Stencil Watercoloring by Trina Pham

Hello there!  I’m back today with another hibiscus birthday card made with a stencil watercoloring technique.  Can you tell blue is my favorite color? 😉

The challenge with watercoloring through a stencil is the watercolors getting underneath the stencil.  To resolve that, all you need is this really affordable product we used when we were kids...

Yes, it’s Elmer’s Rubber Cement glue!  Not only will it help resist the seepage under the stencil, it will secure the stencil in place.  No tape required.

I started by die cutting a DIY stencil with the Hibiscus Collage dies from a piece of acetate.  Applied the glue to the entire back of the stencil.  Let it dry a few seconds then adhered it onto a mix media panel.

Used Zig markers and a waterbrush to watercolor.  It helps not to use too much water, but have a paper towel on hand if you do.  

Once watercoloring is complete, allow it to dry before removing the stencil.  Use an adhesive eraser or just your fingers to remove the glue residue from the stencil and your project.   

Added blue splatters and white heat embossed the sentiment from Birthday Blowout on black cardstock to finish.  And that’s it for today.  Thank you for stopping by.  Have a great day. 

Supplies

94262 Hibiscus Collage craft die

CL470 Birthday Blowout clear stamp set

Ombré Watercolor Background by Trina Pham

Hello there.  I have a CAS tropical birthday card to share today featuring an easy ombré watercolor background technique that I learned from this video. 

This technique requires two gradient colors of dye inks that are reactive with water.  For my card I used Chipped Sapphire and Salty Ocean distress inks.  Took a scrap piece of Mix Media paper from my stash, then blended Salty Ocean about halfway down followed with Chipped Sapphire about a quarter way down.

Next, a flat brush was wet with water then dragged down the length of the panel.  The brush should be wet, but not soaking or dripping.

I overworked my panel a little more than what was recommended in the video, but for what I was planning to do, it didn’t matter.

Before negative diecutting the panel with the Hibiscus Collage dies, Stick It adhesive was added to the back.  When diecutting was complete, it was adhered to regular white cardstock cut to the same size as the panel.  For some shimmer, spritz it with Sparkle spray (wasn’t able to capture it in the photo).  

To finish, heat embossed the sentiment from Birthday Blowout with white embossing powder on a strip of navy cardstock.  Thank you for stopping by.  Enjoy your weekend!

 

Supplies

 

94262 Hibiscus Collage craft die

CL470 Birthday Blowout clear stamp set

Watercolor Vellum Daisies by Trina Pham

Hello there.  I have a clean and simple birthday card to share today featuring watercoloring on vellum - vellum diecuts to be exact.  Vellum is a beautiful product, but if you’ve ever tried watercoloring it, you know how much it curls and warps.  However, this isn’t always a bad thing.  On my card, the curling added dimension.

 

A couple of key points for this technique: use heavy-weight vellum and use as little water as possible.  

The vellum daisies from Daisy Silhouette were watercolored with Zig markers and a water brush, then set aside to air dry.  Bristol paper was used for the remainder of the card.  The frame was die cut with the Rectangle Basics set.  The diamond pattern from Distressed Windham Collage was used to create the “trellis”.  The sentiment from Watching the World Bloom was white heat embossed on black cardstock.  

Assembled the card onto a white top folding card base and Crystal Glaze added to the centers finished off the card.  Thank you for stopping by.  Have a wonderful day.

 

 

Supplies

 

94249 Daisy Silhouette craft die

30041 Distressed Windham Collage

CL5197 Watching the World Bloom clear stamp set

30086 Rectangle Basics Set

Cool Baby Wipe Technique by Trina Pham

Happy Sunday everyone!  As I mentioned in my last post, I learned and played with different techniques at my retreat.  One very cool (and easy) technique was a baby wipe technique involving distress oxide inks (DOx) and photo paper.  There’s a video tutorial for it by Kia HERE.  Here’s my CAS card.

Started by ink smooshing Lucky Clover, Mowed Lawn and Peacock Feathers DOx inks one at a time onto a piece of photo paper.  Let the ink dry in between each color.  This resulted in a cloudy chalky look.  Now comes the cool part.  Take a baby wipe and buff away at the surface to reveal the bright glossy background.  I wiped away only the bottom half of the panel in the photo below to show the difference.

I’ve heard some trying this technique with glossy paper, so I thought I would do a comparison.  I used the same DOx colors for both and as you can see, my glossy paper turned out very different.   I was advised that certain photo papers do not work either, so it could very well be my brand of glossy paper.  

To complete my card, the Scribble Leafy Branch Background was die cut from the panel and from a scrap of white glitter paper to be inlaid.  The inlaid panel was adhered behind a window cutout made with the the Rectangle Basics set on a Bristol piece.  Stamped the sentiment from Big and Little Words stamp set with Archival black ink, then mounted with fun foam to a white top folding card base  to finish.

Now I couldn’t let that positive leafy cutout go to waste, so I made a CAS birthday card... possibly for a male?

 

Two more leafy branches were die cut from Bristol cardstock and the sentiment was white heat embossed on black for this second one.

This was another fun technique that I think you should give a try.  Having the correct paper is key.  And that’s it from me.  Thanks for stopping by. Have a wonderful week.  

 

Supplies

 

94275 Scribble Leafy Branch Background craft die

CL5242 Big and Little Words lear stamp set

Cut Up Rose Bouquet by Trina Pham

Hello there.  I’ve been at a crafting retreat this past week and sadly, today is the final day.  We had six jam packed days of playing with different products and techniques.  One of the techniques we tried, and one that I’ve wanted to try, was Jennifer McGuire’s  Cut Up Stamping.  I knew the gorgeous Rose Bouquet stamp set from the April release would be perfect to use for it and I was right.  I ended up with three cards!

The gist of the technique is to cut strips from stamped panels and then pop up sections with fun foam to add dimension and interest.  For my first card, I stamped the bouquet with Copic friendly black ink on X-press It cardstock then coloured it in with Copics.

Next, the sentiment from Big and Little Words stamp set was stamped in black on the card base using the MISTI.  Adhered the coloured panel with temporary adhesive to the card base, then stamped the sentiment on that.  

Trimmed the sentiment from the coloured panel and assembled with fun foam.  Added clear shimmer to the flowers to finish.

The same steps were repeated for my second card, but in contrast to the first, I kept it monochromatic.  

The bouquet was black heat embossed on Bristol paper and the sentiment was white heat embossed on a black card base.

And finally my third card was created slightly different than the first two.

The bouquet was stamped with Copic friendly black ink on X-press It cardstock in opposite corners and the area between them was coloured in with a B28 Copic Sketch marker.

Cut up the panel in a grid pattern then added the Happy Jotted diecut sentiment to finish.

 

This truly is a fun and easy technique and the possibilities are endless, especially with the Rose Bouquet stamp.  Thank you for stopping by.  Have a great day. 

 

Supplies

 

CL5241 Rose Bouquet clear stamp set

CL5242 Big and Little Words lear stamp set

94107 Happy Jotted Script craft die

Happy Octopus Two Ways by Trina Pham

Hello everyone.  I’m playing with the Happy Octopus die from the 2019 Spring Collection today and sharing two cards. For some reason, both cards gave me a bit of grief.

First up is a clean and simple (CAS) card and it was super easy since the background panel was a leftover piece I didn’t end up using for another card.  I had done some ink smooshing with a blue (can’t remember which one) distress oxide (DOx) ink and a piece of acetate.  I find picking up the ink with acetate gives me a little more control, which is helpful in preserving white space on CAS cards  

The octopus was die cut from watercolor paper and watercolored with Zig markers and a water brush.  Black cardstock was added behind the eyes.  Clear shimmer was applied all over for some sparkle.  Wasn’t able to capture it in the photo.  The sentiment from Oceanside Typewriter stamp set was white heat embossed on a black strip.  The panel was popped up onto a white card base with fun foam to finish. So how did this give me grief?  Normally I use top folding card bases, but this time I thought I'd switch things up and use a side folding one.  Well, I wasn’t paying attention and accidentally mounted the panel to the backside!  Aargh!  I guess I had a left-handed recipient in mind. 😂*lol*  

My next card is a clean and layered tunnel card.  And this time I went back to a top folding card base.  😂*lol  

 

The top folding card base was created from Bristol paper.  Next, two A2 size panels were trimmed from Bristol paper as well.  Chose two circle sizes from the Circle Basics set, then took the larger die and die cut a circle opening in one of the panels to create the top layer.  Placed this layer over the other panel and used it as a guide to die cut the inner circle opening with the smaller die.  Blended Mermaid Lagoon, Gathered Twigs, Peacock Feathers and Tumbled Glass DOx inks on the layers and card base, then spritz with water.  

The fish and seaweed/coral are from the Underwater Scene die.  Just like the octopus, they were die cut from watercolor paper and watercolored with Zig markers and a water brush.  Used an archival black pen to draw in the the fish eyes.

Assembled the card by popping each layer up with foam mounting tape.  White heat embossed the sentiment from Oceanside Typewriter stamp set on a black strip to finish.  The grief on this one?  Darn ink smears... luckily I was able to hide them with one of the fish and the sentiment strip. 😉 

And that does it for me today.  Thank you for dropping by.  Have a wonderful weekend.  

 

 

Supplies

 

94227 Happy Octopus craft die

94224 Underwater Scene craft die

CL5240 Oceanside Typewriter Sentiments clear stamp set

30087 Circle Basics Set

Spring into Easter by Trina Pham

Hello everyone.  No butterflies today.  I have a clean and simple (CAS) Spring card to share.  Since I love stretching my supplies and it is Easter weekend, I couldn’t help but bring back the Snow Much Fun stamp set to create this bunny in a field of tulips card. 

One great trick for preserving white space and keeping cards CAS is to work within a frame.  Here I took a square die from the Square Basics set and die cut an opening from a Bristol panel.  Used that same die with one that is two size up and die cut a frame to frame the opening.  Stamped the bunny from Snow Much Fun with Copic friendly black ink, added some light shading with Copics, then die cut out with the matching die.  Used scissors to cut around the arm so he could interact with one of the tulips.

The tulips from Springtime Tulips were die cut from white cardstock and colored with Copics.  Before assembling the scene, Shaded Lilac distress ink was blended directly onto the card base for the sky.  Adhered the back tulips directly on the card base then popped up the bunny, front tulip and the window panel with foam mounting tape to give it some dimension.  Stamped the sentiment from Springtime Typewriter in black on a strip of Bristol paper to finish.  

This could easily be turned into an Easter card by using one of the Easter greetings in the Springtime Typewriter set.  That does it for me.  Happy Easter to those who celebrate.  Have a wonderful weekend!

 

 

Supplies

 

94216 Springtime Tulips craft die

CL5224 Snow Much Fun clear stamp set

32224 Snow Much Fun die set

CL5239 Springtime Typewriter Sentiments clear stamp set

30088 Square Basics Set

Creating the Shadow by Trina Pham

Happy Sunday everyone!  It appears I am on a butterfly roll and have a couple more really easy clean and simple (CAS) butterfly cards to share today.  Then again, it’s not surprising since Memory Box offers so many gorgeous butterfly dies.  Some of them come with a matching shadow die, while some do not.  But there are two easy ways to create that shadow if the latter is the case.

For my first card, I took the butterfly die from Butterfly Heart Frame and created a DIY stencil from acetate.  

Blueprint Sketch, Mermaid Lagoon and Cracked Pistachio distress inks were then blended through the stencil onto regular white cardstock.

The sentiment from Springtime Typewriter stamp set was stamped with Blueprint Sketch distress oxide ink and heat embossed with clear embossing powder.  The butterfly with antenna/body were die cut twice from white scraps and white glitter paper then stacked.  Mermaid Lagoon distress ink splatters were added to finish.  

My second card used an even simpler method to create the shadow.  Simply die cut directly from the card panel, then back the opening with color cardstock, pattern paper, or whatever you like, etc.

For my card, I backed the opening with a leftover alcohol ink piece.  

The butterfly this time was die cut from white scraps and silver foil paper.  The sentiment was heat embossed with silver embossing powder to match.  Besides being simpler, this second method allows dark cardstock to be used.  

And that concludes this post.  We are half way through our Clean and Simple challenge this month, so there is still plenty of time to link up your CAS entries.  Thank you for hanging with me.  Have a wonderful week.

 

Supplies

 

94110 Butterfly Heart Frame craft die

CL5239 Springtime Typewriter Sentiments clear stamp set

CAS Masking Tape Backgrounds by Trina Pham

Hello there!  No surprise, but I’m loving this month’s Clean and Simple (acronym CAS) challenge.  As mentioned in the intro of the challenge, CAS is a simple card design that can be mass produced easily.  It is also characterized by minimal layers, patterns, textures, embellishments and plenty of white space.  So when I spotted my blue masking tape on my desk, I decided to use the simple masking tape technique to create these cards. 

Started by trimming two panels measuring 4.75”x3.5” from regular white cardstock.  Inked the sticky side of a strip of masking tape by pressing onto a dye ink pad, then transferred onto the panels.  Repeated for the remaining colors... and that’s all there is to the technique.  Painter’s tape would work as well.  If the felt ink pad type is used, a more textured spotty look will result.

If the spongy ink pad type is used, then it will be more even and opaque.  

Because it is more opaque, white die cuts do show against it.

 The felt ink pad version looked better with black die cuts.

The diecuts are from the Butterfly Meadow die and the sentiments are from the Best Life Typewriter stamp set.  The panels were popped up on fun foam for dimension and clear shimmer was applied to the butterflies for some sparkle to finish.  Keeping these CAS, so no embellishments.  And that does it for me.  The challenge is open until April 29, 11:59 pm EST.  Thank you for dropping by.  Enjoy your weekend!

 

Supplies

 

94238 Butterfly Meadow craft die

CL5237 Best Life Typewriter Sentiments

Mer-mazing! by Trina Pham

Hi everyone.  It’s Trina here sharing a really quick and easy ocean scene CAS card made with products from the Spring Collection.

Using Circle Basics, a circle aperture was die cut in the center of a Bristol panel measuring 5”x3.75”.  The underwater scene from Underwater Scene Circle and the mermaid from Mermaid Wonder Frame were die cut next from Bristol paper as well.  Adhered them on the backside of the circle opening to create the scene.  

The background was created by watercoloring Picked Raspberry, Wilted Violet and Salty Ocean distress inks on watercolor paper.  Sparkle spray was added to give it some shine, but it doesn’t show in the photo.  The sentiment from Oceanside Typewriter Sentiments was white heat embossed on a black strip.  Popped the panel onto a white card base with fun foam for some dimension to finish.

And that was all there was to it.  Thank you for stopping by.  Have a wonderful week.

Supplies

 

94224 Underwater Scene craft die

94222 Mermaid Wonder Frame craft die

CL5240 Oceanside Typewriter Sentiments clear stamp set

30087 Circle Basics Set