Take a bite out of cake!

I fell in love with the super cute new Baby Shark dies and coordinating Sharky Sentiments. They arrived in my mailbox a few days ago and I couldn't wait to use them to put together a few birthday cards! I also got the Two Scoops stamp set, which I'm super excited about. Everything showed up in my mailbox at the same time, but I didn't necessarily think I would use the two together As I was putting these together, I just felt like the ice-cream cone would be super cute in the shark's fin!

To begin these two cards, I cut two panels of Aqua Mist cardstock measuring 4 by 5 1/4 inches. I rummaged around in my older and neglected stencils and decided to use the Crossing Waves stencil for something fun and a little bit different. I used Faded Jeans Distress Oxide ink and a blender brush to add the ink, leaving it lighter in the center of the panel. I spritzed it with Shimmer Spray and set them both aside to dry while I got to work die cutting the baby sharks. Super easy, super simple die cutting and assembly. I used liquid glue to put everything together. I added a white dot to each eye and then added a layer of Crystal Glaze to each of the eyes as well.

I used foam squares to pop the shark up onto the stenciled background at a jaunty angle. The sentiment is heat embossed in white onto a black strip of cardstock and added to the card front using foam squares as well. As I mentioned earlier, I didn't plan on using the ice-cream cone image, but ice-cream just goes with cake!

I die cut the pieces using theTwo Scoops dies and then used my mini MISTI to do the stamping. I just love these realistic multi step stamps!  I added the cone to the shark's fin using additional foam squares. I'm totally craving ice-cream now! LOL! I added a few dew drops using liquid glue. I always like using embellishments like this on cards like this because it really gives a sea-like quality!

I wanted to use another one of the Sharky Sentiments, so I stamped the inside of each card with the "have a killer birthday" in black ink. Just something simple to continue the shark theme to the inside. 

I have some fun things coming up in the next few days so stay tuned! Thanks for fluttering by!

Pinkfresh Studio and Hero Arts Blog Hop {You make a difference}

I'm beyond thrilled and honored to be participating in this AMAZING blog hop! It's all about celebrating 45 years of HERO ARTS and CELEBRATING OUR INDUSTRY! Hero Arts and Pinkfresh Studios have come together to create a beautiful stamp set for this collaboration! You will see how versatile this stamp set is and all of the beautiful sentiments as you hop along to the other {Amazing} designers' blogs!

Before I share those links, you can see the beautiful set called You make a Difference! It is available for purchase at Pinkfresh  Studio HERE-You make a difference. Also, there will be an amazing giveaway as well! There will be 3 prizes, drawn from comments left across the blog hop:

- One winner will receive the stamp set!

- One winner will receive a $25 shopping spree at Pinkfresh Studio

- One winner will receive a $25 shopping spree at Hero Arts

Hoppers have until Sunday, August 18 to leave their comments, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week.

Before I dive into the details of my card, don't forget to hop along to the rest of the designers' blogs (isn't that a spectacular line up?)

Angelica Conrad

Ashlea Cornell

Caly Person

Cathy Zielske

Emily Midgett

Heather Hoffman

Ilina Crouse

Ivana Camdzic

Janette Kausen

Jennifer McGuire

Jessica Frost-Ballas

Kelly Lunceford {you are here}

Kristina Pokazanieva

Laura Bassen

Lea Lawson

Libby Hickson

Nichol Spohr

Tae Eun Yoo

Yana Smakula

Zsoka Marko

Whew! Now that the business is out of the way, let me share the details about this gate-fold design. To begin this card, I took a piece of 4 1/4 by 11 white cardstock and scored it a 2 3/4 on one end and then 2 3/4 again on the other end to create a gate-fold card. I used my bone folder to get the folds nice and crisp. Once that was done, I put it into my mini MISTI and stamped the image a few times to get a saturated and crisp image. 

I used two of the sentiments paired together for the greeting on the inside. This was done by cutting a piece of cardstock 4 by 5 1/4 inches and then stamping it in my MISTI. I layered that on the inside of the gate-fold card using adhesive.

The outside of the card is colored using Copic markers in wildflower tones; red, yellow, purple, and white! I really love this selection of images and how fun they are to color! I also blended a little bit of green ink around the perimeter of the card using a blending brush. I just used whatever was left on the brush! LOL!

The sentiment on the front is heat embossed using white powder and then die cut using the AMAZING and VERSATILE Essentials: Fancy Label Frames die collection. I actually die cut two of them so that I could layer them together for stability AND weight since I wanted this detail to help weigh down the folded flaps. 

I die cut the next larger in the label frames collection out of white cardstock. At this point, I took a long strip of red cardstock and sandwiched it between the two, making sure to measure it at the correct length beforehand. I used foam squares between the black and white portion.

In this photo you can see that I only adhered the label and red strip to the left hand side of the card. I wanted it to give the impression of a belly band (of sorts) but not actually have one! As much as I LOVE a belly band, I think they can confuse the recipient! Once that was all done, I matted the entire white card onto a piece of black cardstock that measures 5 3/4 inches by 4 1/2. In the end, it comes out to be larger than a standard A2 sized card, but the envelopes that I purchase can handle the extra dimensions. The finishing touch is a few of the clear jewels from the Essentials Jewel Mix. 

I hope you've enjoyed today's hop! Don't forget to leave comments along the way for your chance to win the prize! Thanks for fluttering by!

Coloring with stencils; two ways

I picked up a few new stencils for myself for my birthday and I had some time to play around with them last week. I intended to only make one card, which is the first one I will be showcasing, but I wanted to do some comparisons with the result by using Distress Oxide ink as well.

This is the first example that I watercolored. I knew going in that it would be a loose, organic watercolor rather than crisp and tight like the stencil. I know that I would need to use some spray adhesive on the stencil to keep it clean looking, but that isn't the feel I wanted to create. I used THESE watercolors. They have beautiful colors and are very creamy. I used to only use the liquid watercolors, but I really like using these ones as well.

To begin, I taped the Bold Floral Stencil over a piece of 140 lb. cold pressed watercolor paper and begin filling in the negative space with green paint. I was mostly focusing on the areas with leaves. I came back in with a beautiful blue color for an earthy feel. I really like the color combination. I did add some gold here and there for contrast.

I removed the stencil and went back in with a wet brush and smoothed and defined some of the lines a little better. This was very fun for me because it felt more natural, rather than following a "Pattern" so to speak. The I really didn't have a plan for the watercolor panel once I was done, so I added a quick and simple die cut and heat embossed sentiment to a strip of Kraft cardstock. I used the Scripted stamp set and coordinating dies.  I used the same technique as I did for THIS card if you're interested in reading more about it.

Once I was done with that card, I wanted to compare and contrast by using the same stencil but using Distress Oxide inks instead. As you can see, the results are much softer and have a completely different feel, even though I used the same stencil and colors.

I tried to very carefully only sponge the flower areas blue and the leaf areas green, but you can see where there was some overlap.

This die cut sentiment is from a set I bought a few years ago and I don't remember the manufacturer to link it. I stacked it in the same way I did on the previous card, but decided to add some Glossy Accents as well for some shine. The "dearest friend" sentiment is from the "Scripted" set as well. I've linked it in the previous card. Thanks for fluttering by!

The Challenge #93 {Everyone needs a friend like you}

Just popping in with this week's new design for The Challenge! It's keywords again, which I just really love! I hope you got a chance to play last time and that you're excited to play again this week! I realized something this week...my last three cards for the challenge have been YELLOW! How crazy is that?! I guess I just really like yellow! I also decided to use it because one of the keywords is Friendship and yellow roses are a symbol of friendship so I guess that just stuck in my brain.

                                             

 Anyway, you can check out all of the details HERE. If you'd like even more inspiration, you can see what the other designers have come up with as well.

Anita Madden

Claire Broadwater

Kim Heggins

Lee Ann Barret

Lori Tecler

Nance Salkeld

Nina Forsyth

Rachel Bergfeld

Vicki Finger

For my card, I chose to use the Glorious Petals Stencil as well as some embossing paste and clear embossing powder for a fun effect. It is the same technique that I used on THIS card and I included a little bit of a tutorial if you are interested. Since one of the keywords is "monochromatic", I only used two shades of yellow! After it was all done, I die cut it using the largest circle nestabilities die that I have. The sentiment was heat embossed using gold powder onto a strip of vellum cardstock. I didn't want to hide the fabulous background that I created so I thought vellum would be a nice choice. A strip of thin gold washi tape underneath the sentiment adds a little bit of shine and a few more circles.

I punched out quite a few butterflies using an old Martha Stewart Crafts punch in three shades of yellow for contrast and interest. I adhered them onto the circle portion using liquid glue. I bent them in the middle first so that they would have a little bit of dimension.

The finishing touch was a trio of yellow rainbow sparkle jewels around the sentiment. I also couldn't resist making a coordinating envelope since I had a template in the perfect size. This sweet little card measures 4 1/2 by 4 1/2 I also created a liner for it as well in another yellow pattern. Everything looks so sunny and happy! I hope you get a chance to play! Thanks for fluttering by!

Discover the Beach

I feel Autumn cards on the horizon, so I will be using every chance I get to keep making summer designs! I was reminded of this fabulous retro beach stamp set by Tweety Jill after the newest Papertrey Ink release. I'm trying to be good and not buy anything so I was happy to pull this out and create a fun beach-y card. Also, the other day I received an unexpected envelope in the mail from Papertrey Ink. I quickly opened it up to discover a sheet of random dies that I hadn't ordered. On closer inspection, I realized that they were from the Post and Parcel Make it Market kit. I ordered it during the sale so I knew it wouldn't be complete, but it was such a fun surprise to get a few more of the dies for me to work with. It came with the fabulous postage looking piece I used for the focal image, which is similar to one of the newly released dies from PTI as well. 

To begin, I blended a bright rainbow pattern onto the die cut piece. I then used the stamping/stenciling with water technique that I used on THIS card. I chose to use just the side of the stencil rather than place the center of the stencil onto the center of the cardstock. I knew that it would be too busy for the look I was hoping to achieve. It turned out beautifully, with just the right amount of oxidation. After that was dry, I stamped the station wagon and postage image using Palette black ink.

After that comes the fun part; the collage type stamping! I used to design for TweetyJill's Idea Books and I got to do a lot of this type of thing...only more collage-y! LOL! It is one of my favorite styles and I haven't done it in quite a while. I noticed that Simon Says Stamp has a challenge doing just this sort of thing; I think I might just participate one of these days. Anyway...that was an unexpected tangent! So...I stamped the postage stamp image in coral ink onto the white panel as well as the lifeguard image using black ink. I chose to use the "seaside" definition image at the top for some balance.

I heat embossed the fabulously retro "discover the beach" sentiment using gold powder onto black cardstock. I just love how it turned out. I adhered it to the white panel with foam squares and cut it at an angle for a retro look. 

I quickly found my ancient stash of seashells that I knew I'd been saving for a day such as today! I adhered them to the card with Tombow Mono Multi adhesive. I added the entire white piece onto an A2 black card base for some added contrast and definition. Now...I think you may die of shock, but I left it at this...no sparkling clear sequins! LOL!!!! I had A LOT of fun on this design! Thanks for fluttering by! P.S. I'm headed to the water park again today so who knows what inspiration I'll come home with!😂😂😂

Let's be Mermaids!!!

 How fabulous is this new Mermaid's Tail stamp set?!?! I am completely IN LOVE! I have been absolutely enjoying making bright, fun, and summery cards! As soon as the mailman rang my doorbell with my package from Ellen Hutson I had to play... immediately! Like it says; I'm done adulting...especially with new stamps to play with! ha ha! I shared a sneak peek of this card on Instagram yesterday and I mentioned that it was proving difficult to photograph.

I FINALLY ended up with the best pictures I could get around 6:40 in the evening, which seemed late to get the best light, but it was the best I had all day. I have taken a boat load of pictures of this card!

 To begin, I stamped the mermaid's tail in Versamark ink onto Hawaiian Shores cardstock and heat embossed it using gold powder. After that was done, I used the coordinating designer dies to cut it out. I set that aside so that I could work on a few more elements that I had in mind for this design. I realized after I placed my order, that the stamp set didn't come with any aquatic sea plant images. I don't have anything that would work very well either. I decided to create my own seaweed-esque plants myself. 

 I used a piece of 140 lb cold pressed watercolor paper and painted both sides of it green using the fabulous (and addicting) Zig Kuretake Gansai Tambi pearl watercolors. I painted enough of the paper so that I could cut strips in varying sizes to create the seaweed. I twisted the strips while the paper was still wet from the watercolors so that I could manipulate it into the desired shape. Once they were the right size, I snipped the tips at a sharp angle to make them look a little more realistic.

 I set those aside to dry and got to work on the background. I had watched a video on Jennifer McGuire's blog on water stamping with distress oxide inks and since I just got some, I was dying to try. I used the Glorious Petals stencil from Hero Arts for the actual "water stenciling". I made a card a few days ago using the same technique and the image came out much crisper. I actually didn't mind in this particular case because I didn't want it to compete with the fabulous design on the Mermaid's tail. After that had dried a bit, I added a spritz of shimmer spray like Jennifer had done in her video. The result is spectacular!

 I ended up adding a few more colors of pearl watercolors to the piece of watercolor paper I had been using for the seaweed. I used the seashell die cuts to make an assortment of shells. Because they had the pearl shine, I decided to add some Glossy Accents like I did on THIS card because I liked the effect so well. Once all of my bits and bobs had been created, it was time for the fun part; assembling it all.

 Originally, I had planned on having the mermaid's tail splashing off of the card horizontally, so I heat embossed the sentiment accordingly. I then changed my mind and decided I liked it vertically; as though the mermaid was taking a dive into that glorious ocean. I really liked how the rainbow background ended up looking like a sunset with a deep ocean underneath. I love surprises like that! So...the sentiment is a little off, but I like it anyway!

 I used Tombow Mono Multi to glue the paper seaweed down as well as a few mini glue dots as it would allow. I used a few heavy things around my desk to place on the seaweed so that the glue would dry without is springing back off of the card. The funnest part was adding in all of the seashells, sequins and dew drops. I just HAD to get the mermaid mix sequins! They are INCREDIBLE and they are limited edition, so grab 'em while you can! I also added a light layer of wink of stella to the tail as well! I "may" have been singing "I'm so shiny" from Moana while I was putting this all together! LOL!

To finish it off, I just COULD NOT resist making a little shrinky dink tail! Can you blame me? I mean, look at this cute little thing! LOL! I stamped it in black Palette ink onto the shrinky dink sheet, colored it in a rainbow pattern using Copic markers and then let the heat tool work it's magic! I glued it to the inside of the card with the "just keep swimming" sentiment as well as a few sequins (of course). I also gave the inside a generous spritz of shimmer spray as well. (that's why it appears like the sentiment is grainy, but it's not) I created this card for a friend who has had a particularly bad week and I am certain this will cheer her up! That's what I love about this crazy business!!! Thanks for fluttering by!

I believe in YOU!

 I'm back today to share another design that my daughter and I worked on for the set we are making for her Hope Squad. I wasn't planning on sharing it today but I found out that this stamp set is $10 off, which is an amazing price! 
 We've decided to keep the card set cohesive so there will be a lot of similar elements and colors. I shared the first card the other day which you can see HERE. There is something so magical about these Zig Kuretake Gansai Tambi paints that is so addictive.  I had an idea in my mind that I couldn't wait to execute and it required A LOT of watercolored hearts. I die cut 56 hearts out of 140 lb cold pressed watercolor paper while my daughter watercolored each one. Once I was done, I joined in on the fun!

 In the end, my fabulous idea I had in my mind didn't translate so well on paper so I have a ton of hearts to use on some other projects which will be nice to keep the cohesive feel. Each heart is stacked 4 times and glued together. We worked hard to get the tops of each heart to have some interesting variations and shading. The background is watercolored in a rainbow pattern and this time I made sure that it included purple. My daughter worked hard to make purple for the hearts so we needed to make sure the card front had it as well. These paints blend beautifully! The crazy part is that the finished piece looks and feels like shimmer paper....smooth and shiny, but it is actually thick watercolor paper! With the Pearl paints and the embossing, it completely transforms the texture! 

 I absolutely LOVED the effect that the last card had using the deeply etched embossing folder. I chose a cuttlebug embossing folder that actually "debosses" rather than "embosses". We chose this particular design because the flowers are made up of heart images, which is perfect for this design.

The sentiment, which is from the Hero Arts "You are Loved" stamp set, was stamped in Versamark ink and heat embossed with white detail powder. This particular set was designed to give others encouragement and part of the profits will be donated to the "anti-bullying" campaign which is what my daugther's group the "Hope Squad" works on as well as suicide prevention, etc.

 I die cut a circle near the top and then adhered the entire watercolored piece to an A2 card base. The sentiment is placed over the circle and adhered using foam squares. I originally stamped the sentiment in black ink onto white paper, which I liked, but in the end it felt too washed out so I switched to black. 

 Once that was done, it was time to place the hearts scattered across the front. It was fun matching up the hearts to the perfect spot on the card front. And, because they look so darn cute, we just HAD to add some rainbow sparkle jewels. They are addictive as well. I added them in the same way I have in the past, placing them onto the card nearest the color that they match. I love the iridescent quality that they have in combination with the pearl paint; a match made in heaven!

 I felt quite pleased with the results, but wanted to give the hearts a little something extra. I tried this on one of the extra hearts first, to see if I liked it, and in the end I LOVED it! I added some Glossy Accents like I did to the hearts on THIS card, but restrained myself on THIS card because I wanted the beautiful watercoloring to be the focus! NO!!! Let me tell you...the glossy accents MAGNIFIES the watercolors, the pearl quality...it is JUST GORGEOUS! I tried to take a closeup of it here for you to see, but in real life it is amazing!!!!!I'm thinking of adding it to the last card because it is just so beautiful!

I made sure not to neglect the inside of the card and I'm just having too much fun with the Shrinky Dinks still. Also, they will give the whole set and extra dimension of cohesion. I stacked some hearts that were punched out about 4-5 times and then glued the sentiment using Tombow Mono Multi to the heart. I like this particular glue because it comes out white so that you can see where it is, but it dries perfectly clear. I also added a sprinkling of rainbow jewels for sparkle and continuity. Thanks for fluttering by!