AECP Level 2 - Color Your Day

Hey there, friends!

Thanks for stopping by for another Paper Play post.  I've been thinking a lot lately about what inspires me as a card maker and paper crafter.  Most of the time it's simply the stamp or image that inspires me.  I think of a story and put it onto paper to tell it in the form of a card.  However, there are times that my inspiration comes from something as simple as the paper I'm using or a photograph that I see online.  The cards that I am sharing today were inspired by just that - one by paper and one by an online advertisement.  They were the perfect cards to feature for the AECP course that I just finished, Color Your Day.  This was another amazing course with Therese Calvird, who is one of my favorite AECP instructors.  The class focused on adding color to your projects using various mediums and techniques.  I had a lot of fun and really enjoyed it.  Let's see what I created!

Card 1 - Hydrangeas with Love

Hydrangeas are probably my most favorite flower - with tulips coming in a close second.  Altenew has some really beautiful hydrangea stamps and I have been waiting for the right project to use one . . . and this one was it.  This card was inspired by the paper that I used for the card panel.  It's a piece of adhesive-backed birch wood paper.  It's an actual very, very thin slice of wood that I received in the Spring 2023 subscription box from Your Paper Insider (click this link to find out more about the company and subscription) and I knew exactly what I wanted to create when I saw it in the box: a card that looks like the sentiment and image had been created with wood burning.  I think that I achieved it - what do you think?

I used the following items to make it:

• Altenew Garden Hydrangea Layering Stamp Set
• Altenew Woodless Coloring Pencils: Tide Blue, Desert Night, Rubellite, Limade, Shadow Creek, Moss, White
• Birch wood paper from Your Paper Insider
• Tim Holtz Distress Inks: Walnut Stain, Vintage Photo, and Antique Linen
• Sakura Gelly Roll White Gel Pen
• Clear Drip Drops from Taylored Expressions

 Here's how I made it:

• Stamped the hydrangea outline onto the birch wood paper using the Walnut Stain ink.  This dark brown ink was the perfect color to replicate the look of wood burning.  I then aligned and stamped one of the hydrangea detail stamps.
• Decided where to place my three leaves and stamped the outline of each with the Walnut Stain ink.  I then aligned and stamped the leaf detail stamp for each of the leaves.
• With my image in place, I decided how I wanted to lay out my sentiment and then stamped it with the Walnut Stain ink.
• Chose to color the images with colored pencils because I wasn't sure how dark alcohol markers might look directly on the wood.  It's so much easier to control the color when using pencils, and you can easily lighten or blend with the white pencil if you need to do so.  I went around the edges of the flowers with the Limeade Green first, then added colored each flower with the Tide Blue, added pops of Rubellite to each petal, and then some darker shading with the Desert Night Blue.  I then went over each flower with the white pencil to help blend the colors together.

• Colored the leaves with a light coat of Limeade Green, then some Shadow Creek Green, and lastly some shading with Moss Green.  I went over each leaf with some white to blend the colors together.

• Added some distress & grunge to the wood with some Antique Linen and Vintage Photo distress inks and a blending brush.  TIP: remember to go with the grain of the wood when adding the grunge.  As you can se in the photo, the ink will pick up some grain marks and add this extra layer of detail to your project.

• Ran some Vintage Photo distress ink around the edges of the wood paper to add further distressing.
  
• Peeled off the adhesive backing cover and adhered the card panel to a 5" x 7" cream colored card base.
• Added some fine white lines to the flowers for some added depth and highlights.
  
• Added three drip drops to the card with some craft glue.
   

I absolutely the way it turned out!  It was fun to use colored pencils since I don't use them all that often.  The pops of green and rubellite blended into the flowers gives them so much vibrancy and really makes it one stand out.

Card 2 - Moroccan Sparkles

I recently clicked on an add on Facebook for an item at Wayfair.  Of course, that led me down the rabbit hole of spending an hour looking at items that I don't need for home!  But it was a fortuitous time suck because I came across a picture of a Moroccan rug and the colors of it inspired this card.  Here's the rug:

I loved the combination of the rusty orange with the purple, gold, and little bit of green.  This card is my interpretation of it.

I used the following to create it:

• Altenew Moroccan Lattice Cover Die 
• Altenew Sparkle Bright Layering Stamp & Die Set 
• Altenew Antique Gold Ink Spray
• Altenew Turquoise Crisp Dye Ink
• Altenew Tahitian Terrace Dual Tip Watercolor Pens: Volcano Lake, Hunter Green, Olive Green, Warm Sunshine, Chamomile, Hydrangea, Eastern Sky, Coral Berry
• Tim Holtz Rusty Hinge Distress Spray Stain
• Ohuhu Sand White Alcohol Marker
  
• Versafine Clair Black Pigment Ink
• Sizzik Clear Embossing Ink
  
• Ranger Clear Embossing Powder
• Ranger Gilded Embossing Powder
• Sakura Gelly Roll White Gel Pen
  

 Here's how I made it:

• Sprayed an A2 sized white card panel with the the Rusty Hinge spray stain.  Spritzed it with water and then dried it with my heat tool.  Adhered it to white A2 card base with double sided tape.
  
• Ran the cover die through my die cutting machine with an A2 sized piece of white card stock.  Applied Turquoise ink to the panel with a blending brush.  I then sprayed it with the Antique Gold ink.  This created a gold lattice cover with just a little bit of oxidation tarnish on it.  This came out exactly the way that I wanted it to!

• Put double sided foam tape onto the back of the lattice and adhered it to the card base.  The look of the gold and rust is so gorgeous!
• Dusted a piece of white card stock with baking powder.  Stamped the flower and leaves onto it with the Black pigment ink and then applied clear embossing powder.  Used a heat tool to set the embossing powder.  TIP: use black pigment ink, which is thicker than regular ink, and clear embossing powder instead of clear embossing ink and black embossing powder.  This way, little flecks of embossing powder won't show up on your image since it's clear!
• Colored the leaves starting with a base layer of Volcano Lake, followed by adding Hunter Green, and then some Olive Green shading.  Added some white highlights with the gel pen.
  
• Colored the flowers with a base of Hydrangea, went around the edges with some Eastern Sky, and then the inside with some Coral Berry.  Colored the inner circle with Warm Sunshine and added a little Chamomile to the center.  Added some white highlighted with the gel pen.
• Cute out the image with the coordinating die.
• Ran the sand white marker around the white areas of the due cut image.
• Adhered the image to the card using double sided foam tape.
• Stamped the sentiment words onto a scrap of cream card stock with black ink and clear embossing ink for the word sparkle.  Applied Gilded embossing powder to the word sparkle and then set it with a heat tool.
  
• Used stacking deckled edge rectangle dies to cut out the sentiments.  Adhered them to the card using double sided foam tape.

This is such a pretty card.  It just goes to show that you never know what you might be inspired by and how you may interpret it!

That wraps up today's post.  Thank you for spending some time with me today on Paper Play.  Until next time . . . be well!

Blank Page Muse/I Brake for Stamps - Flamingo Love

Hello, friends!

Welcome back to Paper Play.  It’s hard to believe that Summer is in its last weeks.  I’m acutally okay with that since it means that the Fall, my favorite season, is just around the corner.  But . . . we’re not quite there yet.  I thought it would be fun to celebrate the remaining Summer weeks with some fun loving flamingos and florals and, luckily, Blank Page Muse has the perfect red rubber stamp set to make this happen.

My card, Flamingo Love, was made using the following items:

• Flamingo Row Red Rubber Stamps
  
• Sizzix Stacking Heart dies
• Spellbinders Deckled Edge die
• Versa Fine Nocturne Black Ink
• Ohuhu Honolulu Alcohol Markers
• Pastel Gel Pens
• Altenew Pink Embellishments
• Drip Drop clear drops

Here’s how I made it:

• Stamped flowers randomly on 5”x7” pink card stock panel
• Cut out heart shape from pink card panel with heart die
• Figured out where I wanted my flamingos to show up in heart shape, aligned 5”x7” white card panel and stamp, and stamped my flamingos
• Colored flamingos with alcohol markers and added some white highlightes with a gel pen
• Colored my flowers with gel pens
• Used double sided tape to adhered white card panel behind the pink one
• Cut out a small sentiment tag with deckled edge die, ran a black marker around the edges of it, and then stamped the sentiment
• Adhered sentiment tag to card with double sided foam tape
• Added pink embellishments and drip drops
• Adhered ccompleted card panel to 5”x7” card base with double sided tape

A super simple card to make - yet also very pretty.  I love the look of the pastel flowers colored with gel pens against the colored card stock.  And these flamingos are just too cute and I really like the shape of the heart made between their beaks.

Want to save 15% off your purchase at Blank Page Muse or I Brake for Stamps?  Use my discount code,  BPMWalter, to save!

I hope that you enjoy my creation and yoir last days of Summer!

Until next time . . . be well!

AECP Level 2 - Beautiful Details

Welcome back to Paper Play, friends!

What is it that makes you happy as a crafter, card maker, or creator of any kind?  What drives you to create?  For me, it's seeing the smile and happiness from someone when they receive one of cards or crafts.  That reaction fuels me and makes me want to create more.  It also fuels me to push myself and try new techniques, new ways of coloring, etc.  The course that I just finished, Beautiful Details, did just that.  It definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone by not coloring the images on my cards in my usual way.  The focus of the class was on tips and techniques to use different mediums in creating your cards and how to add details in a different way.  It took me a week of watching the lessons, then re-watching them, and then thinking about designs to finally come up with some cards that I liked.

Both of my cards were made using the same stamp set and have a lot in common, such as the color palette.  However, they also have some differences and those differences were informed by what I learned in the course.  Overall, I wanted to show how to use one stamp set and different techniques to create two different but beautiful designs.

Here's what I used to make the cards:

• Altenew Forever in Love Stamp and Die Set
• Altenew Silver Lake Crisp Dye Ink
  
• Sizzix Clear Embossing Ink Pad
• Simon Says Stamp Ultra Fine Silver Embossing Powder
• Artezza Inkonic Premium Colored Pens
• White glitter gel pen
• Sakura Gelly Roll White Gel Pen
• Clear drip drops
• Black sequins
• Gray card stock
• White card stock
• Pink card stock
• Vellum paper
  

Card 1 - Wish I Met You Sooner

There were three main details that I wanted to focus on with this card:

• a layered paper look of three different colors of card stock stacked on each other
• an image stamped in the same color (gray) as the card base color
• leaves that weren't colored but rather filled in with lines

I made the card by:

• Creating a 5"x7" gray card base.
• Cutting a 4.75" by 6.5" pink card panel, running pink around the panel edges, and adhering it to the card base with double sided tape.
• Cutting a 4.25" by 6" white card panel, running Silver Lake ink around the edges, and then stamping the image onto the card panel.
• Dusted the upper right corner of card panel with baking powder and inked the sentiment with embossing ink.  Applied silver embossing powder and set it with a heat tool.
• Used a green gray pen to draw lines within the leaves to define the color and detail of them.
• Used a white glitter pen to color the roses.  This added a sparkle detail to them.  There's no need for shading with this approach since the purpose is just o have them sparkle when the light hits them.
• Applied three clear drip drops with craft glue.

The resulting design is so pretty and much different than the card that I would have made prior to this course.  I likely would have just colored the leaves with green shading and the roses with pink shading.  However, the green gray lines on the leaves makes them stand out a little more, and the sparkling roses are so gorgeous.  The card is quite versatile as well and could be used for a wedding, anniversary, birthday, or even just to say "I love you."

Card 2 - Forever in Love

I knew that I wanted to use colored vellum for this card.  I thought it would add an interesting detail against a plain white background and an embossed silver sentiment.

 

I made this card by:

• Creating a 5"x7" gray card base.
• Cutting a 4.5"x6.5" white card panel and running Silver Lake ink around it's edges.  I dusted the top center portion with baking powder, stamped the sentiment with embossing ink, applied silver embossing powder, and set it with a heat tool.
• Dusted a piece of vellum paper with baking powder, stamped the image with embossing ink, applied silver embossing powder, and set it with a heat tool.
• Adhered the white panel to the card base with double sided tape.
  
• Colored the leaves with a light gray pen and then added lines to each leaf with a darker gray pen.  I then added some white highlight lines to the leaves with the white gel pen.
• Colored the berries with a dark gray pen and then added some highlights with a white gel pen.
• Colored the roses with a light pink pen, added shading with a darker shade, and then colored the centers with an even darker shade.  Added some white lights and lines with a gel pen.
• Applied some small pieces of double sided foam tape to the back of the image and adhered it to the white card panel.
• Applied three large black sequins and three small black sequins using craft glue.

 

I like the dimension that the vellum image gives to the card.  It's so much more interesting than just stamping the image onto the white panel.  Once again, this image was colored in a very different way than I would have previously done.  The lines in the leaves and rose petals add some interesting detail that also helps to soften up both.  Such a pretty card that, like the first one, can be used to so many different occasions.

 

 

This wraps up the time with me on Paper Play today.  I thank you for stopping by and spending a few moments of your day with me.  Until next time . . . be well!

Blank Page Muse/I Brake for Stamps - Hummingbird Happiness

Hey there, crafty friends!

Today I’m excited to be sharing my first Blank Page Muse/I Brake for Stamps Creative Team post here on Paper Play.  I really like the beautiful rubber and clear stamps in their catalog and am proud to be on the team!

I loved this hummingbird stamp as soon as I saw it.  It’s so unique - the pattern of it reminded me of stained glass, so that’s what I ran with in my design.

I used the following items to create it:

• Blank Page Muse You Make Me Happy Hummingbird Clear Stamp Set
  
• Blank Page Muse Butterfly Trails Mixed Media Stencil
  
• Altenew Crisp Dye Inks: Iceberg, Eastern Sky, Almond Butter, Fresh Leaf
• Altenew Puffy Heart Metallic Shimmer Ink Spray
• Lawn Fawn Yeti White Pigment Ink
• Versa Fine Nocturne Black Ink
• Sizzix Clear Embossing Ink
• brutus Monroe Midnight (blue) Embossing Powder
• Scrapbook.com Pops of Color - Copper
• Sakura Black Glaze Gel Pen
• Metallic Gel Pens - Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet
• Glitter Gel Pen - Green
• Drip Drops Clear Embellishments

Here’s how I made it:

• Used the Fresh Leaf ink and an ink blending tool to add green at the bottom of an A2 sized card panel.
• Used Iceberg ink and an ink blending tool to add blue the the remainder of card panel.
• Positioned the Butterfly Trails stencil, taped it down with Post-It tape, and used the Eastern Sky ink and an ink blending tool to add some circular patterns.
• Stamped the clouds onto the card panel using the Yeti white ink.
• Stamped the flower onto the card panel using the black ink.
• Stamped the leaves onto the catd panel using Almond Butter ink.
• Colored the base part of the flower with green glitter pen, and then used a detail paint brush to color the flower with the Puffy Heart ink spray; used a yellow gel pen to add detail to inside of the flower; outlined the flower with the Sakura Glaze pen.
• Used a detail paint brush to paint the leaves with the Copper Pops of Color.
• Lightly brushed a small piece of white card stock with corn starch.  Corn starch acts like anti-static powder and makes it easier for excess embossing powder to fall away from the card.  I then stamped the hummingbird onto it with some clear embossing ink, sprinkled Midnight embossing powder over it , and heated it with my heat tool.
• Used the metallic gel pens to color the hummingbird.  I decided to go with classic rainbow colors, but you can use whatever colors that you’d like.

• Once all colored, I fussy cut it out, applied double sided foam tape to the back, and adhered it to my card panel.  I like the added dimension fro the foam tape.
• Smooshed some Fresh Leaf ink onto my glass craft surface, spritzed it with water, and used a detail paint brush to add some grass
• Adhered thee clear drip drops to the card.

The colors on the hummingbird, shimmer on the flower, and glitter on the leaves really stand out - especially when the light hits the card.  I also really like the extra element of the circular patterns in the sky, which the card a little whimsical touch.  You can’t help but smile when looking at it, and it is sure to make the recipient happy!

 

That wraps up this Paper Play post.  Until next time . . . be well!

Please visit the links below for more inspiration, creativity, and stamping fun:

I Brake For Stamps -https://ibrakeforstamps.com/ 

The Blank Page Muse- https://blankpagemuse.com/

FB Fan Page-  https://www.facebook.com/groups/blankpagemuse/

Instagram Shop-  https://www.instagram.com/blankpagemuse/

Instagram Blog-  https://www.instagram.com/blankpagemuseblog/

Twitter-  https://twitter.com/BlankPageMuse

Pintrest- https://www.pinterest.com/blankpagemuse/boards/