March 29, 2013

Happy Easter!

I made this card a few months back, but I love how it turned out.  I started with a piece of green cardstock and found a panel from a Die Cuts for a View paper pad that had a similar colour in it (the leaves).  I added a sparkly black ribbon to cover the join and a few punched butterflies at the bottom.  The trail and sentiment were done with a black metallic gel marker.


Hope you all have a Happy Easter!

March 28, 2013

Quick, Sticker Easter Card

This was a card I made quickly last year.  I used a card base I got from a magazine kit, added some Dollar Store stickers (bunny and butterfly), cut a few ovals and decorated them with glitter glue and made a fringe of grass (which, in retrospect I should have cut somewhat to give dimension).

It was quick, easy and looks pretty good.


March 27, 2013

Spring Time

I suddenly realized that I got my new Um Wow Studio kit a while ago but haven't used it yet.  So I made this card.  All the embellishments, including the ribbon, are from the kit.  The backing cardstock is kraft, there's a trellis stamped in cream on the green paper, and the stems were done with markers on a Papertry Ink stamp (Daydreamers - I love that set!).  And there you have it, a quick, attractive, spring card.

March 26, 2013

Watercolour Stamping Plus Embossing

This card was made for the Papertrey Ink Make It Monday Challenge #109: Watercolour Stamping Plus Embossing.  The sample card was just gorgeous for this challenge, so I really wanted to try it.  My first attempt used the Hello Sunshine set and turned out great.  BUT, as I was heating the embossing powder I realized I'd just stamped the images, and didn't use any watercolour, making it ineligible for this challenge.  So I made the card below. :)  Look for the other card next week.

For this card I put a few drops of re-inker ink on a piece of acrylic (blue and green for the stems and grass, and then red, purple and blue for the flowers) and used that to ink my stamps instead of a stamp pad.  The ink soaks into the paper like watercolours.  Then you stamp a little to the side with versamark and add embossing powder.  I love that the flowers (from the PTI Day Dreamers set) inked en mass but only embossed the circles.  I like seeing the stamped colours underneath.  The sentiment is from the same set and inked in black.  In retrospect it might have looked better between the stems.  Ah well.  The panel was tape runnered to a piece of matching green cardstock.

For the butterfly, I die cut it out and then dipped it in the leftover inks.
 Here's a close-up of the embossed flower and butterfly.
I love how this turned out, so I'll probably do more of it in the future. :D

March 22, 2013

It's Your Party

As soon as I saw the Happy Hour digi stamp at Kenny K's downloads I had the idea for this card.  It didn't work perfectly in execution, mainly because it was my first attempt at several things.  Despite the mistakes, I'm submitting this to the Kenny K It's One For the Girls challenge.

So, this is the first time I tried making a 'flip-its' card.  I don't have the Sizzix dies that would make this easy (and perfect) so I scored the fold lines on my cardstock and used a spellbinders circle die to cut out the circle (carefully placing the edge of the cutting plates along the fold lines so the circle would remain attached to the paper).  My two errors here were in making my fold lines too close together (the card is quite wide the way I've done it since it doesn't fold along the center line when 'closed') and not putting the die in the center of the flip (hence the gap between the circle and edge when the card is closed).

Ah well, live and learn.

I printed my digi stamp and cut out the circle, doing the same for the My Favorite Things stamp on the back.  I coloured in the images and decided, instead of inking the outside of the circles, I'd try something I've seen on other blogs.  I decided to ink close to the imaged.  Well, not ink exactly, since I knew that wouldn't go well for me.  So I took my purple metallic gelato and drew a line around the images.  I then used water to soften the line and spread the colour.  Yeah, that didn't work so well.  In my defense, I have watercolour crayons that wouldn't have left a line, and I didn't think to check the test flowers I did a while back.  Anyway, that line wasn't intentional and I won't do that again.  Though, it does look like the woman on the front has a halo, while the one on the back has an emphasized drunk feel to it.

For a bit of extra dimension I used glossy accents on the glasses (both front and back).  I tape gunned the circles onto the card and took some time to decide my sentiment.  I ended up making one in Apple Chancery font on my computer and printing it on white cardstock.  I used a Spellbinders die to cut them out, 'inking' the edges with a watercolour brush and the purple gelato (I ran the wet brush over the gelato to get colour and then painted the outline).

Before gluing the sentiments on, I took purple ink and balloons from a There She Goes stamp set, and added some images to the back panel so it wouldn't look so plain.

Voila:


March 21, 2013

Beach Card

I'm submitting this card to two challenges, Simon Say Stamp & Show's Water challenge and A Blog Named Hero's Freestyle challenge.

I started the card by making the water background.  I used a mixture of metallic gelatos, distress reinkers and water.  The original mix was too uniform (I just blended all the above together into a mass), so I added some more drops of ink and rubbed them in as smears.  I was smart enough to use watercolour paper, so the amount of liquid I added didn't warp the page.  I wanted a bit more dimension and so added white streaks to indicate waves.  My white gel pen didn't work on the gelato, so I used a white paint marker I got.  I don't normally use it as the colour tends to get washed out with whatever clear medium they use for the marker, but the watercolour paper accepted the extra liquid, and I was able to get enough white out to create the effect I wanted.

The shells were also stamped on watercolour paper using Hero Arts stamps.  I originally tried stamping them in gold gelato, but the image wasn't dark enough, so I stamped it with black stazon, then inked over top in gold.  I also rubbed some more gold on the paper, so it wouldn't have a white background.  Interestingly, the stamped gold didn't blend, so I've still got a nice gold outline along the black.  I used two small foam pads and a bit of glue to attach the larger shell, then used one foam pad and glue for the smaller shell.  This gives them more dimension (as one shell is on the other) without popping the card up too high.

For the bottom, I cut a piece of yellow holographic paper.  I tape runnered it to the water page, then decided it needed something more, to show the water getting onto the sand.  So I ran a bead of blue glitter glue along the shoreline, and spread it over the sand.

The card is quite shimmery, as even the water and shells (thanks to the metallic gelatos) have a glimmer to them.

March 20, 2013

Leopard Print Card

Life is getting busy again and I seem to be making more time consuming cards recently, so you're getting an older card today.

I embossed the cardstock with a leopard print, then coloured and fussy cut the woman out.  The gold trim is a punch with a design I liked, though I'm not sure I like it as a ceiling, though it does have a slight flag look about it.  As a last second addition I tied a bow with my martini ribbon and added it.  Not sure that works either, but I do think the card is on the elegant side.

March 15, 2013

Special Birthday Delivery

I've spent the last 2 days working on this card, and while the front is sort of plain, I'm very happy with how the inside turned out.  I needed a birthday card for a co-worker, and this Kenny K image was perfect, as it allowed me to do a more creative inside than usual.

I'm submitting it to Kenny K's Birthday Challenge.

For the outside, I printed and cut the image using my Silhouette, then coloured it with pencil crayons.  For the blue and brown, I also used gamsol with blending sticks, to give it a more uniform look.  I embossed the card with an oriental weave plate.  The sentiment is a mix of Snell Roundhand (on my computer) and Cast Iron (downloaded from dafont).  I printed it on tan paper and die cut it out using Spellbinder's Labels 18.  I then attached both pieces to the card with pop dots.
For the inside, I started with the idea that the box has now been opened and balloons are flying out of it.  The box pop-up required two slits in the folded cardstock.  I then added the box flaps (glueing a small panel inside to hold the flaps in place).  The center balloon is rainbow honeycomb paper, which fans open with the card.  The other balloons were stamped and coloured with markers.  I added a few shiny sequins to add to the 'popping open' idea.  The sentiment was also printed on my computer and cut out with a craft knife.  I inked the edges a bit with tan die ink before attaching it to the card.

The honeycomb paper makes the inside rather large, so it didn't fit all the way in the back of the card base, which means the card won't open beyond a certain point.  I'll have to work on that on my next card as it does dampen the honeycomb effect if you can't open it all the way.

March 14, 2013

Laugh

This is a card I made a while back, when I first got my fluorescent inks.

I stamped a bunch of small and large flowers (one didn't stamp quite well) and the black sentiment at the bottom for contrast.  The hardest part about this card was cleaning the yellow off the stamps well enough that the pink didn't stamp as orange.  I thought the flowers looked like fireworks. :)


March 13, 2013

Elegant Thank You Card

This is a thank you card I made for an older friend of mine.  I wanted something elegant, and I wanted to use feathers.

The card itself was pretty simple to put together.  I used a piece of black cardstock for the base and a piece of deep red paper I got in a pack from the dollar store (it's a solid red with creases and splotches of darker red on it).  I glued on the feather and put the black velvet ribbon over the point and then laid down the pearls.  I thought afterwards the edge of the Zva Creative flourish should have met up with the feather, but they didn't want to move without taking bits of paper with them, so I left them be.

I used a metallic gel pen to write the message inside.

March 9, 2013

Lace and Pearls Challenge

This card is for Kenny K's Lace and Pearl Challenge.  I printed the image on cardstock and die cut it out.  The die cut was very intricate, with a lacy style frame which, when paired with the lace for the challenge, seemed too much, so I cut the frame off.  But first I used some light blue and silver ink around the edges.

I coloured the image in with pencil crayons.  I started using gamsol for blending and realized that the image was small enough, and I was already blending with several shades, that I didn't need it.  I used a silver water colour pencil for accents.

I cut a silver cardstock panel and hot glue gunned the lace and ribbon to the back before attaching the panel to the card.  I stamped the sentiment, added the pearls and use pop dots to add the image (since the ribbon's fairly thick).


March 8, 2013

Thank You Card Set

I've seen a lot of card crafters do card sets and want to start putting some together myself.  So I used this card sketch from the Papercrafts Connection blog as my inspiration.  Instead of centering the stripe, I put it in the lower 1/3 position.  The 'Thank You' sentiment is from Papertrey Ink.

The cards themselves were easy to make.  I punched the panel on both sides out of a contrasting colour, glued it on the card base and stamped the sentiment.  Despite their simplicity, I think they look really good.

March 7, 2013

Make Your Own Embellishment Challenge Card

Yes, I'm back to fluorescents.  Michaels had a pack of fluorescent cardstock, which is now happily ensconced in my craft room. :)

I keep missing the A Blog Named Hero challenges, so I got my butt in gear today and made this card before the current contest closed.  The challenge is: Just Make Your Own (Embellishment)

In retrospect the Hero Arts background is a bit busy for the flower, so it might have looked better having a small patterned area below the ribbon and the top of the card blank.  I left the bottom clear so I could add a sentiment later.

The flower is made with a Sizzix accordion die, with Spellbinders providing the stem.  The face of the flower is Hero Arts' small solid flower in fluorescent pink, with glitter pen and glossy accents on top, to give it some bling and dimension.  I finished the card with a piece of fluorescent yellow ribbon as ground/grass.

Teal Bear

I started this card a while back and only finished it two days ago.  The bear was stamped on white cardstock and then die cut out.  With the die in place, I inked the edges with my new favourite teal Hero Arts chalk ink.  I'm not the biggest fan of chalk inks, but this one's so nice I've been using it on everything. :)

I coloured the bear with pencil crayons and then used gamsol and a blending tool to soften and blend the colours.  The soccer ball was filled in with a Pitt marker.  

I backed it on a light teal card and used a sheer ribbon for accent.




March 6, 2013

Thanks, Friend, Enjoy x2

I've two cards for today, as I didn't get many up last week.  They're both the same style, with a finishing difference.

I'd meant to do a 3 circle card with a raised cut out of the 3 circles popped over them, yet somehow when I got to the end of this first card I completely forgot about that and finished it off with butterflies.  Hence the second card.  I used a truer green for the second one as I'm submitting it to Simon Says Stamp's A Bit 'O Green challenge.


 I'm not very good at spacing my stamps for cards like this, so I used my Silouette SD to create a template.  I did it in green acetate, so it would be easier to see when I stamp inside the circles.  I also made the circles a little bit larger than the stamps, so I wouldn't stamp the edges by accident.  It works pretty well. :)

I've decided heading forward that I won't be adding a supplies list anymore, as it's a lot of work and I'm always forgetting to do it while I'm crafting.  If you're wondering what I used on a card, ask in the comments and I'll post an answer for you.

March 3, 2013

I'm a Kenny K Challenge Winner!

I've won my first card challenge, and I'm seriously stoked.  I suspect it's a random number generator that chose me, but I'm still very happy. :)  I really love the Kenny K Downloads images, and the prize is for a gift certificate to the store, so you'll be seeing more of their images here once I have time for card crafting again.

Yeah, sorry about the few number of posts lately.  I've been busy cleaning my house and trying to read through my backlog of books for my other blog (unsuccessfully, I might add).  I'll try to post more this coming week though I may not have much crafting time again.  We'll see.