Neat & Tangled January Release, Day 1: A-Mazing

Hello everyone!

Welcome to the start of January release week for Neat & Tangled!

Day 1 is for a cute little Maze die and the supporting A-Mazing stamp set. Here’s my card:

This was unbelievably quick to create, as I knew I wanted a simple background from which to die-cut the maze. I turned to my trusty Zig Clean Color Real Brush Pens and roughly brushed a selection of them onto a panel of white cardstock before spritzing with just enough water to make the colours blend and bleed.

I heat set the panel and then die-cut the maze shape from the coloured area, leaving enough room at the bottom for the sentiment, which was stamped with Versafine Onyx Black ink. I also trimmed the panel down so that it was slightly smaller than my card base.

I then adhered a piece of clear plastic behind the maze shape for the beginnings of a shaker card – once this was secure, I added foam tape all the way around the back of the panel and inserted a selection of sequins into the maze grooves before adhering it down to the card base.

To finish off, I also added a die-cut heart to the front of the card.

Pop by the Neat & Tangled Blog to see what the rest of the DT has created – all the sets that we are showcasing this week will be released on Friday, 5 January at 8am EST in the shop!

Thanks for stopping by 😉

Neat & Tangled November Release, Day 1: Merry & Bright

Hello everyone!

Welcome to the start of November release week for Neat & Tangled!

For Day 1, I’m showcasing the new Merry & Bright die – here’s my first card:

I began by creating a watercolour background using a flower shaped acrylic block. I covered the block with some spots of Dylusions Ink sprays and stamped straight down onto a panel of white cardstock. Before removing the block, I misted lightly with water to help the ink run a little.

On lifting the acrylic block, the ink that was trapped underneath began to spread, so I quickly heat set the panel. I used a paper towel to mop up any excess ink.

Once the panel was dry, I used the new Star stencil to create a subtle texture over the watercolour blob – I laid it down and pounced some Versamark Ink through to the panel underneath. I removed the stencil and the lightly brushed over some Gold Perfect Pearls.

Once I was happy, I trimmed the panel down and mounted it to a white card base. I then die-cut the Merry & Bright sentiment three times out of some white cardstock, adhered them together to create a thicker embellishment and adhered it to the card front. To finish, I added a couple of sequins from the Gold Mix selection. Here’s my second card:

I did a little double partial die-cutting with this one using a couple of circle dies to create the outer ring so that the sequins can peek through 😉

I partially die-cut the circle elements out of a panel of white cardstock before moving on to die-cutting the sentiment from the middle, holding on to all the small pieces within the letters.

I then proceeded to turn the die-cut panel into a shaker card, filling it with the Gold Dust Sparkly Shaker Mix from Lucy’s Little Things.

After foam mounting the shaker element to a white card base, I also added a few ink splats using some gold watercolour paint.

Pop by the Neat & Tangled Blog to see what the rest of the DT has created – all the sets that we are showcasing this week will be available from Friday, 11 November at 8am EST in the shop!

Thanks for stopping by 😉

A shaker shower of love…

Hello there!

I’m over at the Neat & Tangled blog today to share a card using the Fractal Cloud stamp and die sets from the May Release!

I created a watercolour background using a piece of acetate and some reinkers and then stamped the fractal raindrops onto the panel for some depth.

I then die-cut the cloud aperture out of the panel using the Fractal Cloud die and stamped a sentiment from the coordinating set with black dye ink. I set this aside and moved onto the actual card base, where I stamped the large fractal cloud and then coloured in all the tiny segments with some ZIG Clean Color Real Brush Pens.

I turned the card into a shaker by filling the aperture with sequins and foam mounting the watercolour on top, sandwiching the sequins between a piece of acetate and the card base.

I usually try to create a few watercolour panels in advance for cards like this, because you never know when you might need one!

Thanks for stopping by!

We are all made of stories…

Hello there!

I’m over at the Neat & Tangled blog today to share a card using the exclusive ‘We Are All Made of Stories’ stamp set from the Mix Tape October Kit by Scrapbook Circle.

I also used some of the papers from the kit to whip up this super simple shaker card, using a technique demonstrated by Julie Ebersole here. I began by mounting a piece of pattern paper onto a kraft card base and then moved on to the shaker.

I then took a smaller piece of pattern paper and stamped the large greeting with black dye ink. I trimmed a piece of acetate to the same size and began sealing both pieces together with washitape on three of the four sides.

I added some sequins from the Sunset Shimmer mix along with one of the cork heart embellishments from the kit before sealing the pocket shut.

To finish, I foam mounted the shaker pocket to the card front! Simple, quick and easy!

Thanks for stopping by!

MFT October Release – Countdown Day 1

Hey everyone!

Today is the fifth and final day of the October release from My Favorite Things before the new product launch, and it ends with another fabulous group of dies and stamp sets!

For Countdown Day 1, we’re showcasing the Snowflake Flurry stamp and Die-Namics sets; the Pop-Up Holiday Greetings Die-Namics; the Radial Stitched Circle STAX Die-namics; the Joyous Christmas Sentiments stamp set; the Basic Stitch Lines Die-Namics and the Sketched Chevron Background stamp. Here’s my card:

I think the images from the Snowflake Flurry set are so easy to work with and can help you to whip up a background so quickly, no matter how you use them! I did just that with an emboss-resist technique.

I began by sponging Picked Raspberry, Broken China and Seedless Preserves Distress Inks onto a panel of white cardstock and then used the same colours to stamp some of the snowflakes on top.

I then heat set the panel and stamped the snowflakes again, but this time with Versamark ink, sprinkling with clear embossing powder and heat setting again. I sponged Chipped Sapphire, Dusty Concord and Festive Berries Distress Inks over the panel, allowing the clear embossed areas to resist the ink.

I heat set the panel again, and for the third time, stamped the snowflakes with Versamark ink, sprinkled with some platinum embossing powder and heat set once more. The final effect creates so much depth and drama!

I die-cut the panel to slightly smaller than my card base, die-cut an oval aperture in the middle and proceeded to the make a shaker element for the card. I stamped a sentiment from Hand Lettered Holiday on a white card base, and foam mounted the shaker part to the front. To finish, I also adhered a couple of the sequins.

Be sure to check out the My Favorite Things Blog for today’s full product reveal, giveaways and links to lots of fabulous projects from the rest of the MFT Design Team members!

Thanks for stopping by 😉

Ink smooshed background with black ink stamping

Hello there!

I’m over at the Neat & Tangled blog today to share a card that uses one stamp to create a pattern, one die to create an aperture and one sentiment to tie them all together 😉

But, like a lot of the cards I make, I need a background to work with! So, I used my failsafe technique of creating one with Distress Inks – smoosh them onto a craft mat, spritz with water and lay down a panel of white cardstock into the inky puddles. You may have to jiggle the panel around a little to get more coverage, but when you’re happy, lift it out and heat set.

Repeat the process a few times until you get something that you’re happy with. I then repeatedly stamped one of the wreath images from Simple Christmas to create a pattern with black dye ink for a bit of contrast.

I trimmed the panel down to slightly smaller than my card base and then die-cut the smaller Dala Horse from the centre to create an aperture, and the beginnings of a shaker card. I adhered a piece of acetate behind the aperture, and foam pads all the way around to seal in the sequins.

The sentiment comes from Gardenia Blooms Journaling card and to finish, I dotted a few of the sequins on the card front.

I hope you’ll have a go at creating your own background and then stamping with black dye ink for a dramatic look!

Thanks for stopping by 😉

Runway Inspired Challenge #85

Hello there – just popping by to share the card I made for this week’s Runway Inspired Challenge. We have another awesome inspiration photo and the chance to win a prize from our fabulous sponsor Winnie & Walter.

Here’s my card:

I began by stamping the outline leafy canopy image from A Tree for All Seasons onto a piece of white cardstock with Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I then stamped the tree from the same set on top of the canopy image.

I coloured the leaves with various Copic markers. I used a light blue marker around the outside of the tree, echoing the model’s outfit. I then added some Diamond Stickles to the leaves and set aside to dry.

I used the largest frame die from Essentials: Katharine Cutaways to trim a panel of cardstock down to slightly smaller than my card base, and then used a circle die to die-cut an aperture, through which you would see the sparkly tree!

I partially stamped the same tree onto the die-cut panel so that it would look like the image was continuing, and added a sentiment beneath it. I adhered a piece of acetate to the back of the aperture and added lots of foam tape around it and on the back of the panel so that I could create a shaker card.

Once the coloured tree image was dry, I stuck it straight down onto a card base and brushed it lightly with my powder tool, as my shaker would be made up of glitter and sequins – I didn’t want the glitter to cling where it shouldn’t! I foam mounted the die-cut panel on top, ensuring the trees lined up.

To finish, I added some sequins and enamel dots.

Be sure to stop by the Runway Inspired Challenge blog for more inspiration from the rest of the DT members and play along for the chance to win! I also wanted to welcome our newest team member Heather Hoffman from House’s Built of Cards – this girl is amazingly talented and we’re please to have her on the DT!

Thanks for stopping by 😉

MFT – May Ingenious Inking – Watercolour Wash

Hello there – today I’m sharing a card for the May MFT Ingenious Inking challenge. This month we’re focusing on watercolour and all the wonderful ways of creating that dreamy, ethereal look for your cards using MFT ink pads or refills!

I chose to play with some of the MFT dye ink pads in Persimmon, Steel Grey and Pure Plum to create this shaker card:

I absolutely love these MFT dye ink pads and was very surprised to see how they reacted with water whilst retaining their vibrancy ;-). I pressed each ink pad onto a piece of stamp packaging and lightly spritzed with water – when I was satisfied with how the colours were mixing, I placed it ink side down onto some watercolour paper.

As I pulled the piece of stamp packaging away, some of the ink transferred patchily whilst some of it continued to react and marble, creating such a varied look.

I heat set the inky panel, used the largest frame die from Blueprints 25 to trim it down and then die-cut an oval from the centre. This formed the main element of my shaker…

I stamped a sentiment from Birthday Chalkboard Greetings onto a white card base with black dye ink, laid some sequins on top and foam mounted the inky panel to trap them behind a clear piece of acetate.

Be sure you stop by the MFT Stamps blog for loads of awesome inspiration and links to lots of fabulous projects from the rest of the MFT Design Team members!

Thanks for stopping by 😉

iNSD 2015 – Winnie & Walter collaboration with Pinkfresh Studio

Hello everyone!

Just stopping by to remind you that you still have a few more days to enter the ‘Create your own background’ challenge over at the Winnie & Walter blog, as part of International Scrapbook Day!

I used some Winnie & Walter dies along with pattern papers and rub ons from the Pinkfresh Studio Up in The Clouds collection – here’s my card and the background I created:

For the background, I chose a pattern paper from the Up in the Clouds collection and distressed it a little with, well Distress Inks 🙂 Then, I took the Winnie & Walter Cover Model: Multifaceted Cutaway and die-cut the paper, giving me both the faceted frame and the little triangle pieces to play with.

I chose another piece of pattern paper and die-cut that too, so in total, I had two frames and two sets of triangular pieces. I added a ton of adhesive tape runner to a piece of copy paper and adhered the frame from the second die-cut and then filled in the spaces with the triangles from the first one.

The result is a beautiful, inlaid die-cut background ;-). I then used the smaller frame die from Essentials: Katharine Cutaways to die-cut a panel from the background, and the largest tag from Essentials: Audrey Cutaways to die-cut the aperture.

For the sentiment, I used one of the gold rub ons from the collection on a piece of vellum and then adhered it to the back of the panel so that it showed through the aperture. I lined the edges of the aperture with foam pads, poured some sequins onto a card front and adhered the die-cut panel, trapping the sequins inside to form a shaker!

To finish, I adhered a few sequins to the card along with a wood veneer embellishment arrow from my stash. I hope you’ll play along with the background challenge – remember, you don’t have to use Winnie & Walter and/or Pinkfresh Studio products, but it would be awesome if you did! The giveaway for this challenge is absolutely amazing:

You have until 11:55 p.m. CST on May 9, 2015 to link up your project here. And don’t forget, if you share photos of your challenges, tag both Pink Fresh Studio and Winnie & Walter, and use the hashtag #insdwwpfs2015 for a chance to win other prizes!

Thanks for stopping by!

Neat & Tangled May Release, Day 1: Send Pretty Mail

Hello everyone!

Welcome to the start of May release week for Neat & Tangled! If you’re looking for my MFT Countdown Day 2 post, please scroll down or click here!

Day 1 is for the gorgeous stamp set ‘Send Pretty Mail‘ and the clever Hoop die. The stamp set has some cute, handwritten sentiments and supporting floral images – perfect for a card or a tag! We’re also showcasing another sequin mix from the Lucy Abrahms as well as some new mixes from Neat & Tangled 😉

  

Here’s my card:

I began by stamping a sentiment with black dye ink in the middle of a white card base, and then setting aside. I made the shaker element by die-cutting the Hoop four times from some chipboard. I adhered three of them together with Glossy Accents and then stuck a piece of acetate on top, ensuring it was slightly smaller than the hoop.

I then adhered the last die-cut hoop on top of the acetate piece to give me the beginnings of a shaker. I poured some of the embellishments from Lucy’s sequin mix onto the card front and then adhered the die-cut hoop on top, sealing the sequins inside.

On a piece of white cardstock, I sponged some Mustard Seed and Picked Raspberry Distress Inks to give me a panel of colour for the next step. I stamped the large and small florals onto the panel and then fussy cut them out, brushing the edges with a black marker to hide the white core of the card.

I did the same thing with the leaves and then adhered all the pieces to the bottom of the hoop. I finished up with some Xmas Red Stickles in the centre of the flowers.

Pop by the Neat & Tangled Blog to see what the rest of the DT has created – all the sets that we are showcasing this week will be available from Friday, 8 May at 8am EST in the shop!

Thanks for stopping by 😉