May 29, 2018 | 2018 Occasions Catalog, Brusho Crystal Color, Cards |
I created this card a while back – you can see that the stamp set I used to finish it was one of the Sale-A-Bration sets. But I wanted to share this background technique with you because I used the Sweet Soiree Decorative masks that are about to retire. I should have shared this a long time ago but life is life and that didn’t happen so I’m sharing it with you now. The good thing is the Brusho Crystals will be in the new catalog and you could create your own masks or try this with a different mask if you don’t have the one I used. Or hurry up an order it before May 31st.
I’m not sure what you would call this technique exactly – a masked and reversed masked Brusho background perhaps. I just made that up. This is a bit messy so you will want to cover your work surface well and have plenty of paper towels nearby. I actually lay down some paper towels to work on top of. Here is a look at my finished cards. What I’m going to explain is how I created the background.
Steps to create the background
- cover your surface with paper towel (I also had a piece of cardboard underneath)
- go ahead and get two pieces of Shimmery White card stock – I made two backgrounds at a time
- cover one piece of card stock with the mask – I used the vine mask from the Sweet Soiree Decorative Mask set
- sprinkle Brusho crystals over the mask – I used blue, yellow and a little bit of the mossy green
- use a Spritzer to spritz water over the crystals (if needed add more crystals)
- give it just a few seconds to let the water and the crystals interact and spread into the spaces of the mask
- have your second piece of card stock ready
- lift the mask straight up from the first piece of card stock and then I flipped it over and laid it on the second one
- wait a few seconds then lift it off the second piece
- let both pieces dry
- And don’t forget to clean your mask
Each background piece will be unique and different – you won’t ever get two exactly alike. The first one you make will have the open spaces of the mask filled with color, while the second piece is the opposite because you are using the color that is still sitting on top of the mask. You could also lay the mask down without flipping and then place the second piece of card stock on top of it and press down to transfer the color.
Here are a few photos for reference:
Once your background is dry then you can use it to create a card. I used it here with one of the Sale-A-Bration sets that were available earlier this year. You could try creating your own mask using a window sheet and some of our dies or use the Pattern Party Decorative Masks. If you want to use the same mask I did be sure to order it now – it’s retiring on May 31st.
Supplies list
- Brusho Crystal Colour
- Shimmery White card stock
- Sweet Soiree Decorative Masks (retiring)
- Stampin’ Spritzers
- Crumb Cake card stock
- Aqua Painter
- Basic Black Archival ink (retiring)
- Linen Thread
- Blossoming Basket Stamp set (Sale-a-bration retired)
- Paper Snips
- Stampin’ Dimensionals
- Classic Ink – Crushed Curry, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake, Old Olive
There are only a few more days left to order from the 2018 Occasions Catalog and the 2017-2018 Annual Catalog. Both will be gone on May 31st. Click on my signature to go straight to my store.
May Hostess Code: EJB9FJAP
Thanks for stopping by!
Feb 20, 2018 | #mailacardmonday, 2018 Occasions Catalog, Cards, Embossing, Thank You |
I decided for 2018 to challenge myself to mail at least one card every Monday. And to post it on social media with the hashtag #mailacardmonday – I figured if I told the world I was doing it and everyone was looking for me to do it I was way more likely to actually do it. We are now 8 Monday’s into the year and I have been sending out at least 7-8 cards every Monday! It’s working. So how many days does it take to form a habit – is it 21 or 66 so something else? I don’t know for sure but right now for me I seem to be doing good and plan to keep it up. Who is joining me?
Have you seen my mailbox? I’ve been posting my mailbox with either my cards in it or me putting them in. It’s funny how many people like my mailbox.
We don’t actually get a choice for out mailbox in my neighborhood. Everyone has the same one. They do look pretty good but it doesn’t take much to break one. A neighbor ran right over mine a couple of years ago. And every neighbor dog makes a pit stop there.
Anyway I thought I would share with you one of the cards going out in my mail today. This week’s mail is really going out on Tuesday because it was a holiday on Monday. We’ve had a lot of Monday Holidays already this year.
I have some thank you cards going out for some online orders that I’ve received in February. I’ll have more going out next week too. This is a fun card idea that I got from another demonstrator (my friend Renee Kohnke) when I went to Michigan at the beginning of the month. This way you can show both sides of the Designer Series paper. I modified it a little bit so I could use a 3″ wide piece of paper on my cards. You are basically cutting away 2-3/4″ from the front of the card and then attaching the designer paper to the short flap in it’s place. I just realized I should have taken a photo of the inside of the card so you could see it.
Here are the supplies and measurements for you:
- Very Vanilla Thick card stock – 5-1/2″ x 5-3/4″, scored at 4-1/4″
- Painted with Love Specialty Designer Series Paper – 5-1/2″ x 3″
- Vellum card stock – 5″ x 3-3/4″
- Color Me Happy Stamp set
- VersaMark Ink
- Gold Embossing Powder
- Heat Tool
- Tear & Tape
- 3/8″ Metallic-edge Ribbon Gold
- Glue Dots
- Very Vanilla Envelope
- Pink Pirouette Light Blender Pen ( for coloring the flower on the envelope)
To make the card add Tear & Tape to the inside edge of the short front on the card base. Lay your card down as though you were going to close it and align the Designer Paper with the back of the card, then fold over that front flap so the paper attaches to it. For any adhesive that is hanging over on the inside – place your ribbon right on top of it – then tie in a knot on the front. Next I slid the vellum piece in place (emboss your words on it first) and then used glue dots to attach it so the glue dots are hidden under the ribbon.
When you open the card you see the other side of the Designer paper on the inside. I have made 3 or 4 different cards with this fun idea already.
Thanks for stopping by! Leave me a comment and let me know what you think.
Oct 6, 2017 | 2017 Holiday Catalog, Big Shot, Christmas, Watercoloring |
The little reindeer in Seasonal Chums is just the cutest thing. I just love how he turns out when I watercolor with my Aqua-painter.
Here I’ve used the exact same layout as my pumpkin card. Just a new image, different colors and different Designer Series paper. I stamped the reindeer on Watercolor paper with my Basic Black Archival Ink and then water-colored him. Crumb Cake, Soft Suede and Garden Green.
The Designer Series Paper is the Quilted Christmas Paper stack – it’s a 6×6 stack. The die cut snowflake is part of the Seasonal Tags Framelits dies that match the Seasonal Chums stamp set. And the circles are from the Stitched Shapes Framelits.
Like the last card I posted this is one with a short front. The strip of Designer Series Paper is on the inside. Here is a photo so you can see what I mean.
It’s fun because when the card is opened you have the paper still showing. And easy solution for a card base that has been mis-cut or mis-scored.
Have a great day!
Oct 4, 2017 | 2017 Holiday Catalog, Big Shot, Halloween, Watercoloring |
I love the new Seasonal Chums stamp set and Seasonal Tags Framelits Dies in the Holiday catalog. They make quick and easy fold over tags. Each image has a front and a back and the dies cut out both at the same time. But the images are perfect for cards too.
This one uses the Pumpkin for a Halloween card – and there is the little bat in the die set!
So the story behind this card design is this – I was preparing for a card class and cut and scored a stack of card bases. Only to realize that I had scored them all at 4″ instead of 4-1/4″. Oops! I didn’t want to throw out all my nice thick card stock so I set it aside until I figured out what to do. Later this card design was born. I trimmed the back side to 4-1/4″ and that left the front side short at 4″. The solution was to add a strip of Designer Paper on the inside so it peeks out to the front! I really loved this – it’s also a great way to use up little strips of designer paper.
For this card I used the Painted Harvest Designer Series Paper – it’s part of the October Paper Sale. The colors of my Stitched Circles came from the paper – Lemon Lime Twist and Peekaboo Peach. I also water-colored my pumpkins to match using the Tangerine Tango, Garden Green in addition to the Peekaboo Peach and Lemon Lime Twist.
After stamping and water-coloring the pumpkins I cut them with the dies and then cut the front and back apart to add to the card. There is also some Black Metallic Thread and the little bat.
So don’t worry when you cut or score something wrong – just set it aside for a bit until an idea comes up. You never know what creations you will get out of the mistakes you make. Sometimes they are better than what you started with!
Enjoy your day!
Sep 26, 2017 | Big Shot, Birthday, Cards, Embossing Paste |
If you are like me the number on your birthday keeps getting higher! The Number of Years stamp set and Large Numbers Framelits are perfect for making the “perfect” birthday card. Because you can celebrate 29 again! and again! and again!
For this card I also used the Embossing Paste to create the background. But this time I created a mask using a die to cut through a Window Sheet. The Window Box Thinlits has the die with the birthday candles. I cut a piece of window sheet that would cover the front of the card. Then ran the die through cutting multiple images of the candles over and over.
The paste was colored with the Lemon Lime Twist ink refill. Then use the mask to apply the paste to the Pool Party layer. While that dries, stamp and cut the 29. The Lemon Lime Twist cotton ribbon is wrapped around the layer and tied with the Whisper White Baker’s Twine. If you pull the ends between your finger nails you can give them a curl – it’s like curling ribbon that you use for wrapping presents!
Tangerine Tango, Pool Party and Lemon Lime Twist are a fun and bright combination! I finished the card with some Tangerine Tango star Enamel Shapes.
Enjoy being 29 again! and again! and again!
Aug 10, 2017 | SU Pillow Gifts, SU Ribbon, Watercoloring |
This was a quick and easy project that I made for the girls on my SU Demo Getaway weekend. I was shopping in the Target Dollar Spot one day (well maybe they don’t call it that anymore) and saw some fun pencils that looked like our SU colors – they were Emerald Envy, Blushing Bride and Basic Black. I picked up a bunch of them to use as a little “pillow” gift for the getaway weekend. Here is what I did with them.
I put three pencils in one of the 6×8 cello bags and stapled it shut. The pencils are about as tall as the bags so I pushed them to one side at the top and stapled as close as I could get so that it would hold them in there.
Then I wanted to decorate the bag with a fun tag. I decided the Pick a Pattern Designer Paper was a perfect fit and grabbed one of the Emerald Envy patterns and one of the Basic Black patterns – I cut those into strips and punched with the Triple Banner Punch. I also cut a strip of Blushing Bride card stock and punch the end of it. I stamped on the card stock with the Pieces & Patterns stamp set. I also grabbed little bits of ribbon in the coordinating colors – Emerald Envy Crinkled Seam Binding, Blushing Bride Double-Stitched Ribbon and some Black Mini Sequin Trim. I stapled all those together at the top of my bag.
To finish the tag I stamped a bunch of the bears on Watercolor Paper and water-colored them in with some Sahara Sand ink. Then I fussy cut the bear and attached him with a mini Stampin’ Dimensional.
Aspen was helping with the bears!
Not really he was just sleeping next to me and I wondered how many bears I could lay on him before he noticed. The answer is 6 – just 6. Then he looked up at me like what is going on here.
I love fun pencils and have lots of different ones. I pretty much write everything in pencil – because then I can erase mistakes or when things change. My calendar would be a mess if I didn’t write things in pencil. Do you use a pencil or mostly write with a pen?
Have a great day!
