Sunday, July 30, 2017

Painter's Pallet

This is a really simple card, but, you know, some times that is the best kind.


I have used some retired papers, but don't let that stop you from creating your own with what you have.

The base is 4 1/4 x 11 and Whisper White. Score at 2 3/4 and 5 1/2. Cover with DSP of the same size. I actually used some of the Papers for envelopes. (If using something heavier, it would work best to cut each section to size, avoiding the need to fold.)

For the smaller piece, cut 2 3/4 x 10 from Whisper White, scoring at 4 1/2 and 7 1/4. Cover with       2 1/2 x 9 3/4 piece of DSP. Align the smaller square with the right edge of the base and glue in place. Add glue to the far half of the left side of the smaller piece. Fold the card together and press the glued area to the top of the base. Decorate as desired.

This one has the frame from the easel stamp for the Painter's Pallet set stamped on DSP with Black, then cut out. You could also create this same background with the brush stroke stamp and your chose of colors. The sentiment is stamped in black of a 1 7/8 x 1 3/4 piece of Whisper White. Add a small sentiment on the far right space and sign your work on the back.

This would be a great one in your recipient's favorite color!

Enjoy and thanks so much for stopping by!

Thursday, July 27, 2017

Bells N Boughs!

It is still time for Christmas in July, right? While I am waiting on my pre-order for the new catalog, I decided to pull some of my retired items out and play. I had planned to create this card with the new items coming, but, when the creative mode hits, you just have to play along, right??????

So pull out your retired Holiday papers and come play!


The card base is Garden Green,8 1/2" x 5 1/2", folded in half at 4 1/4" .

In Real Red, cut the following pieces for mats:               And for the DSP:
     Upper Right:     2 1/4 x 2 1/4                                                    2 1/8 x 2 1/8
     Bottom Right:   2 1/4 x 2 7/8                                                    2 1/8 x 2 3/4
    
     Top Right:         1 5/8 x 2 3/4                                                    1 1/2 x 2 5/8
      Bottom Left:     1 5/8 x 2 3/8                                                    1 1/2 x 2 1/4

Layer them all onto the base cover, leaving equal amounts of space around each piece. In the lower right one, cut out the letters and numbers and glue into place, towards the top.

 Stamp the image from the Bells and Boughs set on Whisper White, once with Garden Green and once with Real Red. Color in the poinsettias on the red image and cut them out. Cut the green image out. (The stamp has three blooms, but I only used the two.) Glue it onto the panel. Give the blooms some dimension by turning upside down and using the end of something round (like the scoring tool), lightly work circles around the outer edges. Add dimensionals and place onto the green image. Color the blooms over with clear Wink of Stella. I let it dry and added a second coat for more sparkle.

That's it!!! The hardest part is trying to decide which papers to use!

This idea would work for any occasion. Just change the DSP and embellishments.

Have a great day and thanks so much for stopping by!!!




    

Sunday, July 23, 2017

Best of Butterflies

I am one of those lucky ones who can enjoy paper crafting every day......well, almost. And this was one of those days. I pulled out a retired set from Stampin' Up's 25 Anniversary collection called Best of Butterflies. Our marigolds are starting to bloom and we will have a bunch of the real thing soon!


First off, see that little bit of white on the far right of the card? It is actually a corner of the envelope showing. I nearly cried when I saw it, but then saw that the card was okay.

My card base is Daffodil Delight with an image panel of Whisper White (5 1/2 x 3 3/4). Stamp the nearly solid butterfly in Daffodil Delight rocking the edges around in Pumpkin Pie.

Stamp the larger outline Butterfly twice in Basic Black on the panel, stamping a bit off the card. Stamp the whole image onto a scrap piece of Whisper White. Color in the images with Daffodil Delight ink. I squeeze my ink pad in the middle while it is closed. This forms a puddle of ink on the inside of the lid. You can also just place a drop of reinker into the lid. Use the aqua painter to color in your images. I did the same with Pumpkin Pie, adding a bit of water from the painter to dilute it down a bit. As long as you don't add too much, it is fine to close when done. The ink is water based so it won't be hurt at all.

Stamp you sentiment in Basic Black. This one came from the new set, Colorful Seasons. I think this whole set is going to be my new "go to" set. There are so many things that you can do with it!

I try to always use a positioning tool with my sentiments, because there is nothing worse than not getting it as dark as I want it. This one took stamping twice, to get it dark enough for what I wanted.

Cut out the image from the scrap piece, leaving a tiny edge of white around the edges. I usually do this every time I fussy cut. You don't get the look of rough cut edges this way. If you don't like to do that, you can take a matching marker or ink pad and color around the cut edge to give it a smoother look, too.

Decide where you want this image to be positioned and place a dimensional. I took some shiny black thread that I have in my sewing and stuck it in loops on to the dimensional, then added my butterfly.

I finished it up with stamping a butterfly on the corner of the inside, then added some bling with yellow stickles and colored the larger butterflies with clear Wink of Stella. You could add rhinestones instead of the stickles. Repeat the image onto the corner of a white envelope.

I love how this card turned out and hope you do too. The only thing that made it better was that I had a recipient in mind while creating it! So it goes into the mail tomorrow. Hope it brings a smile to her life!

Have a great week and thanks so much for stopping by!

Monday, July 17, 2017

Watercolor Cards

We have been enjoying a nightly shower here for several days. So I thought I would share some cards that I created with watercoloring.


The base is Dapper Denim and the mats are Crumb Cake. The image is Whisper White and DSP finishes the card. The "Just Because" is a die that I have had in my stash for a long time. You could stamp your sentiment on the DSP.

The images are from In the Meadow. Stamp the trees, coloring the image with Crumb Cake and Old Olive markers, then use the aqua brush to fill it in. If the ink dries too quickly, just pick some up on the brush and fill in. Next stamp the dear with the Crumb Cake and color in again with the brush, just pulling the color in from the outline. The deer are not completely colored in. Cut a mask for the trees and the deer and position them over the images. Stamp the mountains with Dapper Denim and repeat the coloring process.

Remove the masks. Picking up a little Crumb Cake on the brush, streak color across the card from the bottom of the mountains to the bottom of the card. Do the same above the mountains with Daffodil Delight just above them and Soft Sky above that to the top. The yellow is a bit more saturated in color than the blue.

Stamp the grass randomly at the bottom of the trees and deer, in Old Olive and brush lightly after each stamping. You could stamp a few of the floral stamp in the set to add a splash of color.

Let this dry completely before adding to your card.

Just remember to not over saturate the images with water, or you will make the colors muddy. Less is more! You can always add a bit more color if needed.

Here are two more samples, using watercolor as the back ground.



Pull out a piece of window sheet, or a piece of plastic. Add a single drop of reinker from two or three colors, then spray a mist of water over the inks. Our spritzers work great for this. Again, not too much. You want the colors to blend not  mix. Then lie your cardstock on top, lightly pressing so that it can absorb. Pull away slowly and allow to dry. Stamp your images and build your card. I used Basic Black.

You can also spritz the water on your plastic pallet, then add reinker drops. Give both ways a try and decide which works best for you.

These all take a little extra time, but I think you will find them to be worth it.

Have a great day and thanks so much for stopping by!

Friday, July 14, 2017

Best Birds

Here is a very simple card:


The base is Crumb Cake with sponging of the same color of ink around the edges. The mat is Sky Blue, using the Hardwood background stamp and Soft Suede ink. Using the same ink, sponge around the edges with more on the corners.

Stamp the bird, stem an flowers on Whisper White. Sponge on your colors. The flowers actually have a small circle of watercolor, using so saffron, then the image stamped on top with the same ink. Cut everything out with the framelits. SAVE 10% when you purchase the stamp set and framelits together as a bundle! Position everything on the mat. The branch is glued directly to the mat. The bird and flowers are shaped (turn upside down on a piece of foam and using the larger end of the scoring tool, work circles around the edges. This will cause them to curl a bit.) Add them with glue dots.

Tie a bow with the linen thread and attach with a glue dot. Curl the glue dot to fit the back of the bow.

Here is the inside:


The panel is Sky Blue with Crumb Cake sponging around the edges. The bird is cut out with one of the framelits and glued into place.

And the envelope:


I also sponged around the envelope before stamping the bird, all in Soft Suede.

Quick and simple, but I think the recipient will like it. What do you think?

Have a great day and thanks so much for stopping by.


Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Old is New Again!

A few days ago, a couple of friends that I haven't seen in a long while, came for a visit. It was so nice to catch up again, in person. We also swapped "retired" stamp sets, "making the old, new again", and this is one that I received. Not sure how I missed out on it, cuz I love it! It is the On The Porch set from the 1999-2000 catalog. I have only been able to find a few samples using the chair, so was on my own with this one.

IF you enjoy fussy cutting, or don't mind doing it, you won't have any issues creating this card. On the other hand.......... Just make it all one layer. :)


The base is Whisper White. The card is all built on the mat of Smokey Gray cut at 4 x 5 1/4. Stamp the porch in the center with Smokey Gray. Color the curtains in the window with a watercolor pencil. Cover the windows, including the curtains, with the Fine Line Glue pen, set aside to dry. This will give them the look of glass. Stamp the post and top on another piece of the gray. I actually stamped these as separate pieces, lightly colored them in with the gray watercolor pencil and cut them out with the end of the post still attached to the top. Position the top with dimensionals and add the post with the same, gluing the top part of the post to the piece attached to the top. ( I did not cut all the spaces out of the top, but you can if you want!)

Next ink up the window and flower box with Garden Green. Lie a piece of Garden Green scrap on top of the stamp and rub over the image with your finger, being careful not to move the cardstock. Or you can just stamp it as usual. I find that I get a better image doing it like the background stamps when I am only inking parts. Cut the whole thing out. Poke a hole in the center of each window, then snip to each corner to cut the windows out. (Poke the holes before the other cutting to make it easier).
Glue this to the window.

With Garden Green Ink and Whisper White cardstock, stamp the window box and flowers. Stamp another image of just the flowers. With a watercolor pencil, color in the box and the flowers. Cut each image out, gluing the box and flower image onto the window box on the mat. Add the seperate flower image on top with dimensionals. I also added Summer Flowersoft to the flower image, but that is optional.

Stamp the hanging pot on Garden Green and using an orange watercolor pencil, color in the pot. Cut it out, add a dimensional, and hang it on the porch, tucking the top just under the rails.

Stamp the chair image on Whisper White in Soft Suede. I also do this one with the cardstock on top, to insure a good impression. Color as desired with watercolor pencils and cut out. NOTE: when cutting, don't stress the little parts! If the scissors work easily around, great!, if not just leave it. I also leave a bit of an edge around the image. Trying to cut directly on the line leaves an uneven look. Now, do a little shaping. Turn the image over and place on a piece of foam. With the larger ball of the scoring tool, or the end of a pencil, gently working in circles, work around the edges of the image. This will curl them in just a bit. Add dimensionals and place it onto the mat. (Wish I had done this with the hanging pot, too!)

I added the Wink of Stella to the quilt and flowers. Careful, because it does moisten the watercolor, which brightens it all up, but if you use too much, it can also muddy things. Clean the tip after each color and area.

Place a strip of the burlap ribbon onto the left side of the mat. Add dimensionals to the back and position onto the card base. That's It!! LOL

I really hope you enjoy this post and that it inspires you to pull some of those old favorites out and play. Give this one a try if you are lucky enough to have this set. Or swap with a friend and make the Old, New again!

Have a great day and thanks so much for stopping by!

Saturday, July 8, 2017

Wonderful Summer Time

I hope that you are enjoying a wonderful summer day. It is gorgeous here this morning with a nice breeze coming in the windows. I was inspired by another pinterest post for this lovely card.


The base is Whisper White and also using Flirty Flamingo from the In Colors.

Crease and fold your card, then cut out a shape in the middle of the cover. I, of course used one of the ovals from my retired selection. This also leaves just a hint of an embossed frame around the opening, which isn't visible in the picture.

Using Soft Suede and the branch from Colorful Seasons, stamp across the top of the cover and on the inside, positioning it so that it shows through the window. With Flirty Flamingo, stamp two of the smaller single flowers and two sets of the small flower clusters onto Flirty Flamingo cardstock. You will have to fussy cut (using scissors) to cut out the cluster flowers and use the framlits from the bundle to cut out  the larger flowers and the chair.

I also stamped the glass with straw onto what I thought was a piece of Whisper White cardstock, which will be explained later. LOL Ink the stamp with Flirty Flamingo and stamp off onto a piece of scrap first. I actually kind of tipped mine when stamping off, but it gave me a shaded effect on the next stamping. So there is a tip that I hope I remember in the future. Now cut it out with the matching framelit and a chair from Flirty Flamingo. Add some of the Fine Tip Glue (or retired Crystal Effects) onto the glass and place the arm of the chair on top of it to adhere the two pieces together. Set aside to dry.

The sentiment is stamped with an image from the same set, again with Flirty Flamingo.


For the inside of the card, I used sentiments from the Garden in Bloom set and Flirty Flamingo ink. Again, making sure that the top sentiment showed through the window and that the bottom one did not.

The sample I saw actually made this into a shadow box, so I built a frame for the inside of my card. Cut a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 from Flirty Flamingo card stock. Then cut in 1/2" on all four sides to create the frame. This is really easy to do on the Trimmer. Then cut just a sliver off the side that will go against the cards fold. This will make it fit nicely on the inside of your card. Glue it into place. I like to use glue rather than tape because it gives me a chance to maneuver it around if I need to, but use whatever you are comfortable with. (The inside piece is great to use for the flowers and chair!)

Give your flowers a little dimension by using the larger tip on the score tool and a piece of foam under them. I use one of the pieces from my clear block storage case. Place the bloom with the printed side up and carefully work circles in the center with the tool. With the larger flowers, I also pulled from the outside to the center with each petal. Then glue each bloom into place.

Now, place the chair upside down on a non stick surface and place glue or tape on the left side and bottom of the chair. Place onto the front of the card. If you used tape, you can use the adhesive eraser to get rid of any that is showing.

WOW! a lot of wording but really a quick and simple card to create. I hope you will give it a try.

OH...... as for the glass....it was actually a piece of single sided DSP! I didn't notice it until I flipped it over to add adhesive! Luckily, it was a light green with small white polka dots. So on the inside of the card instead of pink lemonade, it is limeade!!!! Just what I meant to do!! Ever have those kind of moments?

Have a great day and thanks so much for stopping by!!!!