Happy Easter

 

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

 

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

Aged to Perfection

 

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

 

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

Birthday Blessings

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

 

 

 

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday "Anything Goes"

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

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).

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)

Holiday Greetings - From Rudolph & Friends

This week's challenge at Christmas Card Throwdown is "Sparkle." The inspiration for my card came from this one by Teri Pocock that I had saved on one of my Pinterest boards. I added my sparkle with Christmas Red Stickles glitter glue on Rudolph's nose as well as fake "snow" flakes along the tops of my snowy hills.

I began by punching my reindeer heads with the Stampin' Up "Owl" punch (discontinued). I punched a total of 9, so that I had extras to layer behind each head for increased sturdiness. I inked the edges of each with Walnut Stain Distress ink, including the layering pieces. For the antlers, I used a branch die from Honey Bee Stamps "Lovely Layers: Winter Greenery" set. I die cut it twice from dark brown cardstock, & trimmed off bits to add to my reindeer. I used a 3/8" circle die from Waffle Flower's "Additional Circles" to cut 2 brown noses & 1 red one. I glued the antlers to the backs of the main head pieces, and then glued the layering head pieces on, sandwiching the antlers in between. I don't know if this truly gives the antlers extra strength, but I figure it can't hurt! I glued the noses in place, added a bit of blush to their cheeks with a pink Prismacolor pencil, & used a white gel pen to add freckles to each. Finally, I applied a generous coat of Stickles to Rudolph's nose, & set that aside to dry.

I cut a panel of light blue cardstock to 4x5-1/4" for my background. I used My Favorite Things' "Snow Drifts" dies (discontinued) to cut 2 snow hills for the front. To create the fence, I die cut brown cardstock with 2 of the "Barn Wood Planks" dies from Honey Bee Stamps multiple times. I cut them narrower & shorter, & then glued each to a scrap of kraft cardstock for sturdiness. I trimmed the kraft around each plank, & cut one end of each of the vertical pieces to a point. Then I glued the vertical planks to my background panel, & glued the horizontal piece on top.

I stamped my greeting, from Simon Says Stamp's "Merry and Bright" (discontinued) in Festive Berries Distress Oxide ink onto the bottom of my front snow bank. I heat set that, to keep the ink from smearing, & then glued down my snowy hills. To keep the hills level with the fence, I first glued a scrap of white cardstock to the bottom of my background, extending down from the bottom of the fence pickets, to support the hills. Finally, I added a bead of Glossy Accents to the top of each hill, & pressed clear iridescent flakes of "snow" into that. I set that aside to dry for a few hours.

After the Stickles & Glossy Accents had dried, I assembled my card. I added my deer heads with foam tape along the top of the fence. I glued on googly eyes to each with Ranger Multi Medium Matte. To finish, I added a red cardstock mat to my white A2 card base, & then adhered my panel to that.

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

Ellibelle's Corner: "Anything Goes"

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

1 Sketch - 2 Cards

Christmas Card Throwdown has a Sketch Challenge this week. For both my cards, I was able to make use of scraps & frames from my stash, which always makes me happy!

I used images from the Essentials by Ellen "Santa's List" stamp set (discontinued) for both of my cards. I found a couple of chipboard frames in a desk drawer that I have had for years. I picked out one for each card to use for the smaller element in the sketch. 

For my first card, I stamped the reindeer onto a panel of Strathmore vellum bristol paper that I'd cut to fit behind the frame. I masked off the deer, and then stamped the tree from the set "behind" the deer & another on the right side of the panel. I masked the first tree I stamped & stamped a third tree next to it. I was very careful to make sure the baseline of each image that was behind another was higher in the scene than what was in front, to make sure they truly looked like they were in the background. I colored the images with my Prismacolor pencils, & then used white acrylic craft paint to splatter snow over the scene.

I covered the frame with a scrap of patterned paper that was larger than the frame. When the glue had dried, I used my craft knife to cut around the outside of the frame & cut out the center opening. After I used a nail buffer to smooth the edges, I inked around the inside & outside with Barn Door Distress Oxide ink to finish everything off. The frame already had holes punched in the bottom section, so punched through those in the patterned paper. I threaded some red ribbon through them & tied a bow in the middle. Finally, I glued my scene panel behind the frame.

I got my greeting from Simon Says Stamp's "Merry & Bright" stamp set (discontinued). I die cut 2 tabs from white cardstock with one of the "Tab" dies from Creek Bank Creations (one for each card), & stamped my greeting onto those. I glued one to to back of my reindeer frame so it peeked out from the top.

I adhered my patterned paper (again from my scrap stash) to the left of my card front, & then glued the frame on top. As a finishing touch, I added a drop of Christmas Red Stickles to the reindeer's nose. (I just had to make him Rudolph!)

I kept my design for my second card even closer to the sketch. I used most of the same processes & products to create this one. I stamped the sleigh onto a panel of vellum bristol. I also stamped Santa onto vellum bristol, and cut him out with the coordinating die. I stamped the list image onto a scrap of heavyweight white cardstock, & die cut that as well. I used my Prismacolor pencils to color Santa & the sleigh & sky on the image panel. I also added some shine to Santa's eyes & buttons with a black glaze pen. Then I glued the list to his hand & a bit behind the bottom corner of his coat.

To ink the edges of the frame, I used Shabby Shutters Distress Oxide ink. I glued the image panel behind my frame, and glued Santa on top. Because he overlapped the inner edge of my frame, I added foam tape under him in that part to give more support. I also used foam tape under the edge of the list that overhung the outer edge of the frame. I adhered my patterned paper panel to the card front, & then glued my frame element to the card. As a finishing touch, I squeezed a dollop of Tulip Puffy fabric paint to the pompom on top of Santa's hat. I let that dry (as per the instructions), and then steamed it with an iron to puff it up. I will send both cards to Send a Smile 4 Kids, hopefully to bring some holiday joy to a couple of hospitalized kiddos!

I'm also entering these cards in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp's Monday Challenge: "Use Patterned Paper"

Send a Smile 4 Kids October Challenge: "Holiday/Celebration Cards 4 Kids"

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

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

Die Cut Divas October Challenge: "Anything Goes on a Card for World Card Making Day"

Season's Greetings (Faux) Postage

I have another floral-themed Christmas card for Christmas Card Throwdown's "Flower/Flourish" challenge. Nichol Spohr's work strongly inspired the look of this card, especially these cards she recently shared. While I didn't have any of the stamps or dies she used, I loved the overall look of her cards, & just put my own spin on her techniques.

I began by creating my faux postage stamps. I die cut the outer part from a scrap of white cardstock with one of the "Postage Stamp Squares" by Elizabeth Craft Designs (discontinued). I didn't have a square die exactly the dimensions I needed, so I used my paper trimmer to cut 3 squares from Strathmore smooth bristol paper. I stamped the poinsettia from Hero Arts' "Vintage Christmas Post" set (discontinued) on each square, varying the orientation & how much of the flower showed. I used the "2" from Sunny Studio Stamps' "Kinsley Alphabet" stamp set for the postage amount, & just drew a cents symbol with a black felt-tipped pen. I hit each square with my heat gun to make sure the ink was totally dry, and then colored with my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers. Finally, I glued each square centered on its background.

For the frame, I centered a Waffle Flower "Additional A2 Layers" die inside a "Scallop Rectangles" die from Pink & Main. I taped the dies together, & cut 5 frames from white cardstock. I glued them together, one on top of another, to create a more dimensional frame.

I cut a panel of white Hammermill cardstock to A2 size, and ink blended an ombre background with Shabby Shutters, Mowed Lawn, & Rustic Wilderness Distress inks. I only wanted my background stamping inside the framed area. So after I finished ink blending, I determined how much of the panel I needed to mask off around the framed area. It ended up being about 3/8", so I applied yellow Frog tape around the perimeter of my panel. I then stamped the "Crackle Background" from Simon Says Stamp with white pigment ink. I used a dry cloth to wipe the ink off the tape (so the ink wouldn't smear onto my panel), then carefully removed the tape. I thoroughly dried the ink with my heat tool, to ensure the embossing powder for my greeting wouldn't stick everywhere.

After deciding where to place my "postage stamps," I positioned my greeting stamp, from Honey Bee's "Pretty Poinsettias" set (discontinued). I stamped with clear embossing ink, and then heat embossed with Ranger White Super Fine Detail embossing powder.

To bring the card together, I first adhered my background to a white card base. I added my postage stamps, & finally adhered the frame in place. I hope I have done Nichol proud, and will definitely employ these techniques in future cards! :)

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

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

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: "Anything Goes"

Paper Funday Challenge #69: "Anything Goes" (playing the optional twist to make your own background)

Double Trouble Challenge #175: "Any Way You Punch It"

Orchid Happy Birthday

I created this card to send to a woman whose birthday is this month. She is battling cancer, so needs all the good vibes she can get.

I used Sketch #SC641 from Splitcoaststampers.com as the basis for my design. I began by die cutting the pieces for the Hero Arts "Color Layering Orchid in a Pot" stamp set (discontinued). The stem & flowers are especially fiddly, so by die cutting first I could make sure to have everything lined up with the die properly. I taped the pieces on the back into the negative space, to make it easier to stamp on them. I decided to go with purple for the flowers, & used a light brown for the stem pieces. I stamped the pot with teal ink, then - without moving the stamp or cardstock in my MISTI stamp positioner tool - added Peacock Feathers Distress Oxide ink with a sponge dauber to one side of the stamp. It took a couple of stampings to achieve the look I wanted, but this added a bit of shading to the pot.

I die cut a pink panel with Spellbinders' "Grateful Lattice" die (discontinued), & layered it on top of another panel cut from the same cardstock. I cut the curved edge with Simon Says Stamp's "A2 Card Curved Edge" die. I added that panel with a couple of other strips to my A2-size card base.

For the greeting, I pulled out the Hero Arts "Year Round Sentiments" stamp set (discontinued) - an oldie but a goodie. I stamped the Happy Birthday onto a strip of white cardstock with one of the purple inks I'd used for the flowers. To mirror the curve on the pink panel, I used an oval die to trace a curve onto the end of my greeting strip, then cut it with scissors. I adhered the strip to my card, and then glued down the die cut pieces to build my orchid. I am really happy with how this card turned out, & hopefully the recipient will be, too.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Stay Crafty with a Blog Named Hero April 2024 Challenge: "Anniversary/Birthday"

Double Trouble: "SomeThing, AnyThing, EveryThing"

Happy Mother's Day

I based the design & floral embellishments for this card on Try Stampin' on Tuesday's Sketch #607 challenge.

I began by creating the flower layers with an old punch from The Paper Studio. I punched 3 layers for each flower, then glued them together, adding glue just to the centers. I finished them off by adding a gem in the middle of each.

I embossed the panel to go behind the flowers with the "Floral Fantasy" embossing folder from Cuttlebug (discontinued). I matted it with navy cardstock to help it stand out, then adhered that to my white A2 card base.

I cut a strip from an inky background I'd made several months ago. I adhered that to my card, and then glued the flowers over it.

I stamped a greeting from Simon Says Stamp's "All About Mom" stamp set in Lawn Fawn Deep Sea ink. Finally, I die cut a vine using one of the Spellbinder's "Sprigs" dies (discontinued), and glued that next to the greeting.

I'm also entering my card in 613 Avenue Create's May challenge: "Anything Goes" (playing the optional twist of "Say It with Flowers")

Peaceful

The current challenge at Christmas Card Throwdown is a sketch. I followed the sketch pretty much literally, except to extend the strips across the entire panel.

I got the inspiration for the background from Koren Wiskman's lesson on Day 7 of Online Card Classes' "Holiday Card Workshop 2022." I masked off the border with yellow Frog tape, & ink blended the center with Saltwater Taffy, Worn Lipstick, & Abandoned Coral Distress inks. I used the "Gracious Leaves" embossing folder from Memory Box to emboss the panel.

I heat embossed the greeting, from Simon Says Stamp's "Holiday Greetings Mix 1" stamp set, with gold onto a scrap of patterned paper I had in my stash. I cut that into a strip & added a narrow strip of matte gold foil cardstock along the bottom. I adhered that to my embossed panel. Finally, I added my panel to a Simon Says Stamp Fog cardstock mat that I'd adhered to a white A2-size card base.

I'm also entering this card in Through the Craft Room Door's "Anything Goes" challenge.

Season's Greetings

This week's challenge at Christmas Card Throwdown is to use pink, purple, & gold in your card. Kind of an unusual color combination for a Christmas card, but I was up for the challenge! I had these stamped pink poinsettias, from WPlus9's "Poinsettia Builder" set, on my desk since last year, & thought they would be perfect for this challenge. So I die cut them to put them to use.

I had to think for a bit what to do with these poinsettias. I have Art Impressions' "WC Ornate Container Set" stamp set, & found the perfect pot in that for my flowers to live in. I stamped it onto a scrap piece of photo paper that I'd done ink smooshing with Distress Oxides on. I liked the color variation in my technique piece, & had furthered the gold look by spraying the finished piece with Heidi Swapp Gold Color Shine mist. Because of the glossy photo paper, I made sure to stamp the pot with Ranger Jet Black Archival ink. That ink, if heat set, is permanent on glossy surfaces. Because there are no coordinating dies with that stamp set, I fussy cut the pot.

I cut a piece of purple cardstock to 2x4-1/4". I heat embossed snowflakes from Simon Says Stamp's "Holiday Greetings Mix 1" & Mama Elephant's "Holly's Snowflakes" on that with Ranger Gold Super Fine Detail embossing powder. I adhered a panel of white striped paper from The Paper Studio's "Blanc Boutique" 12x12" patterned paper pad, to act as "wallpaper" for my little scene. I added my heat-embossed "tablecloth" to the bottom of my card base. I glued my pot on, then glued the poinsettias over the top edge of the pot.

For the greeting, I used the Season's Greetings from "Holiday Greetings Mix 1." I thought it had the look of a wooden sign, so I decided it would look great "hanging" on the "wall" on my card. I heat embossed it in gold on a light purple cardstock, & cut it out with my scissors, leaving a 1/16" border on all sides. I cut 3 more strips of cardstock to layer behind it, to give my sign some dimension. Because of where I placed the poinsettias on the card, I didn't have enough room to add a string for a hanger for my sign, so I just glued it directly to the card. I imagine it has a sawtooth hanger or a keyhole groove cut in the back, and hangs on an unseen nail. :) I really like how this card came out!

Merry Christmas Poinsettia

The current Christmas Card Throwdown challenge is to use the colors white, deep purple, & gold. I created this card using a background technique taught by Tiffany Solorio during the online Cardmaker Success Summit event.

I cut a piece of Strathmore Mixed Media paper to letter size, & used Dusty Concord, Seedless Preserves, Blueprint Sketch, & Wilted Violet Distress inks with the ink smooshing technique. I smooshed the inks onto my non-stick craft mat, spritzed with water, & pressed my paper into the color. I dried this with my heat tool, & repeated until I'd built up the depth of color I wanted. I also used Crushed Grape & After Midnight Dylusions sprays to add a little more intense color. I spritzed the panel with water droplets, and dried that with my heat tool again for some lighter spots. Finally, I splattered gold metallic watercolors all over the background. Once everything had dried, I cut the sheet into four A2-size panels. I cut 1/8" off 2 sides of the one that I chose for this card, so I would end up with a 1/16" border on all sides when I adhered it to my card base.

I die cut the flower & leaf pieces with the "Blooming Poinsettia" die set from Poppystamps, all from white cardstock. I splattered them with a pale gold metallic watercolor, just for a bit of added interest. I glued the flower pieces together, adding glue just in the middle of each layer, so the petals could fluff up a bit. For the flower center, I used 3 dots I'd made previously with Pale Gold Nuvo Crystal Drops, adding them with glue. I glued the center of the flower to the card panel, & added the leaves underneath, applying glue only to the ends that tucked under the flower.

For the greeting, I die cut Simon Says Stamp's "Merry Christmas" from gold metallic cardstock that I'd backed with Stick It adhesive. To keep the die cut from getting distorted while I applied it to my panel, I left it in the die. I removed the adhesive release paper from the back, placed the die on my panel, & used my craft pick to poke through the holes in the die. This stuck the words on my panel just enough so they stayed put, while still allowing me to adjust them a bit if I needed to. After I removed the die, I used my Teflon bone folder to burnish the greeting in place. Finally, I adhered my card front to a white card base.

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

Dies R Us Challenge #173: "Anything Goes using Any Brand of Die that DRU Sells" (used Poppystamps die set)

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

Season's Greetings

 

The current Dies R Us Challenge is "Christmas." I used the "Angle Approach" Cut-Fold-Tuck die from Spellbinders (discontinued) for this card. This card I saw on Pinterest inspired the basic design of my card.

I die cut the main element from a piece of green Die Cuts with a View Flip Side cardstock. This has a light color on one side & a darker shade of the same color on the other. I carefully removed the cardstock from the die, and folded back the pieces around the perimeter. I also folded up the center circle bits to give them some lift.

I glued the die cut centered towards the top of a 4x5-1/4" piece of navy cardstock. I had a scrap piece of white cardstock left over from another card, that I'd embossed with the "Plaid" embossing folder from Sizzix & Tim Holtz. I decided to use that behind my greeting.

I wanted to heat emboss my greeting, from Simon Says Stamp's "Holiday Greetings Mix 1" stamp set, onto the same navy cardstock as I'd used for the background. But, I didn't want to cut into another, larger piece of navy. So I cut off a little over an inch from the bottom of my panel, heat embossed my greeting a little higher than center, and carefully trimmed the greeting out. I adhered the negative strip to my card base, butted up against the bottom edge of the upper background panel. I adhered my white cardstock strip, which covered the seam between the 2 navy pieces, and glued my greeting on top of that.

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

 

Die Cut Divas December Challenge: "Anything Goes"

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

Ink Smooshed Season's Greetings

  

I recently made several cards for Send a Smile 4 Kids. One type they are always looking for is teen cards. I thought the rough-and-tumble look of this would make a good one for a teenager. I got my inspiration for this card from this one I saw on Pinterest.

I began with the ink smooshing on the background, using Picked Raspberry, Mustard Seed, & Peacock Feathers Distress Oxide inks. I pressed the ink pads--one color at a time--onto my non-stick craft mat, and spritzed lightly with water. I picked up the ink with a piece of clear plastic sheet protector, and pounced it onto a panel of 140 lb. watercolor paper. I focused the inks mostly around the edges, leaving the center more white with just a few splotches. After I finished with each color, I dried the panel, so the colors wouldn't get muddy.

Once I had finished the ink smooshing, I used a few stamps from My Favorite Things' "Sophisticated Snowflake" set (discontinued) to stamp with the same colors of Oxide inks. Some of the snowflakes I spritzed with a bit of water after stamping, and a few I stamped on the paper after I dampened it a bit, so they would melt into the background somewhat. Others, I stamped on dry paper & left them alone for a crisper feel.

I use Simon Says Stamp's "Season's Greetings" die--and oldie but a goodie--for the greeting. I die cut it from green shimmer cardstock, and a few times from white cardstock. To help me get the words positioned correctly, I also used the die to make an impression in my background panel. For that, I just positioned the die on my panel, & ran it through my die cutting machine with a light pressure setting, so it didn't cut through. I glued the first white die cut onto that impression, and glued the rest to that, stacking each one to make a thicker greeting. Finally, I glued on the green die cut. I even layered the apostrophe & tittle! Finally, I matted the panel with dark green cardstock, and added it to a white A2-size card base.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Creative Knockouts #378: "Christmas Delight"

Send a Smile 4 Kids Challenge: "Happy Holidays 4 Kids or Anything Goes 4 Kids"

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

Two Christmas Cards

 

 

 

The October Color Challenge at Christmas Card Throwdown is to use blue, white, & kraft. I don't know that I would ever have thought to combine these 3 colors, but I like the way my cards came out!

 

I used the 4" Gina K Wreath Builder template, along with her "Holiday Wreath Builder" stamp set, for my first card. I stamped the flowers first, with Lawn Fawn Forget-Me-Not ink. I used Hero Arts Cornflower ink to stamp the leaves, & Lawn Fawn Blue Jay ink for the little snowflake images between the flowers. This was my first time using the Wreath Builder, and I must say, it made things very easy!

I chose a greeting from the same stamp set. I stamped the circular border image first onto a scrap of kraft cardstock, then heat embossed with Ranger White Super Fine Detail embossing powder. I then heat embossed the greeting, & die cut it with a We R Memory Keepers "Nested Circles" die.

I matted my wreath panel with kraft, trimming it to a 1/16" border on all sides. Finally, I adhered my greeting circle. I considered adding sequins or some similar embellishment, but decided against it.

For my second card, I started by stamping my background. I used images from Hero Arts' "Vintage Christmas Post" stamp set (discontinued) and Lawn Fawn's Yeti pigment ink.  I really like the subtle white stamping on the kraft panel.

 

I die cut the "Poinsettia Border" from Memory Box (discontinued) from white cardstock & a light blue glitter cardstock. I also cut the "Christmas Blessings" from Simon Says Stamp from the same glitter cardstock. I glued the frame for the poinsettia border onto my background, and inlaid the blue petals. I then glued my greeting on. In hindsight, I wish I'd stacked multiple die cuts for the greeting, or added another die cut for a shadow, but I didn't think of it in time. So, to help it stand out a bit better, I outlined the words with a white gel pen.

To finish the card, I added Blue Babe Nuvo Crystal Drops to the center of each of the tiny flowers in the poinsettia border, and White Blizzard Nuvo Glitter Drops to the berries. I trimmed my panel to 5x3-3/4", and added it to a white A2-sized card base.

Yay! It's Your Birthday

 

My brother requested a card for him to give to my SIL for her birthday this month. I had gone all-out on a couple of cards my mom & I are giving her, so I felt a bit of self-induced pressure to make a special card for him to give her as well. A video tutorial by Karolyn Loncon for My Favorite Things' YouTube channel inspired the mechanism.

Because of the size of my main image, and the fact I wanted a double-slider card, I had to make an extreme-slimline card design. So I made my card base 10-1/2x3-1/2". It actually took quite a bit of pre-planning on my grid mat to figure out the final width!

I cut another panel of white cardstock to the final card front size, and inked it with Tumbled Glass Distress ink on a makeup blending brush. I used a technique I'd seen Jennifer McGuire do of just "rough" ink blending with a brush, to give a soft, cloudy-sky look.

For the main cloud & front cloud bank, I used the "Cloud" stencil from My Favorite Things as a template to trace the curves/bumps onto a piece of Strathmore Vellum Bristol paper. I then cut along the lines with my scissors. I also used the My Favorite Things "Puffy Clouds" dies (discontinued) to cut smaller clouds to scatter around the cloud bank.

Card with images visible

I stamped the "T-Bird (Bear in Airplane)" image by Stacey Yacula onto vellum bristol paper, and colored it with my Prismacolor pencils. There is no coordinating die, so I fussy cut the image. I also stamped the smaller balloon from Winnie & Walter's "The Party" set (discontinued) with My Favorite Things' Pineapple ink, and stamped the outline with black. Then I fussy cut that as well.

I used an old Making Memories punch with a 5/8" slot attachment to punch 2 slits in my inked card front panel. I also used the straight die from the Essentials by Ellen "Swing n Slide" set to cut a channel above the line between the slits I'd punched. I positioned the channel just below where the bear would travel, since the balloon would adhere to the front side of the slide mechanism, & so didn't need a channel.

I cut a long 5/8" wide strip from a plastic bread bag for my slide mechanism. I threaded each end through a slit in my card front, & stapled the ends together with my Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher to create a loop. I also cut 2 cardstock strips for my pull tab, 5/8" wide by 11" long. I glued those together to make a double-thick tab. I stapled one end of the pull tab to the plastic strip, just next to the staples holding the strip in a loop. I did go back and add a couple of pieces of Scotch tape over the staples in the plastic strip, just to reinforce the seam.

 

I cut two 1/4" wide strips of acetate for my bear. I adhered them to the back of the bear, threaded them through the channel, & adhered the other ends to the back of the plastic slider mechanism. I did the same for the balloon, only using 1 acetate strip & adhering it to the front of the slider. I made sure that both images were in their starting positions, in the middle of the panel, when I adhered the acetate strips to the slider.

I added foam tape to the back of my card front, making sure none of it interfered with the sliding mechanism. Then I adhered that to my card base. I chose a greeting from Simon Says Stamp's "Big Birthday Wishes" set (discontinued), and double-stamped that on my main cloud with Lawn Fawn Forget-Me-Not ink. I adhered my cloud bank with more foam tape, again making sure none of the adhesive would interfere with the sliding mechanism. I foam-mounted my main cloud over my images, adding foam only to the very top puffs (double layer) and where it overlapped with the cloud bank (single layer), again, so as not to interfere with any movement. I trimmed my pull tab, rounded the corners with my 1/8" Corner Chomper, & stamped "Pull" from the "Interactive Labels" by My Favorite Things onto the end of my tab. I adhered my remaining small clouds in place, and that finished this card. Labor intensive, yes, but a labor of love. I'm just really glad it worked out like I had envisioned! :)

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

My Favorite Things The Birthday Project Challenge: "We Like to Move It, Move It"

Creative Knockouts Challenge #367: "Lots of Layers"

HBD

Hero Arts has been having a special series of challenges, called "Stay Crafty with Hero." I am entering this card in their current sketch challenge.

I decided to make a masculine birthday card. I chose my background paper from Echo Park's "Jack and Jill" 6x6" pad. I thought the numbers went well with the theme. The pennant paper is from Crate Paper's "Cool Kid" 6x6" pad. The yellow & blue patterned papers I found in my scrap stash. I normally don't use this many patterns on one card, but since the yellow & blue ones are basically tone-on-tone, they really read as solids. To help the papers stand out a bit more, I inked around all but the numbers panel with Hickory Smoke Distress ink.

I chose the "HBD" greeting from Simon Says Stamp's "Stop Drop Party" stamp set. It fit the greeting panel size in the sketch perfectly, and I thought it went with the masculine theme of this card. I stamped it on my blue panel with Delicata Black Shimmer ink.

After I adhered all my layers to my card, I die cut a balloon from dark blue cardstock with a Lawn Fawn "Party Balloons" die. I inked the left side with Hickory Smoke, just to add a bit of shading & dimension, and added the shine mark with a white gel pen. I tied a piece of white crochet twine around the neck, and glued the balloon to my card. Finally, I added 3 dots of glue to the card to tack down the twine, so it would have the appearance of some movement.

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

Dies R Us Challenge #146: "It's Dad's Day (Father's Day/Masculine)"

613 Avenue Create's Challenge #234: "Anything Goes" (not playing the twist)

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: "It's a Man Thing"

Hey! - You've Got This

I just finished making my latest batch of cards for Send a Smile 4 Kids. One of the needs was cards for teens & older patients. I found this older card by Nichol Spohr, and thought it would be perfect for this.

I cut a piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper to 4-1/8x5-3/8". I used Distress inks in a rainbow of colors to do my stamping. I inked up the "HEY!" stamp from Simon Says Stamp's "All Boy" set (discontinued), spritzed the stamp 1 or 2 times with water, then stamped on my watercolor panel. I let the stamp sit for a few seconds, just to let the ink soak in before lifting the stamp from the paper. I repeated this with the different colors until I had covered the panel. Then I set that aside.

I stamped the greeting, from Avery Elle's "Brushed" (discontinued), on a scrap of Essentials by Ellen 40 lb. vellum with Ranger Jet Black Archival ink. I heat set it with my heat gun so the ink wouldn't smear. I die cut the vellum with one of the tag dies from Mama Elephant's "Tags a Lot" set. That particular die was way too long for my greeting. So after I ran it through once, I scooted the die up, lined up the faux stitching lines, and ran it through my die cutting machine again, basically creating a shorter tag. I die cut the tag reinforcer (from the same set) from black cardstock, glued it in place, then punched through the hole with my 1/8" hole punch.

I decided to attach the tag to my background with an eyelet. I first taped the tag to my background panel with low-tack painters tape, just to hold it in place. I punched a hole through the background to line up with the hole in the tag. I then used my Crop-a-Dile II to set a pewter eyelet. Finally, I matted the panel with navy cardstock, & adhered it to a white card base.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Dies R Us Challenge #140: "Tag, You're It"
Die Cut Divas: "Anything Goes"
613 Avenue Create: "Anything Goes" (not playing the twist)
Simon Says Stamp's Monday Challenge: "A Bit o' Green" (used Lucky Clover Distress ink in my background stamping)

Merry Christmas Poinsettia

The current challenge at Christmas Card Throwdown is to use white, blue, & brown on a holiday card. I got my inspiration from a lesson on die cut inlay by Jennifer McGuire in Online Card Classes' "Holiday Card Workshop 2013."

I cut a piece of cherry wood veneer paper to 4x5.25". I laid my dies (Simon Says Stamp's "Merry Christmas" & Poppystamps "Blooming Poinsettia") on it to gauge placement. To make sure the greeting was positioned straight & in the right position, I die cut it first from a scrap of vellum. I laid that on my panel, beside the smaller poinsettia die, and taped it in place. I removed the flower die, & snugged the greeting die into the negative space on the vellum. Then I ran that through my die cutting machine. To make sure I didn't lose any pieces, I pressed a piece of yellow Frog tape to the back of my panel, over the die cut area. Then I carefully poked out all the greeting pieces--positive & negative--so they stuck onto the tape. I removed the tape from the panel, & set that aside.

Next I die cut my smaller poinsettia die from the panel. I then laid the larger die over the negative space, and die cut that. To color the pieces, I blended on Broken China & Peacock Feathers Distress Oxide inks. I also sponged on a little Tumbled Glass Distress Oxide ink to the edges of the smaller flower for highlighting. Then I put the smaller flower & the pieces left from die cutting the larger flower into a container for safe keeping.

I cut another 4x5.25" piece from white cardstock. I applied double-sided adhesive to one side, removed the release paper, and adhered my wood panel to that. I inlaid my poinsettia pieces, starting with the die cut pieces I'd cut last, then adding the smaller (inner) flower.

I colored the greeting by pressing it into my Lawn Fawn Yeti white pigment ink pad. I set that aside to dry. I think I might not have let it dry long enough, because when I tried to inlay it into place on the panel, it wouldn't stick to the exposed adhesive. No worries--liquid glue to the rescue! :) I squirted a small amount of glue where the greeting went, and pressed the die cut words into place. Finally, I added more glue into the spaces in the letters, & inlaid the die cut negative pieces. Thankfully, I didn't lose any pieces--not even the tittle! (Things don't always go that well with this technique.)

To finish the card, I went over the veins in the poinsettia with a white gel pen. I adhered my panel to a white A2 card base, flush with with the bottom & right sides. Finally, I added Simply White Nuvo Crystal Drops to the flower center, and in the upper left & lower right corners of the panel.

I'm also entering this card in 613 Avenue Create's Challenge #226: "Anything Goes." (not playing the twist)