BIRTHDAY CARD FEATURING ALCOHOL TECHNIQUE WITH STAMPIN' BLENDS

 

I recently read about an alcohol technique with Stampin' Blends markers and was anxious to try it.  Have you heard about it--or tried it?  It's quite cool . . . especially when done correctly, which I didn't quite do.  Basically, you just use the markers to color circles on a piece of Vellum cardstock, place a few drops of alcohol (at least 91% Isopropyl) onto the vellum, and then use a water brush (dipped in alcohol or an Aqua Painter filled with alcohol) to move the colors around.  You can also blow through a straw to move the alcohol around on the vellum, which I found to be very easy.  Although I used dark/vivid marker colors, my colored circles became muted when my Aqua Painter, which had water in the barrel, decided to dispense water even though I didn't squeeze the barrel.  Argh!  Although I wasn't 100% pleased about the water situation, I had to continue with my colored vellum creation because the card needed to get in the mail, and I had a job to go to.

Since my marker colors got diluted, I just rolled with the pastel palette.  I think it ended up being a pretty card, don't you?  Additional products featured on this card include the Happy Birthday die (retired Stampin' Up! product), Crystal Distortion embossing folder (Simon Says Stamp), absolutely GORGEOUS Adhesive Backed Sequins & Gems (Stampin' Up!), Metallic Edge Ribbon (Stampin' Up!), and the lattice die-cuts from the Chick dies (retired Stampin' Up!).

A white gel pen was used to accent the die-cut sentiment.  It lends a festive flair, right?  And just look at those pretty sequins!

If you have Stampin' Blends markers, definitely give this technique a try!  Oh . . . I think you'd figure out that the side of vellum that you color on is the back side but . . . I should mention that just in case you wonder.  ;-)

Until next time . . . have a stampin' good day!

SCARECROW BOX CARDS

I have quite a few photos to share of the scarecrow box cards that I made recently.  I can't take credit for the design, though, so let's get that out of the way.  I found this awesome card at svgcuts.com and knew that it was the perfect Fall card to send to family, friends, and the elders.  

It took all of two days to choose papers and cardstock and cut (with my Cricut Explore) all of the pieces for these cards--and the better part of another day to assemble them--but it wasn't a dreaded process.  I was quite excited about the cleverness of this card design!

Aren't they adorable?!?!  As you can see from the above two photos, I embossed part of one of the hats just to see if I liked it.  I did like it--just not enough to emboss all of them.

The above photo shows the front, side, and back of the cards, and you can see that they are, indeed, box cards. In the photo below, you can see the card folded flat for mailing.

And following are a few more photos:

Below is a better photo of the embossing on one of the hats:

One of my favorite things about these adorable scarecrows is that they weren't just cards . . . they were also a nice Fall decoration for the recipients.  If I got a card like this in the mail, I'd certainly find a nice place to display it, wouldn't you?

A FISHING DEER BIRTHDAY CARD

My niece's husband had a birthday this month.  I was at a loss as to what kind of card to make . . . just couldn't decide which stamp set to use.  Actually, the thinking process was wearing me down, making me want to just leave my stamp room.  I kept looking at my Cricut Explore machine, thinking about how much I enjoy making shaped cards with it, and that's how this card was born.  Yes, I know it looks a bit juvenile for a grown man, but it's also cute (right???) and totally captures two of Matt's hobbies . . . fishing and (deer) hunting.

This was the first time I've used a hexagon card base, but it won't be the last.  I really like it!  Designing shaped cards with Cricut Design Space is so easy and enjoyable!  Deciding which images to use actually takes longer than the design process.  

I know this post is short and sweet.  My next one will probably be a long one--loaded with photos of the scarecrow box cards that I recently made.  Stay tuned!

"OCEANFRONT" + "A FISH & A WISH"

 "Oceanfront" is such a great stamp set, and it's just so easy to use for just about any occasion.  I needed a thank you card recently, and this is what I made.  My cardstock colors are white, Coastal Cabana (or it might have been Soft Succulent), and Crumb Cake.  Ink colors are Coastal Cabana (or maybe Soft Succulent), Old Olive, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake, and Pacific Point.

I thought the fish image would make a nice embellishment for this card and to make it more like an actual embellishment, I punched four shapes from cardstock (with the Fish Builder punch) to adhere to the stamped and punched image.  The fish was really thick and sturdy!

I can't explain my attraction to the "A Fish & A Wish" stamp set.  Fish art has never been my thing, I don't eat fish, don't have any pet fish, have no interest in baiting a hook, and yet this stamp set was one of my first purchases from Stampin' Up!'s current catalog.  The images are just so . . . well . . . lovely.  I don't think they're particularly difficult to work with, but I placed them upside down on the first two cards I ever made with this bundle.  🤣  I do a much better job with them now.

The prettiest finishing detail was the Wink of Stella shimmer that I brushed on the fish.  I never really think that much about it, but the Wink of Stella is probably one of my most used products.

So what do you think?  These two stamp sets work pretty well together, huh?

POP-UP BLOCK CARD FOR COLTON

 

Today is my great-nephew's birthday, and I'm sharing this Pop-up Block Card that I made for him.  My curiosity was piqued when I watched THIS TUTORIAL, which I altered a bit by rotating the intended orientation.  Actually, the bottom block was supposed to be loose--unattached and not a complete block--but I wanted it to be a sturdy block like the others.

In the above photo, you can see what I mean about the blocks.  Once I decided to make a vertical design of the pop-up block card, it became even more important to have a solid block at the bottom.  What makes this card a winner is that it folds flat(ish) for mailing, which is something that makes every card maker want to scream with delight.

My card features "Waves of the Ocean" designer paper and coordinating "Blue Foils" (retired), which were part of a Stampin' Up! bundle available last year.  The "Waves of Inspiration" stamp set and coordinating "Waves" dies are currently available in a bundle.  

Decorating the envelope was kept simple by adhering a strip of coordinating designer paper along the left edge.

Be sure to try a pop-up block card if you haven't already because it's an easy and fun one!  Last but not least . . . join me in wishing Colton a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

"HAPPIER THAN HAPPY"

I tried so hard to talk myself out of buying the "Happier than Happy" bundle.  I was successful--for a while, but then I felt that I really needed these adorable animals.  Isn't this a sweet card?  I actually made several to send to the special ladies who enjoy receiving mail from me.

All of the cards weren't exactly alike--but very similar.  I had to play around with ink to see which color I liked best for the tree stump (Soft Suede--or maybe it was Crumb Cake) and which I liked best for the owl (Early Espresso).  It was so handy to have dies to cut each of the stamped images!

I think the animals in this bundle make such sweet cards, and I do not regret this purchase!  If you're like me, you often think of using animals on cards for children but they work just as well when you want to send a sweet hello to someone special.  Don't you agree?

SWEET SUNFLOWERS . . . AUGUST PAPER PUMPKIN KIT

 

This month's Paper Pumpkin kit from Stampin' Up! is so pretty, and I love the cards!  The kit components were gorgeous and, while I could have used them in a multitude of alternate ways, I decided to just make the cards as they were intended.  On one of the designs, I used "Hang in there" on the outside of the card and "even when you don't understand" on the inside.  These sentiments are in the "Wisteria Wishes" stamp set.  From the recently retired "Here's a Card" stamp set, I used "May your heart find the peace it needs" on one of the other cards.

I thought the cards in the above picture would be handy when a sympathy card is needed.  Thinking that they needed just a little something, it turned out that a neatly tied twine bow behind the sentiment was the perfect addition.

Aren't those tiny bees adorable????  There were actually a lot of extra bees in the kit, and I will enjoy adding them to other cards.

Another lovely design from the kit is pictured above.  It, too, needed a little something, so I tied more twine bows for them.

The cards pictured above were my favorite!  The subtle watercolored background and the gorgeous assorted flowers are just . . . well . . . sweet!  All that I added to these cards were the sparkly rhinestones because why not?

And that vellum die-cut honeycomb . . . just the perfect touch!  The sunflower and the pretty bouquet in the bottom left corner were adhered with Stampin' Dimensionals, as was the die-cut sentiment label.

The back of each card was also really pretty, and it occurred to me to cut the cards apart and make extra cards.  I decided to not do that because I figured it would be an extra treat for the recipient of these cards to discover that there was more to the card than just a pretty front.  😊  But wait . . . check out the envelopes:

Whoever designed the August kit for Stampin' Up! really went the extra mile!  Can you believe how gorgeous the envelopes are?!?!?!

After the nine cards were made, I used a couple of the extra components to make an extra card.  The scalloped rectangles were cut using Stitched So Sweetly (retired) and Scalloped Contours dies.  My cardstock colors are White, Early Espresso, and Soft Succulent.

Are you a Paper Pumpkin subscriber?  If you haven't tried the monthly kits lately, you really should!  I think Stampin' Up! is doing an excellent job of bringing creative designs that are as much fun to make as they are to mail.  Get your subscription started!!!

FLORAL SYMPATHY CARD

Last March, I enjoyed using Stampin' Blends markers to color flower images from the "True Love" designer paper collection (see that post HERE), and I recently had the opportunity to use some of those bouquets on a sympathy card.

I think the flowers are sooooo pretty, and it was very nice to have them already colored, cut out, and ready to use because I was really short on time when I needed to get the sympathy card in the mail.  The silver embossed sentiment was also left (unused) from another project, so all I really needed to do was put pieces together.  If you're like me, you sometimes question whether it's worth saving elements because you probably won't know where they are when you need them, but I knew exactly where these components were.  For the past 16 months, the ready-to-use flowers have been kept in a stamp case, which made it very easy to find the flowers because I can see in the case.

In the above photo, you see some of the shimmer from the Wink of Stella brush.  I didn't color the entire flowers--just a few areas.

This card is proof that when we store prepped-but-not-used card components in a see-through container, we might be more likely to actually use those items in the future.  :-)

A NON-WINTRY/HOLIDAY CARD FEATURING "GINGERBREAD HOUSE" DIES

 

So it finally happened . . . I was able to make the die-cut gingerbread house not look at all like a wintry/holiday gingerbread house, and I love this card!  This is a birthday card that I made for a really sweet lady that I used to work with, and I hope that it will make her special day a happy one.

I die-cut the house three times--twice from watercolor paper and once from white cardstock--and then adhered the three cuts together.  The heart was cut from Evening Evergreen cardstock, as was the decorative fence, and the distressed layer is Soft Succulent cardstock.

One of the leafy images from Art Impression's "Greenery Invites" stamp set was used to create a wreath (of sorts) using Early Espresso ink on the Soft Succulent cardstock, and then I added a few Soft Succulent berry sprig images here and there on the wreath.  I couldn't resist adding a die-cut bird to the bottom left corner of the house--isn't he adorable?!?!  

Indeed, some of the "Gingerbread House" dies are going to be used year-round!  I love the size of the die-cut house because it seems to be just perfect for just about any project . . . cards, tags, banners, gift packages, etc.  And that fence . . . it's just so pretty!

Product Information

"SWEET GINGERBREAD" THANK YOU CARD

 

The "Sweet Gingerbread" bundle in Stampin' Up!'s current mini catalog was one of those products that I really liked and wanted, but I just didn't think I'd use it all that much.  As a matter of fact, I'd already chosen another bundle that I would (most likely) use for my Christmas cards this year, so I couldn't justify purchasing this adorable set.  At least not right away.  But . . . it finally landed on one of my orders, and I was determined to create a non-Christmas/Winter card with the products.

Although I failed at making these cards not look Christmas-y, I still put them in the mail in July.  I shouldn't have used the die-cut trees and . . . really????? . . . what was I thinking when I used that pretty plaid paper with red and green???  What can I say . . . that paper is just too pretty to resist.  The little house is just adorable, isn't it?  And that fence is so pretty with its tiny detailing.  I'm pretty sure there will be no buyer's remorse for these products.

The sentiment is from the "Flowers of Friendship" stamp set, and I used one of the Tailor Made Tags dies to cut it after it was stamped.  I love those dies.  I actually love them a little more than before now that I know they can be used to add a little detail to a stamped sentiment when a tag isn't really needed for my project.

Happy stampin' until the next post!