Welcome to Barbara Joyce's Blog

November 1, 2009

This card is for Dave, the husband of my longtime friend, Ellen. (45 years IS a long time!) Masculine cards seem to be a challenge for me--can't use flowers, bows, and other frou-frous. This one does have a strip of Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon on it, but I think Dave will forgive me!

The stamp set is called "Nature Silhouettes." I used two techniques here--direct to paper and direct to rubber. On the first one, I placed some leaf designs punched from a piece of sticky note, and then applied More Mustard ink to More Mustard cardstock with a brayer (and then removed the stickies). For the main motif, I colored directly onto the rubber with markers, then colored over the stamped image with a VersaMarker, sprinkled with clear embossing powder, and heated. Then I sponged over the background with three shades of blue. The blue ink wipes right off the embossed areas!

October 29, 2009

If you've been checking my blog, you know that the last two cards I posted were "borrowed" (with permission) from other demonstrators. So I decided it was time to share a design that came from my own head. Although I have to say that Stampin' Up! makes it so easy to create beautiful cards with their wonderful stamps and great color combos in their designer series paper. This tree is from one of my very favorite sets, "Thoughts and Prayers," and the gold paper is from the "Autumn Traditions" paper pack. The ribbon is Soft Suede polka-dot grosgrain.

October 18, 2009

Here's another card that I didn't design! Honestly, I do get some original ideas, but these first two cards were designed by very talented and creative demos, who have generously shared their work through their blogs. This card is very quick and easy to make, but oh, so, beautiful, especially in real life. The glitter on the trees doesn't show up very well in my photo, but it really sparkles.

The stamp set is called "Scenic Season." The sentiment and the trees are all one stamp, so it's easy to get everything spaced perfectly. After stamping in Night of Navy on Whisper White cardstock, I punched a 1-1/4" circle from a sticky note and placed it on the card as a mask. Then I sponged Night of Navy ink all over the sky. Remove the mask and you have a big, bright moon!

This card was designed by one of Stampin'Up!'s top demos, Lisa Freeman. You can visit her website to see more pretty cards.

October 11, 2009

I have a Stamp Camp coming up next month for a bunch of ladies from my embroidery guild. I'm working on the cards now, and I'm trying to design beautiful cards that are quick and easy to make. I think this one fills the bill perfectly. Believe it or not, it's a very easy card to make. I sent the Shimmery White cardstock through the Big Shot with the Elegant Bouquet embossing folder, stamped the sentiment, added a little pink taffeta ribbon and the layers, and Voila!

A big thank you goes to my Canadian friend, Julie, for the idea for this card. You can visit her website to see more beautiful cards.