Oldies but Goodies, WPlus9 Holiday Hugs

Happy Wednesday!  Today I've got a couple cards featuring WPlus9's Holiday Hugs set.  This is one of my favorite WPlus9 images, and it's pretty easy to color.

These cards are basically the same design, but to keep things interesting, I switched up the color schemes  between them.

For my first card, I colored the bear with warm grays (W0, W1, W3), and the scarf/girl's outfit with R22, R24, R29, and R39.  I used E000, E53, and BV00 for the skin tone, and C5, C7, and C9 for her hair, and then die cut my image.

Embossing paste was spread through Simon Says Stamp's Falling Snow stencil on a piece of Cement Gray cardstock, and set aside to dry.

Meanwhile, I freehand cut a snowdrift, and stamped the sentiment on it.  

The dry stenciled piece and snowdrift were cut down to fit within a scalloped die cut panel, and adhered to the card base, and the colored image was popped up with foam tape.

For the second card, I went with cooler colors.  Instead of fully coloring the bear, I just added a thin line of color (N1) next to each of the stamped lines.  I used the same series of reds to color the bear's scarf, but the little girl's outfit was colored with B00, B12, B14, B06, and B18.  The skind was colored with E00, E21, and E95 and the hair with E13, E15, and E18.

The rest of the card was put together in the same manner as the first, but this time I used a light blue for the sky piece and a white scalloped panel.

The sentiment is from Neat & Tangled's Scandinavian Prints Christmas set.

That's all for today, but I have one more Oldies but Goodies post to share this week, see you tomorrow!

Quick and Easy Christmas with WPlus9

I thought I would use some of my quarantine time to get a jump on this year's Christmas cards...maybe this year I won't be scrambling at the end of the year!

I pulled out this sweet retired set from WPlus9 called Holiday Trimmings, it's perfect for quick and easy stamped one layer cards.

I started with the ornaments.  

These were stamped with Altenew inks:  Citrus Burst, Sea Glass, Wisteria, Pink Diamond, Mountain Mist and Jet Black.  I did use the oval image to fill in the openings in the elongated ornaments, stamping with a very light ink, WPlus9 Fairy Dust Ink.

I also added some very light marker accents using an N1 Copic marker.  I also used a Wink of Stella pen to add sparkle to the colored portions of the ornaments.

Next up, those cute trees!

I again went with Altenew inks:  Frayed Leaf, Forest Glades, Parrot, and Olive.  These were stamped in a pattern, rotating between the inks, and stamping the large tree, then the small one twice and repeat.

To add some shine and sparkle, I stamped and embossed the tree accents on every other tree with WOW Metallic Gold Sparkle embossing powder.  

I added the sentiment (don't you love the font in this set?) and that was it.

These were super easy to do and could very easily be mass produced.  It's nice to have a couple Christmas cards done already!  

WPlus9 Ironworks Background Two Ways

Hi friends!  I picked up this Ironworks Background die from WPlus9 a while ago and thought it was time I gave it a whirl.

Today I'm showing off two very different ways to use it.  First, a card with no stamping!

I have had this 1canoe2 Twilight pad for a while as well as some of the ephemera from the collection.  I picked two prints from the pad, diecutting the navy print and then layering it over the white and gray polka pattern.

I used several ephemera pieces from the collection to finish things off, including the large gold foil sentiment, and I added some stitching on the pieces for some extra texture/dimension.

The secondary sentiment was created using my typewriter (I'm thinking I definitely need a new ribbon).  Both that piece and the large sentiment were popped up with foam tape.

Next, a much bolder look at the die.  When you turn the die so that the focal point is closer to the bottom of the card, the die reminds me a bit of a stage curtain.

For this technique, I cut the die once from black cardstock and once from red.  The black piece was set aside.  The red I left intact on my cutting plate, and then used Copics to add some shading to the individual pieces.  

Then I added adhesive to my card base, adhered the black die cut/webbing piece, and inlaid the red pieces.

I finished the card off with a bold sentiment from an old Ali Edwards stamp set which was heat embossed in gold.

I really like how different these cards turned out.  Would love to know which is your favorite.

Affiliate Link Below:

Ironworks Background, WPlus9 Design Studio Dies

Simply Amazing

I have a strong affinity for background stamps.  I feel like they don't often get the credit they deserve.  A good background stamp can be a background, but it can also be the star of your card.

When it comes to background stamps, Hero Arts makes some of the very best. Today's card features their Snowflake Pattern Bold Print background.  Doesn't really look at all like a snowflake does it?  When I saw this pattern it reminded me of a kaleidoscope.

I stamped the background with white pigment ink on kraft, and the proceeded to selectively color the pattern with colored pencils.  The great thing is that you could color this 10 times 10 ways and get very very different looks.

I didn't really have a plan, I was just having some fun coloring.  Once I was done, I trimmed it down following some of the natural lines in the pattern and used it somewhat like patterned paper.

The sentiment is from an oldie but a goodie from WPlus9, Quite Like You.

That's all for me today.  I'll be back tomorrow with my February book recap.

*Affiliate Links Below

Hero Arts Cling Stamps, Snowflake Pattern Bold Print

Hero Arts Pigment Ink Pad, Unicorn White

VersaFine Ink Pad, Onyx Black

Merry & Bright Bows

Hi all!  I'm continuing on my quest for Christmas cards.....the fact that Thanksgiving is next week has me a bit concerned a the height of my stack....

Today's card features a set I picked up earlier this year, but haven't had a chance to use yet, Holiday Bows from The Ton.  As I've mentioned before, I'm really not great at multi-step stamps, so I'm wary of purchasing them, but this one is definitely on the forgiving side, and I just LOVE how realistic these bows look.  There is so much dimension to them!

I went with a non-traditional color palate using Altenew inks (Rock Collection and Sea Shore sets).  

For the sentiment, I used WPlus9's Be Merry set.  The pop of red from the banner (colored with Copics) really gives it the Christmas feel I think.  Incidentally, this is my go-to red combination, I use it all the time (R22 Light Prawn, R24 Prawn, and R29 Lipstick Red).

That's all for me today...halfway to Friday!  

*Affiliate Links below to Ellen Hutson and in text to Altenew (I linked below to the mini Altenew ink cubes.  I have minis for colors that I use less frequently, but if you can swing it I prefer the ovals which are only available as sets through Altenew)

WPlus9 Design Studio Clear Stamps, Be Merry

WPlus9 Design Studio Dies, Be Merry

Altenew Crisp Dye Ink Cubes, Rock Collection

Altenew Crisp Dye Ink Cubes, Sea Shore

COPIC Sketch Marker R22, Light Prawn

COPIC Sketch Marker R24, Prawn

COPIC Sketch Marker R29, Lipstick Red

Scotch Foam Mounting Tape

I'm sharing another Christmas card today, and a pretty simple one at that.  This one features WPlus9's Holiday Houses set.  I started by stamping and diecutting the houses and then coloring them with Copics.  

Then I stamped the trees directly onto my panel and colored them.  I could have stamped and die cut them as well, but I think this adds some depth to the card and also really makes the houses the focal point.

The sentiment is from an older, retired, My Favorite Things set.

I adhered my panel to a red card base and added a thin strip of silver glitter paper to the right side for some sparkle and extra interest.

*Affiliate Links Below

WPlus9 Design Studio Clear Stamps, Holiday Houses

WPlus9 Design Studio Dies, Holiday Houses

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

I just adore this image from WPlus9, it's so sweet, and it's a great size that carries your card.

The image was stamped with Memento and colored with Copics.

I added a sentiment from N&T's Santa's Wonderland as well as some really subtle snowflakes from that set also.  The snowflakes were stamped with WPlus9 Fairy Dust ink.  I love how light and subtle the ink is, it's a little hard to see in the photo, but it gives it a great soft snowfall feel.

One more day til the weekend!  Can you believe it's December?!

Celebrate

Here's another card I completed last weekend.  This one is for my mom to take to a wedding.

I got this rose die from WPlus9 a while back and just now had the chance to get it out and use it.

I was inspired by this card set my friend Jocelyn made a while back.

Instead of doing actual inlay, and because the rose didn't cut all the way through for me the first time and was still basically intact, I went the lazy route and just adhered the patterned paper pieces over top of the original pieces.



The sentiment is from Waffle Flower and I added a tiny bit of sparkle paper as a mat beneath it for some extra texture and glitz.

*Affiliate Links Below

WPlus9 Design Studio Dies, Outlined Roses

Scotch Double-Sided Foam Mounting Tape

Thankful Anemones

I thought I'd start out Thanksgiving Week with a thank you card.

I love the gorgeous florals in WPlus9's Watercolored Anemones set, but I'm not the greatest with multi-step stamps.

The good news is there's a full stamped image that you can use as a guide.  I stamped the full image on kraft with white pigment ink.  Then, with the help of a MISTI, stamped the individual parts of the flower in color.



Such a pretty look!

The sentiment is from an old Studio Calico set.

Hope your week is off to a great start.  I'm looking forward to a short work week and a lot of pie!

WPlus9 Design Studio Clear Stamps, Watercolored Anemones

Altenew Crisp Dye Ink Pad, Forest Glades

Altenew Crisp Dye Ink Pad, Coral Berry

Altenew Crisp Dye Ink Pad, Evergreen

Altenew Crisp Dye Ink Pad, Ruby Red

VersaFine Ink Pad, Onyx Black

Publication Share

Hey everyone!

I'm busy working on some assignments and publication projects, but I thought I would pop in quickly today to share a card that was published in the Cool Tools issue of Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking Magazine.



I used a paper crimper to create the panels on the card, and stamps and dies from WPlus9.

Halfway through the week!  I can't believe that Halloween is Friday!