DIY Prism Art

I just finished creating this DIY artwork for my office! I used Paper Source coral and mint coverstock, Rifle mint floral wrap, and the prism EK Tools punch to make the triangles, then mounted most with thermoweb tape runner and popped a few up with thermoweb 3D foam squares - all from #papersourceaustin! #papersource #dosomethingcreativeeveryday

Lawnscaping Challenge #105: Watercolors (Entry 3)

For my last entry, I used a large round die with the globe die and partially diecut a window from the front of an A2 folded notecard, then stamped the globe (from Wish You Were Here) and colored it in with distress inks and a paintbrush. I used distress inks with a sponge to create the ombre background on another A2 panel, then adhered to the back (on the inside of the A2 folded notecard), and finished with stamping the sentiment.

This post is being submitted for Lawnscaping Challenge # 105 - Watercolors.

Lawnscaping Challenge #105: Watercolors (Entry 2)

My second entry for Lawnscaping Challenge # 105 - Watercolors also used the Stuck On You dies and stamps, along with distress inks. I added a rainbow of distress inks to a large clear stamping block, dampened it with a spray bottle, and pressed it facedown to an A2-sized piece of cardstock to create the soft watercolored panel. I then trimmed it 1/4 inch on both sides so I could center it on an A2 folded notecard to create the 1/8 inch border. I sent this piece through my Evolution die-cut tool with the two cacti from Stuck On You to create the windows, then stamped the cacti through these windows onto the A2 card before mounting with 3M Double-sided foam tape. I also stamped and die-cut the flowers and pots to add to the watercolor panel. I like the reverse dimension of this card!

This post is being submitted for Lawnscaping Challenge # 105 - Watercolors.

Lawnscaping Challenge #105: Watercolors (Entry 1)

One of my favorite techniques-of-the-moment is using distress inks to create a watercolor effect, so the Lawnscaping challenge was a perfect fit! For my first project, I used the Stuck On You set with dies, and used the Tag You're It larger die upside-down to create my window. I partially die-cut the window and the pot to give the effect of a pot sitting on a window ledge, then die-cut the cactus and tiny succulent to place in the pot.

Using three distress ink colors, I made the sky background. I couldn't decide if I wanted the ombre effect with the pink closer to the bottom or the top (my initial plan was pink on bottom, but I decided to flip it at the last minute when adhering the pieces together). I adhered the watercolored paper to a folded notecard (custom-sized and slightly smaller than a traditional 4-bar card) with a taperunner, and then adhered the window and potted plants piece with 3M double-sided mounting tape. I like using this as it's slightly thinner than traditional foam squares, and I can easily tear it into strips of desired length to cover the bulk of the window panel.

On the inside of the card, I stamped three succulents from the Stuck On You set, and opted to exclude a sentiment. I sent the card today as an encouragement card to a friend going through a tough time.

Here's the finished product from the side, so you can see the depth, and the succulents inside. Enjoy! :)

This post is being submitted for Lawnscaping Challenge # 105 - Watercolors.

Hand-carved Rubber Stamp Halloween Card

This week's Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge is all about the letter O! I've chosen to showcase two cards celebrating my favorite day in October (Halloween, of course!), and using monsters carved out of "Oops!" brand erasers I bought from Walgreen's for $.50! 

I've been practicing my stamp-carving skills over the past few months, and these creatures were the result of that fun project! :)

Two of my four monsters in these cards were inspired by Lawn Fawn's designs, and the other two (the big green guy and the furry blue guy above) came out of my head. I used the stamp carving tools I'd gotten from Yellow Owl Workshop, along with an exacto knife, to carve these fun creatures and their accessories (the wand, the trick-or-treat bag), along with a handful of other fun stamps inspired by our recent trip to Boston, and other musings.

For the background of the cards, I used a technique I learned from a Lawn Fawn video, blending harbor ink and a purple ink that I don't remember the name of. The two moons were made from blending colors from a color wheel ink pad, and I used the masking technique to keep the colors crisp between the sky and the moon. Both cards were given a spooky tree, cut using Lawn Cuts from Sweater Weather, and were mounted on Paper Source cards (Persimmon and Peacock).

In this square card (my favorite of the two!), I heat embossed three tiny bats using a Paper Source stamp, and added the Happy Halloween paper cut from a 12 x 12 page. I also stamped the chartreuse paper (used as the hills in both cards) with a woodgrain stamp from Paper Source before mounting, and I liked the dimension it added to this card, over the Persimmon one.

These two cards are currently displayed as you walk in our apartment, and I'm not sure I will want to take them down after Halloween ends! :)

Watercolor Sugar Skull Birthday Card

I put together this Dia de los Muertos-inspired birthday card for my good friend KC, using two of my FAVORITE stamps from Paper Source: the sugar skull stamp  and the Marquee Happy Birthday stamp, and using the arrows from Lawn Fawn's Blue Skies stamp set and the frame from Sweater Weather. I used a watercolor technique with Tim Holtz Distress Inks to color in the stamped images, and also to get these vibrant background stripes, using washi tape to mask. I used Gelly Roll moonlight gel roller pens to fill in the 'lights' on the sentiment (one of my favorite tricks!), which added a neon kick to compliment the watercolor background lines.

I learned the fun masking watercolor technique from this fantastic video by Nicole on Lawn Fawn's blog!  I've really been enjoying watching these videos and picking up tips and tricks to enhance my paper-crafting skills!

Inside, I practiced my handlettering with le pens, and went over her name with a Gelly Roll Clear Star gel pen.

For the envelope, I used versamark ink with Quinn's lowercase letters for the sentiment, and added the Paper Source piñata stamp to finish it off.

I'm submitting this watercolor birthday card as an entry into this week's Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Watercolor on their blog!

Happy Birthday, KC! :)