My Cards and Tags: Cards Made with Echo Park Feather Dies

"Thinking of You" is this week's Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge theme.  I had a friend go through some pretty rough trials and she compared it to feeling like a feather in a tornado-- just trying to survive with some bit of self intact.  We all have those times, so I used her analogy as inspiration for these encouraging cards:

 I started by making the feathers first.  I covered some cardstock with strips of Washi in the same size as my feather die.  The Washi is from Doodlebug, Dina Wakley and Illustrated Faith and the feather is a die set from Echo Park.

Next I ran the feather through my Sizzix Big Shot.  I was worried that it wouldn't be able to cut through the Washi and paper, but it did just fine.

I did this technique on three feathers, then I outlined all of them with a black Sharpie just to make the edges more defined.

I knew that the background of my cards was going to be bright and bold, so I thought I should tone down my feathers just a wee bit.  I did a thin coat of white paint over the top of the feathers.  I also folded each one in half for a bit more dimension and added a slight line up the center.

For the background of the cards, I started with a burst of Infusions powder that I spritzed with water.  Next I stamped splotches and splatters from a few different stamp sets.  I took a black Sharpie pen and outlined the splotches.  I also stamped on some hearts and swirls.

I added smudges of Distress Ink here and there.  I added sentiments to the feathers using a Spellbinders stamp set called "Journal Words."  Infusions color stain powder is fun to use and can look totally different depending on the amount of water you use, etc.  The card in the picture below shows Infusions A Bit Jaded.

The card below features Infusions Are you Cerise:
 

 And the last card shows Infusions Emerald Isle:

It's true that we DO feel like mere feathers in a tornado sometimes, but it always helps when we know people are thinking of us.  That's why I love this week's theme of thinking of others.

Here are the supplies I used, which you can find at Simon Says Stamp:

Echo Park Feather Die Set	Sizzix Big Shot	Doodlebug Dainty Dots Spring Garden Washi Tape	Doodlebug OFFICIAL STRIPE Washi Tape	Doodlebug Deck The Halls Washi Tape
Doodlebug Christmas Candy Stripe Washi	Illustrated Faith Wow God Washi Tape	Illustrated Faith Reminders Washi Tape	Dina Wakley Printed Media Tape	Paper Artsy A BIT JADED Infusions Colored Stain
Paper Artsy Are You Cerise Infusions Colored Stain	Paper Arrtsy Emerald Isle Infusions Colored Stain	Taylored Expressions Stroke of Genius 2 Stamp Set	My Favorite Things Distressed Patterns Stamp Set	My Favorite Things, Whimsical Wishes Stamp Set
My Favorite Things Abstract Art	Spellbinders Donna Salazar Journal Words stamp set	Fiskars Acrylic Blocks	Ranger Non Stick Craft Sheet	Ranger Archival Jet Black Ink Pad
Archival Ink - Yellow Chrome	Ranger Wendy Vecchi Archival Ink in Garden Patina	Ranger Archival Violet Ink Pad	Ranger Archival Ink Forget Me Not	Tim Holtz Distress Twisted Citron Ink Pad
Spiced Marmalade - Distress Ink	Mustard Seed - Distress Ink	Worn Lipstick Distress Ink Pad	Peacock Feathers - Distress Ink	Picked Raspberry - Distress Ink
Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad WILTED VIOLET	Mixed Media Sponges Bars

I can't wait to see your interpretation of our theme!  Be sure to upload your creations to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog for your chance to win a $50 voucher to the Simon Says Stamp Store!

My Cards and Tags: Autumn Tags Using Reverse Confetti Dies

Welcome to this week's Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge theme of AUTUMN!  I do love this time of year when I whip out my boots and go crunching through the leaves.  In fact, trees and leaves changing colors were my inspiration for these tags:

These tags had quite the journey and I almost chucked them several times before their completion.  I started by cutting some Reverse Confetti tags out of Strathmore Mixed Media paper, which I have grown quite addicted to.  Then I took some sponges and smeared Distress Ink on them.

I stamped some circles on them with Ranger Jet Black Archival ink and Tim Holtz's Halftone and Rings stamp set.  I cut and inked up some Swirlies dies, also from Reverse Confetti, and glued them on top.  I added some Washi tape, but ended up removing it as the almost-doomed process continued.

Once I had them colored, I added in a bunch of black paint.  But whoa!  Went too heavy on the black, so I waited for it to dry, then painted over the black with thick coats of white paint (this is what gives the edges sort of a gray-blue tinge).

Next I added some paper embellishments to the center of the tags, but hated how that looked, so I ripped them off.  Another failure!  So all that great "texture" you're seeing in these close-up's is where I scraped off what I'd glued on.

What finally saved the day was another great little tree die from Reverse Confetti, which I paired with some sentiments from Tim Holtz's Small Talk Occasions stickers.
 

In the end, I thought these tags looked sort of like trees with the leaves swirling off in a big circle of colors, which is what this time of year reminds me of.  And the lesson, as we've all seen as we craft, is to stick with a project until you know it is really truly and fully dead.  These were on life support, but I managed to bring them back and like how they turned out in the end, scraped-off surfaces and all!

These are the supplies I used, which you can find at Simon Says Stamp:

Strathmore Mixed Media Paper	reverse confetti cuts thanks tag die set	Reverse Confetti Topped Off Tag	Reverse Confetti Swirlies die cuts	Sizzix Big Shot
Tim Holtz Cling Rubber Stamps 2016 HALFTONE AND RINGS CMS260	Tim Holtz Occasions Small Talk Stickers	Mixed Media Sponges Bars	Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad WILTED VIOLET	Picked Raspberry - Distress Ink
Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad LUCKY CLOVER Ranger	Tim Holtz Distress Twisted Citron Ink Pad	Mustard Seed - Distress Ink	Ripe Persimmon - Distress Ink	Salty Ocean - Distress Ink
Peacock Feathers - Distress Ink	Ranger Archival Jet Black Ink Pad	Dina Wakley heavy body acrylic Black	Dina Wakley Ranger WHITE Media Heavy Body Acrylic Paints

I know you'll have lots of Autumn inspiration flowing, so do upload your creative creations to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog for your chance to win the $50 gift voucher!