Year End Favorites

 

Hello friend. Esther here today sharing nine of my favorite cards that I created using Sweet n Sassy Stamps products this year.  Their 25% off year end sale goes through December 31st, so hop on over and shop your favorites before the year is over. 

    ~~~This post contains affiliate links at no extra cost to you~~~ 

Vintage Postcard 

using: I Like Big Cups, Going Postal, Texture Tiles 9, Texture Tiles 4 ,Coffee Talk 

On My Heart Today

using: Script Background,  Heartfelt Thoughts, Encouraging Peonies 

 

He Will Give You Rest 

using: Floral Background, Faith Phrases, Typewriter Text Background, Background Builders: Stripes

Get Well Soon 

using: Rise & Shine Stencil, Everyday Greetings, How Tweet

Rustic Elegance 

using: Mr. & Mrs. Stamp Set, Mr. & Mrs. Die Set

Happy Mother's Day 

using: Mason Jar Bouquet, Bookmarks & More Dies, Grace So Amazing, Psalm 23 Background 

Love You "Cherry" Much

 using: Summer Fruits , Texture Tiles 4,  How Tweet 

With Love and Prayers

using: Blooming Anemones, Encouraging Thoughts, Texture Tiles 6, Script Stencil, Friend Die

Sunny Sunflowers

 using: Like a Sunflower, Texture Tiles 4, Friend Die, Bookmarks & More Dies

Mixed Media and Garden Flowers

Hello Friends!

Today's post is all about using background panels and scrap pieces of panels that I have had in my stash.  I paired these panels with various different images from the Flower Garden Stamp Set.  As you will see, you may not even recognize that the same stamp set was used in each card.

First up, nothing says summer like a beachy/sea themed card!  I love this mermaid from the Mer-Mazing Stamp Set.  She was stamped on Neenah Solar white cs and colored with Copics, then fussy cut out. And that crab!  I love this crab!  He is the cutest!  Colored and fussy cut as well.
I used a water color panel that was done with water color paper and Ken Oliver Color Burst Powders.  I used the water colored panel as my base and then built upon that.
For the image panel, I sponged some Salty Ocean Distress Ink onto the panel and followed that up by using a circle stencil and sponging Mermaid Lagoon ink.  Finally, the seaweed.  It is actually from the Flower Garden Stamp Set; as soon as I saw this image I knew I wanted to use it for an underwater scene.  The seaweed was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and quickly colored with Copics.  The sentiment was stamped using my MISTI, in Versamark Onyx Black Ink.
I popped up the top half of the mermaid and the crab on dimensional adhesive, added some sparkle to her and added Glossy Accents to his eyes.  A few sequins finish it off.

Next up, a simple card with NO coloring.

No flowers here; this time I stamped the bitty butterflies from the Flower Garden Stamp Set and fussy cut them out.  They were grounded with a black cs circle and a white cs strip.  The sentiment is from The Future Stamp Set and is heat embossed in white ep.
The background panel is one I created with when crafting with a friend; I had just received some new Distress goodies in the mail and went to town spritzing and spraying.  I love how this panel turned out.  It was the perfect panel for this card.   Sequins added to the butterfly bodies finish the card.

Lastly, a pretty straight forward, floral card~

These whimsical flowers screamed for bright colors!  I pulled out a coloring medium I had not used in a long, long time.  I stamped the image on water color paper and colored them with Inktense Water Color Pencils.  They really popped on a background panel that was done with Distress Sprays.  I fussy cut the flowers out and popped them up on dimensional adhesive.  I added some strips of white cs (per the CASE This Sketch sketch) and added my sentiment, which is from the Mason Jar Bouquet Stamp Set.
That's it for me!  3 background panels used, same Flower Garden Stamp Set used, resulting in 3 very different cards!
I hope I have inspired you; thanks for stopping by!

Lee Ann 

Roses for Days!

Hello Everyone! 

Have you checked out July's release?  Yes, I did say July!  How can that be???  I happen to be in Florida right now, visiting my parents.  I feel like once I get home, I am going to blink and the summer will be over. 
Anyway, back to the new stamps.  True Beauty.  It IS a beauty!  So versatile! 

My first card was super fun to make.  I really did not even plan it out; I was crafting with a friend and it just happened, lol.  I may need to craft with her more often! 

This was so so simple; I did not even put the image on a stamp block!  I used the rose image in the bottom right hand corner.  I simply inked up the stamps with distress inks to create an ombre design. 

Once the background was done, I stamped a butterfly from the Made New Stamp Set with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored it with Copics.
The butterfly was grounded with a sprig of leaves die cut from vellum, as well as a sentiment strip in black.  The sentiment is from the Sentimental Mash Up Set ( I love this set!) and is heat embossed in white embossing powder. 
This next card came out of that same crafting session~

This time I used the solid rose image and the outline rose image.  I stamped the outline first, and then, using my MISTI, I inked up the solid image, using two different colors of distress inks on each rose.  Then, using some very simple masking, I stamped the outlines of the leaves followed by stamping the solid leaves, again, using two different colors of green distress inks.  I die cut the rose panel with a scallop frame die and popped the frame up on dimensional adhesive.  The sentiment, from the Mason Jar Bouquet Stamp Set, was heat embossed with white embossing powder.

And lastly, a more typical card, at least for me- there is Copic coloring!

 
I did some no line coloring this time, using the outline rose image again.  The image was stamped with Antique Linen Distress Ink on Neenah Solar White cs and then colored with Copics markers. 
After fussy cutting the flower out, I went to work on the background panel. 
A stencil and some Coloringz spray is all that was used for the background.  And that sprig of leaves pops up again, this time die cut from white cardstock.  'Hello' is stamped in a yellowish green ink that looks more black here than irl. 
That's it for me!  I hope I have inspired you to just PLAY with this set!  I promise you, you will love it. 


Thanks for visiting!

Lee Ann 

Two Cards, One Color Palette

Hello All! 
I am back with a couple of cards to share today, both using the same color palette. 
I was itching to use the hummingbird in the Beautiful Birds Stamp Set. I  matched the bird up with the peonies in the Peony Cluster Stamp Set. 

Here is the how-to~ 
1.  Using MISTI, stamp peonies on edge of 51/2 x 4 1/4 panel of Neenah Solar White CS using Memento Tuxedo Black ink. 
2.  Color peonies and background with Copics.
3.  Determine position of hummer on the panel, and mount onto MISTI door.  Mask the area of the flower that is a part of the hummer image.
4.  Stamp the hummer with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and color with Copic markers.
5.   Draw a very light pencil line with a ruler, from the top of the panel to the bottom of the panel, avoiding the hummer. 
6.  Fussy cut around back end of hummer up to the pencil line. 
7.  Cut the rest of the panel along the pencil line, using a trimmer.
8.  Add Wink of Stella to the hummer.
9.  Fold a kraft cs cardbase and determine placement of sentiment. 
10.  Stamp sentiment with MISTI using Versafine Onyx Black Ink.  Sentiment is from the Mason Jar Bouquet Stamp Set.
11.  Adhere image panel to card base using dimensional adhesive. 

Next up, a card using the Country Garden Stamp Set~

This one has a little surprise in it! 
1.  The bike was stamped on a piece of Neenah Solar White Cardstock with Memento Tuxedo Black ink. 
I did not want to put grass behind my bike again as I had done that with my previous bike card.  I thought a flowering bush or garden of some sort would be pretty, but I doubted my ability to pull that off.  Then I got an idea.  I used the wheelbarrow image from the Country Garden Stamp Set and using Memento Desert Sand Ink, stamped just the flowers in the wheelbarrow- twice.  I masked out the wheel barrow to the best of my ability but other than that, I pretty much stamped right over the bike as I new I would be coloring over it anyway.  I think I may have masked out the basket of flowers. 
OK, back to the steps.
2.  Stamp the flowers in the wheelbarrow two times behind the bike.
3.  Loosely color in the flowers with Copics. 
4.  Color the bike with Copics.
5. Using Copics, color in a side walk and a bit of grass along the edge of the sidewalk. 
6.  Stamp the sentiment from the Beautiful Birds Stamp Set using the MISTI with Versafine Black Ink.
7.  Mount image panel on black cs. 
8.  Add patterned paper to horizontal card base. 
9.  Add white gel pen to centers of flowers in the bike basket.  Add sequins to finish off the card.

 I have not written up a blog post in this step by step fashion before.  I usually just do a narrative of how I made the card.  I would love to know which style of write up you prefer!  Please comment and let me know! 

OK, that's it for me!  I hope I I have inspired you to get out your stamps! 


Lee Ann 

Mixed Media, 3 Different Ways

Hello Friends! 

Today seemed like a good day to try something a bit different.  There were lots of bits and pieces on my desk- colored images, monoprints, and various other backgrounds.  I thought it would be fun to put some of these items to use and create mixed media cards.
 I think a lot of us have a certain idea of what mixed media is in our heads- lots of texture, layers, and lots and lots of products- sprays, pastes, metal items, tissue paper, pencils, crayons, gel mediums to name a few.  However, in the card making world, many consider a mixed media card to be two or more mediums on a card. 
So, here we go.  I have 3 different cards, varying in complexity and using different mediums. 
The first is super CAS!

The two mediums are watercolor and acrylic paint. 
Here is the how to~
The background panels are from a single monoprint using acrylic paint and a stencil.  If you are not familiar with monoprinting, it involves using a gel plate like the ones here.  Acrylic paint was dropped on and rolled out with a Printing Brayer.  The leaf panel is two stamps- the leaf is from the Autumn Splendor Stamp Set and the doodled square is from the Just Be Stamp Set. I stamped and masked the leaf onto water color paper, then stamped the square.  The image was then watercolored with Ken Oliver Color Bursts and fussy cut out. I doodled lines around my background panels using a Sakura Pigma Micron Pen.  Some acrylic paint splatters finish off the leaf image. 
The next card has a bit more going on~

The flower, which is from the Mason Jar Bouquet Stamp Set, was stamped with Versafine Onyx Black Ink on water color paper, painted with Ken Oliver Color Bursts and fussy cut out.  The background is stamped multiple times with the floral branch from the Birds and Blooms Stamp Set and colored with Prismacolor pencils.  I added dies cuts from a new die I was trying out and heat embossed a sentiment from the Singing Praises Stamp Set.   
This third card is what you may consider to be a more traditional mixed media project.  It was inspired by our own Julee Tilman! 

I had another flower laying around, wanting to be used on a card.  It was stamped on watercolor paper with Versafine Onyx Black Ink , water colored with Ken Oliver Color Bursts and then fussy cut out.  My mixed media panel was one I made when trying to replicate something that Julee had made.  Well, mine fell really short!  I was going to toss it, but, when placed next to the color orange, it suddenly came to life.  I also had a piece of patterned paper that had been spritzed with a couple of different shimmery sprays; the colors worked perfectly with the orange rose and the teal panel.  The sentiment is from the new, Sentimental Mash Up Stamp Set.  This card uses water colors, sprays, embossing paste and distress oxides. 

There you have it, 3 mixed media cards, all with very different looks.  Which do you like best? 
I hope I have inspired you to get messy today!

Thanks for stopping by and have a blessed week! 
Lee Ann 

Bird and Blooms

Hello and Happy New Year Friends! 

I enjoyed a lot of crafting over Christmas break and pulled out my watercolors for this card. 

I combined two fantastic sets- Birds and Blooms and Singing Praises Stamp Set. 
I stamped the branches two times onto watercolor paper and colored with my Ken Oliver Colorbursts.  This bird.  I just love this chubby bird!  It was also stamped on watercolor paper and then colored with colorbursts.  I fussy cut the bird out and popped it up on dimensionals over the branches. 
The sentiment is from the Mason Jar Bouquet Stamp Set.  I used a Sakura white Gelly Roll Pen for the white highlight on the eye.   A few sequins was all it needed to finish it off. 
Thanks so much for stopping by.  Have a blessed week!

Lee Ann  

Praying for You

Hello Sweet Friends!  It's Sheri here today to share a card I created using a mix of stamp sets.  I love having the flexibility to mix and match stamp sets to get even more out of them.  For example I took the flower image from the Mason Jar Bouquet set, the sentiment is from the Birds & Blooms set and the back ground was created with the Texture Tiles 1 set.

I first stamped the a pattern from the Texture Tiles 1 set on a white panel of card stock and stamped it with gray ink and sponged over it with Distress Oxide Peakcock Feathers ink.  I then stamped the flower image and colored with alcohol markers and fussy cut it out.  My final step was cutting out a circle piece and stamping the sentiment on it before layering all the pieces on a turquoise card base.

The Texture Tiles 1 stamp set is the March 2018 Stamp of the Month and is FREE with a $75 order (after all discounts and before shipping & tax) through 3/31/18.

 

 Happy Stamping!

I'm Here For You

Hello Everyone!  Today I have a card featuring the NEWLY released Whimsy Bouquet stamp set.  I randomly stamped some of the floral images using Versafine Onyx Black in and then I embossed it with Fine Detail Clear embossing powder before coloring with copic markers.  I then added a sentiment from the Mason Jar Bouquet set.

And here's another peek at a card I shared earlier in the month that also features the Whimsy Bouquet stamp set.  For the sentiment on this one I used the Kindness Matters stamp set.

 

   

Don't forget that the Scene Silhouettes: Wetlands is the January 2018 Stamp of the Month and is FREE with a $60 order through 1/31/18.

Happy Stamping!

With Thoughts and Prayers

Hello! Today I want to share this clean and simple card with you. I love to use the silhouette stamps on CAS-cards. Sometimes you just want to let someone know that you're thinking about them and it's not the right time to send bright and colorful cards. This is a great solution.

I masked the area on the cards where I didn't want the ink and started blending two colors of blue ink into each other. When I removed the masking tape there's a nice strip of blue color in the background. I stamped the silhouettes on top of the blended area with black ink and a couple of birds above it. I really love this sentiment from Mason Jar Bouquet so I had to add it to this card. I added a couple of sequins to give the card a little bit more sparkle.

 

I used the stamp sets Mason Jar Bouquet and the January stamp of the month Scene Silhouettes: Wetlands (Free with your $60 order through 1/31/18)

- Lucinde

Stamped & Stenciled One Layer Cards with Mason Jar Bouquet

It's Gracie from Graciellie Design with a new cardmaking idea to share. I'm saying good-bye to Summer with a set of colorful stamped and stenciled cards. I had lots of fun making these so I'm happy to be sharing them with you today!

I started out by picking my color palette. I wanted to go for a bright and unique color combo and that is how my first card came to life in yellow and green. I stenciled the backgrounds with a Distressed Details stencil using mostly ink. I did stencil a few patterns with heavy body acrylic paint in yellow and silver metallic.

I stamped and colored the flowers with Spectrum Noir markers and then added a stamped banner with the sentiment. This is a one layered card. I didn't add card panels at all and that is why I love these designs so much. If you use a nice cardstock you are able to add lots of ink and paint layers, but of course make sure to use as little medum as possible.

Mason Jar Bouquet Clear Stamp Set

My second card came about as a consequence of the first one. I thought I should make another card using also yellow and so I combined it with hot pink. I tried to follow the same stencil design I had added to the first one, which is not precisely simple, but I was able to achieve the same look with a similiar stenciling.

Making these cards lifted my spirit on a very hard day, so I hope I they can also cheer you up and inspire you to create something pretty today! Until next time.

Praying for Texas

Hello Sweet 'n Sassy Stampers!

It's Ceal here to share with you today. With the aftermath of hurricane Harvey, Texas has been in my thoughts and prayers. My heart goes out to all those who have lost their belongings and homes because of the flooding. 

To make my card I started with a top folding white note card, some scrap patterned paper and a panel of kraft cardstock.

I stamped the floral image from the set Mason Jar Bouquet with versatile ink and colored it with Copic markers. I used some designer paper by Basic Gray and cut strips to cover a scrap piece of paper and then cut it down to fit on the Kraft panel. 

To finish the card I stamped the greeting on a piece of kraft cardstock and popped it and the flower u0 using foam tape.

'Tis So Sweet

Hello sweet friends!  Hope you had a wonderful week and are ready to enjoy the weekend!  I have a couple of cards to share with you today using stamps that are now back in stock at the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Store.

This Hymn Block coordinate beautifully with the Sweet as Honey stamp set.  After sponging distress inks on a glossy card stock panel and stamping the honeycomb from the Sweet as Honey stamp set, a little sanding in both directions helped to create a faux linen look.  Some Long Stem Silhouettes were stamped in the corner and square aperture was cut from the panel with a square die.  A frame was created and this panel was popped over another faux linen piece on which words from the time-loved hymn, 'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus, was stamped.  The Honey Bee was stamped, colored, fussy cut and popped onto the card.

Have you ever had a loss of Mojo.  I've found that inspiration can come from almost anywhere if you just look around.  This next card was inspired by my shower curtain!

The stripes along the right side were stenciled while the flower from Mason Jar Bouquet was stamped several times and fussy cut.  These were mounted to a black panel in a way that resembled my shower curtain.  They were then embossed with a canvas impression plate to create the texture of fabric.  The sentiment was white embossed on a black fussy cut banner....No Coloring and very easy to make!

These stamp sets from the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Store were used to create the cards above:

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Take a look around...what can you find to inspire some creativity?

Happy stamping until next time!

Hugs,

Cathy