Watercolor Poinsettia by Laura Fulcher

Greetings friends.  I have been on a watercolor kick lately.  I just can't seem to stop using my watercolor markers. To make this card, I first chose some floral paper that I really liked from the Garland 6" x 6" paper pack and then chose markers that matched the colors.

One of the best tips I heard about coloring a poinsettia is that the green leaves are basically the same as the red leaves...they are just a different color.  Therefore, I stamped my poinsettia flower twice onto Memory Box watercolor paper in black archival ink and then colored one red and one in greens to assemble a larger finished poinsettia.

I first added some dark red Zig clean color real brush marker to the base of the petals.

Next, I blended out the color with a lighter color.

For the green leaves, I used three shades of green.  I used just a touch of the darkest color....

.... and then blended with the two lighter colors.

All that was left was to cut out a few of the leaves and tape them behind my red flower.  I then popped up the circle date with a little bit of foam tape.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

 

 

Supplies

 

PP1010 Garland 6x6 pack

CL5261-D Spirit of Christmas clear stamp and die set

WP101 Watercolor Paper

Quick Backgrounds for Holiday Cards by Angie Cimbalo

Hello and welcome!  Today I have 2 quick cards using some fast background techniques, 1) wide washi tape and 2) scoring.  For both my Christmas cards I used the brand newly released "Large Vintage Sled" the previously released "Special Merry Christmas" die. Here's a look at some of my die cutting and card making prep:

For the slimline card, I took "Watercolor Forest Greenery" wide washi tape and adhered it to a 3.5" by 8.5" piece of white card stock. Next on the washi tape background, I sponged Distress Ink in "Cracking Campfire" to the outside edges, added white paint pen to highlight some spots and to create some snow dots. After die cutting the sled dies and sentiment from white, kraft and red card stock, I stacked them slightly offset from each other for dimension. I added my washi tape background panel to a slimline card base which was 8.5" by 3.5". I adhered the sentiment directly to the washi tape and popped the sled up on foam tape at an angle. Lastly I used "Dragonfly Fairy Sugar Glitter Glue" to simulate sparkling snow on the background and the sled.  Here's a closer look at my slimline card where you can see the white highlights, inking and glitter glue.

For my second card I took my scoreboard and scoring tool and scored lines down a white piece of card stock measuring 4" by 5.25" every 1/2" and then added "Tea Dye" Distress Ink direct to paper to create a faux woodgrain look. I adhered that panel to a piece of plaid paper from the "Christmas Plaid" paper pack and the to the card base. Next it was time to add the sled and sentiment dies. On the sled die cuts this time, I didn't offset the kraft on the red but put it directly on top. I think I like that look better because you can see more of the red showing through the bottom of the sled. Either way, it's a gorgeous die and I had so much fun playing with it to create these cards! Here's one more look at my A2 size sled card:

And here is one last look at both cards side by side:

I hope I have inspired you to create some quick background for cards today. Using wide washi tape and the faux wood look with scoring and ink direct to paper, you can come up with so many quick and easy background to showcase your dies and stamps!
Thanks so much for stopping by and see you next time!

 

I hope I have inspired you to create some quick background for cards today. Using wide washi tape and the faux wood look with scoring and ink direct to paper, you can come up with so many quick and easy background to show case your dies and stamps! Thanks so much for stopping by and see you next time!

 

Supplies

 

94499 Special Merry Christmas craft die

94496 Large Vintage Sled craft die

PP1009 Christmas Plaid 6x6 pack

WT500 Watercolor Forest Greenery Wide Washi Tape

40105 Dragonfly glitter glue

Vintage Sled Christmas Gift Tags by Michelle Bala

       

Hello there! Michelle here, sharing a few Christmas gift tags I created using the new Vintage Sled Die. Grab an assorted mix of colored cardstock and let's get busy! I die cut the sled 9 times using red, pink, green, aqua, teal, light gray, dark gray, kraft, and black cardstock.

 

I assembled the slatted pieces with foam tape. I used a small fussy scissor to trim long thin strips of foam tape. I applied them to the base of the die cut sled, than lay the slatted pieces on top. You can also use liquid glue if you do not want a raised look.

After the sleds are assembled, set aside. Let's die cut all the trimmings!

I used the tree tops from the new Collage Dies, Pine Tree Collage, Wooded Glenn Collage, and Little Orchard Collage Dies. I also used Bauble Snowflakes Dies but unfortunately they are no longer available. However, Jolly Snowflake Trio Dies are  a perfect swap! I used the same cardstock colors plus I added white to die cut all the trimmings. 

Now have fun layering the leaves in different colors, shapes and patterns! Layer each cluster with a snowflake and a gem.  The pink sled and red sled are my favorite!

I also added some shimmer to the sled, cluster of leaves and snowflake.


All the sentiments are from the stamp set Christmas Tiles. I used bakers twine in different shades to tie the tags to some candy canes. The tags can also make cute ornaments!

Hope you enjoyed this post and make some vintage sled gift tags!!!! Have a great weekend!

 

 

Supplies

 

94496 Large Vintage Sled craft die

94504 Pine Tree Collage craft die

94505 Wooded Glen Collage craft die

94506 Little Orchard Collage craft die

94284 Jolly Snowflake Trio

CL5263 Christmas Tiles clear stamp set

94302 Bauble Snowflakes

A Day of Thanks by Jean Okimoto

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone celebrating today!  A handcrafted card with stamped, embossed branches and a simple message would be appreciated during these challenging times.  Hi, Jean Okimoto here with a basic design that works in seasonal colors throughout the year.  Examples - soft green branches + lavender berries for spring, chartreuse branches + yellow berries for summer,  and dark green + bright red for the holidays.

Prep kraft and orange cardstock with the embossing powder tool to eliminate stray specks of powder.  I've added a bit of detail clear embossing powder to my Imagine Crafts Copper Mboss for a smoother image. Use a 1:5 ratio of clear powder to copper powder.  Mix the powders with a few shakes before each use.  Stamp the branches on kraft cardstock with VersaMark and emboss it with copper powder.  A tip...pre-heat the stamped, powdered cardstock from the backside for a few seconds first, then finish embossing from the right side.   That prevents over-heating and produces a smoother, glossy finish.

Stamp and emboss the 2 extra leaves on orange cardstock.

Cut the cooled branches and leaves with the matching dies from the set.  Diecut dark brown cardstock to mat the branches and leaves for added dimension.

Stamp the greeting on turquoise cardstock with Pinecone VersaFine Clair.

Cut the turquoise sheet from the Twinkling Jewel Glitter Pad with the berries die from the Mistletoe Bundle set.

Attach everything to a kraft A-6 card (4-½" x 6-¼") - use foamtape for the greeting.

As always, thanks for visiting - and for selecting Memory Box designs and products for your handcrafted projects.  We appreciate your support and love sharing our ideas with you!

Supplies

 

CL5262-D Harvest Love and Kindness clear stamp and die set

GP1003 Twinkling Jewel Glitter Pad

94484 Mistletoe Bundle craft die

Christmas Cardinal by Laura Fulcher

Greetings friends. Today I wanted to share a Christmas card using the Memory Box cardinal stamp.  Although the cardinal is my state bird, I realized I wasn't really sure of the coloring.  When I did an image search, I found this photo on dictionary.com:

I was surprised by a couple of things.  First, there was more of a blue/black to the wings that I would have thought.  I also noticed some areas that had a little orange to them.  The cardinal wasn't as bright red as I thought.  Second, I wouldn't have guessed that there was any pink to the beak.

I used the photo as a guide for my coloring and chose to use my Zig Clean Color Real Brush makers.  As I have said before, the brush nib allows you to take a lighter pen and go over a darker color without ruining your light colored nib.  With that in mind, I added my blue grey pen to the outside edge of the bird and then blended the color out with some of my red pen.  I added a little mustard to the center of the bird and then blended everything with the flesh colored marker.  Sometimes I use a waterbrush to blend the colors, but I decided to just use the markers themselves so that the color would remain bright and vibrant.

Here is a close up:

To finish the card, I added some decorative Memory Box paper and a popped up sentiment from the same clear stamp set as the cardinal. 

These are the colors of Zig markers that I used:

Bird- Red, Mustard, Flesh Colour, Blue Grey

Beak- Orange, Yellow, Pale Rose, Flesh Colour

Thanks for visiting today!

 

 

Supplies

 

CL5261 Spirit of Christmas clear stamp set

PP1010 Garland 6x6 pack

PP1009 Christmas Plaid 6x6 pack

Watercolor Texture Technique by Laura Fulcher

Greetings friends.  I wanted to share a watercolor technique that I learned from the Peerless Watercolor Instagram page.  I love working with watercolors and am always interested in new techniques.  All you are going to need for this technique is some watercolor paint (I used Peerless, but you could use any brand), watercolor paper (I used Memory Box) and some bubble wrap.  Who doesn't have bubble wrap this time of year?

Step one- tape down your watercolor paper so that the paper won't warp too much with all the paint and water.  I used washi tape since it is low tac and then taped it onto some heavy weight chip board:

Step two- spritz your watercolor paper with water so that the paint you add will blend easier.  Next, add a bunch of paint with a wet brush.  You can tell from my picture that my paper got quite wet:

Final step, place a piece of bubble wrap on top, place a book on top, and allow it to dry naturally.  I let it sit for about two hours.  You could also just leave it till the next day.  I made a bunch of these backgrounds at the same time so that I would have ready to use decorative papers for future cards.  Here is the background I ended up using for this card:

You can see that the bubbles left different looking imprints depending on how inflated the bubbles were.  To finish the card, I cut out my snowman and added some teal cardstock behind it. 

Tip for the backgrounds- if your paper ends up warped, you can press it under a heavy book or just use a lot of tape to hold it down.

Thanks for stopping by today!

 

 

Supplies

 

94498 Charming Snowman Collage craft die

Dutch Barn Fun Fold Card by Anne Thompson

This week I continued experimenting with some new-to-me fun folds.  I decided for this post to focus on the Dutch Barn fun fold card after watching some YouTube videos and reading some blog tutorials.  This fun card fits into a 5 X 7 envelope.  The barn roof flips up and the doors open to reveal your greeting inside.

materials used and steps to make the Dutch Barn card

• white cardstock for the base; cut 5 X 11; score at 7"
• white cardstock for the lower doors, cut 3 1/2 X 3; score at 1/2" on the 3" side
• fold and burnish the score lines
• attach the doors:  put adhesive on the folded 1/2" flaps and glue them onto the inside of the card, lining up the folded edge with the side and the bottom edges of the card on the left and the right
• with the card flat, the doors open, attach a piece of black cardstock 4 3/4 X 6 3/4 (this covers the flaps where the doors attach); add a layer of white cardstock on top measuring 4 1/2 X 6 1/2
• On this inside panel I added one piece of pine from POINTY PINE NEEDLE SPRIGS 94487 cut from green plaid paper.
• to decorate the barn roof top-fold flap, first round the two lower corners; cut a piece of black cardstock 4 3/4 X 3 3/4, round the two lower corners and attach it to the flap; add plaid paper cut 4 1/2 X 3 1/2, also with rounded corners 
• On the barn roof I added the POINTED PINE NEEDLE FRAME 94483 cut from green plaid paper and the SPECIAL MERRY CHRISTMAS 94499 cut from black cardstock.
• on the doors, add black mats 2 1/4 X 3 1/4 and plaid paper 2 X 3
• for the bar that attaches to the left door, cut white cardstock 3 1/2 X 1, add a layer of black cardstock 3 1/4 X 3/4 and a layer of plaid paper 3 X 1/2
• I added the other piece of pine from Pointy Pine Needle Sprigs to the bar.

This looks like a lot of steps but the card goes together rather quickly and easily.  

There are so many ways to decorate this card form.  And plenty of space for more plaids from the CHRISTMAS PLAID PP1009 6x6 pack!   I made a second card using the  two dies from BOUNTIFUL WREATH 94490 cut from white cardstock and added to another plaid barn.

Have you used this form before?  I can't wait to make more of them and not just for Christmas.  In fact I will probably use the second card for Thanksgiving this week.  I think it's my new favorite fold!

Happy Crafting!

And Happy Thanksgiving!

A Little Polar Bear and a Stitched Circle by Jean Okimoto

The new Stitched Circle die creates a great backdrop for the sweet polar bear from the Snowglobe Backer set.  Add a matching scarf and Special Merry Christmas message - and glitter.  Hi, Jean Okimoto here with another stitched design for the holidays.

Cut kraft cardstock with the 4" Circle Basics die.  Prep the Stitched Circle Die by rubbing it briskly with scrunched waxed paper to help release the little dots, then cut the circle.  Use Scotch transparent tape to attach red floss to the backside of the diecut in the area between the two dotted circles.  Don't tape the floss ends in the center - if you decide to cut the center out later (like I did)  you'll cut the threads.  Stitch between the alternating dots.

Connect the stitches, then tape the end of the floss on the backside.  

Repeat the process with green floss.

After finishing the stitching,  I decided to diecut the center - using the 1-¾" Circle Basics die.  Cut a 1-½" circle from the bright green glitter sheet in the 6x6 Holiday Glitter Pad.  

Cut the polar bear in the Snowglobe Backer set from Open Studio Watercolor paper.  Attach a scrap of black cardstock behind his head for the nose.  Color the paws, muzzle and center with very diluted iced spruce Distress Oxides. Wrap and tie three strands of floss around his neck for a scarf.

Save time when attaching delicate greetings with these tips.  Pressure-emboss Special Merry Christmas on the front of the card using the rubber embossing  mat and plate(s) required for your machine. That creates an inset section to align the greeting.  Cut the greeting from Open Studio Watercolor Paper.  Another tip - leave the diecut in the die, place a strip of ¼" wide lined doublestick tape across each word and run it through the machine again.  This 2-step process usually cuts the adhesive layer but leaves the line intact for easy removal.  Press the greeting onto the pressure-embossed area for a perfect fit.  A few extra steps - but it makes it so easy to align and inset the delicate greeting!

Attach the diecuts to a red A-6 card (4-½" x 6-¼") - use foamtape behind the top portion of the bear.  Punch ¼" circles of the green glittered cardstock.

Stitching adds color, texture and dimension to a card - and stitches don't smudge, bend or fall off in the mail!  Why not design and create a unique stitched card for the special people on your list this Christmas?

 

Thanks for visiting...see you again on Thursday!

 

Supplies

 

94404 Stitched Circle

30087 Circle Basics Set

94491 Snowglobe Backer craft die

94499 Special Merry Christmas craft die

GP1005 Holiday Glitter Pad

WP101 Watercolor Paper

Fall Slimline with Halloween Pumpkin by Angie Cimbalo

Hello and welcome!  Today I'm sharing a slimline fall "Thinking of You" card made with Memory Box "Halloween Pumpkins" stamp and die set.  I love this large pumpkin image along with the many awesome stamps in this set!

I stamped in black ink and heat embossed in clear, all the images I wanted to use on my card, then colored them with alcohol markers and colored pencils.  Here's look at my coloring up close before I die cut them with the matching dies.

After die cutting the images, I stamped the "Thinking of You" sentiment in the label die cut.  Next I laid all the images out on my slimline card base and arranged them some with glue and others with foam tape.  Lastly I added a couple of clear water droplets.  Here's one last look at my card:

I hope I have inspired you today!  Thanks so much for stopping by!

 

Supplies

 

CL5264-D Halloween Pumpkin clear stamp and die set

Merry Christmas Card by Donna Sledzik

Hello everyone! Today I have a fun card for you which features water stamping on a blended distress oxide background.

To make the background I used a blending brush and applied distress oxide inks to the cardstock. You want to make sure you get a good amount of ink on the paper for the water stamping to work.

I placed my stamps in a Misti Stamping tool, misted it lightly with plain water and stamped on the cardstock. I dried the paper and then repeated the stamping to cover the background. I used smaller stamp images to fill in the open areas.

Next, I die cut the Bountiful Wreath in the center of the background and adhered the background piece to white cardstock that was cut to the same size as the card front. I glued the die cut center piece of the wreath in place in the open space. Now it looks like a white white die cut wreath.

Next I picked a pink glitter paper for the word "Merry" but it was a little too light, so I colored the paper with a copic marker to darken it. Then I die cut the word Merry once from the glitter paper and two times from white cardstock. I glued all the words together ending with the glitter word.

Next, I stamped, colored and die cut the bunny and used foam adhesive to adhere it to my card.  I stamped and white heat embossed the word Christmas on a strip of black cardstock and glued it in place on the card. The word merry was glued to the card just above the bunny image.

Next I mounted the card front on a black cardstock mat and glued it to a white card base.

I added some sequins to finish off the card. That's it for today!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

 

Supplies

 

GP1001 Delicate Pastel Glitter Pad

CL5226 Be Jolly clear stamp set

94331 Merry Airy Script