Butterflies and Dogwood Easel Card

This is the first card I made with the Sizzix/Hampton Arts stamp and die set. Now that it's finished, I think it's a bit busy for such a small card, but it is what it is.

All the butterflies and flowers are from the stamp and die set, and the squares and fancy borders were cut with Spellbinders dies.

All the paper is Core'dinations white pearl CS. The pink part of the card is shaded with a brilliance pink ink, and the butterflies and flowers are colored with Copics. The stamping was done with VersaMark, and embossed in gold, then pink Liquid Pearls were added.

Yes, it's pink Jill. :-)

Gold and Butterflies Congratulations Card

When we went to JoAnn's last weekend, I wasn't surprised that there were only a few old Spellbinders, but I was very surprised that they actually had two new Sizzix dies. They haven't had any new Sizzix in ages. Both were Hampton Arts Stamps in a kit with matching Sizzix dies. I got the set with dogwood and butterflies, and I love them! The butterflies on this card are from the set.

Everything was die cut from Core'dinatins white and gold pearl papers, and a piece of the handmade gold embossed paper I got a few weeks ago. I also used Spellbinders Labels One, Grand Labels One, Decorative Lavels One, and Labels Ten.

The sentiment layer is from JustRite, and all stamping was done with VersaMark, and embossed with Gold EP. All shading is done with Delicata Gold, and I used Liquid Pearls as accents.

Warm Wishes and Roses Embossed Card

We unloaded the U-Haul, set some furniture up, took the truck back, got groceries, and are finally home again. I can't wait until I can get back to card Making!

Here is another card I made a while back but never uploaded. It was a bit of work, and I was really disappointed with it when I got it done, although it looks better in person than in the photo.

I used a Darice EF with Brilliance Sky blue, and used the letterpress technique to emboss the background. It looked quite pretty, so I matted it with white CS shaded around the edge with the same blue, and mounted it all onto a white card.

I wanted everything on the card to be embossed, but knew I needed something fairly simple because the background was so busy. Then I found this old Sizzix EF in a notebook. It is really meant for Christmas, but since there is no holly or anything on it, I decided it would work for any occasion, so I used the same technique for that, cut around the frame, and mounted it onto a Lacy rectangle from Spellbinders Romantic Rectangles. It was mounted dimensionally onto the background.

I had a terrible time finding anything I liked with it, and embossed a ton of things I ended up not using. The lesser of the evils was this rose I embossed on a light table using an Anna Griffin Stencil. The stencil is actually a large rectangle, with more roses on the top, but all I wanted was the rose with some kind of a frame. I finally decided to use parts from the big frame on the same stencil, and make them fit the rose. I shaded around the rose and frame with the same blue ink and various shading tools, trying to leave the raised parts white, but it came out messy looking because I couldn't get the ink smooth enough.

Since I had already done so many things I didn't like for the card, and had run out of ideas, I stuck this one on dimensionally and added some Liquid Pearls and called it good. I just wished it had looked as pretty as I had pictured it looking.

White Embossed Christmas

I always like all white Christmas cards, so I decided to make one with touches of gold.

I started by embossing this Sizzix EF and trimming around it. Then I matted it with two more layers of white, each cut 1/8" larger, rather than the 1/4" I usually use.

I cut another sheet of white 1/4" larger, and matted that with a sheet 1/8" larger, then cut a card 1/4" larger and mounted the two new plain sheets on that. Then I mounted the first three layers I dimensionally onto the three bottom sheets.

The layers look flat in the photo, but the added dimension with the top three layers floating above the bottom three look nice in real life.

Also, all layers are the same shade of white, but it's so dark here that even by using white balance, some of the layers look like cream because of the lights.

The JustRite ornament was stamped with Versamark, then embossed with gold and mounted dimensionally onto the embossed layer. I finished by making a Marrianne Creatables poinsettia out of white CS and Gold Mirror card, and added that to the bottom, then added crystal snowflakes and a white and gold bow.

Elegant Dove Card

Today I was playing with this Sizzix embossing folder. First, I inked the folder in red before embossing. It came out quite rustic looking, and I was trying different things in the center of the embossed image. When I tried this dove from K & Co, I liked the dove in the center, but not with that rustic finish.

I put the inked image away for later, and decided to emboss in plain white and use red velour paper instead. After embossing the image, I cut around it with scissors, and rubbed metallic gold ink over it with my daubers. Then, I used a Spellbinders oval and cut out some gold mirror card to fit into the center. I cut a smaller oval of red velour paper and mounted that onto the gold, then placed the dove on that.

I mounted the whole thing onto more red velour which was matted with gold mirror card and placed onto a white 5x7 card.

It looked nice, but needed something, so I cut and embossed four Anja Corners from Marianne Designs, and added more of the metallic gold with my daubers while still in the stencil. Those looked quite nice in the corners. I finished up by putting some red rhinestones in the corners, and at the top and bottom of the embossed frame to match the one on the dove.

When I finished it, I really liked it. I love it when I get a card done and really like it, since so many times I'm not really happy with the end result.

Happy Sailing

I've mentioned before that in the summer, my mother and I run a very tiny shop. Since we live on an island, nautical cards go very quickly, so I've been making a lot of them lately. (Most of them haven't been on my blog. I've decided to save a few so when I don't have a card made there will still be something to upload. Most of them are simpler cards which are fast to make).

This card took a little longer. The ship is from Our Daily Bread Designs Surging Sea Set, and the saying is from their Smooth Sailing set.

The ship is stamped onto ivory CS using VersaFine Onyx Black. Snce I don't have a light blue stamp pad, I used Distress Broken China Stain on an ink dauber to color the water and make a shaded sky. The rest is colored with Copics.

The central motif is mounted onto antique gold metallic cs, blue Core'dinations foundations, and ivory cs, then mounted dimensionally onto the card. The card is a hand made dragon paper which I bought at an art supply store. The blue background and gold dragon colors went well with the ship, and the pattern fits, because so many of the ships in the old days went to China.

I mounted the handmade paper onto more metallic antique gold, and mounted that onto an ivory card. Then, I decided to use some of my old Sizzix dies to cut Chinese style corners, and stamped "Happy Sailing" onto more of the gold CS. I originally cut and embossed the saying with a Spellbinders Fancy Tags One, but it was larger than I liked, so I cut around the embossing inside the tag, and mounted it to resemble a brass tag. I added a Copic dot to either side of the saying to represent screws, and added a few pearls.

Iris and Rose Card

I've wanted the Sizzix Loving Thoughts Set for a long time, and finally ordered it a few weeks ago. Finally today, I got around to using it. I embossed the design on white CS, then fussy cut around the embossed frame and mounted it onto a a piece of pearlized CS from my stash. The CS reminded me of victorian wallpaper, and the embossed frame also looked victorian. I wanted the card to look like a victorian floral picture on the wall, so I chose this iris from JustRite's Botanical Medallions & Banners-Clear.

I stamped the image onto Core'dinations white pearl paper with VersaMark, and embossed it with Superfine Detail Gold EP, then colored it with Copics. I wish you could see the irises in person, because it's the first floral I've ever colored that I've been really happy with. I only have a few Copics, and none of them matched my DP, which is actually a peachy shade of pink. My Copics weren't peachy, so I used two lighter shades of pink and added the only yellow I have which is a golden color. (Sorry, all my stuff is in my shop, and I am at home, and I didn't write down the color numbers). I blended with the two pinks, the yellow, and the colorless blender, and my irises came out the same peachy shade as the DP, and the irises are shaded from peach to yellow, just like those fancy irises I've seen at the garden centers. The shading really doesn't show up in my photograph. Sorry if I sound like I'm bragging, but it's really exciting when you've created so many duds to have something come out just the way you wanted it to for the first time. :-) It may have been the pearlized paper, I'm really loving coloring on it with my markers!

Then I die cut around the irises with a Spellbinders oval, and ran my Krylon around the edge of it. When I tried the oval on the frame, it needed something, so I daubed metallic gold on the raised parts with a sponge dauber. This gave the frame a vintage look that I liked, and also accentuated the design.

I mounted the oval dimensionally, added fern leaves from the MS fern punch, some roses my craft store sells, some Queen & Co. pearls, and a bow made from some Anna Griffin peach ribbon I've had forever.

Using Spellbinders M-Bossabilities in the Sizzix Big Kick

When I got my M-Bossabilities yesterday, I didn't realize that you had to have an adapter plate, (Which I had never heard of), to use it in the Grand Calibur. Then I looked at the instructions for the Sizzix Big Kick, and it said you needed a Spellbinders Grand Calibur Junior Base Plate to use them in the Big Kick, but I didn't have one of those either. (The M-Bossabilities are a lot thicker than the Sizzix and Cuttlebug embossing folders, and that's why they need a different sandwich).

I had always read that the Big Kick and the Big Shot were basically the same machine, so I followed the cutting instructions for the Big Shot, and it worked perfectly. I got very nice, crisp embossing with my Big Kick.

For my Big Kick M-Bossabilities sandwich I used the multi purpose platform with all tabs closed.I put down two layers of that cheap GP CS that you can get at Walmart, then the M-Bossabilities folder with my CS in it, then the top plate. I used no bottom plate, because it would be too thick. This worked perfectly. I hope this helps others who have the Big Kick and the Grand Calibur and get home only to find the instructions say they need to buy special plates to use them!

Over all, I am very happy with my M-Bossabilities folders. They have some beautiful designs and work well with that cutting sandwich. Since I also make doll houses, I can see that many of the folders would make gorgeous "tin" ceilings in a nice scale for my houses!

Wedding Photo Frame

One of my favorite card artists Monia, posted a wonderful tutorial on her blog for making photo frames. You can find it here.

Thank you so much Monia, I have always admired your beautiful frames and folders as well as your cards. Without your tutorial, I could never have made this beautiful frame!

I do photography, so I have a lot of remnants of Mat board, so I used that as the base for my frame. The piece I used is just under 8" x 10". I wanted a fairly wide mat around the photo, so I sized the middle for a 4" x 6" photo. I used a cream colored Walmart DP to cover the mat board, the larger flowers are Prima, and the smaller ones are made by scrunching and layering Recollections flowers. The leafy branch is a Sizzix die, and the lace is from a Martha Stewart punch.

One of the nice things about this frame is that Monia has made it so you can change the photo. The actual frame is whiter than my photograph. It is really more of a creamy white with faint touches of green in the centers of the flowers in the paper's background.

Pink Flowered Diorama Card

This is my first diorama card. I made it while I was waiting for the glue on my butterfly box to dry.

The patterned paper is from Walmart. The openings, label and frame were cut with Spellbinders, and all of the shading was done with Antique Linen Distress Ink. The flowers are Prima, the ferns are McGill, and the leafy stem is Sizzix. The flower centers are liquid pearls.

The saying is from Just Rite Fancy Frames and it is stamped with Crushed Olive Distress ink. I added green Pebbles cream chalk to the leaves on the stem to give them dimension.

German Scrap Santa Card

This is another card made from my collection of German scrap. He is on Core'dinations white pearl cs which was embossed in my Big Kick using a Sizzix embossing folder. The pearl cs is mounted on gold mirror card, which is mounted on Anna Griffin red glittered paper. The pearls are Queen & Co. The red glittered paper is mounted with my Xyron onto more pearl paper which I cut to size for the card. I added gold glitter to the centers of the snowflakes.

Blue Spellbinders Best Wishes Card

I am always inspired by Becca Feeken's beautiful cards. I loved this one and had to try a similar one. I love the Just Rite stamps, but so far I don't have any, so I used what I had. My card isn't anywhere near as nice as Becca's.

I used a generic blue linen textured CS, Core'dinations Pearl CS and some blue flowered paper I made on my computer. The lattice is a Sizzix die I cut in my Big Kick, and the center is Spellbinders cut in my Grand Calibur. The fleur de lis is an Anna Griffin corner punch, and the pearls are Queen & Co. I did the lettering on my Pazzles Inspiration using generic gel pens before I got my Jellyrolls. I outlined the die cut with a jellyroll.

Another Santa Card

This Santa card uses a Sizzix snowflake embossing folder for the background and Spellbinders dies for the frame around the Santa.The blue paper is artist paper I bought a long time ago in an art supply store. It is heavier than card stock and has a nice sheen to it. The Pearls are Queen & Co.

Embossed Vellum Christmas Card

I used a Marianne Designs embossing and cutting folder in my Sizzix Big Kick for this card. I enjoyed doing the pink Cuttlebug Plus one so much, I had to try a Christmas one. I wanted to do this one entirely by embossing, so I used a brass poinsettia stencil I've had for years, and embossed that part on a light table.

I mounted the vellum on green card stock with brass brads. The green is mounted on gold mirror card, and that is mounted on a white card.

I finished it off with green Queen & Co. rhinestones, and made a bow out of narrow gold ribbon.

Lantern Christmas Card

I used a Sizzix snowflake embossing folder on this card, gold mirror card, and blue cardstock. I then used one of the motifs from a card I downloaded from Sams Cards in the UK for the center motif. I have bought a few cards from her, and they are very nice. My recipients loved them, and I have sold some in my shop. Susan is very nice and lets you sell the cards you make from her designs, which makes me want to order more from her.

Something which bothers me is, I have seen some of Susan's cards on other people's free download sites. Now, I don't know Susan, but I am under the impression that she is one person who designs beautiful cards and makes them available to us to print (and sell the completed cards), for a reasonable price. I don't expect that she is making a fortune doing this, and obviously she puts a lot of time into each of her designs. I imagine that there are a lot of other people who are getting "ripped off" in the same way. I guess I am asking that if you see "freebies" that you know are from sites like Susan's, please go and purchase from the original artists rather than downloading the pirated designs.

Okay, I'm off my soapbox now. :-)

Embossing Plus on Vellum

I just did this card today, and the technique worked really well. I decided to try an embossing Plus folder in my Sizzix Big Kick using vellum instead of card stock.The pinks in those little flowers came out looking flourescent in the photo for some reason, but they really aren't. They are the same colors as the rest of the pinks.

First, I cut the vellum a little larger than my EP folder, then ran it through the Big Kick. I mounted it on linen textured pink pearl paper from Core'dinations with pink metallic brads. I find that using an ordinary push pin is a great way to make starter holes for the brads. Then I mounted it all on a white card.

I then cut out another oval in regular white card stock from another EP folder, and mounted that in the center of the vellum oval.

I added two simple flowers made from an EK Success punch with centers made from a flower shaped hand punch, and I raised the petals a bit and put them in the centers of two of the embossed flowers.

I made a rolled rose from one of the circles from the Spellbinders blossom die and mounted it in the center. It's the first time I have tried a rolled rose, and it was really easy. Next time, I will try shading it and curling the petals a little before putting it together.

Finally, I added Queen & Co. pearls in two sizes.

Embossing Plus Christmas Card

This card uses Core'dinations Pearl paper, some green paper sold in sheets at our local craft store mounted on card stock with my Xyron Creative Station, gold mirror card, (the mirror card looks black in the photo), Queen & Co. pearls and a die cut.

Okay, the reason the gold looks black is that it wasn't gold I used, it was a very dark green. Oooops! That's the problem with putting older cards you no longer have on your blog. You don't always remember the details.

I cut and embossed the frame with a Cuttlebug Embossing Plus folder in my Sizzix Big Kick, and outlined the poinsettia leaves with a gold Sakura Pen Touch.

Four Christmas Cards

Here is another bad photograph from my phone which was taken last winter. The frame on the one at the top was embossed using an Anna Griffin stencil. I made the blue frame from some printers ornaments and added a die cut Santa.

The border on the card at the top right was cut with my Spellbinders, and has another die cut santa. I think the Santa came from Dover publications in one of their die cut books, but I'm not sure. I made these cards over a year ago.

I made the green diamond shape in the one on the bottom left from more printers ornaments, and cut the scalloped circle behind the die cut with my Spellbinders dies. On these cards, I probably used the dies in my Sizzix Big Kick, since I didn't have my Grand Caliber yet.

I don't remember the details on the card in the bottom right, but I do know that is an Anna Griffin Frame around the die cut.

I have such an obsession with the old Anna Griffin things that I spent a ton of money trying to get as many of her discontinued stamps, stencils, punches, books and paper as I could. Some things I wanted very badly but never got. Her stamps were some of the most elegant of any stamps I've ever seen.

My first blog

I have been making cards and doing other paper crafts for as long as I can remember. I recently got the Pazzles Inspiration, and joined some groups. Most of the girls have blogs, and I decided this would be a good way for me to show off my creations and share designs too. Now I just need to get some photos taken of my cards to make this blog worth reading!

Until I got the Pazzles, my other card making tools were the Sizzix Big Kick and the five inch Xyron Creative Station. I love the Sizzix, but felt limited by what was available. I have quite a few dies and embossing folders from Sizzix, Cuttlebug, and Spellbinders. I like the Spellbinders dies the best.

I used to love the Creative Station, but now the adhesive refills are getting so expensive that I only use them for a few things. They started out a $5.99 a year ago, then went to $10.99, and now are at $23.99 in my area. That's a huge increase in price, and makes it so I can't sell cards and make a profit if I use the Xyron. I used to love using it to put fancy lightweight paper onto my cardstock. It was the only way to add things like mulberry paper to my cards, but with cost of refills four times as much as it was, there is no way I can justify using it. I also was not happy with Xyron's customer service.

Pazzles has amazing customer service, and you talk to real people who care! They also have an awesome website, and there are tons of forums and blogs with free or inexpensive files to download. I'm still learning to use mine, but I knew there was a learning curve before I sent for it.

I got the Embossing mat and tool and the pen tool when I ordered mine. I haven't tried embossing yet, but the pen tool is wonderful! Today I used the Sakura Quickie Glue Stick in the pen tool, and sprinkled embossing powder on, and embossed nice fine lines beautifully. I also used some of the Jelly Roll pens to write on things with the pen tool. Between the Pazzles, the Sizzix and my printer, I can do almost anything I want now. These tools have almost made my rubber stamps obsolete!