His and Hers online class: Day Two - make a wish

For this card, I took inspiration from Jennifer McGuire's stamping technique with white ink and die inks.  What great ideas she has!

 I took a petal stamp from Maile's Modern Basics set and layered Vintage Cream (PTI) with Hero Arts mid tone inks.

For the mid tone inks, I used red royal, charcoal, cup o' joe, wet cement and tide pool.  I layered the smaller petals in die inks and then smallest polka dots in Vintage Cream.

I added the sentiment using Fresh ink in chocolate and then added platinum Liquid Pearls for a little bling.

I really like the idea for this card and will be trying it again - the look of white and light inks always looks so cool on dark card stock!  And the layering reminds me of velveteen stamping which I have always loved.  I tried it here and here ...

Supplies:
Paper: PTI Kraft
Ink: Hero Arts mid tone inks - tide pool, red royal, cup o' joe, wet cement; PTI Vintage Cream; Fresh chocolate
Stamps: PTI Modern Basics, Think Big
Misc: Platinum Liquid Pearls 

His and Hers online class: Day Two - wishing you a happy birthday

Here is my masculine version of Shari Carroll's birthday card.  I grabbed Studio Calico's Take Note 6x6 pad which has some beautiful designs in it.  The scale is just perfect for cards and the colours gorgeous!

I cut off a strip from the front panel and covered the inner strip with patterned paper and a chocolate strip as well.

The sentiment is from PTI's Mat Stack 1 - I love the simple font of this one!  I also added some arrows cut out from Basic Grey's Kraft Basics 6x6 pad but I did darken them a bit with some PTI Tea Dye duo.

Here's a side view of the card - now that I see it up close, I should've mounted the largest arrow with a bit more overhang ... ah, well! :-)

Supplies:
Paper: Studio Calico Take Note 6x6 pad, Staples 110lb white, Basic Grey Kraft Basics
Ink: Fresh chocolate ink
Stamps: PTI Mat Stack 1 Collection

His and Hers online class: Day Two - celebrating your birthday

For day two of the online class, Shari Carroll made two gorgeous collage cards with lots of patterned paper so I decided to try my hand at them.  Check out my other post for the more masculine of the two.  I love Studio Calico patterned paper and took the Heyday 6x6 pad to get my inspiration.  The great thing about these smaller pads is that they are scaled perfectly for card makers.  Rather than large oversized designs of 12x12 papers, 6x6 is the way to go in my opinion!

I cut a strip of the front card panel off and used patterned papers to cover the front and the inner strip with some coordinating papers. 

I added three butterflies (dies used from Happy Trails and Pretty Peonies) and then layered the two smaller ones over with foam dots

Here you can get a better look at the sparkle from the Rock Candy glitter on the two smaller butterflies:

And a view of the inside where I stamped the sentiment from PTI's Movers and Shakers in Fresh chocolate ink.

 Have you ever made a card like this with an inner strip?

Supplies: 
Paper: Studio Calico Heyday 6x6 pad, Staples 110lb white
Stamps: PTI Movers and Shakers
Ink: Fresh chocolate ink
Misc: foam dots, Rock Candy glitter

His and Hers Online Class: Day Two - happy birthday

On day two of the online card class there were several amazing videos.  I really enjoyed Cristina Kowalczyk's video on colouring vellum.  She makes the most beautiful cards and it was great to see her in action!

I coloured vellum using some Distress Markers since I don't have any Copics - gasp, I know!  I then used my Hexagon cover plate from Paperrey to cut out a bunch of hexagons.  I ended up choosing quite a few that had two colours side by side as I quite liked the look.

I adhered them with my Tombo snail glue and the adhesive acutally didn't show through at all which was great but I still wanted to add some bling so took some Ellen Hutson sequins and layered them over with Glossy Accents before stamping the Think Big sentiment in StazOn Jet Black.

Supplies:
Paper: Staples 110lb white, Gartner's vellum
Ink: StazOn Jet Black 
Stamps: PTI Think Big sentiment
Misc: Ellen Hutson sequins 

His and Hers Online Class - Day One: I just love you

 

This card is a thinking of you/love you sort of a card.  I kept it really simple and stamped the Hero Arts Tweed Pattern background stamp in Versamark for a subtle but simple background.  I added a negative die cut of the banner from Papertrey's Fabulous Frames.  I die cut three vellum notched flowers and added a dark turquoise enamel dot to the centre - it works great to hide the adhesive! :)

Next I tried something I've never done before - I stamped the banner in Versamark and then added the sentiment in PTI Vintage Cream which is a die ink.  Decided to try a little experiment ...

I thought that if I was lucky, I would be able to heat emboss with clear embossing powder and both would show up .... well, I was glad I tried it since it worked!

The cream sentiment is quite vibrant in person - I will definitely be doing this again!!

Supplies:
Paper: PTI Ocean Tides, Gartner's vellum
Stamps: PTI Fabulous Frames, Hero Arts Tweed Pattern background stamp
Ink: Versamark,
PTI Vintage Cream 
Misc: MME enamel dot, PTI notched flower dies, Fabulous Frames banner die

I have never done one before, but decided to make a mini album for Mother's Day - I had a bunch of photos printed in colour onto white paper and black and white on vellum.  Here's a sneap peek of page one:

His and Hers Online Class - Day One: thinking of you

So I was lucky enough to win a spot in the His and Hers online class this week - day one has already provided lots of inspiration.  I took my cue from Jennifer McGuire and made a simple masculine card with some masking.

I stamped the hexagons from PTI's Rosie Posie in Vintage Cream ink and then added a wide line with some more masking.  I coloured in the empty spots with some Derwent InkTense pencils - these pencils are amazing and you can do such cool things with them wet ... but I left them dry for this card.

I stamped the sentiment from one of PTI's Think Big sets in Chocolate ink from Fresh inks.  (By the way, there is an online sale over at Impress Rubber Stamps - home of Fresh inks.  These pigment inks are wonderful and not only do they have beautiful colours, but the coverage is divine! :-)  They have the sale posted on their Facebook page and I loaded up on a bunch of reinkers since 20% is a nice discount!  Use the code 'annual sale' if you like ...)

I recently saw someone cover wood veneer with gesso before using mists and this allows the colour to sit on top rather than saturate and streak.  I will definitely be trying this with other colours!  Here I covered the wood veeneer stars from Studio Calico with some Studio Calico's Mister Huey's spray mist Estate Green which is a darker turquoise.

Supplies:
Paper: PTI Kraft
Stamps: PTI Think Big (sentiment), Rosie Posie
Ink:  Fresh ink (chocolate), PTI Vintage Cream
Misc: gesso, Studio Calico's Mister Huey's spray mist Estate Green, Studio Calico wood veeneer stars, Eclipse masking paper 

PTI Make it Monday #113: Perfect Pearls - thinking of you

Over at Papertrey, Nichole showed us how to use Perfect Pearls on our cards.  I personally love this product and had a lot of fun pulling them out again!

One of my colleagues is not well so I wanted to make him a card to let him know that I have been thinking about him:

I kept it simple and used the Peaceful Garden bamboo leaves with a sentiment from a Think Big set.

The great thing about Perfect Pearls is that they have a binder in them so there are no issues with it falling off or coming off on your hands.  You can use the Perfect Medium from Ranger or Versamark (which is what I use) and a detailed brush.

The shine is amazing with these powders!  I think this card is manly enough - what do you think?

Supplies:
Paper: Staples 110lb white, PTI Enchanted Evening
Stamps: PTI Peaceful Garden, Think Big
Ink: Versamark
Misc: Perfect Pearls Metallics set

Festive Friday challenge - bird as element: Holiday Wishes shaker card

The wonderful Meredith MacRitchie has challenged us to use a bird in our design for any holiday project.  Here is my third take on the challenge:

I decided to try my hand at a shaker card.  I took the Happy Trails die and cut two birds (one in reverse for some interest), added some acetate, sequins and rather than foam sheets, tried cutting them with adhesive cork instead.  It worked really well, actually!

I added the Think Big sentiment with StazOn Jet Black since the paper was slightly slick.  I think I will give this card to my cousin as she loves interactive cards!

Supplies:
Paper: green and red paper from Christmas patterned pack
Stamps: PTI Think Big (sentiment)
Ink: StazOn Jet Black
Misc: silver and red sequins (Etsy seller), adhesive cork, PTI Happy Trails die,  foam dots

Festive Friday challenge - bird as element: Holiday Wishes

The wonderful Meredith MacRitchie has challenged us to use a bird in our design for any holiday project.  Here is my second take on the challenge ...

edited to add: Feel so lucky to have gotten a 'shout out' for this card over on Meredith's blog .... 
Thanks so much!!

I took a Prima bird from this new pack I got at the last Impress sale and added it to a white woodgrain card base.  This cardstock rocks!!  It is the perfect weight and the other side is smooth so it works perfectly for card bases ... you can still write on it with no issues.

Here's a close up of the front of the card and you can see the embossing and the detail of this cardstock:

I added a Fabulous Frames Ocean Tides banner for the sentiment.  I used some Versamark to stamp the 'holiday wishes' and white Zing embossing powder for a sentiment that pops.

Of course I had to use foam dots somehow so popped up the sentiment banner.  The bird was dabbed with some Rock Candy Stickles but it's hard to capture on camera ....

This card is very clean and simple but I am pleased with how it turned out.

Supplies:
Paper: white woodgrain cardstock, PTI Ocean Tides
Stamps: PTI Faux Ribbon
Ink: Versamark
Misc: Prima wood bird, foam dots, white Zing embossing powder, PTI Fabulous Frames die (banner)

Festive Friday challenge - bird as element: Christmas Wishes

The wonderful Meredith MacRitchie has challenged us to use a bird in our design for any holiday project.  I decided to take some  new products that I recently got and get to creating!

I bought the Love Birds set from someone second hand because those birds are just so cute!  I stamped them repeatedly in Fuchsia ink from Fresh on two imaginary lines and then added the Sew Simple border in Chocolate ink above and below.

I finished the card off with a sentiment from Happy Day in Tuscan Olive ink.  This is a very simple one layer card, perfect for mailing!  I held back from adding any bling or extra 'doodads' ...

Supplies:
Paper: PTI Rustic Cream
Stamps: PTI Love Birds, Sew Simple, Happy Day
Ink: Fresh Tuscan Olive, Chocolate, Fuchsia

Pop up card - Hello there

My little nephew loves to receive cards so I am always looking for new images in my stash or colour combos to use for cards for him.  My mom gave me a bag of die cuts that she bought on sale on her last trip down to the States and so I used a bunch of these on this card.

I used Brilliance Galaxy Gold ink with the new Hero Arts Tweed Pattern background stamp. This pattern is great for subtle backgrounds with Versamark or shadow stamping.  Heat embossing looks great too!  And to save space, I remove the rubber from the wood block and mount it to a piece of acetate.  Since I always ink it up face up and then press the paper over, smoothing the inking out with a piece of scrap paper, I don't need the block.  And if you are really careful, you can even remove the index label from the wood block and mount it on the acetate.  I then put a little square sample of the stamped image in the top right corner of each piece of acetate and can easily flip through them and choose which one I want.  I have them in a cd box and am loving this method.  Ok, enough organizational talk ... back to the card! :)

I stamped the sentiment from PTI's Mini Blooms set in Versafine Black Onyx for a nice crisp image.  I used foam dots to mount the giraffe on the front panel.

I then took another card base cut perhaps 1/8th of an inch shorter and planned out where I was going to put the popped up animals inside.  I used Ashley Cannon Newell's video as the basis for how to make this card - it's actually super easy!  Here you can see the different animals and the way they are layered:

 

And a front view with all of them popped up:

I am definitely going to be doing this again - it's a lot of fun and not difficult at all!

So what kinds of interactive cards have you made?  Any tips or tricks to share with everyone?

Supplies:
Paper: Staples 110lb white
Stamps: Hero Art's Tweed Pattern background stamp, PTI Mini Blooms (sentiment)
Ink: Brilliance Galaxy Gold, Versafine Black Onyx
Misc:  foam dots, animal die cuts

PTI April Blog Hop: Tilted - my smiles begin with you

PHOTO CREDITS  ::: cherry logo ::: butterfly ::: aa ::: fancy ::: take two ::: blessed ::: nichole's hello card ::: melissa's star card ::: maile's striped card:::

From PTI's website: It only takes a little *something* to take a project from ho-hum to amazing!  Even something as small as tilting your images or sentiments at an angle can have a huge impact.  This month we are challenging you to create a project that features something tilted.  Position a frame at an angle, tilt your text, add a background strip diagonally, create a border that has an incline, slant a sentiment block, the sky is truly the limit!  We look forward to seeing your projects later this month! 

I wanted to do some masking on an angle for a card as it is such a simple but effective technique.  I bought a roll of Eclipse masking paper from Impress Rubber Stamps and it works so well!  If you don’t have masking paper, you can use Post It label tape from the office supply store or even larger post its!  The trick is to try and stamp right on to the masking paper so that the masked area shows up well when you take it off.  Also the thinner the paper, the better as it will then stamp closest to the paper rather than leaving a gap.  Since I can’t cut on a straight line for the life of me, I used my trimmer instead.   

I started out stamping the larger flower from Papertrey’s Irresistible Ikat in PTI Vintage Cream.  I then layered Fresh ink’s Pear colour with the smaller flower from the same set.  I removed the masking paper and added a sentiment in Fresh ink in slate but after realizing it wasn’t quite dark enough to show up well, I layered it with navy and stamped slightly off for a shadowed effect.

Supplies:
Paper: PTI Aqua Mist
Stamps: PTI Natural Beauties (sentiment), Irresistible Ikat (images)
Ink:  Fresh navy and slate, PTI Vintage Cream
Misc: Eclipse masking paper