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For Mom

By KariV on May 4, 2020 in Holidays, Mother's Day, Paper Crafting

Hello! Today I’m sharing a project I’ve been working on for a while as a part of my AECP certification. I took a course from Nina Marie Trapini called “Polychromatic.” And, since mother’s day is coming right up, I thought I’d combine these ideas!

Part of the challenge was to color an image with a light or similar color ink to the image you are coloring. So I stamped out my images with a very light pink ink (rose blush from Altenew), then I colored them up with Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers in pinks, reds, yellows and oranges.

It’s almost like no-line coloring! I think they turned out so nice. I used bristol smooth paper to stamp the images, then cut them out.

I had plenty of images to create two cards. I used the sentiment from the same set (masking off a portion so I only used “I appreciate you”) and added a mom sentiment that was heat embossed in gold and blue sparkle embossing powders.

Gold embossing powder with gold splatters

I inked up this background using a die cut as a stencil…this adds a bit of geometric to the floral card.

For this second card, I taped off the background using post-it tape and inked on a soft blue stripe. Gold splatters add a happy touch. I was inspired by the stripes and colors of the current Altenew Challenge so I will also enter this in the challenge for the month. See the beautiful blues, yellows and oranges?!

I’m often asked what supplies I use to make my cards and projects, so I’ve put together a list using affiliate links when possible. If you make a purchase with these links I may receive a small commission. These help me to keep up with blog costs and continue bringing you fun projects. Thank you so much for your support!

I hope you enjoyed these projects today! Have you made some mother’s day cards yet?

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Craft Room Organization: Ink Swatch Book

By KariV on May 1, 2020 in Inspiration, Paper Crafting

Hello again! I’m starting off May with some craft room organization using some products with the May 2020 Hedgehog Hollow kit. Today it’s an ink swatch book and I have lots of ideas for you!

These colors have me feeling HAPPY! I used the smaller stars stamp from the stamp set included in the May 2020 Kit for the Distress Oxides. For the Distress Inks, I used the STENCIL to ink the colors on (since I normally don’t stamp with Distress Inks…I use them for techniques and stencils).

I have a video with some tools and tips for you, watch it below or in HD on YouTube:

I love some good organization! I have to give a standing ovation to Jennifer McGuire for putting together all these 2×2 ink charts with LOTS of inks. She even includes a blank one so you can fill in your own inks, too!

I got the 3 colors charts from Ranger and Scrapbook.com and if you are interested you can find them here:

Jennifer McGuire Charts: https://bit.ly/3bTDNxb
Distress Ink & Oxide Charts: https://bit.ly/3d4ZoDb
Scrapbook.com Ink Chart: https://bit.ly/2KNJ6CB

For the Altenew inks, I stamped a flower with all the layering colors to see what they look like together.

Watch the video for all the details here.

I hope you enjoyed this today! I am so happy seeing all these colors together.

So have you done ink swatching in your craft room? I’ll be back real soon with more organizing ideas!

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Emboss a Layer

By KariV on April 25, 2020 in Paper Crafting

Hello! Today I’m excited to share a new technique (to me) with layering stamps. I stamped this beautiful flower and then heat embossed ONE of the layers to create a fabulous result!

First I stamped out the colors in fun sherbet colors (I’ve got summer on my mind!) and then I heat embossed a layer with this beautiful gold/tan embossing powder.

It adds such a fun layer of light glittery look to the flowers. I also black heat embossed the little stamens for a fun look.

To put this card together, I used some washi tape for the background and cut out the large hope sentiment with a yellow glitter paper and backed it with black cardstock.

Aren’t these flowers so beautiful?! I was inspired by the course “Impressive Heat Embossing” at Altenew…and I had one more technique I wanted to try. Svetlana Marchenko suggested trying clear heat embossing on a dark or colored background. So this next card does just that.

I used the same florals and washi tape on this bright green Spring card…with clear embossing on the background. It is difficult to see in photos, but in real life it adds a fun element to the card.

For the hello sentiment, I heat embossed it with a dark grey embossing powder to finish it all off.

What a great class! I recommend it to anyone wanting some new, fresh heat embossing ideas for your cards. Thanks for stopping by!

Comments { 1 }

Masculine Tools – Cards for Men

By KariV on April 23, 2020 in Paper Crafting

Hello! Today I have some masculine cards, with tools and all! I have three ideas for you using the April 2020 Hedgehog Hollow Kit.

Today I’m using some fun techniques in my video: like the ink pad direct to paper technique to create the fun silvery background.

Metallic silver ink pad creates a stunning background

I’m also sharing my FAVORITE way to adhere vellum without seeing any of that adhesive. And an embossing folder to create a peg board look.

Watch the video below or on YouTube:

Which one is your favorite? Thanks for stopping by today!

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Watercolor Brush Pens

By KariV on April 21, 2020 in Paper Crafting

Hello! Today I have some very BRIGHT cards for you, created using Watercolor Brush Markers from Altenew. I was quite surprised and amazed at the amount of pigment in these brush markers, and you will see that you can create some vivid, beautiful images with them!

This is a part of my AECP certification training, and I was inspired by the class called “Creative watercolor Media” taught by Jennifer Rzasa, Debbie Hughes, and Laura Bassen. I used quite of few of the techniques from this series: like watercoloring from a palette, watercoloring with sprays, and others.

Take a look at these cards! Those colors are amazing!

I create a video to share the three techniques I used, watch it below or on YouTube in HD:

For the first card, I used the wet-on-wet technique with watercolor paper. I heat embossed the image in gold, then used a waterbrush to add some water to a few of the petals. Then I added the color in. I let the water do most of the work and it turned into a brilliant flower! Wow!

For the background, I used a Metallic Spray to add color and splashes of interest.

On the second card, I used the watercolor pens direct to the watercolor paper and got amazing color. I put on some color from each of the markers, then blended with a brush and water to get a smooth look. So bright!

Glitz Glitter gel over the top to tone down the color

I used only ONE color on that big flower this time…so much depth. These pigments are just so good.

For the last card, I mixed colors together to get even more colors for my rainbow flowers.

I stamped the large flower on both corners of this card, and heat embossed in clear. Then I mixed some colors to get a nice rainbow spectrum. I finished off this card with some rainbow die cuts and a sentiment stamped in Lagoon ink to match the watercolor pens.

I really hope you enjoyed these projects, I challenge you to try out some watercolor brush markers and give these techniques a try!