Get Well Tammy!!!

My friend had surgery last Monday and I wanted to make her a "get well" card and this is what I came up with.  This is the second card I've made recently with dandelions....what can I say, I  like them as they are whimsical!!!  I found a free SVG file of a dandelion which I really liked....you can find it here!  I wanted some leaves on  it, so I added them to the file and welded.  I wanted to have like a stone wall behind the dandelion so I made one and made it so that the dandelion inlays on front of it and to make the "stones" look more "stone like", I used some of my Viva Decor "Ice" Pearl Pen on them...love the look.  On the "tips" of the dandelions I used some of my homemade silver metallic paint (made from eyeshadow).  I cut three of the dandelions and glued them together...but did not glue the flower part as it gives it a more three dimensional look.  I used some "Clear" Wink of Stella on the leaves.  I added a butterfly and a dragonfly cut from some DCWV glitter paper, scored some lines on the top and bottom, added some tiny pearls to the butterfly and scattered some sequins to look like the pieces of the dandelion scattering in the breeze!

And here are a couple of close-ups.

I did the inside of the card as a "print and cut", using the LDT Wispy and Simply Glamorous fonts, some Wink of Stella on the rocks and added another butterfly to finish it off!

I hope you liked this design........please let me know and thanks for stopping by!!!

Finished Card Size:  A2 (4.25"x5.5")

Supplies List

Papers:  Recollections "White 110 LB" Cardstock (card base), Bazzill "Smooth White", Recollections "Black", DCWV "Black Glitter Paper"

Stamps:  "Get Well Soon" Hero Arts

Ink:  Tsukineko VersaMark

Tools:  Silhouette "Cameo", Ranger "Heat-It", Martha Stewart "Score Board", Stamp-a-ma-jig, We R Memory Keepers "Envelope Punch Board"
Accessories:  "Sparkling Clear" Pretty Pink Posh sequins,  Viva Decor "Ice Pearl Pen", "Clear" Wink of Stella Brush Tip Marker, Recollections "Pearls"

Let's make our own "enamel accents"!!!

No card today y'all.....instead this is going to be a "learning experience"!!!  I don't know about y'all, but I am a huge fan of "The Frugal Crafter"........a person can learn a lot from this lady, not to mention that her YouTube videos are just downright entertaining...LOL  I recently watched one of her videos where she was showing us how to make our own "enamel accents" just using cardstock and decided to give it a go last night.  You can watch her video here.  I did just as she instructed, right down to using a golf tee.........thank goodness my DH is a golfer!  For those of us with electronic cutters we can use them to cut our circles in many different sizes.  One thing that I did that she did not, was to use my stylus to get really good coverage of the VersaMark on the dots.   Here is a photo of the ones I made last night and this morning.  Please note, the bottom row are the ones that I made and all the top rows are ones that I purchased and trust me, they don't come cheap!!!

Here are some notations regarding the "red arrows" you see on my photo.  The top one is to point out that you don't want to use 3 applications of the Utee or Suze Weinberg "Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel"....two is plenty as there is so much of it that it somewhat changes the shape of the dot!  The next "red arrow" is pointing at a dot that I decided to use just regular clear embossing powder, which I did not like at all.  The next two "red arrows" are pointing to the cardstock that I used to make the accents.  The first one is the cardstock that I used to make the "grey" accents and believe it or not, that paper is actually a lilac color but after embossing it turned grey, so if you are wanting to make specific colors to match your project, you will want to test prior to making a bunch of them!!!  The red one I made turned out almost the same color and on that one it did not look shinny enough to me, so I added one coat of clear nail polish.  

At any rate, y'all go watch Lindsay's video and start making your own enamel accents....she is the one that taught me how to make mu own "metallic paints" using cheap eye shadow.  Start watching her and you will learn a lot!!!

Happy Birthday to a VERY special lady!!!

Hey y'all!!!  My very good friend Teri had a birthday yesterday and I designed a very special card just for her.....this is the kind of card that I LOVE to design!!!  Everything on this card was made by me except for the sequins.  I made the border from an online image that I found at all-free-download.com and I made a paper piecing file from an online birthday coloring page that I found online.  I designed the "Happy Birthday Teri" title using the LD Dainty Font (can be purchased at Lettering Delights).  For the background, I used a new embossing folder that I purchased from Joann's last week by Darice, called "Diagonal Stripe", on a piece of Tim Holtz watercolor paper.  I inked up a ceramic tile with some "Black Soot" and "Spun Sugar" Distress inks and threw in some of my homemade metallic silver paint, sprayed it good with water and then kept laying my embossed background on it and heat setting until I got the look that I wanted and then to top it off I used some Heidi Swapp "White Color Shine", which I really am getting addicted to!  At any rate, I love the look that I got from all that....looks a lot better IRL than it does in the photos I took!  Here are a couple of views of the front.

For the paper pieced cake, I used a layer of the pink glitter paper on top of the cake and cut the icing pieces using some Silhouette double-stick adhesive and then some white flocking and since the layer I adhered it to was pink, the white flocking made the "icing" a color that matched the card perfectly!  I designed the "51" candle and the "candle flames" to finish off the cake and then added some sequins...it's got to where I just cannot make a card without using those gorgeous Pretty Pink Posh "Sparkling Clear" sequins!  I also added some pearls made using my Viva Decor "Ice" Pearl Pen.  Here are a couple of close-up photos of the card front.

I made a "print and cut" for the inside of the card and made a matching border and used some more "Ice" pearls and some "Clear Wink of Stella".

I used a design of Teri's to make the signature label that I placed on the back of the card....love her design and have been using it a lot!!!

I used some Recollections designer paper to make the envelope using my Envelope Punch Board.  I decided it would look really cool to make a border for the inside of the envelope flap instead of a liner and I love the way it turned out!

I hope I've not worn y'all out with all of these photos!!!  I just want add that Teri loved her card and I've loved making it for her!!!  Thanks for stopping by and hurry back.....oh yes, don't forget to leave your comments below as I love reading them!!!

Finished Card Size:  A2 (4.25"x5.5")

Supplies List

Papers:  Recollections "White 110 LB" Cardstock (card base), Tim Holtz "Distress Watercolor Cardstock" (front panel), Recollections "Garden Florals" Paper (envelope), DCWV "Pink & Gold Glitter Paper"

Stamps:  "Happy Birthday" Soloz Hampton Art "Studio G"

Ink:  Tsukineko VersaMark, Tim Holtz "Black Soot" & "Spun Sugar" Distress Inks 

Tools:  Silhouette "Cameo", Ranger "Heat-It", Martha Stewart "Score Board", Stamp-a-ma-jig, WeR "Envelope Punch Board
Accessories:  "Sparkling Clear" Pretty Pink Posh sequins, Spellbinders Dies, Stamp-n-Stuff "Clear Transparent" embossing powder, Viva Decor "Ice Pearl Pen", "Clear" Wink of Stella Brush Tip Marker, Heidi Swapp "White Color Shine"

A special "thanks" card for a very special online friend!!!

There is a very talented lady at Splitcoast Stampers and I feel very honored to call her "friend".  Just recently I was admiring and inquiring about a butterfly die that she used on a card and the next thing I know she was asking me for my mailing address so that she could cut some and send them to me!!! Peggy is known as "jasonw1" at Splitcoast and if you want to see some "drop dead" gorgeous cards, go take a gander at her Gallery here and here is a photo of the card and butterfly that I was admiring!

Please note:  The next two card creations are by Peggy (aka/jasonw1)....not by me!!!

 Well, she not only sent me a whole "swarm" of those gorgeous butterflies, she sent me one of her gorgeous card creations and I will treasure it forever!!!  Here is a photo of it:

In return I came up with a sailboat cutting file for her as well as some other goodies that I sent and I designed this card for her.

Please note:  This one is by me & I think it pales in comparison!!!

That absolutely gorgeous label inlaid into the front of the card was designed by my good friend Teri Frank, using a flourish file from Silhouette America....isn't it lovely!!!  I used some sparkling clear sequins that I colored to match my project using a Bic Mark it and added a tiny black pearl to the center.

I used my printer to do the text on the inside of the card......the ink stays just wet just long enough to use some clear embossing powder and heat set for embossed text and then I cut a little strip of the designer cardstock to make a matching border. 

I used the "label" that I cut from the designer patterned paper for the card front to make a "signature" label for the back of the card.  

I will soon be creating some cards to use those gorgeous butterflies that Peggy cut for me...once again, thank you so much Peggy!!!

Finished Card Size:  A2 (4.25"x5.5")

Supply List

Papers:  Recollections "Love Letters Stack". Gina K "Pure Luxury Black"

Tools:  Silhouette "Cameo", Ranger "Heat It"

Accessories:  Stamp-n-Stuff "Detail Clear Transparent" Embossing Powder,  Pretty Pink Post "Sparkling Clear Sequins", Recollections "Black Pearls"

Two for the price of one!!!

My brother's birthday is the 19th and Kristina Werner is having people send in cards having to do with "circles" for the month of July and Splitcoast Stampers had a color challenge for June 10 called "Kaleidoscope of Colors" that I thought were pretty cool, so I decided to use them for my cards.  You can find all of the details for the challenge here.  I did not have those paper colors, so I found the RGB codes online and made own to print using Photoshop.  I found a really cool "card cover" cutting file to use with my cutters at Birds Cards, which you can download for free here, to use for my cards.  When doing the cutting some of what I needed was duplicated, so it made sense to use the same "card cover" for both cards and better utilize my supplies.  In my own handwriting I designed  "Happy Birthday" and "hello" sentiment dies to cut with my electronic cutters.  For these projects I used both my Silhouette "Cameo" and my Sizzix "eclips" electronic cutters.

Here is the card that I made for my brother, which will be going in the mail in the next few days!  I chose this one for him because the majority of it is black and  I thought it looked more masculine and after all those are the hardest cards for most of us to make!!!

Here is a close-up:

And for the inside I designed a border with circles and I used the Silhouette "double-sided adhesive sheets" to cut it so that I could use some of my Sparkle N Sprinkle "Black Suede Velvet Microfine Glitter " on it....love that stuff, it really feels like velvet!!!  Here is a photo:

I chose this one to send to Kristina because I thought it looked more feminine.  One thing I want to point  out is the "enamel" dots that I made by putting "Perler Beads" in the oven and baking them...they look pretty cool, don't they!  After I cut out the "hello", I used clear embossing powder and then heat set it to give it a dimensional look...I did this about three times.

For the inside I used my Silhouette double-stick adhesive and the black suede glitter again to make the partial black line border.  I used some contact paper to cut a stencil to make the circle border on the bottom....I matched up Distress Inks to match the colors on my card.

How do you like my word dies that I made using my own handwriting....let me know what you think!!!

Finished Card Size:  A7 (5"x7")

Supplies List

Papers:  Recollections "White" 110 LB, DCWC "Black Glitter Paper"

Ink:  Tsukineko Versafine "Watermark"

Tools:  Silhouette "Cameo",  Sizzix "eclips"
Accessories:  "Sparkling Clear" Pretty Pink Posh sequins, Recollections "Extra Fine White Glitter" and "Gem Stones", Sparkle N Sprinkle "Black Suede Velvet Microfine Glittter", "Clear" Wink of Stella 

Let's play "Try a New Technique"!!!

Nope.....I did NOT drop off the face of the planet....LOL!!!  I have actually been quite busy and have not had time to post to my blog lately....but I can promise I will be posting a number of cards in the next day to two!!!

This weeks Splitcoast Stampers "Try a New Technique" Challenge was called "Color the Texture" and we were to dry emboss a piece of light colored cardstock with an embossing folder and then color the embossed portion using markers, Copics, watercolors, Gelatos, pencils or any other medium we chose. If you would like to check it out, you can find the post here.  Well, this card really is not my style, but I've been trying to step out of my "creative comfort zone", so I went for it.  Just recently I watched a video by the Frugal Crafter where she showed us how to make our own metallic paints using dollar store eye shadow and I went to the Dollar Tree and found five different colors of cheap eye shadow and made some...they are just like Twinkling H2O's, which I do not own any of.  If you would like to check out Lindsay's video, you can find it here!  Last week I had bought a couple of new Darice Embossing folders at Joann's on sale, so I decided to use one of them to take on this challenge.  The one I decided to use is called "Dandelions" and I embossed it on a piece of water color paper.  Three of my "diy" metallic paint colors are a lovely deep pink, a bronze type color and a gold.  I used those three colors to color the dandelions and I used my "Bundled Sage" and "Crushed Olive" Distress Markers to color the grass and stems.  I also faintly watercolored the background using my "Tumbled Glass" and "Broken China" Distress Markers.  I threw in just a little "Clear" Wink of Stella and then I made a mask to cover the dandelions and used a little white "Heidi Swapp Color Shine".  In the mail today I received the July kit for Simon Says Stamp which I bought because I love the "Sending Happy Thoughts" stamp set and I decided to use the "Sending" and "Happy Thoughts" stamps on my card embossed in silver.  The finishing touch is clear sequins.........which I swear I have become addicted to....LOL  Here is a photo of my finished product........hope you like it!

Thanks for stopping by and come back tomorrow as I will be posting a few more projects!

Finished Card Size:  A2 (4.25"x5.5")

Papers:  Strathmore 140 lb. cold press Watercolor Paper,  Bazzill 

Stamps:  Simon Says Stamps "Sending Happy Thoughts" 

Ink:  Tsukineko "VersaMark Watermark"

Tools:  Silhouette "Cameo",  Ranger "Heat It"

Accessories:  Stamp-n-Stuff "Detail Silver" embossing powder, Pretty Pink Posh "Sparkling Clear" Sequins, Tim Holtz "Distress Markers". Darice "Dandelions" embossing folder, "Clear" Wink of Stella, Heidi Swapp "White Color Shine"