Happy Birthday Tammy!!!

Oh my, where do I start with this card....it was SO much fun to make!  OK, let's start with the scored panel behind the white die cut panel.  I used a technique that I learned from Laura Sterckx, a very talented young card designer from Belgium, while taking an online Watercolor Class (K. Werner/Jennifer McGuire), wherein you make a scored design on watercolor paper, swipe your craft mat with different colors of Distress Inks (I used different shades of green), spray with a fine mist of water and then lay your piece of watercolor paper face down on the mat.  I love the watercolor effect that you get from this technique!  If you would like to check out Laura's YouTube channel, you can find it here.  You can let the inked panel dry on it's own or use your heat gun.  Now, for the magic....once it was dried I sprayed it with some of Heidi Swapp's "Gold Color Shine" and the panel really became quite stunning....love that "Color Shine"!  Unfortunately, my photo skills did not allow me to capture the true beauty of the panel.  On the top panel I used a Tim Holtz die and then decided to make me a stencil using the circular die from the same set using contact paper that I cut using my Cameo.  I swiped some of the "Forest Moss" Distressed Ink on a ceramic tile and then added some modeling paste, mixed it up using a pallet knife, adhered the "stencil" to my panel and added the paste.  Because I used contact paper to make the stencil, it just makes a thin layer of texture.  Here is an image of that die set which includes four dies and I really like it!

And here is how my card front looked when completed.

To finish off the card front, I made some white daisies using a Sizzix "Mini Daisy" die set and then added one of my "ladybugs" that I made using red liquid pearls, black stickles and a black fine tip Sharpie.  I sprayed some of the gold color shine unto some green card stock to make the green panel and cut the "happy" die.  I also sprayed some black cardstock and then cut the butterflies and dragonfly using my cameo.  Here are some close-up photos:

For the inside of the card, I used a layer of white cardstock on top of a layer of green, both sprayed with the gold color shine.  I used my same stencil  and some of the "Forest Moss" Distress Ink and a stencil brush to embellish this panel.  Prior to gluing them together I printed my message using my Canon printer.  OK y'all, now I have to make a confession.........my printer caused some black spots on the white panel. so I cut some little circles of the green sprayed cardstock, used my stylus to shape them and glued them to my panel to hide my boo-boo.  It worked like a charm and I topped it off with a butterfly with some more of the green sprayed cardstock! 

My friend Tammy loved her birthday card!!!

Finished Card Size:  5 1/2" Square

Supplies List

Papers:  Neenah 65# "White" & "Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White 80# Cover 8.5"x11", Recollections 65# & "Black  & "Green" from the "Spice Market" Collection ", 110# Recollections "White" (card base), DCWV "Silver Glitter Paper", Canson 140# "Cold Press Watercolor" paper

Stamps:  "Birthday" is a portion of a "Happy Birthday" stamp by Studio G

Inks:  Tsukineko "Versafine Onyx Black", Tim Holtz "Distress Inks"

Cut Files:  "Butterflies & Dragonfly" on card front made by me from images found online & cut on my Cameo.

Dies:  Spellbinders "6x6 Matting Basics A & B", Tim Holz Sizzix "Mixed Media", Susan's Garden Sizzix "Mini Daisy", Avery Elle "Simply Said Happy"

Fonts: 'DK Carte Blanche", "Dani's Handwriting"

Tools: Silhouette "Cameo",  Sizzix "Big Shot", Martha Stewart "Score Board", Susan's Garden "Tool Kit", Milwaukee "Heat Gun"

Accessories:  Susan's Garden "PanPastel Flower Coloring Kit 1", Woodland Scenic's "Yellow Paper Flower Pollen", Hiedi Swapp "Gold Color Shine", Teresa Collins "Modeling Paste", Ranger "Black Stickles", Martha Stewart "Classic Butterfly" punch.

Deer & Fawn Christmas Card

This is the only new Christmas card design that I completed this year (hope to do better next year!), due to so many doctor appointments for my husband and myself!  I've been wanting to do a design using birch trees and this is what I came up with.

I made a background panel using Distress and Hero Arts Shadow Inks and then stamped some trees and foliage to go behind the birch tree oval that I cut using my Cameo and then I cut and inked the edges of the deer to go in front of the birch trees.  I also put some little spots on the fawn using my white Signo pen.  I cut two ovals...on the bottom one I used some microfine glitter and I cut the top one using some silver glitter paper, glued them together and popped them up with an oval die cut piece of fun foam.  I designed the sentiment and the mat layer below it...I cut the "Merry Christmas" using some more of the silver glitter paper and then cut a couple of layers of the mat to pop it up.  I kept this pretty simple and uncluttered as I wanted the "deer scene" to be the focal point.  Here is a close-up.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope y'all liked this one!!!

Finished Card Size:  A7 (5"x7")

Supplies List

Papers:  Neenah 65# "White" & "Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White 80# Cover 8.5"x11", Recollections 65# "Brown" from the "Strawberry Cream" Collection, 110# Recollections "White" (card base), DCWV "Silver Glitter Paper"

Stamps:  Pine Trees from "Winter Holiday Stamp Set" Plaid "All Night Media" [#2438R], "E-88 Stick Weed" by Judith, "Blades of Grass" CC Rubber Stamps 1996, "Clump of Grass" Annette Allen Watkins A899

Inks:  Hero Arts "Shadow Inks", Tim Holtz "Distress Inks"

Dies:  Spellbinders "Ovals"

Cut Files:  Miss Kate Cuttables "Birch Trees with Deer" (altered by me to remove the deer and grass clumps), "Deer Family" by Tatum Clark from the Pazzles Craft Room, "Merry Christmas" [by me using Mightyheart Font Duo purchased from Mighty Deals]

Fonts: "Mightyheart Font Duo"

Tools: Silhouette "Cameo",  Sizzix "Big Shot", Martha Stewart "Score Board"

Accessories:  "White Uni-Ball Signo broad" pen, Elizabeth Crafts Designs "Cool Diamond" Microfine Glitter 

You are incredible!!!

Unfortunately, this year, I've only made a couple of Christmas cards because I've had a lot of problems with back pain and can only sit at my desk for short periods of time.  I have a wonderful friend that I wanted to make a card for......saying the she is incredible and I added a "Merry Christmas" to the inside of the card.  I used my new Altenew stamp set, "Persion Motifs" and here is a photo of the card front.

Here is a photo of the inside of the card, minus my personal message.

I used that same stamp set to decorate the inside of the card as well as the envelope.

I used a scan of my stamp to made a shape to use for my "signature label".

My friend loved her card!  Thank you for stopping by!

Finished Card Size:  5" square

Supplies List

Papers:  Neenah 65# "White" & "Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White 80# Cover 8.5"x11", Recollections 65# Purple Passion" and "Soda Pop" Collections, 110# Recollections "White" (card base)

Stamps:  Altenew "Persion Motifs"

Ink:  Tsukineko "Versafine Onyx Black" 7 Memento Dew Drops "Sweet Plum"

Cut Files:  Signature Label 

Dies:  Lil Inker "Stitched Mats Square"

Fonts: "Corinthia", "Christmas Debbie" dingbat font (deer images)

Tools: Silhouette "Cameo" (signature tag and some panels),  Sizzix "Vagabond", WeR Memory Keepers "Envelope Punch Board", Martha Stewart "Score Board"

Accessories:  Clear "Wink of Stella", Ranger "Glossy Accents", Copic "Sketch Markers", "Purple Bling”

"Thinking of You!"

A dear friend of mine is going to be receiving this card in the next couple of days....but I won't name her because she does not know it yet!  I water colored the background, and then used stamps from Altenew's "Peony Scrolls" set to stamp the flower, leaves and scrolls with VersaMark, added some white embossing powder, heat set and then water colored them using my Gansai Tambi watercolor set that I love.  I decided to do two more of the flowers which I cut with my Pazzles Vue and popped them up on foam tape for dimension and added some Wink of Stella.  I cut the butterfly with my Silhouette Cameo and added some Wink of Stella as well.  For my sentiment, I made a "fishtail banner" using my Cameo, colored it black and made the text white using the "Corinthia" font.  I had to make it a print and cut file in order to get the text to be white and I have to say that I love the look.  I have several stamps that I could have used but they would not have fit on my banner and of course, I just had to add some sequins....I am addicted!!!  

For the inside I used a panel of Champagne shimmed cardstock and used the same stamps with VersaMark and white embossing powder and heat set and I found a poem online that said what I wanted to say.  I used the "Flair Roman" font, printed with my Canon printer and I used the "photo matte" setting so that it would lay down more ink and then heat embossed it using clear embossing powder.

For my "signature label" on the back, I made a cutting file of one of the peony shapes with a mat and cut on my Cameo.  Once again, I used the "Corinthia" font.

I used some 24# Georgia-Pacific paper to make the envelope and added a panel of parchment paper to the front and used the same stamps to decorate it.

Thanks for stopping by and come back soon!

Finished Card Size:  A2 (4.25"x5.5")

Supplies List

Papers:  Strathmore 140# Cold Press Watercolor Paper, 65# Recollections "white, black & pink, 110# Recollections "ivory" cardstock (card base), Southworth 24# "Ivory" parchment paper

Stamps:  Altenew "Peony Scrolls"

Ink:  Tsukineko "VersaMark Watermark"

Cut Files:  Fishtail Banner, Butterfly & Signature Label (all by me)

Fonts: "Corinthia", "Flair Roman"

Tools: Pazzles "Vue", Silhouette "Cameo", Ranger "Heat It", Sizzix "Vagabond", WeR Memory Keepers "Envelope Punch Board"

Accessories:  "Clear" Wink of Stella Brush Tip Marker, Pretty Pink Posh "Sparkling Clear" sequins, Zing "White" embossing powder, Spellbinders  "Card Creator A-2 Matting Basics A, "Gansai Tambi" 36 Color Watercolor Set.