Creating a Frame by Masking

Hi friends,

The card I am sharing with you today was inspired by a recent post on the Scrapbook & Cards Today blog where Crystal Thompson created a card with a frame in the middle using a masking technique.

Click here to go to the original blog post and to watch the video.

Here is the card I created using this simple technique.

First, I die cut a frame from the Spellbinders - Labels Eighteen die set out of masking paper by Inkadinkado.

I removed the backing from the masking paper and centered it on a white A2 sized card base.

Next, I stamped and white heat embossed the Flourish Background Stamp by Simon Says Stamp.

Using a Life Changing Brush by Picket Fence Studios, I applied Antique Linen, Bundled Sage and Stormy Sky distress inks.

Once I was happy with my blending, I removed the mask. I now had a nice, white framed area to place my sentiment in.

I die cut the I Adore You die by Simon Says Stamp from Lawn Fawn Chocolate Bar cardstock. I did this three times. I stacked the sentiments by gluing them one on top of the other to give it a raised, dimensional look. I then glued the sentiment in the centre of my frame.

I cut out a second sentiment from the Simon Says Stamp Sentiment Strips sheet and popped it up with foam tape overlapping the "y" in "you".

To finish off the card, I added some Pretty Pink Posh Metallic Gold Jewels.

I hope you give this simple technique a try. Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!

Quick and Easy Easter Cards

Hi friends,

Happy Easter! I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend. :)

Today I'm sharing two clean and simple cards I created using the lovely Simon Says Stamp Outline Floral Cross die. This die is definitely the star of the show and not much more embellishing is required.

I used patterned papers from Lawn Fawn's Spring Fling 6x6 paper pad for my card base on both cards. On the blue card, I dry embossed the Sunrise Radiating Rays Stencil by My Favorite Things onto the white panel. Then I trimmed the panel using the Lawn Fawn Small Stitched Rectangle Stackables die.

I die cut the floral cross out of Hero Arts glitter cardstock and glued it to the center of my card panel. I stamped and heat embossed a sentiment from the Simon Says Stamp Tiny Words Faith stamp set.

I adhered the panel onto fun foam and glued the panel onto the card base. For a finishing touch I added some Fashion Silver dots by Fun Stampers Journey.

For my second card, I followed the same steps except I left the white card panel plain this time and I used gold glitter cardstock by Simon Says Stamp to die cut the floral cross.

To finish off the card, I added Fashion Gold dots by Fun Stampers Journey. These two cards came together super quick thanks to that beautiful floral cross die.

Thank you for stopping by. As always, if you have any questions I'd be happy to help. Just leave me a comment below.

Have a wonderful day and Happy Easter!

Dotted Blooms in 3 Ways for Scrapbook Nerd

Hello friends!

Today's card projects are all about getting the most out of your stamps. Using the beautiful Dotted Blooms stamp set by Altenew, I created three cards in three different ways . Stamps and dies are a big investment so before I purchase them I'm very thoughtful about how much use I will get out of them and how many different ways I can create with it. Floral stamps that come with a variety of sentiments like the Dotted Blooms set fits the bill perfectly!

Die-Cut

My first example is the easiest and most common way to use your stamps/dies. I simply stamped the image and then used the coordinating die to cut it out. I then adhered the image to a card panel and glued the panel onto an A2 sized card base. I stamped and heat embossed a sentiment onto black cardstock and adhered it with foam tape across the flower stem. To finish off the card I added some Blush Jewels from Pretty Pink Posh.

Building a Background

In my next example, I created a background by stamping the floral in multiple areas of my cardstock panel using Lawn Fawn Mermaid ink. I heat embossed a sentiment onto vellum and wrapped the vellum strip around the panel and adhered it to the back. The sentiment is from the Altenew Build-a-Flower: Magnolia stamp set. I glued fun foam onto the back of my panel and adhered it to the A2 sized cardbase. I finished off the card with some pearls which gave this wedding card a classic look.

Set Back Stamping

In my final example, I cut two pieces of cardstock in the same size, a white one and a peach one. Using my MISTI tool, I stamped the floral image in the bottom left corner of the white cardstock first then embossed it in gold. Then, without removing the stamps, I switched out the white cardstock for the peach cardstock and stamped the image in the exact same spot. I then followed the same process again, but this time rotating the cardstock so the image could be stamped in the upper right corner of the card.

I aligned the coordinating dies over the stamped images on the peach cardstock and die-cut them out, which left me with a "window" where the images were. I then added foam tape to the back of it and adhered it over the stamped images on the white cardstock. This technique allows for the stamping to be set back a bit which gives it a really cool look. This video by Jennifer McGuire explains it all perfectly.

Finally, I heat embossed the sentiment, adhered it to the front of my card over a small piece of Altenew gold washi tape. A few white iridescent sequins were added to complete the card.

And that completes my card projects for today. I hope that these techniques will help you stretch your supplies by using them in different ways.

Remember to stop by the Scrapbook Nerd shop where you can find the Dotted Blooms stamp and die set in stock right now.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you have an amazing day! :)

Love You Always & Forever (Emboss Resist w/Distress Oxide)

Hi friends!

Today I'm sharing a simple card that took very little time to create. It features the lovely Simon Says Stamp Pretty Peonies background stamp, CZ Design Love You die, and a simple emboss resist technique using Distress Oxide inks.

I started by cutting a 4" x 5.25" panel from Neenah 80 lb Classic Crest Solar White cardstock. I positioned my background stamp in my MISTI tool, applied an anti-static powder bag to the cardstock panel to remove the static and stamped the background using Versamark ink. I then sprinkled Brutus Monroe Alabaster White embossing powder over the entire panel, shook off the excess, and heat set it with my heat tool.

Next, I went to work on the oxide ink blending. Starting in the upper left corner, I blended Festive Berries using the Picket Fence Studio Life Changing Brush. Then I went in with Worn Lipstick in the middle, using a lighter hand so as to keep it a bit lighter. Lastly I applied Candied Apple to the lower left corner. I went back in again to blend the colours together until there was a seamless blend.

The cool thing about applying ink over top of the embossing, is that the embossing resists the ink. The ink will just sit on top of the embossing. To remove the residual ink, I simply used a paper towel and wiped the panel.

Next, I die cut the Love You die from Simon Says Stamp glitter cardstock and the shadow die from Lawn Fawn Fog cardstock and adhered the two together.

I stamped and heat embossed the "Always & Forever" sentiment from the CZ Design Simple Sentiments No. 2 stamp set onto black cardstock and die cut it using the smallest of my Lawn Fawn Everyday Sentiment Banners.

I adhered both pieces to the card panel using my Lawn Fawn Glue Tube. I glued the panel onto an A2 sized card base also from Lawn Fawn Fog cardstock. As a finishing touch, I added some Studio Katia clear drops.

And that's my finished project! I love how quickly this card came together. I hope you give this technique a try. If you have any questions, feel free to leave me a comment below.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you're having a great day!

Colour Challenge Card Project for Scrapbook Nerd

Hello friends!

I'm back with another Scrapbook Nerd Design Team project. This week the DT was challenged to create their projects based on the following colour board:

I absolutely love this colour combo and decided to pull out my Pinkfresh Studio Liquid Watercolours to create my cards.

This method of watercolouring with liquids is new to me. So I went on YouTube and watched a few tutorials and then practiced a little bit before diving into my cards. I definitely feel like I still need a lot more practice but learning is part of the process which I enjoy.

To be honest, I much prefer the way my first card turned out. I used two different methods of watercolouring on each card. On the first, I brushed a lot of water onto the watercolour paper first and then dipped my wet paint brush in the colours, and one by one I just dropped the colour down and watched it swirl and kind of do it's own thing. To me, this method makes the painting look more fluid and natural.

In the second card, I didn't wet my watercolour paper. Instead, I just dipped my wet (flat) brush in the colours and painted some stripes. This resulted in a much more pigmented colour, which I like, but it also left behind some harsher lines. I'm sure I could've done a better job of blending them, but with more practice I'm sure I'll get it right.

 

Both my cards use the following Pinkfresh Studio Liquid Watercolours; Bubble Gum, Sunshine, Clementine and Sky Blue.

Once the watercolour paper was dry, I die cut it using the Altenew Floral Heart Frame die. This die is very delicate with a lot of tiny pieces. Because the watercolour paper I used is very thick (140 lb.) normally I'd have to use a shim and make several passes on my die cutting machine. But for this card, I wanted to keep all those little bitty pieces together, so I only passed it through twice, just enough so that just the outside frame would cut completely through. To add some shimmer to the heart, I sprayed it with Therm-o-web Glitter Dust.

Next, I trimmed some white cardstock to 4" x 5.25" and dry embossed the Altenew Elegant Swirls Stencil onto the panel. I adhered the panel onto a 4.25" x 5.5" card base, Lawn Fawn No. 2 Pencil cardstock found in the Schoolyard pack.

I adhered the heart to the dry embossed panel using 3D foam adhesive. I stamped the "I'm here for you" sentiment from the Altenew Dotted Blooms stamp set using Versamark Ink onto black cardstock and heat embossed it with Brutus Monroe White Alabaster embossing powder. I glued the sentiment over the heart. For some bling, I added some sequins from the Studio Katia Happy Mix and that completes my first card.

My second card uses the same Floral Heart Frame Die but this time I die cut it three times, popped out the tiny bits and pieces on each and every one and glued all three together to create some dimension. As I mentioned before, the die is very delicate so care and patience is needed to make sure all the pieces line up and don't tear in the process. To add some shimmer to the heart, I sprayed it with Therm-o-web Glitter Dust.

I created the panel using the Altenew Dotted Scales Debossing Cover die. To create the heart opening, I die cut another Floral Heart Frame out of the panel. I adhered the panel over the watercoloured paper and then glued the panel to an A2 sized cardbase made from pink Bazzill cardstock. I used Elmer's Spray Adhesive on the back of the Floral Heart Frame and adhered it inside the heart opening on the panel.

I stamped and white heat embossed a sentiment from the My Favorite Things Sassy Pants Love stamp set and adhered it across the middle of the heart. I used the Sky Blue PFS liquid watercolour to add splatters to the front of my card. All that was left to do was to add some bling from Lucy's Cards Mini Mix as the finishing touch.

To purchase any of the products I used in these card projects, please stop by the Scrapbook Nerd online store. There are so many goodies coming in to the store every day!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great day! :)

Floral Cards using Art Crayons Created for Scrapbook Nerd

Hi friends,

Today I'm sharing two colourful card projects featuring the new Vicki Boutin - Colour Kaleidoscope - So Fun Stamp & Die Set and Vicki Boutin - Colour Kaleidoscope - Botanical Stencils.

When it comes to watercolouring I have very little confidence in my skills but I'm happy to keep practicing and eventually (hopefully) I'll get better at it. I usually watercolour with my Zig Clean Colour Real Brush markers. I find I have a lot of control with them. But for these cards I decided I wanted to try Vicki Boutin's art crayons instead.

My first step was to create my background from Neenah Smooth Solar White 80 lb cardstock. Using one of the stencils that came in the pack, I scribbled an art crayon on a plastic sheet and used my Vicki Boutin Stencil Brush to pick up the dry colour off the sheet. 

Starting in the middle, I applied the colour through the stencil in a circular motion using heavy pressure so that part would be darker. I used a much lighter hand as I moved outward to achieve a light fade, almost fading out to nothing.

Next, I prepped a piece of Strathmore Cold Press Watercolour Paper by rubbing my anti-static powder bag on the paper. The powder bag removes static from the paper which prevents stray embossing powders from sticking to places you don't want which could ruin your project. Using my MISTI tool, I stamped my images using Versafine Onyx Black Ink, poured Ranger Clear Embossing Powder over the images and heat set it to create a beautiful embossed effect.

Now for the fun part. The watercolouring! I scribbled two art crayons on my glass craft mat, sprayed water on them and then swooshed it around with my watercolour brush to give it a good mix. I used two different brushes for each colour. I made sure to use my heat gun to dry the paper in between applications and before starting the next layer. 

Once the images were dry, I used the two coordinating dies that came with the stamp set and die-cut them out. I fussy cut the images that did not have matching dies.

Next, I trimmed the stenciled background panel using the largest of the Lawn Fawn Small Stitched Rectangles Stackables dies. I adhered the panel to an A2 sized card base using cardstock from Stampin' Up called Calypso Coral. I then started placing my images where I thought they would look best without adhering them. I usually do this so that I can figure out where my sentiment is going to go.

I stamped and heat embossed the "love you" sentiment in the bottom left corner, adhered my stamped images using a Lawn Fawn Glue Tube and Scrapbook Adhesives Foam Dots for dimension. I added some Studio Katia Onyx Crystals for some added interest.

And finally, I added some clear Wink of Stella to the flowers to give them some sparkle. And that completes my first card!

My second card uses many of the same techniques as the first card with just a few alterations. For the background I stenciled the entire panel in a left-to-right gradient pattern. I wanted it to look darker on the left side and then fade out on the right.

The flowers were white heat embossed using Versamark Ink and Brutus Monroe White Alabaster embossing powder. I changed up the colours of the flowers and the background, adhered everything to a black A2 sized Bazzill cardstock cardbase. And finally I added Wink of Stella to the flowers and added some Studio Katia Enchanted Sea Fusion Sequins.

I hope these card projects will inspire you to try a technique that may be a little outside your comfort zone like I did. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them below.

And don't forget to stop by the Scrapbook Nerd online store to view all the new Vicki Boutin products.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great day! :)