Month: September 2019

Christmas, Holidays 2019

Christmas is Coming! Oh no I’m Not Ready!!!

kittieslovecrafting

September is coming to a close very soon and you may be starting to panic if you don’t have enough or any Christmas cards made yet. I’ve been there so I know the feeling. Much as we try to keep to schedule and timelines sometimes life gets in the way.

Well I’m here to help. Beginning my Christmas card series today and hopefully will give you lots of ideas for cards. I rarely mass produce cards for Christmas (unless I run out of time) but some of the cards I will be making can be easily mass produced. I will do my best to give you as many options as possible.

Non Traditional Christmas Card

Going to kick this off with this cute card featuring fish from the Lawn Fawn Christmas Fishes Clear Stampset. While this card is a little involved (lots of coloring), the results are worth the effort. For this one I wanted to try not to use 100% traditional Christmas colors since this stampset is not your traditional Christmas one. Fish with santa hats and an underwater Christmas tree?!? What a brilliant idea! And as always Lawn Fawn sea creatures are super cute. Ok, I digress…

I started by cutting down a piece of Neenah 110lb Classic Crest Cardstock 8.5″X11″ to 5-1/2 x 8-1/2″and scored at 4-1/4″, another piece to 4 x 5-1/4″, and lastly I cut a piece to 4-1/4 x 5-1/2″ using the largest of the Lawn Fawn SMALL STITCHED RECTANGLE STACKABLES and Lawn Fawn LARGE STITCHED RECTANGLE STACKABLES, creating a 1/4-inch stitched border.

Using my MISTI, I stamped all the images onto the 4 x 5-1/4″ white panel. Originally I was going to make this card flat but in the end I decided to pop things up. So I stamped all the images as well as additional presents, a fish and the tree and plants onto Neenah 110lb Classic Crest Cardstock 8.5″X11″ with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink. I also stamped 2 additional images of the fish tank and 1 of the tree onto Super Sticky Post-It Notes to use as a mask. I fussycut the masks out and placed them on my card. Time to get inky…

I taped off the bottom portion of my panel with some 2-inch Post-It Tape. Using Distress Oxide Inks in Spiced Marmalade, Worn Lipstick, Abandoned Coral, Picked Raspberry (in that order from the bottom) I created a gradient. Distress Oxides are awesome because you don’t have to blend them super well to get a smooth transition in color. I sprayed some water droplets using my Tim Holtz Distress Sprayer by Ranger. Then I splattered some pearlescent acrylic paint onto the panel using Martha Stewart Crafts Multi-Surface Pearl Acrylic Craft Paint. Once that was dry, I removed the Post-It Tape from the bottom and placed it just above the edge of the background. Using Distress Ink in Gathered Twigs, I inked up the bottom of the card.

Once the ink was all dry, I colored all the images using COPIC markers and diecut them using the coordinating dies. I added some highlights to the images with Uni-Ball White Signo Broad Point Gel Pen. I added Stampin’ Dimensionals to pop up the images in the front. Then I stamped the greeting onto Neenah 110lb Classic Crest Cardstock 8.5″X11″ with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and fussycut it out.

I glued the top panel to the card base and then added the white stitched border with some Simon Says Stamp Foam Tape. I added the sentiment strip to the card with Foam Tape as well. To finish off the front of the card, I added some Nuvo Drops in Morning Dew to the water bubbles.

I kept the inside of the card very simple and just stamped another sentiment with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and some water bubbles.

Lastly, I stamped the little crab and some water bubbles onto a white envelope with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink .

Dimensions

https://linkdeli.com/widget.js?1559654439292

Thanks for reading this post and I hope I’ve inspired you to start making Christmas cards of your own. Leave comments or questions below or feel free to email me.

Halloween, Halloween

Halloween Cards Day #3

kittieslovecrafting

Happy Friday friends! Coming to you today with a fun and easy Halloween card featuring the Spooky Hollow by Catherine Pooler Designs and Everything but the Broom by Catherine Pooler Designs Stamp Sets. I love, love, love these two stampsets! The whole Halloween collection which was released last year is great fun but these two stampsets are my fave! If you don’t like to color images this is the card for you! Let’s get started…

I began with a card base made from Simon Says Stamp Black Cardstock, measuring 5-1/2 x 8-1/2″and scored at 4 1/4″ and a piece cut to 4 x 5-1/4″. Using the Spider Web Background Stamp by Catherine Pooler Designs and my MISTI, I stamped spider web with Versamark Clear Emboss Ink and heat embossed with Wow Neutral Ultra Shimmer Embossing Glitter. Then with the Stampin’ Up! Layering Circles Dies, I diecut three 1″ circles windows out of the card panel and a 2-1/8″ circle from Neenah 110lb Classic Crest Cardstock 8.5″X11″ for the sentiment.

I added some Foam Tape to the back of the panel and adhered the three words behind each window, then adhered it to the card base. For the three words that go inside the windows I just cut them into squares before adhering them.

Next I did some stamping. I stamped the sentiment from Everything but the Broom by Catherine Pooler Designs Stamp Set in Orange Twist Ink by Catherine Pooler Designs and three tiny words from the Spooky Hollow by Catherine Pooler Designs onto scraps of Simon Says Stamp Black Cardstock, using Versamark Clear Emboss Ink and heat embossed with Wow white embossing powder. I also stamped the little spider from Everything but the Broom by Catherine Pooler Designs Stamp Set 2x onto Neenah 110lb Classic Crest Cardstock 8.5″X11″ and the witch hat onto a piece of purple pattern paper the Queen & Co Halloween Hooplah 6 x 6 mat Stack with Ranger Archival Ink – Jet Black. I colored the band on the witch hat with two purple COPIC markers to give it some interest and diecut all three images with their coordinating dies.

I adhered the sentiment circle and the hat with some Stampin’ Dimensionals to the card as well as the spider. I added some White Cotton Embroidery Floss (which I’ve had in my stash for ages BTW) for the spider’s string. I finished it off with some Nuvo Crystal Drops in Violet Galaxy and Ripened Pumpkin.

For the inside of the card I cut a piece of Neenah 110lb Classic Crest Cardstock 8.5″X11″ to 4 x 5-1/4″and stamped the spiderweb with Spider Web Background Stamp by Catherine Pooler Designs and some Stampin’ Up! Smoky Slate Ink. I stamped a HAPPY HALLOWEEN sentiment from Everything but the Broom by Catherine Pooler Designs with Orange Twist Ink by Catherine Pooler Designs over the spiderweb and adhered the second spider I stamped and added a “string” above it with my Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen: Black, 0.7 millimeters.

Dimensions

Thanks for reading this post and I hope I’ve inspired you to go make some Halloween cards of your own. Leave comments or questions below or feel free to email me.

Halloween, Halloween

Halloween Cards Day #2

kittieslovecrafting

Hello friends. Today’s card features some adorable crafty little squirrels from Lawn Fawn’s Pick of the Patch Stampset. This stamp set can be for both Fall and Halloween but it can also be used in combination with other cute Lawn Fawn stamps to create other occasion cards. It also pairs well with the Lawn Fawn Reveal Wheel Die and Pick of the Patch Reveal Wheel Add-ons.

While this card looks very time consuming, it really isn’t. The most time consuming part was the coloring. I started by diecutting the tree using the Lawn Fawn Landscape Leafy Tree Backdrop from some Simon Says Stamp Black Cardstock. Then starting with a piece of Old Olive Cardstock measuring approximately 3 x 4-1/4″, I diecut the grass using the Lawn Fawn Simple Grassy Hillsides Dies. Next I cut out a piece of Neenah 110lb Classic Crest Cardstock 8.5″X11″ to 4-1/4 x 5-1/2″. I used Seedless Preserves, Chipped Sapphire and Faded Jeans Distress Oxide Inks to create a night sky. I started with Seedless Preserves, then blended Chipped Sapphire above that and Faded Jeans above that. Once all was blended, i added some Black Soot Distress Ink at the very top portion, over the blues to darken it up a bit.

While the inks dried, I stamped the all the pumpkins, the squirrels and the carving tools and added faces to the pumpkins from the Lawn Fawn Pick of the Patch stampset using Memento Tuxedo Black Ink. I will be coloring these with Copics later. I set those aside to dry and added some Peeled Paint Distress Ink to the bottom 2/3 of the grassy hillside.

The back panel was dry by this point so I added some stars from the Lawn Fawn Pick of the Patch stampset using Versamark Clear Emboss Ink and Wow White Embossing Powder. I made sure to prep the surface with an Anti-Static Powder before embossing the area. Lastly I added some splashes with white acrylic paint (any white acrylic paint will do).

It was time to color. I like to do this usually while watching some videos on my Ipad. Just relax and color. Sometimes when I don’t feel inspired to create, I will stamp out images from stampsets I may have sitting on my desk waiting to be used and just sit and color them while watching TV.

I used Copic Markers to color everything (all the colors are listed at the end of this post. I diecut those images out with the coordinating dies. I also added some highlights with my Uni-Ball Signo White Gel Pen.

I stamped the sentiment from the Lawn Fawn Pick of the Patch stampset using Orange Twist Ink by Catherine Pooler Designs onto a scrap of cut a piece of Neenah 110lb Classic Crest Cardstock 8.5″X11″. I made sure it was at least 5-1/2″ wide. Then cut it down to 5/8 x 5-1/2″. I find it easier to start with a larger piece of paper than needed because even using my MISTI I can’t seem to center it correctly all the time. LOL. Anyone else have this problem???

Ok, it’s time to assemble this card. I adhered the grassy hillside to the tree backdrop panel first. Trimmed off any excess cardstock and added some Foam Tape behind all of the grass and tree backdrop. I left the top of the grass without Foam Tape so I can tuck some pumpkins behind it. I aligned the sky panel behind the tree backdrop and stuck those together. I laid out my images where I wanted and adhered them onto the panel, tucking two pumpkins behind the grass, one in front of it but all adhered flat. I then adhered the carved pumpkin towards the bottom and popped up the squirrels and carving tools with some Stampin Up! Dimensionals.

At this point I was looking at my card and decided I needed to add some leaves because the grass had too much dead space so I used Eucalyptus Ink by Catherine Pooler Designs and stamped the leaf from the Lawn Fawn Pick of the Patch stampset all over the grass.

I adhered the sentiment strip to the top 1/3 of the card over the tree. I added this completed panel to a card base created from Simon Says Stamp Black Cardstock and measuring 5-1/2 x 8-1/2″and scored at 4-1/4″. Last but not least, I added some Nuvo Glitter Drops in White Blizzard to the sky to add some sparkle and Nuvo Crystal Drops in Bottle Green on each side of the sentiment strip.

I generally don’t like to leave the inside of my cards (especially holiday cards) empty inside so I stamped the HAPPY HALLOWEEN sentiment from the stampset in Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and the pumpkins in Orange Twist Ink by Catherine Pooler Designs and Memento Tuxedo Black Ink onto a piece of Neenah 110lb Classic Crest Cardstock 8.5″X11″, cut to 4 x 5-1/4″.

Dimensions

Copic Colors Used

  • Pumpkins: YR04, YR12 and YR27 ; Stems: YG13 and YG25; Guts: Y13 and YR04
  • Squirrels: W1, W5 and W7; Cheeks: R20
  • Pumpkin scooper: YG13 and G94
  • Knife handle: BV11 and BV17; Knife blade: C00 and C3

Supplies

https://linkdeli.com/widget.js?1559654439292

Thanks for reading this very long post and I hope I’ve inspired you to make some Halloween cards of your own. Leave comments or questions below or feel free to email me.

Halloween, Halloween

Halloween Cards Day #1

kittieslovecrafting

Halloween is just 7 weeks away but who’s counting?!? Umm. Me! I love Halloween even if I don’t get to dressed up anymore. It’s still sooo much fun!!!!

So I’m kicking off my Halloween series with an easy card. Black cardstock, stamps, embossing powder and some colored pencils is all you really need. So grab your favorite Halloween stamps and let’s begin!

I started with a panel of Simon Says Stamp Black Cardstock cut to 5 1/2 x 4 1/4″. When your whole image is going to be heat embossed, it’s a good idea to start with a piece of paper/cardstock that is slightly larger than you will need. This gives room for errors. God knows I need it! LOL.

I pulled out one my new favorite Halloween stampsets, the Spooky Hollow by Catherine Pooler Designs then using my MISTI, I laid out the stamps I needed and mapped out my scene.

I prepped the surface with an anti-static bag (especially important on dark cardstocks) and stamped the house, the tree, one bat and the moon first, using Versamark clear embossing ink and Wow white embossing powder. Next, I reapplied some more anti-static powder and stamped and heat embossed the second bat and the fence which I had to stamp 3-4 times to get a continuous fence. Then stamped and white heat embossed the sentiment onto a scrap of Simon Says Stamp Black Cardstock. Before I diecut this panel out, I added some white dots with my Uni-Ball Signo Broad Point White Gel Pen to the sky. This can also be done with paint splatters. I just wasn’t in the mood for the mess that day.

Once all the stamping was done, I diecut the panel using the largest die from Lawn Fawn’s Small Stitched Rectangle Dies which measures 3-3/4 x 5″.

Time to color the house… You can certainty leave it uncolored but I wanted it to stand out and I was curious to see how my Prismacolor Pencils looked on the black cardstock.

I used two greens for the roof and door, two purples for the house, two greys for the porch floor, a yellow for the window shutters and a yellow orange for the inside of the window, and finally two reddish browns for the wood boards. Prismacolor Pencils have a rich pigment so they show up on dark cardstock nicely. Then I fussycut the sentiment and adhered it using Stampin’ Dimensionals.

I diecut a panel of some very old Halloween pattern paper from my stash using the largest die from Lawn Fawn’s Large Stitched Rectangles which measures to 5-1/2 x 4-1/4″. I distressed it a bit using Ranger Black Soot Distress Ink. Then adhered the black panel onto it and that to a card base (Simon Says Stamp Blue Violet 100lb Cardstock) measuring 5-1/2 x 8-1/2″and scored at 4 1/4″.

Lastly I finished off the card with some Nuvo Glitter Drops in White Blizzard. But I couldn’t leave the inside empty so cut a panel of Neenah 110lb Classic Crest Cardstock 8.5″X11″ to 8 1/2 x 5 1/2″ and adhered a piece of the same Halloween pattern paper, measuring 3/4 x 5-1/4″ to the bottom edge, which I also distressed with Black Soot Distress Ink.

But I didn’t stop there. I was having too much fun with this card so I used the fence stamps from Spooky Hollow by Catherine Pooler Designs and white heat embossed it along the bottom edge of a black Euroflap Envelope.

Dimensions

Supplies

Thanks for stopping by and I hope I’ve inspired you to start making your Halloween cards. Leave comments or questions below or feel free to email me.