Outside The Box

Thanks from the heart

Here's a card I created for a recent class taught at Ink About It.  It features the Cupid Heart die (98281), the Script Thanks die (98240) and the Chrysanthemum stamp (G1857).  The heart is cut from Squash Moroccan paper, Thanks is cut from Vanilla Bean paper and I stamped the new Chrysanthemum image with Momento Cocoa ink onto the back of the Moroccan paper so I would have a cream tone background. Pastel chalks were used to color the stamped image and both this, as well as the heart, were edged with the Momento Cocoa ink.  I added a distressed button from my stash collection with a glue dot. All of this sits atop a Lavendar card base.

Hope you can find some time this weekend to be creative. 

Happy Friday!

Happy Spring!

With the mild winter we  have been having it feels like spring.  I was having some fun playing with the beautiful Love & Kindness release. 

Recipe:

1. Cut card base 8 1/2" x 11". Score fold in half. Sponge edges with brown dye ink.
2. Cut white cardstock 5" x 3 3/4".
3. Stamp Blank Ticket using brown ink. Turn and stamp other direction. Repeat until surface is covered. Sponge edges and center with yellow and brown dye ink.
4. Die cut Darla Butterfly and Vivienne butterfly from white cardstock. 
5. Stamp Damask heart using brown ink over Darla Butterfly. Sponge with yellow dye ink. Sponge edges with brown dye ink.
6. Sponge Vivienne butterfly & Butterfly Center with brown dye ink.
7. Assemble butterfly and glue dot centers.  Add brad in center of body.
8. Stamp Chrysanthemum frame using brown ink on white cardstock. Cut out.  Color flowers with watercolor pencils. Sponge edges with brown dye ink.
9. Assemble card and add brad accents.

Hope your day is seeing some sunshine!

 

Suzz

 

 

Wishes from the Heart

Did you see the wonderful Glittered Ombre Heart video on Dave's blog ?  It also includes great music - by Emma and Cooper Brethauer - in addition to the beautiful project!

That's what inspired this card - which features the ColorBox XOXOXO Multi-Colored Inkpad - instead of different colored glitters.  

Brayer XOXOXO onto cardstock.

Diecut Cupid Heart 98281 from a doublestick tape sheet and attach it to the cardstock.

Diecut Serafina Heart 98278 from Current Cardstock and attach it to the tape, starting at the bottom point and moving counter-clockwise.

Brush Winter Frost Glitter onto the remaining exposed adhesive, then trim the cardstock.  

Stamp Valentine Duo B1424 on Bubblegum Moroccan with the Peony and Chianti inks from XOXOXO, emboss it the Opalescent Clear Powder.  Attach a strip of Bubblegum Distressed Dots.  Add three circles punched from Cotton Candy-glittered cardstock. Attach everything to an A6 card of Bubblegum Cardstock, tuck your special card into a coordinating Mars Shimmer A6 Envelope, and send it to someone special!

Here's a similar card - featuring the Quinn Flourish 98267 and Heart Chain Border 98277 Dies - on the Clearsnap blog:

While you're there, enter to win a drawing for a generous giftpack of some great new products they're releasing - details are at the top of the of the post.  Or, if you're headed to CHA, stop by Booth 847 to meet the Clearsnap team, see their latest/greatest products and the samples we've created for the tradeshow.

My last two Valentine classes are at the Bellevue Impress (phone 425 453.2748) on Saturday January 28th - Valentines by Design from 11:00 to 1:00,  with layered, artsy techniques:

Then it's LoveNotes from 2:00-5:00 - making 8 cards or a chipboard book of the 8 designs featuring old and new favorite stamps and dies, including many from the Love and Kindness Collection:  

 

Sorry to be so wordy today...there's just so much to say and do!

 

Read more...

 

 

 

 

Heart Canopy and Alcohol Inks

As soon as I saw the Heart Canopy die, I knew exactly what technique I wanted to use!  Alcohol Inks of course.  One of my favorite mediums.  This card was a HUGE hit at my class at The Scrapbooking Studio in Bloomington, IL this past Sunday.

We took a piece of glossy paper and "marble-ized" it with Ranger Alcohol Inks.  To do this: 

• add a piece of felt to an ink blending tool
• Choose three colors of alcohol inks.  I used Lettuce, Wild Plum, and Butterscotch.
• Start with the first color and place the nozzle of the bottle into the middle of the felt and squeeze for about 2-3 seconds.  Do the same with the 2^nd & 3rd colors to the left and right of this color but do not allow the colors to touch.
• Squirt blending solution over the top from side to side a couple of time.
• Then just start pouncing the felt onto the cardstock.  I like to turn the handle as I pounce and cross the page.

Then:

1. Trim this piece down to 3 3/4" X 5 
2. Take Light Pink Quatrefoil paper (Echo Park) and die cut with the Heart Canopy die (98283) Adhere over the alcohol inked piece and then adhere to the front of a Mocha Note Card
3. Die cut the Mocha card stock with Twiggy Tree die (98143)
4. Cover entire top of Twiggy Tree with Versamark ink by pushing ink pad directly onto the card stock.  Apply Judikins Sticky Stuff embossing powder to the entire tree and heat just until glossy Cover entire tree with brown glitter.  Use scrap paper to push the glitter into the glue then tap off excess.  Heat set for about 10 seconds with heat gun.
5. Run tree thru the Xyron to make a sticker out of it.  (So much easier than adding glue) Then attach to front of card.
6. Stamp Valentine Greetings (B1175) with brown dye ink.

Happy Valentine's Day to all of you!  Thanks for stopping by!

Linda

Spring Card!

Hello!

Today, I am sharing with you a card I will be teaching on Tuesday February 14th at The Stamp Addict in San Diego. 

It uses Memory Box Stamp - D1831 Oak Leaf and

Memory Box Dies: Oak Leaf (98243), Small Pinwheel Posie (98271), Scalloped Posie (98269), Pinwheel Posie (98270) plus several different Memory Box papers.

I hope you enjoy and if you would like to make it with us on Valentine's Day call us at 619-667-5060 to reserve your spot!

 

Cupid & Seraphina Heart Dies Wishing You the Warmest Valentine's Day

Hi, everyone!

Today's card features some of the fantastic new dies from the Love & Kindness collection!

S U P P L I E S:

Memory Box patterned paper: Pixie, Bubblegum Gingham, Bubblegum Distressed Dots; Inks: VersaFine (Onyx Black); Memory Box stamps: Valentine's Duo (B1424); Memory Box dies: Cupid Heart (98281), Serafina Heart (98278); Memory Box Jewel Stickers; Fibers: Offray Straight'n'Narrow ribbon: Other: pop-dots

Thanks for looking and have a blessed day!

Sweet and Sophisticated Valentine

  As much as I love to dress up my Valentine cards with ribbons, gems and glitter sometimes a "no frills" card is needed.  I had to pratically sit on my hands to stop adding embellishments and just keep it simple.

The heart has a "faux letterpress" treatment that is easy and fun to play with.

•  Start with a 4x4" panel of watercolor paper (it's thick and relatively soft), an embossing folder  and pigment ink. 
•  Apply pigment ink directly onto the interior surface of the embossing folder. On this card I used  the "debossed" side of the folder--that way the background has color and the foreground remains  uninked.
•  Carefully position the watercolor panel in the inked embossing folder.
•  Run the folder through your die cutting machine using the manufacturers recommended recipe  for embossing.  Let dry.
•  Run the embossed panel though the machine using the heart die cut and the cutting recipe.

This effect mimics the beautiful printing technique called Letterpress or "relief printing" dating back to the mid 15th century.  No heavy printing press or special training required here!

• Die cut 2 branches (one adhered beneath the heart and one on top of the elevated heart.
• Add a die cut bird in black card stock.
• add stair-stepped strip with Happy Valentines Day sentiment.
• Sit on your hands if you're tempted to add anything else. Enjoy the simplicity.

Supplies:

Watercolor paper -I used 140# cold press

Colorbox Cranberry pigment ink

Sizzix embossing folder (tight patterns work best for this technique)

#98254 Grand Heart Die

98187 Woodland Branch Die

98160 Perched Reedbird Die

B971 Happy Valentines Day Stamp

Once you try this "faux letterpress" technique you'll find yourself playing with different patterns and colors.  Light opaque pigment ink on dark paper looks stunning too.  Give it a try!

Let me know how your cards turn out---post them on our Memory Box Flickr Gallery.

Also, find a Memory Box class near you for this and other Valentine Cards.

Happy Friday!

 

Love

How about an all white wedding card?  I was inspired by the lovely Cupid Heart and Serafina Heart. After I had cut them out and saw how beautiful the white overlay on the white heart looked I decided to create an all white card.

The next step was to nestle to of the Poppy Stamps Nested birds into the flowers on the heart as my love birds.  After that it was a very simple stamping of the Love sentiment using versamark and heat embossing with white embossing powder.

The remainder of the layers are embossed using an embossing folder. I added a few accents with ribbon, lace, flowers, and pearls.

The hardest part of the card was getting a photograph. I had to put a piece of blue cardstock behind it and take it outside for a picture.

Happy Thursday!

 

Suzz

 

Welcome Spring

We are having a rare cold day here in Pennsylvania for this winter and all I can think of is when is it going to be spring!

I took some time off from my school work and made this card, with the hope it would usher spring in sooner.

I used the new stamp chrysanthemum frame G1857 from the love and kindness collection. I stamped just one half of the stamp with Ranger's  Distress ink Gathered Twigs. 

Next, I stamped the frame with a stamp positioner.

I positioned the stamp positioner so the chrysanthemum was in the opposite corner, and I inked half the stamp again  and stamped the image.

I colored the image with copic markers stamped the saying Miracles of Springtime B1766, cut the image out and sponged the edges with the same gathered twig ink. I layered this panel with foam tape onto distressed squash paper 77913. Using a circle punch I punched just half the corners out to create the ticket look. I wrapped the yellow panel with brown bakers twine and layered onto a kraft card.

With brown card stock, I die cut the kaleidoscope butterfly 98261. I then cut the body using paper from the Pixie collection 10118 with the moonlight butterfly 98260. I layered them together and attached to the card with foam tape.

I hope this card inspires you and inspires spring to come.

Back to the books!

Waste not, want not!

That's an old saying that came to mind when I happened to notice the "waste" from cutting the new Gothic Rosette die (98249).

Above is what the die looks like after you create the petals for lovely rosette, but before that - you start with this:

You fold the top half of this picture to make the rosette, OR take the bottom piece, aka the waste, and use it to embellish your card as I did for this card.

Also used on this card is the new Classic Heart stamp (G1856) inked with Brilliance Coral and cut using the new Cupid Heart die (98281). Silk ribbon is laced through a tag from the Pastry Labels die set (98107) and tied around the heart. The tag is embellished with the Love and Hearts stamp and White Opal Liquid Pearls from Ranger. The card base is Bubblegum Distressed Dots.

Try using the die to cut silver or gold mirror papers, glitter papers or glossy. You would have something similar to expensive German Scrap for embellishing all sorts of projects.  Sooo... always take a second look at what is left behind when you cut a die. It may be equally interesting!