Oldies but Goodies , N&T Christmas Stamps and Stencils

Hi everyone!  I've been trying to be judicious in my crafty spending this year, and haven't bought many new Christmas sets.  Instead, I've been enjoying pulling out a lot of older product for my Christmas cards.  Today I used some older Neat & Tangled stamps and stencils.  

For my first card, I stamped one of the reindeer from the Oh Deer set in Gina K Amalgam ink, colored him with Copics, and then die cut.  

I cut a panel of kraft cardstock, die cut a circle to create a frame, and then spread embossing paste through the Fa La La stencil.

Once that was dry, I finished the card, by adding a snowflake print to my card base as well as a hand cut snow drift from a scrap of white cardstock.  

The reindeer was adhered on top of the snowdrift, and then the stenciled panel was popped up over top with foam tape.  I added a sentiment from Hello Bluebird's Typed Christmas set that was stamped on one of Neat & Tangled's Skinny Strips dies.

For this next card, I stamped, colored and die cut a few of the images from Neat & Tangled's Nativity Play set.  Then I went to work on the stenciled background.

I started by adding Dylusions Lemon Zest and Pure Sunshine Ink Spray to a panel of white cardstock.  Once that was dry, I spread embossing paste over the panel using the Radiating Star stencil, and set the panel aside to dry.

In the meantime, I added a bit of brown ink to a scrap of white cardstock to serve as the ground in my scene.  This was stamped with one of the sentiments from Neat & Tangled's Little Baby Jesus stamp set.  The first part of that sentiment was stamped on a white banner.

The brown frame was cut using an older My Favorite Things frame die.

Then it was just a matter of assembling everything.  The stenciled background and ground piece were adhered directly to the card base, everything else was popped up with foam tape.  

Hope you are all staying safe and healthy!

More Circle Backgrounds - Faux Watercolor

I've been pulling on this solid circle image thread lately.  A couple weeks ago I created a circle background for a Pinkfresh card by free hand watercoloring circles.  Last week, I used solid stamp images to create backgrounds, and today I'm blending the two techniques, using a solid stamp to create a faux watercolor background with Distress Inks.

These backgrounds were all created using the medium sized circle image from Ellen Hutson's Wonky Backdrops set.

This technique is basically this:  I stamped the image with Distress ink, spritzed it once with water, stamped it off on a scrap piece of watercolor cardstock, spritzed it again, and then stamped onto my watercolor panel.  I spritzed it again with water and then stamped a third time on my watercolor panel.  Each time you spritz/stamp the image gets less saturated.  I wanted a lighter look with more variegation in the look so except for the second card shared below, I didn't use the initial stamping with is much more saturated.

The process is so quick and easy and makes some lovely card backgrounds.  For this first card I just created a nine by nine grid using Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink.

Once dry, I stamped a sentiment from an old Studio Calico set I have with Versafine, and embossed with Ranger Frosted Crystal Antiquities embossing powder.

The finished panel was popped up over my card base with foam tape.

Next, is the card where I did use the initial spritzing for my panel.  Note, when creating these panels, I did not wait for anything to dry.  The stamps are very wet/saturated when you stamp, so they haven't fully dried when you stamp the next time.  I really enjoyed the play between the circle images where the ink blends from one circle to the next.  This card again uses Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink.

In this detail shot you can see pretty clearly in the first row the difference between the first, second, and third spritzing/stamping.  

I trimmed the panel down and constructed a sentiment using The Stamp Market's Skinny Upper Alpha dies as well as part of a sentiment from Neat & Tangled's Typed Sentiments set which was embossed in white on a black banner and popped up with foam tape.  The 'YOU' is three layers, one a dark gray and two layers of watercolor cardstock.  The finished letters were adhered directly to the panel.  I think using the gray for the first layer helps to set the letters off a bit more.

For this next card,  I switched over to Dusty Concord Distress Ink

After creating my four by three grid, I trimmed the panel down and finished it off with Altenew's Waterbrush Hello die.  This was cut three times, adhered together and then to the panel.

Super quick and easy.  This hello might be my favorite hello die!

This is a really fun technique where you get unique results every time.  No two panels will ever look exactly alike, which is something I love.

Papertrey Ink Text & Texture Leaves

 

Fall is my favorite season, and with the cooler weather, I was in the mood to make some fall cards.  I pulled out the Text & Texture Leaves set from Papertrey Ink (FYI, last I checked it was on sale for $8.80 which is a steal!), pulled a bunch of papers/cardstock and inks out and went to town.

I love all the different possible combinations you can get with this set.  I made a whole bunch of different backgrounds in one sitting, and then later went back to them to create cards.  The cards are on the simpler side because I love the backgrounds so much I didn't want to cover them up too much.  

This one was stamped with Rouge and Velvet (I used all Altenew inks) on orange cardstock.  The Rouge came out a bit light after it had dried, so I went back and added a second layer of Rouge.

Most of my stamped panels I trimmed right down to the edge of the design, but for this one I left a bit of a border.  I stitched the panel to my card base, and added a sentiment from the Papertrey's Phrase Play 7 die.  The 'For You' was also from the Text & Texture set and was stamped on a Skinny Stripes die from Neat & Tangled.  I added a bit of stitching to the banner after I adhered it for some extra interest and texture.

Next, up, a card created using the exact same ink combination (Rouge and Velvet) on a really subtle piece of patterned paper.  

For this one, I just stamped the sentiment (from Paper Smooches Inhale Exhale set) with Versafine Smokey Grey ink.  Then I heat embossed it using Ranger Frosted Crystal Antiquities embossing powder.  It gives it a bit of texture and a more matte look.

A natural white mat finished things off.

For this card, I started with a piece of kraft and used Coral Berry and Grapevine for my two layers.  

For the sentiment piece, I used skinny tag die, partially cut it, then turned it around and finished die cutting so that I had a piece with the tag hole on both ends.  I threaded some twine through the piece twice and secured it to the back of my panel.  

This was then popped up over a cardstock mat, and I added the 'thanks' from last year's Spellbinders October Large Die of the Month.

Next up a pair of cards I created using two of my panels. They were both stamped on white cardstock.  The first one used Orange Cream and Firebrick and the second Autumn Blaze and Cosmic Berry.

I lined the two panels up making sure that they were aligned, and then I cut each into quadrants.  These were then mixed up diagonally and adhered to two pieces of scrap paper.

I added a mat to each and popped the sentiment up over the panel.  The So Very Thankful is from Concord and 9th's Lace Leaf set, and the other is from Neat & Tangled's Maple Thanks set.

This next card is a similar idea, utilizing two panels.  The first was stamped on another very subtle patterned paper using Butternut and Autumn Blaze, and the second used Coral Berry and Grapevine on a piece of yellow cardstock.

I trimmed down the yellow piece so it was centered on the patterned paper panel with enough of a border that you could tell the design continues.

After adding an extremely thin mat to each, they were adhered together.

The sentiment is from Jane's Doodles You Got This sentiment set and was embossed with Hero Arts Princess Gold.  That portion of the panel is darker, but I added just a bit of inking with a a brush to make sure it stood out a bit more.

This next card is the one where the pattern is covered up the most, and potentially my least favorite for that reason.

This time I stamped the pattern on a piece of Primitive Cream cardstock using Sicilian Amber and Grapevine.  

This sentiment, from Neat & Tangled is one of my favorites for Thanksgiving, and I stamped and embossed it on a piece of vellum.  I then cut a piece of cream cardstock just smaller than the vellum and adhered it to my stamped background.  The vellum was tacked down with a bit of adhesive under the larger letters and then stitched to the panel.

I think this last card has my favorite stamped panel.  For this one I started with Razzleberry and Cosmic Berry on kraft, but the contrast wasn't deep enough for me, so I went back over the second layer with Ultraviolet.  Don't you love the combination?

I finished it off with one of my Skinny Strips and a sentiment from Birch Leaf set for Neat & Tangled.

Phew!  That's a lot of cards, but so much fun making and experimenting with the inks and papers.  Hope that you are enjoying fall crafting as much as I am!

The Greetery Simple Things

Today I've got a couple of cards to share using The Greetery's Simple Things set.

I love eucalyptus, and this is such a well done set.

For my first card, I used the large leafy curved branch.  It was stamped and die cut twice.  I used Altenew inks, Moon Rock for the stem, and Limestone and Misty Morning for the leaves.

I wasn't quite sure how I was going to arrange the branches, but I liked how they fit together to create a frame.  Now I just needed something to go inside the frame.

I decided that the larger bird from The Greetery's Robin and Wren set would be perfect.  He was stamped with Limestone, Silver Stone, Misty Morning, and Cloudy Sky.  The beak and legs were done in Moon Rock and the eye in Lava Rock.

I finished the card off with a sentiment from my old Dala Horse set for Neat & Tangled which was stamped on one of the Skinny Strips dies in Lava Rock ink.

I thought about popping the bird up, but I was worried his feet might get snagged on something, so I decided to keep everything nice and flat.

My second card uses the two eucalyptus stems.

These were stamped with Moon Rock, Mountain Mist, and Cloudy Sky.

I used two of the large stems, and one small stem.  One of the large stems was trimmed down.  You could see where a couple of the leaves that were trimmed off met up with the stem.  I added a little dot of Moon Rock ink to the center of the stem using an embossing tool and a dot ink so that it looks like a continuous stem.  I also used a white gel pen to color over the bits of the leaf.

I wanted a little bit of texture, so I used my sewing machine to sew across the bottom of the card and stems (also covering up where I did my stem repair) varying the stitch a bit for interest.

The sentiment, from the set, was stamped in Lava Rock.

This is such a pretty set, and I love how easy they were to stamp.

The Greetery Print Shop

I picked up the Print Shop stamp/stencil set and dies from The Greetery during their birthday sale.  I'd been eyeing these goodies for a while, and just couldn't pass them up any longer.

There are definitely a bunch of different steps involved in creating this floral background, but it's not onerous, and it's so much fun.  I loved seeing the background come to life!

I started by picking out three sets of color pairs for the main stenciled flowers, and then I created three different backgrounds assembly line style, pulling out additional colors as needed (all inks used are Altenew). 

For this first card, the large flowers were stenciled using Misty Morning and Nimbus.

The leaves were stamped in Moss, and the small yellow flowers were stenciled with Butternut.  The purple flowers are Grape Agate, and I used Evergreen for the foliage accents.  The accents on the dark blue of the flower are Dark Night, and I used Jet Black for the centers of the flowers.

To finish off the card, I trimmed the panel down slightly, and stamped a sentiment from Papertrey's Choose Joy set onto a banner die from MFT which was popped up over a slightly larger yellow banner.

For this next card, I used Butternut and Pumpkin Pie for the large flowers.

The greens were stamped with Olive, and the stenciled flowers were done in Crimson.  The small flower clusters were stamped with Frosty Pink, and I used Moss for the greenery accents.  For the accents on the large flowers, I used Sicilian Amber and Jet Black.  I felt like the light pink flowers needed a bit of pop to help them stand out, so I used my YR12 Copic marker to add little centers to each of them.

After trimming down the panel, I added the sentiment using the Skinny Upper Alpha Dies from The Stamp Market.  Each of the letters was cut three times from black cardstock, adhered in a stack and then directly to my panel.  

I cut two Skinny Strips Dies banners, one from white and one from light yellow cardstock.  The sentiment was stamped on the white one (I masked off the 'you' at the beginning of the sentiment), and then adhered slightly offset to the yellow one.  These were then popped up over the YOU.

This last card I was a little on the fence about.  The flowers were created using Frosty Pink and Coral Berry.

The greens were stamped in Forest Garden, and I used Misty Morning for the small stenciled flowers.  The small floral cluster was stamped with Butternut, and the greenery accents were done with Evergreen.  The accents on the large flowers were stamped with Crimson and Sicilian Amber.  Just as in the last card, I added some emphasis to the small floral cluster using a Copic marker (Y18).

To finish this one, I first cut three layers of the Scalloped Frame die from The Stamp Market.  Those were layered together and adhered to my panel.  Then I added a die cut sentiment (from the same die set), which was cut in gold mirrorboard cardstock.

I felt like the card still needed a little something, so I stamped a few of the elements, the Print Shop set includes standalone stamps so you can create the individual elements in the background.  I stamped a couple of the large flowers and one of the flower clusters and die cut them.  These were then popped up over the frame to add dimension.

This one I can't quite decide if I like, or if I need to tweak the design some.  Would love to know which is your favorite.

I'm looking forward to doing some more stamping with the individual elements - I love that those are included, it really expands the possibilities for this set!

The Greetery Harvest Home

I took advantage of the recent birthday sale at The Greetery, so while I wait for my new goodies to arrive, I thought I would pull out the Harvest Home set I purchased from them a while back, but shamefully hadn't had a chance to use yet.

I started by stamping the two leaf halves using Altenew Bamboo and Olive ink.  Then I realized that the leaf half dies were solid.  No biggie, I die cut the halves from a piece of white scrap cardstock, and then used those to line up the dies over the stamped leaves.

Since I had two white leaf halves from the masks I created, I figured I would go ahead and use those to make a second card.  I used a blending brush and Forest Glades ink to add color to the leaves, and then used two Copics (YG63, and YG67) to color the the accent strips on the leaves.

Then I stamped and die cut the house and barn using Ruby Red and Grapevine ink.  On the house, I used Pure Graphite for the roof, and on the barn, I wanted a lighter color since the roof would be in direct sunlight, so I used second generation Dark Chocolate ink stamping.  I also added a bit of shading with Copics to the roof.

Then it was time to assemble the cards.  For this first one, I used the stamped leaf halves and adhered them to the whole leaf that's included in the die set.  I added a couple of stamped fences on the top half of the leaf, and then tucked the barn behind the bottom leaf.  I added a bit of twine to the leaf stem, and then popped the entire leaf up over some patterned paper that was matted with a Scalloped panel from Neat & Tangled.

The sentiment is from Neat & Tangled's So Many Sentiments set and was stamped on one of Neat & Tangled's skinny strips and the popped up over the leaf.

For this next card, I adhered the leaf directly to a piece of very neutral patterned paper.

Just like the last card, I added the fences and then tucked the house in.  The sentiment is from Papertrey's Choose Joy stamp set.  I added a blue patterned paper mat to finish things off.

I just think this leaf design is so clever and I'm looking forward to using it some more, especially for fall cards!

*Affiliate Links below 

Bamboo, Altenew Crisp Dye Ink Pad

Olive, Altenew Crisp Dye Ink Pad

Pure Graphite, Altenew Crisp Dye Ink Pad

Dark Chocolate, Altenew Crisp Dye Ink Pad

Ruby Red, Altenew Crisp Dye Ink Pad

Grapevine, Altenew Crisp Dye Ink Pad

Forest Glades, Altenew Crisp Dye Ink Pad

Jet Black, Altenew Crisp Dye Ink Pad

YG63 - Pea Green, COPIC Sketch Marker

YG67 - Moss, COPIC Sketch Marker

Skinny Strips, Neat & Tangled Dies

Scotch Foam Mounting Tape