Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Fall Cards: Wicked Washi

Hello hello!

Today I have more washi-based cards to share. I've had all my fall and Halloween washi on my desk for the last month and I am slightly obsessed with stacking them on top of each other and trying different combinations of patterns. It's easy and fun to see what they will look like together and you don't even have to put them on the card to try them out. I have three cards today. One uses the same layout that I used earlier in the month (see this post) and two are a new layout I tried using a 3x4 card as a focal point.



Here is the card using the old layout. I used a bunch of tape I bought at Impress again, including some black glitter tape (I love the glitter tape! And the crow tape!). The sentiment, as well as the little spider and bats, are from this set from Simon Says Stamp. 


These blocks of washi are so fun, and the cards are easy to mail, too! =)



The next two cards are almost identical, I just wanted to try them in different color schemes. I've been wanting to try this idea of making a smaller focal point on a 3x4 card or a tag and then attaching it to the front of a card to make a relatively clean and simple design. This was my first shot at it, and I combined it with my recent washi obesession. I used the 3x4 card die in this die set - first I traced the die onto some spare cardstock, covered the area with washi tape, and then die cut the card. I think this turned out even cooler than I had imagined! I want to make a bunch of these washi covered 3x4 cards now. =)



The web and spider were cut out of craft foam using some older Memory Box dies. They're so intricate and come out so cool with the foam! You can see the dimension in these close ups.


I added a bunch of Stickles to the spider just to make him pop a little bit more, and the sentiment was done with some Tim Holtz alpha parts.
I was so happy with the way this card turned out that I just had to make another one right away using some different washi. I have so much black and white Halloween washi that I decided to make a monochromatic one, with the only pop of color coming from the spider. Here is the result:



You can see I snuck in the glitter tape and the crow tape again... =) 


I actually cut this grey foam web for the first card, but there wasn't enough contrast between that, the black spider, and the patterns on the washi and everything just blended together. The white web ended up being better on that card but I love the grey one here. It's hard to tell in the photos but I added a little glitter to it using a Wink of Stella clear glitter pen. 



The spider is cut from some glitter cardstock from an old DCWV Halloween stack. He's so sparkly and spooky, and I love the way he pops off this black and white card! 

That's all for today! I'm hoping to get one more Halloween post in by Saturday and then I think it might be time for....Christmas cards! =)

Thanks for looking!

*~M~*




Monday, October 19, 2015

Fall Cards: Shaker Card Edition (Not For the Faint of Heart)

Hello again!

So, shaker cards. Over the last year or so these have become really popular, and I find myself getting caught up in this particular trend. I mean, shaker cards have several elements that I like on my cards: dimension, sparkly bits, and interactive elements (you shake them! the sparkly bits move around! it never looks the same twice!). However, no one told me they are SO HARD TO MAKE. I think I've made a total of 4 shakers in my card-making career (today's card being the most recent), and something ALWAYS goes wrong. First, it was forgetting to put the acetate window in when assembling the card (okay, my bad...clearly that was just user error). Then it was sparkly bits falling out or sticking to the sides (sparkly bits are apparently also fiddly bits). THIS time it was uncooperative adhesive (more about that in a minute). Like the title says, these things are not for the faint of heart. If it weren't for the fact that the end result it so AWESOME (after two...three...seven... assembly attempts) I probably would give up. Obviously, I need to quit my griping and just practice more. =)


So, today's card. I wanted to try out a couple of things here, making a shaker card being the first and most obvious. But I also wanted to try stamping on the acetate, which I have seen done but never tried myself. I specifically purchased some white Staz-On just for this technique and finally opened it up for this card. I actually thought this would be the hardest part of the card to get right. With all my assembly issues, I think it ended up being the easiest. =P I've been trying to use up a lot of my old seasonal product for my cards lately, so a lot of it appears on this card. The patterned paper was from a DCWV stack that is about 5 years old and the sentiment stamp is also a few years old. The sequins are a combination of an old Lawn Fawn set (here is just the leaves...hopefully they restock these) some random sequins from my stash and this awesome confetti from Martha Stewart. Through the miracle of static cling the confetti actually sticks to the acetate window a bit. I actually like this - sometimes shaker cards look a little boring when all the bits fall to the bottom.  This way it looks like the sparkly stuff is still distributed throughout the window, with no extra effort needed on my part! Science rules. 


After cutting my window with one of these Simon Says Stamp stitched circle dies, I began assembling my card. This is where things got tricky. I've seen several other bloggers use craft foam to add dimension to their cards, including shaker cards, so I wanted to use two layers of foam for this card to give the sparkly bits plenty of room to move around. However, it turns out craft foam hates liquid adhesive. No one warned me about this, so now I will warn you: don't use liquid adhesive to adhere large pieces of craft foam. Especially two pieces of foam together. The properties of the foam wouldn't allow it to dry properly, and I had to take the whole gooey mess apart, clean it up and try to stick it down with strong tape all while trying not to ruin the whole card. Was it worth it? Okay....yes. =) I really like the way everything turned out, especially the mix of sequins and confetti and the window stamping. I will probably try this whole technique again, maybe for a Christmas card. Oh, shaker cards, why must we have such a tumultuous relationship??? =P 

Hopefully I haven't discouraged you from making a shaker card with all of my doomsaying. The end result really is worth it. With the right tools, some practice, and the right adhesive knowledge, it should get easier (I hope). =) Happy rest-of-October, and thanks for looking!!

*~M~*




Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Fall Cards: Part 2

Hello again!

I have another Halloween card to share today. The weather here in Seattle finally started changing a couple of weeks ago and it really put me in a fall crafting mood. I've been stamping and creating with fall colors ever since, with my Spooky Tunes playlist playing in the background. =) 



Today's card features lots of Distress Inks, plus some of Tim's Kraft Core cardstock for a base. I like this because it is purple on the outside but the inside is kraft so it's easier to write on. I started by inking the main panel (which is watercolor cardstock) with Antique Linen and the new Fossilized Amber Distress ink. I have to admit, of the new Distress colors, Fossilized Amber was the one I was least interested in (I'm not a huge fan of yellow). But I think it looks GREAT here. Blended with the Antique Linen, with a little Vintage Photo around the edges, it makes the paper look that much more aged and grungy. Lesson learned: don't knock it till you've tried it! =)


I stamped this hexagon border stamp using Seedless Preserves, Spiced Marmalade, and Peeled Paint inks. I've had an idea of doing this sort of pattern with this stamp for months....it just happened that I finally tried it on a Halloween card! The stamping came out very imperfectly due to the texture of the cardstock, but I love the distressed look that it gives. 


After the main inking was done I just added the sentiment and a couple more glittery spider die cuts (glittery paper spiders are the only acceptable spider =P ) and this card was done! 


Like my last two cards, this card is available for sale in my Etsy shop. You can find it HERE


If it's fall in your neck of the woods, I hope the rest of this month brings you all the pumpkin spice, cool weather, and spooky fun your heart desires! (But don't eat too much candy corn) 

Thanks for looking!

*~M~*


Monday, October 12, 2015

Fall Cards: Part 1

Hello all!!

I have a couple of Halloween cards to share today. Both of these cards were inspired by the same idea: using strips of washi tape to make a block of pattern, and then add a sentiment. I don't know about anyone else, but I have more washi tape than I could use in a lifetime...a problem not helped by the fact that I just went out and bought a bunch of cute Halloween-themed rolls! =) Also, my local stamp store, Impress, has started carrying rolls of glitter washi tape, which I obviously need in every single color...and for these cards the orange glitter was a requirement! Anyway, I loved being able to break into my stash of washi. I think I will try this design again and used patterned paper instead of tape. I have plenty of that as well. =)



This first card features some Tim Holtz tissue tape, the orange glitter tape, some awesome crow tape also from Impress that I HAD to have despite its lack of obvious usefulness (crows: one of my many strange obsessions), and some green polka dot tape that I got in a kit a million years ago.


I also got to break into my ginormous stash of sequins and sprinkle some across this card so it had a little more sparkle and interest. 


The second card I made in this design has a decidedly creepy-crawly feel to it. I just got that wide gold-on-black spider web tape (also at Impress) and could not wait to use it. It looked perfect paired with more glitter tape, some googly-eyed spiders on orange that has been sitting in my craft room being adorable-but-unused for two years now, and another kit tape whose origins are unknown. 


A cute sentiment and some glittery spider die-cuts finished the card off to spooky perfection. =) 


These cards are available for sale at my Etsy shop! It's not too late to get them before Halloween. 

The first card is available HERE.
Second, spidery card is HERE

I hope everyone is having a fantastic fall so far. I am really enjoying crafting in fall colors and I'm putting off any Christmas crafting for as long as possible. =) More fall cards will be coming this way soon! Thanks so much for looking!

*~M~*








Followers