Paper Cranes Card and Bookmark Set

Today's card is a single layer, relying on masking to selectively Distress Ink a background. I then stamped paper cranes in two rows, added a sentiment in white, and added lines with a white gel pen.

I used a normal piece of cardstock and some temporary adhesive for the mask, so when I was done, I was left with an extra panel of Distress Inked paper. I ran it through my embossing machine, punched out a hole, and cut both corners to turn it into a tag. To give it a more finished look, I attached a hole reenforcer and some twine.

Supplies

Cardstock: Recollections
Stamps: Single Origami Crane (Hanko Designs)
Ink: faded jeans, pumice stone, shaded lilac (Distress Ink); Frost White pigment ink, Lavender pigment ink, Wild Hare pigment ink, Blue Lagoon chalk ink (ColorBox)
Pen: Uniball Signo white gel pen
Twine: Hemptique
Embossing folder: Texture Fades Rays (Sizzix/Tim Holtz)

Challenges

Pink Sari Card

This is one of my simpler cards, simply because the sari took a lot of trial and error to construct. I cut the top from patterned paper using my Silhouette Cameo, and I covered the design with the lattice background stamp so that it was more visually interesting.

I cut a 2"x6" rectangle from the same patterned paper and also stamped that with the lattice pattern. I then scored it after 3/8", then 1/4", then 3/8", then 1/4", and so on until I reached the end of the strip. So, the scoring lines are at 3/8", 5/8", 1", 1 1/4", 1 5/8", 1 7/8", 2 1/4", 2 1/2", 2 7/8", 3 1/8", ... (See image below.)



This is very difficult to do without a scoring board, so if you want to make the pleats quickly, I suggest you invest in one.

I used washi tape to represent the cloth that drapes over the shoulder, and I stamped "Congratulations" in the same pink color I used for the lattice pattern. Since this card will be given to an eleven-year-old girl, I added pearls along the neckline, at each hip, and on both sides of the sentiment. The corners were rounded to soften the overall look.

Supplies

Cardstock: Recollections
Patterned Paper: Recollections
Stamps: Everyday Sayings (Hero Arts), Lattice Background (Hero Arts/BasicGrey)
Ink: Memento Rose Bud Dye Ink (Tsukineko)
Washi Tape: mt masking tape
Pearls: Hero Arts
Additional Tools: Silhouette Cameo, Martha Stewart Scoring Board, We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper

"All your dreams" in pink and teal

My sister is flying back to med school, thousands of miles away, tomorrow. She had spent the last few weeks here at home, enjoying her break, but it's time for her to return for her fourth semester. Knowing I won't see her until December, I knew I must make a card for her, to encourage her while she's so far from home.



To make this card, I started with a pink ombre piece of patterned paper from the Dear Lizzy "Lucky Charm" collection. I covered it in star stamps from Lawn Fawn's "Critters Ever After" stamp set, using Versamark ink, and I embossed that in white. I then adhered this entire thing to my card base, to serve as my background.

From the same stamp set, I stamped the castle onto white, pink, and teal patterned paper from the same paper pad. I paper pieced that together and added glitter accents. I made a mask using a sticky note, and with that covering the castle, I was able to distress the paper with "tea dye" Distress Ink. I matted this panel onto another piece of "Lucky Charm" patterned paper and adhered that to my background base.

I stamped the sentiment on a piece of white cardstock and embossed it with turquoise embossing powder. I cut out a flag, adhered it with foam squares, and finished off the card with a few enamel dots from My Mind's Eye.

Supplies

Cardstock: Recollections
Patterned paper: "Lucky Charm" (American Crafts/Dear Lizzy)
Stamps: "Critters Ever After" (Lawn Fawn)
Ink: Versamark, Versafine Onyx Black, tea dye (Distress Ink)
Embossing powder: detail white (Stampendous!), turqoise (Ranger)
Enamel dots: "the sweetest thing" (My Mind's Eye)
Glitter: Clear Star Gelly Roll pen (Sakura)

Challenges

Floral Condolences Card

It's not often that I have to make a condolences card. But, such an occasion has risen, so I made this card to comfort a friend of mine.

Supplies

Paper: Recollections (both card base and patterned paper)
Stamps: Hero Arts ("Everyday Sayings"), Hero Arts/Basic Gray ("Indie Bloom"), Inkadinkado ("Vintage Flora Cling")
Ink: Memento ("Rich Cocoa")
Markers: Distress Markers ("barn door," "vintage photo")
Twine

Thank You kids' cards

My birthday was the other day, and I spent the day visiting family in Fresno. My eight- and three-year-old cousins made me cards, and they really made me feel special that day. So, in return, I made them both "thank you" cards. They both are relatively small -- at 3.75" by 3.75" --



This was a simple card. I played off the colors in the background when cutting up thin strips of solid paper from my scraps. I then stamped a pink owl and fussy-cut it out, attaching it with foam squares for a bit of dimension. I wrote "thank you!" in black pen, added dashed lines in white pen, and finished of the card with a few gems.

Supplies

Paper: paper strips from my scrap pile
Stamps: owl from studio g
Ink: Versafine ("Onyx Black"), Colorbox ("Orchid")
Gems: Recollections
Pens: black Copic Multiliner, white Uniball Signo



I colored this card directly using Distress Markers, except the rabbit. I don't yet have any gray markers, so I dabbed a little of the "black soot" marker onto an acrylic block, diluted it with a lot of water, and lightly brushed that onto the rabbit to create a light gray. I let it dry and gradually layered it a bit for the shading. I used foam adhesive to attach the banner, bird, and bunny. Again, I used gems to finish off the card.

Supplies

Paper: Recollections
Stamps: vine from studio g, everything else from Lawn Fawn (banner and sentiment from "Home Sweet Home," bunny and flowers from "," tree and kookaburra from "Critters Down Under")
Ink: Versafine ("Onyx Black"), studio g (lime green)
Markers: Distress Markers (black soot, spun sugar, worn lipstick, barn door, mustard seed, peeled paint, broken china, antique linen)
Gems: Recollections

Challenges

Father's Day Card

My card today is more clean-and-simple than my usual fare of cards. I think it's because the style lends itself well to masculine cards, and this approach suits my dad. I took some origami paper from my stash, cut 2.5"x2.5" squares out of them, and turned each one into an origami tie. I used a sentiment from Lawn Fawn and foam squares to attach the ties. My mom particularly likes this card because she could see my dad wearing ties with each of those colors and patterns; they're perfect for my parents' sense of style.

Happy Father's Day!

Supplies

origami paper
Stamps: Lawn Fawn ("Happy Everything")
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

Challenges

Get *Well* and Welcome Home cards

My mom gave me the idea for this card, but I didn't have any stamps to convey it, so I hand-drew everything (except the clouds) to make it. I am, by no means, a skilled artist. This is my first attempt at drawing and coloring a structure of any kind.

I began by sketching out the well, overhang, and pail separately on a piece of paper, using photos online for reference. I used Copic Multiliners to trace over select lines, and when the ink dried, I erased the pencil lines underneath. I used Distress Markers and American Crafts Stamp Markers to color everything, trying my best to establish lighting and depth.

I cut out each element and tied some white embroidery thread (taken from my mom's sewing supplies) around the pole and through a hole I poked through the pail. I then put foam squares on the overhang to attach it to the well, and both the overhang and well were glued down to the card. The pail is left open to hang. I stamped the two clouds, drew a horizon/grass line, and used a waterbrush to lightly add color to the background. I finished it off with the words "get" and "soon" to complete this punny sentiment.

Supplies

Cardstock: Recollections
Stamps: Lawn Fawn (clouds from "Sunny Skies")
Pens: black Copic Multiliners
Markers: Distress Markers (broken china, tumbled glass, bundled sage, peeled paint, barn door, antique linen); American Crafts Stamp Markers (Powder, Brown Sugar)
White embroidery thread




My second card was made for my sister, who recently returned home from yet another semester abroad in med school. I hadn't seen her since January, so I knew I had to make her a card to celebrate her safe return (and her passing her classes).

I simply stamped all the elements in black ink, colored them using Distress Markers and American Crafts Stamp Markers, and fussy-cut them all out. For the background, I dragged a rectangular panel through a diluted mix of "broken china" and "tumbled glass" Distress Markers (I scribbled both onto a craft sheet and sprayed it heavily with water).

I glued down the sun, clouds, and homes, and I used foam squares to attach the birds and banner. The word "home" is stamped, while the word "welcome" is handwritten using a Copic Multiliner pen. I used the same pens to add dotted lines to the panel, and I rounded the corners of the white panel before attaching it to my card base.

Supplies

Cardstock: Recollections
Stamps: Lawn Fawn ("Sunny Skies," "Blue Skies," and "Home Sweet Home")
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black
Markers: Distress Markers (mustard seed, wild honey, spun sugar, tumbled glass, barn door), American Crafts Stamp Markers (Key Lime, Powder, Lavender)
Pens: black Copic Multiliners

"Loving, Kind, and Fearless" Mom Card

Mother's Day is coming up, and I made a card to celebrate my mom. I recently came upon "the sweetest thing" collection by My Mind's Eye, and its colors and flowers reminded me of my mom, so I had to use it for this project. She loves flowers, and bright colors like mustard yellow and coral red are right up her alley.



From the patterned paper pad, I found the "loving, kind, & fearless" sentiment, which perfectly describe my mom. I used that panel as a jumping off point, drawing inspiration from it for the rest of my card.



I used a coordinating flower stamp from the same collection to stamp the flowers repeatedly on watercolor paper, making a background of sorts. I then colored those flowers using Distress Ink and Stamp Markers and a waterbrush, achieving a watercolored look. I stamped two more flowers on a separate piece of paper, colored them in, fussy-cut them, and popped them up on the watercolored panel to add some dimension.



From there, I added the sentiment panel, along with two brads and two yellow enamel dots (all from the same collection, of course) to finish it off. I then attached some patterned paper to an envelope for a special touch, and I couldn't resist putting a fake flower inside the envelope for an added surprise.

Supplies

Paper: Recollections (card base), Strathmore (watercolor paper)
Patterned paper: My Mind's Eye ("the sweetest thing" collection)
Stamp: My Mind' Eye ("the sweetest thing" collection)
Ink: Ranger Archival Black Ink, Distress Ink (mustard seed, spun sugar, spiced marmalade)
Markers: American Crafts Stamp Markers (aqua, key lime)
Brads and enamel dots: My Mind's Eye ("the sweetest thing" collection)
Flower: Recollections

Challenges

The Wonder of Watercolor Challenge in the Moxie Fab World

My Etsy Shop!

I now have an Etsy Shop where I sell some of my cards. For now, I'm sticking with my nerdier designs, ones that reference video games, cartoons, science, scifi and fantasy, and other nerdy pursuits. Here are the cards I have listed thus far:





I hope you follow my shop! Keep an eye out because I am adding more products regularly. I have so many ideas for cards and die-cuts, I can't wait to make and list them all!

"Hello!" butterflies card

I've been in a watercolor mood lately, so I used some watercolor paper for the background of this card. I really like the texture it adds; it's very different from plain cardstock. I used two colors of Distress Inks to color the watercolor paper.

For the butterflies, I stamped them on normal cardstock, and I colored them in using a waterbrush and a combination of Distress Inks and American Crafts Stamp Markers. My craft mat makes for a great palette: I added color to it, spritzed it with water, and had pools of different colors to draw from. I simply used a water brush to pick up and apply colors as I saw fit. I fussy-cut the butterflies and used glue dots to adhere them to my card base.

For the sentiment, I took the word "Hello" from a set by My Mind's Eye and stamped it in black onto a scrap piece of white cardstock. I snipped out a flag by hand and attached it using foam squares.

I didn't have twine in the color I wanted, so I took some hemp twine and dyed in "Peacock Feathers" Distress Ink. To do this, I pressed the inkpad onto my craft mat, spritzed it with some water, and rubbed the twine into the pool of color until it was dyed the whole way through. I wrapped it around a few times, tied a little bow, and secured the bow using another glue dot. Finally, I rounded the bottom corners and matted this piece to my card base.

Supplies

Cardstock: Recollections
Watercolor paper: Strathmore
Stamps: sentiment from My Mind's Eye Sweetest Thing Tangerine "Hello", butterflies from studio G
Ink: black Ranger Archival Ink, "Peeled Paint", "Peacock Feathers", and "Shaded Lilac" Distress Ink
Markers: "Key Lime" and "Aqua" Stamp Markers (American Crafts)
Hemp twine
Corner rounder: We R Memory Keepers

Challenges

"You Make Life Sweet" card

Last week was my friend's birthday, so I wanted to make her a cute, unique card. I started by stamping the girl and lemonade stand stamp by My Favorite Things. I colored the girl in using Prismacolor colored pencils, and I paper-pieced her shirt with pink patterned paper. To give the lemonade a watercolored look, I used "Squeezed Lemonade" and "Mustard Seed" Distress Ink with a waterbrush. I colored the table using more colored pencils, and I cut out a rectangle of pattered paper for the plaid tablecloth.

For the sign, I cut the sentiment stamp so I could put it on two lines instead of one. I then stamped the lemons icon twice and colored them in using the same Distress Inks as earlier, plus "Peeled Paint" for the leaves. I added some red brads to attach the sign to the panel. I rounded the corners, matted this panel onto the same pink patterned paper that I used for the shirt, rounded the corners again, and I adhered this to kraft cardstock.



As you can see, the lemonade has a bubbly texture to it. I accomplished this using Glossy Accents. I added a blob of it onto the lemonade, and I let it dry. I also added some pink Liquid Pearls to the girl's heart-shaped hairpiece, so that it, too, has a bit of shine.



For the envelope, I stamped a lemon and glass of lemonade from Lawn Fawn onto a kraft envelope using Versamark ink. I colored them in a bit with a yellow colored pencil, and I used a glue dot to adhere a button to the top.

Supplies

Cardstock: Recollections
Patterned Paper: Recollections
Stamps: Pure Innocence "Pucker Up" (My Favorite Things), "Make Lemonade" (Lawn Fawn)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, "Squeezed Lemonade", "Mustard Seed", "Peeled Paint" Distress Ink; Versamark ink
Colored pencils: Prismacolor
Brads: Recollections
Yellow button and twine
Other media: Glossy Accents (on lemonade), Liquid Pearls (heart)

Wooden Butterflies card

I found a packet of wood butterflies at Michael's, and I colored them with markers and Mister Huey's ink to coordinate with the bright envelope. I also stamped a butterfly into a piece of sticky-back canvas, which I also colored with markers. This is one of my simpler cards, all things considered.

Supplies

Cardstock: Recollections
Stamps: "Everyday Sayings" by Hero Arts, "Butterflies and Wildflowers" from BasicGrey's Indie Bloom collection
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black stamp pad, Mister Huey's Clover
Marker: Broken China and Spun Sugar Distress Markers by Tim Holtz, Blush Stamp Marker by American Crafts
Canvas: natural sticky-back canvas ATC by Inksentialls/Ranger
Wood embellishments: Recollections
Mini envelope: Martha Stewart

Challenges

Lawnscaping Challenge #53: Texture


The Play Date Cafe challenge #172: Hollyhock, Spring Bud, Azure

Make a Wish in the Clouds card

Today's card is a simple sky scene featuring Lawn Fawn's "Critters Ever After" set. I made the masks by hand-drawing and cutting out two clouds on cardstock and using removable adhesive to stick them onto my panel. I used Distress Inks to create a blue sky, and after I removed the masks, I used a Memento marker and silver gel pen to give the clouds some shading and silver lining.

I echoed the gold/yellow and silver/gray while coloring the unicorn and gryphon. For the unicorn, I used watercolor pencils, and for the gryphon, I watercolored using Distress Inks. I added touches of silver with a gel pen, and gave the gryphon a hand-drawn bow, also in silver.

I finished off the card by stamping the sentiment (from the same stamp set as the images), hole-punching either side of it, and stringing twine across. I punched out the sun from a sheet of yellow polka-dotted patterned paper from My Mind's Eye, and I added touches of Wild Honey Distress Ink to its edges. I popped up this panel using foam adhesive onto a cut and scored piece of silver cardstock.

Supplies

Cardstock: silver and white cardstock from Recollections, watercolor paper by Strathmore
Patterned paper: "Moments" paper pad by My Mind's Eye
Stamp: "Critters Ever After" by Lawn Fawn
Ink: Versafine black ink, Distress Ink by Tim Holtz (squeezed lemonade, wild honey, salty ocean, faded jeans)
Marker: Memento gray
Colored Pencils: Recollections watercolor pencils
Gel pens: gold and silver
Punch: 1-inch pinking circle, small hole punch
Twine: silver twine I got from a package (I like recycling the ribbons and twine I get from gifts)

Challenges

Lawnscaping challenge #52: Stamp a Scene


The Play Date Cafe challenge #170: Stone, Buttercream, Denim


CAS-ual Fridays: CFC91

"Heat of the Moment" Valentine Card

Thanks to an episode of Supernatural, the song "Heat of the Moment" by Asia has been stuck in my head. So, I turned the earworm into a not-very-traditional Valentine card:







On the back, I couldn't resist putting a reference to the episode of Supernatural that features this song:

Supplies

Cardstock by Recollections
Patterned paper by We R Memory keepers
Letters cut using Silhouette Cameo
Heart punch by Recollections
Brad by Recollections
Baker's twine by Martha Stewart

I entered this card into the Ribbon Carrousel Challenge.

Valentines Jar Cards

I made a couple of Valentines Day cards based around a jar stamp:

Supplies

Patterned paper by Recollections
Ink: Tuxedo Black by Memento
Markers: Magenta by Memento, Spun Sugar by Distress Marker, brown by Tombo
Stamps: Mason Jar by Inkadinkado, peony by Paper Source
Punches: Hearts Border Punch by Fiskars, big heart by Marvy Uchida
Washi tape by Recollections
Ribbon from a gift I got (yay for recycling!)

Double Birthdays

On February 12th, two of my close friends -- one male, one female -- have birthdays. Here are the cards I made for them:





This is a slider card, and pulling the arrow tab will reveal the word "Hadouken!"



Considering my friend is a huge Street Fighter fan, and Ryu his favorite character, I'm sure he'll like this card. I added a lacy sarong just for the heck of it; my friend may not understand it, but he'll surely laugh.

Supplies

Cardstock by Recollections
Punching symbol (based on Pokemon card Fighting Energy) and arrows cut using Silhouette Cameo
Ryu printed out
Black lace washi tape by Recollections

The chalkboard look is really trendy lately, and while I'm not typically one to follow trends for their own sake, it looks too cute for me to ignore. I tried my hand at it and was very satisfied with the result. I'll definitely keep this style in my arsenal, even long past the trend loses its luster. The stars, cupcake, and sentiment were all stamped using white pigment ink, and I zapped them all with my heat gun to make sure everything was dry. I then colored in certain details using red, white, and brown colored pencils.

I used a ruler to draw lines in colored pencil for the border. I also smudged more pigment ink around the card using my finger, to help make the chalkboard look more authentic.

Supplies

Cardstock by Recollections
Stamps: "Claire's abcs" and "Happy Everything" by Lawn Fawn, star from "Year Round Fun" by Recollections, cupcake and "sweet" by Recollections
Ink: Frost White pigment ink by Colorbox
Colored pencils by Prismacolor

Valentine's Advent Calendar

I made a nine-day advent calendar for Valentine's Day. If I had planned it far enough in advance, I could've created a fourteen-day calendar that reads "Happy Valentine" -- which sounds a bit awkward, but at least it would allow for one card for each day in February leading up to Valentine's Day. Alas, I got a late start; I was away from all my crafting supplies this weekend, since I visited my parents to watch the Super Bowl together. So I only have nine days, one for each letter in the word "Valentine."

It was quick and easy to make, using some 3x3-inch cards and envelopes, paperclips with ribbon on them, and string. I decorated each card by embossing the words "I love you" on the front of them and writing a different personal message inside each one. On the back of the envelopes, the word "VALENTINE" is spelled out. I didn't have stamps large enough to make the letters readable around the room, so I opted to write them myself using colored pencils. I alternated colors since Michaels sold multiple styles of 3x3 card-envelope sets, and I bought the two types I liked.

Here are some close-up shots of the card and envelope:

Although the dates go from Feb 6-14 (instead of the more logical 1-14), I'm satisfied with how it turned out. I'll definitely try this again with other holidays, but with better planning.

Supplies

Card and envelope sets by Recollections
Ribbon-adorned paperclips by Recollections
Colored pencils by Prismacolor
"I love you" stamp by craftsmart
Detail white embossing powder by Stampendous!
kitchen twine