I adore you. The end. {Papiria}

Hi, crafty friends. I’ve played with colors and texture on today’s card. It’s fun to play.

This time, I landed on Honeysuckle, Sprout and Tidepool, which are all colors from Concord & 9th. I started by die cutting hexagons from my three colors using the Simply Hexagons die from Pinkfresh Studio.

Onto the Sprout hexagons, I stamped leaves from the Leaf Clusters stamp set from Altenew using Sprout ink. On the Tidepool hexagons, I ink blended for a gradient look using Tidepool ink before dry embossing with an old stencil from Memory Box (Texture Dot Grid) for some added texture. I stamped and white heat embossed a sentiment onto one of the pink hexagons and left the other one plain. I glued additional hexagons behind each and even added foam tape behind the sentiment one for even more dimension. Dimension is life, after all.

After adhering everything to my card base, I cropped the card down slightly. It matched my design better, so this card is 4 x 5 3/8″. I added opal gem stones from Spellbinders near the sentiment to draw the eye in.

The dimension makes it look like these hexagons are floating on the front of the card, and the pink one with the sentiment is floating a bit more than the rest.

Aussie Christmas {Rachelle Anne Miller}

Hi, crafty friends. I have a fun holiday card to share today featuring Light up emu, which is a stamp from this month’s release from Rachelle Anne Miller. I love creating Aussie themed cards, and thankfully, all the Aussie images I have are cute ones. I’m staying far away from blue-ringed octopus, red back spiders and Eastern brown snakes (as well as cassowaries, box jelly fish, stonefish, great white sharks and salties, among other things). Today’s card has an emu, which maybe should be on my list. It was certainly on the Australian government’s list about a century ago. The Australian government actually declared war on the emus. I’m not making this up, it’s called The Great Emu War. The emus were destroying wheat crops, and the government wanted to curb the population and launched a military operation to do so. Weird, huh?  Do you know what’s even weirder? The emus won. Twice!! My emu’s not destroying anything, he’s lit up like a Christmas tree, and he even has a koala wrapped around his neck, which I thought was so cute. I really can’t resist a koala.

I colored my emu and koala with Copics, and fussy cut the image leaving a white trim. Cutting around that string of lights was tricky, but worth it.

Onto a piece of white cardstock, I stamped the Christmas Lights Bold Prints stamp from Hero Arts using VersaMark ink, and poured on Iridescent Sparkle embossing powder from Judikins, which I then heat embossed. It adds a sparkly, but subtle shine to the background and I love that the lights are just like the colored lights on the emu.

I cut off a strip of the panel on each side and die cut a star in the top center using the Stars Five die set from Spellbinders. I mounted the panel on foam tape and added it to a card base I’d covered with the Gum leaves patterned paper that was part of the Aussie Christmas digital paper pack that was also part of this month’s release. This green color is dreamy!

I mounted the emu in the star opening, making sure to adhere the delicate lights directly to the white panel, while the emu itself is backed with foam tape. I stamped an white heat embossed a sentiment from the Christmas Wishes stamp set from My Favorite Things onto a scrap piece of my gum leaves paper, before using the coordinating die to cut it out. I backed it with four white die cuts and adhered it underneath the emu’s feet and dangling lights, before finishing off with sequins and star confetti from the Starry Night mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards.

You can see a little more of the sparkle in this photo.

The emu and the koala are very muted, so I chose bright colors for the lights.

Oh, and before I go, just because I feel like it – a little light-hearted “everything wants to kill you in Australia” meme:

For you {Lili of the Valley}

Hi, crafty friends. I’m back with another floral card. I keep waiting for spring to arrive, and nothing says spring to me like the first flowers of the season. Up until the middle of last week, all I’d seen so far this year were snow drops. We had a few warm, sunny days last week, and even though I was at work and didn’t get to enjoy the weather to its fullest, I saw coltsfoot (usually the first sign of spring) and even wood anemones. Today, it’s back to cold, rainy weather, and we’ve even got snow in the forecast, which means I’m back to dreaming about warmer weather by coloring florals.

This image was so quick and easy to color up. It’s a digital stamp from Lili of the Valley, entitled If friends were flowers.

I colored the image with Copics, trimmed a little bit off the edges of my panel and adhered it to a card base I created from Berry Sorbet cardstock from Papertrey Ink. I used the same color cardstock to die cut the words for you using a die in the Sweet Sentiments die set from Altenew. I stacked two on top of each other to give a little bit of dimension, without it being too much, before finishing the card with a gems from a pack of Color Essentials gems (in opal) from Spellbinders. I also added a dot of black Glaze pen to the eye of the little bee for a little bit of shine.

Simple color palette for this one.

Christening {Mo’s Digital Pencil}

Hi, crafty friends. Today I’m sharing a card made for a little girl whose christening was actually back in November.

This Christening image from Mo Manning is one that I’ve used in the past as well, and I used a bunch of scraps of patterned paper as well as some really old dies and flowers to create this card. More than anything, I love it when my pile of scraps shrinks. It doesn’t happen very quickly, because I rarely use this much patterned paper on a card, but boy, does it feel good.

I used 3 different collections of patterned paper from Maja Design for this card. One of the benefits of using their papers is that their collections usually match pretty well. Vintage Basics Summer, Vintage Baby and Sofiero are the collections I used for this card, and they all match. I used older dies from Lifestyle Crafts, Cottage Cutz, Scrapmagasinet, Marianne Design and Spellbinders, as well as flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts and Papirdesign.

The insides of the card have a very similar layout, and so does the back. Onto a white circular panel, I stamped a christening stamp from North Star Design using Soft Granite ink from Hero Arts.

The card was too thick to fit inside a regular envelope, so I created a box envelope using a punch board from We R Memory Keepers. Onto a diecut eyelet circle I stamped a Norsk Stempelblad AS sentiment and adhered it to the box envelope.

This image is so quick to color and doesn’t require a ton of markers. Easy peasy!

Easy peasy criss cross card {Mo’s Digital Pencil}

Hi, crafty friends. Today I’m sharing a card that’s a little bit different. It’s a criss cross card. I’ve made a few of them in the past, but it’s been a while, and they’re kind of fun to make.

This card was created for a little girl whose christening was this past Sunday. I think the Baby and Bunny image from Mo Manning is super adorable, and it’s an easy one to color up fairly quickly too. I chose some purplish patterned papers from Papirdesign and Maja Design and colored the image with Copics that matched.

I die cut the image using a circle die from Lifestyle Crafts and matted it with kraft cardstock. I also printed the name and date on a piece of white cardstock that I also matted with kraft. I put a doily from Helz Cuppelditch behind my image and added flowers using a hot glue gun. I took out the yellow centers of two of the flowers and replaced them with Lavender pearls from Kaisercraft.

On the inside tag I added a circle diecut made from white cardstock for a space to write a personal message. I used the Labels Trio die set from Spellbinders to create two “handles” from kraft cardstock. I tied a bow and attached a charm to one of them for a little added interest.

On the back of the card I stamped a sentiment from North Star Design using Amethyst ink from Altenew.

The card isn’t very big, it only measures 5×5″, but it’s quite dimensional and doesn’t fit in a regular envelope, so I decided it was best to create a box envelope.

I rummaged through my 12×12″ cardstock and found a color that matched pretty well, and used my Envelope Punch Board from We R Memory Keepers to create the box. I added another Helz Cuppelditch doily for cohesion, as well as more of the patterned paper that I die cut using the Impact alphabet die set from My Favorite Things.

Not a whole lot of Copics used for this.

Be merry {Purple Onion Designs}

Christmas is less than a month away, and I admit I haven’t bought all my presents yet. I have, however, been good at creating Christmas cards all year. I think Christmas cards are the most fun cards to make, even in Spring, and as a result, I have plenty done and never have to scramble last minute to create them.

Today I’m sharing a simple one, featuring Shirley and Sharon, this owl and smaller bird with a snowflake garland between them. This image doesn’t need to be used for Christmas either, it would be great for a wintery birthday card.

I stamped the image with Extreme Black ink from My Favorite Things onto X-Press It blending card, colored the image with Copics and fussy cut, leaving a thin, white border. I prefer cutting right up against the stamped lines when I fussy cut, but with the snowflake garland, that just wasn’t an option.

I used an oval die from Spellbinders to cut a window into a white cardstock panel. I then used the Snowflake Oval Frame embossing folder from Simon Says Stamp to create a little bit of texture to my plain white cardstock. This embossing folder has an oval in the center that doesn’t emboss (where you can stamp a sentiment), but I wanted a window for my card and cut out an oval before using the embossing folder.

I created a card base from Spring Rain cardstock from Papertrey Ink and stamped part of a sentiment from the Home For The Holidays sentiment set using Spring Rain ink in the exact spot I wanted. The sentiment actually says Eat, drink and be merry!, but by using just the last part, it fit my card better.

I put lots of foam tape on the back of the white cardstock with the dry embossed snowflakes and adhered that to my card, and then added foam tape behind my colored image and placed it in the center of the card.

Simple color palette for this card.

Witch better have my candy {Streamside Studios}

Witch way to the party? I’m sharing a treat holder today for Halloween. I try not to make too many Halloween cards, simply because I have no idea who I’d send them to. I do make the occasional Halloween project that isn’t a card, though.

This cute witch is part of the My Little Pet Ghost digi stamp set from Streamside Studios. There are lots of of other images in the set, but today, I only used the witch. I colored her and fussy cut her, before using foam squares to mount her onto my treat holder. These treat holders are super easy to make. Start with a piece of cardstock (or patterned paper if you want, if it’s heavyweight enough) that measures 3 1/8 x 10 1/2″. Score on the long side at 4 1/2 and 6″, and you have the outer part all done, ready to be decorated however you want. Score a 4 1/2 x 3 1/2″ panel 1″ from all four sides, cut, fold and glue along the flaps and glue it to the inside bottom of the outer part. Super simple.

I did ink blending on this one, using the Slimline Cloud Edges stencil from My Favorite Things and inks from Altenew in the colors Deep Iris, Lavender Fields and Soft Lilac. I used the House on the Horizon die from Simon Says Stamp and die cut that from True Black cardstock from Papertrey Ink and adhered it directly onto my ink blended piece. Using a yellow Copic marker, I quickly colored in the windows and door of the house. I colored some white letter stickers from Papirdesign to match the orange on the girl, and adhered the letters next to her feet, before finishing off with a few ghosts from the Candy Corn mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards. I put a scrap piece of patterned paper on the inside back for a little extra visual interest, die cut holes through both layers and added a piece of ribbon and some twine to finish.

Simple, Halloweeny color palette.

Den beste plassen i verden… {Hobbykunst}

… er inni en kos!

Jeg var innom Hobbykunst i januar og fikk en utfordring om å bruke et Reprint-ark til å lage et stæsjet valentineskort. Jeg er vel ikke akkurat den på designteamet som stæsjer mest, men jeg tok utfordringen og brukte opp omtrent rubbel og bit av arket til dette kortet, som jeg syns er ganske så stæsjet. Jeg rufset kantene på arkene mine, brukte osteklut, kakeserviett, blonde, forskjellige diecuts, blomster, perler og knapper for å pynte.

Teksten er et stempel fra Venner 1-platen til Huldra designstudio, stemplet med Autumn Rose blekk fra Papertrey Ink rett på den stripede baksiden av mønsterarket. Tekstpanelet er stanset ut fra midten av et annet utstanset panel. Jeg stanset også ut det samme panelet i grå mosegummi og limte bak for jevn dimensjon. Jeg har hatt dette diesettet fra Spellbinders i årevis, og det har alltid gitt meg trøbbel når jeg har stanset ut, for kanten er ganske intrikat. Noen ganger har den ikke villet stanse ut hele, andre ganger har papiret sittet så godt fast i dieen at jeg har slitt med å få det ut. I fjor gikk jeg til innkjøp av en Gemini Jr., og siden har jeg ikke hatt noe trøbbel med intrikate dies, alt stanses ut som en drøm. Det er faktisk en så super maskin at jeg har pensjonert BigShot-maskinen min.

Kortet ble ikke veldig postgangvennlig, det er ganske tykt, selv om jeg kun har pyntet forsiden. Det var nemlig ikke nok igjen av arket til å bruke inni og bak. Sløyfen med knapp sitter fast i en tag som er under hovedpanelet. Teksten på tagen er også et Huldra-stempel. Hvilket kan du se i Hobbykunst-butikken, der er nemlig kortet.

Kjære pappa {Ett trykk}

Det er den andre søndagen i november, og det betyr farsdag i Norge. I fjorårets oktobernummer hadde vi en artikkel med fokus på farsdagskort. Likevel var det ikke helt vanlige kort, de åpnes nemlig på en litt annen måte enn vanlige kort. Man tar et ark kartong i lettersize og skjærer diagonalt, før man preger og bretter på 4 1/4″ på kortsiden og 5 1/2″ på langsiden. Her er min variant.

Jeg har brukt mørkeblå kartong fra Papertrey Ink (fargen heter Enchanted Evening) som kortbasen min, og lagd et lag på lag-kort som jeg likevel syns er ganske maskulint.

Jeg har blandet ark fra mange forskjellige serier fra flere produsenter på dette kortet. Her er Skolestart-serien til Papirdesign (arket med linjer i bakgrunnen og også det som ser ut som betong), Julehilsen fra samme produsent (trevirke), Kaffepause (det sennepsgule med sikksakk), også fra Papirdesign, Pipeline fra Fancy Pants (det blå mønsterarket) og til slutt Maja Design (bilen).

Arkene er limt litt småstrukturer, men likevel hulter til bulter, både rett oppå hverandre og med 3D-puter i forskjellige høyder for dimensjon. Det krevde litt planlegging, for all pynten måtte være limt fast i den ene halvdelen av kortet for at det skulle kunne åpnes. Jeg valgte den høyre halvdelen, og venstresiden av diagonalen har dermed ingen mønsterark, annet enn linjearket helt bakerst. Jeg har også limt magneter under et par av mønsterarkene, så kortet skal kunne lukkes ordentlig.

I tillegg til mønsterark brukte jeg noen andre elementer for å myke opp uttrykket litt. Jeg brukte en hullmønsterdie fra Papirdesign på en bit kartong og brukte biter av den her og der på kortet. Jeg stanset også ut en stor stjerne i kartong med en Spellbindersdie for å rydde opp litt, så ikke kortet så så rotete ut med alle mønsterarkbitene. Stjernen gjør også at bilen kommer bedre frem, og den er også en fin plass til å lime på glassrøret fra Tim Holtz med NSB-tekst stemplet inni med samme farge som kartongen.

Jeg brukte også noen chipboardbiter fra Snip Art som jeg dyttet inn her og der og limte på plass, og også noen finérstjerner fra Studio Calico. En liten bit blå sytråd fra Mölnlycke myker opp enda litt mer, og jeg blandet blekkfargen med litt vann og sprutet over kortet for å få det enda litt mindre rigid.

Siden kartongen er så mørk valgte jeg å bruke et mønsterark til skrivefelt inni kortet. Her stemplet jeg noen stjerner fra Stampers Anonymous med samme blekkfarge som jeg har brukt ellers, og den ene stjernen nede til høyre er andregenerasjonsstemplet for et litt dusere uttrykk. Jeg limte også på en bit av hullmønsteret mitt for en siste lille finish. Her syns også at arkene på kortets forside kun er limt på trekantpanelet til høyre.

Til dåpsbarnet

Hei og hopp!

Det går lang tid mellom lag på lag-kortene mine, men i dag har jeg laget et dåpskort. Denne gangen har jeg brukt Nesting Frames 8-settet til Lifestyle Crafts og lagd et fasongkort. Kortet blir liksom mer pyntet med en gang det får en annen form enn kvadratisk og rektangulært, og det er faktisk mye enklere å sette sammen fasongkort enn vanlige kort.

Jeg har stemplet et motiv med barnesko fra North Star Design og fargelagt. Jeg syns barnesko gjør seg så bra på dåpskort. Jeg har klippet rundt motivet og limt det med lave 3D-puterer  på et av mønsterarkene mine fra Maja Design. Jeg har brukt ark fra flere forskjellige kolleksjoner på dette kortet. Noe av det som er så bra med arkene til Maja Design er at de kan brukes på tvers av kolleksjoner, men likevel harmonerer de.

Selv om kortet er lag på lag er det ganske enkelt, alt er bare stanset ut og limt oppå hverandre, noe med dimensjon. Teksten fra North Star Design har jeg stemplet på et utstanset banner i en farge som matcher det brune i arkene. Jeg har pyntet meget enkelt med finérstjerner fra Studio Calico og perler fra FabScraps.

Her kommer dimensjonen bedre frem. Lave og høye 3D-puter er brukt om hverandre for å gi ulike høyder opp fra lagene under.

Innsidene har det samme oppsettet. Her har jeg brukt en die fra Papirdesign til å stanse ut en dekorativ slisse i den hvite kartongen for å lage plass til penger. Jeg har stemplet et bakgrunnsstempel fra NSD på den hvite sirkelen, og limt navnet på dåpsbarnet over med utstansede bokstaver av mønsterark. Den andre innsiden er lik, men der er den hvite kartongsirkelen beregnet til å skrive personlig hilsen på.

På baksiden av kortet har jeg stemplet en tekst på det hvite panelet og brukt den lille varianten av skoene som pynt.

Kortet er såpass tykt at det ikke får plass i en vanlig konvolutt. Jeg har derfor laget min egen. Jeg har brukt minivarianten av skoene også her, og rammet dem inn ved hjelp av en polaroidramme stanset ut med en die fra My Favorite Things.