Eastern Beauty Cards

I love the combination of stamps and die cuts, and the Eastern Beauty stamps from Stampin' Up! also remind me of the medallion stamps I love so much from England.  There are so many pieces in this set that it is almost overwhelming!  I had some a-ha moments as I was creating these cards, and thought I would share some with you.

One of the patterned papers is pretty bland (in my opinion) and I was not sure what to do with it.  A google search later, I found that two of the stamps perfectly nest in the open spaces so you can go wild and customize it to be as patterned as you would like.

Two of the stamps fit perfectly in the little spaces of the petals on the medallion die cut, so I had fun playing with that stamp.  I also found that the petal medallion embosses wonderfully, so the first one isn't cut.

This one uses a peek-a-boo approach to color with circles on the back.

This one uses cut outs entirely - just snip around the die cut to pop it out from the paper.  The papers here are from Club Scrap except for the Very Vanilla for the card base and front.

Just having some fun playing with the patterned papers here.  I also discovered that both of the shapes can be layered to have that fun double layer peeking out behind.

Finally, I had some fun mixing and matching some of my paper scraps and the stamps to see what else I could create and using the tassels (not my first choice of embellishments!).

This is a really versatile kit, and I've enjoyed seeing what others have come up with using it.  I hope you enjoy some of these ideas.  My supply list is:

• The Eastern Beauty stamp and die bundle
• Eastern Palace patterned paper
• Eastern Gold vinyl stickers
• Very Vanilla cardstock (love the thick weight for the card bases!)
• Fresh Fig, Tranquil Tide, and Lemon-Lime Twist ink
• Mini Tassels
• Gold 1/8" ribbon
• Celebrate Today (Happy Birthday sentiment - retired SU!)
• Assorted Club Scrap papers from retired kits

Happy Father's Day

My dad loves trains, so I made him a train-centric card for Father's Day.

Except for the train, all stamps are from Club Scrap's Orient Express collection.  Paper and the train stamp are from Stampin' Up!  I colored the frame image with colored pencils, and then blended the pencils with gamsol/low odor thinner.  It's an easy way to blend the color, and get a really nice variation in shading.

Hope you had a great day with your fathers.  If mine reads my blog, I love you!

Next week's post will be a bit delayed, but well worth the wait!  Check back on June 27th for a special surprise and some great card making techniques.

Happy Anniversary - Cards with Love

Paul and I recently celebrated our eighth wedding anniversary, and as we do for most big events, we made each other cards.

Paul loves to quill, and this year, he used my heart dies to cut a lovely background for a dragonfly.

Since the heart dies were new, I was excited to use them, too.  I folded a sheet of paper in half, and die cut the paper so that part of the fold was inside the die.  On the outside, I adhered a piece of the embellishments from the Dream in Color kit before cutting the die. The script stamp in the background is part of the "Love is kind..." bible verse from our wedding.

Here, you can see the inside of the card with the hinge.  On the left, I used mirror card and embellishments from the Club Scrap Dream in Color kit.  The bride and groom stamp is from Hero Arts, and we used that for our wedding favors. The right has another heart, with a stamp and handwritten love note to Paul.

It's always fun to see what we come up with.  I love seeing how Paul uses basically the same materials to make a totally unique card.

If you missed our previous cards, you can check them out:

• Christmas 2011
• My Christmas card for Paul in 2010 - a tag tutorial
• Anniversary cards in 2010
• Anniversary cards in 2009

Most of the paper in the cards is from Club Scrap.  The heart die is from Stampin' Up! along with the little girl stamp on front.

Sketchy Cards (SFYTT)

In between organizing my supplies, I've snuck in a little time for crafting. Today, I wanted to make some cards, but was a bit stuck, so I turned to the "Sketch for you to Try" challenge.  I flipped the card horizontal, and came up with this:

About a week ago, I was playing with picket fence distress stain, so I used that on the text background, and then used paint and a Club Scrap stencil to make the background. I'm so glad to be taking May Flaum's class - it's been a great inspiration and a push to stretch myself.

Once I started crafting, the sketch inspired me to make a second card. I felt like brighter colors and a bit more sparkle this time.

I'm going to be in the local ice show this weekend for the first time.  I'm looking forward to the memories, and to making some great scrapbook pages.  Hope you all have a great weekend.

Most of the stamps and paper in this post are from Stampin' Up! or Club Scrap.

Making cool cards with scraps

I'm taking a class at Big Picture Classes with May Flaum that is inspiring me to use some of my supplies and play.  Week 1 was all about mists, week 2 is about stamps and inks.  As I've been playing with various supplies, I began to accumulate scraps that were begging to be made into cards.

First, I've been playing with pan pastels and stamps.  I've made a few different panels in different color schemes just to see how these new pastels work.  The same panel can make a totally different card.

Change the colors up to make things even more different - this one is coupled with some Club Scrap stencils on top and some stamps on the bottom.  Isn't it cool how the colors blend to purple in the middle, and the layers on top are so opaque with the pastels?  I was amazed at how the light grey covered the purple.  Stencils are hot right now - be sure to check theirs out.

Last week, I was playing with mists, and made some pink panels that were just spritzed once.  I used one to make a Valentine's Day card for my hubby, but I only need so many of those with one husband. So, here is the new card - with no hint of Valentine's Day.

I stamped over the pink panel with a script stamp, and put a peel off from Paperwishes on top.  This one reminds me of the silhouette images that are really popular right now - it's part of the February Personal Shopper kit.  The kite at the top was backed with a different patterned paper before adhering the panel.  Here's a close-up - isn't it sweet?

Finally, I got super into the mists and stains.  I've been seeing a lot of flowers made from text paper, so I decided to play with some older Stampin' Up! paper.  I didn't like how bold this text pattern was, so I used my picket fence distress stain to tone it down a bit.  I then inked and sprayed until I got some interesting colors.  Here is the card, on another one of my Pan Pastels trials.

And, a closeup of the flower.  I sprayed some Goosebumps on top - what a lovely gloss and texture it gave my flower!!

I just love being able to take experiments and make cards with them.  What's your favorite way to use up scraps?  Leave a comment!  If you want to save any of the cards for future inspiration, use the "Pin It" button below the post to save them to Pinterest.

Happy Valentine's Day! Cards with love.

My sweetie and I have exchanged valentine's cards for another year.   His featured quilled hearts.

Mine featured stamping, misting, and masking.  I loved using the newest stamps from Club Scrap!  In case you missed it, I have some videos on showing how I made the mask, and inked the panels.

My whole card used pink paper from Club Scrap, and some in color cardstock from Stampin' Up!  I love the Island Indigo cardstock and the matching baker's twine.  My friend MaryFran can place an order if you need a stamping consultant.

Together, I think they make a great pair, just like us  (awwww.....).

Happy Valentine's Day to you and those you love.  If you want to see some other cards my sweetie and I have exchanged, check out these posts:

• My Christmas card for Paul in 2010 - a tag tutorial
• Anniversary cards in 2010
• Anniversary cards in 2009

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

Quick card with lots of interest

I've been wanting to play with masking again since my class last week and after gathering some inspiration on pinterest (check out my card ideas board to see some of the cards I've been pinning!). I made this card base by:

• Taping low tack masking tape across the bottom of the panel
• Applying distress inks in peeled paint and weathered wood
• Dropping water onto the panel
• Blotting water with a paper towel

The paper itself is an old patterned paper cardstock with a cloud pattern on it.

I removed the tape (darn it, some paper ripped on the left edge!) and stamped a large leaf image from Club Scrap on top in black ink.

I trimmed this panel to get rid of the ripped part, mounted it on two layers of cardstock and added a sentiment. And, I'm done!

I'm thinking there are some more of these in my future - very simple, but I think a card with some interesting texture and background effects is great for any occasion.

Accordion book with mixed media techniques

I just realized that I never shared this sweet little accordion book with you.

The covers are made from wood (from the Great Outdoors kit from Club Scrap).  I glued a piece of patterned paper (from a 6x6 Stampin' Up!) pack to the covers using gel medium, and then rubbed it off with water, creating the lovely translucent image transfer.

Merry Christmas - A card tutorial

Part of our holiday tradition is for my husband and I to make a card for each other.  This is my card for him this year:

The background of the tag was made using the same technique I used earlier this month.  Let me show you how I made the tag - I'm not Tim Holtz, but his tags have been inspiring me!

First, I stamped the bird on the tag with a permanent black ink.

Next, I stamped the bird on a piece of scrap paper, cut it out, and taped it to the tag with a removable adhesive.  I stamped a music background stamp with versamark, and embossed the music background with clear embossing powder.  By masking the bird, the music background won't cover up the bird. (Mask not shown in this picture, but all of the supplies are here.)

After embossing, I used a holly mask, foam applicators, and distress inks to ink the holly around the tag. Here are the supplies:

And here is what the tag looks like after using the mask:

To add a bit more depth to the edges, I inked the edges using distress ink, and a foam applicator.

After peeling the mask off, the bird is revealed!

I colored the stamped image with prismacolor pencils.  I love these pencils, and have been using them since I was about 10.  After coloring the image in, I use mineral spirits (low odour thinner as pictured), and a paper stump to blend the colors in.  I learned about this technique from Michele of Purple Onion Designs (her background stamp is used on this tag) on the Two Peas in a Bucket message board.  Here is what the image looks like after coloring:

And here is what is looks like after blending the colored pencil, and adding some bling - crystals to the bottom, and distress stickles to the holly berries.  I like how this technique makes intense colors.  It's bolder than a watercolored image, but not quite as intense as using a marker.

To finish the card off, I stamped a border stamp on the green matting paper, and used the same vintage photo ink and ink applicator around the edges.  I used some tinsel from Stampin' Up! to create a line across the border, and stamped a greeting.  Let's see it again:

And, while I had the supplies out, I made a "backup card" without the bird.  I wasn't sure which tag I would like better, so I tried it two ways.  It's fun to see how similar techniques and pieces can be used to create different cards.

Image sources:

• Music background from Purple Onion Designs
• Merry Christmas from Holiday Best set from Stampin' Up! (not currently available)
• Bar code background, holly mask from Club Scrap (not currently available)

If you celebrate Christmas, I hope it's a great one.  If you don't, I hope you enjoy a peaceful end to the year.  Whatever holiday you celebrate, I hope you enjoy using this technique on your cards.  I love embossing and resist techniques to create depth in cards.

Kaleidoscope Card

Now that I'm organized, I have been creating up a storm lately.  I'll be sharing some holiday cards later in the week, but first, it's time for Paul's annual birthday card.  At the Club Scrap retreat, I learned a new technique that they called "Pinpoint Rotation."  This is the result of that technique:

The "happy birthday" is mounted on some foam tape, which results in a little bit of distortion on the scan. The stamp is from Teeny Tiny Wishes and the coordinating punches (Word Window and Modern Label) are from Stampin' Up! - one of my favorite and most versatile greeting sets.

Believe it or not, I used one stamp and one ink pad to make the design on the cream colored paper.  That stamp isn't available anymore (Solstice Club Stamp kit), but check out this image from a different stamp.  To replicate this technique, you will need a:

• Stamp - border stamps work particularly well
• Stamp positioner, like a stamp-a-ma-jig or a Position It (I'll be talking more about the Position It later - this is a fabulous tool)
• Ruler and pencil
• Mulitcolored ink pad - I used the Kaleidacolor ink pad Fiesta

Nobody shows this better than Tricia, so check her out demonstrating the technique, and see where your imagination takes you!  I love this technique!

Some cool tools I used in this post: