Hawaiian Plants Stenciled Card

These stenciled cards were fun and easy to make but very difficult to photograph.  They have a very interesting iridescence due to the use of the Brilliance inks.  They were started by applying Distress Oxide inks to thick Marker paper (from HM Ben Franklin Crafts) and sprinkling with water to cause spots.  Next Brilliance inks were applied through the stencil with the Hero Arts stencil brush. (This new type of stencil brush is so much better and easier to use than the old flat top stencil brush.)Finally, VersaMark Dazzle ink was stamped on the card fronts and heat embossing powder was applied. (I like the Dazzle ink because it stamps clear and is moist enough to sufficiently hold the Nuvo embossing power.

Since I was already making the birthday card for someone special, I decided to create another one for my 'thank you card' stash. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that the stencil is a TCW product sold at HM Ben Franklin Crafts. There were lots of gorgeous stencils on sale when I bought this one! With the new brushes and Brilliance ink pads, stenciling is super fun ......... give it a try!

 

Whisking You a Happy Birthday Card

This card was created for an 'oldie but goodie' girlfriend. We don't mention our birthday ages anymore...LOL! Art Impressions has a whole line of clear stamp images and sayings appropriate for old lady birthdays.  I chose this aproned cook because she kinda looks like me.  The original cook was holding a cupcake and holding a plate of cupcakes but I thought a birthday cake would be more appropriate so I colored and fussy cut the cake image and glued it over the plate of cupcakes.  Also I fussy cut the whisk and replace the cupcake with it.  I thought it was a good swap out.  I chose two sayings that matched the card and adhered them to the plaid card blank (from a boxed card set purchased at HM BFC).  The images were colored with Copic markers and a little Scribbles glitter glue was added to the cake.  Inside the card I stamped the saying from the other Ai stamp set, 'Happy 29th Birthday from your 110 lb. friend!' I hope this card will crack up my friend and brighten her (?) birthday.

 

Mother's Day and Spring Pop Up Platform Cards

These cards were inspired by the new Lawn Fawn 'Beary Rainy Day' stamp and die sets.  I just love the images and couldn't wait to pair them with the Lawn Fawn platform pop-up dies.  The hardest decisions I had to make were the color and paper choices.  The scenes were colored with Copic pens before die cutting.

I found the perfect rainy background paper (from my stash of HM BFC sale cardstock) that was used to cut the back drop.  The water design paper used to form the platform is a Lawn Fawn product.

For this Mother's Day card I used a card stock that had a pink (with gold flecks) stripe on a grey marble like print. The stripe fit exactly within the die so when folded the platform really looked like a stage.

Here is a view of the backs. The back of the smiling cloud background card stock had a rainbow design that fit well with the card.  The back of the raining cloud card stock was green with numbers so I cut a second cloud one and glued it to the front one before adhering it to the platform.  As you can see the back of the umbrella is white.  I had to glue die cut white card stock to some of the die cut pieces to cover up the Copic pen ink that bled through to the back.

This is what the cards look like flattened for inserting in an envelope for mailing. From this view you can see the gold stripe that was part of the pink platform part.  I heat embossed the Happy Mother's Day with gold powder on rainbow striped card stock.  The other card has dark blue embossed words, 'Hello Spring'.  Even though it took me longer than usual to create these cards, I really love the way they turned out. It was so worth getting the platform dies and add-ons because they can be used to make a wide variety of cards by simply changing the images.  I think I can even make the platforms now without consulting the Lawn Fawn video! Even though these cards are fairly uncomplicated, I think the recipients will be impressed and keep the cards on display...maybe a little longer than others.  I hope you'll try to make a platform card, too....guarantee that you'll be hooked like me!

 

Easter Bunny Platform Card

Here is my first platform card using the Lawn Fawn dies. Although it took some concentration and several viewings of the LF instruction video ( I'm definitely not a paper engineer), I'm thrilled at the result.  I think choosing the right printed card stock is the key to making something pleasing.

Here is a side view which may give you a better look at the construction.  For the images I used the Doodlebug stamps and dies, plus some Doodlebug egg stickers.  The backdrop was made from a Doodlebug card stock and LF die.  The plaid paper is a Lawn Fawn product.  

Here's how the card looks flattened...love that the bunny ears peek out!  The LF word stamp was embossed with aqua embossing powder and die cut with the matching Lawn Fawn die.

It's amazing that the whole platform compresses down to fit into a regular greeting card envelope. I hope the recipient of this card will be surprised and delighted. I'm looking forward to my next platform card creation...perhaps a Mother's Day one.  Come back to see what pops up! Hahaha!

P.S. This card was made before Easter but I only got around to posting it today....where do the days go?
 

Baby Shower Shaker Card

I 'discovered' some cute rocking horse confetti (from HM BFC) in my stash aka 'hoarded stuff' and decided to use them to make a shaker baby shower card for the daughter of a very dear friend.  As with previous shaker cards, I used a Heiko clear cellophane bag ( purchased from HM Ben Franklin Crafts) to make the shaker part.  It is simple to cut baby themed card stock to fit the bag and sized to the blank card front. After the confetti (rocking horses and hearts) was enclosed in the clear bag it was sealed and taped in the back.  

The whole shaker component was adhered to the card blank with double stick Heiko tape.  I added a BABY SHOWER die cut (from old stash) and a 'It's a GIRL' charm (from HM Ben Franklin Crafts). Heiko thin pastel colored ribbon was tied onto the jump ring on the charm.  This card was super simple to make and has a cheerful look which matches the upcoming happy event. Welcome Sweet Baby Girl!

 P.S. Don't forget to make matching tags with the leftover printed card stock. (HM Ben Franklin Crafts always has a delightful selection of baby themed papers in stock.) I used the Hero Arts Infinity tag dies to cut the tag base. It also comes with dies to make the reinforcement circles which are desirable when stringing thick ribbons...keeps the holes from ripping.  You can find an ample supply of ribbons and twine at HM BFC. They will definitely add the finishing touch to your matching tags.

Boy's Day Flying Carp Card

Boy's Day was a Japanese celebration on the fifth day of the fifth month, May 5th. Today it is known as Children's Day even though Girl's Day is still celebrated on March 3rd. Does anyone know why the change was made?  In our household my husband still hangs up the cloth carp every year..one for every male in the family.  I decided to make a card to fit in a regular size envelope since I just recently purchased two rounded corner Whimsy slimline mini dies.  I found just the right printed card stock in  my scrap pile because it looked like waves.  It was simple to construct a shaker box with the dies, printed card stock, an acetate sheet and two blue foam sheets.  I purchased the Sparkletz confetti at HM BFC. They sell so many colors and shapes I had to get several packages...wink*Wink*wink!  I used three different old wood handled stamps from Taj, Mari and Me, and Dandelion Designs to compose the images which were stamped and heat embossed before fussy cutting. To cover the exposed two sheets of foam on the sides, I glued on a thin matching ribbon (not shown in photo). It was a little difficult to stamp just the words and fit them within a circle but I think it looks okay. Overall, I like the shaker effect and the humor of the little boy hanging onto one of the carp....generations of boys have never been able to resist grabbing for them. Happy Boy's Day! 

 

Spring Mini Stand Up Calendars

I made these mini stand up calendars awhile ago but I decided to post Easter crafts first.  Okay, now this is really the last of the calendars for this year.  I truly have used them up and don't intend to buy more. LOL!  You can look at my past posts to learn how these were constructed. The cactus one was made using a Lawn Fawn die set that I just purchased...super cute!  The other two were decorated with die cuts and words from a Carpe Diem set purchased from HM Ben Franklin Crafts.  The pieces were intended for decorating journals.

The two sweet ducks were stamped and cut out with matching dies.  The shiny unicorn is actually a sticker which I thought matched well with the card stock base.  To make the sticker not tacky on the back, I rubbed a little cornstarch on it. (Cornstarch in a small container is a good item to keep on your craft table to make surfaces less sticky.)  These calendars fold up flat and are nice to tuck into thank you cards or pass out to anyone who bestows you with a special kindness. Sending you SMILES!