April Cards for Charity: Hello From the Inside

Ha! A little quarantine humor. But seriously, I am finding that I have more time these days to catch up on projects. I seem to work in little spurts of dedication, interspersed with long periods of sleeping and reading escape fiction. How about you? My friend Pam is enjoying doing her Spring gardening in her beautiful yard. As for me, I did go out once today, to the front yard. It was bright, and I came back in. I'm not going to judge myself too harshly right now. I think we need to be good to ourselves.

I am making 10 cards each month to donate to my friends' church. They have a sale every February and sell cards to buy blankets for the homeless and for accident victims. 

My April cards for this charity came together very quickly. the front panels of most of these were something I got from a packet that was bequeathed to me by my dear friend Marj. She had these in her stash and left them to me. I'm sorry I don't know where they came from, it was an open packet of 11 pieces. I thought this was the perfect way to use them. They are embossed and have a circle cut-out and some flower cut-outs. I cut them down a little and went to find some already made backgrounds to adhere them to.

These are mostly glossy cardstock with different mediums added. Most of then have Nuance (powdered color from Magenta) with Perfect Pearls Powder added; some have alcohol inks, and some of them are not glossy, but watercolor cardstock. They are just pieces that I was playing with putting some color down in the past, and I grabbed them out of my stash.

I would say that I was not super happy with some of these backgrounds at the time I made them; but this project is perfect for that, since the background only partially shows through the circle cut-out, the flower cut-outs and around the edges of the card. This is a good reason to save everything, even if you don't love it at first.

I pulled out a background for each panel, and cut out a "hello" from coordinating cardstock. I got this super cute "hello" die free from Poppy Stamps during one of their promotions. It's 1690 Scribble Hello, and is the perfect size for inside the circles.

When I was searching for backgrounds, I pulled out 2 too many, and rather than put them back, I thought I would try to make up 2 additional and similar front panels. I don't have an emboss and cut die that would do this all in one step (do they still make those?), but I got out an embossing folder, a circle die and a little leaf punch.

What do you think? This is one of the cards I made the front panel for. I'm pretty happy with it. Did you notice that the close up above is this same card and a little different than the others?

At the end, I added different sizes of silver/gold glitter dots from Elizabeth Craft. These are nice and flat, so they won't make the card overly bulky, but they still add something.

Okay, here they all are, and I think they will be great "generic" cards for the church to sell. Can you spot the two that I made the front panels for?

The front panels are unknown provenance, but you can

make some yourself with white cardstock (textured or not);

 a 2" circle die; an embossing folder with some blank space

in the design; and a small die or punch to allow more of the

background to show through. The front panels are cut to 3 3/4" x 5".

The background panels are cut to 4" x 5.25" using the Lawn Fawn LF768 die.

The cute hello die from Poppy Stamps is only 1.5" long and less than 1" tall

I hope you enjoyed this project. Take care of yourselves, be kind to yourselves, and please stay healthy everyone!

Magenta Products used:

Various Nuance Powdered Colors

Other Products used:

 Poppy Stamps die 1690 Scribble Hello

Lawn Fawn LF768 die Small Stitched Rectangle Stackables

Perfect Pearls powder

Glossy cardstock

Tim Holtz watercolor cardstock

Various colored cardstock for die cut sentiment

Magenta Super Saturday: All About Love Watercolor Hearts

Hi everyone! I'm over at Magenta again today with a fast, easy and fun card of watercolor hearts using a stencil. You can go to my post on Magenta here.

I first die-cut a panel of Tim Holtz watercolor paper to 5.25" x 4", using the Die-Namics Blueprints 13 die, which leaves a nice stitched edge, which I like.

These are most of the things I used in this project, although I added more Nuance colors along the way.

I sprayed the back of the stencil with Pixie Spray, and stuck it down onto my paper. Taking a large flat brush, I brushed clean water into the first heart opening. I then tapped some Nuance powder into the opening. You really need very little powder. 

I used a small round brush to tap on the powder granules to be sure they all dissolved into the water. I also used this brush to be sure that the color flowed to the edges of the heart shape. It's also nice to leave some white space.

Here is my panel, with the stencil still adhered. I really like how it's turning out, but next time I may get more brave with my color combinations.

After taking off the stencil, I contemplated putting it back on and drawing around the hearts with a black pen; but in the end, I decided I liked it just as it is.

I added the sentiment with Versafine Onyx Black ink, and adhered it to a red card base. I hope you try this; I love this stencil, and it could be made simpler by using just one row of hearts.

This technique was inspired by Helene's post here. I just love how her project turned out. I decided to brush my water rather than spray to give me more control, but I think spraying may have added more water, which results in interesting and cool blend patterns

Magenta Products used:

TM210  15 Hearts

07.1039.D It's all about LOVE

Nuance

Nuance Colors used:

MNU001 Turquoise

MNU002 Bright Yellow

MNU004 Jade

MNU005 Hot Pink

MNU006 Orange

MNU007 Raspberry

MNU008 Golden Yellow

MNU010 Scarlet

MNU011 Cerulean Blue

MNU016 Red

MNU017 Rosebud

MNU019 Spring Green

Other Products used:

Tim Holtz Watercolor paper

Die-namics MFT-463 Blueprints 13 die set

Pixie Spray

Versafine Onyx Black ink

Ranger Artist brushes

Falling For Magenta

Magenta really does have some beautiful Fall leaf stamps out this year. This one is called Fall Leaf Twig.

This card was super simple. I sprinkled some Nuance onto a piece of watercolor cardstock, and spritzed. Once dry, I cut a panel 1 3/4" wide and 5" tall. I also cut a piece of white cardstock to 3 3/4" x 5" using the Lawn Fawn Small Stitched Rectangles (LF768).

I placed the Nuance panel 1/4" to the right of the left edge on the white panel and using the MISTI stamping tool, I stamped this beautiful leaf twig with Versamark. I removed the Nuance panel and stamped it again, and used gold embossing powder on each piece separately, to avoid any gaps.

I stamped the sentiment with two colors of Versaclair ink for an ombre effect. To finish the card, I matted it with a piece of red cardstock I had in my stash, and mounted it onto a base card.

Magenta Products used:

0798.M Fall Leaf Twig

07.1014.F Enjoy the beauty

MNU006 Orange Nuance

MNU008 Golden Yellow Nuance

MNU010 Scarlet Nuance

Other products used:

Versamark ink

Versafine Clair Summertime & Tulip Red

Tim Holtz watercolor cradstock

Ranger Gold embossing powder

Lawn Fawn LF768 Small Stitched Rectangle Stackables

Neenah Solar White cardstock 110#

Magenta Super Saturday - One Design, Two Different Cards

Hi! I'm over at the Magenta blog again today, and you can see that post here.

I needed to make birthday cards for two very different people. Since we have a new grandbaby in the house, I don't have a lot of time to make cards, but the new Magenta release makes it so easy. If you have not seen the new stamps and stencils from Magenta, you can view the collection here. I chose a new stamp designed by Nathalie for these cards.

This first card is for my daughter, and she loves color. I started this card by placing a white panel into my stamp platform. The panel is cut to 5" x 3.75" with a stitched border, using the Lawn Fawn die LF768 Small Stitched Rectangle Stackables. 

On top of the white panel, I placed a scrap of watercolor cardstock that I had worked with Nuance. I die-cut the square using the Die-namics MFT-860 Inside Outside Stitched Squares. This left a stitched edge on the scrap, and also on the panel I took it from.

These are the panels I cut the squares from. I can use these on other cards. I didn't use the square cut from the middle one this time, because I used a larger square die from the set, and the piece was too big for the stamp I chose. It will be fine for another project.

I stamped the square piece and the area surrounding the square with Versamark ink. I embossed the image on the square with JudiKins White Diamond embossing powder which gives such a beautiful sparkle in real life. Leaving the white panel in the platform, I stamped it again with Versafine Onyx Black ink and embossed it in JudiKins Clear Detail embossing powder. I stamped the Happy Birthday sentiment with black and embossed in clear also.

I matched the square up with the image beneath it and adhered it carefully with Be Creative tape, which has a very strong hold. I matted the panel with Red Malmero Pearl cardstock, and adhered it to a base card of110#  Neenah Solar White.

The card for my friend has the same design, but a very different appearance. My friend likes the black and white cards I make for her, so this one would be no different. I made it the same way, but the stamp was rotated differently, and I actually liked it in this direction better.

Magenta Products Used:

14.678.O Petal Flourish - Flowers and Leaves

07.305.G Happy Birthday

MNU002 Bright Yellow

MNU006 Orange

MNU008 Golden Yellow

MNU010 Scarlet

MNU015 Red

Other Products Used:

Lawn Fawn LF768 Small Stitched Rectangle Stackables
Die-namics MFT860 Inside/Outside Square Layers
Versamark ink
Versafine Onyx Black ink
JudiKins White Diamond embossing powder
JudiKins Detail Clear embossing powder
Neenah Solar White 80# & 110# Cardstock
Malmero Pearl Red cardstock
Tim Holtz watercolor cardstock

Fast and Fun Birthday Cards Part 1

This post will partly be a walk down memory lane, and I have provided some examples of previous cards, plus some links to past posts using the featured techniques.

I still need to replenish my supply of Birthday cards; I have so many friends and relatives that I want to send a card to on their special day. You will see a lot of Birthday sentiments on my cards for a while now.  I think that a sentiment like "Have a Beautiful Day can work for a Birthday card, or for lots of special occasions, or even just saying Thinking of You.

I recently acquired this great set of Tim Holtz Multi-Media #5 dies by Sizzix (662688). I like to make pretty backgrounds, so I love dies like this. If you have lots of nice backgrounds, putting the card together is pretty simple. There are three dies in this set. I cut the background panels to 5.25" x 4", and the white panel that I die-cut was cut to 5" x 3.75" using the largest size die in the  Lawn Fawn LF768 Small Stitched Rectangle Stackables. The sentiment is from Magenta, and was stamped using Versafine Onyx Black ink.

I started with some backgrounds that I had previously made while playing with various techniques.

The top left and bottom right backgrounds shown above were made by "stencil stamping." I have several posts on this technique, here, here (please scroll down for the stencil stamped cards), here, here, here, and here. This has been a favorite technique for a long time, and I used to really enjoy demo'ing it when I worked at Art 'n Soul.

Here is an example of a previous card using stencil stamping.

You can find the original post for this card here

The bottom left panel is just blended Distress Oxide ink with some splatters of water thrown on it. If you want to see my Distress Oxide overview post, packed with lots of information about using Distress Oxide inks, please go here. I also have fun techniques with Oxide inks here, here, here and here.

Here is an example of a card using blended Oxide inks

You can find the original post for this card here

The panel in the upper left of the photo showing the different backgrounds was done with one of the most popular techniques I have ever shown on my blog. It's a technique with Oxide inks, using Distress glaze over the Oxide. For a tutorial on how to do this technique, please go here. For some other posts with cards using this technique, go here, here and here.

Here is an example of a card using the Distress Oxide glaze technique

You can find the original post for this card here

The final panel above, that is already covered with a die-cut (the orange one) was made using Nuance. Nuance is a fabulous powdered color from Magenta, and is lots of fun to use. If you search for Nuance on my blog, you will see lots of posts for many techniques using it. Here is a card using Nuance.

You can find the original post for this card here

Here's a look at all of the finished cards I made from this one die, and all of the beautiful backgrounds I chose out from my stash. I will have a second post using another die from this set soon.

Magenta Products Used:

07.969.F have a Beautiful day!

Other Products Used:

Tim Holtz Multi-Media #5 dies by Sizzix 662688

Lawn Fawn LF768 Small Stitched Rectangle die set

Versafine Onyx Black ink

For products used to make the various backgrounds, please 

refer to the original posts for those techniques.

Magenta Super Saturday with Dianne - Hello! Painting with Nuance

Time for my Super Saturday post on the Magenta Blog again. You can see my post on their blog here.

I really love stamps with a lot of solid surface because there are so many techniques you can do with them. There is a brand new one from Magenta that is perfect for painting with Nuance. This is a technique that I taught at a workshop in Holland at the Art Specialty event there last year. (So much fun)! Click Here to see the post I did for that card. Below is my new card featuring this technique.

First I arranged the stamps onto my MISTI. Any stamping tool, or even an acrylic block would work for this. I'm using a panel of Tim Holtz watercolor cardstock that I die cut with the Die-namics MFT-463 Blueprints 13 stitched rectangle die, which cuts a panel that is 5.25" x 4"

This new stamp set, called "Songbirds in Reeds" is one of a new type of stamp that Magenta is making, where there are two stamps in the set, and you can use one or both, and you can repeat one or both as well. I love the versatility of these stamps. Another one is the beautiful 0757.P "Blackbird Silhouette" that you can find here.

I picked up the stamps on the door of my MISTI, and prepared to paint them with Nuance.

I selected some Nuance colors in blues and greens (and one orange), and tapped the powders into a palette. If you have never used Nuance, it's so versatile and fun. It's powdered color that comes in little jars, and it's best to put a pushpin into the top of each jar. When you use it, take out the pin and tap some powder out. The powder is highly pigmented and can be very intense, so a little goes a long way. I made several cards, and did not use all of the powder in my palette, but I will keep it and use it on another project.

I wet my brush and put in on a paper towel to take out a lot of the water You want to use a damp brush for this technique. I picked up Nuance powder and brushed it onto the stamp. If your brush gets too dry and doesn't pick up the powder very well, touch a tip of the brush into some water and keep going. Be sure to wash off your brush between each color.

Sorry for the less than stellar cell phone pictures, but I'm trying to show what it looks like when you are painting on the stamps. Before I was finished, I painted on a little orange as well. The colors will be very intense once stamped. After painting the stamps, I spritzed with water. You don't need a lot. The color should start to slightly bead up on the stamps.

You can see the cool watercolor-like look you get with this technique. At the end I got some more Nuance color on my brush and tapped out some splatters. I stamped the beautiful Sally Penley "hello!" stamp using Versafine Clair Paradise ink. I hope you try this, it's super fun!

Magenta Products used:

0759.Q Songbirds in Reeds / Oiseaux des roseaux

07.976.G hello!

Nuance colors:

MNU001 - Turquoise

MNU011 - Cerulean Blue/Bleu

MNU013 - Royal Blue/Bleu Royal

MNU004 - Jade

MNU009 - Grass Green/Vert

MNU006 - Orange

Other Products used:

Die-namics MFT-463 Blueprints 13 die set

Versamark ink

Versafine Clair Paradise ink

Tim Holtz watercolor cardstock

Malmero Pearl Blue cardstock

Neenah Solar White 110# cardstock