Hello there! Michelle here. I hope you and your loved ones are home safe...better yet...home safe and crafting!  I love mixing stencils and flowers...especially striped stencils. I used the stamp set Birthday Rose Corner and it's coordinating die. After I stamped the flowers and leaves I used Copic Markers to color in shades RV09, RV19, RV69 for the petals; and YG25, YG17, YG67 for the leaves. I die cut the images.  

Next, I inked up the background using a stencil from Birch Press Design, Bold Stripes. I used distress oxides in shades chipped sapphire, salty ocean and tumbled glass. I added a few splatters with gold and white paint. 

I heat embossed the sentiment onto vellum paper, than adhered to the striped panel. The sentiment stamp is from the stamp set Friendship and Kindness, Poppy Stamps. I added a few gems for a finishing touch. 

Thanks for stopping by today!

 

 

 

Supplies

 

CL5251-D Birthday Rose Corner clear stamp and die set

CL492 Friendship and Kindness

42029 Bold Stripes Stencil

Hello everyone.  It's Vicki here with you today to share a really simple but beautiful card with you.  It's no secret that I like geometric dies and I think a lot of that comes from my love of Art Deco Style.    

Recently, I took a watercolor card class and learned that Hot Press or Bristol Paper doesn't really hold up well when you need to use it with a lot of water, but this is a cold-pressed paper, so it isn't an issue at all.  It is also a really beautiful paper for ink blending and splatter techniques, which I love to do. The texture of the paper on the front side reminds me of pinwale corduroy, only not that deep.  It's super cool.  

To start this card, I used an ink blending brush on a sheet of the new Memory Box Watercolor Paper that comes in a 4.5 x 5.75-inch sheet.  I blended Hawaiian Shores Ink over the center of the panel and gently worked my way out all the way around this piece.  Next, I gave it a generous amount of splatter with Daniel Smith Iridescent Aztec Gold Watercolor.  You need to use a very small, fine brush with long bristles to get this small splatter.  I have a Princeton Neptune Script Brush in Size 1 for this purpose.  I set that aside to dry for a little while, and moved on to my die-cutting.  

The Stylish Rectangle Trio has three different sizes of rectangles but I cut the smaller two from Gold Foiled Cardstock.  I also cut the 4 different layers of the Birch Press Design Sparkler Butterfly from colored Glitter Cardstock that Memory Box recently released. The gold glitter card is from Simon Says Stamp but the rest is Memory Box.  I assembled the butterfly layers using ranger Multi-Medium Matte then laid a heavy 5 x 7 glass block on the top to let it finish drying.

Going back to my ink blended panel, I decided I also wanted to add some iridescent gold shimmer mist to the panel.  This spray is very fine, but if you haven't used it for a few days, it can put some larger drips on there as well.  I didn't mind that as this gives it that somewhat distressed look that feels more organic.  If you want just the fine mist, be sure to spray it into a box or whatever first until the mist is coming out evenly without the big drops.  Be sure to wipe off the hole where the mist comes out on the nozzle for a "clean" spray.    

Once that dried, I die cut the panel with the Matinee Rectangle Layers Die in the largest size.  I made a card base from Hawaiian Shores Cardstock and started assembling my card. I ran the Stylish Rectangle Frames, very carefully, through my 5-inch Xyron and then ran it through my die cutting machine with an embossing sandwich so that I didn't have to spend time going around each frame with a little tool and then still have gooey strings to pull off.  This trick works every time. It saves a lot of time and frustration in dealing with glue strings.  And because the frames have such a fine line, this was much easier to do than trying to use a liquid adhesive that I got all over the outside of the gold foil.  That would ruin the look.  I added some sequins then added the gems onto the sequins to cover the little holes and add a lot of sparkle and shine to my card.  I hope you enjoyed my project today.  

Supplies

 

GP1001 Delicate Pastel Glitter Pad

GP1003 Twinkling Jewel Glitter Pad

Sparkler Butterfly Layer A

Sparkler Butterfly Layer B

Sparkler Butterfly Layer C

Sparkler Butterfly Layer D

94438 Matinee Rectangle Layers craft die

94416 Stylish Rectangle Trio craft die

Greetings friends.  I live near DC and absolutely love the cherry blossoms.  It was a sad year for the blossoms because the blooming was fantastic, but social distancing made it impossible to truly enjoy them.  I couldn't resist making a card to celebrate the blossoms though.

To make my card, I started by taping my stencil over white cardstock:

Next, I stenciled it with Peeled Paint, Twisted Citron, Cracked Pistachio, and Lucky Clover Distress Oxide ink.  Once I was happy with the look, I removed the stencil:

I decided I didn't want to cover the whole cardstock.  Instead, I built a corner for my flowers to rest.

To color the flowers, I added several colors of Copic Markers: R11, R81, R85, G40, and G82:

What flowers represent the area you live in?  Are there specific flowers you look forward to seeing each year?  I am curious.

 

 

Supplies

 

CL5256-D Cherry Blossom Wreath clear stamp set

88616 Fractal Diamond Stencil

Let the new Genoese Egg add layers of dimension and texture to your Easter cards with a combination of shadow diecutting and embossing.  Hi, Jean Okimoto here with a springy Easter design for you.  Memory Box dies make it easy to add special effects to your cards and layouts - I'll share some techniques here.

Sponge the smoother side of Open Studio Watercolor Paper with Twisted Citron, Spun Sugar, Worn Lipstick, and Tumbled Glass Distress Oxides.  Spritz it with a very light mist of water, then use the inky daubers or sponges to soften and blend the adjacent colors.  

Cut it with the 3-¼" tall Half a Dozen Eggs die.  Pressure-emboss it using the plates and rubber embossing mat required for your machine.  Cut Genoese Egg from an adjacent section of the watercolor paper.  Cut Genoese Egg again from smooth white cardstock and remove the outer rim - we're using just the decorative inner section.  

Attach the white portion - slightly offset -  behind the watercolored diecut.  Attach that to the pressure-embossed egg.

Cut the pale yellow/green dotted sheet from the Springtime Bouquet 6x6 pack with the 4.25" x 5.5" Rectangle Basics die.  Attach it to a side-folded white A-2 card.  

Cut Wild Grass Border from green cardstock.  Trim the short edges with the 4.25" x 5.5" rectangle basics die.  

Cut Gentle Bunny and the two larger bunnies from the Little Bunny Trio from the white glittered cardstock in the Delicate Pastel 6x6 pack.

Cut three flowers from the Cherry Blossom Elements set from the white cardstock in the Delicate Pastel Glitter Pad.  Color the flowers with a pale peach marker.  

Attach the diecuts to the background.  Add dots of Sour Apple Sparkle Glitter Glue to the flower centers.  Set the cards aside to dry the glitter glue.

Hope you'll give this triple-dimension technique a try - it adds a lot to a simple card...and it's easy.  Thanks for visiting!

Take care and stay healthy...

 

 

 

Supplies

 

94430 Genoese Egg

94415 Wild Grass Border

94431 Cherry Blossom Elements

94455 Little Bunny Trio

30072 Half a Dozen Eggs

30086 Rectangle Basics Set

94237 Gentle Bunny

WP101 Watercolor Paper

GP1001 Delicate Pastel Glitter Pad

PP1007 Springtime Bouquet Stripes and Dots

40121 Sour Apple Sparkle glitter glue

Have you watched Dave's video yet on watercolor techniques?  You can view it here.  I've spent some time this past week playing with my watercolors (Kuratake Japanese watercolors, set of 36) and the new stamp sets to create some Easter and spring cards.  

This first card uses the WILD ROSE STEM clear stamp and die set CL5258-D reimagined in yellows, oranges, and reds.  It's the card I shared in the introduction to this month's Memory Box Challenge:  #60 Spring Fling (Spring Themed Cards).

I stamped the image with VersaMark on the new Open Studio Watercolor Paper WP101 and heat embossed it with gold embossing powder.  Once it was painted and dried, I used the coordinating die to cut it out.  I adhered it with Scor-Tape to an orange striped paper from the COTTAGE STRIPES AND DOTS PP1004 pad on a white notecard.  (I find that Scor-Tape works the best to secure painted watercolor paper to another surface in order to get a nice flat adherence.)  The sentiment "thinking of you at Easter" is from the Poppystamps set CL491 SPRINGTIME FUN stamped on the striped paper with VersaFine Onyx Black ink.

This next card is stamped and embossed, painted and die cut in the same way using the single blossom and two leaves from that same stamp set.  The paper is also from the Cottage Stripes and Dots paper pad.  The sentiment is another from the Poppystamps Springtime Fun set of clear stamps.

For this third card I chose the large SUNFLOWER WREATH CL5253.  It is a very large image and I positioned it on the edge of the watercolor paper cutting off some of the blossoms on the left.  I used three different yellows and an orange for the petals and three browns and a purple for the seedy centers.  Once it was painted and dried I fussy cut around the image and used Scor-Tape to adhere it to the papered notecard.  The background paper is from the SPRINGTIME BOUQUET PP1006 pad.  The sentiment "a happy HELLO" is from the Poppystamps Springtime Fun set.

Two more:  the single sunflower stamped multiple times, painted and spattered; the two leaves stamped multiple times, painted and spattered; "Happy Spring" from the Open Studio BIG AND LITTLE SPRING CL5254 clear stamp set

My next adventure is to try other sets of watercolors I have as well as watercolor crayons and watercolor pencils.  I seem to have more time to play in my craft room these days.  Hope you are all well and finding more crafting time, too.  Someone sent me a note the other day stating that instead of saying that she is sheltering in place she is now an artist in residence.  I think I will adopt that title as well!  And maybe you should too!!!

Happy Crafting!

 

The delicate details of a glittery Lacework Egg sparkle on the matte watercolored background for today's Easter card.  Turn the Poppystamps Whittle Cloud Border into a bouncy green lawn for bunny-hopping and a greeting from the new Big and Little Spring Clear Stamp Set.  Hi, Jean Okimoto here with a bit of inspiration for April's Spring Fling Challenge.

Sponge the slightly smoother side of Open Studio Watercolor Paper with overlapping layers of Distress Oxides - Picked Raspberry, Shaded Lilac, Peacock Feathers and Cracked Pistachio.  Spritz it - very lightly - with a fine mist of water.  Use the inky sponges to blend the colors.  Dry it, then diecut it with a die from the Half a Dozen Eggs set.

Here's a tip...scrunch a piece of waxed paper and rub it briskly over the Lacework Egg die before cutting the white Delicate Pastel Glitter cardstock.  Prepping the die first makes it very easy to remove the detailed diecut from the die.

Cut Gentle Bunny and Little Bunny Trio from the white glitter cardstock.

Cut the pale green pinstripe Springtime Bouquet print with one of the new Poppystamps Whittle Cloud Border. It's now a spring lawn for bunny hopping.  

Stamp the greeting - from the new Big and Little Spring Clear Stamps - on white cardstock with Pearlescent Purple Brilliance.

Attach the diecuts to a top-folded 5-½" square lavender card - use thin foam tape for the bunnies.   Add purple gem stickers.  Square cards require special handling and extra postage - but they'll be appreciated.

Hope our Design Team has inspired you to keep creating during these difficult weeks.  Cards are a great way to keep in touch - now, more than ever before. Continue  to support your favorite Retailers and their online stores.  

Thanks for visiting!

 

 

Supplies

 

PP1006 Springtime Bouquet 6x6 pack

GP1001 Delicate Pastel Glitter Pad

WP101 Watercolor Paper

94237 Gentle Bunny

94455 Little Bunny Trio

CL5254 Big and Little Spring clear stamp set

94428 Lacework Egg

2318 Whittle Cloud Border

30072 Half a Dozen Eggs

Greetings friends. It is time for another challenge.  I think a lot of us are home a lot lately, so perhaps you would like to join us in a creative activity.

Thank you so much to everyone participated in last month's challenge.  The winner of the blog badge was Kim S from Joyful Creations With Kim.  We loved her use of a glitter trim as well as the small peeks of glitter in her diecut leaves:

The random winner selected from all the entries to win the prize was KandA from KandA Creative Moments.

Please contact me at stampjournal@gmail.com to claim your prize.

Want to play along in this month's challenge?  The rules are simple - just create a project following the theme, use at least one Memory Box stamp or die on your project and link your entry to this blog post.  You can make a card, a scrapbook page, a home decor item, etc..  To encourage participants with various levels of stamping experience, one entry will be selected at random to win a prize. Enter as many times as you want, but your name will only be entered once into the random prize drawing.   In addition, the design team will select their favorite entry to  be highlighted on the Outside the Box blog and that designer will receive our winner badge to proudly display on their blog. 

You don't have to have a blog in order to participate.   You can upload your project to any online gallery and link it to this post.   In fairness to other players, we reserve the right to remove entries that do not use at least one Memory Box product.  You are also welcome to link your design to other challenges.  Feel free to grab our badge to post on your blog post or side bar.

What are your favorite parts of Spring?  The flowers?  The chocolate eggs? Baseball?  We would love to see your interpretation of the theme.  This Spring has definitely been different from others, so it seems like a good idea to celebrate it any way we can.  All we ask is that you use at least one Memory Box product in your project.

Here are some samples to help inspire you:

There are several ways for you to enter the contest:

1.)  Link your finished work below

2.)  Enter on Instagram by tagging your sketch project with the #mbchallenge60 hashtag

You have until the end of the day (EST) on Wednesday, April 29th.   Don't forget, you have to use at least one Memory Box item on your entry.  One project will be chosen at random to win the following prize:

 

Supplies

 

94442 Splendid Poppy Stems

94423 Ornate Floral Vine

94432 Gilia Stems

Good Morning everyone!  Today I have a bright and colorful card for you.  One thing about sheltering in place is it gives you a chance to work with art supplies you haven't had a chance to.  I've had these Zig Clean Color Brush Markers for awhile and haven't used them much.  This was a perfect time to pull them out and play.

I used waterproof black ink and stamped my flowers on a piece of watercolor paper.  I did use a heat tool to set the ink so that it wouldn't bleed when I added the marker.  I really loved how the color went on and blended.  Once I was done with the painting, I die cut the flowers.

Next I prepared a background to adhere my flowers to.  I used a stencil, and sponged Peeled Paint Distress Oxide ink over the stencil.  I sponged the left side of my card with a little more color, spritzed it with plain water and then spattered the background with black ink. Once this was dry, I glued my flowers to the background.  

On a strip of black cardstock I stamped and white heat embossed the words "Happy Birthday" and used foam tape to adhere it to my card front.

I glued my card front to a black cardstock mat and used foam tape to adhere it to a white card base.

To finish the card I added some Black Nuvo drops.  It was so much fun coloring these flowers!

Thanks for stopping by today!

 

 

Supplies

 

WP101 Watercolor Paper

CL5258-D Wild Rose Stem clear stamp and die set

CL5256 Cherry Blossom Wreath clear stamp and die set

88616 Fractal Diamond Stencil

Greetings friends.  So many of us are at home right now, and I think it is important to find creative outlets to keep our sanity, and it is just as important to stay connected with friends and family.

Last week, a friend of mine suggested a yellow card challenge since the color is so happy and we could all use a little more joy in our lives.  For my card, I decided to use the new Memory Box sunflower wreath stamp. 

I didn't want the coloring to all be the same shade of yellow, so I used a variety of yellow markers as well as a few yellow/green Copic markers.  I wanted my leaves to be green, but I tried to make them as yellow as possible.

Here is a picture of the base layer of Copic markers:

These are the Copic markers I chose:

Lighter yellow flowers- Y04, Y08

Darker yellow flowers- Y15, Y17

Leaves- YG00, YG03

Center of the flowers- Y32, Y28, Y04

I then decided the flowers needed a bit more yellow detail, so I added some yellow Prismacolor pencil to the top of the Copic marker:

I added some yellow pencil to the outside of the petals as well as touches of white color pencil here and there for highlights.

To finish the card, I added more pale yellow Copic markers around the wreath (Y0000, Y00) to give it a bit more of a glow and then added some Squeezed Lemonade Distress Ink around the edges of the card.

Stay safe everyone.  Try to add some creativity to your days and be sure to stay connected with people that mean the most to you.

 

 

Supplies

 

CL5253 Sunflower Wreath clear stamp set

CL5254 Big and Little Spring clear stamp set

Greetings friends.  Have you tried the Memory Box 3-D embossing folders yet?  They really give you a lot of detail and the image is deeply etched on the paper.  Here is a close up of the embossing folder details without ink:

And with ink.....

To run a 3-D folder through a Big Shot, you are going to open the base plate to Tab 1 and then run the folder through with one of the clear plates on top (instead of the usually two).  Important!  For a crisp image, spritz you paper lightly with water before running the folder through the machine.

To make my colorful sunflower, I ran white cardstock through my Big Shot with my sunflower embossing folder.  Next, I airbrushed the flower with Copic markers using my airbrush machine.  You could also use water-based markers with a hand-pumped airbrush pump or sponge color on top with an sponge blender and ink.  I recommend Distress Ink or Distress Oxide ink.  It is important to use a VERY light hand when applying the ink with a sponge.  Take the time to gradually blend the ink up to be the color you want.

To finish the card, I added my sentiment as well as some glitter paper for extra pizazz and some pretty Spring patterned paper.

I have to admit, when I ran the paper through the machine with my white cardstock, I really liked the image as-is.  I kept telling myself that I couldn't just emboss some paper and then stick it onto a card, but the thing is, I really like the look of the plain floral card.  It is a 5 minute card.  Emboss, glue, done.  I made a greeting card, but it would make a great quick thank you card or thinking of you card.  I couldn't resist adding a bit more of the glitter paper though.  I am addicted to the stuff:

I wish you all health during these trying times.  Be safe everyone.

 

 

Supplies

 

EF1008 Magnificent Sunflower

CL5253 Sunflower Wreath clear stamp set

CL5256 Cherry Blossom Wreath clear stamp and die set

PP1006 Springtime Bouquet 6x6 pack

GP1003 Twinkling Jewel Glitter Pad

Happy weekend everyone.  I’m popping in quickly today with an all-occasion masculine card.  I used the Leafy Rows stencil from the 2020 Spring collection and the shadow stencilling technique for my card.

Using a mini blending tool, white pigment ink was applied to the leafy stencil over a piece of Kraft cardstock.  Because it is a pigment ink, I pounced on the ink rather than blending in circles to avoid having the ink seep underneath.  Used a heat tool to dry it.

Next, placed the stencil back over the images, then shifted it slightly up and to the left before inking it with Walnut Stain distress oxide ink.. and voila!

For some shine and still keep it masculine, the B-E-S-T Vintage Varsity letters were die cut from black foil paper while the Wishes Jotted Script sentiment was die cut from gold foil paper.  They were mounted onto a vellum circle.

The gold got a bit lost against the Kraft, so a dark brown shadow was added behind to help it stand out better.

And that’s it from me.  Thank you for visiting.  Stay home and craft on. 

 

Supplies

 

88615 Leafy Rows Stencil

94122 Wishes Jotted Script

94341 Vintage Varsity Alphabet

30087 Circle Basics Set