Autumn wreath

The second card in my series of challenge entries is for Art Impressions' Dynamic Duo challenge, where the requirement was to create something using at least two stamp or die sets. I used four watercolor sets to create a pretty autumn wreath.

Supplies:
Stamps: 4701 - Clay Pot, 4052 - Flower Set, 4868 - Watercolor Flower Set 2, 4607 - Flowering Mailbox (Art Impressions)
Paper: Watercolor paper (Strathmore); Soft Suede, Crumb Cake card stock (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Soft Suede, Old Olive, Crushed Curry, Cajun Craze (Stampin' Up!); Metallic Accents paint (Art Philosophy)
Accessories: Hello die (Lawn Fawn), Brushed Metallic Adhesive Backed Dots (Stampin' Up!), hemp twine (May Arts Ribbon), Art Glitter Glue (Art Institute Glitter)

I haven't done any watercolor stamping in quite awhile, and I've gotten a little rusty. When I sat down to work on this card, I originally tried to create a whole little scene. That turned out to be too overwhelming (and too much pressure since I was trying to work quickly), so I switched gears and decided to try a stamped wreath instead.

I started by using a pencil to lightly trace a circle on a piece of watercolor paper. I inked the branch image with brown ink and stamped it three times, overlapping each branch with the one before, before re-inking the stamp. This helps create depth and color variation. I repeated the process until I had worked my way all around the circle. Using a barely damp paint brush, I lightly tapped/dabbed the branches so the color spread a little and created a watercolor look.

I gave the branches a little time to dry and then moved on to the rust-colored flowers. (Or leaves. It is an autumn wreath, so they could be leaves, too.) I inked up the image and then stamped two or three times in a little cluster, re-inked the stamp and stamped another cluster, repeating until I was happy with the color distribution. Again, I used a slightly damp brush to dab at the images and spread the color. I let it dry a bit, then repeated with the green leaves and finished with the yellow flowers.

For a little sparkle I splattered the panel with some gold paint and added three gold enamel dots. I glued a twine bow on the wreath and added a die-cut sentiment at the bottom of the card. I layered the panel on a mat of Soft Suede card stock and then adhered it to a Crumb Cake card base.

I really love the way this card turned out (even though I still wish my watercolor stamping was a little better) and I may have to try some other seasonal wreaths.

Thanks for stopping by!

Thanksgiving sunflowers

Over the last week I decided to make cards for three different August challenges. (So that means I'll have several blog posts coming up!) The card I'm sharing in this post is my entry for the August 2022 Monthly Mix Challenge on the Gina K Designs blog, and the theme is "Adding Texture."

Supplies:
Stamps: Zenflowers (Gina K Designs)
Paper: Basic White, Crumb Cake, Night of Navy card stock (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko), colored pencils (Prismacolor)
Accessories: Art Deco and Harvest Flourish stencils (Gina K Designs), Zenflowers dies (Gina K Designs), Bee Pollen Dew Drops (Honey Bee Stamps), Connect Glue (Gina K Designs), foam tape (3M), Gamsol (Gamblin), paper blending stumps (Jack Richeson)

I bought the Zenflowers stamp set a couple of years ago when it was part of a monthly kit from Gina K Designs, but I hadn't used it yet. (I'm not sure how I manage that, but it happens more than I'd like.) So this challenge seemed like the perfect reason to get it out! I stamped, colored, and die cut two of the sunflower images as well as a few leaves. I used colored pencils and did some blending with Gamsol to add some depth to the images.

For the texture on my card, I used two stencils from Gina K Designs, but I used them with an embossing mat and my Big Shot machine to emboss the patterns instead of ink blending or using paste. I used the Harvest Flourish stencil to emboss the front of a Crumb Cake card base and the Art Deco stencil to emboss a wide strip of Night of Navy card stock. I glued the navy card stock to the card front (slightly to the left of the center) and then added the flowers (with foam tape) and leaves (with liquid glue).

I wanted to add a sentiment to the card, and "Happy Thanksgiving" was just about the perfect size. I stamped it on a strip of white card stock, trimmed the ends of the strip, and adhered it below the images, tucking it under one of the leaves and the bottom of the smaller flower. I finished off the card with three yellow droplets. 

Thanks for stopping by!

August Christmas cards: Simple winter scene

When I sat down to make my August Christmas cards, I had a rough idea of what I wanted to do. I made one card with that plan and decided that wasn't it. The card turned out okay (I added it to my Christmas card stash), but it just wasn't what I had pictured, and the process took me longer than I thought it would. So instead I went a completely different direction and ended up with a group of very clean and simple note cards featuring a little winter scene.

I used the Snow Front stamp set (Stampin' Up!) for the images and the Tiny Words Christmas set (Simon Says Stamp) for the little sentiment on the bottom. I think these watercolor-style scene-building sets are so fun, but I often have trouble putting the images together in a way I like. So for these cards I did an online search to get some ideas, and the card that most inspired me was made by Shelly Godby. I kept the placement of the mountains and trees but switched up the other elements a little -- and I especially loved the little red cardinal perched on the sentiment.

Once I decide on a layout, cards like this are very quick to stamp -- I simply choose one image (I started with the mountains) and stamp that on every card. Then I clean off that stamp and move to the next image. You could use a stamp positioner for the stamping if you want to, but I just used clear blocks because it was faster, and it didn't really matter if the placement was exactly the same on every card. With the stamping done, I simply added three sequins to each card for a subtle sparkle. (Well, they're not exactly sequins because they don't have a hole, but I'm not sure what the correct term is. Confetti? Anyway, actual sequins, or any other embellishment, would work just as well.)

I made ten of these cards, so I think that brings my total for the year up to 68 Christmas cards. Woohoo! I'll have to make a list of card recipients to be sure, but I shouldn't need too many more than that. So maybe I'll just do one more small batch in September and then be done. Of course, that's when a lot of the stamp companies start coming out with their new holiday products. Oh, well. If I end up buying any holiday goodies and not using them, they can be first up when I start the process over again in January!

Thanks for stopping by!

Too cool for school

After my last post with the less-than-stellar pictures of some of my gel-print cards, I wanted to share a gel-print card with a good picture! :) And bonus - this gel print was one of my favorites, and I love how the card turned out, too.

Isn't that fun? I had been waiting to use this gel print because I wanted the "perfect" card for it. The colors made me think of an under the sea theme, so I decided to use the S'whale stamp set from Ellen Hutson. 

I stamped a few schools of fish around the edges of a Coastal Cabana (Stampin' Up!) card base. I die cut the gel print with a stitched rectangle die, matted it with a layer of black card stock, and then adhered it to the card base.

 

 

For the focal images, I stamped and die cut the whale and two more schools of fish and used foam tape to attach them to the gel print. I added three clear droplets to look like bubbles coming from the whale. To finish the card I stamped the punny sentiment "You are too cool for school" on a strip of white card stock and attached it below the whale.

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Gel print birthday cards

I've been trying to replenish my stash of birthday cards for awhile now, but it always seems like as soon as I make a few cards, I have to send a few out. I'm not really making a lot of progress. So last month I decided I was going to make a bunch of "quick" birthday cards using gel prints for backgrounds. I say "quick" because I have a hard time doing any crafty thing quickly; I always overthink the colors, die cuts, sentiments, etc., so it takes me a lot longer than I think it will to get anything done. But I finally did manage to finish a good batch of birthday cards.

I don't know why these photos are so washed out; they looked fine on my phone, and the colors in person are so vibrant. How frustrating.

I wasn't even going to post these photos because they look so bad, but since I had the post mostly done, I figured I'd just go ahead. At least you can see the layouts, so maybe that will be a little inspiration. (And next time I'll get out my camera to take photos and not try to save time with my phone.)

Anywho, I tried to get some variety in the cards, including a few masculine cards as well as a few kid-friendly ones. I think I used all different birthday dies and sentiments -- no matter how many birthday stamps and dies I have, I'm always looking for new and different styles. They're definitely what I use the most after some basic shapes dies.

I'm finally getting a good-sized birthday stash, but I need to keep going. I get hammered with birthdays in the fall (around a dozen in just October), and with holiday prep in full swing by that time, it's hard to focus on birthday cards. So I'll just keep plugging away!

Thanks for stopping by!