Happy

Here is my example of Jennifer McGuire’s Hinge Card idea done accurately according to her directions and not the way I did when I got off track, as seen in Monday’s post . . .

 

One simple fold creates a novel card that I think anyone would enjoy receiving.  Embellishment options range from simple to more involved and all would be fun to make and look good.  I’m keeping the easy directions for this one handy . . .

 

Cardstock:   Bazzill Capri Sea, Kachina, Tim Holtz Silver Sparkle   

Dies:            AliExpress Leaf, Vanvler/Amazon Pop Up Flowers, 

EK Success Flower punch, In Air-store Fall Thankful

Words: Happy                

Emb Fldr:     Memory Box Chrysanthemum Field

Doo Dads:    Gelly Roll pen Clear Star   

Happy

I was captivated by Jennifer McGuire’s recent video on Hinge Cards and decided to give them a try. This was my first attempt . . .

 

The directions were simple but I managed to screw up one of the few steps anyway.  So the card is now a Mini Slimline instead of the A2 I was expecting to create. 

 

Well, so what?  It still works and I’m happy not only to send it, but to make more of them in future!  A quick note:  I used a pair of thin magnets to hold the flap closed.  For display, it looks good when the card is angled and the flower-covered panel faces forward . . .

 

Take a look at my next post on Thursday which will show what the card was supposed to look like!

 

Cardstock:   Bazzill Capri Sea, Kachina, Tim Holtz Silver Sparkle             

Dies:             AlteNew Dotted Scales, Marianne Rose-Centered

Lace Panel, TEMU Rose Flower & Leaf, TEMU 

Vertical Words: Happy

25 Years

My priest is celebrating twenty five years behind the pulpit and has done a fine job which needs to be acknowledged . . .

Originally, the background layer was a light green which appeared insipid next to the silver card base.  So I brayered over it with a darker shade of green.  The results were an artsy splotchy look and the richer color set off the glitter-backed dandelions wonderfully well.

 

Cardstock:   The Paper Cut Orion: Silver, Strathmore #140

Watercolor, Tim Holtz Alcohol Ink Silver Sparkle         

Inks:             Distress Rustic Wilderness

Dies:            InLoveArtShop Blooming Dandelion Background, 

DieNamics Basic Stitch Lines, Tim Holtz Alphanumeric

Tiny Type Upper, Impression Obsession Flags, 

Memory Box Alphabet Soup              

Doo Dads:    Dennison Crepe Paper Rope Leaf Green, Candi Dots 

Hardware, Kat Scrappiness Sparkling Clear Droplets  

You're in My Prayers

This one began as a boo boo . . .

 

I was going for an artistically splotchy small background with various blues and greens.

Didn’t work.  I perked it up with clear embossing powder.  Not good.  Solution?  Cover up 90% of the mess with a flowery background floral die cut.  Embellish with a butterfly and a sentiment and we can look at it without cringing.  Yay!

 

Cardstock:   Unknown Textured Turquoise, Strathmore 

#100 Bristol Smooth        

Stamps:       Unknown “You’re in my prayers”

Inks:             Distress Peacock Feathers, various alcohol inks

Emb Pwdr:   Vippies Transcendence

Dies:            Hero Flower Garden, Memory Box Butterflies:

Vivienne, Darla, Cottage Cutz Nested Stitched

Scallop Square             

Thinking of You

My brother’s recovery from a stroke he had about four months ago continues.  Maddeningly, it’s taking a lot longer than we all thought 

it would.  

So, encouragement cards along the way are certainly in order . . .

 

The focal image looked adrift on the formerly plain card front but when the textural layer was added, that changed everything.

For some odd reason, I glued down the text off center.  I often do that on purpose, but not this time, and it didn’t look right.  So I added the leaf spray to restore some balance.  As I’ve often and happily observed, there’s always a way out of boo boos in the rubber stamping world!

Cardstock:   Strathmore Ultimate White, Scrap Deep Yellow

Stamps:       All Night Media Flower Boy, Purple Daisy Sand

Inks:             ColorBox Black

Waterclrs:    LuminArte assorted watercolors

Emb Pwdr:   Judikins Detail Black

Dies:            Glitz Abstract Net, Gina Marie Stitched Rounded Squares,

 Impression Obsession Foliage, TEMU Sentimental    

Shadow Words: Thinking of You               

Doo Dads:    USArt Quest Opal Essence Glitter

Mike & Becky

It was a total joy to make this card, mostly because it celebrates my beautiful niece’s wedding, but also because it was so much fun to put together . . .

While the die design looks intricate, the die cuts are easy to place.  When finished, the card stands up nicely for display.  Even though the design is quite dimensional, the card folds easily for mailing.  The stand-out oval panel can be used to showcase any event, so I think there are countless events I’ll be happily commemorating in future. 

Cardstock:   Bazzill Pear, Leapfrog, Strathmore #140 Watercolor, 

Constellation Raster White

Colorants:    Zig Real Brush Sugared Almond Pink, Yellow

Dies:            TEMU Rectangular and Oval Shapes, Wedding,

Luxury Purple Red Stem, Scrapbook Bow Toppers, 

Cheery Lynn Tiny Flower Kit     

Emb Fldr:     Crafts-Too Sweet Flowers

Doo Dads:    Couture Creations Glitter Silver Shimmer         

New Home

My stepson has just bought his first house, so heartfelt congratulations are definitely in order . . .

I use this adorable little house on nearly every housewarming card I sent out.  I think it perfectly captures the delightfully cozy feeling every new homeowner hopes to achieve.

Cardstock:   Bazzill Bon Bon, Capri, Strathmore #100 Bristol Smooth         

Stamps:       Stampin’ Up House

Inks:             ColorBox Frost White, Black, Gina K Whisper

Colorants:    Inktense Hooker’s Green, Burnt Orange, Saddle Brown

Waterclrs:    Zig Real Brush Light Blue, Mustard

Emb Pwdr:   Judikins Detail Black, Hero White

Dies:            Impression Obsession All-in-One Frames: Squares, 

Karen Burniston Border Blends: Party    

BOO!

I took one look at this pair of crow dies and knew immediately that I would have them standing guard on a gatefold card . . .

 . . . both stately and spooky and lots of fun to put together!  Most gatefold cards stand up on their own, but the crows have so much cardstock removed that they were a little on the wobbly side.  So I attached another black card base to the back of the gatefold card. Perfect solution . . .

 

Cardstock:   Bazzill Raven, Designer paper Purple Harlequin

Dies:            TEMU Halloween Crow, QuicKutz Bats            

Love

Here’s another collapsible bridge card in a different color scheme . . .

 

Both of the flowers in the middle are attached to wobble springs and these collapse nicely for mailing.  

Cardstock:   Strathmore #140 Watercolor        

Inks:             Distress Oxide Villainous Potion, Bundled Sage,

 Peeled Paint, Abandoned Coral, Carved Pumpkin

Dies:            Waffle Flower Poinsettia Frame, Memory Box Pinpoint

Leaf Plate, TEMU Rectangle Dotted Effect, DieNamics 

Stitched Oval Scalloped Edge Frame,  TKOnline 

Celebration Set: Love, Punch Bunch Flower Centers

Stencil:        Waffle Flower Poinsettia Frame

Doo Dads:    TEMU  Wobble Springs, Gelly Roll Clear Star   

Smile

Another fun idea with vellum that I borrowed from Jennifer McGuire . . .

 

 . . . after brayering the mesh background on the vellum panel, I heat embossed the white flower.  Then I turned the vellum over and colored from the back!  That kept the front looking neat and tidy.  When coloring vellum from the back, you need to use darker inks than you would normally because the vellum tones down the color quite a bit.  Experiment with a vellum scrap to make sure you’re getting the depth of color you want.

 

Liquid glues make vellum pucker so I always use double-sided tape.  Here’s a fun thing I discovered:  it’s virtually impossible to find a tape or glue that doesn’t show through vellum, but I found that if I cover the entire background with 4” wide double-sided tape, it doesn’t show through at all!

 

Cardstock:   Bazzill Admiral, Glama #40 Heavy Vellum        

Stamps:       Fiskars brayer Mesh, Impress Cherry Blossom Branch

Inks:             Distress Lost Shadow, ColorBox Frost White

Colorants:    Zig Clean Color: Peacock Blue, Deep Green

Emb Pwdr:   Hero White

Dies:            TEMU Stitched Rectangular Frame, AlteNew Vertical

Greetings: Smile     

Doo Dads:    Waffle Flower Enamel Dots White

Love

Thanks to a recent tutorial from Jennifer McGuire featuring cards made from vellum, I decided to give it a try . . .

Vellum is too floppy to stand up on its own, but with the addition of regular cardstock pieces glued to the inside front, inside back, and outside back, it stands up beautifully, and is just as sturdy as regular cardstock.  Check out her blog for her excellent video on “Creative Uses of Vellum”.

I’m also excited about figuring out how to make word die cuts stand out against busy backgrounds when no shadow dies are included.  Basically, it’s just using the familiar technique of cutting the word die in a contrasting color and gluing it offset on the back of the original word.  But my idea is to make two die cuts in the contrasting color and gluing one of them offset on each side of the original word!

 

Yes, two layers are involved and you might think this differentiation would be visible and look clunky.  But it doesn’t – even a close-up look with my magnifying glass doesn’t reveal anything amiss.  I don’t think even a skilled stamper who received a card having this trick would be able to see how it was done.  Experiment with various colors and cardstock thicknesses to see if this would work for you!

 

Cardstock:   Glama #40 Vellum, Scraps Green, Strathmore 

#140 Watercolor

Inks:             Tsukineko Dauber Duos Pale Blue, Raspberry, Canary,

 Royal Blue

Dies:            AlteNew ZeroWaste Leaf Pattern, Memory Box butterflies:

Corden, Powell, Spellbinders Wonderful Wings,

 Papertrey Ink Super Succulents Set: Love   

Doo Dads:    Class Appeals Stickers Silver, Wink of Stella Clear     

Love

Jennifer McGuire came out with an idea for a super-dimensional card that collapses into an A2 size and fits easily into the envelope.  I had to try it out . . .

 

 

It works – and beautifully!  The die set is well designed with plenty of pieces to expand your creativity.  The single stencil contains all of the openings needed to decorate the entire two piece frame.  Best of all, they are laid out to match the die cut exactly, which makes placement for coloring easy. 

 

I am so looking forward to exploring all of the creative opportunities this die and stencil set has to offer!

 

Cardstock:   Strathmore #140 Watercolor, Tim Holtz Silver Sparkle

Inks:             Distress Oxide Pine Needles, Faded Jeans, Dusty

Concord, Bundled Sage, Stormy Sky, Peeled Paint

Dies:            Waffle Flower Poinsettia Frame, Hummingbirds,

 Memory Box Pinpoint Leaf Plate, TEMU Rectangle

 Dotted Effect, DieNamics Stitched Oval Scalloped

 Edge Frame, Darice Nesting Scallop Hearts, 

TKOnline Celebration Set: Love

Stencil:        Waffle Flower Poinsettia Frame

Doo Dads:    TEMU Wobble Springs     

Cheers

While I’m a freak for mushroom images, it appears I haven’t used them in awhile.  So it’s time to put a few of them to work . . .

 

The background was done with a really fun layered stencil set while the three mushrooms in front are die cuts.  In order to prevail over the busy background, I attached the die cuts over a popped up and framed piece of vellum.  It softened

things just enough to give each element its day to shine . . .

Cardstock:   Bazzill Cinnamon Stick, Strathmore #100 Bristol

 Smooth, Stampin’ Up Vellum

Stamps:       Stacey Stamps Distressed Frame, Art Tour Dotty Snow

Inks:             Distress Antique Linen, Brushed Corduroy, Wild Honey,

 Frayed Burlap, Peeled Paint, Gina K Charcoal Brown

Dies:            TEMU Wood Grain Frame, Simon Says Cheers,

 Bunny Moon Cute Mushrooms            

Stencil:        Recollections Mushrooms

Autumn Greetings

This was my maiden voyage with a new stamp/stencil/die bundle and I had a wonderful time from start to finish!  But after I thought I was done, I realized I wasn’t . . .

 

The problem in this case was a background that was way too starkly white.  I needed to tone it down but I’d already stamped, embossed, and stenciled the leafy layout.  Coloring in between the leaves would have taken forever and brush strokes would have looked bad. Happily, I thought of a solution I’d never tried before. 

 

Thankfully, one of the stencils in this set features all of the leaves laid out exactly as they are arranged on the stamp.  So I turned the stencil over and brayered a light brown ink on the back.  Then I turned it back, aligned it with the leaf images, and pressed down to transfer the ink.  I did a repeat and got exactly the look I was after:  dotted, slightly splotchy, all of it neatly between the leaves, and an artsy mottled background with a lot less glare.  A very handy and time-saving workaround for sure . . . yay for me!

 

Cardstock:   Bazzill Rain Forest, Strathmore #100 Bristol Smooth

Stamps:       Kristina Werner Thankful Leaves

Inks:             Encore Gold, Distress Oxide Antique Linen, Spiced

Marmalade, Peeled Paint, Rusty Hinge, Wild Honey,

Fired Brick, Pine Needles, Dusty Concord,

Villainous Potion

Emb Pwdr:   Ranger Gold

Dies:            Kristina Werner Thankful Leaves           

Stencil:        Kristina Werner Thankful Leaves

Thank You

Due to the ever-lurking time crunch, I pulled this one from my stash . . .

 

I still like it, even though I would do things a little differently today.  And isn’t that how it should be?

 

Cardstock:   Unknown Cocoa, Handmade paper        

Stamps:       All Night Media Fern

Inks:             Vivid Taupe, Green, Aqua, Distress Mowed Lawn,

Peeled Paint

Dies:            Bottone Stitched Ovals, Spellbinders Four Petal Thank

You Floral, Unknown Leafy Sprig

Doo Dads:    Green fibers, Copper Dragonfly charm   

Yum Yum

BLUE RIBBON #9

This year’s recipe card submission was done in a gatefold style which made it very easy to display . . .

Keep scrolling for the recipe . . .

As the recipe inside is for Carrot Mashed Potatoes, I figured some die cut carrots on the front panels should lead the way.

I think the speckled dots are a little overdone, but I didn’t think about adding them until after the card was put together.  So the control of my speckled stamp was a little limited.  I should have thought to add them first . . .

And that’s it for the 2025 NJ State Fair fun . . . now we start planning for next year’s event!

Cardstock:   Bazzill Pear, Cutie, Rain Forest, Strathmore #100

Bristol Smooth        

Stamps:       Stampin’ Up Itty Bitty Backgrounds

Inks:             Superior India Ink Black, Distress Wild Honey

Dies:            Studio Calico Nested Rectangles, TEMU Carrots, 

DieVersions font Noodles            

Stencil:        a Studio Calico Nested Rectangles

Life

BLUE RIBBON #8

The spoked wheel was a mysterious resident in my scrap box and I had no idea how to use it . . .

 

But I had some fun with alcohol inks on Yupo paper one day and the two pieces seemed made for each other.  As with the Art category, the “Other” category invites a departure from the norm.  So that’s what I did.  The butterfly charm started out in brass, but some copper embossing powder led to a quick metamorphosis . . . which is what butterflies do anyway, right?

Cardstock:   Bazzill Cheddar, Raven, Yupo     

Stamps:       Judikins Origami Background

Inks:             Encore Copper, various alcohol inks

Emb Pwdr:   B’Muse True Gold, True Copper

Dies:            DieNamics Horizontal Stitched Strips, Unknown 

Spoked  Wheel, Memory Box Brilliant Circle Border Outline, InLoveArtShop “Life”            

Doo Dads:    Copper Butterfly