Firecracker Designs Inspiration

Lately I have been so inspired by the stamp sets at Firecracker Designs. I especially love all of the scenic/landscape type sets. There are so many and they all work so well together or individually. I hope to bring you more designs using these stamps in the near future. In the meantime I was perusing the gallery (Which is full of amazingly talented people & their designs) I came across this card:

Designed by Julie Warner and called Peaceful Nature. You can see Julie's blog post highlighting the card and her directions for how she achieved this stunning look here.  While you're there be sure to look around - believe me this isn't the only amazing project that she has! Anyhow, I wondered how I might try to re-create this card or basically case it.

In the end here were my results:

 

Let me share with you how I completed mine.

I started with a reverse mask (I cut a 5" circle from the center of a piece of paper, remove the circle and discard. the frame is what becomes your reverse mask). Temporarily adhere that to your cardstock that you will be working on.

I used 6 different inks (Barely banana, Summer Sun, More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie, Only Orange & Real Red).

Starting with the lightest color I sponged it on all over my paper, then went to the next lightest color and sponged that color on but not covering the entire circle  - just going to almost the middle. Basically each time you start with a new ink color you sponge it on starting from the outside edge and don't go as far inside as you did with the previous color. Which is what gives you such depth and blending of colors. So continue on until you are at your very darkest color and at that point you are really just sponging around the edge.

Stamp the Joy of nature tree in the center of your card. I also extended the water by re-inking just the waves and stamping again. I stamped in Chocolate Chip Ink.

I then highlighted the body of the tree and other spots with a white gel pen.

My orange border is stamped with the pussy willow stamp from the set and stamped in Pumpkin Pie ink. The edges are rubbed with Pumpkin Pie and Chocolate Chip. My brown cardstock is embossed using a SU texture plate.

Anyhow I put my card out for display in my store, Inspire Me and everyone went nuts (Thanks to Julie's inspiration!) So I decided to have a class and mix up things a little bit. So when class started I said they had to pick different colors then were originally used. I want to share with you the results of that class and the color of inks they used.

This card was completed by Betty miles and she did use the same colors as my original project but stamped her tree in Tempting Turquoise. It was simply stunning! And even though we used the same colors both cards look completely unique.

 

 

 

 

 

This card was completed by Deb Russo and she used:

Bordering Blue - Bashful blue - Brocade blue - ballet blue & elegant eggplant. Her tree is stamped in Night of navy. It's simply stunning and gives the feel of winter approaching. Now I do have to take a moment to pick on Deb, her words are stamped upside down. I placed the stamps on the block and just handed them to her. It was my fault I didn't pay attention when putting them on the block. We were all so busy admiring how the colors turned out that it actually took us a while to notice and then we laughed for a long time. Thanks Deb for being such a good sport!

This is Fran Pickard's card and she used the same colors as Betty & I. She stamped her tree in Night of Navy. Another amazing result! Each one looks so beautiful and yet so different! matted on Dark blue & yellow it was a stunning finished project.

 

 

 

 

 

Lastly, but certainly not leastly is tammy's card. I owe her an apology since it appears I had the massive shakes when I took this blurry picture. And you gotta love that I permanently leave the anti shake button in the on position on my camera. And I still got blurry! But I think you can see the beautiful combination of colors. Tammy's card ended up feeling like a Sailor's Delight Sunset. She used, Blush Blossom, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, So Saffron, Apricot Appeal & Taken with Teal. She stamped her tree in Always Artichoke and placed her words to the left of her tree. Way to think out of the box Tammy!

I also want to share with you a new (Or new to me) tool that I have come across that is making applying ink so easy and giving such amazing results. It's the Sponge tool from CTMH, they are called Foam Tools, product # Z1090 and be purchased here.  Applying ink couldn't be any easier or cleaner for that matter. The handles make them so easy to hold and use! In my studio these are a MUST HAVE!

So Julie, I hope we did your original card justice and we can't thank you enough for the inspiration!

As for you Pam; Simply fantastic stamps and we are having a ball here at Inspire Me. The gallery is full of amazing ideas and will keep you busy for days.

So a big thanks to the many talented ladies that took the class, to those that inspired us and to Pam for the awesome stamps!

Comments

[Pauline]

Nice job girls. Cheryl, really like the stamps used. Have to get and see you soon.
Pauline

[Karen Madden]

Beautiful!! Very nice job! =)

[Lisa]

Cheryl I love those sponge tools also, they are so easy to use, and clean up is a sinch

[Julie (justwritedesigns)]

Cheryl, I love what y'all have done! And I'm just so tickled that you found my card inspiring enough to make it your own. With Pamela's great scenic images, there's no way to go wrong. These are all really super!!

[Pamela]

my goodness you ladies did a spectacular job!! LOVE the colors, esp. the blue moon one.....gorgeous sunsets and the blurry one (Tammy's, I hope you'll try to get a better photo) reminds me of an early misty morning....just lovely!