News
News
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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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
by Sandi MacIver on Sep 10 2021
Hey cardmaking friends welcome back. It's Sandi MacIver here and today I'm playing with Picket Fence Studios Seamless Designs Stamps.
Yesterday I pulled out some Seamless stamps and had a good look at them. I'm totally amazed at how versatile they are.
I kind of hate when I spend money on a stamp set that I only use once, don't you?
Not so with these little guys and let me take a few minutes to explain why.
Today I'm going to share a couple of cards I created with these Seamless Designs Stamps. At the same time, tell you why I like them so much.
Size of the Picket Fence Studios Seamless Designs Stamps:
Don't be fooled by the size of these little guys. They may be small at just over 3.5" square - but they are mighty.
As they are small, they also come in at a nice low price point. For a small investment, you get a HUGE return.
Yesterday I created two A2 sized cards with two of these stamps:
First way I like to use the Seamless Designs Collection:
The first is this absolutely stunning Roses for All Seasons stamp and I created a simple A2 sized card with a small art piece on the front.
I used a Misti to stamp the image in black and then heat embossed it in clear onto watercolor paper.
Next, I colored it with my Karin watercolor pens.
Unfortunately, we require a few sympathy cards so I used the Prayers Word Topper Die on this one.
TIP - I could also change out the card front to the bright pink envelope color, change the sentiment die to Happy Birthday and completely change the feel of this card.
Creating the Sentiment:
Normally I would cut these word topper dies 3 or 4 times and stack them before adding them to my cards.
Today, I cut one from a scrap of brown I had in my scrap bin, and gold heat embossed two layers onto it.
The gold embossing really builds up and I have this beautiful sturdy sentiment which I glued across the bottom front of my art piece.
Understated, but adds the perfect amount of bling.
My Second Card in the A2 Size:
My second card is created the same as the first, just with a different stamp.
This one is new out in August called A Medley of Fall Collage.
The image is stamped once and colored with Karin Markers.
The Happy Fall Y'all Sentiment was created in the same manner as above.
So, why are these called Seamless Designs Stamps?
Because you can use your Misti or other stamping tool, and you can repeat stamp these little guys to create a larger stamped surface.
Their edge illustration is created to line up with the illustration on the opposite side for "seamless continuous stamping". (cool or what).
The Second Way I used the Seamless Designs Stamps:
This Slimline Pumpkin card shows how I lined up the All the Gourds Seamless Stamp and stamped horizontally across the card stock three times to create my Slimline Card front.
Here's another example using the More Hot Chicks Seamless Stamp.
Again, stamped three times horizontally, colored and made into a slimline card with the PFS slimline dies. There is a video for this card here.
You can stamp Seamless the other way too:
Not only do these stamps line up horizontally, but the illustration also lines up vertically.
The Third Way I like to use the Seamless Designs Stamps:
In the card sample above, I used my Misti to stamp the image three times vertically to create an understated background for my card.
Lining up the stamp to continue the repeat is very easy, as there are little pieces of the image you use to overlap for the continuous stamped image.
You can get the details for this card here:
Here is another vertical stamped example where I used the creepy Marching Spiders Seamless Designs Stamp to create the background for my Halloween card. Card Details here:
The Fourth Way I like to use the Seamless Designs Stamp:
You can stamp it twice horizontally, then move up and stamp twice vertically to create an entire A2 sized card front.
TIP - you can also stamp vertically twice to create a background for a Mini Slimline Card, and I'll do one of those shortly as well.
Where to get Seamless Designs Stamps.
Picket Fence Studios introduced these these to me and you can see their collection here.
Storing the Seamless Designs Collection Stamps:
As I said in the beginning, these little guys are small. So, they take up a very little bit of space, unlike some of the HUGE slimline stamps I have purchased recently.
Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my slimline stamps and dies LOL, I just had to adjust my storage to compensate the tall storage.
I subscribe to the Jennifer McGuire storage system of Fridge Bins (I order mine from Amazon), and these little guys fit perfectly in the 6" x 10" bins
Thanks so much for stopping in and I hope you enjoyed today's cards. Give a Seamless Designs Stamp a try and then come on over to the Picket Fence Studios Facebook Group and share it with us.
Here are the products I used today. Compensated affiliate links used where available at no cost to you.
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