Nature Walk collage-stamped cards

Recently I used the Nature Walk stamp set (Gina K Designs) to make four cards. I used collage-style stamping and a variety of ink pads in earthy colors to make my own piece of patterned card stock. I then cut that piece into four A2 panels and got to work on the cards.

For the first two cards I trimmed the panels just a bit, splattered them with copper watercolor, and matted them with copper card stock cut to an A2 size. I added natural trim or twine to each panel, along with a die-cut focal image (sentiment or butterfly), and then adhered the panels to A2 card bases. I finished each card with a few copper sequins.

For the second two cards, I trimmed the stamped panels a bit smaller, but I again added the copper splatter and matted the panels with copper card stock. I added a die-cut sentiment to each card and used a Tiny Attacher to add a snippet of natural trim or crochet trim at the top of each panel. I used cream-colored card bases and adhered a strip of coordinating card stock across each one. Using foam tape I attached each panel to a card base and finished them with copper sequins.

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Delicate Floral Frames

The cards I'm sharing tonight are ones I originally made to send to two of my cousins' daughters for their Confirmation. I don't have many religious stamps or dies, so instead I made two general cards using the Delicate Floral Frames stamp and die set (Simon Says Stamp). As it happens, I ended up not using these cards, so I'll just add them to my stash. 

I stamped the frame images and sentiments on watercolor paper using VersaFine Onyx Black ink. Since watercolor paper is textured, I used a stamp positioning tool so I could stamp multiple times and get a good image. Then I embossed them with clear embossing powder. I used Karin brush markers to watercolor the leaf and flower parts of the images and to add a touch of light gray for a shadow. When the paint was dry I cut out the images with the coordinating dies. (I did have a problem with a little bit of the embossing coming off after I die cut. Luckily it's not too obvious since the embossing powder was clear.)

For the card bases I used kraft card stock and splattered them with a bit of gold watercolor. (It's hard to see in the photo, but I promise it's there.) I made loops of gold thread and placed them behind the focal images, which I attached to the card bases with foam tape. I finished each card with a few gold sequins.

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Time to Party

I always seem to be in need of birthday cards. I don't usually make specific birthday cards for specific people, so I like to have a nice variety in my stash to choose a good card for each recipient. So the Time to Party stamp set (from Simon Says Stamp) was perfect for creating a few fun cards.

For the first two cards I focused on masculine color combos. I often turn to shades of blue, orange, and green when I make cards for guys. They can be earthy, vintage, or, in the case of these cards, fun and vibrant. On the first card, I scored a panel of white card stock in half each direction and then stamped a main image and confetti/star images in each quadrant. With the second card, I stamped polka-dot party hats all over a white panel and filled in the white space with little stars. Both panels are layered on blue card bases, have a word bubble sentiment, and are finished with a few sequins.

For the next card I wanted to make a balloon rainbow. This is a really clean and simple card and, I think, pretty self explanatory. I will mention that I used a few more sequins than I usually would -- two or three of them are covering up little ink smudges. Mistakes are just opportunities for embellishment, right? :)

For the last card I focused on sweet treats. I stamped and die cut a cupcake and an ice cream cone from the stamp set ... and then I didn't know what to do with them. I played around with several different layouts before finally settling on this one. I used a white die-cut frame on a dark pink card base to set off a "Happy Birthday" die-cut sentiment (from Gina K Designs). Then I placed the cupcake and ice cream cone in opposite corners and finished the card with a few blue sequins.

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Two gel print cards

I have a quick post tonight to share two cards I made with gel prints from my last gel print session.

This is a 5" x 7" card, rather than a standard A2-sized card. I loved the way this gel print turned out, and I didn't want cut it down. I did trim it to about 4-3/4" x 5-3/4" and matted it with a 5" x 6" piece of black card stock. I adhered the panel to the kraft card base, lining up the top and bottom edges and centering the panel from right to left.

I wanted to add a little detail, so I used a white paint pen to doodle a border around the edge of the gel print and a loopy line on the empty edges of the card base. I used foam tape to add a sentiment strip, and finished off with a handful of clear droplets.

This is the only Easter card I made this year. And I actually made it back in January to include in a set of cards I was giving as a gift. I used a stitched rectangle die to cut the gel print and then layered it on a 4-1/4" x 5-1/2" piece of white woodgrain textured card stock. That panel was attached to a white card base.

I die cut the words "hope" and "love" from silver card stock and glued them to the gel print between the words that were part of the gel print. I cut a silver doily into small pieces and glued a piece to the lower right and upper left corners of the gel print. Two small punched yellow flowers add a pop of color on the cross image, and a scattering of mini pearls finish the card. 

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