The Crafty Thinker: Stephanie Fischer - Independent Stampin' Up Demonstrator: Swirly Birds

Sunday, 7 August 2016

Swirly Bird card in a box

I recently received a commission for a First Holy Communion card with a very specific set of requirements. The card was to include the words "Grandson" and his full name, the words First Holy Communion, date and details of the church. The colours were to be light blue and white with gold trim, it was to be a card in a box and decorations could be sheep, angels, candles, cross, balloons.

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I've blurred parts of the printing on the card to protect my customer's privacy

Since I had no suitable DSP, the first task was to create some! I used the Swirly Birds and Floral Phrases stamp sets with Marina Mist ink, Versamark and gold embossing powder.

It's so easy to create a repeat pattern with this stamp in the Floral Phrases set

Given the shapes of the decorations, I decided to make an oblong box card and rather than reinvent the wheel, I used the very easy to follow template that I found here on Di Barnes' blog.

I was so happy with my Swirly Bird pattern, I didn't want to cover it!

I created the cross with one of the dies in the Wonderful Wreath Framelits set. The balloons are punched out of Gold Foil Sheeet and embossed with the Softly Falling embossing folder. I used one of the Layering Oval Framelits and one of the dies from the Project Life Cards & Labels set to cut out the printed panels, then edged them with gold using a Wink of Stella pen.

I decided to keep the box uncluttered because I didn't want to detract from the Swirly Birds pattern that I liked so much I didn't want to cover up! I did, however, give it a thin border of Gold Foil.

Thank you for your visit.
'Til next time
Stephanie

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Wednesday, 29 June 2016

Swirly Bird Joseph's Coat Variation

This is another of my Joseph's Coat variations. This time I used the Swirly Bird stamp set.

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Swirly Birds is such a versatile stamp set!

The greeting is from the stamps included with the Oh Happy Day Kit. It actually says "Why Thank You". Whilst we all know what that greeting is trying to convey, I do find it botheringly ambiguous - so I simply omit the word "why".

To do that, I cover the "why" with some washi tape before I ink up the stamp and then remove the washi tape before I stamp.

Stampin up Australia, #thecraftythinker, Joseph's Coat Variation, Swirly Birds

I added sequins and Basic Rhinestones to the finished panel.

I decided to leave the centre of the card a little lighter, so I used Tempting Turquoise ink , blending it into the Dapper Denim that I used over the rest of the panel. I added a light touch of Memento Tuxedo Black ink to the edges of the panel.

Dimensions:
Card: Dapper Denim cut to 11 1/4" x 3 7/8" folded in half
Basic Black: 3 9/16" x 5 5/16"
Tempting Turquoise: 3 1/2" x 5 1/4"
Basic Black: 3 1/4" x 5"
Joseph's Coat panel: 3 1/8" x 4 3/4"

Joseph's Coat Variation Tutorial:

Wipe the entire Whisper White panel with an Embossing Panel to remove oils and static.
Using the striped sail shape, coat well with Versamark ink and then tap into Melon Mambo ink. Stamp horizontally at the bottom of the panel.
Use a damp cloth to clean the stamp, dry it then repeat to create a border (always cleaning and drying the stamp before using the Versamark)
Sprinkle with clear embossing powder.
Repeat at the other end of the panel.
Use a similar process with one of the swirls, versamark and Tempting Turquoise ink.
Repeat with the little flower, Versamark and Daffodil Delight ink.
Repeat with the ink splotch stamp, Versamark and Peakaboo Peach ink.
Use your heat tool.
Allow to cool for a minute or two.
Sponge over the top with Tempting Turquoise, Dapper Denim and Tuxedo Black ink
Use a tissue to remove the ink from the embossing.

Tips and Tricks:

Keep to hand a damp cloth (to clean the stamps) and your clear embossing powder.
When using coloured ink, always clean and dry the stamps between uses so that you don't transfer ink to your Versamark ink pad.
I prefer to sprinkle the embossing powder soon after stamping the image, so I sprinkled the embossing powder before changing to a different stamp or colour.
Photopolymer stamps are the best for this process because you can see exactly where you're stamping. The zig-zag stamp I used is rubber (one of the Clear stamp sets) so I used it first. I personally would only use a photopolymer greeting because I wouldn't have the courage to try to line up a rubber greeting stamp without the use of a Stamp-A-Ma-Jig - which would not be feasible.
I didn't worry about overlapping the Peakaboo Ink Splotches over the Tempting Turquoise swirls.
'Til next time
Stephanie