Tuesday, April 2, 2019

Meating Expectations

I had a friend going through some physical therapy and though he has a while to go, he is making good progress. I thought this punny card would be a nice pick me up.


I used 2 stamp sets: Lawn Fawn (Let's BBQ) and Altenew (Raise the Steaks). These are 2 of my favorite sets to use and they go great together. I love the oversized steak, and made it pop out a bit with foam tape. For the background, I stuck a few scraps onto a piece of computer paper, that way they are all the same thickness and it adds a nice finishing detail. Coloring meat was a little weird- I'm not vegetarian or anything, but googling pictures felt a bit odd lol. I settled on some yellow/beige/pink copics. The 2 reds and 3 oranges I used on the grill are a bit close in color, but in real life you can see the shading. Also, I loosely scribbled some C1 grey copic to the ground after taking the pic- it adds a little shadow under the grill. Now, I'm ready to eat!! Thanks for coming by.

Challenges:



Doggy Heaven Sympathy Card

It was sad that I had to make a quick sympathy card. Because I worked late and didn't have long to work on it, I kept it pretty CAS (clean and simple).
I cut my own cloud stencil from a sheet of paper and used lawn fawn and distress inks to make the background. 
I cut some vellum paper into a cloud shape and wrapped it around the front of the card, gluing it in the back. Vellum is see through, so you have to be careful where you glue it. I stamped the dog and used gold embossing powder for the halo and sentiment. I adhered it onto a piece of gold mirror cardstock. The shine is really great from the embossing and background paper, and I thought aqua and gold was an interesting color combo. 
The stamp set is Fur Ever Friends by Newton's Nook.

Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Welcome Baby Robot Pop Up Box


This card folds flat for the mail and then pops up to reveal a simulated technological wonder!

The box die is from Lawn Fawn and incredible useful. It cuts the rectangles for the box flaps as well. I used a computer chip stencil from my stash since the theme was robots.

The robot stamps are"mini bots" from Clearly Besotted. They just made an add-on to this stamp set, featuring baby/plushies, called "robot plushies", so I will also be using down the road. These cats are the best and fun to color. I also used an embossing folder to make the gray paper look like metal. You can adjust the flaps, I wanted to show the other side, so I kind of flipped it up, but you can put them at 90 degrees or completed flat once you open up the box. I personally leave the back piece flat and do not crease that side, so it provides a backdrop. The sentiment says "awesome people make awesome babies", which I thought was fitting for my robot loving friends. 

My favorite part? The poo-bolts under the baby.. did you notice?
Thanks for stopping by!



Challenges: 



Monday, March 11, 2019

Dream-Catcher

Hi. Today I did a card for dreamers. 

The first two pictures came out pretty well and show off the clear embossing powder I used on all of the die cuts. I thought about adding some gems for the beads that are commonly strung on dream-catchers: I used a minimal combination of crystals and sequins to achieve this effect. I am not really sure if I like the before or after better- what do you think? I try not to overly complicate cards, which is difficult for me, haha. With my stash, it feels like I have a kitchen sink and makes me want to throw it at every creation. 





First I blended a piece of paper with blue distress inks. This nice collection of die cuts is from AC Moore, which I bought it for 55% off of course! I have had this in my stash for a while and thought about making this card a few times. The sentiment is from a Hero Arts stamp set, appropriately called "Make a Wish". 

The black stars are from a random die cut out, and I added some white stars with a gel pen.

Let me know if you prefer I go into the step by step details of embossing and die-cutting... I feel that many readers/fellow crafters already know these processes.. and reading multiple blogs that explain the steps in great detail over and over again can get a bit tedious. If you like, check out my first few blog entries as I go into much more detail on these common techniques. This is written as a fast yet fun read :)

Please come by again and have a good day!


Challenges: 

Friday, March 1, 2019

Hanging Floral Bday Card

Milton and I took my mom to London for her bday and we went to a few beautiful restaurants and bakeries with hanging flowers. They were on the walls, the ceilings, all over the place! (Clos Maggiore, Saint Aymes, Dalloway Terrace, Aubaine)  

I tried to replicate some of the floral work on her birthday card:


The vines were cut using the Leafy Background Die from Impression Obsession. Since it is pretty detailed, I normally need a metal adapter plate, but it is a die I find myself using frequently. 
I cut it out of sticky paper and used two tones of fine green glitter for the leaves. Then, I peeled the rest of the paper off and covered the background area with some white sand that I had laying around (it was fine sand I had bought to put in the bottom of a vase or something).. I was curious if it would work or not.. I was hoping for some cool sandy texture.. Well, only the finest of the finest grains of sand stuck, and I think it was mostly white dust haha..  but it actually looks good, even when you look closely- it just appears to be a smooth white, which works great.

I adhered that to a piece of pink cardstock from Simon Says Stamp and got started on my layered flowers. The flowers are from Altenew's Life is Awesome set. I actually think I did the pink ones a bit wrong, since the die didn't match up AT ALL lol. Apparently, I started them a bit too far from the tip of the green base.. they were way longer than the die.. so I hand-cut those and they worked just fine. Live and learn. Glued the flowers on and popped a few up with foam tape. 

The happy birthday diecut is from the Simon Says Stamp site and I believe it is Karen Burniston's collection. I like the large size and the font. Stacked two of them together, but if I did it again I might stack 5, so it is even most dimensional.

Thanks for coming by. I thought about including pics from the restaurants, so let me know if there is interest and I can make another post or edit this one with a more personal touch of my trip(s).

Challenges:

Tuesday, February 26, 2019

You Kick Ash and Stenciling Tips

I needed a thank you card, but not just any ole thank you card, so of course I made a punny one.
Hard to capture all the shine in the light, but I used vellum and alcohol markers for the ground. Vellum and acrylic paint for the volcano and lava. Modeling paste and glitter paste for the stenciled background. The stencil is from Simon Says Stamp, Mod Stripe. The dinosaur is a layered stamp set from Stampin' Up called No Bones About It. I had to cut out the dinosaur and kind of regret leaving so much white, but I was really afraid of messing it up on the tiny parts in-between the scales and legs... the white trim also helps the eye since the background pattern is so bold, so I'm ok with it. The sentiment and volcano die are from My Favorite Things- I Lava You. 
I used a gray paper to mat it because I love gray and any color looks great with it. Used some foam tape to stick it on a side folding card-base and popped it in the mail.

Note on stencils: I love them and they are awesome, but sometimes they can be tricky. It is an elaborate process, and a time sensitive one at that. When I stencil, I tend to tape down a few different stencils on my desk at once. I try to use the same or similar color schemes so I don't have a million pastes drying up before I can even use them. Since I like to mix the colors and create ombre/fades a lot, I don't really have a lot of 'pure' paste leftover that I can stick back in the jar. If you use one color alone, of course you can do that. I personally like to stick 2 globs of different colors on opposite sides of my non-stick mat. I use the first color on stencil after stencil and slowly incorporate the next color until I use up all my paint. 

I also use a bit of white modelling paste at times- a big jar is cheap from Blick Art Store and can be used with acrylic paint or glitter pastes. For acrylic paint, it does the important job of thickening it up- that way the paint isn't seeping under the stencil all over the place. It will lighten the color a lot, so keep in mind that a little goes a long way. The glitter paste also gets 'dulled', so again, just use a tiny bit to achieve the ombre effect. I'm also cheap and this helps extend the life of an expensive jar :) Pro-tip, keep a few different spatula tools and that way if you need to grab a tiny bit more paste to finish the stencil, you won't contaminate your container. 

Oh, and most importantly: clean your stencil and tools asap so they don't dry and harden! I keep a small container of hot, soapy water on the desk and when I'm done with a stencil, I peel it up and drop it in. If you are doing one stencil, you can probably run to wash it off right away, but since I tend to do 3 or 4 in one sitting, this has really worked well for me. Then, I bring the bin to the sink and wash them all off thoroughly. The container I use cost 88 cents at target and fits a 6x6 stencil without a problem- it is actually what I keep all my craft supplies in since they are see-through and stack nicely. I also have a bunch more of those containers in my apartment since they hold a set of shoes perfectly, but you guys probably don't care about my closet organization lol.

Last tip- if the stencil isn't perfect in a spot or two, just stick your sentiment or a sequin over it :D
When I see professional looking cards online I like to imagine that they have a ton of mistakes that are just covered up well. Of course I'm happy for them and quite sure they are perfect underneath too, but it does make me feel better about the projects I made :)

Challenges:
MFT card challenges (volcano = shape/layout)
Simon Says Stamp blog Mon Challenge (past times- prehistoric!)
Mod Squad Challenge (name the stamp)
Fusion Card Challenge (green/blue colors!)

#BeMine

Sorry for the late post, I was away for V-Day and forgot-  Here is my #bemine Valentine  :)




This card features an arrow from one of Tim Holtz' Idea-ology sets. It is pretty large, though there are some smaller arrows in the set too. The large ones have some heft, so I recommend using some thick cardstock or a sturdy cardbase.

I also used some nice white textured paper I had in my stash. It is really bright white, so while the picture might not be great, the contrast is striking. The heart was made by cutting 3 strips of 100# paper (light pink, dark pink, red) and adhering them to a piece of computer paper. This way, the heart is all the same width. I used computer paper to not add extra bulk since I would be die cutting out the heart and I didn't want to damage my BigKick. Oh, and because computer paper is cheap and nobody would be seeing the back anyway :)

The wooden #BEMINE embellishment was heat embossed with Pink Pearl embossing powder from Ranger. I used some Ranger multi medium matte glue since it dries clear- luckily nothing seeped out, but better to be safe than sorry! Adhered my valentine to a card base and it was ready to be handed out on valentines day! 

I think that this CAS (clean and simple) style card is effective and allow the embellishments to shine... literally. Thanks for checking it out.

Challenges:
Brown Sugar Challenge
Craft Rocket Challenges

Monday, February 11, 2019

Happy Chinese New Year

Happy Chinese New Year! 

I made this card about a week ago using Mama Elephant's Lion Dance stamp set, which is a really fun set. A dragon counts as a critter right? The sentiment is one that I used for a New Year's card towards the end of December too- very useful! 
I flicked some gold watercolor paint onto red cardstock and adhered it to some gold mirrored cardstock. With all the reflective gold going on, I didn't think this card needed more embellishments- I also didn't want to detract from the cute characters that I colored with copic markers. I chose a faint green for my accent color. At first, I was afraid it would like like a traffic light haha, but they helped it all come together. I fussy cut the characters out and popped them up using foam tape for added dimension. I imagined making another new years resolution where I treat myself to the dies for fun sets like this, but we'll see how much my heat bills are this month lol!


Thanks for taking a look!

Challenges:

Wednesday, February 6, 2019

Felt Background

Today I used a background die on a unique material: FELT!
I have a love/hate relationship with felt. I love how it looks and feels and I think it elevates a card to another level. I hate felt at times b/c it can take a lot of effort and be frustrating lol.. it can pull and lose its shape, or start to fray and look sloppy.


I used a shim when cutting the felt, so the pieces would have come out pretty cleanly if I wanted them to... I kept them in there though so the spacing was perfect. I then applied some glue on the back of the small pieces and put my card down on top. 
My first problem was that the felt was cut through for the most part, but it was actually hard to tell where some of the cuts were.. even holding it under a light. I placed the glue on the little pieces, but some ended up on the cut lines, or even on the negative piece that I had hoped to preserve.. I was in it to win it by now though, so I carried on and put the card on top.. I waited about 10 seconds so the little pieces didn't immediately fall off, but didn't want to wait too long or the background would dry on the spots I messed up on. I carefully pulled off the surrounding piece of felt (that was all one big piece). That piece though, which I had wanted to use for another card, was in shambles by the end of the process. It was just too stretched out to use. The other problem was that it took a few minutes to carefully make my way one by one through all the pieces and by then, my accidental glue spots were drying.. All in all, it wasn't too bad really and I was able to work it out by using a pair of scissors to cut some of the frays. I told myself to not obsess over it and after coming back from the gym, I actually thought it looked pretty good. 

The nice thing is you can use sequins or your sentiment to cover up any accidents. I actually thought about not using a sentiment so it didn't cover up all the hard work, but I think Vellum was a good choice and I love using it. I used a few embossing powders: WOW and 2 of Ranger's Tinsel series. I carefully did a little ombre work on the LOVE stamp (mostly b/c I'm cheap and I didn't want to contaminate/waste any powder lol. Then I took a few seconds to bask in the beauty of the finished card lol.

I actually use felt a good amount on my cards, but this is the first time I used a background die with it. I think that larger pieces are easier to manage. I also tried to use a sticky sheet on the back, but even with a shim, it wouldn't cut properly. Maybe it was the adhesive I used, so I might give it another shot. 
 Let me know if you give felt a try and thanks for visiting!

I used Simon Says Stamps' Stained Glass stamp/die set and the Scalloped Cover Plate from Neat and Tangled.

Challenges:
The Male Room Challenge
Mod Squad Challenge
My Time to Craft Challenge
Crafts Dreamy

Monday, February 4, 2019

Westminster in Watercolor

I decided to do a watercolor card, but since this is London's Westminster Abbey, I guess I should say *watercolour*




This Sketchy Landmark set from Altenew is awesome and I hope they create more landmarks soon. I used a stamp tool since the watercolor paper has a lot of texture- that way, I could stamp it multiple times in the same spot. I used black embossing powder. 
Kuretake Gansai Tambi makes a Pearl set, so I painted them over the heat embossed image. I used a few layers so the shine would pick up in different areas. People always say a picture doesn't do it justice, and that is also the case here.
After letting it dry, I wasn't totally satisfied with the clarity of the yellow, so I added a border of yellow heart paper. I finished the card using some frosted heart embellishments. Enjoy!

Challenge:
Pile it on challenge
Penny Black at all sorts

Tuesday, January 29, 2019

Gracias Por Todo card

So, I went to Mexico for the holidays and my wonderful novio's family took great care of us.
Here is a thank you card I made for his mom upon landing back in the States.



I used the Simon Says Stamp mum (the irony) flower die and a stitched square die I had from another set. First, I blended the background with distress inks. Then, I popped up the white paper on a silver square sheet of paper. I also inlaid the big silver piece to the left. I finished it off with some Swarovski crystals- they come in a ton of colors and you can actually find the small ones for pretty cheap. I enjoy how much they catch the light and for special occasions like this, I think it is put to good use. 


For the sentiment, I used Vellum and some good old fashioned WOW embossing powder. The stamp is from "Heartfelt Wishes" by Mama Elephant. Very handy. I grabbed a matching envelope and I was good to go!
Thanks for coming! Gracias por venir!

Challenges: 



Wednesday, January 16, 2019

Ariel, The Little Mermaid

A buddy of mine loves the Little Mermaid, so I decided to make a bday card for him.
The eels were fun critters to use, and I am happy with how it turned out.


I cut down some watercolor paper to a 4x4in square and liberally added water. Then, I added several different sprays of blue- the first few sprays were from a cheap blue from ACMoore that I had laying around and the top layers were from Lindy's Stamp Gang so the glitter and shine would sit on top. I added some darker blues and grays as well since it would better convey deep water. While messy, this was pretty fun, however, waiting for it to dry was not haha. 

I stamped and copic-colored the images of 2 stamps sets: The Greeting Farm's Little Mermaids set, and Lawn Fawn's You Are Sublime.

I also used a coral die since I had lots of scraps floating around and the shine on the paper was too nice to waste. Reduce, reuse, recycle!

I later added a birthday sentiment but gave it away before getting a pic... I need to get better at that!
Thanks for coming by and hope 2019 is starting off well for ya :D

Challenges:


Monday, January 7, 2019

Belated Xmas Cards x3

Belated Xmas Cards x3

I was out of the country and didn't get a chance to post these holiday cards! 
and a close up of the shaker and paper trees
                                 

My red card uses Simon Says Stamp's Stained Glass greetings. I heat embossed them using Lime Green Tinsel Embossing Powder from Ranger, along with a small "wishing you" in Alabaster White Embossing Powder from Brutus Monroe. 
The forest background stamp is from Impression Obsession and embossed in the same Lime Green powder. I will be using this again in different colors with a black background as it looks great.

My shaker card was a lot more time consuming.. First I prepared several sheets of green paper to cut with my tree dies (from Simon Says Stamp). I used some green sparkle felt, a sheet of metallic green paper, a sheet of green shine paper from ACMoore and lastly, a paper that I made myself using several sprays from Lindy's Stamp Gang. The spray adds a lot of glitter, and I used a few shades of green as I was cutting a bunch of trees from the paper and wanted them to be varied. 

I then worked on the shaker part. First, I cut the tree in the middle. I chose this shape because it was big enough where the parts could shake around, but also had some straight lines too- I would later surround the back with foam tape and the straight lines made it a bit easier to deal with. Anyway, after cutting the tree cutout, I used a snowflake embossing folder on the paper. Then, I glued a piece of acetate on the back of the paper. Then, I surrounded the perimeter with 2 layers of foam tape. Then, I filled the middle with shaker bits. Then, I added a layer of acetate on the back to seal it in. I prefer to do this so that I can then take the whole piece of paper, turn it upside down and stick it exactly where I want to on my card base. If you want to skip this step, you can lay the cardbase upside down on your foam tape, but it probably won't be lined up perfectly straight... Good luck though! I think the extra 2 inches of acetate is well worth it- I actually just used leftover wrapping from some packages I had laying around. 

The last step was some glitter stickle drops in the middle of the snowflakes. I made a few of these to hand out, so I varied them a bit, but they all followed these steps. 

Hope everyone had an awesome holiday!