I simply cannot resist some of the Adorable (and yes, Adorable with a capital A!) images from the latest Memory Box release. Bubba was calling my name and I felt the colors above would be perfect for a "boy" card.
The circles in the Tuesday Trigger image inspired all the colorful bubbles little Bubba is blowing from his wand. What child (grown ones as well ;-D) doesn't LOVE bubbles?!?
I am absolutely loving the dies that coordinate with the stamps, which surprises me because I am such a practical individual and thought that cutting out an image is no biggie. But, the precision of the clean edge and the crisp little outline is too cute for words - LOL!
ETA: If you visited this post yesterday you will notice that I have simplified the steps in creating the design guide as I had a "DUH" moment this morning. It is most obvious to me that perhaps I need to quit multi-tasking - LOL! Now for the easier method of creating the die guide. :-D
To align the die perfectly to the stamped image create a "die guide."
Position your die on a piece of scrap paper and cut out your guide.
You will now have this super cute design guide.
Position the die guide over your stamped image and once again color in the little guide circles.
Remove the guide and align the die, making certain that the colored circles fit perfectly as shown above. Once again tape the die into position so that it does not move while cutting.
Total cuteness!
Tip: Store your die guide together with your die in it's special little envelope.
Thank you for stopping by the CLASSroom! Be certain to head over to the Moxie Fab blog for further inspiration using this fabulous Tuesday Trigger inspiration piece!
I am so excited to share this post with you today! There are so many products in here that I am in love with, and some ideas to help you use products that you already have in what might be a new way to you, I know they were for me. After finishing this project, I am so inspired and have many other ideas swirling in my head just waiting for me to have some time to play with. So let's start with what inspired me to even create this project in the first place. Graphic 45 has incredible products, and I made a mini album from one of them recently. As I looked at the album it struck me how cool the shape would be as a banner, and now that I have seen my project through to completion, my best piece of advice to anyone reading this is to always follow your instincts when creating :o)
Another piece to my inspirational puzzle was earth day and re-purposing some of my old sewing patterns that I can't use anymore and how I could integrate them into more of my projects and designs. That helped me figure out the flower tutorial and the basis of my color scheme. And the last piece of inspiration came from wanting a banner that had a vintage feel to it but also had a little spunky freshness to it that I can hang in the window of my craft room. And with those ideas in mind I set off on an exciting creative adventure.
To begin, remove the binding rings from the envelope album and then lay them out flat. Cut the papers the size to cover the backside of the envelope, ink the edges with Antique Linen Distress ink and then adhere to the envelope.
I then place the scored piece back into my die cut system with a small circle and ran it through. Accordian fold along the score lines.
This is what it looked like when I was ready to glue it. Use hot glue and a small punched circle to adhere in place like Ellen did in this post. After mine had cooled I then hot glued black Jenni Bowlin buttons into the centers to stay in line with that wonderful vintage feel I was aiming for.
Garden twine was then threaded through the holes of the envelopes to string the banner pieces together. A Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher was used to staple the edges of the envelopes to the twine to keep it all held into place.
After the banner pieces were finished, it was time to play with creating a flower from sewing pattern tissue that would look like it belonged on the project.
I found this pattern that has nostalgic value, but because my girls are now almost 20 and 18 a dress pattern that is appropriate for a 5 year old is now fair game for crafting.
I cut out many pieces from it (and still had a lot of tissue left!) using the Tattered Florals die.
I separated out the large five petal pieces and the medium into the number of flowers I would need for the banner. I then stacked them very randomly so that they would offset each other nicely.
The Tiny Attacher was used to staple the center to hold them all in place, and then I wrinkled, crinkled, rolled and creased the petals until I had a very tattered looking flower that was perfect for what I wanted, yay!
That fabulous Tiny Attacher with the really great reach was then put into action again to staple the flower, by pulling aside a few layers, onto the garden twine in the center of the space between each banner piece.
Here is a close-up of a couple of the panels, I can't wait to see that glitter get a delicious tarnish on it with a little time hanging in my window. The red adds that focal pop that my eye craves, and the vintage with a little fresh and funky makes me smile. Inspiration mission accomplished!
If you wish to see the images larger, be sure to click on them.
I hope that some of my inspiration gives you the creative bug, and I can't wait to see projects that were inspired by this post find their way to the gallery. Also, if you leave a link in comments for this post, I will go check it out and leave some love for you <3
Today we are going to do a comparison between the Tim Holtz Alterations Rosette and Mini Rosette dies and the Memory Box Rosette die. Can one have too many dies? Impossible - LOL! OK, so perhaps not impossible and so therefore my post today to share a comparison so that you can hopefully make a decision re: which dies are best suited to what it is that you would like to create! It seems that every die has it's pros and cons and so I will do my best today to share what I have learned about the dies with you so that you can make a more educated decision as to what is best for you.
Rather than saying Happy Easter, because it is simply too late to actually send a card using that expression, I went with the cute little Happy Anything Day sentiment, but I would like to express my desire that each of you enjoy this special weekend!!!
To begin I wanted to share a picture of the actual die, the packaging and a sample of the completed rosette. These dies are similar to all the other low-profile dies available now. As you can see the exterior line is deep enough to cut with and the interior line is the line that provides the score line.
Tip: When using the Memory Box die snip the end piece off as shown above. I find that my completed rosette is so much more uniform and the folds meet together better.
Apply adhesive (I like using Be Creative, Sookwang, tape to the last fold) and affix the two ends by overlapping this one fold. You will achieve a circle as shown above.
Flip the circle down as shown above, apply hot glue to the coordinating disc and affix.
Gently hold this disc in position until the glue cools. Flip over and do the opposite side in the same manner.
To get a clear view of the differences in these dies I felt a picture was worth a 1000 words. As you can see you will need both of Tim's dies to create different sized rosettes. Due to the perforation utilized to create the score lines you cannot snip these dies to change the size of each rosette. BUT the pro in regards to these perforated score lines is that it is much easier to fold and score along these lines.
With the Memory Box rosette die it is incredibly easy to vary the size! Simply cut out your patterned paper and then shorten the width and length of your finished piece.
As you can see you can create a variety of different diameters.
I have stacked them so that you can have a top down comparison. What I realized when stacking them like this is that WOW you could create the coolest Christmas tree or fun flowers with the Memory Box die by simply resizing it! That is a cool PRO.
You will also note the different "points" or "edges" on each die - variety is the spice of life!
Thank you for once again joining me here in the CLASSroom as we explored the differences in these dies. SO MANY wonderful options - now it is up to you to determine which one best fits your desires :-D
Please be advised that more Memory Box dies will be arriving hopefully Monday. I will post to our Facebook Fan Club page as soon as they arrive for those who have been wanting to purchase some of these beauties.
Art is everywhere. It's in nature. In design. Essentially any thing of beauty is a work of art.
As a child we love art. We love painting. We love creating. It brings us joy.
Somewhere along the way, something happens.
We start to critique ourselves. We start to decide that art is only for "real" artists and we just don't compare.
I'm more often than not stuck in this mindset too.
Today I have a challenge for you. To believe that you can create art. To feel the freedom of getting messy with some paint and canvas. To explore. To enjoy.
This is my little foray into an altered art wall hanging. It's not perfect but that's OK. I'm not either.
I have to admit this was all a bit of a trial and error project. If we don't take the chance to try things out, we don't learn. I encourage you to dare.
To start my project, I cut a piece of Sticky-Back Canvas to 7x7" square and placed it on a plastic mat. I roughly painted mine with two colors of Studio Line paint from Claudine Hellmuth.
Studio Gloss Multi-Medium is a fabulous product for adhering paper and especially tissue. This new 7 Gypsies Tissue is just stunning and there are a few different prints of it available. To adhere the tissue, brush the entire surface with Glossy Medium and then apply some torn tissue. You'll want to apply another coat of it over the tissue as well to really seal it. If you like a more matte finish, the Studio Matte Multi-medium works in exactly the same way. I've purposely added in some creases in the tissue to add texture to the finished design.
You can layer tissue over tissue and it's a great way to add a stamped sentiment or quote. Here I've stamped my sentiment on plain white tissue with Jet Black Archival ink and then heat set it.
Apply a fresh coat of Multi-Medium to the surface and then layer on the tissue. Brush another coat over the top to seal it.
After your canvas layers are dry, you are then able to embellish it. I've used Glimmer Mist, a Prima Canvas bird, ink, Jenni Bowlin Chipboard Buttons and a beautiful Webster's Pages Designer Threads Doily.
Here's a closeup of all the great texture you get with painting on the canvas and also with the tissue.
To finish off my project, I've stamped various areas of the canvas and tissue to tie the design together.
Please feel free to click on the above images for an enlarged image to see better detail.
As spring is the season for all things new, I encourage you to try something new and explore your creativity! Thanks so much for joining me in the CLASSroom today!
Time for an update of my seasonal Photo Tray for Spring & Summer! You can find my other seasonal Photo Trays here (Fall) and here (Christmas), if you care to get some other ideas of how this tray can be used. I use temporary adhesive on each of the 4" x 6" panels within each tray section, so they can be removed and the tray used over and over again! I used this gorgeous new Prima 6x6 paper pad-Madeline, for an easily coordinated tray.
In the top left section, I used Spellbinders largest Labels Large Nestabilities die to cut the photo of my oldest daughter (showing off her new glasses!) -- notice that pretty embossed edge of the photo! I love using dies to cut my photos into unexpected shapes -- I think it gives my scrapbooking a nice professional touch.
The flower accent was cut from coordinating Madeline paper using Tim Holt Bigz Die-Tattered Florals. It's quick and easy to cut all the coordinating flower pieces you need in just one die! I stacked the pieces together with 3D Foam Squares, and accented the center with a Hero Arts Medium accent pearl.
Then I just cut away pieces of the adhesive backing from where I wanted the cork to adhere to the butterfly patterned paper in a curved dimensional shape. The adhesive sheet helps give the cork more stability, to retain its curved shape and makes it super easy to adhere to the paper. Then I just trimmed the patterned paper around the cage and laced it up with Brown Twine, and walah . . . caged butterflies!
This Tim Holtz Caged Bird die contains two images:
Here's how I used the bird in the upper right section:
For this sweet bird die cut, I adhered Creative Imaginations Real Cherry Wood Cherry to Craft-a-Board to give it more stability and then die cut it -- I love the texture! It's popped up on foam tape. I loved this wonderful scalloped sentiment piece that is from another piece of the Madeline paper. It says: "True beauty lies within. I know that yours will shine so brilliant it will be blinding." Something I hope my beautiful daughters learn in life.
Then I adhered a large Prima Cherry Rose Trim to the dress form -- one flower was all that was needed of this gorgeous trim:
I trimmed the flowers to fit the dress form, and then finished it with a Hero Arts Small Accent Pearls necklace. My oldest daughter said she wants a dress like this!
The final two sections on the lower right were accented with huge Spellbinders Nested Butterfly die cuts. I cut the largest butterfly in half and adhered the halves in each section and then topped it with the middle butterfly die that was adhered on top of the section divider and finished with Hero Arts Medium accent pearls. Some Maya Road Cream Small Organza Rose trim was used in each section, to help tie them together. In the left section, I used pieces of the fuschia Tattered Flowers die cuts that were left over from the top left section, topped with one of the small organza roses. The small label cut out in the left section is from another piece of the Madeline paper, cut in half:
The photo of my youngest daughter was cut with a circle die. I hope this tray helps to give you some ideas of different ways you can use this wonderful 7 Gypsies Black Photo Tray!
We thank you for your questions, patience and interest in the video we did for this month's newsletter. Many of you have tried to view the video, but due to computer, browser, and who knows what other issues you have had difficulty viewing the entire video. In an effort to make certain that we don't leave anyone out we are redoing the entire post here in the CLASSroom. We have now uploaded the video to YouTube in three segments due to the length, so please view each segment individually below. Thank you again for your willingness to learn with us and for your patience! So let's begin with "Take #2!"
We have also announced the winner of the Easter Lily Blog Candy here - congratulations go out to Shelley Smith. Please contact us at customerservice@ellenhutson.com with your snail mail address so that we can get your goodies right out to you.
How many of you are passionate about flowers and/or gardening? How many of you can no longer garden the way that you once did? It has been too many years now since I have been able to climb all over my hillside gardening. Before my hip injury I was passionate about my flowers and covered my hillside in beautiful perennials. Some still remain, but they are not in the same "shape" as they once were, so perhaps this is the reason paper flowers appeal to me so much. I can make these in my craft room without squatting AND at any time of the year :-D
One of my greatest blessings in life has been the friendship and bond I have had the good fortune of developing with Susan! It is such an honor to have her join me for today's lesson in paper flower making. Susan has pioneered the art of paper flower making for the past 15 years. Her work is such an inspiration and it is always so much fun to collaborate with her on projects!!!
This beautiful cake box is the project we worked on together for this month's newsletter. We hope that you enjoy the video we created to share with you today and that it empowers you to give flower making a try. In this video Susan will teach you how to create the beautiful lilies showcased above and below, sharing many wonderful tips throughout. Please grab your favorite drink and settle in for this 45 minute class with Susan as she shares many of the fabulous techniques she has innovated to bring this art form to us.
Step-by-step written instructions for creating beautiful lilies are included in Susan's first book The Paper Garden. I cannot begin to tell you how helpful her books have been to me as I learn to create beautiful blooms! If you are a visual learner like me you will also find this book a wealth of information.
CREATING THE CAKE BOX
Now that you know how to make the flowers for this project I am going to share just a few basics regarding the construction of the cake box.
I prefer to attach my decorative paper to the Craft-a-Board before die cutting the pieces using the 3-D Cake Box Die. By affixing the paper to the Craft-a-Board with Be Creative (Sookwang) tape I am assured that I will have a perfectly covered project.
To create today's project I used Lilybee's 12x12 paper. For the scalloped top and base I applied decorative paper to both sides of the Craft-a-Board before die cutting.
For the cake sides, decorative paper was applied to only one side of the Craft-a-Board. Being careful to position the paper so that the decorative side is cut all the way through, and the Craft-a-Board only scored, is important. To do this place the paper, decorative side to the die, and then send the die through your Vagabond or Big Shot using the crease pad. This will give pieces as shown above and below.
Carefully bend each piece along the score line before attaching them together to get a more uniform look.
You will also need to cut and score three pieces of cardstock to hold the cake pieces together. Using a strong adhesive affix the cardstock to the die cut pieces on the back or Craft-a-Board side as shown above.
Attach each piece one at a time.
When you have all three pieces attached, form the piece into a circle, affixing the last edge.
Next you will need to attach the base - the piece with the four tabs. I find it easiest to insert this piece from the top. Push it down through the center until it is firmly positioned in the bottom of the circular piece. Using a pair of needle nose tweezers insert a Glue Dot behind each of the flaps and affix these to the cake tube.
To adhere the scalloped top and base I prefer to use Ultimate Glue. The base is easy to affix due to the large surface you will be attaching it to. Apply Ultimate Glue to the base of the cake and position the scalloped piece holding it in place for a few seconds until you feel it is firmly in place. The cap or top is a little trickier. I run Ultimate Glue all the way around the top of the circular form and then position the scalloped top in place. The glue allows you to move it slightly until you have it in the desired position, then hold it for a few seconds until the glue grabs hold. Allow to dry for at least 30 minutes before continuing your work on the base.
To add interest to my cake base I attached a strip of white silk ribbon and then added pearls to either side of it. I also ran a strip of pearls around the top.
I wanted to include just a few close-up photos of the finished project so that you could better see the detail on these beautiful Easter blooms.
The lily was one of Susan's first punch designs back in 2006. Sadly there are others who have taken Susan's work and called it their own, but the truth of the matter is that these designs, the techniques and wording, are copywritten by Susan --- I am so proud and honored to share her designs with you. With Easter right around the corner and spring knocking at our doors it has been a thrill to be able to share this beauty with all of you. Thank you so much for joining us!
I am so ready for Spring, and with snow falling on my hyacinth and daffodils it seems that a Springtime made from paper might be all I have for a few more weeks. I love decorating for this season with brighter colors and the Once Upon a Springtime line from Graphic 45 delivers loads of inspiration with gorgeous images and fresh colors. With this delightful inspiration in hand I thought it would be fun to create treat wrappers that could be used as place cards for a more formal event or made in many different sizes that could be hidden about when it is time to hunt for the goodies that a certain celebrity bunny might have left lying around the yard. (hopefully not covered in snow!)
Remove the protective backing from the tape and and carefully adhere to the other end forming a tube. I tied it with some simple garden twine, but it would be stunning with most any of the gorgeous May Arts silk ribbons, or you could use the white silk ribbon and use Copic Marker refill ink to die a unique color.Trim the ends of the crepe paper to have a little fringe if you like.
Now that the end is tied up you can fill with most any kind of treat or surprise that suits your whim. Tie up the other end and then trim.
The rabbit was then colored with a few various Copic colors and then adhered to the top of the wrap. Fussy cut a few of the flowers out from the sheet of Primrose Cottage, adhere and then share a little Springtime with everyone who could use a little too.
I am hoping that you have had time to head over to Kim Kesti's blog and share some love with her - if not please do so, she is an absolutely remarkable woman! That sweet, sneaky girl changed up my desire to share our love with her in the "comment" section and turned it around where you have shared your words with us here at Ellen Hutson LLC. Your words of kindness about the amazing women who I have the privilege to work with here and in the CLASSroom, as well as your beautiful words about who I am as a person bring tears to my eyes. Yes, I am passionate about sharing creativity with others because I truly believe that creativity helped to save my sanity and I want to share that with others - so thank you from the bottom of my heart for your love, financial support (through your purchases) and kindness - it is appreciated more than you could ever know!
If you haven't had the opportunity to enjoy the incredible video Susan helped us make I would like to encourage you to visit this post over on In Touch (our newsletter archive blog) and leave some love for her there as well! Today I would like to share a much more "simple" project for those who may be creating paper flowers for the first time. Sometimes one very simple element can make a huge difference on a project and I think that the paper flowers do just that, so I hope that you enjoy this simple twist.
This project is created for yet another woman who has supported me over the past couple of years with her kindness. I felt that the words were so powerful and applied so strongly to the support she has shared with me. My desire is to share my appreciation with her through this project.
As Susan stated in her video I did challenge her to work with white paper only :-D. As someone who places a huge value on resources, my desire is to always try and share more ways for you to utilize the tools you may already have in your craft room and in this case I was thinking specifically about Neenah paper, the many Copic markers and now the new Faber-Castell products you have purchased from us. So hopefully here is yet one more way for you to use these awesome markers, pencils, pens, etc.
Before beginning a project in which I am trying to achieve natural coloration I google the flower I am trying to mimic. In this case I found this gorgeous lily picture.
I used the smallest petal on the Lily punch to create this little bloom. Begin with the lightest value marker and stroke up from the base of the petal to the tip. After adding the darkest value, color back over the entire petal with the lightest color to blend the colors.
I have really been enjoying the Pastel Pencils to add additional veining and depth in my flower petals.
As shown in the video I used the sponge to mute the color somewhat. Isn't it amazing how well the colors work with the Cosmo Cricket papers!
Due to the small scale of the calyx on this bloom I simply cut the Alta Flake down in size before adhering the petals.
Just a quick shot of all the colors I used in creating this lily.
As you can see I have added little flecks of color to the petals to mimic the real life lily. The ubber fine point on the Faber-Castell Artist pen is perfect for adding this element.
Susan also taught me an alternate way to make stamens for my lilies and I would like to share it with you. I simply colored a small rectangle of paper. Snipping it down and leaving it connected along the base.
I then used my quilling tool to roll it. I realized after the fact that I forgot to snap a second picture after changing my mind and creating a second stamen with the pistil's colored in E08 - oops.
For detailed directions on creating a lily I would like to encourage you to watch the video in this post - Susan's work is simply magical.
For the remainder of the project I simply covered Art Parts and the Sewing Dress Craft-a-Board base with decorative paper, added my sentiment, a chipboard cameo (made using Maya Road pieces painted with Studio Paint) and some other simple, yet elegant embellishments and my piece was complete.
My desire is that one little bloom will show my appreciation. Thank you for once again visiting us here in the CLASSroom and don't forget to head over and leave some love for Kim Kesti and Susan Tierney Cockburn AND win a chance at some fun little goodies!
It is always such a huge honor when our invited guests agree to teach here in the CLASSroom! Today we would like to give an ENORMOUS welcome to Kim Kesti as she shares her creative ideas here in the CLASSroom. Kim is constantly inspiring her readers on her blog think fast, as well you will find her work as a Paper Crafts Go-to Gal on the Moxie Fab and Paper Crafts Connections blogs.
Once again we have a special "something" for those who take the time to visit Kim over on her blog - so head over to think fastand leave a comment for Kim! We will be doing a random drawing and announcing the winner together with Kim on Monday, April 18th, so don't delay - read her post here and then head over to her blog and be inspired!
Kim is a VERY busy designer and mom and to have her take the time to share with us here... all I can say is a simple and huge THANK YOU Kim! -Ellen
LEARN WITH ME! by Kim Kesti
I’m so excited to be here with you in the Ellen Hutson CLASSroom. I am a huge fan of all the teachers here and hope I can bring a little bit of my own experience and personality to share with you today.
My name is Kim Kesti and I’ve been paper crafting for about five years. I currently work with Paper Crafts magazine as a Go-to Gal, it’s the best job in the world! I love trying new techniques and even after five years, there are so many things I want to learn. Won’t you learn with me? (I kind of sounded like Mr. Rogers there, didn’t I?)
My main “style” of paper crafting is pretty bold and graphic. I tend to like simple patterns and straight lines. But, I was recently introduced to the Tim Holtz Distress Inks and I think I am in love. Although the project I am showing you today is clean and simple in nature, I adore how the Distress Ink just gives it that little touch of vintage. Plus, I think the look perfectly suits these Hero Arts stamps, don’t you?
Then I grabbed my Ink Blending Tool from Ranger and my Vintage Photo Distress Ink. I used the blending tool to add ink to the edges of all my stamped images. I learned the trick to making the ink smooth is to work from the outside edge toward the center, always moving your blending tool in a circular motion.
This technique gives such a pretty, soft edge to your images. It works exactly the same way on patterned paper, too. I was so happy with my stamped images that I decided to create a little set of blank note cards as a gift.
Would you like to see one more coordinating project? (I know, I’m on a roll now). It’s basically the same format I used on my cards, but I made this little guy into a mini notebook.
I think it was this camera image that inspired the idea. That stamp is so awesome. To make the notebook, I adhered the cardstock panel to a piece of Craft-a-Board. Oh my – love the Craft-a-Board! It’s my first time using it and I already know I need another pack! Hee, hee.
One tip on using the Bind It All: pre measure your finished size to make sure the holes are spaced properly. I’ve learned the hard way to always double check the size first. It’s such a shame to punch your finished project and find out one of the holes is half way off the edge, right?
You can see in the photo that my notebook is sized to fit six punched holes across just about perfectly. Sweet.
I also wanted to show you how easy it is to figure out where to cut the coil. I place my coil right on to my project, then snip right where the punched piece ends. (Use the instructions that are included with the Bind It All to finish the notebook).
Well, there you go. A cute little set of cards and one notebook to match. I think this would make a great gift, don’t you?
Thanks for trying something new with me! I hope to be back someday to share again.
It's amazing at all the opportunities that come our way. Each special season of life is worth documenting and journaling about.Whether they are big or small, we all have dreams and they are all important.
Last term at school my daughter had the most fantastic highschool co-op opportunity. We had the courage to imagine something wonderful but this was beyond our wildest dreams. Heather spent each afternoon of the entire semester at the hospital in the Organ Transplant Unit. To say we were thrilled would be an understatement. Her experiences ranged from hospital tours to transplant surgeries, data entry to ambulance and airplane rides. She made some lifetime friends but most importantly knows what she wants to spend her life doing.
I decided to find a little courage and try out something a little more artsy for a layout design on this project. The new Tim Holtz Kraft Resist Paper Stash looked like so much fun, I just had to try it out! This paper is a beautiful heavy weight kraft paper that is perfect for layouts or cards.
I wanted the beautiful resist to pop out on this design and immediately thought of my new Faber-Castell Gelatos. The color is so easy to apply and pops on the kraft background.
As you can see, I didn't try to be perfect. I actually wanted the color to go outside the lines so othat the resist would show up. You can leave the Gelato colored as is or blend it in a bit with your finger for a softer look. I love how it adds interest to a monochromatic background.
To continue my artsy look, I created my own collage title block with some great Tim Holtz stamps, some Glimmer Mist and Distress Ink. I've stamped them onto an Arturo Note Card cut into half. I love the texture of this paper and how it takes the ink. Beautiful!
As always, I love to cluster my embellishments together for a pretty collage look.
Journaling is always an important part of scrapbooking. If you like to keep things private, an envelope and tag approach is always a great idea and pretty too! This envelope is the new Tim Holtz Kraft Glassine Envelopes and is a really cool product.
April (and Easter!) is upon us, so I wanted to share my April calendar with you today.
I love all the pretty pastel colors of Spring and thought this beautiful floral wreath stamp from Hero Arts ClearDesign-Special Note of Thanks stamp set would be the perfect Spring touch to my calendar! I stamped it with Memento Tuxedo Black ink onto Copic X-Press It Blending Card and colored it with some of the new Copic 2011 Sketch Colors (notated with a black dot on the marker caps in the photo below): BG70 (a beautiful color for skies), E23 (branches and flower centers), RV63, RV66 (purple flowers), YG61 (leaves and behind branches).
The Easter sentiment is from Hero Arts Celebrate Everyday set. I stamped it with Ranger Adirondack Mountain Rose dye ink (matches the background paper perfectly!) on Copic X-Press It Blending Card and cut it into a banner shape. The calendar I created myself and printed onto a half sheet of Neenah Natural White cardstock.
I hope the pretty colors of Spring are appearing soon, wherever you are! ~ Sharon
