Monthly Archives: January 2017

Happy Valentine’s Day – SSS Flickr Challenge #63

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Simon Says Stamp Flickr Challenge #63 is all about making a project using your favorite technique.

One of my favorite techniques is die-cutting. I love dies of all kinds, especially the large bold die-cut sentiments and words. They can easily become the focal point of your card design!

The card I made uses one Simon Says Stamp’s recent sentiment dies, the Big Valentine’s Day die. The sentiment was die cut from gold foil cardstock. I also die cut the sentiment two more times using white 80# cardstock and then adhered the three pieces together for a more raised look.

The background I mounted the sentiment on was created using washes of Distress Inks in several different colors on watercolor cardstock. Once the watercolor cardstock panel was thoroughly dry, I placed a floral-patterned stencil over it and used a dauber to gently dab on white pigment ink. The pigment ink I used has a slight sheen to it.

I had to be careful while inking the stencil because the stencil was quite delicate, with a lot of open areas. The end result was soft floral impressions against a rosy pink watercolor background. I liked the effect, vibrant, but soft enough to not overpower the die-cut sentiment.

I added a few sequins and some tiny die-cut hearts. The tiny hearts were cut from the same gold foil used for the sentiment.
The front panel was cut down to a 4 inch by 5.25 inch panel and the edges of the panel were colored with a sponge applicator to deepen the color around edges a little bit more.

The finished panel was mounted using foam tape onto an A2, top-folding card base (Simon Says Stamp cardstock in Doll Pink).

Supplies used in creating this project:
Dies: Simon Says Stamp: Big Valentine’s Day die; Memory Box: Heart Delights die (for the small heart embellishments – this die may be no longer available).

Stencils: Memory Box: Modern Fantasy Flowers stencil.

Inks: Distress Inks: Picked Raspberry, Spun Sugar and Wild Violet; Tsukineko: Brilliance pigment ink in Moonlight White.

Cardstock: Tim Holtz Watercolor Cardstock; DCWV gold foil cardstock from a foil stack; Simon Says Stamp cardstock: Doll Pink.

Cheers 2017! Ellen Hutson Pin-Sights Challenge Jan. 2017

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The Ellen Hutson Pin-Sights Challenge for January, 2017 came from the inspiration photo below:

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I was inspired by the gold lettering against the black background, the oval wreath and “year” themes.

I love metallic colors against black, especially gold against black. Metallic colors really seem to pop against a black background. The “this year” sentiment also made me think about the coming New Year. We’ve almost finished the first month of the New Year, and I only just made a card to celebrate it. Maybe one of my resolutions should be not to procrastinate.

I know one of my resolutions should include posting the cards I make more often on my blog. I make more cards than I actually post. However, by the time I’m finished with a card design (and I really agonize over the designs), I’m exhausted. So the idea of writing about the card sometimes becomes overwhelming. But I really need to do more posting. I’m crossing my fingers that I’ll do more postings.

Anyway, back to my project. I ran with the theme of black and gold and found a 6×6 cardstock pad that had all black and gold and cream designs. I’ve been hoarding this pad for a long time. (Note to self: Stop hoarding supplies and use them! This is another new year’s resolution.)

I cut a piece of A2-sized black cardstock along the diagonal. Then, I chose a complimentary pattern from my cardstock pad (gold dots against a cream-colored background); cut an A2-sized piece of the patterned paper along the diagonal as well. I now had 2-pieces of cardstock that I could mount onto an A2-sized mat.

After mounting the two diagonally-cut pieces together, I die-cut a wreath in gold foil cardstock and mounted it against the patterned side of the card front. I then stamped the word “cheers” from the Essentials by Ellen Advent stamp set onto the black side of the card front using Delicata Golden Glitz ink. I had to stamp the word several times to get the impression I wanted (thank God for my MISTI!).

I also stamped the numbers 2, 0, 1, and 7 from the same stamp set onto a scrap piece of black card stock in the same gold ink. Again, I had to stamp the number several times with my MISTI to get the proper coverage.

I die cut the stamped numbers using the coordinating dies for the Advent stamp set. The numbers were adhered underneath the “CHEERS” sentiment with tiny black foam adhesive pieces.

The entire card front was mounted onto an A2 top-folding card base.

So there you have it! An almost-one-month-old New Year’s greeting card! Better late than never.

But sincerely, to everyone reading this post, I wish you a very happy, healthy, exciting New Year brimming with creativity.

 

Supplies used in creating this project:

Stamps: Essentials by Ellen Advent stamp set.

Dies: Essentials by Ellen Advent coordinating dies.

Cardstock: My Mind’s Eye: Yes, Please 6×6 cardstock pad; DCWV: gold foil cardstock from foil pack; Papertrey Ink: True Black (100#); Neenah Solar White cardstock (110#).

Ink: Tsukineko: Delicata Ink in Golden Glitz.

Happy Year of the Rooster!

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Happy Chinese Lunar New Year! The New Year officially begins January 28, 2017.

This is the year of the rooster. In Chinese astrology, the rooster is considered honest, bright, communicative, ambitious, capable and warm-hearted.

I made a card to celebrate the occasion using Mama Elephant’s Lunar Animals stamp set. This set contains cute critters that represent the 12 animals in the Chinese Zodiac. The cute little rooster is part of the set. I also used the complimentary set, Lunar Extras to add a cherry blossom branch to the card and the New Year sentiment.

There are several symbolic elements that I used in creating this card. The number eight is considered lucky to the Chinese, so I die-cut an octagon from white cardstock as the background for the images. Red, green and gold are considered lucky colors to the Chinese and I used these colors to color my images. The blossoms on the branch are colored in a shade of red and I add tiny gold dots to the centers of these blossoms with a gold gel pen. The green leaves on the branch stand for themselves. The rooster of course is colored in different shades of red and he has a gold beak and is standing on a gold die-cut oval so he doesn’t look like he is floating in mid-air.

The branch was stamped directly onto the octagon and colored, while the rooster was stamped on white cardstock, colored and then die-cut using the Lunar Animals coordinating die set and adhered with foam dots to raise the image. The gold oval he is standing on was cut from gold cardstock.

All images were colored using Copic markers.

The octagon was matted on an A2-sized piece of red cardstock to add to the red them. This was in turn adhered to a top-folding A2 card base.

Have a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year everyone!

Supplies used in making this project:

Stamps: Mama Elephant: Lunar Animals stamp set and Lunar Extras stamp set.

Dies: Spellbinders Nestabilities: Octagon die set (large set); Mama Elephant: Lunar Animals die set; My Favorite Things Die-namics: Oval Shadows die set.

Inks: Memento: Tuxedo Black ink (for images-Copic friendly); Versafine Onyx Black ink (sentiment).

Cardstock: Neenah Solar White 80# (die-cut octagon); Neenah Solar White 110# (card base); Simon Says Stamp cardstock in Schoolhouse Red (used as the mat for the card front); gold cardstock from my stash (oval shadow rooster is standing on).

Other: Uni-Ball Signo pen in gold, Copic markers.