Floral Collage Cards

Posted: April 8, 2024 | Author: Heather | Filed under: A Pocket Full, Collage cards, Dies, Penny Black, Taylored Expressions, this way | Tags: collage, Darkroom Door stamps, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Taylored Expressions | 2 Comments

The collage and ephemera cards just keep coming. Today’s cards feature old book page collage overlaid with one layer of a floral napkin. I have a few collaged ‘mini masterboards’ made so I can cut elements or backgrounds out when I need them. For the card above I picked the rusty orange from the napkin to be the accent colour.

I recently bought a notch punch so I can create file dividers of any size; in the card above I made the blank orange one a little larger to show behind the floral & collage one. I added tickets stamped and die-cut, a scrap of hessian and a cut out from an old Betty Crocker ‘Good and Easy Cook Book‘!

On the second card I used an aged book page as the background and added the paper napkin layer to the mini notebook page with some mulberry paper for framing and contrast. The little green postage stamp is real and the vintage label is stamped.

For the recent collage cards I have pulled out some supplies that I’d almost forgotten, the pretty label border stamps, the mulberry paper and the ‘office’ type dies from Penny Black are in the current rotation.

The file dividers on the card below remind me of a recipe card box which is why it ended up with the little recipe book snippet on it. The sentiment is from Taylored Expressions ‘Simple Strips – Thanks’ but I chopped it up to add to the file tabs.

This post includes affiliate links from Foiled Fox and Scrap’n’Stamp . If you buy through these links I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Greenery Collage Cards

Posted: April 3, 2024 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Collage cards, Darkroom Door, Dies, Finetec paints, gift card pocket, global postmarks, Leaves, measuring tape, Mixed Media, paris postcard, Penny Black, Tim Holtz, wild flowers #1 | Tags: collage, Darkroom Door stamps, Finetec artist mica watercolour paint, Mixed Media, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Tim Holtz | 6 Comments

Continuing with the collage theme I have three cards featuring greenery from a paper napkin. I know people have been creating with paper napkins for years but I am new to the game. I have a small collection of pretty paper napkins to use on cards, book covers and journal pages. The green ones featured here are large dinner napkins found at Winners, probably in that tempting ‘just before the checkout’ area!

I glued the printed layer of the napkin over book pages to make my main panels and aged the edges with green and brown inks. I created a couple of little vintage postcards with the Paris postcard stamp, a background with the Measuring Tape stamp, sentiments and postmarks all from Darkroom Door.

Once again I used some cute dies from Penny Black to cut tickets, file divider, tag and leaves adding blending around the edges for the vintage look.

The scrap of cheesecloth, the lace and the grosgrain ribbon were all found around here, maybe the ribbon is actually vintage; it looks a bit discoloured from age which meant it co-ordinated well.

The lovely Queen Anne’s lace die is from the Tim Holtz ‘wildflowers #1 set.

I did make my own little postage stamps for the postcards because I’m still in love with faux postage. These ones had to be quite small so I didn’t use a die I just punched tiny holes with a needle to perforate the edges. You can see a bit of splatter here and there with ivory paint and there are touches of gold watercolour paint on the petals of a few flowers too!

This post includes affiliate links from Foiled Fox and Scrap’n’Stamp . If you buy through these links I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Vintage Collage Cards

Posted: April 1, 2024 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Collage cards, Darkroom Door, Dies, gift card pocket, handwritten ledger, Mixed Media, number medley, Penny Black, Tagged | Tags: Darkroom Door stamps, Mixed Media, Penny Black creative dies, Ranger archival inks | 6 Comments

I’ve recently fallen down an vintage ephemera rabbit hole and emerged to make some of my own backgrounds and elements. There are companies that make beautiful co-ordinating ephemera, papers, chipboard pieces, etc. but I am committed to ‘using what I have’ so I’m pulling from old books, calendars, greeting cards, sewing patterns and scrapbooking paper along with a few handy tools.

I’m not going to list every die, ink or paper but I will mention some of my favourite resources. The old books that I am removing pages from include music books, dictionaries, atlases, novels, poetry and recipe books. I also have some lovely papers and vintage pages that friends have given me, so it is fun putting them to use.

The inks I reach for are the distress brown tones from Ranger, not always the dye inks, but often the archival inks as they don’t dilute or smudge when I add glue or stamp on glossy paper.

I have a bunch of background stamps and sets from Darkroom Door which give me vintage style text, patterns and elements including but not limited to the ‘handwritten ledger‘ and ‘number medley‘.

I found amongst my Penny Black dies a file folder, notebook page, several tags, tickets, pockets and decorative borders. I also treated myself to a corner rounding punch that punches in three different sizes and of course the postage stamp die set I’ve featured a few times recently.

I pulled out twine, ribbon and lace for finishing touches and some vintage butterfly cut-outs that were all joined together by little tabs. I have had them for years ever since I inherited my mother’s teaching resources. You can seem them in the close up below.

Now just in case you are worried, I am not ripping pages out of beloved old books, but I am putting to use some books I inherited and don’t have a personal attachment to. Anne, Heidi, Jo March, Jane, Ratty and Mole are all safe! Old calendars, diaries, magazines and greeting cards are fair game because honestly, I’ve held onto some of them for a very long time. This post includes affiliate links from Foiled Fox and Scrap’n’Stamp . If you buy through these links I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Blue Birthday

Posted: March 26, 2024 | Author: Heather | Filed under: banner blooms, banner blooms cut out dies, Dies, exquisite envelope, online class, Penny Black | Tags: online class, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress inks | 6 Comments

Blue is my favourite colour and the different hues seen on this card are examples of why it appeals to me so much. I tend to prefer the blues that are a little bit purply but I like the teal blues as well.

All the blues on the card are made from one ink, chipped sapphire distress ink. If you watercolour with your dye inks you have probably noticed that some inks separate into different hues when diluted. I thought I would share this card today because it features in one of the lessons in my Colour Clues online course. Colour Clues is a card making course which covers colour blending, contrast, separation and mixing. I created a 40% discount for all my online courses back on February 29, mentioned it in a blog post then forgot about it! That’s why I’ve been featuring it more this week. The discount code LEAPYEAR40 is active until the end of March 28 which is now two days away.

I chose the Penny Black sets Banner Blooms and Exquisite Envelope for this card because there were plenty of enclosed petals and leaves to trap colour. Banner Blooms just happens to have a co-ordinating die set which sped up the layering of blooms and leaves. This post includes affiliate links from Foiled Fox . If you buy through these links I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Do you have a favourite colour. Does it turn up often in your crafting or perhaps in your wardrobe? I definitely wear a lot of blue!

Gel Printed Pods

Posted: March 25, 2024 | Author: Heather | Filed under: artsy stems, framed fern, gel press, Lavinia, online class, Penny Black, Tim Holtz | Tags: gel press, gel printing, Lavinia, online class, Penny Black creative dies, Tim Holtz | 3 Comments

It’s been a while since I gel printed but that there is no lack of gel prints to show you. I currently have boxes of prints and and a stash of cards made from prints.

These two cards were made from the same stencil print, one of the examples from my Gel Print Journey online class (which is on sale along with all my online classes until March 29; just use the code LEAPYEAR40 at checkout)

If you are a fan of Lavinia stencils like I am you probably recognise the ‘Pods’ stencil used for this print. I printed on a 6″x 6″ gel plate giving me a print big enough for two cards. It’s hard to see in the photo but some of the paint was metallic so the print has some shimmer and shine on it.

I looked through my botanical dies and gold cardstock in order to fine co-ordinating elements for the cards. On the card above I used the ‘framed fern’ die from Penny Black and on the card below the die featured is from Tim Holtz artsy stems die set.

I hear my gel plate calling to me so hopefully I will soon dedicate a few days to happy printing. If you are looking for a beginner gel printing class or a refresher please check out Gel Print Journey. This post includes affiliate links from Ecstasy Crafts, Foiled Fox and Scrap’n’Stamp . If you buy through these links I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Fuchsia Favourites

Posted: March 22, 2024 | Author: Heather | Filed under: captivating, Dies, gift card pocket, online class, Penny Black | Tags: online class, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps | 9 Comments

As I wait for spring I thought I would post a couple of cards I made a few years ago when filming my Floral Faves online course. I used the beautiful ‘Captivating‘ stamp from Penny Black to teach a no-line watercolour technique. All my online courses are discounted by 40% for a one more week.

Edited to add: use the code LEAPYEAR40 if the discount doesn’t appear automatically.

I used watercolour paints to colour the two cards featured today but I have also used waterbased inks smooshed onto a glass mat as they also work well for the technique. I added the tiny little tag from the PB ‘gift card pocket die set‘. It’s a set that I never use to make gift card pockets but often reach for one of the tag or label dies included.

I had fuchsias looking pretty in the planters at my front door last year. They were the opposite colouring of the ones above with pale pinky purple petals hanging down and creamy white petals at the top.

It might be time to pull out this stamp again and try it with the new pastel pencils. For more inspiration with this stamp click here and here. Today’s post features affiliate links to The Foiled Fox.

Happy Birthday, Happy Camper

Posted: January 31, 2024 | Author: Heather | Filed under: ...is coming, campers, Penny Black, trio of trees | Tags: Penny Black creative dies | 3 Comments

Today’s card has already travelled to a girl who just turned 8! It’s not my usual style but it was definitely fun choosing the colours and cardstock to put this one together. The die sets are both from Penny Black and although they weren’t released at the same time, they are the same scale which made this cute little scene possible. One set is called ‘Campers‘ and the other ‘…is coming‘

The blue card base and the pink, yellow and orange cardstock was all from my stash so I couldn’t say what the colours are but the cool lined silver is from Tonic Studios. The trees are also a PB set called ‘Trio of trees‘ and I cut them from an alcohol ink gel print.

I tore a post-it note edge to mask some clouds as I blended broken china ink over the base. I’ve used the little truck/van a couple of times before; you can see those cards here and here. Today’s post features affiliate links to the following companies. If you buy through these links I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. The Foiled Fox & Scrap’n’Stamp.

Collage Skates

Posted: December 13, 2023 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Dies, gel press, let's skate, Penny Black | Tags: gel press, gel printing, Penny Black creative dies, Taylored Expressions | 1 Comment

This was one of last year’s Christmas cards made during my collage Christmas card class. All the strips of colour are from gel prints. If you look closely you can see some grungy texture and pattern. None of the prints were amazing by themselves but when combined I quite liked the mix and pattern.

I used the Penny Black die set ‘let’s skate’ to cut two skates from the collage panel then popped them up on an embossed panel and added a Taylored Expressions sentiment from her ‘simple strips’ Christmas stamp.

I made many collage cards last year because I have so many gel prints to collage and many dies that worked for cutting. There were trees, bells, stars, poinsettia, stockings, baubles and more trees! I hope this is another idea you’ll try with your gel prints or any patterned papers or tapes. Washi tapes work well because the adhesive is already there!

Trees from strips and scraps

Posted: November 29, 2023 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Darkroom Door, Dies, Music Background, Penny Black, sheet music, starry night | Tags: Darkroom Door stamps, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps | 5 Comments

I have a few more cards made from leftovers today; I love leftovers, especially the ones in the fridge but the paper ones are nice too! The card above is my favourite of the mix and it is so simple, just strips and stars. I stamped one of those strips with a music background stamp but the rest are just patterned or gold shimmer cardstock.

I made use of one tree die for the rest of today’s cards, it’s from Penny Black’s ‘evergreen tree‘ die set. The trees above are cut from stamped and patterned paper. The tree below I cut from a piece of kraft that I had coloured my own plaid pattern on with coloured pencils and a gel pen. It was fun but not necessary if you want to be quick. The pretty music stamp featured below is from Darkroom Door and the larger one above from Penny Black.

The final card shows another tree cut with the same die but from printed plaid paper attached to a panel stamped with an old holiday word stamp. The little stars I cut with the PB ‘starry night die’ and used small sentiments from the PB holiday snippets set. It is an old set now but I use it all the time on Christmas cards.

Today’s post features affiliate links to The Foiled Fox. If you buy through these links I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Christmas Filigree

Posted: November 23, 2023 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Christmas filigree, Dies, Echidna Studios, joy of giving, Penny Black, Taylored Expressions | Tags: digital stamps, Echidna Studios, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Taylored Expressions | 2 Comments

I am pretty excited about these new images. I think filigree patterns are very pretty and once I got the gist of it had a lovely time designing a bell, a star and a finial ornament. I thought it made sense to have a solid background to show off the filigree and, tada, the Christmas filigree digital stamp and cut file set came to be! This set is now in the Echidna Studios store along with three more new sets and some updated Christmas sets from last year. It’s beginning to look more like Christmas every day.

I think the bell is my favourite of the three images and will come in handy making wedding cards as well as Christmas. I wanted to show off the designs on dark backgrounds but when in comes to photographing shimmery gold, embossing on dark green or navy and the high contrast of cream cardstock as well, I can’t always nail it.

So let me tell you the bells are sitting on dark green panels embossed with Spellbinders ‘forever green’ folder. The green panel on the left below is also embossed with that folder but the one on the right is embossed with the Anna Griffin ‘regal braid’ folder. The star cards at the end of this very long post are on navy blue backgrounds and it is again a little tricky to see one base is embossed with the ‘speckles/snowfall‘ folder and the other with the Taylored Expressions ‘sheet music‘ folder.

I decorated the finials and bells with a mix of die cut foliage from Penny Black including the ‘joy of giving‘ set.

As the finial is such a long thin shape I made the card a little larger than usual, around 6″x4.5″.

I created the star cards without foliage but found suitable sentiment from PB and Taylored Expressions.

I think all three designs would make lovely tree ornaments either stacked to give them extra stability or cut from thick acrylic or thin board on a laser cutter. I don’t have a laser cutter but it is possible to book time on one at the library; if get some cut I will definitely show them here on the blog.