2019 Happy Holidays Card Series | Day 5 | Winter's Beauty

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

Hindsight is one of those super fun things where you consider what you would do differently if you could go back to a certain point, knowing what you know now.

For example, if I could go back to when I created this year's collection, knowing what I know now, I probably would include at least one Holiday Get Well Card. Because 'Tis the Season, right?

My co-workers are sick, my daughter is sick and shockingly, I'm feeling rather stuffed up. So if I had the opportunity to go back, today's card would be a festive get well card. Sorry about your Yuletide illnesses.

But that's the thing about hindsight. We can't go back. We just keep moving forward and work with what we've got; shoulda, woulda, coulda.

Today's card features the Sketched Flowers from Simon Says Stamp. I stamped this image with VersaMark ink on 110lb Copic-friendly cardstock, then heat embossed it with Lawn Fawn's Gold embossing powder.

The greeting, stamped the same way, is from CTMH "To You and Yours, Seasons and Nature".

I then coloured all the images with Copic markers. I wanted to keep all the colours on the very cool side of the spectrum to create a beautiful winter bouquet.

I know that there have been many people saying that using Copic markers with a heat embossed image will ruin your nibs. Maybe. Perhaps it *might* ruin your nibs. I have personally never had a problem and I love the way the image looks afterwards. I won't tell you to do it, but I don't think you should let someone else tell you not to do it either. You need to do what you are comfortable with. Just be careful.

I created a splatter using the "Perfect Gold" Perfect Pearls, and trimmed about a half an inch off the top to add the golden strip and the black piece.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar, over on Facebook and on YouTube. Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Think this card looks familiar? That's because I did a blog and a video of this design last year for a YouTube tutorial using Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers. You can check out that video here!

Happy Wishes | ft. Simon Says Stamp "Beautiful Day"

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

I know I've been sporadic in my posts lately, and I apologize. I'm trying, I really am. But I've started a second job. This one is full time. So now, I'm working full time Monday to Friday as well as part time at my other job, every other weekend. So, needless to say, I'm a little tired. It's good though. The new job is very suited to who I am and the environment is fantastic. There's a lot of transit time involved, so all in all it works out to about an 11 hour day, provided I get out on time.

Anyway, today I have a birthday card featuring the Simon Says Stamp "Beautiful Day" stamp set which came with the May 2018 Card Kit.

To begin, I prepped a piece of 110lb Copic-friendly cardstock with my powder tool and heat embossed three of the smaller butterflies with detail gold embossing powder. I then coloured the images with Copic markers and fussy cut them out.

I used a piece of the pink patterned paper from Lawn Fawn's Rainbow paper pack and a narrow piece of gold glitter cardstock to create an accent strip down the left side of my standard A2 sized card base. I stamped the greeting from CTMH using Lawn Fawn's Wild Rose ink. To ensure I got a good impression I stamped it twice using the MISTI.

I then adhered my butterflies down and used a scattering of sparkling clear crystals from Studio Katia to add some embellishment and interest.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow on the right side bar, over on Facebook and on YouTube! Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Interactive Father's Day Slider Card | ft. Lawn Fawn "Plane and Simple"

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

Today I have an interactive slider card, featuring Lawn Fawn "Plane and Simple" stamp set, along with their Slide on Over dies and a DIY stencil for the background.

I recommend watching in HD over on YouTube!

So I'm going to open with saying that this is not my favourite card. I don't hate it, and while I was making it everything was all great and wonderful. It was after, it just came out more plain (no pun intended) than I had wanted. 

That being said, it would work perfectly for the type of dad who is a simple kind of guy. The type of guy that just puts his head down and gets to work because it has to be done. My Dad was like that, he was a down to earth guy who did what needed to be done. He didn't like fanfare or fancy stuff. He was this amazing man who put everyone else before himself because that's just who he was, and I miss him so much.

Check out the video above to see how this card was made. I'll go through the creation process and you'll be able see how the slider is put together, the Copic markers I chose as well as how I finished off the inside of the card.

I hope you like today's card (and video) and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar, over on Facebook and on YouTube! Drop me a line in the comments section below. To see how I created the cloud stencils, please click here.

Leafy Birthday | Ft. Lawn Fawn "Stitched Leaves Dies"

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

My super awesome Aunt asked me to make some masculine birthday cards, and today I'm going to share one with you featuring Lawn Fawn's "Stitched Leaves Dies". These leaves are fantastic for both positive and negative space use, and I have several cards that use them both ways. Today I'm going to be using the positive portion of the die cut (so the piece you actually cut out).

To begin, I created my top fold A2 sized card base from a piece of 65lb Kraft cardstock from Recollections. This was originally intended to stand upright, but I decided on a greeting that worked better this way. Just gotta roll with it.

I then used the Stitched Leaves dies to cut these leaves and used Distress Ink to give them some fall colours.

For the accent strip I cut a piece of dark brown cardstock to just under an inch wide and adhered 9 lengths of neutral bakers twine with a piece of 1/2" Skor Tape. I then adhered down the leaves using Nuvo Deluxe Liquid glue - which has become one of my most reached for liquid adhesives. It's so fantastic and I don't have to worry that things are going to wiggle loose.

I stamped the greeting using CTMH Cocoa ink - I did this in the MISTI so I could stamp it twice to get a really good impression.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar, over on Facebook and on YouTube! Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

This card is for:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge

For the Boys

Super Fun Bokeh Birthday | ft. Lawn Fawn "Let's Bokeh"

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day!

Today I'm showing you two cards, created with Lawn Fawn's "Let's Bokeh" stamp set and some Distress Oxide ink. The Mermaid Lagoon and Squeezed Lemonade are my absolute favourite summer colours; they're so bright and happy and when they come together, they make the prettiest green ever.

I recommend watching in HD on YouTube!

Check out the video above to see how these cards came together, and the one little thing I would do differently if (*when) I make them again.

The crystals from Pretty Pink Posh coordinated so perfectly with the Distress Inks. I'm not gonna lie; I was pretty please with myself over this. 

I hope you like the cards (and video) for today and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar, over on Facebook and on YouTube! Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Floral Thoughts Series Birthday | ft. Copic No-Line Colouring

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

Today I'd like to share a birthday card I created using Clearly Besotted stamps and the no-line colouring technique with Copic markers.

To begin, I stamped the tulips image from Clearly Besotted "Friends Forever" with CTMH Linen Ink on 110lb Copic-friendly cardstock. The Linen ink is incredibly light and nearly invisible once it has dried on the paper. It is also Copic-friendly (as long as you don't go crazy with your markers) making it the perfect ink for no-line colouring.

I used a selection of yellow markers, starting with my darkest in the areas where I wanted the deepest shadows, then pulling the colour out with the middle shade then finally the lightest. I repeated the process for each petal, then went back after the entire bloom was completed to enhance the shadows as needed.

I used the same technique for each section of the leaves and stems, I didn't want to colour all the dark areas or light areas first as I would lose the lines and it would just look like a blob. Once I was happy with the Copic colouring, I went over some of the areas with my Prismacolor Premier Pencils to add some fine detail.

I masked off the floral images and smooshed some light blue ink on an acrylic block and watered it down. I then took a small fan brush and swooshed the blue back and forth across the background to create some interest.

For my greeting, I stamped the Happy Birthday with a blue ink to really bring out the blue of the background as well as create a contrast to the flowers.

I tied a piece of baker's twine around the front to create a bow, and then adhered the panel to a coordinating piece of shimmering cardstock. I then mounted the entire lot to the front of a top fold standard A2 sized card base.

Finally, because I just can't stop myself, I adhered some iridescent crystals from Studio Katia across the front of the panel.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar, over on Facebook and on YouTube! Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

This card is for:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge

Happy Birthday

Fairy Shaker Birthday | ft. Lawn Fawn "Fairy Friends"

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

Today I have a fun shaker card that I made for my little daughter's friend's birthday. I wanted this card to be bright and fun because once again it's cold and yucky here in Calgary. We get these waves of nice weather and then it goes back to dreary and lemme tell ya, I'm pretty done with this. The warm weather is nice and it starts to melt then it freezes completely and everything is just an ice rink. Not fun.

Or you can watch in HD over on YouTube!

Check out the video above for the full tutorial on how I made this shaker, as well as all the Copics used and how I just couldn't stop embellishing it at the end. Honestly, I just couldn't stop myself!

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar, over on Facebook and now on YouTube! Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think!

Watercolour Wishes | ft. Clearly Besotted "Merci Beaucoup"

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

I know that many of us started making cards as a way of expression. We don't always have the words, whether the right ones or enough of them to convey what we feel, and while we could easily pick up another form of art; painting or drawing, we're drawn to cards because of the emotion an image can send.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words and maybe that's true. A handmade card is like that. We channel our emotions into colouring or painting, stamping or paper piecing and the recipient knows the time and effort that was put in. They know the love and thought behind the little card they hold in their hands when they open the envelope.

For some people, a card is a card; but for others they can feel the difference between something that was lovingly (and often painstakingly) put together instead of one that was grabbed off the shelf while getting a jug of milk.

To begin, I stamped the rose from Clearly Besotted "Merci Beaucoup" set with Antique Linen Distress Ink on Strathmore 140lb cold press watercolour paper using the MISTI. I used the MISTI for this because the ink is so light it takes a couple stamps to get an impression that you can see clearly while colouring.

I then used a mix of my Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers and Distress inks to watercolour the image.

Once that was completely dry, I returned the panel to my MISTI and stamped the greeting from CTMH "Cursive Birthday" with CTMH Cranberry pigment ink. I then adhered the panel to a piece of coordinating cardstock cut just a bit larger, and mounted the whole lot to a standard A2 size card base.

To finish off the card I added a few clear droplets from Pretty Pink Posh to look like drops of dew. These droplets have a bit more dimension to them than I would like, but the final result is always amazing.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar, over on Facebook and now on YouTube! Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Happy Heart Day Series | Window Panel ft. Stampin' Up "Rose Wonder"

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

Happy Valentine's Day! Today I have the final card in this year's Happy Heart Day series. I've had this Rose Wonder set by Stampin' Up sitting in my craft room forever. Well not really forever, but for a very long time.

For the life of me, I cannot fathom why I don't use it more. The rose is perfect for so many different occasions, not to mention how great it is for practicing shading and colouring in any medium imaginable.

To begin, I used one of my rectangle dies from Spellbinders to cut a window out of the front of a standard A2 sized card base as well as from the piece of glitter paper that is the frame on the front. I used some post-it tape to line the glitter paper with the card base, and hold the die in place to cut them at the same time, this way the window lines up perfectly.

I then trimmed down a piece of acetate to match the size of the outer edge of the frame and stamped the rose with StazOn ink with the MISTI. I had to stamp it a couple of times because my ink pad is on its way out; even then there were a few places that the impression wasn't awesome, so I used a smooth surface black pen to fill in those areas.

I adhered the acetate to the back of the frame then mounted that to the front of the card base, so the entire front of the card is a window.

I stamped the "Love" with CTMH Tulip ink, again using the MISTI as this is a dye ink and doesn't give the best impression the first time around. I used Memento Tuxedo Black ink for the "with".

I wanted to provide a better picture of how this card would look if it were standing partially open, as cards tend to do when we display them.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar, over on Facebook and now on YouTube! Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Floral Thoughts Series | Watercolour Birthday ft. Clearly Besotted "Fresh Flowers" and Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

Today, I wanted to share a birthday card that I had created for my Grandmother. She loves florals, so I had no option but to choose Clearly Besotted. Their floral collection is like nothing I have ever seen before. The detailed designs lend a sense of realism, while still giving us all the space we need to colour using any medium we like.

She also loves watercolour, so I opted to use the Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers as my medium for today.

To begin, I stamped this floral image from Clearly Besotted's "Fresh Flowers" with Antique Linen Distress Ink on Strathmore 140lb cold press watercolour paper. I chose to use Antique Linen for my stamping because I wanted to do a "no line" watercolour. Distress Inks will react with water and the lines will fade away when you apply the watercolour to an area. I suggest using the MISTI or another stamping tool because of the texture of the paper, you'll want to get a good impression.

I then used my Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers, applying the colour only where I wanted the darkest areas to be then using clean water to pull the colour out towards the edges of each petal. It's important not to work in areas that are right next to each other so they don't bleed together.

Once the image was completely dry, I used my white gel pen to add highlights to the ends of the little stems (?) in the centre of each flower.

My greeting, from CTMH "Cursive Birthday" set is stamped with CTMH Gypsy pigment ink. I added a scattering of coordinating sequins across the panel and adhered the watercolour piece to a slightly larger piece of purple cardstock. Then I mounted the whole lot to the front of a standard A2 sized card base.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar or over on Facebook, so you don't miss any future posts. Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Monster Hugs | ft Lawn Fawn "Monster Mash" and Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

We've all needed a get well card for someone we care about. Whether they're just feeling down and we want to help cheer them up, or there's an illness and our only expression is the written word. It's always nice to know that someone, somewhere is thinking about us when we need that support the most.

I've done many get well cards, usually floral thinking of you type things that are pretty or simple cute designs to make someone smile; but what about those kids that are under the weather? With social media recording our every day lives, we see more and more these really sick kids that are missing out on family gatherings, birthday parties and school.

Today I have a get well card, specifically for those kids. They may be going through things that most adults could never dream of, but deep down, they're still kids - and finding the right expression, something they will understand is very important.

To begin, I stamped the monsters from Lawn Fawn's "Monster Mash" with CTMH archival ink on Strathmore 140lb cold press watercolour paper. I created my own greeting using part of the sentiment from the same set and the large letters from CTMH "Framework Alphabet".

To colour each area, I added a line of colour with the Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers where I wanted the deepest colour and then used clean water to pull the colour out. If you haven't used these markers, I highly recommend you check out my review (linked above) and give them a try. These were definitely one of the best purchases I have ever made.

For the grass and the sky, I wet the paper with clean water then dropped in the colour from the pen, I wanted it to be rather vibrant, so this took a couple layers - there is a ton of pigment in these pens and they blend incredibly well.

Once the panel was completely dry, I used super sticky two-way tape to adhere it to the front of a standard A2 sized card base.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar or over on Facebook, so you don't miss any future posts. Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Sympathy Silhouette | ft. Distress Inks

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

We all have our favourite types of cards to make, I seem to go through phases - aside from whichever season or series I'm working on, I find I typically make a lot of birthday cards to fill in the spaces but every so often I find myself making a lot of sympathy cards - or "thinking of you" cards that can be used as sympathy cards.

I find them calming and comforting when I'm not feeling very awesome.

To begin, I used Chipped Sapphire, Faded Jeans, Dusty Concord and Seedless Preserves Distress Ink to create my background. I then splattered it with clean water and patted it dry with a clean paper towel.

Once the background was completely dry, I used the floral silhouette stamp from CTMH "Paper Garden" with archival ink. I prefer to use archival ink because it is waterproof and won't bleed if the background isn't actually completely dry.

I stamped the greeting with the same archival ink and then mounted that panel to the front of a standard A2 sized card base (this time in black). To finish off the card I added a few mini diamonds to brighten it up a touch and to add a bit of embellishment because I just can't stop myself.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar or over on Facebook, so you don't miss any future posts. Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Sincere Thanks and a Little Lesson About Glitter Pens

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

I had considered not posting this. I didn't really look at the picture before I gave the card away, so I didn't have the option of taking a second one. I suppose I could have redone the card, but then I thought I'd keep the post and share a little something I learned about glitter pens.

To begin, I stamped the rose image and the greeting from Clearly Besotted "Merci Beaucoup" with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on 110lb Copic-friendly cardstock. I coloured the image with Copic markers.

To add some interest, I rounded the corners at the bottom of both the panel and the 4 bar card base. Finally I added a few mini diamonds from CTMH.

Here's where I went wrong. I wanted the flower to sparkle. And not just a little bit. So I went over it when my clear Wink of Stella glitter brush pen. But because I'm me, and I can't stop myself - I waited until it was dry, then went over it again. Then again. And very possibly a fourth time; who's counting?

Looking at the picture, you're all probably thinking "uh not your best colouring, Trina" - but no, that's just glitter. Lots and lots of glitter. So a couple things I learned from this: first, check the picture before giving away the card and second, maybe four or five layers of glitter is just a bit too much.

So it sparkled. Like a whole lot and in real life it doesn't look this incredibly weird. Let's be honest as pictures go - this one makes up for every other one that I have ever posted where I said "the camera just doesn't pick up the shine".

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar or over on Facebook, so you don't miss any future posts. Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

You Do You | Single Layer ft. Distress Oxide Inks

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

Getting to know myself has been one of the hardest things I have ever started to do. I say started because I spent a very long time putting my needs and dreams and wants last. Sounds funny? Maybe you're one of the lucky ones. My time as a stay at home mom over the last five and a half years had me making everyone but myself a priority. It's kids and husband and house first.

Part of me is super excited to try and focus on me and see what it is that I want to do. I want to do something that makes me happy and I want to do something where I feel accomplished. You know what I'm saying.

To begin, I masked off the front of a standard A2 sized card base and used Abandoned Coral and Wild Honey Distress Oxide ink to create the background.

Once that was dry, I put the card base in the MISTI and stamped the image and greeting using CTMH Archival black ink. I love to use archival ink (and CTMH is my favourite) over the Distress inks because it is waterproof - so in the event that the coloured ink isn't completely dry the black won't run.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar or over on Facebook, so you don't miss any future posts. Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Shadow Butterflies | ft. Forever In Time "Butterfly Fancy"

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

A little while ago, I posted a card using a new (to me) stamp company and I really liked the results. Recently, I've been able to get my hands on some other sets and while the stamps themselves definitely need some "prepping" to be ink-ready, I'm enjoying the new designs.

To begin, I cut down a piece of Strathmore Bristol Smooth cardstock and used Salty Ocean and Broken China Distress Oxide inks to create the background. Once that was relatively dry, I used the Distress sprayer to spritz clean water and give the distressed look we all love.

I hit that with my heat tool - because I learned from the last piece that sometimes they take forever to dry. I then used a bunch of the butterflies from Forever In Time's "Butterfly Fancy" and Daisy White pigment ink from CTMH to stamp them randomly over the panel. I used first and second generation stamping to create a swarm.

While the lighting was pretty good, the camera didn't seem to want to really pick up the different layers of depth that was on the card. So in real life these butterflies are more bold than you can see here.

Once the white was dry, I stamped the greeting from CTMH "Cursive Birthday" using Pacifica pigment ink. I generally have pretty good luck stamping larger solid images with pigment ink, but less luck stamping the greetings - perhaps because the lines are finer - I seem to get these "trenches" in the ink. So I did this part of the stamping using my MISTI.

I mounted the piece to a coordinating piece of blue cardstock then adhered the whole piece to the front of a standard A2 sized card base.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar or over on Facebook, so you don't miss any future posts. Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Golden Birthday | ft. Clearly Besotted "Friends Forever"

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

Today I wanted to share a card that I was asked to create as part of a box set. She wanted two masculine and two feminine birthday cards - but "nice". Personally, I think all my cards are nice, that's why I continue to make them. But I know that isn't what she meant. She simply meant she didn't want the cutesy stuff that I love doing.

Something more elegant was required. Luckily, I love doing those as well.

To begin, I stamped the tulip image from Clearly Besotted's "Friends Forever" stamp set with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on 110lb Copic-friendly cardstock. I then masked off the image and sponged around the outside of the panel with Dried Marigold Distress Ink.

Once that was dry, I removed the mask and coloured the flower with Copic markers. I prepped the lower half of the panel with my powder tool and stamped the greeting from CTMH "Cursive Birthday" with VersaMark ink and heat embossed it with gold embossing powder.

I adhered the panel to a piece of shimmering yellow cardstock then mounted the whole lot to the front of a standard A2 sized card base.

To finish off the card I adhered a scatting of Sparkling Clear Sequins by Pretty Pink Posh across the front.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar or over on Facebook, so you don't miss any future posts. Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Looking for Comfort | ft. Newton's Nook "Newton's Sick Day"

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

I mentioned yesterday that things have not been spectacular around here. There are waves of "maybe it was all a dream" but then it all comes crashing back and it wasn't a dream. It happened and then comes a wave of crushing sadness. You lose time, and wonder why your coffee is cold even though you just poured it.

Sadness is a kind of sick, so today I made myself a get well card. Maybe you don't want to hear my random thoughts that just need to get out, maybe you do. I honestly don't know. I do know, however, that if I don't get them out somewhere, there's a good chance I'll explode and then my super clean craft room will be a big mess again.

To begin, I cut two banner pieces from 110lb Copic-friendly cardstock. I then cut a circle out of the one that will be the top. I lined the two pieces up and lightly traced a circle with my pencil on to the bottom piece.

The circle will be the guide for where I stamp this kitty image from Newton's Nook "Newton's Sick Day", I then erased the pencil line and coloured the image with Copic markers.

For the background panel, I used my largest stitched rectangle frame and cut a piece of the same cardstock. I used the little hearts from the same set and stamped them in CTMH Whisper ink randomly to create my own subtle patterned paper.

I used the same stamp with CTMH Cranberry ink to create a bolder pattern on the front banner. I adhered the banners together with some foam tape and then used a turquoise ribbon (as close of a match as I could find to the soup bowl) and tied it through the holes at the top.

Finally I mounted the banner to my background panel and adhered the whole thing to the front of a standard A2 sized card base.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar or over on Facebook, so you don't miss any future posts. Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

This card is for:

2 Crafty Critter Crazies
Challenge #10

Monochrome Monday Series | Green Birthday ft. Distress Oxide Inks

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

Happy New Year to all of you! With the new year, I have a few new series' coming and since the year starts on a Monday and we're all fans of alliteration, I thought to start out with Monochrome Mondays.

In this series, I'll be showcasing monochrome cards - this is really an effort to keep myself challenged and thinking outside of my comfort zone.

The last week has turned my whole world upside down and let me tell you it has not been awesome. Everything I thought I knew and held so close to my heart has been taken away and while it has been super fantastic for my creativity the rest of me feels lost and alone.

To begin I cut down a piece of Strathmore Bristol Smooth cardstock and used Peeled Paint and Lucky Clover Distress Oxide inks to create the background. I didn't really think that these two would blend the way I saw in my head, so I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out pretty darn close.

Once that was mostly dry - I really should have waited longer but I'm not exactly a patient person I used the circles from Lawn Fawn's "Let's Bokeh" stamp set with Daisy White ink from CTMH to create the Bokeh effect. I was a couple spots in when I realized that the Distress Oxide wasn't completely dry. So the spots are lighter than I wanted them to be and they picked up the green. In order to avoid contaminating my white, I wiped it clean with a baby wipe between applications.

I hit the panel with my heat tool to get all the pigment inks to dry, I really wish there were a more efficient way to get pigments to dry. They aren't even consistent. I've had pieces dry within half an hour and others that I had to leave overnight. It can be very frustrating.

Once the panel was pretty dry, I stamped the leaves from an old Inkadinkado set using Olive ink from CTMH in the lower right corner.

For the greeting I stamped a "Happy Birthday" from CTMH's "Cursive Birthday" with Olive pigment ink.

Finally, I mounted the Bristol panel to a darker green cardstock then adhered the whole piece to the front of a standard A2 sized card base.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar or over on Facebook, so you don't miss any future posts. Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Technique Tip | Silhouette Stamping with CTMH Inks

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

I thought I would try something that is a little different for me. We all know how much I love stamping the images and colouring them in, but the solid stamps in my sets generally don't get as much love as they should.

Today, I decided to give some silhouette stamping a try. This is a fun technique, that I think looks best of a non-white cardstock, where you stamp the image with a light colour, then stamp again, but offset, with a darker colour.

To begin, I cut down a piece of 65lb kraft cardstock by Recollections, and used a square die to cut a window from the middle. I then cut down a piece of 65lb black cardstock to layer underneath the kraft with a smaller window cut out, so that everything would look nicely framed up.

I adhered the black piece directly to the front of my standard A2 sized card base and set that aside.

I used CTMH White Daisy ink for the first round of stamping, using greenery from Verve Stamps "Great Friend" and the flower from Forever In Time Stamps "Sunshine Daisies" randomly around the kraft panel.

Once the white was dry (it takes longer because it is a pigment ink), I used CTMH Pear and Topiary inks for the greens and Smoothie for the flowers, stamping again slightly offset of the first layer.

I then used the "Thank You" stamp from Verve Stamps "Autumn Splendor" to stamp the greeting inside the window.

Finally, I adhered the kraft panel over the black panel to complete the card.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar or over on Facebook, so you don't miss any future posts. Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Coloured on Kraft | Vintage Belated Birthday ft. Lawn Fawn "Gleeful Gardens"

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

Today I have another card for the Coloured on Kraft series. I'm using new pencils today and while I haven't done a review of these yet, there is definitely one coming soon.

The pencils I'm using today are the Black Widow and Scorpion sets, at first I was a little put off as they aren't as vibrant on the kraft as the Prismacolor Premier pencils that I typically use, but as I worked through this piece, I found that I really liked the "vintage" look that they gave.

To begin, I cut down a panel of 65lb kraft cardstock by Recollections and masked off the bottom. I then stamped the images and greeting from Lawn Fawn's "Gleeful Gardens" using CTMH Cashmere ink.

I coloured the images with the Black Widow and Scorpion Pencils. I also used them to create my own grass to ground the scene and the dirt to fill in the bottom.

I tied a piece of soft blue baker's twine around the top below the greeting, and adhered my panel to the front of a standard A2 sized card base.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar or over on Facebook, so you don't miss any future posts. Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.