Wednesday, April 25, 2018

Deep Red Stamps White Rabbit, Xyron, and Graphic 45 Card

Hallowe'en in Wonderland, White Rabbit Pop-up Birthday Card

Today's card is a collaboration with Deep Red Stamps and Xyron. Deep Red Stamps sent the Xyron Design Team a few stamps to play with (I received 3). I fell in love with the quirky White Rabbit. I had some papers that would go perfectly with the image - Graphic 45's Hallowe'en in Wonderland! It features almost the exact same rabbit (his clothes have a different design but it's basically the same bunny). Although the papers are for Halloween, I worked around the pumpkins, Alice dressed as a witch, and other like themed papers. Note: the papers have been discontinued, although they may reprint then for Halloween - typically these are limited release items. You can use their other papers for a similar look. Deep Red Stamps also has a White Rabbit Late stamp that could be incorporated into a design.

I decided to make a belated birthday card, referring to the "I'm late!" rabbit quotes (see short video below). For my pop up cake, I decided to add an eclectic mix of papers (see what I did there?) with Karen Burniston's Cake Pop-up dies.


Affiliate links may be included in this post. I participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, Share a Sale, and other affiliate programs; these affiliate advertising programs provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and/or other affiliated sites at no cost to you. This helps offset a small portion of my crafting addiction... uh, hobby. I am truly thankful for your kind support! I also receive free products from my design team companies. Regardless, all opinions are my own. I do not get paid for my posts unless otherwise specified. Cookies may be used on this site. See notice at bottom of blog for a longer description.

Alice in Wonderland, White Rabbit Pop-up Belated Birthday Card

Making the Card

1. Cut black cardstock 7x10 inches; fold in half to form a 5x7 inch top folding card base.

2. From Hallowe'en in Wonderland: cut purple/black striped patterned paper 4 3/4 x 6 3/4 inches and 3 1/2 x 6 3/4 inches (put aside the former for inside of the card - you will actually use the hat side). Cut aorund black background "Keep Your Appointments" label. Find sheet with vertical strip of cards, cut off White Rabbit and Mad Hatter cards - but don't cut them apart. Find green sheet with running rabbit and watch (Alice is on ends of the strip) - trim that section down leaving enough to go under other element (see top front of card). For inside the card: find sheet with various horizontal strips; cut off top green strip then cut 6 1/2 across by just less than 4 3/4 (to leave room for the inside fold) - trimming off everything below the purple hats, see photo of inside card above - top area. Add stickers inside label areas (I put "You're LATE!" and the teapot/cups in one label and "A TEA PARTY" in the other - trimming off extra overhang from behind with detail scissors). Die cut 2 long scalloped pieces (Cake Pop-up) from blue keyhole patterned paper. Set aside the inside card elements for now.

Alice in Wonderland, White Rabbit Pop-up Card

3. From Rare Oddities: find the red/orange paper, and die cut two sets of hearts (Cake Trims) nearest the top. Stamp Quantum Background on bottom half in Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I recommend using a Stamp Platform or Stamp Positioner. Trim down. From cream paper cut 3 1/2 x 6 inches. Stamp White Rabbit on right side in Black Soot Distress Ink (you could use Memento Tuxedo Black if desired - I wanted a more sketchy look for the inside); set aside for inside of card. On extra piece of cream paper, stamp White Rabbit in Memento Tuxedo Black ink. From green paper, die cut two sets of banners (Cake Trims) and Happy Birthday. From black paper, die cut a set of bows (Cake Trims) and Happy Birthday.


4. Color White Rabbit stamped in Memento with Copic Markers. The colors I used are listed under Supplies. Trim around rabbit using detail scissors.

5. Add adhesive to elements for card front (green running rabbit/watch, Keep Your Appointments label, 3 1/2 x 6 3/4 inch purple/black stripe, Quantum Background, both Happy Birthdays) using  Xyron 9" Creative Station with Permanent Adhesive. Adhere purple/black striped piece to bottom leaving 1/8 inch around edges, then Quantum Background about 1 1/4 inches from left side of card, just lower than purple/black stripe piece (leaving about 1/16 inch from bottom of card). Adhere green running rabbit/watch at top, about 1/8 inch from edge, leaving room for Keeping Your Appointments label on right (rabbit's right ear will be about 2 inches from left side of card). Adhere Keeping Your Appointments label at top right, leaving 1/16 inch from edge of card.



6. Run heart strands, at least one heart from the inside, blue scallops, green banners, and black bows (4) through 1.5" Create-a-Sticker (see photo below video). Adhere green banner to front of card where shown. Add bows as shown. Create dimensional tape as in video below and use it to adhere cards and colored White Rabbit as shown. Optional: trim any card parts that are sticking off card, from the back side, using detail scissors. Adhere heart in bottom right corner. Adhere chipboard watch over rabbit's watch (Hallowe'en in Wonderland).


Adding Adhesive to inside card elements - showing cake assembled (step 8)
7. For the inside of the card, trim a little from the purple/black hats piece you set aside in step 2 (the other side has purple/black stripes) - just a small amount off of the 4 3/4 inch dimension to accommodate the fold. Use a 1/4" corner rounder to round the two corners on the rabbit side of the cream paper stamped piece. Use Xyron 9" Creative Station with Permanent Adhesive to add adhesive to pieces for inside of card. Adhere piece with horizontal strips (step 2) to top of card leaving 1/4 inch border around sides and top (should be small space near fold). Adhere hats piece as shown leaving 1/4 inch border around bottom and sides (should be small space near fold). Adhere stamped piece where shown.


8. Using the Cake Pop-up dies and the Hallowe'en in Wonderland papers, use the small cake die to cut 2 from the blue/black keyhole paper, medium die to cut 2 from purple/black striped paper, and large die to cut 2 from the green/black teacup paper. Watch the video below the photos for cake assembly (finish reading this paragraph first so you will know what to use for decorating). For adhesive on most of the tabs, rather than using liquid glue I placed a couple small release sheets on the side and under the tab then used my Mega Runner on the tab. The adhesive is very strong; this way you do not have to wait for glue to dry - just press and it sticks. See photos below. If adhesive gets on craft mat, just roll off with your finger. Decorate cake with red/orange heart strands (bottom tier), green banners (middle tier), two black bows (one on front, one on back) top tier, and cards at top (see step 9). Use blue scallops to decorate bottom once cake has been adhered inside of card.





9. From the strip with small cards (Hallowe'en in Wonderland), cut the triple with Mad Hatter as well as the single Queen of Hearts card. Trim down the left card in the triplet so it won't show when Queen of Hearts is adhered over it. Using edge of blending tool foam, lightly ink edges with Black Soot Distress Ink. Adhere Queen of Hearts card overlapping Mad Hatter card; important: the bottom must be about 1 inch wide - if too wide, it won't fit inside top of cake when birthday card is folded.


10. Adhere green Happy Birthday to black Happy Birthday (steps 3 and 5), slightly offset - I recommend doing this starting from one side, moving one or two letters at a time. Adhere to card where shown. If any extra adhesive, use an Adhesive Eraser - it easily picks it up. Use dimensional tape (step 6) on the back of red/orange letter stickers (Hallowe'en in Wonderland) to add "belated" in the middle of Happy Birthday. Adhere heart chain where shown (bottom left).

Alice in Wonderland White Rabbit Pop-up Belated Birthday Card

Xyron, Deep Red Stamps, Karen Burniston pop-up dies, and Graphic 45

Supplies
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Wednesday, April 18, 2018

My Perfect Buddy Card Colored with Arteza Watercolor Pencils


Here's another sweet image by Dreamerland Crafts. I found an interesting quote in one of my paper pads that I thought would be kind of cool with this image. Since the paper is green, I decided to use complimentary colors (red/green). This could be used as a holiday greeting card or just a winter greeting.

Arteza Watercolor Pencils and Paper

To color the image, I wanted to try my new Arteza Watercolor Pencils and Paper. When I swatched the colors, they were nicely pigmented and dissolved pretty well with water. The swatches were on a different watercolor paper; this was my first use with Arteza's paper. Unfortunately the Arteza combination proved to be a bad one. Despite appearances, it was very difficult to use the watercolor pencils with water on this paper. It seems to have too much sizing - the pigments lifted too easily; glazing (layering), even on completely dry paint, just reactivated the first layer and moved it around, often down to the white of the paper.

Using the pencils on wet did not work at all - it basically scraped the wet pigment off the paper instead of depositing more. The only way I could get this to work was by coloring an area completely (including shade and highlight colors), using water in a gentle circular motion over the entire area, waiting for it to dry, then finally going over it with the pencils again - using them more like colored pencils instead of watercolor pencils. Often I had to burnish areas to get enough contrast. The pencils seem waxy when both wet or dry. I tried a few colors on a scrap of another type of watercolor paper, wetted them, let them dry, then tried glazing; this seemed to work a bit better but still had some of the same issues. I still have to do more testing with other types of paper to see if performance will improve. I certainly agree with the "Expert" designation on these watercolor pencils in that it will take an expert to get them to work with this combination.

Affiliate links may be included in this post. I participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, Share a Sale, and other affiliate programs; these affiliate advertising programs provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and/or other affiliated sites at no cost to you. This helps offset a small portion of my crafting addiction... uh, hobby. I am truly thankful for your kind support! I also receive free products from my design team companies. Regardless, all opinions are my own. I do not get paid for my posts unless otherwise specified. Cookies may be used on this site. See notice at bottom of blog for a longer description.

Making the Card

1. Stamp image in Ranger Archival Jet Black Ink (or other waterproof ink) on Arteza Watercolor Paper (at least 4x5 inches, i.e. leave plenty of room for die cutting). I recommend using a Stamp Platform or Stamp Positioner due to the texture of the paper (in case you need to stamp again). You may need to heat set the ink before continuing. Add a line indicating the ground with Black Copic Multiliner .5.

2. Color the image with Arteza Watercolor Pencils. The best way to do this is in sections - color a full section, including shading and highlighting colors. Apply water a little at a time in small circular motions. Let dry then add more pencil as needed (likely the dark areas will need more pigment to give the image enough contrast). See below Supplies for a list of colors I used.

3. Die cut image with Cross-Stitched Oval die. Die cut red cardstock with next size up die.

4. Cut green cardstock 7x10 inches; fold in half to form a 5x7 inch card base. Cut red cardstock 4 3/4 x 6 3/4 inches. Run red cardstock, watercolored image, and red die cut cross-stitched oval through Xyron 9" Creative Station with permanent adhesive. Rub around edges. Adhere red cardstock to card base and watercolored image to red cross-stitched oval (set aside the latter).

5. Find green watercolor looking patterned paper with quote "everything you can IMAGINE is real" (Artist Paper Pix, Paper House). Measure the amount of space on each side of quote to the edge of the paper. Mine was 1/4 inch larger on the right side - I wanted the quote centered so I trimmed 9/16 of an inch from the left and 13/16 of an inch off the right side, leaving 1/16 inch border. Trim off white at top of paper.


6. Die cut Scrollwork from green cardstock (note: the die was discontinued, but Royal Swirls looks like it is similar; you could also use a decorative edge punch or other decorative edge die). Trim left side with rounded edge; on right side cut off furthest bit, rounding the element as best as possible (see photo). Check that nothing sticks out from behind top of patterned paper from step 5. You might want to tack patterned paper onto card with removable tape while you get the design lined up as desired. Run through 1.5" Create-a-Sticker, rub around design, adhere to card where shown. Take off removable tape from patterned paper if you used it; apply Mega Runner adhesive to back of patterned paper and adhere to front of card.

7. Adhere cross-stitched red bordered watercolored image where shown. From green cardstock, die cut smallest bow plus associated small rectangle (I used the old die Bow Tied, the new release is Thinlits Bows). Curl back bowed out areas using a watercolor brush handle or pen (something round and smooth). Fold tails forward. Hold tails in place and use Tiny Attacher to secure bow. Adhere small rectangle over staple (it should fit perfectly over it). Adhere to card where shown.

8. From My Perfect Buddy Stamps & Dies, stamp small and large hearts on red cardstock in Jet Black Archival Ink. Die cut and adhere where shown.

9. Apply Holly Stickles to green swirls on green die cut as desired.


Supplies
Arteza Watercolor Pencil Colors Used:Basil A093, Emerald A094, Sage A098, Matcha A006, Pink Macaroon A083, Apricot A034, Burnt Ochre A113, Blood Orange A073, Rose Red A001, Garnet A027, Space Grey A047, Cinnamon A027, Cocoa A027, Camel A110, Elephant Grey A035, Noir A012, Indigo A007

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Wednesday, April 11, 2018

Beach Birthday Card with Xyron & Paper House


This project is a collaboration between Xyron and Paper House. The Xyron Design Team members were each sent a pad of 12x12 paper (including stickers!) plus a couple rolls of washi tape from Paper House. I chose the Sun Drenched pad because it is so colorful, and I'm dreaming of summer (hoping for warm weather soon)!

When I saw the pad of paper, I had the perfect dies in mind: Karen Burniston recently released the Palm Tree Pop-up as well as some other ocean themed dies. I love how fun this card is!

Xyron & Paper House Birthday Card, Karen Burniston Palm Tree Pop-up

Affiliate links may be included in this post. I participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, Share a Sale, and other affiliate programs; these affiliate advertising programs provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and/or other affiliated sites at no cost to you. This helps offset a small portion of my crafting addiction... uh, hobby. I am truly thankful for your kind support! I also receive free products from my design team companies. Regardless, all opinions are my own. I do not get paid for my posts unless otherwise specified. Cookies may be used on this site. See notice at bottom of blog for a longer description.

Making the Card

1. Cut dark brown cardstock 7 x 10 inches; fold in half to form a 5 x 7 inch top folding card. Cut black cardstock 4 1/2 x 6 1/2 inches. Cut 2 3/4 inches off bottom of sunset patterned paper (Sun Drenched, Paper House) then cut 4 1/4 x 6 1/4 inches horizontally from left bottom corner.

2. To create palm tree/hill silhouette, die cut black cardstock with palm tree hill top die (Tropical Scene dies) with about 3/4" from the bottom, on the left (i.e. enough to cover the island printed on the patterned paper). Extend the cut with the hills die without trees (hint: I used a black fine tipped Sharpie to mark where the blade is located to make it easier to line up). Use scissors if it doesn't cut perfectly. From black cardstock, also cut the tops of 3 palm trees. Trim middle section in a V to make birds; trim one smaller by cutting off part of the "wings."


3. Die cut Happy Birthday from white glitter cardstock. Carefully cut words apart following the curve of the letters.


4. Put all pieces (but not card base!) into Creative Station with permanent adhesive. Rub around all pieces before pulling off cellophane - I recommend cutting the pieces apart first. When removing, pull the backing sheet away from cardstock/paper to keep them from bending. Adhere black cardstock to card base, then sunset patterned paper, then black silhouette hill and palm trees (over the one pictured on the sunset paper). Add a strip of shell washi tape to the bottom as shown. Optional: add stickers shells (Sun Drenched, Paper House) where shown.


Cut pieces apart; pull backing away from cardstock/paper to avoid bending
5. Put birds into 1.5" Create-a-Sticker; rub around edges of birds. Color "Happy" and "Birthday" with alcohol markers (see Supplies for a list of markers I used). Gently blend with colorless blender (note: if you rub too much, the alcohol may dissolve the glue, depending on the glitter cardstock used). Adhere "Happy" to card where shown (save "Birthday" for inside of card). Adhere birds to card where shown (see final image).



6. For the inside of the card, first cut the pieces of paper to line the inside. Reinforce the paper by lining it with black cardstock such that the black will form a border around the card, excluding the inside fold area. To do this, find the sand image paper (Sun Drenched, Paper House) with the wave/sea foam at the top. Trim the right side of the piece 6 1/2 inches from the right edge. Trim up from the bottom (i.e. the side without wave) 4 3/4 inches. Repeat from the bottom of the larger piece 4 3/4 inches, trimming off most of the wave. You should have two pieces 4 3/4 x 6 1/2 inches. Cut two pieces of black cardstock 6 3/4 x 4 7/8 inches (hint: if you have a piece of 8 1/2 x 11 inch cardstock, first cut 6 3/4 inches down the length of the paper - so you have a long piece - then cut two pieces from that at 4 7/8 inches each). Put the sand pieces (not the black) through the Xyron Creative Station with permanent adhesive. Attach each to a piece of black cardstock such that the long edge matches up with one of the long sides on the black - this will eventually be towards the fold; for the piece with the wave on the corner, match the opposite side to the black edge. See photo below - the edge towards the fold is flush with the black (sorry it is difficult to see - there is no black between the fold and the sand edge). Important: do not run black pieces through Xyron or attach to card yet! Trim a very small amount (< 1/16 inch) from the edges without the borders in order to accommodate the fold.

Adhere sand pieces to black but do not adhere the black yet; they will first be placed only temporarily inside the card.
7. Find the paper with the water and yellow-green sky (Sun Drenched, Paper House). Cut 6 1/2 inches from the right side. Use wave die (Tropical Scene) to cut across the light wave area (I angled the die to match the light area) - the stitched line will be towards the bottom of the page. You will need to extend the cut like you did with the palm tree hill by marking the die (black fine tipped Sharpie) and continuing to cut along the light area (use scissors if it doesn't cut perfectly). Once you have the wave piece, cut off about 2 1/2 inches from the bottom on the right side, leaving 1 1/2 or so inches measuring from the bottom to the wave on the right side; set aside for a moment. Next, cut about 3 inches off the leftover sand piece (by about 5 1/2 inches wide). Cut black cardstock the same size or a little larger. Put the wave and the sand into the Xyron Creative Station. Adhere the sand to black cardstock (you will cut the palm tree bases from this); adhere the wave to the bottom of the piece from step 6, covering the printed wave, so it lines up with the the edges.

Wave piece going into Xyron. Sand piece adhered to black cardstock; palm tree base die pictured, ready to die cut
8. Watch the following assembly video but don't assemble yet. Cut the pieces as described below the video then watch it again while you assemble. Use the Xyron Mega Runner to secure the die cut sand/black border pieces in the card as shown in video; use the Xyron 1.5" Create-a-Sticker for adhesive on coconuts and turtle shell pieces.


Using the Palm Tree Pop-up and Sea Animals dies, die cut the following then shade (described in steps below):
  • Light brown cardstock: cut 2 sets of pop up tree trunks, 2 smaller tree trunks, 1 turtle shell
  • Dark brown cardstock: cut 3 sets of coconuts (9 total), 1 turtle shell detail
  • Green cardstock: 2 sets of large tree tops, 2 small tree tops, 1 turtle
  • Salmon cardstock: 1 crab
  • Black cardstock: 1 oval piece for behind crab's eyes
  • Sand with black cardstock backing (from step 7): 2 tree bases (strips with 4 holes)


Use blending tool and Walnut Stain Distress Ink to shade and stencil (using dies) palm tree trunks. Use Twisted Citron Distress Oxide ink to add highlights to palm tree fronds. Note: Use the Xyron Adhesive Eraser on any extra adhesive, such as removable tape residue used to hold the pieces in place or any stuck around the edges of cardstock or paper.

Xyron & Paper House Birthday Card, Karen Burniston Palm Tree Pop-up

9. Once you have assembled the card as described in the video (minus hammock), add the extra tree as shown. Adhere coconuts as you like. Glue black oval behind crab's eyes and use Black Copic Multiliner .5 to draw through crab die as a stencil for the mouth. Add shading with Barn Door Distress Ink (I applied it with a blending tool). Adhere where shown.

10. Use Bundled Sage Distress Ink to shade turtle body and Walnut Stain to shade main turtle shell. Use Black Copic Multiliner .5 to draw through turtle body die for eyes. Assemble turtle and adhere where shown. Adhere "WARM" "Birthday" and "WISHES" where shown, using stickers from Sun Drenched, Paper House for "WARM" and "WISHES".

Xyron & Paper House Birthday Card, Karen Burniston Palm Tree Pop-up

Supplies
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