Happy Father’s Day | 2023

Hi Friends! This year’s Father’s Day card for my amazing Dad was inspired by a cute card I saw on IG created by Nina Marie Tripani (@ninamariet) – if you haven’t checked out her Instagram page you are truly missing out!

I started by selecting a color palette from Sarah Renae Clark’s Color Cubes – I selected card number 022. I used Distress Oxide in Carved Pumpkin and Mustard Seed and blended those onto a 4-1/4” x 5-1/2” piece of white cardstock and set it aside to dry.

Next, I used the Simon Says Stamp “A2 Marquee” dies (the medium sized one) and used it to diecut a piece of watercolor paper. I used Distress Oxide Faded Jean and smashed it onto my glass mat so I could use it to watercolor the card panel. I applied the Faded Jeans with a watercolor brush and applied it as a paint around the outside edges of the panel and set that aside to dry naturally as to reduce the amount of warping.

I, then, used the Simon Says Stamp “Sending Sunshine” stamp set and a piece of white cardstock to stamp the kitty holding a flower using Lawn Fawn Jet Black ink. After I heat set the image, I used Copic markers (oranges, yellows, cool greys and a couple greens) to color the image. After the image had been colored, I used my Brother Scan N Cut machine to cut out the image since I didn’t own the dies for this set.

I splatter the Carved Pumpkin and Mustard Seed Distress Oxides inks across the water-colored card panel and when it was dry, I used Lawn Fawn’s “Happy Happy Happy” stamp set and selected the cursive happy and Father’s Day stamps and stamped those to the upper left-hand corner of the water-colored panel. To adhere the kitty, I used Scrapbook Adhesives Thin 3D Foam Squares and placed those on the back side of the diecut then adhered it to the lower right-hand corner of the card panel. I used Simon Says Stamp Big Momma Foam tape to stick the water-colored panel to the ink blended card front panel.

To complete the card, I glued some clear baubles and a clear heart shaped gem to the card front and wrapped it up.

I hope you enjoyed the card. Thank you so much for stopping by to see me - I appreciate you doing so!

Until next time…

Bulldog Bunny Slimline Card | 2023 Easter Series #1

Hi Friends! Today I want to share my first Easter card for 2023. The stamps I used aren’t new ones, but well-loved stamps. I think I’ve had the Stampers Anonymous/Tim Holtz “Crazy Things” stamp set for many years. Like I said, well-loved and will never get rid of it in a random de-stash. Let’s get started.

Firstly, I created the slimline card base by cutting a piece of 110# cardstock to measure 8-1/2” x 7” and folded the cardstock in half – maintaining the 8-1/2” length which resulted in the card base measuring 8-1/2” x 3-1/2”.

I used the Whimsy Stamps “Slimline Cornered Rectangle” die set – the two largest dies – to create the base of this card front. I cut a piece of purple cardstock from the largest die and used the second largest die to cut a piece of white cardstock. I used my ATG gun to adhere the purple diecut to the slimline card base and trimmed the card base corners to match the purple diecut piece.

Now it’s time to start coloring the decorative panel. I used the Trinity Stamps “Slimline Layered Eggs” stencil and Tim Holtz/Ranger Distress Oxides (Shaded Lilac, Kitsch Flamingo, Tumbled Glass, Twisted Citron, Squeezed Lemonade, Dried Marigold, Saltwater Taffy). I used a blending brush to apply color to each of the eggs using the stencil. Once the ink dried, I splattered Kuretake Silver Mica Brilliant Silver Ink all over the card panel and set aside to dry.

My next step was to stamp the Whimsey Stamps “Doggie Birthday Party 2” bulldog stamp onto alcohol marker cardstock and stamped it a second time onto masking paper. Using scissors, I cut out the dog from the masking paper and adhered it to the dog image on the cardstock. I then grabbed my Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous “Crazy Things” stamp set and used the rabbit ears stamp from that set and stamped it carefully above the bulldog’s head. I removed the masking paper from the bulldog image and colored the images using Copic alcohol markers. For a bit of ‘pop’, I used black Ranger Enamel Accents on the dog’s nose, white Ranger Enamel Accents on the dog’s teeth and black Sakura Glaze pen on the dog’s eyes. Then I got a little festive and added a layer of Distress Collage Medium to the edges of the rabbit ears and heavily dusted the gluey ears with Pink & Main Sparkling Cottontail flock to give them a fluffy, cottony appearance. CUTE!

Next, I stamped the large, solid HAPPY stamp from the Honey Bee Stamps “Happy Happy Happy” set onto a piece of white cardstock using Tim Holtz/Ranger Distress Oxide in the color Wilted Violet. I stamped the Easter word stamp from that same set and cut both the HAPPY and the Easter using the coordinating dies from the collection. I backed them with Simon Says Stamp 3D Foam Squares (as well as the bulldog image) and adhered them to the egg-decorated card front panel.

To wrap up the card, I used the ATG gun to adhere the decorated card front panel to the purple cardstock on the card base. I added Trinity Stamps “Cave Crystals” sequins in random locations to give the card front its finishing touch.

I hope you enjoyed the card. Thank you so much for stopping by to see me - I appreciate you doing so!

Until next time…

Katzelkraft Foxy Birthday Card

Hi Friends! Today I’m sharing a birthday card I created for my niece. I thought this fantastic stamp from Katzelkraft - Renards Tandem – was the perfect image for my focal point. Let’s get started!

To start the card front, I used Paul Rubens metallic watercolor paints on a piece of cold press watercolor paper. The colors I used are: C4627, C425, C400 for sky colors and C4628, C303 for the transition colors to the pathway. When the watercolor paint dried, I stamped the cobblestone pathway along the bottom edge of the paints using a My Favorite Things stamp called ‘On Solid Ground’ then cut the panel to an A2 size using the Paper Rose ‘Stitched Rectangles’ die.

My next step was to stamp the ‘Renards Tandem’ image onto a piece of white cardstock. I colored the image using Prismacolor Premier colored pencils and added metallic accents on the bike using Hana’s Kawaii Crafts (Etsy seller) mica watercolor paints in the colors Electric for the light bulb on the bike and Tinsel for the silver metallic portions of the bike. I then used my Brother Scan n Cut to cut the Renards Tandem image. LOVE my Scan n Cut machine!

For the cobblestone pathway, I colored it using the Prismacolor Premier pencils and used a Tombow water-based marker in color N35 to fill in the space in between the stones. Next, I added Simon Says Stamp 3D Foam Squares to the back of my bicycle image and set it aside while I stamped the Altenew “Birthday Builder” greeting to the painted card front panel.

Once the card front was completed, I attached the colored Renards Tandem image so that it was partially on the cobble stone path to give the appearance of the foxes riding the bike down a street. I finished the card by adding Trinity Stamps “Crystal Ball Dewdrop Baubles” here and there on the card front for a little bling and attached the decorated card front panel to an A2 sized card base to complete the card.

I hope you enjoyed this cute foxy card. Thank you so much for stopping by to see me - I appreciate you doing so!

Until next time…