Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Banner Thank You Card in Blue and Green

This is a thank you card I made for friends who did something nice for me. I used some triangle banner dies and a circle punch to create the banner. The letters were stamped with a inexpensive alphabet set I bought at either Michaels or A.C. Moore (they both sell these occasionally in the dollar bin - I bought a bunch of different ones; they're handy!). Hint: stamp the letters first then use the circle punch upside down to center the letter within the circle before punching. I inked the edges of each circle before mounting them inside the slightly larger circles, punched from colored card stock. These are popped up using foam tape.

I used a couple strips of Washi Tape behind the bow and flowers. I found the buttons in a dollar bin at Michaels - they had a bunch of bright colors.


I described how I colored the Petaloo flowers in a previous blog post - except I put rhinestones in the centers instead of pearls to match the rhinestones in the banner. For the leaves, I used a Sizzix Sizzlits die from the Flowers, Branches, & Leaves set. To color the leaves, I used Tim Holtz Distress Crackle Paint in Peeled Paint. I added water to the Peeled Paint to thin it before painting it on, leaving some of the green card stock to show through. Then I painted on Rock Candy Distress Crackle to give them more crackle and some shine. Finally, I painted on Distress Reinker in spots to give the leaves some shading (I can't remember if I used Crushed Olive or Forest Moss) - it also helped to define the cracks in the paint.


The A7 sized card and envelope were cut using Sizzix Pro Dies.

Coloring Petaloo Flowers with Distress

I absolutely love Petaloo Color Me Crazy Flowers! I usually buy the white mulberry paper layers. These give a nice starting base to my flowers when I don't feel like cutting my own from scratch.

The photos below show how I colored some of the flowers with Ranger products. I like to create my own sprays using Distress Reinkers (not shown), Perfect Pearls, and water in a Mini Mister. I make them up beforehand - and I get several uses out of them. The reinkers have a lot of pigment so only a drop or two will do, depending on how much color you like. Perfect Pearls gives it some sparkle and shine. Alternatively, I may mix in, or paint on later, Winsor & Newton's Iridescent Medium. Be sure to shake the mister bottle each time before spraying; I usually add a small metal bead for mixing.

Another way I color the flowers is by using Distress Stains. First I spray the flowers with some water, then I swipe a selected color of stain across the Craft Sheet and spray some more water in the stain puddle. Finally I just mop up the color with the flower. For a marbled effect, I will use two or three colors swiped near each other on the sheet - they will start to mix slightly when I spray in the extra water.


For added dimension, after drying the flowers - with my heat gun to speed up drying time - I tap some acrylic paint on the top or on the ends of the petals with a dauber, or I paint it in the middle with a brush. The daubers I use are Adirondack Acrylic Paint Daubers by Ranger but you could use any acrylic paint, just dab it on with a sponge applicator instead.

I also add Rock Candy Distress Stickles to some of the flowers - either painted on the petals or just near the center. I add regular Stickles near the center on other flowers for a different look. Once the layers have been glued together (I mostly use Glossy Accents - it dries fast and really sticks), I stick a half-pearl in the middle. I typically buy only the off-white self-adhesive pearls since I can make them almost any color I want using Adironack Alcohol Inks and a Q-Tip. The pearl in the large blue/purple flower was colored this way.

You should be able to find all (or at least most) of these products at your local craft store.


To shape the flowers I use a bone folder (burnishing bone - if you're a framer) to line the petals from the front (some come with lines already) and shape them from the back. Hint: do this on the back of a rubber mouse pad. I also use a die pick for finer lines both on petals and on leaves (not shown). I use the die pick or paint brush handle to roll the petals under slightly, or up as he case may be. You might have to experiment with these techniques to get your desired effect. Look for these flowers on cards in later posts!

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Pink Birdie Birthday Card

This is a card I made for my friend Becky's birthday. I wanted it to have a doodle-like look to it so I used some doodle stamps (I think they are G-Studio clear stamps from Michaels) and colored them in with my Derwent Inktense watercolor pencils (from an online artist supply store). I cut out the notebook paper using my Silhouette and the round holed notebook paper design from their store. The baby bird is from Miss Kate Cuttables (it was originally a freebie but is now $.50), also cut on my Silhouette.


I made the flower using the Spellbinders 3D flower die, Spiral Blossom Two. I inked the edges with Picked Raspberry, Tim Holtz Distress Ink (using a blending tool) then coated it with Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint before rolling it up and glueing it (with Glossy Accents). I wrapped Tickled Pink Trendy Twine around the notebook page and used a couple strips of Washi tape on the top and bottom of it to finish off the card.



The A7 sized card and envelope were cut using Sizzix Pro Dies.

Friday, June 14, 2013

Train Thank You Card

This is a card I made for Alan and Janet Moon for generously hosting The Gathering of Friends each year (for those who are unfamiliar, this is a board gaming convention with about 375 people - quite an undertaking!). Alan is also the designer of Ticket to Ride, as well as many other board games. If you are curious about board gaming, I highly recommend that you click the link and read about this game.

I wanted to personalize a thank you card for him. He likes trains and lives in the New York area so I themed the card around this. The convention was held in April thus the "April 2013" on one of the tickets.



I cut the train using my Silhouette Cameo and an SVG file (not sure where I got this one, sorry!). I love lover love the Silhouette! It is so easy to cut SVG files or any font on your computer - you can even make your own designs. The background clocks (actually pocket watches) were embossed using a Tim Holtz's Texture Fades embossing folder from Sizzix. The New York Central ticket is from Tim Holtz's Visual Artistry, The Journey, set by Stampers Anonymous. Note: I couldn't find where to search on the Stampers Anonymous website and I didn't want to look through all the sets so I put a link to its listing on the Simon Says Stamp website.



The twine is from Annie's Paper Boutique; this one is called Stars & Stripes. I had gone a bit twine crazy and ordered a bunch of different colors. Unfortunately there are more I want... now if I could only find space in which to put them! Be sure to check out the bundles, specials, and limited editions.