Christmas Gift Card Holders

I saw something kind of similar on Pinterest, and said, hey, I can do that!  Unfortunately, I can't find the original pin link for you.

So here are my gift card holders:

Quick, easy, and pretty! The hardest part was finding cardstock in my hoard that I could match ink colors to- this is one of those times I wish I had a Stampin' Up! dealer nearby,

 I really wanted to "hang" the popped ornament on gold thread, but I didn't have any and didn't feel like getting ready to go out just to spend and couple dollars at Michael's.  Maybe if I get by there later, I'll get the thread and add it.


Supplies:
Cardstock- Bazzill
Inks- Memento
Stamps- Stampin Up! (small ornament), Simon Says Stamp (curvy ornament) and Hero Arts (sentiments).
Eyelets from my stash.

Thanks for looking!

Online Card Classes Day 5- Gift Tags

So I've been up since 4 this morning, not tired at all (yet) and I've been doing a little catching up lol.

Below is my gift tag:

I'm not the world's best fussy cutter lol but I think it turned out ok.  This will be used for Holly's Christmas gift!

Supplies used:  Hampton Arts stamp set, Bazill Marshmallow card stock, MAMBI Card in a Flash card base used as the tag, and Spectrum Noir pens.  I don't know just where the ribbon came from.

Thanks for looking!

Online Card Class Day 6 +

Hooray for bonus days!  The extra day is about coloring - so here is my teeny tiny, colored image!  Lol  and I didn't even copy Kristina Werner so how about that.

Here's my card:

Lets see, I used a MAMBI "Cards in a Flash" card base as a background paper, Spellbinders ornament die, Memento inks, Lawn Fawn Winter Penguin stamp set, SSS Ornaments stamp and die set, and my Spectrum Noirs to color in my lil penguin.  Oh, and I also used clear Wink of Stella on his scarf and the skate trails, and silver Wink of Stella on the ornament tops.  Sorry you can't see that in the photo.

I keep thinking I need to set up a better space to take the photos if I'm going to be posting pics of cards, but I just haven't gotten arowntooit yet.  How do ya'll have yours set up?

Thanks for looking!

My fourth dozen cards!

OK, so I seem to be addicted to Kristina Werner's videos lol. I like that she makes cards pretty simply, using stamps and inking techniques rather than a lot of super expensive toys (dies, etc).  I'm sure she does use all the toys- she surely gets them as part of her employment- but my favorite cards are the ones that are simple.


 This video is from lat year, and I loved the long format and the non-Christmassy color.  It also looked like it would be easy and inexpensive to recreate.  It only takes Distress Ink, two colors of dye ink, one pigment ink, and ONE small stamp set.  Woot woot!

Here's my take on it:

I changed to A2 size so that I could get two cards from each sheet of cardstock rather than just one, but I think the layout still works, even though the "season's greetings" looks a little crowded there.

I don't know if you can see it in the pic, but my white pigment ink (Colorbox) dried almost clear.  I didn't heat set it, just let it dry naturally for TWO days- boy it took a long time!- because I didn't want to deal with warpy cardstock.  Si it kind of lost that nice snowy look.  I am wondering if I had heat set it, would the color have stayed white?  I kind of think it would have been just as light and warpy too, which would have upset me.  So, into my shopping basket goes the Hero Arts Memories Unicorn ink.

Still not a bad card.  Kind of nice, in fact.  Kind of.  That ink still kind of irks me, too.




I do hate that Michaels carries such a small selection of supplies. They are they only craft store I have in town.  I have to order all my cardstock online because they carry the wimpiest, lightest weight cardstock.  I have to order most inks online because they carry only a few colors of a very few manufacturers.  Stamp selection is so rarely rotated, I think I actually have every stamp they offer.  Same with dies, embossing folders, etc.  It doesn't take long, either.  So if you are reading this and you just happen to be looking for a place to open a great local stamp store, consider coming here!  lol  You can be sure I'd keep you in business!

Online Card Classes Day 4- One Layer Cards

Yay today is the day for one layer cards!  Lol I've been eyeballing Jennifer McGuire's Ombre Stamping technique for a while, and I just got the stamp set in yesterday, so here we go:

I really liked how this one turned out, even with hand-drawn bows and strings lol.  That's a Simon Says Stamp set "Ornaments", and Verve greeting "Joy to the World", Memento inks and Filigra embossing powder.  This was actually my planning go on a piece of plain cardstock, I liked it so much that I went ahead and mounted it on a card base.  When I go into production, of course, this will be a one-layer card.

I also tried out another idea, and this one is getting there but is still not the card I have in my head.  I dry embossed a Spellbinders frame around the outside, and used Paper Smooches' A Blessed Christmas stamp and die set.  I colored it with Spectrum Noir pencils because I didn't know if alcohol markers would soak through.  I think my next iteration, I will try Distress Markers. Here is my card:

I like the basic clean and simple idea, I just think it lacks a lil something.  What do you think?

Anyhoo, these are my cards for the day, thanks for looking!

Online Card Classes Holiday Card Workshop Day One

OK, so I'm actually doing my Day One card on day two lol forgive me please I just didn't have time yesterday.

So here is my card, Created with Bazzill cardstock, Moxxie patterned paper, and Verve stamps and dies:

I think it will be easy to duplicate in assembly-line fashion.  Only three stamps, two dies, a lil ribbon and some paper layers!

Thanks for looking!

OK, so I gave myself a break on Kristina Werner's videos, and this time I've chosen a Jennifer McGuire video that uses the same Paper Smooches stamp set.  Gotta love when you can use the same stamp set different ways!  Lol I don't know about you but when I see a card I love, I have to get the products to make it with rather than experimenting with what I already have.  Pinterest kills me!

Here is the video and here is my card:

Again, not too bad, huh.  I wish I'd taken a little more time with the Glossy Accents to prevent bubbling, but now I know better.  I made twelve of these, the most time consuming part was waiting for the Glossy Accents and then the Distress Inks to dry.

I made a couple more cards while I was at it.  The first card I made using a Die'sire Christmas Create A Card Die. It's a 6x6 die, and fortunately, it's very detailed because there's no room for much embellishment!

I don't know if you can see all the embossed detail- it's very pretty in person.

I also made an easel card with a Paper Artist die from Paper wishes plus some free papers from a magazine subscription.  Here it is:

Ta da!

So what did you do this weekend?

It's Christmas card time!

Today I tried out Kristina Werner's O Holy Night card from her Holiday series.  This was kind of my first go at using Tim Holtz Distress Inks so, you know, be kind to me lolol.

I didn't do the extra stars with white gel pen- I didn't think the card needed it.  I made twelve of these, and the assembly line method worked very well.  Inking the card, I did all the pieces in one color before moving to the next rather than inking each piece all five colors separately.  Rather than stamping each card twice with Versamark for the greeting and star, I mounted them together on my Fiskars stamp press.

I also noted in her video that the Memento Tuxedo Black marker didn't match the Versafine ink she used to stamp with- so I stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink to avoid that problem.

Here's my card:

Not too bad, huh?

Obviously I need a lil practice with the distress ink blending, to get smoother color blends.  But otherwise, I really like it!


Techniques used:
Distress ink blending
Embossing

Lessons learned:
-That Cropadile Corner Chomper really does the job right.  My other corner rounders only worked on paper, and certainly not on double thicknesses of cardstock!  So glad I got it, no idea why I waited so long!

-The embossing buddy is a necessity when embossing over distress inks.  They really do take a while to dry.

-To lessen warping from the heat gun while embossing:  let the gun run a moment or two to heat up, then you'll be able to emboss the powder more quickly.

-Don't be afraid to use a good bit of foam mounting tape.  It will counteract the warping from the embossing.


Anyhoo, have a great Sunday!  My next review will be of Jennifer MCGuire's card using the same stamp set.  Woo hoo!  I love when you can use the same stamp sets to do completely different cards!

Anniversary card for friends

A friend has an anniversary tomorrow, I couldn't let it pass without making her a card!  Here it is:

I hope they like it!

Supplies used:

Bazzill Marshmallow cardstock
Recollections silver cardstock
Paper Arts die from Paper Wishes
Spellbinders Embossabilities folder
Sheer Creations ribbon
Filigree Fine Art Embossing Powder in silver
7 Gypsies stamp

Thanks for looking!

A few more cards today

All scraplifted from SSS in one way or another lol:

Hmm, I am just realizing that the greeting on this one is a bit crooked.  Dang it!

 I went all the way into town to Michael's just to get the googly eyes to finish this card lol.

As you can see, I did get the Bokeh Builder set from MFT, gotta have dots!  Got the die set that matches the animals, too, and what a difference that made in cutting my mask.

Anyhoo, this has been my Saturday.  What did you do?

kwerner designs and Simon Says Stamp October 2014 kit

Yep, I'm back again, and since I got just my Simon Says Stamp Oct 2014 kit, I am reviewing another Kristina Werner video.

I selected the second card on the video as it seemed it might be simple enough.  Her video didn't show her making the entire card, so I had to kind of wing it a little.

In my Simon package, I had also ordered the 120 lb SSS white cardstock, and since this looked like a single layer card with some alcohol ink coloring, I used that.  It is a great cardstock- it certainly has enough heft to serve as a single layer card base.

The fact that the alcohol inks won't soak through also means that you're pretty limited in your blending.  As a result, my coffee cup shadows leave quite a bit to be desired.

I didn't need a thank you card today, so I used a different sentiment from the set, and I think that turned out great.  Everything else, I tried to copy from Kristina's card.

Here's how it turned out:

That's my card on the bottom and hers on the computer screen on top.

I forgot to round the top corners, and my card is a tent fold where hers is a side fold.

So what do you think?  I think my stamping was spot on, but my coloring fell sadly short.  So I give myself a "Good Try" for this one.


Techniques used:
Stamping with clear stamps
Copic coloring (or Spectrum Noir, in my case)

Lessons learned:
Paper that's great for card making may not be perfect for Copic coloring.  I'll need to either learn better coloring techniques or live with less than perfect coloring lol.

Have a great Saturday!

Just one more for today

OK, so I love Kristina Werner's blog and video tutorials.  I saw this one and just HAD to try it out.  That pig is so darn cute!  I was a little intimidated, though, because of the coloring.  I am a novice colorer.  I have the Spectrum Noir pens, and I love playing with them, but sometimes it's really hard for me to get the results I'd like.  As a result, I kind of shy away from really complicated coloring projects.  I think I'd like to enroll in Online Card Classes' Copic for Cardmakers class, but I'm not sure I'd get as much out of it since I have Spectrum Noir.  On the other hand, if it's about techniques rather than numbering systems, I think maybe I would really learn a lot.  Stay tuned to see if I spring for the class!

Back to the piggy birthday card.  This video seemed so simple, I went right to the Simon Says Stamp store and got the stamp set.  I already had the Fog dye ink in my basket, so I just dropped in some Inkadinkadoo masking paper and the Fiskars compact stamp press.  Why the masking paper and stamp press?  Usually I do okay making a mask with post-it notes, but I thought the masking paper would be key to getting the background done with a maximum chance of success.  Also, I'd been eyeing the stamp press for a while- it seems like a good way to line up your stamp with images already in the scene.

I was right- the Inkadinkadoo masking paper was a tremendous help.  I didn't have to worry about holding it down while I swirled in the Distress Ink background.  Post-it notes wouldn't have done this job very well, but they are okay for masking when you'll just be stamping on top.

Did the stamp press make a big difference?  Well, I probably could have done without it, as clear stamps aren't that difficult to line up BUT I admit I'll be using it a lot in the future as I am kind of a stickler on having things lined up perfectly.  So for only $14, I think it's a good enough deal, especially if you are very picky like I am or if you are new to stamping and would like a tool to help get great results right off the bat.

I didn't get the Bokeh Builder stamp set  because I thought I had lots of small, simple shapes like dots that I could use.  Once I began the card, however, it seemed I had none at all!  How could I have no dots? So that's in my cart for my next order.  I did find a small four leaf clover on another Simon Says Stamp set that I already owned, and I think it did a good job of filling in for the dots.

Here's how my card turned out:

Not too bad, huh?  Again, just shy of Nailed It!  I do wish I'd had some dots to stamp, and when I make this card again, I'll have them.  Otherwise, I am pretty happy with it.  I used Copic Marker paper because that's what I had available, so this will not be a one layer card.  I'll just pop this up on a card base and call it done, though.  

Techniques used:

Distress inking

Masking

Alcohol marker coloring

One layer card

Lessons learned:

You don't have to be a pro at coloring to make a pretty card

Substitutions are okay

You need stamps with basic design elements (like dots)

The right tools make the job easier and more fun.

Happy Sunday, and have a great week!

Are all those instructional videos really instructional?

I've not been posting on my blog for almost  a year now, but I have been perusing other card making blogs, especially those that feature instructional videos.  We don't have a local stamp store (the nearest is three hours away) to go to and learn new techniques, and there doesn't seem to be a lot of Stamping Up! activity in my area, so this seems to be the best way to learn new techniques.

However, I'm a little skeptical because of my  Pinterest fails lol.  Is it just me, or can anyone replicate a craft project that was posted on Pinterest?  I sure can't seem to!  So that makes me wonder- how many of these videos are actually doable by the beginning to average stamper?  Let's find out!

We start today with a kwernerdesign.com video that features a very pretty card that seems simple enough that even I can create a similar card.

Because it's important to have the right tools, I went to Simon Says Stamp to order the stamp set (along with the matching die set because, why not?) and the Fog dye ink.  Everything else I had something similar in my stash.

My result:  Not bad. In fact, I'd say just shy of Nailed It!  I wish I'd had a better quality white cardstock to stamp on- gotta order me some. Plus I had a limited range of colors for the pigment inks, but I don't think the green is a bad substitute for the purple.  My twine is slightly different- it's a paper twine that required a little work before it would be pliable enough to tie around the card.

Techniques used in the video:
"Rock n roll" inking
Over stamping
Heat embossing
Masking

Lessons learned:
Use good quality cardstock for best results on any card.
Sometimes, one stamp set is all it takes!

So, that's it for now.  Let me know what you think if you tried to copy Kristina's card, too!  If there are other videos you'd like me to check out, leave it in the comments and I'll try to do them.

Happy Sunday!