Trick or Treat Card

For my second card with my new My Mind’s Eye stamp set, I used the witch stamp as the main image.  First, I stamped the witch in black ink, then colored it in with Spectrum Noir markers and cut it out. I colored a piece of white cardstock with orange ink for the background.  I thought a jagged-edged die cut would give a nice Halloween-y feel, so I created a random shape with my Silhouette machine and cut it out of patterned paper.

I adhered the patterned paper onto the orange-inked piece of cardstock, then stamped the sentiment in black ink.  I glued a piece of ribbon, then adhered the witch with dimensional adhesive.

Supplies used:

• Stamps: My Mind’s Eye
• Markers: Spectrum Noir
• Die cut: Silhouette

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Spooky Monsters Card

There are so many great Halloween stamp sets!  Even though I have several, I picked up a new set recently from My Mind’s Eye.

I decided to use the cute Frankenstein monster stamp as a pattern for a card.  First, I cut a piece of white cardstock with zigzag scissors.  Amazingly, I managed to stamp the 6 monsters perfectly (more or less) on the first try, using black ink.  I colored them in with Spectrum Noir markers.  Then I stamped “spooky night” using Distress Ink three times from the same set and cut them out (just the “spooky” part) with zigzag scissors.  I adhered the sentiments to the card with dimensional adhesive.

I applied washi tape to a card form to create the green background, then I adhered the stamped piece to it.  That was it!

Supplies used:

• Ink: Distress Ink, miscellaneous
• Stamps: My Mind’s Eye
• Markers: Spectrum Noir
• washi tape: Scotch

Doggie Thank You

I owed a thank you card to my best friend, who read about 100 cover letters when I was out of work.  Since he loves dogs, I wanted to use this adorable dog from Paper Smooches.

I stamped the dog and bones in brown ink, cut them out, then colored them in with markers.  I stamped the sentiment on a square of white cardstock in brown ink, then adhered it on patterned “paw” paper for the background.  I adhered the dog with dimensional adhesive to the center of the square, and glued the bones around the square.

Thanks for looking!

Supplies:

• Markers: Spectrum Noir
• Stamps: Paper Smooches, Penny Black

“You Rock” Cassette Tape Card

Remember cassettes?  You might, if you’re as old as I am.  When I played around with a texture medium I had lying around, I found I could make strips that look like the tape inside a cassette.  I found the perfect stencil to make the card I wanted and got to work.

First, I stenciled the cassette on white cardstock with neon inks, then cut it out.

For the layering pieces, I cut a rectangle from blue cardstock, then sprayed it with some sparkly colored sprays.  For the second layering piece, I cut a piece of patterned paper.

For the background piece, I cut “You rock!” from teal cardstock using a Silhouette machine, then I cut the cardstock to the size of my card base (A4).  I coated a piece of white cardstock with purple texture spray, let it dry, then adhered it to the underside of the teal stock.   Then I flicked more purple texture spray onto the piece.  I also cut the music notes with a Silhouette from black cardstock, then covered it with purple iridescent texture paste.

For the “tape,” I applied some texture medium to a craft mat in the width and length I wanted the piece to be, then let it dry.  Once dry, I could mold the tape to make waves, like real tape does if you pull it out of a cassette.  If you’re too young to remember, you’ll just have to trust me.

Finally, I adhered all the pieces together.

Thanks for looking!

Supplies

• Stencil: The Crafter’s Workshop
• Die cuts: Silhouette

Teal Butterfly Card

For this easy card, I let patterned paper do much of the work.

First, I die cut the intricate border shape out of teal paper.  Then, I cut an oval from the patterned paper to fit within the border shape.  I covered a manilla card with teal ink, then stamped the background image in brown ink, to pick up the brown tones in the patterned paper.  I adhered the layering pieces and added a piece of glittery ribbon.  Finally, I finished the card off with three jewels.

Thanks for looking!

Supplies:

• Stamp: Crafter’s Companion
• Ribbon: May Arts

Fishbowl “I Miss You” Card

I love my Silhouette. With the 1000s of designs available, it’s great when you have a very specific idea for a shape, as I did in this case: a fishbowl with a fish.

I used the Silhouette to cut out the fishbowl and fish from white cardstock. I cut a second “water” piece out of a plastic-y material. I decided to use a single fish inside the bowl so it would fit an “I miss you” theme. I colored the water with blue ink and the fish in yellow and orange; I used a blue marker for the bubbles.

I colored a strip of white cardstock with a dark teal colored texture spray, then cut a fishtail in the end. I stamped the sentiment in teal on white cardstock. For the little decorative piece of paper, I die cut a small piece of white cardstock, then inked it with light blue-green ink. I adhered all the elements, adding a strip of blue ribbon.

Thanks for looking!

Supplies:

• Die cuts: Silhouette, Spellbinders
• Stamp: Paper Smooches
• Ribbon: American Crafts

Happy Wishes from the Emerald City

I love stamps related to places, and being a Pacific Northwesterner, I particularly love Seattle stamps. You might have heard it rains here sometimes (ha ha), so a gray, rainy theme seemed appropriate.

I inked a piece of white cardstock with blue ink, then stamped the Seattle stamp in gray ink.

I added clear texture spray for “rain.”

I stamped the cloud in silver ink. I stamped the umbrella in black ink and colored it with markers. I used silver polka dot paper for the background, then adhered the blue layering piece, cloud, and umbrella. I finished with a piece of gray ribbon.

Those are my darling nieces and nephew in the background, by the way.

Thanks for looking!

Supplies:

• Stamps: Impress, Penny Black, The Rubber Cafe
• Ribbon: American Crafts
• Markers: Spectrum Noir

You’re my cup of coffee

I’m kind of a freak about crafts featuring coffee and coffee cups, maybe because I’m totally a freak about coffee.  So I had to buy this Hero Arts coffee cup stamp when I saw it.

To create the card, I stamped the coffee cup in dark red ink, then cut it out.  My X-acto knife skills need some work, but the inside of the cup was uncomplicated enough that my cut looks smooth (mostly).  I cut patterned paper the size of the card, then cut a smaller rectangle of a different pattern for a layering piece.  I used brown texture spray to get the look of a coffee stain on the layering piece, then rounded the corners and punched out two hearts.  For the smaller white hearts, I stamped on white cardstock in brown ink and cut them out.

To assemble, I adhered the background piece to the card, then the strip of ribbon, placing it where it would show through the punched hearts.  Then I adhered the layering piece, the coffee cup and white hearts.  To create “steam,” I took a couple of paper shavings from cutting the patterned paper and adhered them to the layering piece.

Thanks for looking!

Supplies used:

• Stamps: Hero Arts, Avery Elle
• Patterned paper: Lawn Fawn
• Ribbon: May Arts
• Punch, corner rounder: Martha Stewart Crafts

Cupcake Birthday

My sweet niece, Sona, just turned 17 (!).  Since she has a sweet tooth, like me, I decided to make her a cupcake card.

I stamped the cupcakes (Unity) in black ink, cut them out, then colored them with Spectrum Noir markers — a technique I am still trying to master, as you can see.  To assemble the card, I placed each cupcake on a circle of pink tissue paper from my Messy Box subscription.  I stamped the sentiment (Paper Smooches) in pink ink.  Finally, I sprayed a piece of cardstock with pink texture spray, then cut a strip and attached it to the bottom of the card.

Thanks for looking!

Gnome “Home”

Hi there! Today I’m posting as part of IMAGINE Crafts’ product swap with the fab folks at Lawn Fawn. You’ll find my post on the company blog, along with projects from the talented Artist in Residence team.