Tuesday, August 24, 2021

VIDEO | Taylored Expressions | Holiday Card feat. Gathered Stars Die


Hello, crafty friends! I'm back with another video for Taylored Expressions, this time featuring the Gathered Stars Die which was an order exclusive during the month of May 2021. This die is so beautiful and looks great as the focal point, on the edges as an accent, and even used in parts as a shaker.


This is definitely one of the quickest and easiest cards I've made and I love that since it can be mass-produced. I started by die cutting the Gathered Stars Die twice from gold glitter cardstock. I separated all the positive pieces from the die cut and saved them for a future card.


Next, I stamped the On the Block - Merry, three times using Watermelon, Cherry Pop and Mulled Wine inks. I die cut the stamped words using the coordinating On the Block - Merry Shadow die.


I cut a 4" x 5.25" panel of Sugar Cube cardstock and used the super fine nozzle of the Bearly Art liquid glue to adhere the Gathered Stars die cuts on an angle. I didn't have to be too precise with this because the glitter cardstock is very flexible and I also wanted the edges to pop up a bit for dimension and visual interest.


Next, I stamped the Simple Strips - Christmas sentiments with watermark ink on Oreo cardstock and heat embossed them with gold embossing powder. I die cut the sentiment strips using the Simple Strips - Asymmetrical Die and chose one that fit with all the Merry die cuts.


To finish, I popped up the centre On the Block - Merry and the Simple Strips - Christmas sentiment on foam tape. Then I adhered the other two Merry dies using Scor-Tape and trimmed off the overhanging pieces. I attached the panel to an Oreo card base and my card is done.

Thanks so much for watching!

Supplies

Monday, August 23, 2021

Spellbinders | August 2021 Large Die of the Month

Today's Spellbinders card features the August 2021 Large Die of the Month, which is another stunning business-sized slimline! I paired it up with a heat foiled sentiment from Sweet & Snarky Birthday Wishes and flowers from the Universal Curved Border Set, previously featured HERE and HERE and now available for purchase individually. As with all card kit subscriptions, you can cancel anytime and there is no long-term obligation! You have until August 24th to subscribe to get these particular kits.

The August 2021 Large Die of the Month includes five dies. I started my card by cutting the lavender piece using the two largest dies; one creates the pattern and the other is a simple frame. Then I cut a 3.5" x 8.5" white linen card base and adhered the lavender piece to the card base using Bearly Art liquid glue.

Next, I used the three layering hexagon dies to create the focal points. The cardstock colours I used, from top to bottom, are midnight green, audrey blue and mint. Before settling on this combination, I had used the same three colours in a different order but preferred this version.

When all of the hexagons were assembled and adhered to the lavender panel, I heat foiled the sentiment from Sweet & Snarky Birthday Wishes using Polished Brass glimmer hot foil. I used the coordinating die to die cut it and attached it to the card with a combination of foam tape squares and mini glue dots.

To create the darling little flowers from the Universal Curved Border Set, I die cut them from audrey blue cardstock and the leaves from brushed metal gold cardstock. I assembled the flowers by sandwiching the leaves between two flower die cuts. Then I popped them on to the card with foam squares. To finish, I added small gold pearls in the centres.

Here's a list of kits I share each month and some of the value kits:

Don't forget to check out the Clearance Sale with an additional 20% off at checkout!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Supplies

Thursday, August 19, 2021

Spellbinders | August 2021 Clear Stamp of the Month

Today's Spellbinders card features the August 2021 Clear Stamp of the Month, which I combined with the Small Die of the Month and Glimmer Hot Foil Kit of the Month! I love how easy it is to mix and match all of the kits from each month. As with all card kit subscriptions, you can cancel anytime and there is no long-term obligation! You have until August 24th to subscribe to get these particular kits.


I was so excited to see that the August 2021 Clear Stamp of the Month is a layering stamp set! It was so easy to stamp these beautiful flowers in different ink colours so, naturally, I chose Catherine Pooler inks. For the large purple flowers, I used Sweet Sixteen and Pucker Up. For the stems and foliage, I used Sea Glass. For the centres of the purple flowers, I used Catching Rays. I created an ombre effect with the small yellow flowers using Tiara, Shea Butter and Sauna.


To create the sentiment panel, I used Bright Pink Glimmer Hot Foil with the foiling hexagon from the Glimmer Hot Foil Kit of the Month. I stamped the sentiment, creating an ombre look using Sweet SixteenPucker Up and Flirty Fuchsia. Then I die cut it using the coordinating die.


To create the frame for the sentiment, I used one of the hexagons from the Small Die of the Month. For the base underneath the stamped sentiment, I pressed the Sea Glass ink pad directly on to white cardstock, then ran it through the die cutting machine. Then I popped up the sentiment with foam tape. I used liquid glue to stack four layers of the outline hexagon and topped it with a gold mirror layer.


When the sentiment parts are assembled, I love how it looks with the narrow void between hexagon shapes, showing off the Sea Glass layer. I further embellished it with pearl white jewels.


Before assembling the card, I created a textured frame for the card base, using the ultra large 6" x 9" Sun Burst Stencil. It's subtle but adds so much to the overall look of the card. I really love the size of this stencil because it was made to accommodate all card sizes from basic A2 sizes to business slimline sizes! 

Here's a list of kits I share each month and some of the value kits:

Don't forget to check out the Clearance Sale with an additional 20% off at checkout!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Supplies

VIDEO | Taylored Expressions | In the Abstract Card Kit


Hello, crafty friends! I'm excited to bring you another video for Taylored Expressions, this time featuring  the trendy new In the Abstract Card Kit. The kit has three fabulous Abstract Accents stencils for a total of eight different shapes (or 16 if you flip them over for more variety), one 4" x 4" Abstract Accents patterned stamp set, one 4" x 6" Beautiful Soul sentiment stamp set, Subtle Sprigs dies, two Bitty Blender Brushes and a pot of black rhinestones (additional supplies are linked below). There's also the option of add-on Branch Out Dies and you'll be given this option when you go to the website and add the kit to your cart.


I thought it would be fun to make three cards, one each in my favourite dimensions - A2, square and mini slim. These are the three sizes I use the most. A2 is the standard 4.25" x 5.5" card, my square version is 4.25" x 4.25" so it fits into an A2 envelope, and the Taylored Expressions mini slim is 3.5" x 6".


I started by stamping all three sentiments from the Beautiful Soul stamp set using Oreo ink. All three of my cards feature the following four ink colours for ink blending - Fruit Punch, Peaches 'n Cream, Mint Julep and Spearmint


I used both my original and pastel blender brushes, as well as the bitty blender brushes included in the kit. There are larger shapes and smaller shapes. It was easier to use bigger brushes for the larger shapes and bitty blender brushes for the smaller shapes but either would work, especially if you already have brushes for your favourite colours.


I had a lot of fun designing the patterns for each of these cards. The size and shape of the card determined the layout for my stencilled shapes. The A2 shapes are more haphazard or random, the mini slim card is linear and the square card is symmetrical.


When the stencilling was done, I die cut the Subtle Sprigs from vellum, Spearmint and Oreo cardstock and arranged them on the respective cards. The busier A2 card required vellum sprigs to keep it light and airy, the Fruit Punch shapes on the mini slim card looked great with  Spearmint sprigs, and the denser grouping of shapes on the square card looked great with a single dramatic Oreo sprig.


To finish, I attached the A2 panel to a Sea Salt card base to coordinate with the vellum sprigs. I created a split panel frame of Spearmint and Mint Julep cardstock for the square card, with those two colours reversed from the stencilled shapes. I used a mini slim top-fold card base in Oreo for the mini slim card.

Thanks so much for watching!

Supplies

Sunday, August 15, 2021

Custom Birthday Card

My son turned 13 this week and I'm finding it hard to believe that he's a teenager! While he's growing up fast, there are still some things about him that remind me that he's still my little boy and I'll be holding on to that for a little longer.

When I asked him what kind of card he wanted for his birthday - and I never do that - he said he wanted 'Widgie' on it. If you have kids (or even if you don't) and you've been collecting Squishmallows, then you know that the mallard duck Avery is a cult favourite and very hard to get nowadays. If you're not familiar with the story behind this so-called widgeon, you can read all about it in last year's birthday post.

Off I went to think about how to create Widgie with my craft supplies. My thoughts immediately went to the Paper Smooches Easter Egg Die. It's wider than an oval at the bottom so it was the perfect shape for Widgie.

I cut the body shape from green leaf (head and tag), white foil (collar), dark chocolate (body) and pebble (belly). To die cut the collar, I used a slightly curved die from the Paper Smooches Quotables die set, which was also used in the same video as the Easter Egg Die. It was definitely a versatile favourite so many years ago. The belly was made using one of Catherine Pooler's Nested Oval Dies.


The shapes from Ellen Hutson's Stay Cool Dies turned out to be absolute perfection for the tag, eyes and beak. I clear embossed the tag to mimic satin ribbon just like on the real Widgie and that was the end of the popsicle stick. The eyes were die cut from black cardstock using the small circle die that I used for eyes on THESE cards. The beak was die cut twice from orange peel cardstock and layered for height.


As I've mentioned a few times now, I'm completely obsessed with heat foiling so I wanted to use one of my current favourites, Sweet & Snarky Birthday Wishes from Spellbinders. For the large Happy Birthday die cut, I used silver shimmer foil on white cardstock. I love that the shimmer shows up as a straight silver on some angles and a full rainbow on other angles. The secondary sentiment was heat foiled using aurora foil on dark chocolate cardstock.

I created a 5" x 5" kraft card base and trimmed a piece of 4.75" x 4.75" panel of audrey blue cardstock, which I dry embossed using Altenew's Mod Squares embossing folder. I chose this colour because it's one of my favourites but also to represent water since widgeons live most of their lives on the water. The dimension and details are really incredible and I love that it's a little Minecraft-y because my son is still very much into that.

To finish, I popped up Widgie and the sentiments with foam tape, then secured black pom poms for wings. I love that I was able to combine so many favourites from different brands to create the perfect card for my son!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Supplies

Wednesday, August 11, 2021

Catherine Pooler | Boho Fall Release Day!

Catherine Pooler's gorgeous Boho Fall Release is now available for purchase! I love making tags but always forget to make them so I made a set using the Painted Leaves Bundle, Give Thanks Sentiments and a plethora of older fall-themed sets.


I made one tag for each of the leaves in the Painted Leaves stamp set. For the layers, I used WOW! embossing powders in Rockin Red, Lavaburst and Sunburst. I used Rockin Red on the Mandarin Spice oak leaf, Lavaburst on the Orange Peel oak leaf and Clay Mask aspen/birch leaf, and Sunburst on the Catching Rays maple leaf. The details are so beautiful and vibrant!


I cut the tags from the Hearts-n-Tags dies and stamped the Light as a Feather Background in Tranquil and Cove Blue inks, then cut two tags from each to layer. I secured the two layers together with liquid glue before stringing white and black Hemptique cord. 


The smaller leaves stamped with Bay Breeze ink are from Love Grows Here and Autumn is Calling. The squirrel from Warm My Heart, bird from Love Grows Here, mug from Pumpkin Season, pumpkin from Hey Pumpkin, and all the sentiments were stamped with Merlot ink.


I varied the colours on all the other small elements, like the acorn, heart, and pumpkin stem and leaf. This ensured that the maximum number of colours were represented on each tag.


There are two layers of foam tape holding the elements on their respective tags. The first layer is the large leaf from Painted Leaves and the second layer is the group of additions from previously-released fall-themed sets. I love how well everything paired up with the Painted Leaves Bundle and Give Thanks Sentiments.


I have linked to all of my product supplies below and you can also click on the image below to head to the shop for all of the Boho Fall Release goodies and more!

Thanks so much for stopping by and happy shopping!

Supplies

Tuesday, August 10, 2021

Catherine Pooler | Boho Fall Release: Painted Leaves Bundle + StampNation Early Ordering!

I'm a September baby and fall has been my favourite season for as long as I can remember! I love everything about it, especially the colours of the leaves, pumpkins, sweaters and seasonal hot beverages. When I saw this stunning Painted Leaves Bundle, I fell in love with it immediately!

The Painted Leaves Stamp Set is a large 6" x 8" layering stamp set and I used all four leaves on this card. As always, I started by choosing a colour for each leaf and pairing up that colour with a darker shade in the same colour family so I could use the rock 'n roll technique to create an ombre look with both the solid stamp and the detail stamp.

I started with a 4" x 5.25" panel in my MISTI stamping tool. I stamped the maple leaf using Shea Butter and Sauna inks. As with all the leaves, I used sponge daubers to soften the lines between the two shades. I also ombre stamped the details for consistency.

I stamped the aspen/birch leaf using Bellini and Clay Mask inks. The two oak leaves were stamped with Tutti Frutti and Mandarin Spice inks, and Aquatini and Daydream inks. I really love the different shapes and sheer size of these leaves, which makes them amazing for creating entire backgrounds and also on their own.

It's not obvious that I used the coordinating Painted Leaves Dies because I used them to die cut masks before stamping the Light as a Feather Background using the same eight ink colours I used on the leaves. I also used blending brushes and matching inks to warm up the edges.

I stamped the sentiment from the Give Thanks Sentiments Stamp Set which has the most amazing combination of classic and scripted fonts. I'm going to be using this stamp set a lot for fall and Thanksgiving cards! To finish, I added sequins, one each from the Highland, Manhattan and Vegas, Baby! sequin mixes.

The amazing Painted Leaves Bundle, Boho Extras Bundle and entire Boho Fall Release will be available to StampNation members TODAY August 10th at 12:00pm EST and for general ordering tomorrow August 11th at 9:00am EST. The following links will be live at those times.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Supplies