Single Layer Cards

Single layer cards are a fun challenge and (for me) so is coloring. After the first card, both of these techniques became my goal this week. I even pulled out stamps I haven't used in a while. I could almost hear those brain synapses firing away while I worked. Actually, I had some smooth jazz playing in the background, and I enjoyed being lost in the process. 

Dragonfly by Great Impressions; colored with Prismacolor pencils
and covered with clear Wink-of-Stella; sentiment by Hampton Arts.

Adobe by Stamp A Mania; colored with Prismacolor pencils;
background and sentiment by Impression Obsession.
This would have been a true single layer card if I hadn't blurred
the sentiment the first time I stamped it. #tricksofthetrade :-)

Strawberry by Art Impressions; sentiment by Impression Obsession;
washi tape grass on the bottom of the card. 

What else is smooth like jazz? Flat ironed hair; a crisp dollar bill; warm creme brûlée; and single layer cards! 

Beautiful Cards

Bonito. Schön. Bell. Mooi. Beau. Falleg. Bellissimo. Hermosa. Kaunis. Smukke. Álainn. Frumoasa. 

Stamps and sentiment by Simon Says Stamp;
heat embossed on watercolor paper and
colored with LuminArte paints.

"Be-You-tiful" die by Ellen Hutson;
background stamps and layered dies by Stampin' Up;
I used a gold leafing pen on the edges of the card. 

Sentiment by W Plus 9 stamps;
sun by Stampin' Up is heat embossed in gold. 

No matter how you say it, it's true. You're BEAUTIFUL.

Family Birthday Cards

Today is my husband's birthday and I am sharing the cards I made for the girls and me to give him. Birthday cards to the family are not always my best cards artistically, but they are by far the most fun to create, because each design has that person in mind. 

Look over the cards and see what you can discover about my husband's favorite things? Daughter number one gets a kick out of Dad when his eyes tear up after he takes a big bite of wasabi, and daughter number two chose the motif for the next card, because she is baffled by his fondness for all things "pumpkin spice" (as in pumpkin spice peanut butter???). And, the last card, to be honest is described like this: "Oh, look! Stamped images are left over from my father-in-law's birthday card, and I need to start dinner, and these colors go together....done!" 

"Dad" by Avery Elle stamps; sushi set by Lawn Fawn.

Coffee mug by Impression Obsession; Happy Birthday by Stampin' Up;
Dad by Avery Elle; border die by Pretty Pink Posh.

Birthday sentiment by Rubbernecker Stamps;
fishing real by Deep Red Stamps; large fish by Fred B. Mullett

Family birthday cards and my hobby go together like sushi and wasabi, or pumpkin and spice, or rubber and ink. I just love my hobby and my hubby! 

Washi Paper Cards

My dilemma with making cards with washi paper is this: All I really want to do is adhere this regal rectangle on color coordinating cardstock and say, "Viola!" (or the Japanese equivalent). That's a funny thing for a card maker to say, but I would rather let the paper speak for itself. 

The Rare Orchid has a tantalizing array of washi papers and tapes, and I mean to compliment them in my cards with as little intrusion as possible. I couldn't even bring myself to cut a second piece of paper this week to show off another of their designs. However, I do think the different background colors with this washi paper give each card a unique tone.

Cotton Candy Dreams is the name of this paper.

The sentiment is by Honey Bee Stamps in the Beautiful Life set.

Courage sentiment is by Unity Stamp Co.

Oh, and speaking of letting the paper speak for itself; it is not just washi paper. It's "Fine Japanese Hand-Silkscreened Chiyogami Yuzen Washi Paper". 

Numbered Card

Darkroom Door released a fabulous set of border stamps a few months ago. I was the lucky recipient of two of them, thanks to a "guess-the-new-release-theme" contest on their Instagram account. I waited until after the holidays to pull out the first one, because they are SO BIG (see last photo), and I wasn't sure my small cards would do them justice. But who doesn't love a crafty challenge, right? 

Birthdays are all about (eating cake) celebrating numbers - an excellent reason to put my new numbers border to use. Stamping the image only four times gave me a large background to work with, and then I found just the right sentiment stamps to go with all those fun numbers. 

I used Kaliedacolor ink pads and some fussy cutting with
the numbers border from Darkroom Door;
Happy Birthday is from Stampin' Up. 

Forever 29 is by Unity Stamp Co.
I stamped the cupcake (an older stamp from Artful Inkables)
on printed paper and adhered the bottom to the one I colored. 

Another apropos sentiment from the So Glad You Were Born
kit by Unity Stamp Co. The matching dots and color
on the washi tape and cupcake paper were just luck!

Look at the size of this border! So many possibilities!

I think sending birthday cards is a sweet way to make my numbered days count. 

Koi Fish Cards

Here is your fact/trivia lesson for the day. "Koi are a legendary fish. Graceful, vibrant, and one of the most recognizable fish in the world, koi are well-loved and respected. Often associated with Japan, koi actually originated from Central Asia in China. They were introduced to Japan by Chinese invaders. The koi got their name around 500 B.C, but the fish itself has been around for much longer. Fossils of ancient koi date back 20 million years." - from Koi Story

Koi fish stamp by Local King Rubber Stamp; hello stamp by W Plus 9
is embossed with gold powder on black ink.

I blended markers on the rubber stamps to color the images on these cards, and you can watch Lisa, the design artist for Local King Rubber Stamp demonstrate this on her YouTube video.

Koi fish and background stamps by Local King Rubber Stamp,
and hello by W Plus 9.

"The integrity and high sense of character koi are known for make them a popular tattoo choice both in Asia and America." This could explain why they are so popular with stampers, too. 

Snowflake Cards

As I type, the outdoor thermometer reads 68º, which is one degree warmer than our inside thermometer! It is January though, and that demands snowflake cards. Okay, "demands" is a strong word, but we did have snow and ice over the weekend, so my card crafting was inspired. Yes, I do appreciate the seasons and the holidays (and their color palettes) as creative muses. 

Stitched edges dies by Paper Smooches; polar bear by Memory Box;
sentiment by Simon Says Stamp; snowflake punch by Martha Stewart;
I used glossy paper for those. 

Snowflake embossing folder by Darice; fox by Hero Arts; sentiment by My Favorite Things.
I used a dauber to add color to the back side of the embossed snowflakes,
which makes the white stand out, and I heat embossed the fox with silver embossing powder.

Sentiment by Unity Stamps; snowman by Stampin' Up.
The snowman is a kit with many individual parts; this card took longer
than I expected, because I played around with whether he needed stick arms. 

I wonder what my January cards would look like if I lived in the Southern Hemisphere?