DT Tips: Layered scallops...

With all of the pretty Noted scalloped-edged dies that just came out by Papertrey Ink, I couldn't wait to use them again after the release. Today I have a few new ideas for you on how to use these dies!

On the first card, I cut a couple of the Noted: Scalloped Square dies out and trimmed a bunch of pieces that were 3 1/4" x 1" from the edge of the die, the stamped them with various stamp sets!

Here is the Noted: Scalloped Square die that I used. I cut a long edge and then trimmed it down into smaller pieces.

The stamp sets I used on the pieces are: Graceful Greetings II, Background Basics: Super Gingham, Polka Dot Basics III, Quilted: Summer and Stitches & Swirls. Sentiment is from Cross Stitched. Two of the pieces have all of the colors in them, then I pulled those colors out onto the others.

The strips were layered, adhered at the top of each strip, then the scalloped edges pulled up slightly, so you can see the dimension.

On the next card, I cut two Noted: Scalloped Square dies and trimmed them down, then used one as a border, stamped with Quilted: Summer (triangles). The rest is stamped with Stitched Sentiments, Cross Stitched and Graceful Greetings II.

The circle die comes with the Noted: Scalloped Square set. I love those little embossed stitches.

On the last card, I had a little square of one of the Noted: Scalloped Square dies left over, so I wanted to add it at an angle on the top corner of the card. I stamped it with Cross Stitched, then added a sentiment and flowers from Graceful Greetings II.

Underneath, I added a couple more scalloped edges, then on the corner of the scallops, a little twine bow. :) Background paper is Green Parakeet.

I hope you enjoyed these ideas. Thank you for popping by today and have a great day!
Danielle

Creative Cardmaker: Do the Splits...

In my Creative Cardmaker post over at Scrapbook Expo today, I'm talking about splitting your card fronts! I have been noticing this as a trend quite a bit lately...it's not really a new technique, but I really wanted to give it a try! It's a great little spot to house a sentiment and really draws your eye to it!

The card front is actually just cut with a paper trimmer, but Papertrey Ink has these really cute Sentiment Splits dies that are shaped with curves and fun shapes that will cut a little spot for your sentiment also!

The Peonies on Parade were stamped and embossed with white embossing powder, then colored in with Papertrey Ink ink pads: Lovely Lady, Raspberry Fizz, New Leaf and Ripe Avocado inks. I stamped the ink pads onto an acrylic block, then painted them onto my flowers with a tiny bit of water. I used the Big Hugs stamps and dies for the sentiment and Soft Stone cardstock in the background.

Please stop over to Scrapbook Expo's Weekly Scrapper blog to read more!

Creative Cardmaker: Adding contrast to your backgrounds...

I usually love using white backgrounds on my cards, but with fall arriving here in Colorado, I’ve been in the mood to be different and try some fall colors against a darker background. I love the contrast the darker background gives! 

Fall is a great time to mix up your colors and try a few new color palettes! For inspiration, try looking for autumn wedding color combinations on Pinterest; there are so many beautiful pictures to inspire you.
I've used the Big Hugs dies and Vintage Linens stamps and dies by Papertrey Ink, as well as the Luxe Gold Adhesive Paper.

Stop over to the Weekly Scrapper blog to read more about these cards and my process, and hopefully be inspired to try a dark background on your next card. See you next week with another Creative Cardmaker post!

Virginia's View challenge...

Happy Tuesday! Do you all know Virginia Lu? She is an extremely talented paper crafter...if you've never seen her work, you must check out her blog and say hello! Every month she hosts a new challenge at her challenge blog: Virginia's View Challenge. This month she is hosting a Layers and Dimension challenge! Right up my alley! This goes perfectly with what my Craftsy class was all about, Layers and Dimension, so I was honored to make a couple of cards for her blog today.

On the first card, I have used a Maggie Holmes floral embossing folder to dry emboss the white cardstock in the background. I love the subtle texture it adds! I love dimension, but don't like overshadowing the focal point of the card, so a great way to add dimension and interest to your card background is with dry embossing. The two flowers were die cut and stamped with Papertrey Ink's Quilted: Spring stamp and coordinating die set. The "Hello" is cut with the Noted die by Papertrey Ink with Aqua Mist cardstock. 

Also, did you notice the dots on the hello? I added texture to that also with a Swiss Dot embossing folder by Cuttlebug. Dry embossing is so addicting, and you can emboss almost anything...even wood veneer like I mentioned in my Layers and Dimension class with Craftsy. Although this card is full of texture and dimension, it's very flat for mailing, and since the embossing is done on white cardstock, the design isn't overwhelming to the pretty layered, colorful focal point. The embossing adds to the design, but doesn't overpower it.

––––––

Next, I created a watercolored stripe effect by cutting out a striped die cut to use as a stencil. To do this, I used the Cover Plate: Stripes Diagonal die by Papertrey Ink cut out of cardstock and placed it onto my card. Using it as a stencil, I misted over the open stripes on watercolor paper, then smoothed them out a bit with a wet paintbrush. When dry, I added a vellum panel to the center. I am just so addicted to adding vellum panels over the backgrounds to soften the whole look! You can see a bit of the stripes peeking out the sides. I've machine stitched the vellum at the top, then added a few more details. 

Vellum is another chapter that I included in my Craftsy class. There are so many things you can do with it to add dimension to your cards! Over the top of the vellum, I've added a Circle Scribbles die and another Quilted: Spring die cut that I've stamped. For a sentiment, I've cut a Big Hugs die and stamped a sentiment with Mat Stack 5 Collection. Small groupings like this on a card allow the design to have some "white space" around it and help keep the items on the card from feeling like they are floating away. This keeps the card feeling cohesive. If I were to scatter everything around the card, it wouldn't feel as clean and cohesive. The eye would have a hard time focusing on what's important on the card. Grouping everything together creates one focal point. Also, you can see that I have large, medium and small items on my card for varying scale.

Hope you enjoyed these tips on layering and adding dimension! Click the links above for 1/2 off my Craftsy class today, and stop over to Virginia's View challenge to enter a card in her layers and dimension challenge. You have until May 18th to enter, then two winners will be selected to win a $25 gift card to Simon Says Stamp. Have fun!!

Cards for a friend...

The past couple days I've been making cards just for fun...and have been having so much fun. :) Here are a few that I've made for a friend of mine back home!

The white "Hello" card was dry embossed with a Maggie Holmes embossing folder, then I added a Swoosh die cut and some die cuts made with the Quilted: Spring stamps and dies.

You might be wondering how I made the teal striped card? I'll show you how:

Step 1. Die cut two pieces of Tropical Teal cardstock from the Cover Plate: Stripes Diagonal.

Step 2. Trim the top 3 stripes out of one of the pieces. Remove them. (Keep the entire outer frame, just trim out the top 3 stripes.) Layer the second die cut underneath horizontally and trim the excess.

Step 3. Adhere the two pieces together. Add Bitty Dot patterned paper behind.

Really fun way to get a different look with the cover plates! I think it would be pretty in black and white also.

One of the other cards I made was a replicate of one done by Nichole Heady that you can see HERE. I couldn't wait to try this Hugs card! Isn't it stunning? I love all of Nichole's ideas and had to make a couple of these for my card stash!

For ink colors, I ended up using Pure Poppy, Raspberry Fizz, Hibiscus Burst, Lavender Moon and Sweet Blush inks by Papertrey Ink with the Big Hugs stamp set. 

It's about time I've used my Pinterest boards and actually make some things I have pinned. :) Can't wait to put a bundle of these together for her! 

Gossamer Blue Feb kits and a process video...

The February kits at Gossamer Blue are now available! This month the colors are more primary and bold...and fun!

The "Hugs, Hugs and More Hugs" card is made with the February main kit only. I used the bold stripe paper and added "hugs" words that I die cut with a Papertrey Ink die called Big Hugs using my Cuttlebug. I trimmed it out two times from the floral patterned paper and the one from the sun ray pattern. I used the Snap! die cuts (label and heart) and a Pebbles enamel dot from the kit. Printed out "and more" with my computer to add to the die cut.

The next card is a mix of the Feb. main kit and the Bits & Pieces kit.

Loved the frames and the clip in the Bits & Pieces kit from the Pebbles Banner Kit and wanted to use one on a card! (There are 12 of these frames in the package, so you could make a lot of cards with it!) I added a few of the Snap! paper washi tapes around the edges, then backed it with patterned papers from the main kit. I stamped "absolutely love this" with the stamp from the main kit (gorgeous font!), and die cut "thanks" with a die by Papertrey Ink from the Wet Paint Cuts Die Collection.

Also, I decided to make a process video take one of the kits that I received, open it up on camera and create two cards with it! You can watch the VIDEO here at Gossamer Blue. To make these, I've used the February Life Pages kit.

The little project life cards are so stinkin' adorable. Who says they have to be used on scrapbooking pages? There's no rule that we can't use them on cards, right?

Everything here is in the kit except the machine stitching and the seam binding.
Hope you enjoyed seeing a peek into my process. I always pick my favorite things from the kits and then figure out how they work together, for example the floral project life card with the floral chipboard. Um hello, perfect! You can use them as borders, like I did with the striped card too. Make the products work for YOU! :) 

Introducing Big Hugs...

We are in the midst of the Papertrey Ink countdown, and today we have a new stamp set and coordinating dies to show you that will be released on Dec. 15th at 10 pm EST called Big Hugs. Who couldn't use a hug card, right? I know there are days when I could sure use one. :)

On this card, I've used watercolor pencils to create the background, added the "hugs" die cut with the new Big Hugs dies and used the Big Hugs stamps for the sentiment.

Rainbow Hugs card:

(All supplies by Papertrey Ink unless otherwise noted.)

STAMPS: Big Hugs

INK: True Black; Soft Granite by Hero Arts

PAPER: Watercolor paper- Canson

DIES: Big Hugs

OTHER: Watercolor pencils.

______

On this next one, I cut out the Hugs out of watercolor paper and left it out, then backed it with another piece of paper. I drew my own flowers and leaves with the watercolor pencils and added water over the top to make them look painted. I've got a video below to show you how to do this!

Because You Can Never Have Too Many card:

(All supplies by Papertrey Ink unless otherwise noted.)

STAMPS: Big Hugs

INK: True Black

PAPER: Watercolor paper - Canson

DIES: Big Hugs

OTHER: Watercolor pencils, sequins - Pretty Pink Posh.

______

Last, I used the Make It Market: Beautiful Brushstrokes stamps from an older Make It Market kit from Papertrey Ink with Big Hugs to create this one. These flowers were stamped onto watercolor paper instead of drawn on like I did with the first two cards.

When My Arms Can't Reach card:

(All supplies by Papertrey Ink unless otherwise noted.)

STAMPS: Big Hugs, Beautiful Brushstrokes

INK: True Black, Raspberry Fizz, Sweet Blush, New Leaf, Spring Moss; 

Soft Granite - Hero Arts

PAPER: Watercolor paper - Canson, gray cardstocks - Bazzill

DIES: Edgers #4 Collection

OTHER: Watercolor pencils, twine, stapler.

______

I've put together a video of the first two card backgrounds if you'd like to see my process working with these watercolor pencils. Enjoy!

All of the new December products will be available for purchase on Dec. 15th at 10 pm EST at Papertrey Ink. The other Papertrey Ink ladies have more "hugs" for you:

Ashley Cannon Newell
Betsy Veldman
Dawn McVey
Erin Lincoln
Heather Nichols
Laura Bassen
Lauri Willison
Maile Belles
Melissa Phillips

Nichole Heady