Gerda Steiner Designs

Oh Manatee….Or Maybe Coffee??

September 10, 2018

Hi there!

I’ve got a new card up on the Gerda Steiner Designs blog today and sharing it here too. I wanted to work with the cute Oh Manatee stamp set before summer’s officially over and I start thinking about cooler temps and furry forest critters.

To make this guy feel right at home, I created a little seaweed river habitat for him using an Avery Elle waves die and MFT Stitched Dome Stax die-namics. To get a color gradient on these die-cut pieces, I first airbrushed a piece of white cardstock with Copics (BG49, BG45 and BG53 and a hint of YG03) and then die-cut the piece. The waves background die is really intricate, so it’s much easier to ink or airbrush the piece first.

 

 

I cut out a few areas in the waves background to leave some open space for the sentiments. I colored all of the images from this set with Copics and used the coordinating dies to the set.

To make the manatee appear to be floating along, I popped him up a little bit by adhering him with dimensional foam tape.

Hope you enjoyed my card today and thanks for stopping by!

Gerda Steiner Designs

Whoo is Grumpy…

September 7, 2018

Happy Friday!

I’m really excited to have been selected as a member of the new design team for Gerda Steiner Designs! I’ve shared my first post on the GSD blog today and I thought I’d share my new card here too.

I’ve used the brand new Owl Rather Be With You stamp set and let me just say… this grumpy owl is a hoot!!

I’ve inked up a sky at dusk with Spiced Marmalade, Seedless Preserves and Chipped Sapphire Distress Inks and stenciled some clouds towards the top with Hickory Smoke and Chipped Sapphire.I used Wild Honey Distress Ink for a harvest moon and stamped sentiments from both this set and the GSD Coffee Monster stamp set. They work really well together! The sentiment at the bottom is from the MFT Penguins in Paradise stamp set.

 

 

I colored the images with Copics and used the coordinating dies from this set. For a little extra interest, I airbrushed a Hero Arts stencil around the frame using Copics and adhered the kraft panel, stamped images and moon with dimensional foam tape.

Hope you enjoyed and have a great weekend!

Thanks for stopping by!

Heffy Doodle

Congrats! I’m honestly a little jelly…

August 24, 2018

Hi there and happy Friday!

I’ve got a new card today inspired by a recent vacation I took to Monterey, CA. We visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium while there (one of the best aquariums in the world, btw) and they had the most amazing jellyfish exhibits. There were all different types, sizes and color variations. My favorites had the blues, pinks and purples like these little guys I’ve colored up.

I wanted to create the feel of looking through the glass at them, so I started by die-cutting a piece of white cardstock with the MFT Stitched Rectangle Stax die-namics and then die-cut the piece again with the MFT Inside and Out Stitched Oval Stax die-namics centered towards the top.

For my jellyfish exhibit, I cut a piece of X-Press It cardstock 2 3/4″ x 3 3/4″ and stamped the jellyfish from the cute Heffy Doodle “Oceans of Love” stamp set. I masked some of the images and made sure to stamp some of them on the outside edges just barely peeking out for more interest.

 

I colored the scene with Copics and then adhered it to the back of the white cardstock piece so I could position the jellyfish through the window just so. I then adhered this whole piece to the card front.

I die-cut the congrats sentiment using the MFT Birdie Brown alphabet die-namics from a shimmery teal specialty paper and then stamped the sentiment underneath from this stamp set.

To finish it off, I added a little contrasting color by die-cutting some coral shapes from a piece of watercolor cardstock that I first inked with Distress Oxide in Twisted Citron. I used the Memory Box delicate coral die for this.

I hope you enjoyed my card I hope you have a weekend to be jelly about!

Thanks for stopping by!

La-La Land Crafts

Hang Loose

July 23, 2018

Summer is my favorite time of year to make cards. I love all of the sea life, beach and vacation themed stamp releases and this “Stay Cool” stamp set is just adorable.

I started this card by using a MFT stitched rectangle Stax die-namic in the 4″ x 5 1/4″ size and die-cutting a piece of Canson Mi-Teintes watercolor paper. I stamped the bear with surfboard image from the latest La-La Land Crafts release in MFT Insulation Pink hybrid ink and then masked the image. I wanted to bring in just a bit more bright color on this card, so I stamped a few flower images to either side of the bear. (The hibiscus stamp is from an old WaltzingMouse stamp set in my stash).

I applied masking fluid to the images using a Molotow Grafx pen to protect those from the watercolor painting to come.

I die-cut a large circle and centered it towards the top of the paper making sure the stamped images would overlap the circle. This is easier done by cutting the circle from a clear vellum or acetate so you can see the images beneath. I then applied masking fluid with the pen around the outside edge of the circle about 1/2″ wide.

Once the masking fluid was completely dry, I taped the new La-La Land Crafts Water Ripples stencil across the top of the circle and watercolored with Distress Inks in Peacock Feathers and Salty Ocean. You have to go easy with the water to avoid a lot of running under the stencil.

I colored the images with Prismacolors and stamped a sentiment from the set to finish it off.

Hope you enjoyed! I’m off on vacation for a week, so I may not have any cards to share for a bit, but I hope you check back.

Thanks for stopping by!

Clearly Besotted

Warm Wishes and Good Vibes

July 20, 2018

Happy Friday! I’ve got a new summertime card to share today. I fell in love with this “Good Vibes” die from SimonSaysStamp and I thought it would be fun paired with this little hippo cooling off with a tropical drink. This stamp set is too cute!! It’s the new Clearly Besotted “Cooling Off” set and I tried my hand at no-line coloring with Copics again on this one.

For the background, I Copic airbrushed the MFT Sunrise Radiating Rays stencil using RV19, RV14 and RV23. I also airbrushed a piece of white cardstock with BG49, BG45 and BG53 before die-cutting the Good Vibes from it. I dripped a little Copic colorless blender from a small paintbrush on the die-cut to give it a little texture and then applied Glossy Accents over the spots.

 

I adhered the hippo and drink with dimensional adhesive for a little extra detail.

He makes me smile:D

Hope you enjoyed and thanks for stopping by!

Sizzix

A Toucan of my Appreciation

July 15, 2018

Hi again! Hope everyone’s enjoying a beautiful weekend. I’ve got a fun interactive card to share using some new Sizzix stamps and dies that I picked up at Hobby Lobby a few weeks ago.  I’m a sucker for anything tropical in the summertime and I couldn’t resist these.

I used the Sizzix Tropicool Slider dies for the center portion of the card. It’s got a nice big pull tab and folds the center area up to reveal a sentiment, stamped image, etc. underneath. This can stand alone as a card or you can do what I’ve done here and adhere it to a larger card base. Super easy to put together using the photo instructions on the packaging.

I adhered patterned paper to cardstock before die-cutting to add some extra stability to it. The die set also comes with the tropical leaves dies.  I inked the leaves with Distress Inks in Peeled Paint, Shabby Shutters, Crushed Olive and Twisted Citron.

 

The stamped images are from the Sizzix Toucan Sentiments set and I colored them with Copics and used the coordinating dies. The sentiment is also from this set and to create the wooden sign I stamped a wood background on a piece of kraft cardstock in Vintage Photo Distress Ink, stamped the sentiment and then hand cut a wavy edge around the sentiment.

I can see using the slider dies for any theme or occasion and you might be able to adapt this to fit a gift card under that folding portion. Might have to play around with that this Holiday season.

Hope you enjoyed and thanks for stopping by!

My Favorite Things

Oh, Crab!

July 9, 2018

I can’t believe it’s been 6 months since I’ve posted on here! I made a decision at the beginning of the year to take several art classes and focus on improving my coloring skills with Copics and colored pencils. The courses were fantastic, but pretty intense, so I found myself not taking any time to just have fun with card making.

And honestly, after 4 months of doing nothing but classes, I kinda burned out on coloring. Eek. I’m gradually getting my mojo back and I thought I’d share this little card I made over the weekend.

First off, the background is part of a fun little mini course taught by Sandy Allnock and available in her online store www.art-classes.com. The underwater scenes mini class has 5 different scenes and full video tutorials on them.

 

I also had an awesome opportunity to attend Jane Allen’s no-line coloring class last month at the MFT boutique! She’s such an amazing artist and the class was excellent. Highly recommend it, but be quick on the purchase of a seat when they announce the next class. Both days filled up really fast.

I used a few of the techniques I learned from Jane on this little crab from the MFT Just Beclaws stamp set. If you’re familiar with this set, you’ll notice the crab stamp has a smiley face. I changed it up a bit by drawing in the top shell parts and giving him a shocked look on his face. Fun stuff!

Hope you enjoyed my card today and thanks so much for stopping by!

I’ll try not to be absent so much and I really look forward to sharing more creative adventures!

Pretty Pink Posh

Winter Woodland

January 12, 2018

Happy Friday! Now that the busy holiday season is over, I’m starting to get back into some much needed crafty time. I’m not usually big on New Year’s resolutions, but this year I’m really going to make more of an effort to spend time doing things that I love and make me happy. The moose in this stamp set really makes me happy, so I started off with him:)

I used the Winter Woodland stamp set from Pretty Pink Posh and a whole lot of dies on this card. I started by die-cutting the base of this scene from a rust colored cardstock using the largest die from the MFT Stitched Rectangle A2 Stax die-namics and adhered it to an off-white card base. I knew I was going to color the fox with rust tones, so I wanted to balance that strong color.

Next up was the woodgrain piece. I die-cut a natural/grayish colored cardstock with a smaller MFT Stitched Rectangle Stax die and then taped an MFT Inside & Out Stitched Rounded Rectangle STAX die-namic towards the top of the cardstock and centered, cutting edge down. I ran this through my die-cutting machine to create a window in the cardstock piece.

I then embossed the cardstock using a woodgrain Paper Studio embossing folder from Hobby Lobby and adhered this piece centered on the rust cardstock.

For the center background piece, I die-cut a white cardstock using the same MFT Inside & Out Stitched Rounded Rectangle STAX die (try saying that 4 times really fast, haha) from the previous step. I airbrushed the piece using Copic YR20, YR01 and E11 in that order from the top down. I heat embossed a few snowflakes from various Lawn Fawn stamp sets in white embossing powder and stamped the sentiment from this set.

Normally this piece would have fit perfectly inside the frame, but after I embossed with the woodgrain folder the frame piece shrunk up a little. No problem! (Initially, it was a problem). I took this as an opportunity for a little extra color around the center piece by adhering it slightly offset on the top and right sides. It’s right up against the left side of the frame piece, but the tree is covering that.

I used the MFT Birch Tree die-namics (both the solid and the notched sets) and layered 2 of them together. I added some darker gray and brown in the notched areas and a few extra places with Copics and adhered them.

For the snow drifts, I die-cut a piece of textured white cardstock with the same MFT STAX die that I used on the woodgrain piece and then cut a few strips from this. I then die-cut each strip with the MFT Stitched Snow Drifts die-namics and adhered them layered together.

I colored the moose and fox images with Copics and die-cut them with the coordinating dies to this set. The moose was just too fun! I know I’ve got a ways to go with mastering fur, but this was a great exercise in teeny tiny flicks with the marker:) Practice, practice.

I hope you enjoyed my card today and I hope your new year is getting off to a great start!

Thanks for stopping by!

My Favorite Things

Peace to you this Christmas

December 22, 2017

Happy Friday! With Christmas a few days away, this will most likely be my last Christmas card to share this season and I’m really glad I pulled out this MFT stamp set from last Christmas! I just love this reindeer.

I started this one by die-cutting a white textured cardstock using the largest die in the MFT A2 Stitched Rectangle STAX Set 2 die-namics. (This die measures 4″ x 5 1/4″). I then taped the third largest die in the MFT Stitched Tag-Corner Square STAX die-namics cutting edge down on the top portion of the rectangular die-cut and ran it through a die-cutting machine.

I wanted just a portion of the tag-corner square shape for my background so I die-cut a second piece of textured white cardstock using the same A2 Stitched Rectangle STAX die and then cut this piece horizontally. I adhered it to the top of the first rectangular piece. I wrapped/adhered a piece of AmericanCrafts ribbon around the piece where the two are adhered to cover the seam.

I cut a piece of MFT patterned paper 3 1/2″ x 4″ and adhered this towards the top of my pink card base. I then applied dimensional foam tape around the outside edges of the rectangular piece and a little in the center and adhered it to the card base.

I colored my little reindeer from the MFT Merry Everything stamp set with Copics and die-cut it using the coordinating dies to this set. I also used dimensional adhesive to adhere the reindeer so he’s popped up in the window.

 

To finish the card, I airbrushed a piece of white cardstock using Copic R00, R21 and R22 and then die-cut this piece with the MFT Peace die-namics. I added portions of a few die-cut snowflakes (MFT Let it Snowflake Too die-namics) to the corners.

I really had fun with this one using a teal/pink color scheme!

I’ll be spending the Christmas holiday next week having fun and relaxing in my craft room, so I hope to have a few new cards to share later on next week. Hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and Merry Christmas!

Thanks for stopping by!

Essentials by Ellen

Christmas Bear Take 2

December 8, 2017

Happy Friday! As usual this time of year, I start out with high hopes of making tons of Christmas cards, tags for presents and gift boxes and then run out of time! I’ve managed to squeak out a few new ones and today’s card is another take on the bear from the “All Inside” Essentials by Ellen stamp set. With the “Bear Ware” and Bear Ware 2″ stamp sets that coordinate with this set, it’s fun to dress him up for any occasion.

First, I die-cut a piece of white cardstock using a stitched rounded rectangle die from the My Favorite Things Blueprints 31 die-namics. I masked off the top half of this piece with eclipse tape and airbrushed the background with Copic R00. I then masked off this area and taped a My Favorite Things diagonal stripes stencil to the piece. I airbrushed a small area through the stencil using Copic G0000.

I stamped the bear, scarf and candy cane, colored them with Copics and die-cut them using the coordinating dies to the “All Inside” and “Bear Ware 2” sets.

After adhering the bear, I matted the cardstock piece on a My Favorite Things patterned paper die-cut with the larger stitched rounded rectangle die from the My Favorite Things Blueprints 31 die-namics and adhered both to the card base.

I finished it off by stamping the “Merry” sentiment from the Lawn Fawn “Snow Day” stamp set and adding the die-cut “Christmas” using the Pretty Pink Posh Merry Christmas Script die.

Hope you enjoyed my card today and hope you find time to get crafty during the holidays!

Thanks for stopping by!