Sending Hugs

A friend of mine is going through a rough patch right now, so I made her this card, just to let her know I'm thinking about her. I got inspiration from this card I saw on Pinterest. I used Waffle Flower's "Lotus" stamp set for the images, and Altenew's "Painted Encouragement" for the greeting.

I started by stamping the leaf stem & the bloom with Versafine Onyx Black ink onto a panel of Strathmore Smooth Bristol paper, then heat embossed with Recollections Clear Detail embossing powder. I masked the stem, and stamped & heat embossed the leaf. Finally, I masked the leaf & flower, and stamped & heat embossed the last stem, as well as the greeting.

I used my Tombow markers to color the images, with the inspiration card as a guide for color selection. I blended the colors with a damp paintbrush.

I had stamped the greeting a little too far to the left, and the design was a bit unbalanced as a result. So I ended up cutting 1/4" off the right side & top, to make the panel 3.75x5". I matted it with dark green cardstock and trimmed it to leave a 1/16" border on all sides. Finally, I adhered it to a white A2-size card base. This card was super simple to make, and only took me about an hour! I considered adding splatters or something, since I just have a problem with leaving white space. But I didn't want to risk ruining the card, so I just left it alone.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes"
Creative Knockouts #296: "Friendship"
613 Avenue Create #221: "Anything Goes" (not playing the twist)

Floral Friend Card

Today is the deadline for entering Ellen Hutson's March Pin-Sights challenge. I know--nothing like procrastination, is there? ;) I created this card primarily for that challenge. The colors in the palette provided my main inspiration. I also used Sketch #SC673 from Splitcoaststampers.com as the basis for my design.

March Pin-Sights Challenge Inspiration Mood Board

I began with my floral die cuts. I applied gesso to 2 scraps of Strathmore Smooth Bristol paper, and dried that with my heat tool, just to speed the process. I lightly marked where my dies would go, and then colored over those areas with iridescent gelatos from Faber-Castell. I did have to use a "regular" green gelato for the leaves, since I didn't have the right color in the iridescent set. After I applied each color, I blended it out with my finger. Having the basecoat of gesso really helps these blend like butter! Finally, I die cut my flowers & leaves with some of the Essentials by Ellen "Wild Garden" dies.

I die cut the greeting oval from white cardstock using a Lawn Fawn "Small Stitched Oval" die. Then I stamped the "friend" from Stampendous' "Happy Messages" set in Versamark ink. I felt the overall feel of that stamp went well with the funky look of my die cut floral elements. I heat embossed that with Ranger Super Fine Detail Gold embossing powder.

For the background, I cut a panel of purple cardstock to size, and a strip of yellow striped paper from a Me and My Big Ideas 12x12" paper pad that I got a long time ago. I stamped one of the "Wonky Backdrops" onto the purple panel in Versamark, and gold heat embossed that. I then adhered my striped paper to the bottom of a white card base, and mounted my purple panel above that.

I arranged my die cut pieces on my desk, using the greeting oval as a guide. When I felt they looked good, I picked up my oval, being very careful not to move the flowers & leaves. I applied ATG adhesive to the back of my oval, and pressed it down on my arrangement. The die cuts mostly stuck to the adhesive. The couple that didn't were easy to glue into place. I applied small amounts of liquid glue to the backs of my floral elements and the oval, and mounted it to my card.

I felt the upper right corner was a bit too empty, but I wasn't sure if I needed to put anything there. So I just left the card overnight. The next day, I came back, and decided it did need something. I used a piece of teal-striped washi tape, to pick up on the teal color in the one flower, as a base. I also cut a strip of gold glitter cardstock, to echo the gold in the greeting & background stamping. I adhered that in place over the washi tape. I threaded some pale lime-green baker's twine through a dark magenta button, and tied the twine in a bow. I applied a little Ranger Multi Medium Matte to the ends of the twine & the knot of the bow, just to keep everything tidy--and tied! Finally, I used a generous amount of Multi Medium to glue down my button. I left that overnight to dry, and this card is done!

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

Dies R Us Challenge #95: "Springtime"
Die Cut Divas: "Anything Goes"

Hippo Birdie Magic Slider Card

One of our friends is having a birthday next week, so I decided to make her a magic slider card. She's very creative & artistic, so I really think she'll get a kick out of this! I used instructions from a lesson Kelly Marie Alvarez did for an older Online Card Classes class, "Clear & Sheer."

I chose to use Essentials by Ellen's "Wish Big" stamp set for my images & greeting. I began by placing the stamps on my panel, which I had set up in my MISTI. I knew I wanted the bird & hippo to be wearing party hats, so I began by stamping the hat for the hippo in Memento Tuxedo Black ink onto my panel. I then positioned my acetate sheet, and stamped the hat in the same position with StazOn Jet Black ink. I masked the hat on my panel, stamped the hippo, masked the hat on the acetate, and stamped my hippo on that. I repeated this process for the rest of my images.

After I'd finished stamping, I used a black Pitt pen to draw the balloon strings & ground line on my cardstock panel. Then I colored all my images & the background with my Prismacolor colored pencils, using Gamsol on paper stumps to blend the colors out. After I'd finished coloring, I lined my acetate over the panel, matching up the stamped lines, & taped it down with painter's tape. I used an ultra-fine-tip Sharpie marker to draw the balloon strings & ground line on the acetate, tracing over the lines on my colored panel.

Card with slider partly pulled up

I assembled the magic slider portion of the card as per Kelly's instructions, then got to work on the frame. I cut a piece of purple cardstock to the same dimensions as my window card, and cut out the window with a craft knife. I used Scor Tape to adhere that to my window card. I die cut several balloons using the 2 smallest dies in Lawn Fawn's "Party Balloons" set, and glued them to my frame with Perfect Paper Adhesive. I used 2 other die cut balloons for the pull tab on my slider insert, and stamped the "pull" & an arrow from My Favorite Things' "Interactive Labels" stamp set.

For the greeting, I used the banner die from Lawn Fawn's "Stitched Journaling Card" set. Because it only has the one end in a V-shape & wasn't quite long enough, I had to do some partial die cutting. I taped it to purple cardstock, & ran it through my die cutting machine, with the straight end having out of the plates. I then flipped the die around, lining it up with the cut lines, & ran it through my machine again, not cutting the straight end. This gave me a longer banner, with 2 V-shaped ends. I stamped my greeting and inked around the edges of the banner with Wilted Violet Distress ink. Then I adhered it with Scor Tape to my card front.

Card with coloring fully revealed

To finish the card, I used Scor Tape to adhere a piece of fun foam to the back of my slider panel. I mounted that to a piece of magenta cardstock, & adhered that to the front of my white card base.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Essentials by Ellen July Mix It Up Challenge: Lawn Fawn
Dies R Us Challenge #76: "Layers"

Peaceful Scenic Card

My mom told me last night that a good friend's wife had had a major stroke. She asked me to make a "thinking of you" card for her to give to both of them. I used Hero Arts' "Color Layering Christmas Tree" stamp set & coordinating die to help me create this peaceful scene on my card.

I began by cutting a piece of Strathmore Smooth Bristol paper to 4.25x5.5". I used a Lawn Fawn "Stitched Hillside Borders" die to cut it into 2 pieces. I cut another piece of bristol to 5.5" long, and die cut the top edge with another "Stitched Hillside Borders" die. I inked the top piece of the background with Stormy Sky, Salty Ocean, & a bit of Faded Jeans Distress inks. Then I used the base layer of the tree stamp & Hero Arts Soft Leaf ink to stamp 2 trees on one side of the "sky" portion and a third tree on the other side. I wanted a hazy appearance, to make the trees look like they are in the distance.

For the hills, I used Shabby Shutters, Crushed Olive, & Peeled Paint Distress inks to create a gradient of shades from light in the "distance" to darker in the foreground.

I stamped a total of 4 trees, using 3 of the layering stamps and Hero Arts Soft Leaf, Altenew Forest Glades, & Hero Arts Forever Green inks. I stamped the trunks with Stampabilities Khaki Green (which is really more brown) ink. Then I die cut the trees with the coordinating die.

I felt the scene needed something more, so I used Hero Arts Soft Granite ink to stamp 3 groupings of birds with Art Impressions "Migrating Birds" stamp. I adhered my sky portion to my A2 card base, and adhered the larger hill piece below it. To camouflage the white outline on the trees, I made a light pencil mark on either side of each tree, where it crossed the horizon. Then I inked around the edges above those lines with Salty Ocean & below with Shabby Shutters. Finally, I erased my tick marks, & glued my trees in place. I adhered the foreground hill with foam tape, and added my final tree, gluing it directly to the popped up hill & adding foam tape behind the upper part so it would be level.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

A Blog Named Hero: "New to Me" (the tree stamp set is new)
a2z Scrapbooking: "Anything Goes"
Simon Says Stamp's Monday Challenge: "Spread Your Wings"
613 Avenue Create: "Anything Goes"
Die Cut Divas: "Sentiment-Free"

My Friend

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bit of Kindness

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

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

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

I'm entering my card in the following challenges:

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

Never Give Up

Today is the last day for a2z Scrapbooking's "Embossing" challenge. I decided to create one more card for this challenge, to send to Send a Smile 4 Kids.

I used Sketch #SC563 from Splitcoaststampers.com for my design. After figuring out the measurements, I cut 3 pieces of patterned paper from my scrap stash for the smaller rays. I also cut a piece of mint cardstock for the rest of the background, and embossed it with the "Dotted Flower Rings" embossing folder by Sizzix. Then I adhered my pieces to a white A2 card base.

I die cut a circle from yellow cardstock with a Spellbinders "Standard Circles LG" die to stamp my greeting on. I used one of the greetings from Hero Arts' "You're a Rainbow" set. The stamp is all on one line, and wouldn't fit on my die cut. So I first masked off the first & last words with painter's tape, and inked up the "give" with Versafine Onyx Black. After removing the tape, I stamped "give," using my MISTI, towards the center of my die cut. I followed the same procedure for the other words, being sure to clean my stamp thoroughly between impressions. The MISTI made it so much easier to line everything up. Finally, I glued the circle onto my card base, overlapping the patterned paper & embossed pieces slightly, and trimmed off the excess.

Hi! Friend

One of the early challenges in this year's "Hope You Can Cling To" card drive is to "Add Some Strength." Take a piece of patterned paper to use as your background, and add something to "strengthen" it. Rather than add a product, I decided to strengthen mine by "adding" a technique: "out of the box" die cutting.

I chose an old piece of patterned paper from my scrap stash. (It may have been by The Paper Studio, but I'm not sure. I highly doubt it's available anymore, anyway.) Using one of the dies from Spellbinders' "Labels Eight" set, I chose the portion of the 12x12" sheet I wanted to use. I traced around the inside of my die on that spot, and then trimmed in to that line along a few of the flower petals. Finally, I placed my die, tucking it under the "trimmed" flower petals, and ran it through my die cutting machine. The result is a die cut panel, with the petals hanging over the edge in places!

I cut a piece of green patterned paper from my stash (manufacturer also unknown) to 4.25x5.5", and adhered it to a white A2 card base. I then adhered my focal panel to that.

For the greeting, I used 2 stamps from the "Happy Messages" set by Stampendous. I stamped them on a scrap of white cardstock with Hero Arts Cup o' Joe ink, and die cut that with another, smaller "Labels Eight" die. I adhered that in place, and this card was done!

Hang in There, Friend

Another of the challenges for Splitcoast Stampers' "Hope You Can Cling To" card drive is "No Extra Postage." Basically, create an easy-to-mail card--relatively flat--that would require no extra postage to mail. Mine is a shameless CASE of a card Laura Bassen did for a lesson in Online Card Classes' "Stretch Your Stamps 2" class.

I cut a piece of white cardstock to 4.25x5.5". For the greeting, I used 2 different stamps: Technique Tuesday's "Hello Friend," & part of one from the "Up and Away" set by Mama Elephant. I cut the "hello" off the first one, and masked off the remaining border around the word "friend." After inking it up with Versafine Onyx Black, I removed the masks & stamped it in the lower right corner of my panel. Then I masked off the first part of the Mama Elephant greeting, and stamped "hang in there," again in Versafine.

Once the greeting had dried, I stamped the design on the upper part of my card. I drew a line across the panel, above the greeting, and one down the vertical center, to help me place my stamping. I used one of the stamps from Avery Elle's "Rounded Diamonds" set. I began at the bottom, using Hero Arts Fresh Peach ink. I stamped the first motif in the center, then worked out from there, using my horizontal pencil line as a guide. After that, all I had to do was line the stamps up in relation to what I'd already stamped. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy! I used all Hero Arts shadow inks to finish my rainbow pattern: Orange Soda, Lemon Yellow, Green Hills, & Cornflower.

To finish off the card, I cut a .25x5.5" wide strip of black paper, and glued it below my bottom row of stamping. I also added 3 small flower brads (from my stash) around the greeting. Then I just mounted the completed card front to a white A2 card base. This is definitely one of my more CAS cards!

Sorry It's Been "Ruff"

A member of my mom's writing group has not been doing well for a while, and is currently receiving hospice care at home. She "commissioned" me to make a card for the group to sign and send to him. He has a great sense of humor, and likes dogs, so I figured this image by Bugaboo Stamps would be perfect.

I chose a sketch from Splitcoast Stampers for my card design. The sketch was sized for an A2 card, and my mom wanted an A9 (5.5x8.5") card. So I created a blank A9-size "canvas" in Photoshop, and used the shape tool to draw boxes to sketch out my layout, based on the sketch. I added in the image on my canvas as well. When I had the "bones" of my design in place, I printed the sketch onto copy paper, and printed the image only onto a piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper.

I colored the dog with my Inktense pencils, using a damp paintbrush to blend the color and create shading. Then I set that aside to dry while I worked on the rest of the card. I used 2 patterned papers for the background. The paw print one is an old one by The Paper Studio, and the red polka dot paper is from BoBunny's "Pop Quiz" 6x6" paper pad. I adhered those onto a piece of lightweight white cardstock that I'd cut to 5.5x8.5", just to give me a base to work on. I also adhered the focal panel in place. I determined the placement of my brads, then pierced the holes and put in the brads. I added some detail to the dog's cheeks and catch lights to his eyes with a white gel pen. I also applied a coat of clear Wink of Stella glitter to the tag on his collar, and coated his tag & nose with Glossy Accents. Finally, I adhered the completed card front to a white card base.

Hello

One of the challenges in Splitcoast Stampers' "Hope You Can Cling To" card drive is "Cancer Free." The prompt is to create a card with a free form collage on it. I must admit, when I first saw the words "free form collage," I kind of freaked out. Then I saw an example in the gallery, and it reminded me of a design challenge by May Flaum during this year's Camp Scrap. She called it "one spot," and the basic premise was to take one element and build out from there. She also does a lot of collage-type work, so I tried to channel my inner May Flaum to do this card! :)

I started by die cutting a doily, using an old die by Lifestyle Crafts (I believe long since retired now). I also used some of the stamps in the "Bold Blooms" set, designed by Julie Ebersole for Ellen Hutson. I stamped one of the flowers on white cardstock in Hero Arts Lemon Yellow & Fresh Peach inks. I also stamped two of the leaves on green cardstock using Hero Arts Green Hills. I blended Squeezed Lemonade Distress ink over the peach flower, since I felt the white background was a bit too stark. Then I cut them with the coordinating dies.

It was time to start building my collage. I knew I wanted them to be concentrated in the lower left corner, so I started with the doily and laid the flowers & leaves on top, without adhering anything, until I liked the arrangement. Then came the hard part--remembering where to put everything when I took it apart to apply adhesive! I could have taken a photo with my iPod, but I was lazy and didn't feel like doing that. I ended up getting everything placed pretty much in the original spots anyway! :)

For the greeting, I stamped the "hello" from "Mondo Magnolia," also from Ellen Hutson, in Versafine Onyx Black ink on a piece of cream cardstock. I cut it into a banner shape, and tucked it into my floral arrangement. I left the right end free, and curled it up a bit, just to add a bit of dimension. Once everything was adhered, I used my sewing machine to stitch around the perimeter with black thread. I did not stitch over my collage, though. Finally, I mounted the completed card front to a white A2 card base. I will be sending this to MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX, as part of the "Hope You Can Cling To" campaign.

Home Tweet Home

We recently learned that some friends of ours finally sold their house, and will be moving at the end of the month. So I made a congratulations card for them.

I had found this tutorial on Splitcoast Stampers, and thought it would be perfect for a "new home" card. I first created my A2 card base from burgundy cardstock. I cut a piece of patterned paper, by Recollections, to 4x5.25, and adhered that to the front, before cutting out the "window." I created a window frame from more of the burgundy, and glued that in place.

After lining the inside with a piece of white cardstock, I traced the outline of the window on the white. I opened the card, and stamped some of the images from Technique Tuesday's "Home Tweet Home" set (discontinued) within that boundary. I used Hero Arts' Cup o' Joe ink for the branch & birdhouse, Soft Pool for the bird, and Green Hills for the leaves. I drew the string for the birdhouse with a fine-tip black pen, and dotted the bird's eye with a black gel pen. I stamped the greeting, from the same set, in Versafine Onyx Black ink. Once that had dried, I erased my pencil marks.

I created the blind from a piece of double-sided patterned paper from the Teresa Collins Fabrications "Canvas" 6x6" pad. After scoring & pleating it, I used my Crop-a-Dile II to punch the holes in each end. I adhered the top of the blind to the back of the window with a strip of Scor Tape, and then adhered the card shut with more Scor Tape. I threaded some 1/4" white grosgrain ribbon through the holes in the blind, and knotted the ends, so it wouldn't pull back through.

For the valance, I cut a strip from one of the patterns in Prima's "Doodle Deux" 6x6" pad, and punched one long side with Fiskars' "Scallop Sentiment" border punch. I scored it and adhered it to the top of the window over the blind, with more Scor Tape. Finally, I adhered a piece of white cardstock to the back, where we could write our messages, and this card was done! I gave it to one of the recipients today, and she loved it!

No One Like You

A Blog Named Hero's current challenge theme is "Small Scale." The idea is to use small images/elements, or have a lot of white space on your project. I don't know if I achieved lots of white space, but I did use small images.

A friend of ours recently helped us out a lot with a problem, so I decided to create a thank you card to send to her. I started by choosing Hero Arts' "Woodland Creatures" stamp set, mostly because I felt she would like the cute little critters. I die cut the "Stitched Filmstrip" by Pretty Pink Posh from a scrap of green cardstock, and used that to lightly pencil in guidelines on a piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper. Then I stamped the raccoon, skunk, and squirrel in the spaces that would be framed by the die cut, using Ranger's Archival Jet Black ink. After erasing most of my guidelines, I colored the images with Inktense pencils and a damp paintbrush, and used regular watercolor to paint in the "sky" background. Finally, I glued the filmstrip frame onto that, and trimmed off the excess watercolor paper.

For the background, I embossed a piece of white cardstock with the "Stitched Lace" embossing folder by Sizzix, and glued the filmstrip piece to that. I stamped the greeting and the little ladybug from the stamp set onto another piece of watercolor paper, this time using Versafine Onyx Black ink. After setting the ink with my heat tool, I colored the ladybug with watercolor pencils, and then painted a blue wash over the background, to coordinate with the background behind the critters. I used my Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher to staple it to the card front. Finally, I trimmed the embossed piece slightly, and matted it with a piece of teal cardstock from my scrap stash, before adhering it to an A2 card base.

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

a2z Scrapbooking "Embossing"
Simon Says Stamp "Add a Little Texture"
Hero Arts "Nature Challenge"

You Rock!

Send a Smile 4 Kids' current challenge is "Fall Colors 4 Kids." So I created this relatively simple card for that challenge, and to send on to them.

I based my design on this oldie-but-goodie sketch from Operation Write Home:

I made the background layers slightly smaller so I could mat them, but otherwise stuck to the sketch religiously.

I started by cutting my tags from white cardstock. I stamped two of the leaves (one of them on 2 different tags) from an OLD set I have by Will 'n Way, using Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I chose stamps that were larger than the width of the tags, just to add some visual interest. I colored them with colored pencils, blending the color out with Gamsol on a paper stump. I also added some sparkle with my clear Wink of Stella brush marker over the leaves. Then I inked around the edges of the tags with Walnut Stain Distress ink, just to give them a bit more presence. I punched a hole in the top of each tag with my 1/8" hole punch, and threaded brown twine from Hemptique through each. Finally, I added a bit of Ranger Multi Medium Matte to the knots, just to keep the twine from coming loose. Then I set those aside while I worked on the rest of the card.

I cut a piece of burlap patterned paper from The Paper Studio for the smaller panel. I also found the orange paper in my scrap stash for the background. Thankfully, the scrap was exactly the width I needed!

I stamped the "ROCK" part of the sentiment on white cardstock in Tuxedo Black, using Lawn Fawn's "Riley's ABC's." I die cut the "You" from white cardstock with this die from Simon Says Stamp. Then I pounced Walnut Stain with my mini ink blending tool onto it. I die cut the cardstock with the "ROCK" using the banner die from Lawn Fawn's "Stitched Journaling Card" set.

I adhered the tags to the burlap section of the card front with foam tape. After inking the edges of the greeting panel with more Walnut Stain, I adhered it to the card front, and glued the "You" on top, below the tags & overlapping the banner. I inked the front of an A2 card base with Walnut Stain, and glued the card front panel to that. Like I said, a relatively simple card that came together pretty quickly!

Just Saying Hello

I have had this sunflower stamp literally for years. We originally got it to stamp on flower pots, I think for a school project of my mom's. (She's an elementary school teacher.) So I have no clue where it came from or who made it. But I thought it would go perfectly with the current challenge theme at a2z Scrapbooking's blog, "Autumn & Christmas." I don't know about other parts of the country, but this is a perfect time of year for sunflowers here in East Texas!

I didn't use a sketch for this card. Since the sunflower image is so large, I figured I'd let it stand pretty much on its own. I stamped it onto watercolor paper, using Colorbox Archival Dye ink in Putty. I colored it with Inktense pencils, using a paintbrush & water to blend the colors.

I stamped the greeting from this set in Hero Arts' Cup o' Joe Mid-Tone Shadow ink. I trimmed the watercolor panel down to 4.25x6.25", and cut two 3/4" wide strips of plaid patterned paper from my scrap stash. I glued them behind the panel on either end, letting 1/2" peek out. I cut 2 narrow strips of brown patterned paper, also from my scraps, and glued them over the seams. Finally, I matted that whole piece to a piece of golden-orange cardstock. I probably could have just cut strips of the cardstock and glued it down the sides, since most of it is covered up, but I didn't think of that until afterwards. Finally, I adhered it to my card base.

I had started this card with the intent of sending it to Send a Smile 4 Kids. But it ended up not being very child-like (at least in my opinion), so I will be holding on to this one, until a good opportunity comes up for me to send/give it to someone.

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

Simon Says Stamp's Monday "Stencils & Stamps"
Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday "Anything Goes"

You Make Me Happy Happy!

The current challenge at Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps is to make a summer card with a die cut. I immediately thought of their "Happy Happy" stamp & die set. What could be more summery than flying a kite on a bright sunny day?

I stamped the sun and kite on 2 scraps of patterned paper in my stash, then cut them with the coordinating dies. I trimmed the tail off the kite, since I planned to make my own later. I also stamped the cloud shape 4 times on vellum with Versamark ink, then heat embossed them with Ranger Super Fine Detail White embossing powder. I cut them out with the cloud die in the set.

I blended Tumbled Glass Distress ink over the whole front of my white card base to create a sky. I next ran my clouds through my Xyron Sticker Maker machine, to apply an even coat of adhesive to the back, so no spots of adhesive would show through the vellum. Then I positioned them on my card front, letting a couple hang over the edge. I trimmed off the overhanging parts. Finally, I glued my sun in position.

I determined where I wanted the kite to go, and placed a small drop of Ranger Matte Multi Medium. I stuck one end of a length of pink bakers twine in the Multi Medium, and let that dry. After it had dried completely, I tied short lengths of blue ribbon to the twine, cutting the ends short. I looped the twine a few times, applying dots of the same Multi Medium under where the twine crossed itself, to hold the loops in place. I ran a little medium that I'd put on my finger along the rest of the twine, just to help it hold a bit of a curve, and let it hang loose. I adhered the kite over the starting end of the twine with foam adhesive for dimension.

I stamped the greeting from the same set using the same Memento Tuxedo Black ink I'd used to the stamp the sun and kite. As a finishing touch, I added "Glam Pink" Stickles to the sun's cheeks, and "Onyx Pearl" Liquid Pearls to the eyes. I also went over the sun and kite with my clear Wink of Stella brush marker to give them a bit of sparkle. Next stop for this card will be Send a Smile 4 Kids!

I'm also entering this card in the following challenges:
Simon Says Stamp's Monday "Anything Goes"
Simon Says Stamp's Work It Wednesday "Blue"

Because It Has a Song

Paulina at Pretty Pink Posh's blog had issued a challenge last week to her readers to create, write, and (most importantly) SEND/GIVE at least 2 cards to friends, family members--someone who might need or at least appreciate a friendly message. Since I have a couple of family members who are going through a rough time right now, I decided to create cards for them, just to let them know I'm thinking about them. This card is one of those.

To begin, I chose the following sketch from Operation Write Home:

I had to make a few alterations to make my design work. Since my focal image & greeting stamps from this set, were "too" large, I cut the focal panel larger, left off the mat layers, and changed the banner into a panel. I did still double-mat the whole front, though, as indicated in the sketch.

I stamped the bird on watercolor paper using Ranger Archival Jet Black ink. I colored it as a bluebird, using Inktense pencils & my water brush, and added a bit of shadow underneath with a grey Inktense pencil blended out with water. Since I didn't have room on the card front to mat that panel, I inked around the edges with Chipped Sapphire Distress ink instead, so it wouldn't just blend in with the background.

I chose one of the patterns from The Paper Studio's "Off the Bolt" 4.5x6.5" paper pad for the background, and the dark blue patterned paper is from the My Mind's Eye "Blue Floral" 6x6" pad. Because there was adequate contrast between the dark blue and the background, I chose not to mat the blue strip.

To assemble the card, I rounded the corners of the background paper, and then glued the blue patterned paper strip in place on that. I rounded the top right corner of the bird panel and adhered it in place, and then rounded 2 opposite corners on the greeting panel and glued that down. Finally I matted the card front on a piece of dark blue cardstock, rounded those corners, and mounted that to a slightly larger card base with rounded corners, to make a side-folding landscape format card.

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

A Wonderful Friend

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I'm also entering this in the following challenges:

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