Best Wishes

The oldest daughter of a friend I went to school with just got married. I made this card for her & her new husband. The design came from Sketch Challenge #512 at Try Stampin' on Tuesday's challenge blog, but I missed the deadline to enter their challenge. The overall look was inspired by this card I saw on Pinterest, & the embossed frame on this card by Libby Fens. Challenge #87 at Double Trouble Paper Crafting, which had partnered with the sketch challenge, inspired the design as well. The theme there is "It's Hip to be a Square," so to use square(s) and/or circle(s) on your project. I used one of the "Decorative Labels One" dies from Spellbinders (discontinued) for my square, & a circle die cut over that. I also did both heat & dry embossing, to fulfill the second part of their challenge.

I made my card 5x6-1/2", to accommodate both the greeting, from My Favorite Things' "Cause for Celebration" die set (discontinued), & the embossed "Decorative Labels One" die turned 45 degrees. I cut my card front from navy cardstock to that size, & embossed the die frame into it. I die cut a circle from Strathmore Mixed Media paper, & inked it with Antique Linen Distress ink, to give just a bit of color. For shimmer (because we all know the moon shimmers), I pressed my Versamark ink pad all over the circle, and then heat embossed with Ranger Holographic embossing powder.

I punched the owls from black cardstock with the Stampin' Up "Owl Builder" punch (discontinued). I also die cut the branch from Spellbinders' "Sweet Birds on a Branch" set from black. I glued them to the moon, & added a silver glitter heart that I'd punched. I trimmed off the branch where it overhung the moon edge, and adhered it centered over the embossed frame on the card front.

I die cut the greeting from a cream piece of The Paper Studio's Pearlized cardstock. I felt the color complemented the moon nicely. I glued that to my card front, & finally adhered the card front to a white card base.

Stellar Mother's Day Card

I made this card for my brother & sister-in-law to give our mom for Mother's Day. He got a telescope last year, so I thought Lawn Fawn's "Super Star" stamp set would be perfect! The design & technique were inspired by Julie Ebersole's lesson in Online Card Classes' Spring Card Camp (Day 4).

I stamped the telescope from "Super Star" on the front of the card base & die cut it (having opened the card first) to give me a window. I used Lawn Fawn's "Smitty's ABCs" to stamp the greeting, lining up the letters in my MISTI stamp positioning tool. Not easy to do, since they are small & fiddly stamps, but I managed! I wanted the ends of the words to go around the outline of the telescope die cut opening. Thankfully, I had just enough room for the "Mother's" word, even though I hadn't planned it out that way! I used the small heart stamp from "Super Star" to fill in the "gaps" in front of the "Happy" & "Day." I stamped the greeting with Peacock Feathers Distress Oxide ink & the hearts with Abandoned Coral Distress Oxide.

View of inside of card

I closed the card, placed it in my MISTI, and stamped the telescope on the inside of the card through the window in the front. I also stamped the mouse from "Super Star" twice, masking the first one so the second would be behind it. I figured, this card is coming from two people--there should be two mice! I also stamped & white heat embossed the constellations & a few more stars from "Super Star," as well as the greeting.

I masked the telescope & mice, and masked off an area for the ground with a piece of masking paper I'd cut. I inked the sky with Distress inks in shades of blue, ending by adding a little Black Soot at the very top to give the sky some depth. I masked the bottom of the sky with the other half of my hill mask, & inked the ground with Mowed Lawn & Peeled Paint Distress inks. To add some more "starry" accents, I kept the image & ground masks in place, & spattered gold watercolor on the sky.

This is where my second "mistake" came into play. (The first had been smudging black ink onto the mouse in back, which I'd camouflaged by coloring him grey.) I wanted to see how my card would look when closed, so I mindlessly closed it--without waiting for the watercolor to dry completely. Yep--gold & blue Distress ink spots transferred to the inside of the card front! At this point, having finished the inside, I was NOT about to start over. Nor was cutting the card apart an option, since the front & back of the design are kind of "married." So I found a piece of patterned paper from the My Mind's Eye "Blue Floral" 6x6" patterned paper pad, that complemented the scene inside the card. I cut it to A2 size, adhered it to the inside front of my card, & trimmed off any overhanging bits around the edges. Then, I popped the telescope die in its opening on the front of the card, opened the card so I only cut through the front, & ran it through my die cutting machine. Ink & paint spots covered! Even with that hiccup, I still love how the card came out.

I'm entering this card in the Lawn Fawnatics Challenge #75: "Spectacular Skies."

50th Anniversary Card

A couple my mom is friends with is celebrating their golden wedding anniversary this weekend. So of course, she asked me to make a card for them, which I gladly agreed to do. I did a search on Pinterest for 50th anniversary cards, and found this one that I used as my inspiration. I have the Stampin' Up owl punch, and their "Woodland Textures" embossing folder already, and the rest I made up/figured out as I went along.

I began with the owls. I punched all the pieces, and punched an extra chest piece for the man owl from black to cut into a vest, as in the inspiration card. I also cut a couple of beaks from yellow-orange cardstock. It's always bothered me that the punch does not include a separate beak piece, because I don't like leaving the beak area the same color as the body. So I had to cut my own, which took a few tries to get the size right, but I prevailed! :) After I had all the pieces cut/punched, I assembled the owls. I also added "buttons" to the vest with a white gel pen.

For the skirt on the lady owl's dress, I used a Martha Stewart "Vintage Floral" border punch. After I punched a piece of white cardstock, I cut it into a strip and pleated the upper edge. I had more trouble with that than any other part of the card. I finally got everything glued together to make it look like a ruffled skirt, but the "waistband" looked hideous to me. I looked again at the sample card, & noticed a bow at the owl's waist, so I tied a double bow with 1/8" wide blue satin ribbon. I glued it to the owl over the pleats, let the glue dry, and further tacked it down with a small stitch through the back of the knot and the owl. I didn't want that bow to go anywhere! I think it covers the (ugly) pleats quite well. :)

I created the greeting in Photoshop, and printed it on a strip of Strathmore Smooth Bristol paper with my laser printer. I ran that through my Mini Minc machine, with Heidi Swapp Gold foil. For the numbers, I initially was going to print them on the back of my cardstock, and fussy cut them. I did try that, but it was horrible, so I instead used my old Fiskars shape cutter & their "Letters-1" to cut them from gold mirror cardstock & black. I ran the numbers through my Xyron Sticker Maker, and adhered the gold over the black, offsetting to give a shadow.

To create the background, I cut a panel of Canson XL Mixed Media paper to 4.25x5.5". I inked up one side of my embossing folder with Broken China Distress Oxide ink, being careful not to ink up along the bottom "ground." I spritzed my paper lightly with water, and ran it through my die cutting machine with the inked folder. Much to my surprise, it came out pretty well, with the ink mostly just where I wanted it! I did have to go over several spots on the trees with a white gel pen where the ink had "leaked," but overall not too bad. I used Mowed Lawn Distress ink and a water brush to paint the ground area to look like grass.

Finally, it was time to assemble my card. I adhered the numbers in place, and glued down the owls. I backed the greeting strip with a narrow black mat, to create a visual triangle among that, the black number shadows, and the black vest, and adhered it to my background. I mounted the panel to a white A2 card base, and this card is done! My mom really liked it, and hopefully the happy couple will, too!

I'm entering this card in 613 Avenue Create's Challenge #208: "Anything Goes."

Happy Valentine's Day Bear

Ellen Hutson is having their January Mix It Up challenge on their blog. This month, they are partnering with Concord & 9th. The object is to make a project using Essentials by Ellen and Concord & 9th products. I created this Valentine's Day card to send to Send a Smile 4 Kids.

I used Sketch #SC570 from Splitcoaststampers.com as the inspiration for my design. To begin my card, I die cut the bear from "All Inside" (Essentials by Ellen) from 140 lb. watercolor paper. (This die is solid, so you either have to die cut and then stamp, or create a template to line up the die with your stamped image.) I stamped the image onto the die cut, being sure to wipe the ink from his facial features, since I wanted them to be black instead of sepia. I heat embossed with clear embossing powder, and colored him with one of my Mijello Mission Gold watercolor colors. After the paint had dried, I stamped his face, "inking" up the stamp with a black Tombow marker. I did use a black glaze pen to go over his eyes & nose, and went over the mouth with a fine-tip black Pitt artist pen, just to darken them up more.

To create the background, I die cut a piece of Canson XL Mixed Media paper with the scallop rectangle die from Mama Elephant's "Femme Frames" set. (This is no longer available individually, but is part of a packaged set.) I inked the panel with Candied Apple, Abandoned Coral, & Worn Lipstick Distress inks, creating an ombre effect. Finally, I splattered my homemade Perfect Pearls mist on the panel, and blotted the water up with a dry cloth to add some interest.

After stamping the "Tree Ring Background" from Concord & 9th onto Essentials by Ellen's 40 lb. vellum, I heat embossed with Recollections Snow detail embossing powder. I fussy cut around the image, leaving a narrow border. I also die cut an oval from pink cardstock with a Lawn Fawn "Large Stitched Oval" die, to adhere my bear to.

I glued a die cut felt heart (cut with a die from "All Inside") in the bear's arms, and then glued him to the pink oval. I adhered the vellum piece to my background, being careful to apply the ATG tape behind where the oval would go, to hide the adhesive. Then I adhered my oval over that.

For the greeting, I used Concord & 9th's "Perfectly Penned" alphabet stamp set to spell out "Happy Valentine's Day" on a scrap of white cardstock with Delicata Black Shimmer ink. After the ink dried, I cut that into a banner, die cut the left edge with the "Femme Frames" die I'd used for my background, and adhered it to my panel, tucking the top of the strip under the bear's feet. The only thing left to do was adhere my panel to a white A2 card base, and this card is ready for a hospitalized child to give or receive.

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

Send a Smile 4 Kids' "Anything Goes or Valentine's/Love Cards 4 Kids"
613 Avenue Create: "Anything Goes"
Dies R Us: "Anything Goes"

Happy 70th Anniversary

I recently learned that a former minister I knew a long time ago is celebrating his 70th anniversary with his wife. What a rare milestone! So I "had" to make them a card--just a no-brainer. I took my inspiration from this card that I found via Pinterest. I looked up what the symbolic gift is for the 70th anniversary. In the U.K., it was listed as platinum. Oddly, for the U.S., there was no gift listed! So I tried to incorporate some platinum accents, mostly in the foil I used for the patterned paper & the pearlized cardstock I cut the birds from.

I started by die cutting my birds, using an old Sizzix die, "Bird & Leaf." The die actually faces only one way, so for the "male" bird, I flipped the die cut over. Thankfully, the cardstock I used is the same front & back, so I didn't have to think too much. ;) I also used the same die to cut just the wing from some green plaid paper for the male bird, and a pink doily paper for the female bird.

I used a piece of 6x6" patterned paper from Heidi Swapp for the larger panel on my card. The leaves/vines are actually toner, so I foiled the paper with Heidi Swapp Gunmetal foil & my mini Minc machine. I cut the piece down to 5.5x6". I used a Spellbinders "Standard Circles LG" die to die cut the hole for the female bird to peek out of. After gluing the bird in the window, I used the next larger die to cut a circle from brown cardstock, and layered that behind the hole, gluing the rest of the bird to it as well.

For the top panel, I used 2 scrap pieces of teal blue cardstocks. I die cut the bottom edge of both at the same time, with one of the "Stitched Borders 3" dies by Pretty Pink Posh. That way, I could be sure the scallops would line up. I layered the lighter piece over the darker, and adhered them together.

I cut a label using one of the "Grommet Tags" dies from Spellbinders from white cardstock, and printed my greeting (which I'd created in Photoshop) on that. I added it to my blue panel with 2 mini heart brads. Then I adhered both of my main panels to a white A9 card base.

I felt the bottom part of the card needed a little something. I tried just a strip of teal cardstock, but that was too blah. I cut the long edges with decorative-edge scissors, but that looked even worse! I experimented with lace trim, but finally decided just to use an old Martha Stewart border punch to punch a strip, backed it with white cardstock, and fussy cut the white along the top edge. Finally, I glued that to the bottom of my card front--perfect!

For the finishing touches, I glued googly eyes on the birds with Ranger Multi Medium Matte. I die cut a little pink heart with Simon Says Stamp's "Mini Hearts Outline" dies, and glued it between the birds. For a bit of added sparkle, I coated the heart with Diamond Stickles, and also added drops of that to the flower centers in the bottom border. Hopefully the happy couple will enjoy this card!

I'm entering my card in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp's Monday Challenge: "Things with Wings"
Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Use More than One Die or Punch"
Die Cut Divas "For the Love of Animals/Pets" (Hopefully the birds count!)
613 Avenue Create: "Anything Goes"

You Hold the Key

I think one of the hardest challenges (for me at least) for "Hope You Can Cling To" is the "Pinkalicious" challenge. The goal: take the letters of "pinkalicious" and make 3-4 words of elements you can use in a card. Whew! I have to admit, I was stumped after "pink" & "ink." I was telling my mom about this, and she said that she loves doing puzzles like that. So I asked if she could help by coming up with words, and she said yes. She came up with about 100 words! So I took her list, and narrowed it down to four: pink, ink, lock, & polka.

When I saw the word lock on her list, I knew instantly which stamp I would use. Sweet 'n Sassy Stamp's "Cocoa's Heart" (no longer available) includes the image & greeting I used, & I knew it would be perfect. Kismet!

I die cut a panel from 140 lb. Canson XL watercolor paper with one of the "Small Stitched Rectangle" dies by Lawn Fawn. I stamped my image & greeting in Versafine Onyx Black ink, and heat embossed them with Recollections Clear Detail embossing powder. I colored the image in with my Inktense pencils and a damp paintbrush, adding a bit of pink to the cheeks & ears of the mice. For the background, I used Distress inks in Pumice Stone, Mowed Lawn, Tumbled Glass, Broken China, and Peacock Feathers to watercolor a little scene. I set that aside to dry while I worked on my background.

I die cut another panel from a pale blue cardstock with the largest of Lawn Fawn's "Large Stitched Rectangle" dies. I taped it to my cutting board with painter's tape, masking off the edges outside the faux stitching. I taped a polka dot stencil by Donna Downey Studios over it, and inked through that with Broken China Distress ink. By now, my focal panel was dry, so I adhered it in place. I then mounted my card front to a white A2 card base.

I decided to channel my inner May Flaum, and add an embellishment cluster in the corner of my focal panel. I used a metal lock charm from The Paper Studio, two buttons, and a heart & a couple of flowers I punched from red patterned paper scraps. I glued them in place with Perfect Paper Adhesive. Finally, I added a coat of Glossy Accents to the heart & key in my image, and set the card aside overnight to dry completely.

The Perfect Blend

The challenge theme on October 21, 2015, for the "Hope You Can Cling To" card drive, is "Relationships Matter!" I decided to use a greeting & one of the images from Fiskars' "Latte Love" stamp set for my card.

I first stamped the coffee cup image with Versafine Onyx Black ink on a piece of Strathmore Mixed Media paper. I also stamped it on a piece of masking paper, and cut that out. I masked the coffee cup, and stamped another right next to it, to make it look like the second one was behind the first. After coloring the cups with my Inktense pencils, I used one of the "Stitched Circles" dies by Simon Says Stamp to cut the image.

I stamped the greeting in Versafine, also on Mixed Media paper, and die cut it with one of Pretty Pink Posh's "Stitched Tags 1" dies. I punched a hole reinforcer piece from pink cardstock with a 1/4" hole punch, and glued it to my tag. After the glue dried, I punched through both layers with a 1/16" hole punch. I threaded some twine from Queen & Company through the hole, and tied it in a bow. Finally, I added some Ranger Multi Medium Matte to the knot in the bow, to help keep it from coming untied.

With the greeting & image being somewhat bold, I decided to go soft for the background. I cut a piece of pink gingham paper from the "Latest & Greatest" 6x6" pad by Authentique to 4x5.25". I matted it with the same pink cardstock I'd used for the hole reinforcer on the tag. After gluing the tag & focal image to the background, I mounted the completed card front to a white A2 card base.

I Love You

The challenge for October 4, in Splitcoast Stampers' "Hope You Can Cling To" card drive, is "Undergoing Renovation." The idea is to take a card that you have made in the past, and still like, and make another inspired by it. I chose this card, that definitely has a feminine vibe, and decided to make a masculine version.

Inspiration card

I liked the basic format, and the inking technique I had used on the hearts. I got that technique from Jennifer McGuire. Basically, you stamp a line image in Distress ink(s), then splatter water droplets over it, to get the color to move & blur a bit.

To begin my "renovated" card, I stamped the outline star, from Hero Arts' "Year Round Sentiments," several times on a piece of white cardstock. Since I was going for a more masculine color palette, I used Distress inks in Twisted Citron, Blueprint Sketch, & Tea Dye. Once I finished stamping, I did my water splatters, adding a few drops here and there directly to the stars to "help" the bleeding, until I liked the look I got. I still felt it looked too "clean," though, so I blended Antique Linen Distress ink over the panel, to "grunge" it up a bit.

I chose 2 patterned papers from my scrap stash. I cut the blue star piece to 1/2" wide, and the stripe to 1/4". I adhered the main panel and my strips to the front of a white A2 card base. Then it was time to work on the greeting.

I used one of the greetings from the same Hero Arts set, and stamped it on a piece of blue patterned paper (also from my scraps), then heat embossed it with Ranger Super Fine Detail White embossing powder. I wanted to try something a little different (for me) on my greeting. One thing Carissa Wiley does frequently is to layer strips/banners of paper, and staple them together at one end. I like that look, so I cut two more banners from patterned paper, and used my Tiny Attacher to staple them behind my greeting strip. Finally, I glued that to my card.

I'm also entering this card in Through the Craft Room Door's "Anything Goes" challenge for October 20-26, 2015.

Foxy Love

Today's challenge for "Hope You Can Cling To" at Splitcoast Stampers is "Pretty Tattoo." When cancer patients go through radiation, they get a small tattoo to mark the spot for treatment. This challenge is to use an image that would make a cute tattoo. I thought these foxes from Hero Arts' "The Fox Says" Stamp 'n' Cut set fit the bill!

I began by cutting a piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper to 4.25x5.5". I stamped the foxes at the bottom, using Ranger Archival Jet Black ink. I then masked them off, so I could stamp the grass. While the grass is not really a part of the "tattoo," I couldn't just have those sleeping foxes floating in mid-air! So I took the grass stamp from "The Fox Says," and mounted it in my MISTI tool. I inked it up with Distress inks in Peeled Paint, Wild Honey, and Mustard Seed, daubing each color just here & there. (I was going for an autumn look, when grass is starting to turn yellow, but there is still some green in it.) Then I spritzed the stamp lightly with water to get the inks to blend, and stamped it along the bottom of my panel. The stamp is not quite long enough to go across a portrait-oriented A2 card, so I moved my panel over in my MISTI and stamped the image again, following the same inking procedure. Then I removed the mask.

I colored the foxes with my Inktense pencils, using a small damp paintbrush to blend the colors. After I'd finished coloring, I stamped one of the greetings from the set above the foxes. It seemed a little disconnected, so I sketched a thought bubble around it, to connect it to the larger fox.

To continue the autumnal tone of my piece, I added splatters in Wild Honey & Frayed Burlap Distress inks. First, I masked my foxes & greeting. I then smooshed the ink, one color at a time, on my acrylic block, and watered it down. I flicked the color onto the panel with my water brush. I think I got a little carried away, since my original intention was to have just a few spots! Oh well! I doubt it will matter to whoever gets this card. :)

I'm also entering my card in a2z Scrapbooking's October Challenge: "All Things Fall."

You Mean the World to Me

Our Daily Bread Designs has been having a sketch challenge on their blog this week. I created this card based on their sketch:

I chose to use ODBD's "Violet" stamp--one I frankly had forgotten I even had! I came across it in my collection while I was looking for another image to use, and thought it would be even better. I stamped it on a piece of white cardstock, using Hero Arts Soft Leaf ink. Then I colored it in with colored pencils, and die cut it out. I used a "Nesting Scallops" die by Lifestyle Crafts, and the one that cut around the whole image was actually too large for my design. So I used the next smaller size, and did an "outside the box" technique. I made little tick marks where the die would cut across the leaves, and cut through the cardstock with my scissors, around the leaves, to those marks. Then I slipped the cut-out leaf sections over the die, so they would not be cut, and ran it through my die cutting machine. Finally, I erased my pencil marks.

For the greeting, I stamped one from the "Word Labels" set by Sizzix on another piece of white cardstock, using Versafine Onyx Black ink. I stamped the matching border around it in Memento Grape Jelly dye ink, then cut it with the coordinating die. I glued that to a piece of green patterned paper from my scrap stash, and glued half the image circle to the background. (I only glued half, so I could tuck my diagonal strip underneath, then finish gluing the circle.)

I toyed around with a few ideas for what to use for the strip between the image & greeting elements. Finally, I cut a piece of lavender cardstock, and die cut both long edges with one of the "Stitched Borders 1" dies by Pretty Pink Posh. I positioned that diagonally on the card, over the scalloped circles. I cut around two of the leaves a little more, so I could have them lie on top of the strip. I then adhered the strip in place with some ATG adhesive, and cut off the portions that hung over the edges of my panel.

At this point, I was stumped with what to do on the bottom of the panel. I played around with some die cut border strips, but nothing really screamed, "Use ME!" So I walked away and took a break for a while. When I came back, I knew I wanted to use a ribbon. I had some 3/8" wide sheer purple ribbon from Michael's out. I ran a length across the bottom of the panel, and adhered the ends on the back. Then I created a "faux bow," loosely following this tutorial I'd seen on YouTube. This creates a much flatter bow, without the bulky knot you get in the middle if you just tie it normally. Finally, I matted the whole panel with a piece of dark purple cardstock, and mounted that to a white A2 card base. I will be sending this with my cards for MD Anderson Cancer Center, hopefully to help a cancer patient's loved one tell her he loves her!

I'm also entering this card in Virginia's View Challenge #19: "Color It."

You're Always in My Heart

The challenge posted on October 5, for this year's "Hope You Can Cling To" card drive at Splitcoast Stampers, is "Don't Color Between the Lines." The idea is to take an image, and not color it. I've had this loon stamp (source unknown) for a long time. It was hard not to color any of it, especially the water. But I think it still creates a peaceful image.

I stamped the loons on a piece of white cardstock, using Hero Arts Charcoal mid-tone shadow ink. I then die cut & embossed it with a Spellbinders "Classic Ovals SM" die. For the greeting, I chose one from Hero Arts' "You're Always in My Heart" stamp set. I stamped it also on white cardstock in Charcoal ink. I used the "Susan's Labels" template by Hot Off The Press (which I believe is no longer available) to trace the label shape around the greeting, then cut it out with my scissors. I glued both the greeting & loons to a piece of blue-grey cardstock. I wanted the look of a matted print with a title plate. So I inserted a heart mini brad in each end of the greeting label, to "hold" the "title plate." I also punched the corners with an EK Success decorative corner punch.

To finish this simple card, I matted the panel onto a piece of pink cardstock, and rounded the corners with my 3/8" Corner Chomper. I rounded the corners of my white A2 card base as well, and mounted the card front to that.

Hi, Hot Stuff!

Kathleen Curry's challenge for Splitcoast Stampers' "Hope You Can Cling To" card drive is to "Make It Tasty." She challenged card makers to use food items on their cards. I decided to go with Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps' "Punny Fruits and Veggies." I figure, cancer patients can always use a little punny humor! :) I also used Sketch #SC552 from Splitcoast Stampers for my design.

I began by die cutting a circle from some 140 lb. watercolor paper with one of the "Stitched Circles" dies by Simon Says Stamp. I taped the die cut in the negative space, so I could put it in my MISTI to stamp the pepper onto it. I used Versafine Onyx Black ink to stamp the image, and colored it with my Inktense pencils, using a damp brush to blend the colors. I also created a mask for the pepper from some masking paper, and when the coloring was dry, masked off the pepper. I chose Tumbled Glass Distress ink to blend on the background, just to give some contrast to the hot red pepper.

I used 3 patterned papers from my scrap stash for the card layers. I adhered them to a piece of burgundy cardstock, which I chose to play off the red of the pepper. I stamped my greeting, also from "Punny Fruits & Veggies," on another piece of the same cardstock, and heat embossed it with Ranger Super Fine Detail White embossing powder. I cut that into a banner shape, then adhered it & my focal piece to the card front. For the mat, I inked around the edges of a white A2 card base with Tumbled Glass, and, when the ink had dried, adhered my card front to that. And that finished this card. Hopefully, a patient at MD Anderson Cancer Center will get a kick out of it!

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

Virginia's View Challenge #19: Color It
Craft Your Passion Challenges #283: Anything Goes
Through the Craft Room Door: Anything Goes

Love in Any Language

One of the challenges in this year's "Hope You Can Cling To" card drive by Splitcoast Stampers, is "Lend a Hand." Trace your hand & creatively color a card; use your fingers to paint; use an image with a hand prominently displayed. I chose the third option. I immediately thought of the "Love Languages" stamp set by Simon Says Stamp, with its coordinating dies.

I used Operation Write Home's Sketch #247 for my card design:

To begin, I stamped the hand making the sign for "I love you" on cream cardstock, using Stampabilities' Bright Pink dye ink. I then cut it out with the coordinating die. I die cut an oval with one of the "Lacey Ovals" dies by Spellbinders from dark green cardstock, and glued the hand to that. I also stamped one of the hearts from "Love Languages" in Bright Pink on cream, and cut it with its coordinating die.

For the greeting, I stamped one from the set in Versamark on a cream strip, then heat embossed it with Ranger Liquid Platinum embossing powder.

I chose 2 patterned papers for my card. The green chevron is from the My Mind's Eye "Chevron" 6x6" pad, and the arrow paper is from Recollections' "Paddywack" 6x6" pad. I cut them to the sizes in the sketch. I adhered the arrows paper to the chevron, adding a 1/4" border strip from dark green cardstock to the left side of the arrows panel. I matted the whole panel with more dark green. I adhered the greeting strip in place, and glued down the oval above it. Finally, I glued the heart to the oval. All that was left was to mount the finished card front to a white A2 card base. I will be sending this to MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, as part of the "Hope You Can Cling To" campaign. Hopefully, it will help a cancer patient's loved one tell them, "I love you!"

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

i {heart} u

I've been participating in this year's Camp Scrap the past few weeks. The prompt for the second week of camp was "monochromatic." I decided to create a love-themed card for my final shipment to Operation Write Home.

I started by choosing one of the greetings in Hero Arts' "Words of Love" digital set. Using Photoshop, I changed the colors of the "i" & "u" to a dark magenta, and the heart to pink, then printed it on a piece of white cardstock. I decided to use Operation Write Home's Sketch #259 for my design.

The patterned paper I chose (from my scrap stash) was not quite tall enough to work for the large panel in the sketch. So I cut an extra, 1/4" wide strip of burgundy cardstock to go along the top of my card. Even though the sketch did not call for the focal panel to be matted, I decided to use a narrow burgundy mat, just to set the greeting apart from the patterned paper better. After cutting my pieces, I matted the greeting, and adhered everything to a white A2 card base. And that finished this CAS card. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy! :)

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

A Blog Named Hero "Make the Sentiment the Star"
a2z Scrapbooking "CAS"

Let Love Soar

A Blog Named Hero is having a photo inspiration challenge on their blog:

Obviously, the rainbow colors inspired me with this card. I also got the inspiration for my design from this card by Kelly at a2z Scrapbooking's blog. I decided to make basically a one-layer card, using masking for the balloon & sky strip.

After die cutting my panel from 140 lb watercolor paper using the largest of Lawn Fawn's "Large Stitched Rectangle" dies, I determined where I wanted the sky on my card, and marked that lightly in pencil. I went ahead & stamped my greeting in Ranger Archival Jet Black ink, then stamped the balloon on the panel, also in Jet Black. (Both the image & greeting are from Hero Arts' "Happy Birthday" stamp set, which I believe is no longer available.) I also stamped the balloon on some Simon Says Stamp masking paper, and cut out the upper part. I masked the balloon, then used Post-It tape to mask off either side of the sky portion. I created a cloud stencil by die cutting a scrap piece of acetate with the cloud-type die from Mama Elephant's "Landscape Trio" set. While holding that in place on my card panel, I inked above it with Broken China Distress ink. I moved my stencil down, and inked some more, leaving some white for the clouds. I kept repeating that until I'd covered that strip. Then I went back with some Tumbled Glass Distress ink and lightly sponged over the clouds, to soften them up a bit. Finally I removed my masking & erase my pencil lines.

I used my Inktense pencils and a damp paintbrush to color my balloon & basket. One thing I love about this image is that the balloon itself has 7 sections, making it easy to color in ROY G BIV order--and get ALL the colors in! Once I'd colored my balloon and let it dry, all I had to do was adhere the completed panel to a white A2 card base. This card will be going in my final shipment next week to Operation Write Home.

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

a2z Scrapbooking's July Challenge: CAS
Live Love Cards July Challenge: Masking
Operation Write Home's July Mid-month Throwdown: Love cards without hearts

I Love U

The Lawnscaping blog is having a "Sparkle & Shine" challenge. I decided to use Lawn Fawn's "Peace Joy Love" stamp set to create a love-themed card. This set is actually a Christmas set, but I figured the "love" stamp would be perfect paired with the "I" and "U" from Lawn Fawn's Riley's ABCs.

I began by die cutting a tag from 140 lb. watercolor paper with one of the dies from the "Tags a Lot" set by Mama Elephant. I stamped my greeting on that in Ranger Archival Jet Black ink, and trimmed some off the top of the tag, just so the greeting wouldn't look "lost." I punched 2 holes with a 1/16" hole punch. Then I smooshed Distress inks in Worn Lipstick, Spun Sugar, and Tattered Rose on my non-stick craft sheet, spritzed those with water, and laid the tag face down in the ink puddles. I pounced and swished it through the ink, occasionally drying it with my heat tool, until I got the depth and variety of color I wanted.

For the card front, I die cut a frame from white cardstock using 2 dies from the "Large Stitched Rectangle" set by Lawn Fawn. I also cut a piece of patterned paper (from my scrap stash) with the small rectangle die. I adhered the patterned paper rectangle on my card front, using the frame to get it positioned exactly. I also flicked some Heidi Swapp Gold Color Shine mist on the frame, to give it some added interest.

I cut 2 pieces of crochet thread and tied each in a bow through the holes in the tag. After applying foam tape to the back of my tag, I peeled the release paper from one of the pieces and lightly adhered it to the center of my card. I laid my frame in place, and marked where I wanted the holes for the thread. I pierced the holes, and threaded the twine through. This is where it got tricky. I applied adhesive to the front of the card base, around the edges and around the patterned paper panel. I threaded the crochet thread through the holes in the frame, and adhered the frame to the card base, sandwiching the thread in between the layers. It took quite a bit of fiddling, since the frame kept getting stuck in the adhesive where I didn't want it, but I finally prevailed!

I stamped 2 birds from "Peace Joy Love" in Hero Arts Butter Bar ink on white cardstock. I outlined them and added eyes with a black pen, then cut them out. I went around the edges with a black brush tip marker, to camouflage the white paper. Then I added foam tape to the back of each, and adhered them so it looks like they are holding the tag up. I lifted the tag, peeled off the rest of the release papers, and stuck it in place. Finally, I used some Ranger Multi Medium Matte to glue some sequins from Doodlebug Design & Pretty Pink Posh. And that finished this card, which I'll be sending in to Operation Write Home!

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

One Sketch, Two Cards

I recently came across this blog post, on making a set of cards with one 6x6" patterned paper pad, plus cardstock. Since I have more 6x6" pads than I really have room for, I decided to take the challenge. Mind you, I have been using my 6x6" patterned papers, but only in dribs & drabs. Currently I'm focusing on using the rest of Prima's "Doodle Deux" pad, which I've had for a long time and haven't used much. These 2 cards are products of that project.

For both cards, I used Operation Write Home's Sketch #8:

Yes, I went WAAAY back in time for this one. I rarely use the earlier sketches from OWH, but decided this would be a good one to use big pieces of 2 different papers, which is kind of the first step in the larger process of using an entire paper pad.

For my first card, I cut the patterned paper pieces first. To add a bit of visual interest, I indented the cut at the corners by 1/4", rather than having the diagonal line go directly from corner to corner as in the sketch. I adhered them to a white A2 card base.

I die cut the dream catcher & feathers from white cardstock, using the "Dream Believer" dies by WPlus9. Using my MISTI, I stamped the corresponding images onto the die cuts, as well as one of the greetings from that set. I used Versafine Onyx Black ink for the greeting & inner part of the dream catcher, Chestnut Roan chalk ink for the solid part of the feathers, & Hero Arts' Cup o' Joe ink for the detail on the feathers and the frame of the dream catcher.

I die cut a piece of vellum with one of the "Nesting Scallops" circle dies by Lifestyle Crafts to back the main part of the dream catcher. This way, the background would be muted, and wouldn't compete with the focal image. I glued the dream catcher to that. I pierced holes in 3 spots on the frame, and threaded grey embroidery floss through each hole, adhering it on the back of the dream catcher. I glued the finished piece to my card front, and glued down the feathers with Ranger Multi Medium Matte, sandwiching the other end of the floss pieces between each feather & the background. That finished Card #1.

I created the base for my second card the same as the first, just using the opposite pieces. I stamped the peach & greeting from Avery Elle's "Berry Good" set on a scrap of Strathmore Mixed Media Paper, with Ranger Archival Jet Black ink. Once the ink had dried thoroughly, I colored it with Inktense pencils, using a damp brush to blend out the colors. I die cut it with the coordinating die. I also die cut a piece of vellum with a "Lacey Ovals" die by Spellbinders. I glued the focal image to the vellum, and ran the whole thing through my Xyron Create-a-Sticker machine, to apply an even layer of adhesive to the back of the vellum. Finally, I adhered the panel to my card front. I will be sending both cards to Operation Write Home, as part of my final shipment during their "Finish Strong" campaign.

I'm entering my cards in Live Love Cards' June Challenge: "Vellum."

AEIO Missing U

This is my second card for the Hero Arts "Tic-Tac-Toe" challenge. The squares I chose from the challenge graphic are "Watercolor," "Tag," & "Favorite Color" (blue). I will also be sending this card to Operation Write Home, as part of my final shipment next month.

I used one of the sketches from My Favorite Things that accompanies their "Blueprints 13" die set. I also used several of the dies from that set. I first die cut my background panel from 140 lb. watercolor paper. Then I scribbled 4 different blue gelatos on my craft mat. After taping the paper to my cutting board, I spritzed it liberally with water. I took a wet paintbrush, and also liquefied the gelato colors. I then painted the background with that mixture. The color was not nearly as intense as I wanted it, though, so after blotting off some of the water from the paper, I scribbled directly on it with the gelatos. Then I used my fingers to move the color around, since I've found that, even with water, I get better blending that way. I continued in this manner until I got the color intensity and blending I wanted. Then I set that aside to dry.

I die cut a banner from vellum, and the tag from white cardstock. I stamped the greeting, from Hero Arts' "Year Round Sentiments," on the tag, using Hero Arts' Pool ink. I used the same ink to stamp the largest heart from that set on a piece of pale blue cardstock. For the heart, I used the "rock 'n' roll" technique, "rolling" a Tsukineko Platinum Planet pigment ink pad around the edges of the stamp, then stamping the heart again. Thankfully, I had it mounted on my MISTI, so it was very easy to stamp it in the same spot again. Because the pigment ink tends to take a LONG time to dry, I set that aside.

After my watercolor panel had dried, I moved it from the cutting board to my non-stick craft sheet. I taped the Hero Arts/Basicgrey "Repeating Loops" stencil over it, and spread Golden's Light Molding Paste over the stencil. Once I had the coverage I wanted, I carefully removed the stencil and cleaned that, my craft mat, and my palette knife immediately, before the molding paste could harden. I set the panel aside again to let the paste dry.

Once the paste had dried completely, I measured the banner and tag against it. Because they are longer than the width of the panel, I had to cut a bit off the end of each. Since the gelatos had seeped under the tape I had around the edges of the main panel, I ended up inking around it with Mermaid Lagoon Distress ink. Once I'd done that, I adhered the tag to the banner, and adhered the banner to my card front,hiding my adhesive under the tag. I poked holes around the vellum, using the holes in my Tim Holtz ruler as a template. Then I stitched through the holes with silver embroidery floss. This not only added a decorative element, but also helps hold the vellum in place--especially important since this card is for OWH, and will likely be handled quite a bit.

Finally, I fussy cut the stamped heart, leaving a small border around it, and glued it in place. I felt the white tag needed a little something something, so I took one of the hearts from Simon Says Stamp's "Watts Up" set and stamped it several times in Stampabilities' "Baby Blue" ink. I adhered my completed panel to a white A2 card base, and I was done!

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

A Blog Named Hero "Favorites" (favorite color)
Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday "Favorite Technique and/or Product" (favorite         techniques--watercoloring & stenciling)
Simon Says Stamp's Monday "Don't Cut, Just Paste"

Hello, Beautiful

A Blog Named Hero is having a "Favorite" challenge. The idea is to use something on your creation that is a favorite: favorite color, favorite technique, etc. One of my favorite things is techniques that make people wonder, "How'd she do that?" For my card, I used kind of a variation of the die-cut inlay technique. Only no dies were involved!

I based my card on Operation Write Home's Sketch #251:

I did make the greeting panel a little larger, to accommodate the stamps I used from this set, but otherwise stuck to it.

I began by stamping the "Large Petal Background," from Hero Arts/BasicGrey's "Spice Market" line, on 4 pieces of white cardstock. I used Hero Arts inks in Soft Granite, Bubblegum, Pale Tomato, and Red Royal, one on each piece. I measured & marked on the back of the grey stamped piece how I wanted my stripes to be, then I cut out each section from that panel. (I did number my sections, to make reassembly easier!) I then cut the corresponding sections/strips out of each of the other 3 panels. Starting with the left piece (grey), I adhered each strip in order to a scrap piece of white cardstock. Adhering the two 1/8" wide grey strips, between the colored strips, proved to be the most fun. Thank heavens for my fine-tip 2-way glue pen! :) So, in essence, I have one flat panel, but in 4 different colors.

For the greeting, I stamped the words "Hello Beautiful" on a piece of white cardstock, using Versafine Onyx Black ink. Since Versafine is a pigment ink, and it takes time to dry, I set that aside for a bit. Once the ink was dry, I trimmed down the panel, and rounded the corners with the 1/4" side of my Corner Chomper. I matted it with black paper, trimmed that so I had a 1/16" border on all sides, and rounded those corners as well. Finally, I matted the main panel with more black, adhered my greeting in place, and mounted the whole thing onto an A2-size card base. I did feel like it needed a little something extra, so I added faux stitching lines around the greeting panel with a black pen. I will be sending this in my final box to Operation Write Home.

I'm also entering this card in Virginia's View Challenge #15: "Ombre/Monochromatic" (did an ombre stamping with the pink/red inks).

Thoughts & Dreams

I am working on cards for my final shipment to Operation Write Home. I have always sent my cards in USPS Flat Rate Envelopes, since I never sent that many at a time. Since I have a couple of months to finish my cards, my goal is to make enough cards to fill a medium Flat Rate Box. This is one of my cards towards that goal.

I chose OWH's Sketch #244 for my card design:

I did omit the banner behind the greeting strip, just to accommodate my focal image, from Doodle Pantry.

I printed the image on a piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper. I colored it with Inktense pencils, blending the colors with a damp paintbrush. After that dried, I inked 3 sides with Gathered Twigs Distress ink, to add some definition. I cut a strip of a light tan cardstock, and inked 3 sides of that as well.

For the background, I chose Jillibean Soup's 12x12" "Macho Nacho 4 Parts Hero" patterned paper. I cut a piece to 4x5.25". Because the pattern is a little busy, I whitewashed it with Adirondack Snow Cap acrylic paint. Then I set that aside to dry.

I printed the greeting, from Doodle Pantry's "Missing You" set, on a strip of green cardstock. I inked the 2 long edges and one end with Gathered Twigs. Finally, it was time to assemble the card.

I adhered the focal panel & tan cardstock strip to the patterned paper panel. I adhered the greeting strip over the lower part of the focal panel, and glued a heart-shaped wooden button at the left end with Ranger Multi Medium Matte. When that had dried, I poked holes in the paper through the buttonholes, and used a dental floss threader to thread a piece of embroidery floss through. I tied the floss into a bow, added a little Multi Medium to the knot to keep it from untying, and cut off the excess on the ends. After matting the panel with dark green cardstock, I adhered it to a white A2-size card base.