What's in a Background?

Hi there! Thanks for taking a little time out of your day to check out what I've been up to :)

A lot of times when crafters are in a crafty rut, we feel the need to stack and tape and stack some more, adding a lot of weight and dimension to our cards.  Adding all the pizzazz can be very fun (and sometimes frustrating), and I have seen plenty of gorgeous cards that have so much going on visually, but sometimes it can also be disappointing because behind all that glitter and glue and Copic coloring, we are still left with wanting more because something just didn't look or feel right. Then we want to add even more to make it right and the whole cycle repeats itself LOL 

Anyway, I want to be clear that I am not referring to the card makers who create the gorgeous, fancy cards with lace and roses and layers upon layers.  They make those cards because that is their style, and it's so beautiful.  That however is not my style.  At least not yet.

I prefer to make CAS cards (cute and simple cards).   That's my style and although it may evolve, it suits me just fine :) They're cute, adorable, beautiful, happy, and completely ME!

When you don't have a lot of layers, ribbons, embellishments, pictures, etc, you need a nice, simple background.  While shopping at Hobby Lobby one day, I grabbed this flower stamp in hopes that I could find something to do with it. Little did I know how versatile it would be!  I used it to create the background by inking it with Versamark and stamping in random places on pink paper. I stamped it again on Neenah Solar White paper before coloring it with a variety of Copic markers, fussy cutting it and setting it aside.  I stamped the butterflies on vellum and used a handy punch to cut them out :)  I tried a number of times to figure out exactly where I wanted to place everything and had a really tough time deciding.  You'd think it would be easier because there isn't much going on, but it was probably more difficult because of that fact.  Ultimately, I am happy with the final placement of everything and think this one turned out quite cute :)

Here's my product list for this one:

Neenah Solar White cardstock

Stampin' Up Papillon Potpourri stamp set and Elegant Butterfly Punch

Recollections Black Embossing Powder

Versarmark Ink

Pink cardstock

Stampendous flower stamp

Stampin Up Sincere Salutations 

Copic Markers (RV 10, 13, 14; YG 03, 05)

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Watercolor Hydrangeas CAN make a sick mama smile!

Hello, hello and thanks for joining me today!  I really love the support of my friends and family with this adventure.  One of my friends recently asked me to make a very personal card for her best friend who is pregnant and having a miserable time with hyperemesis gravidarum (AKA the most horrible morning sickness you could imagine!).  The only guideline I had was that she loved vintage things. Now, it just so happens that I too adore all that is vintage, so I was really excited to make something for her that would make her smile, even if it was only for a few seconds!   

Look at that!!  Now THIS project was a LOT of fun! OK, so really all of the cards that I make really are a lot of fun, but this one had so many fun elements in one little envelope: watercolor, pearls, vintage paper, vellum, embossing!  My friend was so happy with the final product and said it looked even better in person, and that the recipient absolutely loved it!

So, what did I use??

Hero Arts Hydrangea stamp

Strathmore Watercolor Paper

Stampin' Up Embossing Powder in Copper

Zing Embossing Powder in White

Koi Watercolors

Paint brush

Piano paper

Vellum

Pearl embellishments

Ivory ribbon

Vintage Photo Distress Ink

You're Simply Amazing stamp (unknown manufacturer)

Fiskar's 3-in-1 Corner Squeeze Punch "Dot to Dot"

Thanks for spending part of your day with me :) I hope you liked the card!

You are Amazing Rainbow--PS April Guest Designer Search

Hi everyone :) We all could use a little rainbow in our lives, and this one happens to be another submission for Paper Smooches' April Guest Designer Search!  I used PS stamps and dies from my latest shopping craze for this project and had a great time playing around with everything!  It's such a happy card!  Now, I know it's a little dark, but there is a fair amount of detail to the white paper and it wasn't showing up on lighter pictures.  The darker picture showed the glitter, silver embossing and stars best. Enjoy!

The rainbow die is so cool, but it took a little bit of getting used to.  It die cuts all six colors of the rainbow at once and I didn't separate them until after I had cut all the colors I needed, so I ended up having to go through 36 tiny strips of rainbow and comparing sizes at first LOL Lesson learned! It was MUCH easier the second time around and I adore the final outcome. 

I embossed a white piece of paper with stars before using the rainbow die, then put the rainbow colors in the negative space like a puzzle. It was pretty easy to do and the pieces fit together rather nicely. I love sparkle and wanted to add a little more interest to the card, so I covered the clouds in silver Stickles. I didn't want the sentiment and rainbow to compete for attention, so I combined stamps from the Chit Chat stamp set and embossed "You are amazing" on vellum paper. I love how subtle it is...the silver looks so pretty with the silver glitter! Cute and simple! It makes me feel so happy!

Here are the supplies that were used:

Rainbow die (Paper Smooches)

Chit Chat stamp set (Paper Smooches)

Spectrum stamp set (Paper Smooches)

Star Embossing Folder

Versamark

Silver Embossing Powder

Heat Tool

Vellum Paper

Various cardstock

Stickles

Thank you for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed it!