Thursday, September 14, 2017

Take Three Thursday - Abracadabra

In an effort to notice more of the ordinary in my life, I have decided to share what I have noticed this week in Take Three Thursday.  
The idea is to take photos that are linked some how; by theme, by colour, by date, by moment,  by points of view. There is no formal link in but please feel free to join in. What have you noticed this week?   

Have a peek at what others have found this week:
Maggie at: FarmersWifeDayByDay  
 
Eileen at: A Bracelet of Days  


This week was my own creating of cards & in particular that I have ventured into stamping - that's right me, I'm stamping, I'm making that commitment to paper of an image!  I attended a workshop for the crafting of these cards.  Not only was the instructor very helpful & confident in my ability to stamp, a couple of the other regular participants were on hand for little experienced tidbit sharing.  I have signed up for another workshop in October.

I created these three:

The first card is a combination of using a punch (cat) & stamping the jar, water, fish & phrase, then the stamped fish is highlight by using a metal diecut - the inside of the card has 3 stamped fish which was intended to be only one first, but the other 2 are covering up a little over zealous-ness use of ink ... it was a very interesting way to stamp & highlight the water in the jar.  I think I wanted the cat to have a face but the instructor says that the cat is looking at the fish in the jar, so we are seeing the back of the cat.



 The second card is again a technique of die cutting & stamping.  The background is stamped on using a grid template & a finger dauber.  I was assured that this the easiest method.  I chose to stamp some falling leavings & then on top two die cut leaves, one of which I backed with a solid die cut leaf; stamping the phrase, which had me thinking that it was wrong, but the stamp is made to put the phrase at an off angle.  Inside I stamped leaves in opposite corners.  Oh yes, the finishing with a metallic ribbon & bow.



 The third card was the most involved of stamping, glittering, & embossing with a small die cut deer.  The trees are die cut from glitter paper, very sparkly; all those snowflakes are individually stamped so it was time consuming.  The phrase of Peace on Earth is first stamped, then sprinkled with embossing powder, a shake off of extra & heat is applied which puffs up the words.  The snow mounds are free hand cutting.  Inside is a row of stamped snowflakes with glitter powder to highlight.  Phew such stress with so many techniques.


One Google source says Abracadabra is an old Herbrew phrase meaning "I create"   Dan Brown, the author says the word is derived from the Aramaic phrase, avrah kadavrah, which translated means “I create as I speak.” 

18 comments:

  1. I love the cards you've made. I started off stamping by attending workshops and they were really good fun. It seems that you have starting stamping just as I have made the decision that it is now an ex-hobby!

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    1. Thank you. I don't think stamping is going to be my thing, maybe just highlighting a few things but it is really expensive to buy stamps & what made me step back is that so many are in groupings that you have to purchase the whole package to get such the one or two you want. I'll most be sticking to my paper, stickers & punches. Maybe if there wasn't such a big pond between us, I might be knocking on your door to buy some of your old stamps (col).

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  2. They are great but I particularly like the first one.

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    1. Thanks Maggie - I ended up purchasing the cat punch so I can make many more cats & I'll make them with faces!

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  3. Well, these are just awesome! Hard to believe they're among your first cards. My fave is the second one, but I do love that Christmas card as well. Too bad we don't live closer; I'd be happy to share my vast collection with you. I've been at this for over 20 years, and I'm still buying new stamps. Fortunately, in the last few months I've become good friends with someone who lives just 20 minutes away. We've been sharing stamps and dies for the last couple of months. It's been great.

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    1. It would be lovely to be closer because I know you could teach me & show me SO much about card making, although I do not think for a minute I would ever be up for the gorgeous cards you make. I am very surprised at how expensive stamps & ink are (here) This was all Stampn'Up so not sure about other brands, but while lovely they are in large sets & expensive. I need a trip to Michaels with my 40% OR 50% off coupon.

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  4. You've made three lovely cards ... I especially like the background in your second one. I have quite a few stamps but never seem to use them so perhaps I need a course too!

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    1. Thanks Alexa. My previous adventure into card making has been with paper & stickers. It's surprising how many punches I have but haven't used, so while you sort through stamps, I'll be sorting through punches :)

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  5. I was sure I had commented on here already but if I didn't, sorry...
    The cards are all amazing and if I had to pick a fave, I'd say the top one. (Watch out Karen!)

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    1. Thanks Lady Ella. Karen has nothing to fear from my febble attempts. She is a master craftswoman, but I must admit I would like to be able to sit in with her at her crafting table to see how see does it. There is a technique for not getting ink all over myself that I need to learn soon.

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  6. Well I would never have believed you were a first time stamper! These are great and it was good that you could have a practice using someone else's stamps to see if you liked them before you spent any money buying your own.

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    1. It was fun, but now I want my own set! lol. Cannot wait to try again in October. I've tried a few febble on my own stamps but I failed miserably so having all that experience around me was most beneficial.

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  7. Your cards are all so lovely.
    I love to stamp and all those fun things that go along with it...happy you enjoyed it as well:)

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    1. Thanks Tracy. I'm attending my second card workshop this weekend - the instructor says it will be all Christmas cards - yipee!

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    1. Thank you Melissa. I am not sure 100% yet about stamping. I did end up with a lot of ink on me, especially the rust coloured stuff from the leaf card. I'll need an apron or bib for sure.

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