Hi, everyone. We’re almost two weeks into spring, but there are still patches of snow and ice on the ground, and there’s even more snow in the forecast. I’m compensating by making happy, colorful cards and this one features Daisy Daisy from Mo’s Digital Pencil.
I colored the image with Copics, added some simple ground and flowers next to her and die cut my panel using the largest die in the Additional A2 Layers die set from Waffle Flower, before adhering it to a card base I created from Lazy Day cardstock from My Favorite Things. It’s been a really long time since I’ve made one of my signature “cluster cards”, so I decided it was time for a new one. I keep little die cut scraps in storage pockets sorted by color, which makes it easy to find pieces that will fit any color combination I’ve chosen for my image. I play around with the composition, and when I’m happy, I adhere it all to my card. Some directly, some using foam tape. This gets very thick very fast, but I love this process.
I stamped a sentiment from the Pristine Peonies stamp set from Altenew using Picked Raspberry Distress Oxide ink, then die cut it into a banner using one of the dies in the Essential Stitched Sentiment Strips die set from My Favorite Things. This goes really well with the other fishtail banners I already had going in my cluster, and the color matches nicely with the pink striped patterned paper from Sunny Studio that I used. I finished off with a few enamel dots from the Pocketful of Sunshine pack from Altenew.
Very springy color palette. I’m here for it!!
As usual, I colored the image with Copics, cut my panel down a little on the sides and added Glossy Accents to all the ornaments. This time, I decided to use the 
My signature clean and simple cluster cards have been few and far between this year, and I thought a mini cluster would work well for this card. I started with a scrap of a mini paper doily from Doodlebug Design that I adhered to my colored panel with liquid glue. I die cut a couple of additional pieces using the Happy Days Ticket Stubs die from XCut. This is one die that cuts nine different tickets, and it’s one I use a lot. I cut one from the light blue gingham patterned paper, and the other one from a scrap piece of patterned paper from Kaisercraft. I put them both on foam squares for dimension. The sentiment is from the Itty Bitty Holiday stamp set from My Favorite Things, stamped and white heat embossed on a piece of Autumn Rose cardstock from Papertrey Ink, which I then die cut into a strip with flag ends using a die from the Itty Bitty Strips die set from My Favorite Things. I finished off with a few sequins from the Ice Water mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards.
A very simple color palette for this card. I started out with blue ornaments, but once I printed the patterned paper, I realized they needed to have a green tinge and went over the blue with BG32 and G00.
It’s confirmation season, and my nephew’s confirmation was September 10th. I made several cards for him, and this is one of them. I thought this image was the perfect one to use, nothing says fifteen year old boy like a guy with his phone in his hand, school books hidden away and a bowl of snacks on the armrest. The controller tucked away is a nice touch too. We don’t wear shoes indoors in Norway, but the rest is pretty spot on.
I created a background for my colored image using a variety of stamps, inks and even a stencil. I started with the Abstract Triangle Background stamp from My Favorite Things that I stamped in Orange Peel ink from Simon Says Stamp. I didn’t want the stamp to cover the entire background and made sure to stamp it in the lower left corner and have it fade as it went up and to the right. I then took a confirmation stamp from the A05 stamp set from Norsk Stempelblad AS and repeatedly stamped it on top of the stamping I’d already done using VersaMark ink, before sprinkling on super fine detail embossing powder from Ranger and melting the powder with my heat gun. I then used the Watercolor Wash Free Form stencil from My Favorite Things and ink blended using Spiced Marmalade and Mustard Seed distress inks.
I fussy cut my image leaving a white trim and mounted it on foam tape on top of the stamping and ink blending I’d done. I die cut the Hullmønster die from Papirdesign twice; once from Cornflower cardstock and once from Sour Apple cardstock, both from My Favorite Things. I tore them both up, tucking a couple of pieces behind the image for a little bit of added interest.
I used the Konfirmant 2 die from Papirdesign to die cut five times from cardstock for a stacked look, placing a layer die cut from True Black cardstock from Papertrey Ink on top of the stack. I adhered it to the card using liquid glue, placing the beginning of the word on top of Noah’s pant leg to make it all fit.
I added some sentiment stickers from Kort & Godt to fill the space at the bottom of the card a little. They’re originally a bit bigger than this and white with black letters, but I used a Copic marker to color them blue to make them stand out against the white background a little and also cut them down slightly. The banners with the stars are also Kort & Godt stickers.
In the top right corner, I created a little cluster with die cut pieces and those stickers, before finishing off the card with a few Papirdesign enamel dots. Onto a Limelight envelope from My Favorite Things, I adhered white die cut letters (dies from Papirdesign) to spell his name and stamped Konfirmant from the Konf. 02 stamp set from Norsk Stempelblad AS using Limelight ink from My Favorite Things.
On the inside, I stamped a sentiment from the Konf. 02 stamp set from Norsk Stempelblad AS using Orange Peel ink from Simon Says Stamp. I also adhered number stickers from Papirdesign to get the date on there. The right hand side has plenty of space for a personal message.
Fun, bright color palette for this one.
This is Cupcake Thief. I’ve used the image once before. This time, I flipped it so she’s facing right, it’s one of the many advantages of using digital stamps. I colored her with Copics and cut my panel down to a width of 3 1/2″. I put it aside, covered a white card base with the black and white plaid patterned paper from My Favorite Things, then mounted the colored panel on foam tape, leaving a little bit of the patterned paper showing on one side, and more showing on the other.
On my desk, I keep storage pockets of die cut patterned paper scraps that I use on my cards. I keep them organized by color family, and pulled out the pink, orange and yellow ones for this, as well as a grey/white/neutral one. The great thing about this system is that everything’s already die cut (using the Happy Days Ticket Stubs die from XCut [which cuts 9 different tickets with one die] and the Fishtail Flag Frames die set from My Favorite Things), so I just play with sizes, colors and composition of the different pieces until I’m happy with the result. For this particular card I used a combo of patterned papers from Sunny Studio, P13 and Bo Bunny. Onto one of the die cut banners I stamped a sentiment from the Little Birthday Notes stamp set from My Favorite Things using Obsidian ink from Altenew. I finished off the card with a few sequins from the Sweet Shop mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards and some Stardust Stickles to the dress.
Quite a few Copics for this one. I also used B90, which is a color I’ve made myself, for a subtle hint of a sky.
I added a bunny to the top of the teacup stack and colored the image with Copics, before fussy cutting, leaving a thin white border around the edge. I used a black glaze pen from Sakura to add shine and a tiny bit of dimension to the bunny’s eyes, then a white dot of Gelly Roll 05 on top of the black, once the black was dry. The glaze pen dries fairly quickly once applied, so I didn’t have to wait long.
I adhered a panel of Blueberry cardstock from My Favorite Things to my white card base. Using a die in the A2 Double Stitched Rectangle STAX die set, also from My Favorite Things, I die cut a piece of patterned paper from Sunny Studio to adhere on top of the blue. This patterned paper is from the Subtle Grey Tones pack, and it really is subtle.
I realized I hadn’t made any of my signature clusters in a while, and decided to pull out my die cut scraps of patterned paper and have a play. These patterned papers are from Sunny Studio (more from the subtle grey pack), Kaisercraft (light blue with dots), Papirdesign (dark blue with smaller dots) and Maja Design (pink floral), all die cut using a combination of the Happy Days Ticket Stubs die from XCut and the Fishtail Flag Frames dies from My Favorite Things. I used a mini paper doily from Doodlebug to mat my little clusters, and embellished with sequins from Pretty Pink Posh and Simon Says Stamp.
The sentiment is from the Coffee and Chocolate stamp set from hÄnglar & Wings, white heat embossed on a strip of the same color cardstock I used for the card front. I then die cut it using one of the dies in the Itty Bitty Banners die set from My Favorite Things.
The interactive element that I mentioned at the beginning of the post is actually the image. As you can see in this photo, it sits pretty high off the base. The reason for that is that it’s on an action wobble, so it’ll shake and move once you help it along a tiny bit.
Fairly simple color palette for this one.
This is 
I love no line coloring, and no line is perfect for an image like this, which has just enough detail to make it interesting, but it’s still large enough to get soft gradient in colors and not too fiddly.
Once I finished my coloring, I added my panel to a 4 bar card base I created from Stamper’s Select White cardstock from Papertrey Ink. I created some texture to the dandelion fluff by using my Quickie glue pen and sprinkling on Rock Candy Distress glitter.
I adhered scraps of a Doodlebug mini paper doily to opposite corners of the card to add to the soft, delicate look I was aiming for. Using Sour Apple ink from My Favorite Things, I stamped a sentiment from the 
Very soft color palette.
I colored the image with Copics and die cut the panel using the largest die in the A2 Stitched Rectangles STAX 1 die set from My Favorite Things, before adhering it to a card base I created from Sour Apple cardstock, also from My Favorite Things.
On my cluster cards, I usually choose two to three colors from the image to create scraps from. This time I chose green and yellow with a little bit of gray. Neutrals are always a good thing to add. I keep die cut scraps in stamp storage pockets on my desk, sorted by color. Whenever I want to create a cluster, I choose the storage pockets with the colors I want, dump the contents on my desk and start PLAYING.
For this card I wound up using scraps from 3ndypapir, Karen Foster, Sunny Studio, P13, Magnolia and Papirdesign. By limiting the size and colors of my clusters, the design stays harmonious and you can’t tell that I’ve used patterned paper from 6 different companies. I adhere some directly to the layer below, some using foam squares. As a base, I used half a doily from Doodlebug Design that I had in a drawer. I love these tiny paper doilies, they’re perfect for this.
Using VersaFine Onyx Black ink, I stamped a sentiment from the 
These cluster cards are so fun to make. They make my piles of scraps shrink EVER so slightly, but anything’s better than nothing, and I love the dimension they add to the card.
I used quite a few colors for this one.
I colored up 
These clusters are pretty easy to put together. On my desk I keep a bin with die cut scraps of patterned paper. I organize these scraps by color, and put each color in a stamp storage bag. Whenever I want to create a cluster, I choose the colors that go with my card, dump the contents of the storage pockets on my desk and play. This time I used three bags; the blue, the green and the gray – it’s nice to throw a neutral into the mix. The scraps I used for this card are from a few different companies. The blue ones are from Papirdesign (the grey with the blue stars is the back of that blue with the lighter dots), the green ones are from 3ndypapir and Karen Foster, with a little bit of New Leaf cardstock from Papertrey Ink thrown in for a darker green to make the dark blue a little less dominant. The top grey one is actually from Magnolia, whereas the one with the sentiment is from DCWV. The sentiment itself is from Norsk Stempelblad, stamped in Cornflower ink from My Favorite Things. To finish off the card I added a few green enamel dots from Papirdesign.
This color palette makes me happy.
I printed the image near the bottom left corner of a panel of X-Press It blending card, before coloring it with Copics and using the largest die in the A2 Double Stitched Rectangle STAX die set from My Favorite Things to create a finished look with the nice faux stitching details that I love to add to my cards. I adhered it to a cardbase I created from Jalapeño Popper cardstock, also from MFT, and I had my base ready for some play with scraps.
I love creating these clusters of die cut scraps on my cards, and I have stamp storage pockets with little die cut patterned paper scraps sorted by color. That way I can rummage through these when I create my cards instead of having to find lots of patterned paper to match my card, then die cut it. It usually takes several different patterned papers of one color to create the dynamic look I want for my cards, but for this one, I actually kept it simple with one yellow (P13), one white and gray (Sunny Studio) and only two green ones (Basic Grey and Karen Foster Design). They’re all different shapes, which still keeps it interesting. Some are glued directly to the card, some with foam tape for a little bit of dimension. Using VersaMark ink, I stamped a sentiment from the Mini Messages stamp set from Mama Elephant onto one of these die cut pieces (it happened to be a tag) and heat embossed it using Super Fine Detail embossing powder from Ranger. I used part of a mini paper doily from Doodlebug Design behind my main cluster, and added a few enamel dots (green from Papirdesign, yellow from Altenew) to embellish.
Lots of green for this color palette.
I cut down my panel of X-Press It blending card significantly when my coloring was done, and mounted it on foam tape onto the cardbase, which I’d covered with a scrap piece of patterned paper from the Hjem til jul collection from Papirdesign.
I added a small cluster towards the top right corner of the card, using a mini doily from Doodlebug, as well as some die cut scraps of patterned paper from Maja Design and Sunny Studio. I stamped a sentiment from Norsk Stempelblad AS using Dark Chocolate ink from Papertrey Ink onto Classic Kraft cardstock, also from Papertrey Ink. The dies I used in my cluster are a combination of My Favorite Things (Fishtail Flag Frames and Itty Bitty Strips) and X-Cut (Happy Days Ticket Stubs). I also used the Hero Arts Snowflake Confetti fancy die to die cut snowflakes that I scattered across the card, and I put a white pearl from Kort & Godt in the center of each snowflake to finish the card.
This color combination of blue and bright pink sure was fun, and these are brighter blues than the ones I normally use. I also used a ton of colors for the snow in this little scene. I just can’t help myself.
Papirmølla 