Hi, crafty friends. I’m sharing with you a super simple birthday card today, featuring this dragon eating ice cream from Lili of the Valley. This was the card we gave my nephew for his birthday this week. The first birthday card I ever made was for him for his first birthday. It featured a green dragon which I actually drew myself and colored in using Pantone markers. This week he turned 14, and even though this dragon is a bit childlike, it still feels like a nod back to that first one. Plus, he’s eating ice cream, you can’t go wrong with ice cream, and my nephew loves ice cream, so it was kind of perfect.
I printed the dragon on a piece of X-Press It blending card and colored him with my Copics, before using the largest die in the A2 Stitched Rectangles STAX 1 die set from My Favorite Things. I covered my card base with a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2″ piece of patterned paper from Kaisercraft (Charmed from the Key to my Heart collection) to match the green. I cut the panel with the dragon at funky angles at the top and left side to create a convex quadrilateral that I mounted on foam tape in the top left corner of the card.
Using a scrap of patterned paper from the Fremtidsdrømmer collection from Papirdesign, I die cut Gratulerer using the Gratulerer med dagen 3 die set, also from Papirdesign. I die cut an additional 3 layers of white cardstock to glue behind it, but decided that even that wasn’t enough dimension, so I cut tiny slivers of clear foam tape from Rabbit Hole Designs to add to the back of the letters. That did the trick, and it looks like the die cut is floating. I stamped a sub sentiment from the A06 stamp set from Norsk Stempelblad AS onto another piece of the same patterned paper using Jalapeño Popper ink from My Favorite Things, cut it down to a strip, added a couple of white cardstock strips behind it and more of the clear foam tape to make it float, before finishing off the card with a few enamel dots from the Pocketful of Sunshine pack from Altenew.
Fairly simple color palette, but I went through too many teal colors before I decided on the right one for the straws and the sprinkles.
This image is sooo sweet, I just had to create a card using it. There’s also a butterfly in the image, which I erased before printing, I just wanted the bunny with the kite for this card. I created a very simple grassy hill below her feet and used the Rolling Clouds stencil from My Favorite Things along with Eastern Sky ink from Altenew to create the clouds behind her.
From Stamper’s Select White cardstock from Papertrey Ink, I die cut three white frames using a die from the Madison Avenue die set from Mama Elephant and stacked them for a dimensional look. I adhered my colored piece to the back of the frame, before adhering everything to a card base I created from Poppin’ Pink cardstock from My Favorite Things. I white heat embossed a sentiment from the Mini Messages stamp set from Mama Elephant onto a separate piece of pink cardstock and used a 1″ circle punch from EK Success to create a quick circle from it. I popped it up on clear foam tape near the top right of the card, and decided not to add any embellishments to this.
Not a lot of colors for this one, though I probably went overboard with the yellows.
I actually created two cards this time. No Copic coloring on these, which is rare for me. I bought the Wreaths and Mulled Wine stamp set from Ciao Bella last year, but didn’t have time to use it. Get Cracking to the rescue. I took one of the wreaths in the stamp set, stamped it in VersaMark ink onto watercolor paper (I used Fabriano Artistico Extra White 140 lb hot pressed paper for this) and created two similar, yet different cards.
For this blue one I used Iridescent Sparkle embossing powder from JudiKins for my heat embossing. I used Prussian Blue paint from my Mijello Mission Gold watercolor set and watered it down quite a bit to get the light blue I was after. I used a 3/4″ flat brush across the surface, and the heat embossing resisted the watercolor I put on top. I love the edges of watercolor, so I just walked away and let this air dry, I didn’t want to mess with it.
Using a more concentrated paint of the the same color, I did a flat wash on a scrap piece of watercolor paper that was big enough for me to die cut. I used the Merry Script die from Mama Elephant and die cut three layers of white and one layer from my painted blue piece and stacked them for dimension. I also white heat embossed part of a sentiment from the Itty Bitty Holiday stamp set from My Favorite Things and nestled that in below the merry using some clear foam tape.
I could fiddle with placement of embellishments all day long. Color, size, I wanted everything to be just right, and wound up using a combination of the Igloo mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards (pearls and iridescent sparkle sequins), the Crystal Collection – Glass mix, also from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards (clear jewels), and a few blue diamonds from Kort & Godt to fill in the rest.
I used a die from Waffle Flower to create a rectangle from the watercolored piece and mounted in on foam tape on a card base I created from Spring Rain cardstock from Papertrey Ink. It’s no secret that I love blue for Christmas cards, and I thought this soft background with the wreath and the embellishments was a nice combo.
For my second card I used the same wreath stamp that I stamped in VersaMark ink. This time I embossed it in silver, painted the background with Van Dyke Green (also watered down quite a bit) and flipped the panel upside down to have the snowflake in the bottom right “corner” of the wreath instead of the top left.
I used the same Waffle Flower die to create my rectangle from the watercolor piece and was a little unsure of what to do for a card base. I didn’t have any green cardstocks that matched my watercoloring, and I didn’t feel like pulling my paints back out to create a green wash that I could use (although that would have been pretty). I rummaged through my silver cardstocks, but none of them matched the silver heat embossing very well, so I wound up creating my own using the same silver embossing powder that I used for the wreath. I squished my VersaMark pad onto the edges of a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2″ piece of white cardstock, sprinkled on the embossing powder and repeated the process until the embossing was even and covered everything. I adhered my embossed panel onto a white top fold card base and mounted my watercolor cardstock on top using foam tape.
Using the Hjerte 3 die set from Papirdesign, I die cut the words God jul three times and stacked them for a dimensional look. I made sure to cut the top layer from the watercolor paper I’d already used so that the whites would match. I adhered my die cut words to the center of the wreath using liquid glue.
To finish off the card I added Kort & Godt diamonds in three different sizes in clusters around the wreath. They act as little berries and add a little bit of sparkle and shine.
I made quite a few green Christmas cards last year. It’s a color that’s growing on me, and this Van Dyke Green from Mijello is the most perfect green ever.
I had so much fun creating these cards. They’re very different from what I usually create, that might be part of the reason why. The simplicity of this design makes it easy to mass produce, too, if that’s your jam. Break out your embossing powders, different colors of paint and go to town.
I actually made this card for my dad, whose birthday was last week. He loves his cakes and desserts, and has a stationary bike that he works on on almost daily (while watching police car chases on YouTube; no joke), and I thought this image would be perfect for him, with the little bear on his bike and the cupcake trailing behind. I colored the image with my Copics and used the Stitched Mini Slimline STAX die set from My Favorite Things to turn it into a panel that would fit nicely on a mini slimline card. I then die cut the letters to spell HURRA three times from Jalapeño Popper cardstock from My Favorite Things and stacked them for a dimensional look, before deciding that the green was too dark. I didn’t want to start over, so I using the same dies (the Connected die set from My Favorite Things), I cut an additional layer from Parsley cardstock from Concord & 9th and glued that on top of the dark green. I like the lighter green better.
I adhered my panel to a card base I created from Blueberry cardstock from My Favorite Things. I added Glossy Accents to the hearts in the image, stamped a sentiment from the A06 stamp set from Norsk Stempelblad AS using Jalapeño Popper ink from My Favorite Things and added a few more strips of cardstock behind it for dimension. I finished off the card with a couple of enamel dots from Papirdesign.
I probably used way more colors than I really needed for this card. Three colors for that cherry is kind of ridiculous, it’s not that big, but that’s kind of what I do – I really love my Copics.
I colored the scene in using Copics. A couple of my browns went sticky during my coloring, and refilling them (which usually does the trick, markers tend to go sticky when they’re low on ink) didn’t work, so I replaced the nibs and they’re behaving a little bit better now.
Using Classic Kraft cardstock from Papertrey Ink, I die cut the largest of the Wood frame infinity dies from Hero Arts and put two additional layers behind it for dimension. The die actually cuts a frame that is slightly larger than the size of an A2 card, so I created a custom sized card to fit the frame. I glued the frame to my scene, stamped a sentiment from the Småtekster stamp set from Norsk Stempelblad AS onto Cornflower cardstock from My Favorite Things and heat embossed it in white, before using a die from the Tag Builder Blueprints 6 die set from My Favorite Things to turn it into a nice strip with a flag end. I adhered it to the frame and added 3 sequins from the White Orchid sequin mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards to finish.
Very simple color palette. Since I had to color it twice I’m glad it wasn’t more involved 🙂
I couldn’t choose any other colors for this card, it simply had to be blue and yellow. I colored the image with Copics, then used the largest die in the Wonky Stitched Rectangles STAX set from My Favorite Things to create a little bit of interest to the edges of the panel, before adhering it to a card base created from Cornflower cardstock from My Favorite Things.
In the top right corner, I adhered part of a mini doily from Doodlebug using liquid glue. To the top of the card, I tied a piece of Divine Twine from Whisker Graphics in the color Lemon. I stamped and white heat embossed a sentiment from the Mini Messages stamp set from Mama Elephant on a scrap piece of blue cardstock and die cut it into a tag using a die from the Everyday Gift Box die set from My Favorite Things. I tied the ends of the twine to the tag, added a bow and put foam tape behind the tag for a little bit of dimension to my card.
I put a small piece of Stick-it adhesive behind a scrap of Bright Buttercup cardstock from Papertrey Ink and die cut lots of tiny hearts from it using a die from the Say What? Gift Tags die set from Lawn Fawn. I adhered the hearts in three little groupings of three. They form a nice visual triangle and add more yellow goodness to the card. There’s no such thing as too many hearts!
I’m sending lots of love to the people in Ukraine. It’s heartbreaking that certain people haven’t yet learned the lesson that war’s never the answer. Love always is. 💙💛
Lots of Copics used for this. Thankfully, they were already out on my desk from previous projects, so I didn’t add to the pile of markers I have to clean before I put them back where they belong in my block stands.
I stamped my critters onto a piece of X-Press It blending card, which is the paper I prefer for all my Copic coloring. I colored the image, then restamped it using VersaFine Onyx Black to get super crisp black lines in the image. This needs to be done after coloring, Copics and VersaFine don’t play well together.
I used a die from Kort & Godt to create the torn page edge at the top of my panel, before trimming the rest of it down to fit on the front of a mini slimline card. I stamped a sentiment from the Scripty Xmas stamp set from Mama Elephant using Jalapeño Popper ink from My Favorite Things, added another three layers of cardstock behind my panel and adhered it to a card base I created from Jalapeño Popper cardstock from My Favorite Things.
To finish the card I scattered a few snowdrift sprinkles from Little Things From Lucy’s Cards around the image and sentiment.
I love this little stack of critters, and the tall, narrow design is the perfect kind of image for a mini slimline card.
You’d think my color palette wouldn’t have this many colors in it, but I tend to go overboard on the snow. I do the same with the green, I love this green combo.
I colored my image with Copics and put it aside while I worked on the rest of the card, which I kept fairly simple. I used the largest die in the A2 Stitched Rectangles STAX 1 set from My Favorite Things in combination with the Watercolor Wash Free Form die, also from MFT, to die cut a window from Bright Buttercup cardstock from Papertrey Ink. I adhered the image to the back of this window and adhered it to my card base, which I made from Stamper’s Select White cardstock from Papertrey Ink.
I die cut the Celebrate die from My Favorite Things twice from white cardstock and once from a silver sparkle cardstock and adhered them together for dimension. I also stamped a sub sentiment from the Itty Bitty Birthday stamp set from My Favorite Things onto Hibiscus Burst cardstock from Papertrey Ink and heat embossed it, before using a banner die from the Everyday Gift Box die set from My Favorite Things. I put a couple of additional layers of pink cardstock behind it, adhered it on top of the stacked Celebrate die cut and embellished the card very simply by putting two star enamel dots in spots that have stars in the stamp. Simple, right?
Quick and easy coloring with a fun, summery color palette (it’s been snowing and sleeting and freezing here, which makes me long for summer even more than usual).
As soon as I saw this train, I immediately thought of the movie The Polar Express, which happens to be my favorite animated Christmas movie. I colored my train in similar colors to the one in the movie, and I put a mask on top when my coloring was done and airbrushed the sky, moon and glow coming from the headlight.
My best friend and I have a tradition where we sit down and watch this movie every year, and I thought the sentiment from the 
The sentiment is actually one long line, but I did some masking to create a staggered one, which I thought fit my card better. I stamped the sentiment in VersaMark ink and heat embossed it in white using Super fine detail embossing powder from Ranger.
I created the moon by first masking off a circle as I airbrushed the sky, then I used the moon mask that was part of the Tim Holtz/Simon Says Stamp collaboration set for Stamptember 2021 to create my moon.
Once I’d created my moon I covered the circle opening again with VersaMark ink and sprinkled on Iridescent Sparkle embossing powder from Judikins, which I then melted. It gives the moon a nice sparkly glow. I thought that would be a nice detail to add to what is otherwise a very simple card. I adhered the colored scene to a white top fold card base and decided not to embellish, I wanted the image to be the focal point on this card.
Lots of Copics for this one. The ones after the white gap are the ones I used to airbrush the sky, moon and the glow from the headlight.
I colored in the image with my Copics, used the second largest die from the A2 Stitched Rectangles STAX Set 1 die set from My Favorite Things to create the wonderful stitching on the border of the colored piece and adhered it to a card base I created from Harvest Gold cardstock from Papertrey Ink. I clear heat embossed the Happy Birthday background stamp from MFT on the card base. I stamped a sentiment from the Scripty Bday set from Mama Elephant in VersaFine Onyx Black ink and clear heat embossed, turned it into a circle using a nesting die and adhered it to the card using foam tape, before finishing off the card with a few Sparkling Clear sequins from Pretty Pink Posh.
Papirmølla 