Tutorial - Cosmos Card

I've created a type of decorative gatefold card using the large flower stamp from the Cosmos set. This stamp is particularly useful for this design, as it can be used in either orientation without appearing to be upside down.

1. Start with a piece of cardstock measuring 8" x 57/8". Stamp the long flower design along the left-hand edge of the cardstock, reink the stamp, rotate the image 180 degrees, and stamp along the right-hand side. Try to keep the flat edge of the image perpendicular to the edge of the cardstock so that it folds correctly. (You might like to add a vertical score line 2" from each edge to help line things up. These score lines will become the side folds of your card.)

2. Colour the image as desired. (Note: some mediums may bleed through the cardstock so be sure to do a test prior to colouring. If in doubt, use coloured pencils.)

3. Place the cardstock horizontally on the score board and score at 2" and 6" (if you haven't done so already). The score lines should line up with the edge of your coloured images.

4. Cut around the flowers with a small pair of sharp scissors or a craft knife. 

5. Decorate the centre of the card with patterned paper or more stamping.

(I spent a long time trying to decide what type of closure I wanted for this card. I tried and belly band, a diagonal belly band, a corner pocket and a top pocket, but none of them gave me the effect I wanted. Time to get creative!)

6. I added large, white eyelets on either side of my card, then threaded an organza ribbon through the holes. A large bow, and an embossed silver sentiment, finished my design perfectly.

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So Satisfying...

I've been doing a fair bit of masking lately, and I'm finding it super satisfying to peel away the paper to reveal the clean images underneath. It got me wondering about what other people find enjoyable while they craft. Is there something you find particularly appealing?

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Lovely Lilies

I tried something a little different with this one and masked off the main image before inking and stamping the background with the same lily to pull it all together. I fussy cut the sentiment for a bit of extra dimension, then added a few tiny butterflies to finish.

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Just A Little Bot

Does your family have a "birthday season", when celebrations pop up every couple of weeks? Ours hits in March and April with ten birthdays in a row, including a couple that are on the same day. It's a joyful stretch filled with cake, birthday dinners, laughter... and, of course, lots of handmade cards! 

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Tutorial - Add Some Clouds

Here's a fun way to add some clouds to your beautifully inked sky.

1. Start by adding colour to your background with water based inks. I've chosen all the colours of a sunset, but you could choose all blues for a lovely sunny day, or even dark colours for a night scene. 

2. Scrunch up a damp paper towel or baby wipe and press into the inked paper. The more you press, the more ink that will be lifted, but take care not to overwork the paper or you may find it pills and tears.

Although I didn't use any, you could add a little white pencil to really accentuate the clouds.

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Adding Detail

Do you background?

I often see beautiful cards that feature a wonderful stamped and coloured background that coordinates perfectly with the focal image. Oftentimes, it's achieved with masking or fussy cutting to add extra elements. I tend not to add much of a background to my cards, even though I love how it looks (pure laziness, I think), but today I decided to flex my creative muscles a little further than normal.

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Play Day!

Do you ever have those days when you just want to play with paper? Cutting, gluing, folding, mixing and matching? I do, and I also wanted the paper to be bright and happy so I could create a cheerful birthday card for someone special.

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Happy Accident

Believe it or not, the background on this card was largely a mistake. I was attempting to add a very subtle inked edge around the white cardstock, but didn't realise just how juicy my ink pad was! The only solution was to double down by adding more ink and a few random word stamps.

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Year Long Challenge - February

The second card in my year-long challenge is inspired by Valentine's Day, which means lots of red and pink, plenty of love hearts, and, perhaps not as commonly, a cute little elephant floating through the clouds with a trunk full of  heart-shaped balloons. 

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A Little Something More

I've used every image from the stamp set to create the final card in this collection... as well as an additional pot! At one stage, I got a bit confused about the order of my stamping and masking, so there is a bit of an error, but I don't think it's overly noticeable. Can you find it?

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Another Little Something

Yes, it's still the same set, and yes, I'm still making CAS style cards, but this time I've thrown in some masking so I could stack up my pots and plant some flowers around them. So far, this is my favourite of the collection... I particularly like how bright and happy the little flowers are!

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A Little Something Else

I couldn't stop at just one card using this cute set... so here's another one!

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