Hero Arts Color Layering Sea Turtle card for Father's Day: Husband card

Hey fellow card Crafters!

It's been a while but I'm trying to work on setting up my equipment to record videos and it's a learning process for me.

I did need to make a Father's Day card and although this one looks quite unconventional it fills my need to make cards personal for the recipient. I made two cards because the first one surprisingly turned out pretty good as my test run to figure out the inking process for the Layered Sea Turtle stamps from Hero Arts. Using a MISTI tool really helped but I don't think would have been necessary.

Products used:

Strathmore: Bristol Smooth
Hero Arts: Color Layering Sea Turtle Stamp set
Altenew Inks: Frayed Leaf, Forest Glades and Evergreen
Distress inks: Salty Ocean  and Peacock Feathers
My Favorite Things 6 x 6 paper pad Black & White Basics pack
Embossing Powder: Ranger White Super Fine
My Favorite Things: Essential Fishtail Sentiment Strips Dies
Nuvo Jewel Drops: Sea Breeze
Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive
Spectrum Noir: Sparkle glitter brush: Crystal Clear

I cut the Bristol paper into a 5.5 x 4.25 panel and ink "smooshed" the distress inks onto the center of the panel mostly using salty ocean and reserving the peacock feathers ink for accent splotches. I did use the distress water sprayer and that worked great to give me just the right controlled spray of water onto the ink before using some acetate pieces to dab it onto my panel (aka smooshing).

I used the altenew inks in the order I listed them above to make the turtles and cut them out by hand close to the images using a black marker to darken the cut edges.

The sentiment was made from basic black card stock die cut with the fishtail strip dies and stamped with Simon Says Stamp Clear Embossing ink using a sentiment from the stamp set. I heat embossed this using Ranger White Embossing powder and my heat tool to melt the powder. I cut a strip of black and white paper from the 6 x 6 paper pad and glued the turtles, strip and sentiment down using Nuvo glue. That glue is great by the way.

I glued the panel down to a top folding 5.5 x 4.25 Neenah 110# card stock in white and on the one card I used that corner rounder chomper tool to round the edges.

Lastly, I couldn't resist adding some shine so I added a simple embellishment of jewel drops to add to the water look and dabbed the water splotches lightly with Spectrum Noir: Sparkle glitter brush: Crystal Clear..

Had a few minutes to squeeze out another card for the Mask-erade Online Card Class. This is a day 1 card which I tried to follow as best I could from Laura Bassen's Rainbow Card. This was a whole bunch of new techniques for me so I just went with imperfection and enjoyed the process following her card almost completely. I think there were only two new colors of Simon Says Stamp ink dyes that I didn't yet have. When I was done I and the card were an inky and gluey mess but I did my best to hide the imperfections behind lots of dots.

I'm taking another Online Card Class. This one is called Mask-erade.

Day 1 was all about masking with paper. I followed Kristina Werner's card to make a get well card for one of our supervisors at work. The three birds represent myself and my two coworkers.. I used the oh so popular Bird Crazy stamps from Stampers Anonymous and Tim Holtz. Anyone can see why this stamp set is so popular. The expressions on these stamps are priceless. I also used my new Zig Clean Color Real Brush  pens to colors these crazy guys in. The moment I saw these pens demonstrate by Jennifer McGuire on her YouTube channel I knew this was the type of water coloring medium I'd been waiting for.

Day 2 continued the topic of masking with paper. I followed Jennifer McGuire's second card and cut made a birthday card for my grand daughter who is turning 5 soon. She's big on celebrating her new number so I cut a five out with my Silhouette Cameo on masking paper and stamped a star background covered with birthday images. I used Simon Says Stamp Ink Dyes for the birthday images. Of course I smudge some of the ink and then I had a bright idea. I decided to color in little images with my Copic markers and whoops. One marker was overfilled from last weekend when I refilled it so it came gushing out all over my card! That's why I broke out my sequins and added some bling. Still trying to figure out how to arrange sequins but this was pretty easy,. I just covered all the splotches. There are so many more techniques I'd like to try but too little time. It's summer and I want to spend as much time outside with the grand children. Today was rainy and the kiddos were gone out of town so it was the perfect Saturday to play with colors. Since I'm learning to use these new water color pens I used much of my day to try them out.

 And then I skipped over to Day 5 to make this adorable elephant card. It was a great learning experience for me. Now I just need some practice....Went a little crazy on the balloons but then an elephant would need a lot to help him fly...

And then this card also using heat embossing as a mask:

And these cards using rubber cement as a masking fluid:

Exploring New Trends in Card Making

I’ve taken a few Online Card Classes to learn techniques and such. These classes are great! They are well organized and really emphasize teaching topics related to card making from start to finish, with great videos showing the step by step processes needed. They also include detailed supply lists and printable written versions of each class that I can refer to for details such as layer sizes, colors and so much more.

I also love that included is the lifetime ability to log in to each class whenever I want to look at the content. If you take the class “live”, meaning while it’s first being offered, you get to post your card creations to the galleries and entering into conversations on the forums. These are then kept on the class websites for students take advantage of whenever they want. I've also done some "independent" classes. For these independent classes, you can’t participate in posting to the galleries or forums, but you can still have all the learning content for an unlimited time.

One more thing that makes these so much fun is if you are joining in a current, active class, which lasts about two weeks (with several days of no classes to finishes up your projects before class is closed), you are entered into drawings to win various prizes such as shopping sprees for card making products, or free future classes. I have never won but it's still a fun experience and really challenges me and motivates me because the more you participate the more often you are entered to win prizes.

Just be prepared for also getting inspired to buy a ton of products you see being used in class so that you can make the same great cards. The teachers do give great suggestions on other ways you can stretch your own stashes. They give great suggestions on alternative ways you can make the same kinds of cards. Unfortunately, it seems I just cannot resist that temptation to buy new stuff! Fortunately, for the duration of the active classes you are eligible for discounts at sponsoring online craft stores. I'm still trying to figure out how to post pictures but here I've posted some of the cards I've made in the Stretch Your Dies Online Card Class.

The above and below cards were made with a stencil cut from transparency for the clouds!	This is a shaker card!

Card Making

Last year's birthday card to my husband from us girls

Card making has been a long time interest I've had. It started decades ago when, in the early 90's, when I bought my first computer. It came with Hallmark Greeting Card Maker software. Does anyone else remember that software from the 90's? I thought I'd be able to write what I wanted and print out colored cards with my new printer. Save some money, right? Then I bought my first ink refill kit. Yikes! Eye opener there!! I was frustrated with the whole process, not only with how quirky Windows 3.11 was and how unstable my Packard Bell computer was, crashing every couple of weeks/days, but also that my cards didn't come close to looking like I wanted them to look. They were printed on printer paper, with silly clip art and fast fading ink.

Well times change. After decades of buying cards, about a year ago, I bought a beautiful card for my wonderful sister that said just what I was feeling about her...and that cost 6 dollars. Yikes and double Yikes! I decided it was time to make my own cards. I really wanted a hobby I could do in winter since furniture refinishing was a summer only hobby for me. And summers were already getting pretty busy. I started out by cutting up old card fronts I'd saved to make new cards. Recycling these cards felt good. I could write my own insides and print that out on the computer. I wanted outside sentiments that I could make on thicker cardstock but couldn't figure out how to do that. Then in February, my daughter showed me a birthday invitation her daughter had just received for a birthday party. I fell instantly in love. It had two layers, one was bumpy with little dots. It had colored stamped images and a stamped inside message. I found out from the mom, who made the invitations, that she'd been putting together scrapbooks over the years.  She told me she used those supplies to make her invitations. She'd used dye ink, stamps and a machine with a crank handle. All new craft tools to me and I was off to my computer to investigate. I quickly discovered a whole new world of crafting I'd never known existed. I was intrigued.

My first purchase was a big shot and some embossing folders. My grandson's birthday was coming up so I bought some cardstock quality paper from a local crafting store, some wooden "You're invited to a party" stamps, and some ink pads. Then I realized I needed something to help my wonky paper cutting look smoother. So back to the computer I went to research paper trimmers. I bought a Fiskars Procision Rotary Bypass Trimmer, set up a space on my office desk, and found a spot for my new papers and cardstock. I was good to go.

First I made party invitations and decorated them with stickers from the dollar store. Then I made party bags, Then I moved on to party room decorations.

After my grandson's party,  I moved on to making Easter cards. I was on a roll and spring was hiding well in the future....I bought a few more stamps (Penny Black Mimi stamps) and my first dies, which were circles and rectangles. I was really glad I'd signed up for Amazon prime earlier in the year because the shipping was fast and free. It was at this time I discovered Copic markers and YouTube became my favorite entertainment.

Easter cards 2014

This is when I came up with my most ridiculous idea. I decided this hobby would help me loose the extra pounds my job had helped me gain with all the sitting, late, crazy hours, and late dinners. I'd watch YouTube while on the spin bike, then instead of snacking all evening, I'd learn to color stamps with Copic markers. This worked through the late spring and through fall. I continued to learn, make cards and buy supplies. But of course winter is a challenge here in the mid-west and weight lost is easily added back on. I learned to eat while crafting of course! Just a matter of time! I do NOT advise paper crafting as a diet plan....Just saying....

I had a real shock this year when totaling up my untaxed online purchases. I realized I'd spent almost 3,000 dollars on various untaxed craft sites for many and varied paper crafting products. Of course what comes into a home must be organized and placed. 

My office, one year later, is now a craft room.

Gotta love boxes, bins and label makers!

It's gone through various transitions to get to it's current deliciousness but, without adding shelves and holes to the walls, or requiring painting the walls, all requests by my husband, the office is now one efficient craft room. Everything I need regularly is well within reach.  I did benefit greatly in the office organization process from our local Michael's Store, who was kind enough to have a grand opening for their new store, with huge discounts on crafting organization items. Thank goodness I didn't actually loose any weight because I'd never be able to buy new clothes! Nor did I save any money by making my own cards. Oh well, I am learning a new craft which I love, sending out cards that say what I want them to say, and have a stress reliever craft I can enjoy as I shake off the work days. I call that a successful venture!

Now that I've dabbled in learning to use the tools of the trade I'm on my second year and wanting to learn the techniques. This year, 2015, I've given over to this process

and have taken a few independent and interactive Online Card Classes. I'm also starting this blog. The blog is to help me chronicle the process better with techniques learned, discovered, and practiced. Along with providing a place to display my cards. I wish I was a better photographer. I've never learned the trick of focusing long enough to make sure the lighting is good, the angle is right and the camera isn't shaking. Hmmm, I guess this may be another learning experience in the future?

Easter Card 2015

To tell the absolute truth, I'm driven to keep learning because of a concern that, if I don't keep my brain busy, it may slip into that dreaded genetic disease that has hit my family for two generations now; Lewy body dementia, (a form of Alzheimer's).
So on to learning more things and exercising my brain!

Here are some recent cards I've made...Spinner Cards!

And some tries at Copic Coloring and Sponging with Distress Ink....both cards cased from Kristina Werner on YouTube.

I used Papertrey products for this card.