VC Rocks Card Blog Hop

Hi, did you make it through all of those blogs?  

Wow, that's a whole lot of stampin' goodness!

You have probably come from Pam's blog.

If you need to go back to the beginning, you can go to the VC Rocks blog.

The blog after mine is Loni's Life.

Sometimes it's the little things that make life great.  That's certainly true about this card.

I was inspired by the card on pg 104 of the Annual Catalog.  

(Pictures are not the best, mostly because I was just too lazy to make them better:))

I used Lovely Little Labels and Itty Bitty Banners stamp sets.  The Labels are punched with the Little Labels Punch Pack.  I also used Summer Smooches DSP and Tangerine Tango ink.

For my second card, I really wanted to show off the new Natural Composition Specialty DSP.

 These papers are so natural looking on the backside and the front has this gorgeous raised print on it.

The big flower reminded me of the one from the Everything Eleanor stamp set, so I used that stamp for a lighter image on the sentiment, which is from the Trust God stamp set.  I also used linen thread, crumb cake cardstock and curly label punch.

I tried to pick up the shine on the specialty paper.  I hope you can see it.

My third card is my favorite (mostly because I thought I was cleverly "breaking the stampin' law" using part of the Carry On stamp set, but I see that it is allowed now to use the stamps except the one that says "carry on and").

The stamped frame is from the Everything Eleanor stamp set.  This card also uses vanilla, midnight muse,  cajun craze & suede cardstock, and Comfort Cafe' DSP.

I don't know if you can see it, but I punched about 6 of the little postage stamp from the Little Labels punch pack.  I stacked them behind the cut out of the flower stamp to try to make it look a little 3D.

Other punches I used were the 2 3/8" Scallop circle and the 2 1/2" Circle punches.  Midnight Muse stitched satin ribbon added the finishing touch.

Now, you have one more stop on the blog hop and then you will have all the inspiration you need to Stamp On!

Have a blessed day!   Elizabeth K.

Heartfelt Blog Hop

Having fun on the hop?  I hope so!  

You probably came from Angela's Blog.   

The VC Rocks homepage is here.  

The next blog after mine is Diane's. 

Today I want to share a scrapbook page I made with Stampin' Up!'s My Digital Studio.  It's a page of my Dad, who passed away in March of this year.  Even though we didn't live in the same state,  I still miss him quite a bit. 

I used the February page template from A Year in Review Photobook in MDS.

It's so easy to just drop in those photos and make a title.

My Dad is playing the accordian - an instrument that is necessary for playing Cajun music.

He wasn't the best player, but he taught several of our family members to play.  My brother even had a band that was nominated for a Grammy Award a few years back. 

This picture taken a few years ago shows Daddy enjoying his music again, after he had been ill for several months with his diabetes.  I have great memories of him from that day.

One of the life lessons he taught all 9 of his children:  

Deal with the crisis at hand,

and then move on with the living of life.

Speaking of moving on - the next blog is Diane's.

Have a happy hop day!

Elizabeth Kratzer

VC Rocks August Blog Hop

 I hope you are enjoying your VC Rocks blog hop.  The featured items from the new Stampin' Up! catalog will leave you with a long wish list!  Today, I made some cards with the new hostess set, Happiest Birthday Wishes.  This set of 11 birthday sentiments are perfect for punching out after stamping.  I made masculine,  feminine and  baby birthday cards.

The happy birthday on the left side of this card looks like a wheeled image.   I just stamped it twice in a row.  Since this was masculine, I used only the curly label punch.

Although I planned this card for a baby, it could be used for other birthdays also.  The punches used are extra large oval and decorative label.  I also used the Big Shot ovals die for the back 2 layers.  I love to layer Stampin' Up punches and dies.

And for my final card, I am still deciding if I like it or not.  What I always say is when in doubt add a layer, and every card deserves ribbon.  This card may prove those to be false.  What do you think?

These punched layers for the sentiment are so right!
I used 1" circle, 1 3/8" circle, 1 3/4" circle and 1 3/4" scallop circle punches.  The concord grape circle is from the Big Shot circles #2 die.

To go backward on this blog hop, go to Fancy Nancy K's blog.

To go forward, go to Elaine Wright's blog.

Happy hopping!!

Elizabeth K.

Reflections Tutorial

Do you remember this card from a blog hop earlier this summer?

 I taught this class about mirror images on the VC Rocks yahoo group.  If you try this technique, please let me know.  I would love to see your creations!

Two ways I do reflections: 

First and easiest way: Read through the steps and reminders before starting.

Stamp image. Then turn either the paper or stamp around to stamp reflection below the picture.

**Remember to stamp off first for lighter image on the reflection. Also keep in mind, you need to find your light source, so the reflection is leaning in the correct direction.  My light source is coming from the top left.  This works well with trees and shrubs, but may not work for animals and ships.

For the class, I stamped on white paper.  But for easier placement of stamped images, I advise you to put color on your paper first, then stamp the images. Most of the time I will brayer or sponge on ink, but if you are more talented than me, you could watercolor, use the pastels, sponge daubers, direct to paper ink technique.  Also after stamping I usually have to come back and sponge in a little color, to cover my mistakes.  Lol.  See the card from above.

Second way to do a reflection is by using the smooth side of the plastic sheet from the stamp-a-ma-jig (SAMJ).  Make sure it is clean first.  You will not need the SAMJ positioner for this part.

The first thing you stamp will be the reflection. Since you are going to use the plastic sheet, you will not need to stamp off the ink before stamping the sheet.

If you plan to use dark or vibrant colors, I suggest stamping with Basic Black classic ink. If you go with pastel colors, you will be able to use the Basic Gray.

You can see how I stamped on the smooth, shiny side of the sheet. Also the image is not perfect because of the slickness of the sheet, but that is perfect for a reflected image.

Next flip the sheet over and then firmly hold it in place with one hand while you rub the image off with the other hand. Once again the
image will be a little blurred, but thatʼs what a reflection is.

I used the clear mount stamp of The Open Sea set from Stampin' Up!, so it was easy to see where to place my actual image. Since it is in or near the water, it looks better if
your images overlap just a bit.

I also challenged myself with a more complex reflected image.  For this card I could have used either method of making reflections.  For the row of trees I needed to use my stamp positioner from the SAMJ to get them straight across the card.

Okay, a few variations: 

1- Instead of using the plastic sheet, you can use acetate or cellophane bag. Some people even brayer over the inked up stamp and then roll the image onto the paper. 

2- Use a torn piece of post it note at the middle where the images meet and then stamp, to give you a little texture at the water/grass line. 

3- Use this for a mirror image effect, just flip sheet over on the side. Since the mirrored image will not be as dark, you can fill in those weak spots with a marker. Use permanent marker if you plan to color in the image. 

4- A mirror image can also be made by stamping on vellum, then turning over and adhering next to your first image. 

5- Use this reflection technique on houses, which look pretty reflected on the street in the moonlight. And ice skaters need a reflection on the ice, right?

You can see more reflections cards at Stampin' Stace Blog.  Just scroll down for several entries.

Winner of Blog Candy is Artistic Inkspirations!!

Congratulations "Artistic Inkspirations" !  I can't wait to send you some goodies,

so you can get started on your own journal.  

Please email me (eberzaskratzer at gmail dot com), 

your snail mail address.  

Thanks for hopping with us, everyone!

Elizabeth K.

VC Rocks July 2011 Blog Hop

Welcome to the VC Rocks ABC Blog Hop - Anything But a Card.

Today I am excited to show you my Junque Journal.  It's a work in progress.  This "art journal" has also been called a glue book or junk journal or smash book.  (I learned how to make this by watching you tube videos by tangiebaxter.)   My journal is loaded with those little pieces of junk that I know I am not going to scrapbook, but want to keep, like:

concert tickets,

notes that my kids wrote to me when they were young,

prayer cards,

pretty postcards from our trip to Galveston,

letters my mother and grandmother wrote to us....

I used a regular old dollar store composition book and pulled out my Stampin' Up! retired and current Designer Series Papers.  I cut them to size, glued them to different pages, added embellishments from previous swaps (ATCs, inchies), even corner punched some of the pages.  This makes for a big bulky journal and the ribbons I used throughout the book hold it together very well.

What I used for the cover is the current SU Flirtatious Specialty DSP.  I put plenty of glue on the backside. (Stampin' Up! glue is perfect for covering these composition books.)  

Other items I used to decorate the cover are:
Alphabet Simple Letters and 3" circle sizzix dies,

Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Pretty in Pink, and Melon Mambo cardstock,

Antique and metallic brads,

Victoria Crochet trim,

retired felt and crochet flowers,

Early Espresso, Melon Mambo, Cherry Cobbler, Soft Seude and Pear Pizzaz inks.

Stamp sets: 

French Foliage, Artistic Etchings, Elements of Style,

Delicate Doilies, Notes and Details, In a Word (retired).

Inside the journal some items I added:

a card from the kids, the year after their dad's cancer,

inspirational cards, ATCs from swaps,

letters from my mom and grandmother,

and hairstyles from the past years.  (My hair was much thicker then. Lol)

Thanks for joining us this month.
Leave a comment for me, and on Monday a randomly picked commenter will win an assortment of items like those I used to decorate this journal!

If you want to go to the beginning of the swap, go to VC Rocks Blog.

 

Independence Weekend at Galveston, beach

Mandy loved the ferry ride to Galveston.

She did get upset when she realized she couldn't reach the water.

Here she is covered up and sprayed with SPF 50 sunscreen.  

(Shh, don't tell the oncologist.)

Mandy anticipating the next wave to "overtake" us.

Mommy and Mandy, riding the waves - Mandy style!

Mandy did well with the outing.  We went shopping on The Strand and it turns out that ducking into every other shop keeps you cool.  

Richard said she needs to get used to waiting for the ferry.  I said that if she is crying the ferry is moving too slow.  What do you think?