November 2016

7 posts

I made this post to Paper Craft Crew Challenge sketch #220 by the skin of my “apples” – LOL.  I had to post the picture right away to meet their deadline and then come back and write about this card challenge. Nothing like playing the game “beat the clock”. This was the sketch for Paper Craft Crew Challenge:

 

 

When I sat down to create my card for this challenge, I knew exactly the perfect stamp set for this awesome layout. It is Ala Mode stamp set which is the stamp set included in Fun Stampers Journey’s November Bloom Box card kit. The base of the card is FSJ Limeade Splash cardstock. I stamped the apple slices using FSJ Clear Pigment ink to add some subtle dimension and interest to the background. And, for a little FUN, I used Dark Roast silk on the base (I decided to go back and add a little more – the mat covered most of my silk accent). The focal point of the card is a base mat of FSJ Cranberry Bliss cardstock with FSJ Whipped Cream cardstock matted on top. The sentiment is stamped directly onto the FSJ Whipped Cream cardstock using FSJ Black Licorice ink. All of the other stamped images were stamped on FSJ Whipped Cream cardstock using FSJ Black Licorice ink, colored with FSJ Color Burst Pencils (I used some FSJ Fusion Blender with the FSJ Blending stubs to create a smoother colored effect on each colored image). The apple is highlighted with FSJ Glaze, and the apple is accented with FSJ Sparkle Cuts.

 

pcc220

I think this card makes me hungry. Too bad the Thanksgiving holiday is over and I’m back to limiting my sugar intake to almost ziltch. I guess I could bake an apple with a little maple syrup and cinammon . . . . .hmmmm.

thumbnail of november-promotional-flyer

If you would like to have this stamp set in your collection, you can become a Bloom Box kit Girl. The Bloom Box is $24.95 a month for a six month commitment (does not include shipping and tax). I can say my Bloom Box Girls can’t wait to get their box each month. We get together and make the cards and have a super time together. Note: This set is exclusive to the kits and cannot be ordered from the regular catalog line-up. Click here to become a Bloom Box Girl (the kit with this stamp set must be ordered by November 30th).

Thanksgiving is over, and I’m on track this week to posting some card challenges. The first one of the week is Freshly Made Sketches #264.

I have the perfect stamp to make a super cute and simple card. It is Fun Stampers Journey (FSJ) ATS (Artist Trading Stamp) Frosty Fun and its coordinating die.  I stamped Frosty in FSJ Black Licorice ink onto Whipped Cream cardstock. I colored him with FSJ Color Burst pencils. Once I finished coloring him, I cut him out with his coordinating die. The circle is cut out with the FSJ pierced Circle Dies using FSJ cardstocks Pool Play and Whipped Cream. Frosty is attached using FSJ Foam Squares (medium). I accented the background with FSJ Silver Splash and added a sentiment in FSJ Candy Apple ink using the word “Joy” from the Holiday Script stamp set. Here is the main attraction:

 

All supplies used are from Fun Stampers Journey. If you would like to create this card for yourself, please feel free to check-out my FSJ website to place an on-line order (click here).

Every year I host an opportunity for my stampers to make Christmas cards to give to friends and family. This year was no different. I chose three Fun Stampers Journey stamps to highlight for this Make-It opportunity. The first card was featured in a previous card challenge post. I chose the Frosty Fun ATS (Artist Trading Stamp) and coordinating die set for this card. I used a card layout I saw on YouTube by Christy Gets Crafty 2015 card tutorial. There is one difference between the previous post and this card. The blue mat to which Frosty is adhered. My FSJ Catalina Splash cardstock came in and I changed the blue mat to the Catalina Splash cardstock mat.

 

 

The second card features the Stay Wild ATS. The inspiration for this card came from another FSJ Coach, Sara Hoogendoorn. She took the Stay Wild ATS and stamped it multiple times across her neutral cardstock to create a stunning wooded landscape making sure the deer are not stamped with the second and third generation of the image. I used torn paper along with sponge daubers using FSJ inks – Cool Pool, Lavender Fusion, and Hazelnut Blend. The water and sky are lightly accented with the Silver Pan Pastel. Black Licorice twine and a silver bow are adhered in the top left corner of the card. The sentiment comes from the FSJ stamp set Holiday Script. Love This CARD!

 

 

The last card was created using the FSJ Angel Herald stamp set with the Sun Rays Die. This card is a mixture of FSJ cardstock and other cardstock I had on hand. Yes, I’m working on filling my FSJ paper gaps. The angel and words are embossed using silver embossing powder. The mat behind the die cut cardstock was created by blending Blue Lagoon and Sweet Berry Splashes with water onto an acetate sheet; then, Silver and Dark Roast silks were added to accent the mat. Love this technique!

 

 

My stampers created 15 cards with these designs (5 cards of each design). These are quick, simple cards to create. It took them on average about 3 1/2 hours to complete these projects. I hope this inspires you to Create and Share your own cards.

This past weekend a very dear friend’s daughter, Paulina, celebrated her Quinceanera. I wanted to make her a very special card for her birthday using Spectrum Noir alcohol markers, because I, my daughter and son, and my friend, Cheyenne, bought her 84 Spectrum Noir markers. Woo Hoo! I know she will make some incredible art projects using her markers.

I thought the Fun Stampers Journey Media Artist girl was the perfect stamp to create a card for Paulina. I stamped the image on SU! Whisper White cardstock using Memento Tuxedo Black ink. This is the best cardstock I’ve found for coloring with alcohol markers. It took me about two hours to complete the coloring. To get a smooth finish, you have to take your time and work coloring small areas at a time. I tried to video tape the process, but the battery gave out before I was finished.

Lest any of you think I just throw together cards with no mess ups or problems. I had to pull this card apart about five times before I was satisfied with how the card looked. I decided about the fourth go round to make a shaker card, and I think this was a great choice. Here is the first picture before I stamped the flowers onto the card.

 

After I took this picture, I decided to stamp the flowers that is part of the FSJ Media Artist girl stamp set onto the card using SU! Midnight Muse. Here is the final card.

I absolutely love this card and I hope you do too!

Supplies:

Fun Stampers Journey:
Stamp Set: FSJ Media Artist girl

Stampin’ Up!:
Cardstock: Whisper White, Bashful Blue, Night of Navy
Ink: Midnight Muse

Spectrum Noir Alcohol Markers, Spectrum Noir Clear Glitter Pen

Miscellaneous:
Sequins, Acetate, Stitched Oval Dies from Lawn Fawn

In about a week and a half, it will be my annual Christmas Stamp-a-Stack. I have two card designs ready to go, and I’m waiting on my Fun Stamper Journey order to make my third design, which will feature an angel heralding the birth of Christ. I really enjoy Freshly Made Sketches card challenges. Their sketch this week is #261:

I am uploading my second design, which is a snowman card. Every year I have to have a snowman card featured in my stamp-a-stack event. This year I chose to use Fun Stampers Journey Frosty Fun and its coordinating die. I stamped Frosty Fun on FSJ Whipped Cream cardstock and colored him with FSJ Color Burst Pencils. I accented the berries and his nose with FSJ Glaze.  The snowman is adhered using FSJ foam squares to pop him up. I used Pink and Main rounded stitched rectangle dies for all the mats. The base mat is FSJ Candy Apple cardstock, the next mat (diagonal stripes) is SU! Fresh Prints DSP as well as the patterned paper belly band, and the snowman mat is SU! Marina Mist and FSJ Whipped Cream cardstocks. The top edge of the snow was cut using a die I got last year from Poppy Stamps (I can’t remember the name – sorry). I stamped the snowflakes from SU! Happy Scenes onto the Marina Mist with SU! Whisper White craft ink, and I stamped the sentiment from the same SU! stamp set in FSJ Candy Apple ink.

I try to make my stamp-a-stack cards fairly simple since my stampers will be making 15 cards at this event. I think this card is just adorable.

FMS261

Next weekend, I along with three other friends will be at the Fun Stampers Journey – The Amazing Tour. We are super excited to go and experience all the “Amazing” energy and creativity. I have been to many papercrafting events throughout my 13 years of papercrafting, usually, involves taking cards I have made and trading them with other event participants. We call them swaps. The swaps should be exclusive to the company presenting the event. So, for this trip, my friend – Debbie Kissel – came over and we re-made some swaps we used for a Coach meeting.

I wanted to feature an Artist Trading Stamp (ATS) keeping the price point low for papercrafting beginners and those on a limited budget.  Although the card featured in this post looks labor intensive, it is a super simple and quick card to make. This card definitely has a WOW factor. Hello – you can create awesome cards without breaking the bank. 

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

Here is how I made these cards:

  1. I used Fun Stampers Journey (FSJ) Black Licorice ink to stamp the flower and leaf images. I stamped directly on Watermelon Fusion and Lavender Fusion cardstocks. I stamped the leaf on colored cardstock as well (Sweet Pear or Limeade Splash both would make a wonderful leaf).
  2. I used the Candy Apple ink pad for the Watermelon Fusion flower and the Lavender Fusion ink pad for the Lavender Fusion flower. Using sponge daubers (one for each color) and starting in the middle of the flower, I applied the ink in a circular motion and stopped about 1/4″ from the tip of the flower petals. Do this until you are satisfied with the shading.
  3. I fussy cut the flowers and the leaf (a die is available, but the flower and leaf need to be cut next to the stamped image for the best effect). 
  4. I placed the flowers on a foam mat that is firm but not too firm (you want it to have a little give). I took the large stylus on the Journey Bloom Tool; starting in the center of each petal, I applied pressure and moved the stylus in a circular motion out to the edges of the petal and back toward the middle of the flower until the petal began to curl in on itself. I did this to each petal. Note: For this second round of flowers, Debbie was the stylus operator.
  5. I turned the flower over, cut the petals apart about 1/4″ from the center. I placed the flower on the mat; using the stylus, I pressed down hard and move in a circular motion in the center only. Note: The petals should pull in toward the middle. You can squeeze and shape the petals with your fingers. The leaves are done the same way but only working on the backside of them.
  6. I placed all the flowers that were created (10 in all) in a box and made a solution of 1/2 Journey glaze and 1/2 water (I saw Richard Garay do this on a video to make a sparkling background for a snowman card). This solution was created in a spray bottle I had in my craft room. I sprayed the flowers; then, sprinkled them with Journey Sparkle Dust (I used a small glitter shaker bottle). I should have sprayed the flowers again to set the glitter, but so far the glitter hasn’t come off.
  7. I cut a circle in the top mat ( top mat measurement 5″ x 3 1/2″) using the pierced circle dies. I placed the pierced circle die on the outside of the circle I wanted to create, and nested the cutting circle die inside the pierced die. I saved the cut circle and set it to the side.
  8. I popped out the mat with the medium Journey Foam Squares and adhered it to the Whipped Cream cardstock base.
  9. I used the circle that was left over from cutting out the mat to stamp the sentiment. I colored the sentiment with the Color Burst pencils in a color that coordinated with the flowers. I placed liquid glue on the back of the circle and pressed it into the circle and directly onto the cardstock base.
  10. I adhered the flower and petal with liquid glue and placed a Spring Accent Dot in the middle of the flower.

One of the mats had the circle cut off-center; so, instead of wasting the cardstock, I looked at it and thought . . . hmmmm. . . . I could make the same card in a horizontal position. I created an additional WOW factor using Orange Rave and Gold silk accents on this card. Note: I left the first two cards “clean”, because I didn’t have the silks I wanted to use with those flowers,. I think having two different ways to complete a card shows the versatility of our amazing products. Some of my stampers like “clean” and others do not – they want Wow, Wow, Wow.

Here is the mistake turned into a raving beauty:

Supplies:

All Fun Stampers Journey – all products can be purchased through my website.

Cardstock: Whipped Cream CS-0040, Lavender Fusion CS-0017, Watermelon Fusion CS-0039, Orange Creamsicle CS-0024
Ink: Black Licorice IP-0009, Lavender Fusion IP-0036, Candy Apple IP-0017, IP-0043
Die: Pierced Circle DI-0039    Use a Bloom Tool to separate the pierced die from the paper TO-0073
Adhesives: Journey Glaze AD-0003 or AD-0002, Journey Foam Squares AD-0085, Craft Glue AD-0111
Embellishments: Journey Sparkle Dust AC-0013, Spring Accent Dots AC-0179
Silks: Orange Rave IP-0118, Gold IP -0096
Suggested Silks for first two cards: Cosmic Grape IP-0117 and Outrageous Pink IP-0109

Well, Cheyenne and I got together on Wednesday and made the most adorable card EVER! She had purchased Tim Holtz’s Dog stamp set with coordinating dies. She came over to my house whipped those stamps and dies out of her little black bag, and we got off to a ruff start (ha, ha – do you like the pun). Anyway, she wanted to create a dog with textured hair. She had a picture to go by from a Pinterest pin, and I tried to pick out Spectrum Noir colors that were a close match. We got half of our dog’s faces done and she didn’t like them. They weren’t the correct color. So, upon her insistence, we started with a fresh dog stamped in SU! Smokey Slate. The first one was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black, but we wanted the hair to over-balance the stamped image’s outline. That’s when I said, let’s make our card using the Paper Craft Crew Challenge #217 (why not kill two birds with one stone). So, she pulled the sketch up on her phone and we began again.

 

We took our stamped image and gave it a base color of Spectrum Noir EB1 and LV1. Then, we took my Fun Stamper Journey Color Burst pencils and began to create shading (darkest brown) along with several other colors to create lighter shading and depth to the dog. Once all of this was accomplished, we kept our pencils sharpened and began making flicks of color onto the dog image. This took a LONG time. It takes a very light touch, and when you flick the pencil lead, you need to lift at the same time so your hair image looks light and hairy. We used several different colors with the black pencil giving more depth and a white gel pen was used to add light effects on the hair. Cheyenne said my dog looked mad and her dog looked scared.

Once we were happy with our hair and color of our dog, we cut out a nose and popped it out and added Journey glaze to give it a nice shine. A bone and ball were added to my card. Cheyenne added a leash to her card, but I couldn’t add one to mine because my matted dog was in a different place on my card than her card. I took the Fun Stampers Journey ATS stamp and stamped the sentiment onto FSJ Oatmeal Cookie cardstock. I made faux washi tape out of cardstock and placed a Journey twine bow up at the top of the card (I did have my twine on the smaller mat as in the sketch, but it pulled your eye away from the focal point – the dog). Last but not least, the dog, the mat the dog is on, the bone, tennis ball, sentiment, and the smaller piece of washi tape are popped out. I used fun foam for everything but the washi tape. All of the printed paper is from The Pets Stack paper stack which was purchased from Hobby Lobby a long, long time ago. The base of the card is FSJ Oatmeal Cookie cardstock. The mat for the dog was cut out using a rounded corner stitched rectangle die from Pink and Main. Here he is. He thinks you are “Looking Good.”

 

Hope you enjoy!

PAGE TOP
[dealsbar preview] Amazing Deals: !!toolbar-deal-title!! - !!toolbar-deal-merchant!!