Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge

This spring colored card was made for the Mojo sketch challenge and Mojo Monday.  I started with a watercolor background sprayed with Lindy's shimmery colors.  I added a strip of patterned paper from DCWV's Marquee stack.  I edged the paper with Seedless Preserves oxide ink.  I embossed the thanks sentiment on a piece of vellum using Snowflake embossing tinsel from Ranger.  The diecut layered rose is from Altenew.

I am also submitting this card to the Allsorts Challenge blog.  This weeks challenge is a floral or thanks design.  

Christmas Tree Diecut Card

This Christmas card is pretty simple, but the diecuts make it elegant.  I love the shimmery background of this card.  I used Lindy's sprays over watercolor paper to achieve the shimmer.  The tree was cut from watercolored paper.  The NOEL diecut is cut from gold mirrorcard and gold glitter paper.  You can find the tree die at Simon Says Stamp.  The Noel die can be found at Papertrey Ink. 

I am entering this in the Die Cuttin Divas challenge this week.

Watercolored Flowers with Cutting Dies

One of my current card making favorites right now is stamps with matching cutting dies.  I never enjoyed fussy cutting so the dies are perfect for me.  I recently received the last set of Distress Oxides inkpads and I wanted to try out the color palette.

 

 I started by gold heat embossing flowers and leaves from two different stamp sets onto watercolor paper.  I added Oxides ink using a paintbrush.  First I swiped a little ink onto my glass mat, then I used a watercolor brush to pick up the color.  I start with the lightest colors first, then move to the darker shades.  I made sure to color past the lines just a bit to avoid a white ring around the diecuts.  You could color perfectly within the lines as well and use the qhite border as part of the design.  Next, I used the matching dies to cut out the shapes.

 

Once I was finished coloring the flowers and leaves, I used the remaining ink to create the coordinating background.  I just swiped the watercolor paper over the ink on the glass mat and smooshed it until it covered the entire piece of paper.  The background colors are a little more subtle and it was a great use of leftover ink. I also flicked a few drops of water onto the ink since Oxides react so well with water.  I used a heat tool to dry the background and trimmed it to fit on a standard card front.

 

Then I arraned the flower bouquets.  A great tip for arranging small pieces is to use Press-N-Seal over the pieces once you have the design you like.  Then you can keep the design intact while you apply the adhesive.

I love how the purple background turned out a little darker than the flowers.  It makes the light purple really pop.  

 

I added a foam sheet to the backs of the backgrounds and then mounted them on 110 lb white cardstock. The 10 lb cardstock really makes a difference in the feel of the cards.  I used lighter paper for years, but now I will always use the heavier stock for my card bases.

I left the cards without sentiments so that I could add the appropriate message when I needed them.  In the end, the peach and coral card received a feel better sentiment in matching gold embossing powder.  The metallic gold is a nice accent to the pretty watercolors.

Autumn Flower Card

I have a few backgrounds in my stash that I have stenciled using spray inks.  This one was an unusual color, but I found these matching stickers in my stash.  The stickers are from Royal & Langnickel.  It is a simple quadrant design, but I like the soft, autumn colors.

Since this one has several layers, I added this to the layers challenge at Crafty Card Makers.

New Craft Goodies

I wanted to share some of my newer goodies.  I have discovered wide decorative washi tape and I love using it in my journal.  The available styles, patterns and colors are turning me into an addict.  I also have a ton of beautiful, new, fancy flowers.  My mom gave me a whole box of them for my birthday.  What a great present!  I can't wait to incorporate them into my shabby chic, floral creations.  

I have also received many new cutting dies.  I attempt to keep them organized, but I think I have outgrown my small drawers.  My goal is to find a way to leave my Vagabond on my craft table permanently.  I know that I will use these cutting dies more often if the machine is within reach.  I plan to make lots of pretty cards after Thanksgiving.  I am looking forward to having more time to craft.

Cowl Project

This is my latest cowl project made with super chunky yarn.  This was an easy pattern, alternating double crochet stitches with skipped stitches.  When you use this chunky yarn, the project comes together very quickly. 

Pink Flower Card

This card has several different diecuts that create a backdrop for the pretty pink flowers.  I cut the leaf sprays from gold glittered paper.  I love using intricate cutting dies.

Watercolor Backgrounds with Vellum Flowers

I love playing with various watercolor mediums.  I used a combination of Brusho, ColorBursts and spray inks for these pretty backgrounds.  I added vintage looking vellum flower stickers to make these colorful, but pretty cards.  I made this set for my Grandmother. 

New Necklaces

I had a great time at our beading event this weekend.  Gianna created this beautiful seed beaded project for us to create.  The feather is perfect for ombre tones.  I added my feather to one of Dry Gulch's new exclusive beaded chains.

This beautiful copper heart just needed a little bead cluster and some beaded chain.  Sometimes simple is best. 

Blue Wreath Thank You Card

This card is simple, but elegant.  I used pretty blue, white and gold papers for the card and I decided to create my own blue paper for the diecuts.  I used faded jeans Distress Spray Stain over white cardstock and used in to cut the wreath and the sentiment.  The flower centers are tiny, sparkly resin jewels.  

Blue Rose Card

I used a layering stamp set with three colors of blue ink to create this rose.  The use of stamping platforms makes it really easy to get the layers right every time.  I use the Tim Holtz stamping platform and don't know how I ever lived without it.  I fussy cut the pieces and mounted the rose and leaves with foam tape for dimension.  The white hello is from a cutting die.

St. Paddy's Day Green Bouquet

I created this green toned floral card for St. Patrick's Day and the Go Green challenge at Crafty Cardmakers.  I started with a Lindy's Magicals background layered with vellum on the top and bottom.  I added diecut leaves in 2 colors and clustered velvet flowers to make a bouquet.  I added gold glitter to the center of the flower - like the pot of gold.

Flower Themed Cards

I had fun trying out my new leaf cutting dies this weekend.  I decided to use a stack of handmade paper that I have purchased over the years.  Most of the paper came from Hobby Lobby and even though I was thinking of purging it, I am glad I didn't.  Most of the paper has glitter accents and cuts nicely in my Vagabond.  I used the same pattern for each card, starting with handmade paper as the background.  Each card has diecut leaves and a central flower.  I was able to accent with sequins on some of the cards as well.

Floral Card

I created this pretty card for the Crafty Cardmakers Floral Challenge.  I started with foiled background paper and added an intricate diecut.  I layered a Tim Holtx floral diecut with foiled leaves and a custom dyed flower nestled in vintage seam binding ribbon.

Vintage Spring Card

I created this floral bird card with a vintage flair for the Vintage Card Cafe Card Challenge.  The theme is spring which is my favorite season.  I started with an intricate doily diecut and layered on flower diecuts from Tim Holtz and a layered burlap flower from Art-C.  The chipboard bird was painted, inked, stamped and distressed.  I added foiled leaf sprigs to finish it off.  It is busy and over the top - which is why it is perfect!

Floral Cards

These floral cards were all created using backgrounds that I had already prepared.  The stack of backgrounds was getting a little high, so I made an effort to use them up.  The purple background was made with Brusho watercolor powder on watercolor paper.  The green leaves were colored with spray inks.  The blue and tan card was created using Yupo paper and alcohol inks.  The grey-green card was alcohol ink on photo paper.  Each is very different from the others.  

Crocheted Giraffe

This is my latest crochet animal for my granddaughter, Lilly.  I used a variegated color for the ears, arms and legs.  I added some variegated spots on its back as well.  So cute!

More Hello Cards

This is my latest batch of hello cards.  I have a nice, big hello cutting die and it looks best in either black or white on these colorful backgrounds. 

 

For these bold cards, I began with Oxide inks in different colors.  Next, I used Bo Bunny glitter paste over stencils.  The paste does not take very long to dry and it comes in several colors.  I cut the large hello diecut from glossy black cardstock.  

  

The final card started with white embossing paste with a stencil.  Once the paste was dry, I added Magicals from Lindy's Stamp Gang mixed with water.  It was a little darker than I had intended, so I painted a layer of Finnabair magic opal acrylic paint over the top.  It gives the card an interference layer.  The hello is cut from glossy photo paper.  

Wildflower Hello Cards

 

My latest creations use wildflower and hello cutting dies.  My mission was to use up some watercolor and foiled backgrounds I had already made.  I had a stack of backgrounds so I wanted to use some of them up.  The green background was created using Lindy's Stamp Gang Magicals as watercolors.  The polka dotted background is spray ink over foil.  The bright blue background was made with Brusho watercolors.

Photo Paper Diecuts

I was testing out a new cutting die today and I found that it works beautifully on a piece of photo paper.  The glossy white really pops against the background.  I used Yupo paper for the alcohol ink background.  It works much better than regular glossy paper for alcohol ink designs.

Rustic Floral Cards

Today was a card making day.  I was able to use some of my new cutting dies as well as some of my new Prima flowers.  The background paper for all three cards is the same, but each has a very different look.  Despite the intricate diecuts, these have a rustic look.  If only every day could be a card making day...

Finnabair Opal Magic Paint by Prima

Have you seen the opal magic acrylic paint from Prima?  It is absolutely magical.  It can turn ordinary cardstock into shimmery, color shifting beauty.  It comes in 8 colors and is easy to work with.  Once applied to paper, it can be dried with a heat tool.  The painted sheets can be die cut as well.