Glassine Paper Flowers

When recently shopping with Brandy, we happened across a pad of Tim Holtz Kraft Glassine Paper.  Don't ask me why I felt like I needed a pad of this paper.  Don't ask me what I thought I was going to do with it.  I can't explain these things any more.  I find that sometimes it is just about how cheap it is (you better bet that I used a 40% off coupon and the cost was just north of $5).  Sometimes it is because I like it (the texture that is inherent to this paper is fabulous).  Sometimes it is just that you don't want to walk out of the store empty handed (this is particularly true when shopping with friends). 

Either way, I did have occasion to use the paper in a couple of recent cards.  We had the misfortune of losing a close friend earlier this year and a good friend lost her mother in December.  The memorials happened to occur within days of each other and these adorable flowers came in handy for a monochromatic looking sympathy card.

These flowers were cut using Cricut's Mother's Day Bouquet cart.  I worked the ends of the flowers around a thin paint brush handle to curl the edges back and create more of a 3D effect.  The pearl brads were punched through the center of the flower to finish the look.  Although I considered inking the flower, I ultimately decided that the cracking and "wear" of the flowers from the curling provided enough texture and I didn't want the color difference.

The background is the Walnut Stain Distress Re-inker made into a mist (similar to the layered misting technique in my Creative Chemistry 101 class).  The mask is a Tattered Angels snowflake mask I've had for a while.  The cream card was lightly misted creating much variation in color (and adding to the monochromatic color scheme).  The flowers are adhered with a glue dot and the waxed twine tied around the inside of the card.  The tiny flower on the tag was cut with my Quickutz die, shaped and layered with a tiny pearl brad.  The tag is a 1 1/2 inch cut of <tag1> from Cricut's Plantin Schoolbook that was cut from a preprinted sheet of tan cardstock I ran through my printer to print the "In Sympathy" sentiment.  A tiny Tim Holtz bronze paper clip holds the sentiment in place by anchoring the tag to the twine.

This card expressed heartfelt sympathy to our good friend who lost her husband (whom my husband was close with) to ALS earlier this year.  ALS is a devastating disease and as we watched our friend approach the loss of his ability to talk and walk around, he never lost his deep and abiding faith in the God who made all things, including this horrible disease.  His peace at knowing he was still in the hands of a loving God who has wisdom beyond our understand will stand as a testament to me and many others.  Although I still feel sorry for his wife and family (and truly myself), I am comforted by the thought that all his questions can be asked and answered as he spends eternity with his Lord and Savior. 

This next card used many of the same techniques, but the flower was made slightly differently.  The inner 3d portion of the flower was cur from Cricut's Flower Shoppe cart.  The cut was then twisted and adhered to the layered petals cut from Cricut's Mother's Day Bouquet cart.  The petals of the larger flowers were folded in half and then curled around a thin paint brush handle.  The flower was then mounted to the card base with a glue dot. 

This card was given to a friend who lost her mother suddenly and tragically in December.  Although my friend has faced this loss with deep sadness, she has been able to begin the process of working through the layers of grief.  My sympathy is genuine and deep for this friend.  When they held the memorial service in March, my thought was to try to encompass this sympathy and express it to her.  I love how this card turned out.  Even though I love it, I can hardly see how a simple piece of paper can express how my heartfelt sorrow is mixed with encouragement and admiration.  My prayer has been and continues to be that my friend may know how tender and supportive I might feel and that she knows her comfort is on my mind even now.

I really would like to close this post with some deep and comforting wisdom on loss.  As I am middle aged (how in the world did that happen?), I know that the number of losses ahead of me will far outstrip the number behind me.  This is true for both me and for most of the people in my life.  I consider that I am unable to think of anything profound because I am so humbled by loss and sorrow.  So, I will continue to cling to what I know to be true. 

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Psalm 46:1

Andie

Creative Chemistry 101- Stamping with Embossing Folders

The last technique that I needed to practice involved stamping an image on an embossing folder and transferring that image onto the paper.  This image of a bird and music was done using a borrowed Grand Caliber with a Cuttlebug embossing folder.  Brandy actually put this frame and stamp together and then I inked the image produced with Distress Inks.  The result is lovely.  The twine was spritzed with a bit of Re-inker mist to match the color palette.  A quick and easy card front for any  project and a good use for embossing folders where you can create a different look each time.

Andie

Creative Chemistry 101- Perfect Distress Mists

This technique involves the Distress Stain Mists that we had previously worked with on the layered misting technique.  The Distress Re-inkers are combined in a mini-mister with water and in this case, Perfect Pearls.  The mini-misters are then used to spray color onto the tag. 

Getting a good picture to represent the metallic sheen was difficult.  I caught a couple of pearlized sections in this photo.  The pearls tended to concentrate where the ink pooled.  This "girlifies" the layered misting technique.

Just a note, the tag on the right was made with the left over spray on the craft mat after making the tag on the left.  The colors were more blended and were on the brown side of the spectrum, but still created a beautiful tag.

Andie

Creative Chemistry 101- Layered Misting Technique with Distress Ink Re-inkers

This technique involved filling a Mini-Mister with some of the Distress Re-Inker and water and using the resulting sprays much like a Glimmer Mist.  Here's the results of my effort.

The idea is that a mist of color is put down in the background and a mask/stencil is used to spray a color over the top.  Again, my limited color selection really kept me from doing this technique well.  The darker colors bleed and blend (you know- the fabulous part about the Distress Inks).  Still, the nondescript part of the background makes it unique. 

I just might have to practice this one some more to perfect the technique.  I've used the Glimmer Mist for other projects and have enjoyed their result.  This seems much the same and therein lies the attraction. 

Andie