Here we are! We made it through the second annual month of cards! (I’ve really got to come up with a more catchy name than that!)

Today it’s all about acknowledging you! Without you, there would be no website, and No Excuse Scrapbooking would not exist. Thanks for all your support!

First of all, let’s talk about this silly acknowledgement stamp. I found it at the bottom of an abandoned desk at Gardenway, where I used to work way back before kids. Being a stamper, I couldn’t resist the kitschiness of the old school office stamp, and saved it from the garbage dump by taking it home. This is the first time I’ve used it!

To make this, you need a few different ink colors. I used a bunch of versamagic pads to create a rainbow effect. A thank you sentiment was then stamped and matted on contrasting cardstock, and voila! The last card of the month was done.

Make sure you’re on my mailing list if you’d like to get a card. Sign up is at the top righthand side of the page. One last reminder email will be sent out tomorrow for any late subscribers who’d like a card. Make sure you respond with your address so you can get a card.

Thanks again for joining me for a fabulous month of cards!

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One more version of this lovely rose stamp as a focal point. This time we’re going for a watercolor effect.

First, use distress inks to ink your stamp, spritz it with a little bit of water, and stamp it on your paper. You can use a water brush to spread ink around if you’ve got any bare spots you don’t like. Or, you can use a water brush and watercolor crayons to fill in spaces after it dries if you’d rather. Next, stamp over top of it if you want a nice, clear line to help define your stamped and watercolored image.

To get a few drops of ink splattered about, grab a spray ink, unscrew the top, and gently tap or flick the end of the feeder tube while you hold it over your stamped image. (Don’t touch the feeder tube to your paper.)

The background and sentiment were made by stamping a flower stamp in metallic ink on kraft paper, and then stamping the sentiment over top of that. A little bit of silver all around the edges, and the card is done.

What do you think? Do you like coming up with new ways to use your favorite stamps, or do prefer to stick with tried and true methods? Which rose card do you like best?

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Today we’ve got the second version of this lovely rose as a focal point.

This card required a few scraps with smaller scaled prints, and a lot of fussy cutting.

First, stamp the rose bud with a coordinating ink on multiple scraps of paper that could be considered flower colors. Here I used a reddish ink, with scraps in the red to pink range. There were five distinct sections of the rose bud, so I used five different  red scraps.

The next step is to stamp the leaves multiple times on green scraps with green ink. (Although, I suppose, the leaves don’t have to be green.)

After you’ve done your stamping and let the ink dry, start trimming out the pieces you want to use. Stamp the main image in green and whatever color you’re using for the rosebud on white paper, and then use a detail glue applicator to adhere the cut out pieces to your stamped image.

To tie it all together, Use more pieces of the scraps you used to make the flower to create color blocks that help fill in the front of the card. Add a sentiment, and your card is all set!

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Before we get started with today’s card, I want to wish everyone in the US a Happy Thanksgiving! And to everyone out there, may your day be filled with love and laughter!

Then next three days we’ll be looking at using one stamp in three different ways. Each day will have slightly different techniques, but the focal stamp will be the same: this lovely rose.

Today’s focal image was stamped with memento ink, and then colored with copic markers. Which brings us to our first thought for the day. Just because you want to color with copics doesn’t mean you have to use black ink. Try using some other colors and see how they work for you.

The rose was then cut out and adhered on a lovely handmade marbled paper. (Another Skycraft design I believe.) For the sentiment, a frame was stamped with metallic ink, and then a rub on sentiment was added to the center of the frame, which was then cut out and adhered as well.

I think we’ve established this month that I like to keep things simple. Cards that let stamped images shine have worked so much better than the incredibly complicated ones. Plus, they are much cheaper to mail!

As always, if you’d like to receive a card in the mail from me, make sure you’re on my mailing list. Sign up is on the top righthand side of the page.

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copic sketch markers

You know that ginkgo stamp I used last week? Was it last week? I can’t remember– this month has been a blur!

Any hoo…

I love that ginkgo stamp, and wanted to use it again. This time I stamped it on gold mirror cardstock.

No alcohol inks this time. Instead, I used the Smooch inks to paint the center leaf and really make it stand out. A coordinating stamp on the card base, and the card was finished. Hardest part? Not smearing any of the ink. A heat tool helped set everything quickly.

I love how simple and elegant this card is! Here’s a little bit closer so you can see the details:

As always, make sure you’re on my email list so you can get a card in the mail. Thanks for visiting!

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