Heartfelt

 

Welcome

Sympathy cards are never easy to make.

That's why I like to keep some on hand and ready to mail out if needed.

Again, this was one done on my Gel Plate using Distress Oxide inks.

I have to share something personal today. Today is tough for me, September 11, 20 years ago. It's the last time I saw my Dad. No, I didn't lose him in the tower collapse but instead, the stress of seeing and watching it on TV and recalling all the memories of being in the 2nd World War stressed him to the point of having a stroke. He died 7 days later. I live in Canada but the loss affected us here too. 

My heart goes out to everyone affected by these terrible events.

So here's what I did to create my card.

• I started by getting out my Gel Plate, brayer and Distress Oxide inks. (Twisted Citron and  Rustic Wildnerness)  I picked up some grasses while out on a walk too to use on my plate.
•  I pressed the Twisted Citron ink pad directly onto the plate along the left side, then the Rustic Wilderness along the other side.  Using my brayer, I blended the colours together.
• I carefully laid on the grasses, then using a piece of white cardstock I rubbed over the plate with a firm hand.  (For those of you with wrist issues, I sometimes use my Speedball Baren to rub over the print.  It is a tool with a handle meant to be used in printmaking.)
• THIS PART IS IMPORTANT TO GET THE LOOK:  I lifted the paper from the bottom but not all the way off and then removed the grasses leaving the paper still attached at the top.  After all the grass was removed, I laid the paper back down and rubbed with firm pressure, then removed the whole piece from the plate.  
• I splattered with my black and then white Posca pens and set aside to dry.
• When dry, I stamped the sentiment then glued it onto a piece of black cardstock, then onto a white card base.

Thanks so much for coming by and taking a look.

Adding my card to these challenges:

Shopping Our Stash- SUMMER LOVIN

Use Your Stuff- ANYTHING GOES

The Male Room- NATURES BOUNTY

Supplies

Stamp- Sympathy (Stampin Up)

Inks- Distress Oxides, Versafine Clair

Paper- white cardstock (Scribes Nook- Waterloo, Ont.)

Accessories and Tools- Gel Arts Plate; Speedball Brayer; Posca pens; grasses from field

Wildflowers

Good Morning

Meet today's simple card.

I pulled out some of the first flower stamps I ever bought.  

They have been sitting in the drawer for years with no attention.  When I did pull them out and use them, I remember how much I love the way they look as a silhouette.  It's those classic stamps that you never get rid of and I feel happy that they came to live on this card.

So here's what I did to create my card. 

• I began with a piece of heavy white cardstock and positioned my Rectangle Marvelous Mask over my panel.
• I rubbed some Distress Oxide ink onto my acrylic block, sprayed with water and pressed onto my paper.  I continued that process until the whole masked area was filled with ink.  (The inks I used were:  Peacock Feathers, Twisted Citron, Broken China, Seedless Preserves, Blueprint Sketch, Wilted Violet)
• I dried the background, then randomly stamped the flowers, entwining them together.  I did clear heat emboss them to help make them pop against the inky background.
• I die-cut a piece of vellum using a Spellbinder Circle die, then stamped the Friendship onto it with some Versafine ink and clear heat embossed that too.
• I free handed cut a heart, pressed it onto my Wilted Violet stamp pad, then lifted some of the ink by splattering it with water.
• I splattered the whole panel with white just to break it up a bit using my white Posca pen.
• I removed the mask and then glued the inky piece onto a purple piece of cardstock, then onto a heavy white card base.

Thanks so much for coming by and taking a look.

Discount Code for A Colorful Life Designs

*Just use the code KarenFan10 to get a discount on stencils and masks.

Adding my card to these challenges:

Simon Says Wed.- STAMP IT

Watercooler Wed.- ANYTHING GOES/ FEMININE

Cardz 4 Galz- JUST SAYING HELLO

Supplies

Stamps- Wildflowers (Hero Arts); Daisy (Stampabilities); Friendship (SU)

Inks- DOX; Versafine Clair

Paper- heavy white (Scribes Nook); Purple cardstock 

Accessories and Tools- Rectangle Marvelous Mask (A Colorful Life Designs); Posca pen; white eb powder; heat tool;

Spellbinder Circle die

Trace Your Stencil

Hello and Welcome.

It's my turn to host the TLC (Technique Lovers Challenge) over at Splitcoast Stampers this week.

So many of us are working on getting cards made to enter the Dare to Get Dirty Event, held each year for all the members there. 

I thought I would keep the challenge really simple and fun.

So my challenge will be 

Trace Your Stencil

So here's what I did to create my card.

• I began with a piece of heavy white cardstock and a stencil from The Crafter's Workshop called Mini Joyful Sunflower.
• I rubbed some Wilted Violet, Salty Ocean and some Blueprint Sketch on the back of my stencil, sprayed with water and pressed onto my card base creating a monoprint.  Remove the inky stencil soon after pressing it onto your paper or the ink may seep under the stencil.
• I set the piece aside to dry completely before doing the next step.
• When the piece was dry, I was left with a lovely print of the flower.
• Using a black Signo pen, I traced around the inked outlines of the flower, giving it more of a defined presence and making the stenciled bkg look a bit different. *For more detailed stencils, lay the stencil back over the pattern and trace inside the stencil.
• I splattered using my black Posca pen for interest.
• Using a Spellbinder square die, I cut a frame to place over the flower image using pop dots.
• I chose not to add a sentiment so I can use this card for so many different occasions.

Thanks so much for coming by and taking a look.

Adding my card to these challenges:
Simon Says Wed.- ANYTHING GOES
My Time to Craft- CLEAN AND SIMPLE
Krafty Chicks- ALL OCCASIONS

Supplies

Stamps- none

Inks- Distress Oxides

Paper- heavy white (Scribes Nook)

Accessories and Tools- Stencil (TCW); mister (TH); Signo #1 pen; Spellbinder Square die;

pop dots

Multicolour Snowflake

Welcome

Simple Christmas card today that has a colourful, graphic look to it and was easy to create.

This card is similar to how I made this card a few weeks ago.

So onto my card details.

• I began with a piece of heavy white cardstock, my Stencil Pat (it is a plastic tool with a flat edge), my Distress Oxide inks, and a small sponge dabber.
• I laid the flat edge of my Pal and rubbed some ink in a line down my card panel. You could also use a ruler, a piece of heavy cardstock or anything that would give you a flat edge.  I repeated that process, then added some lines criss crossing the first ones going down.  The Distress Oxide ink colours I used were Peacock Feathers, Mustard Seed, Cracked Pistachio, Wilted Violet, Blueprint Sketch and Picked Raspberry.
• When I was happy with the inking, I stamped the snowflake from Stampin Up off to the sided and clear heat embossed it over the inked background.
• I stamped the sentiment from Penny Black with some Versamark ink, then heat embossed it with some white powder on a piece of black cardstock.
• I wanted to give this piece a frame, so I die cut it using the In and Out Diagonal frame die from MFT.  
• I splattered the panel with a white and black Posca pen then by tapping it with my metal ruler, I glued the panel behind the frame and pop dotted it over a heavy white card base.  
• I added a clear gem to the center of my snowflake and pop dotted the sentiment as well.

Thanks so much for coming by and taking a look.

Adding my card to these challenges:

Cute Card Thursday- BRIGHT COLORS

Jingle Belles- CARDSTOCK CHRISTMAS

Krafty Chicks- CHRISTMAS

Supplies

Stamps- Seasons Greetings (PB); Snowflake (SU)

Inks- Distress Oxides; Versafine Clair Noir; Versamark

Paper- heavy white (Scribes Nook)

Accessories and Tools- Deco Foil Stencil Pal; Posca pens; sponge dabbers; pop dots;

white and clear eb powder; heat tool; clear gem, In and Out Diagonal die (MFT)

Feeling Festive

Welcome

Meet today's card.  

Just having some fun with my Distress Oxide inks and a few tools.

I've been watching many of Eileen Godwin's FB videos during this lockdown.  She does workshops all the time in the UK and her creative style is one of clean and simple.

Some of the cards she has posted show a simple technique using her Stencil Pal as her flat edge to create lines, creating a grid like effect on her cards.  I thought I would give it a go. It is so simple and needs no special tools.  

So onto my card details.

I began with a piece of heavy white cardstock.  Using my Stencil Pal, (a stencil Pal is a plastic tool that you use when applying pastes over a stencil and has a flat edge on one side) I randomly used it to create lines on my card panel by pulling ink with an inking tool away from the straight edge.  You could use a ruler, piece of heavy card or anything that has a flat edge.  I made sure the lines crisscrossed each other using different colours.  

When I was happy with the grid design, I stenciled in some areas to add interest.

I dried the inks using my heat tool to be sure the inks were dry before the next step.

I rubbed over the panel with an anti-static pad, stamped the image, then clear heat embossed it to help make it pop.

I die-cut a frame using a Stitched die from Memory Box to add, then I pop dotted the panel over a heavy white card base.

Thanks so much for coming by and taking a look.

Have a great weekend.

Adding my card to these challenges:

Little Red Wagon- EMBOSSING

Crafty Gals Corner- FANTASY

Southern Girls- ANYTHING GOES

Supplies

Stamp- Dream On (Prima)

Inks- Distress Oxide (Salty Ocean, Peacock Feathers, Dusty Concord, Cracked Pistachio)

Verafine Clair

Paper- heavy white (Scribes Nook)

Accessories and Tools- Stencil Pat; Dotty Stencil (AAll and Create); Stitched Rectangle die

(Memory Box); sponge applicator; Cuttlebug; clear embossing powder

Note Card and a Short Pictorial

Hello and Welcome

I was playing with some more of the HP Photo Paper I got from a friend and my Distress Oxide inks and remembered this time to take pictures of the process so you could give it a try.

It is easy and fun to do.  As you apply inks, you are left with a chalky looking piece until you wipe it all down with a baby wipe and the magic appears.  The colours become brighter and more vibrant.

From what I have read, this only works if you use the Distress Oxide inks because of their unique properties.

So here we go....hope you enjoy will give it a try.

STEP #1

Here is how I began.
 On the left hand side you will see the piece of photo paper I used. 

On the right is a piece of acetate that I inked directly with my Blueprint Sketch DOX ink and gave it a spray of water.

STEP #2

I took the inked piece of acetate and pressed it directly onto my photo paper.

STEP #3

I repeated that process again but this time adding some Peacock Feathers DOX ink.

STEP #4

I kept building the layers of colours by adding some Lucky Clover and Bundled Sage DOX.

STEP #5

When it was dry, I stamped some Graffiti down the left hand side using more Blueprint Sketch DOX.

You can still see how chalky the piece looks.

STEP #6

Ok, here comes the fun part.  

Take a baby wipe and wipe off the whole piece and watch the colours emerge.

I cut the piece down to use for my card as I decided to make a note sized card.  I'll keep the other half for another time.  

To complete my card, I die-cut the Olive Branch and glued that onto the front and stamped the sentiment using my Misti and some Memento ink.

I hope you enjoyed this short pictorial and thanks so much for coming by and taking a look.

Adding my card to these challenges:

Seize the Birthday- ANYTHING GOES

The Male Room- SPRING

Craft Stamper Magazine- ANYTHING STAMPED GOES

Simon Says Wed.- NO DESIGNER PAPER

Supplies

Stamps- Graffiti (Kaisercraft); Bright Idea (Technique Tues.)

Paper- HP Photo; heavy white (Scribes Nook)

Inks- Blueprint Sketch, Peacock Feathers, Lucky Clover, Bundled Sage DOX (TH);

Tuxedo Black Memento

Accessories and Tools- Olive Branch die (Poppy Stamps), Misti, baby wipes;

acetate sheet; Cuttlebug; Tombow Aqua glue

Flowers for You

Meet today's card.

First, I want to say thanks so much to Shery Russ from STAMPlorations for this great stencil included in a prize pkg. I won.  I just got a chance to play with it and this is what I came up with.

I began with a piece of heavy white cardstock and used my technique called Swipe Your Credit Card.  To see more, check out this post.

I rubbed some of my Distress Oxide inks onto a sheet of acetate, sprayed with a bit of water and dipped the edge of an old credit card into the wet ink then pulled that across my paper.  I love how you can leave some white untouched areas and put colour wherever you need it.

When that was dry, I placed the stencil over my inky piece and using a slightly darker shade of DOX ink, I blended over  the stencil.  Love how it turned out.

I then stamped some script along the sides then stamped the sentiment with Versamark ink and white heat embossed it.  I added some white paint splatters then simply mounted it onto a heavy white card base.

Thanks so much for coming by and taking a look.

Adding my card to these challenges:

Simon Says Wed.- ANYTHING GOES

Seize the Birthday- SPRING

STAMPlorations- NEVER ENDING/ANYTHING GOES

Supplies

Stamp- May Flowers Always Line (Stampendous), Script (Prima)

Inks- Seedless Preserves, Peacock Feathers, Salty Ocean, Tumbled Glass, Faded Jeans 

DOX (TH); Versamark

Paper- heavy white (Scribes Nook)

Accessories and Tools- Peeking Dahlias stencil (STAMPlorations);  Misti (My Sweet Petunia); white eb powder; old credit card;  Mister (TH); heat tool; white acrylic paint; paintbrush

Celebrate Smiles- CAS Watercolour Challenge

Hello and Welcome.

Time for a reminder card for the 

CAS Watercolour Challenge

We are using a colour theme this month and we are also celebrating our 2nd birthday with prizes so please come and check it all out.

The card I created is a super simple design using green, orange and brown inks.

I began by die-cutting a circle to use as my mask.  I laid the mask in place and stamped the image using some Rich Cocoa Memento ink.  Then I sponged on some Spiced Marmalade Distress Oxide inks around the opening of the circle.  Using some Carved Pumpkin and some Bundled Sage, I painted in the background.  Just press your ink pads onto a non-stick craft sheet, spray with some water and you have ink to pick up with a paintbrush.

I removed the circle mask and stamped the sentiment using my Misti with the same brown ink.  Lastly, using a piercing tool, I poked small holes all around the inked circle to help add interest. 

Thanks so much for coming by and taking a look.
Hope you will come and play along with us.

Supplies
Stamps- Laugh (Impression Obsession)= Sweet Wishes (Penny Black)
Inks- DOX- Carved Pumpkin, Spiced Marmalade, Bundled Sage (TH)= Rich Cocoa Memento
Paper- heavy white (Scribes Nook)
Accessories and Tools- Misti (My Sweet Petunia)= piercing tool (Ranger)= inking tool (Ranger)=
paint brush= circle die for mask (Spellbinders)

Gather- CAS Watercolour Challenge

Hello and welcome friends.

So glad you came to visit as it's time for another new theme at the 

CAS Watercolour Challenge.

We have a colour challenge for you this month which is perfect for this time of year.

This month we are also celebrating our Second Birthday with prizes to be won!

This month we also welcome our Guest Brenda from Friends Craftin with Friends. 

You have to check out the beautiful cards made by our Creative Team.

So onto my card.

I decided to create a Fall card for Thanksgiving which is coming up this weekend for us here in Canada.  So I began by masking my card front with some Post It Tape as I wanted to be left with a wide white border.

Next, I gave a light spray of water to my card front, then I used the Inking With Tape Technique to add colour to my background using my orange Distress Oxide inks.  By spraying my paper with water first, it helped all the colour blend together giving a watercolour look.

I placed the dried piece into my Misti and stamped the sentiment in dark brown then clear embossed it to help it pop (sorry it looks black) and then inked and sprayed on some water to the leaves using some more green and more of the dark brown.  

When stamping with DOX inks, you are left with a chalky looking background.  So to bring out the richness of the colours, I rubbed some Distress Glaze over the whole thing to bring the colours to life.  The glaze is like a wax that you rub on and then buff off.  Love how it worked.

I removed the tape used to mask and mounted it onto a plain white card base.

Thanks so much for coming by and taking a look.

Hope you will come and play along with us.

Adding my card to these challenges:

Little Red Wagon- FALLING LEAVES

The Male Room- THE GREAT OUTDOORS

Simon Says Wed.- ANYTHING GOES

Supplies

Stamps- Gather (Impression Obsession)= Leaf Prints (TH)

Inks- Distress Oxides (Spiced Marmalade, Carved Pumpkin, Lucky Clover, Aged Mahogany)

Paper- heavy white (Scribes Nook)

Accessories and Tools- Misti (My Sweet Petunia)= Post It Tape= painter's tape= Mister (TH)

Wishing You Joy- The Flower Challenge

Welcome and thanks for stopping by.

It's time for another card for 

The Flower Challenge.

This month we are very lucky to have a prize for the winning card! Michele from

CAS-ual Fridays Stamps has kindly agreed to donate a prize for our winner.

The winning entry will receive a voucher for $25, so they can buy whatever they like.

This is the first Christmas card I made this year.  I went for a non-traditional design with a monoprinted background.  I need to get working on my holiday cards but just haven't been feeling motivated in getting all my Christmas stamps out yet.

So onto my card.

Like I mentioned, I started to create my card background first with a stencil monoprint.

I inked up the back of my stencil with Blueprint Sketch, Peacock Feathers and some Cracked Pistachio Distress Oxide ink, sprayed with water and then pressed onto my paper.

When that was dry, I placed the piece into my Misti and stamped the sentiment from Penny Black.

I glued the die-cut in the bottom corner then added some Nuvo Drops to the flower centers.  Mounted it onto some matching blue cardstock and done.

Thanks so much for coming by and taking a look.

Adding my card to these challenges:

Addicted To Stamps- CHRISTMAS COMES EARLY

Penny Black and More- FEMININE

Pause, Dream, Enjoy- ANYTHING GOES

Supplies

Stamp- Joyful Sentiments (Penny Black)

Inks- Distress Oxides- Blueprint Sketch, Peacock Feathers, Cracked Pistachio (TH)

Paper- heavy white (Scribes Nook)

Accessories and Tools- Plush Poinsettia Corner die (Memory Box)= Misti (My Sweet Petunia)=

Mister (TH)= Floral Radar Stencil (TCW)