Thinking Inking

Spellbinders Winter CHA 2015 Sneak Peek and Giveaway - Day 1

This giveaway is now closed. Thanks!

Welcome to the first day of the Spellbinders Winter Sneak Peek and Giveaway! Die template sets being shown over the next few days are slated for release at the upcoming Craft and Hobby Association Paper Arts Show in Anaheim, California. I am excited to get to introduce a great new Spellbinders die template set today, the Tudor Rose Card Front (SKU S4-502). Christina Griffiths will have a second new die template set to share with you today as well.

Now here's the really exciting part! Spellbinders is giving away the die template sets that I have used here today, as well as the die template sets used on other sneak peek blogs this week and a fabulous grand prize! Be sure to look at the end of the post for more details and instructions on how to enter the giveaway.

**Please Note: There is a clickable link at the bottom of this post for entering;  commenting on this post does NOT enter you into the giveaway.**

My first project is a really simple one--seriously, three die cuts, a pair of scissors, and some glue required, and that's about it!

I started by using my Spellbinders Tudor Rose Card Front die template to cut three  panels, a green one to function as my card front base layer, and pink and yellow as my accent colors. By the way, when you have a die with a LOT of little paper chads to remove after each cut, I highly recommend the Tool 'n One, which you just roll across the die template to push the bits of cardstock out. It's a time saver!

Next, using small scissors, I trimmed one type of flower from the pink cardstock and the second type of flower from the pale yellow cardstock. Where the two colors would touch, I tried to cut down the middle.

Here I used a paper trimmer to trim away the border pieces from the pink and yellow cardstock, thinking that my border would look better in one color (green) rather than being pieced from three colors.

Next I glued the pink and yellow flowers down onto the green base. If you notice the odd cuts that touch the Labels One shape, I did not trim carefully there because I knew that I would be mounting a white sentiment panel that would cover the cuts anyway.

Here I added my bits of foam tape to raise the Tudor Rose Card Front. (If you don't want to add that extra dimension, you could simply glue this layer to your card base.) If you look closely, you can see my white sentiment panel peeking out from beneath the green layer. I used a Scalloped Labels One die template to cut and emboss the sentiment panel.

Here we have it--a really simple paper-pieced card. There is also a lovely little tag die that coordinates with the front panel in the Tudor Rose Card Front die template set; I just didn't have a place to put it on my card.

Supply List

Tools: Spellbinders® Grand Calibur® Die Cutting and Embossing Machine, Tudor Rose Card Front, Scalloped Labels One, and Tool 'n One (Spellbinders Paper Arts)

Stamps: A Flower for Your Thoughts (JustRite Papercraft)

Ink: Autumn Rose (PTI)

Cardstock: Stampers Select White, Spring Moss, Lemon Tart (PTI), Pink Lemonade (MFT)

Accessories: foam tape, glue, glitter glue (for flower centers)

Here's one more card using the same Tudor Rose Card Front, paired with some Copic airbrushing. I'll share more of the process on this one later this week, but it was simple too!

Again, my featured Spellbinders die template set was the the Tudor Rose Card Front (SKU S4-502). The sets featured in this week's Spellbinders Sneak Peek are NOT available quite yet, but they will be coming in the Spring of 2015 to a store near you!

_________________________________________

So. . . here's the part you've been waiting for--
how to enter the Spellbinders Sneak Peek Giveaway! 

[This giveaway is now closed,
so the link has been removed.]

For more chances to win, visit Christina Griffiths' blog
for another Spellbinders project!

Contest Rules can be found HERE. 

Questions? Direct questions here:  [email protected], but be aware that entries are not accepted at the questions email address.

While I truly appreciate comments, commenting on this blog post does NOT enter you into the contest, and I don't want you to miss out on that opportunity! So be sure to follow the link above. :-)

_________________________________________

Thank you for visiting, and best of luck in the contest!

Embossed Resist Rustic Wreath

Welcome! How about another easy-to-mail Christmas card today? If you attended a Copic Airbrushing Workshop in 2014, you might remember using the Embossed Resist technique. In a nutshell, you start with a piece of highly embossed cardstock, then gently tap the embossed parts with Versamark ink. Next you heat emboss with clear embossing powder. After the embossed cardstock cools, airbrush with a Copic marker and Copic Airbrush System. When you are happy with the colors that you have used, dampen a cloth or paper towel with Copic Colorless Blender and gently wipe away ink from the embossed spots.

For this card, I used Spellbinders Rustic Wreath M-Bossabilities to emboss my cardstock, and then after heat embossing with clear embossing powder, I airbrushd with Copic G28 and YG25 before wiping the high spots with Colorless Blender. I used Christmas Red Stickles to create my holly berries. The tag is stamped with a JustRite stamp set (ack! I can't find the set I used now!), then cut and embossed with a Spellbinders Back To Basics Tags die template. This is a 5" x 7" card. Well, that's it for today's card--another easy-to-mail one for the stash! Have a great day,

O Holy Night

Welcome! I saw the prettiest little Christmas stamp set by Power Poppy the other day and ordered it right away--you know, because I have *so few stamps* here already. . .  ;-) I knew that I had to color that little O Holy Night church scene with my Copic markers.

I started with the sky, knowing that it would take me the longest since I wanted it to be a dark night sky. I took a couple of pictures as I colored--hope that helps! (Click on any picture for a larger image.)

And here I have added the trees and church building. While I love dark evergreens, I thought that not much green would be showing if the trees were well-coated in snow. 

Having spent a while coloring, I wanted to avoid trimming that sky down very much; so I chose my Spellbinders A-2 Curved Matting Basics A (second from the largest die template) to cut and emboss the image, and then an A-2 Valiant Honor die template for the Card base. (I cut two of the card base shapes, then scored the back one about 3/8" from the top so that it would fold nicely to open the card.) I used a silver paint pen to outline around the outer edge of my focal image, and I used a fine point glue pen to add some glitter to the snow edges.

So, do you ever think you need to try just ONE more thing? I wanted stars in my sky and tried putting them in with my Copic Colorless Blender. Since I had colored the sky so darkly, however, I wasn't getting a crisp white pinpoint for my stars. Enter plan B--my Opaque White. Unfortunately, I must have failed to clean the threads well last time I used it, and it was dry. Plan C, anybody? I tried three different fine point white gel pens before I finally found one that would work for adding stars, though I would have preferred that they be a bit smaller. By the time I finished, I wasn't sure if they looked like stars, or snow, or polka dots. . . Yes, I think I liked it better before the stars. What do you think? I'm still happy with it--just not sure I'd do it the same way again. You know, after I refill all of my Copic B90's. . . 

That's it for today--thanks for visiting!

Peace on Earth: Copic Ink Background

Welcome! I've been working on a big project for the last few days, but I finally finished it and had a chance to play with ink last night, getting one more Christmas card made for my stash. This one qualifies as "easy-to-make, easy-to-mail," I think!

I started with glossy cardstock and a Teflon mat, as well as a few of my Copic Various inks/reinkers: BG05, B66, B69, B41, and some Copic colorless blender in a spritzer bottle. I randomly dripped ink on the teflon mat, then placed my glossy cardstock facedown in the ink, repositioning  and twisting it until I was basically happy with the coverage. I let it dry for a couple of minutes, then lightly spritzed with colorless blender for added texture. (If you get too much colorless blender, it muddles rather than leaving distinct texture.) By this point, it reminded me of a starry sky; I chose a simple sentiment from Power Poppy's O Holy Night stamp set and embossed it with Filigree detail silver embossing powder. (If your ink is still the least bit sticky, you will want to use an embossing buddy to lightly powder the surface and prevent stray embossing powder from sticking to the ink.)

After finishing my background and heat embossing the sentiment, I was ready to dress my card up a bit. I wanted to keep it simple to avoid competing with the inky background, so I chose a Spellbinders A-2 Bracket Borders One die templates to cut and emboss just the bottom of my card front and card base. Next I used a silver paint pen to edge the card front and a silver cord to tie a box--nice and thin for mailing purposes. :-)

I think I'll probably make a few more of these! Thanks for visiting, and have a great day,

A Sign I Give

***I have updated my Copic Classes Page.
It includes the classes that will be taught in Anaheim
in conjunction with CHA, in case you will be there!***
__________________

Welcome! I'm home from my Minneapolis Copic Workshops; I really enjoyed both coloring with and airbrushing with the fun-loving Minneapolis group! Today I have a Christmas card to share. I purchased this litte digi-stamp, A Sign I Give, from A Day for Daisies just a couple of weeks ago, but when I tried to find a link for you today, it wasn't on the temporary site. I think they might be working on a new site, so here's hoping that it will be back up again when their new site is ready, if you are looking for it. 

I wanted to use an oval shape to contain the image, but I wanted the Baby's swaddling clothes to break the shape of the oval. There are a couple of ways of doing this; I took pictures of one way as I worked. The problem with letting a portion of the image extend past the die is solved here by adding three extra layers of scrap cardstock to cover the part of the image that I do NOT want to cut.

Here you can see that the blade didn't penetrate through the three extra layers of cardstock. I simply hand-trimmed the extended part before using it on a card. If you're really observant, you may notice that I cut the oval down smaller still before I used it on my card, mostly because I was looking through my decorative oval dies to frame the Classic Ovals SM shape, and I didn't have quite the right size to frame a larger oval with. Better planning on my part would have fixed that. . . ;-}

Shown above are the Copic markers that I used to color the image. In addition to the Spellbinders Classic Ovals Small, I also used Elegant Ovals and a Basket Weave M-Bossabilities.

Well, that's it for today. We've had a LOT of snow in the last two days, and more is one the way. If you don't hear from me soon, somebody needs to come dig us out, okay? :-) Thanks for stopping by,

Heartfelt Thanks: JRP Graceful Sentiments

Welcome! Yes, I'm playing with pink again--you knew that I couldn't avoid it for long, didn't you? Today I've used a JustRite November release for my focal sentiment, Graceful Sentiments, pairing it with an older background stamp, Lace Oval Cling Background.

I used several Spellbinders die templates on my card, including Grand Labels Four for the card front and card base**, Elegant Ovals for the lacey oval layer, Classic Ovals SM for the sentiment layer, and Rose Creations for the flowers. 
**I just realized when linking dies that Grand Labels Four is retired--oops! I would try to redo my card base, but I'm on the road today, headed to the Minneapolis area for a Copic Workshop. Sorry about that!

If you'd like to see more projects made with Graceful Sentiments, be sure to visit the following blogs. Thanks for stopping by!

JustRite Inspiration
Debbie Olson (you are here)
Michele Kovack
Angela Barkhouse
Marisa Job
Darsie Bruno
Kristi Schurr

Sharing Your Sorrow: JustRite Caring Thoughts

Welcome! Today I have a sympathy card to share--never one of the most fun to make, but hopefully an encouragement to my friend anyway. I used a JustRite Papercraft November Release stamp set, Caring Thoughts Clear Sentiments, paired with an older background stamp, Cascading Ferns Cling Background.

I used Copic markers to color the lily of the valley images: G40, G43, and YG21 for the leaves, and C1, C2, and 0 for the blossoms. Around the blossoms I used B000. 

I used several Spellbinders dies on my card, 5 x 7 Mystical Embrace for the card base and sentiment panel, and 5 x 7 Matting Basics A for the green front panel. I used a Caring Thoughts SVG cut file to cut the lily of the valley sprigs--a first for me. (I've owned a Silhouette SD for four years and finally took it out of the box yesterday. I hope nobody else does that!) I used my Copic Airbrush System and a Copic B00 marker to airbrush the sentiment panel around the edges, leaving the die template in place as a mask while I airbrushed.

Would you like to see more projects created with the Caring Thoughts Clear Sentiments stamp set? Several of the DT girls have projects to share today--enjoy!

JustRite Inspiration
Becca Feeken
Eva Dobilas
Debbie Olson (You are here)
Heidi Blankenship
Kathy Jones
Michele Kovack
Marisa Job
Angela Barkhouse
Kristi Schurr

Inky Birthday Wishes

Welcome! How about a clean and simple birthday card today? I was playing with my Copic Various Inks (reinkers) and glossy cardstock, along with an acrylic block and a spritzer filled with Copic colorless blender. That's where the pinkish-purple color swatch came from. Other that that, all I needed was a stamped sentiment, Papertrey Ink's Sentiment Signs Stamp Set, and a Versamark pad with white embossing powder. (I usually use an embossing buddy over the ink swatch before I sprinkle embossing powder on it, just in case the ink has a sticky patch.)

Since I had used a simple sentiment, I wanted to use an equally simple die to cut and emboss my front panel; Spellbinders A-2 Matting Basics A to the rescue again! I think that's one of my most used dies for adding "a little something" or containing the edges inconspicuously. I used the same Copic Various inks on the seam binding that I had used on the glossy cardstock so that the ribbon would coordinate with the ink swatch on the front panel. Rule of Thumb: When you are playing with color choices, keep in mind that colors that are near each other on the color wheel are less likely to turn muddy than colors across from each other on the color wheel. So it's easier to combine something like blue/blue-green/green than it is to combine complementary colors like blue and orange, for example. I hope that helps when you experiment with your alcohol inks on glossy cardstock! Thanks for stopping by,