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"

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)

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"

Peace

 

This week's challenge at Christmas Card Throwdown is to use the colors teal & silver. Small amounts of black &/or white are allowed, but the primary colors need to be teal & silver.

I began by heat embossing the large background image from WPlus9's "Joyful Poinsettia" stamp set (discontinued) in silver onto a panel of white Hammermill 100 lb. cover weight cardstock. I love this particular cardstock for stamping and ink blending, as it is very smooth & not overly absorbent. Once I melted the embossing powder & let it cool for a few seconds, I ink blended over the entire panel with Salvaged Patina Distress ink. Then I went around the sides with Mermaid Lagoon Distress ink, not going all the way to the center so there would be a bit of a "glow" effect from the Salvaged Patina. Finally, to up the drama & contrast, I ink blended just around the edges with Uncharted Mariner, which is a deep teal blue color. I did a little more blending with Salvaged Patina, just to smooth the transitions among the 3 shades, & then wiped off any ink sitting on the embossing with a dry cloth.

I had a leftover peace die cut (made with a discontinued die from Winnie & Walter) sitting on my desk from a previous project It was white, but I thought it might work for a greeting if I die cut it from silver metallic cardstock. Not to let anything go to waste, I decided to layer the silver word with a couple of white die cuts, just for a bit more dimension. So I die cut the peace from Recollections Silver Foil cardstock & a scrap of white cardstock, & glued all 3 layers together.

To finish my card, I adhered my emboss-resist background panel to a white A2 top-fold card base. Then I glued the layered peace die cut on, centered on the panel. I considered adding some sequins or something, but decided to leave it as-is.

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

Paper Funday Challenge #80: "Anything Goes" (not playing the optional twist)

Die Cut Divas September challenge: "Anything Goes"

613 Avenue Create September challenge: "Anything Goes" (not playing the optional twist)

Enjoy Your Day

The sketch for the current challenge at Try a Sketch on Tuesday inspired the design of my card.

I had the die cut background panel left over from another project. It's been sitting on my desk, & I decided to use it finally for this card. I cut a piece of white cardstock to 4x5-1/4" (the size of my panel) & glued the die cut panel to that. I wanted it to be there, but subtle, hence the white-on-white. Then I die cut a window in the panel with one of  Creative Expressions' "Octagon" dies (discontinued). To make a narrow frame for that, I die cut another octagon from green cardstock with the same die. Without removing the die, I traced around the outer edge. Then I was able to cut around that with scissors. Finally I glued that to my panel & adhered a scrap of patterned paper behind the window.

I used Altenew's "Vintage Flowers" layering stamp set & coordinating dies for my focal element. I decided to go with peachy-orange for the large flower, & used blue on the smaller ones, since blue is the complement of orange. After stamping the flowers & leaves, I die cut them & glued them to my card front. I used a bit of foam tape to pop up the main flower.

For the greeting, I pulled out one of my new favorites, "Sentiment Strips: Birthday" from Pretty Pink Posh. I stamped it on green cardstock with Memento Bamboo Leaves ink & die cut it into a banner with one of the "Sentiment Strips" dies. I glued it to my panel so the banner end slightly overlaps the bottom blue flower, just to make the design more cohesive.

To assemble my card, I trimmed about 1/16" off each side of my background panel, and adhered it to a 4-1/8x5-3/8" mat. Finally I adhered that to my white A2 card base.

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

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Layer It Up/Use Ephemera"

Creative Knockouts Challenge #554: "Lots of Layers"

The Paper Funday Challenge #80: "Anything Goes" (not playing the optional twist)

Ellibelle's Corner Crafty Wednesday Challenge: "Anything Goes"

Ellibelle's Corner Garden Party Challenge #7: "Anything in or from a Garden"

Die Cut Divas September Challenge: "Anything Goes"

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

Double Trouble Challenge #199: "Sweet Surprise" (also TSOT Challenge #678)

Joy to You Teepee Card

The August technique challenge at Christmas Card Throwdown is to create a teepee card. (Because there were 5 Saturdays in August, this challenge ran through today.) To my knowledge, I have never so much as heard of a teepee card, so went looking for a tutorial. (The challenge hostess did provide a link to a video tutorial, but I found another one by Sam Calcott at Mixed Up Craft that was easier for me to follow.) I discovered a benefit with a card like this is the base can be made from a lighter weight cardstock, as long as you add the mats & layers with a good, strong glue. So I used Beacon 3-in-1 glue for the main construction on my card layers.

I began by creating the panels for my card base. Initially, I was going to have it be from sprayed/ink-smooshed panels. So I cut three 5x5" squares from Strathmore Mixed Media paper - a heavyweight paper that can take a lot of water well. I pulled out my never-before-used Distress Oxide sprays in Milled Lavender, Seedless Preserves, & Blueprint Sketch to color my panels. I quickly gave up on the Milled Lavender, as it was just too pale to compete with the other two colors. After I finished spraying, I dried the panels with my heat gun & did a bit of ink smooshing with Villainous Potion Distress Oxide ink to add a bit more contrast. I also added water droplets with my Distress Sprayer. I didn't pick up the water with a cloth, but rather just dried the panels with the water on them for a less-bleached look. Finally, I used Frozen Fog Distress Mica Stain to add a shimmery spritzing to my panels.

I glued the panels together, positioned as per the tutorial, & quickly ran into my first problem. Apparently, if you use one-sided cardstock like I basically did, it does matter which way the cardstock layers face. I managed to glue one panel facing the wrong way (so the back showed when the card was popped up, rather than the front). 😝 Because I used a strong glue to adhere my panels together, I had no way to undo my mistake. Rather than start over though, I just shifted course. I was able to cut the triangular layers that would go on top from my "ruined" card base, & cut new card base pieces from solid cardstock. Problem solved! So I went ahead & cut my triangular mats to size from Recollections Silver Foil cardstock & glued those mats & layers to the card base. I also added 2 small bits of Velcro where the one side overlapped the other to keep the card closed when it's upright.

Angled view of card

My original idea for decorating was to use ornaments & make it a "Christmas tree." So I stamped & die cut several ornaments using the "Holiday Style" stamps & dies from Sunny Studio Stamps. When I looked at them on my card, though, I just wasn't feeling it. So I shifted course again & decided to die cut snowflakes from white glitter cardstock. Fortunately, I had a large enough scrap of glitter cardstock in my stash to accommodate several snowflakes. I die cut the snowflakes with the "Paper Snowflakes Mini" set by Tim Holtz (discontinued). I used matte Perfect Paper Adhesive glue to adhere them all in place. I did keep Sam Calcott's tip in mind to have overhanging bits on a particular side, so they don't overhang the card edges when it's folded flat. (That would necessitate using an even larger envelope.) In the end, I only had the one large snowflake overhanging an edge, but it's still a good point to keep in mind.

For the greeting on the front, I used the "Season's greetings" from Honey Bee Stamps' "Pretty Poinsettias" stamp set (discontinued). But wait - the greeting says "Joy to you." Yep - another course shift. I stamped the Season's greetings in Villainous Potion Distress Oxide ink, die cut it with the coordinating die, & adhered it to my card with liquid glue, with the card laying flat. I put an acrylic block on top to keep the greeting from popping up, & left it for a couple of days. When I removed the block, I noticed 2 problems: a bit of the ink had bled (presumably "encouraged" by moisture coming through the cardstock from the glue) & when I propped the card in its display position, the greeting slanted. I had aligned it parallel to the bottom of the triangle, not even thinking that that side would slant when the card was popped up. Again - liquid glue = no clean removal. I was in no way about to start over, though, so I found the Joy to you greeting in Simon Says Stamp's "Holiday Greetings" set (discontinued). I stamped it - again with Villainous Potion - & die cut it with a Hero Arts "Nesting Oval Infinity" die. I die cut 2 more ovals & layered them behind the greeting oval for more stability. I made sure this time to add liquid glue only around the edge of the oval, where it shouldn't affect the ink. Finally, I used a combination of double-sided tape & liquid glue to adhere it to the card front, covering my messed-up greeting. This time, I made sure to have the card propped up so I could level the greeting correctly. And that FINALLY finished this card! It was quite a journey with a few twists & turns, but I wouldn't hesitate to make another, especially now that I know the pitfalls to avoid!

I am also entering this in the following challenges:

Little Red Wagon Challenge #823: "Fancy Fold"

Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday September challenge: "Anything Goes"

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

Happy Holidays Ornaments

This month's color challenge at Christmas Card Throwdown is "Baby Blue, White, & Light Brown." I had gotten the "Holiday Ornaments" stamp set by Pretty Pink Posh several months ago, & it's been lying on my desk ever since, waiting for me to use it. I thought this was the perfect occasion to break it out.

I decided to use Gansai Tambi Pearl Colors watercolors to paint the ornaments, just to give them a little extra pizzaz. I stamped them on Strathmore mixed media paper & painted them with the blue & white paints in the set. I had to water down the blue quite a bit to get it to the right value, but it worked out great in the end. After the paint dried, I noticed that parts of the white areas seemed a bit dingy when I looked at them at certain angles, so I went over those areas with another layer of the white pearlescent watercolor. That improved things. The problem might have been different thicknesses of the paint layers catching the light oddly. At any rate, after the paint had thoroughly dried, I fussy cut each ornament with my scissors & poked holes through the ornament hangers.

I die cut a panel of light kraft cardstock with one of the "Stitched Indented Rectangles" from Elizabeth Craft Designs (discontinued). After putting white metallic thread through the ornament hangers, I glued the ornaments in place on my panel. I folded the thread ends to the back of the panel & adhered them in place with double-sided tape. After the glue dried thoroughly, I heat embossed my greeting, from Honey Bee Stamps' "Pretty Poinsettias" stamp set (discontinued). Finally, I adhered my panel to a white A2 card base.

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

Ellibelle's Corner I Spy with My Little Eye Challenge: "Something to Celebrate"

Ellibelle's Corner Crafty Wednesday Challenge: "Anything Goes"

The Paper Funday Challenges #79: "Anything Goes" (not playing the twist)

Happy Holidays

This week's stash challenge at Christmas Card Throwdown is all about heat embossing and/or foiling. I decided to go the foil route with this card. The camera doesn't do the shine justice, but take my word for it - in the light, you need sunglasses to look at it! :)

I began by creating my background. I taped one of the stencils from Vicki Boutin's "Peppermint" set (discontinued) over an A2-size panel of dark teal cardstock. I applied Liquitex Heavy Gloss Gel medium over the stencil, then pulled the stencil off - VERY carefully so as not to smudge the gel! After the medium dried completely, I laid my silver Minc foil over the panel & ran it through my Mini Minc machine. Then I trimmed 1/8" off two sides, so I would have a narrow border around my panel on my card. Because I used a gloss medium, the foil sticks to it when you run it through a Minc, laminator, etc. This only works with toner foil, not hot foil, & a gloss medium. You can even use something like gloss Mod Podge, though you might not get the dimensional effect you do with a gel medium. (I learned this technique from Lindsay Weirich, at The Frugal Crafter YouTube channel.)

I die cut the greeting & its shadow layer using the "Jolly Holiday Greetings" set from Concord & 9th. I actually cut the shadow layer twice from white cardstock & glued them together to make it thicker. Because the cardstock was on the thinner side, I was concerned it might not layer over the dimensional foiled background with only one piece of cardstock without being bumpy. I glued the "happy" to the backer with liquid glue, but I noticed a little of the cardstock dye ran when the glue squidged out a little. So I ran the "holidays" through my Xyron 1.5" Create-a-Sticker to apply adhesive to the back. That worked out much better. Thankfully, I was able to touch up the few spots where the dye ran with a white gel pen.

I used Honey Bee Stamps' "Winter Greenery" die set for my berry branches & leaves. I die cut the berries from two different red cardstock scraps. For the branches, I didn't have the color brown I wanted in my scraps, so I ink blended Gathered Twigs Distress ink & onto a scrap of a pale brown cardstock. Then I cut my branches out of that, & my leaves from a pale green cardstock.

To position everything, I laid my greeting onto the panel without gluing it down, & used that as a guide. After I had placed my branches & leaves, sticking out from behind the greeting, I carefully removed the greeting layer & glued my embellishments down with liquid glue. At first, I just tacked down the ends that went behind the greeting to hold everything in place, then went back & glued the rest of each die cut in place. I glued my berries to the branches, & finally glued down my greeting with liquid glue. I put a couple of heavy acrylic blocks on top of the greeting to hold it securely until the glue dried. All I had left to do then was adhere it to a white A2-size card base.

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

• Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Anything Goes"
• Creative Knockouts Challenge #551: "Sparkle & Shine"
• Ellibelle's Corner I Spy with My Little Eye Challenge: "Something to Celebrate"
• The Paper Funday Challenge #78: "Anything Goes with Optional Twist - Fun with Stencils" (playing the twist)

Happy 30th!

A friend's daughter turned 30 this past weekend, so she commissioned me to make a special card for her. The main element she wanted me to include was a Rottweiler image colored to look like her daughter's dog, Mocha. She sent me several photos of Mocha for reference for her colors & markings, & I found a Rottweiler coloring page that proved to be perfect for this card.

I first printed the coloring page, since it was a pdf file & I wanted to make it a resizable image file. I scanned the printout into my computer, & opened it in Photoshop. I created a blank "canvas" in Photoshop, sized to 4x5-1/4", which would be the final size of my main panel. I used that to help me resize the dog image. I used a greeting from Dreamees, from a CD that I'd gotten in a papercrafting magazine several years ago. I positioned & sized the greeting on my canvas in Photoshop to work with the dog. Once I knew what size I wanted the dog, I created another blank canvas & moved the image to that so I could print just the dog onto a panel of Strathmore vellum bristol paper.

I colored the dog with my Prismacolor pencils, referencing the photos of Mocha my friend had sent. Thankfully, it wasn't hard to get the markings & colors right. After I finished coloring, I fussy cut it out.

For my background, I wanted to create a little scene with a light blue cloudy sky. Because the ink in my printer smears if I ink blend over it with Distress inks, I needed to add my stenciled clouds before I printed the greeting. So I cut a panel of Canson XL mixed media paper to my panel size, & ink blended the clouds on the upper portion with Tumbled Glass Distress ink & the "Cloud" stencil from My Favorite Things (discontinued). (My camera couldn't pick up the stenciling because it's so faint, but it does show in real life.) After I finished stenciling the clouds, I printed the greeting at the top of the panel. To add a finishing touch, I used a blue Tombow marker to color in the outline "fabulous" letters & a pale purple for the butterfly.

I die cut a few grass layers with the "Grassy Hillside Borders" dies from Lawn Fawn for my foreground. I cut another layer with Picket Fence Studios' "A2 Tall Grass" die (discontinued). I added the layers to the bottom of my panel, situating the dog's feet within the layers to make it look like she was standing in the grass, rather than just on top of it.

I wanted to make number balloons like the fancy ones party shops sell. I found the "Balloon Dreams" font on dafont.com, & used that to type a 3 & a 0 in Photoshop. I sized the numbers, & added a triangle to the base of each, which I "drew" with Photoshop's Shape tool. I flipped my "balloons" horizontally so they would print backwards, & printed them onto plain copy paper. (By printing them reversed, I could adhere them to the back of my cardstock & they would be correct when I cut them out.) I roughly cut around them & temporarily adhered them to the back of a scrap of gold mirror cardstock. I fussy cut around each number, & then removed the paper templates.

I die cut several balloons from rainbow colors of cardstock with the "Birthday Balloons" dies from My Favorite Things (discontinued). I applied embossing ink to the front of each, & coated them with Ranger Clear Super Fine Detail embossing powder. I repeated this 2 more times. In hindsight, I'm kind of sorry I went that route. I wanted shiny balloons, but by the time I'd glued them to the card, the heat embossed layers were a bit crazed & dull, rather than clear & shiny. I could have used Glossy Accents in the first place, but because the balloons were so small, I wasn't sure how I could manage & not have them look like one huge balloon, or get messed up somehow if I added it before gluing them to the card. But, they're really not that bad, & since they're in the background, I just left them alone. I did adhere the end of a piece of crochet twine for a balloon string to the back of each balloon before gluing them to the card.

After I glued the regular balloons, I glued the number balloons down on top of them. I was able to use Glossy Accents on those without messing anything up, to make them a bit more dimensional & shiny. Then I set the card aside overnight to let the Glossy Accents dry thoroughly.

I die cut a balloon holder from Recollections holographic cardstock with a die from My Favorite Things' "Party Decor" set (discontinued). To gather the balloon strings behind it, I first punched a 1/16" hole where the holder would cover it. I threaded the ends of the strings through the hole & taped them to the back of the panel. Because the gathered strings created a little bulk on the front, I added the balloon holder with a small foam dot to make it even with them & glued the top of the holder directly to the strings to keep it from flipping up. Finally, I matted the panel with blue cardstock that I adhered to a white A2-size card base.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Seize the Birthday #309: "Anything Goes"

Critter Crazy Challenge #100: "Birthday Bash"

Little Red Wagon Challenge #816: "Honky Cat" (aka any household pet)

Ellibelle's Corner I Spy with My Little Eye Challenge: "Something to Celebrate"

Paper Funday Challenge #78: "Anything Goes" (playing the optional "Fun with Stencils" twist)