Merry Christmas Cardinals

The August challenge at Christmas Card Throwdown is to make a fractured card. Usually (at least from what I can tell), the strips on this card design are solid cardstock with patterned paper in the background. I wanted to do things a little differently, so I pulled out some old-ish cardinal washi tape that I got a few years ago at Paper Source. Because it's translucent & I wanted it to stand out a bit, I adhered lengths of the washi to a couple of scraps of white cardstock & trimmed the cardstock to the same width as the tape.

 

 

 

At first I was thinking of using solid cardstock for my background, & maybe having each section be a different color. I also considered using an embossing folder to add texture. Because the washi tape is about 9/16" wide, I needed a larger card to implement my idea. So I went with a 5x7" card. This ruled out a lot of my smaller (~A2 size) embossing folders. And the multi-color approach just seemed a bit too fussy. So I decided to stamp a subtle background with the "Holly's Snowflakes" set from Mama Elephant (discontinued). (I just couldn't leave the background too plain! 😆)The grey branches against the white background in the washi design inspired me to stamp with white pigment ink onto a light grey cardstock, for kind of a reverse effect. The white ink kept the stamping subtle while still adding a little interest.

 

For the focal image, I chose the single cardinal from Hero Arts' "Holiday Cardinal" stamp set. I stamped it on a scrap of Strathmore smooth bristol paper with Versafine Clair Nocturne ink & heat embossed with clear powder. Originally, I die cut that with a Waffle Flower "Additional Squares" die & painted the bird with my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers. However, I couldn't come up with anything for the bird to stand on, & I didn't want him just "floating" on a white background. So I thought of having him stand on a greeting strip. But short of cutting around just his feet with a craft knife & slipping a strip into that slit, I couldn't figure out how to accomplish that. So I ended up die cutting him with the coordinating die so I could easily tuck the strip underneath his feet.

 

I stamped the greeting, also from "Holiday Cardinal," onto a scrap of white cardstock, & cut it into a banner. I glued that onto another layer of cardstock, to make it a little sturdier, then cut around it.

 

I die cut another square for my diamond from a scrap of blue parchment paper. I adhered that to my card front, centered side-to-side but a little up from the horizontal center of the card. I adhered my washi tape strips around the diamond, cutting the ends around the edges as I went. Finally, I glued down my greeting strip & glued the bird "standing" on top of that. Even with the journey this card became, I am in love with the final result! I'm sure the recipient will love it as well.

 

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

 

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Stamp It"

613 Avenue Create's August Challenge: "Anything Goes" (not playing the optional twist)

Critter Crazy Challenge #114: "Anything Goes with a Featured Critter"

Allsorts Challenge #857: "All Creatures Great & Small"

The Paper Funday Challenge #91: "Anything Goes" (not playing the optional twist) 

Around the World

 

The optional topping for Seize the Birthday's Challenge #331 is to make a square card with a non-white base. I needed a card for my brother's 50th birthday, & found the perfect graphic that works with a square format. He is a pilot & also loves to travel, so it seemed serendipitous when I found the image of a plane going around a globe. Jules Verne's novel, "Around the World in 80 Days," inspired the first part of the greeting.

 

 

 

I had to google how many days my brother has actually been alive. What did we ever do before online search engines???

 

I opened the main image, from Magnific.com, in Photoshop. The globe in the image didn't work with my vision, so I found another one at PNGFind.com of a globe where the landmasses were outlined instead of silhouetted. I selected the globe in the main image & deleted it, then moved the outline globe & positioned it where the original globe had been. I created a circle path to type the greeting on, & then entered the text. The bottom part of the greeting was a bit difficult, as I had forgotten how to reverse the text so it curved up like I wanted, but I eventually figured it out. I also reduced the opacity of the globe itself, so I wouldn't have black outlines when I colored. Since wax-based colored pencils kind of - but don't totally - obscure outlines on an image, I just didn't want to fight with that. Finally I printed my panel onto a piece of Strathmore Colored Pencil paper.

 

I colored the globe with my Prismacolor colored pencils. In traditional globe-coloring fashion, I colored the landmasses green & the water blue. But I decided to do Antartica & the North Pole area with a very pale blue. I mean, ice isn't green, is it? 😉 

 

I created my card base from a pale grey cardstock. I trimmed my main panel 1/4" shorter & narrower than my card base. I adhered that to a piece of teal cardstock & cut the mat so it was 1/16" larger on all sides. I did the same with a green mat, then adhered that to my card base. And that finished my card. The hardest parts were formatting the lower text to curve properly & keeping track of what was land & what was water when I was coloring. Not that the latter was hard, per se, but I did have to stay focused. I absolutely LOVE how this card turned out, & am happy to report that my brother loved it, too!

 

I'm also entering my card in Little Red Wagon's "One Thing" challenge. (I used one composite image.) 

Floral Happy Birthday

This is my second - & (sadly) final - guest design post for the Double Trouble Challenge blog. Before I go on, I really want to thank them for inviting me to do this. It's been a blast! They celebrate their 8th anniversary on May 25th with a raffle challenge. You can create a project (or more than one!) in any of the following four categories:

• Anniversary or Wedding (yellow ticket)
• Father's Day or Masculine (blue ticket)
• Birthday (pink ticket)
• Graduation (green ticket)

So pick your ticket color & go to town!

 

Obviously, I went with the Birthday/pink ticket option for my card. May 25th is also National Brown Bag It Day, so Thing 3's optional twist for this challenge is to use Kraft or Kraft-like elements on your project. I have not done pencil coloring on kraft cardstock for a hot minute, so I decided to do that for my card. And of course, I used the sketch from Double Trouble's sister challenge, Try a Sketch on Tuesday's Challenge #696 for my design. ***Keep in mind, if you want to enter TSOT's challenge, that does not start until May 26th. So while Thing 2 gives you a preview of the sketch, do not post or publish your project before Tuesday, so you don't risk backlinking. 

When I saw the sketch, I immediately thought of four (discontinued) digital images from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps (now Creative Worship) in my collection: "Magnolia Block," "Lily Block," "Daffodil Block," & "Tulip Block." I thought they would go perfectly with the grid design in the sketch. So I began my creative process in Photoshop by creating a file with a 4 x 5-1/4" blank canvas. I brought the images in one at a time so each was on its own layer to make positioning them on the canvas easier. I had to adjust the proportions slightly on a couple of them, because they were ever-so-slightly rectangular rather than perfect squares, but thankfully it worked out in the end. Finally, I printed my design onto a panel of kraft cardstock.

 

I colored the tulip first. I had a picture in my mind of a pink tulip with streaks of darker pink coming up from the bottom of the petals. Because I was coloring on a darker cardstock, I did a base layer of a very pale pink over each petal first, adding a pale green for the stem. This allowed the darker colors on subsequent layers to show up better & more true on the kraft cardstock. I have seen this done using a white pencil, but thankfully the pink & green pencils I had were light enough to accomplish the same task. I made sure to maintain a light pressure - enough to get color on the cardstock but not enough to fill in the tooth of the paper too quickly. Once I had established my base layer on a petal, I went on with darker pinks. (I used a darker green to shade the stem.) I basically worked one petal at a time so I wouldn't get "lost," as the pencil colors pretty much obscured the printed image lines. I was tickled pink (pun intended) when I finished, as it looks exactly like I had envisioned it!

 

I went on & colored the lily, magnolia, & daffodil in the same manner. When I finished the daffodil, I felt it looked rather "mushy" (for lack of a better word). I had used a dull pinkish-purple (Prismacolor Clay Rose) for the shading, which has usually worked for me, since it's basically the complement of yellow. I guess because this was on kraft rather than white, though, I didn't get the contrast I wanted with that color. So I tested out some other colors for shading the yellow (I made swatches on the back of my cardstock), & landed on Dark Umber. Brown had never occurred to me before, but dang if it didn't work better than the purple! 😃 After I had colored all the flowers, I chose 2 light blue pencils for the background in each square. I basically colored a wide soft-edged "outline" around each flower with the darker pencil, & then blended that out with the lighter blue. Finally, to re-establish the outline of each square, I went over them with a 70% Warm Grey Prismacolor pencil, using a ruler to guide the pencil.

 

To mat my panel, I chose a pale blue cardstock that I felt went well with the blue background color in each square. Before I added it to my white A2-size card base, I stamped my greeting (from Dare 2B Artzy's "Simply Birthday" set) in the middle of the panel. I tried it first with Versafine Clair Morning Mist pigment ink, but for some reason the cardstock just didn't like that ink. So I cleaned the stamp, repositioned it on my cardstock (still away from the edges), & tried stamping with Weathered Wood Distress Oxide ink. That was too light, so I went over it with Black Soot Distress Oxide ink. Thank heavens for the MISTI stamp positioning tool! Finally, I trimmed the greeting strip out with my craft knife & a metal ruler, & glued that to my kraft panel. (My main panel covered the "hole" from where I had cut the greeting strip, so no one but you & I will ever know.) I adhered my blue mat & kraft panel to my card base, & that wrapped up this project! I am sooooo happy with how this came out, & probably shouldn't wait as long to color on kraft again.

 

I'm also entering this card in Try Stamping On Tuesday's Challenge #696. 

Masculine Happy Birthday

 

I am so excited to be the Crazy Cousin guest designer for the Double Trouble Challenges this month! Challenge #216 runs from May 11-24. "It's a Wheelie Cool Day" for this challenge, where you need to use 3 layers (card base does not count), 2 shapes, & 1 image. While you're certainly free to do more than that, those are the minimum requirements to play. And of course, there is always the optional sketch challenge starting tomorrow at Try a Sketch on Tuesday. (Please keep in mind, the TSOT challenge doesn't start until May 12, so if you want to enter there, you cannot post, publish, or enter your project online before then!)

I created this card for a friend's birthday. Thing 3's optional twist for Double Trouble is to use something with at least one wheel, cam, and/or gear. While I have images like trucks, a scooter, & even gear dies, I decided to think a little "outside the box" & used Doodle Pantry's "Watermill" digital image (discontinued), which features a millwheel. I thought this would make a good masculine card.

 

After sizing the image in Photoshop, I printed it onto a piece of Canson XL watercolor paper with my laser printer. I then painted the scene with my watercolors. That was a bit of a challenge to get it to look right, but I think I prevailed. For the finer details, like the fence, millwheel framing, & the supports under the projecting part of the building, I used a few of my Prismacolor colored pencils. These were really tiny elements, & it was just easier to get in with a sharp pencil than a paintbrush.

 

Once the painting was done & dry, I die cut it with a "Nesting Oval Infinity" die from Hero Arts. Since I wanted a narrower mat than I would have gotten by cutting with the next larger die, I had to get a bit creative. As an extra personal challenge to save on cardstock, I first cut out all but a 3/8" border from a navy A2 panel. I traced the outer edge of the oval die onto the piece I'd cut out. Since I knew I wanted to do the same for the greeting, before I cut the large mat out, I went ahead & traced around the smaller die in the middle of the larger oval outline. To make accessing the smaller oval easier for cutting, I cut a rectangle around that outline with my craft knife & a metal ruler. Finally, I used scissors to cut out each oval. The parts I gutted from the two larger mats are covered, so no one would know they're "hollow." Even better, I got 3 mats out of one A2-size panel - score!

 

I stamped the greeting in Scorched Timber Distress Oxide ink onto a scrap of light blue cardstock & die cut it with a Waffle Flower "Nesting Ovals" die. Then I glued that & the image oval to their mats. I embossed a panel of kraft cardstock with Honey Bee's "Wood Planks 3D" embossing folder, trimmed it to 3-3/4 x 5", and adhered my image & greeting ovals to that. I cut off the overhanging bit of the greeting oval, then adhered my panel to the navy mat/border that I'd adhered to a white A2 card base. I cut 3 banners from patterned paper scraps in my stash, & glued just the top portion of each to the card front, so the ends are free.

 

I really love how this card came out! Filling all the challenge requirements was, well, a challenge, but it was so worth it in the end. I'll see y'all again in a couple of weeks for my next guest design post, if not sooner! 

 

 

 

 I'm also playing along in Try a Sketch on Tuesday's Challenge #695. 

He is Risen

I created this card for my mom to send to a priest at her church. Of course she wanted a religious-themed Easter card. I didn't have much in the way of religious Easter image or greeting stamps, so I purchased Trinity Stamps' "Simply Sentimental: Easter" stamp set & coordinating dies. While it's not a completely religious set, it does have words & phrases that are not necessarily cutesy in font style or context. I got the greeting for this card from that set.

 

My inspiration came from this card I saw on Pinterest. While it's not an Easter card, I liked the cross on a label-style background with an element in the middle of the cross. So I ran with that.

 

I die cut the strips for the cross from dark brown cardstock with one of the "Barn Wood Planks" dies from Honey Bee Stamps. Because I needed them to be narrower & shorter than the original die cut, I first glued the die cuts to another scrap of cardstock, then cut them with scissors to the sizes I needed. Because these dies cut deeply-debossed details into the cardstock, I had learned that if you want to trim them down at all, you have to adhere them to a solid backing piece first so they don't fall apart.

 

I used a Spellbinders "Labels Four" die (discontinued) for the panel to put the cross on. I die cut that from white cardstock, & inked the edges with blue ink to help it stand out a little. I glued the cross pieces in place, making sure they were centered & parallel to the sides and the top & bottom as needed.

 

For the single dogwood flower, I opened the "Dogwood Branch" digi image from Fred, She Said in Photoshop. I used the eraser tool combined with the marquee tool to erase the rest of the image, then sized the flower & printed it onto a scrap of Strathmore vellum bristol paper. I added shading & details with my Prismacolor colored pencils, then fussy cut the flower. I glued it where the cross pieces overlap.

I die cut the elements for the greeting banner from the "Banners & Tails" set (discontinued) from Impression Obsession. After inking them lightly with the same blue ink I'd used on the label, I stamped the greeting with Ground Espresso Distress Oxide ink onto the banner.

 

I had created my background during Juliana Michaels' "Stretch Your Stamps" online class several weeks ago. It's been sitting on my desk since then. I decided it would be perfect for this card, since it has kind of a masculine (or at least gender-neutral) look and wouldn't overwhelm the focal panel. I trimmed it down to 4x5-1/4", inked the edges, and adhered it to a white A2-size card base. I adhered my focal panel to that, & then added my greeting banner over the cross. I used a few pieces of scrap heavyweight cardstock behind the main part of the banner to pop it up, which also helped offset the slight thickness of the cross underneath it. I really love how this card came out!

 

I'm entering this card in Little Red Wagon's Challenge #853: "Easter Projects."

Have a Joyful Christmas

This week's challenge theme at Christmas Card Throwdown is "Slimline Card." I don't normally do slimline cards, but I decided to have a go at it for this challenge.

 

 

 

I went with a portrait slimline card, so I cut a piece of 110 lb. white cardstock to 8-1/2x7", then scored at 3-1/2" along the shorter side & folded that in half to create my card base. I cut a piece of Strathmore smooth bristol paper to 3-1/4x8-1/4", so I would have a narrow border on all sides of my panel once I put it on my card.

 

I stamped 5 of the images from Hero Arts' "Christmas Crystals" set (discontinued) onto my bristol panel, making sure to get them perfectly vertical. While this card is not exactly what I'd call clean & simple, I do consider it minimalist, so having my images lined up just right was important for me. I heat embossed the crystals with Wow White Pearl embossing powder. Because 2 of the crystals overlapped 2 others, I first heat embossed the larger ones, let that cool, then placed the panel back into my MISTI. I positioned the other crystals, stamped them with clear embossing ink, & heat embossed them. I think it actually worked quite well in the end! 😊

 

After I had heat embossed all my crystals, I used my Zig Clean Color Real Brush Pens to color them. I used just one color per crystal to keep things simple. I outlined a section with my pen, then used a wet paintbrush to spread the color towards the middle of that section. I did that one section at a time so the ink would still move freely. (I have found that if you let the ink sit long enough - even on bristol paper - it will set & won't move as easily.) For the crystals that overlapped, I made sure to use colors that wouldn't create mud. I applied the lighter color first (yellow & pink), & then painted in the darker color. I love how it looks like one crystal is shining through the other where they overlap - just as I had planned!

 

When I finished adding color to all the crystals, I had to figure out a greeting. After much playing around and hemming & hawing, I decided to use the "Joyful and Merry" stamp set & coordinating die set by Kristina Werner for Concord & 9th.

 

First, I die cut the Joyful from a scrap of bristol paper. I taped the word back into the negative space for support, & used my yellow & green brush pens to create a gradient of color over the word. Once the ink had dried, I removed the word from the negative & ran it through my Xyron machine to apply adhesive to the back. (Even after the ink dries, liquid glue can reactivate it, so I definitely wanted to stick to dry adhesive for this card!) For the supporting greeting strips, I heat embossed the words onto another bristol scrap, die cut them with a "Sentiment Strips" die from Pretty Pink Posh, and colored each strip with my purple brush pen.

 

I lightly tacked down the Joyful die cut to my panel, just to hold it in place while I worked. I positioned the upper greeting strip, & marked the edge of the "f" on the strip where it crossed. I cut that contour with my scissors, & adhered the strip with double-sided tape, tucking the cut end under the "f." There was a little hanging off the left side of the panel, so I just cut that off with my scissors. I repeated the process with the other greeting strip, curving the left end along the descender of the "y."

 

For the hangers on the crystals, I poked a small hole at the top of each one. I threaded a length of fine silver thread through each hole, wrapped it around the top of the panel, & taped both ends on the back.

I decided to double-mat my panel with silver foil & Midnight Navy cardstocks, both from Recollections. I first adhered my panel to the silver, and used one of my Perfect Paper Layers rulers (discontinued) with a craft knife to cut around the panel. This allowed me to get a perfect 1/16" mat. I cut my navy panel to 3-1/2x8-1/2" and adhered it directly to my card base. I added the matted panel, & that finished this card.

 

I had considered adding Glossy Accents or clear embossing powder over the crystals for extra shine. But I was afraid it might ruin the shading & highlights I had worked so hard to get by making the ink on each crystal a solid muddle of color. So I decided to quite while I was still ahead. 😉

 

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

• Simon Says Stamp's Monday Challenge: "Emboss It"
• The Paper Funday Challenge #86: "Anything Goes" (I am playing the optional "Die Cuts and/or Punches" twist)
• Creative Knockouts Challenge #568: "Embossing Delight"

Happy Birthday

 

The current challenge at Seize the Birthday is, as always, "Anything Goes" (as long as it's a birthday card). But the optional topping this time is using green as the main color. I must admit, it was a bit of a struggle for me for some unknown reason. But I pulled out some of my green Distress inks & went to town! I think I came up with a pretty cool birthday card, if I do say so myself (& I believe I just did say so! 😁). 

 

For the postage stamps, I pulled out an older set, "First Class" from the Essentials by Ellen line (discontinued). Even though I have had this set since before Ellen Hutson closed their online store (maybe a few years ago), I have never used it. I came across it (again!) in my bin of unused products & decided I finally had to do something with it. So I pulled out several of the stamps & heat embossed them with Ranger Silver Super Fine Detail embossing powder onto a large scrap of Canson XL watercolor paper.

 

I used painter's tape to mask off the outer part of each stamp, & ink blended the inside portions. Like I said, I used some of my green Distress inks for most of the stamps - in keeping with the challenge topping - but also pulled in Shaded Lilac & Salvaged Patina for accent colors. On the 2 stamps with flowers, after I had ink blended, I used a wet paintbrush to "paint" over the blossoms with clean water, then picked up the water & ink with a dry cloth. This bleached the color slightly for a subtle two-tone effect. (I learned this technique in Juliana Michaels' recent "Stretch Your Stamps" class.) Finally I cut my postage stamps out with scissors, leaving a 1/16" border around each.

 

I used the largest of the "Scallop Rectangles" die set from Pink & Main for the mat. I cut it from mint green cardstock & ink blended from the bottom to about 2/3 of the way up with Cracked Pistachio Distress ink to give a subtle ombre look.

 

Then I positioned my stamp images onto the panel. This was actually probably the most time-consuming part - just trying to make everything fit AND look like a balanced composition. I finally got an arrangement I liked. There was a large-ish gap under the top floral postage stamp, though, so I decided to cut some small banners from patterned paper scraps to come out from under that stamp to fill the space. Once I had those tacked down to the back of that stamp, I glued all my postage stamps to the mat panel with liquid glue. In hindsight, I wish I had glued the purple stamp sideways, just to echo the top left stamp, but I didn't think of that until after the glue had dried, so it is what it is. I don't hate it, but I just think it would have looked even better.

 

After the glue had dried on all of my stamps, I added my scalloped panel to a green cardstock mat that I'd adhered to a white landscape A2 card base. I'm sending this card to Kristina Werner for the March Mail Call video next month, where the theme is ink blending.

 

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

 

• 613 Avenue Create: "Anything Goes" (not playing the optional twist)
• The Paper Funday Challenge #85: "Anything Goes" (not playing the optional twist)
• Inkspirational Challenge #363: "Visual Prompt" (used multiple shades of green, botanical touches, & repeating shapes)

Happy Easter

 

The sketch for Try a Sketch on Tuesday's Challenge #690 inspired the design for my card. I basically followed the sketch to the letter, though I did substitute a leafy cluster for the smaller background hexagon.

 

 

I began with the cross panel. After I die cut the mat, using an Elizabeth Craft Designs "Stitched Indented Rectangle" die (discontinued), I die cut the panel from Canson XL mixed media paper with a Hero Arts "Rounded Rectangle Infinity" die to fit inside the mat. I determined the proportions of both parts of the cross, & cut 2 pieces of yellow Frog tape to those measurements. I lightly penciled the position for the tape pieces to center them on the panel, & adhered them on those marks. I made sure to burnish them well to the paper, as I did NOT want them to lift up & let ink underneath. (Spoiler alert: that happened.)

 

One of the palettes from Sarah Renae Clark's Color Cube system (old system version palette #342) inspired my ink color choices. For the ink blending around the cross, I took a cue from this image I found on Pinterest. I used a small ink blending brush to go around the whole cross with Tumbled Glass Distress ink to give me a base color. Then I added in bits of Peeled Paint, Stormy Sky, & Broken China Distress inks. After I had what I felt was a good balance of colors, I peeled off the tape masks. Unfortunately, ink had "leaked" under the tape in a few small spots, but that was nothing that a white gel pen couldn't cover up - shhhh! 😉 I adhered the main panel to the navy mat, & set that aside.

 

For the image hexagon, I used Deep Red's "Lily Blossom." This is a stamp that I have had for a loooong time! I don't use it that often, but it seemed perfect for this card. I stamped it onto Strathmore vellum bristol paper with Altenew's Vanilla Cream ink, then die cut it with a We R Makers "Nesting Hexagon" die (discontinued). I wanted a soft color, but not quite as pale as for "no-line" coloring. I used my Prismacolor colored pencils to color the leaves & add shading to the flower petals. To help it stand out a bit, I inked around the edges of the hexagon with Stormy Sky Distress ink.

 

I pulled out another oldie-but-goodie stamp - Stampabilities' "Happy Easter 2016" (discontinued) - for the greeting. I heat embossed it on another scrap of mixed media paper, & inked over it with Tumbled Glass Distress ink. I blended on some Stormy Sky to the bottom for an ombre effect. After I did that, I realized I may have made a bit of an error in judgment. When I fussy cut (as I was here), I like to outline the greeting or image lightly in pencil first, to give myself a guideline to cut on. (I picked up this tip from Kristina Werner.) But I was afraid that, when I went to erase any errant pencil marks I might have, I might erase the ink as well. After thinking about it for a moment, I decided to see if my Frixion heat-erasable pen would work. So I tried it on a section of the paper that I knew I would cut away, & it worked like a charm. All I had to do was hit it with my heat gun & the ink disappeared without leaving a trace. Whew! So I outlined the greeting with my pen (leaving a little extra room around the greeting than I normally would) & then cut just inside those lines. Even cutting inside the lines, I did have a few pen marks in the end I didn't cut off, so I just erased them with a shot of hot air.

 

I die cut the leaves from mixed media paper with the smaller die from Simon Says Stamp's "Etched Laurel Leaves" set. I wanted a soft green that kind of matched the leaf color I'd achieved in the lily image. It turned out Cracked Pistachio Distress ink was a good match, so I added some of that to my non-stick craft mat, spritzed with a bit of water, & ink smooshed the die cut leaves. I dried that with my heat gun, & repeated a couple more times for the depth of color I wanted.

 

Finally it was time to assemble the card. I found a piece of patterned paper in my collection that had a very faint (as in almost imperceptible) yellow check pattern. I cut that to the full 5x7" card size, & adhered that to my white card base. I adhered the matted cross panel next. I decided where exactly I wanted the hexagon, & used that to help me position the leaf cluster, which I tacked down with a few drops of glue, leaving the tips of the leaves free. I glued down the hexagon, & then the greeting. I had to add a few bits of cardstock behind parts of the greeting, since it overlapped the various layers & so wouldn't otherwise lie flat. I am so pleased with how this card came out! My mom will send it to a priest friend of hers, who I hope will like it just as much.

 

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

 

• Double Trouble Challenge #211: "In with the Old, Out with the New" (used old stamps for a new project) TSOT #690
• The Paper Funday Challenge #85: "Anything Goes" (not playing the optional twist)
• 613 Avenue Create March Challenge: "Anything Goes" (not playing the optional twist)
• Die Cut Divas March Challenge: "Celebrate Spring"

Aged to Perfection

 

I created this card for my uncle for his birthday. I based the design on the sketch at the current "Try a Sketch on Tuesday" challenge. I kept to the sketch pretty closely, but stretched the width & shortened the height of the overall design. I also matted the patterned paper strips panel.

 

 

I began by creating my background. I decided on a 7x5" card with a 1/8" mat on all sides. That left me with a total of 6-3/4x4-3/4" to cover. I cut 3 patterned paper strips from my scrap stash to 2-1/4x4-3/4", & embossed each with the "Tumbled Hexagons" embossing folder from Simon Says Stamp (discontinued). I chose those particular patterned papers because of the somewhat muted, masculine rainbow colors. The music piece is especially meaningful because my uncle does karaoke performances for senior centers & other groups.

 

I inked the edges of each strip with Faded Jeans Distress ink, just to define them a bit more. Then I adhered all 3 strips to a slightly smaller panel of white cardstock, just so I could work with them as one piece. I did have to trim the strips a bit, just to size them & square them better. I matted that with a teal cardstock panel that I adhered to a white card base.

 

The truck and greeting are both from Doodle Pantry's "Hotrod Pickup 1" digital set (discontinued). I sized the truck in Photoshop, then printed it onto a panel of Canson XL watercolor paper. I waited to finish working with the greeting, since I didn't know at that point what size or color of panel I wanted.

 

I painted the truck with my watercolors, then rounded the corners of the panel with the 1/4" side of my We R Makers Corner Chomper. (I felt the rounded corners complemented the curves in the truck well.) I inked the edges of the panel with Faded Jeans ink to tie it in with the background. I used a combination of double-sided tape & liquid glue to adhere it to my card front.

 

I ended up printing the greeting on a 2x1" strip of light teal cardstock. I rounded the corners of that as well & inked around the perimeter with Faded Jeans. I added a few scraps of cardstock to the back where it overhung the image panel so it would lie flat on the card front. I glued the strip in place, & that finished this card.

 

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

 

• Double Trouble Challenge #210: "Scrapper's Guacamole 3-2-1 Challenge" (in conjunction with TSOT Challenge #689) - color wheel colors in the patterned papers + 3 patterned papers + dry embossing on the background strips
• Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Anything Goes"
• Paper Funday Challenge #84: "Anything Goes" (not playing the optional twist)
• 613 Avenue Create February Challenge: "Anything Goes" (not playing the optional twist) 

Birthday Blessings

The optional topping theme for Seize the Birthday's Challenge #319 is "Rainbow of Colors." I used this card that I had saved on one of my Pinterest boards as my inspiration. I don't have the exact same die that that creator used for their card, but I do have a few nested hearts die sets. I combined one of the "Nesting Hearts Infinity" dies by Hero Arts with an old My Favorite Things "Snow Drifts" die (discontinued) to create my version.

 

 

 

 

I began by die cutting the heart from Strathmore smooth bristol paper. I taped it from behind in the die cut negative to make handling it easier. I then ink blended with Candied Apple, Mustard Seed, Peacock Feathers, & Wilted Violet Distress inks. I had to use finger daubers due to the tight quarters I was ink blending in. I made sure to begin with the yellow, since that color tends to get "eaten up" by surrounding colors when I ink blend. Thankfully I was able to keep that from happening this time. 😊

 

After I finished ink blending, I removed the heart from the negative piece, then used one of the "Snow Drifts" dies to cut it into sections. So that the pieces would line up evenly around the perimeter of the overall shape, I had to die cut a sliver between each pair of sections, rather than just die cut the sections & spread them apart. So each time, I taped the die down & ran it through my die cutting machine. Then I carefully lined the die up on the lower piece of that pair so the "top" edge of the die was a hair away from the cut line, taped it down, & ran it through my machine again. This took about a 1/16" wide slice of the heart out. Not easy, but I succeeded! To give the heart sections a little dimension on the card, I glued each to scraps of heavyweight white cardstock & cut around them with my scissors. I made sure to slightly undercut the white cardstock so that it wouldn't stick out past the edges of each ink blended section. I repeated the process one more time, & called that part done.

 

I paired a "birthday" stamp from Simon Says Stamp's "It's Your Birthday!" set (discontinued) with the "blessings" from "Script Birthdays" (discontinued) by Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps (now Creative Worship). I stamped both in Versafine Clair Nocturne ink onto the front of my white A2 card base. Then I proceeded to smear black ink onto said card base, so I ended up restamping the greeting on a white panel.

 

I glued my heart sections to the panel. I began with the bottom-most piece so I could make sure not to cover my greeting with it. I was careful to space them correctly as I worked my way up to the top. The top piece was actually the most difficult to position & get the spacing even, for some reason. Thankfully I had kept the slivers I'd cut out, so I just placed that in between the top & second sections for spacing purposes. Before the glue on the top heart section dried, I used my tweezers to pull out the spacing sliver, lest it get glued in place.

 

The final step was to adhere my panel to an A2 card base. I used the same card I had smeared ink on, & just adhered the panel over that side of the card base. I just figure, waste not, want not! 😉

 

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

 

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday "Anything Goes"

613 Avenue Create February Challenge: "Anything Goes" (not playing the optional twist)

Sweet Greetings

As always for their first challenge of the month, Christmas Card Throwdown is having a sketch challenge. Because of the direction my gingerbread house, from Hero Arts' "Color Layering Gingerbread House" (discontinued), is facing, I flipped the sketch horizontally. I also added a greeting strip, but otherwise, I stayed true to the sketch.

 

 

I found the patterned paper I used on the background, from The Paper Studio's "Christmas Candyland" letter-size pad, in my scrap stash. I actually had enough of that piece for 2 layering panels, so I went ahead & made 2 cards.

 

I used my MISTI stamp positioning tool to help with stamping the gingerbread house, since there are 4 stamps to line up to build the whole image. I stamped the main part of the house with Memento Toffee Crunch ink followed by Memento Peanut Brittle ink to give it a more golden color. I used Ranger Geranium archival ink, Lawn Fawn Noble Fir, & Memento Cottage Ivy for the red & greens. Since there is no coordinating die, I penciled an outline around the edges of my image, about 1/16" away, & fussy cut it with my scissors.

 

I really struggled with how to add the house to the background so it would stand out. Because the patterned paper is so busy, I couldn't just stick my image down, as it would just get lost. I didn't want to use a cardstock mat, just because it took up a large chunk of the panel & I didn't like the look. I tried surrounding the house a little with tissue paper, both white & sprayed with a dark green Distress Mica Stain, but didn't like the look of either.

 

I finally remembered a trick I've used before with white acrylic craft paint. I placed the house where I wanted it on my panel, and lightly traced the outline with a pencil. Then I smeared the paint on that area with my finger, keeping the outline not too far from the edges of the house and very organic. That did the trick, & all I had to do then was glue the house in place!

 

Before gluing down the house, though, I wanted to add a greeting. So I stamped the Sweet Greetings phrase from the same set onto a scrap of white cardstock with Noble Fir ink. I cut that into a strip, & layered it so the right end went behind the roof of my gingerbread house. I finished the card off by adhering a burgundy mat to my white A2-size card base & mounting my patterned paper panel to that. I will send this & its companion card to Send a Smile 4 Kids. Hopefully it will bring a smile to a hospitalized child this holiday season!

 

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

 

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

613 Avenue Create November Challenge: "Anything Goes" (not playing the optional twist) 

Happy Birthday Apple Basket

 

 The theme for Seize the Birthday's Challenge #316 is "Favorite Fall Treat." A favorite treat of mine this time of year is Honeycrisp apples. Granted, they can be found during the summer, but they tend to go on sale more in the Fall, so that's when I get them. (Yes, I'm cheap! 😁) I made this card for a friend of ours who is blind.

 

For the apple basket, I pulled out Concord & 9th's "Freshly Picked" die set. I die cut a dozen apples plus stems & leaves for them all, the pieces for the basket, & the signpost for the "5 cent" sign. I ink blended the apples with Candied Apple & Squeezed Lemonade Distress inks, using a tiny blending brush to get the Honeycrisp apple coloring. I glued the leaves to the stem pieces, & glued one to the back of each apple.

 

I ink blended the edges of the basket pieces with Gathered Twigs Distress ink, adding some extra shading on the very edges with Walnut Stain. Then I glued them together & glued on the silver handle.

 

For the sign, I used the coordinating "Freshly Picked" stamp set. I stamped the 5 cents onto a scrap of heavyweight white cardstock with black ink. I cut the sign out with scissors, & added the corresponding Braille characters to it, so she can read it. Because the sign was a bit bigger than it would have been had I used the die for that in the "Freshly Picked" set, the signpost was too short (at least for my taste). So I cut it in two, & glued the pieces to the back of the sign. Finally, I glued 8 of the apples into the basket & glued the sign sticking out from the pile of apples.

I die cut 2 grass layers from green cardstock with the "Grassy Hillside Borders" set from Lawn Fawn. I ink blended over them with Peeled Paint Distress ink to add some shading & color variation. After stenciling the sun & sky on a panel of white cardstock, using Simon Says Stamp's "Sunshine" stencil set, I glued the back hill to my panel.

I cut enough pennants in rainbow colors for the banner to Braille the letters for "happy birthday." I did one letter per pennant. I cut a lollipop stick in half lengthwise (not easy, but I managed!) to be the banner poles. Because the stick was hollow, I had to use hot glue to adhere it to my background. I used white crochet twine to "hang" the pennants from, & glued the pennants to the card front over the twine.

 

I glued my basket of apples to the background, adding a few layers of cardstock behind the sign & its post to pop it up just slightly. I adhered the front grassy hill with foam tape, so it would sit flush over the basket & banner poles. Finally, I glued down the remaining 4 apples, & adhered my panel to a 5x7" card base.

 

I'm also entering this card in the Little Red Wagon Challenge #831: "Candle in the Wind" (using the sun as a light source).

Birthday Mum

 

 The sketch for this week's Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge inspired the design of this card. I got my general color inspiration from palette #127 in Volume 1 (1st edition) of Sarah Renae Clark's Color Cube system.

 

 

 

I saw this card by Lin at her Hearts, Hugs, & Flowers blog, & liked the general floral arrangement. I don't have a sunflower die, but thought I could get a similar effect with some old layering flower punches by The Paper Studio I have. I punched one of each size from each of 3 different shades of yellow/orange cardstock. I glued together the 3 layers of each individual size, adding the glue only in the center & kind of fanning the petals apart as I glued the layers together. After the glue had set up, I added more glue to the center back of each of the 2 smaller layers & adhered them together, largest to smallest. While I liked the result, I felt it now looked more like a mum than a sunflower, so I decided to pivot & just go with that.

 

I cut some smaller flowers using dies from Scrapbook.com's "Sunny Lane Florals" set. I ended up not being able to make a good-looking arrangement with those & my mum, though, so I gave up on that. (I am keeping those flowers for some other project.) I did cut a flower center for my mum from my darkest shade of yellow-orange cardstock with one of the dies in that set, as the center of the flower looked a little stark without it.

 

For the stem, I used a branch die from Honey Bee Stamps' "Winter Greenery" set. I die cut it from green cardstock, & trimmed off most of the "branchy" parts from the main section with my scissors. Then I used double-sided tape to adhere the top end to the back of my flower. I added glue to reinforce the adhesion, and set that aside to dry.

 

I die cut 3 leaves from the "Skeleton Leaves" set by Tim Holtz. I adhered each to a different shade of cardstock, & then fussy cut around the perimeter, so I would have a solid backing to each leaf.

For my greeting, I first stamped one of the banners from Avery Elle's "Build a Banner" set (discontinued) onto white cardstock. I used Hero Arts Pool ink for the outline, Lawn Fawn Sunflower ink for the main background, & My Favorite Things Pineapple ink for the 2 bits where the ends fold under. Then I stamped the greeting, from the "Sentiment Strips: Birthday" set from Pretty Pink Posh in My Favorite Things Coral Crush ink. Finally, I die cut the banner with the coordinating die. I die cut 3 more banners from white cardstock, & layered them behind my greeting banner to give it a little more oomph.

To assemble the card, I cut a piece of blue gingham patterned paper from my scrap stash to 4-1/8 x 5-3/8". I laid out my elements until I liked the arrangement, then glued them in place. For the leaves, I added glue only to the base sections so the ends would kind of pop up around the flower. I added glue to the flower only in the center, & stuck that down on top of the leaves. I glued the stem all the way to the background, & trimmed off the bit that overhung at the bottom edge of the panel. I added my banner, & adhered my panel to a navy cardstock mat that I'd mounted to a white A2 card base. Once the glue dried, I zhuzhed the petals on the flower to fluff them up a bit, just for a bit of added dimension.

 

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

 

All Sorts Challenge #835: "Autumn Colors"

Simon Says Stamp's Monday Challenge: "Add Some Texture" (added texture with top layer of die cut leaves & fluffy mum)

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Anything Goes"

The Paper Funday Challenge #81: "Anything Goes" (not playing the optional twist)

Creative Knockouts Challenge #557: "Halloween or Fall" (used fall leaves & flower)

Ellibelle's Corner October Garden Party Challenge #8

Two Cards - One Hour

 

Christmas Card Throwdown's Technique challenge this week has been "Quick Card." Basically, make a card in 30 minutes or less. Sounds easy, right? Well, suffice it to say my first attempt went over the 30 minutes by about 25 minutes more. Thankfully, I was able to scale back & get not just one, but 2 cards that meet the time constraint!

 

For my first card, I pulled out an oldie but a goodie - "Lovely as a Tree" from Stampin' Up (sadly discontinued). I began by cutting a white cardstock panel to 7x5". I used yellow Frog Tape to mask off the edges, leaving a rectangle in the middle. Then I stamped one of the images with Simon Says Stamp's Mint Candy ink. I wanted a misty appearance, inspired by this card, & this light green fit the bill quite nicely.

 

Without removing the tape, I ink blended in the center rectangle with Bundled Sage. Cracked Pistachio, & Iced Spruce Distress inks. I added extra Iced Spruce around the edges to darken them slightly for a vignette effect. Then I carefully removed the tape, being sure not to peel any of the cardstock up.

 

I stamped the pine tree from the same set off to one side with Simon Says Stamp's Laurel Green ink. I actually stamped it twice (thank heavens for the MISTI!) to get a slightly darker impression. I stamped the greeting, from WPlus9's "Poinsettia Bouquets" (discontinued) in that same color. For the snow on & under the tree, I daubed embossing ink on with a Distress embossing pen, then sprinkled Hero Arts' White Puff embossing powder over that. I brushed off some of the powder, as I'd gotten a bit heavy-handed with the ink, then melted what remained with my heat gun. Finally, I adhered my panel to an A7 card base.

 

 The inspiration for my second card came from this card by Chari Moss. I liked the glittery greenery & the simple CAS design.

 

I die cut the greenery & berries, from the Essentials by Ellen "Poinsettia & Pine set (discontinued), from green & red glitter cardstocks. For the background, I pulled an A2-size cream cardstock panel from my pre-cut card fronts stash. I stamped the greeting, from the Essentials by Ellen "Mistletoe & Holly" set (discontinued) in Candied Apple Distress Oxide ink. Again, my MISTI came in clutch, since I had to stamp it a few times to get a good impression. I trimmed the panel down to 4x5-1/4", and matted it with a dark brown cardstock that I'd adhered to a white A2 card base. I glued my greenery & berries at the top of the panel. I added the glue only to the stems, so the die cuts kind of "hang" freely. Finally, I tied a triple bow from gold DMC Diamant thread & adhered it to the top of the greenery. I don't normally do something this "bare," but I really like how it came out!

 

I'm also entering my first card in The Paper Funday's October "Anything Goes" Challenge (not playing the optional twist).

Wishing You a Year of Joy

 

 

The theme for Double Trouble's challenge this time around is "Shades of Fall." As usual, it is a recipe challenge using at least the number of the following ingredients: 3 colors (shades of Fall), 2 images, 1 stenciled or dry-embossed element. As you notice, I have flowers on my card. Flowers (except maybe for mums) don't exactly scream Fall - unless you live in the South. Here in Texas, our flowers (including mums) bloom sometimes into November. Below is a photo I shot at a pumpkin display here in our town in October of 2023. The purple flowers in that display helped inspire my color palette for my images.

 

Pumpkin Wonderland

 

I began with my background. I had applied the molding paste to my panel, using the "Ribbon Weave" stencil from A Colorful Life Designs quite some time ago, & it's been sitting in my stash ever since. I decided it would work perfectly for this card. I placed the stencil back over the panel, lining it up with the molding paste design, & ink blended with Abandoned Coral, Dried Marigold, & Fossilized Amber Distress Oxide inks (my 3 shades). I decided to go with basically a pastel Fall color scheme, since the background is more of a supporting character to my main images.

 

I die cut my images from Strathmore Mixed Media paper, using the smaller flowers & leaves in the "Brushstroke Flowers #2" set from Sizzix/Tim Holtz. This is a new-to-me set, so I was glad to be able to use it. I used my DIY Distress Spray Stains (a la Tiffany Solorio) in Milled Lavender, Seedless Preserves, Mustard Seed, Shabby Shutters, & Rustic Wilderness to color scraps of the paper before die cutting. After I had die cut the flowers, leaves, & flower centers from the papers, I felt they still looked a little flat. So I got Tombow water-based markers in purple & green, and kind of flicked & tapped with the brush tip onto each main die cut. I also colored the layering pieces with the markers to make them darker. Then I spritzed all the pieces generously with water to get the marker color moving & dried them with my heat gun. That gave me the effect I wanted. After they were all thoroughly dry, I glued the layers for each piece together.

 

I stamped my greeting, from the "Sentiment Strips: Birthday" set from Pretty Pink Posh, in Abandoned Coral Distress Oxide ink onto white cardstock. Then I die cut that with one of the "Sentiment Strips" dies. I arranged my flowers & leaves & glued them together so I could work with them as one unit. After the glue dried, I positioned them & my greeting strip on the background panel & glued them down. Finally, I added my panel to a white A2 card base that I'd adhered a yellow mat layer to.

 

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

 

Die Cut Divas October Challenge: "Anything Goes"

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Clean & Simple"

613 Avenue Create October Challenge: "Anything Goes" (not playing the optional twist)

The Paper Funday Challenge: "Anything Goes" (not playing the optional twist)

All Sorts Challenge #835: "Autumn Colors"

Woody Merry Christmas

This week's challenge at Christmas Card Throwdown is to use red, green, & brown on a holiday card. I have had this "Christmas" stamp from Recollections of a woody car carrying a tree (discontinued) literally for years & had never inked it up. I decided this was the perfect opportunity to use it.

I began by stamping the image onto a scrap of Canson XL watercolor paper. I painted it with my watercolors, using a gold watercolor from the Fine-Tec Pearlescent Colors to paint the baubles on the wreath & garland. After it had dried, I used my craft knife to cut out the windows, and then fussy cut around the outside of the image with my scissors. I used a black brush-tip marker to "paint" all the exposed edges of the watercolor paper, just to make everything look more seamless. When I had finished all that, I just kind of looked at it & wondered where to go from there.

My first instinct was a snow globe shaker card, but because of the length of the car, it would have been a massive snow globe, unless I made it oval-shaped, which I wasn't too keen on. I also toyed with the idea of stamping some pine branches onto my card front & "hanging" the car from them, as if it were a Christmas ornament. I finally decided to stop overthinking it & just make a traditional shaker card (minus the snow globe element).

I found a piece of burgundy patterned paper in my scrap stash that was big enough to use as a panel on my 6-1/2 x 5-1/4" card. I cut that panel to 1/16" smaller than my card base on each side, & used a "Nesting Ovals Die" from Waffle Flower to cut the center window. I cut a piece of white cardstock the same size, & die cut a window with the next smaller oval die, so it would create a mat around my shaker window. Then I adhered those panels together.

I cut a piece of kraft cardstock slightly smaller than my burgundy & white panels, & adhered my image to that. To create "snow," I used a Ranger Distress Embossing Dabber to pounce embossing ink through the "Falling Snow Splatter" stencil from Simon Says Stamp onto my panel & car. I sprinkled on Hero Arts White Sparkle embossing powder & melted that with my heat gun. To further enhance the snowy scene, I applied ink with the Embossing Dabber to the car tires & area under the car & heat embossed with the same powder.

I used double-sided tape to adhere a piece of Grafix Dura-Lar acetate to the back of my window panel. Before adding my foam tape, I went ahead & stamped the greeting, from Hero Arts' "Holiday Cardinal" set, with StazOn Cotton White ink onto the acetate. Then I added 2 layers of foam tape all around the edges with diagonal pieces of tape in the corners closer to the oval window. I removed the backing paper from the foam tape, & poured in some clear seed beads, being careful not to let the panel "jump" & send any beads flying. Finally, I adhered a second piece of acetate to the foam tape to seal in the beads. (This was a trick I learned from Nina-Marie Trapani, to provide less friction to anything inside the shaker.)

To adhere my image panel behind my shaker, I added double-sided tape to the back piece of acetate on my shaker panel. I peeled back part of the liner paper on each strip to expose only some of the adhesive. (I got that trick from Julie Ebersole.) Then I carefully positioned the window over the image panel so the car was centered side-to-side within the window & not directly behind the greeting. I pressed the panel down so the exposed adhesive stuck to the corners of the image panel, & then carefully pulled back the remainder of the liner paper. I made sure everything stuck securely. I added a 6-1/2 x 5-1/4" kraft panel to my white card base, & finally adhered my shaker panel to the card front with tacky glue. This way I can make sure it will NOT fall off!

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

Allsorts Challenge #834: "Traditional Christmas Colors"
Little Red Wagon Challenge #829: "Captain's Log" (painted woodgrain pattern on the Woody car panels)
613 Avenue Create October 2025 Challenge: "Anything Goes" (not playing the optional twist)
Die Cut Divas October Challenge: "Anything Goes"
The Paper Funday October Challenge #81: "Anything Goes" (not playing the optional twist)
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: "Get Ready for Christmas"