Lots of hearts

I'm back to share the rest of my valentines. This year I was more interested in doing mixed-media projects than making "cute" cards, so that's what I did. (I love cute cards, but that's what I usually make for Meals on Wheels, which I didn't do this year.) Today's cards have stamping, texture, drawing, and definitely lots of hearts.

These are the first three mixed-media cards. They are 5" x 7" rather than the usual A2 size (for the U.S.), which I think is easier for me when it comes to mixed media. I used lots of supplies, and I even tried to keep a list this time, which is at the end of the post. The middle card in this group has clear glossy hearts. Here is another view:

It's hard to detail the steps for making these cards. I started by stamping the hearts on the tan panel and then just started applying different "stuff." I tried to just create and not overthink anything, but I'm a chronic overthinker, so I don't know how well I succeeded with that. Most of all, I just wanted to enjoy the process, which I did.

These are the last two cards in this style. For these two I covered the middle panel with clear gesso after I was done with the stamping. I wanted to try adding water to the Distress Crayon (the red and pink) instead of just smudging it with my finger. It didn't turn out exactly as I had hoped, but the nice thing was that I could just wipe it off the gesso'd surface. It did leave a hit of color, though, which is why the card on the left has a bit of a red tint to it. I tried using rub-on transfers on the right-hand card, but it was really hard to get them to stick, and I think that may have been because of the gesso. There's always something new to learn!

Before I go, I meant to include these cards in my last post, but I forgot. Oops!

I guess they are mixed media -- at least in terms of the textured backgrounds made with stencils. The two outside cards used foil with Deco Foil Transfer Gel Duo. The middle card used a glitter texture paste. Die-cut hearts and sentiment strips make up the focal images. And that's it for this year's valentines!

As I mentioned, here are (most of) the supplies I used for the tan mixed-media cards:

Stamps: Love Notes (Stampers Anonymous - Tim Holtz), Well-Read (Altenew), Beautiful Soul (Taylored Expressions), Zen Messages (Hero Arts)

Paper: Tan mixed media paper and tan cards (Strathmore), black card stock (Taylored Expressions), Poppy Parade card stock (Stampin' Up!), white card stock (Neenah)

Ink: Toffee (Taylored Expressions), Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko), Abandoned Coral and Worn Lipstick Distress Crayons (Ranger - Tim Holtz)

Accessories: Sketched Hearts dies (Taylored Expressions), gold Hero Paste (Hero Arts), transparent gloss texture paste (Ranger), clear gesso (Prima Art Basics), white Collage Backgrounds Hero Transfers (Hero Arts), Fluttering Hearts stencils (Honey Bee Stamps), clay hearts (HAI)

I'm going to try to get back to a more regular blog-posting schedule. Nothing set in stone, but I'm planning to do one post each weekend and at least one post during the week. That should help me catch up on the back log of cards I have to share and hopefully keep me on track. Thanks for stopping by!

Gel print valentines

Happy Valentine's Day (just a little late)! However you spent the day, I hope it was lovely and filled with kindness. I had hoped to share the valentines I made before the actual day, but here we are. File the ideas away for next year -- or modify them to make a card for a different occasion.

This was the first year in a long time I didn't make cards for our local Meals on Wheels organization. I had planned to, but I never heard back from my contact after reaching out to her three times during January. So instead I focused on my own cards and a festive project for work (and I still ended up rushing at the last minute).

Last year I made some inspirational hearts for my coworkers, and I decided to do that again this year, with a few tweaks. This year I used gel prints for my hearts and added phrases to the hearts instead of just a single word. The rest of the process was basically the same: make heart templates, trace on gel prints, cut out, adhere coordinating card stock on the back, add sentiment, finish with twine.

I chose twelve different sentiments and used each sentiment on five hearts. So there's some variation, but I didn't have to spend time trying to find sixty different phrases.

I put out containers of hearts in our office and break areas. I debated whether it was too similar to last year and thought maybe people wouldn't take them. There were still quite a few left at the end of the day on Friday (I left them out for next week), but I know some people enjoyed them.

After I had cut out all the hearts, I used various heart punches on the left-over parts of the gel prints so I didn't waste them. I used the larger punched hearts to make eight valentines with my all-time favorite layout for Valentine's Day cards.

There's something about those six hearts lined up that just speaks to me. I've used this layout with different textured papers, different colors, different prints, etc. Sometimes I worry that it's too simple, but that hasn't stopped me. I think I could make this card every year. I had planned to make something similar with the smaller hearts I punched out, but I ran out of time. I saved them, though, so maybe next year.

I needed a few more cards after this bunch, so I went looking through some pieces I'd saved to use "sometime" and found a few that worked perfectly for valentines.

The card in the left is the only one that uses gel prints (see Crazy Quilt Scrap Papers for more details). I think the backgrounds for the other two were from a play session when I first got some Distress Oxide inks. But any colorful background -- patterned paper, gel print, ink blending -- would work. I just added die-cut hearts, a sentiment strip, a few black heart embellishments, and a doodled border.

I have a few more valentines to share in my next post, so stay tuned! Thanks for stopping by!

January Christmas cards: Northern lights

We made it out of the deep freeze last week, and I certainly hope we don't get that cold again this winter. But I think the cold inspired me for this month's batch of Christmas cards. I decided to use alcohol inks to create the northern lights on paper. I watched a tutorial by Lunar Sun Creations to help me get started and then I just went for it.

I started by cutting sheets of white Yupo paper into 4-1/2" x 6" panels. I created the panels one at a time, first coating the panel with alcohol ink blending solution, adding the ink in various spots around the panel, tilting the panel until the colors were blended a way I liked, and then setting it aside to dry. I love how each one is unique. 

For my alcohol ink colors I used a few different shades of magenta, blue, and green. Some of the inks I used were alcohol ink pearls (Ranger - Tim Holtz), so they add a pearlescent effect. This isn't the greatest photo, but I think you get the idea.

Also, if you are concerned about mess with the alcohol inks, I would definitely recommend wearing disposable gloves. I didn't because I'm more comfortable working without them, but I had some serious blue and purple fingers. (A couple of my fingernails still have a slight blue tint.) But that didn't bother me, and I work in an elementary school, so it wasn't a big deal. Hand sanitizer does help, since it's alcohol-based, but it won't get off everything.

Once the ink was dry, I used a white Posca paint pen to add splatter for snow or stars. On some of the panels I added larger droplets, and on the others I went with very fine splatter. To create the splatter, hold the uncapped paint pen over your surface. Then firmly tap the barrel of the pen with something hard (another marker, bone folder, non-flexible ruler, etc.). For the larger splatter, first press the nib of the paint pen onto scratch paper to build up the ink at the tip. Then use the same tapping method.

Once the splatter was dry, I trimmed each panel down to a finished size of 4-1/8" x 5-3/8". You could trim them to this size to start with, but I like to have a slightly bigger panel to work with so I can trim off any funny edges later.

Using the Forest Shadow dies (Sizzix - Tim Holtz), I cut the two tree images from black card stock. I glued the longer piece (with shorter trees) along the bottom of the alcohol ink panel and then trimmed off the excess card stock. Using black foam squares (Gina K Designs) I added the larger die-cut trees over the others.

I stamped "peace on earth" from Tiny Words Christmas (Simon Says Stamp) on a strip of white card stock and used foam tape to attach it along the left edge of the panel near the top of the card. I glued three die-cut silver stars around the sentiment for a simple embellishment. (The star die is included in the Forest Shadow dies.)

I matted each panel with a 4-1/4" x 5-1/2" piece of black card stock and glued it to a heavyweight white card base. I didn't take a picture of the inside of the card, but I stamped the sentiment "This season and always." I had some silver stars leftover, so some of the cards also have a few tiny stars inside.

I so love how these cards turned out. I usually don't make 12 cards of one design because I get tired of the repetitive stuff (which I definitely did with all the die-cut trees), but I was having too much fun making the panels. And I'm glad they turned out so well, because I'm going to try hard this year to make sure I really like all my Christmas cards instead of making them just to get them done. That may change as the year goes on, but I'm off to a good start!

Thanks for stopping by!

Tropical vibes

It is a cold in my neck of the woods -- our high temperature was -7°F today -- so it seems like a perfect day to share a couple of cards that have tropical vibes.

I made these cards ages ago, so I don't remember many details, although I think they're pretty self-explanatory. I used the Sending Sunshine stamp set (Stampin' Up!), and while I love the images in the set, it's not particularly versatile. So I tried to create two distinct layouts for these cards. Both cards turned out well, but I really like the retro look of the card on the right with the strips of colored card stock behind the focal image. And I think the style of the "happy birthday" sentiment coordinates well with it, too.

I could do with a hint of this tropical weather. Thank goodness our cold snap is supposed to be ending tomorrow -- we should have temps above zero! Thanks for stopping by!

2025 desktop calendars

Yesterday I had lunch with friends and exchanged my last Christmas gifts of the season. Now that everyone has received the 2025 calendars I made, I can share them here. I made a total of nine calendars and three different designs.

The first three calendars I made had a postage theme. For each month I decided on images and created the "postage stamps" using stamps, dies, and punches from a variety of companies. I chose the card stock for the background and embossed it with an embossing folder (I used a different folder each month). I matted the calendar page with a coordinating card stock and adhered all the pieces to the background.

For the next batch of calendars (four in this group), I pulled out my stencils and blender brushes. For each month I cut a piece of white card stock and used 1/8" wide masking strips (from Gina K Designs) to mask off a white border. I created the stenciled backgrounds and removed the masking strips. I matted the calendar page with coordinating card stock, adhered it to the background, and added a stamped sentiment (either directly on the page or on a separate piece of card stock).

For the last two calendars, I decided to do watercolor animals. I chose an animal(s) for each month, stamped the pieces on watercolor paper using pigment ink, and colored them using ZIG Clean Color Real Brush markers. I also used a water brush to help blend the colors. When they were dry I cut out the pieces (I had dies for most of them, but a couple had to be hand-cut). I chose the card stock for each month and stamped a background and/or sentiment. I matted each calendar sheet with a coordinating card stock, adhered it to the background, and then added the watercolor pieces with foam tape.

I didn't end up finishing the last couple of calendars until a few days after Christmas. But they were still done before the new year, so all's good. :) And I have to say I'm pretty happy with how they all turned out.

Thanks for stopping by!