Simple daisies

I love the simplicity and "un-fussiness" of daisies, especially when they're paired with a mason jar. So today I have a couple of clean and simple daisy cards to share.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Birthday Blessings (Gina K Designs)
Paper: Shimmery White, Pool Party, Thick Whisper White card stock; Wood 6" x 6" Designer Cardstock Pad (My Mind's Eye)
Ink: Going Gray, Pool Party, Daffodil Delight, Pear Pizzazz
Accessories: Frame in Frame 2 Cutting Plate (Taylored Expressions), linen thread, pearls, foam tape (3M), Art Glitter Glue (Art Institute Glitter), Aqua Painter brush

I love this woodgrained patterned paper, and I think it looks perfect with these daisies in a jar. I used Pool Party ink and card stock to pull out the touches of blue in the woodgrain.

I stamped the jar and daisies with Going Gray ink on Shimmery White card stock, used an Aqua Painter brush with ink pads to color the water and the shadow below the jar, and  colored the flower centers and with markers. I framed the image with a Pool Party scalloped frame and used foam tape to adhere the panel onto the card base (thick white card stock layered with the woodgrain paper). Three simple pearls and a linen thread bow finish off this card.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Birthday Blessings (Gina K Designs)
Paper: Shimmery White, Pool Party, Going Gray card stock
Ink: Going Gray, Pool Party, Daffodil Delight, Pear Pizzazz
Accessories: Stitched Rectangles Thinlits dies (Sizzix), Pinewood Planks embossing folder, Smoky Slate gingham ribbon, mini jewels (Doodlebug Design Inc.), foam tape (3M), Aqua Painter brush

For the second card, I used the same basic technique to make the focal image. But this time instead of adding a frame, I die-cut the image with a stitched rectangle die and then matted it with Pool Party card stock to create a narrow border.

For the card base, I used Going Gray card stock. I embossed a separate piece of gray card stock with the Pinewood Planks embossing folder, wrapped a length of gray gingham ribbon around the card stock, and then adhered it to the card base. Using foam tape, I attached the focal panel to the middle of the card base. Three sparkly mini jewels were the perfect finishing touch.




Thanks for stopping by!

July Christmas card: Winter cardinal

I've been having fun making watercolor washes for card backgrounds lately, so I decided to pull out my paints for my July Christmas card design. But this time I used them for the focal images instead of the background.

Supplies:
Paper: Whisper White note cards and envelopes, gold foil sheets (Stampin' Up!); woodgrain embossed card stock (Essentials by Ellen); Somerset Velvet watercolor paper (Marco's Paper)
Ink: Gansai Tambi waterolor paints - 30 (Cadmium Red), 35 (Carmine), 55 (Viridian), 58 (Sap Green Deep), 46 (Burnt Sienna), 47 (Raw Umber Deep) (Kuretake)
Accessories: Woodland Basics dies (WPlus9 Design Studio), gold sequins (The Makery), Bitty Banner punch (Stampin' Up!), Art Glitter Glue (Art Institute Glitter), foam tape (3M), 1/8" Scor-Tape (Scor-Pal)

I created three washes on watercolor paper -- red, brown, and green -- mixing together two colors for each wash. While that was drying, I prepped the card bases. I used Whisper White note cards and envelopes and adhered a 3-1/2" x 5" piece of white woodgrain embossed card stock to the front of each card. (I just bought a pack of this card stock during a recent sale at the Ellen Hutson site. It's so beautiful, and it was perfect for this card design.)

Once the watercolor paints were dry, I started die cutting the pieces. Each card uses one bird, one pinecone, two small branches, and two large branches. When I was removing the pinecone shapes from the dies, some of the inner pieces fell out. Instead of removing the rest of the pieces, I decided to leave them as is, and I like the effect; each one is a little different.

I adhered the branches and pinecone near the middle of each card front with liquid glue, and then I used foam tape to attach the cardinals. I wanted to keep the embellishment simple but still bring in a little glitz, so I added a little banner punched from gold foil and three gold sequins.

Christmas is exactly five months away. (Where does the time go?) I'm glad I've got a good chunk of my cards done! Thanks for stopping by!

Stenciled backgrounds

Ink blending with stencils is a popular trend in card-making, and I have seen so many amazing cards with stenciled backgrounds. I'm just getting into this technique, but I had fun making these two cards:

Supplies:
Stamps: Special Sentiments (Penny Black)
Paper: Thick Whisper White, Basic Black, textured Bermuda Bay card stock (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko),; Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks - Fossilized Amber, Spiced Marmalade, Picked Raspberry, Twisted Citron, Peacock Feathers (Ranger)
Accessories: Blooming Garden stencil (The Crafter's Workshop), blender brushes (Picket Fence Studios), sparkling clear sequins (Pretty Pink Posh), Cookie Monster enamel dot (Taylored Expressions), foam tape (3M), Art Glitter Glue (Art Institute Glitter)

I love all the flowers on this stencil, and I knew I wanted to buy it as soon as I saw it. I placed the stencil on white card stock, chose a spring-y color pallet, and applied the various inks with blender brushes. It's so fun to pull away the stencil and see the end result! And since I used Distress Oxide inks, I spritzed a little bit of water over the stenciling; it's hard to see in the photo, but there are a few little water spots on the pink rose.

The stenciled piece was larger than the size of the card, so I trimmed the white card stock down to 3-3/4" x 5". I didn't want to cover up the background, so I chose a sentiment and stamped it directly over the stenciling with black ink. I attached the panel to a layer of black card stock and used foam tape to mount the piece to a card base made with textured Bermuda Bay card stock. For embellishment, I added a blue enamel dot in the center of the largest flower and three clear sequins around the sentiment.

Supplies:
Stamps: Grand Greetings, A Happy Hello (Gina K Designs)
Paper: Whisper White card stock (Stampin' Up!), Tranquil Teal card stock (Gina K Designs)
Ink: Key Lime, Sea Glass, Tranquil Teal (Gina K Designs)
Accessories: Square Mandala stencil (Gina K Designs), blending brushes (Picket Fence Studios), clear Wink of Stella glitter brush pen (Kuretake), glitter enamel dots (Stampin' Up!), Dimensionals

For this stencil I used summery colors and applied Key Lime in the center of the stencil, Sea Glass in a circle around that, and then Tranquil Teal over the rest of the stencil. I adhered the panel to a Tranquil Teal card base and added a strip of white card stock stamped with a birthday sentiment.

I stamped the flower two times on white card stock using Sea Glass ink. I cut out the flowers by hand, trimming the outer petals off one of them. I used Dimensionals to attach the smaller flower on the larger one and then added a few stamped and hand-cut leaves. I added the flower to the left side of the sentiment strip and added three glitter enamel dots to finish the card.

Are you into the stencil trend? I'm excited to try these stencils -- and the other ones in my stash -- with different colors and layouts. Thanks for stopping by!

Birthday sweets

I have an enormous sweet tooth with a particular weakness for any and all baked goods: cookies, cake, doughnuts, muffins, pies, pastries. You name it, and I will eat it. I'm trying to get better about making smarter, healthier choices, but some days are more easier than others. Thankfully, I can make as many sweets-themed cards as I want without having to worry about the calories!

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Piece of Cake
Paper: Whisper White, Balmy Blue card stock
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; Granny Apple Green, Balmy Blue, Mango Melody, Smoky Slate Blends/Blendabilities markers
Accessories: Subtle embossing folder, silver ribbon, foam tape (3M)

This is a pretty straightforward card. I stamped the three cakes and cake stands in a row on Whisper White card stock and colored the images with alcohol markers. Using foam tape I attached the panel to a Balmy Blue card base embossed with the Subtle embossing folder. I tied a length of silver ribbon around the card front and added the sentiment on a narrow white banner. The second part of the sentiment -- "Who cares what the question is!" -- is stamped inside the card.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Piece of Cake
Paper: Smoky Slate, Pool Party card stock
Ink: Smoky Slate; Pool Party, Pineapple Punch Blends markers
Accessories: Basic Gray corduroy buttons, Pool Party shimmer ribbon, white crochet thread (DMC), Dimensionals

For the second card I used three cake images and the candles, stamping the cakes in different directions to fill a piece of white card stock. I stamped one of the cakes again on scrap card stock, colored it and cut it out by hand. Then I used Dimensionals to adhere it on top of one of the cakes on the background piece.

I mounted the panel on a piece of Pool Party card stock, added ribbon and a button, and adhered the whole thing on a Smoky Slate card base. This color palette is a lot softer than what I usually use for birthday cards, but I love the way it turned out.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Donuts (The Stamp Market)
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Whisper White card stock; gold foil sheets
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Soft Sky, Calypso Coral; alcohol markers - BV02, E53 (Copic Sketch); Pumpkin Pie, Calypso Coral, Old Olive, Soft Sky, Mocha Blends/Blendabilities markers
Accessories: Happy Birthday dies (Simon Says Stamp), metallic enamel dots, Early Espresso baker's twine, Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers), Dimensionals

Now on to the doughnuts! For these two cards, I used a half sheet of white card stock (5-1/2" x 8-1/2") and stamped doughnuts all over. I colored them with alcohol markers, stamped the different toppings and cut the card stock into pieces for two different cards.

For the first card I die cut "Happy birthday" out of gold foil and glued it onto the stamped focal layer. I added a few gold enamel dots, rounded the corners of the card stock, and used Dimensionals to adhere it to a Chocolate Chip card base. For a finishing touch I added a bit of baker's twine around the bottom of the card.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Donuts (The Stamp Market), Crazy for Cupcakes
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Whisper White card stock
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Soft Sky, Calypso Coral; alcohol markers - BV02, E53 (Copic Sketch); Pumpkin Pie, Calypso Coral, Old Olive, Soft Sky, Mocha Blends/Blendabilities markers
Accessories: Calypso Coral thick twine, Coral Reef sequins (Close to My Heart), Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers), Dimensionals

For this card, I used a larger stamped piece and added a sentiment in an open space among the doughnuts. I rounded the corners and attached it to a Chocolate Chip card base. A bit of Calypso Coral thick twine and a few coral sequins finish off this quick card.

I hope you have a sweet day! Thanks for stopping by!

Underwater adventures

It's a hot and muggy weekend in these parts, and a beach vacation sounds mighty appealing. Sadly, there are no such excursions in my immediate future. But even if I can't swim in the ocean, I can still make fun underwater cards!

Supplies:
Stamps: Mermaid's Tail (Essentials by Ellen)
Paper: Alcohol ink paper (YUPO); Pool Party, Crumb Cake card stock (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Crumb Cake (Stampin' Up!); alcohol inks - Sunbright Yellow, Sapphire Blue, Senorita Magenta, Lime Green, Rich Gold (Jacquard)
Accessories: Mermaid's Tail dies (Essentials by Ellen), Build-a-Scene - Underwater dies (Taylored Expressions), Mermaid Mix sequins (Pretty Pink Posh), Seaside embossing folder (Stampin' Up!), gold Wink of Stella glitter brush pen (Kuretake), foam tape (3M), Art Glitter Glue (Art Institute Glitter), Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!)

I have to admit that this is my current favorite card. I love the colors, texture, and how everything came together. It just makes me happy!

To set the scene, I embossed a Pool Party card base with a wave-inspired embossing folder. I stamped the sentiment on a piece of Crumb Cake card stock and then tore off the top edge to create the look of a sandy ocean floor. Before adhering the card stock to the bottom of the card front, I splattered it with my gold Wink of Stella glitter pen to add a little more visual interest.

To make the mermaid tails and seaweed, I used alcohol inks on YUPO paper. Once I was happy with the colors, I let the paper dry (but not quite long enough because I'm impatient) and then die cut the different pieces. I attached the mermaid tails to the card base with foam tape and used liquid glue to adhere the seaweed, tucking the bottoms of the pieces behind the "sand." A few sequins (from the Mermaid Mix!) finish off this card.

Supplies:
Paper: Coastal Cabana, Granny Apple Green, Crumb Cake card stock; Tim Holtz YUPO paper (Ranger)
Ink: Tim Holtz alcohol inks - Oregano, Meadow, Stream, Terracotta (Ranger)
Accessories: Paper Layering Seahorses dies (Hero Arts), Build-a-Scene - Underwater dies (Taylored Expressions), Tide embossing folder (Lifestyle Crafts), Pearl Mixative and Blending Solution (Ranger), Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!)

Overall this card is fairly similar to the previous one. For the card base I used a different color card base and a different embossing folder. For the "sand," I spritzed a piece of Crumb Cake card stock with water, crumpled it up, and then flattened it. Once it was dry, I adhered it to the bottom of the card. I die cut the seaweed from Granny Apple Green card stock and added them to the card.

For the focal images, I again used alcohol inks on YUPO paper, let it dry, and then die cut the focal images. I used Dimensionals to attach the large seahorse to the center of the card and glued the two babies directly to the card base. For the one near the bottom of the card, I wrapped his tail around one of the pieces of seaweed.

Supplies:
Stamps: March 2019 My Monthly Hero Kit (Hero Arts)
Paper: Thick Whisper White card stock
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks - Fossilized Amber, Wild Honey, Spiced marmelade (Ranger); Basic Black journaling marker (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Tide embossing folder (Lifestyle Crafts), ribbon (unknown), Art Glitter Glue (Art Institute Glitter), Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!), foam tape (3M)

This card is actually one I made a few months ago. I hadn't ever posted it, but it fits with the underwater theme, so here it is!

Instead of using alcohol inks with this card, I used a few Distress Oxide inks and the reactive inks that came with the March 2019 Hero Arts kit. I blended ink on a piece of white card stock to make the "water" and then stamped the seaweed on the bottom portion and the school of fish near the top. I flicked a bit of water on the panel to create a bubbly look.

I stamped the three fish on a separate piece of white card stock (and used a black marker to add the eyes), die cut them and attached them to the stamped panel with Dimensionals.

For the card base I embossed a piece of white card stock, wrapped a piece of turquoise ribbon around the card stock, and attached it to a white card base. Then I used foam tape to attach the focal panel to the card base. A few droplets, also from the Hero Arts kit, complete the card.

Thanks for stopping by!

Hedgehog birthday 2

As I mentioned in my previous post, Art Impressions is celebrating its 32nd birthday and is hosting a birthday card challenge on the Art Impressions blog. Here is the second birthday card I made with my new hedgehogs stamp set.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Hedgehogs Set 5112 (Art Impressions)
Paper: Thick Whisper White, Bermuda Bay, Blushing Bride card stock
Ink: Crumb Cake; colored pencils - 935, 905, 992, 941, 1084, 928 (Prismacolor)
Accessories: Princess sequins (Craft Medley), Bitty Banner punch, Blushing Bride twine, Gamsol and blending sticks (Taylored Expressions), Dimensionals

Since my first hedgehog card had a slightly masculine color scheme, I decided to go a little more feminine for this card. I chose this cute little hedgehog who has popped her own birthday balloon. (At least she doesn't seem sad about it!)

Using Crumb Cake ink I stamped the image repeatedly over a heavy white card base. I stamped the image again on a separate piece of white card stock, colored that image with colored pencils, and then  blended it with Gamsol. I wasn't trying to do a no-line coloring technique, but with the lighter ink color, that's sort of what it looks like.

I cut out the colored image by hand and used Dimensionals to attach it over one of the images stamped on the card base. To add a little more color I adhered two punched banners to the upper left corner, tied pink and white twine around the bottom portion of the card, and added a few pink sequins.

Thanks for stopping by!

Hedgehog birthday 1

This month Art Impressions is celebrating its 32nd birthday. That's awesome! To help celebrate, there is a birthday card challenge on the Art Impressions blog. I had some crafty time this weekend, so I took the opportunity to make a couple of fun birthday cards for the challenge using my new hedgehogs stamp set. I'll share the first card below and the second one in the next post.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Hedgehogs Set 5112 (Art Impressions)
Paper: Whisper White, Granny Apple Green, Bermuda Bay, Terracotta Tile card stock
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; colored pencils - 928, 997, 921, 926, 1083, 941, 947, 1005, 911, 905 (Prismacolor)
Accessories: Wonky Stitched Circles dies (My Favorite Things), Florence sequins (Close to My Heart), Gamsol and blender sticks (Taylored Expressions), foam tape (3M)

The hedgehogs in this set are so cute, and I love the fun sentiments, too. For my first card, I used the image of the hedgehog resting on a potted cactus. (He seems to have found a kindred spirit!) I stamped the image on white card stock, colored it with colored pencils, and blended the colors with Gamsol.

I die cut the image with a stitched circle die and then filled in some of the white space by stamping the confetti image from the set several times. I colored and blended the confetti and added a light shadow below the hedgehog and cactus.

For the rest of the card, I pulled the colors from the focal image. I cut strips of Granny Apple Green and Terracotta Tile card stock that were 4" long and varying widths. I adhered the strips to a Bermuda Bay card base in alternating colors, making sure that the bottom strip was wide enough for the sentiment. I used foam tape to attach the focal image to the card base and then added a few sequins to finish the card.

Thanks for stopping by!

Kitten card set + recycled card pouch

As I promised in my last post, I'm back to share a fun little note card set featuring the kittens in the Oh My Whiskers stamp set from Honey Bee Stamps.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Oh My Whiskers (Honey Bee Stamps)
Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White card stock; Neutrals Designer Series Paper (DSP) Stack
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; Blends/Blendabilities markers - Soft Suede, Daffodil Delight, Smoky Slate; W1, W3, R81 markers (Copic Sketch)
Accessories:Large and Small Stitched Rectangle Stackables dies (Lawn Fawn), black enamel dots (Eyelet Outlet)

I needed to make a quick set of note cards for a cat-loving friend, and I knew the Oh My Whiskers stamp set would be perfect. But I didn't have a lot of time to color all of the images. Instead I used a black-and-white color scheme and added pops of color by just coloring the kittens.

I used a stitched rectangle die to cut panels of white card stock and stamped the images using Memento Tuxedo Black ink. With alcohol markers I colored the cats and added a shadow below each image. I also stamped a few butterflies on each panel to fill up some of the white space and add a little more to the scenes.

For the card bases I used black card stock folded so that the crease is at the top of the card. (I make almost all of my cards with this orientation. I don't know why, but I prefer it over a side-folding card.) I adhered a piece of black-and-white striped DSP along the left side of the card front and then added the focal panel, centered on the card. For a simple embellishment I added one black enamel dot to each card.

I used three different images for my cards, and I made two cards of each design for a total of six cards. For the inside of the cards I cut a larger stitched rectangle from white card stock and stamped a single kitten. (The card in the top right of this photo shows the inside of one of the cards.)

With the cards done, I needed some sort of packaging for them. When I received my order from Honey Bee Stamps, it arrived in the cutest brown paper bag (protected inside a padded envelope, of course). Rather than just recycling the bag, I decided to repurpose it into a little holder for the cards.

This is the front of (part of) the bag. It was printed with these adorable images, and I thought that sentiment was perfect! I trimmed off the top of the bag and then used a scissors with a mini pinking blade to add the decorative edge. There was some printing below the sentiment, so I covered it with a strip of washi tape (also from Honey Bee Stamps) that had a black-and-white floral pattern. I used my alcohol markers to add color to some of the flowers.

I honestly can't remember how I made the rest of the pouch. I do remember it didn't work exactly as I imagined, and I had to do some improvising. When all was said and done, the back of the pouch was shorter than the front, so you get a peek at the cards inside. It wasn't what I was intending, but I think it works. I added another strip of the washi tape along the back of the pouch.

To finish it off I wrapped a narrow yellow ribbon around the whole pouch and tied it off in a bow on the front.

Today is Independence Day in the U.S., so if you are celebrating, have a safe and happy holiday. But regardless of what day it is wherever you are, I wish you a wonderful day filled with awesome things!

Thanks for stopping by!