THREE OF A KIND--Leaf Prints

 This past Saturday, Cyndy taught us how to make a card with a real, live leaf instead of ink and stamps.  After choosing a freshly picked leaf, we placed it between two pieces of heavy cardstock, folded a piece of copier paper around it and ran it through the Big Shot.  After mounting it on a piece of green cs and attaching it to our card, we added some embellishment for a final touch.

 

Today, at home, I tried repeating the process.  For the second card, I used two different leaves, (one stamped twice,) wrapped some burlap ribbon around the panel and mounted the image over dsp.  

For the third card, I tried using an oak leaf I found on my front deck that had turned a deep brownish red.  It's very faint here because it was already dried out, but I liked it anyway.  Since the leaf was oak, I mounted it over the acorn dsp.

This was a fun technique and very easy to do--thanks, Cyndy! 


TIP:  Fresh leaves that haven't fallen off the tree or bush work best.  Look for leaves that have an interesting shape or distinct edges.

STAMPERS, START YOUR CREDIT CARDS!

Here's a use for credit cards that a husband can love.  All it takes is an old credit or gift card, three or four Distress Oxide inks, some water and cardstock.

For this card, I chose Broken China, Peeled Paint and Wilted Violet; and I smeared them onto a craft sheet.  Should have been easy, but I messed up my first attempt.  Instead of water, I sprayed the inks with stamp cleaner--is that dumb or what!  Once I figured out what was wrong, I started over again, with my water spritzer--much better.

All you do is take your credit card, swipe the edge into some ink (one color per swipe works best) and spread it on to white cardstock.  I added some black lines using the edge of the credit card and a black ink pad.  Let it dry while you proceed with your design.

For my design, I started with a piece of  Marina Mist cs cut to 4x5 1/4".  After cutting out the middle (and saving it for a future card) I glued it to a white card front.  Next, I die cut the inked cs with the same die (Lil Inker) and popped it up in the empty space with dimensionals.  I noticed a piece of glitter paper that matched the card color, so I added that a third of the way up from the bottom.  Then I die cut the violets (Poppy Stamps) and attached them with glue dots under the leaves.

For the finish, I punched a small butterfly from a piece of scrap, sponged the edges with Wilted Violet and added some pearls for a body.  In spite of my earlier mistake, I made it to the finish line with a card that turned out better than I thought it would.  Whew!