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"Into The Woods" Slim Line Shaker Card with Rachelle

by Rachelle Oltean on Jan 24 2022

Hello! It's Rachelle here and I'm so excited to share this slim line shaker card I created by combining lots of different Picket Fence Studios' products! This design came together pretty quickly with the help of a couple key products. First - the "Slim Line Full Front Shaker Die" Set and secondly, the NEW "Slim Line Woods Cover Plate Die" Set! I started by die cutting the woods die scene from heavy-weight white card stock and selectively trimming a few trees/branches from the image. I chose to edit this because I wanted a bit more space for the shaker garnish to be seen and to highlight the deer die cut. Once trimmed, I watercolored just the leaves in a bright green and the die cut was glued onto a piece of charcoal gray card stock. This is almost a reverse silhouette design and all of the components really pop off of that charcoal background! I created a white frame by using the slim line rectangular insert from the "Slim Line Full Front Shaker Die" and a smaller rectangle from the "Slim Line Nested Rectangles Dies". This frame was cut twice and glued/stacked together and adhered on top of the woods panel. I die cut a piece of thin packaging acetate with the "Slim Line Full Front Shaker Die", adhered double-sided tape along three sides of the back of the woods panel and wrapped the acetate around to adhere it into place. I chose to use the NEW "Spring Green Shaker Garnish" as my fill (to match my green leaves) and carefully poured about a tablespoon into my shaker panel. Then all I had to do was to close up the remaining shaker flap on the backside with the double-sided tape and the panel was adhered to the front of a slim line card base. I die cut the sentiment from brushed silver card stock using the "Mini Slim Line Double Stitched Rectangles Die Cutting System" and the running buck ("More Deer Family Dies") from gray card stock. Both of these die cuts were carefully adhered to the shaker acetate with liquid adhesive to finish up the design! I just love how that Spring Green Shaker Garnish easily moves inside the card front and works both as leaves and grass in this scene! I highly encourage you to try some of the NEW Shaker Garnish colors - they are so light weight and really add a unique shaker element especially when combined with Picket Fence Studios' Sequins/Sequins Mix Plus options! Thanks so much for joining me today! Happy Crafting - Rachelle : )

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Sending Sympathy with Rachelle

by Rachelle Oltean on Jan 05 2022

Hello there - it's Rachelle with you today and unfortunately, I needed several sympathy cards during this past Christmas holiday. I made multiples of the same design and I'd like to share this layout. This is a mini-slimline design that started with an ink-blended background using the Slim Line Lots of Blossoms Stencil and a selection of blue Distress Oxide Inks. This panel was die cut using the larger rectangle from the Mini Slim Line Double Stitched Rectangles Die Cutting System. The Slim Line Oversized With Sympathy Word Die was cut from navy card stock, glued onto the stencil panel and the overhang was trimmed from the back side. This panel was attached to a piece of pearlized aqua card stock and then adhered to a slim line card base. The card was finished up with a scattering of the beautiful pearly gray gems from the Moon Shadow Gem Mix. Thanks so much for joining me today! Hugs - Rachelle

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No-Line Watercolor Wreath with Rachelle

by Rachelle Oltean on Dec 12 2021

Hello and thank you for stopping by as we continue our 25 Days of Christmas Inspiration! It's Rachelle, from Red Cre8s, and I'm so glad you've joined me today! I've got some great tips for a special no-line watercolor painting of the gorgeous image, "A Wreath For All Seasons"! I began with a piece of 110# Cougar Opaque White card stock - this is a bright white stock (cleaner than Neenah Solar White) and can absorb a lot of paint without pilling! I placed this large stamp into my MISTI and lightly brushed the surface with my kneaded eraser. This 'preps' the surface of the stamp and allows the ink to be applied evenly and completely. I don't always do this but this image has a lot of coverage and I wanted to be sure that it stamped correctly! I stamped it with "Antique Linen" Distress Oxide Ink a couple of times to get a good impression. When painting an image like this one, it's best to start with the areas in the background and work your way to the front. This allows you to cover up all of the areas from the previous layer with your most recent application. So I began with the peach buds, then the green leaves, and the magenta/ruby petals, etc. In areas where you want to play light against dark, start with the light (as in the ruby petals) and then paint the darker color value on top. I painted each tiny section of the magenta first, overlapping the shape and then carefully painted the dark ruby around it. I continued with the blues, olive green and gold until I ended up in the center. Using the Distress Oxide Ink allows you to cover all of the image lines - the ink reacts to the paint and in effect, blends right into the background. After all the watercolor painting was complete (about 4 hours) I outlined the entire image with gold metallic paint using a very tiny 000-sized brush! You can see that detailing in the photo below! I trimmed the panel down to 4" x 5.25" and mounted it to a magenta card front. Since the image was the star of the show, I simply added the one-word die cut from the "Slim Line Oversized Joy To The World Die" to finish up the card. I hope this has inspired you to try this watercolor technique! Be sure to visit the blog for more Christmas crafting inspiration tomorrow! Happy Crafting - Rachelle

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Holly Jolly Mercury Glass Technique with Rachelle

by Rachelle Oltean on Nov 27 2021

Hello and welcome to Picket Fence Studios' "25 Days of Christmas"! It's Rachelle here today with some crafting inspiration and I'd like to share a new technique with you that mimics the look of mercury glass! I was experimenting with the Paper Glaze Enhancer in combination with some of the Paper Glitz colors and while you should NOT mix Glitz & Enhancer together into a single blended product, I did try using them separately on top of each other and came up with something that really resembles one of my favorite finishes - antique mercury glass. The Paper Glaze Enhancer is a soft, matte lightweight paste (resembling spackling compound in texture) and dries to a semi-transparent dull finish when used on its own. I though that I might be able to accent some areas by applying "Sparkle" Paper Glitz on top of the stenciled areas and when it was all dry, some of the areas of the Paper Glitz highlighted the Enhancer and some of it seemed to melt into the kraft background with a mirror effect! The photo can't quite capture it but believe me this looks so cool in real life! I just applied a thin coat of each product using the Slim Line "Changes" Stencil and set it aside to dry. It was trimmed down to 3.75" x 5" and adhered to a top-folding A2 card base. The leaf and berry cluster from the "Holly Jolly Christmas" Stamp Set was stamped/heat embossed with clear powder, watercolored and die cut. The wonderful sentiment from the "Winter Has Come To Town" Stamp Set was heat embossed and die cut. I looped some silver thread into a bunch, taped it together and adhered it to the stenciled panel. The holly image was popped up with foam tape and the sentiment strip was glued into place. I added pink and matte gold sequins (from The Pink Lady Sequins Mix) to finish up the card. I hope you'll give this look a try and I'd love to see you share what you come up with over on the Picket Fence Studios' Community Facebook Page! Thanks so much for stopping by today and take care - Rachelle

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Iconic Beauty Kiara - Masked Ink Blending with Rachelle

by Rachelle Oltean on Nov 24 2021

Hello everyone! It's Rachelle with you today and I've got some ink blending & masking tips for you! I created several masks, which I used to color in this NEW "Iconic Beauty Kiara" image and it's all done with the small, fine "Life Changing Blender Brushes" and Distress Oxide Inks! I first inked up the "Kiara" image on a piece of scrap paper using my MISTI to create my main template. I then drew in the basic shape of her face and some of the main shadow plains/contours to get an idea how I was going to shape her face. After I was happy with the sketch, I copied this onto a piece of tracing paper, redrew the lines on the backside and then transferred the images onto different pieces of paper. I needed these images: 1) a full mask for the entire figure 2) the face 3) the shirt. Here's a picture of what these masks looked like: I hand cut omits for the face & shirt using my craft knife and fussy cut the full-image mask using small scissors. I stamped the Kiara image onto an A2 panel and placed the full-image mask on top. I used Salty Ocean as an overall background color and then ink blended Prize Ribbon and Chipped Sapphire Distress Oxide Inks through the "Flowers" Stencil to create my background pattern. The shirt was blended using one of the small round brushes with "Kitsch Flamingo" DOI and then I colored the face with several additional Distress Oxide Inks. I did paint a very fine line of eye shadow ("Salty Ocean") along her lid line but that was the only brushwork on this piece. To deepen the image post ink blending, I placed her back into my MISTI and re-stamped to sharpen the edges. That's a real advantage when using a MISTI! I trimmed the image down to 4" x 5.25" and adhered it to a top-folding A2 card front. The heat-embossed sentiment strip was glued to the top panel and I added a couple of gems from the NEW "Celebration Gem Mix" to finish up the card. She is such a beautiful image and I love how all of the Design Team Members found different ways/techniques to color her! Be sure to head over the Picket Fence Studios Shop to check out all of the AMAZING Black Friday Deals and Door Busters taking place right now! Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Rachelle

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Oh Happy Day!

by Rachelle Oltean on Nov 03 2021

Hello! It's Rachelle with you today and I've got a rich floral card to share featuring the NEW "Watercolor Roses" Stamp Set! This set has already become a favorite and can be used for so many different occasions! I began by heat embossing the rose bouquet image with gold powder onto heavy (130#) white card stock and I watercolored/die cut the floral with the matching die. I LOVE Art Nouveau design and was so excited to see the NEW Slim Line Changes Stencil! The curved line work on this design is absolutely beautiful and is a special addition to my Picket Fence Studios' stencil collection! I placed the slim line stencil down the middle of an A2 card base and applied "Peacock Feathers" Distress Ink onto the teal card stock with my "Life Changing Blender Brush." I really like the framing effect this slim line pattern gives to this A2-sized panel! I left the stencil in place and flecked gold watercolor paint on top so that the speckle would only be visible within the stenciled pattern. Once the panel was dry, I glued it to a top-folding A2 card base and heat embossed one of the wonderful sentiments from this stamp set with the same gold powder onto the finished teal background. I added a couple of drops of my "Peacock Feathers" Reinker to a plastic palette and carefully painted around the edge of the white die cut margin so that the floral would blend into the teal background. This keeps the color on the roses bright and clean (with white highlights) but removes the harsh contrast of the white edge against the dark card stock. I popped the roses up with foam tape for a bit of dimension and added a mixture of embellishments in coordinating colors: "Iridescent Moonshine" Sequins, "Sands Of Time" Gem Mix, and the matte gold circle sequins from the "Pumpkin Cookies Sequin Mix Plus." Thanks so much for stopping by - Happy Crafting! Hugs - Rachelle

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Northern Lights Magic with Paper Glaze Lux

by Rachelle Oltean on Sep 22 2021

Hello Crafters! It's Rachelle here and I've got a special card to share with you today: an easy CAS design featuring a background created with a brand new product from Picket Fence Studios...the Paper Glaze Lux Ombre "Nutcracker Ballet"! Paper Glaze Lux is a mixed media glitter-based art medium, which blends heavy body mica with a glitter infusion, providing a MAXIMUM level of shine and thickness in a spreadable glitter glaze. Your application thickness allows you to determine the opacity level and so I experimented with painting a small, diluted amount directly onto black card stock and achieved a 'Northern Lights' Effect! You can see the base color of the pearly mica pigment body and the highlighted areas of glittery shine where the Lux was a bit thicker with color "C" from this Ombre collection! I was so excited with the result and this literally took me less than 5 minutes to create! After the Paper Glaze Lux panel was dry, I trimmed it down to 3.75" x 5" and attached it to the center of a top-folding A2 black card base. Using the "Santa's Snowy Hills" Die , I cut a panel from aqua card stock and trimmed off some of the silhouette, leaving a scattering of pine trees and the single house in the distance. This panel was cut to fit the width of the card front and adhered on top. A sloped panel was cut to size from white card stock and the sentiment (from the "Winter Has Come To Town" Stamp Set) was stamped using my MISTI. I glued the small stamped/colored/die cut figure of the man carrying home his prize Christmas tree (from the "Winter Scene Building People") onto the sentiment panel, which was attached into place on the card front. A few "Spring Fling" Sequins finished up this clean-and-simple card! This design will be so easy to mass-produce and the effect of that painted Paper Glaze Lux is stunning in real life! I encourage you to stretch all of your Paper Glaze products by using them as painting mediums! Happy crafting and have a great day! Rachelle ♥

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Winter Floral with Rachelle

by Rachelle Oltean on Sep 01 2021

Happy Wednesday! It's Rachelle with you today and can you believe it's September 1st already??? I had to look at the calendar twice just to be sure it was correct and that means it's time to get rolling on Christmas and holiday cards right now! The recent Picket Fence Studios' releases have been full of wonderful new products to get our Christmas crafting off on the right foot! I send out quite a few cards to folks who don't celebrate Christmas and the card today is the perfect way to share a bit of general winter and/or holiday cheer! I used the NEW "A Christmas Flower" Stamp Set to create this winter floral card design. I began with an A2 panel of 110# Neenah Solar White card stock and using my MISTI, I aligned the poinsettia image in the top left corner of the panel bleeding off the edge. I stamped this image using Picket Fence Studios "Black Hybrid Ink" and then turned the panel 180 degrees and stamped it again so that the image appeared in opposite corners. I watercolored the poinsettias, spattered the panels with diluted paints and then added a graduated blue wash around the flowers for a bit of depth. I went back into the images with a tiny paint brush (a 000) and using my gold paint, added touches of fine detail throughout; this panel was trimmed to 3.75" x 5". I heat embossed the sentiment from the "A Happy Winter To You" Stamp Set with fine gold powder onto heavy-weight vellum, trimmed it to size and wrapped it around the floral panel, securing it behind. This was attached to an A2 top-folding black card base and I added a few matte gold sequins from the NEW "Pumpkin Cookies" Sequin Mix Plus to finish up the card! I just love the sprinkling of gold on this design and those gorgeous poinsettias are the star of the show! There are so many different ways to color this beautiful image and be sure to check out Picket Fence Studios' Instagram Page where you'll find great design inspiration! Thanks so much for joining me today and happy crafting! Rachelle

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Guardian of the Graveyard!

by Rachelle Oltean on Aug 11 2021

Hello! It’s Rachelle and I’ve got a spooky graveyard ‘rocker’ card for you today featuring lots of the amazing Halloween products from the July Release! I began by die cutting a 5” circle from heavy weight black card stock and scoring it in half to create my ‘rocking’ card base. I applied “Lime Christmas Green Paper Glitz” to the bottom half and set it aside to dry. A second 4.75” circle was die cut twice from heavy weight orange card stock, glued together, coated with “Autumn Persimmon Paper Glitz” and set it aside to dry as well. The standing ghost from the “Not Scared? You Should Be!” Stamp Set was heat embossed with white power on heavy vellum and fussy cut. Since there are a lot of small intricate pieces on this gorgeous scene, I die cut the “Halloween Graveyard Cover Plate Die” on heavy black card stock using my metal plate adaptor and it cut perfectly! I backed the windows in the haunted house with lime green card stock to coordinate with my Paper Glitz, heat embossed the sassy sentiment and added some sequins from the “Trick Or Treaters” Sequins Mix Plus. To assemble, I reinforced the score line on the ‘rocking’ card base with my Teflon Bone Folder and attached the orange Paper Glitz circle with Scor-Tape. After determining the ghost’s position, it was adhered in place onto the orange backdrop and the graveyard die cut panel was attached on top with foam tape and liquid adhesive. A couple of tiny die cut bats (from the Witch Slim Line Die Cutting System Insert) were added to finish up the card! I just love this interactive design and that giant ghost guarding the graveyard as it rocks from side to side! Thanks so much for joining me today and happy crafting! Rachelle