Happy Father's Day

Ellen Hutson is currently having their Mix-It Up challenge for April. Participants are to make a project using at least one Essentials by Ellen product & one or more products from Taylored Expressions. I used the "12 Days Companion Greetings" & the truck from Taylored Expressions' "Big Delivery."

I used Sketch #228 from Operation Write Home for my design. I first stamped the truck onto a piece of kraft cardstock in Memento Tuxedo Black ink, and colored it with my Prismacolor colored pencils.

For the greeting panel, I stamped the "Happy Father's Day" on a piece of kraft cardstock. I taped the "Mini Houndstooth" stencil by The Crafters Workshop over my panel, and spread Golden Light Molding Paste that I'd colored with Ground Espresso Distress ink over it. I did make sure I avoided the greeting area. Once I had the coverage I wanted, I carefully lifted the stencil, and cleaned it & my non-stick craft mat. Then I set the panel aside to dry for a few hours.

To assemble the card, I matted my greeting & image panels with some darker brown cardstock. I cut a piece of patterned paper from Authentique's "Natural" 6x6" paper pad to 4.25x5.5", and adhered my greeting & image panels to that. I glued down a button with Perfect Paper Adhesive, and threaded some jute twine through it, tying that in a knot. Finally, I mounted my card front to a white A2 card base. I will send this to Send a Smile 4 Kids.

Never Give Up

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

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

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

Happy Birthday--Smile!

The current Lawnscaping challenge theme is "Sweets." I decided to make a birthday card to send to Send a Smile 4 Kids, to brighten the day of a hospitalized child.

I stamped Taylored Expressions' "Mason Jar" on a piece of Strathmore Smooth Bristol paper, using Ranger Archival Watering Can ink and second-generation stamping. I then used Antique Linen Distress ink to stamp several gumballs, from the "Sweet Smiles" set by Lawn Fawn, inside the jar. I also stamped 5 more gumballs for around the jar. I colored the gumballs in with my Zig Clean Color pens. For the shading on the jar, I scribbled one of the blue Zig pens onto an acrylic block, and picked up some color with a water brush to dilute it before applying it to my paper. Finally I die cut the jar and gumballs with their coordinating dies.

I die cut a panel from some hot pink cardstock with a Simon Says Stamp "Stitched Rectangles" die. I then used the "Happy Birthday #1" stamp by Stampabilities and Hero Arts Pale Tomato ink to create a tone-on-tone background.

For the background, I used one of the patterned papers from Echo Park's "Fine and Dandy" 6x6" pad. I cut it to 4.25x5.5", and adhered it to a white A2 card base. I then adhered my pink panel to that. I felt the jar looked a little "naked," so I created a tag from some yellow cardstock, with the "Smile!" from "Sweet Smiles" stamped on it in Watering Can. I tied that to the top of the jar with some pink and white baker's twine, then adhered the jar to the card front. I glued down the remaining gumballs, and this card was done.

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

Craft Your Passion Challenge #305: "Anything Goes"
Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes"

Rainbow Birthday Card

A Blog Named Hero's current challenge theme is "Rainbow." I decided to make a birthday card to send in my next package to Send a Smile 4 Kids.

I stamped the "Painted Diamonds Background" by Hero Arts onto a piece of white cardstock with Versamark ink. I heat embossed that with Ranger Silver Pearl embossing powder. When the embossing had cooled, I ran it through my die cutting machine with one of the Tim Holtz "Labels" dies by Sizzix. Then I blended Distress inks in Festive Berries, Spiced Marmalade, Mustard Seed, Twisted Citron, Salty Ocean, & Wilted Violet, going in rainbow order down the panel.

For the greeting, I wanted to do a chalkboard look. I cut a piece of black paper, and stamped one of the greetings from Simon Says Stamp's "Big Birthday Wishes" in Versamark, and heat embossed it with Ranger Super Fine Detail White embossing powder. I used Hero Arts' Unicorn White pigment ink on a sponge dauber to ink the panel to look like chalk smudges. After adhering the black panel to a white A2 card base, I used foam tape to pop my rainbow panel on the card, making sure the greeting showed through the die cut window.

I die cut balloons from 3 colors of shimmer paper using two of the dies from Lawn Fawn's "Party Balloons" set. I cut a piece of white crochet thread for each, and tied the strings around the bottoms of the balloons. I ran the strings through my fingers to apply a little Perfect Paper Adhesive to them, then wrapped them around the handle of a paintbrush to curl them. When the glue had dried, I removed the paintbrushes, and glued the balloons to my card front.

To finish, I added some Pretty Pink Posh Sparkling Clear sequins, in the 4mm & 6mm sizes. I applied a drop of Silver Stickles to the center of each sequin, and my card was done.

I'm also entering this card in a2z Scrapbooking's March challenge: "Embossing."

Owl Card Trio

a2z Scrapbooking's challenge theme for March is "Embossing." Either wet or dry--use embossing on a project, and also use at least one Hero Arts product.

I created a trio of cards, using Sketch #SC579 from Splitcoaststampers.com & Hero Arts' "Curious Owl" stamp. For my first card, I stamped the owl on a piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper using Hero Arts Cup o' Joe ink. I then stamped him again right over top with Versamark ink. (I had already converted my stamp to cling mount, so I could use my MISTI, or this would have been almost impossible.) Next I clear heat embossed the image. I used Distress inks in Antique Linen, Brushed Corduroy, and Gathered Twigs to watercolor the image, adding some Fossilized Amber for the beak & feet. After that dried, I painted the background with watered-down Salty Ocean Distress ink. I added some water droplets to the blue with my paintbrush, making sure not to get any on the owl. After that sat for several seconds, I blotted up the water with a paper towel, effectively bleaching the color under the droplets.

I ran 2 strips of kraft cardstock through the "Polka Dots" Cuttlebug embossing folder. I punched a half circle in the wider strip with a 2" circle punch, to create an opening for my owl. Finally, I glued them to the top & bottom of my watercolor panel. I printed my greeting, from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps' "Owl Sentiments" digital stamp set, onto a scrap of light blue cardstock. I cut it into a banner shape, and stapled it to my card front with my Tiny Attacher. Finally, I matted my panel with cream cardstock, and adhered it to a white A2 card base.

For my second card, I paper pieced the owl. I stamped him onto a piece of kraft cardstock for the background, and also onto 3 neutral patterned papers from my scrap stash. I fussy cut the paper sections, and glued them in place over the background image. I colored the eyes in with a white gel pen, using a black gel pen for the pupils. I masked off the image, and blended over the kraft with Brushed Corduroy & Gathered Twigs Distress inks. I added water splatters, and blotted them to leave lighter spots on the background. I added green cardstock strips to the top & bottom, again using my 2" circle punch on the wider strip. Finally, I printed & adhered my greeting (also from "Owl Sentiments"), matted the panel with cream, and mounted it to a white A2 card base.

I colored the owl for my final card with Prismacolor colored pencils, and used Gamsol on a paper stump to blend the colors. After masking the owl, I blended an ombre background with Shabby Shutters, Crushed Olive, & Peeled Paint Distress inks. I again used white & black gel pens for the eyes, added my yellow cardstock strips, greeting strip, and matted it with kraft cardstock. I adhered my card front to a white A2 card base, and my trio of cards for Send a Smile 4 Kids was done!

I'm also entering my first card in Live Love Cards' March challenge to use colored cardstock.

Butterfly Hugs

The Lawnscaping blog has been having a "Color Splash" challenge. I created this card for it.

I first cut a piece of white cardstock to 4.25x5.5". Using the "Puffy Cloud Borders" dies by Lawn Fawn, I die cut the panel into strips. I did make sure to number each piece as I cut, so I could easily reassemble them. After I'd finished die cutting, I adhered them to another piece of white cardstock cut to the same size. I adhered just the top and side edges of each strip, leaving the bottom loose.

For my greeting, I used Lawn Fawn's "Scripty Hugs" die. I applied Stick It adhesive to both sides of a piece of black craft foam, and adhered a piece of black paper to one side. I then die cut the word from that. I removed the release paper from the backside, and adhered it to my card front. After burnishing it with my teflon bone folder, I went over it with my clear Wink of Stella pen. It doesn't show in the photo, but it's really shimmery in real life!

I stamped one of the butterflies from "Flights of Fancy" by Crafter's Companion onto a scrap of 140 lb. watercolor paper with Versamark ink. After heat embossing it with Stampendous Marcasite embossing powder, I watercolored the wings with Picked Raspberry & Seedless Preserves Distress inks. Because there are no coordinating dies, I fussy cut it out, leaving a small white border. I adhered it above my greeting with foam tape.

To finish, I adhered my panel to a white A2 card base. Then I glued several sequins to the card front: Darice 5mm Crystal & some 8mm white iridescent ones I got at Hobby Lobby. Finally, I added drops of Star Dust Stickles to the centers of my sequins.

I'm also entering my card in Send a Smile 4 Kids' "Spring Colors 4 Kids" challenge.

Magnolia for Mother's Day

Today is the last day for the March "Mix It Up" challenge at Ellen Hutson's CLASSroom blog. The prompt is to make a project using at least one Essentials by Ellen product & at least one Pretty Pink Posh product. I used the "Mondo Magnolia" & "12 Days Companion Greetings" stamp sets from Essentials by Ellen, and Pretty Pink Posh's "Stitched Duo 3" die.

I stamped the flower from "Mondo Magnolia" onto a piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper that I'd cut to 4.25x5.5". Then I heat embossed it with Recollections Gold Detail embossing powder. I also went ahead and stamped & heat embossed the greeting. I used Antique Linen Distress ink to watercolor some shading onto the flower. (It doesn't show up well in the photo, but provides a bit of subtle dimension in real life.) After I dried the panel with my heat tool, I brushed clear water around the flower, and dropped in Mowed Lawn Distress ink, letting that bleed out so the edges were soft. Before that dried, I went back in, just around the edges of the magnolia, with Pine Needles Distress ink, blending that into the Mowed Lawn.

I dried the panel with my heat tool again, and taped the tag die from "Stitched Duo 3" over the flower. I die cut that, and adhered the negative piece to a white A2 card base. I punched a 1/4" diameter circle, and glued that to my tag as a reinforcer. When the glue had dried, I punched through both layers with a 1/8" hole punch. I threaded 2 lengths of gold cording through the hole, and tied a bow. Then I applied foam tape generously to the back of the tag, and adhered it to my card base, in the space where I'd cut it out from the background. I added a little Perfect Paper Adhesive to the knot on the bow, just to keep it from coming untied, and my card was finished. I will send this in my next package to Send a Smile 4 Kids.

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

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday "A Bit o' Green"
Simon Says Stamp's Work It Wednesday "Use Something Floral"
Incy Wincy Designs "Shades of Green"
Die Cut Divas "Something Spring"