Airbrushed Gladiolas by Laura Fulcher

Greetings friends. I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend. I wanted to share a card today that I airbrushed with Copic markers. Of course, you could achieve a similar look by sponging the petals with your favorite inks.

To make the card, I cut out my gladiola pieces out of white cardstock and then chose Copic markers that matched the plaid paper I had chosen. I used R24, YR04, Y06, Y08 and E25. To color each petal, I first airbrushed a light layer of color over the petal and then added more of same marker at the center of the petal to make it darker. When I airbrushed the center of the petal, I also held the airbrush close to the paper to really layer on the color. If you were using ink and a sponge, you would press harder on the paper with the sponge to really intensify the color. Here are my colored petals:

To add color to the yellow flower, I did actually have to use a marker that was slightly darker since I wasn't getting enough of a difference when shading with the same marker. Yellows are so light that you might have to use a darker color of yellow ink to get a more pronounced difference.

When I assembled the petals, the flowers looked like this:

I debated for longer than I should have on whether or not I should pop up the top petals with foam tape for extra dimension. I decided to go with the flatter look for easier mailing.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

 

 

Supplies

 

94795 Gladiola Blossom and Leaves

st005 Thank You Foil Greetings Black Tabs

pp1027 Gladiola Plaid 6x6 pack

pp1028 Glimmering Gladiola 6x6 pack

Glad for Gladiolas by Laura Fulcher

Greetings friends. Memory Box has a new release that features gladiolas. They are an absolutely beautiful floral, and I am really enjoying working with them.

For my first card of the collection, I cut out the Budding Gladiola Stem three times so that I would have a card full of flowers. I wanted the flowers on the left side of each stem to be darker, so I cut out each flower from a base color (red, yellow, and pink) then colored the left side of the plant with a darker copic marker. I also added some green Copic marker to the base of the leaves for a bit more dimension. Here is a close up:

To finish the card, I took some paper from the new Glimmering Gladiola 6" x 6" pack and cut out an arch. I layered it onto a light yellow notecard and then stamped my sentiment towards the top using black ink. All that was left was to pile all of my florals and leaves onto the card.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope everyone had an outstanding weekend.

 

 

Supplies

 

94792 Budding Gladiola Stem

pp1028 Glimmering Gladiola 6x6 pack

94532 Nested Globes

cl5278 Cheerful Floral Clear Stamp Set

3D Embossing Folder Coloring Technique by Laura Fulcher

Greetings friends. I keep seeing a technique online for coloring embossing folder papers. I think the final look resembles a wood block stamped look. I wanted to give it a try, so I will share with you the steps that I took.

To make this card, I started by embossing white cardstock with my 3D embossing folder that features butterflies. Remember to lightly spritz your cardstock with water before running it through your die cut machine so that the paper doesn't crack. Once you have your embossed paper, flip it so the flat side is up along with debossed images (the raised side will be on the bottom).

Next, sponge ink over the various butterflies, leaves and flowers. You can use any inks you like. Both pigment and dye-based inks will work.  Don't worry if it is messy and if some colors end up where you didn't intend them to. To finish the look of the paper, wipe the top of the card with a black dye-based ink pad. Dye-based works better because of the hard felt pad of the ink. As you wipe the ink pad across the paper, the pad will color the top of the paper and skip over the debossed areas:

Keep adding dark ink until you get the look that you want. For my finished card, I cut out my favorite part of the paper, added some layers of cardstock and my sentiment.

You can even skip the ink sponging step if you want a simpler look. Here is embossed white cardstock with black ink rubbed on top:

Here are some close ups of the other finished cards:

I hope you will give the technique a try if you haven't already. It is an easy way to create a lot of cards in a short amount of time. Have a great weekend!

 

 

Supplies

 

ef1025 Cheerful Floral 3D Embossing Folder and Die

ef1035 Marvelous Magnolia 3D Embossing Folder and Cutting Dies

ef1005 Butterfly Gathering 3D Embossing Folder

ef1026 Gracious Floral 3D Embossing Folder and Die

ef1001 Chrysanthemum Field 3D Embossing Folder

st007 Happy Birthday Foil Greetings Black Tabs

st008 Thank You Foil Greetings White Circle Tabs

st005 Thank You Foil Greetings Black Tabs

st010 Happy Birthday Foil Greetings White Circle Tabs

Happy Easter Bunny Card by Laura Fulcher

Greetings Friends. To those of you who celebrate it, I wish you a very happy Easter. In honor of the holiday, I chose to use the Festive Bunny for today's card. He is just so dapper in his jacket.

I also want to talk about a mistake you can make on your cards as I did with this one. I glued my bunny and basket die cuts down before I checked to see if my sentiment would still fit. It did not, so I had to add it to the inside:

This is just a friendly reminder to figure out the arrangement of all of the pieces before you start to glue things down!

To make the card, I cut out the bunny and his outfit using some of the Lagoon pack papers as well as patterned paper from the Anemone Grove paper pack. On my first try, I used teal paper for the vest, but I soon found out that patterned paper showed the vest off much better.

I cut the Easter eggs out with white cardstock and colored them with various Copic markers. I did it this way so that I could cut eggs out one time and color them rather than die cut lots of different colors of paper.

Here is a close up of the card:

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

 

 

 

Supplies

 

94733 Festive Bunny

94729 Happy Easter Dover Script

94732 Woven Basket of Eggs

pp1026 Anemone Grove 6x6 pack

sp1010 Lagoon 6x6 pack

30094 Wrapped Stitch Rectangles

Striped Easter Card by Laura Fulcher

Greetings friends. Spring is finally here, and I have been in the mood to make cards with bunnies. This one happens to be for Easter, but it could just as easily be make into a spring birthday card. Swipe out the basket with a gift, and you are done. Of course, I would say the bunny would also need a party hat.

For the background, I chose papers from two of the new paper packs, Lagoon and Greenery. Each paper pack comes with 10 colors that work really well with each other. I cut 1/2" strips of paper and glued them onto a 5" x 3 3/4" piece of white cardstock.

For the basket, I started with a die but kraft colored diecut and then brayered it with dark brown ink. When you cut out the basket, it automatically embosses it with a woven pattern. Adding some ink on top accentuates the pattern a bit. Here is a close up:

For the bunny, I cut him out of kraft and white cardstock. I added a bit of light pink Copic marker (R11) to the ear, cheeks and nose.

Finally, I added some Easter eggs I cut out of white cardstock and colored with Copic markers and added my sentiment.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

 

 

Supplies

 

94732 Woven Basket of Eggs

94727 Cute Layered Bunny

94731 Happy Easter Curled Script

sp1010 Lagoon 6x6 pack

sp1011 Leafy 6x6 pack

Floral Greeting Card by Laura Fulcher

Greetings friends! The new Anemone collection has some really lovely blossoms that can make beautiful cards year-round. I left a message off of the front of my card because I didn't know what occasion I was going to send the card. I like having a stash of generic cards on hand. Unfortunately, I need to send a sympathy card, and I thought this design was quite fitting.

To make the card, I cut out the pieces of my flower using white cardstock and then colored the petals with various Copic markers (BV0000, BV31, and BV02). I then colored my stems and leaves with an assortment of green Copic markers (YG03, YG25, YG63 and BG49). I chose the Copic markers because they matched the colors of the background patterned paper I had chosen.

I wanted a bit of extra dimension and texture for the card so I ran some white cardstock through the die cut machine with the Anemone Drift embossing folder. I then cut out a strip of the textured paper to add to the card.

Here is  a close up of the card and all of the layers:

Thank you so very much for stopping by today!

 

 

Supplies

 

pp1026 Anemone Grove 6x6 pack

ef1041 Anemone Drift 3D Embossing Folder and Cutting Dies

94769 Elegant Anemone

Using Christmas Supplies Past Christmas by Laura Fulcher

Greetings friends. I don't know about you, but I always want to get as much use out of my art supplies as possible. I received beautiful Christmas items from Memory Box, so I wanted to used them even past Christmas.

For today's card, I used items from the 2023 Christmas release, and I want to talk you through my reasoning for choosing each item.

First, I absolutely love the poinsettia rub ons. I used some of the flowers, but I realized that I still had beautiful leaves and berries that would make great cards for winter and spring.

Next, I paired it with the Bundled Bird die. On the sample on the envelope of the die, the little bird was accessorized with a Santa hat and scarf that focused on Christmas red/white. I changed the colors for a more winter look. Take of the hat and scarf from the set, and you have a perfect bird for the rest of the year. He is a really nice size to be the focal point on a card.

The frame die was a no-brainer really. It is perfect for all of the seasons. I didn't really have to change anything.

I added a few classic pine sprigs to the card as well as a sentiment from a Christmas word set that doesn't need to be used for Christmas.

Here is a close up of the bird:

So, there you go. Christmas has turned into a winter card. I know I will be using certain elements of the card such as the frame and bird year-round in my cardmaking. I guarantee that bird will be wearing a birthday hat at some point!

Thanks so much for stopping by today,

 

Supplies

 

94760 Bundled Bird

EF1040 Vintage Tray 3D Embossing Folder and Die

Rub102 Poinsettia Rub On

94757 Classic Pine Needle Sprigs

cl5285 Shining Star Clear Stamp Set

Brayered Embossing Folders by Laura Fulcher

Greetings friends. As this is Thanksgiving week, I thought it was my last chance to post a Fall card. I used a poinsettia embossing folder for the card, but I thought the colors I used made it look autumnal instead of wintry. You could just as easily change the colors for a Christmas card.

To make my design, I started with white cardstock and sponged Distress Inks on top. I used Candied Apple, Fired Brick, Ripe Persimmon, Carved Pumpkin and Vintage Photo:

Next, I spritzed the back of the paper with water (I didn't want to alter the ink) and ran it through my die cut machine with the Poinsettia Corner embossing folder:

I really like the dimension you get with a 3D embossing folder.

To add more dimension to the card, I then brayered the top of the card with Brink colored ink to really make the leaves and flowers pop:

To finish the card, I added a layer of gold metallic paper as well as my die cut sentiment:

Thank you so much for visiting today. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday.

 

Supplies

 

94747 Happy Fall Posh Script

ef1038 Poinsettia Corner 3D Embossing Folder and Dies

Non-Traditional Christmas Colors by Laura Fulcher

Greetings friends. I hope everyone has had a wonderful weekend. Today I wanted to share a card I had in my mind that stepped away from traditional Christmas colors.

To make the card, I started with white cardstock and then sponged it with different shades of PanPastel chalks:

Once I had the colors blended as I wished, I stamped the whole thing with the newest snowflake background stamp using Versamark ink. I am including a photo, but Versamark is clear, and you can only faintly see the snowflakes stamped on top of the chalk:

Next, I sponged the exact same PanPastel chalks on top of the inks to make the snowflakes show up darker than the background. The beauty of this technique is that you don't need to be gentle. You can press the chalk firmly on top  of the snowflakes and the ink doesn't smudge.

To finish the card, I cut out my snowflake and added a green gem to the center and a Merry Christmas sentiment to the top:

What about you? What non-traditional colors have you used for your holiday cards?

Thanks for stopping by today!

 

 

Supplies

 

94753 Aurora Snowflake

cs2083 Aurora Snowflake Cling Stamp

st003 Merry Christmas Foil Greetings Black Tabs

gem101 Treasure Chest Fairy Gemstones

Happy Halloween by Laura Fulcher

Greetings friends! Have you started making your fall cards yet? I absolutely love then new Witch Hat die. For my card today, I cut the base out of black glitter paper and added the accent piece out of black mirror paper. I have seen it done in different colors, and it always looks great.

For the background, I started with kraft woodgrain paper and started layering Hickory Smoke Distress ink on top to age it:

Tip: Be sure to build up your color slowly and gradually. I'm always tempted to do it quickly, but then I add up with smudges from the sponge.

For the pumpkin, I cut it out of orange cardstock and then edged it with dark orange and brown ink. For the stem and leaves, I cut out the pieces from green cardstock and then edged them with dark green and brown ink. Here is a close up of the pieces:

To finish the card, I added a few more of the pumpkin leaves tho the hat.

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

 

 

Supplies

 

94693 Large Layered Witch Hat

94690 Autumn Pumpkin

sh44003 Kraft Woodgrain Paper Pack

GP1007 Glitzy Glitter Pad

fp1003 Rainbow Reflections Mirror Pad