A crop party is a modern quilting bee. A group of friends gather to have girl friend time, sharing joys and sorrows while preserving memories and creating a special keepsake.

Sunday, April 9, 2017

Freshly Made Henna Elements






This Freshly Made Sketch has so many possibilities that I am sure I will be using it long after the challenge closes tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. EDT.  Thank you, Cecile!  When I saw it Wednesday I knew I wanted to play with it using Altenew's Henna Elements stamp set, but finding the time was another matter with my garden competing for my attention.  It's that time of year...






The square with the flower is popped up with foam tape.  What you may not be able to see in the photo is that the stamping is just as intensely black as the border because I stamped it twice.  How did I manage to stamp something twice in exactly the same place?  I used a MISTI which was a Christmas gift from my husband.  It tells you something about how crazy my life has been that I am only just now trying it out.  If you are not familiar with a MISTI, here is a video that shows it in action.   I'm sorry about the ad in the beginning, but it is the most succinct and complete video that wasn't trying to sell it I could find.  Tonic and Tim Holtz have a version set to hit the market soon.  I will say there is a learning curve.  Sometimes the paper will shift when you lift the lid, so you should check the position of the paper each time you stamp, even if you are using magnets to hold it in place.  Secondly, to avoid smudging your paper, it is a good idea to wipe excess ink from the lid after inking our stamp if you are using clear polymer stamps.  Ask me how I know.

Here is the inside:




I used acrylic blocks for the inside stamping because my MISTI is not large enough to accommodate a ten by five inch piece of paper.

Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

Materials used:
Paper:  Black and White Daisy cardstock from Close to My Heart
Ink:  Black from Close to My Heart
Stamps:  Henna Elements by Altenew, Just to Say... and Say It All by Close to My Heart
Other:  MISTI by Sweet Petunia

Monday, April 3, 2017

My Favorite Butterfly in Blues




I saw this Addicted to Stamps photo challenge and knew it was time to pull out one of my all time favorite stamps, the butterfly from the retired "Find Your Style" stamp set from Close to My Heart.






I also knew immediately that I wanted to use this Freshly Made Sketch:



To ink the butterfly, I pressed the stamp into my Crystal Blue ink pad and then used sponge daubers to apply Pacifica and Blue Denim.  After I fussy cut her out, I sponged some Black around the edge of her wings and colored her body with a black journaling pen.  I am not very adept at splatters, so a stamp from the Ink Blot set came in handy to create the border.  A  single black sparkle and flourish completed the card for now.  I am not sure what I am going to use this card for, so I will stamp a small sentiment to the right of the butterfly when I know.

Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi