The Paper Artist/Creative Card Design

  Happy Halloween!! Re- making last year's most popular Halloween card.  Can you spot the differences between last years card (below)  and thisyears card(above)?   Last fall about this time I created a Halloween card featuring an unlikely pairing using 2 Stampin' Up stamp sets. The card in the past year has had over 11, 000 views on Pinterest, which made it last years most popular Halloween card.  Since the card is popping up in my Pinterest several times on a daily basis in the last few weeks - I thought I would re create it. While this card turned out cute I certainly wasn't expecting it to be such a hit.  I was rather surprised.  Not much changed when I re made this card, however there were a few changes. Can you spot them? Tomorrow I will be posting a a supply list and any measurements or instructions. I used Scary Cute stamp & die set, as well as Grassy Grove (which is probably my most used Stampin' Up set in the past 2 years).  If y...

  To the Mr. & Mrs... When you need to create a wedding card and have very little supplies pertaining to a wedding. It has become apparent that I haven't been making very many cards  themed around weddings or bridal showers?!  So much so, that I don't even know what's in for wedding colors or themes at the moment, or any other moment really.  It seems I have been making birthday, sympathy, thinking of you and any other occasion of cards other than weddings.  There's no particular reason other than I just didn't need to create one I guess. How about you? Have you been creating cards full of wedding wishes? Fill me in if you have, since I am definitely out of the loop on that topic. So, as the sub heading on this post states - I needed a card for a wedding this  weekend and I discovered that I have virtually nothing pertaining to wedding.  I dug through my  stash of stamps and dies and found an old Last A Lifetime  stamp set from a few...

  Looks like your average Halloween card? It's not... It's a Halloween Slider Card!! However, if you don't want to create a slider card - then the design on the card  front will do just fine for a basic Halloween card.  So I have made a ton of slider cards using the traditional method of measuring out cardstock pieces, cutting, scoring and fiddling to be sure everything fits just right - and then I decided to bite the bullet, make life easy on myself and I purchased a die set that would do all of this for me!! Yes, that's right, I got lazy.  I'm not sure if it's lazy or just whatever makes it easier for us in the craft room?!  The purchase of the Double Slider Surprise Die from Lawn Fawn seemed like it  was going to cut down on the time used to measure and cut all of the sections  and leave me with more time to have fun with ink blending and tiny die cut  pieces  to decorate the card.  Some days I just want more creative time to for the...

"Hooo" doesn't love an awesome Owl Card?! Card details to follow...  

  A "Spook"tacular Halloween Card!! And here's how I made it... This card is the first or maybe 2nd card in the prelude up to Halloween Eve! I don't have a ton of Halloween supplies so you may see the same stamp sets or dies used repetitively on those cards, however they will still be worth a look!  This card has been so incredibly popular. I made it just fooling around with some new products that I had purchased and it was never meant to really be anything other than a test card. However it was rather striking so I ended up sharing it and the response has been super crazy. That being said I'm going to assume that this would be a great card to give to someone with some Halloween wishes since it's been so popular.  No, here's how I made it... ↓ ↘ ↙ ↓ The card started with the Spellbinders - Boo Dance Party Dies that I had picked up online at a pretty good price.  These dies are amazing! They cut so well and the set is just incredibly cute for Halloween car...

  Isn't this Card Tweet?! This card was really "cheep" to create! Ok, so this card is extremely cute, no doubt about it - but here's the big chirpin' deal.  The stamp set I used to create this card was $2.00 - Legit. Not a knock off, just a store closing sale.  That's right... Unfortunately Your Next Stamp is closing up shop and everything on site is drastically reduced !!!  I got so many sweet deals.   I have bought many stamps from Your Next Stamp in the past and each and everytime I was super pleased with their product!  Excellent quality, and excellent service.  I am so disappointed to see them going. 😢 I am not affiliated with this company, I just love their stamps. So you have absolutely got to check them out!!  Stamps and dies are going for $1, $2... It's crazy! I'll stop talking so you can go and grab yourself some amazing deals! Card details will follow...

  How adorable is this little sleeping mouse image? This right here is exactly how I like my mice - in a cutesy image! I'm not one to enjoy a little mouse running about my house and I'm probably not alone there. I know that my daughter didn't much enjoy the company of a mouse one night here in her bedroom. My daughter is in her early 20's has the most adorable little boy who both live with us while she finishes her studies in nursing. They have a bedroom in the basement in our home and well... our home has been under renovation for the last 5 years while life goes on everyday. Older kids have moved in and out and the spaces of our home get worked on in order to accommodate the needs of whom ever is living in the home at the time. Needless to say the basement has been undergoing some renovations.  My daughter went downstairs to put her little boy to bed one night, when suddenly she came flying back up in a hurry full of screeches and squeals in a fashion as though someth...

  Coming this week...

  Details to follow...

  In these challenging times, it's easy to get caught up in fear and uncertainty. However, it's important to remember that we are all connected. This card reminds us to focus on the fact that every person on this planet, regardless of where they live, what their nationality is, or what their ideology may be ...we all look at the same moon. This card reminds us to embrace our differences - we are all unique and beautiful individuals living under the very same moon... The quote on the card front reads "no matter what our differences are, we all look the same moon" - Katrina Mayer, and the stamp set is yet another beautiful illustration by Anita Jeram from the Colorado Craft Company called A Fox's Life. This card was created by first stamping the desired image on the left side of my white cardstock piece. I then stamped the same image onto a piece of masking paper, I cut the image out and placed the mask over my stamped image on the cardstock layer. I also used the m...

  I have a quick card for you today using some Stampin' Up products.  This card doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles however it is both subtle and beautiful. I created it as a sympathy/thinking of you card.  You can choose to make it for any occasion you wish.  This card design shows both sides of a double sided paper, so Winter Meadow designer paper was perfect for this layout. I cut a piece of Night of Navy cardstock at 5 1/2 x 5 1/2, Scored @ 4 1/4  After scoring there will be a flap of 1 1/4 of Night of Navy cardstock on the front side of the card - I embossed this section with the Timeworn type embossing folder to create some interest on this strip of cardstock. To this section, I attached a piece of 3 1/4 x 5 1/2 piece of the designer paper. I stamped a sentiment in Starry Sky ink from the "So Sincere" stamp set. "Just for You" I added a few gems to coordinate with the card colors, then added a silver glittery splatter to the card front.  Here'...

Sketching in a very loose background ~ "It's not how much you give but how much love you put into giving"  - Mother Teresa These furry little friends would walk uphill both ways in a snow storm to get their little gifts of Christmas delivered to each other.  The background here was simply drawn in with very little to no artistic skills, probably more on the later.  I used a very light grey copic marker to draw in the illusion of hills and then just blended that color out a bit with an even lighter grey.  I wanted the scene to appear that the characters were in fact very far away from each other travelling with their gifts in hand to deliver to each other. So ideally each in their own scene so to speak. Sort of like, if you looked in a crystal ball and could see all 3 friends on their journey to each other at the same time.  I'm not quite sure if I captured that or not. I can see it, however I'm the person who intended it that way.  I also didn't want the ba...

  Sled Bunny ~ "Sometimes the Magic of Christmas is Found in the Littlest Things" This adorable card features yet another of Anita Jeram's illustrations. I just love these cute little woodland characters, however I think what I love most are the endearing sentiments. These phrases seem to reach deep into ones soul making them the perfect words to sit upon a hand made Christmas card. The background of this card may look like a blended background from where you sit - though it is not. This background technique was created with a pouncing motion with a blending brush that has very little ink on it. This motion creates just tiny little dots of color thus creating a speckled effect. 

  Peace on Earth...  Usually when I start playing around with a new stamp set, there is usually  at  least 1 ( sometimes 2 or 3 ) trial run layer that makes it to the recycle bin  before I have a card  that I am completely satisfied with, however the card above  is the first attempt!  Is it perfect? ... no, definitely not.  Are there things I would do differently on the next creation?  ...There certainly are.  Will someone love it? ... Absolutely!! I went with the first attempt on this card because who is going to throw  this in the recycling bin?  Maybe an actual artist who is seeking absolute perfection or someone who  has no appreciation for the love we put into our card designs.  Neither of those are me... The stamp set used to create this card was Anita Jeram's  - Peaceful Fox , and other than the stamp set itself the creation consisted of coloring, blending a background, a few rounds of splatter, toppe...

  Snow!! Is everyone ready for snow? Does your region get snow? I'm curious!  In Northern Ontario, Thanksgiving brought with it a blanket of snow. I am south of that, so we saw plenty of rain. If that rain had come in the form of snow we'd be ready for sledding just like this cute little bear on the card front above. The sentiment reads "Oh what fun" from the Lawn Fawn - " Oh What Fun " stamp set allowing a chill adventure amidst the snowy hills and trees created with the Lawn Fawn - Over The Mountain Borders stamp set . The little reindeer is part of the Over the Mountain Borders stamp set which features the hills, trees, mountains, the reindeer and a smaller version of this sled.  ( see that stamp set below ) The Oh What Fun Stamp set is a Lawn Fawn mini set ( also pictured below) which included the bear in the sled, 2 sentiments and the 2 snowflakes, which I used in the background along with the Lawn Fawn Snow Flurries Background stencil . The background ...