Hello Squeakheart

I have been wanting to make this card since I purchased this absolutely adorable Hello Squeakheart stamp set by Heffy Doodle!

I love these simple images that are perfect to use in clean and simple cards or with Copic drawn background & have nice areas to cut out for cute shakers, like mine--plus, if you know me, you know I can't get enough of cute, punny sentiments!

For this card, I decided I wanted a single layer scene to go with my fussy cut shaker elements. I started by drawing the front of the cage--just 3 lines--lightly with a pencil. I used post-it notes to mask so I could stamp the little mice so they look like they're inside the cage. Then I stamped the cheese,  and exercise wheel in Memento Tuxedo Black ink, which is Copic friendly & colored the images. I used a kraft knife to cut out the bubbles in the cheese and center of the wheel for my shakers. Next I used a pencil and straight edge to sketch out the basic shape of the rest of the cage, then I traced those lines with a water based, fine tip, black pen, before coloring in the rest of the scene & stamping the "Hello Squeakheart" sentiment in Versafine Onyx Black ink.

To create my shaker boxes, I cut two 4x5.25 inch pieces of self adhesive Fun Foam, adhering the non-sticky sides together with double sided tape. I placed my card front over the fun foam and used a pencil to trace the openings for my shakers. Then I used a sharp kraft knife and non-stick scissors to cut openings, slightly larger than the traced openings. I backed the openings with a Judikins acetate sheet, before adhering my card panel to the shaker foam. I flipped the whole thing over and added some Doodles Paper Playground: Sparkle Blends to the shaker openings. I used Flaming Sunset for the cheese and Lilac Luster (out of stock) for the exercise wheel. I backed the cheese with a scrap of yellow cardstock, and the wheel with a scrap of purple, so no bits would escape & then adhered the whole panel to a top folding, A2 landscape card base. 

I love to bring the outside of my card to the inside, just a little bit, so I stamped the cheese in Fossilized Amber Distress Oxide ink, used a post it to mask off the opening and stamped a little mousie peeking out with Versafine Clair Morning Mist. Finally I stamped the punny "You are such a Gouda friend" sentiment in Versafine Onyx Black ink.

Check out the huge selection of critter supplies over in the store!

Love Bites & Video Game Friends

For my first card, I created a background with lots of layers, using a bunch of different Lawn Fawn border dies & colored up two of the images from Love Bites with Copic markers.

Since the background is pretty nondescript, I decided I wanted there to be no question about who this set was a parody of, so I went to town with my Spectrum Noir Clear Sparkle Pen on the male image--making his skin SUPER sparkly! To finish up, I did some stamp surgery, and stamped the "Hope your Birthday is Dazzling" sentiment in Versafine Onyx Black ink. 

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I struggled a bit with the second card once the image was colored in with Copic markers, but decided the "I love having you in my pack" sentiment was a perfect, powerful compliment for a clean and simple design. I die cut a panel from Kraft cardstock using the second largest die from the Gina Marie Designs Wonky Stitched Rectangles die set, inking the edges with Ground Espresso Distress Ink. Before matting it on a piece of white cardstock, 1/8 inch larger than the die cut panel, I heat embossed the sentiment using Versamark ink and Ranger Fine Detail White Embossing Powder.  

I selected a woodgrain patterned paper from my stash, trimmed it to 4x5.25 inches and adhered it to a medium grey, top folding A2 card base. Then I used Woodware UK 1mm Foam Mounting Tape to pop up the focal panel in the center. Finally, I adhered the colored image using Multi Medium Matte, so he appears to be standing on the sentiment.

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I decided to mix things up a bit for my third card and turn the images on their head a bit by coloring them completely differently. I knew I needed a killer background to sell it, so I used my Copic markers to draw my own on a separate panel of 65# white cardstock, so it wouldn't bleed through to the inside of my card. I added a few accents to the darkened windows with a Sakura White Gelly Roll pen, and a few swipes of my Spectrum Noir Clear Sparkle Pen--to really sell the illusion of glass. I, again, performed some stamp surgery, cutting the "My love for you is" sentiment away from the word "undying", which appears on the inside of the card, and stamped it in Versafine Onyx Black ink. 

I adhered the finished background panel to the front of a top folding, landscape A2, white card base & then added the "remix" colored characters.

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For my final card, I used the Arcade Friends stamp set, because I thought it paired perfectly with the new Super Sweet paper pack! I selected a bright orange, top folding A2 card base and two of the patterns from the paper pack. I cut them with the second and third largest dies from the Gina Marie Designs Wonky Stitched Rectangles die set, respectively, and adhered the panels so they, too, were a bit "wonky". I again colored the character and "You're my hero" cookie with Copic markers--but I added some Sakura Souffle pens to the cookie medalion as the sprinkles, to give it some shine. I adhered them both to the card, in a straight (ish) vertical orientation, so the card appears even more wonky, which I thought fit the fun characters.

Halloween Shakers, 2 Ways

For my first project, I started with an A2 panel of white, Copic friendly cardstock. I stamped these adorable images from the Perfect Pumpkin stamp set by Newton's Nook in Memento Tuxedo Black ink, using post-it notes to mask the pumpkins & create a little cluster. Before coloring them with my Copic markers, I used my Kraft Knife to cut out 3 of the pumpkins to use as my mini-shakers. 

After coloring, I backed the shaker windows with clear acetate & used foam tape to create 3 separate small shaker boxes. I added a generous amount of Very Cranberry Sparkle Blends to each little box, and then popped a white A2 card base on the back, so none of those shaker bits could escape.

I added a little Sakura Clear Stardust pen to the kitty's hat and the "Eek!" sentiment hanging from the spider web & a touch of pale color on the web itself

I finished off the card with the cute & punny, "Happy Mewo-oween!" sentiment. 

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For my second project, I decided to play with an oldie but goodie, the retired Hampton Art Haunted stamp and stencil set (I only used the stamps, here). I took an A2 panel of smooth white cardstock and stamped my scene, with the fence, haunted house and witch, using Versafine Onyx Black ink--Clear embossing the fence with Ranger Clear embossing powder so it would be shiny. Next, I selected a stitched circle die from my stash & did some partial die cutting to create a moon shape, finishing the cut with my scissors. 

I used Scattered Straw, Mowed Lawn & Hickory Smoke Distress Inks to color the background & moon with my Ranger Mini Ink Blending Tool. I added the "Open if you Dare" sentiment with Versamark ink, and heat embossed it with Ranger Super Fine White Embossing Powder.

I selected an A2 white card base & lined it up with the panel. Then, I adhered the Moon shaped cut out to the A2 base with Multi Medium Matte. I backed the window with clear acetate & used Darice Double Sided Foam Adhesive Strips to create my shaker box.

I added a generous amount of Something Wicked Sparkle Blends to the shaker box & then added the top card panel to finish off this simple, no frills shaker card.

Witching Hour

Today I decided to step away from Shaker Cards (just this once, lol), and create a masked & ink blended card, featuring our new Trick or Treat Sparkle Blend.

I started my card by selecting the Halloween Fun stamp set by Woodware UK. I stamped the cute flying witch, star trail and "Happy Halloween" sentiment (borrowing "Happy" from Heffy Doodle's Beary Big Heart on an A2 sized panel of copic friendly cardstock with Memento Tuxedo Black ink. Then I cut a mask with a circle die from my stash out of plain copy paper. I used my Zig 2 Way Glue pen to make my mask sticky. I love this glue because when its wet (blue glue), it creates a permanent bond, but if you let it dry first, until it's clear and tacky-it creates a repositionable bond that's perfect for DIY masks & less expensive than dedicated masking papers. Next, I did some ink blending with Wilted Violet, Spiced Marmalade, Twisted Citron, Squeezed Lemonade & Black Soot Distress Oxide ink, to create a galaxy background & splattered it with white paint to create stars & galaxies in the distance.

I selected a classic Halloween color palette to match the Sparkle Blends and colored the stamped images and masked moon with Copic markers. For a little sparkle, I colored the star trail with a Sakura clear Stardust pen and then added a little more with Spectrum Noir Clear Sparkle Pen. I adhered the panel to an A2, white card base & then as the pièce de résistance, I scattered a generous selection of elements from the Trick or Treat Sparkle Blends over the background, adhering them with Multi Medium Matte. 

Best Teacher

I'm sharing my project for our School's Cool promo week a bit late due to internet connectivity problems last week. I'm back online and wanted to share this project with you anyway.

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I got back to my roots this time, with a one layer card, featuring stamping, masking and Copic coloring.

Like most of the design team, I fell in love with this adorable School Tots stamp set from Woodware UK, but I decided to keep things a little simpler. I chose to do some reverse stamping with the cute crayon image and 3 of the Versafine Clair inks: Chianti, Summertime, and Warm Breeze. Flipping the stamp over to stamp the image in Versafine Onyx Black. Next, I did some very simple masking with a sticky note & stamped a double stack of books with that cute little boy standing on top in Memento Tuxedo Black & went to town with my Copic markers, trying some weird color combinations with my limited color selection to match the Clair ink colors as closely as possible. I added some small details with a white gel pen & stamped the simple "For the best Teacher" sentiment in Onyx Black.

To add a cute touch on the inside, I stamped a few of the accessory images from the stamp set in Tuxedo Black ink and colored them with Copics.