DeNami Blog Hop-Pretty Pastels

Welcome to the DeNami Designs monthly blog hop.  This month the theme is Pretty Pastels.  What's this blog hop all about?  It's a way to see the work of many artists with one purpose:  to inspire stampers to create pieces using DeNami Designs wonderful products.  You should have arrived from Lani's blog.  If you get lost anywhere along the way, hop back to the DeNami blog and you can hop where you want to be.

Who: Anyone who has a DeNami stamp and incorporates pastels on their card/ project.

When: The blog hop starts on May 20th at 6 AM, PST. However, you have until May 21st, 11:59 pm PST, to leave comments on all the blogs (to be eligible for a prize)

Why: To be inspired by fun DeNami Design creations and also the chance to win mini shopping sprees on the DeNami Design website!

Prizes: DeNami is giving away THREE $20 gift certificates to our website:  one gift certificate to a random participant (DT members not eligible) and TWO gift certificates to TWO people who comment along the hop! Be sure to leave lots of coments, especially here!

I have a confession to make about this hop.  I am currently in Massachusetts near Boston to attend a weekend of Tim Holtz classes at a fabulous store called Absolutely Everything.  While it is a wonderful store, they don't have DeNami stamps and my creation for this hop is sitting on my workstation in my studio in Albany, NY.  So I am recylcing a previous post with a pastel card made with a DeNami stamp. 

I made this folder to hold a card and gift for a colleague and his wife when they married. The folder includes beautiful pastel floral papers from Anna Griffith papers. The cover has a silver circle tag with a silver vellum sticker. Inside, I embossed a chipboard heart with silver embossing powder and added a rub on quote that I've always loved: Come grow old with me, the best is yet to be. The tag and pocket were just an embellishment for the side to hold the gift.

The card uses a retired DeNami wedding stamp layered on shimmery papers, silver and ivory plus ivory columns. I've included Memory Box ivory pearl accents and a DeNami sheer white/silver ribbon with a touch of silver cording.

Thanks for understanding about the recycled post.  It was a wonderful project and easy to make.  I'm having a blast in the Tim Holtz classes.  Lots to post later.

Next stop:  Nicki Scheck

Enjoy the hop and don't forget the leave lots of comments.  We LOVE to hear from you and you increase your chance of winning a prize.

Back by demand-Perfect Pearl cards at Michael's July card tricks class

I'll be repeating the Perfect Pearls cards at the July Michael's Card Tricks class.  The samples are listed below.  This is fun class and you'll learn three techniques for using Perfect Pearls.  Sign up at Michael's in Latham.  The cost is $25 for ten cards, two each of the five cards shown.

Creative Keepsakes Convention-Manchester, NH

Just a quick post with a pic of the folks at Kiwi Lane at their booth at the CKC in Manchester, NH.  They were so sweet and it was easy to sell a product I like so much and I love their products.  The booth was busy and customers love the products.  If you aren't familiar with their framing process for scrapbooks and cards, check it out.  They just redesigned the KLD website and the gallery is awesome.

June Michael's Card Tricks featuring Tim Holtz Distress Inks

The June 5th Card Tricks class at Michael's in Latham highlights the Tim Holtz/Ranger Distress inks and features one Tim Holtz stamp set-French Market For the first card I blended various distress inks and them stamped the various images on the inked canvas. This simple collage look is layered on patterned paper.

The second card starts with card stock run through the Big Shot with an embossing folder. The cardstock is then colored with distress inks. The top layer is stamped and then watercolored with a waterbrush and distress inks. Some jute and a metal tag are added to embellish the card. It doesn't show well here but the top layer has a spritz of Perfect Pearls mixed with Distress ink and leaves a fabulous shimmer. I love this look.

This card is also a collage technique. The background is lighter inks and the top stamps the focal image in a darker ink. This is layered on patterned and solid papers. The popped images are with two older Hero Arts travel stamps that I thought go well with these images.

This one I love. It used light colored Archival, or in this case Memento, inks on glossy paper which are heat set then the distress inks are blended on top. The light ink resists the distress ink and then the highlights and focal images are stamped in darker Archival or Memento. Looks so great.Finally, this card features the kraft resist paper which has varnished images (which look like clear embossed images) on top of printed kraft paper. The advantage of the varnish is that it won't be altered by further heat when you work on the paper. I painted this with Picket Fence distress stain, dried it, then added distress inks both to blend and to stamp. It's topped with Tim Holtz printed paper tape and some buttons.

This class is $25 to make two each of five unique cards and learn lots of techniques. If you have a water brush or paint brush it would be helpful but not necessary. We'll have everything else you need. See you there.

Annette

Recent pics of my work station

Here's an updated pic of my work station in my studio.  I change things in the room somewhat regularly but this is working for me now.  Tight for stamping but really small for scrapping.  

And this is my section of DeNami stamps.  The whole fixture is DeNami except the bottom three rows, at least for now.  Not sure where I'm going to put the new cling stamps I'll be earning in Springfield, but I'll manage :)

May 1st Michael's Card Tricks Class featuring Perfect Pearls

After finishing the Tim Holtz Creative Chemistry 101 class I was motivated to pull out my Perfect Pearls and do some cards. The new Recollections fluttery paper and butterfly stamp set seems like a 'perfect' fit. These are the samples of the cards we'll be making in the class. Registration is $25 and you make two each of five unique cards.

First up is a beautiful new paper that is embossed stripes on one side and script words appropriate for flying things (like flutter, twitter, etc.) on the other. On this card I used the embossed stripes, layered a solid coordinating paper which is punched in the corners with a Martha Stewart punch, stamped with Perfect Medium, and coated with Perfect Pearls. I cut one of the words from the opposite side and popped it with foam tape. Love it.

Next up used the same technique. This card has patterned and solid papers layered with the top layer die cut with a Spellbinders die. Again, the image is stamped with Perfect Medium and coated with Perfect Pearls. A small tag is popped to finish the image. Here is a close up of the image which shows the beautiful shimmer of the Perfect Pearls.

The third card uses another beautiful new paper. This 12x12 image comes with six beautiful prints and this entire patterned layer is one sixth of the page. Great value since they are 7 for a dollar this week. There is a simple punch of purple and green and the top layer is embossed in gold them painted with Perfect Pearls mixed with water. This is fun technique; one that never grows old.

In a similar fashion this card is embossed but with black embossing powder on black paint. The Perfect Pearls paints reflect so wonderfully off the dark paper. Stunning.

And last but not least is a technique covers a dark paper, in this case navy, with stripes of dry Perfect Pearls which you 'lift' off with the Perfect Medium. It's tricky not to let the powder mix with the ink here or you get more of the first technique than this one. The more I look at this card the more I think that the top portion needs a focal image so I'll be adding a small adjustment to the sample before class.

Sign up for this fun class at Michael's in Latham. You only need scissors and adhesive. If you have Perfect Pearls and can bring your brush set, that would be helpful. Also, if you have a craft mat or a paint palette, that would helpful also. See you there.

DeNami Blog Hop-Ravishing Ribbon

Welcome to the April DeNami Blog Hop. This month's theme is Ravishing Ribbons. Thank you for traveling through to my blog. You probably arrived from Nicki Scheck's blog. If for some reason you get lost along the way, jump back to the DeNami blog and you can find a spot to hop back in where you want.

If you haven't participated in a Blog Hop before, here are the details:

When: The blog hop starts on April 15 at 6 AM, PST. However, you have until April 16, 2012, 11:59 pm PST, to leave comments on all the blogs (to be eligible for a prize).

Why: To be inspired by fun DeNami Design creations and also the chance to win mini shopping sprees on the DeNami Design website!

Prizes: We are giving away $20 gift certificates to our website to TWO people who comment along the hop! Be sure to comment on all the blogs for many entries in the raffle and make one of your comments be on my site :)

This month I used two very simple techniques: stamping with a Kaleidacolor stamp pad and adding ribbon 'tags' along the side of a piece. This is a quick and easy card. The great thing about Kaleidacolor ink is that you get a variety of colors in one inking of a stamp. For me, this is great when you don't feel like coloring. For the kaleidoscope of ribbons on the end, you can use a series of ribbons like I did below, or you can use scraps. It's a nice way to use some favorite, but small, ribbons.

In addition to using Mimi with a birthday cake, I used sweet friend birthday for the sentiment and the party time stamp set to finish the front of the card.

Thanks for stopping by. The next stop is Greta Hess. I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend.