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

Magenta Super Saturday - April 2019 Collection is Available!

Hi everyone, I'm over at the Magenta Blog today and you can see that post here.

The April 2019 new collection of stamps and stencils is available at the Magenta store, and you can look at the collection here. Click on "Rubberstamps" to see the new collection of stamps, and on "Templates and Masks" to see the new collection of stencils.  I'm loving all of the new stamps, and the stencils are amazing!

Today I'm using one of the new stamps, Bloom Crescent. I can really see that this stamp will be one of my all-time favorites. It's beautiful and would be amazing colored with color pencils, watercolors, Nuance, markers...really just anything.

Due to a difficult first few months of this year, I am completely out of Sympathy cards. I need to make more, and this stamp lends itself well to that; but I also think it could be used for almost any occasion.

Since this is a Sympathy card, I wanted it to be simple but elegant. I colored part of the blossoms with Distress Ink used as watercolor. The image was partially stamped four times with Versamark and embossed with silver embossing powder. The sentiment, which is one of Sally Penley's beautiful designs, was stamped with Distress Ink to match the blossoms.

it was hard to photograph it so you could see the beautiful shine of the silver embossing. It's very pretty in real life. Part of the blooms are not colored to represent loss.

My apologies for not posting as often as I used to. We are super busy with our family right now, including our wonderful new grandson. Our daughter, her husband and their son will be permanently moving to Iceland in July, and I am trying to spend as much time as I can with them before they leave. My hands are itching to use more of these gorgeous new stamps and stencils from Magenta though, and I hope to be able to do so in the near future.

Magenta Products used:

09.256.P Bloom Crescent

07.984.E With Sympathy

Other Products Used:

Distress Inks: Peacock Feathers, Wilted Violet

Versamark Ink

JudiKins Detail Silver embossing powder

So Silk Glamour Green cardstock

Tim Holtz watercolor cardstock

Neenah Solar White 110# cardstock

Lawn Fawn LF768 Small Stitched Rectangle Stackables

Magenta Super Saturday - Brushed Distress Oxide Backgrounds

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

For some time I have been wanting to play with the cool deckle edged rectangle and square stencils designed by Nathalie Métivier. I liked this one so much I intend to use more of them in the near future.

I taped my panel (cut to 3.75" x 5" using Lawn Fawn LF768 die) to the Magenta stencil TM276, positioning it so that I would use only 2 of the 3 rectangles on the stencil. I masked the edges off with post-it tape.  I used a makeup brush to add Tea Dye Distress Oxide, brushing from the sides toward the center of each rectangle.

I stamped the dotted texture stamp inside the shaded area, and then inked the Clover Silhouette stamp (designed by Magenta DT member Ellie Knol) up with Mowed Lawn Distress Oxide and stamped it. Since I was using a MISTI stamp platform, I was able to add some Dried Marigold Distress Oxide ink in a few places on the stamp and stamp it again.

I added the Sympathy sentiment last. This is one of Sally Penley's beautiful calligraphy stamps, and I stamped it with Versafine Onyx Black ink.

These are the brushes I used, and I really like them. I know that Picket Fence sells a set like this but I got mine on Amazon. They're really soft, and I didn't think that the color would be that intense, but it surprised me. I felt like I barely brushed it on, and the shading has such a smooth appearance. For this card I did shading, but I also plan to use them to do some blending inside of some of Nathalie's square and rectangular stencils and I'll share those in the future.

Magenta Products Used:

TM276 Three Rectangle Silhouettes

H.0259 Dotted Texture

48.011.L Clover Silhouette

07.984.E With Sympathy

Other Products Used:

Distress Oxide inks: Tea Dye, Mowed Lawn,

Dried Marigold

Versafine Onyx Black ink

Makeup Brushes

Lawn Fawn LF768 Small Stitched Rectangle Stackables dies

Post-It Tape

Stardream Flame cardstock

Neenah Solar White cardstock 80# & 110#

Magenta Super Saturday - Distress Oxide Blends

Hi everyone, I'm over at the Magenta Blog today, and you can see that post here. I have six cards for you!

I've been having a lot of fun doing Distress Oxide blends. The combinations are endless, and once you start it's hard to stop!

I was inspired by Kristina Werner to play with Oxide blending. She has been doing different Oxide blends every Friday for over a month now, and her videos are mesmerizing. You can see the first one here, and they are all worth looking at. Although I have not used her specific color combinations, I really do like how they all turned out, and won't hesitate to use her examples for future blends.

Instead of blending the entire card, I did masked blending, where I mask off a strip to make a place to blend the inks.  The strip you use can be horizontal or vertical, and can be of any width you prefer.

With all the backgrounds I did, I made six cards, and still have 4 backgrounds to use for future cards. The blending is easy and fun, and then you can just choose a beautiful stamp and a sentiment and you're done!

Can you tell that the Wilted Violet; Peacock Feathers, Twisted Citron combination is my favorite?

All of the color combinations are listed in the details below.

I want to show you something my hubby made for me to use to help with masked blending, and I think it would not be too hard for you to make also. I sometimes have trouble making my masked off areas straight and parallel, and making them the width I want. Measuring carefully is not one of my best talents. 

To make your own template like this one, take a piece of cardstock (I used 80# so it would go through the printer) and measure out a rectangle 4.25" x 5.5" in the center. This is the size of the cards I make, but you could make yours whatever size you prefer. Then put a tick mark every 1/4" along all 4 sides. My hubby did mine in photoshop, but you could easily just do it by hand with a ruler or a T-square.

You'll want to cut out the center rectangle, using a craft knife or use a paper cutter if you have the type of cutter that can make these partial cuts. The reason I wanted this template is so it would be easier to position my panel so that it would not move while I'm masking it. It's not as easy as it looks to get masks straight and parallel. Keep reading to see how this works.

I placed my 4.25" x 5" card panel into the center opening. This prevents the panel from moving while I mask it. You can see that with measurements on all 4 sides, you can mask it off in either the vertical or horizontal direction.

For masking, I used Post-it Removable Labeling Tape 695, and tore off pieces that would span the center panel horizontally. I chose 3/4" from the top of the panel for the first mask.

I chose 2.25" for the second mask, so that makes the center opening 1.5" wide. On another later panel, I chose a 2" opening. You can make the opening any size for the card you are planning.

Since I don't want to ink up my template, and I prefer to do ink blending on a craft mat, I just removed my masked off card panel. The masks stayed in place very well.

I placed the panel on my craft mat and chose 3 colors of Distress Oxide to blend. One of the tips from Kristina Werner is to blend these inks with a back and forth motion, rather than using little circular motions like you do with regular Distress. I found this to be a good tip. You will also have to alternate the colors several times to get a good blend, and to insure that one color does not overpower another.

My favorite part is removing the mask. You can use regular Distress ink to do blends like this also. I do find however, that the Oxide Distress inks blend much easier and more smoothly. This is because the Oxides are a hybrid of dye and pigment inks. The regular Distress inks are dye only, and that ink sinks right into the cardstock. The pigment portion of the Oxides stay on top for awhile, so the blending is easier. 

I turned each mask upside down and used them each twice. These were so fun and easy to make! I hope you'll try them.

I found the card below to be a more somber combination, and decided not to make it a birthday card. It looks like Fall to me, or maybe sunset. (Aged Mahogany, Abandoned Coral, Scattered Straw).

This one is going straight out to a good friend.

Card #1 Magenta Products Used:

02.319.L Floral Snowflake

07.975.I Large Happy Birthday

Card #1 Other Products Used:

Distress Oxide inks: Wilted Violet,

Peacock Feathers, Twisted Citron

Versamark ink

Versafine Onyx Black ink

JudiKins clear Detail embossing powder

Post-it Removable Labeling Tape 695

So Silk Glamour Green cardstock

Neenah Solar White 80# & 110# cardstock

Lawn Fawn LF768 Small Stitched Rectangle Stackables

Card #2 Magenta Products Used:

48.018.N Large Daisy

07.907.L Multilingual Happy Birthday

Card #2 Other Products Used:

Distress Oxide inks: Rusty Hinge, Wild Honey, 

Cracked Pistachio

Versamark ink

JudiKins Clear Detail embossing powder

JudiKins Detail Gold embossing powder

Stardream Copper metallic cardstock

Neenah Solar White 80# & 110# cardstock

Lawn Fawn LF768 Small Stitched Rectangle Stackables

Card #3 Magenta Products used:

I.0243 Dandelion Pollen

23.114.C Dots

07.907.L Multilingual Happy Birthday

Card #3 Other Products used:

Distress Oxide inks: Wilted Violet,

Peacock Feathers, Twisted Citron

Versamark ink

JudiKins Clear Detail embossing powder

JudiKins Detail Gold embossing powder

So Silk Fashion Purple cardstock

Neenah Solar White 80# & 110# cardstock

Lawn Fawn LF768 Small Stitched Rectangle Stackables

Card #4 Magenta Products used:

84.021.N Linen Flower Duo

07.430.I Happy birthday

Card #4 Other Products used:

Distress Oxide inks: Wilted Violet,

Peacock Feathers, Twisted Citron

Versamark ink

JudiKins Clear Detail embossing powder

JudiKins Detail Gold embossing powder

So Silk Glamour Green cardstock

Neenah Solar White 80# & 110# cardstock

Lawn Fawn LF768 Small Stitched Rectangle Stackables

Card #5 Magenta Products used:

48.020.M Large Rosa Canina

07.975.I Large Happy Birthday

Card #5 Other Products used:

Distress Oxide inks: Rusty Hinge, Wild Honey, 

Cracked Pistachio

Versamark ink

JudiKins Detail Gold embossing powder

Stardream Copper metallic cardstock

Neenah Solar White 80# & 110# cardstock

Lawn Fawn LF768 Small Stitched Rectangle Stackables

Card #6 Magenta Products used:

P.0757 Blackbird

07.971.F Sending hugs

Card #6 Other Products used:

Distress Oxide inks: Aged Mahogany,

Abandoned Coral, Scattered Straw

Versafine Onyx Black ink

Stardream Flame cardstock

Neenah Solar White 80# & 110# cardstock

Lawn Fawn LF768 Small Stitched Rectangle Stackables

Fast and Fun Birthday Cards Part 2

This is the second post showing cards I made using a new die set I acquired, Tim Holtz Multi-Media #5 dies by Sizzix (662688). I used two of the dies in the set. Dies like this make fast and easy cards if you're like me and love making lots of different backgrounds that you keep in your stash.

This second die looks more like a cherry blossom branch, and not only is it a lovely die, it shows the colors of the panel behind it very nicely.

I made 5 more cards - 4 Birthday cards and 1 Thank You card thrown in.

These are the panels I used for this set of cards. Some of them look familiar because they are like other background panels that I used in Part 1 of this 2-part series. Please go here for Part 1 of you did not see it. I give links to posts using the techniques for the different panels. All of the background panels above except one were made using stencil stamping. The top center panel was made using Nuance powdered color.

The background panels were cut to 4" x 5.25", and the white die-cut panels were cut to 3.75" x 5", with a stitched edge, using Lawn Fawn LF768 Small Stitched Rectangle Stackables.

Here are all of the die-cut panels on top of the backgrounds. I really think that almost any background would look great with these dies. The Thank You card happened because this is the perfect size stamp to stamp beside the die-cut image. I love how this stamp fits horizontally next to an image that takes up 2/3 of the rest of the panel.

Here are 4 of the finished cards. One had already been sent away before I photographed all of them together. I will be using these dies a lot in the future! I can quickly make a whole set of cards for a gift.

Magenta Products used:

07.975.I Happy Birthday Large

07.969.F have a Beautiful day!

07.882.I Thank You Multilingual

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 links to the techniques used on the background pieces for these cards, please go to Part 1 here