Happy St. Patrick's Day

I used the sketch for Try Stampin' on Tuesday's Challenge #597, plus the photo from Inspiration Station's Prompt #47 challenge as the basis for my card. The inspiration photo made me think of Ireland - perfect for a St. Patrick's Day card!

I used Honey Bee Stamps "Plaid Background" stencils (discontinued) to create my background. For the hashed stripes, I brought in a stamp from My Favorite Things' "Plaid Background Builder" set (also discontinued). I used Twisted Citron & Salvaged Patina Distress inks for the stenciled portion of the plaid, & Mowed Lawn Distress Oxide ink for the stamping.

I googled "Irish blessing" to get the blessing for the main panel. I found one (I forget the site name), & decided it fit with the sketch design perfectly. I created a blank "canvas" in Photoshop the size I wanted the main panel. I copied & pasted the text for the blessing, & formatted it with the Celtic Hand font. It took a bit of fiddling with the font size to get the lines of text to come out how I wanted, but I prevailed! I printed that onto a panel of light green cardstock. I also created the greeting in Photoshop, using the Ramsey SD font. I printed that onto a strip of light blue-green cardstock.

For the shamrocks, I created a pattern using the custom shape tool in Photoshop. I printed that onto copy paper. The cardstock I chose to stitch on was too thick to see through to use my lightpad to transfer the pattern. So I traced the pattern onto tracing paper, placed that on the back of each circle, & used it as a guide to pierce my stitching holes. I used green DMC floss to do the stitching.

To assemble my card, I adhered the plaid panel to a white A2-size card base. Then I added the greeting strip & stitched circles. At this point, I realized I'd forgotten to add the twine. I prefer to keep the insides of my cards "clean," so I carefully peeled away the top part of the front plaid panel, & taped the ends of a length of twine behind the panel. Then I tied a knot with another piece of twine around the first. I used a little liquid glue on the knot to keep it from coming untied, & added more glue behind the knot to keep it in place. I stuck the top of the background panel back to the card base, & that finished this card.

I'm also entering this card in Double Trouble's Challenge #133, "Use the Color Green." I'm playing the optional twist of adding plaid.

A Banner Hello

I have had the gold die cut strips, made with Spellbinders' "Octagon Strips and Accents" dies (discontinued), for several months. I had made them to use on a project, but that ended up not working out. They were too good to chuck, though, so I held onto them. The other day, I finally decided this was The Time to use them.

I used the outer die in the set to cut 2 backing pieces of peach pearlized cardstock, & glued the gold die cuts to those. I used the same die with the corresponding insert to cut another strip from purple cardstock. I wanted something to break up the gold banners, and give me a third element. I cut a third peach piece to back the purple strip for continuity, & glued them together.

For the background, I applied Golden's Light Molding Paste through Hero Arts' "Deco Pattern" stencil. I left kind of a ragged edge towards the bottom right corner, so I could add a die cut greeting. I die cut the greeting from Hero Arts' "Hello Stamp & Cut" set once from gold & once from the purple I'd used for the third strip. I glued the purple down to my background panel, then layered the gold on top, offset so the purple provided a shadow.

After I decided how long I wanted my banners, I cut each strip to length. I wanted to stitch them, but with the thickness of the layered banners, I couldn't stitch straight through to the card front. So I poked holes along the top of each banner, & stitched with white thread. Then I used liquid tacky glue to glue just the tops of the banners along my panel, lining up the stitching lines & letting the rest of each lift up. Finally, I matted my panel with a light teal cardstock that I'd adhered to a white A2-size card base.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Double Trouble Paper Crafting Challenge #114: "YouNique Technique"

Dies R Us Challenge #195: "Dad's Day/Masculine"

Paper Funday Challenges Challenge #42: "Anything Goes with Optional Twist: Masculine" (playing the twist)

Creative Knockouts Challenge #458: "Something to Say"

Big Birthday Present

The current challenge at Send a Smile 4 Kids challenge blog is "Tween/Teen Cards." I created this card with an old digital image from Kenny K, "Present Surprise" (discontinued). The design inspiration came from Sketch #SC746 at Splitcoaststampers.com.

I sized the image in Photoshop, and printed it on a panel of Strathmore Vellum Bristol paper. I used Prismacolor pencils to color it. For a little detail above the image, I used My Favorite Things' "Wonky Dots" stencil & Kitsch Flamingo Distress ink. The stenciling echoes the pink dots on the present.

The rainbow greeting banner was actually a scrap left over from another card I'd made. I heat embossed "happy birthday," using stamps from Altenew's "Birthday Builder" set & Ranger Navy embossing powder. I cut the end of the strip at an angle for a bit more fun, & adhered it to my panel. I glued on 3 buttons from my stash in coordinating colors. After the glue dried, I stitched through the holes with white crochet twine. Finally, I added my panel to a teal cardstock mat that I'd adhered to a white A2-size card base.

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

Two Christmas Cards

Christmas Card Throwdown's current challenge theme is "Sewing." I created 2 cards for this challenge.

For the design of my first card, I used the sketch from Catch the Bug's Stella Says Sketch Challenge #812. I rotated the sketch 90 degrees. I used Bugaboo Stamps' "Mistletoe Bell" image (discontinued), with a vellum overlay for my greeting. I first sized the image in Photoshop, and printed it onto a panel of Strathmore Vellum Bristol paper. I colored it with my Prismacolor colored pencils. I used Gamsol to blend the first layer of color, then went in with more layers, finally using my pencils to burnish the color.

View of image panel under vellum overlay

 

I found 2 patterned papers in my scrap stash for the background. To provide visual separation between the image panel & the bell patterned paper especially, I matted the image panel with a 1/16" dark green mat. I used a strip of that same cardstock along the left edge of my card.

I heat embossed the greeting with Ranger Gold Super Fine Detail embossing powder onto a piece of Essentials by Ellen 40 lb. vellum that I'd cut to the same size as the image panel. I lined it up with the image panel, & poked holes along the top edge every 1/8". I use gold thread to stitch the overlay to the image panel. I adhered that to my card, and that finished card #1.

I used Sketch #SC727 from Splitcoaststampers.com as the design for my second card. I first stamped the lamp image from Inky Antics "Decorated for Christmas" set onto a scrap of 140 lb. watercolor paper. I die cut that with a "Large Stitched Oval" die from Lawn Fawn. I used watercolors to paint the image. I wanted to provide a matting effect, but didn't want to cut a larger oval. So I first inked around the perimeter with Speckled Egg Distress ink. That wasn't quite the right color, though, so I went over it with Faded Jeans Distress ink to darken & warm it up just a bit.

For the stitched strip, I used my We R Memory Keepers Sew Perfect tool (discontinued). I cut my strip longer than I needed, since it's basically impossible to know where the tool will pierce the holes. I lined up the Sew Perfect ruler along my cardstock, & ran the tool along that. Because the cardstock is thick, I did have to go back with my paper piercer to poke the holes fully through. After I trimmed the strip to 5-1/2" long, I followed the stitching diagram for that Sew Perfect roller head, with red & pale grey embroidery floss. I actually stitched the grey first, and realized my "error" when I went to stitch the red. I should have stitched the red first, since I wanted the grey floss on top. Thankfully, I was able to weave the red floss under the grey as I stitched, so no big deal. 😊

For the card front panel, I used one of the patterned papers from the "Believe" 6x6" pad by Authentique. I used strong double-sided tape to adhere my stitched strip to my card. I glued the oval in place over that. Then I adhered my card front to a white A2-size card base.

I stamped the greeting, from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps' "Christmas Joy" set (discontinued), onto a scrap of the same cardstock I'd used for my stitched strip. I used an Essentials by Ellen "Stitching Lines" die to add some faux cross-stitching to the right end of the greeting strip. I cut the other end in a "v," and adhered the banner to my card.

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

Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes"

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Anything Goes" (first card only)

613 Avenue Create: "Anything Goes" (playing the twist on the first card only)

Die Cut Divas: "Christmas in July" (second card only)

Happy Birthday

The theme for My Favorite Things' Birthday Project Challenge over the past month has been "Circles." I decided to make a circle shaped card, with a twist. Caly Person's lesson on Day 7 of Online Card Classes' "Spring Card Camp 2" inspired me to do a vellum overlay frame on my card front.

I die cut my card front from a light green cardstock with the largest of the "Beaded Circles" dies from Spellbinders (discontinued). I cut a second piece from Essentials by Ellen's 40 lb. vellum, and die cut a circle from the center of that. Since I didn't have much surface area on the vellum to apply adhesive without making an unsightly mess, I decided to stitch it to my card front. I offset the vellum layer on the cardstock, taped the two pieces together, and used a plastic canvas circle as a guide to pierce stitching holes. Then I stitched with a pale yellow embroidery floss.

I cut my card base from a piece of white cardstock I'd folded. I positioned a circle die so it hung off the folded edge just a bit, and die cut through both layers. I also die cut a circle with the same die from yellow cardstock, to show through the little openings in the "Beaded Circles" card front. Finally, I adhered all the layers together.

For my image, I stamped the cake from Lawn Fawn's "Birthday Before 'n Afters" on a scrap of Strathmore Smooth Bristol paper. I colored it with a combination of Tombow & Zig Clean Color markers, then cut it with the coordinating die. I stamped the greeting, from My Favorite Things' "Big Birthday Sentiments" (discontinued), in Lawn Fawn Guava ink onto a scrap of white cardstock. I cut the greeting into labels, and adhered them and the cake to the front of my card. (I did make sure my cake & greeting would be parallel to the surface the card stands on.)

I cut a small sliver off the bottom of the card base back, so the card will stand when open.

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

613 Avenue Create Challenge #233: "Anything Goes" (not playing the twist)
Incy Wincy Designs: "Anything Goes"

Shiny Merry Christmas

Several years ago, I had done a painting of colored-cellophane-wrapped balls under a crystal trifle dish, & created our Christmas card for that year with an image of that painting. (I titled it, "Visions of Sugarplums.") One of our friends told me she treasures that card even more than the others I've created over the years, just because of the colors. I decided to create this card, inspired by that one, using Hero Arts "Christmas Crystals" stamp set (discontinued). I also created a coordinating envelope.

I got the instructions for this double Z-fold card from Sam at Mixed Up Craft. I used Bazzill Jawbreaker cardstock to create the card base, following her measurements & instructions. I wanted to use rainbow foil for the greeting, so I created that in Photoshop, printed it with my laser printer, & foiled with my Mini Minc machine. This is actually the best result I've ever gotten with foiling--no blank spots! I matted that with a silver holographic cardstock, & added it to my card base.

I stamped all the crystals onto Strathmore Smooth Bristol paper, and heat embossed them with Ranger Silver embossing powder. I used my Tombow markers to color them in rainbow hues, and blended the colors out with a wet paintbrush. I found that, to avoid brushstrokes, I needed to add quite a bit of water and just let the color spread. The heat embossing formed "walls" to keep the color & water from bleeding outside the lines.

After the crystals had dried, I poked small holes at the top of each, and stitched "hangers" with silver thread. I matted the panels with the same silver cardstock I'd used for the greeting, and adhered them in place.

I created the envelope from a similarly colored piece of 12x12" cardstock, using my We R Memory Keepers 1-2-3 punch board. I stamped 3 crystals on the front, and heat embossed with silver. I used a silver paint pen with a T-squre ruler to draw the "hanger" lines to the top of the envelope front. I also created a liner from the silver holographic cardstock, & adhered it inside the envelope. This card design is definitely a hand-deliver one, because it's quite thick--unless you add extra postage! Hopefully our friend will treasure this one, too.

I'm entering this card & envelope in the following challenges:

613 Avenue Create Challenge #228: "Anything Goes"
The House that Stamps Built DCC D419: "Stamp on Your Envelope"

'Tis the Season

The current challenge at A Blog Named Hero is "Nature." I am in full-on holiday card making mode now, so I made a Christmas card with the "Color Layering Wreath" set (discontinued) from Hero Arts.

I began by creating the background, following a tutorial at Scrapbook.com. I used the "Bokeh Dots" stamp set from Ellen Hutson, and stamped several dots with Versamark ink onto a panel of Canson XL Mixed Media paper, then clear heat embossed them. I inked over that with Squeezed Lemonade & Cracked Pistachio Distress inks. I let the panel dry, and stamped & heat embossed more dots, trapping the inked colors underneath. I inked over that with Mustard Seed & Lucky Clover Distress inks. I repeated the process once more, finishing with Fossilized Amber & Pine Needles Distress inks. After that, I ironed off the embossing, to give a smooth matte finish.

I stamped the wreath with Hero Arts Green Hills ink for the first layer, Hero Arts Pine for the second, & finished up with Lawn Fawn's Noble Fir. I die cut with the coordinating die, and used a craft knife to cut out the middle section. I stamped the bow with Delicata Rose Gold shimmer ink. I used Delicata Ruby Red for the berries, and stamped the pine cones with Gina K Charcoal Brown ink onto tan cardstock. I used Lawn Fawn's Doe ink for the acorns on the same tan. I die cut all the elements, and glued them to the wreath.

For the greeting, I used one of the "Mini Tags" dies from Pretty Pink Posh. I thought the round one resembled an ornament, and figured it would look nice "hanging" from the wreath. I stamped my greeting (also from "Color Layering Wreath") first with Versamark & heat embossed with Ranger White Super Fine Detail embossing powder. I die cut that with the tag die, and used Aged Mahogany Distress ink to add shading around the perimeter. I used a silver paint pen to add the "topper" coloring. I poked a hole in the top with my paper piercer. I threaded a length of silver thread through the hole & wrapped it over the bottom of the wreath. I secured that in place on both pieces with double-sided tape.

To mute the background a bit so my wreath wouldn't get (visually) lost, I cut a piece of Essentials by Ellen 40 lb. vellum, & sewed that to my background. I adhered my wreath & ornament in place, and that finished this card.

Merry Christmas

Repeat Impressions' October Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge O919 inspired me to create this card. I chose the left column - wildlife, texture, & stencil. I used Sketch #SC759 from Splitcoaststampers.com, flipped vertically, as the basis of my design. I liked the way the arch at the top complemented the stamped image.

I stamped my image (Divinity Designs' "Snowy Deer") with Lawn Fawn's Doe ink towards the bottom of a panel of Strathmore Smooth Bristol paper. I colored it with my Tombow markers, using a damp paintbrush to blend the colors. I added detail to the deer's eyes with a black glaze pen, and used a white gel pen for the catchlight in her left eye & the spots on her back.

I created a mask for the curve on the panel, using a large circle die. I ink blended Tumbled Glass Distress ink over the top area with a makeup blending brush. I used a smaller brush to ink through the "Pointed Star" stencil from Jenni Bowlin with Broken China Distress ink.

I removed the mask, & used the circle die I'd cut the mask with to trace another curve above the first one. I pierced holes along both curve lines. Then I stitched along the curves, using 3 plies of a light dull teal floss & 3 plies of a light tan floss. (This is the texture part in the challenge.) I like the way the 2 colors blended by having them combined in my needle.

For the greeting, I used the "Merry Christmas" from Hero Arts "Color Layering Partridge" stamp set (discontinued). I placed the card panel in my MISTI, and curved the stamp to match the curve on the top of the panel. Then I stamped that in Doe ink as well.

I added foam tape to the back of my panel, avoiding the areas with stitching so there wouldn't be any bumps. Finally, I adhered that to a light brown panel that I'd mounted to a white A2-size card base.

Really Fantastic Fox

Creative Knockouts' current challenge theme is "Sew It Up." I admit I probably went kind of overboard by stitching an image. But I do love how this came out!

I used the "Fantastic Mr. Fox" digital set (discontinued) from Just ME Digital Stamps for both my image & greeting. For my design, I turned to Sketch #SC705 from Splitcoaststampers.com. I sized the fox & greeting in Photoshop to fit with the sketch dimensions. I printed the greeting in black onto a piece of green cardstock I'd cut to size, and printed the fox in a pale tan color on a panel of cream cardstock. (In case any of the lines showed through the stitching, I didn't want them to be obvious, hence the light color.)

To stitch the fox, I used 4 colors of DMC embroidery floss. First, I pierced holes around the image with my paper piercer. One key I discovered is to make sure you poke holes wherever 2 lines intersect, so you get a smoother result with your stitching. Also, make sure you space your holes about 1/8" or so apart, so as not to rip the cardstock when you're stitching. If the cardstock should tear (as mine did in one small spot), just reinforce it on the back with a piece of Scotch tape & resume stitching.

I began with the tree trunk, which I stitched with dark brown floss. (I used the full 6 plies of floss.) I stitched the fox with a cream and a reddish brown. On the parts where those 2 colors would meet, like the bottom of the face & the tail, I separated the plies of the cream & reddish brown, then combined 3 of each to make 6 plies. That way, the two colors blended more easily than if I'd stitched each line with both individually. Finally, I added black stitching to the nose & mouth, and black French knots for the eyes.

I cut a piece of star patterned paper I found in my scrap stash to A2 size. I also cut 2 pink strips 1/2" wide. I mounted the patterned paper to a white card base, and adhered my greeting panel in place. I added foam tape around the back of my image panel, making sure not to overlap the stitching lines so it would lie flat on my card. I then adhered that in place. For the strips, I used a combination of foam tape (where they didn't overlap the image panel) & liquid glue to make sure they lay flat as well. Finally, I added Midnight Blue Nuvo Crystal Drops to the end of each strip where they (almost) met. I will send this card to Send a Smile 4 Kids.

I'm also entering this card in 613 Avenue Create's Challenge #223: "Anything Goes" (not playing the twist).

Never Stop Dreaming

A student my mom tutored for a while is graduating from high school this week. Since he sent her an invitation, a gift is in order. :) As money is always apropos for a graduate headed to college, I made him this card, with a pocket inside to hold a check.

My inspiration for the front design came from this card I saw on Pinterest. I have the same WPlus9 "Dream Believer" stamp set (apparently discontinued), and I liked the somewhat grungy look of the stenciling.

I used The Crafters Workshop "Mini Navajo" stencil and Stormy Sky Distress ink for the background. I actually had to do it 2 times before I got it like I wanted it. Thank heavens there are 2 sides to a sheet of paper! After I finished that, I set the panel up in my MISTI stamp positioning tool. I first stamped the ring for the dreamcatcher with Delicata Golden Glitz ink. I stamped it a few times, just to get a good coverage over the background stenciling. I used dark green & tan inks for the inner pieces, but really didn't like the colors in the end. So I started over from scratch--thankful that I hadn't gone very far! After I did the stenciling--for a third time--I restamped the ring with Golden Glitz. This time I stamped the inner pieces with Hero Arts Cornflower & Chipped Sapphire Distress Oxide inks. His high school colors are blue & gold, so this palette is more fitting anyway.

For the feathers, I used Golden Glitz to stamp the hanging pieces, then Cornflower for the feathers themselves. I ended up using blue acrylic paint to stamp the beads on the hanging pieces, since the inks I was using never gave adequate coverage over the gold. I stamped the detail layer on each feather with Golden Glitz. The inspiration card had silver glitter washi tape (or maybe cardstock) in the lower right corner. Since this card is for a guy, I didn't want that much shine. So I stamped 3 of the brushstroke images from My Favorite Things' "Abstract Art" set (discontinued), one right above the other and overlapping, then stamped a fourth stroke with Golden Glitz.

I used Chipped Sapphire Oxide ink for the greeting, nestling it in the curve of the dreamcatcher. I felt the front was too plain, and considered adding some splatters. But, since splatters can be rather unpredictable & I didn't want to mess up at this point, I got out a new favorite of mine, Nuvo Crystal Drops. I added drops in Navy Blue & Pale Gold in a diagonal path from the upper right to the lower left. I let that dry actually for more than 24 hours in the end, since it took me a couple of days to come back to the card.

Inside of the card

I used this template as a guide for the inside of my card. Because I was making my card 5.5" square, rather than 6x6" as in the template (so I can fit it in an A9 envelope), I had to modify the measurements a bit. That took quite a while and a LOT of math, but I was able to figure it out! :)

I die cut the numbers & letters from gold mirror cardstock, using Winnie & Walter's "Cary Numbers" & "Cary Letters." I had backed the cardstock scrap with Stick It adhesive before die cutting, so I just had to stick the numbers onto each block and burnish them. I cut a piece of Essentials by Ellen 40 lb. vellum to make a pocket. I temporarily taped it to the inside of my card, and poked holes for stitching. I hand-stitched along the 2 sides & bottom with gold thread to attach it to the cardstock. Then I adhered the letters, and burnished them in place.

I thought the area above the pocket was just too plain. I toyed around with stamping confetti in gold ink, but felt that would look better if it was "bursting" up from the pocket, Since I'd already stitched the pocket on, that wasn't an option. So I decided on balloons. I used my Ranger alcohol inks on a piece of Yupo paper to create a panel to die cut them from. I wanted to stick with warm blues, but didn't have any really light shades of ink. I messed with it for quite a while, adding ink, spritzing with 91% rubbing alcohol, squirting on alcohol ink blending solution.... I ended up with a piece that I wasn't overly happy with. But, having spent all that time, I didn't want to waste it, so I added leafing glue, let that dry until it was tacky, and stuck down gold Nuvo gilding flakes.

I die cut my balloons, using Lawn Fawn's "Party Balloons" set, from the best parts of the panel. I tied a piece of gold thread around the bottom of each, and glued the balloons in place with liquid glue. After the glue dried, I pulled the balloon strings together & tied them in a knot. I rolled up a glue dot, added it above the pocket, stuck the knot firmly in that, and added a little bit of powder to deactivate any adhesive that was still exposed. I trimmed off the tops of the balloons that were hanging over the edge of the card, and that finished it!

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Creative Knockouts #298: "Favorite Embellishment"
Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Stitches"
613 Avenue Create #221: "Anything Goes" (not playing the twist)

Have a Lovely Birthday

This card is for the "Freestyle" competition in My Favorite Things' "2018 Creative Olympics." Participants can create any sort of card they want, but the kicker is that it has to be a winter-themed card. I decided to create a birthday card. I used the "Sophisticated Snowflake" stamp set (discontinued), the "Birthday Greetings," and the "Blueprints 15" die set (also discontinued) for my card.

I began by die cutting my panels with the "Blueprints 15" dies. I cut the stitched rectangle and the smallest wonky rectangle from teal cardstock, and the middle panel from white. I knew I wanted to stitch a snowflake on the smallest panel. After I spattered White Gold paint from the Gansai Tambi Starry Colors watercolor set onto the panel, I marked the vertical & horizontal centers on the back with a pencil. I used one of the largest snowflakes from "Sophisticated Snowflake" and stamped it in Versafine Onyx Black ink onto the back of the panel, centered over my pencil marks. I used my paper piercer to poke holes along the image, and then stitched through the holes with #5 perl cotton. I did French knots in the center & along each of the "arms" of the snowflakes, following the design of the stamp.

I used 2 smaller snowflake stamps from the same set for my background. I stamped them with Lawn Fawn Yeti white pigment ink onto my panel, and let that dry. The ink kind of dries back, so it gives a more subtle pattern. After the ink had dried, I spattered it with more White Gold watercolor.

For the greeting, I marked a line 1/2" up from the bottom edge of my middle panel, and used my Stamp-a-Ma-Jig to line up my stamp along that line. I stamped with Memento Bahama Blue ink, which matches the teal cardstock pretty well. Finally, I erased my pencil line.

I adhered the white panel to the stitched rectangle, and used Scor Tape to adhere the small blue panel on top. Finally, I mounted the panel to a white A2 card base, which gave about a 1/16" mat on all sides of my panel.

Thank You

I am so happy to be guest designing for Send a Smile 4 Kids today! The challenge theme there this time around is "Thank You Cards 4 Kids OR Anything Goes 4 Kids." Simply create a child-friendly thank you card--or any sort of card for a child--and enter at their blog!

I got my inspiration from this card I saw on Pinterest. Although the one in the photo appears to be A2 size, I had to make mine A7 to accommodate the Pretty Pink Posh "Mini Tags" dies I used.

I die cut 6 tags from rainbow colors of cardstock. I also die cut the letters to spell "thanks" from white cardstock backed with Stick It adhesive, using Hero Arts' "Alphabet Uppercase." I adhered the letters to the tags, being sure to keep them in rainbow order. I used my Crop-a-Dile II Big Bite to punch a hole in each tag, and set a white eyelet, to echo the white letters.

Before I glued my tags in place, I decided the card needed a little something extra to fill in the space above the tags. So I pulled out my We R Memory Keepers Sew Easy tool. One of the attachments I have pierces holes for stars, which I thought would be perfect. And, it just happened to make 7 stars along my panel--great for the 7 colors of the rainbow! After piercing the holes, I stitched the stars with embroidery floss, again going in ROY G BIV order.

I cut a length of white crochet twine, and threaded it through the eyelets in my tags. I glued each tag in place with Perfect Paper Adhesive, at wonky angles and overlapping each other. I taped the ends of the twine to the back of the panel with little pieces of Scor Tape, and adhered my card front to a white card base.

Wish Big

Ellen Hutson is celebrating their 11th year in business! As part of the celebration, they have a challenge for people to choose their favorite Essentials by Ellen stamp or die set, and create a project with it. I couldn't narrow it down to just one, so I went with 2: "Bokeh Dots" & "Wish Big." The "Wish Big" set is such a great one for birthdays, with designer Julie Ebersole's signature humor to it! And "Bokeh Dots" is quite versatile. I used it here to create my patterned paper. My color scheme came from the mood board for this month's "Pin-sights" challenge, also at Ellen Hutson's CLASSroom.

I found this tutorial at Splitcoaststampers.com for a Triangle Trifold card. I decided this would be perfect for my cousin's upcoming birthday! I made mine a bit larger, starting with a 12x4" piece of coral-colored cardstock. After I scored & folded it following the instructions, I cut a piece of white cardstock to 3.75" square. I stamped it with 5 of the "Bokeh Dots" stamps, in Memento Teal Zeal, Grape Jelly, & Danube Blue inks. After I had stamped the entire square, I went back with a slightly smaller dot and Delicata Golden Glitz ink. I dried that with my heat tool, cut the paper diagonally, and adhered it to my card base.

Front panel with vellum overlay lifted

For the front image panel, I cut another square of white cardstock. I stamped the cake from "Wish Big," after wiping the ink off the top portion for some quick-and-dirty "masking." Then I stamped the candles, and drew in the rest of the top around those. I colored everything with my Prismacolor colored pencils, using Gamsol on a paper stump to blend the colors. I made 2 mats for that panel, by cutting gradually larger squares of white cardstock. I inked around the perimeter of the smaller mat with Danube Blue ink, and the larger with Golden Glitz. I also inked the back of the larger mat with Golden Glitz, since half of it would be visible when the card is opened.

Since I didn't have room on the front for a greeting, I decided to create a vellum overlay. So I cut a square of Essentials by Ellen 40 lb. vellum to the same size as my cake square, and stamped the greeting (also from "Wish Big") on that. I heat embossed with Ranger Super Fine Detail Gold embossing powder, then sewed it to the image panel with 2 lines of gold machine stitching.

Inside of card

For the inside, I cut another panel of white cardstock, and a slightly larger white mat. I inked the mat with Teal Zeal. I stamped one of the balloons & the "happy birthday" in Teal Zeal, and colored the balloon with a coordinating colored pencil. I blended that out with Gamsol as well, leaving a white highlight. Then, I matted the white panel, and adhered it to the inside center of my card base. I also adhered the front image panel to the front of my card.

Card with belly band

For the belly band, since this card design doesn't really stay closed on its own, I cut another strip of the same coral cardstock I'd used for the card base. I punched each long side with a Fiskars "Cupcake" border punch (apparently discontinued). I cut a strip of white cardstock to fit along the middle section, & colored it with Danube Blue ink. I adhered it to my belly band, folded the band around my card, & used Scor Tape to glue the ends together. This card only took about 2 hours to make, even with all the stamping, and I'm sure my cousin will love it! :)

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

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday challenge: "Anything Goes"
Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes"

Hugs and Kitty Kisses

The Houston (TX) Humane Society personnel have been working to help rescue animals from the flooding there as a result of Hurricane Harvey. Even though we did send a financial donation to help support their mission, I thought I would send an encouragement card to their employees and/or volunteers as well.

For the design, I used the current challenge sketch for Stella Says Sketch. I went through my critter (digital) images from Bugaboo, and came across the "Kitties" image. I felt this would be perfect for my card.

I sized the image in Photoshop, and printed it onto a piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper. I die cut that with a Simon Says Stamp "Stitched Circles" die. I colored the kitties with my Inktense pencils, using my preferred method of picking up the color from the pencil with a damp paintbrush, and applying it to the paper. I also added just a bit of shading under the image to ground it.

I cut a piece of patterned paper from The Paper Studio's "Best Day Ever" mat stack to go in the center of my card. I also cut 2 strips from a peachy-beige cardstock to go on either side. I adhered the strips to a 4.25x5.5" panel of white cardstock, and adhered my patterned paper in the center. I then machine-stitched a zigzag stitch along each long edge of the patterned paper.

To mat the focal image, I die cut a scalloped circle using a We R Memory Keepers "Nesting Scallops" die. I adhered my image circle to that, and glued it to my card front.

For the greeting, I cut a strip of pool colored cardstock. I created the greeting in Photoshop, using a "canvas" the same size as my strip. Then I printed it onto my cardstock. I die cut each end with the smallest of the "Tag Toppers Crescent" dies from Sunny Studio to make a label shape. I adhered that to my card front, punched a hole in either end with my Crop-a-Dile II, then used the same tool to set a white eyelet in each hole. Finally, I threaded 3 pieces of crochet twine through the eyelets, spread out the ends on either side of my panel, and taped them to the back.

As a finishing touch, I created a faux bow at the bottom of my greeting label, following the instructions in this YouTube tutorial. I adhered my card front to a white A2 card base, and this card is ready to write & send!

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

Creative Knockouts #210: "Something to Say"
Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes"

Happy Mail Owl

On Day 6 of Online Card Classes' "Sparkle & Shine" class, Heather Ruwe had a lesson on "Faux Ombre Embossing with Distress Inks." I used that technique with this card.

To create the background, I used Mustard Seed, Fossilized Amber, & Rusty Hinge Distress inks and Winnie & Walter's "Madison" Creative Screenings stencil. I wanted to go for a more gender-neutral card, and knew I would use the "Curious Owl" stamp by Hero Arts. I thought the stencil resembled feathers, hence my choice.

After finishing the background, following Heather's instructions, I stamped the owl onto a scrap of Strathmore Smooth Bristol paper with Hero Arts Wet Cement ink. I colored that with my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers, using a water brush (sparingly) to blend the color a little in places. Then I set that aside to dry, before fussy cutting him out.

I stamped an envelope from Technique Tuesday's "Random Act of Cardness" set onto bristol paper with Wet Cement, and fussy cut it out. I used a craft knife to cut along the sides of the owl's beak, and slipped the envelope into the slits, gluing it in place with a bit of liquid glue.

I figured the owl would blend into the background too much if I adhered him directly to it, but also didn't want to cover up a lot of the stenciled panel. So I die cut a piece of Essentials by Ellen 40 lb. vellum with a Lawn Fawn "Large Stitched Oval" die. I stamped a greeting from the "Snail Mail" set, also by Technique Tuesday, on the vellum above where the owl would go with Ranger Archival Coffee ink. That turned out to be a mistake, since the greeting didn't show up against the background, even with the vellum to mute the colors on my panel. So I used a fine-tip black marker to trace over the letters. It's not absolutely perfect, but it's close enough for me, and at least I didn't have to die cut and re-stamp another oval! :)

To complete the card, I adhered the owl to the oval with foam tape, and used Scor-Tape pieces on the back of the vellum (behind the owl) to adhere it directly to my background. I felt the panel needed a little more definition, so I machine-stitched around the perimeter with black thread. I finished by adhering the card front to a white A2 card base. I will leave this card in our mailbox for our postal carrier, just as a little appreciation card, as part of Jennifer McGuire's #ShareHandmadeKindness campaign.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

A Blog Named Hero: "Watercoloring"
Pile It On #130: "Animal"
613 Avenue Create: "Anything Goes"

Thoughts and Prayers

My mom recently learned that a member of her writers group passed away. So she asked me to make a sympathy card that the other members could sign to send to his widow.

I decided to do a white-on-white card. I cut a piece of white cardstock, and embossed it with a Cuttlebug embossing folder. (Sorry, but it's not labeled & I don't know the name.) I then machine stitched around the perimeter with white thread.

For my greeting, I stamped the prayers & 2 coordinating greetings from Hero Arts' "Prayers" stamp & cut set onto vellum, using Versamark ink. I then heat embossed it with Ranger Silver embossing powder. I trimmed the vellum into a strip, and adhered the ends to the back of my dry-embossed panel.

I cut another piece of white cardstock to slightly smaller than A9 size. I used a Prima stencil (name unknown) and Golden Light Molding Paste to create a pattern at the top right & lower left corners. I let the paste layer kind of fade out, by leaving the edges ragged. After that had dried thoroughly, I adhered my focal panel to the center, and mounted the whole thing on a white card base.

I'm entering my card in the following challenges:

a2z Scrapbooking's October Challenge: "Layer It"
Die Cut Divas: "Time to Emboss"
Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes"

Thinking of U

I recently saw this tutorial on a "faux stamped leather" technique, and decided to give it a try. I wanted to make a specifically masculine card to send in my package to Darlene at Live Love Cards, to go to a Meals on Wheels recipient.

I didn't have any really suitable stamps in my collection, so I went through my dies. I came across the "Foliage 2" set from Paper Smooches, which I had yet to use. I decided one of those would be perfect to make a stamp. So I die cut it from 3mm thick craft foam, and stuck that on an acrylic block.

First, I die cut a piece of kraft cardstock with the largest of Spellbinders' "Labels Eight" dies. I stamped the leaf image multiple times around the panel with Hero Arts Cup o' Joe ink. I tried to keep it looking random by turning the stamp in different directions as I worked. Once I finished stamping, I put my panel on a mouse pad, rubbed over it with wax paper to make debossing a little easier, and traced loosely around each image with my stylus.

Next, I placed the "Labels Eight" die over the panel, with the cutting line face down, and traced around the inside of the die lightly with a pencil. I used my paper piercer to poke holes along my pencil line, then erased the line. This created stitching holes.

To ink the panel, I began with Fossilized Amber Distress ink, blending it over the entire piece. Then I blended Rusty Hinge, followed by Vintage Photo & a touch of Ground Espresso (all Distress inks). As I got darker, I added ink over smaller areas of the cardstock, finally blending the Ground Espresso only around the perimeter. After I had the "leather" look, I chose a light tan embroidery floss, and did a back stitch around the perimeter, using the holes I'd pierced before inking.

I used Hero Arts' "Year Round Sentiments" for the first part of my greeting. I masked off the "you" on the stamp, inked it with Cup o' Joe, removed the mask, and stamped the "Thinking of" on a strip of kraft cardstock. I die cut the "U" from more kraft with one of Simon Says Stamp's "Big U" dies, and inked it with Cup o' Joe to make it stand out more. Then I glued the banner to the "U," weaving it into the letter, and cut off the excess banner so it stopped behind the "U," before gluing everything to my card front panel.

For my card base, I cut 2 pieces of white cardstock with the same "Labels Eight" die. I scored one at 1/2" from the end for the back of my card, to create a hinge. I applied ATG adhesive above the score line, and adhered my other white panel to that. Finally, I glued my main panel to the front of my card base.

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

It's Your Birthday

I wrote in this post about Jacob, a young teenager who has terminal cancer. His birthday is next month, and his wish is to have 10,000 birthday cards sent to him. I made another one that my mom can send. If you would like to send him a card, you can find the address in this blog post.

The inspiration for my card came from this one by Kristina Werner. I liked the transparency of the balloons overlapping each other. I stamped one of the balloons from the "Wish Big" set by Essentials by Ellen multiple times onto a piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper that I'd cut to 4x5.5". I used Distress inks in Abandoned Coral, Wilted Violet, Mermaid Lagoon, Cracked Pistachio, & Mustard Seed. I used a damp paintbrush to pull the color from the edge into the center of each balloon, adding a bit more diluted ink to "beef up" the color some. Then I set that panel aside to dry.

I used 2 of the greetings from Simon Says Stamp's "Big Birthday Wishes" set. I stamped them on a piece of vellum in Versamark ink, and heat embossed them with Recollections Gold Detail embossing powder. I cut that into a banner shape, and, when my balloon panel had dried, stitched the banner to that with gold thread.

For the borders, I stamped the "Diagonal Stripes" background from My Favorite things in Versamark onto a scrap of dark blue cardstock. I heat embossed that with gold, and cut two 1/4" wide strips. I glued each strip to the edges of a white A2 card base, & adhered my main panel in between them. Hopefully Jacob will like this card!

Sweet Baby Girl

A Blog Named Hero's current challenge (ending tomorrow) is "Vellum." I decided to make a vellum card for a friend of my mom's who had a baby recently.

I used Sketch #219 from Operation Write Home as the basis for my design. I first stamped the polka dot butterfly from Hero Arts' "Butterfly and Flower" set onto a scrap of white cardstock, with Hero Arts Bubble Gum ink. I stamped the outline butterfly with Versamark onto a scrap of vellum, and heat embossed it with Ranger Liquid Platinum embossing powder. I stamped the body next, again in Versamark, and heat embossed that. I taped the vellum to the white cardstock, lining up the images, and die cut them with the largest of Spellbinders' "Classic Ovals SM" dies. I applied small dots of glue with my glue pen to the back of the vellum, behind the embossing, and adhered it to the cardstock oval. After letting that dry, I put it back into the oval die, and used that as a template to poke holes around the perimeter. I used pink embroidery floss to stitch a blanket stitch around the image.

After stamping my greeting with Lawn Fawn's "Riley's ABC's" onto a piece of pink cardstock, using Stampabilities Bright Pink ink, I cut that into a strip. I also cut 2 patterned papers from the "Paddywack" 6x6" pad by Recollections. Because I was creating my card from vellum, I didn't want the adhesive showing through the other side. So I taped my patterned papers & greeting strip together as they would go on the card, and traced the outline onto a white cardstock panel. I cut along the lines with my paper trimmer, and created 2 additional panels.

Detail shot of focal image & cardstock liner

I cut a piece of Essentials by Ellen vellum to 5.5x8.25", and scored it at 4.25". I adhered my patterned papers & greeting strip to the front, and then adhered one of my white cardstock panels to the back side, covering the area from the patterned papers. I adhered the other 2 white panels to the inside & back of the card base. (The one on the inside gives a place to write a greeting.)

For the focal image, I die cut another oval from white cardstock, and glued it to the back of my image oval. Finally, I adhered it to the card front. I glued down 3 pink buttons from my stash, and this card was finished!

I'm also entering this card in Incy Wincy Designs' "Buttons & Bows" challenge.

Happy Christmas Shaker

The final day of My Favorite Things' Camp Create is "Spectacular Shakers." I figured this would be easy, since I have done shaker cards before. This time, though, I did it a little differently. Typically, I use acetate behind a cardstock window, and a double layer of foam tape so my shaker bits will shake. For my card here, I took inspiration from these cards by Carissa Wiley, and used a page protector and my Fuse tool to create my shaker pocket. 

I began by making my shaker pocket. I taped one of the tag dies from the "Blueprints 13" set to my page protector, and used it as a guide to "trace" around the sides & bottom with my Fuse tool. I left the top of my pocket open so I could put in the sequins & seed beads. I used my craft knife to trim the sides, and scissors to cut the curved bottom edge, just outside the fused lines.

For the greeting, I die cut the arrow from "Blueprints 13" from light blue cardstock. I stamped the "Happy Christmas," from Simon Says Stamp's "Circle Sayings Holiday" in Versamark ink, and heat embossed it with Ranger Silver embossing powder. I die cut a circle with another "Blueprints 13" die from navy cardstock, and stamped one of the "Sophisticated Snowflakes" from MFT on that, also silver heat embossing it. I backed that with a die cut pinked-edge circle from silver glitter cardstock.

I die cut a piece of patterned paper from my scrap stash with the stitched rectangle from "Blueprints 13." I matted it with a pale blue cardstock, with a 1/8" border on all sides. After filling my shaker pocket with sequins from Doodlebug Design & Pretty Pink Posh and seed beads from my stash, I taped it to my background with painter's tape, being careful not to tip it upside-down! I stitched the top to the card front with silver thread on my sewing machine. This both attached it to my card, and closed up the shaker pocket. I adhered my circle & arrow to the panel & pocket with my ATG adhesive runner. I added a little ATG tape to the back of the pocket behind the arrow, just to provide some more stability. Finally, I mounted my card front to a white A2 card base.