The King of the Dead

This is my first layered stamp. You can't really see it here, but there are three layers. Here's what I learned about doing a layered stamp:

1. It takes a lot of PZ!

2. Most of the work is spent preparing the layers and carving. When I actually made the cards, it was a snap.

3. As long as the stamps have some common straight edges (the right edge and top in this case), it's pretty easy to line the stamps up. Mine was especially easy since it really didn't matter much if I was off a little. I only "missed" once out of 46 cards.

4. It's hard to find the colors of ink you envision, especially if you're looking for shades of the same color.

Thanks, 3 Blind Mice, for inspiring me to try this technique. I'm so glad I did.

This card is for Autumn Whisper's The Hobbit swap.

From Tyra, With Love

After I had Titus in August, I received the sweetest card in the mail from Tyra of Murray Herd. This image was on the front of the card, and I tried to reproduce it for turtlelove's Welcome to Pooh Corner swap.

The brown is embossed, and the card is colored with chalks. Some cards have a tiny bee on the bottom right corner, but I cut that off after I made several cards.

Thank you, Tyra for the being the super sweet person you are.

Four Calling Birds

This is one of my favorite cards. Made for theseekers' 12 Days of Christmas swap, this card features Cotman watercolors (thanks, Tee) and a light blue chalk background (thanks, Capperpillar). Each birdie has gem for an eye. I had some alphabet stickers made from gems. I just cut the gems off and stuck them on the card.

Victorian Orchid

This card was made for MitchellMackinac's Uniquely Antiqued swap. I distressed the background paper myself. Here's how:

First, I tore some pages out of an old Alice in Wonderland book and crumpled them up. After I uncrumpled the papers, I applied the distress ink and misted the papers with water. The papers dried over night, and I ironed them flat in the morning. It was great fun, and I love the result.

I chose Alice in Wonderland because it was published during the Victorian era. During this time, the orchid was a popular flower in England. The "lace" on the side of the card is actually part of a doily. I didn't have enough rubber to carve a stem on this orchid, and I'm glad I didn't. I like the stem this way. The flower is colored lightly with chalks, and it is adhered with a foam dot.

Thanks, Michelle, for giving me that rubber. You were a life saver. I had a great time making this card in your craftroom.