I'm not sure what it is about Valentine's Day, but it seems to inspire me more than other holidays. It's not my favorite holiday. I don't decorate the house for Valentine's anymore. But I think I just love all the shades of pink, red and lavender that the season inspires.
I was also inspired by the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, especially this one featuring Tim Holtz products and "not a card." I just finished making a mixed media project for my new grandson's room that is made using stained embroidery hoops like shadowboxes. It was fun (and a LOT of fussy cutting). I will show you that soon.
I was thinking of a not-a-card project I could make and I noticed some beautiful paint chips sitting on my desk. They were just something I picked up at the paint store when we were looking for tan colors for my husband's office.
I thought of love bugs and Valentine's Day and then I was off the to races. Here is what I put into this card:
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Backdrops Vol 4 and Vol 5; Tim Holtz Kraft Stock Metallic Classics; Letters were cut from Distress Heavystock Kraft stained with Frayed Burlap Distress Spray Stain; Tim Holtz Funky Bugs dies #665364; Tim Holtz Seal die and Switchlit Embossing Folder #665379, Tim Holtz Alphanumeric Tiny Type Lower #664407; Tim Holtz Funky Nordic (heart) #665576; Tim Holtz Idea-ology Cello Sticker Tape, Tim Holtz Idea-ology Ephemera Pack Field Notes Snippets; Tim Holtz Idea-ology Mini Paper Clips. I am not sure which Tim Holtz Ephemera pack includes the Private Collection/Specimens label.
I inked most every edge with Pumice Stone Distress Ink. I splatted the backdrop and edged the seal with Distressed Mica Stain in Tarnished Brass. I used Distress Crackle Paste around the edge of the hoop and then rubbed in Walnut Stain Distress Crayon.
Stained embroidery hoop from Amazon. Burlap, cheesecloth, gold thread, and ribbon from my stash. Circle die was from Trinity Stamps Circles Set A. I used both foam and foam adhesive to pop things up.
I am entering the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, the Fab n Funky Challenges #630, Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge, and the Try It On Tuesday Challenge.
Thanks for checking out my blog. Take a minute to see my makes on Instagram too. I am @tinypaperblossom.
I'm not sure what it is about Valentine's Day, but it seems to inspire me more than other holidays. It's not my favorite holiday. I don't decorate the house for Valentine's anymore. But I think I just love all the shades of pink, red and lavender that the season inspires.
I was also inspired by the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, especially this one featuring Tim Holtz products and "not a card." I just finished making a mixed media project for my new grandson's room that is made using stained embroidery hoops like shadowboxes. It was fun (and a LOT of fussy cutting). I will show you that soon.
I was thinking of a not-a-card project I could make and I noticed some beautiful paint chips sitting on my desk. They were just something I picked up at the paint store when we were looking for tan colors for my husband's office.
I thought of love bugs and Valentine's Day and then I was off the to races. Here is what I put into this card:
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Backdrops Vol 4 and Vol 5; Tim Holtz Kraft Stock Metallic Classics; Letters were cut from Distress Heavystock Kraft stained with Frayed Burlap Distress Spray Stain; Tim Holtz Funky Bugs dies #665364; Tim Holtz Seal die and Switchlit Embossing Folder #665379, Tim Holtz Alphanumeric Tiny Type Lower #664407; Tim Holtz Funky Nordic (heart) #665576; Tim Holtz Idea-ology Cello Sticker Tape, Tim Holtz Idea-ology Ephemera Pack Field Notes Snippets; Tim Holtz Idea-ology Mini Paper Clips. I am not sure which Tim Holtz Ephemera pack includes the Private Collection/Specimens label.
I inked most every edge with Pumice Stone Distress Ink. I splatted the backdrop and edged the seal with Distressed Mica Stain in Tarnished Brass. I used Distress Crackle Paste around the edge of the hoop and then rubbed in Walnut Stain Distress Crayon.
Stained embroidery hoop from Amazon. Burlap, cheesecloth, gold thread, and ribbon from my stash. Circle die was from Trinity Stamps Circles Set A. I used both foam and foam adhesive to pop things up.
I am entering the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, the Fab n Funky Challenges #630, Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge, and the Try It On Tuesday Challenge.
Thanks for checking out my blog. Take a minute to see my makes on Instagram too. I am @tinypaperblossom.
Like many, I am a huge Tim Holtz fan. I wanted to make a TH themed St. Patrick's Day card using just his products, with the four-leaf clover from the Sizzix Lucky Love Impresslit. I am not a natural at mixed media. I have to experiment, think, study Pinterest, and more, to come up with a mixed media piece I really like. I found a wonderful card by a Finnish artist named Riikka Kovasin here that I loved. Her layout and her use of some of the embellishments inspired me most.
Like many, I am a huge Tim Holtz fan. I wanted to make a TH themed St. Patrick's Day card using just his products, with the four-leaf clover from the Sizzix Lucky Love Impresslit. I am not a natural at mixed media. I have to experiment, think, study Pinterest, and more, to come up with a mixed media piece I really like. I found a wonderful card by a Finnish artist named Riikka Kovasin here that I loved. Her layout and her use of some of the embellishments inspired me most.
Does your family like leftovers? My husband and I do. Leftovers can often be even better in cardmaking than in the fridge. I had made a colorful watercolored tag with Tim Holtz Distress Ink Picked Raspberry, Abandoned Coral and Spiced Marmalade. As Tim has taught over and over, when you have leftover ink on your glass mat, mist it with water and pick it up on a piece of watercolor paper. I did just that.
Later I used this same piece to test out a glimmery spray I had. This made this little 4x6 piece of cardstock ideal to try out my new Sizzix Garden Greens dies. I was making this card for several different card challenges that called for dies. I also used the dies to cut Neenah 110lb Solar White cardstock, Stampin' Up!'s Pink Pirouette and Calypso Coral cardstock, and Memory Box metallic gold cardstock from their 6x6 Rainbow Reflections Mirror Pad. I die cut one of the Paper Roses Stitched Rectangle dies from white cardstock and a Stampin' Up! circle from their Stitched Shapes dies.
I also used Calypso Coral to cut out Wishes from Spellbinders Simply Perfect Mix & Match Sentiments. And I used the word Best from Tim Holtz Metallic Quotation Stickers. Before I adhered everything down, I splattered the rectangle with a watercolor brush dipped in Stampin' Up!'s Flirty Flamingo ink mixed with water. Sometimes my splatters turn out disastrously, but this didn't.
I'm entering this into the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge to use a die cut (hah, I used 12!) and the Little Red Wagon Challenge #643 and the Fab 'n Funky Challenge #546.
Does your family like leftovers? My husband and I do. Leftovers can often be even better in cardmaking than in the fridge. I had made a colorful watercolored tag with Tim Holtz Distress Ink Picked Raspberry, Abandoned Coral and Spiced Marmalade. As Tim has taught over and over, when you have leftover ink on your glass mat, mist it with water and pick it up on a piece of watercolor paper. I did just that.
Later I used this same piece to test out a glimmery spray I had. This made this little 4x6 piece of cardstock ideal to try out my new Sizzix Garden Greens dies. I was making this card for several different card challenges that called for dies. I also used the dies to cut Neenah 110lb Solar White cardstock, Stampin' Up!'s Pink Pirouette and Calypso Coral cardstock, and Memory Box metallic gold cardstock from their 6x6 Rainbow Reflections Mirror Pad. I die cut one of the Paper Roses Stitched Rectangle dies from white cardstock and a Stampin' Up! circle from their Stitched Shapes dies.
I also used Calypso Coral to cut out Wishes from Spellbinders Simply Perfect Mix & Match Sentiments. And I used the word Best from Tim Holtz Metallic Quotation Stickers. Before I adhered everything down, I splattered the rectangle with a watercolor brush dipped in Stampin' Up!'s Flirty Flamingo ink mixed with water. Sometimes my splatters turn out disastrously, but this didn't.
I'm entering this into the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge to use a die cut (hah, I used 12!) and the Little Red Wagon Challenge #643 and the Fab 'n Funky Challenge #546.
Do you ever just throw everything you have at a card hoping something will work? That's what I did here, and I'm actually pleased with the way it turned out. I was inspired by the Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #524 (FMS524). I started out with one of my favorite digital stamps ever, a Hero Arts digital stamp of a butterfly. It is colored with pale blue, pale green, and brown Copic markers and then highlighted with Glossy Accents. Sadly, the shine from the GA doesn't show up in the photo.
I created a 2" square watercolor background using a Stampin' Up! Crushed Curry ink refill as the paint. I had a nice watercolor texture, but them covered it up with Wild Honey Distress Oxide ink through the Tim Holtz Ringer stencil. I had a precut film strip from my Silhouette and used Stampin' Up! Island Indigo and Broken China Distress Ink to color it. The color was a little bright and competed with the butterfly, so I knocked it down a bit by using a Bo Bunny Terrific Textures stamp in black ink on top of it. I wanted a little more black and chose a circle-pattern stamp from one of my favorite Stampin' Up! sets, Kinda Eclectic to stamp with Memento Tuxedo Black at the top of the square.
Yep, it still needed more. I added two pieces of greenery die cut from the Tim Holtz Sizzix set Garden Greens (just got this the other day and I love it). I used a piece of Kiwi Metallic Cover stock from the Paper Company that I've had in my stash for a long time. I finished off my little square by adhering three clear Fairy Drops by Poppystamps with Nuvo Crystal Drops. I mounted the square on Gina K's 110lb Pure Luxury white cardstock embossed with one of my favorite embossing folders, Tim Holtz Texture Fades Blueprint. Finally, to follow the sketch, I added my sentiment. For You was cut (2 cuts stacked for each word) with Spellbinders Simply Perfect Mix and Match Sentiments.
Frankly, I'm amazed at all the products I used. I've been in a bit of a creative rut lately and entering challenges is a great way to get out of them. Sometimes, throwing everything you have at something is just the ticket.
I am entering this at Freshly Made Sketches #524, Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, and Passion For Markers Week 629 (Things with Wings), Hero Arts Challenge
Do you ever just throw everything you have at a card hoping something will work? That's what I did here, and I'm actually pleased with the way it turned out. I was inspired by the Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #524 (FMS524). I started out with one of my favorite digital stamps ever, a Hero Arts digital stamp of a butterfly. It is colored with pale blue, pale green, and brown Copic markers and then highlighted with Glossy Accents. Sadly, the shine from the GA doesn't show up in the photo.
I created a 2" square watercolor background using a Stampin' Up! Crushed Curry ink refill as the paint. I had a nice watercolor texture, but them covered it up with Wild Honey Distress Oxide ink through the Tim Holtz Ringer stencil. I had a precut film strip from my Silhouette and used Stampin' Up! Island Indigo and Broken China Distress Ink to color it. The color was a little bright and competed with the butterfly, so I knocked it down a bit by using a Bo Bunny Terrific Textures stamp in black ink on top of it. I wanted a little more black and chose a circle-pattern stamp from one of my favorite Stampin' Up! sets, Kinda Eclectic to stamp with Memento Tuxedo Black at the top of the square.
Yep, it still needed more. I added two pieces of greenery die cut from the Tim Holtz Sizzix set Garden Greens (just got this the other day and I love it). I used a piece of Kiwi Metallic Cover stock from the Paper Company that I've had in my stash for a long time. I finished off my little square by adhering three clear Fairy Drops by Poppystamps with Nuvo Crystal Drops. I mounted the square on Gina K's 110lb Pure Luxury white cardstock embossed with one of my favorite embossing folders, Tim Holtz Texture Fades Blueprint. Finally, to follow the sketch, I added my sentiment. For You was cut (2 cuts stacked for each word) with Spellbinders Simply Perfect Mix and Match Sentiments.
Frankly, I'm amazed at all the products I used. I've been in a bit of a creative rut lately and entering challenges is a great way to get out of them. Sometimes, throwing everything you have at something is just the ticket.
I am entering this at Freshly Made Sketches #524, Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, and Passion For Markers Week 629 (Things with Wings), Hero Arts Challenge
I found some arrow paper in my stash and found matching solid cardstock. I sat and cut out a LOT of hexagons so I could make a stack of cards. Then, using a few ideas from Pinterest on how to layer the hexagons, I put them together using pop dots for dimension. I finally added some enamel dots as well as some Nuvo Crystal Drops. I added some sentiment strips, matted the card front and I was done. I made seven cards with hexagons. You might see more on my blog down the line.
Oh, and a giant shout out to my husband for getting me the photography lightbulbs I'd been wanting, along with a special tripod clamp to hold a reflector. Now I don't have to wait for the sun to be in just the right spot and no cloud cover to shoot my cards. "You really want lightbulbs for Christmas?!" he asked in early December. Yes!!
Ingredients
CS: Neenah Solar White 110lb, Stampin' Up! Crushed Curry and Baja Breeze, red borrowed from a friend
Patterned Paper: from my stash
Dies: Sizzix Thinlits Dies: Stacked Tiles Hexagons by Tim Holtz
Sentiment Strip: Paper Roses Black & White Sentiment Sheets
Embellishments: Enamel Dots from my stash, Nuvo Crystal Drops in Dandelion Yellow
Lightbulbs: LimoStudio [2-Pack] Photo Studio 85W 6500K Full Spectrum Daylight Energy Saving Compact Fluorescent Spiral Bulb with Day Light Tone, AGG1719 shot through white diffuser umbrellas, plus a white foam board as a reflector.
I found some arrow paper in my stash and found matching solid cardstock. I sat and cut out a LOT of hexagons so I could make a stack of cards. Then, using a few ideas from Pinterest on how to layer the hexagons, I put them together using pop dots for dimension. I finally added some enamel dots as well as some Nuvo Crystal Drops. I added some sentiment strips, matted the card front and I was done. I made seven cards with hexagons. You might see more on my blog down the line.
Oh, and a giant shout out to my husband for getting me the photography lightbulbs I'd been wanting, along with a special tripod clamp to hold a reflector. Now I don't have to wait for the sun to be in just the right spot and no cloud cover to shoot my cards. "You really want lightbulbs for Christmas?!" he asked in early December. Yes!!
Ingredients
CS: Neenah Solar White 110lb, Stampin' Up! Crushed Curry and Baja Breeze, red borrowed from a friend
Patterned Paper: from my stash
Dies: Sizzix Thinlits Dies: Stacked Tiles Hexagons by Tim Holtz
Sentiment Strip: Paper Roses Black & White Sentiment Sheets
Embellishments: Enamel Dots from my stash, Nuvo Crystal Drops in Dandelion Yellow
Lightbulbs: LimoStudio [2-Pack] Photo Studio 85W 6500K Full Spectrum Daylight Energy Saving Compact Fluorescent Spiral Bulb with Day Light Tone, AGG1719 shot through white diffuser umbrellas, plus a white foam board as a reflector.
I decided to enter a few challenges and let them drive my design this week. The Global Design Project CASE the Designer challenge was the most unique. The challenge was to Copy And Selectively Edit from this original.
I am still enjoying my MFT Harvest Mouse stamps, so I paired this mouse with 3 dies and one embossing folder. I colored the mouse and apple basket with alcohol markers and then die cut them. Next I used a stitch circle die with kraft paper and dry embossed the circle. I wanted to mimic the leaves in the original design and I used two different dies to do that. I wanted a red background to pick up the color of the apples and found this double-sided piece in my stash. I wanted to use a kraft cardstock base but wanted something to give it interest. I used a very old background stamp with Versamark on the card base. I assembled it all using both liquid glue and foam adhesive, and tied twine around the main portion just like in the original. I added the sentiment after I’d heat embossed it.
Ingredients
CS: Stampin' Up! Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White 110lb
Patterned Paper: unknown - from my stash
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Versamark embossing ink
Stamps: My Favorite Things Harvest Mouse, friend definition background stamp - unknown (maybe Hero Arts)
Dies: Circle: Stampin' Up! Stitched Shapes, Poppystamps Poinsettia Background, David Tutera for Sizzix Eucalyptus, MFT Harvest Mouse
Markers: Copic & Dick Blick alcohol markers
Embellishments: Stampin' Up! linen thread, Nuvo Crystal Drops Dandelion Yellow, Taylored Expressions white embossing powder, Darice fall leaves embossing folder, Signo Uniball white gel pen
Challenges: The Global Design Project #GDP316, AAA Challenge Birthday Card Challenge
, Craft Animals Challenge
I decided to enter a few challenges and let them drive my design this week. The Global Design Project CASE the Designer challenge was the most unique. The challenge was to Copy And Selectively Edit from this original.
I am still enjoying my MFT Harvest Mouse stamps, so I paired this mouse with 3 dies and one embossing folder. I colored the mouse and apple basket with alcohol markers and then die cut them. Next I used a stitch circle die with kraft paper and dry embossed the circle. I wanted to mimic the leaves in the original design and I used two different dies to do that. I wanted a red background to pick up the color of the apples and found this double-sided piece in my stash. I wanted to use a kraft cardstock base but wanted something to give it interest. I used a very old background stamp with Versamark on the card base. I assembled it all using both liquid glue and foam adhesive, and tied twine around the main portion just like in the original. I added the sentiment after I’d heat embossed it.
Ingredients
CS: Stampin' Up! Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White 110lb
Patterned Paper: unknown - from my stash
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Versamark embossing ink
Stamps: My Favorite Things Harvest Mouse, friend definition background stamp - unknown (maybe Hero Arts)
Dies: Circle: Stampin' Up! Stitched Shapes, Poppystamps Poinsettia Background, David Tutera for Sizzix Eucalyptus, MFT Harvest Mouse
Markers: Copic & Dick Blick alcohol markers
Embellishments: Stampin' Up! linen thread, Nuvo Crystal Drops Dandelion Yellow, Taylored Expressions white embossing powder, Darice fall leaves embossing folder, Signo Uniball white gel pen
Challenges: The Global Design Project #GDP316, AAA Challenge Birthday Card Challenge
, Craft Animals Challenge
I am entering this in the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge #sssmchallenge. I recently bought some envelopes specifically for mini slimline cards and I was determined to use them. I made this mini slimline by covering a 3.5 x 6" piece of cardstock in washi tape strips, adding a torn and inked piece of decorated paper, then adding a tree image stamped on watercolor paper (watercolored using inks). I did something I haven't done in about a decade. I sewed on my card using a little, old, but very sturdy machine. It is a Janome "Blossom" mini sewing machine I picked up many years ago on my local Craigslist. When I couldn't remember how to thread it, I looked on YouTube and found a tutorial made by none other than Gina K herself. The leaves are cut with my Silhouette and inked with Distress Oxides. The brown messy circle is from a fantastic Sizzix set. The sentiment is from Tim Holtz Idea-ology stickers.
CS: 80lb white cardstock, covered with washi tape, Canson XL watercolor paper
Patterned paper: text paper - unknown, brown circle - leather looking paper is Authentique
Washi Tape: combination of large set of rolls from Michael's and a set called Natural Fleurs from the Park Lane line at Joann's (just love the wooden chevron)
Stamp: Tree from a set of trees by Inkadinkado
Ink: Black Versafine, Gathered Twig Distress Ink, Distress Oxides - Stormy Weather, Faded Jeans, Chipped Sapphire, for watercoloring - Distress Ink Chipped Sapphire, Shabby Shutters, Peacock Feathers, Stormy Sky
Dies: Sizzix Thinlets Mixed Media Motifs
Embellishments: Ivory epoxy dots - unknowns, Tim Holtz Idea-ology Quotations Metallic Stickers, black thread
I am entering this in the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge #sssmchallenge. I recently bought some envelopes specifically for mini slimline cards and I was determined to use them. I made this mini slimline by covering a 3.5 x 6" piece of cardstock in washi tape strips, adding a torn and inked piece of decorated paper, then adding a tree image stamped on watercolor paper (watercolored using inks). I did something I haven't done in about a decade. I sewed on my card using a little, old, but very sturdy machine. It is a Janome "Blossom" mini sewing machine I picked up many years ago on my local Craigslist. When I couldn't remember how to thread it, I looked on YouTube and found a tutorial made by none other than Gina K herself. The leaves are cut with my Silhouette and inked with Distress Oxides. The brown messy circle is from a fantastic Sizzix set. The sentiment is from Tim Holtz Idea-ology stickers.
CS: 80lb white cardstock, covered with washi tape, Canson XL watercolor paper
Patterned paper: text paper - unknown, brown circle - leather looking paper is Authentique
Washi Tape: combination of large set of rolls from Michael's and a set called Natural Fleurs from the Park Lane line at Joann's (just love the wooden chevron)
Stamp: Tree from a set of trees by Inkadinkado
Ink: Black Versafine, Gathered Twig Distress Ink, Distress Oxides - Stormy Weather, Faded Jeans, Chipped Sapphire, for watercoloring - Distress Ink Chipped Sapphire, Shabby Shutters, Peacock Feathers, Stormy Sky
Dies: Sizzix Thinlets Mixed Media Motifs
Embellishments: Ivory epoxy dots - unknowns, Tim Holtz Idea-ology Quotations Metallic Stickers, black thread
