Believe in Christmas Card

I printed this digital stamp ("Christmas Prayer" by KristaSmithStamps) several months ago, but I buried it under a pile of other printouts. Finally, I had a chance to come back to it and create a Christmas card!

This is a slimline (3.5" x 8.5") card. I printed Christmas Prayer on Copic XPress-It Blending Card and colored her with my Copics. I fussy cut her with scissors, mainly because I wanted to replace some of the items in her Christmas crown with 3D poinsettias.

I cut the "Believe" sentiment (My Favorite Things) into gold mirror cardstock. From the Small Poinsettia Die Set (Impression Obsession), I cut 6 of the smallest poinsettia. I colored them with Copics (4 red, 2 tan) and coated them in transparent microfine glitter. I glued them together in pairs, offsetting the top flower so the flower would have very full petals.

I layered a bottom red cardstock mat under a black panel, and then I glued on the sentiment and girl. I glued the poinsettias onto her flower crown, and I added a clear Swarovski crystal (4mm) to the center of each poinsettia. I added a few more Swarovski crystals around her for a little more sparkle.

Here's a better view of the 3D flowers:

List of all stamps/dies/stencils used on this card:

• Christmas Prayer digital stamp (KristaSmithStamps)
• Believe Die-Namics (My Favorite Things)
• Small Poinsettia Die Set (Impression Obsession)

Other supplies:

• Copic XPress-It Blending Card
• Copic markers (various)
• Gold mirror cardstock
• Transparent microfine glitter (warm tones)
• Clear Swarovski crystals

Have a blessed day!

Alexa Rain Shaker Card

Today, I've created a rain shaker card featuring the gorgeous Alexa (by Sweet Escape Digis). As soon as I saw her, the Lady Gaga lyrics started running through my head, and I knew she needed some rain in her life. (If you scroll to the bottom of this post, you'll see a video of the rain shaker card in action!)

The interactive mechanism (rain shaker) is from My Favorite Things' Falling from the Clouds Frame Die-Namics set. (For a demo of how to use this die set, please check out MFT's Falling from the Clouds Frame Die-Namics product page.) For a rain shaker card, you string seed beads on invisible thread, so the beads slide whenever you tilt the card.

This card measures 5" x 7". I printed Alexa at about 5.5" x 4" on Copic XPress-It Blending Card. I colored her with Copic markers, then fussy cut her.

The next step was to build the mechanism for the sliding beads. I cut a 4.85" x 6.35" piece of white cardstock, then used Stormy Sky Distress Oxide Ink and the MFT Cloud Stencil to create the background. I added a strip of foam and adhered the die-cut strips used to string the beads. (The die-cut pieces were not quite long enough for a 5" card, so I used 3 strips total, 1.5 on each end.) I also placed Alexa over it, to ensure she'd fit the scene. (I ended up trimming off about 1" from the bottom of her.)

The next step was to string the beads. I grabbed my seed beads, beading needle, and bead mat. TIP: A bead mat is AWESOME, as it keeps the beads from rolling around and makes them super easy to pick up. If you can't find a bead mat, a piece of velvet (or even felt) may work. I strung 12 beads on each line, although I wish I'd added more. I wanted to make sure they'd be covered behind the top and bottom panels (clouds and brick wall) of the card.

Once I strung all of the beads, I attached the panel to my card base (with a black cardstock mat). I built up two more layers of foam over the top and bottom edges, which also permanently secured the strings. The next step was to create and cloud/sentiment panel and brick wall.

I printed my sentiment in MS Word, and I trimmed that panel to 4.85" x 1.75". I used the MFT Cloud Stencil, tracing the edges with a pencil, to cut the cloud shape. I lightly blended Stormy Sky Distress Oxide Ink on the panel, to match the background.

For the brick wall, I used a piece of gray cardstock (4.85" x 1.5"), MFT's Small Brick Wall Stencil, and Red Velvet Gina K Glitz Glitter Gel. I spread the gel over the stencil/cardstock with a palette knife, removed the stencil, and dried it with my embossing gun. OMG, that stuff is SO SPARKLY!!

When I started to attached the cloud and brick panels, I saw that my foam layers were slightly wider than my panels. DOH! To fix that, I cut two black cardstock panels (5" x 1.5") and attached those over the foam edges. I placed my cloud and brick panels over them. I also placed some foam (three layers high) down the middle of the card. I knew it would stop those beads from sliding, but I wanted to make sure my girl was supported well and couldn't bend or cave in when I mail it. The panel looked like this:

I added double-sided tape to the bottom and top of Alexa and attached her to the rest of the card. She's well supported, as she's stuck to the brick wall, line of foam down the middle, and bottom of the cloud panel. The final card works this way:

List of all stamps/dies/stencils used on this card:

• Alexa Digital Stamp (Sweet Escape Digis)
• Falling from the Clouds Frame Die-Namics (My Favorite Things)
• Cloud Stencil (My Favorite Things) 
• Small Brick Wall Stencil (My Favorite Things)

Other supplies:

• Copic XPress-It Blending Card
• Copic markers (various)
• Stormy Sky Distress Oxide Ink
• Invisible thread (any brand)
• Clear glass seed beads
• Red Velvet Gina K Glitz Glitter Gel
• Palette Knife

Have a beautiful day!

Harvest Fun at the Pumpkin Farm

Today, these adorable friends are picking out pumpkins at the farm. My favorite part of pumpkin carving was always roasting and eating the pumpkin seeds. YUM! Did you ever do that, too?

My card measures 5" x 7". I completed this card in three stages: the characters, the mid-ground elements (barn and fence), and the background scene.

CHARACTERS:

I stamped the girls, pumpkins, and dog with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink on Copic XPress-It Blending Card. I colored all of them with Copics. I think I've colored enough pumpkins for the entire season now! Once I finished coloring, I fussy cut them.

BARN AND FENCE:

I die cut the barn and fence out of heavyweight cardstock, since I needed to ink them with Distress Oxides and wanted them to be sturdy. I used the following colors: Barn Door and Hickory Smoke (barn, with the darker ink lightly around the edges); Scattered Straw and Gathered Twigs (hay); and Gathered Twigs and Ground Espresso (fence). I left the barn accents white and colored the door handles with a black Copic marker. I assembled everything with a glue runner, as I knew liquid glue would affect the Oxides (bleeding, etc.).

BACKGROUND:

I cut a 6.75" x 4.75" white panel and used the Mini Cloud Edges Stencil, along with Tumbled Glass Distress Oxide Ink. I cut a separate panel, 6.75" x 2.25", and used the Slimline Grassy Hills Die-Namics to cut the grass at the top. I blended the two brown Oxide inks (Gathered Twigs and Ground Espresso) for the ground, then Mowed Lawn Distress Oxide for the bottom of the grass, and Twisted Citron Distress Oxide for the top of the grass. After I finished blending, I lightly splattered that panel with water and quickly blotted it dry, just for some texture.

I stamped the sentiment from MFT's Harvest Mouse stamp set directly on the cloud panel, then assembled the card. I added a 7" x 5" black cardstock layer as a "frame," then the cloud panel, grass/dirt panel, fence, and barn. I glued everything down with double-sided tape. I glued down most of the pumpkins with double-sided tape as well.

I added foam dots to the back of the girls and dog, so those elements are popped up as the focus of the card. As a final touch, I took my E59 Copic marker and drew cast shadows under the girls and pumpkins, since the sunlight would create those shadows.

List of all stamps/dies/stencils used on this card:

• Fall Friends stamp set (My Favorite Things)
• Snow Buddies stamp set (My Favorite Things)
• Witch Way is the Candy stamp set (My Favorite Things) 
• Harvest Mouse stamp set (My Favorite Things) 
• Mini Cloud Edges Stencil (My Favorite Things)
• Barn Die-Namics (My Favorite Things)
• Slimline Grassy Hills Die-Namics (My Favorite Things)
• Farm Fence Die-Namics (My Favorite Things)

Other supplies:

• Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
• Copic XPress-It Blending Card
• Copic markers (various)
• Black and white cardstock
• Distress Oxide Inks: Barn Door, Hickory Smoke, Gathered Twigs, Ground Espresso, Scattered Straw, Tumbled Glass, Mowed Lawn, and Twisted Citron

May you have a harvest of blessings!

MFT's Card Superstar CAS Challenge

Today, I've created my final card for the My Favorite Things Card Superstar Contest (Clean and Simple Challenge). I also managed to use a stamp set I'd purchased a LONG time ago but never used.

My card measures 5" x 7". I stamped all of the images from the MFT "Party Like a Pirate" stamp set. I stamped them with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink on Copic XPress-It Blending Card. CAS cards are supposed to be one layered, with minimal embellishments, and I wanted some images to overlap (skull, coins, etc.). To do that, I created some "masks," by stamping the images on another piece of paper, fussy cutting them, and placing them over images I wanted to keep in the front when I stamped. In the end, I had 2 pirates, a treasure chest, three piles of coins, and a skull.

I colored everything with Copics. After I finished coloring all of the characters, I decided I wanted a palm tree, but I didn't have a stamp I liked. Instead, I cut out the top of the palm tree and trunk from MFT's "Beach Scene Builder Die-Namics" die set. I used them as an outline guide and traced around them very lightly in pencil. Once I had my pencil outlines, I added details with my Copics, including rearranging some leaves to make it fit the scene a bit more.

I felt like the adorable pirates needed some waves, clouds and sand to complete the scene. I took the "Wave Maker Stencil" and lightly traced the edges, using my pencil. After I had two rows of waves, I used the "Mini Cloud Edges Stencil" in the same way, lightly tracing along the edges with my lightest blue color (B000). I used some Post-It Tape to mask a top and bottom edge, so I'd have a nice, crisp edge between the color and white space. After all of that, I simply went in with my Copics and colored everything.

Since this design is clean-and-simple, I didn't add any embellishments. I added a tiny red mat, to highlight the pirates' red clothes, with a white mat at the bottom. Before I assembled everything, I stamped one of the sentiments from "Party Like a Pirate" just above the colored section of the card.

List of all stamps/dies/stencils used on this card:

• Party Like a Pirate stamp set (My Favorite Things)
• Beach Scene Builder Die-Namics (My Favorite Things)
• Wave Maker Stencil (My Favorite Things) 
• Mini Cloud Edges Stencil (My Favorite Things)

Other supplies:

• Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
• Copic XPress-It Blending Card
• Copic markers (various)

I hope ye' have a GRRRRRREAT day, matey!

MFT's Card Superstar Innovation Challenge

Today, I've created a card for the My Favorite Things Card Superstar Contest (Innovation Challenge). I decided to have some fun with this card and tried to use one of MFT's interactive die sets in a different way.

The interactive mechanism (sliding bats) is from MFT's Falling from the Clouds Frame Die-Namics set, used a little differently. Typically, crafters string beads on the invisible thread, creating falling rain, stars, etc. I decided to make my bats slide up and down the thread instead.

This card is slimline, measuring 3.5" x 8.5". I stamped all of the images from the "Witch Way is the Candy" My Favorite Things stamp set. I stamped them with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink on Copic XPress-It Blending Card.

After that, I colored everything with Copics and fussy cut each character/image. I probably would've added more bats if I didn't have to fussy cut them, LOL!  After I cut all of the characters, I started to work on the mechanism and background.

I needed to overlap the stringing mechanism over the edge of the bottom panel, so I cut my cloud panel at 2.5" x 8.5". I used MFT's Cloud Stencil and Stormy Sky Distress Oxide Ink to create the cloudy background. I cut 6 of the stringing sections from the interactive die set, then attached them with a foam strip, with the slotted part overlapping the edges of the card. (For a demo of how to use this die set, please check out MFT's Falling from the Clouds Frame Die-Namics product page.) I had to trim the sections so they would cover the 8.5" wide card. It looked like this before I stuck the stringing sections on the foam:

Next, I rummaged around in my jewelry-making stash until I found some tube-shaped beads that I thought would work for this project. (I don't make jewelry anymore, but I still have a hoard of beads that I just can't seem to part with!) I strung the beads on the invisible thread, spacing them so each bead would fit under a bat wing. I wanted to be sure the bats would remain stuck to the card and would be well supported as they slide.

I took a thin piece of paper (about 0.15" wide), put double-sided tape on it, and then wrapped it around pairs of beads. I did that to create a stable "bar" for the bat, as I knew the bat would stay attached to paper and the beads would hold their shape/still slide. It looked like this:

Next, I used more double-sided tape to attach the bats to the bars. Since they are attached to a bar, instead of just to the beads, the wings bend outwards... which I love! I verified that they slid up and down easily, then focused on building the rest of the frame.

I die-cut the grass panel with MFT's Slimline Grassy Hills Die-Namics, and then I had another challenge. I needed an 8.5" x 0.8" panel of clouds, but I didn't have a cloud die. I decided to solve this problem by cutting a 1" x 8.5" piece of cardstock and then STENCILING the clouds on, using MFT's Cloud Stencil. Once I was happy with the shape and shading, I simply trimmed the panel along the cloud's humps! I inked both panels with Distress Oxide Inks (Stormy Sky, Mowed Lawn, and Twisted Citron). I die cut MFT's Spooky Fence and inked that with Black Soot Distress Oxide. I lightly splattered the grass panel with water and blotted it dry, just for some texture.

Before I attached the cloud panel, I stamped it with a sentiment from MFT's Sassy Pants Spooktacular stamp set. Finally, I assembled everything, and the final card works this way!

List of all stamps/dies/stencils used on this card:

• Witch Way is the Candy stamp set (My Favorite Things)
• Falling from the Clouds Frame Die-Namics (My Favorite Things)
• Cloud Stencil (My Favorite Things) 
• Slimline Grassy Hills Die-Namics (My Favorite Things)
• Spooky Fence Die-Namics (My Favorite Things) 
• Sassy Pants Spooktacular stamp set (My Favorite Things)

Other supplies:

• Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
• Copic XPress-It Blending Card
• Copic markers (various)
• Distress Oxide Inks (Stormy Sky, Mowed Lawn, Twisted Citron, and Black Soot)
• Invisible thread (any brand)
• Tube-shaped seed beads

Have a boo-tiful day!

MFT Coloring Contest Card Entry

Today, I've created a card for the My Favorite Things Card Superstar Contest (Coloring Challenge). I also managed to use three stamp sets I'd purchased but never used before.

This card is slimline, measuring 3.5" x 8.5". I stamped all of the images from several My Favorite Things stamp sets: Sweet Shop, Our Story, and All Tucked In. I stamped them with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink on Copic XPress-It Blending Card.

After that, all I did was color. I used my Copics to color everything, including drawing a "wooden" floor. I stamped the sentiment on white cardstock, then trimmed the end at an angle (with scissors) for some visual interest. Since the scene was already so colorful, I added a simple black cardstock layer, as a frame.

List of all stamps/dies/stencils used on this card:

• Sweet Shop stamp set (My Favorite Things)
• Our Story stamp set (My Favorite Things)
• All Tucked In stamp set (My Favorite Things)

Other supplies:

• Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
• Copic XPress-It Blending Card
• Copic markers (various)

Have a sweet day!

Good Heart Floral Card

I'm still on a mission to use stamps and dies I "NEEDED" but never used, and I utilized two digital stamps and one physical stamp set (that were all just gathering dust) to make this card.

The floral image is from the Life Happens Digital Stamp Set by Graciellie Design. Since these are digital stamps, I took a sentiment from another Graciellie set (Your Kindness) and placed in prominently in the corner. I also added a butterfly from the Beautiful Butterflies clear stamp set (Simon Says Stamp), which I stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink after printing the digital stamps.

This is a 5" x 6.5" card, and fairly straightforward and simple. I printed the flowers/sentiment on Copic XPress-It Cardstock and colored everything with Copics. I also colored the butterfly with Copics, using some blue shades and the same yellow I used on the flower. Finally, I adorned the card with a few Rose and Clear Swarovski crystals for sparkle.

List of all stamps/dies/stencils used on this card:

• Life Happens digital stamp set (Graciellie Design)
• Your Kindness digital stamp set (Graciellie Design)
• Beautiful Butterflies clear stamp set (Simon Says Stamp)

Other supplies:

• Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
• Copic XPress-It Blending Card
• Copic markers (various)
• Clear and Rose Swarovski crystals

Have a wonderful day!

Do Good, Be Kind Floral Card

I enjoyed coloring the last floral image by Graciellie Design, and I had another one I'd never colored, so here's the second floral card for this week.

The floral image is from the Fresh Start Digital Stamp Set by Graciellie Design. Since these are digital stamps, I took a sentiment from another Graciellie set (Your Kindness) and added it to the mug. I thought that was a nice, subtle way to add a message.

This is a 5" x 6.5" card, and fairly straightforward and simple. I printed the flowers on Copic XPress-It Cardstock and colored everything with Copics. Since I'd already added the sentiment before printing, I just finished it with a few Sunflower Swarovski crystals for sparkle.

List of all stamps/dies/stencils used on this card:

• Fresh Start digital stamp set (Graciellie Design)
• Your Kindness digital stamp set (Graciellie Design)

Other supplies:

• Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
• Copic XPress-It Blending Card
• Copic markers (various)
• Sunflower Swarovski crystals

Do good, be kind!

Happy Floral Card

I printed out this floral digital stamp about four months ago, then buried it under other things on my desk and forgot about it. When I found it today, I decided to color it and turn it into a card.

The floral image is from the Happy Moments Digital Stamp Set by Graciellie Design.

This is a 4.25" x 5.5" card. I printed the flowers on Copic XPress-It Cardstock and colored everything with Copics. I added a simple stamped sentiment on the same layer as the flowers, and finished with a few Clear Swarovski crystals for sparkle.

List of all stamps/dies/stencils used on this card:

• Happy Moments digital stamp set (Graciellie Design)
• Mon Ami stamp set (CAS-ual Fridays)

Other supplies:

• Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
• Copic XPress-It Blending Card
• Copic markers (various)
• Clear Swarovski crystals

I hope you have an amazing day!

Haunt It Witch Card

For whatever reason, I'm still in the mood to make Halloween cards, although I think I'm nearing the end of that phase. Today, I'm sharing a witch who is too cute to spook!

I won a $20 gift certificate for Polkadoodles from a Kit and Clowder Facebook giveaway, and this digital stamp (Winnie Wednesday Witch and Cat) was one of the images I purchased with it. She's just so creepy cute!

This is a 5" x 7" card. I printed Winnie on Copic XPress-It Cardstock and colored her with Copics. Lime green and grape purple is my favorite Halloween color combo.

The floor is patterned cardstock, and the wallpaper is just stripes I drew with a ruler and colored. I added a simple stamped sentiment and cut the right side at an angle, for some visual interest. I added a few Amethyst Swarovski crystals for sparkle.

List of all stamps/dies/stencils used on this card:

• Winnie Wednesday Skull digital stamp (Polkadoodles)
• Sassy Pants Spooktacular stamp set (My Favorite Things)

Other supplies:

• Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
• Copic XPress-It Blending Card
• Copic markers (various)
• Amethyst Swarovski crystals

I hope you have a spooktacular day!