Happy Holidays

The current Fusion challenge is "Pastel Halloween." Since I have no more need for Halloween cards now, I decided to use the sketch (flipped horizontally) and colors in the inspiration photo for a Christmas card.

I began by stamping my ornaments. I used Sunny Studio's "Holiday Style" set. The layering images in this set are amazing! They just give such a realistic look. I decided to have 5 ornaments, since odd numbers are generally more pleasing to the eye. I used Memento Angel Pink, Altenew Frosty Pink; Memento New Sprout, Altenew Frayed Leaf; and Hero Arts Soft Pool & Tumbled Glass Distress Oxide inks for my ornaments. I also pulled in some Delicata Silvery Shimmer for the toppers. After I die cut all the pieces, I glued each topper to an ornament.

I used Lawn Fawn's "Winter Penguin" stamp set for my greeting. I positioned my ornaments on my green panel temporarily, tacking them down with painter's tape. I placed the panel in my MISTI stamp positioning tool, and stamped the greeting with Versamark ink. I actually did each word separately, so I could snug them together more. I heat embossed the greeting with Ranger Super Fine Detail White embossing powder. After that had cooled, I went ahead & glued down my ornaments.

I felt the panel had too much white space (something I always struggle with), so I decided to die cut the upper left corner with the "A2 Curved Edge" die (discontinued) from Simon Says Stamp. I used a scrap of patterned paper as a guide for where to cut. I also die cut a strip of silver glitter cardstock with the same die, and positioned it under the green, so it peeks out about 1/8". I adhered my patterned paper to the upper left corner of a white A2 card base, and mounted my card front over that.

I'm also entering this card in 613 Avenue Create's "Anything Goes" challenge.

Peeking Santa

I am very happy to be the Guest Designer at Send a Smile 4 Kids challenge blog today! The theme for their challenge is "Fall or Holiday Wishes 4 Kids OR Anything Goes 4 Kids." I encourage you to check out their challenge, and enter a card made for a child. I created this card using Bugaboo Stamp's "Santa Clause Peeker." I also used Sketch #SC585 from Splitcoaststampers.com for my design.

I began by opening Santa in Photoshop. I created a blank canvas, and moved him to that. I sized him to fit, flipped him horizontally, and printed the image onto a panel of 140 lb. watercolor paper. I actually made my paper a bit wider than in the sketch, since I knew I wanted to fussy cut him along the right edge.

I colored the image with my Inktense pencils, using a damp paintbrush to pick up the color from the pencils and apply it to the paper. I find this method gives me maximum control, and keeps me from having pencil lines that won't dissolve when I brush water over them. I did add a bit to the bottom of Santa, just to make him look a little more like he had legs. I also colored his belt buckle & the frames of his glasses with a gold gel pen. After he had dried, I fussy cut along the right edge of the image.

The other side of the sketch reminded me of a present. I cut 2 panels from The Paper Studio's "Christmas Basics" 6x6" patterned paper pad. I adhered them to a scrap of white cardstock, leaving about a 1/4" gap in between. In hindsight, I probably could have just cut one larger panel, & saved myself a bit of work. I wrapped a piece of white satin ribbon around the seam where I'd adhered them to the white cardstock. I wrapped another piece of ribbon around the center going vertically. Finally, I tied a bow from the leftover ribbon, and adhered it to the panel with a glue dot. I squirted a little liquid glue under the knot in the bow, just to keep it from coming untied.

I adhered my Santa panel to a red A2 size piece of cardstock, leaving a 1/8" mat on the top, bottom, & left sides. I made sure not to glue down the parts that were sticking out on the right yet, though. Then I adhered my "gift box," tucking the left edge under Santa's hand & beard. Finally, I glued the rest of Santa to the card, and adhered the card front to a white card base.

Merry & Bright

The current challenge at Christmas Card Throwdown is to use silver on a holiday card. I decided to go all out, and use lots of silver on my card. It does make it hard to photograph, but it is really beautiful in real life!

I die cut the "Poinsettia Border" by Memory Box from some silver mirror cardstock. I had a little trouble with the design after this point, because the die cut is just shy of 5.5" long, but narrow. I finally decided to cut a panel of light blue cardstock to 3.75x5.5", to accommodate the die cut & my greeting. I had applied Stick It adhesive to the back of my silver cardstock before die cutting, so it was just a case of pop out the die cut and adhere it to my panel. Granted, some of the interior petal pieces came out on their own, and I had to set them aside to stick in when I'd adhered the rest of the die cut. But it wasn't too bad overall.

After I had adhered my die cut, I put the panel in my MISTI stamp positioner tool. I lined up the greeting, from Hero Arts' "Joy to the World" stamp set, so it sat in the crook between 2 of the flowers. I stamped it in Versamark ink, and heat embossed with Ranger Silver embossing powder.

I decided at that point that the upper left area looked really blank. I have a problem with leaving open "white" space, but I wasn't sure what to put there. I finally die cut a bit of the "Poinsettia Border" from more silver cardstock, and adhered it in the corner. Then the design looked unbalanced, so I die cut another bit and adhered it in the bottom left corner. That just seemed to help the flow a bit, and I'm happy now!

I cut 2 narrow strips of navy cardstock, and adhered them to a white A2 size card base. I left about a 3/16" border on either side. Finally, I adhered my main panel in place. I really like how this card came out--well worth the struggle with the design!

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

Very Happy Halloween

The current challenge theme for Lawn Fawnatics is "Awesome Autumn." I recently got the Lawn Fawn "Pick of the Patch" stamp set & coordinating dies, and have been dying to play with them! I figured this challenge was the perfect opportunity.

I used Sketch #SC707 from Splitcoaststampers.com, flipped vertically, as a jumping off point for my design. I thought the little images from "Pick of the Patch" would be perfect for a little Halloween scene, using the "Stitched Film Strip" die from Pretty Pink Posh.

I first adhered a piece of green cardstock to fun foam with Stick It adhesive. I also added Stick It to the back of the foam. I ran that through my die cut machine with the filmstrip die. I popped out the inner pieces, and laid the die cut on a piece of Strathmore Smooth Bristol paper that I'd cut to fit behind it. I lightly traced around the openings with a pencil, and used those lines to guide my inking. I inked the top portion of the rectangle with Faded Jeans Distress ink. For the grass, I cut another scrap of bristol with one of Lawn Fawn's "Stitched Hillside Borders" dies. I inked that with Mowed Lawn Distress ink, and adhered it behind the filmstrip die cut, so just a bit peeked up from the bottom. I then glued that to my "sky" piece, and trimmed off the excess paper.

I stamped the squirrels, pumpkin, knife, & scoop onto some Strathmore Vellum Bristol paper, using Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I colored them with my Prismacolor colored pencils. After I die cut my images, I glued them to my filmstrip background. I had to tuck the squirrels' tails under the filmstrip, so they would fit in their spaces. I do think that adds to the scene, though! Once I had them in place, I burnished the filmstrip to the background piece, to make it stick permanently.

For the moon, I die cut a circle from Canson XL Mixed Media paper, using a We R Memory Keepers "Nesting Circles" die. I inked that with Scattered Straw Distress ink. I then splattered some Perfect Pearls solution onto the moon, let that sit for a couple of seconds, and blotted the water up with a dry cloth. That gave me the look of "craters," and added interest to the moon. I stamped my greeting, also from "Pick of the Patch," with Delicata Black Shimmer ink. Once that dried, I glued the bottom portion of my moon behind the filmstrip.

To give my background panel a bit of depth, I inked a piece of navy cardstock with Chipped Sapphire Distress ink. While I was inking, I laid my image/moon panel on the background. That served as a guide, so I could keep from inking around where the moon would be. I just wanted a hint of a "glow" there.

After I finished inking the background panel, I adhered it to a white A2 size card base. I then glued my focal panel to that, and this simple card was done! I really love how this card came out, especially since the finished product was just like the concept I had in mind when I started!

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

Die Cut Divas: "Autumn & Halloween"
613 Avenue Create: "Anything Goes" (not playing the optional twist)

Awesome x2

I have a little different post today. Neat & Tangled is having a tutorial challenge. I don't do video tutorials, so I'm doing a photo tutorial instead. So, grab a cup of your favorite beverage, and let's get going!

Masculine version

I actually made 2 cards, one feminine and one more masculine. I figured, I had everything out, so I might as well take just a few extra minutes to make a second card. I used Neat & Tangled's "Awesome" die set, which cuts out both the word and the shadow. I also used the coordinating "Awesome" stamp set to complete my greeting.

Feminine version

I began by choosing a sketch from Splitcoaststampers as the basis for my design. Next, I picked out my patterned papers. For the masculine version, I chose one from Echo Park's "That's My Boy" 6x6" pad. I used a pattern from Echo Park's "Anything Goes" 6x6" pad for the feminine version.

I cut each paper first to A2 size, then cut the left strip to 2-3/4 wide. I took the remaining piece, flipped it 180 degrees, and trimmed it to 1-3/8" wide, basically taking 1/8" off the left side. This gave me the gap I wanted, while still keeping the pattern continuous. To keep me straight on which panel went which way, I drew a small arrow on the back of each, so I would be sure the patterns matched up.

For the strip on the masculine version, I simply cut a 3/8" strip from the leftover patterned paper, and flipped it over to the orange on the reverse side. No better way to coordinate papers than to use from the same collection! I couldn't do that with the diamond pattern, though, so I just used a green cardstock scrap from my stash.

To help me place my strip in the right place on my card base, I first placed the left patterned panel on the front of the base, and traced along the right edge with a pencil. I used my grid ruler and drew another line 1/8" to the left of that. I then adhered my strip along that line. After that, I just adhered my patterned paper panels in place.

I die cut a heart, with a Nellie's Choice "Straight Heart" die, from a scrap of pink cardstock, for my feminine version. For the masculine, I die cut a star, using a Lifestyle Crafts "Nesting Stars" die. I also die cut the "Awesome" from green cardstock for the feminine and from brown for the masculine. I used Essentials by Ellen 40 lb. vellum for the shadow.

For the stamped greeting, I cut a 1/2" wide strip from the same cardstocks I'd used for the die cut word. I stamped the greeting with Versafine Onyx Black ink, and trimmed the ends of each strip to make a funky banner.

After I ran the word die cuts through my Xyron Sticker Maker, I adhered them to the vellum shadow.

To keep the die cut heart & star straight, I made a small pencil mark where I wanted the middle of each shape to go. I lined up my T-square ruler with that mark, lightly adhered the shape partly on the card & partly on the ruler with my ATG, then just pulled the ruler out from under it. I then adhered my greeting banner to each card. Finally, I used a little Perfect Paper Adhesive liquid glue to glue down the die cut word. These cards came together fairly easily, in under an hour for both!

Only 11

My sister-in-law's 40th birthday is this weekend. I found this card on Pinterest, and thought the concept would be perfect for this occasion! I have actually been sitting (quietly) on it for months, waiting for her birthday, so I could put it to good use. :)

I didn't copy the card exactly. I looked at it before making my version, but used the card only for inspiration. I die cut the numbers using Lawn Fawn's "Quinn's 123's" from a scrap of patterned paper from Pink Paislee's "Birthday Bash" 6x6" pad. I stamped the numbers onto the die cuts with the matching stamps in Versafine Onyx Black ink. Finally, I ran them through my Xyron Sticker Maker, to apply adhesive to the back.

I stamped the Scrabble-looking letters using the "Game Tile Letters" set from Simon Says Stamp. I used Versafine ink again, since I was using real cherry wood veneer paper to stamp on. I thought this ink would bleed less than a water-based dye ink. I was right on that point, but I hadn't realized it wouldn't dry! I tried heat-setting it, but it still lifted when I (carefully) pressed my finger against it. So I finally took the paper outside and sprayed it with a matte fixative, which solved the problem. I let the paper sit for a few hours, as per the instructions on the spray, then cut the letters out with my scissors. I glued them to a piece of brown craft foam, and put them under acrylic blocks until the glue dried.

For the background, I used the largest of Lawn Fawn's "Small Stitched Rectangle" dies to cut a panel of mint cardstock. I matted that with another pattern from "Birthday Bash," that I'd cut to A2 size. I lightly adhered my "40" to the mint panel, just to judge where to stamp my first line of letters. I determined it would look best to have about 1/2" from the top of my mint panel to the tops of the numbers, and the same distance from the bottom of the panel to the bottom of my tiles. I used my MISTI to help me position & stamp the letters from Lawn Fawn's "Claire's ABC's" set in Versafine ink directly onto my panel. After the ink had dried, I permanently adhered the "40" & "11" centered side-to-side on the panel in their respective spots. Finally, I used small pieces of Scor Tape to adhere my game tile letters, and this card was done! I considered adding sequins or something, but decided in the end just to leave it as is.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

613 Avenue Create Challenge #213: "Anything Goes" (not playing the twist)
Dies R Us Challenge #105: "What's Your Number?"

Happy Halloween Hedgehog

Send a Smile 4 Kids is collecting fall & Halloween cards through the end of this month. I created this card for that organization, with the hope that it will bring a smile to the face of a hospitalized child this Halloween!

I used Sketch #SC706 from Splitcoaststampers.com as the basis for my design. I first cut a piece of Strathmore Vellum Bristol paper to size, and stamped my hedgehog, from Penny Black's "Bewitched" set (discontinued). I used Memento Tuxedo Black ink for that. I colored the image with my Prismacolor colored pencils, using Gamsol on paper blending stumps to blend the colors & add shading. After I'd finished coloring, I went over a couple of lines with my black colored pencil to reestablish them, since the colored pencils had faded those lines out too much. I also went over the eye & nose with a black glaze pen to make them pop.

I cut a piece of purple patterned paper from The Paper Studio's "Trick or Treat" letter-size pad to A2 size, and adhered it to my white card base. I also cut a piece of orange polka-dotted paper to size. After I adhered my image panel to that, I used glue dots to attach 3 buttons next to it. I pierced holes in the paper through the buttonholes, and stitched them with orange embroidery floss. Then I adhered that panel to my card.

For the greeting, I used one from My Favorite Things' "Batty About You" stamp set (discontinued) I cut a narrow strip of light purple cardstock, and stamped the greeting in Versafine Onyx Black ink. I cut the right end into a V-shape, and adhered it to my card. The longest part of this process was coloring the hedgehog & picking out the buttons. The rest of the card was pretty easy to pull together.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp's Monday Challenge: "Stamp It On"
Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Stamp It for STAMPtember"
613 Avenue Create's Challenge #213: "Anything Goes" (not playing the twist)
Send a Smile 4 Kids Challenge: "Cute Fall or Halloween Cards 4 Kids"