- Create a 7" x 5" card from Black Textured Cardstock.
- Smoosh Twisted Citron Distress Ink onto a acrylic block, mist the inky block with water, then pounce it onto a 7" x 5.5" piece of Bristol paper or other heavyweight water-friendly paper. Clean the block.
- Repeat the above smooshing process with Squeezed Lemonade, Fossilized Amber, Carved Pumpkin, Wilted Violet, and Poisonous Potion Distress Inks until you're happy with your variegated background. Be sure to take care to clean the acrylic block between colors to avoid contaminating your ink pad.
- Heat set the inked panel thoroughly.
- f your paper is still curved, place the inked panel into a folded piece of copy paper, put it onto the platform of your die-cut machine, place both cutting plates over the the combination, then run it th rough the die-cut machine several times until it's nice and flat.
- Place the flattened and dried inked panel onto the base of a stamping platform secured with magnets and/or low-tack tape.
- Place the Bugs Background Rubber Stamp facedown onto the inked panel.
- Press the platform's lid onto the back of the stamp, lift the lid, ink the stamp with Nocturne VersaFine Clair Ink, and stamp. Re-ink and stamp again if necessary to attain a good impression. If there are any gaps in the impression, use a paintbrush to apply Nocturne VersaFine Clair Ink, to fix the images.
- Draw a 1/8" border around the stamped image, place a piece of acetate along the stamped border, and apply Nocturne VersaFine Clair Ink around all four edges.
- Trim the panel to 5.75" x 4.5" and edge it with the same ink.
- Heat set the image panel and set it aside.
- Use a Skull Die to cut off-white cardstock,.
- Use Copic markers to add details.
- Trace the aperture areas of the skull and color them with Copic markers.
- Trim the colored aperture panel and adhere it to the back of the skull so that the colored areas appear behind the eyes, nose, and jaw sockets.
- Use the Entomology Thinlits Die and a huge spider die to cut black cardstock.
- Flip the die-cuts over and use a stylus to add dimension to the bugs' and spider's bodies.
- Use an embossing pen to color the raised front side of the bugs' and spider's bodies.
- Add black detail embossing powder to the wet ink, dump the excess powder back into the powder's jar, and heat set the powder.
- Repeat Steps 18 and 19 to add another layer of embossing powder to the bugs' and spider's bodies.
- Adhere the Bugs Background panel to a 7" x 5" black card as shown.
- Adhere one of the bugs so that it appears to be coming out of the right eye socket.
- Adhere the skull to the card as shown.
- Adhere the spider to the top of the skull and another bug to the lower right hand corner of the card as shown.
- Use Copic markers to color an idea-ology Occasions Small Talk Sticker.
- Adhere the sentiment sticker as shown to finish the card.
Monday, October 20, 2025
31 Days of Halloween - Day 20
Saturday, March 22, 2025
Cheeky Chatty Cups Be Alert Card
- Make a 5" x 7" card from Pimento cardstock. Set aside.
- Place a piece of white cardstock onto the base of a stamping platform secured with low-tack tape and/or magnets.
- Position two of the coffee cups from the Cheeky Chatty Cups Clear Stamp Set facedown on the image panel.
- Press the lid onto the back of the stamps and lift.
- Use low-tack tape to cover the top part of the coffee cup on the left.
- Ink the stamp with Tuxedo Black Memento Ink.
- Remove the tape and stamp the Cheeky Chatty Cups twice — once onto the image panel and once onto sticker masking paper.
- Fussy-cut the sticker paper versions and place them over their counterparts on the image panel as masks.
- Remove the stamps from the stamping platform.
- Place a Post-It note over the Cheeky Chatty Cup and the bottom of the image panel.
- Position the fan brush from the Brush It Off Clear Stamp Set facedown in the center of the cup.
- Press the lid onto the back of the stamp, lift, ink with Tuxedo Black Memento Ink, and stamp twice — once onto the image panel and once onto sticker paper.
- Repeat Steps 11 and 12 with the each of the other brushes from the Brush It Off Clear Stamp Set.
- Fussy-cut all of the paint brushes and place them over their counterparts on the image panel.
- Place the image panel onto the STAY-tion and secure with magnets.
- Place a strip of repositionable Scotch Tape horizontally over the base of the Cheeky Chatty Cups so that the bottom part of the image panel is covered.
- Sponge or brush Blue Raspberry Dye Ink over the masked Cheeky Chatty Cups onto the image panel to create a background behind the cups.*
- Use magnets to secure the Halftone Stencil over the image panel.
- Randomly sponge or brush Dress Blues Dye Ink over the stencil onto the image panel. This is when I discovered that the black ink on the masking sticker paper I used transferred onto the image panel. I'm tossing that masking paper!
- Randomly sponge or brush Black Soot Distress Ink over the stencil onto the image panel to try to camouflage the worst of the nasty ink transfer.
- Remove the stencil.
- Reposition the tape so that it's sitting on the bottom of the blue ink and is partially covering the top part of the image panel.
- Lightly sponge Black Soot Distress Ink over the tape onto the bottom part of the image panel.
- Remove the tape and the sub-par masks from the images.
- Use Copic markers to color the Cheeky Chatty Cups and the Brush It Off Paint Brushes.
- Use a black Copic Multi-liner to draw the back part of the paint water coffee cup.
- Trim the image panel, edge with a black marker, and set it aside.
- Cut a piece of white paper to 6" x 6.75" to create the background layer.
- Cut a piece of the floral patterned paper from the Feeling Groovy 6x6 Patterned Paper Pad in half.
- Edge both pieces with a B78 Copic marker.
- Cut a 2" strip of yellow polka-dot patterned paper from the Comic Book Pop 6x6 Patterned Paper Pad and edge with a Y02 Copic marker.
- Adhere the yellow polka-dot patterned paper to the center of the white paper from Step 27.
- Adhere the two 6" x 3" floral patterned paper to the top and bottom of the white paper (from Step 27) so that it's covering the polka dot paper.
- Trim the combined patterned paper background panel to 4.75" wide" and adhere it to the reserved red 5" x 7" card.
- Use the nameplate dies from the Specimen Slides Die Set to cut the leftover Pimento cardstock and the yellow polka-dot patterned paper.
- Use red and blue Simply Sweet Rub-Ons to add the "Be Alert" to the yellow polka-dot nameplate die-cut.
- Adhere the red window nameplate over the sentiment, then edge with a black marker.
- Use the circle tag and circle dies to cut leftover Pimento cardstock and the yellow polka-dot patterned paper.
- Add the skull/crossbones and the "caution" idea-ology Halloween Rub-Ons to the yellow polka-dot circle, then adhere the circle to the red tag.
- Adhere the "be alert" sentiment nameplate and the circle tag to the card as shown.
- Add Lilac rhinestones to complete the card.
Sunday, December 8, 2024
Cold and Frosty Gnome Christmas Card
Gnome's Beard and Mustache: C3, C2, C1, C0
- Place .25" wide washi tape around the edges of a 5.25" x 4" panel and down the center to create two panels.
- Place the panel onto a stamping platform and secure with magnets.
- Place the looking up gnome from the Mini Gnomes 2 Unmounted Stamp Set facedown on the right panel.
- Press the lid of the platform on the stamp and lift.
- Ink the stamp with Tuxedo Black Memento Ink and stamp.
- Scoot the taped panel over to the right, ink the stamp, and stamped the Gnome again onto the left panel.
- Remove the image panel and color both gnomes with Copic markers.
- Stamp the Gnome two more times onto repositionable sticker paper.
- Fussy-cut the sticker paper Gnomes and placed them over both gnomes on the image panel as masks.
- Place the image panel onto the STAY-tion.
- Place the flattish Acetate mask over the bottom part of both panels just below the Gnomes' feet.
- Place the Mushroom Cluster part of the Whimsical Shroom Stencil over the Gnome on the left panel.
- Brush Desert Sand Memento Ink and Worn Lipstick Distress Ink over the stalks and caps of a mushroom cluster part onto the image panel and onto repositionable sticker paper.
- Clean and dry the stencil, move it to the cover the Gnome on the right panel.
- Brush Desert Sand Memento Ink and Worn Lipstick Distress Ink over the stalks and caps of a mushroom cluster part onto the image panel and onto repositionable sticker paper.
- Fussy-cut the mushrooms and place them over the mushrooms on the image panels as masks
- Brush Tumbled Glass Distress Ink was over the masked mushrooms, the masked Gnomes, and over the acetate mask onto both panels.
- Position the Fern Cluster from the same stencil over the image panel on the left.
- Brush Bundled Sage Distress Ink over the fern cluster onto the image panel.
- Clean the stencil and re-position the fern cluster on the image panel on the right.
- Brush Bundled Sage Distress Ink over the fern cluster onto the image panel.
- Move the acetate mask slightly downwards and brush Desert Sand Memento Ink over the top of the image panel to start the ground.
- Remove the acetate mask and continue to brush Desert Sand Memento Ink to create the ground.
- Remove the masks from the mushrooms and gnomes.
- Cover the left panel completely.
- Apply flat white and shimmery white Pan Pastels over the right panel.
- When the Gnome was obscured, tap a white Posca Paint pen to add white splatter to the image panel.
- Then use the Posca Paint Pen to add more intentional snow to the panel.
- When the Posca paint is dry, use a clear glitter pen to add touches of sparkle to the snow.
- Gently remove the washi tape was removed from the image panel. Sadly, I should have been more gentle. The paper didn't tear, but it did lift a bit on the right side. Bummer.
- Back a piece of translucent vellum with double-sided tape.
- Use speech bubble cutting die and the dots from other speech bubble die sets to cut the vellum.
- Add the "Dreaming of a White Christmas" with Christmas-time Remnant Rubs to one of the speech bubbles.
- Sponge Jet Black StazOn Ink through the "Seriously?" Stencil onto the other speech bubble. Let dry.
- Adhere both vellum sentiment speech bubbles and vellum dots to their respective panels.
- Use the White Posca pen to add snow dots to the "Seriously?" Speech bubble to reinforce the snow-mageddon theme.
- Adhere a piece of 5.5" x 4.25" patterned paper to an A2 kraft card then edge the card with Worn Lipstick Distress Ink.
- Adhere the image panel to finish the card.
Friday, October 4, 2024
Beware! A Halloween Card
Greetings! My card was created for Day Four of the Lost Coast Portal of Creativity's 31 Days of Halloween Challenge. I used the Clown with Balloon stamp by Lost Coast Designs and the Medium Keyhole stamp from Carmen's Veranda.
- Cut a piece of pale grey 12x12 cardstock to 10" x 7", score at 5", and fold to form a 5" x 7" card. Set aside.
- Use Tuxedo Black Memento Ink to stamp the Medium Keyhole twice — once onto white cardstock and once onto repositionable sticker paper.
- Fussy-cut the sticker paper version on the inner outline of the keyhole.
- Place the sticker paper over its cardstock counterpart to mask the outside of the keyhole while keeping the center open.
- Place the clouds stencil towards the top of the opening of the keyhole.
- Sponge or brush Stormy Sky then Dusty Concord Distress inks over the stencil onto the cardstock.
- Rotate and move the stencil downward.
- Sponge the same inks over the stencil onto the cardstock.
- Repeat this process until the opening in the keyhole was filled with a stormy cloudy sky.
- Place the Time Tunnel Stencil over the opening of the keyhole.
- Sponge London Fog Memento Ink over the stencil onto the cloudy sky in the keyhole, sponging heavily in the center of the tunnel and lighter as the tunnel goes outwards.
- Remove the repositionable sticker mask.
- Use Copic markers to color the outside of the keyhole to look like brass.
- Fussy-cut the keyhole and edge with a dark marker.
- Use red alphabet rub-ons to add a sentiment to the bottom of the opening of the keyhole.
- Use Tuxedo Black Memento Ink to stamp the Clown with Balloon onto white cardstock.
- Fussy-cut the clown, color him with Copic markers, and edge with a black pen.
- Use Tuxedo Black Memento Ink to stamp just the balloon area of the Clown with Balloon several times onto white cardstock.
- Fussy-cut the balloons and color them with Copic markers.
- Use a white gel pento add highlights to all the balloons.
- Set the colored Clown and balloons aside.
- Use Lightning Black Brilliance Ink, a brassy metallic ink, to ink a piece of mixed media cardstock to look like an escutcheon.
- Trim the panel, edge with Nocturne VersaFine Clair ink, and heat set.
- Use Halloween Idea-ology Rub-ons to add sentiments to the upper left of the panel.
- Mist a 5" x 7" panel of light grey cardstock (left from Step 1) with water. Place it into the wood-grain embossing folder, and run it through the die-cut machine.
- Adhere the embossed panel to the reserved 5" x 7" light grey card, and edge the card with Nocturne VersaFine Clair ink.
- Adhere the Clown with Balloon and his extra balloons to the Keyhole as shown.
- Adhere the keyhole to the brass escutcheon, then adhere the escutcheon to the wood paneled card.
Saturday, September 16, 2023
Catnapped by Aliens -- An Imagine Crafts Tutorial
Imagine Crafts Supplies:
Platinum Planet Brilliance Ink Pad
Moonlight White Brilliance Re-inker
Nocturne VersaFine Clair Ink *
Dandelion Memento Dew Drop Ink
Danube Blue Memento Dew Drop Ink
Paris Dusk Dew Memento Drop Ink
Bamboo Leaves Memento Dew Drop Ink
Cottage Ivy Memento Dew Drop Ink
Other Supplies:
Solar White Classic Crest Cardstock by Neenah Papers
Bristol Paper by Strathmore
Raven Cardstock by Bazzill Basics
140 lb. Black Mixed Media Paper by Strathmore
Vellum: Source Unknown
UFO Stencil by Funky Fossil
Time Tunnel Stencil by Visible Image *
Grey Stone Zig Photo Twin Marker by Kuretake
YG 45 Copic Marker
Grassy Hills Die-namics Set by My Favorite Things
Ovals Shadows Die-namics Die Set by My Favorite Things
Mini Cats Die Cut Set by Impression Obsession
Small Talk Idea-ology Stickers by Tim Holtz for Adventus
Foam Adhesive
91% Isopropyl Alcohol
Heat Gun by EK Success
Mini Guillotine Trimmer by Tim Holtz for Tonic
Big Shot by Sizzix
Items with asterisks are available at available at Topflight Stamps.
Instructions:
Step 1.
Secure the UFO stencil to a piece of mixed media paper with removable tape on both sides of the paper, creating a hinge. Apply Platinum Planet Brilliance over the stencil onto the cardstock. Open the hinged stencil and heat set the image panel keeping the heat gun away from the stencil.
Step 2:
Put the UFO stencil back in place. Use a sponge dauber to apply Silver Shimmer Delicata over the stencil onto the image panel. Open the hinged stencil and heat set the image panel.
Step 3:
Use a brush-tipped Fantastix to apply Dandelion Memento ink through the UFO’s windows onto the image panel. Remove and clean the stencil.
Step 4:
Touch up the windows with the Fantastix. Use a grey watercolor marker to color the window frames and the bottom aperture of the UFO.
Step 5:
Fussy-cut the UFO, edge with a dark marker, and set aside.
Step 6:
Use a sponge dauber to apply Danube Blue onto a 4.75” x 6.75” piece of Bristol Paper. Use a sponge dauber to blend Paris Dusk onto the Bristol Paper to create a mottled background.
Step 7:
Tape the Time Tunnel Stencil over the inked background panel. Use a sponge dauber to apply Paris Dusk Memento ink over the stencil onto the paper.
Step 8:
Squeeze a few drops of Moonlight White Brilliance re-inker onto a craft mat. Spray with 91% Isopropyl Alcohol. Use a paintbrush to mix the ink. Load the paintbrush with the diluted Moonlight Brilliance ink and splatter the background panel. Heat set. Put aside.
Step 9:
Use the Mini Cats die twice to cut Raven cardstock. Set the cat die-cuts aside.
Step 10:
Use a sponge dauber to apply Bamboo Leaves Memento ink onto a white cardstock panel. Repeat this step with Cottage Ivy Memento ink until the panel is covered and the ink is blended to your liking.
Step 11:
Use the Grassy Hills Die set to cut the inked panels. Use a green Copic marker to edge the grass and to add details. Using Memento Ink to create backgrounds allows you to use Copic markers overtop!
Step 12:
Cut a piece of vellum to 6” square. Score on the diagonal from one point to the opposite point. Fold.
Repeat with both sides until it looks like the photo.
Step 13:
Place one edge of the scored, folded square along the cutting edge of a guillotine trimmer. Cut.
Step 14:
Use On Point Glue to adhere the die-cut cats to the interior of the folded vellum triangle. Sorry that I forgot to take a photo.
Step 15:
Back a piece of vellum with two-sided tape. Use the Oval Shadows Die-namics to cut the vellum.
Step 16:
Use Tear It! Tape to adhere the three layers of grass to the background panel as shown. Edge the panel with Nocturne VersaFine Clair.
Adhere the vellum cone and the vellum oval as shown. Hide the adhesive behind the black cats.
Use On Point Glue to adhere escaping and/or partially beamed-up cats atop the vellum oval and cone.
Use dimensional foam adhesive to adhere the UFO as shown.
Step 17:
Adhere the image panel to a 5” x 7” piece of Black Mixed Media paper. Add the sentiment sticker to finish the piece.
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