Warm greeting card with a floral bouquet

Hi, everyone! Hope you are having a good time. Today I'm going to share a simple floral bouquet card that would fit for any occasion. 

The Breezy Bouquet stamp set from Altenew caught my eyes at first sight, and it reminded me of joyous moments when someone gave you such beautiful floral bouquets to celebrate something or of romantic memories with my hubby. Thanks to those happy memories, playing with this set was so pleasant.

I started by water-coloring Breezy Bouquet using Altenew artist watercolor brush markers and cut the images with coordinating dies. 

For the background, I masked off the right & bottom side of an A2 panel of Bristol paper, then I gently blended the empty space in coral and pink giving some gradation in a diagonal direction starting from Rt lower corner. I used Pink Pearl and Coral Bliss dye inks.

After blending was done, I added some splatters of water and metallic inks. When they dried, I foam mounted my colored bouquet on the panel, stamped a sentiment from Fancy Greetings, and added more splatters using white gouache. 

As a final touch, I adhered Cherry Blossom sequins around the bouquet and the card was finished. 

Thank you for reading this post. Have a great day!

Marge 

Mix & Match - Pinkfresh Studio Just A Little Lovely

Hi, friends! 

Today, I'm sharing two cards I made for January 2020 Challenge at Pinkfresh Studio Blog. Among the eleven themes of 2019, I chose the June theme- Mix and Match because I always wanted to play with a lovely collection that consists of paper, sticker, die-cut cardstocks, and embellishment. I had bought products of Just A Little Lovely collection several months before but hadn't had a chance to play with them, and this month's challenge seemed a good chance for me to use the goodies in my stash.  

I started by choosing a few sheets of paper from Just A Little Lovely 6x6 Pack and distressed those which would be used as bottom mats. I also chose several pieces from Puffy Stickers, Wood Accent Stickers, and Mixed Embellishment Pack according to the color palettes of green and purple. Now it's time to compose those elements into cards.

For my first card, I gave some visual interests to the bottom papers with Mesh stencil, Just Stitching Double Rectangles Dies, and splatters of Metallic Accents. For dimensional look, I added layers of tags and I used foam tapes when adhering stickers. The wood accent sticker was matted with purple-inked cardstock. Gold gems are also part of the mixed embellishment pack. It was so fun to put stickers here and there. They are just too lovely!

As a final touch, I added purple and white baker's twine and put the panel onto a white card base. 

I decided to go with green on my second card. With a similar process to the first one, I chose and layered pieces one by one. 

The scallop borders were made with a scalloped rectangle die and then I ink blended then in emerald and navy for each.  

I love the color gradations on the stickers and paper. May you be happy always!

Saying more about the tiny details, I used green silk ribbon, ivory twine, washi tape, gold pearl pen and a pre-made layered tag that was released in 2017 by PFS.

Now, two cards from one collection were finished. Which one would you prefer?:)

Thanks for reading this post. I hope you enjoyed it.

Marge ♡

Watercolor peonies card

It's been quite a while since I colored flowers last time, which is one of my favorite parts of crafting. 

As the holiday season was coming to an end, I wanted to feel some spring moods when I found this gorgeous Altenew's Precious Peony stamps in the store.  The contour lines of peonies were so elegant and sassy that I couldn't wait to color them! 

For a softer look, I stamped the images using Distress ink Tea Dye, which makes no-line look like effect on your painting. 

I used various watercolor mediums including Daniel Smith, Altenew paints, and Altenew watercolor markers. 

When coloring was done, I added splatters of white gouache, deep blue, and gold metallic ink. 

In turn, I chose a message from Across the Pond and stamped it on empty space. 

As a final touch, I embellished my card with some iridescent sequins and 3mm Sparkling Clear Sequins.

Well....I'm not fully satisfied with today's card, but at least I resumed watercoloring...yay!

 There's a very popular Korean saying which means "The beginning is already half done!"  How do you think about this?

I'm entering this card to the current January 2020 Inspiration Challenge going over at Altenew Blog.

 I'm happy that I enjoyed my weekend water-coloring and relaxing. Hope your day will be so, too. 

Thanks so much for reading this post.

Have a good day!

Marge♡

SSS Love You More Release Card - Watercoloring on Stencil

Hi, friends! Simon Says Stamp revealed fabulous Valentine-themed products called Love You More recently. I made a card to share with you today using the new release items. 

I prepared a piece of A2 sized panel from a heavy-weight cold-press watercolor paper pack, then I put Tumbling Hearts Stencil on the right side. I also masked off the left side of the panel to prevent my blending tool from crossing the stencil border and ruining the clear space.

Next, I gently blended Worn Lipstick ink over the stencil then I removed the stencil. I added watercolor shades on the stenciled hearts using Daniel Smith Perylene Scarlet and  Quinacridone Rose. After coloring was finished, I trimmed the panel using a large Stitched Rectangles Die. 

I stamped a lovely puppy holding a heart from Pawsome Love set on a piece of watercolor paper with Warm Glow Amalgam ink, then I did some light water-coloring on him. I cut the image free-hand and adhered it on a small vellum circular die-cut. I made a pin-point hole near the edge, put Natural Twine thread into the hole, and then I foam mounted the circle on the left top portion of the panel to make it look like a small tag. 

For the sentiment, I chose some lovely messages from Valentines Word Mix 2 set and stamped with Versafine Onyx Black ink. I mounted the panel on a Neenah Desert Storm card base, and finally, I adhered some sequins.

There's Love You More Gallery on the SSS blog, where you can see lots of beautiful cards inspired by the Love You More Release and you can also share your creations with it by linking up your posts/photos. 

Thank you and have a great day!

Marge

PPP Warm Winter Greetings Card

Hi, everyone! 

As it gets cold and cold, I would like to share a warm winter greetings card with you, today. 

I started by coloring cute images from Holiday Signs and Joy using my copic markers and I cut them with coordinating dies. 

For the background, I ink blended an A2-sized panel using regular distress ink Spiced Marmalade, Wild Honey, Fossilized Amber and Squeezed Lemonade. Then, I splattered with some Metallic Accents and white gouache. 

I glued a piece white Winter Frame on the colored panel and I adhered my colored images. As a final touch, I added yellow sequins. 

The penguin is so adorable that I enjoyed coloring him. I hope you will have a merry winter, but I can't wait for spring ;) 

Marge

Last minute Christmas Cards

Hi, friends! I hope you're having a joyful weekend now. I spent my Saturday making some more Christmas cards for my friends and teachers as I hadn't enough time to create cards for them due to my neck issues. 

All of my cards today were made based on very simple design concepts including diecutting and ink-blending.  These would work for those who don't know much about Stamp Art.

< Card 1 >

I diecut Lipstick Red Cardstock with Holiday Knit Background Die and I foam mounted the panel onto a card base. Then I foam mounted Star NOEL and a holly leaf. All borders were distressed with dark inks. I embellished the card using some PPP Jewels. 

< Card 2 >

I took the same design concept but different colors. I gave gradation to NOEL diecuts and holly leaves by inkblending the edges. The holly leaves were from Cottage Cuts released in 2016, so I'm not sure that they are still available. 

< Card 3 >

I was so inspired by Karin's card that I bout this Shimmer Snowflake Die from SSS DieCember Release. You can see her original card HERE.

I ink blended the snowflake with blue dye inks and adhered another layer on the back for dimensional look. A sentiment from Clean Line Christmas set was heat embossed in white and was cut using coordinating dies set. 

< Card 4 >

This card is very similar with the previous one, where I used a little bit different colors. I used Deep Blue Sea and Sea Shore mini ink sets, and Black Soot. 

< Card 6 > 

For my last card, I applied the same colors on the background.  The snowflake die was colored in brown instead. I diecut Merry Dies from Crimson Glitter Cardstock and foam mouted it on the snowflake. As a final touch, I added some blue and red jewels. 

Thank you for reading this post. I hope you enjoyed my cards today and got some design ideas from them. 

May you and your family have wonderful holidays. 

Blessings.

Marge

Two Christmas Cards with SSS and PPP

Hi, friends!

Today, I'm sharing two simple Christmas cards I had made a while ago.

 The main elements for today's cards including stenciled panel, die cuts, tags are all scraps left behind my previous cardmaking. Because I didn't want to disregard them, I tried to create cards with them, and apparently, I succeeded, lols. 

Here are the lists of products I used. I hope you enjoyed my cards today.

Snowflake Stencil, Decorative Ornaments Stamp Set, Large Gnome Wafer Die, Critter Sweaters Stamp and Die Set, Framed Tags Waverly, Kadyn Snowflake Die, Rina Snowflake Die 

Hugs.

Marge

Pretty Pink Posh Cute Christmas Card

Hi, friends! I hope you are having a great day. 

Today, I'm going to share a Christmas card featuring some stamps, dies, and a stencil from Pretty Pink Posh. 

To begin with, I trimmed a piece of bristol paper into a little smaller than A2 size, then I ink-blended it using Cracked Pistachio and Start Light inks. 

I placed Snowflakes Stencil onto the panel, and then I sponged light blue ink through the stencil. Because the background was already dark, the snowflakes had to be opaque to be seen. To do this, I coated my blending tool with a little bit of white opaque dye ink first, then I added light blue colored Sea Breeze, and sponged it, which created what I intended perfectly. 

I diecut Layered Tree from green card stock, ink blended the edges using Emerald ink, then I glued them to assemble a tree.  I adhered the Christmas tree onto the previous stencil background, and I splattered with white opaque ink and gold metallic inks. 

While I was waiting for the splatters to dry, I stamped Holiday Signs onto 80lb Neenah White paper and I colored the images using my Copic Markers. Color numbers will be shared at the end of this post. I cut them all using Holiday Signs Coordinating Dies.

I foam mounted the Santa and Penguin around the tree using Square Foam Adhesives, embellished my card with Sparkling Clear Snowflakes and 3mm Sparkling Clear Sequins. 

FYI, here're copic markers lists I used. 

Penguin: B39-B37-BG09-BG07-BG05-BG02, Y38-Y17-Y13, C10-C07-C05-C03, W2-W0-W00, R20-R30, BG000-BG0000

Santa: R39-R29-R27-R22, W3-W1-W0-W00, E13-E11-Y00-Y000, W10-W8-W6,  R000-R0000

I hope you enjoyed today's card. 

Thank you! 

Marge

Pretty Pink Posh Christmas Cards

Hi, friends! 

Today, I'm going to share a set of Christmas cards made with Pretty Pink Posh products. I mainly used stand-alone dies along with stencils since we don't have enough time to stamp, color, and diecutting images. Using dies alone is a fast way to produce a bunch of cards at this time of year :) So, I wanted to give you some ideas on how to make holiday cards using the various old and new PPP dies. 

< Card 1 >

This is definitely my favorite among today's cards. I cut a piece of Lipstick Red Cardstock into A2 size, which was inked with darker red dye inks along the edges. I then put Snowflake Stencil onto it and applied dark brown inks along the borders. I kept the central part free of any inks or patterns, so it made some glowing effect on the tree. 

Layered Tree Dies were cut from Ivory cardstock, and I inked their edges using a regular Tea Dye Ink. I embellished my card with Gold Metallic Jewels and small sentiments from Caroling Critters Stamp, and Metal Bookplates from Kaisercrafts. I love some antique mood from the deep red color palette and bookplates. 

< Card 2 >

I diecut JOY from Ivory Cardstock and inked all the edges with regular Tea Dye Ink.

Then, I combined Stitched Poinsettia Dies, Pine Sprigs, and Festive Holly Dies to build up a poinsettia bouquet, and all the elements were foam mounted on a piece of textured Gray Cardstock. 

< Card 3 >

Do you know how to create stenciled patterns of which color is lighter than the background without using heat embossing or something else? Here's how I create it! I ink-blended the background in blue first, then I mixed blue and white pigment inks on my blending tool, and then I sponged it through the Snowflake Stencil. The white pigment ink lets the blue be lighter and opaque because of its opaque nature.

I used Ornament Shaker Die and Winter Days Confetti Mix to make a shaker card and embellished my card with the same poinsettia bouquet as of Card 2. 

< Card 4>

I made a Leaves and Berries Stencil background with tone-on-tone technique using  Green Cardstock and dark green inks, then I made it into a shaker card with Tree Shaker Die.

PPP had released beautiful vintage Christmas sequins in 6mm and 4mm size, which I put into my shaker to produce some vintage mood on my card. I added some Merry Confetti Mix into the shaker as well. Finally, I glued two layers of Happy Holidays Diecuts and adhered them onto the shaker window. 

That's it for today. I wonder which one caught your eyes. Maybe none?!

Some of you might have known from my IG feed that I've been suffering from cervical spine problems aka disc herniation. I have neck pain which radiates to my shoulder and back, so it's really hard to keep working on desk for hours. Actually, it took several days for me to finish these 4 cards, I did very small progress every day like stenciling one day and diecutting the other day..., but my neck pain aggravated after all. I'm not sure how I will manage to keep a balance between my health and cardmaking, but I'll try!!

 I'm receiving physical therapy with concurrent lifestyle corrections, and muscle strengthening exercises as well. Hope you my friends will take care of yourselves. 

Hugs

Marge