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jessica frost-ballas

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Rubeena’s Crafting Anniversary Blog Hop (+GIVEAWAYS!)

28 Aug

Good morning!  I am so excited to be a stop on Ruby’s crafting anniversary blog hop!  Back in 2015 I had been posting my cards online for a few months but hadn’t really met anyone.  I’d post photos of my cards on Facebook and the only comments would be from my family and students.  Ha.  Then in late February I joined a design team with Ruby and a few days after joining I got this message on Facebook:

…and yes I scrolled back through hundreds of thousands (literally) of Facebook messages to find this one…we won’t discuss how long that took. Ha.

That one message in 2015 sparked my very first crafty friendship; and three and a half years later, we’ve had our ups and downs (as all friendships do), but we’re still chatting almost daily (mostly in gifs…ha) about life, crafting, food, pets, and shopping! 😉 We only met for the first time in person last January at Creativation but it feels like we’ve known each other FOREVER. 🙂

When Ruby invited me to join her anniversary hop I knew I wanted to make a card that included elements that remind me of Ruby: watercolor, gold, splatter, and a white embossed black label sentiment…plus one thing that is a bit of a trademark in my own crafting: sparkle!! 😉

I’ve shared a video using this technique awhile ago and it’s inspired by another crafty friend, Kelly Latevola!  To start I smooshed candied apple, picked raspberry, mustard seed, and abandoned coral distress inks onto a piece of acetate and used my finger to blend the inks together to get rid of any harsh lines.  Then I turned the acetate over and smooshed it on a piece of watercolor paper.  I let it dry and then stamped the floral arrangement from Simon Says Stamp’s Strangeness with barely beige no-line ink using my MISTI. I left the stamp inside my MISTI so I could restamp later.

Next I took copic markers and added shading to the inside of each flower.  I left the leaves alone for a little contrast.  Once I was done coloring I placed the watercolor paper back in my MISTI, restamped the floral arrangement using versamark, and heat-embossed it with gold tinsel embossing powder.  Then I masked the arrangement and splattered it with gold metallic paint.  Once that dried I trimmed the watercolor panel down and adhered it to a black card base.  I stamped the sentiment from Altenew’s Hello Sunshine onto black cardstock and heat-embossed it with white embossing powder.  I trimmed it down to a label and adhered it to the card with foam mounting tape.  I added a little sparkle to the red flowers with spectrum noir clear sparkle and then added a few red jewels to finish the card!

Congrats on four years, Ruby, and here’s to the next forty! 😉

To celebrate Ruby’s crafty anniversary there’s a horde of sponsors and amazing crafty prizes!  For a full list of prizes, visit Ruby’s blog and don’t forget to hop along on all the day one stops!  You should have arrived from The Stamp Market blog and my friend Nina-Marie is your next stop!  Thanks so much for visiting and happy hopping!!

Interested in the products I used?  To make them easy for you to find, I have listed them below. (Affiliate disclosure can be found here). Your purchases help keep my blog running and I thank you for the support!

Simon Says Clear Stamps STRANGENESS…
[ SSS ]
Altenew HELLO SUNSHINE Clear Stamp…
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Distress Mini Ink Pad…
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Distress Mini Ink Pad…
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Distress Mini Ink Pad…
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Distress Mini Ink Pad…
[ SSS ]
Copic Markers
[ SSS ]
Simon Says Stamp Card Stock 100#…
[ SSS ]
Neenah Classic Crest 110 LB SMOOTH…
[ SSS ]
Strathmore BRISTOL SMOOTH 9 x 12…
[ SSS ]
Inkadinkado EMBOSSING MAGIC Powder…
[ SSS ]
Simon Says Stamp Premium Ink Pad…
[ SSS ]
Tsukineko Versamark EMBOSS INK PAD…
[ SSS ]
Simon Says Stamp EMBOSSING POWDER…
[ SSS ]
Ranger Embossing Powder GOLD Tinsel…
[ SSS ]
Precision Heat Embossing Tool Gun…
[ SSS ]
Finetec MICA WATERCOLOR PEARLESCENT…
[ SSS ]
Crafter’s Companion CLEAR OVERLAY…
[ SSS ]
Little Things From Lucy’s Cards…
[ SSS ]
Ranger MINI ROUND INK BLENDING TOOLS…
[ SSS ]
Ranger MINI ROUND FOAM REFILLS IBT40972
[ SSS ]
3M Scotch DOUBLE-SIDED FOAM TAPE…
[ SSS ]
3M Scotch PINK ATG ADVANCED TAPE…
[ SSS ]
MISTI PRECISION STAMPER Stamping Tool…
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Tonic MAXI GUILLOTINE…
[ SSS ]

 

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Comments:
181 Comments
Categories:
bloghop, card-making, crafting, design team, simon says stamp
Tags:
altenew, copic, distress ink, simon says stamp

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Comments

  1. Marsha D says

    August 29, 2018 at 9:19 am

    So lovely as always.

    Reply
  2. memalagene says

    August 29, 2018 at 10:10 am

    Awesome card! I especially love the gold embossing, it makes your smooshing POP! Congrats to Rubeena!

    Reply
  3. Jeanne Beam says

    August 29, 2018 at 11:04 am

    Beautiful card!
    Thanks so much for sharing…

    Reply
  4. Emmaline says

    August 29, 2018 at 11:10 am

    Beautiful card! I love the loose watercolor look – I’ve been trying to perfect that with not much success!

    Reply
  5. Sherri says

    August 29, 2018 at 11:12 am

    Intense. I like it.

    Reply
  6. Chris Mason says

    August 29, 2018 at 11:43 am

    Beautiful card…love the colours and of course the bit of sparkle.

    Reply
  7. Jennifer K says

    August 29, 2018 at 12:02 pm

    Gorgeous cards, I love how you shaded just the flowers!

    Reply
  8. Beth B. says

    August 29, 2018 at 12:47 pm

    The ink smooshing and filling in the balance of the Flowers looks so organic. I’ll have to try it.

    Reply
  9. Missy Verhey says

    August 29, 2018 at 1:02 pm

    Examples are beautiful.

    Reply
  10. Martha H. says

    August 29, 2018 at 1:11 pm

    Absolutely gorgeous! Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  11. Sheri Kempke says

    August 29, 2018 at 1:13 pm

    Gorgeous card–love the gold embossing, makes your flower really stand out!

    Reply
  12. Michelle Hackett says

    August 29, 2018 at 1:25 pm

    I love this technique of using distress inks for watercolor looks. It’s so vibrant and beautiful.

    Reply
  13. Francene Greene says

    August 29, 2018 at 1:46 pm

    Such a BEAUTIFUL card! Many thanks for sharing your creativity.

    Reply
  14. Sandi Pressley says

    August 29, 2018 at 2:40 pm

    I love your card Jessica and I am normally not much of a fan of gold.

    Reply
  15. Parker Lee says

    August 29, 2018 at 2:44 pm

    Thanks for the heartfelt story, and also for the “Rubeena” card which is phenomenal.

    Reply
  16. Lenice W says

    August 29, 2018 at 3:46 pm

    Stunning card! Lovely color choice and watercolor use! Very inspiring! Happy anniversary to Rubeena!

    Reply
  17. Keiren Dunfee says

    August 29, 2018 at 3:51 pm

    Beautiful card, so vibrant and that gold sets off the red so beautifully!

    Reply
  18. Tracy B. says

    August 29, 2018 at 4:09 pm

    Beautiful card! She is very lucky to have you as a friend. And what a wonderful blog hop supporting such a talented crafter.

    Reply
  19. Teri W says

    August 29, 2018 at 4:32 pm

    Jess, I love color and you nailed it!

    Reply
  20. Miriam Prantner says

    August 29, 2018 at 4:57 pm

    Oh I love that sparkly embossing and those gorgeous bold colors/flowers!

    Reply
  21. Angie Hall says

    August 29, 2018 at 5:16 pm

    Beautiful card. I want to try this technique of ink smooching then adding details with marker. Thanks

    Reply
  22. Esther says

    August 29, 2018 at 6:06 pm

    What a gorgeous card! I love the bright colors and gold sparkle together!

    Reply
  23. Patt H. says

    August 29, 2018 at 8:34 pm

    Love the vibrant colors & this beautiful Stamp! Gorgeous card!

    Reply
  24. Amy Cooley says

    August 29, 2018 at 10:23 pm

    Simply gorgeous design!

    Reply
  25. Rema DeLeeuw says

    August 30, 2018 at 12:36 am

    Beautiful card!

    Reply
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Jessica About Me Photo
Hi, I'm Jess! Thanks for visiting my blog where I share my adventures in cardmaking and papercrafting! I hope I can inspire you to craft with a little extra sparkle!

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Disclosure

I design for several companies because I truly love their products! Anything I recommend on my blog is something that I genuinely love and regularly use. I do not get paid for product reviews and I will never recommend a product that I do not like or would not use.

I am affiliated with several of my favorite crafty companies which means I receive a small commission (at no additional cost to you!!) when you click on one of my links and make a purchase through the store.

You can find my full disclosure as well as a list of the companies I am affiliated with HERE. Thank you so much for supporting me!

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