Get Well Card Using Transfer Gel

Good afternoon!

We finally got some rain. Yay! We have really needed it, and so I'm happy that it finally rained here.  Now we should have a nice weekend ahead of us.

I wanted to share a card with you today that I made for a friend.  She had surgery, and is on the mend, so I made her this little card to cheer her up.

First I used a Tim Holtz stencil on a piece of 5-1/2 x 4-1/4 white cardstock, and applied green ink. After I removed the stencil, I sponged Lemon Lime Twist (Stampin' Up new In Color color) all over the cardstock.  Then I reapplied the stencil over where I had sponged the original green and applied a thin coat of ThermoWeb Transfer Gel.  I let it almost dry and then sprinkled some Gina K Prismatic glitter over it.  The gel grabs the glitter and keeps it firmly attached to the card.  But it needs a little bit to dry, so I went on to making the flowers.  I think a nice variegated purple would look nice with the green vines.

To start off, I used some Distress Oxide Inks on another sheet of white cardstock in a variety of colors to get a variegated look.  I applied them to an acrylic block, spritzed them with water, and smooched them onto the cardstock.  I let them dry between colors.  When I was happy with the results, I stamped little flowers (Petite Petals Stampin' Up # 133155) and punched them out (Stampin' Up #133322).  I pushed down on the flower centers with my pencil to give them a little texture.  I adhered them to my background panel.  Now they need centers, so I used Nuvo Crystal drops to give them a center, and let dry.  By the way, the Petite Petals and the Punch are both on the retiring list, so if you like them and want them, you need to order by May 31st.  You can order at www.beckypartan.stampinup.net.

I adhered the background panel to a dark green cardstock, stamped "Get Well Soon" on the inside and it's done.

By letting the transfer gel amost dry before applying the glitter, it didn't get overwhelmed by the glitter.  You can see from the picture that it's got some glittery shine, but not a lot.  I could have left the glitter off, and when the transfer gel dried it would have just been shiny, but not glittery.

Anyway, I'm happy with the card, and I'm pretty sure my friend will like it, too.

Inky hugs,

Hero Arts Koi Fish

Good afternoon!  Summertime is already in full swing here in Florida, and it's HOT - HOT - HOT. Just time for a quickie post, so, today I want to share with you the Hero Arts Koi Fish stamp set.

 I started off with a watercolored background.  I ran it through a Hexagons Dynamic Embossing Folder by Stampin' Up!  Look at the texture in this background.

I stamped the fish from Hero Arts (it's 3 step stamping and very cool) and the lily pads and flowers and cut them out. You can see the variations of inks on the koi below.  Adhered them to the background with a liquid adhesive.

And below is the completed card.  I love the textures and colors.

I loved working with this set from Hero Arts.  I also have their 3-step poppy stamps and love them also.

Hope you have enjoyed.  Have a great weekend.

A Mermaid's Family...

Good afternoon.

Somewhere, over the weekend, I found a free digital image of a mermaid and her baby.  I am having internet problems and can't remember now where I got the image, but I love it!  Do you think it fits a nautical theme?

Isn't it gorgeous? I couldn't wait to make a card with it.

I am trying to learn how to color properly, with all the shadows and highlights, but I struggle.  I can see it in my head, but it doesn't come out right on paper.  So I shall keep trying.  I wanted to add highlights to the hair, but I haven't got it quite figured out yet.  :-)

There is a lot of texture in this piece.  The background is watercolor paper that was run through an embossing folder and then I colored the sea grass with markers.  The dark blue mat is glitter paper. The mermaid scales are glittered for shine.  I die cut a tiny starfish and glittered it to put in her hair. The bubbles are die cut from watercolor paper.

I die cut some underwater plants and shells. I also cut them out in fun foam so I could glue them together to give it added dimension.  I put a pearl on the shell and popped it up with dimensionals.  Everything is very shiny.  

Overall, I am very happy with the way this turned out.

See you again soon...

Inky hugs,

Anniversary Time

Hello!

Today is my 16th wedding anniversary (where has the time gone?) and I wanted to share the card I made for my dear husband.  We are soul mates.

Years ago, someone stamped a cute volkswagen beetle for me and it's been sitting in my stash, waiting for just the right moment.  I wish I had that stamp. Or at least remember who stamped it for me so I could borrow it. So, if any of you know where I can find that stamp, please let me know.  It's the perfect size to add "people" to it.

Anyway, I dug out the image, and  colored it in with red copics.  My marker obviously needs reinking.  But we've been on the road awhile and our car is old and has seen better days.  :-)

I stamped the two chickens from the Stampin' Up! set Hey Chick (Sale-A-Bration item) and cut them out.  One is me and one is my husband.  I let him have the funky "hair" since he doesn't have a lot in real life.  :-)    I adhered them to the back of the car and popped the whole thing up with stamping dimensionals.

The background trees are from the Stampin' Up! set Lovely As A Tree (#128655). I stamped them multiple times to make a forest.   You can order them here:  www.beckypartan.stampinup.net.  I made a stencil to make clouds in the sky, which I sponged with a very pale blue ink.

The hot air balloon, the dog, and the "Happy Anniversary" are from Gina K. Designs (Framescapes - Simply Spring and Framescapes - Winter Trees).

I drew in a road (the road of life) for us to travel down.  And I cut the grass in the foreground and popped it up with stamping dimensionals, so it's in the foreground.

I hope you have enjoyed my light-hearted anniversary card.  I gave it to him this morning and I must say it was a hit.

Inky hugs,

Becky

Something old...

Good morning!

I am part of a great group of ladies that swap a card once a month.  Each month has a theme, and this month it was to use something that you haven't used in a long time.  For me, it was stamps and tape.

The card I ended up making...

I hadn't used the silhouette stamp in a very long time.  And I love to watercolor, although I'm not very good at it.  But with a silhouette stamp you can't fail, right?  So I watercolored the background to look like a summer sunset. When it was dry, I stamped the floral silhouette image.  I had to stamp it a couple of times because of the bumpy watercolor paper, but using a stamp positioner allowed me to stamp it in the same place.  I matted it with black cardstock.

Then it was time to choose my background cardstock.  I chose this pretty yellow cardstock that matched the yellow in my watercolored piece.  But it was plain, so I dug out a stencil and some Distress Oxide Inks (they blend so smoothly) in the same colors as the watercolored piece, and sponged them on the cardstock.  The colors I used was Fossilized Amber and Faded Brick.

Now I needed something for the bottom.  I dug around through my stash and found this glittery black tape that I had purchased a couple of years ago and never used.  It was great for the bottom of the card.  

A few sequins, and viola!  I was done.  I was very pleased with the results.

Hope you are having a fantastic Monday.  I'm a little sore. My chickens have decided they love to dig underneath my huge bouganvillea, and I was afraid they would step on some of the sharp thorns and hurt their feet.  So I went to Walmart and bought some loppers and pruners and set about pruning the tree around the bottom, about 2 feet up.  Between the pruning and the raking and picking up and hauling to the curb, I used some muscles that haven't been used in a while, and I can tell it this morning. But my girls now have plenty of room to dig around under the bush without hurting themselves.

Henrietta and Goldilocks

Until next time, do something crafty!

Tri Fold Card

Good morning! Today I wanted to share a tri-fold card with you, but in my haste to get pictures before I mailed the card, I forgot to get a picture of the total card.  But, from the pictures I did get, I think you can figure it out. Just picture a reversed L-shaped card.

I cut a piece of cardstock into an 8 x 8 square.  Then I scored it at 4 inches on both sides, so I got intersecting lines on the square.   I cut out the top left 1/4 of the card. The score lines make it easy. Then you fold the top right portion down and the left bottom portion in to make the card.  Here is the front of the card.

I ran the front section of the card through my Cuttlebug in an embossing folder to get some texture. I cut a circle into the front of the card using a circle die, then I cut another smaller circle onto a piece of 3-3/4 x 3-3/4 white cardstock, which I adhered in the center of the opened front page, making a layered look for the front.  I die cut "hello" twice from pink cardstock and once from fun foam, then adhered them together.  adhered it to the open area on each side, and sprinkled glitter on it.  Let dry.

Then I started on the inside panel that folds down.  You can see the white cardstock on the left (open) panel - this is the one I die cut with the circle.

I used some Stampin' Up! designer paper cut into a 3-3/4 x 3-3/4 inch piece, then sponged pink ink on it to match the outside of the card.  Since it was a big floral piece, I put a die cut butterfly in the center as the focal point.  The butterfly has a glimmer to it.  A few sequins finished this panel off.

On to the inside of the card.  You can see a little better the top panel that folds down and the left panel that folds closed.

I, again cut a piece of white cardstock 3-3/4 x 3-3/4 and stamped the sentiment in pink ink.  I had some fancy dies I had never used, so I cut some out of the pink cardstock and adhered.  In hindsight, I should have adhered the dies then stamped the sentiment to get better placement, but will make a mental note to do that in the future.

All in all, I was pleased with this card and will make more. You can make any size, as long as you keep it square.  I think the largest would be a 6 x 6 card because you would have to use 12 x 12 paper to make it.  But as long as you keep all the sides square, you should be able to make any sized card.  

It's been a dry year so far, and the last couple of days we've had a little rain, which has helped, but we are still in need of  lots more liquid sunshine.