News
News
by Lisa Tilson on May 25 2022
Hello there, Lisa here with you today. I hope that you are all well! Today I have a card to share with you using the new Speedy Recovery stamp set, along with the A2 Blooming Iris stencil which was released last month. I didn't get a chance to use the stencil last month and as soon as I saw the Speedy Recovery set, I knew that I would pair them up. I love the way, in real life, iris's stand tall and strong and that's why I thought they would go well together.
I began by spraying Pixie Spray onto the back of the stencil and letting it sit for a minute or so. I then secured it to a panel of 80lb white cardstock. Using Life Changing Blender Brushes I blended Altenew Inks through the stencil. For the stems I used Moss and Olive; the flowers were inked with Lavender Fields and Deep Iris and the centres with Warm Sunshine. I did mask off areas as I went so that I got a crisp image without too much contamination of colour in other areas.
I then did a little bit of pencil colouring over the inks to deepen some of the areas and I used Faber Castell Polychromos Olive Green Yellowish (173) and Mauve (249) for that.
Next, I smooshed some Black Soot Distress Ink onto my glass mat, spritzed it with a little bit of water and then flicked some splatter over the panel. I left it to dry and then I popped it into the MISTI. Using Black Hybrid Ink, I double stamped the Stay Strong sentiment from Speedy Recovery.
To finish the card I adhered a few Iridescent Moonshine Sequins using wet adhesive and then added the panel onto a top folding A2 heavyweight note card. That brings me to the end of the card. I always enjoy using stencils whatever the medium. I hope that you get some time to craft today and maybe ink up a stencil or two yourselves. Until next time, have a great day!
News
by Lisa Tilson on May 04 2022
Hello there, today I have a card to share with you using a stencil that was released last month. I love a stencil, you can do so much with them and today I decided to play with some Paper Glaze.
The stencil that I am using today is Momma And Baby Giraffes A2. It's a lovely stencil and because of it's subject, I thought I would use some colours that you might see in an African sunset.
I started by taking the stencil and a piece of black cardstock and I taped the stencil from behind. Using a Mixed Media Spatula I applied all three colours from Paper Glaze Ombre Pumpkin Spices through it. I tried them on a separate panel with a more random spread of colour but I preferred the tiered look that I got on this card panel that you see today. So, I applied the gold at the top, followed by the brown and then the beautiful red at the bottom.
I removed the stencil, cleaned it and the spatula and set the panel aside to dry.
Once it was dry, I trimmed it down and added it to a black top folding A2 card base using black Extra Wide Foam Tape. The sentiment is from I'll Always Pick You and it was stamped using Versamark Ink onto black cardstock. I applied Hero Arts White Detail Embossing Powder and heat set before trimming it out and adding it onto the panel, also with black Extra Wide Foam Tape.
A very quick and easy card to make but I love the pretty colours against the black cardstock. The gold in particular is stunning but always difficult to photograph! Thank you for joining me today, I hope that you have a wonderful day and I will be back soon with another card for you. Happy crafting!
News
by Lisa Tilson on Apr 13 2022
Hello there, Lisa here with you today to share a card using the Full Round Tree Die and I paired it with a sentiment from an older set called Face The Sun
I started by taking two panels of 110lb white cardstock and adding some Stick It Adhesive onto the back of them. Taking the Full Round Tree Die, I then ran each panel through my Gemini Junior a few times as it is an intricate die. I must have been feeling very brave when I decided to cut two of them and stack them together! But I went ahead with it anyway. I adhered the die cuts together gradually working my way around the tree and poking any excess out with my craft pick! This did take some time as you probably would have guessed. However, it really did make a difference having some dimension to the tree and if I had had a bit more patience, I would have die cut a third and added it on top. I think having a bit of dimension really helps to make it stand out from the cardstock behind.
For the background I selected five different coloured cardstocks. I used Concord & 9th Peacock, Oceanside and Sprout, Lawn Fawn Cilantro and Hero Arts Kiwi. I cut these into jaunty triangles with my paper trimmer. This wasn’t as simple as you’d think either. I am sure there must be a quicker (and easier) way to cut them but mine took a while and involved all sorts of pencil lines here there and everywhere. Still, I loved it at the end, so that was also worth the time and I don’t think I have ever created a background like this before!
All the triangles were adhered flat onto a panel of white cardstock that I then added to a top folding A2 base card.
The tree stack was then added on top with wet adhesive. I stamped a sentiment from Face The Sun onto black cardstock, added some White Detail Embossing Powder and heat set. I trimmed it out and popped it up with foam tape.
A labour of love for sure – not that you would know it. It looks so simple! Thank you for joining me today. I hope that you have a good day, and happy crafting!
News
by Lisa Tilson on Mar 23 2022
Hello there, Lisa here with you today to share a mini slim line card featuring the beautiful Slim Line Rose Lines stencil. This stencil is so pretty, very delicate and intricate. I couldn't wait to ink it up!
I began by taking a panel of 80lb Neenah Solar White cardstock and placing the stencil down over the top. I secured it from behind using low tack tape. Using Life Changing Blender Brushes, I blended Seedless Preserves, Picked Raspberry and Worn Lipstick Distress Oxide Inks through the stencil. I used Seedless Preserves at both ends, followed by Picked Raspberry at both ends. Worn Lipstick is the central colour. I always repeat the blending several times to make sure I get a good transition of colour between each ink. Next, I die cut the panel using one of the scalloped dies from Mini Slim Line Stitched and Scalloped Rectangles.
Next I took the Love Ya word dies included in the same slim line die set and die cut them three times from 110lb Neenah Solar White cardstock. They were adhered together to form a small stack. I then adhered this stack onto my ink blended panel and this in turn was added onto a top folding horizontal base card. To finish the card I added some of the new Pink Bottlecap Flowers Sequins. It's a bit difficult to see them on the card but I have them arranged around the word die.
I really love this stencil and it also comes in a 6 x 6 version so you have lots of options for creating different sized cards with them. Thanks for stopping by, I hope you have a great week!
News
by Lisa Tilson on Mar 04 2022
Hello there, Lisa here with you today to share a clean and simple card which could be used for an anniversary, or maybe just as a love/friendship card.
To create the card I began by die cutting the arch and circle frame from the A2 Lattice Arch Cover Plate Die set from white cardstock. I set them to one side whilst I worked on the images. The two adorable bunnies are from Chloe's Garden and they, along with the two birds, were stamped onto Neenah 80lb white cardstock using Black Hybrid Ink. I coloured them with Copics and then die cut them with the coordinating dies.
I added tiny dabs of glue onto the back of the lattice die cuts and adhered them to a top folding notecard. The bunnies and birds were popped up with foam tape for extra interest. I thought it might be nice to add a white satin bow over the circular frame, so that natrually took about 3 hours to tie!! Kidding, but it did take a while!. For a little bit of sparkle I added Iridescent Moonshine sequins all around the arch - they look so pretty in real life!
The sentiment is from BFF Favorite Hello and this was stamped onto grey cardstock using Black Hybrid Ink. It was trimmed down and added to the panel with foam tape.
News
by Lisa Tilson on Feb 16 2022
Hello there! Lisa here with you today to share a fun retro slimline card featuring the new Misshapen Stitched Circle Dies. This is a really cool set of dies, and as soon as I saw them, I thought it would be fun to embrace the misshapenness (is that even a word?!) and create a card with a funky vibe.
So I picked out a palette of colours from my stash of cardstock that I thought would play well together and set about cutting them with the dies. You get eight dies to play with and I used them all for this card. The good thing is that I also have plenty left over for another card.
Next I cut a 3.25" x 8.25" Neenah Solar White 80lb panel using a rectangle die from the Slim Line Die Cutting System set and started arranging the circles across the card. It took me a while to settle on a final design but once I had, I then just adhered them down using wet adhesive and trimmed off the excess from the sides. This panel was then matted onto some black cardstock and then onto a side folding slimline note card.
To finish the card I took the Thank You sentiment stamp and stamped it onto black cardstock using Versamark Ink. I love how this pops against the other colours not only because it is black and white, but also because it is a large sentiment. I applied white embossing powder and heat set. It was then trimmed to size and added onto my panel using foam tape.
Aren't the misshapen circles fun? Lots of possibilities for these as you can use them with images and on their own. Cut out of Paper Glitz panels they would be great fun!
Don't forget that you can catch Nicole this evening (16th Feb) at 6.00 PM CT as she is doing a live over on the Picket Fence Community Facebook page. See you next time and happy crafting!
News
by Lisa Tilson on Jan 11 2022
Hello there! Today I have a card for you featuring Pisces Girl, which was released last month. She is the latest in the Horoscope Girls range and I had to ink her up as I have a birthday in February and am therefore a Pisces girl! All the Horoscope girls are fun to colour. They have amazing hair and in Pisces Girl you can see she has lots of little fish in her hair - so cute!
I began by stamping her onto white cardstock using Black Hybrid Ink. I coloured her with Copics and cut her out with the coordinating die. The Copic numbers are listed below if you are interested.
For my background I took a panel of white cardstock and the Taylored Expressions Rectangle Masking Stencil. I secured the stencil to my panel from behind using Frog Tape. In the A2 Tall Grass And Waves With Tile & Wood Floors stamp set, there is a wave stamp which I thought would fit well on my card today. So I took that and stamped it onto my panel, from top to bottom, using Versamark Ink. I removed the stencil, applied HA White Detail Embossing Powder and heat set.
I reattached the stencil once more and then using Life Changing Blender Brushes I blended Distress Oxides from top down. I used Chipped Sapphire, Prize Ribbon, Mermaid Lagoon and Salvaged Patina. I deliberately didn't blend the ink all the way to the bottom as I wanted the area under the sentiment to be clear but you can still see the waves which I like. The embossed waves resist the ink and this is always a fun technique.
Once I finished the blending, I removed the stencil and then cleaned off any excess ink from the waves using a soft towel.
The wave panel was adhered flat onto a base card and Pisces Girl was popped up with foam tape. I then took a sentiment from Merpeople Of The Sea and stamped it onto black cardstock using Versamark Ink. I applied white detail embossing powder and heat set before trimming it out to fit the width of my panel. This was also added with foam tape.
Even though there is quite a lot going on on this card, I do think that it still has a CAS feel to it and I loved how it came together. Thanks for stopping by and I hope that you have a good day. Happy crafting!
Copics used: Skin (E70, E53, E51, E50, R20), Lips (R14, R22, R21), Hair (YR23, Y21, Y23, Y32, E50) Fish (BG32, BG11, B01, B00)
News
by Lisa Tilson on Dec 17 2021
Hello there, Lisa here today for 25 Days Of Christmas Inspiration. Christmas isn't too far away now, but maybe you are still creating the odd card here and there for close family and friends.
Today I am sharing a card using two of the cutest woodland bears from Forest Critters Stopping By To Say Hey and I thought I would pair them with an older background stamp. It's called On An Autumn Countyside and I love it. I think it can be used just as easily for Christmas cards as well as Autumn cards especially when you white heat emboss as it looks perfectly frosty. We all like to stretch our stamps don't we?!
I started by stamping the tree onto some white cardstock using Versamark Ink. I applied white embossing powder and heat set and then set to work with my Distress Oxide Inks. Using Life Changing Blender Brushes, I blended Seedless Preserves, Picked Raspberry, Spun Sugar and Squeezed Lemonade from top to bottom. I trimmed the panel down and matted it onto some navy cardstock which i then added onto a top folding white 110lb notecard. Not a very traditional colour scheme but I love Seedless Preserves and wanted to use it today, and we can do whatever we want in cardmaking can't we!
The two bears from Forest Critters Stopping By To Say Hey were stamped using Black Hybrid Ink and coloured with Copics (numbers listed a little later). They were then cut out with the coordinating dies and popped onto the panel using foam tape.
To finish the card I stamped a greeting from Lots Of Christmas Cheer onto navy cardstock using Versamark Ink. Again, I applied white embossing powder and heat set before trimming it out into a little banner shape. I added some white gel pen stitching onto it and then added it to the panel with foam tape. And that finished the card for today!
Copics used: E59, E57, E55, E53, E51, E50.
Thank you for joining me here today on the blog and I wish you a wonderful day!
News
by Lisa Tilson on Dec 01 2021
Hello there, Lisa here today for the 25 Days Of Christmas Inspiration. I hope you are all well and getting into the Christmas spirit! We have lots of cards to share with you over the coming weeks, so if you are still looking for some ideas to create last minute cards, keep checking back to see what we have to help you on your way!
So this is the card that I created for today.
I took some dark navy cardstock and the Slim Line Double Tree Stencil and using Life Changing Blender Brushes, I blended some Black Soot Distress Ink to form the trees. Next I put a little Paper Glitz Sparkle onto my mat, added some water to dilute it and then spattered it over the panel. This adds the most gorgeous semi opaque snowfall! You might also be inclined to think that it is a starry sky? Either way, it works and I love to add the sparkle onto my projects.
The santa and reindeer are from the Slim Line Our Town Cover Plate Die set and they were cut four times from white cardstock. I adhered them all together in a little stack for some dimension. I also die cut the Merry Christmas Word Topper Die once from white cardstock and a second time from a light green cardstock.
To assemble the card, I trimmed the background panel slightly and matted it onto a top folding horizontal A2 base card using wet adhesive. I then added the two Merry Christmas strips along the bottom, trimming off the excess from the sides. The santa and reindeer were added to complete the card. I hope that you like the card and I wish you all a wonderful day. See you next time!
News
by Lisa Tilson on Nov 10 2021
Hello there, Lisa here to share a card with you today. It's no secret that I love to colour the Beautiful Girl stamps and so today's card features Beautiful Girl Sydnee and the Glass Window Rainbow Die. Both of these are slightly older products, but it's always nice to see them used in a different way.
To start my card, I stamped Sydnee Girl onto some 80lb white cardstock using Black Hybrid Ink and I coloured her with Copics. The numbers are listed below if you would like to see them. She was then cut out with the coordinating die and set to one side.
I created my background by blending Distress Oxide inks onto some white cardstock using an oval masking stencil. Taking my Life Changing Blender Brushes, I applied Cracked Pistachio, Salvaged Patina and Kitsch Flamingo across the panel from top left to bottom right.
I then took another panel of 80lb white cardstock and ran it through my die cutting machine with the Glass Window Rainbow Die. So, all my pieces were pretty much ready to assemble. All I needed to do was to create my front window panel.
Taking another panel of white card, I die cut an oval into the front and then I adhered the stained glass window die cut behind it. I then took two oval dies which were close in size and die cut a frame which I glued to the front just to add a bit more interest. It reminds me a little bit of a cameo brooch/picture!
The ink blended panel was added to a top folding A2 note card and then the window panel and Sydnee were popped up with foam tape over the top.
The sentiment is from Crafty Lifestyle and it was stamped onto black cardstock using Versamark Ink. I applied white detail embossing powder and heat set. It was trimmed out and added with foam tape and a little glue. For a bit of sparkle I added a few gems from Oceans Of Green Gem Mix.
Copics used: Skin (E53, E21, E00, E000, R20), Lips (R22), Pink Flowers (R22, R21, R20), Eyeshadow (G12, G40), Green Flowers (G12), Hair (E55, E53, E51)
News
With Sympathy - The Cards We Never Want To Make
by Lisa Tilson on Oct 20 2021
Hello there, Lisa here today to share a sympathy card with you. These are the cards that we never want to make. I actually find it easier to have a few ready on hand to send out, then at least I am not struggling to do it when the need arises. For sympathy cards, I often keep my colours muted, or at last keep the card really simple. I never feel it's the time for a lot of clutter or "noise" on a card.
I started by taking a panel of 80lb white cardstock and securing the Slim Line Changes Stencil to it (from behind) with low tack tape. Then, using Life Changing Blending Brushes, I blended Cracked Pistachio, Tumbled Glass, Twisted Citron and Salvaged Patina Distress Oxides randomly through the stencil. I removed the stencil and cleaned it off.
Next I took the Slim Line Oversized With Sympathy Word Die and die cut it from Lawn Fawn Mermaid cardstock. The shadow was die cut from vellum. I adhered the die cut sentiment to the vellum using tiny dabs of wet adhesive so that they wouldn't be visible and then I set it aside to dry. I put an acrylic block on it to make sure it was really stuck down tightly. You could even add extra layers of the word die if you want, to give the card a little bit more dimension.
Next, for a bit of extra interest, I took the Leaves For Flowers stamp set and stamped a selection of the leaves onto vellum using Versamark Ink. I then applied white detail embossing powder before heat setting. They were then cut out with the coordinating dies.
I trimmed the stencilled panel down slightly and adhered it to an A2 top folding horizontal base card using wet adhesive. I then added tiny bits of adhesive onto the back of the vellum and adhered that down over the centre. I put some glue onto the little leaves and placed those around the sentiment.
It is definitely possible to use this slim line word die on an A2 card. I just trimmed off the excess from the sides and I like how it was the focal point. I hope that this gives you some inspiration for a clean and simple sympathy card. Until next time, happy crafting!
News
Seek To See More - Full Size Shaker Fun
by Lisa Tilson on Sep 29 2021
Hello there, it's Lisa here with you today to share a shaker card. I often make shakers but rarely a full size shaker so I thought I'd shaker it up a little! See what I did there? So here is what I came up with. It uses one of my favourite sets, Mermaid Dear, and I paired it with the A2 Tall Grass & Waves With Tile & Wood Floors stamp set for my background.
To begin, I took some Tim Holtz Distress Watercolour cardstock and popped it into my MISTI. I repeat stamped the waves image from the A2 Tall Grass & Waves With Tile & Wood Floors set using Versmark Ink. I then applied white embossing powder and heat set. I smooshed some Distress Inks onto my glass media mat and spritzed them with some water and then took a paintbrush and applied them over the embossed waves area. I didn't go over the whole of the embossed area,but concentrated my colour in all areas but the top left corner. I used Mermaid Lagoon, Peacock Feathers and Cracked Pistachio - this is a great mix for water scenes, at least in my humble opinion. To build up the colour, I did a couple of layers, heat setting in between. I set the panel aside to air dry after the last layer had been added.
This beautiful mermaid is from Mermaid Dear and she was stamped onto 80lb Neenah Solar White cardstock using PFS Black Hybrid Ink. I coloured her with Copic makers (the numbers are below) and then cut her out with the coordinating die before adhering her onto my watercoloured panel with wet adhesive.
I then took an acetate sheet that was an inch larger than a normal A2 card and I cut a section from each corner so that I could wrap it around my watercoloured panel. I used double side tape to secure it at the back but left the top edge open so that I could add my sequins before finally sealing them in.
My shaker mix was a combination of Mermaid Water Sequin Mix along with Spring Fling Sequin Mix. I added some of each into the front of the shaker and then sealed the top edge of the acetate at the back, again with strong double sided tape. The sentiment comes from Mermaid Dear and it was stamped onto black cardstock using sticky ink. I then added white embossing powder and heat set before trimming it out and adhering it onto the outside of the shaker panel with wet adhesive. To finish I added the shaker panel to a top folding A2 card. The movement of the sequins and the noise it makes is just fabulous!
Copic numbers: Mermaid Skin (E70, E53, E51, E50, R20), Mermaid Hair (E55, E53, E51, E50), Mermaid Clothes (V17, V04, BG13, BG11), Puffer Fish (BV13, BV02, BV01) (BG32, BG13, BG11)
News
You Are Nothing Short Of Amazing
by Lisa Tilson on Sep 08 2021
Hello everyone, Lisa here today to share an Autumnal card with you, but with a very clean and simple vibe. For today's card I thought I would use one of the Slim Line Die Cutting System Inserts, but on an A2 card and also not as an insert! It's always good to find different ways to use the dies you have and these inserts can work really well not just as an insert but also as a standalone die. You can stack them up, which is sort of what I did for my card and I used the lovely Tree Scenery Insert.
Isn't that tree just so pretty? I began by creating my stripey background and for this I just cut some strips of red, yellow and orange cardstocks and adhered them onto a piece of printer paper that I had added some Stick It Adhesive to. I then used wet adhesive to glue the stripey panel onto a top folding A2 110lb white base card, trimming off any excess at the sides.
Next I took the Tree Scenery die and die cut it from 110lb Neenah Solar White cardstock. I then took a slightly larger circle die and cut it again to create the narrow circular frame. Now, here is the bit where I should have done things a bit differently. I added tiny bits of foam tape behind the tree and circle frame which was very fiddly and although it worked out alright, it wasn't as stable as I would have liked it to be.
What I should have done was cut 2 or 3 more trees the same way and then adhered them together to create a stack. That would definitely have been easier and would have been more stable. Having said that I do like that it has a less chunky/chipboard feel to it. Swings and roundabouts!
Before removing the paper from the tape and adding the tree onto the base card, I popped the card into the MISTI and took a sentiment from Nothing Short Of Amazing and stamped it using Black Hybrid Ink. I then removed the paper from the foam tape and adhered the tree down before embellishing it with a few gems from Autumn Leaves Gem Mix.
I do think that the card turned out looking really pretty. I always love the drama and contrast of a pretty die against a bright stripey background. I hope that this gives you some inspiration for your insert dies. Until next time, have a great day and happy crafting!
News
by Lisa Tilson on Aug 18 2021
Hello everyone, Lisa here today to share a card with you featuring two sweet book lovin' school friends! The featured set is part of the new release and is called Your Next Book Dear. It is perfect for kids returning to school but also it is a great set for all book lovers out there. For my card today, I use the little girl and boy walking to school.
To begin, I stamped the boy and girl onto Neenah 80lb cardstock using Black Hybrid Ink. I coloured them with Copics and then I cut them out with the coordinating dies and set them to one side.
I masked off the bottom part of an A2 white panel and took the Slim Line Horizontal English Brick Wall Stencil and secured that over the top section of the panel. Using Life Changing Blender Brushes, I blended a subtle wall using Salvaged Patina Distress Oxide ink.
I then removed the stencil and took the tiled floor image from Slim Line Grass & Waves With Tile and Wood Floor stamp set. I could have used the A2 version of this set but the tiles in the slim line version are bigger so I thought they would work well with the larger brick. So, I stamped them down using Black Hybrid Ink and I then blended Pumice Stone Distress ink over the top using Life Changing Blender Brushes. It's very soft in the photos but in real life it is an ombre blend with the darker section at the bottom of the wall.
I trimmed the panel down and matted it onto a turquoise card base using double sided tape. The sentiment is from the set and was stamped using Versamark Ink onto black cardstock. I added white embossing powder and heat set. The girl, boy and sentiment were all popped up with foam tape for dimension.
Aren't they just so sweet with their big smiles. I'd like to hope that I smiled like that on the way to school but I'm not sure it was every day! Until next time, I hope that you have a great day!
News
by Lisa Tilson on Jul 28 2021
Hello there, Lisa here today with a card featuring some stencilling and a Beautiful Girl. The girl in question today is Jordan Girl and I thought I would pair her with the Floral Stencil. Isn't she just so pretty? I am a huge fan of the Beautiful Girls range - I love to colour them.
First off I stamped Jordan Girl onto some Neenah 80lb cardstock using Black Hybrid Ink. I coloured her with Copics (marker numbers are listed at the end) and then die cut her with the coordinating die.
It's been a while since I had the Floral Stencil out and I thought it would make a pretty background for Jordan. So I masked off a small section at the bottom of my white panel and then taped the stencil down over the top with low tack tape. Using Life Changing Blender Brushes, I blended Kitsch Flamingo, Dried Marigold and Scattered Straw Distress Oxides through it. I removed the stencil and the masking tape and then cut a small thin strip of white cardstock which would act as a sort of line between the stencilled section and the plain white section at the bottom. I stuck that down with wet adhesive and then I adhered Jordan over the top (she slightly spans the white line). She was also added flat onto the panel.
To finish I took the Always word die and cut the shadow in white and the word in black and glued them together. I added some foam tape onto the back and propped it up at a slant (to mirror Jordan's neck line). I spent an obscene amount of time deciding on the sentiment and it's placement! But I like a quirkly slant on a card so I went with it in the end. I am so slow when making cards! I added a few Black Russian Sequins to finish the card off.
Copics used: Hair (E59, E57, E55), Skin (E70, E53, E51, E50, R20), Eyeshadow (BG11), Lips/Nails (R20), Top (C5, C4, C3, C2, C1, C0, Col. Blender), Flowers (RV04, RV02), Leaves (BG32, BG11), Butterfly (Y17, YR31)
News
Merry And Bright - A CAS Christmas Card For Mass Production
by Lisa Tilson on Jul 07 2021
Hello everyone, Lisa here today with a clean and simple Christmas card for you. We all know that it can be a struggle to make all those Christmas cards so here's one that is really easy to duplicate so you can avoid that mad rush in November!
I started off by die cutting Snowflake Lydia and one of the snowflakes from Winter Snowflakes (such a pretty set!). I then cut some very very narrow red, green and white strips of cardstock. These strips of cardstock were adhered onto a side folding A2 base card. The section of strips was just over an inch wide (there were 9 tiny coloured strips). They would also look good horizontally I think.
I then cut two pieces of white cardstock and popped them up with foam tape over the base card, so that the coloured strips are inset behind those two white panels. Super easy isn't it? I adhered Lydia Snowflake over the two panels and one of the smaller Winter Snowflakes on top of Lydia. I finished with a gem stone from Fire Gem Mix for a little bit of bling.
The sentiment is from Inside Quotes: Christmas and this was stamped to the side using Black Hybrid Ink. So you can see how this would be really quick to mass produce. I hope that this gives you some inspiration for starting you cards early - it is Christmas in July after all!
News
by Lisa Tilson on May 26 2021
Hello there! Lisa here today to share a card with you using the new Dream With Me Cover Plate die. As soon as I saw this die, I knew I would want to use it as a silhouette. But don't let that limit you, you can die cut and watercolour it or ink blend over it, or colour it with markers, like you can with many dies. But I wanted a dreamy night time sky, behind the silhouette.
To start, I took some Arches Cold Pressed cardstock and watercoloured the background using Gansai Tambi paints - numbers 63, 62, 60 and 20. Number 20 is actually black and that ended up getting hidden just behind the die in the end. As always with watercolour I work in layers, letting each layer dry in between. I worked my colours down the card panel to just over half way. I wanted to keep the bottom area white and free to highlight the girl on the swing. Once dry, I adhered this to a top folding notecard.
I took some black cardstock and ran it through the die cutting machine with the cover plate die and then I adhered gold cardstock behind, so that the stars and moon would stand out against the black. This was then glued down over the top of the watercolored panel. Before gluing it down, I went around the edges with a Memento Tuxedo Black marker so that you couldn't see any gold peeking out anywhere.
To finish I popped the card in the MISTI and stamped a sentiment from Que Sera Sera using Black Hybrid Ink. I thought that the sentiment was just perfect for the mood of the card and the vibe of someone travelling through the sky and arriving into someone's world. If I told you how long it takes me to find sentiments to go on my cards, you probably wouldn't believe it! I'm very fussy about having the right font, composition and meaning on a card. Rooting around all my sets is all part of the fun of cardmaking! Thanks for stopping by, and I'll see you again soon. Happy crafting!
News
Mixing Custom Blends with Paper Glaze - Stencilling Fun!
by Lisa Tilson on May 05 2021
Hello everyone, Lisa here today to share two cards using A Rose, some Paper Glaze, Paper Glaze Enhancer and a stencil that I love! Both cards are similar in design, but changed up a little with the sentiments. I had spare Paper Glaze that I had mixed so I couldn't let that go to waste so two background panels were created. I think both these cards would make great Wedding/Engagement cards. One would also be a great all occasion card for your stash.
I started off by taking a panel of Neenah 80lb cardstock and securing the Watercolor Brush Strokes stencil down over the top. I really love this stencil - as I think it adds a very unobtrusive background to your card. Sometimes you don't want the stencil to be the star of the show, but still have it's place on the card and that is what I think this stencil does brilliantly, especially when you use soft colours. I used three colours of Paper Glaze, but my bottom colour is a custom blend of Pink Carnation and Golden Rose. I was attempting to make a coral colour and tried mixing the two together. I wasn't sure it would be what I wanted and I was right, but what it did produce was this GORGEOUS ballet slipper blush colour (bottom 6 or so lines below).
I then added some Paper Glaze Enhancer to it, to remove some of the shine and that results in a more textured matt finish. I used the Paper Glaze Enhancer with each of the glazes. So, I applied the mixed blend through the bottom of the stencil with a spatula, cleaned the spatula off and then added Pink Carnation with enhancer above it, and then Snowdrop White with enhancer above that, fading out towards the top and making sure not to have the lines stretching all the way across the card, a more unfinished finish at the top! And as I had some of the custom blend left, I cleaned off the stencil and secured it to another panel and went through the same process.
These were set aside to dry whilst I worked on my main image. I really love A Rose, and thought it would look pretty over the background. So I grabbed some Arches Hot Pressed card and stamped the image twice using Versamark Ink. I applied gold embossing powder and heat set. Both images were watercoloured with Mijello Mission Gold paints and left to dry.
For my first card, I popped the rose up with foam tape and I used the Always Word Die with it's shadow die. The shadow was cut from vellum, and the word part was die cut twice from Neenah 80lb cardstock. As I wanted my gold to match the gold of the embossing powder on the rose, I smooshed my Versamark ink pad onto some scrap white cardstock, applied the gold embossing powder and heat set before die cutting the final layer from that. All my layers were then stacked together and adhered over the top.
For the second card, I adhered the rose flat onto the panel and then took a strip of vellum which I prepped with an anti static bag. I stamped a greeting from More Fancy Sentiments using Versamark Ink, applied gold embossing powder and heat set. This was then placed over the rose and secured at the back of the panel with tape.
Both panels were then adhered flat to a top folding notecard. And that finishes my two cards.
I hope that you will try mixing your Paper Glazes - I love the sometimes unexpected blends you can create when you do this. And If you don't have time to use up your spare glaze, you can always pop it into a pot and save it for another day. Picket Fence sells spare containers for this exact reason.
Thanks for joining me today. I'll be back soon with another project for you!
News
Whatever You Decide To Do In Life, Make Sure It Makes You Happy
by Lisa Tilson on Apr 14 2021
1
Hello everyone, it's Lisa here today on our favourite day of the month - Release Day! And I have two things to share with you - a card using lots of gorgeousness from the new release, plus I have a release reveal video up on my channel which shares all the new items for this month with you, along with my sample cards. If you want to catch the video, then scroll to the end of this post.
But first, for my card today, I wanted to use the new Slim Line Scallop Framed Dies set, along with the new Slim Line Details Of A Wing Stencil. For this card, I also used the Monarch Butterfly Insert. So, here is my card!
I began by taking an 8.5" x 3.5" panel of white cardstock and laying the Slim Line Details Of A Wing Stencil on top. I secured the card panel from the back using low tack tape. I then took some Distress Inks and blended rainbow colours through it using Life Changing Blender Brushes. Once I'd removed the stencil, I took the smaller scalloped rectangle die from the new SLDS Scallop Framed Dies system and ran the panel through my die cutting machine.
Next I took one of the circular frames from the Scallop Framed Die set and cut a window into my ink blended panel. And I kept the resulting thin circular frame as I needed that later on. The two butterflies were cut from the Monarch Butterfly Slim Line Die Cutting Insert. This insert die will actually cut a window/insert into a panel and leave the butterfly intact, but I wanted to separate it out, so I just trimmed it out twice. I could then stack them on top of each other for some dimension.
I adhered the ink blended panel to an 8.5" x 3.5" base card and then I glued the tiny circular frame around the window - the one that I had saved from earlier. It finishes off the circular window nicely! The two stacked butterflies were then added in and I decorated them with a few gems from the new Reflections Gem Mix.
To finish the card, I took a sentiment from Dance Mode On and stamped it onto white cardstock using Versamark Ink. I applied gold embossing powder, heat set it and then popped it up with foam tape.
All the items I have used are listed below. And for those of you that would like to see the release in full, here is the video. I am sure you are going to love all the new stamp sets, dies and stencils!