Gather

Finally a post of something new!  I've created 15 cards for different reasons, that I can't post yet... so I've been creating like crazy behind the scenes, and just felt like getting something put online.  This was a practise card for one of my projects, and I really love how it turned out.

The wreath die is from Tonic Studios that I've had for a few years, cut twice and inked up a little... and the bow die is Fit to be Tied from The Greetery.  I had previously made the wax seal, and thought it worked pretty well here.  Sentiment is from Art Impressions.  The Essential Arches die from Spellbinders was cut in cream cardstock, and inked with a little Vintage Photo Distress Oxide ink around the edges.

Spooky Crew

I don't give out Halloween cards, but I do love to make them!  This is the new 5934 - Spooky Crew Set from Art Impressions.

I had a lot of fun colouring this set up with my Copic markers, and decided to try making a Halloween card without using any orange... there have been so many funky Halloween colour combinations being used on cards lately, that I wanted to see what I could come up with.  I'm really happy with the results!

This set includes matching dies, so after colouring, I cut out all my pieces, and planned out my background.  The base is just a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2" piece of black cardstock.  On some white cardstock, I ink blended Mermaid Lagoon and Blueprint Sketch Distress Oxide inks, to create my night sky, leaving a white area where I attached a circle that I had coloured with my Copics to look like the moon, and sponged on a little Squeezed Lemonade ink.  I made each of the hillsides into a flap, so that they open up from each side.  If you remember the Ai Try-fold cards, you'll see what I was going for.

On the middle panel, I attached the tree and frog, and on the front panel I used 3D foam adhesive to attach the mouse over a black fence piece cut using 4967 - WC Fence Dies.  The sentiment is included with the Spooky Crew stamp set.  I also cut out a black bat from 5769 - Halloween FB Fence Set.

There's enough room on the inner panel to write a note to the recipient that would be hidden by the two flaps. 

More Betterpress Peacocks!

 I have two more cards using the Betterpress Society's May press plate: Peacock.

This card was pressed onto a Spellbinders Pebble Cotton Card panel.  For both of my cards I used four Distress Oxide inks, that I blended directly on the plate: Blueprint Sketch, Mermaid Lagoon, Peacock Feathers and Twisted Citron.

My sentiments were pressed with Betterpress Black ink.

This card was pressed onto a Bisque (off-white) cotton card panel, and ink blended in the same fashion as my previous card.  A few irridescent gems finished it off.

After my photos were taken, I trimmed off 1/8" around the panel, and mounted it on a dark blue cardstock panel, as I liked the contrast of the first card.

You can sign up for a Betterpress Society membership by contacting the Papercrafter's Workshop.

Jumbo Berry

My Strawberry obsession continues!  This is the Jumbo Berry set from Pigment Craft Company... and I just adore the scale of this.  When I create, I like to make multiples once all my supplies are out, so I've got four A2 sized cards, all with just slight variations.

 I used the sentiment from Latte Heart Elements, which I think is really cute.  I had a few of the white die cut flowers leftover from my previous berry cards, so I tucked them in on a couple of the cards.

I am playing along with this week's Color Throwdown challenge!  I haven't played in a long time, and when I spotted this week's challenge, knowing I was about to create strawberry cards - it was meant to be.

Peacock Slimline card

 I've been playing with the May Betterpress Society press plate this week, which is called "Peacock".  My first card is a slimline:

I used 4 Distress Oxide inks to ink up the plate: Blueprint Sketch, Mermaid Lagoon, Peacock Feathers (of course!) and Twisted Citron.  After pressing the bottom image, I repositioned the plate and inked it up a second time to get the feather image at the top of my card.

There are two sentiments that come with this set, so I inked one up with Betterpress Black ink, and ran it though my machine again.  I used two Art Impressions Slimline dies taped together to create my blue frame, that I layered with a second frame to give it a little more dimension.

I finished off with a few irridescent gems for a little bling.  You can sign up for a Betterpress Society subscription through the Papercrafter's Workshop.

Berry Patch

 I recently bought several new (to me!) sets from Pigment Craft Company... and really wanted to use this one.  This is Berry Patch, along with Berry Sentiments.  Stamped with Distress Oxide inks, and a few Spellbinders flowers to finish it off.

Floral Butterfly

 Hello Ai Watercolour fans!

I've gone all floral this week, with a butterfly concept that I've had in my head for awhile, and have finally put it on paper:

I wanted to create a butterfly totally out of Ai flowers/leaves.  I was very inspired by the new 5936 - My Hope Set and 5937 - My Trust sets from the Bible Journaling line, so I pulled them out and set to work.  I first practised on scrap paper, drawing a pencil outline of a butterfly, in order to plan out which stamps would fit inside the shape.  I also picked my colour palette, as planning out what colour each of the flowers would be was an important part.  

*One key thing to keep in mind, is that you are trying to create mirror images - in that the left and right sides of the butterfly should mirror each other.  So unless you have stamps that mirror each other, you have to choose images that will work on both sides.  If you look closely at my project, you'll see that the sides are not mirroring each other, but I made choices that were as close as possible.  I also stopped what I was doing frequently, to look at my work, making sure that I was keeping it balanced on each side.

I'm not going to go into great detail about my project, as I realize that it's pretty involved, and not for everyone.  But the process itself is an easy concept.  As per my practise piece above, you can see that I sketched out a butterfly shape, then chose the larger blooms that fit.  Then I just used the Daisy Bunch from Flower Set - 4052 in orange, and the tiny leafy sprig from 5009 - WC Mini flower Set in lime green to fill in around them all.

I created a wash of #249/565 to dab onto the background, and then I made the body using the rose trio from 5258 - Flower Set 4, and the foxglove from Flower Set - 4052 all in #565.  I knew it was meant to be when I spotted the two flower stamps from the My Hope set that were perfect for the antennae.  The colour palette that I used is: 403/565/126/346/933/993, and the finished card size is 6 1/2" x 5".

My second project is using one of the pretty Scenic Foundations stamps.  This is 5744 - SF Picket Fence:

I stamped my image onto Canson XL Watercolour Paper using Tombows 969/565, then began painting in my scene as follows:  #476 on the house and birdhouse, using a darker shade of it on the shadowed walls, and lighter where the sun hits.  #977 was painted onto the roof, and as shades on the tree.  #177 was washed as the grassy hillsides and stamped with the line of shrubbery stamp from 5372 - W Mini Foliage.  The foliage stamp from the set was used with both #177 and #126 to add a leafy canopy to the tree.

With the main sections painted, I added in the flowers and greenery using the Salvia stamp from Flower Set - 4052 in #565, the daisy bunch in #933 & #946 and the small vines from 5126 - WC Foliage Set 4 in #177 added all the greenery including the vine on the trellis.  I touched everything with a damp brush, and then added a few dots of Bleed Proof White Paint for some softer flowers.  The windows and shadows were painted in using #565, paying special attention to the picket fence, and adding some shadows to the flowers.  I die cut my image, mounted it on some tan cardstock and attached it to my card with 3D foam adhesive.  The background paper is from 5892 - Easter S2 Paper Pack.

Arched Poinsettia

 I have another card with Spellbinders Poinsettia Spray die set today - and this time I've mounted my spray onto a white panel cut with their Essential Arches dies.

I scoured my Pinterest boards looking for colour combo inspiration, and I found several ideas using navy with blush pinks and a hint of burgundy.  I used some two-toned pink cardstock from my stash, and die cut the poinsettias before ink blending some Tattered Rose ink on their centers, then gave them navy middles with gems attached.  The branch is the same navy as the background, and two tones of pale blue holly leaves are glued on to it.  I matted the arch on some dark silver glitter cardstock, and used the same paper to add glittery centers to the white flowers.  A simple sentiment was stamped on the bottom corner.

You can find this card at the Papercrafter's Workshop if you want to view it in person!