I (heart) Valentine’s Day

Christmas is long gone …. the new year is a week old … which means it’s almost Valentine’s Day! I love making Valentines to send to my besties, so let’s get this party started!

This one-layered card is relatively easy, and the reveal (when you pull of the mask) is so much fun! I created a heart mask, which I placed in the middle of my cardstock. Then I used some small flower and leaf images to stamp around the mask. Easy peasy. When I removed the mask, ta dah — a heart-shaped spot to stamp a sentiment! The sentiment above is from Stampin’ Up’s Bloomin’ Love set, as are some of the flowers.

Here’s another in the same mode:

I could do this all day! The XOXO is a Teresa Collins/Fiskars punch.

Happy Craft Month!

March is National Craft Month! Imagine, an entire month to celebrate making things!

I’m starting the month right with some cards featuring new “layering” items from Hero Arts.

First up is this great layering die, Large Lotus (Hero Arts DI 161). This die, like the other layering dies in the release (pineapple, star, etc.) is designed to just partially cut an image. (Although it doesn’t have to be limited to  a partial cut, as I’ll show you below.)

In this card, I used the die as it was meant to be used, with just certain portions die cut so you can pop up the leaves. Cute, eh? After cutting the panel, I decided I wanted to layer on some color, so I created a mask by cutting the die on plain copy paper.

To get the center “hole” I simply cut the flower out by carefully snipping the edges of the outer petals.

Which led to an aha! moment … wait for it…

I colored the lotus using Stephanie Barnard’s ColorBox die inks Banana, Tangerine and Guava. Here’s a close-up:

I couldn’t resist adding some clear Wink of Stella for extra sparkle.

I edged the white panel with gold Delicata ink and glued it on this Stampin’ Up! card stock (being careful not to put glue on the popped up petals! I added some Doodlebug Designs sequins and the sentiment. “Sending,” (Simon Says Stamp die SSSD111432), was cut from white card stock then colored using a black Wink of Stella pen. The rest of the sentiment is from an old Hero Arts Mini Message set CL307.

OK, now I can show you how I cut out the lotus and used it as I would any other die cut piece:

I die cut the lotus from some watercolored scraps leftover from another project, carefully snipped where the petals were connected to the paper and layered it over this embossed background, the new Em-Bossing Fold’ers Grid from Spellbinders®… such a contemporary pattern! Love it! I edged that panel using a gold metallic marker, added a sentiment (Hero Arts) and some gems.

Here’s another version, again using leftovers (old alcohol ink coloring), and put it on a gift tag using Glue Dots™:

Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy a month of crafting!

 

Easy Ombre Card

As noted in my last post, I’ve been playing with Hero Art’s new Ombre ink pads, which I love. These tri-colored pads are great for adding interest to one-layer cards, giving a quick burst of color with little effort.

Here’s another one:

This was so quick and easy it’s almost embarrassing.

First I took a piece of Post-it® tape, tore the edges, and created a mask:

I then brayered over the card front using Hero Arts’ Ombre Pink to Red and Butter to Orange.

Here’s what I got when I pulled off the mask:

Cool, eh?

Then I simply stamped the bicycle and the sentiment in VersaMark black. I made several blank ones to be used later when I need more specific cards. (Both stamps from Ken Oliver Crafts.)

Thanks for coming back!

More From The Vault

Last week I shared some cards I made a megatrillion years ago … here are a few more:

How’s that for heavy masking? Back in the day, “postal” images were all the rage. And obviously, I had just learned how to mask! (Masking is a technique used to put one image behind another. You stamp your foreground image, then stamp it again on scrap paper. Cut out the scrap paper image, cutting a little inside the line. Use that to cover or “mask” the foreground image, then stamp another image over it. The second image will appear behind the first. Make sense? If you stamp your mask on a sticky note or use repositionable glue, then it won’t shift when you stamp over it. Tip o’ day!) (Most of those postal images are from Rubber Stamp Avenue, which is still around and still has fun stuff. The ink is Kaleidacolor from Tsukineko — a fast way to add color.)

Here’s when I learned how to stamp a scene:

I haven’t stamped a scene in ages! I should dig out those old stamps and try again.

And my early infatuation with heat embossing (a life-changing event!):

(Images from Judikins.)

Thanks for stopping by!