"Fixing" a Card

Hello, everyone! I have a card video for you today featuring the new Bless Our Nest stamp set from Beth Duff Designs! It's the cutest stamp set with some amazing sentiments and a couple of birds, a birdhouse, and a nest! I'm going to be honest...this video jumps around a bit. I almost didn't share it. This card did NOT go as planned! Haha! But, I wanted to share with you how I fix my mistakes! From ink smudges to design errors! They can all be fixed!

This card didn't look anything like this in the beginning! I had a design in my head - stamp a sentiment and a column of birds and outline them to create almost a picture frame (you will see it in the video) and then do some watercoloring to create a one layer card. That didn't happen (obviously haha!) I did all the work and ended up cutting it apart! The color scheme looked much different in my head! Does that ever happen to you? I had a light red background with a yellow border...and it just looked sad. Almost sickly. So I changed it! I added some Tea Dye Distress Ink to my background and some spatters. I colored over the light red watercolor wash with a dark brown. I decided to go for a look more suited towards nature. Instead of a flat wash I did a textured wash, added a layer of gold foil, and some gems just to brighten it up a tad!

Check out the video here:

I really encourage you guys to work with your cards! Sometimes they end up better than you could have imagined!

Watercolor Igloo Background

Hi! I have a wintery watercolor card over on the Pink & Main blog today! I used the Eskimo Kisses stamp set from the new release along with my Gansai Tambi watercolors!

Drop by the Pink & Main blog to read all the info!

The Hedgehog Hollow Sunflower Watercolor Card

Hi! Thanks for checking out my blog! Today I have a video and two cards to share using the September 2018 box from The Hedgehog Hollow! There are some fabulous exclusive stamps in this box (and every box!) You can start your subscription three different ways! - a month to month rolling subscription, a 3 month subscription, or a 6 month subscription!

Check out the video here!

I made two simple watercolored cards, but I embellished them a bit differently! The one I made in the video I spattered the background with watercolor and for my second card I used some Nuvo drops! I'm not sure which I like better! I love them both!

Beth Duff Designs Fall Release Blog Hop

Hello! We are so happy you joined us for Beth Duff Designs Fall release blog hop! These sets are so awesome and we can't wait to see what is on your must have list. There is definitely something for everyone. Please join us and visit each page in the hop. Thank you so much for joining us, and make sure you join us on Facebook to share your own projects and see what else our team comes up with! Tag us on Instagram @bethduffdesigns and use the hashtag #bethduffdesigns, #BDD or post in our Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/bethduffdesigns! We love seeing your creations! Thank you again for hopping along with us.

I made a bunch of cards using various stamp sets from this release! Here they are! 

Let's start with my favorite set! It's called Don't Believe in Humans! There are a bunch of critters pretending to be unicorns! What's cuter than that! For this card I stamped the critters repeatedly over my card base with Versamark ink and then I sprinkled silver embossing powder on some parts and gold on other parts making sure to overlap the powders. When I heated them I got this BEAUTIFUL mix of gold and silver embossing! I added some die cut circles and a sentiment on top. 

I used the Don't Believe in Humans stamp set again for this card! I cut a standard A2 card base and then chopped off about 3 inches from the bottom of the top flap of the card. I added some pink striped acetate and adhered it to the inside of the remaining top flap. I love that the bottom portion is see-through! I used Copic markers to color in the dog and cat and then added Wink of Stella and Glossy Accents over the top. A sentiment and some black enamel dots finished it off! 

Another one of my favorites sets is the Bless Our Nest set. I love these little birds! And the sentiments are so pretty!! I used some woodgrain patterned paper for my background and stamped the sentiment with Distress Oxide ink and used clear heat embossing over the top. I colored the birds, nest, and house in shades of pink Copic markers and cut them out. I adhered them with foam dots for a quick and easy card! 

I plan to do a video tutorial for this card because I used a super fun technique! I completely covered my background with the dark Picked Raspberry Distress Oxide ink and then white heat embossed the bras from the Give Cancer a Beatdown stamp set. I used clean water and colored over the entirety of all the bras and used a paper towel to lift up the color. Then I went back in and added some Worn Lipstick Distress Oxide ink with my waterbrush to create the mid shade of pink! So easy to get three different colors! I added a stamped sentiment onto a couple of die cut shapes and adhered them with foam. 

I used the new Give Cancer a Beatdown stamp set for this card as well. I stamped the sentiment with Versafine Onyx Black ink and heat embossed it with clear powder. I grabbed my Gansai Tambi watercolor and watered down a blue shade and painted a "blob" of color large enough for the boxing gloves to sit on top of. I dried the first layer and deepened the color and filled in the blob more and repeated the process once more until I had a deep blue color in the middle. I used Copics to color the boxing gloves and coated it with Glossy Accents after adding it to my card with foam squares. 

Thanks so much for joining me today! Click through the rest of the links below to see more inspiration from the fall Beth Duff Designs release! 

BDD

Niccole

Annie

Marcia

Lynnea

Fawn

Annalisa

Alison

Rachel 

Laura

Glue Dots and Pink & Main Blog Hop

Hello! I'm so excited to be part of the Glue Dots and Pink & Main blog hop! I've used Glue Dots products for YEARS! I absolutely LOVE them! I use the Micro Dots all the time to adhere small embellishments like die cuts and sequins. No messy glue! And the Micro Dots are super sticky! Of course I used them for today's project! I also used Glue Dots Pop-Up Dots which are FABULOUS for adding dimension without having to peel off all those little backing pieces from foam squares!

There are so many more amazing projects to see, so make sure you click through the rest of the links at the bottom of my post! Pink & Main is giving away a $25 gift certificate to one lucky commenter who comments on all the blogs in the hop on Wednesday, September 26th so be sure to leave a comment on each blog in the hop! And Glue Dots is also giving away a FABULOUS prize package!!

Adhering all of these little pieces was an absolute BREEZE using Glue Dots! I really dislike liquid glue because it always squeezes out and gets my fingers all sticky!

I started this card by stamping some snowflakes from the Pink & Main Snow Sweet stamp set using a light brown / tan colored ink onto my 4.25" x 5.5" top folding card base. I also stamped a sentiment from the Snow Sweet stamp set with some Distress Oxide Vintage Photo ink and used some clear embossing powder over the top for some added shine.

Then it was time to give my Big Shot a workout! Haha! I used the Wreath Base Dies and die cut the wreath shape from some white cardstock that I colored with Evergreen Bough Distress Ink. I also used the new Winter Wreath Decor Dies to cut out a bunch of coordinating shapes. I inked a piece of cardstock with Pine Needles Distress Ink and another piece with Mowed Lawn Distress Ink and cut out a BUNCH of of the little pine sprigs. I used a silvery blue glitter cardstock and cut out bunches of snowflakes and some gold glitter cardstock for the bow. I wanted the deer to have some variation of color, so I used a mix of Gathered Twigs and Walnut Stain Distress Ink as well as some Celestial Copper Delicata shimmer pigment ink blended onto some cardstock.

I grabbed my Glue Dots and just went to town! They fit PERFECTLY behind these little images! I used Micro Dots to adhere the base wreath and then glued some of the pine sprigs on top. I also used the Micro Dots to adhere the glitter snowflakes and tucked the green pine sprigs peeking out behind them. I wanted my bow and deer to have a bit of dimension and the Pop-Up Dots are AMAZING for adding a bit of lift but this card will still mail like a DREAM!

I can't say enough good things about Glue Dots! They are perfect for many projects - not just paper! I use them on all sorts of surfaces! Plastic, wood, etc! I'm so thankful to Glue Dots and Pink & Main for giving me the opportunity to be in this hop! Don't forget to click through the rest of the links below! Pink & Main is giving away a $25 gift certificate to one lucky commenter who comments on all the blogs in the hop on Wednesday, September 26th so be sure to leave a comment on each blog in the hop!

Glue Dots Blog Hop

Glue Dots

Tracy

Robyn

Lynnea - That's me!! 

Amanda

Ilina

Samantha

Zsofia

Dawn

Jeannie

Melanie

Jackie

Grace

Andrea

Danielle

Pink & Main

Thanks for joining me!

Pink & Main September Release Sneak Peek!

Hello! I'm on the Pink & Main blog today with a sneak peek at their September release! It's full of all kinds of Christmas goodies! I'm in LOVE with the Sweet Christmas stamp set, so I decided to give you a little sneak peek of it!

Head over to the Pink & Main blog for the detail on how I made this card! Thanks for joining me!

Watercolor with Stencils

Hello, there! Thanks for stopping by! Today I have a fun card using the soon to be released Cuddle Like a Panda stamp set from Beth Duff Designs! It's the cutest little panda stamp set with four different panda images and a BUNCH of buildable sentiments!

I created a simple background using a stencil and some watercolor markers. You could use any stencil at all for this design! In fact, I want to revisit this technique with circles, triangles, even stripes! I used the Puffy Heart stencil from Pink & Main and taped it to the back of my 4.25" x 5.5" watercolor cardstock. I used Staedtler dual ended felt tipped markers and chose a yellow, two shades of mint, and two shades of pink for my color palette. I used the tip of the marker to outline the shape of the heart and continued tracing until I had filled up my whole card front. Now comes the fun part! I used my Spectrum Noir Clear Overlay sparkle pen to pull the color from the outline of the heart into the middle. Just touch the tip of the brush to the marker and fill in the heart shapes! This leaves the hearts with a hard drawn edge, but a soft colored inside! And because I used the sparkle pen there is an extraordinary amount of shimmer!

I stamped my sentiment from the BDD Cuddle Like a Panda stamp set using Versafine Onyx Black ink and heated it with clear embossing powder. I used Memento Tuxedo Black ink to stamp the kissing pandas and colored them in with simple Copic coloring. I cut them out and used foam squares to adhere the image to the card!

Check out the video here!

I want to encourage you to switch out products that I've used for what you have on hand! You can use practically any stencil for this technique! And any water reactive marker will work! Tim Holtz Distress Markers, Tombow Markers, probably even real brush markers! Try it for yourself and share it on social media! Use the hashtag #bethduffdesigns and tag @bethduffdesigns or share it to our Facebook group! I'd love to see it!

The Hedgehog Hollow Bountiful Blooms Stamp and Add-On

Hello, everyone! Today I have a video using the September box from The Hedgehog Hollow! I've used the Bountiful Blooms stamp set designed by Shawna Clingerman exclusively for the box as well as the add-on stamps that are included in the box! Check out the photos and video below! And don't forget that you can still start your subscription and get the September box! You can sign up for a month to month rolling subscription, a 3 month subscription, or a 6 month subscription!

Thanks for joining me! See you next time!

Concord & 9th Snowflakes Turnabout

Hello! I still have some fall cards to share with you, but I just got a package of gorgeous snowflake stamps from Concord & 9th and couldn't wait to make some cards! 

I used the Snowflakes Turnabout stamp and stamped it only once onto my cardstock. Since I had my stamp mounted in my MISTI I decided to make a couple of cards. I changed the position of my cardstock slightly each time I made a new card so that each one would be unique...just like a snowflake! This Turnabout stamp can be stamped 4 times with 4 different colors of ink, but I LOVE the look of it stamped just once! I used Broken China Distress Oxide ink for the snowflakes and stamped the GORGEOUS sentiment from the Snow Flurry stamp set and used some Ranger Liquid Platinum embossing powder to make it pop.

I made more cards with these stamps, so check back soon for more inspiration!

Autumn Wreath Card with The Hedgehog Hollow

Hello! I'm so excited to bring you my first card as part of The Hedgehog Hollow design team! I'm playing with the September box, which has an absolutely gorgeous floral theme. This box is available as part of a one month rolling subscription, a 3 month subscription or a 6 month subscription starting with the September box. This box is full of truly AMAZING products! There are three stamp sets all exclusive to the box including the Bountiful Blooms stamp set that is illustrated by Shawna Clingerman. Awesome card designs are already starting to pop up in the Facebook group, so if you are a subscriber to the box make sure you head over to check it out!

The florals in this box are stunning! But I wanted to try and push myself out of the box and create a card that is unexpected. Autumn is one of my FAVORITE times of the year and when I saw the leafy stems in the Bountiful Blooms stamp set I thought they would look stunning as part of a wreath. I started by tracing a circle die in the center of a 4.25" square card (made from Strathmore Bristol Smooth cardstock) and positioned the longest leafy stem on the circle and stamped it with Versafine Onyx Black ink. I used my MISTI and turned my cardstock four times so that I would have a complete circle of vines. I had intended to stop and just stamp my sentiment in the center of the wreath...but it looked too empty. So I added the smaller vine stamp in the center and stamped it four times to fill in the center a bit. And then I just kept going! Haha! I filled the whole card front! But I LOVE the way it turned out!!

I used my Gansai Tambi watercolors to color in all of the leaves and then added some gold metallic paint spatters. I wanted some brown cardstock for my sentiment strips, but I don't have any! *GASP!* No worries! I just made my own using an ink blending tool and some Vintage Photo Distress Oxide ink. I stamped the "Hello" sentiment from the exclusive Bloom Where You Are Planted stamp set included in the box three times onto my inked cardstock and embossed it with white powder. I trimmed out the little strips and popped them up with foam tape. I embellished the card front a bit more with some Antique Rose Tonic Nuvo Crystal Drops.

Thank you so much for joining me! This box is full of so many amazing products! I can't wait to show you what else I've made!

Pink & Main Fall Friends Gatefold Card

Hello, everyone! I have a fun gatefold card on the Pink & Main blog! Head over there for all the fun details!

Mandy's Flowers in Autumn Colors

Hello, crafty friends! I played with the August card kit from Simon Says Stamp recently. I love the florals! I used some yellows and oranges to give my floral card an autumn vibe. It's been in the 90s the last couple weeks, but a cold front is supposed to blow through tomorrow and autumn weather will soon be here!!

I stamped the Modern Rose Blooms background stamp with yellow ink, but instead of stamping my whole background I stamped only the center portion of my cardstock and used a microfiber cloth to blot away some of the ink around the edges for a soft transition. I inked up only portions of my stamp with some orange ink to give the appearance of shading. The sentiments are stamped directly on the card base.

I colored my image from the Mandy's Flowers stamp set with real brush markers from Hobby Lobby. I absolutely LOVE them! They color fabulously! I considered doing a review, but unfortunately I don't have anything to compare them to, so I don't think it would be very helpful. I cut out my image and popped it up with foam squares. I thought it needed something else, so I trimmed down some of the patterned paper in the kit and added it to the sides of my panel.

Thanks for joining me!

Metallic Watercolored Pumpkin Goodness

Hey there, everyone! I have a post on the Pink & Main blog showing how I made this yummy card using products from their August release!

Embossed Butterfly Background Cards

Hey, stampers! I have a quick and easy card set to share with you! I made these a while back, but I never shared them! *Gasp!*

I used the Butterfly Background and stamped it with Versamark ink onto various backgrounds - four black and one kraft. I used gold, white, clear, and pearl embossing powders from Hero Arts. I honestly love them all! I almost didn't use the clear, but I love the black on black appearance! And the pearl embossing powder looks almost silver! I used a couple of sentiments from the You Can Fly stamp set and cut everything out with some Stitched Rectangle dies!

Here's a close up of the card with the clear embossing powder! It just might be my favorite!