It’s Maria Russell here today and I am back today to share with you a Christmas card that I have made showcasing the Christmas tree die by Kat Scrappiness. Unfortunately I wouldn’t have a process video this time, as I am currently home in Orlando, celebrating Thanksgiving weekend with my family.
I started out by die-cutting my card stock using the die, and coloring the pieces with my Tombow colored pencils. Once I was happy with the colors, I used my tombow liquid glue to adhere the pieces together and set it aside to dry.
I proceeded to cut my card base, and used the Kat Scrappiness Stitched rectangle die to die-cut my patterned paper. I also used this die to die-cut another white cardstock so I can use my Lawn Fawn stitched border dies to create the snow.
Since I was going to decorate my card with cardinals, I went ahead and used a magnolia die from my stash to add the stitching detail to the front panel of my card.
I finished the design by adding white diamonds sequins from Kat Scrappiness, Enamel dots from Doodlebug Design and adding the peppermint twine. Here is the card. I have also listed the supplies that I’ve used below. I hope you like it and somehow got inspired today. Have an amazing day!
The time has finally come to end the Spring Design team season with a bang! Jessica wanted to give us something special to cherish forever. We were each given a choice to design our very own custom stamp. Since I love bows and hearts, I decided to incorporate both images to use as my custom stamp for my happy mail envelopes. Since I am a card-maker, I wanted my handmade cards to go with decorated envelopes.
My family and friends know that I love hearts and bows. The idea behind the stamp is that when people see their happy mail, they would immediately know who it’s from without even looking at the return address. I take a lot of time decorating my cards, and the envelopes should be the same.
I honestly pictured my custom stamp to be a lot smaller, so when I received it, I was bit surprised. However, now that I have stamped about 50 envelopes so far, I really like the size. Needless to say, the custom stamp is made of high-quality rubber and it stamps like a charm!
Here are some photos of how I used my custom stamp. I also decided to create a shaker card. It turned out really cute!
I also would like to take this opportunity to thank the Owner, Jessica Lynn Mould for being so generous and kind, as well as our DT Coordinator, Amanda Pollock, for having the patience with our schedules and blog hops; and to the rest of the design team, I had so much fun working with you all and admire your amazing creativity! I am looking forward to another great season!
Sharon is next on the hop. Please click on this link to get to Sharon, then hop along to the rest of the team’s blogs (Sharon: http://sharonshowcase.blogspot.com)
If you guys would like to check out the store and have your very own custom-stamp, please visit www.jessicalynnoriginal.com now. (The link will take you directly to the online store) You will not be disappointed!
In case you got lost, here is the full link for the hop:
For the month of May, I was sent a stamp set by from http://www.not2shabbyshop.com called “Surprise” by CC Designs. I had a lot of fun playing with this stamp set and created 2 cards and 1 shaker tag. Here are the photos. I have also included my YouTube video if you’d like to see them or know more about what supplies I’ve used to create the projects.
Birthday Card No. 1 created by Maria RussellBirthday Card No. 2 Created by Maria RussellBirthday Shaker Tag created by Maria Russell
I have been playing around with this cute Cool Cat stamp set from MFT Stamps and created a few cards with it. I also decided to join the current sketch challenge at MFT Stamps.
Here is the card that I created. What do you think?
And here is the photo of the sketch challenge.
I stamped the images on Tim Holtz watercolor card stock using MFT Stamps Licorice Black Hybrid Ink and colored the images using my Zig clean color brush markers. I also used my markers for the three-toned watercolor background. I really love how this card turned out.
Supplies I’ve used (Unless otherwise stated, most supplies are from MFT Stamps)
Cool Cat stamp set
Cool Cats Dienamics
Love You More stamp set
Blueprints No. 27
Friends Script Dienamics
Woodgrain Fence Dienamics
Grassy Hills Dienamics
Tombow Stamp Adhesive Runner
Tombow Mono Aqua Liquid Glue
I hope you like the card that I made. Have an amazing weekend!
I was able to play with the new Cool Cats stamps from MFT Stamps. I love the images on this stamp set and the sentiments are so adorable. MFT has done it again! They never cease to amaze me. Here is a process video of the card I made yesterday.
After unpacking my suitcases and doing a load of endless laundry, I needed some “me-time” to relax and one way of achieving this is to color stamp images. I have recently received the pack of Vivid Irojiten Colored Pencils from Tombow USA and so I decided to test them out.
The package comes with a sand eraser and a sharpener. I have wanted to try the mono-sand eraser for quite sometime now so this will also be a review of the eraser. When you open the package, you will have to sharpen all of the pencils. The pencils glided on so smoothly and I was able to sharpen all of them in no time.
I stamped my image using My Favorite Things Hybrid Licorice Black Ink on 80 lb. Neenah Solar White card stock. As you can see on the photo, I had a little accident with my stamp. I used the Tombow Mono Sand Eraser to try and fix my mistake. It worked so well and I was able to save my piece.
I started coloring the image using the brown colored pencil. I tend to be heavy-handed with my colored pencils and I was immediately impressed with the lead core because it was really strong and it didn’t break at all during my coloring process. I was also able to color the small lines without any issues.
Using my Gamsol, I started blending the color as you see on the photo above. Technically, I was quite happy without even using the Gamsol, but I wanted my colors to have a smooth finish. You can see the difference between blending it with Gamsol and leaving it as-is.
Here is my card. I love how it turned out. I also used Ranger’s Glossy Accents to highlight the cat’s eyeglasses. I know you can barely see it on the photo but in real life, it really is amazing!
I am so happy with the pencils and the sand eraser. I love it so much that I decided to order the set of Tranquil Irojiten Colored Pencils. I particularly prefer the soft pastel colors and I cannot wait to receive my order.
These colored pencils are available at http://www.tombowusa.com. Please let me know if you have tried them.
I am back from my anniversary trip from Greece and today I am joining the Lawnscaping Blog Sketch Challenge No. 128 using one of my favorite Lawn Fawn stamp sets called Fairy Friends. I just can’t stop playing around with this set and this time, I used it for a birthday card. I also used a couple of older Lawn Fawn stamp sets and dies. The supplies I have used are listed below for your reference. You will also find a photo of the sketch challenge if you decide to join. Remember, you only have until Wednesday to finish your card.
I am also entering this card for another challenge at Crafters With Artitude Facebook group and my friend, Sandi Nagel is hosting this month’s challenge called “Solid Gold”. You can basically create anything your heart desire, using Gold and bling.
Here is my rendition of the sketch challenge #128:
While waiting for my MFT Order from the April release, I am once again joining MFT Stamps Sketch Challenge No. 275 this week. Here is a photo of the sketch challenge.
I used two stamp sets for the card that you see below. The cat images are from the “I Knead You stamp set” and the cute cat “bed” is from the “You Make my Tail Wag”. Aren’t the cat images adorable? Here are the materials that I’ve used:
Recollections 110 lb. white Card Stock
I Knead You Stamp Set and Coordinating Dies
You Make My Tail Wag Stamp Set and Coordinating Dies
Hello stampers and crafters! Today is my turn to showcase my all-time favorite Brentwood stamp from www.jessicalynnoriginal.com. It is also JLO’s 11th year anniversary. Today’s post will be a little different. I will not be showing you a ton of card samples. My blog post will be all about my designing process. A little disclaimer, I am still a novice in card making. The tips I am sharing with you today are some of the things I have learned along the way being a paper crafter. I am still learning and trying to improve. However this is my own designing process so I hope you enjoy. I would love to receive your comment as well on what is yours. What inspires you to create cards or scrapbook layouts? Some of you guys are visual learners and would probably like to see some of it in action, so here’s a little YouTube video that I filmed and posted on my channel. This is my “happy” place.
First thing that I do is to make a good cup of coffee for myself. I then turn my iPod on to my favorite playlist so that I can play my favorite music while I work on the card. Lighting a great scented candle is always my go-to. I know that’s too much for some people but that is what I do for myself. I like to work in a peaceful and beautiful environment. Once the room is completely how I like it, I then start gathering my supplies.
From my experience, stamping the image a couple of times is always a good idea because if you somehow mess up the coloring on one image, then you can color another without having to go back and stamp again and again. Trust me, it will save you so much time! I use Memento Tuxedo black ink for Copic markers, or MFT Stamps Black Hybrid Ink. Now, Simon Says Stamp made the Intense Black Ink that is both good for Copic markers or watercolors. I switch between the three!
Before I die-cut the stamped images, I like to clean my stamps by using my all-time favorite cleaner, water and a chamois. Yes, a chamois! You know, the stuff that you use to wipe your car with? You can purchase one inexpensively at an auto-supply store, or order one from Amazon (where I got mine). You can reuse this a hundred times and it will clean the stamps nicely. I used to use baby wipes but they sometimes left some fibers on my stamps. I got this tip from a fellow stamper months ago at a Facebook group called Stamping Enablers. Lawn Fawn now has a stamp Shammy that they also sell in their online store.
Once the images are colored, I proceed to die-cut the images with the coordinating dies but if I don’t, I fuzzy-cut the image using my favorite Fiskars cutter-bee scissors. I also die-cut everything else that I need for my card. I like to use post-it tape to hold my dies in it’s place so it doesn’t shift when I run it through my die-cutting machine. The supplies you see on the photos are all of my favorite supplies in card making. One helpful TIP: I try to use as few colors as possible and also try to coordinate my patterned paper or card stock with the color of the images that I’m using for my card.
Have you ever noticed that popular card-makers always somehow create the most beautiful cards? Aside from using some great tools, this is the main reason why! However, this doesn’t always work for me. Sometimes, I don’t have the coordinating patterned paper or card stock but I try to minimize the colors that I use. At times, I get carried away over-embellishing my cards but then that’s what card-making is all about. Isn’t it? Sometimes I like to create simple cards, sometimes I don’t. It depends on my mood, I guess!
Once I finish the card, I then proceed to take a final photo so I can post it on my social media accounts, like Instagram, post on my Blog or use it as a thumbnail for my YouTube videos.
Another great tip: Lighting is the key to great photographs. I know it doesn’t always work but I will teach you a trick on how to edit your lighting! YOU DON’T NEED EXPENSIVE LIGHT BOXES TO MAKE THEM LOOK PROFESSIONAL!
For my cards, I use a white poster board that I lined up with a neutral patterned paper. Having a neutral color background will always make your images pop. I use a frog pin (purchased from a craft store) to hold my cards up. Once I am satisfied with the position, I take a few photos using my iPhone 6S.
If my lighting is really bad and the sun doesn’t want to cooperate, I use a photo-editor app to fix my lighting (Layout, RealBokeh, or Adobe Photoshop). However, there are a ton of free photo apps out there that can do this for you. You just need to find whatever works for you. Once I am happy with the lighting, I then use another app to put a watermark on my photos (Phonto). I started doing this now because I found that some of my card photos before were (stolen and) used to submit photos for an application to be published at a magazine. Yes, I know it is horrible and I really do not want to specify anymore because I try not to dwell on things and just move forward. I have learned my lesson the hard way. This is why I always have my watermark on my finished cards.
So I hope you guys found these tips and tricks very helpful. I would like to know your designing process and would be really grateful if you share your tips with me as well.
Here are my cards to celebrate Jessica Lynn Original’s 11th year anniversary! Please celebrate with us by going to Jessica’s Blog for more details; she will be giving away a HUGE prize at the end of the week. To participate, download the free digi-stamp and post your link at Jessica’s Blog. Here’s Jessica’s link: http://jessicalynnoriginalstamps.blogspot.com/2016/04/happy-11th-anniversary.html
Maria Russell Designs 