Spring Is In The Air CD

This is the 5th project I made this week as Card Captain of the enjoyMichaelStrongstamps Yahoo Group.
Today's project is a Spring CD with transparent motifs.
Like spring, it is light and transparent, colorful yet elusive, to remind us that flowers and butterflies are nature's masterpieces.

Ingredients:
Transparent CD, found at the top of a regular CD box
Ranger's Alcohol ink in various colors, regular and metallic
Alcohol Blending Solution
Tim Holtz Adirondack Alcohol Ink Applicator
A transparency sheet
Michael Strong's Cloisonné Butterfly stamp (large)
Michael Strong's Cloisonné Flower stamp (large)
Michael Strong's Cloisonné Leaves stamp (small)
Stazon ink - Black Jet
TH scissors
Turquoise blings in various sizes
Ranger's Glossy Accents

I started by coloring the transparent CD with Ranger's Alcohol ink in various colors, regular and metallic.
You can see a tutorial demonstrating how to use Ranger's Alcohol ink here.
I stamped Michael Strong's Cloisonné Butterfly, Flower and Leaves on a transparency sheet with Black Stazon ink.
I cut them carefully using TH scissors.
I adhered the transparent stamped images on the colored CD using just a few drops of Glossy Accents.
I wanted the transparent stamped images to be in contrast with the colored CD, so I stamped them with black ink and left them uncolored, yet they seem colorful with the CD for their background.
I left the butterfly half flying in the air, not attached to anything, as a symbol of freedom - and also to remind you that some days are still colorless… spring isn't here yet.
I added turquoise blings all over for extra glam.

Transparent items are tricky when it comes to taking their photos, as they tend to reflect the light.
I hope you can still see the colors well, and even the butterfly's shade on the white background underneath it.

(You can enlarge each photo by clicking on it)
Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed. Have a creative day! Dorly

The Secret Of Life Gothic Arch

As this is the 4th day this week as Card Captain of the enjoyMichaelStrongstamps Yahoo Group and it's Technique Thursday, I decided not to show you a card but something rather different.
I hope you'll find it inspiring.
I made this Gothic Arch using quite a few techniques and incorporating several products, including recycled items.
It's a multi-stage project, so there are many details and photos.

Ingredients:
Cardboard
Patterned paper - Far East by DCWV
Original Chinese newspaper (recycled)
Mod Podge
Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist - turquoise
Blue pigment ink
Plain turquoise paper
Black marker
Michael Strong's Cloisonné Butterfly stamp (large)
StazOn ink - Black Jet
Transparency sheet
Canvas textured black CS
Embossing ink
Mixed colors EP
Tim Holtz clear stamps: Flights of Fancy (bird, butterflies), Urban Grunge (crown), Life's Possibilities (word stamp)
Double sided tape
Crop-A-Dile
Satin ribbons – turquoise and black

The outer side
First, I cut the Gothic Arch out of cardboard. You can find the template here.
I cut 2 Gothic Arches, one was left as it is (that's unit 1) and the other one was cut vertically into 2 wins (that's unit 2).
I adhered the DCWV Far East CS on the front side of unit 2 and on the back side of unit 1, and cut off the CS so it was exactly the cardboard's size.
I used Mod Podge for adhering it.
I distressed all the edges of these parts with blue pigment ink.

The inner side
For the inside's background I used a recycled original Chinese newspaper to create a collage of pieces, words and photos all mixed together.
After I covered all the inner parts with the newspaper, using Mod Podge underneath and also on top of the paper pieces, I sprayed it randomly with turquoise Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist and let it drip a bit for a messy look.
I wrote the text The Secret of Life Is… Trying to Find Inner Peace on plain turquoise paper, cut it with scissors into pieces and glued each word separately, inside and outside.

I stamped Michael Strong's Cloisonné Butterfly stamp on black textured CS (for contrast), then heat embossed it with mixed EP.
I stamped Michael Strong's Cloisonné Butterfly stamp again, this time with black StazOn ink on a transparency sheet.
I cut both butterflies carefully using TH scissors (yes, the antennas too).
I glued the embossed butterfly on the back side.
I glued the transparent butterfly inside, using double sided tape to adhere only the butterfly's body. You can see me holding its wings, as they aren't attached to anything.

I stamped TH stamps with black StazOn ink wherever they seemed to fit, trying not to overload my project with images.

I punched holes on both sides using the Crop-A-Dile.
I tied turquoise and black satin ribbons to attach all the units together.

You can see the Gothic Arch vertically, too, back and front.
You can (and I think you should) enlarge each photo by clicking on it.

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed. Have a creative day! Dorly

Time Small Chunky Book

Here's a small chunky book I made with friends a while ago.

The theme was TIME and my page showed how Time Flies.

I made 8 similar (but not identical) pages. . Each page is 10x10 cms (about 4x4 inches).I think this small chunky book turned out pretty cool.

The front side of the page I recycled advertisements papers and my son's notebooks front covers (after the school year was over).

I cut out all the motifs using scissors (I didn't have the Cuttlebug at that time), and stamped at the corners.

I distressed the page's edges using Ranger's Distress ink (Vintage Photo).

The watch was stamped on cream CS and partially covered with a thick transparent orange circle.

These circles were punched out using EK Success circle punch.

Both circles were connected (but not glued to each other) by a bead chain, which was inserted through the page so the circles are hanging on it.

The back side of the page I cut all the measurement tools and the watch parts using scissors, and glued the motifs 3D for extra dimension.

I stamped Tim's sentiment on a tag which was attached onto the same bead chain, inserted through the page on its back side, and distressed its edges using Ranger's Distress ink (Vintage Photo).

I added my personal details on the back side of the tag.

(You can enlarge each photo by clicking on it)

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed. Have a creative day! Dorly

Transparent Flowers Card

Here's the 3rd card I made for this week as Card Captain of the enjoyMichaelStrongstamps Yahoo Group.

Ingredients:
Cream leather textured CS for the card's basis
Black canvas textured CS
Martha Stewart's Quilted edger punch
CI patterned paper
Michael Strong's Cloisonné Flower stamp (small)
Transparency sheet
Stazon ink
Velvet covered brads

I punched the black canvas textured CS using the Quilted Martha Stewart Punch Around The Page Edger (I used only the border punch).
I punched circles in 2 sizes out of the cream leather textured CS and the black canvas textured CS.
I stamped Michael Strong's Cloisonné Flower stamp on a transparency sheet with Stazon ink: Teal Blue, Royal Purple and Blazing Red.
I cut each flower and attached it asymmetrically to the CS circles with velvet covered brads, each brad in the color different than the flower's.
The circles with the flowers were glued 3D for extra dimension.
(You can enlarge each photo by clicking on it)
Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed. Have a creative day! Dorly

Primary Colors Card

Here's a cheerful card with primary colors.
The central flower was made of folded patterned paper - the same pattern used for the background - punched out with a scalloped circle punch. Each petal was folded 4 times.

After folding all the petals I glued them to each other.

I stamped Michael Strong's Cloisonné Flower stamp with Stazon ink on textured red CS for the center, and on a piece of transparency (clear acetate sheet) separately, and carefully cut them with nail scissors.
The whole flower was glued 3D for extra dimension on bright yellow textured CS.

I also used red and white CS punched with Martha Stewart's border punch, and a few brads.
Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed. Have a creative day! Dorly

Folded Card For June Card Challenge

I made this card for the Michael Strong's Yahoo group Folded Card challenge.

You can enlarge each photo by clicking on it.

The central flower was made of old book pages (a nice way to re-use them), punched out with a scalloped circle punch. Each petal was folded 4 times.

After folding all the petals I glued them to each other.

I stamped Michael Strong's Cloisonné Flower stamp with Stazon ink on a transparency sheet, and carefully cut it with nail scissors.

I attached the transparent flower to the folded flower with a flocked brad.

The whole flower was glued 3D for extra dimension.

To decorate the corners I added 2 pairs of flourish die cuts made of black textured CS.

Each one of them was set in an opposite direction to create a double-flourish corner embellishment, accented with a pearl.

The purple ribbon was inserted into a piece of black CS which was punched with a simple office binder.

I also used light blue CS, a patterned paper with script from my stash, and pearls all over.

Now go figure out how many folds there are in one flower…

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed. Have a creative day! Dorly