10/29/2019

Multi-Layer Masking

Happy Tuesday!  Today's card is for the double color/sketch challenge at CAS Colours & Sketches.  The inside of the card says "without you".
Here is the challenge that was posted:
I got part way though coloring this card when I realized I had made a fairly obvious error in my layout.  The bunny and the gift are two stamps so the image needed some masking.  I stamped the bunny first (since he's in front), masked him off and then stamped the gift.  Easy.
See the issue - it wasn't until I went to color the package that I realized that the gift should be behind his foot but IN FRONT of his hand.  Since I had to restamp, I could have just moved the gift up behind his hand only, but I really wanted it between his hand and foot.  I needed to mask and stamp this in stages; only part of the image at a time.  I own both size Mistis and a Stamparatus - I use them all for different things.  For this layered masking, the Stamparatus helped enormously!

The Stamparatus allows you to use multiple plates as they pop off the base quite easily.  And you can have two plates on the base at one time.
I put the bunny stamp on my bottom plate.  Using a small ink cube I carefully inked up just his foot and stamped that. 
Using a Post-It note I created a bunny mask and cut off his hand so I would get the full gift behind the foot.  The gift was on the right hand plate.  My bunny was kept on the bottom plate.
Then I created a mask of the gift...
and I restamped my bunny using the stamp that was still on the bottom plate.

I mask images quite a bit but most of the time I'm not trying to insert one image into the middle of another.  It's good to know that it can be done.  I could have done this with my two Mistis by moving the image from one to the other, but the Stamparatus made it super simple since I could leave the image in the platform.  I have had it happen that I take an image out of my stamping platform, decide it needs to be restamped and I don't put it back in quite all the way.  Less than a millimeter off can ruin an image.  This kept things very accurate.
 Multi-layer masking is actually quite easy, it just requires a bit of pre-planning and visualizing!

Stamps: Honey Bee Stamps Blah Humbunny
Dies: Honey Bee dies to match; Cottage Cutz Stitched Squares and Scalloped Squares
Copic markers: RV11, RV32, RV34, B0000, B21, B23 N0, N1, W00, W1, B91, B93, B95, B97
Accessories: Stampin' Up! Stamparatus

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10/22/2019

Happy Fall Y'all

Happy Tuesday and Happy Fall!  Today's card was made for two challenges - the sketch challenge at CAS Colours & Sketches and the color challenge at Splitcoaststampers.
Here is the posted sketch which I rotated:
The colors are Cajun Craze, Daffodil Delight and Merry Merlot.

The card was very simple - I colored the image with a combination of Stampin' Blends and Copic markers.  If I had to do it again, I would have used watercolor on the leaves to blend them a bit more but all in all it turned out okay.




Stamps: Simon Says Stamp Happy Fall
Ink: Stampin' Blends Daffodil Delight Dark, Cajun Craze Dark; Copic markers: R59, Warm Gray W00, W1, W2, W3
Dies: MFT Stitched Basic Edges

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10/18/2019

Warm Hearted Friends

Happy Friday!  Today's card uses the adorable polar bears from the Cottage Cutz.  I think these are just about everyone's favorite, they are so darn cute!  Although meant for Christmas, I chose to use them today as a friendship card rather than a holiday card.

I cut all pieces from white card stock and used Distress Oxide ink to color them.
 I assembled all the pieces.  Although I assembled the hat, I ultimately decided not to use it.
For the background I used the same pink inks and a stencil made from the second smallest circle of the Double Stitched Rectangle set.  I blended an area larger than I needed so I could adjust where to cut the rectangle.  I splattered the blend with water to give the feel of falling snow.
I cut four panels, two using the third largest Stitched Rectangle die and two using the second largest die so that the panels stacked would be a bit thicker than regular card stock.
The message is stamped centered on the bottom of an A2 card base in grey ink.  After adhering the panels I glued down the snow and birch trees. 
I wanted the birch trees to go to the top of the rectangle and the snow to be at the bottom.  You can see that there is a gap here.  But that will get covered up by the bears.
The bears are popped up using foam dots.  This was a simple card to make that is wonderful for a good friend.  These little bears are perfect for almost every occasion!

Dies: Cottage Cutz Polar Bears w/Birch Trees, Stitched Rectangles, Double Stitched Circles
Ink: Distress Oxides as shown plus Stampin' UP!Soft Sky for the snow edges
Stamp: My Favorite Things Hug in a Mug

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10/15/2019

Silly Reindeer Shaker Card

I normally have a challenge card on Tuesday but this week I'm taking a break.  I do however, have a fun shaker card using only dies.

I cut most of the pieces from white card stock and colored them using Distress Oxide inks.  The sentiment and curtain are cut from colored card stock and patterned paper.
For the blue sky behind the reindeer I used the negative piece created by cutting the window as a stencil.
I lightly traced the outline of the window in pencil and glued the reindeer and snowflakes within that area.
I did have to cut off the bottom of his scarf so it wouldn't be seen under the window.
To create the shaker window I cut seven windows - one from white and colored with the DO inks and the others from a brown card stock.  I layered these brown pieces and cut out the panes.  Then I placed a piece of acetate between the top window and the stacked layers.
I used the Happy Ho Ho Ho die for the sentiment and some matching green striped paper down each side.  I think it just goes perfectly for this crazy little deer peeking in the window!

Dies: Cottage Cutz Silly Holiday Reindeer, Happy Ho Ho Ho, Winter Window

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10/10/2019

Believe

I have a Christmas card for the dog lovers in your life.  The little pup who lives in this dog house must have made the nice list because Santa left a new bone in his food bowl!

This card use only dies.  I know some people like to use image dies because they aren't comfortable stamping or they don't like to color.  I have a friend who only uses dies on her cards!

To start the card I cut all the pieces from white cardstock and colored using sponge daubers and ink.
For the card design I used this sketch from Splitcoaststampers.  I keep a book of sketches in my craft  room so that I have some go to layouts if I need them.
https://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/card-sketches-f41/sketch-challenge-744-4-10-19-a-t628691.html
I stuck pretty much to the sketch but I did end up moving the plaid panel since I knew that the sentiment would overlap it.  I didn't think the gold would stand out much on that pattern.
For complete instructions on how to create this card please visit the Cottage Cutz blog on Friday!

Dies: Cottage Cutz Christmas Pup w/ Dog House, Believe w/ Flying Santa
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Mossy Meadow, Night of Navy, Old Olive, Early Espresso, Soft Suede

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10/08/2019

Another Two Challenge Tuesday

Today is another two challenge Tuesday (actually every Tuesday is a two challenge Tuesday for me!).  But this week I only made one card for both challenges.
CAS Colours & Sketches has a sketch challenge this week and of course I made a card for the color challenge at Splitcoaststampers.
I changed up the sketch slightly by making the middle image the largest and by using some washi tape down one side rather than having a border all the way around.

The colors for the color challenge are Lemon Lime Twist, Berry Burst and Balmy Blue.  I heat embossed my images in gold and used an aqua painter and the ink pads to watercolor them.  It goes fairly fast (at least the way  do it!) and I think it looks nice.  When I want tight images that is when I get out my Copic markers or colored pencils.

Since I always need birthday cards I decided the washi tape was a good alternative to a sentiment and could fit the occasion.  To add a little bling I used a small crystal next to each butterfly.

Stamps: Altenew Wild Hibiscus
Ink: Balmy Blue, Berry Burst, Lemon Lime Twist
Accessories: Studio Katia Sparkling Crystals, washi tape (of unknown origin)

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10/04/2019

Watercolor Wash Background for a Quick Elegant Card

Happy Friday!  Clean and simple cards are probably my favorite style.  I love cards that have an elegant and clean look.  This one has that look and is fairly simple to create.

I started with mixed media paper - it is heavy than cardstock and can withstand watercoloring, but it is not as heavy as watercolor paper.   I die cut the Believe in the Magic die and ran it back and forth through my die cutting machine a couple of times.  This ensured that the pieces cut nicely with the heavier paper.
You can see here that I did need to use my pokey tool to get some of the smaller pieces out of the die cut.  But it did cut very cleanly.

Next I taped a 6 x 4.75 inch piece of the mixed media paper to my watercolor board.  I use a masonite board.  This keeps the paper fairly straight and flat while I water color.
I placed my die cuts on top roughly where I intended to place them on the final card and then used the green washi tape to indicate the outside edges of the image.  This will be my "guide" when creating the background wash.
I used two blue inks, two blue green inks and lots of water when creating this wash.  I tried to keep somewhat within my taped boundaries.  Between colors I used my heat tool set on low to both move the wash and dry it.
When finished, I trimmed the panel to 5.5 x 4.25 inches and adhered it to an A2 card base.  I glued my die cut images on top.

As a final touch I added a few acrylic "drops" using Crystal Effects to glue them down.

A word of caution about cards like this - no two come out alike.  I find them fun to make and the next one I create is usually my favorite.  They are quick and look very elegant.  This is a great way to loosen up your artwork/card making.  (But if you're the type where each card has to be EXACTLY like the one before it - you may only want to make one of these!  LOL!)

Dies: Cottage Cutz Believe in the Magic

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10/01/2019

Did Someone Say Caffeine?

It's Tuesday and another color challenge at CAS Colours & Sketches.  This week's hostess, Karen, picked Rococo Rose, Smoky Slate and Mint Macaron - a wonderful combination.  This card definitely shows how I felt when I created it.  I hadn't slept well and had a zillion things to do (including make this card!) so when looking for a stamp to use, this one really spoke to me!

The image is colored with a combination Copic markers and Stampin' Blends.  For the background molecules, I masked off the rabbit and stamped off the Rococo Rose to get a lighter color.  After all was said and done I realized the molecules on the circle reminded me a bit of a bloodshot eye - but given the look of this rabbit, it fits!

This stamp company, The Rabbit Hole Designs, is one that I discovered this year.   They have some quirky, contemporary designs and I really enjoy them as they are different than what you normally see.

Stamps: The Rabbit Hole Designs Caffeinated Rabbit
Ink: Stampin' Up! Rococo Rose, Versafine Onyx, Memento Black
Markers (numbered markers are Copic markers):  Stampin' Blends Rococo Rose Light and Dark, RV 52; Stampin' Blends Mint Macaron Light and Dark, G0000; Stampin' Blends Smoky Slate Light and Dark, T0
Paper: Whisper White, Mint Macaron
Dies: MFT Wacky Stitched circles, Circles Stax

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