Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Thankful for Friend

Yes, the text on the card is not even on purpose.
This card was made especially for a nature-loving friend of mine. I was a little sad the blueprints didn't show up very well, but if anyone can tell what the leaves are without needing to look them up, it's her. I am very thankful and grateful to have her in my life as a friend.

I'm entering this card into four challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Work It Wednesday Challenge October 2018: Give Thanks!
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Thanks/Thanksgiving
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Thanks/Thanksgiving
and Frilly and Funky Challenge: A Harvest of Gratitude.

Materials
Lawn Fawn Hello Friend Stamps
Lawn Fawn Jump for Joy Stamps
Tim Holtz - Stampers Anonymous Mini Autumn Blueprint Cling Stamps
Tim Holtz - Stampers Anonymous Great Outdoors CMS321
Prima Marketing, Inc. Cling Stamp #582678 wood grain design*(see warning below)

ZIG Clean Color Real Brush Watercolor Markers
• for Oak: 050 yellow, 070 orange, 052 bright yellow, 060 brown, and 029 geranium red
• for Birch: 053 yellow green, 051 lemon yellow, and 050 yellow
• for Maple: 060 brown, 022 carmine red, and 020 red
Ranger Distress Oxide Inks in: Antique Linen, Gathered Twigs, and Walnut Stain
Ranger Distress Ink in: Antique Linen
Colorbox Pigment Ink in Rose Gold
Wendy Vecchi Embossing Powder in Potting Soil
The Old World Mat Stack paper

Ranger Mini Ink Blending Tools
Tonic Studios - Tim Holtz Paper Distresser
Recollections Paper Flowers
Designer Dries Clear Adhesive: 159723
Metal Tip for Adhesive Bottles: 352854

*I would advise against trying to use this particular stamp. It has never produced a good impression when used with any type of stamping tool or stamp block, despite multiple attempts and much finagling. The only way I got this stamped was to take it off the stamping tool and mash down the center by hand.

Other Materials
card: A7 size, kraft; brown paper; watercolor paper; scissors; paper trimmer; craft mat; heat gun; stamping tool such as the MISTI; Scotch Advanced Tape Glider; and pop dots

Instructions
Starting with your kraft card, ink the edges with Gathered Twigs, lightening as you move inwards. Take a sheet of green-ish paper from The Old World Mat Stack and use the paper distresser on all four edges. Because of the way this paper tears, you may need to use it on both sides of the edge to get the desired effect. Go over the distressed edges with a blending tool and the Distress Oxide in Antique Linen.

On the brown sheet of paper, stamp the wood grain design in Rose Gold and cover with Potting Soil Embossing Powder. Shake off excess powder and melt the remaining powder with your heat gun. Trim to the edge of the stamp impression on the paper. Gently tear off two opposite edges to achieve the ragged effect in the final photo. On the remaining brown paper, stamp the tree cross-section in Walnut Stain and fussy cut out around the outer edge. (You can tell how much my friend means to me; I despise fussy cutting and usually avoid it as all costs, but tree cross-section!)

On the watercolor paper, use the Distress Ink in Antique Linen to stamp out the three leaves. Listed above are the colors for each leaf, in the approximate order that I used them. When the leaves are colored to your satisfaction, cut out each leaf blueprint and ink the edges with Distress Oxide Antique Linen.

Using either the ATG or glue, affix the green paper to the front of your card in the center, followed by the brown wood grain. Before adding other dimensional elements, figure the position your sentiment needs to be stamped in and use Distress Oxide Walnut Stain to do so. Inside the card stamp your preferred greeting also in Walnut Stain; I chose a stamp from the "Hello Friends" Lawn Fawn set (note that it is a retired stamp set). I was glad I used my stamping tool for that because it did take two tries to get the saturation I was looking for in the ink.

Use pop dots to affix the tree cross-section to the bottom right front of the card. Glue the leaves onto it next, and finish with gluing on the paper flowers. Give to someone who means a lot to you.

I kept the inside of the card simple.

Tuesday, October 30, 2018

A Wintery Thanks

When your paper sparkles more than the gemstones!
This is what happens when you can't sleep and get up to craft for a while instead.

I'm entering this card into three challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Blog's Work It Wednesday Challenge October 2018: Give Thanks!
Lawn Fawnatics Challenge 39 Bling It Out!
and My Favorite Things Wednesday Sketch Challenge - Sketch 408.

Materials
Lawn Fawn Scripty Thanks Die Lawn Fawn Stitched Snowflakes Die
Spellbinders Nestabilities Dies Standard Circle, SM: 3"
Style Steal Gemstones (from Michaels)
DCWV Inc. Glitzy Stack
Designer Dries Clear Adhesive: 159723
Metal Tip for Adhesive Bottles: 352854

Other Materials
card: A7 size, dark blue; paper trimmer; and a Big Shot or similar tool

Instructions
Use gold glitzy sparkle paper with the 3" circle die. From the silver glitzy sparkle paper cut two stripes the width of your card 5" long each, at a height that looks good to you. Use the remainder of the silver glitzy sparkle paper with the "thanks" and snowflake dies. When all of these are glued onto your card, add some clear gemstones for a final sparkly touch.

The template for this card from My Favorite Things Card Challenge Sketch 408.

Monday, October 1, 2018

"for you" Fall

Happy Fall!
I'm happy with how this card turned out! It looks so fall-like to me, and it required zero stamping. It's nice to take a break from using stamps now and then.

I'm entering this card into three challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Blog's Wednesday Challenge: Anything Goes
Lawn Fawnatics Challenge 38 Awesome Autumn
and Papercraft Business Challenge 11: October 2018; optional Halloween/Fall/Autumn.

Materials
Lawn Fawn Leafy Tree Backdrop: Portrait Die
Lawn Fawn Scripty For You Die
Lawn Fawn Stitched Hillside Borders Die
Lawn Fawn Stitched Windy Backdrop Die
Lawn Fawn Stitched Woodgrain Backdrop Die
Ranger Distress Oxide Inks in: Broken China, Candied Apple, Faded Jeans, Fossilized Amber, and Spiced Marmalade
Ranger Mini Ink Blending Tools
Designer Dries Clear Adhesive: 159723
Metal Tip for Adhesive Bottles: 352854

Other Materials
card: A2 size; white paper; brown paper; green patterned paper; paper cutter; water mister; and a Big Shot or similar tool

Instructions
Your first step is to run the sheet of brown paper through your die cutter with the Woodgrain Backdrop, and take the resulting sheet and send it through again with the Leafy Tree. Do the same for a white piece of paper and the Windy Backdrop, and a green patterned paper and the Hillside Borders.

Take the Broken China and Faded Jeans Distress Oxides and apply them to your white paper with the windy backdrop. Add and blend until you're happy with the results. Mist with water and gently dab to lighten the oxides.

Use the Fossilized Amber, Spiced Marmalade, and Candied Apple on a blank sheet of white paper, blending and mixing until you like the results. Run "for you", the leaf portion of the tree, and one set of leaves through your die cutting machine with this mixture of colors. If you're using the tree die cut flipped and with the tree on the right side of the paper as I did, remember to reverse the die on the sheet of autumn colors for your leaf portion of the tree, so the color ends up on the correct side when you go to glue it.

Use your paper cutter to trim the sky and ground to the dimensions of the card. The gluing order should be sky, ground and leaf part of tree, tree/border, and last sentiment and random leaves.

Monday, July 30, 2018

Travel: Follow Your Heart

A self-propelled method of travel!
This is my best vintage/shabby chic card yet!

I'm entering this card into two challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Blog's Wednesday Challenge: Anything Goes
and Frilly and Funkie: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles Challenge.

Materials
Molly & Rex Enjoy the Ride Stamps
Bo Bunny Love & Lace Buttons
Ranger Distress Oxide Inks in: Blueprint Sketch, Bundled Sage, Candied Apple, Faded Jeans, Fired Brick, Fossilized Amber, Frayed Burlap, Picked Raspberry, Salty Ocean, Spiced Marmalade, and Wilted Violet
Ranger Mini Ink Blending Tools
Fran Wilson Nail Tees
Designer Dries Clear Adhesive: 159723
Metal Tip for Adhesive Bottles: 352854

Other Materials
card: white, A2 size; Bo Bunny Provence Collection paper; Memento Black Dye Ink; paper cutter; water mister; and a MISTI or similar tool

Instructions
Starting with the blank card, use Frayed Burlap around the edges with a blending tool. Mist gently with water and pat dry. Using the paper cutter, trim your chosen patterned paper to slightly less than the size of the card front. Center and glue to the front of your card. Repeat the use of the Frayed Burlap, misting, and patting dry.

Stamp the bicycle with the black ink in your MISTI or equivalent stamp positioner, and color in using nail tees and distress oxide inks. (Nail tees are like Q-tips with a sharp pointed end.) Use the stamp positioner also for the sentiment in Candied Apple. In retrospect I should have used a darker color; I was trying for a match to the roses on the button and didn't make it. Before adhering the button to the card, add some Frayed Burlap around the edge and mist lightly. Pat dry and stick to card.

Monday, July 23, 2018

Enjoy the little things!



Peep!

Luckily Lawn Fawn has a ton of stamps with peeps! (Chicks.) This made mixing and matching easy for this card! Not pictured: chicks in party hats, chicks in wedding garb, chicks in scarves, etc.

I'm entering these cards into three challenges:
MFT Wednesday Sketch Challenge - Sketch 394,
MFT Color Challenge 97, and
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Use A Die and/or Punch.
 
Materials
Lawn Fawn Stamps: Critters on the Savana
Lawn Fawn Stamps: Village Shops
Lawn Fawn Stamps: Yay, Kites!
Lawn Fawn Stamps: Critters on the Farm
Lawn Fawn Stamps: Critters in the Forest
Lawn Fawn Dies: Mini Picture Frames
Memento Tuxedo Black Dye Ink
Distress Oxide in Abandoned Coral
Distress Oxide in Squeezed Lemonade
Distress Oxide in Carved Pumpkin
Ranger Mini Ink Blending Tool
Darice Embossing Folder: Scroll Background
Art Glitter: Designer Dries Clear Adhesive

Other Materials
white card base; four various patterned papers: paper cutter; detail sponge tool; MISTI-type stamping aid or stamp blocks; and die cutting machine (Example: the Big Shot)

Instructions
Start by embossing the front of your card base. Using the yellow first, blend distress oxide from the top down to about 2/3s of the way down the card. Start with orange and work your way up from the bottom to about halfway. Add a bit of coral to the orange, and blend in more yellow as needed.

Cut each of the four patterned papers using the Mini Picture Frames die. To save time, use the printed side of the frame and flip the inside over to use the white side. Stamp each of the peeps with black ink and color in using the yellow distress oxide and your detail sponge tool. Put a tiny bit of orange on each beak. Stamp out a sentiment from the Village Shops stamp set in coral on white paper; trim appropriately. Assemble and glue as seen. Peep!

MFT Wednesday Sketch Challenge 394.

MFT Color Challenge 97.

Tuesday, July 10, 2018

Red, White, and Blue Mini Milk Carton

Tiny milk carton!
These little milk cartons are so cute! I love miniatures and these little guys are all of about 3 inches tall. They're fun to fold too! If I could just figure out how to get them to work with magnets for a closure they'd be perfect.

I'm entering this papercrafting project into one challenge:
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Red, White, and/or Blue.
 
Materials
Spellbinders "More Than Milk Carton" Dies
Art Glitter: Designer Dries Clear Adhesive

Other Materials
assorted papers; 1 small clothespin; and a die-cutting machine: for example a Big Shot

Instructions
Use the Spellbinders dies to cut out the various papers and assemble as per the picture.

What the opening looks like.

Sunday, March 18, 2018

Shiny Flowers

Ooooo shiny!
I started my CAS (clean and simple) card kick with these cards, although this blog post is not first.

I'm entering these cards into two challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Easter/Spring Inspiration and
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Easter Inspired.
 
Materials
Snapdragon Snippets Silhouette Design #17704
Art Glitter: Designer Dries Clear Adhesive

Other Materials
metallic papers; gems; and Silhouette Cameo (in my case Cameo 3)

Instructions
In Silhouette Studio adjust the size of the design to your card base, and cut out all pieces. Add gems and glue to card. Send to people who love shiny things!

It's hard to get the lighting perfect with reflective cards.

Saturday, March 17, 2018

Bright and Sunny Wishes!

Sending bright and sunny wishes!
Right now I'm on a CAS (clean and simple) card kick. These two are my latest efforts. The embossed paper and various paper patterns keep these from being too boring. I think they'll do nicely at brightening up someone's day!

I'm entering these cards into two challenges:
MFT Wednesday Sketch Challenge - Sketch 376 and
Simon Says Stamp: Work it Wednesday February 2018.
 
Materials
Jillibean Soup Clear Stamps Sunshine
Jillibean Soup Large Circle Shaker Dies Set
Versamark Watermark Stamp Pad
Wendy Vecchi Embossing Powder in Sunflower
Art Glitter: Designer Dries Clear Adhesive

Other Materials
green card base; various papers: green embossed, green pattern, 3 yellow patterns; paper cutter; heating tool; and die cutting machine

Instructions
Start by die cutting two suns. Using Versamark I stamped the sentiment and added embossing powder. A quick bit of heating and the words were nice and shiny. Cut your paper to size, glue everything on going by the template, and you've got a CAS greeting card!

Template for MFT Wednesday Sketch Challenge - Sketch 376.