Hello Handsome

Several months ago I got the Ranger Tiny Attacher at my local scrapbooking store. Sadly, since putting it away where I decided it belongs, it has not seen much use. Since Simon Says Stamp's Monday challenge this week is to use something that you don't use much, I figured this was a good time to break out my Tiny Attacher. And yet, I still kept forgetting to use it! So today I was determined to use it.

I figured, since staples can look more masculine than feminine, I would make a masculine love card to send to Operation Write Home. I used the following OWH sketch for my design:

Since the center panels in the sketch were 3x4", I decided this would also be a perfect opportunity to use my 3x4" Stitched Journaling Card die by Lawn Fawn. I wanted a patriotic card, so I pulled out my "Red White and Blue" 6x6" patterned paper pad by We R Memory Keepers. I die cut one of the panels from the blue star paper in the pad, and the other from a scrap of burgundy cardstock I had in my stash. I layered them and glued them together.

I stamped the greeting using one of the sentiments from this stamp set by Hero Arts, using Chipped Sapphire Distress ink on a scrap of white cardstock. I cut it into a banner shape, then glued it down to the die cut panels, adding 2 staples with my Tiny Attacher.

I chose another pattern from the same WRMK paper pad for the background, and matted it with a piece of navy blue cardstock. I adhered the die cut panels to the background, and then adhered the card front to a standard A2, side-folding card base. All-in-all, the card came together remarkably quickly.

I'm also entering this in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday "Anything Goes"
a2z Scrapbooking's "Stars & Stripes" June Linky Party

Happy Birthday 2 U

After making a few technique-heavy cards, I decided to take a bit of a break and do something relatively simple. The June Linky Party theme at a2z Scrapbooking's blog is "Stars and Stripes," so I decided to do something incorporating that theme. I also decided I wanted to make a kid's card, since I don't do nearly enough of those for Operation Write Home.

I began by pulling out a new-to-me 6x6" patterned paper pad, "Boy Crazy" by My Minds Eye. I had picked this up at the Great American Scrapbook Convention this month in Arlington, TX, because I felt it would be perfect for kids' cards. I ended up choosing one of the star patterns from that pad for the main background.

I also wanted to use one of my newer die sets: Spellbinders "Labels One." So I turned to my binder of OWH sketches in search of one that incorporated either a square or circle. This is the one I decided on:

Besides the circle element, the main thing that drew me to this sketch was the large background area with the scalloped trim. I felt this large piece would showcase the patterned paper, without letting it overwhelm the card. To make my trim, I punched a strip of yellow-orange cardstock with the "Binding Edge" edger punch by EK Success. I felt the torn-notebook look was more gender-neutral than a scalloped border, and might resonate with someone looking for a card to send to his/her child. After I punched the strip & trimmed it down a little, I glued it to the back of the patterned paper piece and set that aside.

I used a greeting from this Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps set, stamping it onto a piece of light grey cardstock. I liked the bold, graphic look of the stamp, and how it packs a punch. I heat embossed it with American Crafts Zing! embossing powder in Rouge, to pick up on the red in the star patterned paper. After it cooled, I die cut the label, and inked around the edges with Pumice Stone Distress ink, to provide a little more depth and dimension with no bulk.

Finally it was time to assemble the card. I cut a piece of red cardstock to 4.25x5.5", and centered & adhered the background panel onto it using my ATG tape runner. (I did use liquid glue under the trim, to keep it from pulling up & snagging other cards in the package for OWH.) After that I glued the label in place, adhered the front to the card base, and the card was finished. Well, I thought it was finished.

I decided the design was just a bit too heavy on the right, and wanted to do something on the left to balance it out. So, as a test run, I penciled in dots in the upper and lower left corners. I liked the effect (and my mom concurred when I asked for her opinion!), and so I erased my pencil marks and replaced them using a white Sakura Gelly Roll pen. THEN I was finished!

I'm also entering this card in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday "Anything Goes"
Operation Write Home/Our Daily Bread Designs June Challenge: "Dies or Punches"

Can't Wait to Hug You

Since A Blog Named Hero issued their Challenge #46, "Bokeh," I've become interested in recreating a light effect using basically just color media and paper/cardstock. (I've done a couple of cards for this challenge already, which you can see here and here.) I got the complete set of Faber-Castell gelatos a couple of months ago, and had not used them much. I read this blog post this morning, in which she used gelatos to stamp with, and it gave me the kick in the pants I needed to break mine out. Since I had some free time this afternoon, I decided to give bokeh another go, this time with Distress ink & my gelatos.

Since I am going to send this card to Operation Write Home, I started by cutting a piece of white cardstock to 4.25x5.5", the size of a standard A2 card. I taped Simon Says Stamp's "Falling Stars" stencil over it, and smooshed Versamark ink though the stencil. Once I had gotten enough ink on the cardstock, I removed the stencil, sprinkled American Crafts Zing! clear embossing powder over the cardstock, and heat embossed the stars.

To create the bokeh effect, I first blended Tumbled Glass Distress ink over the whole panel to set a light blue base color. Then I took two colors of gelatos and made random dots on the cardstock. I used my water brush to spread and blend the gelato colors, so they have a soft appearance. In hindsight, I wished I had used watercolor paper instead of cardstock, since I ended up using quite a bit of water. But I was very careful, and didn't have too much pilling of the cardstock, so it worked out OK.

To create the moon, I die cut a circle from white cardstock using one of the dies from the Spellbinders Standard Circles SM set. I scribbled yellow gelato onto it, and blended the color with my finger. That gave it a subtle, mottled look, which I must admit was a pleasant surprise, since I'd expected a more solid color.

I stamped the owls from Hero Arts "Li'l Hoot" set onto watercolor paper with Ranger Archival Jet Black ink, and, after giving the ink a few minutes to dry thoroughly, colored them with Inktense pencils. I fussy cut the image, and went around the white edges with a black brush tip marker, to blend them in with the black stamping. I determined where I wanted my moon on the card front, and glued it down, going off the edge slightly. I glued the owls on top of the moon, and trimmed off the overhanging portion.

I decided I wanted to use 2 of the greeting stamps from the same Hero Arts set. I stamped each onto white cardstock with Versamark, and heat embossed them with Recollections "Snow" embossing powder. After cutting out the banner shapes, I blended Chipped Sapphire ink over them, and glued them to the card front. Finally, I adhered the whole front panel to a top-folding A2 card base.

I'm also entering this card in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday "Anything Goes"
Simon Says Stamp's Monday "I Ought to Use This More" (gelatos)

Thanx Squash Fold Card

I decided to do one more entry for A Blog Named Hero's "Bokeh" challenge (#46). The other day, I saw an older video on YouTube by Dawn Olchefske on making a squash fold card. You can check out her original post on her blog. I decided to give it a go myself.

I began by making my card front panel. I smooshed Distress inks in Mustard Seed, Evergreen Bough, and Peacock Feathers onto my craft mat, then sprayed them liberally with my water mister bottle. I took a piece of watercolor paper I'd cut to size, and pressed it into the inks on the mat, creating a spotty blend of colors. When that had dried, I taped Hero Arts "Tweed" stencil over the panel, and smeared Golden's Fiber Paste over it. This paste gives the feel of handmade paper where it's applied. It picked up a little bit of the ink, but mostly stayed kind of a translucent white. I let that dry overnight, just to make sure it was thoroughly dry.

For my greeting panel, I stamped the "thanx" from this Hero Arts stamp set onto the smooth side of a piece of watercolor paper with Versafine Onyx Black ink. I then heat embossed it with American Crafts Zing! clear embossing powder. I die cut the label with a die from Sizzix's "Labels, Wavy" set. To color inside the letters, I pressed my Wild Honey Distress ink pad onto an acrylic block, to use as my palette. I took a small paintbrush and used it to apply clear water inside each letter. After I wet each letter, I picked up some ink and dropped it in to the water layer, "guiding" the color down towards the bottom of the letter, to give a gradient effect. Finally, I blended Scattered Straw Distress ink around the word, out to the edges of the label, and went around the very edges with Wild Honey, to give it more definition.

The inside is where the bokeh effect happens. I took the larger star stamp from this set, and stamped it repeatedly all over the inside, using Scattered Straw, Wild Honey, and Spiced Marmalade Distress inks. I thought this star tied in nicely with the small star in the "a" in the greeting. I matted 2 pieces of bristol paper with yellow cardstock, to use for writing on, and adhered them to the unfolded panels.

To finish the card front, I cut a piece of white cardstock to 4x4", then blended Wild Honey around the perimeter. I glued the stenciled panel, cut to 3-7/8" square, to that, then glued that to the front of the card base. I punched a hole in each end of the label and threaded a length of bakers twine from Maya Road (to keep the finished card closed) through the holes and around the back. I applied liquid glue very liberally to the back of the label, and glued it in place, placing a weight on top until it dried so it wouldn't shift. Since this wouldn't qualify as a "regular" card for Operation Write Home, I am going to use it as an AnyHero card, to write a thank you note to one of our overseas heroes.

I am also entering this card in Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday "Anything Goes" challenge.

Happy Happy Bears

Challenge #46 at A Blog Named Hero is to use a bokeh effect on a project. According to this article on Wikipedia, bokeh is  "'the way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light.'" Basically, with this effect, lights in the background of a photo are blurred. So, the challenge is to recreate that look, without using light of course.

For this card, I began by looking through my collection of stencils, and found this stencil by Donna Downey. I figured it would be perfect for this technique. Next, I went through my binder full of Operation Write Home sketches, looking for one with a large background panel to do my stenciling on. I also wanted a place for my greeting and somewhere for the bears to stand. This one seemed to fit the bill perfectly:

I chose my greeting from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps' "Happy Happy" set, & paired it with the bears from Hero Arts' "Li'l Hoot" set. (I've had the "Li'l Hoot set for quite some time, and have sadly not used it that often. I will definitely have to remedy that, because it is a fun set, and perfect for cards to send to kids.) I stamped the bears first on watercolor paper using Ranger Archival Jet Black ink. I needed a waterproof ink because I would be coloring them with my Inktense pencils & water. This particular ink holds up well; doesn't bleed; and cleans off even clear stamps fairly well, though it does stain them slightly.

I cut strips of patterned papers using scraps from My Mind's Eye "Chevron" and Graphic45's "Botanical Tea" 6x6" pads. I heat embossed my greeting on the flip side of the brown dot patterned paper, using Recollections "Snow" embossing powder. I die cut that with a Spellbinders Classic Circle die. Then I set those pieces aside while I worked on my bokeh background.

I taped the stencil over a piece of white cardstock, and used Tumbled Glass, Broken China, and Peacock Feathers Distress inks with my ink blending tool. I started by blending the Tumbled Glass over the stencil; then shifted the stencil slightly so the dots were offset from the first ones, went over the stencil again with Broken China; and finished the same way with Peacock Feathers.

I cut a piece of kraft cardstock to 4.25x5.5" and glued it to an A2-size card. I adhered my background piece over that, then positioned & glued my paper strips and greeting. After fussy-cutting the bears and going around the edges with a black brush tip marker to hide the white paper, I glued them down, tucking the baby bear slightly under the greeting piece to ground the pair further. My last step was to use a Sakura white gel pen to do some faux stitching around the greeting circle.

I hope some hero overseas will use this card to write home to his/her son or daughter.

I'm also entering this card in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp's Monday "I Ought to Use this More"
Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps "All About Animals"

A Wonderful Friend

After doing a couple of one-layer cards, I decided to go for one with lots of layers, which I think is a little more my style. My main inspiration for this card was actually a2z Scrapbooking Supplies' "Stars & Stripes" June Linky Party challenge on their blog. I had done another card earlier this month for this challenge, which was more patriotic. This time, I decided to go for bright, summery colors.

I based my design on one of Operation Write Home's sketches from May:

For the focal panel, I decided to do a technique I learned in the Watercolor for Card Makers class at Online Card Classes. Tim Holtz demonstrated how to use Distress inks and a stencil to create a monoprint. I used watercolor paper; Tim Holtz's "Stars" stencil; and Distress inks in Picked Raspberry, Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, and Peacock Feathers to create my monoprint. Then I set that aside to dry while I worked on the rest of the card.

For the striped background, I adhered strips of green & yellow cardstock to a blue piece, then ran the whole panel through my die cutting machine with the "A2 Tiny Stars" embossing folder by The Paper Studio. I stitched around the edge with my sewing machine and some turquoise thread. I love stitching on paper like this, and don't think to do it often enough. Usually it's more like, "Oh shoot--I could/should have added some stitching!"

I matted the background first with a piece of magenta cardstock, then with a piece of white cardstock I colored by blending Mowed Lawn Distress ink over it. I used the same combination for matting the focal panel.

I cut 3 banners from white cardstock, and white heat embossed the second part of my greeting on the longest one. I blended Peacock Feathers over that one, and Tumbled Glass & Broken China over the other two. I die cut the "You" from more of the magenta cardstock, using this die by Simon Says Stamp, which coordinates with the stamp set I used.

After gluing the matted focal panel to the embossed background, I adhered the banners, and glued the die cut on the upper two banners, slightly overlapping the third. I used a trick I learned from Debby Hughes in that same watercolor class. To glue down detailed die cuts like the "you," apply small dots of glue to the back, then tap the back side onto a piece of scratch paper to take off a little of the glue, and stick it down to your project. This way, glue doesn't tend to smoosh out around the die cut.

This card definitely took more time to make than the one-layer cards I did. But I had lots of fun doing it, too!

I'm also entering this in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday "You Gotta Have Friends"
Simon Says Stamp's Monday "I Ought to Use This More" (sewing machine)

You Should Be Playing!

I decided to shake things up a bit, by posting a scrapbook layout instead of a card. Scrapbooking was actually my first love in the world of paper crafting. While I don't do it nearly enough these days (especially considering the hundreds of photos I have to scrapbook!), I still enjoy creating layouts.

These photos are of our youngest cat, Barney, when he was a kitten. This "trackball" toy was his favorite, and he still plays with it 2 years later.

With the patterned paper strips, I wanted to have a "circle" theme, to complement the toy in the photos. I chose the blue papers by Me and My Big Ideas based on the color of the toy. I created the striped paper by blending Scattered Straw & Brushed Corduroy onto white cardstock, using Simon Says Stamp's "Diagonal Stripes" stencil. I mainly wanted to have a contrast with the circles and blue color.

I used an EK Success edger punch (sorry, but I don't know the name) to punch the scalloped banner strips using a piece of patterned paper from My Mind's Eye "Boy Crazy" 6x6" pad.

After marking where my main photo would go, I adhered the patterned papers at a diagonal onto a piece of mid-tone grey cardstock. I adhered the focal photo even with the lower edge of the bottom strip of paper. Then I glued the smaller photos in a line above that. Finally I glued the banners in place.

For the cat embellishment, I stamped the image on watercolor paper using Ranger Archival Jet Black ink, and colored it to look like Barney with Inktense pencils and water. I cut it out, and went around the edges with a black marker to cover the white. Finally I glued it in place.

I printed the title & date onto pieces of the paper I used for the banners, and the journaling onto a piece of blue cardstock. After adhering those, I die cut circles from patterned paper, and glued them in place to create a visual triangle around the page.

I finished up the page by adding faux stitching along the lower edges of the banners; around the date, title, and journaling block; and around the layout. I decided the background was still a bit stark, so I masked off the elements, and flicked White Linen Dylusions ink onto the background.

I'm entering this layout in Simon Says Stamp's Monday "Anything Goes" challenge.

You're the Best

This is my second card for Our Daily Bread Designs' one layer card challenge. My inspiration came from a card I found on Pinterest made by Kristina Werner. Unfortunately, the pin didn't lead to that exact post on her blog, and so I can't link to it here.

I didn't use a sketch for this card. I started by cutting a piece of magenta cardstock to 4.25x5.5". I stamped ODBD's "Dahlia" stamp three times in Versamark ink, to get a subtle, tone-on-tone look. I made sure not to line the images up exactly, and leave room for my greeting.

For my greeting, I used one of the stamps from the "Word Labels" set by Sizzix. I stamped it in Versamark, then heat-embossed it with Recollections "Snow" embossing powder. And that was it. Very clean and simple, and definitely not my usual style. But I like it, and hopefully it will inspire one of our overseas military heroes to write a note home to his sweetie!

Thanks

The last time I went through my collection of cards I'm going to send to Operation Write Home, I noticed a lack of "thank you" cards. So I decided to redouble my efforts, and make more thank you cards to send with my next shipment to them.

I used Sketch #198 from OWH, and rotated it 90 degrees:

For the focal point, I used the "Violet" stamp from Our Daily Bread Designs. I stamped it on watercolor paper using Ranger's Archival Jet Black ink, and colored it with Inktense pencils and water. I matted the panel onto a piece of white cardstock that I had blended Dusty Concord Distress ink over.

I actually made the background "patterned" paper by blending Shabby Shutters Distress ink onto white cardstock, using the "Mini Garden Gate" stencil by The Crafter's Workshop. I matted that on a piece of dark green cardstock. The strip of patterned paper layered over the background is from 7Gypsie's "Conservatory" 6x6" paper pad. I matted that piece as well, just to give it a little more definition against the stenciled cardstock.

I created another layer to go behind the matted background panel, using more of the Dusty Concord-colored cardstock. I adhered that to the same dark green cardstock as the background panel, and glued that to the card base.

For the greeting, I stamped one of the "thanks" from this stamp set by Simon Says Stamp onto white cardstock, and heat embossed it with Ranger Super Fine White Embossing Powder. I inked over it with Dusty Concord, and die cut it with a Spellbinders banner die. I poked a hole in the upper right corner of the banner, and threaded a length of dark green embroidery floss through it. I wrapped more of the same floss around the background panel multiple times. Then I tied the banner piece on to the wrapped floss, and also glued it to the background to keep it in place.

To finish assembling the card, I adhered the focal panel to the card front. I had to glue a double-thickness of strips of the green cardstock to each side on the back, to even it out with the matted paper strip behind it. Finally, I glued the completed card panel to the double layers on the card base.

I'm entering this card in Simon Says Stamp's Monday "Anything Goes" challenge.

If You Play...

Our Daily Bread Design's current challenge on their blog is one-layer cards. As someone who LOVES using layers, this is indeed a challenge for me! This is my first go at a one-layer card.

I did not start by choosing a sketch for this card. Instead, I started with products. I knew I wanted to use this "Truck" stamp from ODBD, and I felt the greeting from this Simon Says Stamp set would go perfectly with it. I decided to do selective embossing (at least, that's what I call it) to create interest, while still using only one layer.

I first cut a piece of matboard to the same size as my card front, to make a diffuser. I determined where my stamps would go, then marked & cut out holes from the matboard piece in those areas. I used the "Squares" texture plate from this set by Fiskars, and embossed my card front with my Grand Calibur machine. I used my homemade diffuser in place of the rubber mat to ensure that only the areas around the stamping would be embossed.

I chose to do my stamping after the embossing was done. I positioned the truck stamp first, then picked it up with my Fiskars stamp press, and stamped it with Versafine Onyx Black ink. I did the same with the greeting.

Once I had finished stamping, I felt the card still looked a little blah. So I took my Brushed Corduroy Distress ink pad, and lightly swiped it over the embossed areas. To get the area in the middle, I masked off the stamped portions with Post-it notes, then inked the embossing. I like the grungy feeling it gives to the card, totally in keeping with the truck image.

I will send this card in to Operation Write Home. Hopefully, one of our overseas heroes can send it to his/her son (or tomboy daughter!).

I am also entering this card in Simon Says Stamp's Monday "Anything Goes" challenge.

Wishing on a Star

This is another card I created for the "Stencil It!" challenge at Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday blog. I decided this time to make a patriotic card to send to Operation Write Home, for a hero overseas to use to write home to a loved one. I used the newest sketch by OWH as the basis for my design:

I started by punching 5 stars from blue cardstock, using Recollections' 15/16" star punch. I used Chipped Sapphire Distress ink to stamp my greeting, from this Hero Arts Stamp set, onto white cardstock, and clear heat embossed it. I die cut that and 5 other circles with a Spellbinders Classic Circles die. For the red circle mats, I didn't have a die just the right size to have an 1/8" mat. So I traced around the outside of the same die 6 times, then cut them out with scissors.

To do the stenciled panel, I taped down the "Mini Star Fall" stencil by The Crafter's Workshop over a piece of white cardstock cut to the size in the sketch. I blended Chipped Sapphire over the stars using my mini ink blending tool.

All that was left to do was assemble the card. I adhered a piece of light blue cardstock to an A2 card base, then adhered my stenciled star panel over that. I glued down the red circles, and glued the white circles and stars in place on those. Finally I glued down the red strip along the left side, and the card was finished.

I'm also entering this card in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp's Monday "Anything Goes"
The June "Linky Party" at a2z Scrapbooking's Blog

Look on the Bright Side

The challenge this week for Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday blog is to use a stencil. Coincidentally, I recently got several stencils at one of the shopping booths at the Great American Scrapbook Convention in Arlington, TX. So I was itching to use a couple for this challenge. For this card, I used a section of the "Mini Rose Window" stencil by The Crafter's Workshop.

Because of the large, circular design of the stencil, I chose the following sketch by Operation Write Home:

I first taped the stencil down over a piece of white cardstock. I used Q-tips to apply Distress inks in Salty Ocean, Seedless Preserves, Spiced Marmalade, Mowed Lawn, & Picked Raspberry; and Pastel Yellow pigment ink by Stampabilities. I removed the stencil, and colored in the "frame" sections with black marker. Finally, I cut it out, following the general curve of the window sections, and matted it on a piece of black paper.

I used a greeting from this Hero Arts/Operation Write Home stamp set. I stamped it in Ranger's Archival Jet Black ink on a strip of white cardstock, then blended Salty Ocean over it. I adhered it to the card front, which I'd cut from Pearlized Cardstock by The Paper Studio, and glued the window piece over it. I finished off by adhering the card front to an A2-size card base, and applying a coat of Glossy Accents over the colored window sections.

I'm also entering this card in Simon Says Stamp's Monday "Anything Goes" challenge.

Hello

I don't normally know what to do with large stamps like this one from Hero Arts, especially since I usually make cards for Operation Write Home, which need to measure 4.25x5.5". But I decided to give it a go.

I began by stamping the image onto a piece of watercolor paper with Versamark ink, then heat embossed it with Recollections "Snow" embossing powder. I painted inside each of the sections of the image with watercolors. I first wet the section with clean water, then dropped in the color. The color ended up staining some of the embossing, but I was able to clean most of it off with an eraser.

After I finished painting, I trimmed the paper down to leave an 1/8" border all around the image, then matted it with a piece of lavender cardstock. For the background, I punched around the edge of a piece of light teal cardstock with an EK Success border punch (I don't know the name of it). I felt the focal panel needed grounding, so I cut a strip of the same dark teal cardstock I used for the back-most layer, and adhered it across the middle of the light teal layer. I punched the ends of the strip to match up with the pattern on the panel, and then adhered the watercolor paper on top. Finally I adhered everything to an A2 card base.

I'm entering this in Simon Says Stamp's Monday "Paint" challenge.

A Big Hello

I have seen a few card makers do a technique called "inlaid die cutting" over the past several weeks. I have been wanting to try it myself, and finally did with this card. If you want more information on the technique, you can see Jennifer McGuire's blog post & video.

I decided to use the "Big Hello" die from Simon Says Stamp for my card. I started by preparing my background. I cut a piece of 140-lb. watercolor paper to 4x5.25", and painted vertical stripes with watercolors. I made sure to overlap the stripes, to get a blending/gradient effect. I had to go over them twice to get the colors darker.

After the paint dried, I die cut the "hello" out of the panel. I made sure to keep the inner pieces from the letters, so I could replace them later. I then die cut the word from black cardstock. I cut a piece of copy paper slightly smaller than the watercolor panel, and ran it through my Xyron 510 Creative Station machine to add adhesive to one side. I stuck it onto the back of the watercolor paper, and adhered the black die cut in the negative space in the panel. Then I replaced the small inner pieces, from when I die cut the background, into the letters.

I finished the card by rounding the corners of the watercolor panel with my 1/2" Corner Chomper, mounting it onto a piece of the same black cardstock I'd used for the die cut, and adhering that onto an A2-size card base.

I'm entering this card in Simon Says Stamp's Monday "Paint" challenge.

You+Me=Love

My inspiration for this card was the current color challenge at Our Daily Bread Designs' blog. The color scheme for the challenge is pink, ivory/white, and tan. I don't normally use pink, and so don't have a large amount of patterned paper that color. But I found two 6x6" pads in my stash: Recollections' "Valentine" and My Mind's Eye "Love Me." I used papers from each for the banners.

My design is based on this sketch by Operation Write Home:

I stamped this image from Our Daily Bread Designs on a piece of white cardstock, using a Stampabilities Light Pink pigment ink pad. I die cut the circle with a Spellbinders Classic Circles Large die, and inked around the edges with Antique Linen Distress ink.

I used Ranger Archival Jet Black ink to stamp the greeting onto a scrap of white cardstock. I pulled out my Lawn Fawn "Milo's ABCs" stamp set, since I didn't have any "ready-made" greeting stamps that would fit that piece. I did have to add the "+" and "=" signs with a black pen, since those symbols are not included in the set.

I cut the 3 banners from the Recollections & MME patterned papers, and adhered them to a piece of dark cream colored cardstock. I matted that with pink cardstock, and adhered that onto a white A2 card base. I adhered the focal panel & greeting with foam tape to help them pop a little more.

I am entering this in Our Daily Bread Designs' Color Challenge.

I Love You to the Moon and Back

Our Daily Bread Design's current challenge is to use pink, white or ivory, & tan on a project. I had also recently seen a video post by Laurel Beard on stencil stamping. So I decided to use that technique and those colors to create a card.

For my card, I chose the second version of Operation Write Home's Sketch #227:

Since the "Dahlia" stamp by ODBD is about 3-1/2" wide, I decided to make the main panel about that diameter, and eliminate the mat. I stamped the image onto watercolor paper with Hero Arts' Unicorn white pigment ink, then heat embossed it with American Crafts' Zing Clear embossing powder. I had seen Kristina Werner do something similar in this post on her blog, and thought it would be perfect for this image.

After the embossing powder cooled, I pressed Distress ink pads in Spun Sugar, Worn Lipstick, & Festive Berries onto an acrylic block. Then I took my water brush, added water to the inks, and painted inside the embossed lines, being careful to blend out any hard edges. I went back and forth with my colors, until I got it like I wanted. I die cut the piece with a Spellbinders Classic Circles die. I then colored around the flower with Frayed Burlap Distress ink, using the same painting technique, to make the image pop a little more. I also inked around the edges with Frayed Burlap, to provide a little bit of a "mat."

For the background, I used My Favorite Things "Petal Circles" stencil. I inked it with Worn Lipstick, then spritzed the ink lightly with water before pressing it onto a piece of watercolor paper. It did take me a few tries, but I finally got a good result. I also embossed a piece of tan cardstock with the "Patterned Lace" embossing folder by Sizzix. I inked the top & bottom edges of that strip with Frayed Burlap, before adhering it to the background panel.

Since I didn't want to cover up the dahlia too much, I decided to stamp the greeting on a piece of vellum. I chose 2 stamps from the "Love Languages" set by Simon Says Stamp. I used Versafine Onyx Black ink to stamp them, then clear heat embossed the greeting. I felt the heart needed a bit more, so I colored it on the back with a red marker. Finally, I cut the strip, rounded the left corners with my 1/4" Corner Chomper, and applied adhesive to the back with my Xyron Create-a-Sticker machine. I glued the dahlia piece to the card front, and then adhered the greeting strip, slightly overlapping that.

The last step was to ink the front of an A2 size card base with Frayed Burlap, then glue the card front panel to that.

I'm also entering this card in Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday "Stencil It" challenge.

Can't Say Thanks Enough

One technique I've seen a few times lately on Jennifer McGuire's YouTube channel is layering die cuts to create more dimension. I've been wanting to try that, but never have until now. I got the "Really Big Thanks" die & stamp set by Simon Says Stamp recently, and decided the die would be great to try this technique.

I began by choosing the products I wanted to work with. Since the current challenge at Simon Says Stamp's Monday blog is to use paint, and the challenge at their Wednesday blog is to "Stencil It," I decided to combine the two, and paint over a stencil onto kraft cardstock to create my background. So I pulled 4 Adirondack paint daubers: Snow Cap, Purple Twilight, Pool, and Lettuce. I used a stencil by Prima (sorry, but I don't know the name), and dabbed the colors over it onto the cardstock.

While that dried, I chose my sketch from my collection of Operation Write Home sketches:

I knew I wanted one with a large background space for my stenciled piece, as well as a good-sized area for the greeting.

I die cut the "thanks" die from black paper 6 times, then (carefully) glued the layers together to create a thicker die cut. I stamped the rest of the greeting onto a piece of white cardstock in Versafine Onyx Black ink, then heat embossed it with clear embossing powder. After that, I glued down the die cut "thanks." Finally, I decided that the greeting strip was too white, so I blended Shabby Shutters Distress ink over it. In hindsight, I wish I had done the ink blending before I adhered the die cut, as it was difficult to get an even coverage around that.

I cut a piece of paper from The Paper Studio's "Linen Door" 4.5x6.5" paper stack, rounded the top corners with my 1/4" Corner Chomper, and adhered it to a piece of black cardstock that I'd cut slightly larger than the center mat in the sketch. I adhered a strip of white cardstock, which I'd inked with Chipped Sapphire Distress ink, to the top back of the greeting strip. I rounded the bottom corners of the greeting strip, and all four corners of the mat. After gluing the greeting strip to the mat, I adhered it to the stenciled kraft panel. Finally, I adhered that to an A2 card base.

Adirondack Acrylic Paint Dabbers, Pool	Adirondack Acrylic Paint Dabbers, Snow Cap	Adirondack Acrylic Paint Dabbers, Lettuce	Adirondack Acrylic Paint Dabbers, Purple Twilight
Distress Ink Pad, Shabby Shutters	Distress Ink Pad, Chipped Sapphire

InLinkz.com

You're a Winner

The current challenge at Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday blog is to create a Father's Day or masculine project. My father passed away several years ago, so I don't really have need of a Father's Day card. But I decided to make a masculine-themed card for Operation Write Home.

I based my card design on the following OWH sketch:

There are no measurements on the sketch, so my interpretation was kind of loose.

I used The Crafter's Workshop "Mini Tri Mosaic" stencil as a mask on white cardstock to smear Liquitex Gloss Super Heavy Gel Medium over. After applying a somewhat textured coat of the medium, I removed the stencil and set the panel aside to dry.

I stamped the greeting from this Simon Says Stamp set on kraft cardstock, using Versamark ink. I then heat embossed it with Zing! Metallic Blue embossing powder. I cut the end in a banner shape.

When the main panel had dried, I blended Distress inks in Stormy Sky, Frayed Burlap, and Brushed Corduroy over it. The gel medium I'd applied resisted the ink, leaving those areas white. I cut the panel apart at an angle, and determined where I would place the 2 sections on the card front. I stamped the dot border from the same stamp set onto a white card base, and then heat embossed the dots with Zing! Clear powder. I blended Faded Jeans Distress ink over the front of the card base.

I "dyed" white cardstock by rubbing a Chipped Sapphire Distress ink pad over it, then cut 1/8" wide strips from that, to use as the border strips along the panels. After gluing those in place, I adhered the panels to the card base with foam tape. I adhered the greeting banner, also with foam tape, and trimmed off any overhanging edges. And that finished my card.

I'm also entering this card in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp's Work It Wednesday
Lawnscaping Challenge #83: Embossing

You Brighten My Day

I've had this stamp set from Simon Says Stamp for some time now, and had never really used it. Today, I finally decided to get more than just an accent image from it inky.

I based my design on the following sketch by Operation Write Home:

I adjusted the measurements slightly for the elements I used, and left off the embellishment.

I stamped the light bulb onto a piece of watercolor paper with Versafine Onyx Black ink, then heat embossed it with clear embossing powder. I used Inktense pencils to color the image. After that dried, I also stamped the greeting in Versafine. I rounded the corners with my 1/8" Corner Chomper.

I die cut the background for the focal panel from watercolor paper using Lawn Fawn's 3x4" Stitched Journaling Card Die. I smooshed Distress inks in Wild Honey, Worn Lipstick, & Barn Door onto my craft mat, then sprayed them with water. I placed the background panel into the ink, swooshing it around until it was covered. Then I set that aside to dry.

I felt the white of the focal panel against the orange of the journaling card panel was too stark, so I blended Scattered Straw Distress ink around the edges of the focal panel, leaving a bit of white around the light bulb for a glow effect.

For the background, I embossed a piece of yellow cardstock with an embossing folder from Lifestyle Crafts "Celebrate" set. I cut a strip from a piece of yellow polka dot patterned paper from my scrap stash, then glued it onto the embossed panel. I glued the journaling card panel to the center of the background, then adhered the focal panel on top with foam tape.

I blended Spiced Marmalade Distress ink around the sides of a piece of white cardstock, cut to 4.25x5.5". Finally, I adhered the card panel to the inked cardstock, and adhered that to an A2 card base.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Lawnscaping Challenge #83 "Embossed"
Simon Says Stamp's "Work It Wednesday" (use Simon Says Stamp exclusive products)

You Make Me Happy

The current challenge at Our Daily Bread Designs is "White on White." I've never done a card like that, but decided to give it a try.

I decided I wanted to use embossing on my card, so I chose this embossing folder, which also has a coordinating border folder. I also wanted to use a greeting from this set. So I found the following Operation Write Home sketch, which would work perfectly with the stamp/die combination for the greeting:

The die cut panel is slightly smaller than the focal panel in the sketch, but it was close enough to work. I cut a piece of white cardstock for the larger back panel, and embossed it with the main folder, then embossed a 1" strip of cardstock with the border folder. I adhered the pieces to a piece of copy paper I'd cut to 4.25x5.5", just to give me a base to work on. I used a piece of 3/8" white satin ribbon to cover the seam.

I stamped the greeting in Versamark ink onto a piece of white cardstock, then heat embossed it with Ranger Silver embossing powder. I cut it with the coordinating die, and adhered it with foam tape, overlapping the ribbon on the card front panel.

I felt the card was a bit too "heavy" on the right side, so I added another piece of ribbon across the lower part of the card front. Where the 2 ribbon pieces intersected, I added a silver heart mini brad. Finally, I adhered the panel to an A2-size card base.

I'm also entering this in the "Embossing" Lawnscaping challenge.

I Love You in Any Language

Every week, Operation Write Home has a Midweek Throwdown Challenge. The theme for this past week has been to use the color combination of pink & grey/black. I must admit I was stumped, but finally decided to go through my stamps & see what "spoke" to me. I have had this stamp & die set from Simon Says Stamp for a while now, & never really used it. But the image of the hand signing "I love you," seemed like it would be perfect as a focal point for this challenge. So out came that set!

Next, I chose one of OWH's sketches for my design:

I stamped the hand onto white cardstock, in Ranger Archival Jet Black ink, and then cut it with the coordinating die. I used a pattern from the Prima "Doodle Deux" 6x6" paper pad for the small squares, and matted them on a mid-tone grey cardstock. I used another, almost solid, pattern from the same pad for the background, again matting it on the grey cardstock. I stamped a greeting from the set onto a piece of lighter grey cardstock in Jet Black ink, and inked around the edges of the strip with Weathered Wood Distress ink.

When I placed the hand on the background, I felt it was kind of "floating" there. So I ended up punching a 2" circle from the same cardstock I'd stamped the greeting on, to put behind it. I adhered the circle to the background, and then popped the hand and the greeting strip up on foam tape. I adhered the whole panel to an A2-size card base, and voila--another love card for a military hero to send home to his significant other!

I'm also entering this card in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday "Anything Goes" challenge
Simon Says Stamp's "Work It Wednesday" (to use SSS exclusives)

You are My Sunshine

I recently got Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps' "Happy Happy" stamp set, with the coordinating dies. I couldn't wait to play with them! As it so happens, their current challenge theme is "Child's Play." I remember, as a child, I liked to play with kites. So what better choice than this kite image, with the clouds and smiling sun?

I decided to use the following sketch from Operation Write Home:

I did enlarge the focal panel by 1/4" both ways, but other than that, stayed true to the design.

I first stamped the images on white cardstock. I used Ranger Archival Jet Black ink for the kite, Colorbox Putty Archival Dye ink for the sun, and Stampabilities Baby Blue dye ink for the clouds. After the ink had a couple minutes to dry, I cut out the elements with the coordinating dies. I colored the sun and kite with Inktense pencils, blending the color with a brush and water.

For the background of the main panel, I wanted a sky look, so I blended Tumbled Glass Distress ink over white cardstock. I laid out my sun & clouds, to determine placement before I glued them down. Finally I adhered them to the panel, letting some parts hang over the edge. I stamped one of the greetings from the set in Jet Black ink, and finally glued the kite in place. I trimmed off the overhanging pieces from the sun and clouds, and stamped the smiley face on the sun, using the Putty dye ink.

To finish the card, I adhered a piece of patterned paper from Fancy Pants' "Park Bench" 6x6" paper pad, to some putty-colored cardstock from my scrap stash. I centered the focal panel onto the background, and adhered it in place. Finally I adhered the front to an A2 card base.

I will be sending this card to Operation Write Home, so hopefully some military hero will be able to send it to his/her child back home!

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps' Challenge #14: "Child's Play"
Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday "Anything Goes"

My Favorite Destination

Our Daily Bread Design's current challenge is to use a photo they posted as inspiration. I chose the following one:

I must admit, this is a first for me--using a photo of a room as inspiration for a card. I wasn't sure I could do anything with it, but finally decided to try at least. So I created a love-themed card for Operation Write Home.

I started by choosing a color palette. I knew I wanted to use the "Chicory" stamp by Our Daily Bread Designs, and was relieved to notice there was blue in the inspiration photo, outside the window. For my other colors, I decided to go with complementary pastel colors: the cool green in the table and hutch, and pink from the pillows. Next, I decided to use this sketch by OWH as the basis for my design:

Because of the orientation of the stamp, I had to flip the sketch horizontally, but otherwise I stayed true to it.

Since the stamp is so detailed, I didn't want to use black ink, because I felt it would be too bold for such a delicate image. Rather, I wanted a light ink so it wouldn't overpower the image, but I could see where to color. So I stamped the chicory onto watercolor paper, using Stampabilities "Baby Blue" dye ink. After the ink had a few minutes to dry, I colored in the image with Inktense pencils. Then I went back in with a blue fine-tipped marker to put the veins in the petals, as they had been covered when I colored the flower.

I stamped the greeting using stamps from Avery Elle's "Love Notes" set onto a piece of a cool green cardstock, using Versafine Onyx Black ink to get a good, crisp impression. I cut the floral patterned paper piece from Anna Griffin's "Olivia Collection" 6x6" pad, and used a scrap from Graphic 45's "Botanical Tea" 6x6" pad for the pink stripe. I decided to use blue cardstock for the card front, to echo the blue in the flowers. After gluing the pieces in place, I adhered the front to an A2 card base. For all my fretting about not being able to come up with an idea from the inspiration photo, I think I did pretty well!

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Our Daily Bread Design's "Inspiration Challenge"
Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday "Anything Goes"