Watercolour Poppies One Layer Thank You Card

The Penny Black 'Pop Pop Poppy' stamp is so pretty, I really love the watercolour look.  I don't always want to use watercolour paper though and so I was chuffed to bits to find that the image stamped beautifully onto the front of an ordinary white card blank after being inked and spritzed with water.  I don't make a one layer card very often but I'm really happy with how this turned out.  I think this design would be great for a set of cards using different sentiments and colours.

I stamped the flourish image from the SU! 'Timeless Textures' set as a background in So Saffron ink.  I applied Wild Honey, Worn Lipstick and Peeled Paint Distress Inks to the stamp using sponge daubers, spritzed the stamp with water and stamped onto the card front.  I stamped the sentiment in black ink and the splatters in stamped off once black ink.

Here's a closer look at the stamped image.

I spritzed the stamp again with water (without reinking) and stamped inside and repeated the spritzing and stamping a third time for the envelope.  I love the soft look that the second and third generation stamping gives!

Supplies:
Stamps: Penny Black 'Pop Pop Poppy', Clearly Besotted 'Brushed Greetings II' set, SU! 'Timeless Textures' set
CS: PaperMania white A6 card blank
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Tim Holtz Wild Honey, Worn Lipstick & Peeled Paint Distress Inks, SU! So Saffron
Tools: Sponge daubers, water spritzer bottle

Pink Poppies Thank You Card

My crafting time has increased over the last couple of weeks - woohoo!  One day last week I was determined to spend as much time as I could in my craft room - and more time playing than tidying up!   All I had in mind was to use a stamp I've had for ages and never used, the Penny Black 'Pop Pop Poppy' stamp.  So I got out a pile of scraps and the stamp and experimented using different types of inks, CS and techniques, that took a while but was a thoroughly enjoyable and worthwhile process.  Then I was ready to create something to go on a card.

Inks spritzed with water and stamped on to watercolour paper was my favourite result following my experiments so I went with that technique.  Firstly I applied a watercolour wash of SU! So Saffron ink to a piece of watercolour paper.  I applied Wild Wasabi and Garden Green inks to the leaves and stems on the stamp using markers.  Using a sponge dauber I applied Worn Lipstick Distress Ink to the flowers, spritzed the stamp with water and stamped.  I used a fine black pen to add detail to the centre of the poppies.  I used a few stamps from the SU! 'Timeless Textures' set to add just a touch of grunge to the panel.  I glued on the black die cut border and glued the panel to the front of an A6 white card base.  I used my Dymo label maker to create the sentiment and I added three black metallic nailheads to complete the card front.

I used the same border die I'd used on the card front to embellish the inside and the envelope.  I added a sentiment label on the inside and a name label on the front of the envelope.  

While I had the 'Pop Pop Poppy' stamp still out on my desk I made a second card so I'll be sharing that here soon!  

Supplies:
Stamps: Penny Black 'Pop Pop Poppy', SU! 'Timeless Textures', Hero Arts 'Sending You Love' set
CS: PaperMania A6 white card blank, SU! Basic Black & Whisper White, watercolour paper
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, SU! So Saffron, Soft Suede, SU! Wild Wasabi & Garden Green markers, Tim Holtz Worn Lipstick Distress Ink, black fineliner pen
Tools: Dymo label maker, MFT Die-namics 'Delicate Lace Border' die, Hero Arts Small Tag Frame Framelits die, Spellbinders Shapeabilities 'Fancy Framed Tags Two' die set, water brush, sponge dauber, water spritzer bottle
Embellishments & accessories: black metallic nailheads

Rosy Trio Thank You Card

This is the card I made using the stamp set that came free with issue 149 of Simply Cards & Papercraft magazine.  It's a lovely set designed by AlteNew, so pretty!  I used some other new goodies too - the Tonic Studios 'Tea Party Square Base' die set and the Clearly Besotted 'Brushed Greetings II' sentiment stamp set.  I cut the 'Tea Party' die out of Wild Wasabi CS and popped that up on the front of a 5 3/4" square white card base.  I stamped the rose flowers using Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose and Rose Red inks.  I used Pistachio Pudding, Wild Wasabi and Garden Green inks for the leaves.  I popped up the Rose Red circle and the three roses.  I added three pale green gems to the white circle to complete the card front.

Here's the inside and the envelope with more pretty stamped roses and leaves.  I had a very happy time in my craft room making this card!

Supplies:
Stamps: AlteNew designed rose set free with Simply Cards & Papercraft mag issue 149, Clearly Besotted 'Brushed Greetings II' set
CS: SU! Wild Wasabi, Rose Red & Whisper White (regular & thick)
Ink: SU! Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Rose Red, Pistachio Pudding, Wild Wasabi & Garden Green
Tools: Tonic Studios Indulgence Round Window 'Tea Party Square Base' die set, dies from AlteNew designed rose set free with Simply Cards & Papercraft mag issue 149, circle Nestabilities dies
Embellishments & accessories: PaperMania self adhesive gems, SU! Dimensionals

Fancy Square & Flowers Thanks So Much Card

Every now and again I borrow the SU! 'Greenhouse Garden' stamp set from my friend Jan and get busy with my trusty Stamp-A-Ma-Jig to make pretty two step stamping flowers.  My colour combo is Pink Pirouette, Rose Red, Old Olive and white.  The fancy die cut squares on the card come from the Sue Wilson 'Times Square' die set.  I stamped the leafy stem from the SU! 'Summer Silhouettes' set and the thanks sentiment on the white square and then popped up the three flowers.  The Rose Red fancy square is also popped up.  To complete the front I added some olive Swarovski crystals.

Here's the inside of the card and the envelope.

Multi step stamp sets seem to be really popular at the moment.  These days they're clear stamps so it's a lot quicker and easier without the need for a stamp positioner!  Last month's issue of Simply Cards & Papercraft (issue 149) came with a free multi step rose set with matching die designed by AlteNew.  Being a lover of multi step flower stamps I had to get that - it's a really pretty set.  Stay tuned for a rosy card appearing here on the blog very soon!

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! 'Greenhouse Garden', 'Summer Silhouettes' & 'Simply Sketched' sets
CS: SU! Pink Pirouette, Rose Red, Old Olive & Whisper White
Ink: SU! Pink Pirouette, Rose Red & Old Olive
Tools: Creative Expressions Sue Wilson 'Times Square' die set from the New York collection, circle punches, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig
Embellishments & accessories: Swarovski crystals, SU! Dimensionals

Starry 21st Birthday Card

Nicola, a colleague at Wilko recently celebrated her 21st birthday and I very much enjoyed making two cards for the occasion featuring butterflies and flowers.  No butterflies and flowers allowed on this one as it's for a male, my supervisor David at Wilko.  I opted for a simple black, white and silver colour combo and used the Tonic Studio lattice die again - excellent for those dreaded masculine cards!

I popped up the white lattice shape on top of the 5 3/4" square black card base.  The centre of the lattice has a circle element but I chose to layer a square over the top this time for a change.  I inlaid white die cut '21' numbers into a black square and popped up the black square.  I added a sentiment banner and popped up some silver punched stars.  To finish the front I embellished the lattice with some small black punched circles with silver nailheads adhered on top.

Here's a closer look at the '21' panel.  

Here's the inside of the card and the back of the envelope.

Here's the front of the envelope.

I remember my 21st year very well as it's when I met Owen.  That was 35 years ago - where has all that time gone?!

Supplies:
Stamps: Stampin' Up! 'Itty Bitty Banners' set, Stampendous 'Birthday Wish'
CS: SU!  Basic Black & Whisper White
Patterned paper: DCWV Twinkle Glints Stack
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Tools: Tonic Studio Indulgence Round Window 'Boudoir Square Base' die, Memory Box 'Stitched Square Layers' & 'Surely Stitched Square' dies, star punches, small circle punch
Embellishments & accessories: silver nailheads, 3D foam tape & pads

Ferns Just For You Card

We didn't see our friend Mike on his actual birthday but saw him a few days later so I made a 'Just for You' card rather than a 'Happy Birthday' card for him.  I bought the Tonic Studio 'Boudoir Square Base' die recently and I think it's really versatile, the lattice shape means it can be used for all sorts of cards including those tricky masculine ones!  I also bought the 'Tea Party Square Base' die at the same time and that die is swirly so that's more suited to my favourite floral and butterfly cards!   I haven't used it on a card yet but today is a day off and I'm planning to use it with some rose stamps so I'll share that card soon.

I made a Smoky Slate 5 3/4" square card and popped up the black lattice.  I stamped the Hero Arts 'Three Ferns' stamp in Smoky Slate ink and added some definition to the bottom of the leaves with a Basic Gray marker.  I stamped the ferns again on a separate piece of CS in Smoky Slate ink stamped off once, cut that out with an oval punch, stamped the sentiment, edged the oval with black ink and glued the oval over the top of the original stamped ferns image so that the design matched up.  I popped up the fern stamped circle and added metal gem embellishments to finish the card front.

Here's the inside and the envelope.  I love that ferns stamp, I haven't used it in a while so it was great to get it inky again!

Supplies:
Stamps: Hero Arts 'Three Ferns' & 'Lots of Wonderful', Personal Impressions 'Extra Large Everyday Messages' set
CS: SU! Smoky Slate, Basic Black & Whisper White
Ink: SU! Smoky Slate, Basic Gray marker, Memento Tuxedo Black
Tools: Tonic Studios Indulgence Round Window 'Boudoir Square Base' die, circle Nestabilities dies, circle punches, SU! Large Oval punch, sponge dauber
Embellishments & accessories: Marianne Designs metal adhesive gem, 3D foam tape, Dimensionals

Two Double Z Birthday Cards

Recently I came across this fab double Z card made by Jan Brown and I just had to have a go - I needed birthday cards for Sue and Janet at card group so while I was at it I made two cards.  I love a fancy fold card that's easy and this one is - huge thanks to Jan B for the inspiration and how to video tutorial!

For Sue I made a card featuring lacy patterned paper and an MDF butterfly shape that I'd covered with IndigoBlu Morris Dance gilding flakes.  I decided to go for black as my main colour to better show off the colours on the butterfly.  To make the card base and strip I used my metric ScorPal to make the score lines in exactly the right places - the ScorPal has grooves with special markings so it makes creating cards like these an absolute doddle!

Here's a view from above so you can see how the card is constructed.

Here's a close up of the butterfly with all those gorgeous colours.

Here's the message panel I stamped.  It's a good idea to write on the message panel before you attach the Z strip in place permanently - or glue the panel in place after you've attached the Z strip.

Another view.

Here's the front of the envelope.

Here's the back of the envelope.

For Janet's card I used Sue Wilson peony flower stamps and dies so my design is pretty similar to the card Jan B made using the SU! Flower Shop set.  The card base is made with Mossy Meadow CS and I used Soft Sky and Night of Navy for the flowers.  I stamped the leaves in Mossy Meadow ink onto Pear Pizzazz CS.  

Here's a view of the card closed ready to pop inside the envelope.

Here's the message panel.  I stamped two peonies in stamped off once Soft Sky ink before stamping the sentiment over the top in Night of Navy ink.

Here's the front of the envelope.

Here's the back of the envelope.

I really enjoyed making these and I hope it won't be too long before I make another double Z card!

Supplies for butterfly card:
Stamps: SU! 'Viola's Lace', Penny Black 'Great Day'
CS: SU! Basic Black & Sahara Sand
Patterned paper: Kaisercraft 'Gloss' from All That Glitters collection
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Tools: metric ScorPal, circle punch, Sizzix 'Card, Fancy Frame Flip-Its #2' Framelits die set
Embellishments & accessories: PaperMania Bare Basics MDF butterfly shape, IndigoBlu Morris Dance gilding flakes, Flitter Glu & Scoochy,  large black gems

Supplies for peonies card:
Stamps: Sue Wilson 'Shaded Peony' stamp set, 'Have a wonderful day' from Hero Arts
CS: SU! Mossy Meadow, Pear Pizzazz, Soft Sky, Night of Navy & Whisper White
Patterned paper: SU! 'Season of Cheer' DSP
Ink: SU! Soft Sky & Night of Navy
Tools: Sue Wilson 'Perfect Peony Complete Petals' die set, metric ScorPal, Sizzix 'Card, Fancy Frame Flip-Its #2'  Framelits die set
Embellishments & accessories: SU! rhinestone jewels, Dimensionals

May 2016 Card Group Projects

This afternoon we got together for our May card group meeting.  I can't believe we're in May already, this year seems to be hurtling by!  We had two birthday girls this month and they both bought home made cakes for us to enjoy with our cuppas.  Janet made simnel cupcakes and Sue made a chocolate traybake and both were very scrummy indeed!

The first card was CASEd from this design by Julie Davison, I really liked Julie's method of making a pop up card - different and fun!  I made a Marina Mist A6 sized card base, glued dotty paper to the bottom and drew a line above the paper with a Night of Navy marker.  I stamped the beautiful flourish from the SU! Timeless Textures set a few times in Marina Mist ink after stamping off once, stamped the sentiment and die cut the stitched square.  I die cut a larger Night of Navy stitched square, offset the two squares, added a white photo corner to the Night of Navy square and added a stamped and punched butterfly to the white square.

After watching Julie's tutorial video I made the pop up insert for inside the card.

Here's a closer look at the half circle pop up.

I love how the acetate makes it look like the butterfly is floating!

I stamped that beautiful flourish again on the envelope flap to finish.

The SU! Gorgeous Grunge set is such a great set to stamp with and I thought the Timeless Textures set would work alongside it perfectly so I bought that set recently and was keen to get inky with it.  You'd think stamping a grungy background would be so easy but I found I needed to experiment a fair few times to get a good mix of colours.  I also wanted the right amount of coverage so that the background wasn't too busy and the overall look was balanced and pleasing to the eye.  There were quite a few rejected backgrounds before I was happy!

I stamped the distressed edge image all the way around the Very Vanilla square in Crumb Cake ink and I stamped a honeycomb background image in Crumb Cake ink also.  I stamped Soft Suede splatters, coffee cup rings in Early Espresso ink and one large splotch - also in Early Espresso ink.  I inked the edges of the Very Vanilla square with Early Espresso ink, glued the panel to a mat layer of Early Espresso CS and glued that to the front of a 5 1/4" square cream card base.  I stamped the coffee mug in Early Espresso ink onto Crumb Cake CS and fussy cut it.  I stamped the coffee portion onto a scrap of Early Espresso CS and cut that out and paper pieced it onto the mug.  I stamped the oval, punched a small hole in it to make a tag and tied it to the mug handle with linen thread.  I thought 'Warm Wishes' was a good sentiment to go with a mug of coffee card!

A few stamped background images decorated the inside of the card and the envelope flap.

The third card design was another CASE of a card I saw while browsing on Pinterest.  I wanted an opportunity to use my new SU! Bold Butterfly Framelits dies and I loved this card made by Bibi Cameron so I decided to make my own version.  I made a Basic Black A6 sized card base, cut a mat layer of Whisper White Thick CS and cut out the large butterfly shape.    I glued the green dotty paper to the card front and popped up the mat layer.  I die cut the smaller butterfly from Whisper White Thick CS and I discovered that the inner pieces stayed put inside the shape.  I then cut a smaller butterfly from Basic Black CS, removed the inner pieces and layered the black shape over the top of the white butterfly shape.  I glued the butterfly body flat to the dotty paper but placed half a Dimensional under each wing with the backing paper left on so that the wings stay popped up.    I die cut a Basic Black Fishtail Flag banner, stamped the sentiment, fussy cut it and attached both to the bottom right of the card.  I completed the card front by adding some silver sequins.

Here's a close up of the butterfly element showing a lovely embossed edge around the butterfly shape.  Bibi used watercolour paper for her mat layer - using any thick card will give you that embossed edge and I loved that look so that's why I used Whisper White Thick CS for my mat layer.

  

Here's the inside and the envelope.  I used Woodware small and large punches to cut out the butterfly shapes.

Supplies for butterfly half circle pop up card:
Stamps: SU! 'Timeless Textures' & 'Papillon Potpourri' sets, Hero Arts 'Yummy Treats' set, Personal Impressions 'Extra Large Everyday Messages' set
CS: SU! Marina Mist, Night of Navy & Whisper White, acetate
Patterned paper: SU! Marina Mist Polka Dot Parade DSP
Ink: SU! Marina Mist, Night of Navy & Night of Navy marker
Tools: Memory Box 'Stitched Square Layers' dies, SU! 'Elegant Butterfly', 'Bitty Butterfly', 'Photo Corners' & 2 1/2" circle punches, Simply Scored score board

Supplies for grungy coffee mug card:
Stamps: SU! 'Timeless Textures' & 'Gorgeous Grunge' sets, Kanban 'Coffee Shop' set, Kaisercraft 'Honeycomb' background stamp, Personal Impressions 'Medium Everyday Messages' set
CS: SU! Crumb Cake, Early Espresso & Very Vanilla
Ink: SU! Crumb Cake, Soft Suede & Early Espresso
Tools: SU! oval punch, small handheld circle punch, sponge dauber
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Linen Thread, Dimensionals 

Supplies for butterfly happy birthday card:
Stamps: SU! 'Itty Bitty Banners' set, Hero Arts 'Yummy Treats' set
CS: SU! Basic Black & Whisper White
Patterned paper: Core'dinations Light Green Small Dot paper
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Tools: SU! 'Bold Butterfly' Framelits dies, MFT 'Fishtail Flags Stax' die, Woodware butterfly punches
Embellishments & accessories: silver sequins, Dimensionals