Canine Happy Mother's Day

My brother & sister-in-law's only "children" are their 2 dogs. He asked me to make a Mother's Day card from the dogs to her. I found this card on Pinterest, and liked the overall design of the paw print heart.

I created a blank canvas in Photoshop, sized to 5.75x5.75". After creating guides for 1/4" margins on all sides and adding a couple more horizontal guides where I wanted the text, I drew a heart with the custom shape tool. I initially planned to use this as a mask for the paw prints, but ended up making it just a guide to place them. I then drew a paw print, again using the custom shape tool, inside the heart. From there, I just copied that layer multiple times, resizing as needed, to fill the heart with paw prints. Finally, I turned the visibility of the heart layer off, so it wouldn't print in the end.

To make the paw prints rainbow-colored, I first merged all the paw print layers to make one layer. I then created a blank layer above it, and filled that with a rainbow gradient, going from the top left to the bottom right corners. I clipped the gradient layer to the paw print layer to create a mask, which colored only the paw prints.

I typed the first part of my greeting at the top of the panel. I sized it to fit, and colored the text by sampling the purple from the rainbow paw prints. I did the same for the rest of the greeting, this time making it blue.

I cut a piece of Bazzill Marshmallow cardstock to size, and printed the card front on it. I matted that with a 6x6" piece of navy cardstock, & adhered the card front to a white 6x6" card base. I love how this came out, even though it was rather time consuming copying & positioning all the paw prints! Hopefully my SIL will love it, too.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "For a Special Lady"
Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes"
613 Avenue Create #221: "Anything Goes" (not playing the twist)
Creative Knockouts #297: "Funny Card" (I think it's funny, anyway.)

Sending Hugs

A friend of mine is going through a rough patch right now, so I made her this card, just to let her know I'm thinking about her. I got inspiration from this card I saw on Pinterest. I used Waffle Flower's "Lotus" stamp set for the images, and Altenew's "Painted Encouragement" for the greeting.

I started by stamping the leaf stem & the bloom with Versafine Onyx Black ink onto a panel of Strathmore Smooth Bristol paper, then heat embossed with Recollections Clear Detail embossing powder. I masked the stem, and stamped & heat embossed the leaf. Finally, I masked the leaf & flower, and stamped & heat embossed the last stem, as well as the greeting.

I used my Tombow markers to color the images, with the inspiration card as a guide for color selection. I blended the colors with a damp paintbrush.

I had stamped the greeting a little too far to the left, and the design was a bit unbalanced as a result. So I ended up cutting 1/4" off the right side & top, to make the panel 3.75x5". I matted it with dark green cardstock and trimmed it to leave a 1/16" border on all sides. Finally, I adhered it to a white A2-size card base. This card was super simple to make, and only took me about an hour! I considered adding splatters or something, since I just have a problem with leaving white space. But I didn't want to risk ruining the card, so I just left it alone.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes"
Creative Knockouts #296: "Friendship"
613 Avenue Create #221: "Anything Goes" (not playing the twist)

Coolest Dad Ever!

The Sketch Challenge at Lawn Fawnatics inspired me to make this card. I am currently focusing on Father's Day cards to send to Send a Smile 4 Kids, so the kids who are inpatient at hospitals can give/send them to their dads.

I used a leftover circle of Strathmore Smooth Bristol paper to stamp my popsicles, from Lawn Fawn's "Best Pun Ever" stamp set (retired). I stamped the smaller popsicle with Versafine Clair Morning Mist ink, then heat embossed with clear powder. I masked that, stamped the larger popsicle with the same ink, and heat embossed it as well. Finally, I stamped & heat embossed the faces. The images ended up being a bit off-center, and I decided I wanted a smaller circle anyway. So I die cut it with a smaller die, centering the popsicles. I also used a scallop circle die to cut a mat from the middle of the panel I used for my background. After I colored my popsicles with my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers & a damp paintbrush, I glued the bristol circle to my scalloped mat.

I cut a panel of plaid paper from Lawn Fawn's "Perfectly Plaid Chill" 12x12" pack. I used the orthogonal side of the "Vacay" pattern, since I knew I would be putting diagonal strips on, and didn't want those to compete with a diagonal plaid.

I cut 2 blue & 1 yellow 1/2"-wide strips of cardstock from scraps, pretty much matching the colors to the plaid paper. I made sure to cut them longer than I thought I'd need, since they were going on a diagonal & I didn't want to get caught with them being too short. I then adhered them to the plaid panel. I kind of wish I'd made them a bit narrower, since they took up a lot of real estate in the end, but I left it. I glued the focal circle on, stamped & die cut 3 stars from the blue cardstock & glued them in place.

I stamped the greeting, from "Best Pun Ever," onto a strip of yellow cardstock. Because it ended up touching the yellow diagonal strip and it blended in, I cut a narrow mat from blue and adhered the greeting strip to that. Finally, I popped that onto the card. I adhered my mint colored mat panel to a white A2 card base, then mounted my card front to that.

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

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Anything Goes"
613 Avenue Create: "Anything Goes" (not playing the twist)
Pile It On #153: "Lots of Layers and/or Use Scraps" (used scraps for circle & strips)

Mother's Day Butterflies

Mother's Day here in the U.S. is fast approaching! I made this card for my brother & SIL to give to our mom. The sketch at My Favorite Things' Wednesday Sketch Challenge this week inspired the design.

I cut a piece of coral cardstock to 4x5.25", and die cut 3 of the "Flutter of Butterflies - Solid" by My Favorite Things (possibly discontinued) from that. I then stamped the negative piece with the "Romantic Script" background stamp by My Favorite Things. I heat embossed that with Ranger Silver Pearl embossing powder, to give some subtle interest to the background.

For the background panel, I cut a piece of Canson XL Mixed Media paper to 4-1/4x5-1/2". I masked off 1/8" around all 4 sides, and placed my coral panel in the center. I traced the butterfly openings onto the mixed media paper, and mostly erased the lines so they only showed up faintly. I used a makeup blending brush to apply Distress inks in Mustard Seed, Evergreen Bough, & Peacock Feathers to the areas I'd traced, then spritzed the panel lightly with water. I let the colors blend a bit, then dried the paper with my heat tool. I was really glad, when I removed the tape from around the edges, that the ink had not bled under it at all! (I have had that happen a time or two.)

Since I had decided to make a shaker card with one of the die cut windows off the edge of the card, I needed to figure out how to contain the beads I planned to use. My first attempt was using a page protector and my Fuse tool. That didn't work out very well, since when I fused around the (approximate) perimeter of the bottom butterfly, it didn't leave much room within the pouch for the beads to move. So I didn't even bother fusing the other 2 pockets.

On to Idea #2, which was to use acetate. I cut a piece of Grafix Duralar acetate to 8-1/8x5-1/4". I scored it along the long side at 4" & 4-1/8" to create a 1/8"-wide "spine," and folded along the score lines. I used double-sided tape to adhere one side to the back of my coral panel, making sure the folded edge was on the right side where the die cut opening went over the edge. I then added an insane amount of foam tape, doubling the layers to give my seed beads plenty of room to move. I added cornstarch in the openings with my anti-static powder bag, and wiped it away with a dry cloth. I cleaned any powder residue with a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol, then dried the acetate with a paper towel. After I added my beads in each opening, I (carefully!) removed all the foam tape liners. I folded the other half of the acetate over, adhering it to the foam tape. I carefully turned it over and gave it a shake--and it worked!

After I adhered my inked background panel to a white A2-size card base, I added more double-sided tape to the back of my shaker. I mounted that onto my card, and then moved on to the overlay butterflies. I used the corresponding dies from the "Flutter of Butterflies - Lace" set to die cut 3 butterflies from 40 lb. vellum. I also cut the bodies from light grey cardstock. I applied a small piece of 1/8" wide tape to the middle of each butterfly, and adhered them in place over the windows on my card. I glued the bodies on with liquid glue, and bent the wings up to give some added dimension.

For the greeting, I cut a narrow strip from white cardstock. I printed one of the "Mother's Day Sentiments" digital greetings from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps onto it, cut a banner end, and glued it to my card. And that finished it! A lot of work & mental focus, but I so love how it came out in the end!

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

Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes"
Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Anything Goes"
613 Avenue Create: "Anything Goes" (not playing the twist)

Happy Birdday

One of my cousins has a birthday coming up next week, so I made this card for her. The "Embossing" challenge at A Blog Named Hero inspired me. I used a few different Hero Arts stamps: "Better Together," "Missing You," & the "Foliage Bold Prints" background stamp.

I cut a piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper to 4x5.25". I die cut an oval window with a Hero Arts "Nesting Ovals Infinity" die. I wanted a tone-on-tone rainbow for my background, so I inked the panel first with lighter Distress inks (Abandoned Coral, Dried Marigold, Squeezed Lemonade, Twisted Citron, Tumbled Glass, Salty Ocean, & Shaded Lilac). I let that dry, then stamped the "Foliage Bold Prints" with Versamark ink, and heat embossed with Recollections Clear Detail embossing powder. Then I inked over that with Barn Door, Carved Pumpkin, Mustard Seed, Mowed Lawn, Peacock Feathers, Blueprint Sketch, & Wilted Violet Distress inks. The embossed areas resisted the second layer of ink, letting the first colors shine through. Overall, I really like the effect!

I stamped 4 birds & the branch from "Better Together" with Versafine Onyx Black ink onto scraps of Strathmore Smooth Bristol paper. I clear heat embossed those, and colored them with my Tombow markers before die cutting them. I also stamped, heat embossed, colored, & die cut the present from the Essentials by Ellen "Bear Ware" stamp set and the party hat from "Wish Big," (also Essentials by Ellen).

For the sign, I wanted it to look like it was hanging from the tree branch. I also wanted it to look like a carved wooden sign. So I die cut a piece of tan cardstock with a Pretty Pink Posh "Mini Tags" die and stamped my greeting (from "Missing You") in Versamark. I clear heat embossed that, then inked over it with Gathered Twigs Distress ink. I pierced 2 holes in the top of the tag, and threaded through some thin jute twine. I knotted each end of the twine & squirted a little liquid glue on the knots to make sure the won't come untied.

Since I wanted a sky background, I inked a piece of Canson XL Mixed Media paper with Tumbled Glass Distress ink, using the My Favorite Things "Cloud" stencil. I added a LOT of foam tape behind my background panel, making sure to adhere the branch to the back of that panel before adding foam tape to that area. I also put the twine over the branch, adhering it to the back of the branch with more foam tape. I adhered my cloud panel behind the oval window, and matted my background with an A2-size piece of green cardstock that I'd mounted to a white card base.

I attached my images to the panel with liquid glue. I also glued the sign, and added foam tape behind the parts of the sign & the 2 birds where they overlapped the oval opening. I love everything about this card! Hopefully my cousin will get a kick out of it as well!

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

a2zScrapbooking: "Color It In"
Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes"
My Favorite Things The Birthday Project: "ROYGBIV"
Die Cut Divas: "Anything Goes"

Spirelli Shamrock

My mother has a priest friend who is from Ireland. She wanted to send him a card for St. Patrick's Day, so I created this card for that purpose.

I wanted to do something really special. I initially thought of cross-stitching a Celtic cross, but the pattern I found turned out to be a bit too complicated--and large--to translate into a card. So I decided to do a spirelli design with a shamrock. I found a couple of string images on Pinterest, but no real patterns. Because of that, I ended up having to make my own.

I used a heart die from the Little B "Hearts" set as a pattern for the leaves. I traced it onto a piece of copy paper, then had to measure the perimeter to determine how far apart to place the holes. I cut a piece of string that was the same length as one side of the heart, & measured that. That came out to an even 3", so I could easily divide it, and just repeat the placement of the holes on the other half. I decided initially to place the holes 3/16" apart, but ended up changing it to 1/8" spacing. I marked them around half the heart, using a ruler to measure the 1/8" in between each hole. On the more sharply curved parts, I just got as close as I could to even spacing. After I'd finished the first half, I folded the paper along the mid-line of the heart, then pierced through the holes I'd marked to mark the other side, so they would line up with the first half.

The next challenge was to figure out the stringing order. I marked the dots with a pen so I wouldn't erase them. Then I used a pencil & ruler to draw lines between the dots, crossing the heart, until I had a pleasing design. It took about 3 tries, but I finally got it! I numbered the holes on the pattern & made a chart marking the order to string the numbered holes. All in all, I spent about 2 hours just coming up with this pattern.

I scanned the pattern into the computer, and opened it in Photoshop. I created a blank canvas sized to 4x5.25" to create my final pattern. I moved guides on the scanned image to create a grid, then used the brush tool to make a dot at each intersection of the guides. I then copied the layer the dots were on to my blank canvas, and duplicated it 2 times. I rotated one heart 90 degrees right, and another 90 degrees left. Finally, I positioned all 3 hearts on the canvas to form a shamrock. I used Photoshop's custom shape tool to draw a four-leaf clover, and erased all of it but the stem. I positioned the stem, and finally printed the pattern out on the back of a white cardstock panel I'd cut to the same size.

I pierced the holes, and then used green rayon thread to stitch the pattern on each leaf. After I'd finished that, I backstitched around each leaf and the stem. To finish the card, I wrapped a piece of green grosgrain ribbon around the bottom of the panel, adhering the ends to the back. I used Scor Tape to adhere my panel to a white A2 card base, and used another piece of ribbon to tie a knot. Finally, I added a button with a Celtic knot design to the center of the shamrock with Ranger Multi Medium Matte.

I'm entering this card in 613 Avenue Create's Challenge #219: "Anything Goes" (not playing the twist).

Upbeet Birthday

I have an uncle with a rather dry wit and a love of puns & plays on words. His birthday is coming up next month, and I thought this card would be perfect. I contemplated putting party hats on the beets, but decided it would be a bit of overkill. :)

I cut a rectangle of white cardstock for my planter box. I applied Barn Door Distress Oxide ink to it, using the direct-to-paper method. I let that dry for just a bit, then stamped the Altenew "Wood Pallet Background" on it with Aged Mahogany Distress Oxide ink to give it an authentic woodgrain look. For the dirt, I cut a strip of white cardstock, and cut a roughly rounded edge on one long side with a pair of decorative edge scissors. I then applied Ground Espresso Distress ink to it, again direct-to-paper. I used my heat gun to dry the ink, then glued it to the back top edge of my planter.

To create the grass, I die cut 2 strips of Canson XL Mixed Media paper with Lawn Fawn's "Grassy Hillside Borders" dies. I inked the strip for the back grass with Shabby Shutters Distress ink, adding a touch of Crushed Olive Distress ink to the bottom. (Though I'm not totally sure the Crushed Olive was necessary, since it doesn't really show in the end.) I did the foreground grass with Crushed Olive, with a little Shabby Shutters at the top of the grass. Finally, I spritzed the pieces with water from a Distress Sprayer, and blotted them dry with a cloth to give them a bit of distressing.

I stamped the beets, from Lawn Fawn's "Rooting for You" set, with Hero Arts Grape Juice ink and the greens with Ranger Archival Leaf Green & Hero Arts Forever Green. For the plant poke, I stamped the poke itself with Old Paper Distress Oxide ink, and the "beets" word with Versafine Onyx Black. After die cutting all the pieces with the coordinating dies, I glued the greens to the tops of the beets with liquid glue. I ran a line of tape runner adhesive along the back of the planter box, and stuck my beets & poke to that.

I cut a panel of blue cardstock for my card front, and inked the upper part with Broken China Distress ink to give a bit of shading to my "sky." For the greeting, I used Lawn Fawn's "Smitty's ABC's" stamp set. I placed the card front in my MISTI, after adhering the background grass only, and used a curved Thickers Alignment Guide to help me place the first line of my greeting. (I got my inspiration from the "have an upbeet day" greeting in "Rooting for You.") When I had all the letters positioned correctly, I stamped them with Seedless Preserves Distress Oxide ink. I used a grid sheet to line up the letters for "birthday," & stamped that with Candied Apple Distress Oxide ink.

I ended up having to adhere my planter box a little lower than I'd initially planned, since the tops of the beets went over the bottom of my greeting--oops! But it still worked out fine. I used tape runner to adhere it in place, and then adhered the foreground grass over it. At that point, I realized that I could stamp faces on the beets after all, so I did that with Versafine Onyx Black ink. I also stamped the watering can with Candied Apple (to echo the red in the greeting), die cut it with the coordinating die, and glued it in place. Finally, I mounted my card front to a white A2-size card base.

I'm entering my card in the following challenges:

Dies R Us Challenge #114: "Use the Color Red"
613 Avenue Create: "Anything Goes" (not playing the twist)
Simon Says Stamp's Monday Challenge: "Add Some Red"
Creative Knockouts Challenge #284: "Birthday Wishes"