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30 posts from February 2020

Sat 29

Water Stencil Prints with Distress Oxide Inks
by Laura Fulcher

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Greetings friends.  I hope you are enjoying this extra day of February.  Today I want to share with you how to make a "ghosted" stencil print pattern using Distress Oxide Inks, a stencil, and some water.

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First, I took regular white cardstock and sponged it with an assortment of Distress Oxide inks (from top to bottom- Fossilized Amber, Spiced Marmalade, Picked Raspberry, Worn Lipstick and Wilted Violet). It is Important to sponge lots of color onto the paper since the stencil/water effect works best on a solid foundation of ink.

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Next, I placed my stencil on top of my cardstock.  I didn't bother taping it down or using a low tac adhesive spray that would hold the stencil in place.  I really didn't mind if the stencil shifted a bit or my water got under the stencil.

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Next, I sprayed the piece with some water and then dabbed it a bit with tissue to remove extra water/ink.  I find that tissues work better than paper towels for this because sometimes the paper towel has a pattern on it that transfers to the ink as you dab.  Some of the water got under the stencil and made it splotchy.  As I said, I was okay with that look.  If you wanted more control and more distinct lines, you could dab it with wet tissues or baby wipes instead of spraying it with water.

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In the close up, you can see that my lines have a bit of a wiggle to them, which I like.  To finish the card, I die cut my Easter Egg and put some light pink glitter paper behind the decorative egg elements to give it some sparkle.  I added a bow and then popped up the egg with some foam tape.

Have a great weekend!

Laurasignature

 

 

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Fri 28

Spring Cards for Friends and Family
by Vicki Finger

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Vicki here again today with a spring card for Freinds or family members.  Most of my family lives in the midwest and so during this time of year, waiting for spring to arrive, they often feel like Spring will never come.  I like to send a spring card to remind them that the wait won't be much longer.

For today's card, I used the Perched Bird Die with some of the new Cottage Meadow Paper Pad.  I like these bright cheery colors that make me think of Spring, but I seem to especially like the corner designs.  They are double-sided papers, so the reverse design is the full sheet rather than a corner.  That's night in case you want to have a fuller pattern.  I think I have mentioned before that these papers remind me of some of the Annie Rifle designs for Rifle Paper Company.  I love her art, so I really like these papers.

For the die cuts, I cut four white dies and glued 3 of them, one on top of the other, for that stacked look.  For the 4th die, I used some sponge dauber to add color selectively and snipping off the branch, added just that part to the stacked dies.

On the white cardbase, I die cut the largest Matinee Rectangle Layers from Light Blue Cardstock (Gina K Designs Sea Glass) and then the second to the largest Matinee Rectangle from the Cottage Meadows Patterned Paper corner design.  If you tack the die all the way in the corner with a little bit of Delicate Surface Tape, it's very easy to get the placement in the right spot.

In the first two photos especially, you can see that I put some shimmer pen on just the bird.  I had to do another angle for you here so that you can see the shimmer on the bird. 

The Eastern Bluebird is the Official State Bird of Missouri, where I was born, and I love the pretty little bright-blue birds with their rosy tummies.  I didn't actually look for any images until after I completed this card and realized I should have used a more russet color, but you get the idea.  There are three species of Bluebirds here in the US, but the Eastern & Western Bluebirds have the rosy tummy area.  The Mountain Bluebird is pretty much all blue.  It's super easy to google for images if you are trying for coloring of a certain species, I was just going by memory to do mine.   

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The Bluebird is not to be confused with the Blue Jay, which is also a beautiful bird, but they are also quite aggressive.  I remember as a little girl, a baby blue jay falling out of the nest in my Great Grandmother's front yard in Missouri.  My Nana leaned over to pick up and put the baby bird back in the nest, and the Mama Jay attacked her, pecking at her head.  Think "Mama Bear Mode".  Needless to say, Nana never touched a baby bird again.  At that time we didn't have Wikipedia to tell us what the behavior of the different birds is, so she didn't know.  She was just trying to be helpful.  Clearly, this was an incident not forgotten by either of us. Wiki says that Blue Jays are very noisy and aggressive birds so I'd agree. I hope you enjoy my sweet little Bluebird card today!  

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Thu 27

Spring Is In The Air
by Vicki Finger

Hello there! Vicki here today.  I have a fun spring card for you today.  Here in North Texas, we've had a few really nice spring days, but most of them seem to come with freezing cold winds which kind of shoots the whole Spring Day down the tubes.  I don't know about you, but I am so ready for spring to come and stay!  My Day Lily foliage is already pretty high, but we definitely haven't had warm enough weather to get them really going good and consistent.

For today's card, I wanted to use a few of the new products from the most recent release along with some favorites from last year.

Starting with a panel of Cougar Digital White #110 Cardstock and misting it with a fine mist of water on the front and back sides, I ran it through my die cutting machine with an embossing sandwich using the Memory Box Chrysthanemum 3D Embossing Folder.  The water helps the paper to stretch enough to get a really good impression.  I did this late in the evening so I let that dry overnight and then using my ink blending brushes, I added ink blending to the entire panel in Berry Sorbet and Summer Sunrise Inks.  Then I misted it with Tattered Angels Spray in Iridescent Gold.  I set that aside and let it dry as well.

I cut a 4.25 x 5.5-inch panel of the light peach color of the Delicate Pastels Glitter Paper Pad as a mat to go behind the ink blended panel.  Next, I cut several of the Side Butterfly Circles as I wasn't sure which way or if I wanted to color it.  In the end, I liked it in plain white while I wanted to really make the butterfly stand out.

I tried some ink blending with little sponge daubers, adding Fairy Sugar to individual petals on the flowers.  In the end, I chose to keep the circle part plain white and to add a gold outline for the butterfly with some scrap orange card stock for the back layer.  Then I added some of the Goldfinch Fairy Sugar on top of all that. 

I used foam tape behind the circle by cutting a piece about 4 inches long, and then cutting a skinny strip (1/16th inch or so) two times from the half-inch width of the foam tape.  This makes it skinny enough to place it in the circle shape by going slowly, all the way around.

I have a tendency to change my mind mid-card, so I've learned to roll with the punches and go with my flow.  That's probably one of the reasons that I haven't tried to do video yet, but it's on my list of things to do by the end of this year.  I hope you enjoy this quick and easy card today and that it will warm your heart to think about Spring things for a few minutes.  I'll be back here tomorrow with another Springtime Card!

Vickisignature

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Wed 26

Pretty Blossom Stem and the Geodesic Oval Trio by Jean Okimoto

  MemoryBoxPrettyBlossomStem, MemoryBoxGeodesicOvalTrio, MemoryBoxHoneycombSquare, MemoryBoxTwinklingJewelGlitterPad, BirchPressDesignYouAreAwesomeClearStampSet, JeanOkimoto, DiecutFlowers, HoneuycombDiecuts, EmbossingWithDies, MemoryBoxOpenStudioFairySugarGlitterGlue, MemoryBoxOpenStudioWatercolorPaper

A softly-inked offcut from the Geodesic Oval Trio creates a great background for the Pretty Blossom Stem.  Just add bright pops of color with Lemon Drop Fairy Sugar Glitter Glue and some Twinkling Jewel Glitter Pad hexagons. Hello, Jean Okimoto here with more designs from our Spring release.  

  MemoryBoxPrettyBlossomStem, MemoryBoxGeodesicOvalTrio, MemoryBoxHoneycombSquare, MemoryBoxTwinklingJewelGlitterPad, BirchPressDesignYouAreAwesomeClearStampSet, JeanOkimoto, DiecutFlowers, HoneuycombDiecuts, EmbossingWithDies, MemoryBoxOpenStudioFairySugarGlitterGlue, MemoryBoxOpenStudioWatercolorPaper

Sponge the textured side of Open Studio Watercolor Paper with Squeezed Lemonade, Twisted Citron and Mowed Lawn Distress Oxides.  If it looks a little splotchy - spritz it lightly and blend the colors using the same inky sponges or daubers.

Pressure-emboss the center section with Pretty Blossom Stem using the embossing mat and plates recommended for your machine.  Embossing takes just a minute - and adds shadowy dimension to your backgrounds.

Cut Pretty Blossom Stem from white cardstock.  Attach it to the embossed backgroumd. Attach the oval and outline to a white A2 card.  

Stamp the greeting - from the new Birch Press Design You Are Awesome Clear Stamps Set - on white cardstock with VersaMark.  Heat-emboss it with detail clear powder. Sponge the cooled greeting strip with Mowed Lawn Distress Oxides. Remove any residual ink from the embossed letters with a tissue.  Attach the greeting with foam dots.

Cut the green glitter sheet - from the new Twinkling Jewel Glitter Pad - with the Honeycomb Square.  Add three of the little hexagons to the card.

MemoryBoxPrettyBlossomStem, MemoryBoxGeodesicOvalTrio, MemoryBoxHoneycombSquare, MemoryBoxTwinklingJewelGlitterPad, BirchPressDesignYouAreAwesomeClearStampSet, JeanOkimoto, DiecutFlowers, HoneuycombDiecuts, EmbossingWithDies, MemoryBoxOpenStudioFairySugarGlitterGlue, MemoryBoxOpenStudioWatercolorPaper

Experiment with different  colors and create some great watercolored backgrounds for your Memory Box dies and stamps.  Thanks for visiting - see you next time!

Jeansignature-3

 

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Tue 25

More with Stencils
by Laura Fulcher

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Greetings friends.  I have been playing more with my watercolor paints and stencils.  I did another post with this technique, and I just can't stop making cards.

I started with the new Memory Box watercolor paper, spritzed it with water and then painted it with red, yellow and orange paint. 

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While the watercolors were wet, I placed my stencil on top and let the piece dry so that I was left with the ghost image of my stencil on my paint:

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Here is the finished look.  I chose the stencil because it reminded me of sunburst, which I thought would pair well with my sentiment:

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I cut out a circle with one of the Scallop Pinpoint Circle Cut Out dies.  The nice thing about the nesting Memory Box dies is that they are already pre-cut for you.  You don't have to separate them using wire cutters and don't have to file away any parts that didn't cut well.  The circles come with tape on the back to help keep them together before you use them the first time:

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I layered the pieces of the card and added my sentiment.  Here is a close up of the stencil background:

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Is there a stencil technique you would like a tutorial for?  Let me know!

Laurasignature

 

 

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Mon 24

Blitz Winners

Thank you to everyone who participated in our blog blitz last week.  I hope you are as excited about the new products as we are.  Here are a list of winners who were selected at random from the comments left during the blitz.

Winner of the Bunny Collage die from Laura's post: Lindy

Winner of the Lacework Egg die from Donna's post: Cardarian

Winner of the Cherry Blossom Frame die from Anne's post: Guri

Winner of the Splendid Poppy Stems die from Jean's post: Kathy Hogan

Winner of the Arched Happy Easter die from Vicki's post: Kristen

Winner of the Rose Bouquet Wide Washi tape from Jean's post: Shartl

Winner of the Gilia Flower Frame die from Michelle's post: Donna Mikasa

 

Congratulations winners.  I sent you emails to collect your information.  I hope you create wonderful projects with your prize! 

 

 

Mon 24

Poppies and Bunnies
by Michelle Bala

35                                                                                             Hello again! Michelle here with a card using a few products from the newest Spring Release!  I combined Little Bunny Trio Die, Splendid Poppy Die, Double Stitched Rectangle Cut out Die, and Leafy Jumble Stencil. 

37                                                                                             I inked up the Leafy Jumble Stencil background with tattered rose, worn lipstick, and candied apple distress oxide inks.  This is one of the prettiest stencils available!!! Than I splattered some white and black paint. Set aside to dry.

36                                                                                             I die cut Splendid Poppy and Double Stitched Rectangle Cut Out and colored them with Copic Markers in shades R22, R27, R29; G94; C5; and 100. I added some white dots with a gel pen and fairy sugar in mint frost to the flower centers. I die cut the bunnies and used Copic shades E50, E51; R20; W4.

When the paint splatters dry assemble the card.

Thanks for stopping by!

Michellesignature (1)

 

 

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Sun 23

Birthday Wishes
by Michelle Bala

 

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Hello there! Michelle here, continuing the 202 Memory Box Blog Blitz!!! I used the Gilia Flower Frame Die and Birthday Rose Corner Stamp Set.  I also used the new water color paper.  

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I added a few brush strokes of water to the paper and allowed it to sit for a minute before I added the ink. I used distress oxide ink in victorian velvet and added some water to create a water wash. Than I added some splatters of the same wash. Allow to dry.

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I die cut the Gilia Flower Frame from white cardstock and adhered them to the water colored base. I added some of the new Fairy Sugar glitter glue in berry mist all over the die cuts for some beautiful shimmer! Lastly, I stamped the birthday sentiment onto some extra watercolored paper and adhered it to the base.

Want to win the new Gilia Flower Frame Die?  Leave a comment to this post before 11:59 pm EST on Sunday, February 23rd.  One comment will be chosen at random to win the die.  Winners will be announced on the blog on Monday, February 24th at 6pm EST.  Good luck! 

Michellesignature (1)

 

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Sat 22

Rose Bouquet Wide Washi Tape and Stylish Rectangle Trio by Jean Okimoto

 

MemoryBoxStylishRectangleTrio, MemoryBoxRoseBouquetWideWashiTape, MemoryBoxNotecards, MemoryBoxTwinklingJewelGlitterPad, , BirchPressDesignYouAreAwesomeClearStamps, JeanOkimoto, WideWashiTape, FloralWashiTape, DiecutWashiTape, WashiTapeCards

Need a quick card?  Rose Bouquest Wide Washi Tape makes it easier than ever!  Frame it with a die from the Stylish Rectangle Trio -  and add dots of Twinkling Jewel Glitter cardstock to make it sparkle.  Hello, Jean Okimoto here with a super-simple design for you tonight (we had scheduling issues earlier).

Attach Rose Bouquet Wide Washi Tape to the textured side of pale yellow cardstock.  The fine lines add a bit of contrast to the pearly, translucent washi tape.  It's 4.5" x 11 gorgeous yards!  Cut it with the medium-sized Stylish Rectangle Trio.  Attach the delicate frame and rectangle to a Squash Notecard.  It's a soft, warm yellow that would brighten any winter day.

Stamp the greeting - from the Birch Press Design You Are Awesome Clear Stamps Set - on green cardstock with Shady Lane VersaFine Clair.  Attach the greeting strip with foam dots.

Add ¼" punched circles of the green Twinkling Jewel Glitter sheet.  Just a trio of little dots - but I love how they make such a difference!

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Want a chance to win this beautiful, versatile roll of Rose Bouquet Wide Washi Tape? Leave a comment on this post before 11:59 pm EST on Sunday, February 23rd.  One comment will be chosen at random to win the tape.  Winners will be announced on the blog on Monday, February 24th EST.  Good Luck!

MemoryBoxStylishRectangleTrio, MemoryBoxRoseBouquetWideWashiTape, MemoryBoxNotecards, MemoryBoxTwinklingJewelGlitterPad, , BirchPressDesignYouAreAwesomeClearStamps, JeanOkimoto, WideWashiTape, FloralWashiTape, DiecutWashiTape, WashiTapeCards

Thanks for visiting - hope you like this quick card.  Why not make a gift set of floral notecards?  Use different sections of the Rose Bouquet Wide Washi Tape and each card will be unique and special!

Jeansignature-3

 

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Fri 21

Memory Box Spring 2020 Release
by Vicki Finger

Hello everyone and welcome back to the Memory Box Blog Blitz!  I took a short vacation at the beginning of the month but now I'm back and have several new projects to share with you today.  Memory Box has just released its Spring 2020 Catalog and there are lots of fun new things in this collection of products, including Patterned Paper, Glitter Cardstock, Stencils, Washi Tapes, Glitter Glue (called Fairy Sugar), and some new 3D Embossing Folders.

I was having a hard time deciding what to feature first so I have a few projects for you today!  I also have a chance to win a giveaway for you as thanks for stopping by and seeing my projects over at my blog, Twinkling Paper Studio.  One commenter will receive a free Arched Happy Easter Die # 94446 from Memory Box!  

We also have Glitter Cardstock 6 x 6 Pads in Pastels and Brights!  The paler colors are called Delicate Pastels and the brights are called Twinkling Jewel Glitter Pad.  I'm sure you know I had to have the one with the word "Twinkling" in the name.  

There are also some new Washi Tapes in wide and narrow widths.  The one I'm featuring here is the Watercolor Forest Greenery Wide Washi Tape.  It's similar in style to the Watercolor Woodland Washi Tape from our 2019 Winter Collection.  I thought it would be fun to combine with some little bunnies, Spring florals, and Fairy Sugar Glitter Glue.  

I added the wide Washi Tape to a piece of white cardstock and then die cut it with the Matinee Rectangle Layers in the largest size.  Then using a little finger dauber, I added some color to the Magnolia Circle Frame and the Pretty Blossom Stem.  Next, I added some Fairy Sugar to the leaves and blooms.  

Once that was dry, I added some pearls to the center of the blooms and some inking to the outside edges of the Little Bunny Trio.  I added a black dot with a tiny white highlight for the eye on each little bunny.  Once I attached the Matinee Rectangle, I added some additional Fairy Sugar in Iris and Strawberry Ice to the berries in the washi tape for texture and bling.  

My next card also uses the Matinee Rectangle Layers.  I die cut the 2nd from largest one from white cardstock covered with the Washi Tape and the largest was cut from some pale pink cardstock.  This helps the soft colors in the washi tape to really pop and accent my die cuts.  I used Fairy Sugar in Strawberry Ice, Iris and Berry Mist.  I also used the "Hello" Banner Script die from last month's release to make a simple spring card.  

For my next card,  I used one of the Cottage Meadow Patterned Papers.  Each of these designs has a full floral pattern on one side of the paper and a corner design on the other side of the paper.  These designs remind me very much of something Annie Rifle might create for Rifle Paper Company. I really love having a choice of using the full sheet of print or the corner design.  

For my card, I chose to use a corner design that I thought would fit well with my die choices.  I chose the Cherry Blossom Frame along with the Arched Happy Easter, and the Flitter Side Butterfly.   

This card is sweet and simple, and to me, it instantly evokes the feeling of spring.  The top layer of all the die cuts are made from the new Watercolor Paper and I colored it with my Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers in Sugared Almond Pink and Green Shadow.  

I added Fairy Sugar Glitter Glue in Iris to the flower centers on the patterned paper and added some gems to the center of the flowers on the die-cut.  

I used Rectangle Basics Die in the largest size to cut the green glittered background.  I added some of the Birchpress Design Shimmer Burst Washi Tape to colored cardstock.  I also cut 1 each of the Genoese, Emmaline and Lacework Eggs from Gold Foiled Cardstock that had Couture Creations Double Sided Adhesive on the backside. 

This card features several new Easter Egg dies with some of the new Glittered Cardstock.   Aren't Filagree Easter Eggs just so pretty and elegant?  They remind me of Fabergé Eggs. If you don't know what those are, here's a search on Pinterest to see some fabulous examples.  If you're interested in more of the history of the House of Fabergé, you can find information here on Wikipedia.  

Next, I ran the colored, washi-taped cardstock through with my die cutting machine with an embossing sandwich to get the impression of the egg which makes fussy cutting around it very easy.  You could also do Die Cut In-lay if you like that style.  That would have taken a lot more time than what I felt I had available today so that I can show you as many of the new products as I can.  

The Gilded Washi Tape, the Gold Foiled Cardstock and the glitter cardstock all work together to make a fun and sparkly card for Easter.  

By dry embossing the eggs onto the cardstock, it gives the look of inlay without the time it would take to do that and also provides the outline for the egg shape for quick and easy fussy cutting of a simple shape.  

I had to sneak one more card in here at the very end that features one of the new stencils, Leafy Jumble.  I was planning to foil it, but I couldn't find my jar of Deco Foil Transfer Gel (until the card was finished, of course), so I ended up using Ink Blending to add the pattern to the cardstock in Turquoise Sea and Tranquil Teal.   

I first added some Pixie Spray to the back of the stencil and let that dry for a few minutes.  This allows the repositionable adhesive to "set" so that you can use it over and over without having to add more. It also holds your stencil in place without moving so that your pattern stays clean and crisp.  

Once that was done, I used the Basic Rectangles to cut a mat layer, a glitter layer and then a top layer for my card from the ink blended piece.  I die cut the Side Butterfly Circle from white cardstock 3 times and glued the layers together. I cut the interior part of the butterfly from cardstock scraps and the outlines of the butterflies from Gold Foiled Cardstock. I also cut the Flitter Side Butterfly using the same papers so that I could have two butterflies facing each other.  Once I had those adhered, I added Spectrum Noir Shimmer Pen to the insides of the wings for that touch of sparkle that I love.

There are many more new products available at Memory Box and it's other companies, Poppy Stamps and Birch Press Design.   Be sure to stop over at the Memory Box Blog, Outside the Box, and take a look at all of the new items that were just released.  I'll have a couple more projects for you next week.  Don't forget to leave a comment here on my blog for your chance to win the Arched Happy Easter Die.  

Vickisignature

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