More Cards That Didn't Win

I made these cards for the CTMH Make It From Your Heart Contest for Consultants. I hope you're inspired even though they didn't win.

.

This first card was an oops, lol. I made the card thinking the contest was for showcasing the new stamp sets. The contest for cards needed to showcase the new papers. So I added the thin strips of Mistletoe, and still submitted it even though I know it wasn't showing much of the paper.

.

All Card Sizes: 4.25" x 5.5"

.

The tree is from the Tannenbaum Stamp Set. I embossed it with Gold EP, I clear embossed the tops of the tree on the White Daisy CS. I used the Corner Rounder to make the scallops, and finished it off with pearls and rhinestones.

.

This next card I wanted to show that the Olivia papers could be Christmas-y too. I used the set of trees from Holiday Trinkets to stamp a background. I used the Blending Pen to colour in the tree.

I embossed the tree with Black EP, and finished the card off with rhinestones and colonial white grosgrain ribbon.

.

Here's the card I made to showcase the Mistletoe papers (since I oops it on the first card:)). I used the stamp set Snow Days, and the sentiment is from Everlasting Life. I used the Blending Pen to colour in the house, and Prisma Glitter to add sparkle to the snowy areas.

I embossed the sentiment with Black EP on vellum, and attached it so the edges were not flat but curled up a bit.

.

I made a total of 5 cards, and none of the 5 won. Oh well, there's always next catalogue release:)

Enjoy,

Deneen

H2H Challenge - Techniques

Good morning! This is my second post for today, my first post was about a Prize Pack you could win over at Heart 2 Heart Challenges....you can find the first post HERE.

This is my entry for H2H Challenges this week. We needed to showcase a technique. I think I've used a few different techniques, 'cause I'm not sure what one may call a technique. So one of these should qualify me for the Challenge, lol.

The Technique that I am showcasing here is....colouring on vellum.
To colour on vellum:
1. Stamp your image on vellum, and let dry.
2. Turn the image over, and colour on the back....it gives it a nice soft look, and doesn't interfere with the black ink.
3. Enjoy your colouring skills:)

That's all there is to colouring on vellum. I used CTMH Markers for my sample, and I finished off the image by adding White Daisy Marker (on the water) to the FRONT of the image, otherwise you won't see it on the back.

Card Size: 4.25" x 5.5"

Another Technique I used is....making a window in your card.

To make a window:

1. Add needed CS to the front of your card base...as few layers as possible.

2. Choose your shape (I used Nestabilities Labels ) and send through your machine (I used a Cuttlebug).

3. You now have a window in the front of your card base, ready to attach a piece of vellum to.

4. Be sure your vellum image is cut 1 size BIGGER than the window shape, or you won't be able to attach the vellum to the card....let me tell ya, I learned the hard way?

Here's a shot of the light shining through my window, and the vellum I attached.

Another Technique I used was....making a frame for my image.

To make a frame:

1. Choose what shape you want...I used Nestabilities Labels 4.

2. Choose a size that will frame your image nicely.

3. Select the next size up as well.

4. Center the smaller shape insided the larger shape.

5. Send through your machine (I use a Cuttlebug), with your desired piece of CS.

6. Send through your machine again, to emboss the edges.

7. You now have a frame for your image.

8. I attached my frame with Foam Squares....the vellum image is attached directly to the card front, with the frame on top of it.

Here's a picture of the 2 Nestabilites that will make my frame.

Another Technique I used....Paper Piercing.

To Paper Pierce:

1. Choose the area on your card front you want pierced....it is better if you know BEFORE you attach your CS to your card front, otherwise you will see the holes inside the card (did you notice that I didn't pierce mine BEFORE I attached my CS...the light is shining through the holes...I would correct that for my next card).

2. I use a piece of plastic canvas (I think that's what it's called), to make my holes evenly spaced.

3. Pierce the number of holes you want (at the same place in each hole so that they will be evenly spaced).

4. Move your plastic canvas to the next area, and repeat the same design...I pierced 6 holes across the top, and 4 down the sides.

Here's the piece of plastic canvas I use. (I cut off a small edge section of the plastic, for when I go around curves...I'll have to do a tutorial on how to do that, another time)

Those are just a few of the Techniques I used for creating this card. I hope you enjoyed learning about them. Now you can try a few out, if you didn't know how before.

Recipe: CTMH CS- Garden Green, New England Ivy & Bamboo, CTMH Ink-Olive, New England Ivy, Cocoa, Grey Wool, Desert Sand, Heavenly Blue, Dutch Blue, Indian Corn Blue, White Daisy & Chocolate, CTMH SS-Beautiful Things & Weathered Backgrounds, Martha Stewart Layered Arches Punch, Foam Squares, Nestabilities Labels 4, Tan Grosgrain Ribbon, Vellum, Piercing Tool.

Don't forget to head over to Heart 2 Heart Challenges and see what other Techniques people are using!

Enjoy,

Deneen

Thomas Kincade Cards

Time for some more Thomas Kincade cards, and a couple of techniques. I prepared these for a card class at The Scrapbook Cottage, they were alot of fun to make.

Card Size: 4.25" x 5.5"

For this card, I used Tim Holtz Distress Crackle Paint (clear). I stamped CTMH Chocolate Ink on cream CS, cut it out using Nestabilities, and then painted it with the Crackle. I let it dry about 10 minutes, and then helped it along with my craft heater. In the areas I spread the Crackle a little too thick, the craft heater actually made the Crackle bubble.

Card Size: 4.25" x 5.5"

For this card, I stamped the image in black, and then coloured it in with Copics. Silly me didn't keep all my recipe info (before sending it to Sharon, hi Sharon), so I don't have a list of the colours I used. To make things easier to colour, the path and the brick wall are coloured in with a base coat first, and then highlighted with other colours. I used a white gel pen to add flowers along the bottom of the greenery.

Card Size: 4.25" x 5.5"

This card was alot of fun. I stamped the image on vellum, and then coloured the back with Copics. To finish off the card, I cut the shape out of the card, and attached the vellum piece on the front, I then covered up the edge by attaching a border with foam squares. (I used Nestabilites Labels Twelve).

Here's a shot with the light shining through the vellum.

Enjoy,

Deneen

Spring Card, Thinking of You

The ladies at work wanted a few cards for Mother's Day and other occasions, and this was one that I came up with. It had been a while since I worked with vellum. So I based this one on a card by Julie Buhler.
.
Card Size: 4.25" x 5.5"
.
I stamped the sentiment with Versamark and used Gold Embossing Powder. I stamped and coloured the butterfly, cut it out, and attached it using foam squares. For the flowers I used a combination of first and second generation stamping.

Recipe: CTMH PP-Veranda, CTMH CS-White Daisy & Colonial White, CTMH Ink-Juniper & Black, CTMH SS-Spring Possibilities, Comforting Thoughts, Treasure Life & With Love, White Vellum, Versamark, Gold Embossing Powder, CTMH Juniper Grosgrain Ribbon, Gold Brads, Pearls, Rhinestones, Foam Squares, Stickles.

I think the ladies will like this one!
Enjoy,
Deneen

Impressabilities Tips/Techniques with Cuttlebug PART 2

I posted some Impressabilities Tips/Techniques with the Cuttlebug a week ago HERE. This post will build on those techniques, so if you have not read them, you may want to check that post out first and then come back.

I was interested in what else I could do with Impressabilites and came up with the following ideas. (I thought the writing on the photos would be alot bigger...sorry.)

I was interested in how the Impressabilities would translate to vellum, so I tried some different ideas, and posted my results for you.

Sample 1
I spritzed the vellum with water and then embossed it with the Impressabilities. I spritzed it to see if the embossing would come out more defined like on CS. I found that it didn't make as much of a difference as it does on CS, and that the vellum dried more wrinkly (is that a word...lol?).

Sample 2
I used a smaller piece of vellum, and did NOT spritz it first.

Sample 3
This piece of vellum did not photograph well, but I wanted to see what chalking the embossing would look like. This piece was NOT spritzed with water.

Samples 4 & 5
For these samples I used the Letterpress Technique with Fiskars Silver Pigment Ink. The first photo shows how well it covers the vellum, while the second photo I tilted so that you could see the shine of the ink.

Sample 6
On this piece of vellum, I embossed the corner with just a piece of the Impressabilities which I inked up with Dye Ink (CTMH Spring Iris Ink)-the Letterpress Technique. The dye ink gives it a soft look.

Sample 7
This is the same vellum piece as Sample 6, but with a piece of blue CS behind it to show you how colour can change the look of things.

Sample 8
This piece of vellum is embossed with no ink.

Sample 9

This final piece of vellum I brayered with Dye Ink (CTMH Buttercup Ink) after embossing with the Impressabilities. I left the Impressabilites under it while I brayered it.

Sample 10

I realized that I showed an example of the debossed side (I like to think of it as the 'depression' made by the template) of the Impressabilities sanded, but not the embossed (or the raised) side. So this sample shows the embossed side sanded. This piece was spritzed with water first.

Sample 11
If you don't own any Pigment Inks (for the Letterpress Technique), you can get a fairly close similar look (is that proper grammar???) with Dye Ink and a Brayer. Spritz the CS before embossing with the Impressabilities, then before removing the Impressabilities, brayer over the embossed side (the opposite side of the CS from the Impressabilities). Not quite as crisp a look as the Letterpress Technique, but not too bad. (The ink used-CTMH Sweet Leaf)

Sample 12
I used the same technique as Sample 11, but inked the CS with a lighter colour, CTMH Buttercup Ink.

Sample 13
I wanted to see how the Letterpress Technique looked with a dark Dye Ink, like CTMH Moonstruck, on a colour CS like CTMH Spring Iris. I applied the ink to the Impressabilities directly using the ink pad. Pigment Ink is the best way to go, but the darker dye ink didn't turn out too bad. One thing I noticed was that the ink sort of 'beaded' up on the Impressabilities, which led me to try applying the ink with a brayer...see Sample 14.

Sample 14
I used the same technique as explained in Sample 13 using CTMH Buttercup Dye Ink, with CTMH White Daisy CS. Rather than applying the ink directly with the ink pad, I used my brayer to ink up the Impressabilities. I found that the ink had a smoother finish, and did not bead up like in Sample 13.

Sample 15 & 16

For these 2 samples I used Fiskars Silver Pigment Ink and the Letterpress Technique. For the first sample I used CTMH Outdoor Denim CS, and for the second sample I used CTMH Pansy Purple CS (I forgot to take a shot of how the silver shines).

Sample 17
For this sample of Letterpress Technique I used CTMH Black CS and CTMH White Daisy Ink.

Sample 18
I wanted to see what tone-on-tone would look like. Here I used Maya Road Dark Brown Pigment Ink, and CTMH Chocolate CS.

Sample 19 & 20

Last, but not least, I used chalk on an embossed piece of CS. The piece on the left I spritzed with water first, embossed it, then applied chalk to the embossing. The piece on the right I did NOT spritz with water, embossed it, then applied chalk to the embossing. Two really different looks.

Well, I hope I have inspired you and not put you to sleep with my super long post. I've done the work, now you can go play!!!

Enjoy,

Deneen