Stamp and Spin Tool

 

There's a new tool in town! You know I love to spin, and this addition to the Sizzix Stencil and Stamp tool  is so fun! I'll have a full video next week showing more details but right now, here's what you need to know:

• stamp positioner (think MISTI) and spinner (think Stamp Wheel) in ONE!
• you need the Stencil and Stamp tool for the Stamp and Spin accessory to work.
• similar 'door' design for stamp positioning to MISTI (not flip over like Stamp Wheel)
• if you have a Stamp Wheel already, you don't need this tool to spin
• 8 'clickable' positions vs Stamp Wheel's 16
• tool is larger than an original-sized MISTI - takes up more space, but allows for larger designs

I made this card with 2 stamps (well, 3 if you count the sentiment). 

Layered Mandala

 

Welcome to this week's LIMES inspiration post!

I chose this card as my inspiration from the gallery of this week's Splitcoaststampers' Featured Stamper!

LIST: Colours (plum, red, blue, yellow, burgundy), Techniques (stamping, colouring, fussy cutting, layering) Elements (layered mandala on square, border panel, subtle background pattern, no sentiment, gems)

INCLUDE: stamping, colouring, layering, layered mandala on square, no sentiment, gems

MODIFY: rainbow colours and black, cut with circle dies instead of fussy cutting

EXCLUDE: border, background pattern

SPIN: square card

Earlier this week, I talked about 'forgetting' to use my background stamps and my markers, so I combined these two to create this card, inspired by a very pretty mandala.

This retired Catherine Pooler mandala stamp is one of my old favourites and you can get so many different looks with it. 

I stamped it on 3 pieces of white cardstock, then trimmed them into various circles (the fourth, smallest circle, I cut from the centre of the largest circle) I used my ink pads for the first layer of colour on each one, then added shading and variation with my Copic markers.

I stacked each layer with two pieces of white cardstock for lots of dimension. It was harder than I thought since this mandala is hand drawn and not perfectly symmetrical! I then added gems and some details with a white gel pen. For a flatter look, you could cut all the circles from one piece of stamped cardstock, and inlay them back in once they're coloured. Or, you could mask while you colour each ring.

This stamp is retired, so I've listed a couple of other options. If you have a mandala stencil, you could outline each area with black marker then colour it in for a similar look.

Layers - plus or minus! (get more from Layering stencils and dies!)

 It's release day at Crafty Meraki, and I'm sharing 3 ways to get new looks from layering stencils and dies!

Kaleidoscope Happy Birthday

Welcome to this week's LIMES inspiration post!

I chose this card as my inspiration from the gallery of this week's Splitcoaststampers' Featured Stamper!

LIST: Colours (aqua, pink, purple, white, black), Techniques (stamping, die cutting, colouring) Elements (Kaleidoscope/mandala, birthday sentiment on white strip)

INCLUDE: kaleidoscope, birthday theme

MODIFY: stenciled background with Stencils 360, die cut sentiment, full rainbow of colours, moved sentiment onto the full-card kaleidoscope

EXCLUDE:

SPIN: added confetti sequins

I love mandalas and other circular geometric designs, and this card reminded me of the Fancy Gift Bow Stencil for the Stencils 360 tool. 

I blended 3 colours of ink through the stencil each time, working my way through the full rainbow. 

Spinning for FUN! Comparing Stencils 360 and Altenew Stampwheel

Just for fun (they're both out of stock right now, anyway! lol!), let's compare the Stencils 360 tool with the Altenew Stampwheel. How does each one work? How do they differ? Can you use them together? (bonus: I also tried out the Gina K Wreath Builder!)

Rainbow Birthday Card

 
There's a new release at Penguin Palace Stamps this week, and I've been lucky enough to be able to play with some of the new round stencils for the Stencils 360 tool!

This one uses the new Gazania stencil set. I used two of the three stencils in the set (I used the 3rd one a couple of days ago on my snowflake wreath, remember?)

Stained Glass Happy Birthday

Congratulations to this week's Featured Stamper, berlycece.

I chose this card as my inspiration:

LIST: Colours (rainbow, black, white), Techniques (watercolor, stamping), Elements (rainbow panel, black sentiment, encouragement theme)

INCLUDE: rainbow colours spread on panel, 

MODIFY: inlaid die cut technique with ink blending, die cut sentiment

EXCLUDE: black/stamping, white frame

SPIN: added circles

I cut the coverplate die from chrome mirror cardstock and also from white, and blended rainbow colours onto all the triangles. I inlaid the triangles into the chrome frame, and then used circle dies with frames to cut circles from the panel, and from the chrome cardstock and again from white. I inlaid ink-blended circles inside their chrome frames to get this fun look. 

I stacked up my sentiment with 2 layers of white cardstock behind the chrome cardstock.

LIMES with Friends!

 

LIMES with friends, that sounds like it needs some tequila, right? Haha!

Today, Candice and I are both using LIMES to create cards inspired by each other. This is the first time I've seen a friend actually use the process and you're going to love seeing what Candice made and hearing what she thinks!

BONUS TECHNIQUE: I'm showing how you can use the Stencils 360 tool with 6 inch square stencils and masks! If you haven't seen this tool (or even if you have!) you won't want to miss it!

Start with my video here:

Happy Birthday in the City

 

After I made my card for yesterday's post (there's a Reel on my Instagram), I knew I had to try more colour combinations.

I used the same City Windows stencil from A Colorful Life Designs and the same turning technique, but this time with rainbow and gray colour palettes. To make it more fun, I cut out the centres and switched them.

Happy Birthday

 

Congratulations to this week's Featured Stamper, Cindy H!

I chose this card as my inspiration:

LIST: Colours (red, orange, brown, green, yellow, gold), Techniques (die cut, stamping) Elements (horizontal stripes, vellum, die cut/stamped sentiment, gold stars)

INCLUDE: vellum, birthday theme, gold stars

MODIFY: rainbow colours, wavy horizontal stripes, gold heat embossed stamped sentiment, circular sentiment panel with cardstock behind it, portrait vs landscape layout

EXCLUDE: die cut sentiment

SPIN: 

If you saw my YouTube video this week, you know where this idea came from. I used the curved edge of the Simple Hill 2 mask and ink blending to create this wispy, layered look. It reminds me a little of alcohol inks, but it's so easy to control! 

I heat embossed a Waffle Flower sentiment on vellum and backed it with 3 layers of white circles that were one size smaller so that you can still see the vellum around the edge. I finished with a scattering of tiny gold star sequins.

Happy Birthday!

 

Another stenciled background, this time using Altenew's Fancy Sweater layering stencils. I played around quite a bit, making different patterns with these two stencils but in the end, this rainbow one was my favourite (surprise! lol!)

I finished it with an Ellen Hutson sentiment on a rainbow strip and some Ebony pearls from Crafty Meraki.

Rainbow Happy Birthday

Congratulations to this week's Splitcoaststampers' Featured Stamper, diane morales.

I chose this card as my inspiration:

LIST: Colours (white, black, pink, blue, green), Techniques (heat embossing, die cutting), Elements (irregular vertical stripes, die cut sentiment, clear sequins, stitching on rectangle die cut, black frame)

INCLUDE: die cut sentiment, black frame

MODIFY: added colours to make a full rainbow, double-stencil technique to create my stripes, added flowers, inlaid my sentiment, used clear gems instead of sequins

EXCLUDE: heat embossing, stitching detail

SPIN: changed layout, added flowers

To create this look, I layered two stencils from A Colorful Life Designs - 4 Mid Century Shadow and Groovy Flower. I blended a rainbow of Catherine Pooler inks through and then spritzed with clear shimmer spray before removing the stencils.

I cut the sentiment from black cardstock and also from my rainbow panel, inlaid the black into the holes and added a black mat. I used some Magic Iris gems from Crafty Meraki as a finishing touch, in the flower centres.

Trying Again....

 In yesterday's video, I made a birthday card with a rainbow wreath. And I admit that while I love some things about it, overall, it wasn't my favourite.

So I took another shot at it, added more stamping to the design and still didn't love it.

So I trimmed it down with some circle dies, added some black, lots of white and a big hello die cut sentiment. That's better! 

My 10 all-time favourite craftroom essentials!

 
In today's I reveal my top 10 craftroom essentials and I used them all on this card! Can you guess what they are? 

Watch the video (this is a great resource for cardmaking newbies!) to see how many you got right!

Rainbow Limes! (5K Together Video Hop)

Today my video combines two of my favourite things - LIMES and rainbows! 

I've been invited to celebrate with Erica and Maria as part of a video hop so be sure to watch how I was inspired by each of them and how I used two of my favourite direct-to-paper ink techniques. 

Then hop and comment for a chance to win! (details below)

Hop Details:

Comments must be left (on YouTube, not here) by June 23rd at 11:59 PM Pacific time. Winners will be announced on June 25th on both Erica’s and Maria’s YouTube channels.

Getting More from Dies - Beautiful Butterfly

I'm on the A Jillian Vance Design blog today showing how easy it is to get another look from the new Beautiful Butterfly die!

On a housekeeping note, I have switched the email notification feed from Feedburner to follow.it  

If you signed up to get email notifications of my new blog posts, you should continue to receive them. Please let me know if you have any questions or problems. Thanks!

Beyond Strips - 10 MORE clever ways to use your cardstock scraps! (and great news for Canadian Crafters!)

 

Are you tired of 'stripping'? LOL! In today's video, I'm sharing 10 OTHER ways to use up your cardstock scraps!

And in other news! If you're a Canadian crafter who's sick of waiting forever for goodies to arrive from outside of Canada, and paying taxes at the door, why not check out Ecstasy Crafts. This is the shop where I got the Studio Light triangle die used in the 4th card (see below). 

6 Ways to Make your own Coloured Cardstock

 
Don't worry, you're not seeing double! Yes, these cards are very similar to last week's, but this time, I made my  own coloured cardstock!

Check out this video for 6 quick techniques I used to customize my white cardstock!

Simple Birthday

Here's another simple birthday card, this time for my sister. I often gravitate to a circle-on-square layout - I love the symmetry and simplicity of it. But simple doesn't have to be boring.

I used the Birch Press Radial Circles die to add some interest and movement to my gray background, and the circle has a full rainbow of colour blended softly onto the edges, and fading toward the centre to give a dimensional, bubbly feel to it.

I left the sentiment very simple so that the colours can be the star of this card.