Messy Mondays: Hooray! (Sketch inspired)

Welcome to another Messy Monday (please excuse some of the lighting in my pictures recently, it should be back to normal by next post)! Today I will be sharing with you a card inspired by a MFT Sketch challenge. I turned the sketch sideways so I could make a horizontal birthday card, so let's get started!

First, I made a top folding A2 card base out of some white card stock and then scored two lines on the inside of the front panel for added dimension. It's hard to see in the picture, but the strip of color is encased inside the two "popped" up lines. I like how something so simple can add such an interesting but subtle detail to the card.

Next, I used post it notes to mask off the top and bottom portions of the card, leaving only the middle portion (the part between the scored lines!) open. I used various blue inks (Tim Holtz, Simon Says Stamp, Lawn Fawn) to make a gradation of colored stripes. I used 2 additional post-its to mask off each stripe as I blended in different colors. After this was done, I colored in a cute astronaut bear from Mama Elephant Space Bears set using my copics (W1, W3, W5), and die cut it out. The sentiments were stamped from Mama Elephant Labeled messages and fussy cut out. I adhered all of these onto the card using some foam squares, so it would add extra dimension. For my finishing touches, I used my Spectrum Noir Clear Sparkle Brush pen to add some shimmer to my background and the balloon the bear is holding.

Hope you enjoyed!
Happy Crafting.  

Messy Mondays: Love to Hear from You

Welcome to another Messy Monday! I will be sharing with you today a watercolored Valentine's Day card with emboss resist technique. Hopefully this will help with any last minute cards you may be making, or give you ideas for future projects.  

For this card, I started off with a piece of Canson XL watercolor paper die cut with the second largest rectangle from Lawn Fawn Small Rectangle set. Using the largest vintage telephone from Hero Arts Just Saying Hi (CL502) set, I stamped the image on the top centre of the panel (SSS Audrey blue). Next, I used Versamark to stamp exactly on top of the image (MISTI can help with this if you have one!), so I could heat emboss it in clear (dye inks dry quicker -- so I couldn't directly apply embossing powder on after I stamped it the first time).

After the image was heat embossed, I took out my watercolors and loosely watercolored around the image. I could paint directly on top of my stamped image, since it was heat embossed so it would resist, and did not have to worry about my image being smudged. After I painted on a couple of layers, I chose a mint color that matched my telephone to flick on some splatters for added interest. After this panel dried, I stamped a greeting using Versafine Onyx Black from the same set (love how detailed this ink is!). This panel was matted onto a light mint piece of cardstock and then adhered it to a light pink A2 side folding card base.

For the finishing touches, I used the same light mint color cardstock to die cut out some hearts using my Mama Elephant die, and adhered 2 of them on. I added some glossy accents for raised dimension onto the hearts, and this card was complete! 

Hope you enjoyed. I will be entering this into MFT Color Challenge 63.

Happy Crafting.

Messy Mondays: Snow inspired greeting card

Welcome to another Messy Monday! There has been SO much snow this year in my city, it's unreal. I absolutely love how pretty snow is and was happy to be able to go sledding. Driving in snow on the other hand, is a whole different matter... Today's card is inspired by all the white snowy and textured landscapes I've been surrounded by lately. It's pretty simple, so it's easy to make if you're in a hurry, and also a good idea for a Valentine's Day card as well!

I started out with a piece of A2 white cardstock and dry embossed it using the Geometric set of Next Level Embossing Folders by We R Memory Keepers. I am still in awe of the 3D texture these give, and love the results every time. Next, I stamped out the cute bunny holding a heart from Mama Elephant Pix's Favorite stamp set and colored it in using Copic markers. I used my white Signo white gel pen to add some polka dots to the dress, and highlights on the heart. 

For my sentiment, I stamped on a birthday greeting onto a strip of red cardstock and layered it onto a thin strip of silver glitter card stock. I adhered this onto the right side of my card, and then fussy cut out my bunny and used foam squares to stick this on top of my greeting. I stuck this panel down onto an A2 side folding card stock, spritz it with a shimmer spray (DIY!), and this card is finished!

Hope you enjoyed! I will be entering this into the MFT Sketch Challenge.

Happy Crafting!