Anna Griffin Flowered Birthday Card

I bought a couple of Anna Griffin card kits a few years ago, but had only made one card from them so far. I always feel like I'm cheating when I use a kit, but it's also wasteful not to use them, so I thought I would make a second card.

For this card, I took a card blank and one of the smaller panels included in the kit and outlined both of them with a gold pen. Next, I applied some lace from my stash to the smaller panel and mounted it dimensionally onto the card. I took one of the sentiment panels and mounted that onto gold mirror card and mounted that dimensionally onto the flowered panel. Last, I added dimensional flowers, a butterfly, a bow, and some Liquid Pearls.

It was quick and easy, but it made a pretty card, and mounting everything dimensionally gave it a lot of depth.

Copics Over White Embossing Powder Card

Well, this one is different, it looks much better in person, since the colors aren't as bright, and the red is actually more of a burgundy color. (Copic R89).

Anyway, I kept seeing cards on pinterest where they colored over white embossing powder. Unfortunately, whoever originally pinned the cards did it from the blown up page on blogspot rather than the blog page itself, so even after googling for hours, I never found the person who did the original cards. (When you pin the enlargement, it just shows something like 2bp or 4bp rather than the blog address).

I decided to try this background stamp, since it would have quite a lot of white once I used the EP on it. It was stamped with VersaMark and embossed in white, then I colored it with my Copics. I'm not sure this is a great idea, because a lot of white from the EP does get on the tips of your markers. Mine still seem to work fine, but I'm not sure how many times I would want to try this without any extra tips on hand.

The card stocks I used are generic teal, generic black, gold mirror card and some gold and teal patterned paper I got at a paper mill years ago. The label is one of the newest ones from Spellbinders, the pearls are Liquid Pearls, and the sentiment is from JustRite.

Pink Morning Glories Card

I think I got carried away with the Liquid Pearls on this one, the card would have been better with fewer of them!

I really like this digital stamp I made last month and decided to make another card with it, coloring the morning glories pink this time. All the coloring was done with Copics, and all the layers are outlined and accented with a Gelyroll metallic gold pen. The stamp layer is outlined with a PenTouch because I wanted the border a little thicker.

The dies used are Spellbinders Grand Labels One, Spellbinders Marvelous Squares, and Spellbinders Decorative Labels One.

Creatables and Butterflies Card

I haven't used this Marianne Creatables die for a long time, so I decided to use it today. I also wanted to make a card that looked like spring, so I chose greens, yellows and Brilliance Galaxy Gold, which is a very yellow gold.

The Creatables die was cut in white and light green CS, and layered onto darker green, gold mirror card, and a white card. The die was accented and shaded with Brilliance Galaxy Gold, and the outside of the doily was outlined with a metallic gold pen.

The white filigrees in the center are from Spellbinders Marvelous Squares. The butterflies are from the MS Monarch punch. I wish they had been more delicate. I tried some stamped ones, but they weren't delicate enough, and my Cheery Lynn and Spellbinders butterflies were all too large. These were the ones which looked the best. I tried different flowers in the center, and liked this dimensional one from K&Co the best. The butterfly bodies and the pearls are Liquid Pearls.

Cherry Blossoms Card

Lately I seem to be making a lot of cards I'm not crazy about. The one I did today I really don't like, so I'm uploading the one I did on Saturday that I wasn't happy with. The worst part about cards you aren't happy with is that it seems like they take the longest because you spend so much time trying to figure out what you can use on them to make them better.

Anyway, I was looking through my paper stash the other day, trying to use up some older papers when I came across this one. It is one corner of a 12x12 sheet from pad I bought at Walmart a few years ago. It was kind of pretty and reminded me of spring. I cut the paper out with Spellbinders Grand Labels One, and cut a card and a front to fit using the same set. Next I shaded the card front with Brilliance pink. It started to go wrong after that. First I outlined with a gold Gelyrol pen, which worked well. Then I tried to make one of my new metallic pens work, and it got messy.

Then I had to figure out how I wanted to decorate it. Even though I spent hours trying lots of things, I wasn't happy with any of them. I ended up using a very old Anna Griffin stamp from my stash. It was stamped with Brilliance Pink and embossed with clear EP and a few highlights were added with Copics to make it match the background more. The stamp was cut and embossed with Spellbinders Labels One, and matted with Spellbinders Decorative Labels One.

I tried ribbon, bows, and lots of different flowers, but the best I came up with were a couple of these Prima ones, and some Liquid Pearls for accents.

Pink Gold, White Gold and Yellow Gold Card

When I was in New York in December, I bought some pretty white paper with a gold shimmer to it. I also bought some ink pads with a gold shimmer, including Tsukineko Brilliance Rocket Red Gold, and Tsukineko Brilliance Galaxy Gold.

I've wanted to use the paper for a while, but was hoarding it because I can't get it again easily. While I was trying to get to sleep last night, I was thinking of a way to use it, and decided I would make a card using that paper and the two ink pads, along with some dies.

The dies I used are a Marianne Creatables square, a die from Spellbinders Marvelous Squares, and two dies from Spellbinders Persian Accents. The papers are all either gold mirror card or the white paper with a gold shimmer to it. The colors are from shading the paper with the inks.

All the shading which looks pink is the red gold ink. The darker shade is applied with a combination of blending stumps and those Ranger nibs, and the lighter shade is applied with sponge daubers. The card itself is made from the white paper and shaded with the brilliance gold. It looks yellow in the photo, but in person, that, the pink paper, and the white paper, as well as the inks all have the gold shimmer and look quite pretty together. One layer of the pink shaded paper is outlined with a metallic gold pen. The pearls are Liquid Pearls.

PSX Floral and Filigree Card

This morning I designed a card around some paper I've had forever, but I wasn't happy with the card. Since I won't have time to make anything tomorrow, I will probably upload that one tomorrow anyway.

While I was looking for a stamp I liked for that card, I came across a very old Floral set from PSX. I've always liked the set, but the stamps are very small, and I haven't used them in years. I kept the set out, and decided to use it to make another card after I finished the one I wasn't having much luck with. This is the card I made with it.

I cut a bunch of white CS using Spellbinders Decorative Labels Eight . The card itself is also cut with this die set by folding the card in half and cutting it so the fold was inside the filigree on the folded side, then I layered a single die cut sheet over that for the front of the card so it would have filigree all around it.

The DP is some very old Anna Griffin CS from my stash, and is cut with Spellbinders Labels Eight. I used a gold pen to outline the die cuts.

The DP was mounted flat onto the filigree layers, then each layer was mounted dimensionally on top of the one below it.

The design was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black, then colored with Copics. I wanted the design to look more like an embellishment, so after coloring it, I ran VersaMark over it and used clear EP over the whole thing. I really wanted to use UTEE, but no matter how many times I've tried that, I've never gotten a finish I was happy with. I think I need to try the UTEE in a toaster oven. Anyway, I like the one coat of clear EP because it is shiny but has a little bit of texture to it.

The design is mounted dimensionally on top, and Liquid Pearls were added to the filigree.

Decorative Labels Layered Card

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Today I cut and embossed all my Spellbinders Decorative Labels One and Spellbinders Decorative Labels Eight dies.

All of them were shaded with a gold ink pad and my sponge daubers, then accented with a gold Gelyrol pen.

Next, I layered them onto a white CS background which had been shaded with the same gold and outlined with a gold PenTouch Pen. The background paper had already been mounted onto a white card.

Last, I added a simple punched and shaped flower and Platinum Liquid Pearls.

The top photo shows the dimension of the card, and the photo below shows how the gold shines.

If the pearls in the center look a little funny, it's because my platinum Liquid Pearls are very runny compared to the other colors. I took this photo while they were still wet and didn't notice that the center ones had flattened out already, so I cut and pasted them from other areas of the card in Photoshop. After they are all completely dry, I will go over them again, and they will look okay. I always have to do this with my platinum ones.

Dragon Paper Album

This is another album made from a tutorial on the Graphic 45 blog. The first one I made is here.

I bought a few sheets of handmade paper with gold dragons on it for the album. I had no idea it would take so much paper! I also bought some really pretty handmade paper without a pattern to make the tags inside with, but found out I wouldn't have enough, so I substituted some white mulberry paper with gold in it instead.

The matting is white cs shaded with metallic gold from an ink pad. I wish it looked more metallic, and the tags and journaling spots are white CS which I ran the same ink pad over to give a bit of a gold metallic sheen to. The labels are also accented with a gold metallic pen, and a gold Gellyrol pen. I did the lines on the journaling spots inside myself using the Gelyrol pen.

The top photo is the front cover, which has space for whatever the recipient wants to add, and a label.



This photo is the album standing up and open so you can see how all the pages are arranged.



This photo shows the inside front cover and the first page. Each of these pages has a pocket with a tag in it. There is room for a photo on the tag, and on the page behind the tag. Each tag has a journaling spot on the back. I have removed one tag to show how the page looks without the tag, and the tag is flipped over to show the journaling spot. Each page also has a label on the pocket.



This photo is the album with the next section open.



Each side of the next section has a flap which can be opened. Each flap has a place for a wallet sized photo and a label. This is how it looks with one side open.



This photo shows both sides and both flaps open. The center section is a gate fold.



This is the center section with the gatefold open.

Pink Springfold Card

I have been trying to get another album finished, but it's slow work, so I didn't get a card made today.

This is one I made quite a few years ago. I think the papers are Core'dinations Pearl, Core'dinations Gemstones, and gold mirror card. I think the rose was probably from a book with Redoute roses, that I fussy cut. (I apparently wasn't too fussy when I cut it though). :-)

The gold accents are Dresden Trim and gold outline stickers, and I added half pearls.

Colorful Butterflies Card ODBDSLC145

Wow, these butterflies really aren't quite as bright as they look on here. In fact, I was thinking they weren't bright enough when I finished the card!

I made this card for the Our Daily Bread Designs Challenge ODBDSLC145 Sketch. The design is from the Faith Set, and was cut using ODBD's Custom Butterfly Branch Die.

The medallion behind it was cut with ODBD's Custom Elegant Oval Dies. All stamping and shading was done using Memento Cottage Ivy, and all coloring was done with Copics. The embossed background is Spellbinders M-Bossabilities, Mystic.

All the stamping and die cuts were done on Core'dinations Pearl, to give the card a bit of shimmer. All the outlining was done with a Sakura Pentouch Metallic Ink Marker.

The ribbon and pearls are all from my stash. After finishing the card, it needed something, but I couldn't find anything I liked, so I added a bow to the top. Now that the card is finished, I wish I had tried a dimensional butterfly to the lower left instead.

Royal Blue and Gold Card

This card was done with the DCWV Royal Garden Stack.

It was inspired by a card on the back of the stack. I changed mine quite a bit from the inspiration card. The card itself was made with pale gold Core'dinations pearl CS.

The shape of the front was cut with Spellbinders Grand Labels Four, and the inside writing space and outside motif were made from Spellbinders Fancy Tags Two and Spellbinders Twisted Metal Tags and Accents. Some of them were cut with gold mirror card.

All the paper was outlined with a gold metallic pen, and I added blue and white pearls and gold outline stickers from my stash.

Blue Persian Accents Card

I made this card using only the Spellbinders Persian Accents Die Set.

All the shading was done with VersaMagic Aegean Blue Ink.

Blue half pearls were added to accent the dies. The blue and white colors remind me of Wedgewood.

Parchment Craft Butterfly Card

This is another card I'm not entirely happy with.

Back in the 60s through the middle of the 90s, I did a huge amount of needlework, and in the 80s, I even had a column on needlework in the newspaper. At that time, I collected a lot of needlework books. I did a ton of cross stitching, petit point, and even did needle made lace of every kind. I did so much of it that I burnt myself out, and can't even bring myself to do it now, even though I've started some projects.

Anyway, I was looking through some whitework embroidery books, and came across this butterfly in the book White Work Techniques and 188 Designs, which I purchased back in the late 70s, when it first came out.

I decided it might work for parchment craft. I probably should have scanned it and made it smaller, because the smallest sized card I could use it on was 8 1/2" x 5 1/2". After embossing it and coloring it on the back with Copics, I knew it needed something else, so I added the flowers on both sides.

I knew it needed some kind of a frame, so I used Spellbinders Grand Labels Four, using the negative part for the frame.

After layering everything together onto the card and outlining the inside of the frame with metallic gold, it looked kind of empty at the top and bottom, so I used white Liquid Pearls to add dots above and below the butterfly, then added them to the corners of the frame.

It probably would have been pretty if I had made it smaller so there would have been more room for matting and framing. As it was, the only size die that would fit both the card and butterfly went right to the edge of the card.

Anja Edges Blue Gatefold Card

This is another card I'm not really happy with. I got the bright idea of adding ribbon to the sides. Then I decided to put the ribbon over blue paper, and have the paper border the ribbon. It looked okay, so I mounted it onto the card. Then I stenciled the embossing with VersaMagic Aegean Blue. Then there was too much white between the design and the ribbon, so I decided to color it with the blue ink, but I was out of Fantastix for shading, and used blending stumps instead. They didn't blend very well. I also was beginning to wish I had mounted the ribbon onto white CS before mounting it onto blue so it would be brighter.

Next, I put blue paper inside so the lattice would show up better. That looked okay.

Next I was trying to figure out what to add for decoration, so I added a bow. It was still missing something, so I added blue half pearls.

Anyway, this is what I ended up with. I should have stuck with white on white, or white with pale pink or something.