Freedom ATC (Artist Trading Card) Winner

This past weekend a few of my fellow stampers and I attended Heirloom’s Lawrenceville Rubber Stamp & Paper Arts Festival. It began with the Design & Treasure Make-n-Take Friday night. We made four cards, visited with a favorite vendor “Pink & Main”, used new products, experienced new techniques, and had a great time. When we were leaving, I noticed a notebook on display with ATC (Artist Trading Card) on display and announcing the ATC contest. I remembered reading about it and wanting to create an entry when I registered, but I had forgotten about it. I decided to make a couple of ATCs which were to reflect the theme of Freedom and enter them the next day.

Saturday morning came bright and early. I had set my alarm the night before, but it didn’t go off; so, I was in a little bit of a rush before my friend, Cheyenne, got here with some stamp sets that were Freedom themed. We were to head toward the weekend’s shopping event where we were to meet some other friends at the event by 10:00 a.m. Just a note to the alarm issue, I did set it, but for the weekday. LOL

I began the creation process half awake and a head full of cotton, but that could have been a plus since I couldn’t overthink the process. Really, I could barely think. I took the 3 1/2 x 2 1/2 pieces of cardstock and pulled out my Fun Stampers Journey Sweet Berry Splash, Blue Lagoon Splash, Cranberry Bliss silk, Sparkle Dust, Black Licorice Twine, Journey Medium paste along the FSJ spatula applicator along with some post-it note tape. I pulled out my SU! stripes and stars stencils; thus began the card base process.

In a container, I spritzed some Sweet Berry with a mist of water. I used a paint brush and applied a swipe of Sweet Berry across the cards. It wasn’t brillant enough; so, I thought why don’t I add some Cranberry Bliss silk and that did the trick. I reapplied the mixture to the card and it looked gorgeous. Then, I took the Blue Lagoon Splash and did the same process. I did try to add some Dark Roast to create a more navy blue color and it was a little too much which created a blackish blue. All I did was add more Blue Lagoon splash and pulled a small, small dot of the blackish blue color into it, mixed it a little, and Bob’s your uncle; it looked great. On the soldier ATC I added full blue color, but on the eagle ATC, I masked off some stripes and added the color to this area to provide a little interest.

Next, I applied the medium paste using the stencils to the card base and sprinkled Sparkle Dust onto the wet medium to create some sparkle and glitz. The final embellishment was several loops of Black Twine. I sat the emerging ATC pieces to the side to work on the stamped images.

By this time, Cheyenne arrived with the SU! stamps. I didn’t have any stamps that reflected the Freedom theme, but she had two SU! retired stamp sets (they are very, very retired). They were perfect. I took the soldier stamp and coordinating words from one stamp set and stamped them onto FSJ Whip Cream cardstock using Memento ink. I colored the soldier using Spectrum Noir markers. Each of the words I cut out individually and matted on FSJ Black Licorice cardstock. I took a very light gray Spectrum Noir marker and went over the words to tone down the brightness of the Whip Cream cardstock. I popped the soldier and words out using FSJ Foam squares; and, as a final touch, I sprinkled a little Silver silk onto the ATC. Here is Cheyenne’s iPhone pictures. She liked them better with a woodgrain background:

The cards were judged by the vendors at the show. Here is the winning ATC card:

I created the eagle card by stamping the eagle onto FSJ Whip Cream cardstock using FSJ Black Licorice ink. Cheyenne suggested stamping the coordinating words directly onto the eagle. I thought that was a GREAT idea, and as you can see, it looks gorgeous. I colored the eagle with Spectrum Noir markers. The eagle is popped up using FSJ Foam squares. I punched out three small stars from FSJ Denim Days cardstock. Even though they didn’t have a first, second, and third place winner, the eagle ATC card was the second most chosen card by the vendors.

I think they both turned out beautifully. I won $25 show bucks which meant I could go and purchase products from any of the vendors. Here I am receiving the Show Bucks:

I went back to Creek Bank Creations and purchased two more 3D embossing folders from We R Memory Keepers Next Leveling Embossing folders. These are awesome; they create a 3D embossed look to your cardstock, which adds wonderful dimension and interest to your card. I have three posts coming up featuring these folders. The rest of my winnings I spent at Pink and Main. I purchased a cute, cute frog stamp set (it’s one of the upcoming card creation posts) and a pirate set just for my little buddies to create some cute cards.

Thanks Cheyenne for your stamp sets and your critiques during the creating process.

201701/24

Have A Lovely Day Daisy and With All My Heart – PCC228

This week’s Paper Craft Crew Challenge #228 is such a great and unique card sketch. It really allows a papercraft artist to think beyond the box. I decided to enter two cards I recently designed for my January Make It based on is this week’s sketch:

I had created a heart card for January’s Make It class, but one of my good friend’s, Julianne, really needed a card design for a friend on the mend. Her friend has been a garden club member for a long time, and we decided to take the heart card design, change the cardstock colors and change the stamped image.

Here is the Make It heart card:

The card base is Fun Stampers Journey Whip Cream, there is a 3 1/2″ x 4 3/4″ Whip Cream mat with a watered down application of FSJ Sweet Berry Splash. The red mat is cut from FSJ Cranberry Bliss cardstock using the FSJ Persian Garden die (note: it’s best to use a precision plate to have the die cut efficiently). The heart is die cut from FSJ Bubble GUM cardstock. The bow is SU! white silk ribbon tied into a double knot (yes, I love those double knots). The wording was printed onto Whip Cream cardstock from a Word documents and cut into a banner. The heart is accented with FSJ rhinestones.

The Daisy card is below:

The base is FSJ Whip Cream with the same Whip Cream Mat mentioned in the heart description, but it was created using the FSJ Electric Lime Spash and then accenting with FSJ Sour Lemon and Orange Rave Silks. The cardstock used with the Persian die is Black Licorice. I stamped the Lovely Day Daisy in Black Licorice on Whip Cream cardstock and ran it throught the Platinum machine using the Pierced Circle dies. The double bow was created out of SU! white silk ribbon, and the sentiment was stamped onto Whip Cream and cut into a banner. The stamped images are accented with Orange Rave and Sour Lemon Silks. I LOVE those silks.

I know Julianne’s friend will love this card when she receives it.

If you would like to purchase any of these products, please click here.

201701/23

Let’s Shake Things Up! – FMS 271

I have had this brand new bundle “Fry Friends” from Fun Stampers Journey sitting around for the last three weeks. Last night, my best bud spent the night, and when we got up this morning, I said, “Do you want to make a card?” Of course he said, “YES!” So, I pulled out Fry Friends and he chose the shake and fries along with the sentiment. He wanted to make his card for his friend, Gloria. Here he is working away.

Here is his finished card.

He is very excited to give her this handmade card.

My card design was based on Freshly Made Sketches Card Challenge #271. Here is the card sketch:

I had some scraps let over from my recent Make It classes and pulled together a simple and cute card for someone special. The base of the card is FSJ Whip Cream as well as the 5 1/8″ x 3 7/8″ mat. The mat has been scored diagonally (my photography skills do not showcase the diagonally scored lines, but they are there). The strips of paper are cut from Watermelon Fusion and Cranberry Bliss FSJ cardstock. The pierced circle is cut from FSJ Bubble Gum cardstock with FSJ pierced circle dies. The fries and shake are colored with FSJ Color Burst Pencils. This is a super quick card to make on the go.

I think this would make a great Make It card for either a class or a party.

All supplies can be purchased from www.funstampersjourney.com/martymcgee

201701/16

Have a Fairy Happy Birthday – PCC Challenge 226

This week’s Paper Craft Crew Challenge #226 is a Birthday theme card. Here is their card sketch:

A week and a half ago, I went over to my friend’s house to help her set up her new Brother Scan-n-Cut. Once we had it working to scan and cut out stamped images, we made a card using the Lawn Fawn fairies we had just cut out. We colored the fairies using Spectrum Noir Alcohol Markers. The designer paper is from a paper stack (I think it is Penny Black – not sure). The “happy BIRTHDAY” is cut from a My Favorite Thing die set out of Fun Stampers Journey cardstock (this was cut out at a later date at my house). The grassy hill and flowers are cut from the Lawn Fawn coordinating dies that work with the Fairy set and the hill is embossed using a SU! embossing folder. The cardstock mat is SU! cardstock as well as the grassy hill and flowers.

As we were working on our cards, I became extremely nauseated and left to go home (not realizing I had left my unfinished card project). My friend, Cheyenne, brought it over and gave it to me to finish, but she didn’t realize I had not stamped the sentiment on my card; so, we had cut out the “happy BIRTHDAY” for a card Cheyenne was making for a friend and it just didn’t fit what she was creating and it was pushed aside. A few days later, I was going through my cards that needed to be completed or updated to sell on my Etsy shop and I thought this “happy BIRTHDAY” would work wonderfully on my card. Voila! It did and here it is:

What a cute, adorable card to give someone special on their special day!

201612/26

December Bloom Box Still Available

I can’t say this enough, but I really, really love Fun Stampers Journey Bloom Box monthly card kit. I have made a variety of beautiful cards with the December kit. Of course, my group of Bloom Box Girls take the step-by-step instructions and make our own version of the card designs provided in the kit. The official promotion picture of the assembled cards from the December kit is below:

Each kit provides a unique technique, which is a great way to expand your creativity and apply this knowledge to other amazing creations you make.

Here is our first card we made with our December kit:

We decided to add another two branches to the bough, and a small pinecone to the this card. We used the Just Because ATS to add a sentiment.

Card #2:

We used our FSJ Color Burst Pencils to color the stamped wreath image. The only change is the sentiment of “Hello” from the FSJ Be Amazing stamp set.

Card #3:

Using vellum over the stamped card images adds a touch of elegance to an already beautiful card. We changed the sentiment and used the “So Cute” from the ATS So Cute stamp.

Card #4:

This is such a cute card. We stamped our wreath onto the base and stamped another image onto some FSJ Whip Cream cardstock. We fussy cut it out (the center and the outside), added some Journey Glaze to the berries and made a double bow. Oh yes, by the way, I love the wow factor a double bow gives a card creation.

Here are two more cards I made using this set. The wreath on the Oatmeal Cookie and Cranberry Bliss background was a Top 3 pick at Paper Craft Crew website. The other card I made using a SU! woodgrain background stamp and the Christmas sentiment from the FSJ Holiday Script. I did have to use my MISTI to stamp the sentiment about 5 to 6 times to get a good enough impression on the busy background.

It is not too late to sign-up for the December Bloom Box and 5 more months of Bloom Box card making kits. You can go to my website and order the kit here.

201612/21

Top 3 – Paper Craft Crew Challenge # 222

Whoo hoo, I made top three on Paper Craft Crew Challenge #222. I am super excited about this pick because I used my Fun Stampers Journey, December Bloom Box stamp set Welcome Wreaths to make this card. I absolutely love this stamp set and the kit as well. Here is the winning card.

I wanted to keep everything about this card FSJ, and I did except for the sequins. I just haven’t acquired enough FSJ bling, . . . . . yet. If you click the picture, you will be redirected to the original post.

I love everything about Fun Stampers Journey and I can’t wait to make more amazing cards using their products.

201612/13

Welcome to The Holidays – PCC222

This week’s Paper Craft Crew Card Sketch #222 challenge inspired me to use Fun Stampers Journey December Bloom Box stamp set Welcome Wreaths. Here is their card sketch:

I think wreaths are a great way to welcome in the holidays and the FSJ December Bloom Box Welcome Wreaths stamp set is the perfect set to create a welcoming card featuring a wreath. I began this card with an base using FSJ Oatmeal cardstock. The bottom portion of the card has a FSJ Hazelnut Blend mat with a FSJ Cranberry Bliss mat. The Cranberry Bliss mat is stamped with the berry cluster from the stamp set in FSJ Cranberry Bliss ink. I cut a banner out of FSJ Hazelnut Blend cardstcok and cut out a “v” shape in both ends. The entire card was sprinkled with FSJ Dark Roast silk.

The wreath was a “work in progress while creating”. LOL You know what I mean. You start off with one idea of how to make something unique; and, well, . . it kinda doesn’t turn out like you expected . . . .so, you begin experimenting with different ways to create something beautiful out of a …. pig’s ear …. lol. I started off with the branch stamp and using FSJ Lemon Grass ink went about stamping the curved branch into a wreath shape (o.k. a circle). This took multiple turns around the circle because I wanted a full and bushy wreath. When I was finished stamping, I thought the wreath look flat and dull. Hmmm,….. what can I do to make it “pop”. I thought, why not fussy cut lots of branches and layer them onto the flat, dull base. Oh, yes I did! And, I think it created the look I was trying to get from the beginning. I must say, it really didn’t take that long to fussy cut the branches (it really didn’t and it was so worth it). I stamped the small pine cones in FSJ Hazelnut Blend and colored them with my FSJ Color Burst Pencils and fussy cut them out. I stamped the berry cluster with FSJ Cranberry Bliss (all of this was stamped onto FSJ Whip Cream cardstock). I fussy cut the berries out as well. No, booing and hissing from the peanut gallery – it’s those little extra steps that make a super cute card. I took some FSJ Cocoa Gingham Ribbon and made a double bow and adhered everything onto the wreath with glue dots. I then put the card together using craft glue and I popped out the wreath and banner using Journey Foam Squares (medium). For a little extra touch, I flicked Dark Roast silk onto the wreath. Last but not least, I added a little bling by placing some dark chocolate sequins onto the card.

Here is the finished card:

Supplies: All product used can be ordered from my FSJ website. Click here. Note: Everything is Fun Stampers Journey except as noted.

December Bloom Box – Welcome Wreaths
Cardstock: Cranberry Bliss, Whip Cream, Oatmeal Cookie, Hazelnut Blend
Ink: Hazelnut Blend, Cranberry Bliss, Lemon Grass
Coloring: Color Burst Pencils
Silk: Dark Roast
Ribbon: Cocoa Gingham Ribbon
Miscellaneous: Sequins (not FSJ)

201612/12

Frosty Christmas To You – FMS #266

It is another week with a wonderful card sketch challenge from Freshly Made Sketches #266. Here is their challenge sketch:

I wanted to take advantage of the Christmas season, yet again. I pulled out my Fun Stampers Journey (FSJ) Frosty Fun ATS and coordinating die to use on this challenge. As I was pulling this card together, I tried various colors of cardstock for the background, but every color I chose took away from the Frosty Snowman stamped image. I realized I had the perfect background die I received this past Friday from Fun Stampers Journey. It is the Persian Gardens die. I cut the base and the background die cut out of FSJ Whip Cream cardstock. I adhered the die cut onto the base using FSJ Craft glue which dries in a matte finish.

In place of the heart image, I took a large snowflake from the FSJ Snowflake Elements and applied Journey Glaze to the snowflake and then covered it with Sparkle Dust. I burnished the Sparkle Dust onto the snowflake with my finger. I cut the square piece out of FSJ Cool Pool cardstock with the FSJ Square pierced dies. I adhered both of these accents to the card with the FSJ craft glue. I stamped Frosty Fun onto FSJ Whip Cream with Black Licorice ink and colored him with FSJ Color Burst Pencils. For the circle element, I replaced it with some FSJ Tinsel Trim. I popped Frosty out with Journey Foam Squares (medium). I stamped the Christmas sentiment from FSJ Holiday Script with coordinating die in Cranberry Bliss ink and die cut it out. I adhered it with Journey Foam squares.

This is a cute card to give to a friend or family.

Supplies:

Fun Stampers Journey (all products used can be ordered through my FSJ website – click here).

Stamps: FSJ Frosty Fun (ATS – artist trading stamp) with coordinating die
Cardstock: FSJ Whip Cream, FSJ Coo Pool
Ink: FSJ Black Licorice, FSJ Cranberry Bliss
Dies: FSJ Square Pierced Dies, FSJ Persian Gard Die, FSJ Frosty Fun die
Coloring: FSJ Color Burst Pencils
Ribbon: FSJ Tinsel Trim
Miscellaneous: FSJ Foam Squares, FSJ Snowflake Elements, FSJ Craft Glue, FSJ Journey Glaze, FSJ Sparkle Dust

201612/02

Let’s Go To Granny’s House – PCC221 Color Challenge

I made this card Wednesday using the supplies from Fun Stampers Journey November Bloom Box. Their design is quite different from the one me and my Bloom Box Girls created. When I saw Paper Craft Crew #221 Color Challenge today, the light bulb kicked on and I knew this card creation was the perfect fit. Here is the challenge:

Using the supplies for the November Bloom Box card design listed as “As American As Apple Pie”, here is their design (to the left, we began making our woven mats. Of course, I did not read the directions, I just jumped right in and sponged the edges of my paper strips and began weaving right away – not really paying attention to the shape of my mat. After about five minutes of weaving, Debbie held up her mat and said, “My mat is more of a rectangle. I think I did something wrong.” The minute I looked up and saw her mat, I knew what we could make out of a more rectangular than square mat – a BASKET!!! When a great idea happens, I tend to act as though I am on an overdose of caffeine. I jumped up, found some Oatmeal Cookie cardstock, cut a handle using FSJ circle dies, I took my last strip of paper for the mat and placed it along the handle to give it a woven look and voila – the super cutest basket you could ever lay your eyes on with apples overflowing was sitting there for us to use on our cards.

On the extra piece of FSJ Butter Cream cardstock, we stamped three apples (we used only two), two apple slices, one pie, and the bunch of wrapped cinnamon sticks. We colored the stamped images using our FSJ Color Burst Pencils (yes, all of us have purchased them and they are awesome. Some of the penciled areas needed to be blended better, and we did this using the FSJ Fusion Blend and Blending stumps.

We stamped the sentiment with FSJ Black Licorice ink and began to adhere all of our pieces to the mat cut out of FSJ Cranberry Bliss cardstock. The card is so cute. Now, here’s how the FSJ Dark Roast Silk was added to the card. I took the card to show my husband, and when I went to put it back up, there was a spot of grease on the base mat. Hmmmmm…. all was not lost. I took the Dark Roast Silk and splashed some on the base making sure to cover the other areas of the card with a sheet of copy paper.

And……here is the finished card. I just love it. And, I love my Bloom Boxes I get every month.

If you are interested in ordering any Fun Stampers Journey products or subscribing to the Bloom Box kit (the kit is a six month commitment), please click here .

201612/02

My Super Heroes! – Fab Friday 101

My little kiddos love to play any type of Super Hero. It can be Captain America, Wonder Woman, Super Girl, Superman, Batman, and it goes on and on. This was the reason I purchased Darcies Super Heroes rubber stamp set at the Stamp and Scrapbook Event back in September. I stamped the images when I got home and colored them with my brand new Fun Stampers Journey (FSJ) Color Burst Pencils, and then they have been moved between the kitchen and craft room many times until today. I, finally, took the time to make a card with my buddy, Jacob, because he asked me to make a card with the super hero images he found laying around last week in my office. I suggested he make a card with his image, and I would make a card for my super hero girl, Sam.

I chose my layout based on Fab Friday’s Sketch Card Challenge #101. Once I got started, the card fell right into place. Here is their sketch:

The base of the card is FSJ Whipped Cream with two mats on top of it FSJ Cranberry Bliss and FSJ Catalina Splash cardstocks. I took some FSJ Lemon Drop cardstock and using the FSJ Sun Rays die I ran them through the FSJ Platinum Machine. I DID NOT punch out the negative of the cut image, instead I applied adhesive to the backside of the pieces still in the die and carefully tuned the die right side up (the cardstock is on the bottom side of the die) and centered it on the FSJ Catalina Splash mat. I pressed each piece down and then lifted the die creating a negative image sun ray onto the mat. Using FSJ Circle dies, I cut a large pierced circle out of FSJ Cranberry Bliss cardstock and a smaller circle out of FSJ Catalina Splash cardstock and layered them over the negative image of the die circle. The final step involved me stamping the sentiment onto FSJ Lemon Drop cardstock and die cutting them out with FSJ Star dies. Since they blended into the background, I matted them onto FSJ Cranberry Bliss cardstock. The Super Hero girl is raised using FSJ Foam Squares. I LOVE THIS CARD! Sam wanted to hold her card, and I said no – LOL. How ’bout we get a picture of you in a super hero costume, and we can make a scrapbook page to keep for a long time? That sounded good to her – wow, missed that bullet of the card, more than likely, getting torn up and/or mutilated.

Here is the card:

The next card is Jacob’s creation. I helped to adhere everything and the image was already stamped, colored, and cut out, but he directed where everything needed to be placed. He did place his stars into position. I suggested a couple of thin Catalina Spash strips a little more than half way down and he nixed that idea. He’s just keeping it simple! He is my super hero.

Supplies: If you would like to order any of the Fun Stampers Journey products, please click here .
Stamp Set – Darcie’s JCS281
Coloring Tools: Fun Stampers Journey Color Burst Pencils with Fusion Blender and Blending Stubs
Cardstock: Fun Stampers Journey – Cranberry Bliss, Catalina Splash, Lemon Drop, Whipped Cream
Dies: FSJ Sun Ray Die, FSJ Circle Dies

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