This month at the House of Cards, we're playing with the bokeh technique.  There are lots of ways to accomplish the effect.  In my case, I used my airbrush system to spray the circles through a mask, varying the intensity/density of the ink to give the illusion of depth.  I then stamped white pigment ink circles over the top to complete the background.

I'm planning to give this to my stepson's girlfriend who's Vietnamese and I thought she'd get a kick out of the punny stamp.  Hopefully she won't mind that there aren't any pandas in Vietnam--LOL.

The Details:  Sweet Stamp Shop Pho You, Mama Elephant Pandamonium, Simons Says Stitched Rectangle die, Memento Tuxedo Black, Versamark, Memento Rose Bud, PTI Fresh Snow, Recollections 110 lb white cardstock base, Recollections 110 lb black cardstock, Hammermill Color Copy 80lb Photo White Cover Stock, Spectrum Noir BT1, GT1, GT2, PP1, PP2, PL1, LV1, HB1, MFT stitched circle dies to create masks, Scotch foam tape, Hampton Art clear embossing powder, Little Days Alt font

I'm entering this in Simon Says Wednesday Anything Goes

This was such a fun card to make!   Masculine cards can be hard so I usually fall back on making it cheeky.   A good pun always makes me happy as does coloring lately.  There's just something about breathing life into a line drawing with color and shading that I find really satisfying.  This one especially given the black.  Yay, me!

There are a few things to note on the card that made it especially fun for me.

1. The original image stamp looked more like a raccoon head on top of a skunk's body to me so I used my Exacto to perform some cosmetic surgery.  Then when I was coloring I created the white stripe down the nose.
2. I created my own background by stringing together words from the skunk set.  I love how this turned out.  Lesson learned that it's best to offset the phrases by a word or two only.
3. I also created my own dots by coloring Enamel Accents and Elmer's glue.  

• Step 1:  Grab a piece of waxed paper or parchment.  I prefer waxed paper on a clipboard for easy toting.
• Step 2:  Dab the paper with dots of Enamel Accents (shown above).  Allow to dry completely.  I take the whole lot on the clipboard and put it somewhere the cat can't reach
• Step 3: Using alcohol ink, color the dots.  I tried a combination of dropping Adirondack alcohol inks (lovely shine remains), dabbing with a cotton swab (matte but good intensity), and Spectrum Noir alcohol markers (a really juicy marker gave the best results on Enamel Accents)
• Elmer's Glue:  White glue is a good (and cheap!) option for making your own dots.  You follow the same steps as above.  The glue dots will dry flatter and remain translucent with a matte finish after you color them.  See the two smaller dots on my card.

Funny story if you made it this far:  Growing up we had a woods and went back there to muck about as children do while the parents were gathering mushrooms.  Well, when my kid sis was maybe 3 or 4, she spotted a "cat" and immediately tried to coax it to her--"here, kitty kitty".  Luckily the "cat" ambled off and my kid sis (and the rest of us) were spared a very stinky lesson.

The Details:  Sweet Stamp Shop Stinky Skunk, Waffle Flower Bowtiful ("It's your"), PTI Movers & Shakers sentiments ("birthday"), Lawn Fawn Grassy Border die, Simon Says stitched rectangle die, Hammermill Color Copy 80lb Photo White Cover Stock, Recollections white 110lb cardstock base, Hero Arts Lime Green, Memento Tuxedo Black, Spectrum Noir GG3, GG4, GG5, CG2, IG1, blender,  black Sharpie, Sakura white pigment pen

I'm entering this in Seize the Birthday Masculine, The Male Room 04-15 Create Your Own Background Paper, and Less Is More #213 This Makes Me Happy

I was in such an excited tizzy when I saw the Avery Elle stamp sleeves.  O.M.G.  Were they reading my mind?  I hate, hate, hate the typical thin cellophane packages that rip the moment you try to slide your stamps back in.  Hate!  Well, these aren't perfect but they are a darn sight better than those (I managed to tear an AE one down the side but quickly learned I can't stick my whole hand in there to retrieve something--duh)

So, the above pic is obviously before.  I had some of my stamps stored in the two containers in their original packaging.  If a set was smaller I had them in a separate bin, if larger in a drawer.  Plus, I had a binder full of stamps using a different type of sleeve. Way too many places to lose a stamp!

I've switched to the Avery Elle sleeves as you can see with the bottom pic.  Isn't it beautiful?  Dreamy sigh.  So neatly organized.  Swoon.  I had seen Jennifer McGuire's video so gathered some good tips from there and have come up with a list of my process.

• I cut the inserts out of inexpensive white cardstock at 5-3/8 x 7-1/4".
• I prepared my labels using Avery 5267 1/2 x 1-3/4" return address labels.
• I don't know that I'll use these for this purpose in the future but since I was doing so many at once, it was the fastest way.
• I use these labels for a couple of other purposes too--as identifiers on the backs of my cards with my name and blog address as well as color coding for my stamp pads (see pic 2 Distress Inks).
• Many of my sets fit right in.  For those that didn't, I either put them on a different size sheet of plastic (transparency film) or simply cut apart the existing sheet.
• If I had the matching dies or a mask, I went ahead and put those in the same sleeve on the backside.
• For small sets, I would combine them by manufacturer in the same sleeve.
• I alphabetized the sleeves by manufacturer.  I also created sections just for backgrounds, Halloween and Christmas.
• I cut chipboard at 5-3/8 x 7-3/4" to act as dividers.
• I then made divider labels for the manufacturers I either use most or had the most of.  Remember that old timey label maker you bought because it's so retro cool from childhood but it's been gathering dust since?  Yup.  I know.  Makes the best labels for this.  I did use Scor Tape to adhere the labels since the adhesive they come with isn't very strong.
• These sleeves fit perfectly in the containers I already had which I got from my local Freddy's for ~$4.  They're called Homz modular stacking system and are 16.25 x 7 x 6.125".  They do come with lids which I've placed beneath each container where they act like sliders.  Really easy to pull a bin partially out and slide it right back.

So there you have it.  And now that this reorg project is done, I can clean up the desk surface a bit and get back to actual card making.  I'd like to say my desk is almost never like you see it in picture 2 but that would be such a lie.  :-)

I enjoyed making the music shaker so much I worked up two more using my bicycle die.    The first has the shakers as the wheels and a fun rainbow ombre watercolor wash.  For that I layered narrow bands of colors on watercolor paper, letting them overlap to create a nature looking gradation. The second card has the shaker as part of the basket--I was thinking a basket full of flowers here.  So fun!  I love, love, love how the embossing and impressing turned out.  Such very different cards although using the same elements.

Step 1:  I embossed the clouds until about halfway down the card.  My folder didn't cover the entire front so I used a stylus and the embossing folder to add a couple more clouds on the right.


Step 2:  I wanted grass but didn't want another layer so I impressed it.  Notice how I changed the vertical position each time I impressed it.
Step 3:  I die cut the bicycle, keeping all of the interior pieces.  I didn't keep the main bicycle diecut because it had impressed grass in it.  Instead, I cut out a second bicycle from another cardstock.
Step 4:  I thoroughly taped down the bicycle to the card, excluding only those areas where the shakers were going to be.
Step 5:  I glued my transparency film behind the wheels then built the shaker barriers out of a double layer of foam tape.  I enclosed the shakers using diecut circles.  I then added more foam tape along the edges and open areas of the card before adhering to the base.
Alt: For the basket I die cut a circle around the basket before taping the bicycle back in then proceeded largely as described above.

The Details:  Marianne Designs bicycle die, PTI cardstock and "celebrate" sentiment, Penny Black Nature's WIshes sentiment, Darice embossing folder, Savvy Dies grass, Pretty Pink Posh clear 4mm sequins, Lifestyle Crafts plain circle die, My Favorite Things Stitched Circle die, Versamark Onyx Black ink, foam tape, patience

I'm entering this in Addicted to Stamps and More Make Your Mark, Simon Wednesday Shake It, Just Add Ink Shakers, The Friday Mashup #167 WaterColor Wash, Virginia's View Challenge #5 Die Cuts, AAA Cards #10 Watercolor, TIME OUT #9 Fun in the Sun