Hi everyone,

today I'm over at the Make it Crafty Store Blog to share another Clean & Simple inspiration card with you.

Once again I used one of the fabulous Chipboard Quote Blocks. This time I've chosen Bright Side of Life – I really love this text from a Monty Python movie song ;-)

Of course I had to make a happy and bright card (there is no stamping involved at all):

I already had a left-over watercolored piece of cardstock on my desk which was created by blending three Distress Inks («Picked Raspberry», «Peacock Feathers» and «Cracked Pistachio») together. It was just perfect to put it behind the chipboard quote block which I left as is. I also adhered a bit of yellow cardstock behind the sun – with my Copics I added some shading.

To mimic some sunshine and clouds, I used a Lifestyle Crafts sunburst embossing folder and a Mama Elephant stitched cloud border die. I also sponged some inks on the sunrays and clouds to give them dimension.

For more shine I added some fine sparkle to the sunrays using a ZIG Wink of Stella Glitter Brush Pen in Clear. You can see it a bit better on this photo:

I popped up the chipboard and the front cloud with foam tape and adhered everything to a Kraft card base.

Hope you liked my bright little card. Thank you so much for stopping by!

Winnie & Walter July Leading Lady | Take 4

Hi everyone,

Can't believe how fast time flies! I'm sentimental today because my time as Winnie & Walter's Leading Lady for July now comes to an end :-( I really had a blast to create and share all these projects here and I'm truly honored and thankful for this wonderful chance! Thank you so much for all your lovely comments and the positive feedback! It really means so much to me!

For my last turn I will do some kind of a Wrap-Up post by incorporating the techniques I've shown you in my last three performances. I will combine these topics with my love for floral stamps and dies which of course can be found in the Winnie & Walter store.

Ready for today's Flower Power?

Embossing with a die and watercolored die-cuts

For my first card I once again used the incredible Cover Model: Multifaceted Cutaway die. But this time I did some fun Dry Embossing with it. This means I've run it through my die-cutting machine using a silicone mat so the parts won't be cut but pressed into the paper. To create this beautiful flower I did some free Watercoloring with Distress Inks and die-cut the solid parts with the In Bloom: Maggie's Roses Cutaways. After that I also die-cut the outlines from white cardstock and glued them on top. I really love how this turned out! For a bit of dimension I popped up the rose with foam tape. The sentiment is from The Big, the Bold and Friends stamp set. I white heat embossed it on vellum and did some fussy cutting. To embellish my card I adhered a couple of clear and pink sequins.

Stenciled Golden Stripes and Heat Embossed Flowers

Here I combined a striped background with white heat embossed floral images. I generously sponged «Delicata Golden Glitz» Pigment Ink from Tsukineko through the Scenery: Classic Diagonal Creative Screenings stencil. This looks great on dark cardstock. I arranged some flowers from the In Bloom: Addie's Garden stamp set and heat embossed them in white. The sentiment is from The Party stamp set.

Stamped Floral Background

I like to create my own backgrounds with several stamps especially flowers. For this card I used the images from two sets: Joni Andaya's gorgeous In Bloom: Lola's Bouquet and The Party. I tried a new color combo with my Dye Inks which are great for crisp impressions. I die-cut a scalloped rectangle from vellum with one of the Essentials: Audrey Cutaways dies. The sentiment from The Big, the Bold and You was heat embossed with «Liquid Platinum» by Ranger. I glued the vellum on my stamped floral background. To hide the few dots of adhesive I added a couple of pearls and sequins.


For my last two cards I once again used the pretty In Bloom: Addie's Garden stamp set to show you its versatility. These floral images can look really elegant and soft by watercoloring them but also simple and modern when only using the outline on a bold watercolor background.

Watercolor Blooms

At first I white heat embossed the flowers and leaves on watercolor cardstock. I did some masking to build my cluster. Then I colored it with Distress Inks. The light blue «glow» was made with one of the new-to-me ZIG Clean Color Real Brush Pens which are totally in trend right now. I die-cut the word «hugs» (The Big, the Bold and Friends Cutaways) four times from white cardstock and stacked them together. Finally I added some clear sequins.

Gerbera on a bright watercolor background

I made this watercolor background with my Distress Inks by simply letting them blend with the help of water. I love how bright and cheery these inks are! I only used three colors – through blending, the pink and the turquoise created this gorgeous blue and purple tones. After letting this dry completely I heat embossed the gerbera and the sentiment from The Party in white. To finish my simple card design I matted the watercolor piece on black cardstock for a better contrast and added two white enamel dots.


Now it's time for me to leave the Leading Lady stage *sniff*. I so enjoyed this incredible experience! I'm sad writing these last couple of lines but also very grateful for this awesome opportunity!

Don't forget to comment on the Leading Lady posts on my personal blog for your chance to win a $30 gift card to the Winnie & Walter store. I will draw a random winner by the end of the month.

Thanks to Julie & Shay for having me! I really appreciate your support and generosity!

Thank you so much for stopping by! Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

MFT Summer School 2 | Lesson #10 | Monochromatic

Hello peeps,

Before the My Favorite Things Summer School Session 2 comes to an end, I quickly created another card to join the fun ;o) Unfortuately, I didn't have the time to master all the inspiring lessons.

In Lesson #10 it's all about the Color Theory: Monochromatic.

And here is the card I made:

I really love this beautiful My Favorite Things «Roses All Over Background» stamp. I heat embossed it in white and sponged some ink in a darker hue than the cardstock. I die-cut a circle window and adhered my panel with foam tape. The sentiment is from the MFT «True Friends» stamp set and also white heat embossed. Finally I added two hearts die-cut from fun foam.

I think this card design would work perfectly for a Wedding, too. Will have to keep that in mind for the next time.

Thank you so much for stopping by!

MFT Summer School 2 | Lesson #6 | Gallon/Quart/Pint

Good morning everyone,

I finally managed to make a card for My Favorite Things Summer School. Session 2 focuses on color theories.

The first lesson explained the concept of using the color theory of Gallon/Quart/Pint. I'm not quite sure if I followed this rule correctly, but I had a blast stamping all these pretty flowers and leaves.

I combined three My Favorite Things stamp sets: «Modern Blooms», «Desert Bouquet» and the sentiment is from the «Spring Tulips» set. For my stamping I used the MFT Dye Inks «Peach Bellini», «Coral Crush», «Persimmon» and «Grout Gray». I really love this color combo!

I kept the design pretty simple and created two angled panels which are popped up with foam tape. To make the sentiment stand out a bit more I stamped it in Versafine «Onyx Black».

Thank you so much for stopping by! Have a sunny day!

Winnie & Walter July Leading Lady | Take 3

Hello crafty peeps,

So glad to be back again for round three as Winnie & Walter's Leading Lady. Thank you so much for all your sweet comments – I really appreciate them!

I will have to tell you a little secret: not only do I hoard stamps and dies but I'm also addicted to inks ;-)
There are so many good products out there and I love to play with them! Stamping is really therapeutic, isn't it?!

So today's topic is Ink it Up!. I will show you some samples of my favorite ways to use the different inks.

Pigment Inks

On my first card I used one of my all-time-favorite birthday stamp sets: The Party. With these stamps it's so easy to create quick and simple cards. I stamped these fun balloons with Pigment Inks in the colors of the Winnie & Walter logo. I really like the vibrant colors and how well they stamp on top of each other. The grey strings and the sentiment were also stamped with Pigment Inks. At the bottom of my card I added a strip of washi tape.

Another great way to use Pigment Inks is by stamping them on colored cardstock (I used Kraft cardstock here) because they sit on top of the paper surface which makes them almost opaque so they keep their vibrancy. To support this effect you can stamp over white pigment ink like I did here. For a little twist I offset the chevrons a tiny bit. I often struggle creating masculine cards but the Scenery: V for cheVron stamp set makes it really easy to achieve a clean and graphic look. The sentiment was build with The Big, the Bold and Party stamp set and I heat embossed it with Clear powder. For this fun xoxo border I used a die from the Essentials: Audrey Cutaways set.

Dye Inks

For really crisp stamped images I prefer using Dye Inks because they soak into the paper. For this card I repeatedly stamped the chevrons from the Scenery: V for cheVron set. I heat embossed the outline balloons and the sentiment from The Party stamp set in Gold. I popped up the stamped panel with foam tape and added some Gold Cupped Sequins.

This card is really Clean & Simple. At first I masked off a circle (1 3/4") and then blended a light Aqua Dye Ink around it and let it fade out. After removing the mask I heat embossed the graphic ornament and the sentiment from the True stamp set with one of my favorite embossing powders: «Liquid Platinum» by Ranger. The word «friend» was cut from foil cardstock using The Big, the Bold and Friends Cutaways.

Distress Inks

To create artsy watercolor backgrounds I love to pull out my Tim Holtz/Ranger Distress Inks. At first I heat embossed the sentiment from The Big, the Bold and Happy stamp set with Clear embossing powder. I used Tim Holtz Watercolor Cardstock. Then I pressed down my Distress Ink pads on my Non-Stick Craft Sheet and added some generous spritzes of water. I dabbed my piece of Watercolor Cardstock onto the muddle of colors multiple times until I was satisfied with the result. To finish off my card I added a little die-cut heart.

On my last card for today I created a starry night sky with the Distress Inks. I blended the colors with a Mini Ink Blending Tool and added some water droplets which pulled off the color in these areas. The scripty sentiment and the gorgeous star are from the True stamp set and I heat embossed them in White. I also adhered a few Silver Star Sequins. To mimic some additional stars I drew a couple of white dots with a Sharpie pen.


These were my inky cards for today. I really hope you liked them and would be very happy to see you back again next Saturday for my last Leading Lady perfomance.

Until then feel free to comment on the Leading Lady posts on my personal blog for your chance to win a $30 gift card to the Winnie & Walter store.

A big hug to Julie & Shay for this opportunity to share my projects with you!

Thank you so much for stopping by! Have a wonderful weekend!

DT Make it Crafty CAS Challenge #3 | Tress Winking

Happy Thursday everybody,

today I show you my DT card for the current Make it Crafty CAS Challenge #3 with the theme «Shaker Cards».

This is my very first shaker card ever and to be honest, I was a bit nervous in advance ;o)

I chose the pretty «Tress Winking» which is available in rubber and as a digi stamp. I colored her with Copics, fussy cut and cropped the image to make her sit on the bottom of my card.

To create my shaker element, I used the fabulous My Favorite Things «Heart Full of Love» die (which is perfect for shaker cards), a piece of acetate, some fun foam and of course lots of sequins. To finish my card, I added the glittery «you» (made with a Simon Says Stamp die) and a little heart.

You still have time to enter our «Shaker Cards» challenge by the end of the month. You can find all the details HERE.

Thank you so much for stopping by!

DT bastel-traum.ch Challenge July

Good morning peeps,

the new theme over at the bastel-traum.ch Challenge is «Summer».

 

The challenge will run until August 15th, 8:55 am CET.

I created a little nautical scene with the retired Studio Calico «Message in a Bottle» stamps. It's the same stamp set that I used for this card a couple of weeks ago.

I really love the color combo of Aqua, Red, Navy and Neutrals. The sentiment is heat embossed with «Liquid Platinum» embossing powder by Ranger. The stitched frame is a Simon Says Stamp die and I stamped my own striped background with the «Diagonal Stripes» stamp in «Fog» ink which are also from SSS. The polka dot paper is from Simple Stories. I embellished my card with My Mind's Eye enamel dots and May Arts Natural Jute String.

Thank you so much for stopping by! See you tomorrow!

Winnie & Walter July Leading Lady | Take 2

Hello everyone, first of all:

Happy Birthday dear Julie! May your day be awesome and filled with love!

Thanks so much for your warm welcome last week and all the lovely and encouraging comments on my Leading Lady debut! I'm delighted to be back on stage showcasing the enjoyable Winnie & Walter products.

This time I will focus on another product range called Creative Screenings aka Stencils/Masks.

Let's start with some Fun Stenciling!

Translucent Embossing Paste Triangles

For my first card I used the Scenery: Triangled Creative Screenings stencil together with Translucent Embossing Paste. Love the shiny look on dark cardstock! I cut my panel to an angle and decorated my card with a bright and rainbow colored In a Word: Happy Cutaway die-cut (which is a «left-over» from one of the cards from my debut), the white embossed word «birthday» from The Big, the Bold and the Happy stamp set, some thread and matching enamel dots.

Stenciled Triangles with Gold Spots

The second card shows another common way to use a stencil by sponging some ink onto it. I used the same Scenery: Triangled Creative Screenings stencil with a Mini Ink Blending Tool to apply the turquoise ink and let it fade out to the edges. After that, I put some VersaMark ink on three of the triangles and heat embossed them in gold. I also heat embossed the sentiment from The Party stamp set. To repeat the gold I cut a skinny strip from foil cardstock.

Masked Rainbow Stripes

Inspired by the colors of the Winnie & Walter logo, I decided to create a little rainbow for my next card. I masked off a circle and used the Scenery: Classic Diagonal Creative Screenings stencil for my colorful stripes. To create a sentiment with dimension I die-cut the In a Word: Hugs Cutaway from several layers of cardstock (three times white and one in black) and stacked them together. I embellished my card with sequins which were a special mix for Winnie & Walter's first birthday.

Summer Plaid Pattern

For my last card, I used the Scenery: Classic Diagonal Creative Screenings stencil to make my own plaid pattern by overlapping the colors. I heat embossed the «congrats» from The Big, the Bold and You in white on a piece of vellum.


I really enjoyed to play with these stencils and hope you got inspired! Don't forget to comment on the Leading Lady posts on my personal blog for your chance to win a $30 gift card to the Winnie & Walter store.

Can't wait to see you back again next week for round three!

Once again, huge thanks to Julie & Shay for letting me play with their great products!

Thank you so much for stopping by! Enjoy your weekend!

DT Stempelgarten Challenge July

Hi everyone,

Before we start with the challenge, I want to tell you that the Stempelgarten Online Shop celebrates its 10th birthday this month! Congratulations on this awesome milestone!

There are special shop discounts and also the chance to win one of three craft packages with a value of CHF 50.– each. You can read more about it here.

Today starts the new Stempelgarten Challenge – of course the theme for this month is «Happy Birthday».

I created this watercolor birthday card and finally colored one of the most adorable gnomes from the My Favorite Things «Birdie Brown – You Gnome Me» stamp set. Love how this cutie peeks out of the corner :o)

For the background I did some Watercoloring with Distress Inks in the fresh colors «Squeezed Lemonade», «Twisted Citron» and «Peacock Feathers». I created the frame using the «Stitched Rectangle» dies from Simon Says Stamp. The huge sentiment and hearts are from the MFT «Written in Watercolor» stamp set and I heat embossed them with white embossing powder. The brush stroke is also from MFT («Abstract Art»).

You will have time until July 31st, 2015 to join our challenge and this is the prize you could win:

A craft package from the Stempelgarten Online Shop with a value of CHF 50.–.

Thank you so much for stopping by! Have a wonderful Sunday!

Winnie & Walter July Leading Lady | Take 1

Woohoo!!! Today I can finally share these exciting news! I will be Winnie & Walter’s Leading Lady for this month! When I got the mail from Julie & Shay almost one year ago, I at first thought of a mistake ;-) I couldn’t believe they really wanted me *lol*. Since then, it felt like a wonderful dream from which I did not want to wake up …

Now, here I am! It still feels a bit unreal but I'm so thrilled and honored to share my projects with you on every Saturday in July showcasing Winnie & Walter’s amazing products!

But first let me tell you a bit about me.

My name is Anja and I’m originally from Germany but now live in Switzerland. I’m a proud mom to a handsome boy and a sweet little girl. I work part-time as a Media Designer for a printing company. 

In 2008, I discovered Card Making and Stamping. This is my creative outlet and I really enjoy it ever since. Since 2011, I've been blogging over here: Little Butterfly Creations.
 
When Winnie & Walter started their company more than one year ago, I immediately fell in love with their unique products. My very first crush were the versatile sentiment stamps from The Big, The Bold and … series and they are still one of my favorites ;-)

Winnie & Walter's latest big April/May release was packed with not only the most beautiful stamps but also really awesome dies. I'm so thankful that I had the chance to play with these fabulous products!

So today, it’s all about Creative Die-Cutting!

Double/Layered Die-Cutting

For this card I used the awesome Multifaceted Cutaway die. I love this geometric pattern and there are lot of fun things you can do with it. At first I cut it from white cardstock taking care that most of the pieces remained in place. Then I glued it onto my A2 card base and inserted the couple ones which fell off though. I also cut it a second time from gold foil cardstock. I put a piece of masking paper over it to secure all the pieces while running it again through my die cutting machine with a heart shaped die. All the gold pieces were glued down over the white cardstock. From the same gold foil cardstock I die-cut the word «love» from The Big, the Bold and the Happy Cutaways.

Negative Die-Cuts

My second card shows how you can also use the negative when die-cutting. I blended some summery Distress Inks together with water on a piece of watercolor cardstock. Then I let it completely dry before using the In a Word: Happy Cutaway die. I popped up my panel and the little letter pieces with foam tape and added the white embossed word «birthday» from The Big, the Bold and the Happy stamp set.

Inlaid Die-Cutting

I really love these In a Word Cutaway dies – they are just perfect for Clean and Simple cards. On this one I created my own striped pattern by arranging Navy and Coral strips of cardstock. Then I die-cut the In a Word: Hello Cutaway from my stripes and also from white cardstock. After that I inlaid the white «hello» in the negative space of the stripes.

Partial Die-Cutting

On my last card for today, I arranged the flowers and leaves from the In Bloom: Maggie's Roses Cutaways on a piece of purple cardstock. To create this border I did some Partial Die-Cutting – this means I didn't cut them completely by letting a part hang off my cutting plates while die-cutting. The butterflies are from the Essentials: Audrey Cutaways die set. For the white embossed sentiment I used one of my favorite stamp sets: The Big, the Bold and the Happy.


I hope I was able to inspire you to use your dies in a different way! Here's a little something for you that would help to invest in some fun Winnie & Walter supplies *hehe*:

Julie & Shay have generously given me a $30 gift card to the Winnie & Walter store to give away! For your chance to win please leave a comment on the Leading Lady posts on my personal blog. I will draw a random winner at the end of the month.

Glad you joined my Leading Lady debut and I really hope you liked it! I’m looking forward to see you again next week!

Huge thanks to Julie & Shay for giving me this incredible opportunity! 

It truly means the world to me!

Thank you so much for stopping by!