Valentine's Day cards for Him & Her

I am sharing a couple of cards I made based on Love using Mudra stamps.

As you can see both are very contrasting cards - one for the guy and the other for the girl

Card for Him

My main aim for this card was to create something not using the typical colors you would find in a Valentine's Day card. So i decided to go in for a Vintage look to symbolize Love that lasts forever. For this I thought i would try to make a worn out page of a book  with the word Love popping out from different places.

So I stamped the word Love from the Love stamp set by Mudra and then used the Old Script stamp by Mudra to cover up the remaining areas around the stamped Loves. Then I blended some Antique Linen, Tea Dye and Vintage Photo Distress Inks to create that worn out distressed look. With the background ready I proceeded to stamp the word Forever from the same Love stamp set on a piece of vellum and adhered it to the lower half of the background. I also stamped a small heart in Red just to add a pop of color. I used some Bakers twine to create two borders above and below the vellum strip.

I wanted to add some wilted flowers so I cut up few flowers inked in Walnut Stain Distress Ink and stuck them on the top right corner of the background. Embellished the flowers and the vellum strip with some Gold Liquid Pearls. To finish the card I mounted the whole panel on to black card base.

Card for Her

For this card, the only thing I had in mind while starting off the card was the hearts background in Violet and Pink. Because of that this turned out to be a card on which I spent a long time - not because it was complicated but because I kept changing the look and colors and the elements that go on the card.

I stamped the outline of the heart balloons from the Love stamp set by Mudra on some watercolor cardstock and colored them with Wilted Violet Distress Marker and Pink Zig to create a watercolored effect. Once this was done I started thinking of what would complement this background and after trying several things settled on creating a border of hearts using a heart punch and placing a cardbase blended with Wilted Violet (in the front) underneath the heart border.

I added white ribbons to form a frame on top of the hearts background. I then mounted the heart background on top with the heart borders only on the bottom and the right side. For the sentiment I used the same stamp set to stamp on small piece of cardstock and created a border using the Wilted Violet Marker and mounted it on top of the heart background. I finished off the card with some shine from the Wink of Stella glitter brush and some sequins.

I am entering these cards in the following challenges.

1. Mudra Challenge # 6 Love

2. Parus Card Making Challenges - February Challenge - Love

Floral Cards - Altenew Challenge

Today I am sharing a couple of cards that I made inspired by the Altenew February Challenge

Both my cards are inspired by the lovely bougainvillea flowers. For the first card I have tried to recreate the scene in the picture and for the second just used the flowers and their beautiful pink color.

Card 1

As I wanted to recreate the scene, I went thru my stash of Altenew stamps to find the stamp closest to the flowers. I chose the bud from the Peony Bouquet stamp set. To get a more solid look I took the solid stamp from the layering options and stamped the flowers randomly with Picked Raspberry &Worn Lipstick Distress Inks and also stamped small leaves from the same set in between the flowers to give the effect of leaves peeping thru the flowers. I also stamped few big leaves with Lucky Clover & Mowed Lawn Distress Inks. I added some shine using the Wink of Stella Glitter brush and fussy cut all of it and my foreground was ready.

For the background I wanted to create a cream wall. So I used Ranger's Texture Paste along with Tim Holtz's Tiles Layering stencil to give the textured look of a wall as can be seen in the picture. I blended some Antique Linen Distress Ink once the paste had dried. I adhered the fussy cut elements on top of this wall background. For the black gate in the picture I went with a black strip for the sentiment and gold heat embossed the sentiment.

To finish the card off, I tied silver thread around several times and mounted the whole set on a card base.

Card 2

For this card I stuck to the bud from the Peony Bouquet set but this time used the outline. I cut out a small piece of white watercolor paper and white heat embossed the buds along the corners. Painted them with Picked Raspberry Distress Ink and a waterbrush for a watercolored effect. I stamped the sentiment also in the same color in the center of this piece.

I liked how Cracked Pistachio Distress ink was going with the flowers so I colored a small piece of cardstock with Pistachio Marker along the borders and mounted my flower panel at an angle on the now Pista cardstock.

For the background I stamped leaves from the Dahlia Blossoms stamp set again in Cracked Pistachio and watercolored it using the Marker of the same color. I added a few berries in between the leaves as well. I mounted the flower piece on this background again at an angle.

I wanted more of the pink so on the front panel of my card base I blended in some Picked Raspberry along the borders and mounted the background with the flower centerpiece at an angle. To finish of the card I added some Silver Pearls using Liquid Pearls around the sentiment and the four edges of the Pista Panel.

I really enjoyed making these cards as they are a little different from what I have been making earlier. Encourages me to try different media and layers to add lovely dimensions and create beautiful effects!

Wedding Gift Cards

Finding an appropriate gift for weddings is quite tedious for me. And even if I do find something nice I always feel the need of adding a personal element to the gift. Now that I am into card making I've found a nice little way for that little personal touch.

So today I am sharing 3 cards that I made keeping weddings in mind.

Card 1

This card was inspired by Altenew's January Inspiration challenge. The colors in the challenge came together to give a very auspicious feel to the card. I used the Dahlia Blossoms stamp set from Altenew to stamp out the flowers and leaves on the outer panel of white cardstock using Distress Inks & the Mini MISTI and used the layering feature available in this set - the outline with Vintage Photo and the layers with Fossilized Amber for the flowers and Peeled Paint for the leaves.

After this I cut out a rectangle from the center of the panel. I heat embossed the same leaves in the center of maroon cardstock. I then adhered the white stamped panel on the maroon cardstock using foam tape. I heat embossed the sentiment - from Magnolias for her stamp set by Altenew - on to a black strip and stuck that in the middle of the card. The whole set was then mounted on a white cardbase.

To add finishing touches I added some gold pearls using Ranger's Liquid Pearls and also added some gold to the flowers and leaves.

Challenges

• Altenew January 2017 Inspiration Challenge

• Paru's Card Making Challenges - Anything Goes - Congratulations for the 1st Anniversary! :)

Card 2

I wanted to create a very dainty wedding card - something with soft tones. I first created the stenciled background using Distress inks - Picked Raspberry, Mustard Seed and Peacock Feathers. Sprayed some water on the background to soften the look.

I then stamped a couple of Magnolias from the Magnolias for her stamp set by Altenew using Picked Raspberry and lightly watercolored it with the same ink. I fussy cut the flowers and mounted the background and the flowers on a card base. I stamped the sentiment - from Mudra Stamps - in Picked Raspberry at the base of the card. I then rounded off the edges of the card.

To add a little sparkle I finished off the card with some sequins.

Challenges

• Paru's Card Making Challenge - Anything Goes

• Happy Little Stampers Jan CAS Challenge - Stencil

• Fusion Card Challenge - Congratulations for the 3rd Anniversary :) Card is inspired by only the sketch.

Card 3

I made the final card for the Mudra January Challenge - Heat Embossing. I first created a background by blending distress inks - Peacock Feathers, Mermaid Lagoon and Broken China. I sprayed water on it to create a distressed look and to get some watermarks.

For the heat embossing I used the leaf stamps from the Leafy Stamp set by Mudra. I stamped the leaves at the right bottom corner and heat embossed using Rangers White Embossing powder. I loved how the white leaves were looking against the distressed background. The sentiment is also from Mudra stamps. 

For the finishing touches I splattered some white paint all around the background and adhered some sequins for the sparkle. I also loved how the black strip of sentiment was standing out against the background so as an afterthought I added a thin strip of black cardstock on the right of the card. That finished the card for me. 

Challenges

• Mudra Craft Stamps Challenge # 5 - Heat Embossing

Cards with Alcohol Ink

Happy New Year!

Am back after a small break. A lovely vacation with my family :) So once I got back I could not wait to get started again. Just before leaving I had received a new bunch of craft items!

So for the new year I wanted to try something new. And then I came across the latest challenge at CAS Mix Up - to use liquid colors such as Alcohol Inks. I thought its a good time to experiment with them. But to use them I did not have any Glossy cardstock or Yupo Paper. So I decided to make do with what I had - some Acetate Sheets and Photo Paper.

Then I made two cards using some Alcohol Ink backgrounds I created.

Card 1 - Alcohol Inks on Acetate Sheet

I had tried out Alcohol Inks on acetate sheet before and I was quite pleased with the results. So for this card also, I created a background using two colors of Alcohol inks - Wild Plum and Stream   from the Valley Trail set. For this I first applied drops of colors on the felt applicator and pounced all over the sheet. Then I added some blending solution on the applicator and pounced all over again to get lovely patterns and blended colors. I did this till I was satisfied with the outcome.

Once the background was ready I trimmed it to my desired size. With the left over scrap piece I punched out some small hearts using a small heart punch. After that I took a strip of White cardstock and punched out a few butterflies and a heart again using a craft punch.

I stuck the background on the card base and adhered the white punched out strip on the base of the background so that the background shows through the punched parts. I then randomly stuck the hearts around the base.

To finish the card I stamped the word Beautiful from Simon Says Stamps Sketch Ranunculus set in two colors of distress inks - Picked Raspberry and Peacock Feathers - to match the background. Then I wrote the words 'Life is' in front of the stamped image using Sakura Micron Pen.

I am entering this card in the following challenges

• CAS Mix Up January Challenge - Stamping + Liquid Colors - Alcohol Inks + Craft Punch

• Simon Says Stamps Monday Challenge - Start Afresh

• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - New Something

Card 2 - Alcohol Inks on Photo Paper

Photo Paper is not a great surface for Alcohol Inks. I realized this when I tried to use Photo Paper as a replacement for Glossy paper. The colors would get absorbed so soon that it doesn't leave much to do. Disappointed with this result I just randomly streaked the felt applicator which had some left over inks in it across the photo paper and it created some nice patterns. For this card to get more colors, I added more drops of the colors - all 3 from the Valley Trail set and ran it through photo paper and created a background with streaky lines of colors.

With the background ready, I cut it up into 3 rectangles and punched out butterflies and hearts from the background similar to the previous card. I punched out some extra butterflies and hearts from the scrap pieces of background. I stuck the rectangles, the butterflies and hearts on the card base using foam squares.

For the sentiment I chose 'Believe in your dreams' from the Flutter By Stamp set by Lawn Fawn. Again I stamped it with Distress Inks to match the colors of the background on a white strip and then adhered it on the card base. To finish it off I stuck a couple of hearts on the sentiment strip.  I also rounded the edges of the card.

I am entering this in the following challenges

• CAS Mix Up January Challenge - Stamping + Liquid Colors - Alcohol Inks + Craft Punch

• Simon Says Stamps Monday Challenge - Start Afresh

• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - New Something

Supplies

• Ranger Alcohol Inks
• Blending Solution
• Felt and Applicator
• Butterfly and Heart Stamp Punch
• White Card stock
• Acetate Sheet and Photo Paper
• SSS Sketch Ranunculus Stamp set
• Lawn Fawn Flutter By Stamp Set

Spring Flowers Cards

I came across this post by Yana Smakula for Simon Says Stamp Blog where she used a single stamp set to create 4 different cards. This inspired me to try something similar. And for this I chose the Botanicals 3 Stamp set from Paper Smooches and created 3 CAS cards.

For all the 3 cards I used the same stamps and the same distress colors as well. The colors I used - Mustard Seed, Worn Lipstick, Ripe Persimmon and Peeled Paint and Broken China for one of the cards.

Card 1 - All Over Background with some Sparkle

For this card, I stamped the flowers and the leaves from the Botanicals 3 set all over the front panel randomly in the colors mentioned above using Distress Inks. I left some space in the center for sentiment that I was going to place on top. I also sprinkled very little water on top of the flowers for some effect.

I decided to 'Make it Sparkle' inspired by the SSS Wednesday Challenge :) So for the sentiment I cut out a circle and went with a Handwritten 'hello' sentiment which I then heat embossed in Gold. Also heat embossed the edges of the circle with Gold. After that I adhered some gold sequins to add some more sparkle to finish off the card.

I am entering this card in the following challenges

• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Make it Sparkle

• Mod Squad Challenge - A Little Bit of Spring

Card 2 - Circular Patterns

For this card I used only the smaller flowers from the set and stamped them in random circles. I introduced a bit of Blue in this card as well. For the sentiment I made a small Banner and painted it with Broken China Distress Ink and stamped the sentiment from Paper Smooches Birthday Bash stamp set. I also added a few dots with a gold marker on the banner and the card - again for a bit of sparkle.

Entering this card for the following challenges

• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Make it Sparkle

• CAS(E) this Sketch #202

• Mod Squad Challenge - A Little Bit of Spring

Card 3 - Corner Patterns

For this card I stamped the flowers and leaves only in the 4 corners. For the sentiment, I cut a rectangular piece and I stamped small dots in the colors of the flowers all over and then stamped the Best Wishes sentiment from Mudra Stamps. I also drew a black border around the rectangular piece and then adhered it in the center of the front panel.

                                              

Entering this card in the following challenges

• Mod Squad Challenge - A Little Bit of Spring

Supplies for all 3 Card

• Canson Watercolor paper
• Distress Inks
• Botanicals 3 - Paper Smooches
• Birthday Bash - Paper Smooches
• Best Wishes - Mudra Stamps
• Foam Tape
• Sakura Micron Pen
• Deco Art Gold Marker
• Gold Sequins

Watercolor Resist Cards

Sharing a couple of cards I made using the watercolor resist technique - something I have been wanting to try for sometime now.

The technique involves creating a kind of a surface using anything that basically resists color. For my cards I used heat embossing as the technique to resist the watercolors.

I made two contrasting CAS cards - one for a birthday party related theme and the other a bit more on the elegant side to say a simple 'Thanks'.

Card 1 - Celebration Card

For this card I used the Birthday Bash stamp set from Paper Smooches. I heat embossed the balloons and the sentiment on Watercolor paper from Canson - the balloons in white and the sentiment in silver. These elements would work as the resist for my technique. I also stamped a cake from the same stamp set using Ranger Jet Black Archival Ink.

I used Zig Clean Color Real Pens to be my watercolor medium. First I applied water with a brush all across the paper. I applied some Blue Zig on to a clear acrylic block and used a brush to apply the color on the entire panel. The embossed parts resisted the color. I also avoided coloring inside the cake. Once I got some color for the background I proceeded to color inside the balloons in a similar manner blending a few colors from the acrylic block. I then colored the cake. I felt the background needed more color so I added more color around the balloons till I got the desired look.
The colors used are Cobalt Blue, Blue and Carmine Red.

I felt the balloons looked bare without the strings. I wanted a bit more of silver on my card as well so I used the Clear Emboss It pen from Ranger to draw strings and then heat embossed them in silver. I finished the card by adding some white dots on the balloons and the cake using white Sakura Gelly Roll pen.

I am entering this card in the following challenges.

• Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Party Time

• AAA Cards CAS Game # 80 - Silver

• CAS Watercolor December Challenge - Watercolor Resist

• CAS(E) this Sketch # 202

• Muse Challenge # 197 - inspired by the Background color 

Card 2 - Thank You card

I made this card the exact same way as the previous one. What is different are the stamps and the colors used. The flowers are from the Flower Garden stamp set by Tim Holtz from Stampers Anonymous. The Zig colors used are Pink, Carmine Red, Orange and Yellow.

I adhered the finished panel on to a card base and added a handwritten Thank You sentiment. I splattered drops of pink color around the sentiment to finish off the card.

I am entering this in the following challenges

• CAS Watercolor December Challenge - Watercolor Resist

• CAS(E) this Sketch # 202

Supplies for both Cards

• Birthday Bash stamp set by Paper Smooches - Card 1
• Tim Holtz Flower Garden by Stampers Anonymous - Card 2
• Canson Watercolor Paper
• Zig Clean Color Real Brush Pens
• Versamark Watermark pad
• Ranger White and Silver Embossing Powder
• Ranger Heat It Tool
• Sakura Gelly Roll Pen - white
• Sakura Micron Pen - black
• Ranger Jet Black Archival Ink pad
• Ranger Clear Emboss It pen