Lemons and Lettering

 Hello!  

Have you been enjoying Customer Appreciation Month?  Sweet n Sassy Stamps has such talented artists.  

When I think lettering, Rebecca Rios pops into my head!  I love her calligraphy and sentiments.  Life and Lemons is one of my favorites of hers~

Rebecca's letters are exquisite and because of that you can keep your card fairly CAS and the lettering alone will make it shine!  But this lemon though...I love this stylized lemon.  It was stamped on watercolor paper and colored with Ken Oliver Colorbursts.  It was then fussy cut out.  The card base was stamped with the same lemon and leaf, only this time it was stamped randomly in light gray.  A couple of white panels set the lemon apart and lastly, the sentiment is stamped.  a few sequins finish off the card.  

And I cannot forget one of her newest sets, Count Your Rainbows with coordinating dies.  This is such a fun set!  I needed some thank yous for some students at school; this was the perfect set.  I made simple 3 x 3 cards using the smallest rainbow and coordinating die, along with one of the cloud dies.  

The rainbow is colored with Copics and the sentiment is heat embossed on black cs.  The sentiment is from the Scripty Thoughts Stamp set. 

Rebecca's sets are currently on sale through May 20th, so now is the time to stock up!  

Thank you for stopping by! 

Have a blessed week!

Lee Ann  

Roses are Red and So are Penguins!

 Hello Friends!  

I hope everyone enjoyed Christmas, New Year's and time off with your families.  

As you have probably already noticed in stores, we are headed full speed towards Valentine's Day.  I got this wacky idea (trying to think outside the box, lol) that I needed a red penguin on a Valentine's Day card.  Here is the end result!

So, I kind of love him!  I did add a heart to his tummy- I used a heart stamp from the Sweet Little Lamb Stamp Set.  This sweet guy is from the Winter Hugs Stamp Set, as is the sentiment.  He was colored with Copics and then fussy cut out.  I was a bit stumped from there.  Several different backgrounds, layouts, and color schemes later, I was still without anything but this cute bird.  I rifled through some patterned paper and happened across this pink and red graphic paper that is perfectly 'Valentiney'.  Best part is it already had the heart shape die cut from it from some previous project.  It was the perfect way to finish off this cutie.  I added some sequins and stamped Happy Valentines Day on the side- the stamp I used is from the Lots of Love Stamp Set.  I tried to get a picture here, but with bad lighting due to a very dreary day, I could not get a good photo of the inside of the card.  Here are both stamp sets that I used~

This next card is also monochromatic red and it started out as a Valentine's card as well, but as you can see, it did not end up as such.  

Isn't this just the best bird image?!?!  If you like realism (like me!) then this is THE bird image for you.  This guy is from the Singing Praises Stamp Set.  I stamped him with Versafine Onyx Black Ink using my MISTI and then water colored him with my well loved Ken Oliver Colorburst Watercolors.  The bird was fussy cut out.  

For the background, I decided to use the faux water coloring technique.  The floral image is my favorite in the Flower Garden Stamp Set.  Once the background was dry, I die cut a circle out of it and them popped up the negative panel on the card base. I stamped the sentiment and added a few sequins and called it done.  If you want to see my inspiration for this card, head over to my blog!  

Please excuse the photos, all.  I am still getting used to a new computer, new editing program and trying to take photos with my phone.  I will get there eventually!  

Don't forget, the January Release Bundle is available through January 9th- you can save over 10%!  

And with your purchase of $75 or more you get free shipping!  AND, with a purchase of $60 or more, you get the January Stamp of the Month- Happy Mail- for free!  

That's a lot of free! 

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful week!

Lee Ann  

Poinsettias for Christmas

 Hello, Hello, All!  

Today I am revisiting the gorgeous Poinsettia Greetings Stamp Set.  This is a favorite of mine that I reach for again and again.  

I like to make my parents a special card for Christmas so given the popularity of the slimline card, I decided to go that route.  I used two shades of red Ken Oliver Color Bursts to color this monochromatic card.  

I started out with a 10 x 4 inch piece of Canson Watercolor Paper.  I spritzed it with water and sprinkled on some Alizerin Crimson Color Burst Water Color Powder.  I used a large brush to move the color around and add water where needed.  I also sopped up some of the color with a paper towel as I did not want it too dark.  

Next, using my MISTI, I Stamped the poinsettias 3 times.  I then painted them all, using the Alizerin Crimson as well as Cadmium Scarlet color bursts.  A little mixture of black, blue and purple color bursts was used for the shadows.  The panel was then cut down for a 8.5 x 4inch card.  

When the flowers were dried, I used Winsor and Newton white gouache that was watered down to make splatters.  The flower centers were filled in with a Uniball Signo white gel pen.  

The sentiment is from the Holiday Greetings Stamp Set.  Both the sentiment and the image panel were matted with shiny gold wrapping paper.  Some sequins finish it off.  

Thanks for stopping by!  I won't be back on the blog 'til December so have a Happy, Happy, Thanksgiving!  

Lee Ann  

Vintage and Versatile!

 Hello, Hello!  

The new Vintage Van Stamp Set is just adorable; better yet, it is soooo versatile!  

It is certainly fun to use for Christmas cards as in this card below~

The background was made with various blue and purple Colorburst Watercolor powders.  I simply wet the paper, sprinkled on color and wet some more.  I dried with my heat gun and then sprinkled and spritzed another layer.  Voila!  Prefect night sky!  For a more wintry look, I splatted the background with water and pressed a papertowel to it to pick up the water along with some of the color.  Then I splattered lots of watered down white guoache paint to create a blizzard. 

The van was colored with Copics but first,  I masked off the logo/heart in the center of the van and then stamped the wreath with the word 'Joy' in green.  I used a black water based marker on the word 'Joy' and stamped over it several times.  Once I was happy with the wreath, I colored the rest of the van with copics and fussy cut it out.  I also stamped the tree with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and fussy cut it out, then adhered it to the back of the van. 

The Sentiment comes from the set Christmas Pine.  

This next card has more of a 60's vibe with a background that was made with the shaving cream technique. 

 

 It was the perfect background to pair with a van that was colored orange with a pink heart.   I added the bunch of balloons and the roof rack of presents, all colored with Oranges, yellows and pinks.  I colored in pavement under the van and then fussy cut the pavement and around the top and sides of the van.  I adhered it to a white panel matted in pink.  The sentiment was stamped in Versamark ink and heat embossed with white embossing powder.  I popped the panel up on dimensional tape and adhered it to the psychedelic background.  A few sequins finish it off.  

I love the two very different looks AND uses for these cards!   

Thanks for stopping by!

Lee Ann

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 

Scribble Flowers

Hello Friends! Esther here sharing two cards that feature the Scribble Flowers stamp set.

For this first one, I added some colorburst powders to a dictionary page, spritzed with water, and heat set. I then stamped my flowers in black ink and fussy cut them. You'll notice I "dressed up" the centers with some circle punched dots -- sometimes it's the little things that take your card to the next level!

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

Supplies and Tools;

• Scribble Flowers (Sweet n Sassy Stamps)
• Grace So Amazing (Sweet n Sassy Stamps)
• Jet Black Archival Ink (Ranger)
• Circle Punches
• Dictionary Page
• These colors of Colorburst Powders (Ken Oliver)
• Ultramarine Blue
• Lime Green
• Fuchsia 

For my second card I used two of the new releases for April to create a fun library card focal point and decorated the corners with some of the pretty florals from Scribble Flowers.

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

Supplies and Tools:

• These Sweet n Sassy Stamp Sets
• Scribble Flowers
• Typewriter Text Background 
• Your Story
• Friendship Is A Blessing
• Canson Mixed Media Paper
• Real Brush Pens (Arteza)
• Petals & Blooms Designer Paper (The Paper Studio) 
• Crochet Thinlits (Sizzix -Tim Holtz)
• Embossing Folder (Sizzix - Tim Holtz) 
• Oval Punch
• Black Archival Ink (Ranger)
• Worn Litpstick Distress Oxide (Ranger) 

Beautiful Birds and a New Technique

Hello All,

Hope you are all doing well in this strange world we find ourselves in.  Today I am sharing two cards using the Beautiful Birds Stamp Set.  I decided to try an altered version of a technique I saw a couple of years ago, but it was done with flowers and Copic markers.
 

The general idea is to start your panel with watercolor paper and distress inks.  Some call this ink smooshing (Karen did a tutorial on this the other day) and some call it wrinkle free distress technique.  I smooshed some red and brown distress inks on to my craft mat and spritzed it.  I then placed my watercolor paper into the droplets.  This was then dried.  I repeated the steps multiple times to get the desired look.  I had in mind where I wanted my cardinal to go, so I tried to get my ink colors in appropriate areas. 
Once my paper was dry, I placed it in the MISTI and stamped the bird in red distress ink and the branch in brown distress ink (as best I could) right over the inked area.  I then painted the image with my Ken Oliver Colorbursts (which would be directly onto the distress inked areas).  I tried to keep the whole thing 'loose' but I found myself wanting to add in shading and detail.  When all was done, I stamped the feathers around the beak in black and then colored it in completely with a black Prismacolor pencil.  I added some details to to other areas as well with the Prismacolor pencil. 
Lastly, I spritzed some white acrylic paint on the image and also added 'snow' with a white gelly roll pen.  The sentiment is from the Christmas Wordfetti Set and is heat embossed in white. 
The bird was die cut out and framed with some die cut patterned paper.  The sentiment and a few sequins finish it off. 
The second card uses the Beautiful Birds Stamp Set as well.

The process was the same; ink smooshing in greens and blues.  Then the image was stamped in blue and green.  I cam back in with the watercolors to add additional color and details to the image.  I did overstamp the image with a dark ink to make the image crisper as things got a little muddied.  Details were added with Prismacolor pencils.  The sentiment is from the Precious Poppies Stamp Set.
The panel was die cut and adhered to the card base.  The sentiment is popped up on dimensional tape and sequins were added. 
This was a fun experiment and I am pretty happy with the results.  Here's to hoping you have time to play this week!  
There is still time to grab the new release bundle and get a 10% savings!  And to sweeten the deal, shipping is free when you spend $75 or more!  Wait, a little sweeter still- get the Stamp of the Month, Friendship is a Blessing, with a purchase of $75 or more through the month of April. 

Thanks for stopping by,

Lee Ann 

Birthday Borders and More

Hello Friends!

Today I am sharing cards using the new Birthday Borders Stamp Set.  Best thing is, this set is not just for birthdays!
What's Valentine's Day without sweet treats?

The cupcakes are perfect for your Valentine Day cards, especially with the adorable little hearts on top of the cupcakes.  I colored the image with Copics and then fussy cut it out.  I added three 1.5" panels of cardstock in ombre teal colors to my card base.  I added some detail to the edges of the strips with a stitched edge die.
The heart was die cut from white cardstock and adhered to the panels.  I stamped the sentiment, which is from the Lots of Love Stamp Set in Versafine Black Ink using my MISTI.  The cupcakes were popped up on foam tape and adhered to the card.  A few sequins were added to finish.

Next up are those fabulous balloons.  I seem to have a thing for balloons lately...

Before doing any stamping, I painted a light wash of yellow watercolor paint (I used Ken Oliver Color Bursts), along with drips on my watercolor paper panel (I used Canson Watercolor Paper).  
I stamped the balloons using Versafine Black Ink.  I created a mask for the balloons and stamped the image 2 more times to the top of the panel.  I then stamped 4 of the balloons from the row.  They were later fussy cut out.  Stamping was done with the MISTI so I could stamp over the image multiple times, which is necessary given the rough texture of watercolor paper. 
The balloons were water colored with Arteza Brush Pens.  I added strings to the balloons using a 01 Pigma Micron Pen.
I added splatters in orange and teal with Ken Oliver Colorbursts.  The sentiment is from the new set, Sentimental Mash Up.  I love this set!  You get so many options and so many fonts; it is a super fun set.  Even the name is fun!  This set also happens to be the February Stamp of the Month.

And being the beginning of the month, you can take advantage of the February Release Early Bird Bundle!

That's it for me!  I hope I have inspired you to craft today!

Lee Ann 

Using Watercolor Powders with Handmade Stencils

Hi everyone! Kim here today to share a fun photo tutorial with you, demonstrating Color Burst watercolor powders. I'll also show you how you can quickly and easily make your own handmade stencils using dies. Let's get started!

I'm starting with four Color Burst colors. Color Burst powders are highly pigmented, watercolor powders that react with water. Wait until you see the results!

To create my stencil I grabbed the Monarch dies set and positioned five of the dies on a manila tag. Then I ran the tag through my die cut machine. I then re-positioned a few of the butterfly dies to cut out more shapes.

Here's my finished stencil! And check out all of the pre-cut butterflies I can now add to my stash!

Next, I gently tapped out the Color Burst powders through my stencil and on to a piece of heavy watercolor paper. These powders pack a punch so you don't need much. I used a tiny bit of all four colors on my butterflies...and then I spritzed the entire stencil with water.

Wow! Check out that intense color! It's amazing! 

At this point, the paper is very wet and I don't want the color to run underneath my stencil so I blotted the excess color with a paper towel.

And the left over stencil isn't too bad looking either...think that's going to find a home in an art journal.

Here's my card after removing the stencil...isn't it so pretty! I love the look of the colors all running together in that beautiful watercolor effect. (Note - Color Burst powders will react with water, even after they're dry so be careful.)

I then decided to use the Majestic Monarch stamp set to add detail to my butterflies. I'm giddy over the look of the color running beyond the stamped image...so cool. I also cut off the extra cardstock, where I had a little splashing from the powders, on the right hand side of the card. All that was left to do was finish my card!

Since the butterflies were so colorful, I wanted to keep the rest of the card simple so I added an embossed piece of cardstock, and used lace to hide the seam. Then I die cut a small tag, stamped a brushstroke image, from the Grunge Elements stamp set on to the tag (I stamped off first so that the brushstroke wouldn't be too dark), and added the sentiment. 

I hope you enjoyed today's tutorial and you'll try creating your own stencils with dies!