Hey everyone! Welcome to Satur-YAY! We're celebrating the weekend by getting our craft on! There's no better way to spend the weekend (in my humble opinion). I can't wait to see what you're making this weekend, so be sure to share it using #EllenHutsonSaturYAY!
Today I'll be using the Sweet Sprinkles United We Flourish stamp and die set to create a sweet card that could really be used for any occasion! I love the feminine feel of the cupcake combined with a little bit of kraft card stock to add a little bit of rustic charm.
I'll be using my Prismacolor Colored Pencils to add a little bit of shading to this solid stamped image. You'll see how this quick and easy step can really add depth and dimension to a solid stamped image. You can also use this technique to add shading to a colored image. If you don't have the right combination of markers to create light and dark on your image, try using colored pencils over the top of your coloring to add depth and dimension instead!
Here are a couple of tips for adding shading to your stamped and colored images.
There's no need for your colored pencil to be a specific or exact shade. Just choose a pencil that is slightly darker than the stamped or colored image you want to add shading to. There's no exact science...and that's what makes it so darn easy!
In order to created the illusion that you've used multiple colors, start with a heavier hand to lay down more color in the areas you want darkest. Lighten your pressure as you move to the lighter shade to vary the color. This will make it look like you used 3 or 4 colors.
You can add highlights to an image by adding a touch of white colored pencil. This one pencil in your stash can go a long way in adding lighter highlights to all of your images.
Don't be afraid to play. Often times, when we are willing to experiment with new things, we find unexpected discoveries along the way.
I've also done a little de-bossing using the little scattered hearts included in the Sweet Sprinkles stamp and die set. It's a fun and unexpected way to use your dies and get more out of them.
Be sure to check out today's video tutorial. I'll be walking you through the creation of today's card and give you a few more tips and tricks (and maybe giggles) along the way.
Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you've enjoyed today's project. I can't wait to see what you're creating on this fabulous Satur-YAY! Be sure to share your projects with me!
Until next time, I hope you have a fabulous day!
XOXO
Watch The Video
You can watch this video in HD on our YouTube channel by clicking HERE. Don't forget to subscribe and share it with a friend!
Hey everyone! Happy Satur-YAY! I'm celebrating the weekend by getting my craft on, and I hope you are too! Today, it's all about the party. I'm using the brand new Sweet Sprinkles stamp and die set, along with confetti paste, to create some fun and very sparkly cards. They're so sparkly, you don't even NEED glitter paper! (WHAT?!?!)
I love this new Sweet Sprinkles stamp set designed by Concord & 9th. It's the newest in the Essentials By Ellen United We Flourish line. This Concord & 9th stamp set is available exclusively at Ellen Hutson. I am a huge fan of Concord & 9th. They're stamp and die sets are always so versatile and this one is no exception. You can create so many different things from this stamp set....a cupcake, an ice cream, cotton candy....even a poop emoji. ;) So many options with just one stamp set!
I'll be showing you how to use confetti paste in today's video. I'll be using the Bo Bunny Gold Confetti paste today. I love the festive vibe that a background full of confetti paste gives. It definitely says PAR-TAY!
In addition, I'll also show you how you can make your own confetti paste too! I'll be using the adorable sesame seed sequins from Hai that come in the December Party Bundle and some Collage Medium for this. This was a fabulous idea from my friend Carly. She's always inspiring me!
These confetti pastes are easy to use. They dry fairly quickly. They can be used to create backgrounds, or to doll up a stamped image. They can also be used in conjunction with a stencil to create confetti patterns for your next card project. Be sure to check out the video tutorial below.
I've included links to all the products used in these projects below.
I can't wait to see what you're creating this weekend. Be sure to post it on social media using #EllenHutsonSaturYAY so we can check it out. You can also tag @ellenhutsonllc and @carissawiley. We love to see what you're up to!
Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you've enjoyed these projects...and I hope they're keeping your party mood going strong! You're going to need it with New Year's just around the corner. Until next time, Happy Satur-YAY and I hope you have a fabulous 2018!
XOXO
Watch The Video
You can watch this video in HD on our YouTube channel by clicking HERE. Don't forget to subscribe while you're there so you don't miss any of our card making and paper crafting video tutorials.
We are so very happy to have 3 of our good friends back to The CLASSroom today to share their gorgeous creations using the latest United We Flourish stamp & die set, Sweet Sprinkles by Concord & 9th!
Check out the awesome cards by Amy Rysavy, Kara Vrabel & Ardyth Percy-Robb (just click on each picture to see more and click here to learn more about United We Flourish)...
Amy Rysavy
Kara Vrabel
Ardyth Percy-Robb
Thanks so much for stopping by today and MONDO thanks to Amy, Kara & Ardyth for sharing their talent with us!
Have you heard about our United We Flourish campaign? Well, let us tell you a little bit about it...
In 2016 we began celebrating our 10th anniversary with the theme United We Flourish. What does United We Flourish mean? It means that our company would not be here without the amazing companies we work with, the designers who create stunning projects showcasing the wonderful products being created AND you, our fabulous customers! YOU are such a vital part of our creative community - you inspire & encourage us! Your response to United We Flourish was overwhelming and heartwarming. We heard repeatedly from you that you appreciate how our little company works together with the other manufacturers we carry to bring you their products and education showing how to use those products. To thank you for your constant support and encouragement, we have partnered with some of our friends to offer exclusive limited edition stamp & die sets!!! It is our goal to release a new set each month for the next few months. These sets will be available for a limited time (most likely 3-6 months) after each release, depending on how quickly you snap them up. The theme of these stamps sets are uplifting and fun.
Concord & 9th has been delighting us since 2016, when they became part of the Ellen Hutson LLC family! They have a fun & fresh style that makes us look forward to the 9th of each month, when we get to see each new release! And not only do we love their products, but we think co-owners Angie & Greg are super sweet! We love working with them and we just wish Utah & Washington were closer together so we could see them more!
With this yummy set you will find that there are cupcakes - and then there are cupcakes with sprinkles!!! Sprinkles make everything better! This sweet set will have you adding sprinkles to cupcakes, ice-cream cones and more! The sentiments will touch the heart of your recipient or wish them a happy day. Use the long sprinkle stamp to add sprinkles to your background, or create a border to frame your focal point. The matching dies cut out the images and also includes the sentiment 'YUM' along with some sweet heart sprinkles. This 4 X 6 set contains 11 stamps, 8 images and 3 sentiments along with 6 dies.
Today we are super excited to be getting together with the talented & sweet Where Creativity Meets C9 team to share our Sweet Sprinkles creations! Just click on the pictures below to see what everyone has been working on or start at Concord & 9th's blog to do the full hop. But before you go...there are prizes! To celebrate, two randomly selected commenters will win a $30 gift certificate to the Ellen Hutson shop and two commenters will win a $30 gift certificate to the Concord & 9th shop. To enter just leave a comment on the Ellen Hutson Classroom blog and the Concord blog by 12pm PST on December 26th.
I'm Sandy Allnock - and I can't stop coloring! I got a sneak peek of the darling new United We Flourish Sweet Sprinkles stamp & die combo by Concord & 9th (which will be available this Sunday, 12/17), which is made up of solid stamps. What's a colorist to do?? Well, you get creative - and oh man, was this fun!
First, I cut out card fronts for my two cards - first the frosting and ice cream tops, then their respective bottom pieces - overlapping them so they meet up like a puzzle piece later. All this was done with Neenah Cream paper, cut to 4"x4".
Next, I put the first layer of Copic color onto each one of the pieces; I put a tidge of adhesive on the backs so they'd stay put on my scratch paper while I did my coloring.
The ice cream cone and cupcake bottom both have textures that can be drawn in - crosshatching for the cone, and stripes for the cupcake.
Before finishing those pieces I got distracted by the frosting and ice cream! Gah! Sugar draws my attention all the time. LOL! With 3 colors I built up the swirl shapes - they're basically "C" shapes at the bottom of each swirl delineated by the scallops cut by the die.
Now, back to the cone and cupcake bottom - adding a little more shading and blending. Don't overblend, or the texture underneath will disappear entirely.
Now for assembly: I put some scotch tape on the back of the card fronts and laid my pieces inside. After, I added more tape to the back to be sure they stayed in place well.
And then put dimensional adhesive on the back - I like it around all sides, and if it's a full card panel I put a slice in the middle so the card doesn't cave in during mailing.
Finishing touches: I diecut the little hearts out of scrap paper to glue on top with Glossy Accents. An alternate that I almost wish I'd tried: Diecut the heart sprinkles from the pink and chocolate pieces - place them back together swapped - so you have pink sprinkles on the chocolate cupcake, and chocolate sprinkles on the ice cream! A little glossy accents on top of them would be sweet too, to make them shiny.
The finished cards are so clean and simple!
Hope you enjoyed this little tutorial - be sure to hop along on the bloghop to see more ideas with this set; I have a video showing a way to use distress inks with them!
Sandy's Supplies:
The new United We Flourish Stamp & Die Combo, Sweet Sprinkles by Concord & 9th will be available on Sunday, December 17th!
LINK: Watch in HD on our YouTube Channel HERE. Thanks for subscribing and giving us a thumbs' up!
Ellen has compiled this color palette based on the 2017 trends forecast! I decided to use them to create a watercolor backdrop to the focal balloon from this super fun set by Concord & 9th, called Happy Balloons (there is also a coordinating Happy Balloons Die Set). The photo of the sea glass piled up there, with the ocean in the background inspired me to take a watercolor approach for my backdrop, but you could certainly stamp the balloons in these ink colors for a totally different take!
Down in the supplies list, you will find the Distress Ink Colors I used that coordinate from the above palette.
This stamp set is SO MUCH FUN and super clever!!! I haven't even begun to tap into all the options it provides!
Thanks for joining me today, and Happy Mundane! ;)
Hi friends! Carolyn Peeler with you today to walk you through a card tutorial. But before I do, this is Ink Week here at Ellen Hutson and I'm here to share about Permanent or Archival ink pads.
One of the thing all stampers have to decide whenever they start a new project is which kind of ink they will use. Permanent ink is great if you are going to be working with watercolor, or markers, or things that would normally cause a regular dye ink to bleed. The main permanent inks in the Ellen Hutson shop are Ranger Archival ink, which is a dye based ink, and Staz-On, which is a solvent based ink.
Solvent inks are alcohol based, and need a special cleaner. They are opaque and in addition to working on paper and porous surfaces, can also dry on smooth surfaces such as glass, dominos, metal and acetate. Because the are alcohol based, they are not the best inks to use with alcohol based markers such as Copic or Chameleon pens.
Ranger says that their Archival ink provides lasting stamping results that are permanent on many surfaces. Get a crisp image that doesn’t bleed over water-based inks and markers, acrylic paint and water colors.
Many people wonder if permanent inks will work with alcohol based markers, such as Copic. In general, the answer is...maybe, lol! Most inks have proprietary formulations and so not all inks are created equal. First, Staz-on is not a good choice as it is also alcohol based. So the markers and the ink will bleed into each other. My ink of choice with Copics is the Memento line of ink pads. Memento are not considered permanent, but are considered archival by the manufacturer. For a more comprehensive look at inks to use with Copic, you will want to take a look at this post by Sharon Harnist.
Because I currently do so much watercolor in my work, my main priority with a permanent dye ink pad is to find one that won't bleed when using it with watercolors, so I thought I'd show a little demonstration of how the Ranger archival ink is so much better than a regular dye ink when used for watercoloring. Please note, this is not to say that the other dye ink is inferior, each ink has its strengths and weaknesses, and the other dye ink is not made to be water-fast.
Now that you have a little background on when to choose Permanent ink, it's time to walk through today's card. This one uses the GORGEOUS Concord & 9th "Hello Lovely" stamp.
I stamped the image onto watercolor paper using Ranger Archival ink in Potting Soil with the MISTI stamp positioner. I love using stamp positioners particularly when using a larger stamp, such as this one. The positioner helps incase you don't get an even application of ink with the first impression. It will allow you to stamp again in order to get a crisp image. I chose to use the brown ink instead of black as brown gives the finished card a less severe look than a black would. Particularly when making a softer, floral card I often like using brown for the lines.
After allowing your water color to dry it's time to assemble the card. Glue a thin strip of bright pink paper from the Cute Girl 6x6 paper pad onto the left border of the card and sew a zig zag stitch along the seam.
Very concentrated/highly pigmented color. Spray paper with water first, for a more diluted/lighter look (this is what I did with the first background ink layer on my tag, detailed below).
Same Distress INK attributes -- color will lift when water is applied, even with the metallic colors.
Great to use with stencils, either by itself, or to color freshly applied stencil/texture paste.
Watercolor with the ink, either with a watercolor brush dipped directly in the ink, or fill a water reservoir brush with the ink and dilute it with water to your liking.
Use the spray stain like a dauber, by applying it with a sponge applicator.
Here's how my tag came together:
To contain the spray and make sure I didn't get it everywhere, I placed a #8 Manila Tag into an old used shipping box lined with packing paper, lightly sprayed the tag with water, then sprayed the tag with Peacock Feathers Distress Spray Stain. Let dry:
Next, I took the sprayer out of Abandoned Coral Distress Spray Stain and tapped the nozzle onto my plastic paint palette (shown in the center of my palette below).
Then I tapped my 1" Round Ink Blending Tool into the ink and sponged the ink only onto the flowers of Tim Holtz's Mini Stencil Set 10 floral stencil (the stencil is wash-taped to my work surface, to help prevent bleeding) -- thus, creating my own "dauber"!
Next, I dipped my watercolor brush directly into Twisted Citron Distress Spray Stain and painted the leaves and stems through the stencil:
To enhance the upper part of the tag's background, I masked off the lower stamped part of the tag using a sticky note and washi tape ...
Then I sprayed Tarnished Brass Distress Spray Stain through the flourish stencil from the same Tim Holtz Mini Stencil Set 10 set -- Isn't that a gorgeous golden color?!!:
I also used the flourish stencil and 1" Round Ink Blending Tool on other parts of the tag, just by placing the stencil and only inking on the blue background, avoiding the flowers:
To finish the tag, I colored wide white silk ribbon with the Tarnished Brass Distress Spray Stain (just spray and let dry):
Next, I wanted to give a little more definition to the citron leaves and flowers (they seemed to blend into the aqua background a little too much), so I lightly outlined them with Twisted Citron Distress Marker:
Finally, I used Concord & 9th's Butterfly Card dies to create the half butterfly strip from Ellen's 40# Vellum. The butterfly body was die cut from paper sprayed with the Tarnished Brass Distress Spray Stain. The butterfly strip was attached to the tag using Tim's Tiny Attacher, but the butterfly wing was left unattached so it can flap up:
The golden ribbon was tied through the tag hole and secured with metallic gold string:
I hope you've learned some wonderful tips for working with ink sprays this week and will give them a try!
Happy Thursday! It's Carly and I'm here for another #throwbackthursdays, where we find inspiration in The CLASSroom archives! This week we are creating with Nuvo Embellishment Mousse by Tonic Studio and we're having tons of fun discovering "uses for mousses"!
I have learned that the mousse is a great way to "stretch" some of my other stamping supplies for unique looks. Here are some ideas:
apply mousse over texture paste for a unique look
create a resist effect by applying over embossed image
apply mousse to cardstock and stamp over it with a permanent ink like StazOn
add color to image stamped over mousse with water-based markers
stamp first and apply mousse over stamped image
After lots of playing with mousse, one of my favorite techniques was to stamp on cardstock, apply mousse over the image and then color with water-based markers...
Wanna give it a try? You can download the full instructions here: Mousse & Marker Magic
Have a great day!
xo, Carly
P.S. Ever need help choosing a layout for your card even after you've chosen a technique? I know I do! I always turn to my favorites from The CLASSroom. The layout of the card I made today was inspired by one of my all-time favs by Lisa, see it here.
Hi friends! Carolyn Peeler with you today... As I was trying to come up with a snazzy title for today's post, I decided that I would simply let the title tell you why I think the Art Impressions line of stamps is so special. I kid you not, these stamps totally make you look like you're all that and a bag of chips when it comes to your artistic abilites. We've all been there, had times when you are pressed for time, but want to make something special for a friend, or had days when your artistic inspiration is just. not. flowing. That's where these stamps come in to save the day. Today's project was the first time I have used Art Impressions, and I am a believer.
Something that is totally awesome is that Art Impressions cares that you get a good result using their watercolor stamp sets. On the packaging they have an enlarged image of the stamp once colored in so that you can see the detail and how you could shade it. Then (this is the good part), on the back of the packaging they have numbered steps that you can follow to help you easily figure out how to make your masterpiece. (Please note: Instructions are not provided for every Art Impressions stamp set, they are limited to the watercolor stamps. If instructions are included, you will see it noted on the packaging, and/or in the description of the item in the Ellen Hutson store.)
If you purchase a set with instructions, it will look a little something like this:
As you'll note, I used a different color palette than the packaging. I changed it up as I felt the colors on the packaging were to Autumnal for this time of year. So instead of coloring it to make the pot clay, I colored it in grey to mimic a galvanized metal milk can. Let's jump in, shall we?
First, stamp the pot, using Pumice Stone Distress ink (you can color directly onto the stamp with a marker or ink it with the large or small ink pad), onto watercolor paper. Notice how the bottom left corner of the stamp is not there. That is because, by following the instructions, I learned that I should wipe the ink off that area before stamping onto the paper in order to give me space to add grass to that corner.
Now it's time to add some grass, while you can do this with the AI Foliage Set, I simply used markers and hand drew the grass. I started with using the Brush end of the Bundled Sage Distress marker. As you draw with the marker, try to use upward strokes that taper at the ends - even if not all your strokes are done that way (mine aren't), if the majority are, it will look more like grass.
Your next layer of grass is to use the fine tip of the Mowed Lawn Distress marker and add more blade of grass, like so:
Now we use water and a fine or medium tipped paintbrush to help the two greens blend together a bit. Be careful not to over blend. You still want to see the individual blades, you just want to soften things a bit.
After you've blended the grass it's time to color the can. I used Distress ink in Pumice Stone and Hickory Smoke. I dabbed them onto my Ranger Craft Sheet with the darker color on the top (Hickory Smoke) and the lighter color (Pumice Stone) below. I then sprayed a bit of water beside the ink in order to mix and create my watercolors. Here's a time lapse of the coloring process.
Allow the image to air dry, or speed up the process by heating with a heat tool. After it dries, it will look a little something like this:
Our next steps are for adding the branches and flowers to the top of the pot. Let's start with the branches, which I stamped with Brushed Corduroy, once again you can color directly onto the stamp with a marker or ink it with the large or small ink pad. Don't worry if your branches are hovering a little above the top of the can (like one of mine is) once we add grass you won't really be able to notice. Additionally, you'll notice my branches are not all the same height - even though both were stamped with the same stamp. I achieved this by using a paper towel to wipe the ink off the bottom of the branch on the right before I stamped it, effectively shortening it :)
Now for some color! I used Shabby Shutters and Picked Raspberry Distress markers to add the flower to the top of the can. For ink application I colored directly onto the stamp with the markers, then stamped them.
Next we'll add one more branch using Gathered Twig ink to bring a secondary brown into the piece. And we'll stamp the berry branch that is on the left of my piece using the Bundled sage and Picked Raspberry markers. To finish off the greenery, we'll add grass at the top using the same colors and technique that we did for the grass at the bottom of the pot.
Just like we did to the grass at the bottom of the pot, we'll now use a fine or medium tipped paintbrush to help soften things a bit. You are not trying to blend the lines out, just give them a wee bit of a fuzzy edge. Basically, this means if you simply trace each branch or flower once, that will most likely be the perfect amount.
And with that, your watercolor image is ready to be added to a card!
After the greeting is embossed use a circle die to cut it out.
Finally, It's time to pull it all together. I used Licorice cardstock to ground the card, then mounted it all on a white cardstock that was folded into a card.
Thanks for joining me for today's fun project in the CLASSroom. If you have any questions, be sure to let me know in the comments. In the meantime, here are the links to the products used to make this card:
Hi Everyone! Welcome to pencil crayon week here on the Ellen Hutson CLASSroom! I'm Carolyn Peeler and I'm with you today to walk you through a technique that is SO simple, yet adds a lot of complexity and depth to your stamped images - you're going to love it! We're going to discuss laying a simple base with Copic markers, then shading with pencil crayons and gamsol. So, buckle in, here's the tutorial:
Link: Watch in HD on our YouTube Channel HERE! Thanks for watching, subscribing and giving us a thumbs’ up!
As we finish up, here are the direct links to the products used in today's Easter card:
I haven't made a shaker card in a while and thought I'd try making one that features "negative" die cut stamping--the MISTI made it so easy to do accurately, with no second guessing! I've also had this gorgeous birthday set by Concord & 9th for some time and have been dying to use it! The Happy Day stamp set and coordinating dies are available separately, BUT you can also get them in a bundle HERE, at 31% savings!
I thought the gold foil access on the patterned paper (On Trend 2) really complimented the simple gold embossing of the cake just perfectly, and, of course, those Pretty Pink Posh Sequins the ultimate shaker card filler... *dreamy sigh*
Link: Watch in HD on our YouTube Channel HERE! Thanks for watching, subscribing and giving us a thumbs’ up!
Hello and happy Friday, Friends -- Welcome to the last day of Embellishment week here in the CLASSroom! Today I will be showing you a little more about Darcie's Heart & Home Tin Pins:
You may remember this post I did a few weeks ago, where I gave you the Copic marker matches to some of the popular Tin Pins Ellen carries. That is where I showed Copic R22 and R24 match this cute Darcie's Heart & Home Love "Hearts" Tin Pins Frenchie Mustache Heart-man, along with the Copic matches for his Sweetheart! This way, you can color the Love "Hearts" stamped images to closely match the coordinating Tin Pin!
These sweet little 1-inch dimensional tin embellishments give a fun pop and dimension to their coordinating stamp sets, or can be used alone to create quick and easy one-of-a-kind projects! Be sure to check out the previously-mentioned blog post, to see a fun card made using only Tin Pins!
For the background of this card, I chose the fun Taylored Expressions Falling Hearts Cutting Plate. To get started, I die cut Ranger Watercolor Paper, (from left to right below): Taylored Expressions Lollipop, Cherry Pop, and Oreo cardstock with the cutting plate. (I originally chose the watercolor paper because I was going to give the background a light pink watercolor wash, but ended up not doing so. But I still love the texture this paper gives the card!). Be sure to use a Metal Adaptor Plate in your die cutting sandwich to ensure good clean cuts with an intricate background such as this.
Next, I used the curved scalloped edge die from Concord & 9th's Bags & Tags die set to cut the lower edge of the watercolor paper.
Then I stamped the cute heart-man with Memento Tuxedo Black and colored him with these Copic markers:
For the sentiment, I used the bubble die from Concord & 9th's Bags & Tags die set to die cut Smooth Bristol cardstock, then I used my Misti and Memento Tuxedo Black Marker and Love Letter Marker to ink and stamp the sentiment in two different colors. The Misti allows for repeated stamping of any parts of the words that may not get good coverage using this method of marker inking.
To finish the card, I adhered the die cut background to a beautiful piece of Bazzill Metallic Gold Foil cardstock, using my favorite adhesive for heavy or hard-to-hold surfaces like these: X-Press It Double-Sided High Tack Tape. Next, I picked out some hearts from each of the die cut backgrounds above (pink, red and black) and glued them into place using Matte Multi Medium:
A gold foil die cut heart was added to the sentiment bubble, which was popped up on X-Press It Foam Mounting Tape, and Sakura Clear Glaze Pen was used to cover the "You" in the sentiment, making it shiny!
We hope you've enjoyed this week's focus on embellishments, as they really can push your projects over the edge and make them super special!
Hi there, Carolyn Peeler with you today to share my 12 tags of Christmas project with you. I love this yearly celebration and was excited to design my contribution. Before I could get started, I was tasked with finding an image that Angie and I could use as color inspiration for our tags. I spent some time browsing through Pinterest and was so inspired when I came across this image. I love how bright, light and shabby-chic this image is, while still being unapologetically Christmasy. The image is by Maria from the blog/shop Dreamy Whites. If you love shabby chic style, you MUST check out her blog and instagram feed - it's serious eye candy people!
So onto my tag. In an ode to my fellow designer today, Angie Backman from Concord & 9th, I combined an Essentials by Ellen Stamp, "Elf'd" with the "Stripe Builder" background stamp set by Concord & 9th. These two stamps really play well together and helped create a tag that is full-on Christmas! Check it out!
And, here's a video of the creation process:
And here's one last look - isn't that elf so stinkin' CUTE! I can hardly stand it!
As we close out the 12 Tags of Christmas with a Feminine Twist for 2016, please join me in thanking Ellen for creating such an amazing Christmas tradition. It has been a pleasure to log into the CLASSroom each morning to see what theme each duo of designers worked with and I think that you'll agree that we have been given some fantastic inspiration through their projects. And, thank YOU so much for joining us each day. Please be sure to play along and enter your tag for a chance to win one of the giveaways. (More info can be found here.)
We are pleased as punch to welcome Angie Backman, one of the co-owners of Concord & 9th, today! We just adore the stylish & fun designs by Concord & 9th and we think Angie, & co-founder Greg, are awesome!
For the color challenge today, Angie said: "I LOVED the color combo! It was fun to use it along with JOY to make something wintery vs traditional Christmas colors." She featured her "Joy" Stamp set and co-ordinating die to create a tag that is versatile enough that it could be used to decorate a either a Christmas or Winter themed gift.
For more detail about Angie's tag, please visit her blog post.
Thank you for joining us once again this year for the twelfth day of our 12 Tags of Christmas with a Feminine Twist series! Simply leave your appreciation for the beautiful tags of today's dynamic duo, Carolynand Angie, and you will be eligible for the random drawing of the $25 gift certificate to our store www.ellenhutson.com. Leave your comment before noon on December 17th to be included (one comment per person please.) Be certain to return tomorrow to see what our next team will have to inspire you!
It's cooling down 'round here in the PNW; the air is feeling crisp and the leaves are turning... and falling...
This Savvy Stamps Leaf Tree die is one of my all-time favorites--perfect for the card idea I had in mind for DIYing my own watercolor chipboard embellishment, using Craft-a-Board! You may or may not need it, but with the calibration on my die cutting machine, I found a metal shim to be helpful for cutting all the way through the Craft-a-Board.
Normally, to make faux chipboard, you have to layer about 5 piece of card stock but when you swap in Craft-a-Board, you really only need one or two, beneath your main layer--which in this case, happens to be watercolor paper because I recently got some new watercolor pencils and wanted to try them out.
In the video, I show two ways to use them; I used the 2nd method on this project.
After it was all dry, I gilded the leaves just a tad with some scrap leftover Deco Foil I had--I love spot-foiling--always looks so chic!
We are excited to welcome Rubeena to the CLASSroom today! Rubeena's use of color, particularly when she watercolors, caught our eye! Today she will share some of her tips and tricks as she showcases the gorgeous Peony in our Essentials by Ellen Mondo Series and Concord & 9th's delightful images and sentiments.
You can learn more about Ruby on her blog A Rare Ruby. A fun series she has going on is her Guesting with Ruby Naz where Rubeena interviews crafty colleagues and shares their projects. It is so very fun learning about each artist and what it is that they enjoy!
Be certain to help us share some love with Rubeena for sharing her creativity with us here in the CLASSroom over on her blog A Rare Ruby. Look for the post that shows a sneak peek of the project below along with a special giveaway we have for you there. Please leave Rubeena a comment before September 19th for a chance to win a $50 coupon to use in our store!
Thank you Rubeena for sharing your passion for watercolor with us here today! -Ellen
Coloring with watercolors has been a really enjoyable pastime for me in the last few months. I find myself reaching for them more often than any other coloring medium. It is easiest because all the colors needed are in one palette and the brush can be cleaned easily with water. One of the hard things about using watercolors is controlling how much pigment or water you use. Let me share with you one of my favorite combinations - using clear embossing powder and watercolors.
For today's cards, I used Distress Ink cubes as my watercolor medium. Ellen Hutson carries a wide range of watercolors, but many crafters use Distress Ink because of how they react to water even after they're dry.
Here's a look at the colors I started with for my first card.
I began by stamping Ellen Hutson's newest set Mondo Peony by Julie Ebersole on Tim Holtz watercolor cardstock. The images in this set are big and beautiful! I stamped using VersaMark ink and added clear embossing powder, which I heat-set with the Hero Arts Embossing Gun. Always be sure to use the Powder Tool Adhesive Deactivator on your paper surface to eliminate static cling before embossing. I also stamped the big image from Concord & 9th's You're My Person onto a second watercolor panel and heat-set with clear embossing powder. This makes it easy to set aside time to color both panels.
I used the following Distress Ink colors for both panels: Ripe Persimmon, Festive Berries, Mustard Seed, Crushed Olive, Cracked Pistachio, Lucky Clover, Broken China, Mermaid Lagoon, Vintage Photo, and Antique Linen. Stamping the sentiments in black and white make a really beautiful contrast to the rainbow panels. For one of the sentiments, I stamped with the Ranger Archival Ink Pad in Jet Black because it stamps so crisp! For the other sentiment, I used VersaMark ink and white embossing powder on black cardstock.
Watercoloring a big flower image is fun. I used three colors for the Mondo Peony and two for the leaves.
I really love how the black pops with the bright background.
Look at how beautiful the orange and pink go together.
For my second card, I used smaller images to show that this technique still works. The blue on this card seems to stand out against the rainbow colors and the black definitely pops!
A closer look at the colors:
When you want to create gorgeous cards with loose watercolors, try heat embossing with clear or white embossing powder. It creates a resist for the watercolors. Although this method is not new, I hope you're still feeling inspired. Thank you so much for visiting! Let me know your thoughts about embossing and watercolors. Thank you -Rubeena :)
Hello everyone -- Sharon back with you again today in the CLASSroom. Happy September! I hope you've enjoyed helping us celebrate Concord & 9th's 1st birthday this week here in the CLASSroom! They immediately caught my eye when they came onto the stamping scene last year and have quickly become one of my favorite stamp companies, with fresh and fun designs! Today I'm using a very pretty and great set to have on hand, Painted Thank You:
(Click on any photo for a larger view. All bold products are linked below in the supply section)
Here's how I literally "painted" this thank you card:
1. On a 4.25" x 5.50" panel of watercolor paper,clear heat emboss the thank you sentiment in the center. 2. Use a circle die to lightly trace a circle around the sentiment with a pencil. 3. Wet the entire area inside the circle with clean water, using a waterbrush.
5. Using the waterbrush, wet the No. 55 Green Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolor until it is watered down a little, then apply the color to the wet paper. Adjust color as necessary, adding a little more ink or water here and there, to achieve variation in color.
6. Allow paper to dry (use a heat tool to speed up drying time), then erase any visible pencil lines:
7. Using Versamark ink, stamp three of the flowers from the stamp set at the beginning and ends of the words, then gold heat emboss:
8. To create gold embossed lines on the left side of a Neenah 110 Lb. Solar White card base, use the smaller end of the swish stamp:
9. Trim the watercolored panel 1/4-inch on the left and/or right side to center the stamped image, then adhere the panel with foam tape to the card base:
And there you have a quick and easy painted thank you card! Change up the color combination to suit the season, occasion, or person for whom you are making it.
Thanks so much for joining me today ... Wishing you all a long and lovely Labor Day weekend!
Hey everyone! And happy #TexturalTuesday :) It's Lisa and I'm happy to share such a fun day on the blog as we feature Concord & 9th all week long. Woohoo! They're celebrating their 1st Anniversary and we here at Ellen Hutson, LLC are celebrating WITH them. Check it out:
Being able to create with so many beautiful stamps and dies is just a dream, lemme tell ya. And y'all know I love my bright colors. But, this time I wanted to go with what I'm calling neutral elegance. Has a ring to it, doesn't it?
Using gold embossing powder on Kraft cardstock? Major swoon. And MASSIVE texture. If you haven't used embossing powder with a background stamp on a neutral cardstock...I have to ask why? This background stamp is the beautiful Concord & 9th Clear Stamps, Barnwood Background.
By layering the paper in two sections a "top" and "bottom" section are achieved and can be adhered back together very easily.
Run the floral die from the Concord & 9th Dies, Happy Day through the die-cutting machine using folded over pieces of tissue paper (I hoard keep mine from all packaging). You should get a TON of super pretty tissue paper flowers! Dab a bit of glue or Ranger Multi Medium, Matte in between layers to make flowers and scrunch into shape. Or leave flat. Your choice. Place a little fun center into the flowers, if you choose.
The leaves were also die-cut using the same patterned paper as above and the same cardstock. I wanted the gold embossed texture to show through. The leaves that I used are the Concord & 9th Dies, Layering Leaves. I bundled them up at the bottom using tweezers and tied a small bow around them using twine from May Arts.
Using the Ranger Multi Medium, Matte I adhered the "Thanks" onto the card front (after trimming the unnecessary portions away), I also used this to adhere the flowers and leaves.
As always, I like to share just a few extra views of my card. So here you go:
And one close-up of the flowers and leaves:
Texture can be found in so many ways! The embossing, the flowers, the twine, the glitter tape, the gems, even the staple. Did you think of those when you saw the card? What are some of the ways that YOU like to add texture to your cards? The next time you receive a card, feel it. Do the same thing the next time you make one. :)
It is such a pleasure to welcome our guest today to the CLASSroom. Julie has been up to the gills as she feverishly works to complete designs for our Holiday Release! She needed just a little breathing room and so we went in search of a guest who would be able to share their passion with all of you! May has helped us in the past and is so incredibly talented. For her to jump in last minute and help us to celebrate Concord & 9th's anniversary... May, THANK YOU so very much!!!
You can see more of May's amazing work on her blog Mayholic Design. Trust me when I tell you that it is worth your time to do so because her work is so very beautiful - but I am going to entice you to head over and leave her some comment love by sharing a little $50 shopping spree with one lucky random winner. You have until this Friday to do so, but don't delay because if you are anything like me you will forget and then out goes the chance of meeting someone new and exploring their blog for fabulous new ideas!
May, I can't thank you enough for your willingness to help us and to share your creativity with all of us here in the CLASSroom. As Jules would say - MONDO hugs to you! -Ellen
Hi, everyone. My name is May Park. Today I’m so excited to share my watercolor card featuring the gorgeous stamps from Concord & 9th and Essentials by Ellen.
I love to create my own stamped background using images from different stamp sets. It's a great way to get more out of your stamps. Depending on how you place your images and what coloring medium you use, you can achieve a totally different look. If you are not good at coloring, you could just stamp the solid images instead in various colors.
The masking technique is a wonderful way to add some dimension to your images especially when you make a one layer card. I love how the sentiment fits perfectly inside the circle. Don't they look like the stamps are designed to be used together?
If you want to achieve a more subtle look on your card, you could heat emboss your images with white embossing powder. However, I love stamping with black ink to make the colors pop once I watercolor. I didn't color my flowers in detail, but I left some white spaces here and there.
How to Make a Watercolor Card with Floral Stamped Background
Cut down watercolor paper out of Arches cold pressed watercolor paper using the Tim Holtz Paper Trimmer.
Stamp the circle image from the Bokeh dots stamp set from Essentials by Ellen with Versafine Onyx Black Ink.
Stamp the sentiment from the Love You Mean It stamp set by Concord & 9th inside the circle.
Mask off the circle frame and stamp the floral images from the Wild Flower Stamp Set and Love You Mean It stamp set by Concord & 9th with Versafine Onyx Black Ink.
Stamp the images on Post- It notes and cut them out with scissors to create masks. Mask off the stamped images using removable adhesive and fill in the gap by stamping the small images.
Color the images with the Kuretake Gansai Tambi 36 watercolor set using a paintbrush size 4.
Run the watercolor panel through Diecut machine to flatten it using the Rectangle Stitched Frame Die from Lawn Fawn.
Mount the panel on an A2 sized top folding card using double sided tape.
Finish off the card with some Clear Droplets from Pretty Pink Posh.
I created another card with the same design as I love how my first card turned out. Instead, I used Peerless watercolors to color my images and added some ink splatters. Which one do you like better?
Hope you've enjoyed my cards today and received some inspiration to create your own card using a stamped background. Thank you for stopping by! Happy crafting!
Happy Thursday friends! Carly here for another #throwbackthursdays, where we find inspiration in The CLASSroom archives!
I'm super excited that we are playing with glitter here in The CLASSroom this week because there is a technique from Miss Julie that I had been dying to try...Glittered Copics! Julie's cool technique combines the Burnished Velvet technique with Copic markers...instead of colored glitter, you can color your glitter! So awesome right?! Check out Julie's original article:
To create this card, start by stitching some curvy and overlapping lines on a 1/3 of a 4-1/4 x 5-1/2 panel on solar white.
Next cut a piece of Be Creative tape to fit the remaining 2/3 of the panel and apply it to the cardstock, leaving the liner paper on one side and trimming any excess. Be Creative tapes comes in various widths but I like to purchase the 8 x 11 sheets of Be Creative tape for the maximum versatility.
Carefully peel off the remaining liner paper, trying not to touch the adhesive (oils from your hands can keep glitter from sticking). Apply die cut butterflies to adhesive. Tweezers are helpful in this process. Julie used stickers but I found delicate die cuts from black cardstock worked much the same.
Apply micro-fine glitter to panel. Highlight and diamond colors work best.
Shake off excess glitter and burnish into adhesive with finger tips. Here the oils from your fingers create the shiny, velvet texture.
Use the brush nib of a Copic marker to gently color glitter within butterfly die cut. Try to color lightly and not over-saturate the glitter & paper below.
Stamp sentiment on a strip of vellum. I have found using the MISTI has made stamping on slick surfaces like vellum and acetate much easier.
Add color to the sentiment by using a Copic marker on the "back side".
Stitch vellum strip with cardstock and add to panel. Then adhere to an A2 card.
I'm sorry the photos don't real do the glitter justice, it's so sparkly & happy!
I recently explored a fun technique I thought I would share with you today -- Faux Watercolor!
It is quick and easy, and uses a supply you probably already have: solid stamps! Here's my project (Bold products are linked below in the supply section):
(Click on photos for a larger view)
Here's how to achieve this look:
I started with the 6" x 6" Prima Cold Press Watercolor Paper Pad. This pad is glued together like usual paper pads are along the top edge, but is also glued along the bottom edge. You apply your watercolor on the top sheet of paper, while it is still glued on the pad and thus, it helps to keep your paper from warping!
The stamps I'm using are Concord & 9th's Pop Art Pineapple. I love pineapples and this set is adorable, isn't it?!! For my ink, I'm using Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers. You can also try this technique with Distress Inks/Markers, for similar results. The markers allow you to do a little shading directly on the stamps. For this blue pineapple, I used Zig Light Blue #36 and Cobalt Blue #31 Clean Color Real Brush Markers:
Just color onto the stamp and then lightly mist the stamp with water, before stamping onto the watercolor paper. You may need to experiment with the amount of water misting you do with whatever ink medium you choose and adjust according to the look you'd like to achieve. For my fine mist sprayer, I found two pumps/spritzes of water from about 6 inches worked well most of the time:
Next, I inked up the pineapple's top with Light Green #41 and Green #40:
This time, however, my colors didn't blend together as much as I would have liked, so I lightly spritzed the stamped image with water and let the colors bleed and run together a little more:
Be sure to have a tissue on hand, so you can lightly dab the water if it starts bleeding a little too much. Dabbing will quickly stop the ink color from spreading and blending too much:
I continued stamping the different pineapple shapes with different colors, creating a patterned paper look:
The other Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers color combos I used for the pineapples were Light Carmine #21 with Pink #25 and Bright Yellow #52 with Light Brown #61:
To finish this card, I trimmed the watercolored panel down to 5.50" x 4.25" and adhered it to a Neenah 110 Lb. Solar White card base, topped it with a pretty Taylored Expressions stitched scalloped Frame in Frame 2 die cut from silver glitter cardstock, and scattered 4mm and 6mm Clear Pretty Pink Posh Sequins. The sentiment, from the Pop Art Pineapple stamp set, was stamped with Jet Black Archival ink:
I hope you will give this faux watercolor technique a try and let me know how you like it!
Happy Thursday friends! It's Carly here for #throwbackthursdays where we find inspiration in The Classroom archives! I pinned an adorable card by Julie ages ago, check it out...
And I finally got around to creating my own confetti tape! Here it is:
To create this card, start by cutting a square panel from Solar White. The size of the square will depend on the size of the circles you use for the petal closure. I used 4" circles so I cut my panel just shy of 4x4.
Then place a strip of Be Creative tape in desired thickness across the panel. I cut my strip to 1-1/2". And I usually start with the 8x11 sheets of Be Creative tape because they are so versatile.
Remove the liner strip from the tape (save liner) and apply confetti without touching fingers to tape. I used WRMK Rainbow Party Confetti but you can use sequins or die cut confetti. Here's a link to some awesome confetti dies in the store, confetti dies.
A great tip from Julie: fill in the gaps between confetti with glitter. Use saved liner paper to burnish glitter and confetti.
Stamp the sentiment. I used the MISTI for the first time and it was awesome in helping space the words.
To create petal closure, die cut 4 circles. Fold each in half and adhere to back of panel.
Die cut and watercolor popsicle. Add a little extra shimmer with Wink of Stella and foam mount to card.
I have been wanting to use this A-DORABLE Concord & 9th Hugs stamp setand coordinatingHugs die for quite some time now, but you all must have loved it as much as I did and scooped it up ... it had been out-of-stock in the store for a while! As soon as it came back in stock, I whipped up this sweet card (click on any photo for a larger view):
It is a tri-fold card that locks together in front using the die cut "hugs" word!! Here's what it looks like open:
Here are the steps to create it: (All bold supplies are linked below in the supply section):
*The dimensions I will give you create a finished card measuring 3-3/4 inches wide x 5-1/2 inches tall, made from a standard piece of 8-1/2 x 11-inch cardstock (although I trimmed my card down to be 4-3/4 tall). Many thanks to Jennifer McGuire, who figured out these dimensions!
**There is a very helpful video on the Hugs die product page in Ellen's store, which details how to create a standard 5-1/2" x 4-1/4" card made from a 12-inch piece of cardstock. You can find the video at the bottom of this page.
1. Cut a card base 5-1/2 inches tall x 11 inches wide. I used 110 Lb. Neenah Solar White because I knew I wanted to do some ink blending on the front involving water, so I wanted the base to be as sturdy as possible. Note: While the heavier cardstock held up to my technique very well, if I weren't doing this type of technique I would probably use a regular 80'ish Lb. cardstock, to make it a little easier to fold.
2. Next, cut a piece of scrap cardstock that is 7-1/2 inches wide x at least 5-1/2 inches tall to use as a spacer (again, many thanks to Jennifer for these dimensions!):
Place the spacer cardstock on top of your card base, centered. Place the "hu" half of the die along the left side of your card base, leaving just a little space to the left of the die. Make sure the die's cutting blade is butted up against the spacer. Then position the "gs" half of the die along the right side of the spacer. Adjust the dies accordingly, so they are evenly space top to bottom and on the card front. Temporarily tape in place and run through your die cut machine. If you don't have an 11-inch wide die cutting machine like the Big Shot Plus or extended platform, just run each side of the die through your machine separately (two passes).
With the adorable bear positioned on my cardfront, I thought he would look better and less like he were floating in space if the card were a little shorter, so I trimmed off 3/4-inch from the bottom. That measurement was based solely on the fact that was as much of the card I could get into my trimmer before the "hu" hit an edge (and I didn't trust myself to try and hold the heavyweight card at straight enough of an angle, up off the cutting ledge and get a straight cut)! This made my card 4-3/4" tall.
3. Next, score 1-7/8" from the "hu" side of the card -- I do this in my Trimmer's cutting channel, using a Teflon Bone Folder (and evidently I technically use my Trimmer upside down!).
Then fold the right "hu" side inward:
And bend the left "gs" side of the card inward:
Match up the slit at the top of the "g" with the slit at the bottom of the "u":
Push the pieces together until they "lock":
Then slowly press the left side of the card down onto your work surface, to flatten out the card and create the crease on the left side of the card:
Crease the left side of the card with your Teflon Bone Folder:
4. Next, I got inky! Using a 1-inch Round Ink Blending Tool with Tumbled Glass Distress ink at the top and Broken China Distress Ink at the bottom, I created a gradient ombre effect on the cardfronts. Mask off the back of the card, to keep it pristine white. I didn't worry about masking off the "hugs" word, since I knew I would be covering it up later with additional cardstock.
Then spray a little water onto your hand and flick/drop/drip it onto the blended Distress Inks (I never get tired of that cool watery effect!):
5. Next, I stamped the adorable Hugs bear with Memento Tuxedo Black ink onto X-Press It Blending Card and colored him/her with these Copic Sketch Markers: 1-Base coat E41, 2-shade with E42, 3-shadows with E43 and E44 (also nose); ears R11:
Isn't she the sweetest?!! I cut her out and adhered her to the left side of the cardfront. I grounded her by creating a shadow under her feet with Copic BG45 and BG57:
Here's a look at the card fully open ... tons of space for stamping or writing your personalized sentiment, message, or even a gift card!
6. To finish the card, I cut another "hugs" word from Galvanized (silver) Metallic cardstock and adhered it over the original "hugs" word. I stamped the "enclosed" word (also from the Hugs stamp set) with Memento Tuxedo Black ink, then added a few 6mm and 4mm Clear Pretty Pink Posh sequins:
Now isn't that the sweetest way to send a big bear hug through the mail?!! Happy weekend!
I hope you are enjoying good and safe times with family and friends this holiday! Many thanks to all active duty military and veterans who have devoted their service and lives to defending and preserving our nation's freedom and independence! You are so very appreciated!
(click on the pics to enbiggan)
The layout of today's card is one of my absolute favorites--I just love how adaptable it is and so incredibly easy to mass produce with the Mini Misti/Standard Misti. The Wildflowers set by Concord & 9th has a wonderful art style that works so well with this kind of background, too!
The background is made with a faster-drying pigment ink, using a direct-to-paper method. Normally, I wouldn't use a pigment ink to create this kind of background (due to the next step), but because these particular pigment ink formulas (by Mama Elephant and Avery Elle) are faster-drying, I was able to emboss over the top after drying the paper surface and additionally prepping it with an anti-static pouch.
Hello! Carolyn Peeler with you today to share a card tutorial. When I saw this beautiful Wildflower stamp set by Concord & 9th, I immediately had a project in mind for them. So into my shopping cart they flew and I excitedly waited for them to arrive. Once they were in my hands, it was time to put the idea I had in my head onto paper. I invite you to join me for a short tutorial walking you through the creation of this card.
First, cut watercolor paper 4.25" x 5.5". Then start stamping the flower designs you would like onto the watercolor paper. All inks used on today's project are Distress Ink pads by Ranger.
I began with the ferns. I wanted the ink to be a bit variegated, so first I inked the stamp with Bundled Sage, then I inked just part of the stamp with Forest Moss. Once both colors were on the stamp, I stamped the image onto the watercolor paper.
We will repeat the same step using one of the flower stamps and Worn Lipstick and Victorian Velvet. Keep in mind that if you are stamping a stamp with multiple inks, you will want to start with the lightest ink before inking with the darker color.
Now that all the images are stamped, it's time to fill them in with color!
You will use the same colors to fill in each flower or bloom as you did to stamp the outlines.
Once I finished coloring the images in, I glued a white strip of cardstock across the bottom of the card and placed the greeting in its prospective place without attaching it yet. Looking over my project, I felt like the card was missing something on the upper left side. (see below) So, I ended up stamping one more fern in that area.
Ok, so now I' happier :)
To finish off, we need to attach the Pinkfresh Studio acetate greeting. To do that, I used the Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher.
So, there you have it! I love how fresh and summery this card is and hope you do too!
Here are the direct links to the products used in today's tutorial:
Hi there #TexturalTuesday fans! It's Lisa back on the blog today with a not-so-texturey card today. I hate when that happens. I sure hope you like today's card anyway. I do. :)
Let me take you through the steps on how I made this bright and happy card:
I used the Broken China at the top and blended it downward with the Pentel Arts Aquash Water Brush in Medium/Fine Point and then used the Peacock Feathers to add contrast. The Mowed Lawn was added along the underside of the word "Crazy" and to the right, keeping the color light. Picked Raspberry was added at the bottom left and blended towards the middle and Squeezed Lemonade was done in the complete opposite to meet and blend with the Picked Raspberry. These two colors blend so beautifully together.
I don't want anyone to think that there's a right or wrong way to do this. This is just how I do it. It's important to know that everyone has a completely different way of working with these markers. If you've been using them already for ages then this old news to you, but bear with me. We cool? ;)
This is how it looked all colored in. After which, I cut it out.
Cut out:
Then this is where things got tricky. I decided I wanted to add some foiled accents. Well, watercolor paper isn't really the BEST choice for this. It kinda works, but it's not optimal (just sayin'). You really want to use a smooth paper or vellum for the best results. (See Carly's beautiful results on her card HERE.)
I wanted to add the foil accents on the outer edge of the circle and on the banner underneath the word "Crazy".
The Heidi Swapp Minc Toner Pen first needs to be primed so that the white nib turns black when it's filled with the toner. This is done by simply pushing up and down on the pen until the toner fills the nib.
In this image the nib is filled up and ready to go!
I first drew around the banner and used the Turquoise Fab Foil from Wow! and ran it through my Minc Mini and got a decent result. When I tried to do the outside of the circle in Pink Fab Foil from Wow! the result wasn't as good. Not sure why the results were so different, but again I used very heavy, textured paper. So, I wouldn't recommend this. :/ Trial and error.
Next I die-cut a panel from some super cute patterned paper from Lawn Fawn and adhered that to my base card. I also die cut a circle and stamped some stars using the matching inks of the Distress Markers.
Put some adhesive on the back of the circle die cut and stick it in place. Then place some 3D Foam Squares in Black, Regular size on the back of the cut piece and place to show off the stamped stars!
To add interest I blended the stars using my Zig Wink of Stella Brush Tip Marker in Clear and I also filled in the letters of the word "Crazy" using this same marker. Then I simply embellished with a few sequins, droplets, and enamel dots.
Here is a close-up of the finished card:
I hope that you enjoyed the card in it's non-texturey glory. :D
And, by the way? I think YOU'RE ALL CRAZY AWESOME!! ♥