MEMORY BOX WILDFLOWER CORNER DIE

I recently received this gorgeous die by Memory Box! I've made a couple of cards using the die and different coloring methods. Here's the first card:

 

For this card, I used watercolor paints. First, I took a piece of watercolor paper and embossed the image on my paper by running the die through my Cuttlebug using an embossing pad. This left a beautiful impression on my watercolor paper that I could use as a guide for coloring. I colored my flowers using Distress Inks and water. Then I added a very light touch of clear Wink of Stella to give the flowers a little bit of sparkle. Once dry, I cut the die cut out of white cardstock and adhered it to my watercolor paper. The sentiment is from WPlus9's "Hand Lettered Hello" stamp set. My watercolor piece was then adhered to a slightly larger piece of kraft cardstock (to form a frame), and finally to my white A2 size card base.

And the second card:

To color this card, I used Copic markers. I cut the die cut out of white cardstock and saved the inner pieces of the flower, which I colored with Copics. The remainder of the die cut was also colored with Copics. Then I used the Memory Box "Stitched Square Layers" die (the largest size), cut it out of white cardstock, and used it as the background for my floral piece. (I really like how the floral die cut slightly overlapped the white square.) I then adhered my floral die cut to the white square die cut. This was then adhered to a coordinating color of textured cardstock, and finally to my 5" square white cardstock base. I intentionally chose not to put a sentiment on the card for 2 reasons: I'm not sure if I want to put one on there in fear it might distract from the look of the card. (I'm never bothered my white space!). Secondly, I want to leave my options open for the sentiment (if I choose to use one) so that I can match it with the appropriate occasion.

To purchase these Memory Box dies - as well as other fine dies - please visit The Fruit Of My Hands for discounted prices and excellent customer service!!

Thanks so much for looking!

NEW DIES!!

I just received some fantastic new dies and immediately started playing with them. The following 2 cards incorporate 3 new dies!! Both cards use the Memory Box/Open Studio "Time For Some Cake" die set (#30020), the Memory Box/Open Studio "Stitched Square Layers" die set (#30038) and Elizabeth Craft Designs "Stand Up Helpers" die set (#792). Here's the first card:

This card was made using patterned paper from Fancy Pants Design "Country Boutique" 6X6 paper pad (which I'm very sad to say has been discontinued). The stamped sentiments are from Hero Arts "Many Birthday Messages" stamp set. I used "Wink of Stella" in gold to accent the candle flames, and a Uni-ball Signo white gel pen to add stitches around the birthday cake.

And the second card....

I used patterned paper from My Mind's Eye "Miss Caroline - Fiddlesticks" 6x6 paper pad.

The ECD stand up helpers are such a cool little touch to keep these easel cards standing on display. To watch a great video on how to make these easel cards and use the stand up helpers, see here. For a template, check this out!

To purchase these Memory Box and Elizabeth Craft Designs dies - as well as other fine dies - be sure and visit The Fruit of My Hands for an excellent selection and discounted prices!

100TH SCRAMBLE

Today, the Hero Arts Flickr group held their 100th 90-minute Scramble! We were to create a card using our all-time favorite Hero Arts image stamp and Hero Arts sentiment stamp. I couldn't pick just one image stamp, so I decided to try 2 together. I chose to use Hero Arts Silhouette Grass and Hero Arts Leafy Vine. I wasn't sure how the two would work together, and I was ho hum about it at first. But, the more I look at, the more it's growing on me! My sentiment was an easy choice. I chose "You Are Special" from Hero Arts Great Flourish Messages stamp set. These sentiments are so elegant! So....here's my card:

To make this A2 size card, I started with a 4"x5.25" piece of white cardstock. I inked my Leafy Vine stamp with "Bundled Sage" and Brushed Corduroy" Distress Inks, spritzed it with water and stamped it onto my cardstock. Once that was dry (I cheated and used a heat gun since I only had 90 minutes!), I inked my Silhouette Grass stamp with Versamark ink, stamped it a bit off-center, then heat embossed the image with gold embossing powder. This piece was then adhered to a 4.25"x5.5" piece of gold cardstock, then finally adhered to my white card base. For the sentiment, I inked the stamp with Versamark, and again heat embossed with gold embossing powder. This was then adhered (off-centered) to the card front with foam tape. The final touch was a few gold gems on the sentiment piece.

MEMORY BOX HEART DIES

I just received some new Memory Box dies that I've been so eager to create with! These dies were purchased from the wonderful web site The Fruit of My Hands. As part of the design team, I wanted to make some cards with some of the newer items sold by Memory Box. Here's the first card:

To make this card, I cut a 4"x5.25" piece of white cardstock. I colored some white embossing paste with a drop of "Broken China" Distress Ink. Temporarily adhering (I use washi tape) my piece of white cardstock to a non-stick craft sheet and adhering the Memory Box "Textured Mesh" stencil (#88517) over the cardstock and onto the craft sheet, I smeared the colored embossing paste over the stencil. Then, I carefully lifted the stencil and let the paste dry. Next, I die cut the heart shapes out of an adhesive-backed cork sheet using the Memory Box "Precious Hearts" die (#98474). They were then placed on top of my mesh pattern. The sentiment is from an old, retired, Stampin' Up! stamp. It was adhered to the card front with foam tape. Finally, this finished piece was adhered to my A2 kraft cardstock base.

Here's the second card:

For this card, I also used an A2 kraft cardstock base. I LOVE kraft cardstock! To make this card, I cut several die cuts from the Memory Box "Twirled Heart Border" die (#98279). Each cut was made with a different, but coordinating piece of patterned paper from My Mind's Eye "Dolled Up" 6X6 paper pad. I had a leftover piece of white woodgrain cardstock that I really wanted to use. So, I adhered the outline of the heart border to my woodgrain cardstock. Then, I selected random hearts from my other die cuts and glued them inside the heart border. All this was then glued to the front of my kraft cardbase. The sentiment is from Technique Tuesday's "Simply You" stamp set. For the stitching, I simply used a white gel pen. 

To purchase Memory Box and other fine quality craft dies and stencils at discounted prices, please visit The Fruit of My Hands.

I LOVE YOU

Happy New Year!! I am privileged and blessed to be a member of the design team for The Fruit of My Hands. This is a wonderful sight that sells high quality dies stamps at reduced prices. For our first post as a Design Team, we're all creating Valentine theme cards. Here's mine:

Here's how I made it:
First, using kraft cardstock, I cut three die cuts from the Memory Box "Woodland Branch" die (#98187) and glued them on top of each other for a little bit of dimension. Next I cut the two birds out of red cardstock using Poppy Stamps "Peaceful Bird" die (#929). The white heart was cut out of white corrugated paper. I adhered the white heart to a leftover piece of kraft cardstock. The branch was placed and glued on top of the heart. For the snow, I used Flower Soft "Polar White" by running a thin line of Flower Soft glue along the top of the branches, then pressing the Flower Soft into the glue. The birds were then glued on top of the branch (with one of the bird die cuts flipped horizontally so that the birds would be facing each other). Three small red hearts were cut using this die from Simon Says Stamp. These hearts were glued randomly to the card front, then covered with "Fired Brick" Distress Stickles. When the stickled hearts were dry, I glued my focal piece to my A2 white cardstock base. The stamped sentiment is from Avery Elle's "Handwritten Notes" stamp set.

To purchase Memory Box, Poppy Stamps, and many other fine dies, please visit The Fruit of My Hands.

HELLO

I've had this adorable Hero Arts stamp set for some time now. I've stamped several of the images, colored them, and cut them out, but then I never used them. Along came this "Hello" die by Poppy Stamps, and I though they were a perfect union! Here's one of probably several cards I'll make combining these two elements:

To make this A2 size card, I first stamped the owl image on white cardstock, colored with Copic markers and fussy cut it out. The hello bubble was then cut out of white cardstock and colored with Copic markers. Both pieces were then adhered to a 4"X5.25" piece of kraft woodgrain cardstock. That piece was then adhered to my white cardstock base.

To purchase the Poppy Stamps die and other high quality dies, please visit The Fruit of My Hands for a great selection, fantastic prices, and excellent customer service!

Thank so much for your visit!

HOPE YOUR DAY IS AWESOME!

Yep....one more card with the "Tall Taper Candle" die. I really had a lot of fun with this card, and used 2 Memory Box items! Here's my card:

To make this card, I cut a 4"x5.25" piece of white cardstock. Using Memory Box's "Texture Mesh" stencil temporarily affixed to my piece of cardstock, I pounced various colors of Distress Ink over the stencil to create the background. (I used Ranger's circular "Mini Ink Blending Tool"). I loved the look I got when I lifted the stencil!

For the candle, I cut the "Tall Taper Candle" out of white cardstock. The body of the candle and the flame were colored with Copic markers. I outlined the inside of the swirls with a very light gray marker. 

The sentiment was created using Simon Says Stamp's "Tilted Banner" stamps and die set. The banner was adhered to the card front with adhesive foam for some dimension.

To purchase Memory Box and other high quality dies at fantastic prices, please visit The Fruit of My Hands.

Thanks so much for visiting my blog!