Nice surprise !

front

inside

back

back of envelope

I found a nice surprise in the mail box today - a hand made card and hand made envelope from an old friend !  It looks like the bugs, flower, bow and starbursts are punches. I recognize the stamp sets as old retired sets from Stampin' Up!

Faux Black and White Photo Rubber Stamping Tutorial

I've had this idea for some time to try to use my favorite car stamps and inks to recreate the look of an old black and white photo.  I finally did it and was quite pleased with the result, I will be making more of these! My "experimental" cards were sent to Operationwritehome.org to be used by troops to write home on.

The crayon resist technique and basic masking are used to recreate the look of a black and white photo.

SUPPLIES

Glossy White card stock

Going Gray classic ink

Basic Gray classic ink

Basic Black classic ink

Classic Convertibles stamp set (retired long ago)

Stampin' Sponge

White crayon
Sticky notes

Photo mounts

SNAIL adhesive
Unknown scrap of, map design paper

Construction paper

Stamp the image onto white glossy card stock with permanent black ink .

Use a white crayon (with a sharp point is best to get into smaller areas) to scribble on certain areas of the image that you want to remain white. It is difficult to see in the photo below, but there is a slightly dull area where the crayon has been used on the whitewalls of the tires.  Tip:  Tilt your stamped image around in bright light to check for areas you've marked on with the crayon before inking if you'd like to try to check your work. The areas where there are marks made with the crayon will be dull.

Using easy to remove sticky notes,  frame around the image. Tip: Hold the stamped image up to a light source, something as simple as a window works well. This should allow you to see where the edges of the sticky notes are in relation to the edge of your glossy card stock piece. The photo above is light from a window showing through the sticky notes; the darker yellow areas are where the sticky notes are stuck to the edge of the card stock.

You could just mask off a larger piece of paper them trim it down when you are done.

Use sponges to pounce on shades of gray ink as well as black to simulate an old  black and white photo.
You can also use shades of brown to make a sepia photo!

Gently wipe the image with a soft piece of facial tissue to remove the ink and white crayon.

Carefully remove the sticky notes from the edges.

Your faux black and white photo is now done!

If you'd like to take it a step further to make it look like a well loved old photo, you'll want to do some distressing to it. Lightly scuff the surface of the paper with sandpaper, crinkle the image, add ink splotches/smears, tear or curl the edges, poke a couple of small holes in the corners to make it look like it was tacked to a cork board or even add a sliver of torn tape to make it look as if it had been taped somewhere then removed. There are lots of ways to make your faux black and white photo rubber stamped image look vintage !

Since this rubber stamping technique was supposed to look like an old black and white photo, I wanted to keep the feel of it being in an old scrapbook. I used black photo mounts to adhere it to black construction paper that was attached to a card stock base. I then framed it with a piece of scrap paper that looks like a map.

The above finished card is 5 x 7.

Thanks for looking =) 

Center Step Card

My first attempt at making a center step card. It fits in an invitation sized envelope. I gave it to my mom for her birthday.

Instructions can be found here:
http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/centerstepcard/

side view

top view

flattened 

SUPPLIES:
Stamp: Birthday Greetings, old set from Stampin' Up!
Real Red and Very Vanilla card stock, Stampin' Up!
various decorative papers, unknown
Daisy, boxed kit of flowers unknown
Large pearl brad, unknown
mini flat back pearls, Stampin' Up!
Small flower punch, Stampin' Up!
Early Espresso ink and marker, Stampin' Up!
Clear embossing powder, Stampin' Up!

Thanks for looking =)