2022 desk calendars

Happy new year! I'm getting in just under the wire to post the desk calendars I made before the new year. This year I made two different styles: gel press prints and die cuts on patterned card stock. I didn't keep track of any supplies (I kept changing my mind and was in a time crunch at the end), so I just have the pictures. If you want to know the product or company name for anything, leave me a comment and I'll do my best to figure it out.

I'll start with the gel press print calendars. I made four of these, and each one is unique, so I'm going to share all four.

I've tried gel press printing before, but only a couple times, and I wasn't crazy about the results so I hadn't used my gel press in quite a while. I've been following a few gel press creators on Instagram, and when Taylored Expressions came out with a gel press printing kit a few months ago, I decided to go for it. (The kit comes with a gel press and tin to store it, paper, paint, a brayer, and a little bottle of hand sanitizer to clean the gel press.)

After my kit arrived, I set aside a couple of afternoons to just make prints. Before starting I gathered everything I needed. I pulled out a bunch of my stencils and found some additional texture tools -- bubble wrap, sponges, mesh bags, the plastic discs from inside rolls of tape, basically anything that could make an interesting shape or texture. I also set up a little cleaning station made up of a plastic bin half filled with warm soapy water and a couple of towels laid out. After I used a stencil I tossed it in the water, and once there were several stencils in the bin I rubbed off any remaining paint and set them on the towels to dry. I changed the water in the bin when it got too dirty.

Over the course of my two gel printing sessions, I went through all of the paper that came in the kit as well as the extra pack I purchased separately! I found it was a lot easier to create the more I did. I definitely didn't love every print -- there were a few where I just went one step too far -- but overall I was really pleased with how they came out. One of my biggest challenges was having enough space on my table to lay out the pages to dry. :)

Quick side note: When I purchased the kit, I also got a link to a special YouTube video created by Lydia Fiedler that walked through the items in the kit and had lots of tips and tricks. If you haven't checked out Lydia's creations before, I highly recommend it. She is an amazing artist and has so many ideas and videos on her blog and YouTube channel. (I took a class with Lydia at a stamping event a couple of years ago, and it was so much fun.)

The gel press printing kit comes with five large tubes of paint -- I don't remember all the official color names, but there is a pink, yellow, blue, white, and pearlescent -- and all of these calendar pages were made with only those colors. That's kind of mind boggling to me, but it goes to show you that you don't need a ton of supplies to have fun and create.

Once I had used up all my paper, I had the difficult task of deciding which pages to use for the calendars. I changed my mind and rearranged pages so many times! I tried to avoid including more than one page within a calendar that used the same stencil. I also wanted a variety of color combinations, and I tried to pick seasonal images or colors for each month. (I set aside all the gel prints I didn't use for calendar pages, and I might try cutting them up for card backgrounds or use them for die cuts.)

I cut a 4" x 6" mat of black card stock for each calendar page and then trimmed the gel prints to slightly smaller than that so the mat created a narrow black frame. You might notice that for two of the calendars I also matted the monthly calendar pieces with black card stock. I did that for two of the calendars and then decided it looked fine without that layer. (I was also getting tired of cutting black card stock.)

One of the challenges for me with these calendars is that I didn't do any kind of focal image. I thought about adding sentiments or some kind of embellishment, but eventually I decided that I wanted to prints to stand by themselves, so I left them as is. And I'm really glad with that decision!

 

For the last five calendars I needed to make, I wanted to go with something quick and easy. (Ha! That never seems to work out for me.) I started with a pack of 12" x 12" printed card stock and went from there. Here are the finished pages:

 

(Sorry the colors are a little washed out in this photo. As it turns out, I hadn't taken any pictures of these calendars before I gifted them. Oops. Luckily I had given this calendar to my sister, so I was able to snap a quick photo of her pages.)

My first step was to choose twelve pages from the card stock pack and cut them into 4" x 6" pieces for the calendar page backgrounds. The pages themselves are definitely on the simpler side, but again, I kept changing my mind about the order of the pages and the die cuts I wanted to use, so it seemed like it took forever to make them. But looking at them now, I think they turned out pretty well.

I did add a few sparkling clear sequins to each page, although it's hard to see them in the photo. And a few of the pages are printed with glitter, so they have a little extra shine. My favorite pages are probably June and September because I really like the multi-color backgrounds.

Well, that's it for 2021! All in all, I can't say I'm sorry to see the year end; it's definitely been another tough one. Here's hoping for a more peaceful, less stressful 2022. Whatever the year holds for you, I wish you love, joy, and strength. Thanks for stopping by, and I hope to "see" you again!

2021 Christmas card recap + blog update

Wow - Christmas Eve is just ten days away! I meant to post this little recap at the beginning of the month, but here we are. If you make holiday cards, you probably have them finished by this time, but if you do need to make any last-minute cards -- or maybe a gift tag or two -- here is a bit of inspiration for you. If nothing else, you can tuck away the ideas for next year.

Click on each month for the full post, including supply lists for the cards.

January: Gel print trees

February: Cards from calendars

March: Naughty or nice?

April: Polar bear parade

May: Toile silhouettes

June: Sparkly joy

July: Simple shimmer

I did make a few gift tags and last-minute cards last week (trying to use up some of the papers and embellishments in my stash), but I didn't take any photos to post. I was just having fun creating and didn't stop to write down supplies or take pictures.

On that note, I am going to take a break from my blog in the new year. For a variety of reasons it's been hard to keep up with it during the past couple of years, and I've felt guilty for not posting enough and then overwhelmed when I go through the photos of all the cards and projects that still need to be shared. Also, I've been struggling with crafting in general, and when I do have the time and energy, I want to spend it actually making things and not keeping track of supplies, setting up cards to take pictures, and sitting at the computer.

I'm not sure how long of a break I will take, or even if I will come back to my blog at all. I won't be taking it down or deleting anything, so I hope it continues to offer a bit of inspiration. I may still pop on here and there for a quick post, but I'm not giving myself any "rules" or schedules. And who knows, maybe after a couple of months I'll be ready to go again.

I am still planning at least one more post before the end of the month so I can share the desk calendars I made for Christmas gifts this year. Stay tuned for that. And if you're interested, you can find me on Instagram: @snippetsbyandrea. I honestly don't post there a ton, either, but I do check in every day. :)

Thanks for stopping by today -- and for the last ten years!

Houseplant card set

It's so hard to believe that Christmas is less than a month away. This year has simultaneously seemed to last forever and just fly by. I'm busy trying to get things in order for the holidays, so I haven't done much card making. (I have been making calendars, but I can't share those yet.) I wanted to get one more blog post in before December, so today I'm sharing a set of cards I made last summer. 

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise stated):
Stamps: Plentiful Plants
Paper: Thick Very Vanilla, Very Vanilla, Cajun Craze, Night of Navy, Dapper Denim, Old Olive, Garden Green, Emerald Envy card stock; First Edition Specialty Designer Series Paper (DSP); Kraft woodgrain card stock (Memory Box)
Ink: Cajun Craze, Night of Navy, Dapper Denim, Garden Green, Old Olive, Emerald Envy
Accessories: Perfect Plants dies, Art Glitter Glue (Art Impressions)

I think this set of cards is great for just about any occasion -- or no occasion at all -- and will work for men or women. The newsprint-style DSP makes a neutral background but still adds a lot of visual interest. I think an embossed card base would also look great for the background if you wanted something a little more subtle.

To make this set of cards, I chose three colors for the pots and three colors for the plants. I stamped and die cut the different images from the different colors, mixed and matched the pieces, and adhered them to the card bases. I like this technique for making sets of cards because while it's clear that all the cards go together, it's more fun for me than making multiples of the exact same design.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Kid gifts: barrettes and zipper pulls

Last week I made some ribbon barrettes and zipper pulls as birthday gifts for a few cousins and a friend's daughter. I haven't had a chance to make these in ages, so it was fun to pick out color combos and look through all my embellishments to see what would work.

I didn't write down the supplies I used, but I shared a tutorial for making ribbon barrettes in a previous post (10 years ago!), and all the basic supplies and measurements are listed there. If you'd like to see more examples of either the barrettes or zipper pulls, just search the appropriate phrase on my blog.

 
For the barrette holders, I cut pieces of kraft card stock, rounded the corners, and used a white paint pen to doodle a border and accents. I also used a punch to make slots in the card stock for the back prong of the barrettes to slide through.

These zipper pulls/bag tags are made with flattened bottle caps -- purchased as a papercrafting embellishment; I didn't flatten them myself :) -- monster buttons, mini chains, and the zipper pull clips. The backing card for these was actually a background panel that's been sitting in my stash of odds and ends. I made it using Color Burst powders, and even though it's a little wild and crazy, I liked the bright colors with the zipper pulls. I just used a black marker to make a faux stitched border and punched three holes along the top to clip on the pulls.

That's it for my quick post today. Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!

Autumn pop-up cards

One of the things I've been trying to focus on since I moved is using more of the craft supplies I already have. Packing and unpacking everything in my craft room made me realize how much stuff I have, especially things like patterned paper, embellishments, and even the various bits and pieces I hang onto, like die-cut pieces I didn't use on a card or backgrounds that I'm not sure I like. So with that in mind I used an old card kit from Close to My Heart to create some autumn-themed pop-up cards.

Supplies:
Stamps: French Foliage, Lighthearted Leaves (Stampin' Up!)
Paper: From the Heart card kit (Close to My Heart)
Ink: Crushed Curry, Pool Party, Soft Suede, Cajun Craze (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Washi tape (Handmade Modern), gold sequin trim (Stampin' Up!), wooden leaves (Paper Source), Scor-Tape (Scor-Pal), Art Glitter Glue (Art Institute)

This card kit, which I've had sitting on my shelf for at least four years, had supplies to make twelve cards and came with a pretty floral/sentiment stamp set. I used that set to make a couple of birthday cards, but I decided to use the rest of the bases for these autumn cards. (The French Foliage stamp sets is one of my favorites, and I don't get to use it enough!)

You're probably wondering how these are pop-up cards, so here is a photo with one of the cards opened:

The card base is actually a pocket with a piece of card stock inside the pocket and a piece of card stock that lays on top of the gold frame. The pieces are attached at the bottom, and when you pull the piece inside the pocket, it makes the piece on the outside pop up. I'm certain you could make this type of card base from scratch, but I don't have the patience for that, so it was fun to use the kit to make a different card style.

I decorated the front of the card with some collage-style stamping and added a few little embellishments. On the back panel, which you see when the card is "opened," I stamped a quote sentiment and a single leaf. I debated whether to write my message on the piece of card stock that slides inside the pocket or on the back of the card. I decided to go with the inside piece, which was a little tricky because I had to work around the front layer being popped up, because it seemed odd to just leave that space blank.

I'm hoping I'll be able to make a few more autumn cards to send out for Thanksgiving before we get into winter and Christmas. (Eek - how is it that time already?!) Thanks for stopping by!

I'm back!

Well, hello there! It's hard to believe that I haven't posted on my blog for almost two months. Since then, we've closed on our house, moved, and are working on getting settled and discovering the ins and outs of being homeowners. It's been about a month since we moved in, but we still haven't finished unpacking. We took care of what we really needed -- kitchen, bedrooms, craft room (of course!), etc. -- and then lost our "oomph." Part of the problem is that we need some furniture in order to finish getting settled, but with all the production/delivery issues and delays right now, a lot of things are out of stock and on back order. We found a sofa we liked that wouldn't be delivered until January or February! Oof. I'd thought we'd be all ready for the holidays, but now I'm not sure. So it's been a slow process.

But enough about the boring stuff. I have actually made a few cards in my new craft room! And here are the first two:

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Thankful Forest Friends, Tree Rings, Sentimental: Birthday (Winnie & Walter)
Paper: Cinnamon Cider, Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip card stock
Ink: Cinnamon Cider, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Gray Granite
Accessories: happy Birthday die (Simon Says Stamp), Ornate Layers dies, jute twine (May Arts Ribbon), Into the Woods elements, Box of Chocolate sequin assortment (Craft Medley), foam tape (3M), Art Glitter Glue (Art Institute)

One of my cousins has twins (a girl and a boy) who celebrated their fourth birthday this month, and I wanted to make cards using a stamp set that wasn't specifically for birthdays. I chose this autumn/Thanksgiving set because I think these animals are adorable and look like storybook characters. Using different dies and accessories, I made one card a little more feminine, and one card a little more boyish. For the card with all the animals, I had to cut out the images by hand -- and I think I did a pretty good job, if I do say so myself. :)

Inside the "boy" card I simply added a layer of Very Vanilla card stock stamped with a birthday sentiment. But in the "girl" card I added a small stamped branch in each corner to tie in the images on the front of the card.

It felt like I had to retrain my crafty muscles a bit while I was making these cards, and now I'm working on my blogging muscles. I'm still not exactly sure how much I will be blogging going forward. I like having a record of the cards I've made and being able to search for a specific stamp set or technique. But finding the time and energy to do all the steps (take and download pictures, resize/edit them, write the post, etc.) isn't the easiest right now. So I may try out some different ideas, like maybe just posting pictures and supplies without much text. Or maybe a weekly round-up of whatever I've made that week. We'll see what happens.

Thanks so much for sticking around and stopping by today!

Pastel birthday desserts

I'm back! And I have officially decided that home buying is one of the worst experiences ever. I hope we like living in this house, because I can't say I want to do this again anytime soon. And that's not to say that anything has gone wrong. My stress level is just through the roof trying to figure all this stuff out while simultaneously sorting/packing belongings, working at my job, doing the everyday stuff (laundry, dishes, making dinner, etc.), and dealing with the world in general. Sigh.

So today I'm throwing in a quick blog post for a little change of pace. I have three birthday cards that use the same stamp and die set and color combo. I won't go into too much detail, but I think all of the cards are fairly self-explanatory. If you have questions, though, feel free to leave a comment, and I'll respond as soon as I can.

Supplies:
Stamps: Cake (Essentials by Ellen), Birthday Backgrounds (Stampin' Up!)
Paper: Whisper White, Soft Suede, Mint Macaron card stock (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Chocolate Truffle amalgam ink (Gina K Designs); Soft Suede, Mint Macaron, Soft Sea Foam, Powder Pink (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Cake dies (Essentials by Ellen), Stitched Shapes dies (Stampin' Up!), Skyscape Mini Cover Plate dies (Catherine Pooler), Subtles Candy Dots (Stampin' Up!), Iridescent Bubbles (Taylored Expressions), White Tea Lace Paper Doily (Stampin' Up!), jute twine (May Arts Ribbon), Art Glitter Glue (Art Institute), Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!)

This stamp set is a two-step set, so there are separate stamps for the outline images and the filler images. You could stamp just the outlines and color or paint the images, but I went for the quicker option of stamping. For this card, I tried to create the look of the desserts sitting on a table. I love how the bit of doily looks like a tablecloth.

For this card, I used a few die-cut stitched circles to spotlight the images and sentiment, and I doodled a double frame around the edges to break up the solid background. I usually like the look of hand-drawn borders, but I'm honestly not sure I love it on this card. (I think maybe it needed a little more, like some swirls or curlicues.)

For the last card I layered a white scalloped rectangle on the front of the card as well as on the inside (see below). I focused on just the cupcake images from the stamp set, placing three on the front of the card and one inside to coordinate with the punny sentiment.

Thanks for stopping by today -- and for hanging on through all the craziness. I'm hoping to get back to consistent blogging in October. It might not be terribly frequent, but if I start with one post a week, I can work my way back up. Have a wonderful weekend!

Bright butterflies and an update

Quick life update: my sister and I bought our first house! It's exciting and completely nerve-racking all at once. We'll be closing and moving in about a month, which means the next few weeks are going to be crazy! I started boxing up the craft room today, so my card-making will be on hold for awhile. I do have several cards and card sets I haven't shared on my blog yet, so I'm planning to squeeze those in when I need a break from packing. :)

Speaking of a break from packing, let's get to today's cards, featuring a few bright butterflies. 

Supplies:
Stamps: Brilliant Butterflies (My favorite Things), Totally Random Sayings Vol. 3 (Essentials by Ellen)
Paper: Thick Whisper White, Basic Black card stock (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Mango Melody, Daffodil Delight, Flirty Flamingo, Melon Mambo, Coastal Cabana, Bermuda Bay (Stampin' Up!); Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko); Stardust Gelly Roll pen (Sakura)
Accessories: Frame in Frame 2 Cutting Plate (Taylored Expressions), orange sequins (Craft medley), sparkling clear sequins (Pretty Pink Posh), Bitty Banner punch (Stampin' Up!), Art Glitter Glue (Art Institute)

I love the style of these butterflies, and they're perfect for clean and simple cards. I didn't get the coordinating dies, so I decided to stamp the butterflies directly on a heavyweight white card base. I chose three pairs of bold colors (pink, orange/yellow, and aqua) with a dark and light shade of each. I used the dark shade for the top pair of solid butterfly wings and the light color for the bottom. Then I stamped the bodies and detailed wing images in black.

I added accents with black card stock on each card: a strip on the bottom and tiny banner in the upper right corner on the first card and a scalloped frame on the second. Then I stamped a sentiments and added trails of sequins around the butterflies.

To add a little sparkle to the butterflies, I used a Stardust Gelly Roll pen to fill in some of the sections in the detailed wing images. It's a subtle detail, but fun when it catches the light.

This stamp set would be great for making a set of cards -- just choose one layout and then use a different butterfly color and sentiment for each card.

I realized this week that in the midst of house hunting I completely missed my 10-year blog anniversary, which was Aug. 1. Oops. I had wanted to do something to recognize the occasion, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen right now. Maybe I'll do something toward the end of the year -- I'm thinking about a post where I share my favorite card from every year I've been blogging. If you have ideas about what I could do, let me know in the Comments.

Thanks for stopping by!

Thank-you cards with DSP

I can't believe that we're already almost into August. I know it's cliche, but where does the time go? When I was looking through the photos of my cards to be posted, I realized I never shared this group of cards, which I made more than six months ago. Uff da. It's a good thing that thank-you cards never go out of season!

Here's the context: After the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, I was part of a campaign (started on Instagram) to recognize the workers who had to clean up all of that mess. So I needed to make a good number of cards in a short amount of time, and I didn't personally know the recipients, who would be both men and women. That was a challenge for me, so I decided to pull out -- you guessed it -- some Designer Series Paper (DSP). Using the DSP for the card backgrounds and also the die-cut sentiments, I created sixteen thank-you cards.

Supplies:
Stamps: Special Sentiments (Penny Balck)
Paper: Thick Very Vanilla card stock, This and That Epic Day DSP (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko)
Accessories: All About You dies (Concord & 9th), Bitty Banner punch (Stampin' Up!), Large Stitched Rectangle Stackables dies (Lawn Fawn), Art Glitter Glue (Art Institute)

When I started making the cards, I knew I wanted to keep them flat so they were easy to mail. And I didn't want to use any bumpy embellishments that would potentially set off a metal detector or cause some other sort of alarm. That meant the DSP really needed to be the star. I settled on the (long-retired) This and That Epic Day DSP because it has good colors and patterns that are pretty gender neutral. The distressed style also adds some visual interest, and it seemed fitting when I thought about the historic documents at our nation's capital.

I used a stitched rectangle die to cut out A2-sized layers of the DSP and adhered each one to a thick Very Vanilla card base. Then I cut out a whole bunch of "thank you"s and matched each one to a card. If the background pattern was busy I tried to use a more solid-color sentiment; and if the background was a bit more plain, I went for a colorful sentiment. The "you" die also cut out a thin border around the word, so I mixed those up to add an extra fun detail.

To take the place of an embellishment, I added a little punched banner at the top of each card. On some of the cards I also added a stamped sentiment to the die-cut portion. And that's it -- simple, but just right for the occasion (at least I think so). Cards don't need to be fancy to express our appreciation (or friendship or love or whatever). I sometimes need to remind myself of that.

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy thoughts at the beach

I'm not a huge fan of the hot, humid weather during summer, so the past couple of weeks has been the worst. I would love a nice relaxing day at the beach (preferably with a light, cool breeze -- is that asking too much?), but for now I'll live vicariously through this card:

Supplies:
Stamps: Totally Random Sayings Vol. 3 (Essentials by Ellen), Gorgeous Grunge (Stampin' Up!)
Paper: Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Pool Party, Garden Green card stock (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Pool Party, Crumb Cake (Stampin' Up!); Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko)
Accessories: Beach Chairs die (Rubbernecker Stamps), Grass #2 die (Rubbernecker Stamps), High Flying Kites die (Poppy Stamps), Whale of a Time sequins (Stampin' Up!), blending brush (Picket Fence Studios), Art GLitter Glue (Art Institute)

Doesn't that look so calm and relaxing?

I started with a Pool Party card base and decided where I wanted to position the horizon. Using a piece of paper (or a sticky note, masking paper, card stock scrap - whatever you have for a straight edge) to cover the top part of the card, I used a blending brush to add a bit of Pool Party ink to create the water.

For the sand, I cut a piece of Crumb Cake card stock as wide as the card base and then tore along the top. I wanted to add more texture, so I used a splatter-style stamp to add a bunch of little dots to the sand. (If you don't have a stamp, you could make your own splatter with a marker or watercolor paint.) Then I adhered that piece to the card base, making sure the top overlapped the bottom edge of the "water."

I die-cut and glued down a white Adirondack chair, several bits of green grass, and a few wispy little clouds. I finished the card with a stamped sentiment and three seashell sequins.

Thanks for stopping by!

July Christmas cards: Simple shimmer

I know I've already shared a few Christmas card ideas this year using patterned paper (or upcycled calendar pages), so I hope you don't mind one more. I've been struggling for card ideas, and patterned paper is an easy place to start. (Though these "easy" cards always seem to take me just as long as other cards because I obsess about every little detail.)

Supplies:
Paper: Winterberry patterned card stock (My Mind's Eye); Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, Evening Evergreen, Whisper White card stock (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Stitched Rectangle Stackables dies (Lawn Fawn), Merry die (Concord & 9th), Merry Sugar Script die (Birch Press Design), Big Peace Sugar Script die (Birch Press Design), Scripty Joy die (Lawn Fawn), Snowflake Set #1 dies (Echo Park Paper Co.), Note Tag punch (Stampin' Up!), jute twine (May Arts Ribbon), sequins (Paper Pumpkin leftovers), clear shimmer spray (Avery Elle), stitched ribbon (Stampin' Up!), Art Glitter Glue (Art Institute)

I few years ago I went to a crop event and took home a door prize with three double-sided papers from the Winterberry line from My Mind's Eye. I pulled them out earlier this month and decided it was time to use them up!

One of the pieces was a gray background with winter flowers and foliage. I used stitched rectangle dies to cut out panels, trying to get a good focal image on each panel. I sprayed all the panels with shimmer mist, and they're so sparkly in person (hard to capture in a photo).

I adhered the panels to coordinating card bases, added a die-cut sentiment, and finished off the cards with a few sequins. First batch done!

With the other two sheets in the pack, each had one side that was a maroon and white pattern, so I decided to try using them together. I struggled a bit with finding the right color card stock to use with these papers and finally settled on a neutral kraft. I think these cards feel so cozy!

This batch of cards was finished off the same way as the first: layered on card bases with die-cut sentiments and sequins. I had to go for the shimmer mist again because I didn't want the cards to be too plain, and I also added twine or ribbon to several of these cards.

Once I'd made all the cards I could, I had some scraps left over that were just big enough to make a few gift tags. I just punched out the tags from patterned paper, punched out the same number of tags from white card stock and then glued a white tag to the back of each patterned tag. I punched a little hole in the top of each tag and added a bit of twine. I may go back and stamp a To/From on the tags or add a little embellishment, but we'll see when the time comes to use them.

Thanks for stopping by!

One-sheet wonder birthday cards

In my post yesterday I mentioned that I'd like to do more watercolor techniques in my cardmaking. Another thing I need to work on is using more patterned paper. I have a pretty solid collection, and I don't seem to use it as much as I should. So I was excited when I found a YouTube video for a one-sheet wonder technique using 6" x 6" papers. I used three pieces of patterned paper, along with coordinating card stock, to create these six birthday cards:

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Picture Perfect Birthday, Gorgeous Grunge, Tiny Words Birthday (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper: Cupcakes and Carousels Designer Series Paper (DSP) Stack; Very Vanilla, thick Very Vanilla, Bermuda Bay, So Saffron, Calypso Coral, Early Espresso card stock
Ink: Early Espresso, Calypso Coral, So Saffron, Bermuda Bay
Accessories: Celebrate die (My Favorite Things), block-style Happy Birthday die (Avery Elle), Nested banners dies (Simon Says Stamp), It's Your Day die (Simon Says Stamp), script-style Happy Birthday die, Metallic Baker's Twine and Sequins Combo Pack, Coral Reef sequins (Close to My Heart), blue ribbon (unknown), jute twine (May Arts Ribbon), foam tape (3M), Art Glitter Glue (Art Institute)

If you're not familiar with one-sheet wonders, they are techniques that provide a template for cutting a piece of patterned paper so every piece is used on a card and there are no leftover scraps. There are many, many patterns out there (just do an internet search for one-sheet wonder template), but I decided to stick with the one in the video, which was made by Jacque Williams, a Stampin' Up! demonstrator in New Zealand.

Double-sided patterned papers are fun to use with one-sheet wonder techniques, because you get twice as many patterns to choose from. Since I used three different sheets of DSP, I had a total of six patterns -- lots of ways to mix and match the pieces for my cards!

For most of the cards, I just added a die-cut and/or stamped sentiment to the card front. But for the card on the left in this photo, I wanted to add an image, too. I stamped the party blowers and sentiment on Very Vanilla card stock using inks that coordinated with the DSP and then used a marker to add the stripes on the blowers, the clusters of dots, and the border around the panel. I also stamped some confetti in the upper left and lower right corners of the card base. You don't see a lot of the DSP in that card, but it's a great little accent. I finished off all the cards with sequins, and I also added ribbon or twine to most of them.

I'm looking forward to trying more one-sheet wonder templates -- and maybe one of these days I'll make a dent in my stash of patterned paper! Thanks for stopping by!

Loose watercolor Mod Floral

One thing I want to work on with my cardmaking is to do more watercolor techniques. Not realistic watercolor painting -- I'm not that skilled -- but really just using all my watercolor supplies more often. I got a start by using watercolor markers with the fun Mod Floral die from Ellen Hutson to create a soft, feminine birthday card.

Supplies:
Stamps: Cake (Essentials by Ellen)
Paper: Gray Granite, Grapefruit Grove card stock (Stampin' Up!); watercolor paper (Strathmore)
Ink: Gray Granite (Stampin' Up!); Soft Peach, Gold, Apple, Olive Green Brushmarker Pro watercolor markers (Karin)
Accessories: Mod Floral die (Essentials by Ellen), clear shimmer spray (Avery Elle), jute twine (May Arts Ribbon), rhinestones (Stampin' Up!), Art Glitter Glue (Art Institute)

I love that the cluster of die-cut flowers is large enough to be the focus of a card, but you could also trim it down to make a smaller grouping. (The die does also cut out a few individual buds and leaves, which I used to add some dimension by layering them onto parts of the large cluster.)

I die cut the Mod Floral die from watercolor paper and applied a light layer of water to the paper. Using watercolor markers I added peach to the flowers, yellow to the flower centers, and green to the leaves. I used a "loose" style and wasn't very particular or careful; I just went back and forth between the markers and plain water, moving or adding color until I was happy with the result.

 

Once the watercolor was dry, I spritzed the die cut with shimmer spray and then adhered it (and the extra layered pieces) near the upper left corner of a light gray card base. I wanted to bring in a little more of the peach color, so I added a strip of Grapefruit Grove card stock along the bottom edge of the card front. I stamped the birthday sentiment using gray ink in the open lower right corner.

When I poked out the flower centers from the die cut, I noticed that they looked like little cross stitches. I decided to go with that and glued three of them in a row just above the strip of Grapefruit Grove card stock. For the rest of the embellishments, I scattered some rhinestones around the flowers and tied a length of jute twine around the bottom of the card.

Do you have favorite watercolor techniques (or tips) for cardmaking? Leave me a comment and let me know! Thanks for stopping by!