Card Making Monday : Happy Birthday

One of my favorite card makers is JJ Bolton. I'm constantly inspired by her great ideas, and this card is no exception. For today's post, I created a card using her rings of gold as inspiration. 

The rings were cut from gold, pink, and dark blue cardstock using the Paper Smooches Rainbow die. I started with the two largest pieces, adhering them in place to create a full circle. It was easy to fit the smaller pieces into place from there. I made sure none of the seams connected to create a graphic element. To finish the card, I heat embossed the sentiment in gold and added a few pearls.

This experiment has me looking at dies in a new way. Who would have thought this card was created with a rainbow die?! 

SUPPLIES :: Paper Cut Cardstock / Melissa Frances White Pearls / Hero Arts Stamp Set / Ranger Princess Gold Embossing Powder / VersaMark Watermark / Paper Smooches Rainbow Die

Card Making Monday: Artful Backgrounds

Hello! I took a month-long break from crafting to focus on some personal, home, and work related items...  But now I'm back in the studio and couldn't be happier. I got my hands on a few new stencils and a container of embossing paste, the latter I may need an intervention from. I can't stop using this stuff! Here's what I ended up creating this morning... 

To create the background, I started with a few Distress Ink Pads. The ink color was added directly to a craft sheet and misted with water. Next, I dragged and dropped a piece of watercolor paper through the ink. This is one of my favorite faux watercolor techniques. I used a heat tool on a low setting to dry between layers of ink until I had a background I preferred. 

After that, I sloppily added a thin layer of white embossing paste with the help of a palette knife and stencil. I really wanted this card to be a mess of art supplies, and I think I got it! 

I had planned to cut down this piece but decided in the end to make it the entire card background. That texture is just to die for! Two strips of cardstock and a stamped image from Hero Arts completed the card. 

So much fun! It's great to be back. 

SUPPLIES :: Paper Cut Cardstock & Watercolor Paper / Distress Inks (Scattered Straw, Fired Brick, Broken China) / Dreamweaver Embossing Paste / Judikins Stencil / Hero Arts Clear Stamps / VersaFine (Onyx Black)

TOOLS :: Palette Knife / Painter's Tape / Inkssentials Craft Sheet / Heat Tool

Sketch It Saturday :: Let It Snow

Happy Saturday! It's time to show off a new sketch from Unscripted Sketches. We've put together some great inspiration for you, so grab your supplies and create something using this sketch as a starting point! 

I was excited about the possibilities that this sketch holds and will probably make a few card variations after today. I can't wait to see what you all come up with. Make sure you head to Unscripted Sketches to link up your project before next Saturday! Here's the card I created for today's challenge:

How beautiful is the background for this card? It's the new Snowflake Background Set from Hero Arts & Sizzix. You first stamp the background stamp from Hero Arts onto cardstock. Next, place the cardstock into the matching embossing folder from Sizzix, creating a crisp image on top of the embossed design. I'm loving these sets! 

I stamped a snowflake a few times onto the white oval with a light blue chalk ink that appears on the grey side. Both ovals were cut using a Spellbinders die. I added the silver ribbon between the two layers and adhered the white oval with foam risers. An elegant pearl completes the card. 

It's December 1st, and it's time for the snow to start falling here in Wisconsin. Sadly, they're predicting another warm winter. I'll keep on crafting with snowflakes in mind. Have a wonderful weekend!

 CARD SUPPLIES
Cardstock: Paper Cut (Pewter, Bamboo Bark, White), We R Memory Keepers (Winter)
Dies: Spellbinders (Classic Oval Small, Lacey Ovals)
Inks: StazOn (Jet Black), Encore (Silver), Versamagic (Aspen Mist)
Embossing Folder/Stamp: Sizzix/Hero Arts (Snowflake Background Set)
Stamps: Just Rite (Large Fancy Holiday Sentiments)
Bling: Melissa Francis (Cream Pearl)

Sketch It Saturdays: Trailblazer

Good morning, and welcome to another Sketch It Saturday with Unscripted Sketches. I'm so happy you've stopped by. Let's take a look at this week's sketch:

Flip it, rotate it, change the shape... Create any card, layout, or other project using this sketch as inspiration, and link up with us at Unscripted Sketches before next week! Here's my take on the sketch:

Don't forget to beautify the inside:

Head over to Unscripted Sketches to see what the rest of our Design Team created!

CARD SUPPLIES

Cardstock: American Crafts

Stamps: Hero Arts (Past Times)

Inks: Memento (Tuxedo Black)

Twill: Creative Imaginations

Sunday Sneak Peek

Here's a little sneak peek at the three cards I designed as Make N Takes for Creations Galore this week.

Stamps: Unity Stamp Company

Inks: Versacraft, Adirondack

Paper: We R Memory Keepers, Paper Cut

Stamps: We R Memory Keepers

Inks: Adirondack, Memento

Paper: Bazzill Bling, Paper Cut

Inside: "have a holly, jolly Christmas."

Stamps: Hero Arts, Peachy Keen Stamps

Inks: Versamark Watermark, Memento

Embossing Powder: Ranger Antiquities

Paper & Vellum: Paper Cut

Star Brads: Gary Berlin