Heat Embossed and Distress Ink Happy Birthday

Another birthday card for the busy family birthday season.

The background stamp is a Hero Arts/Basic Grey Diamond. I used Versamark Ink and then white embossing powder, finished with my heat gun. Then, using the Tim Holtz mini blending tool, color was added to the background over the heat embossing.

Using Bundled Sage, Peeled Paint, Stormy Sky and Faded Jeans, the color was laid down at an angle to the cardstock for interest.  The sentiment is from the Hero Arts Year Round Sentiments set. It, too, was stamped with Versamark Ink and heat embossed with white embossing powder.

The heart was die cut using Simon Says Stamps Mini Hearts die using Stampin' Up cardstock in Night of Navy. I then covered it with Ranger Glossy Accents for depth and shine.

The sentiment and the background mat are both Stampin' Up cardstock, Old Olive.

I really like the way the background came out!  I'm going to try this again using different color combinations.

Triangle Happy Birthday

Winter is the time for lots of family birthdays and anniversaries. I got some of the Hero Arts Shadow Inks in the mini cubes and played with them on this card.

The triangle background was created using the Mama Elephant Trifecta set. I used the Hero Arts Orange Soda, Butter Bar and Pale Tomato for the color, inking the stamp roughly in thirds, each third with a different color.

The sentiment is from the Paper Smooches Salutations set.  I hand cut the banner for the sentiment on white cardstock, matting it with Stampin' Up Peach Parfait (retired). The triangle background was also matted with the Peach Parfait. 

To finish off the sentiment banner, I add three enamel dots from My Mind's Eye Chalk Studio 2.  

Make a Wish

Make a Wish is a birthday card that doesn't say Happy Birthday!

Starting with the Hero Arts/Basic Grey Diamond  background stamp, I stamped it in Versamark Ink and heat embossed it with white embossing powder. Using the mini blending tool from Tim Holtz to apply Distress Inks in evergreen bough, seedless preserves and broken china.  I applied in on the diagonal for interest.

I matted the background on Stampin' Up Coastal Cabana, the same used for the sentiment.

The sentiment is from Alte New Super Script 2. I really like the way the background turned out!

happy Birthday

One of the things I have been playing with is embossing paste. I used the same pattern to make two cards, one happy birthday and one i love you. Happy Birthday is from the Hero Arts Find Joy set.

The background stamp is from the set Background Builders by There She Goes. The ink colors are Stampin' Up Marine Mist, Night of Navy and Pacific Point. The mat cardstock is also Stampin' Up Night of Navy.

On the second card, I used Distress Inks  in bundled sage, crushed olive and peeled paint. 

The mat cardstock is Stampin' up  in  Always Artichoke. The sentiment stamp is from There She Goes from the Sentimental Set.

The stencil Concentric Circles  from My Favorite Things using Ranger Ink Texture Paste adds the finishing touching. It makes for a very interesting effect!!

Love Anniversary Card

This is a card I made for my in-laws anniversary. I took this opportunity to play with the Copic airbrush system. Using the stencil Leaf & Flourish, Hero Arts/Basic Grey I used Copic Markers Y17, BG05, and YG09.

The sentiment, love, is a Stampin' Up die cut from Expressions. The cardstock mat is also Stampin' Up Tempting Turquoise.

I added a few Darice sequins, 5mm and 8mm, in Crystal.  It was fun playing with the airbrush!

Thinking of You with Arboscello Tree

I can't believe it has been so long since I posted! Guess I better get back on track.

This card is for my next OWH box.

The patterned background is made using a Hero Arts/Studio Calico Lattice background stamp. I stamped it in Versamark Ink and heat embossed with white embossing powder.  The colors are added using Distressed Ink Bundled Sage, Mowed Lawn and Forest Moss using the mini blending tool. It was then splashed with water. After drying, it was sprayed with Heidi Swapp Color Shine.

The tree is a die cut, Memory Box Arboscello Tree. I used the same above distress inks to color the branches and leaves and Gathered Twig for the trunk. Wink of Stella clear, although it does not show in the photograph, covers the entire tree.

The background cardstock is Stampin' Up Always Artichoke. The sentiment is from the Hero Arts Find Joy set, stamped in Memento Ink Rich Cocoa.

Although this card was a bit time intensive, I am pleased with the final result!

L'il Hoots Bears - Hero Arts

This is the last of the most recent group of cards for kids that I will send to Operation Write Home.  I love how easy this stamp set - L'il Hoots by Hero Arts - is to color with my Copic Markers.

Both papers are from Stampin' Up. The patterned paper is from the Fresh Prints collection and the cardstock is More Mustard.

The sentiment is from the same set and is stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black Ink.  The paper I use to color on is X-Press It Blending Card and the Copic colors I used were:

Loved coloring this stamp set!!

L'il Hoots Elephants

Here is another card from the group of Copic colored cards I assembled.  The elephants are adorable! This is from the Hero Arts stamp set L'il Hoots, which is one of the Operation Write Home sets.

The Copics colors I used are:

The plain cardstock is Stampin' Up More Mustard. The sentiment is from the same stamp set, stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink.

Adorable elephants!!

Owl-Ways thinking about you

This is another of the Copic colored images that I did to make kids cards for OWH. I adore this image!

The image is from the Hero Arts L'il Hoots stamp set for OWH. The plain cardstock is Stampin' Up, Pistachio Pudding and Marina Mist. The patterned paper is from the MME 6x6 pad, Charm.

The Copics used to color the image are:

The sentiment is from the same stamp set and stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black ink.

More adorable images!!

OWH Kids Cards

Wow - can't believe it has been so long since I posted!  I'm trying a small bit of "early retirement" for February and March, away from the horrid weather of Ohio (couldn't have picked a better year!)

In preparation, I made a multitude of Cricut figures to make kids cards with. So that I didn't have to pack too much of my stash, I made kits of patterned paper and cardstock.  I also threw in some sentiment stamps and hoped that when I got here, I would have enough to make complete cards.

I can't imagine how difficult it would be to be a parent deployed with a child or children at home.  I tried to pick images that would work for both boys and girls and of multiple ages.

Sesame Street was always a winner with my kids growing up.

I also used the 6 x 6 in pad challenge for the patterned paper.

Cricut's Create a Critter is great for cute figures for younger kids.

I can only hope that one of these cards will make a child smile!!

[All Cardstock and patterend paper - Stampin' Up]

6 x 6 Paper Pad Tutorial

A while back, I ran across the 6 x 6 paper pad tutorial on OWH (http://operationwritehome.org/tutorial-6x6-template/) for using an entire pad for cards.  The idea hung around the back of my mind for use in the future.  A couple weeks ago, I found this wonderful paper pack by Bo Bunny, Autumn Song Collection.  

I decided to put it to the challenge to make Fall/Thanksgiving cards for OWH.  

I had to go to the original post at http://kathrynscards.blogspot.com/2013/05/6x6-cutting-formula.html to really get the big picture.  Then I started cutting (above) and trying to keep all the pieces straight!  It was quite the challenge at times.  I finally had to make piles of each sheet cut, and then was finally able to pick up the pieces in the ordered needed.

I have only used about half the pack and have 20 cards!!  [I have some pieces left over and am not sure what I missed :)]

Thanks so much to those who come up with these wonderful ideas and share with the rest of us!

In addition to the Bo Bunny Autumn Song Collection, I used Stampin' Up cardstock in Wild Wasabi, Always Artichoke, Garden Green, Cajun Craze, More Mustard and Pumpkin Pie.  Stamps used were Stampin' Up Day of Gratitude, Papertrey Ink Signature Greetings II, There She Goes Sentimental, Hero Arts Find Joy and Year Round Sentiments.  Dies are also Papertrey Ink Counting Your Blessings. Inks are Stampin' Up in Always Artichoke and Cajun Craze.

Merry and Bright

As I was making Christmas/Holiday cards for OWH, I tried to find some images that were light and fun and that could be used for kids without being too juvenile.  I love this image for that reason!

Too cute!

Stretch Your Stamps Class Day 5

Today's challenge involves sentiment stamps.  Not having the specific stamps used in class, I decided to mix up stuff from Day 2 using Tim Holtz inks and a sentiment I love.

I made the background using watercolor paper and Tim Holtz Distress Inks.  Then I stamped the flowers to one side and clear embossed them.  Then I masked the right side and did direct to paper with black on the left side.  The sentiment is embossed with white and again the color is direct to paper.

Cricut Card

I use my Cricut a lot for my scrapbooking and only recently have started using it more in my cardmaking for images beyond kids stuff. I'm going to have to explore my cartridges in a different way!

Find Joy Every Day

I love the color combinations in this card - so bright and cheery - just like the wonderful spring weather we have been having!