Misted Collaged Backgrounds | Club Scrap April 2013 Blog Hop

Welcome to the April Club Scrap blog hop, featuring the Spring Chorus kit.  I hope you enjoyed Roni's project and are looking forward to more inspiration for card making!

The blues and greens of this kit really inspired me to create some misted backgrounds with lots of water and stamps featuring natural images.

These cards are always unique. No two are ever quite the same.  I was also inspired by Tricia's art orphans, and Christine experimenting with mix'd media ink to play with my inks and stamps.

It's easier to show you how I made these, so I made a little video sharing my techniques and thoughts with you.
I hope this inspires you to "think spring" and use your mists to create some ephemeral backgrounds.  I still have three feet of snow on the ground in my yard, so I need all the help I can get with getting into the spring spirit!

Who can resist a card with a saying like this?

I hope you're enjoying the Club Scrap Blog Hop.  Next in our hop is the talented Deb at DebDuzScrappin.  If you missed anyone, or got lost along the way, please visit Club Scrap for the whole list of bloggers.

Supply list:

• White panels for misting from the Steppin' Out! kit - no longer available, but substitute any thick white paper of your choice.
• All other paper from the Spring Chorus collection
• Memories Mist by Stewart Superior - Blueberry Shake and Wheatgrass
• Hybrid ink from Club Scrap
• Just Dandy stamps from Club Scrap, along with assorted sentiments

Make your own Valentine's stencils from punches

I love to use stencils and masks, and was inspired to make my own since the class I'm taking (The Curious Scrapbooker's Field Guide taught by May Flaum) is all about misting this week.

To start, I made my own stencils using my heart punches and a transparency. Punches are great when you'd like to make a row of something - just push the punch in until the paper hits the back, and use a vertical line to line everything up.  It's a little easier to show you than to take photos, so here is a little video showing how I made two stencils.

After I made the stencils, I had some fun playing with them for just a bit.  Again, it's easier to show, so I made another quick video.

Check back later in the week to see how I used my stencils to make a Valentine's card for my sweetie.  I can't show you his card before he sees it!

Hope you spend some time this week with someone you love.  I love to craft, so I hope I'm also able to have some time with my paper!

Here are a few options for transparencies - at 50-100 sheets per box, one box will make a lot of stencils.  You could share these with a friend, or just have plenty for you.  If you plan to print on them, make sure you choose one that works with your printer - they make versions for laser and ink jet printers.

• Apollo Write-On Transparency Film, 8.5 x 11 Inches, Clear - 100 sheets/eligible for prime shipping
• Sparco Laser Transparency Film - 50 sheets/eligible for prime shipping
• 701 Highland Laser Transparency Film - 50 sheets/not eligible for prime shipping - I used this brand

Make a Ruffled Ribbon Border for a Card

When I made my set of cards for Club Scrap using the Tilescapes kit, I decided to play with ribbon and made this ruffled border on this card. (Check out the rest of the Tilescapes cards in the Club Scrap Scrap Rap)

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I wanted to see how this might work for a holiday card (surprise, it does!): 

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I had a few folks ask me how I did the border, and it couldn't be easier.  It's easiest to show, however, with a video.  My video shows how to do the ruffled border and how to make those adorable holly leaves.







Here is the final card that I was working on in the video. The background is subtle, but more pronounced in real life:

I'd love to see what you make using this technique!  If you don't already have a tiny attacher, check it out at Amazon, or my previous blog post where I review it and show another sample card.  If you like the background stamp, check out the 2011 WOW Holiday set. The greeting stamp is from the Angels on High collection.

Tutorial: Masking to make holiday cards

I love to use masking to create depth and dimension to my cards without adding a lot of bulk. Sometimes, you want a card with fewer layers to allow you to mail it more easily.

In my video, I show how I made the panels for three different cards.





Here is the finished card using technique number one:

Holiday cards with masked monochromatic panels

Once I get started on a technique, I really like seeing where it can take me.  I had this cool grey paper that I've been hoarding for a while, and thought about using the color blue with some holiday stamps  from the Silent Night collection at Club Scrap.  The stamps have a cool stencil-type look, so I played with these to see what I could make.  The rest of the paper is from the Raku collection at Club Scrap.  Here are some of the cards I came up with:

The Christmas tree stamp is a collage image from Club Scrap that is no longer available.   I really like how these are holiday cards, but they use a fairly non-traditional color scheme.  The Raku kit isn't even for holiday cards - what color combinations have you used for holiday cards that are non-traditional?

If you've been wondering how to set up your tape to do the masking, or want to see how these monochromatic panels are different from the ones I've previously shown, check out my latest tutorial video.