Rainbow Striped Hello

I am in the process of making 2 card sets for gifts for friends. This is one of the designs I came up with. I was inspired by this card that I had made some time ago, combined with the 2-Tier Eclipse technique that I used in this card.

To create the background, I first cut a panel of white cardstock to 5.5x4.25". I stamped the longest brushstroke from Avery Elle's "Brushed" stamp set across it, going in rainbow order. I used Altenew Ruby Red; Memento Morocco, Dandelion, Danube Blue, & Grape Jelly; and Hero Arts Lime Green inks to do my stamping. After I had finished, I didn't like the way the stripes simply stopped, kind of squared off at the right end of the panel. So I used a Hero Arts "Postage Stamps" die to cut the panel down.

I centered the "Big Hello" die from Simon Says Stamp on my panel, taped it in place, and ran it through my die cutting machine. I also cut a piece of black craft foam with the same die. After matting my stamped panel with an A2-size piece of black cardstock, I glued the craft foam die cut into the negative space in the panel. I also glued the inner pieces of the letters from my die cut hello, and finally used more liquid glue to adhere the hello that I'd die cut from my panel on top. To finish, I adhered my panel to a white A2 card base.

Merry & Bright

One final Christmas card for this year! I took my design & color inspiration from the current Fusion challenge:

I began by die cutting the "Poinsettia Border" from Memory Box out of a scrap of Canson XL Mixed Media paper. I took out the inner petal pieces of each flower, and watercolored them with a damp paintbrush & 2 blue shades of iridescent gelatos. I just scribbled the gelatos onto my non-stick craft mat, and picked up the color with my paintbrush. I did mix the two colors (a teal & kind of a warmer dark blue), to get a custom shade. After my petals dried, I went over them again with the same colors, let them dry, and repeated a third time to get the depth of color I wanted.

My initial idea had been to use Nuvo Silver Bullion gilding flakes on the outline of the die cut. So I ran the border through my Xyron Creative Station twice--once on each side--to coat it with adhesive. I had a really hard time getting the die cut to behave, though, so I could apply the flakes. So I finally gave up on that, die cut another piece, discarding the inner pieces this time into my recycling bag, and ran it through my Xyron only once to coat the back (so I could later adhere it to my card). Then I coated the top side with 2-way glue and let that dry so it was tacky. While the flakes did adhere for the most part, they also stuck in between the die cut portions, and made a huge mess of it that I just couldn't seem to clean up adequately. So I finally gave up on that idea, and die cut it a third time from silver glitter paper!

For my greeting, I used the "Merry & Bright" from Simon Says Stamp's "Christmas" mini stamp set. I stamped it onto a strip of dark teal cardstock with Versamark ink, and heat embossed with Recollections Snow embossing powder. I had a bit of trouble with that, too, since (despite using a powder bag) embossing powder stuck where I did not want it. In brushing that away, I brushed a couple of spots where I did want the powder. Thankfully, I was able to fix those spots with a white gel pen!

I adhered my greeting strip in place with a little ATG tape runner to a white card panel that I'd cut to 4.25x5.5". I applied small amounts of Perfect Paper Adhesive to the back of my die cut poinsettia "frame," using a fine-tip applicator bottle. Then, with the help of my tweezers, I adhered it over the greeting strip, running up the side of my panel. I had to use the negative of the die cut to help me maneuver the top flower into position, since it's so delicate. Finally, I glued the colored petal pieces into place.

I had a couple of small "boo-boos" (after all that) where the flower went over the greeting strip. So I decided to use that as an opportunity to embellish, and glued a clear 8mm gem to the flower center with Ranger Multi Medium Matte. I used the same adhesive to glue 2 smaller gems to the centers of the other 2 flowers. Finally, I filled in the centers of the little "accent" flowers in the die cut with Nuvo Grey Mist Crystal Drops. Finally, I adhered my card front to a white A2 card base. I had questioned my sanity in taking on this design a few times, but in the end, I like the results! :)

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

Die Cut Divas: "Winter Time"
Creative Knockouts #224: "Christmas Delight"
613 Avenue Create #204: "Anything Goes w/Optional Twist of Christmas/Winter" (I am playing the twist.)
Pile It On #137: "Non-Traditional Holiday Colors and/or Snowpeople" (I assume blue, silver, & white are considered "non-traditional" for Christmas!)

Wish Big

Ellen Hutson is celebrating their 11th year in business! As part of the celebration, they have a challenge for people to choose their favorite Essentials by Ellen stamp or die set, and create a project with it. I couldn't narrow it down to just one, so I went with 2: "Bokeh Dots" & "Wish Big." The "Wish Big" set is such a great one for birthdays, with designer Julie Ebersole's signature humor to it! And "Bokeh Dots" is quite versatile. I used it here to create my patterned paper. My color scheme came from the mood board for this month's "Pin-sights" challenge, also at Ellen Hutson's CLASSroom.

I found this tutorial at Splitcoaststampers.com for a Triangle Trifold card. I decided this would be perfect for my cousin's upcoming birthday! I made mine a bit larger, starting with a 12x4" piece of coral-colored cardstock. After I scored & folded it following the instructions, I cut a piece of white cardstock to 3.75" square. I stamped it with 5 of the "Bokeh Dots" stamps, in Memento Teal Zeal, Grape Jelly, & Danube Blue inks. After I had stamped the entire square, I went back with a slightly smaller dot and Delicata Golden Glitz ink. I dried that with my heat tool, cut the paper diagonally, and adhered it to my card base.

Front panel with vellum overlay lifted

For the front image panel, I cut another square of white cardstock. I stamped the cake from "Wish Big," after wiping the ink off the top portion for some quick-and-dirty "masking." Then I stamped the candles, and drew in the rest of the top around those. I colored everything with my Prismacolor colored pencils, using Gamsol on a paper stump to blend the colors. I made 2 mats for that panel, by cutting gradually larger squares of white cardstock. I inked around the perimeter of the smaller mat with Danube Blue ink, and the larger with Golden Glitz. I also inked the back of the larger mat with Golden Glitz, since half of it would be visible when the card is opened.

Since I didn't have room on the front for a greeting, I decided to create a vellum overlay. So I cut a square of Essentials by Ellen 40 lb. vellum to the same size as my cake square, and stamped the greeting (also from "Wish Big") on that. I heat embossed with Ranger Super Fine Detail Gold embossing powder, then sewed it to the image panel with 2 lines of gold machine stitching.

Inside of card

For the inside, I cut another panel of white cardstock, and a slightly larger white mat. I inked the mat with Teal Zeal. I stamped one of the balloons & the "happy birthday" in Teal Zeal, and colored the balloon with a coordinating colored pencil. I blended that out with Gamsol as well, leaving a white highlight. Then, I matted the white panel, and adhered it to the inside center of my card base. I also adhered the front image panel to the front of my card.

Card with belly band

For the belly band, since this card design doesn't really stay closed on its own, I cut another strip of the same coral cardstock I'd used for the card base. I punched each long side with a Fiskars "Cupcake" border punch (apparently discontinued). I cut a strip of white cardstock to fit along the middle section, & colored it with Danube Blue ink. I adhered it to my belly band, folded the band around my card, & used Scor Tape to glue the ends together. This card only took about 2 hours to make, even with all the stamping, and I'm sure my cousin will love it! :)

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

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday challenge: "Anything Goes"
Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes"

Chalkboard Holiday Wishes Wreath

A Blog Named Hero's current challenge theme is to copy a designer. I found this card by Emily Midgett that I'd pinned last summer, and liked the chalkboard look. I decided to create a wreath card with a chalkboard feel to it.

I cut a piece of black cardstock to 4.25" square. After I marked the center with a pencil, I stamped my greeting, from Hero Arts' "Color Layering Christmas Tree." I heat embossed that with Recollections Snow detail embossing powder.

I traced a circle die with a pencil around the greeting, to give me a guide for my wreath. Then I stamped one of the pine branches from Hero Arts' "Pine Branches" in Versamark several times around that circle. Then I white heat embossed those. I stamped a different pine branch around the wreath again, this time using just Yeti pigment ink from Lawn Fawn to get a more dimensional feel overall. I felt the heat embossed part of the wreath was a bit too "perfect," though. So I stamped more branches, just to fill out that part, and heat embossed those.

To finish the wreath, I stamped berries from "Pine Branches" in Versamark ink around the wreath. I heat embossed those with Ranger Red embossing tinsel. I didn't get the greatest coverage the first time, so I went over them with my Versamarker to add more ink, and embossed them a second time. Finally, I added gold gel pen accents to the ends of the berries. When the gold ink had dried, I smudged some white ink around the image with my finger, to emulate eraser marks on a chalkboard.

I tied a "faux" bow, following the instructions in this video, at the bottom of my wreath. I cut strips of red cardstock, and adhered them to either side of my image panel. Then I adhered that to a white A2 card base. I got this layout idea from Darlene DeVries.

I'm also entering this card in a2z Scrapbooking's November challenge: "Winter."

Winter Wreath

The current challenge theme for Dies R Us is "Snow." I created this holiday card with that theme in mind.

I originally was going to make an A2-size card, but by the time I put my wreath together, it was just too big to fit comfortably on that small a canvas. So I went with an A7 size instead.

I began by die cutting several branches from different shades of green cardstock with the Poppystamps "Garden Sprig" die. I also die cut a base for my wreath using two Spellbinders "Standard Circles SM" dies to make a ring. I glued the sprigs to the ring, just tacking them down & overlapping them to create a full wreath.

To decorate my wreath, I stamped & die cut several of the small flower from WPlus9's "Be Merry Florals" set. I also stamped & die cut a bow from the "Holiday Style" set from Sunny Studio. I glued those onto my wreath using Perfect Paper Adhesive.

For the window, I cut a rectangle of brown cardstock, & measured and cut out openings for the windowpanes. I also cut a piece of patterned paper from my scrap stash, that reminded me of wallpaper, for the front of my card. I cut a rectangle opening in that the same size as my window frame. After I backed that opening with a piece of acetate, I adhered the frame to the acetate with 1/8"-wide Scor Tape. I used the same tape to adhere my wreath to the window.

I cut & scored a white card base, and measured & marked about where my window would be on the front of that. I inked the area with Stormy Sky & Faded Jeans Distress inks, and then added snow with Simon Says Stamp's "Falling Snow Stencil" & Ranger Distress Grit Paste.

After the paste dried, I backed my window panel with foam tape, and adhered it to my card base. I added a strip of brown cardstock to the bottom for "baseboard," & this card was done!

I'm also entering my card in 613 Avenue Create's Challenge #203: "Anything Goes."

Happy Birthday Wishes

I have been working madly on holiday cards for our personal use, Send a Smile 4 Kids, & the Caring Hearts Card Drive. In the midst of all that, I decided to make a birthday card to send to SAS4Kids. Creative Knockouts Challenge #220, "Border Time," inspired my design.

I'll be the first to admit, this card was a struggle to pull together! I knew I wanted to use the "Stitched Tabs" dies from Pretty Pink Posh for my greeting. I initially had a landscape design in mind, but that ended up not working. So I rotated my design 90 degrees, and made it a portrait orientation.

I die cut the 3 tabs from 140 lb. watercolor paper. I inked them with Cracked Pistachio, Broken China, & Worn Lipstick Distress inks. After spritzing them with water from my Distress Sprayer, I let that sit for several seconds, then blotted up the water/ink.

For the greeting, I used the "happy" & "wishes" from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps' "Script Birthdays" with the "birthday" from one of the "Mice Wishes" stamps from Stampendous. I stamped each word on its corresponding tab with Delicata Black Shimmer ink.

I adhered a strip of plaid patterned paper from my scrap stash to the bottom of my white A2 card base. I used a panel of yellow cardstock to go behind all my elements, and arranged my tab border strips on that. I stamped several balloons on patterned paper scraps using 2 of the stamps from Winnie & Walter's "The Party" set, again with Black Shimmer ink. I fussy cut those out, and placed them on my card panel.

I felt I didn't have quite enough balloons, but didn't want to throw more patterns into the mix. So I stamped 3 balloons with Worn Lipstick & Cracked Pistachio Distress Oxide inks, using a solid balloon stamp from "The Party," stamped the outlines around them, and cut them out. Finally, I glued all my balloons to my panel with liquid glue.

To finish my card, I used a black fine-tip pen & a T-square ruler to draw the balloon strings. I adhered my panel to my card base & cut off the excess that overhung the edges. Despite my struggles, I think this card came out pretty well.

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

Send a Smile 4 Kids: "Anything Goes 4 Kids"
Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes"
613 Avenue Create #203: "Anything Goes"

Happy Monsters

The theme for Lawn Fawnatics' Challenge #16 has been to use your oldest Lawn Fawn set. This was admittedly a tough one for me, since I don't really date my stamp & die sets. But I have their "Grand Greetings," which I know I've had for a loooong time (and is retired), and paired it with a newer set, "Monster Mash," to create this congratulations card for Send a Smile 4 Kids.

I began by die cutting my frame from some "screaming green" cardstock. I used 2 Simon Says Stamp "Stitched Rectangles" dies to do this. I traced the window opening onto a scrap of Strathmore Smooth Bristol paper to use as a guide for my stamping. I stamped 5 of the monsters from "Monster Mash" on my panel, masking as I went so I could create a large group of monsters piled around each other.

When I had finished stamping, I used my Tombow markers to color in the monsters. The blue especially was rather dark & ended up obscuring the eyes on that particular image, so I ended up using googly eyes for all the blue monsters. And of course, if I used them on him, the others whose eyes were not closed had to have googly eyes, too! :) So I glued them on the other monsters as well.

I had some trouble trying to decide where to put my greeting where it wouldn't look cramped. In the end, I stamped it on my acetate window. I used Crafter's Companion Heat Resistant Acetate, and heat embossed the greeting with Ranger Liquid Platinum embossing powder.

I applied a layer of foam tape to the back side of my frame, and popped it over my bristol panel. I added Scor Tape to the back of the bristol, and adhered my piece to a panel of hot pink cardstock. I felt this not only played well with the frame color, but also echoed the pink monsters. Finally, I mounted my card front to a white A2 card base.

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

Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes"
Simon Says Stamp's Monday challenge: "It's a Stitch Up"

Season's Greetings

Today is the last day for the November "Mix It Up" challenge at Ellen Hutson's CLASSroom blog. I used the "Poinsettia & Pine" die set from Essentials by Ellen, & paired it with My Favorite Things' "Joyous Christmas Sentiments" (discontinued).

I began by die cutting the flower, berries, & pine sprigs from 140 lb. watercolor paper. I colored the pieces with my Tombow markers. I removed the inner pieces from the flower, and ran the outer portion through my Xyron Sticker Maker to apply adhesive to the front. I then coated that with clear glitter. I applied glue to the berries with my Zig 2-way glue pen, and glittered them as well. I glued the outer piece of the flower to a scrap of white cardstock, and used that as a "base" to glue the inner pieces back in place. Finally, I fussy-cut the cardstock to follow the perimeter of the flower.

For the greeting, I stamped with Versafine Onyx Black on a panel of cream cardstock. I then heat embossed that with Ranger Holographic embossing powder, to give the card even more shine & shimmer.

I glued the pine branches in place on my card panel, & adhered the flower & berries in place over those. I basically just tacked everything down enough to hold them in place, but still let them fluff up. As a finishing touch, I added Pale Gold Nuvo Crystal Drops to the center of the poinsettia.

Merry Christmas Trio

The theme at Aud Sentiments is a bingo challenge this time. I used the middle column for my card: pattern paper, stamped image, & (faux) stitching. I also used the sketch from Christmas Card Throwdown for my design, rotating it 90 degrees to be horizontal.

I began by die cutting an oval from 140 lb. watercolor paper with a Lawn Fawn "Small Stitched Oval" die. I curved my greeting, from Hero Arts "Very Merry Christmas" (discontinued) to fit the curve of the oval, and stamped it with Versafine Onyx Black ink onto my oval.

Because the image I chose (Stampendous "Bow Tied") is a rubber stamp, I used my Stamp-a-Ma-Jig to help me position it. I marked the vertical center of the oval, decided where I wanted the baseline of my image to be, and marked that with a light pencil line as well. After I stamped my image onto the clear plastic sheet of the Stamp-a-Ma-Jig, I used that to position my stamp, and stamped with Hero Arts Charcoal ink.

I colored the image with my Inktense pencils, using a damp paintbrush to pick up the color from the pencil and apply it to the paper. When I had finished, I used my clear Wink of Stella shimmer pen to add some glitter to the bows.

I chose a patterned paper from BoBunny's "Dear Santa" 6x6" pad for my background. I cut it to 5.5x4.25", and adhered it to my white A2 card base. I adhered my oval, centered on the background, to my card front, and this card was done! Other than the coloring & taking the time to curve the greeting, it came together pretty quickly. :)

Thinking of You at Christmas

The challenge theme this week at Merry Monday has been "Kraft and Red." Except for the addition of gold, I kept to that color scheme for my card.

I got the design for my card from the current sketch challenge at Christmas Card Throwdown (which I'm also entering). I basically stuck with the sketch for this card. I had intended to make this at least a mostly one-layer card. I masked off the tree shape on an A2-size kraft panel. I stamped several of the larger flower image from WPlus9's "Be Merry Florals" set with Lawn Fawn Yeti pigment ink. I repeated the stamping with Altenew Ruby Red and Memento Rhubarb Stalk & Lady Bug inks, going right over the white stamping. I also stamped the smaller flower with Versamark ink, and heat embossed with Ranger Red Embossing Tinsel. Finally, I added dots in the empty spaces with the smallest of the "Bokeh Dots" stamps from Essentials by Ellen. I heat embossed those with Ranger Princess Gold embossing powder. To finish the tree, I colored in the trunk with a brown Tombow marker.

In doing all this stamping--especially with the pigment ink--I suppose it was inevitable to get an ink smudge on my panel! I tried to remove it with my sanding block, but doing that also "bleached" the cardstock a bit, so it was obvious where I had sanded. But I was not about to start over! So I found a Lawn Fawn "Small Stitched Oval" die that was large enough to surround the tree, but still cut away that bleached spot, and die cut my kraft panel.

For the greeting, I used one from Hero Arts' "Very Merry Christmas" stamp set (discontinued). I stamped it in Versamark on a piece of burgundy cardstock, heat embossed with gold, & cut that into a banner. I embossed a panel of red cardstock with the "Plaid" embossing folder from Sizzix/Tim Holtz. I glued my oval to that with liquid glue, and glued down my greeting banner. Finally, I used the same liquid glue to adhere my panel to a white A2 card base.

Beary Merry Christmas

Ellen Hutson is having their November "Mix It Up" challenge at The CLASSroom blog. This month, they are mixing it up with My Favorite Things. The objective is to make a project using products from both companies. This is my first card for this challenge.

I began by die cutting a panel of kraft cardstock with a Lawn Fawn "Large Stitched Rectangle" die. I decided, since I don't have the coordinating dies for the Essentials by Ellen "Bear Ware 2" stamp set, I would do some masking. I created masks for the hat & scarf from "Bear Ware 2." I stamped the scarf & hat, then positioned & stamped the hat for the kitty. I masked the images, stamped the bear (from "All Inside") & kitty next. For the candy cane, I created masks for just the bear's arms from a full-sticky Post It note, and stamped the candy cane with the arms masked.

I colored the images with my Prismacolor colored pencils using Gamsol the blend the colors, & added a snow bank to the bottom of the panel. For the snowflakes, I used stamps from Lawn Fawn's "Deck the Halls" & "Winter in the Park" sets. I masked off the edges of the panel, just at the stitching lines, to keep a clean border. I stamped the snowflakes in Versamark ink, and heat embossed with Ranger Super Fine Detail White embossing powder. Rather than mask the images to stamp the snowflakes "behind" them, I just brushed off the powder from my critters with a dry paintbrush before I heat set it.

For the background, I die cut a panel of white cardstock with the next largest "Large Stitched Rectangle" die. I stamped the pattern with My Favorite Things' "Plaid Background Builder" set (apparently discontinued), adding in a stripe stamp from Simon Says Stamp's "Jumbo Stripes" set to supplement. I used Memento Tuxedo Black & Bamboo Leaves, and Hero Arts Red Royal & Forever Green inks for that. After I'd finished stamping, I felt the colors were a bit stark to go with my kraft panel. So I blended Antique Linen Distress ink over the whole background.

I stamped the greetings from "Bear Ware 2" onto a strip of white cardstock with Tuxedo Black, and cut them into shorter pieces. I adhered them to my kraft panel, and added a drop of Nuvo Ebony Black Crystal Drops at the end of each phrase. Finally, I adhered my kraft panel to the background, and mounted that to a white A2 card base.

Two Holiday Cards

Catch the Bug Challenge Blog has been having an "Anything Goes" challenge this past week. I decided to make a couple more cards to enter.

I used the sketch from Stella Says Sketch Challenge #518 for my design, flipping it horizontally. For my first card, I used Bugaboo's "Christmas Moose Ornaments" digital image. I sized it in Photoshop, and printed it on a piece of kraft cardstock. I colored the image with my Prismacolor colored pencils. After I finished that, I went over the eyes with a black marker, just to darken them, and applied Glossy Accents to the eyes & ornaments for some added shine.

I cut a 5.5x2" strip of patterned paper from my scrap stash for the lower strip. I used the green pattern on the reverse of that for my border strip, & punched that with the Fiskars "Upper Crest" border punch. I adhered the border strip to the back of the red patterned paper, and adhered that to a cream A2-size cardstock panel.

For my greeting, I used the one from Lawn Fawn's "Winter in the Park" stamp set. After I matted & adhered my focal panel in place, I stamped my greeting, using my MISTI stamp positioner tool to make sure I got it straight. I colored 3 clear gems with Ranger Lettuce alcohol ink, let that dry, and glued them to my card with Ranger Multi Medium Matte. Finally, I adhered my card front to a white A2 card base.

I used Bugaboo's "Sunbonnet Christmas Tree" image for my second card. I printed it onto a piece of Canson XL Mixed Media paper, and colored it with my Prismacolor pencils. I matted it with a narrow green border, and added Glossy Accents to the ornaments & holly berries in her bonnet.

For the patterned paper strip, I used a scrap from The Paper Studio's "Woodland Wonderland" 6x6" patterned paper pad. I punched a red border strip with Fiskars' "Apron Lace" punch, and adhered it behind my patterned paper strip. I adhered that to pink cardstock, and also mounted my focal panel in place. I stamped "Happy Christmas" from Simon Says Stamp's "Christmas" set in Versafine Onyx Black ink. I colored three 5mm pearls from The Paper Studio with Ranger Cranberry alcohol ink, and glued them in place with Multi Medium Matte. Finally, I adhered my card front to a white A2 card base.

I'm also entering my cards in Catch the Bug's Stella Says Sketch Challenge #518.

Singing Winter Birdies

Catch the Bug Challenge Blog's theme this week is "Anything Goes." I created this card with Bugaboo's "Winter Bird Trio" digital image. I love the expressions on the faces of the 2 birds on either end. Kind of disgusted with the middle bird being so happy when it's so cold! LOL

I used Sketch #SC585 from Splitcoaststampers.com as the basis for my design. I sized the image in Photoshop to fit the top panel, and printed it on a piece of Canson XL Mixed Media paper. I colored the scene with my Inktense pencils, using a damp paintbrush to pick up the color from the pencils & apply it to the paper.

For the greeting, I couldn't find one in my stash that would work with the sketch, so I created my own in Photoshop. I opened a 4.25x0.5" blank canvas and typed the greeting on that. I sized the text to fit, and printed it on a strip of cream cardstock.

I matted my pieces with red cardstock, using 2 patterned papers from my scrap stash for the lower panels. Finally, I adhered that to a white A2 card base. A really easy card to pull together!

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

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Snow White"
Send a Smile 4 Kids: "Happy Holidays 4 Kids"

Sending You Blessings

The current challenge at Fusion Card Challenge blog has a photo of autumn leaves. I went with that, rather than the sketch, for my card inspiration. The yellows in the leaves against the blue background really spoke to me.

I began with the focal point of my card. I die cut the leaves from some 140 lb. watercolor paper using one of the "Foliage" dies from Spellbinders (discontinued). I colored them with my Tombow markers, and used a water brush to blend the colors. I die cut a Spellbinders "Decorative Labels One" (also discontinued) from Canson XL Mixed Media paper, and inked it with Broken China & Peacock Feathers Distress inks to create an ombre effect. I used my Distress Sprayer to spritz on water droplets, and blotted them up with a dry rag to remove a bit of the ink. I then used Perfect Paper Adhesive to glue the leaves to the panel.

For the background, I used a panel of yellow cardstock I'd pre-cut to 4.25x5.5". I inked up from the bottom with Wild Honey Distress ink, letting it fade out towards the top. I spritzed that with water, let it sit for a few seconds, and then blotted it with a dry rag.

I die cut the "Blessings" using Simon Says Stamp's "Christmas Blessings" die set. I coated the die cut with Versamark ink, sprinkled on Ranger Super Fine Detail Gold embossing powder, and melted that with my heat gun. I repeated that 2 more times to get a nice, thick, smooth embossing. (I got the inspiration for that technique from Jennifer McGuire.) I heat embossed the "Sending You" from Hero Arts' "Prayers" stamp set in gold on a strip of brown cardstock. Finally, I adhered my focal panel to my background, glued on my greeting elements, and mounted that to a white A2 card base.

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

Dies R Us #84: "Anything Fall"
Pile It On #136: "Large Sentiments"
613 Avenue Create #203: "Anything Goes"

Three Holiday Cards

Online Card Classes' "Merry Making" class is winding down this week. :( It's been another fun class, and I've learned quite a few techniques for card making--not just for the holidays, but year-round. These are 3 more cards I made for class

Kristina Werner had a lesson on Day 5 of stenciled watercolor. I used The Crafters Workshop "Mini Rosetta" stencil for this card. I adhered it to a piece of Strathmore Smooth Bristol paper with repositionable spray adhesive, and colored with my Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers & a water brush. When that was dry, I removed the stencil, and stamped my greeting from Our Daily Bread Designs' "Christmas Ornament" set in the lower left corner.

I rounded the 2 opposite corners of my panel with the 1/2" side of my Corner Chomper. I matted that with black and then with pink, rounding the corresponding corners each time. Finally, I adhered it to a white A2 card base.

Gina K., a guest instructor, inspired this next card. I used one of the branch images from WPlus9's "Spring Blooms" stamp set with Altenew Forest Glades & Hero Arts Forever Green inks to make my wreath. I filled in with a berry stamp from the same set with Altenew Ruby Red ink.

For the greeting, I stamped a banner from Avery Elle's "Build a Banner" set (discontinued) onto white cardstock, and heat embossed with Ranger Super Fine Detail Gold embossing powder. I curved the greeting, from Hero Arts' "Vintage Christmas Post" stamp set, to match the curve of the banner, and stamped & gold heat embossed that as well. Finally, I die cut it with the coordinating "Build a Banner" die. I tied a bow with some red satin ribbon, and adhered it to the top of my wreath with a glue dot. I adhered my banner in place, using foam tape in the middle and Scor Tape at either end. I matted that panel with black, and adhered it to a piece of green cardstock, before mounting it to a white card base.

Jennifer McGuire had a lesson on Day 1 of class that inspired this card. I took a piece of blue cardstock that I had cut to 4x5.25", spattered water on it, and heat embossed with Recollections Snow embossing powder for the background. I die cut Winnie & Walter's "Peace" die 4 times from navy cardstock, and glued them all together with Ranger Multi Medium Matte. After that dried, I heat embossed along the top of the die cut with white, to make it look like snow.

I stamped "on Earth" from Clearly Besotted's "Holiday Sentiments" set (apparently discontinued) onto a scrap of white cardstock. I cut that into a strip to go under my die cut "peace." I die cut a heart from vellum using Little B's "Hearts" die set. I positioned the heart on my background, and taped it in place with a couple of small pieces of painter's tape. I glued my "peace" on top of that, and glued the white strip below it, then removed the tape. I did not actually adhere the vellum directly to my panel; the glue on the greeting pieces is all that holds it in place. Finally, I mounted my card panel to a white A2 card base.

Merry Christmas

Julie Ebersole had a lesson on Day 4 of "Merry Making" at Online Card Classes on camouflage die cutting. I've done this before, but I still love how it produces that, "How'd she do that???" factor!

I stamped a panel of white cardstock with images from My Favorite Things' "Sophisticated Snowflake," (discontinued) using Hero Arts Cornflower & Soft Lilac and Memento Summer Sky inks. I filled in some of the small empty areas with a snowflake image from Hero Arts' "Color Layering Christmas Tree." Once I'd finished, I stamped the "Christmas" from Clearly Besotted's "Holiday Sentiments" (apparently discontinued) in Versafine Onyx Black ink.

Detail of the greeting

I used the "Merry" die from Winnie & Walter to complete my greeting. I die cut it from the panel, and 4 more times from white cardstock. I stacked those together, and adhered it back into the negative space in my stamped panel. I really love how this came out!

Christmas Blessings

On Day 1 of Online Card Classes' "Merry Making" class, Kristina Werner had a lesson on bokeh backgrounds. I created this card based on that lesson.

I cut a panel of 140 lb. watercolor paper and taped it to a cutting board. I used Peacock Feathers & Faded Jeans Distress Oxide inks, adding a bit of Black Soot Distress ink at the bottom to create an ombre. Then I did the bokeh effect with a wet paintbrush, following the instructions in Kristina's tutorial.

I stamped several snowflakes from My Favorite Things' "Sophisticated Snowflake" set (discontinued), and heat embossed with Ranger Silver embossing powder. I stamped some additional snowflakes with Lawn Fawn Yeti white pigment ink, just for another, more subtle look.

For my greeting, I used Simon Says Stamp's "Christmas Blessings" die. I cut it once from white cardstock & again from black. I glued the black onto my panel, then overlaid the white, slightly offset to give a shadow appearance.

To finish my card, I matted my panel in grey & navy cardstocks, trimming a 1/16" border on each. Then I adhered it to a white A2 card base.

Happy Merry Joyous Christmas

On Day 2 of Online Card Classes' "Merry Making" class, Jennifer McGuire had a lesson on using scoring lines through an image on your card. I ended up making 2 cards with this technique.

After scoring my panel for my first card, I placed it in my MISTI and positioned my reindeer stamp. (This stamp is quite old, and I have no clue who made it or what the name is.) I inked up the top portion of the stamp with Hero Arts Soft Lilac ink, and daubed the lower edge of the ink with a dry cloth to soften the transition. I stamped that on my panel, inked up again in the middle of the image with Memento Sweet Plum, daubed the top & bottom edges, and stamped. I repeated one more time with Memento Elderberry ink for the bottom portion of the stamp. I also stamped the greeting, from My Favorite Things' "Joyous Christmas Sentiments," (discontinued) in Elderberry.

On my second card, I did the same basic steps. This time, though, instead of 3 dye inks, I used just Delicata Silvery Shimmer pigment ink. I had a few more spots on the score lines where the ink got in the groove than on my first card. But, on both cards, I just touched those areas up with a white gel pen. All that was left was to adhere the panels to white A2 card bases. These cards really came together quickly, and I can see where this technique would be good for mass production.

Merry Christmas Reindeer

I've been participating this past week in Online Card Classes' holiday card class, "Merry Making." Shari Carroll inspired this card with her lesson on Day 2, demonstrating "paint resist."

I cut a panel of Strathmore Smooth Bristol paper to 4-1/8x5-3/8" for my background. I stamped the Hero Arts "Newspaper Background" stamp with silver paint, following the tutorial. I also used Distress inks in Iced Spruce, Bundled Sage, & Stormy Sky on my background. Finally, I stamped around the perimeter with images from Hero Arts' "Pine Branches" set.

I die cut Impression Obsession's "Reindeer" (apparently discontinued) from more bristol paper, and colored him with 3 shades of brown Tombow markers. Then I blended the colors with a water brush. I ran him through my Xyron machine to coat the back with adhesive. Because his antlers are so delicate, I didn't want to use liquid glue, and have it ooze out the sides. Finally I adhered him to my panel.

For the greeting, I stamped half of one of the "Build a Banner" images from Avery Elle (apparently also discontinued) onto more bristol, and heat embossed it with Ranger Silver embossing powder. I also took a greeting from Hero Arts' "Vintage Christmas Post" stamp set, curved it to match the banner, and stamped & heat embossed it. I fussy cut the banner out, inked it with Stormy Sky, and adhered it with Scor Tape on either end & a bit of foam tape in the center.

I cut 2 small slits on either side of the reindeer's neck, and threaded through some red ribbon, taping the ends to the back. I also pierced a small hole on either side of the banner end, and threaded red embroidery floss through those holes. I threaded the other ends through the slit along the back of the reindeer's neck, so it looks like he's pulling the banner. Finally, I tied a bow from the same red ribbon, and adhered it with a glue dot.

To finish my card, I adhered my background to a piece of burgundy cardstock cut to A2 size, and mounted it on a white card base.

I'm entering this card in A Blog Named Hero's October challenge, "Calling All Critters."

Season's Tweetings

The current theme at the Lawn Fawnatics Challenge is "Happy Little Critters." I made this holiday card using mainly Lawn Fawn's "Winter Sparrows" stamps & coordinating dies.

I began by coloring a piece of acetate with Sail Boat Blue, Stream, & Silver Mixative alcohol inks, following this Splitcoaststampers.com tutorial. I applied the inks with a blending tool & felt pad. While that dried, I die cut a window from a piece of white cardstock with a Simon Says Stamp "Stitched Rectangles" die.

To decorate my panel, I stamped several snowflakes in Hero Arts Soft Pool ink. I used stamps from "Winter in the Park" & "Deck the Halls," both by Lawn Fawn. I also stamped the birds and notes with Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I stamped the branch with Hero Arts Wet Cement ink, and shaded it with 2 brown Prismacolor colored pencils. I also colored the birds with colored pencils, & die cut all my images.

I stamped the greeting from "Winter Sparrows" in Tuxedo Black onto a pale blue cardstock, and die cut it with a Spellbinders "Grommet Tags" die (discontinued). I inked the edges with Broken China Distress ink, just to help it stand out from the background a bit more.

For the scene, I first glued the end of the branch behind the window in my cardstock frame. I adhered the acetate to the back with Scor Tape, and glued my birds & music notes to that. I also added a little more liquid glue under the branch, just to keep it steady.

I adhered my greeting to the panel with ATG adhesive, pierced a hole at either end of the tag, and inserted 2 silver mini brads. Finally, I popped the panel up with foam tape onto a white A2 card base.

I'm also entering this card in Incy Wincy Designs' "Let's Celebrate" challenge.

Two Birthday Cards

This past weekend, my mom turned 81 years young! My brother & SIL were able to come down and help us celebrate. I created these cards for Mama, including one from our 3 cats.

I totally CASEd this card from one that Darlene DeVries did recently for Live Love Cards. In fact, it was seeing her card that made me get the "Owl" die from Taylored Expressions. Mama & I both love owls, so I figured this would be a great card for her!

I die cut the owl pieces from scraps of cardstock. I used "regular" colors for the body, eyes, beaks, & feet; but made their bellies rainbow hues. After cutting all the pieces (and managing not to lose any!), I glued everything together to create 5 owls. A fine-tip applicator bottle & cross-lock tweezers come in VERY handy for operations like this! :)

For the fence, I stamped the Altenew "Wood Pallet Background" onto Strathmore Smooth Bristol paper with Hero Arts Wet Cement ink. I then blended Brushed Corduroy Distress ink over the panel. I also stamped & inked a thin strip for the cross piece, glued it in place, and stamped the nails with Hero Arts Charcoal ink.

I cut another piece of bristol for the sky, and inked with Tumbled Glass & My Favorite Things' "Mini Cloud Edges" stencil. I adhered that & the fence panel to my white A2 card base. Then I glued the owls in place, and stamped the letters to spell "happy" on their bellies with Essentials by Ellen's "Basic Alpha" stamps & Versafine Onyx Black ink. I also glued down a balloon I'd die cut with a Lawn Fawn "Party Balloons" die, tied a thread around the bottom of the balloon, and glued the other end, plus a bow I'd tied with another piece of thread, to the one owl's wing.

Finally, I die cut the "birthday" from My Favorite Things' "Cause for Celebration" set from black cardstock, and glued it in place on the fence. I coated that & the balloon with clear Spectrum Noir shimmer pen, and followed that with Glossy Accents on both pieces.

I got the inspiration for my second card from this one by Amy Yang for My Favorite Things' blog. Because I was using digital images, I began by creating a blank "canvas" in Photoshop. I used that to size several kitty images from Bugaboo Stamps, and then printed them onto white cardstock. I colored them with my Prismacolor pencils, and fussy cut them out.

I used 140 lb. watercolor paper for both my frames & grass panels. I first cut a piece to A2 size, and inked it with Distress inks in Broken China & Peacock Feathers, letting the color fade towards the top of the panel. I spritzed it with water from my Distress Sprayer, let that sit for a few seconds, then blotted it dry. I cut the 3 frames from that panel, going from largest to smallest, with a craft knife & metal ruler. I inked more watercolor paper with Twisted Citron & Mowed Lawn Distress inks, distressed with water, and die cut them with the "Grassy Hillside Borders" from Lawn Fawn. I stamped the "Happy Birthday," from My Favorite Things' "Big Birthday Sentiments" set on the top of the largest frame, with Versafine Onyx Black ink.

To assemble my card, I placed the frames on my card base, one inside the other, to determine where my background panel needed to go. After gluing one of the grass pieces to the background panel, I adhered it to my card base. I glued another grass panel to my innermost frame piece, and popped the whole thing up with one layer of foam tape. I proceeded in this manner for the middle & outer frames, adding another layer of foam tape each time, so that my outer frame has 3 layers.

Inside of cats' card

I used a combination of liquid glue & foam tape to adhere my kitties in place in my little scene. For the inside, I created a 5.25x4" canvas in Photoshop, and positioned "Bosko" from Jane's Doodles in the lower left corner. (Bosko is one of Mama's favorite characters among all my images, so I try to include him on the cats' card to her every birthday!) I created the greeting and signatures, and even drew a little paw print beside each cat's name, using the Custom Shape tool in Photoshop. I printed that out onto white cardstock, & adhered it to the inside of the card. I can easily say, she got a kick out of these cards!

I'm entering these cards in the following challenges:

Dies R Us #82: "Life's Events"

613 Avenue Create: "Anything Goes"

Incy Wincy Designs: "Let's Celebrate"

Two Christmas Cards

Christmas Card Throwdown's current challenge theme is to use only pink, red, and green on your card. I created 2 cards to enter.

I used Our Daily Bread Designs' "Christmas Ornament" stamp set for my first card. I stamped it on Strathmore Smooth Bristol paper with Versamark ink, & heat embossed with Ranger Super Fine Detail Gold embossing powder. (I am using gold as a neutral, not another color.) I colored it with my Tombow markers, using a water brush to blend the colors & create highlights.

For the front panel, I decided to keep it simple. I don't have the coordinating die for the stamp set, so I stamped the ornament in the middle of my panel, and cut around it with a craft knife. I stamped the greeting, also from "Christmas Ornament," and gold heat embossed that as well. Finally, I foam mounted that to my image panel, and adhered it to a white A2 card base.

My second card, though still a CAS design, was a bit more involved. I die cut several flower & leaf pieces from Canson XL Mixed Media paper with the Poppy Stamps "Blooming Poinsettia" die set. I smooshed Worn Lipstick & Barn Door Distress inks on my non-stick craft mat and spritzed them with my homemade Perfect Pearls mist. Then I laid the die cut flower pieces face down in the ink, and moved them around until they were full covered. I used my heat tool to dry them, and added more ink where necessary. I repeated the process with Mowed Lawn Distress ink for the leaves.

For the card front, I took a cue from Jennifer McGuire. She had demonstrated using stitching dies to make an impression in your card front, just for a bit of added interest. I used the largest of Lawn Fawn's "Small Cross-stitched Rectangle" dies to do this. It doesn't really show up in the photo, but it adds a nice detail in real life. Then I stamped the greeting, from "Christmas Ornament," and gold heat embossed that.

I glued my poinsettias together, adding liquid glue just in the centers at first. When that had set up, I glued the 3 flowers & leaves to my card front, adding glue under all the petals to keep them from tearing off. After that dried, I trimmed off the overhanging bits with my scissors, & adhered my card front to a white A2 card base. As a finishing touch, I added Nuvo Honey Gold Glitter Drops to the centers of the flowers.

I'm also entering the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Christmas"
Incy Wincy Designs: "Let's Celebrate"
613 Avenue Create: "Anything Goes"

Birthday Bridge Card

Ellen Hutson has their September Pin-Sights challenge up. In fact, this is the last day to enter! I created this card for a friend of mine whose birthday is coming up soon.

Pin-Sights challenge mood board

I decided, after reading this tutorial, to make a bridge card. A special card for a special friend! I created the card base from white 110 lb. cardstock. I cut patterned paper strips from 2 papers in Graphic 45's "Couture" 6x6" pad. I matted them with navy, and adhered them in place on the card base.

For the focal image, I used the Essentials by Ellen "Mondo Magnolia" stamp set. The full flower was a bit too large, but fortunately, the coordinating die set has a die that cuts out the middle section of petals. I stamped it on Strathmore Smooth Bristol paper with Versamark ink, & heat embossed with Ranger Super Fine Detail Gold embossing powder.

I colored the flower with 2 blue Tombow markers, using a water brush to help blend the colors & add shading. I did the center with an orange marker. Because the flower was on a different paper than the card base, I knew the whites wouldn't match, so I just colored the edges of the flower blue. Finally, I die cut it with the coordinating die.

Another view of the card

I wanted leaves, but the "Mondo Magnolia" set has none. So I pulled one of the dies in the "Wild Garden" set, also from the Essentials by Ellen line. I die cut it 3 times from a scrap of bristol, and colored it with a teal-green Tombow marker & water brush. To tie in with the gold embossing, I painted around the edges of the leaves with gold paint from the Gansai Tambi Starry Colors set. The die cuts out the inner portion of the leaf, but I wanted the whole thing intact. So I just adhered the die cut leaves to white cardstock, & fussy cut around them.

For the greetings, I pulled stamps from 2 sets: Winnie and Walter's "The Party," & My Favorite Things' "Birthday Greetings." I stamped the latter onto a panel of white cardstock that I had matted with navy, and gold heat embossed it, before adhering it to my card base. For the "Happy Birthday," I cut a piece of the striped patterned paper I'd used for two of the vertical panels. It has a mottled teal pattern on the back side, so I stamped & heat embossed on that. I matted that strip with navy as well, adhered it to the "bridge" strip for my card, and used Scor Tape to adhere that to my card base. Finally, I glued my flower & leaves in place, and the card was finished!

I'm also entering my card in Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday "Anything Goes" challenge.

Shoot for the Moon

I decided to create another card for A Blog Named Hero's "One Layer" challenge. The woman I send cards to for Send a Smile 4 Kids is desperate for boy cards, so I figured this one would work for that! I decided to create a galaxy background, so I used 140 lb. watercolor paper.

I used Hero Arts' "Shoot for the Moon" stamp set. I began by die cutting 2 circles from masking paper using the "Standard Circles LG" & "Standard Circles SM" die sets from Spellbinders. After I determined where everything would go, I stamped Saturn with Colorbox Putty archival dye ink. I colored it with my Inktense pencils, using a damp paintbrush to pick up the color & apply it to the paper. I then stamped it again with Versamark ink, & clear heat embossed it to seal in the color.

To create the moon & Earth, I placed the negative of my circle masks on my card panel. I used an ink dauber to blend a light coat of Scattered Straw Distress ink onto the larger opening (for the moon), and then made "craters" with Stormy Sky Distress ink. I used another dauber to ink over the whole thing with Lawn Fawn Yeti pigment ink. The yellow & blue areas show through, but it's still subtle. Finally, I stamped my greeting with Versafine Onyx Black ink. For Earth, I blended Broken China Distress ink through my mask, then colored a rough estimation of continents with a green Tombow marker.

For the background, I first masked off my moon & Earth with the masks I'd die cut. I inked over the whole background with Distress inks in Picked Raspberry, Mustard Seed, & Mermaid Lagoon. When it looked like a hot mess, I knew it was time to add the black! :) I inked over the whole panel with Black Soot Distress ink. This is always kind of scary, because the risk of ruining your whole panel is there. But I think this actually came out to be the best I've ever done! After I'd finished inking, I spattered 2 colors of Gansai Tambi Starry Colors over the panel for stars.

I removed the masks, and replaced the negative masking pieces. I inked Earth & the moon with Versamark, and clear heat embossed them, so they would match Saturn. Finally, I removed my masks & adhered my panel to a white A2 card base.

I'm also entering this card in 613 Avenue Create's Challenge #201: "Anything Goes."