Sending hugs

When I was looking through my gel prints recently, I found the pieces for a card that I'd prepped years ago but never actually put together. I figured it was about time to assemble that card.

First I used Dr. Ph. Martin's Bleed Proof White to add white splatter to the card base. I tore the top and bottom edges of the gel print (the letters were already cut out) and adhered it to the card base. I'd backed the letters with black cardstock for shadows, so I decided to try the eclipse technique, which I've never done before. I glued the letters back into the gel print, fitting the black shadows into the openings. (Looking at it now, I'm wondering if I should have used foam tape for the letters to help them stand out a little more.) I used foam tape to add the flag with "sending" at the top of the gel print and finished the card with gold sequins.

Thanks for stopping by!

July Christmas cards: Joyful Christmas Flora

One of my online cardmaking friends, Kate Deignan, has great layout ideas for using patterned paper. Last month she shared one of those layouts on the 12 x 12 Cardstock Shop blog ("Patterned Paper Handmade Card Template"), and I decided to use it for my July Christmas cards. I pulled out the Joyful Christmas Flora 6 x 6 paper pad (Carta Bella), found some coordinating card stock in my stash, and got to work.

The layout I used required two 1" x 4" strips, two 1" x 2-3/4" strips, and one 1-5/8" x 2-7/8" piece for the center. It was fun (and a bit of a challenge) to mix and match the papers and find combinations I liked. I used about half the pad of paper and ended up making eighteen cards, although not all of them used that layout. 

For the focal images on these cards, I used a variety of dies (branches, deer, trees, etc.) as well as some images I cut out of the patterned paper. I used enamel dots, sequins, buttons, and twine for embellishment and added some shine with gold card stock and a sparkle gel pen, which unfortunately doesn't show up in the photos. The die-cut sentiments were made with the Joyful Christmas Messages stamps and dies (Hero Arts).

I'm pretty happy with how these cards turned out, but they took me a lot longer to make than I thought they would. Trying to settle on just the right focal image, embellishment, or what have you was slow going. I need to stop thinking I'll be able to crank out cards when I'm using patterned paper! :)

Thanks for stopping by!

A quick challenge card

I do the majority of my stamping and crafting on the weekends. I find that I have a really hard time mustering the energy to do much of anything after I get home from work during the week. I'd like to change that, though, so one day last week I managed to sit down after work and make a quick, clean and simple birthday card.

The inspiration for this layout came from a sketch challenge. My current favorite craft shopping site is A Cherry on Top, and I discovered that they have weekly sketch challenges for scrapbooking, art journaling, and card making. Last week's card sketch really appealed to me, so I gave it a go.

The main elements of the sketch were six circles, the sentiment in the middle of the card, and splatter images behind the sentiment. For my card I used the Wonky Backdrops stamp set (Ellen Hutson) for the circle image as well as the cluster of stars. Since the circle was larger than those on the sketch, I overlapped them when stamping to make sure they'd all fit. The ink colors are from the Party Collection - Date Night inks (Catherine Pooler), and I arranged them in rainbow order so the colors would look ok where they were layered. Then, using black ink, I stamped the star cluster a few times in a swoosh across the middle of the card.

Before I assembled the card, I splattered it with Pearl Shimmer Splash (Brutus Monroe). (I was experimenting with flicking the applicator, so I got some lines as well as dots.) I adhered some looped silver thread at the middle of the card front and then used foam tape to adhere the strip with the sentiment over it. I finished the card with a few iridescent droplets mixed in with the stars.

This card really didn't take long to make, and the best part was that it was randomly chosen as the challenge winner. Woohoo! I'm going to try to enter more of the card sketch challenges and maybe even a few art journal ones, too. Thanks for stopping by!

My first Snarky Cat

I've been on a little mixed-media kick lately, and I've ordered several of the Tim Holtz mixed media stamp/stencil sets. So naturally, when I sat down to play with them, I had to get out my Distress Oxide inks. Using ink blending and ink "smooshing," I made eight Distress Oxide panels. I used some of the panels to make die-cut shapes, and others became backgrounds for cards. The card I'm sharing today has a little of both.

 

I love the Snarky Cat stamps from Tim Holtz, and my friend Sunshine (A Little Ray of Sunshine blog) has inspired me with some great cards made with these images. I can definitely relate to this crazy cat -- I'm always thankful I don't have a thought bubble over my head!

For this card I started with a green Distress Oxide panel die cut with a deckled rectangle die. I stamped some scribble images in green and added the sentiment in black along the top. Using a blender brush I created a patch of darker green ink to act as a grounding place for the cat image. I stamped the cat on the green panel and again on one of the other Distress Oxide panels I made. I cut out the second cat by hand and paper pieced it over the image on the green background. I colored the white parts of the cat's eyes with a paint pen.

I layered the green panel onto black card stock and then a white card base. The card needed something else, so I used a Micron pen to doodle a border on the card base. I purposely made the border a little crazy to match the image, and I finished the card with several Xs in the lower left corner of the green panel.

Thanks for stopping by!

Granny Squares

I wish I knew how to crochet -- I really want to be able to make granny squares. I've tried to learn a few times, and I've even successfully completed a couple of crochet kits. But I've never gotten very far; it doesn't seem to "stick," and I have to start at the beginning every time I try again. (I know it's because I don't keep practicing so I don't really have a good excuse.) So when I found the Granny Squares stamp and die set from Altenew, I had to get it. Here are the first two cards I've made using the set.

The granny square image is a layering stamp set so it's really easy to use different colors -- and the possible color combinations are endless. As I did with the Plants and Vases set, for my first card I used the product packaging as the inspiration for my first card. I stamped four granny squares together on a white panel as well as a fifth square on a separate piece of white card stock. I die cut the extra square and used foam tape to add it, at an angle, to the middle of the other stamped images. I added the sentiment below the granny squares, attached the panel to a card base, and finished with a few sequins.

For the second card, I stamped and die cut three granny squares. I struggled to arrange them in a layout I liked, so I tried a mini slim card (3-1/2" x 6") instead of an A2 size. I created a simple border by scoring a line 1/4" away from each edge. I adhered one square at an angle on each side of the card and then used foam tape to add the third square overlapping the first two. I kept the embellishment simple and just added a white bow to the middle of the center square.

Maybe this winter I'll try crocheting again. Until then, this is a fun substitute. :) Thanks for stopping by!

Plants and Vases

I can't believe it's been almost two weeks since my last blog post. It seems like I get on a roll for a little while but I can't quite stick with it. Oh, well. I'll just try to pick it back up again. Today I have a quick post to share a couple of cards made with the Plants and Vases stamp and die set from Altenew.

The stamps in the set include several different branches and sentiments, and the dies are two vases with embossed designs. For the first card I made with this set (the card on the right), I used the product packaging for inspiration. I stamped the branches in four different colors on a white panel. I added a strip of kraft card stock along the bottom to ground the vases, which I die cut from two different colors of card stock. I stamped "happy birthday" in the upper right corner, cut out the panel with a deckle-edge die, and added it to a dark brown card base. The finishing touch was a few sequins.

For the second card, I inked just one of the branches with a berry-colored ink. I stamped the image on a panel of white card stock and then stamped it a couple of more times -- once on either side of the first image -- without reinking the stamp. I added a kraft vase and matted the panel with kraft card stock. I used a berry card base to coordinate with the branches and added a piece of ribbon. Using foam tape, I adhered the panel a bit to the right of the center of the card base. I finished the card with a few enamel dots.

Thanks for stopping by!