2019 Happy Holidays Card Series | Day 7 | Sea-Sons Greetings

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

So you know that moment when something bad happens? That moment when you're like "Well, "crap", did that just happen?" Not something catastrophic, that's not what I'm talking about here, but something that wasn't in the plan for that day. That was my yesterday.

After I got finished with Day 6, I loaded up my video games (because as cool as I make myself sound here, I'm actually a giant nerd), and everything was totally fine, I was going from one zone to the next and waiting on the loading screen, and waiting, and waiting.

And. Waiting.

After more than 5 minutes, and the game not booting me from the server (which is generally what happens when you get caught in the loading screen), I hit the windows key so I could manually shut down the game to restart. And my screen looked like something from the Matrix. Well "crap". It still brought up the start menu, so I shut down the computer, waited a bit and restarted.

Restart went fine, there was nothing delayed or anything like that, then my background went back to the Matrix. It allowed me to log in, and it all looked okay. It said I have some drivers to update, so I went to do that, download went fine. Then the install. That's when the site told me that these weren't even valid for my computer. The same site that scanned my computer and said I needed these drivers.

So ultimately, I ended up having to get a new computer. I'm still blogging on my old one, because nothing else has happened and all my programs are here, but gaming is now happening on a different computer.

The point to my very long story, is that sometimes things happen that are not according to plan.

When I saw the stamp set I used in today's card, my whole plan was a complete underwater Christmas series. The whole Christmas was going to be ocean themed. This set was just absolutely adorable, but as you can see from the previous cards in this year's series - that didn't actually happen, and if you could look into the future, you'd find that this was the only underwater card I created. It was the first card I made this year, but then stuff that I didn't plan on happened and it was the only ocean card.

I stamped the images from Christmas Fishes with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on 110lb Copic-friendly cardstock, masking them off as I went. I wanted to create a one layer card, but still have a lot of depth.

Once all the images were stamped, I masked the bottom, what will become my sandy area and used my dollarstore blending brushes to add some Tumbled Glass Distress Ink. I then used the wavy stencil and added more Distress Ink, trying to keep it darker around the edges.

Once that was dry, I masked off the upper portion and applied some Scattered Straw Distress Ink to the bottom, adding a very light touch of Gathered Twigs to darken it up.

I removed all the masks and coloured my images with Copic markers. I also used some of my brown Copics to add dots to the sand area, giving it more texture.

The greeting is Stamped with VersaFine Onyx ink and then heat embossed with clear embossing powder.

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.

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.

Butterfly Appreciation | ft. Simon Says Stamp "Beautiful Day"

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

Today I have a super quick Thank You card. A friend of mine is Chair of the Parent's association for her daughter's school, and she asked me to create a couple Administrative Appreciation cards for the ladies in the office.

So while the video is quick, it took me a little bit to sort out the design (luckily I had some inspiration!). She wanted them in the school colours, and this was as close to teal as I could get. She likes them, so it's a win!

I recommend watching in HD over on YouTube!

The video only shows one, but they are basically the same.

I supposed this would also technically fall into my monochrome series, but I haven't posted in a little while so I wanted to get this up right away, instead of waiting for Monday.

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 and let me know what you think.

This card is for:

Muse Challenge #262

Inspired by Kim Heggins

Her CAS design with the bluebird really helped me out for my card today!

Floral Thoughts Series | ft. Clearly Besotted "Sunshine & Smiles"

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

Today I have a clean and simple floral card for you. I really like designs such as this one, you can choose any colour palette and swap out the greeting to fit nearly any occasion that you need a card for.

The floral images by Clearly Besotted are my favourites, I love the fine lines the stamps give and the large blossoms are great for practicing colouring and shading in any medium you feel like working with!

To begin, I stamped this floral image and greeting from Clearly Besotted's "Sunshine & Smiles" set using Memento Tuxedo Black ink on 110lb Copic-friendly cardstock. I coloured it with Copic markers, then masked it off.

I then used Shaded Lilac Distress ink with my large Damask stencil to create a soft background.

Any time I use a stencil, whether for sponging (like this card) or with embossing paste, I always clean the stencil right away with warm soapy water (I use baby soap) and a stiff brush. I know that I don't have to do this as promptly with ink, but I have found it best to be consistent, because sooner or later there will be a day where I'm using embossing paste and I forget. Then I would be very sad.

I removed the mask and adhered the panel to a slightly larger purple piece and then mounted the whole lot to a standard A2 sized card base. To finish off the card I added clear Wink of Stella to the very centre of the flowers just to give it a bit of 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.

The poll product review poll closes tonight at 7pm (December 6 2017) so please click on over to Facebook and let me know what you would like to see reviewed!

Floral Thoughts Series | ft. Prismacolor Watercolour Pencils

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

Before I jump into Christmas, I thought I would share a card that has been sitting around my craft room for a while. We're descending rapidly into deep fall, yesterday it was t-shirt weather, today I sent my kids off to school in their winter jackets. That's life on the prairies. I'm sure tomorrow will be nice again, but today I wanted to extend the feeling of summer.

To begin, I stamped this floral image from Hero Arts (I don't remember the name of the stamp) on to 110lb white cardstock using CTMH Archival ink. I then used my Prismacolor watercolour pencils to shade in the areas where I wanted the most shadows and used clean water to pull the colour out.

When using water on regular cardstock - the trick is to make sure it is dry before adding more water. Luckily these pencils are fantastic for laying down layers and they blend so beautifully. If too much water is applied the paper will become gummy and your project will be ruined.

While that was drying I used some shimmering embossing paste through a stencil to create my background panel.

Once both panels were completely dry, I cut the floral image in half and used some super sticky two-way tape to adhere it to the embossed panel. I mounted those to a piece of silver shimmering cardstock from Recollections, leaving only the tiniest border and tied some yellow twine around them.

I then adhered those to the front of a standard A2 sized card base, and to finish it off I added a few enamel dots 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 out on any future posts. Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Wedding Wishes | Stenciling with Shimmer Paste

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

Today I thought I would share something other than a birthday card. It's been a crazy stretch for birthdays and and cute critters, and I thought I'd mix it up a bit. At the same time, I wanted to share the first look at a new (to me) product that I stumbled across. I'm pretty pleased with the results of this structure paste as this is an incredibly detailed stencil and definitely not the easiest test.

To begin, I cut down a piece of 110lb cardstock and prepped it with my powder tool. I stamped the accent frame and the greeting from Stampin' Up's "Rose Wonder" in VersaMark and heat embossed it using ultra fine silver embossing powder.

I then masked the area off, and secured the panel to my non-stick craft mat, I then placed my Damask stencil over top and secured that in place using some painters tape. I wanted to create a tone on tone look with a bit of texture so I used my Mother of Pearl Simply Acrylic structure paste by Daler-Rowney and spread that evenly over the top. This is a new product for me and once I play with it a bit more I'll have a product review for you.

As with all structure and embossing pastes, it is very important that you clean your tools and stencils as soon as possible. While it will come off after it dries, it is far easier to do this while it is still fresh. I removed the stencil and mask and set the panel aside and cleaned up all the tools. I like to use warm water with some baby soap and a extra soft toothbrush to get into all the little nooks and crannies.

Once the panel was dry, I adhered it to a piece of silver glitter paper for a nice sparkling boarder. I then added a 1.8" satin ribbon to the left and a scattering of iridescent sequins. Finally I adhered the whole piece to 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 over on the right side bar so you don't miss any future posts. If you are viewing this via mobile device, scroll to the bottom and click "View web version" first, you can also follow me over on Facebook. Toss me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Floral Thoughts Mini Series 1 | ft. Clearly Besotted

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

Welcome to the first day of my Floral Thoughts Mini Series! At this point I don't know how many cards will be in this series, but the thing is, I really (REALLY) love Clearly Besotted and floral images and "Just because" cards, so I figured I would make a mini series that will go on until I've moved on to something else.

I mentioned before that I recently got a nice little Clearly Besotted haul, and I cannot stop using them. I really can't say or recommend them enough.

To begin, I stamped the floral image from Clearly Besotted's "Friends Forever" stamp set with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on to Copic Friendly Paper. I also created a mask for the image using 2" post it tape.

I masked off the image and sponged Antique Linen Distress Ink with a random stencil (sorry, don't know which one or where it came from). I then removed the mask and coloured the image with Copic markers.

I then covered the flowers with clear Wink of Stella. I used some twine from my stash and wrapped it around the card base and then tied a knot.

I stamped the greeting in Memento ink as well so that the blacks would match. I had considered using sequins or enamel dots across the space, but it started to look way too cluttered and ultimately I'm very happy that I left them off.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own.

This card is for:

Time Out Challenge #57

"May all your Weeds be Wild Flowers"

Clean and Simple | ft. Clearly Besotted - Miniature Florals Collection II

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

Today was one of those days where not only the idea but the execution of this card came in a snap. I just got a nice sized haul of Clearly Besotted floral stamps and was itching to use them.

When it comes to floral images, this is the company to go with -- in my opinion. They have nice thin lines so whether you are stamping in black or embossing the lines of the image don't overpower the project.

I also find the flowers to be quite realistic, and with only a little Googling it is easy to find samples of the flowers in order to colour it as it would be in life.

To begin, I stamped the image using Memento Tuxedo Black Ink on Copic friendly paper. I also created a mask with a sticky note and cut it out.

I masked off the image and sponged Milled Lavender Distress Ink using a damask stencil, darker at the top and fading as it moves down the panel.

Once that was dry, I removed the mask and coloured the image using copic markers. I used my glitter pen to colour in the centres of the flowers, but the glitter doesn't really show up on camera. (Sad face).

I then mounted the panel on a slightly larger piece of lilac cardstock and then on to a standard A2 sized card base.

I opted to not include a greeting this time, as it looked out of place and threw off the balance of the card.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own.

This card is for:

Time Out Challenge:

CAS with the Optional Twist of Purple

Valentine's Day 2016 Series - Card 6

Hi everyone! Thank you so much for stopping by, I hope you are all having a great day.

Today's card is not only the next installment in my 2016 Valentine's Day series, it is also my submission for the SSS Challenge: Stencil It, sponsored by Simon Says Stamp.

If you are new to stamping or card making or scrapbooking, I highly recommend checking out Simon Says Stamp. 

I created this card using a Pure Innocence image from MFT stamps. I stamped her in Antique Linen distress ink on 140lb coldpress watercolour paper, then watercoloured her in. I'm somewhat new to the "no line colouring" technique, but so far I'm very pleased with how my projects have turned out.

The greeting is heat embossed with white powder onto a coral die cut tag, I used the same coral cardstock for the base of the card.

For the background I used a couple shades of distress ink for a fade effect through my stencil. Unfortunately it was an older stencil that I had in my stash, and I don't remember the name of it. Sorry.

Both the inner and outer panels were die cut using Lawn Fawn's stitched rectangle dies. 

Second Year Celebration Fusion Challenge

Hi everyone, thanks so much for stopping by today!

Today I have a very special card that was created for the Fusion Challenge! This is for their second year celebration. If you have not checked these guys out, you really should. Just follow the link above, they are amazing.

My submission is very much inspired by the photo

The bouquet is watercoloured using PrismaColor watercolour pencils on 140lb cold press watercolour paper. After stamping the blossoms in archival ink, I masked them off and created a yellow swirl background by pouncing distress ink through the stencil then spritzing with water. Unfortunately, the camera didn't pick up the background nearly as well as I would have liked, but I promise it is there. 

The concept is pretty fantastic. They provide you with an inspiration photo and a sketch, you can either create your design off either or both, so if the picture doesn't really speak to you, the sketch sure will.

Here is the challenge for the celebration. The photo is so beautiful, I think of something between afternoon tea in the garden and an outside wedding when I look at it.




Once again, thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you all like the card!