Simon Says Stamp – My Crafts are Like a Box of Chocolates

Wild Roses and Woodgrain Card

June 2, 2019 beccreates1

Guess what? I’m back as hostess on the Crazy 4 Challenges blog this month! I love being hostess in the summer as I am a huge fan of everything summery, the ocean, beaches, flowers, even the outdoors if I could eliminate insects and creepies! So this week our challenge is to use woodgrain!

c4c 19 woodgrain

I just got a new woodgrain stamp from Stampin’ Up, the first I’ve bought in at least 5 years. So it was perfect for this challenge. I stamped it in Simon Says stamp Khaki ink on PTI kraft cardstock. It was the subtle but not too much so. The flowers are from Simon too, the Delicate Flowers stamp set. I stamped them in Antique Linen Distress ink on some hot press Arches watercolour paper. The ink was quite noticeable at first but melts into the watercolour as you paint. I know some people don’t like that and it might not be ideal for animals or people because you can end up washing away the face detail but for flowers and leaves it’s perfect.

I painted the images with Daniel Smith paints and a Black Velvet Silver Brush. Each petal was done separately using a wet-in-wet technique so I would get a deeper coloured edge to each petal. This happens naturally as the paint dries. I also added some deeper colour at the base of each petal while the paint was still wet. In the case of the pink flowers, I added two colours, one to the tops of the petals then dropping in another colour at the base. Sometimes the colours blended on their own and sometimes I helped them along a touch with my paintbrush. To save paint, it helps to use one for each colour and one for water. This way you aren’t constantly washing paint off your brush! It may not be much but I’m sure it adds up over time. The pale pink flower is my favourite. I love the soft blush shades I managed to achieve.

I added the Hero Arts sentiment with copper embossing powder. Then I decided I needed some more copper. So I tried a trick I’d seen on YouTube, I think it was Kristina Werner. I sprayed some water from my spray bottle into my hand then added embossing powder. It won’t stay on long enough to heat set, it will blow away. So heat it from underneath! It worked out perfectly! But I still wanted some copper drops in some other, specific places so I used a Versamark pen. I worried that they might look too perfect but they blended in well.

I hope you can join us over at the C4C blog this week. We also have a sad announcement over there about a team member who passed away. So sad.

Rebecca

Cards

Love You Always Card

April 20, 2019 beccreates1

It’s my third week of hosting over at Crazy 4 Challenges. I have been trying really hard to get the most out of my card kits. All too often I work with them a bit then move on to other projects.

c4c 19 04 sketch.jpg

So for this card, I went back to the Simon Says Stamp February card kit. I’ve made a few cards with it but they were pretty ordinary. Despite loving this kit, I struggled with making cards. Sometimes my mojo just up and walks out of my house! So I decided that this card was going to be much more impressive. I started with the woodgrain paper to which I added some music stamping using the music border from the stamp set. I used Razzleberry ink by Altenew, sometimes full-strength and sometimes second-generation. I used Spellbinders Labels 55 to cut the main panel from kraft cardstock. The bird was stamped on ivory cardstock with Versafine ink and coloured with Copics. The little tag was cut from canvas by Spellbinders using a tag by MFT. The border is by Spellbinders but it’s very old so likely not available anymore but I’m sure they have something similar now.

So now it was time to put it all together. I added the woodgrain to an A2 sized card panel. Then I added the ivory doily border and a torn panel of paper from the kit. I stamped on the kraft panel then added it to the card with foam tape and adhered the bird. Last I added the flowers, leaves and sequins. The tag looked too plain so I cut a heart from one of the pieces of patterned paper, coloured it with Copics then added it to the tag. and that’s it!

Come on over to the C4C blog to check out the design team’s work! I hope you can play along!

Enjoy, Rebecca

Cards

Vintage Floral Love Card

March 12, 2019 beccreates1

This week at Crazy 4 Challenges, we were asked to make a card (or project) using flowers! This might be a common challenge but we all love flowers so much it makes sense to repeat it often!

I worked with some Authentique papers which included a ‘cut-apart sheet.’ You know, those papers with multiple images or borders that can be cut up and used on your projects. I chose the more vintage side, the other side was more retro, and arranged them on a heart die cut. For the background panel, I repeatedly stamped the music border using my MISTI. It helps because you can make sure the border is straight. This can be tricky with some thin borders. Also it helps make sure the stamping is straight on the paper and keeps the spacing consistent when you leave the border on the door of the tool and just move the paper.

I stamped on ivory paper using clear embossing powder. Then I sponged some Hero Arts and PTI inks that matched the colours in the patterned paper. I decided an ombre would look best, isn’t it pretty? For the center of the heart die cut (Hero Arts), I stamped one of the images from the Love Always stamp set by Simon Says. I don’t have dies so I trimmed it by hand. It isn’t an intricate image to cut so no biggie. The edges of the patterned papers were lightly inked with Vintage Photo to add to the antiqued look.

I hope you can find time to make and link up a floral card over at C4C. We would love to have you!

Enjoy, Rebecca

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Revisiting Old Card Kits

August 14, 2018 beccreates1

If you buy card kits, do you ever use them up before the next one arrives? Leave me a comment and let me know! I have to admit, I NEVER finish a card kit right away! in fact, I have ones going back to 2014! I think only 2 in that time are all used. So sometimes when I have some time, I pull out an older kit and try to make at least 3 cards with it. I don’t always manage three but I try even if I have to make a simpler card or CASE* one of the cards shown on the insert.

*CASE stands for Copy and Stamp Everything, basically using someone else’s design as inspiration but changing it up to make it your own. As long as you don’t pass the card off as your own or try to sell it, you can even copy it exactly!

I was in a gold mood when I made these cards. Do you ever get in a mood to use a certain colour, a specific technique or product and use it over and over for a short while? I work in spurts like that. Then I move on to a new one for the next while. This card comes from a Simon Says Stamp kit all the way back from September 2015! I created a ‘background stamp’ using some of the small bows, triangles, circles and half-circles included in the Birthday Bits stamp set. I needed some more bits so I trimmed a couple of tiny shapes off of the small borders. I don’t prefer to cut my stamps apart but these are wonky borders anyway so realigning them perfectly isn’t important. I found a matching ink to the cardstock in the kit and stamped the grouping of stamps I put together on entire card front. Sometimes when I find a grouping I really like, I stamp an example and keep it with the stamp set.

I gold embossed some balloons on two of the papers by Pinkfresh Studio from the kit and on some scrap cardstock. I added some dots on the cardstock balloon. The strings are made of stretch gold cord which is my preference over plain gold string. The stretch means that you don’t have to be as precise when tying the strings together to make sure they all stay straight. I glued the knot to the card with glossy accents using a clothespin to keep it in place while it dried. The sentiment from Celebration Sentiments by Honey Bee Stamps is embossed with gold sparkle powder by WOW. I used banner dies by PTI but I trimmed the points so they weren’t so long.

In keeping with the gold theme, I made this card using the October 2015 Simon Says Stamp kit. The center panel is one of the journaling cards included in the kit. The cards and the patterned papers are by My Mind’s Eye, one of my favourite paper companies. The panel underneath has a gold-leafed I applied over Scor-Tape, then I rounded the edges to match the journaling card. I hand cut the balloons because the dies I have are too large. I added the same gold cord but this time decided to allow the strings to hang to the side whimsically. It’s hard to tell from this photo but the ‘Let’s Celebrate’ sentiment is gold foiled. A few gold confetti bits from Studio Katia finished off this card.

Thanks for joining me for these fun cards. I’d love to hear how you use your card kits. Do you subscribe or just buy a few here and there? Do you buy more than one? If you get any other than the MFT, SSS or Hero Arts ones, let me know which ones and how you like them! I’m dying to sub to the Spellbinders ones but I only have so many $$$!

Enjoy, Rebecca

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Shaped Cards for Crazy 4 Challenges

July 14, 2018 beccreates1

For my second week hosting over at Crazy 4 Challenges, I decided we should make shaped cards. Anything other than a plain circle, rectangle or square. I had lots of ideas but then I realized I’d already made this card that I loved!

When I made it, I was experimenting with some new supplies. The Rebecca Lace background from Simon Says Stamp and some gorgeous new Daniel Smith paints. If you like to watercolour, you MUST get yourself some professional paints, just a few at a time, when they are on sale. Preferably Daniel Smith ones. They truly are amazing! I also finally got myself a few Silver Brush watercolour brushes. They are soooo much better than the ones I’d been using. I had a variety of brushes from value lines from Curry’s to expensive ones from Michaels (coupon baby!) and even some from the dollar store. I’ve always wondered how someone could paint something then come back to the first part and add pigment when in my world, that paint would already be dry! Well, it’s because Silver Brushes hold an enormous amount of water! Oh, now I get it! That’s how their paint is still wet! Such a revelation!

The colours I used here were Amythyst Genuine, yes, the actual gemstone is used to make the paint, Duochrome Oceanic which is an aqua with gold shimmer in it, Rhodonite Genuine, Bronzite Genuine, Prussian Green and Cobalt Teal Blue. Most of these are shimmery which looks so amazing with the platinum embossing powder I used to emboss the lace image. I used multiple layers of the same powder to colour my Thinking of You die cut. The stamp is actually square but I decided I preferred it trimmed into a scalloped circle.

I hope you have some awesome ideas for shaped cards. If you join us over at the C4C blog, don’t forget to come back here and leave me a comment so you are entered in my giveaway!

Enjoy, Rebecca

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Bright Summer Fun!

August 7, 2017 beccreates1

Before I get started with my card, I wanted to mention why I’ve been behind with my promised increase in posts. We were all sick for a couple weeks. Then last Monday, we took my little 5 year old son Teddy to get some fillings done at the dentist. He isn’t able to hold still enough (has ADHD) so we opted to have general anesthetic. After 45 minutes we were surprised to have the anesthetist come out and talk to us. Teddy’s throat closed so badly that he was too unstable to take the breathing tube out. They had to transport him to hospital but we expected once there they would stabilize him quickly and he’d be fine. Nope, they had to get a specialized transport team in from the local children’s hospital and take him to yet another children’s hospital over 2.5 hours away. Turns out his lung collapsed and he ended up in ICU for a day and a half, on antibiotics and in an induced coma to allow the swelling to go down. It was terrifying. Fortunately he is better now and home but it’s been a crazy week. Hopefully I can get caught up on cards I posted to SCS and some book reviews this week!

So, on to the card. Our challenge this week was to make a bright and happy summer card! No problem. As you probably know, summer cards, especially beach ones, are my absolute favourite. I love that we have such a variety of challenges at Crazy 4 Challenges!

I used papers from a past Simon Card Kit to create this cute night beach scene. I was trying to make the scene appear as if lanterns were being floated through the sky while a couple relaxed on their balcony after a fun day on the water. The images were all pieced from an old Taylored Expressions set called Hanging Out Beach. The flippers and goggles were coated in Glossy Accents to make them appear like shiny, rubbery plastic. The towel stripes, bathing suit stripes and surfboards were all blinged up with a Wink of Stella pen. The sandy layer is real sand paper while the tree trunk, coconuts and sentiment were stamped on real wood veneer paper. A few touches of Copic marker gave the items colour and shading.

One fun touch I added was to carefully bend the blue-green towel using my bone folder until the fibres were softened. That way I could fold it up as if it was tossed aside casually in a lump. If I had folded it, it wouldn’t look as natural or casual. I added foam tape underneath to help support the ‘towel’ when the card is in the mail.

Come on over to our blog to be inspired by our challenge. Then pop back in after you’ve made your project so you can link it up!

Enjoy, Rebecca

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Coffee Cup Spinner Card

February 15, 2017 beccreates1

I LOVE making spinner cards. Some require a lot of detailed and difficult measurements and cuts. They can be worth it but I think the best ones are the simplest. This one requires almost no planning and no measuring!

All you have to do is cut or die cut 2 symmetrical images or shapes, sandwiching a thin cord or two strands of thread in between using strong adhesive. Next cut a window in the front of your patterned paper. Then layer your patterned paper on your cardstock and die cut the cardstock layer too. Use some temporary adhesive or washi tape to hold it together if you need to but don’t permanently adhere it together. Once the window is die cut, take apart the layers. Again using strong adhesive, lay the thread or cord on the cardstock as shown. Lastly, adhere the patterned paper down.

Now for the fun part! Before placing the card in the envelope, twist the image around about 6-8 times. Don’t over twist or your thread might pull from the adhesive and get a bit slack. I’m not usually into the little cutesy faces but the paper was adorable so I figured the coffee cup should match!

Enjoy, Rebecca

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Fall Feathers Card

November 1, 2015 beccreates1

I’m quite late jumping on the feather trend. I like feathers but I’m not a huge fan or anything. But I’ve seen so many fabulous cards by many talented designers that I had to give them a try.

I used a ton of paper packs for this card, 5 in total! I also used a sketch but it’s long since closed. The die cut feathers were die cut then stamped using my MISTI tool. I coordinated the inks to match the papers and used three different metallic embossing powders.

Enjoy, Rebecca

Entered In:

Simon Says Stamp Monday Anything Goes

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday: Throwback

RECIPE
Stamps: Feathers-PTI, sentiment-SSS
Ink: brown archival-Ranger, vintage photo, barn door Distress ink
Paper: WR Memory Keepers, 7 Gypsies, Glitz, Maggie Holmes,
Pink Paislee, canyon clay CS-PTI
Accessories: feather dies-PTI, rick rack-stash, gold, copper EP-SU!, other ep-stash

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Floral Ampersand Thanks

October 22, 2015 beccreates1

Freestyle collage is fairly new to me but I try! I think some of the journaling cards in the last SSS kit are so fun and lend themselves to this style.

I used more mirrored cardstock in the upper left corner of the journaling card. It looks green because it is reflecting a colour from the background. Try to disregard that will ya? I made the little paper clip flag using self-adhesive ribbon which made it so easy!

Enjoy, Rebecca

Entered in:

RECIPE
Stamps: SSS hearts and sentiment
Ink: angel pink-Memento, black archival-Ranger, soft stone-PTI
Paper: DP, &, card-My Mind’s eye, Card base-blushing bride-SU!
Accessories: cork-WRMK, sequins-Lucy’s Cards, Krylon gold leafing pen, ribbon-unknown

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Butterfly Thanks

October 21, 2015 beccreates1

I am so in love with last month’s Simon Says Stamp kit, I have to play with it again before the next one shows up.

Now i have to start by saying that the hearts cut from the striped paper are not black. They are backed with gold mirrored paper. You can see it a bit through the vellum just under the bow. The other gold is gilder’s paste which I used on the edges of the card front and on the raised edges of the embossed butterfly.

The striped panel is raised with fun foam. But then when I went to add the banner and ‘thanks’, I was a bit stuck on how to raise it up to match the striped panel’s height. I ended up using white fun foam cut with the word die and carefully placed behind word die cut. It works quite well!

Enjoy, Rebecca

Entered in:

RECIPE
Paper: mirrored cardstock-scrap, pink CS and DP-My Mind’s Eye, black CS, vellum-PTI
Accessories: doily die-PTI, word die-Mama Elephant, sequins-Sulyn Industries, butterfly die and folder- Sizzix, heart veneers-Studio Calico, Goldfinger gilder’s paste