Aspen Blog Hop

Welcome to the Aspen blog hop! If you are following along, you got here from Tiare's BLOG.  If you have stumbled upon my blog or got here from Facebook, you can start back at the beginning to see ALL the amazing creativity from the bloggers this month HERE at Club Scrap Creates.

With this being Christmas week when the creative juices sometimes flow more slowly, I opted for a simple project this month. (This is mainly because I created this project the day after Christmas, when my energy level was low from all the festivities! I'm a natural procrastinator, though I've been trying to change that for years. I'm afraid it's too late.)

Here's the card I created with my Aspen kit. I call the technique "layering with ink" because there are no paper layers. In fact, the only paper used is a 5.5x8.5 piece of Almond paper.

Ink Layer 1 uses the 5.5x8.5 Almond paper folded in half, Club Scrap Hybrid Ink (Moss), and the leaf border stamp from the Aspen Borders and Backgrounds UM sheet.

For Ink Layer 2, tear off 3/4 inch from the front of the card and ink with Club Scrap Hybrid ink (Earth).

3rd Ink Layering Technique uses the group of trees stamp (also on the Aspen Borders & Backgrounds sheet), the same Moss ink, and a brown marker. I stamped once, then again (without reinking the stamp) a little higher and to the right to create more trees in the distance. I wanted more trees behind those on the left, so I inked the stamp again and stamped onto a scrap paper, then stamped some background trees on the left side of the first image.

For the greeting, I used a 4th ink layering technique with Moss and Earth CS inks, Post-It notes, an ink applicator, and the Happy Birthday stamp from the Aspen Greeting unmounted sheet.

For this technique, I ripped a little bit off the sticky ends off two Post-It notes, covered the area where I stamped the greeting, and lightly sponged ink over the tree trunks. Repositioning the Post-It notes, I inked under the greeting.

And that is how I used inks to create layering on my Aspen card. I have to admit that I was very tempted to add ribbon or other embellishing, but I held back and let inks take center stage.

Bonus project: For Christmas, my oldest daughter gave me a framed picture of her and her fiance from their engagement photo shoot. I'll have to ask her for another picture for the frame, because I just had to create a page! The papers, green ribbon, and buttons are from Aspen, while the words and alpha stickers are from Bridges (February 2006). Leaves are from my stash.

Thank you for visiting my blog. I hope you have been inspired to create something with your Aspen kit. If you don't have a kit, you can get one HERE. 

The next stop on the hop is Marya's blog. Click HERE.

Horsin' Around

My family has horses, so I love to play with any art supplies that have a horse theme. My latest favorite is Club Scrap's Equestrian kit from November 2012. (There are several items still available from that collection! Check 'em out: http://www.clubscrapshop.com/store/c/112-Equestrian.aspx.)

I like using the pre-printed panels (cutaparts) in the Greetings to Go kits to make cards. They often have a greeting and artwork right on them, so they just need a bit of embellishment.

But sometimes I like to do my own stamping, as I did with this card. The wording is so cute. (Not sure what our girls asked for when we ended up with horses--perhaps giraffes!)

My top card uses embellished panels, and the bottom one a manila tag from my stash. Love the running horses stamp. I used Club Scrap sapphire, moss, and earth inks to get the collage effect.

I had to look if the Greetings to Go pack is still available, and it is! Love these fall colors! All Club Scrap's GTG packs come with card bases, panels, and envelopes to make 15 cards plus cutapart panels and embellishments. It's a great deal, and to have cards made with CS's quality cardstock is such a bonus.

Thanks for taking a look at my entry. Hope you have a blessed week!