Best Thoughts Joy Fold Card

Finally had the chance to get back to the images I colored using my new Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers!

It seems that I can't get enough of the Best Thoughts stamp set as I am drawn to use it again and again.

Using my MISTI I stamped the rhododendrons using Ranger Archival ink on watercolor paper. My MISTI allowed me to re-stamp the image a couple of times to get a good print. Watercolor paper tends to be hard to stamp on, even using the smooth side so using the MISTI is a good practice.

I used Cornflower Blue (037) for the flowers and Olive Green (043) and Mid Green (046) for the leaves, using my Aqua Pen to blend the watercolor inks. When it was completely dry, I fussy cut it. To ensure a continuous black edge, I used a Basic Black Stampin' Write Marker to edge the image.

I wanted to use patterned paper as well as an embossing folder with the flower image so I decided to make a Joy Fold card. This is a lovely fold technique that uses a regular card with a narrower front than usual and a smaller card that overlaps and opens within the base card. You can find a great tutorial for a Joy Fold card on Debbie Henderson's blog.

I changed the measurements for my card as follows:

6.5 x 7.5" for the Pear Pizzazz card base, scored on the 7.5" side at 2.5"
2.5 x 6.25" DSP for the small flap
4.75 x 6.25" DSP for the inside of the card base
4.75 x 8" for the smaller Pear Pizzazz card base, scored at 4" on the 8" side
3.5 x 4.25" for the Night of Navy piece
3.5 x 4.25" for inner matte of Naturals White card stock

The patterned paper comes from the Regals DSP Paper Stack. All pieces of DSP had the edges inked with Night of Navy using a sponge dauber. All pieces of DSP were adhered to the larger card base using Fuse Fast adhesive.

The Night of Navy card stock panel was embossed using the Woodgrain Embossing Folder. It was adhered to the front of the smaller Pear Pizzazz card base using Fuse Fast adhesive, making sure the card opened in the opposite direction to usual.

The sentiment was stamped on a matte of the now retired Naturals White card stock using Night of Navy ink and the edges were also inked. It was adhered to the inside of the smaller card base using Fuse Fast adhesive. The smaller card base was centred and adhered to the larger DSP panel on the larger card base.

The colored flower was adhered to the embossed panel using Dimensionals. Sequins were scattered around the card and adhered using Crystal Effects. Wink of Stella provided a nice glimmer for the flower petals. (I really wish that I could get a good picture of the Wink of Stella effect to show those of you who are not familiar with it, but no picture seems to capture the subtle yet shimmery goodness Wink of Stella creates!)

A small bow of Old Olive 1/8" ribbon was added to the flower stem using Crystal Effects.

I hope you'll try creating a card using the Joy Fold technique. It's a great way to use some of your patterned paper and creates a lovely card!

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Blossom Shaker

At long last, my Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers arrived in the mail from Japan! I have been drooling over these markers for a long time and finally bit the bullet and ordered the 48 pack.

These markers are SWEET! They are unlike any other marker I've used. They feel like a paintbrush (thus the real brush) but in a marker form. The colors blend wonderfully well, wet or dry as long as you use watercolor paper.

My first task was to create my swatch list to show each marker in both dry and wet states on watercolor paper. Once this was done, I stamped a slew of images on watercolor paper using Ranger Archival Ink.

I spent the day coloring; such fun to try blending colors together to create new ones and to add depth and dimension to colored images! Coloring with these markers really is a breeze!

For the image on my shaker card, I used a stamp from Indescribable Gift. I used Light Carmine, Carmine, Pale Green, May Green, Brown and Dark Brown.

I would scribble a little with a marker and then blend the rest using my Aqua Pen. If needed, I would go back over a section to give darker shading.

I die cut my image using the Squares Collection Framelits and also cut a polaroid-type frame from Early Espresso card stock as well as a square of Window Sheet.

I adhered the colored image to a Watermelon Wonder card base using Fuse Fast Adhesive and put strips of foam tape around the image.

On the under side of the Early Espresso frame, I put a strip of Sticky Strip and pleated a length of Cucumber Crush Dotted Lace Trim. I also used Fuse Fast Adhesive to secure the window sheet.

I placed a selection of sequins on top of the colored image, inside the foam tape. I then removed the protective strip from the tape and adhered the frame over the sequins to form the shaker.

I stamped the sentiment from the Watercolor Wings stamp set on Cucumber Crush card stock using Archival Ink and then punched it using the Washi Label Punch.

The sentiment was adhered with Dimensionals at the bottom of the frame.

What have you colored with the Zig Clean Real Brush Markers? Leave me a comment below!

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

And Now For Something Completely Different!

For a long time now, I have been admiring art journaling pages, created using a variety of mixed media techniques. In particular, I enjoy the layouts created by Vicky Papaioannou and often watch her videos of how she creates her art journal layouts.

Over a little while I have been collecting various supplies–gesso, gel medium, molding paste, distress paints, gelatos, stencils and just recently purchased a Moleskin Art Plus Sketchbook. It was a 5.5 x 8.5" in size.

Finally, I decided I was ready to take the plunge! Now, what to do a layout about?
A lot of art journal layouts start with a prompt of some sort. It could be a theme, a technique, a quote, etc. I decided to use a poem.

Back in my teaching days in Sagkeeng, the English teacher at the high school presented a wonderful poem written by Langston Hughes to the class. The poem was called "Mother To Son" and basically the mother was encouraging her son to keep going when the going got tough and the poem used a staircase as a very effective metaphor.

To start the process of the layout, I used Soft Gel Matte to glue two journal pages together for either side of the layout. I used my Heat Tool to dry the pages and then covered both pages of my layout with the same gel and adhered some Tim Holtz Tissue Paper to both pages. Gel was also brushed over top of the tissue. I dried this and then trimmed off the excess tissue paper.

At this point, I used old pages from a magazine to put between the pages I was working on and the other pages in the book.

Next, I brushed Liquitex Gesso over the tissue, alternating with a bit of water. This served to make the print from the tissue recede without covering it completely.

I then began to color the background of the layout. I wanted a dark purple but the Seedless Preserves Distress Paint I had seemed a bit bright so I thought I would mix it a bit with Spun Sugar. I dabbed on paint and spritzed with water and then used a brush to apply it to the pages.

The color was still too bright. I thought I could "dirty up" the color so after drying it, I brushed on some Gathered Twigs Distress Ink. That helped a bit but in restrospect, I probably should have laid down some black paint and then applied the purple on top to make it the dark purple that I had wanted. This is where my lack of art training failed me!

Next, I added a border around my pages by brushing on Vintage Photo Distress Paint around the edges and brushed it with a wet brush. I dried and then repeated this step. I also brtushed Walnut Stain Distress Paint around edges and brushed with a wet brush; dried again with my Heat Tool.

I used the Tim Holtz Clockwork Stencil with Black Soot Distress Ink and dauber to add some interest.

I mixed Light Molding Paste with Tarnished Brass Distress Paint and used the Tim Holtz Burlap Stencil to add texture to the pages.

This was where I forgot about taking pictures as I went! The last thing I did to the background was to take a small paintbrush and mix a little gesso with water and flick the brush to create paint spatters on the layout. I repeated the process with black by mixing a little Black Soot Distress Ink with the gesso.

I printed a photo of a staircase that I had taken in an abandoned house near Beausejour. The photo was in black and white but I decided to color it in Photoshop before printing it out on Whisper White card stock. I trimmed the photo to size and applied gel medium on top of photo to seal it and allow me to further work with it.

Because the color of the photo was not quite what I needed, I brushed on Gathered Twigs Distress Ink with wet brush to alter the color so it would work better with the layout. I dried it and then inked the edges of the photo with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. I then applied gel medium to photo to adhere it to the page, as well as over top of it, and dried it.

I printed the poem on Whisper White card stock and cut out each line of the poem. I first brushed gel medium over each piece to prevent the ink from running but still some of it ran. Next time I will try to seal it by using Distress Micro Glaze by Tim Holtz.

I inked each line of the poem with Antique Linen and inked the edges with Vintage Photo Distress inks. Gel medium was used to glue all the lines down and also cover them with the gel.

I used one of the border stamps from the Indigoblu Rugged Edge Stamp set with Ranger Archival ink to add a border to my pages. I also added a border of Black Soot Distress Ink to the pages before giving each page one last coat of gel medium (This is where I definitely made an error! Note to Self: Do not put gel medium over molding paste!)

At this point, I considered my art journal layout to be complete! However, the next morning, I realized that I had forgotten to use the special Crackle Paste I had purchased for this layout! I applied it just over the photo and spoiled my layout! I thought this stuff was supposed to dry clear and provide a crackle finish but it didn't! It kindo f took on the color of the photo but lighter and gave a grainy texture but not what I wanted! Next time I will use Tim Holtz's Crackle Paint in Clear Rock Candy! If you are interested in reading the poem, be sure to click on the photos to see an enlarged version.

This was definitely a learning experience for me! With the exception of the crackle paste issue and brushing the gel medium over the molding paste, I'm pleased with my layout! I look forward to creating my next one soon!

Have you tried art journaling?Leave me a comment below!

Botanical Sketch Birthday Card

Today I needed to create a birthday card for my sister-in-law's 65th birthday. I was in the mood for a little painting and I thought the Botanical Sketch from Tim Holtz would be wonderful for the front of her card.

I used my MISTI to stamp with Ranger Archival Ink onto watercolor paper. I heat set it and then proceeded to painstakingly paint it, using an Aqua Pen and several reinkers. It was truly a labor of love!

I stamped the sentiment from Butterfly Basics using the Archival ink. Because I wanted the colors to really pop, I chose to adhere it to a thin Basic Black matte using Fuse Fast Adhesive. I adhered the matted stamp to a Bermuda Bay card base using Dimensionals.

For the inside of the card I created a matte from the now retired Naturals White card stock. I used a fern stamp from Butterfly Basics to stamp with Old Olive around the edges of the matte. I stamped the sentiment using the Archival ink and then inked the edges of the matte in Old Olive and Mossy Meadow.

My only regret is that I somehow got a blob of ink where I shouldn't have but I think she will understand!
Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

A Little Wine

The card I have for you today uses a mix of products. It is a special card that I designed for my husband for our anniversary.

I knew that I wanted to use my Wine & Cheese stamp set from TPC Studio (no longer seems to be available) and also use my Mini Bricks stencil from Crafters Workshop so that I could create three dimensional bricks with Molding Paste.

I started by using my Staedtler Flex Curve ruler to form an arch on a piece of Watercolor paper. I traced this to use as an outline for stamping.

Using my MISTI, I first stamped a clump of grapes and then stamped grapevines around the top of the arch, using Jet Black Ranger Archival Ink. I used archival ink because I wanted to watercolor.


After stamping, I used my ruler again on a piece of Sahara Sand card stock. Then I used my Molding Paste to add some bricks to the page. I set this aside to dry overnight. I did not want to use my Heat Tool with this because it would bubble.

Meanwhile, after heat setting my stamped images, I used my Derwent Inktense Pencils and a water brush for dipping into water as I worked, to color in the grapes and the grapevines.

Next, I stamped a wine bottle and two glasses on watercolor paper and also colored them in the same way. I fussy cut these.

I stamped the sentiment on watercolor paper and die cut it using one of the Apothecary Accents framelits. I inked the edge using Rich Razzleberry ink.

Once my bricks were dry, I used sponge daubers and Smoky Slate, Sahara Sand, Crumb Cake and Tip Top Taupe to color them.

I trimmed my arch for the grapevines and adhered it with Dimensionals to the matte with the bricks. This was adhered to a thin Rich Razzleberry Matte and then to a Mossy Meadow card base using Fuse Fast adhesive.

I used more dimensionals to attach the wine bottle, glasses, and sentiment to the front of the card. I accented the highlights on the bottle, the glass stems and the grapes with my Wink of Stella pen.

After regretting not inking the arch that the grapevines were on, I carefully inked it, using Sahara Sand and Crumb Cake inks, once the card was made by carefully masking areas as needed. I also "dirtied up" the white background so it didn't look so white.

Showing the dimension.

I was pleased with how this all came together and it is quite close to the "vision" I had for this card!

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Remarkable You and a Mixed Media Technique

I hope you all are enjoying this wonderful summer! My husband and I have been enjoying spending time with our granddaughter, Raine. She's growing up so fast but she is such a total delight!

I've snuck in a few photos of her to show you below!

Though I thought that when she was napping (and she is a GREAT napper) I would have time to make some cards, it appeared that Grandma sometimes needed a nap then, too!

Regardless, I was able to put together a card today and dabble with a mixed media technique.
I started by creating a watercolor background using four reinkers–Rich Razzleberry, Blackberry Bliss, Coastal Cabana and Bermuda Bay. I simply wet my paper well with a spray bottle and then dabbed on color. I dried with my heat tool and added a bit more where I thought it was needed and then dried it completely.

Next, I chose to use the stripes mask from the Dots and Stripes Masks set. I adhered my watercolored matte to my craft matte and then adhered the mask over it.

I added a few drops of Bermuda Bay reinker to some Golden Gel Medium Light Molding Paste and mixed it well using an old gift card. I then proceeded to wipe the molding paste from bottom to top of the mask over the watercolored matte, being sure to swipe the excess paste from the matte. I then lifted the mask straight up and off of the watercolor and set it aside to dry.

Meanwhile, I used my MISTI to stamp the flower from the Remarkable You stamp set with Versamark onto both a piece of Blackberry Bliss and a piece of Bermuda Bay card stock. I heat embossed both with Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder and then fussy cut them. They were adhered to the watercolor matte with Dimensionals.

The sentiment was also stamped with Versamark and heat embossed. It was die cut using the Lots of Labels Framelits and then trimmed down slightly.

Once it was completely dry, I trimmed up the watercolor matte and wrapped a length of Gold Sequin Trim around it and then adhered the sentiment on top, using Dimensionals.

A piece of paper from the Bohemian Designer Series papers was adhered to a Bermuda Bay card base using Snail Adhesive and then the watercolor matte was adhered on top using Dimensionals.

I love how the use of the Molding Paste turned out! Because it was only thinly applied, some of the watercolored background showed through, making it look kind of like a two-toned ombré stripe! It gives a nice dimensionality to the matte as well.

I'm looking forward to more experiments with Molding Paste on future cards so stay tuned! Let me know in the comments below if you have tried Molding Paste in your card making.


Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Indescribable Gift Meets Butterfly Basics

Inspiration may come from several different sources–a technique, a product, a design or a color combination.

Because color is very important to me, I am constantly in search of new resources to inspire me in this area. I found a wonderful resource in the magazine, Color Made Easy from Better Homes and Gardens.

It was easy to translate the color swatches in the magazine to the Stampin' Up colors to come up with even more fresh color combos to use in card making!


For my card today, I was inspired by this page:

I translated the color combo from BHG to the Stampin' Up colors of Cucumber Crush, Melon Mambo and Whisper White.

I am really enjoying using the Stampin' Blender Pen with my reinkers to give a watercolor look to my stamped images! However, my card today caused me a bit of grief.

I actually colored my stamped image twice; the first time, I stamped the sentiment over the colored stamp only to find out it was not completely legible :(

The second time I colored it, I thought I would have to color it a third time because I got some ink on the white parts!

Luckily, I utilized a method from Jennifer McGuire to get rid of my mistake. I used a craft knife to scrape lightly over the errant ink area and then blended the paper fibres a bit using a white eraser. That method, paired with a vellum cover-up saved my bacon!

The card itself was pretty simple to create. Using my MISTI, I stamped the flowers from the Indescribable Gift stamp set using Tuxedo Black Stazon ink on Watercolor Paper. After a quick pass under my Heat Tool to set the ink, I used Melon Mambo, Cucumber Crush and Soft Suede reinkers with my Blender Pen to color in the stamp.

I used a die from the Circles Collection Framelits to cut out the colored stamp as well as a same sized circle from Vellum.

Using both the die cut and the original vellum piece, I placed both in my MISTI and stamped the sentiment from Butterfly Basics using the Stazon ink again. Using the original piece of vellum with the die cut allowed me to make sure the round die cut did not move while I was stamping it.
I used tiny amounts of Snail Adhesive on the colored sections of the stamped image to attach the vellum piece over top.

I used a non Stampin' Up embossing folder–Christmas Vine by Craft Concepts–to emboss the Cucumber Crush matte. I did this because I needed a larger embossing folder to emboss the matte. This matte was then adhered to a Whisper White matte.

I then angled strips of Melon Mambo stitched ribbon across the matte, securing on the back with Sticky Strip. This completed matte was then attached to a Melon Mambo matte that had been previously adhered to a Whisper White Thick card stock card base, using Fuse Fast Adhesive.

The circular stamped piece was adhered onto the card front using Dimensionals. A RV09 Copic Marker was used to color five rhinestones and they were adhered to the vellum matte.

The Bitty Butterfly Punch was used to cut a butterfly from Melon Mambo card stock and then I used my Wink of Stella pen to glimmer it up a bit! I also inked the edges of the butterfly using Rose Red and a Sponge Dauber.

Finally, the butterfly was adhered to the card front using a dab of Crystal Effects.

Close-up showing the effect of the Wink of Stella pen.

What have you watercolored using the Blender Pen? Leave me a link in a comment below!


Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog