Golden Plumed Feather by Laura Fulcher

Greetings friends. I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend. Today I want to talk about using up your scraps in cardmaking. I absolutely love making backgrounds with paints and inks. In my early days of crafting, I would throw away the ones I didn't like. Sometimes I didn't like the colors I used and sometimes it just looked like a big mess. Here is a background I made that I didn't really like:

I had taken watercolor paper and dabbed it in a whole bunch of watercolor paints. When it was dry, I tried to stencil over it using a floral stencil and some gold paint. There was a lot going on in the design, and I wasn't really fond of all the paint blobs. However, I knew not to discard it because I knew it would be perfect for die cutting. The beauty of die cutting is that you can just cut out the pieces that you like. Plus, if you use a layering die such as the one I used on today's card, the top layer often hides the flaws of the bottom layer.

Here is what the feather looked like after I cut out the solid background and added the gold detailed layer on top:

Next, I added a second smaller feather on top, a few jewels and a sentiment. Don't throw away your mistakes! I promise you there is always something there you can use.

 

Supplies

 

94711 Plumed Gypsy Feather

94672 A2 Rectangle Frames Die Set

cl5276 Friends and Family clear stamp set

jwl004 Autumn Fairy Jewels

cry101 Autumn Fairy Crystals

Celestial Hello by Laura Fulcher

Greetings friends. Today I wanted to show you a night scene with some of the new layering cloud dies. I usually make them into day scenes, but they work equally as well for night.

To make my background, I started with Memory Box watercolor paper then dabbed the paper into puddles of Colorburst watercolor powders mixed with a lot of water. That gave me a splotchy background of dark blues and purples:

To make it look more like a night scene, I then smudged places of my cardstock with black Distress Ink. Start out light and then add more black as needed. To finish the look and to create "stars," I splattered the whole piece with watered down white acrylic paint.

Next, I cut out my layers of clouds from white cardstock. I thought about using a light grey, but I wanted to have a high contrast with the background and settled on white. To add a bit of interest to the clouds, I edged them with C00, c1 and C2 Copic markers.

I layered all of the cloud pieces on top of each other by adding some foam tape between each layer. I liked the dimension of the foam tape. To finish everything, I added silver stars and my die cut sentiment:

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

 

 

Supplies

 

94646 Curved Cap Pinpoint Layers

94626 Cloudy Sun Collage

94627 Cloudy Moon Collage

94628 Distant Sun Collage

94468 Hello Rush Script

94631 Starry Collage

Best Wishes by Laura Fulcher

Greetings friends. Today I wanted to feature the new Curlicue Plate. It makes a really beautiful background. To make the card, I first started with some of the white Memory Box woodgrain paper and spritzed it with blue and green sprays:

I let the colors meld together and then dry completely before adding my curlicue background that was cut from white cardstock. To finish the card, I added my sentiment as well as a new butterfly die. I wanted everything to coordinate, so I used the same color cardstock as the notecard to cut out the shadow for the sentiment and the details of the butterfly:

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

 

Supplies

 

94698 Curlicue Plate

94670 Best Wishes Tender Script

94708 Plumed Gypsy Butterfly

sh44001 White Woodgrain Paper Pack

Hugs for You by Laura Fulcher

Greetings friends. I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend. Today I wanted to share a background made out of Distress Inks. It is a good way to really highlight any dies that you might have.

To make the background, I sponged Distress Inks onto white cardstock in the following order: Peacock Feathers, Twisted Citron Squeezed Lemon, Carved Pumpkin and Picked Raspberry. I was in the mood for really bright and happy colors.  I then cut out by sponged background using one of the new nesting dies that has an arch at the top.

Next, I spritzed the piece with water to give it a speckled look. Here is a closeup:

To finish the card, I added my dies as well as some rhinestones to include a little extra bling. I really like the detail you get from the Curved Cap Pinpoint Layer die. The little pinpoints really add a lot of interest to the edges.

Thanks for stopping by today!

 

Supplies

 

94646 Curved Cap Pinpoint Layers

94617 Scribble Daisy

94669 Hugs Tender Script

jwl002 Pastel Jewels

Watercolor Sending Love by Laura Fulcher

Greetings friends. I have been making Valentine's Day cards, but I prefer to make cards that can be used year-round. I made this sending love card to have on hand in case I loved one who needs a little bit of support in the mail.

To make the card, I started with the smooth side of Memory Box watercolor paper and wet a strip on the paper with a large paintbrush and some clean water. I then touched different spots on the wet strip with some of my favorite colors of watercolor paint. The paint spread easily because the paper was pre-wet, and the color stayed in the areas I had wet with my paintbrush. Here is the finished look when it dried:

Next, I cut out a heart using one of my new dies. This is what it looked like:

The Pinpoint Burst Heart die adds all the little lines to the heart, which makes it a bit more interesting. To finish the card, I added my sentiment as well as some rhinestones:

I cut my card into a 4 1/4" x 4 1/4" square, but I will mail it in a standard A2 envelope so that it won't require any extra postage.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

 

Supplies

 

94639 Pinpoint Burst heart

94661 Sending Love Daily Script

wp101 Watercolor Paper

ddp101 Christmas Fairy Dewdrops

jwl005 Christmas Fairy Jewels

Love You Coffee by Laura Fulcher

Greetings friends. The new release of dies has a coffee/tea die that works well for Valentines Day, but honestly, I can see myself using it year-round. Nothing is quite as comforting as a warm and cozy drink, and it is a great way to let someone know you are thinking of them.

To make the card, I made used 8 1/4" x 3 1/4" kraft cardstock and ran it through my die cutting machine. I cut out the heart using mirror paper and then attached it to the kraft background so that the lines matched up.

For the rest of the card, I cut out the cup base and heart using patterned paper and then layered the same patterned paper onto the "love" and "you." I wanted just a touch of bling, so I cut out the hearts for the words using red glitter paper. The nice thing about Memory Box glitter paper is that it doesn't come off your card and go everywhere.

Here is a close up:

The cardstock base is a standard slime line card, which measures 3 1/2" x 8 1/2." The large red heart hangs over the edge a bit, but the card still fits in a standard business envelope. I refuse to pay extra postage!

Have a fantastic day,

 

 

Supplies

 

94639 Pinpoint Burst heart

94557 Slim Pinpoint Burst Plate

94637 Cuppa Love

94636 Love You Gallery Script

fp1003 Rainbow Reflections Mirror Pad

gp1007 Glitzy Glitter Pad

pp1005 Garden Folly 6x6 pack

Glittery Thanks by Laura Fulcher

Greetings friends. I am once again using the new Valentine dies for holiday cards. I don't know about you, but I have to make a ton of thank you cards this time of year. It might be a bit presumptuous of me, but I think I will need Christmas and birthday thank you card really soon.

To make the card, I first made my own floral textured background with one of Memory Box's wonderful 3-D embossing folders. You really do get a lot of depth and dimension. One thing to remember before running your paper and folder through your die cutting machine is to lightly mist your paper or wipe it down gently with a baby wipe so that the pattern doesn't crack in the embossing folder. The 3-D embossing folders have a lot of detail, but they put a lot of pressure on the fibers of your paper. Pre-wetting the cardstock with water will really help with that.

Next, I cut out my heart outline and inside of the hearts with glitter paper. It might be the holidays, but I really have been enjoying sparkle and bling right now.

To finish the card, I added my sentiment in grey Versafine ink as well as a few clear rhinestones. Here is a close up:

Thank you so much for stopping by!

 

 

Supplies

 

94662 Heart Ring Stack

ef1014 Blooming 3D Embossing Folder

gp1001 Delicate Pastel Glitter Pad

cl5283 Sweet Christmas clear stamp set

drp101 Fairy Drops

In Between Seasons by Laura Fulcher

Greetings friends. Memory Box has a new Valentine release, but I'm not quite finished with my Christmas cards yet. I thought it would be a good idea to pair one of the new Valentine dies with Christmas items to make a card. I am a great proponent of practical crafting items that can be used year-round.

To make the card, I cut out my heart from a paper pack called "Garland." I thought it matched the Valentine/Christmas theme really well. I also paired it with a holly branch die as well as a sweet bird die.

The sentiment comes from a clear stamp set called "Sweet Christmas." It includes this sentiment as well as another that would pair well with a heart/hearts. It reads, " Christmas is not about the gifts we receive but rather the love we give."

I added a bit of Pine Needles Distress ink to my bright green leaves to give them a bit of dimension. Here is a close up:

To finish everything, I embossed my sentiment in gold and added a few gems for the holly berries.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

 

 

Supplies

 

94639 Pinpoint Burst heart

pp1010 Garland 6x6 pack

cl5283 Sweet Christmas clear stamp set

sp1003 Lush Green

pp1019 Christmas Jolly 6x6 pack

94684 Layered Birds

94599 Holly Branch

cry102 Christmas Fairy Crystals

Winter Landscape by Laura Fulcher

Greetings friends. Today I wanted to share a card that is rather quick and easy to make, even if it looks like it might take a bit of time. It is actually a good one if you need to crank out about 20 holiday cards.

To make my winter scene, I cut a wavy hill free hand out of a scrap of cardstock. I then placed it at the top third of my card and used it as a mask as I sponged my sky in Salty Ocean Distress Oxide ink. I added a bit of Faded Jeans Distress Oxide ink around the top edge, but to be honest, It blended a lot with my first color and you can hardly see it.

I flipped my hill mask over so that the hill was going in the opposite direction and then placed it in the middle of my cardstock and lightly sponged the top of the hill with Broken China Distress Oxide ink.

For the final hill, I flipped the hill mask over once again (you can see that it matches the top hill) and once again sponged the top of the mask with Broken China ink. I then spritzed the whole thing with water so that the ink would look splotchy and give the impression of snow.

Here is a close up of the hills:

For the trees, I used the new Little Trees dies and cut them out of three colors of green cardstock. I kept the larger of the trees in the front and cut them from the darkest paper. As the trees move farther away, I made them smaller and used lighter paper. Things in the distance often look smaller and grayer, so I thought I should keep that into account for my card. The top trees I cut even smaller than the die so that they would look very far away. I then added a bit of Dew Drop glitter glue to the top of each tree for sparkle.

As a finishing step, I added my sentiment and then added a bit of C1 Copic marker to the base of the trees for dimension.

Have a great weekend!

 

Supplies

 

94677 Little Trees

cl5283 Sweet Christmas clear stamp set

40125 Dewdrop glitter glue

sp1003 Lush Green

Glittery Winter Wonderland by Laura Fulcher

Greetings friends. Today I wanted to share a Christmas card with you that has a lot of sparkle. It is a layered scenic card that has a white pine framed layer on top of a white and blue glittered forest path.

To make the card, I first cut out the Pine Needle Frame using plain white cardstock. I wanted the top layer to coordinate with the rest of the card, but I didn't want to have it blend in too much with the glittery background.

Next, I cut out a white sparkled background from the Majestic Hues glitter paper pack. The nice thing about the glitter paper is that it doesn't flake off of your card and go everywhere. I then ran the die through my die cut machine a second time using blue glitter paper from the Delicate Pastel Glitter Paper pack. I used more of the same blue glitter paper for the sky.

To see more of the sparkle of the card, here is a second view:

To finish the card, I die cut my sentiment and birds out of dark red cardstock.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

 

Supplies

 

94687 Pine Needle Frame

94702 Forest Path

94682 Merry Christmas Curled Script

94684 Layered Birds

gp1001 Delicate Pastel Glitter Pad

gp1008 Majestic Hues Glitter Pad

sp1001 Berry Red