Neat & Tangled March Release & Giveaways - Day 2

Ready for Day 2 of the March Neat & Tangled release?  Today we're showing off my new sentiment set, No Words.  Sympathy cards are always tough to make, and so is finding the right sentiment.  One of my crafty friends was complaining about the lack of good sympathy sets, so this was my attempt to fix that.

For this first card, I kept things pretty simple.  I layered together three pieces of patterned paper.  The sentiment was stamped on some white cardstock, and I added a couple mats using the same patterned papers previously used.  I also added a couple floral die cuts from the 1canoe2 Hazelwood collection.

Next,  I created a focal point using the Ornate Frames stamp set, and that flower, which is something you'll see tomorrow.   The frame was stamped using the Warm Gray inks from Altenew, and the floral was stamped with Fairy Dust ink from WPlus9 and then no line colored using Copics.

The sentiment set has a variety of sentiments that can be mixed and matched, and I stamped two of them on my panel, and then popped the frame up using foam adhesive.

For this last card, I cut a piece of watercolor cardstock, added a bit of blue wash in the lower left corner, and then stamped a few flowers using the Scandinavian Prints set.  The sentiments were stamped in a darker gray over top of those.  I added a bit of splatter, and the some 'bits' and stitching at the top.  The panel was then popped up at a bit of an angle over some patterned paper.

Sympathy cards are never easy to create, but hopefully I gave you a few ideas in today's post.

Head over to the Neat & Tangled blog as Danielle is giving away this set to a lucky commenter.  I'm also going to be giving a set away to someone this week.  All you have to do to be entered is leave a comment on any (or all) of this week's posts.  Head over to my instagram account (@mprantner) for additional chances to win.  I'll announce a winner on Friday.

Succulents and Alcohol

Hey guys, I'm over on the Neat & Tangled blog today sharing this card featuring the newly released Succulent Cover Plate.

This was really quick and easy to put together.  To create the background I used alcohol inks on photo paper.  I have a Canon Selphy, and I just use the individual sheets when I want to use alcohol inks on my cards.  This incorporated just two colors:  Sail Boat Blue and Citrus.

Playing with alcohol inks is like a box of chocolates...you never know what you're going to end up with, but usually it's pretty cool.  Basically, I eyeballed where the flowers were going to be and then put down some ink.  I did this kind of in a swirl, and then added the second color, mixing and adding a touch of color where I felt like it needed it.

Once I was happy with the panel, I was able to go ahead and complete the card as alcohol inks dry almost instantaneously.



I cut the cover plate from white cardstock, and kept just the webbing and the negative space pieces on the inside.  In terms of adhering, I just made sure to add adhesive to the inlaid pieces and the outlines and didn't worry about all those delicate inside lines.  Alcohol inks have a bit of tackiness to them when dried, so that helped, and I like a bit of extra dimension as well.

The sentiment is from Scandinavian Prints.

One more thing before you go.  In case you didn't know, There's a big sale going on over at Ellen Hutson that runs through tomorrow, 20% off everything in the store, just use code momsday17.



I've linked the products that I used in this card below, but my affiliate link is also in the sidebar.  Happy Shopping!

Neat & Tangled Dies, Succulent Cover Plate

Neat & Tangled Clear Stamps, Scandinavian Prints

Ranger Tim Holtz Adirondack Alcohol Ink, Sail Boat Blue

Ranger Tim Holtz Adirondack Alcohol Ink, Citrus

Altenew Crisp Dye Ink Pad, Jet Black

Neat & Tangled October Release - Day 4 - Giveaways

Have you been enjoying release week so far?  Today is our final day of reveals and I'm really excited about today's products.

Today I'm showcasing my two new stencils, Polka and Scoops.

These are great basic stencils, but I actually designed them to be used in conjunction with my Scandinavian Prints set.

When I designed the Scandinavian Prints stamp set, I really wanted to be able to use it for just that, creating prints.  And I've definitely done that, but this makes it so much easier!  Instead of eyeballing, the stencil does the hard work of spacing for you.  It really makes it easy, and you can quickly create much larger prints for say, layouts or giftwrap.

I'm using Altenew inks for each of these cards.  This first one features the Scoops stencil.  I used a basic ink blender to color the scoops and then added the details through stamping.  I cut a panel using my new Scalloped dies and then stamped, fussy cut, and foam mounted our Hello You sentiment.



A few sequins finished it off.

Of course I needed to use Polka too.



This time I kept the colors very soft and then added this Big Hugs die cut sentiment from Danielle (which was cut three times and adhered for dimension).



These are so easy and fun to create, I could seriously stencil/stamp prints for hours.

I did throw together one more card though, this time just using Polka as a basic stencil.  I love that the openings are far enough apart that you don't have to do any masking or be particularly careful when using multiple colors.



Just a super quick card featuring our Awesome stamps and dies that I'm planning to mass produce for Carina's birthday thank yous (that are SO overdue it's embarassing).

OK, that's all for me today.  Don't forget to leave comments and here and on the Neat & Tangled blog.  I'll announce some winners tomorrow!

Find Joy in the Ordinary and GIveaway Winner

Sorry for the delay in posting.  I had intended to announce a winner for my giveaway (and have some more posts this week), but ran into major technical issues while on travel for work.

Today I have a really simple card using another of the techniques I share in the stencil section of my Craftsy class.

I used a Tim Holtz layering stencil and some Distress Inks to create the focal point on a panel of watercolor cardstock.

The sentiment is one from my Scandinavian Prints set, but I used a die cut for the word joy.

Really quick and easy and perfect for mailing.

And now for the winner!

Foggy B!

Congratulations!  Please shoot me an email and I'll get your code to you.

Thanks to everyone for helping to spread the word about class.  I hope I'll see some of you in there!

*Affiliate Links

Neat & Tangled Clear Stamps, Scandinavian Prints

Tim Holtz Stencils, Tiles

Essentials by Ellen Designer Dies, Brushstroke Joy by Julie Ebersole

Ranger Distress Mini Ink Pad, Ripe Persimmon

Ranger Distress Mini Ink Pad, Mustard Seed

Ranger Distress Ink Pad, Worn Lipstick

Ranger Distress Ink Pad, Festive Berries

Canson XL Watercolor Paper Pad 9x12

Neat & Tangled Release Week - Day 4

There are two more products being revealed over at Neat & Tangled today, including the Punchinella die designed by Danielle.  I love the punchinella that we carry in the store, and this die allows you o get that same look in any color.

Today I paired it with some flowers from Scandinavian Prints for a really graphic card.

I cut the Punchinella from one of my favorite MFT color combinations, Tropical Teal and Persimmon.

The flowers were also cut from Persimmon and the details were stamped with Versafine.

I added in some of the negative circle cuts from when I cut the Punchinella die from Persimmon to add some interest and movement to the background and then finished if off with a sentiment from Scandinavian Prints.

Be sure to head over to the N&T blog to check out the rest of the team's projects and to enter to win some!

Neat & Tangled Release Week - Scandinavian Prints Giveaway

Hey everyone!

It's Release Week at Neat & Tangled!  I've got a couple things in this release including today's reveal: Scandinavian Prints.

I love Scandinavian floral prints, they can be very pretty as well as very graphic, and I wanted to create a set that would allow you to easily create those types of prints.

What I also love about a lot of those prints is that they can be very imprecise.  You don't have to be a master stamper to use this set, it's multi-step stamping made so easy!

I created a couple cards just to show off some of the background/print possibilities, both of them also feature the Better Together set designed by Elena Roussakis which debuted yesterday.



For this first card I did some partial die cutting to create the 'platform' that cute little girl is standing on.  I embossed the sentiment on a strip of black cardstock which was adhered over top.



I used Altenew inks on both these, and they really came together very quickly.



I also created an idea sheet that shows you some different flower combinations.  There really are so may possibilities with this set and I'm excited to see what folks create with it!



I mentioned a giveaway right?  Leave a comment and I'll pick someone this weekend who will win this set.  AND, Danielle is giving away a set on the Neat & Tangled blog too.  Be sure to swing over there to enter to win!

Scotch Double-Sided Foam Mounting Tape

Altenew Crisp Dye Ink Pad, Mango Smoothie

Altenew Crisp Dye Ink Pad, Frayed Leaf

Altenew Crisp Dye Ink Pad, Forest Glades

Altenew Crisp Dye Ink Pad, Frosty Pink

Altenew Crisp Dye Ink Pad, Ocean Waves

Altenew Crisp Dye Ink Pad, Buttercream

Altenew Crisp Dye Ink Pad, Jet Black

Ranger Super Fine Embossing Powder, White

Memento Ink Pad, Tuxedo Black

My Favorite Things Die-namics, STAX Oval Set 1

My Favorite Things Die-Namics, Mini Scallop Oval STAX