It's Monday and time for another week of work, school and keeping up with life in general. I hope you had a chance to relax on the weekend and do something that you love. It's amazing how just a small amount of "me" time will make huge difference in how well my week goes. Today I spent a few hours in a hammock in our back yard reading. It was perfect!
I created some Artist Trading cards last week for a swap that were airbrushed with Copic markers and it inspired me to do some airbrushing again this week. The main point that I want to share with you about this ATC is that I stamped it on Craft-a-Board. The best way I can describe it, is that it's a really smooth creamy chipboard that takes ink like a dream!
I want to share a design with you that uses Magnetic Masking Material. These 8.5 x 11 flexible magnetic sheets have with a white topcoat that allow you to stamp and then cut out the shape. It is thin enough to be cut with most die cut systems, dies and electronic cutters including the Cricut. I am going to use it with the Craft Assistant which is a metal craft plate that acts as an extra set of hands. It assists by holding the magnetic masks firmly in position while I airbrush.
Stamp desired images on the white side of the magnetic sheet and trim out with sharp tip scissors. Usually when I am cutting am image out I leave a white border, but in this case I am trimming right on the line or even just slightly inside.
Stamp the image again, this time on the paper you wish you airbrush on. The stamp set I am using in Antique Engraving (Hero Arts) and the paper collection is Origins 6x6 Paper Pad (Basic Grey).
Place your stamped image on the Craft Assistant and then place your hand cut magnetic mask over the image. It will stay in place even with the force from the airbrush! So cool. I have airbrushed around the butterfly with G28 Ocean Green Copic Marker using the chisel tip which produces a finer mist of ink. I do use the Sparmax AC-101 Windstorm Airbrush Compressor and have to admit that I LOVE it. It truly works like a dream and I use it a lot!
I will keep this mask and use it over and over again.
To finish the card:
-color the circle details on the butterfly with Lemon and Melon Spica Glitter Pens (Does anyone else notice that those two words use the exact same letters? I am such a geek.) Apply Glossy Accents over the areas you just colored and allow to dry.
-stamp the sentiment "My soul is in the sky" with Jet Black Archival Ink from the Vintage Butterflies stamp set (CHF)
-prick to small holes with the Tonic Retractable Craft Pick just above the butterfly's head and insert some of the wire stems from the Ivory Mini Gypso Flowers (Prima) and secure them with tape on the back side.
-die cut a Large Classic Scalloped Rectangle from Vanilla Bean Cardstock (Memory Box)
-attach small Offbeat brads to each corner of the rectangle
-adhere a Green at Heart button with Mini Glue Dots
-adhere the Origins flourish corner layer to a Vanilla Bean Note card which is sold with the matching colored envelope (show in the photo)
-adhere the focal image to the flourish corner layer with 3D Foam Squares
One more quick and simple project using Arturo Note Cards and Craft-a-Board to create your own letter press designs.
Stamp Artsy Blooms (*Please note that Ellen only sells this image Cling Mounted) image onto the Arturo Note Card with an ink compatible with Copic such as Memento or Adirondack. Color the image as desired. Most letter press is printed with solid and even colors, no shading. We all spend lots of time learning to shade with our Copics, but they are fabulous to create a block of color too!
Stamp the image again, this time on Craft-a-Board and fussy cut it out. Do leave a small white border around the edge of the image this time.
Create the following sandwich for your die cut machine: plate, embossing mat, stamped Arturo paper, Craft-a-Board cut out image, plate. I used a few pieces of Judikins Eclipse Tape to ensure that the image doesn't move while going through the machine. It's so thin that it won't leave a mark on your paper and sticky enough to "stick" but not leave any residue behind when you remove it.
In case you can not tell from the picture, the image is embossed deeply over and just to the outside of the entire image.
Told you it was quick and simple! I just created a set of these as a gift for some one and left them blank so that they could be an any occasion card.
Well, that's quite enough yaking from me for today. Have a great week!
Cheers, Lisa