Creative Expressions Calling Card Challenge

Creative Expressions are looking for a design team, and as part of the process have set a 'Calling Card' challenge.

From their website:

The challenge is called... Calling CardThe only requirements of this challenge are that you create a project that includes rubber stamping of some sort and that an ATC is featured somewhere in the piece. Other than that the challenge is completely open to your interpretation! 

I had a great time with this challenge - as the state of my kitchen table can attest!!

What I used:

Paper - 7x7 square base card, pink, green, black and purple Core-dinations, small scraps of colour for tickets, chipboard (or cereal box!)
Shrink Plastic
Inks - Archival, Versa Mark, gold pen
Stamps - Tim Holtz 'Fairy Tale Frenzy' for Start/Ending, Tim Holtz  'enjoy the journey', Creative Expressions Tickets, Creative Expressions Vintage Illusion set for train
Die - Spellbinders Elegant Posts
Mask - Special Touch of Mica Compass mask
Eyelets (1/8 gold, 3/16 purple), screw brad and split rings

I've ended up with a card I like to think of as "Steam Punk goes Pastel" which features a hanging ATC (Artist Trading Card) with one of my (current!) favourite 'true-isms' "No one can go back and make a brand new start. Anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending."



Making the ATC
I started with the ATC and cut a piece of purple Core-dinations card to 2.5 x 3.5 inches and lightly sanded it.

I stamped 'enjoy the journey' (a Tim Holtz stamp) using Versa Mark before embossing with a clear superfine embossing powder and a heat gun.

As I wanted the ATC to 'hang' on the card I added two purple eyelets at the top and then got to work on the embellishments.

I love love love a bit of shrink plastic so stamped my Tim Holtz 'start/ending' quote on a piece of white shrink plastic with black Archival ink.  I left the ink to dry (resisting the urge to hurry it along with a  heat gun!) before punching a hole in each of the corners.  Now I let the heat gun do its magic and was once again a 10 year old enthralled as the little piece of plastic melted and twisted and turned and looked ready for disaster before.... poof...it's a flat shrunk quote!

As the holes shrunk (obviously) I made them a little bigger so the 1/8 eyelets would fit in.

I used a gold permanent ink marker to colour the edges and add a thin border before applying a layer of Glossy Accents.  At this stage I recommend putting the piece somewhere far away from clumsy elbows and inquisitive fingers (mine) to dry completely before glueing onto the bottom right of the ATC.

To add a bit of colour to the ATC I stamped and cut out the 'Inspire/Create/Hope/Dream' tickets from some coloured cardstock.  I punched a hole in the corner of the tickets, attached them together with a screw top brad and fanned them out before glueing them to the card.

Making the Base Layer
The base of the card is 6.5 inch square of green Core-dinations which I embossed with a compass mask before sanding.

I then sanded a 6.5x4 inch piece of pink Core-dinations card and stamped the train from Creative Expressions Vintage Illusion set.

Making the Hanging Post
The hanging post is made from two Spellbinders Elegant Posts dies which I joined together to make the full shape.

Because I wanted the posts to be very sturdy so the ATC could hang from it I really needed chipboard (which I didn't have) so I improvised by using a Bran Flakes box (I expect any cereal box would work!) and cutting each of the posts 4 times (I didn't emboss these layers).  I used a sponge to apply black ink to each layer (so the edges would be black) before gluing the 4 layers together.

I then cut a final layer of the posts from black Core-dinations card which I did emboss.  I glued that  layer on the top and now had a very sturdy post!!

To finish everything off I used split rings to attach the ATC to the hanging post.  I wanted the ATC to hang freely so I attached the hanging post to the base card with Pinflair (I didn't put any glue on the ATC itself).

Put the finished piece onto a 7x7 square card and you're done!!

Look! No Distress Inks!

Just when I was beginning to doubt my ability to make a card without Distress Inks or Core-dinations this little flower card stamped its way into my collection!

I've loved the effect of ink over clear embossing since I first discovered it - but this is the first time I've used it in a card (rather than just on a random piece of paper!).

The base of the card is a piece of white card.  I stamped the flower image with Versa Mark and then embossed with a clear embossing powder.

I then covered the page  with Big & Juicy Hydrangea ink using a brayer.  (Holy messy fingers batman!  Ink everywhere! But I liked the effect.)  I wiped the ink off of the embossed area and was left wit h the lovely white image.

I then cut three small squares of white card and stamped the same flower image on to each.  I glued these onto the base of the card with some Pinflair glue.

I put the whole thing onto a 5x7 white gloss card.

Distressed but Pretty

I'm going to be honest.  I love this card.

First, it uses my favourite stamp sentiment "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass but learning to dance in the rain".  Second, I got to use a lot of leftover Core-dinations scraps for the flowers (cut using Spellbinders Florals) and third it's got ribbon I got to dye to match the flowers!

So although it's distressed I think it's quite pretty.

Air Dry Foam Stuff

When I attended Leonie's workshop I bought some 'super lightweight modelling clay' which I confess I wasn't entirely sure would ever get used.  Then one evening I decided to open it up - introduced it to some rubber stamps and really haven't looked back since!  My little box of  'random things I've made that I may use one day' has grown exponentially.

This week I managed to make two cards using some of those random things!

The first is the inventor card which brings a smile to my face.  I stamped the inventor (from Creative Expressions Vintage Inventor) and then added a spring stamp (sort of reminding me of toys we had as kids) using a rusty brown Stayz On ink and then cut it out, and distressed it lightly with some Antique Linen Distress Ink to remove the bright white.

I attached it to the card with a spring which means he bobbles around on the top of the card which makes me smile.

The background is some red Core-dinations card embossed with a Special Touch of Mica Cogs mask.

The large 'poster' embellishment is made from the Creative Expressions Collage stamp plate covered witih Versa Mark and then pressed into the air dry foam.  Carefully (very carefully) remove the stamp and allow to dry.  I then use some gleam to add some colour and bring out the pattern and matted it onto a piece of black card using brad screws in the corner for a bit of interest.

The 'inventor' and 'lightbulb' embellishment were also made with the air dry foam.

I matted the whole thing onto a black card.

For the second card I started by inking over the Special Touch of Mica Compass mask with Dried Marmalade, Scattered Straw and Rusty Hinge Distress Inks.  I then gave it a few spritzes of Copper Cosmic Shimmer.  I matted that onto a card I had painted with a Copper Mica watercolour.

I tore a strip brown Core-dinations paper and then sanded it gently.  I stamped 'enjoy the journey' repeatedly with Versa Mark and then embossed with clear embossing powder. I attached it to the base card with 4 gold eyelets.

I finished it off with 4 tickets made from the air dry foam and Creative Expressions Tickets stamps.