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"

Agapanthus Hello

Hero Arts has started a new series of challenges on their blog, called "Stay Crafty with Hero." The current challenge is "Never Seen Ink." Basically, take your older stamps that you've never used and use them! Hero Arts products, while encouraged, are not required. I pulled out Altenew's "Versatile Vases" stamp set for my card as my never-inked set.

I cut a panel of Strathmore Smooth Bristol paper to 3-3/4x5". After lining the vase stamp up in my MISTI, I stamped it with Lawn Fawn's Kiddie Pool ink, dried it with my heat tool, and then added "water" with a pale blue Tombow marker. I blended that color out with a damp paintbrush. I put the panel back in my MISTI & positioned the agapanthus stamp (from Stampendous' "Agapanthus Thanks" stamp set). I masked off the bottom of the vase with a piece of yellow Frog tape, and "inked" up the flower stem with a green Tombow marker. I stamped that, and repeated to get a better impression. I cleaned off the stem, and added color to the flower portion with a purple marker. After I stamped that twice, I used my paintbrush to blend the color in the center of the flower out just a bit, to help fill in the area.

I die cut a tag from a scrap of bristol paper with the smallest of the "Pinpoint Main Street Tags" dies (discontinued) from Poppystamps. I used my purple marker & damp paintbrush to do kind of an ombre on the tag. I dried that with my heat tool, and stamped the "hello" from "Versatile Vases" with Versafine Clair Morning Mist ink. I pierced a hole through the end of the tag, and used some thin jute twine to tie a bow through the hole. I pierced 2 more holes on either side of the vase, & threaded twine through them, taping the ends to the back of the panel. I used a thin foam dot at the end of the tag, and double-sided tape for the rest, and adhered it in place. The foam dot gives it just a bit of lift, for added depth & dimension.

I matted the panel with lavender cardstock, leaving a 1/8" border. I adhered that to a piece of green cardstock, and trimmed that to a 1/16" border on all 4 sides. Finally, I mounted the card front to a white A2-size card base.

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

Dies R Us Challenge #142: "Anything Goes Using Any Brand of Die DRU Sells" (used a Poppystamps die)
613 Avenue Create Challenge #231: "Anything Goes" (not playing the twist)

Card Drive for Seniors

Ellen Hutson, based in Issaquah, WA, is having a card drive to collect cards for senior citizens in one of their local nursing & rehab facilities. Because of the current COVID-19 pandemic, nursing home residents are not permitted to have visitors. While they may not be able to see people face-to-face, hopefully cards will prove to be the next best thing. Ellen Hutson needs encouraging cards, with messages written on the inside for the residents. I created 2 cards for this drive.

For my first card, I used Sketch #SC579 from Splitcoaststampers.com as the basis for my design. I chose the "Daisy Kitty" & "So Much to Say #1" by Inky Antics for my image & greeting. I stamped the image in Altenew Vanilla Cream ink onto a panel of Strathmore Smooth Bristol paper. I colored it with my Tombow water-based markers. I added a bit of a very pale yellow to the daisy petals, just to help them stand out a little bit.

I used a 2" circle punch to punch out the opening in the patterned paper (from Pink Paislee's "Summer Lights" 6x6" pad). I adhered that and the top strip to my bristol paper panel, matted everything with a light green cardstock panel, & adhered it to my card base.

For the greeting, I chose the "sending you" & "warm hugs" stamps from "So Much to Say #1." To keep the greeting shorter so it would fit in the space I had, I masked the "you," inked up "sending" with Lawn Fawn's Forget-Me-Not ink, and stamped (after removing the masking tape from the stamp, of course!). Then I lined up the "warm hugs" stamp, inked again with the same color, & stamped it. I cut that into a small strip, and adhered it to my card.

I chose Newton's Nook's "Newton's Birdhouse" image for my second card. I stamped it onto a panel of Strathmore Vellum Bristol paper with Memento Tuxedo Black ink. Since this was a new stamp, I had to stamp it about 3 times to get a good black outline. I colored it with my Prismacolor colored pencils, using Gamsol on a blending stump to blend just the kitty's fur, so it would look nice & soft. I also added grass with 2 green pencils, to ground the image.

I stamped my greeting, also from the "So Much to Say #1" set, in Lawn Fawn's Blue Jay ink, onto a strip of Bazzill Icy Mint cardstock. I die cut 3 hearts from a scrap of patterned paper I had in my stash, using the 3 smallest of Hero Arts' "Nested Hearts Infinity" dies. I assembled my card, following Sketch #SC639, also at Splitcoaststampers.com, and using papers from the "Summer Lights" pad. I matted everything with a mint-green cardstock, and adhered it to my card base.

I'm also entering these in the following challenges:

Die Cut Divas: "Anything Goes" (second card only)
613 Avenue Create #231: "Anything Goes" (playing the colored pencils twist on my second card)
The House that Stamps Built Challenge #DCC M420: "It's Raining Cats & Dogs"

Hey! - You've Got This

I just finished making my latest batch of cards for Send a Smile 4 Kids. One of the needs was cards for teens & older patients. I found this older card by Nichol Spohr, and thought it would be perfect for this.

I cut a piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper to 4-1/8x5-3/8". I used Distress inks in a rainbow of colors to do my stamping. I inked up the "HEY!" stamp from Simon Says Stamp's "All Boy" set (discontinued), spritzed the stamp 1 or 2 times with water, then stamped on my watercolor panel. I let the stamp sit for a few seconds, just to let the ink soak in before lifting the stamp from the paper. I repeated this with the different colors until I had covered the panel. Then I set that aside.

I stamped the greeting, from Avery Elle's "Brushed" (discontinued), on a scrap of Essentials by Ellen 40 lb. vellum with Ranger Jet Black Archival ink. I heat set it with my heat gun so the ink wouldn't smear. I die cut the vellum with one of the tag dies from Mama Elephant's "Tags a Lot" set. That particular die was way too long for my greeting. So after I ran it through once, I scooted the die up, lined up the faux stitching lines, and ran it through my die cutting machine again, basically creating a shorter tag. I die cut the tag reinforcer (from the same set) from black cardstock, glued it in place, then punched through the hole with my 1/8" hole punch.

I decided to attach the tag to my background with an eyelet. I first taped the tag to my background panel with low-tack painters tape, just to hold it in place. I punched a hole through the background to line up with the hole in the tag. I then used my Crop-a-Dile II to set a pewter eyelet. Finally, I matted the panel with navy cardstock, & adhered it to a white card base.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Dies R Us Challenge #140: "Tag, You're It"
Die Cut Divas: "Anything Goes"
613 Avenue Create: "Anything Goes" (not playing the twist)
Simon Says Stamp's Monday Challenge: "A Bit o' Green" (used Lucky Clover Distress ink in my background stamping)

One Stamp, Two Cards

Send a Smile 4 Kids' current needs includes Spring & Easter cards. I used one stamp--Northwoods Rubber Stamps' "Small Wagon with Bunnies and Chicks"--on both a general Spring card and an Easter card.

For my Spring card, I used Sketch #SC617 at Splitcoaststampers.com for my design. I stamped the image onto a scrap of Strathmore Vellum Bristol paper with Lawn Fawn's Doe ink. I used my Prismacolor colored pencils to color the scene. Even though I used a semi-dark ink, it still has the basic effect of no-line coloring because of the generally darker colors I used. After I finished coloring, I die cut it with a circle die.

I used patterned papers from the "Hello Sunshine" 6x6" pad from Doodlebug Designs. I added in yellow & teal cardstocks for the background strip & blue banner, respectively. I die cut a larger circle from a solid green paper in the pad. I adhered the yellow strip to the background patterned paper, added the green circle & banners, and finally adhered the focal circle. I wrapped green baker's twine around the top of the panel, adhering the ends to the back with a little double-sided tape. I tied a bow from the same twine, and glued it in place with a bit of liquid glue. After matting the panel with an A2-size piece of darker yellow cardstock, I adhered it to a white card base.

Using the same image, I added an Easter greeting ("Happy Easter 02" from Stampabilities) to my second card. For my design, I turned to Sketch #SC568, also at Splitcoaststampers. I stamped the image this time with Ink on 3's Fade Out ink, so I could do some true no-line coloring. I again used my Prismacolor pencils, and die cut it with the same circle die as in my first card.

I cut a piece of teal patterned paper from Simple Stories' "Vintage Bliss" 6x6" pad to 5.25x4". I added a butterfly paper from the same pad, matting that with a light grey cardstock. The butterfly paper kind of visually "melted" into the mat, so before I adhered it, I inked around the edges with Pumice Stone Distress ink to add definition.

I stamped my greeting with Evergreen Bough Distress Oxide ink onto a strip of tan cardstock that I had also inked with Pumice Stone. The green ink actually matches the chevron patterned paper I used perfectly! I adhered that strip in place, & added my image circle, the perimeter of which I had inked with Pumice Stone. I matted the whole piece with yellow cardstock, & adhered that to a white A2 card base.

I'm entering my cards in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Two or More Patterned Papers"
613 Avenue Create: "Anything Goes" (playing the "banners & bows" twist with my first card)
Send a Smile 4 Kids Challenge: "Easter or Spring Cards 4 Kids OR Anything Goes 4 Kids"
Dies R Us Challenge #139: "Wild Things (Animals)"

Happy Birthday Balloons

My Favorite Things' Wednesday Sketch Challenge #474 inspired the design of this card. I need a birthday card for a friend, so I thought this was the perfect opportunity to use this sketch and some new (and old) products!

I thought the circles in the sketch translated well to balloons. I used 2 dies from Lawn Fawn's "Party Balloons" set for the largest balloons, and a few from My Favorite Things' "Bundle of Balloons" to fill out the design. I die cut the 10 balloons from rainbow colors of cardstock. I chose a cream cardstock for my background, as I wanted something neutral, but not stark white. I glued all the balloons on, basically following the sketch. I didn't add balloon strings, since I felt that would just clutter the design, and they were unnecessary anyway. I finished that panel by adding a narrow strip of lavender cardstock along the left edge.

I stamped the greeting, from MFT's "Big Birthday Sentiments," in Versamark ink onto a strip of Essentials by Ellen 40 lb. vellum. I heat embossed it with Ranger Liquid Platinum embossing powder. After trimming the left end into a fishtail banner, I used my Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher to staple the banner to the edge of my panel.

For the dark teal panel, I used a new-to-me Echo Park stencil, "Birthday Balloons." I taped my cardstock to the back of the stencil, & used a palette knife to smear Liquitex Gloss Super Heavy Gel medium over the stencil. Once I had a smooth layer of gel, I carefully removed the stencil; cleaned that, my work surface, & palette knife; and set the panel aside to dry.

After the gel dried, I adhered the teal panel flat to a white A2-size card base. I popped the main panel up with craft/fun foam, using double-sided tape to adhere everything. The hardest/longest part of this process was probably the design. I know that sounds ironic, since I was working from a pre-made sketch. But just trying to figure out what balloon sizes fit where, so I could die cut each from the "right" color took a while. But I love how this card came out.

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

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Anything Goes"
Creative Knockouts Challenge #335: "Birthday Wishes"