Lots of Love | Penny Black & Pinkfresh Studio

Hi crafty friends!  Today I am sharing a Valentine’s Day card featuring products from Penny Black.  I love how approachable their products are when it comes to creating greeting cards.

The supplies used:

Penny Black – Passion Stamp

     Penny Black – Background Basics Stencil Set

     Waffle Flower – A6 Piercing Layers Die Set

     Pinkfresh Studio – Whimsical Blooms Stamp Set

     Ranger Ink / Tim Holtz – Tumbled Glass and Shabby Shutters Distress Inks

     Simon Says Stamp – Aster Pawsitively Saturated Ink

     Schmincke Watercolor Paint – Volcano Red, Shire Green, Forest Green, Tundra Pink,  

         Volcano Orange

     Winsor & Newton – Permanent White Designers Gouache

     Kuretake Starry Colors Metallic Watercolor Paint – Gold No. 901

     Gina K. Designs – Barely There Amalgam Ink

     Fabriano Artistico Extra White Watercolor Paper

     Ranger Ink / Tim Holtz – Splatter Brush

     Scor-Tape Double-Sided Adhesive

     MISTI Stamp Positioning Tool     

     Anna Griffin Empress Die Cutting Machine

Creating the Background Panel

I started by stamping the Penny Black red rubber Passion stamp onto a 6” x 7” piece of Fabriano Artistico Extra White watercolor paper using Gina K. Designs’ Barely There Amalgam Ink.  I used the MISTI tool for this so I could add enough layers of the Barely There ink so that it was dark enough for me to see to be able to watercolor over it.  I like to use the Barely There ink since it doesn’t really influence the watercolor paints and doesn’t change the intended color.  I used Schmincke Watercolor Paint in the colors:  Volcano Red, Shire Green, Forest Green, Tundra Pink, and Volcano Orange. 

Once the watercolors had dried, I used the largest die from the Waffle Flower A6 Piercing Layers Die Set to die cut the panel with the assistance of my Anna Griffin Empress Die Cutting Machine.  Using the Penny Black Background Basics Stencil Set – the one with the 4” x 5-1/2” aperture – and used low-tack tape to temporarily adhere it to the top of the watercolor panel, aligning it so that I was framing the aperture in the center of the upper portion of the card.  I used a large blending tool to lightly ink blend a combination of Ranger/Tim Holtz Tumbled Glass and Shabby Shutters Distress Inks over the upper two-thirds of the watercolor panel.  Once completed, I moved the stencil to the lower end of the card to attempt to capture the same amount of the aperture as I did for the top, this time ink blending Ranger/Tim Holtz Shabby Shutters Distress Ink.

Creating the Sentiment

For the sentiment, chose to use the Pinkfresh Studio stamp set called Whimsical Blooms.  It includes a stamp that says, “Lots of Love” and I felt that was appropriate for this card.  I placed the watercolor panel in my MISTI tool and stamped the sentiment in the upper left corner using Simon Says Stamp’s Aster ink pad.  I wanted to use the purple toned ink to tie into the little floral hearts that are the purplish color.

Assembling the Card

Since I wanted to add some spatter, I added the photopolymer sentiment stamp over the stamped sentiment to protect it from spatter.  Using Winsor & Newton White Gouache, I applied a generous amount of white spatter using my Ranger/Tim Holtz Splatter Brush and repeated this process using Kuretake Starry Colors Metallic Watercolor in the color No. 901.  After the spatter dried, I added Scor-Tape to the back side of the watercolor panel and adhered it to a side-folding, A6 card base.

Thank you for stopping by and checking out today's blog post, I really do appreciate it. Until next time... happy crafting!

Beautiful Birthday | Pinkfresh Studio

Hi crafty friends!  Today I am sharing a card featuring some fabulous products from Pinkfresh Studio – both recently released and a tad older.  My beautiful niece gifted me with a pad of Strathmore Toned Tan Paper during Christmas and that paper was the inspiration for what ended up being a delightful tone-on-tone birthday card.

The supplies used:

Pinkfresh Studio – Amazing Things Stamps/Stencils/Dies

     Pinkfresh Studio –Bloomscape Stamp/Stencils

     Pinkfresh Studio – On My Mind Stamp Stamps/Dies

     Spellbinders – Precision Layering A2 A Die Set

     Pinkfresh Studio – Nested Elongated Ovals Dies

     Kraft Cardstock

     Tonic – Craft Perfect Pearled Gold Vellum Paper

     Strathmore Toned Tan Sketch Paper

Spellbinders - Cinnamon Color Wheel Cardstock

     Anna Griffin – Champagne Matte Foil Cardstock

     Simon Says Stamp – Earl Ink Pad

     Simon Says Stamp – Charcoal Ink Pad

     Simon Says Stamp – Nutmeg Ink Pad

     Simon Says Stamp – Paprika Ink Pad

     Simon Says Stamp – Allspice Ink Pad

     Altenew Mini Blending Brushes

     Ranger – Anti-Static Pouch

     Ranger/Tim Holtz – Distress Embossing Ink

     Ranger – Princess Gold Embossing Powder

     Scor-Tape Double Sided Adhesive

     Bearly Art Precision Craft Glue

     WOW! Dual Speed Heat Tool

     My Sweet Petunia - MISTI Stamping Tool

     Anna Griffin Empress Die Cutting Machine

Creating the Background Panel

I cut a piece of Strathmore Toned Tan paper to measure 4.5” x 5.75” and used Simon Says Stamp Earl ink to stamp Pinkfresh Studio’s Bloomscape cling floral stamp onto the Toned Tan paper with the assistance of my MISTI stamping tool.  I chose to create a tone-on-tone floral background colorway, so I started my ink blending utilizing the coordinating Pinkfresh Studio Bloomscape stencils and some ink pads from Simon Says Stamp in the colors:  Earl, Charcoal, Nutmeg, Paprika, and Allspice.  Using Altenew’s Mini Blending Brushes, I added greys to the leaf-related stencil areas and the brown-tones were blended into the floral aspects of the stencils except for the flower centers and I added Lisa Horton’s Night Sky Cloud 9 ink to those.  Once the gold pigment ink dried, I used the Spellbinders Precision Layering A2 A dies to die cut the inky, floral background panel using the second to largest die in the set and die cut Anna Griffin Champagne Matte Foil Cardstock using the largest die in the set.  I adhered the floral background panel to the center of the champagne metallic cardstock using strips of Scor-Tape.

Creating the Focal Point

Using the Pinkfresh Studio Amazing Things stamp set, I placed the large floral stamp and a piece of the Strathmore Toned Tan paper into my MISTI tool, prepped the paper with Ranger’s Anti-Static Pouch to help alleviate stray pieces of embossing powder sticking where I didn’t want them to, and stamped the image onto the Toned Tan paper using Ranger Ink/Tim Holtz’s Distress Embossing Ink.  Once stamped, I applied a coating of Ranger Princess Gold embossing powder to the inked image, tapped off the excess, and melted the embossing powder using my WOW! Dual Speed Heat Tool. 

For ink blending the image, I used the Pinkfresh Studio Amazing Things stencil set.  For the leaves (stencils 1 and 2), I chose Simon Says Stamp’s Earl and Charcoal inks to add color and shading.  There are three stencils for the flowers, so I used Simon Says Stamp’s Nutmeg, Paprika, and Allspice inks for the floral aspects of the image.  I ink blended the Nutmeg on stencil 3, Paprika on stencil 4, and Allspice on stencil 5. 

Once the image was completely colored, I used the Pinkfresh Studio Amazing Things die to die cut the flower image and die cut plain, kraft cardstock three additional times to add dimension to the focal image.  After die cutting, I used Bearly Art Precision Craft Glue to adhere the inked image and two of the plain, kraft cardstock layers together.  Using the Pinkfresh Studio Nested Elongated Ovals die set, I die cut a piece of Tonic Craft Perfect Pearled Gold vellum using the largest die in the set.  I glued the floral stacked layers to the center of the vellum oval and glued the final/third plain, kraft cardstock image that matches the floral image to the back side of the vellum.  This will add some lift and separation for the floral image from the floral background.

Creating the Sentiment

For the sentiment, I used the Pinkfresh Studio On My Mind clear stamp and die set and chose the “Wishing You a Beautiful Birthday” greeting.  I placed the sentiment stamp and a piece of Spellbinders Cinnamon cardstock into the MISTI tool, prepped the cardstock with Ranger’s Anti-Static Pouch and stamped the image onto the cardstock using Ranger Ink/Tim Holtz’s Distress Embossing Ink.  Once stamped, I applied a coating of Ranger Princess Gold embossing powder to the inked sentiment, tapped off the excess, and melted the embossing powder using my WOW! Dual Speed Heat Tool.

Assembling the Card Front

To add the focal point the card front, I added liquid glue to the back side of the bottom layer of kraft cardstock that was previously glued to the vellum layer of the focal point and carefully positioned in onto the center of the card.  Once the glue dried, I added a few pieces of scrap cardstock the two outer edges of the sentiment to give them stability and glued the sentiment to the bottom center of the card front.  Lastly, I adhered the completed card front to a side-folding, A2 size, kraft cardstock card base.

Thank you for stopping by and checking out today’s blog post, I really appreciate it.  Until next time, happy crafting!

2024 Holiday Series #1 | Merry Christmas

Hi friends!  Since November is here, I figured I had better get a start on my holiday card series so that I would get my Christmas cards made before the actual season arrived.  Let’s get started…

The supplies used were:

Altenew “Forest Canopy” Glitter Cardstock Set (Peridot, Titanite, Jadeite, & Emerald)

Simon Says Stamp “Christmas Wishes” Sentiment Strips (Reverse)

Pinkfresh Studio “Classic Edgers” Die Set

Crafty Critta “Merry Red” Hot Foil

Honey Bee Stamps “Make It Merry” Gem Stickers          

Anna Griffin Empress Die Cutting Machine

Distress Collage Medium

Heidi Swapp Mini Minc Machine

Ranger Stickles “Christmas Red”

I began the project by trimming each of the three darkest colors in the Altenew “Forest Canopy” glitter cardstock set at the long edge using a Pinkfresh Studio “Classic Edgers” die (I chose the scallop one) – these will form the boughs of each of the glittery Christmas tree layers on the card front.  To reduce the bulk/weight of the card, I decided to trim approximately one inch from the flat (non-scallop), long edge of my glitter cardstock pieces – the remainder will be trimmed off once they are adhered to the card base. 

I used an A2 size card base with a side fold for today’s card – I’m going to turn this card base in the landscape orientation so that the fold will be on the long side at the top of the card.  I drew a pencil line at 2-3/4” down the center of the 5-1/2” side (landscape orientation) to aid me with centering each of the glitter cardstock panels.  I then proceeded to glue each glitter cardstock layer, starting with the lightest color at the bottom and working my way up the card base, ensuring each strip of glitter cardstock is basically centered with that pencil line I drew on the card base.  I also attempted to layer each glitter cardstock strip approximately ¾” apart from each other and this measurement was taken at the lowest point of each panel.  Once the glue dried on all the pieces of glitter card stock on the card front, I used the paper trimmer to cut off all the excess that exceeded the A2 size card base.

Using the Sizzix “Funky Baubles” die set and an assortment of Christmasy cardstock colors, I began die cutting each of the ornament’s layers that I chose to use for the card.  I selected the cardstock colors from a 12x12 paper pack from American Crafts called “Christmas Cardstock” in addition to these I also selected Spellbinders’ “Cosmic Sky” for my blue cardstock.  I glued all the layers of the ornaments together using the packaging as a guide, added foam squares to the back sides and adhered them to the card front.  I also die cut the bow and two sets of holly from this die set and added those to the tops of the ornaments.  I added Ranger Glossy Accents to the holly berries and the red bow.

For my sentiment, I chose the sentiment strip set from Simon Says Stamp called “Holiday Greetings Reverse” that says Merry Christmas and I used a sheet of Craft Critta “Merry Red” foil to foil the entire page of sentiments using my Minc machine.  So pretty!

After removing the release paper from the ornaments and placing them and their ornament hanging strings to the card front, I put a strip of foam tape to the reverse side of my foiled sentiment strip and adhered it to the lower center of the card.  My final touches to this sparkly holiday card were when I added red gems from Honey Bee Stamps’ “Make It Merry” gem stickers to the ornaments and a small amount of Ranger “Christmas Red” Stickles to each of the holly berries.

I hope you enjoyed the card and found inspiration for some of your own card making projects!  Until next time… happy making!