It doesn't seem possible that my last posting was in late July, just before I left on the 3-week trip to England, France and Italy with my sister-in-law and nieces. We had a fabulous time. That long of a trip really set my body clock on the wrong time, almost on a semi-permanent basis. I'm still going to bed early and getting up early, but perhaps that's a good thing. I've kept saying "tomorrow" I'll post to the blog for the last few weeks; however, I've not been home much. I've taken several card and book classes, too.

A couple of weeks ago, I took a class, Alcohol Inks on Yupo, given by Pam Nelson at Art 'n Soul in Lacey WA. We also used the newest release of alcohol inks from Ranger. It was very educational and loads of fun. Yupo is a synthetic paper made of polypropylene; it is non-absorbent, waterproof and recyclable. It easily die cuts and dry embossing techniques work well on it.

Because it's starting to feel like fall, I was inspired to make a card using a new stamp set from Echo Park and Yupo paper.

I applied the first alcohol ink color onto a felt applicator tool from Ranger by adding 3-4 drops to the felt pad and pouncing the color all over the Yupo. Using the same felt pad, I added each color of green, one at a time, using the same technique. Keep in mind that each new application of alcohol ink can or will re-activate any of the underlying alcohol ink, even if it is dry. The alcohol ink dries quickly. Once dry, I die cut the leaf twice from the same Yupo panel. With a piece of Elizabeth Craft Designs' Soft Finish Cardstock, I applied and blended 5 colors of Distress Inks with the foam applicator pad tool. I love the texture from this card stock; if you haven't tried it, you really must! I stamped the sentiment onto the card panel and fit the rectangular die around the words, as well as placing the leaf die onto the same panel so I could run them both through the machine at the same time. After the sentiment was die cut, I used a stippling brush and randomly applied Delicata pigment ink in Golden Glitz with a light touch.

Using a pre-cut white card (4.75" x 6.25"), I cut a cut-down panel from the Soft Finish Cardstock (4.5" x 6") and then centered the die inside that. Using only the frame edge, I backed that with a piece of black card stock (4-1/8" x 5-7/8"). Both of those pieces were then adhered to the base card. The leaves were arranged and adhered, as well as the sentiment. Three sequins were randomly placed. I liked the "low-key" colors for the beginning of fall; I'm not ready for the brilliance of the reds and oranges quite yet.

Grateful Heart Stamp EPSTAMP117 by Echo Park Paper Co. (sentiment)

Majestic Maple Die Style 1562 by PoppyStamps

Inside & Out Stitch Rounded Rectangle Die-namics Die MFT-848 by My Favorite Things

Stitched Rectangle Layers Die Designer Craft Die Set Style 30009 by Memory Box

Tim Holtz Adirondack Alcohol Inks in Butterscotch, Lettuce, Meadow and Citrus by Ranger

Tim Holtz Distress Inks in Fossilized Amber, Mustard Seed, Bundled Sage & Shabby Shutters by Ranger

Delicata Pigment Ink in Golden Glitz, VersaFine dye ink in Onyx Black by IMAGINE Crafts for Tsukineko

Tim Holtz Alcohol Ink Yupo Sheet by Ranger

Elizabeth Craft Designs' Soft Finish Cardstock 85 lb. in white (frame)

CraftMedley Creative Essentials Cup Sequins

Miscellaneous: black card stock (65 lb.) and white pre-cut white card card

This is the two-sided bookmark I made with Yupo paper in class. The first side was made by selecting 3 colors of alcohol ink and applying them in vertical rows on the felt pad, and then gliding the pad across the paper. Once that was dry, another 3 colors were selected and pounced on individually across a partial part of the tag surface. Archival ink was used to stamp the butterfly images and sentiment. If you ever have the opportunity to take a class from Pam Nelson at Art 'n Soul, just do it! You'll be ever so glad you did!

The classes by Vesta Abel at Art 'n Soul this past weekend were amazing. I'll try to share my adventures with you by the end of this week if I have time to finish it all. In the meantime, I have some fun with RubberMoon Stamps to share with you next.

Thank you for stopping by. I hope you're all doing awesome in your artistic endeavors.

#EchoParkPaperCo #MemoryBox #PoppyStamps #DienamicsSteelDies #MyFavoriteThings #TimHoltzAlcoholInks #TimHoltzDistressInks #TimHoltzYupoforAlcoholInks #ElizabethCraftDesigns #VersaFineInk #Delicata #AutumnCard