Whimsy Stamps Friday Frenzy | Patterned Paper Striped Koala Birthday Card

Welcome to my first ever Friday Frenzy video for Whimsy Stamps! I'm going to be coming to you every Friday with some Whimsy inspiration using both new and old products and showing you how you can combine things to make a completed project! Are you excited? I am! Today I used some new patterned papers and die set along with previously released stamp sets to make a super cute Koala slimline birthday card!

Let's make that cute background! I used papers from two 6x6 paper packs - the new Birthday Celebration Paper Pack and the Giraffe Paper Pack. I trimmed some of my favorite colors and patterns into 1/2" strips and adhered them onto a slimline card base measuring 3/25" x 8.25". This is one of my favorite ways to create a multi colored background!

I stamped out a cute little cupcake from the Koala Cuteness Stamp Set and a cupcake from the Calories Shmalories stamp set and I colored them with Copic Markers. I added light shading and accented the shading with dot details. I love to do dot details with markers on critters! It just makes them look so cute!

I wanted to add a little more birthday celebration to the background, so I die cut one of the Slimline Bunting Border Dies from white cardstock and added it across my slimline card. I am obsessed with this die set! I love that there are three different banner styles in one die set!

I colored the cupcake to match the colors of the background patterned papers, but when I added my images on top of my background they got a bit lost. I die cut one of the Notched Square Dies from white cardstock and mounted my images onto the die cut shape instead of directly onto the background. I added a sentiment from the Calories Shmalories Stamp Set onto a banner and that finishes the card!

I hope you've enjoyed this Whimsy Stamps Friday Frenzy video! And that this new series will inspire you to mix and match the new with the old! See you next Friday!

InkOn3 | My Favorite Copic Combos with the Magical Dragons Stamp Set

Hi there! Today I'm sharing a bunch of my favorite Copic color combinations and coloring up a bunch of gems and dragons from the InkOn3 Magical Dragons Stamp Set!

This card is so easy to create. I used my favorite black inks - Blackout Detail Hybrid Ink. This ink is PERFECT for all kinds of coloring mediums from alcohol inks, and pencils, to watercolors!

Let's start with this fun background! I mounted all three gems from the Magical Dragons Stamp Set onto an acrylic block and used my Blackout Hybrid Detail Ink to stamp them all over a piece of Neenah cardstock. When stamping a bunch of small images I find it easier to use an acrylic block rather than a stamping platform. I can quickly rotate my acrylic block without cleaning my stamps in between inking until my background is full. Speaking of cleaning my stamps! - I like to use the Ink Off Stamp Cleaning Pad and an Ink Off Cloth to remove ink and clean my stamps. Hybrid Inks naturally stick to photopolymer stamps and stain them, but the Ink Off Stamp Cleaner magically cleans the ink away!

I also stamped out a couple of the dragons from the Magical Dragons Stamp Set and die cut them with the coordinating Magical Dragons Die Set. Then I set to coloring! I chose to use Copic Markers, but because I stamped with the Blackout Detail Ink I could have chosen essentially any coloring medium my little heart desired! I used a whole rainbow of colors for my background of gems. These are some of my favorite Copic color combos! I color simply and usually only use two markers per color. You can see all of them in the video, but I thought I would list them here for you as well!

Pink - R83, R85

Red - R27, R29

Orange - YR04, YR07

Yellow - Y15, Y17

Mint - G00, G02

Green - YG25, YG17

Blue - B01, B02

Purple - BV02, BV04

Shadow - BG10

I started to assemble my card and realized my little dragons were blending in to the background. I die cut a stitched shape and popped them onto it with foam tape. I added a stamped sentiment from the Magical Dragons Stamp Set below the dragons with Blackout Hybrid Detail Ink and added the shape to my card with more foam tape.

All that's left to do is add some magic with Liquid Pixie Dust! I keep a small amount in a Small Watercolor Brush so that I can easily shake it up and brush it onto my colored images. That's all! I hope you find this video useful!

Simon Hurley create. | Easy Watercolored Birthday Cards

I'm all about easy cards that are full of color! Today I turned a bit of ink blending and emboss resist into effortless watercolored backgrounds with Simon Hurley create. products!

This duo of cards was easy to create! I worked on Stark White Cardstock - this is my favorite cardstock! It's bright, it's white, and it's fabulous! I stamped the Party Hats Background Stamp onto two pieces of A2 cardstock and heat embossed them with white embossing powder.

I made the white heat embossed Party Hats Backgrounds pop with a bit of ink blending turned watercolor. I find that the darker the ink the better for this technique. I made two cards - one with traditional "boy" colors and one with traditional "girl" colors. I used ink blending tools to apply ink over the cardstock, but if you want you could go direct to cardstock with the ink. I used Prom Queen and Slippery When Wet as well as Later Gator and Remember Me. Once I had a heavy application of ink on the cards I sprayed them with water from a Tim Holtz Distress Sprayer and set them aside to dry.

I stamped some images and sentiments from the Cake Walk Stamp Set onto Simon Hurley create. Stark White Cardstock and colored them with Copic Markers. I cut them out and added them to my card with foam tape. I love how the present fits perfectly into the hands of the bear!

Easy peasy! Hope you enjoyed this quick tutorial!

LDRS Creative | Altering Stamps to Make a Shaker Card

Hi! Today I have an easy technique showing you how to make a message in a bottle shaker card from the Explore and Discover Stamp Set from LDRS Creative! You can take this technique and adapt it to any stamp that has an open background like a gumball machine or a candy jar!

Let's start with that pretty Mermaid Shimmer stenciled background! I placed it over a piece of white cardstock and blended on a variety of blue inks. I like to start dark to light when I ink blend so that the colors blend together seamlessly. I started at the bottom of the Mermaid Shimmer Stencil and added Dark Wash Jeans Hybrid Ink, then Bali Blue, Marina Madness, and ended at the top with Swimming Hole Hybrid Ink. I trimmed an 1/8 of an inch off of each side and added the background onto a white cardbase.

Now let's make that fun message in a bottle shaker! I stamped the bottle image twice from the Explore and Discover Stamp Set with Raven Hybrid Ink and cut them both with the coordinating Explore and Discover Die Set. I colored just the top of the bottle and the cork on one die cut and then used my scissors to trim out the inside of the stamped image - leaving a slight border. I colored in the center of the bottle on the second die cut - this will be the background of the shaker. I build a standard shaker well with a piece of acetate ( for a quick and easy acetate piece that will match the shaker perfectly I used the same bottle die to cut acetate and adhered it to the back of the cut out bottle frame! ), and some foam tape. I filled the shaker with some iridescent sequins and sealed it with the colored background bottle piece. Doesn't it look so fun!

I wanted a cute little sentiment that wouldn't take away from the pretty background and shaker element, so I stamped out a banner from the Explore and Discover Stamp Set with Prickly Pear Perfection. I love these little banners! And there are a few of them in the Explore and Discover Stamp Set. They're just the perfect size! I added it across the center of the bottle to finish the card! I'll see you soon with more summery inspiration from LDRS Creative!

Pink & Main | Happy Little Lanterns

Are you ready for a bright and happy ray of sunshine card? Look no further! I mixed a few older products with new summer products from Pink & Main to create this bright card!

Let's build that fun patterned paper background first! It involves a bit of creative die cutting, but trust me - it's easy! I used the largest die from the Stitched Rectangles 1 Die Set to cut out a piece of light blue striped patterned paper from the Sunshine and Smiles Paper Pack. I used the same die to cut out a piece of the sun ray patterned paper from the Sunshine and Smiles Paper Pack. I wanted to keep the stitched details around the outer edge, but I also wanted them on the top and bottom. Once I cut out the large rectangle I shifted the die down a bit and "locked" it in place with the stitched and cut the rectangle again. This gives me a rectangle that is as wide as my card, but shorter! You can do this with any rectangle or square die! It's a great trick to get more shapes and sizes! 

I used the Lanterns Stamp Set for my images to go on top of my patterned paper. This stamp set is a larger 6x6 set with a few different layered lantern images. So fun! I stamped two of the lanterns with black ink and then lined up the flower stamps and inked them with a rainbow of dye inks and die cut them with the coordinating Lanterns Dies. 

I wanted a small sentiment to go across the lanterns that wouldn't take away from the fun patterned paper background and Pink & Main has a bunch of skinny sentiments from various stamp sets that coordinate with their Sentiment Strip Dies. I stamped one from the Just Because Stamp Set and die cut it with a Sentiment Strip Die and added it across the center of the card. That's it! I hope this inspires you to look at your dies and see how you can use them to create new shapes!

Miss Ink Stamps | NEW Scene Builder Slimline Stamp Sets

Hey there! Miss Ink Stamps has just come out with new slimline scene builder stamps! They pair FABULOUSLY with the existing line of critter stamps from Miss Ink! And they can be used for more than just slimline scenes! I'll show you a BUNCH of ways to set your scenes with the new Hay Daze and Meadow Scene Builder Stamp Sets!

Let's start with the Hay Daze Stamp Set! This slimline scene building stamp set is one full stamp allowing you to quickly and EASILY stamp a whole farm scene! My slimline card measures 3.25" by 8.25", but be sure to check out the video above to see how you can use this stamp set for an A2 card as well!

I added some quick Copic coloring to the scene. I kept the grass textured - I like to call it "chunky coloring" haha! It makes it look more realistic! I finished off the card with the adorable farmers and sentiment from the Keeping it Rural Stamp Set.  Miss Ink Stamps also has a BUNCH of farm critter stamps that would be perfect for this Hay Daze card!

Next up is the Meadow Scene Builder Stamp Set. This stamp set is another slimline background stamp, but this time it is separated into 6 pieces! That way you can build virtually any scene you can imagine! In the video I show you three slimline style cards and even more A2 styles! It's amazing how many different scenes you can build from one stamp set!

I used the same "chunky" style of Copic coloring for my Meadow Scene Builder Card and added some adorable images from the Bubbles Stamp Set! Imagine all the critters you could put in these cute scenes!

I hope you enjoyed this walk through of the Hay Daze and Meadow Scene Builder Stamp Sets! These are perfect for slimline cards, A2 cards, and anything in between! See you in the Miss Ink Stamps store!

i-crafter | August Release - Layered Seashells

It's time for another release from i-crafter! This release is full of everything summer! There are seashells and mermaids oh my! I used the Layered Seashells and Sentiments Stamps and some hybrid inks to create this quick card.

I created this card with just the Layered Seashells and Sentiment Stamp Set, some inks, and some cardstock. Easy peasy! I used Tropical Pool Hybrid Ink for my first layer of seashells, Skysail Blue Hybrid Ink for my second layer, and some white heat embossed highlights for the third layer.

I trimmed my panel and added it to a white card base and embellished with a few pearls. And that's it! I hope you enjoyed this peek at the new Layered Seashells and Sentiments Stamp Set from i-crafter! Head over to the shop to see this and the rest of the August release!