All the Stars

Day 4 of Online Card Classes' "Clean & Simple 4" class is about adding texture to CAS cards. Jennifer McGuire did a lesson on stitching. One of her sample cards used stitching to outline a basic image. I took my inspiration from that.

I started by cutting a piece of copy paper to 4.25x5.5"--the size of an A2 card. After determining the placement of my greeting, I die cut several stars from that using the smallest die from Lifestyle Crafts' "Nesting Star" set, to create a template. I taped that template to a piece of blue cardstock, also cut to an A2 size, and pierced holes in the corners of each star.

Before I did my stitching, I stamped my greeting, from Hero Arts' "Shoot for the Moon" stamp set, in Versamark ink and heat embossed it with Ranger Super Fine Detail White embossing powder. I also stamped one of the stars from that set around the card to fill in some spaces, and heat embossed them. Finally, I stitched around each pierced star with white embroidery floss.

I felt the card looked a little too plain, so I added some flecks with Dylusions "White Linen" spray ink, flicking the ink on instead of spraying it. While subtle, I think it adds a nice added texture, without any bulk.

Detail of stitching & ink splatters

To finish this card, I adhered the front panel to a white card base, and rounded all 4 corners with my 3/8" Corner Chomper. I will be sending this card to Operation Write Home.

I'm entering my card in Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday "Anything Goes" challenge.

You Mean the World to Me

Day 3 of Online Card Classes' "Clean & Simple 4" class focuses on inked backgrounds. The inspiration for my card came from Karolyn Loncon's lesson on a technique called "velveteen stamping."

The technique relies on solid stamps (i.e. without a lot of fine lines in the image). You also need a background stamp. I used Our Daily Bread Designs' "Gingham" background stamp; and Wplus9's "Spring Blooms" & Paper Smooches "Botanicals 2" stamps for the flowers & foliage.

I inked the background stamp with Hero Arts' Unicorn white pigment ink, and stamped it onto a piece of white cardstock. After heat setting that, I chose the image stamps I wanted to use, and worked out the placement. I also chose 7 dye inks to stamp my images: Hero Arts' Pool, Forever Green, & Green Hills (all mid-tone shadow inks); and Memento Cantaloupe, London Fog, Grape Jelly, and Elderberry.

Beginning with the foliage in the lower left corner, I stamped the branches with the 2 green inks. I also added some branches to the top right corner with Forever Green. I stamped my flowers in Pool, Grape Jelly, and Elderberry; using Cantaloupe & London Fog for the centers. I did some masking on the flowers towards the left side, so they appear to be in a cluster, even though they are 3 separate stamps. I used one of the small flowers from the "Botanicals 2" stamp set & Elderberry for the flowers in the upper right. Finally, I filled in with a few more branches along the bottom of the panel. The white ink resisted the dye inks slightly, giving a slightly textured, two-tone look to the flowers & leaves. Pretty cool!

Detail of inked texture

I stamped one of the greetings from the "Word Labels" set by Sizzix onto a piece of green cardstock, then heat embossed it with Ranger Liquid Platinum embossing powder. I cut that into a banner shape, and inked along the sides & bottom with Forever Green. This is where I hit potential disaster.

When I went to put the lid back onto the ink pad, I accidentally dropped it onto my focal panel, and got spots of green ink onto the white background. Having spent over an hour working on that panel, I panicked for a moment. I tried covering up the spots with a white gel pen, but that just wasn't cutting it. So I decided to embrace the "disaster," and borrow a technique I've seen Julie Ebersole do in some of her videos. I smooshed some Forever Green onto an acrylic block, thinned it with water, and flicked droplets onto my panel. Thankfully, the green flecks camouflage my "oops" quite well, and it looks like I meant to do that all along!

To finish my card, I mounted my focal panel with foam tape onto a piece of the same green cardstock I'd used for the greeting banner, nestling it in the upper left corner. I adhered that to an A2 card base, and this love card is ready to send to Operation Write Home!

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

You Make My Heart Soar

I am currently participating in Online Card Classes' "Clean & Simple 4" class. The class covers using different techniques for clean & simple cards.

Day 2 of class is all about die cutting. My card design was inspired by Kristina Werner's lesson, using border dies & inking to create a pattern. She inked the die cut pieces on her card; I decided to ink the background instead.

To begin, I got out my border dies. Thankfully, I don't have a vast collection of those, so I didn't have to sift through much to find something that would work. I finally chose one of the dies from Mama Elephant's "Landscape Trio" set. I got the hot air balloon stamp from Echo Park's "This & That--Graceful #2" stamp set, and paired it with a greeting from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps' "Happy Happy" set. I felt those would go perfectly with the cloud-shaped border die.

I cut a piece of white cardstock to 4.25" wide, and actually longer than 5.5". I die cut the cloud bank from that panel twice, leaving me 3 sections. Next, I took a white A2 card base and worked out the placement of my sections. I inked the bottom section of the card base (front) with Tumbled Glass Distress ink, moving on to Peacock Feathers a little further up. This gave me the "sky" background for my lower cloud sections.

I felt the uppermost section had a little too much white, so I used scraps from the die cutting as stencils, placed them onto the section, and inked along the top of them lightly with Peacock Feathers. This gave a soft sky effect, without going too heavy on the die cutting.

Finally, I stamped my hot air balloon, using Hero Arts Navy mid-tone shadow ink onto the upper panel, and stamped the greeting beside it in Versafine Onyx Black ink. If I were to do this design again, I would stamp the balloon and mask it off before inking the background. As it was, I had to go over parts of the balloon itself with a white gel pen, to cover the Peacock Feathers ink that showed through the design. Oh well--live & learn!

To finish the card, I just trimmed some off the bottom section and glued the 3 sections to the card base, leaving a slight gap in between each. All I had to do then was trim off some overhang on the right edge, and this card was done! I'm really happy with how it turned out, especially with it being a new-to-me technique. I'll be sending this card on to Operation Write Home, for some overseas hero to write home to his/her sweetie!

I'm entering this card in Simon Says Stamp's Monday challenge: "Up in the Clouds...."

Two AnyHero Cards

Operation Write Home encourages card makers to send what they call "AnyHero cards." Basically, these are notes to our heroes, thanking them for their service & sacrifice. This month's challenge at OWH, sponsored by Our Daily Bread Designs, is to create an AnyHero card. We are further challenged to use it to write a thank-you note to a local hero: firefighters, police officers, etc. These are two that I made.

I started my first card determined to get Mama Elephant's "In My Heart" stamp set inky. I've had this set for some time now, and never used it. I decided to use the greeting "May you be protected in all that you do and know that our thoughts are always with you." I felt this would be perfect for a card for a local hero. I also chose one of the little boys in the set. I stamped him onto a piece of Strathmore Mixed Media Paper with Ranger's Archival Jet Black ink, and colored him with Inktense pencils and a damp brush, then fussy cut him out.

For the background, I chose a Hero Arts image, "Silly Scape." I printed it onto a piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper, then die cut that with the largest of Lawn Fawn's "Large Stitched Rectangle" dies. I also die cut a piece of white cardstock with the same die, and then cut the hills from that with 2 of the the Mama Elephant "Landscape Trio" dies. This assured I had stitched detail on all sides of those pieces. I set aside the snow banks while I worked on the main part of the card.

After stamping the greeting in Versamark ink onto the background panel, I stamped several snowflakes, also in Versamark, using three stamps from Lawn Fawn's "Deck the Halls" set. I heat embossed everything with Ranger Super Fine Detail White embossing powder. After that cooled, I blended Tumbled Glass Distress ink over the panel. Then I went in with Stormy Sky Distress ink to finish the sky, and Iced Spruce for the buildings. I felt this combination gave it a definite wintry/snowy feel.

To finish the card, I adhered the snowbanks, which I'd shaded a bit on the top with Tumbled Glass, to the card, popping them up with foam tape. I adhered the little boy in place, using foam tape under his upper body and gluing him directly to the snowbank behind him. This kept him level with the snow. Finally, I added a touch of shimmer with some Crystal Stickles on the tops of the snowbanks.

I got the inspiration for my second card from this card by Kathy Racoosin at The Daily Marker. I liked the idea of a "camouflaged" die cut greeting.

I first blended Tumbled Glass Distress ink onto a piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper. Then I inked up the "Capture Prism" background stamp by Hero Arts & BasicGrey with Versamark, and stamped it over the inked watercolor paper. I heat embossed that with Zing! Clear embossing powder. Next I took Distress inks in Salty Ocean, Peacock Feathers, Evergreen Bough, and Broken China, and smooshed them on my craft mat. I spritzed the ink with water, and pounced my embossed watercolor paper in the puddles. When I got the look I wanted, I dabbed off the excess ink, then let that dry. Unfortunately, the heat embossed areas look white instead of the light blue Tumbled Glass, but it still works.

When the panel had dried, I decided to die cut it into an oval, using one of Spellbinders' "Grand Ovals" dies. I also die cut the thanks from that with one of the My Favorite Things "Many Thanks" dies. I die cut the thanks 3 more times from light blue cardstock, then glued those together to create one thicker layer. I glued the inked/embossed thanks on top of that.

Detail of thanks inlaid die cut

For the card base, I die cut 2 pieces with a Spellbinders "Grand Scalloped Ovals" die. I scored one towards the top, and glued them together above that line. I adhered my focal panel to the front, and popped the die cut thanks in place with some liquid glue. I glued in the center pieces of the a, k, & s, and this card was basically done. The only thing left was to glue a white die cut oval to the inside so I will have a place to write a message.

I'm entering these cards in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp's Monday "Winter Stamping"
a2z Scrapbooking's "New to You" (camouflaged thanks card only--background stamp new to me)

A Cupcake Kind of (Birth)day

The final challenge theme for Bugaboo Stamps' 5th Birthday Bash celebration is a recipe challenge. They gave 5 choices related to circus-type food, the idea being to choose one and create a project incorporating those qualities. I chose to go with the snow cone, which involved using red, yellow, & blue and glitter/bling.

I decided to use Bugaboo's "Cupcake Circle Tag" image for the focal point of my card. Because I wanted to create a large circle element, but still keep it to an A2 size card, I knew exactly which Operation Write Home sketch I wanted to use:

This design is rather unique, in that the circle extends above the fold of a 4.25" square card base.

I die cut & embossed a circle from Strathmore Mixed Media Paper using the largest of Spellbinders' "Standard Circles SM" dies. After printing the cupcake image onto that, I colored the cherry & cupcake liner with red and blue Inktense pencils, & used a damp paintbrush to blend the color on each. I replaced the die cut circle into the die, and blended some Spun Sugar Distress ink around the perimeter of the inside portion, fading out towards the middle. This just gives it a bit more interest, and accents the embossed border. To finish the cupcake, I printed just that part of the image (minus the text) onto a piece of yellow patterned paper (from my scrap stash), cut out the icing portion, and glued it over the corresponding area on my focal panel.

Next, I die cut a scalloped circle from blue glitter paper with one of  Lifestyle Crafts' "Nesting Scallops" dies, & glued the focal circle to that. After adhering a piece of red patterned paper from Doodlebug Designs' "Take Note" 6x6" pad to the front of the card base, I glued the circle on that, making sure the card will still fit inside a standard A2 envelope.

For the greeting, I stamped one from this Simon Says Stamp set onto a strip of white cardstock, in Versafine Onyx Black ink. I then heat embossed it with Ranger's Holographic embossing powder. This is basically a clear powder, with bits of holographic glitter in it. Rather than have the strip run the width of the card, I trimmed it shorter, cut one end into a banner shape, and glued it on the right side, towards the bottom.

As a final touch, I added a coat of Star Dust Stickles to the cupcake icing, and Glossy Accents to the cherry. I will be sending this card to Send a Smile 4 Kids.

Happy Birthday--With Clowns!

OK, I have to confess. When I saw the theme for Day 6 of Bugaboo Stamps' 5th Birthday Bash challenge series was to use a clown image, I grimaced. As I said in this post, I hate clowns. To me at least, they are just over-the-top scary. But I decided to bite the bullet and went looking on Bugaboo's website for a clown image to incorporate into my card. And I found this cute set of images--not scary at all! And perfect for a child's birthday card. So of course, I ordered & downloaded it right then.

I chose Operation Write Home's Sketch #195 for my card design:

To begin, I opened the clown image & this image (also from Bugaboo) in Photoshop. After I'd layered the Happy Birthday onto the sign portion of the clown graphic, I resized everything to fit on my focal panel. I had die cut a piece of Strathmore Mixed Media Paper with Lawn Fawn's "Stitched Journaling Card" die, and printed the image onto that. I colored the figures and the open letters in the greeting with Inktense pencils and a damp paintbrush. I also painted the sign background with regular watercolor.

Because I wasn't matting my focal panel, I chose a festive-looking  patterned paper from my scrap stash that didn't have much white on it. (This would allow the white focal panel to stand out better.) I cut it to 4.25x5.5", and cut a piece of purple cardstock for the strip on the right side of the card. After determining where to place the focal panel & strip on my card front, I adhered them.

For the embellishment, I pulled out one of my boxes of buttons, and chose a bright yellow one. I felt it didn't stand out enough against the white focal panel, so I die cut a scalloped circle with one of Lifestyle Crafts' "Nested Scallops" from green cardstock. I glued the button to that with Ranger Multi Medium Matte, and set that aside to dry for a bit. Finally, I sewed through the button holes with pink embroidery floss, and glued it in place on the card. All that was left then was to adhere the completed card front to an A2 base. I will be sending this card to Send a Smile 4 Kids.

Happy Bird-day

The fifth theme at Bugaboo Stamps' Birthday Bash challenge series is to create a humorous birthday card. I recently got this image from Bugaboo, and felt it was perfect for this challenge! For the banner text, I created a text path in Photoshop, and typed the greeting on that, so it would print with the image. Not quite easy-peasy, but it did work out!

Because of the size of the image, I didn't really need a sketch. I cut a piece of Strathmore Mixed Media Paper to 4.25x7", and printed my image onto that. To paint the panel, I first taped it to my cutting board (that I use exclusively for painting & inking). I applied clear water to the sky area first, and then dropped in and blended 3 different shades of blue watercolor. Once I got the sky looking like I wanted it, I set that aside to air dry while I worked on another card.

After the watercolor had dried, I colored the birds & balloons with Inktense pencils, using a damp paintbrush to blend the colors. I also ended up painting the banner with green watercolor. When all the coloring had dried, I added glitter with my clear Wink of Stella brush marker to the balloons & birds' hats. I also went over the eyes on the yellow bird, and pupils on the other, with a black gel pen, just to make them pop a bit more.

To finish the card, I trimmed the main panel down just slightly, and adhered it to a piece of orange cardstock. I then matted that with black, just for a pop of contrast, and adhered the completed card front to my card base. I will be sending this card on to Send a Smile 4 Kids.

Celebrate

Day 4's theme for Bugaboo Stamps' 5th Birthday Celebration is a color challenge. They posted this palette, and challenged people to use those colors in a card:

This was indeed a challenge for me, since I'm not used to using these colors together. But that's the point, isn't it? I created the following card for this challenge:

I decided to use Bugaboo's "Frame It - Bears Birthday" digital image for this challenge. After printing it onto a piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper, I used my Inktense pencils and a damp paintbrush to color the image. After the color had dried, I applied a wash of diluted Squeezed Lemonade Distress ink to the background, inside the frame area. Finally, I added some shimmer with my clear Wink of Stella glitter brush marker to the balloons and party hat. I also added some Glossy Accents to the bears' noses.

For the card base, I decided to keep it simple, since there was so much going on in the focal panel. I cut a piece of dark teal cardstock to 4.25x11", and scored it at 5.5" to create a top-folding card. I marked the position of the focal panel, and stamped the "celebrate" from this stamp set below that area, using Versamark ink. I heat embossed that with Ranger Liquid Platinum embossing powder. This was the first time I'd used this particular powder. I like it, but I'm not sure it works on dark colors so well. It just seemed to blend in a little too much. So, rather than start over on the card base, I took a white gel pen and adding some highlighting to the letters. Problem solved! Finally, I adhered the focal panel in place, added white cardstock to line the inside, so it can be written in, and this card was done! I will be sending this card to Send a Smile 4 Kids, for a hospitalized child to get on his/her birthday.

Wish

I am still making cards for the Bugaboo Stamps 5th Birthday Celebration challenge series. The theme for Day 3 is a photo challenge. They posted this photo, and the idea is to make a card inspired by it:

I must admit, my first reaction to this particular photo was a bit negative. I had a bad "circus experience" when I was little, and have hated clowns ever since! But I tried to look past the clown on the cake, and see the potential in the rest of the photo. LOL This is the card I came up with:

I used Bugaboo's "Make It Snappy - Happy Birthday" digital image for the focal point. The image comes with 2 versions: one with the greeting, and one without. I ended up messing up (more on that later), and so cut off the greeting panel & outer frame entirely!

I began by sizing the image to fit on an A2 card front. I printed it on white cardstock, and colored it with colored pencils, using Gamsol to blend the colors. I have finally discovered, with Gamsol, if you want a lighter part on a colored area, it is better to leave that area uncolored. Then just pull in the color with your Gamsol-soaked paper stump from the surrounding area. So that is how I got a smooth blend on the cake sections & balloon.

After I finished coloring, I applied Glossy Accents to the balloon, candle flame, and stars. I set that aside for about an hour to dry. This is where I messed up. Never assume, just because the Glossy Accents has become clear, that it is totally dry. And never place your thumb on it to see if it's dry! I ended up having to scrape off some of the not-yet-dry Glossy Accents from the balloon with the head of a T-pin, wait for the rest to dry, and apply more to the scraped area. In the process, I accidentally got Glossy Accents where I didn't want it. So I left it to dry overnight, and hoped the card-making Brownies would come and fix it for me! They didn't, though, so I ended up fussy cutting the image from the frame. I die cut a panel of teal blue cardstock with the scalloped frame from Mama Elephant's "Femme Frames" die set, and glued the image piece onto that.

For the greeting, I used one from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps' "Birthday Bash" clear stamp set. I stamped it with Memento Nautical Blue dye ink directly on the die cut panel. I felt it needed a little more oomph, so I accented it with a white gel pen, and colored in the candle flame with orange & yellow gel pens.

To finish the card, I sponged Salty Ocean Distress ink around the edges of the scalloped panel, and adhered it to a piece of peach cardstock. Finally, I adhered the completed card front to a white card base. I will be sending this card to Operation Write Home, for a hero overseas to wish a loved one back home happy birthday!

Happy Birthday

Bugaboo Stamps is celebrating their 5th birthday this week with a series of challenges. Day 2's challenge theme is a sketch:

I initially designed my card as a landscape-oriented card, but ended up rotating the sketch 90 degrees to accommodate my elements.

I began by choosing this image from Bugaboo. Since my first card for this challenge series was a boy-themed card, I decided to go with a more girly card this time. This mouse just looks so cute holding that big balloon. I also decided to pair the image with the "Birthday Cake Tag" from Bugaboo for my greeting.

After printing my image onto 140 lb. watercolor paper, I die cut it with a Spellbinders "Classic Ovals LG" die. I also die cut the greeting, which I'd printed onto white cardstock, with a Lifestyle Crafts "Nesting Scallops" circle die. I colored the mouse & balloon with Inktense pencils & a damp paintbrush. Because the image on the greeting circle was so small, I just used regular colored pencils to color it.

My patterned paper comes from Recollections "Paddywack" 6x6" paper pad. I cut it to just under 4.25x5.5". I also die cut a mat for the focal panel from pink cardstock, using the largest die from Spellbinders' "Lacey Ovals." I glued the image piece to that, and inked around the edges of the greeting circle with Salty Ocean Distress ink, to help it stand out from the background. I also inked the front of a white A2 card base with Salty Ocean to create a mat.

After gluing the focal & greeting panels to the patterned paper, I adhered the completed card front to my card base. I will be sending this card to Send a Smile 4 Kids.

I'm also entering this card in Send a Smile 4 Kids "Anything Goes 4 Kids" challenge.

For You

Bugaboo Stamps is celebrating their 5th birthday this week! As part of the celebration, they are having a series of challenges, each with a different theme, during the week. Their first challenge is a "bingo" challenge.

The idea is to take a row or column from the "bingo card," and incorporate those items in your card. I decided to go with the "bling, balloons, & embossing" row.

I started by choosing my focal image, this adorable birthday turtle from Bugaboo. I wanted to make a birthday-themed card that a little boy would like, and this just seemed like the perfect critter. Because of the sketch I chose (from Operation Write Home), I flipped the turtle horizontally, so he would face into the card design.

After sizing the image, I printed him out onto a piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper. I die cut & embossed the circle with a Spellbinders "Standard Circles" die, and colored the image with Inktense pencils and a damp brush. I also watercolored around the outer edge of the embossing.

I cut a piece of teal cardstock to 5x3", and embossed it with the Tim Holtz Alterations "Bubble" embossing folder by Sizzix. I thought that embossing pattern complemented the image, kind of like the texture on a real turtle's shell. I matted that with a piece of kraft cardstock, and adhered that to a piece of patterned paper from My Mind's Eye's "Boy Crazy" 6x6" pad.

After cutting a banner from a piece of dark red-orange cardstock (to complement the teal color), I glued it in place. At that point, I kind of regretted using the teal color on the outer edge of the circle, because it kind of blended in with the embossed cardstock piece. So I popped the circle piece up on foam adhesive. Problem solved!

I chose a greeting from Hero Arts' "Happy Birthday" stamp set, and stamped it in Versamark onto a piece of the same cardstock I'd used for the banner. I heat embossed it with Recollections "Glacier" embossing powder, and die cut it with a Spellbinders "Classic Ovals" die. I also die cut an oval with the next size larger die from watercolor paper, to mat the greeting. Then I glued that in place.

I felt the balloons, hat, and noise maker needed something extra, to make them just a bit more festive. So I went over all of them with my clear Wink of Stella glitter brush marker. I also applied a coat of Glossy Accents on the balloons, to add a touch of shine & dimension.

For the bling, I glued down some sequins with Ranger Multi Medium Matte. I took some White Opal Liquid Pearls, and applied a dot in the center of each sequin. When the glue & Liquid Pearls had dried, I adhered the completed card front to an A2 size card base. I will be sending this to Send a Smile 4 Kids, so hopefully it will brighten some little boy's birthday!

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

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday "It's a Guy Thing"
Send a Smile 4 Kids "Anything Goes 4 Kids"

I Love You

Our Daily Bread Designs is having a color challenge this week. They posted a color palette, and the only requirement is to use at least 3 colors featured as the focal point:

I chose to lean towards the purple end, with a touch of peach. I started by choosing this Operation Write Home sketch:

I knew I wanted to use ODBD's "Dahlia" stamp, which is rather large--just under 3.5" diameter. This requires a bit of creative thinking to use it on an A2 card, the size Operation Write Home requires for all but AnyHero cards. When I saw this sketch, I got the idea to die cut the image into 3 circles and layer them. Since cards for OWH can't have a lot of dimension either, rather than pop up the inner layers, I cut each slightly smaller, fussy cut the outermost part of the image, and matted all 3 pieces on a circular piece of navy cardstock.

I first stamped the dahlia on a piece of 90 lb. watercolor paper, using Ranger Archival Jet Black ink. Then I took 3 colors of gelatos--Peach, Lavender, & Grape--and applied each color to a small watercolor palette. I diluted each with my water brush, and applied them to the image. I used the Peach in the center, then worked my way out with the Lavender & Grape. I wish the colors showed up better in the photo; they are pretty pale & subtle, though. Then I set that aside to dry.

For the background, I used a stamp I'd gotten for Christmas (thanks, Mom!), Impression Obsession's "Damask" background stamp. I applied Versamark ink to the stamp, then pressed a piece of lavender cardstock, cut to 4.25x5.5", onto the stamp. Finally, I sprinkled on Recollections' Clear Detail embossing powder, and heat set that to create a tone-on-tone background with a little shine.

I used a greeting from this Simon Says Stamp set. I stamped it in Versamark on another scrap of the same navy cardstock, then heat embossed it with Ranger Silver embossing powder. I die cut the piece with the smallest die from the "Labels, Wavy" set by Sizzix. After gluing my focal piece to the background, I glued my greeting label down.

I didn't have a heart punch that would really work with the image, so I used clear gems instead. I adhered 3 to the dahlia with Ranger Multi Medium Matte, and also glued 2 smaller gems to the greeting. After adhering the completed card front to an A2 size card base, I felt the upper right corner was a bit empty. I tried placing 5 tiny gems just in that corner, but that looked like just too much bling. So I ended up just rounding that corner with my 1/2" Corner Chomper. And that finished this love card!

I'm also entering this card in Simon Says Stamp's Work It Wednesday challenge: Love.

My Lucky Stars

A Blog Named Hero's current challenge theme is "Using Small Stamps." The idea is to use the smaller stamps in a stamp set to create a focal image or background. I used the Hero Arts "Shoot for the Moon" stamp set for my card.

To begin, I die cut the main panel from white cardstock with the largest of Lawn Fawn's "Small Stitched Rectangles" dies. After masking off the edges around the stitching lines, I used the 3 small star stamps in my chosen set to create the background. The ink colors I used were all Memento dye inks: Nautical Blue, Cantaloupe, Teal Zeal, Sweet Plum, Elderberry, & Lulu Lavender.

I stamped the greeting from the same set onto a piece of white cardstock, using Versamark ink. I heat embossed it with Ranger Super Fine Detail White embossing powder, and then die cut the tag shape with one of the "Stitched Tags" dies by Pretty Pink Posh. Finally, I blended Chipped Sapphire Distress ink over the tag. I felt the tag needed something to ground it on the card. So I cut a 1/4" strip of white cardstock & inked it with Cantaloupe. I threaded it through a ribbon buckle I'd die cut using this Spellbinders set. I glued it to the card panel, and glued the tag in place on top.

After die cutting a mat using the largest of Lawn Fawn's "Large Stiched Rectangles" dies, I inked it with Nautical Blue. I popped up the main panel on to that with foam tape, and adhered the completed card front to an A2 card base. I will be sending this card to Operation Write Home.

You Color My World

Catch the Bug (Bugaboo Stamps' blog) is currently having their first sketch challenge of 2015--Stella Says Sketch #301. I created this card based on their sketch:

I originally was going to follow the sketch exactly and create a landscape-oriented card. But I ended up having to rotate it 90 degrees to make it work with my image & greeting.

I chose Bugaboo's "Color My World" bear & accompanying greeting for my card. I had to do a little "surgery" on the greeting first. It comes as a 3-line greeting. But I knew that wouldn't work on my design, so I moved the "color" up beside the "you," and put the "my world..." underneath. I printed that onto a piece of white cardstock cut to 1x2.5". For the image, I die cut a piece of 90 lb. watercolor paper with an old Spellbinders label die, and printed the bear on that. (Sorry, but I don't know the name of the die set, and it seems to be discontinued.)

I colored the bear & crayon with Inktense pencils, blending with a damp paintbrush. Once that dried, I inked around the edges with Salty Ocean Distress ink, just to provide a little more definition.

I chose a piece of patterned paper from Basicgrey's "Hey, Girl!" 6x6" paper pad, with the intention of having that be the background. But I ended up cutting it down into a 1.25x4.25" strip, to go only behind the greeting.

I had a piece of navy cardstock that I'd cut to 4.25x5.5" some time ago, which I ended up using for my background. I adhered the patterned paper strip towards the bottom of that. After cutting 2 banner ends from the same cardstock as I'd used for the greeting piece, I adhered the greeting piece to those with foam tape, to create a "faux" folded banner. Then I glued that piece to the patterned paper strip. I popped the focal panel up with foam tape, and adhered the completed card front to an A2 size card base. As a finishing touch, I added a bit of Glossy Accents to the bear's nose. I will be sending this card to Operation Write Home, for an overseas hero to send home to his/her child.

Happy Hearts Day!

Simon Says Stamp's Work It Wednesday challenge theme this month is "Love." What says love more than a bear with a big heart? I created this card to send to Send a Smile 4 Kids, for a hospitalized child to receive for Valentine's Day.

For my card design, I chose the following Operation Write Home sketch:

I began by printing this digital image from Bugaboo Stamps onto a piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper, cut to 4x5.25". I then colored him in with Inktense pencils and a damp brush. Since there was space between him and the patterned paper strip, I added a wash of watered-down Pumice Stone Distress ink, just to ground the image. Then I set that aside to dry.

I used a patterned paper from My Mind's Eye's "Love Me" 6x6" pad for the left hand block and narrow strip on the right. For the greeting panel, I punched a heart from dark pink cardstock, using the Martha Stewart "Studded Heart" all-over-the-page punch. I glued that to the light pink cardstock strip that I'd already adhered my patterned papers to. Then I used a greeting from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps' "Cocoa's Heart" clear stamp set (discontinued) to stamp inside the heart with Versafine Onyx Black ink. I was so glad that the stamp just fit inside the heart, since I'd already adhered everything to the light pink cardstock!

To finish the card, I matted the main panel with more light pink cardstock, and adhered the patterned paper/greeting panel in place. Then I adhered the completed card front to an A2 size card base, and this card was done!

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

Send a Smile 4 Kids' "Valentine's or Love Cards 4 Kids"
Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps' Release Day Challenge: "Use Something New" (new image from Bugaboo Stamps)

Free Lemons!

The current challenge theme at Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday blog is "Something New." While the stamp set I used for this card is not technically new, it's new to me. In fact, this is the first time I've used it. I decided to make an encouragement card for a hospitalized child, to send to Send a Smile 4 Kids. I really get a kick out of this greeting (in fact, it's the main reason I bought the stamp set), and hope it will brighten his/her day, too!

The inspiration for my card came from this one by Kristina Werner. I knew I wanted to create my own patterned paper for the background, but didn't have a yellow/light orange ink to stamp the lemon slices with. So I stamped them with Versamark onto a piece of yellow cardstock that I'd die cut with one of Lawn Fawn's "Large Stitched Rectangles" dies, then heat embossed them with American Crafts Zing! Clear embossing powder. I used Mustard Seed, Wild Honey, and Spiced Marmalade Distress inks to create an ombre background, by blending the colors over the cardstock piece. The heat embossed areas resisted the ink, allowing the yellow to show through.

I used a similar technique for the greeting. I clear heat embossed the greeting onto a yellow tag I'd cut using one of the dies from My Favorite Things' "Blueprints 13" set. This time, I used Crushed Olive & Peeled Paint Distress inks to blend over the tag. Again, the heat embossed areas resisted the ink, giving me a yellow greeting with no yellow ink needed! To finish the tag, I punched a hole reinforcer with a 1/4" hole punch, glued it to the top of the tag, and punched a 1/16" hole through that. Finally, I tied some yellow bakers twine through the hole.

I initially wasn't going to cut the curved edge in the lemon panel; rather, I planned to place the tag onto the background and call it a day. But the tag just seemed a little lost on the background, so I ended up using one of the dies from the "Stitched Borders 1" set by Pretty Pink Posh to cut the curved edge. For the piece behind that panel, I blended Crushed Olive & Peeled Paint onto another piece of the yellow cardstock. I adhered that to an A2 card base, and then adhered the lemon slice panel on top of that. I adhered the tag with foam adhesive, and that finished this card.

I'm also entering this card in Simon Says Stamp's Monday Challenge: "Inky Background."

Love You Beary Much!

When I saw this image & greeting set from Bugaboo Stamps recently, I knew I just had to have it! The look on that little bear's face is just adorable, isn't it? Kind of an "aw, gosh" posture and expression. I felt this would be a perfect image to create a card to send to Send a Smile 4 Kids.

After playing with a few different Operation Write Home sketches, I finally decided #209 would work perfectly with this image:

I did have to flip the image horizontally, but thankfully this is a digital image, so that was not at all difficult. I also die cut the circle in the upper right just slightly larger, so the greeting would show up better.

After printing the image onto a piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper, I colored him in with Inktense pencils and a damp paintbrush. I set that aside to dry while I worked on the rest of the card.

I chose my patterned papers from the Recollections "Valentine" (blue background) & My Mind's Eye "Love Me" (striped piece & banners) 6x6" pads. The strip & banners were actually left over from another card I'd made. I cut the pieces to size, and adhered the background & striped pieces to a dark pink cardstock panel, cut to 4.25x5.5". I also matted my focal panel with that same dark pink.

I printed the greeting onto a piece of white cardstock, and die cut & embossed it with a Spellbinders "Standard Circles LG" die. I placed the focal panel & banners, without adhering them, to determine where the elements should go. After making a couple of tick marks with a pencil so I could place the focal panel, I adhered it in place. Then I glued down the banner pieces, and glued the greeting circle over those.

I still wanted to add something where the 3 dots are in the lower right corner of the sketch. I happened to have a heart punch from The Paper Studio that was the perfect size, so I punched 3 hearts from red cardstock. After gluing them down, I used my clear Wink of Stella brush marker to add some shimmer to each heart, and applied a coat of Glossy accents to them. And that finished this card.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday "Something New" (new-to-me image)
Send a Smile 4 Kids "Valentine's or Love Cards 4 Kids"

Two Valentines/One Sketch

Send a Smile 4 Kids' current challenge is "Valentine's or Love Cards 4 Kids." Since their deadline for Valentine's cards is January 15, I decided to make a few to send to them. These are two of the ones I made.

I got the "Valentine Bear" image for this card from the Dearie Dolls blog. The blog is run by Mary Ellen, and she frequently posts original digital drawings for free download. I thought this cute bear with his balloons would be perfect for a Valentine's Day card for a child.

I chose Operation Write Home's Sketch #239 as the basis for both cards:

To begin my first card, I printed the image onto a piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper. I colored the bear and balloons with Inktense pencils and blended with a damp paintbrush. I used Tumbled Glass Distress ink as a watercolor wash for the sky.

After double-matting the focal panel with 2 shades of pink cardstock, I cut the patterned paper pieces, from Recollections' "Valentine" and My Mind's Eye's "Love Me" 6x6" pads, to size. Then I adhered all those pieces in place, using a piece of light teal blue cardstock as the outer mat.

For the greeting, I stamped one from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps' "Love from Cocoa" set onto a piece of white cardstock, using Versafine Onyx Black ink. I die cut it using one of Spellbinders' "Classic Ovals LG" dies. With the cardstock still in the die, I sponged on some Worn Lipstick Distress ink, which provides the look of an additional layer without any added bulk. Since I was adhering this piece over 3 layers of cardstock/watercolor paper, I had to apply a bit of foam tape to the back, so there would be no bulges where it overlapped the layers underneath. Finally, I adhered the completed front to an A2 card base.

I created my second card basically the same way as the first. For this one, I used the "Heart Mouse" image from Bugaboo Stamps. After printing the image on a piece of watercolor paper, I colored her with Inktense pencils & a damp brush as well. The patterned papers are both from Recollections' "Valentine" pad. I created the greeting oval the same way as in my first card.

Both of these cards came together very quickly. Probably the longest part of the process was coloring the images. I hope these cards will bring a smile to a hospitalized child's face!

Keep on Shining

The current challenge at Simon Says Stamp's Monday Challenge blog is to combine something new with something old. I used a brand-new-to-me stamp set from Hero Arts with an older one from Simon Says Stamp.

I took my inspiration from this video by Jennifer McGuire. She used Hero Arts' "Christmas Crystals" stamp set to do a technique she called "repeat stamping." Basically, she stamped a single crystal stamp repeatedly around a central point to create a star-like image.

I first determined where my central point would be, and drew in my guidelines on a piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper. Then I stamped the crystal around that point, using Versafine Onyx Black ink. I heat embossed it with Zing! Clear embossing powder. Finally, I colored it with my Inktense pencils, using one color per section. I used my water brush to blend each color.

After my stamped image dried, I went over it with my clear Wink of Stella glitter brush marker, to give it some shimmer. I die cut a hole in the middle with a Spellbinders "Standard Circles SM" die. After positioning my focal panel over the teal piece I'd cut for the background, I traced around the hole, to mark where my greeting would go. I then stamped the greeting from this set in Versamark, and heat embossed it with Ranger Super Fine Detail White embossing powder. I finished the card by applying foam tape to the back of the main panel and adhering it to the teal mat. Or I thought that finished it....

I decided there was just too much white space, so I used some Ranger Multi Medium Matte to glue some sequins down. Finally, I adhered the card front to an A2 size card base. Now the card was done! I will be sending this card to Send a Smile 4 Kids, to be given to a hospitalized child. Hopefully this will brighten his/her day!

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

a2z Scrapbooking's January challenge: "New to You"
Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday challenge: "Something New"

Lots of Thanks

The current challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog is to combine the old with the new. I decided to combine a new-to-me die (from My Favorite Things' "Many Thanks" set), a new-to-me technique (camouflaged die cuts, learned from a video by Laura Bassen), and a (relatively) older patterned paper and stamp set.

I saw the camouflaged die cuts technique in this video Laura Bassen did for Papertrey Ink. To do my version, I first created my card front panel by adhering a piece of patterned paper (I believe by Lawn Fawn) from my scrap stash to the bottom of a piece of light teal cardstock. I positioned my "thanks" die so that it overlapped both pieces, and ran it through my die cutting machine. I also die cut about 6 or 7 more "thanks" from the teal cardstock.

Next, I cut a scrap of teal cardstock large enough to go behind the die cut word in my card front, and ran it through my Xyron machine to apply adhesive to one side. I stuck that to the back of my panel, behind the die cut area, adhesive side facing out. Then I took one of my teal "thanks" die cuts, and placed it in the negative space, adhering it to the cardstock piece underneath. I used liquid glue to adhere the remaining die cuts, one on top of another, finishing with the "two-toned" thanks on the top of the stack. Not only does this give it added dimension, it helps the word stand out a little, so that it is legible.

Detail of die cut thanks dimension

After I'd adhered all the die cuts in place, I stamped the "lots of" from this stamp set in Versafine Onyx Black ink, above the thanks. I also stamped the "for thinking of me" onto another scrap of teal cardstock, cut it into a strip, angled one end, and glued it below the thanks. All that was left to do was adhere the card front to an A2 card base, and round the top corners with my 1/2" Corner Chomper.

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

Merci

Having finally finished my Christmas cards, I'm now focusing for a bit on thank you cards to send to people who gave me gifts. This one is for a dear friend, whose favorite color is blue.

I got the design idea from a sketch I downloaded from My Favorite Things' website, for their "Blueprints 18" die set. I began by stamping the "Small Snowflake" background by Our Daily Bread Designs (no longer available) onto a piece of white cardstock cut to 5.25x4", using Versamark ink. I heat embossed that with Ranger Super Fine Detail White embossing powder, then inked over it with Salty Ocean, Chipped Sapphire, and Seedless Preserves Distress inks. The white embossing resisted the inks, so the stamped design shows through.

For the upper panel, I die cut a piece of white cardstock with one of the dies from the "Blueprints 18" set. I embossed it with the "Snowflakes" embossing folder by Darice, and inked it with Salty Ocean. The color seemed a bit too bright, though, so I went over it lightly with Chipped Sapphire. Finally, I misted it with Heidi Swapp's "Tinsel" Color Shine spray.

After die cutting the circle & banner from the same die set, I stamped a snowflake (source unknown) on the white circle using Hero Arts' Navy mid-tone shadow ink. I used the same ink to stamp "merci" (from Stampabilities) on the banner piece. After inking the edges with Chipped Sapphire, I glued the pieces in place. I die cut a button from cardstock using one of Impression Obsession's "Buttons" dies, and inked around the edge of that with Chipped Sapphire. I glued it down, and stitched through the holes with a navy embroidery floss. Finally, I glued the top panel to the background.

I inked the front of a piece of 5-3/8"x4-1/8" cardstock with Chipped Sapphire, and used it to mat the card front. Finally, I adhered the completed front to a white A2 card base.

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

A Good Day

This is my second card for the Send a Smile 4 Kids "Winter Fun 4 Kids" challenge. I must admit, it was kind of hard coming up with ideas for winter cards. Hopefully this one fits the bill.

I first chose my stamps. When I was looking for my "Winter Penguin" stamp set for this card, I came across Lawn Fawn's "Winter Sparrows" set, and thought it would be great for a card for this challenge. I wanted a more substantial branch than the one that is in that set, so I die cut one from brown cardstock using Impression Obsession's "Bare Branch" die. I also stamped my birdies in Memento Tuxedo Black ink, colored them with colored pencils and Gamsol, and die cut them with the coordinating dies.

For the background, I die cut a piece of white cardstock with the largest of Lawn Fawn's "Large Stitched Rectangles" dies. I taped off the edges, up to the faux stitching lines, to create a white border, a tip I got from watching Nichol Magouirk on YouTube. Then I blended Tumbled Glass, Broken China, and Peacock Feathers Distress inks to create the sky. I knew I wanted to use one of the "positive" greetings from this stamp set, so I wanted a daytime-looking sky.

To assemble the card, I first applied dots of glue to the back of the branch. After daubing off the excess on scratch paper (a tip from Debby Hughes), I used my tweezers to position it and stuck it down. I positioned my birdies where I wanted them, and stamped the music note from the "Winter Sparrows" set in Tuxedo Black ink around them. I also stamped the greeting in Tuxedo Black in the lower right corner. After applying foam tape to the backs of the birds, I stuck them down on the branch. Finally, I mounted the completed panel to an A2 card base. I will be sending this card to SAS4Kids.

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

Make Today Amazing

The theme for Send a Smile 4 Kids' final challenge for 2014 is "Winter Fun 4 Kids." So I decided to create a couple of cards for that challenge, which I will send on to them. This is the first of those.

I got my inspiration from this video by Tracy of Tracy Mae Designs. I used the same basic idea, but tweaked it a bit.

To get started, I stamped my little penguin from "Winter Penguin" by Lawn Fawn onto a scrap of white cardstock with Memento Tuxedo Black ink. Then I colored him in with colored pencils, blending them with Gamsol on paper stumps. After cutting him with the coordinating die, I set him aside while I worked on the background.

I created my greeting using 2 stamps from My Favorite Things' "Simply Fabulous Sayings." After die cutting a piece of white cardstock with the largest of Lawn Fawn's "Small Stitched Rectangles" dies, I positioned my greeting stamps on that. I picked them up with my Fiskars stamp press, and stamped them in Versamark. I used Ranger Super Fine Detail White embossing powder to heat emboss the greeting. I stamped the snowflakes from "Winter Penguin" and Lawn Fawn's "Winter in the Park" over the upper portion of the background, and white heat embossed them as well.

After masking off a border just outside the faux stitching on the panel, and a portion for the "ice," I blended Salty Ocean, Faded Jeans, Dusty Concord, and Chipped Sapphire Distress inks over the sky area. I removed the masking that I'd put across the panel to preserve the bottom portion, and masked above that line. I blended below that with Tumbled Glass Distress ink, and went around the edges with Broken China to add some depth. Finally I removed all the masking. I ended up going over the greeting with a white gel pen, since the embossing powder had not coated the letters thoroughly, allowing some spots of Distress ink to show through.

I decided I wanted some snow drifts at the horizon, so I die cut 2 pieces of white cardstock with one of the dies from the "Landscape Trio" set by Mama Elephant. After inking the tops with Tumbled Glass, I glued the shorter one on the front of the taller, and glued them to the background. To complete my little scene, I adhered the penguin with foam tape.

I die cut a piece of dark blue cardstock with the largest die from Lawn Fawn's "Large Stitched Rectangles." I adhered the focal panel to that, and adhered the completed card front to an A2 size card base.

My Top 14 OWH Cards of 2014

Happy New Year, everyone! Hope 2014 was a great year for y'all, and that 2015 will be even better. Operation Write Home is having a "Top Cards of 2014" bloghop today, and I am happy to be participating. (To see everyone's work, click the link at the top of this post to go to the Operation Write Home blog.) We were encouraged to choose our top 14 cards of the year. It was hard to choose just 14 cards as my favorites, out of all the ones I made for OWH this past year. But here they are (in no special order)!

This one was a new-to-me design, that I'd found on Pinterest. I die cut all the letters and the heart, and arranged them on the card front. I later found a stamp in Hobby Lobby that does pretty much the same thing!

I love the watercoloring on this one. For quite some time while I was coloring it, I really wasn't sure it would work out, but in the end, I think it turned out quite well!

I like this one just for the "grunge" factor. I felt the opening around the truck, which I tore and then inked, turned out really great. A good card for a boy--or a tomboy girl!

I used a technique I'd seen Jennifer McGuire do, involving stamping the hearts in Distress inks and then flicking water with a brush onto them so the ink would bleed. Striking effect, I think!

Like many card makers, I don't tend to do masculine cards. I've been trying to do more, though. I especially the second one here, because it's also a one-layer card--something else I don't do much of.

I did a couple of techniques on this card. I used alcohol inks on glossy cardstock for the greeting panel, then stamped the "Hello handsome" on top. This was my first time doing this, and I was amazed how well it came out. I also did a faux letterpress technique on the background, by inking up an embossing folder before inserting my cardstock. I don't always get good results doing this, but this one was close to perfect the first time.

I used a stencil and inking for the sunburst in this card. I like how the blue panel anchors the sunburst & light bulb.

I love the cute critters in Hero Arts/OWH stamp sets. For the moose card, I stamped the plaid background behind the moose--not a quick process! The elephant card won a Heroine award in A Blog Named Hero's "Ombre" challenge!

I created this card for OWH's Memorial Day bloghop. I was surprised at how many people who commented thought the strip in the middle was pre-printed. In fact, I stamped the hearts & greeting and cut the strip out.

Another of what Laura Bassen would call a one-layer wonder. I masked the middle, used gel medium over a star stencil, and did a gradient inking for the background. Then I just removed the masking and stamped my greeting.

I really enjoyed doing the embossing in these last 2 cards. The brightly-colored one employed another new-to-me technique: monoprinting. I inked the back of a Tim Holtz layering stencil with Distress inks, spritzed it with water, and laid it down on a piece of cardstock to get the star-patterned print. I was glad it turned out right the first time, too!

So there they are, my top 14 choices for 2014. Hope you enjoyed--and congratulations on making it this far! :) I'm so glad to have found Operation Write Home, and feel honored to be at least a small part of their work! Have a wonderful day, and again, Happy New Year, y'all!