Wishing You a Merry Christmas

I love this Holly Ornament by talented DT member Carole Dion because there is so much you can do with it. Since I make a lot of Christmas cards, I'm always searching for an easy card to do. You could make multiples of this beautiful card in a short time. This card is featured on the Magenta blog today.

First I created an all-over background on watercolor cardstock using various shades of blue Nuance. To activate the powder, I sprayed with water mixed with Perfect Pearls powder. This made a beautiful shimmer over the entire card. I cut out the panel to 3.75" x 5" with the largest die in the Lawn Fawn Small Stitched Rectangle Stackables LF768.

Making sure the Nuance was dry, I stamped the Holly Ornament and the sentiment with Versamark and embossed with White Diamond embossing powder. This is a great sentiment because it fits perfectly on a card. I painted over the berries with Scarlet Nuance, and painted over the holly with Grass Green Nuance. You can paint with Nuance by tapping some powder into a palette and adding a little water. This makes a great watercolor paint, and depending on how much water you use, the colors can be very vibrant.

The center stripe could very well be painted another color, but in this case I drew circles in the stripe with a Uniball broad white pen. I added a few sequins for some bling and matted the panel with Jupiter Stardream cardstock. The panel was then mounted onto a base card of Neenah Solar White 110# cover cardstock.

It would be easy to make multiples of this card by making a Nuance background on a piece of 8.5" x 11" watercolor cardstock. You could quickly make 4 cards from that one piece.

Magenta Products used:
(If you are local, please look for products at Art 'n Soul. If you are not local and wish to find Magenta products, you can click on the link in the stamp or product name below each image, or you can visit the Magenta online store here).

84.016.L Holly Ornament

07.960.I Wishing You a Merry Christmas

MNU001 Turquoise

MNU009 Grass Green

MNU010 Scarlet

MNU011 Cerulean Blue

MNU013 Royal Blue

Other Products used:

Lawn Fawn Small Stitched Rectangle Stackables LF768

JudiKins White Diamond embossing powder

Tim Holtz watercolor cardstock

Jupiter Stardream cardstock

Versamark Ink

Uni-ball broad white gel pen

Various sequins

Ranger Multi Medium Matte adhesive

Twelve Tags of Christmas at Art 'n Soul - Day 10, Poinsettia Tags

Art 'n Soul has a great event going on right now, to benefit the Thurston County Food Bank. For a donation to the Food Bank, a make and take is provided each day from December 5th, through Friday, December 16th. Wednesday, December 14th is my turn, and I made these really fun and pretty die-cut poinsettia tags, using the newest Mixed Media Christmas die from Tim Holtz and Sizzix.

I made this green tag and loved it, but then decided to make another version using red cardstock and my current favorite stamped sentiment, the John Lennon Peace Quote from Magenta, 07.956.F.

For instructions, and a complete list of materials, please go to the Art 'n Soul blog here. Or better yet, if you are local, please come in and make a tag, and donate to this great cause.

For the Magenta stamp, If you are local, please look for products at Art 'n Soul. If you are not local and wish to find Magenta products, you can click on the link in the product name beneath the image below, or you can visit the Magenta online store here.

07.956.F John Lennon Peace Quote

Twelve Tags of Christmas at Art 'n Soul - Day 9, Aurora Borealis Tag

Art 'n Soul has a great event going on right now, to benefit the Thurston County Food Bank. For a donation to the Food Bank, a make and take is provided each day from December 5th, through Friday, December 16th. Tuesday, December 13th is my turn again, and I love how this tag turned out, using alcohol ink and Yupo paper, along with a great die from Memory Box.

For instructions, and a complete list of materials, please go to the Art 'n Soul blog here. Or better yet, if you are local, please come in and make a tag, and donate to this great cause.

You Are in My Heart

I love this sentiment for someone who has been having a bad year, to let them know you are thinking of them during the holidays, and always. This card is featured on the Magenta blog today.

I stamped this using my MISTI tool, and colored the stamp with Tombow markers, adding more color layers each time I stamped down. The effect makes it look like an old fashioned hand painted ornament. The top and bottom of the ornament were embossed in gold. The sentiment was added using Mowed Lawn Distress ink.

This stamp actually has two lovely ornaments, but I only used one in order to make room for this sentiment. The panel was matted with Stardream Jupiter cardstock and mounted onto a base card. A few sequins were scattered on for some bling

Magenta Products used:
(If you are local, please look for products at Art 'n Soul. If you are not local and wish to find Magenta products, you can click on the link in the stamp or product name below each image, or you can visit the Magenta online store here).

02.314.N Elegant Ornaments

07.957.K You are in my heart

Other Products used:

Tombow Markers: 835, 743, 245, 126

Versamarker

Stardust Stickles

WOW Rich Gold embossing powder

Mowed Lawn Distress ink

Neenah Solar White cardstock 80# & 110#

Star dream Jupiter cardstock

Various sequins

Ranger Multi Medium Matte adhesive

Elegant Christmas Shaker

This beautiful Elegant Ornaments stamp is perfect for a fun shaker card. This card is featured on the Magenta blog today.

I stamped the ornament stamp and sentiment onto a white card using Salty Ocean Distress ink. I had to split the sentiment into two lines to make it fit. This is not hard to do using a MISTI tool or stamp positioner.  I love the almost Delft pottery look of the ornaments in blue. I glued a few sequins to the panel so that even if the card is upright, there would be sequins showing toward the top of the window.

I die cut an oval into a panel of So Silk Fair Blue cardstock and used an embossing folder to create a nice textured pattern that mimics the ornament shapes. I added a piece of acetate to the back of the blue panel to cover the opening. I then used foam adhesive on the acetate around the oval opening, and added beads and sequins to the center. The stamped panel went over the foam tape to seal in the shaker material, and the whole panel was mounted on a white base card. 

Magenta Products used:
(If you are local, please look for products at Art 'n Soul. If you are not local and wish to find Magenta products, you can click on the link in the stamp or product name below each image, or you can visit the Magenta online store here).

02.314.N Elegant Ornaments

07.033.D Merry Christmas

Other Products used:

WRMK Next Level embossing folder "Wave"

Die-namics MFT-846 Inside-Outside Stiched Ovals die set

So Silk Fair Blue cardstock

Distress ink - Salty Ocean

Acetate

Foam tape

Sequins & beads for shaker

Peace Dove Christmas Tag

At Art 'n Soul we do a Thurston County Food Bank promotion each year at this time. Everyone on the staff creates tags (one for each day we work in the 12 day period) and provides make and takes for our customers. The promotion started Monday, December 5, and my first turn is Tuesday, December 6th. For my first tag, I had to go with my Zen Dove that I designed for Magenta, and the John Lennon quote that they agreed to make as the perfect sentiment to go with the dove. This pair of stamps is fast becoming my favorite combo. Here's my tag.

To make this tag, I die cut watercolor cardstock with the Sizzix 38-0946 Super Scallop Tag die (sorry, this die is no longer available). The tag was stamped with the Zen Peace Dove 44.023.M, and the John Lennon Peace Quote 07.956.F, using Versamark ink. The images were then embossed with JudiKins White Diamond embossing powder.

After embossing, I tapped Nuance powder all over the card, using Royal Blue, Cerulean Blue, Turquoise, Jade Green and a little Raspberry. I sprayed liberally with Pearly Water (a mix of 2 oz water with 1/4 tsp Perfect Pearls powder). The Pearly Water and embossing powder give just the perfect amount of shine and sparkle.

Once the tag was dry, a sparkly white ribbon was added at the top. A beautiful tag for a present, or hanging on the tree!

If you are local, please come in to Art 'n Soul today (open 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.) and make this tag to take home! The cost is a non-perishable food item, or a donation of at least $1 for the Food Bank. There will be posts up on the Art 'n Soul blog, and the Art 'n Soul page on Facebook each day, with photos of all of our tags! Please give us a like or a comment, and come by each day if you can.

Magenta Products Used:

(If you are local, please look for products at Art 'n Soul. If you are not local and wish to find Magenta products, you can click on the link in the stamp or product name below each image, or you can visit the Magenta online store here).

44.023.M Zen Peace Dove

07.956.F John Lennon Peace Quote

MNU001 Turquoise

MNU004 Jade

MNU007 Raspberry

MNU011 Cerulean Blue

MNU013 Royal Blue

Other Products Used:

Tim Holtz Watercolor cardstock

JudiKins White Diamond Embossing Powder

Perfect Pearls Powder

Versamark ink

Zen Peace Dove

This Zen Peace Dove stamp is my design for Magenta for this Holiday season. I love a message of Peace, especially during the holidays. This card is featured on the Magenta blog today.

I stamped this sweet dove and the John Lennon quote with Versafine Deep Lagoon ink and embossed in clear. The leaves and berries were colored with green and red glitter pens. The panel was mounted on So Silk Fair Blue cardstock and I scattered a few sequins adhered with Ranger Multi Medium Matte.

Magenta Products Used:
(If you are local, please look for products at Art 'n Soul. If you are not local and wish to find Magenta products, you can click on the link in the stamp or product name below each image, or you can visit the Magenta online store here).

44.023.M Zen Peace Dove

07.956.F John Lennon Peace Quote

Other Products Used:

Versa fine Deep Lagoon ink

Clear embossing powder

Neenah Solar White cardstock 80# and 110#

So Silk Fair Blue paper

Lawn Fawn LF768 Small Stitched Rectangle Stackables

Various sequins

Ranger Multi Medium matte adhesive

Red & Green glitter pens

Happy Autumn Birthday!

My Autumn Happy Birthday card is featured on the Magenta blog today!

This card was made with a fun technique using Distress crayons. I cut out a panel of glossy paper to 3.75" x 5" using the largest die in the Lawn Fawn LF768 Small Stitched Rectangle Stackables die set. I colored the entire surface of the panel with Distress crayons in Rusty Hinge, Spiced Marmalade and Mustard Seed. 

I then placed the new Magenta Maple Leaves Mask, MC42 over the colored panel. Using a damp baby wipe, I wiped off the color in the open spaces. Since I used glossy paper, the color cleaned off pretty easily, leaving color only in the areas under the mask.

I stamped the new Magenta Happy Birthday sentiment using Ranger Archival Sepia ink. This is a great new Happy Birthday sentiment that fits into smaller spaces.

The panel was matted with Bronze Stardream cardstock, and I applied various sequins for bling using Ranger Multi Medium Matte adhesive.

I have found that this technique works best if you use a mask or stencil that has a lot of open space. This was a fun technique and I love how this card turned out.

Magenta Products Used:
(If you are local, please look for products at Art 'n Soul. If you are not local and wish to find Magenta products, you can click on the link in the stamp or product name below each image, or you can visit the Magenta online store here).

MC42 Maple Leaves

07.962.F Happy Birthday Little

Other Products Used:

Glossy cardstock

Distress Crayons: Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, Rusty Hinge

Bronze Stardream cardstock

Archival ink - Sepia

Baby wipes

Various sequins

Ranger Multi Medium matte adhesive

Technique of the Week: The Joy of Dylusions

This technique features Dylusions paint, the fabulous fluid acrylic paint by Dyan Reaveley. Dylusions paints are available in 24 vibrant colors. The Dylusions paints were formulated by Dyan Reaveley for Ranger, to be especially ideal for use in Journals. The colors are amazing, and they dry quickly. Conveniently, this also makes them ideal for card making.

Here's my card, and it came together so quickly!

Dyan Reaveley has a number of videos online where she demos her products, including this paint, so if you have not already seen her videos, be sure to check them out. She has a number of products in her Dylusions line, and you can see many of her videos here including the ones using her paints.

Also featured on this card are a stamp and a stencil from Magenta's newest fall and winter collection. I used the new Magenta stencil, Graphic Poinsettia TM195, and a new Magenta stamp, Joy to the World 07.958.H. I also used Dylusions paint colors Cherry Pie and White Linen.

One of my favorite techniques that Dyan does with her paints is that she often uses a baby wipe to apply it, and I used that technique here. For this card, I cut a panel to 3.75" x 5" out of heavy weight Strathmore Bristol paper. If you don't have Bristol, you can also use heavy weight white Neenah Solar White cardstock, or watercolor cardstock. The Bristol is nice because it's very smooth and accepts the paint well. To cut my panel, I used the largest die in the Lawn Fawn Small Stitched Rectangle Stackables set LF768.

I started with Dylusions Cherry Pie paint and using a baby wipe I applied color all over the panel. One tip is that before you open the paint, tip it upside down. This puts paint on the inside of the lid, and you can dip your baby wipe in the lid instead of dipping it into the jar of paint. Also, so that my baby wipe would not be too wet, before dipping into the paint, I squeezed it out over a paper towel to get some of the moisture out. 

This paint dries very quickly, but once I had applied color to the entire panel, I hit it with a heat gun for a short time to be sure.

After sticking the panel down to my craft mat, I laid the stencil onto it and arranged it so that there would be room for a sentiment. I taped the stencil down with painter's tape.

At this point I switched to a small blending tool that has a foam pad (Ranger mini Distress blending tool), and opened the White Linen paint. I dipped the blending tool into the paint in the lid, and rubbed it into a circle on my craft mat to work the paint into the sponge. I applied the paint through the stencil openings with the blending tool.

Once I was satisfied with the coverage, I removed the stencil and I really liked the result. One tip I have is that the second color needs to be enough of a contrast to show up.

I stamped the Magenta Joy to the World stamp in Versamark ink and embossed with White Diamond embossing powder. White dots were added to the center of the Poinsettia using Imagine Crafts Pico embellisher in Wedding Dress. I also went over all of the Poinsettia petals with a clear Wink of Stella pen to add a little sparkle, and scattered some sequins, gluing them down with Ranger Multi Medium Matte.

To put the card together, I adhered a piece of green cardstock (4" x 5.25") to a white base card (4.25" x 5.5" Neenah Solar White 110# cardstock). I decided to pop the red panel up off of the green mat, so I cut a piece of white fun foam just a little smaller than the red panel. 

Since I didn't want the white foam to show from the sides, I took a dark green Copic marker, and colored the sides of the foam before gluing it down. I adhered the foam to the red panel, and then adhered it to the green mat and base card using scor tape. 

It's very hard to see anything under the red panel with the edges of the foam painted with the dark color.

I love how this card turned out, and hope you will give this technique a try. There are 26 lovely colors of Dylusions paints, and you can use them to make a quick and easy card for almost any occasion.

Please check out my blog post that went live last night with a card that is on the Magenta blog today, featuring one of the new Magenta stamps here.

Magenta Products Used:

(If you are local, please look for products at Art 'n Soul. If you are not local and wish to find Magenta products, you can click on the link in the stamp or product name below each image, or you can visit the Magenta online store here).

TM195 Graphic Poinsettia

07.958.H Joy to the world

Other Products used:

Dylusions paint: Cherry Pie, White Linen

Lawn Fawn LF768 Small Stitched Rectangle Stackables

Kirkland Baby Wipes

Strathmore Bristol heavyweight paper

JudiKins White Diamond embossing powder

Versamark ink

Irresistible Pico Embellisher, Wedding Dress

Distress mini blending tool

Fun (craft) foam

Scor tape

Various sequins

Ranger Multi Medium Matte

Chinese Lantern Happy Birthday

This is a beautiful stamp by Magenta DT member Carole Dion! I absolutely could not wait to play with this one. This card is featured on the Magenta blog today.

I cut a small and large panel out of Tim Holtz watercolor cardstock. I like this particular watercolor paper because it's white. For the larger panel I used the largest die in the Lawn Fawn LF768 Small Stitched Rectangle Stackables. For the smaller panel I used Die-namics MFT-470 Horizontal Stitched Strips. 

I stamped the gorgeous Chinese Lantern image on the small panel and the larger panel with Versafine Vintage Sepia ink. I was able to stamp them in exactly the same place by using the MISTI stamping tool.

I tapped Nuance colors into a palette and added a few drops of water mixed with Perfect Pearls powder for some shine, and started painting. This image was just a joy to paint. I painted just the edges of the image under the small panel.

I colored around the painted image with a Copic C1 marker for shading.

This Happy Birthday sentiment is one of my favorite Magenta Happy Birthday stamps. The font is beautiful and it fits perfectly on a card. I stamped it with Versafine Vintage Sepia ink. Both the small and larger panel were matted with Stardream Bronze cardstock.

I applied some sequins for bling using Ranger Multi Medium Matte adhesive.

Magenta Products Used

(If you are local, please look for products at Art 'n Soul. If you are not local and wish to find Magenta products, you can click on the link in the stamp or product name below each image, or you can visit the Magenta online store here).

84.014.N Chinese Lantern

07.430.I Happy Birthday

MNU002 Bright Yellow

MNU006 Orange

MNU008 Golden Yellow

MNU009 Grass Green

MNU022 Nutmeg

Other Products Used:

Versafine Vintage Sepia ink

Lawn Fawn LF768 Small Stitched Rectangle Stackables

Die-namics MFT-470 Horizontal Stitched Strips

Copic marker C1

Bronze Stardream paper

Tim Holtz watercolor paper

various sequins

Ranger Multi Medium Matte adhesive