Fabulous Finds Friday — Easy Cardmaking

In a rush? Have a card emergency? David Tutera (working with Core’dinations) has come to the rescue, making it easy for anyone — even non-stampers — to make several cards in the time it takes to brew a cup of tea.

The collection is a great introduction for beginning crafters, but experienced cardmakers will find it easy to turn it up a notch. There are three basic steps: Pick your card base, add a layer, and finish with a sentiment and embellishments. Stampers, of course, can add a stamped sentiment or embellishment. Don’t forget to stamp the envelope!

Here are a few samples:

(I chose a pearly card base and distressed the butterfly to show off the colored core of the Core’dinations distressable stock. See the stamped envelope peeking out from behind? Butterflies (Hero Arts) stamped using a Kaleidacolor Tahiti rainbow pad from Tsukineko, now known as Imagine Crafts.)

(oops! I used a Tombow Multi Purpose glue pen to attach the top layer but got a splotch on the bottom part of the card. I covered it with this felt self-adhesive trim from Queen & Co.)

I added some text stamping (Hero Arts 5344) to the butterfly on this one. Here’s a close-up:

(Ignore the speck of glitter … from another project … that I neglected to remove before taking the photo!)

Thanks for stopping by!

Setting a Mood with Color

There are several factors that set the mood for a card. Image, design and… maybe most importantly … color.

Bright colors seem festive while darker colors can denote different scenes and moods. Often, when I’m playing with an image, I will stamp it over and over, trying various colors, embossing powders, papers, etc. I’m a serial stamper! The good news is, I often have a stash of cards made at one sitting. Perfect for giving as a gift set.

Today I want to show a series of cards I made using only color to change the look — and mood — of a card.

My apologies for using an image (Bamboo Lake) from Kodomo, a company that is no longer around. Sad sigh. I loved their images. But there are several similar Asian images around.

The background on this (and most of these) was brayered on glossy cardstock using Kaleidacolor Autumn rainbow inkpad. I have had my Kaleidacolor (Tsukineko) pads forever and love them because the colors are separated. To use, you simply push the little tab in and the colors come together. My Kaleidacolor pads must be at least 10 years old!

The image is black embossed.

The pretty pastel pad changes the look — and placing the panel on a white card keeps it crisp.

Now I’m ready to try gold embossing:

This one also used the Autumn Leaves inkpad, but I concentrated on the other end of the pad, giving me a slightly different color combo. (Background also Kodomo, stamped in Ancient Page Sandlewood ink.)

Mixing it up a bit, I brayered Ranger’s Adirondack Mountain Lake (another pad I’ve had for ages!). Did you notice that the color lines run vertical on this one?) Bamboo lake is embossed in copper powder.

This one photographed darker than it really is… you can’t really see the subtle silver in the background paper or clearly see the silver embossed scene. The ink is Adirondack Winter Sky.

I love embossing in white on dark backgrounds! I used Adirondack Mountain Lake again.

This last entry is called “Ghost Lake” because the image was stamped on colored cardstock using Jacquard’s Castaway pad. This is not really an ink, but a color remover — sort of like bleach but without the stink and much easier to use!

Thanks for stopping by!