Category: cardmaking

Cards for Him

I recently joined Stamp Nation and immediately enrolled in Catherine Pooler’s latest class “Cards for Him.” Today, I’m sharing three variations of a design from the class by Iwona Palamountain. I didn’t make a card that exactly copies Iwona’s card, but rather played with color and texture; the focus of the lesson was texture.

Celebrate

For this first example, I machine stitched the MFT die cut to the stamped card panel. The starburst from WPlus9 is stamped with Memento Nautical Blue.

Celebrate2

For the second card, stamped with Fresh Ink (pigment ink from Impress), I machine stitched and added Stickles to the die cut.

Celebrate3

For the third version, I stamped the starburst with Stampin’ Up ink and was really pleased with the coverage. I kept this one simple texture-wise with just some machine stitching. I also stamped this one more the way Iwona had stamped hers. In the two cards above, the starburst is stamped in full. For this last card, I masked the card base and stamped less of the starburst. You can see there’s more white space.

I really like making variations to card designs especially when I’m trying to learn something. I’m planning to machine-stitch more often. It’s a relatively easy way to add texture. I’m also on the hunt for a navy ink to use with masculine cards that gives solid coverage. I’m planning to order the SU navy ink pad and have ordered one from WPlus9 as well.

Poppystamps: Mother’s Day Bouquet

Today, I’m sharing a card created with a combination of Poppystamps dies that would work for any occasion, including Mother’s Day.

MothersDayMay2014

The Meso Background was cut out of white cardstock and attached to a white cardstock base. I cut the Meso Background from cardstock backed with a Be Creative tape sheet (cut to size). Although it can be a little tricky getting the die cut piece onto the cardstock base, it’s worth it, as there are no gaps in the adhesion.  I cut the Wild Rose Bud several times, out of green and coral-pink cardstock. I added a sprig of greenery to the bouquet in the Tall Vase.

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Paper Smooches SPARKS: Hang in There

Today, I’m sharing a card created using the sketch over on the Paper Smooches SPARKS blog.

My son is in the throes of studying for college finals, so using the vertical sketch, I created him a “Hang in There”/Encouragement card. I know that I found studying for and taking college finals to be extremely stressful!

SparksDraftApril272014Supplies:

Hollyhock Bouquet

In most cases, I create cards with the end in mind, or at least a vague idea. Such was not the case with this card, which grew to be quite tall!

ImpressionObsessionHollyhocks

My inspiration for this card comes from Dina Kowal. She’s both a designer for Impression Obsession, as well as a member of their design team. She shared a card recently combining the Hollyhock and Mason Jar dies.

I cut white cardstock with the Hollyhock die several times,  and colored the flowers with Copics. I’ve never colored die cuts with Copics before, but I have to say it’s certainly easy and you can get the colors you want! I used the Mason Jar die to cut a piece of patterned paper that I colored with a Copic to add shading along the sides. I added a shadow under the mason jar with an Amuse Studios set. The sentiment comes from the Hero Arts “All Occasion Messages” set. The sentiment says “Hello Friend.” I simply cut it in two, as I find myself frequently needing a little sentiment to fit onto tiny tags (this tag was cut with a punch). The background paper is Strathmore 140lb coldpress watercolor paper. For this card, I wanted something off-white with a little bit of texture. I buy the Strathmore paper in a big pad and cut it down to size.

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