Month: March 2019

DIY Projects, Easter, Wreaths

Quick and Easy Easter Wreath

kittieslovecrafting

Easter is around the corner and I finally got around to making my Easter Wreath. Yay! I made this wreath using mostly Dollar Tree supplies. My store didn’t have much so I ordered from their online store and had it shipped to my house. They offer a ship-to-store option too.

A word of caution…if you order flowers online they can arrive crushed as mine did. I ordered 6 stems and only got 5 usable flower heads out of it and those were not that great as you will see in the photos. Keep that in mind.

Anyways,  it was super easy and quick to make. I started off with a 10-inch straw wreath form. I got mine from Hobby Lobby, but they are readily available at other craft stores and online. Check Amazon, Michaels, Joann Fabrics, Walmart and Dollar Tree. My local store did not carry it but I’m guessing others might. I carefully removed the clear plastic wrap around it as it tends to shed. Nor,ally I would normally leave the plastic wrap on it but since I wanted this to look natural and .organic, I removed it.

After cleaning the straw debris from my desk, i wrapped some 5/8 inch wide lavender satin ribbon around the wreath, creating a stripe pattern. I get most of my ribbon from the Ribbon Retreat. This color is called purple haze. A tiny dab of hot glue on each of the ribbon ends secure it to the wreath.

I added the moss next. I used Green Spanish Moss I hot glued it onto the bottom half of the wreath. Once I had enough of the area covered, I wrapped Green Floral Wire, 22 Gauge around the moss to secure it further. Ok the hard part is done. Time to decorate.

I added 5 Green Gerbera Daisies. 6 Speckled Easter Eggs, and 3 3 inch Salisbury Butterflies.To finish it off , i added 3 Pearl Corsage Pins to each ribbon stripe. That’s it. Add a ribbon to hang it and your wreath is complete. Easy peasy. Quickest wreath I’ve ever made.IMG_0526_watermarked

Supplies:

Thanks for stopping by and I hope I’ve inspired you to make your own wreath. Leave comments or questions below or feel free to email me.

Easter, Easter, Watercolor

Easy Watercolor Backgrounds Using Distress Inks

kittieslovecrafting

Today’s topic is watercolor backgrounds. Whenever I want a quick and easy background for a card, I go with a watercolor background. You don’t need to know how to watercolor like a pro, you just need some good watercolor paper. The paper makes the difference in the results you get. I used Canson XL Series Watercolor Paper Pad (140 Pound, 9 x 12 Inch). The great thing is, that this technique can be achieved with dye inks, stains, sprays, or watercolors (high end or inexpensive). I used Distress Ink Stains for my backgrounds. I originally pulled out my Distress Ink Pads but then decided that my Distress Ink Stains haven’t been getting enough love so I decided to use those instead. These can be dabbed on or sprayed. These now are sold in spray bottles but if you’re like me and have the original bottles, Ranger sells a spray bottle lid. I used mine straight out of the bottle like watercolor though.

Watercolor Background Supplies

Ok, so let’s get started. First, I taped down my watercolor paper piece (4 1/4 x 5 1/2″) with some ScotchBlue Painters Tape to a hard surface. Protect your surface before you begin because this will be messy. With a clean brush, add some water to your surface, covering the whole area. Then dispense some of ink onto a clear block, craft mat, etc. (I used my glass mat) and then dab/pounce it your paper. If the surface is too dry, add some more water. You can add more ink to certain areas to get darker areas. Alternatively, you can add more water and blot certain areas to subtract color. Stick to one color if you are not comfortable mixing multiple colors together. Keep playing with adding color until you are satisfied.

Let your piece dry in between layers. This will yield a better result, in the end. You can let it air dry or use a heat tool (if you are not patient like me. :)) Once the piece was almost dry I added some splashes using the same ink color for each. I usually do this inside a box since I don’t want my desk and surrounding areas to stained. Let it dry completely before moving onto the next step. And if you want to stop here, you totally can; they look great as is. I wanted to enhance mine by adding another level of texture.

Watercolor Panels

I added texture to only two of the panels by embossing them. On the first panel (blue one), I stamped the Easter eggs from the Newton’s Nook Designs Newton’s Easter Basket Stamp (no longer available) with Versamark clear embossing ink and added Wow white embossing powder. On the third panel (yellow one), I used a the Tim Holtz MINI STENCIL SET 27 MST027 with Ranger Texture Paste Transparent Gloss to add texture. I used only portions of the stencil around the page. Then before it dried, I sprinkled on some Dazzling Diamonds Stampin’ Glitter. Any white glitter will do however. These are now ready to become cards!

Watercolor Panels With Embossing

I made Easter cards with these backgrounds. I used Newton’s Nook Designs Newton’s Easter Basket Stamp on all 3 cards for the images.

I used Simon Says Stamp Some Bunny for the sentiment on the first card and the Lawn Fawn Straight Flower Border Die Cut to build the scene. And finished it with Nuvo drops in different colors. The second card features the Pretty Pink Posh Happy Easter Script Die cut out of 4 layers of cardstock (3 black and one white), stacked up to create the sentiment. The third card showcases the Easter egg kitty by putting him in ovals diecut using Stampin’ Up! Layering Ovals Framelits Dies. I added a sentiment from Newton’s Nook Designs Newton’s Easter Basket Stamp. I created card bases from Stampin’ Up! Tempting Turquoise (retired), Stampin’ Up! Elegant Eggplant (retired), and Stampin’ Up! Crushed Curry 8-1/2″ X 11″ Cardstock, respectively. And finally, on the inside I added a piece of white 80lb cardstock so I can later write a message inside my cards.

Supplies

Thanks for stopping by. I hope this was helpful and I’ve inspired you to create some fun watercolor backgrounds of your own. Feel free to email me with questions or leave a comments below.

Easter, Easter, Holidays 2019, Mother's Day, Mother’s Day, Spring, Thank Yous

Spring Cards 2

kittieslovecrafting

3 Cards using SSS Blooming Circle and Blooming Wave Wafer Dies

Hi friends. Continuing on with some Spring inspired cards, I pulled out the Simon Says Stamp Blooming Circle Wafer Dies and Simon Says Stamp Blooming Wave Wafer Die to create 3 different cards. It was a little time-consuming to inlay all the flowers and leaves but the results are well worth it

This Easter card combines the Simon Says Stamp Some Bunny stamps and Newton’s Nook Designs Newton’s Easter Basket stamps with the Simon Says Stamp Blooming Circle Wafer Dies. I added patterned paper from both the Doodlebug 6 x 6 Double-sided Paper Pad-Easter Express (discontinued), and Queen & Co Flirty Florals 6 x 6 Mat Stack. Images were colored with Copic markers and fussycut. I inlaid the flowers after diecutting several pieces of scrap rainbow color cardstock. Finished it off by adding some Nuvo Crystal Drops in White Gloss.

Card 2 turned into a Mother’s Day Card. When I started working on these cards I had no idea what the theme would be so I didn’t pick sentiments. But after adding the daisy pattern paper (from Doodlebug 6 x 6 Double-sided Paper Pad-Easter Express (discontinued)), I decided to make into a Mother’s Day card. I used the Simon Says Stamp Blooming Wave Wafer, to create a border then inlaid the flowers after diecutting several pieces of scrap yellow and green cardstock. I used Lawn Fawn Happy Happy Happy Sentiments and the Lawn Cuts Happy Happy Happy to creqte this dimensional sentiment. Finished it off by adding Nuvo Crystal Drops in Ivory Seashell.

And for this 3rd card, I wanted to make it look like rings so I diecut the Simon Says Stamp Blooming Circle Wafer Dies and diecut 3 flower circles, centering one of them. Once again I ran the die through with several color cardstock in rainbow colors. I added a sentiment to the center wreath using Catherine Pooler Designs Good Stuff Inside.Finished it off by adding Nuvo Crystal Drops in White Blizzard Glitter Drops.

Spring Cards1

Supplies:

Hope you’ve enjoyed this process post and I hope I’ve inspired you to create some cards of your own. Thanks for stopping by and once again please leave questions in the comments or feel free to email me if you prefer.

Birthdays, Just Because

Fruit Frenzy Reveal Wheel Card

kittieslovecrafting

Well, it’s Monday again friends and that means back to work. Ugh!! But I got to play this weekend with the Lawn Fawn Reveal Wheel dies and Semicircle add-on. Can you tell I’m loving the reveal wheel dies?!? Its just so much fun to make these! And I wanted to show that a lot of non-Lawn Fawn stampsets also work with this die. Now don’t get me wrong I love everything Lawn Fawn makes, but I want to maximize the use of my stamps as well. This card is available for purchase in my Etsy shop.

All the paper and ink for this card are Stampin’ Up! products. Most are still available for purchase. Full list below. There’s very little measuring with this card. Dies and punches do all the work for you.

As with my previous reveal wheel cards, I began by cutting out all the Reveal Wheel pieces with the Lawn Fawn Reveal Wheel dies and Semicircle add-on from Neenah Solar White 110lb Cardstock.  You need to cut out two panels (one with the cutout window and one without – this will be your back piece). To create the complete circle on the front piece, I turned the semicircle 180 degrees and lined up under the open semicircle. Butt it up against the edge of the bottom 2 cut lines and it will have the perfect space between both. Its a good idea to cut out the tiny arrow from Stampin’ Up! Garden Green 8 1/2 x 11” Cardstock at this time.

TIP: Use heavy cardstock for the reveal wheel to give it more stability. It won’t work well if it’s flimsy. Ask me how I know. LOL

Next I cut a 1 1/2 x 3 3/4” piece and 3/4 x 3 3/4” piece of the Stampin’ Up! Tutti Frutti DSP. I used one 6 x 6 piece and just used both sides since they match perfectly. I adhered the two pieces together, leaving the bolder pattern on top and a little of the smaller pattern peeking out from behind on one end. I adhered these to the front panel at the bottom edge.

Ok, time to stamp all the things. 🙂 I heat embossed the bowl onto a piece of Stampin’ Up! Garden Green 8 1/2 x 11” Cardstock with Versamark clear embossing ink and Wow white embossing powder and diecut it with the coordinating dies. Then I punched out several fruits from Neenah Solar White 110lb Cardstock using Stampin Up! Itty Bitty Fruit Punch Pack . Then stamped all the fruits with Stampin’ Up! Fruit Basket stampset. I Found it’s easier if you punch them out first.

I used Stampin’ Up! Crushed Curry and Stampin’ Up! Granny Apple Green for the lemon and the pear, Stampin’ Up! Granny Apple Green and Stampin’ Up! Garden Green for the lime, Stampin’ Up! Garden Green and Stampin’ Up! Real Red ink for the strawberry and the watermelon.

Next, I stamped the sentiment (from the same stampset) onto some Stampin’ Up! Crushed Curry 8 1/2 x 11” Cardstock using Tuxedo Black Memento Ink. Cut it down to 1/2 x 2 1/4” and cut the ends into a banner.

Time to assemble the card. I attached the little wheel to the larger one with a tiny brad, added 3 Stampin’ Dimensionals behind the tiny wheel, making sure not to cover the brad and it to the back card panel. Added some 3M foam tape  to the back of the front panel, making sure not to get too close to the wheel, and  attached it to the back panel. Glued that to a 4 1/4 x  5 1/2” card base (Neenah Solar White 110lb Cardstock). Next I glued the bowl to the bottom edge of the circle, glued the fruit inside the wheel and the sentiment strip to the top half. Then scattered some more fruit around the card. And the card is complete!

Dimensions:

Continue reading “Fruit Frenzy Reveal Wheel Card” →

Easter, Spring

Spring Cards

kittieslovecrafting

Celebrate Spring

Happy Friday!!! It’s time to celebrate the arrival of Spring with this cute card featuring bunnies hopping through the tulips. Can also be used as an Easter card. This card is available for purchase in my Etsy shop.

Ok it may be winter still but I wanted to show how you all that you can use stamps meant for a specific event or holiday and use it for other type of cards. This allows us to stretch our stamps and dies.

Celebrate Spring

I used an older Lawn Fawn stampset, Hello Baby, which is meant for baby cards and used it for a Spring scene instead. Lawn Fawn stamps are great because you can combine different stampsets and they look like they belong together.

WThis card base is a made from Stampin’ Up! Early Espresso cardstock. The sky was made with Lawn Fawn Perfectly Plaid Rainbow 6 x 6 patterned paper and the tree, grass and flowers were diecut from colored card stocks. I used Lawn Fawn’s Leafy Tree Backdrop for the tree and leaves background, Lawn Fawn’s Grassy Hillside Borders for the grass, and the dies from Hello Baby, for the tiny flowers and clouds. The bunnies and tulips on this card were colored with COPIC markers and cut with coordinating dies. Nuvo drops in Ivory Seashell and Spectrum Noir Clear Overlay Sparkle Brush Pen was added to the tiny flowers for some embellishment.

The inside of the card is decorated with matching pattern paper and diecut tiny flowers. Then stamped with “Happy Spring” using Lawn Fawn How You Bean?

Supplies:

Hope you’ve enjoyed this process post and I hope I’ve inspired you to create some cards of your own. Thanks for stopping by and once again please leave questions in the comments or feel free to email me if you prefer.

Birthdays

Sweet Birthday Friends Card

kittieslovecrafting

Happy Humpday everyone! It’s finally Wednesday and time for sweets. This card lets you indulge in sweets without the calories. Woot woot! No guilt here. LOL. This card is available for purchase in my Etsy shop if you prefer not to make your own.

Anyway this card was super easy to make. Let’s get into it then. First, all the stamping needs to be done so it has time to dry. I cut a panel of Neenah Solar White 110lb Cardstock to 4 x 5 1/4″. I stamped the background using my stamping platform (Stamparatus by Stampin’ Up!) and Lawn Fawn Sweet Friends with Tuxedo Black Memento Ink. Set the panel aside to dry. Then I stamped all my cute images and set that aside to dry.

In the meantime, I stamped the images from Lawn Fawn Sweetest Flavor and Lawn Fawn Sweet Friends with Tuxedo Black Memento Ink and
let those dry. Then, I stamped the sentiment strips onto
Simon Says Stamp Black Card stock with Lawn Fawn Happy Happy Happy Sentiments, Versamark clear embossing ink and Wow white embossing powder and heat embossed.

Next, I worked on the diecut SWEET. Diecut the letters out from the center of the stamped card panel as well as 3x from black cardstock using Honey Bee Bee Bold Alphabet. Then I created an ombre effect by blending on some Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Picked Raspberry Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Worn Lipstick. The bottom half has more Picked Raspberry.

While that dries I colored the images with my Copic alcohol markers and diecut them with the coordinating cookie cutter dies. You can also color these with pencils or watercolors or water-based markers as well. Just be sure to use the appropriate ink so it doesn’t bleed.

Time for assembly. I cut a piece of Lawn Fawn Really Rainbow 6 x 6 Paper, a pink stripe to 4 1/4 x 5 1/2″and a panel of Simon Says Stamp Black Card stock to 3 7/8 x 5 5/8″ and adhered the patterned piece to the black one. Next, I adhered both to the card base (4 1/4 x 5 1/2″ Neenah Solar White 110lb Cardstock). I added some double-sided tape to the back of the white panel and adhered it to the black cardstock panel. The SWEET sentiment can now be easily adhered to the panel since it has the tape behind it. Its easier to adhere the 3 black alphabet layers together first then add the pink ombre letters with glue to those. Now we can add it to the card panel. To add shine I added Ranger Glossy Accents Glue Dimensional Adhesive over the letters and let it DRY. Can’t stress this enough. LET IT DRY.

Once the glossy accents are completely dry, I adhered the sentiment strips and the images to the card. And because I can’t resist using Nuvo drops, I added some Nuvo Crystal Drops in Morning Dew. Then I cut a strip of the pink striped paper to 1 1/4 x 5 1/2″ and added two of the Sweet Friends images.

Dimensions:

Supplies:

Hope you’ve enjoyed this process post and I hope I’ve inspired you to create some cards of your own. Thanks for stopping by and once again please leave questions in the comments or feel free to email me if you prefer.

Birthdays

Sweet Friends Interactive Card

kittieslovecrafting

Hello friends. This fun A2 size interactive birthday card features the Lawn Fawn Reveal Wheel dies and Lawn Fawn Sweet Friends. It’s a cute interactive card. Four words In the rotating window complete the sentiment. This card is available for purchase in my Etsy shop.

Views of all 4 words in sentiment

Supplies:

Hope you’ve enjoyed this process post and I hope I’ve inspired you to create some cards of your own. Thanks for stopping by and once again please leave questions in the comments or feel free to email me if you prefer.