Dina's Handwritten Heart Collage Cards

I am on a roll and having fun making my own backgrounds with distress ink.

Smooshed color onto an acrylic block, added a bit of water using my water brush and painted the colors onto white cardstock. It actually works better with watercolor paper because the regular card stock does not hold up well to a lot of brushing. I used distress fossilized amber, worn lipstick and picked raspberry.

Allowed to dry and stamped with Dina Wakley's Handwritten Heart Collage stamp using Versafine Onyx Black ink. After the stamping was dry I fussy cut along the edge of the stamped border. Then dry embossed the layer with Park Lane's Flower Repeat embossing folder 

and sponged distress ink onto the edges and over parts of the top.

 Wrapped twine around the layer and tied with a bow before adhering to a kraft card.

This one became a thank you card--used Stampin' Up! sentiment, fussy cut with a deckle edge scissors.

Thanks for visiting! Hope all is well with you and yours!

Tuesday Card of the Day

Happy Tuesday my dear friends! Hope things are going well for you!
Today's Card of the Day for the Enjoy Michael Strong Stamps Groups.io
features Michael Strong's Mini Hummingbird from his Mini Wings set.

The embossed layer was a scrap I saved.
It was made with an embossing folder stamping technique
where I DID run the paper through my Cuttlebug afterward.

1. Dabbed distress broken china and walnut inkpads
onto my Sizzix Retro Circles embossing folder
-the side with the logo

2. Spritzed with water, added the paper, closed the embossing folder

3. Ran it through my Cuttlebug.

Normally for this technique, I would skip the 3rd step
and just press the paper down with my hands.
There would be no raised surfaces, just color.

It's fun to experiment with this. Here are two tutorials I really like:
Heidi Wegman's Embossing Folder Stamping
and
Audrie Magno-Gordon's Embossing Folder Stamping

For the rest of my card, I added a strip of turquoise paper
which was dry embossed with the Flowers and Leaves folder from Spellbinders.

I made my own background on the front
by stamping repeatedly repeatedly with a "thanks" word stamp
from Stampin' UP! in distress antique linen ink.

The curvy banner is from a Hero Arts Stamp & Cuts set.
Used a piece of fiber/ribbon from my stash to tie around center layer.

Here is a look at the inside of the card
where I stamped Mike's Mini Hummingbird and sentiments from Stampin' Up.

Thank you so much for visiting!

Twas Her - Bird Stamp Set

I decided to make this card after seeing Carol Read's sweet bird card here.

My version is quite simple. I'm sorry this first image is blurry.

I like how there is extra space inside the card for stamping
and for a hand written note.

I made two of these and used them as thank you cards for my daughters.

Stamps used:

4 Printworks stamps-

Birdie-B4086

Nest-called Shelter-B4085

Egg-called A Good Egg-P4083

Sentiment-called Twas Her Thinking-E3432

and 

Hero Arts Ribbon Messages Stamp & Cut set

Distress inks: broken china, tumbled glass, gathered twigs

Swiss Dots cuttlebug embossing folder

Nestabilities Oval dies

Thanks so much for visiting!

More Mixed Media Thinlits Cards

I have been having fun with my Sizzix Thinlits:

 Mixed Media #1 - 660220

and Mixed Media #2 - 661185.

You can see through the Mixed Media #1 die cut to my home made background made background. I used the "embossing folder stamping" technique that I shared in April 2016. Here I also stamped with a Stampin' Up! flower on top of the green pine needles with distress dried marigold. Used the Michael Strong Mini Cloisonne Butterfly and a Stampin' UP! Sentiment in the dried marigold ink on the front layer.

Used the Mixed Media #2 thinlit die on a piece of watercolor that I made previously. Sentiment  and matching die are from Hero Arts. Stampin' Up! flower stamped in mint then fussy cut.

Used the Mixed Media #2 thinlit die on white cardstock, with a pink layer underneath. Sentiment and matching die are from Hero Arts. Butterfly is cut from a Martha Stewart punch. Leaves are an old Stampin' Up!/Sizzix embosslit called Sweetest Stem.

Here is the Mixed Media #1 thinlit die used on an alcohol inked piece from my stash. Flowers are cut from Wildflowers #2 thinlits. Sentiment from Tim Holtz.

Thanks for visiting!

Panda Thank You Cards

Made these panda thank you cards after being inspired by Hetty's cards at her Craft Chaos blog.

This background was made with a Tim Holtz harlequin stencil and these distress inks: 

fossilized amber, broken china and ripe persimmon.

The pandas were stamped in Versafine black onyx ink.

Stamps: Michael Strong, Stampin' Up!

Distress inks: ripe persimmon, twisted citron

Panda stamps: Michael Strong

Thank you stamp and die: Hero Arts.

Bamboo background made with distress cracked pistachio, fossilized amber

(stamped off to for softer color), tumbled glass, dried marigold

Panda stamps: Michael Strong

Thank you stamp and die: Hero Arts.

Thanks so much for visiting!

Wishing you a wonderful 2018 filled with 

JOY, HAPPINESS and GOOD HEALTH!

Wildflowers and Mixed Media Thinlits

I thought I'd share some cards I made in the past month or so

using my new Sizzix dies:

Mixed Media (background)

and Wildflowers #2.

I had fun using old book pages for these two cards.

As I sponged this background I tried to create a peaceful scene.  I don't like to make gloomy sympathy cards. The cut openings reminded me of an opening into a beautiful world.  The tree reminded me of the everlasting tree of life. 

Used an alcohol ink background on glossy paper from my stash for this one.

Thanks for visiting!

Purple Flower Thank You Cards

Inspired by Alison's Vintage Painted Petals card I used Stampin' Up's Hand Painted Petites

to make these "thank you" cards.

Here are the first 8 that I made.

I used old book paper, which was rather delicate.

When I stamped the 2 small butterflies from the Tim Holtz Visual Artistry CLEAR stamps,

part of the book paper ripped off, sticking to the CLEAR stamp.

I hid the mistake with a punched butterfly.

There was no problem with ripping when I used the PSX wood block rubber dragonfly stamp.

Here are six more cards. I found the wood mounted rubber butterfly stamp
that I originally wanted to use, so I added it on a couple cards.
Also, I used a bud stamp from Hand Painted Petities
for the flowers in the lower left corner on these.

Stamps: 

Stampin' Up!, PSX, Tim Holtz visual artistry, Inkadinkado

Inks: 

Stampin' Up! lavender lace, orchid opulence

Distress mowed lawn

Versafine Black Onyx

Thank you for visiting!