommend that you change the blade on your craft knife every time you start a new card if you’re doing a lot of cut work.  Blades are inexpensive; it’s better to toss a questionable blade than to ruin a beautifully embossed piece that you’ve worked several minutes on.  Work in a well lighted room; natural light is the most desirable.  I use an OTT lamp when working at night. 

Embossing tools needed for embossing.

Perga Soft (oil free embossing wax)

Place stencil down on light box as shown in picture. Tape down with removable tape so that stencil doesn’t move while embossing.  Grid paper assures that your stencil is perfectly straight.

Lay your cardstock (embossing paper) down on the stencil as shown and emboss.  I embossed only a portion of the stencil in the center panel of the design.

Remove tape, turn embossed panel over, right side up, the embossing should be on the lower right corner as shown.

Turn stencil over and tape it back down to light box facing the opposite direction that you just embossed.

Place your cardstock (embossing paper) down on the stencil as shown, embossing only a portion of the stencil as you did above in the center panel.

Turn paper over, right side up, the embossed designs should be on the upper left and lower right corners of the center panel.

Tape stencil to light box as shown.  Remember, you’re working on the reverse side. Place paper down over the stencil, right side down, as shown in the picture and emboss the entire stencil. 

Turn the paper over, your design should look as shown in the illustration above.

Turn the stencil over in the opposite direction and tape down to the light box.  Place your paper down over the stencil, right side down, and emboss the entire stencil, as shown in the illustration.

Turn your paper over, right side facing up.  The embossing is complete and should look like the illustration above.

Place the stencil down on the paper, right side facing up.  On the left panel lightly trace (using a mechanical pencil) inside the lines that you will be cutting as shown on the left side of the paper. These lines are guidelines for cutting.

After tracing all areas to be cut, place your embossed design on a cutting mat; using a craft knife with a new cutting blade, cut just outside the traced lines. When finished, your design should look like the picture above.  The cutting will take you approximately 5 to 10 minutes, according to skill level.

Place your stencil over the left and right arches (you’ll need to flip the stencil over to fit the embossed pattern on the right side) and trace around the outside edges with a mechanical pencil.  Using a craft knife cut inside the pencil lines.  If you have any pencil marks left on the paper, gently erase them being careful not to damage the tooth of the paper.  The embossing and cutting is complete.

I traced drawings onto parchment paper using a mechanical pencil. 

The traced drawings were transferred to the embossing paper by using the stylus.  Do not use too much pressure as you don’t want any debossed lines on your paper.

Using Gold Tinta Ink and a mapping pen I drew over the transferred image.

The gold mapping is complete and dry.  Any visible graphite lines can be removed with a soft, putty like, erasure.

Using colored pencils, I colored the images.  Tools needed for this technique are blending stumps, a sanding paddle, and Gamsol or odorless turpentine.

Trace around the outside edges of the stencil on two pieces of pink cardstock and cut out.

Illustration of cut pieces.

Two small pieces of pink paper were cut to cover the cut out portions of the center panel.

A gold Krylon pen was used to outline the black panel.  Hold the tip so that it touches the edge of the cardstock, the tip retracts giving you control of the ink flow.

Draw lines around all four corners of the black and pink cardstock.

Adhere panels together and attach a card holder.

You’ll want to add your embellishments (ribbon, pearls, punched butterflies) and a sentiment before adhering the panels together. 

Supplies for the Birthday card:

Stencil:  Anja Style Stencil Frame (FE6122), embossing paper (Carnation White, Heather), Swarovski crystals, Gold Tinta Ink, mapping pen, Perga Soft wax, sanding paddle, stylus, Zip Dry adhesive, removable tape, grid paper, Fancy Crafts flower punch, glitter, Happy Birthday Gold Sticker, ribbon, craft knife, light box, cutting mat, colored pencils, mechanical pencil, Bow Easy, Spellbinders die, deckle scissors, Scor It, craft knife, MS punch, crystal lacquer, Yes adhesive, Quickie Glue Pen

Supplies for Tutorial card:

Stencil:  Luxe Labels stencil (AS0703) , parchment paper, embossing paper (light pink, black, carnation white), card holder, Gold Tinta Ink, mapping pen, Perga Soft wax, pearls, Krylon 18K Gold Leaf pen, blending stumps, sanding paddle, stylus, Zip Dry adhesive, removable tape, grid paper, Marvy butterfly punch, glitter, Verve sentiment stamp, ribbon, craft knife, light box, cutting mat, colored pencils, mechanical pencil, Scor It, MS punch, Quickie Glue Pen, Bow Easy

I hope you find this tutorial helpful. 

You’ll want to visit these blogs to see what all the girls have come up with for the birthday celebration:

1.      Pat Adam - Christmas Gift Tags with BLOG CANDY

2.      AJ - 1 Card Done 3 Ways

3.      Janine - A Stress Free Summer Menu with BLOG CANDY 

4.      Tammy - Birthday Reminder Book with BLOG CANDY

5.      Jennifer - Birthday Card with BLOG CANDY

6.      Julie - Card Set in Tote with Directions 

7.      Barbara-  Birthday Card with BLOG CANDY

8.      Deb- Tutorial on Dying Silk Ribbon Using Copics and Refills

9.      Jenny- Birthday Card with BLOG CANDY

10.  Joan- Birthday Card and Etched Glass with BLOG CANDY

11.  LeAnne - Birthday Card with Glitter

12.  Barb- Birthday Cake 3-D Gift Item with BLOG CANDY

13.  Darlene - Birthday Card with Special Recipe

14.  Rose Ann- Birthday Card with BLOG CANDY

15.  Leslie - Gift Tin of Soaps with Coordinating Card

16.  Heather - Birthday Card

17.  Sabrina- Birthday Card with BLOG CANDY

18.  Sharon- Monogrammed Birthday Gift Set with BLOG CANDY 

Many Blessings,

       I’m excited to share with you today that my fabulously fun friend, Jenny Gropp, from  One Krafty Cat has invited me to be the guest designer for the challenge today over at  Our Creative Corner.   I’m absolutely thrilled and honored to be playing along with the very talented designers of Our Creative Corner.

The details for the challenge are:

      Triple Play:   Less is not always More! You must pick at least three types of embellishments to use on your card or project. These are your choices: Brads, Eyelets, Bling, Ribbon, Buttons, Thread/Floss, Beads, Charms, Rub Ons, Liquid Applique, Crystal Lacquer  (items highlighted in pink are the elements I used in my design).

       I agree with Jenny, less is not always more.  Those of you who are familiar with my blog know that I typically design more is more designs so this challenge is right up my alley.

       A little about the design:  I recently came across a picture of an egg that was beautifully decorated by an artist with paper tole.  I’ve seen paper tole in books, but have never attempted it and decided to give it a try for the challenge.  I’m sure I’ve made some mistakes with this technique, but overall I’m very happy with my first attempt.  I’m thoroughly hooked on this form of art and hope to learn more!  A drawing was provided by the artist for the design that was on the egg.  I transferred it onto Bristol paper and painted it with acrylic paints.  Once it was dry I made four photocopies on white cardstock using a color printer.  I cut out the flowers only from one of the photocopies and adhered them flat onto the cardstock.  I then painted in the foliage around the flowers directly onto the embossed cardstock.  Using a craft knife, I cut the petals and stems from the copies, toled the paper, and adhered the pieces down using thick crafters’ glue.  I continued to do this for three layers.  The petals were painted with Mod Podge.  I punched several leaves with a Martha Stewart punch and cut small tendrils of green paper.  I wrapped the tendrils around a paintbrush to curl them.  I adhered bits and pieces of the leaves down randomly creating the foliage and painted them with Mod Podge.  Once the Mod Podge was dry, I painted the entire design with crystal lacquer, giving it an enameled lustre.  I finished the floral arrangement by painting gold paint around the petals, stems, leaves, and green tendrils. Once that portion of the design was complete, I went to work on the butterfly.  I stamped and embossed it onto cardstock using gold embossing powder.  I painted the butterfly using the same acrylics that I used in the painting.  I used the same technique to tole the butterfly as I did with the flowers. 

      You can see touches of pink and lavender in the petals in this picture.  I’m including several close up photographs at different angles to show you the detail and dimension of the design.  I love the little flower buds.  Each flower and bud is four layers.  Looking carefully you can see the tiny stems, they are two paper layers thick.

       In this photograph you can see the dimension of the layers of the buds, stems, and the center flowers.  A closer view of the background painting is shown in this photo as well.  I used a liner brush to paint in small stems and leaves.  The same liner brush was used to paint the gold on the edges of the flowers, leaves, stems, tendrils, and the butterfly.   

       I had to squeeze some ribbon in here somewhere .   .   . LOL .   .   . what are flowers without the stems being tied with beautiful white silk ribbon to hold them together!

      This photograph shows off the Swarovski crystals.  They sparkle like diamonds in real life.  Off white, ballet pink, peony, and lavender acrylics were used to paint the flowers and buds. I painted the flowers Off White and then glazed the petals with pink and lavender hues.  You can see hints of the colors in the petals.

      A close up shot of the bejeweled butterfly, her abdomen consists of six 2mm green Swarovski crystals, her wings and antennae are loaded with 1.5mm crystals.

      I’m giving away a $25.00 gift certificate to my store, A Touch of Grace - Paper Boutique to one lucky winner.  To enter all you have to do is play along with the OCC challenge, follow the rules provided above, post your card on your blog or your gallery at Splitcoaststampers using the keyword OCCC.  Leave a comment on the OCC blog linking your design so they can check it out.  The drawing is random, the winner will be announced next Saturday on the OCC blog.  Be sure to check back there next Friday to see if you’ve won.  

      If you’re looking for inspiration for the challenge, be sure to check out the fabulous designs of the OCC Ladies on their blogs - Jenny Gropp, Silke Ledlow, Cindy Haffner (my DDA sister, big hugs Girl!), Jennifer Meyer, Vicki Garrett, Loretta Lock, Joycelyn Turner, and Frances Byrne.

      Shopping info:   A Touch of Grace - Paper Boutique -  Embossing Paper:  Carnation White, Light Pink, Olive Green, Hunter Green, Bristol paper,  light box, 18K Gold Krylon pen, PergaKit 3D Adhesive, acrylic paints,  Removable Tape, Zip Dry adhesive, parchment paper, Perga Soft, craft knife, stylus/embosser, Joy! Foam Pads, Joy Pearls, Martha Stewart leaf punch, paint brushes, Mod Podge, thick crafters’ glue, tweezers, Swarovski crystals, gold paint, Ranger gold embossing powder, heating tool, Encore gold ink, color printer, computer, white card stock, crystal lacquer

      Parked on Rubber:  butterfly stamp

      Stamp Simply Ribbon Store - Bow Easy, white silk ribbon

      Thank you for stopping by, I truly appreciate your visit! 

A few weeks ago Sharon published a challenge using half circles.  I wanted to play but had a few other commitments to get out of the way before I started this design.  The challenge called for large half circles to be part of the design.  Well I think I most certainly met that requirement!  There were no layouts to follow, we were to create our own. 

I drew the design and transferred it to pearly White embossing paper.  I embossed the side circles first in carnation white and then in Pearly white and layered the pearly white on top of the carnation white.  I drew blackberries on both of the panels as well.  I’m providing a template I drew of the outer edge of the pattern for the half circles and the arch for the mauve paper to those who purchase the stencil. 

After coloring the image, I made colored copies of it and reduced the image to 50% to make my own designer paper.  I embossed and cut three small fans and used the designer paper for the centers of the fan.

Small butterflies are adhered to the centers of the smaller bows and larger elegant butterflies were adhered to the larger bows.  The card has a card holder attached to the back that holds the card up for viewing.

A close up of the large bow.

A close up of the smaller bows and fan.

These are the stencils I used for the design.  The Lacy Basket stencil is approximately 5.5″ x 3″ and the Anja Style Fan is approimately 3″ x 1.5″.  The fan stencil comes with a larger fan that is approximately 5″ x 3″.  I ran the stencils through a Wizard to emboss the fan panels and the side panels.  The top center panel was embossed by hand.  I’ve had several questions about the time involved in embossing and cutting the stencils.  It merely took seconds to run the stencils through the Wizard, a couple of minutes to hand emboss a very small portion of the stencil for the top center panel.  The cutting of the two side panels took about 15 minutes each.  Cutting the fan was incredibly fast and easy, 2 minutes per panel and I was finished.  I free hand the cutting, but it can also be done by placing the stencil back over the embossed design and drawing lines with a pencil.  You can then use those lines as guidelines for the cutting. 

Shopping info:   A Touch of Grace - Paper Boutique - Lacy Basket stencil EH1856, Anja Style Fan #3 FE6117, Embossing Paper Colors used:  Pearly White, Carnation White, Mauve, Pergamano Tinta Gold, Tracing Pen, light box, 18K Gold Krylon pen, PergaKit 3D Adhesive, Caran d’Ache colored pencils, Removable Tape, Zip Dry adhesive, sanding paddle, blending stumps, parchment paper, Perga Soft, craft knife, stylus/embosser, Joy! Foam Pads, larger butterfly punch, All Night Media, small butterfly punch, Fancy Crafts.

Stamp Simply Ribbon Store - Bow Easy, lavendar silk ribbon

Thank you for visiting my blog, I truly appreciate your visit! 

   Summer is here and in full swing in sunny (hot and humid) Florida .   .   . LOL!  I love the idea of making a recipe card and thought with the 4th of July coming up, this would be a perfect opportunity to share a recipe that’s perfect for the upcoming holiday and always a summer time hit with my family. I made this recipe card set for the Stamp Simply Summer Recipes challenge featured on Sharon’s blog.  The challenge is to make a card or recipe card to share with others.
     I love cobblers, especially blueberry and cherry.  I pulled a favorite recipe and designed this ensemble using a stencil from A Touch of Grace - Paper Boutique. 

     My uncle’s blueberries grow on a fence, which gave me the idea to create a lattice frame using this stencil.  I embossed two panels, cut them out with a craft knife, and adhered them to the front of my card on either side of the blueberry drawing.  To have the images facing each other I simply embossed one panel, flipped the stencil over and embossed a second panel.

A close up of the card showing the embossing detail and cut work.  I used a craft knife for the cutting and adhered the darker blue paper behind some of the cutout work in the scrolls.  The blueberries were drawn directly onto the embossing paper and colored with colored pencils.  I used a mapping pen and gold Tinta ink to cover the graphite lines of the drawing.  The butterflies and blueberries at the top of the photo and on the lattice were applied with Perga Kit 3D adhesive.  Perga Kit works like using dimensionals or foam dots, only it dries clear and is barely noticeable - no more visible white foam on my cards!

A close up of the recipe card that will go inside the card when it’s mailed.  I used my computer to print the recipe on the embossing paper.  Although it appears black in this photo, the recipe is in dark blue ink.  A Krylon 18K Gold Leaf pen was used on the edges of the card and recipe card.  Blending stumps were used to blend the colors.  When using blending stumps, remember to sand the color off your blending stump with a sanding paddle when changing colors so that you don’t accidentally lay a color on top of another color you don’t want contaminated.

Shopping info:   A Touch of Grace - Paper Boutique - Lacy Fence Stencil - EH1857, Embossing Paper, Pergamano Tinta Gold, Tracing Pen, light box, 18K Gold Krylon pen, PergaKit 3D Adhesive, Caran d’Ache colored pencils, Removable Tape, Zip Dry adhesive, sanding paddle, blending stumps, parchment paper, Perga Soft, craft knife, stylus/embosser, Joy! Foam Pads

Stamp Simply Ribbon Store - Bow Easy, dark blue Taffeta ribbon

Thanks for stopping by, I truly appreciate your visiting my blog. 

Hi, it’s been a long time since I’ve had a chance to sit down and play.  I’ve finally finished, for the most part, the store, A Touch of Grace - Paper Boutique, (a link is provided on the left sidebar under my picture).  After completing the store I sat and drew the above drawing for my new blog banner.  I was very pleased with the finished result.  That is, until I tried to put it in my banner.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite wide enough and it was too tall.  Sooooo .  .  .  .  what you see in the banner is a cropped portion of the drawing.  One of these days I’ll get it right!

I would like to say a heartfelt thank you to all of you for making the Mother’s Day Card Kit such a huge success.  I do plan on future kits and promise not to limit the number.  I was overwhelmed with the response, never dreaming it would be so incredible!  From the bottom on my heart, Thank You!

A special thank you to my son, Stephen, for helping me with the design of the store and helping with the blog facelift.  I couldn’t have done it without you, Stephen!  I know it wasn’t easy working with all this pink .   .   . LOL!!!

 A little about the store and what you’ll find:  Tools and accessories I love to work with.  Everything in the store is what I use in my designs from blending stumps, Gum Arabic, Pearl Ex, Ranger gold embossing powders, even my favorite heating tool, The Milwaukee Heating Tool that I use for my gold embossing.  I’ve had my heating tool for 13 years, it’s still going as strong today as the day I bought it.  You’ll find a very large selection of embossing stencils.  Click on the picture to see the price, click on it again and it enlarges to approximately 4 x 6 for ease of viewing.  Some of you have asked me about the dimensions of the stencils.  They vary from one stencil to the next.  If you see one you like (or two), please e-mail me and I’ll be happy to provide you with the dimensions.  I do anticipate eventually getting that information on the site, but I’ve been away for a while and I’d like to get back to doing what I love most .  .  . designing. 

I also have a large line of Pergamano products in the store.  I’ve recently been introduced to Pergamano and love it!  If you’re a Pergamano fan or just plain curious, click on Pergamano on the menu and then browse through all the different categories.  The books and patterns are fabulous! I have the complete line of perforating and embossing tools, as well as paints and inks (what a surprise! . . . LOL!!!).  All the adhesives you’ll find in the store are the adhesives I use on my designs; Zip Dry is definitely my adhesive of choice!  It adheres quickly and leaves no wrinkling or buckling of the paper.   I also carry several gold stickers in many patterns, including sentiments.  These are no ordinary stickers, check them out, click on them twice to get the full size so that you can see them, the corners and borders are my favorites!  Click here to see an example of gold stickers on a design.

As I post designs, I’ll try to feature a product or two and illustrate to you how I use it and why.  At the bottom of this post under “Shopping”, I’ve provided links to the products I used in the design below for easy viewing. This stencil is an “L” shaped stencil approximately 3″ x 3″.  A link is provided below.

After taking the photograph for the banner, I flipped the drawing upright and completed this design that will be framed and placed somewhere in our home, which is now filled with a few of my designs .  .  .  LOL! I embossed and cut the four corners of the design and placed the drawing over Seagreen embossing paper.  I mounted the panel on Turquoise embossing paper using Joy! Foam Pads and then placed the design on Carnation White embossing paper.  All edges were finished with an 18K Gold Krylon pen. The bow was made with the Bow Easy.  I drew the butterflies and adhered them to the card with Perga Kit 3D adhesive .  .  . love it for adding dimension on the top panel - it’s my latest great find.  I want to show you how it’s used and why I think it’s fabulous for 3D effects on the top panel in a future post.

A close up of one of the embossed corners.

Shopping:

 A Touch of Grace - Paper Boutique - Corner Stencil FE6124, Embossing Paper, Pergamano Tinta Gold, Tracing Pen, light box, 18K Gold Krylon pen, PergaKit 3D Adhesive, Caran d’Ache colored pencils, Removable Tape, Zip Dry adhesive, sanding paddle, blending stumps, parchment paper, Perga Soft, craft knife, stylus/embosser, Joy! Foam Pads

Stamp Simply Ribbon Store - Bow Easy

Thank you so much for stopping by to visit.  I hope you’re enjoying your summer with the kids and grandkids. 

A few weeks ago I posted an Easter card and told you about a bow tying secret that I had picked up from Jenny Gropp, One Krafty Kat.  Since that time I’ve posted a few more cards with beautiful bows that I’ve made using that same “secret” method for perfect bows.  Several of you have written to me asking how I make such beautiful bows with both tails on the back side of the bow.

Well today I’m pleased to share the good news with you, the “secret” Jenny shared with me.  The “secret” is the Bow Easy.  Yes, that’s right, Bow Easy, and is it ever easy to tie the most beautiful bows you’ll ever make.  So what’s this Bow Easy?  Take a peek here and you’ll see what the Bow Easy is all about.  I’m pleased to share with you that the Stamp Simply Ribbon Store is selling the Bow Easy at the very low fee of $6.  Personally, I would have paid a small fortune for something that would help me create such beautiful bows, but there was no need . . . LOL!  The Bow Easy is so incredibly easy to use.  The green bows shown on the card above are only one inch in length and have triple loops.  With the Bow Easy you can make as many or as little loops as you like, and you can make seven different size bows.  To illustrate this I made a large bow with two loops from May Arts one inch sheer ribbon and then made a small bow from of May Arts 1/4″ silk ribbon and adhered it on top of the larger bow.  To see a wide variety of beautiful bows on samples boards made by Jenny, click here.

I recommend that you be the first to order the Bow Easy from the Stamp Simply Ribbon Store before it sells out, I have a feeling Sharon’s supply won’t last long; and, while you’re there, check out the beautiful variety of May Arts ribbons that Sharon has available.  My personal favorites are the sheers and the silks, but all are gorgeous!!

Check back with me later in the week, if all goes as planned, I’ll have a bow tying video posted showing you just how easy the Bow Easy really is.

I made this card for the Stamp Simply Challenge #85 - Let the Sun Shine.  No stamps were used, the image is my design.  It was drawn to fit within the parameters of the embossing.  Those sweet little butterflies were made with a new punch I just love.  I adhered them on the tassel and on the bow centers.

If you’re still not convinced the Bow Easy is for you, I invite you to check out the designs of these very talented designers:

Sharon Johnson, owner of the Stamp Simply Ribbon Store.

Jenny Gropp, who so willingly shared her “secret” with Sharon and me.  You’ll definitely want to check out this link, Jenny is offering a Bow Easy as blog candy.

Joan Fricker, of Joan’s Gardens, designed this fabulous card.

• Image:  hand drawn
• Paper:  Embossing Paper
• Ink:  Tinta Gold
• Accessories:  Embossing stencil, light box, craft knife, Krylon gold leafing pen, mini butterfly punch, small butterfly punch, Bow Easy, 3D glue, glitter, May Arts ribbons, gold cord, green glass beads, pearls, mapping pen, colored pencils, Gamsol, blending stump, dimensionals, Zip Dry adhesive

Shopping:

A Touch of Grace-Paper Boutique: Stencil

Stamp Simply Ribbon Store:  May Arts ribbons, Bow Easy

Joan’s Gardens:  Zip Dry adhesive

Thank you so much for visiting my blog.  Please be sure to check back later in the week for the Bow Easy tutorial and Bow Easy blog candy.  Wishing you a wonderful day with all His blessings!

Edited to Add:  The stencil can be purchased at A Touch of Grace - Paper Boutique.  Yesterday it was a gorgeous day here in Tampa, we had lots of  sunshine.  I took advantage of the sunlight and photographed some finished designs.  I mentioned in a previous post that we are having renovations made in our home and our bedroom, where I take all my photographs, is upside down.

I made this card for Mom for Mother’s Day.  The images are drawings she recently gave me that she drew some 26/27 years ago.  Mom used to paint on china and designed several pieces that I proudly display in my home.  You can imagine my excitement when she recently told me she had kept all of her drawings, paints, supplies, etc.   On Easter Sunday she and I went through a large box she had stored in the closet of my bedroom (my parents still live in the house I was raised in), we were like two little girls in a candy store!   Mom sent the box home with me so I have a hunch you’re going to be seeing a lot more of these lovely drawings.

Using tracing paper, I rearranged the flowers and leaves on this design to fit within the parameters of the embossing.  I then used graphite paper and transferred the drawings directly to the card stock after I embossed and did the cut out work.  I used a Pergamano mapping pen with a brass nib to draw over the graphite lines in gold ink.  Once dry, I used colored pencils to color the image.  The little butterflies were punched with a Fiskars punch.  Those adorable pink bows were a dream to make, I used May Arts 1/4″ silk that I purchased from the Stamp Simply Ribbon Store.

Editing to add if you would like a full size picture of the card, I would be happy to e-mail it to you, just leave a comment below and I’ll forward it on.

The Kaiser pearls I purchased at Joan’s Gardens are a very light pink, so pretty on this design.  The sentiment is from Verve’s Beautiful You stamp set.

To have the flowers facing each other on the end panels I simply turned the graphite paper over and traced from the reverse side.  I can’t wait to give Mom this card!

Here’s a picture I took of one of Mom’s pieces, isn’t it beautiful!  I treasure each and every piece she has given me.

Thanks for stopping by, I wish you and yours many blessings in the upcoming week!

Happy Easter and Passover!  I wish you a blessed celebration with family and friends.  We’re headed to my parents’ home to spend the day with them.

Today I’d like to share an Easter triptych card that I’ve been working on this week which happened to fit in with the ssnotime #84- Hang It Up challenge.  If you’d like to participate in this fun challenge, head over to Sharon Johnson’s blog to read all the details.  The card consists of three panels connected with aged copper hinges.  The center panel is 7″ high, 6 1/4″ wide, the two side panels are 7″ high, 4″ wide.  I hand embossed the three white panel fronts and used a craft knife for the cut out work.  I adhered the panels to True Faith Vellum that I purchased from Our Daily Bread. The panels are adhered with dimensionals onto white card stock.

For your convenience, shopping links are provided at the bottom of this post.

This photograph of the center panel shows you the beautiful luminosity of the vellum when placed on  dimensionals.

Okay, I’ll admit I’m a braggart . . . LOL!  I included a close up picture of the bow to show you how gorgeous it is!  Look at the center knot, isn’t it fabulous!  It’s the most perfect bow I’ve ever tied.  I’d like to say I did it all on my own, but I can’t!  Nope, I had help.  I was bemoaning my lack of skill with tying bows to my friend, Sharon, and she referred me to Jenny Gropp’s blog, One Krafty Kat, and this beautiful card Jenny designed.  If you haven’t visited Jenny’s blog, you’ll want to hop over, you’ll be in for a fabulous treat!  Jenny’s one phenomenal designer!  I immediately wrote to Jenny and she shared her secret.

The bow is made with beautiful taffeta ribbon that I asked Sharon to special order for me.  I’m greedy, I actually ordered several rolls of the luscious May Arts taffeta ribbons, they’re absolutely fabulous!  You’ll be seeing a lot of them in my future posts.  I also had Sharon order 1/8″ white silk ribbon.  The 1/8″ ribbon is very easy to work with, so soft and dainty.  I attached SU’s “Pretties” pearls and gold beads that I purchased at JoAnn’s to the ends of the ribbon.  I love working with the gold cord, it’s so pretty to see it through the teardrop.

In this close up, you can better see the embossing on the scrolls, as well as the Kaiser Pearls that I liberally used on all the flourished panels.  I used Nestibilities’ Labels Four as a base for the crosses on the side panels that I just got in from Joan’s Gardens.  Joan will also do special orders, scroll down to the shopping links below to see what I’ve had Joan special order for me.

• Paper:  Prism, Whisper White, True Faith, Water Color - 140 lbs. cold pressed
• Ink:  Versamark
• Accessories:  Light Box, Embossing Stencil, Stylus, Craft Knife, May Arts Ribbons and Cord, SU Pretties, Gold Beads, Tombow Markers, Water Color Brush, Gold EP, Heating Tool, Self-Healing Mat, Prima Flower, Dimensionals, Karen Foster Aged Copper Hinges, Kaiser Pearls, Cross Punch, Nestibilities Labels Four, Gold Krylon Pen, Tim Holtz Ruler

Thank you for stopping by my blog to visit.

Hi everyone!  Easter is fast approaching and to celebrate I made this card for Sharon Johnson’s Stamp Simply#81 Edible Egg challenge.  The Easter egg is stamped and water colored.  I stamped the flowers and leaves from the same stamp, cut them out and adhered them to the two side panels.  The background paper was dry embossed using an Anna Griffin corner embossing template.  Peach Kaiser Pearls I purchased at Joan’s Gardens were placed on all three panels.  The side panels were dry embossed with an embossing stencil I purchased from Stampfest last June, a craft knife was used to do the cut out work.  After cutting the side panels, I drew a template about 1/8″ larger than the cut out pieces for the darker peach colored paper and then traced the lines onto the peach paper and cut that with scissors in the larger areas and a craft knife in the tighter areas.  I stamped a large cross from Our Daily Bread’s Cross of Christ stamp set as well as the two smaller crosses, verse and sentiment.  The large cross was stamped on vellum card stock, cut out with a craft knife, placed on small pop dots and adhered on top of the painted Easter Egg.  To keep the pop dots from showing, I placed them under the gold embossing.

I used shimmery peach silk ribbon to make the two small bows on the side panels.  The larger bow is Taffeta, a beautiful medium-to-dark olive green in color.  Due to my poor photography skills, it appears a dark gray in this photo.   I purchased the ribbons from the Stamp Simply Ribbon Store that Sharon Johnson has on her blog.  I e-mailed Sharon and described ribbons I was looking for.  She found exactly what I was looking for and got back with me very quickly.  I made my ribbons choices, they were ordered and I received everything within a few days.

Please see the bottom of my post for shopping links.

This close up of the left side panel shows how large this design is as well as a better view of the detailed embossing and cut out work.   I used a lighter peach directly underneath the cut portions and a darker peach for the background.

This profile image shows the dimension of the design.  The connection between the panels is 3/4″ in depth.  The egg was placed on pop dots for added dimension.

A close of the Easter egg for those who may wish to paint it.  The egg was painted with Pearl Ex and Gum Arabic.  The picture is pretty dark and the colors of the water coloring are very distorted, but the photo gives you an accurate view of what the Pearl Ex and Gum Arabic look like in real life.

While this picture is accurate as far as the true colors are concerned, the effect of the Pearl Ex and Gum Arabic is lost in the shot.

• Paper:  Prism, Water Color
• Ink:  Versamark
• Accessories:  Craft knife, Paper Snips (SU), self-healing cutting mat, heating tool, water color brush, Tombow markers, Ranger EP, Martha Stewart butterfly punch, Dazzling Diamonds, pop dots, Zip Dry adhesive, May Arts silk and taffeta ribbons, Kaiser Pearls, embossing stencils, Stamp A Ma Jig, Scor It, Tonic Paper Cutter, Pearl Ex and Gamsol, light box, gold cord, Swarovski Crystals, SU Pretties Kit for pearls and crystal tear drop beads

Shopping:

A Touch of Grace:  Stencil

Our Daily Bread:  Cross of Christ

Stamp Simply Ribbon Store:  May Arts ribbons

Joan’s Gardens:  Ranger EP, Martha Stewart butterfly punch, pop dots, Zip Dry adheseive, Kaiser Pearls, Scor It, Tonic Paper Cutter, light box

Thank you for stopping by to visit, I wish you a wonderful weekend with your family.