Poinsettia Blooms, Holly Collage and Wrapped Stitch Rectangles create a classic holiday design here today. Red velvet - the paper, not the cake (!) - adds texture and dimension to this traditional scene. I almost want to apologize for a traditional design in red and greens because it's so unusual for me! Hello - Jean Okimoto here today - Happy Halloween to everyone celebrating this spooky holiday.
Cut several layers of Poinsettia Blooms from red velvet paper - the dies cut crisply and emboss them at the same time. Cut the centers from yellow glittered cardstock.
Cut the 2" x 3.25" Wrapped Stitch Rectangle from textured pale green cardstock.
Cut the Holly Collage and the Poinsettia Blooms pods from green cardstock.
Stamp "CHRISTMAS WISHES" - from the Blessed to Know You clear stamp set - on an pale green A-2 card with Peeled Paint Distress Oxides.
Assemble the card and add clear gem stickers.
Quick and easy!
Big thanks to everyone from last weekend's COOL WINTER WISHES from SEATTLE class at Impress! Hope you enjoyed the class and all of the techniques - and were inspired to create more cards featuring Memory Box, Poppystamps, Open Studio and the great Seattle companies we're fortunate to call our own. Thanks too - Ann, Shari and Lauren - for keeping us well-stocked and filling those baskets with everything we need for our holiday cards!
Looking forward to this weekend's ASIAN HOLIDAY GREETINGS class at Impress too. We're making six Asian-inspired designs - including a simple origami bird and Christmas tree - with great dies, accents and artpapers. Here's a picture of a few of the beautiful silkscreened and printed papers we'll be using. Do you have a stash of artpapers but hesitate to cut them with trimmers, punches or scissors because they tear and shred? Memory Box and Poppystamps dies are the solution! They cut these textured handmade papers as easily as they cut through cardstock - and create perfect squares for all of your origami projects.
Today I have my final Halloween card for the 2017 season.
I was playing with alcohol ink backgrounds, and thought this one looked like a great Halloween background.
To create this background I took Butterscotch, Terra Cotta, Lettuce, Purple Twillight and Gold Metallic Mixative alcohol inks and added drops of each ink onto Yupo paper. Then I brushed across the paper with rubbing alcohol and dried it with my heat tool. To add a little more interest to the background I spattered it with rubbing alcohol and dried it once again with the heat tool.
I die cut the spider web in the top right hand corner of the card and mounted this to a white cardstock layer. The word "Greetings" was die cut and embossed with gold embossing powder and then glued to a strip of vellum paper. I adhered this to the card front and then stamped and embossed the word "Halloween" to the card front.
To finish the card, I glued a spider to the web and mounted my card front to a Licorice cardstock layer, which I then adhered to a white card base.
I hope you enjoyed todays card and have a Happy Halloween!
Hello friends. Penny here today with a card so quickly made, you will want to duplicate them in many colors so you are ready for the holiday's. I don't think there is a more elegant color combo for Christmas than Blue & White. I just L O V E it!!!!
Let's do this 10 minute card:
Start with a white cardstock base 4.25 x 11 inches, folded in half.
Die cut the largest of the Wrapped Stitch Rectangles from Blue cardstock. Adhere to your base card.
Die cut Tisdale Snowflake Collage from a panel of White cardstock, then die cut again with the second largest of the Wrapped Stitch Rectangles. Stamp the lower portion of this panel with Merry Christmas Sentiments and VersaFine Majestic Blue ink.
Wrap panel with a nice ribbon and attach a bow.
Adhere this panel to card front with foam adhesive. Finish by adding pretty sequins as desired.
Wouldn't this make a great card using White & Red or White & Green cardstocks?
Happy Weekend Friends! Today I have a card to share that is perfect for Fall. Let's get started.
I started with the largest circle from the Studio Circle Layers set and cut it out in a light blue dot paper from Memory Box. Then I used the Curved Picket Fence in a navy blue paper and glued it to the circle. Next I added the Curved Stitched Hilltop in green to the circle.
I cut out the Stitched Farm Pumpkins in an orange glitter paper and added them to the card. Then I stamped the sentiment from the Blessed to Know You set. To finish the card I added some stitching lines around the circle with a black pen.
Hello and Welcome! It's Isha with you today. I created this fun Christmas card using so many different snowflakes dies. Isn't it wonderful how we can mix and match them.
To create this card, I first created a white top fold card base. Then I cut a mat layer and sponged various distress inks onto it. Now I flicked some water and gold mist onto it and let this piece dry. Meanwhile, I cut the Piccolo snowflakes and adhered them to the sponged panel. I then sponged these snowflakes using a very light pressure.
I then die-cut the Purslane snowflake outline and sponged it using the same colors of distress inks. I then die-cut the Purslane snowflake using gold foil cardstock. I adhered the snowflakes together. Love this effect.
Now I stamped the sentiment using gold embossing powder. Once everything was ready, I tied the jute twine to my panel and adhered it to the cardbase. I then adhered the snowflake and the sentiment. To finish I added some sequins.
Hope you enjoyed this card. Have a wonderful crafty day!
Layer a pile of watercolored leaves from the Leaf Collage die onto a Wrapped Stitch Rectangle for a simple fall card. Add a greeting - and some sequins from Birch Press - and you're ready for any occasion. Hello, Jean Okimoto here, with a splashy, glittery card for you today.
Raid your stash for some watercolored papers in shades of orange, coral and pink. (I'm not quite ready to completely switch over to fall colors.) Highlight some of the papers with Imagine Crafts Gold Sheer Shimmer Spritz and set them aside to dry..
Cut bright coral glittered cardstock and the watercolored papers with Leaf Collage.
Brayer Rocket Red Gold Brilliance onto smooth white cardstock. Dry the ink. Cut it with the 2" x 3.25" Wrapped Stitch Rectangle die. Layer the leaves onto the rectangle
Cut an accent strip of flamingo-colored cardstock with one of the larger Wrapped Stitch Rectangle dies. Trim it to .75" x 4.5".
Stamp the greeting - from the Garden Sketches Clear Stamp Set - onto a scrap of the watercolored paper with Peeled Paint Distress Oxide. Heat-set the ink. Trim the greeting with the coordinating Garden Sketches die.
Attach the diecuts to a top-folded 5.5" square sage notecard - use foam dots for the greeting.
Add the dark coppery-bronze sequins from Birch Press' Not So Heavy Metal sequin set. View the entire Birch Press collection of sequins and accents - they're perfect for fall and holiday cards - and so pretty you'll want them all!
Looking for more holiday card ideas? If you're in the Seattle area, join us for the COOL WINTER WISHES FROM SEATTLE class at Impress onOctober 28th. We're making 6 cards featuring our favorite Seattle companies. There'll be lots of diecuts, great papers and a bunch of techniques.
Thanks for stopping by - join us tomorrow for Isha's great project!
Today's card is a combination of embossing, ink blending, die cutting and paint spritzing using the new dies for the holidays. It was fun to get out my supplies (ok, they were already out--I'm a messy crafter at times) and charge into this layered card...check it out.
The trees and the cabin are two different dies that align perfectly to create this wintery scene. I cut both from white paper and pieced the trees and cabin with solid colored card stock. A little bit of diluted white acrylic paint spritzed on the trees created the snow pattern and a touch of white pen filled in "naked" areas.
For the beautiful night sky I blended Broken China and Faded Jeans Distress Oxide inks on a white paper panel, then spritzed with water to create a speckled effect. This panel was positioned and adhered behind the circular opening giving the trees and cabin a starry backdrop.
Using the Circle Basics die set, I selected the die closest in size to the tree and cabin circle sets for the front panel opening. Next, a quick run through of this panel with a dotted Swiss embossing folder and then adhered all four layers together. Starting from the back, that's Sky panel, tree layer, cabin layer then embossed white panel.
For a touch more red, I added the smallest size of Poinsettia Blooms and the Brushed Merry Christmas sentiment....all sitting pretty on a green note card. How's that for traditional Christmas colors! Now to make a few more (per week) in time for the holiday mailings. How many cards do you send out? Each year my list grows longer since everyone loves a handmade card.
Thanks for stopping by today and taking a look at this snowy Christmas card!
I needed just one more birthday card for October, so I combined some of my favorite stamps and dies on this one.
I used a Sweet Corn notecard as the base and began by embossing LEAF COLLAGE die 99800 onto the left front of the top-folded notecard. (Clicking on the titles in blue will take you to the Memory Box catalog website.) Then I went to work assembling the other pieces I needed.
I die cut the PINPOINT DOUBLE FRAME 99765 twice, once from Squash Distressed Dots paper and once from white cardstock and trimmed the white frame down a bit. I placed the white frame in the lower righthand corner of the notecard and glued the squash dot piece in the center opening.
I stamped some of the leaves and flowers from the GARDEN SKETCHES CLEAR STAMPS SET CL5204 on white cardstock using Archival Jet Black ink. I colored the leaves with a Prismacolor bright green pencil. I overstamped the flowers using stamps from the Garden Sketches set, one flower in Hero Arts Butter Bar ink and the other in Spiced Marmalade Distress ink. I then die cut the images using the coordinating GARDEN SKETCHES DIE SET 32204.
Next I added "Happy Birthday" onto the dot rectangle inside the Pinpoint Double Frame.
Then I adhered the Stitched Farm Pumpkins to the left of the rectangle using foam dots.
I used a glue pen to secure the leaves to the card in the top center of the frame. I used more foam dots to place the flowers clustered in the upper right and overlapping the frame a bit.
As I finished typing this up I looked back at the first picture in the post and the card again, and I added a tiny white pearl to dot the "i" and some yellowy ones in the flower centers. Now it is really done.
Even with what looks like a lot of work, this card came together quickly. I really love the dimension that is added by embossing the die onto the card front and the use of foam dots to raise images.
With November approaching and two craft fairs to participate in I have really got to get to work on more Christmas cards, tags, packaging ideas, and ornaments. I'll be sharing some of those with you next month.
Hello Memory Box friends. Penny here today with our newest stamp and matching die set called Garden Sketches. Using holiday colors for this thank you card puts me ahead of the game. YAYNESS!!!! Just so you know...I did drop the small inkpad on my card front, so I just made a few more "mistakes" to make my background. :)
And...here we go:
Start with a White card base. Cut a panel of White cardstock 4.25 x 5.50 inches.
Die cut a partial circle from the right side of the card using Pinpoint Circle Frame. Stamp flowers and foliage around the open circle using Delicata inks. (The new Ruby Red and Emerald Green are a must have...and oh the shimmer!!!)
Leave your background White or goof it up like mine. :)
Stamp and die cut one of the adorable flowers from the Garden Sketches set and adhere it, a leaf and the sentiment banner to the die cut circle. Add circle to card front with foam adhesive.
The card still needed something, so I went with a little more bling using a glittery washi tape down the side.
I am so happy to share a video with you today that will teach you a background technique you will use over and over. The results are wonderful each time - and very creative.
I think this is one of my favorites because of this particular combination of color - the blues and purples, and then the small golden accent. This is truly beautiful in real life - you must try this so that you can see it in person!
I used Distress Oxide inks for the background - Wilted Violet, Faded Jeans and Broken China - all sponged together and overlapped. And then there is a small dab of yellow ink - Fossilized Amber - to create a little burst of light in the upper right corner.
I have been sponging backgrounds for a long time and by now, I can whip up a background in no time. To give it this bright spattered look I gave it a little spritz of water mixed with a bit of bleach. My portions change from time to time - the stronger the bleach solution, the brighter the white spots get and there is a more noticeable "halo" around the spots. Generally, I stick to a recipe of 2 cups water to one tablespoon of bleach, but you should try what suits you.
You can see the difference between the two cards here - the card on the left has the tiny drops and the card on the right has larger drops. This is just a matter of how you use your spray bottle.
I spritz it with a spray bottle - if I squeeze quickly, then the spray comes out in tiny drops. If I squeeze slowly, then the spray comes out in larger drops. As a bonus - you will be disinfecting your craft area!
I used the 99834 Single Deer Oval to create the first layer - and then the 99816 Batavia Snowflake Oval for the second layer. Both of these are cut out of white cardstock, which provides a bright contrast to the colorful background. Both ovals are exactly the same size, so they line up perfectly. And if you want to add some snowflakes to the card, the 99825 Batavia Snowflakes match the snowflakes in the oval!
In the video you will see that you have some leftover pieces - like the reindeer above. This is what is left over after you cut out the background - don't throw it out, this makes another beautiful card!
Adding a white background, and gluing on a few sequins - you'll have another card in less than a minute!
I have designed a lot of layered dies over the years, including the tree and branch collage dies in the Faerie Cards video I made awhile ago. It is a concept that I really have had fun with as I developed Birch Press Design Dies over the last few years - layering cut paper to create intricate artwork, like I did in my Peony Blooms video. I really enjoy assembling these layers to create some dimension on cards.
I ended up really liking the color scheme that I used for the background, so I made about a dozen background pieces, changing where I was putting the color until I came up with a composition that reminded me of the Northern Lights.
This turned out to work perfectly with a die that I hadn't played with too much - the 99822 Sheer Treescape. This die features some cut lines to create some texture in the paper - these extra lines do not cut out a shape but rather just add some extra detail to the image.
The treescape creates a perfect border - and the "Northern Lights" jump up through the treeline. The only change here is that I added Distress Oxide Ink in Black Soot to the border to darken the edges. A spritz of my bleach and water solution added the look of stars (or snow, depending on your perspective).
That beautiful sky was begging for something to be flying in it - so I placed the 99606 Small Reindeer Team in the sky for fun!
I hope you will try out this background technique - the bright spatters really make the background come alive and the colors seem to intensify. These quick cards are the perfect project to try this out on.
I really hope you have fun if you try these cards! We'd like to give you a chance to make them by entering to win 3 dies! The Sheer Treescape die, the Batavia Snowflake Oval die and the Single Deer Oval die! Just leave a comment on the video or on the blog for a chance to win. Leave comments by October 26, 2017 at midnight Pacific Coast Time!
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