Category: Various Theme Cards

Mirror Stamping with the MISTI

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Hello, everyone!

I am back with a quick post and video on how you can use your MISTI for mirror stamping, or for stamping on the back and front of your die cuts. Sometimes there can be layouts of cards where you use stamped die cuts or trims on top of a clear window and when you open your card you can see the back of that piece as a plain white piece of paper. If you want to have some decorations on the back of your trims, you can use this trick that I used for today’s card.

I discovered this by pure accident, while stamping with my MISTI. If you don’t have the MISTI, you can use a piece of craft foam or some larger acrylic stamps and there are a lot of great tutorials out there on mirror stamping that you can learn from.20161025_125707For this technique I used the foam mat that comes with the MISTI and stamped my image right on top of  it 2 -3 times with the Versafine Ink that is a pretty juicy ink. I need the image to be as wet as it can so I can lift that ink on my paper also. After I stamped the image on the mat I placed my cardstock right on top and stamped one more time, but this time on top of the cardstock. Make sure to add a bit of pressure and give that ink a couple of seconds to lift on the back of your cardstock. The image that you have stamped on the mat may not have very crisp lines, but you can always use a marker to go over the lines. The lines are not crisp because the mat is soft and once you press your stamp onto it, the image kind of expands. Using a sturdyer surface, like an acrylic stamp, makes the lines of your stamped image much more crisp.

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I used my coloring pencils for a quick coloring and added a bit of shimmer on top of the gift packages with my clear Wink of Stella. Next I die cut a circle window on the front of my card, decorated the front of the card with some patterned paper and used a piece of vellum for my circle window. For my sentiment I did some heat embossing and to finish it all I added some Nuvo Drops and a dashed line with my white gel pen.

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You can watch the how-to video down below or HERE on my YouTube channel.

Thanks so much for stopping by and will see you soon with a new project!

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Tonic Studios | NUVO Creative Pens | Review

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Hello,

I have a different type of post & video to share with you today. This is a review on the NUVO Creative Pens that I recently got. I hope you find this helpful if you’re considering trying out these new markers.

First thing first, these markers are alcohol based, like Copics and the Promarkers are. So you will have to use them with archival inks that don’t make the stamped image to bleed into the colors. The 2 inks that I like most for using with alcohol markers are the Memento & the MFT Hybrid Inks.

These markers have 2 types of tips, one is a bullet fine tip and one is a chisel tip, great for coloring larger areas. **The only exception is for the Metallics set, as the markers have one bullet tip and one brush tip.**

dsc_0007There are 12 sets in the NUVO line and each set includes 3 markers of the same color but in different tones, a light, a medium and a dark. In the video below I show you how easy it is to add shading and get a great belnding with these markers. ***I personally find the Greens and the Purples to be more difficult to blend as the tones don’t match perfectly.

dsc_0003I tested these pens onto the Neenah White Cardstock, the 80 lb & the 100lb as I wanted to see how much they bleed and I got pretty much the same bleeding on both. For me personally it is not an issue as I can always hide the coloring on the back of the paper with another panel if I have to color straight onto my card base.

dsc_0002I have to say that the markers have all beautiful, very intense and bright colors and they cover all ranges of colors: orange, yellow, brown, blue, purple, green, red, gray, pink, naturals. There is also one set that includes the blender pen together with a black & a grey and another gorgeous set that includes metallics: gold, silver & copper. The metallic markers I find to work great on white cardstock, kraft and vellum (my favorite)!

dsc_0004In conclusion, I think these markers are a great addition to my collection, I love all the colors and the price is very affordable. I wouldn’t compare them to high end markers, like the Copics, but they reminded me pretty much of the Letraset Promarkers that I once had.

You can see how the markers ”perform” in the video that I have below. (click HERE for watching it on YouTube)

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Shimmer & Shine ft NUVO Mousse

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Hello!

Today will be all about shimmer and sparkle and I am sharing a winter themed card as long with some new products that I recently got and already love so much:))

First thing’s first, I started working on a watercolor cardstock panel and used my Mission Gold watercolors once again. I have to say that from all the watercoloring mediums that I have, these paints are my favorites; love the vibrance that they have, how they blend with eachother, the flow and everything! Best investment I’ve ever made:)

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Once the paints were dry, I used an embossing folder (forgot how lovely these are) to add some dimension and interest to my background. The design of this embossing folder is simply gorgeous. Unfortunately it is discontinued, but you can achieve the same effect with any embossing folder that you have and customize your card for any season or occasion!

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The products that I am featuring today are the NUVO Embellishment Mousse, a paste that is so creamy and shimmery and works great for adding hihglights on your project. I just used my finger to rub the paste on top of the raised areas that I got after embossing and made a mix of gold and silver pastes. The shimmer is gorgeous! They also apply easily as the paste is soft and they kind of remind me of the texture that the creamy blush you put on your cheeks has:)

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Next I die cut some snowflakes from white cardstock and because I wanted to have all festive and sparkly, I covered them with glue and then poured clear glitter on top. For my sentiment I heat embossed in gold the Be Joyful from the SSS Big Scripty Holidays Stamp Set. To finish my card, I added several clear sequins here and there.

You can watch the making process in the video below or click HERE if you want to see it on my Youtube channel.

I am entering my card in the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge. This time is Anything Goes! ♥

Supplies used:

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Happy Halloween | Using Masking Fluid

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Hi all!

I usually don’t make too many Halloween cards, but I had this cute tiny stamp set that couldn’t resist not using it:)) For this card I also wanted to try masking with masking fluid as I only used this media once in the past.

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Initially I had all the stamped little ghosts covered with the masking fluid and wanted to try some Distress Ink blending on my background. But while I was trying to blend, I noticed that I was picking up the masking fluid. So I just applied a bit of color here and there and then used a brush and water to blend and color my background. I have to say that I was really impressed with this masking fluid, it covered my images so well and resisted all that water that I added. The spots where I got color onto my masked images were because I used a brush that was too big for covering the tiny ghosts. I did fix that with some white paint and my white gel pen.

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Once everything was dry, I used a die set from Simon Says Stamp and cut the houses from black cardstock. I also stamped and embossed the sentiment and mounted my piece with foam onto my card. As I wanted a bit of shimmer I used a shimmer spray that I have since like forever and I looove how it all sparkles and shine 😀

I made a quick video to show you the process and you can watch it down below,  or HERE on my Youtube channel.

Supplies are listed below

(affiliate links are used where possible)

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Stamping a Wreath ft. WPlus9

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Good morning, all!

A new week ahead, filled with new projects and lots of crafting fun! I am so happy that I can finally post more often, I enjoy so much making cards & videos and read your sweet comments here on the blog, on my YT channel or Instagram. Thank you all so much!

This year seemed to have been the Boom! Year for flowers and florals stamps, so many brands came out with gorgeous stamps and dies and the stamp set I used for today’s project is one of them:) This Wplus9 Pretty Little Peonies stamp set is simply beautiful and even if I got the small peony set ( there are two, one bigger and one smaller!), I was able to create such a big wreath for my card.

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I started by drawing a circle on my card base, following the oultine of a circle die. Next I picked some of the flowers, leaves and berries and stamped them in colors to match the upcoming fall season. You can use so many different colored inks and make your wreath suitable for any season of the year!20160924_134021

With this set, there are various layering stamps for the same stamp and you can create beautiful flowers andn leaves with a lot of dimension and detail. Even if you don’t have too many inks, you can still get a lovely effect just by using 2 or 3 inks.

Once my wreath was completed, I stamped and embossed the sentiment with a glittery gold embossing powder and added a couple of gold sequins here and there for a bit more sparkle and shine.20160924_134053

I also made a video showing how you can create this wreath, what stamps to use from the set and how easy it is to add the layers from the set.  I almost ruined my card and was about to start all over again, but then I found a way to fix the mistakes I made, so if you want a bit of suspance you can watch the video, lol:))

Supplies  used: ***the Olive ink from SSS is discontinued, but I’ve put a link to a very similar ink from Hero Arts.

WPlus9 Pretty Little Peonies Stamp Set

(affiliate links are provided where possible)

Fall Themed Thank You Cards

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Hello, everyone!

I’m back on the blog today to share with you a quick & easy set of cards that I made using minimum supplies. I can almost call this project as ”stepping out of my comfort zone” as I used some colored cardstock for my card bases and also some bits of patterned paper that I found in my stash. I usually go with white card bases and completely excluded the pattern paper from my last projects, but this time I wanted to try something different and I really like how it all came out.

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The stamp set that made all so quick & easy is a gorgeous fall stamp set from Reverse Confetti. It has all these pumpkins with sentiments inside. And that was perfect because I didn’t  had to search through my stash to find matching sentiments for all my cards. Once all my pumpkins were stamped and cut I used a die set from Spellbinders to create some frames that I decorated with the patterned paper that I picked from my stash.

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For my card bases I used a woodgrain background stamp from Concord & 9th and stamped the design with a warm grey ink. To adhere everything down I used my ATG gun (yay, finally I can use it again!) and popped the pumpkins with some strips of foam tape for a bit of dimension. As a finishing touch I added several gold glitter dots here and there with the Nuvo Clear Drops.

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I totally enjoyed creating this set of cards as it all went so quick and smooth and all the elements I created matched perfectly with eachother.

You can watch the video down below or HERE on my YouTube channel. As always, links to the products are provided below as long with affiliate links, where possible.

Thank you for stopping by and hope to see you soon!

Thanks Card ft Honey Bee & Mission Watercolors

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Happy Saturday, friends!

I never thought it would take me so much time to make a new card, but here I am almost a month later with a new project to share with you. I so wish there were more than 24h in a day!

A couple of weeks ago I posted on my Instagram that I purchased the Mijello Mission Gold watercolors and I finally got the chance to play with them. If you watch the video below you will see how I made my pallette and the color swatches and if you have these watercolors and wish to make a swatch like mine, you can download the file here Mijello Swatch and print it on your watercolor cardstock or just regular paper and then trace it onto your watercolor paper. For the time I got to play with these watercolors, I can say that I already love them, the colors are so vibrant and mix perfectly with eachother !

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Now for my card, I used a stamp set from the new Honey Bee release, called Zen Bouquet and created my own background by stamping the various flowers and leaves from this set. I stamped all my images with the Versafine Onyx Black ink that is perfect for watercoloring. Once the colors were dry, I added some white splatters with the Picket Fence Distress Paint. For my sentiment I white heat embossed the Thanks sentiment onto a piece of vellum and used my scissors to trim all around it

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I then used a wreath die from an older set by Studio Calico and cut my wreath from gold mirror cardstock leftover that I found in my stash. Because I wanted a bit more of that gold, I also added a gold string and some gold glitter enamel dots with the Nuvo Crystal Drops.

You can watch the how-to video below or HERE on my YouTube channel. All products are listed below (affiliate links are used were possible)

Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Christmas in August ft Memory Box

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Hello, my crafty friends! It’s so good to finally be back 🙂

I recently stocked up on winter stamps & dies and today will feature some of the Memory Box Stamps that I got. I made 2 cards, pretty much the same, just changed a bit the colors and some of the stamps.

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I started with 2 paper panels that I die cut from my Canson watercolor cardstock. I used a tree branch stamp and did some white heat embossing. Next I colored my panels with Distress Inks and water, just went back and forth with adding color, water, drying, and repetead the process until I liked how the colors mixed. Because these are wintery cards I wanted to add some snow so I used a white paint and with my brush I flicked the paint onto the backgrounds.

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For my poinsettia I did white embossing on vellum and just trimmed all flowers with my scissors. Love the Poinsettia stamp from Memory Box, I think it’s so versatile as you can use the flower stamp for so many different projects and also build your own flowers by stamping the single petals/leaves from the set.

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Next I used the Bunny stamp set and stamped those cute bunnies that I quickly colored with Distress Inks. Once everything was dry, I mounted my panels onto some white foam and adhered them onto my card bases. As you can see my card bases have a lovely wood look and for that I used a super gorgeous stamp from Concord & 9th. This stamp is just sooo awesome!

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Of course, I had to add some finishing touches, so I used my glitter pen and my sequins for that extra special something 🙂

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As usual, all products are listed at the end of the blog post.

You can watch the how-to video below or HERE on my YouTube channel.

Thank you all so much for stopping by and will see you soon!

Faux Watercolor ft Lil’Inker Designs

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Hello, everyone! I hope you’re all having a great week start!

I have two cards to share today and a pretty cool technique that kind of mimics the watercolor look.

For both my cards I used this cute stamp set by Lil’ Inker Designs, called So Prickly. This is such a fun stamp set, as you can build your own succulents by stamping the plants and decorate them with some smiley faces, little feet and hands, flowers or a tiny mustache. Simply adorable! And the sentiments are so much fun!

I started my projects by first creating the backgrounds. I did my own stencil for the first card and created a frame with a torn edge. Next I used the stencil and my pigment ink to add some color to the background. I didn’t spend too much time blending the ink as I spread it out with a bit of water. The cardstock that I used was regular cardstock, but still I was able to move that ink around with water. This was my first time using pigment ink with water and I was surprised to see how well it blends. On watercolor cardstock is even better!

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For the second background I partially inked a background stamp with a shimmery gold ink.

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Next I inked my images with two tones of pigment inks and added water with my brush directly on the stamp to blend the colors a bit and add some shading also. I absolutely love the effect that you get when you add water to pigment inks. I think it’s a great way to give a watercolor look to your solid stamps!

The layouts are very simple and as the photos show, I used some sequins and clear droplets as my embellishments and the cards were done!

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I hope you can give this technique a try, as I am sure you will like it! 🙂

You can watch the how-to video on my blog or HERE on my YouTube channel!

 

List of supplies (***affiliate links are used where possible***)

Floral Shaker Card ft Concord & 9th

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Hello everyone!

Back on the blog today with a new card & video, sharing a shaker card that I made using this gorgeous stamp set from Concord & 9th, called Crazy Awesome.

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I did a bit of watercoloring with my Gelatos, that I really seem to like lately and it makes me happy to see that I get to use some of my supplies that I haven’t been using in a while! It happens so often to simply forget about the things I have, lol:)

So I started by stamping the floral cluster from the stamp set by following the circle that I have traced onto my watercolor cardstock. As always, I used my Canson paper. I also did some masking as I wanted to have more of those flowers stamped and that just filled my floral wreath.

20160718_121833Once all was colored and dried, I trimmed around the flowers and the leaves with my scissors so I was left with this huge colorful wreath to use for my shaker card. I really like the big circle stamp from the set, and because I wanted to incorporate it into my card, I stamped it and white heat embossed it on a piece of vellum. With all my elements ready, I created my shaker and mounted all onto a cream card base.

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I had several try outs on this card and learned along the way where I kept making my mistakes. I just couldn’t get all those circle windows match with eachother and with the large circle stamp. So I used my MISTI and that made all so easy!

As always, you can check the how-to video right here on my blog or HERE if you wish to watch it on YouTube.

Supplies are listed below!

(**Affiliate links are used where possible**)