Serenity in Nature

Well darn – another Saturday has come and is nearly gone and I have yet to put stamp to ink to paper!  Sadly, my hopes of a good night’s sleep last night didn’t pan out and it’s hard to get the creative juices to flow when one hasn’t slept more than 2 hours a night for the past several days.

But fortunately for me (and for you) I still have some fabulous swap cards from Convention 2013 to share with you.  These three cards ooze serenity – I feel calm and relaxed when I gaze upon their beauty.

Designed by Anonymous
{I wish I could give the artist credit here. This is gorgeous in its simplicity!}

I recall swapping for this card and asking how they created this look.  The white image is actually the “bleach” technique.  {Say what? —  Soak a paper towel in bleach, tap your stamp on the paper towel and then stamp on the card stock.  As the bleach dries the card stock will lighten.}  I haven’t tried this technique yet but this sure has inspired me to give it a try!

Designed by Rachel Durtschi
Madison, WI

After looking at this card I’m thinking Rachel designed the card above too (I’m about 98% sure she did).  This card also incorporated bleach in its design.  {For this technique, soak a cotton ball in bleach, squeeze out the excess and swipe the front of the card stock; as it dries, the card stock will lighten.  Not light enough – repeat until you get the shade you are going for.  Stamp your image on the bleached card stock (after it’s dry,  of course) and then tear the edges to reveal the true color of the card stock.}

NOTE:  One of the great things (and there are many) about Stampin’ Up! card stock is that it does not have a white core (meaning, it is colored through both layers).  The new Core’dinations card stock has a monochrome color between the layers — tear it or sand it to reveal its beauty!

Designed by Gloria Penwell

I have to confess that the By The Tide stamp set wasn’t even on my radar to be worthy of making it to my Wish List.  But now that I have seen so many different projects incorporating this set in amazing ways I’m starting to think I must have it 🙂

Designed by Susan Kong

Ok, granted – this is not a “card”.  It would, however, be a beautiful start to one!  The white card stock piece is approximately 2″ x 3″.  And there is actually a “technique” used here that I can share with you.  The shading around the bird was created using an acrylic block that has been inked.  If you look closely you will see that two different colors of ink were used.  Amazing!

That’s about all I have to share with you today.  I’m thinking tonight is the night that I will sleep tight.  {Fingers still crossed!}  Thank you for popping by.  Come back tomorrow and don’t forget those friends.

Until next time, stamp on my friends,
Linda