It's Your Birthday

I wrote in this post about Jacob, a young teenager who has terminal cancer. His birthday is next month, and his wish is to have 10,000 birthday cards sent to him. I made another one that my mom can send. If you would like to send him a card, you can find the address in this blog post.

The inspiration for my card came from this one by Kristina Werner. I liked the transparency of the balloons overlapping each other. I stamped one of the balloons from the "Wish Big" set by Essentials by Ellen multiple times onto a piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper that I'd cut to 4x5.5". I used Distress inks in Abandoned Coral, Wilted Violet, Mermaid Lagoon, Cracked Pistachio, & Mustard Seed. I used a damp paintbrush to pull the color from the edge into the center of each balloon, adding a bit more diluted ink to "beef up" the color some. Then I set that panel aside to dry.

I used 2 of the greetings from Simon Says Stamp's "Big Birthday Wishes" set. I stamped them on a piece of vellum in Versamark ink, and heat embossed them with Recollections Gold Detail embossing powder. I cut that into a banner shape, and, when my balloon panel had dried, stitched the banner to that with gold thread.

For the borders, I stamped the "Diagonal Stripes" background from My Favorite things in Versamark onto a scrap of dark blue cardstock. I heat embossed that with gold, and cut two 1/4" wide strips. I glued each strip to the edges of a white A2 card base, & adhered my main panel in between them. Hopefully Jacob will like this card!

You Are So Sweet--with Ellen Hutson

Ellen Hutson is having a call for guest designers for their Pin-sights challenge. So I decided to create a few cards for that. This is the first. We are supposed to use only Essentials by Ellen products, as well as ones that are available at EllenHutson.com. I used the "Mondo Magnolia" stamp & coordinating die (designed by Julie Ebersole); and paired it with the "Simply Said: You" die, along with one of the greetings from the "Simply Said: You" stamp set, both from Avery Elle.

I began my card by stamping the magnolia on a piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper with Antique Linen Distress ink. I wanted to do some no-line watercoloring. I did end up with an outline, but I think it works to my advantage in the end, by providing a bit of contrast between the petals. It's very light & soft, though, so I am happy with it! I then used Antique Linen & Tattered Rose Distress inks to watercolor it. When it was mostly dry, I added darker accents to the center with Victorian Velvet Distress ink. Finally, I die cut it with the coordinating die.

For my background, I wanted a big contrast with the softness of the flower. So I turned to this technique tutorial to create a "weathered wood" panel. I used Perfect Paper Adhesive on a panel of 140 lb. watercolor paper, just applying it in rough lines and breaking up some of the larger blobs with an embossing stylus. When the glue dried, I scored the panel, and went over it with Antique Linen. I must admit, at this point I thought I'd applied too much glue, since there was a lot of white! But I pushed ahead, and applied Rusty Hinge & Weathered Wood Distress inks, spraying it with water to blend. I dried it with my heat tool, and added some more color and water. I really think it turned out well, & I'm glad I kept going!

I adhered Stick It adhesive to the back of a scrap of black cardstock, and adhered black fun foam to that. Then I die cut it with the "Simply Said: You" die. I inked another scrap of watercolor paper with Tattered Rose, and stamped the rest of my greeting in Versafine Onyx Black ink on that. After cutting it into a strip, I assembled my card. I used (a lot of) Scor Tape on the back of my flower, and created a messy nest of black thread behind it, to carry the black I'd used for my greeting to the top of the card. I adhered that to my background, leaving about 1/4" hanging off the right edge. I adhered my greeting, and finally mounted the panel to black cardstock. I adhered that to a white A2 card base.

My Friend

The challenge this month at Our Daily Bread Designs is "Anything That Grows...with ODBD." I decided to make this card for Send a Smile 4 Kids, using ODBD's "Violet Single" image. I also used the "One Layer Paper Tole" technique that Dina Kowal demonstrated on Splitcoaststampers.com. Unfortunately, I couldn't get any good photos of the bit of dimension that produced.

I first die cut & embossed an oval from 140 lb. watercolor paper with the largest of Spellbinders "Classic Ovals LG" dies. Using my MISTI to help me with placement, I stamped the image on the oval with Versafine Onyx Black ink, and clear heat embossed it. When the embossing had cooled, I colored the flowers & leaves with my Inktense pencils, using a damp paintbrush to pull the color from the pencil lead & apply it to the paper.

After I finished coloring, I placed the die cut back in the die, & used a finger dauber to ink around the image with Tumbled Glass Distress ink. The die masked off the perimeter, leaving a small white border around the oval. I then used my craft knife to cut along the outside edges of some of the leaves. I flipped the oval face down onto a foam mat, and used a broad ball stylus to burnish the paper inside the cut lines, to cause the leaves that I'd cut around to curve up. After burnishing, I applied foam tape to the back of those portions, to help with the dimension when I adhered the panel to my card front.

I used a greeting from Stampendous' "Happy Messages" stamp set. I stamped it in Versafine Onyx Black onto a piece of lavender cardstock, clear heat embossed it, and cut it into a banner shape. I cut an A2-size card front from green cardstock, and laid my oval & banner on it. The design looked a bit lopsided, so I took more of that lavender cardstock and cut a doily using one of the "Decorative Doily Duo" dies from My Favorite Things. I placed that behind my oval on the left side. The composition looked a bit "forced" now, though, so I die cut another doily using the smaller of the MFT dies, and glued that behind the right side of the oval. I just felt I needed to add the lavender doilies, to carry the color from the banner throughout my design.

After adhering my doilies & oval, I adhered my greeting banner in place. I took some staples that I'd colored with liquid gold leafing, and loaded my Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher. I stapled the right end of the banner, just to add a little something-something. Finally, I mounted my card front to a white A2 card base.

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

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday challenge: "Anything Goes"
Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes"
Simon Says Stamp's Monday challenge: "Add Some Texture" (dry-embossed leaves for the paper tole)

Happy Birthday Turtle

I created another card for the washi tape challenge at Live Love Cards. This time I made a birthday card to send to Send a Smile 4 Kids. If you enjoy making kids cards, I would highly recommend checking out this organization. They collect handmade cards for nurses, other hospital staff, & parents to give to children who are inpatients at their participating children's hospitals.

For my card I used Sketch #SC594 from Splitcoaststampers.com for my design. I first stamped the turtle from Spellbinders' "Your Day" set onto a piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper, using Versafine Onyx Black ink. I die cut it with a Spellbinders "Standard Circles SM" die, and colored the turtle with my Inktense pencils, using a damp paintbrush to blend the colors. I also added a bit of shadow under the turtle, just to ground him, and a bit of Glossy Accents to his eye.

I cut a piece of beige cardstock to 4.25x5.5" for my card front. I used 3 different washi tapes, all from Recollections, for my strips. I cut the polka dot tape so it was narrower, & applied the strips to the left side of my panel.

I used one of the greetings from "Your Day," and stamped it in Versamark ink onto a scrap of red cardstock. After heat embossing with Recollections Glacier embossing powder, I die cut that with a Spellbinders "Standard Circles LG" die.

To assemble my card, I glued my focal image circle to the beige panel. I popped up the greeting on foam tape, and sewed on 2 buttons. I mounted the panel to a white A2 card base, and used my 1/2" Corner Chomper to round the upper right corner. I applied some clear Wink of Stella glitter to the present; and outlined my image with a black marker, just to darken the lines. And that finished this card!

Good Things

The July challenge at Live Love Cards is to use washi tape on your card(s). I must admit, I have kind of an embarrassing collection of washi tape, but rarely use it. I just see the colors & patterns of tapes in the store, and I fall in love. So I buy it & bring it home, and.... I don't know that I hoard it per se (how fast can you possibly go through yards of tape???). But I don't generally reach for it in my crafting. So this challenge is a bit hard.

I based the design of my card on Sketch #253 from Operation Write Home. I cut a piece of white cardstock, & added 3 strips of different washi tapes (by Recollections). I then embossed it with the "Celtic Weave" embossing folder by Spellbinders. I just felt all that white space of the cardstock needed something to make it more interesting.

I used the "Good Things Message" stamp by Hero Arts (apparently discontinued) for my greeting. I stamped it on another scrap of white cardstock in Versafine Onyx Black ink, and die cut it with a Spellbinders "Standard Circles LG" die. I cut a mat from dark blue cardstock with one of the "Nesting Scallops" dies by We R Memory Keepers, and glued my greeting circle to that. Then I glued my greeting to the embossed cardstock.

I matted my main panel with pink cardstock, and adhered that to a mint green cardstock panel. Finally, I mounted my card front to a white A2 card base.

I'm also entering this card in a2zScrapbooking's July Challenge: "Anything Goes."

Happy Birthday

A former student of my mom's is having a birthday next week. She & I are both friends with him on Facebook, so I decided to make him a card. He loves the outdoors, so hopefully this will work for him!

I got my inspiration from this card that I found through Pinterest. I have The Crafter's Workshop "Aspen Trees" 6x6" stencil. The inspiration card used an embossing folder from Stampin' Up, and I felt I could replicate the look with my stencil. I had not looked at this stencil in a long time, and when I took it out, I immediately realized it would not work like I had thought. I had planned to do my background, then add texture paste over the trees, basically creating the trees & hiding the background for those portions. What I had forgotten was that the trees are the positive part of the stencil, not the negative like I would need for my plan! So I had to think about that for a while.

I came up with the idea to ink my background through the openings in the stencil, preserving the white of the paper for my trees. So I did just that, on a piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper. I used Distress inks in Shabby Shutters, Bundled Sage, Peeled Paint, & Mowed Lawn for the "foliage" in the background; and Tumbled Glass, Peacock Feathers, & Salty Ocean for the sky. Once I'd finished my ink blending, I used a brush-tip black marker to color in the spaces on the bark of the trees. Then I removed my stencil.

For the foreground, I die cut a piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper with one of My Favorite Things' "Scenic Safari" dies. I inked it with Mowed Lawn, adding a bit of Peeled Paint along the top edge for shading. At that point, I decided I could put my greeting on the foreground piece. So I trimmed my background piece down just a bit, and adhered it to a white A2 card base, to help me know how high to cut the foreground panel. After I cut the foreground, I dried the ink thoroughly with my heat tool. I treated it with my powder bag, and tested it by sprinkling embossing powder over it, to make sure no powder would stick. Then I placed it in my MISTI, and used that to help me position my greeting, from Hero Arts' "Happy Birthday" stamp set (discontinued). I stamped it in Versamark ink, and heat embossed it with Ranger Super Fine Detail White embossing powder. Finally, I adhered the panel to my card base.

I have had the wolf stamp I used for years. I don't know who manufactured it, or even where I bought it. I stamped it onto white cardstock with Hero Arts Charcoal ink, and colored it with my Prismacolor colored pencils. After I fussy cut it out, I adhered it to my card with foam tape.

I'm entering this card in A Blog Named Hero's July challenge: "Masculine."

Bit of Kindness

A woman I know, who suffers from depression, has been having a harder time than usual for a while now. So I decided to make her this card, hopefully to cheer her up a bit.

I used Sketch #SC559, from Splitcoaststampers.com, as the basis for my design. I stamped the first butterfly where my die cut circle would be, using the "Elegant Butterflies" set by Clearly Besotted. I then masked that image, and stamped more butterflies around it. I continued masking & stamping, until I'd filled my row with butterflies. I then colored them in with colored pencils. I colored my focal point butterfly with pinks, reds, & violets; and the others with cool colors, just for contrast. I also filled in the dots on the smaller butterflies with a white gel pen. Then I coated the focal butterfly with clear Wink of Stella glitter.

When I was done coloring, I die cut the circle, with a Spellbinders "Standard Circles SM" die. (I wanted to make sure my greeting wouldn't get cut through with the die.) I used my MISTI to stamp my greeting, from Hero Arts' "Acts of Kindness" set, below my butterflies. I really like the way the placement of the words in the stamp kind of hugs the images. Finally, I matted my panel with pink cardstock, mounted it to a white A2 card base, & popped my circle element back in place with foam tape.

I'm entering my card in the following challenges:

a2z Scrapbooking's July challenge: "Anything Goes"
Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday challenge: "Things with Wings"

Happy Birthday Tea

A friend of my mom is celebrating her birthday tomorrow. She likes to have tea, so I decided to make her a teapot birthday card for my mom to give to her.

This is one of those cards that took a few turns as I was making it. I began with this tutorial for a teapot card, which I found through a Google search. Unfortunately, the template was not included in the blog post, so I went back to Google and did a search for "teapot card template." I finally found a template for a teapot, and figured I could adapt it to fit with the tutorial I'd found initially. Well, after I sized the pattern in Photoshop & printed it out on cardstock to create a template, I realized it wouldn't work for the design that was demonstrated in the tutorial. Sooo....

I decided to make a top fold card, connected at the handle for the lid. I traced my pattern onto the back of a piece of patterned paper from the "Garden Party" 6x6" pad by Pebbles. I used a craft knife to cut out the space between the handle & body of the teapot, and cut along the outer edge with scissors. I then adhered the teapot to a piece of white cardstock with repositionable adhesive, and cut the card back out from that. I inked the edges of the patterned paper piece with Worn Lipstick Distress ink. I cut the lid for the teapot off from my template, and used that as a mask to ink around the lid area on the patterned paper piece.

From a scrap of watercolor paper, I die cut flowers & leaves using Our Daily Bread Designs' "Bitty Blossoms" dies, and a sprig with Poppy Stamps' "Garden Sprig" die. I smooshed Distress inks in Forest Moss, Mowed Lawn, Salty Ocean, & Dusty Concord onto my non-stick craft mat, and spritzed each with a bit of homemade Perfect Pearls mist. I dipped my die cuts into the colors, and swirled them around to apply the ink to the paper. Then I set those aside to dry.

For the greeting, I used part of one from Simon Says Stamp's "Birthday Messages" set. I masked off the "to you" in the stamp with painter's tape, and inked it with Versamark ink. After I removed the tape, I stamped the "Happy Birthday" onto white cardstock, heat embossed it with Ranger Silver embossing powder, and cut it into a small banner.

After my flowers & leaves had dried, I started arranging them on my teapot. I decided they needed something behind them to set them off from the patterned paper. Since I didn't have a small enough doily (which I really wanted), I went through my Spellbinders dies, and found the "Heart Circles" set. I die cut white cardstock with the second-smallest die, and glued my flower arrangement to that. After the glue dried, I adhered the circle to my teapot, gluing one end of my banner in place underneath.

To finish my card, I used Scor Tape to adhere the front to the back at the top handle part. This way, the card folds at the top. I added Star Dust Stickles to the flower centers, and this card was done!

I'm entering this card into the following challenges:

Our Daily Bread Designs: "Anything that Grows...with ODBD"
Die Cut Divas: "Make It Glitter"

Rainbow Thanks

The final challenge theme for My Favorite Things Camp Create (Session 2) is "Background Bonanza." Basically, stamp a background. I am in need of thank you cards, so I decided to create one for this theme.

I used MFT's "Abstract Art" stamp set for the swashes on my card. I placed one of the stamps in my MISTI, roughly in the horizontal center. I stamped it in Hero Arts Lime Green ink. I also stamped it on a piece of quilting template plastic, to help me position the rest of my swashes. I moved my panel up a bit, lining it up with the plastic sheet where I wanted my next impression, and stamped again with Hero Arts Pool ink. I continued in this fashion with Hero Arts Navy & Grape Juice inks. Then I scootched my panel down to get the upper images, in Hero Arts Red Royal & Orange Soda, and Simon Says Stamp Sunshine inks. I did have to trim 1/4" off the top of my panel, since my stripes weren't centered exactly in the end.

For the greeting, I applied Stick It adhesive to both sides of a piece of black craft foam. I removed the liner paper from one side of the foam, and adhered a piece of black cardstock to it. I used that to die cut my words, with MFT's "Many Thanks" & "Little Letters" (to spell "many"). I also die cut the word/letters from my stamped panel, using a dryer sheet underneath the cardstock to hold all the pieces in place.

I adhered a scrap of white cardstock behind the die cut opening in my panel, and then placed my greeting, adhering it to the cardstock scrap. I picked out the letter centers from the dryer sheet with tweezers, and glued them in place with tiny drops of Perfect Paper Adhesive. Finally, I burnished my letters to adhere them fully, mounted my card front to a white A2 card base, trimmed off 1/4" from the base to line up with the front, and my card was done!

Happy Birthday to You

The challenge on Day 3 of My Favorite Things Camp Create (Session 2) is "Inlaid Made Easy." I must admit, my first attempt at die cut inlay for this project was anything BUT easy! I think I just got a little too ambitious, having layers of lots of balloons. It went fine when I was reassembling everything--until pieces quit fitting. Needless to say, all that I accomplished (in over 2 hours of work) was putting a little more paper in my recycle bag! :( So for version 2.0 of this card, I decided to scale things back a bit.

I read in this blog post about a boy named Jacob, who has terminal cancer. He turns 14 next month, and this will probably be  his last birthday. He wants to receive 10,000 cards for his birthday. So I decided to make this card for him.

The inspiration for my design came from this card by Jennifer McGuire. I began by die cutting my card front panel from a piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper with the largest of Simon Says Stamp's "Balloons" dies. I inked it with Cracked Pistachio & Blueprint Sketch Distress inks, and then sprayed it liberally with my homemade Perfect Pearls mist (Perfect Pearls powder + water). This blended the colors even more, and added a slight bit of shimmer.

After die cutting 3 balloons (Lawn Fawn "Party Balloons") from patterned paper scraps, I determined where I wanted to place them on my card front. I die cut the openings for the back 2 balloons, and then taped the corresponding patterned paper balloons into those spaces. I then ran it through my die cutting machine again, using the star balloon die.

For the greeting, I used MFT's "Little Letters" dies. It actually took me longer to position the dies on my balloon panel than it took to die cut! I used a dryer sheet under my panel when I die cut the letters, to make sure all the little pieces I'd need wouldn't get lost. (They all stuck to the sheet.) After I'd cut the letters out of my balloon, I die cut them again out of blue glitter cardstock. Then came the "fun" part!

I covered another balloon that I had die cut from white cardstock with Stick It adhesive. This created a full-sticky piece, so I could just pop all my elements in and they would adhere without adding more glue. Then I adhered my watercolor balloon to that. I placed the patterned paper balloons first, then placed in all the glitter letters, making sure to replace all the inner pieces that I'd die cut from the balloon. It actually went together pretty easily this time. :)

To finish my card, I took a third balloon that I'd also cut from white cardstock. I scored a line about 1/2" down from the top, and folded along the score. I added Scor Tape pieces above the line, & adhered my card front to that. I cut a bit off the bottom of the back balloon, just so the card would stand up. And my card was done!

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

Die Cut Divas: "Make It Glitter"
Pile It On #112: "Use Your Favorite Color(s)" (used green)

Sending You Prayers

Day 4 of My Favorite Things Camp Create challenge series is "Magnificent Masking." I had seen a technique demonstrated by Nichol Magouirk, where she inked a panel with Distress ink, and then inked over it again (with the same color) through a stencil to create a tone-on-tone background. I decided to try that with MFT's "Petal Circles" stencil (apparently discontinued).

I cut a piece of white cardstock to 4x5.25" for my panel. I then inked it in Cracked Pistachio, Peacock Feathers, and Shaded Lilac Distress inks. I really like the green/purple color combination, and added the Peacock Feathers to prevent the Cracked Pistachio & Shaded Lilac from making mud where they would overlap.

When I was inking, to get a smooth blend, I added a lot of ink to the cardstock. After I'd gotten the green & blue rather dark, I happened to think that I might be ruining my panel by going too dark, too fast. But I decided to press on and finish inking. I figured, if I had ruined it, all I would waste by proceeding was a bit more ink and some time. So I finished inking, and then taped the stencil over the panel. I inked through the stencil with the same colors. When I'd finished, I lifted one corner of the stencil to take a peek and see if the color value difference was great enough. And it had worked! I had the two-tone effect I'd been going for. Whew! I did add a little more Shaded Lilac over that area to deepen the design color, and removed the stencil.

For the greeting, I stamped the "Sending you" & "prayers" from Hero Arts' "Prayers" set onto a scrap of mint cardstock with Versamark ink. I heat embossed it with Ranger Liquid Platinum embossing powder, and cut it into a strip. I rounded both right corners with my 1/4" Corner Chomper, and adhered it to my background panel.

I decided my card needed a little something extra, so I stamped one of the butterflies from Our Daily Bread Designs' "Trois Jolies Papillons" set onto vellum with Versamark, and heat embossed that with Liquid Platinum as well. I die cut it with the coordinating die, and used a little Perfect Paper Adhesive on the body to glue it in place, overlapping the greeting strip. Finally, I matted the panel with a piece of cream cardstock, and adhered it to a white A2 card base.

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

a2z Scrapbooking's July Challenge: "Anything Goes"
Pile It On Challenge #112: "Use Your Favorite Colors"
Virginia's View Challenge #22: "All About Colors"

Hi

The theme for Day 1 of My Favorite Things' Camp Create (Session 2) is "Fantastic Foiling." While foiling is not necessary to participate (the challenge is to use something shiny), I decided to get out my too-little-used Minc Mini machine and do some foiling!

For my design, I used Sketch #SC588 from Splitcoaststampers. I first ran a sheet of 6x6" Minc star patterned paper through my Minc Mini with some red foil. I cut that down to 4.25x5.5". I also die cut one of the "hi" dies from MFT's "Happy Hellos" set from toner cardstock, and foiled that with gold.

I cut a piece of patterned paper from Echo Park's "Jack & Jill" 6x6" pad to 1-7/8" square, and cut that in half diagonally for the piece in the lower left corner. I also cut four 1/8" wide strips: 2 from blue cardstock & 2 from gold foil cardstock. I glued one strip of each color to my card front, butted up against the patterned paper triangle. I cut the second piece of patterned paper to fit in the remaining space, and glued the other 2 strips along that.

After die cutting a circle from light blue cardstock using a Spellbinders "Standard Circles SM" die, I used the same die as a template to trace a circle on a piece of dark blue cardstock. I cut that out with scissors, to create a narrow mat around the smaller circle. Then I glued both circles together, and glued my "hi" letters in place. Finally, I adhered that to my card front, and mounted the panel to a white A2 card base. I will send this card in my next package to Send a Smile 4 Kids.

You Make Life Fabulous

My Favorite Things is having the second session of their Camp Create this week. Day 2's theme was "Coloring." Just color--anything. Their demonstration video showed coloring on kraft cardstock with colored pencils. Though it is not necessary to color on kraft, I have never really done this, so I decided to give it a try.

I used the "Simply Fabulous Sayings" stamp set from MFT, and paired it with Clearly Besotted's "Elegant Butterflies" stamp set. After cutting a 4.25x5.5" piece of kraft cardstock, I determined the position & width of my butterfly section. I lightly ruled lines with a pencil to mark the boundaries of the strip, and used those as a guide for where to stamp my greeting. After stamping that in Versamark ink, I heat embossed it with Ranger Super Fine Detail White embossing powder.

I next created masks for the 3 butterflies I was going to use. Then I used Memento Tuxedo Black ink to stamp the first butterfly on my card front, which I wanted to "break out" of the border of my strip, and kind of hug the greeting. After I stamped that butterfly, I masked the edges of my strip with painter's tape. I masked the main butterfly, and then stamped the rest of the butterflies, masking them as I went to keep my card one-layer.

When I finished stamping my butterflies, I removed the masking, and colored them in with Prismacolor colored pencils. I am still amazed at the vibrancy of color I got, despite coloring on a kraft surface! After I colored them all, I used a black marker to draw a line on either side of my butterfly section, just to provide some definition. I felt the main butterfly got a bit lost in the design. So I ended up coating it with my clear Wink of Stella pen. I think if I were to do this card again, I would color that butterfly in different colors than the others. But I think the shimmer provides enough emphasis. (I just wish it could show up better in photos!) I also colored in the dots on some of the butterflies' wings with a white gel pen, to tie that in with the white greeting. Finally, I adhered my panel to a white A2 card base.

I'm also entering my card in Virginia's View Challenge #22: "All About Colors."

You're So Sweet!

The current Lawnscaping challenge is a mood board inspiration challenge, to create something inspired by the photo they posted. The teal & yellow color scheme, with a pop of black, appealed to me, so I based my card on that. I used Sketch #SC562 from Splitcoaststampers for my design.

I stamped the gumball machine from Lawn Fawn's "Sweet Smiles" set on a piece of Strathmore Smooth Bristol paper, using Versafine Onyx Black ink, and clear heat embossed it. After stamping some of the faces from "Sweet Smiles" & heat embossing them, I colored the image with my Zig Clean Color pens & a damp paintbrush.

For the background, I pulled out my new-to-me "Plaid Background Builder" stamp set by My Favorite Things. I stamped the background pattern with Hero Arts inks in Lemon Yellow, Butter Bar, & Soft Pool. That was actually the longest part of the whole card process. Yes, I could have used patterned paper, but I like to do this sort of thing every so often! :)

Once I had my background done, I assembled my card. I cut 2 pieces of pool-colored cardstock to the dimensions in the sketch, and adhered them to my background panel. I stamped the greeting, also from "Sweet Smiles," on a strip of yellow cardstock, and adhered it & the focal panel in place. Finally, I mounted my card front to a white A2 card base.

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

Send a Smile 4 Kids: "CAS Cards 4 Kids"

Virginia's View Challenge #22: "All About Colors"

In Our Hearts

My mom came into the craft room where I was working the other day, and said she needs a sympathy card. The assistant principal at the school where my mom teaches had lost her brother suddenly. I know sympathy cards can tend to be rather subdued, but I feel that there is nothing wrong with adding some bright pops of color. The occasion is somber enough as it is. Bright colors might just help provide a lift the card recipient needs.

The inspiration for my card came from this card I found through Pinterest. I used both the "Hummingbird" & "Fuchsia 2" stamps from Our Daily Bread Designs. I stamped them on 2 scraps of Strathmore Smooth Bristol paper, using Delicata Golden Glitz ink. I actually stamped the bird first in Versafine Onyx Black, but the image is relatively solid, and with all that black, it just looked a bit "heavy." I decided to go for a cloisonne look, hence the gold ink. After stamping, I heat embossed both images with Recollections Clear Detail embossing powder. I die cut the hummingbird with its coordinating die, and used a Spellbinders "Floral Ovals" die to cut the fuchsia panel. I then colored both images with my Zig Clean Color pens.

I used a Cuttlebug embossing folder (sorry, but it's not labeled, and I don't know the name) to emboss a panel of mint cardstock. I cut off a 3/8" strip from the bottom, and then cut off another 3/4" strip. I kept the narrower strip, and just recycled the second one.

For the greeting, I sized one from Doodle Pantry's "Sweet Sympathy Sentiments" to fit in a 3/4"-high space, with a bit of room above & below. I positioned it on a blank A2-size "canvas" in Photoshop, and printed it directly onto the front of a white card base. I used Scor-tape to adhere pieces of craft foam to the backs of my embossed panel & strip, and then adhered them to my card base, above and below the greeting. I used Perfect Paper Adhesive to glue my oval to the card front, and foam tape to pop up the hummingbird.

I'm entering my card in the following challenges:

Our Daily Bread Designs: "Anything that Grows...with ODBD"
Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes"
Craft Your Passion Challenges: "Anything Goes"
Virginia's View Challenge #22: "All About Colors"

Floral Sympathy Card

A friend of mine recently lost her husband, quite suddenly & unexpectedly. So I made this sympathy card to send to her. My inspiration came from this card that I found on Pinterest.

I started by stamping one of the "Sweet William" flowers (apparently discontinued) by Our Daily Bread Designs several times on white cardstock. I used Memento dye inks in Angel Pink & Lulu Lavender for some, and second-generation stamping with Hero Arts Soft Lilac for the rest. I fussy cut them out, and set those aside while I worked on the rest of the card.

For the background, I cut a piece of green cardstock to 4x5.25". I embossed it with a Cuttlebug embossing folder (sorry, but I don't know the name). I thought the swirls in this particular folder looked like vines--perfect for my floral theme!

I used a greeting from Doodle Pantry's "Sweet Sympathy Sentiments" set, and printed it on a banner I'd cut from pink parchment paper.

To assemble the card, I arranged the flowers on the background panel, without gluing any down. I used a piece of Press 'n Seal to pick them up as a group, and applied glue to the backs of most of them. I flipped the Press 'n Seal over, and laid the still-stuck flowers on my background. I let that set for a couple of seconds, then CAREFULLY peeled up the Press 'n Seal, leaving the flowers glued to the panel. I took 3 flowers, and popped them up on foam tape. I then cut away the green cardstock where it peeked out behind the flowers in the corner.

After rounding the upper right corner with my 1/2" Corner Chomper, I adhered my panel to a piece of lavender cardstock, cut to 4.25x5.5". After popping my greeting banner on foam tape, I mounted my card front to a white A2 card base, and rounded the top right corner. I fussy cut the bottom left corner, following the flowers, just for a different look. I also cut off the overhanging portions of the flowers on the left & bottom edges. Finally, I added dots of White Opal Liquid Pearls to the centers of the flowers.

I'm entering my card in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Anything Goes"
Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes"
Craft Your Passion: "Anything Goes"
Our Daily Bread Designs: "Add Dimension or Pop It Up"

Silver Bells

The challenge at Merry Monday this week has been to use Blue, Gold, and Silver/White on your card. I must admit, I struggled with this a bit. I know silver & gold can be used together, but there's just something about it that seems a bit off to me. But I think I managed OK! :)

I decided to use the sketch from the Stella Says Sketch #410 challenge at Catch the Bug for my design:

I began with my focal image, the "Christmas - Bells" from Bugaboo Stamps. I decided to combine painting with a bit of paper piecing. After sizing the image in Photoshop, I printed it onto a piece of Strathmore Smooth Bristol paper. I also printed a reverse image of just the bells onto the backs of silver foil cardstock from Die Cuts with a View, and light blue & dark blue shimmer cardstocks (from my stash). I cut the bell pieces out, and set them aside while I painted the rest of the image with my Zig Clean Color pens & a water brush. I also used a silver glitter gel pen to color in some of the spaces on the hanger in the bells image. I then glued the silver and blue pieces in place. I used the outside of the largest of Spellbinders' "Classic Ovals LG" dies as a template to trace an oval around the image. Finally, I cut it out with my scissors, and erased the pencil lines.

For the background, I cut a piece of navy cardstock to 4.25x5.5". I die cut the bottom edge with one of the "Stitched Borders 1" dies from Pretty Pink Posh, and trimmed the panel down to 4.75" high. I cut two 1/2" strips from the light blue shimmer cardstock I'd used for the bells, and adhered them to the top & bottom of a white A2 card base. I adhered my navy panel in place, and then it was time to determine what to do about the strips in the sketch.

I ended up cutting two 7/8" wide strips of silver foil cardstock, and a 1/2" and two 1/4" wide strips of gold. I adhered the wider gold strip in the middle of the navy panel, and positioned and glued down the narrower strips. Finally, I adhered the silver strips, centered between each pair of gold. I adhered my focal panel, & added some silver Stickles around the perimeter of the oval. I put some dots of gold Stickles over the berries in the image, and along the scalloped border.

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

Catch the Bug Challenge Blog: "Anything Goes"
Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Anything Goes"
Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes"
Craft Your Passion: "Anything Goes"