VIDEO | Easy Emboss Resist with Distress Oxide Inks

Hello there, today I have a card to share using one of the new background stamps from CraftStash. They are all A6 in size so cover an A6 card perfectly (for those of you not living in the UK, A6 is our standard size card). I, however, usually make American A2 cards (finished card front 4.25" x 5.5") so I wanted to see if I can still make the stamp work in that format. Obviously, you can just cut the panel down but I wanted to see if I could still use it covering an entire card front.
 

I started off by stamping the Floral Sketch stamp on to a piece of Tim Holtz watercolour cardstock. I stamped the image with Versamark Ink, using the Mini MISTI to get a good impression. I applied white embossing powder and heat set. I tried to place the stamp in to the centre of the watercolour piece so that there would be an even strip of non-stamped image to either side.

I then took Distress Oxide Inks and blended these over the piece. I used Worn Lipstick,. Picked Raspberry and Wilted Violet. For some added shine, I spritzed over Sparkle Shimmer Spritz and set aside to dry. Once dry, I added the panel flat on to a white A2 card base.
 

I die cut the Simon Says Stamp Painted Happy Birthday three times from black cardstock and layered these up adding them to the card. I like to layer up die cut words, especially when I have kept the rest of the card flat.

VIDEO:

Here is a look at how I made the card:
 

SUPPLIES:

Here are the links to what I have used on the card and in the video. Affiliate links are used on some products. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on my link, I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support when using these links. Please click on the logo below the product to shop at your favourite store. Products marked with an asterisk (*) were kindly sent to me to use.
 

I think having the two non-stamped strips at the sides of the card frames the stamping quite nicely. I love how well the Distress Oxides work for emboss resist too. Thank you so much for visiting me today. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

VIDEO | Creating A Background With Copic Reinkers

Hello there, today I have a card to share using the new Cupid's Heart die from the new Love release from Simon Says Stamp. I wanted to create a window with it and so I thought it would be nice to create an alcohol ink background for it. Instead of using traditional alcohol inks, I thought I would use Copic refills/reinkers.

 

I started off by creating my background. I took a piece of Lana paper (similar to Yupo) and added over a layer of Alcohol Ink Blending Solution. I like to do this first with Copic reinkers as I think it helps them to flow better. I then added on drops of BV000 and used a spritzing tool to blow the ink around. I then added on BV11 to create some darker areas. Once I was happy with it, I set it aside to dry.

 

 

I took a panel of white cardstock and cut the Cupid's Heart die from it. I took the 'happy anniversary' sentiment from the Clearly Besotted Tiny Type set and stamped this on to a strip of black cardstock with Versamark Ink. I applied white embossing powder and heat set. I added this to the panel with foam tape.

 

 

I applied foam tape to the back of the whole panel and added the background piece to the back. The whole thing was then added to a white A2 card base.

 

VIDEO:

 

Here is a look at how I made the card:

 

SUPPLIES:

Here are the links to what I have used on the card and in the video. Affiliate links are used on some products. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on my link, I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support when using these links. Please click on the logo below the product to shop at your favourite store. Products marked with an asterisk (*) were kindly sent to me to use.
 

 

You cannot see much of the background piece but in real-life, it still looks really nice and just adds that extra detail. Thank you so much for visiting me today. I hope you have a fabulous day and get to check out the new Simon Says Stamp release.

Floral Drape

Hello there, today I have a card to share using the Floral Drape Stencil from Altenew. This is another present that I was sent by a friend and didn't get around to using last year. It is so beautiful and I think it has a lot of uses - for backgrounds and for focal points. Today I used it to create a bit of a watercolour look.

 

I started off by taking a sheet of watercolour paper and placing the stencil on top. I first masked off the leaf areas with Post-It tape and then blended over Distress Oxide Ink on to the flower portions. I used Wilted Violet and Picked Raspberry inks. I then masked these areas off and blended inks onto the leaves. I used Twisted Citron and Cracked Pistachio. I removed the masks and before removing the stencil, I spritzed over a mist of Sparkle Spritz. The stencil was then removed and the piece set aside to dry.

 

 

I took the SSS Painted Thanks die and cut this three times from black cardstock that has Stick It adhesive on the back. The die cuts were then layered up one on top of another to create a bit of height. I took the stencilled panel and cut this down slightly, adding it to a black A2 card base with tape runner. I then added the thanks die cut on top. To finish off, I added a few Sparkling Clear sequins.

 

SUPPLIES:

Here are the links to what I have used on the card. Affiliate links are used on some products. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on my link, I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support when using these links. Please click on the logo below the product to shop at your favourite store. Products marked with an asterisk (*) were kindly sent to me to use.
 

 

I am so glad that I got around to using the stencil as it is so pretty. I already have ideas on how I can use it next! Thanks so much for stopping by today, I really do appreciate it. I hope you have a lovely day!

Fabulous Friend

Hello there, today I have a card to share using the Best Friends Stamp Set from Clearly Besotted, along with one of my favourite ever sentiment sets - A Little Sentimental. I had a piece of alcohol ink background left over from a previous card and I thought the shark and fish image would work perfectly for it.

 

I started off by stamping the shark and fish image with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink on to white cardstock. I coloured the image in using Copic Markers and then fussy cut out with scissors (there are coordinating dies but I do not have them). I then added white gel pen dots to their eyes and glitter pen to the fish's fins.

 

 

I had a piece of alcohol inked background that I had used on this card left over and I really wanted to use it somehow. The piece was made by adding three shades of alcohol ink to Yupo Paper to create an ombre look. I used Aqua, Pool and Sail Boat Blue. I took an 4" x 5.25" white card base and added this strip on to the right hand side with tape runner. I then took a panel of white cardstock and cut it using one of the MFT Stitched Scallop Edges dies. Because I wanted to the edge to be the opposite way of the die, I just used the negative piece of the die and not the positive. This way I ended up with inverted scallops without the stitching but I still think it looks nice! This was added flat to the left side of the card with tape runner.

 

 

I stamped the 'fabulous friend' sentiment from the A Little Sentimental set and stamped this on to a piece of white cardstock with more Memento Tuxedo Black Ink. It was cut out using one of the MFT Stitched Rectangle Window Dies (again I used it the opposite way around, so I do not have the stitching detail). I added this to the card base with foam tape and then added the shark and fish above with more foam tape. To finish off, I added Lucy's Cards Ice Cube Jewels around the image.

 

SUPPLIES:

Here are the links to what I have used on the card. Affiliate links are used on some products. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on my link, I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support when using these links. Please click on the logo below the product to shop at your favourite store. Products marked with an asterisk (*) were kindly sent to me to use.
 

 

COPIC MARKERS: Shark - T6, T4, T3, T2, T1, T0. Fish - BV11, BV000, BV0000, RV04, RV02, RV00.

 

Thank you so much for popping by to see me today, I really do appreciate it. I hope you have a fabulous day and a wonderful week!

Better Together Blog Hop + Giveaway

Hello there, today I have the absolute pleasure of taking part in a blog hop to celebrate the collaboration between Hero Arts and Ellen Hutson for their United We Flourish campaign. The Hero Arts set is called Better Together and is filled with beautiful bird images. It is exclusive to Ellen Hutson.

For my card today, I decided to use two of the bird images that look like parrots (to me). They were on the stamp set in this orientation and I thought that they looked like they were in love so went with an anniversary card. I started off by stamping the branch and the two birds on to white cardstock with black ink. They were then coloured using Copic Markers and cut out using the coordinating dies.

 

I then took a white panel of cardstock and scored lines on to it using a scoring board and bone folder. I took the 'happy anniversary' sentiment from the Hero Arts Many Everyday Messages set and stamped this towards the bottom of the panel. It was then adhered to a white A2 card base with tape runner. The branch was added on with more tape runner and then the birds added on top with foam tape.

I took the heart cluster from the Hero Arts Sun Showers Frame Cuts set and cut these from white cardstock. I coloured two of them with red Copic Markers and then added them to the card with liquid glue. To finish off, I added Glossy Accents to the hearts and the bird's beaks.

SUPPLIES:

Here are the links to what I have used on the card. Affiliate links are used on some products. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on my link, I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support when using these links. Please click on the logo below the product to shop at your favourite store. Products marked with an asterisk (*) were kindly sent to me to use.

 

COPIC MARKERS: Birds - R85, R83, R81, Y17, Y13, Y11, YR18, YR16, YR15, YG23, YG03, YG01, B02, B01, B00, B000, BV11, BV02, BV01, BV000, E43, E42. Branch - E57, E55, E53, YG17, YG01. Hearts - R29, R24.

BLOG HOP:

For the hop, you should have arrived here from Michele Ferguson. Next on the hop is Sharon Harnist. You can find the full list of participants in the hop over at the Ellen Huston CLASSroom blog.

GIVEAWAY:

To celebrate, two randomly selected commenters will win a $30 gift certificate to the Ellen Hutson shop. To enter, just leave a comment on the Ellen Hutson Classroom Blog by 11.59 PST on January 28th.

Thank you so much for visiting me today, I really do appreciate it. I hope you are having a good weekend so far!

Butterfly Beauty

Hello there, today I have a card to share using the Concord & 9th Butterfly Beauty stamp set. This set was kindly given to me by a friend as a present. She gave it to me a while ago and I am now finally using it (more on that below).

 

I started off by cutting a panel of white cardstock using the largest of the dies in the WPlus9 Gift Card Layers Die Set. I love that the panel is A2 in size but has that added stitching detail. I then took the most solid of the butterflies and inked this up using the Hero Arts Pool to Navy Ombre Ink. I love the pattern and detail in this stamp! The panel was then adhered flat to a white A2 card base.

 

 

I took the thank you sentiment from the set and stamped this on to a strip of black cardstock using Versamark Ink. I applied white embossing powder and heat set. This was added to the centre of the butterfly with foam squares. To finish off, I added a few Iridescent Jewels.

 

SUPPLIES:

Here are the links to what I have used on the card. Affiliate links are used on some products. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on my link, I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support when using these links. Please click on the logo below the product to shop at your favourite store. Products marked with an asterisk (*) were kindly sent to me to use.
 

 

So, like I mentioned above I received the stamp set a little while ago. I had so many ideas of what to do with the set but one thing after another happened and I never got round to using it, until now. My goal this year is to use products a lot quicker. I know that I always get around to using them at some point but I want to try harder at using them closer to the time they were bought, or in this case kindly given to me as a present. Do you have any crafty goals for the year? Thanks so much for visiting me today. I hope you have a wonderful day and a fabulous weekend!

Love Is In The Air

Hello there, today I have a card to share using the adorable Call Cupid stamp set from Clearly Besotted. How cute are those cupids? :)

 

I started off by stamping one of the cupids from the set on to white cardstock with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink. I coloured him with Copic Markers (the colours I used can be found below the supplies section) and fussy cut him out with scissors (there are coordinating dies available). I took a piece of white cardstock and cut a cloud border from it.

 

 

I took a 4.25" x 4.25" white card base and blended Shaded Lilac on to the top portion of it, adding the darker colour towards the bottom. While blending the ink on, I added some hearts using the MFT Full of Hearts stencil. The sentiment was then stamped in the upper left corner with black ink. The cloud piece was added to the card base with tape runner and then the cupid added on top with foam tape.  To finish off, I added Aqua Shimmer to the heart arrow and the cupid's wings. I also added Crystal Glaze to the heart.

 

SUPPLIES:

Here are the links to what I have used on the card. Affiliate links are used on some products. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on my link, I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support when using these links. Please click on the logo below the product to shop at your favourite store. Products marked with an asterisk (*) were kindly sent to me to use.
 

 

COPIC MARKERS: Skin - E70, E11, E00, E50, R20. Hair - E55, E53, E51, E50. Clothes - C3, C1, C0. Wings - BV11, BV000, BV0000. Bow & Arrow - E57, Y28, YR24, BV11, BV000, BV0000. Cloud - B000, B0000.

 

I coloured the cupid as part of Kathy Racoosin's 30 Day Colouring Challenge. I am hoping to turn all my colourings in to cards but please do feel free to follow me over on Instagram as it may take me a while to get them made in to cards! How about you? Are you taking part in the challenge? I would love to hear. Thanks so much for visiting me today. I hope you have a fabulous day!

Beautiful Bouquet

Hello there, today I have a card to share with you using the new Bouquet stamp from Hero Arts. This wood mounted stamp was released as part of the January My Monthly Hero release and it is so beautiful.

 

 

I started off by stamping the bouquet on to a piece of white cardstock using Intense Black Ink. I then coloured the image with Copic Markers, adding a little blue around the outsides. The colours I used can be found below the supplies section. I then took a Nuvo Aqua Shimmer pen and added shimmer details to the flowers. The panel was adhered to a black A2 card base with ATG.

 

 

I took the 'happy birthday' sentiment from the Eat Cake All Day Stamp & Cut and stamped this on to a piece of black cardstock with Versamark Ink. I applied white embossing powder and heat set. The piece was cut in to a strip and added to the card with foam tape. To finish off, I added three Ice Cube Jewels around the sentiment piece with Multi Medium Matte adhesive.  

 

SUPPLIES:

Here are the links to what I have used on the card. Affiliate links are used on some products. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on my link, I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support when using these links. Please click on the logo below the product to shop at your favourite store. Products marked with an asterisk (*) were kindly sent to me to use.
 

 

COPIC MARKERS - Large leaves: BG75, BG72, BG70. Small leaves: G43, G40. Purple flowers: V28, V25, V22. Heather: V12. Pink Flowers: R85, R83, R81. Shadow: B000, B0000, 0.

 

Thank you so much for popping by to see me today. I really do appreciate it. I hope you have a wonderful Monday and a fabulous week!

When Is A Magnolia Not A Magnolia?

... when it is purple, I guess! ;) Hello there, today I have a card to share using the Magnolia Moments stamp set from Clearly Besotted, which is a stamp layering set. I do usually gravitate towards outline images as I love to colour, but these stamp sets are so easy to line up and I love the added details on these. They also make for quick and easy cards.

 

I started off by taking a panel of white cardstock and stamped the bottom layer of the magnolia petals first. I used my Mini MISTI to stamp everything and it helped a lot. I stamped both of the flowers first. I used Altenew's Soft Lilac for the bottom layer and then Deep Iris for the second. I stamped the stamens with Midnight Violet. These were then masked off and the branch piece stamped. I used PTI Kraft for the branch portion and Altenew's Frayed Leaf for the leaves. The second layer for the leaves was stamped with Altenew's Forest Glades. The masks were then removed.

 

 

I took the MFT Stitched Rectangle Scallop Frame Dies and cut the panel out with it, using the centre portion for my images. I then cut three of the frames from white cardstock. I added the image panel on to a white card base with tape runner and then stacked the frames up around it (so that they are three in height). I took the sentiment from the Tiny Type set and stamped this on to a strip of black cardstock using Versamark Ink. I applied white embossing powder and heat set. This was added to the card with foam tape. To finish off, I added a few PPP Sparkling Clear Confetti and then Aqua Shimmer pen to the stamens.

 

SUPPLIES:

Here are the links to what I have used on the card. Affiliate links are used on some products. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on my link, I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support when using these links. Please click on the logo below the product to shop at your favourite store. Products marked with an asterisk (*) were kindly sent to me to use.
 

 

As you can see, I used a bit of artistic licence with the colour of the magnolias. I thought they would look nice in purples, even if that is not their natural colour. I apologise for the grey tint in the photos but it so dark here. I am so looking forward to getting closer to spring/summer and getting some better lighting! Thanks so much for visiting me today. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

You're My Tweetheart

Hello there, today I am over on the Hero Arts Blog sharing a card made using the new Love Birds Stamp & Cut that was released as an add-on for the January My Monthly Hero Kit. The birds are just so cute! I decided to colour them like parakeets as we have some living in the trees where I live.

 

 

 

SUPPLIES:

Here are the links to what I have used on the card. Affiliate links are used on some products. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on my link, I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support when using these links. Please click on the logo below the product to shop at your favourite store. Products marked with an asterisk (*) were kindly sent to me to use.
 

 

COPIC MARKERS: YG17, YG23, &Y03, YG01, YG00, Y11, E43, E50.

 

Obviously parakeets are not native to London but there is a rumour that they escaped from Isleworth Studios in the 1950s and have been breeding ever since. They are lovely to look at but they do make  a lot of noise! For more information on how I made the card, please head over to the blog post. Thanks so much for visiting me today, I hope you have a lovely day!

Hero Arts January 2018 My Monthly Hero Blog Hop + Giveaway

Hello there, today we are celebrating the release of the January 2018 My Monthly Hero Kit from Hero Arts. It is lovely love themed kit which is perfect for Valentine's Day but can be used all year round too. If you are following along in the hop, you should have arrived here from the fabulous Janette but if you get lost along the way, I have the full list of participants below.

 

As much as I like the main kit, I couldn't help but use one of the add-ons for my cards today. The Love Bandit set is just so cute and I love that it can also be used for Valentine's cards or as I have used it, for general all occasion cards. My first card uses the raccoon holding the bunch of flowers. I started off by stamping him in Intense Black on to white cardstock. He was then coloured in using Copic Markers and fussy cut out with scissors (there are coordinating dies available, I just do not have them yet).

 

 

I then took a panel of white cardstock and scored lines on to it using my score board. I used to do this a lot but haven't in a while and then I saw Yana do it recently and it encouraged me to try it again. I love the look! This panel was added to a white A2 card base and then I added the raccoon on with foam tape. I took the 'thanks' sentiment from the Many Everyday Messages set, stamped it with Versamark Ink on to a strip of black cardstock and added white embossing powder. The powder was heat set and then the strip added to the card with more foam tape. To finish off, I added a few Ice Cube jewels and black glaze pen on the raccoon's eyes and nose.

 

SUPPLIES:

Here are the links to what I have used on the card. Affiliate links are used on some products. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on my link, I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support when using these links. Please click on the logo below the product to shop at your favourite store. Products marked with an asterisk (*) were kindly sent to me to use.
 

 

COPIC MARKERS: Raccoon - W8, W6, W5, W3, W1, W0. Flowers - RV55, G43.

 

 

I kept my next card very simple too and used the same design. This time, I used one of the raccoons holding the heart. I stamped him out and coloured with Copic Markers too. He was fussy cut out and set aside. I took another panel of white cardstock and stamped the Hugs and Kisses Message on to it using black ink.

 

 

I took the panel and again added score lines with my score tool and a bone folder. This time, I made sure to score up to the sentiment stamp but not over it. The panel was added to an A2 white card base and then the raccoon added on top with foam tape. To finish off, I added shimmer pen to the heart and Crystal Glaze to the raccoon's eyes and nose. I love the different look of the scoring lines. One is embossed and one is de-bossed. I think I like them both equally.

 

SUPPLIES:

Here are the links to what I have used on the card. Affiliate links are used on some products. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on my link, I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support when using these links. Please click on the logo below the product to shop at your favourite store. Products marked with an asterisk (*) were kindly sent to me to use.
 

 

COPIC MARKERS: Raccoon - W8, W6, W5, W3, W1, W0, R12, R00. Heart - V17, V15, V12.

 

THE KIT:

The January 2018 kit contains the 4" x 6" Layered on Love clear stamp set, four coordinating dies, 4 ink cubes (Passion Flower, Red Royal, Navy and Mulled Wine), 2 sheets of decorative paper, 3 sheets of cardstock, heart sequin mix and Pink Prisma embossing powder.

 

 

That is an amazing $62 worth of products for only $34.99 (approximately £25.80 depending on exchange rate). Remember that the kits are limited edition and often sell out very quickly. You can subscribe here so that you never miss a kit. International kit subscribers also receive money off shipping too!

 

There are lots of fabulous add-on products that you can purchase this month too. These are not limited edition and can be purchased from the Hero Arts store or your favourite Hero Arts retailer. Here is a look at them:

 

 

VIDEO HOP:

Here is the full list of participants taking part in the hop today:

 

Hero Arts Blog

Jennifer McGuire

Yana Smakula

Jessica Frost-Ballas

Wanda Guess

Lydia Fiedler

Amy Tsuruta

Laurie Willison

May Park

Janette Kausen

Michelle Short - you are here!

Libby Hickson

Ilina Crouse

Clare Prezzia
Emily Midgett

 

GIVEAWAY:

Hero Arts are giving away one kit as a prize to one blog reader, selected from the comments across all of the blogs in the hop. Be sure to comment on all of the stops for more chances to win. Giveaway closes Sunday, January 14th at 11.59pm EST and the winner will be announced the following week. If the winner has already purchased the kit, they will be reimbursed for it.

 

The next person on the hop is the fabulous Libby. Thanks so much for visiting me today. I hope you have a great time on the rest of the hop and a fabulous day!

January 2018 MMH | Love You So Much

Hello there, today I am over on the Hero Arts blog sharing a card using the January 2018 My Monthly Hero Kit from Hero Arts. It releases on Monday, 8th January and is a fabulous love themed kit.

 

 

As you can see, I kept my card very clean and simple. I love the layering love word from the stamp set. You can find out more about how I made the card over on the Hero Arts Blog. Have a great weekend! See you on Monday for the release and hop.