Masculine Happy Birthday

 

I am so excited to be the Crazy Cousin guest designer for the Double Trouble Challenges this month! Challenge #216 runs from May 11-24. "It's a Wheelie Cool Day" for this challenge, where you need to use 3 layers (card base does not count), 2 shapes, & 1 image. While you're certainly free to do more than that, those are the minimum requirements to play. And of course, there is always the optional sketch challenge starting tomorrow at Try a Sketch on Tuesday. (Please keep in mind, the TSOT challenge doesn't start until May 12, so if you want to enter there, you cannot post, publish, or enter your project online before then!)

I created this card for a friend's birthday. Thing 3's optional twist for Double Trouble is to use something with at least one wheel, cam, and/or gear. While I have images like trucks, a scooter, & even gear dies, I decided to think a little "outside the box" & used Doodle Pantry's "Watermill" digital image (discontinued), which features a millwheel. I thought this would make a good masculine card.

 

After sizing the image in Photoshop, I printed it onto a piece of Canson XL watercolor paper with my laser printer. I then painted the scene with my watercolors. That was a bit of a challenge to get it to look right, but I think I prevailed. For the finer details, like the fence, millwheel framing, & the supports under the projecting part of the building, I used a few of my Prismacolor colored pencils. These were really tiny elements, & it was just easier to get in with a sharp pencil than a paintbrush.

 

Once the painting was done & dry, I die cut it with a "Nesting Oval Infinity" die from Hero Arts. Since I wanted a narrower mat than I would have gotten by cutting with the next larger die, I had to get a bit creative. As an extra personal challenge to save on cardstock, I first cut out all but a 3/8" border from a navy A2 panel. I traced the outer edge of the oval die onto the piece I'd cut out. Since I knew I wanted to do the same for the greeting, before I cut the large mat out, I went ahead & traced around the smaller die in the middle of the larger oval outline. To make accessing the smaller oval easier for cutting, I cut a rectangle around that outline with my craft knife & a metal ruler. Finally, I used scissors to cut out each oval. The parts I gutted from the two larger mats are covered, so no one would know they're "hollow." Even better, I got 3 mats out of one A2-size panel - score!

 

I stamped the greeting in Scorched Timber Distress Oxide ink onto a scrap of light blue cardstock & die cut it with a Waffle Flower "Nesting Ovals" die. Then I glued that & the image oval to their mats. I embossed a panel of kraft cardstock with Honey Bee's "Wood Planks 3D" embossing folder, trimmed it to 3-3/4 x 5", and adhered my image & greeting ovals to that. I cut off the overhanging bit of the greeting oval, then adhered my panel to the navy mat/border that I'd adhered to a white A2 card base. I cut 3 banners from patterned paper scraps in my stash, & glued just the top portion of each to the card front, so the ends are free.

 

I really love how this card came out! Filling all the challenge requirements was, well, a challenge, but it was so worth it in the end. I'll see y'all again in a couple of weeks for my next guest design post, if not sooner! 

 

 

 

 I'm also playing along in Try a Sketch on Tuesday's Challenge #695. 

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) 

Woody Merry Christmas

This week's challenge at Christmas Card Throwdown is to use red, green, & brown on a holiday card. I have had this "Christmas" stamp from Recollections of a woody car carrying a tree (discontinued) literally for years & had never inked it up. I decided this was the perfect opportunity to use it.

I began by stamping the image onto a scrap of Canson XL watercolor paper. I painted it with my watercolors, using a gold watercolor from the Fine-Tec Pearlescent Colors to paint the baubles on the wreath & garland. After it had dried, I used my craft knife to cut out the windows, and then fussy cut around the outside of the image with my scissors. I used a black brush-tip marker to "paint" all the exposed edges of the watercolor paper, just to make everything look more seamless. When I had finished all that, I just kind of looked at it & wondered where to go from there.

My first instinct was a snow globe shaker card, but because of the length of the car, it would have been a massive snow globe, unless I made it oval-shaped, which I wasn't too keen on. I also toyed with the idea of stamping some pine branches onto my card front & "hanging" the car from them, as if it were a Christmas ornament. I finally decided to stop overthinking it & just make a traditional shaker card (minus the snow globe element).

I found a piece of burgundy patterned paper in my scrap stash that was big enough to use as a panel on my 6-1/2 x 5-1/4" card. I cut that panel to 1/16" smaller than my card base on each side, & used a "Nesting Ovals Die" from Waffle Flower to cut the center window. I cut a piece of white cardstock the same size, & die cut a window with the next smaller oval die, so it would create a mat around my shaker window. Then I adhered those panels together.

I cut a piece of kraft cardstock slightly smaller than my burgundy & white panels, & adhered my image to that. To create "snow," I used a Ranger Distress Embossing Dabber to pounce embossing ink through the "Falling Snow Splatter" stencil from Simon Says Stamp onto my panel & car. I sprinkled on Hero Arts White Sparkle embossing powder & melted that with my heat gun. To further enhance the snowy scene, I applied ink with the Embossing Dabber to the car tires & area under the car & heat embossed with the same powder.

I used double-sided tape to adhere a piece of Grafix Dura-Lar acetate to the back of my window panel. Before adding my foam tape, I went ahead & stamped the greeting, from Hero Arts' "Holiday Cardinal" set, with StazOn Cotton White ink onto the acetate. Then I added 2 layers of foam tape all around the edges with diagonal pieces of tape in the corners closer to the oval window. I removed the backing paper from the foam tape, & poured in some clear seed beads, being careful not to let the panel "jump" & send any beads flying. Finally, I adhered a second piece of acetate to the foam tape to seal in the beads. (This was a trick I learned from Nina-Marie Trapani, to provide less friction to anything inside the shaker.)

To adhere my image panel behind my shaker, I added double-sided tape to the back piece of acetate on my shaker panel. I peeled back part of the liner paper on each strip to expose only some of the adhesive. (I got that trick from Julie Ebersole.) Then I carefully positioned the window over the image panel so the car was centered side-to-side within the window & not directly behind the greeting. I pressed the panel down so the exposed adhesive stuck to the corners of the image panel, & then carefully pulled back the remainder of the liner paper. I made sure everything stuck securely. I added a 6-1/2 x 5-1/4" kraft panel to my white card base, & finally adhered my shaker panel to the card front with tacky glue. This way I can make sure it will NOT fall off!

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

Allsorts Challenge #834: "Traditional Christmas Colors"
Little Red Wagon Challenge #829: "Captain's Log" (painted woodgrain pattern on the Woody car panels)
613 Avenue Create October 2025 Challenge: "Anything Goes" (not playing the optional twist)
Die Cut Divas October Challenge: "Anything Goes"
The Paper Funday October Challenge #81: "Anything Goes" (not playing the optional twist)
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: "Get Ready for Christmas"

Happy Holidays Ornaments

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Have an Ex-STRAW-dinary Birthday

The theme for the current Stay Crafty with a Blog Named Hero challenge is "Happy Anniversary." (Birthday-themed cards are also allowed.) I needed a birthday card for a friend of mine. She loves gardening, so I thought the "Strawberries Line Art" stamp set by Hero Arts would be perfect. I think she'll also get a kick out of the greeting!

I used Sketch #SC939 from Splitcoaststampers.com to guide the design for my card. I began by die cutting a circle from 140 lb. watercolor paper, then measured & cut off a portion, as per the sketch. I temporarily adhered the semi-circle onto my card background to make it easier to stamp on, & used my MISTI stamp positioner to stamp the image. While I had the image adhered to the navy panel, I went ahead & heat embossed the greeting, from the same stamp set, with Simon Says Stamp Antique Gold embossing powder. Finally, I removed the watercolor paper from my background, painted the strawberries with my watercolors, & used a white gel pen to highlight the seeds.

I adhered the image panel permanently to the background. I added a length of red-&-white checked ribbon as indicated in the sketch. For the 3 dots in the upper left corner, I punched circles from a scrap of white cardstock & glued them to my panel as a guide. I made a puddle of glue over each circle, then sprinkled on more Antique Gold embossing powder. After I let the glue dry, I melted the powder with my heat gun. To finish the card, I mounted the panel to a white A2-size card base.

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

Ellibelle's Corner/Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday: "Anything Goes" (in conjunction with Double Trouble)

Double Trouble Challenge #165: "SomeThing, AnyThing, EveryThing"

Cozy Christmas Card

The Fall | Winter Coffee Lover's Blog Hop inspired the theme of this card. I used one of the coffee cups from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps' "Holiday Cheer" digital stamp set for the focal image. The design is based on Sketch #SC571 at Splitcoaststampers.com.

I sized the cup image in Photoshop, then printed it onto a panel of Canson Montval 140 lb. watercolor paper. I used my watercolors to paint it, and fussy-cut it out.

I used my We R Memory Keepers Frame punch board to create the frame for the image from white cardstock scraps. The watercolor paper I used for the cup has a bit of thickness to it, & I didn't want it to stick above the surrounding frame. I made a few frames, all the same size, so I could stack them for dimension. I did have to trim a bit from all but the topmost frame, just so their edges wouldn't stick out at all from behind. After I had cut all the frames, I stamped my greeting - from Hero Arts' "Cozy Penguin" set - onto the bottom of the front frame. Then I glued all my frames together.

I cut a backing layer from scrap cardstock the same size as the outer perimeter of the frames, & adhered 2 pieces of patterned paper from my scrap stash to that, positioned so they would show through the window in the stacked frames. (I wanted a countertop & wallpaper look.) I glued my frames on top, & glued down my coffee cup, so it appears to "sit" on the counter. I adhered a panel of patterned paper from graphic45's "Christmas Carol" 6x6" pad to a white A2 card base for my background, & then glued my framed image onto the card.

I'm also entering this card in Double Trouble's Challenge #125A: "Deja-BREW."

Hummingbird Happy Birthday

My counselor's birthday is coming up this weekend, & I made this card for her. The design is based on Sketch Challenge #580 at Try Stampin' on Tuesday. For the main elements, I rotated the sketch 180 degrees. I added the sequins at the bottom right, in place of the banner in the sketch.

I embossed my background panel with the "Vines" embossing folder from Park Lane, then adhered it to my A2-size card base. I stamped the "Hummingbird" image from Divinity Designs onto a scrap of 140 lb. watercolor paper, using Ink on 3's Fade-Out ink. I painted that with my watercolors. I used a black glaze pen to go over the eye, & added in the catchlights with a white gel pen.

I printed the flower from Fred She Said's "Hummingbird & Columbine" digital set onto another piece of watercolor paper. I watercolored that as well. I stamped the "happy birthday," from Altenew's "Balloon Bunch" set, with Villainous Potion Distress Oxide ink. I felt that went well with the purple I'd used in the bird.

I adhered my flower panel to my card. I die cut the hummingbird with the coordinating die, & also die cut it 3 more times from white cardstock. I layered all the die cuts, & then glued it onto my card. I added 3 5mm Crystal sequins from Darice onto the bottom right, & that finished this card. I really love how this came together, & I'm sure my counselor will love it, too.

Happy Father's Day

If you think it may seem a tad early for Father's Day, you might be right. But, such cards for Send a Smile 4 Kids need to be in to their volunteers by May 15, so they can sort & ship them to children's hospitals in time for the children to give or send them to their fathers. I created this one to donate to them, using Sketch #SC867 at Splitcoaststampers.com as my design inspiration.

I stamped the image, from Hero Arts' "Li'l Hoot" set (discontinued), onto 140 lb. watercolor paper & painted it with my watercolors. I was undecided if I wanted to leave the background the plain white of the watercolor paper, paint it like a night sky (going around the image), or fussy cut the image and glue it to another paper. I finally opted to fussy cut & glue, but then had to decide if I wanted a solid or patterned paper. Choices! I ended up die cutting a circle from navy cardstock & splattered it with white paint for the look of stars - and got some streaks that I thought could be comets or shooting stars.

I have had the banner for some months now. I even forget what I created it for, that it apparently turned out not to work on. But I recently found it in my leftovers box, so decided to pull it out and finally try to find something to use it on. At any rate, I tested the greeting, from the Essentials by Ellen "12 Days Companion Greetings" set (discontinued), against it, & it fit like a glove! So I stamped that in Versafine Onyx Black ink, using my MISTI stamp positioning tool to help me get the greeting curved - and stamped - accurately.

I adhered a cream cardstock panel to my white A2 card base, & added a strip of patterned paper that I had found in my scrap stash. I cut the excess off the strip at the top & bottom. I lightly taped my focal circle to my grid mat, to help me center the greeting banner at the bottom. I used liquid glue to tack the banner to the bottom center of the circle. When the glue had dried enough that the banner wouldn't fall off, I picked up the circle & now-attached banner & glued them to my card.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Creative Knockouts #449: "Winged Things or Furry Friends"

Simon Says Stamp's Monday Challenge: "Wild and Wonderful" (owls are wild birds, right?)

The Paper Funday Challenges April Challenge #40: "Anything Goes" (not playing the optional twist)

Two Slimline Holiday Cards

The current Slimline Challenge at My Favorite Things is a Christmas theme. I created 2 cards to enter.

I used the new-to-me Hero Arts "Color Layering Snowflake" stamp set for my stamping. I stamped the first layer in Lawn Fawn Kiddie Pool ink, followed by Hero Arts Tide Pool, & ending with My Favorite Things Blu Raspberry. The snowflakes are kind of finicky to line up, but I finally managed.

After I'd finished stamping, I die cut Winnie & Walter's "Joy" (discontinued) from the center of my panel. I also die cut it a few more times from a light purple cardstock. I adhered my panel to my card base, and then inlaid one of the purple die cuts in the negative space. I went ahead at that point & inlaid the stamped center of the "o" as well, just because it's easier to do it then than having to shove it through multiple layers of die cuts. I stacked the rest of my purple die cuts on top of the first, using liquid glue to adhere them. Finally, I glued on the stamped joy die cut. I never tire of this two-tier eclipse technique. It just looks so cool!

My second card is portrait-oriented. I used components from the "Snow Globe Gala" digital stamp set from Doodle Pantry (discontinued) with Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps' "Winter Friends" digital stamp. I created a blank slimline-size "canvas" in Photoshop, and copied my image components onto that canvas. I positioned everything, as well as a greeting from "Snow Globe Gala," and then printed the composite image onto a panel of Cheap Joe's 140 lb. Kilimanjaro watercolor paper. I used my watercolors to paint the image. I colored the round decorative pieces with a silver paint pen. Finally, I adhered a teal layer to a white card base, & added my main panel.

I'm also entering my second card in Christmas Card Throwdown's "Snow Globe" theme challenge.

Birthday Blessings

I needed a special birthday card for a special friend. I decided to make a fancy-fold card of sorts, & found a tutorial on Lattice Fold Cards by Sam Calcott. I used her "bonus" technique of putting the pop-up lattice feature on the inside of the card. For a pattern, I used the "Susan's Lattice Folds" template from Hot Off the Press (discontinued).

Sam had suggested in her tutorial that using a white-core cardstock would give a cool two-tone effect to the lattice portion. I have a pad of 12x12" cardstock from Die Cuts with a View called Flip/Side. It has 2 different shades of a color per sheet. I chose a mint/teal cardstock from that pad.

Inside of card showing lattice fold

I began with the inside panel. I cut it to 7x12", and scored it in half at 6". I knew I would cut it down eventually, but wanted to make sure it was wide enough, so started with a larger piece. I lined up my template pattern along the fold, & traced the cut lines with a pencil. I cut them with scissors, & then folded down every other section. I cut off the folded piece at the very bottom & glued it to the top to complete the pattern. I did end up trimming down the panel at the top & bottom, as well as the sides. Then I set that aside to work on the rest of the card.

For the front, I die cut a tag from a faux-dip-dye watercolor panel that I'd made previously. I die cut a butterfly with Divinity Designs' "Fancy Fritillary" from silver mirror cardstock backed with Stick It adhesive. I cut the tag reinforcer from the same silver cardstock & glued it in place. I adhered the butterfly to the tag at an angle, & adhered the tag to a panel I'd cut from the leftover piece of the inside panel. I used the teal side of the remaining cardstock piece to mat my panel, & then mounted it onto a white card base.

For the greeting, I heat embossed the "birthday blessings" from Altenew's "Balloon Bunch" stamp set onto a scrap of a different teal cardstock. I cut it into a banner, & adhered it to the front of my card. I adhered the inside panel in place, & adhered 2 white panels on either side for a personal message.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Incy Wincy Designs Challenge: "Use a Card Fold Tutorial +/Animals"

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Add a Sentiment"

Creative Knockouts Challenge #415: "Birthday Wishes"

Die Cut Divas August Challenge: "Watercolor - Real or Faux" (used watercolor on the tag)

The House that Stamps Built Challenge #A421: "Use a Tag on Your Card"

Merry Christmas

This past weekend, I participated in the online Card Makers Success Summit. The theme was "Christmas in July," so the focus was on holiday cards. Twenty-five instructors came "together"--virtually, of course--to teach many techniques over the 4-day summit. Preeti Chandran's lesson on easy faux watercolor techniques inspired this card. I used another "trick" I learned during the summit with this card - cut a 9x12" piece of watercolor paper into (6) 3x6" pieces, to make 6 mini slimline cards. With the help of my MISTI stamp positioning tool, I was able to make 6 cards total of this design in just a few hours.

I used Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps' "Christmas Pine" stamp set for the images & greeting. I began by stamping the branches. With the stamp & my Canson Montval watercolor paper panel in my MISTI, I used a green Tombow marker to "ink" up the stamp. I spritzed it a couple of times lightly with water, then stamped onto my paper. I let the stamp sit for a few seconds, to give the ink a chance to absorb into the paper, giving a "faux" watercolor look. I left the stamp in place after opening my MISTI, dried it off, & inked here & there with a darker green color. I spritzed & stamped that, to create some color variation. I repeated this for each branch. If the image stamped too "cleanly" - with too much detail - I just used a damp paintbrush to spread the color out a bit.

For the pinecones, I used a similar technique. I put my panel in the MISTI, positioned my stamp, & inked it up with a light brown marker. I spritzed the stamp lightly, & stamped onto my paper. This time, though, I used a damp paintbrush to spread the ink out on the paper, keeping the shape of the pinecone. I also left a few highlights here & there. I let that dry while I stamped my other 5 panels with the same images. By the time I returned to my first panel, the ink had dried, so I tapped on the same stamp with a darker brown marker. After spritzing, I stamped the image over the original, to provide some detail to the pinecones.

Once my images were all done, I stamped the greeting in Gina K. Designs Charcoal Brown ink. Once I finished, I felt the images & greeting were still a bit too disconnected, though. So I used a pale gold metallic watercolor to splatter over the panel. That seemed to provide the perfect touch. Finally, I matted the panel with brown cardstock, & adhered it to a white card base.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Christmas Card Throwdown's July Theme Challenge: "Pinecones"

613 Avenue Create's July Challenge: "Anything Goes" (I am playing the watercolor twist)

Floral Happy Mother's Day

  

I created this card for my brother & sister-in-law to give our mom for Mother's Day. I used Sketch #SC741 at Splitcoaststampers.com for my design.

After I sized it in Photoshop to fit the sketch dimensions, I printed the "Coneflowers and Butterfly" digital stamp from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps onto a piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper. I used my watercolors to paint it, following a reference photo for the flowers I found online. I also printed the greeting, from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps' "Mother's Day Sentiments" digital stamp set, onto a strip of white cardstock, & rounded the corners with my 1/8" We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper.

I die cut the image panel with a "Nesting Oval Infinity" die from Hero Arts. I adhered it & the greeting to a panel of blue patterned paper from Die Cuts with a View's "The Citrus Matstack." I added that to an orange panel from the same paper pad, & adhered a strip of an orange dot paper along the right side. That finished this super-easy-to-put-together card. And yes, our mom loved it!

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Aud Sentiments Challenge #247: "Flowers + a Sentiment"

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

Repeat Impressions Theme Challenge #M521: "All About Moms"

Birthday Rose

 

I had printed the "Rose Blossom" digital image from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps onto a piece of cotton fabric several months ago. I had intended it for a project that I ended up not doing, so it's been sitting on a shelf over my desk ever since. I wanted to paint it with watercolors, so I had coated it with Daniel Smith Transparent Watercolor Ground. I've never done this before (painting watercolors on fabric), even with the watercolor ground, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I finally decided to go ahead & paint it, then make it into a card.

To prepare my fabric, after I'd printed the image onto it, I adhered it with double-sided sheet adhesive to a piece of white cardstock. Then I added the watercolor ground. As I said, this was all quite some time ago. I began painting wet-on-dry, adding the watercolor to the dry fabric. It didn't move quite as much as I wanted, so I switched to a wet-in-wet technique. I painted one petal at a time, adding clear water to the petal, then flooding in color. That worked OK, though the paint then tended to move more than I wanted. So I ended up doing a wet-on-kind-of-dry technique. I did make sure not to paint 2 adjacent petals before allowing the first to dry, so the rose wouldn't become all one solid color.

When I painted one of the leaves, the paint ended up getting away from me a bit, & stained the fabric outside the leaf. I tried wetting that area with just plain water & blotting with a paper towel, but it wouldn't come up. So I decided to embrace that, & just added green to the whole background, again painting wet-in-wet. I like the variegated color I ended up getting.

I heat embossed the "happy birthday" from Altenew's "Painted Greetings" set with Ranger Silver powder onto a strip of Essentials by Ellen 40 lb. vellum. I cut the strip longer than the width of my panel, folded the ends around the sides of the panel, & adhered them to the back. That way, I didn't have to worry about adhesive showing through the vellum. I matted my panel with black cardstock & adhered it to a white A2-size card base.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Creative Knockouts #392: "Birthday Wishes"

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

Holiday Tags

 This is a slightly different post from me, since I'm not writing about a card. Instead, I'm sharing 6 holiday tags I made for the 10th annual "25 Tags of Christmas" challenges.

 

 

Tracy McNeely's tag on Day 26 inspired my first tag. I didn't have the same dies she used, but I have Sunny Studio's "Merry Sentiments" stamp set & coordinating die, which I figured is a good substitute. I first die cut 3 bulbs, keeping the negative cardstock as a stamping template for my MISTI stamp positioning tool. I put tape behind one of the die cut openings, sticky side facing up, & stuck one light bulb into that spot. I positioned the most solid stamp, and picked it up with the MISTI door. I used Lawn Fawn Jalapeno, Memento Lady Bug, & Hero Arts Tide Pool inks for this lightest layer. For the darker layer, I used Memento Cottage Ivy, Love Letter, & My Favorite Things Blu Raspberry inks. I stamped the base of each bulb with Memento London Fog & Gray Flannel, and silver heat embossed the filaments.

I die cut my tag with a Scrapbook.com "Nested Tags" die from Strathmore Mixed Media paper, and cut another from plain white cardstock as a backer. I inked the main tag with Shaded Lilac, Dusty Concord, Blueprint Sketch, & Chipped Sapphire Distress inks, and added a bit of Black Soot Distress ink around the edges for some drama. I spattered the tag with silver pearlescent watercolor. I glued on my bulbs, & used a silver paint pen to draw in the "cord." After I adhered the tag to the backer, I used metallic silver embroidery floss to tie on 3 small silver jingle bells at the top.

 

My second tag was inspired by Carol Mayne's penguin tags on Day 1. I printed Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps' "Festive Penguin" digital image onto a piece of Canson XL watercolor paper, and painted it with my watercolors. I die cut it with a scalloped circle die, & used another die 2 sizes larger to cut 2 green scalloped circles. I glued the green circles together for greater stability, & then glued the image circle on top. I punched a hole with a 1/8" hole punch, and threaded through a length of baker's twine.

 

 The inspiration for my 3rd tag came from Ardyth Percy-Robb's tag on Day 3. I die cut the poinsettia bract & leaf pieces from red & green cardstock scraps with the Poppystamps "Blooming Poinsettia" dies. I used Aged Mahogany & Pine Needles Distress inks on finger sponge daubers to add shading to the pieces. After curling the petals & leaves by running them over my bone folder, I adhered the center of the smaller flower layer to the larger with a tiny glue dot. I used more glue dots to adhere the leaves to the flower.

I embossed a white die cut tag with one of the "Bloom" embossing folders (discontinued) from Lifestyle Crafts, and glued my flower to that. I added red organza ribbon, & tied it with metallic embroidery floss. Finally, I glued some gold sequins in the center of the poinsettia for some bling.

Kim Heggins' tag on Day 1 inspired my 4th tag. I printed the "Winter Birds Trio" digital image (discontinued) from Bugaboo Stamps onto a 1-1/2"-tall strip of Canson XL watercolor paper, and painted it with my watercolors. I die cut a tag from a patterned paper from my scrap stash, & another from mint cardstock to go on the back. After adhering them back-to-back, I die cut the bottom with one of the "Stitched Borders 3" dies from Pretty Pink Posh. I then adhered my image panel with ATG tape. I stamped the greeting, from Lawn Fawn's "Winter Sparrows" set, onto the same mint cardstock, & added that under my image panel. I decided the image panel blended in to the background at the top too much, so I added another strip of mint above it. I threaded some cream satin ribbon through the top hole, and that finished this tag.

 

This tag's inspiration came from Carol Mayne's elegant creations on Day 4. I heat embossed the Essentials by Ellen "Mondo Poinsettia" (discontinued) in gold on white cardstock, and cut it out with the coordinating die. I heat embossed my greeting, from Hero Arts' "Color Layering Christmas Tree" stamp set, with the same gold onto a panel of burgundy cardstock. I matted that with a gold foil patterned paper from my scrap stash, that I had backed with white cardstock for more stability. Finally, I glued on my poinsettia.

For my 6th & final tag, I used Karen Bull's tag on Day 13 for my inspiration. I stamped the truck & presents from Stampendous' "Truck Tidings" (discontinued) onto Canson XL watercolor paper. After I painted the images with watercolors, I cut them out with the coordinating dies. Because the truck die also cuts out the side window, before I removed the paper from the die, I added double-sided tape behind the window to keep it attached to the truck body. I used the same tape to adhere the presents "into" the truck bed.

I die cut an oval from blue cardstock with a We R Memory Keepers die, & added a strip of brown cardstock to the bottom for a dirt road. I positioned that in my MISTI, and stamped the greeting. I ran the oval through my die cutting machine again with the same die, to cut the overhanging piece of the brown strip. I glued the truck in place & added the oval to a red mat. Finally, I used my Crop-a-Dile II to punch a 1/8" hole & threaded through a length of red satin ribbon.

Yappy Barkday!

 

 

My sister-in-law's birthday is coming up soon. She & my brother have 2 dogs, Glennis & Yeager, so he always wants me to make a card to her from them. While he hasn't requested one this year--yet--I decided to go ahead & make one. I used the sketch from the current Stella Says Sketch challenge at Catch the Bug's blog for my design.

I chose the "Birthday Pup 1" & "Birthday Pup 3" digital images from Bugaboo Stamps (both discontinued) for my focal image. They do not look like my brother's & sister-in-law's dogs, but I figured they are close enough. I created a 4x2" blank "canvas" in Photoshop, and dragged both images onto that. I resized them to fit, & positioned the dog on the right slightly overlapping the other one, so it looks like he's in front. I then printed the composite image onto a piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper.

I used an ultra-fine tip Sharpie marker to draw 2 parallel lines behind the pups to make a baseboard for my little scene. Then I painted everything with my watercolors. I did paint the dogs to look like Glennis & Yeager. After the watercolor dried, I went back over the dogs' eyes with a black felt-tip pen, & added catch lights with a white gel pen.

For the greeting, I used Lawn Fawn's "Harold's ABCs." I could have done it on the computer, but I was feeling a bit lazy. Not that spelling out a greeting with tiny letter stamps doesn't take effort! :) I spelled out "Yappy Barkday!" with the stamps onto an acrylic block. I stamped that on a scrap of white cardstock with Versafine Onyx Black ink. Then I cut that into a banner.

To finish the card, I first adhered a panel of teal cardstock to a white A2-size card base. I cut a strip from the "Citrus Matstack" from Die Cuts with a View, & adhered that towards the bottom of my card. I adhered my image panel, & finally glued the banner in place.

Joy

 

 My Favorite Things' Summer School is in full swing! Day 4's lesson was all about ombre. I decided to make a Christmas card, inspired also by Christmas Card Throwdown's August Color Challenge palette of orange, green, & gold. I based my design on the Sketch Challenge #501 from My Favorite Things.

The bands in the sketch combined with the ombre lesson made me think of faux dip dye. Kristina Werner had taught a lesson on this technique in one of the Spring Card Camps at Online Card Classes a few months ago. I found a scrap of Canson Montval 140 lb. watercolor paper in my stash that was already a great size. I trimmed it down just a smidge to square it up, and tore one short side. I then taped the 3 untorn sides to a cutting board to help keep warping to a minimum. I used only one shade of watercolor--Mijello Mission Gold's Hunter's Green--to paint the panel. I began by painting a very dilute mix for the first layer, and dried it with my heat tool. I kept adding more layers of paint, drying in between, and not going as far up the panel as the previous layer. For the bottom-most section, I went over the green with Indigo, which darkened it up considerably. I dried the panel one last time, removed it from my board, & die cut it with the stitched rectangle from My Favorite Things' "Blueprints 13" set (discontinued). I left the torn edge uncut, however.

I stamped the greeting, from My Favorite Things' "Joyous Christmas Sentiments" set (discontinued) in Versamark ink onto a scrap of off-white cardstock. I heat embossed it with Ranger Gold Super Fine Detail embossing powder, then die cut it with a circle die. I cut a dark orange mat with a slightly larger scalloped circle die, and glued the pieces together. I glued that centered on my watercolor panel. I matted the panel with more of the same dark orange, and adhered it to a white A2-size card base. Finally, I added 3 gold sequins for even more of a festive touch.

I'm also entering this in Creative Knockouts Challenge #362: "Sparkle & Shine."

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)

Get Well Soon

I've been participating in Online Card Classes' "Spring Card Camp 2." On Day 8 of camp, Kristina Werner had a lesson on "Faux Dip Dye." I combined that with Julie Ebersole's lesson on Day 11 on "Anti-Coloring" for my card.

I did the faux dip dye technique first, with 140 lb. watercolor paper and my watercolors. I cut the paper a little larger than I intended the finished panel size to be, so I could tape it to my cutting board. I tore the bottom edge, and taped the other 3 sides to my board. I created a gradient that went from pink to purple to black at the bottom. I don't know that the purple tones shine through the black, as Kristina said, but I still think it looks OK. After I dried the panel with my heat tool one last time, I removed the tape & cut the paper to size.

For the "anti-coloring," I used the "Mondo Hydrangea" stamp from Essentials by Ellen. I stamped it with Versamark ink onto a scrap of white cardstock, and heat embossed with Wow Persian Indigo embossing powder. It doesn't show up in the photo well, but it is very shiny & glittery in real life. I die cut it with the coordinating die, and played around a bit with placement on my panel. Finally, I glued it to my panel, and set a couple of acrylic blocks on top while the glue dried, to keep everything flat. After the glue had dried, I trimmed off the overhanging bits of the flower.

I heat embossed a greeting from Miss Ink's "Magnolia Sympathy" onto a scrap of pink cardstock. I cut that into a narrow strip, and glued it in place. Finally, I matted my panel with lavender cardstock, and adhered that to a white A2-size card base.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Creative Knockouts #351: "Embossing Delight"

613 Avenue Create #233: "Anything Goes" (not playing the twist)

Incy Wincy Designs: "Anything Goes"

Have a Fabulous Day

I have been participating in Online Card Classes' "Spring Card Camp," which is going on this month. I created this card, inspired by Debby Hughes' lesson on Day 5. I'm entering it in Creative Knockouts' Challenge #346: "Spring is on the Way."

I cut a panel of watercolor paper and taped it to a board. I applied clear water to the whole panel, then dropped in watercolors. I dried it with my heat tool, added a die cut stencil, and applied more watercolor. I let that air dry, then peeled off the stencil.

I stamped the butterfly from Hero Arts' "Butterfly & Flower" set (discontinued) onto a scrap of Strathmore Smooth Bristol paper with Versafine Onyx Black ink. I hit that briefly with my heat tool, just to make sure the ink dried thoroughly. The coordinating die doesn't cut the body, which is actually a separate stamp, so I fussy cut the image instead. Then I colored the butterfly sections with my Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers. I applied a small amount of color at the base of each wing section, then used a damp paintbrush to draw the color out to the end & create shading.

I stamped the greeting from the same set onto another scrap of bristol, and die cut it with a Hero Arts "Nesting Oval Infinity" die. Because the background panel had a few hard lines from the watercolor drying against the tape, I also die cut it with a Hero Arts "Rounded Rectangle Infinity" die. Finally, I adhered a panel of pink cardstock to a white A2-size card base, adhered my main panel, & glued on a few 5mm & 8mm Darice Crystal sequins.

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

The House that Stamps Built #DCC A120: "April Showers (Something Wet)" (used watercolor)
Die Cut Divas: "All About Animals"
A Blog Named Hero: "Watercolor"

Merry Christmas Cardinal

This is actually my second Christmas card of the year--and it's only April. Yay, me! :) I created this card for Christmas Card Throwdown's April Sketch Challenge.

I stamped the cardinal from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps' "Christmas Joy" set (discontinued) onto a piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper with Hero Arts Soft Granite ink. After I painted him with my watercolors, I decided to die cut with the coordinating die.

I stamped the wreath & greeting (Hero Arts "Color Layering Wreath"--discontinued) onto a scrap of white cardstock. I used Lawn Fawn Sage Leaf & Noble Fir inks for the first 2 layers of greenery, and Memento Northern Pine for the last layer. I stamped the greeting with Lawn Fawn Yeti ink a couple of times, then stamped over that with Candied Apple Distress Oxide ink. (The only reason for the Yeti pigment ink was because the "c" overlapped the greenery slightly, and didn't really show up without the white "base.") I die cut that with the coordinating die. I also stamped 2 of the pinecones from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps' "Christmas Pine" set in Gina K Charcoal Brown ink, and watercolored them. I fussy cut those out, and glued them together so I could "play" with their placement without them being too fiddly.

Because of the larger elements, I decided to make this a 5x7" card. (I did end up cutting it down to 6-1/2" tall in the end, though.) I cut a panel of patterned paper from my scrap stash to 4-1/2" wide, and cut 2 strips from another scrap of burgundy paper to go along either side. I adhered the burgundy strips along the sides of my card base, and then adhered the holly leaf panel in the middle. I die cut a circle to go behind my cardinal from another patterned paper scrap, and glued my image to that. To help the circle stand out a bit more, I inked around the edges with Pine Needles Distress ink.

I adhered my image/circle piece to the card. The white cardstock I'd stamped the wreath on looked a bit too stark, so I inked over it with Antique Linen Distress ink before gluing it in place on my card. And that finished my card. Two down...so many more to go! :)

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

613 Avenue Create #232: "Anything Goes" (not playing the twist)
Die Cut Divas: "All About Animals"